#she is my new jane prentiss

[fairy-alice]

here’s everything the drowning victim said:

“- the second time is up I try to grasp the air and fill my lungs that burn and rattle full. I can’t, there’s so much air but none inside as I go down again the cold surrounds and drags me down, the blue the black the weight of all the sodden fates awaiting me below the line of sea and sky. I kick, I lunge I flail towards the brightened blue and break above the third and final time.

I know I'm spent there is no more within me save the saltspun death that reaches down my throat

and spasms in my chest that cannot breathe inside me coughs

and sputters and tries to push it out but more comes in

and down I go the third and final time I know it's done.

i'm done the water is... is... dark.

Deeper… Deeper… Down among the dead and swollen flesh so pale within this lightless place where eyes are open cloudy white and all the water pushes down upon a lifeless form that sinks and sinks down to the bottom that is not there no sandy grave below the swell no rest among the coral and the depths I feared so much but reached up and over land to claim me still.”

[wheres-your-paddle]

i feel like we, as a fandom, are sleeping on the fact that jane prentiss and oliver banks were coworkers briefly.

[the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

I (finally) finished Season one during my 7 hour long train ride, and since nobody asked, here's a new summary.

The Magnus Archives but I've finished season one (and that didn't help with the confusion)

There's Jon. He's an Archivist, and he got that anxiety rizz™

He also sounds like his life would crumbie in pieces if he doesn't have a seventh cup of coffee before the sun rises.

I can relate.

One of the causes of his anxiety seems to be his least favourite colleague, Martin.

Martin is described as unqualified, suspected to be a ghost and sent into various deadly situations.

He also sleeps in Jalapeño's bed.

I FUCKING LOVE GERARD KEAY

Everyone works in a modern remake of the Library of Alexandria, which would be very cool if there weren't a lot of murderous creatures.

(there are a lot of murderous creatures)

And worms. Would we still love them if they were human? Probably not.

Everything is ruled by a guy named Elias Bouchard. Everyone told me that he's nice.

In what world is a guy named fucking Bouchard nice?

Jane Prentiss is spreading the worm agenda.

SHE DESERVED MORE THAN THAT HELP IS THERE A CHARITY WHERE I CAN GIVE HER A VIRTUAL HUG???

Michael the eldritch horror is very lovely.

OH AND I DIDN'T TELL YOU BUT JALAPEÑO USES THE TAPE RECORDER CAUSE THE STATEMENTS DON'T WORK ON COMPUTER. THERE'S A REASON BEHIND ALL THAT.

That also means that there are statements that can be recorded on the computer and that we therefore don't see. I want to know what they're about.

#JusticeForSasha2k24

I am still lost in the English names.

Gerard Keay still burns books.

But that's ok, cause they're evil books from BLOODY JÜRGEN LEITNER I HATE JÜRGEN LEITNER DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS USELESS PIECE OF SHITTY OLD PARCHMENT WHEN HE WAS BORN HIS MOTHER CRIED AND SHOULD HAVE STRANGLED HIM I WISH HE GOES TO HELL ALTHOUGH NO HE WOULD RUIN THE GAY PARTY HAPPENING THERE I WISH HE DISAPPEARED IN THE COFFIN WE SEE AT THE BEGINNING AND WENT ON A CRUISE IN PETER LUKAS' BOAT GOD I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS LITERARY DISHONOUR. Fuck you, Leitner.

Hmm, yeah. Sorry. Where was I?

Season one's over, still no trace of the queer rep I was teased with.

Although, that may be a good thing, given the fact that as soon as a gay appears, they get killed/ replaced/ vanished by by some antique object.

Does that mean antique objects are homophobes?

Although these antiques come from Salesa's shop. Perhaps Salesa's the real straight supremacist here.

Selling dangerous items seems like a rentable activity tho. I should do the same.

Starting from now. Does anyone want a totally-not-illegal coffin? Antique dolls? You get your money back if they kill you.

So...uh...yeah. Good show. Amazing sound effects. Watch it. Wahoo.

[lights-at-night]

did anyone else pick up on how many of the cases weren't from the victim's point of view? it's happened 3 times so far (4 if you count daria? she's complicated) out of seven cases. tma in comparison has 130 out of 154 statements (i am only counting s1-4 because s5 messes with format) (if the numbers are a bit funky please note that i hand counted them so i apologise for that). of course, we only have six episodes of protocol, but there is clearly a difference and i can still make a post out of it.

maybe it's because we aren't only getting stories from the survivors now, as other people have mentioned

but also, those accounts from the perpetrator remind me somewhat of statements from avatars. needles' poetic, ominous manner of speech sounded similar to statements like jane prentiss, manuela dominguez, etc. (side note: needles was very corruption in my opinion. calling the stabbing/other violent actions an act of affection was definitely reminiscent of jane and the hive, just saying). others have pointed the parallels between jonah magnus and the violin guy, but i'll do it again: guy obtains much power via acts of violence, and despite knowing it hurts people this guy continues to see the skill and power with a cost as a blessing, keeps the origin of the power secret and passes it onto another person, who they tell the origin of the power to and bestow the power upon this other person, who did not ask for this. samuel webber's contentment with his new form while retaining an underlying sense of fear is comparable to avatars who love and fear their entity in equal measure.

as well as this, these cases seem more directly aligned with tma entities. magp 4 is extremely slaughter, and resembles mag 42 (grifter's bone). magp 3 is corruption, and mag 6 is also corruption in my opinion (i think people agree with me on that?).

i'm sorry i haven't planned this out i just noticed something and spent an hour typing on my phone about it. tell me your thoughts in the tags, i'd love to see someone make an actual theory about this!

[flyingmintbunny0]

Heyyyy, can I interest you in an Archivist!Martin AU maybe?

@lelouchootori and I decided we could simultaneously make TMA better and worse, so please enjoy these snippets I had to draw that have taken over my life pfff

Slightly more context below the cut

So basically, the main plot is what if Martin is such a Fear Avatar magnet that Elias promotes Martin over Jon prior to season 1 (Sorry again Sasha).

In this #cracktreatedseriously au Martin (financially and emotionally unable to stay in his apartment after bringing his mother to the nursing home) ends up becoming roommates with Annabelle Cane, Jane Prentiss, and Jude Perry on Hill Top Road. Sitcom shenanigans and drama ensue. For instance, Martin is still Marked by the Corruption by Jane Prentiss, but only because he accidentally ate the spoiled food she left in the fridge for her worms. (He had to stay home sick from work for a while after that.)

In the archives, Jon, Tim, and Sasha are brought in with Martin as his assistants. Jon gets to be his moody self but without any of the boss-level power. Tim and Sasha realize how ill-fitted Martin is for this new job and try to help him as best they can.

There is more to it but this is just the first pic lol

I had so much fun putting tiny details in here, my favorite was giving Martin lil spider friends because they love him <3

[r0semultiverse]

Mr. 6 made you do a good show to be released?? 👀 um....

This is already giving serious eye vibes.

A whole show dedicated to public humiliation?

The Mr. Bonzo suit started moving??? 👀 Serious stranger vibes. 🤡

"It actually became a sort of ritual"

I've seen people being like "don't cross tag" but buddy... the writing cross tags itself here I mean c'mon! 😂 Something something ritual of the stranger- okay, I'll keep listening!

