#but he does believe in Jonah's respect for stories

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

Happy WBW!!

Does your story have any special animals, or beliefs about cryptids?

<3

CJ! I'm sorry, I'm so far behind on asks, but thank you for persevering!

The Coven's werecreatures department has a small group of dedicated cryptid hunters/believers. Jonah Carver, who Isaac had drunk desk sex with at the last holiday party Isaac's colleague, is one of them. He lives up in the Pacific Northwest, so of course he's a Bigfoot and Batsquatch fan. But he also dedicates his time looking for evidence of Gumberoo, ball-tailed cats, and the many water-based beasts that haunt lakes, rivers, and the coast.

Even though the Coven's whole deal is magic and the supernatural, cryptid research is treated as, er, an eccentric hobby. One could argue that there's actual proof of vampires, ghosts, etc. People like Jonah would counter that you can't find evidence if you never look! Maybe cryptids are endangered species, the types of magical creatures who couldn't adapt to an increasingly human world as well. Or they could be newly emerging species, or even just a one-of-a-kind being. It's never a waste to ask questions or seek new routes to understanding. Besides, if nothing else, these cryptids are cultural and historical touchstones. They're worthy of study and preservation just as much as any document or artefact.

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

I love your TMA swap AU so much and love seeing posts about it

do you like, have any more info on it you haven’t shared yet?!? you don’t have to share if you want to, it just kinda consumed my mind 👉👈

CRASHING IN AT LIGHTNING SPEEDS

I absolutely have info and I love talking about it — It’s consumed my mind as well!

I realise I haven’t really talked about one of the key aspects of the AU which is Elias and his slow descent into becoming a vessel for Jonah Magnus, albeit with a twist.

I’m always particularly fond of Swap AUs that really play around with the idea of characters in different roles, and for Elias, that meant he couldn’t simply be the Archivist. While Jon’s story revolves around humanity, Elias’ story in this AU is more an exploration of identity and how the lines blur.

I had to play around a bit with canon, give reason as to why Jonah hasn’t just taken Elias as his vessel yet or taken someone else, and is having to retreat to his old body, using the last few years it has left in it. The idea I settled on was that his vessels need to be specific, preferably someone already touched by the Eye, and a body who he Knows can withstand the shift. These potential vessels aren’t as common but he knows one will been drawn to the Institute eventually.

The problem with Elias Bouchard, is that he still has people left who would notice the change, people he’s close to - Sasha, Tim, Gwendolyn, etc. I have mentioned before that this is why he was made Head Archivist. The Archive is the most dangerous place to work and the easiest place to set Elias on the course of becoming an Avatar himself, making him even more suitable, and isolating him, whether it be through his friends dying, or him isolating himself due to the stress and/or paranoia. Anything like that really.

And, while he isn’t the Archivist, he does develop his own set of abilities, more centred on Watching, similar to Jonah. In late s2 for example, his eyes have started to adjust to Seeing, and he becomes distinctly aware of Not-Sasha, hence his attempt at attacking her with a metal pipe.

He doesn’t view these abilities as negatively as you’d think really, namely because they give him a sense of purpose, a feeling of importance and power which he has longed for his whole life. He often believes he deserved better than what he has, deserves to be respected, stemming from his relationship with his father. He only realises a little too late that what’s happening to him isn’t a good thing, and that he’s losing the people he cares most about.

It’s during his coma in s4 that the identity aspect truly comes into play.

Jonah decides this is the perfect chance to take Elias’ body, and Martin is left with the task, mainly due to Jon being in jail and Martin’s ability to go unnoticed. This is one of the things Martin would really rather avoid doing but Jon asked, and so he obliges.

It doesn’t… work out though. He’s only able to replace one eye — very clumsily at that — before someone walks in, and while they don’t see Martin, they do see the mess he’s left behind.

Elias unfortunately wakes up not long after, and Jonah decides to put the other eye on hold for a short while. He’s… curious, really. He wants to Know what will happen, what this will feel like for the both of them.

S4 is probably my favourite era of the AU solely for the exploration of Elias and Jonah and how the other characters interact with that. They don’t know what’s happened to Elias, a man who had looked an absolute mess for months, suddenly looking pristine, with his hair cut short — he’s always hated short hair — and an eye that definitely isn’t his own. I should add, before now, he’s never gone by Elias. He never liked it, mainly due to the disappointed or angry tones it was often said in by family. He insisted on being called Eli, but, in s4, suddenly he’s rather insistent on going by Elias.

It’s disturbing, to say the least, and the thing is, he’s aware something is wrong, aware he’s acting differently, that his dominant hand has changed from right to left, that his wants and beliefs are being clouded by something else, but he doesn’t know what’s happening anymore, and he doesn’t know how to convey his own distress. He’s acting in ways he otherwise wouldn’t, and it just comes naturally to him. Anytime he even considers breaking down, begging someone to hear him, to recognise he’s just as scared as they are, he’s struck with the thought he doesn’t want to do that.

Everyone tells him he’s changed, and he knows, and he can’t do anything about it.

I’ve wrote a lot already so I’ll probably go more in depth on that another time, but for now, I did actually start writing a Transcript Style thing for an interaction with Gwen, who’s convinced her brother has been replaced entirely, so I’ll share a snippet of that!

I am so very normal about the Swap!Siblings <- lying so badly

[asteria-argo]

🌹🪻🌸🌺🌷🌻🌼💐🥀🪷💮

🌹🪻🌸🌺🌷🌻🌼💐🥀🪷💮

🪻🌻🌺💮🌸

For To All The Better Places

(I’m not sure you specified how many actual kids are in Jamie’s class. I know “twenty some” for sure.)

You responded to one of my chapter comments (about how much I adore the students) by saying you have pages and pages of notes on the kids. And are sure most of it won’t ever make it into the fic.

Please feel free to brag or lament or gush over any and all of the kids to your hearts content here! Doesn’t have to be something that will ever make it into the story. Perhaps especially if it isn’t gonna be in the story.

Jamie has 24 kids in his class and I am very happy to say that every single one of them have names and basic descriptions! Most of them aren't very in depth but they've all got a basic blurb that has a couple of their likes and dislikes, a couple key personality traits, and notes on their home life if it's relevant.

A lot of them are just filler characters who don't serve a lot of purpose except to fill the room, but in Act II of To All The Better Places I have an entire subplot planned for these kids, I've mapped out their interpersonal drama, I have diagrams, it's a whole thing. Particularly Shiloh, who a couple people have already guessed will be important. I have three pages of backstory on her alone.

The thing about Shiloh is that she is in essence, Jamie before the fork in the road between kindness and cruelty. She is quite literally Jamie's mini-me, she acts exactly like him. She's overly confident and rude and doesn't have a ton of respect for the authority, which does include Jamie a lot of the time despite the fact we mostly see them getting along, but is also smart and kind and compassionate, absolutely filled to the brim with ambition and talent. She picks fights on the playground and disrupts lessons a lot and has an ongoing feud with several different teachers and students that usually ends up being Jamie's problem; She is also fiercely protective of her friends, she taught herself BSL so that she could speak to Toby when he doesn't have his hearing aids in, she helps Jamie set up for class every single morning, Kareem had to cap how many library books she was allowed to check out at once because she tried to borrow 18 at once and spent her entire recess arguing with him about it because she was absolutely positive she'd be able to get through all of them in two weeks.

She exists to parallel Jamie, she's a bratty but talented problem child who has a rough home life and is acting out because of it. Particularly, she exists to show Ted who has whatever the opposite of rose tinted glasses are on about Jamie, that things could have been different. She exists as physical proof that someone like Jamie could have been reasoned with and handled with kindness, if he'd only actually approached Jamie with curiosity instead of judgement, because for as much as Ted can believe that Jamie's behaviour was insular and judge him for it, it is near impossible for him to do the same thing to a nine year old girl that is clearly going through something. Especially because Jamie? He isn't going to let Ted judge Shiloh the same way he judged him.

Shiloh, Ted learns, is Jamie Tartt in miniature. Right down to the position she plays. “I’ll be striker,” she tells her half of the team. She’s not the captain, that honour going to Miss Imara, but she commandeers everyone's attention uncaring of that little fact, her hair pulled out of her face by two neat braids with red and blue ribbons braided through “ ‘cause I’m the best at that.” “I wanted to be striker,” Jonah says, looking a little hurt. Shiloh rolls her eyes at him, patting him on the shoulder consolingly. Ted’s not sure how a nine year old girl manages to come across as condescending, but she certainly finds a way. “You can still get goals even if you aren’t a striker” she says “you’re really fast, so you’d be a better winger like when we play at the park, so if we wanna win we gotta think about that.” “Isn’t this supposed to be just for fun?” Toby asks, head tilted to the side curiously. “winning is fun.” Shiloh says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I have a scene, like the one above but hopefully a little more fleshed out, planned for later on in the story to really make Ted think about the parallels between Shiloh and Jamie. He already thinks they act very similar, but it's the final nail in the coffin seeing her play and seeing nothing but Jamie. Which, since you've been reading the story and already know, Ted has a bit of a problem with confirmation bias in this fic.

This answer kind of turned into the Shiloh show but what can I say I love her, she's a very pivotal character in this fic. I have more to say about the other kids but this has already gotten quite long so I will be leaving it here with this picture of my actual physical notes that I have pinned above my desk for quick reference when I'm writing!

yes, I did alphabetize the roll call, and also yes, I did create a physical diagram of who is friends with who, and also also yes, I have all of their table groups written out in accordance to that diagram so there are no mortal enemies or best friends on the same table to cause problems. I'm thorough.

[paperstorm]

I mostly agree with you on forcing Jonah on Tarlos. It's definitely not a plotline I want to happen, and I dread the idea of losing the loft! But I don't have an issue with the writers not respecting Carlos's feelings, he's not a real person after all, it would just be inconsistent for me. The only way them taking on Jonah could potentially work for me is if they actually explored Carlos's feelings about not wanting kids but having to be a parent anyway, rather than handwaving that reluctance away. But that might be too taboo for lone star, most shows are very reluctant to go there.

Yeah you're right it's not his feelings since he doesn't exist but maybe it's the feelings/choices of the real people who feel the way he does? I'm not explaining myself well probably but sometimes it feels like you can sense a writer moralizing or evangelizing through their fiction, in a book or movie or show or whatever. You can feel them making a Point that they wanted to make with the plot or characters as the vehicle for that point, and I always feel that way when a character is allowed to temporarily believe they don't want kids but then is talked or pressured into it and lo and behold it turns out that was the Right Choice all along. It doesn't feel like fiction that is exploring the complexities of the human experience which might include changing your mind on something, it feels like the writer of that story wagging their finger in my face lol. Hopefully that makes more sense.

[samasmith23]

Doctor Octopus unmasking Spider-Man in Web of Death

So here’s something I always found fascinating about the brilliant Web of Death storyline from the otherwise infamous Spider-Man: Clone Saga!

This was actually the first time since the classic Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man era where Doctor Octopus had unmasked Spider-Man, except Otto had completely different reactions when discovering it was Peter Parker underneath the mask.

In Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #12, Peter was forced to fight Doc Ock when the latter kidnapped Betty Brant, but his spider-powers were significantly weakened due to him coming down with the flu. Octavius was shocked that he had defeated Spidey so easily considering that the latter put up quite a challenge when they fought in the previous issue. So when Otto unmasked Spider-Man to only discover it was Peter underneath, he simply assumed Peter was a weakling imposter instead of the actual Spider-Man (a misunderstanding which also fooled Betty and even J. Jonah Jameson).

