cronchy-cryptid

[cronchy-cryptid]

Ah yes, my favorite characters.

Martin Kartin Blackwood

Jonathan Sims Head Archives of The Magnus Institute, London

Joe spooky

Not Calliope

Victorian Harlet wearing a Stoner Twink

Lost Emo Child

Michael 1-5

Sky Grandpa

And Helen :>

[cronchy-cryptid]

might fuck around and walk into a thick fog and never return idk

[cronchy-cryptid]

Recently, I found an animatic for a chat between Martian and Tim that wasn't in the main series??

Are there other off shoot fluffy episodes????

Where can I find them?

It's urgent

[cronchy-cryptid]

Because I'm illiterate ✌

Yall I'm at across roads!!

Im relistening to Tma so I have a complete understanding of all events but it's taking forever bc of life.

BUT protocol is coming out and I'm curious to know whats happening over there. The thing is, I don't want to be confused when I watch it by not understanding all of tma (or at least more confused than what's intended) or be left behind by not watching it (I got that fomo TvT).

But! Im scrolling though tma fandom and I'm seeing this Welcome to Nightveil Series and I'm also curious!!

Life won't let me listen to all of them at once so I have to choose one and I don't want to! I want to just absorb them all at once within seconds! I want to be the archivist and just ~ 👁k n o w👁~.

As a stranger on the interwebs with chronic choice fatuige, help!

[cronchy-cryptid]

Yall I'm at across roads!!

Im relistening to Tma so I have a complete understanding of all events but it's taking forever bc of life.

BUT protocol is coming out and I'm curious to know whats happening over there. The thing is, I don't want to be confused when I watch it by not understanding all of tma (or at least more confused than what's intended) or be left behind by not watching it (I got that fomo TvT).

But! Im scrolling though tma fandom and I'm seeing this Welcome to Nightveil Series and I'm also curious!!

Life won't let me listen to all of them at once so I have to choose one and I don't want to! I want to just absorb them all at once within seconds! I want to be the archivist and just ~ 👁k n o w👁~.

As a stranger on the interwebs with chronic choice fatuige, help!

[cronchy-cryptid]

I think the one of my favorite jokes in tma fandom is calling Jonah Magnus a harlet with the same intensity as a Victorian priest or witch hunter.

Keeps it classy.

[cronchy-cryptid]

More TMA Thoughts

So...

Like...

What If the barista guy Agnes dated had been cursed/marked by an entity that allowed him to survive her flames.

...

Like what if he was marked by death so he turns into a skeleton at night or smthn. Like a wereskeleton.

...

And maybe that's not enough. May be he's marked by the desolation so he can withstand her heat. So, maybe like a flaming wereskeleton.

...

And 3's a good round number, so what if he was also marked by the eye so he can see into the souls of people and judge their souls and actions? Maybe he could burn the eyes out of rude people or somthin idk...

.....

...

...

SO WHAT IF THE BARISTA WAS GHOST RIDER?

[cronchy-cryptid]

To add to this, I don't think these two ever married. I know an on going joke is that they bicker like an old divorced couple, but I like to believe that that was more of a lie/joke Elias pit out there when people asked about their relationship.

Peter doesn't really want to be public about thier casual hook-ups because A) it's none of their business and B) people get nosy and ask a bunch of questions and feel the need to ask one about the other if they know something's happening between the two and it's just alot.

So imagine Elais is asked about it when Peter is away and, to kinda rock the boat, he lies and says Peter is his Ex-Husband. He says it with a sharpness that discourages further questions, but the confused/curious/frightened look on their face is priceless to Elias. Those who occasionally saw Peter were already intimidated by his stature and demeanor, but now with this new information, a layer of awkwardness is added on top. Now, they avoid Peter almost completely.

Peter is unaware of what Elias has done, but does notice the lack of people when he pops in. He would say it's nicer, makes him feel more alone whenever he visits the institute, but he can't shake the increased amount of stares. He's used to being generally noted in the institute whenever he visits, and yes, some people are clearly closer to the eye with how intense their stares can be, but this... this is a whole new level of avoidance, of observation.

