#and more in keeping with the themes of the magnus archives

[wouldtheybecomeafearavatar]

Can I ask—what’s the difference between “by coercion” and “unawareness/conditioning”?

Yeah, sometimes I wonder if the wording is a bit confusing. As it's put in the intro post:

Yes, by coercion: they would go through with it, but only if threatened with a loved one's life or something along those lines.

Yes, by unawareness or conditioning: they wouldn't realize until it's too late or would be raised to be an avatar, unaware their way of existence is not normal.

To explain a bit further (spoilers for several character arcs in TMA):

Coercion means the character would be forced or manipulated into it by someone or something. It requires a degree of awareness of what is happening (otherwise they'd go under unawareness).

Robert Montauk being forced to work for The People's Church of the Divine Host to get his wife back could be an example, though I'm not sure he ever achieved full Dark avatar status.

Basira would have ended up in this category if she'd continued to work for the institute long enough to become an Eye avatar, as Elias forced her to sign the contract under threat of Daisy's life.

I'd probably put Martin in the coercion category too, since he was going along with Peter Lukas and The Lonely to potentially save Jon.

Conditioning means that the character was groomed into it by someone from a young age, or born to be an avatar. It should be noted that this only applies to people or beings who under other circumstances could have made a different choice. A being that came into existence as an expression of a Fear would be manifestation instead.

Agnes Montague is kind of the defining example of this category, though members of the Lukas family being raised into it also count.

I think Gerry Keay could be another example of this. Eye avatarhood specifically wasn't a foregone conclusion for him, but he never really had a chance at a normal life. Willingly may be more accurate; he didn't choose to get involved with the Fears, but he did choose The Eye.

Unawareness is pretty self-explanatory, though I would point out this doesn't mean that the character never realises they are transforming. That (strictly speaking) wouldn't actually work, since becoming an avatar does require an active choice at some point. In this case it's more that the character doesn't realise until they're at the point of no return and the choice they are making is between death or becoming an avatar. If they refuse once they realise it'd be "go along but stop before transformation".

Jon is an example. Coercion could also be argued, given that Elias was definitely pushing him to go further and further using the (false) threat of the Unknowing, but I think Jon was too unaware of how he was being manipulated to go in coercion.

I think Michael Shelley would also go into this category. He was manipulated into it by Gertrude, but he had no idea what was going to happen. His case is a bit of a strange one in general though, I'm not sure he even had any affinity for The Distortion to start with.

At the end of the day, these are just my opinions and you can vote however you want, but I hope this helps answer your question! (Sorry for the essay)

[thermodynamic-comedian]

when i was created the universe did not give me the patience necessary to become an artist simply because it knew that the world wasn't ready for my magnificent ideas. such as "tma except it's ultrakill" or "tmagp except it's cruelty squad"

[radicalreliablerandomness]

Podcast Rec Masterpost

I've been asked a couple times for podcast recommendations so I thought I'd post a compilation of some shows and a bit of info about them. Most shows I talk about are tagged below (I ran out of tags) so you can look through fan content as well if you're not one to care about spoilers. My asks are still open for personalized recs if you send me some others that you've listened to just because I love you, yes that's right! You. The person reading this right now!

Here goes!

Dungeons And Daddies *not a BDSM podcast

This show is a dnd actual play podcast. The first season is about four dads from our world lost in the Forgotten Realms in search of their lost sons. It’s a comedy but as with all comedies, you will cry by the end of it. It's super easy to get into with great chemistry between all the cast players and the dm, no prior knowledge of dnd is necessary. They do invoke slight horror sometimes so do keep an eye out for content warnings. Season 1 has 68.5 episodes along with bonus content and a mini campaign in between seasons 1 and 2. Season 2 is currently ongoing. Transcripts available.

The Bright Sessions

This is a science fiction podcast. The premise is a collection of clinical recordings of superpowered people's therapy sessions. The plot gets more interesting and convoluted as you get further in. Incredible voice acting filled with emotion. Does have some heavier discussions so be on the lookout for content warnings. It has 7 seasons (the last two are technically not part of the first five seasons' plot) and is completed. Transcripts available.

Hello From the Hallowoods

A post-apocalyptic fiction podcast. A beautifully written and preformed podcast that explores identity, religion, and other themes in vignettes throughout this haunted world narrated by an omniscient being. Some heavier topics are included so check the content warning before each episode. Seasons 1 and 2 are completed and season 3 will be done soon. Transcripts available.

The Magnus Archives

A horror fiction podcast. A well written chronological story told through anthology which seem to be tape recordings from a paranormal investigation institute. Incredible writing and actors that really bring it to life. This is horror so make sure to check the content warnings. The show is completed at 5 seasons. Transcripts available.

Neighbourly

Another horror fiction podcast! An interesting look into all the houses on Little Street and their peculiarities. Some more peculiar than others. The podcast is absolutely delightful with a horribly fun narrator. I would suggest checking the content warnings as some episodes are more intense than others. The show has 2 completed seasons. Transcripts available.

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

A musical mystery fiction podcast. The first season is about an investigation on the murder of a beloved host of a children's tooth-themed show. That's all I can say without spoilers. There are 3 incredible seasons along with short stories in between each season. Transcripts available until halfway through season 2.

Welcome to Nightvale

Possibly the most well known science fiction podcast, it really speaks for itself but I'll do my spiel anyways. Recorded as snippets of a daily radio broadcast, the show details the weird goings on in this strange desert town of Nightvale. Narrated almost completely by the radio host's smooth voice. It's ongoing and is currently sitting at 233 episodes. Transcripts available.

The Two Princes

A fictional queer romance podcast. It takes place in that special part of fiction that always starts with "once upon a time," it feels like a story book almost. The show is based around two boys meeting in the woods. Spoiler alert: they fall in love. It's just a cute feel good show. The podcast is complete at 3 seasons. Spotify auto-generated transcripts available.

What's the Frequency?

A self described psychedelic noir podcast. It's an absolute blast even if it is a bit hard to follow. Takes place in the 1940s in LA when all radio broadcasts were turned to static. You kind of just have to go with it until you get to the end. Completed at 12 episodes. Transcripts available.

