#the listeners are the Web! even more than the watchers are the Eye.

[xelidonia]

Here it is: The Venn diagram of the comparison that made me get into TMA!

Spoilers for ALL of the Magnus Archives:

I tried to stick to canon facts, but it's hard for a character as based in fanon as Watcher Grian. Originally, I assumed the reason they were so similar was that the Archivist was just so popular on Tumblr that bits of his storyline made their way into Watcher Grian fanon... but actually, the EVO finale took place nearly a year before MAG 160, though 3rd Life began after TMA ended. It really does seem to be parallel evolution (no pun intended.)

[autisticsupervillain]

Autistic Avatars not realizing that they're Avatars because they're just "like that": a thread

The Eye

Special Interest in the supernatural = constant food for The Watcher

You know about Interest? TELL ME EVERYTHING

"Hey man listen to me infodump about this horrifying ghost story I read for twenty minutes, alright?"

I need to Know everything about something before I partake in it.

"How did I Know that? Eh, I probably hyperfixated on it at some point."

I cannot be misunderstood so I'll beam the facts into your brain.

The Web

I must plan everything 200 steps in advance before doing anything.

I have prepared for all possible outcomes, I can now have this one conversation.

If I set up all these variables long in advance, then I can do everything correctly and Win the social interaction.

I cannot do anything before The Plan says to.

"I practice my social skills by talking to my spider friends." -Martin "Autism" Blackwood

The Stranger

I cannot socialize without being Uncanny.

If my socialization seems like an act, that's because it is. I practice it in the mirror every day.

Theater Kid

How do you Normal Human?

The Anatomy Class.

Assuming fellow Stranger Avatars also just have the 'Tism. They're not trying to be creepy, honest.

Can't do faces. Doesn't notice when you get replaced.

Being subtly off is too subtle for me.

The Lonely

"I have failed the social interaction. Let the fog reclaim me."

Talking to people is draining my batteries even faster than ever. I need to be alone for approximately 384,400,000 years.

Nothing can overstimulate me in the cool, blinding fog.

Nothing unpredictable can happen in the fog.

The fog is your friend.

The known connection between autism and depression feeds the fog.

The Dark

Why is the sun so god damn bright? I'm going to blow it up I swear.

Night Owl.

Everything's decently quite at night and people leave you alone.

Same overstimulation preventatives as the Lonely tbh. Dark and fog are good concealers.

The dawn is your enemy.

The dread florescent lights shall never bother me again. They break upon my arrival.

Can and will infodump to the monster under my bed. Even now it feels like it listens.

The Spiral

Autism makes getting other mental illnesses recognized hard.

Autism dissociation from body and mind. When did it become 3 AM and why do I hurt? Why am I grumpy? What vital self care task did I forget?

Literal mind doesn't often match reality. Reality is specifically unspecific.

Spaced out and wandered off. Where the fuck am I?

I'm not a mental baby, please stop treating me like it.

I'm not inherently dangerous, please stop treating me like it.

Memory problems my beloathed. Did that happen? I dunno.

What Is Time?

What Is Me?

The Gender

Why do things only make sense to me? What does no one else make sense?

The Flesh

Autism Genderfuckery = Flesh fueled dysphoria.

Meat is the only texture that's palatable. Especially the Mystery Meat.

Will never try any other foods. Too picky.

Infodumps about the horrors of meat processing at dinner and ruins the meal for everyone. More steak for me.

Hates PETA.

Double the arms means double the stim. You weren't using them, right?

Working out is a great stim.

The Corruption

Practices social interaction with the bugs who live in my walls.

"Insects are disgusting. I love them!"

Will protect endangered insects by any means necessary.

According to all known laws of aviation-

Relationship boundaries struggles.

Difficulty noticing sickness symptoms.

Is that nausea or am I overstimulated? *Accidentally causes supernatural plague outbreak*

Difficulty getting diseases diagnosed because of both Autism and noticing too many symptoms so the doctors assume they're faking.

Forgot vital hygiene needs.

The Bugs Are My Friends! They keep me company when I'm sick!

The Buried

Weighted blankets are insufficient, I need the Earth to reclaim me.

Avoid social interaction by tunneling everywhere like a mole.

101 facts about worms.

Forgor hygiene again. Time to become dirt.

Digging a hole is good stimming.

That guy who had to be buried alive to sleep properly. What do you mean you don't want to be buried?

The End

Aradia Megido from Homestuck.Com

That's it, that's the list.

The Desolation

The Autism Temper.

Losing relationships and friendships to ableism and your own disability constantly.

The Fire is a wonderful stim board. Watch it crinkle.

Just watching candles melt for hours.

The fire and thrill gives my life passion again.

Jude Perry.png

The Vast

Accidentally terrifying people by infodumping about the horrors of nature.

The stimulus of falling.

Nature/Space/Weather Documentary on in background always.

Okay, but from how high did you fall? I want to calculate your velocity as you fell through the void.

Weirdly enough... power scaling?

Power scaling is just the art of determining how easily your favorite characters can destroy mankind so... yeah, I can see it.

Brain empty, only terminal velocity.

The Hunt

Cat Autism

The inherent hyperfocus of the hunt. The chase. Your prey.

Studying the habits of your latest hyperfixation/Hunt assigned prey for days at a time.

I've spent so much time hunting in the woods that I forgot about human society. The Missing Person's Bureau have written you off for dead.

Returning to society to sell your wears and realizing you aren't human anymore.

That's okay. Social interaction is random. The Hunt makes sense.

It's black and white. Predator and prey. Humans hunting monsters. It Makes Sense.

The Slaughter

The incredible human WW1 documentary.

"Did you know?" *Describes horrible historic warcrime*

Takes apart puts back together guns from their collection.

The list of known casualties from this war is incomplete. With my help, they can expand it. :)

The Extinction

The world is spiraling towards its end and only you seem to care.

It hurts to be this passionate about a lost cause.

You Will Make Them Care.

[theeldritchcorvid]

TMAGP 21 Thoughts

spoilers below cut

So I actually had to use the transcript for this one instead of listening to it because it's got the sound of a limb being removed and I couldn't take that risk - the one element of Archives that really freaked me out was the bit in Takeaway where a man gets his achilles tendon severed with bolt cutters. It's my one serious content warning - moreso even than spiders. If I can't SEE the spiders it's fine

ANYWAY

Complicated immigration status? this HAS to be TMA Celia. And also YES Sam backstory! He used to be in law!

Okay. Chester Institute Incident. Really need to make the 'what's in the incident and who hears it' post now. And it's SAM'S workstation too! My god! FREDDIE is sending Sam after the institute, just like we thought!

Leonardo Jennings - Treasurer, Institute. Dr Welling (and team) - research of some kind, unknown. possibly spooky

Harnessing potential power in an exhibition is big ritual energy, I'll be real. And in the MILLENIUM DOME TOO?! Wow. Apparently the constellations and astrology are very involved in their research - someone should def get on that connection to the alchemy.

