#it didn’t feel like a sequel to s1

[buildoblivionthenwewilltalk]

see, the thing about GO s2 is that I genuinely believe it needed another go over in the script editing/ final cut stages because watching it as a whole makes the story feel so bloated and meandering - the tone is massively off from the very tightly written first season, lacking focus and not quite capturing the same wit or wisdom that the OG series and the book achieved

but then I see a little moment on a beloved mutual’s gif set and my whole heart goes 🥺😭💕🥰

[bokunoheros]

⋆˚࿔ iida tenya saving you, hcs 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

🪲 authors note:// “hcs,” more like vague story post smh. but, for some context, this will be taken place in S1 during the USJ attack. in a follow up part, this will feature pro-hero!tenya for a sequel! fyi— reader has a intimidation quirk that makes them more of a support rather than a main dps; which is what gets them caught in this situation in the first place— [yes, this is based off my oc, and yes this a/n is fucking long. suck me off. ]

topics discussed & warnings:// descriptions of physical violence, blood, bruises, wounds, etc., mentions of death but no one actually dies, don’t worry baby, no death here, semi-angst, and can’t forget the comfort, you both kind of have feelings for each other but it doesn’t come to anything, my bad, drabble.

word count:// 498-ish

ᯓ heed the warnings laid before you, your media consumption is your responsibility! ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

every WORD under this cut is PG-13 RATED— check warnings before reading.

𝜗𝜚 edited and proof read by the lovely calius .ᐟ xoxo

✎ᝰ Maybe it was the look in your eyes, maybe it was the blood dripping from your forehead— maybe it was his own feelings that stared back at you. His engines fired— the heels of his costume kicking up dirt as he unconsciously hauled ass towards you. He didn’t even know what he was doing, he didn’t decide to act, no. He just did.

The villain above you, actively moving to launch a vehicle in your general direction, seemed to slow down. Time almost stopped, Tenya’s heartbeat rang in his ears, adrenaline pumping through his veins, asphalt cracking underneath his weight as he sprinted towards you.

He wasted no time, not a fraction of a second even if it was an unconscious decision to launch himself into the air, kicking off the ground with a metallic crunch. Lifting his leg, his engines forced him forward until the bottom of his foot made contact with the villain's temple, echoing a gruesome crunch through the street. You covered your head with your arms, forcing yourself closer to the ground as the car plummeted into a nearby building rather than your body.

The villain staggered, his body wobbling before crashing into the asphalt, launching dust several acres into the air. Tenya landed on the street with a huff, looking back at the unconscious villain’s form.

What the fuck? He could’ve died, hell, you could’ve died— but he still ran head first for you.

He glanced back at you, his engines stuttering again as he took off to grab you. He picked you up bridal style, only throwing you over his shoulder shortly after.

“I’ve got you,” he said, taking a breath as he held the back of your thighs, continuing to run.

He carried you until the prescience of villains were no more, screeching to a halt in an alleyway.

“We’re safe, don’t worry.” He said with a stifled groan as he sat you down, leaning you against the brick wall behind you. Your hands brushed as he placed you down, staring into your eyes.

“Thanks,” you muttered back, glancing away. You bring your hand to your forehead, tapping the cut on your skin with a hiss. Tenya winces just watching you do so alone, taking your wrist before pulling your hand away.

“It’s not so bad, yeah?” He gave you a small, kind smile, shifting in his feet while he crouched. “I’ll get you out of here, okay?”

“Thanks for saving my ass,” You swear you can see him blushing. “Suppose I owe you one?”

THANK YOU FOR READING! if you wish to see more of me, ₊⊹

my carrd // kofi (tip me!)

[mamahersh]

Mamahersh’s Post-MAG-200 Fanfic Recommendation Mega Thread

@a-mag-a-day

In celebration of us finishing The Magnus Archives (even if I admittedly fell off around S2 and have been mostly lurking since then), I have compiled all of my fave post series fics for your enjoyment! I will be grouping them in some big, general categories, which I’ll list above the read more here. Depending on the size of this post, it might start looking a bit like that “Do you like the sky?” post But I can assure you that I have read all of these and can give them my stamp of approval!

If you finished the series and were wishing for your best boys to finally be happy, then boy howdy do I have some fanfiction for you!

Time Travel

Somewhere Else

AUs

Uncategorized JonMartin Fluff

By these categories, we should hopefully cover all the recommendations I have, and I hope you all find some new fics! (or enjoy rereading fics you haven’t enjoyed in awhile)

TIME TRAVEL

where there’s a will, we make a way by bubonickitten

"So, what does happen if an Eye learns to See within itself?

What happens is this: the Archive Beholds the Watcher – and the Watcher blinks first."

________________________

Jon goes back to before the world ended and tries to forge a different path.

Probably my fave time travel fic in this fandom hands down; it is also currently the longest whilst still unfinished. While I try not to recommend unfinished fics that I am uncertain of their return to activity, this is a big exception and personally I love everything about it! It’s got Jon dealing with trauma through the lens of his speaking only in Statements, Martin being saved from his downward spiral into the Lonely way earlier in S4, Georgie actually sticking around, Basira having a better grasp of the situation and being more understanding about it, and everyone generally sticking close to character while managing to buck parts of the narrative. I cannot recommend this fic enough, and I very likely already did back near the start of S5.

Something’s Different About You Lately by thesnadger

Jonathan Sims has been head archivist for just a few months, but he has memories of holding the position for years. He remembers monsters, and darkness, and the end of the world. Somehow, he'll have to keep everyone safe from what's coming. Meanwhile, his assistants can't understand why their prickly jerk of a boss has gone sappy all of a sudden.

So TMA time travel fics that focus on Jon going back tend to come in two varieties. There’s the “Jon’s mind goes back and replaces himself/inhabits his past self’s body” and then there’s the “Jon physically goes back so there’s two Jons”. The first two on this list are of the first variety, and if I remember right this was one of the first I ever read. However, I recommend this one specifically because this has an amazing ending. Like, it might just be me, but many of the endings in these feel relatively unsatisfying because there’s magically a third option where Jon comes out unscathed while saving his S1 archives crew from the Horrors. For whatever reason, it was incredibly satisfying having a fic that didn’t shy away from the options presented in S4 and S5 and I love how they characterize everyone in this one as well.

100 Seconds to Midnight by starspangledbread

Jon and Martin find themselves back in 2011 after attempting to release the fears from their reality. The world is the same one they left behind, but now something has come back with them. They have a chance to destroy the fears once and for all, but it proves harder than expected. Who knew that the best laid plans could be thwarted by nosy co-workers, office romance, the inevitable learning curve of being a time traveler turned grifter, and the refusal to believe in subtlety?

Did someone say Extinction!Jon? This also is a part of a series, though the true sequel to this one is currently unfinished (though it should eventually be completed and only has one chapter to go). An excellent romp, I definitely recommend if you’re looking for something kinda dark, some comedy, a little OOC, and Martin being able to embrace his crime side in the name of saving the world.

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey

"Who the hell are you?" Jon could feel his hands shaking. The man laughed, taking a step forward and raising a hand to point at him. "I'm you, from the future!" he said, then swayed, eyes going unfocused, and collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. -------- Post-season-four Jon and Martin time travel back to the season one Archives.

Written by my fave (and most prolific) JMart author, we have a perfect example of the other kind of time travel fix it fic in the form of Jon physically travelling to the past to try and save the world. As expected by someone I am calling my fave JMart author, we’re going to be getting double dose on the JMart. I highly recommend if you’re looking for something that starts a little bittersweet, but then ends in copious amounts of fluff.

Reverb (Series) by Wolftraps

Undoing the apocalypse would have been enough for Jon, if all his people survived. Without them, Jon's only recourse is making it so it never happened in the first place. He's going to do better this time.

Summary from the first fic in the Reverb series, I highly recommend the first two fics in this series for different reasons. “The Reverb in These Holy Halls” is a great time travel fic that takes some really interesting turns by the end and unlike most fics actually has Jon try to keep Tim safe by keeping him out of the Archives pre-S1. However “Gossip” I recommend if you enjoy those fics formatted to look like official communication of some kind. It’s got people outside the Archives trying to figure out what’s wrong with them during the events of the first fic, and while it would be very confusing to read without the first fic, I’d almost say it’s worth it if you aren’t feeling the tags on the first one. Really fun and entertaining, you can’t go wrong with either one.

The Triumph of Galatea (for Acis is transformed) by TheOestofOCs

Statement of Hazel Rutter.

Jon couldn’t stop reading.

The Fears, however, are a bit more powerful than Jonah gave them credit for. Jon opens the door, but the world can’t hold what’s on the other side.

Time falls through, instead. Past becomes present, and the future is undone.

Statement begins.

Another fic I definitely recommended back at episode 160, but is well worth the second recommendation and/or re-read. Time Travel, but what if Jon could control as well as go into the dreams of the assistants/other Eye aligned people instead of just his victims’ dreams? Very good, even if unfinished, though the author seems likely to finish someday. Check out their other work as well, it’s all very good and has my fave Circus themed fic written to date.

a map of what matters most by gruhukens

“Is that a body,” Tim blurts before he can stop himself, rising to his feet. Martin looks, if possible, even more scared.

“He’s alive!” he hisses, almost defensively. “It’s not - it’s not Gertrude again, I didn’t kill him, he just – I don’t know what happened to him, I just found him in the stacks like this.”

“And you dragged him up here?” Tim says, and then registers several things at once – the build, the hair texture; the little round scars peppering a pair of thin hands and an awfully familiar face. “Wait, is that Jon?”

----

Jon stumbles back into an earlier Archive, looking for a way to fix the world. (Or, mom says it's my turn for the obligatory time travel au)

Directly inspired by CirrusGrey’s fic that I recommended earlier, this is another: Jon travels physically into the past fic. This one though is far more bittersweet than “Yesterday is Here”, but still an excellent read and does a great job at fleshing out the relationships between all the characters.

Saving the Universe: For Dummies by GhostChoir

Finding a man bleeding out in the alleyway was not what Elias wanted to do today. And he certainly didn’t mean to befriend him. But things never did go how he expected.

****** A Post-MAG200 Jon meets a 1970s Elias, an Elias from before he was corrupted by Jonah. Together, the two of them learn to cope with grief, drink more tea than any two people should be able to consume, and commiserate over shitty bosses. Oh, and just for the hell of it, they stop an apocalypse along the way.

Now for a change of pace: What if Jon time travels to the time of early Gertrude and Elias pre-Jonafying? A very good fic is what! While it’s been awhile since I read this, I do remember it’s quite good and deserves a chance. Note: this is NOT Jonathan/Elias, so my apologies if you were looking for that, but it is two very lonely men getting to just have a reliable friend in times of trouble.