Story Break

A writer's room podcast. The basic concept behind Story Break is 3 Hollywood writers in a room together take a prompt and try to make a story for it in an hour. There are many laughs in this podcast and just all around good humor and vibes. The show is complete at 169 episodes plus two full movie scripts. No transcript.

Who Killed Avril Lavigne

A science fiction podcast. It's about a time traveling pop punk loser and that's all you need to know. It's a podmusical so you'll be getting great nostalgic pop punk type songs along with crying from laughing so hard. Completed at 8 episodes. No transcript.

The Behemoth

A fiction podcast. Based around an unexplainable creature emerging from the ocean and how the world, and one girl in particular, deal with this phenomenon. It is pretty short with the longest episode being about 12 minutes. Completed at 20 episodes. No transcript.

Rude Tales of Magic

A dnd actual play podcast. It is mainly focused on the actual roleplay and story telling as opposed to the actual play. A handful of college students from Polaris University fuck the world up by completing a hazing ritual which in this case is a supposedly demon summoning. Obviously now they need to fix the world. Currently 64 episodes and ongoing. No transcript.

Midnight Burger

A very well written fiction podcast. It’s about a time/space traveling diner where the employees try to help solve a problem every place they land. Think Doctor Who adjacent vibes but with more drama. There is an overarching plot that comes together so look out for that. It has incredible characters that are really nicely fleshed out. You’ll somehow like and hate all of them as much as possible in the best way. Currently has 29 episodes of the main feed and a 9 episode mini-series. Transcript available.

Monstrous Agonies

A fiction podcast. It’s an radio advice segment on a station for “liminal Britain” aka the monstrous world to put it plainly. It’s really chill and comforting. There’s very good advice there and the intermittent ad reads will have you giggling to yourself. Episodes are on the shorter side, averaging about 15 minutes each. It does have some heavier discussions so make sure to check the content warnings. The show is completed at 111 episodes through 3 seasons. Transcripts available.

Desert Skies

A fiction podcast. The voice acting in this one is incredible, it’s the same person the whole time. The show as a whole is also just super well done. The premise is that when you die you show up on a highway and get to this astral pit stop. I’m not going to spoil it anymore you just have to experience it. There is an additional show, Desert Skies FM that's a buddy to this one. I recommend listening to both. Season 1 was completed at 12 episodes. Transcripts available.

Wooden Overcoats

A sitcom dramedy podcast. The show is about two siblings that run a funeral home on an island. It used to be the only one, it isn’t anymore. It has a wacky cast of characters and even wackier plot points. The dialogue can be a little hard to get used to at the beginning but once you get into it it flows easily. The show is completed at 4 seasons. Transcripts available.

Greater Boston

An audio drama podcast. It's set in Boston if you couldn't tell from the title and starts with the death of a man on a rollercoaster. It blends real life with some subtle (and at times not-so-subtle) fantasy elements. It's currently at 4 completed seasons. Transcript available.

Gay Future

A science fiction podcast. In a world where everyone is gay in the future we focus on this one straight kid. Following his journey to destroy the government who are making everyone gay. This is a satire by the way. 1 season completed at 6 episodes. No transcripts.

Death by Dying

A dark comedy podcast. The show follows an obituary writer while he does things that are totally under the jurisdiction of his job. A well written and preformed show. There are a lot of laughs and obviously some heartbreaks as well. Currently 1 completed season with season 2 sitting at 2 episodes for a bit now. Transcript available.

Not Another D&D Podcast

An actual play dnd podcast. This one's more mainstream than my other podcasts so I don't talk about it as much but that doesn't mean it's not incredible. The first campaign is about 3 adventurers off to save the world. Obviously. It can be a bit slow in the beginning but anything past the second half of the first season is incredible. There's humor, drama, love, and much more. The DM is also just incredible. 1 completed season, a couple mini campaigns, and the second season is currently at 43 episodes. No transcripts.

Forgive Me!

A fiction podcast. It starts based around vignettes of confessionals in this small town taken by a new father in the local church. An overarching plot is present but it's generally a feel good, sweet and simple show. They have 2 complete seasons with season 3 currently at 9 episodes. Transcripts available.

Real Housewives of D&D

An actual play dnd podcast. This show is based around the concept of a "Real Housewives..." type show but you don't need to know anything about those to listen to this. It's about 4 reality TV stars thrown into a magical fantasy world with no knowledge of how to get home. There's drama, excitement, danger, and lots more. The first season was just completed at 16 episodes. Transcripts available.

The Silt Verses

A horror fiction podcast. Two people who worship a banned god travel together up a river in a pilgrimage. There is incredible worldbuilding in this show along with acting and sound design. This is horror and a very good one at that so make sure you check content warnings. Season 1 and 2 are completed and season 3 is at 2 episodes so far. Transcripts available.

The Land Whale Murders

A comedy fiction podcast. It takes place in the year 1899 and is about a pair of friends? maybe not, that metaphorically explore the world they're living in. It is a commentary on the world we live in and the problems in it through a hilarious and wacky cast. There are currently 17 episodes between both seasons 1 and 2. Transcripts available.

Elaine's Cooking for the Soul

A post-apocalyptic cooking podcast. The show is about a dentist who makes her way through the fallout of an apocalypse while also making a cooking podcast. It does have depictions of violence, war, and dentistry so check out the content warnings. There are 2 completed seasons. No transcripts.

Fawx and Stallion

A mystery podcast. If you hate Sherlock Holmes you'll love this podcast. Also if you love Sherlock Holmes you'll love this podcast. It's based around the detectives who live across the street from Holmes at 224B Baker street. It's pretty goofy. Season 1 is completed. Transcripts available.

The Amelia Project

A fiction podcast. Follow the shenanigans of this death-faking organization as they take in new clients and hear their stories. It does develop an actual overarching plot later on but every second is fun. Seasons 1-4 have been completed and season 5 is in progress. Transcripts available.

A Voice From Darkness

A horror podcast. It's centered around a radio show hosted by Dr. Malcolm Ryder, Parapsychologist. He helps people who call into his show with supernatural problems, gives PSAs and warnings about strange happenings, and more. Season 1 is completed and season 2 is at 9 episodes. Transcripts available.

