#Where jon goes martin follows

[elinekeit-artstuff]

ARCHIVIST: Sometimes... I imagine if none of this had happened. If we had just... met. Been together, without... all of this.

[thegrunglerr]

(Taken from a quick ramble I had in a discord chat, excuse the mess. I need to develop these thoughts further and put them into prettier words but it’s something I felt was important to talk about. You see the vision.)

I feel like a big thing people miss in the Magnus archives is that it’s a show about how people want to draw lines and put things into boxes to make them feel better when really there are no lines and there are no boxes. like, the fears are the most obvious of this. Smirke’s 14 is merely a human misunderstanding of the dread powers, a vain attempt to fit one being’s pieces into arbitrary boxes. When does the chase of the hunt become the violence of the slaughter? When does the unknowing of the stranger become the confusion of the spiral? Etc etc. the point is that the 14 are bullshit.

this also goes for humans and avatars! Less obvious but still! Everyone wants to fit the characters into boxes. Jon is a human, Elias is an avatar, Nikola is a monster. When in reality, they’re all just things. Humans and avatars are not mutually exclusive, Jon is an avatar and a human and so is Elias. Just because Elias’s actions are evil does not exclude him from humanity, he is still flesh and blood. “Monsters” like Nikola and the distortion are where things become more muddy. They are avatars but also clearly inhuman, Nikola is a plastic mannequin and the distortion isn’t really… anything. I’d still argue that they’re human to some extent. All avatars, human or otherwise, come from the change of oneself. The distortion wears people’s skin and takes on their traits, has to work with what that body gives them. Nikola is a mannequin made by a man with her same goals, who she eventually murders. They’re still born out of humanity, they’re still somewhat human, just an obfuscation and distortion of that humanity.

it’s this idea that characters like Elias are simply following their nature as an avatar and therefore as a monster that irks me. He’s not just a human, he’s not just an avatar, he’s not just a monster. He’s a person, a muddled mess of labels that don’t fit him because you can’t fit these people into boxes. Jon is a human, an avatar, and a monster. So is Elias. So is almost every fucking character in the series. Human, avatar, monster, victim, are all just human labelings of things not meant to be understood. Nobody in the Magnus archives is a mindless monster in my eyes. As distorted and fucked I’m as their view may be, they are still painfully human. Daisy was always a prowling wolf, itching for her next kill. The apocalypse just showed that physically. She still clearly had a mind, though her speech impaired. She called for Basira, the partner always by her ready. She recognized her as someone she knows, not attacking her or even Jon or Martin. Nikola too, breekon & hope too, nobody is mindless. Everyone is human.

It’s complicated yeah, nuanced and messy, but it’s so so SO important to remember upon actual analysis of the show! Jon is human! Elias is human! The Distortion is human! It’s a show about humanity and how it’s never truly lost!

[annabelle--cane]

I think, under certain circumstances and on the top of his game, martin would enjoy the club, whereas jon would rather burn alive (again) than have to go. melanie feels like she really should like the club and is always pissed off when she goes and remembers this isn't the case. basira doesn't get the appeal, she brings a book and zones out for several hours but she could do that anywhere. tim does like clubbing, but it's not the top of his list of favorite social spaces, he prefers slightly quieter spots where he can actually talk to people. georgie has a true clubber's spirit but she doesn't have the time to go often between her podcast and day job. gerry went clubbing once and had such a good time that he was banned from ever coming back. follow me for more topical tma opinions.

[madbard]

I can’t stop thinking about a TMA fic idea where, instead of going Somewhere Else at the end of the series, Martin wakes up back in the safe house the morning the world ended.

Jon doesn’t remember anything. Neither, it seems, does anyone else. Martin checks the statements they’ve received and finds Elias’ message in the top file, exactly where he had expected it. In classic Martin fashion, he promptly commits arson and discards of the ashes. If none of this feels quite real, then at least it is a pleasant dream. It’s been so long since he’s dreamed like this.

Martin and Jon have a lovely, quiet day. They walk over to see the cows. They eat together, and Martin prepares tea. Jon knows something is wrong, but Martin brushes it off, blaming his strange mood on nightmares. It’s been a rough few years, and even rougher few months. If Martin seems a bit… off, well, it only makes sense.

Moreover, something in Jon doesn’t want to know what Martin is hiding. Something in him so deeply yearns to keep its eyes shut.

That night, they go to sleep, side by side. Jon lies across from Martin, relatively human and relatively happy and, most importantly, alive. Martin falls asleep tracing the scars on his hands.

The next morning begins like any in the safe house. Martin wakes up and wanders over to the kitchen to make some tea, while Jon follows him, still fighting off sleep. The morning light through the windows sets everything aglow and as Martin opens up the cupboard, he couldn’t be happier… until his hand brushes empty air.

“… Jon?”

“Hm?”

“Where’s the tea we bought yesterday?” At this point he knows. But he has to be sure. And when Jon looks up at him, confused, and tells him that they ran out yesterday and certainly didn’t purchase any more, that they were planning to buy some today, Martin felt that truth solidify in his stomach like a stone.

Jon sees the change in Martin’s expression and this time he almost asks - but that same part of him that covered his eyes earlier now rears up and nearly chokes him. He doesn’t want to know.

“Martin? What-”

Martin doesn’t give him the chance to finish. In seconds, he’s out the door, crumpling Elias’ message as he walks.

That day is quiet and difficult, filled with arguments and half-asked questions, obviously false answers. When they fall asleep, Jon is turned away. Martin stares up at the ceiling until sleep claims him.

The next day seems a bit dimmer. He stays in bed with Jon as long as he can, feeling the steady thrum of his pulse, the warmth of his breath, as they hold each other in the quiet morning.

Days pass, then weeks. Martin learns every path by heart, every conversation, at first precious, eventually made dull by repetition. Sometimes, he’s able to smile. Sometimes, he admits that he can feel the Lonely rolling over him like the tide. (What could be lonelier than going through such an experience, and being unable to talk about it? What could be lonelier than knowing that, no matter what, everything you do today will be forgotten tomorrow?) Jon can offer comfort, but he cannot ask why that comfort is needed. He cannot know.

In the end, Martin wakes up early. He puts Elias’ message in his pocket and goes into town, buying tea and pastries and two pairs of comfortable walking shoes.

They share a warm breakfast together, as a thick white fog hangs around the cabin. Martin finishes his tea, and places the statement on the table when Jon isn’t looking.

“I’m going to go for a walk.”

“In this fog?” Jon looks out the window, and in his eyes, Martin sees the reflection of the Lonely. He gets up and walks over.

“I just want to stretch my legs. I’ll be back before lunch, alright?”

Jon meets his gaze, and if some communication passes between them, it is swiftly buried by the fog. “Alright. I need to take a statement anyway.”

Before leaving, Martin bends down and kisses him, just once.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Martin steps out into the mist and walks, walks and walks until the world ends.

[helpmeimblorboing]

Imagine a world where, after Tim lost his brother, he went to the Cult of the Lightless Flame for help

Imagine Desolation Avatar Tim, with fire that springs to his fingertips on command, and a disconcertingly amiable personality, kind and charming and so, so similar to our Tim, right up until he sets your house on fire with your children inside

Imagine an Eye avatar Jon who got his powers organically, without meddling from Elias.

Imagine a man conflicted and torn about his actions, orchestrating events where technically, he never directly hurt anyone - think feeding on social anxiety, exposing people’s secrets and feeding on their despair.

After all, if they didn’t want to be his dinner, they shouldn’t have kept secrets, right ? He’s not a bad guy. He’s just…doing all he can

Now imagine a Tim who feeds off of Desolation by following closely behind Jon’s actions.

Oh, Jon revealed that so-and-so was cheating on his wife ? Well, that sounds like a mighty painful experience for the wife. Seems a shame to let all that good fear go to waste, right ? Might as well feed !!

