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tma-reader-inserts · 8 months

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Elias Bouchard x Hunt Avatar! Reader

Tw: cannibalism

Being one of the file storage and reference section assistants at the Magnus Institute is not a glamorous job. It’s a lot like being a librarian, which is what you got your degree in (along with a minor in folklore), so at least the filing system is familiar to you, and you’re not saddled with unnecessary responsibility like Diana is being the head of the department.

Fortunately, your boss, Mr. Bouchard, is very understanding. You couldn’t control others actions, and as long as something gets returned he’s not too upset over the matter.

He often came to check up on you, to take your inventory report personally and give a stern talking to to those who fail to return their borrowed material. It was nice, to know your boss was looking out for you, to have some backing. People don’t really take you seriously, with your meek nature, at least Mr. Bouchard did.

Jon was concerning you, though. He’s been visiting more and more often, ever since the Prentiss incident. He’s been asking slightly invasive questions since he’s learned you worked closely with his predecessor right before her death. You even think he’s been following you after work; which is highly worrying because of your… odd habits.

You pray he hasn’t noticed your trips to the butcher.

—

You were entering fight or flight when Jon locked the door to the storage room, and were in full on panic mode when he stomped over to you and demanded you answer for your strange eating habits. How you never ate lunch at the Institute but visit a certain unreputable butcher every other day.

He crowded up to you so closely you could count the worm scars the littered his tan skin.

“Do you have any idea how often that shop appears in statements? How- how many people disappear there? You must know, you work here!” He yells, eyes alight with fury.

You curl into yourself, fear stilling your to tongue. You were never good with men yelling at you.

“Gertrude was investigating the place before she died, did you do something to her to keep going there?” He accuses.

The blood drains from your face. You for sure never harmed a hair on Gertrude Robinson’s head. You’re not sure if you even could back when she was alive. But yes she was investigating your butcher. Yes. Even she confronted you about it, and just like when she accused you of your… strange diet, you flinch at Jon’s words.

You felt hot tears well up in your eyes. You were now fully afraid of your coworker. Gone was the hard core skeptic, the ineffable Jonathan Sims and in his place was a maniac.

“It’s not like that-“ you stutter out. “I never laid a hand on Gertrude-“

“She was shot! You wouldn’t need to touch her!” He continues. You felt sick to your stomach as he continues to rave.

You couldn’t tell him that there was no way you killed Gertrude, that as soon as you even smelled blood you lose control of yourself. If you killed Gertrude, she wouldn’t have just bullet wounds.

You were seconds away from sobbing, so terrified of Jon and how close his accusations were, ready to spill your guts and let him call the police or the press or maybe he’d just try and kill you the same way Gertrude did-

The door broke open, and in hastily strolled a very angry looking Elias Bouchard. You shook with relief and a shaky breath rattled through your body. A firm, ring adorned hand was placed on Jon’s shoulder and the Archivist was pulled away from your personal space.

You weren’t even registering what Elias was scolding Jon for, but after some rebuttal from the archivist and back and forth from both men, Jon eventually left in a huff. After he slammed the door closed, the tears in your eyes finally spilled.

Elias was quickly by your side, his voice was sturdy, and his hand rubbed your back in a comforting manner.

“It’s alright, my dear, let it out.” He hums. “Let us retreat to my office, give you some privacy to calm down, hmm?”

—

One cup of tea and a box of tissues later, you’re now sniffling helplessly in Elias’s office. He waits for you patiently to calm down, as you alternate between wiping your cheeks and sipping your earl grey.

When it’s seems you’ve finally settled enough, your employer speaks.

“I am truly sorry for Jonathan’s actions. It seems that he’s not quite himself since the Prentiss incident, although that is no excuse for his behavior.”

One thing you’ve always like about your boss was how he was concise with his words and how put together he was. Nothing seemed to get to him. Always prim and eloquent.

You sigh heavily, the fear and sadness in your system expelling itself through the breath. “It… I’m fine now, I guess. I’ve never seen Jon act so… erratically.”

Elias nods, a warm hand placed itself on your knee. “Erratic is one way of putting it, I suppose.” There was a beat of silence before Elias removed his hand and settled his gaze on you. “Jon does raise a fair question, in regards to your relation to the butcher shop you visit.”

Your heart stops, and you felt very sick.

“The shop in question is central to several statements over the years, not to mention has been investigated by the police many times for related and unrelated reasons.” He says easily. “Is there a particular reason you frequent this specific shop?”

You couldn’t exactly tell your boss that it’s one of the only butchers near your house that can supply your high demand for copious different kinds of meat and blood; that it’s certainly the only place that doesn’t question why you need so much. That it feels safe to you because the owner can smell the strange on you and doesn’t curl away in fear the way most do.

“… I… have a crush on the butcher.” You lie. It’s an awful lie, you sound horrifically unsure of yourself and you could feel the bead of sweat roll down your temple traitorously. Not to mention it felt gross to even say it.

Elias raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “The man is well above you in age.” He points out. How he knows that off handedly is beyond you but you don’t dare question his knowledge right now.

“… I’m into older men.” Not a lie, exactly. You felt some peace with yourself with this truth exposed.

He tilts his head in consideration before sighing. “Be that as it may; you’re still not telling me the whole truth.” He says sharply.

You flinch, and cast your eyes downward.

“It’s-“ you choke on your words. “It’s a lot more complicated than that.” You confess lowly, under your breath. “I can’t tell you, I-I just can’t.” You sigh roughly, pointedly looking away from the man across from you. “You wouldn’t believe me, anyhow.”

Your wording intrigued Elias, as he leaned in closer to you, the perfect expression of sympathy on his face. “We work here, my dear, I’m sure I’ve heard for more unfathomable tales.”

A frown yanks the corners of your mouth downwards as you try not to start crying again. You’ve kept your secret so close to you all these years, so afraid of how people would react. How it would change others perception of you. You’re more afraid of speaking the incident aloud than of the incident itself, and the idea of confession finally chokes you up.