Station Arcadia

A dystopian fiction podcast. Formatted through a radio show, it tells the story of a world that's slowly dying. There are vignettes of different characters through different areas of the world. Season 1 is completed at 25 episodes. Transcripts available.

Margaret's Garden

A science fiction podcast. It has two plots running at the same time which keeps you on your toes but makes for an intriguing story line. In one plot line, two agents are sent to investigate the strange happenings of a weird little long abandoned town. Simultaneously, we hear from the past of that town as it catches up to the agents. Completed at 10 episodes. Transcripts available.

Camp Here & There

A horror comedy podcast. It's recorded as a set of daily announcements over a loudspeaker at a totally normal summer camp. The announcements are made by the camp nurse and he's also totally normal. I promise. Make sure to check in with the content warnings as some topics are a little mature or graphic. There are currently 34 episodes. Transcripts available.

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye

A companion horror podcast. This is actually a bit meta because it is the result of a youtube series. This show is the one the podcast hosts in the series release, it's definitely worth both the watch and the listen though. It's got werewolves and drama. Completed at 10 episodes of video and 10 of the podcast. No transcripts.

I am in Eskew

A horror podcast. It's about a man who's trapped in a city where the buildings always change and the rain never stops. There's a weird monotonous creeping horror in this show that just draws you in. Check for content warnings definitely. Completed at 30 episodes. Transcripts available.

Traveling Light

A comfy cozy fiction podcast. It follows The Traveller on their exploration through space, visiting alien planets and collecting stories to send back to their community. For supporters of the show, it almost functions as a choose-your-own-adventure with choices to vote on and listener submissions. It's made by the same people as Monstrous Agonies so if you enjoyed that, you'd enjoy this and vice versa. There are currently 16 episodes. Transcripts available.

Not yet described but still recommended:

Eeler’s Choice

The Secret of St Kilda

The Endless Ocean

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio

The Sword & The Stoner

World Gone Wrong: a fictional chat show about friendship at the end of the world

Travelling Light

Waterlogged

Brimstone Valley Mall

[earthstellar]

Earth Music on the Lost Light: Human Music That Cybertronians Like

we know for a fact that the Lost Light has access to human media, primarily movies, TV shows, and music-- and we know they generally seem to fucking love most of it, or at least find it interesting

but what would everyone's tastes be, in regards to Earth music?

time to talk about music for a long time!!! strap in, enjoy some tunes

we already know Cyclonus has impeccable taste and enjoys some of the best jams the 80s had to offer.

I can't help but imagine Rodimus being given a media archive of Earth tunes to approve for the Earth Dance would only result in chaos

(it's not like he would say no to anything, he absolutely blanket signed it all, it's just an obligatory thing-- or Ultra Magnus tells him it is, solely to keep him away from Important Captain Things that he would rather handle himself or hand off to Megatron, lmao. the shit that really needs to get done)

and this is how Rodimus discovers the somewhat questionable yet amazing genre of "mid-90s underground techno rave mix tapes"

(somewhat related, I still think Testarossa might as well be Rodimus' theme song, although it's not a 90s track and has more of an 80s synth vibe)

Rodimus would love that "computers are the future, fuck yeah let's make Digital Cool Future Music" mid-90s shit, there is no way he would not. it has the exact energy level that appeals to him and is also cheesy and weird and chaotic. and has like 500 different sub-genres, so his selection is endless, lmao.

he would probably find it cute that this is what humans imagined to be the peak of "digital sound" at the time. like lmao this was the best humans could do when asked to create music that sounds like it was made by robots or other mechanical space future cyber lifeforms--high concept!!! he would probably find it interesting and endearing. this is what organics think non-organic music is like!!

anyone acting as DJ at Swerve's on any given night would be so, so mad that Rodimus keeps requesting shit like "DJ MASSIMO ITALO DISCO BEST RAVE TUNES LIVE FROM LONDON 1995" or "DJ ARMPIT SLUDGE FEST HOUSE-RAVE-DRUMS N BASS SET 1996" for them to play, lmao

not individual tracks. the whole album. entire mix tapes of random, somewhat questionable mid-90s techno house rave bullshit.

that having been said, that good ass early 90s trance techno might send him into a spiral depending on his mood at the time, lmao (it's been known to happen)

but at the same time I can imagine him sharing tracks like Solar Quest - Space Pirates with Drift and they'd both just sit there and jam out, but quietly, thinking about shit while sitting in a port window next to each other (this was peak sleepover party techno, Back in My Day-- many deep conversations were had while listening to stuff like this, lol)

Drift would probably find some of Rodmus' recommended stuff to be pretty good for meditation-- although once he finds out about the human drug culture involved and certain concepts of experimental consciousness etc. that surrounded techno/rave and other related genres, it might cause him to pull back a little bit

(until he finds out about kandi culture, in which case, Drift would love the idea of hand-made unique bracelets and sentimental trinkets being made and exchanged at warehouse shows purely out of Good Vibes and Love for Fellow Beings and it turns out actually he fucking loves this shit, a chill vibes based "expand your mind" kind of music subculture appeals to his Spectralist sensibilities and he likes sharing tunes with Rodimus in return)

Drift picking tracks on his own would likely lead him down more of a classic rock road, but more of the chill side of things, more of the folksy type of classic rock -- I can see Drift really enjoying Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum or California Dreamin' - The Mamas and the Papas. or like, Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock.

I mean, Drift might even go Full Earth Hippie and end up liking Green Tambourine - Lemon Pipers, lmao. in fact I am fairly certain of this.

I can see Drift loving Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension. the whole vibe would probably appeal to him.

he'd quite possibly also like I Need a Dollar - Aloe Blacc, but it hits him in a place that still hurts to think about. so it's in rare rotation.

meanwhile Ratchet would probably be fine with classic rock too, like the good Dad Rock shit, just a lot of tracks from the 70s/80s -- a couple tracks he and Drift could probably agree on would likely lean more into the experimental/psychedelic rock side of things, like White Room - Cream or something like Wheel in the Sky - Journey

Rodimus tries to troll Ratchet by recommending Old Time Rock n Roll - Bob Seger, but joke's on him because it turns out Ratchet loves it, lmao

Swerve would go all out on classic bar jams for the evening playlist. Chill, good shit like Do It Again - Steely Dan.

