#LITERALLY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING JONNY

[theseuscloud]

Okay, okay, stay with me for a moment, I know everyone is going insane but listen to me for a bit, let's focus on the statement, BECAUSE

You know how Jonny said that the entities on tmagp won't be the same as the ones from TMA, right? Right.

We've got one already mostly figured out, being the one from ep 11, looking like the buried mixed with the vast. Fear of the sea, drowning, etc, thalassophobia in general and all that. People have started to call it The Deep, you remember right? Of course you do, you're a smart cookie, good job

There's also the one related with luck, gambles, and addiction. This one's a bit more fuzzy, but episodes 7 and 13, the dice man and the cryptobro, do paint a funny picture. I haven't seen anyone name this one, so I might as well call it The Chance

Stay with me here, darling

I present to you, and I think I may be onto something:

The Superior

Look, The name is a work in progress, maybe you could call it *the ideal*? if you've got a better suggestion, go ahead, but if not, let me explain

Related to the stranger, maybe the flesh or the lonely. We've already had two statements, ep 2 and now ep 17, where the horror has been something that looks like you, but is better than you.

Episode 2, the girl, Daria, hated how she looked, she tried everything to look better, to be better, she tried so hard she was, quite literally, consumed by it. She picked out parts of herself in a Dorian-Gray-esque way until there was nothing left just to live up to this ideal of herself. The ideal was the cause of her demise

Episode 17, doppelganger time baby! What does he find? A man, just like himself, just... Well, better. Rich, beautiful, cheery and welcoming. Well, an ideal self, wouldn't you say? He tried to learn from that ideal self, and then he found out, that the ideal of him was a murderer. Then he murdered him. Isn't that convenient.

This is just a theory, but it is a fun one, so what do y'all think?

[riddle-me-ri]

What do you think about btas Jonathan x an Arkham guard type reader. I like the idea of them meeting during the lock up episode. And the reader does what they can to protect Jonny, and the other inmates, from Lyle's cruelty.

a/n: awww this is such a cute and neat idea! I actually just re-watched that episode too, excellent timing anon!

Word Count: 1,215 (oops)

Content Warning: slight cursing, mistreatment of asylum inmates mentions (nothing out of what's mentioned in the show)

BTAS Scarecrow x Arkham Guard!Reader - Backup

You heard the jingle of cell keys and muffled groaning and hushed whimpers coming down the corridor.

You were stationed to monitor one of the asylum halls of criminally insane inmates– one of whom was missing, the Master of Fear, Jonathan Crane.

You were waiting for Batman and Robin to bring him in as per usual but were stunned to see Lyle Bolton, quite literally, dragging the ex-professor by the collar of his signature red costume.

The fear in Jonathan's eyes was enough to alert you something was wrong.

Swiftly, you got up from your desk and cut Lyle off before he made it to Crane's cell.

“I can take Professor Crane from her–Hey! The hell?”

Lyle ignored you and merely bumped his shoulder into you to move out of his way.

“Bolton!”

“What?!”

“I have to–”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”

The Scarecrow looked at you with pleading eyes as he continued to try and squirm out of Bolton's death grip.

Bolton pulls Jonathan up and brings the rogue face to face.

“I'll have to make an example out of you–to show the others what happens when you escape under MY SECURITY!”

“That is ENOUGH!” You grabbed the large man's shoulder to turn him around to face you instead of intimidating Crane.

The large hulk of a man sneered at you. Crane gasped as Bolton's grip somehow got tighter around his shirt, tiny little seams barely keeping the fabric in place.

Lyle unceremoniously dropped Jonathan onto the tile floor, and began stomping away, but not before he pointed an accusatory finger at you–

“Its your fault! You're coddling these maniacs that destroy our city! They don't deserve–”

“Bolton! One more word and so help me I will report your ass! Wouldn't want to tell Mr. Wayne that part of his Arkham Security grant went to a muscle bound brute with no self restraint and anger issues!”

Bolton clenched his teeth so hard that veins popped out of his neck-it's a miracle his eyes didn't pop out or his teeth sank deeper into his gums until they bled.

Until all of a sudden, like the flick of a light switch, Bolton just shook his head, fixed his tie, and wore a content smile.

He nodded with a chuckle. “I'd love to see how far you get with that–”

Bolton then briskly turned around and began walking out of the hallway.

Jonathan Crane didn't take one sigh of relief until he heard the large metal door to the stairway open and closed signifying the bully was truly gone.

You turn your attention to the Scarecrow who was still a heap on the floor.

“Professor Crane, are you okay?” You leaned down and offered a hand.

Jonathan looked up at you and your open hand, he hesitated for a beat before accepting your hand and lifting him up off the floor.

“I-I'm…” he took a gulp of air. “F-Fine now that he-he's gone…”

It unnerved you to see Jonathan so shaken. He was always the more stoic of the inmates. Always reading, kept to himself, polite at least to you when you gave him books or meals…

“C'mon, let's get you back to your cell…” You held his hand and let him walk alongside you to his cell.

“Y-You…stood up to him…f-for me…” Jonathan commented.

You took the keys off your belt hook and began flicking through the countless keys looking for the right one.

“Of course, criminal, mad-man, officer, guard…no one deserves to be treated that way…”

You unlocked the cell door and continued to help maneuver Jonathan to where he sat on his bed.

“There's a fresh uniform folded over there by your pillow…is there anything else you need?”

Jonathan shook his head.

“N-n-no…t-thank you, dear…”

Your eyebrows scrunched up in the middle in concern.

Your shift was about to be over in half an hour but the last thing you wanted to do was leave this hall. The moment you did, you knew Lyle was going to make a beeline for Crane.

“How long has this been going on, Professor?”

“Ever since he arrived…he immediately made his dominance known…he destroyed one of Isley's potted plants when she didn't return back to her cell in time…he stomped on Tetch's hat for the same thing…he threatened to burn one of my books…Even when we're obedient he makes our lives here…Hell…”

Guilt swelled up in the pit of your stomach. Bolton has been the head of security for a little over a year…how are you just now hearing about all this?

Now that you know, you knew you had to do something…

You put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder, the poor man flinched at first until he saw the hand belonging to you.

“Professor Crane, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you and the others…” You checked your watch. “And I'll stay here through the night so you can get some sleep…if Bolton tries to come back he'll have to go through me first.”

For the first time, Jonathan's face seemed to light up with hope. “R-Really? Y-You would do that?”

You nodded. “Of course, get some rest…tomorrow I want to discuss with you and the other inmates and get a full detailed outline of events and present it to the board…I will take the complaints to Wayne if it comes down to it.”

Jonathan's eyes almost welled up with joyful tears–like finally seeing the sunlight after an eternity under a moonless night sky. You managed to give the Master of Fear hope.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you my dear…you, you cannot even begin to imagine the relief that brings me! I will do whatever you need me to do!”

“I know, but for now, get some sleep…we'll discuss it more tomorrow…”

You stepped out of his cell and just before you shut the door to lock it, Crane grabbed your wrist, not aggressively but in a way that caused you to pause.

“T-Thank you…again…for earlier and staying…there are not enough words of gratitude that even comes close…”

You rested your other hand on top of his. “Its not a problem at all…just doing my job. Good night, Professor Crane–”

“Good night, my dear…”

After a beat and a small squeeze from Crane's hand, he let your hand go so you could close the cell door and lock it.

You took a deep breath as you began walking back to your desk at the end of the hall.

You already began taking notes of everything you saw and heard tonight to what little Jonathan told you.

Then the memory of Jonathan's face brightening up at you, the way the man looked at you like a spiritual savior…the way he squeezed your hand and even called you “dear” which was nothing new but you always found it endearing from him.

You shook your head. There was no way you were gonna get wrapped up in some forbidden romance, you just didn't like seeing someone getting mistreated…you would have felt just as distraught if it were any of the other Rogues.

However, you couldn't help but feel a little proud to know you protected the Master of Fear from any nightmares that night as he slept soundly a couple cells down…

[mechs-headcanons]

lotta the crew super protective about food for various reasons. jonny hadta steal food as a kid cus his family was struggling, never stopped having that worry if he didnt eat somethin fast or if someone saw him with it then thered be trouble.

nastya hadta sneak food a lot too but because she was neglected a lot. nobody kept an eye on her so she had to go into the kitchen herself when the cooks were busy so she could get somethin to eat

brian doesn even remember why but he gets anxious an violent if someone tries to take food offa his plate. not hidin it like the others but still protects it

toy soldier hides that it has anything to eat or drink other than tea when it can. the widow doesnt like when it wasted food, it doesnt need anything, why is the damn thing PECKISH, malfunctioning hunk of wood thats useless for everything. tries to go bake at night when everyones asleep but nobody sleeps at the right time so it keeps getting found baking in the kitchen and It Shouldn't Be Eating, People Don't Like When It Eats so it sets out whatever it makes for the rest of the crew if anyone sees it at any point in the baking process so they don't think its eating because It Eating Is Bad. had a breakdown once because it poured its heart and soul into these rasberry tarts that it was craving for months and someone came in when it was cooling the tart and It Just Wants To Taste The Damn Tarts

tim was constantly being fought for his rations while he was in the army, and before that had to fight to keep people from taking his food anyways. takes his food and slinks off to some hidden spot so he can eat in peace and immediately gets defensive to the point of stabbing if someone gets too close, even unintentionally. hidden packs of jerky in his room and he gets anxious if someone even stands too close to one

raphaella just never had access to a steady amount of food for various reasons so she compulsively overeats when she remembers she can, then gets sick and avoids food for a bit because the thought makes her think about getting sick. also just forgets a lot because she focuses on a project too much for too long and then someone brings her a smoothie and the cycle starts anew

ivy was used to food shipments not coming in to her planet (and especially library) on time so she eats too little to try to save food. "Did you eat today?" "I had... a pack of crackers yesterday, saving" "Saving for what?" "... Oh"

ashes had food withheld a lot as punishment under smooth mickey. "failed your task because you're literally 11? nothing for you today or tomorrow. better luck next time" kind of thing. once they got caught sneaking food and it was a solid week. cooks most of the time because you can't take the food from the damn cook

marius had a combination of food related punishment and shipments not coming on time. need to save food so we can last till the next shipment, you need to eat less. you just got in trouble, now you're not eating and your food will even last a few more days, arent you so grateful we do this

-incoherent, who is still little but now has its plushy

oughh yes:(

[thedistortionshallways]

On Mag 177 and feel like documenting my thoughts so,

4:44 BASIRA I SWEAR YOU'RE STARTING TO PMO, STOP TALKING TO MARTIN LIKE THIS UBJHHH

7:23 okay tbf I do feel bad she just wants her gf i am not a basira hater even if she severely frustrates me and keeps blaming Jon for no reason

8:10 "this is a mental health hospital" oh dear, backround music sounds so creepy and I'm assuming this is the spirals domain? Not looking forward to it 🤕 if I'm wrong just pretend I guessed it right

9:29 "and you trust him to do that" "yes. I do." UGHHHH the love and trust between these two is so important to me I want to grab and squeeze them

10:47 "is that like a euphemism... Orrr?" IS MAKING ME GIGGLE

11:40 it's just John's voice so I'm assuming Jon is literally just talking to himself???? I need to see what the hell he's doing irl in universe 😭😭 IS HE JUST STARING OFF INTO THE VOID TALKING AND CLICKING HIS PEN

15:17 hey so I think this is the worst episode 🤕 this is horrible

17:27 what the hell☹️ why is Jonny Sims fakeclaiming me

19:30 damn bros been treating me for five years??? Also jonnys laugh is actually a wee terrifying 😦

20:57 whoever "we" are is extremely valid for ripping off his face I'd do that too tbh he's PMOO

21:48 THE MUSIC eugh

22:36 YES I WAS RIGHT THE SPIRAL! also daisy not getting it sigh

24:49 sigh :( love daisy and basira but god damn it

25:40 HELENNNN LOVE YOU BABE

27:52 the idea that Helen is a nurse is funny and also scary af

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

Round 2 Group A Match 1

expand for propaganda ↓ (wall of text warning)

Thom Yorke:

"what other musician has a five minute compilation of his moans on stage ? yeah? no one? i thought so. vote thom yorke for my well being"

"He wrote all I need. (sexiest song ever written)"

"He made out with BOTH of the Greenwood brothers (damn)"

"Three Radiohead albums are on the top 10 highest rated album of all time, therefore his cock is massive"

"Vote him please or I will cry - microwave anon"

"I actually do have a locket with his face in it. I wear it everywhere 🙂"

"He was too hot in his Pablo Honey era cant change my mind🗣️🗣️🗣️"

"I just love him so much. He's such a cutie I want to put him in my pocket and take him with me everywhere :)"

"He wrote Spectre (sexy)"

"https://youtu.be/0YuENQZTV0k?si=EM9dx5Ye0bX6Xa4a"

"He would never evade his taxes like SHAKIRA DID."

