#elias would have been working at the magnus institute when it burned down

[tiredmaster]

Throwing cheese at the wall but I have a feeling the man who hired Colin and he hates so much is going to be Gwen's father or family member

[daisyishedwig]

I'm curious about Gwendolyn and what her relationship might be to Elias. Currently my theory is that since The Magnus Institute in this universe burned down 20 years ago, do you think that Elias still worked for institute? Do you think he'd already been taken over by Jonah Magnus (in the original timeline he would have been, but what about this one)? Do you think he died in the fire? Do you think she's on a Tim Stoker style hunt for any information about what exactly killed her (brother? Cousin? Father? Uncle? Husband?)? Any information about /why/ he died? About who wanted to destroy the institute so badly they took Elias with it? If he had been taken over by Jonah, do you think she noticed the personality change? How he became an entirely new person? Is she trying to find out what caused that too?

I'm just so excited to learn more about her and /why/ she actually cares enough to carefully research the statements she's assigned, what's driving her to be so dedicated. And maybe, she thinks that being in charge will make that easier, when she sets the quotas, when she can require more attention to be paid to the statements. How long until she realizes that the talkers, just like the ones that wouldn't record digitally, are the statements that are real?

[morning-softness]

Story Title: Listen to the Voice that Told Me

Fandom: The Magnus Archives podcast

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47329336/chapters/119258467#workskin

Summary:

In this world of monsters and fear, where every day Jon is forced to read another description of the horrible fate that could befall someone—anyone—unlucky enough to encounter it, there are those—human and no longer human—who have singled out the Archivist as their target. And since pretending ignorance is obviously no protection, Jon’s determined to find out as much as possible about the threats he’s up against. After Prentiss's attack on the Institute and the discovery of his predecessor's corpse in the tunnels beneath it, Jon knows two things: 1. accepting the Head Archivist position put a target on his back and 2. he can't trust anyone, especially his assistants. As if he weren't already vulnerable enough, Jon discovers he's been cursed by a Web artefact to obey any order he's given. Can Jon find a way to break the curse before anyone else finds out?

Warnings: canon-typical worms, spiders, the Not Them, the Distortion, Jon's canon-typical Season 2 paranoia, canon-typical breaking and entering, nightmares, smoking, panic attack, stalking and invasion of privacy, strained relationships, arguments, power imbalance, manipulation, mind control, threats, abuse of power, Elias being a creep, burns, self-harm? (canon-typical Jon intentionally puts himself in danger because he thinks it’s worth it), thoughts of death and suicide, blood and murder (discussed), cursing, mentions of food and unconventional eating habits, alcohol, mention of drug use, roller coaster mention 

Characters: Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood, Tim Stoker, Sasha James, Elias Bouchard, Michael Distortion

Pairings: General (no romantic or sexual relationships)

Chapters: 11/11

Words: 54,751 (Making this the longest fic I've ever completed!)

When I Started: February 2023

I'm putting the rest of this under a readmore, because it got a bit long and rambley, but TLDR: Thank you so, so very much to @bunnies-in-the-archives for getting me started, to @wipbigbang, @nyctolovian, @prairiedawn, @liminalspacedout, and all of the wonderful people who commented on my fic for helping me finish.  Even if you've already read it, please check out Chapter 2 to see the awesome art that @liminalspacedout did for this fic.

How I Lost My Shit: This fic really got away from me in terms of length.  The classic problem of "the more I write, the further I am from finishing."  In my original outline, I planned for 8 chapters and estimated that it would be somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000 words.  Instead, the final version ended up being 11 chapters and 54,751 words!  At about the halfway point towards the original ending, I also realized that the ending I'd planned for wouldn't work because 1. it involved Jon knowing information that he wouldn't find out until Season 3, and 2. it actually didn't resolve one of the problems introduced at the beginning of the fic.  The ending I finally settled on is something like the third or forth version.

In addition to the fic itself fighting me, life also kept getting in the way.  I got a new pet and promptly discovered I was allergic to it.  I moved to a new apartment.  My pet got sick and I took on a lot of overtime to cover vet bills.  I took on additional tasks (essentially doing unpaid overtime) in pursuit of a promotion that I was turned down for.  I went through a few rough periods mentally, and hit a couple different stretches of writers' block that lasted for months.  I took on yet more additional tasks (working essentially 6-7 days a week) and actually got promoted this time.

How I Finished My Shit: A few major things helped me get back into writing this fic and eventually reaching the finish line. 

1. I joined @wipbigbang.  Just the excitement of that alone helped me push out about 1,500 words on the first day, although the initial enthusiasm didn't last very long before I got bogged down in the details again.

2. I was paired with an artist, and from the very first thumbnail sketches that @liminalspacedout shared with me, I was over the moon at how clearly they'd captured my vision of the main character.  I knew I had to finish so that everyone else could also see their artwork for this fic.  I think this carried me through a solid 2 more chapters before I stalled again. 

3. A friend in a writers' discord group that I was part of recommended the website 4thewords.com as being a fun way to kind of gameify the writing process and to break a large task down into smaller and more manageable parts.  I'd heard of it before, but I didn't realize there was a free version.  Using that has been a lifesaver for me in terms of completing not just this fic but honestly anything involving writing these past few months. 

4. The incredible @nyctolovian who had been my beta when I first started writing the fic was willing to come back and beta read the rest of the chapters after I started it again, and gave me some really good feedback on what worked and what didn't in terms of plot and characterization. 

5. Several people in the @themagnuswriters Discord helped me brainstorm ideas for the ending of this fic, which was the part I was stuck on the hardest and longest.

6. The wonderful @prairiedawn beta read the last two chapters in a single day and helped me get over the last hurdle to finally reach the finish line. 

7. Several people commented on the fic, and a few of them commented on multiple chapters, highlighting their favorite parts or speculating about what might happen next.  It really made me feel like this fic was worth writing, that there were people who appreciated it and wanted to see more of it, in spite of all its imperfections. 

[rosered2018]

TMA/TMAGP Crossover

I have been reading a fair amount of Magnus Archives and Magnus Protocol fics, and have noticed that most of the crossovers focus on the OIAR crew encountering Team Archive. I decided to take it the other direction.

Since my philosophy with crossovers is to choose the one character who would cause the most chaos for both groups and use them as the crossover point. In this case, I would choose Gwen.

I'm operating on the theory that the Fears are somewhat active in her home timeline, so it's possible she either goes through the wrong door or falls through a crack in the universe.

Her first sign that something is massively wrong is when she goes to the OIAR building and finds the Magnus Institute instead.

She remembers that her Uncle Elias had worked there when it burned down, and goes in to see if he's still there. Rosie greets her and tells her that, yes, Elias is still there and, as a matter of fact, he's been the head of the institute for about twenty years now.

Gwen hasn't seen her uncle in years, but she still wouldn't trust him to run a register in a shop much less the day-to-day operations of an academic institution. She goes into his office, and finds herself face-to-face with Jonah Magnus in an Elias suit. She has a minor panic attack, and flees before he can say a word to her.

She ends up in the lobby, trying to get a grip and figure out what the hell is going on, when she encounters Tim and Sasha on their way back from lunch. They assume she's there to give a statement and walk her down to the archive. Gwen listens to the two of them banter, and is struck by how much they remind her of Alice and Sam.

Not that she misses them.

When they get to the archive, they walk in on Jon and Martin having an arguement about spiders. Jon wants any and all spiders in the archive killed immediately and with extreme prejudice. Martin is arguing for a catch and release policy. When Gwen hears their voices, she has another breakdown.

Two cups of excellent tea and a few cookies later, she's well enough to give a statement. "My name is Gwendolyn Bouchard. I work for the Office of Incident Assessment and Response in the Chelsea neighborhood in London..."

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 18, MAG 18 The Man Upstairs

Thanks for sticking with me with these! I'm much less busy now and will be posting more consistently. I've decided to keep with the Saturday/Monday schedule rather than spamming to catch up, but I might post an extra during the week once and awhile. I also recently went through my old posts and uploaded the spoiler free versions. Thanks, enjoy this MAG 18 analysis!

What an incredible thing to hear after being assigned to a first-floor apartment. Really encouraging, thank you Jonny.

Facts: Statement of Christof Rudenko, regarding his time in the first floor flat of Welbeck House. Statement given December 12, 2008.

Statement Notes: The Magnus Archives is a 200-episode long work of anti-smoking propaganda designed to scare teenagers into never lighting up due to fear of the meat monster. In this essay I will,

In all seriousness, everything that becomes "evil" in TMA smokes. Smoking is consistently the indicator that shit is about to go down. Anytime a cigarette is mentioned, you know someone will disappear under mysterious circumstances in the next 15-20 minutes. So, stay tuned!

The foreshadowing in this episode is really subtle, but that's what makes it so smart. Rudenko has a party during which his neighbors come over and ask him to turn the music down. Presumably, if the walls are thin enough that they can hear Christof's music, they should be able to hear what's going on upstairs--as well as smell it. Yet, they never complain about the hammering or the rotten meat smell. But they're not the victim. The horrors in TMA, in spite of having large scale goals, work in isolated circumstances. They instill huge amounts fear in small numbers of people at a time. There's a practical aspect to this; if 500 people discover meat covered walls in the flats above theirs, there will be enough conversation that the avatar might be found out. But by creating small centers of fear in multiple places through a variety of methods, the entities minimize their exposure while still creating significant amounts of fear. This proves that there has always been an organized mind at work; whether that mind is the entities' or the avatars' is harder to say.

The other aspect of this episode I truly love is one of the most realistic, reoccurring themes of the show: anger can supersede fear. It's essentially a truism that a sufficiently angry human being can overcome any challenge. Spite is God's greatest motivator. Allow a person to become angry enough, and they won't be afraid anymore. Anger is what pushes Rudenko to go upstairs and confront Carlisle, Martin to burn statements, Tim to blow up the museum, and Jon to kill Jonah. But of course, just because you're so angry you stop being afraid, doesn't mean there's nothing to be afraid of. Carlisle gets sick in the upstairs flat, Martin is tortured by Elias, Tim dies, and Jon is somewhere else. Anger treats the symptoms, not the cause of the disease.

