#while Basira and Martin wait

[enjoyvoidblack]

(MAG178)

Bad and naughty watchers get put in the Spike Cupboard to make their statements <3

[occudo]

wait, yo there’s an entire mage magic system in this au? Might I ask for more details?

Sooo...

The short answer is that is a soft magic system, with no hard rules, it's just fun with the characters.

The long answer on the other hand...

I had a similar ask before, but since then some things changed, so I guess I try to explain it as best as I can.

So! This is a magical-fantasy-medieval AU, I was loosely inspired by arthurameslove 's fic This Lonely Knight, but since then I made my own version of a similar premise. The magic system is based on the original fears, the avatars are people who are affected by their magic, in one way or another. The more close to the fear the person is, the more magical effect it has.

The most known magic users are witches. They go to school to study, and from there, they can go and become advisors in small kingdoms where they can get gifted titles like Lady and Lord, but they don't get actual lands or servants.

Jon is not an advisor, but Elias' protégé and he can afford to employ Martin, who is a Knight, and previously worked for Lord Lucas. Elias is the advisor of King Magnus.

The kingdoms are based around the Fears, with most avatars being nobility or witches. (I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Simon a noble or a mage, maybe he is not so open about his skills) The witches are glass cannons- they can be really powerful in some situations but otherwise, kinda weak so is a common thing to have a designated knight bodyguarding them if they leave their palaces.

Martin is 'touched' but can't do magic the way Jon, or other witches.

If a witch finishes school, they are respected and believed that they can control powerful magic (with circles and runes) without it affecting their bodies and minds negatively - not like Jane Prentiss, for example. She was a noblewoman who got- corrupted.

Not every witch goes to serve nobility, there are plenty of small village witches, and Gertrude also tried to leave the palace and become a bog witch kinda deal.

Innisially for this au, I made the 'witch factor' the characters' connection to the eye in canon. I didn't see either Tim or Martin really eye-aligned, so I made them knights instead.

Since then I added Sky Mages for the Vast avatars- I just tought flying and stars and sky really deserve their own coven.

I'm not sure about the other fears names and schools jet. The phrase Seer Mage came from @skell3 's fanfic inspired by my comic, and I loved it so much that I baked it in my au. Also, the thought that eye-aligned mages are all about seeking truth and other's secrets, while can't really fly or fight mutch was funny to me.

So this is a loosy-goosy system that I'm still working on. I'm also open to suggestions- like with Basira and Daisy- they ended up being witch hunters.

or Georgie and Melanie

And I changed Michael from a jester to an actual noble/prince

So yeah, I hope this answers your question. Mostly a character-based, case-by-case thingy.

[regainingparadise]

Relistening to TMA Season 5, I am again struck by how goddam badly Martin and Jon need couples counseling.

I love them both. I ship them very much. But oh lord they have issues

Like, these are two individuals who, under the very best of circumstances, would really need therapy both individually and together. They are both people with plentiful quantities of relational trauma from childhood that neither of them have worked through even the slightest bit.

And then you throw them into the apocalypse. And you add a metric fuck ton of guilt, helplessness, and the dynamics of being "The Antichrist and +1"?

On a surface level--Jon is in a perpetual state of information overload. Martin is in a perpetual state of "can you please just explain the basics of what's' going on in a given situation and not just say "it's complicated" or launch into a gruesome monologue"

But on a deeper level, their childhood relational traumas have left them each with opposing avoidant tendencies: Jon is unwilling to broach a difficult conversation, which leads him to hide information until he's confronted. Martin, on the other hand, has a finely honed ability to ignore information that he doesn't like until he no longer can hide from it.

Biggest example of their avoidance tendencies: Martin's Domain

Way early on, when we barely understand any of how the hellscape works, Jon mentions it, Martin shuts it down hard and deflects quickly with a bid for affection from Jon

Martin is in deliberate denial, but Jon admittedly wasn't particularly clear to start with.

"We all have a domain."

Jon means it, presumably, as "Me, You, and other 'Avatars.'" Jon is used to being grouped with those empowered by the Entities. Martin isn't. (see also: MAG185: Martin" Is that how these creatures see us now? As one of them?") But that's not what Jon says. And this is MAG167--they've only been through four domains, at least that we've seen. Jon is speaking from a place of knowledge, and assuming his listener has that same knowledge.

And when this issue comes up much later in MAG183, Martin has spent 17 episodes ignoring or forgetting that he has a domain, not letting that information in so that he has never processed it. (See also: Mag170: "Sometimes I wonder if I forget things on purpose. Easier not to think about them, I guess. Easier to just let them… slip away. They can’t hurt you if you don’t think about them.").

Martin confronts Jon on his avoidance (because while Martin may be good at ignoring things he doesn't like, he's far better at bringing up challenging topics), Jon is able to manage some A+ communication on his feelings and the genuine challenging of figuring out how to share upsetting information when he has All The Information, Martin accepts that. I just desperately want a therapist to be there and make them continue this conversation and practice ongoing good communication skills!

Though they resolve this, even though Jon has an explanation that makes sense...he was really leaving this conversation to the last minute. Would he have "[brought] it up at the crossroads" as he claims to Helen? Or would he have avoided it entirely, as she accuses, or waited till they were at the threshold, as he does with The Desolation and the Hunt, leaving Martin to confront terrifying situations without forewarning or planning or explanation.

Again, Jon kind of tried to bring up some of the potential issues with Basira and Daisy before entering the Hunt domain, but kept it Vague and Ominous ("Things aren't...good"). Martin took that vagueness as an opening to avoid engaging with potential bad news. The teensiest bit of therapy for either of them about their communication issues could have let Jon add "I know you're exited but FYI here are some specifics that you should know" and/or Martin go "I'm excited to see them but given that nothing is good right now, can you be more specific?"

Instead, Jon approaches difficult conversations by being Vague and Ominous, Martin gets snarky or passive-aggressive at the vagueness, upset or aggressively avoidant at the Ominousness, Jon closes back up like a turtle into his shell, and the conversation only comes back up when the situation has drastically escalated, leaving them both more upset.

Jon wants Martin to trust him, because explaining what he knows implicitly is an ordeal for him, and because his upbringing by his grandmother has suggested that communicating is generally unwanted and burdensome (See: MAG081 A Guest for Mr. Spider).

Martin wants to know what is going on, because he's in an awful hellscape of shifting rules about what can and cannot hurt them, completely dependent on a brand-new romantic partner for his survival and purpose, and also because his upbringing and coping mechanisms as a caretaker rely on him knowing enough to help, and his time as an archival assistant has given him some not-inconsiderable trauma about being left in the dark (See: MAG118 The Masquerade) (There's also another post in my head about how MAG118 primed Martin for both the Lonely and his development as a more confrontational character in S5)

All that to say.

Martin needs therapy to deal with the way he chooses not to absorb information he doesn't like. Jon needs therapy to understand that sometimes it's ok to bring up important topics even if the other person will be upset. They both need therapy to cope with all the guilt and helplessness around the apocalypse so they stop taking it out on each other. They need therapy together to learn how to work through their conflicting coping mechanisms.

[sleepybugeyes]

I read through all of Elias/Jonah's dialogue (as you do) plus some relistening and mentions of him, so here's a big list of some fun things and behaviors I noted!

I thought he made a lot of eye puns/jokes, but he only does it once in mag161, however he does enjoy making jokes. "Creativity never was their forte." from mag80, "You want my account? My sworn testimony? My statement?" from 82, "If you die, I’m afraid you probably won’t be able to claim your expenses." in 116 and "I only have two eyes, after all." in 120. no one ever laughs at his jokes only he finds them amusing

His last words telling Jon a sarcastic or mocking "good luck" are mirrored earlier as he also tells Basira good luck the last time he sees her, and Martin, as he's getting arrested

He loves gloating. "I forget how new you all are to this." from mag92, "Coffee is not as good for disguising tastes as you might think." in 98, "She’s hoping that even if I see it coming she’ll still be able to overpower me. She’s wrong, of course," in 102, "A masterpiece, isn’t it?" abt his panopticon in 158 and of course his whole monologue in 160

He does his budgeting on tuesdays and his scheduling on wednesdays

He also likes getting lost in work

in mag40 he makes up proper incompetency (said he didnt know how the fire system works, while he later admits he was actively waiting) just that once, but more so he acts like he doesnt get the full picture (doesnt know whats in the tunnels, whats strange about the institute) or acts too late and apologises (not stepping into jon's stalking behaviour). Which makes me think he is quite fine letting people think less of him but unless he has something to hide hes not actively looking to give the impression

in mag92 elias slides the papers for basira across his desk, but you don't hear him take them out before, meaning he prepared and got ready for this before he called the police

in general he's a very preparing man, Lukas steps in when Elias is arrested so has has control over who'd run it. in mag118 he says he prepared something to hurt martin (my speculation is that he likely has some trauma that could hurt you prepared for any person that could cross him, just in case he needs it). When he gets arrested he has something prepared so he doesnt get killed and ofc s1-4 is preparing Jon for his grand ritual

