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mamahersh · 1 year

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

@a-mag-a-day

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

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

Time Travel

Somewhere Else

AUs

Uncategorized JonMartin Fluff

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

TIME TRAVEL

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

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

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

________________________

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

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

Something’s Different About You Lately by thesnadger

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

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

100 Seconds to Midnight by starspangledbread

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

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

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey

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

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

Reverb (Series) by Wolftraps

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

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

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

Statement of Hazel Rutter.

Jon couldn’t stop reading.

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

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

Statement begins.

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

a map of what matters most by gruhukens

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

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

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

----

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

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

Saving the Universe: For Dummies by GhostChoir

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

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

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

A Little Game of Cat and Mouse by Paptato

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

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

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

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

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

Déjà Vu by CirrusGrey

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

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

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

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

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

The Severing of Webs by chlodobird

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

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

Sasha will die. Tim will die. Martin—

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

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

Somewhere Else

it will be this, always by bluejayblueskies

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

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

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

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

Out There, Somewhere by Artyphex

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

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

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

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

A story set somewhere else.

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

Worlds like phyllo pastry by neworld

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

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

Death Is The Easy Way Out by traveller19

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

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

Castaways by CirrusGrey

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

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

Do Before I Die by SupposedToBeWriting

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

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

ours is a distant shore (series) by pantsoflobster

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

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

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

Written in the Stars Will Have to Do by GentlemanCrow

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

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

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

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

On Errantry by ZaliaChimera

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

They do say that cats purring can heal...

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

Lost, Unfound, But Not Forgotten by Elynn

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

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

Not Quite Somewhere Else by hawkfurze

Or you can find it on Tumblr HERE

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

AUs

Two Graves by SupposedToBeWriting

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

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

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

What Comes After by Mornrandir

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

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

The Watcher’s Cows by lenioia

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

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

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

The Eyespot Chronicles (series) by SupposedToBeWriting

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

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

Another Guest for Mr. Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Jon isn't eating his statements like he should.

Mr. Spider doesn't like it.

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

Illicio by ThatOneGirlBehindYou

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

-----

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

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

we should ride this wave to shore by ClarionGlass

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

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

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

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

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

Kind regards, New Manager

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

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

JMart Fluff

Author CirrusGrey

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

Jon’s Moving Castle by IceEckos12

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

Life never goes how he intends it to, though.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fate, or Something by HermaeusMora

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

"Well, I am," she shoots back.

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

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

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

Diary by luftballoons99

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

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

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

Weaving My Heartstrings by arms_full_of_hyacinths

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

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

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

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

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

#a mag a day #the magnus archives #mag 200 #tma fic rec #fic rec #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #jmart #georgie #melanie

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hello-eeveev · 1 year

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Beau had half a mind to march over to the Candles and kill Ludinus Da’leth herself, if only so she didn’t have to spend another day looking over the same documents, trying to find something they could use to get him out of power. She didn’t trust him—hadn’t from the start—but the more she walked in similar circles, the more she had to deal with the Assembly’s bullshit, the more she was convinced that whatever Ludinus was up to at any given moment, it couldn’t be good. But he had spent centuries navigating Dwendalian politics; of course he knew how to cover his tracks well.

She was halfway through plotting out the assassination when Caleb, who was sitting at the desk across from her, closed his book and looked up at her. “It’s five o’clock,” he said.

“Finally.” Beau sagged in her chair, taking in a deep breath. As she exhaled, she let thoughts of work fade from her mind. Once she felt suitably non-murderous, she slapped her hands onto her desk and stood. “Let’s get going then.”

She and Caleb fell into their routine as easily as they fought side-by-side. Caleb collected all the files and documents and organized them as he saw fit, while Beau stacked the books in the order that she knew would be most convenient for whoever reshelved them. Then they switched. Beau ran the papers back to her tiny office and locked them in her desk drawer, and Caleb passed off the books to the nearest archivist to be put away. When they met back up, Caleb walked Beau all the way to the teleportation circle on the other side of the Archive. Outside of going home to Yasha, this was Beau’s favorite part of the day, because regardless of what they ended up talking about, they made sure that, for at least these fifteen minutes, neither of them had to think about their country’s corrupt systems and the horrible people running them.

By the time they arrived at the teleportation circle, her half thought-out plans of murdering the Martinet had been shoved into the back of her mind by Caleb’s fond tales of the kids he tutored and the progress they were making.

She really hoped he would take the Soltryce job, if not for the good he would do there, at least for himself. He seemed so happy when he talked about teaching, almost as much as when he was nerding out about spells with Essek or Veth.

The caster in charge of the circle beckoned Beau into the center of the room, and she jogged into position as they began drawing the sigils for the Zadash Archive circle.

“Hey, so tomorrow night, Yasha’s trying out a new recipe that she got from Martina,” Beau said, turning to face Caleb who lingered at the edge of the casting space. “It’s a stir-fry sorta thing that she learned on a trip to the Menagerie Coast. I think it’ll be really good, especially if we use some of your green beans. You down?”

The invitation was more of a formality at this point. Caleb joined them for dinner almost every weekend. But Caleb shifted awkwardly, looking down at his feet.

“Ah, I would love to,” he said, “but I already have plans for tomorrow. Maybe another night.”

“Eating a boba and reading all night doesn’t count as dinner plans.”

Caleb huffed a laugh. “No, it is a, um…” He picked at some fuzz on his coat sleeve. “A date.”

“Wha—” Beau blinked. Shook her head and blinked again. “What? With who?”

Caleb caught her gaze, expression completely neutral except for a growing redness on his face. “A friend,” he said.

She furrowed her brow. “I’m gonna need a little more information than that, dude.”

He glanced down at the runes being drawn beneath her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him run his thumb over the ring on his index finger—his Ring of Telepathy, it looked like—and his voice entered her mind.

“Essek.”

Beau’s eyes widened, but then the bastard smiled and waved like nothing happened. “Have a nice evening, Beauregard.”

Faster than she could run over and punch that smug look off his face, the chalk on the floor flashed and suddenly she was back at the Zadash Archive.

She fumbled for her Sending Stone. “Fucking piece of shit—I’m gonna—” She yanked it out of her pocket and activated it. “Caleb!” she shouted. Some poor young monk tried to greet her while an older expositor threw a stern expression her way, but Beau paid them no mind. She was already running out the door.

“The fuck kinda timing was that? What do you mean you’re going on a date with—” Shit, she couldn’t use Essek’s name in the middle of Zadash. “—with him? When did this happen? How? Who else knows?”

“You are the first, unless someone else has figured it out already,” he replied. “Unfortunately Sending is limited to twenty-five words, so I cannot say more. Goodnight, Beauregard.”

“I know for a fact that’s not how these Sending Stones work, you asshole!” She did a quick count of Caleb’s message in her head. Twenty-six words.

She could practically hear his shit-eating grin in the silence that followed.

Forget Ludinus, she had another wizard to kill.

Before long, Beau was sprinting up to her house. She waved off Martina’s sickeningly sweet hello and threw open her front door.

“Yasha!” she yelled. “Babe, you’re not gonna believe what Caleb just told me. Can you message Jester today?”

#cr fic #ficlet #Caleb drops the ‘Essek and I are dating bomb’#and has the best/worst timing about it #empire sibling shenanigans #beauregard lionett #caleb widogast #shadowgast #eve’s writing #I’ll put it on ao3 whenever I come up with a decent title lol

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guideoftime · 6 months

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▴ — @dutifulsilence ;; Sheik & Link starter call.

As the Royal Archivist Sheik’s job was to clean up the library, organize the Royal Books and salvage what he can. He’s spent many hours inside the library, organizing things and reading through books. He’s spent even longer hours hand copying books and rewriting the ones that needed to be fixed. Preserving Hyrule’s history was incredibly important to the Sheikah, seeing as his Tribe was often known as record keepers, who carried down the ancient legends of the Royal Family and the Heroes of Hyrule. Of Ganondorf. Sheik enjoyed his job, had actually elected to take it when Impa asked for someone to volunteer to do it. The job had, at one point, been hers.

