#tma meta

[toothpickyswag]

my bff @sillybillybillysilly said this song reminds her of sasha's untimely demise and i am nothing if not autistic so i compiled some material for comparison

Early Sunsets Over Monroeville by My Chemical Romance // MAG79 // MAG78 // MAG47 // MAG48 // MAG76 x2 // MAG68 // MAG80 // MAG 79

#my chemical romance #mcr #the magnus archives #tma #sasha james #not!sasha #jonathan sims #jon sims #michael distortion #melanie king #jurgen leitner #early sunsets over monroeville #tma s1 #tma s2 #tma meta #tma sasha #tma not!sasha #autism #toothpickyswag #mcr lyrics #not sasha

[cult-of-the-eye]

You hover your mouse over me and three dialogue options appear:

That happened in the Magnus archives once

Augh

Oh cool!

#tma #the magnus archives #tma meta

[orchidbreezefc]

ok. years have passed and we've had some distance, so i'm finally gonna take the leap of faith that tma fandom is finally ready to hear me on this. let's talk about tannins.

161 was the first tma episode i heard on early release, and i felt the bit where martin declines wine and cites tannins was pretty obvious in its implications. cool, got it, say no more.

imagine my surprise when i was one of maybe three people i saw read between the lines there, in a fandom famous for red stringing--a fandom that immediately caught the much less obvious thread of ignition sources in the same episode. i'll spell it out: alcohol is an issue for martin.

maybe it just felt obvious because addiction is a pet issue for me--as it is for jonny, who has said everything he writes is filtered through a lens of addiction. i don't know if that's due to his own experience or a loved one's, and i won't speculate; i also don't know if martin personally struggled with drinking or just avoids it for fear he would, but alcohol would fit what we know of his family. his dad walking out and his mum spiralling into bitter wallowing and verbal abuse? i'd bet one or both of them drank, yeah.

on a basic level martin tries to decline alcohol, and that alone should have raised eyebrows given what we know of martin and, again, a fandom that dissects everything. we already knew martin "K" blackwood lied about his personal life and his family in particular, especially pre-canon, which is when this flashback took place. i was shocked that everyone took his flimsy excuse at face value with no further questions.

and the excuse is flimsy. martin turns down wine by--nervously--exclaiming tannins are "a proven headache trigger!" which sounds like trivia from a magazine cover and not the words of someone who actually has headaches--and it hasn't come up before or since. jon, confused, points out that tea, a drink martin consumes to a degree that is memetic both in- and out-of-universe, also contains tannins, and martin squawks a panicked, "what?!"

if tannins are enough of a concern for martin that he knew they're in wine and so avoids it, why didn't he know they're in his drink of choice? why does he still drink tea at the time of canon, and why doesn't he struggle with constant headaches from consuming 'a proven headache trigger' day in and day out? why, indeed, would someone avoid wine and not tea?

when sasha insists martin drink he caves and agrees to 'just a drop'. i imagine him pouring it in a plant, which admittedly he could have done if tannins really were the issue. i will say that i, for one, would be less likely to falsely agree to something that makes me physically ill than to a private issue that i'd rather not be pressed on any further. this scene also establishes martin's birthday was an ice cream party instead of the more traditional visit to a pub.

also, this scene was in the first episode of the final season, as one of three flashbacks that could have been to any pre-canon event in the archives. prime narrative real estate. not really time one would waste on establishing the important character context that martin has... headaches. which never comes up before or after, even regarding the week he spent in spiral town. but you know what is pretty crucial character background...?

it felt like a no-brainer, and yet all i saw was h/c fluff about jon attending to martin's headaches. and i hate feeling bitter about disability representation. i want folks with chronic headaches to feel seen and have fluffy escapist fantasies. i don't want to be mad about people portraying a character with a disability. but, guys? you got the wrong disability. jonny sent a clear message, and it went over fandom's head.

