#they know that the way to my heart is through tma lol

[cult-of-the-eye]

MAGNUS ARCHIVES THEMED PICK UP LIN ES

Are you a real estate agent? Cause I would love you to come in my corridors

Are you a priest cursed by a fear god? Cause I'll make you say unholy things

Are you a friend of Michael crew? Cause I can make you dizzy and sweep you off your feet

Call me Agnes Montague cause I have a burning passion for you

Call me Jon the way I head your archive

Etc etc (feel free to add ur own)

#my friend was trying to think of some #and im so flattered cause they're not even into tma #they were just going off what id told them #and they listen to me!! #they know that the way to my heart is through tma lol #i was inspired #tma #the magnus archives #tma meta #father burroughs #mag 19 #mag 20 #helen the distortion #michael the distortion #the spiral #agnes montague #michael crew #jonathan sims

[dumbasswithapen]

You're reblogging some fantastic stuff about The Mechs (coming from a tma fan) is there anything else you can tell me about it? I'm deadly curious and very interested in seeing more of Jon Sims' work

hello!!!! I am so normal about the mechanisms (lying) but am not good at describing things so if you want, like, The Intro Post To The Mechs than @x-ca1iber has it and that’s much more fine tuned but I shall try my best! This may be… a bit of an infodump, and not very concise.

base content warnings for mechs, not this post but the mechs as a band and their stories: violence, so much violence, lots of death, war, general tragedy, British people (ew)

okay. So. The basics! The Mechanisms were a 9 person folk cabaret band who told stories in their albums and songs that were based on mythology and stories (more on that later)

Outside of these stories they played individual characters, a space, steampunk pirate crew of immortals roaming the universe aboard a sentient starship named the Aurora and finding tragedies to tell through their albums. They're, as I mentioned, immortal, through a mechanism (not to be confused with The Mechanisms, the name of their crew lol. They weren’t very creative with that) A mechanism is a replacement for a part (or in some cases several parts) of one’s body made of metal and shit, that causes regeneration if you die. And this shit isn’t light, it is totally possible to regen from being, for instance… shoved into a sun for a century. so basically, crew of immortals making stories they witness into albums and playing the roles of people in those stories.

For a fan of tma, the most recognizable part of this is 4 people in the crew (though only 3 are major characters in tma) Jonny Sims, of course, plays Jon in tma and Jonny D’ville (he/him) in the mechanisms. (He is… perhaps not the most creative with naming his character) Jonny D’ville is the first mate (NOT captain. Though he would say he was) of the Aurora, and his mechanism is his heart. He was the first person in the crew, and the first to become immortal. He’s also the lead singer, and plays harmonica. Frank Voss plays Basira in tma, and in the mechs plays Ashes O’Reilly (they/them) an arsonist crime boss, ship’s quartermaster, whose mechanism is their lungs! Jessica Law plays Nikola Orsinov in tma, and in the mechs she plays The Toy Soldier (it/its) The Toy Soldier is… a bit of an outlier, in that it wasn’t ever mechanized, wasn’t ever “made” immortal. It is simply a sentient clockwork toy, with a voice box stolen from a human it had been in love with. (Somehow jess is typecast as an unsettling dollike entity twice in a thing created in part by Jonny sims) Its role in the crew is… really nobody knows. Occasionally it’s called mascot. It’s just kinda there and whenever it’s kicked out it finds its way back. It’s very charming, and simply happy to be involved! last, and kinda least in the context of being a tma fan, is Tim Ledsam, who plays the exterminator Jordan Kennedy in tma and Gunpowder Tim, (he/him) master-at-arms, in the mechanisms. His mechanism is his eyes.

others, who I’m not going to go into detail about, are Nastya Rasputina (she/her) engineer, Ivy Alexandria (she/her, actor uses he/him) archivist, Drumbot Brian (he/him) pilot, Marius Von Raum (he/him, actor uses they/them) and Raphaella la cognizi (she/her)

two, the albums! This is gonna be pretty quick because it’s just an overview, but there are 4 main story albums that tell self contained stories, 2 that are a collection of songs that tell single stories, and 1 EP thing that tells its own little ballad. Then there’s a live recorded version of their final show ever, death to the mechanisms. They’re all very tragic, and *very* queer stories.

first, once upon a time (in space) a story based on fairy tales, tells the story of a war through the stars. second, Ulysses dies at dawn, a film noir style telling of a dystopian world based on Greek myths. third, high noon over Camelot, a cowboy western ballad about Arthurian legend on a space station. fourth, the bifrost incident, a rock ballad about Norse myth, lovecraft eldritch horror, and one person being really fucking horny for a train (Dw about it) the other albums are a mix of myth and story retellings (Frankenstein, the story of Prometheus, a rhythm based video game called crypt of the necrodancer) and character backstory songs for the Mechanisms.

random ass fun facts because I’m out of base info and I think the mechs is really funny for something supposed to be tragedy

-one of the crew, Nastya, is in a loving romantic and sexual relationship with the starship

-there are creatures called octokittens that are half octopus half kitten. I love them.

-Jonny is Texan. Yeah. (Well technically New Texan, because he was born on a planet called New Texas, but whatever)

-I’m not going into this because it’s more complex lore but the person who “created” most of the mechanisms was a vampire named Doctor Carmilla and was a (very disfunctuonal) mother figure to at least most of the crew. They kicked her out

-Doctor Baron Marius Von Raum, one of the other crewmates, is neither a doctor nor a baron. His real name is Byron. He psychoanalizes people for fun.

-they’re all horrible people, the Mechanisms. They kill and burn and destroy and manipulate unrepentantly and take pride in breaking every law they can find (though we have explicit canon confirmation that Jonny flat out refuses to commit any sexual crimes) It makes them fun, though

-there are *so* many photos of the bandmates in character and a good part of fandom activity is just passing around those photos within the fandom like they’re Pokémon cards

-last, and very much not least, it’s quite important to note that Jonny Sims didn’t “create” the mechanisms, not like he did tma. It’s a collaboration between a bunch of great storytellers and musicians that started out as a uni band

here is a photo of the mechanisms as a whole group, because why not

Anyway I’m going to see so many glaring issues with this as soon as I post it but I hope it makes at least some sense! Check out x-ca1iber’s post for it if something doesn’t make sense… yeah. That’s it.

#shi rambles #the mechs #the mechanisms #long post #oh god this is bad actually

[dykedistortion]

GIVE ME YOUR MICHAELMARTIN PROPAGANDA NOW!!!

YES I so will!!!

Okay my first piece of propaganda is literally just this specific fic, which I discovered during a free period during sophomore year of high school when my friend and I (the same friend who made that mermichael commission actually!) entertained ourselves by coming up with random pairings of TMA characters and seeing how much fic of them there was on AO3, and we happened upon Michael/Martin (since they were already two of my faves). I read all of it that was published at the time and it gave me a disease. I think within like a month or two of me reading it I was drafting out my first (of many) michaelmartin fic lol, it really permanently altered my brain chemistry

I think some of the additional reasons I've been obsessed with them continuously for like three whole years is 1. there's something wrong with me and 2. I think there's some really genuinely interesting parallels between them as archival assistants who start out as actively trying to impress their respective archivists!!! While I think a lot of that paralleling is done to show the differences between Jon and Gertrude specifically, it's also really interesting to compare Martin and what we know of Michael Shelley in what seems like devotion. Particularly, Martin's pretty often revealed to be way more resourceful and cunning (and genuinely manipulative <3) and generally able to take care of himself, while obviously that was not the case for Shelley, or at least not enough to save him--and I think that makes for a REALLY interesting dynamic between Martin and Michael Distortion, who's by nature much more jaded and distrustful but also may see something of themself (or like, a stain Michael Shelley left behind on what they are now) in Martin. To this day I still think one of my most fun fic ideas would be one where Michael sees Martin's lil crush and is like no <3 quit that :^}. and bothers Martin about it a whole bunch, which is inherently very silly but I love it.

I also just think Martin deserves to kiss big monsters, and that the combination of "guy who appears very sweet and accommodating and a bit incapable but is absolutely doing it on purpose and is also, deep down a bit of a bitch (honorific)" and " 'guy' whose thin, person-shaped facade hides a big weird freak playing games with everyone around it all the time and also encouraging the first guy to be even more of a bitch (and also would kill for him. with pleasure.)" is an EXTREMELY specific but delightful dynamic. I think that like they both DO make each other better a little bit in my mind through Martin's staunch choice to care about others and try and hope for the best despite the lonely's influence on him (one of my favorite traits of his) and through Michael being just a little bit of an enabler (and also just resolutely understanding Martin and just casually loving him with all of their complex and tangled monster self like it's second nature)<-I'm normal about them.