When he asks Elias about it, he says it's a welcome back gift; that he thought Peter might enjoy the space.

Peter might enjoy the space if there weren't so many eyes leering at him from every direction.

Elias reminds him that this is The Magnus Institute: Temple of the Ceaseless Watcher. In here, there are all types of curious sorts; academics and gossips and the like. Honestly, Peter should have known before stoping by.

At this point, Peter tells him to cut the shit. What's going on?

Elias responds, saying that what was going on is what has always been going on within the institute's walls. The academics got busy and gossips got curious. So, Elias threw them a bone they could naw on. One with little substance, mind you, but they've never been ones to notice such details in the face of their boss' Ex-Husband. And now, he supposes, they're keeping Peter under observation until their curiosities are satiated.

He said that last bit with a subtle smile; a playful smile. He thinks this is funny.

To this Peter's face goes grim. Shock, disbelief, shame, maybe anger?

But before he can formulate a thought, Elias suggests he not chage his plans on account of this new development. After all, responding to it in any way will only fan the flames of gossip and make matters worse. The situation should die down relatively soon. When it does, Peter will still be generally avoided, but it will have less of those disconcerting stares he dislikes so much.

Peter thinks about this mess. Elias is always doing something like this and he can never fully decides if he hates it or not. It's irritating at times, yes, but the distance from others is nice.

It's fine, he decides. As long as it sorts itself out. Whatever. You know?

However, after some some time has past and the rumor fades a bit, Elias begins to tease Peter about it. He argues that if the rumor died completely, then Peter would loose the sweet feeling of ostracisation he's been enjoying in the archives.

Peter knows that's mostly bullshit, but it is half true. So, sure, why not? It won't be as bad as the first time the rumor dropped.

So now Elias just says things like "This is why we got divorced!" over the pettiest of things, "I can't believe I ever married you" randomly because it's funny or "Can we get divorced again?" When Peter says something completely bewildering.

It becomes the norm at somepoint and Peter begins to accept this.

One day, Peter just cracks and says something to the effect of "Look, I didn't even want to get married" and Elias le gasps in mock offence. Now they both do this as banter.

Elias, "God, I should have never married you."

Peter, "Hence, the divorce"

Elias, "At this rate, we may need another one."

Peter, "You know what thay say, third times the charm"

....

Okay, I may have indulged myself near the end a bit there, BUT! My statement still stands. I don't think they were ever married, but they are divorced.

Tldr: Peter and Elias have these vibes

More TMA Head cannons and thought experiments and season 5 spoilers

(HEADS UP: This talks about toxic relationship dynamics. Specifically feeling isolated by a partner.)

Ok, so recently I've been really thinking hard about the Lonely Eyes ship. Specifically Elias|Jonah Magnus x Peter Lucas.

When I first heard of it, I'll admit, I dismissed it out of hand. "Peter hates people,-" I thought, "No way he willingly decideds to enter a commited relationship with anyone. That goes against his dedication of the lonely :/".

But then it sat with me.

It sat in my mind.

It seeped in to the shallow crevasses of my smooth brain.

It sat with me and now I want to understand.

It sat with me and now I want to make it work in a nuanced way.

Full love to those who ship them for fun or for aesthetic or for any other reason! This is me, full on in my red strings, corkboard, and supplemental era overanalyzing everything as I comb through the series after finishing it once.

ANYWAY! Peter Lucas is the avatar of the lonely, yes? Yes. Peter is a man of solitude. He doesn't want to talk. He doesn't want to get to know you. He doesn't want you around him. He wants to be alone. However, he notes that to feel truly alone, there still needs to be the knowledge of a person or group you are separate from. Without that comparison, being lonely can lose its meaning. It can slip into the Vast's territory. This need for people dispite wanting to be separate from them is why Peter saw the extinction as a real threat.

