#mag139

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 114

Adjective: Foggy

Noun: Cliff

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Foggy: full of or accompanied by fog; unable to think clearly, or confused; indistinctly expressed or perceived, or obscure

Cliff: a steep rock face, especially at the edge of the sea

#this prompt feels like it could be beautiful or elegant #but i cant help but think of the magnus archive again #specifically this feels very mag139 the last #if you know you know #regardless of that episode this prompt feels distinctly the loney #and i love that for me #as someone who would say they are the lonely aligned #tma #the magnus archives #the lonely #the lonely tma #thanks for reading #writing #writer #creative writing #writing prompt #writeblr #trying to be a writeblr at least

[sims-jonathan]

The Firewatcher's Daughter

the magnus archives transcripts, mag139 // the wolf - the crane wives // this tornado loves you - neko case // polar nettles - neko case // take me to war - the crane wives // the stranger at my door - brandi carlile // the magnus archives transcripts, mag139

#agnesposting. sorry. as if its my fault #ft my playlist for her..... #web weaving #agnes montague #the magnus archives #neko case #brandi carlile #the crane wives #the desolation #🔥 #webweaving #fire #agnes tag #supplemental

[im-the-queen-of-stardust]

Now that I've finished the whole show, enjoy this very incomplete list of favourite Jon quotes:

"Fine, fine, I'll be more lovely. Now, can I get back to work?" MAG17

"I will record and add that part when it is found, either by myself or, given the scale of the Archive's mismanagement, by my successor when I pass away from old age." MAG19

"I'm not entirely made out of stone" MAG27

"Mh...more meat. Interesting." MAG30

"Well, this pompous ass has some very urgent work to do " MAG76

Very snarkily "Yes, I know what a meme is." MAG76

"It is remarkably easy to get an axe in central London" MAG78

"What, I could be on drugs." MAG83

"I suppose that leaves skulking around the periphery, which is what I was already doing!" MAG85

"Thays not fair! Sometimes I was kidnapped." MAG114

"Every other Avatar gets to have their feelings burned right out of them, but me? I’ve just got to sit in mine." MAG139

"I am not, nor have I ever been, “adorable.”" MAG164

#I started writing them down after the first two quotes #which made me realise that there's no way back #I've fallen in love with this idiot man and now he's up there with favourite characters of all time #(No #it's not just because he's ace #but I'd be lying if that wasn't a factor) #Maybe I'll complete this list on my second listen #because I'm sure I missed a lot. #tma #jonathan sims #tma liveblog

[not-magnus-bane]

Agnes Montague

"All because of that most insidious of emotions: Hope." - MAG139

#agnes montague #the desolation #tma #the magnus archives #art #the cult of the lightless flame

[losingmylegos]

magnus protocol theory slash ramble slash tmagp10 spoilers but

i saw a post about how it was probably agnes in the cellar thing (i forgot who op was im so sorry) and i was relistening to mag139 and i found it. interesting how eugene was threatening gertrude at the end of the statement

and also how agnes hung herself so the desolation could “reclaim the flame” or whatever and be reborn

and in the protocolverse we know that the magnus institute burned down and i know that agnes dying in tma doesn’t line up with that but hey this is a different universe who knows!

anyway i have no actual conclusion to draw from this ive just been thinking about agnes a lot. this is me

#also i wouldn’t put it below gertrude to lock a girl in the basement for god knows how long #the magnus protocol #tmagp 10 #tmagp theory #tmagp speculation #the magnus archives #agnes montague

[filthytheodeckerkinnie]

Jon saying “I need him to be okay” in mag139 is the most heartbreaking thing

#the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin

[marcodestroya]