Overall I just think that there's a lot of genuine similarities between them that can be really interesting and lead to fascinating character studies when brought together, but also at the same time they can potentially be SO silly together!!!! It's absolutely a rarepair that makes no sense in canon but I know in my heart of hearts that they kiss.

ALSO they're t4t

#k talks #michaelmartin #martin blackwood #michael distortion #the magnus archives #asks #funnylittlejester #apologies if this is a little bit incoherent they genuinely make my brain melt #they just. I don't even really know why they just moved into my brain one day #and these two characters who interact one (1) time in the whole podcast in a. not exactly positive way #have genuinely been a huge source of comfort and happiness and creativity to me in the last few years! anyways michaelmartin. michaelmartin

[incomprehensiblelentils]

For the blorbo etc ask meme - I'd love to hear your blorbos from The Magnus Archives, Warehouse 13 and whatever your preferred season of Dimension 20 is (or just. D20 as a whole I guess)

oh man you really went for my neck huh lmao

TMA

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): Agnes Montague my beloved ;_; Hilariously my first time through I was like "yeah I don't really get why people are losing their shit over the avatars, like they're fun but I'm not a monsterfucker I guess" and then episode 68 happened and boy was it all over for me! I too would let Agnes burn off my face for one (1) kiss! I also have a lot of feelings about Melanie King, who is mean and angry and prone to lashing out and doesn't want to be, and I love her so much.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Gerry Keay has very much become this for me. I love this weird goth boy and I wish we'd gotten more of him <3 but also I feel weird not mentioning Georgie who I also love very very much.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): I just don't think we talk enough about how fucking delightful Nikola Orsinov is, frankly. My favorite scene of hers is where she berates Jon for having a bad skincare routine.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): Jude Perry was so valid, I like seeing Asian bastard representation

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): who in this series is not problematic lmfao. I guess Daisy bc I feel bad about liking a cop so much fucking oops

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): I think I'm supposed to want to send Elias to superhell but damn it's funny when he squirms. remember when Jon [REDACTED]? good times :)

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): that one bitch who was like "I can have little a murdering grandmas and newborn babies as a treat, because my life matters more than theirs." That episode makes me ill every time I listen to it.

someone else actually asked Warehouse 13 so I am answering that shortly!

Dimension 20 (I pick D20 as a whole lmao, it's like potato chips, too hard to pick just one)

blorbo: Ayda Aguefort because autistic lesbian representation! Ricky Matsui because I just like a nice Japanese Superman. Katja Cleaver because she's a horse girl, I was always going to love her. Kristen Applebees because same as above except ex-religious lesbian. Sundry Sydney is probably going to round out the top 5 blorbos because I do love a robot learning how to be a person.

scrunkly: Honestly I feel this way about all the Fantasy High/Seven kiddos, like, they're good kids and I love them so much!!!! but also the Misfits & Magic kids. Mildly feral teens who love each other with all their hearts give me a lot of feelings.

scrimblo bimblo: I deliberately don't look at the fandom so I have no idea who is underrated, but I think Kingston Brown is one of the best characters in like, anything. I also really like Danielle Barkstock because she is intensely relatable.

glup shitto: Ayda, obviously, lol. I also think Chungledown Bim is so fucking funny and I cannot wait for him to reappear in Junior Year. OH and Stephen Sondheim!

poor little meow meow: Is Fig this? I don't know. I really dig her chaotic messy angsty teen energy. I also like "Skip" as he is after episode 1 of A Starstruck Odyssey, but I was also kind of looking forward to Zac playing a mean captain, lol.

horse plinko: Cody "Night Angel" Walsh is the perfect fit for this category. He's awful but he makes me laugh so much. I wish the clip of him critfailing with his stupid sword and dealing himself 30 damage, farting, then having his moped fall on him was on youtube because it's my favorite.

eeby deeby: Sam Nightingale's mom, Adaine Abernant's parents, and Kristen Applebee's parents. I would say Penelope Everpetal too but she's already there :)

#zenithofdork #the magnus archives #dimension 20

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (cause it's always nice to give a shout out and get people into things I'm into rn)

[The Magnus Archives] (I recently finished the podcast and I fell into a hole for a while so here you go)

Sing a Song of Sixpence by Kaiel

Ship: Jon/Martin

In which Jonathan Sims is a Siren, and he fails to notice any new abilities granted to him by the position of Archivist. Or really anything about the Entities at all.

Takes place in season 1 featuring Jonah Magnus’s slow decent into madness

(The new mythology interwoven with tma's worldbuilding is so freaking good and I love how all the characters change and develop because of these changes. Also, f you Elias)

Along Came a Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Ship: implied Jon/Martin

Sasha James is the Archivist, as expected. Martin Blackwood is menaced by Jane Prentiss, as expected. Elias Bouchard weaves his web, as expected.

All goes as it should.

At least until something calling itself Jonathan Sims steps in.

(Web!Jon in this makes me want to weep, it's so freaking good. A pretty long, very excellent oneshot on what could've happened if Jon got taken by the web when he was a kid. And Sasha as the Archivist is ALWAYS so cool, we love her in this house.)

A Break in the Clouds by Ash_Rabbit

“I’m eight.” the kid sniffs as if eight was any different from four, maybe not an unspeakable horror then, just a regular horror. “And I heard that the Magnus Institute deals with-” his little nose scrunches, cute. “-spooky things.”

“Do you have a-” he cracks a grin, and then rethinks it as small hands tighten against their burden.”-spooky thing to deliver?” gods he hopes not, it’s bad enough when adults walk in and lay out all of their baggage, but for a child-

“There’s a spider in this book.” the kid says solemnly, raising his textbook sized parcel. “It ate Evan Pritchard.” a bloody fucking Leitner. Of course an eight year old would find a murder spider book. “This seemed like the best place to bring it.”

(I never thought about what the Original Elias could've been like AND NOW I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF THIS FIC. I LOVE HIM, HE'S COMPLEX AND HE CARES AND JON CARES AND THEY BOTH CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. THIS IS THE CONTENT I WANT, OMG. Also, Jon being even smaller than usual is adorable, so cute. No wonder Elias wants to hug him, a LOT.)

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea by The_Floating_World

Ship: Jon/Martin, Jon/Oliver Banks

When Jon is a child he looks into the infinite abyss of space. The Vast looks back into him.

(One of my all time fave fics in this fandom, no questions asked. I have reread this three times and am open to doing it again, god. Vast!Jon, such a concept. It's written so beautifully and the relationships Jon develops, so good. ugh. My heart. Please please read.)

Sweet As Roses by Prim_the_Amazing

Ship: Jon/Martin

“Come in, Martin,” he says, not looking up from his notes.

“Hi, Jon,” he says, and Jon stops writing at the sound of his voice. “We’re out of the green tea, but we’ve got lemon?”

Jon looks at him. Martin smiles at him in his usual tentative way as he sets the mug of tea down on Jon’s desk. Heat spikes so sharply in his gut that he twitches with it.

“Thank you, Martin,” he says, mouth dry, and he stands up.

“Oh,” he says, sounding almost surprised. He smiles again. “No-- no problem-- um, what are you--”

Jon takes Martin by the shoulders, leans up on the tips of his toes, and kisses him.

(You have no idea how much I howled through this fic, my god. *buries face in hands* The number of times I wanted to cry from sheer hilarity and horror reading this good lord.)

Things Could Always Be Worse by theOestofOCs

Ship: Jon/Martin, Georgie/Melanie

Sometimes, the most horrifying thing of all is what might have been.

Somewhere, Jon could swear he heard a crowd laughing.

Or: in which Jonathan Sims is forced to swap places with his alternate self—a tall, chivalrous hero extraordinaire, who knows neither fear nor nuance—and is sent to the aggressively straight alternate universe the Magnus Archives was never meant to be.

“Whatever place this is,” Jon announced, “I just want to be sure it knows I hate it.”

(I will say this once, THIS IS THE MOST CURSED THING IVE EVER READ EVER. Like holy hell. I can't believe this thing exists. please read it oh please please please)

-

[Supernatural]

heard from your mother (she don't recognize you) by Schmuzz

Ship: Dean/Cas, Jessica/Sam

A man named Cas wakes up in 2003 with no memories, but he's able to piece together a few things:

1. Supernatural creatures exist, and most of them will hurt innocent civilians if he doesn't stop them; 2. He has abilities that no human hunter should have, but he knows enough about human hunters to keep that to himself, and finally; 3. He keeps running into another hunter named Dean Winchester, who seems to be about as lonely as he is if he's willing to put up with those former facts long enough to help Cas unravel the mystery of who (or what) he really is.