Conversely in Web of Death, Otto had taken notice of Spider-Man’s drastic change in behavior. He was deeply disturbed by Spidey's grim-&-gritty “I am the Spider” phase, reminiscing on the once good and noble adversary whom over the years Otto had built up a twisted level of respect towards.

So when Otto confirms that the rumors of Spidey dying of an incurable virus administered by the Vulture during the previous story arc Back From The Edge are indeed true, Octavius unmasks Spidey and takes him back to this lab in order to create an antidote that will save Peter’s life.

Only this time Otto actually believes that Peter and Spider-Man are one and the same person, even reflecting back on the time he previously unmasked Peter back in Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #12 and questioning to himself why he didn't believe he Peter was Spider-Man back then.

I really loved this clever nod to the Lee & Ditko era, as it felt like a perfect book-ending at the time to Peter & Otto’s rivalry at the time considering that Peter's clone Kaine would later snap Doctor Octopus’ neck at the very end of the arc.

While many people complained about Doctor Octopus’s death at the hands of Kaine in the Web of Death being too sudden and poorly thought out, I’ve personally always disagreed with that criticism. Not only because the writers J.M. DeMatteis & Tom DeFalco dedicated 4 entire issues to fleshing out Otto Octavius’ relationship and history with Spider-Man (i.e. having him save Peter from death, because in his own twisted way he believed that continuously fighting someone as noble as Spidey provided him a connection to his own past humanity), but also because from a thematic perspective the narrative repeatedly built up Kaine as this shadowy figure watching all the events from afar, acting like a stalking predator waiting for the opportune moment to strike its prey. In essence Web of Death frames Kaine as the looming shadow of death itself. This framing is further enhanced through Kaine’s inner monologues about wanting to preserve Peter & Mary Jane’s happiness whilst seeing Doctor Octopus and his lover Stunner as a threat to said-happiness.

So when Otto Octavius final does cure Peter of the virus that was killing him and announces his intentions to continue fighting Spidey in an endless loop (to satisfy his own warped vision of the connection that he and Peter now share) as he voluntarily allows himself to be arrested, it only makes sense thematically for Kaine to sweep in and finally eliminate the threat to Peter’s happiness.

And while I will concede that the brawl between Otto & Kaine is rather quick, I do honestly really love how their fight is contrasted with scenes of Peter & MJ constructing a crib for their soon-to-be-born child (Web of Death was the story that revealed MJ’s pregnancy), conveying that while Peter had escaped the clutches of death and was finally embracing life, Otto’s nihilistic obsession with continuously fighting Spidey resulted in his own demise.

Plus, having Kaine kill Doc Ock helps to further elevate his threat level as an antagonist to Peter Parker & Ben Reilly, since while the previous villain Kaine killed in the corresponding story Web of Life, the Grim Hunter (aka, the then-late Kraven the Hunter’s son, Vladimir Kravinoff), was a minor d-lister, Octavius was both a heavy-hitter and one of Spidey’s oldest and deadliest enemies!

Overall, Web of Death holds a special place in my heart since this 4-part storyline was actually the very first part of The Clone Saga I ever read in full due to the single issues being available and cheap at the time on ComiXology, and I had heard about Otto’s death in these issues as a little kid through my old Spider-Man character guidebooks and encyclopedias. And reading this arc not only gave me an even greater appreciation for Otto Octavius’s relationship with Spider-Man that I hadn’t experienced in the comics since Dan Slott’s run on Superior Spider-Man (I honestly can't help but wonder if Otto's characterization in Web of Death partially influenced Slott's later portrayal of the character) but the it was also my first official introduction to the writing of J.M. DeMatteis, who’s since become one of my top 5 all-time favorite comic authors!

[down-thedrain]

i know nothing about the sitcom au. but i need to hear about it because it is constantly rotating in my mind like one of them walmart chickens

not me thinking you meant a live chicken rotating in a walmart i am soooooooooo smart and cool

anyways sitcom au is like. exactly what it sounds like. the characters of mandela are put into some weird frankenstein of a 90's (seinfeldish) and early 2010's (those live action disney/nickelodeon shows. you knoe the ones) sitcom and Shit Happens, as it were

uh. tge Very Basics in terms of plot are:

- adam and jonah live together in an appartment in mandela (oh my god they were roommates)

- adam's dream job is to be a paranormal hunter and he does investigations on the "supernatural" activity in his appartment, jonah doesn't really believe in that kind of thing but ze supports him anyway

- adam is. very enthusiastic when it comes to paranormal hunting. he has a corkboard with red strings all over it and everything. he is extremely normal

- one day these two new guys named mark and cesar move into their appartment (they are qpps in this au btw) and adam is completely 100% sure there's a ghost following that cesar guy around. he saw it with his own two eyes he KNOWS it's there. jonah tells him it's cuz he hasn't slept in the past 3 days but he ignores them

- adam hasn't really had a real case before (most of the shit that happens in his appartment is just like. the result of faulty piping or smth) so obviously he immediately jumps onto this

- adam goes to the police (mcpd) to let them know about it, but thatcher and ruth don't believe him at all, telling him to come back once he can prove this "ghost" is real. they didn't mean it seriously but adam's like "alright bet"

- a lot of the episodes (cuz this is a sitcom, the story is very episodic and continuity is pretty much optional) are focused on him trying to get evidence that the ghost he saw is real and dangerous so that mcpd'll finally believe him, with jonah helping out along the way (they still don't believe in ghosts but it's been a while since he's seen adam be this excited about something so ze goes along with it)

- this happens in increasingly silly and stupid ways throughout the show, but every time he actually gets his hands on some evidence it always somehow gets destroyed before he can actually show it to the police

- important to mention that cesar's not at all secretive about being followed by a ghost (aka alt!cesar, who is later revealed to be a straight up demon btw). he would gladly tell adam all about it if he asked but adam thinks that it's "too easy" to ask cesar directly so he insists on doing it his own way. it never works

- comedy ensues

other thingys:

- adam and jonah are extremely emo and scene respectively ever since high school they never grew out of it (for context they are now both 23)

- not all episodes are dedicated to the formula i just talked about. of course there are holiday specials n stuff cuz what show'd be complete without holiday specials but there's also like. a baking competition episode, an amusement park episode, an episode dedicated to mcpd, etc. not every episode has to be about the formula i think

- adam and jonah aren't. uh. the most upstanding citizens in this au. nothing major, mostly just petty theivery and spraypainting grafiti n shit like that. mandela's a pretty slow area in terms of crime otherwise, so most of the calls mcpd gets are about them (which is probably one of the reasons why thatcher and ruth completely dismisses adam's claims about alt!cesar). as such, adam and jonah aren't exactly close with thatcher but they have a "HEYYYYY THATCHY MY MAN WHAT'S UP‼️‼️‼️" "if you call me thatchy ever again i'll punt your asses into next week" "GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO DUDE B)" dynamic w him you feel me

- speaking of which, dave's a part of mcpd in this au! unlike thatcher and ruth, dave is completely convinced that this ghost is real and he even occasionally helps adam with his schemes n stuff

- alt!gabriel is their landlord in this au. he's still satan incarnate but he also runs an apartment. not a single person in the apartment questions it

- this would also be something revealed later on but mark's an ex-paranormal hunter in this au, though he now works in amateur filmmaking. he got a permanent black eye from his time as a paranormal hunter, though he's very vague about what exactly happened

- mark hates talking about that time in his life in general for reasons i won't reveal yet cuz i like to be sneaky >:)

- alt!cesar isn't actually malicious at all he's just a dick

- sarah and eve do exist in this au, they just come in at later episodes (sarah lives out in california, but she occasionally visits mandela since that's where she grew up. eve eventually moves into the complex with everyone else and she and adam are still exes in this au so. hijinx. also eve's even more emo than adam which is an accomplishment to say the least)

- jonah's a homestuckie with a tumblr

[riszellira]

Reflection: Do a Nineveh

The emphasis of today’s Scriptural passages is on preaching and miracles. Jonah’s preaching about Yahweh’s warning of destruction on the city of Nineveh is positively received and responded to by the citizens with self-reckoning faults. Their response is both immediate (Jonah had only gone a third of the way when they repented) and complete (the story states that not only the king and his subjects showed signs of mourning and fasting, but even the beasts of the land). Yahweh exercised mercy on the nation as a result of their repentance, the text discloses.

Jesus in the Gospel does not meet the same dramatic success. He calls forth the witness of the Ninevites who had heeded the preaching of Jonah. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a nation that buckled under no one and subjugated many others, yet this great power repented at Jonah’s words. His second witness is the Queen of Sheba, who paid a visit to King Solomon in order to ascertain his wisdom and be convinced of it, imparts a blessing upon him. Jesus contrasts His witnesses with His current audience, who refuse to hear His words.

The problem with the generation before Jesus was that, rather than “hear the Word of God and observe it,” they would pin their hopes on miracles and signs. The crowd around Him wanted to see astonishing signs, when His purpose in preaching was to call them to a genuine repentance and effective acceptance of God’s influence over their lives.

In Jesus’ time, the people were so focused on looking for miracles that they neglected to see the Messiah standing in front of them. Two thousand years have come and gone, and today, people still look for miracles without properly appreciating the point behind them: that God desires for us to contritely turn to Him—that is, recognize His generosity and goodness, believe in His love, and eventually manifest generosity and goodness to others as well. If we would only try to hear the Word and keep it, then we would probably repent immediately and completely as Nineveh did, without having to ask for signs.

~Fr. Francis Gustilo, SDB

What miracles and signs do you need to see before you completely turn over your life to God?

Grant me the grace to fully surrender my life to You, Lord. Amen.

Prayer

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the strength and healing of the sick.

… for the healing and peace of all families.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

GOD BLESS!

