A Real Expression

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Can’t wait till I finish The Magnus Archives next decade.

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I am reasonably certain that, if my sister and I were trapped in a cave, she would not sacrifice my life.

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PSA

Jordan Kennedy [MAG055] wouldn’t have been able to kick without any leverage (aka the ground). He did what he had to.

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[Image text: The old woman? Or whoever was crying in the car? Is he trying to warn me not to ignore my own metaphorical pit, because if so, what is my metaphorical pit?]

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Jon. Jon.

Jackson Ellis at the end of his statement:

There was someone else looking at it though. An elderly woman, face pinched and thoughtful, stood at the edge looking down. I didn’t recognize her, or the car she stood next to. She definitely wasn’t from Bucoda. Sat in the car next to her, I could see a young man who had clearly been crying. I couldn’t get over how blue his eyes were. The old woman caught my eye and looked from me to the pit, and back again. I thought about saying something when she gestured for me to leave, and I did. I decided that I was no part of whatever was happening, so I drove away and didn’t look back.

Jon after reading that:

Why has Elias sent me this statement? It took place the other side of the world, to people who don’t seem to have any connection with what’s going on. I’ve suspected for a while there may be some power concerned with caves and enclosed spaces, being buried alive or crushed, so I suppose it’s nice to get a statement that goes some way to developing that theory, but… I cannot figure out what it has to do with our current situation. Is it the nameless old man, the old woman, or—whoever was crying in the car? Is he trying to warn me not to ignore my own metaphorical pit, because if so, what is my metaphorical pit?

Jon didn’t know yet that Gerry and Gertrude went to America, but I do wonder if he ever put two and two together. When I called him dense, I suppose I was being unfair. I mean, I have the advantage of being an audience member lmao. But still...

Has anyone at Rusty Quill laid this out for us? Is it brought up in the fifth season? I need to know. I need to know how many other people have figured it out. Because that pinched-faced old woman and the crying young man can only be Gertrude and Gerry.

The thoughtful old woman...

And the young man with the “how blue” eyes.

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I never asked him to, but, well, when he was excited, he just wanted everyone else to share it. That was… that was Danny. He was just… like that.

Tim Stoker (via bisexualarchivalassistant)

Maybe—and this is just a thought, but maybe Danny wasn’t “like that” so much as he was like that with you, his older brother and confidant. Maybe Danny was excited to share his hobbies with you. Maybe Danny admired and respected you as you did him.

Maybe Danny just wanted to share his joy with you.

I think older siblings can sometimes lose sight of this. I’m a second child with an older sister and two younger brothers, so I’ve been on both sides of the divide. I make this mistake, too. I think of all the times I let my pain and resentment get in the way of being there for my brothers (even my sister), and then my heart hurts. I remember how, at times, my sister could be quite cold with me, and my heart burns in my chest. Just a little.

Listening to “Sneak Preview” the second time did something to me. I actually cried, and for some reason I felt a little ashamed. My siblings and I have been very lucky. Our circumstances growing up could have been worse, but sometimes I fear the only reason they weren’t was because we had one another to depend on. I say fear because it makes me feel like I’ve wasted my life not being a better person for my family. That’s a scary thought, and I can’t help but project it onto Tim.

“Sneak Preview” is one of my favorite episodes because reading between the lines feels so intuitive. It aches in an all too familiar way. Danny stopped “using the jargon” around his brother because his feelings were hurt. I can’t recall how many times I’ve reacted that way, too. I think in terms of understatement, Jonathan Sims really outdid himself here. We can’t know how Danny felt about his brother, but when you pay attention to what Tim is actually saying, it becomes so obvious.

I said in another post that I believe Tim loved Danny above all else. I believe Danny loved Tim just as much.

