#tma 156

[kat-and-their-cats]

Favourite Episode Masterlist

[goobie-goo]

peter lukas KILL YOURSELF

[spooksier]

been slowly working my way through s4 in my relisten. i love how jon is like yes i need to stop retraumatizing people it's a bad thing youre all right but he is So Fucking Mad about it the whole time, i think almost every statement after has had a part where he just bitches into the tape recorder about how much paper statements suck and badly he wants to take a live one but his Bitch Wife (the entire staff of the archives) wont let him. i love him forever

[bitter-goodbyes]

Martin might not be coming back…?

[cyrus-solaris]

MAG156 SPOILERS

Martin: “Will I be coming back?”

Peter: “You’re not going to die, if that’s what you’re asking. But, no. If all goes well, you won’t be.”

Peter: “How does that make you feel?”

Martin: “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Peter: “Excellent. I’m so proud of you, Martin.”

Martin: “I really don’t care.”

SAY SIKE RIGHT NOW. SAY. SIKE. RIGHT. NOW.

[jeezlouiseoncheese]

don’t know if it was intentional, but there’s something really satisfying about Norris reading a casement focused on themes of hunger pushing you to eat things you really, really don’t want to when in MAG 156 you had Martin reading an extinction statement focused on the idea of a literal famine world where people played carnival games to be rewarded with the scraps of anything food-like left. Favourite parallel between TMA and tmagp so far I’ll be honest, the extinction statements actually were so good I wish we got more of them—

[rubbercip]

jon and martin may not have gotten their happy ending, but at least they get to be together for a while. it gets ripped away and the world ends coldly and nothing is fair to them, but. there was a safe period. calm. they lived near the cows and just got to be, if only briefly; they got a look at life together. much like the poem of the two headed calf. they were taken from the world, but for a brief time, there were twice as many stars in their skies

[podcast-official]

did anybody else noticed the parallels between mag 156 and magp 008?

-both have elements of famine, starvation, and emaciation

-both take place in places that, for all intents and purposes, should have food (a theme park and a restaurant)

-both involve elements of temporal distortion and unreality

-both involve reality hopping

-both involve abandoned places

[magnuscomedybracket]

Round 1 Match 10

002 Do Not Open vs. 156 Reflection

Propaganda under the cut!

002 Do Not Open

While everyone always panics about their encounters, this guy was just "Hey this funny things happened to me once". Omniously waking up to your body unconciously doing the one thing you CAN'T do?? No problemo! Just freeze the key so the cold will wake you up! Maybe it's not a "funny" episode in the comedic sense, but I find his nonchalance and innovation hilarious. WHAT AN ICON!!

156 Reflection

Martin, less worried then he probably could be: "Another day, another Extinction scare." And then Peter immediately jumpscaring him and laughing about it as he says he wishes Peter would tell him what to do about it

[a-mag-a-day]

A couple things I love about this episode...

the statement in general (i love a good fucked up mirrors situation <3)

i love how you need knowledge to find the device to all knowledge (very reminiscent of Enrique MacMillan knowing exactly where to DIG)

SOON!

Oh man oh boy oh god

[aquietweirdo]

First listen to: MAG 156 - Reflection

Have we met Adelard Dekker yet? He’s appeared in a few statements and we’ve heard the letters that he’s written to Gertrude but that’s it. I’m curious to know how he and Gertrude met. Did he seek her out or did they run into each other while working on the same case? Did he die? I vaguely remember the Not!Them killing him but I’m not sure.

It’s funny that Adelard mentions the clarifying powers of the Eye. I’ve seen posts on here teasing how the statement givers always tell their stories so eloquently. In MAG 100 we see what happens when the archivist isn’t there to draw out the statements. Then in s3 Q&A we’re given the cheeky confirmation that yes the archivist powers are what allows the statement givers to better articulate their experiences. I’m curious if that was always the planned function of the Eye or if that was decided later on.

The Lonely as a concept is so intriguing to me. The more that Martin falls in line with the Lonely the more that I find myself relating to him. Talking out loud to yourself because you want to talk to someone. Knowing that you could go talk to someone but that it’s easier to talk to yourself. There’s a certain serenity that comes with loneliness that’s easy to fall into. Martin has fallen into it and he’s too far gone to care.

[themagnustournament]

Round One Part One - Match 9

What if a fucked up mirror killed you? Now imagine dying of blood poisoning. Which is worse? You decide!