Elias admits the idea for his ritual kinda fell into place after Getrude didnt do anything about the people's church in march 2015. He shot Getrude and appointed Jon shortly after so "when you came to me already marked by the Web, I knew it had to be you." is pure dramatics as Jon was hired 4 years prior

also he got his ritual in 2018 so he managed to acomplish his life's goal in only 3 years, love his grindset 🔥

We never get a number for how many people Elias has killed in his ritual, the real life millbank has held over 1000 people at once, but id imagine his one panopticon held less than a whole complex

its really interesting to me in mag92 that hes SO sure they all know he's talking to them of his own free will. is he just that dead set on being in control or making sure they take no credit for his confession

there is a clock in Elias' office (but it's only heard in mag98)

He has killed people but Elias is very much not a blood thirsty person. Getrude and Peter are both surprised when he results to that. He's very much just ruthless and does not care, if to get his way he has to kill someone. It doesnt seem like he's ever happy to do so, maybe this is a quirk of being eye aligned and getting rid of any type of knowledge is painful (he does for example never want Tim to die at the Unknowing), or he just finds covering those murders up a hassle

for the Unknowing Elias books them all hotel rooms, how thoughtful

something cute to me that Jon was too good at the Eye that Elias couldnt meet him face to face post coma

In mag158 he implies that even Institute employees not in the archives are tied to it, at least enough that they could suffer or die if it burned down

between finding other people just as tools to watch and discard and saying empathy holds you back he was definitely a very very lonely man

He is a very breathy person. He sounds breathy when he talks. He takes deep breaths to ready himself and before he uses his powers. And he often breathes through his nose before speaking or during pauses

He has said Jon's name 62 times, only twice calling him "Jonathan" and called him archivist 25 times (24 in the mag120 statement, 1 in mag138 and 1 in mag161)(he also kinda calls him The Archive in 160)

other fun amount of words: know (65 times), see (42), martin (35), detective (20), eyes (20) and eye (9), afraid (9) and "bullshit" (1)

its still insane to me they added all of those sound effects of Elias' cuffs in prison, thats something fun to appreciate. It also means its canon he gestures quite a bit!

[first-time-tmagp]

Episode 117

Omg

They are making statements

My heart omg

okay, one by one:

Jon:

He's learning to trust people!!! Omgg finally😭 He feels soo guilty for everything that happened to the others while he was gone aaaaahhhh. Him not wanting for Elias's plan to work is so understandable omg. Actually: Same!! But I want him to be protected and if the only way for that is if Elias's plan has worked then I will sure hope it did!!

Basira:

Omg I love her so much. She is definitely one of the most capable characters im the whole podcast and the one I trust most to keep a cool head during the mission. Besides daisy, ofc, but they always act together anyway haha. Seriously, I love this duo sooo much!!!

Melanie:

Poor melanie omg. "When did I lose the parts of myself that were not just rage?" OMG NOOOOO!!!!

But she has EVERY RIGHT to be be angry and if I was sure that killing elias wouldn't automatically kill every single one of my favorite characters she would SO deserve to kill him omg.

Martin:

Omgg I ADORE MARTIN SO MUCH. He is sooo worried for them all and omg I FEEL THAT A LOT. I'M VERY WORRIED AS WELL. But seriously, his: "i need him to be okay"?!?!??! sjdhhdhdhd

and his plan??? No idea what it is but I'm VERY excited to see it!!!

Tim:

God, I feel so bad for him. He's so hurt and angry and I feel SOOO bad!!! And was I the only feeling were personally adressed when he cursed out whoever was listening to the tapes? I'm sorry tim, if I could help I WOULD.

And omg him not believing that he will ever return?? Not even WANTING to return??? NOOOOO!!! HE HOPES FOR JON TO SACRIFICE HIM IN ORDER TO DESTROY THE CIRCUS

I WILL START CRYING IF THIS HAPPENS!!!!

Omg this whole episode left such an awful taste in my mouth... it really feels like this will be the last time all of them are alive and together and the thought BREAKS ME

I decided to wait till this evening to listen to the next episodes so I have enough time to listen to them without interruption.

Wish me luck 🥲

[ollieofthebeholder]

Haply I May Remember: a TMA fanfic

Written for @jonmartinweek 2025, Day 9: Free//AU Day. A side story to And If Thou Wilt, Forget, but you don't have to read that to read this one. Also on AO3 and my personal website.

Martin shut the door behind Tim and stood perfectly still, staring at it, for just a moment. He felt rather as though someone had taken him to a carnival, spun him around twelve times, then let him loose and told him to have fun—disorientated, dizzy, like he was about to throw up, and with absolutely no idea where to start. It had been a shitty few months, frankly, and he had no idea where he stood with anybody. He’d been pushing Tim away because it was easier than dealing with what was bothering him, ignoring Melanie because it was better than accepting she was Sasha’s replacement, and forgetting Basira because she just sat there reading and ignoring all of them anyway. Jon—

Well, Jon had been nowhere, on the run or busy or…or wherever he had been for the last week or so. But right now he was in Martin’s flat and Martin was going to have to deal with that.

He took a deep breath and turned around. Jon stood a couple of feet away, huddled on himself and looking—honestly about as miserable as Martin had been feeling these last few weeks. He was too thin, although that might have just been the oversized boiler suit he was wearing, and his face looked almost sunken in. He was compulsively pulling at the sleeve of the boiler suit, tugging the bunched fabric back down over his hand, the one that had been wrapped in a bandage just—had it only been two weeks previously?—again and again.

The kettle whistled from the other room, and Jon flinched at the sound, and Martin reoriented. This he could do.

“Come on,” he said, as gently as he could. “Tea’s in the kitchen.”

Jon followed him, looking around as he did. Martin’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he did what he usually did when embarrassed—he babbled. “It’s not much, I know. I, uh, I kind of moved after the whole thing with Prentiss? I-I mean, I could have stayed there, probably should have, honestly. But I just, I couldn’t face it, you know? There wasn’t any real difference in the rent, moving up here, so once my lease was up I made the switch. Haven’t really bothered decorating or anything. No point, really.”

He took the kettle off the stove, pulled two mugs out of his cupboard, and reached for the tea bags, then paused. The fancy tin of looseleaf tea Tim had given him the previous day sat on the counter, unopened so far. It was far nicer than anything Martin usually bought for himself, so he’d told himself he would need to save it for special occasions. Well…this felt like a pretty special occasion. He grabbed the little glass teapot with the built in strainer that had been a gift who knew how many Christmases ago, and that he’d never used, and measured out the tea, then poured in the water.

“We’ll let that steep for a bit,” he said to Jon, feeling a little foolish but not knowing what else to say. “Um, do you want…something to eat while we wait? I’ve got…n-not a lot, actually. I really need to go shopping, but, um, there’s—I could make toast.”

Jon shook his head. He reached for one of the two chairs, hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure he’d be allowed to sit. Martin’s cheeks flamed again. “Oh! Um, yeah, s-sorry, I—go ahead and have a seat. This won’t be long.”

Christ, it was early. Martin slept like shit these days, between the stress of the statements and the worry about Jon, so he’d kind of got used to keeping odd hours. Still, for Tim to turn up at his door at—he glanced at the small analog clock he’d bought after the incident with Prentiss—twenty minutes past three in the morning was unexpected, and for him to then present him with an obviously sick and traumatized Jonathan Sims was just surreal. He was burning with questions and he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to any of them.

He busied himself preparing the tea, fussing over it a bit more than was strictly necessary, then set a cup down in front of Jon. “Here. Drink up. You look like you could use it.”

“Thank you, Martin.” Jon’s voice was hoarse and raw, as if he hadn’t had much opportunity to use it in a while, or maybe as if he’d been doing a lot of screaming. He reached out with shaking hands and wrapped them around the mug like it was the only thing holding him anchored to the earth.

Martin felt his cheeks turn pink, and he mumbled what he hoped was acknowledgment of the thanks before settling down and picking up his own mug. For several long moments, they sat there with their mugs, not talking. Martin let the steam curl into his nose, then took the tiniest of sips. Okay, that was really good quality, it was good of Tim to give it to him. One hell of an apology. He wasn’t even sure what they’d actually been fighting about, come to think of it. Yeah, he was mad at Tim for leaving, but…

Finally, more for something to say than anything else, he asked, “How’s, um, how’s your hand?”