[claratrevisanreanima]

some thoughts on sacred iconography

recently I came across these two images of pulpits in polish catholic churches:

at first I was amazed by the inicial absurdity of it, an image of a sea monster inside a catholic church. afterwards, I understood it was probably a reference to the story of Jonah and the whale, from the old testament. as I said, I don’t practice any religion and I haven’t even been baptized, so I’m not familiar with the details of the story besides it’s two main characters and a really great brazilian song named Mestre Jonas. so, with that being said, I’d rather stick to the inicial absurdity. for me, these sculptures relate well to what the sacred bones and urns made me feel. since I was little, I’ve always lived very closely inflenced by catholic imagery, that was my first reference of the sacred. the images were always very serious, and very human-centered. even though catholic iconography can be very overdramatic, the behaviour that was endorsed was very silent and modest. so, it is natural that for me these pulpits and urns displaying bones seem utterly profane for a christian church. i would see a sea creature in folkore myths, i should see bones in witchcraft rituals - not inside a cathedral. but well, there they are. and why does it affect me that much? of course, a santified bone or a holy sea creature may surely serve the church purposes and reinforce the power of it’s religion, the power of the institution. It may not be necessarily strange to some people, mainly the ones already inclined to respect and fear the christian institutions. so why, even understanding very well the meaning of christian imposition and colonization, and all the ideological shaping originated by the catholic church, do I still want to pay attention to it? I think it has to do with being always a bit of an outsider when it comes to spirituality and religion, even though it has always been an interesting subject. by being familiar with the symbolism, but not understanding all the catholic references, I feel I’ve placed them besides other mythologies, symbols and images I’ve been in touch throughout my life. witchcraft, alchemy, other religions, myths, fantasy lores, and so on. that, for a person interested in fantasy and myths, kind of equiparates catholicism (power and dominance aside) to any other belief/ritual, by this specific perspective. displaying a piece of bone in a sacred building puts christianity much closer to witchcraft then the church would ever like to assume. displaying a huge monstruous fish is displaying a character of a fantasy myth. like the loch ness monster, for example. and that per se is already kind of challenging to the image of a separate, immaculate, ‘higher’ type of belief the christianity thaught me to believe it was. on that subject, Luiz Antonio Simas, in his studies of the stories behind the origins of the most popular saints in brazil, shows how many saints that are worshipped today came from a strongly hybrid background. how many of the stories are mashups between candomblé, christian and indigenous beliefs (a context derived from violence and colonization). but he also shows how some of the saints were actually popularly santified, against the catholic institution will. that many of them came up from collective narratives, popular beliefs, habits. with that, I’m not trying to say that the popular extra-institutional catholicism is a form of resistance to the church dominance whatsoever, because it still reinforces very violent ideologies. but it is interesting that, given the social context, many religious manifestations in brazil (and I believe in other places too), even though very controlled and watched by the catholic church, came up from autonomous movements, extra-institutional practices. it’s this autonomous constitution of belief that interests me for this research. observing catholic iconography while equating it to any other mythology gets you noticing that basically any image can be sanctified, given the context:

(what may have been a heron referencing christ could be interpreted simply as some very holy birds)

(not religious goat gablestone in maastricht - but could very well be)

[mongeese]

TMA Meta: Jon’s Ego and Martin’s Lack Thereof

Summary: This is my brain dump about Jon and Martin’s ideas on their own self-importance (i.e. Jon being self-centered and Martin having zero self esteem) and how they contribute to the plot/tragedy of The Magnus Archives, organized into a hopefully coherent essay. I didn’t come up with this all by myself; it was inspired by a meta I read over a year ago about Jon’s ego specifically, but unfortunately op has deactivated so I can no longer access the whole thing. Still, it was a very good post, and definitely made these ideas crystalize for me.

Be warned, this meta is about 2700 words, so it’s a hefty one. And yes, I do know this podcast ended almost 16 months ago, and yes, I do still care enough about it to write 2700 words. What can I say, it rewrote my brain chemistry.

Also I’m tagging @jonnywaistcoat, on the off-chance he sees this and has any interest in reading essays about something he wrote years ago. If you do read this, hi Jonny, love your work!

Now without further ado, the essay, underneath the read more :)

The Magnus Archives is primarily a horror podcast, but as I’m sure we all remember, it is also a deeply tragic story. I believe one of the signs of a great tragedy is a story in which the tragic outcome is technically avoidable, but is actually inevitable when you consider the personalities, ideologies, and behaviors of the characters that inhabit the story. This is true for The Magnus Archives in countless ways, but one that I think is largely overlooked is the egos of the various characters. More specifically, the respective egos of Jon and Martin are hugely influential in the story. Despite having practically opposite perspectives on their own self-importance, each of their egos feeds into the apocalypse and the tragic ending in their own ways.

Jonathan Sims is egotistical and self-centered. That might be a controversial take, and if it is, that would be understandable: he’s up to his eyeballs (pun kind of intended) in self-loathing and sacrificial tendencies. He burns himself out constantly trying to help other people. However, the reason he does that is because he’s self-centered. When I say self-centered, I don’t mean selfish, and I don’t mean vain. I mean the most basic definition of the word, which is that he centers himself in his view of the world. He is egotistical not in that he thinks himself better than other people, but in that he believes, maybe subconsciously, that he is more important and influential they are.

The biggest example of this behavior is the Unknowing. Elias/Jonah tells Jon the world is going to end, and that Jon specifically needs to stop it. Jon is told that he must use his powers to save the world, that he alone has what it takes to see through the Unknowing and destroy it. And Jon does not question this at all. He does recognize that he can’t do it alone, that he needs people to support him, but he never argues the fact that he is uniquely responsible for the safety of literally everyone alive. Now, it’s not an entirely unreasonable conclusion to draw, considering he does have supernatural abilities, he does work for a supernatural institution, and he was being told repeatedly that he was uniquely responsible. But it’s not an inevitable conclusion. He did not have to believe that narrative, exemplified by the fact that when put in a similar situation, Martin rejected the idea that he would be some kind of chosen one (which I’ll get to later). The most logical explanation for Jon wholeheartedly believing he was the only one who could stop the Unknowing is if he already believed himself to be special and unique in some way, even before he knew about it.

It’s not just the Unknowing, either. Jon has massive amounts of trust issues and is very unwilling to confide in others or ask for help. Some of those trust issues were supernaturally induced in season 2, but I believe they existed even before that. Even in season 1, Jon thinks he is alone in his problems, he’s alone in the work he has to do. That is an egotistical perspective. He does not recognize that maybe other people do understand, that they do want to help, that he doesn’t have to be alone in this world. I imagine much of this perspective comes from being an orphan who was bullied as a child; if you spend your whole childhood relatively isolated, it stands to reason that you’d believe yourself to be unique in a way the people around you are not, alone in your situation. It could also be some twisted form of survivor’s guilt from Mr. Spider, because someone died in Jon’s place. Therefore he must be important, otherwise that kid died for nothing. It’s impossible to say for sure what caused it, but what I can say for sure is that Jon has a pretty self-centered outlook on life.

The last bit of evidence in support of Jon being self-centered comes from seasons 4 and 5. This is when he is at his most self-sacrificial and his most guilty, and the reason for that is because of his ego. In season 4, he believes himself to be responsible for all the trauma and death that’s been going on in the archives during and after the Unknowing. In season 5, he blames himself almost exclusively for the apocalypse. And while I can understand to some extent why he believes those things – most of the other characters blame him for it too, for starters – when you look at the actual events, there’s really no reason for him to shoulder all the responsibility. Daisy says so in episode 136, and the rest of the (living) main characters say so in episode 199. With regard to the Unknowing, Jonah was the one who pushed them to stop it, and everyone involved agreed to the plan. After the Unknowing, he was in a literal coma, making it impossible for him to help with any of the Archive’s problems. The apocalypse was planned by the Web, embodiment of manipulation, plus all the characters contributed to the ritual succeeding in their own way. Jon’s conviction that somehow, he alone could have stopped things and so he alone should bear the burden of sacrifice to set things right is hugely egotistical, not to mention entirely false. He’s setting himself on a pedestal, holding himself to a higher standard than the people around him. It’s ironic and tragic, but it’s unavoidable given who Jon is and what he has been through.

So. If Jon is self-centered, where does that leave Martin? Well, he’s pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum. If I wanted to be mean about it, I could say Martin considers himself to be maybe one step above worthless. And that would probably be an exaggeration, but it’s true that Martin prioritizes and considers almost everyone else before himself, and does not consider himself influential or important in any capacity. There is of course his infamous line in 198, “I didn’t really think I was important enough to kill.” There’s also the fact that Peter’s attempt to convert him to the Lonely failed explicitly because Peter placed too much importance on Martin specifically, as is revealed in 158 inside the Panopticon.

The situation with Peter in season 4 is especially notable, because as I mentioned earlier, it directly parallel’s Jon’s position in season 3 with the Unknowing. Peter has told Martin that there is an existential threat to humanity, and that he, Martin, is the only person equipped to stop it. That’s almost exactly what Elias/Jonah told Jon about the Unknowing. Unlike Jon, though, Martin rejects this. He rejects the idea that he could be important enough to save the world by himself, that he could be a “chosen one” in any capacity, and in doing so destroys Peter’s plan. And he was right! Unlike Jon, who was wrong in season 3. There’s something to be said here about how The Magnus Archives simultaneously rejects and embraces the idea of fate: there are no true “saviors”, destined to save the world, but the characters still cannot avoid the final, tragic outcome of the story. But that’s a topic for another essay. The more relevant point to make here is that despite Martin being right, he made this choice because of his low self-esteem and his tendency to de-center himself. It is once again a moment of tragic irony, that the decision Martin makes because he believes himself to be unimportant turned out to be one of the most important decisions of the whole podcast. It’s what led to Jon’s final mark, putting the last nail in the coffin of the world.

(Author’s Note: It’s interesting that despite feeling personally insignificant in the grand scheme of things, Martin’s the one who says “I think our experience of the universe has value. Even if it disappears forever.” It’s sort of like, the “everyone matters and is important except for me” outlook on life that is depressingly common. That’s not super relevant to this essay, but it makes me emotional, so I’m including it.)

Those are the most explicit examples of Martin’s low self-worth, but they are not the only ones. He spends most of the first three seasons trying to help other people, whether that’s by making tea, being a sympathetic ear, trying to play mediator, or whatever else he’s doing. He is pathologically incapable of putting himself first until season 4 at the earliest. As Alex said in the season 4 Q&A, he sets himself on fire trying to keep other people warm, and unlike Jon’s self-sacrificial tendencies in later seasons, he’s not doing it out of a misguided guilt or feeling of responsibility. He just genuinely believes other people’s wellbeing is more important than his own. This almost certainly comes from his relationship with his mother, both due to her being abusive and because he had to become her primary caretaker at a young age. He was never given space to have needs or wants of his own, so as an adult he only knows how to cater to other people’s needs and wants. It takes several years of additional trauma for him to learn how to take care of himself first.

I want to make it very clear that I’m not trying to paint Martin as some sort of soft “uwu” character, which I know some people in the fandom try and do. For starters, he’s a total bitch (affectionate). But more importantly, he’s also a very proactive character. I mean, his first introduction is him bringing supernatural parasitic worms into his workplace to prove a point, and the reason he encountered those worms is because he illegally broke into an apartment building. He willingly (well, sort of willingly) throws himself into the action – but he does so for other people, typically to protect or take care of them. It isn’t until season 4, at the height of his loneliness and depression, that he stops caring for others, and even then he doesn’t replace that with caring about himself. He just stops caring about everything altogether. Season 5 is when he finally starts expressing his own needs, after his character arc is mostly completed.

Jon and Martin’s respective egos also bleed into the way they interact and align themselves with the entities. Jon is egotistical, and Jon is an avatar of the Eye. In order to properly inspire the right kind of fear, Jon has to insert himself into experiences that aren’t remotely about him. The primary example of this is the nightmares: before giving a statement, someone might have nightmares about the experience itself, and be frightened of whatever entity was involved. After giving a statement, however, Jon, the Archivist, is inserted into those nightmares, so that now instead of being afraid of the original experience, the statement giver is afraid of being watched during that experience. The Eye, and Jon by extension (however unwillingly), has taken someone’s trauma and made itself the focal point. The center, if you will.

On the other hand, Martin’s experience with the Lonely is largely an exercise in fading away. He can make himself go somewhere else when other people are around. He’s trying to be as peripheral as possible, avoiding everyone and making sure he is not an important feature in their lives. This is most intense in episode 170, where Martin loses all sense of self in the Lonely domain that he became a victim of and all memory of who he is. I don’t know if there’s an opposite to being self-centered, but “having no self at all” is probably a strong contender.

Also, Martin is not directly Web-aligned, but he is definitely good at manipulation, which I think also comes from his tendency to center other people. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of manipulators who are self-centered, but Martin’s specific brand of manipulation mostly involves telling people what they want to hear, playing into their expectations, using their own preconceptions against them, etc. His methods all require pretty good insight into other people, and they require Martin to step out of his own head and determine what other people will expect or think. He has to de-center himself in order to effectively predict, and thus effectively manipulate, other people. And once again, this is definitely a skill he learned growing up in abusive household. I imagine he had to tell his mother what she wanted to hear a lot, in an attempt avoid the worst of her cruelty. That’s straying into the realm of headcanon though, so take it with a grain of salt. I just harbor a lot of hate for Martin’s mom, and I simultaneously love making myself hurt thinking about them, so I mention their relationship whenever I can.