For his part, Dean's still (not) dealing with Sam's departure to Stanford, and figures distracting himself with a bit of mystery and intrigue is as harmless as it gets, right? Right.

(THE fic I'm most into right now, been following this from the very start and it's AMAZING. Cas has agency and is making friends and S1 Dean is growing out of John's influence and is becoming a Person and the both of them first being friends then more. The slow burn as their relationship develops, SO GOOD. SO SO DAMN GOOD. *screams* Seriously one of the best spn fics I've read in a long, long time.)

anamnesis by cenotaphy

Ships: Castiel/Dean, Sam/Eileen

Chuck is depowered, Jack is the new god, and the world is free. Dean and Sam get into the Impala and chase down the miles on an endless highway, and their story is finally, finally their own to follow. At least, that's what Dean tells himself. But the diners and motels and painted interstate lines are blurring together and the smallest details keep catching at his brain like tiny fishhooks and he can't quite shake the feeling that not everything is exactly as it should be.

* Fix-it/alternate series finale. Canon-compliant through the end of 15.19.

(THIS IS THE FIC THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE FINALE OKAY. WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN CANON. It's Disturbing and honestly plot-wise this makes more sense. Why couldn't we have had this. *screams*)

-

[Avatar: The Last Airbender]

where the stars do not take sides by WitchofEndor

Ship: Sokka/Zuko

When Azula is nine, she becomes an only child. She hears the Fire Lord call for Zuko's life, and in the morning, her mother and brother are gone. Azula may be young, but she isn't naive. She knows what happened to them.

Which makes it all the more surprising when Azula tracks the Avatar down and fights his group of peasant friends, only to find herself staring into an eerily familiar face.

(The fact one of the tags in this fic is, "Sibling Dynamic: Fucked Up But Wholesome" should give you an idea what this fic is like. Chaotic as HELL and I just love Azula here, she loves Zuko so much in her messed up way and Zuko loves her back in the exact same way lol. It's batshit and I am Here For This.)

-

[Naruto]

Eclipse by AislingRoisin (JayBird345) for HybrisAnaideia

Ship: Nara Shikaku/OFC

"In life, it's easier to remain stagnant and wallow in your troubles. But life isn't merely about continued existence, nor is it meant to be gone through alone."

(This is a fic that's slept on and I NEED people to read this. A self-insert fic that I find really interesting in its approach and the worldbuilding for the post-third war shinobi world is fantastic. I feel like there's a certain pattern with self-insert fics, not that is a detriment in any way to how much I enjoy them, so this fic feels fresh to me in a way I haven't read in a while. I am waiting eagerly for this to get updated! Please read!)

On Freedom and Other Formalities by iaso

Ship: Kakashi/Genma/OFC

When push comes to shove, Hiwa Inuzuka doesn't go down easy. Reborn into a new, dangerous world? She puts her past life as a spy to work. Thrown into a war? Hiwa does her duty, for Konoha. And when she's forced into an arranged marriage? All there is to do is beat them to the punch and get married first. Thankfully, Genma Shiranui is willing to lend a hand. Literally. SI/OC

(Listen, LISTEN, it's about the slow burn, the longing, the communication (it both has and hasn't and isn't THAT great??), the messy way you fit three very different people together, it's so freaking good! Also, Kakashi is so Chaotic here this is my fave characterization of him, you can't change my mind. And Genma is a Good Boi who is Doing His Best, along with the Self-insert character who I LOVE SO MUCH, SHE'S FANTASTIC FNEIWOPAF. Sped past this fic in the speed of light, I could not stop reading!)(Honestly, read all of the author's fics, they're all really REALLY good!)

Building a Castle by WhisperingDarkness

Without needing anyone to tell her, Sakura knew that talking to someone no-one else could see or hear would make her weird. It would draw the bad kind of attention to her, something people could make fun of her for.

She didn’t like being weird, but she did like the voice. Her inner voice was helpful and it was a part of her that had always been there. The idea of it not being there would have been so much weirder than anything else.

It was during her first year at the Academy that Sakura realised the voice was not in her head at all, but that it came from a cloudy shape floating next to her.

(Basically a short-ish retelling of Hikaru no Go. Only with more Shogi and Nara and Ninja's)

(Sakura can see ghosts (I'm noticing this is a popular trope for her) and it's really cute haha! Her relationship with Tobirama is sweet and I just enjoyed reading this so much.)

-

[The Magicians]

So Long (And Thanks For All The Books) by IncompleteSentanc (Erava)

Ships: Quentin/Eliot, James/Julia, Quentin/Margo/Eliot

When Quentin is told Julia wasn't admitted to Brakebills, he realizes he has a drastic decision in front of him. If he tells Julia about magic, he'll have his mind wiped as well as hers. But he can't just leave her behind, either. He can't lose his best friend, and he can't let her life a life with her magical potential stolen away from her.

So he makes a third choice.

(Really, and I mean REALLY well-done canon divergent fic, this is the Quentin & Julia friendship fic I have been looking for forever. It explores so much of what could've happened and I just love Quentin here, I really really do. Characterization done so right. I also recommend the author's other works too. Been a follower of them for a long time, they're great.)

-

[Game of Thrones]

The Road to Victory by writing_as_tracey

Too late in preparing for the Night King and the Long Night, the last stand at Winterfell is close to falling. Bran takes desperate measures to ensure victory, and Jon, Sansa, and Arya pay the price for it in a time unfamiliar to them, on the cusp of another war. [GoT, time-travel fix it]

(I swear, this fic made me laugh so many times, all the Stark are BAMF and fantastic, and Rhaegar gets Wrecked lol. It's crack btw, and the plot goes in directions you'll never guess and it's amazing hahaha!)

-

[Haikyuu!!] (I am very very late to the fandom but here I am)

Ballare (To Dance) by MidnightSparks

Ship: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, and platonic Kageyama & Kentarou (really love their friendship)

Kageyama’s first love is volleyball. His second, however, is ballet.

In one world, Kageyama Tobio is left behind by his parents. In this world, the existence of soulbonds keeps Kageyama’s parents in Miyagi and leaves Kageyama in the care of his grandma and grandpa.

(In which soulmates exist and that changes everything and nothing at the same time.)

(*buries face in hands* I have fallen for this ship so hard and I can't get out fudge me. I understand now. Their DYNAMICS FIEWONPAF)

Kings of Tomorrow by bokubroya (liarielle)

Ship: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

On the eve of Tobio’s 16th birthday, he counts down the seconds to midnight, and emerges with Oikawa Tooru’s name on his wrist.

It’s been two years since then, and Tobio thought they had an understanding. A silent, never spoken about understanding that this thing between them is nothing, and they’re going to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Of course, it’s just like Oikawa to change the game and leave Tobio wondering what comes next.

(I am WEAK for soulmate fics between these two, I don't even really like soulmate fics half the times what is WRONG WITH ME-)(Please suffer with me, I'm begging you. Its a good fic, thumbs up.)

-

[Crossover]

Honey and Magic by JustARatherVerySillyWriter, White_Squirrel for Super Carlin Brothers

Fandoms: Matilda (yeah you read that right), Harry Potter

Everyone knew Matilda was a rather extraordinary child, but even she didn't know she was a witch. Matilda Honey receives her Hogwarts letter in the year of the Triwizard Tournament, and soon, she will leave her unique mark on the magical world.

(Do I even need to explain how amazing it is to have Matilda in the wizarding world? And Matilda is a HUFFLEPUFF AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL THIS FIC IS GREAT PLEASE READ!!!)

An Eye for an Eye by DpsMercy

Fandoms: The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale

In which Jonathan Sims is not from the UK but instead, if you took his origins and turned them sideways twice then flipped them over, he technically would be from the US, the town of Night Vale specifically. Elias can’t do shit about it and gets a headache and slowly creeping madness instead.

(Look, I know probably everyone has read this because if they haven't, what have you been DOING with your lives??? Jon interning at Night Vale is Incredible, nothing phases this man, it's Delightful. I laughed so many times reading this, I'm not even kidding right now. Read or perish.)

The Favour by R_Cookie

Fandoms: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Ship: Original Percival Graves/Harry Potter

Percival is ten years old when his grandfather tries to tell him that he's ensured the greatness of the Graves legacy for him, that he ought to be eternally grateful - but the explanation is hijacked by a stranger who manages to intimidate Chester Graves with an ease never seen before.

or: Hadrian (Harry) Potter is the Master of Death, who grants Graves a boon. Nobody could have known that the Deathly Hallows didn't turn you so much into the 'Master of Death' as into the anthropomorphic personification of Death. And so, Death becomes Percival's guardian angel, and Percival does not spit out his cereal.

