#i just love jock zimbits

[loveintvworlds]

Eric Bittle ends up at UGA despite his best wishes because Samwell is expensive, and sure, UGA is too but. Not so much when your daddy is the football coach. Eric at UGA is a little rougher around the edges, a little more short tempered. He’s still friendly, still outgoing, still an athlete, (he runs track) he’s still him but he spent all of high school holding on to the idea of getting out of Georgia at the end of it, and losing that little bit of hope would take a toll on anyone.

Campus is bigger than the whole of Madison, and more accepting too. Not by much, it’s not like how he built Samwell up to be in his head (Eric still has dreams about “1 in 4, maybe more”) but he sees more out gay people in his first few weeks on campus than he’s ever seen in his entire life. But, he also sees his daddy’s football boys, his daddy’s friends and colleagues, his daddy himself. And he — maybe irrationally — feels like they see him too, like they’re always watching. So he stays closeted, and it hurts like hell.

Jack Zimmermann ended up playing college football nearly on a whim. After the overdose hockey was too painful, it wasn’t worth his life, but he couldn’t live as anything other than an athlete. One night, while blindly hitting buttons on the remote after turning the tv on to a hockey game, and he landed on a football game instead. He saw cleats instead of skates, soft turf instead of hard ice, a game just rough enough to make his skin buzz pleasantly but not enough for anyone to compare him to Bad Bob, enforcer extraordinaire.

So he spent the year learning football. When he started applying to colleges he applied to schools in warm climates, and meticulously avoided cities with hockey teams. Without a high school football career to get him scouted, Jack played at a D2 school his freshman year. But Jack Zimmermann would be D1 material at any sport he put even a fraction of his energy into, so he transfers to UGA, spends sophomore year benched (the NCAA compliance officer was very apologetic to the football coaching staff but no, they couldn’t make an exception for Jack) and his junior year is his first real year on the team.

It’s also the year the coach’s son gets to UGA.

Plenty of people on the staff and the team know Eric, have been eating his and his mother’s baked goods at team events for years, but Jack must have been too busy glaring at his red vest and sulking near the benches to notice. Then he was too busy acclimating to actually being on the team.

About halfway through his fall semester junior year, Jack notices.

He sees Eric on the side of the field one day, arms crossed and sunglasses on as he talks to his father. He’s got on a UGA windbreaker and duffel bag, and Jack doesn’t know what sport he plays but he knows an athletes when he sees one. The guys on the field with Jack mess up a passing drill that Jack himself was hardly paying attention to, and the ball rolls to Eric’s feet. Coach barks out a reprimand to Johnson for the fumbled throw, and Johnson — bizarrely — winks at Jack as soon as Coach looks away. Jack looks back at coach, brows furrowed, just in time to hear him say, “Junior, why don’t you show these boys how a football’s meant to be thrown.”

Eric frowns, he hems and haws, but eventually submits, like he always does with Coach. He shifts his stance, conscious of the teams eyes on him, of his daddy’s eyes, and takes a deep breath before launching the ball across the field back towards the players. He watches with more relief than pride when it flies beautifully, and manages to smile more than grimace when a few of the guys who know him hoot and holler good-naturedly.

Jack watches the whole thing and his mouth goes dry.

He thinks about that pass, about Eric, for days afterward. He sees Eric on campus one day, saying goodbye to a bunch of guys from the track and field team who were spending one of their few free days lounging in the shade of a tree. Jack watches Eric spilt from the group and start in his direction and makes a split second decision to try and catch his attention.

Jack stammers out a hello and manages to say his own name without much trouble and Eric graces him with one of his kind smiles in return, laughingly telling him that he’s well aware of who his daddy’s new favorite player is. Jack is too starry eyed to catch the edge in his voice when he says it. So he — harmlessly, unknowingly, more as an attempt at a friendly joke than anything — mentions the pass from the other day, asks him why he’s not on the team with an arm like that. And Eric (short tempered, rough around the edges, hurt, hurt, hurt, Eric) ices him out. He drops his smile, he walks away without a word.

Eric doesn’t know yet that Jack Zimmermann is a former hockey wunderkind, that Jack switched to football to get away from hockey the same way Eric switched to track to get away from football. He doesn’t know that Jack would understand the way he has to push his body to quiet his mind. That Jack understands so well because at one point things got too quiet. Eric doesn’t know yet that Jack Zimmermann isn’t just another one of his daddy’s boys waiting and watching for him to crumble. But he’ll find out soon.

