#tma ep 155

[hikaaa-bi]

relistening to mag 155 and as an epileptic non-believer (kinda agnostic?) who always had this exact idea of death (the feeling of nothingness, of having never been, rather than heaven, hell or reincarnation) this episode is certainly making me feel something and not a good something.

you don’t understand, my jaw dropped when i reached this part because this is exactly how i imagine death like wtf jonny

[blazernot]

Melanieeeeeee

[the-void-and-the-valley]

OH DAMN

I MEAN GO OFF MELANIE BUT OUCH OUCH OUCH

[heir-of-the-chair]

Oh. Oh wow. She’s really gonna do it. She’s really gonna do it isn’t she. Holy crap. She’s really gonna do it. Oh wow. Oh god. Oh my god.

[parasite-core]

Jon’s such a damn know it all sometimes 😂

[tbiatc]

I am such a slut for rhythm, 165 is really killing me

[gerrrydelano]

idk about yall but personally im excited for the rest if the show being the domestic lives of melanie georgie and the admiral

[junimain]

Episodes about The End make me uncomfortable tbh. I think about death enough already sjsjnddnd. It’s just the description of being aware of the nothingness forever that I dread. I guess that’s the point- it is a horror podcast after all. Still, the episodes about The Corruption and The Buried make me way more creeped out and I like them the most. The Flesh is also pretty good. I should make a separate post ranking my favourite powers. Anyway, my point is that I don’t like the existential dread and knowing that it’s inevitable that episodes about The End bring. Particularly episode 155.

[theskystealerthebookthief]

At least now our demons have names

- The Archivist, Jonathan Sims

[chrisrin]

I've got to know before I continue with TMA. How bad would the episodes with bugs inside of human beings be for someone with Entomophobia and Hypochondria? I've listened to the first few episodes and have really enjoyed them and the story telling but the content warnings of episode 6 and about 24 others throughout the series have me wary.

Depends on how much you want spoilers, but "bugs inside human beings" is a trope that is used VERY heavily during certain episodes and specifically revolving a character involved in S1 and S1's finale episodes.

If you look on the transcripts, you can find content warnings before each ep. I'd recommend peaking at those. The episodes I'd keep an eye out for relating to anything "bugs" would be: 6, 22, 32, 36, 39, 45, 55, 68, 84, 93, 102, 153, 157, 164, and 184.

You might want to just read the transcripts for them. For some it's a bit impossible to skip entirely due to the importance within the story. Worse comes to worse, you can also read the wiki summaries for those episodes (but you just have to be cautious about not coming across spoilers).

There are also a few episodes that have elements that might be rough for someone with Hypochondria, but a lot less so imo. The only episode I can think off the top of my head would MAYBE be 155? But I could be missing more.

I have a HUGE fear of bugs so I remember all the bug episodes. I was able to get through them, but everyone's fears and levels of what they can handle are different.

Hope this helps! I'd still really encourage you to push through, though S1 will be rough for you. After S1's finale there's less bug-based content overall.

[clowndensation]

hellaur could you please recommend me some tma episodes? <3 specifically something that doesn't have unreality

Hiiiiiii omg, yes I can <3

I will try to keep this down to a handful, because otherwise I'll literally go through the entire first 160 episodes recommending every ep that I like. Which is. A lot of them. So let's see:

155. Cost of Living - Statement of Tova McHugh regarding their string of near-death experiences. - a statement revolving around the concept of trading one life for another.

42. Grifter's Bone - Statement of Jennifer Ling, regarding a live musical performance she attended in Soho. - or, what if you heard a band that sucked so so so so bad?

136. The Puppeteer - Statement of Alison Killala, regarding her time as friend and carer to special effects artist Neil Lagorio. - don't know how to describe this episode. I think Jeremy strong would do this for Daniel day lewis.

102. Nesting instinct - Statement of François Deschamps, regarding the family and presumed marriage of Benoît Maçon - did you read the Metamorphosis and think to yourself that Gregor Samsa was kinda hot specifically as a bug? This is the statement for you <3

49. The Butcher's Window - Statement of Gregory Pryor regarding his investigations into one Hector Lerado during the summer of 2007. - a flesh episode, so body horror ahoy. Extremely funny narrator tho imo. Private investigation but make it weird.

58. Trail Rations - Unsigned statement regarding potential cannibalism while attempting to travel the Oregon Trail. - a fun historical statement, because I assume everyone likes The Terror as much as I do.

