#is how human relations in tma got

[shitpostsandanime]

Been listening to The Magnus Archives again, and am on Episode 134. This one is when we start to learn about The Extinction properly from Dekker and also what Peter Lucas' goals, mostly, are.

It got me thinking about what Peter tells Martin - about how only two of the Fears had never attempted a ritual, one of those being The Web. I know that Protocol is supposed to be it's own separate entity with only passing connections and easter eggs relating it to the Archives universe.

But tgis episode DID get me wondering if, at the end of Archives, if perhaos the Web did in fact perform a ritual of some sort. The world we kniw WAS remade, into this new universe, where everything is so similar but so different. Or perhaps by transferring everything to a new universe, The Extinction was accidentally brought intk being? My logic isn't exactly solid, mind you, but Dekker described The Extintiin as ultimately th fear of change, of humanity doing something so irreversible to itself that we no longer exist as we currently are.

One of the biggest themes we see in Protocol is alchemy, and what is not alchemy fundamentally but an attempt to change something from one state to another.

Again, my logic isn't sound and i wouldn't be surprised if i'm incorrect and Protocol really does have nothing to do with TMA universe and the Fears proper, but it's a neat little idea and just a fun nod to the original lore!

[crypticmillipede]

OK EXTREMELY NICHE CROSSOVER but hear me out !! Stardew Valley Characters x TMA?

(oh yea spoilers for some Magnus Archives concepts/lore? but nothing plot-related)

the 12 Stardew Valley dateable characters as TMA Avatars:

Abigail: Could see either the Vast or the Stranger. The Vast because she adores exploring, asks existential questions, gets lost in things. The Stranger because of her character arc as an odd one out, someone who just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the town, unnatural, an outsider. Also because of her potential connection to the Wizard.

Alex: Likely the Flesh, as a sort of Jared Hopworth situation. He’s always talking about his bodybuilding, it’s pretty Flesh-aligned. I could also see him as the Hunt? His obsession with going pro, reaching his goal, something that never really happens but he’s always chasing. Maybe he begins to hear the blood?

Elliott: The Lonely. Relatively new to town, all isolated on that beach, I bet it gets quite foggy. Or potentially the Eye? I could see his fervor for writing as a thirst for knowledge, in a way?

Emily: The Spiral. Strange, bizarre, cryptic, a manic pixie dream girl (and i mean this with love), she’s gotta be the Spiral. I could also see the stranger, but she has a certain level of approachability that’s more Spiral to me.

Haley: This is tough for me. Maybe the Flesh, as someone concerned with their appearance, but that feels kinda surface-level to me. This is a stretch, but what about a Dark alignment? The way she sort of refuses to intake information sometimes (ignoring you), bores easily, she could be compensating for an insecurity by presenting a certain way? In the dark, she wouldn’t have to worry about any of it. Besides, she does have that Dark Room… (i admit this one doesn’t really fit, does anyone have a better idea? spider maybe? or even corruption?)

Harvey: The whole weight of the town’s expectation’s for their only doctor, his stagnant dreams of piloting, Harvey’s got to be affiliated with the Buried. Possiblyyy the Flesh, simply due to his profession, but the Buried makes far more sense for his character to me.

Leah: Hear me out on this one—the Extinction. She’s got a couple dialogue lines focusing on environmental destruction and humanity as a harmful species, she’s newly moved out of the city and into nature, radically replacing her environment. She’s so isolated in the forest, it might sometimes feel like she’s the only one left. If not, then the Vast, most likely. Or maybe Stranger or Lonely? She’s got options.

Maru: If anyone in this group is Eye-affiliated, it’s got to be Maru. She has this thirst for knowledge, always building, always looking up into the unknown of the cosmos.

Penny: She’s got to be the Lonely to me. How many times has she sat under that tree, picking at the grass and looking out into the river? She’s so isolated, despite being around so many people. If not the Lonely, then certainly the Corruption, with its themes of finally finding endless love and community, a hive who truly understands.

Sam: This is another tricky one to me, but probably the Vast? He’s so easy-going and carefree, for the most part, it fits in quite well with the Vast mentality of ultimate insignificance and the freedom that comes with it.

Sebastian: Although the Lonely is probably the easy answer, I could also see him as the Buried, honestly? Burdened by the weight of all the expectations pressing down on him, by his stagnation in a town he wants nothing to do with, by his lack of freedom and desire for escape. He has friends, close friends! It seems to be more of his general circumstances that haunt him, rather than isolation, necessarily.

Shane: While i know the Web is primarily associated with addiction, I don’t really feel that Shane fits with the Web in any other way? I honestly see him more as affiliated with the Desolation, given his often self-destructive tendencies, and the way he lashes out at others. Shane seems to resort to alcohol as a harmful coping mechanism. Of course, I could also see him as the End, given some of his cut scenes, but the qualities of the End don’t seem to match him as well as the Desolation.

Those are my takes!! Sorry I couldn’t narrow it down more, but there’re so many potentials, it’s hard to choose a single option for each person! These are superrrr subjective and up to interpretation, so I welcome any additional speculations or suggestions !! I kinda wanna know how other people would categorize these guys tbh? anyways yeah sorry about the long post, my brain is rotten. perchance.

[thermodynamic-comedian]

now you. gimme your Jonah headcanons. I am going to eat them.

HAHHSAHHAHA YES HEHDFJKFJWJ

- genderfluid but never bothered to actually get into All That because it's "only a problem sometimes". until binary transwoman elias bouchard caught his attention. honestly getting gender envy from someone and just possessing them about it is kind of funny to me

- this thing can fit so much species dysphoria in it

- serial substance abuser. he mostly picks people who already have pre-existing addictions so he has an excuse, but honestly he will use anything that numbs the constant overwhelming flow of information that comes with being an eye avatar

- amblyopia in his left eye. never got the proper treatment for it as a kid, so now he has to do those stupid little exercises where you cover your dominant eye with an eye patch.

- less of a headcanon and more of an interpretation i guess, but i think a lot of his character can be explained by the fact that he was born during the industrial revolution. he knew the world was going to end, and he wanted it to end on his terms.

- already made a seperate post about this but i like the idea that his eyes get dirty slowly so he has to clean them up consistantly.

- just super weird and kind of horny about most of the other fears in general.

- somewhat related, i think the way the watcher's crown functions is also a representation of how jonah magnus feeds all the other fears as well. i've already made far too many posts about how all eye avatars basically have secondary alignments (gertrude: spiral/lonely, jon: end) and jonah has like So Many and i have my explanations for all of them (stranger's kind of obvious. something non-human inside a human body. but the one that i personally came up with was corruption, since he's essentially a parasite)

- lost basically all control over his own body during the watcher's crown. he didn't need anything except the eye to survive at that point, so all that time, he was just kind of in the panopticon as all information within the known universe flowed through him like light through a pupil. sometimes he'd just faint and keep reciting the statements anyways. it was, like jon said, agonizing bliss.

- fuck i need more lighthearted ones uhh. when he gets angry and/or embarrassed, his ears going red is always the first sign. somehow this manages to happen in every single body he possesses.

- also his eyes go bloodshot like very very easily. but the blood is just a bit darker than it's supposed to be.

- prominent dimples. again, in every body. he probably specifically uses that as criteria to decide wether he's gonna possess someone or not. just to keep one trait consistant.

uhhjj i probably have more but most of them are obvious if you look at like one or two of my tma posts lmao. anyways thank you for asking teehee

[tmagpposting]

The Fears and TMAGP

It seems to be a pretty popular theory, or at least a popular possibility acknowledged in the community, that things will function differently than they did in TMA, and our previous categorizations won’t necessarily hold up. A lot of people seem to be split on this, and I’ve seen a lot of other content that positions episodes/incidents in TMAGP in the same framework used in TMA. I wanted to offer my two cents on this issue, after thinking about it for a while now. Basically, I don’t think TMAGP will use the same system for quite a few reasons, both logistical and lore related. Massive (like, seriously series ruining) spoilers for TMA past this point if you haven’t already listened, as well as minor ones for TMAGP up to ep. 4. 