A Little Game of Cat and Mouse by Paptato

“Jonah Magnus.” The cloudy silhouette snarled as it’s hand clamped tightly around Jonah's ascot. That was indeed his name, but Jonah couldn’t begin to fathom what he did to have it spat out with such hatred.

But nonetheless, Jonah was a gentleman and he would kindly address the angry figure as politely as possible, “Yes, and you are?”

“What?” The form spluttered as it slowly came into focus. Ah, yes. That probably wasn’t the proper response to being held at gunpoint by a random stranger. Must have been the blow to his head.

(Or in which Jonathan Sims goes back in time and tries to pull a Terminator, but fails and Jonah Magnus finds a new mystery to solve.)

This is that Jonah Magnus/Jonathan Sims enemies to lovers fic your friends warn you about in a good way. It’s not done, but I think it’s still being updated very slowly. Even if all I ever read is the currently released 11 chapters, I will consider it my one exception to my dislike of Jonah/Jon. As you can probably guess by the description, it’s a time travel fix it where Jon gets shunted back in time to when Jonah was still very human and still trying to figure out the Fears. The Web keeps Jon from explaining his circumstances or anything to do with Jonah’s future in particular, but this is a good thing and they both get to learn how to be more human in a world that previously was very antagonistic to those goals. It’s got a heavy dose of comedy, plenty of romantic tension, and lots of both surprising and unsurprising cameos. If you enjoy Dracula Daily, you’ll probably enjoy this imho.

Déjà Vu by CirrusGrey

Sasha remembers being unmade. Tim remembers being Unknown. Jon and Martin remember being unwound. All of them think they're the only one. -------- The S1 crew wakes up in the past with memories up till the moment they died.

So, here’s another one that’s got quite the spin on it. As you can see from the description, this one is where S1 crew all get their minds sent back in time to the time right around Jon’s first statement if I remember right. Another CirrusGrey fic, so it heavily leans on JonMartin, but otherwise it’s a wonderful exploration of the four S1 characters and ends on a very hopeful note!

oh my darling, just a moment of your time by IceEckos12

The Institute is visited by a pair of time travelers, and Jon has an important question for Tim.

Have you ever had a oneshot that just kinda guts you unexpectedly? While this might not do this for everyone, this is an amazing oneshot that gets right the point. I love it a lot, because of all of the fics where future and past meet each other, it very rarely if ever is addressed that past Jon was a douche. Or well it is but past Jon doesn’t necessarily have a character moment from it. Here he does, and despite the briefness of the fic, the author does an amazing job of giving Jon and Tim a moment while making an almost critique of the TMA time travel genre. Highly, highly recommend, and it won’t overstay it’s welcome if it doesn’t end up being your thing.

The Severing of Webs by chlodobird

After Jon kills the world, he travels back in time. Once there, he gets ready to change the future, to save his Assistants, and to watch as everyone learns to hate him again.

Unfortunately, the tapes wrap around him like a fly caught in a Web—he can't move. He's trapped reliving the original timeline, stuck acting out his past actions like an actor rehearsing his lines.

Sasha will die. Tim will die. Martin—

(Jon screams inside his mind, and someone hears him. Fate is not as immutable as he fears.)

This one is a brand new one! While basically all of the others on the list have been out/updating for over a year at this point; this lengthy oneshot just released this month. tbh, very excellent, which is why it has made the list. Also, quite the twist on the usual premise, where being sent back into his head is actually a bad thing this time. Ends with a giant pile of fluff, but who would I be if all my time travel recommendations were not also fix-its?

-

Somewhere Else

it will be this, always by bluejayblueskies

Jon coughed again, and blood stained his lips and blood stained Martin’s hands where they pressed against Jon’s back and blood stained the floor beneath them and help, they needed help.

Martin doesn’t remember shouting. He barely remembers the faces that had surrounded them, wide-eyed and terrified, all utterly unfamiliar.

.

Jon and Martin wake up somewhere else. Jon begins a slow path toward physical recovery, and several important, long-put-off conversations are had as they begin to navigate a new world that they hadn’t thought they’d be alive to see.

So, I’m sure you all have gathered that I have qualms with how much disparity there is between canon and fanon Jmart. This fic is painful, but is the most in character depiction of post 200 JMart fallout I have ever read. The ending is very cathartic, and takes a “realistic” approach to what happens to Jon and Martin as they begin to navigate their relationship after they both had betrayed each other so thoroughly in the leadup and culmination of MAG 200. If you don’t want them immediately making up, this is the fic for you. They get there, but by all that is good do they take their sweet time getting there.

Out There, Somewhere by Artyphex

"I'm sorry, you were found alone."

Jon survived the apocalypse and now will go to the end of this new, unfamiliar world to find Martin again.

So I think I’m just getting all the angsty ones out of the way first lol. Another slow burn, this fic is Jon’s recovery in the new reality while he also searches for what happened to Martin. Since I don’t post the tags, I will say this ones does feature “Eventual Happy Ending”, and I do promise that both Jon and Martin made it to the new reality and lived. But Jon and Martin both get to pine and cope for a while before that happy ending tag comes into play. It’s incredibly well done and explores their characters really well. Personally, I kinda enjoyed the Reddit saga because people mistaking Jon’s pleas for Martin as an ARG is very typical internet and 100% I would have bought into that at age 13.

Of course I need a therapist. I need ten therapists, working round the clock building me a bionic coping mechanism. We have the technology. by MartinKBlackwoodESQ

A story set somewhere else.

I’mma be real with you all, if I believed that characters could write and publish their own fanfiction, I would be halfway convinced the name is accurate. All joking aside however, this is a “crack treated seriously” fic but with characterization so on point I can consistently hear the voice actors when I read this. Admittedly, it’s made easier by it being written in transcript formatting, but if you’re looking for a hilarious time where TMA is suddenly is turned into a buddy cop adventure where Jon and Martin go to a universe where the Fears hadn’t been till their arrival, and they have doubles that already exist there who are living fairly normal lives till the TMA Jon and Martin crash land into their reality... Well this fic is one I cannot recommend highly enough. It also has a sequel, and it is also well worth the read, even if it appears to be on a bit of a break in it’s updates.

Worlds like phyllo pastry by neworld

After episode 200 Jon finds himself alone in a world very much like the one he left but fractionally different. It's so similar he finds versions of his former friends existing happily in the world. Unfortunately they have never met him in this universe and have no idea who he is.

This one’s unfinished, but personally it’s well worth the read as is. Not sure how I feel about the most recent chapter, but the story up till that point is a really fun spin on “Jon and Martin get shunted to a new reality” where Jon learns how to feed in a way that doesn’t cause problems facilitated by the new reality, and re-meets all the people who he lost till this point and has a very silly antagonistic relationship with his alternate self. While fic might be more of a guilty pleasure, it still is written in such a way that I would rank it high enough for this disorganized list.

Death Is The Easy Way Out by traveller19

After having killed Jonah Magnus and ended the Change, Jon and Martin should finally be able to rest. Rest, however, proves impossible when Jon falls ill. What's more, he begins having vivid dreams of their dead friends - Tim, trapped in the destroyed Archives, and Sasha, trapped outside of them. As Jon's condition quickly worsens and the line between dream and reality begins to blur, love is all he and Martin have to hold on to, because hope is a dangerous thing.

Did someone say sickfic??? But for real, this fic has an amazing balance between an A plot and a B plot, and keeps both at the right level of tension throughout. While this is a sickfic heavy one, it also features Tim and Sasha as ghosts trying desperately not to be. There’s also a lovely sequel and plenty of fluff by the end, but this is a rough ride. ALSO, if you or a loved one had covid / any respiratory illness that caused them to be hospitalized with pneumonia and it could be trigging to read incredibly on the nose descriptions of that experience, this fic is not for you. Or very cathartic. :/

Castaways by CirrusGrey

Welcome to the Castaway Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a safe and secure landing to those lost souls banished from their home worlds by the influence of Fear.

If you wanted saccharine JMart in a new reality where they get therapy and meet old friends from different realities, this series of (mostly) one shots is for you! As you’ve probably come to expect when I suggest CirrusGrey, the writing is fantastic, the ship dynamics are exemplary, and the character are on point. There is so much to say about this series, but mostly, if you want Jon and Martin healing and then settling together and becoming the stereotypical married couple, then this is it. It’s not done, but it is wrapping up, and I hope you all if you haven’t seen this yet enjoy it as much as I do. And for those long time readers who have been reading it longer than I’ve been in the fandom, here’s your friendly reminder that it exists.

Do Before I Die by SupposedToBeWriting

Somewhere Else, Jon can't seem to shake the strange apathy that now plagues his life. Everything reminds Martin of the end of the world. For a change of pace, he and Martin rent a campervan and go on a road trip. Their mission? To fulfill the 'bucket list' Martin made when he was eighteen and lonely. Jon's looking forward to the beach.

Jon and Martin go on a Road Trip accross Britain. It’s just a wholesome and hurt/comfort as it describes. An excellent romp, and the character studies are wonderful. The Planetarium still sticks with me.

ours is a distant shore (series) by pantsoflobster

“If they ever found out about us, we could make things really complicated for them," Jon said. Martin gave a thoughtful hum and then a loaded pause before he said, “Or simpler.” “What?” “We could, you know…” Martin then made mischievous eyes at him in lieu of expanding. “What?” Jon said, thoroughly lost. “Wouldn’t it be a bit fun to sort of... nudge them in the right direction?”

Months after they arrive Somewhere Else, Jon sees himself in the shop.

Summary is from the first fic in the series, this is a fun little romp for those who hated Martin’s defeatism over his and Jon’s relationship in MAG199 and want to see what would happen if instead he accidentally kick started an alternate version and his and Jon’s relationship Somewhere Else. It’s all very silly, tho the last fic does lean more into the hurt/comfort tag than the previous two. Over all though, if you’re looking for a little crack, a lot of fluff, and Jon and Martin being silly this is a good time.

Written in the Stars Will Have to Do by GentlemanCrow

“Yeah well, god knows why, but he thinks you hung the moon, so you might try treating him at the very least like a human being once in a while.”

It was such a small thing. Small words for a small feeling cloaked in a chintzy veneer of idiomatic dismissal. A trembling little bird cupped in his scarred and battered hands and smothered. Or so he thought. Sometimes trembling little birds turn out to be phoenixes, and those who looked to someone else to hang the comfort of a wise, silvery moon in the sky already have the hammer and the picture wire at the ready.

As far as Jon was concerned, the moon only rose on their Somewhere Else because Martin deigned to pull the strings every night, not him.