The project is apparently UNIVERSAL TRANSMUTATION. Again, this feels like verse-hopping or a Big Ritual like before. Bigger even than the Watcher's Crown, though much less involved. It may not even be the powers this time.

'Both optimism and despair' implies POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE powers, just like Lena mentioned earlier. We are NOT dealing with the fears this time, I think. We ARE dealing with different powers! The institute cannot be confirmed to be aligned to the Eye any more, put those theories aside.

And there's something already there, too. Another power. Linked to soil toxicity causing people to age to death. This power seems to be entropic in nature. Corruption with respect to time, not our Corruption at all. And there is, the big words:

GRAND RITUAL.

And Alice has clocked it, too. I think her deleting this incident is setting her on a very different path to the others. And she's right, though - but it annoys me. It's like a call of Cthulhu player who refuses to engage with the spooky bits. Then again, she's not aware of her genre. Also, FREDDIE seems to be able to hear her? We knew that, though.

And now to Gwen. So Ink5oul can control tattoos. Any tattoo. Interesting! (and there's the arm-sawing-off - yeah no we're skipping this one for audio. Reading is fine though)

And it's [ERROR]! It can teleport, it seems, and it COMPELLED GWEN. We've only known one thing able to do this... ARCHIVISTS. [ERROR] is an Archivist! And it's linked to the tape recorders!

also this is the first recorder we've seen capable of VIOLENCE. The tape recorder biting Ink5oul is the only spoiler I saw and it's fantastic. And we know the tape recorders are definitively Web.

It is therefore my belief that [ERROR] is from the Archives universe, and is an Archivist captured by the Protocols Magnus Institute to research multiversal transportation. I like to imagine it could be Emma Harvey, as wielding the tape recorders as a weapon suggests joint web/eye affinity, but again - no Powers, that we know of. Yet.

[monarchetype]

how I would beat the Dread Powers from The Magnus Archives

The Eye: You mean you're giving me an audience? That I can infodump on? And they'll have no choice but to listen? I hope the Ceaseless Watcher is ready for more Doctor Who trivia than it could ever have anticipated! (Also, if that doesn't work, I can just be so unashamedly embarrassing that anyone watching me suffers second-hand embarrassment.) The Distortion: House of Leaves was built up to me as The Scariest Book Ever and it... was not scary at all. So I think I'll be fine. The End: I'm not dead so I'm not afraid of death. Lol. The Stranger: I'm bad at telling faces apart and don't like eye contact so feel free to talk about your clownsona, I want to be supportive The Lonely: I'm literally beating it right fucking now. The Desolation: Modern fire safety standards. The Slaughter: Hurting people feels bad so I'm immune The Vast: Put my hands in the air and shout "WHEEEEEEE!" The Buried: Everything in creation is pushing down on me? I will simply hug back. The Dark: Close my eyes. Now we're even. The Corruption: I got the jab so I'm fine. Also, modern fire safety standards means fire extinguishers are close at hand, which also works for some reason? The Web: Someone else is controlling my actions? So I hold no responsibility for my actions and have an entirely innocent conscience? Wow, that actually resolves more fears than it creates. The Flesh: Veganism. The Hunt: Also veganism. The Extinction: Assuming that this is some weird amalgamation of fears of technological transhumanism and climate disaster, I will simply: be hopeful. Get rekt lmao.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 198 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: Slow Tuesday at work.

Episode title "Precipice"... Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed that it's not called "Cliff Hanger" xD

MARTIN: "So… are we going to talk about it, or…?" JON: "When we get back to London. I don’t – I think we all need some time to think." Meaning mostly him, I guess? That just was a lot for him. Scared about Martin for so long, finding out that Martin did indeed walk "willingly" with Annabelle. His life being a set-up for all this... I don't actually think too much into the "chosen one" thing, for me it's still about these eternal, incomprehensible, almighty forces just toying with people's lives. Being so utterly at their mercy. All you can do is hope not to run into them or that you didn't somehow attracted their attention. And if you did, why? What did Jon for example do, what does he have what others don't that the Web decided it will make him their marionette to carry out their big plan?

MARTIN: "I-I mean it’s a pretty long walk. We could talk about something else." Martin being Martin, he desperately wants to fill the silence.

MARTIN: "So I figured she had come to kill you, Jon." JON: "Me? W-What about you?" MARTIN: "What about me? I didn’t really think I was important enough to kill." Martin, the “reason” of the Archivist. The Archivist, the Ceaseless Watcher's special little boy, so basically the most important person to the force which is controlling the whole world right now. Not important...

MARTIN: "W– S-Ser-Seriously? What happened to the big lake or whatever Basira was talking about? I was looking forward to the lake! I-I’m fine rowing. I’m good at rowing!" I really love the level of fan service TMA provides. Not too much, just throwing us little bits here and there. It's perfect!

MARTIN: [Mildly distressed] "So, so what, this is our new path then? Some rickety ladder on a cliff edge that’s so high you can’t even see the bottom? Really?" JON: "I’ll admit it’s not a subtle metaphor." I feel so dumb, I don't get it xD

MARTIN: "And, crucially, it would still feel like I’m falling an incredible distance. Wouldn’t it?" I totally feel Martin. I hate falling. I absolutely hate it! I never go on theme park rides with drops because my whole body recoils during the fall and just can't think of anything else than to pls make it stop.

JON: "The, uh… The ladder ends." MARTIN: "What do you mean it ends?" BASIRA: "I’m guessing you’re not talking about the ground." JON: "No. No ground. And… no more ladder." MARTIN: "So what do we do?" BASIRA: "What do you think? We jump. And we fall." Can't have shit in the apocalypse...

MARTIN: "Oh… S-So my choices are jump off a cliff, or cling to it while John does a statement?" BASIRA: "And then jump off it. Yeah." MARTIN: [Distressed] "For fuck’s sake…" I fucking love the S5 humor xD

Is this statement... is this another poem?

GEORGIE: [Upset] "They came for them. Took them away. Like before." JON: "Oh, god." MARTIN: "Who’s ‘they’?" GEORGIE: "The… things from the city. You know, the, the ones that serve that big eye." JON: "Because of me?" MELANIE: "Probably." Oh fuck off, Melanie!

JON: "You got anything to drink in those supplies of yours? I think I could really do with one." Yeahhh, things are slowly really getting to him now...

@a-mag-a-day

[enddaysengine]

The Prince with Pumpkin Eyes (Changeling Entitlement)

I told you it was a changeling thing...

Once there was a great prince among changelings, so brave and powerful that even the Kindly Ones owed him favour upon favour. Despite their fame, the prince’s most fervent desire was to unite strangers in bonds of merriment and friendship. They used food and drink to reconcile Loyalists and Bridgeburners with the Freebolds they left behind. For a year, a talking bear was their companion at every dinner. They brought a vampire to feast at a Kindly One’s banquet, then left with all the Keeper’s changeling slaves in tow as an entourage. On All Hallow’s Eve, they brought a Huntsmen into their home and freed them from bondage over dinner as the quarry they sought sat across the table. Listening to the trees and leaves, the vines and gourds, he wove a social web so delicate and intricate that the Wyrd itself was amazed.