"I want to meet thom yorke in a a record store where our eyes meet for a split second and we each notice what section the other is looking through and although neither of us is brave enough to start a conversation with the other we go home and fall asleep dreaming of what might have happened if we had gotten up the courage to talk to that cute person in the store and get to know them. I need him so bad it’s appalling"

"He's really cool!! He has had great character development over the years too if you're into that sort of thing. He has a really beautiful soul"

"gotta support grampa"

"hws so fine i want to turn him into a keychain so i can dangle him from my purse & jingle him whenever km bored… i will breath on him until it fogs all over then wipe him with a cloth to keep him clean Like a pair of glasses"

"If he wins I will create the most beautiful victory art you could ever imagine. (My 6th grade graphic design class will finally come in handy)"

"he's got that disease steez hes a flotsam fairy, you can sling him around like those stretchy hands you get in the quarter machine, he'll get mad for a minute but its fine"

"https://pin.it/1v99xvI"

"https://pin.it/4nvY08s"

"Has the voice of an angel"

"I had a dream once that I saw him and Jonny Greenwood walking down the street. I walked up to them and told them how much Radiohead meant to me and asked Thom if he could sign my Pablo Honey CD I had on me for some reason and he pushed me into open traffic and I got hit by a car and died. Jonny laughed. 10/10 dream got killed by Thom Yorke"

"He made Let Down in 1997. Shakira could never"

Shakira:

"ITS SHAKIRA SHAKIRA. le lo lo le lo le??? guys come on. do u even care about latinas."

"Shakira is genuinely hotter than most people on earth, so."

"No one else sounds like Shakira. No one else moves like Shakira. (Whether you think that's a compliment or not is up to you.)"

""is anyone even voting for Shakira" ME. I AM."

"She gives me huge Stacy's mom vibe. Like I'd come over to my friend's house not to hang out with them but to talk to their mom about how her divorce makes her feel and so I volunteer to help around the house or anything she needs. I'll take the task of cleaning out the attic with the black widows I'll mow the lawn on a hot summer day so she can offer me a cold drink for my hard work. Sorry I got lost in thought but she was part of my lesbian awakening and I will not take any Shakira slander"

"Shakira literally made me a lesbian <3"

[helloarchivist]

tmagp s2 spoilers under the cut

I don't actually think that it's like. Jon and Martin's souls are in the computer. I think what happened is that the computer system itself is this universe's version of the Archive, it's a focal point for the Beholding that allows interface, and because the tape recorders took voices but this computer system REQUIRES them, it is recycling pieces of itself for this purpose.

It's not literally ghosts in the machine, I don't even think it's personalities of ghosts in the machine--if it were, they would be using what little agency they have to warn people AWAY as vigorously as possible, not luring them deeper in--I think it's literally regurgitating voices it has had access to in the past.

That's why we also got the voice of who I think would have been OG Jonah Magnus in there reading "statements."

Additionally, I think that there's a chance that mushing all the fears together and casting them into another dimension actually did mush them together, amalgamate them somewhat. Because what we've seen, of the OIAR and the Externals, is like. Pieces of familiar fear frameworks melded together into individual manifestations.

The bits of the Watcher's Crown ritual monsters we got to see in this ep were still very much specialized and differentiated. In fact the camera monsters were things directly mentioned in the London eps from S5. But if you look at like. Needles? or Mister Bonzo, or Ink Soul, or whatever was going on in that antique store, you're getting weird awful smoothies of the fears.

idk. On the one hand, doing the obvious thing when people are expecting obfuscation would gettem, but I don't think Jonny and Alex are gonna be lazy that way. The OIAR computer system is like the Beholding/Web blender baby nobody asked for, and I do believe they referenced that a Jonathan Sims and a Martin Blackwood both lived and died separately in this universe iirc.

This DOES appear to be a bit more of a direct sequel than was billed (although tbph I love that and i'm fine with it), but I don't think they're gonna just recycle everything and everyone wholesale. Let's just wait and see. Let 'em cook.

[jazzically]

the magnus protocol episodes 4 through 7 — my live reactions not clickbait

magp 4

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD IS THIS THE STATEMENT AND/OR ORIGIN OF ALFRED GRIFTER

omg i love how the literal only reason for hearing statements from the 1800s is gwen being behind on her work

ALSO I FRICKING LOVE THE MAGNUS PROTOCOL THEME

Oh my lord you know it's a good sidequel when you can already feel the itch to relisten to everything you just listened to

magp 5

Ok i do not know whether we say "a blast from the past" in America but i have heard that phrase like five times now from Brits all on the RQ magnus feed so im wondering if that's just an alexander j newall thing or !!! what (love it tho. i love it)

faith the unholy trinity referenced???? faith the unholy trinity!!!!!!?

aint no way he won the contest by coincidence LMAO

OOOH THIS IS SUCH A COOL FORMAT!!! ahh ... just how many ideas do they have for digital first-person storytelling mediums?? cuz with every new one i am fascinated

i wonder if jonny just flipped between soft speaker and robot while recording or if "[UNINTELLIGIBLE]" is a digital insert. if it's the latter i am VERY impressed although it's characteristic of jonny at this point lol

OOOooooOOoOoO personal relation is always extra spookyyy

i am also extremely impressed by the similarity in writing style. i can see it (in a good way) now that i'm looking harder, but i would never have guessed jonny didn't write all the episodes

also i just love how alex and jonny swap announcer roles sometimes (jonny as credits, alex as title/episode) for tmp

NOTE TO SELF: check out the cellar letters!!!!! omfg!!! it sounds fire!!!!

magp 6

aw that's such a sweet dedication message

URGH HAVE I MENTIONED I LOVE THE TMAGP THEME

i always wondered what the muffled falling-down-the-stairs noise at the end of the original theme was. it always put me in mind of the aesthetic of the beginning of portal 2 (and, later, the Buried coffin) idk why

I LOOOVE ALL OF THESEEEE none of them have been hard to get through at all?? which is rare for me bc i fail to pay attention to things for long unless they come in more than two forms of stimulus simultaneously (video + music, audio + fidget toy, video + candle)

AWIEE SAM AND CELIA 😭😭😭

Yes alice you do that matchmaking you are SUCH a girlboss

magp 7

OMFG CELIA DEFINITELY KNOWS SOMETHING

lmao jonny says ree instead of err ee now (for "re:"/regarding)

[ThEory time babes woooOoO]

heyyyy is this one of those other worlds that the fears got banished to. actually what happened to the dread powers? am not exactly clear on that (i hope it's on purpose). maybe the place where the dread powers exist alongside "our world" in tma is also adjacent to other worlds in exactly the same way?? like how a hexagon can be adjacent to six other hexagons??? that'd be sick and it would also explain why there wasnt an overwhelming amount of supernatural incidents in "our world" such that everyone was familiar with the dread powers and normalized safety procedures and such ... interesting au idea ... also the idea jonny proposed about a post-apocalypse world in the s5 qna... that one is cool too............ writers get on that (/j/j/j)

is tmp a separate world ??? they only said it was in the same universe as tma iirc

[wild speculation over]

RAAAAAA i LOVE the robotic voices' VAs' abilities to slowly transition into humanlike speech

cLaYtOn!!!!!? do i know that name or am i going crazy

perhaps i am yet again thinking of the worker of clay (see previous post)

LOOOLL "better than norris, whiny little toad"

OHMYGFUCKING GOD WAIT I RESCIND MY EARLIER STATEMENT!!!!!! THAT'S CANONICALLY JONATHAN SIMS' FRICKING VOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!

hehehe ooooh you're evil writermen. how dare you use our constant uncertainty as to which characters you're referring to induced by your earlier repetition when naming characters (really there should be a limit as to how many michaels can be in one story) so that we are still unsure, even with prior knowledge, whether sam's mysterious "john" is actually the archivist or just some other john. good lord (im obsessed)

HOLY CRAP COLIN KNOOOWSSSSSSSS THINGSSS i just adore his role as the town crazy old man

omg alex's writing is incredible

[pastafossa]

hi, pasta :)) i really hope you’re good !!

my bad if this is something you’ve talked about already but i was just wondering what inspired you to write trt??

also is it okay for me to say that (like just from all the notes you put at the end of chapters and being able to get in your head a lil bit from all that) you genuinely seem like such a cool person <3

THIS IS SO SWEET, thank you so much!😭 My chapter end notes have absolutely turned into a little director's commentary session so those are definitely a look into my head, so I'm delighted you enjoy them!

And I haven't answered this question in a long time, I don't mind answering again!

Behind the cut so I don't clog everyone's feeds!

TRT basically started because I was talking to a friend about the list of POVs I'd written in (1st, 3rd limited, and 3rd omniscient at the time), and she threw out a, 'You're literally just missing 2nd person, DO IT YOU COWARD. I DARE YOU'

she thought i'd just do a oneshot she did not mean for me to go out and write War and Peace: Daredevil which is hilarious in hindsight

Anyway, my brain went 'CHALLENGE FUCKING ACCEPTE-wait I don't know how to write 2nd person. I'd only ever experienced it in RPGs and Choose Your Own Adventure books/stories up until that point (hilariously, I didn't even know about Reader fics at this point), but I liked those well enough, so I went and did some research, checked out CYOA library books to figure out how I could write a good You like the ones I loved in games and books. The whole time I was also trying to think of what the hell I'd even write about. I knew I wanted it to be Daredevil since it was my favorite fandom, and obviously it would have a You in it like CYOA books (discovered Reader fics around here during the research phase, which helped a bit), but I had no real plotline beyond that. Then I had a post come across my previous tumblr account's feed. It was one of those prompt-type idea posts for writing, and it said (paraphrased since it's been like 7-8 years):

'According to myth, there is an invisible red thread that binds two soulmates together. Though it may tangle or stretch, it never breaks.'

And... something clicked.

What if you could see them?

What if there were more colors?

Colors not just for a soulmate's love but for all love - love for friends and family, for teddy bears and your old car, for all our sweet dogs and purring kitties that love us wholly, for forests and the sea, for books and music and your old house and your entire city and holy shit that's it-she can see them, and if she can see them, she can track them, and how useful would that be to those in power? And if you have these psychic connections that's basically a way into someone's soul so what if it was like a whole other realm and obviously it's not physical so emotions would look like this and memories like-

A general plotline began to fall into place after that, built on my favorite plotlines and archetypes and tropes and my love of DD - an Evil Scientist/Defeat the Monster story arc; bring in the Bad Dude But A Good Dad archetype combined with the Cool Mafia Guy (partially inspired by Jonny Marcone in the Dresden Files); a slow burn romance which I loved watching/reading but had never tried writing before; a conflicted, morally grey protagonist to further explore the theme I loved in Daredevil of redemption and ethical dilemmas and the question of choosing who we become, etc. Once I realized how big this story was going to be, I decided to go all in and throw everything I had into the arcs and plotlines, sort of as an experiment to see if I could write a longer story at that point since I want to be published one day. And it just kind of kept getting more and more detailed from there, as I came up with twists and turns to throw in, ways I could more deeply explore this section of Hell's Kitchen and the wider Marvel universe because goddamn did I love this world the writers had created, found ways to incorporate tropes that I adored, until eventually it became TRT: this love letter to both Daredevil and all of my favorite tropes and storytelling in general. <3

[awellboiledicicle]

Mo the Human is doing the stuff to prep for Subira under protest.

Like they literally flat tell Tish theyvwould otherwise not do this.

In this vein, literally everything but the bed frame will be there when she shows up. It will arrive exactly three hours after Subira does.

Mo will insist, to Subira, that it was totally their fault and it was just hard getting ahold of the materials.

To Tish they'll just.

"I wanted the cop to think she had to sleep on the floor for a bit. Just long enough for her to accept that."

"Why? Are you trying to get us in trouble with the order??"

"Oh no, I just thought it would be funny." A scowl as they crossed their arms. "If I wanted to get people in trouble, I'd have put nails in the mattress."

"Mo???"

"I said would have!" They held up their hands in supplication. "Its your name on the line, so I didn't!"

Tish pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Look, I know why *we* don't like the Order, but you have literally nothing to worry about from them! Why do you care?"

A slow blink.

"Well, given they're the ones able to cast fireball? At my face? And general body?" A wave of their hand. "That. But also restricting knowledge. Arresting people for knowing about things or just wanting to know things. Smells like every tyrant in every story I've remembered so far."

"Yes, for us. But humans--"

"Tish." They held up a finger. "Are there laws restricting human activity?"

"No? Not that I know about." She raised an eyebrow at their solemn nod, not getting their point. "Isn't that good for you?"

They shrugged and stared very intently at the ceiling lamp.

"In theory. But that also means theres probably not laws *protecting* humans, either." They looked back to see if her expression had changed. It mostly remained frustrated, which was fair. "My point is, if there is no law on the books that says harming a human is illegal, that means the enforcement arm of the government will exploit that. It's like if there was a time before murder was officially illegal."

"That seems a bit extreme."

"Tish, cops are cops are cops are tools for making people obey the government the law serves. Sometimes the laws have more positive than negative consequences, but its puppet strings all the way down." Another frown as they waved their hands, trying to will their point into being. "Anyway, Jonny Law squatting at the inn means trouble. Even for people who don't knowingly break the law."