“B-better.” Jon didn’t sound particularly certain, but he set the mug down and turned his right hand over, palm up. Martin’s heart stuttered at the sight of the mottled pink ridges of flesh that outlined the healing scar.

Without thinking about it, Martin reached over and took his hand, lightly tracing the outline. “This isn’t…Jesus, I thought at first you put it down on the stove or something, but this looks like…a hand print? What did you do, shake hands with a flaming mannequin?”

Jon made a sound that might have been a laugh and might have been a choked sob and might have just been a huff of air. “Something like that, actually.”

“How?” Martin looked up at Jon, unable to conceal his concern. “When? You were…what happened?”

Jon took a slow, deep breath, his eyes fixed on his hand. “I was…looking into a statement. A, a woman named Jude Perry who…I thought she might have something useful. She didn’t, not really, but she…offered me a trade. Another name in exchange for a handshake.”

“Did she put on iron gloves and heat them up first?”

“No—no, she’s part of, um, the Cult of the Lightless Flame. You remember Agnes Montague, she—Jude knew her.” Jon hesitated, still staring at his hand. “How—how much do you know about what’s going on? Has Tim told you anything?”

“No, but it’s not for lack of trying,” Martin replied immediately. “He was going to tell me a whole bunch of stuff after we found Leitner’s body, after Daisy was done interrogating us, but I wasn’t up to hearing it then and I just…I kept putting him off. It felt like I wasn’t allowed to know before you did, you know?”

“Oh, God.” Jon’s voice came out as a low, choked gasp. Martin was about to apologize for…whatever he’d done…when Jon pressed his free hand to his lips and closed his eyes. “I—I didn’t—I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Do what? Oh.” Martin suddenly recognized the slight prickle of static he’d come to associate with Tim right before he got all growly and forceful. “It’s okay, Jon, I would have told you anyway.”

“It’s not. I shouldn’t…it’s not fair to take that choice away from you.” Jon swallowed hard. “And I shouldn’t have…I shouldn’t have done that. Not after…i-it’s been too long since I had a statement and—”

“Okay. Okay.” Martin tried to keep his voice calm and gentle, the way Tim did when he talked Martin down from a spiral, but he was uncomfortably aware that he wasn’t that good at it. He made a decent peacemaker, but he wasn’t…he didn’t have whatever Tim had. Still, he gave it his best effort. “It’s okay, Jon. Just breathe, okay? You—you need some rest.”

“No. No, I can’t—I can’t go there, not now, I—” Jon visibly trembled, then took several shaky breaths. “I’m…sorry. You didn’t…ask for this.”

“Jon. I want to help you. Tell me what to do,” Martin begged. “I am literally asking, okay? What do you want? A bed, a meal, a change of—um, I don’t know that my clothes will fit you, but—” He stopped and swallowed, then tried again. “Come on. First thing that pops into your head. What do you need from me?”

“A hug?” Jon asked with a small, almost crazed laugh. He shook his head almost immediately. “No. No, that’s overstepping, I’m sorry—”

In that moment, Martin realized he was still cradling Jon’s hand in both of his, and Jon hadn’t pulled away. Okay, maybe…maybe Jon just desperately needed contact. Maybe he was so desperate he would take anything. Martin could handle that. It might break him completely, but he could hold it together if that was what Jon needed.

“It’s not overstepping, Jon,” he said softly. “We’re not at work, we’re—it’s okay.”

He got up from his seat, carefully, trying not to break the connection they already had, and scooted around his small table to the chair next to Jon’s. Slowly, hesitantly, he slid one arm around Jon’s shoulders and squeezed lightly.

Jon…melted. There was no other word for it. The stiff way he’d been sitting shattered like the crust on a crème brûlée and he crumpled, leaning into Martin’s shoulder and coiling in on himself. The hand came up again, hesitantly, like it had at the door—like he wanted to reach out and touch Martin, but didn’t think he would be permitted to—and then withdrew into his chest. He made that soft, almost broken noise again.

It was too much for Martin, who made his own soft noise of pain and sympathy and pulled Jon fully into his arms, off of his chair and onto his lap, secure against his chest. God, he was so thin, it was like hugging a bag of twigs. A bag of twigs that was on fire, he amended; he could feel the heat radiating off Jon’s body even through the cotton of the shirt he’d thrown on when Tim called and the scratchy fabric of Jon’s clearly borrowed outfit. Did Jon always run hot, or was he running a fever? Shit, did Martin have any paracetamol in his medicine cabinet? He was prone to migraines, so he usually had something, but it was likely to be aspirin more than paracetamol since it didn’t work as well for him…

Jon curled up tightly against him, his fingers curling into Martin’s shirt and clinging as he buried his face in his shoulder. Martin felt something hot and wet begin to soak into his shirt and realized, with a slight amount of panic, that Jon was crying.

“Shh. Shh. I’ve got you. I’m here.” Martin rocked back and forth slightly. He started to run his fingers through Jon’s hair, but stopped when he encountered the knots and snarls—he didn’t want to hurt him—and instead settled for stroking it gently. “I’m here, Jon. It’s—it’s going to be okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

Under any other circumstances, this would absolutely have been sending him into a panic, or else he’d have wondered if he was hallucinating. He’d dreamed about having Jon in his arms probably a thousand times in the last year, if he was being honest with himself, in a variety of circumstances and often with exaggeratedly dramatic, soppy overtones to the whole thing. Jon clinging to him in his kitchen at four in the morning while sobbing like a lost child was too absurd for his imagination to come up with, and too far from his admittedly wild fantasies to be a dream come true, which meant it had to be real. It also wasn’t about him. Martin kept holding on to Jon as securely as he could and murmuring what he hoped was comforting and suspected was nonsense.

At last, the tears seemed to subside. Jon took a deep, shuddering breath and slumped against Martin. His grip on his shirt loosened, but otherwise he made no effort to pull away.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice raw. “I…I think I’ve been needing that for a long time.”

“Well, any time you want a hug, I’m happy to give you one,” Martin said without thinking, and then wanted to rip his own tongue out and strangle himself with it. “O-or, um, sorry, sorry, you meant the crying, right?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to cry if you hadn’t been holding me,” Jon admitted, and oh, God, he was leaning right against Martin’s heart, he could definitely hear the way it was suddenly racing. “I’m…I’m glad Tim brought me here.”

“I am, too,” Martin admitted. “I’ve been worried about you.” Honesty compelled him to add, “I missed you.”

Jon tensed, just a little. “How long has it been?”

“N-no, it’s okay, it’s only been like a week,” Martin said hastily. “You were in last Wednesday, but—I mean, we haven’t had much of a chance to…talk since before, um, the thing with Leitner.”

“It’s Saturday,” Jon murmured. “Tim said he’d see you Monday…”

Martin looked down at the top of Jon’s head. “It’s Friday, actually. Barely at that. I think Tim was telling me to take the day off and…well, look after you. You’re in no shape to go back to the Institute, you need…rest and food and a shower. Not necessarily in that order.”

“I need you.” For the first time since he’d stepped through Martin’s door, Jon looked up into Martin’s eyes, and his own were…well, they were haunted and blown out and wet with tears both shed and unshed, but they were also pleading and sincere. “I…I didn’t realize…Georgie said I needed anchors, she kept asking me if I’d talked to you in particular, and…as usual, she knows me better than I know myself. She was right. I need someone to keep me grounded, and that’s you. That’s always been you.” He closed his eyes and leaned against Martin again. “I missed you more than you know while I was on the run. More than even I knew. I even told Georgie about you before I knew I was going to be able to come back to the Institute. I’m glad you’re here.”

He was burning up. Martin tried to school his emotions. Either Jon was hallucinating and saying things he didn’t mean because he was delirious, or he was so feverish his filters had burned away. Either way, he couldn’t take advantage of that right now, no matter how badly he wanted to. Instead, he only said, “I’m glad I’m here, too. I think you need to lie down for now, though.”

“Don’t leave me.” Jon’s hands tightened in Martin’s shirt again.

“I won’t,” Martin promised, and the vow felt heavier than it should have…like maybe he wasn’t just talking about right then. Well, actually, he wasn’t. He would never leave Jon, not if he could help it. “I’ve got you, Jon. As long as you want me.”