That is how he became the first Prince with Pumpkin Eyes.

The original Prince is long gone and the Entitlement has passed down through the generations, bestowed to another once the current Prince feels they have fulfilled their duty. Either they’ve thrown as grand a festival as they possibly can or they have brought every last member of every Freehold they can together to share wine and mead. More often though, it is handed down in wills or granted as one changeling knells beside another’s deathbed with little fanfare or pageantry. The Prince is driven to be greater and do more, so most continue to chase the next milestone until they expire or are dragged back to Arcadia.

Privligages and Duties

The Prince with Pumpkin Eyes is expected to host and attend gatherings throughout the Hedge and the Freehold. It is their business to know everyone else’s business and it is a common stereotype that the Prince is a people watcher. They are also obligated to stir things up by inviting unexpected guests and the competition around winning the Prince’s hand for an evening gala is intense.

All this means the Prince can often weasel their way into events, even without an invitation. They can rely on other changelings for an evening’s meal and pleasant company; other Lost are less likely to judge them for erstwhile faux passes. The Prince also gets all the best gossip, although traditionally, they offer up their own juicy tidbit if a changeling or goblin brings them something they don’t already know.

Mask and Mien

Mortals don’t see the Prince’s Mask any differently, but they smell it clearly. At first blush, the odour is sweet, but lingering in the Prince’s presence turns it sour and fetid like a jack o’lantern left too long in the sun. Those who look through the Mask see that the Prince’s body is hollow like a gourd and that holes in flesh allow one to see the stringy orange pulp within. Small leaves and vines emerge from the edges of the lacuna, occasionally sprouting flowers but never trailing far from the Prince’s body.

Heraldry Token: Corolla of Gourds

This circlet is woven from copper filigree that evokes the vines and fruits of a pumpkin patch. Its Mask appears tarnished and blackened like it has sat uncared for decades. Beneath the Masks, the token seems so vibrant it is almost alive and smells like a garden after a fresh rain.

By activating the token during a gathering, the Prince may tell at a glance who is a host, who is a guest, and who is unwelcome. The Prince does not gain any context as to why people fall into these categories. Once activated, this power lasts for a Scene.

The Prince can also activate the token to plant a seed in another’s body with a touch. The seed germinates at the Scene’s end, after which the Prince may experience the world through the victim’s senses rather than their own as an action. The seed does not harm the victim, although it appears as a plant or fungus growing out of her body to those who perceive Miens. Its Mask is a bruise or dry rash on the skin. The Prince may maintain a number of these seeds up to their Token dots and may dismiss the growth harmlessly at any time. Removing the growth through surgical or magical means ends the Prince’s influence considerably more painfully.

Catch: The Prince must tell the token’s target she will be watching them. For the first power, she must announce it to everyone present in the Scene; for the second, she only needs to tell the person she plants the seed on.

Drawback: The user suffers the Guilty Condition (Changeling, p. 340).

Prince’s Gaze (••••)

Additional Prerequisites: Empathy 2 or Expression 2, Socialize 2, and one of the following Merits: Etiquette 3, Faerie Favour, Inspiring

This entitlement Merit grants the following blessings:

• Glamour gain; see Oak, Ash, and Thorn p. 34.

• Enhanced new Specialty; see Oak, Ash, and Thorn p. 34.

• Additional Thread; see Oak, Ash, and Thorn p. 34.

• Enacting a ritual that takes a Scene, the Prince causes a goblin fruit to grow out of a corpse. This fruit does not replenish Glamour, but anyone eating it witnesses flashes of the corpse’s last moments.

• Gain Contacts (Wyrd/2, rounded up) for a particular group of plants or fungi, such as flowers in a specific garden or all pine trees. Despite not sharing a language, the Prince can communicate fluently with these Contacts. (Conditional)

[relicsandoldstories]

Okay so there's been Watchers, Listeners, and I've seen Speakers.

What if there was another? One far worse than the Watchers. One more elusive than the Listeners. One more unknown than the Speakers.

I propose the Writers. Or the Weavers.

Beings who weave the fate of every being. Every Watcher, Listener, Speaker, and even the players. They see, hear, and say all. Their power is their mind. They decide what each group does. Some say the Watchers are in charge of what happens in the world. That in Evo and in any of the Life Series, their word is law.

However, that isn't the case. Even if it seems the Watchers are strongest in these, not even they can do as they wish. 'Our will be done' gives them a sense of free will, when even they have eyes on them.

Listeners hear what the Weavers wish them to hear. It is not by chance or choice. It is simply done. No true control is garnered from it.

Speakers, although I have just heard of this, would not have the option or choice of what to say. It would be words once set in stone even before the stars shown brightest.

Weavers are all-knowing, and akin to Watchers, feed off emotion negative or not. They choose who will fall when they will fall, who will witness them, and how it will be done. They plant the ideas and seeds of doubt and mischief in the minds of others.

They chose who is cursed, and their curse in question. They decide how one can be pained the most in any form. Who will fall and who will prevail. They keep spinning their webs to tell the tales of these people.

I imagine that Grian was their greatest work. A Watcher who is seen as Rebellious and Traitorus, against the Watchers' wishes. One who, according to the purple enveloped beings, 'Was only meant to watch.'

This is where the Weavers gain the most sustenance. At the Watchers' despair of the avian being as he is no matter where he rests.

The Watchers, Listeners, and Speakers have only heard fables of this group, but it was just that. Fables. Old wives tales. Stories forgot with time, which made the three believe they had that free will. That power of choice.

So everytime a player dies, a trap is set and triggered, every curse, betrayal, and the winners...it was set in stone, in the stars and formulated, in the past and in the present.

[lynxfang]

(Cw: injury description, death, some body horror ig, existentialism, lynx's dumb headcanons)

Gore dripped slowly down the slick, blue blade. A tear slipped down the cold cheek of the devil who lay there all wreathed in red and crowned if his broken horns. The sword had come down too hard upon his shoulder, and he hadn't been able to grab for the blade that he and scott had tossed aside in an act of virtue and honor. Their fists and claws had been all the weapon they'd needed... if the meteor hadn't struck when he had. The thick, acrid scent of burned fish swam through his nose as he cast his crimson eyes to the corpse of the merfolk who lay before him, wreathed in his own loser's crown of blazing laurels. A halo of blistering lava bubbled and popped as it seemed into the ground around the body. Scott hadn't even had a chance to grab their sword. Their legs had given out under them as the heat boiled their very will. Webbed hands were clasped around gills in a final act of desperate gasping, the smoke choking the air from lungs and gills alike.