The hand returns to you knee as Elias says you name, so tenderly it makes you ache. “You’re safe here.” He urges. “Think of it like a statement; we’ll lock it away and keep it hidden from public.”

That… does assure you a bit. You’ve had people confess to murders here. It is the Magnus Institute after all.

“I… I don’t want it investigated.” You murmur, one hand of yours coming to your mouth in anxiousness. “There isn’t anything left to investigate, there’s no point.”

The older man nods in understanding all too readily. “I understand.”

You felt like you were going to throw up. You’ve never even toyed with the notion of confessing of what happened to you, now here you were, locked in your boss’s office, tea lukewarm and you ready to let your heart bleed.

“I was… six or seven, I can’t be sure.” You start. “My family has relatives in Canada, on my fathers side. We always visited them around the end of summer, and we’ve been going there so often that even as a child I was familiar with their land. We usually rented a small cabin in the woods not far from my uncle’s house and we’d stay there for a few weeks; me and my parents.

“We didn’t usually sleep in the cabin truthfully, we tented out in the wood by the place. It’d be right before hunting season and the forest would be littered with all kinds of animals that my dad would hunt idly with the assortment of guns his brother owned. We ate off of deer and rabbit and-“ you laugh at the memory, “squirrels if you can believe it. Anything dad could catch. We’d eat the wild berries and vegetables and fish from the creek. It was… nice.” You sigh, thinking of your father’s methodical hands as he skinned rabbits and your mother’s careful explanations of identifying plants that were safe to eat.

You swallowed thickly, preparing to speak of the unfortunate bit. “One night, we heard a noise. Nothing that would indicate… the danger that followed… but somewhere nearby there was something snapping twigs as it walked. It sounded so close.” You shudder.

“My father grabbed one of the guns near him and went to investigate. That was the last I ever saw of him. His last word were ‘wait here.’” Your eyes glass over as you relived your memories, and Elias moves his chair closer to you, nodding for you to continue. “He never even had the chance to shoot the gun. So deep in the shadows I didn’t see him- see him get killed.” You choked up again.

“My mother grabbed me and ran. She apparently saw something I didn’t and lugged me up into her arms and started to sprint to the tree line, to the cabin. But she tripped. I fell from her embrace and she was dragged back into the darkness.” The recollection was making you numb, and perhaps now it was easier to speak of your trauma. “I don’t think she had time to scream. To plead or beg, because I felt warm liquid splash on my face mere moments after I managed to stand up.

“I didn’t want to run, I was too scared too. Evidently that’s was the best choice. The thing that had killed my parents finally emerged from the darkness. I couldn’t see it clearly, but it loomed over me so greatly in height I thought it was a moving tree. Its limbs were long and thin, like bones or branches, and it was almost red with how richly brown it was. I couldn’t see its face, but I saw red droplets fall from somewhere above me.

“I-I’m not sure why exactly it didn’t kill me. Maybe because I wasn’t moving. Maybe it could only see me if I moved and I was so still I was sure my heart had stopped all together. It just… walked away from me; slowly, snapping branches and twigs underfoot as it retreated back into the woods… I wish that was the end of it.” You sigh.

“I spent hours in the woods, days. I was so lost I couldn’t find the tree line at all. I couldn’t even find our camp site.

Whatever direction my mother started to run in was wrong, and I was sure it spelt my doom. I’m not sure how long I wandered in the daylight but I eventually found a cave, a large tree sticking out from the mouth.

“Well, I thought it was a tree at first. Until I saw it move. I heard no noises in the area. No birds, or bugs, or animals. Like they were all afraid of being in the vicinity of this great beast; and my parents and I were just too stupid to sense the danger.

“I was… so mad, seeing it. I was furious. This… thing destroyed my life and it was sleeping! It was resting as if my parent’s bodies weren’t in its stomach. I’m not sure what possessed me; a very child like rage, I’m sure, and the determination to get back at it, somehow. To make us even. It ate my parents.” You clipped coldly. “I was wanted to eat it.”

Elias watched you patiently. And you continued.

“It must’ve been used to not being disturbed while it slept. So used to being left alone that it didn’t notice me at all as I crawled into the cave. When I crawled in as far as I could until its mass was so large it plugged the cave. I had no weapon, I had nothing sharp, not even a stone or a stick, but I was so angry and so hungry…” you hiss.

“I… I didn’t know what to expect of it. It looked leathery, but when I dug my fingers in between what I thought was it’s rib, the flesh gave away easily, with hardly any resistance at all, like pulling slow cooked meat off the bone.” You swallow here. And Elias looks at you with rapt attention.

“How did it taste?” He inquires, voice not above a whisper, and you answer.

“… it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

You confess, eyes closing tightly, trying to conjure the experience to your mind. “It was so rich, and soft and warm. I kept pulling bits and bits off of it until there was a hole in its side, and I could see into its hollow chest cavity. It… ignited something in me. A fierce kind of hunger. It felt like I’ve never eaten since before that moment and I was starved. I just… kept eating. Pulling meat from its arm, its legs, the fingers. I must’ve spent hours slowly feasting away on this creature, piece by piece consuming it. It never woke up, never even stirred. I wondered if it died in its sleep as I licked my fingers between bites. I ate more than I thought possible, more than I should have been able to feasibly consume. I ate everting I could reach until all that remained was a skeleton, a black, brittle skeleton that cracked easily when I knocked into them too hard.

“When there was nothing left to eat, I was still so, so hungry. It was like I didn’t even pick away at the monster for hours on end. I crawled out of the cave on my hands and knees. There was still no sound of life in the woods.

“… I don’t remember being found. They say I was missing for weeks. They say a mountain lion killed my parents because their corpses were found mangled in the trees.” You scoff, bitterly, eyes welling with tears. “It never actually ate them. It killed them. For fun. And now I’m… this.” You gesture ruefully to yourself.

