tired-beholding-bitch

[tired-beholding-bitch]

ok. years have passed and we've had some distance, so i'm finally gonna take the leap of faith that tma fandom is finally ready to hear me on this. let's talk about tannins.

161 was the first tma episode i heard on early release, and i felt the bit where martin declines wine and cites tannins was pretty obvious in its implications. cool, got it, say no more.

imagine my surprise when i was one of maybe three people i saw read between the lines there, in a fandom famous for red stringing--a fandom that immediately caught the much less obvious thread of ignition sources in the same episode. i'll spell it out: alcohol is an issue for martin.

maybe it just felt obvious because addiction is a pet issue for me--as it is for jonny, who has said everything he writes is filtered through a lens of addiction. i don't know if that's due to his own experience or a loved one's, and i won't speculate; i also don't know if martin personally struggled with drinking or just avoids it for fear he would, but alcohol would fit what we know of his family. his dad walking out and his mum spiralling into bitter wallowing and verbal abuse? i'd bet one or both of them drank, yeah.

on a basic level martin tries to decline alcohol, and that alone should have raised eyebrows given what we know of martin and, again, a fandom that dissects everything. we already knew martin "K" blackwood lied about his personal life and his family in particular, especially pre-canon, which is when this flashback took place. i was shocked that everyone took his flimsy excuse at face value with no further questions.

and the excuse is flimsy. martin turns down wine by--nervously--exclaiming tannins are "a proven headache trigger!" which sounds like trivia from a magazine cover and not the words of someone who actually has headaches--and it hasn't come up before or since. jon, confused, points out that tea, a drink martin consumes to a degree that is memetic both in- and out-of-universe, also contains tannins, and martin squawks a panicked, "what?!"

if tannins are enough of a concern for martin that he knew they're in wine and so avoids it, why didn't he know they're in his drink of choice? why does he still drink tea at the time of canon, and why doesn't he struggle with constant headaches from consuming 'a proven headache trigger' day in and day out? why, indeed, would someone avoid wine and not tea?

when sasha insists martin drink he caves and agrees to 'just a drop'. i imagine him pouring it in a plant, which admittedly he could have done if tannins really were the issue. i will say that i, for one, would be less likely to falsely agree to something that makes me physically ill than to a private issue that i'd rather not be pressed on any further. this scene also establishes martin's birthday was an ice cream party instead of the more traditional visit to a pub.

also, this scene was in the first episode of the final season, as one of three flashbacks that could have been to any pre-canon event in the archives. prime narrative real estate. not really time one would waste on establishing the important character context that martin has... headaches. which never comes up before or after, even regarding the week he spent in spiral town. but you know what is pretty crucial character background...?

it felt like a no-brainer, and yet all i saw was h/c fluff about jon attending to martin's headaches. and i hate feeling bitter about disability representation. i want folks with chronic headaches to feel seen and have fluffy escapist fantasies. i don't want to be mad about people portraying a character with a disability. but, guys? you got the wrong disability. jonny sent a clear message, and it went over fandom's head.

#!!!!!!!!!!!!! this #tickles my brain #excellent reasoning #tma #martin blackwood

[tired-beholding-bitch]

unironically have listened to mr bonzo more than once on purpose separate from the podcast and won’t apologise

#hot take he deserves to be awful in every reality #leave him Be #if someone pisses off the dedicated government branch that employs mr bonzo thats their own problem #tmagp #mr bonzo

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[id: two images of a white six week old kitten chewing on cardboard. end id.]

look at my infant child

#the beanie baby killer strikes again

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: Digital art of Gwen Bouchard and Mr Bonzo from The Magnus Protocol. Gwen is a slender Black woman with chin length textured hair worn half-up, half-down. She wears a collared shirt under a jumper with the sleeves rolled up, a leather messenger bag over her shoulder. She holds out an unmarked envelope to Mr Bonzo with a look of abject terror on her face. Mr Bonzo is a very tall decaying mascot creature, mostly a dirty yellow with large purplish pustules across his body. His nose has rotted away to reveal a dripping nasal cavity underneath, his eyes are bloodshot and lidless with eerie glowing red pupils, and his smile is wet with black, ichorous drool. There is a bright yellow light illuminating him from behind, but hardly any of it reaches Gwen in his shadow. Superimposed over the image and scrawled on the wall behind them are the words “Mr Bonzo’s on his way/He’s here to stay, he wants to play” repeatedly. End ID.]

i was already working on this before this week’s eppy sode but afterwards i found i had contracted the bonzbonic plague and here we are

#ah yes #i love when a thing is disgusting but in the best way #also GWENS FACE #so expressive #i cant get over it #the magnus protocol #tmagp #mr bonzo #gwendolyn bouchard #mascot horror #body horror #face horror #tmagp 10 #tmagp spoilers

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: A sketch of Jon and Martin from TMA. Martin is kissing Jon on the cheek. End ID]

An lil cheek kiss ko-fi for @quillquiver thank you!!