Now imagine Web Avatar Annabelle Cane , watching from the shadows as all this happens.

Eventually, she reaches out and makes contact with Tim, and makes a deal - call a local fast-food place, and Cane will trick them into believing Jon’s a police officer. Then Jon can make the employees humiliate one of their own, as Tim feeds on the target's pain and Annabelle feeds on the control she's exerting, both over the employees, via social conditioning, and her fellow Avatars

Perfect deal. Why would Jon go along with it, you ask ? Why would Tim ? Well, if Annabelle conveniently made them forget the meaning of the terms “strip search”, then they have no reason to turn her down, right ?

Seeing how well this turned out, the three decide to make their dynamic a daily thing, each one orchestrating events that let all three feed. True symbiosis

Maybe they get Spiral Avatar Michael in on their shenanigans too, sometimes - he makes someone hallucinate their way into believing all their secrets have been exposed, killing themselves in front of a loved one, and feeds on their madness as Tim feeds on their loved one’s pain and Jon on their humiliation

Maybe they find that even more useful and now he’s part of the team too !! Woo gang !! Friends forever !!

Maybe they try to get Flesh Avatar Jared Hopworth in as well, only to realize he’s already made a deal with Hunt Avatar Daisy Tonner - she hunts and kills one out of a pair of travellers, and Jared convinces the survivor to feed on the corpse

Maybe they decide - hey, fuck it - and form an alliance with Slaughter Avatar Melanie King. She kills, and the others feed on the chaos that ensues. Maybe Jared and Daisy get in on it too sometimes - one big happy Avatar family, each one feeding everyone with their actions

And maybe one day Jon has an epiphany - maybe he accidentally hurts someone he cares about or sees the consequences of his actions. Maybe he decides he doesn’t want to be an Avatar anymore

Maybe he runs away from the group. Maybe he goes to the Magnus Institute, using his position as a fellow Eye Avatar to get Elias to help him out

Maybe Elias agrees and sets him up in a small house by the countryside. But wait - unfortunately, he’s going to have to share the space. You see, the Institute recently helped a prized pupil of Peter Lukas escape his grasp

Oh, who ? Why, Lonely Avatar Martin Blackwood of course !!

Sorry, just having thoughts about my Avatar Crew AU. Do y’all want me to write it ? I might

[ashes-in-a-jar]

Still thinking about how fitting a mockumentary eyepocalypse is where there is a constant camera crew just following Jon and Martin through their journey watching their every move while Jon and Martin just have to accept it and move on.

They have the whole side interviews and zoom ins and everything. Jon is especially good at ignoring them but Martin goes through all the phases of hating them to joking at them to uncomfortably glancing at them

And when Basira joins it's all "can you believe this shit" eye contact every time Jon and Martin [FABRIC RUSTLES]

[just-an-enby-lemon]

TMAGP High School AU except is more like one of thoses fics where Somewhere Else means Jon becames a teacher. So we have eldrish-ish Jon out in a world his powers are mostly controled trying to mimick a normal life with Martin except he has just the most eldrish prone kids and it's trying to protect them (except when the Eye wins the job of influenciating him into supporting his students getting close to it).

His students of course are Samama Khalid that had a previous experience with this world version of the Magnus Institute and no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. He sees spooky, mysterious things and goes "let's investigate it" and involves other students into it. He constantly ignores Jon help, but in the way where he is soo polite and nice about it he sometimes is abble to learn more about Jon's own spokkiness (sometimes he does it on purpose because as times goes more Sam is sure his new teacher is the key to the misteries around him and sometimes just because Jon isn't used to casual niceness and Sam is lovely).

Alice Dyer, described as a lovely problem student by both principal Lena and most of the teachers body (also by Martin because she is a frequent visitor in the cities library) , she for some god forsaken reason insists on calling Jon "Chester" ("you just looks waay more like a Chester than a Mr. Sims"). She mostly follows Sam in his advetures and definitivaly had some connection to an entity before but also she is Jon's biggest ally because she is always trying to make them stop (she also calls Martin "Norris" for no reason).

Gwendolyn Bouchard, first poblem being her last name sort off gives Jon trauma indulced anxiety, second is that she actually reminds Jon more of himself at his early days on the archives than Elias and she made her mission to be the teacher's pet and have him like her (and support her into becaming the leader of the student concil and class president).

Colin Becher who had at least one supernatural encounter with an evil computer program but likely more computer related trauma that just made him even more into computers but also to angry insult circuit boards. Jon is certain he got the Ushenka video at least once. Colin dislikes Jon a lot, a lot, and also told Jon that he does not need a english teacher that doesn't even know what a logic gate is. He also likely can notice the supernatural on Jon and he does not like it.

And Celia Ripley that got in after Jon, has a familiar-ish name and more important seems to know more than she should about the Entities and the world Jon came from, he is half sure she called him Archivist once and she asked about tape recorders. Very suspicious.

[sewliia]

Magnus Archives Episode 154 / 200 Analysis

(If this was mentioned by anyone before, I am sorry. I found one tumblr post showing the similarity in John's “Together - one way or another” but nothing more. So if you guys know more sources on this topic please share them with me. I would love to talk about this more.)

(also this is maybe a bit messy but I hope you guys see my vision)

I believe the Ending of the Magnus Archive was already decided in the episode “154 - Bloody Mary” or at least episode 200 is a parallel / continuation of the post statement scene.

I will show 154 in order while adding the matching parts from 200 (the parts from 200 are coloured differently to easily recognize them).

In 154 John learns that they can leave the Institut if they damage their eyes permanently.

After gaining this information he goes to Martin. He is the first to know.

(This one is not hard evidence - just something small I noticed)

(200) Martin is also the first to know what John did (also the only one).

(154) John then proposes to Martin that he wants to leave with him, because he trusts Martin and doesn't want to do it alone. He doesn't even consider the others here. He just wants to be with Martin.

This also plays into Jon's identity crisis in Season 4. Martin was there for him all the time and Jon values Martin's opinion more than the others, cause he loves him, cause he hopes Martin wants the same, cause he wants someone who gives him permission, to tell him what is right.

(200) Here we have it the other way around now. Martin trusted John not to kill Jonah on his own and John finally had the courage to do something on his own.

(154) Martins response is:

He doesn't want to choose for John, since he knows how insecure John is.

(200) John made it Martin's decision. He can’t kill himself at this point and already made his choice.

(154) This scenario is almost the same, just that the roles are partly swapped. In both cases they aren't sure if John will survive this, that it is a risk and a wish to escape.

Ending with the famous “one way or another” spoken again by John.

(154) After John proposes his idea to Martin he gets unsure, saying his idea was stupid. Martin says he has to see things through with Peter, which triggers John to try again.

(200) There is no exact line that fits this, but John derails everything by killing Jonah on his own.

(154) This one is interesting.

Martins says John would never blind himself. John indeed doesn’t want that. He wants to live, he wants to see and he likes his powers.

Blinding himself would be the easy way out.

In this season John fights a lot about his wants and his identity, so it makes sense that he asks the others for guidance and opinions. He is not sure what he really wants and even if it is okay to just take it. I am sure that John at this point loves Martin deeply and wants his input on the situation. He wants to hear “of course I come with you John”, but Martin denies that from him.

(200) At this point not even John's love for Martin holds him back and he does what he wants to do, going from “could” to “did”.

Martin is also in disbelief here, mirroring his and John’s words in 154.

you do - you didn’t

I could - you can’t

“I did. I am “

John is confident in this scene. He IS what he decided to be. He is whole.

(154) More evidence that even Martin doesn't believe John.

Again a parallel:

I can't follow you

Martin pushing Jon away ( to save him)

(200) Where you go I go.

John pushing martin away (to save him)

(and then changing his mind, accepting the proposal of escape)

In short:

(154)

John proposes to leave together.

