#tma diana

[libraryfag]

why do you, as a man have weird dream powers, so you can dream about other men?

[paintbrushinacoffeecup]

I hear you screaming, bleeding out of the hunter

I open my eyes and now I realize I'm just the game

Torn away from my home, left me crawling

Everything is falling, now I'm the hunted

[ace-of-dragons-art]

one of my favourite things in a piece of media is when it's just. really obvious that the creator loves cats

[starwalkers-ocs]

I might make Rose and Mary into TMA OCs for an AU(?) as well. Let them both multi-class in sources for a bit. I've got some ideas for some in-person statements and I think that they would fit with them perfectly.

I'm not exactly sure what the events they experience are yet, but I know that Rose's statement would either based around The Spiral, The Web, or The Stranger, and Mary's statement would be themed around The Slaughter and The Hunt with a bit of The Eye.

(mentions of being sick in tags!)

[thecatfight2023]

The Bracket™ is here!

here are our competitors!

to space out the polls some, we have them divided in mini-brackets (each mini bracket will be posted a day as to not overwhelm everyone with all of the polls at once)

THIS WILL ALSO BE UPDATED TO HAVE THE LINKS TO THE POLLS!!

mini-bracket 1

Mewo (OMORI) V. Spider Cat (OMORI)

Domino (Amphibia) V. Ghost (The Owl House)

Thomas O’Malley (Aristocats) V. Marie (Aristocats)

Oliver (Oliver & Co.) V. Mochi (Big Hero 6)

Cat (Coraline) V. Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

Tasque (Deltarune) V. Tubbs (Neko Atsume)

Daffodil (Spiritfarer) V. Black Cat (The Witch’s House)

Neite (Runescape) V. Black Cat (Divinity Original Sin 2)

Alpine (Marvel) V. Goose (Marvel)

Isis (Batman: The Animated Series) V. Alfred the Cat (DC)

Mikeko (Ace Attorney) V. Shoe (Ace Attorney)

Cats (Jet Set Radio Future) V. Shadow (Super Lesbian Animal RPG)

Fat Louie (The Princess Diaries) V. Orion (Men in Black)

Milo (Milo & Otis) V. Miss Kitty Fantastico (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Cat God (Identity V) V. Yuumi (League of Legends)

Opalescence (MLP:FIM) V. Ice Cream Kitty (TMNT 2012)

mini-bracket 2

Ichigo Momomiya [cat form] (Tokyo Mew Mew) V. Alto (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Kyo Sohma [cat form] (Fruits Basket) V. Kuro (Blue Exorcist)

Sakamoto (Nichijou) V. Kuroneko (Trigun)

Prince (Genshin Impact) V. Neko (Genshin Impact)

Pusheen (Pusheen) V. Simon’s Cat (Simon’s Cat Animations)

Nyan Cat V. Minecraft cats

Video (Strong Hearts are Mandatory) V. Ginger (Brimstone and Roses)

Midnight (Castle in the Air) V. Jenny Linsky (Jenny Linsky books)

Schrodinger’s cat V. Tuna Sandwich (Kid Cosmic)

Pura (Crash Bandicoot) V. George (Spyro)

Tom F14 (Atom: The Beginning) V. Murr (The Case Study of Vanitas)

Mausfänger (Pentiment) V. Myau (Phantasy Star)

Cam (Squishmallow) V. Autumn (Squishmallow)

Serafina (Barbie Princess and the Pauper) V. Wolfie (Barbie Princess and the Pauper)

Melog (She-Ra 2018) V. Curious Cat (RWBY)

Judd + Lil Judd (Splatoon) V. Webkinz cats (all of them)

mini-bracket 3

Tama V. FDC Willard

Stray Cat J V. Pangur

Grumpy Cat V. Miette

Jinx V. Jorts

Gandalf V. Raymond 

Smudge V. The Cat Foretold

Forever’s Brood V. Norman (SolidarityGaming)

Jellie (GoodTimesWithScar) V. BB (Jacksepticeye)

Garfield (Garfield) V. Meowth (Pokémon)

Puss In Boots (Shrek Cinematic Universe) V. Kitty Softpaws (Puss in Boots)

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess cats V. The Garreg Mach Monastery cats (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Purrsula (Dragon Quest Treasures) V. Shiro/Blanche (House 1977)

Slugcat (RainWorld) V. Pussyfoot (Looney Tunes)

Li'l' Mittens (WordGirl) V. Mittens (Wander Over Yonder)

Greebo (Discworld) V. Maurice (Discworld)

You (Discworld) V. The Cat (Infinity Train)

mini-bracket 4

Cat (Ghost Trick) V. Cat (Stray)

Salem (Sabrina the Teenage Witch 1996) V. Binx (Hocus Pocus)

Firestar (Warrior Cats) V. Scourge (Warrior Cats)

Mothwing (Warrior Cats) V. Leafpool (Warrior Cats)

Sprigatito (Pokémon) V. Litten (Pokémon)

Meowstic (Pokémon) V. Shinx (Pokémon)

Jiji (Kiki’s Delivery Service) V. Luna (Sailor Moon)

Artemis (Sailor Moon) V. Diana (Sailor Moon)