Martyn felt the thrill filling his veins with a laugh. It was a hot, blazing pleasure that ran through his blood like lightning. It burned like pain, but it never did hurt. Others had said it hurt whenever you stole the time from another, but that wasn't true. It only hurt because they let themselves feel bad about it. He wouldn't do that. It was a death match after all.

Webbed hands twisted by the sea that gripped the blade losened their hold, and he only barely heard the sword fall to the red-stained grass beneath his feet. His boots had long since come off after his last death when he'd found they confined the large, webbed feet too tight. He clenched clawed toes into the wet grass. His arms felt heavy. Too heavy, and Martyn had to fight to stay upright as he laughed. No one was there to hear him laugh, but he threw his gold maned head back, every gasp of laughter making the pufferfish scales expand and flex under his skin, puffing up like the pauldrons of warrior. He laughed louder than he ever had before. Skizz had complimented his laugh on day one, hadn't he? Oh, how Martyn was glad Skizz had reminded him to laugh. Where was he now? With those listeners? Watchers? Taking his place among the contestants for the next match? Would Martyn join them then, too?

He sloughed the jacket from his shoulders, the banner of a long-lost land he could hardly forget flowing behind him like a scarf of blood from his waist. He flexed his claws- new additions after joining Scott- and looked down at those fishscaled hands. Were they stained red because of the blood he spilt? Or was it simply his scales matching his name? Filthy reds.

As he took a step forward, he lurched forward with an unnaturally long stride, feeling his muscles and flesh stretch with his motions like elastic stretched to its limits. His shoulder pulsed with his huffing breath. The fissures glowed purple, but he tried to ignore them. The time ticked down. The sand trickled through the neck.

That's my time.

He watched as every second passed in the pulse of his fissures and the beat of his heart. I need more time. He climbed the hill, every step more awkward than the last. It was like his legs didnt fit his hips anymore. He tasted the air, checked the tab. There had to be more time. Surely. He had drawn his blade with thirty minutes left. But now, Martyn wandered that familiar land for an hour. Maybe it was an hour? It was aimless and tired and hungry. Every second did not pass as a second, but as a beat of a time starved heart. Twenty four hours down to thirty minutes. I want my time back.

He broke into a sprint, tumbling down onto all fours. Drool (or was it blood?) Dripped down his chin as he scaled the towers, raced along the skynet, and over the hills. He scrambled around TNT craters. Had the meteor made those, too? The cake had gone stale. The bread had gone moldy. "Time... I need time. No, no, no, NO!" He snarled, his voice wet with bloodlust. After everything, he still LOST. He wasn't losing, no... no. But he watched as he lost. He stood before the hourglass, and watched red sand trickle down.

"CRUEL, YOU ARE CRUEL!" He snarled to the heavens, time-addled mind only forming words out of rage as he swiped with his claws at the sky. He couldn't hear their laughter. But he knew they laughed. They laughed and watched and listened and he had to wait. Is this how Grian felt while he buried Scar? Is this how Scott had felt before the watchers, in their infinate "mercy" slew him with a snap of their proverbial fingers? And Pearl? Did she relish the lonesome, or did she too curse the cruelty of those damn voyeuristic bastards overhead.

"Ren... Ren," he muttered, barely recalling whose name it is he called for as he held the tattered banner in his claws. "Scott... I..." He wasn't sorry. Betrayal had been in his blood since before day one.

Inthelittlewood Ran Out of Time.

[entities-of-posts]

It's a seemingly normal day at the Archives (as normal as it gets) when suddenly I pop up from in front of your desk and sit down in a chair opposite you

"Hey, Archivist! Cabbage here!" (In a style reminiscent of Vsauce) "I have a question. Hmm? Oh, 'How did I get in here? The door was locked?', uh-uh-uh I'm asking the questions right now"

I tap my clipboard that probably wasn't there a second ago

"Now, I know that some of the Entities are opposites of each other, such as the Buried and the Vast, but I don't know what most of the pairings are, could you explain that for me? And for them?"

I gesture to a space behind you to your right, but both with and without looking you know that there is absolutely nobody there.

Why, of course, I’m always willing to help a budding researcher Learn. The theory of opposition, also known as inversion theory, is based on Smirke’s model, but not strictly included in it. It’s the subject of some… academic debates. Exactly which Entities mirror each other, if any, is a bit of a controversial matter - that’s part of why tend to keep the door locked - but I certainly don’t mind sharing some of my personal convictions on the matter.

Buried vs Vast: Needs little explanation. Hardly anyone worth listening to would deny that one, even those who tend to dismiss the whole theory altogether.

Lonely vs Corruption: The former deals in crippling isolation, the latter in toxic community. Time and time again, we’ve seen people teetering on the edge of the Lonely running headfirst into the Corruption in an attempt to escape. It offers them refuge among the kinship of the Hive, the gentle embrace of decay, miring them in feverish passion or sickly-sweet fraternity, creating a network of codependency perfectly opposing the Lonely’s cold solitude.

Web vs Desolation: The best laid plans of men and spiders are easily foiled by fire. The Web creates, weaving careful traps and tapestries, all delicate thread and subtle manipulation; the Desolation destroys, unpredictable and brutish and insatiable, burning through the most careful plans with sheer destructive relish, often without even knowing what its doing. Trying to bind fire to our will has caused an incalculable amount of disasters; it refuses any control, always fighting to burst away from its cage and render its would-be masters to dust.

Eye vs Dark: Some would say the opposite of the Watcher is the incomprehensible Spiral or the masquerading Stranger, and they’re close, but it’s the Dark, the total lack of literal or metaphorical light to See by, that truly render it blind. It’s not just the blackness of night, it’s everything secret and hidden and kept, well, in shadow. After all, its symbol is literally a closed eye.

Hunt vs End: The thrill of the chase relies on a certain element of uncertainty, of surprise, entertaining twists and turns and keeping your feet moving for the sliver of hope for escape, while the dread of death lies in its complete inevitability. The Hunt is all adrenaline and baying hounds and rushing blood, while the End is a slow, quiet, relentless march toward a fixed and certain Terminus. The blood-drunk Hunter likes to play with its food more than to actually eat it, but the Reaper cares only for the job to be done. There’s a reason the Everchase will never End.

Spiral vs Flesh: This one might seem a little more far fetched, but hear me out - don’t you move - it makes perfect sense. The Spiral is an extremely abstract fear, dealing with the mind and little else; the material world is only concerned when it begins to tatter into unreality, transcending its solid nature into terrifying chaos. The Flesh is the opposite, the burden of inescapable and repulsing physicality, the lack of anything to elevate the meat you’re made of above the one in your plate, the irrelevance of your thoughts and perception and memory in the face of heavy, solid bone and gristle and fat and muscle, in whatever warped and vulgar shape they take. Mind over matter vs matter over mind.