Hey, what's with the music?? Hey, who is Terrance Menki???👀

"The police said there were eleven bodies in total and his wardrobe was full of all sorts of homemade costumes." BRO IS ACTUALLY MAGNUSPOD WILLIAM AFTON-

"It certainly had a profound effect on the Mr. Bonzo brand." Oh I'm sure it did, holy fucking shit. 👀

Oh, me using this image is rather ironic now.

"In a lot of ways I’m more his prisoner now than I ever was on my show." WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? 👀

"The witness statements from three murders over the last five years that claim a person in a Mr. Bonzo costume was at the scene? Do you think there could be a copycat?" Has the fear of clowns manifested as an actual clown-guything?

"Don’t contact us again." "Us?" "Why am I still trapped dealing with all this this- Why won’t he let me go?! Why-" So Mr. Bonzo is absolutely a clown cryptid of sorts with some sort of hold over Nigel.

Oh no, Gwen's about to fuck around & find out, isn't she? 👀

Hey, is Colin still himself & is he supposed to be back?

Hmm, okay, I guess that's him (hopefully).

"Maybe don’t tell them I’ve been on their terminals. They’ll only get the wrong idea." "If Lena asks, I wasn’t here." Seems like everyone's got their own little secret investigations going on, fun! This can only go well! 🙃

One of the episodes absolutely no one shows up to work except Lena is there & is like "where the fuck did everyone go?"

"Time to get some new hires again I guess."

Let's go!! Ruin exploration gang!!

"Like, it’s Saturday night and I’m choosing to hang out in a hole with you. A wet hole. And not the good kind either."

Alice with the absolute best quotes. lmao

That sounds like something with giant wings like a bat or some sort of cloth flapping in the wind. Let's hope it's the latter!

Oh a rusty old filing cabinet! Wait tetanus- 😭

"That carved floor in the big atrium – I don’t know what’s going on with that." Ah so we're just gonna breeze past that then. 😶

These are probably the remnants of old avatar creation test areas like mentioned in the Gerry & Gertrude episode. I'm just assuming here.

A key? Big find! Let's go!

AS I WAS SAYING-

Gwen, it was nice knowing you. 🫡

"Now get out of his house."

Archivist! 👁👄👁

"symbols of ancient otherworldly power"

Wait could this be a timeline where this universe's Jane Prentiss actually did manage to invade the building & succeed? I'm thinking out loud.

21:10 that sounds like critters, insects specifically 👀

"I have memories of weird stuff I saw here, but no context. I want to know what was happening, why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me. Maybe find the bit where everything started to go wrong." I am so captivated & intrigued please recount said memories to us- I mean Alice so we can learn more. Please. 👀

EXCUSE ME, WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?!? WHO IS "[ERROR]?"

WHY DO THEY SOUND DISTORTED AS FUCK?? ARE THEY FROM THE PRIME TIMELINE OR IS THIS A NEW THING?

ARE WE GAZING OUR EYES UPON A WRETCHED THING FROM THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES?!

edit:

Is Lucia Wright an avatar of The Flesh now (in this universe or from the original timeline somehow)? Because it sure fucking sounds like it! 👀 Well, at least that key was put to good use! 😂

Also, supposedly Mr. Bonzo is a reference to Mr. Blobby.

Gwen, I'd be quaking in my boots too. That thing is terrifying!

Late observation but this universe & story seems to focus a lot on the cryptids & I like the direction it's going in! Loving this plot of cryptid hunters, childhood avatar experiments, a strange institute where our main character has past trauma, & just all of it is so good! 💜

Amazing episode, 10/10, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time! 💜 That Bonzo scene & the sound design were absolutely horrifying, thank you! The ending too! 🔥

[cirrus-grey]

After thinking about it a bit, I think the thing that’s standing out to me about the tmagp cases so far is the idea of fusion – circling back to the idea of “some of him” from the first episode. In addition to Darla’s husband being… Frankensteined together, I think, with something else to bring him back, we’ve had:

Daria merging painting and flesh to the point she couldn’t tell the difference between the two.

Dr. Webber fusing with the jasmine trees in the garden.

Tom becoming just another faceless blogger repeating the movie’s tagline (this one’s a bit of a stretch, I’m aware).

Needles fusing with – well, needles. They’ve become a part of him, not just something he uses to hurt other people.

The outliers are RedCanary and the violinist, but the episode notes for the RedCanary case straight-up say it was filed as a transformation. And the violinist… that’s the only case dated before 2009. Obviously there haven’t been enough episodes yet to make a sweeping judgement on what’s going on, but I think there’s something to be said for the fact that there’s a noticeable difference between the one case that happened before the fall of the Institute and the ones after it.

I’m not entirely sure what this means – there were definitely fusion avatars in tma, looking at you Jane Prentiss and Jared Hopworth – but having such a strong emphasis on fusion and transformation in the first six episodes definitely feels significant. Is it related to the tma fears merging with a pre-existing supernatural system in this new world? Human minds being merged with computers? Something else entirely? I have no idea, but it’s something I’m going to be paying close attention to going forward.

EDIT: I had this post sitting in my drafts already when I was reminded about all the alchemy foreshadowing in the logo and the ARG. Given that alchemy is all about the transformation of one substance into another, I'm even more interested in what's going on with these cases.

[annabelle--cane]

do we have any information on the approximate dates or year that TMA takes place in? I’m obsessed with timelines and I’m so curious about if those dates are Known or not or can only be guessed about

yes we do! some parts of the timeline are a little vague, but every live and "in situ" statement (with a few exceptions) has a date attached to it. I won't go through every known date, and I'm also not scrupulously checking to make sure I've copied all these numbers down correctly so there's probably an error or two in here, but some significant ones include:

s1

mag 13 - alone: the first live statement and the first hard date for the show, 13 january 2016

mag 22 - colony: martin's statement after being trapped by jane prentiss, 12 march 2016

mag 26 - a distortion: sasha's statement about meeting michael, 2 april 2016 (<- that was my fourteenth birthday :3)

mag 38 / mag 39 / mag 40: jane prentiss's attack on the institute, sasha's death, and all the debrief statements afterwards, 29 july 2016

s2

mag 41 - too deep: jon's statement about exploring the tunnels and his first supplemental tape about gertrude's murder, 2 september 2016

mag 43 - section 31: basira's statement about diego molina + the start of her giving gertrude's old tapes to jon, 19 september 2016

mag 47 - the new door: helen's statement about the hallways, we meet michael in person for the first time, 2 october 2016

mag 61 - hard shoulder: daisy's statement about seeing the coffin for the first time, 1 december 2016

mag 73 - police lights: basira's statement about rescuing callum brodie from maxwell rayner, 11 february 2017

mag 76 - the smell of blood: melanie's statement about her investigations into war ghosts, at the end she and jon have a bit of a fight about how That Is Not Sasha, 13 february 2017

mag 78 / mag 79 / mag 80: jon releases not-sasha from the table, martin and tim get trapped in the corridors, jon meets leiter, elias smashes leitner with a metal pipe, all on 16 february 2017

s3

mag 81 / mag 82: jon makes a statement at georgie's place about a guest for mr spider at the same time as daisy interviews the remaining archives staff to try and ascertain his whereabouts, 18 february 2017

mag 89 - twice as bright: statement of jude perry, ft. jon hand crispification, 24 april 2017

mag 91 / mag 92 (/ maybe mag 93?): statement of mike crew, death of mike crew, jon daisy and basira's encounter in the woods, the big elias conversation at the institute, 28 april 2017. mag 93 might also be recorded on this day, I'm not quite sure, because georgie's statement (mag 94) is 29 april, but I don't know if that's fully the next day or if jon got back really late on the 28th, recorded mag 93, and then georgie gave her statement in the wee hours of the 29th. up to interpretation and how little sleep you envision jon as having.