Anyways. My main point is that Jon and Martin’s egos shape much of the story, and both of them contribute to the apocalypse in their own way. It’d be impossible to list all the concrete examples of this, simply because every decision they make in the podcast leads in part to the apocalypse, and each one of these decisions is informed by their respective egos. Still, I’ll try to summarize the most important moments. First of all, had Jon not believed himself solely responsible for stopping the rituals, had he rejected Elias/Jonah’s assertion that he was some kind of hero, he likely would not have played along with Jonah’s game for so long, and the apocalypse would not have happened. On the other hand, if Martin had believed Peter telling him he could be a hero, he would have joined the Lonely and ended Jonah’s plan. Going back to Jon, if he hadn’t been so insistent on taking all the blame for the trauma and death and disaster that occurs, he probably wouldn’t have been so eager to sacrifice himself. He wouldn’t have jumped into the coffin, most likely, and though this is after the apocalypse, he wouldn’t have become the Pupil (which, btw, Jon becoming the Pupil was quite literally him making himself the center of the ruined world and thus a very self-centered action) and tried to doom himself and the world. And hell, if Martin had a bit more self-esteem he might not have fallen for Jon at all! Because let’s be honest, Jon was pretty shitty to Martin for almost two years. And obviously if they hadn’t fallen in love, the whole course of the show would have been radically different, so who knows what that outcome would have been. Their personal views on their own self-importance are thus massively influential.

Before I close, I want to say this is not me condemning either Jon or Martin. They are both a product of their circumstances; they both make good and bad decisions repeatedly. I especially want to make it clear, once again, that I’m not calling Jon selfish, and I’m not calling Martin a pushover. These are two extremely complex, well-written characters, and I tried my best to acknowledge that in this essay. Also, self-centered does not equal selfish, and low self-esteem does not equal a pushover. And though the extremity of their egos are personal flaws, no character is perfect and no character should be perfect, so really I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And now for a last bit of heartache: in the end, their love for each other is what allows them to overcome their ego or lack thereof. In general, Martin prioritizes himself and his desires more than ever before in season 5, not just because of Jon. But his final decision – voting to pass the Fears to other worlds in order to save their own – was primarily motivated by a selfish desire to save Jon, a desire to build a life with the man he loved without pursued by terror-monsters. And Jon made his final decision to step down from being the final hero (or villain, depending on your perspective), to set aside his guilt and sense of responsibility, to remove himself from the center of the world, because he couldn’t bear to watch Martin die, and he couldn’t bear to doom the world with Martin still in it. It’s poetry. Terrible, tragic, heartbreakingly romantic poetry.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Strangers in both Bobby's & Buck's houses

T@ylor Ke!!y and Jonah Greenway are strangers

In Season 5, both Bobby and Buck invited strangers into their houses. If you're not aware, Bobby is Buck's pseudo dad. They look a lot alike (similar height and facial features) and Bobby taught Buck how to cook, how to be respectful and how to step into a love relationship during season 1. Buck was 25 years old when he joined the 118 and Bobby took him underneath his wing. He taught Buck everything he knows so it's extremely interesting that both of their downward spirals are about to collide and happen at the same time due to the people they believed they could trust.

Evan “Buck” Buckley

After several months of being in a dead relationship with T@ylor, Buck made a mistake and kissed Lμcy in 5x11 "Outside Looking In" and instead of admitting what he did, he lied.  Then he learned that Lμcy was going to be the new firefighter at the 118.  While in his guilt spiral, he asked T@ylor to move in with him in 5x13, "Fear O Phobia"🙄🙄🙄 instead of admitting to his mistake. 

He was clinging to her since a lot of his real and found family had left him during 5A.  What Buck didn't know was even though he already knew T@ylor; he didn't realize she hadn't changed. He’s changed a lot since they first met but she hasn’t and probably never well.  Actually, she is the same person he met in 2x6 "Dosed".  She is the same immature and manipulative local news reporter who does anything to get a story.  He thought she had changed and since he was spiraling about being abandoned; he asked her to move in.  They don't know each other well enough to cohabitate so him asking her to move in was essentially him welcoming a stranger into his loft.  He told Maddie in 5x13 that he asked her to move in because he was clinging to her.  And to prove how much they don't know each other, when she finally moved in, they hadn't even discussed whose 🛏️🪑🛋️ they were going to keep. 

In 5x17 Buck came face to face with the T@ylor he met 4 years ago. The version that tried to hurt his pseudo dad and his found family.  She's up to her old tricks and doing the same thing she did in 2x6, prematurely running the details of a story that’s connected to the 118.  It appears she doesn’t possess a moral compass and that’s a shame because to be an effective reporter, one needs to understand both ethics and morals.   All she cares about is her job and she still doesn't consider how her actions could hurt other people.

Captain Robert “Bobby” Nash

In 5x11 "Outside Looking In" Bobby introduced Jonah Greenway to those that were left of his found family.  At the time, Jonah appeared to be a friend since he had experience as a paramedic, but little did Bobby know he was actually a stranger.

Eddie and Chimney were gone so Bobby felt the need to fill their spots.  Unbeknownst to him, he made two horrible choices in the people he hired.  Jonah was hired to fill in for Chimney as a paramedic and since Ravi was still there as Buck's partner, only Bobby and the writers know why he hired Lμcy😕😕😕. Since Jonah was relatively unknown there really wasn't a way for Bobby to know about his "Hero Complex" unless he had performed an extensive background check on him.  He could have contacted the other FDs in the cities where Jonah previously worked and asked a lot of questions about his job hopping.  He could have done a working interview that would have allowed Hen the opportunity to work with him for a little while before officially hiring him.  He could have been direct and asked Jonah to provide details regarding why he changed jobs so much.  Either way Bobby feels guilty and he's starting to spiral.  In 5x17 "Hero Complex" after Jonah's arrest, Bobby told Athena "I let that man into my house"; therefore he feels responsible for the members of his found family who were put in danger.  Chimney almost died and Hen was drugged and had to watch her best friend code twice while Jonah played God.

T@ylor & Jonah-Hero Complex Similarities

Due to major life changing events, both of them received a lot of media attention when they were children. T@ylor received it because her father murdered her mother and Jonah received it because he saved his school bus driver's life by performing CPR on him. Receiving attention from the media sparked the beginnings of their warped senses of reality regarding what it actually means to be a hero.  Their need for constant attention became heightened the older they became which caused both of them to desire to be in the spotlight. Always wanting to be the center of attention became like a drug for them and they started to crave it in order to feel worthy.   It’s like a dopamine hit for their psyches when anyone shows them attention. They both have twisted viewpoints regarding the proper way to help people so instead of helping people for good, they started emotionally (T@ylor) or physically (Jonah) hurting people.  

They're attention seekers who act without empathy and are possibly borderline sociopaths. It appears neither of them had therapy when they were young that would have helped them learn how to keep things in perspective.  They are strangers to themselves and to anyone they come in contact with because both of them learned how to apply a “mask” that hides who they really are.  Being gleeful whenever someone around them is hurting can’t be normal. It's almost like they want to see people get hurt. T@ylor and Jonah seem "fascinated" with the idea of serial killers or by seeing people in pain. They both have a Hero Complex which includes a constant desire to have people notice them. They're only happy when all eyes are focused on them and they both have a need to be praised. They affirm their imaginary belief that they are saving people by confusing the truth with nothing but lies and confusion. Life is only thrilling for them when they feel needed by someone else and they lash out when they don't get their way. Instead of overcoming their childhood experiences, they have allowed those experiences to consume them.  

T@ylor and Jonah are both familiar strangers that Buck and Bobby trusted but shouldn't have because they've both tried to hurt individuals inside of the 118's found family. 

Season 6 will be interesting because both Buck and Bobby will be spiraling at the same time. Even though they couldn't control the actions of those they invited into their houses; they will still internalize it and blame themselves for what happened. The good news is they can survive it with the love and support of the 118.

[inklingofadream]

hey ok 3 seconds into tma rewatch and i have Thoughts:

Now, the Institute was founded in 1818, which means that the Archive contains almost 200 years of case files at this point. Combine that with the fact that most of the Institute prefers the ivory tower of pure academia to the complicated work of dealing with statements or recent experiences and you have the recipe for an impeccably organised library and an absolute mess of an archive. (MAG 1)

So this is on a Doylist level part of the justification for why the archives gang do so much practical research on the statements, but the early installment weirdness on not quite knowing how the institute functions yet, but that plus jon a bit before this stating he’s familiar with their “ongoing projects and contracts” and later in the season tim talking about the grad students implies that the institute also does a lot of like. Books and articles about the supernatural. (idk where these are being published bc it sounds like they aren’t necessarily respected enough for most academic presses or journals lol)

But we know Jon was in Research, along with tim and sasha. And later he goes up to help out with the influx of new garbage statements they get around Halloween (MAG 55). So clearly someone  is gong through the new statements,although based on the description they’re mostly p lightly researched- probably calling up ppl mentioned besides the statement giver and saying “hey did this happen?” and when the friend or whoever says “no he said he was gonna go give y’all a statement for a goof” it’s marked closed.

What I would like to posit is that the institute has several functions practically:

the library probably gets a fair bit of funding, so they can get basically any relevant work published and add it to their collection.

This is where you’ll have a lot of the grad students hanging around. probably a handful of other academics from various institutions, too. In addition to the students working on paranormal stuff, I’d guess you also have a fair number from history, folklore, psychology, and a smattering of other disciplines who’re there for rlly rlly niche projects on physics or architecture. Like i’d imagine anyone in the area doing work on spiritualism ends up in the institute library eventually- if they have any primary sources like journals or manuscripts from jonah’s whole gang, for example, i’d assume they’re in the library bc the archives seem to be exclusively statements.

Honestly Im like 50% sure the institute has contracts with whatever like ghost hunting type shows exist in the uk to contribute research and have someone respectable looking come do talking head segments as needed. this goes up to 100% for the usher foundation, bc i KNOW we have hella programs like that in the states. like Finding Bigfoot has a donor plaque in the foyer of the usher foundation

Other contracts and projects are probably with a handful of other, non-entity orgs devoted to the paranormal, plus whatever the Lukases, Fairchilds, et al decide they want.

Research, I would like to propose, is supposedly all one big department, but in practical terms contains 2 factions:

The segment Jon worked with for the most part, following up on statements and artifacts. probably smaller, except when they manage to draft the rest in for like halloween and such. the regulars are probably mostly the ppl jon gets annoyed at for being credulous and thinking every statement’s legit

the rest are ppl under the institute banner who are working in the library, doing research for outside contracts, institute wide contracts, and writing whatever gets published out of the institute. probably mostly more concerned with the supernatural as like. an intellectual exercise than jon would be, instead of finding out what’s legit and what isn’t. otherwise they’re mostly more jon’s type of ppl, with the academic distance etc.

Artefact Storage is prolly a host unto itself. Sometimes research’ll get tagged to get an item’s history but like. only ppl who work there go there

The archives are also their own thing. no one goes there.

Why does this matter? I would like to posit 2 reasons.