Morgana (Persona 5) V. Ravage (Transformers)

Fukumaru (A Man and His Cat) V. Nyanko-Sensei (Natsume Yuujinchou)

The Judge (OFF) V. Mr. Midnight (Fran Bow)

Khoshekh (WTNV) V. Catbus (My Neighbor Totoro)

Grudge (Star Trek: Discovery) V. Spot (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Lumi (Cats are Liquid) V. 808 (Hi-Fi Rush)

Ser Pounce-A-Lot (Dragon Age) V. Warmseeker (Elder Scrolls Online)

Frumpkin (Critical Role) V. The Admiral (TMA)

polls for mini-bracket 1 will be scheduled to post around 2 pm EST tomorrow! also reminder they will be open for 1 day each!

propaganda is encouraged!! go wild! we will do our best to reblog as much as we can and it will be tagged with "purr-opaganda" (for those who want to filter the tag). we also recommend making propaganda for your cat blorbos sooner rather than later so there's a chance for them to win!!

-mod orange

[genrebender]

Some Canonically Queer Characters:

Asexuals and/or Aromatic:

-Jon Sims - asexual biromantic (The Magnus Archives)

-Jay - aromatic & asexual (Supernatural Academy -in show not sure about books)

-Alastor - aroace (Hazbin Hotel)

-Caduseus Clay - aroace (Critical Role: Campaign two the Mighty Nein)

-Lilith Clawthorne - aroace (The Owl House)

-Artemis/Diana aroace (PJO)

-Hestia aroace (PJO)

-Athena/Minerva alloromantic & asexual (PJO)

-Reyna Ramírez-Arellano alloromatic & asexual (PJO)

Bisexual:

-Luz Noceda (The Owl House)

-Korra (The Legend of Korra)

-Asami Sato (The Legend of Korra)

-Millie (Helluva Boss)

-Moxxie (Helluva Boss)

-Loki (Marvel Comics and MCU)

-Loki (PJO/Magnus Chase books/Riordianverse)

-Tony Stark (Marvel Comics only)

-Logan/Wolverine (Comics non 161 universe)

-Jesper Fahey (Grishaverse/Six of Crows)

-Nina Zenik (Grishaverse/Six of Crows)

-Tommy Shepherd (Marvel Comics)

-David Alleyne (Marvel Comics)

-Hercules (Marvel Comics)

-Marvel Boy (Marvel Comics)

-Yizhi (Iron Widow)

-Shimin (Iron Widow)

-Zetain (Iron Widow)

-Mystique (Marvel Comics)

-Kate “Kitty” Pride (Marvel Comics)

-Harley Quinn (DC)

-Poison Ivy (DC)

-Catwoman (DC)

-Joker (DC)

-Tim Drake (DC)

-Wonder Woman (DC)

-Yuuri Katsuki (Yuri!!! On Ice)

-Bow (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

-Glimmer (She-Ra)

-Mermista (She-Ra)

-Sea Hawk (She-Ra)

-Lonnie (She-Ra)

-Rogelio (She-Ra)

-Kyle (She-Ra)

-Entrapta (She-Ra)

-Tim Stoker (TMA)

-Georgie Barker (TMA)

-Vax’ildan (Crit Role: Campaign 1 Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Vex’ahlia (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Allura (Vox Machina)

-Caleb Widowgast (Mighty Nein)

-Mollymauk/Lucien/Kingsley Tealeaf (Mighty Nein)

-Laerryn Coramar-Seelie (EXU Calamity)

-Juno Steel (The Penumbra Podcast)

-Star Lord (Marvel Comics)

-Apollo (PJO)

-Zeus/Jupiter (PJO)

-Poseidon/Neptune (PJO)

Demisexual:

-Keyleth (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Essek Theylss - demisexual & demiromantic (The Mighty Nein)

Pansexual:

-Deadpool (Marvel Comics and implied in movies)

-Blitzø (Helluva Boss)

-Rita (The Penumbra Podcast)

Lesbian:

-Adora (She-Ra)

-Catra (She-Ra)

-Perfuma (She-Ra)

-Scorpia (She-Ra)

-Netossa (She-Ra)

-Spinnerella (She-Ra)

-Kima of Vord (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Beauregard Lionett (The Mighty Nein)

-Yahsa Nydoorin (The Mighty Nein)

-Kara Brunehilde (Venture Maidens)

-Rem (Venture Maidens)

-Gidget (Venture Maidens)

-Hemithea (Riodianverse)

-Josephine (Riodianverse)

-Lavinia Asimov (Riodianverse)

Gay/Achillean:

-George (She-Ra)

-Lance (She-Ra)

-Double Trouble (She-Ra)

-Taryon Darrington (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Shaun Gilmore (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Orym (Critical Role: Campaign 3 Hell’s Bells)

-Teddy Altman (Marvel Comics)

-Billy Kaplan (Marvel Comics)

-Bobby Drake (Marvel Comics)

-Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)

-Cecil Gershwin Palmer (WTNV)

-Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale)

-Nico di Angelo (PJO)

-Hyacinthus (PJO)

-Ganymede (PJO)

-Wylan Van Eck (Grishaverse)