mag 100 - I guess you had to be there: lynne hammond's is 2 may 2017, robin lennox's is 20 may 2017, brian finlinson's is 26 may 2017, and "john smith's" statement doesn't have a date.

mag 111 - family business: gerry's posthumous statement about smirke's 14, 30 june 2017. again, trevor and julia's statement about how they met in mag 109 is dated 29 june, and I don't know if it's an either-side-of-midnight thing or a full day elapsed between them.

mag 118 - the masquerade: martin and melanie pull a fast one on elias while the rest of the gang sets up explosives in the unknowing, 6 august 2017.

mag 120 - eye contact: elias's statement about jon's coma dreams + elias's arrest, 9 august 2017.

s4

mag 121 / mag 122: oliver banks gives his statement about point nemo and jon wakes up, 15 february 2018

mag 128 - heavy goods: breekon deliver's the coffin and jon slurps a statement right out of his head, 3 march 2018

mag 132 - entombed: jon buries himself alive to rescue daisy, 24-26 march 2018

mag 141 - doomed voyage: on the boat to norway jon slurps a statement about mikaele salesa out of a shiphand's head, 11 june 2018

mag 142 - scrutiny: jess tyrell comes in to complain about jon slurping a statement out of her head and haunting her nightmares, 12 june 2018

mag 146 / mag 147: jon gets intervened on about all the brain slurping, they go to hilltop road and find annabelle's statement, 20 july 2018

mag 157 / mag 158 / mag 159: peter releases not-sasha and brings martin to the panopticon for a showdown with "elias," julia and trevor attack the institute, daisy goes monster mode, and jon follows martin into the lonely and saves him with the power of gay love and also slurping peter lukas's brain so hard he explodes badly, 25 september 2018

mag 160 - the eye opens: jon reads a normal statement and nothing bad happens, 18 october 2018.

s5

fuck if I know

[zabala0z]

TMA S3 makes me want to cry and like shake around the characters in a fun box. Anyways hi!!! I’m here like 5 mins later.

MAG 102:

“I’ve been trying to give you the information you need”

“Sure, when you’re not bashing its head in with a pipe” GAGGED.

I want to know what happened though with Helen and Jon???? Like did they talk, what did Jon do?? I need to know. Is Michael like fully dead? I guess he can’t die really. I can’t fully grasp the situation with Michael-Helen-The Spiral.

Anyways, I guess that’s why Not! Sasha was going to the wax museum. That’s where the Unknowing will happen. Cannot blame Melanie for trying to kill Elias again. I’d do it too. So, this French guy had like a pretty similiar situation to Jane Prentiss, with the whole “bugs love me and I love them, etc”. Crazy Gerard and Gertrude worked together??? The weirdest duo ever. Goth guy and old woman. I wanna know Gerard Keays deal. I need to hear his voice

Not much on MAG 103. Guess that’s why Gertrude went to New Zealand. Jon is cooking up a plan with Daisy and I’m praying it goes well. Another meat statement. Whatever the meat entity is, I want nothing to do with it. I also realized that when Leitner mentioned his assistant getting consumed by like a pile of meat, that’s like connected to MAG 18. Toby Carlisle. I’ll edit that post. (EDIT 9/2: I just realized when reading over MAG 58 that the cannibalistic guy is named Benjamin Carlisle. Jesus. This meat theme went through generations. Ill edit that post as well)

MAG 104: Sneak Preview

I hate this so much, I want to like give Tim a nice blanket. Everyone in this podcast needs a damn blanket.

The fact the theatre was destroyed by fire twice makes me think The Desolation had something to do with it cause y’know fire. The clown being Joseph Grimaldi is interesting. A real person being applied to the podcast, I think that’s cool. I mean bros dead it’s a free real estate. Also I’m a bit worried about Tim and his “mild” suicidal tendencies now.

Didn’t glean much from MAG 105 but a lot of death (of course, it’s about war) and like the undead. Xiaoling was sweet. Interesting the institute has a sister institute?? I hope they come up more

MAG 106: A Matter of Perspective

Oh hey, it’s the other guy from Personal Space! Apparently he didn’t have a better time than Carter Chilcot. Pretty sure this is another like The Vast statement y’know. The whole nihilism thing. I want to see Manuela’s story because it was said her fingers were burned, her eyes were red and she was withdrawn I believe so clearly something happened with her. No idea what was blocking the stars.

Elias. I swear, I swear I hate this man so much 😭 the fact Mealnies dad was in Ivy Meadows (MAG 36) is unlucky. Smoke inhalation would’ve been the better death. God I love Melanie like leave her alone Elias

Anyways! That’s all I got. I stopped taking my daily synopsis’s of every episode because school started up and while I love this podcast, I got things to do unfortunately 💀 so I’m just relying on my brain and my 10/10 memory.

[soupergiraffe]

Every crazy thought I've had while listening to TMP

I think one of the most interesting changes between TMA statements, and the Protocol Statements we've gotten so far is how the statement givers don't really seem to be aware that anything weird is going on, and I'm wondering what's up with that.

In the original series it took until Jane Prentiss for us to here directly from an avatar, but she seemed aware that what was happening was odd, even if she accepted it, and was happy. The painting woman just seemed to understand that she could change her body, and told the therapist about it like it was totally normal.

Of course, this could be because we're now getting statements from a wider variety of places, you wouldn't go to the Magnus Institute if you didn't think that something was off, and it's possible that any random member of The Peoples Church of the Divine Host would have sounded just like the past two statement givers.

My theory though is that the entities are just more normalised in the new world, even if people aren't fully aware of it. Compare how in TMP there's a whole government branch dedicated to cataloguing the paranormal, versus TMA which had an unofficial police branch. My biggest argument for this though is how the statements are written. In TMA we learned that everyone's statements were so well written because The Eye was compelling them, and without an Archivist people were far more casual and meandering in what they said, but in TMP we have a therapy session, and random journal, both just as eloquent as directly compelled statement, as if The Eye is just always around.

The biggest argument against this is that the most casual sounding statement was the forum post of the guy who visited the actual Magnus Institute. My current theory is the the Institute was like a ground zero of entities entering the world, and so what's left behind is the remnants of the more overt entities of TMA. Red Canary doesn't speak like a statement giver because they aren't being compelled, and their pictures of graffiti won't digitise like the old entities, unlike the clearly digital therapy session we heard in episode 2.