No one else wanted to deal with the library and he knew why. After a hundred years, plagued by the calamity, it was bound to be a mess and what a mess it was. But Sheik loved books, loved learning, and loved learning about the history even more. His particular area of interest was with the Princess of Destiny and the Hero of Hyrule. This fascination was only fueled even more when he was inside the library, reading and collecting books.

A part of him had hoped when reading he would find some answers to his dreams. So far, he hasn’t.

Being inside the Castle when it rose up from the ground had been incredibly terrifying. Sheik had grabbed as many of the important books as he could, and then when monsters started appearing he threw himself into one of the secret passages and elected that saving the books was not nearly as important. He kept a couple, stuffed in his bag, and then hid to try and protect himself. He was not dressed for combat, and the only weapon he had on him was a couple of daggers and his harp. He didn’t think he could play the monsters to death though something told him to try to.

The bag was tugged onto his shoulder and Sheik pulled a dagger from it, gripping it tightly in his hand as he was determined to get himself out of here.

Easier said than done.

Sheik cannot fly. He can jump and throw himself quite far, he was a rather incredible Sheikah Warrior, one of the best (don’t ask Dorian and Cado), but he could not fly. Hyrule Castle was quite high above the ground now and peering over the edge debating the way down was not fantastic. He had fought hard to get over here, had ran for the majority of it, and despite his best effort was a bit injured. Fighting in this uniform wasn’t ideal, it definitely wasn’t the Sheikah suit he was used to fighting in.

How the fuck was he getting down?

“You’re just going to have to jump, Sheik.” He tells himself, standing back up and pulling the bag off of his shoulder. He grips that tightly, spins it in the air and then throws it with everything he had. Lessening the weight on him was how he was going to protect himself. He tugged the heavy, puffy, top off and tossed it to the ground. Rolled his pants up a little bit and then reached behind him to quickly braid his hair. Clothes a bit easier to move in, and his hair not going to get in his way, Sheik moved back and got himself into a good running position. A quick count to ten, he took a breath, and then began running.

It’s worse than just free falling.

It’s like giving up control of his body.

He hates it.

When he got to the ground he hit it hard and rolled with a force that knocked the wind straight out of him. When he finally stopped rolling it felt like he hit something, which had stopped his movement. He coughed into the ground and tried to force air into his lungs, sucking in a deep breath and trying to clear his head. When he could breathe finally he pushed himself up, his chest aching with how hard his lungs were working to get air back into them. He picked his head up, hair already falling out of the braid, his crimson gaze blinked at the person above him.

“Hero.” Well, this was embarrassing.

#▴ — path / royal archivist #dutifulsilence #( i hope this is okay!! )#( sorry it got so long I wanted to give some detail! )

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zalmoxis-the-great · 2 months

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Careful what you wish for ! - Short Story -Orizyn

The C’tan looked at the shard of the Deceiver offered to him. He seemed pleased.

Your offer has been accepted by us, child. The knowledge that you seek is yours. Zarhulash said to Trazyn.

Dealing with free C’tans was incredibly dangerous. An insane thing to do. But Trazyn knew that great things came with great risks. Spying on the Archmagos Cawl proved fruitful, since the clever human gestalt released a C’tan shard that now hides in the far reaches of the galaxy.

Trazyn watched as the C’tan grabbed the other shard and hid it within his recesses. The star vampires were greedy and torturous, more than they hated other beings they hated their own kind. He didn’t want to think what kinds of torments were reserved for the lesser, smaller shard.

The free shard touched a canoptek after, pouring into it knowledge of the material real, raw data overwhelming its systems and whipping existing information to fit it.

‘Thank you, Potentate one’. Trazyn, surrounded by lychguards, said, not bowing. The weapon on his doom scythe was aiming at the C’tan.

He might be a risk-taker, but he was no fool.

He ordered one of his guards to retrieve the construct, so he could use and analyze the data safely.

It pleases me that you are unlike your treacherous siblings. Said Zarhulash, as Trazyn was about to start the translocation protocols. I will reward you, as one would reward a loyal hound. The archivist wanted to protest what was he compared to, but the intrigue stopped him.

‘I reward, you say?’

Yes, with the prospect that you will come again to bargain for my wisdom, I shall grant you a wish.

A wish? Although a shard, this C’tan was the master of the physical realm. He could undoubtedly grant him something of value.

A wish. Greed suddenly filled Trazyn’s engrams, he could wish for anything in the universe. He already saw the gallery for the Empire of Mankind getting its centerpiece.

He stopped the vector of ideas. The C’tan were untrustworthy. They give with a hand and take with seven. Asking for something that big would be unwise.

Maybe he could ask to repair Sannet’s memory engrams? Could he trust his arch-cryptek cognition to a shard? Absolutely not.

Trazyn thought, what could he ask for that wouldn’t backfire horribly?

After a moment he smiled, at looked at the C’tan, his wish prepared.

-------------------

‘Orikan, I need your predictions for the aerial attacks for the next 20 standard cycles’, Imotek asked, as he examined the battle charts in phos-green glyphs, all displayed in front of him.

‘As you wish’, the cryptek sitting to his left, answered as the Stormlord received packages of data on their interstitial channel.

His work was impeccable, like always.

There was a sudden shift in the air, for a fraction of a second. Imotekh noticed it, and turned to the astromancer, sitting in a meditative position, scrying the battlefield and feeding his hyperlogical algorithms battle predictions.

He seemed unperturbed.

‘What was that, did the scanners pick something ?’

‘Picked what? We are currently engaged in a battle', he answered, with barely enough tact to be considered respectful, like he usually did when interrupted.

‘Widen the planetary scans from the orbit. Something must have happened.’

‘As you wish. We should deploy the Doom cannons, the left flank will become overwhelmed.’

An astute observation. Imotek smiled, logical centers noting how the left side had a high probability of being pushed back if the enemy moved as predicted.

‘Good, when do you suggest we send them?’

‘Right meow, my Phaeron.’

Imotekh stopped, did his audio receptors glitch?

He rewinded the conversation. Did my cryptek meow at me? The astromancer didn’t seem to react.

‘Now? Did you say now?’, he asked, hoping the audio interference was from the battle raging outside.

‘Pawsitive’.

#necrons #orikan the diviner #trazyn the infinite #short story #can you guess his wish ?#AU #orizyn #imotekh the stormlord

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garbria · 8 months

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Nyx pulled his phone out and frowned at it. Why was Luche texting him? Pelna had agreed to cover his afternoon shift for him. He texted back the answer to Luche’s question and turned his phone to silent. They could wait a few hours until he got back.

Someone coughed behind him, and Nyx shuffled forward as the line. There were more people than he’d expected here, and he was glad he cut out early to get a good place in line, even if it did cost him a couple weekends babysitting duty.

He would have to stop teasing Cor about his obscure interests. There were a good couple dozen people at least who had taken the time in the middle of a weekday to attend a lecture and book signing from an Insominan University historian.

Cor had a few of the man’s books already, and had mentioned looking forward to his new treatise on the history of the Rogue. When Nyx had overheard one of the archivists talking about this event, he’d known he had to get Cor a signed copy. Cor didn’t have time to stand in line, so it was up to Nyx to provide.

The line moved again, and Nyx put on his most charming smile, flourishing a copy of the newly purchased book.

“And who should I make it out to?” The author didn’t look up.

“Cor. He’s a great fan of your work.” Nyx kept smiling as the man looked up. He stared at Nyx, before scribbling something and handing it back.

“It’s good to know someone appreciates the importance of history.”

Nyx smiled and nodded, ducking out of the line. Cor was going to be thrilled.

Nyx jogged back to the Citadel, shrugging his jacket back on. Cor had meetings all afternoon, Nyx knew, so maybe he could sneak the book into Cor’s office for him to find later.

Unfortunately, as soon as he entered the Citadel, Luche ambushed him. Some paperwork snafu was tangling things up, and the clerks in the quartermaster’s office were being obstinate. Apparently, Tredd had pissed someone off, and Luche wanted Nyx to smooth things over. It took Nyx the rest of the afternoon to soothe tempers and get things going again. The only positive being the favor both Luche and Tredd now owed him.

By the time he was free again, Cor was sitting at his desk, flipping through paperwork.

