March 2025

This isn't really an argument but I've been thinking about it a lot - Mike crew was killed too fast too soon- Daisy irritates the crap out of me and Jon's hate towards her is more than justified - Sasha was killed too soon- I don't have the energy to plead all my cases and again I'm just about willing to see any other options

To be perfectly honest i didn’t even notice Mike Crew died when I first listened. I found that out only when I joined the fandom.

I don’t really have a strong opinion on Daisy, but from what I can remember her story and development are quite interesting. She hurt Jon terribly and he’s the only one that understands her. He tossed himself into the coffin in order to save the person that wanted to kill him. Two monsters, discarded by everyone, united together. And the whole thing with Basira liking the Hunt in Daisy, and becoming colder towards her when she was free of it? Delicious.

I read somewhere that Sasha was killed just because the voice actor had to leave for some reason. I don’t remember what it was tho. But I think it’s actually cool that the killing happened so soon - because of that I completely missed it and had the full Jon experience of him finding it out.

literally just saw your blog and thought hey, what the heck!

Personally I only have the capacity to hate one character, and that's Jonah Magnus (and even then I live how cunty he is for no reason lmao) so I'm just wondering what made you hate Martin in the first place?

That’s a good question!

Truth is, I didn’t really care about him before I got to season 5. He seemed like a typical shy sweet guy, and he didn’t bother me much. In season 4, when his whole “succumbing to the Lonely” thing started, I was curious as to where this was gonna lead. And then season 5 rolled around and all I got was a disappointment.

He’s still shy and anxious, but he also wants to take revenge on the people that wronged him, and that could’ve been quite alright with me if not for his utter lack of empathy towards his boyfriend. My main problem is not that it’s unrealistic - I’d actually say he’s written well and justified - but that it’s annoying. He’s petty and unempathetic and it gets on my nerves.

That’s probably because he didn’t mean much to me in the earlier seasons; most fans I see drooling over him already declared him beloved in season 1.

You’d think that spending so much time becoming an avatar of his own Martin would show some compassion towards Jon’s situation. But he berates the man for his new needs; off-handedly calls him a monster when he, too, is similar; and on two occasions he hits him because “he didn’t want to wait for Jon to finish his statement”. He describes himself as a carer yet fails to acknowledge the needs of the man closest to him. Which is what makes him realistic - those contradictions and flaws show his complexity - but it makes him annoying.

(I also don’t like that the narrative doesn’t paint their relationship as unhealthy, and because of that a great majority of fans skims over that aspect.)

My biggest issue is with Martin glazers tho. I cannot go a DAY without seeing something like “whoa Martin’s so sexy and awesome and such a good boyfriend!!! I would give him all the tea in the world!!!!” It’s also the same people who attack me for daring to have a different opinion.

In conclusion, he just gets on my nerves. I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore hater tho. I’m simply a humble fan of mister @martinblackwoodhater. He’s an inspiration to me, but im really just a guy. A separate entity. And since he hasnt posted any new hate in 3 days, i got bored and started formulating my own thoughts and opinions!! This is all organic babey!!

I feel like i could change my view of him tho. I’m biased now so i can’t churn out a new interpretation myself, but if any Martin fans want to engage in a discussion then please count me in!! I looove nuanced takes!!!

My best friend is very similar to Martin, similar appearance to the most common interpretation (like your pfp), and similar personality

What are your thoughts on them?

I don’t know? Mainly I have no idea what you mean.

I know a person like Martin myself - someone in a bad relationship with their mother, someone that likes to indulge in their sadness rather than try to improve their life, someone with an avoidant attachment style. I can’t always get through to them, and having them tell me of the same problem they’ve always had then turn down all of my attempts to help is kinda draining. But it’s not their fault.

The reason i dislike Martin isn’t because I think he’s a bad person, or that I think he’s abusive, but just because I find him annoying. He’s fictional - my role is not to solve his issues. I am only there to sit back and enjoy the story he’s in. And he pisses me off because he’s not my friend.

i would follow you but I hate him so bad I have him filtered out and so it would be incredibly pointless. sorry

Genuinely what do you want me to do with this information. I dont care man thats your problem not mine

What do you think of the fears writting? I'm relistening to TMA and just emded season four, and one thing that bothered me most on this second listen are them and the statements. There are some decisions taken that I just don't understand, and the underuse of some of the fears is annoying. I know you focus more on characters and relationships but I would like to read your thoughts on this.

I don’t really have any strong opinions on the Fears, so I’m going to go through some of them and figure it out in the process. Excuse me if I miss something mentioned in canon; I’m basing this on what I can personally remember.

Let’s start with The Eye. It’s mainly presented as the fear of being watched, of someone or something observing you from the shadows. Since it’s the main focus of our story, I feel like it got covered pretty well.