#martin blackwood #tma #the magnus archives #tma meta #the magnus archives meta #tma 161 #mag161 #sage speaks #sage original post #meta #im sure others caught it that i didnt see but listen. i was DEEP in the fandom. people getting it made up maybe 1% of the response i saw #and i had people fighting me for saying it #alcohol cw #alcoholism cw #addiction cw #greatest hits #wonderful news: tma fandom WAS ready to hear me say this!

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

This guy gets it

(Comment on YouTube MAG 111)

#tma #tma funny #tma spoilers #mag 111 #tma meta #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #favorite #tma meme

[thermodynamic-comedian]

i really really like how michael and helen represent two sides of the spiral.

michael speaks slowly, emphasizing everything, giving you the idea that he's lying to you, but you're never quite sure. and that's the fear. that your own mind is lying to you, that you're going insane, that you can't trust anything you believe. this fear was present in michael shelley's life very prominently, from his childhood all the way to the very nature of his death.

after a while, though, helen speaks with confidence and certainty, leaving no room for doubt, you know she's lying. you know she is. but you can't prove it. and that, too, is the fear. that you're right, but nobody will ever believe you. that it's all fake, everything society is built on is fake and you're the only one who knows. and i feel like the little bit that we know about helen richardson also embodies this fear: she was a real estate agent, a very stereotypically deceptive job. i don't think it's far-fetched to say she probably lied quite a lot to her clients, all while aware of the reality of the situation herself. the idea of being the only one who knows just how fake everything is but never being able to tell anyone.

i think it's so cool that they both became the source of the fear that marked their lives.

#tma #the magnus archives #tma meta #tma analysis #michael distortion #michael the distortion #michael shelley #helen distortion #helen the distortion #helen richardson #tma spoilers

[hezekiahwakely]

I don't think we talk enough about how Elias set Jon up so that everybody in the archives would hate him. It's that classic upper management move. Mr. Bouchard is the real problem, he's the one actually calling the shots, but he offloads all of his attention and expectations onto Jon and forces him to play the messenger, who is then expected to tread the line between pleasing the other employees and the big boss. Jon is an example of middle management getting crucified from both sides; from their peers who can't trust them, and the exec who's thrown them to the wolves

I was just thinking about how much Melanie in particular blames Jon for everything that happened in MAG 123. This has to be partially due to how Elias prominently favored Jon in front of the others (despite Jon not wanting ANYTHING to do with it) and how that seemed to make him aligned with Elias in their eyes. Elias had to have known how this would affect Jon, and he did it deliberately to drive a wedge between them and his precious Archivist, who he needed to keep isolated and friendless so he could get his marks.

#we need more capitalist metas of tmas plot in general tbh #tma #the magnus archives #mag 123 #Jonathan sims #elias bouchard #melanie king #tma meta #i feel like ive seen similar posts bringing this up before but its been a while and its still worth saying

[ashes-in-a-jar]

A fun theory

In this brilliant post, op shows how Jane Prentiss encounters and mentions all 14 Fears, describing them as though she deeply understands them all from within her corrupted lens. Op calls it an early hint in the narrative to the Fears and their role in the world but I want to posit an in-world theory.

I think that part of the reason the Web sent a spider to cause Jon to break the wall and lead Jane to act earlier than she wanted was because Jane's rudimentary ritual to bring the Corruption to the world (through the circle of worms which Tim later found) would have actually worked in bringing all the Fears because Jane was already marked by all of them and was now in a place of power (the tunnels under the institute) and ready to incubate and create a corruption-based apocalypse.

This is something that the Web did not plan for and would not be able to control, because, as Jon said in episode 152, "what did Elias call it? – Filth. I don’t think it really plans much. It just starts to grow wherever it can get a foothold, and, if no one stamps it out in time… game over." The Web has no control over a thing that doesn't plan and had to "stamp it out" before it caused a "game over" by derailing all its schemes of a controlled eyepocalypse, ruled by its puppets (Jon and Jonah).