I specifically decided to write this after seeing this post, where a lot of other people have brought up good points in the reblogs. I think we will get something different from Smirke's 14/TMA's categorization of the fears regardless of how much they've actually changed from the previous series, for a few reasons:

1. The fears have probably changed or evolved in some way, especially since the Web (at minimum) had the capacity to learn and plan, and they've already brought about one apocalypse so far. They could've changed from learning from the events of TMA, or just inherently warped from the process of being pulled from another universe and spit back out into a different one (maybe they were altered in transit by being in an extra-dimensional space, or they merged with some similar cosmic force that was already in present in TMAGP's universe when they got there, the possibilities for how this could go are basically endless and I’m honestly so excited). This change could also work really well if it came about because of some combination of the above, since these options aren’t mutually exclusive in the slightest. Personally, I really hope it involves both but highlights the first option in some way, since it'd be really fun for past listeners of TMA to see the fears get more formidable by becoming more strategic as well as see events of that series directly influence this one in such a huge way, and it wouldn't necessarily detract from the experience of new listeners if they did this subtly. Either way, I think it'd be stranger if they behaved exactly as they did in TMA, given everything that happened in the finale.

1.a. Specifically, the fears now have the explicit incentive to cooperate with each other, even if they represent "opposites" like the Buried and the Vast, because all of them must inherently be present in an apocalypse as we saw in TMA. Assuming that it still works the same way, the fears will probably work more in harmony and synthesize elements of each other more than before (even far beyond the Web influencing each in turn) because we've seen that this is a more advantageous course of action for them to take if they want to successfully complete a ritual. This is also supported by the massive amount of keywords the OIAR categorizes incidents with: categorizing incidents using various traits/specialties/calling cards from the original Smirke's 14 as they work together in various combinations would inherently create a ton of different specific keyword combinations, mathematically/logistically speaking.

2. The fears are inherently very hard to categorize as abstract inhuman forces that don't really function in a way humans innately empathize with or like humans think they should. They don't work like gods with similar cognitive processes to humans, like how a lot of avatars thought of them/wanted them to work to some extent, and they're just as willing to prey on non-human life to generate fear and sustenance, just look at the Flesh. As we saw, Smirke's list didn't fully work in the first place, since all the fears had to get pulled through to cause the apocalypse or any ritual would inherently fail, and they functioned less as 14 separate things than as 14 different organs/systems inherently connected in some way by the same nebulous conceptual body. Think of the metaphor from later in TMA with the ants in an ant farm perceiving human hands, eyes, etc. as different antagonistic entities rather than a single contiguous being (i forgot which ep this came from or which character said it, if anyone knows tell me and I'll add it in). Basically, even if they haven't changed at all from TMA, the people of TMAGP could decide on a completely different system of categorization simply because it's arbitrary at the end of the day, given how abstract and nebulous the fears have always been.

3. As several others have said, given that TMAGP is aimed to be friendly to new listeners who haven't necessarily listened to TMA before, it makes more sense to use a new system. This is good for the show for 2 reasons. First, this takes away some of the advantage TMA fans would have in the process of theorizing if everything worked the same way as it did in the previous podcast, especially since TMAGP is more interactive given its ARG element (which I am woefully uninformed on, to be fair, i have next to no idea what's going on with that aspect of the show, and if anyone knows more about how/where to get in on it, lmk). Second, it is actually more rewarding for past fans of TMA to be able to experience this theorizing process in full/from scratch without necessarily knowing major things about what’s going to happen (like how the fears will work), potentially for a second time if they were involved in theorizing about TMA as it was first being released.

4. Having a new and different system, particularly one that is less rigid and more nebulous than Smirke's 14, would work a lot better with TMAGP's emphasis on including guest writers on the show, in addition to working better in terms of the story itself as I outlined in the previous points (at least imo, though I have no experience running a project like this, so this is HIGHLY speculative on my part). Trusting a ton of other people to follow specific rules and emulate Smirke's 14 in a way that feels authentic to TMA, when that was almost totally written and conceived of by Jonny on his own, seems like it would be really difficult to pull off without ensuring each guest writer is also intimately familiar with TMA and/or incorporating a ton of editing and oversight to change episodes to fit better with TMA lore after they're initially written. It could definitely be done, but I think it'd be pretty hard, and it seems like it'd create a lot of redundancy and potentially wasted effort for the editors and producers of the show as well as the guest writers.

If anyone sees something I missed or didn’t touch on, please add on to this post, and if you have evidence to the contrary I’d be interested to see that, too. I’m really interested to hear the fandom’s thoughts on this overall, since it’s an issue I’ve seen coming up in the background a lot lately, but I haven’t seen a post explicitly addressing it yet.

[go-to-the-mirror]

Happy @tmaappreciationweek day 1! I drew something, but it’s kinda ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, so… fic recs! Jon-centric ones, because he’s my favourite major character to precisely no one’s surprise.

It’s in order of vaguely when they take place.

nature has taught her creatures to hate (words 183,928) by thepolysyndetonaddictsupportgroup

Jon goes to the Magnus Institute to give a statement about Mr. Spider when he’s 8 years old, but is kidnapped and made to become a child avatar. It… really hurts. So much. 100% recommend. Good luck.

Merry-Go-Round (words 20,744) by Prim_the_Amazing

Jon becomes a stranger avatar, in like this horrifying way, and it’s like, it’s almost appealing, like MAG 152, but also you’re like oh god. Ohhhh god. Dont. Dont do that. And yeah, it’s really good.

you appear familiar, dear— you look just like my bathroom mirror (words 3,340) by takethebreadsticksandRUN

One of those one shots that take a theme and then run with it through canon (and in this case, pre-canon). It’s about identity issues related to your body, about gender dysphoria and the Issues that come with having your bodily autonomy repeatedly violated and also religion. Catholicism, to be specific. It’s really good, and the religious imagery is neat, and it’s so good. It’s really gender, it gets the gender feelings.

Jon focused, introspection. I love Jon focused introspection.

all your scars are looking more like scales (words 2,827) by ceaselesswatchers

Another one of those one shots. This time the theme is Jon being a dragon (in an Otherkin way). It’s really good.

but you just don’t feel the same (words 2,825) by ceaselesswatchers

Yet another one of those one shots. This one focuses on soulmates, how they’re actually body horror if you think about it, and how that would interact with being aro. Jon’s aromantic in this fic.

Also, I won’t spoil it, but it’s got a moment near the end that I love so much, and it’s just… this fic really tackles a lot of things in TMA and a lot of things with soulmate AUs and makes me Very Horrified.

terror management theory (words 36,587) by prismatical

ITS SO FUNNY AND ITS SO SAD

It’s half crack half oh my god. oh my fucking god. Where Jon was killed by Mr. Spider as a kid and now he keeps coming back to life. Prismatical writes really good… moments that stick in your brain.

There is a Wasp’s Nest in my Archives (words 7,525) by ineverwritebutwhatever

One of the first fics I bookmarked, like even before finishing season 2? Had no idea what the corruption was, but then, but then, I revisited it, and it’s… phenomenal? It really does a good job of tackling both the metaphorical and literal aspects of the corruption.

of broken tables and stained kitchen sinks (words 2,114) by ocaptain_mycaptain

Everyone’s favourite… Jongeorgie angst! Platonic. It’s set in season 3, Jon’s all like “I’ll keep all of my problems right here, and then one day, I’ll die” and Georgie’s like “hey, jon, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me anything. Please tell me something” and meanwhile they’re having issues that are symbolised through Georgie’s home and furniture being in need of repairs.

Not (words 1,767) by DaFlangstLairde

A really cool fic beginning in season 3 (but it’s one of Those one shots), focusing on what it means to be a person and even real. Can confirm, feels a lot like depersonalisation, lol. Anyway, it’s so cool, also it’s something I can use to say Stranger!Jon rights.

So, for realistic depictions of depersonalisation, Jon themed musings on humanity, and Stranger!Jon propaganda… this is the fic for you!

The Bird of Paradise (comic, 47 chapters) by lady_libertine

This was required reading for a different fic. It’s about Jon meeting Odin, Dionysus, and Lucifer during the Unknowing, and getting slightly magical therapy that helps him fix his problems. It’s actually pretty good. Very long, though. And not described (unless it is through alt text).