So he keeps himself at arms length from people, but he still needs them there. No closer and no further. Just enough for him to feel truly alone.

Elias Bouchard is the newest name and face of the body snatcher, Jonah Magnus; the avatar of the eye. (I headcanon that every time Jonah body snatches, a bit of personality is picked up from his victims. Because of this, in this post, I will refer to this incarnation specifically as Elias) Elias loves the eye and is very well attuned to it. He's conniving, quick wited, and very choice with his words. He lives to know. To know you. To know your secrets. To know your failures. To know what keeps you awake at night and to know when it's best to remind you of of all these facts. When he targets someone, he is focused and deliberate. This style of "preying" not only lends itself to feeding the eye as it rattles his victims to thier core, but also allows Elias to blackmail them into collecting MORE information for him as they don't want others to know what Elias knows. It worked on Daisy, Melanie, and (almost) Martin.

But an interesting little side effect of the Eye's power is that it makes you acutely aware of your own presence. You feel singled out by it. It knows everything about you. Intimate things that no random person should know. It watches you. Did something you do give it that knowledge? Who else knows what it knows? Who eles knows and isn't saying anything? Who eles knows and is thinking about you and your worst habits, your dirty secrets, your troubled past that you worked so hard to put behind you? They must know. But they refuse to admit it. You can't trust them. It's you against those who know you and those who will ever know you. And what a truly lonely state to be in.

Jon once said, "The lonely and the eye aren't too far apart are they? Not really.. What goods being alone if you don't know how alone you truly are?"

The eye makes you know how alone you are.

So back to Lonely Eyes (if you read this far, thanks for joining me, I promise I have a point to make). What if they're relationship was super toxic. Like textbook toxic, but they are okay with it because it's the aspects that seem toxic to an average person that they actually value in their relationship.

Imagine, Elias and Peter have an on and off relationship. Elias knows Peter. He knows how to make Peter feel like he's been seen. He knows what games Peter is willing to play and what bets he's willing to make. He hunts Peter. He enjoys the information Peter gives him, yes, but he also enjoys the slight fear that oozes out of Peter whenever they speak.

Peter hates being seen. He doesn't like that Elias "understand's him". That makes him uncomfortable. But he can't help but be drawn back in by this sence of isolation Elias' presence brings. The feeling that he can't reach the outside world when Elias is around. He wouldn't want the world there anyway, whether it's because he never liked socializing or because everytime he talks with Elias, he feels like nobody should know what Elias knows. That this lonely man had a code Elias has secretly hacked into. That Elias could be his undoing if he wanted to be.

Because of this, Peter can't handle Elias for long bouts of time. The uncomfortably becomes far too much for the fimiliar lonelness to soothe over. So Peter eventually leaves to do his own thing ...on his own boat... for his own entity...on his own time.

But, almost like a parting gift, the memory of Elias drifts in and out of his head on those long voyages. Those sparse memories makes it feel like a person is missing. A very important person is out of reach. A person who kept him on his toes and saw him whether he liked it or not, is now gone. No more chats. No more games. No more Elias. And a strong wave of loneliness hits him like a crashing wave. Peter can't help but bask in the weight of it all.

Overtime, those thoughts just don't give the same punch of loneliness. Eventually, he feels relativly average all things considered. He doesn't immediately go back like an addict might, but he will treat himself once in a while... when he finds himself washed up on the ports of London.

Elias may not count on Peter's visits. Once Peter is gone, his fun has been had and it's back to babysitting archivists. However, you would be hard pressed to find Elias focused on his work when he can see Peter walking up the institute's steps, and he knows it's about to start all over again.

[cronchy-cryptid]

The more I delve into The Magnus Archive fandom, the more I see it as Simping For Beasts And The Elderly: The Fandom

And here I am. Part of it.

[cronchy-cryptid]

More TMA Head cannons and thought experiments and season 5 spoilers

(HEADS UP: This talks about toxic relationship dynamics. Specifically feeling isolated by a partner.)