[bittlebabe]

[wrathofthestag]

There are so many great OMGCP fics out there that I love and read, and rec, again and again.  I decided to group some together, by theme, and share with you.  I’ll be posting one or two themes a month. Most of the fics are Zimbits-centric.

Theme:  Camboy AU

Being in Motion by marswithghosts  (One of my all-time favorites <3)

Summary: Watching a college boy jerk off online for money is not what Jack Zimmermann ever saw himself doing. Getting to know that boy is something he expected even less.

Gold Maple by WhisperGrey

Summary: Jack never did it for the money, no, it was the attention that kept him crawling back to his webcam. Endless praise from people who didn't know his name and only cared about what he looked like with his clothes off.

Now, nearing the end of his time at Samwell and courting NHL interest, Jack knows it's finally time to hang up his jock and move on to better things; namely, graduation, and seeing if his interest in Eric Bittle is reciprocated.

All of which would be so much easier if Bittle didn't know about Jack's salacious alter ego.

Pie and Sex Toys for the Hockey Player's Soul by literaryspacedetective

Summary:  Jack Zimmermann’s life is turned upside down when his crush, the cute blonde named Eric from down the hall, shows up at his door with a misaddressed package. Its contents? A box of sex accessories from a well-meaning friend. Eric was just supposed to be his friend with benefits to show him how to use his new loot. Jack never meant for their fun and awkward friendship to lead to falling in love.

I Want You to Find Me by PorcupineGirl  @porcupine-girl​​

Summary: When Jack found a new camshow to watch over the summer, he thought he'd just found some porn to enjoy once a week or so.

Six months later, he finds himself sitting in his therapist's office awkwardly explaining how it turns out he found so much more than that.

Reblog and show these amazing authors some love. 

To see the previous recs, search #OMGCP themed fic recs

[emmatheficreccer]

                           What Time Is It? SUMMERTIME!

Happy Friday!

Summer is my favorite season, even if it is hot as hell down here in Texas lol. But it’s the perfect time to stay inside and read a fun, beachy fic! Here are a few of my favorite Summer Fics in no particular order:

Title: heatwave

Author: here_perishing / here-perishing

Ship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (The Untamed)

Rating: Mature

Words: 4,548

Summary: “Are you still hot?” Wei Ying swallows, and asks in a low voice, giving him a heady, heavy lidded look. Wangji watches the bob of his Adam’s apple and nods slowly, feeling heat spool through his belly. He does still feel a little hot and sticky, but he’s starting to think it might never improve if Wei Ying keeps looking at him like that. He might not mind, if Wei Ying keeps looking at him like that. - Wei Ying carefully unties Wangji’s undershirt as they kiss, then slowly peels it off and throws it to one side. Wei Ying has always loved undressing him, likes him best when he is slightly undone, naked and exposed, the private, messy, human Lan Zhan that no one else gets to see. All his.

Wei Ying is almost in his lap now, kneeling up and kissing him. Wei Ying reaches back into the bowl and picks up another piece of ice, tracing a line slowly from the nape of Wangji’s neck to the dip at the bottom of his spine. Wangji shudders with pleasure. “Good?” Wei Ying breathes into his mouth. “Good.” He breathes back.

OR

Lan Wangji struggles with the summer heat in Yunmeng. Wei Wuxian helps him to cool down.

emmatheficreccer: This fic is pretty hot!! ;) but also very tender and cute.

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Title: The Boys of Summer

Author: Kalee60 / @kalee60​

Ship: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (MCU)

Rating: Mature

Words: 4,427

Summary: Steve Rogers was smart, extremely competent, and completely and utterly in lust with his friend Bucky Barnes, a Jock. This wouldn’t cause an issue ordinarily, except Steve was not a Jock - nor even in Bucky’s league - so he pined from a distance.

Bucky Barnes was a Jock, very popular, confident and utterly in lust with his friend Steve Rogers, an intellect. Generally this wouldn’t deter Bucky, except for the fact that Steve was completely out his league - so he pined from a distance.

How could one day at the beach, an ice cream and a beach ball change everything for these two oblivious idiots?

emmatheficreccer: This fic is sweet and then it’s sexyyy ;) Loved it.

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Title: Summer & Snapchat

Author: countrygirlsfun

Ship: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter (Check Please!)