Entity Alignment: "Where was he getting the meat?"

It came in boxes. Someone or something was giving it to him. He wasn't ordering it, and he wasn't killing anyone otherwise the institute would have found out.

So where was Toby Carlisle getting the meat?

There's a little movie playing in my head when I think about Carlisle. A movie about a lonely guy in a crappy flat with a crappy life who really doesn't have anything else to do. Then he gets a package. It's unmarked box with no postage and no return address, but it's addressed to him. Inside is frozen meat. It's weird, but he assumes it's steak or pork and puts it in the fridge. Then it keeps coming. His fridge fills, then his freezer, then his whole kitchens full of the stuff. But he still doesn't mind, after all it's something to do. Something to keep him intrigued and busy as life gets duller and duller. It stops coming frozen. It stops being identifiable. He doesn't know why but he's driven to plaster it across his house. It becomes an obsession. It becomes his whole life. It becomes his whole apartment. It becomes who he is.

The Flesh sent a recruitment letter. Toby Carlisle replied. Even he doesn't know where he gets the meat.

Character Notes: Martin is still "out sick." Also Sasha definitely hacked a bank? And everyone is just okay with that? Alright.

[comas-are-for-sleeping]

ok you have a special interest in tma (im pretty sure) and i do not want to relisten to the whole fucking series SO can you give me liek a summary (however detailed you want) of what i need to know beofre tmp please and thank you

what gave you that impression whaaat???

ok but i love this question bc i can procrastinate on my hw without catastrophizing yippee!!

i'll do like a timeline of main events without dates bc i cannot actually remember numbers for shit

Jonathon Sims becomes Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute (im going to stop with capitals bc it is too much work) because his predecessor, gertrude robinson, died. he's extremely skeptical of anything "paranormal" so it's kinda funny in the beginning bc his whole job is recording statements people have given of their encounters/experiences. Every episode at this point ends with a, "well, it could be dismissed except for this one spooky detail."

at some point a delivery made by breakon and hope (a delivery company that shows up in statements; two guys with suspicious cockney accents) to jon. it's a table with a hole in the center (also has shown up in statements multiple times). because of its association to, like, bad things, jon takes an axe to the thing and it is left in artifacts storage.

the events of season one are basically worm lady named jane prentiss is stalking the institute in order to take it over. she traps martin blackwood, the poor sweet boy, in his apartment for a week. now he cant stand the sight or taste of canned peaches! he moves into the archives temporarily because of this. jon finds him annoying/a nuisance but is very quick to offer the archives as a place for him to stay (spoilers they kiss). sasha james, another employee, meets an entity who calls itself Michael (an icon) who takes her to see a guy from a statement where his one night stand explodes into worms bc she had an encounter with jane prentiss. he is now a worm person. michael gets a worm from sasha's arm that tried to get into her arm w his finger which is Too Long and Too Sharp. The season ends with prentiss invading the archives and being burned to death! tim stoker (another employee, promise that's mostly all of them), martin, and jon are all Traumatized and end up covered in scars from getting worms out of each other with a corkscrew :) sasha and elias bouchard (everyone's boss) attempt to get out, but sasha is separated and ends up in artifacts storage. someone else is there and then the tape cuts out (everything is being recorded on tapes because something funky happens when certain statements come in contact with digital technology). the tape goes missing.

season two is jon's Paranoia Era. he's not sure who he can really trust anymore, since if jane was out there, there must be others and they could even be his own staff (how did she get in?? what are the underground tunnels beneath the archives??). at the end of each statement there is now a "supplemental" in which he describes his suspicions (which leads to him following some of his employees to their homes and they find out and... are not very pleased) and his findings in explorations of these strange tunnels that seem to move by themselves. there is someone down there, but who could it be?

oh btw another reoccurring thing are spooky books with the name "jurgen leitner" in them

the last two statements before Shit Goes Down are both about someone who's relative changes appearance, sound, and personality, except that no one thinks that this has happened and even pictures would suggest they had always looked like that (except polaroids and tapes). jon finds sasha's "missing" tape and listens to it. and... she sounds different in this recording. uh oh!! she isn't who she says she is!! she attacks him, he ends up running around in the archives (perhaps because of michael, who has a multidimensional door that enters into a spiral of confusing hallways) and meets the man himself, jurgen leitner (who, it turns out, has been the one living in the archives). they trap the Not-Sasha in the tunnels because leitner has a book that, if he reads certain sections, can move the walls/stairs/entryways/etc. jon Obviously has questions, so they go into his office and he keeps interrupting leitner (obviously). what he is able to tell jon is basically:

he found some spooky books and decided that he could collect them all. he built a library and put his name in all the books he owned, but one day it was too much and basically the whole thing burned down, all his assistants died, and the books were yet again scattered to the winds. he explains that he believes these books, entities, and items are all part of powerful beings. he also tells jon that elias killed gertrude. jon freaks out and decides to take up smoking again in that moment, so leitner is left alone. and elias goes in there and kills him with a lead pipe. jon comes back and is like wtf. he's pinned as the murderer bc all his coworkers were suspicious of his behaviors.

so now jon is on the run. he hides in his ex-girlfriend's apartment. he decides to do field research into something gertrude seemed to be interested called The Unknowing. we also learn that he encountered a leitner book as a child which led him to witness his school bully being taken by a spider behind a door (this is an animatic of said book teehee). also that georgie (the ex) also had an encounter separate from him which resulted in her losing all ability to feel fear. jon's field research leads him to find various entities from the statements and is kinda bullied by all of them tbh. hand burned by a woman who's basically made of wax (she likes destroying people's things and fire), simulated vertigo from a guy with a lightning scar down his back, and kidnapped by a clown manequine who wants his skin (as part of the Unknowing)! oh and also almost murdered by a bloodthirsty cop (daisy tonner my beloved plus her gf basira. idr if their relationship was ever established but). he tells daisy that he wasn't the one who killed leitner and that it was elias (i think he has proof?? bc she believes him). they corner him but hes like lol no u cant kill me if you kill me you all die rip teehee!!

oh! on his adventures, he ends up in america and learns that the powers are organized into types of fears. there are fourteen of them, jon works for the Eye. jane was the corruption (rot, bugs). the circus is the stranger (fear of the other, unknown, etc).

at this point i think also the clown + her circus have gathered all the materials for this "Unknowing," (a ritual of sorts). the crew (now including daisy and basira) devise a plan to end it while also distracting elias so that he can be arrested. jon makes martin and tim stay behind (as the distraction), but tim refuses bc his brother was killed by a clown (not the same one as the kidnapper) and hes Angry. I think at this point basira and melanie (she made a statement and then got fired from her job as a ghost hunter youtuber) work at the institute also.

they enter the circus Unknowing and martin burns statements to get elias's attention. all the circus people forget who they are so it's hard to blow everything up, but they figure it out enough for tim to detonate. daisy is thrown into a coffin (also a thing that shows up in multiple statements), tim dies in the explosion, and jon is catatonic.

season four! jon wakes up six months later in the hospital and is told that he was entirely dead except for brain activity. martin is distant, elias has been arrested and replaced by peter lukas, a name that has also shown up before. he is part of the lukas family, which is aligned with the lonely (they help fund the institute). jon pulls back up to his place of work and everyone's kinda annoyed and sad bc their friends are dead. melanie is increasingly violent, most likely due to a ghost bullet in her leg from right before she was hired (this is the slaughter, which is war and senseless violence/murder). she hates jon because she is stuck working for the institute forever (you cant leave or you'll like. get increasingly more sickly or something like that). basira spends a lot of time in the institute library. jon realizes that he can Know things randomly now. he also starts needing to read statements in the way that we need food and sometimes kinda is not so great to (random) people when he's especially lacking

oh my turns out there is a word limit to these things!! whoopsie doo there is more so get ready ig

[envihellbender]

MaDe TMA au!!

Characters: Declan Gerritz, Mathias Iversen (OCs)

Verse: The Magnus Archives AU, in this the Magnus Institute is in York, Declan is the Archivist, Mathias is an assistant who has been marked for the Web, the main antagonists are Martin and John. John in Elias’s place and Martin in Peter Lukas’s place.

Content: Spiders, technology malfunctioning, puppets

[CLICK]

DECLAN (THE ARCHIVIST)

Statement of Mathias Iverson, regarding a strange encounter with a television programme. It occurred in his flat in Westfield, York. Statement given 14th of February 2023. Audio recording by Declan Gerritz, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute. Statement begins. [A PAUSE FOLLOWED BY A SHAKY BREATH FROM DECLAN] When-whenever you’re ready, Mads.

MATHIAS

Oh. Right. Yeah. It happened five days ago, at least, I think it did. I’ve not… been home since. I always wind down after work with a film. Disney film, usually. This time it was Løvernes Konge. I still have the old video tapes from when I was a kid, they still work really well which is good because I don’t like the English titles as much. I also got an old VCR I picked up in a charity shop, it was really cheap. I find it more relaxing to watch them that way, I guess. People keep saying I should just get a Disney Plus account but… anyway, not relevant. I was watching Løvernes Konge and it had just gotten to the bit where Simba is going to the elephant graveyard. I don’t know if this is relevant but just above my television for a while there has been a spider for about a week or so. Not the biggest I’ve ever seen. But not like, small either. It had a web all built and I have been leaving it alone because well spiders keep pests away. Anyway. The screen… Changed. It went to static. At first I didn’t question it, thought maybe it was a problem with the VCR. I mean the thing is fucking old. But when I went over to check the cable or smack it I saw my silhouette in the static. My outline. A black shadow of me. I put my hand up and my shadow self moved too. I turned the television off and took the tape from the VCR, and it was fine I suppose. But I could smell burning. I tried not to think about it. My upstairs neighbours are terrible cooks and my downstairs neighbours get stoned fairly frequently so it’s not too out of the ordinary.

