The public execution, however hasty and everyday, belongs to a whole series of great rituals in which power is eclipsed and restored; over and above the crime that has placed the sovereign in contempt, it deploys before all eyes an invincible force. Its aim is not so much to re-establish a balance as to bring into play, as its extreme point, the dissymmetry between the subject who has dared to violate the law and the all-powerful sovereign who displays his strength… the punishment is carried out in such a way as to give a spectacle not of measure, but of imbalance and excess; in this liturgy of punishment, there must be an emphatic affirmation of power and of its intrinsic superiority. And this superiority is not simply that of right, but that of the physical strength of the sovereign… who seizes upon the body of the condemned… and displays it marked, beaten, broken. The ceremony of punishment, then, is an exercise of ‘terror.’
— Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
elias being aroused by the compulsion is so, like, the implications. the archivist's compulsion is meant to be a violation of the highest degree, it's an act of domination over another being and results in complete loss of autonomy for the victim, because statement feeding (and avatarhood as a whole) is also consumption ("he looked at me like he had just eaten a perfectly cooked steak", 142 // "i've always thought a man's eating habits were his own private business", elias in 148), jon was eating them so his god wouldn't eat him, just as his first encounter with the powers was a story about being devoured by a monster. so. why would elias like this, why is he excited by it. because he's two hundred years old and has spent most of those years hiding his true self as jonah magnus while serving the fear of being known/found out—that alone makes him an excellent source of fear for the eye to passively feed on. but he also describes jon's compulsion as "tingly, but sort of freeing" in 92, as if the prospect of having his entire self finally, forcibly revealed under the eye of their god after all this time will be a moment of ecstatic release, because he takes so much gloating pleasure in revealing his secrets to jon in 160, because he wants to be Known, the only thing he objects to is the revelation coming at a wrong time because that would ruin his plans. and, of course, the whole loop of jon extracting a statement <--> elias being compelled, which in turn is feeding the beholding, works as a great metaphor for sex. the gratification the beholding rewards them with for the act can only be experienced by the two of them, because nobody else will gladly feed jon their fear and only his archivist can compel jonah. like. all im saying is there was no need to make [PLEASURED EXHALATION] a thing and then never bring it up again. because whats all this then.
prev, no, he IS scared! jon can destroy his mind, jon can make him relive every excruciating second of his worst, most traumatic memories. when was the first time he properly feared his own mortality? did he ever get injured or ill to such an extent that he thought he was going to die right then? this is magnified by the fact that after 160 the only thing that can kill him is jon. he did all that to jon (and everyone else) to escape the fate of perpetual victimisation only to find that fear again in jon. what if jon gets bored of him, what if jon finally decides to break his mind, and i'm assuming he no longer has any way of Knowing what he's thinking and what he'll do next, because jon's powers have eclipsed his. guy who has never kept faith in anything other than himself is just going to have to believe that the monster he made is not going to break him beyond repair. he's terrified, actually. i'm just saying he also derives sick sensual pleasure from it (as does jon. statement extraction is eroticised subjugation and/or possession of another's will and he's finally getting to victimise elias in return for everything he's done to him and it feels good!), because elias's mind is being unravelled by his own masterpiece and he's a vain little shit like that. so, very important to remember that jon is scaring him but elias is simultaneously delirious with want.
too many posts calling jon dumb for shaking jude's hand and this has definitely been pointed out before but i'm going to say it anyway because it's making me. angry. like he obviously knew what was going to happen, he's listened to the uncanny valley statement, he knows jude irreparably damaged someone's entire arm on a whim. the episode opens with him saying, "i'm Not going to shake your hand i'm not stupid" it's just that by the end of it he realises yes, he would put himself through that pain and humiliation if it meant getting what he wanted/Needed (information). that's not idiocy that's a display of desperation and determination (stubbornness, if you want to be less charitable about it but i simply don't think wanting to know what exactly he had gotten himself into when he accepted the job constitutes as a character flaw). it was a business transaction. jude is saying i fed your god with my fear now you feed mine with yours. quid pro quo.
elias being aroused by the compulsion is so, like, the implications. the archivist's compulsion is meant to be a violation of the highest degree, it's an act of domination over another being and results in complete loss of autonomy for the victim, because statement feeding (and avatarhood as a whole) is also consumption ("he looked at me like he had just eaten a perfectly cooked steak", 142 // "i've always thought a man's eating habits were his own private business", elias in 148), jon was eating them so his god wouldn't eat him, just as his first encounter with the powers was a story about being devoured by a monster. so. why would elias like this, why is he excited by it. because he's two hundred years old and has spent most of those years hiding his true self as jonah magnus while serving the fear of being known/found out—that alone makes him an excellent source of fear for the eye to passively feed on. but he also describes jon's compulsion as "tingly, but sort of freeing" in 92, as if the prospect of having his entire self finally, forcibly revealed under the eye of their god after all this time will be a moment of ecstatic release, because he takes so much gloating pleasure in revealing his secrets to jon in 160, because he wants to be Known, the only thing he objects to is the revelation coming at a wrong time because that would ruin his plans. and, of course, the whole loop of jon extracting a statement <--> elias being compelled, which in turn is feeding the beholding, works as a great metaphor for sex. the gratification the beholding rewards them with for the act can only be experienced by the two of them, because nobody else will gladly feed jon their fear and only his archivist can compel jonah. like. all im saying is there was no need to make [PLEASURED EXHALATION] a thing and then never bring it up again. because whats all this then.
