I did end up listening to two episodes tonight, starting with MAG 81. And so here are my thoughts as we go through them. Under read more cause holy yap.
MAG 81
I just. I know it’s brought up pretty often when talking about this episode, when people care enough to talk about it, but. Christ, Jon.
This whole backstory. These two paragraphs that are pretty swiftly glossed over. Holding my head in my hands like. He was always unwanted. There was never, not really, a point in his life where he doesn’t remember not feeling like he was hated and RESENTED. ‘Too bleak a picture’. Yeah. Pretty fucking bleak my guy. ‘Private feelings’? My guy. If they were PRIVATE. You wouldn’t have KNOWN. Even if you couldn’t name it at the time, you knew. Jesus Christ.
I can’t even think rn about him finding himself ‘hardly an easy child’. It’s been so long since I’ve heard his backstory and voice I’m like. Reeling at how detached he sounds. About himself. About his story. There’s emotion, yeah, but it’s empty. Hollow. Like any other statement. Like beneath it he’s just. Wanting it over with. He doesn’t feel anything for himself.
Moving on.
I hate this. I hate it because I know it’s foreshadowing. I hate this because it implies, with that foreshadowing, that even at eight Jon is considered culpable for the end of the world. He knew he hated it, that it ‘oozed violence’, but that didn’t stop him. An eight year old.
Jesus Christ
Anyway. Moving on…
THATS A SURPRISE TOOL THAT’LL HELP US LATER.
Presented without comment but ANNOTATED.
Actually, a little comment… MY GUY. YOU LITERALLY SAY THAT RIGHT AFTER EXCUSING HIM ON THE GROUNDS OF YOU BEING *checks notes* A ‘DEEPLY ANNOYING CHILD’. I want to study your brain. You have so fucking much wrong with you.
Factually incorrect, you believed every time Leitner and or books were mentioned. Unless you mean, had you not already had this encounter. Then yeah. No shit. Why would you think anything supernatural was real?
Now Georgie is here so I’m like. Done. With commentary for this episode. Cause otherwise I would be a bitch. Next.
MAG 82
This episode is just Daisy harassing the archival employees then Jonah harassing Daisy so I might not have a lot to say…
…previously, two episodes ago…
…
🤨
…
ANYWAY.
This is so irritating to me, lol
THIS IS SO I R R I T A T I N G TO ME. EL. OH. EL.
They probably thought they were being OH SO CLEVER. Well FUCK YEW JOHNNY. FUCK YEW AJN.
I’ve said it before and I’ll reiterate it here. Daisy. Is a wolf. In sheep’s clothing. She may not act it, but she very clearly wants to appear and sound unassuming and therefore underestimated. Buff, butch Daisy is antithetical to the point of her character. Get that through y’all’s thick skulls.
Anyway. Daisy. Yeah. Also. I’ve reached photo limit on my phone. Boooo. I was gonna add that scene where Martin and Tim talk about Daisy accusing Jon of killing Sasha and like. Trying to wrap my head around the idea that murder was a ‘logical’ progression from stalking and paranoia. Feels like it’s saying that all paranoid schizophrenics will eventually murder someone. And I think that’s what gets me. Cause unless there was something else that made them assume Jon was capable of murder, then the other sign would be… stalking and paranoia. Because that’s all that changed about him to affect their opinion. Jon being an asshole could not be reason enough.
Anyway. That’s it for tonight. Come back tomorrow for two more I guess.
[image ID: fanart of Jonathan Sims from the Magnus Archives. the art is in grayscale with a bright red background. he is on the right, looking off to the side. there is a white target over his chest. behind him is the monstrous version of himself, all dark with tape hair and various eyes on his body. he is staring at the viewer and speech bubbles are coming out of his mouth. the speech bubbles do not have words, but mangled scribbles. behind the monstrous himself is a goat with a rope around its neck and three arrows impaled in it. behind the goat is a lamb that is laying down and crying. it has been stabbed in the chest. in the upper left corner is white text that reads “before you kill me, just tell me / are you killing the tool for evil, the monster, the scapegoat, the sacrificial lamb?” end ID.]
[image ID: same image, but the colors are vibrant blues, greens, yellows, and purples.]
That said, I don’t want to talk about this opening. I have baggage about this opening. I am not smart nor detached enough to talk about this opening. So. I’m not going to. It’s good. It’s fine. It’s whatever. It just makes me want to kms. Anyway. Moving on.
Chloe Ashburt is one of the more memorable statement givers imo and yes it’s cause of her dwarfism. It’s a part of her life but it’s not all of her life and we see that. The connection to circuses and freak shows that dwarfs have is something that cannot be ignored, and bringing her in when we’re ‘introduced’ to Nikola Orsinov (in a way) addresses it without being completely offensive. Too bad that can’t be said for much else this show does — looking at the Haan family here — but this wasn’t horrible at least.
I don’t have much else to say about the statement. It’s pretty damn good. One of the few non live statements that stuck with me. Chloe doing her life drawings, the descriptions of the displays, the single line of blood across her lips. I can see it like a movie.
I guess by the end I’m just. Wondering. Why isn’t he trying to exonerate himself? Why is Jon more focused on the Unknowing rather than finding evidence that Elias killed Gertrude and Jurgen? Guess it’s a combination of being unable to freely leave the flat and also being sent that statement as a distraction? Dunno why that, of everything, is tripping me up. Just don’t get why Jon is unconcerned with being a murder suspect. It’s weird.
MAG 84
Eurgh. Martin reading :/
I don’t think I can give much input to this statement. It’s one-off and unconnected. Just gives another view into the Corruption and its dual meanings. Maggie as an abusive family member, Gordon as an eventual perpetuator of the cycle of abuse. Clear cut metaphors.
Anyway.
Not gonna talk about the conversation between M&M before Jonah comes in to trap Melanie as a pawn. Don’t wanna get into the weeds about the others perceptions of Jon and how frustrating they are. They confuse and annoy my simple brain.
You know… I can’t even be mad. I can be annoyed that she blames Jon later, considering HE WASN’T EVEN THERE but… I mean. C’mon. Accepting a job she didn’t know — except for a mild warning — will eventually cause her to gouge your eyes out, isn’t something I’ll hold against her. That’d be dumb of me.
Anyway. Much shorter post tonight. Don’t have much to say for now. Gonna go to bed. Night night.
Coming back to the series starting with season 3 has me realizing that, maybe, my true beef when it comes to the concept of the others being ‘mean’ to Jon (not gonna get into that) is that the narrative just seems to be punishing Jon for… being in the narrative.
Like. Like I said. Trying to word it correctly.
The narrative is very. Meta. Very aware of its existence as a horror podcast. In a way. After a point. It starts to treat Jon. Enacting? Being a part of the tropes? Of doing the things horror podcasts do? Okay. Let me. Hmm.
The characters and the narrative essentially say that, if Jon didn’t record or read the statements then, obviously, none of the plot would have happened to him. He wouldn’t have become compelled to and he wouldn’t have Become™️. But. Then there wouldn’t have been a podcast. It doesn’t feel like Jon is having the natural ‘consequences’ for choices HE made within the plot because the ‘choices’ were necessary to the vehicle that the plot was delivered to the listeners.
Does that make sense?
It’s like. If one of those found footage horror movies had a moment where it’s revealed that had they not decided to record anything that nothing bad would’ve happened to them. That’s what it feels like.
If Jon didn’t read the statement and record them then he wouldn’t have been a linchpin to the apocalypse. Full stop. None of his worse actions would have happened. But that’s a part of being in a horror podcast. That’s nothing to do with the horror itself. The Magnus Archives cannot be adapted to any other medium in any faithful way because it would remove that aspect. It would fall apart, narratively.