Anyway so I ignored the television for the rest of the night and listened to some true crime podcasts instead. I fell asleep during one. It was about the Cray twins, it was pretty inaccurate and glossed over- well- that doesn’t matter. When I woke up in the middle of a new episode I did not recognise the television was on. It was showing a static screen like before with silhouettes on it. But the silhouettes? They were like. Fanden. They were all spiders. They were just the black shapes of eight legged creatures. Had to be spiders, right? At first I thought they were on the screen but I even put my hand on it and all I could feel was the glass and the slight static hum. But the spiders moved. They cleared space like I spooked them. I tried turning my television off but it didn’t do anything. Eventually I unplugged it and went back to sleep. I tried to ignore it. Maybe it was a technical glitch or maybe it was a supernatural thing that if I left it alone and showed I wasn’t going to interfere maybe it would leave me alone.

Anyway. I went to bed, and I slept pretty well actually. I slept for four hours, and got up around three in the morning. I sort of dismissed what had happened as a dream. I started making my meal prep for the week. I have a specific type of insomnia where I can only sleep for four hours at a time most nights so I try to be productive when I’m awake. I mostly cut up vegetables and cook pasta. I quite like the flat at night, there’s not as much noise from upstairs and downstairs at that time. Anyway. When I went into the living room to sit and maybe watch something on Netflix when… the television. It was- it was already… on. It was on. I’d left it unplugged. I vividly remember pulling the plug from the wall. But no, the plug was… well it was back in obviously. Anyway. On the television, instead of spiders this time it was a strange programme instead, it was these puppets, they looked like… there is this kids show from back ho- back in Denmark named Kaj and Andrea. It’s got these puppets and they are a frog and a bird. But they look. They looked wrong, I can’t explain… the proportions weren’t right and they moved a little too humanly, I think. It was smooth as if they weren’t being controlled and the bird’s wings moved like arms. They were talking in a mix of languages, I caught bits of English and Danish, then maybe German and French. Eventually, I noticed the spiders on the screen, slowly edging from the sides and taking up more and more space. It was then they both turned to the screen and … they were talking in English. Clear English. And they were talking to me. At first I thought I was insane, like no they’re just talking at the camera but- but I don’t know. It started with them saying it’s awfully late, how I shouldn’t be watching television at this time, then they began saying I shouldn’t sit so close to the screen. It was then they got bigger, and they grew teeth. And they said, clear as day:

“Do you think we need more legs, Mathias?”

I tried to turn it off. But the buttons… at some point the television had been covered in web and I’d not noticed. How had I not noticed? I- I went to unplug it but the web went all the way down the wire and attached it to the socket in the wall. I tried to rip it out but it wouldn’t budge. The stupid fucking puppets on the TV laughed and laughed and laughed. They said- they said “don’t you wish to play with us, Mathias?” How fucking creepy and cliche is that?

Anyway. I packed a bag and ran. Hung out in the 24 hour cafe just outside of the city centre until it was time to go to work. And I’ve been secretly living in the Archives ever since. Sorry. Erm. Am I in trouble?

DECLAN (THE ARCHIVIST)

Statement ends. [Sighs.] No, you’re not in trouble. John doesn’t seem to mind. And Martin… I don’t think he’s noticed.

MATHIAS

I have evidence. For the research. I have photos on my phone. Of the TV and of the cartoon. Probably would be better if I had a video…

DECLAN (THE ARCHIVIST)

No, no. That’s great, Mads. Obviously it’s best you don’t investigate personally, since something clearly wants to hurt you. And you can’t go back home. So. Yes. I think- we can set you up a proper bed in the Archives. Have some security watching out for whatever is doing this. Are you… Are you okay, Mads?

MATHIAS

I suppose so. [Breath quickens and there are tears in his voice.] I want my things. I want my things here and I want them not to be covered in web. I want my home back. I want it to be clean. I want-

DECLAN (THE ARCHIVIST)

Hey, hey- [Shuffling due to him moving to hold Mathias.] I know, I know Mads. It’s gonna be okay. We’ll deal with this. And I’ll keep you safe.

MATHIAS

[Sniffs.] Guess I can’t say all the statements we get are bullshit now, huh?

[DECLAN LAUGHS]

[CLICK]

[yellow-faerie]

Ok ok ask and ye shall receive - Archivist!Melanie

So the basic premise of this one is that Melanie has weird things happen to her super early in her career. First, there's an encounter with the Web probably when she's still at Uni, and there's an encounter with something or other while recording, and maybe another incident with someone or something else.

In her quest to find answers, she ends up at the Magnus Institute literally the day Gertrude goes missing (probably due to some sort of Web machination, or just dumb luck) and comes to the attention of Elias Bouchard who's like - well she's got herself a head start! And so he literally offers her a job in the Archives on the spot.

Melanie is like...umm am I qualified for that? And Elias is like...I'm gonna pay you loads and give you four assistants so do with that what you will. So Melanie takes the Archivist job.

The assistants are Sasha, Tim, Jonathan and Martin. I think the dynamic in the Archives is quite fraught between Melanie and her assistants for while they are very happy to help, there's this sort of unspoken agreement that even Martin would have been a better pick as Archivist.

This isn't to say they are friends/friendly but they don't have the basis of a friendship from working together previously that Jon had with Sasha and Tim, and so it's more difficult to not feel an undertone of bitterness that she got the job.

I reckon she's probably still quite sceptical of statements to begin with, perhaps a touch less due to her Several Experiences Already. The whole reason she's here is to understand why the Fears are like that and she is determined that once she's worked it out, she'll step down and let the others fight over the position.

Jane Prentiss happens pretty much the same as canon EXCEPT that it is Martin who gets taken by the Not!Them - not sure on the logistics of how yet - when they come out.

Melanie has a sort of paranoia arc, but it's mostly just an anger issues arc, and she and Georgie - who were sort of dating by that point - "take a break" over this and this just sorta makes things worse. The police suspect her of the murder (how could they not) and Basira and Daisy still come in as they did in canon.

The Not!Them is discovered by Jon though - who goes through a little, mini paranoia arc as a treat when his boyfriend (he and Martin were dating) starts acting weird; which culminates in someone from the library coming down to the archives and being like...that's not the guy I remember - and so he burns the table down with his lighter. (The web lighter)

Which still releases the Not!Them but we get rescued by Leitner, while Michael ends up having Tim and Sasha in his tunnels. He takes a particular liking to Sasha but does let them both leave.

Leitner appears; Leitner dies. Melanie gets accused of murder and ends up staying at Georgie's. This is inconvenient because Jon ALSO comes to visit Georgie because of the cat (a rather new development coming from losing the guy he really quite liked to Strange Fear Entities).

I reckon Melanie would definitely also travel like Jon did. I think she's probably marked by the Slaughter with the bullet in her leg just as in canon. I'm not gonna get into the specifics here because I have yet to map them out lol.

Meanwhile, back home, Jon is getting super quiet at work, Tim is furious that he's still here and Sasha has a new, developing fear of opening doors. Basira joins the Archives around this time I believe as well. (I have not got this far on my relisten so details get fuzzy from here on out lol)

But the Circus of the Other! Tim dies, as in canon, Melanie goes into the place between Life and Death but it is Georgie who wakes her up. Georgie who still has a great deal of affection for her ex-girlfriend and would rather she not die.

So I have not planned this out lol but things I know happen in this alternate S4:

- Jon goes Full Web (he's the one that Peter chooses to be his assistant but Jon is playing his own game)

- Sasha either a) ends up opening the wrong door and being swallowed by the distortion, something that kept happening for longer and longer times before the final time) or b) goes the Melanie of S4 route and quits the institute - I literally cannot decide haha

- I reckon Basira is the same sort of ruthless as in canon and is the one who does Impromptu Near Surgery (the bullet is still there after all)

- Daisy is rescued

I reckon a lot of S4 would be Melanie trying to prove she's not a monster; she helps Daisy to feel like a hero (Jon pulls her out with the tapes - the Mother doesn't want them losing the Archivist), she refuses to eat (and then lies about it when she does), etc etc

Eventually though, things come to a head and Melanie - fully marked - has to escape. So she goes to Georgie's house for help and Georgie knows a place up in Scotland where they can stay safe. (It's Daisy's safehouse, the information is for some reason being given by Georgie but shhh)

So then the Apocalypse happens. Melanie has kinda accepted that she has to eat so Georgie leaves her to it and voilà, eyepocalypse.

I really haven't thought this far ahead but if Sasha got eaten by the Distortion, she would appear instead of Helen; and if she was blinded, she'd probably end up beneath the Institute although I don't know if she'd rescue anyone or not.

Basira and Daisy's story would, again, be somewhat similar to canon because they really do not want to be AUed against their will for some reason.

That said, Jon definitely becomes a full avatar of the Web in this situation and is like Annabelle's right hand, being used to convince Georgie and Melanie of the plan to release the Fears; which he's good enough at that he gets Georgie.

And Georgie stabs Melanie.

So yeah! I love these sorts of AUs where everything twists and turns, and Archivist!Melanie is one that's so totally full of a lot of denial and anger that it...frankly fascinates me as an idea.

I desperately need to talk about my TMA au where several alternate universes with different Archivists starting the eyepocalypse, all meeting in the winding corridors of Hilltop Road as it exists in between universes, like I am literally lying awake thinking about it

There's Jon, of course, looking for Martin but there's also:

Archivist!Gertrude starting the apocalypse because she and Agnes were much closer than in canon and Gertrude will put herself in danger for one (1) person

Archivist!Melanie who joined the institute after several very weird encounters on the job and who Elias shoved into the archivist position because of her several marks; she screams and screams against it but doesn't leave because a small sliver of her is scared of death, and half believes she might be able to help other people

Archivist!Basira who takes over after Jon dies in the Unknowing and is sceptical and untrusting and ruthless, but too reckless not to get marked (and maybe she's friends with Rosie, out of lack of no-one else to be friends with, and maybe clinging to that friendship means she misses when Rosie's eyes subtly change colour)

Archivist!Sasha who is almost as sceptical as Jon but is more light-hearted, and has her own past, and whose journey mirrors Jon's so terribly but she still digs that hole anyway

Archivist!Elias, which was admittedly crack to begin with, but now I'm obsessed with whatever that would be like after Gertrude dies early - also weirdly got me into LonelyEyes so...I don't know how I feel about that

There are just so many twists and turns to all these aus and in my head they don't even interact all that much but....all the other characters who twist into new narrative positions when the Archivist changes...it fascinates me

Send me an ask with a character (literally any character from TMA) and I'll tell you how they change in each au, as well as maybe a few headcanons from the canon universe ;)

[foineswoine]

This post is gonna compile all my thoughts on The Magnus Protocol. All taken from various ramblings I’ve subjected my friends to (lmao) (if any of y’all see this, no you do not.)