"I think you're getting paranoid because you were late on the delivery."

The sighed and offered a shrug.

"Here's hoping! Have a good day Tish! I'll try to try out those new recipes for you!"

And Mo promptly slipped into the Underground and asked Zeki how much he'd like them to cover for Reth because Zeki knows what he's doing. Reth has to be in the same building as this woman until she leaves.

Mo might not know the full depth of the shit happening, but they're also like. Very good with the idea that you do what you have to, so long as no one dies. That's their line.

Imagine they're the neighbor of a moonshiner when the tax man shows up.

"I dont know shit, fuck off"

[lostonehero]

Ok fuck cannon for both series mech tma au

Also mech Martin as a treat

"W-wait." Jonny stopped holding up his hand before Nastya could set the dimension hop.

"The great Jonny d'Ville stuttering? Never thought I would see the day." Nastya rolls her eyes. "What's wrong? You want to get Martin, right?"

"I..." Jonny sighs and looks at Tim and then back to the rest of the crew and eventually Nastya. He fishes out a pair of glasses from his pocket.

"Smarts Jonny." Ivy raised her brow.

Jonny sighs and crosses his arms. "Tim and I have other versions of ourselves in that universe."

"So?" Raphaella quirks her brow. "Extra parts to experiment with."

"Not exactly." Jonny takes a breath. "Any universe or reality doesn't like copies and to remedy that well... we won't be able to stay here." He starts to motion his hands as his tail starts to lash back and forth. "The reality has a way to correct this, and that is to physically fuse myself with my alter, and the same will happen to Tim. I literally have no idea what that will even do."

Brian tilts his head. "So what you're saying that that there is a chance you'll both dissapear?"

"Not exactly, but kind of." Jonny shrugs, removing his glasses. "Eh, it's whatever just wanted to warn you fucks. Tim and I agreed to go through it. We all were already fucked around with the promise of actual death and waking up before, and who knows Martin's world goes through a literal apocalypse so that will be fun."

Tim nods. "We both have bets going on about how it works. I also get to go to a less advanced version of where I'm from. I really want to see what's that like. Also, I saved Bertie, and he got a long life, so I'm honestly fine with a true death."

Raphaella looks at both of them. "If both of you truly die, can I do an autopsy of your bodies to see what came over?"

"Why the fuck not? I don't give a shit I'll be dead." Jonny hums and raises a brow at Ashes. "What?"

"You'll be human." Ashes motions vaguely to his obvious status as not human.

"Huh." Jonny scratches his stubble. "I'll miss my tail if I remember any of it."

Tim snickers. "I'll be fine."

Ivy smirks. "What if your alternate has short hair?" She pauses. "Also, I want earth books."

"I have a new fear." Tim sighs.

Nastya pauses. "Are you sure?"

TS smiles. "I Think They Already Agreed. Bring Me Back A Earth Cat."

"You heard them let's fucking go." Jonny reached out and grabs Tim's hand. "I ain't living for the rest of time without Blackwood."

"Neither I am." Tim nods. "All speed ahead."

Nastya sighs. "This is a terrible idea, but if both of you still remain, I suppose stopping the apocalypse would please Aurora..... oh hmmmm." She puts the ship full throttle, and in an instant, Jonny and Tim vanish.

......

Martin woke up on his back, which honestly is the weirdest way he could wake up second to the alarm on his... he knew the word for the thing, but he couldn't recall it. He barely fumbled to turn off that obnoxious noise. What was a much more pressing manner was the fact his body was wrong, well correct but that was wrong. He can't recall when he had normal legs and feet... he could, but he would much rather forget the time before the good doctor got her hands on him. He was abnormal for a mechanism since his mechanism was organic in nature his lower half was that of a spider. Of course, he didn't hate it he wanted something different after that.

Ok, at the time, he thought himself a monster and tried to kill himself a multitude of times. He grew out of it. Obviously, it would have been a bleak eternity otherwise. He had a vague feeling of where he was, but the word peaches and worms came to mind. He kind of knew what that meant, but he was more so annoyed that this afterlife was basically before he became a mech. He had to figure out what he was doing.

Maybe if he went too... uh oh right the Magnus Institute, that's when he worked a normal job on earth. This was earth he hoped it wasn't in his head that this was some elaborate death dream because that would be a first. He should try to recall more of this if he is ever going to get through this weird afterlife. He hoped it was an afterlife because if not it meant that he wasn't dead, and he didn't want to do that without Jonny and Gunpowder Tim, and of course, the rest of the crew.

He got showered after figuring out the old-fashioned shower and got dressed in familiar clothes he didn't want to remember. He knew he had to remember, but he really didn't want to. He knew how this world worked. Public transport was easy, and soon, he arrived at the very institute that set everything in motion. What's that saying like a hover bike? Or a bicycle? He will remember what to do and go through the motions.

"You're late." A pretentious pompous voice sneered at Martin.

Martin paused, staring at the man studying him, and he reminded him of Jonny, and a name spilled from his lips. "Jon?"

"Did you hit your head on your way here? Of course I'm Jon." The short man shoved a stack of papers in his arms. "Get through these and try not to fall behind."

Martin frowns and takes the stack of statements. He knew they were statements. Some real some fake, and he had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach that this wasn't the afterlife. He sat at his desk and stared at a computer, which he didn't recall the password for, and just started to read. He couldn't think about who he saw by him.

"Geez Marto, you ok?" That was Tim, not gunpowder, but Stoker. He was rubbing his eyes, but it was still him.

Martin knew the moment he saw her not corrupted by a thing that wore her skin poorly he might add he knew he wasn't in the afterlife and his death was a fucking lie. He wanted his final death with the rest of them. Did they also wake up before they became? Before the doctor got a hold of them? He takes a breath and sighs. "I'm fine." He forced himself to say. He noticed Tim was bleeding around his eyes. He chose to get up and wet some napkins to help.

"Tim, you really should see a doctor for that." Sasha frowns.

"I'm fine it's probably from my contacts. I'll wear my glasses, and the problem should clear up." Tim gives finger guns as his eyes water.

Martin sighs. "Tim, you're crying."

"Not emotionally." Tim snickers at his joke. "I'm fine. I probably just need rest and to get new contacts." His eyes stop watering after a moment, but it doesn't stop him from rubbing them like they ached.

Martin wasn't convinced, but he knew better than to push it normally got him shot or someone crying in his arms. He knew that didn't matter here. This place wasn't.... he wasn't home. "I'll make some tea for everyone."

"Thank you, Martin." Tim smiles as he rubs his eyes.

"Amazing as always." Sasha smiles.

Martin nodded and distracted himself with making tea. It didn't last long enough as he gave out the tea. He stepped into Jon's office, and he raised a brow at the scene he walked into. Jon was sitting on his knees in a chair not built for that position. "I made you some tea."

Jon nods, rubbing at his chest. "Right."

Martin paused and decided to push his luck. "Why are you sitting like that?"

Jon scowls and takes his mug of tea, and takes a sip. "My lower back aches, and it is worse if I sit normally. My painkillers haven't kicked in."

"Ah, alright, just be careful, alright." Martin smiles, hoping he was acting enough like he did before.

.....

Tim groans as he stares at the bottle of eye drops the doctor gave him. It did literally nothing. His eyes ached and burned, and no matter what he did, the pain wouldn't go away. It's been two weeks, and it's only gotten worse, and he hasn't been able to do anything to relieve it.

He used the heels of his hand and pressed them into his eyes for any sort of relief that wouldn't come. Doctors couldn't find anything wrong and called him basically crazy because there was nothing wrong with his eyes. He knew something was wrong. He knew something was happening.

Tim was desperate. If the eye pain wasn't enough, he was starting to have weird dreams of a man with mechanical eyes. They would talk, and Gunpowder, the other guy picked that name. Don't ask him why it suited him. The memories... no dreams, he keeps having to correct himself. The dreams Gunpowder tells him are his memories, and he apologizes for them all the time. At one point, these memories became his own, but the only thing it did was make Gunpowder more solid in his mind.

Tim liked Gunpowder he was kind and a bit odd, but he didn't feel alone. He hasn't felt seen or known since his brother. Fuck he really missed Danny.

"You have his memories."

Tim nearly fell backward. That was Gunpowder, but he was awake if the pain was anything to say about that. His eyes scanned the small bathroom, searching for the source of the voice, but he didn't see anything. Maybe he was hearing things. The statements were probably getting to him.

Tim sighs and shuts the lights off, and heads to the couch. He just needed to sleep, that's all. Sleep came quickly these days, and he woke up not in Gunpowder's memories but to a futuristic bedroom. He knew this place from some more steamy memories from Gunpowder. Speaking of him, he was lounging in the bed holding a bottle that no longer had labels.

Gunpowder flicked his mechanical eyes to glance at Tim. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a pair of goggles was around his neck. He held up the bottle. "Shit doesn't do much in here but wants some?"

Tim shook his head as he approached and sat on the edge of the bed. "Did you say something?"

"When you started to spiral? Yeah." Gunpowder sits up, putting the bottle aside. "I'm not as well versed in this theoretical nonesense as Jonny is, but I think it's almost complete." He reached his hand out, and Tim allowed him to grab it. "Soon we'll be together awake and asleep, probably when my eyes finally form. Again, sorry about the pain."

"I don't think I'm able to believe you." Tim had that sinking feeling of dread that he knew Gunpowder was right. "Why?"

"We wanted to save our third to complete us." Gunpowder pulls his hand away. "Eternity isn't great when you're missing someone that helps complete you. We were also promised an apocalypse, and that did sound fun."

"Love is a good reason." Tim wanted to reach out again but refrained. "So would you be able to take over like a ghost?"

Gunpowder laughs. "I ain't no ghost, but maybe again, Jonny knows more about this bullshit than I do."

Tim nods and gets up approaching the door.

"Are you sure?"

"If what you say is true, I might as well know more about you." Tim opened the door and vanished into memories that weren't his own.

Gunpowder picked the bottle up again and sighed. "I wonder if Jonny is having a good time."

.....

Jon felt even worse, he however did not go to the doctor even at Martin insistent, he was acting odd more so than normal, and it made his work even worse. He stripped off his shirt and pants, then finally his binder and groans. The red spot on his lower back right on his tailbone he could pass off as bug bite, now ballooned into a throbbing red mass that was completely solid to the touch.

He really wanted to keep ignoring it, but he felt something move under his skin, and it scared him half to death. Every part of him felt wrong, to his privates they were extra sensitive more so then when he started T to his ears that were bright red and painful, to his head that he can feel growing bumps on his head. The worst of it was his chest, his heart was constantly beating erratically, and he could swear he heard a ticking like a metronome in his chest. Everything was wrong, and yet he just crawled into his bed.

No to Jon, the worst part were these dreams that were nothing but fiction, and this Jonny character was a idiot, a violent obnoxious idiot. Jonny talked to him. He purposely argued with him and teased him. That ass was crude and didn't have a fucking care in the world the complete opposite of himself. He was some vile creature that probably spawned from the statements he read.

Jon bit down on his pillow, he moved wrong, and his sensitive privates sent nerves and sparks through his body. He was asexual he shouldn't have these desires, and he shouldn't be thinking about his coworkers in this matter. Why the fuck was Martin a spider creature it scared him but also thrilled him and he hated these thoughts. Tim was mostly the same, but his hair was long, and his eyes were machines. He blamed Jonny for all of this. But he wasn't real his mind just wanted someone to blame.

That obnoxious crazed laughter rang in Jon's ears. He groaned, spitting out his pillow. "Leave me alone, you annoying hallucination." That only earned him harder laughter. He gave a frustrated yell into his pillow. He refused to listen to the just jerk off from Jonny and grabbed sleeping pills from his draw, and hoped for a dreamless sleep, which he knew was futile. He kept seeing memories that weren't his of some nonesense syfy fan wet dream. Jonny wasn't real, and what he saw wasn't real either.

.......

Sasha moved closer to Tim. "Eyes still bothering you?" She motions to his the dark sunglasses you couldn't see his eyes through.

Tim nods. "Yeah, doctors aren't helping. They feel like they're going to pop." He sighs. "Do you know what's up with boss man?"

Sasha shrugs. "I was going to ask about Martin. He seems more lost than normal, and he seems less jumpy but even more depressed? I don't know he keeps avoiding me every time I try to press."

"I can talk to him if you talk to Jon about his attitude. I watched him yell at Martin first 10 minutes, and Martin just took it with a smile like he didn't care." Tim frowns, rubbing his eyes his vision was getting blurry, and he could feel something wet drip down from his face.

"Eye drops first, you're crying again, and it's not clear." Sasha hands him a tissue. "I'll go talk to Jon."

"You're the best, Sasha." Tim smiles and rushes off to the bathroom. He barely makes it inside when his vision goes dark. He can only whimper in shock as fresh pain blooms where his eyes should be. A wet substance drips down his cheeks, and he barely registers hands on his shoulder, guiding him to sit on the ground.

