#Mag 6

[future-crab]

It occurred to me today that the Magnus Archives is only 200 episodes long, which means that MAG 6 (the worm sex episode) and MAG 102 (the beetle wife episode) make the series fully 1% bug sex episodes by volume.

[murderandcoffee]

"practice safe sex" okay but what about the worms. enough about condoms enough about birth control WHAT ABOUT THE WORMS

[a-mag-meme-a-day]

[ALT text for last panel: "i am now woerm"] MAG 6 - Squirm I spent 20 minutes on this meme. like 15 of those were spent hand drawing EACH INDIVIDUAL WORM bc copy + pasting one single one over and over again wasn't looking right.

Thank you to the Lost In The Archives...Lonely discord server for giving me this prompt. (Yall can join this 14+ TMA/Mechs server here)

[siltslut]

DECEMBER 9TH HAPPY WORM SEX DAY

[tmascrapbook]

Mag 6: Squirm

[kyathedino]

There's something about that

That's got me thinking about a certain someone

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 6, MAG 6 Squirm

Sorry this is late, but hey, Worm Sex Guy! You hate to see it.

Facts: Statement of Timothy Hodge, regarding his sexual encounter with Harriet Lee and her subsequent death. Statement given December 9, 2014.

Statement Notes: Really one of the most destroyed characters in the series. Man works from home, pretty isolated, gets a few days off. Decides to go to a club and hook up with a cute girl. Immediately contracts demon STD and has to burn his house down. Absolutely crushing loss for the weirdo community.

Substances are brought up again in this episode. Hodge states that he does drink and use drugs, but wasn't drunk that night. This was particularly note-worthy in this episode because, while Jon usually cites someone's substance use as a reason to dismiss their statement, he believes Hodge encountered one of Prentiss' victims even though he admits to drinking that night. This proves that Jon was just looking for excuses to dismiss statements, not actually doubting the existence of the supernatural.

"Writhe."

That verb, "writhe." That encompasses so much of the fear in this episode, so much of Jane Prentiss. That's what's always scared me about the worms: the way the crawl, and dig, and writhe. Jonny is such an incredible writer because he puts that image in your head well before you can even fathom Prentiss as a long-term threat. He makes you afraid before you know what to be afraid of.

Another motif that comes up in this episode is the sense of false security. When Lee enters Hodge's apartment, she calms down. Even though she doesn't have a real reason to, she thinks she's safer there. I think this is a really realistic element that Jonny Sims uses often. Real people know they're more likely to be killed by a friend than a stranger, that you're not safer just because the light's on, that the blanket doesn't do anything, but we let these things make us feel safe and secure anyway. It makes sense that a horror character would do the same thing.

Lee mentions that when she woke up after being "mugged" by Prentiss, there was no wound where she was "stabbed." Assuming this is where the worm pierced her, this means that they can burrow into people without scarring them. But they still scar Prentiss herself, as well as Tim and Jon. Is it because Prentiss has repeat exposure? Is it part of her identity as an Avatar? Were Jon and Tim scarred as a means to make them more afraid or just to cause them more pain? Was it because the worms were less developed? Could it have been part of the ritual?

Entity Alignment: Hmm. Hmm I wonder what entity this could be connected to. Such a difficult choice. Hmm.

In all seriousness, I love this episode as an introduction to the Rot. It not only sets up the rest of the season but also how Prentiss functions. Once again, you don't understand why you should be afraid yet, but you know you should be.

Shout out to the Desolation for Hodge burning down his house. Very interesting that most of the Fears can be destroyed through the Desolation. Although I'm sure their ritual was flawed, I do think they were second most likely to succeed, right after the Eye obviously.

Speaking of the Eye, Sims really effectively foreshadows the crux of things through the paranoia motif. While they're in the club, Hodge says that Harriett kept checking the doors and looking at the exits, and she kept nervously glancing around as they walked home. She knows something is coming for her, she knows she should be afraid. The knowledge of what is going to happen is what makes it all the worse. This is why I think it always had to be the Eye who would end the world; people need some level of awareness to be truly afraid of something. Even the horrifying lack of awareness that comes from the Stranger or the Spiral becomes simple confusion without a moment or two of clarity. The Eye makes everyone in the apocalypse keenly aware of what is attacking them, what will happen to them, and that is why they're all so deeply afraid.

Character Notes: Jon explicitly states that he knows Prentiss is an issue. He acknowledges that she has consistently attacked people and caused harm through supernatural means. Yet he still attempts to deny other statements. The fact that he keeps up this facade for so long really shows how it isn't just denial or pretending, but a defense mechanism. If he doesn't look to hard at things, they can't hurt him. But because he was Eye-aligned from the start, he has to keep looking at things. He can't help himself.

(He also established that Prentiss' worms are canonically an STD, do with this what you will)

Sasha's really collected evidence in these last couple of episodes. So much really could have been solved if they had her skills in later seasons. That's probably why the Stranger targeted her. I miss her.