Cry For Me (words 4,827) by BusinessCasualAura

(who is apparently my mutual, i keep forgetting this)

Okay, so this series is like, so sad. It’s so bloody sad. It starts between s3 and s4 (getting off to a Sad Start), continues through s4 and s5, ends in like, the worst way (for the characters). It’s so bloody good, and the Upton House portion is like… top 2 Upton House fics.

can’t be helped (words 5,308) and rituals (words 8,492) by doomcountry

The first fic is set in season 4, but canon diverges, and both Martin and Jon fall fully to their patrons (i.e. Jon becomes a lot more evil and inhuman, Martin fulfils more of the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder).

The second fic is set after the first fic, with Martin (less lonely) trying to see if there’s any Jon left in the Archivist. First fic focuses pretty equally on Jon and Martin, but in separate storylines, second fic is from the Archivist’s POV, but focuses on Jmart.

stopgap prophecy (words 16,686) by prismatical

It’s about humanity and monsterhood and “is it right to die bc living will hurt people” and change, and I love it. It’s so good. And Jon’s narration is wonderful, and the climax is just, it’s amazing to read, it plays out in my head all the time. Set in season 4, post-MAG 146.

the best policy (words 20,094) by BlueGirl22

Jon reads a truth telling Leitner during season 4, and then people have heart to hearts with him. It goes. It certainly goes.

For he will not do destruction, if he is well fed (words 15,127) by greevianguy

Jon projects on a cat for 15,127 words. No but, like, set in season 4, Jon sees a cat at the institute, and then he sees it again with Daisy, and he wonders if he can help, and he thinks about the cat Daisy had and how it was let go by someone who was supposed to help it and yes jon go on, no, im not taking notes.

It’s just, argjhhh it’s so painful. Might be my favourite tma fic. Go read it. Right now.

Out of My Head (words 15,641) by buildoblivionthenwewilltalk

This is a really good post-MAG 154 fic, and it’s got this cool original character, and it’s got this absolute BANGER of an ending that never gets elaborated on, it’s fine i’m fine and yeah. Favourite post-MAG 154, easily.

in the chillest land and on the strangest sea (words 19,632) by imperfectcircle and raven (singlecrow)

I’m pretty sure this is one of those fandom classics. Based on the amount of comments, it’s pretty well known, but I enjoyed it, so… it’s about Hope as an entity. It’s in the format of Daisy telling Jon a story while the latter is staying at the Scottish Safehouse. The story is from season 1 onward but the framing device is post-MAG 159 pre-MAG 160. It’s got great moments that live in my mind rent free.

john 19:41 (words 1,142) by tkkarno

Set immediately after MAG 160, Jon reflects on his humanity, the loss of it, and the relation of that to Jane Prentiss, and also biblical themes. The title is the bible quote: “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.”

Pretty much exclusively focuses on Jon. Stream of consciousness ramble, yknow.

In this harsh world (words 1,132) by CirrusGrey

This is my favourite of the 40 fics Citrus wrote while s5 was coming out. It’s a conversation after Upton House. It’s titled after a line from Hamlet. Frankly I don’t think I need to say any more.

where there’s a will, we make a way (words 305,816) by bubonickitten

Time travel fix it fic, time travel fix it fic! To be completely honest, I don’t really like time travel fix it fics, but this one is an exception. s5!Jon basically replaces season 4 Jon, and still has issues, and they focus on multiple characters, and there’s so much getting angry at Jonah Magnus — if I’m being honest, sometimes I just read this fic and go through the content warnings to see which chapters probably mention Jonah Magnus and read those, because the handling of Jonah Magnus is like, thank you. I love it.

Focuses on multiple characters, but Jon’s the main character. Also, diverges before MAG 187, and it was being written pre-finale. It’s still ongoing.

rewind. play. eject. (words 39,543) by boredshyandbi

Jon’s stuck in a timeloop of MAG 39, and it’s heartbreaking to see him every time try to fix things, try to save Sasha and Martin and Tim, and there are Lines. There are Lines. That stick out in my brain. Do you think I’m ever going to be okay about paperclips again? No! I’m not. It’s another exception to the time travel fix-it rule, but only because it’s got... a different plot. And it’s just that good.

Countdown to Extinction (words 131,464) by starspangledbread

Another exception! Tbf though, it’s another different one.

First fic isn’t quite monster4monster4monster jongerrymart, but it’s got the Vibes. Jon commits petty crimes and also major crimes like Multiple Kidnappings, uh and then the second fic is just. Wow okay that’s a tonal difference. Dealing with repercussions…

ANYWAY I wholeheartedly recommend both :D

[miscreantahead]

Back on Tuesday when episode 4 dropped I had some thoughts about how the "fears" are going to work in this universe. Personally I'm operating under the belief that these are the same entities that could have been destroyed in the TMA universe and got pulled into this new one, but as many have already stated, that doesn't mean they have to be (and at this point I'm thinking definitely are not) the "fears" as we know them.

Something I keep coming back to is Leitner's talk of an eye a hand and a boot attacking an anthill and the ants not perceiving that it was all attacked to one larger assailant. This was about the avatars, but considering we have so little confirmed about what the entities we used to call the fears actually are, and considering the eyepocolypse couldn't happen without all of them coming through... what if this time, it's all one big horrible thing? Or, more accurately, to some degree, always has been? Obviously they can't be one individual as we perceive the concept of a singular individual otherwise the Web wouldn't have defected and there wouldn't have been a power structure with the eye, but off the hand I think of like organs in a single body, like the eye became the brain and the Web's shenanigans was liver failure.

Part of what supports that for me is the guy who gave the narrator the violin. The violin itself has obvious slaughter vibes. The man who gave it to him felt very beholding. And he also had a bag of various artifacts that could have done things that we'd associate with certain fears the way we knew them in TMA. Sure, he could just be a Leitner/Salesa, collecting various artifacts related to the powers, but the thing that sets this guy apart of from those two is that they never handed them out. So far, like the post I just reblogged before typing this one said, the cases don't come off like there's much fear involved, or at least they don't end in a place of fear. My sort of whackadoo theory right now is that what happened in the TMA universe has educated these entities (or possibly entity) in some way on what needs to be done in order for them to cross the threshold and take over their new reality like they did previously. Assuming they're capable of learning that is, and I know some things in TMA sort of seemed to imply they're not (but in my mind it's more like huge portions of their existence aren't perceivable to us and likewise much of ours fly under their radar and so I think they could have gathered something, just not anything that would have been perceptible enough for any of us or the characters to understand.) I mean, if you think about how fumbling the attempts for them to cross through were, and the way someone who was essentially human had to be the one to figure it all out (and took thousands of years to do so and let's face it got REALLY lucky that everything finally went his way like if you think about all of the things that could have gone wrong for Jonah, how many times Jon could have died, how many times the next 100 Jons would have to be put in a situation where they could die. The chances of him actually winning were so fucking slim, it was a tough order and he delivered and who's to say anyone would be able to again) and open the right door you'd think they'd be inclined to overhaul their methods. I think the entities still feed on fear, but I think they want the same thing it had before, it's done settling for scraps. I think when it was defeated and sent to live on the outskirts again it got a little pissed off, and I think it's going for a different approach to try and make that happen again. Obviously I might be humanizing the Things too much, I probably am, but I'm also kind of like... if they have manifested in a completely different way in this universe made up of the same meat sacks as the last one, like not just different "categorizations" and "presentations" but different motivations and focuses... it seems like it could be due to it learning from experience. Which is nice and terrifying :-). Another thing I think a lot about is how the fuck would any other power winning have worked in the TMA universe? The eye worked because it wanted to see everyone's suffering, it let the other fears do their dirty work because it wanted to watch. If any other fear had taken the lead, how would the others have functioned? The end probably would have accelerated the death of all of them just like Oli's s5 musings went on about, and the rest would have done some crazy shit making no room for anyone else's priorities because they have no reason to. There's a reason the brain has to be in charge, maybe Jonah Magnus even knew that and it's why he settled on beholding?

[salmoon-blog]

I just finished the whole @tellnotalespod in the span of three days, and I have some thoughts (although watch out for minor spoilers in point 2 and 5):

1. Even The Magnus Archives hasn't managed to make me cry so much in such a short timespan (the few latest episodes of season 2). I sat on the floor in my room, sobbing. Mind you, it's 2 am.