I don’t know. I’m not a smart person. This is just what it feels like EVERY. TIME. I get to the part where they’re constantly telling Jon to stop recording and stop reading. He CAN’T make that choice. There wouldn’t be a podcast otherwise.
I’m at MAG 22 in my relisten, and it got me thinking a bit about the fandom’s certainty that Jon absolutely despised Martin’s guts.
I’m pretty sure Jon’s dislike of Martin was only ever prompted by the man’s utter incompetence and didn’t extend much further, considering how he offered Martin a room in the archives without any hesitation whatsoever. Jon’s far more caring than most people give him credit for
Thinking about how all the other characters’ flaws aren’t seen as defects but as explanations while Jon’s flaws are seen as reasons why he deserved everything he got and more. Which sucks because if he had a single person who ACTUALLY didn’t think of him as a monster, because fuck you Martin was just as if not more disgusted by him, I probably wouldn’t be this adamant about defending him. Because it wouldn’t be a clear cut case of victim-blaming. And I know I’ve said this same shit before but you’ll hear it again and again until I die.
Thinking about this again and specifically about the rhetoric that the reason they dogpile on Jon even prior to the reveal that he was going after people to feed on them was due to the stress they were under and using him as an outlet due to his place in the hierarchy. Cause like. You could also say that Jon was being a dick to Martin due to the stress HE was under and while it’s ‘worse’ because Martin is his underling, it’s still a case of him making snide comments about his performance and NOT about his humanity that y’all are touting as horrible enough to be dehumanized and tortured for.
Why do people who hate the idea of Jon not being held accountable for his choices and actions, regardless of if he knew their outcomes, portray him as weaker and more pathetic than he actually is?
Why do people who hate the idea of Jon not being held accountable for his choices and actions, regardless of if he knew their outcomes, portray him as weaker and more pathetic than he actually is?
…
…
Like. Here’s some examples of Jon ‘advocating’ for himself, examples that are used as signs of his slipping humanity as they are explicitly about him feeding, but examples of him pushing against Basira’s hypocrisy nonetheless. The issue here is that him showing any backbone about their treatment towards him is automatically an indication of his monstrousness, not the push back itself.
But there are people who draw Jon in a puddle of his own tears and whimpering like a dog kept out of its owners room for anything and everything when it comes to season four. As though HE was constantly whining like a child about how he was being treated and not, y’know, an adult having conversations about morals and ethics with his peers.
Maybe we all do some projecting in these here Magnus Archives. Maybe none of us really have the full breadth of the show in our minds at all times and we all have our biases that color our perspectives of the podded cast.
I LOVE this scene. I love how Jon is flat out saying, “you’re fine with me dying but not Daisy even though she is fine with it.” I love how he’s not letting go of the fact Basira doesn’t care if he lives or not, just if he’s something that needs to be put down. I don’t care if it’s there as a symbol of his inhumanity and egocentrism. I don’t care if the podcast states otherwise about her view of him. At least I have this brief moment to rotate in my mind.
I’m thinking about Melanie and Georgie’s cult and honestly I kind of wish that either of them lost themself in it a little bit. I think it be really interesting for, let’s say Melanie for this example, to buy into the idea that being able to walk freely through the apocalypse makes them special.
Maybe Melanie could INSIST that her and Georgie save more people from their domains while Georgie tries to convince her that drawing too much attention to themselves will be disastrous. Which could lead to Melanie pulling a “It’s our duty as the chosen one,” type of deal and saving more people than can stay under the radar and therefore getting all the cultist caught.
Or Georgie could be the one that buys too much into it and starts undercutting all of Jon’s practical but bittersweet plans to stop the apocalypse because she’s started to believe the idea that she has enough control over the end of the world to will a better ending for it.
I think this idea is neat because it would give Melanie and/or Georgie a chance to get more understanding of Jon. Jon spends five seasons being told “You’re a monster,” despite his constant uphill battle for his humanity, and Melanie and Georgie are, at many points, the one saying it.
I think it would have been interesting for them to put into a position where everyone around them is saying “You’re special. You’re important. You’re practically a God,” until they lean into it because it would make them understand the impact Elias had on Jon when he was whispering all the same things into his ear. It’s not so easy to keep your humanity when everyone around you has already discarded it, and that would be a perspective altering lesson to learn in the final hour.
My first time operating CCTV cameras I was handed control over what was essentially 50 independently moving eyes that collectively covered an area about the size of a football field and from that experience I now know that
Suddenly having 50 moving eyes can make you disoriented and barfy and the adjustment period sucks ass
It takes both more and less time than you’d think to figure out what the structure as a whole looks like and where those eyes ARE
After you get used to it the entirety of the structure itself and all of the eyes you can see from feels like an extension of your nervous system in a very bizarre way. Like I have dreams now from the perspective of A Building and I’m not sure how to describe that.
Once you are aware of an unreachable blind spot it nags at you constantly and you can feel it like a hard little lump under your skin you need to poke and scratch at and it’s ardghgguychgghhbhhhbhhh
And on top of that, having operated CCTV at multiple locations now- my favourite and most comfortable one having excess of 60 cameras- it can be REALLY hard to suddenly jump to a different operating interface and display configuration, because all the muscle memory is wrong
On my COMFORTABLE system, the one I spent the longest time on, I never had to think about what code I needed to punch in. If I needed to watch a specific person, I could follow them all over the site without thinking about it.
Now at a different location, all the manual equipment and codes and lag and resolution are different, and it feels like going from playing the piano to driving stick shift on the left side of the road with my feet
The closest I imagine I can equate it to is like. Getting really really good at painting with a pair of prosthetic hands, and then suddenly having them swapped out with someone else’s
“Martin made himself smaller to please those around him 🥺 he lit himself on fire to keep others warm 😭”
I fucking WISH he had. I wish he’d been half as self-sacrificing as y’all want him to be. If only to point out how y’all salivating over his so called isolation directly contradicts how y’all criticize Jon for HIS isolation. Instead he just plays at being a caretaker when, in all honesty, he does not care about anyone but himself.
How else is one supposed to interpret Georgie saying, verbatim, “If this really is a second chance, please try to take it. But I don’t think that it is.” There is no other way to take it but that she’s saying him coming back is not a second chance, meaning he’s back because of sinister reasons, and if he were human he should’ve and would’ve stayed dead. But because he didn’t, and because she thinks him staying dead would’ve been a sign he wasn’t a monster and made the right choice to not become one, she’s saying, “I wish you’d died.” I cannot interpret it as anything else by her saying that.
How else is one supposed to interpret Georgie saying, verbatim, “If this really is a second chance, please try to take it. But I don’t think that it is.” There is no other way to take it but that she’s saying him coming back is not a second chance, meaning he’s back because of sinister reasons, and if he were human he should’ve and would’ve stayed dead. But because he didn’t, and because she thinks him staying dead would’ve been a sign he wasn’t a monster and made the right choice to not become one, she’s saying, “I wish you’d died.” I cannot interpret it as anything else by her saying that.
Likewise, how else am I supposed to interpret Basira replying, “We’ll talk later,” after Jon asks if she’s disappointed he’s alive. It’s a yes or no question, there’s nothing to discuss. There’s no caveats that would make it any less her saying, “Yes, I am disappointed you’re alive,” without her explicitly saying, “No, I’m glad you survived.” Which she doesn’t.