This is another one of those JMart Somewhere Else fics masquerading as a Safehouse fic that made me want to cry. It’s just, so wonderful, and once again we have themes of healing, but this time through getting a hobby and sharing it with your significant other. The writing is lovely and really gives off the stuffy academic musings I would expect being in Jon’s head (which we are for the duration of this fic) but adds a layer that I didn’t realized I needed till I read it.

On Errantry by ZaliaChimera

Somewhere Else, Jon and Martin discover that their new home has a very special sort of guardian, and Jon seeks judgement from an unexpected source.

They do say that cats purring can heal...

A cute one shot that deals with Jon’s lingering guilt from S5; this is a wonderful tale from Somewhere Else featuring a giant Cat, Martin being supportive, and Jon trying to reconcile his second chance. Very sweet and fluffy, guaranteed!

Lost, Unfound, But Not Forgotten by Elynn

They didn’t find bodies. Or anything pointing to where they may have gone. In the center of the rubble, what Georgie assumed to have once been the top of the tower, was a puddle of dried, crusted blood, and the outline of bodies in the dust and scorch marks. And she knew that wherever the Fears had gone, Jon and Martin had gone with them. The last victims, snuffed and dragged away with them. --- In the weeks after the Eye-pocolypse, Georgie Barker begins the painful process of mourning her best friend.

So, I know I’m very focused on Jon, but I have one fic of Georgie here that’s 10/10. Post 200, Georgie and Melanie eventually goes to clean out Daisy’s cabin of Jon and Martin’s things for Basira (or something like that) and Georgie finds a journal of Jon’s that he kept whilst there. It’s just as bittersweet as you’d imagine, but it’s fantastically cathartic to read and in our MAG 200 feels, this is a good one for closure.

Not Quite Somewhere Else by hawkfurze

Or you can find it on Tumblr HERE

A special entry to finish out this section, I have a long running comic from Tumblr user @hawkfurze who made a TMA x Infinity Train crossover. While I had not watched the show previously (only seen the trailer/pilot from back before it got picked up by CN), the comic is still easy to understand and explains the Infinity Train parts in such a way as to not need any prior knowledge. I highly recommend this comic for anyone who wants a visual treat delving into the relationship and psyches of Jon and Martin as they try to escape into the next reality.

-

AUs

Two Graves by SupposedToBeWriting

Jon sends the fears far from Earth and flees London, leaving the others to assume the worst. He settles in a small village and opts to live there quietly until he dies, a self-imposed penance. This plan is foiled when the first former Avatar shows up - and Jon realizes that every domain-keeper in the apocalypse still has some faint connection to him.

After a year of being a shoulder to cry on for confused and distraught former Avatars, Jon leads a moderately happy life. He has a flourishing garden, a cat, and some company. All of that comes crashing around his ears (or his head) when a familiar face shows up to his cabin, demanding answers.

This fic is in my top 5 fics of TMA fandom. No contest. It has some of the best healing from MAG 200 for Jon and Martin and tbh the world I’ve seen. It’s got that incredible hurt/comfort and the ending makes me cry tears of joy every time I read it. If you read any JMart fic on this list, please read this one if you can only read one. While I was tempted to put this in a different category, this seemed like the best place to put it.

What Comes After by Mornrandir

More than a year after the apocalypse, the world is starting to move on. Georgie, Melanie, and Basira have learned to move on and get back to living their lives. Then Martin reappears- without Jon- and they have to learn to begin again.

A series based around the initial above description, each entry in the series follows the healing of first Martin, then Jon, then both of them together. While I am a Jon-centric woman, if you are of a more Martin-centric leaning, this first fic in the series should scratch that itch. The final entry is very sweet, and the second definitely has a unique reason as to why Jon shows up so late to the after-Fears party.

The Watcher’s Cows by lenioia

He still remembers the first cup of tea Martin brought him. That’s where it began, not with the dog incident. A sweet and strong blend, reasons for appearance unknown, how could it taste so good, also unknown. Jon stares at what will be the last cup between them. His miserable parting gift. Where it’ll end.

Alt Mag 200, or in a slightly kinder universe which differs by exactly one cup of tea, Martin is the one who switches plan last minute, and Jon’s last half-backed scheme, for once, works.

An AU splitting off MAG 199/200, where Jon’s plan actually happens, but instead of it being quite so bleak he finds a new path with the help of Martin. I know the original ending of the series is probably the most hopeful one realistically, but we all enjoy our fixits here, so this is a really sappy “by the power of love” Jon and Martin save the universe and still get to live in it AU. Highly highly recommend, and it finished within the last 8 months, so it’s “on the newer side” as it were. If you haven’t read it, give it a shot, and if you’ve read it and it’s been awhile now’s a good time to read it again.

The Eyespot Chronicles (series) by SupposedToBeWriting

To Martin Blackwood's surprise, he wakes up in the ruins of the Magnus Institute. He thought he would be dead. The world is back to normal, the Entities are gone, and everyone realizes that it's finally over. The only sticking point is that Jon isn't exactly the Jon that went into the apocalypse. Never one to give up, Martin is determined to make a life for himself and his boyfriend. Even if he is a giant moth.

Summary taken from the first in the series, this trilogy of fics covers Jon and Martin’s attempts at healing in a world that remembers what happened. The first fic focuses entirely on Martin’s struggles, the second on Jon’s, and the 3rd (as you might guess) focuses on them both. The series is excellent, and if you’ve got the fortitude for canon-typical emotional constipation after having just experienced MAG-200 it’s well worth the read.

Another Guest for Mr. Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Jon isn't eating his statements like he should.

Mr. Spider doesn't like it.

Written in transcript format, this AU considers the idea of what if the Web was more hands on it it’s approach to getting Jon to Become more monstrous; or at least not starve himself out. Incredible read, you need an AO3 account though. But I have never been that spooked by a Statement or encounter before I read this fic. If you DO NOT like spiders on you or in your mouth and you don’t like reading about it either, potentially hold off on this fic, or at least skip from where Mr. Spider says “Open your mouth. Do not move.” to when he says “Wash it down with this. Now.” But yeah if you didn’t get enough spider trauma from canon, this fic gives it in spades! (And if you want Mr. Spider getting his comeuppance, you get that too ;) )

Illicio by ThatOneGirlBehindYou

As the new Archivist debates between life and death, the Eye ponders on what to offer him in order to avoid an encore of the unfortunate situation with his predecessor.

-----

Gerard Keay opens his eyes at what feels like fuck-ass in the morning, inside a room with far too little space and far too much dust.

A long form AU of what if Gerry Keay was brought back by the Eye to convince Jon to stay on team Monster if you will. Goes all the way through MAG-200, has some great twists and turns, and manages to turn into an “Everyone Lives AU” as well. While it is currently updating, it’s updating every week on Saturday till it finishes, and she only has 2 chapters left. If you’ve managed to never read this, now is certainly the time for it! It is Jon/Gerry/Martin, so if that’s not your exact cup of tea I’d still say give it a shot.

we should ride this wave to shore by ClarionGlass

“archives research & statement envestigation” Timothy Stoker renamed the group “drinks drinks drinks” Timothy Stoker changed Sasha James’s nickname to saucy sash Timothy Stoker changed Martin Blackwood’s nickname to martini kart Timothy Stoker changed his nickname to stonked stonked: so how bout it lads saucy sash: oh god. A TMA group chat fic where the worst problems they have to deal with start with "h" and end with "angovers"

Right, I don’t tend to read chat fics, I’m going to be honest with you all. I have two exceptions and this is one of them. It goes interesting places, the characters are not completely OOC, if it they are at least it’s consistent OOC and not in a grating way. But in all seriousness, I recommend this because of how it ties in with MAG 160 and 200; as well as how the sequel deals with canon S5. The sequel isn’t finished and is slow to update, but I am still recommending at the very least the first one. It’s a good romp and I highly recommend.

Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues, Soul-Stealing Bosses, and the End of the World at Work by shinyopals

I've recently been unexpectedly promoted to lead a department in my organisation, wrote the anonymous emailer.

As there was no one working here when I arrived, my manager, who is head of the organisation, had promised me the choice of my own assistants. However, without warning, he simply presented me with an additional assistant. This new assistant’s first act on his first day was to let a dog into the office. It took several hours to catch and clean up after this dog and it has only been downhill from there. I admit I'm not entirely sure what to do with this assistant now I'm stuck with him. I'm hoping you have some advice?

Kind regards, New Manager

Abigail Bailey runs a successful management advice blog. One frequent contributor is from a workplace with some... issues.

While this isn’t quite an AU and is basically canon compliant, I’m putting it here because it’s a “what if Jon was an avid seeker of advice on a management advice blog?” AU. It’s beautifully formatted, and features very in character interactions. If you are a sucker for the TMA trope: how do normal people react to the weirdness at the Institute, then this is a great fic for you. I know it’s probably one of the most popular things to have hit the Jonathan Sims tag on AO3 in recent months, but this is just me reminding you all it exists and well worth the re-read.

JMart Fluff

Author CirrusGrey

Literally anything by them. I think I probably recommend them every time I talk about JMart, but I think on AO3 they are both the most prolific and one of the best writers for the tag. Pick almost any fic they’ve written for TMA and it’s probably JMart. There’s too many fics of their’s to recommend, so I’ll just link you straight to their profile and you can go swimming from there lol.

Jon’s Moving Castle by IceEckos12

Martin Blackwood may not have a perfect life, but he does have a good one. That is, until a series of magical encounters leave him with an unfortunate curse. Out of other options, he goes to the wizard who lives in the moving castle for aid.

Life never goes how he intends it to, though.

Basically Howl’s Moving Castle, but with a TMA spin. You don’t need to have seen the movie to understand what’s going on, and honestly while it sticks fairly close to the movie, it doesn’t stick so close that it feels constrained by it in places where it wouldn’t make sense in the AU they’ve set up. It’s a very sweet JMart fic with a satisfying conclusion.

The 101 Kidnappings of Jonathan Sims (and Other Inconveniences) by beetlejoos

Martin Blackwood never applies for a job at the Magnus Institute. The universe seems determined that he meets Jonathan Sims anyway. But is it Fate, or something more sinister, that keeps bringing the two of them together?

Right, this mostly crack treated seriously. It’s got hurt/comfort, but it’s fairly light hearted throughout. As one could guess by the title and description, Jon is repeatedly kidnapped and brought to wherever Martin is living/working at the time. While it’s not done yet, and not on a schedule, the chapters that are out thus far are well worth the read. That and there’s some cute fan art for it that’s linked to in the end notes. But I recommend this because it’s got that vibe of S1 Jon meets S1 Martin outside of the Institute and romance (eventually) happens. Very fun read if you haven’t read it yet.

i think we’re alone now + alone-verse (series) by milliganopen

Just a couple of guys breaking into a basement. What could go wrong?

Getting trapped in your apartment with your boss, that's what.