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 5,335

Summary: Working at Samwell for the summer, Dex forgets to use sunscreen one day. Just one day.

Nursey, surprisingly, helps.

emmatheficreccer: Some summertime hurt/comfort!! I love reading fics with Nursey taking care of Dex; this fic is really sweet and well-written!

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Title: a slow rising tide

Author: Anonymous

Ship: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion (The Witcher)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 1,687

Summary: The creek—not fast enough to be a river, Geralt thinks—is better fortune than they've had in a few weeks of trudging the Path and having to mind the heat. And the distant swath of water running beneath Jaskier’s idle humming is soothing, the both of them steadfast and reassuring, in their own ways.

emmatheficreccer: skinny dipping ;) ;) ;) We love to see it!!

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Title: Intertwined

Author: WrathoftheStag / @wrathofthestag​

Ship: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann (Check Please!)

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 1,017

Summary: Hand holding and contemplation during the Fourth of July. A soft, tiny Zimbits ficlet.

emmatheficreccer: This is such a sweet little fic and always makes me smile :)))

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If there is a Summer Fic that you love, send it my way! I’d love to check it out. Also be sure to leave a Kudos and/or Comment for these lovely authors if you check out and love these fics! If you think i should do a part 2 for Summer Fics, let me know!!

Love always,

Emma

[multsicorn]

glee 1x20 rewatch meta

for the @todaydreambelievers rewatch.  Mostly Kurt/Finn, of course, but starting with a few smaller things.

1. Every time I see Quinn with the feathery pink fake eyelashes, I think of @spaceorphan18 ;).

2. "I don't wanna be friends/ I just want romance" are some of Santana's first sung lines in the show - (I think they might be her very first? but I'm not sure) - and the camera flashes to Brittany while she's singing, and I'm totally claiming them for excellent pre-Duets setup Brittana lines.  (Brittana do not have a romance, at this point, but, oh, Santana wants to!)

3. Everything about Tina's subplot in this episode is pure hilarious perfection.  And Tina's need to but difficulty with how to express herself comes back and back!  (LAUREN ZIZES LEADING A PACK OF GIRLS TO FAKE-VAMPIRE-ATTACK JACOB BEN ISRAEL IS 1000% AMAZING.)  Figgins' credulity, of course - but 'shy' Tina!  Sneaking into the school at night? - and flat-out bluffing tricking him.  I love.

4. This is probably obvioius enough without outright being stated?  But, moving into the Kurt/Finn stuff a bit… the KISS costumes involved glittery high-heeled platform shoes VERY MUCH LIKE the ones Kurt was wearing as Gaga.  And way more makeup than any of the girls were wearing!  And lots of spandex, jewelry, etc. - but KISS is "manly" cause, uh.  Cause "manly" and not "like a girl" ultimately means things that are labeled as such; any talk about heels or makeup or whatever is really a distraction, but not only are those "feminine" because society says they are, but general guidelines like that can get overridden by specifics - which further underlines just how arbitrary they are.

Or something.  I feel this is relevant to the Kurt/Finn stuff - e.g., how homophobia makes Finn feel that Kurt's crush on him threatens his ability to "be a man", and how that in turn leads to Finn exploding with a steaming pile of homophobia at Kurt, but… I can't make the connection any more specific than that.

5. KURT AND FINN.

It's funny, of course I didn't join Glee fandom till the end of season three, so this was always in the past for me - but still I always felt like it was a difficult thing to talk about.  (The whole Kurt/Finn crush arc, I mean, not just this resolution.)  Am I excusing Kurt unfairly, or am I victim blaming - a good thing about this final rewatch is that I get to write about the things I always thought about, *in* fandom, but somehow never quite got around to writing.  And also feared getting a response to - now that there's basically no response ;).

Anyway, I think it shouldn't be controversial to say that in the half-season-long story arc, no one was perfect, people made mistakes?  And Finn yelling at Kurt like he did was - obviously, completely, seriously, wrong.  That much is inarguable.  Burt does exactly the right thing to protect (insofar as he can) his son; Kurt… his crush on Finn died right there, I think.  He kinda forgives by the end of the episode - (cause Finn does what he can to apologize) - but I think there's a lingering hurt and distance in even Kurt's friendly feelings re: Finn up through the start of season two, till Finn proves that he's on Kurt's side against the homophobia of McKinley's jocks in actions, not just in words.