Martin says John would and can not do that.

He won't make the decision for John.

Martin pushes John away.

John says he waits.

(200)

John does something that Martin dared him to do.

John tries to push Martin away.

Martin proposes to leave together.

Martin has to make the decision for John.

They stay together.

Maybe I went a bit crazy here but these scenes have so much in common.

[kassandrasdisciple]

~~~spoilers for all of the magnus archives~~~

How popular is the take that Melanie and Georgie were actually in a Fearscape?

I feel like this must be a common take, but it's hard to find just meta-theories for TMA, but just incase, here's how I came to this conclusion.

Melanie's Blindness

The are alot of blind people in the world. I know Melanie blinded herself under spooky™ circumstances, but nothing actively spooky was occurring other than being inside the magnus institute. Also as seen with Gertrude/Agnes, the flesh book and The Dark ritual, when you want to avoid an Entity, or several, you usually have to do some explicity spooky things.

Because of this I think Melanie is just normally blind, she herself seems to think her immunity is just because of her blindness too. Now I know Jonny hasn't always been great on numbers and scales but there are ALOT of blind people, maybe the Eye only ignores people who are completely blind and not visually imperared but still, Jon should've been seeing dozens of blindspots just within the UK in the beginning of S5. So I think it's safe to say Melanie's blindness isn't why she's "immune".

Observation Isn't Overt

We know the Fearscapes aren't constant hell, the camera is the most explicit, giving prolonged relief, but it was still a Fearscape, waiting for all that paranoia to ripen until it breaks and the fears decend. We see it in other Fearscapes like the falling titan or the medical centre where there might be hours or days of relative peace, but the fear is still there and the victims still exist to suffer. I think the camera can also explain how Melanie and Georgie weren't visible to Jon even outside the tunnels, their fearscape relies on feeling "free" to some extent.

Furthermore, Jon still knew they where alive, so The Eye knew that aswell, it didn't hunt them down to put them in a fearscape however, and that was because they already were, they were just "freeranged" and The Eye just wanted to monitor their vitals.

Lastly, Helen knew where they where. I know she was better at navigating the tunnels than Jon in S4, but we know in S5, all power comes and goes through The Eye, it's how the smitings work, if she could find them so could The Eye.

Specificity

Basira inherited Daisy's Fearscape, allowing her to travel freely, but she was still in a Fearscape, having to endure all the horrors Daisy commited and then having to carry on, viewing the Fearscapes without Jons protection. Knowing this helps plug another hole in our original theory, which is that this is quite a specific Fearscape. We know some are small, Martin's only has a few dozen, but Basira's is just hers. This I think sets the president that although Melanie's and Georgie's Fearscape is highly unique it's still possible. (Maybe The Eye chooses unique ones for its Ex kids)

Georgie's Fear

I know people will bring up Georgie and I'll have to make a much longer post eventually but I think we've only ever been told how her power works from her POV, which I think is inaccurate. If we actually look at how she acts she does feel Fear, she just displays it as worry or anxietyusally for others. I think what Georgie actually is, is what everyone else is, an Avatar, specifically of the End. We only have one other End avatar, Oliver, but we see a numbing of emotions in him too. I think she's unable to feel fear like others because she's an End Avatar and that brings a dampening affect, for further proof see the book of the damned with Gerry and Eric, both who know it feels "bad" but still have their emotions dampened. Basically, Georgie is a misidentifyed Avatar and she can still feel Fear just not like she used to be able to.

What the Fear / FearScapeUK

Now what is their Fearscape? Firstly it doesn't fit nicely into the 14 but that's okay, we know in the apocalypse Smirks 14 is largely redundant. But their fear is simply their followers, both having this crushing fear of failing them, having to be the perfect leaders, and of losing them, which they always will. Just before S5 ends we see the Cycle about to restart.

Just Melanie and Georgie -> save a few -> save even more ("get greedy") -> lose a big chunk -> lose them all -> alone again, Repeat.

They'd go through this anguish over and over until the End consumes all, it allows them freedom like Basira and Daisy but they still only exist to suffer like those in every other Fearscape.

TL;DR Georgie and Melanie weren't lucky, they're Fearscape is them watching those they're supposed to protect being dragged of to torture whilst shouldering the guilt of being "spared".

[the-kingofdoritos]

do it tell me about your tma oc :)

OMGGGGGG Ok, so this might get kind of long because i just have soooo much to say hahah

Main background stuff:

His name is Isaac Magnus, he's gay and trans, and Jonah's younger brother. He's also an End and Web Avatar. He is sort of immortal, he doesn't age and cant die unless he is killed.

Very very close to Jonah growing up, despite Isaac being a girl (at the time), they spent a lot of time together. Isaac looked up to him, and would often follow him around like a lamb as a child. When they were teens, he would often try and copy Jonah’s interests. Jonah was quite protective of him, only person he really cared about. Jonah, in his growing concern about rituals and the fears, ends up giving him a necklace connected to the lonely that stops the entities from being able to see, find or affect them too much. Isaac ends up dying around 1752, when they were 19, due to a housefire. He ends up Becoming, and flee's the place as he doesn't want his family to know what he'd become. He stays with Simon Fairchild for a bit, before moving overseas to live with a few different avatars.

Powers:

Isaac’s powers are similar to the red string of fate soulmate thing. Each relationship has a different colour string, which Isaac can see. He can tell a lot about a relationship from the strings, the state of the relationship, how healthy they are, how strong ect. He does this by seeing how saturated the string look, the stronger the colour the stronger the relationship, the duller the weaker the relationship. Isaac is also able to mess with the strings and can affects peoples relationships through them and be able to kill people through the strings as well. Both indirectly and directly. Family- Blue Friends- Yellow Best/alt Friends- Green Enemies- Red Romantic- Pink

Main series:

He start working in the institute 3 years before Jon becomes Archivist. He works in the library, where he and Martin become fast friends. Both are moved down to the archives due to the fact that Jonah thinks they would be easy to manipulate if needed. [Jonah is unaware of Isaac being both an avatar and his brother, due to the necklace that Jonah gave him before he Became an Avatar.]

SEASON 1- He is constantly clashing with Jon, and spends most of his time planning how to annoy him with Tim. Isaac is closest out of all the archival crew with Tim. Tim see’s Danny in Isaac, and Isaac see’s younger Jonah in Tim. They often spend time messing about in the archives. But he also has good relationships with Martin, and will often time spend hours speaking to each other about books and poetry. And he and Sasha love to gossip together and will meetup after work for drinks every now and again. He’s the one to realise that Martin is trapped in his flat, and goes there to threaten Jane. Martin stays with him in his flat during this time, instead of the institute. During the attack he goes with Sasha to find Elias. When the wall of worms comes upon them, Elias has to drag Isaac out of the institute as he can see Sasha’s string snap and it causes him to start panicking.

SEASON 2- Starts out rough for him, as he very much despises Not!Sasha but Elias had assured him something will get done. (He's lying of course.) He and Not!Sasha don’t get along as Isaac is part Web, and Not!Sasha is annoyed by that. And isaac is pissed that it killed Sasha. Jon, in his growing paranoia starts to suspect that Isaac has something strange going on, and starts stalking him. Its Isaac who ends up telling Jon a little bit of information about the Entities, its not much but it helps pull Jon from the deep-end. Though the damage is already done, Tim is colder to Jon now and Martin is constantly worried about him.

SEASON 3- Whilst Jon is on the run, and Tim is avoiding everyone, and shit is just going down. Elias takes this time to start getting closer to Isaac. He invites him to a party in honour of Jonah, he gives Isaac books, and just slightly manipulates him. Though Jonah does find that he see’s Isaac almost like how he saw his ‘sister’. Isaac does a whole lot of research, before Jon gets back, about the Unknowing. When Jon gets back, he tells everyone what had happened with Not!Sasha. A while later when it comes out that Isaac is an avatar, immediately he looses most of his connections. For a bit when Tim learns that Isaac is an avatar and knew what had happened to Sasha, the two grow very very distant to each other, but Elias mentions something about Isaac wanting to tell the rest and him stopping it that Tim understands what has happened. Isaac stays with Martin and Melanie in the institute during the Unknowing.

