effectivehands

[vampiremotif]

whats all this then

[fractal-voidling]

MAG098 - #8640514 │Lights Out

"scary magic psychopath", lmao

Tim's still a mood

Martin definitely needs that drink

nice try I guess

[annabelle--cane]

re-listening to MAG098 and i never realized that tim and melanie came to the same conclusion that the institute is bad so i won't do my job in almost the same words. interestingly, the only remaining characters who still believed in the institute's ability to help during the next season were jon and partly basira, while martin and daisy's motivations were much more selfish and consequential.

I sometimes feel like melanie is, in a way, a version of tim who got a happy ending. they both went through a bad "aarrgghh I'm so smad that I'm stuck here, I hate everyone, especially jon because I think he's responsible for this" phase, but melanie didn't start withdrawing and isolating herself like tim did, she actively sought companionship and reconciliation with the others.

[soveryanon]

(MAG098) MELANIE: Uh, Martin, have you seen Elias? MARTIN: Oh, uh… No, but Tuesday lunch he normally meets with the Library staff, I think. He’ll… He’ll probably be back in his office in an hour or so?

Heyheyheyhey, with the Added Lore from the liveshow that Martin worked at the library before the Archives, that means... MartinElias lunchdates canon.

[tma-latino]

MAG098 – Caso 8640514 - “Luces fuera” Martin Blackwood, asistente del Archivo en el Instituto Magnus, grabando el testimonio número 8640514. [Disclaimer/ Aviso] [MAG097] | x | [MAG099]

[gammija]

The final Web!Martin evidence list

Now that canon is done, and we’ve got word of god confirmation that Web!Martin wasn’t complete nonsense, I decided to go back to my lil chronological evidence list and actually clean it up a bit, delete parts that in hindsight weren't all that indicative, and put everything in a slightly more readable format. (Obligatory disclaimer that i don’t and never did believe or advocate for some kind of evil web!martin, and that I'm not intending to connect a moral judgement to martin (or anyone else for that matter) having some of these traits)

So here: The (hopefully, please) final list with Web!Martin Evidence! Presented in order of importance, according to. me

The final (hopefully) Web!Martin evidence list

(In order from most to least obvious)

Spiders

I mean, it’s called the Web. TMA reiterates quite a few times that Martin liked spiders. Sometimes it IS that easy.

MAG022: Martin: "I like spiders. Big ones, at least. Y’know, y’know the ones you can see some fur on; I actually think they’re sort of cute -"

MAG038: | Sasha: "A spider?" Jon: "Yeah. I tried to kill it…" [...] Sasha: [Chuckles] "Well, I won’t tell Martin." Jon: "Oh, god. I don’t think I could stand another lecture on their importance to the ecosystem."

MAG059: Jon: "I have done my best to prevent Martin reading this statement in too much detail. I have no interest in having another argument about spiders."

MAG079: Jon: "Apparently, biologically, his account of the spiders doesn’t make any sense according to Martin."

MAG197: Martin: “What? Because I like spiders? Well, used to.”

Lies and subterfuge

Martin is able to use lying and subterfuge to achieve his goals, and is called manipulative a few times.

Lies:

MAG022: Martin: "[He] became slightly more co-operative after I lied to him and told him that one of the upstairs residents had buzzed me in."

MAG056: Martin: "I lied on my CV."

MAG158: Peter: “But you said –” Martin: “Honestly, I mostly just said what I thought you wanted to hear.”

MAG164: Jon: "You – I actually believed you!"

MAG189: Martin: “Sorry. Sorry, John. Not sure how much everything up there actually understood what was going on. But, y’know, I didn’t want to take any chances so it made sense to… um…” Jon: “Put on a show?” Martin: “Yeah, basically, more or less.”

MAG191: Martin: "That's not true." Arun: "Liar!"

Subterfuge:

The plan in 118, which revolved around convincing Elias that Martin was only “acting out”, to create a distraction for Melanie. (Also compare the way he evades giving a straight answer here with the way Annabelle talks in 196.)

Working with Peter in s4 under false pretenses, to distract him from Jon and eventually try to learn what Peter wanted.

Manipulation accusations:

These, I know, are somewhat contentious, since it’s mostly villains saying this to him. I’m still including them, since

1): From a media analysis standpoint, being mentioned 3 times is a sign to pay attention, even when it may not be the full truth.

2): I only see it as describing Martin’s behaviour in the previous points, not as a moral judgement; Especially since he almost always ‘manipulates’ people in positions of power over him.

Still, if it bothers anyone, feel free to ignore these.

MAG138: Martin: "That’s it? No, no monologue, no mind games? You love manipulating people!" Elias: "That makes two of us."

MAG186: Martin: “I can be a real manipulative prick, you know that?” Also Martin: “Oh yeah.”

MAG196: Annabelle: “Because you always managed to get what you wanted through smiles and shrugs and stammerings that weren’t nearly as awkward as they seemed.” [SMALL SOUND OF MARTIN’S CONCESSION TO THE POINT] Martin: “Point taken.”

The Lonely/the Web

The Lonely and the Web sometimes affect Martin to similar degrees.

In season 3, when Martin is getting used to reading statements for the first time, most of them leave him emotionally affected: MAG084, MAG088, MAG090,

MAG095: Martin: “S-S-Statement… done.” [HEAVY BREATHING & TREMBLING AS MARTIN STEADIES HIMSELF] “I don’t like recording these. There. I-I said it.”,

MAG098: Martin: [Panting] “End of statement.” [Deep breath] “I, um, I think I might need to sit down. Oh. Yeah, I am. Right. I don’t, uh, I’m not really sure if these are actually getting easier or harder. I mean I don’t feel –”

Only the last two statements he reads are remarkably easier. This might be a hint that Martin is just getting used to reading them, but the quote from MAG098 seems to contradict that. Either way, it’s likely not a coincidence that those last two happen to be the Lonely and the Web:

MAG108: Martin: “Statement ends.” (exhale) “That wasn’t so bad…”

MAG110: Martin: “Statement ends.” [...] “I mean, I think it sounds like a Jurgen Leitner book. About spiders. Hm. Good John didn’t have to read this one, anyway. I know he’s not a fan. Although, this one wasn’t too bad, actually! I – yeah. Anyway.”

In season 5, there are two powers’ Domains that actually affected Martin mentally, as opposed to only physically: the Lonely’s, in 170 (and arguably 186), and, depending on your interpretation, in 172, when Martin went exploring without knowing why he did so.

Proximity

Martin investigates a lot of the Web statements during season 1 to 3 (in other words, when the archive team still researches statements). The only ones he isn’t mentioned in during this period are MAG019 and MAG020, when he’s being harrassed by worms, and MAG081, which Jon records by himself outside of the institute.

Most notably, he’s the one who discovered the statement in MAG114, ‘Cracked Foundations’, which is the one statement in the entire show that sets up the interdimensional properties of HTR.

The Web!Lighter passed through Martin's hands first, before he gave it to Jon.

Similarly, Annabelle mostly spoke to Martin in season 5, despite most other Avatars usually focusing on Jon.

Aesthetics

Apart from the above obviously Web related areas, there are some other aesthetics which are mentioned in connection to both the Web and Martin, throughout canon.

These are describing the Web;

These are describing Martin.

Tapes:

Martin is the only character to treat the tape recorders as friends - any other character is either indifferent, or treats them as enemies.

MAG039: Martin: "I think the tapes have a sort of… low-fi charm."

MAG154 Martin: “Oh. Hi. Hello again.” … (small laugh) “Sorry pal, false alarm this time.”

MAG156 Martin: “Mm? Oh.” [HE LAUGHS, GENTLY.] “Yeah. (rustling paper) I was going to read one. Hate for you to miss it!” [SHORT, FORCED LAUGH, AS HE FLAPS THE STATEMENT AROUND.]

MAG170 Martin: “Oh. Oh, hello. What’s this? Wow, retro! What are you up to, little buddy; just – listening? That’s okay. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

MAG190 Jon: "[The tapes] seem to like [Martin]."

Retro:

MAG069: Statement: “I only saw Annabelle Cane once during this period. She wasn’t hard to pick out. She dressed like a vintage clothing store exploded on her, and her short bleach-blonde hair stood out sharply against dark skin.”