Trans (M&F):

-Jewelstar (She-Ra)

-Perfuma (She-Ra)

-Khemdal Dust (The Mighty Nein)

-Terra (The Mighty Nein)

-Yussa Errenis (The Mighty Nein)

-Sipriotes (Riodianverse)

Nonbinary:

-Double Trouble (She-Ra)

-Jay (Supernatural Academy)

-Bryce Feelid (The Mighty Nein)

-Juno Steel (The Penumbra Podcast)

-Raine Whispers (TOH)

-Masha (TOH)

-Pottery Barn??? (Riodianverse)

-Mother William non-binary & two-spirit (Riordianverse)

Gender-fluid:

-Loki (Marvel Comics)

-Loki (Magnus Chase books)

-Mollymauk Tealeaf (The Might Nein)

-Bryce Feelid (The Mighty Nein)

-Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase books)

Not specified in cannon but generally queer:

-Amity Blight (TOH)

-Raine Whispers (TOH)

-Ed’s Clawthorne (TOH)

-Mara (She-Ra)

-Martin Blackwood MLM (TMA)

-Melanie King WLW (TMA)

-Victor Nikiforov (Yuri!!! On Ice)

-Scanlan Shorthalt (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Zahra Hydris (Vox Machina/TLOVM)

-Stolas (Helluva Boss)

-Eadwulf Grieve (The Mighty Nein)

-Zerxus Ilerez (EXU Calamity)

-Will Solace (PJO)

-Magnus Chase (Riodianverse)

-Piper McLean (PJO)

Polyamorous:

-Yizhi (Iron Widow)

-Li Shimin (Iron Widow)

-Wu Zetain (Iron Widow)

-Star Lord (Marvel Comics)

-Caleb Widowgast (The Mighty Nein)

-Astrid Becke (The Mighty Nein)

-Eadwulf Grieve (The Mighty Nein)

-Lonnie (She-Ra)

-Rogelio (She-Ra)

-Kyle (She-Ra)

[pixelated-pancakes]

Here’s Why Things Are the Way They Are

The Overall Layout

Let me start off by stating that one of the characters (read: Oliver Banks), in podcast, describes the Magnus Institute (TMI) as small. SMALL. 

Suffice it to say that I respectfully decline and offer you (what I deem) a medium sized building instead. Before you ask me, 'did you even try', I attempted to make two other layouts in the ‘small’ category that just. Did. Not. Work. So yeah. No small Magnus Institute for you.

The only reason I didn’t make it 'large' is because of a bit of research I did into probable locations of TMI, where none of the buildings were taller than four floors, or could be considered large by any stretch of the imagination. In terms of facade and size, I think TMI is kind of like a Starbucks on a college campus. It isn’t distractingly out of place, but you can find it easily enough.

Most of the more interesting shapes in the various floor layouts are the result of scouring Google maps and historical images for architecture typical of the 1800s. While it’s entirely possible for the building to have been gutted between now and then, I like to think of the Magnus Institute as being a preserved historical building, one that can’t be completely replaced without losing that status. Which is, unfortunately, why it doesn’t have an elevator/lift either.

Ground Floor Rooms

On this floor lies the rooms that gave me the greatest trouble: the Boiler Room and Artefact Storage. 

The source of my difficulties? MAG 038-040, three episodes wherein the amount of setting descriptions provided is greater than the sum of the descriptions found in the other 197 episodes. The entire Prentiss scene is extremely difficult to justify in a building with a feasible layout that can be designated as ‘small’ or even ‘medium’. 

Here are the most important points I used making this floor, just for easy reference:

Elias and Sasha have to find the boiler room ‘a few floors down’ 

The worms are on the upper floor (possibly the ground floor, one floor above the basement)

Elias and Sasha have to ‘turn a corner’ to see a ‘tidal wave of filth’ rushing towards them

Elias has to 1) lose Sasha, who finds her way into Artefact Storage and 2) take a roundabout route that requires 10-15 minutes to reach the boiler room (with one close call)

There are multiple corridors, only one of which contains the filth mass

Artefact Storage does not have any windows.

I spent so much time considering whether the Artefact Storage and the Boiler Room were in the basement or not — and I have been working on an alternate layout somewhere to do just that, if anyone’s interested — but ended up settling on the first floor because a lot of the descriptions didn’t line up with the idea of either of those rooms being in the basement. Elias’ ‘alternate route’ and ‘corridors’ from MAG 040 were one such description.

I also couldn’t bring myself to justify lugging a table all the way down to the basement.

(The reception, break room, toilets, and an administrative office are all located on this floor largely due to convenience and/or logic.) 

First Floor Rooms

This was the easiest floor to design. I didn’t want it to be too far from the research floor or Artefact Storage, and I knew that the library deserved its own floor. Simple, effective, and logical. I gave the head librarian an office, too. It’s what Diana deserves.

Second Floor Rooms

So, as it turns out, to run a business you need more than just the spooky parts. This includes offices for workers that are essential to keeping the company running. Marketing, accounting, the like. I also read on the wiki that the Magnus Institute has approximately 80 workers and couldn’t justify not having this floor. 