SEASON 4- He takes time off when peter first takes over, the loss of Tim and Jon being in a coma, and Elias being in jail just being too much for him. He tries to keep in contact with Martin, but both are in a bad place. Isaac also just doesn't to do with Melanie and Basira unless necessary, both do not like him due to him being an avatar. Isaac is the only one to stick up for Jon after he takes Live Statements, saying that its no different to what Daisy used to do and no one is dying that way. The two form a sort of bond, and stay close at all times, and Isaac tells him who he really is and lets Jon feed on him when he needs too. During the last few episodes, Isaac doesn't know that Jon had gone down to the Panopticon at first and ends follows after him. He and Jonah have a fight, where it comes to light that Isaac is his sibling. They compromise, Isaac wont tell anyone where Jonah is, and Isaac can leave unhurt.

SEASON 5- He has a domain, Jon and Martin end up passing through and he is just so glad they are alright. He immediately rushes over to them and hugs them. He then agrees to come with them to London to stop Jonah after a lot of convincing.

[magpod-confessions]

on to the "interpret characters how you want but also white jon and thin martin. why." Topic.

With Martin, he should be a bigger person. There is canon that actively supports and or out right says it.

But with jon it doesn't mater. Nothing in canon implies he's any race at all. If you don't like a jon design because he's white honestly just don't follow that artist oh my god I can tell tma is some of your first fandom. Fanon means nothing in a media where canon has no description because its based on an individuals interpretation.

Have your icks all you want but who cares if you don't like a design because it goes against your hc, it's not about you. Please pick up a rule book and look at where the "don't like, don't read" part is because some of you need to follow that. Scrolling is free and if you must, the block button is RIGHT THERE

God I hate when a fanon idea gets popular and people act like it has to be your hc too. Ffs it's a fair argument for jon to be white because his Va is white. This gets me so angry just like when people bitch and whine about people hcing jon as tall instead of a petite little twink wet cat boy.

.

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

Hey man

this is the malevolent fic-starved anon.

You mentioned a Jarthur fic rec list

👁️👁️👁️

yo! i got you 👍

i haven't published the post yet because there are some more fics in my marked for later i want to get through first, but i'll go head and copy/paste the list i have so far for your enjoyment. putting it under a cut since it's long.

formaldehyde (or, The Case of the Missing Lilly) by SupposedToBeWriting 110k M

Half of the King in Yellow gets ejected through a portal on a failed ritual. To return, he must perform a human sacrifice - harder than it first seems, as the entity struggles to adapt to the peculiar ways of mortals. In a stroke of luck, he finds the perfect sacrifice in the form of one drunken, surly ex-PI: Arthur Lester.

In the meanwhile, Arkham is in the swing of Prohibition and everyone knows how things work around here. A chance meeting and an abrupt kidnapping put John and Arthur on a case: one where secrets lurk behind every mask and blood flows thicker than gin.

Surrogate: The Director's Cut by Kraiva, Somniate, Trin (ssjtrinity) 637k+ WIP M

The King in Yellow had a plan. It worked, and Arthur Lester broke.

Then it all went to hell.

A certain Outer God took issue with his favorite show's cancellation, and arrived with certain demands.

Hastur is furious. His adopted daughter is afraid. John wants to kill his other half; and Arthur has a lot of healing to do in rebuilt Carcosa, in the mystical Dreamlands.

Forced family is not, as it turns out, a good time for anyone.

(yes, this fic is absurdly long, and YES, it's absolutely worth it)

All that is mine to me, all that is yours to you by Stringgoblin 86k M

"We'll find you a nice cadaver, or something."

After everything, Arthur and John finally have time to figure out how to get John his own body. It isn't a pleasant process. It turns out that having a fragment of a god excised from your mind has some side-effects, and being a fragment of a god suddenly resident in a human ex-corpse isn't particularly straightforward either.

They'll help each other through it. They always do.

whiskey old fashioned sour by bluejayblueskies 80k E

Following the death of his daughter, famous film composer and pianist Arthur Lester drops out of the music scene and disappears from the public eye. Ten years later, Arthur now works as a private investigator and has no interest in performing or composing ever again.

John is intrigued by Arthur, who comes to his club to drink on the rare nights that there’s no music scheduled. As they meet again and again, they begin to grow closer. But Arthur isn’t the only one with a past he’s trying to run away from.

In a Yellow Wood by oprime 72k T

John is gone, and Arthur goes back about the business of living. Until he finds himself thrust back into the dark underbelly of the world and decides to find his best friend. Or die trying.

I Prefer My Heart to Be Broken by Trin (ssjtrinity) 140k M

(TMA/Malevolent crossover)

Somewhere Else isn't right, and they've never talked about what happened in the Panopticon, but so what? They're together. The Fears aren’t gone, no, but behind a curtain, subdued.

Martin actually loves the small-village life, farming and friends and found family. Jon is... managing. They're making it work.

But the universe they landed in is occupied, and its current rulers are very interested in the new kids. Entities made of Fear, attached to a damaged ex-human and his surprisingly sneaky lover? Who could resist playing with that?

Everyone has plans, and plans under those plans. What happens when a web grows too heavy to support its own weight?

"Tears and blood, blood and tears," says Kayne.

He is not wrong.

Oh, I Love You So Much (It Scares Me Half To Death) by SupposedToBeWriting 84k M

Arthur and John have become Doe & Lester, private detectives. Finally in his own body, John is eager to see what the rest of his mortal life holds -- Arthur, on the other hand, believes that John should spend his life without Arthur holding him back. Arthur is not the sort of man who can provide stability, warmth. A family.

On a case, they find a baby clutched in the arms of her dead father. John grows attached quickly, and together, the men discover that the baby is in fact Emily MacFarland from another timeline... and that the universe is much more breakable than they thought.

The sky falls around their ears, strange flesh monsters crawl from portals, and the world seems to be nearing its end. John begins to realize what exactly he wants out of life, as Arthur faces the constant enemy to his own happiness: himself.

A Night Out In Albany by SupposedToBeWriting 9k M

Arthur and John arrive in Albany after the last train to New York leaves. Stranding in Albany for the night, they take advantage of the opportunity and get Arthur a change of clothes and a shave -- and maybe even a movie, if time allows. After the horrors they encountered in Addison, and amidst Arthur's growing suspicion that his friend is hiding something, sometimes it's nice to have a night out on the town.

How Their Light Sets Me Dreaming by Artistic_Witch 12.6k M

After the confrontation with the King, John awakens to a beautiful vision of a life he and Arthur never had the chance to lead. Is this a manipulative trick meant to break him, or something else entirely?

Now That's What I Call Entangled! by Croik 58k E

On the way to the plateau, Arthur and John discover a spell in one of their books that will (hopefully) allow them to fight back against the King in Yellow. But when John ends up absorbed by the King, it's up to Arthur to free him.

tachycardia by bluejayblueskies 6.3k E

The thump-thump-thump increases until it’s all John can hear, and quite frankly, he’s had enough. “Just calm down!” he snarls, and he clenches his hand into a fist, and then—

And then, it stops.

John has a single moment of blissful silence.

Then, Arthur wheezes and crumples to the ground.

.

Or, John gains control of Arthur’s heart.

In Vino Veritas by SupposedToBeWriting 5k T

Taking advantage of relative safety, John and Arthur have a nice meal and a bottle of wine. It takes some time before they realize that certain god fragments are not immune to the effects of alcohol, and certain mortal men have recently lost a significant amount of blood. Confessions are made, plans are established, and a good rest is had by all.

Take My Skin and Wear It by PrettyArbitrary 3k E

Stripped to his skin, Arthur lays back on the mattress. “All right, John, I’m all yours.”

They share a body. John thinks it's about time he got more familiar with it.

It Would Be A Long Drive Home by Croik 20k T