#OUGHHOUGHTOUTH #tma #jonmartin #fanart #friends' art #LOOK at them

[tired-beholding-bitch]

TESSA I JUST REALISED UR THE PERFECT PERSON TO TELL ABOUT THIS

couple weeks ago my neighbours were like “there’s a kitten stuck between our fences” and obvi my wife and i were like well we shan’t allow this to continue.

first pic and most recent pic of the unnamed kitty (we have been calling her bean and the top contender for her actual name currently is molly short for molecule) (we are gonna keep her) (we have three cat now)

EVERYONE CLAP AND CHEER FOR Molly (Short For Mollycule) Bleeding Jones ❗❗❗

#lady beanie!!!!

[tired-beholding-bitch]

Choppin 🪵

Ko-fi for @future-crab <33

#Uhm #uh? i. Mmmmmmh. Ouh #yeah #martin blackwood #tma #fanart #friends' art

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: The Magnus Archives fanart of Jon and Martin kissing in Jon's office. Jon sits at his desk, his fist is balled in Martin's shirt, and he is pulling him down for the kiss. There is a spilled mug of tea, and several papers fluttering to the ground by Martin's hand. There is a painting of Jonah Magnus on the wall behind Jon and Martin. He looks at the viewer with wide eyes. The office is cramped and messy, there are boxes and stacks of paper on the floor and shelves. There are small references to each of the 14 fears in the background. They are as follows: a coffin drawn on the chalkboard, a skull on the shelf on the left wall, a copy of The Bone Turner's Tale, a jar of ashes, and a spider on the shelf behind Jon, fog in the hopper windows near the ceiling, candles, a pair of antlers, a knife, and a clown doll on the shelf behind Martin, a surrealist painting of a door on a flat landscape, a tall painting of a ship on a stormy sea -both on the right wall-, and a cracked cabinet door revealing complete darkness on the left side of the room. End ID]

Jonmartin sucking face in a messy environment?? by me???? it's more likely than you think. (a commission for @primtheamazing <333)

#not STILL losing my mind or anything #Being so so so normal about this #forever #tma #fanart #friends' art #jmart

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: A mostly uncolored comic of Jon and Martin on a gray background. Martin is a tall, fat, white man with shoulder length hair pulled into a ponytail, scruffy facial hair, freckles, a tooth gap, body hair, and round glasses. He is wearing small earrings, a t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks. Jon is a shorter, thin Arab man with long curly dark hair with lighter streaks pulled into a low bun over his shoulder, a full beard and mustache, and his skin is covered in various scars. He's wearing a long-sleeved shirt and half-moon glasses and his lower half is covered by a blanket.

Jon is sitting on a couch, humming and drawing in a sketchbook as Martin walks by, curious, and leans over the back of the couch.

Martin: What are you drawing?

Jon jumps and holds his sketchbook to his chest, blushing.

Jon: Err... Martin: Can I see? Jon: It's not finished...

Martin sits on the couch and Jon turns away with sparkling eyes.

Martin: That's okay! Jon: Mmmm.... Martin: Please~? Jon: ... Alright.

Jon shows the sketchbook.

Jon: It's still in the ugly phase....

The drawing is a work in progress of Martin wearing white drapery, holding the bottom up to expose his legs while his other arm is raised by his head, with more drapery hanging over his arm. His chest is partly exposed, his hair is undone, and his expression is soft, looking down and to the side. His freckles and body hair haven't been drawn yet, but he is partially colored in with red bits for his hair, blue shadows on the drapery, blush and skin tone partly rendered, and a golden background.

Martin stares at it, awestruck, blushing with his mouth hanging open as Jon presents it with his eyes closed. A note says Martin is having "many thoughts, head full". He looks at Jon with the same expression. The final panel shows his head drawn massively as he yells, gesturing at the sketchbook. His text is in all caps.