“What are you now?” Elias asks gently, hand never once leaving your knee.

You sniffle. “I don’t know. When I managed to come back to England, to be placed in the care of my grandparents, it was obvious I wasn’t… normal, anymore. I couldn’t manage to eat anything for the first few weeks, I kept throwing it all up. And whatever I managed to keep down, it never satisfied me. I always felt so hungry, so… hollow. I was almost dying of malnutrition, when in a fit of starvation I tore into a package of raw ground beef. For the first time since being in Canada, I could feel my stomach being to fill and take to the food, even if it was bloody, raw meat.”

You laugh ruefully next, the sound not even startling your boss. “When my grandmother found out, she told me I was better to starve to death than be that… some kind of freak, monster.” You look away to let the tears fall freely. “My grandfather thought a monster of a grandchild was better than no grandchild at all, so he moved me and himself to the country side, where he could feed me in peace. Live cattle and lots of butcher shops. A place where no one really noticed when a pig or sheep go missing.” You wiped at your face as you calmed down. “I grew up relatively normal besides that. Got good grades in school. Had friends. My grandfather was willing to experiment with my diet to see what I could eat and how to disguise my meals.”

Elias nods along. “What else can you eat?��

Shrugging, you answer. “Raw foods. Non processed vegetables, fruit, and grains, although they only curb the hunger pangs, I could eat pounds of them and never be full. Eating… live animals is what fills me up best.” You confess carefully, trying to gauge Elias’s reaction without fully looking at him. “Raw meat is more convenient, easier to buy and to consume in peace.”

There was a moment of silence as Elias considers your words before speaking. “What do you mean by, ‘best’?”

You look to him, confused.

“You said live animals is what satisfies you best, but does it satisfy you enough? Does it actually fill you up?”

A tremor of fear wiggles down your spine. In for a penny you assume

“No.” You answer honestly. “I’ve… never actually been ‘full’ since before the accident. Meat helps greatly but…” you trail off, afraid to finish your thought.

Elias speaks for you. “Is it because it’s animal meat? Do you think of you ate other meat, it would fill you?”

‘Other meat.’ What a funny way of saying humans.

Your face twitches in to a scowl before you answer. “I know it would.” You sigh again, fresh tears forming along your wet line. “I know if I ate human meat I would finally be full, but…”

Elias nods. “But you’re not sure if you’d be able to stop yourself.” He concludes. And you shake your head negatively.

“Not that.” You whisper, dread filling your voice. You finally look into Elias’s eye and almost burst into tears when you confess your greatest sin. “I know I can stop because I have before.”

This stills Elias, but you barrel through, afraid if you stop you’d never be able to say it again.

“A man followed me home after my grandfathers funeral. All the way from the burial to town. I thought he had left but, when I went into an alley for a shortcut to the house, he-he attacked me.” Your breath hastened as you recall the details. “He said awful, awful things to me. Called me all sorts of names and said what he was going to do to me. I haven’t been that scared since my parents died, and-“ you gasp, “and I just- I chased him.”

Elias’s eye brows scrunched together in confusion. “You didn’t run away?”

You shook your head. “I bolted at him. I was so scared but also so furious, I couldn’t believe someone was trying to accost me on the worst day of my life, and I just,” you shrugged, “I took after him. He wasn’t expecting that and ran away, but the more he ran, the more it felt like I needed to chase him. It was like it was the only thing I could do, the only logical decision. I’m my head was just a mantra of ‘catch, catch, catch,’ so I kept running in the town’s back alleys. He didn’t hit a dead end, didn’t trip; I pounced at him and-“

You swallow again, mouth thick with saliva. “I caught him by the throat. I tore it out like it was nothing. He didn’t even have time to scream.” You whisper, horrified. “As I chewed on his flesh, felt it slid down my throat into my stomach, I could feel it. That this is what I needed to finally be full. This is what the creature tasted like all those years ago.” you shudder. Ashamed, you turned from Elias, hiding your tearful face into your hands, but you couldn’t stop taking now. “I-I didn’t know what to do. It re-sparked a hunger in me and I was digging into his stomach when I finally gathered my wits and ran away. No one could see the blood on my black dress and gloves and my face was covered by a veil.

“When I got home I scrubbed every inch of my body to rid it of blood and burned my clothes, I ended up eating a sow I was so famished. It felt so… good. To chase, to hunt. It felt like I should’ve been doing it my whole life. Like I was born to take down prey. Like I was a spoiled house cat, finally in the woods hunting mice.” The analogy makes you pause. You weren’t a cat, and other people weren’t rodents, but it was the closest and less gory way of verbalising your emotions.

When you were done, you eyes Elias carefully. This was it. He could have you put into prison, the looney bin. You confessed to monstrosities and crimes that have been weighing you down for years, and now Elias Bouchard was going to judge you.

The man nods, and considers his words.

“And the butcher?” He questions.

“He knew my grandfather.” You say, “He’s been helping to feed me since I was a child. He knows all about me and my… condition. Goes out of his way to get, uh, exotic meats to keep me fed.”

Elias nods again. Snatching a tissue from the box, the man dabs away your tears and looks at you in what seems to be acceptance and sympathy.

“Well, no wonder why you were so anxious about Jon confronting you.” He mumbled to himself, pushing your mused hair out of your face.

“Will you tell anyone?” You whisper, terrified of the answer.

He shakes his head. “Not a soul, my dear. This isn’t the worse confession this Institute has seen. But it does explain some things…”

You don’t ask what they explain. You’re too scared. Elias managed to fix your face, and calmly refills your tea. You sip at it half heartedly as your boss easily promises that your secret was safe within his office walls.

It… doesn’t exactly feel like a weights been taken off your shoulders. You haven’t been that vulnerable in a long time, and you hoped that Elias would never betray you.