The King in Yellow throws Arthur out of the Dreamlands, convinced that will be the end of his troubles. But he's miscalculated - Arthur and John are still deeply entangled, and the threat of Arthur's death and banishment to the Dark World hangs over them all. The King has no choice but to help Arthur survive this, for his own sake (aka Arthur Never Makes the Deal with Kayne AU).

Faroe's Waltz by Wildehack (tyleet) 10k M

Arthur dreams of pain and wakes to music: the opening strains of a melody, left incomplete.

Cold As the Rain That Falls in December by captaincravatthecapricious 41k M

There's no way Arthur just waltzes off to NY with a hole in his stomach sewed up by filthy thread and fishhooks, right?

Phagia by PrettyArbitrary 4k T

It's a holdover from his old body, his old identity. Sometimes his blunt little human teeth ache to bite. To rend, to tear into flesh and set his jaw and just rip.

a burden halved by Calamitatum 11k

Arthur's scars litter his skin like a roadmap of mistakes, the harrowing evidence of everything he's suffered to keep them both alive.

When John is injured on a case, he's startled to find that Arthur can't feel it. Determined, for once, to ease his friend's burden, John keeps the severity of the wound to himself. After all, he's seen Arthur bounce back from plenty worse, right?

Right?

From Roots to Tip by Croik 3.2k E

Breaktime in the Dreamlands, and Arthur promised that John would have his turn for a "hand job."

The Lightning In The Collied Night by Artistic_Witch 4k G

Arthur decides to help John acclimate to his new body by teaching him how to dance.

Sometimes all you can do is dance in the dark...

Embrace the World Ahead by SupposedToBeWriting 2k T

Taking a quiet moment, Arthur starts to nod off. John has a question he'd like to ask, and in return, Arthur receives the first hug he'd had in a very, very long while.

[historicallyaccuratecheese]

Well, I guess I’m continuing to make these now! Here’s the next part of my thoughts on every Magnus Archives episode! Now, last time I said that I was planning to write about episodes 21-40 in the next post, but as it turns out, the hyperfixation has set in and my thoughts are a LOT longer (so buckle up if you want to read this), and I also reached the tag limit. So, I’m only going to be covering episodes 21-30 here, and then I’ll write about episodes 31-40, and this 10 episode trend will probably continue for the rest of the posts, but that just means I’ll be able to put them out faster.

Also, unlike my first post, where I wrote all of my thoughts after finishing episode 20, all of these ones were written right after I finished the specific episode I talked about, so my thoughts are a lot more clearly documented. Finally, there’s a link to my masterpost, which will contain all the post’s detailing my thoughts on every episode before and after these ones.

Once again, no spoilers for future episodes please, and for anyone who hasn’t watched up to episode 30, spoilers are under the cut, so I recommend turning away until you’ve caught up. :)

- Episode 21, Freefall 🪂

Statement of Moira Kelly, regarding the disappearance of her son Robert.

WHAT THE FUCK??!! MARTIN??!! DAMN, I guess the horrors did get to him! Well, it’s nice to finally meet him, even if his first line was dropping shit on the ground. Either way, I get the vibe I’m in for a wild ride for this second half. ….What was I talking about? Oh yeah, the actual statement. Anyways this one upset me. Not only did it bring out my fear of heights pretty well, but the portrayal of a grieving mother who can’t comprehend what happened to her son was really heartbreaking. The line “The sky ate him” was kind of comedic at first, especially with Jon’s following reaction (love this guy btw, he’s such a loser), but then it became really horrific when I realized how it was just Moira desperately trying to make sense of the impossible horrors she just witnessed. The plot thread set up with Simon and Harriet Fairchild is also very interesting, and the whole sky thing kind of reminded me of Dominic’s visions in Ep. 4. Overall another one of many fantastic episodes, but HOLY SHIT I’M SCARED.

- Episode 22, Colony 🔦

Statement of Martin Blackwood, archival assistant at the Magnus Institute, London, regarding a close encounter with something he believes to have once been Jane Prentiss. Statement taken direct from subject.

….aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Ok let’s start from the top. Firstly, I’m really happy we finally got to meet Martin in this episode, and he’s great! Honestly he comes off as more dorky than stupid, and just comes off as a real sweetheart, so Jon’s distaste for him (outside of very different personalities), gets more mysterious. Though all things considered, after what he experienced, I don’t think that the bullying is his biggest worry anymore… Alexander J. Newall does a fantastic delivery, as much as I love Jon’s readings, you can really feel how terrified Martin is here (also “Blackwood” is a sick as fuck last name, and I related to him trailing off about spiders…) Outside of Martin himself, we have Jane Prentiss (or what remains of her) and…well, let’s just say that I don’t find the sex worms nearly as funny anymore. Jane and the worms inside her are absolutely terrifying, and while I would say I’m excited to learn more about her, I wouldn’t be complaining if the institute staff never had to deal with her again. Also the text episode made me, if you’ll excuse my language…squirm. Honestly, this might just be my favorite episode so far. The way that the plot threads from previous episodes connected here was extremely satisfying, and needless to say, I’m very excited and horrified to see where the show goes from here.

- Episode 23, Schwartzwald 🇩🇪

Statement of Albrecht von Closen, regarding a discovered tomb near his estate in the Black Forest.

Worst episode ever because Jon didn’t do a German accent, smh. Ok but in all seriousness, I really liked this one! It wasn’t the strongest in terms of complex themes in my opinion, but it had a great vibe, and was still very interesting, entertaining, and decently creepy. Having a “statement” written before the archives was founded is a really cool idea that’s executed perfectly here, and while we didn’t learn that much about Jonah Magnus, I still found it cool to get a first glimpse of the archives’ history. (Also, given the eye imagery that appears both in here and in other episodes, I can’t help but feel like Albrecht’s wording of Jonah having “good eyes” or something like that is a little weird…) And…now that we have the instance of something that isn’t a statement, but is important being in the archives, I absolutely agree with the idea that Gertrude Robinson organized these poorly on purpose, so that Jon would get the knowledge he needed to have. Regardless, this whole episode had the vibes of a classic ghost story, which while not as weird and off-putting as some of the other horror here, was still a nice change of pace overall. The descriptions of The Schwartzwald were really well done and added to the atmosphere, and I just like the fact that we have another historical episode, that’s also set outside of The UK. Also, the way that they played with the time period at the end was amazing, I already had my suspicions due to the eye imagery, but the reveal of Mary Keay (and therefore Gerard Wa- I mean Keay) being a descendant of Albrecht was still really cool. I also do wonder if the Arabic book was eventually found by Jurgen Leitner in the future…eh, food for thought. Lastly, I loved Martin jumping in out of nowhere, it was both funny, and a grim reminder about how fucked the archives supposedly are, yippee!

Wow, these are a lot longer than my previous thoughts. This, my sweet children, is a phenomenon called “brain rot”.

- Episode 24, Strange Music 🪆

Statement of Leanne Denikin, regarding an antique calliope organ she possessed briefly in August 2004.

Jon, honey, are we not going to elaborate on the fact that one of ✨the horrors✨is literally inside the institute? Like, HELLO? That’s not terrifying at all! Anwyays, this episode continues the trend of making me scared of things I’m not initially scared of, yippee! It had great vibes as well, the weird shit in the attic was made to be as creepy as possible. Initially, I didn’t find this one to be too scary, and figured it was going to go in the direction of “music makes people feel kind of weird”. AND THEN JOSHUA GETS KILLED AND TURNED INTO A DOLL HELLO??!!! Like, I know he was kind of a toxic boyfriend, but DAMN, whatever was behind the calliope and the dolls did NOT have to go that far. (Also until the end I thought he might be Joshua Gillepsie, and like, I don’t care how toxic he is, but you do not dump a guy who bested an evil coffin with his freezer.) Outside of that, It was really cool to meet Sasha! I like her voice, and the introduction was quite funny. (Also, even as someone who has lived in England for over two years, and has a family that is 90% British, nothing hurt more that Jon’s “Americans”.) Lastly, I have a theory, which I like to call “Ringmaster? More like cult leader.” Because I’M SORRY, but you cannot convince me that a CIRCUS, called THE CIRCUS OF THE OTHER, which possessed a HAUNTED CALLIOPE ORGAN, is anything but a cult. (Watch me when I’m inevitably wrong lmao.)