I do wish that there had been more of the knowing aspect of it. It’s not only the fear of being watched, but also the fear of being under constant scrutiny. Of having each and every little thing you do laid out bare for the world to see. Of being exposed and unable to hide from the judgment. Most of the eye-centric statements only cover the watching part, with the eye symbolism and all.

Moving on to The Web. It’s said to be mainly arachnophobia and the fear of not being in control of your own actions. Leaning more into the manipulation part, The Web seems to focus more on the physical aspect of that manipulation, omitting the mental one.

There’s plenty of statements involving manipulation of the body, but none that I can think of which involve manipulation of the mind. It was present in The Web leading Jon throughout his entire life, sure, but the statements involving it focus too much on spiders and puppetry in my opinion. The scary part of manipulation is realizing you’ve been oblivious to it.

Next one is The Lonely, and this is where I’m gonna get kinda mean. This Fear seems to be not one of loneliness as the name would suggest, but instead it involves mainly just being alone with some additions. It’s made to be a very personal fear, unique to each victim.

While fear of loneliness is a perfectly human thing, connected with us being social creatures, the canon makes it more into the fear of being alone and forgotten (plus fog for the aesthetics). While such a perception of it makes perfect sense, it seems almost too little to make it into a full-fledged Fear (as in a Force with Rituals and stuff). The whole thing with Lonely as canon describes it is that it would work just as well as an aspect of the other fears, like The Stranger or The Vast. Fears bleed into eachother, I know, but a lot of The Lonely-centric episodes are veeery similar. It feels like The Lonely wasn’t supposed to be a major part of the podcast at first, and was made into this “complex” thing just so Martin could be tossed into it. (From what I gather, he was written as a Web avatar but the writers changed their minds along the way).

In my opinion the canon covers it too much. The Lonely statements all feel more or less similar, it’s just the flavor of it that differs but the basis is the same. It’s not that it’s not written well, it just feels dragged out somehow. And no, I’m not talking about similarity as in the symbols the Fears are associated with; I’m saying the entire structure of those statements describes essentially the same thing, just different variations.

There’s also a big problem with the previously mentioned three becoming the narrative’s darlings in the later seasons, causing all the other fears to be pushed aside and only truly be present in the form of their corresponding avatars or the statements beamed into Jon’s mind without any significance to them. LAAAME!!

Now for The Dark. It’s supposedly the antithesis of The Eye, covering not only the fear of not being able to see, but also the fear of not knowing what lies in the darkness. Going with the antithesis thing, I wish there were more about it being the fear of being deprived of information, of being in the dark(haha). This also fits in with The Stranger, but still.

I kiiinda have a problem with The Distortion. It’s a fear of not being able to trust your own senses, of not being able to trust your surroundings. The canon focuses more on the aesthetics, with the actual essence of the fear being rarely present. I can only recall father Edwin Burrows’s statement as really doing it justice, but other than that the manipulation aspect is only ever revealed by Helen in conversation with Jon in s5. Also the whole “I want to be your friend” “I want to help” thing with earlyMichael.

I also have some issues with The Desolation’s portrayal. Gerry calls it “the fear of pain, fear of loss, fear of unthinking or cruel destruction.” The Desolation statements mostly involve the “oooo spooky fire!!” part. The loss it involves is more of an undertone to the “terrible fire” part.

To sum up, in my opinion a lot of the Fears just explore the aesthetic which they’ve been assigned - spider webs, eye imagery, fog, fire, sky, yellow door etc.

I understand that it is difficult to add character to a literal feeling, and that those associations make the Fears more recognizable, but sometimes it feels like the writers made those themes and just ran with them. I am also aware of the amount of detail that had to be fit into the podcast, and the fact it all needed to work together as a whole. But I’m still a bit bitter thinking of all the wasted potential.

ive seen your jmart hate and analysis (and i think its starting to sway me), so i ask you… how do you feel about jon/gerry ?? ik they only have one episode together but even then (to me) their chemistry was so good, plus how gerry seems to be FAR. more accepting of jon’s avatarhood than martin in s5. for example when gerry asks “do you like it?” in reference to Compelling people and his role as archivist and jon replies “i suppose i do,” gerry doesnt seem phased at all. he rolls with it. and dont even get me started on jon promising to burn his page.

also if you dislike jon/gerry i wont attack <3 im just a big fan of them hoping to discuss . if you dont like them, who do you ship jon with (if anyone)?

Ooooohhhh. JonGerry. JonGerry my beloved. Imo best Jon ship cause they fit together so perfectly.