Martin MAG117 // Jon MAG139

jonmartin parallels 😀😀

(Image description: two pictures, first one: Screenshot of transcript from MAG 117 of Martin saying “But.….. this feels different. I need them to be safe, I need him to be okay. So-sorry, umm. I'm not afraid for me, though. Isn't that weird? I mean, it's not like I'm going to be safe, like my plan's not-“ with the sentence “I need him to be okay” underlined, second picture: screenshot of transcript from MAG 139 of Jon saying “I know he said he had everything under control. (inhale) I need to trust him. Whatever he's doing with Peter, he's - (inhale) He knows what he's doing. Probably. I just - I need him to be okay; I just do.” with the line “I need him to be okay” underlined. End image description)

#im going insane #lol anyway #tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin

[shitelock]

“i need him to be okay. i just do”

#😀 #this is KILLING me #mag139 #tma #jonmartin

[tma-latino]

MAG139 – Caso 0063011 – “Elegida”

Testimonio de Eugene Vandestock, sobre la creación de Agnes Montague, su vida, cuidado y muerte.

[Disclaimer/ Aviso] [MAG138] | x | [MAG140]

#MAG139 #tma #the magnus archives #the magnus archives pod #magnus pod #Rusty Quill #tma translation #tma spanish translation #traduccion al español

[dykehozier]

so jon’s in one of those “i recently caught feelings for my best friend and i do not like it whats the return policy” moods huh sjdkshdjsjd

#mine #the magnus archives #mag139

[soveryanon]

(MAG117) MARTIN: I suppose you can get used to anything, but… [PAUSE] It feels different. I need them to be safe. I need him to be okay. … So–sorry, hum. I–I’m not afraid for me, though. Isn’t that weird…? […] I just… really hope everyone makes it back. … And I want to win on my own. Oh, and I hope the world doesn’t end. Obviously. [SIGH] Just… [SIGH] Just don’t die, Jon. … O–or Tim, or Basira, or… Daisy, I guess. Just… just everyone please, make it back home…?

(MAG139) ARCHIVIST: […] [SIGH] I’m just worried about Martin. … Christ… Every other Avatar gets to have their feelings… burned right out of them, but me? I’ve… just got to sit in mine. … I know he said he had everything under control. I need… to trust him; whatever he’s doing with Peter, he’s… he knows what he’s doing. Probably. I just– … I need him to be okay. I just do.

#[MOURNFUL SOUNDS OF ARCHIVIST HAVING IT BAD] i guess. #the magnus archives #mag139 #tma season 4 #tma spoilers/ #YOU KNOW YOU HAVE IT VERY VERY BAD WHEN YOU USE THE EXACT SAME SENTENCE #AS MARTIN. JON... JOOOON... #tma season 3 #mag117

[justaddstars]

For people who want to relisten to the Hill Top Road episodes to put together some of the pieces I made a list of relevant episodes! 

8 Burned Out (Construction of the house)

12 First Aid (Death of Diego Molina) 

19 Confession I/ 20 Desecrated Host II (Father Burroughs exorcism of the house) 

43 Section 31 (arrest of Diego Molina) 

59 Recluse (Ronald Sinclair’s childhood in the house on Hill Top Road) 

67 Burning Desire (Jack Barnabas’ courtship of Agnes Montague) 

87 The Uncanny Valley (Jude Perry’s workings with the Stranger) 

89 Twice as Bright (Jude Perry’s Statement)

114 Cracked Foundation (Anya Villette’s experience in the house on Hill Top Road)

Bonus: some episodes that deal with the Desolation in general, but don’t directly relate to the house or Agnes (that we know of, anyway):

37 Burnt Offering (Effect of the Desolation on Jason North, possibly a side effect of an attempt of revenge against Gertrude?)

55 Pest Control (Death of Arthur Nolan)

107 Third Degree (Unknown agent of the Desolation’s effect on a cleaner) 

#the magnus archives #tma #tma spoilers #tma 139 #MAG139 #agnes montague #jude perry

[froodlemonkey]

MAG139

I am so fucking glad Arthur Nolan went from the leader of a cult to the shitty private landlord of a shitty private rental whose property got overtaken by worms. Fuck him. If he survived I hope Jane Prentiss wrecked his entire portfolio.