Stranger vs Slaughter: One is the fear that what you thought to be human is actually a monster. The other is the fear that humans are already the most dangerous monsters. The Stranger is not like you, though it tries to trick you into thinking it is, and that’s the scary part; that slight flaw in the mask that pulls it just to the left of human, plucking a discordant note in your hindbrain, a primordial instinct that something is wrong. The Slaughter looks out at you from behind the eyes of another man, a man that could be your brother or your neighbor of anyone you cross in the street, not because it’s wearing his face but because it was a part of him all along, and it’s a part of you and everyone you’ve ever met, and when he drives a knife between your ribs in a burst of random fury, when your shaking fingers claw at his face desperately, there’s no mask to pull off. Because he’s just human. There can be no hint, no slightly askew disguise to tip you off. And that means anyone, anyone could be a threat.

That, of course, leaves the Extinction, our babiest god of dread and fifteenth wheel of this abomination train. It hasn’t really come into its own yet, isn’t quite as well defined, and besides, it got to the party late and everyone’s already paired off so it has no dance partner :(

Of course, inversion theory throws a real wrench in the “aspect wheel” model of representation, which has some people denying it because they’re soooo attached to their simplistic circular classification which is ridiculously outdated and leaves no place for complex analysis-

*clears throat* I mean. I suppose it can work for basic and superficial visualizing. Like teaching first graders. There’s a use for it after all.

But if you want some actual thoroughness and accuracy, you’re better off with something like the “red string” model, which get a bit cluttered but at least allows for a lot of details, or the “family tree” model which isn’t the best for displaying opposition but I’m still quite fond of.

… I’d show you a few graphs, but I’ve already rambled on a while, haven’t I? My tea’s gone cold…

[stardusttandstories]

“Don’t go to Hill Top Road again.” aka Lines That Already Hit Different In Hindsight That I’m Sure Will Destroy Me Tomorrow

(mostly under the cut because i decided to relisten to all the web statements to prime myself for whatever pain jonny has in store for tomorrow

“Can you be haunted by the ghost of a spider that destroyed your childhood?” 

- Arachnophobia

“I was returning to Hill Top Road, no matter what I might feel about it. Choice didn’t even come into it. The door was unlocked when I returned, and the house was quiet. My eyes darted around, looking for anyone who might be able to tell me what was going on, why the fine threads that pulled me through my life had dragged me back here. But I was alone.”

 - Recluse

“The first of the dark powers to touch me, perhaps, but it did not claim me.” 

- A Guest For Mr. Spider

“The feeling I have been living with my whole life, that if that poor idiot hadn’t gotten involved he would still be alive. A strange conviction that, if I had been able to face that thing myself, maybe I could have saved him. Stopped it.” 

- A Guest For Mr. Spider

“What struck him about it, though, was the utter absence of anything resembling a hero or protagonist. No one fought against the monster. And although there were vignettes in the lives of those under the spider’s shadow, they all ended the exact same way: with the character in question marching slowly and calmly into its waiting jaws.” 

- Creature Feature

“But you know better than anyone how the spiders can get into your head. Easier to just do what she asks.” 

- Far Away

“He wouldn’t be breaking any contract, and the client hardly ever even gets in touch. There is no reason he couldn’t just walk away, but I honestly don’t think he ever will. And I really don’t know how it’s going to end for him.”

 - Web Development

“I resisted for some time, but I’m done now. She’s won. And I’d - very much like to go home.” 

- The Puppeteer

“I’m stronger now, tougher, I can - If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever? I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. And I don’t want to lose anyone else, so if I can maybe - stop that happening, and the only danger is to me, I - I’ll do it in a heartbeat; worst case scenario, the universe loses another monster.” 

- The Puppeteer

“[…] a string pulled by the Ceaseless Watcher or the Mother of Puppets? Or both?” 

- Weaver

“But by then you’re away; the roller coaster is dropping, and you’ve no real choice but to hold on and hope that – I don’t crash you.” 

- Weaver

“I’ve simply been… watching. I’m sure you understand that. Maybe I’ve occasionally been nudging something here and there to keep you safe, to keep everything on track. But I know you’ve been more worried about your choices, about whether you’re being controlled by me, or by the Mother. So I thought perhaps I should leave a little something to reassure you that, yes, your actions and choices have all been your own. […] if you choose to believe in a free will, then yes: All you have done has been of your own free will. They have all been your choices.”

 - Weaver

“I will simply say that – when a spider reaches a certain size, it is often not entirely made up of spider anymore.”

 - Weaver

“…if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Web, it’s that it plays its own game. All you can really do is hope it doesn’t get in the way of whatever your plan is. Because the Spider usually wins.” 

- Extended Surveillance

“And certainly the Spider smoothed things, elided questions, wiped away evidence, but it barely had to. Far better to feed Gertrude a steady string of plans to foil and rituals to derail.” 

- Curiosity

“W-Without trust. W-Without a reason. Gertrude needed both the purpose her mission gave her and the control her position allowed. To be here, like us, without a – a reason, without someone to ground her? She – She’d have power, but – no control. No real purpose. Perhaps she’d have dedicated herself to a d-doomed quest like us but – (quieter, contemplative) No. I think this would have broken her. And she’d have resigned herself to – ruling her domain.” 

- Curiosity

“THE SPIDER, offstage: “Then walk away, Francis, just turn and leave. All that is required is a little bit of willpower. You have a little bit of willpower, don’t you?” […] FRANCIS simply screams in response. It is a scream of anger as much as it is of pain, and it cannot hide the dreadful inevitability they feel. The dull terror that this act will end like all the others.”

 - Strung Out

“There is no escape to be found here, no respite from the charade that is now found to be the sum of FRANCIS’s existence. By now, FRANCIS knows with utter clarity what falling to the call will bring, the awful crawling fate that they will endure before the next act eventually begins.”

- Strung Out

Shoutout and thank you to @tmatranscripts because there was no way I could type fast enough to note these as i listened but copy paste is a wonderful thing! 

[lyrker]

Dee if your seeing this don’t read it’s literally just me raving about the latest ep i listen to its what i do.

okay for some reason i can Perfectly Fine handle the Flesh’s domain, perfectly fine, intrigued even ! love it ! Detailed, intresting, mortifyingly beautiful ! I SHUDDER AT THE WEB ??? THE HOOKS ?? LIKE GOD DAMN,,,THAT GOT TO ME. MADE ME SHUDDER. MR SPIDER IS SO SO MUCH MORE SCARY THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT ?? LIKE. HES SO SCARY ?? THAT WAS HORRIFYING ??? I hated every moment of that play. And jon was gonna KEEP GOING ?? THANK GOD MARTIN IS THERE TO SLAP THEM OUT OF IT ??? He literally would’ve just sat there forever, the man in the audience.

which i have to bring up.