Season 1 re-imagined if Jon and Martin had been trapped by Jane Prentiss together.

Initially I recommended this back when we had hit MAG039/022 because it was a great AU to Martin’s Statement where Jon also gets trapped in Martin’s apartment during Martin’s no good very bad 2 weeks of worm siege. HOWEVER, the author has since continued this series and is slowly working their way through canon one season/fic at a time. They’re currently on S3, and I am definitely keeping an eye on it for whenever the next update happens. If you haven’t had the time to check it out, it’s got some very good JMart moments, and their relationship manages to move faster than a glacier.

Fate, or Something by HermaeusMora

"You can't be serious." Jonathan Sims raises his eyes at last to properly look at Georgie, expecting her to laugh and make some quip about finally getting him to put the damn book down, at least.

"Well, I am," she shoots back.

He sets his book aside and turns fully towards her, betrayal clear on his face. "A blind date, really?"

Jon makes the frankly terrible decision to go on a blind date with one Martin Blackwood. Fate ensues. AU where Jon and Georgie are still friends, Georgie likes finding dates for her friends, Martin doesn't work at the institute, and everyone is just a bit happier while canon spooky stuff goes on in the background. Takes place juuust barely pre-canon in the beginning but catches up quickly. Inspired as usual by the wonderful conversations with my friend RavenXavier/somuchbetterthanthat.

A fun AU that challenges the idea that Jon and Martin are incompatible a la MAG199. Excellently done and well worth the time to check it out.

Diary by luftballoons99

Not for the first time since they ran away together, a camera reel of all the things they don't know about one another whirs behind Martin's eyes, and he can't help but look at all the sprawling magnetic tape and wonder if they’re going to wind up a romance or a tragedy.

or: Office parties, garage bands, and the joy of being known.

A bit of a bittersweet mostly fluff oneshot focused on Jon and Martin having a night in at the Safehouse and talking about good things from their pasts. (Warning, the sequel is rated E(xplicit) for a reason, so I am only recommending Diary. Both are stand alone however.)

Weaving My Heartstrings by arms_full_of_hyacinths

At least he was someone. Someone who could deal with the spiders. That was probably the source of the nerves unspooling like magnetic tape to fill Jon’s stomach with buzzing static butterflies.

Yes, Martin was much bigger than a spider. He was probably the kind of person who cupped them in his hands and talked to them as he walked them out into the garden, which shouldn’t be giving Jon a burst of warm feeling at all, since his preferred method of spider disposal was simply to squash them on sight.

Martin likes Jon almost as much as Jon hates spiders. When a statement from an institute employee sends them spiraling into the center of a complicated web, they'll need to rely on each other if they want to make it out alive.

Bit of an odd suggestion to close us out, but this one is a fun almost episodic plot about an original Statement and the shenanigans Jon and Martin get into trying to research it. It’s very good, features some very on point S1 Jon and Martin along with a bit of a fast forward on their relationship throughout.

And with that, I’ve probably overstayed my welcome lol. I hope you found something new to read! If not, I at least hope that you had fun rereading some old faves. This has taken me a day or two to compile and format, so I hope you all enjoy in whatever capacity that ends up being! Happy end of A Mag A Day, and it was a joy walking alongside you all. Congrats to A MAG A Day blog owners on all your hard work for the last ~210 days and with this post I wish you all a very fond farewell.

[andromeda4004]

Thoughts about Season 3 (and why Season 2 exists at all)

That makes it sound like i didn't enjoy S2 - I did, even the ending, once I'd recovered. But I had some thoughts which might be interesting for people who haven't read the original GO book, or who read it after seeing S1, because I think some of the differences might be easier to miss like that. [Spoilers below, obviously]

Neil said when he started talking about S2 that it would exist to bridge the gap between where GO the book ended and the sequel would have begun, had they ever written it. And this is interesting, because why would the TV series need to tell 6 episodes worth of bridging story when the books didn't? Certainly there are story details that can be told better or more efficiently in narrative or on screen, because they're very different media, but I don't think that accounts for a whole series.

The thing is, the book and S1 end in very different places. In S1, we get the dramatic trials, the triumphant reunion, the confidence that our boys are on their own side now. In the book, our boys never quit their jobs. The whole exchange from the book (which Neil replaced with the trials for dramatic effect) reads like this:

Crowley gave him a sideways look.

‘Your people been in touch?’ he said.

‘No. Yours?’

‘No.’

‘I think they’re pretending it didn’t happen.’

‘Mine too, I suppose. That’s bureaucracy for you.’

That's it; the boys suffer no consequences for their actions (possibly because their actions were a bit less effective in the book, they show up to try to avert the apocalypse and put together one distracting conversation, but Adam and the humans do the actual work). More importantly, they haven't quit and they haven't been fired; there's no reason to think they won't continue to receive assignments once Heaven and Hell get to grips with the continued existence of the world. There is no "our side". So if S3 is to follow what the book's sequel was going to cover, S2 had to get us back to where the book left off, with our boys on opposite sides, so that Aziraphale can be tasked with organising the Second Coming (and hopefully screw it up as badly as Crowley did the baby swap).

So my view is that, in giving us the trials as a very satisfying ending to a stand-alone series, Neil actually painted himself into an awkward corner when it came to the sequel, and had to use S2 to get the characters back where they needed to be.

All that said, here are some things I'm hoping for in S3. Some of these might be mutually exclusive but that's fine, any assortment is good:

Crowley reads some Jane Austen, and learns how humans work through arguments (i.e. through meaningful apology and personal growth, not by sleeping for 80 years).

Aziraphale has a series of increasingly disappointing experiences in Heaven, which lead him to finally resolve his persistent difficulty with the concept of "good" not lining up with his personal morality of what is "right". Perhaps he has a chat with Jesus about it, I'm guessing he would have an interesting perspective on this.

Metatron had to get Aziraphale back on side because he is the angel Israfil, who in Islamic tradition is the one who sounds the final trumpet (there's a fantastic meta post about this somewhere on here and I would love that to be true).

Crowley goes back to Hell. I know this one's controversial, but we've never seen Crowley actually lean into his demonic nature, and there's a vacancy Below too, right? And it would really add some weight to the inevitable love confession if Aziraphale has to admit that he loves Crowley warts and scales and horns and all, not because he's clinging to the memory of an angel who doesn't exist.

One of the residents of Soho is revealed as having been an undercover demon watching the bookshop. There's just too many slightly odd moments in S2 that feel like they're foreshadowing something.

Anyway, there's my assorted thoughts; I'd love to hear yours.

[thevindicativevordan]

Batman: Caped Crusader S1 Review

Normally not a guy I write a whole lot about, but I finished watching S1 last night and decided I would share my thoughts.

Cutting right to the chase I found this mediocre. Trapped in the shadow of it's elder brother it fails at living up to being a spiritual successor, or charting it's own path. Changes made feel like token efforts done simply for changes sake, but with the exception of Harley, frequently feel like downgrades from what BTAS did. Rapid fire thoughts:

Pilot was easily the worst episode even though I was won over on Ricci's Penguin on account of her great performance

Clayface episode was good, no surprise considering Rucka wrote it, and struck me as a preview for what Reeves may have planned for his Batman sequel given the rumors Clayface will appear in that

Dug the Catwoman episode, but it’s hurt by how they basically did Golden Age Catwoman in BTAS. Nothing new here, Selina is a wealthy heiress like in BTAS who has a one sided romantic interest in Batman. Sure her BTAS incarnation was an animal rights activist but the foundation is the same. Given Brubaker's involvement I wish they had gone with her Post Crisis origin of being poor and stealing to survive. Least she loses her money by the end, maybe they’ll go in a different direction with her. Good idea to do the mandatory origin here, least it keeps the clichés all in one episode. I did love the Catmobile!

Firebug was eh, don’t get what the point was in changing him other than to keep in line with the Golden Age aesthetic.

Harley Episode was good! Wasn’t sure how a Jokerless Harley would work but they did actually manage to keep her sympathetic nature, and make her feel like a legit threat. Her victims were scumbag billionaires which made me sympathize with her motives if not her methods. Knew moments before they did it that they were going to homage Harley's "death" in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, having Babs and Harley together was too tempting a target to pass up.

That was Papa Midnite in the Gentleman Ghost episode right? Cool deep cut, people were clamoring for Batman to show up in MAWS but Superman would be a better fit for this show than Batman would be for MAWS honestly. Reusing Fleschier Lois' design for one of the Gotham reporters got a chuckle out of me. Didn’t expect them to go with actual ghosts, that at least is a marked change from BTAS where everything had a “realistic” explanation.

Episode 7 had an… interesting moral. Didn’t expect anyone to make an episode in the year of our Lord 2024 about how the bleeding heart liberal (Babs) who opposes the system is wrong and the principled conservative who sees things in black and white (Gordon) is right. Especially not one with Rucka on the writing team.

Episode 8 was fine, since they included all the Robins except Tim I’m curious if Tim will end up being the one who becomes Robin (if anyone ever does). Otherwise I don’t get why Timm was not able to use Nocturne back during BTAS if this is what he wanted to do with her, she’s an energy vampire like Parasite. No blood. Maybe his old design was too horny for the censors? This Nocturna is clearly Wednesday Adams

Onomatopoeia doesn't work, his gimmick simply doesn't translate well outside of comics

Take on Two-Face here is inferior to BTAS. He’s not as interesting or sympathetic, I feel indifferent to him. They made him corrupt but didn’t do anything interesting with it, frankly it feels like a missed opportunity that they copied the DCAU approach where Harvey was friends with Bruce but never worked with Batman. Because this Harvey was corrupt, the friendship between Bruce and Harvey feels fake (and presumably given how cold this Bruce is, it was). Way to go would’ve been to either flip the reason Harvey gets scarred, and have some relative of an innocent he put away be the one to scar him, or have his corruption be a result of his and Batman’s failure to achieve meaningful results, with Harvey giving into despair before finding his courage again in the worst possible way. For that reason I didn’t find his death to be moving or emotionally impactful at all.

Arkham Asylum actually looking nice was a design choice I approved of. Makes sense that people would be assigned there or that it wouldn’t immediately be written off as an Asylum from Hell.

Why does Timm or whoever keeps pushing for him, love Rupert Thorne? Thorne is a boring bad guy, a generic mobster that Batman should crush with ease.

When it comes to Batman himself I enjoyed his characterization, and the performance of Hamish Linklater.

They leaned into this Batman being a sociopath, his unsettling declaration to Alfred as a child that he was going to make the criminals pay, and ordering Alfred to help him was chilling. Every time Alfred tried to give him advice or protect him, this Batman reacted with either cold dismissal or outright anger. Made for a good difference from both the DCAU, where the two would trade quips and clearly had a warm relationship, and the mainline where it's been outright canonized that Bruce viewed Alfred as his second father.

