#tma htr

[aspookycrow]

Why Hill Top Road is most certainly not the only portal:

A theory I didn’t type out because I had thought to eventually write a fanfic about it, but here you go because it’s the last possible day for me to post a called shot with my tma theory without tmp lore being involved.

Section 1 - The Tree

When we’re first introduced to Hill Top road in MAG 08, the statement giver provides us with his gut-check instinct about the tree on the premises, which cast odd shadows and “creeped him the hell out”, culminating with him feeling the need to destroy it.

This tree, as we all understand by the end of MAG 196 - This Old House, is a symptom of the crack in reality seeping out from underground, but let me draw your attention to MAG 127 - Remains to be Seen, where Jonah hires Doctor Jonathan Fanshawe to visit Albrecht von Closen in the Schwartzwald, otherwise known as the Black Forest in Germany. When his carriage arrives, what does he see but some absolutely heinous tree that absolutely must be killed:

and then, later on:

A single tree so inexplicably foul, it inspires the urge to kill it dead. Section 2 - Underground In MAG 59 - Recluse, the orphan Ronald Sinclair wanders into the basement of Hill Top Road, and recounts his observations of the room:

Compare this with Anya Villette’s description in 114 of the unlisted HTR basement, involving unfinished masonry and damp earth

As a curious parallel, in Albrecht Von Closen’s experience descending down the strange, isolated mausoleum in the Schwartzwald, the tree-punctured, decaying stone stairway yields to a room with books touching walls so weather exposed, the statement giver is unable to tell if the books are truly touching walls at all, or are in fact bordered in with bare soil.

And what item did Albrecht find conspicuously on the floor of Johann von Württemberg’s mausoleum, the subtler mystery detail hidden by the much thematically larger mystery of the books? Section 3 -The coin anomaly Inside this strangely placed, isolated mausoleum in the Scwartzwald, Albrecht von Closen found a coin, dated the year the count Ulrich II of Württemberg passed away.

Interestingly, in both our universe and the in-fiction one, Eberhard I succeeded Ulrich II, and not any bastard named Johann. Our dear Archivist comments on this in the same breath as dismissing it as coincidence, which historically means it definitely isn’t. 

Preposterously familiar for anyone who’s spent any amount of time thinking about the obvious HTR-based disappearance/reappearance/time skipping of Anya Villette (MAG 114) and Anne Kasuma nee Willette (MAG 08). Kind of curious how this absolutely cursed book collection shows up in proximity of a cursed tree that people are urged to kill, in a weird mausoleum nobody has any record of, alongside a coin of a man who may not have existed and definitely wasn’t a lord or any sort of royalty and yet there’s currency commemorating him? This is not the end of the Scwartzwald anomalies, though. You see, this coin…went missing. Section 4 - Profound violence, and an eyeless man It’s unclear the circumstances of how Albrecht lost this coin, though given that he wrote his statement in 1816, I suspect it fell out from a pocket during Albrecht’s very next encounter which causes him to flee the Black Forest entirely. The encounter where the guy who keeps creeping around the outside of the mausoleum, issuing vaguely intimidating warnings, decides to accost Albrecht and reveals himself to have empty eye sockets, and the ability to “see” regardless. 

The identity of the Eyeless man remains unknown definitively, as he runs off as if he was startled by some sort of predator, but in some Absolute Hunt Bullshit that seems to follow pretty much immediately, there was a murder that same year that investigators briefly thought was committed by Albrecht’s host and nephew, Wilhelm.

An eyeless man, a cursed tree, the profound violence of a hunt, the man who doesn’t belong with a history that couldn’t be true. And that’s not to mention the incredibly cursed vibes of both locations. To wit, in MAG 196 regarding the nature of these cracks in the universe:

Compare this to Albrecht’s description of the Schwartzwald:

AND ALL THIS IS TO SAY, in my heart I know it’s true that there are more portals, because as a patreon subscriber I got to submit a question for the Q&A And do you know what they did? Do you know what happened to my question? They reworded it beyond recognition, to a thing that was NOT what I was on about at all. I asked about the potential for other Cracks in reality to exist currently, like the hints for Schwartzwald or The Eschatology Door in Paris, and do you know what they rewrote the question to be about (but still put my name on so I KNOW it was supposed to be mine) (also please dont go find it, it’s embarrassing how they butchered my ask and also it has my human name on it and I don’t know yall like that tbh, so just take my word for it)? The question they answered was if different places and countries had their own regionally specific fear domains, like Paris for example. Which like, obviously?? I forget how exactly they rephrased it, I was on a walk listening and my ears went hot and my eyes went wide and I KNEW I HAD SOMETHING WITH A MELTY HOT CORE OF TRUTH TO IT. Pure adrenaline, sign me up for the Fucked Up Red String Tower where People Judge Marble Domain I guess, but I feel it in my GUTS now. And you know, maybe the question was rewritten by a staff member before they ever saw it, any number of things could have happened along the pipeline. It seems bizarre to me that they’d even leave it in after choosing to rework it that hard, though. But I’ll tell you what, the question posed was about cracks in reality, not fear domains. And I feel CLOSE to something. In Annabelle’s own words, 

Indeed, few have ever thought much of it at all. Perhaps there are many such places across the Earth. Perhaps it is unique. Certainly, no-one has known either way.