Jon was basically viewed as dangerous and as needing to be pacified with halfhearted maybes by them. Then we have Melanie who immediately and proactively attacks him because of that danger he presents. Then we have Martin who says to him, without meaning, that if Jon died again he was going to make sure he stayed dead. Literally every single person in his life tells him he wasn’t wanted alive. That he made the wrong decision in coming back.
There is no other interpretation of the first few interactions Jon has in season four. I refuse.
Anyway. Ya bitch here has been spending their afternoons playing Crime Scene Cleaner instead of. Literally anything else. I’m almost done tho. Maybe tomorrow or the day after. That’s when I’ll get back to ‘live’ blogging my TMA relisten. I will finish season 3 by the end of the month if I stay at the pace I was trying. Just gotta get past this fixation.
What sucks is that, logically, I don’t think Jon did nothing wrong. He did make bad choices and he did do all those awful things and justified them with flimsy excuses and he was an egocentric dick at times. Logically, I can accept the other characters’ lack of empathy and sympathy towards him as clashing personalities and traumatic experiences coloring their perceptions and consequences for his own actions. I can understand on a purely non-subjective level that some of the things that were done to him were due to his choices. Beyond that I can also be fully aware that it is a HORROR podcast and the bad things that happen as a result of bad decisions is the POINT.
But I am not a logical person. I am emotional and reactive and put too much of myself and my experiences into my view of media. It’s not fair and while it doesn’t actually affect my life it’s also unhealthy. I’ve spent so much of my life justifying my own existence that it’s hard not to do so with every little thing, including liking a fictional character and not wanting to have to make caveats for why I like them.
Idk. I guess my point here is that I do like Jon because he’s done awful things but still tries to be a good person even though everything is against him, even his very nature. And I hate when people deny that and simplify it as him just being a Bad Person who made Bad Choices because he wanted to.
Also, stop calling Jon the Antichrist. The Antichrist is supposed to be charismatic and lead people astray from the light of God and no one would follow Jon even if he was instructing them out of a paper bag while they were suffocating.
Back at it again. Goddamnit. Going to do four a night until Monday. Starting with Upon The Stairs.
MAG 85
Okay, I don’t have much to say aside from I think everyone knows this poem? Like, it’s pretty short and easy to analyze. So I know I must have heard it before. It’s a good poem and the statement itself is pretty good as well. Though I will say I think the mention of the age of the paper was weird? Especially when he then says it was typed by Eric Delano? So…………. anyway. Weird nonsensical details that don’t have any real meaning aside, good statement.
I do want to draw attention to THIS though…..
Love how later on this is explicitly revealed as what Jonah was doing. Just sending random ass fucking statements. Obviously he was drawn towards these specific ones and they were sometimes relevant but still he just… sent them with no rhyme or reason. Fucker.
So yeah. Jon is right everyone else sucks choke on my chode.
Anyway. Yay Jon being snarky about shit he’s well fucking aware of and also his immediate concern over that person who FUCKING HATES HIM.
I could’ve talked about that moment right before when Georgie was snippy about him recording again but y’know. Whatever. It was kinda shitty of him. Even if he believes it’s someone from the Institute and also is aware he’s putting her in danger. But communication is something he’s allergic to soooooo…
MOVING ON
MAG 86
Tucked In time! Not much to say that hasn’t been said hundreds of times over. The only thing I want to say is that I literally had already learned that ‘the blanket never did anything’ back when I was all of six or seven because of my brother. Did you know monsters can climb from under your bed to under the blanket??? True story. I couldn’t sleep well for a good week after first hearing this episode.
ANYWAY
Anyway. This opening between Melanie and Tim is….. so….. melancholy. They’re both angry and irritated but also so fucking sad. No. Not sad. Hollow. That’s what anger does. It hollows you out.
Like. I can’t describe Melanie’s tone as anything but desperate.
Back to the statement, though, I still wish I could understand WHY a facet of the Dark includes murky water. Is it simply because you can’t see into it? I don’t know. Whatever.
I wonder how obvious, though, it’s meant to be that the less humanoid fear eaters repeatedly go after the same victim before ending them. Whether or not they’re no longer afraid. Like. Specifically here it waited until the victim was no longer afraid and then wrung two more nights of fear out of it. But then with the dad and son duo the Distortion tormented, neither of them really STOPPED being afraid of it. It just got tired of dealing with them. Something to ponder, but I guess its just a part of the writing conventions of the statements rather than anything important. Sorry…
This ending scene between Jon and Melanie is good. I like it. I like how he gives her actual answers about why they didn’t want her there. Because she didn’t need to be involved. But then she’s like 'actually, I think I did’. Which is so funny considering how things end up. Like. Irony, y'know? Hubris and all that. So pissed about not being invited to a 'boys club’ she desperately ends up trying to escape. Like. Not karma. More like. Exemplifies why she was a fit for the place to begin with. Idk. Like I’ve said before. I actually am more mentally stable about the podcast when not dealing with the fans. Melanie is a great character. She actually is actively making bad decisions even while people are screaming at her not to and then is surprised and pissed when they’re bad decisions. It’s great.
ANYWAY. I love how he still asks after her health. Fucking. I know its the bare minimum, I know its probably just out of politeness, but… they’ve had nothing but hostile interactions and he still is like 'are you alright?’ I will note later on if any of them ask HIM if he’s alright (I don’t count Martin, etc etc etc) but like I said. Bare minimum. And I can be hard pressed to recall if anyone else did for him. Then he answers all her questions. Quid Pro Quo for helping him.
God I so wish they had actually been able to be friends. Fuck a duck.
MAG 87
Oooo, The Uncanny Valley. Love you Sebastian. Reece’s Pieces but you were a real one ✊😔
…
Was Georgie showing concern for Jon’s mental health when she said he was becoming a bad person?
Gertie time. Still can’t not think about how she’s voiced by Jon’s real life mother and that Jurgen is voiced by his dad. Ridiculous. I hate this podcast.
This episode is usually high on lists of 'funniest TMA episodes’ and for good reason. Sebastian here freaked out a creature of the Stranger enough to ask him to return and call up an Avatar of the FUCKING Desolation to be like 'you see this shit, Jude?’ And Jude’s just on the lawn eating fucking burnt popcorn or something.
Poor sod.
Oh, sure you can, Jon! I mean. If Georgie says it then it must be true. Just ignore all the danger you’re in, like you had before Jane attacked Martin and then the Institute and also ignore Sasha and Jurgen’s death and all the pointed references to some world changing ritual you don’t know won’t come to pass. You’re already doing SO GREAT at ignoring being wanted for fucking double murder. None of this will affect you if you just. Stop.
Okay, fun over. Onto actually talking about the episode.
Basira and Martin opening. Brain has immediately been infested with the hate worm. I wanna die.
Don’t think he what? Finish your sentences, Marty… also comical to me that Basira says she liked him. Hilarious. This entire conversation is hilarious.
I’m sort of continuing my TMA relisten (skipped the Prentiss attack because I didn’t feel like listening to it at the moment) and I’ve got something to say about the MAG 42 supplemental and Jon’s paranoia.
Fans consistently joke that Jon being suspicious of Martin’s behaviour was stupid and entirely irrational and “stupid paranoid idiot, Martin’s being attentive to your needs because he has a crush on you!” But you have to take into account Martin’s very impressive (and entirely fake) resume, as well as him turning out to be quite resourceful during the Prentiss attack despite being previously bad at his job, not to mention the ominous unfinished letter he left behind that said he’s worried about the others “finding out that he’s been lying” - if I were Jon then I would sure as HELL be suspicious of him too. Also you need to remember the very likely possibility that Jon never really had many people care for him before (on the account of him being orphaned from an early age and his grandmother disliking him etc etc so. What might be obvious and logical to YOU doesn’t necessarily have to be that obvious to HIM.)
