I was not prepared for the emotions that trying to build the Scottish safehouse in the Sims would inspire in me.
Like, I kept wanting to make it Cute and Quaint, but it’s Not, and that’s the point!
They took this cold, empty house that was only ever meant to be a place to hide, and they filled it with So! Much! Love! The happiest moments we ever hear in the podcast happen in this bleak, charmless little building and I can’t stop thinking about it!
While I’m on the subject of Gerry, I have a distinct memory of listening to MAG 4 for the first time after hearing a lot about Gerard Keay, and going, “This is the guy everyone loves so much? I don’t get it, what’s his deal?” and deciding to check out his page on the fan wiki.
And the FIRST THING my eyes were drawn to was THIS piece of biographical information:
I was not prepared.
[Image ID: a screenshot of the Magnus Archives wiki page for Gerard Keay. There are two rows of information. The first reads,
First DeathBrain tumour in late 2014 at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, USA
The second reads,
Second Death Burned by Jonathan Sims in August 2017
I’m getting close to MAG 171 in my TMA relisten and there’s something about that episode that will never not be funny to me. Like, the Magnus Archives is a very serious (and very queer) horror podcast that touches on a lot of contemporary social issues, but as far as I can remember, the only time homophobia is mentioned in the show is the conversation in 171 where Jared Hopworth points at Jon’s boyfriend and is like, “Who’s this, your boyfriend?” Jon says “Yes, actually,” and then they just… move on. Jon monologues for twenty minutes and then Jared asks him, “Are you gonna explode me with your mind, then?” and Jon’s like, “Yeah, I’m gonna explode you with my mind.” And then he does. End of episode. Phenomenal.