Too bad it looks like they’re already moving towards a more traditional take on the relationship for S2. Would've enjoyed seeing this Batman remain cold and sociopathic and having to go up against the Joker

Enjoyed seeing how uncomfortable Batman was with talking to other people, he sucked at "comforting" Babs after Harley appeared to die. Even though he has the compassion DCAU Batman had, he's somehow worse at expressing it.

Linklater did a great job differentiating the two personalities vocally. Loved when Bruce was confronting Harvey in Arkham in the finale, and when Harvey slipped into his "Two-Face" voice, Bruce used his "Batman" voice in response. Lot of Conroy in Linklater's performance which is no knock against him.

Since everyone is going to compare the two

Both are similar in a lot of ways: TCC puts a lot of focus on the supporting cast in the GCPD as does MAWS with the Daily Planet.

Lois and Babs basically serve as the deuteragonists of their respective shows.

Both include references to the wider DCU and poach villains from other heroes Rogues Galleries.

Both genderbend a villain and racebend a bunch of other characters.

Both do some dramatic changes to the villains in general, and the villains are generally the weakest part of the shows.

Both even take a lot from the DCAU, although TCC is more indebted to the DCAU than MAWS is.

Of the two though, I think MAWS is far superior. It’s got a stronger take on it’s lead, it’s got a stronger worldbuilding foundation, and the changes it makes feel like they have a purpose that feeds into the story of Krypton whereas TCC changes feels like token efforts to differentiate it from BTAS. Of the two TCC definitely got a bigger budget, especially in the fight scenes, but surprisingly there was some shoddy CGI there like what we see at times in MAWS.

I’m curious to find out which of the two ends up having the bigger impact on their respective characters. My hunch is MAWS will be more influential going forward, particularly on the Daily Planet crew.

Side note but it's ironic how everyone was doomposting about MAWS being a "Lois Lane show" when of the two it's CC who frequently ends up feeling like a GCPD show guest starring Batman. MAWS steadfastly puts Superman at the center of everything, whereas here the Gordons (Babs and Jim) feel more central to the show

Give it a C, it's a fine enough way to kill an afternoon if you're a Batman fan, but with all the Batman content out there I can't recommend it that highly. Next season we’ve got the Joker judging by the post season tease, which is probably going to be a fairly straightforward adaption of The Man Who Laughs given Brubaker is the head writer. If we get a Golden Age “serious” Joker that at least would spice things up. Hearing a Joker with a deep voice startled me I must admit.

[booasaur]

Did you finish Night Country? If so what did you think of it? I loved Navarro—Kali Reis absolutely sells that stately sense capability and strength and hotness lol—and think Jodie/Kali really sold their relationship being the core of the show I also mostly loved how things played out (didn’t see the ending coming at all) but I wish the show had been given more episodes to flesh certain plots and characters out because some things felt a little superficial (it’s interesting to me that so many people were lost because I thought the show made a lot really obvious and could’ve actually used some more mystique) and enhancing them would’ve made things that much better and cohesive. But trying to find balanced criticism or commentary about this show is hard because everyone defaults to racist, misogynistic, no nuance takes on how it’ll never compare to s1 and just refuses to even see a little bit of the good. Idk I feel like you can dislike it and want better and still recognize the good aspects of this season and the value of telling indigenous stories. At this point I almost wish the showrunner had been able to make a new series like she wanted to, instead of having to be tied to the true detective name because maybe people would approach this with more honestly and openness

Hey, sorry for the late reply. Well, I know I've replied a LOT later before and mostly decided to stop saying sorry because I'd have to say every time, but at the moment, I'm having more difficulty than I used to in remembering how I felt when I finished the ep, so I wish I'd just responded at the time.

Let me see... First, I did laugh like an idiot when they took turns falling down the ice caves like idiots, especially Danvers.

Other than that, I liked the ending but it felt a bit too neat... I think if they'd changed around some stuff, it might have offered a bit more tension because, well, at that point, it seemed they'd let more killers go than caught them. Honestly that and all the quibbles I had, where I wish we'd seen some stuff seeded better and elaborated on more at the end, like you said, that all could have been helped with just giving them the two extra eps they should have gotten. I was thinking that too, at the time, lol, I remember now, when I read your ask, I went on this whole rant (to myself, in my head) about those two eps could have done so much, how the streaming model had killed TV, how these shortened seasons were basically like individual movies with an occasional sequel. I know this is an anthology miniseries and the story finished, but still! Too much is suffering for the same reason. I haven't really been able to get into a single new Trek, it's just a different form of storytelling. What can you do in 10 eps every once in a long while, with a full ensemble cast.

I literally looked up how many eps Discovery ends at and it's 65. Compare that to my home Trek, Voyager, where it flourished with new life when Seven appears. Guess when that happens. Ep 68! I literally had to chart the two shows:

Look at those huuuuge Discovery breaks.. It's not just that shows used to be given so much screentime, we just got so much so quickly. I absolutely forget what's going on in between seasons of most shows now. In terms of actual amount of time, Discovery actually lasts longer! But I barely know the characters or their stories. I can't say much different for Picard or SNW (barring what I brought in from before). There's only so much character growth and relationship evolution. How am I supposed to love them? Know them?

Maybe that's why I'm gravitating so much to soaps lately...

Anyway, it's more capitalism than just streaming, of course, which also speaks to your other point; I didn't know Issa Lopez just wanted to make a new show and they put it under the True Detective name?? But isn't that just so typical of all these issues! Like, the fact that they're making an NCIS spin-off with Tony and Ziva? They're retreating to the safest, most conservative ideas they can think of. It's happening with everything, companies dropping DEI initiatives, politics returning to big money white guys. Sticking this female-led extremely Indigenous-sympathetic premise with this particular franchise with its defensive white dudebro fanbase.

I wonder how much that's related to the obligatory bigoted backlash to any media perceived as "woke" now. It's all feeding each other, right, bad actors in each space taking advantage and fanning the flames, but it's beyond annoying now to have watched a normal show and go online and see this rabid overreaction to stuff that isn't even on the screen.

The worst part is, as you said, there's no room for the middle ground. I myself don't want to go into detail about the issues I had because there's so much unfair criticism. Like, if I thought it was a little unsubtle in its messaging at times, how can I say that when these fiends are tearing it apart for daring to even have the message. I'm just glad that Foster and Reis were so good and the show so well received that the fanboys can keep crying to each other about s1.

I will say, a huge part of that ending landing was Diane E. Benson as the older Indigenous Alaskan lady being cool as hell. She was so nonchalant and mischievous and angry as hell underneath it all! That's why I wished there was just a bit more tension, a bit more to that scene in terms of its place in the ep, rather than just its place in the story where it provided a reveal.

The handling of the killer reveal was what I found a bit pat, just being like, well, that happened, okay, bye, but the reveal itself? Freaking loved it. Those men deserved what they got and more. :<

Some things I'm glad they didn't go into more, the accident in the past, and what exactly happened to Navarro. Let me imagine she and Danvers are off together in some liminal space. :P

Anyway...I guess I did remember a lot, lol. And now we have a season 5 ahead. :)

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

digging through my many unfinished snippets of ofmd fics that i wrote between s1 and s2, and i thought this one was pretty diverting, so i'm posting it here! why not!

this was going to be the beginning of one where stede and ed are cursed by super awkwardness after reconciling ... until they get THE MOST DANGEROUS GAMED together by antoinette (who survived the boat fire but tragically lost her brother-husband) and her boy toy lackeys bret and jemaine, and rediscover their groove in the process!!!! i honestly might still write some version of this because i need mel antoinette and bret and jemaine to most dangerous game ed and stede and the crew. i simply need it like oxygen.

(i do really love that stede genuinely forgave ed for destroying all his stuff and didn't care about it in season two, for the record. but this was pre-season two me wondering, what if he couldn't help but be a little grumpy about it?)

***

(this was going to be a sequel to this fic for convenience's sake, ergo the references to the party etc.!)

***

“So this is it,” Stede murmurs to himself, gazing out to sea. “Happily ever after.”

Ed’s back, and Ed again. They defeated Izzy in a spectacular show of swordplay and now that miserable prat’s rowed off alone in a dinghy, hopefully in a way that will stick this time. The Revenge is Stede’s again, and the full crew has returned home to it.

It doesn’t get much more happily ever after than this.

Which has Stede wondering why life currently feels so awfully awkward.

+++

“Take it,” says Stede, when his and Ed’s fingers brush both reaching for the last piece of toast at breakfast.

“Ah, no, I couldn’t,” says Ed, pulling back like Stede’s fingers are on fire.

“Please!” says Stede. “I’m your host.”

“Yeah, but I stole your ship and took it on a joyride of destruction for a few weeks there and threw all your stuff in the sea,” says Ed, “so in a way, I’m your host.”

“Truly,” says Stede, sipping his tea from a rusting tin cup, “I had completely forgotten about that.”

“Had you?”

“Haven’t given it a moment’s thought in days. Let bygones be bygones, that’s what I say! Please. Help yourself.”

“You always like three pieces, though,” says Ed. “I don’t want to mess up your whole breakfast vibe–”

“JUST TAKE IT,” Stede snaps.

“Right. Sweet as.” Ed somehow, quite incredibly, shoves the entire piece of toast in his mouth at once. “Mmmphfff,” he says through chewing. “Scrumptious.”

“Is it?” says Stede, in careful gentlemanly tones. “I’m so glad.”

They smile placidly at each other.

+++

For the record, they haven’t kissed a second time yet. Or touched much at all, save for patching up each other’s wounds scored in the fight with Izzy. The fingers brushing over the toast is about as hot as the action has gotten. They have all the time in the world, Stede reminds himself, rather a lot, as his psyche unravels faster than a shoddily made scarf.

+++

The crew has one request of Stede, and it’s that Ed stay locked up in the captain’s cabin for a while.

“But he’s perfectly normal again!” Stede protests. “That whole descent-into-darkness snafu, we’ve worked through that.”

“He seems perfectly normal again,” Lucius allows. “But maybe you shouldn’t be the authority on this, as you’re the only one he didn’t try to kill.”

“And me,” Frenchie pipes up.

“And me,” Jim admits.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the hot ones psycho Blackbeard wanted for his cool new crew,” Pete says bitterly. “You can stop reminding us about it already.”

“What?” Stede exclaims, indignant. “He tried to kill me loads of times!”

“He swordfought you once, locked you in a closet, and then took you on a date to a party,” Lucius says.

“And he could’ve tried to kill me at any time during that party,” says Stede, “let me tell you.”

“Did he?” Lucius asks, hands on hips.