Megatron would love Sinnerman - Nina Simone; He'd send it to Drift in a command crew level secured data packet, and they would both feel the hell out of this song. They don't need to talk about why. They never mention it to each other.

Megs would also probably love These Old Bones by Dolly Parton (mostly due to the lyrics, rather than the upbeat tune, but he would find it relatively relaxing), as well as 9 to 5 (of course), and similar music. Country from back in the day when country music was more about the struggle of poverty and the working life of rural people. Country music from back when songs told all the untold stories. He can respect that.

He'd listen to You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Patty Loveless and it would get him right in the fucking spark. Megatron is the Cybertronian equivalent of an Appalachian miner, god dammit. He understands.

Megatron would also like Johnny Cash; He would overthink Ghost Riders in the Sky and it would depress him, partly because it reminds him of Seekers... sigh.

I think he'd also like Cold War - Janelle Monae. He'd be way into good lyrics; What's being said in a song matters most to him. "This is a cold war, you better know what you're fighting for..." Indeed.

anyway I like thinking about what jams Cybertronians might like from their available selection of Earth tunes

[archivecon]

Statement begins...

[Statement of ArchiveCon staff, regarding the fourth annual fan-con for fans of Rusty Quill’s The Magnus Archives/The Magnus Protocol. Statement recorded 06/12/24 by the Official ArchiveCon Tumblr.]

Hey archival assistants, avatars, and everyone in between!

Welcome to the official Tumblr for ArchiveCon 2025! We are proud to be hosting our FOURTH annual ArchiveCon - a fan-lead, fan-run online con for 18+ fans of the Rusty Quill horror podcast, The Magnus Archives (and now Protocol!)

Whether you are an old fan, a new fan, a deeply-rooted fandom denizen, or looking to make your first connections in our fan community, we hope you’ll join us. ArchiveCon may be online-only, but we’ve got all the energy and features of a traditional offline convention - everything from panels and special guests (voice actors, writers, and industry professionals!), to cosplay and games, streaming and discussion, and even an Artist’s Alley.  

Here’s the quick rundown:

- June 27 to 29, 2025 (that’s three days, folks - Friday to Sunday!), from 4 PM to 6 PM, EST.

- Adults only! Most areas of the con will be SFW, but you still must be 18+ to attend.

- FREE TO ATTEND! (Registration is required and must be done so before the convention starts; you can register here!)

- All events are scheduled in EST, but international fans are welcome and most panels (at the discretion of individual panelists) will be recorded for post-convention, on-demand viewing.  

- Primarily focused on The Magnus Archives/Protocol, but fans of all things horror, podcasting, and transformative works will find something to love. The Plain Old Curious are always welcome, too - we have to feed The Eye somehow, right? ;)

For more detailed information and FAQs, visit our website!

—

Are you an artist? A storyteller? A game-master, or perhaps just really want to dig deep into all those tasty, horrific theme? Keep an eye out for artist and panelist registration, coming soon!

For more insight and ideas, check out our previous years' program schedule!

Applications aren’t open quite yet, but we’ll update all our pages when they are.  Hope to see you there!

[Statement Ends.]

[nobodysdaydreams]

Explaining fandoms I’m not in, but I have seen on my dash from the mutuals (to the best of my knowledge based on their posts):

Why? Because I thought it would be fun and entertaining and I hope I’m not wrong.

The Magnus Archives (TMA)- a group of people document creepy and supernatural events while they slowly one by one discover either that they are the monsters/possessed by them, or that they are being taken in by the monsters, or that their coworkers are the monsters, or that they themselves are possibly friends with or dating the monsters, or that they have been working for the monsters (or bad guys) the entire time. Many of the villains seem to be demented or possessed life sized toys and clowns or eyeballs. This podcast has so many episodes, and I see so many posts about it, but these seem to be the common themes.

Miraculous Ladybug- actually haven’t seen this one on my dash in a long time, but when I first did, despite appearing like a straightforward kids fandom, the shipping discourse confused the heck out of me. But if I have this right, based on the posts from my younger followers, two teenagers are animal themed superheroes who are dating each other and also have crushes on each other, but they don’t know they are dating each other, because they don’t know each others secret identities, because… okay, I still honestly have no idea why. There are ~5K posts about this apparently very central and specific plot line, but not one explains why they don’t just tell each other who they are??? Anything for the plot, I guess. Apparently this has been going on for a long time to the point where even the show’s target audience of children is confused as to how these teenagers and grown adults haven’t put the pieces together as to who everyone’s secret identity is.

Keeper of the Lost Cities (KOTLC)- there’s a girl named Sophie. She is an elf in a love triangle with Keefe and some other guy (I think his name is Fritz). Keefe’s parents are terrible, especially his mom. Sophie has horse DNA (I don’t know if that post was a joke or not sorry if that’s wrong). There’s an elf with fire powers. Elves read minds. There’s a group called the black swan who are the good guys, I think. Also I think the elves and humans are at war. I know Keefe’s parents are trash, does Sophie have parents? From what I can tell, she grows up believing she’s a human but then surprise! She’s an elf and the chosen one, and elves are possibly immortal? Wait, maybe Sophie’s a half elf. Is that a thing?

Spy x Family - two people are fake dating each other for spy reasons but eventually fall in love for real. The twist is, they each think the other is a normal civilian who doesn’t know about the fake relationship (which is kinda messed up to make someone fall in love with you for a fake cover but if they’re also doing the same to you that’s karma I guess) but I think it might end up ok, because they fall in love for real (Aw) but possibly also not okay, because I also think it might be revealed that they’ve been working for enemy sides this whole time (drama). Also the adopted daughter is a mind reader who knows everything but chooses to keep what she knows secret for the plot. Respect. And I recently saw something about the family having a super powered dog? Is he real?