Gerry is almost a polar opposite to Martin (especially concerning their respective relationships with Jon). He was practically raised among the Fears. They’re his reality. His entire life was dedicated to them - from tracking down Leitners and disrupting the rituals with Gertrude, to being Eye-aligned himself. He is painfully aware of the Fears’ impact on the world, and, more importantly, the people around him.

He and Jon would work really well together, both as friends and as partners, because when it comes to it they’re quite similar.

Both Jon and Gerry were used by others for nearly the entirety of their lives. Jon was a puppet of the Web since he was a little kid, being subtly nudged and poked so that eventually he would become the Archivist and doom the world; he was also manipulated by Elias during his time in the Institute. Gerry was a tool for his mother; being isolated from his peers because of his upbringing, he had no choice but to become involved in her work. He hunted down Leitners, at first for her, and, when he realized the degree of Mary’s selfishness, he begun to seek them out in order to destroy them. Later, when he met Gertrude and started working at the Institute, once again he became the assistant; and while Gertrude was significantly kinder to him than Mary, he still ended up getting used and discarded.

Gerry hated his mother for her obsession with the Leitners, but couldn’t run away from her because she raised him in the knowledge of the Fears. Because of that no other person could understand him or his point of view, so he had no choice but to stay. Jon grows to hate Elias because he’s the one who (indirectly) caused him to become a monster, and yet Jon still would turn to him for help and advice because only Elias ever truly understood him.

Gerry would be much more accepting of Jon’s avatarhood because he himself had a very similar experience, and thus he’d be capable of understanding him, sympathizing with him, and not just call him a cruel monster like most of the cast. He would be able to understand Jon at his worst, and thus be capable of appreciating him at his best. Other people see Jon’s human side as the only part that’s truly “him” (“How much of you is even left now?” - The Jon that Martin is in love with and Avatar Jon are regarded as two different people), but Gerry would actually have knowledge of how the Fears work. He would be aware of how much the “human” Jon and “avatar” Jon are intertwined. He would see Jon as a whole. He wouldn’t divide the man into “pre-avatar” and “post-avatar” categories, because he knows it doesn’t work like that. He knows that it wasn’t Jon’s fault he became an avatar, and wouldn’t blame him for it.

To summarize I think they’re perfect for eachother. They get eachother so well ughhh. Can’t really say much about their interaction because I don’t remember it that well, but I recall it being significantly smoother than whatever Jon had going on with Martin.

Hi I know some people struggle with listening comprehension and would like to recommend the transcripts for TMA!! :) They're really well put together and I think they'd help you with mischaracterization and stuff

martinblackwoodhater:

ive actually comprehended it already just fine thanks!!!!

there’s just no way you’re not being deliberately condescending here. babe i just don’t think you should go around talking to people like they’re lowkey stupid it won’t make you very liked. it’s not miscommunication to say that Martin’s a shit boyfriend when he spends all of s5 belittling and bullying and hitting Jon. like that’s abusive and if you can see that then maybe you need your eyes checked mate. or maybe your brain.

Liking a character has NOTHING to do with comprehension of said character. You can analyze the man inside and out and still hate him because thats YOUR PERSONAL OPINION and everyone is entitled to one 😋 someone is just mad that you like petty hating!!

Ok it seems rude to ask if you've already done it but I, like, Cannot find it so: could you please give your analysis on martin/ Jmart? I diluted myself with fanfiction (some of which addresses the problems that are there) but I'm restarting TMA and I like him less this time around but I can't put my finger on why (?) And that frustrates me but it helps to hear others organized opinions on it

Thank you

If you typed “anti jmart” and “martin blackwood critical” into the little search bar above my blog I think you would be able to find those just fine

whats your take on the theory that The Archivist as a an avatar serves not just the eye but also the web? i mean we know that the web is the "true mastermind" behind everything that happens in tma and that the tape recorders specifically are more of a web thing than an eye thing. but i always thought that the archivists power to make people tell them things instead of simply knowing them also has a webiness to it. thoughts?

I think the Archivist doesn’t serve the Web, he’s a victim of it. But you’re right, the compulsion thing kinda falls under the category of Web. On the other hand, it would be quite difficult to make a Fear whose manifestations are completely separate from eachother, so it may be a result of the Fears overlapping in some aspects.

The Archivist’s compulsion seems more about the fear of having your secrets forcibly revealed, rather than of manipulation itself.

The aspect you highlited points more to the similarity of The Web and The Eye as fears. All of the Fears bleed into eachother, but some are more like a “can’t truly exist without the other” thing. I think that’s the case here.

apologies if you've already discussed this, but thoughts on daisy/basira?

They’re neat. They have a very interesting dynamic and yet I rarely see anyone talking about them.