2. I was ready to riot if we wouldn't have gotten more of Stephen, but I was certainly NOT ready for what we got. I cannot express how good both the writing and acting were. The moment I heard Stephen, I told my friends: "Him. He's my favourite." And oh boy, the feeling's only stronger.

3. My queer, genderfluid, neurodivergent brain has never been happier. I love everything involving ghosts, and gay ghosts?? The representation?? Ace characters?? Ohh... I'm over the moon. THAT'S exactly what I've needed from queer media.

4. As an aspiring writer, who's been creating for almost ten years, this podcast has motivated me so much... The writing, execution, everything. It's brilliant. Only makes me want to create more.

5. Hearing Leo's and Frank's interactions throughout the second season have been a rollercoaster to say the least. It brings me so much joy to hear their relation develop, with Frank finally showing some humanity and care. I melt every time there's a softer moment between the two of them.

So that's just from the top of my head at almost three in the morning. As a last note though:

Thank you. Thank you so much for creating this. I cannot wait for more, and I'll aid in any way I can. I've already told all my friends to listen to Tell No Tales, and I have a feeling it's going to be one of my most recommended podcasts, alongside TMA, Ghost Wax and Malevolent. And it's definitely gonna be a comfort podcast.

Thank you, and never stop doing what you do. You've created something truly incredible.

[transsexualprophet]

reading gods worst article on tma (Narrating the (Queer) Gothic in the Podcast The Magnus Archives, Maria Juko) and its so bad that its funny. btw this got published in a book (Rethinking Gothic Transgressions of Gender and Sexuality, edited by sarah faber and kerstin-anja münderlein, 2024) and I can only assume the editors didn't listen to tma themselves because good lord what are these takes. come with me as I read this mess

strong start when it claims the entities seek to torture and destroy humanity. patently untrue. we know they have some sentience, but the focus on humanity does a disservice to gerry explicitly saying "you think people are so special its only our fear that counts?". also "destroy". how are you going to get fear if the entirety of humanity is destroyed. we know what the entities wanted (or at least what the web wanted) it is explicitly stated in mag 200. it says so right there so explicitly that I find it impressive if Juko missed it.

calls the beholding the antagonist? if you want to call Any fear the antagonist id go for the web, but even then, antagonist is not the role id ascribe to a lovecraftian entity

"with the podcast’s final season set in a world dominated by the Eye that Jon et al. ultimately overcome to save the world" / "The world comes to depend on [jonmartins] relationship, with the two of them becoming queer heroes." save the world??? heroes?

4. stupidly funny implications. interesting citation for georgie but that's not important right now. the point is the fight against evil and the reading alleging tma says being queer will get you Heroic Powers. Juko's forgetting about the queer characters that get Evil Powers (all of them. all of the powers are evil. that's the point.) did the archivist utilize ace and bi power when he became the lynchpin of the apocalypse and tortured strangers

5. "As a case in point, inclusivity starts at the level of casting: female police officer Basira Hussain is voiced by Frank Voss, who uses they/them pronouns." very true but idk. frank voss and jonny sims are just pals, ill allow Some implications from this but the author is using it to imply more intentional focus on inclusivity then I think jonny was doing

6. "First, the podcast’s main character, the asexual biromantic Jon, is bestowed with supernatural powers, challenging not just heterosexual but all sexual norms of society." BESTOWED? stop using the word bestowed here oh my God. he is not a superhero!! did Juko listen to the entirety of tma without any moral grayness happening here??? also ?? jons bestowed supernatural powers are in no way related to his asexuality & biromanticism??

7. christ. this isnt a bad tma take but it is reminding me why I wanted to quit my literature analysis bachelor

8. did jon utilize ace and bi power when he betrayed martin. did martin utilize gay power when he stabbed jon. jesus christ what do you mean humanity's salvation. the apocalypse isnt fixed at the end by the power of love.

9. i guess? if you felt like it? tma really isn't a queer narrative in my option but I guess?? you could read it like that. if you wanted to. I'm unsure if you should though because these people are deeply unwell

10. "And particularly in the first seasons, Jon and his colleagues often fail to control the evil entities, losing for example colleague Tim at the end of the second season, which leads to a rift between some of the Institute’s members" yeah because truly they were thriving before that. they were the bestest of friends before tim died. they all held hands and danced in circles

11. unsure how much longer i can take this. this isn't the X-Men

12. "[Jon] could be defined as an asexual biromantic who uses his love for Martin as a form of power to save the world." no he couldn't. next

13. "With this in mind, Jon’s exploration of the Archives becomes a metaphor for accepting his (a)sexuality." HUH. NO IT ISNT? jons asexuality isn't relevant narratively At All. go home.

14. for the love of god can anyone hear me. its so dark in here. were the beholding and jonah magnus asexuality allies when they helped jon become an avatar. the sentence after this calls jon the hero of the narrative again btw. patently untrue

15. "Only by accepting his power can Jon save the world." jon didn't save the world.

Juko discusses melanie & georgie but her takes on them are pretty normal and decent in my opinion. if anyone wants a pdf of this horror let me know & ill send it. I'm so annoyed I'm considering writing an email about this. btw it called jonmartin "enemies to lovers" trope and also said their relationship "starts heteronormative and changes to a more equal footing, whilst retaining heteronormative elements". about the gay couple.

to conclude: I don't know which podcast juko listened to about a heroic narrative about queer love that saves the world, but its not the magnus archives. did you know that the eye is an asexuality ally?

[hanszoe]

for slightly more commentary on lb, the manga once again plays this game of did-i-say-it-did-i-not, where similarly to the fixed expressions being used to describe hansi dressing in gendered uniform a plausible deniability exists in "i didn't explicitly state that, and if you take it that way you're transphobic". hansi was the one being tied up, so that alone provides an out for why they were viewed as a victim. we simply do not see these characters, ever, the original manga slightly less so, in an art style that would give us a better understanding of how strangers might gender them based on their appearance. did whoever got the police gender hansi as female? considering the context of their depiction, it seems likely.

the issue is that hansi, despite their being female sexed in the anime and generally agreed upon by most manga readers as being female sexed, is still subject to "what-genitals-do-you-have" transvestigation, and is still subject to being sexed as male based on their depiction in the manga.

i laugh at this because what more can you do? but regardless it remains an ambiguity, encouraged by official sources' refusal to address it outside of continuous self-referential transphobia.

a lot of use of TME/TMA i see assumes that every human being falls into a category of either "obviously male sexed" or "obviously female sexed". where does ambiguity fall here? is hans too ambiguous to be categorized? part of why i talk about this is precisely because they aren't, because regardless of their gender they're depicted even in official material as benefiting from transmisogyny.

but it isn't as simple as that. there are the issues of "what's-canon" to deal with, and we still have the people who adamantly insist on their being male. when i see hans' body, i see my body. the first time i saw a panel of them from the manga something indescribable ran through me. and in all of the controversy surrounding their existence, i suddenly saw myself in relation to everyone else. what can i say to that? have i never been degendered, have i never been pushed out of womens' spaces, have people never speculated about "what's down there", have i never had to come to terms with no matter what i do never being able to change the instructions encoded in my genes? have i never had to accept that as long as i don't make any special effort, i'll forever be less-than-woman?

i enjoy the privilege of mostly being allowed to describe myself as a woman, and to enter womens' spaces. well, lb posits, so would armin.