Ok, so recently I've been really thinking hard about the Lonely Eyes ship. Specifically Elias|Jonah Magnus x Peter Lucas.

When I first heard of it, I'll admit, I dismissed it out of hand. "Peter hates people,-" I thought, "No way he willingly decideds to enter a commited relationship with anyone. That goes against his dedication of the lonely :/".

But then it sat with me.

It sat in my mind.

It seeped in to the shallow crevasses of my smooth brain.

It sat with me and now I want to understand.

It sat with me and now I want to make it work in a nuanced way.

Full love to those who ship them for fun or for aesthetic or for any other reason! This is me, full on in my red strings, corkboard, and supplemental era overanalyzing everything as I comb through the series after finishing it once.

ANYWAY! Peter Lucas is the avatar of the lonely, yes? Yes. Peter is a man of solitude. He doesn't want to talk. He doesn't want to get to know you. He doesn't want you around him. He wants to be alone. However, he notes that to feel truly alone, there still needs to be the knowledge of a person or group you are separate from. Without that comparison, being lonely can lose its meaning. It can slip into the Vast's territory. This need for people dispite wanting to be separate from them is why Peter saw the extinction as a real threat.

So he keeps himself at arms length from people, but he still needs them there. No closer and no further. Just enough for him to feel truly alone.

Elias Bouchard is the newest name and face of the body snatcher, Jonah Magnus; the avatar of the eye. (I headcanon that every time Jonah body snatches, a bit of personality is picked up from his victims. Because of this, in this post, I will refer to this incarnation specifically as Elias) Elias loves the eye and is very well attuned to it. He's conniving, quick wited, and very choice with his words. He lives to know. To know you. To know your secrets. To know your failures. To know what keeps you awake at night and to know when it's best to remind you of of all these facts. When he targets someone, he is focused and deliberate. This style of "preying" not only lends itself to feeding the eye as it rattles his victims to thier core, but also allows Elias to blackmail them into collecting MORE information for him as they don't want others to know what Elias knows. It worked on Daisy, Melanie, and (almost) Martin.

But an interesting little side effect of the Eye's power is that it makes you acutely aware of your own presence. You feel singled out by it. It knows everything about you. Intimate things that no random person should know. It watches you. Did something you do give it that knowledge? Who else knows what it knows? Who eles knows and isn't saying anything? Who eles knows and is thinking about you and your worst habits, your dirty secrets, your troubled past that you worked so hard to put behind you? They must know. But they refuse to admit it. You can't trust them. It's you against those who know you and those who will ever know you. And what a truly lonely state to be in.

Jon once said, "The lonely and the eye aren't too far apart are they? Not really.. What goods being alone if you don't know how alone you truly are?"

The eye makes you know how alone you are.

So back to Lonely Eyes (if you read this far, thanks for joining me, I promise I have a point to make). What if they're relationship was super toxic. Like textbook toxic, but they are okay with it because it's the aspects that seem toxic to an average person that they actually value in their relationship.

Imagine, Elias and Peter have an on and off relationship. Elias knows Peter. He knows how to make Peter feel like he's been seen. He knows what games Peter is willing to play and what bets he's willing to make. He hunts Peter. He enjoys the information Peter gives him, yes, but he also enjoys the slight fear that oozes out of Peter whenever they speak.

Peter hates being seen. He doesn't like that Elias "understand's him". That makes him uncomfortable. But he can't help but be drawn back in by this sence of isolation Elias' presence brings. The feeling that he can't reach the outside world when Elias is around. He wouldn't want the world there anyway, whether it's because he never liked socializing or because everytime he talks with Elias, he feels like nobody should know what Elias knows. That this lonely man had a code Elias has secretly hacked into. That Elias could be his undoing if he wanted to be.

Because of this, Peter can't handle Elias for long bouts of time. The uncomfortably becomes far too much for the fimiliar lonelness to soothe over. So Peter eventually leaves to do his own thing ...on his own boat... for his own entity...on his own time.