(Look, I don't know how I stumbled back into the FBAWTFT fandom either, it just happened and I'm grateful for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found this amazing fic. Their relationship is slow and strange and I just love how Percival is characterized here. Also, one of the tag promises that it deviates from canon so I am really, really excited for that! XD)

baby that's what i do by natanije

Fandoms: Naruto, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

"Are you telling me," Hidan exclaims, incredulous, "that you collect money all this time to give to orphans?!"

Kakuzu pauses. He blinks a few times.

"Huh. I guess I do."

(Tsuna reincarnates as Kakuzu and it's HILARIOUS. HE'S SUCH A MOM HAHAHA)

#Fanfiction #AO3 #Fic Rec #Fic Rec List #Podcasts #The Magnus Archives #Supernatural #Avatar The Last Airbender #Naruto #The Magicians #Game of Thrones #Haikyuu!! #Crossover #Matilda #Welcome to Night Vale #Harry Potter #Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them #Katekyou Hitman Reborn

[selkiecoded]

thank you @eurydicees for tagging me (〃´▽` ) i love talking about myself. a list of my five favorite fics ive written (and thoughts!) oldest to newest

1. don't knock it till you've tried it

the magnus archives + 5.6k. this is, i wanna say, my most popular fic? and im glad for it! its one thing for your most popular content to be something you hate, but i think this still holds up really well. theres a lot i like about it, such as the pronoun/titles between povs, georgies whole pov, the ending line. high five past me. and OH MAN is it crazy that this has 700 kudos. its a very nice feeling to know that that many people liked something you wrote... even if what you wrote is about a guy murdering his past self haha.

2. i'm not wearing my usual lipstick, i thought maybe we would kiss tonight

ohshc + 16.4k. my ouran magnum opus! i still care so deeply for this hc, and i have gotten so many sweet comments on this, im very glad it resonated with a lot of people. 3k hits!!! i think thats really really good for an ouran fic posted in 2020. if i have time there are a few things id like to go back and change about this - unnecessary prose or some of the ending - but frankly, the emotional heart of this is something im very proud of. every person who reads this and either gets their gender reflected to them OR at least is indoctrinated into trans!tamaki is another point towards me making it to heaven. if i was going through this list by favorites, this definitely holds the number one spot.

3. blunt not the heart

the magnus archives + 11.3k. OH MY GOD. this is my UNDERRATED GEM. my white fucking whale. i am SO MAD that this has received DUST considering my another tma fic has 700~ kudos. SO MAD. i really really like melanie king as a character. outside of the feminism of it all, its really fucking hard to write an effective character study. getting into a characters head is difficult. you know what would make it easier? NOT WRITING IT IN SCRIPT FORMAT LOL. but heres the thing: i made it fucking work. the fact that tma is an audio drama/script format already definitely lends itself easier to translation, but it was an interesting exercise to try and get into melanies head while still maintaining the format. and tying it into macbeth? inspired choice, past me! while its not more popular unfortunately, im still insanely proud of it, and the attention it did get is personally satisfying. please read it!

4. Feel Your Way Home

artemis fowl + 12.6k. ah.. my artemis fowl magnum opus.. i still care for that silly little guy a whole lot, but at this point i will say that my artemis fowl obsession was bright, but fleeting. im really really glad i managed to write this before i fell out of it, and even more so I GOT IT PUBLISHED ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY!! thats something i am weirdly very proud of. i worked really hard on this for several long months, and i think it turned out very very well. this is one where i really dont care how much attention its gotten for not, as it was very much written for myself. and im pleased with it.

5. name your courage now

ace attorney + 11.8k. my newest one! probably still have a serious case of rose-tinted glasses on, but idc. i love maya and her relationships to her siblings a whole lot. i found her dialouge during her testimony just so insanely ripe for potential, i was shocked nobody else had ever seemed to talk about it. i have so many feelings about bridge to the turnabout! frankly, the entire time i knew what i wanted to do with this story, and i feel as if i pulled it off really effectivly. keeping it emotional while also utilizing aspects of mayas brash, funny voice for the narration was a challenge i enjoyed. that, and trying to use the canon dialouge for the most part, while also attempting to speed it up/make it sound less like it came out of a video game. again, im proud of it, and heres to hoping that it'll get more attention.

thats it! im not big on tagging ppl but if you wanna do this by all means, please tag me so i can read your stuff °˖✧◝(￣▽￣)◜✧˖°

#long post #sorry. headbonk emoticon for your troubles (￣▽￣)ゞ⌒☆ #i cant stop usingkaomojis i keep using them while texting even rl friends HELP #look at this one its so cute Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→ #selk.txt

[bluejayblueskies]

tma for the ask prompt 👀👀 (it's oak btw!)

send me a fandom!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

jon beloved 💕💕💕 he's my blorbo of All Time and i love him dearly

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

can i answer jon again??

i think s1 tim fits this spot pretty solidly in my heart 💛 he's just a happy dude doing paperwork and committing crimes 🥰

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

hmmm this one is hard .... maaaaybe daisy? idk if she's underappreciated but i love the complexity and nuances of her and jon's relationship in s4 and the way in which her and jon's experiences with monsterhood reflect one another

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

danny!! despite the fact that we know approximately three things about him, one of which being how he died (;___;), i love the stoker brothers and i love to make danny!lives aus where he and tim are happy ... as a treat 💕

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

peter lukas tbh ... i just think he's such an enjoyable villain character! i like tma's brand of 'smiles cheerily while committing crimes' villain, and there's something about peter's lines that resonates with me

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

i do enjoy putting jon through the wringer and then giving him 10000 hugs/validation of his trauma/literally any form of comfort whatsoever. if that counts as 'tormenting for fun' lol

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

jonah magnus ... i'm relistening rn and every time he opens his mouth i'm like 😠😠🔪🔪

#ask game #illbefunnylater #faeinthefog #don't get me wrong elias/jonah is also an interesting villain #i just get so sad about how he manipulated jon and used him as a tool and a puppet for his own personal gain :')))))))

[ghostbustermelanieking]

other people are gonna say this a lot better than me but: i was really kind of annoyed by today's episode. for a couple reasons, but mostly: being this close to the finale, especially 3 episodes away... i don't see the point of a filler episode, where literally the only new information we get is that martin thought annabelle would kill jon (??) and the cult was taken, offscreen. i don't really like sitting around complaining about an episode but like. for the purposes of airing out my thoughts, here they are -- under a cut, in case people don't wanna see them

i don't. really know why we needed a random vast statement here but ok

i'm really kind of worried that martin's explanation and jon's "we'll talk about it later" is the extent we're gonna hear about this arc, and i really hope that isn't the case. there were a lot of issues broached in that whole mess that i was hoping would actually get DISCUSSED (martin's accusations of jon wanting power/enjoying smiting people too much, the various things they said, martin going off with annabelle -- i don't think martin was exactly in the wrong but i still want it discussed). maybe if thered be an echo of like "it doesn't matter i'm just glad you're safe" i'd be ok leaving it offscreen, but we know there's gonna be a discussion... i'm not sure where it'll fit into the last 2 episodes, even if they are longer, and i hate that we won't get to see it. i hope whatever last interaction we get between jon and martin is satisfying, and i'm sure it will be, but i'm bummed at the prospect of not hearing this conversation

adding onto that... this is probably nitpicky of me but i continue to be kinda disappointed as to how the resolution of martin and jon being separated has gone. i feel like there hasn't been much emotional payoff and i expected a little more? basira seemed more pissed/worried than jon. and sure, there's always fic, but i just... hoped for a little more

other people have mentioned this too but i'm just sitting here going... where's the tragedy?? i am sure that 199 and 200 will break my heart into a million pieces but like... i expected it to be a little broken already. i am ready for pain, and i feel like it's been a little lacking lately. aside from the cult members going. i guess this fits into wanting more Things To Happen but... i am not nearly as devastated as i expected at this point

the cultists disappearing wasn't a bad plot introduction but it makes me wonder two things. 1. why didn't we hear that? the tapes have followed them, and georgie and melanie, before. surely that's plot relevant. 2. why did we bother meeting the cult at all? for the longest time i figured they had to be plot relevant, what with the return of lynne hammond, and the focus of them in the trailer... if i had to guess now itd be that their purpose was to motivate georgie and melanie to actually take action rather than just sit by (plus they can leave the tunnels now that they don't have anyone to protect) but like... if thats the case why bother meeting them, if they're not going to play a deeper role. they could've been entirely offscreen. i don't dislike that we met them, i just think -- assuming this is the last we'll see, assuming they aren't being held hostage to force the main crew's hand -- that introducing new characters this late in the game should be for a good reason, and that we could've spent the time we spent on the cult on something else if this was all they were there for

also the way that scene was paced felt weird to me, emotionally and otherwise

if they needed a filler episode, i think this late in the game, it would've been beneficial to focus on character interactions, NOT a random statement. sure, we get to hear martin's side of what happened with annabelle, but there wasn't much we didn't already know, and i would've rather seen that as a one on one conversation between jm. (maybe thats still coming but if so, why couldn't it have been this ep?) we could've gotten something with the cult being taken, or the aftermath of georgie and melanie mourning; we could've skipped ahead to the actual crux of the conversation i assume we'll get next ep (maybe??) about what to do next. episodes like 190 and 191, imo, didn't feel like filler bc we were getting character stuff. i wish we could've gotten that this ep

i don't rly like complaining about this ep, especially when it comes to a show thats consistently had pretty high plot content. (it isn't perfect, of course, but i'm not used to episodes like this at all from tma lol) i still have hope for the final 2 eps, but i don't see how we're going to get through everything that should be covered, and that worries me a little.