Anyway.  There's no excuse for Finn's words - or the way he exploded at Kurt, either, even if he hadn't used the f-word.  But I can also see, so clearly, how they came about.

Finn's not comfortable sharing a room with Kurt - that's what he starts off saying, we'll come back to the anger in there in a bit.  He's doing Kurt an injustice to say that he has to change in the bathroom.

(But… Kurt is bad at boundaries, not infrequently.  He introduced Burt and Carole in the first place so that he would have the opportunity to spend more time with Finn.  Just this episode, at the start, when Burt gives Finn some money to bribe him to be okay with moving in, Kurt swoops in and takes the money out of Finn's hand!  And, repeatedly, Kurt's been flirting with - more like at! - Finn, singing to him, playing with his shirt - although Finn's body language to us third-party viewers seems obviously to indicate discomfort.)

(But… so is every other person in McKinley's Glee club, bad at observing boundaries, or at least all but maybe a couple.  Remember Tina just the other week stealing Artie's dream out of the trash can!  I don't want to be hard on Kurt here.  All these kids sometimes go too hard after what they want.)

(And… there's a genuinely hard question involved, in the general case.  When you're trying to flirt with someone, when are you responsible for reading the discomfort in their face, voice, body language, etc., and drawing back - and when is it up to them to say something?  Cause I think there's no better answer than 'try the best you can,' but, y'know, when you're an otherwise desparately lonely teenager, the best you can may not be that great… and Kurt probably hoped that what Finn didn't like was being seen to be flirting with him, not the flirting itself.  And - god, now I'm having zimbits thoughts/feelings.  The point being, that could've been true.)

Anyway.  Coming back out of parens.  Here is my theory:

Finn wasn't able - due to McKinley's atmosphere of homophobia, both generalized and specific, e.g., how in this very episode, Karofsky and Azimio threaten him for 'being gay' - to take Kurt's crush on him seriously enough to explicitly reject Kurt the way he should have.  Or, um.  Unpacking that further.

He couldn't entertain as more than a joke, not seriously, not out loud, to other people, (even if 'other people' in fact only means Kurt), the mere possibilty that he could reciprocate Kurt's feelings.  That he could be attracted to Kurt, or to men - at all.  He not only has to be straight, his straightness has to be unquestionable….

And so he awkwardly alternately endures and avoids Kurt's flirtations - which are pretty mild, by the way (if we talk about just the things Kurt does with Finn, not the things he does with Burt, or Rachel with the fake makeover, in which case, geez, Kurt! but those aren't so relevant here).  But he's getting more uncomfortable as he and Kurt are moved closer together by events - even before the final explosion, he way overreacts to Kurt trying to help him remove his KISS makeup - yes, Kurt’s done a couple fake-casual flirty touches, but that one wasn’t, it was just helpful!... - and he feels like he can't say anything.

Because even saying "hey, I'm flattered, but I don't like you that way, and I'm just not going to" - would admit the possibility that he's not straight, even if only to then deny it.  Which isn't possible.  Cause if he's POSSIBLY not straight, he gets jumped on, etc., same as Kurt.

(obviously he doesn't.  Brains are fucked up, and he should have guts, I'm just saying… he fucked up, YES, and this is how/why)

So he explodes and he hurts Kurt A LOT, which is, well, one way to stop a crush!  Kills it dead in its tracks.  But he doesn't only kill the crush, but also the implicit trust Kurt placed in him, to NOT BE FUCKING THINKING IN THAT WAY, like…

And Finn values Kurt's friendship, too, even if there's no romantic angle to it for him.  So he damages that, and he loses something.

~

I wanted to say one more thing!  Something lighter, that doesn't fit in this argument structure.  You know how Kurt says that the basement is "a mix of the masculine and the feminine"?  And Finn says - in addition to the anger, the explosion, etc., discussed earlier, but simply in content - no, it's entirely feminine, it's not masculine at all?  Which of course ties back to the Gaga/KISS costumes issue, and the way that homophobia makes gayness or femininity 'pollute' straightness or masculinity - e.g., any mixture, or any doubt, is read as being the WRONG THING, and treated as such.

Whereas Kurt, who doesn't see either masculine or feminine decor as 'wrong,' is able to make a mix, and describe it as such…

ANYWAY, I tried to look up on youtube Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper in the movie that Kurt says he's inspired by, and I found Marlene Dietrich singing and wearing a suit.  (That movie was her introduction to the U.S.)  So, yes.  The masculine and the feminine and all the possibilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkXLRl3m18Q

Gary Cooper's character is very impressed.