[witchinatree]

oh dearest magnus archives & protocol fandommm (you are my top fandom on this blog)

how would you like a new TV show to fill the void left by the protocol hiatus/the end of archives

it's 'dead boy detectives' on netflix it's my favorite TV show and i really think you all would enjoy it!! (i should warn you: it did get cancelled, hence the save the dead boy detectives campaign and why i'm advertising it to you)

on the save the dead boy detectives server we were discussing (in the sense that i woke up to a discussion that happened 7 hours ago and saw the words magnus and archive and lost my mind) which characters match the core four and which entity they would most likely align with/be avatars of so i will share these findings with you now 🙏

edwin - sasha james but also a bit of gertrude robinson, probably wouldn't become an avatar but if he were i think he'd be an avatar of the stranger (feel free to ask for my reasoning btw i just don't want to spoil the show)

charles - tim stoker ofc and he has a lot of desolation and slaughter alignment but i think he'd be a water themed avatar of the vast with lonely elements

crystal - jon sims and she would definitely have eye alignment but i think she would end up as a web avatar

niko - martin blackwood but also she's SOOO jane prentiss!!! so she would be an avatar of the corruption with lonely alignment

thank you for coming to my TedTalk and i hope you enjoy the show if you watch it (or if this convinced any dbda fans to listen to the magnus archives i hope you enjoy it!!)

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 22, MAG 22 Colony

Oh no.

The Mag 22 analysis that nearly killed me, spoilers ahead.

Facts: Statement of Martin Blackwood regarding an encounter with the being he believes to have once been Jane Prentiss. Statement given March 12, 2016.

Statement Notes: Oh no.

"Writhe."

I pointed that out in my analysis of the first Jane Prentiss statement. It's the perfect verb. It evokes the image of the worms crawling from Jane Prentiss, towards the victim, and into their skin. Prentiss doesn't just represent the fear of insects, but also trypophobia. The creatures dig into your skin, scar you, leaving the victim full of holes. Those holes are where they live, where they writhe.

The sfx begins when Martin says the worms writhe. The additional sound effects have been used sparingly in these early episodes. They're only used when key figures have been introduced, when particularly powerful horrors take action. The crawling effect doesn't begin until Martin says "writhe" because that is when he reveals the true essence of Jane Prentiss and what makes her so dangerous. It's not the worms, but the way they writhe.

It's important that Prentiss didn't break down the door. She could've at any time. She could have easily sent worms up through his pipes or the ventilation system. But she didn't. She didn't want to infect him or kill him. She wanted to keep him locked away for thirteen days becoming paranoid and sick and terrified. She wanted him afraid. She wanted him to tell the Institute how afraid he was.

Building on that, as mentioned in my MAG 6 post, Jane Prentiss seems selectively lucid. She's aware enough to lie to Jon through Martin's phone, to follow him through the underground to his flat, and to wait outside his door strategically making noises to keep him trapped. Yet, by MAG 40, her actions seem to be more controlled by the hive than her.

The only thing that was really confusing me about this episode on the first listen is why Prentiss would be in the basement of Vittery's home. The two statements seem unrelated. However, after developing my MAG 16 theory, I realized that this is why Cane placed the spiders in Vittery's first apartment. She manipulated the scenario so that Vittery would die in the new flat, meaning Martin would have to go investigate, where he would encounter Prentiss, and then be dragged into the ensuing violence.

The final text from Prentiss is what really go me. "Keep him. We have had our fun. He will want to see it when the Archivist's crimson fate arrives." Not only does she know what will happen to Jon, but she knows Martin will be forced to watch. She knows.

Entity Alignment: Prentiss and the worms are obviously affiliated with the Crawling Rot, and the manipulation I discussed earlier ties in the Web. But this episode also highlights the connections between the entities and the existence of the One Entity. Like I said, Prentiss could have simply killed or infected Martin, but she chose instead to isolate him. By making it so being alone is the only way he could be safe, Prentiss pushes Martin further into the Lonely. Martin is not predisposed to serve as a Corruption avatar, so the Entity would not force him towards it. Rather, it utilizes Prentiss and her abilities to push him towards his true destiny as a Lonely avatar.

Character Notes: The diction in this episode drives me nuts. Martin wants to do the investigation "for you," he's getting proof "for you." He's putting his life in danger and dedicating to the world's worst job all because of Jon. My little heart.

This further establishes my theory from the MAG 16 post that Martin and Jon's relationship was part of Cane's manipulation. This is the episode Jon starts ingraining Martin into his life (giving him a room in the archives, taking special note of his safety, believing his account of the supernatural, etc.), forming the roots of what would eventually become their relationship. But the events of this episode were prompted by an investigation into Carlos Vittery, found dead encased in webs.

Jon's dismissal technique is more prevalent in this episode than one may initially realize. In the first live statement, "Alone," Jon encourages the statement giver to speak and stresses the need to record what happened. Although he likely already believed that statement giver because they were using the tape recorder, he likely had some doubts or he would have dismissed the whole thing out of fear. Yet, by this episode, it's been established that Jon believes in Jane Prentiss' abilities, but he still tells Martin he doesn't have to give the statement. He discourages Martin from giving an account of what may be the most real and relevant encounter they've had. But Jon denies things he's afraid of. He knows Prentiss is real, and he's terrified, so he wants to act like nothing happened.

[barefoot-inthewildestwinter]

Make your tea and your toast (part 1)

A/N: This is my first fic ever and also I am new to Criminal Minds as well! I'll work on this story for awhile and I will update warnings at the beginning of each chapter :) I hope to maybe start writing one-shots based on something like taylor swift songs!

Title: Make your tea and your toast

Summary: If he played his cards close to his chest, she never picked hers up. Emily's past slowly catches up to her and he realizes just how little he knows about her.

Word count: 3.7k

Ratings: Mature, eventually

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse, SA, abortion, pregnancy and teen pregnancy, and violence.

January 2007

Nevada

He caught a glimpse of her in the rear-view mirror. Her chin was digging into the pale, bony wrist resting against the car door. She had rolled the window down, allowing rural air to fill the empty space. They were stopped at a light. She was staring straight ahead. Eyes fixed on the skyline and the moon glowing back onto them. Most of her hair was still tucked back in a distressed ponytail. Wild brown strands blew around her face, doing their best to cover her expressions. He spent a breath trying to decipher the faint wrinkles across her face. Her nose slightly scrunched, lips pressed together, brow unfurrowed. She didn’t appear sad, or mad, just… disappointed. A fair position to take, he would concede. They had let Frank go. They had handed him Jane. Maybe they would have found the school children on their own. Their safety had been used to justify his release, it had been the right call. He was sure of it, or at least he was sure enough. They had to let Frank go. He was certain she would challenge this if he brought it up. Not to argue that  it was the wrong call, but to question why it had been the right one, why it had to be the only choice. 