Soft hands carefully remove the black glasses and a soft curse on his lips from a voice Tim knows, but he can't focus or see who said that. He could feel a wet cloth wipe whatever was on his face.

"Tim, you gotta breathe." That was Gunpowder. He sounded so clear, like he was right next to him. "I know it hurts, but you have to let the machines build themselves. It's actually really neat to watch."

The soft hands were done cleaning his face as he let out a sigh at the loss of touch. And a flash of light burned, and then he heard a soft click like that of a camera and a softer moving of machines like a soft roll. His vision came back way too fast, and suddenly, it was too perfect, and he saw too much. He saw a familiar sweater connected to a man leaning over him. "M-martin?" Of course it was Martin his hands were soft... he didn't know why he thought of them like a cat's paw.

"Blackwood!" Gunpowder gasps.

Martin takes the spoiled hand towel and puts it in his back pocket. "Tim, can you focus on me?"

The soft whirl of machines and Tim was looking at Martin. "What happened?" He could see the hand towel and had a few theories on what the stains were.

Martin smiles softly, and Tim feels calmer.

"Feels safe into the den of the spider." Gunpowder hums. "Do you mind if I just uh..."

Tim barely registered what happened until he was in the spot where Gunpowder was. He saw his body move without him, and he just watched unable to process until it clicked what had happened. "Oh." He watches Martin tilt his head as Gunpowder looks up at him, then he feels a stinging pain as Martin hits them.

Gunpowder holds his cheek and looks to Tim, realizing they both felt it.

Martin takes a breath. "You didn't heed any of my warnings."

Gunpowder smiles staring up at Martin.

Martin falters, and he moves and sits down next to him on the bathroom floor. "Is...?"

"Yeah, Tim's here." Gunpowder hums. "Don't think he made the connection yet."

"That is a given." Martin pulls his knees up. "I haven't.... yaknow, and I'm worried when I do..."

"You won't be able to hide." Gunpowder nods and reaches out to Martin. "Aha, he made the connection."

Martin smiles softly, interlocking his fingers with Tim. "Yeah, a lot of shit happened. Welcome to the madness of it."

"Oh, we're well past madness and circled back round to sanity." Gunpowder chuckles, taking the glasses back. "Talk later?"

Martin nods and watches Tim return to his body. "Are you ok?"

Tim blinks. Well, he thinks he blinks, but he's pretty sure he doesn't have eyelids anymore. "I uh... I think so." He paused. "So where's the spider parts? Don't tell me my shared memories and adult fantasies are a lie."

Martin chuckles. "Oh, you're both horrible. Ask Gunpowder, you ass." He gets up and holds out his hand. "Come on, we have to get back to work before Jon throws another fit."

Tim nods, getting up with Martin's help. "Seriously though, where are the spider bits?"

"I don't actually know, and I don't want to test dying to see if they come back." Martin sighs.

"Ah, fair enough." Tim continues to hold Martin's hand. "I uh...you know what happens..."

Martin frowns. "Tim, for me, it's been well over a few thousand years. My memory isn't perfect. I remember what my mind thinks are the important bits, but I've really tried to forget this happened. The ending isn't a good one." He sighs. "We can talk after work, in the tunnels."

"Tunnels?" Tim raised his brow following Martin, never unlocking their hands.

......

Martin pulled Tim back as emts rushed out with a stretcher. "Who got hurt?"

Sasha rushed over. "I went to check on Jon, and he... he was bleeding, and he was barely breathing. I called the ambulance, and they rushed him to the hospital."

Tim frowns. "Is he ok?"

"I don't know." Sasha gives a soft gasp as Martin pulls her into a hug.

"Hey, you did the right thing. Jon will be fine." Martin smiles softly. "We can visit him after our shift. I'm sure he wouldn't mind visitors."

Sasha hugs him back. "You're right. You're right. He probably knew something was wrong and refused to see a doctor."

Tim sighs. "That does sound like Jon." He paused for a moment. "I, uh yeah, back to work."

Sasha nods, wiping her eyes and pulling away from Martin. "I'm sure he'll appreciate a cleaner archive when he gets back."

Martin nods. "Of course, that sounds great." He grabs Tim's arm. "Tim and I can grab some boxies and start moving things around."

"Oh, that's great." Sasha smiles, watching them leave.

.....

"Why did you grab me?" Tim raised his brow.

"So I think I know what happened to Jon." Martin frowns.

Tim paused, and his demeanor changed, and he sags his shoulders. "Oh, this is not going to be good."

"No, it's not." Martin sighs. "Fuck everything has changed now."

"So, did we do it?" Gunpowder raised his brow.

Martin snickers. "Yeah, not even close. We both know that gods won't take this lying down even if it's Jonny."

"Eh, worth a shot." Gunpowder shrugs. "Blackwood has told me enough to know what Jon ends up as I'll explain later."

.....

Elias adjusts his tie and smiles, looking over his archivist. The unfortunate nature of the Flesh and Stranger working together does have this outcome. Of course, he can pull all the strings needed to have this little incident swept under the rug and tied in a neat bow. He smiles softly, watching him wake up. "Are you alright, Jonathan? You've given us all quite the scare." He stops seeing a scowl that isn't Jon's normal one on his lips.

Jonny's mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and his head was fuzzy, and Jon's nagging didn't exactly help him either. His gaze moved up to the man in a suit. He looked like a prick, an obnoxious wealthy prick. Jon was yelling at him that's his boss and don't fuck this up. Of course he wouldn't fuck this up he knew how to act proper and can copy Jon's boring ass. If he could just focus.

"Jonathan, are you alright? You may have hit your head on the way down. You're on some painkillers." Elias smiles, leaning over him.

Jonny furrows his brows. He hated painkillers and always took the fun out of pain and violence. "...fuzzy..." He managed to mumble. His tolerance to painkillers was null and void due to his affection for actual pain. Couldn't he just get Jon's tolerance and not just the fun new parts to explore. He scowls again at the man above his bed, he wanted to rip that smile off his face.

Elias chuckles softly. "Painkillers will do that, and you're not even on that heavy of a dose. I'm sure your coworkers will be visiting you soon. Hopefully, you'll feel better by then."

Jonny grits his teeth. He had a few choice words for that pompous ass.

"You can't kill him." Jon looked drowsy floating next to him.

At least Jonny wasn't the only one suffering in this cushioned hell. He huffs and turns his head.

Jon chuckles. "Don't be mad. You've got control." He was very out of it. He felt the same effects Jonny was. "What's.... what is uh...." He blinks, unable to form a coherent thought.

Jonny huffs and can't fight the feeling of sleep overtaking him.

......

"So Gunpowder Tim cut a bloody path...." Jonny stops, noticing that his head finally felt clear enough and reciting old ballads of his friends wasn't needed. He looked down at Jon, who was staring at him. He floated down to lay next to Jon. "What's with that look? I already explained our situation to you at nauseum."

Jon scowls, looking away. He then makes a vague motion, unable to explain why he suddenly felt wrong.

Jonny raised his brow. "You've got my dick. Ain't you special."

Jon scoffs, but his face is turning red because he feels that is true. "No..." He huffs.

Jonny paused, watching Jon get frustrated. He didn't feel like sharing in that. He learned early in that they shared emotions, and he had to get used to feeling things that weren't his own. It was honestly worse than Nastya, making him feel Aurora emotions. "I can tell you."

Jon felt himself be pushed out from his body as Jonny took control. He scowls but sighs, watching and feeling Jonny's own emotions. "So? What's wrong with m- us?"

Jonny scowls. "They cut off my fucking tail! It's a fucking bitch to grow that back." He raised his ands and feels around his forehead. "Good, they didn't cut them too short. Actually, I like them short, so this isn't an issue... I'm narrating for you Jon be grateful."

Jon raised his brow. "You can't hear my thoughts?"

"Can you hear mine?" Jonny spits back.

"Fair point." Jon sighs. "Are we ok?"

"Fuck if I know. Everything is new, raw, and sensitive. My dicks never been this fucked before." Jonny growls as he is forced back out by Jon.

"D-Dont do that." Jon pulls the blanket over his body.

Jonny shrugs, not understanding Jon. "Whatever, we just have to adjust." He pauses for a moment, pointing at Jon. "This is earth, right?"

"Yes?" Jon raised his brow.

"Tim and Blackwood always referred to me as a cowboy. What's a cow? I don't think I've ever seen an earth cow."

Jon blinks. "But you have parts like a bull."

"Wait, I thought it was called cows." Jonny returned a confused look.

Jon shakes his head. "Alien, right, you're an alien. You don't know human er earth animals. Cows don't have sharp teeth like you, but uh, bulls are basically male cows, but cows are the general term used."

"Can I see what they look like?" Jonny floated to lay next to Jon.

"Yeah, when I get my phone." Jon paused. "Are you upset I wasn't born a man?"

"Why would I care? You've got my dick now, and I have a new hole to play with. This is a win for me." Jonny shrugs and raised his brow feeling relief pour from Jon.

"Thank you." Jon says quietly.

"Ok?" Jonny shrugs floating to look around the hospital room.

......

Sasha slams on the breaks. "Tim what the fuck."

Tim's eyes clicked and whirled. He was told only he could hear this by Gunpowder. Well, both can hear since they share a body. He reaches for his glasses and realizes he took them off because his ears were bothering him. He could feel the look from Gunpowder and Martin on him. "It's a long story."

Sasha rocketed to a spot to park, and she twisted her body to the back seat. "Tim explain now!"

Martin bites his lip and blurts out. "It's my fault. I'm supposed to be dead, both me and Gunpowder. Promised an end to eternity, and it was a farce and I'm back here like this, and I really tried to forget about this part of my life. I mean for fucks sake you die and get replaced Sasha and none of us notice for a year because of how it worked. Tim dies in an explosion, destroying the circus, and that isn't to mention the fucked up paranoia from Jon and extreme levels of fucked up creatures that I mean now I can look back at and laugh but you can't you're mortal. I mean, these are fear gods, so I mean they will get to you eventually."

Gunpowder grabs Martin's hand. "Martin, that's enough. The only reason Jonny knew about my past was because he was playing soldier and was with me. You don't have to..." He stops as Martin waves him off.

"No, it's fine. Tim and Sasha deserve to know." Martin sighs. "I'll tell you what I can remember it has been a few thousand years since I've been through this."

.....

Sasha swallows. "I believe you."

Martin blinks. "Why?"

"I've had a bad feeling, and I knew Gertrude didn't just go missing." Sasha then points to Tim. "Also look at his fucking eyes Martin that's pretty good evidence."

Gunpowder nods.

Martin gives a nervous smile. "I'm sorry I've gotten used to things over the years. I like Tim's eyes."

"Yeah, yeah, don't boast his ego." Sasha puts her seat belt back on. "So keep your glasses on Tim. We're going to visit Jon if the same thing happened to him like you."

"It's equally as possible. Jon worked himself into a delusional state and just hurt himself." Martin shrugs.

Tim blinks back in control. "That's really dark."

"No, no, Martin has a point." Sasha starts the car again. "Remember that incident in research."

"I tried to forget, but I see your point." Tim sighs, putting his glasses back on.

Martin sighs. "Hopefully that isn't the case."

.....

Jon shifted uncomfortably as he sat up. Jonny wasn't lying. The tail thing was incredibly uncomfortable and annoying. He stared at the hospital food in front of him and was told he couldn't leave till tomorrow. He hated hospital food, and he hated hospitals.

"Stop pouting." Jonny rolls his eyes. "I can feel your emotions and pouting won't get you nowhere."

"Oh, then what can I do? Please enlighten me." Jon scowls taking a bite of his peas.

"For one, actually eat. How the fuck are you in such shit condition? Do you even know what fun is?" Jonny shook his head. "You can't do shit without meat on your bones, and you look half starved. You're a fucking disaster."

Jon continues to scowl, not saying a word.

The door opens to his room.

"Blackwood!" Jonny floats through him, trying to tackle him. "Fuck."

Martin smiles softly as Tim and Sasha follow behind him. "We wanted to make sure you're ok."

"You gave me a scare, Jon." Sasha crosses her arms. "You need to learn how to take a break, or at least see a doctor."

Tim was odd wearing sunglasses that completely hid his eyes, but he knew Tim was having trouble with his eyes. "You look awful."

Jon can't help but give a soft smile. "Just wasn't paying attention and hit my head." He motions to the bandages around his head and ears.

"Don't lie to Blackwood. That man can see through any lie you spit." Jonny crosses his arms. "Besides, I bet you control of my choosing that Gunpowder is in your Tim."

Jon ignores him. "Ah you didn't have to bring me anything."

Martin smiles softly as he pulls out a chocolate slice of cake. "It's just some chocolate cake. I mean, you don't have to have it..." He stops as Jon's demeanor changes in an instant as he pushes his food aside.

Jon was forced out and watched Jonny make grabby hands.

"Give it here, Blackwood." Jonny huffs. "Don't you fucking tempt me."