The first is that it explains part of why the Institute isn’t v respected academically. Everywhere else would have whatever primary source stuff and unique books they have down in the archives/special collections with the statements. I don’t know a ton about library science, but I don’t think things usually end up split/mixed like they are at the institute. Plus, there is very much an area where the Institute could be a valued collection! If the archives were organized. In theory, the Archives should be a valued and respected resource for folklorists! No one in folklore studies cares if a story is true; as far as they’re concerned, the archives are full of memorates that could be really useful. Like academic texts in folklore will generally have quotes from ppl’s ghost stories (or tall tales or folk songs etc) intercut with analysis of patterns and what they mean. But they’re organized so terribly. If they were devoted to folklore instead of the supernatural, you’d expect a taxonomy of subject- our collection here at my university stuff organized by like “supernatural: religious” “supernatural: non-religious” “customs” etc. But no one would be terribly put out combing through them if they were organized by date or like. at all.

The second is that since the archives and artefact storage are pretty much self contained, most of the daily interaction between institute employees is between people in research and the library. Giving you people like Jon as a put upon minority among “ivory tower” types, from that sub population of researchers and the ppl in the library. Jon’s worked at the Institute for like 5 years, and he’s too himself for a proper rivalry, but it’s very easy to see the people like him and tim who believe that Some Things Are Supernatural and would like proof bumping heads with the rest. Giving him a general dislike for people from the library. AND! an extra reason he takes an extra dislike to martin instead of going “o thank goodness, libraries are way more like archives than research what do we do?” :)

[jeffchats]

Livestream Recap 03/20/2022.

Jeff is doing the livestream with Steven and Kyle.

Jeff’s biggest misconception is he appears short but he’s actually tall.

Steven has the same manager as Vinnie Hacker (his name is Nick).

Steven in Utah weighed 221 and now he weighs 203. He’s on a weight loss journey.

Jeff feels light and weak and weighs 167.

People want Oscar to talk more but he edits himself out, lol.

They’re working on next weight loss series.

They did a Patreon vlog today and they know they are behind. They filmed his “therapy” session with Amen and hope to release it tomorrow.

Vinnie’s episode will probably be released in two weeks. There’s a line up with new guest and they’re trying to line them up in a certain order. They’re going a little road trip and I guess filming barbershops. They’ll have Vinnie, some UFC fighter (not confirmed yet since he’s in training camp), and three more but they want to shoot and stacked up. They are encouraging Steven to fight the UFC guy but Steven doesn’t want to, lol.

Jeff talks about Catholic guilt. Jeff grew up Catholic and went to Catholic Church (he thought it was boring) and goes to church by his place and he said it was fun cause they’re playing music and stuff. Jeff believes there’s a god and things happen for a reason.

Sal just got the wires out of his mouth.

Jeff had a golden retriever/German mix named Ernie but ran away when they went to Disney World. Ernie jumped the fence when he was staying at grandparents house. They canceled the trip and didn’t get to go to Disney World to go home and find him. Steven and Kyle keep interrupting Jeff during this story 🙄. Three days go by and the whole neighborhood is looking for the dog and he comes back all skinny. Ernie once got hit by a car and when he died Jeff’s dad buried Ernie himself. Jeff loved Ernie.

Jeff would like to have Doja Cat on the podcast and says Doja is his type and would date her.

Jeff kicks Kyle and Steven outside for 5 minutes cause they say Fuck Ernie during Jeff’s story.

Someone tells him to stop hanging out with 20 year olds and he says they’re his content boys and he hung out with Mike today but that isn’t any better, lol. The friends his age stabbed him in the back. He tells people (DefNoodles) not to clip that part out of context.

Oscar arrives and he’s closer to Jeff’s age.

Steven breaks Jeff’s stair (one step).

Jeff put the heat on for Nerf while they were out. Nerf gets the red bag that has English bulldog for his food.

They would post the roast on Patreon but they have to blur things out and that will take awhile. Bryce posted a clip of it. Oscar suggests doing a live where we watch it with them and then delete it.

They have a debate if there’s more wheels or doors in the world.

Jeff has never hit any of his employees but has sparred with them. Mike one time hit Jonah.

Jeff shows his deodorant sample. It’s unisex and Kyle says it smells like clean laundry. Jeff wishes they were in store so that we could see it and what not because it’s online but he says to trust him, lol.

Jeff wants to make sure that if he does have women on the weight loss series, he wants to make sure it’s respectful to women (in terms of what he calls the series). Says thanks to his mom for raising him to respect women.

Working on live shows and getting that going.

They did a burger review with Mike and impersonating him and Mike took offense to that. “We gaslit Mike.”

Someone asked about addiction and Jeff says that he is addicted to everything and this question would be better for Mike. He says that he goes into knowing the pain meds are just for surgery and that’s it. Jeff doesn’t support selling opioids.

They’re planning an event in May in LA.

Jeff got COVID twice and it’s real.

Jeff doesn’t check his crypto. He goes on a rant about NFTs.

Jeff grew up with scumbags and backstabbers so he’s use to it and it is what it is. Oscar and Cody use to live in apartment together.

Jason tried to talk and Jeff didn’t want to talk cause he “didn’t want to get gaslit”. He clarifies Jason was just there in David’s podcast (?) and probably didn’t want to gaslight Jeff and tried to make peace but “sometimes peace can’t be made”.

Jeff learned to clean/mop the floor in jail (frog technique).

They won’t do a podcast high and Oscar doesn’t smoke.

Jeff hasn’t seen the new Batman.

Jeff is doing great today, had a good day at the beach, had fun running on the beach and the boys got electric scooters.

They show Nerf. Jeff loves Nerf more than Ernie.

The whole livestream Kyle talks about Gurt ????????????.

Jeff doesn’t care if he bumps into David/VS at an event. Jeff also doesn’t really go out.

Jeff’s billboard is up for a couple more weeks.

Some person asks for a birthday gift and Jeff says to privately message him so his team can take care of it.

Talks about Paddy the Baddy and Molly the Meatball (fighters).

[dangerous-disposition]

On Tragedy vs. Bad Endings

[Image ID: user @frostyfrogz​ replied to your post “my mag171 #thots: I fully agree with. I love jonmartin I want nothing but the best for them. I know my answer today was an obvious twisting of dialogue but its just frustrating sometimes because it seems like people dont understand some sort of tragedy will indeed happen. I have never and will never suggest that something will happen to Jon and Martin’s relationship I’ve just been saying the shows not going to end well no matter what.]

So I have a lot of thoughts about this very subject, and too much for the replies on my post, so allow me to try to articulate what I mean, and what a lot of us mean when we say “it does not make sense for either Jon or Martin to turn evil in the end,” even in a show that has been advertised from day one as a tragedy.

First of all, no one thinks this is going to end happy. The few who do are usually unaware that this show is billed as a tragedy, and are quick to be corrected. I didn’t know it was a tragedy until I was on season 3 and someone told me. It’s overall just best to assume that the OP knows it’s not going to be a happy ending, because “reminding” people or “explaining” to people that the ending is going to be sad is a fast way from people to get annoyed and defensive.

Anyway! It appears, above all, that people have either fundamentally different ideas of what a tragedy is or accomplishes, or that people have a fundamentally flawed understanding of tragedy and it’s place as a narrative device/theme.

My thoughts are that tragedies hurt, and tragedies can be devastating, but they have to have a message and they should not be cruel to the audience.

A cruel ending would involve leading the audience to believe one thing for the entire book, show, movie, podcast, what have you, just to rip it away at the last minute like a big “fuck you” to the audience. Those sorts of endings are inherently mocking of the audience, and ultimately disrespectful. The only people in the audience that “benefit” from this sort of writing are the cynics who spent the entire show talking down to everyone for seeing the silver lining in the impending tragedy, even if, up until the finale, the silver lining was always part of the narrative. Like it took actual twisting and outright ignoring of the narrative as it’s written to be cynical and sceptical all the way until the end.

That is, plain and simple, bad writing. Jonny Sims is not a bad writer.

Now tragedies often have “happy endings,” they just also have an element of sadness colouring that ending. A good, tragic ending should, in my opinion, feel bittersweet. We should see it coming, we should know it will hurt, but it should be for the greater good and should further the narrative that has been told from the beginning.

I said a few weeks ago that a tragic ending without a silver lining is just torture porn, and I stand by it.

Now, if Jon or Martin are revealed to be Actually Evil in the end, where is the silver lining in that? What narrative has even possibly hinted at this outcome, without putting on cynic glasses?

Every single plot point and plot “twist” in TMA has been clearly detailed, never relegated to pure subtext that you would have to comb through a single interraction and analyzing the tone in which it was said (which could easily be actor shortcomings or error). They have always been obvious, at least in hindsight. This is why, for a while, I subscribed to the Web!Martin theory, but due to recent episodes I’m more inclined to believe those “obvious things” were red herrings.

Throughout The Magnus Archives, the common theme in every. Single. Season finale is that “we are stronger together.” What do I mean by that? Well, here’s the general idea:

Season 1: The one time someone gets separated by the group for any significant length of time, like I mean the main group, she gets killed by the NotThem and replaced.

Season 2: Jon is alone, due to his intense paranoia and his reluctance to reach out for help. This leads to a disastrous series of events that leaves him a suspect of murder, and his friends even more doubtful of his character.

Season 3: In the episode just before they deal with the Unknowing, Jon literally says that isolation was his downfall, and he was going to work on trusting his friends more. When they got separated during the Unknowing, things went to shit. When they found each other again, they were able to rally and they “succeeded.” Conversely, they are also teamed up with Melanie and Martin who hung back to bring down Elias. They were successful, working as teams on separate objectives, etc.

Season 4: This is, by far, their most “successful” feats while simultaneously their least. The whole season was again showing the downfalls of isolation. In the season finale, Jon has Basira and Daisy’s help, and while bolstering himself with their strength, and the strength in his conviction to save Martin to be with Martin, Jon was successful in stopping Peter Lukas and saving Martin. Conversely, Martin and Jon’s isolation in Scotland could be, theoretically, implicated in how Jonah Magnus was able to succeed in the end like that.

Now evidence of this same train of thought in season 5? Jon literally says it: Gertrude would not have done well in this post-apocalyptic world, because she had no friendships, no anchors, no reason to stay human. And then Jon says “you are my reason” to Martin.

It is in the text of the story that the only way to succeed, or win, or survive, is through trust, friendship, and love. One of the main factors in so many of the statements, on why the statement givers succumbed to the fear in their story, for even a moment, had to do with very little personal ties to anyone else. Many of the statements feature isolation and, as Jon put it, “lack of corroboration.” On the flipside, many of the statements that ended with the statement giver escaping successfully, and surviving long enough to be reached out to for follow-up questions, involved them having close personal ties to someone else that kept them safe, somehow. Like the girl from Italy; remembering her mom saved her from the Lonely. Or, more ridiculously, the guy and his dog that escaped the spiral because he was so distracted by his dog and had to be home for dinner. In MAG170, it was Martin’s love for Jon, and his trust in the love from Jon and his friends, that saved him from the Lonely again. Jon’s incredible amount of love, and respect, and trust in his friends is what’s kept him from becoming another Jared Hopworth or Jude Perry. In MAG155, Cost of Living, he expresses open disgust in how that particular avatar of The End justified her actions, killing and killing and killing again because she viewed herself as more worthy of life than that person. In that same episode, he talks of not blinding himself because he hopes to use his powers to protect his friends, that without them they’re too vulnerable. Honestly, this is the same reason Peter Lukas is unsuccessful, because Martin only helped him at all to protect his friends. The fact that he didn’t see his failure coming was hilarious.