All seasons spoilers.

I have. questions about The Magnus Protocol. First, I’ll go through the small amount of info we have. https://rustyquill.com/show/the-magnus-protocol/ "The Magnus Institute was an organisation dedicated to academic research into the esoteric and the paranormal, based out of Manchester, England. It burned to the ground in 1999. There were no survivors. Now, almost 25 years later..." right so. from this we can gather that this takes place in an alternate universe where the Fears leaked into, because the Institute was originally in Edinburgh, not Manchester. And it didn’t burn down in 1999 the OG timeline. This raises questions:

If the Fears didn't originally exist, how come Jonah founded the Magnus Institute?

I've been trying to figure out his original reasoning, but it hasn't been... exactly forthcoming. He was always intrigued by the esoteric, even before discovering the Fears (as mentioned in #24, a letter to Jonah before founding the institute, "but I recall that during your visit last spring you mentioned your fascination with the macabre and strange..."). And I can gather that he had known about the Fears before 1824, when Barnabas wrote to him about being in the Lonely (because, if Mordechai Lukas could have popped him into the Lonely, he must have been an avatar, and their cohort learnt about the fears from Rayner as a little group <3- "When Smirke first gathered our little band – Lukas, Scott, and the rest – to discuss and hypothesize on the nature of the things he had learned from Rayner, I felt what I believe we all felt: curiosity, and fear."). So, he learnt about the Fears before 1824. Well, Milbank was designed by Smirke as "a temple to all the Fears in equilibrium." And he started working on it, after being convinced by Jonah, in 1815. Three years before the institute was founded. So, in this alternate universe, why would he found it? If there weren't any true paranormal sightings? Hm.

“It burnt to the ground in 1999.”

I found this notable because, in 1999, the Institute was subjected to a data breach. Is this where the timelines diverged? ("but when all those statements were leaked back in ‘99..."). I saw a post regarding this, suggesting that perhaps this IS where the timeline diverged. And instead of leaking the documents, the person who obviously wanted to damage the Institute just resorted to good old-fashioned arson.

Now, this is a bit meta, but most of the tidbits of information given in statements have some importance to them. We revisit it- especially when it concerns the Insitute. But aside from a throwaway comment in 68, the data breach never comes up again. This would make sense if it was something set up specifically for the Magnus Protocol.

“Now, almost 25 years later…”

25 years after 1999. 2024. Our time. Not 2018 or 2019. Hm.

Now, this next section is talking about fucking Manchester. Because Jonah moved the Institute from Edinburgh to London because of the Panopticon. So, there must have been some big event to cause him to move to Manchester. Now, some of the Magnus Archives is based on real events- the concept of using the panopticon as a prison design certainly was (although, Robert Smirke being involved was not). This is where my ramblings get a bit off the rails- I skimmed through the Wikipedia article on large events that happened in Manchester, just to see if there was any historical significance to the area. And I found the corn laws.

Not particularly relevant, but since I am compiling all the thoughts and rambles I felt it was necessary.

The teaser trailer! Woo! We hear Martin’s voice in it, so one can assume that he will make an appearance. But- there were no bodies found in the wreckage (end of ep 200). No bodies. Not Elias’, not Jon’s, not Martin’s. And we’re talking about a separate universe. An alternate dimension. No bodies found, the fears were dragged into a different universe? What’s to say that Elias, Jon and Martin weren’t dragged in with them. Or, well, Elias’ (and Jon’s? I hope not) dead bodies. God, that would be fucked. Martin waking up in a new, alien universe clutching the body of his dead boyfriend. That’d be fucked.

I’m not gonna stake my life on this theory, but it is a possibility. Just throwing it out there.

And with the teaser, at the very end there’s a slight whisper. Or is it the sound of wind? Of breathing? I am terrible at identifying sounds. Someone’s probably already done it though. Lmao.

A reddit thread I saw (https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMagnusArchives/comments/znrhlk/tshirt_design_for_magnus_protocol/) already identified the “non vacillabimus” to be “We will not flinch,” or “We shall not falter.” And the aforementioned tumblr user identified the two symbols in the centre of the coat of arms to be salt and mercury (they also pointed out sulfur? Although I can’t spot it), and that it resembles the British Civil Service logo/coat of arms. 

The O.I.A.R. at the top of it all stands for the Office of Incident Assessment and Response (probably).

Other snippets of thoughts that don’t really merit their own section: >Daisy’s first name is Alice. Alternate universe Daisy as a main character? I doubt this a bit, but it would be interesting if that were the case.

>”"have stumbled across its legacy. A legacy that will put them in grave danger." what does this mean???? It’s extra stuff that may mean that Jonah'll return (if not as a character, he will be at least talked about again. yk?)” -me at 9 (slightly comprehensible)

>”if jonah magnus doens't show up in the magnus protocol I am suing and crying and weeping just let my favourite charavter suffer more!! let the cast attack and maim him!!! let the bastard man be all smug and then let people b eat the shit outta him!! thats all I want!!” -me at 2am (not very comprehensible)

Closing Thoughts: Jonah Magnus really wanted the Corn Law drama.

[jellyfishinajamjar]

HOLY FUCK

If the Institute is in Manchester in the Magnus Protocol, then this is taking place in an alternate universe where Jonah Magnus never moved the institute to London, which means

something

probably

Edit: okay so I looked in to it, Magnus says he moved the institute to London after he comes up with his plan to end the world, which means the institute predates that point. TMP takes place in a universe where he never had that plan, and so never moved the institute to be over the tunnels of old Milbank Prison.

I think there’s two possibilities here:

1.) TMP takes place concurrent with TMA, hence being set in 2024, after the Eyepocalypse, meaning it didn’t have The Fears until very recently, meaning the institute would have been founded regardless of Magnus being an avatar.

Or 2.) TMP takes place after TMA, potentially by a long time, meaning The Fears have effectively always been there

Edit 2: The Archives having burned down in 1999 I think means that this is a universe where Gertrud’s plan to burn down the archives to distract Jonah while she killed him worked. To my mind there’s three ways that would have worked out:

1.) Magnus’ body was in the panopticon of Milbank Prison, but his host body was in the Manchester institute, then the archives burns, Gertrude hops in a cab and drives two hours to central London to kill Magnus and, because from Jonah and Peter’s conversation with Martin we know that killing Magnus in the panopticon means taking his place, Gertrude is stuck there being an Eye avatar.

2.) Gertrude used c4 to blow up both the archives and Jonah from a beach house in Malibu, and is now retired with a lovely service cat named Agnes.

3.) Gertrude killed Elias but not Magnus in the fire, so he’s still kicking it in the panopticon, potentially waiting for one of our new protagonist’s to stumble in and get their eyes scooped out with a melon baller

Either way, this universe’s Jon is almost certainly dead already (as he was a researcher when Gertrude was still archivist, and so definitely died in that fire), but this universe’s Martin might still be alive (assuming his lie about parapsychology wouldn’t have gotten him into the institute until after Jon was picked to be the next archivist, which didn’t happen in this universe because Jonah wasn’t going for an Apocalypse), which opens up the possibility of a post-eyepocalypse Jon+Martin+this universe’s Martin polycule

[a-suspiciously-large-pig]

Hey Look, It's My Fics

Here's the list of all my fics, so check them out if you would like, they're all under the cut. These aren't in any specific order, and I will add to this if and when I need to.

Nobody Needs To Know

78,468 Words

Rated T

HR at the Magnus Institute was a department that was used significantly less than it probably should have, but there was one rule that they were known to crack down on; no relationships between coworkers, and especially not between superiors and their subordinates. This is going to be a problem for some of the new archival staff. In which Jon and Martin are married before they even start working in the archives, and try to hide their relationship to avoid the wrath of the HR department.

Supplemental Fluff

32,857 Words

Rated T

A bunch of one-shots to compliment "Nobody Needs to Know", the main work in this collection. Highly suggest you read that fic before venturing into these, but it's not strictly necessary. Set in the same AU where Jon and Martin are married before they have even started working in the archives. These aren't done in any particular order, so any important info about the setting will be in the chapter summaries, along with any potential spoilers or other important things about that story.

Rewinding The Tapes

29,271 Words

Rated T

As Martin watched the pages burn, he felt his gaze being drawn to those few words that he could still see, unable to look away from them. In particular his eyes seemed drawn to one sentence that hadn't yet begun to blacken and curl; "I wouldn’t try too hard to stop reading; there’s every likelihood you’ll just hurt yourself" He was only pulled away from the trance it had him under when he heard the sound of a body collapsing on the floor. - Martin prevents the end of the world, but not without consequences.

Green Carnations

47,900 Words

Rated T

"In an effort to distract himself for the odd feeling of the situation, he occupied himself by looking over the papers spread out in front of him once again. He had looked them over a number of times already since Elias had first handed them to him, trying to wrap his head around the it all properly. To say that Jon had been a bit taken aback when he’d been informed that Elias had hired an assistant for him would have been an understatement." ------- Jon is a writer, stuck working for Elias. Martin is his assistant, also stuck working for Elias. Feelings ensue. A Victorian era AU JMart romance.

Emotional Support Animal

2,570 Words

Rated T

Melanie just wanted to have a nice, pleasant night to celebrate her anniversary with Georgie, but of course things can never be that easy for her. Georgie, however, has a plan to make up for a bad day at work.