Martin's expression changed, and Jon could feel a shiver down his back. "You and your sweet tooth." He tisks, placing the slice down.

Jonny grabs the container. "Fuck you." He huffs and has enough decency to use a fork. "Your fucking lucky I have to fix this body or I would end you."

Jon watches Tim snicker. "You lost height!" His snickers turn to giggles.

"Piss off." Jonny scoffs.

Sasha raised her brow. "How did you know the cake would work?"

"d'Ville only has one craving he can't quit, and it ain't cigarettes." Gunpowder smirks, taking off his glasses, revealing his mechanical eyes.

Jonny scowls. "Oh fuck you. I don't deny myself pleasures like you."

"I have manners you lack." Tim spits back.

Martin chuckles and has a glint in his eyes and a sinister smile that again Jon can't tear his eyes from. "Now, both of you, that's enough." He moves closer and leans over Jonny. "How about you behave and finish all of your food, and maybe I'll convince the doctors to let you leave early?"

Jon can feel the tug, no the crashing wave of desire, and just pure love spill from Jonny, and if they had his tail, it would be wagging like a dog.

Jonny, for his part, nods eagerly. "It would be faster if you fed me." He purrs back.

Martin steps back. "Don't push your luck. I'm mad at you."

In a split second, that emotion was gone, replaced with annoyance. Jon had to shake his head from the whiplash.

"We agreed!" Jonny huffs stuffing his face with food. "It's not like you were there with your bleeding heart. You weren't there, I woke up after that bar in that... look, I'm not having this conversation."

Jon could feel a bubble of an emotion, one that he knew should leave unspoken. He remains quiet watching Martin.

Martin gaze didn't break, let alone change. He crosses his arms. "Did you do the same?"

Jonny swallows his final bite. "I can't say I wanted to change it, so I didn't."

Martin's gaze seems to finally soften. "Good, he didn't deserve forgiveness." He reached out and pat Jonny's shoulder. "That's my cowboy." He pauses. "What's with the frown?"

"They cut off my tail." Jonny sounded honest and small.

Jon was taken aback.

"I never said humanity was a kind species." Martin brushes a stray piece of hair out of Jonny's face. "It will grow back."

"Not the point." Jonny sighs. "How's your former mortal." His gaze shifted to Tim.

"Probably better than yours with the adjustment." Gunpowder slides his glasses back on. "You look like shit."

"Not my fault." Jonny mutters.

"Never said it was." Gunpowder muses. "Maybe you shouldn't have asked Martin for his story."

Martin rolls his eyes. "Just because you're bitter doesn't mean you get to drag me into this argument again." He walks by Sasha, grabbing her arm. "Would you like to hear more while they complain?"

Sasha nods. "Sure, why not." She follows Martin out of the room as he shuts the door behind him.

Gunpowder frowns. "Don't give me that look. I already got an earful from him, and to be fair, he warned both of us to wait. Now, why do you think this didn't happen the first time?"

"Aren't you just full of dumb questions." Jonny adjusts his glasses. "They were already dead and gone by the time we crossed the first time. This place was fine. I dunno Blackwood said it's been. I dunno fifty years since it ended and started again." He raised his brow at something Tim couldn't see. "You do know what apocalypse means, right? Right well that happened, and you died before I came here the first time."

Gunpowder waves his hand. "Jonny, stop, we both know what happened in the end. They don't know the full truth yet, neither of them."

Jonny frowns and stares at Tim. "How long do you think it will take till being the good guy gets old?"

"Who knows? We've never tried it." Gunpowder shrugs. "You should hold off on being honest about this world, as much as I know you like your stories and songs. Unless you want to deal with Jon."

Jonny waves him off. "Whatever, it doesn't matter now he'll learn as I will annoyingly to see his memories. Just let me figure this out, and as much as I hate to see you two on good terms compared to my situation. Just wait."

For what, Jon had no idea, but this Gunpodwer did, who nodded.

"Seriously though, figure something out with this Jon. You seriously look worse than when we were starving, as a competition." Gunpowder sighs. "Blackwood..." He looks through the door. "Yeah, he already convinced the doctors and nurses to let you go, and they are on their way. Enjoy your new home, alone." He smirks as he leaves.

Jon was flung back into his body, feeling Jonny fuming, but the other man was uncharacteristic silent. He had to think this over and what this actually meant. So he died the first time, but when and how? Before or after the apocalypse?

.......

He wasn't truly alone, not anymore. Jon sunk into his bed and opened his phone. "How did Martin even convince them to let me leave?"

"He's got a way of trapping people making them do what he wants." Jonny hums. "Now, show me a picture of a cow."

Jon wanted to press, but he quickly learned pleasing Jonny was the best way to get answers. He pulled up a picture of a cow and a bull and held it up.

Jonny was quiet studying the creatures he saw. He broke into a wide grin. "They look cute, don't they. Good cows."

Jon hums and sighs. "You said Martin told you what happens to this world. What happens? Why did he become one of you? What are you guys?"

Jonny frowns. "I rather not feel your stupid emotions." He scratches behind his ear. "You won't let this go. However, Blackwood warned me you were insistent, so I might as well spin you a tale." Suddenly, a harmonica appeared in his hands. "A tragic fate of star-crossed lovers doomed by forces beyond their control, and a man turned to a monster that was left in the ruins."

Jon listened to the haunting story on a soft melody. He learned how his coworkers, no his friends, died. How he roamed the wastelands the fears as the apocalypse he caused reigned, how Martin stayed by his side even though he caused this by being tricked. The story ended in a sharp blade.

Jonny stopped. "And you were no more as the pancoption crumbled the archive now, just a man taking his final breath. An ending driven by a man afraid of death and so willing to please a god who didn't care for him as nothing more than a tool. Blackwood crushed but was not dead. A familiar doctor just happened to be passing by the rubble. She wanted to try something new, just not machines anymore, something animalistic, something new. And so Blackwood became a monster a first of his kind." He stretches. "Immortality such a boring goal, isn't it? You would think you would want something more interesting."

Jon was speechless he couldn't string together thoughts.

Jonny frowns, feeling the rush of emotions. "Look..." He swallows and feels tears drip down his face. He was frustrated that he couldn't stop this. He hated emotions, and he hated being honest to himself, but Jon still viewed himself as mortal, and he won't be raw without his partners. He floated down beside Jon and let him cry. He couldn't stop it. The rush of emotions overwhelmed him.

Jon finally spoke. "How do I stop it?"

"Fuck if I know. I wasn't here. I heard the story from Blackwood." Jonny was purposely looking away from him. "You have to ask him, but we promised to play the good guys this time around, or well, until it gets boring."

"We're going to stop this." Jon tried to muster confidence he didn't have.

Jonny just sighs. "Go to bed. Watch some of my memories. If you don't start trying to fix your body, I will do it by force."

Jon pulls his blanket up and frowns. He falls into an unsteady sleep.

......

Elias raised his brow, watching his archivist return to work. "Jonathan, I did tell you to take time to rest after yesterday." He had a smile and a silver tongue.

Jonny scoffs. "He's worse sober."

Jon smiles nervously. "I'm fine, Elias." He adjusts his hat covering his new sensitive ears. His tail had already started to grow back, and Jonny said it's a side effect of immortality, which Jon didn't believe in. It's supposed to be much longer than a cow's tail and semi prehensile. He wanted to test it but knew better than to try anything in public.

Elias frowns. "Now, Jon, I don't need you working yourself sick again." He knew the effects of the stranger and the flesh it probably hasn't hit the man yet, and he didn't want him breaking down having him explain the truth.

Jon frowns. "I'm fine, Elias. I know how to take care of myself. I'm going to get back to work."

Elias frowns, crossing his arms and watching Jon rush off to the archives . He raises his brow, and seeing the start of a tail, he is informed that it is cut off. It shouldn't be growing back this fast. He had a few connections to pull to get more information. He had no desire to pick another archivist nor start again.

......

"We should kill him." Jonny floats next to Jon, his tail lazily flicking behind him.

"Elias is my boss. I'm not going to kill him." Jon scowls as he hears Tim snickers. "Tim, that's enough."

Tim hums, Jon can see his hair is curling and is getting lighter than the black he has. "I don't think so, bossman. We think it's quite hilarious Jonny's on a leash."

Jon was pushed out as Jonny took control. "Oh go fuck yourself you fucking cunt." Jonny stomps off to Jon's office making it a point to slam the door.

Martin snickers from the entrance and refrains from explaining Elias can see them. Oh, that would be hilarious. Does he know Jon and Jonny are sharing a body, or does he think that the fears changed Jon? Either way, things have changed, and he wants to see Elias... no Jonah squirm with the unpredictability. Martin will force him to realize immortality is not worth it, and death is a gift. He silently walks to his desk and takes a seat.

"Enjoying the show?" Tim smirks. "We are."

"Oh, I'm enjoying something else." Martin smiles back.

"Already knitting a web, I see." Gunpowder nods. "I always enjoy the finished project."

Martin taps his fingers against his desk. "You know I think it's not a Web I rather not get mixed up with that particular fear I think I can recall the avatar is kind of a right bitch."

"Really? You have to explain the fear thing better because some of them just sound fun or fun to kill." Gunpowder smirks.

"Later, and Sasha already made a list." Martin points to Sasha sipping her coffee.

"You two share a body. Did you not pay attention when Tim was reading it?" Sasha raised her brow.

Tim huffs. "I couldn't figure out how to turn off the Xray vision on these damn eyes until like an hour before I slept." He had a slight blush on his cheeks. "Then the damn things wouldn't stop focusing on objects miles away."

Gunpowder took back control. "To be fair, I still have trouble controlling them. Human biology and mechanical parts tend to fight until they get into a rhythm. Also, I have like a million years of experience, and Tim does not."

Sasha frowns. "That sounds actually awful. Does Jonny have these problems?"

Gunpowder shrugs. "He never complains, and if he dislikes something, he's quite vocal. I think he uses the ticking as a metronome."

Martin nods. "As boney as he is, he's very nice to sleep too. The ticking is quite soothing." He sighs. "Granted, I won't be able to enjoy any of that for a long while, I reckon."

"Shit, I remembered that this isn't a desert planet." Gunpowder pauses. "Jonnys going to be a little bitch."

"Why?" Sasha raised her brow.

"Jonny's originally from a mostly desert planet, so his tail ears and horns were basically made to keep him cool. Even the nights were hot, so he doesn't exactly have any defenses against the cold, and he makes his complaints known as Gunpowder said." Martin hums. "Although he loves the snow and rain."

"We never said the man made sense." Gunpowder shrugs, letting Tim back in control.

Sasha tilts her head. "What was the planet like that you're from?"

"Gunpowder is from the earth of a different dimension." Tim taps his pen against his desk and adjusts his glasses. "He did however blow up the moon."

"Now you're just fucking with me." Sasha rolls her eyes and heads back to her desk.

Martin chuckles. "Don't feel bad about it. In this time, we've barely had any people on the moon."

"See, I told you!" Tim huffs. "He wouldn't listen to me or the facts I provided."

"Tim, you have to understand where we're coming from. We lived on a spaceship." Martin hums heading to his desk to start working.

Tim sighs. "Still annoying."

.....

Martin stares at the bloody fingernails in the sink. He knew his luck was running out. His body wasn't going to wait till his first death. He could feel how tight his skin felt and how it was hard to walk to breathe. He wasn't scared to become what he was supposed to be, but it would make this so much harder. He flexed his hand, seeing the black claw nails start to poke through his flesh. He doesn't truly care he made peace ages ago with what the doctor made him.

Elias watched Martin with a curious gaze. He can feel the Beholder use his eyes to watch intently. He had a feeling in his gut something changed something twisted in the mere fabric of reality. He hasn't even checked on Jon since he arrived this morning, and the Beholder agreed that something more interesting was happening. Martin was unassuming and predictable, but this was new, and he wanted to know why. He wasn't an avatar, and that also fueled his curiosity. How is he changing without one of the fears?

Martin rubbed his eyes and sighed. He had time, and he had time to prepare. He wanted Jonny. He just wanted that soft ticking, Gunpowder could soothe his anxieties, but Jonny was a comfort. Sure, the man was brash rude and a devil, but he was his, and that was enough. Gunpowder wouldn't touch him till Tim was fully on board with him, and Martin respected that. Hell he was fucking happy with that. Jonny, however, was a mystery, Jon was tighter lipped, and he knew how long it took for Jon to even understand his emotions, let alone actually relie on others.

Martin gathered his fingernails from the sink and threw them out with a sigh. Maybe he could go to artifact storage to slow things. Well, that has just a likely chance to kill him. He doesn't care. Maybe he could convince Gunpowder and Tim to head to the tunnels properly. He finished washing his hands, not even flinching at the exposed nerves.

Elias's gaze intensified as he watched Tim enter the bathroom. More importantly, he removed his sunglasses, revealing new eyes. When did he get surgery? More importantly, how can he still see? He shut his eyes, and he was seeing from Tim's eyes.

Tim scratched his chin. "Martin, you alright?"