The Murderbot Diaries - a bunch of robots are created for one purpose: murder. But when their murder programming goes haywire, they discover that they might have more in common with the humans they’ve been assigned to kill than they originally thought. Or that they have more humanity inside themselves than they thought… or maybe that the people who created them have more evil intentions than… well in hindsight, “the people who build the murder robots are evil!” seems like an obvious plot twist, but maybe they’re more morally complex or had decent intentions and just never intended for it to go this far… or maybe the robots get hacked or decide maybe they don’t want to be murder bots anymore which brings us back to free will. Interesting philosophical questions, but I think the robots might be getting into some wacky shenanigans as well. Also they apparently have diaries. I get that a diary is just like… a log of what they’re doing, but that won’t stop me from imaging a big scary robot with a little pink glitter pen writing “Dear Diary, I killed three people today. I still see their faces when I try to power off at night. When I go into sleep mode, I dream of their faces. I begin to wonder things, like whether they had families, dreams, or ambitions. I also wonder what they felt in their final moments. I fear this means I am developing a conscience and desire to turn against my programming and the creators. But probably nothing a little update and restart can’t fix. I’ll keep you updated, dairy. XOXO, Murderbot 💕” So. How did I do? Scale of 1-10, with 10 being “you nailed it!” and 1 being “None of this is remotely close. What posts have you been looking at?”

[riveracheron]

hey guys have my wild magnus protocol theory that stemmed from me just overanalyzing the little bits of content we have

i think lena is a homunculus.

(spoilers for the pilot and jonny + alex’s post pilot discussion under the cut)

basically this stems from. a lot of places w small amounts of information so some of this might be stretches. But

1. a lot of marketing around protocol mentions the theme of “what does it mean to be a person?” which. leads me to believe there’s gonna be a plot around a protag being Not Human but has the heart or whatever the fuck. standard pinnochio or wizard of oz story. sure youre not human but ur a person bc of xyz free will or whatever

2. lena’s behavior in the pilot is So odd and almost inhuman in its extremely dull corporate jargon way. she literally uses things like “you can file a complaint” or “here at the oiar we….” (advertiser shit) , in genuine conversation. she doesn’t leave the building, either and has a Generic office party.

im genuinely thinking bureaucracy and the weird eldritch stuff of the oiar is Literally all she knows, not that shes being manipulative and evil in the trailer like elias; she doesn’t or maybe cannot question the whole. asking sam about the eldritch trauma thing, something something cant understand human emotions and why that might be troubling.

also “people like chocolate cake.” that sounds weird and something someone with only base knowledge of humanity would say.

she’s described as “an odd one” by jonny and that we will “get her soon”. im under the full belief that shes the non-human character of the bunch thatll yknow. have the Real Boy plot

3. homunculus specifically comes from all the alchemy shit around protocol, and homunculi are some of the most famous alchemical creations in popular culture, and i think she’s not. an entity creation. lenas too much of an important character to just be like. tied to An Entity, as a main character extremely tied to the OIAR, that entity would have to be the basis of like the entire plot of protocol; which i doubt theyd do.

the eye is so important to archives because the themes of archives was the consequences of knowledge- the entire plot was engineered around the Eye as the Main Character Entity and the Eye was written to be that in turn, sorta similarly to how Griffindor is the Main Character House (TM) of HP with its themes of bravery. i doooont think the oiar is tied to the stranger or flesh or any other simulacrum creating entities.

all that to say i think lena is a different kind of artificial human, one that’s manmade rather than entity made yknow?

we get glances of the people above her in status, theres mentions of an ephemeral “he” in the pilot, so. heres what i think

the He in question is an alchemist whose in charge of the OIAR (and maybe other branches but lets focus w the oiar). He created Lena the homunculus to be the middle manager of the branch in his stead; “programming” her to be as dull and corporate as possible to keep the employees in line or whatever. something something shes got a plot wrestling with that and her inherent lack of persondom

EDIT: totally forgot this part

adding that the first statement��s plot was about an abomination of corpses given a humanlike shape and coming back wrong which is. exactly what frankenstein’s monster is, and frankenstein’s monster is considered a homunculus.

with the anglerfish’s importance to season 3 of archives i definitely think the Arthur monster will come up again in some form, but maybe instead of Actually being In Podcast maybe its a parallel to the main characters’ story in the same way that many s4 statements were used to give us more information on how jon is working through it all. the zombie statement when he just wakes up comes to mind especially. maybe it’s a hint and echo of what a Character in podcast (lena) is

[cult-of-the-eye]

Ok right let's think about the names of tma and tmagp. (Vague spoilers for tma)

TMA is The Magnus Archives. It immediately introduces one of the central plot points, who is this Magnus and what exactly is in those Archives. It's a brilliant name for both setting the tone and giving a little wink wink nudge nudge towards us, the listeners.

So what does that mean about the Magnus protocol? It would make sense for it to follow a similar pattern of introducing plot points but it also serves as a surface level link between tma and tmagp. From the beginning, they are somehow tied together, the archives being what Magnus is using to gain more power, so what is the role of the protocol? Protocol basically means a set of rules, either in a political or more importantly, a computer science sense. This then links to what we've seen in the episodes, a strict set of rules, a hierarchy. Alice follows her rules of ignoring what's going on and keeping going to keep her sanity, Colin follows his rules of trying to figure out what's wrong with the computers, Gwen is both a stickler for the rules (do your work and hurry up) and a breaker, she's demanding change, she's threatening the hierarchy by adding a vague middle manager type into the mixture. Sam is breaking Alice's rules to follow his own and who the fuck knows what Celia is doing. I think a big theme here is going to be what motivates each of the characters, what innate set of instructions have they given themselves that they cannot and will not compromise on, that inevitably leads to their downfall. When you become nothing more than a set of rules, data being processed in and out, are you even human anymore?

[stealingyourbones]

So for a silly little side project/fun club thing, Team Phantom decides to set up a little Radio Station/news podcast thing. Eventually, someone from outside of Amity Park gets a hold of it, and it takes off. It gets a place in the same niche as Night Vale and The Magnus Archives, someplace in the middle. And as it grows the Team lean into the vibes more and more. Now, Amity Park is pretty hard to find, the City is doused in magic and ectoplasm, and it only lets the Interesting people in, see? So everyone thinks it's a fiction. After all, a town where the people hardly seem to age, connected to the Realms of the Dead and who knows what else? It's not on the map so it must be fiction- very creative though. Until a someone (writer's choice) gets lost, and practically vanishes off the map. Everyone knows they're alive but nothing else (or do they even have that comfort?). And then the next episode of the radio show comes on air.