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From Jon’s commentary in “Schwartzwald”:

Something else I stumbled across, quite by accident during my research, was in Grim Tales, H.T. Moncrieff’s exploration of unexplained and macabre deaths in early 19th century Europe. It mentions a death that took place in Schramberg in 1816. The man, one Rudolph Ziegler, was found dead at his home on the outskirts of town. What is interesting is that it says he worked in service on an estate nearby. Shortly after his death, one Wilhelm von Closen was investigated for the crime, as it was discovered the dead man had been stealing jewelry from the estate. It was eventually dropped, however, after four doctors attested that the ferocity of the wounds inflicted on Herr Ziegler were (and I quote) “beyond the capability of human violence.” It was ruled an animal attack.

Gerry in his statement to Jon in “Family Business”:

Between the blood on my clothes, eyewitnesses who saw me leaving, and the fact the mutilations were so awful the judge said it was “inconceivable to suggest they were self-inflicted,” it seemed like an open-and-shut case. And honestly, there was a part of me which thought a life in prison was an all-right price for freedom. Trouble was, whatever ritual my mum tried to do? It worked. She had bound herself to the book and was able to manifest almost at will. How she removed it from police custody I don’t know, but it left enough of the other evidence “contaminated” that my case was judged a mistrial. I was later told there wasn’t enough evidence to charge me again. Apparently, several witnesses had withdrawn their testimony.

Interesting parallel I found. Gerry’s grandmother, Elsa Keay, is a descendant of Wilhelm von Closen.

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Every time Jon mentions Martin before the latter’s debut

Launch Trailer

Jon: [After hearing a thump] Martin? Martin, is that you? … I swear, if he’s brought another dog in here, I am going to—peel him.

Anglerfish

I’ve managed to secure the services of two researchers to assist me—well, technically three, but I don’t count Martin as he’s unlikely to contribute anything but delays. I plan to digitize the files as much as possible and record audio versions, though some will have to be on tape recorder, as my attempts to get them on my laptop have met with... “significant audio distortions.” Alongside this, Tim, Sasha, and, yes, I suppose Martin, will be doing some supplementary investigation to see what details may be missing from what we have.

Page Turner

Martin couldn’t find any records of Ex Altiora as a title in existent catalogues of esoteric or similar literature, so I assigned Sasha to doublecheck.

Thrown Away

I had Martin conduct a follow-up interview with Mr. Woodward last week, but it was unenlightening. Apparently there have been no further bags at number ninety-three, and in the intervening years he has largely discounted many of the stranger aspects of his experience. I wasn’t expecting much as time generally makes people inclined to forget what they would rather not believe, but at least it got Martin out of the Institute for an afternoon, which is always a welcome relief.

Burned Out

Martin was [pause in which Jon is clearly restraining himself] unable to find the exact date the original house was built...

Vampire Killer

According to Martin, who was here when they took this statement, it was at this point in writing that Mr. Herbert announced he needed some sleep before continuing. He was shown to the break room where he went to sleep on the couch. He did not awaken, unfortunately succumbing to the lung cancer right there. Martin says the staff had been aware of how serious Mr. Herbert’s condition was and had advised him to seek medical aid prior to giving his statement, but were told rather bluntly by the old man that he would not wait another second to state his case.

First Aid

“Veepalach” might also be a mishearing of the Polish word “wypalać,” according to Martin, which means to cauterize or brand. Admittedly, if Martin speaks Polish in the same way he “speaks Latin,” then he might be talking nonsense again, but I’ve looked it up, and it appears to check out.

Lost Johns’ Cave

…Martin declined to help with this investigation as he’s a bit claustrophobic...

Piecemeal

I sent Martin to look into this—“Angela” character. [With a smug smile you can practically hear] Not that I want him to get chopped up of course, but someone had to. Apparently, he spent three days looking into every woman named Angela in Bexley over the age of fifty. He could not find anyone that matches the admittedly vague description given here, though he informs me that he had some very pleasant chats about jigsaws. [Pause] Useless ass.

Arachnophobia

If I were of a more alarmist nature, I might think the appearance of Mr. Vittery’s corpse lent some credibility to his tale, but as I told Martin earlier, he was there for over a week, so there is very likely a perfectly natural explanation for the fact that his body was completely encased in web.