Hold Each Other. Be Happy.

1,859 Words

Rated E

Being tricked into starting the apocalypses is pretty terrible, but sometimes hugs can make it a little bit less terrible.

[bravevolunteer]

MICHAEL HAS NO INTEREST IN ALIGNING HIMSELF WITH ANYONE— not the Magnus Institute, not the Cult of the Lightless Flame, not his damn father and his creations. He has spent all too much of his life at the mercy of the fears, bitterness festering inside of him like a slowly kindling flame... his father slowly morphing into a being he could no longer recognize, palpable guilt sticking to his hands like bloodstains he cannot scrub off no matter how long he submerges his hands underwater. They will always be scorned, they will always be burning, but it makes all the difference now that they are HIS. His father may have sent him down to his facilities to die, to release all that he had been working on, but he didn't account for what he would leave reborn through the flames.

His gaze narrows, unwilling to hand any of his trust to Elias. The Magnus Institute isn’t an organization he never assumed would be WELCOMING towards him— he may not belong to the Desolation’s infamous group of followers, but he is an avatar of the fire all the same. Of course, his first suspicion to look out for is ulterior motives. Yet, Elias strikes the exact nerve that fuels Michael’s flames, and he cannot help his interest in the possibility of finally being able to do something with the anger he carries.

"From what you know, huh?" That all but confirms the fact that Elias has been watching him, a thought that doesn't help his wariness. All things considered, he shouldn't be as reluctant as he is: he has nothing to be afraid of, not with the destruction he can cause whenever need be, yet... he bristles like a wounded animal on guard. "That's where you've got it wrong— I don't care about the end of the world." That's what happens when you have nothing left to lose, Michael has already thought about burning with it. He scowls at the smile ( the tone all too familiar ), but... the offer still makes him pause. "... What's your plan, then? How are you finding him? Because I've been doing fine on my own so far."

i think you got the wrong idea. (hear me out, hands you michael’s tma verse, for jonah/elias)

NO,  MICHAEL  –  JONAH  IS  CERTAIN  HE  KNOWS  EXACTLY  WHAT  THE  IDEA  IS.  Nevertheless,  he  is  also  certain  he  knows  Michael,  a  little  better  than  Michael  assumes:  their  first  meeting,  and  yet  he  has  been  keeping  an  eye  ( sorry,  an  Eye )  on  him  for  longer.  Hard  not  to,  when  the  influence  of  the  Afton  family�� stretches  across  the  pond  to  Britain:  he’d  only  just  finished  dealing  with  a  particularly  dedicated  follower  of  William’s,  and  it  really  had  been  more  trouble  than  he’d  first assumed.

But  Michael;  oh,  poor,  undeserving,  wonderful  Michael.  Jonah’s  focus  has  been  turned  towards  him  for  quite  some  time,  now.  Cut  the  tree  off  at  the  root;  or,  if  the  root  cannot  be  reached,  the  closest  thing  to  it  possible will do.  Michael  wants  nothing  to  do  with  his  organization,  he  is  certain  –  and  yet  he’s  also  certain  that  that  lovely  little  selfless  streak  in  the  boy’s  chest  can  be  exploited  for  the  Eye’s  benefit.  They  do  have  a  ritual  attempt  upcoming,  after  all:  if  he  can  sic  the  boy  on  his  father  like  a  dog,  if  he  plays  his  cards  just  right . . .  then  Jonah  might  just  have  a  loyal  mutt  on  his  side  and  remove  a  nasty  thorn  from  his  side.

“ Do  I ? ”  He  asks,  voice  mild,  hands  clasped  behind  his  back.  “ Because  from  what  I  Know,  Michael – ”  No  point  acting as  if  he  has  not  Known:  honesty,  in  part,  will  get  him  further  than  lies.  “ – your  goals  just  so  happen  to  coincide  with  mine.  You  want  your  father  dead  and  buried;  I  would  very  much  like  to  stop  him  from  ending  the  world  as  we  know  it. ”  Offers  the  boy  a  slight  smile,  wry  and  companionable:  “ Perhaps  you  have  no  interest  in  joining  my  efforts.  But  I  imagine  ‘ preventing  the  end  of  the  world ’  might  just  be  what  you  want  too.  And  I  have  every  intention  of  assisting  you  with  locating  your  father. ”

[ashes-in-a-jar]

The Purrfect Alternative

Premise: Why would there be a cat in the archives? An archive cat fixit.

2.7K words

Rated G

(Tw: A bit of violence but it's against Jurgen Leitner)

This is a fic dedicated to the @jonsimsandcats event! Hope you enjoy it :)

"Sorry, you haven't seen a cat, have you?"

Jon gaped at the larger man who suddenly barged into the office. 

"I-I'm sorry, a what?"

"Uh, a cat, tabby I think." The man hurriedly explained.

"No. No I haven't. Is it.. Supposed to be here?" Jon knew book shops sometimes kept cats. Perhaps archives did as well. Maybe Gertrude had a soft spot in her after all.

"N-no actually. I, uh, I was feeding it on the way in but when I got up with my things, well, my hands were full you see, so when I managed to open the door it sort of slipped in with me? I'm so sorry, I have to find it before-"

"Okay okay calm down, stop." Jon held up his hand and let out a sigh. First day of the promotion and he's already stressed. But it's fine. He's fine. He can handle a cat. He's good with cats.

"Where do you work? Upstairs? Are you sure it came down here?"

"Yes, I saw it. And I just started working down here today? I'm Martin. Blackwood." He offered a hand. Jon automatically took it. Big and soft. He let go a bit too quickly and coughed. 

"Work here? Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to let Jonathan Sims know about becoming an archival assistant. He's the head archivist Elias told me to talk to."

"Well that's one thing to cross off your list." Jon smirked. "I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon, if you please. And Elias did not mention you. Tim and Sasha were supposed to be the only new recruits." Jon frowned to himself. He'll have to have a word with Elias about this. It's fine now that it happened but keeping Jon updated could really help in preventing these kinds of awkward introductions with people he's supposed to work closely with.

"O-oh! Well, here I am now too." Martin chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his jumper.

Jon hummed "So you are I suppose. Well, let's not waste time on trivial matters, there is a cat that needs to be found." Jon got up from his chair.

"O-oh god, you're right. I'm so sorry for this." The other man apologized, remembering why he was there in the first place. It was clear that he now realized that the fact that the person he's asking to help him clear up his mess is his new boss could be very problematic for him. Jon easily sympathized with that kind of familiar pressure.

"It's alright, let's just, get this sorted." Jon was not willing to admit that a part of him was also just looking forward to seeing the cat. It would help distract him from his own stress, as it were.

Ten minutes later the two of them sitting on the floor in the stacks with a chubby tabby cat sprawled on Jon's lap. Jon was petting it affectionately while amicably getting acquainted with his new assistant. The man turned out to be a library veteran with useful cataloging skills that could help with the mess that was left down here. Having calmed down considerably, Martin had stopped fidgeting and was cooing at the cat who was head butting his large palm. Their presence soothed Jon in a way that surprised him. In the tranquil, quiet atmosphere of the stacks, sounds of cat purrs and Martin's low murmurs, he felt almost optimistic that despite his lack of experience and the large task ahead of them, he would be alright. 

-------

Paper meowed loudly behind him as Martin hurried down the tunnel with Jon and Tim at his tail. Martin glanced back as he reached an intersection and noticed they were too far behind, Jon limping on his injured foot. He hesitated, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. Paper came up and rubbed his leg before trotting down the tunnel on the right, tail held high and confident. Martin inhaled deeply to catch his breath, starting to walk again, this time more slowly. They managed to leave most of the fast worms behind and the ones down here were few and sparse enough to easily stomp down individually. Paper was making a game out of it.  He kept leaping onto some that crawled ahead of them, squishing them loudly with his paw. 

Jon and Tim caught up and the three followed Paper down the dark passage. 

"Yeah, get the damn crawlers." Slurred Tim. The CO2 he inhaled was not helping his coherency. 

"You know," gasped Jon, "I actually think they're larvae, given Jane's statement and-" 

"Jon, I'm going to have to ask you to stop now." Martin said, as calmly as he could, his voice a tad too high and loud. 

"... Sorry." Jon said sheepishly. 

They followed Paper down the forking paths, hoping the cat knew where in the seven circles of hell they were. 

Eventually they stopped seeing any worms as the path sloped up, ending in a sudden door. There was daylight filtering in from beneath it. Paper was eagerly pawing at it. 

"Uh, I think we found a secret way out of the institute." Martin could hardly believe their luck. 

"Excellent, now I can ditch work and no one will know I even left." Tim mumbled. 

"Tim, if you wanted to succeed in that endeavor, you should have not said that next to your boss." Jon commented dryly. 

The worm threat no longer being imminent, Martin allowed himself a nervous chuckle. 

They pushed at the door and with a bit of group effort, eventually managed to pry it open into fresh air. They came out into a narrow alleyway which turned out to be not far from the institute. As they walked (limped) down the street to find access to a working phone they heard someone cry out. 

"Jon? Tim? Martin!" They spotted Sasha hurrying towards them, carrying heavy bags of cat food. 

"Sasha! You're okay!" Martin exclaimed. "We were worried you'd get back and be caught in it like Tim had."

"Where have you been?" Jon inquired, straining to stand upright on his own. Martin came closer, gently supporting him by the hip on the opposite side of Tim. 

"We ran out of food for Paper, I figured I'd pop by the store for a moment to get some." Sasha said. "I came back when the building was being evacuated."

"Oh good, at least the alarm worked." Tim said tiredly. 

"What in god's name happened to you three?" She inquired worriedly. 

"Prentiss, we'll fill you in later. We need to make sure the ECDC is informed regarding the CO2 in the fire suppression system that needs to be activated."

"And get you to a hospital." Martin chastised, squeezing Jon's side. 

"Yes yes." Jon waved dismissively but all the while leaning further into Martin's side. He really wasn't discreet, Martin thought smugly. 