MAG 156 - Reflection | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Adelard Dekker, taken from a letter to Gertrude Robinson.

MAG 068 - The Tale of a Field Hospital | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Joseph Russo regarding a book allegedly authored by Sir Frederick Treves.

[fractal-voidling]

MAG156 - #0090401 │ Reflection

Martin

Martin, no

I hate you, Peter Lukas

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 156 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: baking something in the kitchen, most likely with apples again... xD

MARTIN: "You know, I- I’ve been wondering about your batteries. Like, could I just take the batteries out each time one of you appears, and just- have an infinite supply of batteries?" Lol, I wonder if this was just Jonny and Alex joking around about the tape recorders and then decided to put it into the podcast...

MARTIN: "Also, I know there’s every chance that you don’t even have any, and it’s just empty, and, well… I’m not really sure that’s something I want to confirm. Or, I open up your compartment and it’s like- meat, or maggots, or something." There's probably a little spider in there running inside a hamster wheel to get the power going xD

MARTIN: "I guess I technically have the power to make it not quiet, to, to talk to people, but like- you know, I, I also have the power to clean out the fridge, and it’s still a mess." Executive function is a bitch, isn't it?

There doesn't seem to be a Bright Lake amusement park in "our" Colorado... I looked for the name online, nothing. I looked for abandoned amusement parks in Colorado, also nothing that sounds similar or would have a similar closing year. Hm, idk, did I miss something?

"You will forgive me if I withhold his name, as I have all the verification I need to be sure he’s telling the truth, and I find it hard to believe any followup you would be interested in doing would be beneficial for him. He’s earned his anonymity." So is Adelard protecting the statement giver from getting the Archivist nightmares? “earned his anonymity” doesn’t sound like this is necessary about him still being followed by this manifestation.

"Based on his description, I would have called it a rave… but when I said so, he looked at me like I didn’t understand what he was talking about." Okay boomer xD

Hmm, there was only one other instance of starvation being addressed, right (MAG 58)? It is rather rare in our privileged first world, but there are so many countries were this is a very real threat to the people. Let alone that this is very real in the animal kingdom as well and fear of all living creatures counts. Adelard seems to be contributing all of this to the Flesh, but is a bit surprised by the level of famine itself...

"It was a scream from the roller coaster, but not the joyful cry of adrenaline and mock terror, but a dreadful, piercing wail, flying through the air. It seemed one of the riders, unable to properly benefit from the safety bar, had been thrown from the height of a loop, and was sailing through the air, landing on the unforgiving ground of the main avenue with a horrendous crunch." Oh no, Martin of all people has to read this when just a few weeks ago Simon playfully threatened him to throw him off a roller coaster...

"Our interloper had to look away, or risk being sick at the sight of so many spindly bodies swarming, biting, rotten teeth and swollen gums tearing at the still-twitching body of the unfortunate soul from the roller coaster." Oh that sounds horrifying...

"He tells me he was suddenly very aware of just how much flesh was on his body." Meat is me!

"If you do try to follow up with my source- and I know you have your own ways of finding him, should you wish- please be careful. He told me, near the end, that he had recently been worried he’s being followed. He keeps catching glimpses of a thin figure in the distance, or disappearing around a corner, and I can’t quite get past the detail that there was no reflection at all in the mirror he used to return." Ah, the same as in MAG 134 though. The statement giver has seemingly escaped, yet there's still a lingering manifestation following them.

Peter seems so cheery joyful and Martin only sounds tired, annoyed and resigned :/

MARTIN: (more subdued) "Right." (beat) "Will I be coming back?" PETER: "You’re not going to die, if that’s what you’re asking, but- no. If all goes well, you won’t be." So if Martin would have gone through with this, taken Jonah's place, he would have been tied to the Panopticon I guess. Like Jon in MAG 200 when he took his place as pupil of the Eye.

@a-mag-a-day

[spotlightstudios]

Wow guys. Y'all were not kidding that John and Martin are built different (the Magnus Archives are making me emotional lmao)

[landscaping-your-mind]

right, it's reflection tma time!! like the level in celeste! uh gosh i can't think of anything silly and goofy

@a-mag-a-day

y'all know the drill, rambling, maybe good words, enjoy

wow, i said a lot less than i was expecting to

Before we start: fear soup.