Gerry said in Family Business that there is no “entities of love”, and that might be true, but love and trust is literally what saves you from fear. How many of us deal with things that are scary in our lives, if only because we have some level of trust in the people or things around us. How many of us have been brought out of a panic attack by someone we love and trust?

So all of this has been presented to us, over and over and over again, which is what I, and others, mean when we say “it does not make sense for one of them to be evil.” That’s what we mean when we say “it would be Bad Writing to make one of them evil in the end.” The entire show has driven home the message that we need love, we need personal connections to survive fear. To rip that away from the main characters at the last minute and call it “tragedy” would be a spit in the face of every single listener who took the story at face value, without picking it apart and reading lines out of context. And Jonny Sims and Alex J. Newall have both said they hate lazy writing.

Now, none of the JonMartin fans I follow are deluding themselves to think this show will have a happy ending outside of very self-indulgent fix-it au fanfics.

The way I see this going down is that Jon and Martin will figure out how to put the world back to the way it was, but Jon will not be able to be part of the new world with Martin. That’s the tragedy; that the world gets saved, and Jon helps save it, but he doesn’t get to benefit from his efforts in any way. The tragedy is Jon loves Martin so much, and they deserve their happy ending, but they don’t get it. But, they still saved the world so others can have their happy endings.

Idk about you, but between the “Jon turns evil in the end” and “Jon stays good and sacrifices himself to save the world” endings, only one of them has me in tears right now as I type this out, and it’s not the former.

I’m not against sad endings,I’m against bad endings that punish the audience for having even a bittersweet hope. I’m against sad endings that are just sad for the sake of being sad, with zero pay-off or reason to happen, especially when those endings throw out 5 years of hard work.

And hey, I might just be forced to eat my words in the end, but not before I fly all the way to England and make Jonny Sims eat a knuckle sandwich.

This was a lot longer than I meant for it to be, but I just have a lot of feelings.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About the First Season of--

Salutations random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When I first saw the sneak peek of--

...I...didn't...think it would be anything all that special. I love animation, and I love superheroes, so it would go without saying that I would love an animated series about superheroes. But the animation looked a little too stiff for my liking, and aside from featuring J.K. Simmons, there wasn't anything grabbing me when it comes to this show.

Then I heard some s**t goes down at the end of episode one. So, letting my curiosity get the better of me, I binged the entire series in a day to see what the fuss was about. And, um...Yeah. Holy s**t.

This is a series that will very much make you uncomfortable in all the right ways. However, it is a gigantic gorefest at times, so if you get queasy after a single drop of blood, DON'T WATCH THIS SHOW! Trust me, you will not be prepared for what this series has to offer.

At the same time, I highly recommend you watch this series before reading this review. I'm going to spoil major plot points and characters so I can appropriately discuss what I think about the season, so trust me when I say you should click away if you haven't watched it yet. It's one of those series that are better to go in as blind as possible. You can call it a cheap way to appeal to shock value, but I call it one of the best reasons why--

...Is a contender for best-animated series of the decade--That bit with the title card isn't going away anytime soon, is it?

WHAT I LIKE

The Guardians of the Globe vs. The Mauler Twins: This is the best possible way for the series to begin. The first fight scene is bright, colorful, and kinda fun. Thus setting the ultimate expectation subversion in making audiences think that will be the series staple. However, just because it has the energy of a harmless superhero fight, there is a sense of intensity as the Guardians give their all in saving others. Like that moment with Darkwing (Not the duck) as he rescues that woman without hesitation, despite knowing he might die because of it. Or Green Ghost, who just barely rescues all those civilians from that falling debris. It shows that you don't need intense scenes of violence to make a fight scene thrilling to watch.

Diversity Wins: I don't know how diverse the comics are compared to the show, but I'm impressed with how inclusive this series is. So many members of the main cast are people of color, with the main lead being half-Korean. And it's not just different races that the series shines a light on, as we also get the rare, but very much welcomed, animated male gay character. Who's thankfully isn't cliched in ten ways to Sunday...for the most part. It really does seem like writers are starting to grow up and that it's better to be as inclusive as possible instead of pretending certain people don't exist for the sake of "convenience." It might not solve oppression in general, but it certainly makes certain people feel better, even if it is briefly.

Mark Grayson: Mark is a pretty solid super-protagonist if you ask me. Sure, at first, he comes across as whiney...and even more so in later episodes, but he's really an endearing character at times. Mark nails the role of the relatable everyman that's also inspirational with his determination since he never gives up until beaten to the inch of his life. Seriously, while he might not entirely be--

...I guess that bit with the title card really isn't going away.

Anyways, while he might not entirely be invulnerable in the literal sense, he is very much so in the figurative sense. Mark, in so many ways, refuses to call quits once he finally gets the hang of being a superhero, which is what makes him so inspirational. Plus, it's funny seeing how much of a rookie he can be to the gig at times. Mark is far from a perfect lead but is still charming to a fault, and it's nice seeing him grow more heroic each episode. I hope to see him develop more in future seasons, as he has the potential to be ranked higher up as one of my favorite superheroes (it's hard to compete with Spider-Man and Batman, but he'll make me consider it).

Debbie Grayson: This is almost what I expect a mother and wife of superheroes would be. 

Your son is constantly crash landing in your yard? Tell him to knock it off because he's past his curfew. 

Your husband disappeared into another dimension to fight off invaders? Shrug it off and expect that he'll be late for dinner.

It's a ton of fun to watch, and I adore how supportive she is of Mark, despite how much danger he could be in as a superhero. But, what really endears me with Debbie is her complicated feelings with Omni-Man. There's not a doubt in my mind that she loved him with her whole heart, but she also isn't an idiot. She is quick to pick up how unheroic her husband can be at times, often scolding him for it when necessary. And when she finally starts investigating if he really did kill the Guardians, I love that she instantly comes up with every single plausible excuse she can, despite knowing the truth. Because she believes that she knows who Omni-Man is and refuses any possibility that he might be a supervillain. So when she finds out that there really is no other explanation and hearing him call her a pet (big ouch when that happened), you wanna know what she does? She cries. Not because the man she loved is gone forever, but because the idea of him is. And it's that level of emotional devastation that comes from those complicated emotions that make me think Debbie Grayson is the most complex and endearing character on the show. And I. Will. Stand by that.

Seeing the Guardians of the Globe on their down time: Wow, what a cute collection of scenes that are charming as much as they are heartwarming! A set of scenes that show how human these characters are with their close relationships with friends and family! I sure hope it's not followed up with a brutal emotional gut-punch of a scene that will be even more devastating after thinking back on these! Especially with that bit with Martian Man and the little girl, cause OOO-WEE, would THAT tear me up inside!

Omni Man destroying the Guardians of the Globe:...I'd follow through on my joke here, but holy s**t.

That's really the best way I can describe all of this. It is a brutal, I repeat, BRUTAL scene that will stick with you hours after watching it. Not only that, but it's one of the few instances when I was damn near speechless because I couldn't think of anything else to say other than, "Holy s**t." The only time another superhero property did that was Avengers: Infinity War, except with that, the only difference is that the characters come back. Here, except for The Immortal, the Guardians stay dead! There's no magic amulet or alternate versions from another dimension. No, they die and never come back. Thus setting up how serious the show can be. Because if these superheroes can stay dead, then so can others.

Plus, what makes it more impactful is how throughout the entire fight, there was a glimpse of hope that the Guardians can beat Omni-Man. I heard he got nerfed for the sake of drama, and I approve of that decision. Because if he was really--

...If he was really unbeatable, then the fight doesn't have weight to it. There wouldn't be a point in rooting for these characters to win when we already know they're going to lose. But, by showing there's a chance that they could win, it becomes all the more intense watching the fight and even more tragic seeing them lose. It is a masterpiece of a battle that proves once and for all: Batman is right. You need contingency plans.

Omni Man: J. Jonah Jameson has become the one thing he hates the most: A masked MENACE...Ok, I know Omni-Man doesn't wear a mask, so the joke doesn't work as well as it could. But it was served to me on a silver platter, damn it! I had to take it!

In all seriousness, though, Omni-Man might give Homelander a run for his money on best evil Superman. Because while Homelander might be terrifying in his own right with his style of evil, Omni-Man takes it a step up a notch with the mystery behind WHY he killed the Guardians of the Globe. We know right away that there's something off with him, but up until that point, we see multiple instances of Omni-Man doing the right thing rather than the wrong. Sure, he might come off as cold when interacting with people, but so does Batman and other great superheroes in comics. That doesn't mean he's evil. So when he does do something so incredibly heinous, we're left with this mystery as to why. Because there has to be a reason for it all, right? Like, maybe mind control or his family was threatened. Something and anything that means he was forced into killing the noblest of people. So when it turns out that his actions were intentional, it is already pretty devastating. But when we find out why he does these things, it paints how truly evil Omni-Man is, given how little respect he has for human life.

Plus, as terrifying as Homelander is, Omni-Man is ten times more of an engaging villain. With Homelander, what you see is what you get: A narcissist with a god complex. For Omni-Man, it's more or less the same thing, but it's something fed to him because of the conditioning from his planet. There is a tiny, molecule-sized part of him that genuinely cares about others. It doesn't change what he does, nor does it mean he deserves forgiveness (far from it), but it hints that maybe he's not evil because of his own ego. It's because of how he's trained to be. And judging by his pained expressions from Mark's words and the single tear he sheds when leaving everything behind, there's a chance that he might be willing to fight back that mentality.

Or he will stay evil, and that he'll return to do worse things in the future. I don't know. I haven't read the comics. But I feel like I don't need to read anything to tell you all that Omni-Man is up there as one of the most intriguing comic book villains of all time, and I can't wait to see what happens with him next.

This show is f**king Violent: I mean, I refer you back to that scene where Omni-Man destroys the Guardians of the Globe. But, unlike other shows that use violence to force that mature rating, I feel as though In--

...Title card. You were cute the first time, but now your novelty has quickly worn thin.

Anyways, I feel as though this show...uses gore more appropriately. More often than not, death and carnage get treated as a literal joke in adult cartoons because people are sick bastards, I guess. But with...the current series I'm talking about, it all has an impact. No one dies or gets mangled for the sake of shock value or for a laugh. Instead, every instance of this type of violence is to either make a point, set the tone, or prove just how dangerous a specific character is. It makes...the series more mature than most adult cartoons you'll find because it actually brings a worthy discussion for its violence rather than milking it to give the illusion of maturity. And I gotta respect the writers for doing that.

Cecil: This man is basically Nick Fury if he was overpowered but in a good way. There is just something about a man who knows superheroes are needed in the world but also trusts a "hero" like Omni-Man as far as he can throw him. Not only does Cecil have contingency plans for his contingency plans, but the guy also knows to send the right heroes out for the exact missions that require them. Plus, a man is an instant badass when he's stone-faced about a demon saying he'll go somewhere worse than hell and is calm when being face-to-face with an angry Omni-Man.

I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

The title card gets bloodier with each episode: This is just a really cool gimmick. It proves how intense this show can really be and how the stakes get higher and higher with each installment. Also, I like to think the amount of blood that splashes over the title card reflects how brutal the episode will be, especially with episode eight, 'cause holy hell.