#tma #the magnus archives #mag 152 #mag 32 #jane prentiss #mag 39 #tma meta #tma entities #thank you shinyhappygoth for helping find epsiode 152 <3 #1k

[the-magpie-archives]

As anyone who's ever listened to the magnus archives knows, the characters are viscerally and entirely captivating. This sounds like an exaggeration, but it's impossible to not fall in love with at least one of them.

I think this lies in the intense humanity of each of them. Their reactions are so real, their emotions so tangible. Hearing Martin sob when verbally attacked by Elias, Jon yelling in anger when he doesn't understand something, or Sasha whimpering her explanations during prentiss' attack; these are all such relatable reactions, and make the characters extraordinarily easy to sympathise with.

This also goes a long way in making the horror that much more powerful. It's a bitter reminder that horrible things happen to people exactly like you. It puts me in mind of the quote "The moment you die will feel exactly like this one."

Your life could be this awful; you've simply skirted around the terror.

#What is horror but a reflection of the possibilities of life? Is it a mercy to avoid them or does someone else simply suffer instead? #I try not to be existential about tma challege: impossible. #It's just such a beautiful and intricate storyline entirely based on humanity and a lack thereof it's just unparalleled!! #tma #the magnus archives #the magnus institute #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #sasha james #elias bouchard #tma meta #tw existentialism

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

Thinking about Jon’s time with the Circus again. Thinking about what a month spent in a refrigerated warehouse would do (because it would have to be refrigerated, wouldn’t it? it’s meant to store waxworks), just how cold his skin would be. Do you think it even still felt like his skin? Do you think his fingers brushed the skin of his arm and felt only the inhuman chill of wax, and his arm received the touch of his hand and felt only the dead press of plastic?

Thinking about how thoroughly his time with the Stranger would have made him a stranger to himself.

#i’ve been meaning to put this detail into a fic for ages but i can’t quite fit in in anywhere #i’m considering making a dedicated oneshot just to exploring jon’s relationship with his skin post-kidnapping #but i already have a couple post-kidnapping fics and i’m working on another one and i don’t want to become like. the kidnapping guy #I feel like four fics about it would be too many #so for now i’m just throwing it onto tumblr #tma #the magnus archives #tma season three #tma meta #jonathan sims #nikola orsinov #tma the stranger #circus of the other #mag 101

[panoptical]

MAG 123:

ARCHIVIST (under his breath) Where did the – (sighs) [SOME SHUFFLING AS HE LOOKS THROUGH PAPERS/WHATEVER’S ON HIS DESK.] (salt) Coma, great! Let’s rearrange his office. Sleeping people don’t need – pens.

MAG 140:

BASIRA But I think – Have you got a pen? ARCHIVIST Uhh – Yeah, i-in the drawer. [BASIRA OPENS THE DRAWER.] BASIRA Ah, John. What’s this? [SHE PICKS SOMETHING UP.] ARCHIVIST Hm? Oh. That’s… I, th, uh – that’s my rib. BASIRA (Pythagorean theorem, volume of a cone) Right. [SHE PUTS IT BACK.] ARCHIVIST Yep. BASIRA And… the jar of ashes. ARCHIVIST (stress.exe) Not – not, m,mine – I mean, it belongs to me, I, I, I guess, but it’s not – stationery is in the, uh, other drawer.

The implication of these two scenes is:

Jon got some pens after MAG 123 and put them in his desk drawer. Alright.

He uses a separate discrete drawer for storing both Prentiss' ashes and his own rib, which contains no stationary.

The use of "other drawer" implies these are either the only or the biggest drawers in the desk.

Conclusion: Jon has two drawers in his office desk that are organized by either "office supplies" or "human remains".

