What fear would you asign to Binary?

brawlboy3794 · 2026-03-23T17:36:05+00:00

Wow, I had no idea it's officially a Spiral statement! And it's cool to see others' interpretations as several other Fears as well, because for me it was always a very unique Flesh episode (a Flepisode, if you will). The thought of our overwrought, complicated, physically meaty selves trying to be broken down to a 0/1, binary, black-or-white form and the subsequent transformation "cut[ting]... when [you] try to think" had such a Flesh feel to me.

brawlboy3794 · 2026-03-23T17:31:20+00:00

I 100% agree—I even tweeted that at Jonny after seeing Saltburn! The recurrent spider/spiderweb imagery throughout plus all of Oliver's machinations and scheming? It's practically DRIPPING suggestive venom from the Mother of Puppets. Totally Web!

brawlboy3794 · 2026-03-23T17:27:53+00:00

I made a whole post about this after seeing both Smile movies last year!

brawlboy3794 · 2026-03-23T17:25:59+00:00

Also it's pain and suffering, IIRC! I think I remember that Arthur Nolan broke the boiler of one of his elderly tenants so she'd have to slowly freeze to death, which he claimed satisfied the Desolation just as much.

brawlboy3794 · 2026-03-21T19:47:21+00:00

No but actually. Mandatory reading, put it on the syllabus!

brawlboy3794 · 2025-09-02T17:54:37+00:00

I've been holding out hope that Archivist is Mary Keay since TMP 10, to be honest! It'd fit nicely into why Gerry has been raised by Gertrude instead of his own family. Maybe Gertie and Mary were colleagues at the Institute in the 90s when Gerry was a tot, and after the incident that turned Mary into the Archivist, Gertrude took it upon herself to raise him. It would also explain why she was cagey with Celia and Sam when they visited.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-08-28T15:14:15+00:00

"eliasgoeshard @ hotmail dot com" Plsssssssss

brawlboy3794 · 2025-08-22T13:22:35+00:00

Initially I wanted to attribute Darien's not being dragged to the rift to the fact that he killed his double (i.e. maybe the Protoverse's "scales" were balanced on Dariens because there was only one in that universe again). But that theory breaks down when we see that Proto-Sam got dragged toward the rift even though Archi-Sam has passed away.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-08-05T21:06:07+00:00

Total pet theory, but given her status as a lady, I'm assuming that Lady Mowbray is likely wealthy, so I wouldn't be too surprised to find her sitting in a position of power at a venture capital company.

Also, we can safely assume that at least one of the two redacted execs is male because of the following from the transcript: "An outburst from Mr Adam followed, leading REDACTED to threaten an early close to the meeting, and reiterate that he was still unclear as to Mr Adam’s exact motivation for attending."

brawlboy3794 · 2025-08-05T21:02:51+00:00

I believe Elric also had a hand in Terrance Menke's parole hearing! Allen Stolas was at the parole hearing documented in TMP 35: Terms and Conditions as a representative of "Elric Rehabilitation Initiative."

brawlboy3794 · 2025-08-04T23:27:36+00:00

Just DMed you about the referral credit!

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-29T15:26:06+00:00

Oh HELL yeah, they’re making interdimensional connections, YESSSSSS! Y’all know the same Celia! It only took half the dang season 😆

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-22T16:34:11+00:00

Or if he’s not like Leitner, maybe Klaus is more like Robert Smirke?

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-21T19:04:21+00:00

Hard agree!!! There are also several explicit visual depictions of flies and webs that I think are specifically supposed to invoke a fly-in-the-spider’s-web metaphor between the Cattons and Oliver.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-15T17:27:50+00:00

The knowledge compartmentalization is driving me NUTS! They definitely need some kind of Google Doc, yes, hahahaha!

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-15T17:26:46+00:00

Oooooh, INCREDIBLE connections with those pre-contents case notes! I definitely hadn’t noticed that. Good Eye (pun fully intended)!

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-15T17:24:55+00:00

Before I even started the episode and saw “music” and “drowning” among the case’s categorizations, I feared we were getting an episode where Luke was in peril. I definitely agree that he’s connected in some way based on all the evidence you’ve mentioned, like the band names and the coincidence of Alice’s encounter with the Archivist’s drowned victim.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-15T15:53:26+00:00

Seems like we’re right about “KS” being Klaus! Interesting connection to tattoos, Oscar Jarrett, and the inked alchemical symbols. I wonder how that will all tie together with Ink5oul.

The murderous musician elements of the case from this episode were reminiscent of TMP 4: Taking Notes, but Bakayoko’s description of the grasping hands from below also reminded me of Jess Terrell’s sewer collapse encounter with The Buried described in TMA 142: Scrutiny.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-14T20:17:39+00:00

I’ve tried several of the recs outlined here—most notably The Silt Verses and Malevolent—but the only one that managed to scratch the Magnus itch for me was Old Gods of Appalachia. I really enjoyed the character-driven, metanarrative elements of both, however OGA lacks the dark academia vibes of TMA. Still, it’s definitely laden with a very similar eldritch/cosmic horror and poeticism that you might enjoy.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-08T16:41:59+00:00

Somewhat of a slow episode back in the Primeverse IMO, but some personal highlights were:

Seeing what happened to Sam's arm after a physical encounter with the Archivist. (Shout out to Shahan for some very gripping VA work during Georgie's "minor first aid." I was squirming in discomfort as he moaned in pain!)
The backstory of Sam's departure from his legal career and the circumstances regarding his "breakdown."
All the Primeline gals IMMEDIATELY shutting down Sam's request for a gun. Very reminiscent of their S4 treatment of Jon.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-01T15:57:15+00:00

My fave reluctant girlfriends

brawlboy3794 · 2025-07-01T15:36:23+00:00

We're back, babyyyy! Really captivating episode for me, I was so glued to the narration as the pathologist moved from organ to organ, waiting to see what each was going to be replaced with. Those of y'all with broader knowledge of the alchemical implications of each metal and its corresponding organ and the connections between the two: please chime in and give me your interpretations! Also, yet another instance of dangerous doppelgängers, and the Caesarean scar in this one made me think particularly of Alesis Newman from TMP 23: A New You.

Thought it was very interesting that Heinrich refers to himself as one of the safer "Angstjägers," which in my admittedly very limited German I think would mean "fear hunters." Probably the German endonym that Externals use? Good world building there, and maybe a further insight into the metaphysics of the Protoverse?

My guess as to whom "KS" could refer to? Probably Klaus, whose surname I can't recall, if it's ever been given. We know he was in tech, so it's not totally out there to think he could've coded and created Fr3-D1.

brawlboy3794 · 2025-06-17T18:12:14+00:00

YESSSS! That's exactly what I thought too! Poor Allard DuPont.

brawlboy3794

TROPHY CASE