If you’ll notice, the HR department has an office smaller than the toilets. This is because Jonah Magnus deems it nonessential. The janitorial staff, however, are both very important and very well stocked, so they get one of the larger rooms. 

Third Floor Rooms

TMA explicitly states that researchers work on the third floor. Therefore, the research room is on the third floor. What is not explicitly stated is whether or not the floor levels are based on the British English floor system (which would make sense), where the ground floor is street level and the first floor is one level above, or the American English floor system (which would not make sense), where the first floor is on street level. I went for the obvious choice.

As for Elias’ office being on the third floor, in MAG 039 Elias states that there’s a manual release for the Archive’s fire suppression system “a few floors down”. Originally, I wanted his office to be on the second floor, or the first. In the end, I got a bit stuck on the idea of “a few”, which seems like it’s more than two, so all the way up to the top went Elias’ office. It stayed up there for character purposes — namely, the idea of Jonah Magnus being able to watch the city from his office.

Basement Rooms

In the basement is, of course, the Archives. Surprisingly, despite how much of the podcast takes place in the Archives, the layout is just as nebulous as the rest of TMI. 

Here are a few notable details I used in planning, all from MAG 038-040:

In the Archives, there is an office (likely small and intended for statement recording)

There’s an entrance to the tunnels in the Archives

There’s a storeroom intended for statements/files that need more care

From the storeroom, the office is visible, as is the door to the Archives.

While the second break room and toilets are not mentioned in the podcast, I thought I’d include them because it makes sense to me that a spacious area with only one exit has options in case of an emergency.

I am almost absolutely certain that I misinterpreted the description of the Archives, but alas, I won’t be remaking it for a while. The new version can wait until I’ve regained my sanity.

About the Stairs

The odd positions for the stairs are the result of trying to reason my way through the descriptions provided in MAG 038-040. My idea was that he and Sasha would descend all the way to the ground floor using the stairs closest to his office, only to run back up after meeting with a wall of corruption. 

At first, I thought that Elias’ “roundabout” route to reach the Boiler Room (MAG 040) would have him dashing through the library and down the other set of stairs, so that particular set of stairs by the Boiler Room only went up to the library floor. 

Then I thought it would be hysterical if Elias didn’t even bother running through the library because he is genuinely terrified of the librarians. (He tries to justify his actions by stating he wanted to extend Jon’s exposure to the corruption and Sasha’s encounter with the table, but he’s lying.) So in went another set of stairs.

TL;DR

The Magnus Archives is a wonderful podcast with descriptions that are highly immersive while allowing for a lot of interpretation by fans, which is something I've always appreciated in storytelling. Although I’m certain those at the Rusty Quill have their own layout, unless they choose to release all the specific details, the Magnus Institute truly is what we make of it.

Also, Elias’ description of the Prentiss invasion can get burrowed into by worms :) 

Me trying to explain the Magnus Institute layout according to the Prentiss Incident™

A Few Sources

Thoughts on layout and location of Magnus Institute

Robert Smirke (architect) - Wikipedia

Donald Insall Associates | Historic Buildings Research - Donald Insall Associates

Mostly Google Images of random 1800s buildings located in Britain and searches for reasonable building dimensions. (Never thought I'd Google, 'how big does a restroom need to be', but here we are.)

[wizardysseus]

your post has got me thinking, and, if you feel like sharing, what are some of your favorite asexual characters? (Intentional or not, relatable or not)

i have a tendency to assign all characters i relate to asexual. it's like, you know — highest honor i can award, moreso than bisexuality because bi is my default state for character creation or analysis, but i knew i was ace before i knew i was bi, and i don't share it as openly, so it's more personal and special. with that said.

luke skywalker, star wars — my one, my only. as much as i miss mara jade (and i DO. every DAY) (mara is also ace) there's something beautiful about luke's sexuality being open to all interpretations, such that mark hamill can like every headcanon on twitter. and this is mine. i love to assign asexuality especially to characters who immensely compassionate and full of rage.

kaladin stormblessed, stormlight archive — this is somehow not canon but he never shows any particular interest in sex, is known to miss signals, and displays at best a vague longing for relationships that has no basis in reality. the last girlfriend he had dated and dumped him entirely offscreen. and for what? him not to be canonically ace? i also love jasnah who is canonically ace, but kaladin is my fave character from the series.

jean valjean, les miserables — my blorbo in christ

caduceus clay, critical role — and this boy's canon!

keyleth, also critical role, also canon! or like, mostly canon.

reyna avila ramírez-arellano, percy jackson series — i didn't read toa so i only heard about her coming out through the grapevine, but whether it was planned or a retcon, it makes a lot of sense retroactively to me. i loved her in hoo when i first read it and again when i reread it this year. i love her sense of honor, her loneliness, her jealousy, her strong heart. it's nice to know she's out there for young readers.

hellboy, hellboy comics — hellboy has had a couple of love interests in his time (the current hellboy run is in fact called 'hellboy in love,' which i only found out about recently), but in general mike mignola is deeply uninterested in sex or romance as a writer and i love that for him. hellboy's whole thing is spooky old houses and secret societies and fighting evil and caring about people and avoiding his destinies. when would he even have time for sex? he's a giant red brick on thighs and he has a heart of gold and the fact that he's not interested just makes him cooler. i think hellboy should only ever be one girl's boyfriend, and that's me.

jonathan simms, the magnus archives — this got canonized in what to me is a very insulting but undeniable way, so net zero, but i do love him. i don't think about tma much anymore but for awhile it was a large tract of my mental real estate. pour one out. etc.

and then there's a tier of character that are like. really not ace in their source material but i decided they were ace and it makes them entirely more interesting. and those characters are diana wonder woman and matt murdock. see again: immensely compassionate and full of rage.