“Forever.” The word slipped from Jon’s lips like it had caught hold of the tails of an exhale, like maybe Jon hadn’t meant to actually say it out loud, and the way he tensed said he was maybe thinking about either taking it back or praying Martin hadn’t heard.

Martin nodded. “If that’s what you need. For right now, though, come on. I’ve, um, I’ve got a spare sleep shirt you can borrow that’s probably more comfortable than this thing, and I’ll sit with you while you get some rest.”

“I’ll—I’ll try,” Jon said slowly. “Sleep isn’t always restful for me these days, and…I’m afraid of what I’ll see.”

“Well. I’ll be here whatever you see.” Martin eased to his feet and helped Jon to stand. “We should…probably talk, I guess, but it can wait until you’re rested.”

“Yes,” Jon agreed. He looked up again at Martin and—for the first time in what felt like months, the first time Martin could actually remember since he’d confessed about lying on his CV—he smiled, a real, genuine smile. “Thank you.”

Martin found some paracetamol and managed to coax Jon into taking it before he changed into the sleep shirt that was large on Martin and hung on Jon’s scrawny frame like a circus tent. The idea of his bed sent him into a mental panic spiral, so instead, he led Jon into the living room, sat on his battered, overstuffed couch, and got Jon to settle against him.

“Get some rest,” he said again. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Jon sighed and nestled into the crook of Martin’s arm, resting his head on his chest, and closed his eyes. He murmured something almost too soft to hear, and then, surprisingly, his breathing evened out and he was asleep.

Martin expected he, himself, would be wide awake and probably tense for the next however long it was. To his surprise, however, he relaxed almost instantly, shifted his arm to keep Jon more secure, and closed his own eyes.

His last thought as he drifted off was that what Jon had said before falling asleep sounded an awful lot like I love you. Since Jon was asleep and wouldn’t know, he felt safe in knowing he wouldn’t be embarrassed if he was wrong, at least for now.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.

And with that, and the warmth and weight of Jon’s head on his shoulder, he fell into deep slumber.

[shedk1d]

INJUST LISTENED TO TMAGP 23 AND

YOUR KIDDING JON AND MARTIN NEVER EVEN MEG FJAYS TJSNSBAJAASBATHEY NEVER EVEN MET IN TMAGP

WHY WOUDL FHEY DO THIS TO ME IM SOS SAD GO AHEAD AND TAKE MY WHOLE HEART WHILE UPUR AT IT WHAT THE HEEWWLLL

My friend just finished season 3 today so I’m already reliving the fact that alll my favorite characters die AND YOUR TELLING ME THEY DIE AGAIN THIS IS CRULE

ALSO BASIRA AND HELEN WHAT HELLLOOOO!???!?? and the fact that Gerry and gurtude are alive in tmagp aswell ??!?!??? I’m so confused on how this universe works

Wait what if Helen comes back my queen I love her so much I need her to be in tmagp

[wizardsnorlax]

Ok so update on the Spiral Jon fic I'm writing: I'm getting it onto Ao3 bit by bit because it's super difficult to write on mobile, but I need to take a break and get ideas for the season three events out before they get lost, here's a link to the season 2 notes

Ok here we go

Melanie does not join the Archives, this is for the best

At one point in season 2 Jon gave Sasha Georgie's contact info for "in case of emergency" use so Sasha is gonna be (mostly) ok she just needs to pop an allergy pill every once in a while

Sasha might be good with the hardware of a computer but the software might as well be a completely different language so she's very little help with Georgie's show

Jon takes to reading Statements like I took to weed gummies

Sasha follows about the same trail of clues as Jon did in Canon but Daisy's grip on Sasha is a bit harder to hold so Sasha gets claw slashes on her arms instead of a knife at the throat

Things that have changed about Jon while Sasha was gone: his hair now has ringlet curls, the extra flexibility in his joints has progressed but not to the point anyone has noticed let alone would consider a problem and his eyes are twitchy from the stress of filling her position to the point he looks like he's constantly ODed on caffeine

Sasha gets back in the office and when everyone learns they can't quit or be fired Jon makes it his personal mission to be as much of a menace to Elias as possible

but he'd never do that to Sasha, she gets doodles of her hanging out with Cecil from Nightvale because she's a good boss:)

Martin scolds Tim for how he's been treating Jon and Sasha because of the changes caused by first and secondhand paranormal bullshit exposure

Jon gets to go out for drinks with people who actually like him

Everyone learns why Jon has a shirt that says "the difference between me and Superman is Superman has Super Vision, I need constant supervision

A discussion about who takes Jon home with them is had because at some point the poor goober lost his shoes and started trying to wrap around Martin like a belt

Sasha gets kidnapped on her way home

Michael helps her because some part remembers being an archival assistant and she's treated hers so much better than Gertrude did

Helen doesn't take Michael's place but the door still rejects him and the corridor collapses as both Sasha and Michael crash into Jon's new flat

Michael is freed but is in such bad shape he needs to be in the hospital for several weeks on recovery

Things attempt to be normal

Tim and Jon are menaces to Elias in very different ways

Jon doesn't want anyone traveling alone

Elias doesn't care but can't STAND the idea of Jon being there without a buffer so Sasha gets to have company on her trip, Tim goes to India and gets the ghost bullet, cue Mystery Mousketool meme

Martin, Basira and Daisy are handling the workload as best they can but since none of them are particularly suited to the task things go badly because Martin is terrible at direct leadership

When Sasha and Jon get kidnapped by Trevor and Julia, Sasha decides that the best way to clear some of the air is through lore dumping her backstory (still to be determined)

Jon is deemed suspicious by the false cop cause he does NOT look sober

Insert attempted police brutality interrupted by a shotgun

While the false cop is regenerating Jon gets the "how did you two meet" Statement from Julia

They get to the cabin and Jon freaks out a little at the idea of reading ANOTHER cursed book

Big relief when nobody gets eaten this time

Nobody ever believes him but Jon has kept every promise he's made (not that he's made many before but it's the principle of it)

Yoinks the page

Our duo finishes the assignment

Back home

Sasha learns about the storage unit

JON STOP REACHING FOR THE EXPLOSIVES YOU ABSOLUTE GREMLIN

Tim is EXTRA motivated to wreck shop at the Unknowing

Jon and Martin stay behind to be distractions

Big boom happens, Tim makes it out because the guy's literally too angry to die, Sasha is in the coma, Daisy is in the Coffin and Basira is just having a time of it

Jon gets mind fondled by Elias and it makes Martin want to rip the bastard's throat out but the best he can do is have the cops rough him up as much as possible

Jon is temporary head of the Archives and the pressure swallows him whole and he crashes like a meteorite because he desperately doesn't want to be the one giving orders

Martin's "assistance" has been leaving cobwebs in places nobody checks

And thus we enter season 4

[zabala0z]

Welcome back to the first episode of “Listening to TMA S5, blind” I’m your beloved host and guys. Guys guys. I actually am freaking out.

MAG 161: Dwelling

I’m actually screaming. Hearing the old gang actually made me want to cry. SASHA. SASHA I MISSED YOU :(( also Elias: “I’d like to keep an eye out” you think you’re so fucking funny. I loved the very off key singing of Happy Birthday. Accurate. I wonder if Elias/Jonah sent the tapes for a reason. It’s definitely not to gloat. Is this apart of a wider web of manipulation? The Web style? Also, the fact Sasha could’ve been head archivist. Jesus

Hearing the description of the entities, that they don’t care enough to keep humanity fed and watered unnerved me a lot actually. I don’t know.

MAG 162: A Cozy Cabin

GERRY!!! Nice to hear him as a human, without all the ghost-like qualities. Although hearing Jon rewind the tape over and over and over and over again just made me feel bad.

And then Sasha and Tim.

“we had the ill-advised hookup, the awkward aftermath, and the gradually rebuilt friendship, but – that’s all season two stuff. We’ve got like five more seasons before we get the heartwarming epilogue that makes it canon.”

“No. You took it too far! I’m unforgettable!”

So what if I just ended it all?

Also Jon’s monologue. For a bit, I thought he was “knowing” one of Martins poems that he made during this since Martin was the one who did not like staying at the cabin but no, I was wrong. But time to see the outside world

MAG 163: In The Trenches

I wanna go back to the cabin.

I love TMA so much because of how the format switches up every season. Like season 1 was pretty simple enough with season 2 having Jon add in those supplementals and having a new setting (the tunnels). Season 3 cranks it up with having live statements from recurring characters, statements read by others, and dropping some lore. season 4, while similar to season 1 in terms of format, has Martin reading statements, more god damn lore and some new settings. And now season 5 has uh all this. It’s so amazing and I love it and I’m terrified.