#tma #the magnus archives #magnus archives #jane prentiss #the corruption #the flesh hive #desolation #cult of the lightless flame #mag139 #agnes montague #arthur dolan

[agnesmontague]

(calmly) i am chewing broken glass

sources: MAG139, MAG158, Doubt Comes In (Hadestown)

#web weaving #tma #jonmartin #the magnus archives #hadestown #this looks like shit but whatever!!!! im compromised

[bare1ythere]

Saw someone on the TMA subreddit say that Jon and Martin’s love was underdeveloped, and I’m just so confused about how they think that? To me their love of each other (especially Martin) was fairly clear from S2 (for Martin) or S3 (for Jon) on. Of course, I don’t really think Jon went immediately from “Martin (derogatory)” to falling in love with him, but I wasn’t sure where to draw the line in when his actions clearly changed from platonic to romanic. It got me thinking about the difference between romantic and platonic acts of affection, and maybe it’s because im aroace but I really don’t see any outside of intent?

There’s a reason people have so many different headcanons for when they fell in love with each other in the first place. Like for me, I don’t think Jon started developing feelings until S3, and he didn’t become aware that they were romantic until he woke up from his coma. But there’s definitely other readings there! Maybe Jon fell in love after he realized Martin “lying” to him was only about his CV. Maybe Jon fell in love in S1 and was in denial about it for a long time. Maybe it was in the storage room when they opened up to each other during Prentiss’ attack. That all doesn’t change how he interacted with Martin in canon, just the listener’s own reading of his intent. But regardless of whether it was romantic or platonic at the time, it’s undeniable that these two cared about each other long before they got together during the safehouse period.

Like, okay, was Martin making sure Jon didn’t “stab himself again” in S2 not love? Was reassuring Martin to not blame himself after he was kidnapped for a month not love? Was “I need him to be okay” (Martin, MAG117) not love? Was “I need him to be okay, I just do.” (Jon, MAG139) not love? What about offering to gouge your eyes out in order for you both to escape together? Or diving into the eldritch manifestation of loneliness just to save the one you care about? 

Not all love has to be explicit, in your face romance. Not all romantic love has to be shown through kissing and “I love you”s and romantic dates on screen. All of these moments were more subtle, but in my opinion, more profound expressions of care than surface level romantic gestures that could’ve been written in. Add to that the fact that Jon is ace and doesn’t necessarily do all parts of a typical on-screen relationship, and it makes the idea that their romance is “underdeveloped” even stranger. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing that S5 makes jonmartin very explicitly romantic and I love that Jonny wrote them that way, but I think it’s nice too that throughout the lead up to this point we can find love and romance in any act of care that Jon or Martin do, depending on your own reading of how their relationship progressed.

#the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #tma #shut up me #I'm sorry if this is incoherent ghdskjfhsd I just had to get these thoughts down #I'm always worried when I post something like this that it's clear to everyone except me #I hope this is Something

[gammija]

The final Web!Martin evidence list

Now that canon is done, and we’ve got word of god confirmation that Web!Martin wasn’t complete nonsense, I decided to go back to my lil chronological evidence list and actually clean it up a bit, delete parts that in hindsight weren't all that indicative, and put everything in a slightly more readable format. (Obligatory disclaimer that i don’t and never did believe or advocate for some kind of evil web!martin, and that I'm not intending to connect a moral judgement to martin (or anyone else for that matter) having some of these traits)

So here: The (hopefully, please) final list with Web!Martin Evidence! Presented in order of importance, according to. me

The final (hopefully) Web!Martin evidence list

(In order from most to least obvious)

Spiders

I mean, it’s called the Web. TMA reiterates quite a few times that Martin liked spiders. Sometimes it IS that easy.