Martin: That's the ugly phase?! Jon: I-I mean it's far from finis- Martin: Jon.

end ID]

~~~~

i think jon is an artist and the beholding beams all kinds of art knowledge into his brain at the safehouse to help him out with that. i think he uses these powers to express his love for his boyfriend by drawing him a lot in increasingly flattering ways and he's a lil shy about it

also i am VERY tempted to like. finish jon's drawing some time because like. it turned out better than i was intending to make it aklsjdhajdh

edit: i finished it. full version of jon's drawing of martin HERE

#bless this comic #the happiness it brings me every time #martins face #bare chest #tma #tma comic #fanart

[tired-beholding-bitch]

#literally hopped on a plane and haunted their house so. like. #definitely lovers AND pals

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[id: a digital sketch of jonathan sims from tma, portraying him in an alternate timeline. his skin is noticeably devoid of major scarring and he looks altogether more well-rested and well-adjusted compared to canon. he is a thin man with chin length slightly receding curly hair and aquiline features. he wears rectangular glasses, a shirt and tie, a cardigan with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and an ace ring. he is looking off to one side with an intrigued expression, a question mark in the air next to him. end id.]

tbh ep 8 had me considering sam’n’celia’s wacky investigative tour of tma characters who are maybe doing better and maybe they meet a curmudgeonly but highly passionate schoolteacher (who incidentally maybe still has an arachnid themed childhood trauma story) and maybe after their discussion over coffee the schoolteacher goes to leave and makes eye contact with a beautiful but disgruntled executive assistant approaching from up the street. im just saying.

#IM LOOKING #🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 like so #i cannot ever overexaggerate how much love i have in my life for schoolteacher jon #this one specifically #u will find me yelling in the walk-in thanks #fanart #jonathan sims #tma #or #tmagp #i guess #lets do #tmagp spoilers #too

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: The Magnus Archives fanart of Jon and Martin kissing in Jon's office. Jon sits at his desk, his fist is balled in Martin's shirt, and he is pulling him down for the kiss. There is a spilled mug of tea, and several papers fluttering to the ground by Martin's hand. There is a painting of Jonah Magnus on the wall behind Jon and Martin. He looks at the viewer with wide eyes. The office is cramped and messy, there are boxes and stacks of paper on the floor and shelves. There are small references to each of the 14 fears in the background. They are as follows: a coffin drawn on the chalkboard, a skull on the shelf on the left wall, a copy of The Bone Turner's Tale, a jar of ashes, and a spider on the shelf behind Jon, fog in the hopper windows near the ceiling, candles, a pair of antlers, a knife, and a clown doll on the shelf behind Martin, a surrealist painting of a door on a flat landscape, a tall painting of a ship on a stormy sea -both on the right wall-, and a cracked cabinet door revealing complete darkness on the left side of the room. End ID]

Jonmartin sucking face in a messy environment?? by me???? it's more likely than you think. (a commission for @primtheamazing <333)

#OUGHHHHGPUGHGGHOIGHHHG #this genuinely healed my heart and soul #jonmartin #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #fanart #friends' art

[tired-beholding-bitch]

I love u Martin Blackwood 🥰

#true every day of my life now and forever

[tired-beholding-bitch]

gwen n lena are gonna do terrible things to lena’s desk next episode btw. bonzo told me

#this is simply true #the natural consequence of having a very near death by chewing as potentially orchestrated by your nefarious (hot) boss #tmagp spoilers

[tired-beholding-bitch]

Hello, I cannot stop thinking about how Jon’s face must have looked when Martin said, “I really loved you, you know?”

#is this the saddest man ive ever seen in my life?? #no need to discuss #he is #tma #fanart #jonathan sims

[tired-beholding-bitch]

also if i may be the most self-indulgent bitch alive

Gertrude actually smiles before she crosses to return the microphone to Gerry.

“Ugh, lovely!” he says into it. “Thanks, Gigi.”

He takes several hasty steps towards the dance floor, only just escaping the smack over the arm Gertrude aims at him.

this is from july 2022 and of all the details to have inadvertently predicted. this. sure is