(PS don’t get me started on MAG 134 - Time of Revelation, DON’T GET ME STARTED ON IT)

Transcripts lovingly taken from https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/ All the screenshots have alt texts with the contents in plain text. Mainly, the goal I set here was to get it out there before TMP, so I can feel very very clever if they ever address it. Also, this is my first effortpost using this editor and BOY YA'LL WEREN'T KIDDING.

[annihilatus]

Since HTR is the... hot topic right now, I revisited a section of Desecrated Host that I thought might have a connection to 196. 

When Burroughs goes to HTR, he eventually gets overwhelmed and runs a few streets away before pulling out his bible to read for comfort: 

I don’t have much to say about the bible quote because... I am not at all nuanced in anything to do with religion nor have i read the bible, but it is interesting the phrase “I shall be hid” appears, considering that’s what Annabelle is doing with the Camera while walking towards HTR. (Another quote from Luke I got from a cursory search is “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” and if that isn’t concerning...)

Seeing as Annabelle and Martin are Walking thru Oxford to get to HTR, Martin could be very close in proximity to fr Burroughs at that other point in time (and space?)

We see in 196:

Apparently Martin’s book breaks were at least partially to give comfort to the “lost souls” they passed, which sounds a lot like Burroughs during his HTR jaunt. 

I’m also noting the inverse of Burroughs is happening too, in terms of Annabelle finding comfort in Martin’s actions while Burroughs could find no comfort of his own. I wonder what Martin was reading!!! If he took the Rime of the Ancient Mariner with him, that could have some juicy implications. 

Not sure how to end this drawn comparison, just that I think there might be something there and I’m not clever enough to find it. 

[catofthebarricades]

[ID: Screencap of Legolas in The Two Towers. The subtitle reads: They are taking Martin to Hill Top Road! /end ID]

[t4tmetalsonic]

Can’t help but notice that the Place At Hill Top Road was marked by all the entities in a similar fashion to Jon... and all the fears adding up and clashing together is what gradually widened the crack in reality. And now Jon, an archive of all fear has arrived there, probably thinking that he’ll never escape opening a web door. But it wasn’t the Guest For Mr. Spider door, it’s not gonna be the physical Hill Top Road door, it’s the damn gateway to other dimensions. 

And I'm wondering if the Web was using Jonah the whole time to get themselves a person marked by all the entities, because that’s what’s needed to open the crack fully. Mark some unsuspecting kid and send them on a path to the institute where Jonah will find them the perfect choice for the Watcher’s Crown, when actually, it was never about that. It was always the Place At Hill Top Road.

[cuttoothed]

TMA 147

TMA 195

Jeez Annabelle, getting a bit predictable, aren’t we?

(This is a joke but I also think it might be meaningful? Annabelle is playing the same trick she already used at Hill Top Road, and maybe it points to her being trapped in her own pattern of manipulation, which isn’t actually all that subtle. The Web is unknown to the Archivist because it has so many strands, but a single strand can be followed, and known, and maybe that’s the weakness of the Web: letting itself be seen through the “single strand” of an avatar rather than staying mysterious.)

I’ll add image IDs in a reblog.

[ghostbustermelanieking]

i have a new georgie and melanie theory which is this: while i'm fairly certain they won't be intersecting with the plot at hill top road (although i could be wrong), i don't think they're not going to play any part in the finale. specifically, i think maybe their decision to stay back will play into what i consider to be a loose end: what happens to jonah magnus? cause i seriously doubt he's just going to. survive. could georgie and melanie hanging back be the key to melanie finally killing jonah elias? maybe. time will tell

[bare1ythere]

Every time I see something remotely related to Hilltop Road static fills my head. I can’t understand it, the timeline canonically Doesn’t Even work, my head hurts

[mag200]

HILLTOP ROAD TRUTHERS UNITE

we were RIGHT

the VINDICATION

ITS ALL HILLTOP ROAD BABEY ITS ALL HTR

[gammija]

When first listening to the first hilltop ep, the appearance of Raymond Fieldings and Agnes just seems to make sense as regular ghosts, but coming back to it now after 114... maybe its time shenanigans?

[bird-goofle]

@catboy-elias-bouchard I just spotted this and I felt bad about putting this absolute slander on the discord, but

New headcanon: you know how Gerry Keay is described as having “an eye tattoo on every joint”? That for Trexel but nipples

[agnes-come-back-challenge]

I Am Once Again Thinking About Hilltop Road so I'm gonna just. Put all the information we have on it here? It might not be super organized or anything, I'm mostly just needing to put it down somewhere. This is gonna be super long, sorry. Oh, also information will go up to MAG 195, so be aware of that if you don't want spoilers.