—

Weeks later

—

You felt cold, staring down at the body. Incredibly hot blooded and cold simultaneously. Bile threatens to rise from your actions but you swallow it down. Gore sticks under your finger nails and teeth, and it tastes divine; like manna from heaven. You wanted to cry from how hungry you were, how there was sustenance right in front of you and you cannot bring yourself to eat.

The other woman ran ages ago, darting down the alley as soon as you threw her attacker against the wall and punched a hole into his stomach. She certainly didn’t stay long enough to see you pull out his intestine and bring it to your mouth.

You fucked up. Badly. There was no possible way to get out of this situation by yourself. Your mind was drawing a blank and you were beginning to panic. You just killed someone, again. And this time you don’t have the giant lake to hide the body in.

You needed help; you needed guidance. Someone who always had a clear head and means to help you.

You knew exactly who to go to.

—

When Elias opened his office door, he certainly was not expecting to see you standing there, covered in blood, eyes wide and brimming with tears.

“Mr. Bouchard?” You said lowly, almost in a trance. “I did something bad…”

Elias could see the body in your minds eye. The corpse with his insides spilled out and chewed on. Some brute of a man with a bruised sternum and his skull shattered from the back, brain matter smearing the wall behind him.

He nods, slowly, taking into account your clothing, your guilty face, and your extremely vulnerable mind.

“Come, in my dear…” he couldn’t fight the smile which inched across his face. “Tell me what happened…”

—

Disposing of the body was easy enough. A few calls and the whole problem was swept under the rug. You didn’t exactly know the details, but whatever they were Elias just smoothed your hair and told you not to worry.

I’m a matter of an hour, the man never existed, and you were still in Elias’s office, gripping your now cold tea cup. He just stared as you, bemused.

After several long minutes of silence, he moves, straightening up and weaving his fingers together, gazing upon you steadily.

“Would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?”

You stared at him, shocked and confused.

“I’m sorry?”

“I don’t think you’ve been taking care of yourself properly.” He states. “I’d like to make sure you’ve eaten well, for once.”

He looks like he might eat you instead.

Your breath hitched. “Wh-why?”

He winks at you. “Don’t worry about that, darling.”

#elias bouchard #tma #the magnus archives #elias bouchard x reader

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cult-of-the-eye · 7 months

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Words that have entered my vocabulary due to tma:

Predecessor (my man could just say Gertrude robinson but no. He's a dramatic bitch and now so am I. That person was not the last person to sit in my seat, they were my chair predecessor)

Statement (this one's obvious. There was no way around it tbh like what else are they gonna call them?? Stories?? But now I am throwing it around, as if I am a politician who has allegedly been involved in something scandalous. I'm not explaining something, I'm making a statement)

Michael (yeah the volume of Michaels is such that there is no way around it. I know zero (0) Michaels in real life.)

Flesh (I'd use the word meat. Maybe if I was feeling fancy, viscera. But now I say flesh more than I am comfortable with. I don't think the flesh is comfortable either)

Panopticon (what the fuck is a panopticon?? I didn't know before I googled it the other day. Jeremy Bentham I would like to have some words with you. Also with Jonathan Sims the man not the character.)

Archives (yeah the only time I'd say archives is if Google photos was asking me what to do with a picture of my knee. Now it is all I think about. I have to stop career restructuring plans solidifying in my brain. I'm sorry archival assistant dreams, my brown family would not be proud of you.)

That's all I can think of...for now...

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #panopticon #mag 199 #gertrude Robinson #michael crew #michael the distortion #statement begins #statement ends #the flesh #archives #the mag pod #id might also add jmart #but thats not quite a word

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geniuscomediae · 4 months

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Hi guys, I wrote a silly tiny self-indulgent gerrymichael fic!

AO3

warnings: internalized transphobia

She is cute and bubbly and shy and lovely, and something feels off about her. Gerry applies all of his knowledge about the supernatural to try and figure out whether something is wrong with her, he tries to warn Gertrude – she brushes his worries off, wich is unusual of her – and even manages to investigate her past and present, but finds nothing. She seems like a normal person, who just so happened to be the youngest and weirdest archival assistant he has ever seen.

Gerry knows she is twenty, – a year and a half older than him – she is both intelligent and academically smart, she likes Shakespeare and ABBA, she likes cats more than dogs and prefers tea over coffee. Digging through everything he can find about her Gerry finds out there were recurring incidents with a strange door in her childhood that almost made her psychiatrist she sees once every three months diagnose her with schizophrenia, but something convinced him otherwise. As far as Gerry is aware, she doesn't know it was the Spiral; she isn't aware of the Dread Powers at all, wich is worrying, because how the fuck didn't Gertrude think about telling her? Girl might be in danger if she's chosen by the Spiral. Gerry feels strange, he wants to protect her, he finds a strange resemblance in her even though they are completely different.

One day he finds her on her break in the library, sitting on the floor with a notebook and doodling. A cup of herbal tea she brings wuth her from home sits beside her, visibly cold and forgotten. He catches a glimpse of a page of her notebook with one name written several times, before she slams it shut and looks up at him, unsuccessfully trying to hide fear and shame.

"Good afternoon, Gerard," – she is, as always, polite and formal, even though they formed some sort of workplace friendship over the year. Gerry wonders if she would be less if he was officially employed, – "did you want something from me? I'm on my break right now, but I will gladly help you."

"No, no, don't worry", he waves his hand dismissively and sits down next to her. She anxiously fixes her sweater and he notices that something is even more off than usually.

"Actually, I'm here to talk. About a serious matter."

"Oh."

She looks almost as if she's in panic. She drags her knees to her chest, and Gerry finally notices what his mind ringed as wrong: it looks... Flatter. Not like she has lost some weight – Gerry doesn't think she should, but she told him once she doesn't feel comfortable in her body – but like something is flattening it.

"I- I didn't-" she stutters and tries to squirm further from him, but he interrupts her.

"It will probably sound invasive, but who is Michael?"

She freezes and he tries to fix whatever damage he has just dealt.