MAG160: Jon: “Anyways, don’t tell me the phonebox down there doesn’t appeal to your retro aesthetic.” Martin: “It – might. Maybe.”

MAG163: Annabelle/the Web callying Martin via an old payphone: [ A PHONE RINGS. IT’S NOT THE TINNY, ELECTRONIC SOUND OF A CELLPHONE – NO, THIS IS A TRUE, HEAVY, CLASSIC RING.] Martin: “Uh. John? Uh, J, John – the, uh, payphone that’s – here, for some reason – it’s ringing?”

Hatred of burns:

MAG067: Jack Barnabas’ statement: “I looked up and noticed within the corner of the room, where there had been a spider’s web this morning, there was just a faint wisp of smoke.” “Another held a bag that seemed to be full of candles, while a third had a clear plastic container filled with hundreds of tiny spiders.”

MAG139: Statement by member of Cult of the Lightless Flame: “The Mother of Puppets has always suffered at our hand; all the manipulation and subtle venom in the world means nothing against a pure and unrestrained force of destruction and ruin.” Agnes burned down Hilltop Road.

MAG145: The Web ties Gertrude to Agnes, stopping the Desolation’s ritual (the only Power whose ritual the Web is known to have prevented).

MAG167: Gertrude enlists Agnes’/the Desolation’s help in order to burn her assistant Emma, who was Web aligned.

MAG169: Martin: "Look, I just – don’t want to get burned, all right? It’s, it’s like my least favorite pain ever. [...] I, I legitimately hate burns, alright? They’re, they’re awful, and they scar horribly, and they just – it – it just makes me sick; I, I hate it. Hate it!"

Phrasing:

MAG039: Martin: "I’m trapped here. It’s like I can’t… move on and the more I struggle, the more I’m stuck. [...] It's just that whatever web these statements have caught you in, well, I’m there too. We all are, I think."

MAG079: Martin's poem: "The threads of people walking, living, lovi–"

MAG117: Martin: "This last couple of years, I’ve always been running, always hiding, caught in someone else’s trap, but, but now it’s my trap, and, well, I think it’ll work. I know, I know it’s not exactly intricate, but it felt good leaving my own little web. Oh, oh, Christ, I hope John doesn’t actually listen to these. “Good lord, is Martin becoming some sort of spider person?” No, John, it’s an expression, chill out! Besides, spiders are fine. I mean, yes, people are scared of them, obviously, but actual spiders, they just want to help you out with flies."

MAG167: Jon: “Methinks the Spider dost protest too much.” Martin: “Jon –” Jon: “Joking! Just joking.”

Personality:

How applicable these are depends heavily on how you interpret Martin's own personality, so your mileage may vary.

MAG008: Statement: “Nobody ever said a word against Raymond himself, though, who was by all accounts a kind and gentle soul [...]”

MAG123: Jon: "The Web does seem to have a preference for those who prefer not to assert themselves."

MAG147: Annabelles statement: "I discovered a deep and enduring talent inside myself for lying. [...] My manipulations were not intricate, but they were far beyond what was expected of a child my age, and I have always believed that the key to manipulating people is to ensure that they always under- or overestimate you. Never reveal your true abilities or plans."

Word of God and Annabelle

I kinda wanted to ‘prove’ that Web!Martin had quite a bit of evidence to back it up, hence this header being last. But of course, in this post-canon world, there are a few lines that most obviously confirm the theory:

MAG197: Martin is Web enough to be able to read the 'vibrations', like Annabelle, and see Jon and Basira (the latter being especially notable, as he hadn't known she was there beforehand): [CHITTERING, BUZZING AND HIGH-PITCHED SQUEALS CHANGE CADENCE] Martin: "Wait… Wait, hang on, is that him?" Annabelle: "Yes. I guess you’re better with the Web than we thought." Martin: "And – Wait, ha– No, uh… is that… Basira? He – He’s got Basira with him!" Annabelle: "Yes."

Season 5 Q&A part 2: Jonny: “Essentially, it was fascinating looking at the fandom and, like, the Web!Martin believers, because what they were doing was correctly picking up on hints dropped in the early seasons that were later, like, not exactly abandoned, but it was much more like, ‘Well, no, he does have like aspects of The Web to him, but he is moreover The Lonely.’ And that came about very… very organically, really. Because throughout Season 3 and going into Season 4, we had this conversation and we were like, ‘No, actually he's like-” Alex: “‘It can't be, it cannot be, it must be the other way round’ Yeah.”

(Note that they say “throughout season 3 and going into season 4,” which likely means that season 1, season 2, and at least part of season 3, aka half of the entire show, were written with Web!Martin as an intentional possibility.)

If you read all that, thanks so much! Obviously, Web!Martin never really came to fruition, so it's fine if you still don't like it. This is just a post explaining where it was coming from, at least for me and the other theorists I've spoken to.

[tma-traduzioni]

MAG098 - Caso #8640514 - “Luci spente”

[Episodio precedente]

[PDF con testo inglese a fronte / PDF with English text to the side]

[CLICK]

[Fogli che vengono spostati mentre Martin si prepara a leggere una dichiarazione]

[Lungo sospiro]

[Porta che si apre]

TIM

Oh.

MARTIN

Oh, er...

TIM

Scusa, non sapevo che eri qui.

MARTIN

No, va - va- va bene. Ne sono abbastanza felice, onestamente.

Ho bisogno di una distrazione.

Ho un’altra dichiarazione da registrare.

TIM

Le fai ancora?

MARTIN

Sì. Sì.

Ho chiesto a Elias se potevo smettere.

TIM

E ha detto di no per un qualche motivo misterioso?

MARTIN

Non saprei. Voglio dire, più o meno lo ha spiegato. Credo? Jon è “troppo incoerente” al momento. Deve rimediare ai ritardi. Il che, credo voglia dire con me.

A meno che…

TIM

No.

MARTIN

Mi ha suggerito di provare a coinvolgerti e -

TIM

E io gli ho suggerito di non essere uno spaventoso psicopatico magico. Ops! Troppo tardi.

MARTIN

Già.

[Tim sospira]

TIM

Scusa.

MARTIN

No, io - capisco. Heh. Non è che siano proprio molto divertenti.

TIM

Guarda, non è quello. Io… [Sospira]

Questo posto è malvagio, Martin. E credo che fare ciò che Questo vuole, probabilmente rende noi malvagi. E vuole che queste cose vengano lette. Voglio dire, non ti fermerò, ma al tempo stesso…

MARTIN

Io - capisco.

TIM

[Sospira] Guarda, ne hai parlato con Jon?

MARTIN

[Nervoso] Erm... no.... Non so, diventa sempre così strano con le dichiarazioni, e… credo che… non volevo farlo ingelosire?

TIM

Ingelosire.

MARTIN

Non so! Tipo? Voglio dire… guarda, non è venuto fuori, va bene?

Lo hai più visto da quando…?

TIM

[Brontolii] Più o meno. Abbiamo provato a parlare, ma lui, ha preso quel - Ah, voleva, voleva accendere il suo registratore. Io ho dato un po’ di matto, e ho detto delle cose: se voleva parlare, niente cassette, è solo che, è solo che odio quei cosi.

Tu?

MARTIN

Sì, abbiamo parlato. Non per molto, lui - Sai, credo che pensi che la distanza ci tenga al sicuro, sai? Come, come, se si assicura che noi non siamo coinvolti, in qualche modo saremo al sicuro.

TIM

È un idiota. Guarda, non sapevamo cosa fosse quella porta, e ci ha intrappolati comunque. L’ignoranza non salverà nessuno.

MARTIN

No, voglio dire, hai ragione, credo. Lui era… sai, sappiamo di Sasha ora, e… lui ha detto che non vuole perdere nessun altro.

Come, sai, se fosse colpa sua.

TIM

Non lo è?

MARTIN

No! No, non lo è! Voglio dire, hai sentito Elias… Non abbiamo mai neanche avuto una possibilità.

TIM

Già.

Forse. Ma non è Elias quello che mi ha offerto il lavoro qua sotto.

MARTIN

No, io -

Certo.

...

TIM

A-ascolta, devo, devo andare. Ho delle… cose da fare.

MARTIN

Certo.