i do still have hope for 199 and 200. i hope they're awesome! i hope they make me like the last 2 more. i hope they pull a full mag 160 and make me appreciate stuff that seemed boring or like filler. if nothing else, i hope they're good and plot thick and emotionally affecting in the way we've been expecting. i just feel sour towards 198 and i don't like that. and i seriously hope it doesn't set a precedent for the rest of the show.

#tma #the magnus archives #tma spoilers #tma negative #tma critical #if you enjoyed the ep i am genuinely happy for u!! im glad. but i wanted to air out my irritation lol

[thearchivistsmanyeyes]

do you have any podcast recs? im listening to tma but i want to get into more !!

Ohhhh I can definitely help you out there!! I’m not sure what you’d be into but I can hook you up with some that I really like!

(.....under the cut because it ended up being Really Long)

If you’re into horror, like tma:

Alice Isn’t Dead- By Night Vale Presents so you know it’s good. Anxious lesbian trucker takes off around the country looking for her missing wife, accidentally gets wrapped up in spooky supernatural stuff. Also has some pretty interesting commentary on America and society as a whole. Actually has a happy ending, so that’s a plus!

Old Gods of Appalachia- Horror anthology podcast that focuses on the eldritch happenings that go on in old Southern mining towns, in the 19th & 20th century. Very aesthetically pleasing. Each season so far has an arc about a specific town, and a second arc about this immortal asexual witch and her enormous pet bear. It’s good shit.

King Falls AM- I’m not very far into this one, but you’ve probably heard of it. Your local small town is known for being haunted, radio station reports all the spooky happenings. It’s funny, and pretty lighthearted (at least so far.) A good podcast to wind down to.

If you’re into sci-fi: (most of the podcasts I listened to are spacey and they’re all SO GOOD)

The Penumbra Podcast- Yeah after tma this is probably the most well known podcast out there. I won’t say much except that it’s SO SO GOOD and you should definitely check it out. You can either listen to a private investigator on Mars solve dangerous cases, fall in love, and work through his extensive childhoood trauma OR listen to a bunch of dumbass knights in a medieval citadel fight monsters and learn that maybe they shouldn’t be fighting monsters. Everyone is queer. It’s a fantastic ride either way.

Wolf 359- oh my god oh my god this goddamn podcast. I can’t even. I can’t. Ahhhhh anyway so a four-person crew on a space station orbiting a red dwarf star are searching for signs of alien life, and they possibly end up stumbling on an alien race, while also discovering that the company that sent them up there *might* not have humanity’s best interest at heart. Has found family galore, valuable lessons about personhood, and just overall so much good stuff. Starts out as a comedy but gets intense pretty fast. WILL rip your heart out.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris- Honestly in terms of number of relistens... this might be my favorite podcast ever. It’s definitely up there. Only has one season right now and only ten episodes but more is coming and I can’t wait. Your local gay space smugglers accidentally get caught up in a massive government conspiracy and try to stay alive while unraveling the mysteries behind a past intergalactic war, trying to bring down said oppressive government, and being as useless and gay as possible. It’s just. A lot of fun. TRUST me.

EOS 10- It’s uhh basically a sitcom about a team of doctors on a space station? At least it starts out that way. There’s a pretty big shift in tone after season two, it’s goofy, & the plot’s kinda all over the place but who CARES because it’s friggin hilarious. Half the time I have no clue what’s going on but it’s still really enjoyable.

Girl in Space- The name says it all, really! A scientist clone is living on her spaceship all alone doing her research and is perfectly content...until a huge fleet of ships turns up on her doorstep claiming she’s now their company’s property. Her life now consists of imprisonment, mutinies, and giving lectures about human rights to the company’s employees. It’s got science, it’s got Jurassic Park references, it’s got sentient stars! What more could you ask for.

If you’re into more modern fantasy:

The Bright Sessions- A group of people called ‘atypicals’ have special abilities that are, essentially, superpowers. And what do they do? They go to therapy!! It’s all well and good until they find out that their mysterious therapist may or may not plan to use them & their powers to rescue her brother who’s being held captive in an evil agency. Whoops. Anyway it’s got lots of lovable characters, adorable romances, and emotional moments that make you want to sob. It’s great.

The Far Meridian- A girl with severe agoraphobia lives in a lighthouse with her brother, until one day he disappears. Shortly after, her lighthouse starts moving somewhere different every day, and she travels the world searching for her brother. This is just a really nice podcast. It’s about memories and friendship and finding magic in little things and it’s just...beautiful tbh. And sad. Beautiful and sad.

Aaaaaaand that’s about it for all my recs! I had no idea I had that many lol, hope that helped you out a little!

#podcast recs #tpp #wolf 359 #tscosi #eos 10 #alice isnt dead #kfam #ogoa #girl in space #tbs #the far meridian

[akajustmerry]

Would love to know your thoughts on the last ep (and even the last season) of tma! I really enjoy the way you talk about media (through your writting and at gayvclub with deah)

thank u, friend 💕 // spoilers for tma finale ahead!

okay, so a bit about how i approach tma as a fan. i started listening to tma because i was under the impression it was anthological (which it was in the early seasons), it wasn’t until maybe s3 i was like “oh okay i guess i’ll invest in the characters cos i guess there’s a massive story lol.” my fave character was and still is Elias Bouchard and also basira! 

once i realised tma wasn’t anthological, but a connected narrative, i knew that no matter what they did, it wouldn’t end in a satisfying way. the concepts and characters they introduced along with the world were simply too large and complex for there to ever be a conclusion that wouldn’t feel like simply a decision to stop. i wanted to be proved wrong, but i wasn’t.

i understand the anger at [ridacted]’s deaths. the bury ur gays trope isn’t fun, especially after tma as a story asked u to invest in [redacted]’s relationship as the heart of the story when the narrative was its most dire and confusing. to say their bodies weren’t found isn’t a comfort so much as it feels like a cheap way of avoiding backlash for killing them. on the other hand, i do think their deaths make sense in the context that was established. jon could not live with the guilt of poisoning the world and martin wouldn’t live without him. but a show that has been so clever in the past should have been cleverer than this. 

it was also a huge mistake imo to have Annabelle be such a big boogeyman for this season. some of that role should have been shared with elias. it was very anticlimactic to learn Elias orchestrated this whole world only to then never see him in it. 

my last issue is how the world itself was relegated to an obscure afterthought. for a series so much about the effects of fear, it’s strange that it's so uninterested in what the world would be like after experiencing that level of supernatural horror and death. am i meant to be satisfied that jon and martin’s sacrifice fixed the world and things just go back to the way they were? 

what about the population leftover who remember? what about the work of the institute itself? do the people who were avatars heal? do they die without their horrors to feed them?? there’s just so many questions the show kept probing u to ask that its conclusion totally failed to acknowledge. maybe it's a little harsh to say but the impression i got was that, in the end, the people writing this show created a complex original world, but only had a fanfiction level interest in it.

i enjoyed the show most when it was more anthological with connecting threads, but ultimately i’m really admirable of how ambitious the show was. i loved the prose of it too, even if i didn’t always find the narrative satisfying, and the characters were all fantastic and compelling, even though it seemed tma wasn’t sure what to do with them in the end. i’ll miss their company every Friday. 

anyways, i’ve said it along about tma and i’ll say it again. everything tma has done, mabel and alice isn’t dead did in a way more coherent and satisfying way (and with lesbians/wlw).  

whew this is looooong. thank u for asking!! x

#tma #the magnus archives #anon

[annihilatus]

On the Feelings of Jonathan Sims

So I’ve been having some thoughts about the End Game obviously, and there’s still a lot of talk about the characters (jon, martin, etc) making unwise decisions but at this point, there are no unwise decisions. Worried that Jon or Martin has made a hasty mistake or that they will not think things thru properly? I really feel like all they can do is react with what their hearts tell them. Hear me out--it’s about what feels right. The weight of feeling behind a decision made in the fearscape affects its reality directly, especially concerning jon. 