[ollieofthebeholder]

to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest) - a TMA fanfic

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] || Also on AO3

Chapter 6: June 2014

“There he is,” Melanie announces, her shoulders relaxing as she spots someone coming towards them. “Better get rid of that thing before he makes you eat it.”

“He worries too much,” Gerard grumbles, but he flicks the cigarette over the rail and watches it tumble into the Thames, then turns and gives a crooked grin to the approaching figure.

“Sorry, there was a mad rush to return books right at the end of the day, and I had to make sure everything was buttoned up before I could leave.” Martin holds out his arms to Melanie for a hug, which she accepts fiercely, then turns to offer a hug to Gerard as well. Gerard can be iffy about physical contact at times, especially these days, but Martin is a world-class hugger and he’s meant comfort for almost twenty years, so he takes it with gratitude. A lot of the tension of the last few weeks seeps out of him, even as Martin says, sounding exasperated, “Those things will kill you, you know.”

“They’ll have to stand in line.” Gerard doesn’t bother pretending he doesn’t know what Martin is talking about, but he also doesn’t linger on the subject. He pulls back from the hug and adds, “Anything we need to keep an eye out for?”

“Nah, nothing new,” Martin replies, running a hand through his hair and leaning on the railing beside Gerard. Out of habit, they leave enough space for Melanie to—as she always does—wedge herself between them. Her excuse that she’s shorter than both of them and they can talk over her is good enough they all pretend to believe it’s the only reason she likes being in the middle. “That guy from Research—um, Tim, I think his name is? He asked when he was dropping off some books today if we had anything new on Smirke, but we were too busy to talk really and I didn’t get a chance to find out if it’s something they’re looking into down there or if it’s a personal project. I do know he’s read everything else the library’s got on him.”

Gerard turns the thought over in his mind for a moment, examining it from all angles. “I can maybe try to sound him out. Show up at closing time one day, you point him out to me. Think he’d go for the goth types?”

Martin raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you threatening to seduce information out of my coworker?”

“What, you don’t think I could pull off a honeypot mission?”

“You’d get lost halfway through,” Melanie interjects. “You’d either get bored or get invested. Anyway, who’s to say he’s into blokes?”

“I mean, he was wearing an earring with the bi pride flag, but…” Martin gestures vaguely. “Fine. If you want to give it a shot, you’d probably have better luck with him than I would, because trust me, when you see him, you will realize that he is way out of my league. I can try and get Diana to let me out a little early on Monday so I can point him out to you when he leaves.”

Gerard winces. “Uh, about that.”

Melanie’s exasperated sigh is loud enough to echo off the river. “Don’t tell me you’re going out of town again already. You just got back!”

“I—I actually wasn’t supposed to come back yet, but I had to. I needed to see you two before we go on this next bit.”

Worry shines in Martin’s eyes. “Gerry, this woman you’re working with…she sounds dangerous. If she’s dragging you all over the world without—”

“It’s not like that,” Gerard interrupts. “I-I mean…she is dangerous, but not to me.” At least, he amends in the privacy of his own mind, not deliberately. There are rumors, sure, and he doesn’t doubt for a minute she’ll sacrifice him in a heartbeat if she needs to, but it’s not quite like working for his mother. “It’s…there’s something going on. Something big. She can’t do it alone, and I’m what she’s got.”

“Anything we can help with here?”

Probably, is the answer, but Gerard is reluctant to bring them into it. No, not reluctant—afraid. Martin will do anything to protect the people he cares about, even put himself in danger and offer himself up as a sacrifice of some kind, and the days of Melanie getting into fistfights with people who looked at her or one of her brothers funny on the daily aren’t that far behind them. If he tells them about the Dance now, before they know how to stop it, they’ll throw themselves into researching it. And while Martin might have the good sense to not go poking around somewhere the Stranger might be accumulating power—might being the operative term—Melanie will absolutely stick her nose in something she shouldn’t, paint a big old target on herself, and end up getting used in the Unknowing. Gerard cannot, will not risk them. Not when everything he’s done in the last two years has been about keeping them safe.

“I don’t know,” he says at last. “Maybe. Let me see what we can do, and if we need you, I’ll be in touch.”

Melanie frowns up at him. “Okay, but what is it you’re working on?”

“I’ll tell you when I get back.”

“Gerard.”

“I know! I know, okay? It’s just…trust me. Please trust me.” Gerard takes a deep breath. “I swear on my father’s grave. The minute I get back, I’ll tell you both everything. Who I’m working with, what we’re doing. All of it. But for now, I need you guys to just…trust me. Let me do this.”

