ericdelano

[ericdelano]

(Disclaimer: the actual reason for the following story quirk is that Jonathan Sims, writer of the Magnus Archives, didn't actually know a lot about archiving practices. This is not a denial of workplace sexism or me saying that Jon-the-character was more qualified than Sasha. Have a lovely day)

You know how lots of people say Sasha would have been a better Archivist because she was more qualified, and then other people pointed out that she stapled documents together, which is an archiving faux-pas?

Yeah, we find out about the stapling literally while she and Tim are having a conversation about how she should be the Head Archivist because she's more qualified (MAG 162)

As in, they are sitting together, STAPLING DOCUMENTS, and saying they're good at archiving

Hysterical

[ericdelano]

no matter how rqg ended we will always have "what if orpheus went to get eurydice but they'd both been neck-deep in suicidal ideation for months if not years and that's the trick. you can walk out the afterlife with me but you'll have to be alive again. i am asking you to bear being alive again. you can say no, but i had to ask. i'm not going to admit i need you to say yes until you make me" and no one can take that away from me. they don't even say i love you. they never say i love you! wilde just agrees to be alive again! because zolf needs him! not the work, not the world, zolf!!!

[ericdelano]

(inspired very much by this lovely post)

[ericdelano]

my first ever tma art i made a few months ago after finishing s2 and way before i settled on a design for Jon

[ericdelano]

The girls 💖

They hate each other 💖

I hope they kiss 💖

[ericdelano]

not only would they win a gift card but also a mug

[ericdelano]

I'm aware I'm not the only person to do this but here's a post that was just meant to be me tracking up the description of Gerry's hair to see what is actually going on on that front but this also turned into a few other things that are quite interesting to think about. And I started

I will put this under a cut as it's long, also spoilers

So we first meet Gerry in 004

And he's described as having 'artificially black' hair and he's unshaven, this statement is set in Winter 2012 and is from the period where Mary is haunting Gerry post her death, this also occurs after the events of 012 as the incident in 012 is dated as happening on December 23rd 2011

Then in 012

Yet again, dyed hair, this time he's clean shaven which implies either Gerry tends to shave or he probably at least shaved for the sake of blending in for this incident

(This is also when Gerry had all his tattoos)

, this is also in 2011 and it's when Mary is still around but I'm not sure if she like actually somehow appeared at the hospital since it's never really said like how far Mary could like project herself as a ghost but either way somehow they signed him off to her.

Also to note from 012

Gerry has an expired passport with him, he's traveled a lot this lines up with what Gerry himself says in 111 that he and Mary traveled a lot (Also I personally feel he likely had a feeling he wasn't coming back from this and had that on him for... reasons)

Then in 035 we encounter teenage Gerry in 2002

He's described as thin, his hair is apparently obviously dyed, it's also described as 'greasy'

Also to note, this is where the statement giver implies Gerry is somehow stronger than he looks

Gerry then shows up in 048

He's described as scrawny here, and also described as having 'long black hair' this episode is set in September 2009 which would likely be about a year after Mary's death which is said to have happened in 2008 and in 111 Gerry does say the following

Also in 004 it's stated that Gerry seemingly disappeared after being acquitted

Also apparently someone moved into Pinhole Books in 2014

Also to note 062 where Mary talks to Gertrude and gives her Eric's page is set on the 3rd July 2008 meaning that Mary's death was somewhere after this point (I am going to assume likely not that long after this)

Mary speaks to Eric in 154 which is dated to the 21st July 2008 and also this is where Eric does ask her to track down Gerry and Gertrude has been aware of Gerry's existence for a good while by this point.

Also it's implied that Eric and Gertrude know what Mary was going to do

Another side note 080 is where we have Jurgen's encounter with Gerry which probably would've happened in 2014

And Gerry thinks this was in fact not Leitner

So now we come to 102

This statement was taken in June 2014 and is the source of the 'poorly dyed' description of Gerry's hair, this is the only time where the condition of his hair is really remarked upon other than in 035 where it's described as greasy (Which I personally feel was just as a result of Gerry being a teenager at a time as having greasy hair as a teenager happens to most people) so that was likely a one off moment.

Other references to Gerry's hair being dyed imply it's obviously dyed and an artificial looking black so I have another feeling that his hair looking the way it apparently does here is probably a one off since Gerry has been.... going through it to put it mildly.

And its stated that Gerry passes away a few months after this and in 111 Gerry states and since he says Mary haunted him for five years Gertrude seemingly was the one to seek Gerry out This was likely some point in 2013 (Going off what was calculated by people writing the tma wiki)

Allegedly The Catalogue was burned, or at least Mary's pages were Gertrude however seems to have The Catalogue in 2015 when she is arrested for tresspassing

Gerry was also unaware he was ill until it was too late

In 012 we find out Gerry's death was sometime in late 2015

And Jon finds the following out in 107

From what we have in 107 it's likely Gerry and Gertrude were heading to The Usher Foundation from Chicago but only got as far as Pittsburgh, this is where Gerry passes, Gertrude narrowly avoids arrest for being caught when binding Gerry to the Catalogue of the Trapped Dead and Gertrude travels back to England.