MAG022: Martin: "I like spiders. Big ones, at least. Y’know, y’know the ones you can see some fur on; I actually think they’re sort of cute -"

MAG038: | Sasha: "A spider?" Jon: "Yeah. I tried to kill it…" [...] Sasha: [Chuckles] "Well, I won’t tell Martin." Jon: "Oh, god. I don’t think I could stand another lecture on their importance to the ecosystem."

MAG059: Jon: "I have done my best to prevent Martin reading this statement in too much detail. I have no interest in having another argument about spiders."

MAG079: Jon: "Apparently, biologically, his account of the spiders doesn’t make any sense according to Martin."

MAG197: Martin: “What? Because I like spiders? Well, used to.”

Lies and subterfuge

Martin is able to use lying and subterfuge to achieve his goals, and is called manipulative a few times.

Lies:

MAG022: Martin: "[He] became slightly more co-operative after I lied to him and told him that one of the upstairs residents had buzzed me in."

MAG056: Martin: "I lied on my CV."

MAG158: Peter: “But you said –” Martin: “Honestly, I mostly just said what I thought you wanted to hear.”

MAG164: Jon: "You – I actually believed you!"

MAG189: Martin: “Sorry. Sorry, John. Not sure how much everything up there actually understood what was going on. But, y’know, I didn’t want to take any chances so it made sense to… um…” Jon: “Put on a show?” Martin: “Yeah, basically, more or less.”

MAG191: Martin: "That's not true." Arun: "Liar!"

Subterfuge:

The plan in 118, which revolved around convincing Elias that Martin was only “acting out”, to create a distraction for Melanie. (Also compare the way he evades giving a straight answer here with the way Annabelle talks in 196.)

Working with Peter in s4 under false pretenses, to distract him from Jon and eventually try to learn what Peter wanted.

Manipulation accusations:

These, I know, are somewhat contentious, since it’s mostly villains saying this to him. I’m still including them, since

1): From a media analysis standpoint, being mentioned 3 times is a sign to pay attention, even when it may not be the full truth.

2): I only see it as describing Martin’s behaviour in the previous points, not as a moral judgement; Especially since he almost always ‘manipulates’ people in positions of power over him.

Still, if it bothers anyone, feel free to ignore these.

MAG138: Martin: "That’s it? No, no monologue, no mind games? You love manipulating people!" Elias: "That makes two of us."

MAG186: Martin: “I can be a real manipulative prick, you know that?” Also Martin: “Oh yeah.”

MAG196: Annabelle: “Because you always managed to get what you wanted through smiles and shrugs and stammerings that weren’t nearly as awkward as they seemed.” [SMALL SOUND OF MARTIN’S CONCESSION TO THE POINT] Martin: “Point taken.”

The Lonely/the Web

The Lonely and the Web sometimes affect Martin to similar degrees.

In season 3, when Martin is getting used to reading statements for the first time, most of them leave him emotionally affected: MAG084, MAG088, MAG090,

MAG095: Martin: “S-S-Statement… done.” [HEAVY BREATHING & TREMBLING AS MARTIN STEADIES HIMSELF] “I don’t like recording these. There. I-I said it.”,

MAG098: Martin: [Panting] “End of statement.” [Deep breath] “I, um, I think I might need to sit down. Oh. Yeah, I am. Right. I don’t, uh, I’m not really sure if these are actually getting easier or harder. I mean I don’t feel –”

Only the last two statements he reads are remarkably easier. This might be a hint that Martin is just getting used to reading them, but the quote from MAG098 seems to contradict that. Either way, it’s likely not a coincidence that those last two happen to be the Lonely and the Web:

MAG108: Martin: “Statement ends.” (exhale) “That wasn’t so bad…”

MAG110: Martin: “Statement ends.” [...] “I mean, I think it sounds like a Jurgen Leitner book. About spiders. Hm. Good John didn’t have to read this one, anyway. I know he’s not a fan. Although, this one wasn’t too bad, actually! I – yeah. Anyway.”