The plot structure: The way the story works is very similar to how a comic book series handles its overarching narrative. Even though the writers begin a new arc that continues for a handful of issues, the overall main plot still develops in the background of the current adventure the hero goes through. That's basically how--

>Intense inhale<

>Calm exhale<

That's basically how THIS SHOW operates. Each episode can be seen as its own story that's given a ton of room to develop with its forty-five-minute runtime (which blew my f**king mind when I started binging it). Despite that, there's still a great sense of continuity. Everything involving Omni-Man and the mystery behind his murder of the Guardians gets fleshed out throughout the season, even when it takes the background of Mark's escapades. It really does feel like sitting down and taking the time to read an entire volume of comics, which I like to believe is the intention. After all, what's the point of making a series about superheroes if you don't make it feel like a comic book at least once?

Dark Blood: I desire a series based on this character alone. I know it's probably just Hellboy, but I want it. 

The idea of a demon solving murder crimes to work off his debt in Hell is too much of a remarkable concept to strictly be a c-plot in one series. Give Dark Blood a spin-off, damn it!

The Realistic Portrayal of a Superhero world: Unlike certain superhero properties--*cough* DC *cough*--it's--

>Huff<

>Puff<

>HUFF<

>PUFF<

>HUFF<

It's. This. F**KING. SHOW! That really does an excellent job at portraying how much it would suck to live in a world of superheroes. Sure, you got the cool battles and awe-inspiring heroes with incredible powers, but do you know what else you get? Hundreds upon thousands of people dying from the very threats those heroes fight against. Not to mention all the realistic physics that come from people like Mark trying to save others. Just look at how mangled that old woman looked when he attempted to help her. It, uh...It sure did not look great. Don't get me wrong, I love superheroes and the worlds they live in. But when watching a show like...this one, it really makes me appreciate how I don't live in those worlds with them.

It’s Still Funny: This is something I appreciate the most. When most superhero shows go for the realistic approach, they go with the doom and gloom route, making everything so melodramatic about how serious the world is. But here's the thing: Superheroes are f**king stupid.

Don't tell me they're not because they are. Superheroes have cornball hero names, bright costumes, and logos on their foreheads, chests, belts, and what-have-you. Taking a superhero too seriously is the worst mistake you could make, which is why I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Say what you want about Marvel having "too many jokes," but at least they know it's for the best to laugh at themselves and embrace the weirdness. It's something similar with...you know what. Because while the series tells a serious and realistic story about superheroes, it's still a story about superheroes. So it tells some jokes and some pretty funny ones at that. Because while it's essential to include some drama in a story such as the one in...you know what, it's just as important to never forget to have some fun.

“Earth is not yours to conquer.”: Such a great line that gains an even greater meaning once we fully know who Omni-Man is. The main creditor for how effective it is goes to J.K. Simmons for making the line sound explicit yet implicit at the same time.

Allen the Alien: ...It is an absolute crime that this character only has about six minutes of screentime. Allen is such a bro, partially because of Seth Rogan's performance, that I would honestly be upset if he doesn't show up more often in later seasons. Seriously, bring him back for more.

The Mauler Twins: Thankfully, these characters get as much attention as they deserve. The banter between the Mauler Twins is always entertaining, often being the comedic highlights at times. On top of being funny, they also work as efficient villains who can come across as threatening at times.

But what I love most of all about these two is the explanation behind the cloning process. The reasoning of why neither character remembers which one is the cone is a brilliant idea that I'm surprised no one else did in the past (to my knowledge). It also provides some excellent fruit for thought in wondering if it really is better to live your life not knowing if you're a clone or not. The whole thing is great to watch, and it makes me really glad for their inclusion...too bad they had to be forced into a story that makes a character look like a reckless superhero and an inconsiderate jackass to his friend. Seriously, what was up with that?

“That Actually Hurt”: This just might be my favorite episode of the first season. Machine Head is both equally hilarious and devious, Titan might just be my favorite character due to how intriguing his allegiances and motivations are, that final fight was the perfect amount of brutal, and we get the biggest hint of the man Omni-Man really is. Having him simply watching Mark instead of flying in to help him actually shocked me the first time seeing it. It's not until we learn what a Viltrumite really is that it becomes clear as to why. He doesn't care about saving his son but instead seeing Mark reach the same potential Omni-Man did during that smash fest the planet went through to reach perfection. And something tells me he felt more disappointment than sadness after seeing his son get nearly killed by Tony the Tiger (I know he has an actual name...but this is funnier to me). It's such a solid moment with great implications that just so happens to exist in an even greater episode.

Eve deciding to just help people for the heck of it: I actually love this idea more for the potential it has rather than what actually happens so far. Because the main reason why heroes don't fly around and solve every little minute problem people have is that they need to learn how to act without help. If you suddenly make food appear out of thin air or stopping forest fires, you're doing good, but there's also potential harm that comes from it. I think back to that episode of The Powerpuff Girls, where the townspeople are so idiotic and complacent with having their heroes solve every problem that they really can't think or act for themselves. A similar thing can happen with Eve if she's not careful. Even worse, if she keeps trying to end famine for farmers, because she might get into a Supergirl situation with people building a cult around her. And, you know, that's not going to be fun.

But again, that's just the potential that this presents. We--Or the people who haven't read the comics--don't know if Eve will actually face this issue. Regardless, we still get some solid moments that proves just how much Eve is a true hero in this series as she has no other motive to help people other than she just wants to. And I actually think that's pretty cool.

The Immortal’s rematch: I gotta hand it to the guy. Not a second after being brought back to life, and The Immortal's already flying off to get revenge on the bastard who killed his closest friends in the world. Or, globe, I guess.

I respect that, to be honest.

(As a bonus, The Immortal causing Omni-Man's eyes to become bloodshot adds to how evil he'll be in the last episode)

Mark trying to snap his dad out of mind-control: Oh, I felt that.

I'm pretty sure we all felt that.

Ow...Big ow.

The Train Scene: ...This is the most horrific thing I have seen in entertainment. Seriously, while Omni-Man annihilating the Guardians left me speechless, this is another level. Because him using Mark's body to kill a train full of people ramming into them, leaving Mark all the more helpless to stop it, makes a scene that is so...so hard for me to describe how effectively f**ked up it is. It's one of those moments where just by seeing it, you know why it's awful in all the right ways. And I will never forget the look of shock and horror on my face when it reflected onto my laptop's screen after the scene briefly cut to black soon after the carnage. Because if that doesn't explain how unmerciful this moment is, I don't know what will.

Saving Mark after the fight: I really love this because as it flashes between still images of people carrying Mark away after his brutal fight with Omni-Man, it really feels like you're reading a comic from panel to panel. It’s pretty neat. I won’t lie.

WHAT I DISLIKE

The Animation isn’t that great: Now, in terms of action, the animation is fantastic. You feel the impact of each attack, there are some creative uses of powers, and the gore is better implemented because it's all animated. As for everything else...yeah, it kinda sucks. Movements are a little stiff at times, the CGI backgrounds could use a bit more polish, and don't get me started on the CGI crowds of people. I understand the shortcuts that need to be taken to make everything else more effective, but man, this series needed a little more time in the oven before being shown to everyone. It's never too bad, but it can be pretty distracting at times.

Amber: F**k Amber. Just f**k her. Everything people tell you that is wrong with her is one-hundred percent on point. She is easily one of the worst love interests, and to me, it has everything to do with the fact that she knows Mark is--

...That she knows Mark is--

...

...

...ThatsheknowsMarkisInvinci--

--BECAUSE IT INVALIDATES ANY POINT SHE HAS, GOSH DANGIT! I don't give a single S**T if she's upset that he's late all the time! If Amber was always unaware of it, then I would understand. But having her know means that she thinks her issues are more important than Mark, oh, I don't know, SAVING THE PLANET! I mean, the girl helps feed the homeless! You would think she would understand.

But fine. Maybe Amber's just upset that Mark's lying to her. Sure. That's understandable...BUT WHAT THE F**K IS UP WITH HER BLOWING UP IN HIS FACE FOR NOT HELPING ANYBODY AT THE COLLEGE WHEN SHE KNOWS HE'S HELPING EVERYBODY!? Even if it's her giving Mark one last chance to tell her the truth (which is a mile of a stretch, and you know it), did she really expect him to reveal his secret with tons of people watching? That is a crazy expectation that no one should live up to!

Amber is quite possibly the worst thing about this show. She was fine at first, and her chemistry with Mark was on point, but MAN, did she get worse later on.

And if I see one mother f**ker calling me a racist because I don't like this character who just so happens to be black...I'm going to be upset, not gonna lie. Because that is a cheap shot to dismiss any criticism, especially since her race has NOTHING to do with why people hate her...Or, at least, most people.

Edit (5/27/2021): Disregard the above. The long and short is that I don’t like Amber. She just doesn’t sit right with me for the reasons that her anger towards Mark just never felt entertaining to me in comparision to everything else. But saying her thoughts and arguements are invalid is not cool, and I’m sorry to both any readers who are black or especially female who would be upset by this.

Rex-splode: I understand the point behind Rex. He's a character who we're supposed to hate, so it becomes so much more satisfying seeing others s**t on him. But those characters are hard to get right if you’re not careful. Make them too irritating, then any suffering they go through will seem too little. Make them not annoying enough, and their punishments can be too harsh. Rex fits into the "too irritating" category. It's satisfying to see Monster Girl wreck his s**t after he started commenting how ineffective she might be, but with what he pulled with Dupli-Kate, I feel as though he might deserve worse. Although I will admit Rex gets slightly better in later episodes, showing at least a smidgen of character development. But I don't think it's enough to make his a**holeness worth it. Still, I hope he at least becomes above decent in the next few seasons, which is way more than what I can say for Amber.

(Seriously, writers, if she just disappears without an ounce of an explanation in the season premiere, I won't question it. You have my word.)

Edit: I no longer agree with what I crossed out, but I won’t delete it either. I want people to know the mistake I made so I can prove that I changed in the future.

Robot cloning himself to be with Monster Girl: ...Nope! 

Nope!

Changed my mind.

I am NOT touching that.

I will touch a lot of things, but I will not touch--That came out wrong.

Please forget you read anything.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Let’s move on

Transitioning to the title card: Here it is! The nitpickiest of all nitpicks! But, seeing how it happens in every episode, meaning that the writers have no choice but to commit to it, means it's one of those things that viewers are forced to get used to. And boy, is the transition to the title card hard to get used to! Oh, you thought it was annoying how it kept happening in this review? Well...fair enough. But trust me when I say it's much more aggravating in the show.

The funny thing is, I had no problem the first time it happened. It was a cute way to introduce the character as well as the title of the series. But having that be the basis for transitioning to the title card every time was a gimmick that got old real quick. Especially since every time that a character says the word--

--it always feels forced. What's even more annoying is that sometimes it interrupts characters as they're saying invin--

LIKE! F**KING! THAT! Because interrupting someone before they say something is one thing, but doing so as they're saying it shows a sense of bad timing. Not even that, because this is something that I feel like could have been the easiest to change in the series by having someone go, "Hey, maybe we should edit out this single second."

It's laziness that doesn't happen often, but it still grinds my gears a bit. Plus, is there really no other smoother transition the writers could come up with? Did they really believe this is the best way to do it?

Think, writers! THINK!

It's fine to have a gimmick, but this is one that really shouldn't have any follow-through on.

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

That's about all the issues I have with the show. It's far from perfect, but still, an A- is pretty impressive work. The stuff that this series does right not only outnumbers the mistakes but also heavily outweighs them. Besides, no show in the history of creativity has ever been perfect in its first season. There are always dents that need to get buffed out and improve upon for the subsequent seasons to come. Only then can a series truly be Invincible from all criticism.