[Porta che si chiude]

[Martin sospira, prende i fogli]

[Pausa pesante quando lui si accorge del registratore acceso]

Huh.

Sì, sai, sai cosa? Un po’ di privacy sarebbe bella a volte, okay? Non tutto è per te! Non puoi ascoltare tutto quello che noi -

Va bene, sai cosa? Sai cosa… Se sei così impaziente, okay. Martin Blackwood, Assistente Archivista all’Istituto Magnus, registra la dichiarazione numero 8640514. Dichiarazione del Dottor Algernon Moss, rilasciata il 14 Maggio 1864.

[Si schiarisce la gola]

MARTIN (DICHIARAZIONE)

La mia storia, perché questo è, non dovrebbe essere lunga da raccontare, anche se c’è molto che potreste capire dalle circostanze che la circondano. Vengo da voi non per lamentarmi della mia condizione, o per mettere a nudo la mia anima come un papista nel confessionale, ma per richiedere la vostra assistenza. Ritengo che Maxwell Rayner abbia a sua disposizione dei poteri diabolici che ha usato per maledirmi e per causare la mia cecità. O, più precisamente, per far sì che mi accecassi, perché non negherò di averlo fatto di mia volontà. Per ovvi motivi le mie accuse sono state fonte di derisione al punto tale da allontanarmi dalla maggior parte della buona società. Non poi così buona quando accusi qualcuno di stregoneria, sembrerebbe. Chiedo ora l’assistenza del vostro Istituto nella speranza che possiate fornirmi delle prove o precedenti legali che possano aiutarmi a muovermi contro il mio aggressore, anche se ammetto che le mie aspettative su quest’ultimi sono limitate.

Maxwell Rayner è bizzarro. Afferma di essere un venditore di antiquariato dall’Africa, ed è, di recente, diventato molto apprezzato in certi circoli di Cambridge, anche se non l’ho mai sentito parlare di antiquariato o della sua presunta madrepatria nel dettaglio. La sua passione sembrerebbero essere le spedizioni ai poli, ed è raro partecipare a un ritrovo sociale con lui in cui l’argomento non venga fuori a un certo punto. In particolare sembra condividere quell’ossessione stranamente specifica sul fato di John Franklin e la sua spedizione scomparsa. Supporrei che abbia intenzione di prendere parte anche lui a una spedizione simile, se non fosse per il fatto della sua cecità. Infatti, lo spettacolo dei suoi occhi lattiginosi e bianchi che fissano da dietro la pelle nera e avvizzita del suo volto è un’immagine così suggestiva che, se non fossi caritatevole, potrei suggerire che abbia qualcosa a che fare con la prontezza con cui riceve inviti e biglietti da visita. Viene guidato in giro da un giovanotto arabo di dieci o undici anni, anche se la facilità con cui si sposta mi fa sospettare che questo aiutante sia un affetto piuttosto che una necessità. Entrambi parlano un inglese perfetto, senza accenti che riesco a riconoscere, anche se il ragazzo raramente apre la bocca se non per avvertire Rayner delle cose che succedono nelle vicinanze.

Le circostanze della nostra disputa sono, nettamente, la parte meno interessante della mia storia. Ho superato la sua offerta a un’asta. Non era niente degno di nota, pensai, anche se forse avrei dovuto prendere in considerazione la sua peculiare ossessione. Era un pacco d’incerata di documenti, presumibilmente dai diari di bordo della nave scomparsa di Franklin, la HMS Terror. Riconosco una piccola dose di curiosità sulla questione da parte mia, e la mia inclinazione si trasformò in determinazione quando vidi con quanta insistenza Rayner stesse facendo offerte, e prevalsi. Mi si avvicinò dopo per discutere della questione e, forse se il suo tono fosse stato meno tagliente, avrei potuto concedergli di osservare i documenti lui stesso, ma per come era ebbi dei problemi con i suoi modi di fare e glielo negai seccamente. Tremava quasi dalla rabbia a questo punto, e mi preoccupai per un momento che la situazione potesse degenerare nella violenza quando, invece, s’inclinò in avanti e mi sussurrò con un’intensità che mai prima di allora avevo sentito in una voce umana: “Prega che Sandman ti porti solo il sonno.”

Ora, il fatto che queste parole mi riempirono con un puro terrore che praticamente bloccò il mio giudizio probabilmente ha bisogno di un po’ di spiegazioni. Mio padre non era un uomo gentile, sapete. Veniva da una rigida tradizione cristiana che gelerebbe i sorrisi dei patetici vicari che s’incontrano al giorno d’oggi. Da bambino, imparai presto che la chiave per evitare la sua ira era evitare del tutto la sua attenzione, e più che mai dopo che ero stato messo a letto. La cameretta dei bambini, vedete, aveva la porta nel mezzo del corridoio tra il salotto e lo studio di mio padre e, per tanto, lui ci passava davanti più volte a notte. Quando sentivo quei passi pesanti fuori e l’ombra che passava davanti alla soglia, rimanevo sdraiato lì e pregavo di essere abbastanza silenzioso da non disturbare il suo passaggio. Se ero mai talmente sciocco da lasciare accesa la mia candela per poter leggere qualche minuto in più, sentivo la porta aprirsi e la voce di mio padre intonare “Luci spente.” Era stato un militare da giovane, mio padre, ed era fiero di passarmi quella disciplina.

A un certo punto venni mandato in collegio alla Repton School, vicino a Manchester. Il preside, un certo John Heyrick Macaulay, era a quanto pare un vecchio amico di mio padre. Era un luogo tristissimo: aveva più di due secoli e si vedeva bene. Quando lo frequentavo ci dovevano essere a malapena cinquanta ragazzi, e nessun campo da cricket, da racquet, o nessuna della strutture che uno si sarebbe aspettato, neanche una cappella. I pochi maestri insegnavano abbastanza bene il greco e il latino, ma niente francese o musica o scienze naturali. Se non fosse stato per la relativa libertà di girare per i terreni e le città vicine, vi avrei trascorso degli anni molto infelici. Anche quando riuscivamo a giocare a calcio, era tra archi diroccati, sovrastati dalle ombre frastagliate di colonne spezzate. Nonostante tutta la vita e la vitalità dei ragazzi che c’erano, il luogo in sé e per sé era decrepito, e a volte avevo l’impressione che detestasse la nostra presenza.

Durante il mio periodo alla Repton avevo un migliore amico, un ragazzo di nome George Denman. Sono abbastanza sicuro che riconoscerete il nome, dati i recenti discorsi che ha tenuto sulla pena capitale. Beh, scommetto che non viene mai fuori durante le sue vicende parlamentari che ha la parola “Mosca 1835” tatuata sul braccio sinistro con l’inchiostro di china. Mosca era il soprannome che il preside della Repton gli aveva dato, vedete, considerando la sua propensione al correre, e lui ha insistito a trovare un ago e a tatuarselo. Questo potrebbe dare un’idea dell’animo impetuoso che Denman aveva da giovane. Superava sempre i limiti e correva via dopo il coprifuoco, e se i maestri lo beccavano veniva sempre trascinato a letto. Dormiva nella camera accanto alla mia, e ogni volta che sentivo l’avvicinarsi dei passi del maestro che lo aveva beccato, d’istinto spegnevo la mia candela, la vecchia paura di mio padre tornava tutta d’un colpo.

Un giorno, Denman mi prese da parte, gli occhi che brillavano di malizia, e mi disse che era ritornato dalle sue vacanze in possesso di un libro ‘decisamente macabro’. Era un volume tedesco intitolato Die Nachtstüke, e conteneva diverse storie raccapriccianti di un uomo chiamato Hoffman. Parlavo poco il tedesco, ma Denman lo capiva abbastanza da permetterci di mettere insieme i pezzi della storie. Le candele si consumavano mentre, frase dopo frase provavamo a decifrare la divertente inquietudine che può essere suscitata da una storia molto sinistra.

La prima della collezione era intitolata Der Sandmann, ed era quella che al giorno d’oggi verrebbe chiamata un thriller psicologico, che tratta la follia, i traumi e le allucinazioni del protagonista, incluso l’eponimo Sandman. Quello che mi colpì, comunque, fu una descrizione data di un’interpretazione particolarmente terrificante di Sandman. Lungi da quell’amico confortante dei bambini che viene spesso dipinto, era rappresentato come un vero mostro.