 It had been a silent drive, with Morgan tuned into the radio for updates on basketball games, occasionally commenting on the Bulls- a playful attempt to get a rise out of him. Prentiss had been nonverbal well before she climbed into the back seat. Passively nodding at the suggestion that the team head back to the hotel before venturing out for dinner. Sulking behind him closely and waiting for the side door to unlock, pulling the handle after every beep.  Though she was new to the team, she had always returned to her supportive, outgoing state fairly soon after a case, shelving the unfaltering, driven Agent Prentiss, FBI until the next call. It was unusual for her to not press them to pick a restaurant to meet at, or to not offer to buy them drinks at some bar, or to brush past Morgan and Reid to get into his SUV. He may have paid it more attention if her actions had been inconsistent with the group's energy. He didn’t see himself starting a conversation with either of them, and that was okay.

Morgan looked up from the console to paw at his phone. “Garcia, baby. Please tell me you are up to no good tonight.” On the other end, Garcia’s words were incoherent to him. Given the nature of their conversations in the office, he thinks that maybe he should count his blessings. “No, no. We’re almost back to the motel. We’re getting dinner later. Not my choice.” Staring at the road ahead, he catches snippets of Morgan’s conversation. “...Hotch and Prentiss. Reid went with Gideon in the other car. You know we couldn’t have Reid up in here killing the mood… Babygirl, you should just be glad that we are nowhere near Vegas.” He does hear Garcia comment on how lonely it is to never be there for the team dinners when they are away. “Alright, sugar, get to bed at a reasonable hour. Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell them. Goodnight, princess. I love you too.”

 Jack, he winced. When he got back to his room, he would have to call Jack and Haley. He eyed the clock. 7:48. It was past 9:30 for them. Jack would be asleep, and Haley may very well be too. That was probably for the best. He would leave another voicemail, a preemptive ‘Good morning,’ an apology for missing another ‘Goodnight,’ and a reminder to her to lock the doors before bed.  At least this way, the message would be uninterrupted by his wife’s frustration. Something he couldn’t fault her for, but he didn’t have the energy to apologize for tonight. 

He found trouble justifying his actions to Haley, particularly while trying to keep her and Jack far from this world. He did everything in his power to make sure that they would never have to see a frame of what he saw, and he prayed that they would never be pulled into a case. He hoped to rid the country of as much danger as possible so that they could live freely, without worry of things he could not help but picture any time they left the house. He also understood what his absence meant to Haley. How much she had to do on her own, not just with Jack. He had made sure to pick up the lion’s share of the work when he was home, cooking, cleaning, chores. He knew it wouldn’t always be enough. That’s why when she suggested that they have another baby, he was a little taken aback. He knows that he shouldn’t have been. Jack is over a year old now, Haley is 35, and he has loved her for almost two decades. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel strange about it. They surely couldn’t bring another child into their house and go back to fighting over his work. Her position wouldn’t change if they had two kids, and he’s not sure that he can give her what she needs. Not after this case. Besides, she had only brought it up twice since then, and it hadn’t taken them long to get pregnant with Jack. He tries to push the thought of Frank out of his mind, separating his home life from his current one.  

He finds his gaze drifting back to Prentiss in the mirror again. She’s still stuck on the same thought. This time he notices more of her. Her necklace, her eyelashes, her vest still on. That cannot be comfortable. He lets out a small smile. Her fingers lightly pressed a tune into the leather seat. As their SUV pulled into the hotel, Hotch found himself pleased by the trust that had been forged between Prentiss and himself since she had joined the team a few months ago. It wasn’t unusual, and it certainly wasn’t anything much, but it was progress. For a moment, he feels awful for his treatment of her during her first cases in the unit. He knows she caught tension from almost everyone on the team. Gideon fed off of his distrust, his claim that she had arrived in his office due to anything other than her merits. Morgan, suspicious of anyone joining the BAU, and Reid, following their example. Even JJ had feigned contempt for Prentiss for a week or so. Someone new, so soon after Elle’s departure, they had reason to take pause, but not to completely ice her out.  Really, he is grateful for her staying with the team after that. And she had been useful. More so than he expected her to be. She was fluent in over five languages. She was an excellent shot, a quick thinker, and her dedication to the case was unmatched. It was as if any personal hang ups or feelings were controlled by a switch that she could turn off in a blink. This didn’t stop her from being a constant source of support. She was always ready to  empathize with the team, the families, or the unsubs, like it was second nature to her. She was able to gain trust effortlessly. He’d like to believe that his trust took some effort. 

His amusement quickly shriveled when it met with the heaviness of the warm air. After separate car rides, Reid and Morgan immediately revived their bickering about dinner plans. By the time they finally compromise on a place, with encouragement from Hotch, the last shreds of comradery are taut.  Gideon will just go back to his room, he says, citing exhaustion. Hotch collects his takeout order while walking towards  the fire escape. Prentiss nods, “I’m just going to go back to my room, as well. Long day.” Reid frowns at this, but doesn’t say anything back. “Stay out of trouble boys.” She winks at him. It was at them really, but he feels it burn on his skin. 

He’s back in the driver’s seat when Morgan asks if there is something they can get to bring her back. Hotch catches her head shaking in the rear view mirror once more, watching her stumble off into the distance. He knows that she’s being withholding, but after the day they have had, he knows better than to probe that right now. 

Reid climbs into her empty seat in the back. “It smells weird in here.” He says, loudly taking deep breaths through his nose. Morgan turns to look at him, “It’s called perfume, Reid. If you ever got within six feet of a girl, you might know that, genius.” Morgan slides his thumb across his nose. Reid pouts in response, “Well, now I don’t want to go.” “Too late, you picked the restaurant, you don’t get to bail on us now.” They fight like children for miles. “I can still make both of you get out and walk.” That pacifies them for the rest of the ride.

Dinner was more pleasant than he predicted. It seemed that they all had needed some food in their system to treat hypoglycemic angst. Talking and laughing about nothing, teaching Reid to throw darts. Hotch couldn’t remember feeling so light after a case like this, even though it was momentary. On the way back, Morgan joins Reid in the back, allowing him to rest his head on his shoulder and doze off. Oh, god, he thought. I already have two kids. They brought Gideon’s meal and some extra boxes to offer Prentiss. He parks the car, grabbing the takeout in one arm. Morgan startles awake, distancing himself before hopping out. “Want me to carry you?” He extends his hand to Reid, who takes offense and climbs out of the other side door. “Hey Hotch, are you doing bed checks tonight?” His laugh is sincere. “No, but Gideon will do a head count at 1.” He lets them go on ahead, saying their goodnights before they split off. “Garcia loves you!” He hears Morgan call down the veranda. Gideon takes his food with a brief thank you and a goodnight. Hotch can see the files strewn in the background, all of the lamps giving the room an amber hue.  “For Prentiss?” he points to the remaining boxes. Hotch nods. “Did she say anything to you?” Gideon says no, she had taken the stairs and hadn’t left her room since they got back, to his knowledge, but he wasn’t tracking her. “Everything okay with her?” He just sighs. “Is anything ever okay with us?” Knowing that Gideon would be wanting to get back to his paperwork now, he leaves quickly.

He passes a few doors before stopping at hers. He can hear her on the other side, footsteps pacing the length of the room. Without thinking, he grabs the handle.  He raises his hand to knock, catching the time on his wrist. 11:18. He hears the footsteps stop instantly and she slowly moves closer to the door. Realizing what he has done, he clears his throat. “Prentiss, it’s Hotch.” There’s a deep, shaky breath, and then the chain slides off. 