Jons been called “the man in the audience” before, either that or just the eye in general. that’s what they are. the eye is the watcher in the stalls, and that’s exactly what it’s doing now. But jon, “man in the audience” sims, it fucking gets to me. The Web worries me sm because it’s The Web. And it’s plotting and planning and it’s so so meticulous and careful that Jon can’t COMPREHEND it?? and that’s NOT supposed to make me very very worried ?? Jon “man in the audience” sims, there’s something about that. The audience watches it all and to the audience, everything else is for them. But just because they’re in the audience doesn’t mean they can’t get in the way. It’s. There’s something there okay. there is i’m not insane there’s.

grrrrr

man in the audience

there’s something about it that puts me on edge

but i don’t know what

[theaviskullguy]

👁👁👁

PLEASE IM LISTENING TO TMA RN GIMME THE COROIKA AU HCS

ceaseless watcher turn your gaze apon this wreched thing

OKAY!!!

Not really any plot, just the gang and how they came across the archives and how they got turned into avatars

-Avi's the head archivist, so. Eye avatar by default. He used to work in library, and he's an a b s o l u t e neat freak, so when he finds the archives in a mess from Gertrude, he spends a whole week cleaning them up before even beginning to record anything.

-Skull's Avi's husband, and while not an avatar, he's eye-aligned via working at the archives. He works in research, and was transferred to archives upon request, to make sure Avi doesn't overwork himself with another cleaning frenzy or going without sleeping. He's less of an assistant archivist and more of an assistant to the head archivist

-Mask was claimed by the vast at a young-ass age, surviving a plane crash into the middle of the ocean. Despite the trauma, they found a comfort in large-open spaces, so long as they could control being in them. Desperate for that control, they gave themselves to the vast, becoming an avatar. They work in the archives as an assistant archivist.

-Rider worked in artefacts and went to get coffee on his lunch break, when he was attacked by Jane Prentiss. Instead of fearing the worms or his oncoming demise, he... sorta welcomed the love they sang to him. He didn't fight it, and became one with the flesh hive (I wrote this!!!)

-Emperor never worked in the Institute officially but he hangs out around it and helps out record statements that Elias has him on payroll lol. He's an End Avatar, having those dreams that Oliver Banks has.

-Prince interned at the Institute right after Uni and ended up working on the Tundra as Peter's secretary. Despite Peter's whole "lonely" thing he kinda saw Prince as a child figure and xe helped stop one of Peter and Elias' many divorces. As a result, Prince is another Lonely avatar, and Peter gave xem the Boatswain's call.

-Regent also interned at the Institute alongside Prince but ended up joining the police (acab but daisy do be hot tho) and willingly signed a section 31 form. He was so enthralled by the thrill of the chase that, well... hunty boi. He did quit the police, finding them boring, and joined the Institute as a field researcher. He also quite likes finding and stopping rituals

-Goggles was never an avatar, but he was replaced by a NotThem. He was one of Gertrude's assistants a few months before she died and put in a good word for Avi to become the next Head Archivist. When he was replaced, he didn't die- he was trapped in the web table. Through some trickery, Rider managed to make NotGoggles release normal Goggles, before killing the NotGoggles. That whole situation shook Goggles up so much that he still isn't the happy-go-lucky person he was anymore.

-Gloves worked as a librarian in the Institute before getting transferred to the Archives. They were attempting to quit smoking when they very suddenly relapsed into addiction. This relapse actually was the result of becoming a Web Avatar. Gloves shows no negative signs of their addiction, other than always smelling of smoke. Not like Army does, though.

-Speaking of Army, he worked as a researcher, looking into cults surrounding the entities. In particular, The Cult of Lightless Flame called out to him, and he ended up joining it. He wanted to become their new messiah, and so he burned himself at the stake in a grand ceremony. However, as time wore on, the pressure to do a good ritual got to him, and he ran back to the institute. He's working on controlling his fire, and lives in a relatively fireproof room in the institute.

-Aloha also researched cults, when Army vanished. Due to genetic reasons, Aloha also started to go blind, but... not a classic blind. Everything seemed to grow darker and darker. People commented that Aloha's eyes seemed to be turning into voids, so he wears a bandana that's stained with... something black. The Dark ended up getting into his head. Whoops

-Vintage was another assistant of Gertrude. He takes the place of Michael. So, Michael Shelly my beloved is still living while Vintage is now The Distortion. But, Vintage's resolve to not be evil has turned it into a prankster more than anything. He also can "hiss" and he makes the gaster noise when he does. He keeps trying to destroy the Homophobic Vase. Avi keeps stopping him

[amphitritemists]

Bear with me this is my first real no jokes theory for this fandom and I’ve only listened to every episode once so I may have forgotten some important facts.

I’ve decided that I’m going to file Martin was always an evil Web avatar who accidently fell in love or was never in love with Jon under “Yikes, possible, but unlikely and I’m not going to worry about it too much.” 

I think there are enough clues that would make the introduction of Martin always being a Web avatar unsurprising if Jonny did choose to introduce this concept. However, this love was built over five seasons and it wouldn’t sit right if he betrayed everyone now. Personally, I think it’s more likely the Web connections were simply foreshadowing for the big role it will play for Jon and Martin in the finale.

I think it’s more likely Martin went with Annabelle Cane because he was finally vulnerable enough and desperate enough to listen to her. Martin hasn’t listened to Annabelle because duh she’s an avatar and he trusts Jon (if Jon says she has bad vibes then he shouldn’t trust her either so he just hitched a ride on the distrust Annabelle train). But I’m telling you this is a woman with a plan to set the world right because the Web seeks control, but humans living the same horrors over and over again is a very very boring thing to control.  

Look at the Web theater. The same plays getting repeated over and over again. I’m sure they’re entertaining the first time around, but the Web works because the strings of fate are supposed to be messy and elaborate not easily predictable. With many paths to take but still more limited than we believe because gravity won’t allow us to just float up. There are only so many roads and we’ll never see all the factors that drove us to go down the path we choose. That’s what makes the world fun for the Web to puppeteer and the Eye has removed that fun by making it cut and paste Watcher and the Watched. Two pathways. 

Martin and Jon have both been touched by more fear entities than any other person in the Apocalypse. Even before the Apocalypse, these two have faced more fear entities than anyone and survived. All the entities have shared an interest in both. However, Jon was touched by all the original fourteen fears and I don’t think he’s had any experience with the Extinction before the Apocalypse began. Martin on the other hand was deep in research about this emerging fear and I think he’s learned more from it than we think. 

I think the Web is going to bind Martin and Jon the same way Agnes and Gertrude were bound. Agnes described Gertrude as her anchor and I’m on the assumption that Martin is Jon’s. However, if my theory is correct Annabelle may be offering a way to remove Martin as an anchor and turn him into something better, a way to have unrestrained power and choices. Binding Jon and Martin would be twice as powerful and it would be too much for both to take. With both of them bound and powerful and with no anchor the two would no longer be part of the earthly world. In the limited time they have more power than all the entities combined, they’ll both use it to restore the world by turning the fear of Extinction over the entities (effectively banishing them from the earthly world at least or destroying them forever kind of).