Mi ricordo abbastanza vivamente come la vecchia domestica della storia lo descrive, proprio come mi ricordo del mio terrore al passo che Denman tradusse:

“Viene dai bambini che non vanno a letto, e gli tira la sua sabbia negli occhi, e loro iniziano a sanguinare. Infila quegli occhi caduti nella sua borsa, e li porta su nella luna crescente, nel suo nido, dove i suoi bambini si nutrono di loro. Hanno i becchi ricurvi come quelli dei gufi, per meglio prendere gli occhi dei disobbedienti bambini umani.”

Buon Dio, solo a ricordarmelo, anche adesso, cieco come sono, mi fa ancora tremare. Potete immaginare l’effetto che ebbe su di me da ragazzo. Denman ci lesse il resto delle storie, ma riuscii a malapena a prestare attenzione, la mia mente fissata su quella figura con la sua sabbia affilata come un rasoio e un lungo becco ricurvo. Ora, quando sentivo i miei maestri camminare davanti alla mia stanza di notte, non avevo dubbi su quale forma terribile avevano preso. Avevo degli incubi terribili del Sandman, stava sulla mia porta, immobile, intonando nella voce di mio padre: “Luci spente”.

Non avevo mai detto a nessuno di questi incubi della mia infanzia, neanche a mia moglie. Allora, potete immaginare la sorpresa e la confusione quando sentii le parole pronunciate da Maxwell Rayner. Sembrò quasi davvero sorpreso dalla mia espressione quando mi allontanai da lui, sentendo chiaramente di aver toccato un nervo scoperto. Forse non lo sapeva, e io ero semplicemente una vittima di una coincidenza molto inquietante. Qualsiasi fosse la situazione, borbottai una scusa e me ne andai. Giuro che potevo ancora sentire quegli occhi ciechi seguirmi mentre lasciavo la stanza, un sorriso vittorioso che faceva capolino sulle sue labbra.

Forse potete immaginare che cosa sia successo dopo. Non so quanto possano essere vivide o da incubo le altre dichiarazioni che raccogliete qui. Di sicuro nessun altro mi crede quando ne parlo. Ma… il Sandman è venuto da me proprio quella notte.

Non era per nulla come nella storia. Era alto, sì, ed esile, ma i suoi contorni erano impossibili da vedere contro l'oscurità di cui faceva parte. Non aveva un becco, ma della sabbia nera e ruvida scorreva dalla sua bocca aperta e cadeva sul pavimento con un sibilo continuo. Le sue gambe erano lunghe, ma lui attraversò la stanza lentamente, ognuna delle sue articolazioni si muoveva e si torceva mente faceva un passo straziante dopo l’altro. Non c’era alcun suono. Guardai mia moglie, ma lei era imprigionata in un sonno tranquillo.

Un sottile raggio di chiaro di luna illuminava nitidamente un punto sul pavimento, dove un’apertura delle tende lo lasciava passare all'interno. Quando il lungo piede oscuro lo toccò, vidi la luce della luna rapprendersi come latte rancido. Qualsiasi cosa Sandman toccasse, il mondo si dissolveva in oscurità opprimente. Prima la mia porta. Poi chiudendo la distanza verso il nostro letto. Poi il letto stesso. Poi la mia Agatha. Fino a che tutto quello che rimaneva eravamo io, l’oscurità, e la cosa terribile che l’aveva portata.

Non so come feci a giungere alla convinzione che fossi nella borsa di Sandman. L’idea semplicemente arrivò nella mia mente completamente formata. Ero stato preso, e ci sarei rimasto, intrappolato per sempre in questo luogo senza luce, senza neanche la traccia più leggera a provocarmi. L’oscurità si stringeva contro di me, e sembrava riempirmi la bocca, il naso. Ma non toccò i miei occhi. E allora feci una scelta. Sapevo ancora dove il Sandman si trovasse, anche se non saprei dirvi come, e decisi che la cecità fosse preferibile all’oscurità. Se me lo aveste chiesto prima, vi avrei detto che non c’era differenza, ma ora lo sapevo. L’oscurità è molto più che non essere semplicemente capaci di vedere.

Allungai la mano verso dove sapevo che la borsa di quella cosa sarebbe stata, e afferrai una manciata di sabbia. Era già viscida per il mio sangue quando l’alzai e me la tirai in faccia. Non credo di dover indugiare sul dolore, ma per favore, sappiate che preferirei morire piuttosto che sopportarlo di nuovo.

Ha funzionato però. Nel senso che sono rimasto solidamente in questo mondo. In un certo senso ho lasciato la mia vista in quel posto orrendo, ma ho fatto bene a liberarmene, se ha fatto sì che il resto di me potesse rimanere qui . Vorrei solo che l’ultima cosa che ho visto, la visione finale che è rimasta impressa nella mia mente, fosse stata qualsiasi altra cosa se non quella terribile faccia mutevole.

Quindi, ecco qui la mia storia. Sono sicuro che converrete con me che Maxwell Rayner è chiaramente l’artefice della mia sventura. Ora, come pensate che mi possa vendicare contro di lui?

MARTIN

[Ansimando] Fine della dichiarazione.

[Respiro profondo] Io, um, penso di dovermi mettere seduto. Oh. Già, lo sono già. Giusto. Io non, uh, non sono proprio sicuro se queste stiano diventando più facili o più difficili. Voglio dire non sento -

S-Sai cosa, non è importante. [Sospira] Vorrei solo che Jon tenesse appunti organizzati meglio perché so che ha già nominato qualcuno di nome Maxwell Rayner, ma non riesco a trovare molto nel campo di informazioni -

[Porta che si apre]

MELANIE

Uh, Martin, hai visto Elias?

MARTIN

Oh, uh... No, ma il martedì all’ora di pranzo di solito incontra il personale della biblioteca, credo. Lui… Lui probabilmente sarà di nuovo nel suo ufficio circa nel giro di un’ora?

MELANIE

Ah, Grazie.

Er… Stai bene?

MARTIN

Hm? Oh, io, sì, ho... ah. Sì, sto bene.

MELANIE

È solo che sembri molto pallido.

MARTIN

Io... [Sospira] Stavo solo registrando una delle dichiarazioni, e sono…

MELANIE

Ah, già! Sì.

Sono, um... sono tanta roba, no?

MARTIN

Prego?

MELANIE

Voglio dire… ti stancano davvero. Devo aver dormito, er, per venti ore dopo averne fatta una.

MARTIN

Aspetta. Tu hai registrato una dichiarazione?

MELANIE

Sì. Era su un letto, ironicamente.

MARTIN

I… immagino che non ti vada di farne altre?

Elias vuole rimediare ai ritardi mentre Jon è via e con la questione di Tim…

MELANIE

Certo, nessun problema. An-Anche se volevo già parlare con Elias, quindi, uh, forse posso convincerlo a darti un po’ di tregua.

MARTIN

Non ci conterei troppo.

MELANIE

Giusto. Va bene. Ascolta, sembra davvero che ti serva un drink. Um, io e Basira stavamo giusto per uscire. Quindi… vuoi unirti a noi?

MARTIN

È tipo l’una di pomeriggio.

MELANIE

Hai paura di essere licenziato?

MARTIN

...

Huh. Prendo il cappotto.

MELANIE

Fantastico.

Solo, um, dammi, dammi circa un’ora. Io, ho solo un paio di cose di cui occuparmi… prima.

[Porta che si apre]

MARTIN

Huh.

[Sospiro profondo]

Oh, um, er, fine della registrazione.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

MELANIE

Toc, toc.

ELIAS

Ah, Melanie. Posso aiutarti?

MELANIE

Oh, non proprio. Io, sono solo uscita a prendere dei caffè, e, ho pensato di prendertene uno.

ELIAS

Quanta premura.

MELANIE

Non so come lo prendi, ma a Jon piace nero, quindi… io, ho pensato che fosse una supposizione valida.

ELIAS

Lo è. Comunque, credo di preferire che lo beva tu.

MELANIE

Oh... er, cosa?

ELIAS

Il caffè che mi hai portato.

[Caffè spostato sulla scrivania]

Bevilo.