Sasha was about to say something else when a loud meow interrupted her. Paper was nosing into the bag, fully aware of its contents and who they were meant for. 

Jon dislodged from Martin and Tim and hobbled towards the cat. 

The cat turned and moved back into Jon's welcoming arms, as the archivist picked him up and stroked him fondly. 

"We are lucky on all accounts that Paper is such a smart cat." He murmured into the soft fur, injury forgotten for the moment. 

Tim chuckled, "cats always ruin evil people's plans, it's a well known fact. Anyway, Sasha, please call an ambulance for us?" He said, and promptly sat on the floor. 

Martin sighed with relief. For now, they are all safe and together. And that's all that matters. 

-------

It was all almost too much to take in. Luckily Paper was held tight in his arms as he listened to Jurgen Leitner ramble on about powers and fears and monsters and Jonah Magnus. He had been chased by a distorted form of his boss, who was apparently replaced by a monster Jon and the crew tried and failed to destroy, thus separating in the ensuing pursuit. In light of these events Jon now needed something soft to ground him in the face of so much new information. 

The discovery of Elias' death was a shock, especially given the fact that apparently it happened when he was trapped in artifact storage during the Prentiss siege a half a year back. 

He (that is, his doppelganger) told them back then that he was trying to reach the suppression system switch when he tripped down the stairs over one of Paper's many scattered toys, alerting Jane in the process and was driven back into the storage area. His account seemed to check out given he was rescued from there by the ECDC after Jane was dealt with. And given the few toys strewn about the stairs leading to artifact storage. Why Paper kept scattering his toys all over the building was beyond Jon but that wasn't the main issue at hand. After trapping the creature in the walls of the tunnels, Jurgen Leitner proceeded to reveal himself. Once Jon dragged him back to his office, and picked the protesting Paper up to calm himself down, he unveiled the truth of Elias', or Jonah's, whole operation. 

Turns out Jonah Magnus decided life was too short to enjoy once and did exactly what eventually happened to him. Talk about karma. Leitner explained that Gertrude's plan was to stop Jonah from... Something he was planning. Perhaps a ritual to end the world in a way the others would fail to do. That bit of information was on a tape of Gertrude which Leitner played for Jon. By the time they reached the part where Leitner said, “they needed to kill Jonah's main body then burn down the archives.” Martin, Tim and Sasha had arrived back at the office as well. 

"Jon? Jon! Are you okay?" Martin rushed forward, hugging Jon tightly, ignoring Paper's loud yowling at being squished in between them. Jon sighed, "Martin, thank god. I-I'm fine." He hugged him back, relieved his boyfriend was safe, as well as his other assistants of course. "It chased after me but he stopped it."

Tim raised his axe, "Jon are you sure he's not... Another one?"

"Yes I'm sure. That" Jon took a deep breath, "is Jurgen Leitner."

After the team's loud exclamations of disbelief he and Leitner updated them on everything they had discussed. As he was being hugged by Martin and holding the fluffy cat he slowly began calming down.

After Leitner was done a long moment of silence ensued.

"So," Sasha said slowly, "Gertrude's dead?"

"Yes, she was shot and then hidden by Jonah in the tunnels. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to allow for a proper burial, so I had to leave her there." He seemed sad admitting it. Jon did not feel sympathy for him. This man deserved none for his past and cowardice.

"And now, we need to, what, somehow find the center of the maze of tunnels to kill Jonah completely and burn the archives?" Sasha asked skeptically. 

"Yes, the whole institute in fact. I have a gas main in the tunnels ready to be ignited once we find the center." Leitner said.

"How do we do that?" Martin frowned.

"Maybe Michael knows?" Tim quipped. "He just helped us out of that situation with his own… corridor labyrinth. Maybe he'll be able to help."

"Okay, okay let's first take a breather and calm down. We'll figure out how to solve this." Jon said, raising his hand to slow them down.

"Yeah, I'll make us some tea." Martin added, "At least now that... Thing won't bother us for a long while."

"Let it burn along with this hell of an institute." Tim said harshly. Knowing how his brother was killed almost the same way, Jon felt strong sympathy for Tim rush over him.

Which was replaced with a different emotion the moment he turned to the man who saved him.

"Thank you for your help, now Martin, I need you to hold Paper for a moment."

Martin, looking baffled, took Paper out of Jon's arms. "Jon wh-"

Jon swiftly approached the older man and proceeded to sock him in the nose with the full force of his fist. The crew gasped in unison. 

"That's for everyone you hurt with your idiocy, you stupid old coward." Jon seethed and punched him again. He heard Martin chuckle and Tim whoop as the man whimpered and attempted to protect his face.

Jon was glad they were spared the horrible plans of a 200 year old evil man and that they had some semblance of a strategy moving forward. He was, however, equally elated for this opportunity to do what he fantasized about since learning of Leitner's existence.

And, he supposes, all of this can be indirectly attributed to Paper, the archive cat.

-------

Jon woke up to the warm snuggle of his lovely fiance and a mouthful of cat fur. 

"Pffff, Paper geerroff," he mumbled, uselessly trying to push the stubborn cat away. The chirping of birds mingled with the sound of highland cows grazing in the field near their cabin. 

After the success of their plan to end Jonah, after the fire had already burned down the horrors of that evil place, it took a while longer for their troubles to be resolved. They had to endure endless questioning and investigations of the police. Jon, who was weakened by the ordeal to the point of needing hospitalization, took a long time to recover and regain his strength. Leitner claimed it was lucky he was cut off from the Eye this early, or the consequences would have been much more serious. The others seemed to have been less affected, but once the archives were completely reduced to ashes they recovered, their jobs burned down along with everything else. 

Sasha found a new job as a researcher in a prestigious institute, nothing supernatural involved. Tim moved on to journalism, utilizing his curiosity and charm to their full potential. Jon and Martin opened a tea & book shop, if only to make Paper a real bookshop cat. They have been slowly setting it up and settling down until... Well, Jon proposed and they took a break. Traveled to Scotland with Paper on an early honeymoon to see the cows and enjoy the quiet. 

And quiet it was. Until Paper shamelessly began purring as loud as a train right in Jon's ear. Jon huffed in fond annoyance and got up, leaning down to give Martin a kiss on the head and then shooing the crime of a cat off to the kitchen. 

"You can't give me a moment of reprieve, can you?" He stretched and followed the cat out the bedroom. 

He filled Paper's bowl and sat on the floor leaning his back on the cabinet, closing his eyes as Paper chewed his food noisily. 

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by a soft tap on his head. He looked up blearily and smiled. The cat had long since finished eating and found a home in Jon's lap. 

"Morning love." Martin murmured softly, matching his tone to the serene atmosphere. After hesitating a moment, he bent down and sat next to Jon. Jon looked at him adoringly as he absent-mindedly stroked Paper, humming along to his purrs. Martin joined him, petting Paper, their hands occasionally (and very purposefully) brushing against each other. 

After a few minutes of calm silence, Martin spoke up. 

"You know, this reminds me of that first day we met. In the stacks."

Jon smiled at the memory. "Ahh yes, all three of us had a very fateful meeting there, didn't we? God, I was so stressed back then." 

"You handled it pretty well I have to say. Handled my nervousness pretty well too." Martin chuckled. 

"I was lucky you were there. You really helped me calm down." Jon admitted. "Well, you and Paper." Jon added fondly. 

"Paper was a really good archive cat wasn't he?" Martin said, leaning into Jon, pressing a warm, still sleepy kiss on his cheek. Jon closed his eyes, grateful for the events that led up to this moment of pure happiness, with his fiance and his cat. 

"Yes, the best cat in the world."

[inamemyselficarus]

Elias Bouchard x Reader, A Job Interview

The damp London air pressed down on you, almost feeling weighted by some sense of impending gravitas, as if the course of your entire life was about to change. That, of course, was ridiculous, but you couldn’t help but fidget with the leather strap of your messenger bag as you looked  up at the imposing stone edifice of the building in front of you. The Magnus Institute. Arguably London’s most dubious academic institute, it had been the butt of many jokes among your colleagues at UCL, where you had just completed your DPhil in Neuroscience, adding a hard-won “Dr.” to the front of your name. And yet, you were here to apply for a job. The strangest thing was you weren’t quite sure exactly why.

You had always been fascinated by the brain. Growing up a quiet, bookish child in a small but tight-knit farming town in the US, you’d naturally gravitated to the fringes of any social interactions among your peers. You preferred watching, listening, and learning from the interactions of others than participating in these yourself. When the time came to go to college, you’d gotten a scholarship to a small liberal arts school with a good research program, effortlessly transitioning from watching the decisions your peers made to studying the molecular pathways involved in such decision making. Your undergraduate dissertation had won you a spot as a PhD candidate at University College London, where you had spent the past three years.

As soon as you had reached the UK, something had felt different. It wasn’t something that you could explain or even understand, like something in your bones had shifted. It felt… good though, so you hadn’t worried, hadn’t pressed. You were just grateful that moving halfway around the world hadn’t been as difficult as you’d thought. It was about halfway through your first semester when you’d noticed the pull you’d felt. You had taken to enjoying long walks around the city when you weren’t in class or in the lab. You’d found yourself looking up at the gothic facade of the building you now knew to be the Magnus Institute for the third time before you realized what was happening. No matter what your plan was when you set out, you always seemed to end up at this same building when you weren’t headed anywhere specifically. It was like you were a compass needle being slowly and inexorably pulled toward a lodestone.

You’d asked the other members of your lab what the Magnus Institute was the following day and were somewhat startled by their immediate, scoffing laughter. Besides apparently being the laughingstock London’s academic institutions, they were apparently absurdly picky about who could gain access to their library. You’d tried to put it out of your mind, but found that your feet still thoughtlessly carried you there whenever you tried to explore the city. As you approached your thesis defense and began to think of what you wanted to do next, you didn’t expect the sharp jab of panic that lanced through you at the thought of leaving London. It was a ridiculous thought. You’d come here because the program was excellent and you’d gotten the chance to work underneath some of the brightest minds in your field during your degree, but you’d never intended to stay. Still, before you knew it, you had found yourself looking for possible postdoctoral fellowships in the city. Without quite knowing why, you had also pulled up the website of The Magnus Institute and saw a notice that they were seeking to hire a new head archivist for their collection. Despite the job being far out of your field and feeling somewhat insane for doing so, you brushed a cobweb away from your computer screen and sent your resume. You had never expected to be called for an interview.