“You’d think a supervisory federal agent would know how to knock on a door without acting like a creep.” She moves into the doorway. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t … uh, I wasn’t thinking.” He stumbles across his sentence, scanning her appearance. She’d traded the vest and slacks for a pair of black athletic shorts and a well loved Yale sweatshirt. “We brought you back some food. I know you said you weren’t hungry, but it’s been a long day and I don’t recall you joining us for breakfast.” She looks up at him. She’s shorter without heels on, he thinks. “It’s just a salad and some fries. Morgan seemed to think that would be okay.” She beams back at him. Her face is bare, and yet her wide eyes are still decorated with long, thick lashes. She is smiling big, which causes his lips to concede a smirk. “Oh, this is great. Thank you.” The light catches the wet black hair clinging to her neck, revealing wet marks at the top of her sweater. “I’m sorry, I’ll leave you be. Goodnight.” He goes to turn when he sees her shiver and fixate her gaze at his feet. He feels all of the concern he’s had for her all day rush to churn in his stomach. “Prentiss? I’m in the next room, if you need anything.” He pauses to make sure she detects the earnestness in his words. She looks back up at him, meeting his stare. “I know. Goodnight Hotch.” She closes the door behind him, leaving him alone in the cold air. When he falls back into his bed, it’s 11:30. This will definitely be a voicemail.

He keeps his message short and sweet. He’ll call them in the morning, before wheels up. It’s more of a pacifier for himself than a promise to them. The pacing continues in the distance, it becomes louder the more he concentrates on it. After a while, he finds it soothing enough to drift off to. 

Hotch is awake again when he hears the door slam. Someone outside scurries along the corridor until they reach his room. He sees her through the hole in the door. Her arms wrapped around herself, she bites a nail and then her lower lip. She’s trying to work up the strength to knock, to ask for him. 3:30. He sighs and  groggily throws his brown pullover on and opens the door to nothing but the chill. Confused, he shuts the door and tries to wander after her. 

“Prentiss. Prentiss?” It comes out as more of a hiss as he creeps along the walkway. “Prentiss?” He finds her sitting on the steps of the fire escape, her bare knees buried into her chest. He calls after her once more, making himself known. “Prentiss, it’s Hotch.” She looks up, nodding her nose to the empty space next to her. He understands and sits down. “Hey,” he offers. She doesn’t turn to face him. “We made the right call today. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but we didn’t have a choice.”

 “But how can you know that?” She shoots back, regret pouring in immediately. Her next words sound shaky. “I know we got the children back, I know that.” Her head lifts out of her hands. “But Jane is a person. She’s a victim. She’s his victim, we literally handed her to him and let them ride off into the sunset.” Her voice strained. “I know.” “Anything that happens to her, anything that Frank does to anyone, is on us.” His hand grazes her thigh as he readjusts his leg.

“When I was a prosecutor, one of the worst feelings was when really bad people walked free because they received more compassion and leniency  from the system than their victims. When we fail, we fail victims. We give them no closure, no justice, we tell them that all of their suffering is unimportant. We give them reason to doubt the people that are supposed to help them.” Emily asks how long he practiced as a prosecutor. He replies, a couple of years, after law school. Mostly criminal cases, sexual assault, homicide, child abuse. He never felt like he was doing enough, he was always too late, it nearly destroyed him.

“Why do we fail them though? Sure, sometimes it’s inevitable. But we fail too often.” He is a bit surprised by the raw emotion in her rambling. “We can’t protect everyone, sometimes we fail to uncover the truth until it's too late.” He searches her eyes for hints of what specifically is eating at her. “Do you think it’s a failure due to inability or inconvenience?” He ponders her question for a moment. “What do you mean?” She laughs once. “I mean, if we see the truth and we find it to be inconvenient. We don’t like the way it looks, what stops us from just ignoring it altogether?” He shoots her a look that says, ‘We aren’t the bad guys.’ “Maybe not. But we just as well could be.” She shifts her weight, sitting up straighter.

“Just look at what happened in Chicago. A man was allowed to abuse and murder little boys for decades and no one batted an eye because ‘He was a pillar of the community, an outstanding man.’ And as if that wasn’t enough, they went after Derek with almost no thought. They saw what they wanted to and ignored what they didn’t. It didn’t matter who got hurt.” He places his hand on the middle of her back. Thumb on her spine, his fingers stay just below her shoulder blade. An awkward attempt to comfort her. She exhales deeply but doesn’t jerk away. He thinks back to a few weeks ago, when he had caught her looking out for Morgan on the trip home from Chicago. Giving him space from a calculated distance, bringing him tea and a new book for the plane, offering to buy him a drink when they got home. He didn’t think much of it then. Just Prentiss being Prentiss, offering comfort and exuding resilience to the team after a particularly brutal case. Now, he wonders if there was meaning behind her actions deeper than a desire to be accepted by them.

She’s staring, fixated on his lips now. He spots a paper cup clutched in her left hand. “It’s just water,” she says. “Not that I couldn’t use a drink right about now.” Her wide eyes pout playfully at him, make me a drink. She lifts the cup, tilting it towards him, he declines. Prentiss cracks a smile, turning her head to face the neon motel sign. “It’s past 4:00, did you get any rest?” She bites her lower lip again. “Yeah, some.” It’s a lie, he can hear the exhaustion in her throat. He glares at her. “Fine, no, not really. I usually don’t though.” He frowns, “When do you sleep?” Her answer baffles him. She tells him that if she sleeps, it’s from 2:00 to 5:00 am, but that she naps often on the jet. He lets out a breath but it comes out as a shaky laugh. “If?” He’s looking at her with pity. His hand is resting on the step behind her back now. His words spill out softly, “Oh, Emily. That’s no good.” As soon as he says it, awkwardness fills the air. He rarely says her first name alone, he hasn’t felt close enough to her to use it. He holds his breath waiting for her to say something. Thankfully for him, she brushes right past it, setting her hand on his knee. “Oh, believe me, I’m aware.” He doesn’t move, his focus centered on her face, composed and unfazed. “Prentiss, do you ever get nightmares?” 

“Don’t we all?” She tucks a strand of loose hair behind her ear, revealing a pearl earring. “Occupational hazard.” In her periphery, she can see his face teem with concern. Through teeth, she forces her next words out. “All the time, sir. Sometimes even before I fall asleep.”

“Tonight?” he asks, lowering his voice to a whisper, she nods. “It’s okay to have them, you know. There’s nothing wrong with you. We see and think about things that no one should ever have to witness. We put ourselves in danger nearly every day. It would be concerning if it didn’t get to you.” Her grip on his knee tightens. “The important thing to know is that you’re not alone in this. You are safe tonight. I’m here, Morgan is here, Gideon and Reid are here.” She turns her face into her shoulder for a second and he swears he hears her sniffle. “I’m perfectly capable of defending myself, Hotch.” 