Hearing Jon describe everything going on actuslly made me horrified. Like I got spooked out by the statements but this made me feel so much dread like I’m not even kidding. I also wanna know more about that weird ass doctor and the man with the red flower. Avatars of The Slaughter I presume.

Also that phone. ???? What???

MAG 164: The Sick Village

Gross. While the previous episode made me experience horror, this made me feel disgust. Disgust that just burrowed into my bones (get it. Cause..the episode-). I had such a deep instinct of repulsion. Like actually. I also read the triggers just cause you can never be too careful and I remember thinking, “how can xenophobia be involved with The Corruption?”…apparently xenophobia was very prevalent

Now I know where the whole “Martin’s middle name” thing comes from. I’m glad Basira is alive. And heart broken at the tragedy there is. She’s always chasing Daisy and Daisy is always chasing another thing SOMEBODY SEDATE ME

I think Georgie and Melanie are in the tunnels. It’s been established before that Elias can’t see in the tunnels which probably means Jon can’t see them. I’m glad they are safe. They need it.

Helen! Nice to see her again, I actually cackled when she said “check up on the happy couple”. Nice to see a confirmation about the relationship. This is like the worst time to be dating someone though 💀 Helen’s so happy. I’m sure she has a ton of people in her hallways. I don’t know if she’s lying about the “friend thing, but it’d be funny if she wasn’t

Okay. That’s everything. Sorry for the long wait, I had to take a break after season 4’s finale and then ANOTHER one after listening to the first 3 eps. This is like, actually heavy. Kinda draining. But god, I’m actually going insane.

I want to know how this is going to be fixed. Like. There’s gotta be some happy ending. ??? Right??? Please tell me there is one.

[pillowspace]

Do you have any tma fic recs?

I am kissing your hand, thank you so much for asking. Let me go take a look through my AO3 bookmarks and see what I still remember reading

Here's some The Magnus Archives fics I like! Some Jonmartin fics, regular fics, and a little Gerrymichael section because I like that

Okay, so first of all, this is my favourite The Magnus Archives fic of all time. I cannot recommend it enough. It has entirely rewired my brain, I have not been the same since I read this. I cried multiple times:

Resigned, Though Not to Fate by inkfingers_mcgee

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist

“You’re really suggesting this,” Martin says, voice pulled thin.

“Yes.” No hesitation.

“You would- actually do it?”

“I would.”

“With me.”

“Yes, Martin.”

“Why?” Because love is blind, says something cliché and cruel in the pit of his gut. Christ, he never was much of a poet, was he?

Or,

When Jon asks Martin to Quit the Archives with him, Martin says yes. Things don't go as planned. In the Scottish Highlands, they hurt, and they heal.

(Re-written as of 22-12-27; see chapter 9 for more info.)

T | Words: 145,746 | Chapters: 9/9

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And there's also these good ones I've enjoyed:

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a deeply annoying child by ajkal2

No Archive Warnings Apply, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker, blink-and-you-miss-it Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, BUT NO SLASH WHILE ANYONE IS A CHILD

Jon is hiding under the desk.

----

There's a child in the Archives, who shouldn't be there.

G | Words: 9,631 | Chapters: 1/1

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rituals by doomcountry

No Archive Warnings Apply, Martin Blackwood/The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims

Martin is the first person to knock on the Archivist's door since it arrived, fully, into its little waiting temple. The Archivist saw him coming from down the hall, but decides to feign interest when the knob turns, and Martin—still a little bit smaller, a little more translucent than before—stands uncertainly just outside the room.

T | Words: 8,492 | Chapters: 1/1

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Head in the Lion's Mouth by renwhit

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Danny Stoker & Tim Stoker, Danny Stoker & Jonathan Sims, Basira Hussain & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Danny Stoker, Jonathan Sims & Tim Stoker, Past Tim Stoker/Sasha James, Danny Stoker & Helen Richardson, Danny Stoker & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Danny Stoker & Melanie King, Basira Hussain & Tim Stoker, Basira Hussain & Danny Stoker

He fell into a deep bow, smiling the whole while. “I’m the ringmaster, of course.”

“Is that skin— Is it yours?” Old wood groaned as the Archivist shifted his weight. “Originally.”

“It is!” the ringmaster said as he swooped back upright. “Nikola decided I wore it well, so she let me keep it. Why do you ask?”

The Archivist gave him another once-over. “You just… you look familiar. Like someone I know.”

On relearning, reconnecting, and redefining.

M | Words: 157,240 | Chapters: 17/17

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Reflection by LazuliQuetzal

No Archive Warnings Apply, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James/Emma (The Magnus Archives)

Jonathan Sims, researcher at the Magnus Institute, is seeing a ghost. Of himself.

Of course, it’s not really him, no matter what secrets it knows, or how many arguments it brings up. So if it tells him to do something?

Obviously, he’ll be doing the exact opposite.

(AKA: Jon is an idiot, past and future, but somewhere along the way it all cancels out.)

(Expect general spoilers for S4 and specifically, MAG 158.)

T | Words: 51,527 | Chapters: 10/10

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Out There, Somewhere by Artyphex

No Archive Warnings Apply, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist

"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.

T | Words: 54,080 | Chapters: 8/8

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Clutching Daffodils by Gemi

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims

Martin has always liked the idea of love at first sight.

It’s such a romantic idea, the whole thing of it. Seeing someone and instantly feeling that strange, twisting feeling deep inside that every single media likes to obsess over. Of knowing you are in love within the day, petals falling from your mouth and warmth filling your chest as love burrows deep, vines twisting through your lungs.

He always liked the idea of it.

And then Jonathan Sims starts working at the Magnus Institute.

NR | Words: 7,624 | Chapters: 1/1

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Beastly Behaviour by Prim_the_Amazing

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims

“You need to learn a lesson,” she says, and there’s blood speckling her lips now. She’s overstraining herself. He needs to stop her, calm her down. “And until you learn it you will suffer, just like you’ve made me suffer.”

“Mum, I think you need to--”

It turns out that when his father had called his mother a witch, he had meant more than Martin realized.

NR | Words: 73,226 | Chapters: 28/28

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dustsceawung by callmearcturus

No Archive Warnings Apply, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist

Martin had always been favored by the summer courts, and moving up north to the little village of Lacuna is a difficult adjustment. It's rainy and lonely and everyone seems to have a strange, distant relationship with the local faerie court.

However: there is a strange man in a cloak who walks past Martin's remote little cottage every few days.

However: there is a moth that keeps getting stuck in Martin's house during the rain.

These events are not as disconnected as they first appear.

M | Words: 38,269 | Chapters: 8/8

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Gerrymichael fics I like:

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Break Me Like A Pattern by TheLibraryBat

Graphic Depictions Of Violence,,Gerard Keay & Michael Shelley, Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley, Gerard Keay & Gertrude Robinson, Gertrude Robinson & Michael Shelley

The year is 2011. Michael Shelley is living his life in circles, blissfully unaware of the betrayal that awaits him in the summer. Gertrude Robinson has plans to enact and plans to destroy. Emma Harvey is hiding a book in the dark place at the back of a cupboard.

When Gerard Keay walks into the Magnus Institute - two years sooner than he was meant to - everything changes.

This is an (eventual) Archivist Michael AU, exploring how certain events might have played out, had one key player been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

M | Words: 215,291 | Chapters: 40/40

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This entire series is so good, all 4 works in it:

As One Door Closes by dramatispersonae

Words: 64,859 | Works: 4

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Choke Chain by dramatispersonae

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Gerard Keay/Michael, Gerard Keay/The Distortion

Things Gertrude Robinson possesses: decades of experience killing, containing, and otherwise thwarting supernatural beings, an uncompromising drive to destroy the Rituals and the people who would see them completed, Gerry's loyalty. Things Gertrude Robinson apparently also possesses: a monster on a magic leash.

NR | Words: 14,814 | Chapters: 1/1

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Echo Chamber by orphan_account

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Gerard Keay/Michael, Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley

“Look, if you’re another, uh, avatar of a horrible eldritch demon god come to assassinate me in a spooky manner, could you get it over with quickly? I haven’t eaten all morning and I’m starving.”

The thing that calls itself Michael stares.

“And this sandwich cost most of my weekly salary,” Gerry adds after a belated moment.

T | Words: 21,439 | Chapters: 1/1

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Please Don’t Eat the Flowers by Sloane

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley, Gerard Keay/Michael | The Distortion, Razor/Wendy, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Instead of retiring to open a book shop, Gerry ends up working at a flower shop run by American lesbians in London. This leads to a brush with the Distortion, who just wants to buy some lilies, the Magnus Institute finding out he’s still alive, and... well, a normal life was never really in the cards for the likes of Gerard Keay, was it?