I guess now is a better time than any to say that I’m kind of wondering if there’s an in-universe reason for the music in the background? I mean, considering that the whole framing device is Jon recording these statements, I have to wonder if there’s a reason for the noise we hear, especially with the worms in Ep. 22 and the music in Ep. 24.

- Episode 25, Growing Dark ⛪️

Statement of Mark Bilham, regarding events culminating in his visit to Hither Green Chapel.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I LOVE BEING RIGHT!!! I saw the episode title and immediately assumed this would continue the lore of Episode 9, and I WAS SO RIGHT!!! (Also, I now just noticed that the PCOTDH’s symbol is a closed eye, while The Keay Family’s symbol is an open eye…my cult theory thickens…) Anyways, this was another very enjoyable episode! Firstly, even though it’s far from the first piece of media to do so, I though the way they portrayed a cult brainwashing someone when they’re most vulnerable was very well handled and pretty depressing. I also really enjoyed how the episode isn’t the most weird and paranormal on it’s own, but the knowledge of the connections to Ep. 9 makes us know that it DEFINITELY is, even when the characters in the story don’t. The episode was certainly very spooky, the description of the spinach and the dark church definitely got me. (Also my mom came into my room briefly and when she left she accidentally turned off the light and I nearly screamed.) There were also some really interesting plot threads set up here, like the chanting of the northern most human settlement in the world, the mention of “three hundred years waiting”, and I also wonder if “Mr. Pitch” is an alias for “Detective Rayner.” then…the ending. Holy shit. You know, maybe I DON’T need to know what happened to Gertrude….

Episode 26, A Distortion ☕️

Statement of Sasha James, assistant archivist at the Magnus Institute, London, regarding a series of paranormal sightings. Statement taken direct from subject.

I…what…I don’t even…we are so fucked. Ok, there’s a LOT going on here, but I’ll try my best to formulate my thoughts as clearly as possible. Firstly, this episode easily scared me the most so far, I agree with Jon when he says that the horrors being somewhat friendly is scarier than them being antagonistic, like HOLY SHIT this one was unnerving. But with that out of the way…uh…let’s talk about Sasha! She’s really cool, I like how her character gives us a lot more insight into what working in the archives is like for a fairly regular person (i say this because Jon is weird as fuck and Martin is too nice to be normal, and I mean that as kindly as possible). But…while I don’t necessarily doubt her status as the most level-headed person in the archives, I don’t think that’s saying much. Like, she saw a creepy guy with weird-ass hands who spoke in riddles and knew too much about her and her coworkers, and followed him into a dilapidated building, also she works at the council of ghost stories despite not liking horror. Like, no offense, I’m sure she’s overall an intelligent person, as are most people in the archives, but none of them are beating Joshua Gillepsie anytime soon (yes I’m still thinking about him.) But mentioning the guy with fucked up hands, WHO OR WHAT EVEN WAS THAT??!! I have very little ideas as to how this “Micheal” even connects to the greater picture. I know some people connected him to the mentions of the man with bones in his hands in Episode 8, but that honestly reminds me more of the Leitner in Episode 17. Outside of that, his name is quite interesting, I initially thought that he might be Micheal Crew, but given that Sasha doubts it being his real name, I have my suspicions (although it would give us a connection between this, the words in Episode 8, and The Boneturner’s Tale….hm….) However, I could absolutely see him being Micheal Keay, as he gives off enough ghost vibes to pass as him (and I’m assuming that if Gerard’s dead, Micheal is as well.) Also he is not described as having a Lichtenburg figure on him so…yeah. Lastly, we have the return of THE SEX WORMS. And as happy(?) as I am to see that The Magnus Archives, a podcast developed by RustyQuill.com, that is also licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, is continuing it’s message of staying abstinent, all things considered, that was absolutely terrifying. I just LOVE the knowledge that the worms are a hive-mind and that Jane might not be the source, I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. In conclusion, I am probably going to sleep with a fire extinguisher tonight, and I am very scared for what the next 14 episodes have in store for me.

Also I guess I’ll mention Tim (the archival assistant, not the dead guy) here because why not. So far I’m getting major bastard energy from people’s descriptions of him, which means I will either love or hate him. Also I found it very funny but also kind of sad that Jon said he only trusts Tim to not prank him in Episode 11, and then he pulled a prank shortly before this statement took place.

- Episode 27, A Sturdy Lock 🔑

Statement of Paul McKenzie, regarding repeated nocturnal intrusions into his home.

Ok, after everything that happened in the last episode, it was nice to get a short and sweet one here. Well, as sweet as an episode of a horror podcast can be. Overall, this one isn’t my favorite, I thought it was a little bit under the standards of creativity for the show as a whole, but that’s obviously not saying much, as it was still pretty damn good in its own right. I think it was definitely very effective with its storytelling, and credit where credit is due, it certainly brought out my fear of weird noises in the middle of the night. And even if I can’t personally resonate with this aspect of it, I do really appreciate how it tackled the idea of mental illness at old age, and while I’d be surprised if the statement wasn’t real, considering where the show seems to be going, it did a very good job at planting seeds of doubt in my mind. But still, it was genuinely pretty crushing how Paul had no proof throughout the entire thing, along with how the cops treated him. It really did make me thing about what would have happened if he hadn’t washed the blood off his hands. It still had a creepy atmosphere, and the reveals at the end were pretty interesting, I hope they show us Marcus’ statement soon enough. Also, the aspect of loneliness in this one did remind me a lot of what happened in Episode 13, so I wonder if there’s some connection there. (Also, I love how I’m 27 episodes in and Jon is STILL roasting Gertrude’s organizational skills.) So while this one isn’t the most interesting for me, I still enjoyed it, and it was nice to have a slightly lighter one after Episode 26. I hope Sasha had a good few days off, she deserves it.

- Episode 28, Skintight 📷

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

WHOA THAT WAS SO GOOD!!! Ok, I feel like I should start off with my thoughts on the basic premise, as while those episode is certainly…not the most humorous in its execution, the premise itself kind of is. I don’t know why, but I just thought the idea of there being an in-universe competitor was a really fun concept that was executed perfectly here. It kind of reminds me of something like Hatchetfield and Clivesdale (I don’t know how many people reading this will understand that, but there seems to be overlap between TMA fans and Hatchetfield fans, and also like, shut up, let me indulge in my hyperfixations.) The bickering between Melanie and Jon was great, as was Melanie herself, I’d love to see her again as I think she oddly brought a lot to the world of the series. Although I will say that, while it doesn’t make me like him any less, Jon’s reluctance to buy into statements is a lot more frustrating when there’s another person in the room. I also absolutely love the fact that there’s an in-universe spooky podcast mentioned by name, like, come one, that’s genuinely hilarious. But comedic value aside, this one was definitely pretty creepy. In a similar vain to what Episode 23 was doing, the whole “young people enter creepy abandoned building to film stuff and then get genuinely scared” concept felt evocative of other classic horror stories, and the way they spun it into the context of the show was great. The atmosphere was definitely very creepy as well, as I have mentioned, hospitals creep me the fuck out. And lastly…oh my god, THE CONNECTIONS. So, I’ll start off by saying that all of the skin shit reminded me of what happened in Episode 18 (which I hope is true because I think some connections to other things would make me like that episode more). But that pales in comparison to the fact that we have stuff on THE ANGLERFISH, HOLY FUCK THE ANGLERFISH. I’m SO glad that they didn’t throw it away just because it was in the pilot episode. In retrospect, I think that the story of Episode 1 isn’t quite my favorite. It doesn’t really have to be, as I think the main draw of the episode is getting a first look at the framing device and general vibe of the entire podcast, but the stories didn’t really grab me until Episode 2, which is still one of my favorites. But MAN, this episode really made me appreciate the setup at the beginning so much more, and the knowledge that the people who walked into the alley didn’t necessarily die, meaning that all of those names could potentially come back, is SO exciting to me. In fact, when you consider that Sarah was kind of going through what looked like a possession, I wonder if The Anglerfish is a figure of worship in a cult, if that theory is to be true. (Also I have relatives that live in the same area as Sarah so…maybe I should tell them to watch out for their neighbor lmao.) So yeah, this…this show is just really freaking good.