When working with Daisy, Basira noticed that the Hunt was consuming her. Or, more accurately, she took note of Daisy’s unnecessary killings, and did nothing about them. In fact, it was the Hunt-driven Daisy that she liked the most - strong and violent, enjoying her kills. In that way Basira is the complete opposite of Martin; while he liked only the “human” part of Jon, Basira preferred Daisy’s monstrous side.

When Daisy emerged from the coffin, weakened and no longer with a purpose, Basira treated her coldly. I feel like it was deliberate: we were told earlier that she is someone who can hide her emotions pretty well, and so not attempting to conceal her dismay might’ve been a conscious choice on her side.

After finding out about Jon’s feedings, while bashing and insulting the man she also protects Daisy, claiming that her Hunting “wasn’t the same”. Because she liked it. Because she liked Daisy being like this.

After the Eyepocalypse begun, Basira had already managed to admit to herself that she liked the power she had while working with the police. She also realized the reason for her feelings towards Daisy. Despite that, she kept the promise she made to Daisy and hunted her, killing her in the end. She turns down Daisy’s offer to join the Hunt, which both shows her growth as a character, and, in its own way, is kind of tragic.

Sometimes I mourn for the version of season 5 I thought I was going to hear. I loved the whole plotline of Jon trying to save Martin from the lonely. Because Jon felt responsible for him, and Martin was the only one of Jon's assistants left. and I was convinced I was going to see Jon realising that he actually didn't like Martin.

Because like. throughout the podcast Jon is continually choosing to try to get power and information in order to protect the people around him. He's willing to sacrifice his friendships, his safety, his humanity, because he cares, even for people who have tried to kill him. He tries to kill Not Sasha, someone he remembers being friends with, in order to protect the others. And then Martin gets offered the chance to kill Jonah Magnus and free all the employees and he turns it down because he's a person! and he wants to have friends!

and they're just so incompatible and I thought we'd get to see Jon wondering if it was worth it to save Martin, and all this delicious stuff. and the creators said they wouldn't make the relationship canon!

and then we got season 5 instead.

any thoughts?

Yeah. You covered basically everything I’ve been criticizing. Literally every single tma critical post I’ve made circles around these topics. (Under the cut bc I just learned how to make those)

Season 4 felt like a build-up to something huge. We got nearly all of the cast hating Jon for something completely out of his control. We got Martin trying to pull off a self-sacrifice. We got introduced to the Extinction, told that it was a terrible danger to everyone and that it had to be stopped. A lot of things were happening at once, and there was a looot of tension between the characters.

Then comes time for the big reveal, and it really was big. We found out what happened to Jonah Magnus and the real reason why the Institute was built. Martin also got to show that he’s not as weak and helpless as everyone thought.

Jon’s desperate attempt to pull Martin out of the Lonely was little more than that. By that point, Martin was literally the only person that didn’t outright despise Jon for becoming an Avatar, and that might be simply because he and Martin didn’t even talk once. Another reason for Jon’s lack of hesitation might be that he realized the crush Martin used to have on him, and so saving the man might’ve given him the hope of finding someone who’d treat him like a person, not a monster. All in all, it had less to do with romantic feelings, and more with desperation and the difficult situation Jon had found himself in.

There is no real build-up to them getting together. It’s just… one moment they’re in the Lonely, desperate to find one another, and a moment later they’re saying “I love you” and kissing eachother. When did that happen? And don’t say “well it was during the time they spent in the safehouse together!” Then why are they so painfully incompatible throughout season 5? Seriously, I get the whole “grasping at eachother for balance” thing, but was there really a need to make them a couple so soon? The build-up felt more like it would lead to a friendship, not outright romance - which is why their relationship felt so surface-level in the following season.

I completely missed the transition to the Safehouse on my first listen, and honestly I’m still not sure how it all happened. Jon and Martin’s conversations there seem light and at ease, but they have no real basis for a meaningful bond.

And yeah, there’s the issue with their contributions to their relationship being unequal. Jon is bending over backwards trying to accommodate Martin, leaving when he feels the need to make a statement, trying to explain everything as best as he can while carrying the weight of the world’s suffering on his shoulders. He’s not perfect, but it’s more than enough considering the situation they’re in.

But Martin? He’s selfish in his behaviour, even if it’s not outright visible. He refuses to listen to Jon talking about the fearscape because it makes him uncomfortable. He doesn’t try to look at the situation from Jon’s point of view - admittedly, that would’ve been very difficult, but he could’ve at least tried to show some support. He’s repulsed by Jon’s new needs, and, when they’re at Salesa’s, he laughs at Jon when he’s stripped of the Eye’s power. All of those behaviours are understandable of course, but it makes their relationship that ordinary kind of unhealthy; even tho they have their moments, ultimately they’re just two people staying together despite not getting on very well. It was spelled out for them by Peter Lukas:

(I’ve lost count of how many times I used this screenshot)

Peter was trying to upset Jon here of course. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s true. They just don’t have a basis for a meaningful relationship, because they barely even spoke. And yet they’re the focus of an entire season.