[redsavant]

(CW: Canon-typical discussions of violence, police brutality, blood, death) So this kind of extends from u/Wrigglebuggo’s post on Reddit about TMA as a melancholic walk “amongst ruins”, where most of the people Jon has been reading about and most of the supernatural “community” is dead and gone by the time Jon is Archivist. That, combined with the statement we got in TMA 200, made me realize something about the Fears: they’ve also deteriorated. What the Archivist describes in TMA 200 sounds like a golden age for the Fears. They’re less distinct, less focused, but more in a way that’s hard to describe. Everyone knew them and knew nothing about them. There were no words to explain the fear. Then, people started speaking, they invented language and words, and they started breaking the Fears apart. But we humans have told stories since we had the words to do so, and I can’t imagine how the Fears must have spread over campfires, along long and lonely roads, during watches atop castle walls. The examples the Archivist gives - the Hermit who brings darkness, the Chieftain who breathes decay, the Traveler whose face is a blank - those sound like legends, the kinds of tales that embed themselves in a cultural consciousness and never really go away. "We caught a guy and his creepy cult putting a boy in black water in a warehouse, shot four of them, and arrested the rest" on a police report, as a news story... like, sure, that's disturbing, but 99.99% of people are going to glaze over that in the morning paper while they're busy getting ready for work. But 2500 years ago? A traveling caravan stops by for the night, you trade goods and some stories, and they tell you about the town further to the south that just vanished under a night that didn't end? And then in contrast, we have modern-day society. Like user thevoidcannotbefilled noted, TMA’s heavily shaped by modern capitalist society, from the obvious (Kulbir Shakya “drowning in debt” in TMA 129) to the more subtle (the "Sleep No More” billboard that tormented Lydia Halligan in TMA 79).  But even with elements like debt, the rise of the Flesh as the poster fear for commodification and processing, and so on... The Dark used to be one of the core Fears, and it still informs so many of the others - the unknown, and what could be out there. But the modern-day Dark cultists have to willingly hold their hands over their ears, close their eyes, and go "la la la" to avoid all the things we know. We know so much that they have to try to be ignorant. The Hunt used to be, as the Archivist said, teeth and eyes and fear and blood, an incoherent mess of adrenaline, the chase and being chased, whether that’s for something abstract like El Dorado or for something specific like vampires. But I don’t think it’s coincidence that the most prominent manifestation of the Hunt in TMA is cops - the casual, banal brutality of abusing people who can’t fight back, with interrogation that never ends or with more direct violence. (And I feel like there’s something to be said about the Hunt specifically as a power imbalance Fear, with the direct invocation of conquistadors and the colonizing pillaging of the hunt for El Dorado, but that’s a post for someone else to make). The Slaughter is still around, definitely, with things like drone strikes and improvised explosives - the fear of sudden and terrible violence will never go away. But our perceptions are changing. There are no fifes and drums in war anymore, and the glory has rubbed away, leaving just the capitalist pocketing the soldier’s heart and thanking him for his service. There are plenty of scopophobia-related statements in TMA as well, but how well do those translate to reality? People joke about the FBI agents behind our webcams (thanks Aryashi!), we upload ourselves to Youtube for millions of people to look at, and the Eye itself doesn’t do anything with what it sees - it just stares blankly at the feed, scrolling endlessly, taking momentary pleasure from one tidbit before it’s forgotten and it moves on to the next. Overall, I don’t really know what to draw from this. I won’t go so far as to say the world was better in the past; that’s all kinds of problematic for a whole bunch of reasons.  But there’s also an element of loss to it somehow. The Fears, despite their awful manifestations, despite their (insensate, unknowing) victory, are weakened. There’s less to discover - and while TMA generally lands firmly on the side that it’s better not to get involved in what’s out there, there’s still that feeling that the world is mapped, the mysteries are explained, things are all documented.The monsters started to exist, and then they got named, and then they got shown, and we all know what happens when you show the monster.

[fruity-astronomer]

these are my words, this is my mouth

This is my first attempt at writing anything TMA related, so I hope you all enjoy. Title is from Vessel by Dry the River. I only started listening to TMA about 4 months ago, but it has fully taken over my brain.

Summary: Jon gets a new tattoo and it makes him consider what it means to be an avatar.

Features: Jon feeding, tattoos, existential thoughts, and jmart

WC: ~3700

Jon laid as still as possible as the tattoo gun vibrated against and pierced the back of his neck. The strokes of the artist were steady and clean, each line bringing the tattoo closer to fruition. There was no way they would ever know how powerful a single tattoo could be, but Jon considered that to be a mercy.

Excess ink was wiped away, drops of blood mixing with the stark black.

The needle pressed into his skin again. This wasn’t his first tattoo, but it was certainly the most… significant. His first tattoo was one he got with Georgie before they started dating. The two were new to college and true independence and were desperate to flaunt their new power and autonomy.

“I feel like this is a bit… cliché.”

“Well, it’s certainly better than getting an infinity symbol or birds flying off into the sunset,” Georgie replied. She was getting her tattoo done first, letting Jon watch to ease his jitters before it was his turn. She made a face once the needle first pierced her skin but had since settled down and made easy conversation. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of cliché. Things are cliché because they’re enjoyable.”

Jon slouched in his chair, resting his elbows heavily on his knees. “I suppose.”

“You’re not chickening out on me, are you?” Georgie teased. Jon didn’t even have to look at her to know that her lips were twisted into that shit-eating grin. “Really, Jon. I knew you were a scaredy cat, but this is a whole new level.”

“I’m not!” Jon shrunk into himself at the look the artist gave him for yelling in the studio. It was night, but far from late. Students were stumbling about outside, ready to begin a long night of drinking now that the weekend was upon them. “I’m not chickening out,” Jon said quieter, “I’m simply… voicing my concerns.”

“Your concerns have been received and will be ignored.”

Jon tutted, leaning back in his chair, letting his head fall over the back. The back pressed into his neck which would be uncomfortable in a few minutes but was rather nice for stretching it out in the moment.

It was mesmerizing. Jon’s handwriting was nice— he simply refused for something as trivial as how he shaped his letters to be something to be judged for— but it was nothing compared to the elegant script the artist used. It was neither cursive nor print, but a calligraphy between the two. The man hadn’t needed more than fifteen minutes to create the stencil.

All too soon, Georgie was finished. Her bandage was applied, and she pulled her shirt back down before hopping off the chair, gesturing for Jon to take his turn.

Jon couldn’t see the progress the artist made, but he could See it through the security camera placed in the corner of the parlor. Even with the camera, it was rather difficult to appreciate the finer details. But Jon wasn’t concerned, he knew that soon enough, he’d be able to see it and See with it. In just a few minutes time, there would be no way for someone to sneak up on him— everything would always be in view.

Ink and blood were wiped from the back of his neck. He closed his eyes to hide the wince. He had long since become accustomed to pain, but the neck was a rather sensitive and bony area— discomfort was only natural. He wasn’t sure how his anatomy compared to a “normal” human’s anymore, but he was certain he had roughly the correct number of nerves and their endings in his body— especially in his neck.

The number of nerves in the body was an un-countable number. Trying to determine how many there were would rather quickly throw someone into the Vast what with the near infinite connections that existed within the human body. Though, if someone were to extract each nerve individually and make a tally, then one would begin courting the Flesh. Jon wasn’t keen on becoming more acquainted with either fears, so he quickly squashed the train of the thought.

“Alright pal,” his artist said, wiping his skin one last time. He applied a scentless salve before placing a clear bandaging over the fresh tattoo. “You’re all done.”

Jon blinked, suddenly finding himself back in his body and not amongst the overwhelming stream of thought and information the Eye liked to lull him into. “Right, thank you.” He pushed himself off of the table, his joints protesting lightly at moving for the first time in quite a while. His head spun lightly as he pushed himself to his feet, though he was unsure if it was from the rush of blood or from not Feeding.

He followed the artist to the front of the shop and handed over payment and tip. The store offered a discount if you paid in cash. Jon knew that this was because credit card fees were pesky and that cash sails were easier to hide when it came to taxes.

“— non-scented lotion when you take the bandage off. Wash it gently daily until it’s fully healed. If there’s any problems, just give us a call or pop in.”

Jon refocused on the artist, realizing he had missed all of the instructions he was supposed to listen to. He wasn’t overly bothered as he knew that he could look it up once he left— but he did doubt it would take long to heal what with ‘spooky eye powers.’ He loathed the phrase, but knew it was more than correct.

He stepped out of the shop and was almost immediately nauseated at the surge of information that washed over him.

There was a woman four meters walking behind him. She was talking on the phone with her sister, discussing their plans to go to the new yoga class. The yoga class instructor believed wholeheartedly in mlm schemes and was rather convincing— Jon Knew that the two women would quickly buy into it.

A man across the street was standing at the bus stop, but he wasn’t waiting for the bus. Rather, he was trying to look inconspicuous as he waited for the woman he was stalking to finish her shift at the coffee shop.