Now, your hand hovered hesitantly over the Institute’s ornate doorknob, the gold of the metal contrasting sharply with the deep forest green of the door itself. Why had you come here? You weren’t even remotely qualified for this position. As soon as you’d received the interview invitation you should have called and told them that there had been some mistake. But you hadn’t. And you couldn’t stop yourself from slowly turning the doorknob and entering the elegant foyer of The Magnus Institute. The second you crossed the threshold, you stumbled, suddenly feeling the gaze of a thousand invisible eyes probing every facet of your mind and your soul. Perhaps it should have been disconcerting, but you felt seen and known, and, most damnably, understood. The instinctual, bone-deep reaction raced through every cell in your body. You belonged here.

“Miss L/N?” the voice pulled you out of whatever strange thoughts had so suddenly grabbed you, and you turned to see a plain looking woman in a grey cardigan standing in front of what looked to be a reception desk.

“Yes? I mean, yes, I am Dr. L/N. I’m here for my interview?” You stumbled over the words, still feeling somewhat off balance.

The woman smiled and motioned for you to follow her. “Mr. Bouchard is expecting you, please come this way.” She led you through a maze of corridors, not speaking beyond that first sentence. Finally you came to a stop in front of a dark, cherrywood door with a gold nameplate that read ‘Elias Bouchard, Head of the Magnus Institute.’

As you approached, a deep baritone voice called out from inside the room “Come in.”

The woman gestured you forwards and you tentatively placed a hand on the ornate doorknob, twisting and pushing the door open. You stepped into an office filled with shades of a dark, elegant green and polished wood accents, but your attention was immediately drawn to and captured by the man sitting behind the imposing desk in front of a large bay window. His suit was a sharp grey, just a few shades darker than his piercing pale eyes. His eyes. It was like he was looking into you, through you, almost. Like those eyes could see everything you had ever been. You hadn’t noticed that you’d frozen until he beckoned you forwards with a smirk, gesturing to a chair placed in front of his desk. You moved to sit, setting down your messenger bag and subconsciously straightening your blazer.

“Dr. L/N,” he purred. “How delightful to finally meet you.”

When had your mouth become so dry?

“I-- It’s wonderful to meet you as well, Mr. Bouchard.”

He made a dismissive wave with one well-manicured hand. “Please, call me Elias.”

You paused, brain blinking for a second. “Um, okay, If you call me F/N… Elias.” Your mouth twitched up into an awkward smile as you fidgeted with the cuff of your blazer.

“Y/N.” He leaned forward, lips turning up into a leonine grin. “What brings you to my Institute?”

“I don’t know.” The words were out before you could even think, almost as if they’d been pulled directly from your throat. You flushed. “I mean, I shouldn’t even be here.” You couldn’t stop yourself. Your cheeks burned darker in embarrassment as the words just kept pouring out. It was like everything in you ached to be known by the man sitting in front of you and your head was spinning. “I’m certainly not qualified for this job -- I’ve only ever worked as a waitress or in a lab. It’s way out of my field, and everything I’ve ever been led to know tells me that I shouldn’t take this place seriously. But… it feels like it’s calling me, somehow. Like I belong here, like... I’m a part of this place, and even if I tried to leave I couldn’t. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I just want to know what’s happening to me.” Your voice cracked with emotion on the last words.

Elias’ grin only widened, flint-grey eyes sparking as if to light a fire that would burn down the world as you knew it. He leaned forward, steepling his fingers, and a mental image of a cat caging a small bird between its paws pushed its way to the forefront of your mind.

“What are you afraid of?”

You didn’t want to answer this question. Didn’t want this mysterious stranger to see how weak you were, but the words rose up out of you regardless. “I’m afraid of not knowing the things I need to know. Of failing. Of not being enough.” Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes.

“And what do you desire more than anything?” His voice was deeper now, wrapping around each vowel and consonant like liquid darkness. Your eyes slid shut.

“To be known. I want someone to see me, every thought I’ve ever had, every facet of who I am. I want to be completely understood and still, somehow, wanted.” You’d never voiced these thoughts even to yourself, trying to convince yourself that all you wanted was to be successful as a scientist, to use your knowledge to advance humanity’s understanding. You’d always had trouble getting close to people and didn’t want to confront the slowly growing suspicion that no one would ever truly know you enough to truly love you. That, even if you eventually did find someone who wanted to be close to you, it wouldn’t be real, because they couldn’t really see you.

You sucked in a breath, eyes flying open at the sensation of a hand on your cheek, brushing away the tears you hadn’t noticed falling. Elias loomed over you, pale eyes glinting with something that looked almost like triumph as he gently cradled your face in his palm.

“I think you and I are going to get on splendidly.” 

[aerialflight]

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

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

Sing a Song of Sixpence by Kaiel

Ship: Jon/Martin

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

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

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

Along Came a Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Ship: implied Jon/Martin

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

All goes as it should.

At least until something calling itself Jonathan Sims steps in.

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

A Break in the Clouds by Ash_Rabbit

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

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

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

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

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea by The_Floating_World

Ship: Jon/Martin, Jon/Oliver Banks

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

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

Sweet As Roses by Prim_the_Amazing

Ship: Jon/Martin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things Could Always Be Worse by theOestofOCs

Ship: Jon/Martin, Georgie/Melanie

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

Somewhere, Jon could swear he heard a crowd laughing.

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

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

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

-

[Supernatural]

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

Ship: Dean/Cas, Jessica/Sam

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

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

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

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

anamnesis by cenotaphy

Ships: Castiel/Dean, Sam/Eileen

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

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

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

-

[Avatar: The Last Airbender]

where the stars do not take sides by WitchofEndor

Ship: Sokka/Zuko

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

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

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

-

[Naruto]

Eclipse by AislingRoisin (JayBird345) for HybrisAnaideia

Ship: Nara Shikaku/OFC

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

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

On Freedom and Other Formalities by iaso

Ship: Kakashi/Genma/OFC

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

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

Building a Castle by WhisperingDarkness

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

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

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

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

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

-

[The Magicians]

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

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

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

So he makes a third choice.

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

-

[Game of Thrones]

The Road to Victory by writing_as_tracey

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

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

-

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

Ballare (To Dance) by MidnightSparks

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

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

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

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

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

Kings of Tomorrow by bokubroya (liarielle)

Ship: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

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

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

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

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

-

[Crossover]

Honey and Magic by JustARatherVerySillyWriter, White_Squirrel for Super Carlin Brothers

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

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

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

An Eye for an Eye by DpsMercy

Fandoms: The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale

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

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

The Favour by R_Cookie

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

Ship: Original Percival Graves/Harry Potter

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

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

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

baby that's what i do by natanije

Fandoms: Naruto, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

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

Kakuzu pauses. He blinks a few times.

"Huh. I guess I do."

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

[wordsintimeandspace]

All That Haunts Us (1/14)

Jon and Tim have seen their fair share of strange things while working in Research at the Magnus Institute. They still didn’t quite expect to rescue Martin, who has been missing for a year, from a supernatural encounter during one of their investigations. Together, the three of them hunt for answers and try to find a way forward, but they all have things that haunt them.

Meanwhile, Elias sees the perfect opportunity to set his devious plan into motion...

Jon/Martin/Tim, rated T, ~2500 words for this chapter. Read on AO3!

Tim plumps down onto the corner of Jon’s desk without much warning. After months of being friends with Tim Jon supposes he should be used to it by now, but he still startles a little, eyes shooting up from the book he’s been engrossed in for who knows how long. Tim sits there with his arms crossed over his chest, smiling down at him like he’s exactly where he belongs.

“Can I help you?” Jon finally asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I hope so,” Tim says lightly. “But first, I brought lunch.”

He sets a sandwich down in front of Jon. Jon blinks in surprise, and only now notices the rumbling of his stomach and the empty desks around him as everyone else in his shared office has gone out for lunch. “Oh. Sorry, we had planned to meet up, hadn’t we?”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind eating here.” Tim takes a bite of his own sandwich, as if to demonstrate. Jon wrinkles his nose as he continues talking, mouth half full. “Reading anything interesting?”

For a second Jon hesitates - out of all the people in the Research Department, Tim might be the only one to agree with him that ‘The Architecture of Cathedrals in the 15th Century’ is actually interesting. But based on the look in his eyes, Jon suspects he has something more pressing to talk about. “Nothing too important,” he finally says, carefully prying the wrapper away from his food. “What did you need help with?”

“I’ve been working on a case.”

Jon looks up from his sandwich - spicy chicken and cucumber, just what he prefers - and frowns. “The one with the cat, right?”

Tim heaves a melodramatic sigh. “Yes, the one with the lady who claims her cat got eaten by, let me quote, ‘a six foot tall monster with too many legs and teeth’. As if that’s the only logical explanation for an outdoor cat to go missing in London. Never mind, oh, I don’t know, cars and foxes and all that.”

Even as he tries to suppress it, Jon can’t quite help the grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “You sound like you had a bit of a week.”

“Oh, you have no idea. I called every vet and the animal shelter if they’ve seen any unusual injuries. And then I’ve knocked on every door in the area that has a cat flap and asked them if their cat has gone missing in the last year, and I scoured every possible missing pet portal on the entire internet.”

“... and? Did you find anything?” Jon asks when Tim doesn’t continue.

Tim throws his hands up, exasperated. “Of course I found something. Do you have any idea how many cats go missing every year in a city like this, entirely due to natural causes?”

Jon nods. “Okay, I get your point. This still doesn’t answer the question of what you need help with though.”