Fears will never go away and if Jon and Martin “kill” them I think it would only destroy them and new similar ones will emerge weaker but still present and ready to grow again. As for Jon and Martin, they will die in a sense or maybe never exist in the first place. I don’t think we’ll get their bodies at least. I think the world will start up again with a clean wipe with everyone not remembering the apocalypse happened and everything going the same but no one remembering Jon and Martin or The Magnus Institute until the tape recorders start appearing again.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 114 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting apples

Ah yes, Anya Villette. Very close to Anna Willett (or Anne, or Annie...)

Original statement given April 22nd, 2009. Hm. There are some continuity problems regarding Hill Top Road, which also very well may be canon as we can speculate from this statement here. Ivo Lensik's statement (MAG 8) took place in November 2006. Father Burroughs' experience however happened in 2009. No mention about the month I think, but he says in his statement, that it was chilly in 105 Hill Top Road because it didn't have any windows yet due to still being under construction.

"I should know this place, I think. I used to go to the Tate a lot when I lived in London, and I, I passed the building, but…" I've never been to London so I have no idea about this... But... So Google maps says the Chelsea area is further to the west than Millbank. Yet, the Chelsea College of Art & Design is also in Millbank, which we now know Jonny has envisioned for the looks of the Magnus Institute. How?? Why is that stuff called Chelsea when it's not in Chelsea? Sasha implied the Institute is in Chelsea with her "I love the Institute’s building, of course, it’s beautiful, but from a money point of view, I really wish it wasn’t in Chelsea." But Oliver said "All I know for sure is that I realised after some time that the red light was leading me towards Vauxhall and the Thames." and Vauxhall in turn is across the Thames to Millbank! Whyyyy? Is it just some... marketing bullshit? Does Chelsea have a better reputation? (Our neighboring town does that shit *grrml* Calling everything "[river name] valley" when they are outside the mountains and are just flatlands with no valley at all! The river barely brushes them. But I guess it sounds better than "flat fields".)

Movement in the dust sheets for the furniture, the tree with eight branches that apparently makes you have visions... The Web already had a bit of a grip in this world beyond the crack.

"Obviously it was my decision." Was it?

There is again a underlying sociocritical theme. This sense of duty to go all in when it comes to tasks in our jobs. Anya Villette checking the cupboard, even if it wasn't included. Checking the basement, even if there was no word about one. This is something that as been stewing over the course of generations now. Difference is, now the wages are so low, you can barely live with just that. So why go that far for our job if we're not paid adequately? 

Interesting to see that there are versions of some of Anya's friends in this world. How? How do they know her if she doesn't exist in this world? Is this also some mind/reality fuckery by the Fears? To spread even more terror?

JON: "Interesting. I’m not really sure what to do with this one. Martin brought it up, said he’d found one that related back to Hill Top Road" Web!Martin!

Tim and Jon just spitting poison at each other between the lines...

JON: "And h– I would like to hear how you’ve been doing." Still, Jon is considerate to not ask any questions. No questions, no accidental compulsion.

TIM: “Nothing with that thing here, no.” Is that the “Not with that thong” blooper? xD

JON: "hat do you think is listening?" TIM: "What?" JON: [Strongly] "What do you think is listening to the tapes?" TIM: "Don’t do that." JON: "Sorry." TIM: "Don’t!" JON: "Sorry, I didn’t –" Aaand it still happened though, and Jon knows it's wrong, the way be immediately backpedals...

TIM: "And you know what I think. It’s that… the thing that runs the Institute. “The Watcher” or “The Eye” or whatever." JON: "I dis… I disagree. This whole place is a temple to The Eye, Tim. I don’t think the tape recorders make any difference." TIM: [Viciously] "Elias, then." JON: "In that case we’ll stick to talking about things he already knows." TIM: "Why are you so set on having it running?" THAT is an interesting conversation to have directly following a Web statement.

TIM: "So why don’t you ‘Archivist’ me, then? Just pull it straight out." JON: "Because I don’t want to. I am not your enemy, Tim." TIM: [Dismissively] "Like that matters. These things aren’t human. It’s… instinct. You can’t not." JON: [Softly] "I’m still me, Tim." [TIM HUFFS] "I’m still me." Arrr, there is so much emotion in these four lines. Jon still has to come to terms with what's happening to him, questioning his own "humanity". People, he doesn't know, already thrown the "not human" card at him and that is one thing. But Tim doing it audibly hurt him.

TIM: "No. How can I be sure who they are? You know how long that thing pretended to be Sasha?" JON: (BACKGROUND) "Oh… Oh god." TIM: "And I had no idea? I knew Sasha for years, we… I don’t know Martin as well as I knew her. I barely know what Melanie and Basira look like. Or that weird murder-cop. How the hell am I supposed to be sure of any of them?" I was wondering why Tim was so adamant on hating Jon. Because it seemed like he was long past the point of hating him for the stalking, which was totally valid. But Jon's hardly at fault for anything that has happened in the Archives. He asked Tim to transfer to the Archives, but usually a transfer also requires a "yes" from the questioned party. Even if not (which I have only encountered in public service, but other countries have other laws...), Jon had no idea what was going on in the Archives. But Tim just not being able to stand Jon (or Martin. I suppose he kinda gives a flying fuck about the others) because it reminds him how he didn't recognize his best friend being killed and replaced it so understandable. And I'm not even speaking of the paranoia this has led Tim into...

JON: "That’s not fair! Sometimes I was kidnapped." TIM: "Which is not a good look for a spy, is it?" The joke this scene definitely needed.

Icarus, the one who flew too close to the sun...

DAISY: "How long have you had that shirt?" [...] JON: "Uh, A-America. I had to borrow it, there was… there was blood." Heheh, love TMA for its vague clothing descriptions!

@a-mag-a-day

[whywefawn]

MAG 1 : Anglerfish

Related Entity: The Stranger - Monster : The Anglerfish is a creature the kidnaps and skins it's victims stuffing the skin with cloves and sawdust to make shells with which to discomfort and fear. I imagine it major source of "nourishment" comes from the fear created upon a victim going missing. "There is a Stranger kidnaping people." Letting the discomfort feed it in between kills. Kills about once a year, taking 6 people in the spam of 5 years. Maintaining the fear of this kidnapper before moving on to a different location.

Pre Statement: I mean, fuck! it's an introduction. The first statement being a stranger statement… Really Jonny? "Hello, my name is the magnus archives, nice to meet you." The tape recorders are interesting at this stage. I mean, how are the tapes feeding? The Eye, The Web, Both. Does The Eye know more than it leads on. Who is playing who. The Eye The Web… or The Web The Eye. Weaving a story is all fine and dandy, but if you don't have an audience, what's the point. I mean, the obvious answer is Jonny! and the format of the show. But he stays consistent about it, there is always a reason for the tapes to be there, until there wasn't a reason except for "feeding us" content.

There is an interesting note and correlation I'm making. This early on he state that the institute takes care of it's library better that its archives. The Eye know all and understands none of it. The separation of an experience and data. Researchers, Experimenters, Watchers, people poking and prodding at things they will never truly understand.