“No,” Stede admits reluctantly. “He played pirates with my son, and then instead of making me go back to the ship with him, he released me as his prisoner.”

Everyone groans.

“That’s the point, Captain,” says Lucius. “You’re his weak spot. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to start feeling stabby around the rest of us.”

“He’s not! He’s really mellowed.”

“Then let’s prove it, yeah?” says Oluwande, taking over so Lucius can really commit himself to judgmental faces. “Just keep him isolated for a bit, so we can make sure he’s not a threat to us.”

“I don’t care if he is,” says Buttons. “Let me at ‘im. I’ll chomp one of those pretty cheeks at the slightest prevarication.”

“No!” Stede says.

“Is that code fer yes?”

“No, that’s no! Buttons, I mean it. He’s got a very good face, and we’re going to keep it just the way it is.”

“Ah, fine,” says Buttons, deflating. Wee John pats him on the shoulder.

Stede takes this as the end of the conversation, and walks away. He pauses once he’s out of sight and listens.

“Do you really think Blackbeard’s going to snap again?” Olu asks.

“Probably not,” says Lucius, “but those two have got to fuck soon or the energy on this ship will never recover.”

Everyone murmurs in agreement.

Stede frowns.

+++

“Oh, sure,” says Ed. “Absolutely. I’d love to be your prisoner.”

“I know it might sound insulting–”

“Nah, just sensible. I really went off the deep end for a while there. I mean, I left most of those guys to die on a tiny island.”

“Well, when you put it like that.”

“I’d hate to be in your way, though.”

Stede gives him a stiff grin. He’s starting to worry his face might get stuck this way. “Oh, no. You couldn’t be.”

Ed grimaces politely back.

+++

Becoming a better person always sounds so clear in theory: as if it’s some new stage of existence you step into, like death, and never come back from.

Logically, Stede doesn’t mind that all his beloved things are gone, that his library has been wasted (unless there are some really bookish mermaids out there). What are things, really, compared to people? Not so much.

But not nothing, either, the small niggling voice in his head starts to say as the days go on.

+++

[After somehow finding themselves overboard and having to swim to the nearest island! Unsurprisingly, I skipped writing the complicated action sequence!]

“Oh my God, we’ve done it,” Stede pants when they finally reach the shore. “We’re alive!”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Ed asks.

“Quite a bit, yeah,” Stede can’t help admitting.

Ed groans. “Yeah, definitely. I’m really out of shape, man.”

“Maybe we should work some daily calisthenics into the schedule. If we make it out of here, that is.”

“I’m down for that.”

“Where are we?”

They take a moment to survey the beach. The narrow shoreline is quickly gobbled up into dense jungle.

But then, in the distance:

“Lights!” Stede yells, pointing.

+

“Well, this is a charming set-up, isn’t it??” Stede exclaims as they take in the sight of the sparkling chateau. 

Ed whistles. “Wouldn’t mind retiring here, putting my feet up.”

“It’s probably dangerous,” Stede adds, a tad reluctantly.

“Oh yeah. Nobody lives on their own island because they’re so great with people.”

“But all the same, there’s probably food in there. And beds.”

“We’re pirates,” Ed reminds him. “We can hold our own, can’t we?”

“Yeah! This weird freak with an island should be afraid of us!”

“That’s the spirit,” says Ed, knocking his knuckles against Stede’s.

In spite of all the recent nearly dying, Stede feels a surge of sudden bliss. They smile at each other–

And then the gigantic door swings open.

“Why, hello there!” says Stede brightly, going into good manners mode. “We’re two weary, lost travelers who happened across your lovely island–”

He realizes there’s no one there.

“Okay, I don’t like that a bit,” he declares, wrinkling his nose.

“It’s not promising,” Ed agrees grimly.

They step inside and are immediately met by a blazing chandelier in the foyer and the sound of a harpsichord being played in a distant room. The house is full of beautiful things; artwork on the walls, vases on tables. Stede feels suddenly, pleasantly dizzy.

“Oh, my,” he breathes.

“Pretty legit,” Ed declares.

“Why, if it eesn’t Sir Godfrey Thornrose and Jeff,” comes a woman’s voice, with a woman’s familiar obnoxiously fancy accent.

“Oh, God,” Stede mutters, dread filling him.

“Passive aggression,” Ed whispers.

And sure enough – even though the last time they saw her, it was on a ship that was swiftly burning to ash – standing there, looking as sparkly and unpleasant as before, is Antoinette.

+++

(dun dun DUNNNN!)

[tio-trile]

S2 was SO bland and meh and just. Nothing. I was bored and confused and it would have been so disappointing if I had actually gone in with any kinda expectations! I didn’t mind s1 (nothing on the book). But it feels so unnecessary to continue and really honestly the whole plot of s2 felt like someone’s weird fanfic? It’s so transitional. It’s only point is to get the boys to the point they’re at at the very end and it felt so pointless because of that. I’ve read that s3 is actually the one that’s going to be based on the ideas that Terry and Neil had for a sequel so I’m just preying to any gods that can be bothered to listen that it somehow makes up even slightly for this waste of time of a season but my hopes are basement level rn

Honestly I was really unhappy when season 2 was announced, because I've been telling everybody around me that there's no chance we'll get a season 2 because the story of the book is finished, and there's no way that Neil Gaiman will disrespect his dead friend Terry that much by going ahead and writing his own story......until they announced that they're making a season 2. I already felt really betrayed at that point, but I didn't say anything negative about it. because I wanted to be nice and I didn't want to rain on everybody's parade. But now I'm done being nice I'm going apeshit. Don't give me the "the third season is going to be exactly like the second book that they never got to write!" because I never read the second book co-written by Terry, and I cannot decide by myself, and Terry can't be here to prove that everything is accurate to the book.

[antlerx-art]

GOOD OMENS 2 EPISODE 6 REACTION - CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️

THE EVERY IS IN THIS EPISODE. YES I’LL KEEP CALLING IT THAT UNTIL IT HAPPENS. IM GOING INSANE.

starting it 👍🏻

aziraphale you’re standing a little too dangerously in that circle remember last time

“you’re not welcome here” DEEP VOICE OOOOOH pity crowley isn’t here to hear it my guy would’ve fainted

HIS ANGEL OUTFIT 💀THE WAY HES RUNNING

yes maggie ROAST her 🙏

“i’ve spent my life being scared of things” 😭

“BRAVER THAN ANYONE I KNOW”YEEEAHHH MY LESBIANS

shax don’t hurt maggie don’t you even THINK of hurting maggie or nina

“my god you lot are pathetic” LOUDERRR GO MAGGIEEE GOOOOO

no wait why can they get in

MAGGIEEEEEEE WHAT HAVE YOU DONEEEE

hehe aziraphale is “perfectly prepared to take defensive action” 😼

“STAY BACK 😠” OHHHH WOW

“you can all leave now, and nobody will be hurt” SO BADASS YEAHHHHHH

rip eric

lol there’s no miracle apparently michael and uriel just can’t notice crowley

noooooo muriel is lonely :(

also crowley comparing angels to bees and aziraphale feeling lonely when he realized he’s an “angel that goes along with heaven as far as he can” in ep 2 is making heaven look like some sort of hivemind and it’s really cool, it also explains why aziraphale is a bit uncomfortable with not having someone to report to after becoming free

CROWLEY WAS AN IMPORTANT ANGELLLLLLL I KNEW IT OHHH MY GOD I THOUGHT IT WAS A STUPID THEORY BUT IT SEEMS TRUE?

aziraphale using the way he discorporated in s1 to discorporate other demons hehe silly

i was about to say that demons can’t possibly be that stupid but aziraphale is reading my mind i guess

AND HE DOESNT HAVE ANOTHER PLAN!

“amen” okay??

gabriel saying nah???? to heaven winning?????

crowley is so doctor who right now

“ARMAGEDDON THE SEQUEL THATS A NAH” 😭 IS THIS WHAT HE WAS PUNISHED FOR??

aziraphale MENTIONING THE FIRE???????

NOOO IT’S TRAUMATIC FOR HIM ☹️

they had a TRIAL?

saraqael knows it’s crowley AND KNEW HIM AS AN ANGEL WHAAAT

“severe measures” no aziraphale you have to say extreme sanctions

“CROWLEY’S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANGEL”

shax stop making fun of my angel

THE METATRON AT THE TRIAL

UHH why doesn’t gabriel give a fuck about this

“GUYS ENOUGH”? OH MY

“one prince of heaven cast into the outer darkness” DO YOU MEAN. DO YOU MEAN CROWLEY? WAS HE A PRINCE OF HEAVEN????????

junior recoding angel😭 HES ONE CLASS UNDER M U R I E L

crowley’s little punch on their shoulder HES A NICE GUYYY OH HES SO CBBSBDBBD

gabriel is so casual about the trial?? like he just got fired but he didn’t like the job anyway

aziraphale what are you doing

IS HE GOING TO BECOME BIBLICALLY ACCURATE?

THE HALOOOOOO

HE STARTED THE WAR

“YOU WOT?”

just kidding no war apparently

and why is the box full now?????

THE FLYYYYYY that’s what he was writing

BEELZEBUB INVOLVED I K N E W IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT

HEHEEHEHEHHEHE INEFFABLE BUREAUCRACY

yayyy memories are back

SEASON ONE???????

OH GOD THIS SHIP IS REAL?

arma bloody geddon

ahh and they’re too tired to fight so they agreed to just refuse to do it i guess?

and gabe then went to aziraphale’s bookshop because he was the first one to go against armageddon

A PROPOSAL TO MAKE

yes that’s what i thought

i can’t believe gabriel has a deal with beelzebub this fandom keeps winning this season truly is a shipper’s dream

THE SCENEEEEE from the trailer

he actually goes there just to look at the statue for hours💀

THEY WERE AT THE PUB!!! i keep predicting

romantic ineffable bureaucracy date if they *every* before aziracrow i’ll be dead on the floor laughing

GABE PUT THEIR SONG ON

FINGERS TOUCHING

“it’s bigger on the inside” CAN BRITISH PEOPLE STOP. BEING. BRITISH. (jk i love y’all keep making these silly shows🫶🏻)

ROOOOMANCEEEEEE THE WAY THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER

HES BACK!

if they kiss istg

“SILLY SILLY ANGEL”

HANDS HOLDING???? WHY IS EVERYONE CONFESSING BEFORE AZIRACROW WAKE UPPPPPP

WHY DID IT TAKE YOU GUYS 6000 YEARS AND INEFFABLE BUREAUCRACY MADE IT IN?? SOME MONTHS?