Things with ~ next to them have less to back them up, but are still maybe important

Several entities are involved in Hilltop Road

The Web - Raymond Fielding owned/owns the house, the web table was there, the whole spider-in-the-basement thing (from both 59 and 114), spiders in the apple (8), brought Anya Villette down to the basement, etc

The Desolation - Agnes Montague lived there, the house burned down, the house heated up significantly when Ivo Lensik/Father Edwin Burroughs was there

The Spiral - Father Edwin Burroughs was def attacked by the Spiral, Anya Villette's experience with the dust covers, Ivo Lensik's dad was attacked by Michael, Helen was trying to lead Marcus Mackenzie into Hilltop (146)

The End - both Agnes and Fielding came back as ghosts what more do you need

The Dark~ - Anya Villette described the crack in the basement as so dark it made her teeth hurt, Ivo Lensik described the tree as having weird shadows, the lights were very dim when Anya Villette was cleaning it

The Vast~ - Jon said Looking at Hilltop Road gave him vertigo (I think he also said it was mostly the web not the vast, but)

The remaining entities are: Eye, Hunt, Slaughter, Buried, Corruption, Stranger, Flesh, Lonely

Father Edwin Burroughs (19-20)

Went to do an exorcism Bethany O'Connor, who was being targeted by the Spiral

Bethany attacked one of her roommates (Slaughter) and ended up in the hospital

Bethany was not legally living in 89 Bullingdon Road as she claimed (???)

When Father Edwin Burroughs performed the exorcism, Bethany died and whatever was targeting her began targeting him

Entities that marked Father Edwin Burroughs

Desolation - lost the ability to pray/seek comfort in his religion, Hilltop Road tried to burn him

Spiral - stopped being able to tell what was real, the accidental cannibalism thing, only hearing the bell, etc

Web~ - something spoke through him. Made him say "I am not for you. I am marked." (???????????????)

Eye - Father Singh knew all of his sins

Stranger~ - Father Singh wasn't Father Singh, the "people" that attended his Spiral-y Sunday mass (a lot of the time other entities have Stranger vibes though so this is inconclusive)

Lonely - When he ran away from Father Singh the streets were deserted

Web~ - even though his will was his own he didn't feel like he could choose to do anything but go along with things

The Flesh~ - even if it was Spiral induced, cannibalism is very Flesh

I think Father Edwin Burroughs was not Hilltop Road (aka the Web)'s original target, based on the fact that he said "I am not for you. I am marked." Marked probably refers to entity marks, right? So who is "I"? Raymond, maybe since he's Web and he owns the house? But of course he's marked, he's an avatar, and that isn't exactly relevant.

So if Father Edwin Burroughs wasn't the original target, who was? Probably Ivo Lensik. His dad had been attacked (and killed) by Michael, he had an encounter with Raymond's ghost, which was somewhere between the End (it was Raymond's ghost), the Web (it was Raymond's ghost), the Spiral (his main fear was that he was schizophrenic), and possibly the Desolation (Raymond left burn marks, also the Web and the Desolation are linked).

The Giant Spider Monster that’s apparently just chilling in the basement

Ronald Sinclair saw the people who had left the halfway house had been made into spiced egg sacks either by or with help from Raymond Fielding

Anya Villette was pulled into an alternate reality by a Giant Spider Monster that was inside a creepy dark crack in the foundation

The egg sacks imply that there are potentially multiple Giant Spider Monsters~

When Basira and Jon arrived at Hilltop Road the Mr Spider statement tape* was playing, which means they might meet Mr Spider

* This isn’t the first time this has happened, either, but that gets into some more general Web stuff not specifically HTR stuff, so I’m gonna let that be its own post

[waspsnest]

it would be so fucking funny if they DONT do anything with hill top road. its just kinda there forever, like those teeth in that garbage bag

[terriblelizbians]

yknow what i’d love to see is georgie and melanie running a... renegade rescue squad thing... breaking individual people out of fear domains when they can... jm at the height of hopelessness (post An Argument, maybe, when jon outright tells martin that fixing things is impossible) finds them helping people, saving them, perhaps temporarily but they’re still doing something. and jm will be like... 👀

[batterycows]

If I don’t hear from Martin Blackwood this episode I don’t know what I’ll do with myself. Cry, probably.

[red-archivist]

I tried to remember my route using what vague oddities I could remember as landmarks: a burned door, a particularly warped corridor.

i think of the tunnels as a sort of drain, one of those places where there is a bunch of fear all crammed in together and the refuse from the institute drips below and warps reality slightly

[vaashtiveshka]

How has it taken me this long to realise that The Web is collecting marks at Hill Top Road?