MELANIE

N... N... No. V-Va bene. Io, io ho il mio a dire il vero. È un… un decaffeinato… [Risata nervosa]

ELIAS

Penso che tu non mi creda, dunque? Che uccidere me ucciderebbe anche te?

MELANIE

I-I-Io non so di che cosa tu…

ELIAS

Il caffè non nasconde bene i sapori quanto potresti pensare. Ed è ancora peggio per nascondere la consistenza. Le pillole sciolte lasciano sempre un, um, residuo gessoso.

MELANIE

Guarda, Elias, io non farei mai -

ELIAS

Suppongo che questa sia la prima volta che provi ad avvelenare qualcuno? Sai veramente quanti antidolorifici servono per uccidere qualcuno, o speravi solamente che ne prendessi abbastanza da sentirmi male, e che tu potessi portare a termine il lavoro… manualmente?

[Un orologio ticchetta]

MELANIE

[Respiro profondo] Perché...? Perché scomodarti a chiedere allora? Perché scomodarti se sai tutto?

ELIAS

[Ridacchia leggermente] Non so tutto, Melanie. Sai quanto sarebbe stancante?

Ti dirò una cosa che non so, ed è come convincere te che sto cercando di aiutare. Onestamente, tu sei una di quelli fortunati. Ma non se siamo tutti morti grazie a un… tentativo d’indipendenza troppo zelante.

MELANIE

Non ho bisogno che tu --

ELIAS

Facciamo in modo di non avere altri tentativi d’omicidio impacciati, va bene? E non ne parleremo più. Consideralo il tuo primo avvertimento. La prossima volta dovrò portare le cose a un altro livello, e quello non sarebbe un processo gradevole per nessuno.

…

Capito?

...

Melanie?

MELANIE

...

Sì.

ELIAS

Bene.

MELANIE

...

Lo...? Lo hai acceso tu quello?

ELIAS

Hmm? Oh. Ti ci abitui.

[CLICK]

[Traduzione di: Victoria]

[Episodio Successivo]

[the-one-alone]

The archives are tired

If you were being endlessly preyed upon by entities outside your world you’d be tired right? Well the archives staff certainly are! Sleep is hard. Especially when your boss is terrible. Here is a list of the times when the staff said they were tired:

MAG026 - A Distortion - Sasha mentions being tired after Tim’s April Fools Prank

MAG032 - Hive - Jon goes to lie down after reading Prentiss’ statement

MAG037 - Burnt Offering - Jon is tired after reading a statement involving Gertrude Robinson

MAG040 - Human Remains - Not!Sasha says she’s tired and finds it hard to keep track of details

MAG055 - Pest Control - Jon says that he misses the days when he used to get a good night’s sleep

MAG061 - Hard Shoulder - Jon says he needs to go home and get some sleep

MAG079 - Hide and Seek - Jon is tired of carrying a pipe

MAG082 - The Eyewitnesses - Tim goes to lie down after talking with Martin about Jon and Sasha

MAG086 - Tucked In - Tim goes to lie down after realising that he doesn’t remember what Sasha looked like

MAG098 - Lights Out - Martin needs to sit down after reading a statement

MAG098 - Lights Out (again) - Melanie mentions she slept for 20 hours after recording a statement

MAG107 - Third Degree - Jon says he needs some sleep after he’s been investigating Gerry and Gertrude

MAG118 - The Masquerade - Martin talks about taking lots of lie downs

MAG123 - Web Development - Jon is tired two days after waking up from a coma

MAG125 - Civilian Casualties - Basira literally says “Sleep is hard”

MAG131 - Flesh - Jon has a lie down after having a rib removed by Jared 

MAG132 - Entombed - Daisy says she misses dreaming, and that no one sleeps in the Buried

MAG137 - Nemesis - Jon is confused and tired by current events and has a lie down

MAG147 - Weaver - Jon has a lie down after reading Annabelle Cane’s statement

MAG161 - Dwelling - Jon mentions being tired a lot, but not being able to sleep

Honourable Mentions (not archives staff):

MAG074 - Fatigue - Lydia Halligan is so so so very tired. So tired. This entire episode is her being tired. She’s tired

MAG111 - Family Business - Gerry wants to rest so bad. He really does not like half existing in a book

MAG121 - Far Away - Oliver Banks is so tired he kills a man and steals his boat to get one night of good sleep

MAG143 - Heart of Darkness - Maxwell Rayner is incredibly tired after his life’s work is destroyed

MAG152 - A Gravedigger’s Envy - This guy sleeps in graves. He’s so tired cause he can only sleep well in graves

MAG### - every single episode - everyone is tired all the time. let the poor people rest. oh my god they’re so tired.

*this list only includes times when people explicitly stated that they were tired, or needed to lie down, etc. It does not include when they sounded tired, or when stage directions mention them being tired. That list would be much much longer if I did that (I might later)

**also I may have missed a couple, and this list is definitely subject to change as the series progresses

[yszarin]

see below for thoughts on Creature Feature

- !trans statement giver! excellent!

- sounds a very pleasant boss, don’t think I’ll mind overmuch when he gets eaten

- “spiders are eating” is better, I think. gentle facts.

- oh no this casting thing seems very similar to what I’m imagining is the Institute’s recruitment process - will anyone miss you if you die? great, hired

- Brandon, is he our new spider friend?

- oh, time for all those poor actors to wander into the spider’s mouth, as in the film/book, lovely

- so Martin’s OK with this one? bit of a sigh but seems fine? you know what? after this I’m going to do a quick relisten to the Martin-statement-endings, see even further below for probably inconclusive, to me anyway, results

- finish your sentences Martin

- oh no, at least she didn’t die?

- Basira and Melanie have talked, hooray! and ahhh, Martin asking the questions, and Basira’s all protective of Melanie

- ouch, who wants to bet that Martin offered his mother a lot of cups of tea?

- please talk to Tim I’m desperately worried about him.

- maybe not even about this, though if he might talk you out of it I’m all for it. just, like, check in on him? please? 

- oh great. wonderful. so someone’s going to have to get their head poked at so the others can get to kill Elias or otherwise restrain him? someone who knows this plan and has it in their head where he’d find it, unless they’re planning to involve Tim without telling him anything, or Jon, and I really can’t see Martin agreeing to that. no way that can go wrong. and assuming that Elias hears everything we do, he probably already knows about this? goddamnit I hope Jon gets back soon, before Elias decides to make an example of someone.

- and oh god I can imagine exactly how smug he’ll be, maybe even mock-disappointed, I’m just going to be in a constant state of worry for the next two weeks, maybe longer, I don’t imagine it’ll let me stop being worried about them

- and I have realised that I am waiting for Jon, disaster-archivist who makes all of the bad decisions, to come back and sort everything out. what has this brought me to.

- anyway, to stress about the assistants in a slightly different way, now for unscientific relisten (please let me know if I’ve missed any Martin-statements)

MAG084 POSSESSIVE - long silence, difficulty breathing, but says he thinks it was OK (possibly not referring to statement difficulty) - FILTH MAG088 DIG - sounds shaken - BURIED MAG090 BODY BUILDER - longish silence - BUTCHERY MAG095 ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE - stammering, issues breathing, says he doesn't like it - WAR? END? BUTCHERY? MAG098 LIGHTS OUT - intake of breath, pause, needs to sit down but is, isn't sure if they're getting easier or harder - DARKNESS MAG108 MONOLOGUE - seems ok? says it wasn't so bad - ISOLATION MAG110 CREATURE FEATURE - seems ok? says it's not too bad - WEB

it’s possible the associated power’s a factor? Isolation and Web seem to not be too opposed to Beholding at the moment, and those statements seem to have been the easiest - it would be interesting to see how Martin would react to a Stranger statement (he’s been getting a nice little tour, and I would now for Reasons of My Own very much like to hear him read a Vast statement). Or maybe it is just that he’s getting used to it - not sure if I’d be more worried by that or by his being so in with Beholding that opposed statements upset him more. At any rate, I am, as ever, deeply worried for Martin Blackwood.  

[soveryanon]

Small Melanie&Tim things:

- Holder of “fuck”

(MAG065) ARCHIVIST: Well, excuse me if my experiences of th– TIM: Your experiences? Fuck you! I got eaten by worms because of you!