The Boneturner’s Tale

Elias: By the way, have you seen Martin? Jon: Oh, he’s... off sick this week. Stomach problems, I think.

[Seconds later, when Elias has left] Blessed relief if you ask me.

The Man Upstairs

There are no records of transactions at any supermarkets or online delivery firms, and Tim asked round some of the local butchers, as Martin is still off sick.

Desecrated Host

As it turns out the second part of this statement was simply misfiled in the next folder, which was useful, although it does beg the question of who was reading it last. Martin is still absent, but Tim and Sasha both swear they haven’t seen it before.

Freefall

Jon: [Suddenly] My God! Martin? What... What the hell is— What are these things?

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Not to mention I usually trust co-worker testimony as far as I can burn it, but her job really doesn’t seem like the sort you can do with a compromised sense of reality.

Jon Sims (via bisexualarchivalassistant)

This whole thing is doubly ironic.

(via bisexualarchivalassistant)

1. Jon works for the Magnus Institute, and everyone and their mother thinks you’d have to have a “comprised sense of reality” to work there.

2. Although the audience doesn’t meet Martin until halfway through season 1, Jon mentions him by name at least a handful of times leading up to his introduction, so before we can judge the man for ourselves, we have to rely on Jon’s “co-worker testimony” to paint an accurate picture of his character. Yet Jon tells us he doesn’t trust like that. It depends on the individual listener which of his words they’ll take to heart: his biting remarks about his bumbling assistant or his adamant refusal to take anyone seriously. This then affects whether or not the real Martin is jarring for the audience to encounter. The real Jon, too.

How about you? Were you expecting Martin to be a “useless ass” because Jon said so? Or did you take the chance to burn your preconceived notions?

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I’ll even make it a statement, give your patron something to keep it satisfied. It’s not like I sleep enough to worry about dreams.

Adelard in correspondence with Gertrude.

So I suppose if it’s a statement you’re wanting... it’s no inconvenience to me. I don’t sleep well anyway.

Mikaele trying not to “sour” Gertrude.

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Personally, I don’t find Gerry’s arc all that ironic. He made it a mission of sorts after his mother’s death to rid the world of Leitner’s books, which had ruined the lives of so many people, and the last years of his own life were lonely and miserable because of it. This much is true. And Gerry getting trapped in the very symbol of his life’s torment (orchestrated by a mother figure, I might add) is incredibly cruel.

But, you see, a funny thing happens in the form of Jon.

Jon is the successor of the woman who condemned Gerry to this fate, the woman whom he had longed to trust, who he had hoped might love him. As the current Archivist, whose goals and methods are ostensibly the same as his predecessor’s, Jon could have left Gerry in the book. He wouldn’t have gotten the information he wanted, of course, but even after ripping out Gerry’s page, Jon could have broken his promise and kept it around in case he needed it. Gerry would be powerless to stop him, and it would be a reiteration of Gertrude’s betrayal, making his situation even crueler, though still not ironic. I mean, if one so-called ally had done this horrible thing to him, why not another? And if later on Gerry refused to give the Archivist any more information, Jon could still keep him tethered to the world out of spite. Based on his experience, Gerry has every right to suspect such evil of Jon.

Cruelty for Gerry isn’t ironic; it’s expected. Yet he chooses to trust this stranger anyway. And Jon, for his part, doesn’t break his promise. In fact, he risks his own life to spirit Gerry away from his captors and braves the pain of destroying knowledge as an avatar of the Eye to release him. Jon burning Gerry’s page allows the latter to take his final rest. In this, Gerry’s destiny comes full circle, and it is the compassion and grace of someone much like him—a child of the world of terrors and atrocities he himself was forced into—that brings it to fruition. To me, that isn’t a cruel irony: It’s beautifully poetic.