Two young girls walked past the stalker man, on their way home from tutoring sessions held after school. The taller girl— Elizabeth— was struggling with maths while her friend— Victoria— was having a hard time understanding the meaning of the poetry taught in her literature class.

He shut his eyes tightly and took in a slow, shaky breath. A man shoulder checked him, almost making Jon fall to the ground. Before he could even say anything, his new Eye Looked into the man and found everything less than satisfactory and forced itself into the man’s brain.

“Theodore Maxwell Grayston III. For such a distinguished name, you’d think you’d be able to do better than a managerial role at a shop doomed to go bankrupt in three years. No wonder your wife spends so much of her time traveling for work, she must be so disappointed in you. You promised her a life of luxury and all you’ve given her expired coupons for a chain nail salon and discounted bottles of wine.

“She hasn’t let you fuck her in years, she stopped loving you so long ago but doesn’t have the heart to tell you. Despite all of that, she hasn’t cheated— not once. She’s long since learned that if she wants true pleasure, she has to do it herself. Lord knows you’ve tried to cheat, but no one wants to be with you, do they? Receding hairline and skin that turns red and ruddy at the first sign of sun or exertion— that’s not even mentioning the poor shape you’ve let yourself fall into.

But what really keeps people at bay is your personality. You really do scream a lot, don’t you? All of your jokes fall flat because they aren’t really jokes, are they? You just like to latch onto the humor your grandfather used growing up and still haven’t seemed to figure out that racism and sexism isn’t funny anymore— not that it ever was, but you’re too simple minded to even begin to think about social issues from any perspective besides your own.

And the drinking. You always swore you wouldn’t become like your father, but look at you; there’s a reason why you mother stopped inviting you over for tea. She divorced your father because he was horrible and you’re turning out just like you. Such a kindhearted woman doesn’t deserve you as a son. She’s recently began dating again and tells her dates that no, she was once married but never had any children.

She doesn’t have any children that she cares for.

Jon snapped himself out of his reverie, turning to look at the man— Theodore.

He was shaking. He looked like he couldn’t decide whether to scream at the next person that looked at him or run away and cry. His face was turning red.

“You really should watch where you’re walking, Theodore,” Jon said. He pulled a cigarette from his jacket and lit it with a quick flick of his lighter. He took a long drag before blowing the smoke into Theodore’s face. “I would call you Teddy, but I think we both know that people stopped calling you Teddy a long time ago. You thought being called Teddy was infantilizing, but it was really just a show of affection. People stopped calling you Teddy because they no long held any affection for you.”

“Stop,” Theodore said. He was bent over, fingers running through his thinning hair in distress.

The Eye thrummed in pleasure at the back of Jon’s mind, ever present and ever Watching. Jon hummed softly, taking another long drag. Nicotine was a human pleasure, a mortal indulgent. Jon was far from either of those, but the mundanity of lighting up was too familiar and comforting to give up. Cancer had once been a concern, but the Eye had already invaded him— body and mind. The Eye had taken everything he was and would not accept anything else trying to pry it from its spot.

“Theodore,” Jon said lowly. “You should consider yourself rather lucky that you’ve only met me. I suspect you’d be a rather… filling meal for any of my colleagues. As it stands, all you’ll feel are my eyes on you at every corner. I will always be Watching, there are no secrets that I do not know.” He dropped the cigarette onto the sidewalk and stepped on it with an oxford that was well polished but covered in scuffs and scratches. “Though, if you do ever meet one of my colleagues, I will certainly Know, and you will See me again.”

Jon walked away, leaving the terrified man behind.

He never liked pain, still didn’t, but his perception of it had morphed over time. When he was younger and (mostly) ignorant, pain served as a reminder of injury— a sign to step back before something truly Bad could happen. Before he Became but after he Saw for the first time, pain was simply a part of life. Every fear he came to Know gave him that same old pain, time and time again. Pain was a reminder that he was made of flesh and bone and had a heart that still beat in his chest despite everything.

In spite of everything.

Pain was simply a part of life. It was always there, always present. It was in every cutting breath of oxygen and every step that propelled in forward. The pain lessened at times; it changed form at other times.

The eye on the back of his neck blinked.

Martin was looking for him. The knowledge landed in his mind without any prompting. The Eye enjoyed doing it. While Martin was a servant of the Eye to some extent and was thus protected by It, there was still pleasure to be had in making him squirm from being Known.

He turned on his heel and made his way to where he Knew Martin would be. Despite what Martin thought, it was actually rather hard to see him. Jon could know things about Martin quite easily, but the Lonely was loathe to let itself be perceived in anyway. Martin’s body was now filled with roiling mist and a melancholy that cut so very deep.

Rather than look for Martin, he looked for the Martin shaped hole in the usual thrum of London’s humanity.

People didn’t look at him on the street. People used to, but they stopped some time ago. He wasn’t sure when exactly, but it happened all the same. Martin told him that Jon’s scars looked like eyes if you didn’t look long or carefully enough. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being perceived as some modern Argus.

Argus. Argus might have been a true person (at some point). An avatar of the Eye no doubt.

Martin had gotten used to the extra eyes. Watching. Always Watching. Jon’s gaze slid off of him so easily, so there truly was no heat behind it.

“Martin,” he said, voice echoing softly. A shudder passed down his spine as the salty mist of the sea caressed his entire being, forcing the Eye back ever so slightly. “There you are.”

Martin folded back into existence, mist and fog and brine retreating to the edges but ever ready to hold back over their master. “Hello, Jon.”

Jon, for all that it was worth, smiled. It was a small smile, but it spoke so loudly. He offered a hand to his… Martin. The other man took it, fingers icy at the first contact before his body remembered what it meant to be alive and feel human contact.

Regardless of how human that contact was.

Their fingers interlocked together, both men settling into their bodies more firmly. The line between man and monster had long since been blurred, but they were and that was all that mattered. “How was the appointment?” Martin asked, brushing his thumb over the back of Jon’s well-scared hand.

Jon stepped closer, pushing the Lonely back, brushing his shoulder against Martin’s. “It went well.”

“I still can’t believe that you have tattoos.”

“It’s not like I have many. And besides, tattoos are often seen as ‘unprofessional,’ so I wasn’t keen on sharing that fact.”

Martin hummed softly, leading the way back to what they called home. “Well, while you were busy getting yet another eye, I found a lovely little secondhand book shop.”’

Jon narrowed (all of) his eyes. “Don’t tell me.”

“There were a couple spooky ones.”

“Normal spooky or our spooky?”

“Well, I’d consider our spooky to be normal considering how much we deal with it. But yes, it’s our spooky. They even have you know who’s name plate.”

Jon muttered a few curses under his breath, ones that would have gotten his ear pinched had his grandmother still been alive. “If I have to read his blasted name one more time, I will throw myself into the Desolation’s bonfire.”

“I don’t think you need to go quite that far,” Martin said with amusement. “Anyway, I figured it might be fun for us to destroy a few of them.”

“You actually bought them?”

“Does it make you feel better knowing that I used Lukas’ credit card?”

“Does it even still work?”

Martin shrugged. “He may be dead physically, but he’s not legally dead. I rather doubt his family even know he’s dead given the Lonely’s disposition to avoiding others. His family probably thinks he’s just winning their unofficial game of ‘who can go the longest without an unintentional family reunion.’”

Jon did not snort. Snorting was far below him; he was far too prim and proper for something so… lowbrow.

Martin smiled at him, fondness loud in his eyes. “I always love it when you snort, it’s so cute.” He was biting the inside of his cheek, already knowing what Jon’s response would be. He didn’t need to be blessed by the Eye to know Jon’s ticks and mannerisms.

“I do not snort, and I am not cute.”

Martin hummed. “That’s what you think, but I think you do snort and I think that you are cute.”

Jon’s eye twitched. He rather enjoyed when Martin was like this, though he would never admit it. The cheeky look he got when complimenting Jon was… everything. “Ignoring that nonsense, I believe I’ve had an epiphany. Mythologies from around the world are simply encounters with Avatars and Creatures that have been told and retold so many times that they lose their edge of Other.”

“Are we really going to do this? Are we going to categorize figures from mythology based on what fear we think they’re from?”