Martin presses his lips together tightly and looks out over the Thames. Gerard follows his gaze, even though he knows Martin isn’t actually looking at anything. He feels miserable.

This is it, he tells himself. Really it. He’ll help her with this, but once this is over, once they’re back in-country, he’s done. He’s not going on any more jaunts around the world, not getting involved in anyone else’s fight. Or at least not alone. He’s earned a rest, damn it, earned the chance to spend more than a couple of days in one place, more than just a few stolen moments and hurried meetings with the people he loves. He deserves the chance to play the skeptic for Melanie’s show, to embarrass Martin by flirting outrageously with his coworkers, to read a fucking book without worrying if it’s going to kill him or someone is going to kill him for it.

He wants to be home.

“I’ll be home by Christmas,” he says at last.

Melanie gives him a practiced side-eye. “You get how that’s not a comforting phrase, right?”

Martin whistles a couple bars of “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag,” which does at least make Gerard smile, if a bit reluctantly. “Look, tell you what. If it doesn’t look like I’ll be home by…let’s say your birthday, Neenie? If I won’t be back by then, I’ll send for both of you. Wherever I am, I’ll get a couple tickets out there, and you two can come out and meet us. I’m not spending Christmas without you, whatever else is going on. I don’t care what she has to say. She gets six months out of me and then…and then I want my family back.”

Melanie punches him in the arm harder than necessary, then hugs him fiercely. “You damned well better be careful, Ger. I mean it. I don’t want you as a subject on my show.”

“Not my goal.” Gerard hugs her back and reaches for Martin, who comes over and completes the circle.

“When do you leave?” Martin’s voice is soft and resigned.

“Whenever the next plane leaves for New Zealand. I’ve got time for dinner first, I think.” Gerard pulls back, but without letting go of the other two. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

[nevereacheaven]

I posted 2,600 times in 2022

That's 268 more posts than 2021!

597 posts created (23%)

2,003 posts reblogged (77%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@annabelle--cane

@littlebluecaboose

@ademigodgirl

@froody

@femmehysteria

I tagged 2,192 of my posts in 2022

Only 16% of my posts had no tags

#tma - 159 posts

#tiktoks - 121 posts

#cats - 101 posts

#quizzes - 88 posts

#raven boys - 87 posts

#tag games - 83 posts

#ofmd - 71 posts

#tiff - 51 posts

#ofmd spoilers - 43 posts

#tdt - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#the vibe here is like they’re at a government building and denton is trying to convince everyone jack is his kid despite him having no paper

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

pissing without me handsome?

115 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

#4

156 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

#3

hello Reddit, seeking advice, I’m keeping my first human and he’s a lawyer breed, any advice on his habitat and diet would be great, there isn’t much information on it where I’m from

409 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

#2

new gender neutral bathroom just dropped

876 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

HERE COMES DIANA WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

35,498 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[queer-whatchamacallit]

My middle name headcanons for the BAU!!

David Stephen Rossi

Honorable mentions: none, this is one’s canon and it just fits perfectly

Aaron Frederick Hotchner

Honorable mentions: Caleb, Daniel, and Isaac, but I couldn’t not go for the Pirates of Penzance reference

Derek Heath Morgan

Honorable mentions: Dean, Chad, Lee, and Todd, it was between Heath and Lee, but to me, the name Heath gives off the vibes of a big strong guy that gives rlly good hugs, so in other words, the vibes are perfect

Jennifer Anne Jareau

Honorable mentions: Abigail, Allison, Jane, and Clara, I really only did Anne bc literally anything else was too much of a mouth full

Penelope Mae Garcia

Honorable mentions: Eve, June, Rose, Belle, and Quinn, idk man the vibes just work and also I can say her full name without getting tongue twisted

Spencer Owen Reid

Honorable mentions: Walter, Benjamin, Peter, and Webster, I know Walter is more or less canon but I can’t deny how kind Owen sounds

Emily Diana Prentiss

Honorable mentions: Charlotte, Jane, Victoria, Alexandria, and Eleanor, I was so close to doing Jane before I remembered the tma character exists and I’m still debating it bc yay tma character

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Glare

by Cant_Smoke_Eggs, Wisptheraccoon

Some of the most glaringly obvious things are the most looked over. So why was Tim the only one who could see that Diana was not Diana?

or:

The Magnus Archive AU that nobody wanted, but you recieve anyway.

// Day 180 of one word prompts and the author (Wisp) has an unhealthy attachment to TMA considering he never finished it

Words: 1728, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 177 of 365 Days of One Word Prompts (and my Suffering)

Fandoms: DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Diana (Wonder Woman), Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, last two are only mentioned, Not-Them (The Magnus Archives)

Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd

Additional Tags: the magnus archives au, Jason Todd is the Archivist, No previous knowledge of TMA required, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd has powers, Slight horror?, Not really though, feeling of being watched, Fear, The Stranger Fear Domain (The Magnus Archives), The Beholding Fear Domain (The Magnus Archives), Beholding Avatar Jason Todd

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/39952293

[callmedrwyrm]

Getting more chills hearing “Hugh. Was the driver high on Benadryl.” With a scary music sting than i get listening to tma so I think Crown Of Mist: The Final Day of Princess Diana is the scariest Web episode

[staysaneathome]

That Day (Afternoon)

(I made another part of that Entity swap WIP, this time with 90% more Melanie King and 30% more Basira Hussain, enjoy) Jon initially had no inkling that this day was going to be substantially different from any other.