"Look, Curls, I'm an asshole and I work for the paranormal research institute and shit felt wrong about you since the day we met, so I investigated you. I was worried you might be a... a doppelganger, and your remarks about you feeling unwell in your body, and the talk we had about the superpowers and you picking the shapeshifting, and when I was sure you are a normal human being I started worrying you are stalked by something paranormal, and..."

He catches a breath, and she looks at him with wide eyes.

"And if you feel like this Michael, whoever he is, is a danger, you can tell me. Even if he's just a weird guy who makes you uncomfortable. I'm your friend after all, am I not? And... And I like you, and you know I don't give this kind of affection away easily, and I just want you to be safe, okay?"

The silence is almost deafening while she adjusts her glasses.

"Well..." she starts carefully, "You don't have to worry about Michael. And- and about me. I'm just... I don't know."

They sit in sikence again for some time.

"Can I trust you?" she asks suddenly, eyes slightly watery and lips pressed into a thin line.

"Of course. You can trust me with anything, Curls, I'm great at keeping secrets."

"I think I might not be a girl," she mutters, gripping the edge of her sweater. "I always felt good when I was mistaken for a boy. I know I'm soft and I like girly things, and skirts look good on me, and I love my hair long, but I'm just chasing this image of me that strangers will take for a young man and... And I hate my life so much."

He is looking away from Gerry the whole time he is speaking, on the verge of tears and trembling. Gerry reaches out and carefully hugs him, drawing him closer.

"Don't worry, Curls, I know what it feels like."

"Do you... Do you think you should be a girl?" he asks, wiping off tears from his cheeks.

"Holy fuck, no," Gerry laughes, shaking his head. "Been there, done that, not my cup of tea. I'm the same way you are, definitely not a girl."

Gerry feels so easy, almost as if he was drunk. This whole time the strange feeling about his almost-coworker was just a going off trans radar, not a subconscious awareness of paranormal shit or anything like that. He laughes again and pats him on the head.

"So," they say together and both stop, waiting for the other. Gerry gestures, inviting him to continue.

"About you liking me," he mumbles, blushing and looking away again. "Will that change now that you know I'm weird?.."

"Hell no, I like both girls and boys. Actually, I think I only like boys, since I was sure you were a first girl I fell for. Well, silly me. Okay, my turn: I'm not sure if I'm right, but I suppose you'd like me to call you Michael?"

"Yeah," he nods, smiling softly. "I would quite like it."

"So, Michael, are you free tonight?"

#tma #the magnus archives #michael shelley #gerry keay #gerard keay #gerrymichael #trans michael shelley #trans gerry keay #they're t4t.#thats it thsts the fic #tma fanfic

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elfloofermoofer · 2 months

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I have a theory about TmagP that I'd like to share with you guys and it's about the O.I.A.R.

My thinking started with the latin motto that the organisation has. No British government organisation from the ninetees should have a latin motto. Therefore is the O.I.A.R older than it seems. I think that it is an organisation that was started several hundred years ago, either at the same time as the Magnus Institute or earlier by the government in Britain at the time. Its purpose is to defend against, control or use the entities (if possible) and the avatars. It is still used for that and people in the government (who are Lena's bosses) know about it.

That old heritage might be where the alchemy symbols come from.

Furthermore I think that the reason for it being as it is now comes from the time when the Magnus Institute was destroyed. Someone in the archives, maybe some of Gertrude's assistants, developed the algorithm FR3-D1 to easier search for statements. The government found out about it and took it by force and either accidentally destroyed the institute or destroyed it on purpose. After that they implemented it into the O.I.A.R and rebranded the organisation to "a boring civil service job" to avoid detection from other nations.

The thing that doesn't fit into this theory is why and how Johnny's and Martin's voices are in the program.

#tma #the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #tmagp #tmagp 7

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akalikai · 2 months

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Okay so i definitely explained this in the beginning of this fic but I thought I'd write out my thoughts here

So in my headcanon, gerry was born in 1983. Eric delano successfully left the institute in 1996, when gerry was about 11. That would put Gerry at roughly 31 when he dies (IF he dies, depending on the fic).

Now for michael, I headcanon him as being born in 1975 and starting to work at the institute as just a normal researcher in 1995. That way he would have met eric at some point before eric left, but it can also line up michael only becoming an archival assistant in 2003 when fiona law died because he only got transferred over after her confirmed death.

I know canonically, gertrude and gerry only met in 2013 so thats after michael's death and in some fics, i might go according to that timeline but im taking liberties here and saying that gertrude found gerry in 2008 not long after eric asked her to.

So yes, in my headcanon, gerry and michael have an 8 year age gap. if that bothers you, my interpretation may not be for you, and that's totally fine! For me, they're both adults when they meet for the first time do I don't see any problem with it

Anyways yeah gerrymichael timeline thoughts

(Also gonna plug my fic here too bc it goes according to this timeline)

#gerry keay #the magnus archives #tma #doorkeay #gerrymichael #michael shelley #tmagp #lgbtqia #im actually usually not a huge age gap person so im surprised with how much i like this #i need yall to understand i did hours of research to get this right #and then my partner texted me “and you thought you werent autistic”#so that says a lot about me #yeah yeah im very particular about timelimr anyways GERRYMICHAEL/DOORKEAY #headcanon

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moth-eats-paper · 1 month

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MAG Thoughts on ep 93-103 (kinda just the beginning of 103 tho)

Obviously this contains spoilers for the Magnus archives. This is all Just my random thoughts of episodes 93 up to the beginning of 103 enjoy if you wish

THERE'S A CAT

John's hand still hurts from the cult of the flame

There's also a missing calliope? I think thats how you spell it

The institute is a death trap.

Both John and Elias are vessels of “The Eye” and can make people spill their guts Gertrude was also one up until Elias killed her. So that's fun

GORGEY MIGHT KNOW/BE A PART OF ANOTHR GOD?!?!?!