#I saw a post about Category 5 Jon incidents and I will not let the fandom ignore this. #tma #tma meta #?? #jonathan sims #basira hussain #the archivist #excerpts from the archive

[hatedbyiife]

Anyway i am Thinking about how diving headfirst into the Lonely to save martin isn't just jon wanting to save martin but also jon confronting his own loneliness and saying to himself that, No. I will not be afraid anymore. There is someone I love and I will face the very thing that keeps me away from him even if it means we will lose ourselves and each other if I don't succeed. If he is forsaken, then so shall I

#tma #jonmartin #the archivist #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #the magnus archives #jmart #magnuspod #tma meta

[cult-of-the-eye]

MAGNUS ARCHIVES THEMED PICK UP LIN ES

Are you a real estate agent? Cause I would love you to come in my corridors

Are you a priest cursed by a fear god? Cause I'll make you say unholy things

Are you a friend of Michael crew? Cause I can make you dizzy and sweep you off your feet

Call me Agnes Montague cause I have a burning passion for you

Call me Jon the way I head your archive

Etc etc (feel free to add ur own)

#my friend was trying to think of some #and im so flattered cause they're not even into tma #they were just going off what id told them #and they listen to me!! #they know that the way to my heart is through tma lol #i was inspired #tma #the magnus archives #tma meta #father burroughs #mag 19 #mag 20 #helen the distortion #michael the distortion #the spiral #agnes montague #michael crew #jonathan sims

[swordsonnet]

i'm never going to stop thinking about annabelle cane. how manipulation was the only language her mother spoke, and so she learned at an early age to become a master manipulator herself, because it was the only way she could survive in that environment. how an intense need for control is a common response to trauma. how she knew she had to leave her family because there were too many variables, too many things she couldn't control. how her first attempt to break free of her abusive upbringing led her to her first encounter with the web, which left her with a fear of spiders that eventually led her to join that study at surrey university. how she was literally a victim of a highly unethical psychological experiment, and yet she calls it her apotheosis. how she is the one pulling all the strings, but at the same time just a puppet herself. how she speaks almost wistfully of her past self who read war & peace for fun. how she goes to all these lengths to achieve the outcome the mother of puppets desires, but we never learn what she wants, how she feels about anything. how she tells jon about her past and then suggests it may have all been a lie, like her own life is a story to be moulded to her whims, like nothing that happened to her was ever real. how she is crafting the narrative, but the story has never been about her. "let it never be said that i do not dance the steps i am assigned."

#yes i relistened to weaver today why do you ask #i really hope we'll get to hear more about (and from!) annabelle in protocol #she is such a fascinating character #tma #the magnus archives #magnuspod #annabelle cane #mag 147 #tma meta

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Ides of Magnus

I'm not saying Elias KILLED her on the Ides of March (though I'm sure he'd have gotten a kick out of it)

I AM saying he for sure knew what day it was when he reported it

(and probably, so did Mr. Jonny Sims, Writer Man)

#gertrude robinson #tma gertrude #the magnus archives #tma #tma meta #magnuspod #the magnus pod #magnus pod #the magnus institute #magnus archives #ides of march #the ides of march

[thermodynamic-comedian]

i really like the little detail that the fairchilds aren't a real family, but rather just a name, whereas the lukases are a biological family, but deeply disconnected from each other. the vast sees no inherent value in names, they hold no meaning and can be given away like a gift to anyone it wants to mark. the lonely sees no value in family bonds, they can be severed at any indication of disloyalty, but are still preferable to chosen bonds.

#the magnus archives #tma #tma meta #tma analysis #simon fairchild #harriet fairchild #peter lukas #mordechai lukas #conrad lukas #the vast tma #the lonely tma

[acejonmartin]

since there is nothing i love more than picking apart tma. is anyone interested in reading my college paper on personal identity formation in the magnus archives

(i have a feeling it’s gonna become so relevant to the magnus protocol)

edit: i reblogged with the link 🫡

#the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #tmagp #tma #tma meta