(MAG131) ARCHIVIST: Oh, I… Melanie, I–I’m so sorry, I– MELANIE: Oooh, fuck off?!

- Holder of “asshole”

(MAG117) MELANIE: Elias thinks he’s got this ingenious way to hurt people, but it’s just the same old bullshit in a creepy new package. … Asshole…

(MAG119) ARCHIVIST: Tim!! [STATIC:] What do you see? TIM: I see my asshole boss! W– wait… wait…

- Asbestos.

(MAG028) MELANIE: Anyway. We’d been angling to go into the CMH for months, er, but I couldn’t get permission. Apparently there’s asbestos in the walls? It makes it, uh, “too much of a health and safety hazard”.

(MAG090) ELIAS: [SIGH] Tim… This place is very old. It has all sorts of… idiosyncrasies, and not all of them are good for the people who work here. TIM: I think I’d prefer asbestos.

- That-bi-crush-on-the-Real-Sasha

(MAG076) MELANIE: Where’s Sasha, by the way? I wanted to say goodbye. […] I haven’t seen her in a while. Oh. You didn’t fire her, did you? […] Tall, long hair, glasses… She was here when I first came in. Back last April? We had a long conversation about haunted pubs.

(MAG114) TIM: I knew Sasha for years, we… I don’t know Martin as well as I knew her.

- Not tolerating tape recorders anymore

(MAG098) MARTIN: […] Have you seen [Jon] since…? TIM: [GRUNT] Kind of. We tried to talk, but he, he reached for that– Ah, he, he wanted to turn on his recorder. I freaked out a bit, and I said some stuff: if he wanted to talk, no tapes, I just, I just hate that thing.

(MAG136) THERAPIST: Right, have a seat. Do you mind if I record our sessions? MELANIE: I do mind. Yes. THERAPIST: Ah? I mean, it’s just for my own notes. MELANIE: I categorically and completely do not give consent for you to make any recording of me, ever. Turn it off. Please.

- … Apparently talking with each other behind tape recorders’ back

(MAG106) ELIAS: You already have doubts, though. You’ve been talking with Tim, and have convinced yourself that– MELANIE: [DRY LAUGHTER] ELIAS: –even if I’m telling the truth, I’m too dangerous to live. MELANIE: Well.

- Conscious decision to avoid or stop doing Archival Assistant work altogether because The Eye/the place/this work is evil

(MAG098) TIM: Still doing those? MARTIN: … Yeah. Yeah… I did ask Elias if I could stop. TIM: And he said “no” for a mysterious reason? MARTIN: I don’t know? I mean, he kind of explained – I think? Jon’s “too inconsistent” at the moment. He needs to make up for the shortfall, which, I guess, means me. … Unless you… TIM: No. MARTIN: He did suggest I try to get you involved, and– TIM: And I suggest that he not be a scary, magic psychopath. … Whoops! Too late. MARTIN: … Yeah. TIM: [SIGH] … Sorry. MARTIN: No, I– I get it. Heh. They’re not exactly much fun. TIM: Look, it’s not that. I… [SIGH] This place is evil, Martin. And I think doing what It wants? Probably makes us evil. And It wants those things to be read. I mean, I’m not gonna stop you, but, at the same time– MARTIN: I– I get it.

(MAG150) MELANIE: Look. I’m not going to do my job anymore. ARCHIVIST: … I am not sure I follow, you–you know we… we can’t… quit, we’ve all tried. MELANIE: I didn’t say I was going to quit. I said: I’m not going to do my job. No researching; no filing; no… field trips. Nothing that is going to help the Institute in any way. […] ARCHIVIST: Why? MELANIE: Because this place is evil, Jon. And so… doing this job… ARCHIVIST: [LOUD EXHALE] MELANIE: Helping it out… even in small ways, i–is in some way… evil too! Every time we try to use it to do good, it just seems to make everything worse, and… and I will not be a part of that anymore.

- … and sickness due the aforementioned (experienced/planned ;;)

(MAG090) TIM: I hopped a flight to Malaysia. Found myself a hotel. ELIAS: I see. … You were trying to leave us? TIM: Yeah…! ELIAS: But you’ve returned. TIM: I… I got sick. The longer I was gone… I felt weak, like… like I was, I was losing myself…

(MAG150) MELANIE: I’ll still be around, I just… I can’t be a part of this anymore. If, if I get sick, I get sick. And, and if I die…

[soveryanon]

When it comes to Going Out For Drinks and/or interactions outside of the Institute:

(End of Season 2 Q&A) ALEX (Martin’s VA): “Do Tim, Martin and Jon ever hang out or interact outside of work hours?” JONNY (Jon’s VA): Er, they used to. ALEX: [DRAMATIC SIGH] JONNY: Not so much, since Series 2 started. Not, not a lot beforehand but, I mean, they would occasionally have had, like, a work function, I think. Possibly a… a Curry Night around Christmas, that sort of thing. ALEX: It wasn’t fun for Jon, I suspect. JONNY: Oh no, Jon… yeah. Jon went. ALEX: Martin had a great time!

(MAG098) MELANIE: Listen, you… really look like you could use a drink. Um, me and Basira were just about to pop out. So… do you want to join us? MARTIN: It’s like one in the afternoon! MELANIE: Are you afraid of getting fired. [SILENCE] MARTIN: … Huh. I’ll get my coat.

(100.5 – Season 3 Mid-season break, Assistants Round Table) MIKE (Tim’s VA): Genuinely, I’m really hoping at some point that there is a scene where all of the Archival assistants actually do go to the pub. ALEX: And hate it. MIKE: And hate it, yeah! ALEX: This is awful, they would rather just have carried on with their lives as they were. MIKE: Yeah, exactly! ALEX: This is awkward, just– unpleasant. LYDIA (Melanie’s VA): Uh, I honestly think that Basira and Melanie could have a great time at the pub together. ALEX: Oh, I reckon, as a pair, yes! I think it’s the second you bring in… “happy-go-lucky-cheerful guy” over here, and Martin “let’s all have a panic attack together”… LYDIA: Noooo, I think, I think… I think the three-person pub trip that was planned – just probably, they had a lot of fun. I think they probably had a nice roast– ALEX: I think there were lots of “knowing” glances between Basira and Melanie. While they stay quiet because Martin won’t shut up. LYDIA: Yeah. But then they also kind of know that he needs to talk about it; and that the one person that he wants to listen to him never will…

(MAG106) BASIRA: Hey, are you ready for that drink? […] Oh, sorry! Do you need to finish up? MELANIE: No, I… I, I actually have no idea what I was going to say. I did have more notes on, hum, on space, I guess, but… forget it, let’s go! BASIRA: Well, I should probably go check in with Martin. Y’know, see if he’s in for drinks. MELANIE: So you can double-check your gossip? BASIRA: I don’t gossip! I have the mind of an investigator. MELANIE: Right, okay. Anyway, I’ll go find him. I could really do with the walk.

(Though it was confirmed in MAG108 that after her Performance Review with Elias, Melanie didn’t go to that one in the end ;;)

(MAG136) DAISY: Get over yourself! You’re always talking about choices – we all made ours. Now I’m making the choice… to get some drinks in. Come in? ARCHIVIST: I d–… I… [SIGH] … yeah? Okay. DAISY: Melanie’s out, but I’ll go get Basira. ARCHIVIST: Is she… Will she want to join us? DAISY: If she doesn’t, I’ll rip her throat out. ARCHIVIST: Uh… DAISY: It’s a joke, Jon. ARCHIVIST: … oh. Ahah…! Yes… I–I’ll get my coat.

(“I am at least as much Helen Richardson as you are the Jonathan Sims that first joined this institute. Things change. People change. It happens.”, Helen said and… LOOK AT HIM NOW!!! GOING OUT FOR DRINKS WITH THE ASSISTANTS!!! AT LAST!!! ;w;)

[soveryanon]

Just Little Jon Things:

(MAG083) ARCHIVIST: Look, Georgie, it’s not… You don’t need to worry. I–I mean, I’m not, I’m not on drugs or anything. GEORGIE: [LAUGHS DISBELIEVINGLY] ARCHIVIST: What…? [SILENCE] … I could be on drugs! GEORGIE: Sure.