“Well, we don’t have to, but I think it could make for interesting conversation.”

“What brought this on?”

“Well, I realized that I might hold some resemblance to Argus.”

Martin’s brows furrowed as he thought. “That’s the eye guy, right?”

Jon nodded. “I’m a few eyes short of him, but I think it’s close enough.”

Martin unlocked their door and pulled Jon in, locking it behind them. Neither were very worried about burglars of all things, but it felt wrong to leave their doors unlocked. Jon toed off his shoes, refusing to untie them.

“Can I see it?”

Jon didn’t need to ask for clarification, simply nodding and pulling his hair away from the back of his neck. The eye stared out, ever vigilant. He Saw Martin as he leaned in and looked at it. Martin’s touch was gentle, stroking the skin right next to the bandage.

He shuddered.

“Well, it’s definitely an eye.”

Jon didn’t snort, but he did make a sound that could very easily be mistaken for a snort. “That it is, you’re rather astute in your observations.”

“Ohhh, someone’s been using their word a day calendar,” Martin teased gently, pulling his hand away from Jon’s neck. “How much more are you able to see now?”

“A lot. I think it has to do with the fact that this was voluntary?”

Not all of his scars became eyes. The only scars that became eyes were given to him by other Entities. The Eye was territorial in a way, unwilling to let its Archivist become tainted by an outside source.

At what point did the Archivist end and the Eye begin?

Jon was rather sure that at one point he had only been Jon Sims, but he didn’t know when that was no longer a fact. The Eye was a part of him, and he was a part of the Eye. He liked to think that he still had free will and autonomy, but it’s often difficult for one to be impartial about their own existence.

He knew it wasn’t a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation, he was One entity. His words were almost certainly his own, but the Eye held his hand and guided him in almost every interaction. His purpose was to experience, and the Eye made certain that he did. He was the vessel of an apathetic god.

Was it an apathetic god? His god did not know emotion and did not care to learn. Emotion was above Its capability of comprehension. Emotion was a primal thing that humans were cursed with.

He was the vessel of a god that did not know to care for emotion and safety, as safety was not a thing that It could Experience or Know.

Jon was the vessel of a god that guided him blindly through life. His god fed on the fear that Jon caused and experienced like the sweetest nectar.

Jon was the vessel of a god that cared for him in its own way. The Eye loved him in a way that no mortal could ever understand as love was not a thing that the Eye could comprehend Itself. The Eye’s euphoria became Jon’s and Jon’s own Fear became trivial.

The Eye he gave himself was an invitation. His Eye was a sign of devotion the Eye could appreciate in the only way it Knew how.

Jon blinked, looking to Martin. “Sorry, I guess it’ll take some getting used it. What did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted any tea.”

Jon made a face. “Is that even a question anymore? Yes, I would love some tea.”

Martin laughed lightly. “Pardon me for trying to be polite. You should try it sometime.”

“Where did all of this snark come from? Whatever happened to my sweet, kind Martin?”

Martin made his way to their kitchen. The cups and decorations were all second hand, mismatched and chipped and lived in. The electric kettle he turned on was probably the most technologically advanced thing they owned. “He never existed; I was just too nervous about my charming asshole of a boss firing me for talking back at the wrong moment.”

“I wouldn’t have fired you.”

“Because you couldn’t.”

“Exactly, my point still stands.”

Martin set a mug that was painted with cats sleeping in different positions in front of Jon, shaking his head. “You’re insufferable.”

Jon wrapped his fingers around the mug, savoring the way the warmth soothed the ache in his hands. “I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t.” He took a long sip, once again mesmerized by how Martin’s tea was always perfect— even down to the temperature.

“Now that, is true. No wonder every avatar we meet tries to kill you on sight.”

“Not every avatar.”

“I can think of three: Michael, Helen, and Elias. Michael did try to kill you, but it wasn’t at your first meeting. Helen relishes in gaslighting us. Elias is Elias. You’re his special little Archivist, of course he won’t try and kill you.”

“Okay, but is it the avatar that wants me dead? Or it is their Entity?”

“Yes.”

“That wasn’t a yes or no question.”

“I know. And we aren’t going into this again. Trying to define what is Avatar and what is Entity is next to impossible.”

Jon knew that very well, and yet he still tried. “Alright, alright. Summary of this conversation: you make amazing tea, and I am insufferable.”

“And I love you.”

“Yes, yes. I love you too.”

I might continue this, but I may not. If anyone wants to add on, please feel free!

[marlequinncos]

I finally got caught up on The Magnus Protocol and I have some thoughts

Long post and spoilers ahoy!

Overall, I'm enjoying it, though I don't think it caught my attention the way the first eps of TMA did. I think that's due to the robotic voices giving the statements; I know they're meant to lack emotion as speech-to-text, but I do miss the more storytelling-type of way the statements were read in TMA.

Character-wise, I like all of the main crew. I think my favorite is Colin. And with Gwen's last name being Bouchard, I hope she's related to TMA OG!Elias, or the Elias of this universe who's hopefully also just a lil stoner dude.

The statements are interesting, though I find them less scary than TMA (probably due to the delivery). I think they'll get more involved and spooky though, especially due to all of the connections to TMA that are popping up.

Poor Sam has already committed the cardinal sin of curiosity/wanting to know more.

Celia has to be the Celia from TMA who was part of Georgie and Melanie's cult in season 5. The way she mentioned tape recorders, being buried alive, meat, etc. makes me think she's from the original universe. Plus she thought she recognized "Chester's" voice. And that same episode where she says that, Hilltop was mentioned, which is very sus.

I lost my shit when Gerry appeared (he's still goth and I will die on that hill), alongside GG/Grandma Gertrude. He sounded so happy, which on on hand made me happy (because that poor boy deserves it), but also makes me concerned that Jonny "I can't wait to kill again" Sims has something devious planned, like killing him off on-screen this time or something about the fact that he seemed almost too happy.

Georgie was mentioned so I hope we see her and Melanie and Basira! This also makes me wonder if we'll see Tim and Sasha in this universe too and I hope we do. Also if Michael Shelley (non-spaghetti boy version) appears, the writers will probably be able to hear me screaming all the way at the RQ offices in the UK.

(This is how Doorkeay/GerryMichael can still win.)

As for whether Jon and Martin are trapped in the computers, I'm not sure. I could see that being the case, but I do think it would be interesting if they weren't and there was some other reason why it has their voices (Web reasons?). That said, if it is them in the computers, then "Augustus" is definitely Jonah Magnus.

The email that Sam got from "John/Jon" is what led him to Gerry and Gertrude, right? Is it likely that that was from our beloved Archivist? Yes. But John/Jon is also one of the most common English names, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone else entirely. Perhaps even this universe's Jon Sims.

Last thought is that I don't think Smirke's Fourteen applies here. The statements we've gotten so far have all had some similarities (the violin being tied to The Slaughter, the movie being tied to The Eye, etc.) but there are enough differences that I don't think that original categorization will work. And besides, TMA established that the fourteen all overlap anyway, and trying to categorize them by human standards is futile. I saw that theory about the new entities being "desires" rather than "fears", but I'm not sure I buy that yet.

[fullycollapsible]

This is a bit silly, but I made sort of a Welcome Home TMA AU- I don’t have much of a plot, but I have the alignments!

Wally- The Eye! Pretty self explanatory lol- always watching, imagery in which there are too many eyes (TM), and (depending on how you interpret the secret tapes) he’s keeping quite the eye on the neighborhood!

Frank- The Web! I’m a bit crazy about the idea that Frank is working against Wally, and the level of low-key and sneaky he would have to be to succeed in this is very web-coded to me! It also fits with Frank’s canon need for control over his life and obsession with rules and routines, and it keeps his connection with bugs! I was imagining that the Corruption almost got him, but he had to make a deal with the web under dire circumstances

Howdy- The Corruption! I initially just thought about him being a literal bug, Corruption!Howdy also makes me think of the fact that he sprouted from an (implied to be rotting?) apple core- like the holes and being eaten through by caterpillars and rot and stuff!