Oh, and those lesbians who run the flower shop? There’s more to them than meets the eye—bad Beholding pun intended.

(No knowledge of Maniac Mansion required; I take lots of liberties to slot it into TMA’s universe. UNDER MAJOR REVISIONS. Please see last chapter if you’re a new/returning reader for details..)

M | Words: 77,314 | Chapters: 33/?

[cataclysmicdisaster]

sat here scratching at the walls while waiting for tmap 28 to drop so I wanted to throw some theories at the wall because these tragic little government drones occupy my every waking thought, spoilers ahead for all mag pod content so yknow

in the same way you physically couldn't quit The Magnus Institute, I think you have the full capability to leave the OIAR but your life/luck goes down hill until it eventually kills you. Take Teddy, for example, last we heard from him it was during a really sombre interaction with Alice. He was struggling to find a job and she said he looked exhausted (or something along those lines). I know it's not much to go off, but since we also have Colin's declining mental state since he stopped doing his job (though that could just be his rightfully sourced paranoia), I think it's a pretty solid thing to go off

with two Externals showing up that are extremely Hunt coded/are notorious hunters (Trevor Herbert MP was a Hunt avatar in tma, Lady Mobary we've heard in action) plus how Lena makes Gwen hunt down externals, how Sam seems obsessed with hunting down The Magnus Institute and Basira showing up as one of the first Magnus Institute workers from tma, it's pointing towards a particular Fear entity being rather strong in this new universe

Celia is most definitely manipulating Sam (though I think she's also genuinely catching feelings) and we're coming to the end of season 1, so I think her secret is going to be revealed soon. The most likely way I think this is going to happen is Sam will be at her flat with Jack and she'll suddenly disappear, panic ensues, explanations will be given

I think the files that Gwen received in tmap 27 have a chance of being digitally transfered tape recordings. Since they couldn't be recorded digitally in tma, but now the people who recorded them are stuck in technology, I'm fairly sure the tapes are now audio files that got sent to Gwen (I could be wrong, I'm shit at computer stuff)

the Archivist is coming, that I'm sure of. It may not be here in season 1, but it's making its way to the OIAR. Seeing as we've had "Augustus" read a statement about himself, I think that he'll be the one to take the Archivist as his physical form rather than "Chester" (that last part is just me chatting shit)

Gwen's rich dad with an influence over the government is 100% Elias Bouchard, specifically the loser/stoner we met before he got Jonah Magnus'ed. I think he's a good dad, but that Gwen is an only child so he spoilt her rotten

"Norris" is gonna be the one to prove Colin right, its just Martin's undying determination to make things right that'll have "Norris" do something to reveal him. Maybe he'll finish reading a statement and instead of gradually regaining that monotonous text-to-speech tone and shutting off he'll continue to speak without a statement

aaaaaand that's a wrap. I just needed to vomit all my silly little thoughts out somewhere and realised I could blog it, now all my moots have to suffer through this (I'm not sure if I'm sorry yet, I'll let yall know)

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 37 - Scrutiny spoilers below

Reactions and Theories

Reactions: Georgie!!! Sam!!! I've missed you two!!

I wonder who the doctor is.

Yay! He's not arrested!

Ok, so they are currently hunting [ERROR], makes sense

Georgie, that's really sweet!

They are protecting him for now, again, makes sense.

MELONIE!!!??????? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

Wait, noooo, I wanna hear Melonieeee. Dammit [Error]. (/lh)

It sees Ash? Are they worshipping it?

Ash Pines -> giving themself to [Error] in terms of fear

It was in their dreams????

Their fear was originally that of being seen and now it's being alone? It's doing a call and response? That's new! That tone switch was harsh /lh

Ohhhh fatphobia, not greatttt

Jesus, these kids are cruel.

Holy shit???? WTF is with these teachers??? What is their mom on??? He's distracting them???? WTF???

Oh, no they internalized the fatphobia.

The sisters threw Ash's shoe??? WTF???? Parent's night to discuss what's wrong with your child? WTFF???

Honestly, breaking a leg during tennis is something I would do /lh

Ash was so surrounded by toxic people oml...

Dream? So, it's putting her to sleep as it kills her. WTF does the transcript mean 'the Archivist slowly dissolves back into the wind' IT CAN DO THAT?????

Melonieeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

AND SHE'S BLIND AND USING HER CANE ON PEOPLE! I LOVE HER SM

The small talk is amazing.

So cell network and electricity are still down...

THE FEARSSS??????? CORRUPTION???? VAST???????? CREEPY AVATARS???? I'M SCREAMING EYEPOCOLPSYE

THE RITUAL MENTIONED???? THE MAGNUS INSTITUTE MENTIONED???? OMG

THE EYE MENTIONED!

GEORGIE AND MELONIE'S ENDED CONNECTION TO THE FEARS MENTIONED!!!

"Short version? We undid the ritual, blew up the tower and kicked all the supernatural forces to the curb. And lost some friends in the process." Are we talking about Jon and Martin and Daisy? Is Basira ok??????

It was only a week of real time???

Chaos makes complete sense.

So the fears made impacts on the actual landscapes as well.

Revenge killings would also make sense...

So they weren't able to organize in time...

Panopticon mentioned!!! British guy with a posh accent - Jon or Jonah??? Who are we blaming??? You know, with the way Jonah planned everything, Jon probably took the fall...

The Wardens are all volunteer...

Zones are the locations that got polluted by too much Fear, which would make sense, as they were so close to Jonah

The power has been given to the people then. I suppose it makes sense, with the Avatars tending to be higher ups.

"Mostly we were just sat in that manky old archive reading paperwork and feeling sorry for ourselves." <- most accurate description of the Archives

So they are thinking it's Jon.

Go Sam!! Connect those dots!!

Melonie destroying the tape recorder is amazing, but, it seemed to stop when she found it? Dare I say it is controlled by something with sentience?

Theories:

This episode has so much new information and I am screaming.

This universe is basically confirmed to be TMA!verse. While I do enjoy the ambiguous ending, I also like learning about what happened to the characters. That leads me to my theory regarding Basira. She was in TMAGP!Verse as a teacher, but in TMA!Verse she was an ex-cop. And Melonie said that Georgie and her are the only two people who knew what happened. However, Basira was there too. All of that leads to multiple possibilities:

Basira died - Either killed helping people, in a revenge killing, or in a zone, she is dead in this universe. While I really hate this option, based on the information we have right now, this is probably the most likely option.

Basira, Georgie, and Melonie had a falling out - Something happened, which I honestly have no clue of what. Something happened and Basira left. Perhaps she didn't want to deal with the Fears anymore.

We just haven't met her yet - Melonie and Georgie are either hiding her from Sam and or just forgot to mention her as of late.

Next, I think we have to talk about [Error]. We still don't know who it is. Georgie and Melonie are assuming it could be Jon. There are so many theories too: Literally any of the Archival Assistants, a fragment of Jon and/or Jonah, an old archivist, someone who was a minor character in TMA, someone we never met, etc.

No matter who it is (or was) - it's getting stronger. It manipulated Ash through their dreams before it fed from them. It's playing with its food.

I'm really loving that Georgie and Martin are taking up a similar role to Gerry and Gertrude in TMA. It's ironic that Jon (assuming Jon is our Jon) sent Sam (and Celia) to the people who he thought could help (which they didn't really in the end), only for the TMA!version of someone so close to Celia to help him.

I think those are all my thoughts for now. This episode was pretty information heavy, so I'm really excited to see if the next episode will be information heavy for TMAP!Verse as well!