[Statement of ArchiveCon staff, regarding the fourth annual fan-con for fans of Rusty Quill’s The Magnus Archives/The Magnus Protocol. Statement recorded 06/12/24 by the Official ArchiveCon Tumblr.]
Hey archival assistants, avatars, and everyone in between!
Welcome to the official Tumblr for ArchiveCon 2025! We are proud to be hosting our FOURTH annual ArchiveCon - a fan-lead, fan-run online con for 18+ fans of the Rusty Quill horror podcast, The Magnus Archives (and now Protocol!)
Whether you are an old fan, a new fan, a deeply-rooted fandom denizen, or looking to make your first connections in our fan community, we hope you’ll join us. ArchiveCon may be online-only, but we’ve got all the energy and features of a traditional offline convention - everything from panels and special guests (voice actors, writers, and industry professionals!), to cosplay and games, streaming and discussion, and even an Artist’s Alley.
Here’s the quick rundown:
- June 27 to 29, 2025 (that’s three days, folks - Friday to Sunday!), from 4 PM to 6 PM, EST.
- Adults only! Most areas of the con will be SFW, but you still must be 18+ to attend.
- FREE TO ATTEND! (Registration is required and must be done so before the convention starts; you can register here!)
- All events are scheduled in EST, but international fans are welcome and most panels (at the discretion of individual panelists) will be recorded for post-convention, on-demand viewing.
- Primarily focused on The Magnus Archives/Protocol, but fans of all things horror, podcasting, and transformative works will find something to love. The Plain Old Curious are always welcome, too - we have to feed The Eye somehow, right? ;)
For more detailed information and FAQs, visit our website!
—
Are you an artist? A storyteller? A game-master, or perhaps just really want to dig deep into all those tasty, horrific theme? Keep an eye out for artist and panelist registration, coming soon!
For more insight and ideas, check out our previous years' program schedule!
Applications aren’t open quite yet, but we’ll update all our pages when they are. Hope to see you there!
I think a lot about Nikola's ‘can I call you Elias’ and the implication that as an avatar of the Stranger she can to some degree sense who/what Jonah is. Because yeah, can you imagine literally becoming an entirely different human being? Having a whole new life time, a new height, a new build, new muscle memory, new tastebuds? Suddenly being decades younger?
And on top of that, when you live for hundreds of years, how much do the minute year by year changes add up? How much of the original Jonah is left in his ship of thesus self? It's no wonder that an avatar of the Stranger can sense who he is.
simon, listen. he's the hottest person you've ever seen. I can't make a move myself because I'm going for a pseudo-father figure angle and trying to flirt with him would add a whole new nexus of psychological issues that I haven't planned for, but just know this for when you see him so you don't get too surprised. I cannot stress this enough, simon.
I read through all of Elias/Jonah's dialogue (as you do) plus some relistening and mentions of him, so here's a big list of some fun things and behaviors I noted!
I thought he made a lot of eye puns/jokes, but he only does it once in mag161, however he does enjoy making jokes. "Creativity never was their forte." from mag80, "You want my account? My sworn testimony? My statement?" from 82, "If you die, I’m afraid you probably won’t be able to claim your expenses." in 116 and "I only have two eyes, after all." in 120. no one ever laughs at his jokes only he finds them amusing
His last words telling Jon a sarcastic or mocking "good luck" are mirrored earlier as he also tells Basira good luck the last time he sees her, and Martin, as he's getting arrested
He loves gloating. "I forget how new you all are to this." from mag92, "Coffee is not as good for disguising tastes as you might think." in 98, "She’s hoping that even if I see it coming she’ll still be able to overpower me. She’s wrong, of course," in 102, "A masterpiece, isn’t it?" abt his panopticon in 158 and of course his whole monologue in 160
He does his budgeting on tuesdays and his scheduling on wednesdays
He also likes getting lost in work
in mag40 he makes up proper incompetency (said he didnt know how the fire system works, while he later admits he was actively waiting) just that once, but more so he acts like he doesnt get the full picture (doesnt know whats in the tunnels, whats strange about the institute) or acts too late and apologises (not stepping into jon's stalking behaviour). Which makes me think he is quite fine letting people think less of him but unless he has something to hide hes not actively looking to give the impression
in mag92 elias slides the papers for basira across his desk, but you don't hear him take them out before, meaning he prepared and got ready for this before he called the police
in general he's a very preparing man, Lukas steps in when Elias is arrested so has has control over who'd run it. in mag118 he says he prepared something to hurt martin (my speculation is that he likely has some trauma that could hurt you prepared for any person that could cross him, just in case he needs it). When he gets arrested he has something prepared so he doesnt get killed and ofc s1-4 is preparing Jon for his grand ritual
Elias admits the idea for his ritual kinda fell into place after Getrude didnt do anything about the people's church in march 2015. He shot Getrude and appointed Jon shortly after so "when you came to me already marked by the Web, I knew it had to be you." is pure dramatics as Jon was hired 4 years prior