Elias saw a man in the mirror that wasn't Tim.

Martin sighs. "I'm fine." He stretches. "Just a bit achey, what about you?"

"I'm fine." Tim crosses his arms. "Ok, maybe not entirely fine, but I'm getting used to it."

The man in the mirror that wasn't Tim spoke and Elias could hear him.

"I know my scars aren't pretty, and I'm sorry." The not Tim sighs.

Tim shook his head. "Dude, I said it's fine." He turns back to Martin. "I'm more peeved about the hair than I am about the scars, and I still haven't agreed to grow it out."

Not Tim huffs.

Martin chuckles. "The two colors look good together, and if you don't grow it out, what else am I supposed to grab?"

Tim swallows, and Elias sees him in the mirror, and he figured it out that this not Tim was in control.

"Oh, don't tease the man. He doesn't understand the fun a simple act can do. Let alone one with those..." Not Tim stops staring at Martin's hand. "When?"

Martin huffs. "Gunpowder, it's fine. You know how you can't hide what the good doctor does to you. I'm fine. I just feel a bit stiff and uncomfortable, but it will pass."

Not Tim or Gunpowder, ridiculous name if you asked Elias. He smiles softly.

"Fuck the waiting, from what I've seen its going to be brutal and he shouldn't be alone..." Tim was speaking out loud now. "He shouldn't have to go through this by him....self... ah, you ass."

Martin raised his brow with a soft smile. "I appreciate the offer, Tim, but you're not exactly desensitized enough for my liking."

Tim huffs. "Then Gunpowder will watch and be out. You don't deserve to be alone through this. I know you have an issue with that, I uh well, Gunpowder knows, and I saw the memory."

"Fine, if you insist." Martin paused, and Elias shivers with that look. "I've shared things with Gunpowder in secret. I don't want you to share with anyone." He grabs Tim's shirt. "Understand?"

Tim swallows and nods.

Martin smiles again as his features soften. "Good, I'll come by your flat tonight."

Tim watches Martin leave with a shudder. Elias doesn't leave yet.

"I warned you about being caught in Blackwood's web. You're not close enough with him to get comfortable." Gunpowder clicks his tongue. "He's not the man you knew, so please don't underestimate him. I would rather not die before Jonny does. We've got a bet going on."

Tim swallows and slides the dark sunglasses back on, and Elias is shocked to see his vision didn't change in the slightest. "He's still a good person."

"That's... well, none of us are good." Gunpowder responds dryly. "It comes with the territory."

Tim didn't like that answer, but he remained quiet as Elias came back to himself. He had a lot to think about.

......

"At least you know how to tell a story." Jonny responds with a bored tone. "These statements still suck, I still suggest we burn the entire place down."

Jon scowls. "No." He stretches and pulls out the used tape. "Can you think of anything that doesn't involve violence.... or sex." He gives a glare.

"Now you're just plain boring." Jonny raised his brow. "Being serious all the time must be fucking exhausting."

Jon sputters. "Just because I'm not some guy who thinks he's immortal and some sex pest doesn't mean anything."

"I don't care what you think of me." Jonny stares directly at Jon. "We are stuck together for the rest of time, and whatever comes after."

Jon scowls. "I won't devolve to be on your level."

Jonny rolls his eyes. "I don't care."

Jon huffs and leaves his office.

"Jon, you ok?" Sasha smiles softly.

Jon stops and sighs. "I'm fine, just getting used to an unfortunate roommate."

"That's one way to call it." Tim mutters.

"You two should try getting along." Sasha hums. "You'll be stuck together forever, I guess. I think it would suck if you two were stuck together fighting for all of that."

Jon scowls. "Oh, he's a right ass only cares about violence and sex. He's nothing but a pest, and I abhor the fact that I have to share my own body with him."

"Oh piss off." Jonny huffs.

Gunpowder sighs. "His attitude comes with his age. He is the oldest of us besides the doctor, but we don't know about her, though, really." He kicks his feet up. "Jonny, I know you're listening. You should be cautious he's going to see memories that you've forgotten. Funny how the mind works even if we forget they still exist in there, just waiting for a trigger to pull them free."

Jon expected Jonny to kick him out and take control, but he felt fear grip his heart that no longer beat. He swallows the dread that wasn't his and doesn't look at Jonny. "I will keep that in mind for when I sleep."

The conversation dies as Jon leaves as the day has ended, and he doesn't want to linger.

.......

The rusty hinges creaked on the old shack the teen called a home. He made sure he tipped off his shoes before entering, and he saw his father passed out in a drunken stupor. He carefully made his way to the small kitchen connected to the living room. If you would call it, that and stumbled upon a note.

"Jonny boy, I've left to clean up after your father. He pissed off some old doctor at the edge of town. I've left old Bessie for you to make sure she's in better condition when I get back, boy. Now, if I don't come back, I know you won't end up like your father. You're too smart for that. Use your ears to find a target to shoot. We both know your eyes aren't the best use that good hearing of yours. Don't file your horns too short boy they grow for a reason, and I love you forever and always."

Wrapped in leather by the note was a familair old looking revolver, the name Bessie was carved crudely into the handle. The weight would become familair in the teen's hands. He took the note scowled at his father and then headed off to hunt for dinner since that lazy piece of shit won't do anything but gamble.

Jon woke up with a start. He could feel a rush of emotions that weren't his. "I..."

"Don't say a fucking word." Jonny scowls. "Don't go telling nobody about that."

Jon nodded he paused, squinting at the clock that glowed, showing it was 3am. He sighs. "I don't remember my mother, or my father, with died at different times, but I was too young to remember them. My grandmother raised me, bitter she had to raise another child. Never told me that directly, however."

Jonny braces himself and grits his teeth. "I don't remember what my mom looks like either."

"Then we have that in common. Maybe the next dream will be my memory, and you can pick apart that." Jon sighs and curls under his blanket.

Jonny nods. "Just go back to sleep."

......

Martin grits his teeth and groans in pure agony. He could barely register the hand going through his red curls. His legs hurt, and he couldn't move them. His skin felt like it was on fire, and he didn't particularly like burning to death. He was stripped down to his birthday suit, and it didn't help with the fact that he was in pure agony.

Gunpowder continues to run his hands through Martin's hair. "It's alright, you're ok. It will be over soon."

"Just fucking kill me." Martin groans.

"We both know that won't help." Gunpowder sighs. "Would you like to hear my story?"

Martin takes a deep breath. "Please distract me."

Gunpowder nods and begins to narrate his origins.

....

An obnoxious alarm pulled Tim from sleep on the floor. He was laying in something wet and the smell of iron... no blood filled his nose, which caused him to panic and flail completely awake. His eyes lock onto a large spider, half then blood, then flesh and bone. Gunpowder takes over before he can throw up.

"Yikes, I thought the shared emotions wouldn't be this strong. Man, you are super depressed." Gunpowder gets up, smearing the blood off from his body. "You're going to need a stronger stomach." He looked over Martin, who was out cold. "See, he's breathing.... please stop screaming. " he covers his mouth, feeling his stomach sour from the sheer fear and disgust from Tim. He swallows the bile rising in his throat, turns away from the scene, and heads to the bathroom.

Gunpowder barely makes it to the toilet to empty the contents of his stomach. He continues to dry heave for a moment before turning to face Tim. "Are you done?"

Tim was pale, and he finally caught his breath. He was still radiating fear and disgust, but he was stable enough to talk. "Is he still alive?"

Gunpowder wipes his mouth. "Of course he is. What part of we can't die, don't you understand?" He frowns, pulling back his frustration. "Sorry you can't control how you react yet. I didn't realize how much I would share when we feel strong emotions." He sits on his knees and sighs. "I'll clean up, just try not to get sick again, please."

Tim nods and shudders. "I.... I'm not desensitized to this stuff. I'm sorry."

Gunpowder gets up, feeling the soft twists of sadness and self-doubt. "Tim, it's not a bad thing, means you're still human. Don't be too hard on yourself." He pulls out some cleaning supplies from the bathroom cabinet. "Tell me about Danny."

Tim frowns and nods slightly. "He was my younger brother...."

.....

Martin wakes up to someone touching his hand. He furrows his brow, pulling his hand back, and skitters up to be his full height, staring down at Tim. He hissed and then blushed, finally realizing that Tim was, in fact, there, and he wasn't a threat. He covers his face and groans, playing out his legs to be shorter. "I didn't mean to hiss at you."

Tim looked over to Gunpowder giggling, and he felt a laugh bubble in his own throat, and wow, no wonder he got frustrated. He didn't exactly know how he felt about feeling someone else's emotions. He gave a soft smile and reached out again to hold Martin's hand. "Your hands are really like a cat's paw."

Martin smiles and lets Tim take his hand. "Spiders have padded limbs and toe beans if you actually look at them."

"That's actually really cute." Tim blushes slightly. "Oh shit how are we going to get to work?"

Martin shrugs. "Might as well scare Elias first."

"Really?" Tim snickers. "What is he scared of spiders?"

"No, he's scared of what they represent." Martin hums. "We're going to be late, and I need a shirt."

"Right, you brought a spare one, right?" Tim paused and rushed over to a bag Martin brought. "Also, you're going to have to talk to my neighbors because of all the stuff we threw out, and they probably think I'm a serial killer."

Martin snickers. "I think I'll scare them into silence."

"Man, I've seen too much of Gunpowder, and Jonny and you having fun together to remember that I'm supposed to be scared of you because you're a spider centaur." Tim tosses over a sweater.

"I suppose I don't find myself scary either. Honestly, the fear left pretty quickly once I realized how my new body worked." Martin smiles. "This will be obnoxious getting to work. I don't mind walking. You live much closer than I do, but being stared at isn't ideal."

"Maybe a blanket?" Tim stops and covers his face. "That wouldn't work."

Martin chuckles. "I appreciate the concept idea, but Jonny tried that once."

"Wait really?" Tim raised his brow.

"Yeah, ended up in a bar fight." Martin snickers. "Although it was fucking hilarious."

"Huh." Tim crosses his arms. "Just bite the bullet and head out?"

"After you." Martin hums and smiles.

.....

Elias blinks, and the scene doesn't change. What confounds him the most is the fact that this has nothing to do with the web. The Beholder is taking it all in, and he can feel actual confusion from his patron. He clears his throat and approaches. "Martin, I don't believe it's near Halloween unless you've got an event planned."

Martin hums impressed at how well Elias can mask his true emotions. "I don't think a costume would be strong enough to carry someone on." He motions to Tim who waves.

"He insisted that he carry me." Tim smiles.

"Well, yes, but I hope I don't cause you too much trouble." Martin smiles. "Why the surprise this is your institute, and shouldn't you expect the supernatural?" He has a smirk as he walks past a stunned Elias.

Elias doesn't have a response to that. His mind was completely blank, and the Beholder was eerily silent.

Tim was snickering. "Double boss man seems quite stunned."

Martin chuckles. "Oh, this is quite fun."

That thought came crashing down with a terrified scream and wide eyed stares.

Martin felt exposed, and he couldn't remember the last time he felt bad about his body until this moment. He knows Tim can feel him tense. "I..."

"Jon, seriously?" Tim huffs sliding off Martin's back. "It's not his fault he's like this."

Jon was trying really hard to keep his panic and fear in check, and he felt a growing bubble of white hot rage directed at him and feeling it. The feedback loop was really confusing. "I uh..." He was forced out by Jonny.

"Fuck off." Jonny took back control his tail was lashing and puffed out at the end. His ears were pinned back, and the hair on top of his head was puffing out. "Seriously fuck off I don't judge you for who you carnally desire. Blackwood is mine, and you have absolutely no right." He goes o continue his rant, but a tooth falls out. He blinks as confusion fills his features, and he crouched down to poke it.

Martin opens his mouth and closes it. "You know I remember now what he was missing, the teeth."

"The teeth." Gunpowder repeats with a nod.

"I'm sorry Martin, are you ok?" Sasha vaguely motions.

"I mean, it was painful, but it doesn't hurt now." Martin pauses. "I have to figure out how to use my desk."

Tim is getting back control, pulling his eyes away from Jonny, now messing with his teeth. "I mean, you can get rid of the chair and move from there."

"That could work." Martin hums and looks over to Jonny. "Are you ok?"

Jonny holds a handful of his teeth. "What do you think?" He scowls. "Well fuck you too. No, I'm mad at you. That's a stupid fucking question, I don't care about spiders let alone being scared of them."

Three pairs of eyes watch the one sided argument.

.....

A fog seemed to roll into Elias's office out of nowhere, and a tall, muscular man in a captains attire steps inside. The man stops and stares at Elias, who had his head down on his desk. "Elias?"

Elias groans. "Peter."

"Shouldn't you be enjoying your new archivist floundering?" Peter raised his brow.

Elias takes a breath. "Peter, I have called every avatar I ever had contact with to ask if they knew what was going on with my archivist and his assistants. I have no leads, and the Beholder is clueless."

Peter opens his mouth then shuts it with a click.