But, almost like a parting gift, the memory of Elias drifts in and out of his head on those long voyages. Those sparse memories makes it feel like a person is missing. A very important person is out of reach. A person who kept him on his toes and saw him whether he liked it or not, is now gone. No more chats. No more games. No more Elias. And a strong wave of loneliness hits him like a crashing wave. Peter can't help but bask in the weight of it all.

Overtime, those thoughts just don't give the same punch of loneliness. Eventually, he feels relativly average all things considered. He doesn't immediately go back like an addict might, but he will treat himself once in a while... when he finds himself washed up on the ports of London.

Elias may not count on Peter's visits. Once Peter is gone, his fun has been had and it's back to babysitting archivists. However, you would be hard pressed to find Elias focused on his work when he can see Peter walking up the institute's steps, and he knows it's about to start all over again.

[cronchy-cryptid]

Out of all the iconic quotes and moments of TMA my brain could have latched on to, why is it that I find myslef in the middle of doing laundry muttering "The magnus archive is a podcast distributed by rusty quill and license under a creative commons attribution non-commercial ShareALike 4.0 international license. Todays episode was written and performed by Jonathan sims, Produced by Alexander J Newall and Murray porter, and Directed by Alexander J Newall"

...

It just rolls off the tounge I guess!?!

[cronchy-cryptid]

Okay! But hear me out, Sam and Dean are born in the hunt and over time are marked by every single fear like Jon Sims was. Sam was exposed early on with the lonely, the desolation, the spiral, etc. Dean definitely got marked by the slaughter, the end, the burried, etc. They both come to know the stranger, the eye, the corruption, the flesh, the dark, and literally all of them because of they're them!

They are powder kegs of apocalypses ready to explode if any thinking entity or avatar wanted to light that fuse. It wouldn't be the spider as the spider knows that an apocalypse is a bad idea. But maybe another avatar of the eye? Or the spiral?

I’m not sure if anyone else has said this but: Sam and Dean Winchester (supernatural) are avatars of the hunt

sam and dean winchester from supernatural are avatars of the hunt!

[cronchy-cryptid]

Tma Headcanon and slight season 3 spoilers.

Ok, so you know how Martin has had a crush on Jon since season 1? And he has a tendency to daydream about Jon to the point of spacing out real bad? Ok put a pin in that.

You know how in season.. 3?? I think it was, Jon started showing his first prominent signs of developing his eye powers. Then later when they got really bad and Jon was trying really hard not to look into people's minds, he discribed it like a door in his mind with an ocean of knowledge behind it and, while he trys to keep it closed, sometimes information will seep through the cracks and he will just know something.

See where I'm going with this?

Ok so, Martin and Jon sitting in a quiet space for lunch because I said so, and they are both saying nothing. Jon is still wrapping his head around everything. He doesn't know the level of danger everyone is in, he's blaming Elias and himself, he's trying to piece together these mysteries without becoming one, and he's really just stuck in his own head.

Then there's Martin also in his own head, but more so worried about everything going on in the institute as well as how they're taking their toll on Jon. It feels like everyone is ganging up on him and he's already shouldering too much. Martin wants so badly to roll him up burrito style in a blanket, make some tea, kiss his head, and make sure he's safe. He sees the pressure he's under and just want's to take it off his shoulder's for a moment. Of course, it's his daydream, so he indulges on the idea of cuddling and light kisses and the soft sence of safety you feel around someone you trust.

At somepoint, Martin looks up to see Jon just kinda looking at him, a bit red. Jon clears his throat a bit awkwardly and thanks Martian for the tea and leaves. Before he fully heads out the door, Martin kinda half calls out like "Everything alright?" And Jon just kinda studder stops, thinks for a moment, then replies "No, but I appreciate the concern... Truly..." almost in a sigh, and leaves proper.