also he got his ritual in 2018 so he managed to acomplish his life's goal in only 3 years, love his grindset 🔥
We never get a number for how many people Elias has killed in his ritual, the real life millbank has held over 1000 people at once, but id imagine his one panopticon held less than a whole complex
its really interesting to me in mag92 that hes SO sure they all know he's talking to them of his own free will. is he just that dead set on being in control or making sure they take no credit for his confession
there is a clock in Elias' office (but it's only heard in mag98)
He has killed people but Elias is very much not a blood thirsty person. Getrude and Peter are both surprised when he results to that. He's very much just ruthless and does not care, if to get his way he has to kill someone. It doesnt seem like he's ever happy to do so, maybe this is a quirk of being eye aligned and getting rid of any type of knowledge is painful (he does for example never want Tim to die at the Unknowing), or he just finds covering those murders up a hassle
for the Unknowing Elias books them all hotel rooms, how thoughtful
something cute to me that Jon was too good at the Eye that Elias couldnt meet him face to face post coma
In mag158 he implies that even Institute employees not in the archives are tied to it, at least enough that they could suffer or die if it burned down
between finding other people just as tools to watch and discard and saying empathy holds you back he was definitely a very very lonely man
He is a very breathy person. He sounds breathy when he talks. He takes deep breaths to ready himself and before he uses his powers. And he often breathes through his nose before speaking or during pauses
He has said Jon's name 62 times, only twice calling him "Jonathan" and called him archivist 25 times (24 in the mag120 statement, 1 in mag138 and 1 in mag161)(he also kinda calls him The Archive in 160)
other fun amount of words: know (65 times), see (42), martin (35), detective (20), eyes (20) and eye (9), afraid (9) and "bullshit" (1)
its still insane to me they added all of those sound effects of Elias' cuffs in prison, thats something fun to appreciate. It also means its canon he gestures quite a bit!
It has been brought to my attention that people might be interested in the research I've done for Magnus stuff (I frequently go on research dives and assume it's of interest to no one but me 😅)
Some calculations about age/background (spoilers involved)(some of this plus pulled right from the wiki)
Jonah has used his body-hopping powers to stay alive for centuries, continuing his research on The Fears. All known identities have held the position of Head of the Magnus Institute.
Jonah Magnus (estimated late 1700s - late mid-1800s)
Richard Mendelson (Unknown - 1973)
James Wright (1973 - 1996)
Elias Bouchard (1996 - present)
Statement Letters
The following episodes are statements given as letters to Jonah Magnus:
MAG 23: Schwartzwald - From Albrecht von Closen (1816)
MAG 50: Foundations - From Sampson Kempthorne (1841)
MAG 92: Nothing Beside Remains - From Barnabas Bennett (1824)
MAG 127: Remains to be Seen - From Dr. Jonathan Fanshawe (1831)
MAG 138: The Architecture of Fear - From Robert Smirke (1867) (Smirke was 86 when he died)
Analysis:
There are 51 years between first and last statements
Jonah is collecting books/etc. by 1816 and has opinions on the German Coalition, so we can assume he's at least in his twenties if not older (unless he was a very opinionated and active teenager, which is quite possible for the time period.) If so, and if he performed his ritual around the time of Smirke's death, he's in his seventies by the time he attempts the Watcher's Crown
Religion: there's no indication Jonah was religious, but he would have a strong cultural understanding of Christianity because of when he grew up.
Sexism: I know it's a common headcanon that Jonah is misogynistic, mostly because of the comments made in canon about Sasha deserving to be the Head Archivist, and because he's an 19th century man. I don't see any actual evidence for this; if anything, he shows more of an interest in results than who's making them. There are plenty of women working at the Institute, including Hannah who runs the library, and of course Gertrude as the previous Head Archivist. That doesn't mean he's not an asshole in other ways.
SO! I went down a rabbit hole last night because I'm playing the sims and decided to make the Magnus Institute, and, being me, I wanted to try and make the architecture accurate.
Of course, I could have just gone for late 19th century/early 20th century architecture, but I went into the various wikis and reddit threads and found that there is, in fact, a building that Jonny references as an inspiration for the Institute.
Namely, this:
This building is referenced as 42 Millbank, and now owned by the Chelsea College of Arts. Except when you search either one of those, you get different buildings!
What is pictured above is actually 45 Millbank. It's now used as an event/conference center, and is indeed owned by the College of Arts. Once I knew that, I was able to find these pictures of the interior:
Neat!
But the thing is, I really wanted floorplans. At which point I did some more digging and found some archival records by the lovely people at Friends of Millbank, which explained that 45 Millbank was built as the Royal Army Medical College. There are lots of interesting articles on their site, including primary sources, through which I found this:
Millbank College history is rich. The Crimean War (1854-56) resulted in the creation of the Army Medical School at Chatham (1860) then at N