“I know that you are. I’m just saying that you don't have to be. Whether or not you believe me, you’re a member of this team, not a supporter.” The breeze splashes their skin. It feels nice, sobering them up. “I bet that you’re a really good dad, Hotch. That was nice. Are you going to read me a bedtime story now?” He fails to fend off the smirk from his face. “No, but I will walk you back to your room, wheels up in 90.” She groans as they rise, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. “This is a good look on you.” Her cheeks match the rosiness of her nose as she studies the lines on his face. “Well honestly, Hotch, I would have put money on you not owning a pair of sweats.”

She expects him to wait at the door, to make sure she hasn't locked herself out.  But to her surprise he comes in, watches as she slips her boots off and flings them across the room before falling onto the bed. When she's safely under a blanket, he turns out the light. He hears a muffled thank you followed by more tired ramblings as he’s drawn back to the moonlight. “Hotch?” His hand clutches the lock, “Yes?” “It’s okay if you call me Emily, anytime you want.”

Shutting the door, he smiles to himself. Talking to her had felt so easy, even so, he was still intrigued by her. Between his evening with Reid and Morgan and his twilight conversation with Prentiss, he found himself much lighter. Though they would all carry this loss with them until they crossed paths with Frank again, for now, he felt peace. Something he rarely let himself feel while at work. He really needed to go to bed. 

“Goodnight, Emily.”

[several-ravens]

so here are my categories updated in light of the recent events aka the end of season 1 (under the cut because it's still long af and i don't want to pollute dashes):

i have been made aware (by my friend, again) that these categories are based on fears, so:

fire:

episode 8, the contractor

episode 12, gerard keay at the hospital

episode 37, guy in the forest and milk bottles

pestilence (infestation, but cooler):

jane prentiss in general (worms)

episode 36, care home (flies)

madness (hypnotic patterns and fractals):

episode 3, not!graham's table? idk

episode 8, the contractor's dad obsessed with fractals

episode 38, homophobic vase

episodes 39, not!graham's table again? idk

bonus: episode 26, michael because

web (name-dropped by martin in episode 39, formerly spiders):

episode 16, arachnophobia

episode 36, zippo with web design that jonathan received

death:

episode 7, guy who met war

episode 11, black tendrils

episode 29, guy who plays faro

darkness:

episode 9, serial killer dad (there's a weird date inconsistency in this one)

stranger:

episode 1, anglerfish

episode 8, not!graham himself?

episode 10, vampires?

episode 27, bedroom doorknob

episode 28, anglerfish part 2 (yes i recognised sarah baldwin's name from episode 1, i'm better than jonathan /j)

episode 39, not!sasha herself?

hunt (name-dropped by jonathan):

episode 10, also vampires?

episode 14, voodoo fingers old lady ("some hungers are too strong to be denied")?

episode 15, cave diving?

episode 31, werewolf

fear of heights (?) (formerly infinity):

episode 21: parachute guy

lonely (name-dropped by my friend haha):

episode 13, graveyard and fog

episode 33, ghost ship and fog

ew (flesh/bones/meat/body/blood) (also probably two categories in a trenchcoat):

episode 8, the bleeding tree

episode 10, also also vampires?

episode 14, voodoo fingers old lady

episode 17, boneturner's book

episode 18, rotting meat nailed to the floor

episode 28, anglerfish part 2 (idk she wears her own skin like a glove and that's gross)

episode 30, abattoir

eyes (not a fear, btw, so i'm gessing fear of being watched?):

episode 12, gerard keay's lighter, and also gerard keay's tattoos

episode 23, mausoleum in germany

episode 39, jonathan feeling observed

claustrophobia (?):

episode 2, casket?

episode 15, cave diving?

episodes i have no idea where to put:

episode 4, ex altiora

episode 5, trash bags (probably multiple categories depending on the trash bag)

episodes 19 & 20, priest (probably multiple categories as well, maybe a bit of madness and a bit of ew)

episode 24, red organ and puppets (i will not let my own fear of clowns and dolls bully me into making a shiny new category just for them)

episode 25, cult roommate (could be lonely, could be darkness, idk)

episode 35, corridors (all of the categories at once)

[ceruleanserendipity]

The Magnus Protocol, Horror, and the Ouroborous of Love and Obsession

Buckle up.

Also known as "Goose is Very, Very Normal About How Love, Obsession, and Consumption (no, not that kind) Are Prevalent in Horror Media."

ALSO known as "I Can't Stop Thinking About The Magnus Protocol and the Running Theme, So You Get to Suffer With Me!"

Okay. Hi, hello, I'm Goose, and I needed to write about this before I annoy all of my friends too much about it. Horror is one of my favorite genres in any medium, and I love literary analysis. I've been listening to The Magnus Protocol (an excellent podcast) like my life depends on it, so I of course have thoughts.

Let's talk love. Love is an amazing theme in any medium, and personally one of my favorite things to look for. Like, romance movies are incredibly popular for a reason right? I will never dog on a good romcom or fairytale. HOWEVER. Something I appreciate about horror, specifically film and TV, is how love is an underlying theme. There are so many ways to portray love as a persisting force in horror; one of my favorite examples of this is The Haunting of Bly Manor (and like, everything Mike Flanagan does, honestly). The driving force of this show lies in Dani and her relationships, the way she deals with an ex-love, the way she comes to terms with a new one, and most importantly, in how her love continues throughout the horror of the series and even after, a persevering thing that makes me swoon more than a Nicholas Sparks book. I don't want to get too detailed, because, well, spoilers, but I wanted to give you my baseline idea on love as a thematic element.

Obsession. A word that tends to be thrown around rather lightly, and I am guilty! "Oh I'm obsessed," "latest obsession," etc. etc. etc.. Obsession in its barest form though is something that is constant preoccupation, invading daily life. All-consuming passion, something you can't get rid of easily. Love can devolve into obsession if one isn't careful, which is why the inherent horror of love and obsession go hand in hand, a snake eating its own tail and never letting go, because what would one abstract be without the other?

Now, let's talk Magnus!

In The Magnus Archives, there is a very clear love in a very twisted sense (mm my favorite). Who's the first person that comes to mind? Jane Prentiss, of course! She succumbs to the Corruption. The Corruption itself preys on those who are susceptible to toxicity, who have trouble with boundaries in relationships. Something I've always found terribly interesting is that desire to be consumed by something you adore so much. I understand it. In fact, many of the Fears in Archives are tied to some form of love, adoration, even worship.

This isn't exactly the case in The Magnus Protocol, at least, not the way I see it.

Thus far, Protocol has been distinctly more focused on body horror (another rant about my love for that another day) but something I've noticed since the first episode is that love, specifically obsession with something the subject loves, is prevalent throughout each "statement," as I've been calling them. While I'm aware they aren't true statements, but rather case files, in a sense, I'm attached to the term, so I'm sticking with it. Argue with the wall.

Episode one, we see two instances of love— first in a woman searching so desperately for her husband that she's willing to risk her safety for love. Secondly, we see a person so obsessed with exploration that he spirals into mania. Is it a passion? Yes. Hobbies, like urban exploration, are inherently something to be loved.

Episode two, the search for perfection is deeply tied to obsession. To mania. Daria is entrenched in the idea of loving oneself to the extent that she is willing to mutilate herself for it. Again, obsession. Devotion.