It’s strange that so many fans dismiss the thought of Martin putting up a front and pretending to be incompetent as completely impossible when he straight up admits to having done just that in S5. Yeah he didn’t kill Gertrude, and he was bad at his job cause he lied on his resume, but that doesn’t mean he’s the world’s most honest man cmon
Okay. Skipped yesterday and decided I’m only gonna do two going forward again cause I don’t know why I’m trying to get all 40 of this season watched before Halloween I don’t actually careeee. Twice As Bright. Goddamnit.
MAG 89
I am not going to enjoy this. I do not like hearing screaming and yeah.
Blah blah blah what kind of coat could he wear that’s so hilarious blah blah blah lamb metaphor is apt but rude so fuck you blah blah blah compelling starting ahhh bluhh blah blahhh.
God. I find this so annoying. I don’t even know why. Jon sounded horrified when Leitner told him he was a part of the Eye. Why is he now… embracing it? In a way? Idk how to explain it. Just. Mmmm.
He’s practically begging her to kill him. Is it so crazy to believe that maybe he genuinely doesn’t care if he lives or dies regardless of his ‘choice’ to fully become? I’m calling it. He’s actually suicidal throughout the entire series and the only reason he struggles to survive is because it is so hard to fight against our survival instincts. Can’t smother yourself, y’know…
It’s funny to me that we know Jonah is a killer and yet it’s still considered just a rumor. As if he wasn’t the type to kill. As if. The Eye. Doesn’t murder.
🧐
“The audience is only safe when the story isn’t about them.” is such a baller line. Wild it comes from Jude of all fucking people.
Statement time. I don’t careee. Lesbian accountant coke addict with a penchant for arson gets wrapped up in a cult who cares they’re a dime a dozen. Not even worthy of note. Annoyinggg.
I wonder why some become fully only after dying while others don’t. Here it makes sense in a way. Sacrificing your life and any life after fits the Desolation. Decay is an extant form of life, as well all know, so that makes sense vis a vis the Corruption. But the Eye??? I guess they just had to get Jon marked by the End somehow.
Honestly I don’t think it’s a requirement but it’s interesting to think about I guess.
I wish they would finish their sentences. You don’t WHAT Jonathan??? Want to feed it??? Want to walk this path??? Pretty obvious to me, but you’ve got to spell it out to the idiots in the back. And also, y’know, not ask what to feed it. Just cause you want to know. Nor listen when she gives you another lead. God you’re so frustrating sometimes.
I’m done. Not gonna hear him scream.
MAG 90
Body Builder. I like this one. It’s boring.
Oh. Wait. Hang on. Hearing Jonah Magnus speak. Gonna vomit real quick.
Okay I’m back.
Anyway, I don’t know why I’m shocked that even though Tim is (correctly) bitchy towards Jonah he’s still like… ‘you are aware of the bullshit going on with this place’. That’s all I wanna say.
Now its body dysmorphia the episode.
I’m gonna actually read Jared’s statement when I get to it in season four, as a contrast to just completely skipping both of his cause his voice makes me want to literally vomit, cause there’s a very interesting perspective where you can think that he genuinely wanted to help this dude be happy in his body but obviously warped to feed the Flesh. But also he was a bully even in adulthood. So what is going on there. Just a little curious.
Huh. Yeah. Boring. And super short. It’s one that does stick with you though. The descriptions and the build up (pun intended) are good. Nice little breather after Jon is thrown… from the fire into the pot?
Whatever. I’ve made up an AU where Jon has DID that is revealed after the series canon because I can.
Here’s some sketches under a read more.
I’ll color these eventually. Or something. Y’all can ask for info on any of them or anything about this if y’all want. Probably won’t ever finish my fic about this.
Two moreee. The Coming Storm and *ugh* Nothing Beside Remains.
MAG 91
Another kinda boring episode. I don’t… particularly care about Mike Crew. Short episode too. Anyway. Jon. He was being polite. Why ask about scars when you ALREADY KNOW HOW HE GOT IT. It’s not about respect, it’s just about not being a dick.
Oh. Again. Eight years old. Why pick that age. Interesting choice…
Mike Crew is like. The opposite of Gerry. Finding cursed books – THREEEEE OF THEM – to try and become cursed rather than finding them to burn and prevent them from cursing other people.
So the Lichtenberg figure was tried to be used by the Spiral despite it not being a spiral at all but actually a part of the Vast due to lightning. This is why I don’t like the whole ‘parts of one being’ thing regarding the fears because, well….. does a foot have beef with a mouth???
Anyway.
Sounds like Mike Crew also died to become??? Is that what actually happened when he jumped? Not that he just free-fell before being spat out? Huh… then how did he die permanently this time?
I really don’t like hearing pained or scared noises. Especially when the Foley artist and director isn’t good at it.
Jon actually did ask Basira for tapes. Which is why I think we didn’t automatically assume that they were part of the Web. Like. At this point it really could’ve been him 'compelling’ Basira, but also I’m pretty sure in hindsight we’re supposed to connect that it wasn’t him asking for them that made them give them to him. Just an unfortunate coincidence I’m sure the Web was happy to oblige.
AND THEN THEY WATCH JON, INJURED AND BLEEDING, DIG A GRAVE. Okay, it’s more than likely they also dug, but still. Wow.
One last thing. Jon oscillating between attempting to purposefully compel Daisy and apologizing and begging for his life and asserting his innocence is… really whiplashy to me. Desperation, yeah, and I’m not criticizing it, I just… makes my head spin with how many emotions and shit he goes through in a five minute span……
Moving onto… oh….. oh no….
MAG 92
I’m gonna kermit…
Fuck. You. Jujube. Mandelbrot. You shit stain. I am so tired of hearing your goddamn voice. The only thing good about you is that this is reminding me of the actual evil in the series and I am now focusing all my hate on you so I can be incrementally more sane about the others. I’m not thanking you for it. I’d rather not think of you at all.
OH GODDAMNIT AJN WHY ARE YOU you know what. I don’t care. I’m not gonna bitch about you being an incidental voice. Not like you can really hear it.
I am always so surprised at how much the Victorian Era gets any fans. This is one of the shortest statements. It’s no more memorable than any other statement. Why anyone cares about Barnabas Bennett in any capacity is beyond my comprehension.
GOD. JUST… S H U T… U P… fucking DIE ABOUT IT.
I’m tired of this, Grandpa.
LIKE YOU DON’T FUCKING KNOW. I am going to kill you.
I will not talk about that stage direction. You cannot make me. I will bash my brains in before I do that or think about it or listen to it. You will have to clean up my bloody CORPSE. Die.
Oh fuck off. You’re such a puppet. You ridiculous man.
DO. WHAT. MARTIN. WHAT IS HE SUPPOSED TO FUCKING DO. WHAT. DO YOU WANT. HIM. TO FUCKING DOOOOO.
So this part where Jonah is like 'I’m the beating heart’ blah blah blah. I really think isn’t a bluff. There’s no way to know but I want to believe it to be true if only because the alternative, that they could’ve killed him and been freed, is just… idk, it would genuinely make everything else meaningless. To me. I’m sure someone could point out how it would make the tragedy even sweeter, and we know they could’ve quit had Jon died, but I think it would sour everything if all they had to do to prevent their deaths and the end of the world was to just… let Melanie stab or poison or shoot or whatever him. It would make me even angrier at this podcast were that the case.