We know from 167 Curiosity, Gertrude would have simply gave in to ruling her domain in the Eyepocalypse, with the very noteworthy jonmartin moment of “yes Martin, you are my reason,” which is to say, how Jon feels gives him agency and motivation and the ability to roam freely and maintain his personhood. 

When he starts his Kill Bill quest, he’s feeling righteous indignation, but once Jude comes and goes, it stops feeling right to Jonathan, to keep killing the avatars who have not personally wronged him. in 168 he relfects on killing Oliver and it seems he very much relies on his own feelings to make his decision (despite Martin’s pressure lol). 

and then in 174 with Simon: 

[interesting side note, this phrasing struck me at the time because of my obsession with 110, Creature Feature in which Alexia talks about the unofficial web avatar Dexter wanting to recreate the movie where the protagonist walks willingly right into the jaws of a giant spider: 

While I need to write up a whole other post (i’m sure someone else has) about what an allegory Creature Feature is, it’s clear that there are some parallels between the subjects in that statement and our heroes in tma. things “feeling right” seems very important indeed to the task at hand for the Spider]

Jump to 187 when he faces off with Helen. 

[Helen also remarks in this episode the the tape recorders feel more awake, which, if his feelings do lend him power or have an affect on reality, and it’s linked with the tapes, that would be very interesting indeed]

And I think all of this was prompted by Martin in the first place. Constantly asking how Jonathan was feeling, pestering him to explain his emotional state through jon’s reticence. Martin’s prompting, with this and other very notable things (Martin prompting them to leave the cabin, Martin prompting Jon to face his own fear of the panopticon in 189, martin prompting jon, begging jon, to consider an alternative on the way down from the panopticon, etc) has opened jon’s eyes, so to speak, to the possibilities outside of his own head.

Anyway, I guess my point is Jon is going to be drawing his strength and direction from the power of his feelings, and no amount of thinking, planning, waiting or logicking will help him at the threshold of Hill Top Road. It may even be the sliver of hope we have of derailing whatever the Mother of Puppets has in store for us. What has gotten Jon as far as he has in this iteration of the Web’s performance might also be their undoing. 

#stop calling these characters bad decision makers #look at what their options are #i just feel like people are being unfair #burn down HTR with the powerful feelings of Loss you have Jon #jarchivist #jon sims #hill top road #hilltop road #htr #tma meta #tma #the magnus archives #just rambling #i'm probably forgetting a few scenes I wanted to talk about since sitting down but eh #i can always add on later #tma spoilers #jon is not making a mistake going to htr #he has to save martin #otherwise what's the point #and that's ...what the web wants?! #what does the web want????? #the web

[the-kaedageist]

I see others have already asked about the ones I'm more curious about... except the REAL TMA fic 👀💕

This is another one I’m hoping to post someday! I went through several drafts of TMA fics that didn’t go anywhere after season 4 ended, and then I landed on an idea I loved a LOT in November 2019. I wanted to play with the idea of time travel (which wasn’t really common in TMA fandom back then, although I hear it’s exploded with time travel fics now lol). 

The premise behind it is that Martin and Jon sent themselves back in time to avert the apocalypse and then started living their lives again from 2012ish with NO memory of what happened...until Gertrude runs into Jon in a tube station and realizes he’s been touched by all seven fears, so she sends Martin to spy on him.

This is probably my saddest abandoned wip to date because I dropped it at 23,000 words in! 😭 I really like it though so I am hoping once I finish S5...whenever that is...I can incorporate elements from S5 into it and then finish it all up and post it, and hopefully fandom won’t be sick of time travel fics by then.

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning!

Gertrude glanced around the room before returning her piercing gaze to Martin. “You’re the best researcher at investigating the background of people from our statements,” she said. Martin blinked; he wasn’t sure where she’d heard that, as it was hardly true.

“That’s not—“ he began.

She cut him off. “I need you to look into someone for me.”

Martin’s hands were clammy. Gertrude was just the Head Archivist; there was no reason for her to set off his fear response. It wasn’t like she killed people or anything. She was just a very scary librarian.

“Who is it?” Martin asked, embarrassed at the high register of his voice. He heard a snort from the direction of Tim’s desk but didn’t dare look away from Gertrude.

Gertrude passed him a folder. “I did the preliminaries. His name is Jonathan Sims.” Martin took the file with a shaking hand, opening it to find printouts of information on the man in question. Sims was 28 years old, lived on the northern edge of Balham, and worked a political think tank that researched international relations policy. Martin flipped the page over to find a picture of a man who looked less like he was 28 and more like he was a decade beyond that, with graying dark hair, glasses, and scars down the side of his face.

Something about the picture hit him like a punch in the gut, but he didn’t know why. He stared at the image of the man in front of him, feeling his heart pounding, and tried to remind himself that he may be somewhat of a disaster of a person, but he did not need to be attracted to a man who he was supposed to be investigating.

“Why are we looking into him?” Martin asked, glancing up at Gertrude again. She was watching him carefully, as though she could see his traitorous heart pounding through the layers of skin and sinew.

“He has a statement for me,” Gertrude said. “He just hasn’t made it yet. I want to know what it is and I want you to convince him to come to see me.”

Martin blinked. “So this is less investigation and more…persuasion?”

“Sims is skittish,” said Gertrude. “I spooked him last night and he ran from me. Whatever he’s hiding, he’s not going to be easy to persuade to come in here.” She frowned down her glasses at him. “I need you to befriend him, gain his trust.”

“Oooh,” Tim murmured from behind his computer. “Martin the spy.”

Gertrude shot him a Look and Tim gave a yelp, silencing almost instantly. In Martin’s periphery, he could see Sasha shaking her head at both of them.

“I’m not—I’m not a good liar, I don’t think I can—“

Gertrude gave him a look that felt like it was boring into the very core of him. “You’re lying to me right now, Martin,” she said, very calmly. “And remarkably well. I think this is an assignment that will suit you perfectly.” She turned on her heel and made her way back to the door.

“Sure,” Martin squeaked. “I’ll do it.” At least it would get him out of the Institute occasionally.

Gertrude turned and gave him a small perfunctory smile. “I know,” she replied. “I need to have Jonathan’s statement by the end of March.” With that, she was gone, leaving only a faint hint of flowery perfume in her wake.

Ask me about my WIPs!

#the magnus archives #wips #asks #mllekurtz #me #my fics #wip game

[mistergrass]

a dump of podcast thoughts/recs

I have been listening to a whole lot of podcasts in the last month, and so I thought I’d just lay out what I’ve listened to so far and my general thoughts (but I’m not gonna tag any of them because I might get too honest - which means REALLY no one is gonna care about this lmao) 

I would also love some recs for both fiction and non-fiction if anyone’s got any! 

Fiction:

The Magnus Archives - This is, unsurprisingly, my top top recommendation for podcasts. The story being told is so intricate and well thought-out. I love pieces of media where I can turn my brain off and trust that the creators know exactly what they’re doing. And I love anything that knows its intent from episode 1. I think I could go on for ages praising this podcast, but tldr; 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

The Penumbra Podcast (Junoverse) - I am not a fan of high fantasy, which is the main reason I haven’t listened to Second Citadel (other than the one-off eps in s1), so I’ll just focus on the Juno Steel stories. But I listened to this after catching up with TMA because so many people seemed to recommend it. Because of that, I think I might have gone into it with slightly higher-than-necessary expectations....

Here are things I like about it: the environment is well sound-scaped (especially in later eps), the universe is really cool and fun to learn about, and the romantic subplot between Juno and Peter really is a great time. 

That being said, I can get a little frustrated with the writing at times. Story beats are sometimes paced oddly, and at other times the narration can over-explain what’s going on -- especially wrt character emotions. S2 I think is the biggest culprit of this “tell don’t show” method, and it can expand to hurt the individual mysteries and the set-up of the metaplot, too. Overall, S2 was a real dredge to get through. (But credit where credit is due, Juno Steel and The Monster’s Reflection were incredibly crafted episodes of that season). 