"Do you have any idea what's happening? Because I don't have a singlaur clue." Elias throws his hands up. "One of the archivist assistants is a half spider centaur, and he's not even aligned with the web. The other has mechanical eyes that still work as eyes. That technology doesn't exist, and the Flesh doesn't bother with machines."

Peter reaches out. "I think you need a vacation."

Elias slams his hands against his desk. "Peter, I'm serious!" He gets up and grabs Peter's arm, and drags him to the archives.

Peter stared stunned.

[effieandtim]

I know what you mean about Tim in the 80s. He carries himself differently, he has lost all hope in his eyes, he's definitely miles away from the Tim in the 50s (I have to applaud once again Jonny's acting because you can tell this man has seen some shit in the past 30 years with just one look). But also, he still has the same passion in the things he believes in, which I love. And it's also a nice contrast with Hawk, who doesn't seem to have changed much. He still reacts in the same way when things are too confrontational or when feelings become too much to handle. Like in the argument's scene in the 80s it was striking how Hawk was the one who reacted as a child, with the same fears he had in the 50s, while the one who should have been difficult since he's dying, aka Tim, was the adult there. Also man, he just knows him so well. Like he screamed at him to go find a bathroom to fuck someone, and where Hawk went exactly? lol Hawk, man, you're so fucked up. Just get your shit together, because Tim doesn't deserve to be put through your fuckery once again, not when he's dying.

definitely and i agree.

tim just… he is breaking my heart. and not just the terminal aspect of his life but like… he seems so passionate still. like he knows he doesn’t have much time left so he is trying to do as much as possible, wanting to fight till his very last breath

that must be so hard for someone who knows that they have so much more left to give to the world but they just don’t have the time left and through no fault of their own, it must fill him with so much anger at the world and the unfairness of it all. which is exactly what he said in ep 3 too

there is also a hint of resignation or actually, acceptance in his eyes that i see - acceptance towards his fate and also towards this whole thing with hawk. i suppose when you have been burnt so many times you kinda don’t keep your hopes up too much

but as i have said over the past week since ep 3, i think he is still hoping for a little comfort with hawk’s presence, even if it is for a week - bc thats how much he still longs for this, even after all this time. thats how much he loves him

hawk… well yeah hawk is still hiding a part of himself and i feel sorry for him actually, because even though tim suffered so much, he could be authentic and was surrounded by people who KNEW him. it doesn’t look like hawk is. he looks isolated and living a fake life for so many years

ofc that doesn’t let him off the hook and i think throughout ep 4 he had refused to accept that tim was dying or that this was real. like he knew that was gonna be the likely outcome but there was denial until that very last scene

he screwed up BADLY only in this instance, he does not have time to make it up or run away or pull his usual shit bc tim quite literally is slipping through his fingers and he needs to get his act together quick

also good point about tim knowing him so well lol

[princess-hope-selfships]

for the f/o infodumping!

okay first of all I NEED to know 🍊 with Eddie there's no way that man's just gonna peel an orange and that's the end of it, please enlighten me

and then 🍌 with anyone (but mostly curious about Jervis), 🫒 with Jonny, aaaaand 🍅 with anyone 👀 (@marshmallowloves)

MARSHY I LOVE YOU

🍊 - if you asked your f/o to peel an orange for you, what would they do?

okay listen I bet that one (1) time Jonathan expressed frustration about peeling an orange in passing and Edward, bored and in desperate need of stimulation because he's no longer committing elaborate crimes and he lives in the middle of nowhere with his husband, was like. Holy fuck. Holy shit what if I spend a whole week making a THING that will PEEL ORANGE PERFECTLY FOR HIM

So they straight up have some small contraption that Edward made himself that will peel the orange seamlessly that he flips out if it doesn't work right

And the first time I ask him if he can help me peel an orange he's like HOLY SHIT HOLD ON LOOK AT THIS YOU'RE GONNA BE SO IMPRESSED BY ME AND TELL ME I'M EPIC and he shows me The Orange Peeler and I'm probably genuinely fascinated by it and Jonathan comes into the kitchen and is only mildly surprised by the fact that there are now 18 peeled oranges on the counter because I wanted to see it work over and over

🍌 - does your f/o have a vendetta against The Big Light™? what kind of lighting do they prefer?

FOR JERVIE!!! I think Jervis actually fucking LOVES sunshine. Jervis is a sad poetic drama queen and probably craves sunlight like "oh my god the sun is a healing celestial body and a blessing to humankind" especially like if he's depressed he just craves sunshine!!! I feel like rather than a vendetta against The Big Light™ he is kind of in love with it so-

he's quite literally a sunshine boy I love him so much what the fuck

🫒 - what kind of hugger is your f/o? do they give good hugs? do they like hugs? do they like receiving hugs?

SO LIKE I think Jonathan is sincerely a really good hugger because he's fucking tall and his arms are so long but he's like... awkward? FKJDHFK LIKE he's awkward about phsyical affection 😂 He's kind of naturally intimidating due to his tallness and his resting bitch face looks like a tortured ghoul so like he just, is used to not offering physical touch.

I think he lllllllloooooves hugs. He doesn't know how to initiate, and he probably doesn't know how to outwardly accept a hug either, like... if you hug him he'll be like ohhh haha oh we're hugging now are we?

But secretly he just fucking loves it. He really is touch-starved always and I think Edward gives AMAZING HUGS LIKE really big, cuddly, strong, clingy hugs 🥺

so I think Jonathan adores hugs from Eddie, and learns to really crave my hugs and touch too over time

🍅 - if your f/o could buy you any gift in the world, whether it exists or not, what would they buy you? or, if they could make you something, what would it be?

I saw "whether it exists or not" and I cannot think of a goddamn thing other than Eddie like screaming in response to this I WANT TO BUY HER A UNICORN like that is the only fucking answer I can come up with and I cannot think of anything else Eddie took over to scream that he wants to buy me a unicorn-

[raevenlywrites]

Todays listen of the Magnus Archives starts with ep 116: the Show Must Go On and continues through 117: Testament, 118: Masquerade, 119: stranger and stranger, and finally 120: Eye Contact

The Show Must Go On

Oh fuck, Elias doing something active? Perish the thought

-

Oh. oh no. this is the stranger's ritual, isn't it? the turk is wearing the gorilla skin, the automata are the dancers and the birds are the choir

Okay. So... the Slaughter came to stop it, along with the Desolation? I'll admit it's hard to make much sense out of the nonsense of the ritual almost completed

-

"When the unknowing begins i don't want to be inside it" is there another option?

-

"An aspect of your becoming" becoming? that doesn't sound safe, sane, or consensual...

"so you have a backup" says basira, the one I actually think might be the best backup

"melaine's not coming either, I think she'll need you here" oh shit, are martin and melaine going to kill elias?

-

"bought it" well shit

Testament

ooooh like last will and. gotcha

(I do really love how all these titles make multiple kinds of sense. so jealous of their ability to title things XD)

oh shit they got gertrude AND leitner???! fuck

-

"How did I wind up having to save the world" fucking mood girl

-

Melaine! you're alive! I've been getting worried about you

well shit. I guess they're not trying to *kill* him. Doesn't meant melaine won't got for it anyways tho :P

man, it's a shame there's nothing out there feeding on anger, bc melaine would be an absolute *feast*

martin! my baby boy <3

(I do feel pretty confident I'd love him even without the tumblr of it all. he's a good bean)

bless! I love how aware martin is of what jon might think of him. it's cute

"I get to burn some stuff so that's cool" martin! what are you up to???

-

daisy wtf? XD

-

oooh, interesting that everyone else is talkign to jon but Tim has a massive hate on for us (or whatever in world listener there is)

wow. tim is really the most audience addressy/meta of them all. that's really interesting comign from such a joker to start with. i wonder how much of his arc was planned from the start

-

oh jon. i'm sorry. you have to burn it. you promised. this is an important moment about who you're going to be

jesus. is it literally hurting him to destroy knowledge? fuck

The Masquerade

Holy shit martin are you burning statements!!!! does that hurt elias like burning gerry hurt jon?

(I wonder if the ones he's choosing matters. hilltop road, smerk passages, monster pig, hrm)

"Turns out my suggestion is fire" XDXDXDXD

(the dark and teh swartzwald)

-

oh. oh god. a chorus of skinless moaning ...corpses? ick. so much ick.

-

oh martin :(

(this section is where I had to stop listening at work, btw. I got caught up in thinking about what Elias would show me and uh, yeah)

-

Oh shit! Did Daisy just shoot jon????? ...will it even matter? he's... becoming, whatever that means

Stranger and Stranger

Oh fuck, did Helen come rescue Jon into the spiral- oof, nope. That's not Helen, doesn't sound right. Doesn't sound like Nicola either though - and it CERTAINLY doesn't sound like fucking Tim >:(

oh shit. we definitely don't want whoever that is to have the detonator...

-

and that's NOT basira. ...honestly, if its anyone, it sounds like Breekon/Hope...

-

shit. okay. that's tim and basira, or at least that's their VA's

No, I think that one actually is basira. I stand by my idea that she's been in archivist training, whether on purpose or not

-

ooooh now THATS nicola!

oh no! and THATS gertrude- oh, right, they have her skin. oh no. which means leitner is probably just around the corner

(poor jonny sims, having to listen to his parents tell him he failed and he sucks XD)

-

damn. i wonder if basira has any experience with like, normal delusions (...are there normal delusions in this world? like, just normal, actual schizophrenia? or is it all supernatural?) anyways she's doing great. If I didn't know Jon survived to get to the Jon/Martin ending, I'd wonder if we weren't teeing up Basira to be the next Archivist

-

tim! you see jon? good job tim!!

Okay. So. Daisy is the Hunt, Basira is the Eye, Tim is... channeling something. Maybe all that time he spent studying Smerk? The Spiral isn't enjoying being Helen, Sarah is not enjoying this transition, and Nikola, wearing Gertrude and Leitner... just got blown up?

Eye Contact

These punnnnnns

"Statement of Elias Bouchard, regarding the dreams of Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, currently unresponsive. Details pulled directly from subject." ....well fuck me

Jon... oh jon, what happened to you?

"nowhere for him to awaken to" shit, did the world end? will the last two seasons be in a broken world?

...has he been cut off from the world, or the world cut off from the other fears?

-

ooooh, arresting him. I guess that makes sense

-

lukas? what is he doing here---- oh fuck. when he was asking martin about how elias was as a boss, was he *planning* a take over????

*sigh* of course elias planned it

-

whelp. that's season 3. doesnt' sound like the world ended, but doesn't sound like jon is okay. it sounds like he's exactly where elias thinks he needs to be, but who knows if that's a good thing or not *sigh*

so. elias is probably trying to usher in the Eye's ritual. Using jon, i'd guess. maybe jon is beholding the other fears so the eye can eat them. who knows.

this season was exhausting. good, bu exhausting. much more emotionally taxing than 1 or 2. I can't decide if I want to take another break or not. we'll see

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

Yes!!! Watchers are Narrative!! I wish I could put it in words better but that's exactly how I see the Watchers. The patterns and stories and everything Just Makes Sense

DUDE LITERALLY i so badly wish i could actually articulate what i'm talking about here or honestly i at least wish i had some screenshots from the bigger mechscord about how people talked about Narrative. but it's just- ok if you're someone who has never heard of the mechanisms.

the mechanisms were a band of immortal space pirates who roamed the universe looking for stories. every story they found was always a tragedy and every story they made was equally a tragedy. they transcended time and space as they traveled because wherever they were going and whatever they were doing was at the whims of whatever (out of universe) made the story better. the way this manifests in universe means that the Narrative kind of exists in universe and has it's own thoughts and whims and is doing it's own thing. this is most obvious when the mechanisms die. but space, i thought you said they were immortal? yeah, they were, until it served the narrative for that to no longer be the case. all of their deaths are pretty indicative of this, but i think jonny's is the best example/the easiest one to understand.

"for some reason, it sticks". the "reason" is the narrative. the narrative has decided jonny works better dead than alive, now, so that's what he is, even though he has never before been able to reach that point.

basically it's taking those concepts that got real popular on tumblr (doomed by the narrative, the narrative loves you, etc.) and making it real- the narrative is somehow a sentient, alive thing that has wants and a story to tell. you are a member of that story and equally the vessel through which the narrative can tell it. once the narrative no longer needs you, as character or narrator, that means your story is over too.

things happen because the narrative says they do. these things don't have to make sense- sometimes something just works better this way, so there's plot holes and retcons and inconsistencies and missing information from different sides of the story but that doesn't matter because it's all serving one big story.

so like yeah the mechanisms concept of the narrative really encapsulates the watchers, and honestly a lot of mcyt storytelling in general, to me. it's a little cruel but it's mostly just not human. it has a story it wants to tell and that story is very frequently tragic, or at least has a lot of tragedy within it. (the mechanisms sometimes told happy stories! kinda! look the only thing i'm thinking of is briar rose and cinders and even that's not quite happy but you get what i mean.) sometimes the story doesn't quite fit together right, or elements are only decided upon later on and have to be sort of shoved in. the narrative exists mostly outside of the story but sometimes needs to move things along or needs someone to tell the story so it chooses someone to do it. it leaves just enough room for interpretation in the story for the audience to put themselves into it, to have their own brand of fun. do you see the vision.