This is why I go so insane so stupid when people in the fandom talk about how everything Jon did and caused to happen to him was his choice even though he didn’t know their outcome. Because they’re literally agreeing with Jonah Magnus here. They’re literally echoing his words and saying that they’re a theme and part of the podcast and its disgusting. This is victim-blaming rhetoric. Textbook victim-blaming. 'You chose to go dancing in that outfit’, 'you chose to ride that motorcycle’, 'you chose to do those drugs,’ 'you chose it so you’ll get no sympathy from me.’ That’s what I hear. That’s all I hear. Every. Goddamn. Time. If you agree with Jonah here, you’re agreeing with a groomer. If you truly believe in the idea that Jon (A) not knowing what he was choosing (B) having limited options to begin with, means he should have zero sympathy granted to him and that he should be dehumanized and hated for the outcome of those choices, then I don’t know what to say to you.
one of these days im unleashing my draft about how jon isnt actually weak and pathetic the fandom just likes to horrifically mischaracterize him and also havent unpacked the idea that men showing emotions/struggles ≠ “weak, pathetic twink”
Lake Pontchartrain by Ludo scans as a TMA statement but I can’t quite decide what entity it is
Tbh it kinda feels corruption-y. “They both had crawfish,” as implying they ate something bad. Cause seafood is notoriously easy to get food poisoning from. “All yellow-eyed, black teeth,” so jaundice and rotting. All these little details pointing to sickness. Not to mention them being called to the lake. “The crawfish were singing, the waves danced in time.” Like. It’s all there. At least in my opinion.
Season 5 is a constant fight for Jon’s humanity. it’s a back and fourth between Jon being The Archivist who ended up the world, and Jon being Jon Sims who cares about people and wants to make things right. In this moment, Jon is The Archivist.
Jon says that he’s reduced Trever to even lower than prey by making him bait…while simultaneously using Martin for bait to lurer in Trever.
He put him in a dangerous situation to let Basira catch up to them, which really wasn’t necessary considering he could see Basira the whole time and knew her about location. He knew she was close so he could have just…waited for her enter a slightly less dangerous area before catching up. Or he could have told Martin to wait somewhere (and there was probably a “somewhere” considering the various places away from everyone Jon finds to give statements) while he confronted Trever and got Basira on board.
But instead Jon plays along with the concept of The Hunt. He uses a bait (Martin) to lure in prey (Trevor) to get taken down by a predator (Basira.) He’s playing by The Fears rules even though he doesn’t have too, and for me this is a moment that really shows Jon’s struggle with keeping his humanity.
He’s inclined to go along the fears and play games that he can’t actually win. It’s like he’s trying to play connect four with only three pieces. And that’s the both the fatal flaw and the tragedy of Jon’s character. He can’t give up the game, but the only way to win was to not play at all, and he lost before the series even began.
The thing is that Jon has a WEIRD amount of resilience. Like yeah sure he mentions nightmares and being constantly afraid and the physical therapy and stitches and it’s all. Very briefly touched on. His trauma. Both mental and physical. To the point that by season four he’s actively self harming with no repercussions. And he’s annoyed by that.
I mean. It makes sense both in and out of podcast. No story if your protagonist is incapable of doing shit because they’re completely broken. His physical fortitude isn’t entirely human and his mental fortitude is part of why he was chosen to be the Archive. And that’s not even bringing in that there’s genuinely no real time for him to process anything. So I’m not like. Questioning or calling out anything this time.
It’s just. Something to note that I think is part of why no one really CARED. Jon comes back from that month and brushes it off to Martin after telling Melanie he was kidnapped in the same way you would tell someone you were in a different country. So why would they go any further in asking him about it? He makes a joke TO his kidnappers on his second (third?) time and they get fucking. Drinks at a bar together. I don’t even know if he mentions Julia and Trevor outside of saying he stumbled into them? Then there’s the coma and all their reactions and he only has the wherewithal to be annoyed by missing pens and clothes. Never brought up again outside of like. Those first four episodes. Melanie fucking walks in on him chopping off his finger and we hear pained sounds but mostly he’s annoyed by it not causing actual damage. So why would she do anything but help him accomplish his goal of removing a part of himself? Then there’s the eyepocalypse and his oscillating between being devastated and empowered. I guess when you’re so used to someone being blasé about their own pain, you’d start to think they enjoy it. And maybe when all you know is pain it kind of does become a pleasure.
I. Have no idea where I was going with this. Just thinking about compartmentalization and dissociation. I guess.
A Break Down of Jonathan Sims and A Conversation on Toxic Masculinity
Alright so it definitely seems like people agree that I should talk about this, so here goes
I’m going to break this down in a few different sections, forgive me if I get a little rambly in some areas.
1. Why the hell are you talking about this:
I have been noticing an increase, or maybe it’s just certain aspects of the fandom at least, in people who are misunderstanding Jon, his strengths, his weaknesses, aaaand in general, the jokes I think that go a bit too far. And I hear you, it’s fiction, why should I care so much about what people say about a fictional character? Ah well, people can continue to do whatever they want, it’s never my place to say “don’t do this or you’re a bad person!” bc I also hate that lol, but I do think it’s important to bring attention to certain areas and why what you may think is a harmless joke can actually not land the way you hope.
2. Jonathan Sims is not “Weak”
From the beginning of his time as a boss who stays up late and has a hard time taking care of himself, to his spiraling supplemental era, to getting kidnapped, in a coma, yearning era, and all of season 5.. There is not a single time I consider Jon weak. I get it, the wet cat jokes are funny (I’ve made them). However-
I think it’s incredibly important that we remember something. Jon may have spiraled, had several breakdowns, gone through trauma, experienced a very large amount of pain, but absolutely none of these things made him weak or pathetic. Emotions, breakdowns, mental spirals, pained sounds, none of these things make someone weak. Jon goes through hell and back on multiple occasions. Immediately after confronting the very fact that the supernatural is real, he does not get a single break. He has no idea who murdered Gertrude, meanwhile he’s the one being accused, the Eye is making him feel watched, he gets thrown into the Vast temporarily and after coming back he gets kidnapped and nearly gets decapitated in the woods (watches Mike Crew get shot). I don’t think I need to explain why getting kidnapped and moisturized by a bunch of mannequins for a month without your consent could be extremely traumatizing, knowing they want to skin you. I need not go through the rest of things (Losing his coworkers, finding out he’s being turned into something not human, etc). You’ve all listened to the podcast lol.
I just want to remind y'all, this man is not weak. If you were to go through all of these things, your reactions, no matter what they are, would be so valid. Breaking down? Suspicious of everyone around you? Crying constantly? Shutting down? I wouldn’t tell you that you’re a weak or pathetic person for that. I know these are jokes, no one actually means it (I hope). So don’t worry lol, all I want to do is address why sometimes it can go too far.
The conversation around toxic masculinity is this, I don’t want people to fall into the trap of thinking “man going through a lot and struggling with emotions = weak, pathetic”. He’s anything but that. I also want to address that I have seen some people assume these things also make him more feminine and I am not talking about people’s actual headcanons like trans hcs, go be free have fun run wild. I more so mean- Oh wow this man is going through a lot, he’s clearly more.. feminine. No- Stop that lol
3. Jonathan Sims’ Strengths and Why They Shouldn’t Be Ignored:
Jon does not get strong magically in season 5. Actually, he displays a lot of characteristics that show he’s very capable and very strong much earlier on. Regardless of the Eye’s protection and power, I think even the coffin scene itself proves this man isn’t pathetic. Regardless of whether he’s human or not, and when the transformation begins to happen, this is a man who had two ribs pulled out of him and was able to walk after.