“you will speak one at a time” yummmmy

ALPHA CENTAURY THEY ALWAYS WANTED TO GO THERE

still cant believe they’re canon

THATS THE METATRON

NINA AND MAGGIE TELLING CROWLEY TO CONFESS OOOOOH YESSSS

NINA CALLED MAGGIE ANGEL

ah i suppose the metatron offered aziraphale to be some sort of archangel but hes gonna decline because he wants to be with crowley

ITS ABOUT TO HAPPENNNNNN

no aziraphale HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?????

yeah as i said

AZIRAPHALE HOW CAN YOU STILL THINK THIS I THOUGHT YOU HAD SOME BIGGER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

CROWLEY’S CONFESSION IM NOT OKAY

“oh crowley nothing lasts forever” shut. up.

CROWLEY PUTTING THE GLASSES BACK ON AS A SHEILD

YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSED TO DINE AT THE RITZ AZIRAPHALE YOURE RUINING EVERYTHING

“i need you!” THEN STAY YOU DUMBASS

NO NIGHTINGALE? STOP IM ABOUT TO THROW UP

WE COULD’VE BEEN US

THE EVERY

THE EVERY OH GOD

THE FUCKING EVERY HAPPENED OH MY GOD BUT ITS SO SAD WHYYYYYYYYY

THIS IS WHY I DIDNT WANT IT TO BE IN THE LAST EPISODE AND EVEN LESS IN THE LAST SCENE I NEED HELP

“I FORGIVE YOU” / “DONT BOTHER”

NEIL GAIMAN PAY MY THERAPY BILLS

aziraphale touching his lips.

GO AFTER HIMMMMMMMMMM YOU IDIOT

i hate this

i need a moment

SO.

i know that in cinema the middle part is usually the sad part so since this show is a three season thing i was already considering the possibility of a sad ending for s2

BUT IT DID NOT. HAVE TO BE THIS SAD.

i have to say it did feel quiet gentle and romantic compared to season one, BUT THIS ENDING. THS FUCKING ENDING???? THIS COULDVE BEEN SO PERFECT WHY DID THE METATRON SHOW UP WHY DID AZIRAPHALE ACCEPT

neil i’m in your walls IM UNDER YOUR BED

AND WHAT IF WE DONT GET A SEASON THREE?

good omens and ofmd both ending with them separated this is too much why can’t gay people be happy

and when i had seen the every i couldn’t wait to see the contentx BUT OHHH I ALREADY MISS THE TIME WHEN I WAS CLUELESS I DIDNT NEED THIS CONTEXT

crowley i’m with you btw aziraphale needs to do the apology dance a million times

alright i’m rambling bye everyone i’m gonna go stare at the wall for seven hours

tagging @neil-gaiman but this time it’s to send him my therapy bills not the reaction ❤️

[szkin-art]

very mixed feelings about the ending of gwitch. Overall I can say I enjoyed the show as a whole a ton, and still think it’s really strong, but the conclusion wasn’t what I wanted. More under the cut.

Gundam Witch from Mercury Episode 24 Spoilers!

I’m glad they didn’t magically resolve the entire central conflict of the setting. The Bennerit Group is gone (good) but Earthian-Spacian inequality isn’t going to go away after just three years, and all those assets *can* just be bought up by Spacians again. If we get a sequel series ala Zeta, this is a clear hook.

We get a brief sketch of how gund-tech has proliferated in the epilogue - Petra’s legs, the nape commlinks Suletta and Miorine have, and so on. All fine, though I still hope we eventually get something set in AS that explores the transhumanist potential that’s hinted at in the Prologue, even if its just a manga or something.

Suletta and Miorine are explicitly married. They are more explicitly a couple than most straights in Gundam. On the other hand, in a show so uniquely focused on their relationship, it feels like a copout to not have a properly romantic conclusion. Let them kiss Sunrise.

Eri becoming a gay keychain is very funny.

Nika’s gay ass haircut singlehandedly carrying half this epilogue for me. I wish we got more of Earth House.

El5n doing his little hiking expedition emotionally destroys me after recently finishing 00.

Guel’s epilogue scene is funny, but I maintain they fundamentally botched his character. After the One earth episode, they pretty much hit the brakes and rolled his entire arc back. Spacian Capitalism and Parental Abuse is Fine Actually, but at least he respects women now.

Shaddiq is just getting sentenced to death or SuperJail or something now? Idk. He feels like such a wasted character to me. Biggest case of “why is this plot in the show if you never intended to do something with it”. I’m glad his mean girl squad are out and thriving.

Idk - the ending feels a bit like an anime that was given a set amount of episodes and then abruptly cancelled near the end. Yet S1 was paced perfectly and we already knew the show would have 24 episodes back then. So I’m genuinely mystified by how this happened and what decisions were taking place behind the scenes. Did they expect a third season and just not get it? That feels kinda insane given how well the show did.

I think with how much they’ve left open, there’s absolutely room for a movie or a new AS show with a different protagonist, but Suletta as a protagonist has definitely concluded her arc. Mind you, it’s satisfying and well done (but also SUNRISE, LET THEM KISS YOU COWARDS)

Above all though - it’s been extremely fun watching the show from week to week, sharing theories, art, opinions and everything else with other fans. It was my first time watching a Gundam series as it aired, and the show will be irrevocably special to me for that reason alone.

[rebelrebelwrites]

Fic Friday! ❤️ Rebel’s Weekly Fic Recs

As always, this week's recs are...

As always, please mind the tags on any recommended story for your own personal preferences.

+++

The Classic You’ve Heard Of But Somehow Haven’t Read Yet: Say Something True by eastwynds

What you need to know going in:

I read this fic a while back, thought I bookmarked it and somehow didn’t, and have been thinking about it since, planning on highlighting it in one of these weekly fic rec posts. Lo and behold, this week I started reading its sequel (more on that in a minute) and found it again! Another one of the great “what happened on the way to Eregion” fics, this one thrums with an undercurrent of fear—Galadriel’s fear that Halbrand won’t make it before they reach Eregion. Her grappling with her growing feelings and her barely-restrained terror that he might die is a standout in this story. In addition, you’ll see a stoic but pained Hal, and a supreme softness between the two of them that’s breathtaking. Bonus! It also has a few unique twists and turns that are a joy to read, and a brush of scintillating smut to boot. May I advise bookmarking then diving in? 😂 At the very least, don’t make the mistake I did!

Complete, Mature

Read the story.

Follow the author on AO3.

+++

The AU You Need to Immerse Yourself In Because, Well, Wow: just what i needed by @hazelmaines

What you need to know going in:

This fic! This week! Along with the last fic on this week’s list, this story basically got me through this week at work for its sheer delightfulness and how fully-realized and immersive it is. (Also, a major thank you and kudos to author @hazelmaines for the flurry of updates, always appreciated, even if it’s only temporary!) This modern AU has Galadriel and Halbrand meeting and majorly sparking at a religious summer camp. Gal’s exhausted by her family’s (unfair and unreasonable) expectations of her and her faith, and Halbrand is dealing with a similar aimlessness as the son of the pastors in charge of the camp. It’s early days for this story, but the back-and-forth between these two is electric, and the setting serves as a fantastic metaphor for canon in so many ways, and is just incredibly authentic. I’m so excited to see these where these two go, and how they’ll reckon with a world where they don’t seem to fit… except together, that is. 😉

WIP, Explicit

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr and AO3.

+++

The Complete But Never Forgotten Masterpiece: the once and future -- by @mortaltempless

What you need to know going in:

Hnnnng this fic, another great addition to the Saurondriel fandom from @mortaltempless — and another favorite of mine. A canonverse, post-S1 one-shot, this has such a unique and harrowing (in the best way) premise: 10 years after Sauron deceives Galadriel, she, Celeborn, and Elrond capture a prisoner from the Southlands… who recounts the chilling legend of the Southlands lost queen. 👀👀👀 Care to guess who she might be? I won’t say more since this is a self-contained story, so just trust me when I say that as always with @mortaltempless’ works, this fic is impeccably written, has a dash of smoldering smut, and a simmering, soulful angst that will take root in your soul. So. Damn. Good.

Complete, Explicit

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr, Twitter and AO3.

+++

The WIP That Will Wreck You (In the Best Way): An Ocean of Tears by @honeyfarts666

What you need to know going in:

A Sauron redemption story! Yes, it’s Sad Mairon in this fic, burrowing away in the wilderness to lick his wounds after Galadriel finds out who he is and rejects him. There, he begins to contemplate a better existence—if he’s capable of one. Jury’s still out, but I’m very intrigued to find out. Meanwhile, Galadriel has her own secrets she’s keeping… (that I won’t spoil) and when they meet again after so much time apart, the secrets are bound to be revealed. It feels like there’s so much on the horizon for this fic, which is just getting started, but Sauron’s genuine-(ish?) repentance (plus, his having a few animal buddies to keep him company) is enchanting to read. Still, angst and inner turmoil feel like they’re just under the surface of every moment, and I’m steeling myself for what will come next. Can’t wait! 😍

WIP, Mature

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr and AO3.

+++

The Can't Stop Consuming No Matter What Time It Is Fic: In Case of Defeat, Break Glass by eastwynds

What you need to know going in:

Aaaaand I’m totally doing it and putting TWO stories by the same author in one fic rec post, but it’s so warranted! This story is the sequel to Say Something True that I mentioned above, and I kid you not, this fic basically got me through this week at work. I binged it like a fiend after rereading it’s precursor, and my only regret with doing so is that I’m now all caught up. Where the prequel ends in Eregion for our favorite ETL pair, the sequel picks up after Halbrand’s reveal, with Galadriel on her way back to the Southlands to treat with Sauron after he sent her a mysterious missive. I’m going to gloss over plot because I don’t want to spoil anything and the TWISTS, you guys… SO good. Literally, every chapter I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was coming next. What I will spill is that it’s a post-S1 epic journey in which Gal and Sauron are thrust together to work against another foe, and again, I’m just so impressed with the amount of surprising but familiar plot threads this author weaves, and I also thoroughly enjoy the characterization they employ for Gal and Sauron. It’s such a contrast to the prequel, which had so much more raw tenderness to it, whereas here, Sauron is so much cheekier, and Gal bristles but also basks in their banter together, and the weight of what came before is this ever-present shadow of sadness. It’s… I mean, you can’t stop consuming it, like the title of this fic rec category says! So don’t try; just start reading it today if you’re not already on it. 😂

WIP, Mature

Read the story.

Follow the author on AO3.

+++

🤩🤩🤩

Me at all these fics:

Don’t see your story on this list yet? Keyword: yet. Please don’t fret! I can only recommend so many each week, but I am always looking for more stuff to read, share, and generally shower with love, so please feel free to reply with your own fics or your personal faves. I have plenty more to recommend… ❤️

Until next week!