Episode three, the doctor is so in love with his wife (toxic love is, unfortunately, still a form of love. Infatuation perhaps, but a form of love nonetheless.), that he kills her. His later fixation after her death, causing that spiral into madness, is the product of going "further," as I mentioned earlier.

Episode four. Perfection is holding hands with obsession. Wanting to be perfect at something you adore is relatable, isn't it? There is so much inherent terror in adoration, and that's the real crux of this episode, at least in my personal opinion.

EP FIVE SPOILERS BELOW!!!

In episode five, it took me a moment to really jive with the story, but our narrator's love of horror itself is his downfall. His desensitization, his familiarity, it makes him foolhardy. Hasn't that happened to you? Being blindsided by the thing you treasure most, the thing that brings you comfort?

At its core, horror is hungry and consumptive. Most, if not all, horror will have something that requires a "sacrifice," or something of the sort. A slasher needs a victim, a demon needs a body, a knife needs blood, a voyeur needs a subject. Love and obsession are separated by the thinnest air; infatuation and love are so quick to consume a person that it is one of the more dangerous experiences. Love drives a person to fear, whether that's losing oneself or the object of affection. We fear what we love. We become addicted to that exhilaration of heightened fear response.

At the present moment, Protocol has been hitting it out of the park when weaving love into its stories, and I, for one, can't wait for more.

If you have complaints, leave them in the box.

Kisses!!!! Love from,

Goose <3

[lizard-queen-izzy]

How I think the Archives Gang met eachother [+ their sexualities imo because]

Jon - he falls on the demi-romantic spectrum somewhere. I feel it in my *bones*. [And ofc Asexual. That being canon is *SO SO* important to me.]

•Him and Tim meet during their Research Days. They started around the same time. Tim was the first one in their department who listened when Jon spoke, and Jon was the first one who took Tim seriously. They weren't *close*, but they were friends. They were eachothers support in this new environment, and when Jon got promoted to Head Archivist, he was adamant about bringing Tim with him.

•He met Sasha through Tim. Tim met Sasha one day when he had to go to Archive Storage to follow up with something, and then he promptly dragged Jon there with him the *second* they had a break because he insisted they had to meet. They got along great, bonding over a mutual love of academia and disbelief of the supernatural nature of most of the Institute.

•Jon doesn't officially meet Martin until he's assigned to his Archive team. But his reputation proceeds him, and leads to Jon being hesitant and extremely stanfoffish. It leads to him being rude, until Jane Prentiss attacks him and he realizes that he's just as scared as him. And now he can *do* something, he can help. They further bond while Martin is staying in the archive.

Tim - bisexuality takes human form. And this man *FUCKS*

•Tim and Jon go back to their Research Days. Tim latched to Jon, maybe more than he'd ever admit. It was nice to have *someone* firmly in his corner.

•Tim met Sasha and it was an immediate spark. He knew she was important, he knew he wanted her in his life. [And naturally he *had* to introduce her to his #1 Guy. And when they hit it off he was So Excited]

•Tim knew *of* Martin before they all got reassigned to the Archives team. They'd interacted in passing, water-cooler talk type vibe. Once they were working together he decided Martin was cool. Jon's distaste for him led to slight disinterest, but he realized quickly it was more than likely the stress of the new position so he decided to befriend Martin

Sasha - She's both panromantic *and* aromantic and I can't explain it. The woman exists in multitudes

•She met Tim when he stumbled into her workspace while trying to find an item to fact check something, and instead ended up talking with Sasha while she worked because she made an offhand comment about being a bit spooked working up there alone

•when Tim showed back up with Jon in tow, Sasha knew she was doomed[/pos]. And then Jon was so much like her, but also so unlike her. He fascinated her, she had to know more.

•Sasha met Martin before Jon or Tim did, but also not long before the Archives team was assigned. She met him when he got lost in the shelves of artifact storage, and she found him while organizing when she *literally* ran into him. He got flustered and ran off so she didn't think much of him until they were assigned to a team together.

Martin - Panromantic demisexual. I'm right. Anyway.

•He meets Sasha when she runs into him, dropping the Box of Things she was moving around. He apologized *profusely* and then ran off. They meet again more formally when hes assigned to the archives team, and she's incredibly kind but her academic viewpoint intimidates him

•Tim is someone Martin has Heard Of before. And he's chatted with him in passing/in a larger group before, but nothing formally one on one until the team assignment. He thinks Tim is SO Cool. But he's got that scary ass cat hovering behind him

•Jon TERRIFIES him at first. He's his new boss, and before they've even met,he's decided he's not qualified [which, he's right but he doesn't know that so why is he being mean??] The concern he shows when he hears Martin's statement though? It gives Martin a glint of hope

If there's implications of polyarchives here, maybe so but mind your business.

I think Jon and Tim definitely met eachother first, because they were in the same department. Then it's only natural Tim would find another highly intelligent academic skeptic in artifact storage and what's he gonna do? Not introduce the only other person he considers a friend to her? Of course he's going to introduce them, even if he has to drag Jon by his arms [which he damn near does]. I stand firmly in the court of 'Jon, Tim and Sasha were all much closer Pre-Archives and that was intimidating to Martin because they work so well together'. They're like a well oiled machine. Jon and Tim know eachothers work habits down to a T after working caddy-corner from eachother and and doing so much feild work. Sasha is so fast as finding necessary information and she's still got most of Artifact Storage memorized so she finds stuff up there almost before she's asked. The three of them can almost communicate without speaking, just a few pointed looks or hand gestures and they understand. Sometimes Tim or Sasha will walk in and Jon's hand is up/out for the folder without even lifting his gaze from his own work.

But still, calling them close isn't right. They don't know eachothers personal lives. Sasha only knows where Tim and Jon live from her spying but she's never been to their flats. They've never gotten into the nitty-gritty of their personal reasons for being at the Institute. But they're fine with that. They don't need that to work well together and to trust eachother, so they don't see it as necessary.

Martin probably makes a joke about how close they all are once to Tim and Sasha and is met with blank stares from both. Which does nothing to help him in figuring out what is up with his new coworkers. At least Tim and Sasha are nice to him, that's more than he can say for Jon. Sasha insists it's the stress of the new job and the organization of the archives. Tim tells him to just give Jon time, he'll come around. But no matter what Martin does, it seems to be wrong for Jon. He doesn't know what to do. Other than keep pushing forward and do his job best he can.

And then Jane Prentiss happens. And Martin is trapped in his flat for so long. Alone. And he doesn't know what to do. And he finally gets out and gets back to the Institute, back to the Archives and no one seems relieved to see him at first. Everyone thinks he was out sick? And so he goes to Jon. He gives his statement. And Jon looks genuinely worried, the first expression Martin has earned from him that wasn't a scowl. And he offers the spare room in the Archives since Martin can't go home. And Martin thinks, 'yeah, this is progress'.

It doesn't take long to fall back into the old song and dance though. Jon's all the more stressed with the worms and the statements. And it seems like Martin can't stop messing up.

And then Sasha meets Michael. And Jon's on even higher alert. He's snapping more. Mostly at Martin. Because Martin is the only piece he isn't accustomed to. A new gear Elias rammed into his perfect machine for reasons he can't begin to understand. And it's not entirely fair to Martin but, it's what Jon can control.