“Look, I just thought... if there is a monster like that - and I’m not saying there is - it’s big enough to harm more than cats, right? So I looked for missing dogs as well. And then, while I was on a roll and because I was terribly bored, I looked for missing persons.”

At that, Jon raises an eyebrow. He knows Tim is an excellent researcher, thorough in everything he does, but that seems to go even beyond his usual rigour. “You can’t possibly tell me you found an account of a person being eaten by a monster like that. Surely we would have heard of it by now.”

“No, ‘course not.” Tim rolls his eyes, taking another bite of his sandwich before he continues. “This has nothing to do with that. But what I did find was a missing person’s report from about a year ago, and several accounts from the last few months that the building where he used to live is haunted.”

Jon stills, looking at Tim with a frown. “That rather sounds like someone is making a crude joke.”

“At first I thought so too,” Tim says. “But the reports on the hauntings didn’t mention that a person went missing there. And the guy’s address isn’t even public. They couldn’t have known. I had Sasha dig that up for me, along with other details on the case. You know Sasha, right?”

Jon nods - he doesn’t think he’s ever talked to her, but even he can’t escape the Institute gossip when someone transfers from Artifact Storage to another department. And he’s seen her around Research by now, in the last few weeks. “I- yes. But… what kind of ‘haunting’ are we talking about here?”

Tim shrugs. “There seems to be a bunch of evidence. Recordings of hushed voices and weird noises, something like rustling? Blurry figures in the shadows. Cold spots.”

“I’m not sure I would count that as evidence.”

Tim lets out a long sigh. “Don’t be such a sceptic.”

Jon frowns. “It is our job to be sceptical.”

“Yeah, sure, but you have to admit it’s a weird coincidence, right? That this building where one person disappeared is supposedly haunted since then?”

Jon bites his lip. He trusts Tim’s instincts. And he can’t deny that there’s something off about this whole thing, even if he can’t put his finger on it. It happens sometimes, that a case just feels… wrong, he supposes. That it comes with a prickle of unease and a shiver down his spine, in a way that is too familiar to ignore. He wonders if Tim feels it as well, or if he just - for some unfathomable reason - wants to get out of interviewing even more cat owners.

“What do you want to do about this, then?” he finally asks, and Tim’s face immediately brightens.

“I want to go view the flat. There’s a rent advertisement online. Perfect opportunity for a bit of snooping.”

“Okay. And you need me for… what, exactly?”

At this Tim smiles - a bit mischievous, which is his usual expression, but also a bit bashful, which is a rare sight for someone as self-assured as Tim. Jon can’t help but feel a bit nervous about that, and reaches for his long cold mug of tea.

“I need you to pose as my boyfriend,” Tim says calmly, and Jon promptly chokes as he takes a sip.

“What?” he finally manages to get out as soon as he can breathe again. His cheeks are burning, but Tim just gives him a sympathetic smile and a pat on the back.

“You heard me. Come on, help me out there buddy.”

“But… why?”

Tim lets out a long sigh. “Look, I first tried to be honest, but when I called the landlord and mentioned the Magnus Institute he swore at me and hung up. The rent advertisement is just the backup plan. I need you to be with me and take over the speaking to make sure he doesn’t recognize me.”

For a moment, Jon can only stare at him. “I still don’t understand why I’d have to be your boyfriend. Can’t I be your flatmate?”

“It’s a one bedroom apartment. He’s not going to believe we’re flatmates.”

“What about Sasha? Can’t you ask her?” Jon asks, a bit helplessly.

Tim gives him a long look. “Jon, I’m trying very hard not to be offended that you really don’t want to fake date me, but you’re not making it easy.”

“I- I’m not-” Jon splutters before heaving a sigh. “I- fine. Fine. I’ll do it.”

Tim cheers, even as Jon glowers at him. “Oh, this is fantastic,” he says, rubbing his hands together. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Can I call you a pet name?”

Heat rises in Jon’s cheeks. He tries his best to glare even as his stomach swoops at the idea, for reasons he resolutely does not want to examine. “Absolutely not.”

“Hold your hand?”

“No.”

Tim lets out a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re no fun.”

“This is supposed to be work, not fun.”

“I can multitask and do both at once, Jon.”

Suppressing a groan, Jon rolls his eyes at him, and decides to just move on. “When do you want to do this?”

“Okay, so, I need you to call to set up an appointment. We can-”

Abruptly, Tim stops. He goes still, the excited grin slipping off his lips. He’s not looking at Jon anymore, his eyes instead fixed on something behind him.

Jon whirls around in his chair, and startles when his gaze falls on Elias Bouchard, head of the Magnus Institute, standing in the doorway to his office. As usual, he is wearing an impeccable grey suit and a smile that never quite matches the piercing look in his eyes. Somehow, there’s always something unnerving about him, although Jon can’t put his finger on it.

“Um. Hello, Mr. Bouchard,” he starts slowly.

Elias’ smile widens just a little bit. “Jonathan. I’ve told you before, call me Elias,” he says smoothly. “And Timothy. Just the man I wanted to speak to.”

Tim winces and sits up a little straighter. “Of course. What can I help you with?”

Elias fixes Tim with a long stare that makes Jon squirm in his seat. “I had a rather unpleasant call with one Mr. Abbott earlier,” Elias finally says, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “He complained that someone from the Magnus Institute asked to see one of his rental properties to investigate a case.”

“I’m just doing some regular follow-up, Sir,” Tim says, a bit defensively. Jon finally looks away from Elias towards Tim, and watches the crease between his brows deepen as Elias continues.

“Of course. I’m sure you were perfectly polite, Timothy. Mr. Abbott, however, was quite clear that he believes an investigation like this will hurt his carefully crafted image. And I just couldn’t help but wonder why you were contacting him when you were supposed to work on the… what was it, the case of Mrs. Mitchell, I believe? Regarding the disappearance of her cat?”

“Err. Yes, I-”

“Are the cases connected?” Elias asks, a sudden sharpness in his voice that makes Jon flinch. Tim’s mouth twists, as if he’s trying hard to suppress a grimace.

“I don’t believe so, no,” Tim says hesitantly. “I just thought-”

“In that case, I would advise you to focus on the work you were assigned, Mr. Stoker.” The tone in Elias’ voice makes it very clear that he won’t accept any objections. Nevertheless, the smile on his lips doesn’t falter. “We wouldn’t want to get any more complaints, would we?”

“I-” Tim stops himself, letting out a sigh. “Of course, Sir.”

“Since it seems you might have gotten bored with the Mitchell case, I’m sure you have already conducted all necessary research and can deliver the report to my desk by this evening. Or am I mistaken?”

Tim’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t protest. “Sure,” he grumbles.

“Excellent,” Elias says, the sudden sharpness in his voice gone as quickly as it came. He gives them both a short nod. “Have a good day, gentlemen.”

With that, Elias turns on his heels and walks away. He’s out of sight as soon as he turns a corner down the corridor, but still, Jon can’t help but stare after him. Beside him, Tim lets out a pitiful groan.

“This evening?” Tim buries his face in his hands. “I had until next week to do the report. I haven’t even started it.”

“I’m sorry,” Jon says with a wince. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nah. Don’t think so. But thank you.” Tim looks up with a small smile and stands, wrapping up the remains of his sandwich. “I’ll best get back to work if I want to have this done by five.”

Jon lets out a small hum, but he’s still distracted by what just happened. Again, he stares down the corridor, as if Elias might reappear any second. He can’t shake the feeling of his eyes on him.

“Are you alright?” Tim asks. Jon startles a little and looks back at him. Tim is watching him with a quizzical expression on his face.

“Yes,” Jon says hesitantly, chewing on his bottom lip. “It’s just… that was strange, wasn’t it?”

Tim shrugs. “Yeah. But everything about Bouchard is strange.”

“I suppose. But this was...” Jon hesitates. This was more than strange, he wants to say. This feels like Elias doesn’t want us to investigate whatever is going on in that haunted flat. But that’s a silly thought, isn’t it? Jon shakes his head. “Nevermind. Good luck with the report.”

Tim gives him a pained smile. “Thanks,” he says miserably, and finally shuffles back towards his office.

That afternoon, as much as Jon tries to go back to his book, he can’t quite stop thinking. He can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong, in a way that makes him jittery and anxious and makes it impossible to focus on the words in front of him. He stays late to make up for it, and when he finally calls it a day, the other researchers that share his office have already left. Jon puts on his coat and grabs his bag, and goes to check on Tim.

The door to Tim’s office is still open, although all the desks are currently unoccupied. Tim’s desk is a bit of a mess, filled with piled up papers and books and too many empty cups of tea. With their earlier conversation about the case still on the forefront of his mind, Jon gives in to the temptation to step closer and skim through the texts scattered on the desk.

It doesn’t take long until his gaze falls onto what looks like the copy of a police report. Carefully, he pulls the paper out from underneath a book. It’s undoubtedly the missing person’s report Tim has mentioned. The address fits to the area of the case he was working on. Jon starts reading, and immediately stills.

It hits him suddenly that Tim had never mentioned the name of the missing person. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that there are actual people behind the cases they’re researching. But there’s the name, right next to a photograph.

In the photo, Martin Blackwood is looking directly at the camera, a small smile on his lips. Jon takes a moment to take him in - the pudgy cheeks covered in freckles, the sad eyes, the light brown hair falling in soft curls around his face. An actual person, with a life and friends and family who must wonder what has happened to him after he disappeared a year ago. Who maybe still have hope that one day, he will come back.

So far, Jon was only a little irritated that Elias intervened in their investigation. Now, he’s suddenly furious.

Before he knows what he’s doing, Jon pulls out his phone and takes a photograph of the report. He places it back on Tim’s desk and leaves.

As he walks to the tube station, he pulls up the address on his phone. He takes the train that goes in the opposite direction of where he lives, changes trains twice, and finally, half an hour later, steps out into the chill September air. By now, it’s already getting dark. Jon pulls up the collar of his coat to protect himself against the cold, and begins to walk towards the haunted flat where Martin Blackwood disappeared.