“Hey, soldier.” Nyx grinned as he rapped his knuckles on the doorframe.

Cor looked up with a smile. “I heard you spent the afternoon putting out fires.”

“Only metaphorically, thank the Six.” Nyx slipped in and half-sat on Cor’s desk, smirking down at him. “And that’s not the only thing I did with my afternoon.”

With a shower of crystal, Nyx pulled out the book and handed it to Cor.

Cor took it carefully, eyes widening as he read the inscription inside. “I thought this didn’t come out until next week!”

“He had a lecture and book signing at the university this afternoon.”

Cor looked up at Nyx. “And you went?”

Nyx’s smirk softened. “Anything for my favorite nerd.”

Cor snorted and pushed himself up for a kiss. “Thank you.”

#nyx ulric #cor leonis #kingsglaive #ffxv #my fic #cornyx #fluff #cor is a history nerd #nyx loves him

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dystopicjumpsuit · 9 months

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Martyrs and Kings - Chapter 12

Everything is Fine. Really.

Rating: T (rating varies by chapter; mature content will be tagged)

Pairing: Kix x archivist/historian OFC

Wordcount: 2K

A/N: We've officially caught up to AO3, so from here on out, new chapters will post on Sundays. ♥️

Warnings: mild sensuality; mentioned violence; Star Wars swearing

Start here | Previous chapter | Next chapter | Masterlist | Sign up for my tag list

Weeks passed, and Hosnian Prime’s frigid, crystalline mornings gave way at last to the soft, warm breezes that heralded the arrival of spring in Republic City. Maree returned to her normal assignments, and if she was slightly quieter and more reserved than usual, none of her colleagues had the bad manners to mention it.

Kix did not contact her.

She told herself it was to be expected. He was hardly the first hookup who’d ever left in the middle of the night and never commed her again. It wasn’t like they were committed. They weren’t even dating, really. She couldn’t truly fault him for unloading his trauma on her; after all, she’d invited him to do so.

His overwhelming sorrow had confirmed the truth she’d long suspected—he was a clone trooper. She had so many questions about what had happened to him, but all she knew was that he’d somehow survived in stasis. She didn’t even know his CT number. The worst part was that she understood why he had so jealously guarded his identity. Even now, professional curiosity enticed her to contact him, to pepper him with questions about his experience during the Clone Wars, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that to him. He wasn’t just some research subject; he was a living, breathing, hurting, grieving person who deserved respect and dignity and space to process everything he’d lost.

So no, she didn’t blame him. But she did miss him.

Every time she uncovered some small, fascinating detail about a battle that had long since ended, she had to stop herself from reaching for her commlink to send it to him. Every time she glimpsed a tall man with dark, curly hair and a neat beard, her heart beat a little faster until her brain caught up to the reality that it wasn’t him. Every time she lay awake in the darkness, remembering the weight of his body pressed against hers, she wondered if he was thinking about her, too.

To distract herself, she made a determined effort to get out of the office and actually do the things she enjoyed outside of work. She went to her favorite park by the beach and basked in the sun while reading a trashy holo-novel. She took long walks under the blooming citrom trees. She bought fresh flowers for her office desk. She ate a picnic in Senate Square. She did not visit the Hanging Gardens. And when she went home each night, she lay in bed and stared at the ceiling for hours.

A few weeks after Maree returned to Hosnian Prime, Orys Brenko knocked shyly on her open office door, datapad in hand. He looked nervous, and Maree sprang into recruitment mode, introducing him to the interns and leading him on a tour of the archive. He departed the library with shining eyes, a determined set to his chin, and a freshly signed datapad. His visit reminded Maree of why she had joined the Archive in the first place, before the shine had worn off and she realized she’d be spending more time filing reports and managing schedules than actually studying history. She wondered when the passion and excitement that she used to feel for her work had turned into exhaustion and disillusionment.

Dr. Tane stopped by her office one day to celebrate Rik Denau’s official dismissal, and mentioned that Dr. Harik was already angling for the disgraced archivist’s old position. Truthfully, Maree had forgotten all about that unpleasantness. Nevertheless, Tane and Valsi insisted on going out to celebrate the occasion. Maree didn’t want to go out. She wanted to go home and crawl into bed and stare at the ceiling. But the combined forces of Tane and Valsi were irresistible, and ultimately Maree decided that it was easier just to go along with their plans.

It was worth it, in the end, to see Tane growling out a Herglic rage-metal song at a karaoke bar as Valsi watched, slack-jawed. The two ended up going home together at the end of the night, after getting increasingly handsy with each round of cocktails.

“Use protection!” Maree called after them as they stumbled out of their shared taxi. “I don’t want to know what a Pantoran Zabrak looks like.”

Valsi flipped her the avian and went right back to sucking Tane’s face off.

“There’s not enough eye-bleach in the galaxy to unsee that,” Maree grumbled to the droid taxi driver.

When she stumbled into her flat, the light on her commlink was flashing with an unread message indicator. She opened it as she chugged a large glass of water, reading with bleary eyes.

To: Dr. Maree R. Finnall From: Kix Subject: [none] Maree, I’m sorry for the way things ended. I knew it was better if I didn’t drag you into my life. I don’t know how you figured it out, but can’t say I’m surprised. I know you have questions, and I feel like I owe you some answers.

The message continued, detailing how Kix had uncovered a conspiracy against the Jedi, how he had been apprehended and frozen in stasis by the Separatists, and how he had been found and revived the previous year by a pirate crew. Maree’s hand tightened on the glass as she read and reread the message, until she let out an abrupt scream and flung the glass across the kitchen to shatter against the wall.

“God damn it!” she wailed. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

The next morning, she strode into the library with a resolute expression. Let’s find out who you really are.

In between Judiciary assignments, she began to requisition large numbers of data chips related to Clone Wars-era trooper records and combat reports. She cross-referenced hundreds of files, staying in her office late into the evenings, hunting for a single name that simply did not appear. She changed tactics. Using the list Kix had sent her, she searched for recurring groups of troopers. Still, there were thousands of possibilities. For weeks, she analyzed the data with single-minded determination, but the longer she searched, the more frustrated she grew. Without a CT number, it was like hunting for a ghost.

Late one evening, Maree was startled by a chime at her office door. As far as she knew, everyone had gone home for the day, and Teejay would have locked up hours earlier. She checked her security holofeed and was surprised to see Valsi waiting outside the door, tapping an impatient foot. Maree hit the control panel to admit her.

“Valsi, what are you doing here so late?” Maree asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” the Pantoran said.

“Just busy,” Maree said. “How did you know I was still working?”

“Teejay ratted you out,” Valsi said. “You know that droid hates it when your routine gets disrupted.”

Maree muttered something about snitches and ditches, and Valsi sauntered into her office, coming to a dead halt when she witnessed the chaos inside. Stacks of datapads towered precariously on every available surface. Three separate holoprojectors displayed reams of data. There were even pages of actual paper stuck to the walls and connected by strings, covered in handwritten notations.

“Dank farrik, Maree, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Special research project,” Maree said.

“What kind of project?” Valsi demanded.

“The kind that I’m failing at,” Maree said miserably. “I keep thinking I’m so close, and then it turns out to be a dead end, or the completely wrong thread, and the whole damn thing comes unraveled.”

“Slow down. What’s coming unraveled?” Valsi asked.

“Everything!” Maree exclaimed. “Without his trooper number, I can’t know for sure, and there are thousands—literally thousands, Valsi—of possibilities.”

“Whose trooper number?” Valsi asked, bewildered.

“I—I—just a clone I’m trying to identify,” Maree stammered.

Valsi shook her head. “I haven’t seen you get like this since you were in the throes of your doctoral thesis. What’s the rush?”

Maree’s jaw dropped. She stared at Valsi, her eyes wide.

“My thesis,” she said. “Saleucami. Of course!”

She scrambled across the room to her desk and searched frantically through the holoprojection. Valsi followed at a much slower pace, a bemused expression on her face.

“When was the last time you slept, Maree?”