Admittedly, there were some differences from his usual day-to-day roamings, but none that hadn’t been true of other days. He was a whole year older, as the Watcher informed him three weeks after his twelfth birthday, but that was ages ago now and he really didn’t feel any different between twelve and eleven.

The Collection was back in town, but he’d managed to avoid them so far, sometimes by the skin of his teeth. Somehow he continued to escape The Man’s prying gaze and the searchers who roamed the streets, some cognizant, some…not. He wondered if the Watcher allowed him to roam free because his status as The Recorder meant it liked him more than the Man, somehow.

Martin hadn’t been at the park for the past fortnight or so, though he’s promised to visit again as soon as he could the last time he was there.  So he could be forgiven of thinking that this day would be no more significant than the last.

And then he spots an eight-year-old girl toddling after one of the searchers.

She’s tall in the way that suggests she’ll be small later in life, with sparkly hair bobbles and the kind of clothes that come from Marks & Spencer or John Lewis or the other too big, too clean stores where the shop people glare at Jon as he goes past.

She’s asking questions of the searcher (who used to be known as Diana, but has lost what made a lot of her her in the flux and flow of information that The Man commands her to find). Questions like, “what do you know about the ghosts I saw on my holiday” and “why is everything so annoying now” and “why are you holding my hand so tight, it hurts” and “are you sure my daddy won’t mind, because he said he was only going to be gone for five minutes” and “hey, are you even listeningto me, you said you’d listen to me?!”

She’s only little, and she hasn’t lived that long, hasn’t got as many stories in her yet. But she’s had an Encounter with one of the Fourteen, and that called the searcher to her like moths to a flame.  Now the searcher’s taking the little girl back to The Collection, where The Man will Ask her about it.  And that will be the End of her.

Jon should turn around and walk away.  It’s sad, but this has happened millions of times, to millions of other people other than this one girl Jon had the misfortune of seeing. He’s so very incredibly lucky he hasn’t been found and dragged back yet, it’d be stupid to give it all up now. He can’t compromise his own safety for someone he doesn’t even know. He needs to turn around and walk away, see if Martin’s waiting at the park for him.

He’s going to turn around. Right now. Right now. Right. Now. Now. Now.

Now!

Jon has never been the largest child. Even when living with his grandmother and getting three square meals a day plus snacks, he’s always remained small and birdlike and bony. He’s not like Martin, who looks like he’d be soft and huggable, or Tommy, who was solid and square when he pushed Jon and stole his books.

But somehow he manages to barrel into the searcher’s arm and rip the little girl up and away with all the strength in his small body.

Of course, that’s when the girl begins trying to claw his eyes out.

“LET ME GO!!” She screams, wriggling so hard Jon almost drops her as he’s trying to run back across the busy road, car horns blaring around them. “WHO ARE—WHAT ARE—PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I'LL BITE YOUR NOSE OFF, I SWEAR, I SWEAR I WILL!!”

”Stop MOVING!” He yells back at her once he’s safely hit pavement. “The searcher’s going to catch us both otherwise! I’m saving your life!!”

“I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO, YOU STUPID UGLY HEAD!!” The little girl shrieks back.

Jon considers dropping her and booking it himself for a single moment.

But the searcher’s coming for them, and now she’s seen him too, her pace quickening as the knowledge of how much the Man wants his prized Recorder back resonating in her skull until it overrides even basic instincts of pain and survival.

So Jon grits his teeth as the little girl in his arms tears into his shoulder with her sharp little nails and hauls her with him down the street as fast as he can go.

The Watcher tells him the bus pulling up to the station in front of them has a camera that’s faulty on the second level. There are two family groups that are going from sniping at each other to outright exchanging verbal blows over who deserves to get on first, the parents going red in the face with spittle flying from their mouths and the children pulling faces and calling names as the overworked and underpaid bus driver tries to keep order.

It’s easy for Jon to duck through them and drag the girl up the bus stairs with him, as the conflict below devolves into an outright brawl that masks the eight-year-old’s protests.  The bus doors slam shut, and the bus pulls away amidst the yelling and fighting outside.

Jon sags down in the seat on the relatively empty second level. The only other person seems to be a teenager slumped down across the very back seats far away from them, eyes shut and white headphone wires trailing out from under their hijab.

He stares out of the window at the searcher, whose figure is quickly vanishing as the bus picks up speed and merges into the London traffic.

”Okay.” He exhales, loosening his grip on the little girl’s collar. “I think we’re safe.”

The little girl whirls around.  Her teeth snap shut an inch away from his nose.

Jon presses himself against the window. “What is wrong wi—hey! Stop it!!”

“No!” The girl yells back. “That lady was gonna tell me why everything is being so annoying, all the time now and how to make it stop, so I can be happy again, and you, you went and ruined it!!” She’s still flailing, still trying furiously to claw him open, but there’s a frustrated edge to her voice and tears brimming in her eyes.