As Gerry said himself, death is only natural. What is not natural is a Leitner. What is not natural is a mother who abuses her son and thrusts him into a life of servitude. It’s a woman who takes advantage of vulnerable people and subjects them to unimaginable horrors. An organization that tricks victims and feeds off their pain and anguish until the day they die. Throughout his life, Gerry had to endure such unnatural, inhumane things, but he tried to thwart them and protect others as best he could. He died helping Gertrude stop the Unknowing, and what did she do to thank him? She turned right around and violated his body to bind his soul to his mother’s book. If Gerry’s story had ended there, that would have been the cruelest outcome of all.

If Jon had been a lesser man, if he had been like Mary or Gertrude, he would have left Gerry in that awful place forever. But Jon is not a lesser man, and he did not abandon Gerry. He saved him.

Right at the culmination of his existence, Gerry’s efforts finally paid off, and he will never have to suffer again.

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OKAY OKAY OKAY

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THE ABSOLUTE ENTITY APOCALYPSE

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To think I created this blog just to have somewhere to put this joke...

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I need a real icon. Possibly a name change.

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Gerry: “Their destinies stolen from them by an idle dilettante.”

Me: Gerry, sweetheart? That’s gotta be the most accurate summation of Jonah Magnus to date.

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Jon

Do you… want to make a statement?

Gerard

[Chuckle] Why not? I’ll try to make it quick, before the Van Helsings get bored.

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Gerard

She traveled “light”...left things behind.

Jon

Kind of sounds like you didn’t...trust her.

Gerard

[Scoffing] Yeah. I didn’t. I wanted to, I really did, but it was always “the work.” Sometimes she just reminded me of my mum. Did you ever meet her, my mum?

Jon

[As a laugh] Um. Not in, not in person, it was, uh... o-only by reputation.

Gerard

Huh. Well. She was also, um, “goal-orientated.” [Jon snorts] Ruthless. But at least Gertrude tried to do something worthwhile with it. My mum only had her ambitions. She’d never have even admitted it though; she was too proud for that. She saw herself as real working class, always said the occult was just a club for “rich boys playing politics with things they didn’t understand.” [Jon exhales] Reckoned her tradition was less the academic and more the, uh—

Jon

[Gearing up] V-v-v-village witch?

Gerard

[Openly chuckling] You sure you don’t know her?

[Nasally] Yeah. But deep down what she wanted wasn’t all that different from the ivory tower idiots she hated. You know, I think, secretly, she dreamed of starting a little mystic dynasty of her own. [Slight realization] Huh. With me.

Jon

Li-like the, the Lukases? Or-or the Fairchilds?

Gerard

Well, Fairchilds are just a name; they’re not really family. The Lukases, though...yeah. [Pause] Thing is, it’s harder than it looks. What’s out there—doesn’t care about blood.

Jon

Well, I-I mean, except for the vampires.

Gerard

Yeah, obviously “except for the vampires.” But they care about your choices, your fears, not your parents. Families are just useful cause they can push you in the right direction.

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Gerard

So uh...you’re the Archivist now.

Jon

Whatever that means.

Gerard

Can’t help you much there. Gertrude was always kind of cagey about it.

Jon

Sh-she never showed any, uh, a-abilities or talked about—er I don’t know, destiny? Like she was b-becoming something?

Gerard

Hmm... Well, she could make people tell her stuff sometimes. They’d suddenly get really talkative and lay out whatever she needed. She didn’t do it often though. I don’t think she liked it.

Jon

[Perking up] Oh, u-uh—I can do that too!

[Jon lets out a breathy laugh that overlaps with Gerard’s response.]

Gerard

Huh.

[Switching gears] Do you like it?

Jon

I-I don’t know. I...I never really thought about it. [Pause] Yes, I... Suppose I do.

Gerard

Hmmmm.

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Gerard

When I asked her, she said she’d show me when we got back to London. Mind you, she had this weird look in her eyes, like it was some kind of joke.

Jon

I-I mean—it wasn’t, w-was it? A, a joke?

Gerard

I don’t think so. Gertrude didn’t make jokes.