[bluegrasshole]

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but is it homophobic or transphobic of me to write zimbits as women in a lesbian relationship? Im a lesbian myself but i wasn't sure...Im always trying to educate myself.

um. i don’t really know enough to answer that specific question, so if anyone wants to chime in, feel free.

i can however say, that from a characterization standpoint, i think this would be doing them a disservice. a huge part of jack and bitty’s characters is specifically that they are men in a male-centric, very traditionally masculine sport, but that they subvert the stereotypes that are generally assigned to male hockey players. that is the entire point of them and how they’re written. 

jack struggles with mental illness, addiction and homophobia in a sport that is not typically kind to the mentally ill or the not-straight. he is, outwardly, your typical alpha male hockey captain, but the fact that we know he’s not really his stereotype is so important to his character. 

bitty is smaller than average for a hockey player of his level, gay, a baker, an ex-figure skater, southern, a dude who still sleeps with a stuffed rabbit, pretty comfortable in front of a camera -- not to get too deep into meta here but his character is meant to be drastically different than your average hockey player, yet still entrenched in bro/jock/frat/hockey culture. that juxtaposition is vital to his characterization.

to take away those aspects of their characters would be to fundamentally change them, because when writing an AU you can’t just transplant characters’ personalities as they are into a new situation. that’s not how it works. a woman who has all of bitty’s traits, while she would be a great character, isn’t going to be bitty. they would have been raised differently, therefore would have had different experiences. certainly she wouldn’t have been locked in a janitor’s closet for being who bitty is, and that alone would hugely impact how she’s written. and again, not to get too meta -- but the fact that bitty is how he is, and that jack has the potential to being the first out player in the nhl (as i think the comic has been hinting at), and that they are together and in love and that their friends (and coworkers) support them despite their environment, is kind of meant to be the entire point. it’s just not the same when it’s two women, because we know the nwhl is miles and miles ahead of the nhl when it comes to both a) having out players and b) supporting players who may want to come out. 

it sounds though that you should write some original fiction with your characters. the world could always use more lesbians. 

[loveintvworlds]

jack and bitty both having like. opposite opinions on sports. they both love hockey but bitty also loves football and jack has never cared for it. jack just goes ‘haha’ when bitty says he genuinely doesn’t understand what the appeal of watching golf on television is. bitty watches basketball a lot, jack knows nothing about the sport and can only name players he’s met at espn events. jack enjoys a good soccer game, really appreciates the footwork, bitty couldn’t be more neutral on the sport. neither of them particularly like or dislike baseball but might be inclined to put a game on for obvious reasons.

[wrathofthestag]

Groundhog Nightmare, or, I must have been going through Some Things...

Y’all... I was cleaning up my Google Drive and saw a document called “Groundhog Nightmare.”  I couldn’t remember what it was about, so I clicked it.  Whoa, Nelly!  I must have been in a dark place when I wrote this, because I had this as notes for a potential Zimbits fic:  

A play on Groundhog Day, but it’s Groundhog Nightmare.

Jack wakes up as a young child but he still has his memories of adulthood, and in this alternate world, his parents’ divorce so he has to live between two households. It's killing him and he can't talk to Bitty, he can't find any of his friends, and his parents are miserable.  His father's turning into something cold and bitter---a total posturing jock.  Jack knows that’s not who Bad Bob is.  Fast forward to Jack at 19.  Time jump? Not sure? 

Jack is alone and confused and he looks up Bitty’s skating stuff on YouTube but he knows he can't contact Bitty, one because he’s 19 and Bitty is only 14, and two, what exactly can he say? So, he just feels alone and confused 

And Alicia turns distant and works all the time, so Jack does what she can to bring them together.  As much as it pains Jack, he knows he has to go through with the overdose because that's what I'll bring them together as a family. That's what really brought them together as a family the first time around.  So he’s in the hospital and his parents are there and fall in love again and the nightmare begins again, and Jack is wondering when this is going to end. 

Well, shit.  I’d like to personally apologize to Jack.  Where TF was I going with that??  I’m glad it was NOWHERE.  Sometimes writing really is just cathartic and nothing else.  See?  This is why I stick to fluff.  Just gimme the fluff and love.