LAST WORDS OF A CORPSE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN GORGEY?

Gorgeys not ok

Nor is Marten

I quite like the new girl shes funny

Is anyone in mag alive lol

Well idk John why dose Elias do anything.

ITS THE THING GIRL DOLL PLASTIC THING OMG

(I have no idea what i was trying to type here^)

Tim and Marten are not okay especially marten

Spooky doll thing changed her mind apparently

And Michael (the spooky one) used to be an assistant of Gertrude funnnn

Ep 100 time baby :3) No one in the institute knows how to interview people except John and I'm pretty sure that's because of “the eye”

The spiders are back. The spiders are weird

Why is this woman so calm about a ghost woman who's on fire burning her (poor marten he's very confused)

Tim is speaking to a maniac

Melanie (I think it's her) is speaking to a man who keeps getting side tracked

THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU GOT OUT OF THE SPIRAL AND WENT TO DINNER

The poor detective

SPOOKY MAN NAMED PETER JUST APPEARED FROM NO WERE AND I THINK HE'S FROM THE UNKNOWN?!??

SPOOKY DOLL WOMEN!

THE COFFINS BACK

“Sarah wanted to use nails but I talked her out of it because I'm a good friend!” YOUR A MANNEQUIN (I love that line so much lol)

Oh wax love that

Mmm skin

Don't skin John please

ARE YOU GOING TO MOISTURIZED JOHN AND THEN SKIN HIM?

MICHAEL HOLY SHIT HE'S BACK

oh he's going to kill John

Revenge?

Oh dear he doesn't want to be Michael

MICHAEL BECAME THE DELUSION

Oh he's making a statement

MICHAEL SHELY

Oh god Gertrude

Unrelated but my cat has decided to try and kill me

PETER LUCAS IS ALSO THERE

Oh god Michael Shelley is very dumb

Only just know getting scared? What the fuck

Doors. fun

I can't even spell whatever that is

THE SPIRAL

Of course she didn't care

Just don't trust Gertrud

The Worker of clay?

His laugh is silly

Oh oh dear

Oh dear the doors not working

OH JESUS

HELEN

MICHAEL BECAME HELEN

HELENS GOING TO HELP?

HELENS THE DISTORTION NOW

So I guess the distortion only wants what that person wanted

Why does Elias just agree with the person who's trying to kill him

I think this man has bugs in his skin

He does

John can suddenly read French and then can't

I LOVE MARTIN

Melanie keeps trying to kill people

(People being Elias)

Pig episode (like actual pigs not the police)

#hello tumblr #i love my dead gay son #:3 #the magnus archives podcast #tma podcast #tma #the magnus archives #yippee #paper says stuff

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vickozone · 5 months

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The Magnus Archives

-S5 Notes-

<- previous notes

Handwriting translated below:

#161 old memories, tape that Gertrude should have gave them, Jon says “I love you”, they don’t need to eat to live

#162 Gertrude and Gerry bonding, Tim and Sasha talking about a very relevant subject and Jon and Martin are leaving the safe house.

#163 [VIETNAM FLASHBACKS] [BAGPIPES INTENSIFY]

#164 Gross statement about an infection in a town and Helen talking to Jon and Martin like a proud aunt is beautiful. “I knew you crazy kids would make it work!”

#165 “Ceaseless Watcher, turn your gaze upon this wretched thing.” The Stranger statement. Not!Sasha messed up!!

#166 Martin suddenly is on a murder episode and a dude turned into a worm. Helen says “Slay!”

#167 “Yes, Martin, you are my reason.” Sweet bonding and why Gertrude didn’t have anymore assists.

#168 “I’m not going to kill a man just because you’re jealous!” “Why not?” Oh, Martin. Oliver Banks shall live another day and we are crossing The End domain

#169 Let’s willingly run into a burning building, disregarding your boyfriend and getting revenge together! Jude is now dead and Martin was just struggling in the background. He chose revenge over his boyfriend. Interesting. “We’re burning!”

#170 “I’m Martin Blackwood, and I am not lonely anymore!” “Oh… Hello!”

#171 No way I just spent 23 minutes listening to Jon talk about skin flowers in a botanical garden. “That your boyfriend?” “It is, actually.” “Oh.”

#172 Creepy theatre show that made me genuinely uncomfortable with The Web

#173 Where do you think all of the children went? That’s right! The Dark with Callum! Yay!

#174 Simon calling Jon killing him “rude” is hilarious and immediately dipping is iconic. Weird Vast domain with big explosions. Helen loves some good gossip.

#175 The Extinction items, hate for umbrellas, and Martin’s squelchy couch. We’re going to The Hunt next. Oh no.

#176 Adoptive uncle Trevor and Julia are dead. AWESOME HUNT STATEMENT! And we got Basira! :D

#177 ‘Dr. David’ Jon is so hot. This episode has so many trigger warnings. Helen is so silly. Basira is rad, staying with her boys. Won’t let them have a moment tho

#178 More Flesh. Gross processing line and Jon admits that the thing that traumatized him the most was Daisy going to kill him in the woods. Poor babies.

#179 Daisy is shot and killed. Basira is on her own and I have a reason to give Jon a cane.

#180 I have never felt more serene in my life. I can’t even describe it. I was smiling, giggling, and everything feels okay. Salesa and Annabelle are here and I love Salesa’s voice and HE CAN PLAY THE PIANO! Teaholding fluff, om nom nom, this episode is one of my favorites. The I-Spy game <3

#181 They decide to stay at Upton House for a bit longer before leaving. Jon feels his powers again and forgets the whole experience of ignorance. Pity. Seemed like a nice place. I like Salesa.

#182 Anatomy Class student hospital and Breekon asks Jon to kill him. I feel bad for him. :(

#183 “I’m sure I love you.” “I love you too.” THEY SAID IT!! Helen was concerned for them. She’s like a wine aunt who acts motherly to them. Also, Martin’s domain…

#184 Jon made Jordan an entity. That’s a lotta ants! Jon is just… so complicated.