Barnaby- The Stranger! Called a clown both by himself and Frank, he certainly has the clown aesthetic! He also just is generally performative and relates to the circus! Plus, in the “Look! Wally exclaimed. I made a dog!” picture, the idea that he’s being ‘created’ rather than born and made as a puppet! The idea of being created from something that is very not human is stranger-coded

Julie- The Spiral! Her games are all about chaos and she generally doesn’t care about rules, guidelines, or even obeying the laws of nature! We also have the idea of her being a “rainbow monster” tied with the fact that some Spiral avatars are considered monsters and are often a wild array of colors! Makes me think about the slinky she’s shown playing with!

Poppy- The End! This is mostly because End avatars like Oliver Banks are generally pretty helpful, and the line “this moment feels exactly like the moment you are going to die.” Poppy is really anxious and paranoid, and sort of begins to spiral waiting for a disaster that she’ll never see coming

Sally- Sally is a bit complicated- I imagined she was born Desolation (A literal star made out of fire, her backstory is literally satan’s backstory so she has ties to religion) , but balanced it out by becoming a Stranger by choice!

Eddie- Eddie was super hard for me to figure out, but I eventually decided on the Buried! There’s a lot of imagery of him carrying heavy things, and the storybook centered around him involves him just lifting neighbors left and right lol- but I’ve also seen the buried (in fan works) tied to the pressure placed on someone by expectations and duties, and Eddie is. A people pleaser.

EXTRA:

Home- The Web! Ties to architecture, often depicted controlling or manipulating Wally by the fandom! Also, the goop under Home in the new update almost looks like a spiderweb towards the back! Also puppetry of course lol

Thank you for listening to my mad ramblings <3

[anonymouseeverything]

re your post: I'm tired of seeing TMA in the tags for other podcasts I listen to and it's ruining my past internest in TMA,

it's fucking annoying how TMA fans cannot see any other podcast as it's own work of art. fans are alllllways trying to fanonize creative stories into "what fear is this monster/villain"? Why can't a story just be a story?

I have an eldrich horror series im publishing one day, if it got shoehorned into "what fear is this?" I would scream & maybe even stop writing because it's not a fear, it's my own monster with its own mythology that I created my own damn self. It's disrespectful to the sweat & tears writers use creatine unique concepts.

Plus on a social media/fandom perspective... It's ANNOYING, you guys flooding the tags are annoying. I used to like TMA a lot, like a LOT!!!!

but you guys-- this doesn't happen with other podcasts-- are always cross tagging to hell and back. Sorry, I want to see "i am in eskew" posts on the "i am in eskew" tag, not TMA. One or two posts, sure. But sometimes all thst the tag is is barely related TMA posts. it's annoying. Stay in your little corner of the internet, and I'll stay in mine. Fucking annoying behavior.

Do you....want to talk about it? My dms are open if you do, I enjoy a good bit of talking about fandom meta/discussion. I get that fandom crosstagging is a bit annoying, but this seems to genuinely bother you, considering it's about the made-up lines drawn in the sand between fandoms on tumblr.com. I actually think it's quite a good point that sometimes smaller projects can be subsumed by larger, more well known fandoms (I'm having a similar problem in the danny phantom fandom, where crosstagging between dp and dc is drowning out danny phantom content), but I am another human being off the internet, yknow? There were nicer ways to ask

[you-can-be-what-you-want-to-be]

What’s the Elias Martin soulmate au 👁️‍🗨️

sigh…… so I wrote out an outline with a friend and promise I’ll get to it SOMEDAY… I’m just not that into TMA anymore.

But the idea is basically they all have soulmate marks but they’re on the persons body, so through sheer misfortune, OG Elias was supposed to be Jons soulmate. maybe make him take a fucking hit and chill out. Fancy academic dude who went to fancy college who tells him to stop worrying about snobs opinions or something. Idk it doesn’t really matter to the plot, what DOES matter is Jonah uses this to his advantage to manipulate Jon worse and make it a more difficult time, especially in season three where Jon is realizing he’s less and less human and Jonah is of course like answering the questions of Jon’s morality questions with just. Comparing them. And the archives are worse to Jon bc. That guy trapping them is his soul mate of course they can’t trust Jon.

and this is about the time Jonah sees Martins soulmark for the first time, and takes it as fates sign he was supposed to live this long and destroy the world. Why else give him a soulmate over a hundred years from his life span? This makes it far more interesting for him and makes it potentially easier to solve? He just doesn’t get why Martin of all people yet, doesn’t see him as manipulative and complex yet, but he’s going to slowly be realizing how much alike they are.

then season 4: he’s in jail and making things worse fkdkdkdkd. For shits and giggles Elias is trying to push Jon closer to Martin and then guilt trip him about how he’s getting closer to another man while leaving his soulmate alone in jail, and also implying without saying that Peter might be Martins soulmate, comments how he knows who it is and it’s an older man who’s a bit manipulative and is involved with the institute, ect. It’s mostly for the laugh but it ALSO works for his bet with Peter. He needs Martin to not be cut off enough that he’ll actually kill him and he needs Jon attached and guilty enough to chase him.

then there would be a long LONG bit in the safe house where they now know elias is martins soulmate, but they’re choosing each other. But it’s a horrifying realization for him for sure, he worries about the kind of person he is, and the fact he is dating Jon who Elias had fooled around with is also not helping him both because 1) it proves that they have something in common and 2) does this mean he’s hurting Jon as well? If his soulmate is a monster doesn’t that make HIM a monster? And maybe Jon’s just with him out of guilt or to do damage control? Jon is also spiraling in a similar matter but got most of his out of the way when he thought Elias was still his soulmate. Still though, so much of his talk of being a monster was dependent on his relation to Elias and now his boyfriend is ACTUALLY the man’s soulmate, so it’s a bit of that situation where your parents insult themselves and you see it and put it on yourself? Like Martin sees Jon aligning himself with being a monster as confirmation HES a monster, so you get a similar situation to season five with the push to repress the inhuman bits.

there was supposed to be something about season five with Martin and Elias kind of duking it out via Jon but that was planned pre season five so I’d have to redo that 😅

[treesinspace]

Trying to catch up with Doctor Who before the 60th so I just finished the six Flux episodes!

I have some thoughts & some questions

What did the Grand Serpent actually DO? What did he contribute to the plot? I heard so much about him beforehand and he is pretty cool, but like... He didnt do anything? Vinder could've been working for any corrupt organization, it wouldnt have changed anything. His manipulations of UNIT didnt amount to anything except for callbacks. When he finally met the main gang he was basically just a part of the Sontaran faction. I just find it really weird how inconsequential he was to the plot?

The plot in general I found quite convoluted actually, so maybe I missed something. But of course convoluted plots are a time-honoured tradition.

The Lupari species bond thing makes no sense at all, but I dont actually mind it. It's a joke, you arent supposed to think about it all that much. But if you were to think about it, you might wonder how this species bond came to pass and why only one species knows about it and what the Lupari get out of it and how they keep track of every human. And also. You'd REALLY think this wouldve come up earlier, the amount of times the earth has almost been destroyed.

Anyway,

I really liked Dr Eustace Jericho, he was great. Also, the Mad Mole. I wonder if he has any relation to Robert Smirke from TMA?

Loved the return of "Contact", always nice to see

And yeah, I still dont like the Timeless Child prophecy. But even aside from that, weren't Azure and Swarm profoundly boring villains? Or is that just me?

Also, I resent the Division kinda taking away the role of my beloved Celestial Intervention Agency (derogatory). Dont overwrite my evil organization with a different evil organization! And yeah, obv the Division's motivations for destroying the entire goddamn universe were utterly nonsensical, but I hold out hope that this might be adressed later.

Im always happy to see Kate, but much like the Great Serpent, she didnt get to do much. Still, her and the Great Serpent's plot was really enjoyable. I generally dont like "this will destroy the whole universe!" plots, when the stakes are that high it renders them basically meaningless.

Wait, ACTUALLY, didnt the Flux like. Destroy MOST of the universe? I was sure they would turn that back, Swarm even said he can do that so i assumed the Doctor would trick him into doing that. But that never happened? Does that mean the universe is just much much smaller now, in canon? Wtf

I wonder if I'm just kinda not into Doctor Who anymore or if it really got less good lmao

Who can say?

I'm curious about the Specials, i have no idea why David Tennant seems to be back in Dr Who gifsets now