#the magnus archives spoilers

[felis-rach]

my take on door husband. love this creature

[magnusunpopularopinions]

very unpopular opinion im sure so ill just spit it out: jons "loss of humanity" arc is... bad. it's written badly.

i'll preface with this: the rest of the fandom (generally) really loves monster jon and the whole humanity debate so if you disagree with me there is a host of other people that support your take instead! dont let me discourage you from what you enjoy, im just some random guy.

that being said- when i first listened to tma and it was all "this is a story about losing your humanity!!" and i just didnt like it, i thought i wasnt a fan of that type of story. and that's perfectly okay! but, as ive branched out into a lot more horror media, i've found such juicy and truly torturous depictions of "loss of humanity" that jon "i read words and feel sad" sims just seems so silly to me. i mean, with characters like daisy that fight with needing to literally kill innocent people to live, knowing she can lose herself to becoming a feral police brutality beast, is it really THAT bad that jon... reads statements?? he doesn't SEE the people he's haunting the dreams of. he hardly seems aware that the trauma eating has any effect at all until someone brings it up to him.

maybe it's just me reading a lot of other books where people can't recognize their faces in the mirror anymore or become bound to blood promises or vampirism or something... but... the eye does not seem like a "am i even human anymore" thing. not like the stranger or the flesh or the hunt. if it's supposed to tell us that jon is just that sad about making people sad, then i didn't really feel anything about that either. hell, i even felt more attached to oliver's statements, and he doesn't have a monster form either. i think the fandom does the thing with all the floating eyes and moth-inspired jons because it's just a little hard to believe that he's "lost what it is that makes him human" when he.. to our knowledge.. just looks like a normal guy that is sad. get some zoloft buddy!!!

Thanks for sharing! Let’s chat!

I see what you’re saying anon! You made your own point really well! I’ll have to… sort of? Agree with you? Most disagree because I enjoyed the arc, but you definitely proved your point well!

I think, to play devil’s advocate for you, that it’s sort of a ‘to-each-his-own’ thing. Sure, in comparison to other characters, Jon’s descent into… avatar-hood may not come off as ‘humanity-losing,’ but I think, for Jon, he certainly doesn’t feel like himself. I think the scary part of it is that he’s looking in the mirror and he’s not seeing himself. And it’s not necessarily as scary to us as it is that we are watching him become scared of himself.

And then, of course, there is the question of what makes us human. What is humanity?

(Buckle up folks-)

I recently took a class where we read “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick. (This is the book that inspired Blade Runner, btw.)

The basic plot is as follows: Humans live in a dystopian version of earth alongside androids. There are a couple different characters, and I can’t remember people’s names right this second, so let’s just say this- Android Hunter goes to work to make sure that androids are identified and kept track of. He encounters a new line of androids that are so nearly identical to humans that they pass the android/human test. This leads him to question:

what makes us human?

The test is based off of intelligence and compassion. If an android could feel compassion, love even, then could it be human? And vice versa- there’s another character who is mentally handicapped and therefore could not get a human score on an android test, even though he’s fully human. He doesn’t have the mental capacity to answer fast enough/with “enough compassion” to pass as human.

So then, what is it? What makes humans human?

To make a novel short: Hope. Hope is what makes us human.

And I don’t just want to say that one book determines our humanity, but I have been applying it to lots of other media recently, and it’s held up really well.

So back to Magnus ((but definitely go read the book I just talked about!)), Jon’s loss of hope- in himself, in his co-workers, in nearly everyone and thing- that’s the horror.

Jon is gone, and to Jon… wow. That’s scary….

ALL that to say: awesome thoughts anon, thanks for being respectful and writing all that out! I love a well-thought out opinion and it’s lots of fun to think about (clearly!).

Again, thanks for sharing and remember to keep your words kind!

-E

>Hello! I’m E, and I created this blog to be a safe space to share Magnus Archives/Protocol opinions in! If you are seeing this in a reblog, I want you to know three things:

1) I value respect and kindness over anything.

2) I cannot control what others say in response to anyone’s opinions.

3) Only you can control your emotions/actions/words. Choose to respond with gentleness, not anger. After all, we all are here for the same reason- why not enjoy each other’s company?

Thanks, and have an awesome day/night!<

[ryespy]

My thought process listening to TMA

Season one: haha why does this cynical rude man voice act when reading the statements I don’t think putting on a voice was part of the job description

Season five: oh dear god that’s why

[heppileppi]

this is actually one of the very first tma comics i ever did but i never posted it because i’m ace and their relationship is special to me and it felt too vulnerable somehow lol

well now here you go, i hope you like it and i love you.

[jeena-says-hi]

WAIT DID THEY REFERENCE THIS MEME??

[starsh0ck]

martin blackwood

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

The horror of Elias Bouchard is so fucking underrated. When I say the horror of Elias Bouchard, I mean Elias Bouchard, not Jonah Magnus. Because this dude had one of the most fucked up existences in the whole damn show. Poor dude was truly just some random pothead with daddy issues trying to make it through life without becoming the worst kind of rich kid, and he got his whole body yoinked by a 200 year old bitch.

And the worst part about that to me is the social aspect- no one mourned him. Elias Bouchard died, but the guy wearing him just kept trotting along like nothing happened. And not only was he not mourned, his death was probably celebrated. Look at him, young Elias, finally coming into his own. They'd been so worried, but now he's found his own way. He's got a bright future ahead.

[joneevarts]

I couldn't download the video version so just imagine freebird playing in the background :D

[not-scared-of-microwaves]

i can’t decide if it’s funnier that when Elias confronts Jon for literally stalking his employees, a very reasonable thing for elias to do, jon immediately decides that elias murdered gertrude, or that jon was RIGHT

[mydirtyvalentine]

poor, disposable, magnus podcast men

[madbard]

So. I just finished The Magnus Archives.

You’re telling me that Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, began his journey from such a place of uncertainty and desperation to prove himself worthy of the title, and ended as the embodiment of everything that tormented him?

You’re telling me that Martin Blackwood, who held so much love for the people around him, unintentionally paved the way for his lover’s desperate martyrdom?

You’re telling me Jon was marked for this from childhood, manipulated by forces older and greater than civilization to bring such harm upon the world that the only solution he could see was to end it?

You’re telling me there was no escape for them?

You’re telling me they could have lived happily together, but they could never have taken that path because it lies contrary to who they are?

You’re telling me Jon and Martin had everything and everyone slowly and agonizingly ripped away from them until they had nothing left but each other, until neither one could fathom surviving without the other?

You’re telling me that Martin and Jon kissed at the center of a collapsing reality, then Martin felt the life leave Jon’s body as he stabbed the only living person he loved?

You’re telling me there is a chance they are Somewhere Else, but that would mean they never escaped the Fears and never will?

You’RE TELLING ME-

[tentotea]

jurgen leitner has been dead for seven slutty years

[someones-there-1]

i love you so (please let me go) // i love you so (please let me go)

(study of consolation by jc leyendecker)

[momokarp]

A sassy mean girl, that’s who Elias is 💅

[jeena-says-hi]

Magnus Archives au where Jon just REALLY loves birdwatching

“Supplemental, on my way to the archives today, I saw a bullfinch fly out from the hedges outside the cafe, it was a nice surprise. Anyways, I think all my assistants want to kill me”

[thatsfrickenace]