Yeah, yeah, it’s because of their circumstances, sure. But nearly every single fan looks at their relationship through rose-colored glasses. Better yet, I’ve seen people describe TMA as a “gay horror podcast” just because of jmart. And it’s infuriating, because their relationship gives us nothing. These two men talked for the first time in what? Months? And the writers decided “yeah we’ll make them boyfriends! This will be a hit with the gay fans for sure!” and then they wrote the blandest possible relationship they could’ve. It’s like your parents who constantly bicker yet don’t want to get a divorce. Just two coworkers in an apocalyptic world, and suddenly it’s “gay horror”.

Also they’re so obviously unhealthy, and yet the narrative just… ignores it. There aren’t any real consequences to their lack of compability, which is weird!! Really? No consequences? In MY inevitable consequences of your actions podcast?

Let’s talk abot Martin, because of course it all comes back to him. My main issue with the man is that he thinks in black and white. When the Avatars kill people it’s for their Patrons and out of their twisted desire, and so they’re bad and evil. When he kills people(through Jon), then it’s taking revenge on those monsters that hurt him, so it’s right, and it’s good. When Martin first witnessed Jon’s new “powers”, it’s him who came up with the idea of using it for revenge. And as long as it’s his initiative and Jon is only doing it for him, then it’s good and morally correct. But when he noticed Jon started to enjoy the killing, then suddenly it’s “wrong” and “not okay”, because “you weren’t supposed to enjoy it this much!” (Please be for real.) His perception of “right” and “wrong” is whatever is most convenient for him at that moment.

My other issue with Martin is that the Lonely barely even affected him. It was more like “heavy depression but make it Supernatural”. Season 4 started sculpting him into an interesting character, someone who’s ready to sacrifice himself yet cannot stand the thought of his friends getting hurt in the process. His whole Lonely arc gave him depth. He was focused. He had a plan. He made a decision and was ready to pull through with it.

But then he gets thrown into the Forsaken by Peter, and by the time Jon pulls him out, he’s exactly where he started. The same insufferable brand of nervousness and indecision and lack of understanding. Turned back into the nerd emoji. Like… the whole “Martin being an avatar of the Lonely” thing could serve as an explanation to the shallow nature of their relationship - it could be the Lonely pulling them further apart! Or Martin realizing he lost feelings for Jon and quietly distancing himself from the man! Delicious inescapable tragedy!

So yeah. There’s not a word said about their shitty bond, and it’s the main focus of the last season. Boring boring boring!!! The wonderful opportunity to make them both monstrous was MISSED!!! Of cooourse Martin is unaffected by the Lonely, it’s because he’s with Jon! Martin helps Jon regain his humanity! The Eye approves of their relationship!! Also the whole “you are my reason” part was, like, the easiest way to make Jon not suicidal, for which he had all the reasons imaginable. That man hated himself for being a monster, and everyone else hated him too!! But noo he’s with Martin now! The power of love cured him of depression! But not Martin tho, he deserves to wallow in his suffering, even though Jon had it just as bad if not worse. They had to divide them into “the one who’s a monster and losing himself” and “the one responsible for keeping the monster at a leash”. I apologize for the odd wording, i don’t know how else to phrase it.

Perfect opportunity to make fucked up monstrous tragic gays, and we got toxic teenage couple instead. The whole apocalyptic setting was TERRIFYINGLY UNDERUTILIZED!!!!! Also the s5 plot felt like they were just. Dragging the whole thing. The finale was cool, moral dilemma and all, but everything before that? Unremarkable. Questionable, even. I only liked the statements. (But tbh I mainly only like the statements.)

hello !! id say im a jonmartin fan (not my top jon ship tho lmao…jongerry forever) but i like them best with their nuances and not the blorboified version of them. so i have something to offer.

jon and martin fall in love with each other much in the same way they know to receive/take love from their family members.

martin’s mother was shown to be callous and verbally mean to him. im not saying jon is as bad as her (not even close) what i am saying is martin loved the part of jon that he was familiar with. someone who didnt like him.

jon started to noticeably fall in love with martin when he was distant from him and ignored him, much like his grandmother. thats how he’s felt love in the past.

thats how they grew up and it skewed their perception of love and relationships. its inherently unhealthy. i think that aspect of their relationship is very overlooked and interesting. i hope you understand what i mean as im not very good at explaining my thoughts 😅

Interesting take but i don’t fully agree. I mean this is obviously what happened with Martin, but Jon? Not really.