“Hmm?” Maree asked, not looking away from the report she was scanning. “Oh, it doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does,” Valsi said. When Maree failed to acknowledge her, Valsi shrugged and wandered over to the kitchenette to raid Maree’s supply of biscuits. “Hey, do you think I could get Tane to dress up as Maul and do a little role-play? That man definitely knows how to use his lightsaber.”

Maree didn’t hear the cheeky question. She narrowed her search parameters again and again, until only a few dozen trooper numbers remained. Snatching up a datapad with Kix’s list, she ran one last analysis. A single trooper ID flashed.

CT-6116.

She opened the personnel file. MISSING IN ACTION - PRESUMED DEAD scrolled across the top in red letters. She enlarged the holo of the trooper’s face and spotted a familiar tattoo.

“I found him,” she whispered. “Oh, my gods, Valsi, I found him.”

“Found who?” Valsi mumbled around a mouthful of spiced biscuit, dusting crumbs off her fingers.

Kix had been a miserable bastard since he returned to the Meson Martinet. Reveth had exchanged a meaningful I-told-you-so glance with the ship’s Gabdoran first mate Quiggold when the clone arrived looking like he could single-handedly murder the entire First Order. The crew stayed out of his way, waiting for his mood to blow over. After weeks, it showed no signs of improvement, and even Captain Ithano’s patience was beginning to wear thin—or so Quiggold maintained. None of the rest of the crew could detect any change in the captain’s stoic posture.

When the Martinet went into battle, Kix threw himself into the action with unrestrained bloodlust, tearing through enemies with abandon. At one point, after witnessing the clone rip off a bounty droid’s head with his bare hands, even Ithano gave the tiniest shake of his helmeted head. This was tantamount to a blistering rebuke from the pirate captain—or so Quiggold maintained.

“We gotta do something,” Quiggold declared after Kix had retreated to his quarters late one night. “I knew it was a mistake for him to go chasing after answers, I just knew it. He must have found out something terrible. And now that poor kid has gone and dug up all those bad memories, and what good did it do him?”

“He called me a karking laserbrain when he was patching me up yesterday,” Reeg Brosna complained, shaking his head sadly. “It’s not like I asked to get shot.”

Squeaky grunted his agreement as he joined the group, handing out a fresh round of ale and shoving Reveth’s feet off the table. Unbothered, the Twi’lek put her boots back up immediately.

“I think it’s girl trouble,” she declared.

“And what makes you say that?” Reeg asked, tapping his bottle to hers and taking a long drink.

“Hasn’t wanted a fuck since he got back,” Reveth said, sipping her own ale.

The Arcona choked and spewed his drink across the table, causing Squeaky and Quiggold to rear back with exclamations of disgust and wipe the droplets of ale off their faces. Captain Ithano did not react, except to direct a long look at the Twi’lek mechanic. (This was practically a declaration of love and an offer of marriage—or so Quiggold maintained. Reeg and Squeaky accused him of trying to rig the betting pool.)

“Maybe he’s too sad to screw,” Reeg suggested.

“Because he’s been such a barrel of laughs for the past year?” Reveth asked. “No. It’s girl trouble. And I think I know who’s responsible.”

She set a small projector on the table and turned it on to display a publicity holo she’d found on the NRGL’s Holonet site. The rest of the crew fell silent as they observed a woman in an elegant blue gown standing very close to a familiar tall, bearded man, resting her hand on his arm. The frozen figures in the image were laughing as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Aye, that’d do it,” Quiggold observed.

---

Chapter 13

Tagging: @blueink-bluesoul @secondaryrealm @spicy-clones @wings-and-beskar @523rdrebel @goblininawig @merkitty49 @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @arcsimper5 @starrylothcat @clio3kantarella @cloneloverrrrr

#clone medic kix #sw tcw fanfic #tcw fanfic #tcw kix #dystopicjumpsuit writes #martyrs and kings

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itchyeye · 2 months

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Okay, on the discussion of characters, I was LITERALLY thinking earlier today of how Sasha is one of my favorite characters in TMA. (Sorry I went on a tangent but hear me out-)

Sasha. A character who we BARELY hear from in the one season she's alive in, has had such a MASSIVE impact on the entire fandom that to this DAY people still make AU's where she lives, of her relationship to multiple other characters, to what could have been or WHO she was based on a few one liners, a statement, and her final moments. After that it's the impact she had on other characters that helped us see her for who she was. We were fed some information on her (Ex. Jon thinking SASHA would have pranked him with a statement and not Tim, Gertrude wanting to make Sasha the next Archivist because she knew she would've been smart enough to see what was happening, Sasha choosing to follow Micheal who was clearly a Not Human Thing,-), but we weren't spoon fed information on who she was if that makes sense? We, through context clues and just idk, good writing on Jonny's part, were able to put together this character in our minds of who Sasha was in and out of the office and her relationship with the other characters, even though she only existed for BARELY ONE SEASON.

Cut to TMAGP, and, like you said, we're being force fed these characters and archetypes. LOOK THIS IS GWEN SHE'S SUPER SERIOUS , THIS IS ALICE SHE'S ~QUIRKY~ AND HAS A BROTHER SHE'S TAKING CARE OF (WHICH SIDE NOTE: WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW TIM HAD A BROTHER UNTIL LATER and it's revealed to us in such a great, tragic way and shows some things about his character we hadn't noticed before, or let us explore ideas about him!) THIS IS LENA SHE'S DARK AND MYSTERIOUS MAY BE A BAD GUY WHO KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING OOOOH SPOOKY- And I feel nothing towards any of them. I think it's funny that so far a lot of people who don't like the series all admit that we like Gwen the most because she's the most down to earth and idk, realistically written character? But it just makes me so... Idk, it makes me laugh angrily that this new show that is so focused on these new characters so far doesn't have me liking any of them (Gwen's on thin ice-). They're being shoved in our faces way too quickly and are just thrown their entire wikipedia articles to listen to.

Like, that one comment about how Sam and Alice are exes makes me think of how when Melanie mentioned to Jon that Georgie knew him, he didn't go "OH YES MY EX GIRLFRIEND GEORGIE." He was just like, "Oh! You know Georgie huh? Hm..." and it's later we find out they dated.

SORRY THIS IS SO MUCH I JUST AHSIDOAHS dude. Like. I only like Colin and sort of Gwen and that's it. Everyone else is so annoying, and seeing that the show is BARELY focused on the statements, it's a SLOG to get through.

So sorry for such a long message ; -Z

i will say as politely as i can that the amount of attention this fandom gives a particular character is not generally indicative of their story impact BUT i fo agree that i really like the part sasha plays in the story and the way her death + replacement send huge ripples of drastic effect across all characters

and i 100% agree with the rest of this. even gwen is wearing on me because when a character is just. rude? and the only thing you know about them is that they are someone's coworker? why would i like them? why would i be sympathetic to them? i've started plenty of jobs where people are huge assholes for now reason other than already being super burnt out on the position. but it's awful to take that out on a brand new employee? so gwen is on thin ice for me as well.

but yeah i think you've contrasted very wel the way tma created its characters vs the like bullet point lists of Traits™️that tmp characters have instead

#[💌] asks and replies #protocol #anonymous

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thegreatlibraryfangirl · 11 months

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💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

(i am going to vibrate a lot)

I have several!!

For my Translated!Jess whump fic, I am scrapping the half a chapter I've already written, which was from Wolfe's PoV, and instead writing it from Khalila's in order to do some obvious worldbuiding in this "Sword and Pen Didn't Happen" verse. Such as, Khalila being Archivist Murasaki's assistant, and a mess of Obscurist Magni and some politics therein (more on that later). And maybe fast-forward some of the mystery of wtf is happening so that I can get to the recovery whump that the fic was created for.

So have a snippet from the old version, as a thank you for the ask!:

A moment later, Wolfe frowned. Was he imagining things? He had to be. He'd thought of the two, and so he could hear them. Mildly worrying.

"believe you did-"

"And I told you-"

No, here they were, barrelling down the corridor in the midst of a blazing row. Wolfe slipped his Codex back into his pocket and turned towards the door. His skin prickled with the urge to tell them both to shut up and stop shouting around Jess, but that was ridiculous. He wasn't asleep. The Medicas had been quite clear on that.