Jonathan Sims becomes extremely powerful even earlier on. He doesn’t only struggle, he doesn’t only yearn for knowledge, he does everything in his power to do what he thinks he has to. He doesn’t give up, he doesn’t get completely broken. Even when he thinks he’s about to die, he tries to find a way out.
This man took a large axe and chopped down a large, ancient table, and immediately had to run from Not!Sasha.
I also think it’s important to remember that Jon was being severely influenced by Michael Distortion for a time, when Jon was spiraling the most, Michael is showing up the most. (Yes Michael had his own plans and agenda, but you think he didn’t thrive off of the Archivist losing trust in everyone including himself?).
He kills Hope, he can forcibly pull information from people before he comes close to ending the world, he can be manipulative, powerful, strong and cunning. He does not become an avatar of the Eye for no reason. He knows how to get information. He also was marked by the Web at an early age and it has repeatedly visited him and martin both. This man has power and uses it to his and other’s benefit.
3b. Season 5 and JMart
And lastly, Jon and Martin’s relationship. Something I cherish very much, and find to be one of the most realistic relationships, not to mention gay representation, that I have personally seen. Some think its problematic, toxic, etc, but I think that’s misunderstanding both of them deeply. I can get into Martin’s character in another post for the future. This is still Jon focused.
Jon does get very, very depressed in Season 5. He just ended the world (although it’s not his fault), he doesn’t see any way they can solve this, he feels powerful but at what cost? Everyone in the entire world is suffering. Martin is extremely optimistic, maybe as his own way to cope with the state of the world, and sure, these two clash sometimes. Sometimes Martin is pushy, even a bit manipulative, sometimes Jon refuses to hear Martin out. There are times Jon completely ignores what Martin is asking of him for his own benefit, and there are times Martin does the exact same thing. They argue, they bicker. But they also apologize, they laugh, they talk through things, they get emotional and are there for each other, they make mistakes, sure but they work to better themselves after or to address things rather than leave it to remain not talked about, and I think that is something incredibly important.
Jon isn’t dragged around, Jon leads them through the dark. Jon goes through a lot and only he can understand what that’s like and he makes a point to show when Martin completely misunderstands the situation or what Jon cant/wont do. You can’t save the children at the end of the world. You can kill the child avatar, but will you? No. Martin realizes very quickly and backs down.
Jon, even in his most depressed state, at his absolute worst, still has a strong will. Even when he’s beginning to accept defeat (how could one not), he still had a will. He leads on, he pushes through horrifying domains, and even when it greatly weakens his state, he lays low for awhile to help Martin rest. They both agree they left at the right time but that it was still necessary that they had that break.
Jon who still, despite everyone else’s will, tries to take matters into his own hands so that the Fears do not go to other worlds.
Jonathan Sims is not weak, he is not pathetic. He’s not just a “whimpering man” he’s a man who’s been through hell and back several, several times and survived, more than survived.
And I think we need to start remembering that again!
(If you read through this whole thing, hello, thanks!! and please let me know your thoughts, I’m happy to have a discussion)
Blrghhh. Two more. Contaminant and *checks notes*….. Dead Woman Walking….. *sigh* …..let’s just get this over with…..
MAG 93
This is the one with the dead mom and daughter and purple mold in the bathroom. I think I thought it was kind of a tame episode and also like….. mold is serious. Do you want to fuck up your immune system and brain? Cause that’s what will happen if you don’t kill the source of a mold outbreak.
So Lester says it was a hereditary disease but… I’m curious… which one? What hereditary disease would let one live a longer time than the other? Potentially twice as long? I don’t know anything about it but I assume there are some. I just don’t know which ones.
Anyway, gin is sometimes used as a disinfectant.
So thinking about the Corruption and how its both sickness and toxic relationships, I’m thinking about how the mold is used here. Thinking about how it could metaphorically be connected to the hereditary disease, something something unseen until too late and difficult to get rid of.
Cancer is hereditary. The description of tendrils remind me of how cancer is described when its consuming the organs its attached to.
The way Breekon and Hope are couriers for multiple factions of the Fears is something that I feel is just a way to sew the seeds of the idea of the ‘fear soup theory’.
…
I still don’t get why she’s so adamant about him not recording them specifically in her flat. If she thinks that recording the statements and the statements themselves are dangerous, then she should demand he not record AT ALL. ESPECIALLY if she’s genuinely concerned about him! And if we’re going with the ‘statements = drugs’ allusion, then you’d think she’d want him doing it in a safe space where she can keep an eye on him. But no. Go do it on the street. I don’t want to see or hear it. That’s what I get from this. Go girl give us a boundary that actively makes things more dangerous for him while saying you’re worried for him. Whatever.
No?? Then what would make you happy, Georgie. Aside from being able to criticize every last thing Jon does.
We get it. You understand that you as a writer have no idea what constitutes as archival work and used that as a plot point because you didn’t want to do basic goddamn research and also wanted another sign that Jon was an egocentric asshole who thought he was better than everyone else. WE. GET. IT.
Sometimes it feels like this is only considered when it comes to the Grand Ritual. Like. Hey. Let’s ignore that it causes Jon psychological distress because he’s literally feeling their feelings! Ignore that. It’s for something later on. Don’t want to imply he has empathy or sympathy for anyone cause otherwise you’d think he was human! lol! Can’t have that!!!
Fuck. Sorry. I’m being really bitchy. Georgie just does that to me. Can’t be helped.
Anyway. Georgie’s ‘something she’d never choose to tell him’ being about his accent made me feel vindicated cause it was ridiculous but at this point he’s gone to his natural register. At least around her. He still does the deepened, put upon voice at times. Which. Why have Jon be the type to put on a facade to appear more… professional? In control? Whatever. Why have him mask as that if we’re still supposed to see him AS THAT FACADE.
Whatever. I’m. I’m tired.
I’ve already bitched about how it was Georgie that coined the term Avatar so I’m just going to highlight and point big red arrows at it and leave it at that. But. That last part. Is interesting to me. Because I was under the impression that being an ✨Avatar✨ didn’t actually change the person! Not really! But what do I know. Avatars aren’t reaaaalllll.
Just gonna note that despite EVERYTHING SHE SAYS ABOUT HIM BEING IN DANGER AND BRINGING DANGER INTO HER HOME, GEORGIE GIVES ZERO FUCKS ABOUT POLICE SHOWING UP AT HER DOOR LOOKING FOR HIM. Whatever. Whatever.
Whatever. Moving on.
Every minute Jonny and AJN aren’t running I’m getting closer.
MAG 94
Not gonna say much here. Probably. Mostly cause I won’t be able to add screenshots anymore but also cause its short and I already am shaking from trying to contain my hatred of Georgie (failed step one).
“Just fair,” she says…..
And this is the point of no return, really. Did she give him any clue before he turned the recording back on? Is that where he got the 'statement of-’ part from? Or did he just ask, knew, and she spoke. This is the first time he did this completely knowingly and with tepid grudging consent.
Sorry. Did not expect this duo of episodes tonight. Will try to reign it in.
I don’t get the Scouse thing and I don’t care to.
“She didn’t, but we went anyway.” Who actually made the decision to go? Was it Alex who went cause Georgie simply offering to be there as support made her strong enough? Was it Georgie who convinced her because they 'couldn’t do nothing’ and 'needed to help’? Whichever reason, I can see how it would make Georgie reluctant to involve herself in anything. She likely came to the conclusion that if she never involved herself in whatever Alex found out then Alex would still be… well… did any of them ACTUALLY die? Regardless.