In order for this to work out we would first need to see a buildup to Jon and Martin’s relationship, which the canon didn’t provide us with. That’s my main issue - the romance came out of nowhere. We knew about Martin’s crush from almost the very beginning, but not Jon’s.

In season 4 he changed his stance on Martin - from “he’s useless and unqualified” to “we have to trust what hes doing”. That’s a nice beginning, but not really the setting stone for a romance. So my problem is we can’t really say anything about Jon’s perspective on the relationship bc there really wasn’t any journey to it. They didn’t have even one proper interaction to show us their newly developed dynamic. The romance sucks because it’s undercooked and has no real foundation, it just appeared out of thin air. If there were any developments during their period in the safehouse, we didn’t hear them. Also I cannot for the life of me understand that random timeskip there sorry

So maybe you’re right and your perspective is accurate but the canon gives us little more than a few “I love you"s. After a while it just turns to pure speculation. Season 5 should’ve let those gays simmer. Soak up the trauma juices for flavour

Option on doorway/gerrymichael

I’m assumimg you meant ‘opinion’, and I don’t have one. (Also, I think the other name is actually DoorKeay. Door + Key. Cute)

I like Gerry, he’s an interesting and likeable character. But Michael doesn’t even play any major parts in the story. He’s not even there.

He’s been dead since the beginning. We only heard him say one line. We only know that he was kind, and caring, and marked by the Supernatural. Poor, disposable Michael.

The ship between Gerry and Michael is cute and silly, especially since the designs fanon gave them are opposites. It’s aesthetically pleasing. But when it comes to their actual story and dynamic, there is none. You can make up basically anything and it technically could be canon. Very fun if you like writing characters, but I prefer analyzing what’s already there.

I can get behind DoorKeay tho. Gerry as someone raised among the Supernatural, and the Distortion wearing the face of his coworker. I feel like Gerry would have an easier time bonding with the Distortion rather than the og Michael. He would understand it, and it would HAAAATE him for it. Perhaps Gerry could force the Distortion to alter its nature?

But truth be told, I never really cared. I never cared much about any of the ships and that’s why the fandom’s focus on shipping is irritating, esp since they almost always omit the horror part of it all.

Real thought im the doorway anon again I'm gonna name myself doorway anon because of that misspelling

I don't give a shit about ships either but I like to read fanfics once in ages and Gerry and Michael are my favourite characters so I like it when it's focused on them especially Gerry I love Gerry I like it when something is focused mostly on him or halfly of him because I relate to him a lot

But tma would have been so much better without any canon ships though

STATEMENTS ON TOP STATEMENTS I WAT THE STATEMENTS

i was excited about jmart when I first got into it but a year later......get it away from me......

Also random but I hate timsasha and jackagnea or whatever MY AROAMANTIC QUEENS TRUST

agnes is Def aroace

Oh yeaaaah. Jmart being canon ruined the whole experience for sure. And I’m not saying it like “well since the podcast is horror focused, there shouldn’t be any romance, just scary!”. I just wish the romance included the horror aspect. More gothic perhaps? Instead we got “two coworkers walking through the apocalypse holding hands”.

Because of jmart the horror bit was pushed aside in season 5, which ironically takes place in the fearscape, so it should’ve been horror FOCUSED. Dumb as hell. Hate it forever.

Also most fanfics are either 1) Jmart centric or 2) terribly out of character. Or both. The only good tma fic I have ever read was an AU in which Jon was a fairy. And even then they had nothing left of the original characters.

I agree with aroace Agnes it’s such a cool concept. She was raised in almost complete isolation from “normality”, so I feel like her fascination with relationships in general came from the fact that it was all alien to her. She was only ever a Messiah. It’s not like she got the chance to hold hands with people before. It’s just like with the coffee she never drank - she wanted the experience, a fairytale version of something actually mundane. I mean, it’s the things you never got to try that you want the most.

Doorway anon that you figured out the identity of calling myself doorway anon is funny I'm keeping it

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH SOME ELIAS FANS ON AO3?????? I am scared why is he out in the fanfics graping people I'm tireddd

That guy is not a grapist please 💔💔💔

8 year old Jon??? Teenager Gerry??? Teen Gerry??? Teenager Michael????????? Og Elias???? NRO HE WOULD NOT GRAPE ANYONE STOP

Do you ever open ao3 at 3 am and regret your life choices

Oh my god. Soooo many fics do that and it’s HORRENDOUS. Also no need to censor the word “rape”.

It’s a legitimate problem, and it shows that a lot of people don’t even try to understand Elias as a character. They see him as the big evil villain that stands in the way of their favourite gay blorbos.