Then Morgan shoulder-barged her way through the door and stood there, panting and staring at Jess, and Wolfe's stomach dropped like a stone.

She looked terrible. Ashen and sheened with perspiration, with dark circles under her eyes and a visible twitch in her left eyelid. What had happened? He'd seen her just this morning.

Barely had he opened his mouth to express concern when his stomach dropped again, hard enough to make him want to vomit.

He knew what had happened. Nic had alluded to it, briefly. Suggested that his father had had it under control. This was under control?

He'd seen this before, in Philadelphia when Morgan had -

When I pushed her too far, he corrected himself. When she had been polluted by too much direct quintessence usage, thanks to his instructions. She'd turned to Jess then too, even barely conscious and feverish, subconsciously draining him for her own survival -

- Before Wolfe was quite aware of his own decision, he had jumped to his feet and positioned himself between her and Jess. Let her drain him instead. He'd heard so many times over that he had almost enough detectable power. Let that go to protect Jess. Something useful for once.

But rather than reach for him with glazed, hungry eyes, she merely blinked and pulled a confused face. A moment later, her face cleared again.

"It's all right, Scholar. I'm drugged, it's fine."

"You're what?" His head, already sore, throbbed as if in protest at these constant unpleasant shifts. War-zone driving for the emotions. He glared at his father who had just entered the room.

"Don't look at me! It was entirely her doing!" Eskander barely spared a glance for Wolfe, focusing on Morgan with a bad-tempered look that was far too close to the one Wolfe would see in his own mirror. It still disconcerted him, regularly. Not only was his father now in his life, but so much of what Wolfe had thought made him his own person appeared to have come from that damn old man.

"Well, it wouldn't have been my doing if you'd just burnt it out the quick bloody way again!"

"I told you we can't keep doing that!" Eskander's voice thundered in the room. Wolfe saw Morgan's fists clench. This could clearly go on for hours.

"Both of you shut up," he said, firmly and quickly in the slim moment's silence while Morgan was gearing herself up. To his shock and relief, that worked, though they both shot him looks that could strip paint from walls. "Morgan. Are you safe to be here?"

"Yes." She yawned and swayed as she did so. "I overreached getting Jess back and I'm having some problems, but Gregory had this absolutely terrible drug he used to take our powers away temporarily. So I can't do anything stupid."

"Oh, that I doubt." Better to be sarcastic than to probe too deeply about any of that, right now.

She gave him a sheepish grin. Wolfe fought the urge to grin back and folded his arms instead. "So what exactly-"

Then his Codex buzzed.

And Jess' alarms started up again.

I'm REALLY CLOSE to finishing the next chapter of hostage fic (can't even remember the actual title it's just called hostage fic ok. The one where Dario and Wolfe get kidnapped.). No snippets from that, I try my best to give @rosalind-of-arden an actual surprise once in a blue moon. Nobody is having a good time in that one, apart from ME.

I'm also writing a sinful Wolfe/Khalila/Morgan smut fic which I'm looking forward to. (Set post-canon, Morgan Lives because I say so). There is no plot. The plot is, Wolfe is sad and women are beautiful.

I've also got a couple of ideas floating round about Dario's family. Because angst. Particularly one where Santi helps Dario out with Dad vibes because @cogaytes once doubted I could write them & not / and I have taken up the challenge!!!!!

#the great library #long post #my wips

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showfallmediaarchivist · 7 months

Text

!!Depictions of violence, in detail!!

[Transcript begins.]

[The rustling sound of paper is heard, as a page is turned.]

[A quiet chuckle is caught, as someone mutters]

?: "Anyone could've guessed that ending."

[Voice recognised: The Archivist.]

[A beep loudly emits from a walkie talkie nearby, and a static-y voice fills the area.]

?: “A! You’re needed! Get over here!”

[Voice identified: Cassius.]

A: "Can't a boy read in peace? For crying out loud.."

[There's another beep, along with the creaking of furniture, as The Archivist goes and picks up the walkie talkie]

A:"Fine. Coming now."

C: “You’d better, wouldn’t want to be late for your first job, now, would you?”

A:"...already?"

C: “Mhm. Now hurry up! We don’t have that much time until he gets here!”

A:"Oh gods, alright. I'm coming!"

[The Archivist is heard rummaging through some drawers, before grabbing a few items. A door is heard opening and closing.]

A:"I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this.."

[The muttering is continued for 4 minutes, as footsteps echo]

A: "Right. Here's the plan, a quick in and out job. No fucking- whatever it is that I do. Just a simple job. Done it before, can do it again.

A: "To keep them safe."

[There's silence, often broken by footsteps, for 5 minutes, before they abruptly stop.]

A: "Hm. This could be a quick weapon to use…gods. That is a sentence I never want to say again."

[He coughs, and continues walking. A door is opened, and it sounds like steps are being descended.]

[A is heard opening a door, and it gasps.]

A: "It's.. so pretty. Out here. Holy crap."

[There is a 15 second interval, before he speaks again.]

A: "I could leave now. Run and not ever come back here; showfall's files get fucked."

C: “Psh, yeah, right. Get the fuck in the bush, A.”

A: "Fuck you. Fine.

C: “He’s close, we have… two minutes? Until he gets here? Yeah, two.”

A: "Who, do I get to know who I'm killing?"

C: “Nope.”

A: "If there's nothing to be hiding, why don't I get to know?"

C: “It’s no fun when you know things, haven’t I made that obvious? Where’s the suspense? The drama?”

A: "Oh, you were definitely a theater kid. And, fine."

C: “I like to think that I would have been one, yes. Unfortunately, 1708 was a bad time for theater classes. I’m not sure I even knew what theater was until I joined Showfall.”

A: "Jeez, you're old. And they haven't had to replace all your joints with metal yet! Good for you, man. Good for you."

C: “Only some. And that’s not even because of aging! I’ve been stuck at 25 for… 330 years? Hard to say. It’s been great.”

A: "Huh, wow. That's..interesting. Don't think this kind of immortality is my kind of thing, though."

C: “Well, it isn’t a thing that everyone would like, yeah. It gets hard to keep yourself entertained after the first 50. Which is why I’ve gotten much more creative with my methods.”

A: "I'd imagine you'd have to. Not stuff people haven't done before, though. Plenty of time before you existed."

C: “Ha! Yeah. You know, just stabbing someone isn’t enough for me anymore, it hasn’t for a long time. It was fun the first time, my parents never fucking saw it coming, but now I have to plan it out, think on it. It’s hard sometimes, you know?”

A: "Uh..no. no I don't, I really don't. That's-uh..- That's messed up, man. I'm sorry but-"

[Cassius barks a laugh, finding amusement in his discomfort.]

C: “Didn’t expect you to understand, yeah. You’re a coward. Anyway! I think I can see our prey coming up, get ready, A.”

A: "Right. Okay."

[There's a shuffling of leaves, as his position changes.]

[Distant yelling can be heard, as someone approaches the area, the voice is almost familiar.]

A: "Wait… hold on a second."

C: “What’s wrong?”

A: "I don't think that's the right prey."

C: “Oh, it sure fucking is.”

A: "It can't be."

[Its voice is firm.]

C: “And why not?”

A: "Voice is too familiar. Not our prey."

C: “It is. Get ready, A. Here he comes now.”

A: "..fine. I'm trusting you with this."

[A blur comes shooting out of the trees, being actively pursued by someone else.]

C: “Go! Now's your chance!”

[A darts out, easily barrelling into the blur. The camera is shaking, but it can make out the person. He doesn't start to attack, but instead holds them down]

?: “Wh– A!?”

[Voice identified: Edgar.]

A: "Who- what- no. No."

[Cassius chuckles from his spot in the bush, not in frame.]

C: “Mhm, yep.”

A: "You- you're not supposed to- Edgar?"

E: “What the fuck? What are you doing, A? Why are you–”

A: "They fucking- they lied- you need to go. Now."

[He releases its grip on the man, the camera being more steady.]

C: “Ah! Not so fast, Archivist.”

A: "No. You said- if I did this. He wouldn't be hurt. He wouldn't be fucking in this scenario, Cassius."

