2022-12-08 20:31:28 ¶ ●

“I thought you might be lost.” is one of the most delightfully romantic things Jon ever says to Martin.

It’s so devoid of blame, of derision. A truly neutral statement, soft, no touch of sarcasm, no hint of cruelty. A gentle hand reached out to pull him from the depths of the lonely.

Such an unusual phrase for Jon, especially at that time. There’s no definitives, it’s entirely open to correction, open to being wrong. ‘I thought’ not I knew. It comes from Jon’s perspective, he holds himself out to rejection, something that’s hard to do at the best of times.

'you might be lost’, not you were, not you are. He respects that this may well have been a conscious choice, that Martin really could have chosen to abandon him, preferring the lonely to the lack of certainty in their relationship. But it retains the softness and love, the worry and care. He was worried that Martin might not be able to find his way back, but not willing to drag him out of a place he might have chosen to be.

And that’s not even mentioning the softness with which he says it. In an intense moment of great urgency and importance he’s able to drop his fear, stress, and anger, in an attempt to reach the man he loves.

It’s such an elegant moment of love; in a second Jon is willing to let go of the gravity of the situation and put all of his being into connecting with Martin, and when it comes down to it, it works.

2022-12-27 2:30:10 ¶ ●

Martin Blackwood: a delightful man, good friend, constant converse wearer, cute jumper connoisseur, enjoyer of baked goods, avid tea consumer, soft spoken, beloved by many, and possibly the biggest people pleaser ever.

# VS

Jonathan Sims: bastard academic, bad at staying in touch, strict office wear user, ‘the right shoes for the occasion’ type guy, M&S food eater, outspoken and impetuous, and probably one of the most paranoid people ever.

(no one wins, they just kiss)

2022-12-31 5:25:26 ¶ ●

The thing with Jon is that he is actually really funny! His delightfully dry and sarcastic sense of humor is pleasantly visible from the beginning, and it’s gradual decline as pressure builds up is pointed. He never loses his humor though, and in so many cases the crisis enhances it.

It makes me consider his childhood. Jon’s rejected, ignored and hushed pretty often but it scarcely stops his witty comments; is this the environment he grew up it? Its not uncommon for elderly people to have dry humor also, and the mask of academia goes hand in hand with sarcasm.

What’s really fascinating about Jon’s humor however, is how it changes during the apocalypse. When he no longer has to mantain a professional image or his integrity in any way his humor takes much more of a forefront. Of course, he’s still under a tremendous amount of pressure so it would be ridiculous for him to be funny all of the time, but when the social stakes are lowered he’s much more open.

We see it in many moments when he’s with Martin, and even with Basira, Melanie, and Georgie. His jokes are a lot more honest, and he allows them to be simply funny instead of lacing them with intellectualism. For the first time him being professional, polite, and socially acceptable will do absolutely nothing to help him and he’s able to let go.

Even in through the various moments of struggle in their journey Jon’s able to be more relaxed, which in turn seems to create better outcomes; I’d say that this is because it’s not his fault for once, but since he very clearly believes that it is, this reaction is likely as a result of the fact that it absolutely and categorically could not get any worse .

This, I think, is a reason Jon and Martin were able to get so far (and remain so engaging). Even in the darkest depths, the worst of the worst, their survival instincts and coping mechanisms compliment eachother greatly. Jon provides information, knowledge, and the light relief of a very good joke. Martin provides care, concern, and emotional critical thinking.

Their love for eachother was the glue that held together a very well suited team, and together their skills and even their flaws carried them forward.

2022-12-31 20:17:46 ¶ ●

## Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! Here’s how I think the tma characters would celebrate:

Martin and Jon: Martin seems like the type of guy who’d want to celebrate with a small group of friends, but Jon does NOT. To even this out I think they’d have a very romantic night in with a nice bottle of wine and the fireworks on TV.

Daisy and Basira: Judging by how quick they were to go out for drinks when trapped at the institute I imagine they’d like to go out clubbing for NYE! And they’d totally kiss over dramtically at midnight.

Melanie and Georgie: They’d have a couple friends over and have a house party (approved by the admiral, of course!), and they’d probably write up bingo cards for the coming year.

Tim and Sasha: A nice big party with their mutual friends. Being social and all sorts of things like that!

Elias: He’d watch the fireworks in Central London. Like an insane person.