[fandomregression]

asking again just in case I didn't click anon when I requested the first time. but ashes o’reilly hcs?

(also I think you can ‘do not archive’ tag it if you don't want jonny seeing)

Regressor Ashes O'reilly Headcanons!

ashes regresses usually to older kid ages! usually around 6-10!! they like to think they're a very independent kiddo (but sometimes that just doesn't work out)

they like to at least try doing everything at least once (i wanna cook! i wanna pour the juice!) but there are some things they're not allowed to do (these were set by brian, who got very tired of ashes sneaking into the pilot area and sending them off course towards whatever planet caught ashes' attention)

ashes doesn't have a main cg because they try so hard to be independent, but a lot of times if they do need help they'll run to brian or nastya or maybe - MAYBE - jonny

jonny however is then supposed to find literally anyone else. because the two of them without big-ashes' ever so slight filter will actually lead to them burning down the ship

"jonny i need help!!" "sure kiddo what's up??" "marius says no ice cream i wanna take his kneecaps" "say no more, i've got the perfect idea!"

ashes is generally a picky kid, and they just really love sweets. this of course leads to difficult meals because if allowed, they would just survive off of chocolate cereal and cake. this is not allowed. this leads to tantrums

jonny then comes in and gives them cake. because he would rather be on ashes' good side

they aren't allowed to smoke when they're regressed, because the one time they let ashes smoke when regressed they set fire to a sofa (accidentally (as far as anyone should be concerned))

instead, ashes runs around with a toy cigar that lights up on the end. they go through so many of those things because while you're not supposed to chew on them, ashes 100% does

hide-and-seek with toy soldier. hide-and-seek with toy soldier!!!

if anyone else is regressed on the ship, usually ashes takes on a big sib persona and they help take care of the other small mech, but they still demand their own attention and will often get the other regressor involved in whatever scheme game they've come up with

when they're on the younger end of their regression, ashes does tend to carry around a blankie they have. its a baby quilt, and its very worn out, but they need it around. its their biggest comfort item

storytime with ivy. storytime with ivy!!!

they love playing card games, and at first jonny thought he'd have to let them win, so he went easy on them. turns out, as a kiddo, ashes is a huge cheat and very, very good at card games. jonny doesn't have to let them win, ashes has to let him win. tim makes fun of him for this, which always makes ashes laugh

okie i think thats all ive got in my head aodjfjakzjrjgja ive got thoughts on who in the mechs would regress/be a flip/be a cg and ashes is firmly in the flip category

[gizm0-gadgetz]

I did call this A Grave Misunderstanding in my docs but I dunno if that title fits anymore

Regardless here's a ficlet with Jonny and Gadget. They wouldn't have been in the crew for very long when this takes place. I doubt they are very in charecter but oh well.

    “Has anyone seen Gadget?” Nastya muses as she helps stack a few crates onto Aurora. She's met with a few grumbles and half mumbled denials. 

    “I believe they disappeared after we landed. There's a 97 percent chance every time we land here.” Ivy pointed out with a slight hum, packing a few new books into her bag. 

   “What's so special about this planet anyways.” Jonny grumbled as he hopped on top of a stack of supply crates. “Tim likes this place too. I don't see the appeal, it's boring here.” 

    “Jonny, why don't you be helpful and go find them.” The way Nastya spoke left no room for disagreement, not that he didn't try. 

   “What?! Why should I go find them! They don't even like me.” He scoffed, leaning back on the box he sat upon. 

    “Well for one, you aren't doing anything helpful. Two, you two need to learn how to get along.” She peered over the edge of her glasses, practically staring into his soul. He didn't answer right away, just staring back before finally pulling his gaze away. 

    “How the hell am I supposed to find them. They could be anywhere!” 

    “Use the comms.”

    “I already told you they don't like me! Why would they answer me?!” She just sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

    “There's a tracker on all of them-”

    “There's a what!? Why the hell didn't anyone tell me that??” 

    “How do you think we find you every time you disappear and end up at a pub?” Jonny just glared at her. “Come down here and I'll show you out to use it. Then you can go and find them.” His tail flicked back and forth in an agitated fashion as he hopped off his seat, grumbling the whole time Nastya told him what to do. 

    He continued to grumble as he stormed off to go find Gadget. This was stupid, why couldn't they make someone else do it. They got along well with the Toy Soldier, it should be the one to go find them! He didn't even like the guy, they were constantly arguing over something. If it was up to him, he would leave them on this stupid planet. 

   Eventually he ended up by a graveyard, one of the fancy ones with proper headstones and tombs. That didn't make any sense. Was the stupid thing bugged? There was no reason for anyone to come here, let alone an immortal space pirate. He sighed and entered anyway, sticking to the main path as he looked for anyone. The whole place was empty and silent, not that corpses made particularly chatty companions anyways. He was about to give up and turn back, already coming up with excuses when he spotted them sitting on a grave in the corner.  They didn't seem to notice him until he started walking up to them. After a moment they looked up from their lap and glared at him. 

    “Don't walk on the graves.” They hissed through their teeth. He wasn't sure how to react, instead just stopping where he stood. “Get off the grave D'ville.” Just for the amount of sass they were displaying he was tempted to stay put but decided against it. 

    “You're literally sitting on one. Whatever, it doesn't matter. We're about to leave so get up.” They grumbled something quietly before looking down at their lap again. 

    “Just give me a second. I'm almost done.” 

    “What are you even doing out here. Theres nothing interesting here and there's certainly much better places to-”

    “Don't finish that joke.” Their voice was laced with acid, sounding more offended than he'd ever heard before. “I'm making something and I'm almost done so you can just wait. Take a seat or something.” They pat the ground next to them before returning their hands to their lap. He didn't move right away, just watching and trying to figure out what it was they were doing. After a moment he sighed and took a seat. 

    “Why is this grave okay but the other isn't.” His curiosity was getting the better of him, as much as he tried to deny being interested in the reasoning. 

    “Its empty.” They always said so little, it was frustrating. 

    “How do you know it's empty.” With a heavy sigh they looked at him, red lenses reflecting his face back at him. 

    “Because its mine.” That made even less sense to him but it was clear they had no plans to explain more. Instead he attempted to look at what they were making. He caught the glare of the sun off of a piece of metal, was it some kind of knife? They just sat there together in silence, he found himself fidgeting with the rings on his tail.

    “What are you doing exactly?” He finally asks after a while, curiosity being too much to bear. 

    “...carvin'” They simply shrugged, focusing on presumably the finishing touches. 

    “its not easy carrying this conversation you know.” Jonny huffed, attempting to peer over their shoulder. In their hands was a small piece of wood, he watched as the carefully chipped pieces off with a carving knife. The wood's pale coloring practically glowed against the deep stained leather of their gloves. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen them take them off actually. They didn't bother to respond, much more interested in the art piece then him. “...Why here?” Their shoulders dropped as they sighed.

   “This grave we’re on, it's mine. Its…empty. It always has been. I like to visit sometimes. Remember those who were there before and after…even if I never got to meet them personally.” They shrugged, holding the small wooden figure up to their eye before blowing the dust off of it. “I like to leave gifts. Its become a habit of mine.” 

    “What is it exactly?” He pointed at the small wooden creature. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. 

    “A wolf…my sister loved them dearly when she was alive. Always wished she could see one in person. They are extinct now I belive, at least this species. Maybe they evolved. I don't know…never bother to stay around long enough to find out.” After a moment of silence they pushed themself to their feet, grabbing the cane that had been resting against the gravestone. He watched as they carefully walked up to another grave, setting the small figure down next to a line of similar ones. It was only then he realized all of the carvings on each of the nearby graves. There were a lot, some of the older graves practically covered in them. “...You said they're ready to leave, yeah?” They began walking down the path to leave, not even bothering to look back and see if he followed. 

    “Well hold on-!” Jonny launched up, stumbling only slightly as he raced to catch up with them. “Are you saying you grew up here?” They just nodded, continuing to stare blankly ahead as they walked. “On this planet… you're human?” His eyes drifted to their metal spines and the tail that slowly swished back and forth as they walked. They paused, only for a moment to look back at him. He kinda hated their goggles, it made it impossible to read their expression properly. 

    “I was yeah. I wouldn't call myself human anymore.” They shrugged and started walking again. Only now did he realize they weren't heading in the direction of the Aurora. 

    “Where the hell are you going? Ships that way stupid.” He gestured behind them as they walked, though he was too curious to tell them to turn around.

    “Figured I'd go get you a thank you for bothering to come find me.”

   “What..?”

    “I'm gonna buy you a drink,” His ears perked up slightly. “Unless you don't want it of course.” 

   “No no I do!” He tried his best to look disinterested but getting paid with alcohol made it worth having to come all the way out here. “But why bother paying?” 

    “Cause where we are going is people I respect,” They paused momentarily as if contemplating their next words. “A place I won't let you do anything to, got it? There's very few lines I won't cross and this is one of them, understand?”

    “Yeah yeah, whatever.” Jonny couldn't help but scoff. What could possibly be so special about some place that they would try to protect it. Its not like you can hold relationships as an immortal. He decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment as he followed them into a nearby town. It was small, nothing special and clearly not used to visitors by the way people turned to look at them. He was used to standing out but this was a bit odd. “What's their problem-” 

     “I've never shown up with someone else.” 

    “Wait, they know you?”

    “Yup.” They popped the p obnoxiously as they turned a corner, it was obvious they had this path memorized by heart. “I told you I visit here a lot. It doesn't matter, here we are.” Using the tip of their cane they gestured to an unassuming looking building. The sign said it was an Inn, not something he would typically associate with alcohol. After letting him stare for a while they opened the door and held it for him, waiting till he stepped in before following. 

    Inside was a surprisingly busy restaurant with almost every table and bar stool full. There was a lot of energy and everyone seemed to have a great time talking with each other. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen something like this before, not that he ever bothered to look. There were a few stares as they walked up to the bar but most people seemed preoccupied. 

    “Gadget! Long time no see!” The bartender greeted, putting a glass down and filling it for someone else. “Can we get you anything?” 

    “No. Unfortunately I'm on a time crunch. I just wanna buy a bottle.” They shrugged, already grabbing a small pouch of coins out of their bag.

    “Ah so no stories today huh? That's a shame. Always love hearing about your latest escapades.” They just shrugged before turning their attention to Jonny. 

    “Whiskey?” He snapped back to reality, turning to face his companion. The barkeep was staring at him with a curious expression but he decided to ignore it for the moment. 

    “Yeah that works.” They looked at the bartender who just smiled and reached under the counter. 

    “Whos the chap?” They asked as they pulled a bottle out. Jonny found his eyes narrowing, disliking the similar speech pattern to toh soldiers. Gadget pauses for a moment as they count their coins. 

    “A colleague.” They shrugged and set the coins down with a hum. 

    “Don't you typically work alone?” The bartender seemed surprised as they handed the bottle over. 

    “Let's just say I'm trying something new. It was lovely seeing you, ill have to stop by to actually chat some time.” They smiled before gently ushering Jonny out of the building. He wasn't quite sure what he'd just witnessed. Gadget had been so casual with this random mortal when they barely spoke around the Mechanisms.

    “I don't get it,” He muses as they begin walking back toward the Aurora, taking a moment to open the bottle and take a swig. “Good stuff…” They looked at him curiously as he cleared his throat. “I don't understand why you would bother to befriend these people. It won't do you any good. They all end up gone-” 

    “I'm aware.” They interrupt with a stern tone, the casual friendliness from before nowhere to be seen. “I've been around long enough to know that. I'm just...” The words died on their tongue, mouth feeling drier than a desert.  “It doesn't matter.” He watched as they sped up, easily pulling ahead as if they knew where they were going. 

    It didn't make sense no matter how much he thought about it. Gadget didn't make any sense. They say they've been around for a while but in comparison to the rest they seem so…normal. They haven't so much as hinted at a story. He wondered if there even was a story or if they were just…an experiment of sorts. Their cane only made it harder to understand. It was very clearly not just for show as they leaned on it quite frequently but why would they need that if their skeleton was already replaced. 

    “There you two are,” Nastya stood outside the ship impatiently tapping her foot. “We were about to send someone else to go find you.”

   “Apologies. Thought your supply run would take longer.” Gadget shrugged, watching as Jonny just grumbled as he headed inside. “...I am curious as to why you sent him.” 

   “He wasn't doing much to help. Where'd he get that bottle by the way?” She looked at them with a slight tilt of her head. 

   “A thank you gift…or something along those lines. It doesn't matter. Maybe ill tell you later.” They took one last glance at the land around them before heading onto the ship. They didn't bother saying anything to the others, heading straight to their room instead. The whole trip had taken a lot out of them and they'd have to deal with more questions later.