In season 5, there are two powers’ Domains that actually affected Martin mentally, as opposed to only physically: the Lonely’s, in 170 (and arguably 186), and, depending on your interpretation, in 172, when Martin went exploring without knowing why he did so.

Proximity

Martin investigates a lot of the Web statements during season 1 to 3 (in other words, when the archive team still researches statements). The only ones he isn’t mentioned in during this period are MAG019 and MAG020, when he’s being harrassed by worms, and MAG081, which Jon records by himself outside of the institute.

Most notably, he’s the one who discovered the statement in MAG114, ‘Cracked Foundations’, which is the one statement in the entire show that sets up the interdimensional properties of HTR.

The Web!Lighter passed through Martin's hands first, before he gave it to Jon.

Similarly, Annabelle mostly spoke to Martin in season 5, despite most other Avatars usually focusing on Jon.

Aesthetics

Apart from the above obviously Web related areas, there are some other aesthetics which are mentioned in connection to both the Web and Martin, throughout canon.

These are describing the Web;

These are describing Martin.

Tapes:

Martin is the only character to treat the tape recorders as friends - any other character is either indifferent, or treats them as enemies.

MAG039: Martin: "I think the tapes have a sort of… low-fi charm."

MAG154 Martin: “Oh. Hi. Hello again.” … (small laugh) “Sorry pal, false alarm this time.”

MAG156 Martin: “Mm? Oh.” [HE LAUGHS, GENTLY.] “Yeah. (rustling paper) I was going to read one. Hate for you to miss it!” [SHORT, FORCED LAUGH, AS HE FLAPS THE STATEMENT AROUND.]

MAG170 Martin: “Oh. Oh, hello. What’s this? Wow, retro! What are you up to, little buddy; just – listening? That’s okay. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

MAG190 Jon: "[The tapes] seem to like [Martin]."

Retro:

MAG069: Statement: “I only saw Annabelle Cane once during this period. She wasn’t hard to pick out. She dressed like a vintage clothing store exploded on her, and her short bleach-blonde hair stood out sharply against dark skin.”

MAG160: Jon: “Anyways, don’t tell me the phonebox down there doesn’t appeal to your retro aesthetic.” Martin: “It – might. Maybe.”

MAG163: Annabelle/the Web callying Martin via an old payphone: [ A PHONE RINGS. IT’S NOT THE TINNY, ELECTRONIC SOUND OF A CELLPHONE – NO, THIS IS A TRUE, HEAVY, CLASSIC RING.] Martin: “Uh. John? Uh, J, John – the, uh, payphone that’s – here, for some reason – it’s ringing?”

Hatred of burns:

MAG067: Jack Barnabas’ statement: “I looked up and noticed within the corner of the room, where there had been a spider’s web this morning, there was just a faint wisp of smoke.” “Another held a bag that seemed to be full of candles, while a third had a clear plastic container filled with hundreds of tiny spiders.”

MAG139: Statement by member of Cult of the Lightless Flame: “The Mother of Puppets has always suffered at our hand; all the manipulation and subtle venom in the world means nothing against a pure and unrestrained force of destruction and ruin.” Agnes burned down Hilltop Road.

MAG145: The Web ties Gertrude to Agnes, stopping the Desolation’s ritual (the only Power whose ritual the Web is known to have prevented).

MAG167: Gertrude enlists Agnes’/the Desolation’s help in order to burn her assistant Emma, who was Web aligned.

MAG169: Martin: "Look, I just – don’t want to get burned, all right? It’s, it’s like my least favorite pain ever. [...] I, I legitimately hate burns, alright? They’re, they’re awful, and they scar horribly, and they just – it – it just makes me sick; I, I hate it. Hate it!"

Phrasing:

MAG039: Martin: "I’m trapped here. It’s like I can’t… move on and the more I struggle, the more I’m stuck. [...] It's just that whatever web these statements have caught you in, well, I’m there too. We all are, I think."