#nsns continuing to be relevant now and forever #amen #tmagp #tmagp spoilers #friends' writing

[tired-beholding-bitch]

[ID: An eight page digital comic featuring Sam, Celia, and Alice from The Magnus Protocol on a gray background. The characters are all colored with a single color each. Sam is red, Celia is green, and Alice is pink. Sam is a fat Arab man with short curly dark hair, a mustache, and a small goatee, and he is wearing small black earrings, a cardigan, a turtleneck, trousers and loafers. Celia is a taller Korean woman with short dark hair and she is wearing rectangular glasses, piercings including an industrial piercing, an x-shaped earring, and snakebites, a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a vest, trousers, and black wrist cuffs. Alice is an even taller white woman with long fluffy hair and crooked teeth, and she is wearing cat eye glasses, three pairs of earrings, snakebites, a flannel shirt, a hoodie tied around her waist, a patchwork skirt, bracelets, and a lanyard.

Sam and Celia are stood at a table covered in papers. Celia urgently turns to Sam. Celia: Alice is coming! She can't catch us researching, we need a diversion, QUICK! How can we make her think we're not doing what we're doing? Sam, shrugging really hard: UHHHH she thinks I have a crush on you?? Celia, sweating, turns back to where Alice is coming from, panicked, and turns back to Sam, shrugging and reaching for him. Celia smiling a bit manically: Yeah, that'll work, sure!

Sam, with Celia's hands grabbing his cardigan: Wait whaAAAA- He is pulled out of frame. Alice walks in: Hey Sam, working hard or hardly woOOOAA She leans on the doorframe as she holds a hand to her chest in shock.

The next panel is rendered with soft pink shadows and "shoujo sparkles" in the now pink background. Sam is sitting on the table holding onto Celia, whose face is buried in his neck as she wraps one arm around his back and the other holds up one of his legs under his knee. Neither of their faces are visible. The rest of the page fades back to gray from there. Sam and Celia look over at Alice, hair ruffled, Sam is now blushing. Sam: ALICE!! He pushes Celia away and they look at each other for a moment, panicked. Sam: It's- .... exactly what it looks like! Celia: Aw, you've caught us! He rests his hands on her shoulders and they both look in opposite directions as though embarrassed. Celia is also blushing lightly. There are red and green neon signs pointing to them reading "Totally Ham-Slammin'" and "GAY! (in an M/F way)" respectively.

Alice looks to be in shock with a vacant expression and a computer pop up over her forehead reading "Alice.exe has stopped responding". In the next panel she is fine again and back to smirking. Alice: WOW SAM, didn't know you had it in you! Now I'm no snitch, so I didn't see anything, BUT- you lovebirds should cut it out before Gwen catches you. Celia and Sam look at each other anxiously, cheeks pressed together as she speaks. Alice: You KNOW she'd tell Lena. Celia, pulling back and smoothing her hair out: Oh, for sure. Sam: Th-Thanks, Alice. Alice: Don't mention it! I'll give you crazy kids a minute to straighten up, TA-TA~ She waves as she leaves.

Sam and Celia listen to her steps fade before going "phew" and finally pulling away from each other, now holding hands at an arms distance. Celia: You alright? That was kinda sudden.... Sam: It's fine! Just a bit caught off guard. Celia: I can't believe she actually bought all of that! Sam: Me either! Works for me, though.

Celia: Did you want to get down- Sam, pulling away suddenly, blushing again: NO! He crosses his legs and looks away sheepishly, scratching his head. Sam: I wanna stay here another minute or so.... Celia, concerned: You sure you're alright? Sam: Yeah! Just, er.... Celia looks at him, confused. Sam, blushing increasingly harder: Ahem. (He folds his hands in his lap politely.) I am not immune to being thrown on a table. Celia, smiling and politely stepping away: AH! .... Noted~

She walks away casually, still smiling. Celia: I'll give you a minute to collect yourself. Sam, head down in his lap, embarrassed: Thanks.... He looks up after she leaves. Sam: Wait. He straightens up, slightly panicked, face entirely red. Sam: What do you mean by "NOTED"?!

end ID]

~~~~

i am SO glad this episode didn't entirely debunk the silly headcanon that birthed this comic. initially i wasn't convinced sam actually had a crush so i made this like "well if he didn't before, HE DOES NOW" so.... here's this silly comic thing <3 i just think they're neat <3

#no u dont understand this is EVERYTHINg to me its EVERYTHING #tmagp #tmagp comic #fanart