“The moment that you die will feel exactly the same as this one.” I’m pretty sure that you’d notice the difference between, idk, sitting at your desk and having a heart attack.. or being shot… or being in a car wreck… or lying in a hospital bed… or… sorry. It’s a good line. Dying totally isn’t different than being alive.
Something people don’t talk about is the fact Georgie didn’t JUST lose Fear. She lost every emotion. And while she says she could feel again, I can’t help but feel that she actually didn’t. Or at least, she didn’t get every emotion back. So many emotions are connected to fear. Does she still feel guilt? Shame? Embarrassment? Anxiety and Worry are two she shouldn’t be able to, but we are told that she is concerned for Jon. But how can she be concerned if she’s not afraid? How can she care if she doesn’t have FEAR. Concern doesn’t come from love. It doesn’t compute to me that she is considered morally centered if she isn’t at least a little afraid of herself and what harm she is capable of. She says she’s not foolhardy and can recognize danger, and I guess that doesn’t strictly require fear, but its still a component of it. So how much of Georgie is genuine. How much is just… assessing a situation and making an appropriate approximation of emotion.
Jon wants to talk to just one person not involved in all this but Georgie implies that he only sought her out because a part of him knew about her statement and we know later on that this is a genuine function of his abilities as the Archivist, putting into question that single line of dialogue. Because how much of Jon even is Jon. How much of his choices and thoughts are his own. I wish I could screenshot the actual scene cause the way it was worded makes it sound almost like she was implying he went to her because he thought she was uninvolved right before making that implication. So close to not having his humanity and decisions questioned.
I’m going to sleep now too. Too bad about the new nightmare. Sorry Jon.
Man. Y’know. I guess cause I don’t generally get through season three and when I do my brain sort of short circuits I don’t really register things but. Huh. A quirk of Jon’s is that he just… Blurts out inappropriate questions. Huh.
Just incase anyone gets it twisted tho no matter how much I regain perspective regarding the actual contents of the podcast, this is still a Jon Defender blog. As far as it comes to the fandom, every other one of those characters can suck it.
Just incase anyone gets it twisted tho no matter how much I regain perspective regarding the actual contents of the podcast, this is still a Jon Defender blog. As far as it comes to the fandom, every other one of those characters can suck it.
I’m like Wirt in that scene from Over The Garden Wall when Beatrice asks him if he was ever gonna stop being a stubborn jerk cause he was being passive-aggressive about her calling him a pushover.
You know the drill. Absent Without Leave and Return to Sender.
MAG 95
Ugh. Martin.
Ugh. War Statement.
I don’t know why but they’re always so boring to me. Most Slaughter based statements are to me. Guess its due to the simple fact that I don’t find violence scary. I just feel myself wanting to enact the violence. But that’s for my therapisssssttttt~! Specifically regarding war, though, I don’t have any sympathy for soldiers. Especially, in this case, fascist ones. I can’t be horrified. For the civilians? Of course. But not for the soldiers.
Anyway.
Okay Marty. You totally don’t feel abandoned by him like a little baby and are genuinely worried he’s gonna get hurt. Right. 🙄 On a different note, guess Melanie was looking into the ‘ghost’ that shot her??? Which would explain why she was like 'I wanted it there’. Shows that she was aware of what was happening to her, at least. I want to bitch about the hypocrisy of her 'choosing’ the Slaughter versus Jon 'choosing’ the Eye, especially with this revelation, but I can’t articulate it in a way that doesn’t come off as just being pissed that she gets a pass when he doesn’t. Can’t really accurately say whether Jon was as aware of it as Melanie is implied to be so I wouldn’t really have a defense there would I?
Anyway.
Ugh. Basira.
Sooooo. We all agree that this wasn’t actually a point of consideration when coming up with the plot of Protocol and that it’s a huge coincidence, right? Right.
Anyway. Episode over.
MAG 96
I do like the soundscape here.
Don’t have much else to think about when it comes to the statement itself. Also sort of boring. At least on this end. I’m sure that when I was first listening and didn’t know anything I was eager and excited to hear anything about the circus and Breekon and Hope. But I know all this already. So it’s… whatever. I do appreciate getting some backstory to some things. But removed from that initial spike of newness its… bland.
Or, y’know… that.
I don’t really know what I’m supposed to get from Jonah leaving the statement as a flex aside from, like Jon, annoyance. Not that Jonah would’ve saved Jon the trip, especially when he’s TRYING to get Jon marked (as alluded to by Jon pointing out that he should keep an eye out for their van), but like… waste of Jon’s time fr fr. Least of his crimes but I’m still counting it as one.
Dare I say I love the certainty Jon asks his questions with? Confident that he’ll receive an answer. No eagerness to prove his worth. But full of purpose and drive. God I wish I had that.
Sasha being a berserk button for him gets me every time. He failed to keep her safe and instead of letting the guilt of it consume him, he goes straight to violence against the THINGS that killed her. Allowed her to die. Strangers. Not!Them. Jonah Magnus. Such a human reaction.
I do like the banter here between Jon and Daisy throughout this 'interrogation’. It does show how they were able to form a comradery after escaping the coffin. He gave as good as he got and they worked REALLY WELL together. Which is especially telling considering this is literally the one and only time they 'hunted’ together. She kept him safe, he got what they needed, and they both kept each other on task. Her with his emotions, him with her bloodlust. A well-oiled machine.
Hey guys did I forget to mention I love Jon and Daisy as a duo? Cause fuck I love Jon and Daisy as a duo.
Hey I think some of your posts are really good and I think you made some really good points also, I’m sorry the fact that you’ve been receiving hate for your criticism. I have complicated opinions about media criticism on here but I think for the most part you were being very respectful and understandable with your criticism and I always have a personal saying that you should look at both the praise and the criticism when looking at a piece of art.
This was lovely to wake up to!!! I appreciate it :)
Genuinely. Cause I’m unable to be objective about my own self so if someone outside of me thinks I was being respectful and understandable then maybe I was. Despite how it felt like I wasn’t and maybe could’ve at times been nicer.
Reaching that end scene in MAG 96 last night has the JonDaisy brain worms acting up.
The most helpless he felt was around her but he’s able to poke at her about it and she lets him take point in what they’re doing.
She’s basically on the edge of attacking but all he says is ‘not yet’ and she backs down. Keeping her on task.
Now she’s reining HIM in. Keeping HIM on task. Not that he would’ve been able to physically DO anything, but it would’ve wasted time.
He’s smiling. And you can hear it. He’s so pleased that while it wasn’t a total loss, she still didn’t get her prey.
This was their first interaction after the group confronted Elias and they’re acting as though they’ve hunted and worked together like this their entire life. So easily slipping into a dynamic where, although they don’t trust or like each other, they’re not actively making things worse for the other. Snarking, yes, but overall doing what they can to accomplish their goals TOGETHER.
If they had been ‘friends’ at this stage, they would’ve been so dangerous. They would’ve been able to feed like this and it would’ve been so easy. But even here, before either of them started actively working towards NOT feeding into their worse behavior, they kept each other in check. And not in a ‘you’re a monster on a leash’ way. In a ‘these are your actual flaws that need to be addressed’ way.
They’re so bad and good for each other. They have such an interesting relationship. I love them so much.
My body doesn’t know the difference between The Hilltop cast announcement and being hunted for sport btw. They want to kill me. They want me dead.