[desolate-flame]

im feeling so fucking insane about daisira and jonmartin parallels rn basira basically already lost daisy (or her version of daisy/the daisy she knew) after the unknowing while despite jon not being Himself (human (though this is another can of worms i wont open)) after the coma martin was able to get to know the actual jon for the first time during the safehouse era and beyond but regardless both basira and martin were in love with people who were already dead and withering away, who could not return to their old selves, who were destined for death . basira will forever be waiting for someone she know cannot return and martin will forever be cherishing a version of someone he knows he will lose ARGHH

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

I've seen a decent chunk of fics where Tim is Not Dead in s4, just for the sake of it, so I keep kinda pondering how that would've worked out, and how that would change depending on how exactly it happens

like if he just flat out survived, like Basira did, mostly unharmed, and was stuck waiting through the horrors for Jon to wake up for six months with everyone else, would he just keep on with hating Jon / hate him even more than before? could seeing Jon spend six months dead and then be shunned by everyone else somehow be enough to make him sympathetic to Jon again? would missing him be enough? or would he be even more upset and angry about the whole "you're not the same person, whatever you are you're not jon" thing that everyone else was so edgy about?

what if he also had his own coma, or other extended recovery period, or even had to become an Avatar himself to survive too? if he also had to trade his humanity for survival, would he stick by Jon through solidarity of that choice? could he even be the one to tell Jon about that choice, instead of Oliver Banks? or would he just be even madder seeing it as Jon put him in that situation where he had to make that choice? if he were just injured but didn't become an avatar, would that effect his attitude to Jon?

if Tim were around would Peter Lukas have considered him as a target, instead of Martin? if so, would he have chosen him? would Tim have prevented Martin from being taken in by Peter Lukas? would his anger have turned on Martin without Jon there to take it instead, and chased him to him sooner and harder?

if Tim were around for any part of Jon's Daisy Rescue Plan would he have encouraged or discouraged it? and why? what about the plan would bother him most? the risk to Jon's life, or just the risk that it wouldn't work? would he care if Jon went in without waiting for Basira to return? would he go in with Jon? would he help Martin pile tapes for Jon to find his way back?

how would he feel about Daisy's return? "we both almost died in the unknowing" solidarity, or "you're still a monster / you weren't here" anger, or "you're not a strong defense/weapon anymore" disappointment? would Daisy be able to bring Tim and Jon together if their relationship was still strained, being the between of "we suffered for six months after almost dying in the unknowing" and "we're both trying not be monsters while the rest of our companions shun us"? or if they were friends again would she be pushed to the side because Jon already had Tim, or even worse, put a wedge between them if Tim hated her for being a cruel and evil person before and Jon related to her through monster solidarity?

during the six month gap, would Tim and Basira bond over the loss of their closest companions (Sahsa and Daisy)? would Tim resent Basira for being disappointed by how Daisy had changed, even though it was at least still her, unlike Not!Sasha, "how dare you grieve someone who's still here"?

would Tim and Melanie get along? would they commiserate over their anger, or would they tear into each other over it? would they bond over "trapped in this horrid fucking place by Jon" solidarity?

I wish I were more of a Tim understander so I could ponder it more substantially

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

Does the world need more pre-Unknowing Jmart content? The answer is probably no, but have some anyway! You can read it on AO3, or check it out below:

Martin’s hands were shaking. He noticed that as he filled the kettle, heard the way the slight tremor made the water splash and slosh against the smooth metal.

He wished they weren’t. He wished for once he could maintain some sort of composure without his body betraying him with a tremor, or a stammer, or a blush. He wished it wasn’t so very obvious that he was terrified, but that was probably a lost cause. Jon was sitting just on the other side of the wall listening to the tape Martin had recorded, describing, at Jon’s insistence, all the things he thought and felt on the eve of the Unknowing, and there were quite a few things, really, that were probably far too obvious.

I need them to be safe. I need him to be okay.

Just don’t die, Jon. Or– or Tim, or Basira, or… Daisy, I guess.

He hadn’t meant to make the others sound like such an afterthought (or, not Tim and Basira, rather. Daisy he could take or leave; he’d never quite forgiven her for the whole attempted-murder thing) but, well, Jon had been on his mind recently. Jon, who was listening to that mortifying tape at this very moment. Jon, who had stayed in the Archives far too late on a night when he really ought to be getting some sleep. Jon, who Martin hadn’t said goodbye to, yet, because he didn’t know how. Jon, who Martin was making a cup of tea for, even though he hadn’t asked and probably didn’t want it, because he was desperate for an excuse to sit with him in the Archives for just a little while longer.

Jon, who might die tomorrow.

Martin’s hands were shaking again. He hardly noticed.

He took the tea bag out, tossed it into the bin, stirred in the sugar, added the milk. It was muscle memory by now. He didn’t have to think about it, which was usually a good thing, but today it just meant his thoughts were free to spiral.

There was nothing he could do. He knew that. The plans had all been made, the only thing left to do was wait for tomorrow, play his part, and hope for the best. That was all any of them could do. Fretting wasn’t going to help. But his mind kept turning, against his will, to the same fact: tomorrow, the last two friends he had in the world (or, if one were being very generous and assumed a level of amity from Melanie and Basira that he wasn’t sure he’d earned, three of the last four friends he had in the world) were going to drive to Great Yarmouth, and he didn’t know if they were ever coming back. In some ways, the end of the world was easier to think about.

He picked up the mug, but his hands were still shaking, and it slipped from his trembling fingers and shattered on the floor.

Martin felt something in him break as he stared down at the shards of ceramic – like tectonic plates shifting apart, leaving something yawning and empty and aching across the fault line of his chest. He’d thought he could do this one thing – this one tiny, pointless gesture – but he couldn’t even get that right.

He dropped to his knees without thinking and began picking the shards off the ground. There was a broom in the supply closet that he could have used if he'd stopped to consider his options, but that empty, cavernous space in his chest was quickly getting filled by panic, and his only thought was to clean up his mess as quickly as possible. He needed to fix this, needed to make things right, needed to at least hide the evidence of his failure.

“Martin? Are you alright?” Jon appeared in the doorway to the breakroom, eyes wide, looking as though he expected to be met with a supernatural horror and was prepared to fight it. His posture relaxed just slightly when he saw Martin, alone and unharmed, in the center of the room, though the alarm didn’t quite leave his face.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Martin said, and he hated the wobble in his voice, the high, tremulous note that made it sound like he was going to cry. “I, uh, I-I-I was going to bring you some tea, but well…”

“Here, let me help,” Jon started, taking a step toward Martin, and Martin scrambled to pick up the pieces.

“No, no, I’ve got it, I–” He caught his thumb on one of the sharp edges, and sucked in an involuntary breath. A bead of blood bloomed, small but startlingly red, across the cut.

Jon was on the floor beside him in an instant. “Let me see.”

“It’s fine,” he said, “it’s not that bad.” And it really wasn’t. It was a shallow thing that looked worse than it was, but Jon had taken Martin’s hand in both of his own and was looking over the cut with wide, dark, overserious eyes.

“I’ll get the first aid kit.”

“You really don’t need–” Martin started, but Jon was already on his feet.

“It’ll only take a second.” When he saw that Martin had opened his mouth to protest further, he added, “Humour me.”

Then he was off, leaving Martin alone on the floor of the breakroom.

Martin sighed. He stood up, walked over to the bin, and carefully tipped the shards of mug he had picked up into it.

Jon returned a moment later holding a broom and dustpan, with the office’s first aid kit tucked under one arm. He carefully toed around the remaining splatter of spilled tea and broken ceramic on the floor to lean the broom against the counter and set the first aid kit down before leading Martin to the sink and turning on the tap.

Jon guided his hand under the cool water, which is something Martin definitely could have done himself, but he didn’t argue this time. He was too distracted by once again having his injured hand cupped by both of Jon’s, Jon’s thin, calloused fingertips pressing gently but firmly into his palm. When the cut had been cleaned, Jon shut off the water and began rummaging through the first aid kit for a plaster of the right size.

Martin could only watch helplessly as Jon peeled the plastic off and discarded it. When he gestured for Martin to hold out his hand, Martin offered it up. He should have been embarrassed. It was embarrassing, the fuss Jon was making over a tiny little cut, but Jon was still handling his injury with such care, and staring at him with such concentration, as though Martin was the most important thing in the world, and he couldn’t find it in himself to mind.

He pressed the gauze to the soft pad of Martin’s thumb and took care not to hinder the motion of his knuckle when he wrapped the sides around it. His fingers lingered for a moment longer, smoothing out the bandage, before he finally dropped Martin’s hand.

“There,” he whispered.

“Thanks.”

Jon cleared his throat. “I thought you might have gone home.” He scratched delicately at the back of his neck, then added in a quiet murmur, “I, um. I’m glad you didn’t.”

“I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

There was a moment of silence, during which neither of them took the opportunity to say goodbye.

Martin was the one to break the silence. “I should, uh, I should really…” he stammered, grabbing the broom.

“R-Right.”

Martin swept up the remaining pieces of the mug and threw them away. When he turned around, Jon had grabbed a tea towel from beside the sink and was knelt on the floor mopping up the puddle of tea.

“You really don’t have to do that,” Martin said. He was beginning to feel like a broken record, but it was true. He didn’t want to spend these last precious moments before everything changed with Jon cleaning up his mess. 

“I don’t mind.” 