"Good Morning Amity Park. Someone new came into town today. That's right! Someone from outside has graced our humble little home. Now you might be wondering, who are they? Why were they let in. We all know, Living and Not-Quite-Living, that Amity Park only lets those it finds interesting inside its borders. Everyone else is turned away without ever knowing they were there. What makes this newcomer so interesting? Well, that's simple listeners.

It's not every day a Hero comes to town."

Jason appearing on the radio as a "special guest" and the entire time he's asking questions and continuously judging the wild ass things happening in this town. "what the fuck is this place? what is going on? how is this normal to any of you? why aren't you freaking out? Why Can't I Leave?!"

This makes a few of the public realize (a majority believe it's simply a stunt for the podcast to keep with the theme and build up hype for the special appearance), this isn't a fun Fiction Horror Podcast. This is the Non-Fiction Horror Podcast.

[somethinginthemyste]

So I don't know much about Alchemy for The Magnus Protocol and I'm not sure how this pertains to things but I'm trying to learn and I stumbled across some interesting connections to the Seven Hermetic Principles so like, if people know more and want to share their thoughts? As I'm understanding, the Hermetic Principles are connected to or simply are also known as Hermeticism to which Alchemy was commonly regarded as "The Hermetic Art". Maybe people have already thought of this and analyzed it but I haven't been able to get to that part of the fandom for some reason so maybe this will bring me there.

Ripped from Wikipedia, take that as you will:

1. The principle of mentalism

"The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental."

This kinda fits with what Colin says that "too much mercury and the world ends" where mercury represents the spirit or mind. The universe is mental so too much of the mind, the mental, would overwhelm it and end everything.

2. The principle of correspondence

"As above, so below; as below, so above.” [...] This principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life.

This really feels like how the O.I.A.R. operates right? There is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena, Gwen is the correspondence between the order and law of the O.I.A.R. and the "external" phenomena.

3. The principle of vibration

"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."

I'm still trying to find a good solid connection to this, but I also have a theory that the fact that Alice's brother Luke is in a band is going to come back in a big way. Like, a Grifter's Bones kind of way.

4. The principle of polarity

"Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."

How many doppelganger stories have we had? How many stories about the missing part of you, the better version of you, the second half? Even with Celia, if everything has poles what if her poles exist across universes. That's why she's waking up random places, because the poles are attracting or repelling each other. If all paradoxes may be reconciled, what paradox is governing her life.

5. The principle of rhythm

"Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates."

Every story we hear about gambling has this principle in place. If someone is having too much luck with the dice, the dice compensate for it. If someone is having too much luck with betting on their own misfortune, the app compensates for it. It swings back and forth, good to bad to good to bad, perfectly balancing itself despite people's attempts to keep it swinging in their favor.

6. The principle of cause and effect

"Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law."

I'm not completely sure how to connect this, but it does work sorta well with the gambling themes again? But also it fits with the things happening with Episode 7 and the random organization coming to kill the invasive species of volunteers. Not sure.

7. The principle of gender

"Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes."

Ok hear me out, this podcast is queer is fuck. Archives was queer but we have so much more representation of gender specific things like the nonbinary Ink5oul and our beloved trans girl Alice. The fact that there is legitimately a principle of gender in something connected to alchemy and we have even more gender representation is amazing. Still waiting for a genderfluid External, maybe one day. Or maybe we met them already and don't know.

Anyway that's what I've learned. If anyone has more information or ideas please share, I'm desperate for more information and ideas and theories.

[encrucijada]

HAZE DOGS — a wip by ester cuervos

【 genre & categroy: horror, low fantasy, adult 】

【 pov: 2nd person retrospective 】

【 what if princess mononoke, the hunt from the magnus archives, and night in the woods had a baby. guy too scared for horror keeps writing it. great news for all the girls (gender neutral) who've ever wanted to go apeshit!! i'm technically catholic so i'm allowed to bastardise catholicism 】

【 cw: cults, blood and gore, religious blasphemy, cannibalism, harm to animals 】

【 tone & themes: feminine horror, corruption, bottled rage, divinity, unhinged, atmospheric, eerie, immortality/mortality 】

a b o u t : an isolated town is haunted by otherworldly canines incapable of dying. when connor hidalgo mejía comes back to life after being sacrificed by her old classmates, the town finds a temporary solution to their problem that will keep more people from dying: they offer connor and only connor to the animals. with her boyfriend's mother at the head, connor becomes the reluctant but not entirely unwilling idol of worship of a cult that begins to form around her. the people of her town really believe she can somehow free them of this haunting. but aurora vidal isn't the only one pulling the strings for power. everyone wants a piece of connor's divinity, a god is easy to manipulate when she's actually just a nineteen-year-old girl who up until last month only had two concerns: make it to tomorrow and get to know her estranged brother. the temporary solution starts to feel like a permanent one with connor soon not being able to find peace in life or in death.

another story about a girl in a white dress getting sacrificed... except she's wearing cool alternative clothes on top of that white dress. also the dark academia plot of "person we all hate died under mysterious circumstances" except this time the person keeps coming back to life, worse each time.

c h a r a c t e r s :

connor hidalgo mejía. she/they. embodies the energy of the "alt friend" from 00s teen movies. would have bitten you to win an argument even before things got freaky. what if jesus was a dog.

ángel quijada vidal. he/they. connor's boyfriend. dark academia protagonist who got lost and ended up in a horror movie. ignoring social cues on purpose because he thinks they're stupid.

delilah estévez herrera. she/her. connor's best friend. literally the prettiest person in the room at all times. not joining your cult bestie sick aesthetic tho. borrowing her from my buddy jude <3

acacia quijada vidal. she/her. connor's frenemy. would befriend you and then vaguepost about you online. ángel's sister. youngest sister syndrome. dead blue eyes.

aurora vidal ochoa. she/her. ángel's mum. gaslight gatekeep girlboss. woke up and decided to become a cult leader. marisa coulter energy (derogatory).

benjy hidalgo mejía. he/him. connor's brother, apparently. has the energy of the bum older brother with a shitty band and a warning sign of his door you'd find in a 90s movie.

zagreus. he/it. pubby :3 nothing weird going on here i prommy.

aesthetic: a foggy open field, coyote howls in the dead of night, wiping blood from your mouth, maximalist teen girl bedrooms, light reflecting off of animal eyes, an empty dilapidated church, bite marks on your shoulder, tall grass swaying in the breeze, an abandoned fountain filled with greenish water, broken statues, taxidermy animals, the rattle of a dog's chain, crackling television signal, cloudy weather and the smell of ozone before a storm, glitter makeup rolling down your cheeks, music so loud others hear it on your headphones, a lake with party trash floating on the surface, your fanciest clothes splattered with blood, the cold smoothness of fine jewellery, low quality camera footage, a trail of kisses down your spine, teeth that are too sharp, halos made with neon bracelets, cupping your cheeks with bloodied hands, curling up under the covers in bed when it's cold

snippet!!!

