diff --git a/code/controllers/subsystem/lua.dm b/code/controllers/subsystem/lua.dm
index d8fb642c1c9..641416b7243 100644
--- a/code/controllers/subsystem/lua.dm
+++ b/code/controllers/subsystem/lua.dm
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ SUBSYSTEM_DEF(lua)
 	var/list/current_run = list()
 
 	/// Protects return values from getting GCed before getting converted to lua values
-	var/gc_guard
+	/// Gets cleared every tick.
+	var/list/gc_guard = list()
 
 /datum/controller/subsystem/lua/Initialize()
 	if(!CONFIG_GET(flag/auxtools_enabled))
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@ SUBSYSTEM_DEF(lua)
 		sleeps.Cut()
 		resumes.Cut()
 
+	gc_guard.Cut()
 	var/list/current_sleeps = current_run["sleeps"]
 	var/list/affected_states = list()
 	while(length(current_sleeps))
diff --git a/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/_wrappers.dm b/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/_wrappers.dm
index d77d02de4ee..8e05453d29d 100644
--- a/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/_wrappers.dm
+++ b/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/_wrappers.dm
@@ -12,9 +12,7 @@
 	else
 		ret = HandleUserlessProcCall("lua", thing_to_call, proc_name, arguments)
 	if(isdatum(ret))
-		SSlua.gc_guard = ret
-		var/datum/ret_datum = ret
-		ret_datum.RegisterSignal(ret_datum, COMSIG_QDELETING, TYPE_PROC_REF(/datum, lua_reference_cleanup), override = TRUE)
+		SSlua.gc_guard += ret
 	return ret
 
 /proc/wrap_lua_global_proc_call(proc_name, list/arguments)
@@ -27,9 +25,7 @@
 	else
 		ret = HandleUserlessProcCall("lua", GLOBAL_PROC, proc_name, arguments)
 	if(isdatum(ret))
-		SSlua.gc_guard = ret
-		var/datum/ret_datum = ret
-		ret_datum.RegisterSignal(ret_datum, COMSIG_QDELETING, TYPE_PROC_REF(/datum, lua_reference_cleanup), override = TRUE)
+		SSlua.gc_guard += ret
 	return ret
 
 /proc/wrap_lua_print(state_id, list/arguments)
diff --git a/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/helpers.dm b/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/helpers.dm
index c0271e0bc72..66b7c835e9a 100644
--- a/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/helpers.dm
+++ b/code/modules/admin/verbs/lua/helpers.dm
@@ -34,17 +34,3 @@
 #undef PROMISE_PENDING
 #undef PROMISE_RESOLVED
 #undef PROMISE_REJECTED
-
-/**
- * When a datum is created from lua, it gets held in `SSlua.gc_guard`, and later,
- * in the calling state datum's `var/list/references`, just in case it would be garbage
- * collected due to there not being any references that BYOND recognizes. To avoid harddels,
- * we register this proc as a signal handler any time a DM function called from lua returns
- * a datum.
- */
-/datum/proc/lua_reference_cleanup()
-	SIGNAL_HANDLER
-	if(SSlua.gc_guard == src)
-		SSlua.gc_guard = null
-	for(var/datum/lua_state/state in SSlua.states)
-		state.references -= src