...

...Oh, sure. 

SURE!

NOW it lets me say it!

GOSH, DANGIT, I HATE THAT TITLE CARD!

[dandylion240]

You know the drill, all for my two favorites, please and thank you ^^

1. Which character is the most devoted to another character? Is that character equally devoted to them?

I think at the beginning of Evan and Jayden's story Evan was the more devoted character. He often felt overlooked and invisible. Sadly it wasn't until Jasper came into the picture that Jayden realized how much he loved Evan. They've been through so much and grown so much that they're both devoted to each other.

2. Which character has the strongest hatred for another character? In your opinion, is this hatred justified?

Well they both hated Jasper and yes that was justified. Jayden hates Ethan and has a difficult time not voicing his opinions. He doesn't want to hurt Evan's feelings. He understands the twin bond and he knows how much Evan hurts because of his brother. Is it justified? I'd say yes. Jayden is missing his twin and Ethan in large part is the reason Jonah is gone.

3. Are there any two characters who are keeping secrets from each other? What are these secrets? How would they both feel if they found out the other’s secrets?

Hmm at this point in their story they don't have any secrets. They've learned to communicate with each other and they don't keep secrets from each other. Out of the two of them Jayden would be the one to keep secrets and that would be mostly about his health. He doesn't want Evan to have to worry about him when he's so worried about Ethan right now.

4. Are there any characters who don’t realize just how strongly another character feels about them, whether those feelings be positive or negative? Over the course of the story, does anything make them realize? If so, what?

I was going to say Ethan but this isn't about him. Although Evan has made his opinion of his brother quite clear he hasn't point blank told him he thinks Ethan is an idiot and would be lucky if Jonah takes him back.

However between Evan and Jayden I think over the course of their story Jayden has seen how much Evan loves him and he very much regrets not seeing it earlier.

5. In your story, are there more close relationships between family, or between friends? Talk about one of these relationships, and why they’re so close.

It's very clear in this story that the strongest relationships are between family. Maybe I should give them friends XD Jayden and Jonah are very close; although after Jonah ranaway that put a wedge in their relationship that's been slowly healing. Once Jonah comes home Jayden is going to rectify that.

6. Are any characters jealous of other characters? Do they eventually learn to overcome this jealousy? If so, how?

Ethan I believe is jealous of Evan. Not so much because he wants Jayden but because of how close his brother is to Jayden. He wishes his and Jonah's relationship was more like that. Unfortunately for that to happen Ethan would need to respect Jonah and his needs instead of assuming he knows what's best.

7. Are there any two characters who used to be close, but now hold bitter sentiments toward each other? What caused this?

Evan used to be close with Ethan. He's now facing the very real reality that Ethan isn't what he appears to be. He's seeing a side of him he doesn't like and doesn't understand. He wants to help but it's not easy since being around him makes him physically ill. But he won't stop trying despite what he finds out. He reasons he wouldn't stop trying to help a stranger at the shelter than he's not going to do less for his own brother. But he'll be put to the test once he finds out what all the drugs are he took from Jonah's medecine cabinet.

8. Which two characters have known each other the longest? What is their relationship like?

Evan and his family. He's known his twin and his dad for the same length of time. He has a good relationship with his dad and a strained relationship with his brother at the moment.

Jayden and Jonah and their parents. Jayden is close to his family. He misses Jonah a lot and hopes one day that Jonah is able to come home. He wishes he was able to join in the search but he knows that isn't possible so he's doing what he can by taking in and caring for Jonah's kids.

9. Are there any two characters who pretend to feel differently about each other than they do? Does anything force them to reveal their real feelings?

Jayden is going to find it difficult not to tell Ethan off. He doesn't share Evan's feelings that he needs help. Jayden just wants to the guys face. If Jonah stays with Ethan Jayden may have words with Ethan that become heated and might come to blows despite Jayden's physical limitations. He is still capable of standing and it might be worth throwing a punch or two at the guy.

10. Are there any relationships in your story where one primarily “protects” the other? Do they protect this person physically, or do they keep secrets for the sake of the other’s well-being? Does this take an emotional toll on them?

Jayden has learned that Evan doesn't need protecting. He needs respect and support. Evan does the same for Jayden. He encourages him to go for what he wants even if it means a lot of hard work. They are each other's cheerleaders. This is something maybe eventually Ethan and Jonah learn to do.

Thank you for asking! I hope I did the right questions.

[betwixtofficial]

UNDERWING CHALLENGE DAY 3

Day 1 [X]

Day 2 [X]

Who is your main cast? Describe as many of your OCs as you can cram into one post.

Character Introduction-  this is by no means the entirety of our cast, not even close.

Leith and I each developed our own characters over many many years and I'm going to do my best to bring Leith’s characters to life as accurately as possible and I promise to love (torture) them like they're my own.

Andi’s characters-

Xavier Alexander Maxwell-   When it comes down to it, this is Xave's story. A small pale faerie-human halfling, with a painfully tragic beginning, looking for love and family in all the wrong places. Xavier has neon, glitter, and more sexual energy coursing through his veins than he knows what to do with. A faerie half he doesn’t always have control over, and between the Fae, the Zaccardas, and his own personal demons- all fighting for a chance to control him, it’s going to be a  long dark journey.    It’s not ONLY pain and dark. It's just MOSTLY pain and dark. ...you know, aside from all the glitter and neon.

Alexander- I wasn't planning on adding Alex to this, I am not sure how I didn't realize he was one of the main characters till now, but he shows up as often or even more often than any of the other characters besides Xave. Alex is Xavier's fae half. They are the very first human/faerie hybrid and though they aren't completely separate, there are some strong distinctions, and they communicate with each other, so they are separate enough for Alex to have his own blurb.

But really it's very difficult to tell where one of them begins and the other ends. They are the same being, They are both magic and mundane, they are both human and fae. Xave tends to lean more human, Alex tends to lean more faerie, they are both real. They do have somewhat distinct personalities, ... Xave is 2010 Bill Kaulitz (especially the blushy giggly interviews) and Alex is Adam Lambert in For Your Entertainment. In either case there is a lot of mascara involved. It's complicated.

Rivet Dragonrail-  A grown up lost girl with dark olive skin and brown eyes,  she has always tried to put her clouded origins behind her, but they never seem to stay put.  With freakish abilities she’d rather not have, a pervasive drinking problem she scoffs at, and an unfortunate talent for violence in the service of those for whom she is unwillingly compelled to play the role of savior,  it seems like she’s always walking a path hellbent on destruction.  She feels the sins she has committed are ceaselessly breathing down her neck, requiring atonement she does not know how to provide.  She would like nothing more than to stand in the eye of the raging storm of the lives lived and lost around her, screaming at the sheer horror of it all, giving a big middle finger to both heaven and hell alike.   But what good, really, would that do?  So she plods on-  her best friends are the knife on her hip,  the beer in her fridge, the damn raven-shifter who has adopted her out of morbid curiosity, the damn chicken she’s adopted out of sheer respect for his will to live....  and Jaq,  her ride or die that she can’t figure out her feelings for,  but it doesn’t fucking matter because that just ain’t happening. Jaq is as gay as it gets.

Ember Skye Arceneaux- He’s too good to be true.  No, really.   His smile is like sunshine poured into your soul.  Golden surfer boy good looks with sunkissed golden surfer hair tucked behind his ears, but his golden tan isn’t from the beach or the salon, it’s just his skin. Kind-hearted and generous.  Plays guitar and sings like an angel with a perfect soulful raspy voice...   And he loves Jaq absolutely and unconditionally, whether Jaq deserves it or not... and he’s Canadian.  His only flaw seems to be that he’s maybe a little too laid back?

Luca Zaccarda-  Since childhood his exceptionally ambitious mother has pushed him to leadership. She grafted her way on to the powerful Zaccarda family tree by marrying a younger son with no ambition past his next perfectly kneaded loaf of ciabatta, and then did everything in her power to see her eldest child reach the heights of power for which she believed he was destined. There’s only one problem- Luca doesn’t share her cut-throat nature. Ambition, power, and the trappings of wealth have never been the driving factors in his life and he’s set his mind to changing the status quo, mama and her scheming be damned.  Oh, he’s just as capable a leader as she believes him to be.  He’s no plump baker happily whistling away his hours in the kitchen like his father.. and he’s planning on taking down his own corrupt family,  one... by one... by one.    ...also... Mafia Werewolves anybody!?!

Teodoro Zaccarda- oh Teo, Teo, Teo.  The black sheep.  The playboy prince.  Constantly in the tabloids,  constantly in trouble,  needing bailed out of this situation or that.  Coming home drunk, or high, or naked.  The family embarrassment.  He just wishes his family wouldn’t expect so much from him.   Like,  the bare minimum.  That’s all they expect Teo.  The bare minimum.

There are about 50 other Zaccardas. I have a family tree of them. Some are more important than others, but the two listed here show up far more often than any of the others.

Leith’s characters-

Wynter Primose Dean - The physical embodiment of anxiety, standing at 6ft 9, built like a brick house, with a heart of gold and a difficult stutter. He fell in love with the right person at the wrong time, felt heartache like he had never before and after an extremely traumatic breakup he discovered his true nature, under a full moon, alone and afraid in the middle of nowhere - a werewolf. With a love for nature and all things wild, he spends a lot of his time isolated out at his cabin, crafting beautiful wooden furniture and spending more time with trees than with the people he calls family.

Jaq Knox - Dealing with childhood trauma and serious mental illness that messes up his perceptions of reality, he rarely trusts people. For the few he has let in it’s a constant battle with communication and understanding, for both parties involved. He struggles to understand the absolutes of right and wrong; he does have a moral code but often, especially in the past, he’s just been a thoughtless asshole as it was easier that way, easier to keep people at a distance. Throughout his struggles with his mind, encounters with the law and various substances, he’s been pushing  boundaries in the art world and is slowly learning how to be a better person, realizing that people actually do care about him and that maybe having a found-family isn’t so bad after all.

Eden Knox - He seems perfect, standing at 6ft tall with soft, pale blonde hair and clear skin, dressing in white and pastel colors, carrying an expensive purse and smelling like a walking Bath and Bodyworks. But as with everyone he has his demons, his just happens to have a name - Jonah. He was swept off his feet at the tender age of nineteen and carried off into a life that was a very far cry from his upbringing in a group foster home. But his perfect life with his handsome husband is nothing like what it appears from the outside, and life gets very dark before it begins to get light again.

Aspen Merrill - The younger of the Merrill brothers, he started a family at a young age with a woman he didn’t truly love - after a very amicable divorce they now co-parent their two children. He was lost for a very long time, wandering between jobs he didn’t really enjoy, women he didn’t really love, friends he didn’t really like, until he met Luca and he found his calling. He is Alfred to Luca’s Batman, from straightening ties before important meetings to organizing decoy cars to get Luca out of dangerous situations, he is extremely calm and collected and a haven of stability.

Jonah Merrill - The king of his own castle, the only person that matters in his world is himself, oh and sometimes his husband, when its convenient to him of course. Never one to shy away from threats or violence to achieve a goal, he’s not only unstoppable in his personal life but in business, using his many connections to overpower and intimidate anyone who gets in his way. Once he discovers magic and the power it can bear he’s even more unstoppable than before, and uses his husbands complete loyalty for his own very dark plans.

The cast is a pride rainbow flag. We’re all queer here. Well, except for Aspen, he might be one of the only completely cishet character in sight.