But it was worth it to me for S3, which is a fun vibe and shifts from focusing on individual mysteries to character explorations in a found-family dynamic. The real strength of this podcast are the unique and engaging characters and their dynamics (which is why when Juno isolates himself in S2, it gets kind of dull). It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely been a very entertaining season. 

Uhhhh, kind of recommend? Maybe only if you’re really into the noir/sci-fi/detective genre. 

Death by Dying - The worst thing about this podcast is that there’s only five episodes. Oh my GOD what a gem of a show. The deadpan, absurdist humor in this show is so insanely up my alley and so well-written. But one thing I love about this podcast is that even in five episodes with a format that is mostly obituary-of-the-week, the emotional arcs of the characters are really well-maintained. Charolette, in particular, is a tragic character to follow through the MC’s eyes, but in a way that makes total sense considering the situation. This show is so clever, so fun, and finds ways to be really poignant at times, too. 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

Two Princes - I know I said I don’t like high fantasy, but I’m also gay and sometimes that just beats out. Who doesn’t like a light, fluffy story about two princes falling in love in some perilous magic forest? It’s a gas. Also, it’s just really well-produced and an easy listen. You very much get what’s on the tin,  and that tin is some high-quality and very tasty cheese. 

RECOMMEND 

Limetown - God, I’m so upset about this one. 

The first season is a masterpiece. WONDERFULLY produced, beautifully sound-scaped, insanely intriguing and engaging, along with a wonderful MC who is far from perfect in her endeavor for forbidden knowledge. I don’t think I can recommend it enough. 

The second season... is fine! You still want to know what’s going on, so it’s easy to keep listening. But, tbh, it takes a bit of an odd turn. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I would’ve been okay with the shift in direction if it was leading somewhere satisfying. But the S2 finale is... well. Choices were made, I guess. I’ll just say that I was really cheated out of an emotional pay-off. 

If there was a promise of a 3rd season that would explain these things in more depth, I might let it off. But it looks like the production team is shifting its focus to the TV series being made out of this. I might watch it -- but I am worried now that they won’t know how to land the plane no matter how smooth the take-off is. 

Despite everything, RECOMMEND 

Archive 81 - (I have only finished through S2) 

My feelings on this show is that I do not have the auditory processing skills required to keep up, lmao. But I don’t think I can really hold that against this podcast. This show doesn’t hold the audience’s hands, which is something I actually really like (even if I do get lost sometimes in what’s happening, lmao). This is obviously another case of the creators knowing EXACTLY where they’re going in the story, too. I also don’t think I’ve heard any other podcast with sound-scaping at this level. The biggest themes of this show are sound and ritual, and itreally follows through on that wrt how the sound is edited. The vibe of it is so mysterious and unique, it does such a good job of making you feel like you’re in a totally different world.

RECOMMEND

Wooden Overcoats - (I have only finished through S1)

This show definitely has a Fawlty Towers feel to it, and the humor is very fast-paced and British in that very specific UK-sitcom way. Because of that the humor is very dry, but definitely fun to listen to. And the characters are a real hysterical bunch.

My biggest critique, however, is that sometimes the episodes end in a way that feels like a big bummer. British sitcoms of this nature usually hinge upon an incompetent/anti-hero MC who tends to deserve the different comical misfortunes that fall upon them. Usually they get up afterwards, having learned nothing, and the cycle continues in a harmless way. But sometimes that vibe doesn’t really hit, and a few episodes will end with these big tonal shifts where the schadenfreude ends up drying out. You sort of just end up feeling bad for everyone involved instead lol. It’s what has me hesitating going into the next season, but I’ll definitely start it up eventually. It’s well produced, and honestly the characters are just too fun to keep away from (Antigone in particular is my favorite). 

If you like British sitcoms, I’d recommend. Or if you’re looking for a cynical laugh. 

Other podcasts I’ve started are EOS 10, and Dreamboy. I really didn’t like the first episode of Dreamboy, but I’m gonna give it another try since it’s so short. EOS 10 seems well-produced, but not really up my personal alley. 

Non-Fiction 

I’m not gonna give these ones as long of blurbs, just know I recommend them all highly. 

You Must Remember This -  Old Hollywood history that is wonderfully researched, and focuses a lot on women of the time. The recounting of these histories feels very honest and she really doesn’t pull any punches when giving detailed and accurate accounts. A truly wonderful show. 

Welcome to Your Fantasy - A deep dive on the history of Chippendales that is WILDLY entertaining. I sort of can’t believe I got as sucked in as I did. The host has a wonderful humor about her, but is still great at getting to the heart of some of the heavier issues at hand. 

Last Podcast on the Left - My favorite true crime/conspiracy podcast by a long mile. It’s equally hilarious and well-researched. I know a lot of people are kind of anti-true crime lately which is very understandable, but I do appreciate each of the host’s personal philosophies on the matter, which I think comes through in a lot of their episodes. 

#I really hope this doesn't end up in any of the tags somehow lmao #I just wanted to vomit my thoughts out a little #and despite anything I say I love all of these creators and am very appreciative for the effort they put into their shows

[wenightmareyou]

movie post for AR @alien-romantic !! ✨

okay i feel like my movie taste really does come down to what did i see in theaters that made me define my personality around them for the rest of the week, and i usually have Allergic to Watching Old Movies Disease so most of these are p recent! my movie taste is Also defined by what i saw enough on tumblr that eventually i broke down and watched it and it was actually amazing lol

✨favorite horror movies✨

Jennifer’s Body: THEE movie of all time, it literally has anything i could ever want in a movie: excessively campy dialogue, a plot around making a deal with the devil, a town that’s slightly fucked up, extended metaphors about gender violence but in a palatable PG-13 non-graphic format, Megan Fox going feral and eating boys, a homoerotic friendship where they also kinda hate each other but its mostly bc neither of them can deal with their feelings in the world they were brought up in, and a soundtrack that slaps. Seriously i could probably quote this movie word for word at this point, and like technically its horror but its also really funny and theres not really any jumpscares or anything. Im gonna stop talking about this one bc if i keep going i could write a whole essay but its so good (also i wont elaborate but Jennifers Body and Heathers are sisters, spiritually)

Us: hhhhhhhh this is so good, ik Jordan Peele’s only directed two movies so far but he never misses, like this was genuinely terrifying for me but also raises a lot of Questions and made me think about the implications of it for weeks afterward. It’s about this family vacationing in Santa Cruz, CA at the same time that there’s this planned uprising of doppelgängers all around the US (i cant remember if its the world or just the US? But it makes a lot of commentary about the US in particular so im guessing its just the US). I’ve still only seen it once but the aesthetics are so good, its definitely more on the violent side than Get Out was, but its not too bad (like idk if you’ve seen Midsommar but like. its nowhere near as gory as that lol). I swear i didnt have a fear of doppelgängers before this but between this and tma i sure do now

It (chapter 1): this one is so close to my heart omg 🥺 i associate it super strongly with watching it with friends so thats at least half the reason its a favorite. Also i love horror-comedies so much as a genre, mostly bc i scare easily so its nice to have jokes in between to break the tension and this movie’s hilarious

Cabin in the Woods: i cant say what this one’s about without spoiling it but i’ll say it definitely goes under the same category as It for me, in terms of horror-comedy. Its such a fun deconstruction of horror movie tropes and it gets so insane at the end, like when you watch it you can *tell* it was made in 2011 but like in a good way

Also honorable mention to The Love Witch for sending me into a spiral about what truly is the female gaze/if there can be one definition of that/the relationship between love and violence etc etc basically it’s Extremely Gender. Also not v bloody and doesnt have any jumpscares, and its an aesthetic masterpiece omg

✨favorite comfort movies/romcoms✨

Juno: i dont normally have favorite actors but Elliot Page is my emotional support favorite actor, like idk how to explain it but all of his characters just scream comfort character somehow. Juno has the same screenwriter as Jennifer’s Body so it has a really similar sense of humor, but altogether v wholesome plot about a pregnant teenager and her bff, michael cera. Also highly quotable, and i dont think ive ever watched this without crying, like this is one of those movies where im like love is real actually 🥺💕

Easy A: this movieee!!! Oh my god this movie, its so intensely californian and thats def part of why i like it. Also realizing now a major factor in movies i like is how quotable they are bc this is another one i feel like i quote all the time. Plus theres something so fun about baby Emma Stone living her 80s movie protagonist dream AND doing the “you think i’m a villain? I’ll show you a villain!” trope bc thats always fun

All of twilight but especially the first one: i mean idk what to say, i got brainworms when i was 11 and made twilight my whole personality for like 3 years, then grew out of it, then the twilight renaissance happened and im Back on My Bullshit 😂 i also just like having a purpose for me memorizing everything possible about twilight in middle school so like.... if you ever want any fun twilight facts hit me up (this goes to AR but if you’re not AR and reading this too this also applies lmao im down to talk about twilight any time)