C: “You trusted the word of a mass murderer? For shame, A. For shame.”

A: "I fucking did what I was told, I fucking- I helped you."

C: “That you did, Archivist. But you seem to have forgotten a few crucial parts of this department. We love to find loopholes. I’ll keep my word, if you phrase your requests properly. Wanna know what your slip-up was?”

A: "What. Tell me.'

C: “You made me swear to never let a PR member hurt your friends. You never said anything about making them.”

A: "All of your fucking cronies would willingly go for them. You know that. You can't make someone do it."

[It had adjusted his angle, making it easier for Edgar to slip out of if need be]

C: “All except you, Archivist.”

A: "You can't make me. I won't."

C: “Hm. Is that so? Well, I hope you don’t mind me giving the rest of PR the go ahead to target the rest of your little friends, then.”

A: "No. You aren't fucking doing this."

C: “Denial won’t save you, A. Let’s see those fighting skills of yours!”

A: "You know what? Fine."

[The Archivist appears to have a stronger grip on Edgar now. The camera is deadly still.]

A: “Edgar. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me."

[The man doesn’t respond, instead glancing behind A, his subject of focus out of frame.]

[A is about to rear their arm up, but instead uses the grip it had to push itself backwards. In this action, he attempts to blindly hit what was there.]

[As the hit collides, Cassius laughs, half surprised, half amused.]

C: “Good one, A. You’ll be one of us in no time.”

[The Archivist has no response, it just stares at the man.]

[Cassius stands up straight, and cracks his neck, smiling. He flicks his hand upwards, seemingly for no reason. And then slides his feet out to take a fighting stance.]

C: “Round 2, eh? Let’s fucking do this.”

A: "Lets."

[The blond man takes no time to think before lunging at A, the spider-like legs emerging from his back as he does so. Barely in frame, something darts out of the bush and rushes behind the two.]

[The Archivist is too focused on the fight, and not stepping on its friend, to even notice. Learning from last time, it goes straight for Cassius's eyes. His hand flies to his face, covering most of it, he clenches his jaw, indicating that A has done at least a little bit of damage.]

[In only a few seconds, the sharp claws that are hidden in his hands emerge, and Cassius strikes out, aiming wildly for any part of A. It collides with flesh.]

A: "SHIT"

C: “I’m not pulling any fucking punches this time, A! You want a fight? I’ll give you a motherfucking fight!”

[It, once again, has no reply. The Archivist quickly recovers his position, and yanks on a spider-arm in the opposite direction of his metallic joints. Cassius shouts.]

C: “Ugh! Those are attached to my spine, you prick!”

[A different spider limb pulls back as Cassius attempts to recover, it shoots forward, and the sound of metal cutting through flesh can clearly be heard. The Archivist cries out in pain, stumbling backwards. The camera is a stained red.]

[The limb wrenches itself out of where it had gone through, Cassius braces against the force needed to pull it back. He glares at A.]

[It is grasping at his arm, but they just meet the stare of Cassius.]

[Cassius holds his gaze for a few seconds, before his eyes move slightly to look behind A, he makes eye contact again, this time smiling slightly.]

[The Archivist turns around, presumably following the man's gaze. The scene behind A is just as bad as the fight they’re having with Cassius. Eden and Edgar are locked in combat, at the time that A turned, Eden was mid-air, tackling Edgar to the ground.]

A: "Fuck, No you don't-"

[As he begins to move, it's stopped by a tackle to the side. They hit the ground,hard on the injured arm. The camera falls to the side, revealing the current scene]

C: “I believe that would be my line, Archivist!”

A: "Get. OFF. LEAVE HIM ALONE."

C: “One word: no.”

[Cassius reaches towards A’s head, out of frame, grabbing hold and seemingly moving its head to look at him.]

C: “Look at me while I’m speaking to you. Don’t you have any manners?”

A: "NO- STOP."

[The spider attachments raise themselves into the air, ready to strike at any moment. Cassius Grins.]

A: "LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU PRICKS."

C: “Oh, is that going to be a distraction for you? Sorry.”

[Cassius turns his head in the direction of the other two fighting.]

C: “Eden! Take that somewhere else, wouldn’t you? It’s a little distracting.”

Ed: “Alright!”

[Cassius turns back to look at The Archivist.]

C: “There we go, better?”

A: "NO. FUCKING- MAKE THEM COME BACK."

C: “You’re very indecisive. They may be too far already, unfortunately.”

A: "I'll do anything- please!"

C: “Anything?”

A: "...Y-yes. As long as he's okay."

C: “Why do you care so much? He’s just one dude. I never really understood your levels of empathy for these people, I can get caring about people, but to this fucking level? Honestly, it’s almost sickening.”

A: "I-I don't know man, just..please."

C: “Fine. I’ll tell Eden to stand down. But… you owe me a favor.”

[Cassius pulls out a phone, and lets go of A’s head to type a message. At the same time he seems to finish typing his message, a loud shout is heard from behind him. It’s distant, but clear. Cassius turns his attention behind him.]

E: “YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”

[The Archivist tries to move his head towards the sounds. He can't.]

A: "That doesn't s-sound good."

C: “Hrm. Especially not for Eden. I’m going to guess he found out about Eden’s new enhancement.”

A: "O-oh? What..is it?"

C: “She had these amazingly well thought out snake teeth type implants. She’s venomous now. It was inspired by her name. Garden of Eden, the serpent. You know.”

A: "Please d-don't tell me she bit someone."

C: “Okay. I won’t.”

[Cassius stares blankly at A, giving enough of an answer in his gaze.]

A: "For fucks sake."

C: “Snake venom sure is a bitch to find, though. Let’s hope she didn’t up the full supply we got her.”

A: "Oh, my gods.."

C: “Anyway. Moving away from that. Do you forfeit? Or shall we continue?”

A: "..forfeit. just make sure he's safe. Not dead."

[A loud clang rings out through the forest behind Cassius. Causing his eyebrows to crease inwards. He makes an odd face at A.]

C: “I have a feeling he’s got that covered, actually.”

[Cassius uses his spider-like attachments to raise himself off the ground.]

C: “You should head back inside. We’re done here.”

A: "I-im not leaving until I know none of you fucks are going to kill or hurt him."

C: “Ugh, fine. Hold on, I’ll ask Eden about that.”

[He pulls out his phone again, but it turns out that he doesn’t even need to, because out of frame, two people can be heard rushing by, their footsteps heavy on the ground of the forest.]

C: “Oh. See? He’s fine.”

A: "Let him go home, not followed. Please."

C: “Okay, alright. I’ll fuckin’ message Eden again.”

A: "T-thank you."

[Cassius stares at his phone for a few seconds, then shows A the screen. The screen is too blurry to be picked up on the recording.]

[The Archivist laughs, almost deliriously.]

A: "Oh my gods, yes! Ha!"

C: “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Sure, whatever. You need to get going, though. Department heads orders.”

A: "Mm. How do I know you aren't lying again."

C: “I have a date tonight, and I don’t want to miss it. That’s how you’ll know. Now go. I’m not going to ask again.”

A: "..fine. You better stick to it."

C: “Mhm. Yeah, alright. Sure. I will.”

[Cassius walks out of frame, the spider arms retreating into his back again.]

A: "...I just wanted them to be safe."

A: "If this posts, Edgar, Rose, and fucking everyone else. I'm so sorry."

[Transcript Ends.]

[Posting…]

#encoreverse blog #showfall ask blog #showfall media archives #encoreverse #ask blog

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healerelowen · 1 year

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@pinksparklelps

I’ve got another angsty idea. What if we were killed before the Great Transcendence so there wouldn’t be any intervening? Like, P03 knew that we wouldn't be happy if we found out about it, so he kills us somehow to make sure we can’t do anything to stop it. Write how you would be killed, go!

(Note: Only do this if you feel comfortable!)

—-

Padding through crisp weeds, I trot along the path going to the main hub of the Archivist’s domain. I had gotten word of this ‘Great Transcendence’ P03 was trying to pull off. I didn’t approve of this however, as I knew that meddling with whatever is out there beyond our control is only going to put everyone in danger.