#185 Ouch. Police brutality and wrongful imprisonment are rough subjects. That guy pleading out to Martin HURT. Martin is… somewhere at the end. Alone again, oh, Jonny, I feel horrible.

#186 Martin went from being a joke in Jon’s anger to being one of the most well-developed characters. He is either going to kill himself of Jon. Martin legit talks to himself. Statement made me cry. This better end with them being happy together.

#187 HELEN! D: Aw, man… I liked her. That poor woman. Calm down, Jon! Helen was their friend till the end. Dang it, that was a nail-biter.

#188 We’re in London now! Eyes, man. They’re everywhere. We grieve for Helen a bit. Did I mention EYES?

#189 MEL AND GEORGIE! OMG! They… made a cult and can hide from The Eye. Great.

#190 Fresh take on modern dating! Antichrist plus one! Archivist mocks poems, beloved pet turned monster, and a blind prophet

#191 Jon sleeps with his eyes open. Georgie wants to avenge her cat (I think I’ve seen this film before), mystery can, and Jon and Martin discuss death. Sobbing atm.

#192 Rosie is literally just going with the flow. It’s weird to see someone else’s perspective on things. Jonah’s incantation is awesome and gosh, I love Martin

#193 Elias 'high as a kite' Bouchard’s origins. Jonah’s distorted voice is hot.

#194 THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT D: After a gruesome metamorphosis statement, Jon tried to find Martin to apologize only to find he was taken to HILL TOP FREAKIN ROAD

#195 Just Basira and Jon, catching up and trudging through water. Omg. The Mr. Spider tape.

#196 Earth shattering rip-in-space time crap. Annabelle is wicked cool. Martin keeps getting sucked into things AND THE TAPES!! ASDFEKGLZMV

#197 MARTIN! ANNABELLE! TAPES! THE LIGHTER! INTER-DIMENSIONAL PIT! WE NEED TO DESTROY JONAH AND THE EYE SIMULTANEOUSLY! LES GO!

#198 If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you too? Ew, bones reforming. Chill ep. Silly.

#199 Group agrees on plan after ten minute discussion. Martin consulting Jon while he cries in his arms HURT!! Also, Mel thanks Jon. This is going to end horribly, isn’t it?

#200 Statement ends.

Crying tally: |||| |||| (I cried ten [10] times listening to this stupid podcast)

#the magnus archives #tma #the magnus institute #tma jon #tma spoilers #tma season 5 #tma s5 #tma s5 spoilers #tma notes

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aro-geo-turtle · 1 year

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TMA’s narrative structure and its reflection in character dynamics

With the end of @a-mag-a-day, I though it would be a perfect time to post this meta-analysis I’ve been thinking about for ages! Its always fun when a story’s ending wraps back around to its beginning in some way, and TMA dips into this a tiny bit via the “can I have a cigarette” moment, but I think the wider narrative structure and parallels in TMA actually get way more interesting than that. Long rambly analysis below cause I’m a writing nerd, and also remember this is purely my own personal interpretation.

I have three main points to make here.

A: season 4 is a twisted mirror of seasons 1 and 2, which act as a singular narrative unit, while season 5 is just like season 3 but more so in every way.

B: these parallels and mirrors between seasons are symbolized through Jon and Martin’s ever changing relationship.

C: the grand finale of Last Words feels like such an abrupt ending because it breaks the pattern established for how season finales are meant to work.

So let’s look at this chronologically:

Seasons 1 and 2 can be viewed a single unit in the overall narrative structure. They follow the same basic premise: Jon in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, trying to find out the truth about the supernatural. They both have a very slow pace, with only a handful of plot-furthering episodes among mostly world-building statement episodes. Then we have a cliffhanger leading into an action-packed climax, and then a calmer epilogue episode to clarify exactly what just happened and set up the new status quo for the next season. There are obviously differences (added supplementals, the paranoia, Gertrude’s murder, you know), but they follow the same general format. We also see the classic Jon/Martin dynamic established and shared between these two seasons: Martin reaching out to care for Jon, Jon rejecting and pushing him away.

Season 3: Status quo? Out the window! Jon’s out of the Institute, traveling the world, we’re gone from the traditional 3 assistants to 4. The goal is no longer vaguely learning about the supernatural, we got most of those answers from Leitner. Instead we’re building towards the Unknowing from the very beginning. And the pacing here speeds up dramatically. So much happens, plot moving forward most episodes. This is where Jon and Martin’s dynamic first changes, too, finally becoming a lot more friendly. Some parts of the format stay the same, though. The ending is still made up of high-action climax episodes followed by an epilogue episode to set up the next status quo.

Season 4 is a return to the format of 1 and 2, but all twisted and reversed. Jon is in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, but it’s a totally different set of assistants (Tim, Sasha, Martin to Melanie, Basira, Daisy). We’re back to the slower pace, but after the mile-a-minute speed of S3, it feels agonizingly slow, a waiting game. The characters spend a lot of time sitting around. We know how the supernatural works, and now Jon’s looking for answers on what he’s meant to do about it. Of course, S4 also sees the reversal of Jon and Martin’s early season roles. Now it’s Jon reaching out and Martin rejecting him. And then we hit the finale and the tension that’s built up all season suddenly snaps. Once again, it’s a high-action climax followed by a slower epilogue that sets up season 5.

Season 5 is obviously the biggest status quo change of all. Literally all the rules of the normal world are shattered. It’s season 3 but even more so. We’re not at the Institute (there is no Institute), we don’t have the typical 3 assistants (that role doesn’t really seem to exist anymore). Like with the Unknowing, we have a clear goal from the very start: get to the Panopticon, kill Jonah, bring the world back. While the pace of 3 is rapid-fire, 5 is a steady march forward, episode by episode. Jon and Martin are once again friendly, and even more so, have finally connected and realized their feelings. And then we get to the grand finale. I think the reason the ending feels so abrupt to me and many others is because it finally breaks the format of season finales. Last Words is the action-packed climax episode but it has no epilogue episode. It just ends.