”I did not!” Jon protests vehemently, trying to keep a grip on her so she doesn’t give him anymore scratches like the one trickling blood down his arm. “She didn’t want to help you! She just wanted to take you back and make you tell your story so the Collection could eat up your life!”

”Liar! How would you know?!” The girl accuses, one of her sparkly hair-bobbles coming undone.

”Because that’s what they tried to do to me.” Jon hisses. “But they didn’t eat all of me, just…just made me into something like them. A monster that eats stories.”

The girl actually pauses for a moment to digest this.

“Are you going to try to eat me, then?” She asks, warily, arms tensing again. “If you’re a monster like that lady.”

”Of course not!” Jon scoffs, then adds, “Eating someone yucky like you would make me sick.”

The little girl goes bug-eyed and she tears her arms out of his grip to cross them over her chest ”I would not! You take that back!”

”No.” Jon says gleefully, then immediately regrets it when the little girl kicks him in the shin. “Ow! Stop that!”

”You started it.” The girl replies moodily, shifting to sit down in the seat properly and swing her legs.

Jon finally turns away to inspect the damage he’s sustained, pulling his shirt away from his arm and hissing as it makes his shoulder burn with pain. The Watcher tells him he needs to disinfect the cuts and maybe have a few stitches if he wants it to not get worse, but he can’t exactly get those easily where he is right now.

”If you’re a monster, why do you bleed like a normal person?” The girl pipes up behind him. Her eyebrows are furrowed.

”Why do you care?” He mutters, shooting her a dirty look.

The girl puffs out her chest, which looks a little odd, given that she’s now sitting on her hands. “I’m gonna be a ghost hunter when I’m grown up. Like in that one movie, but I’ll be even cooler and have a magic sword instead of a weird gun, and I’ll beat up all the ghosts and monsters on my own, except the nice ones, because they’ll be my friends. I’m Melanie, by the way. What’s your name? Do monsters have names?”

”Yes.” Jon replies. He enjoys the silence for a moment.

Melanie’s cheeks puff out like a pufferfish as she glares at him. “Okaay, so what’s your name?”

”Jon.” Jon says curtly.

”That’s not a very good name for a monster.” Melanie informs him.

”I wasn’t always a monster.” Jon tells her sourly. “Just like you.” The little girl doesn’t ask him many more questions for a long time after that.

”What are you looking at?” Melanie says suddenly as the bus is slowing to its fourth stop since they got on.

Jon twists away from the window. “I’m just trying to see if the searcher’s followed us—”

”Not you.” Melanie replies impatiently. “You. What are you looking at?”

The back of Jon’s neck goes cold. He twists around slowly.

The teenager in the hijab isn’t slumped across the seats. She’s half-way to standing, and staring right at them. Her eyes are cold and intent.

They stay like that, frozen for a moment.

”Melanie, run!!” He screams.

Melanie throws herself towards the stairs as the teenager explodes into motion behind them. Jon can feel her fingers try to snag on the back of his shirt as he thunders down the stairs, only narrowly missing him as he half-falls the rest of the way down and pelts out the bus doors to the sound of the driver yelling indignantly.

One of Melanie’s sparkly bobbles has fallen out and her hair is drooping down as she turns to grab onto Jon’s hand while they run.

”Stop!” The teenager yells. “Hey!” She’s gaining on them.

Jon tries to Know where they can go to lose her, how they can escape, but the Watcher just gives him useless tidbits instead; that man with the skateboard there has undiagnosed intermittent explosive disorder, this lady jogging over up ahead served two tours as a nurse in her youth to pay for her medical degree, that young person with the pins on their bag here is coordinating a flash mob on his phone to protest—

“Go away already!” Melanie complains on a furious exhale, and kicks a discarded can in her path hard.

It rockets away from her, bounces off a rubbish bin, and somehow jams in between the wheels of the man’s skateboard. He yelps as he falls, but roars when the teenager chasing them runs directly into him without slowing down, rising to block her path. The lady jogging furrows her brow with alarm, and races forwards to put herself between what she sees as a hostile and a young civilian in need of her protection, inadvertently preventing the teenager from advancing in her attempts to diffuse the situation and keep the man from lashing out at her physically. The person on their phone looks up and sets their jaw, switching it to video record the conflict and grabbing the teenager back even further, acting as a shield and spit inflammatory accusations that do more to raise tempers and attract attention than to resolve anything.

Jon watches all this with rapt eyes, drinking it in until his hand is jerked hard and he almost falls over.

”C’mon!” Melanie yells, irritated and scared and guilty and angry, the mark of the Slaughter almost an audible note to her voice, her footsteps. “We need to get away from those creepy ladies, find somewhere to hide, where do we go?!”

To hide.  Jon tightens his grip on Melanie’s hand and changes their course slightly, heading towards a place he frequents regularly.

”Follow me,” He gasps, trying to ignore the stitch in his side. “I have a friend.”

[kingofthefayz]

assigning gone mutants to entities from the magnus archives (1/2)

(decided to try it again, simplicity is better here. these are not all entirely set in my mind, a few of them could be moved around, but i didn’t want to repeat any of them. i wrote a little about this potential au here.)