And honorable mention to Scott Pilgrim (okay not a romcom but def a comfort movie), to be fair i havent seen this one all the way through in a looong time but i go back to the most iconic parts a lot

also okay theres def more in this category that i like but my brain is turned off now so i cant remember them 😂

✨ and the best category: movies i hate ❤️ ✨

i feel like i tend not to like movies that feel like they’re trying too hard? Like if i watch something and *instantly* know its trying to be Oscar bait, or if its trying to be camp but like,,., pretentious high end camp. Like anything by Wes Anderson is a hard nope for me, also i saw Gravity in theatres on a whim whenever that came out and it just didnt click for me at all. (Also okay The Love Witch kiiiind of checks the boxes for this but its still a fave)

Also okay this movie isnt any of those things but i still dont like it: It Chapter 2! I feel so bad cause It chapter 1 was so good and created this huge hype for the sequel for me, but the plot just went off the fucking rails. Sure we got bill hader being in love with his childhood best friend which spawned the whole Reddie craze on here for awhile..... but that came at the price of naked old ladies being used for shock value and whatever the hell was going on with Pennywise being an alien/god/something??? Like if the book is like this i know i couldn’t get through it, i was laughing my way through the whole movie but like, laughing (derogatory)

I feel like this section just became a reason to dunk on It Ch 2 but honestly the only other sequel i can think of that betrayed me like that was Endgame 😂

Also unrelated but while im still on the topic of movies i dont like/my hot takes: 10 Things I Hate About You was too sexist for me enjoy, i see it hyped on here a lot and im like ??? yall that did not age well 😭 but tbf i still like Mean Girls so we all have our things 😂

#this is for AR but if anyone wants out of context movie opinions here they are lol #also omgg i typed this on my notes app and did not realize how long it got lmao #my post #also wait i forgot heathers under comfort movies but pretend thats there too

[skeletonsloverockcandy]

I did get around to it after all I guess. Episode 187, I’m ready for u.

I know this episode has Helen in it because I was spoiled, but idk what else

Hehe, Martin is Checking You Out Jon (yes this joke is based off the title)

The hotel music lol

Their banter is great

:D he called himself Martin’s boyfriend

They’re so sassy, I love it

The creaking of the building coinciding with her stretching is great,

😂😂😂Jon would take the spiders over Helen😂😂😂

Helen doesn’t like Jon Knowing the way through her, lol gross

He’s so smug about it too 😂

The difference between Knowing and Feeling for Jon, and Jon’s innate ability to care for people he barely knows 🥺

:0 Helen straight up lied

She’s been working with Elias

👀👀Jon can possibly put the world back and Helen is conspiring with Elias to prevent it? I am reading that subtext correctly right?

“And for all his bleeding heart, Martin’s just as bad, worse even in some ways” “yes he is” 🥺🤲🏼❤️ <— me giving my love to Jonathan Sims and his love for Martin Blackwood

Jon 🤝 Martin

Being stubbornly in love with one another

Jon’s Sass Levels are so high this episode

He’s right not to trust Helen, but I counter with this, I love her

She’s just a very fun character

Ah, statement potty break time

Helen keeps interrupting 😂

“Honeymoon Sweet” specifically for Jon and Martin lol

Ooo, Helen’s interruptions are getting interesting, weird seeing someone able to commentate on the statements, cool though

Meta commentary on the statement

“There is no Room 288”

Sassing each other until the end, even through the confusion of the other lady talking

😭 Jon stoooooooooppppppp 🥺🥺 he said “Don’t touch me!” to that poor lady and was very rude

Humanity within Jon teetering a bit maybe? Idk

He was always going to destroy her :(

“Of course I’m dangerous Jon, I’m a monster, just like you” >:( Helen stop

No he can’t kill all of you, but he’s right about you being dangerous

Fear of Fake Friends, rip

Also rip all the time travel AUs where Helen helps Jon go back in time

Jon trying to kill her while she messes with him to prevent him from speaking

The lie helped Jon get a foothold on a way to kill her, helped him Know the way to kill her

Helen begging in the background is kind of sad, even if she is supposed to be bad

Hard to hear both at the same time

Now the building is crumbling and “Poof” Jon is next to Martin

But Yay! Martin’s back!!!

Jon sounds really rattled too

LONDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tma ep. 187

#tma #the magnus archives #tma jon #tma martin #tma helen #mag 187 #tma liveblog #live blogging #my post #original post #tma s5 spoilers #tma spoilers #skele talks

[buttcheekbb]

excuse me good ma'am, do you have time to talk about the absolute treasure that is what the girlfriends

UH HI YES HELLO, I HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO TALK ABOUT THE BLESSINGS THAT RAIN DOWN ON US EVERY DAY DUE TO ONE (1) MISS MELANIE KING AND MISS GEORGIE BARKER.

~please, step into my humble docile and make yourself at home....a cup of tea perhaps?~

idk if you were just looking for general thoughts or whatever but I’m just going to babble here for a bit and hope that it gives you some insight into how much i love wtgfs ❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍

hehe just generally I thank god that these two women exist in the TMA world as well as my head, rent free. When Melanie first came in during S1 I was like “👀 I AM LOOKING” and every moment she’s returned, my heart swells with love and maaaaayybe just a BIT of,,,,,pining.... And the breath of fresh air that Georgie brings into the series in S3/S4 as well as just like...!!!!! caring for Jon gets me every time and it’s my personal opinion that it’s the love, care and affect that Georgie has as a person that allows Jon (and later Melanie) to pursue being healthy, traumatized individuals (lol we love to see it). When Georgie first tells Jon that he needs anchors is probably one of my most favorite parts in the whole series because she’s RIGHT and SHE SHOULD SAY IT, even just in the sense that isolating yourself (especially when you are in danger or struggling with something) is not the way to go. you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, and even though she may not have entirely understood what Jon was//is going through via eldritch horrors and such, she’s still RIGHT and wants what’s best for her people and wants them to take care of themselves. This directly translates to when Melanie decides to stop working, go to therapy, and eventually quit the archives. When I say I SCREAMED when Melanie decided to go to therapy, I am not exaggerating one bit. This WOMAN, in the wake of so much fucking trauma, serving as an avatar of the Slaughter, with the hopelessness that comes with being quite literally trapped in the institute and literally all other aspects of her life being stripped from her decided (having a LOT to do with Georgie 🥺) that she wanted to GROW and continue to pursue PEACE (I want to say happiness but let’s just go with peace rn bc honestly how much happiness is attainable after The Magnus Institute?). Melanie KNEW that even if she couldn’t escape, she wanted to actively do nothing via the terrors that the Institute//The Eye were orchestrating because she did not want to be apart of anything as harming as that, and though physically bound, she was going to disengage and do what she could to avoid. She ALSO recognized that bitches need therapy and that if she was going to try and feel better//become better//learn more about the possibilities of a better life, she would need to change what she was doing as THAT WASN’T IT CHIEF. And then FINALLY--deciding to fucking quit despite the horror that comes with the act was what Melanie felt she needed to do, as a person, for herself because of her morals and her values which of course have always been there but have been pushed to the forefront of our consciousnesses BECAUSE of the QUEEN that is Georgie Barker!!!!!

 ANYWAYS the STRENGTH that wtgfs have together as a unit is unmatched but it’s because of one another that they are able to continue on. Georgie actively makes Melanie a better person, not through changing her but encouraging personal growth. Though we don’t get a great glimpse into Georgie’s life other than snippets of S3, I would like to hope and head cannon that Melanie does the same for Georgie and that they serve one another in ways that are so greatly appreciated💖🥺 wtgfs water my crops, feed my children, save my town from flooding and famine, and live in my head and heart rent free. Also THE ADMIRAL IS GOD THEM SELF AND BETTER THAN ANY BEING IN THE TMA AND THIS UNIVERSE OKAY COOL THAT’S ALL FOR NOW THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK (but also if anything i said interested u or want me to say anything else about wtgfs pls let me know, I will always have something more to say but figured this was long enough for the first ask hehe😅

#tma #the magnus archives #tma podcast #magnuspod #magpod #georgie barker #melanie king #ask! #AND ANSWERED BABY #wtgfs #god i'm gay #the admiral #tma spoilers #(?) #tma season 4 spoilers #tma season 3 spoilers #sort of? #i tried to stay vague #but also want to be careful #what the girlfriends #god i love these gals #melanie tma #melanie is the loml #okay i think i'm done crying in the tags