[thornmaui]

The Implications of MAG 6 on Ace Jon

Okay random thought but I just realized that I never thought of the implications of the worm sex statement (yall know the one, MAG 6?). And Im not just talking about the ‘Im so sorry this ace human had to read icky things out loud’ part of it. I mean, as far as Jon knows the last worm-related person that wasn't Annabelle who was infected suddenly got an onset of carnal desires upon being infested with worms in order to help them reproduce, leading to their final death, and that seems terrifying? I mean the thought of those thoughts being forced upon you? I mean terrifying to everyone but especially Jon as a potentially sex-repulsed ace human. I can only imagine when he got proof the worms were real that’s the first statement he remembered, Im not sure how much time passed between MAG 6 and MAG 22 but it’s couldn’t have been too long. I can see Jon checking in with Martin every couple of days to make sure nothing happened to him but being extremely touch avoidant because what if Martin got affected? He’s sleeping at the institute where usually only Jon is late at night, if he was affected in that way wouldn’t Jon be a likely target? But also he’s a fellow human traumatized by the fears and he wants to help? And he keeps like this until he eventually realizes that nothing's happened and Martin's safe and okay and he can be around him. And, more pertinently, realizes that these particular worms apparently don’t come with that side effect. And Im not saying he still wasn’t terrified at the invasion and the fear of worms killing them, obviously he was. But the fear that they would not only kill him but turn his corpse into a walking vessel whose only purpose is reproducing when he may or may not have brain activity and being forced to do things especially given his ace identity? Even more terrifying. I don’t often see many people mentioning MAG 6, its a disgusting statement on many levels, but Id argue that especially with the implications on the universe, its one of the most terrifying ones out there. Because, unfortunately, at a base level its an experience that so many of us do have to fear on a regular basis, just taken to an extreme degree. And I cant imagine how much it must have affected Jon.

[landscaping-your-mind]

The room was unrecognisable when I returned. There was a shape on the bed, where Harriet had laid, but it wasn’t her anymore. I could barely make out anything even remotely human in the pile of pitted and warped flesh that now remained. The bed itself was slick and shiny with a dark fluid that dripped off the hanging sheets and onto the floor. But what truly repulsed me, what made me flee as I did, was what moved and squirmed on all of it. They covered every surface: the floor, the bed, what used to be Harriet, even the ceiling. A thick, moving carpet of pale, writhing worms.

(MAG 6 - Squirm)

Finally, I found myself standing over the mass of pitted and hollow skin that was once a man. He shuddered violently as the gas engulfed him, and then lay still.

(MAG 26 - A Distortion)

I have read many statements now by those who are changing, who are becoming – something else, and few if any of them seem... entirely rational. Entirely the people that they were before.[…] Then again, I suppose I’m hardly in the best position to judge. Perhaps to anyone listening to these tapes I sound remarkably similar to Hezekiah. Or to Manuela. Or to Jane.

(MAG 152 - A Gravedigger’s Envy)

JORDAN: You turned me into what? A torturer?

ARCHIVIST: Yes.

[…]

JORDAN: I don’t... I don’t know how to be this. I don’t want to scare people.

ARCHIVIST: No. But you’ll learn.

[Beat.]

JORDAN: Am I still me?

ARCHIVIST: I don’t know how to answer that.

(MAG 184 - Like Ants)

I’ve seen what Jon did in MAG 184 being compared to Jonah Magnus, obviously. I’ve compared it to Jonah Magnus, it makes sense. I’ve also seen it compared to what Jon did to Melanie, which makes sense, though I don’t tend to do that myself. I haven’t seen it compared to what Jane Prentiss did, which is interesting, because Jon compares himself to Jane, he does that, he’s been doing it since season 1, thank you deluxe transcripts for ruining my life.

Jane Prentiss turns people into avatars. Jane Prentiss was the first avatar Jon — knowingly — encountered. Really don’t think Jonah Magnus counts. I have a lot of feelings on how Jane and Jon turn people into avatars, on how it’s a reflection of what’s happened to them, especially Jon. How with Jordan there’s this choice that isn’t even a choice at all, that’s basically the same choice given to Jon and Jane alike.

I have lots of feelings on how Jon parallels Jane in the later seasons. And about that relating to the cycle of violence and becoming a fear entity avatar as an allegory for trauma.

[soulsquigg]

i got my friends who don’t listen to tma to guess which didn’t happen from a list and i love how nobody questioned worm sex but they questioned beetle wife

[dragonboything]

HAPPY WORM SEX DAY

[murderandcoffee]

*harriet lee voice* babe would u still love me if i was a worm... *fuckign explodes*

[soapdi-spencer]

Pros of listening to TMA with my dad: Getting to share something I'm passionate about and enjoy

Cons of listening to TMA with my dad: Worm sex guy

[themagnustournament]

Round Two Part Seven - Match 51

Melanie’s second statement may have gone to the Redemption Bracket, but how will her first statement fare? Skintight is against Squirm, which had 138 votes last round.

MAG 028 - Skintight | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Melanie King, regarding events at the abandoned Cambridge Military Hospital during filming in January 2015.

MAG 006 - Squirm | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Timothy Hodge, regarding his sexual encounter with Harriet Lee and her subsequent death.

[honeysucklethornsandalligtrhorns]

Average day in London tbh

OH GOD ITS THE WORM SEX GUY EPISODE

[avanillaskyline]

tfw no girl to worm all over your bed :(