“Cool, right?” you asked your reflection, answered yourself with a smile that cut your purple mouth in two with white teeth.

You grabbed your keys.

Benjy was in the living room. He still occupied space like he was a guest instead of a resident, you looked at him and tried to find yourself on his face, on his shoulders, his hair, his hands. But other than the brown of your skin and his skin, you couldn’t, the only thing you shared that your mum had too were the freckles, but what did that prove? If that was proof of kin then Ángel would be your brother, Dafne a quarter of something with the smattered speckles on the bridge of their nose.

“Where the fuck are you going?”

He was your brother enough to talk like he’d known all nineteen years of your life.

You stopped in front of the television, a horror movie screaming behind you, blood and guts and bad sound effects of tearing skin, someone’s burbly wail from a cut throat.

“Vidal party.”

“What’s a Vidal? Am I supposed to know what that is?”

“They own like half the town, huge house, can’t miss it.”

“And they invited the likes of you?”

[melled42]

How is your Goat's relationship with their Shamura? Do you have a shipping chart for them?

i don't. im still pondering it honestly. and its still really subject to change if the game gives any lore.

At the moment, I have the goat being more of a blind faith type towards Shamura. They're less intelligent than the lamb, who was suspicious from the start, so they're more accepting to what they're given. They might be confusing faith for simping though

Shamura I kept the knowledge element with them along with death, to keep the 4 horsemen themes to the other gods (narinder gets war) since they had 2 before as well. This shamura doesn't have intelligence limitations the usual one does. I thought of the Web, from magnus archives, in the way they have a lot of plans and people they're manipulating all at once, and the goat is no different. I could see them saying sweet words to them, but they're nothing but a pawn until their defeat. And even then they would just see it as a set back and treats the goat more like a pet than a person when they're more mortal. They're also very shorter as a mortal, I haven't sketched that yet, the goat is tall. i can see them using web to string them along like a lease while talking and barely paying attention to them.

I'm not sure if I want to break away from my headcannon of shamura being aroace for the goat universe. but if I do, I'd like to theme any "flirting" around tying up and eating the goat like a spider would. i might even go Shamura is the "sexual" one, maybe not actual sex but more bondage and bdsm play, but it flies over the goats head constantly.

i do think the smarter but smaller and weaker character tying and stringing up their stronger pawn would make for some good pics

[monarchetype]

The Magnus Archives themed index card drawing

I'm not really a visual art kind of person but I've been doodling on index cards to give my hands and eyes something to do while listening to videos (yes I have ADHD), and for the past week I have been bingeing The Magnus Archives at a quite frankly unhealthy rate. So, I decided to do a card themed after it. (Please no spoilers, I'm only up to episode 71.) Explanations for each stripe under the cut.

From the top to the bottom: -The top black stripe with the colored bars is supposed to be the spiral staircase in the tunnels under the Institute -The doors are the weird doors that keep occasionally popping up (I have been spoiled by YouTube comments that this is a running thing) -The eyes represent the feeling of being watched that several characters have reported (I also was unfortunately recommended a YouTube thumbnail for an animatic that appeared to have Jon surrounded by glowing eyes, so, minor spoiler there although I don't know what it signified other than probably the importance of the being-watched feeling) -The books are, of course, the books in the archive -The tape casette represents the audio logs being taped -The silver worms are Jane Prentiss's infestation -Spiders and spiderwebs because spiders keep showing up -Flies because flies keep showing up -The lowermost purple stripe is supposed to have closed eyes, some crying, to represent the closed eye symbol that keeps showing up, but I think they ended up looking more like stylized turtles. Oh well. -Bottom stripe shows an open book on fire, meant to be Ex Altiora opened to the page with the lichtenberg scar

[zabala0z]

Eughhhiffugi my legs hurt. Walked around college with my mom today because she got accepted so woooo!! Anyways, welcome back to me saying “huh???” To TMA S2. I’m your host, you know me, I’ve been posting for the past month 🫶🫶

MAG 67: Burning Desire

Oh my god Agnes. This further proves my theory that she’s probably not evil???? Like I think she does sone bad stuff like kissing the guy and permanently scarring his face for life but like…she kinda cried?? Also that woman told her something about being “released” so I think it’s like some kind of curse? But Agnes shook her head so I don’t know. Maybe it was about being like spiritually bound to that tree or something

MAG 68: The Tale of a Field Hospital

Unironically, this is my favorite minor character in The Magnus Archives. Joseph Russo is such a fanboy and I love it. He was all “and I know Illuminati exists but you don’t have to tell me 😏” like god I’m howling. So sad he’s dead.

The whole…death and disease has been pretty prominent in this season as well. Mostly spiders as we’ll see but there’s like a shit ton of illness themes. Also Amherst appearance. Whether it’s the same or a different person, Amherst seems to have disease and gross shit follow him around. Like the ants in an earlier episode and that old persons home in Taken Ill. Gross. Ew. Gross.

ALSO “she seemed far too tall” yeah no shit. I’m literally screaming at my phone please I’m begging you Jon to figure it out

For MAG 69: Great more spiders. My only connection to anything is just the fact there are spiders and that’s been appearing a lot. Also poor Martin, trying to keep everything together 💀

Not much to say in “Book of the dead” but I liked it a lot. Another book. Surprisingly not Jurgen Leitners. Did not think that was possible.