And The Archivist, the most important position in the institute, and the one kept the most ignorant.

Statement Giver: Nathan Watts: This mother fucker is interesting and I don't know how much I'm… Projecting. He comes across as the "outsider" friend. 2 years behind his age group in that perceived race against each other and just as many years older than his peers. he hangs out with the older students, but that meant that there is less of a connection to either. You end up feeling left behind, even compensating for the perceived lack of personality. Excellent Single Malts

Fancy beer talk can't hide the fact that you got wasted by midnight. This guy would be, what, mid twenties? Plus the way he excused the alcohol consumption. He was drinking to compensate. He friend was telling to slow down. And if that degree of separation with his peers says anything, there where embarrassed by him I would imagine. He was startled out of his thought, usually, I've found this happens when someone thinks they are alone and feel safe enough for some self reflection and contemplations. He must feels alienated. He states that all his "friends" kept giving him look between concern and pity. Real friends would have listened, especially because other have gone missing, fuck! there where missing person posters of a guy that went missing after leaving The SAME BAR, The SAME NIGHT! and his "friend" where saying "Oh Jesus Nate, not this again." Are these the kind of people The Anglerfish targets.

They are all implied to be smokers, I know they said not all where confirmed, but come on. You know they all where. because these people where the kind of smokers that have none smoker friends who have to go out to smoke by themselves. They are the perfect targets.

It targets the "Outsider" friend. Important enough to stir some fear, but not enough to be remembered for long.

Further discussion on The Anglerfish as it comes ups. Daniel Redfield and Sarah Baldwin are going to be interesting to discuss as they don't have personal statements, and by the time we meet them… Well, they aren't them anymore.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Thinking about which entities the Apex Legends would serve, or be associated with, in the Magnus Archives universe.

It revolves around a weird little fic in my brain i will probably never write. Technically most of them are a mixture, but I'm in between rounds and I dont have time for a full analysis.

Crypto - The Stranger. Loss of self, of identity, being something other to achieve your goal. To abdicate who you are in pursuit of a goal, smile as you lie to the faces of people who assume you are friends... and plan to fade away once you have what you came for. IS that not the Stranger?

Fuse - The Corruption. If Salvo is to be believed, then things are very apocalyptic wasteland there; imagine the things that he has seen, has done, has experienced. It eats into your soul until abhorrent is merely a practicality... what's an arm between mates, ay?

Bangalore - The End, she seems like the type who wants a definitive start and finish to things. Order over Chaos, at any cost. It might start out as good intentions, but you know how the avatars get twisted. If the world has to end so her squad can make it home together, then so damn be it.

Bloodhound - The Hunt, naturally. Only their unwavering adherence to the code keeps them from falling to the warping feral mindset of the Hunt... for now. For Boon.

Caustic - The Eye, and in the headcanon, an archivist. Because of the way the archivist needs fear to live, to observe things die, to extract every second of fear from the victims so that their every last neuron firing in exquisite agony is transferred to his patron. He watches, for the Eternal watcher. He is not quite human anymore, and it is unsettling for normal people to be close... but he is not the greatest threat out there amongst the fears.

Lifeline - The Stranger. Lifeline woke up to the world she was moving about in, as a living prop for her parents, and severed the ties that held her in place. She shed all the artifice of her former life and took on a role so different that old friends (bar Octane) would likely have trouble understanding. She uses her abilities to help, and to hurt based on her own judgements.

Gibraltar - The Buried. Gibraltar is such a loud, fun guy and yet we know he is utterly buried under the weight of his past. Certainly it is not the metaphorical burial that we would normally expect from this Fear, but it can be almost more effective than dirt. He carries the weight of the earth on his shoulders, and feels a sinking dread in his heart for every grain that slips from his grasp.

Horizon - The Lonely. Trapped in space for decades... away from family, knowing that the person who she trusted most placed her in this situation and now has full access to her son? Of course, there is comfort in the solitude. She feels out of time, out of place, searching for a way to get back and yet torn by the implications of finding a path. Will she burn down the future to see her little boy again? ...of course she will.

Loba - The Web. Loba thrives on collecting information, weaving it together into a complicated tangle of deceptions laid bare, truths hidden, and creates a narrative that she can rign over. The flies who tremble in her webbing mean little to her, only weak beings to be devoured. She can see what is coming, but will she tell the others? Perhaps only Bangalore, so that they may experience the apocalypse as one.

Pathfinder - The Flesh. Pathfinder is obsessed with his origin, with who his 'parents' were, with whom his purpose rests. With being human, like those around him, you could say. He has more sentience than other MRVNs, and wants to experience life as his friends do... does he dream os bones and blood and sinew? Of feeling another's flesh on his own when he gives them a hug? The Flesh would whisper that he could have that... and warp the morality in his code.

Octane - The Vast, endless space to run and be free from mortal tethers. Being the sole focus of the universe, with no one to expect things of you, or question you, or need more, expect MORE. He can be free, without thought or care for anyone else... except maybe Che, and he would let her into his domain, whenever he remembered.

Revenant - The Slaughter. Murder was his thing when he was human, and it never stopped. He feels delight in the conquests, in the bodies he leaves behind. The bloodlust pulses through his circuits; the tears of those he leaves alive sustain him.

Rampart - The Spiral. Rampart is a walking wall of complicated thoughts and contradictory actions, she spirals deep into thought about the most complex machinery... and then tells the friend she's half-listening to a bad joke to make them laugh. Layers upon layers of personality cover her like armour, and everyone has a different idea of who the 'real' Rampart is. They all see a fraction, they follow the path she leaves, and in the middle? Who knows. Not even Rampart. There is a delight in the confusion of others, strange but excellent, and not even deliberately malicious. After all, mates have fun, right?

Wattson - The Eye. This was a child created for Knowing, and she would love the intricacies of chasing down obscure mysteries or finding out how to reroute a potentially world-ending ritual with her scientific mind. She could easily be tempte by the Lonely... but her friends in the legends make certain she is never alone. Wattson can be cruel, but often to be kind... and really, sometimes the Truth Hurts. Does it not?

Wraith - The Buried. What is wraith but a person whose mind and memories are buried away where they cannot be reached? In a sense, she is gone but still breathing. Suffocating under the weight of not knowing who she is, was, should be.

Mirage - The Dark. Fear of being alone, of being forgotten, of being turned away from all you ever knew. The fear of being nothing and no one... is almost as terrifying and all-consuming as the fear of being surrounded by people whose attention is solely on him, watching and waiting for his every word. Baite breaths waiting for him to fall from grace so he can shatter before their cameras, so they can get notoriety. His mind wants, and rejects it. He fears the darkness of being in the shadows of others... and craves it.

Valkyrie - The Vast. She craves the emoty stretch of sky, where the world looks so small and speckled below her. Something she is aware of, but separate from. The tragedy of her father's loss made her seek solitude, and even in the midst of the other heroes, she has a sense of... other, of distance. She is queen of the air, and nothing can burn her wings.