Martin thought about grabbing another towel and joining him, but he’d already gotten most of it. Jon gave the floor one last swipe, then looked down at the linoleum with a contemplative frown. “That’s probably good enough. I really should have mopped it up instead of just drying it, but, well… If tomorrow, the worst thing we can say is that there’s a sticky patch on the break room floor, I think we’ll consider ourselves lucky.” He huffed a quiet little laugh, but there was no real humour in it.

Martin hesitated. They were toeing dangerously close to the topic they’d been avoiding all night.

“Do you… want to talk about it?”

“Probably best if we don’t,” Jon whispered. “I might lose my courage, and, well… there’s little enough of that to go around.” He flashed Martin a sad, brave, lopsided smile.

It was the smile that did it. Martin knelt down beside Jon, ignoring the way the damp patch on the floor soaked through the knees of his trousers, and pulled him into a tight hug. Jon stiffened for a moment, surprised, before melting into the contact. His shoulders began to shake. Martin wasn’t sure if he was crying or simply shaking, but he squeezed him tighter nonetheless. He stroked a soothing hand down Jon’s spine, and Jon’s breath caught in his throat. Martin wondered for a second if he’d overstepped, but then Jon shifted, burying his face in Martin’s neck and taking long, deep, shuddering breaths.

Martin wanted to say something, but his words died on his lips. What was there to say? “It’s alright?” “Everything’s going to be okay?” It would be a hollow sentiment, and they’d both know it. “I’m worried, too,” would be more honest, but Jon knew that already. He’d listened to the tape.

Eventually, they had to pull apart. It was a slow, awkward affair, but when they’d finally extricated themselves from the tight tangle of limbs, they once again found themselves sat across from each other on the cold break room floor. Jon looked a mess. His glasses were askew, his collar was rumpled, and his hair was falling in his face in tousled waves.

Martin couldn’t help himself. He reached out with both hands and tucked Jon’s hair back behind his ears. For just a fraction of a second, Jon flashed him another lopsided smile. Martin knew he ought to pull away, but he let his hands linger, gently cupping the corners of Jon’s face, for a few moments longer. Jon’s eyes slipped closed, and he sighed. His brow was furrowed, his expression cloudy, but the sigh was one of the most contented sounds Martin had ever heard.

When Martin dropped his hands, Jon opened his eyes and studied Martin’s face. He seemed to struggle with himself, opening and closing his mouth several times as though beginning to say something before thinking better of it. Finally, he whispered, “Why me?”

“What?”

“Why am I the one you… make tea for, and invite out to lunch, and…” he trailed off, before repeating, more insistently, “Why me? When I thought you might have killed Gertrude, I could make sense of it. Y-You were throwing suspicion off yourself, trying to get me to let my guard down so you could kill me,” he said. “But now, I’m fairly sure you aren’t going to murder me, so why?”

“I like making tea.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” Martin said, because he did. “But… it sort of is, though. I like making you tea, and I like having lunch with you, I just– I like spending time with you! I care about you, Jon. You make it sound like I’m making some big sacrifice by loving you, but–” Martin realized what he said half a second after he said it. “Sorry, that’s not– I didn’t mean– that isn’t what I meant to–” he corrected, frantically, before giving up. He sighed, and dropped his gaze so he wouldn’t have to look Jon in the eye as he muttered, “I mean, I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now. Everyone else has.”

“I… suspected,” Jon admitted softly. “But I wasn’t sure. I thought it might have been wishful thinking on my part.”

Martin risked a glance at Jon. He expected to see embarrassment in his face, or pity, or even scorn. Instead, he saw only the satisfaction of someone who had just come to a decision.

Jon reached out and put a hand on Martin’s jaw, gently pulling him closer, and leaned forward, tilting his face up towards Martin’s. He moved slowly, as though waiting for Martin to pull away, or to lean in. Martin did neither.

“Don’t,” he whispered instead. Their faces were so close that his lips nearly brushed against Jon’s as he spoke. “Don’t do this just because the world might end.”

Jon pulled back slightly, and blinked at him. “Is that what you think?”

Martin didn’t respond. “Yes,” was the answer, but it would have sounded like an accusation. And Martin knew that Jon wasn’t trying to be cruel. He probably thought it was a kindness, to give Martin the one thing they both knew he wanted before everything went wrong, and to find some comfort himself in the process. 

“Martin, I… I care about you, too,” Jon whispered. “I’m not very good at showing it – well, no, I’m terrible at showing it – but I do care. I think about you all the time. Even when I was kidnapped. Even when I thought you were trying to kill me. I…” he swallowed, and his fingers moved to tangle in Martin’s hair. “I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time,” he whispered, face still so close to Martin’s, “but only if you want it, too.”

Martin leaned forward, and their lips met.

The kiss was chaste at first, cautious, but it didn’t take long before it grew heated. Jon’s lips were feverish, hungry, and fierce, and Martin could feel an answering hunger awaken in him. He brought his hands to the back of Jon’s head to give himself some leverage as he pressed deeper into the kiss, and Jon tightened his grip on Martin’s hair, tugging lightly on the shaggy locks that curled behind his ear. Jon nipped at his bottom lip, and Martin let out a noise that really should have been embarrassing. He couldn’t quite remember what embarrassment was meant to feel like, though.

For a moment, the Circus didn’t exist. The Unknowing didn’t exist. The damp patch on the knees of Martin’s trousers, and the shattered mug in the bin, and the cut on Martin’s hand didn’t exist. Nothing existed but Jon – Jon’s hand in his hair, Jon’s breath against his cheek, Jon’s lips, migrating from Martin’s mouth down to his jaw and then down further to press, eager and hot, against his throat.

“Jon,” he whispered, the only thing he could think to say, the only word in the universe at that moment.

And Jon whispered back, desperate and dear, “Martin.”

Martin wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. Long enough that his knees began to grow sore from being pressed against the cold, hard floor. 

“I love you,” Jon murmured when they finally pulled apart.

“You don’t have to say that just because I said–”

“I know I don’t,” Jon said. “But it’s true.”

“Oh.” Martin didn’t know what to say to that. He pressed a kiss to Jon’s hairline in lieu of a response, and because he could. When he did find his voice, what he said was, “You have to come back tomorrow. You don’t get to say all this to me and then die.”

Jon huffed a quiet laugh. “Well, if you insist…”

“I mean it.”

Martin looked down at his hands, and found that they were shaking again. Jon followed his gaze, and wrapped Martin’s trembling hands in his own.

“I’ll try. I promise.”

And that was, as much as Martin wished it wasn’t, all either of them could do.

[wix-0-nightshade]

The Plush

Entering his office Jon see’s a plush on his desk. In thought on why it’s there in the first place begging the question on ‘who’ left it there. Possibly Martin otherwise thinking Tim. ‘Would Sasha find an interest and left it to?’ He thought. Pushing them aside he looked at the little plush that was him holding a mini tape recorder in one velcro hand. He moved it to the side of his desk setting a statement in the center taking his seat. Before reading through it.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Standing in the break room Martin made his tea before seeing Tim enter.

“Hey Martin! Look at this. A little mini me.” He spoke cheerfully smiling.

Martin looked at the plush Tim held seeing how it was indeed a mini version of him. “Did you make it?” Martin asked curiously, he was interested in it and a matter of fact found it cute.

“Found him on my desk. No not left, just sitting there as if waiting for me to take notice. I’m name him ‘Little Tim’. You had one on your desk too, a little Martin.”

“I do?” Martin asked, he didn’t leave from the assistants office room that long ago.

Did someone really just leave it? Sasha was in the artifact storage. Jon grabbing another statement, while Martin and Tim stood in the break room. Surely if it was Elias he’s leave a note? Confusing as it was the thought floated away when Tim broke him from his thoughts walking them back to the assistants break room. Martin went up to his desk and did indeed see a ‘little Martin’ as Tim put it. Holding a teacup in one velcro hand nothing in the other. He looked at it as it looked back at him giving the same smile it did for him.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Her shoes tapped lightly on the tiled floor of the artifact storage. Looking over the shelves she was sitting too long and needed a little walk and began her little break. Looking down the hall however on the ground she noticed something. Walking to it was a little plush.

“A little me?” Sasha questioned and looked at it before back down the hall and around her. No one in view or seen. “Not weird at all,” She sighed and carried it with her back the way she went.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Hi. Honestly I got bored. Thought of doing Melanie, Daisy, and Basira. However thought, maybe not? Just a silly little AU where they all have their own plushies(Daisy having both a wolf and her normal one :3). I’ve been having it float in my mind and slowly getting back into writing somewhat. Not great however manageable. Hope you like it!