And then The Catalogue falls into Julia and Trevor's hands about a year late 109

(And yes can confirm the Greyhound route referenced by Jon does exist)

So that's the post

Things to Summarise

Gerry is apparently stronger than he looks, he is also canonically pale and thin/scrawny

He's described as having stubble in 004 but not 012 I have a feeling he tends to stay clean shaven but in 004 it's implied he looks like hes not slept for a few days (Likely due to Mary) 004 happened post 012

Gerry has an expired passport with him in 012 likely for identification reasons (I personally feel he had a feeling he might not be coming back)

Gerry was released into Mary's care after the events of 012 but it's not clear if Mary was physically there or not

His hair is obviously dyed, and always described as long. His hair is described as Greasy in 035 when he's a teenager, and Poorly Dyed in 102, 102 is set not long before Gerry died so I have a feeling that's probably part of the reason his hair is like that he's been going through it (tm)

Gertrude very likely knew about Gerry's existence pre 2008, she was asked to find him in July 2008 by Eric, She also spoke to Eric a few weeks after Mary approached her in July 2008 but didn't intervene until 2013

Mary's death was likely some point in Summer 2008, probably in July

Someone moved into Pinhole Books in 2014

Gerry also beat up Jurgen Leitner in 2014

Mary's pages were burned in 2013 but it seems The Catalogue was still usable since Gerry was put into it

Gertrude and Gerry most likely heading to The Usher Foundation before his death They'd been in Chicago and were traveling via Pittsburgh, which is as far as they got before Gerry died, Gertrude never did show up at The Usher Foundation.

Gerry died some point in late 2015, the Catalogue of the Trapped Dead was left behind and eventually vanished from the evidence locker and somehow ended up with Julia and Trevor just under a year later

[ericdelano]

TMA no fears AU where Georgie has her podcast, Melanie has her youtube, and Gerry has a traditional TV ghosts/supernatural hunter show (a rebellious application of Mary's attempt to build a media empire that he came to be proud of?)

They each cover the topics pretty differently and focus on mostly different topics. They generally have pretty separate followings, except the dedicated, tenuously hinged, and steadily growing fanbase committed to the existence of a presence in all their work who is allegedly called "Jon"

Whole posts on niche forums are dedicated to compiling visible or audible evidence that there is another person off camera/mic, along with all of the very few times the three mention the name Jon. Explanations vary from the mundane (the supernatural media world is small, working support for multiple crews is probably normal) to the conspiracy theorist (Jon is a spirit connected to a supernatural event for which the three where present that eventually drove them to ghost hunting). Debate abounds on whether this is the same person or a coincidence. There are arguments whether Jon is human, dead/undead, or an inhuman monster of some kind. Every time Georgie, Melanie, or Gerry answer a question about the topic (typically they change the subject or don't understand what the asker is talking about) the community explodes with new takes.

Jon 100% exists and is a totally normal human who works for the normal not evil Magnus Institute and does ghost research on the side for his friends. He's not even trying to hide or stay off camera, he just has an uncanny ability to create an accidental air of mystery.

just Jon becoming a niche urban legend/cryptid for harmless reasons

[ericdelano]

Gerry doodle

[ID: A close up portrait of a man using his hand to keep his hair off his face. He has sharp facial features and his expression is intense. He has long, messy dark hair, his skin covered in tattoos of eyes, one in each joint, and has several different facial piercings. He wears a dark jacket, many earrings and several rings on his fingers. ]

[ericdelano]

gerry keay ink sketches to heal the soul :-)

also first time drawing him how did i do :0

[ericdelano]

archive and protocol

[ericdelano]

As much backing as Beholding gave Gerry, makes me ponder how hard the Eye might have been pressing for a proper claim on the guy. Cause despite the perks, I don't think he ever technically counted as any kind of avatar?

Anyway, an excuse to draw Drama Hands™

[ericdelano]

The fondness in Jon's voice when he says, "that'll be our Gerard." makes me want to scream because they didn't even know each other and yet Jon likes him. Jon doesn't speak about anyone like that. Jon has heard enough about Gerry in the tapes and notes that he's formed an opinion of him. He says "our Gerard" the way others speak of a family member. In the same way someone would lovingly call a cousin a brat. Jon likes Gerry.

[ericdelano]

I'm a camp counselor and a Mechanisms fan. This means I have a unique opportunity of influence on kids who think I'm cool. I have used this power not for evil, but for my own amusement. I've been shouting "JONNY D'VILLE, YOUR HUMBLE CAPTAIN" and i have trained my loyal hoard of a dozen 10 year olds to shout back "FIRST MATE" and its quite possibly the best thing ive ever done. I shouldn't be as proud of this as I am, but it works better than any other attention getter I've ever used.

[ericdelano]

when i tell you i was on the edge of my seat waiting for some gross body horror to make me gag like the last few episodes, only to hear Sam and Celia kiss, i just about busted a fucking lung

[ericdelano]

i don't forgive you. but thank you for this

[ericdelano]