14. Piecemeal - Statement of Lee Rentoul, on the murder of his associate Paul Noriega. - I've reviewed this one already, and everything I said stands. Very fun narrator, very fun old lady, very horrifying to lose body parts piece by piece.

59. Recluse - Statement of Ronald Sinclair regarding his years spent in a teenage half way house on Hill Top Road, Oxford. - i just think everyone deserves to hear an Agnes episode. orphans and bad guardians and spiders, oh my!

67. Burning Desire - Statement of Jack Barnabas regarding a short-lived courtship with Agnes Montague in the Autumn of 2006. - fleabag voice: this is a love story. Again, I have a "make people love agnes" agenda.

68. A Tale of a Field Hospital - Statement of Joseph Russo regarding a book allegedly authored by Sir Frederick Treeves. - what if you met a man and he was chill but then he died, and then died again, and then died again, and then-

11. Dreamer/121. Far Away - Statement of Oliver Banks, regarding his dreams and trying to run away. - oliver agenda is also at play here. 121 is one of my favorite statements, but you may want the context from episode 11. Either way, prophetic death dreams and a man that is so so so so tired <3

124. Left Hanging - Statement of Julian Jennings, regarding a cable car journey up the Untersberg mountain range in Austria. - I have a fear of heights and this statement made it worse. But Simon Fairchild is a fun dude.

[blazernot]

Oh crap I'm almost done with this season

[inkmaze]

okay not 2 be a nerd but like in TMA re: ep 155 "cost of living"- I've only seen like, what, two posts about it? and both of those were in the vein of 'FUCK this statement giver' and thats it. and idk while I y'know. absolutely agree w that, and maybe this is my death topic interest coming into focus.. but to boil the statement down to just 'lol fuck this statement giver' I feel completely disregards the whole wrestling w these (semi impossible) dilemmas around the value of a human life.. that the statement + episode as a whole tries to consider + begin to discuss... (incl both the opening + the ending sections along w the statement itself) idk it feels cheap to just completely disregard it wholesale u know.. more rambling in tags.

[jordankennedy]

what are ur fav eps!!!! obv mag055 but what are some others??

WAUGHGUHHHH heres my top 20 in no real order

1. 55 pest control (undeniable proof that tma is a comedy. the landlord rly set himself on fire so he didnt have to talk to the guy HE CALLED anymore)

2. 157 rotten core (absolute top of my list in terms of sheer viscerally disquieting imagery but also i always laugh at the john amherst buried in concrete cringe compilation)

3. 36 taken ill (hold on sorry let me pause my monologue about the nature of death and the afterlife to tell you about this evil nursing home i went to)

4. 144 decrypted (“the world is always ending” what a fucking line that was.)

5. 71 underground (why dont you take a nap in the buried train and maybe youll calm down)

6. 15 lost johns’ cave + 93 contaminant (only eps that really properly scared me)

7. 65 binary (tessa winters certified adhd haver and creepypasta enjoyer)

8. 13 alone (naomi my friend naomi......i miss you so much)

9. 106 a matter of perspective (we love astronauts with depression)

10. 03 across the street (mfw i look through my neighbors windows all the time and end up accidentally watching him get killed)

11. 06 squirm (rip king timothy “canonically fucks” hodge)

12. 91 the coming storm (rest in peace short king mike crew)

13. 30 killing floor (im obsessed with how like.... deadpan and monotone and completely uncaring the statement giver is in this one the effect is genuinely unsettling)

14. 42 grifter’s bone (the archetypical “penis music”)

15. 47 the new door (i like haunted houses)

16. 68 the tale of a field hospital (book that contains evil villain stories and gives you evil villain papercuts)

17. 135 dark matter (we love astronauts that keep men in boxes)

18. 112 thrill of the chase (extremely visceral and WILDLY underrated)

19. 155 cost of living (i love when the statement givers are unlikable bitch fucking freakazoids)

20. 175 epoch (when we got a s5 episode with a real honest to god extinction domain i think i probably leapt ten feet in the air out of sheer joy)

[parasite-core]

“In many ways it’s simpler now isn’t it? At least now our demons have names.”

More extremely good lines from tma

[notedchampagne]

i’m still catching up on tma and i was listening to the beginning of ep 155 and my brain was like basirajon and it took me a few minutes to realize that’s a homestuck thing and that i’m a wreck

1) your brain was like WHAT 2) thats a HOMESTUCK THING??? i do not know 3) yes