Note: I have discovered the Leitner rant, and therefore I have achieved true enlightenment.

- Episode 29, Cheating Death ♟️

Statement of Nathaniel Thorp, regarding his own mortality.

I should start off by saying that I love the episode title for this, like, it’s not even metaphorical, the guy literally cheated in a game against death. Well, anyways, the main thing that caught me about the episode was how it absolutely blindsided me. While I was right about the soldier being the same as the statement giver, which I think was supposed to be obvious, everything else in those last six or so minutes left me with a wide-open jaw. (Also, can I just say that I love how poetic this guy just…decided to be? Like, I just love it when the statements really show of personalities with the way they’re written, and it comes with a cool framing device.) Regardless, I initially assumed that it was going in a very traditional line. Nathaniel cheats death, becomes immortal, and regrets it in modern day because he’s lived longer that he really should have. That, combined with the fact that “Death” didn’t seem like the one of the more creative horror monsters in the show so far, had me so prepared to just write this one off as one of my least favorites (once again, not like that’s saying much.) And then the twist comes and HOLY SHIT I WAS WRONG. The idea of there basically being multiple grim reapers at the hands of some unknowable power, who have to gain successors to finally die themselves is absolutely terrifying and extremely clever. I tip my hat to you Rusty Quill, you did a great job at fooling me. Kind of funny considering how this is a story about being punished for your hubris (which seems to be a recurring theme???) I have a few other small thoughts as well. Firstly, I can’t help but shake the feeling that Nathaniel Thorp was an actual revolutionary war soldier, but I can’t find anything online other than the character from this episode. Also, the fact that his fate remains unknown makes me think he’ll show up again, as it seems weird to NOT end the story with confirmation of his death, given the themes. Secondly, a lot of the…less than pleasant imagery here definitely reminded me of Piecemeal and The Boneturner’s Tale. I don’t remember the story inside that Leitner very well, but I might check just in case there’s any parallels between it and this statement. (Update: Not really.) And finally, I was just a little bit intrigued by the fact that we learn no one who was working at the institute in 1972 works there anymore. It’s probably nothing, but given the mysteries surrounding Gertrude’s death, I’m just a little suspicious, both in general, and of Elias because he’s still around. Overall this episode went hard, I’m still kind of stunned by what it pulled off.

Jane Prentiss statement…save me…save me Jane Prentiss statement…

- Episode 30, Killing Floor 🍖

Statement of David Laylow, regarding his time working at an industrial abattoir near Dalton.

You know what, Jon is right, there’s a lot of meat in this show. Not that I’m complaining, I mean, it does fuel my obsession with connecting the dots between statements. Regardless, while this isn’t among my favorite episodes so far, I still had a good time with it. The reason it’s not one of my favorites is purely personal, as I don’t do too well with animal violence. Like, as much as I do really appreciate how viscerally Jonny Sims can describe the statements, I will admit that the opening minutes describing the slaughter house made me more uneasy than the actual horror, and not in a particularly fun way, but it was overall fine. Speaking of the actual horror, that was actually pretty good. The endless hallways lined with doors that lead to precarious situations also kind of tapped into a personal fear of mine, but in a more fun and digestible way. And while the idea of “imagine humans being slaughtered like animals” is something I’ve seen many a time before, it was still much more well executed than many other interpretations of the idea (*cough cough*, peta) and there were also plenty of other interesting themes and ideas, like how the episode touched on the inherent horror of working in a job as gruesome as the killing floor, being enslaved to said job, and the idea that maybe we’re all just walking sacks of meat in the end, and nothing more. As for some other thoughts, I was definitely creeped out by Tom Han, I’m not sure whether or not he’s someone who spreads ✨the horrors✨or someone affected by ✨the horrors✨, and his sudden disappearance was certainly…odd. On top of that, it’s admittedly haunting to know that there’s still creepy stuff going on at the slaughter house, and that this isn’t something that happened to David, and only David. Overall, a pretty good episode, I don’t have much to say about it, but it was a fun time overall.

Tim…save me…save me Tim…

Well, if you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Genuinely means the world to me when there are people willing to listen to me ramble about my horrible (affectionate) interests lmao. I should have my thoughts on the final episodes of Season 1 out in due time, and while I’m sure it’s obvious, I’m absolutely hooked on this podcast. It absolutely has the potential to become one of my favorite things ever if the overarching plot becomes more involved and this is coming from someone who up until now, wasn’t all that gripped by podcasts. While I’m a little sad that I’m as late to the party as I am, then I remembered “oh yeah, I was in elementary school when this horrifying series came out”, and I’m also hopeful that I’ll be able to be around for The Magnus Protocol while it’s airing (I know it premieres in like a week but still.) Anyways, thanks for reading and hopefully you’ll be around for my thoughts on the next batch :)

[divorcemotif]

this is going to be kind of all over the place but I wanna look at how martin conceptualizes his loyalty to jon specifically in like, the changing contexts of the later seasons, ig. of all the fucked up martin thesis statement moments in mag 170, "always following, never leading" and how it's placed as a foundational part of his self-conception—within the structure of the episode & dream logic of the house—is the one that’s haunted me the most I think. this episode is in the context of his whole willful ignorance & rejection of choice thing going at this part of the show; he refuses to listen to the statements, or hear about his domain, or make the decision about going into jude’s domain when jon offers it to him directly. and his avoidant tendencies are central to the logic of this episode; the slipping away is enabled by his not wanting to examine things—about himself, about the world—because it’s easier.. “maybe the fog’s here because I want it here”; running away from another person in the house when trying to connect gets too difficult & overwhelming. and then his mantra at the climax of this episode sees him assuring himself that jon will find him, not that he will find jon; although getting out of the fog in this episode ends up being pretty textually thanks to his own willpower rather than jon’s abilities, framing jon as the active agent is what he always does.

it’s this interesting dynamic where “never leading” as an identity maybe isn’t something he likes about himself, but it’s something he’s resigned to, which he frames as intrinsic, and which he’s continually choosing in a lot of subtle ways. if he’s always fundamentally secondary and unimportant—to jon, relatively, to the universe���then there’s no responsibility for him to carry; he doesn't need to dwell on things that are uncomfortable. from a detached bystander's position he can freely make suggestions and criticize jon’s decisions, while evading responsibility for anything that actually happens. but of course, jon being the only vessel through which he has any power to interact with the world or gain information leaves him no influence further than what jon is willing to humour him—and jon is certainly ready to do things martin does not want him to do (or not do things which martin does want him to do) where their convictions diverge. for his own reasons, he can be as selective about what he tells martin as martin is evasive in what he asks.