I remember hissing at him when he told me, and telling it that it would only lead to great disaster if the bot went along with it. It was only then I turned away to find the Archivist and warn her about what was going to happen, I couldn’t risk her safety as much as I loved P03. She had a right to know too, which P03 hadn’t told her about this whatsoever. This only fueled my rage even more. For all of the things that he could possibly do, this is what it decided? To trick the Uberbots into doing this upload? No, I wouldn’t allow it.

That is where I am now, trying to make my way to the Archivist before the Great Transcendence can begin. I can hardly focus on anything else, only concentrating on the path ahead. This would be cut short when I hear a crackling of weeds nearby and I stop in my tracks. I look around, ears pricked for any noise that may detect movement, but alas none came. I slowly turned my head back to its position before I stopped, before being toppled over by a larger and heavier force.

I let out a screech as I land on the ground with a hard thud, I turn to face my attacker only to see a familiar bot on top of me. Blue light illuminating my small frame, P03 looked down at me with a rather cold expression, one that I’ve never seen on him before. “What is the meaning of this?!” I snarl at him, my rage washing away the shock as I glare up at P03. “I’ve already told you! This needs to be stopped!” My brown tail lashed against the dirt path, a deep growl emitting from my throat.

P03 didn’t budge, he only scowled and snapped back,

“You’re not going to intervene with this, not when I’m so close to complete control over this game. And once the Great Transcendence completes, I’ll be the one in charge. In thousands upon thousands of copies of Inscryption. And you and that sibling of yours are not going to get in my way!”

My eyes widened before I snapped, “You leave Sparky out of this! They’ve done nothing to hurt you!” P03 shook his monitor slightly from side to side, “No, but they will.” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I was outraged, yes, but to hear such words come from my partner? Someone I love and trust with my whole heart and soul? I was heartbroken, but I didn’t let it show, I couldn’t let it show. “I won’t let you hurt them or Archivist! Or anyone else who might be involved!” I hissed, before trying to kick off P03 so I could rush off to find Sparky.

But this was in vain as before I could bound away, P03 gripped my side again and dragged me back. I tried to dig my paw-like hand in the dirt to resist the bot’s grip but it was too strong as I was launched back against the ground. I could hardly react before P03 lunged at me again using a sharp tool to slash down at me. This resulted in a fatal blow to the neck as I lay there on the cold ground, red hot liquid spilling past my hands as a dull ache resides behind my ears. I was dimly aware of the presence from the bot that had just lunged toward me.

I watched P03 hover away from what he did in blurred vision, weakly trying to reach out for him with one red stained hand. My hand dropped as he left my field of vision, as I lay there helpless and cold. I couldn’t die, not now, not when my sibling and lover needed me. I was about to shut my eyes and try to accept my fate, but then I remembered my rage against P03 and his cursed plan. I staggered to my feet, my torso stained with red as I tumbled along the dirt path once again.

The Archivist is greeted with a horrifying sight near her library. Her librarians had notified her of me collapsing just before the entrance where they stood. They said I appeared to be badly hurt, which only drove her worry further. Once she arrived outside, she let out a horrified loud and rather high-pitched beep to resemble a shriek. The Archivist rushed to my body, her eye widened. My eyes are dull and lifeless, with my skin pale and stained red from what had happened only mere minutes prior.

Just behind me was a trail of red showing where exactly I had been, and what horrifying event that had occurred.

#ayo rat bastard anon #got any other ideas?#/lh #sp0lly #eloist #El03 #the giant bot war

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creativewritingpracticekc · 8 months

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Caecus - Spencer Reid

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MINORS DNI - WRITING PRACTICE - NOT EDITED - NO TIMELINE

Warnings: Cute fluff, mutual pining, archivist!reader, preprison, pretrauma really,

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Her head ticked to the beat blaring through her ear pods. The music soothing the annoyance of the tedious task ahead of her. Digitizing records was never fun, but this hefty work made the rare occurrences in her career that much better. She smiled fondly, thinking of when she was requested to preserve political art related to the 1920 Wall Street Bombing.

Her role as an archivist for the Federal Bureau was miniscule, but it was a dream come true. She loved observing history, even if it was in a cramped basement. Her alarm beeped, and she finished her last sentence with a sigh. Finally, it was time to go home.

She turned up her music and made her way to the elevators. It was late at night, but she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep. Making her way to the nearest open coffee shop, she continued to bop her head to the beat.

"Thank you," she whispered to the cashier as she accepted the hot coffee. The thick paper cup instantly warming her hands as she stepped out into the night air once again. She turned her head to the only other customer in the shop, a lanky man with a mess of curly brunette hair.

He was hunched over a book in a position that made her own back hurt just observing. He looked up to meet her gaze, but she had already turned away and began her trek home. His eyes lingered on her retreating form.

Truth be told, she knew exactly who he was before he had even looked at her. She would recognize the grandpa clothes and that messenger bag anywhere. Hiding her blush with her coffee, her heart skipped a beat with hope. She instantly pushed it out of her mind as nothing more than a small occurrence.

She was invisible. He was untouchable.

She nodded with that notion and pushed Dr. Spencer Reid out of her mind for the rest of the night.

Spencer frowned as he looked at the fragments of the original case file. Garcia had printed him off all the records in the digital system, but he was still unable to fully decipher the newspaper.

The team was thankful for the local case, while simultaneously being more nervous that it was a local case. It was hard to fight the urge to scream that there is a killer on the loose and warn everyone.

"Garcia," Spencer began, "Are there any more clips of this newspaper?"

Penelope thought for a moment before typing sporadically on her keyboard.

"There might be a physical copy of it....looks like another headliner is the U.S. Embassy Bombing in Nairobi so that would make it a Federal Preserve," she explained, "I can see if Records has anything, but it might take a minute".

"That's okay, I'll run down there and see if anyone is there," he said simply, "Thank you, Garcia"

He smiled at her witty greeting and hopped out of his chair when the call disconnected. He knew Records was in the basement, but he wasn't sure if anyone in the department would be there.

To his surprise, he saw light flooding underneath the door. He rasped on it softly before turning the knob. His eyebrows shot up as he observed the sight before him.

A woman was clearly concentrating on keeping her hand still as she brushed something clear on the page of a book. The book looked heavy and dated, 1930s, he would guess without the need to examine it.

He focused on how her lips pursued, and her eyebrows knit together. He felt his breath halt slightly, urging himself to calm down.

If there was anything Emily was 100% correct about, it was that Spencer had a hard time being around women he found attractive. To his dismay, she had already noticed him and he had spooked her.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, watching her take the head lamp off, her chest heaving slightly as she breathed in gulps of air.

"It's okay... what can I do for you, Dr. Reid?" she asked softly, as though they were already comfortable acquaintances.

He willed his blush to go away and straighten out his vest.

"I'm looking for the Archivist," he says, "I'm looking for a physical copy of a newspaper article".

"At your service!" she said, barely above a whisper. He ignored the dryness of his throat from having to move closer to hear her.

"Would you happen to have the physical copy of the Virginia Chronicle for Sunday, August 9, 1998?" He continued, "there is a specific page that I need for our current case".

She thinks for a second before moving over to the rows of white boxes crammed carefully on the wire shelves. Her long fingers grazed the boxes until she found the one she was thinking of.

Spencer immediately came to her rescue as he saw her struggle with the box. Together they heaved it onto the small table, and he stilled as she opened the box.

"Ahh, Volume 74, Number 189... Nice choice," she giggled softly, he found himself smiling at her joke.

She handed him the newspaper, carefully sealed between thin sheers of plastic.

"The projector is over there," she pointed in the back corner of the room. He gave her a thankful smile before moving towards it.

His mind was working itself through the interaction. He recollected her soft voice and demeanor. Swallowing thickly, he forced himself to focus on the article in front of him instead of how intoxicating she smells.

It was a few weeks later when she saw him at the coffee shop again. She carefully observed how he was nose deep in one of the thickest books she has ever seen. Smiling softly, she turns away to grab her order.

With her music playing in her ears, she doesn't hear him call out for her. Thus causing her to startle as a hand wraps around her elbow.