Because they don’t understand his actions and yet feel the need to paint him as evil, they make him commit disgusting acts of violence to justify their hatred for him (and often, when the fic involves non-con JonElias, they describe Jon as a helpless little boy and Martin as his big strong savior. Treating the podcast as their personal BL webtoon). None of those fics are interested in analyzing Jonah’s character at all.

I think it’s also Jared Hopworth who occasionally gets this treatment. The big bad man standing in the way of your favourite queer couple. Oh, and he’s homophobic too! Can’t forget that one!

This is such a Martin way of thinking. The whole black-and-white perspective. No wonder so many people kin him

i’d love to hear your thoughts on this scene!!! i copied it direct from transcript. i already know how i feel on it, but i’d love to hear yours. the whole slapping thing martin did is icky and gross and im glad jon doesnt brush over it TOO much

MARTIN (cutting in)

“No, no, no; that's enough!”

[A JANGLING AS HE - REACHES OVER?]

MARTIN (CONT'D)

“That's enough.”

[PAUSE.]

[A FEW STEPS.]

[THEN, CLOTHING SOUNDS AS THE ARCHIVIST SPEAKS:]

ARCHIVIST

“Thank you for not hitting me this time.”

[A PAUSE THAT STRETCHES ON FOR THE SPAN OF THREE HEAVY BREATHS.]

Wow, Martin actually took Jon’s feelings into consideration for once? Unbelievable. Should’ve started by not hitting him that first time. It wasn’t that hard! He could’ve just done whatever he did here instead of a slap to the face.

I think “the Jon that’s an avatar” and “the Jon that’s his lover” are two separate beings in Martin’s mind, and so slapping “the monster” didn’t matter as long as he got “his” Jon back.

It’s great that their relationship isn’t “teenage couple” level of toxic, but I still don’t care. I liked the horrors, and so the sudden unexpected appearance of canon romance soured the experience for me.

Idk, but something about early s1 just kinda… eh? Early Jon and Martin interactions are okay at best, and I’m aware Elias wasn’t supposed to come in yet but he could have had a bit more plot. Idk season one is just unsatisfying

It’s a horror fiction podcast you silly! The statement is the main part, and the rest is more like a dessert.

I loved season 1 because it gently drew me in. It wasn’t demanding to listen to because it wasn’t plot-heavy, and you could enjoy each statement as a story on its own. That’s what I like most about the podcast - you can listen to any episode at any time without it feeling taken out of context.

Your blog has become my favourite since i discovered it so i might start asking too many questions.

Is there a character that you despise almost as much as Martin? Whether because you dislike how the fandom depicts them, or because of their personality, or for no reason at all.

There’s never too many questions. I love answering them ♡

I actually don’t have such a strong opinion on any of the other characters, at least not regarding their canon versions. Truth be told, I never cared much about those people. The statements are my favourite part, although if I had to choose a fave then it would be Jon, simply because of his voice. I love it when he reads the statements.

In regards of the characters, there are a lot of moments that make me feel an all-consuming rage. But they were all done for a reason and in character, so I have nothing to complain about. In order to do that properly, I would have to do an in-depth analysis, and my opinions aren’t strong enough to do that yet.

I do have a problem with a few fanon depictions tho.

One: It’s the fans that made me really dislike Martin. It’s actually kind of interesting in its own way, since the dogshit awful fanon version was so bad that it motivated me to analyze his character, and form my own opinion. In many ways, TMA fandom sucks absolute booty. I can only consume TMA-related content from a few hand-picked blogs or else I will die painfully.

(Also there is a large part of transmasc Martin headcanons that are sooo icky….. A lot of people who do that see him as weak and feminine and so so sweet and that’s just plain weird?? Seeing him as a little fat cutie and also slapping the trans headcanon on him. Feels like you just wanna baby trans men)

Two: I read once that depicting Daisy as a butch is enforcing a quite harmful stereotype of butches being inherently violent. Especially since we’re told that she chose the nickname ‘Daisy’ to appear softer, sweeter.

Three: Fans of Michael Shelley (NOT The Distortion) that swear he’s their favourite character are… odd. I mean, like who you like, it’s alright! But Michael wasn’t even there. His only purpose in the story was to be thrown away - “poor, disposable Michael”. The only things we know about him were told to us by The Distortion - that he had a friend who got consumed by the Spiral, that he wanted to avenge them, and so that’s why he joined the Institute. I get liking him, but placing him as your favourite character?

Most of his fans that I’ve seen only use him as a vessel for shipping. They can slap basically anything on him and it will stick, because he’s nothing more than an empty shell. You can’t even analyze him, because there’s nothing to analyze.