So, yeah! Those are my points. I just find looking at this all very cool.

#Tma #tma meta #the magnus archives

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caffeinated-and-annoying-bard · 16 days

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i've been thinking of writing a stardew valley au of the magnus archives with martin as the farmer and jon as some misanthrope researcher living maybe on a flat above the library instead of gunther (perhaps he's researching the strange monsters that appear in the mines and you don't see nearly anywhere else in the world...)

if i were to write it, i think it would be fun to replace canon sdv characters with tma characters, wouldn't it? maybe sasha as maru, perhaps renting a room in the house in the mountains from robin (assuming i don't change her for, say, gertrude? eric and gerry could be there as well. perhaps the house is gertrude's but eric is her assistant– or her son and gerry her actual grandson– and has taken over some of the manual work with her aging, and gerry as sebastian?)

perhaps helen and michael could be there instead of emily and haley? trevor and daisy (julia is in a band now. good for her.) could run the adventurer's guild and daisy could be in shane's place (see: recovering from addiction/unhealthy habits as a parallel to the hunt) perhaps she'd be physically disabled in some way, that would be an explanation as to why the mines are not purged from monsters overnight (can you tell i love daisy)?? basira could be in marnie's place and helping daisy recover while she recovers herself? :)

tim and danny as sam and vincent, with danny as an older vincent but younger than canon danny, perhaps?? waiting for their father or mother or both to return from the war with the gotoro empire? (maybe he had always lived there, moved to a bigger city for a while and returned when the war started. maybe he, sasha and jon are working for the same long-term monster researching project. wouldn't it be nice if martin just came bumbling around one day and drastically started indirectly improving their research productivity with his sdv farmer endeavors?? the four of them engaging in shenanigans?? think about it.)

georgie could be kind of like sandy/visit from time to time from the city, make it a jon heart event first and then a melanie one. melanie could be an aggressive version of leah ("youtuber lives in charming yet spooky town in a cabin in the woods, has a successful channel and a podcast girlfriend. good for her.")

there would be different heart events suiting more the canon characters (maybe sasha's 8-heart could be her venting about how she moved to pelican town because someone tried to kill her and steal her identity, tim's about how a circus kidnapped his little brother as a kid like in that one statement, etc. and i'm vibrating like i'll break glass jusr by thinking of what to do with jon.)

at some point jon is sent by elias to the "my ex-husband took the furniture" quest and martin tags along for the fun of it.

i don't know what to do with harvey because he's my husband and i love him and i don't want him gone but i'll think about it. after all, i'm still missing caroline, pierre and abigail (although they could pretty well be mikaele salesa running the store with annabelle working and living there.) perhaps naomi herne should suit the harvey role?? she's peaceful enough to not make me angry for not getting to have my dearest harvey right there. she'd be a doctor, obviously, and perhaps michael could work with her as a part-time nurse? she's waiting for her husband to return from the war (evan herne was sent to the army by his family for abandoning the lukas jojamart family business and marrying naomi, but he'll come back, fear not.)

diego molina and agnes montague as pam and penny doesn't sound bad, and i'm seriously considering having elias be both lewis and the wizard. for the fun of it? perhaps everyone but jon (and later martin) wonders who the wizard is- he calls himself the wizard j. magnus because he's a pretentious bastard. (jon has been set in a position where if he reveals this he gets turned into a plant or something) and he's also the mayor of the town (his legal name is very much elias bouchard.) also, instead of the affair with marnie he has an affair with morris the jojamart guy (peter lukas.)

george, evelyn and alex could be replaced by julia and trevor– they could be softer, less hunt but still recovering from the same thing as daisy– and julia could have a petty feud with jon because, before she knew she was a lesbian, she fancied gerry and gerry used jon as an escape tactic. nothing came of it between gerry and jon but the incident stayed and it was very funny to everyone else.

jude perry could fit clint (and keep on her incel pining over agnes, have a petty feud with jon, because she burned his hand "accidentally" and also because jon is very good at creating petty feuds with people. martin and i both love that man), and krobus and the dwarf could stay like that, etc. and perhaps jas could be daisy's goddaughter that she's struggling to raise (it could be an event, her realising that she needs to pull herself together and stop letting basira raise her alone, just paying half the bills won't cut it– maybe they weren't even together before this and a year or two after her starting the path towards recovery they get together??)

perhaps for willy we could put oliver banks and mike crew there?? local lightning-scarred man is entranced by the vastness of the sea (+his goth not-yet-partner). local hot goth fisherman is so done with everything and just wants peace with the dead quiet of the sea (he rants about death to martin as a heart event, fight me). they should also be a little bit older, to balance the age range of people in town and also because yes.

also jojamart. i think it shoudl stay jojamart because i need someone to make a jmart pun somewhere.

if i should set elias as the wizard/lewis, peter lukas as morris jojamart, who could simon fairchild be?gus, maybe? god knows he's funny enough to be the owner of a saloon. it's funny to imagine his banter with helen while working busy nights there (helen i love you why does the fandom only care about michael.)

i don't know who else i could switch off but if anyone has any ideas both the comment section and my ask box are open :)

#val ramblings #the magnus archives #stardew valley #the town would be full of young-ish adults oh god #there's still peter (before he gets banished by the power of martin hating capitalism) and mikaele and gertrude and elias and oliver???also #basira and daisy should be a bit older i think. let them age together. also mike. mike could be a little younger than oliver but still!!!!!#and well. helen.#michael could be her younger brother and that's that #also simon #and uhhhhhh diego molina #and everyone thinks jon is like 10 years older than he is so #martin will be DELIGHTED once he discovers the truth #ah i'd forgotten eric #now that i think about it it'd be pretty well-balanced if i play my cards right #ah!! trevor as well

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