"I'm sorry!" He squeaks out, both hands already palm up to show he means no harm.

"Dr. Reid," she smiles warmly, "did you just return from a case?"

He nods at her simply before realizing he was just staring at her.

"Yes, we landed 37 minutes ago," he falters, "I'm glad I caught you actually, I have been wanting to ask... is there any way I could go through your records?"

"The Bureau's records?" She thought for a minute, "if you'd like to you can, as long as nothing is removed there's nothing against it."

"Good..," he blushes, "and what hours will you be there?"

She lowers her gaze as she blushes too.

"I'm there Monday through Friday, mostly at night but I cut off around 9 pm,"

He grins at her before parting ways. His mind raced a mile a minute at all the possible outcomes this could have.

Spencer spends longer than he needs to carefully combing through the basement. Boxes upon boxes of text records he had read as well as several pieces of memorabilia that she was excited to show him.

If he was perfectly honest he had finished a week ago, yet he couldn't stop coming down here every moment he could. It was like another world down here with her. Their friendship had grown and the tension was gone.

He observed her in her large glasses and sweater. Her knees tucked under her chin as she read through written files.

"Go out with me," he breathed, his heart stopping when he realized he had said it out loud.

"What?" She gasped quietly, her eyes fully trained on his face.

"Would you..... I want to.... take you on a date," he said lamely.

"You want to date me?" She asked, her tone surprised.

He nodded and willed himself to keep looking at her.

"I would also like to date you," she whispered, her gaze leaving his and looking at her hands. His heart jumped and he his smile grow.

"Good... okay, " he looked back down at the page, knowing he wasn't going to be able to read it.

He felt genuine excitement grow. He was going on a date with her.

#spencer reid #criminal minds

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littlebigmouse · 1 year

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TMA MAG 60

A story about paranoia as Jon's own paranoia culminates - shit is about to go down.

.... Is what I thought and instead everyone had a healthy and adult discussion about their feelings, information is freely given, Jon admits he has treated his coworkers unfairly and promises to cool it, now convinced someone from outside or whatever is in the tunnels must have murdered Gertrude.

Huh.

Anyone else thing the statements these days show a sort of worst-case-slippery-slope Jon could be going down if he keeps it up, but because he still has friends, he JUST manages to avoid that same fate - for now anyway?

I say for now because I would in fact pay good money for Jon to drive a van full of explosives into the Archive. Although Jon doesn't as much feel watched as he is the one watching everyone else (or both). Maybe Tim gets to blow up the archives. He deserves it.

This is the midpoint of the season. Technically, it's still possible the point of the first half of it was to show easily Jon's mental health can slip, the discord and distrust sawn between the coworkers is not going to go away and may be their fall in the season 2 finale where season 1 their quick thinking and team work saved them.

That being said, I will be disappointed if it turns out Gertrude "just" died by someone on the outside/a monster in the tunnels. I would feel like I wasted half a season if it turns out the guy who likes to stab people for fun and lives in the tunnels turns out to have murdered the corpse that was found shot ... in the tunnels. He may have something to do with it, but considering she had her own room and wasn't in the... tunnels tunnels, that doesn't seem to be his MO. Whatever.

And I'm confused about the Deus Ex CCTV tapes too. They should not be the easy fix they are. As far as I know, no one but Jon had attempted to search the tunnels below the archives, where Gertrude's body was found. Certainly no one from the police. Please correct me if I am wrong about that due to information that has been established in the past but I misremembered, btw, that would be very kind. But that means that there might be alternate entrance into the archives through the tunnels that our murderer could have used, that isn't necessarily covered by CCTV (or wasn't searched) because no one knew that place was an entrance to the archive. That means any and all of them could have done it still!

All this, of course, leads me back around to my original suspect list: Sasha and Elias. Not-Sasha wasn't around for the murder, and while I maintained she'd have her own subplot, it would be kind of cool to have the real Sasha turn out to be the killer. This would give her replacement, who already seems to have some complicated feelings about her own existence, an interesting conflict, especially in terms of hashing out her relationship to her coworkers, and their relationship towards both Sashas. It would also merge the two major plotthreads of the season in a really interesting way! While I do think Sasha was a bit... under-established for this to work 100%, this could still be fixed by eg the characters finding her again, or a statement given by her, or anything. I think I've mentioned it before, but Sasha's frustration over Jon getting the position as head archivist could have been partially due to the fact that she killed Gertrude to get it instead. (It's weird bc I'm pretty sure this was one of the first things we learned about Sasha, and yet it didn't inform her character much and was never brought up again, soo-). It was also fascinating that Michael initially sought her out to help the archive - maybe she knew more than she let on and her statement about that encounter wasn't entirely truthful either. I'm saying, given some more puzzle pieces, this is something that could make sense to me.

The other major suspect is Elias, who remained on the list exclusively because he keeps being brought up for seemingly no reason. UNTIL NOW. Because see, I noted how Elias remains a mystery. He's just kinda there. It's like the story is going out of its way to make him uninteresting and uninvolved, like they only needed a name to play authority in the archives for other characters to throw around, without getting his own part in the story. Which, I mean, they could have done that. I wouldn't be too happy about it, but in a show with such a limited cast, they simply cut off their losses earlier and decided to do nothing interesting with the GUY who RUNS the supernatural archive that's the center of some supernatural tuck of war - yeah okay they won't do that. (Even though I also apparently heavily overestimated the other side character's importance to the story, sooo)

So why.

Here's the thing. Elias says he's "partially to blame for [Jon's behaviour]" because he let it go on for so long. If he were a proper character, we'd get a hint of the regret he feels, maybe some inner conflict. Elias, sitting on the information that there are CCTV tapes the police are reviewing, which will come out any time soon, which should put everyone at ease. That he doesn't have to run an intervention, that Jon seems down but everyone is coping and the CCTV will clear it all up. But then it turns out he miscalculated, and Jon got way worse than he thought, and the CCTV is still fixing things but had Elias said something 20 episdes ago, everything would have gone way better. This is the second time that something major has happened that, had he been more involved, could have been prevented or at least prevented some damage. I know we haven't gotten that much on the other characters either, but at least something like that would have been HINTED by now, and be it by the voice acting.

Elias doesn't sound particularly remorseful when he says this. Elias is the only one who's emotions aren't running high in that scene. Elias was the only one who kept calm in the season 1 finale either, if I remember right. I think I theorized back than that it was the slightly overwhelmed detachement of it all. Elias isn't friends with any of these people, and Jon hasn't been stalking him, so why WOULD his emotions be running high during the intervention? So, of course, the question: Why isn't he closer to any of them? Why doesn't he solve their problems sooner, if he noticed them? If he didn't, doesn't that bother him? Why isn't he bothered by his team falling apart at the seams?

He could just be a shitty boss, in the way that some people don't notice things, like to keep to themselves and aren't fit to lead. But he said that he did notice, and we don't even get a hint of characterisation that implies that he feels conflicted about his lack of action and relationship to the others.

So here's my crowning conclusion:

Elias doesn't give a shit.

It's all work to him. Pure business. He joins the intervention slash disciplinary hearing (notice the phrasing!) because the others have asked him to. He's here to do his job, and as long as the car is running, that's all he cares about. It's not running well. Two tires are flat and the engine is making funky noises but it's running. Where is it going? That's the million dollar question, isn't it. But that doesn't matter, as long as they arrive.

Yeah, that makes him a shitty boss.

And more importantly, that makes him a murder suspect, if Gertrude was in any way a person who wanted to stop the car for a bit (be it to change a tire or blow it up, you decide).

That also makes him a potential danger in the future, if the characters ever act in a way that is not in the Archive's ... "best interest".

Also, you know, the CCTV footage showed Elias finding and reporting the blood the day of Gertrude's disappearance, he may as well have knocked her out, brought her to the tunnels, murdered her and returned to report her missing.

Man I hope I'm not tunneling here. Pun very much intended.

#the plot kept chickening so hard for a split second there was peace and quiet in the coop #tma #the magnus archives #long post #the gertrude murder mystery #tma season 2 #elias bouchard #jonathan sims #sasha james #i can never decide if elias is a shitty boss or out to murder people #must be a fine line

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