there’s a pivotal emotional shift in the transition from s4 to s5 and the catharsis at the end of 159, where in a sense martin goes from one extreme to another—from isolating himself and cutting jon out to accepting dependence on jon pretty absolutely, in ways that are exacerbated by the context of the fear apocalypse. but ofc in another sense it’s consistent; even if his decisions in season 4 were made in isolation and jon wasn't involved—or was even actively opposed to them—everything martin did was still about jon somehow, ideologically, which is what doesn’t change going into season 5. the idea he expresses multiple times, in 170 and in season 4, that he’s been alone on a fundamental level his whole life (the line “it’s just me. always has been” in 158 actually connecting his loneliness to the independence of his motivations, wrt his betrayal of peter lukas) is not a contradiction with the idea that he’s always been “following”; the incredibly isolating experience of being his abusive mum's carer having made caring for others—commitment, loyalty—something he’s practiced at doing from an emotional distance, and he’s not used to navigating a reciprocal relationship at all (when they're together martin's selective about sharing his insecurities with jon while expecting jon to make a constant effort to be more vulnerable with him, and doesn’t seem to register this hypocrisy).

and like, from the early seasons most of the major things he does for jon—running into the tunnels in 79; staying with him in the storage closet in 39; returning to carlos vittery's basement in 22, if that counts; generally bringing him tea and pestering him to eat—were always based more in his own ideas of what jon needed/would respond to, than anything jon was or was not asking of him (jon was not singling him out in this regard). so season 4 was not out of line in that respect. and in the final conflict at the end of season 5 he's still making his position about jon, about what's best for him, even though what he and jon want has diverged.

it's in some ways an evasive thing, focusing on jon—whether trying to influence jon’s actions or centring jon in his own—but you also get this kind of muddying of cause and justification. being unable on a fundamental level to conceive of himself as an active player in his own right—wanting things but not knowing how to approach the responsibility that would be implicitly accepted in pursuing them, either by himself or for himself; I think it's a big part of his “it’s not a betrayal if you’re doing it to help” philosophy, where ultimately his loyalty to jon as he conceives it can manifest in going actively against jon’s wishes

[thepunkmuppet]

ok i just looked back through my blog and it looks like my big theory from way back last year has just… disappeared?? which i’m pretty annoyed about tbh, but i want to expand on it and update it anyway because the casting announcement and logo all validate it and make it a lot more interesting SO

my big magnus protocol theory and what i think the plot will be

so, this is a world completely without the Fears, until BAM. here they are. and with the arg, the encrypted messages and the glitchy aesthetic they seem to be going for, now further expanded on by the logo literally being a glitchy computer screen, i was thinking what if as the fears entered the universe, there was some kind of mass signal or energy surge.

imagine all the screens and electronics in the world suddenly go static, and a jumbled-up incomprehensible message (like the “statement remains” audio) can be heard everywhere, all around the world. and it goes on for around 20-30 minutes. and in those minutes, every single person in the world is fucking TERRIFIED. just frozen in absolute fear.

and of course this causes thousands and thousands of accidents and deaths and just generally terrifies everyone, so naturally every world government thinks it’s an attack of some kind. hence why we follow civil service workers, specifically those working for Incident Assessment and Response. this would be quite an incident!!

in these first few episodes following the signal, we also hear from the prime minister. and i originally thought it would be REALLY fun if the uk prime minister in this universe is the og Elias. i love this idea with all my heart for many reasons, but it doesn’t look like ben meredith will be in it, so i’ve had to modify it a bit. so, either the prime minister will be gwendolyn bouchard, who could either be a relative of elias or transfem elias (although, trans prime minister?? in this godforsaken country??) OR the tim fearon character, who could potentially be jonah magnus or a similar previously established character. but personally, i’m betting on miss gwendolyn, so keep that in mind as you read the rest of this.

and so at the end of the first or second episode, we hear this prime minister in a big meeting about the incident, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger that reveals what the unscrambled audio really was.

it’s mag 200. which is why jon and martin are (potentially) on the cast list. the fears are ushered into the universe using their voices.

but i think what would be an even cooler cliffhanger is if after this big reveal, after the tape squeals and basira says good luck, we hear something we’ve never heard before.

“oh, hello. are you still listening?”

OR

tim fearon’s voice.

so this is where the REDACTED names really come into play. idk what the actual plot will be, but my idea is that jon, martin, and the tim fearon character, who i personally think is the voice of the original jonah magnus, are:

1, stuck as “ghosts in the machine” of sorts, living on as disembodied glitchy voices and nothing more

2, are huge eldritch entities, who can speak through anything and anyone, maybe possess people, etc, and possibly act as similar entities to the fears in a way, creating their own avatars and suchlike - maybe to fight the fears in jon and martin’s cases

or 3, the fears use their voices to actually speak, probably through recordings and electronics, meaning the REDACTED isn’t just to conceal their characters, they actually just don’t have names

also this is a much smaller point but because her name and presumed age are so out of place in comparison to the rest of the cast, i think lady mowbray is a psychic or mystic woman of some kind rather than an actual noble woman, and will be able to talk to the new jon and martin, whatever they are

so yeah that’s it i guess! i hope all this makes sense, if anyone has any questions, anything to add or challenge, or just want to discuss it please please do!! i want to see what people think of this in light of all the new information because i LOVE this idea so much that if it doesn’t happen i might just write it myself lol

[cult-of-the-eye]

@melandrops tma restaurant AU? (Coming from someone who knows next to nothing about how restaurants work lol)

Ok so the Magnus Institute is like a prestigious but controversial like Michelin Star restaurant with millions of fancy little courses

The controversy comes from the idea that each dish is tailored to target a person's traumatic and/or paranormal event and people have protested about the ethics but each protest has been magically made to go away so all that's left is rumours and people leaving with a vaguely unsettled feeling

Still gets good business though, just...interesting...customers

Hold on let me actually Google how restaurants work

Ok so after a quick Google I have come to the conclusion that Elias is the kitchen manager

He only comes out to criticise someone's plating and the only time there has ever been a record of him saying something nice is when someone was served cake

(it was from a patron with a Lonely themed children's birthday party where nobody came and the house turned to fog)

Gertrude was Head Chef but she died under mysterious circumstances and they found her body stuffed into an old freezer in the tunnels under the restaurant

Jon gets promoted to Head Chef, despite Sasha clearly having more experience and then Sasha, Tim and Martin make up the main kitchen crew

Jon is stressed because Gertrude left behind very complicated, messy instructions on how to create the menus for the patrons, so he's literally making it up as he goes along but somehow it always seems to work out

Tim is usually on side dishes, Sasha on mains and Martin on desserts but they swap when needed

Martin meets Jon when he accidentally lets a dog into the restaurant

Martin lied about his work experience in another prestigious restaurant and it's honestly been a miracle why he hasn't been fired yet

(maybe his years cooking for his mum did come in handy)

The fears all still exist, each dish is personally tailored to the fear the patron has been touched by and during the course of the meal, they're compelled to explain how the dish was relevant to that experience like they're in some sort of trance

Michael is still Michael (until he's Helen)

The Jane Prentiss incident still happens (Martin's out getting some of the more sketchier ingredients when he stumbled upon her, i guess it's just a lot scarier that the worms are gonna get the restaurant shut down and then why Elias isn't more worried about that prospect)

The Leitners could still exist with the patrons having brushes with them

Ooh maybe he gets brutally kitchen utensil murdered

Tim flirts with as many of the patrons he possibly can

Melanie was part of a rival restaurant chain that had gained popularity for apparently being haunted until she joins the Institute

Daisy and Basira are still detectives that investigate some of the ethical protests

Canon is pretty much followed as much as it can be

Jmart still happens. Obviously. You can really get up close and personal in a busy kitchen, especially when your chef keeps abandoning his work to bring you cups of water. (It's hot in a kitchen I'm guessing)

Yeah ok if I can think of any more I'll add them!