[cronchy-cryptid]

TMA Headcanon/Thought experiment with a bit of Season 5 spoilers

I like the idea of Season 5 Jon talking to Season 1 Jon, and 5!Jon has to sit his past self down to explain in his best way the events that will inevitably unfurl. Like the struggle of not being able to explain everything and being too vague and ominous for 1!Jon to understand.

And while the whole encounter is somewhat confusing and a bit jarring for our skeptic 1!Jon, the most jarring thing 5!Jon tells him is that he needs to be kinder to Martin as he deserves everything the world has to give and them some. That that man means more to him than any person could comprehend. Like, It's obvious 5!Jon loves Martin, but 1!Jon is like That could mean anything... I'm sure it's not what I think it is.

But that idea is shattered when 5!Martin, who was talking to 1!Martin in the other room over comes in, gives 5!Jon a kiss, grabs his hand and they both leave.

Even better, 5!Martin sees how rattled 1!Jon is and just to be a little shit, picks 5!Jon up bridal style to leave. 1!Jon's mind can be heard exploding as they do so. 5!Martin then goes back to pass the room he was talking to 1!Martin just to show him like, "Look who we pulled". 1!Martin goes beat red.

Also, I want to know how similar Lonely!Martin and 5!Martin's conversation from 186 would be compared to 5!Martin and 1!Martin. I think it would be similar, but 5!Martin might be a bit more gentle than Lonely!Martin was.

[cronchy-cryptid]

Okok, so I just finished the Magnus Archives! So, I go frolicking in the fandom, no longer too worried about spoilers (I haven't finished protocol, tho), but now I have one question.

Aren't Breekon and Hope brothers?? Like, when I listened to the podcast, I referred to them as "The Cockney Twins" before I memorized thier names. I always thought they were brothers like the Weasley twins or the Hitachin twins with the whole finishing each other's sentences and being practically two of the same person. But going through the fandom, I see they're a popular ship. Like, either way I know there will be a ship because people be like that sometimes, but now I'm genuinely curious because I see A) how popular it is and B) how little resistance there is against it as compared to other popular incest ships.

I don't remember their relationship ever being specified. I think they came into exsistance about the same place and same time with the same goal, like two halves of a whole. That's a very popular Twin trope, right?

Did I miss something?

[cronchy-cryptid]

WENDY OLDBAG IS MARRIED???

EVERYONE HOLD UP

I was drawing the icon herself when I noticed this detail.

SHE'S MARRIED??

WHEN??? WHO?

I need to know!!!! Is she still married??? If not, are they dead? Did she kill her husband? I can definitely see her in the red "I murdered my husband" robe.

If they're divorced, I can imagine she kept the ring because "I earned it fair and square", "you gave it to me, it's mine" and/or "Bitch I look good in gold"

If they are still together I can see two possibilities. Either they're the classic boomer couple of "Wow! The old ball and chain amiright?? No marriage is complete with out the sufferRING amiright??? My husband/wife is so useless I question everyday why I said yes. "

or

They bicker but they genuinely like each other. Like, that's just how they connect.

But, like, girl, your MARRIED and, like 60 or somethin. STOP FLRITING WITH THE 24 YEAR OLD PROSECUTIOR!!

[cronchy-cryptid]

Best 👏 Sprites 👏

Okokokokokokokokokok

SO

This sprite is my favorite sprite! Here's why!

I have only seen this sprite in the context that Klavier is frustrated or perturbed at something (I'm currently playing AJ 1-3 plz no spoilers). I love that choice! He will be absolutely fed up with some bullshit that has decided to test the limits of his patience,

but then,

his two friends

who are completely unrelated to the infuriating situation

(one of them being an actual 15 years old fan [joy in her eyes and hope in her soul] who should not be anywhere near a bloody crime scene)

just decide to show up out of nowhere!

Now he has to quickly and smoothly get his shit together to avoid unnecessarily blowing up at a trustworthy lawyer friend and an actual child.

Essentially, the sprite of him fixing his hair, gritting his teeth and avoiding eye contact in order to talk to Apollo and Truce is him doing this mentally

Or even this

And I think he's doing great!