MAG079: Martin's poem: "The threads of people walking, living, lovi–"

MAG117: Martin: "This last couple of years, I’ve always been running, always hiding, caught in someone else’s trap, but, but now it’s my trap, and, well, I think it’ll work. I know, I know it’s not exactly intricate, but it felt good leaving my own little web. Oh, oh, Christ, I hope John doesn’t actually listen to these. “Good lord, is Martin becoming some sort of spider person?” No, John, it’s an expression, chill out! Besides, spiders are fine. I mean, yes, people are scared of them, obviously, but actual spiders, they just want to help you out with flies."

MAG167: Jon: “Methinks the Spider dost protest too much.” Martin: “Jon –” Jon: “Joking! Just joking.”

Personality:

How applicable these are depends heavily on how you interpret Martin's own personality, so your mileage may vary.

MAG008: Statement: “Nobody ever said a word against Raymond himself, though, who was by all accounts a kind and gentle soul [...]”

MAG123: Jon: "The Web does seem to have a preference for those who prefer not to assert themselves."

MAG147: Annabelles statement: "I discovered a deep and enduring talent inside myself for lying. [...] My manipulations were not intricate, but they were far beyond what was expected of a child my age, and I have always believed that the key to manipulating people is to ensure that they always under- or overestimate you. Never reveal your true abilities or plans."

Word of God and Annabelle

I kinda wanted to ‘prove’ that Web!Martin had quite a bit of evidence to back it up, hence this header being last. But of course, in this post-canon world, there are a few lines that most obviously confirm the theory:

MAG197: Martin is Web enough to be able to read the 'vibrations', like Annabelle, and see Jon and Basira (the latter being especially notable, as he hadn't known she was there beforehand): [CHITTERING, BUZZING AND HIGH-PITCHED SQUEALS CHANGE CADENCE] Martin: "Wait… Wait, hang on, is that him?" Annabelle: "Yes. I guess you’re better with the Web than we thought." Martin: "And – Wait, ha– No, uh… is that… Basira? He – He’s got Basira with him!" Annabelle: "Yes."

Season 5 Q&A part 2: Jonny: “Essentially, it was fascinating looking at the fandom and, like, the Web!Martin believers, because what they were doing was correctly picking up on hints dropped in the early seasons that were later, like, not exactly abandoned, but it was much more like, ‘Well, no, he does have like aspects of The Web to him, but he is moreover The Lonely.’ And that came about very… very organically, really. Because throughout Season 3 and going into Season 4, we had this conversation and we were like, ‘No, actually he's like-” Alex: “‘It can't be, it cannot be, it must be the other way round’ Yeah.”

(Note that they say “throughout season 3 and going into season 4,” which likely means that season 1, season 2, and at least part of season 3, aka half of the entire show, were written with Web!Martin as an intentional possibility.)

If you read all that, thanks so much! Obviously, Web!Martin never really came to fruition, so it's fine if you still don't like it. This is just a post explaining where it was coming from, at least for me and the other theorists I've spoken to.

#the magnus archives #magnus archives #tma #tma s5 #web!martin #web martin #webmartin #or as jonny called it: #spider!martin #tma theory #tma meta #martin blackwood #martin k blackwood #martin #tma martin #magnuspod #i feel like i say this every time too but #when i say martin lies a lot i dont mean that #in comparison to 'normal people' #i mean that in canon he gets specifically mentioned to lie; at a higher rate than the other protagonists #ditto for everything else. im not speaking about real life people who might have these traits. im doing a media analysis #my own real life bedroom curtains being blue dont mean im depressed but in media sometimes aesthetic themes can be deeper signifiers #and tma especially has some very strong aesthetic themes #ok i think im done talking now. webmartin theories always get me rambling #EDIT: oops i changed a part on mobile and now the formatting is a bit fucked #ill fix it back tomorrow #if anyone cares #EDIT EDIT: ok fixed it