(MAG140) BASIRA: Drinking alone, then? ARCHIVIST: [SLURRING] It’s not a hangover. Well, not… [INHALE] I wasn’t drinking. [SIGH] BASIRA: Drugs then? ARCHIVIST: [GRUNT] BASIRA: You sick? Got some weird monster disease? ARCHIVIST: Seriously?

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: Where did the– [PAPER RUSTLING] [MUTTERING] “Coma? Great! Let’s rearrange his office. Sleeping people don’t need… pens.”

(MAG140) BASIRA: But, I think… Have you got a pen? ARCHIVIST: Uuh… Yeah, i–in the drawer. [RUFFLING OF CLOTHES, MOVEMENTS, A DRAWER OPENING] BASIRA: Er… Jon. What’s this. ARCHIVIST: Mm? … Oh. That’s… [PAUSE] That, uh, that’s… my rib. BASIRA: … Right. [PUTS IT DOWN] ARCHIVIST: Yup… BASIRA: And… the jar of ashes. ARCHIVIST: Not– Not mine; I–I mean, it belongs to me, I–I guess, but it’s not… Er, stationery is in the other drawer?

(MAG108) BASIRA: How much do you know about the relationship between Edmond Halley and John Flamsteed? MARTIN: What, Halley like the comet? BASIRA: Exactly.

(MAG140) BASIRA: Well, by the way, he really hated the man who succeeded him. His… former assistant, Edmond Halley. ARCHIVIST: As in… “Halley’s Comet”–Halley?

(MAG074) ARCHIVIST: I’m rather glad I don’t really drink coffee.

(MAG140) ARCHIVIST: … [LONG-SUFFERING SIGH] BASIRA: Coffee. [MUG PUT DOWN ON A TABLE] ARCHIVIST: What…? BASIRA: Coffee. Drink it. ARCHIVIST: I don’t really, er… [INHALE] Fine.

[tma-latino]

MAG097 – Caso 0090303 – “Todos ignoramos el foso” Testimonio de Jackson Ellis, sobre de las peculiaridades geográficas en el pueblo de Bucoda, en Washington. [Disclaimer/ Aviso] [MAG096] | x | [MAG098]

[tma-latino]

MAG099 – Caso 9522002 – “Al polvo volverás” Robert E. Geiger. El incidente ocurrió en Boise City, Oklahoma, en abril de 1935. El nombre de la víctima era Stefan Brotchen. Testimonio dado el 20 de febrero de 1952. Grabado en cinta el 2 de septiembre de 2007. Graba Gertrude Robinson. [Disclaimer/ Aviso] [MAG098] | x | [MAG100]

[soveryanon]

Reviewing time for MAG163 /X_X/

- Tolkien jokes (and the Institute/Jonah being Sauron) aside… I really loved the detail of the tower:

(MAG163) MARTIN: Right. I just… [FOOTSTEPS] Don’t like being out here. ARCHIVIST: Hm! You see that tower, way off in the distance? MARTIN: Yeah. [PAUSE] [SIGH] It’s watching us, isn’t it? [SIGH] ARCHIVIST: The Panopticon and the Institute. Merged into something entirely new. MARTIN: Wha–, what? No, th–there’s, there’s no way we could see it from here. We, we must still be a hundred miles from the border, never mind London! ARCHIVIST: You could see that tower from anywhere on Earth. And it can see you. And if you walk towards it, eventually you’ll get there. But you have to go through everything in-between.

The premise of the Panopticon was to allow a guardian to watch over every prisoner in the complex, and to make a point that they could be being watched at any time. Funnily, it feels like a logical extension that in the nightmarish world, that role would expand into something absolutely concrete: people are constantly watched and acutely aware of the single point watching them, and it’s not tied to any physical or geographical law, it’s just the way it is, going even further than Jonah’s own powers.

Interesting that the Institute-Panopticon seems to be its Own Thing, since Beholding is already supposed to watch everything on its own?

(MAG160) ARCHIVIST: [HINT OF A COLD SMILE] The whole world is afraid, Martin. Because of me. And The Watcher… drinks it all in. MARTIN: … Jon? ARCHIVIST: Look at the sky, Martin! Look at the sky. It’s looking back! [BROKEN LAUGHTER]

(MAG161) ARCHIVIST: They… I see most of the suffering around here. When it’s quiet, it just… it’s like… I can see it, like I’m watching all of it. MARTIN: You haven’t been opening the curtains? ARCHIVIST: No, I don’t need to. “It” can see us here, and… [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] And I can see out as well.

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: “Outside, it is raining. Heavy drops fall, ice-cold and laced with salt; tears of voyeuristic delight from The Eyes that see and drink in all […] This place wishes to be our tomb. But The Eye does not wish that. No. [STATIC RISES] The Eye wishes instead that it be my chrysalis. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] It is time that I emerge…” [STATIC REACHING A PEAK] ARCHIVIST: [CRIES OUT] [COLLAPSES]

- Oookay, so, confirmed and demonstrated that time…

(Season 5 trailer) MARTIN: Uh, o–okay, eh. [PAUSE] How are you feeling today? ARCHIVIST: [LONG INHALE] Define… “today”. [CREAKING SOUND] MARTIN: “How are you feeling in general”, then? ARCHIVIST: … Unchanged. [PAUSE] I don’t know if it’ll ever change again…!

(MAG161) ARCHIVIST: I… [SIGH] can’t. I–I–I can’t, I–I don’t think I do anymore… “Sleep”. [EXHALE] How long’s it been, now? MARTIN: I don’t know. It’s not like there are days to count anymore. All the clocks have stopped, and…

(MAG163) MARTIN: How long have we been walking? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] Fourteen hours and… twenty-three minutes. MARTIN: What, seriously? ARCHIVIST: Yes. I… don’t think it means much out here, though.

… and space…

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: “There is a place, deep in the heart of Fear, where you trap yourself and claim that it is safety. [STATIC DECREASES] It was once a cabin, and professes still to be such, but as with all in this new world that promises respite… it is a trap. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] The land outside is warped and twisted by the touch of those things that feed on your suffering, and behind those rough wooden planks, [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] it seems they cannot reach you.

(MAG163) MARTIN: Ssso. … Are we going to walk, all the way to London? ARCHIVIST: If you know an alternative, I’d be [HUMOURLESS CHUCKLE] very keen to hear it…! MARTIN: I mean… cars? You know, planes, trains, automobiles? ARCHIVIST: It wouldn’t help. MARTIN: Alright – a boat, then. ARCHIVIST: Geography doesn’t work anymore. Space… doesn’t work. MARTIN: … Alright. So what does that mean? ARCHIVIST: It means the journey will be the journey, regardless of how we choose to make it. MARTIN: Right. And you’re sure we can’t just, you know… [RUSTLING] speed it up a bit? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] No. [SIGH]

… have been messed up and are following another logic, though Jon is somehow able to keep track (of where they are, of time still working as a continuum). Though, I kind of hope that Martin’s maps manage to help somehow:

(MAG162) MARTIN: And, I found some rope in the attic, and I packed that with the maps. ARCHIVIST: [CHUCKLING] Uh, Martin, I… MARTIN: No, no; I, I know what you’re going to say. [RUMMAGING] “What good are maps when the very Earth has…” and blah blah blah… ARCHIVIST: W– Uh, yes– MARTIN: But I’ve, I’ve packed them anyway because you never know.

Because gdi, give Martin credit for a good idea every once in a while! ;w;

(- I’M STUPIDLY “!!!!!” AT MARTIN SUGGESTING THEY COULD TRAVEL BY BOAT… Could we maybe have a tiny chance of “meeting” the Tundra at some point…

Also, did Martin assume that they could get someone to drive them by car/plane/train all the way to London, or did he nail the dream-logic that they could use them as long as they believe they can drive them?)