No but I’m actually ill cause this isn’t gonna be just a ‘sit at a desk and read from a script into a microphone’ show. As far as I’m aware, there’s gonna be sets and costumes and it’s a full on PERFORMANCE. And it’s going to be FILMED. For everyone to see! These are who are PERFORMING. Like.
Sorry. Hang on.
The idea of potentially actually seeing the physicality of Jon is frying me. Like. Physical moment choices. Even if it’s just ‘flashbacks’ to past clips and not anything new. I’m having a hard time internalizing this. I mean. Maybe they’re just going to use old recordings played off screen? Maybe I’m wrong about it not being a ‘sit and read’ situation. Maybe maybe maybe.
K. 97 and 98. We All Ignore The Pit and Lights Out. Felt a little icky about listening for some reason then I pulled up the YouTube video for the first one (YouTube has autoskip ads) and it had that quote embedded in the title so…
MAG 97
I genuinely can’t remember now but I don’t think we’ve heard Jan Kilbride’s statement yet? Okay quick check no but we did hear one of the Daedalus crews prior. More on this later.
My sister once was at a job only for like a year before it was absorbed and then shut down. Then she got a job where she was almost there for ten years and the last few involved her managing a dozen or so acquired stores. Weird how that happens.
I looked up Bucoda once…
The red outline is the town line.
They picked a good small town. Looks a bit isolated.
Here’s the pit.
lol
Sorry if it’s weird I’m showing pictures. Its weird they did enough research on some random town in the US to actually get street names and all that. I know it probably was just as much research as I just did but… really? That’s what you’ll spend time on?
Anyway.
I find that they chose the US to be a site of a Buried ritual really interesting. Like. What makes the US that much of a hot spot of the Buried? I would’ve thought, if any, that the Vast would attempt one here. But also If rituals can only be attempted every century or so after one is already attempted. Is that just regarding whatever power as a whole? Or would it take location into consideration? Could there be another Buried ritual attempted not too long after this one in, say, Asia? Or Africa? Like, since it was in the Americas, would a continent on the other side of the world be able to? Like whats the upper limit to the radius effect of a ritual? And would the ritual HAVE to be attempted again in the same genera location however many decades later?
I very clearly focus on all the wrong things. I’m barely paying attention to this statement. This has got me speculating for absolutely no reason. It’s not like any of these thoughts matter.
I love this statement though. It really gives a 70s pulp horror a la the blob or night of the living dead feel. I can almost picture the emblematic camera angles and high contrast coloring.
“What is my metaphorical pit?!” Babe, I doubt Elias wants you to be cognizant of your issues. That seems pretty antithetical to… your whole situation. No. It’s. It’s literally just info on rituals. Namely, though its not confirmed here, that ‘stopping’ a ritual will require a sacrifice. The crying, shockingly blue-eyed person is later revealed to be… Jan Kilbride.
I wish I could remember if I intuited that this was Jan. Obviously the details and all that stuck out to me. But I digress.
I’m gonna skip this post-statement part. Nikola’s voice is irritating and all we get out of it is another mention about the Unknowing and the gorilla skin and threats to Jon’s life and blah blah blah.
MAG 98
For a bit there I was listening to this podcast that essentially just explained or read near verbatim short stories and poems and stuff. One of them was, in English, Der Sandmann. Obviously I listened to it. Can’t remember a lick of it though. Something about cousins and jumping off a tower or drowning or something.
Martin and Tim convo…
There’s a lot here but I want to highlight this part first. I get they’re all, like, disillusioned, and also the place IS evil, but….. what has changed in anything they’ve been asked to do prior to this? And I’m not counting the worms or what happened in artifact storage or Micheal. Cause those were done TO them. And in all the years they worked in ACTUAL Research (or the Library or in Artifact Storage) and not the Archives, nothing like that happened. Why is he suddenly so convinced NOW that THEY are doing evil when it is literally what he was doing before. Research. Investigation. Paperwork. If its just the deaths and attacks then that’s insane cause, like I said; yes, they happened because they were too curious for their own good, but it still happened TO them. It wasn’t something THEY DID.
And fucking. Wild of him to say Jon was weird and borderline jealous about them when, the next time they speak, Jon is CONCERNED about him reading them. They’re unpleasant. Martin knows this. Jon has expressed that they’re unpleasant before. This is wild to say and shows how Martin just. Does not pay attention to anything Jon says.
Okay. Sure. Okay. Sure. Yeah.
I’m tired.
“Not everything’s for you!” OH WHATEVER. Give me a break.
Maybe I should watch The Terror to figure out why an expedition to the North Pole had any interest to… oh… nevermind.
Okay, so, Maxwell calls upon the Sandman. But the People’s Church of the Divine Host, which he’s the leader of, has their whole thing regarding the murky water. Some slimy oozy something or other took Benjamin Hatendi. I don’t think it had any affiliation with Max. Still. Anyway. Something to ponder. Alongside the fact that blinding himself is what 'saved’ Dr Moss here. “There is far more to the darkness than simply being unable to see.” Whatsup with that.
Oh. That’s funny. These are both Dark statements. Anyway.
That reminds me! Something weird that happened in London while we were doing a walking tour one afternoon, around 1 or 2 pm actually. I think it was the Great Fire of London Tour. Either way. The back streets were full of people in business suits DRINKING. Like. Full on in the broad daylight. With their lunch! Clearly on clock or on a work lunch! It was so weird. I couldn’t imagine drinking before 5 pm. Hell, I can’t imagine drinking before the sun goes down.
Anyway. Not too much about the rampant alcoholism of European countries. Apologies.
Melanie Murder Attempts: 1
Its so funny going back and remembering how scary (🙄) I though Jonah was. I was so unnerved and worried for Melanie here. Now I’m just like. Fuck you being so smug for dick face? For ~knowing~ she’s trying to poison you? OOOOOO NEVER WOULD’VE GUESSED WITHOUT SPOOKY EYE POWERS 😱 Irritating piece of shit.
Okay. Since I’d set it for a day and it’s almost out, figured I’d put the logic behind the choices.
Choice one is because I just. Genuinely cannot picture them ‘canonizing’ themselves as what Jon and Martin look like. It feels much more likely that they’d just use old raw recordings or re-record and have them played over the loudspeakers.
Choice two is because I cannot predict what the fuck is going to happen. But the way people are talking, it sounds like this is going to be set between Sam being pushed into the gap in reality and being spit out. We know that the tapes were used to guide the fears to the different dimensions. Ergo. As Sam is traveling, he’d ‘see’ the events. Or something.
When it comes to both prior choices, I use past episodes to mean what is on tape. I do not expect to see or hear things set during TMA that weren’t on tape. Also MEMORY is key here.
Choice three is a joke. If Jonny and AJN kiss on stage I will… idk. Record myself reciting the grand ritual???
Choice four is a long shot but connected to choice two in that Jon and Martin maybe are still in the gap in reality and haven’t found their way out. Or something. And Sam shows up. And they have a conversation. I’m working off the ‘should have taken that tea’ moment here as well cause… y’know. TRAPPED is key here.
The last is cause it’s anyone’s guess. Could be a combo of any of these. Could be none. Could be anything. Who the fuck knows. I sure don’t. And it’s driving me mad. In all sense of the word.
I truly hope they’re actually going to record and make this readily available for people. Even if I have to buy it. It’ll suck to have to wait until probably next year to see it (there’s three productions, one at the end of October, two at the beginning of November) but I guess I can deal. So long as the lucky bastards who got tickets don’t spoil the entire production. Or do in heavy detail.