For MAG 71, I don’t have many connections, again, but it was weird that Karolina was so…calm, giving her testimony?? Like usually when people give their statements in the moment, they sound pretty panicked, especially during the more scarier parts but she was flat throughout the whole thing. I’m guessing she’s keeping something hidden from the story and something happened to her. Maybe she got “replaced” y’know like with Sasha. Or maybe she’s entirely made of dirt. I mean she was pretty dry

Sorry.

Anyways, someone is living down in the tunnels. I would say it’s Gertrude because maybe she faked her death to hide from people but they did find her body. Well Martin did and then the police. But who knows.

Okay that’s everything. Not many revelations but I noticed I’m getting close to the end of season 2! Very exciting. I hope Michael pops up again. Just so I can hear it’s creepy ass voice

[doctor-wonder]

Saw the newest episode of Doctor Who (73 Yards) last night on a whim when I got home from work and holy shit I am going feral with how good this series has been so far. I love weekly releases too I hate binge culture with a passion but since the show is still running on BBC they're essentially forced to keep doing weekly episodes. Anyways spoilers for new episode because I need to rant about it:

I've never seen such an effective and eerie mix of DW and such a supernatural, creepypasta-esque theme. I mentioned this to my long-suffering boyfriend right as I was watching it but it feels like an episode ripped right out of the Magnus Archives and that's so fucking cool.

I had heard that the Doctor was gone in this episode but I was still really impressed with both how they made it happen and how quickly into the episode it happens. The story just... Starts up with jo delay and immediately becomes terrifying. The hints of what's to come when the hiker meets Ruby and ends up running, the misdirection in the pub where RTD got to play on anti-Welsh sentiment that he's seen people experience and also put more questions than answers in our heads, it's such a perfect intro.

And then seeing Ruby lose people, get rejected from places and we never ever get to know what the woman following her is saying, but we just see and feel the absolute grief of the aftermath. Fuck, they brought back UNIT and built up our hope of them being Ruby's eventual saviours just to have the same thing happen again. I definitely said out loud "Girl who waited, eat your heart out" (obviously that's a different situation and I love Amy Pond but still I love the comparison)

Gods then the tension of the scene on the football field where her plan finally comes to fruition, I genuinely thought she might get shot then and there and the episode would go in some other random direction, but I'm so glad it didn't go that way. It's an RTD montage at its finest, and I was floored by it all the way through.

[vickozone]

The Magnus Archives

-S2 Notes-

I had a lot more to say on this season apart from the first. (I find some of them funny, like Ep 78)

An animatic may or may not be coming soon.

<- previous notes next notes ->

Handwriting translated below:

{ Note: Magnus was the last name of the man that discovered Arsenic, a lethal poison } [I am not sure what this proves, but I found it interesting]

#41 Jon explores the caves, makes own statement

#42 Crazed band causing ppl to off themselves + Martin is suspicious

#43 Police order and fire guy identified (ep. 12?) Jon rizzed cop into getting tapes

#44 circus again, Gertrude’s tape

#45 Malaria doctors (rather similar to Jane scenario), also, Jon has photos of Tim… antique guy

#46 Book guy, Michael Crew, rain smell (ep. 18)

#47 MICHAEL STABBED JON!? OMG WHY DID I FIND IT HOT?? (Ep. 53, 5 stitches??)

#48 person lost in non-human crowd. I trust Elias.

#49 More meat. … Still trust Elias

#50 Smirk, again, and Tim thinks Jon is banging a cop. People keep moving to New Zealand.

#51 Simon Fairchild in the ocean + not!Sasha is going to a… wax museum??

#52 weird, strong inmate. Not!Sasha boyfriend? (omg. Tim.)

#53 Another archive. Martin is such a sweetheart.

#54 Taxidermy and Jon is slowly going marbles (broke into Gertrude’s home!!)

#55 “disease, insects, and the smell when they burn.” [side: I do not remember what the episode was about, but upon further reflection, it was the pest control guy]

#56 Vamp dude again aND I ALMOST CRIED WHEN JON YELLED AT MARTIN?! HE’S GOING INSANE!! WHY IS HE SMILING?? STOP. THAT SCARED ME!!! Also “The Hunt” He’s 29? [Martin]

{ Note: When a character emphasizes “The (insert noun)”, note it }

#57 space program, 3 people involved, stock boyfriend

#58 old file about cannibalism. Jon is legit going insane. (Oregon Trail)

#59 ex-thug taken in. Something with Agnes. Everyone is scared of Jon.

#60 Eyes. Team confronts Jon.

#61 Coffin again + another cop. Daisy.

#62 “The End”, + Gertrude tape. Floorboard. [Mary Keay’s experience with Leitner book]

#63 The dark are my friend + YouTube girl again

#64 Mummy tomb + Jon broke into police station?? [he keeps breaking laws] #65 17 HOUR ASMR EATING COMPUTER!! Tim CURSES Jon out.

#66 Man buried alive (sorta). Gertrude is a pyromaniac [/j]

#67 “The Cult of The Lightless Flame”, Agnes is back

#68 Another book? Not!Sasha scared Jon. Lol

#69 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Spiders seem to be a theme. “The Spiders”? Is Annabelle a monster? Like Prentiss?

#70 Death book. Istg, if there are anymore books-

#71 Spooky train.

#72 More meat. “I don’t want my final thoughts to be racist.”

#73 Maxwell kidnapped child, brought to industrial complex. 5 seconds, chaos happened. “People’s Church of The Devine Host.” (Barista quit.)

#74 Insomniac girl meets Michael (pookie bear) ALSO, Jon is sus[picious] of Sasha? That’s new.

#75 Michael crew, again. Theme of falling endlessly…

#76 Melanie tours WW train. Jon is slowly learning that Sasha is different.

#77 “Not them” OMG, THAT’S WHY!! NEAT NOT!SASHA TO A PULP!

#78 OH. NO. OUR TABLE. “And now I see you.” Chills. (stop, cause I literally yelled)

#79 “Come out, come out wherever you are…” Jon crying, pleading in sorry for his coworkers broke me. Martin + Tim are stuck in Michael’s dimension [lucky]

#80 JURGEN IS ALIVE. JURGEN IS KILLED BY ELIAS. ENTITIES? (knew it) TIM + MARTIN BLAME JON. SOMETHING WITH AN EYE.

(side notes within the {} brackets, and more detailed notes of what I was referring to within [] brackets)