[astarkey]

I was tagged a century ago by the lovely @barbienheimer to list 5 unpopular opinions from 5 fandoms! Thank you babe, and I am so so sorry it took me this long to get around to doing this! 😘💖🙏🏽

1. From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

I know I’m gonna get dragged for this, but this has been my opinion for years ever since I stepped foot in the fdtd tumblr fandom... The Kisa and Kate war thing is just ridiculous. And bashing people for having siding with either of them and saying they’re wrong to like either of them too is ridiculous when literally they’re fictional characters and these characters ain’t that deep. Like I feel like people take it too personally when the real person to blame is the writers who wrote them that way. I love both the characters and I feel like I’m the only one in the fandom that’s playing at an even field here lol because I know that both of them aren’t good and aren’t perfect, but I’m out here having fun imagining them being best buds going on a girls road trip with Kalinda, Dakota, and Maggie :p

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Not gonna lie, ever since Dawn showed up in s5, I’ve always found her very, very annoying and never liked the plot of Buffy all-of-a-sudden having a sister.

3. Stranger Things

Definitely felt like they could’ve handled s4 better in the ending after they left Eddie in the upside down instead of just showing him dying and then flashing up “two days later.” Also, the Steve/Nancy thing they were pulling, I didn’t like it at all.

4. Kingdom Hearts

... Remember when the first game was about a boy who wanted to leave the island and travel to other worlds (disney worlds)? Yeah, that was a simple story. ‘Cause like right after that, I really felt like... that series became a cash cow for Square. Because right after that game, they came out with Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance and not the ps2, and then the sequel came out for the ps2, but then Birth by Sleep and Re:Coded and 358/2 Days came out for the psp and Nintendo DS, and then Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS, KHX for mobile phones, 0.2 and KH3 for ps4, and I don’t even know what KH4 is gonna be on, but it’s like I just never liked that they wanted to have these games on consoles that nobody has?? Like it’s just something that has bugged me for 20 years, like why not keep it simple and have it on like a main console brand like playstation? Like imo, I thought that they were making up these other stories just to have them for specific consoles for like a cash grab instead of having a coherent storyline that makes sense. And with KH3, I was expecting Sora’s story to be over-over, not go back to how it was in the ending of the first game where Sora and Kairi are separated AGAIN, in order for the story to keep going. Like right when the news broke out about kh4, I was happy and excited, but I wasn’t all too thrilled because I feel like it’ll be this never-ending cycle where Sora’s story is said to end, but it will never end. I will say though that the fans that kept pushing the developers to finish kh3 and kept asking when will it be released, that wasn’t cool at all. Like they don’t know how much work the devs put into to creating a game, and for them to demand it, that wasn’t right and I felt bad for the devs.

5. Yellowjackets (SPOILERS AHEAD)

S2 was not as good as s1. I felt like everything was rushed to answer almost everything, while there’s still important things left unanswered. Natalie being the antler queen???? And then having her killed off while she was also a recovering addict was just a wrong move. She was literally the most sane character in this story, and now the most sane person is gone. I don’t even know if I wanna watch it anymore after that because she was the strongest character and my favorite, and I had high hopes for her. I was hoping s2 was all just a dream because it all felt like one big joke to me. There was no mystery, no thrill, nothing that left me hanging wanting more like s1 did where there was one mystery after the next that doesn’t reveal itself. And I also didn’t like the Misty/Walter thing, like it was cute, but it also got on my nerves idk how to explain it lmao 😂

I felt like I was rambling through this 🤣 But yeah, those are my unpopular opinions.

Tagging (no pressure of course!): @bloodychamber, @camiladnne, @bellamuertes, @justjstuff, @blondiest, @ondinaaa, @alwaysupatnight, @lilmissuncreative, @charlottesmatthews, @chronic-ghost, @bonnielass23, @weloveachother, and anyone else who wants to do this! ❤️

[irisbleufic]

man i was someone who got into good omens from the show (i’m a huge queen fan and was drawn by the fact that they used a bunch of their music in the show) but came to really prefer the book and i just. i was a big fan of the show but the existence and content of s2 has really soured the show for me and it feels like it looked at the show’s flaws and went “oh that’s the thing we need more of!”. what’s the fucking point of this season. it’s Sequel Syndrome and all my friends love it for some reason and i realize we didn’t really like, watch the same show when we watched season 1?

Yeah, I hear you. It’s unsettling. I didn’t love S1, and I found some of the tweaks to the book plot nonsensical—but at least it did follow the novel’s plot, more or less, and capture some of the spirit. There were isolated threads in the plot that I thought were beautifully done, and most others were kind of clumsily done. S2, though? Honestly makes S1 look like a masterpiece. And it does not feel like a logical continuation to S1 in most respects (see the ask I answered just before this one for commentary on that).

[crmsnknghttm]

Why the 15 time skip doesn’t work

1. It feels like nothing happened

Now that’s not entirely true, a lot did happen. The kid characters became adults. Many other characters moved into new lives.

But it doesn’t really feel like we missed anything. Phoenix Drop returned to where it started practically in S1. And things only started happening when Aph and the gang returned.

Like you’re telling me that O’khasis left phoenix drop alone when the heir of their city and the high priest, who are both the lord/kings sons; suddenly go missing? And no one was sent to check the place out? Or question people there even?

The time skip didn’t even have any real impact on laurance, katelynn, emmalynn, kenmur, garroth, Aaron. It does have some impact on aphmau but nothing that develops or expands on her character.

2. It’s way too long of a time skip

15 years is a really long time. The only time timeskips are that are either one off episodes or next gen sequels that focus on the next generation.

MCD does neither of these. It’s not automatically bad because doesn’t follow either. It’s bad because we’re effectively introduced to the setting and the characters again, with minimal difference, excluding kid characters or new characters (assuming their given any focus, and yes Minecraft diaries has way too many fucking characters that doesn’t do enough with, or contribute to the plot).

Aphmau and the gang have to go from village to village to find allies and maybe solve some mystery at the same time. Same thing as the end of season 1/ 15 years ago.

If you’re curious I’d say somewhere around 5 years give or take, if it was up to me. Just long enough for everyone to move on but short enough not to be forgotten.

And imagine the time skip where phoenix drop wasn’t left in ruin but was build anew. And now everyone returning from the Irene dimension now have to grapple with very different Ru’aun region. Where the entire region has changed.

Just food for thought.

[daisychainsandbowties]

coming off the high of 17776 au so... 17 and 6 (pjo au)? also i know it's a sequel so this may be cheating but 18 (orbital mechanics)? many thanks 🙇

i’m glad you liked that first bit of 17776 au it spent a whole day incubating in my head before i wrote it so… chaos of conception is = to chaos of execution 😌

17. what highly specific au do you want to read or write even though you feel like you might be the only person to appreciate it?

i answered this already but the aus are unending so… i would LOVE to read a how to train your dragon au where ava gets to bond with a night fury and bea can?? help with the design for the rig to help with its damaged tail and you know i love hiccup and toothless because they’re canonically disabled so i think that would be an AMAZING au to read or to write 🥰🥰

sidebar but i’m also forever grateful for the alien bea au because i wanted to read something like that so bad ever since i read Axiom’s End (what a book what a book what a-) and then it was just!!! there. and there’s a goat in that fic called daisychain 🥹 and its the BEST goat so ha!

6. what’s one fact about the universe of pjo au that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

because it’s not finished there a bunch of stuff i can’t WAIT to mention i have so many ideas for it and details and scenes i can’t wait to share. but.. sadly writer’s block is killing me (plus thesis 😔) right now so i’m chipping away at it

but!!! i would have really liked to actually write the scene where ava first steps into the ocean. in the same spirit as the infamous beach run scene from s1 of warrior nun

i just think it would have been,,, so beautiful. obviously we get her and chanel in that early scene. ava getting to just barely be in the ocean, but oooo there’s something so different about ava getting to step into it and feel her body fully for the first time in a long time. that would have been i think just so much fun to write. i might still do a flashback to it but… nothing beats the narrative going there on its own you know?

18. if you wrote a sequel to orbital mechanics what would it involve?

oh! well i have ideas actually for a few more chapters of orbital mechanics, especially after playing a lot of Jedi: Survivor and the.. very very intriguing possibilities that raised.

i think it would actually be amazing to take the orbital mechanics iterations of my girls and put them in situations. imagine the clumsy familiar tendinous way they’d fight, how absolutely batshit lilith and ava would go (together) if… say… bea was captured.

plus i want to explore long term chronic pain with bea - maybe the idea of replacing the horrid black wires in her arm with a gentler kind, or bea thinking about amputation which is you know a valid approach and the her choice of it really compels me.

so!! yea h! i am trapped in want to write too many things land 😭😭🥹

[your-littlesecret]

i am so late for this it isn’t even funny! i am sorry and thank you for the tag @hrhgeorgerussell 💕💕💕

name: jully

sign: cancer (i’ve heard so many people that like, know me say i don’t look even remotely like i am a cancer so.)

time: 14:02 exactly

favourite band / artist: there’s like, taylor swift at the very top and then a few 20km bellow there’s a very wide arrange of mostly brazilian artists (i am like, THE most basic bitch when it’s about international music. i like pop and the maine and we’ll- i guess that will be it.)

last movie: red white and royal blue

last show: good omens (s1: masterpiece!!! s2: reallyyyyyy good but it does look like something they created only to make money, which it is, considering only s1 was based on the book and- well, there’s no sequel to it)

when I created this blog: i think 2011?? i’ve been on tumblr for a long time and i’ve only ever had this blog and it changed fandoms and general interests with me

other blogs: boy, i can’t even manage 1 properly, how will i do with more???????

do I get asks: normally, never! — sometimes when i reblog one of those writing games and all from friends, ily all 💕💕

followers: i have like, 2k followers from all those years back, and most of them are ghosts now (there are some that have been abandoned for like, 10 years already?) so considering that, i have 7 💕💕 (i am joking, i didn’t count. but- it should be close to that number haha)

average hours of sleep: would be 12 if i could, but usually like 7? 8? i don’t know, i just go to sleep when i feel tired and wake up when my body wants to 🤷🏼‍♀️

instruments: took guitar classes for a while when i was younger but i kind of hated it?? i wanted to take piano, but idk why i couldn’t??

what I'm wearing: pijamas (a scooby doo set. i am ridiculous.) and i am barefoot bc i always am barefoot

dream job: right now???? an office job. what i wouldn’t give to stay seated behind a desk the whole day and not need to like, stand inside a ridiculously hot kitchen every single day, for 10 hours straight.

dream trip: iceland and maybe alaska

favourite song atm: work song by hozier (i am. not really good at keeping track of new songs. i just listen to the same old ones forever. unless it’s taylor swift hehe)

right, i think there’s no point in tagging anyone bc i’ve seen everyone do it already. sorry i’m late 😬