Four: A lot of the widely accepted fanon designs are plain unrealistic. And I don’t mean unrealistic as fantasy, I mean that their appearance doesn’t fit with the setting of the story at all. Those are all adults in their early thirties if I’m correct, working in a semi-professional, academic environment. They wouldn’t wear frilly skirts, or maximalist outfits with a hundred accessories, or several pride pins.

I get that it’s fun to dress up your fave like a doll, but please. Slapping fifty headcanons on a boring office worker makes you lose the essence of the character in the process, and they just become an oc in the end. Not to mention that too many headcanons erase the character’s personality entirely. A character’s personality and certain habits are reflected in the way they would dress.

Another thing regarding the designs is that people get soooo pressed when someone’s design of the character doesn’t match the widely accepted fanon. I know, I just spent over a paragraph criticizing designs as well, but in reality it’s not that serious. I don’t care nearly as much as you may think I do. But when someone makes Jon white, or, worse, Martin skinny - people are gonna go “uhhmmm…. that’s not MY blorbo….. what did you do to him……” and it’s so weird! This is a podcast character! We only got a few vague lines about their physical description! You can draw them however you like and it might as well have been canon! You never know!

I love talking. @neurodiev1rgin never stop sending me asks. They actually help me get my thoughts and opinions in order

Hehe me again 👉👈

What do you think was Jonny's reason to make Jon and Martin end up together? I, for the longest time, just accepted that it was just fanservice. We've known about Martin's crush since season three, and Jmart was popular, so he rewarded people that were hoping for it to be canon, but I don't really like that hypothesis; it kind of feels too much like a "the curtains are just blue" way of thinking.

I tried putting something together; maybe Jmart was meant to be a parallel of Daisy and Basira, with Basira loving (platonically or not) Daisy when she's at her most monstrous, and Martin hating Jon for it, but idk if it really makes sense because Martin likes the idea of killing people as long as HE sees fit.

I'm not MatPat, i'm really bad at theorising so i would like to see your perspective on this.

For me, it still feels like the first reason is true: the fans liked the characters, and so the writers just smooshed them together. I mentioned previously that Jon and Martin’s jump to romance feels rushed to me. The build-up they got felt like it would lead to a friendship at most.

The paralell to Daisy and Basira is interesting. Basira liked Daisy at her most monstrous. Martin liked Jon at his most human.

Except Basira admits that later on. The nature of her relationship with Daisy is outlined and highlited, and more visible to the viewer. The narrative never does that with Jon and Martin: it’s just made to be that whole “you are my reason” thing.

The canon provided us with an interesting dynamic and then did nothing to explore it, or at least explain it, resulting in a lot of fans seeing them as cutesy and lovey-dovey.

It also explains Martin’s reasoning in the last episodes on s5. He didn’t want for Jon to become a monster, not out of sympathy, but because he doesn’t like Jon monstrous and tied to the Eye. He is repulsed by Avatar-Jon. This also adds to the nuance of their relationship, considering that being an avatar is, at that time, a very large part of Jon’s very being. He can’t get rid of it without ripping out parts of himself. The version of Jon that Martin loves doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe it never existed at all.

MARTIN

[Petulantly] Of course it is. Of course it is! Because how could this journey possibly end with anything less than the final, supreme destiny of the Archivist, plugged into the great fear machine for all eternity and, and abandoning humanity.

Breaking his promise. (MAG 194)

MARTIN

Because she said if I did, she’d leave without me. And then… well… we’d have had to stick with crappy Plan A, and you’d… you’d end up gone. (MAG 198)

GEORGIE

Spread the fears to other realities.

Option two is John takes over from Magnus. Keeps the Powers contained here with us, and tries his best to make the place a little more… tolerable, until the end.

MARTIN

And we lose him. (MAG 199)

I still think the romance was unnecessary. All of this could’ve been done without these two kissing, and maybe that would’ve made the fans stop obsessing over the ship just beause it’s canon and actually focus on the horror part every once in a while.

Do you have any other podcasts that you enjoy and recommend? And if you do, do you plan to talk about them? Whether on this blog or another one? You mentioned a few times you listen to TMA for the statements, so I assumed you liked Welcome to Night Vale as well.

I actually haven’t listened to that many podcasts overall. The Magnus Archives is the only podcast I managed to finish so far.

I tried listening to Welcome to Night Vale a year ago I think. I liked it a lot! Can’t remember why I stopped. Lack of proper time probably. I prefer listening to podcasts a few episodes at a time, since I tend to forget things when I take breaks, and end up having to relisten to the whole ep anyway.

There are some podcasts that I want to check out - like Hello From The Hallowoods, The Penumbra Podcast, Camp Here and There etc. I don’t plan on listening to them anytime soon tho