I guess I technically have the power to make it not quiet, to, to talk to people, but like- you know, I, I also have the power to clean out the fridge, and it’s still a mess. It’s not that I don’t want to clean the fridge, it’s just- Some things are just hard.

Analogy for depression!! It really is, like. I dunno, it's a lot easier to self isolate, especially when you haven't been talking to people for a while. Not talking to your friends for months and then having none because it's easier to just... not talk to anyone! Can relate.

It's hard, you know, because people are tiring and there's the anxiety from not talking to them in months and it's just... yeah. Some things are just hard. I want to give him a hug. I want him to have nice things.

How much do I actually care, and how much is just feeling that I should care?

HE'S JUST LIKE ME FR!!

I just think that Martin's transition from person who does care, to person who doesn't care like he's supposed to and wants to - really wants to - but it all feels like a lie. People are hard.

Gertrude. I wanted your opinion on an encounter I’ve had described to me, and given your recent dealing with Viscera, I would very much value your input. Good job on that, by the way. I’m sure the gnostic temple was a great loss culturally speaking, but I can’t help but admire your directness when it comes to this sort of thing.

Interesting. Adelard Dekkar calls it (The Flesh) Viscera. I really like the alternate names for them, and you know what, I'm going to go out on a limb and say maybe the different names can mean slightly different aspects.

It Knows You feels more like something watching, something knowing, rather than you watching and knowing, it feels more sentient. There is an it, rather than just the Ceaseless Watcher, watching without seeing, without comprehension. The Mother of Puppets feels like it has more agency than just The Web, like characterising it as a someone, made it so it could be a someone.

It's like that thing in Discworld, where a god's power depends on people believing in them - and in this case fearing them. The form of the fears is what people believe to be the form of the fears.

It’s a little too out-of-the-way to be a common destination for teenage delinquency, but has become, I’m told, quite popular with what can be described as ’rural urban exploration groups.’

You should absolutely under no circumstance become an urban explorer if you live in the TMA universe. You will die or have a supernatural encounter. That's literally- that's going to happen.

He was very interested in the Hall of Mirrors. According to him, if it was still in good shape, it would have been an amazing place to put on a light show, and have his guests dance their way through the maze. Sounds like a good way to get injured to me, but apparently I used the word ’rave’ wrong, so what do I know?

Aszjdfxsahfhja I love Adelard Dekkar

As she knocked one from its perch, her face contorted into a grimace of joy, and the wizened carnie hobbled over to one of the buckets and handed her a tiny bone. Without hesitation, she snapped it cleanly in half and started desperately gnawing at the broken end, trying to reach whatever scant marrow might have remained inside. Our lost young friend felt his stomach turn. He told me he was a good fifteen feet away, but could still hear the sounds of her desperate hunger over the rides all around.

Oh, right, The Extinction is also... this. Every one of the people starving to death.

I don't think The Extinction is that new, but every time I try to explain it, I worry I'm going to say something wrong, but yeah.

My first assumption would have been the Flesh, based on the cannibalism and strangeness of the bodies involved, but- something about this idea of some sort of famine world, its location within a man-made ruin, the whole… societal aspect of it- I’d be inclined to chalk this up as a genuine Extinction manifestation.

I feel like it's got to be the Extinction. I mean, soup, but it doesn't... feel like Flesh. Flesh feels more... I don't know. It feels different. There isn't enough body horror for it to be flesh /hj

No but it just... what is the fear here? Of being eaten? Of the hunger in their eyes? Of that place? Of the thing following him? I feel like it's just... case by case basis, what is this, you know?

A lot of these really don't fit in neatly to little categorisations, you know. They're intrinsically linked. What is the fear of being trapped under infinite amounts of dirt, with that fear of the infinite amount of dirt? You can't have a colour wheel with only red. They spread out in all directions, overlap so you can never get something pure and distilled. They are only separate because people believe it's separate, and then they're not... what is the fear of someone or something manipulating you without the fear that they know you, they know exactly how to push your buttons.

PETER How does that make you feel? [The static in the background adopts a bit more bass than usual, and the high-pitched scream-like tones increase in volume as well.] MARTIN Nothing. (Short laugh) Nothing at all. PETER Excellent. I’m so proud of you, Martin. MARTIN I really don’t care.

Oh, Martin...

I just... :( sad