- Same with sleeping&rest, they’re definitely not a necessity anymore:

(MAG161) MARTIN: You should get some sleep. [CREAKING SOUND] ARCHIVIST: I… [SIGH] can’t. I–I–I can’t, I–I don’t think I do anymore… “Sleep”. [EXHALE] How long’s it been, now? MARTIN: I don’t know. It’s not like there are days to count anymore. All the clocks have stopped, and… [DISTANT HOWL] ARCHIVIST: Well, I haven’t yet. I get… tired, but it doesn’t feel the same. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] Probably for the best. Sleep doesn’t look… pleasant. MARTIN: Nnno, it’s… it’s not. ARCHIVIST: I couldn’t wake you. […] MARTIN: Well, just as well I don’t remember my dreams. ARCHIVIST: I do. MARTIN: Uh– What? ARCHIVIST: They… I see most of the suffering around here. When it’s quiet, it just… it’s like… I can see it, like I’m watching all of it.

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: “If you had need to eat, no doubt there would be food; if you had need to sleep, no doubt the beds would be welcoming. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] But you have need of neither; and so you sit in your meagre comfort and belief of security with nothing to do, nothing to distract your mind from the agonies that lie just beyond your window.”

(MAG163) MARTIN: … Oh, I’m knackered. ARCHIVIST: Are you? [FOOTSTEPS STOP] MARTIN: I– … Hm. … Well. Okay, well, no, no, I suppose not; but, I–I think I should be. ARCHIVIST: Yup! MARTIN: How long have we been walking? […] We should… probably rest. ARCHIVIST: Maybe. I… I don’t know, I– … I don’t know if we can – “rest”. It feels more like… hm, “waiting”. […] ARCHIVIST: “Next to his bleeding corpse, Charlie wakes from what passes for sleep in this place.”

It sounds like it’s now a habit/reflex, or almost a narrative device in people’s nightmares?

- I hope that Martin is keeping a running count of the times Jon Is Being Ominous, because we’ve already heard it twice:

(MAG161) MARTIN: O–kay, we’ll just file that under… ominous, for now.

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: You could see that tower from anywhere on Earth. And it can see you. And if you walk towards it, eventually you’ll get there. But you have to go through everything in-between. MARTIN: … You’re being ominous again!

- gASP, JON, HOW COULD YOU!!

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] Well… Put your fingers in your ears then, I, I suppose. MARTIN: [SNORT] Fine, and what about them? ARCHIVIST: … They don’t even know we’re here. We’re not part of their nightmare. [DRIP] MARTIN: … Right. [SHUFFLING] [DRIP] ARCHIVIST: Martin…? [DRIP] Martin? [DRIP] Martin, I hate your tea, and wish you made coffee instead…! [DRIP] … Alright, then. [INHALE] [SIGH]

I love how “Jon drinks coffee (in fact: no, he doesn’t)” is almost becoming a running joke at this point: Melanie had mentioned that “Jon likes his black” when trying to poison Elias’s (MAG098), Basira had shoved one dow on Jon’s table in MAG140, but… presumably, Melanie was bullshitting and Basira was not providing any comfort. From Jon himself, “I’m rather glad I don’t really drink coffee.” (MAG074)

- Another bit of Jon’s guilt / feeling responsible about what happened:

(MAG160, Jonah Magnus) “Don’t worry, Jon. You’ll get used to it here – in the world that we have made.” […] ARCHIVIST: [HINT OF A COLD SMILE] The whole world is afraid, Martin. Because of me. And The Watcher… drinks it all in.

(MAG161) MARTIN: I’m sorry. ARCHIVIST: It’s not… You’re not the one who ended the world…! […] MARTIN: Jon, it’s not your fault… ARCHIVIST: Martin, can we not do this again. MARTIN: Sorry. ARCHIVIST: I’m just… I’m mourning a world I killed…! MARTIN: I know… ARCHIVIST: And we’re all trapped in its rotting corpse…! […] I am an avatar of voyeuristic terror, whose unquestioned craving for knowledge has condemned the entire world… to an eternity of torment, “healthy” i–isn’t, i–it’s not…!

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: [STATIC RISES] “‘Hold each other,’ it croons, ‘Be happy. But know always that this happiness is a lie, [RUMBLE OF THUNDER] built on the squirming bones of those whose suffering you have caused.’” [STATIC DECREASES]

(MAG163) MARTIN: … They’re not… real? [VOICES SHOUTING IN THE DISTANCE] ARCHIVIST: [MIRTHLESS CHUCKLING] No…! They’re real; they were… normal people before the– … Before me.

- I KNOW that Smirke’s taxonomy is subjective, doesn’t work on everything, etc. etc. but :w The hell I’ll stop slapping his labels on things.

Naturally, the episode was bringing The Slaughter to mind: it’s not the first time we have heard the bagpipes during a statement (it had been the case in MAG125), and music&war had been an old association since “The Piper” (MAG007), put on the foreground again in MAG137.

(MAG007, Staff Sergeant Clarence Berry) “Yet [Wilfred] got to know the war in a way I never did. He’s certainly the only person I know that ever saw The Piper. […] None of it seemed to produce any reaction in him, and instead he turned to me and after a long while he simply said: “I met the war.” […] It struck me that perhaps he was describing some dreadful mirage that had come upon him as he lay in that wretched place, and I asked him to tell me what the war looked like. I remember exactly what he said. He told me it had three faces. One to play its pipes of scrimshawed bone, one to scream its dying battle cry and one that would not open its mouth, for when it did blood and sodden soil flowed out like a waterfall. Those arms that did not play the pipes were gripping blades and guns and spears, while others raised their hands in futile supplication of mercy, and one in a crisp salute. It wore a tattered coat of wool, olive green where it was not stained black, and beneath, nothing could be seen but a body beaten, slashed and shot and until nothing remained but the wounds themselves.”

(MAG125, Sergeant Terrance Simpson) “I moved back to Macclesfield shortly afterwards. It pretty much ended my marriage, since my wife is why I’d moved up to Inverness in the first place. … But I… just couldn’t go on up there. … I can’t stand the sound of bagpipes. [DISTANT BAGPIPES] … And sometimes… at night… I still hear sheep, in the distance.” [BAGPIPES FADE] ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. Hm! An Englishman returning from Scotland with a fear of bagpipes and sheep. I’m sure we can all relate…!

Though: rather than “The Slaughter”, this statement seems to be dealing with the overall horrors of war? So if it was more specifically one thing amongst the ones we had met, I would say it was The Piper at work, but most likely The War itself, overlapping on multiple Fears from Smirke’s taxonomy? Or just a place’s own nightmares, traumatised by the horror of war from the past – though this one encompassed every worst and most violent aspect of every war – from the past and the present?

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: Nightmares. [BANG IN THE DISTANCE] Come on – that trench is our first. MARTIN: What tren– [BANG IN THE DISTANCE] … Where did that– … Why is that here? ARCHIVIST: In the world as was… we wouldn’t be too far from Kinloss Barracks. So instead, we get the trench. […] ““There is a wound in the earth. [STATIC DECREASES] A bayonet gouge, scored through the soft and sodden mud for uncounted miles. A trench that marks the front line of a war that has no name. It has always been raging, deep in the hearts of the powerful and those that thirst to see bodies piled high in their name. And now, it has a battleground: a thousand pointless conflicts and bitter stalemates, stitched together like a triaged chest wound. It is a butchered border, a thin and punctured membrane between the unending meat grinder, and the terrified victims it longs for. You may find this trench reaching all across the world, and it will never stop, never be satisfied, never think of peace.”

(We got drones making anonymous kills, tanks running over people, explosions, gunshots, gas, medical malpractice, mentions of torture, punishments for deserters, famine, exploitation by the upper-class.)

Overall, using Smirke’s taxonomy, I felt Slaughter, Desolation (torture and losses of the dear ones, boiling in the tank), Eye (drone watching and being inscrutable in return – though this one was able to harm you), Corruption (the medical tent), Stranger/Spiral (enemies twisted into being Other and inhuman, although we knew there were people on both fronts), Buried (under the tank), maybe a bit of End (fear of death – people were unaware that it wasn’t permanent? I’m still wondering about what avatars of The End would think of the new world…).

Jon did say they would have to go through multiple nightmares:

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: You could see that tower from anywhere on Earth. And it can see you. And if you walk towards it, eventually you’ll get there. But you have to go through everything in-between. MARTIN: … You’re being ominous again! ARCHIVIST: Sorry. MARTIN: [HUFF] ARCHIVIST: Sorry. MARTIN: What do you mean, “everything”? What’s out here? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] [FAINT CREAKING] ARCHIVIST: [HUFF] [BAGPIPES IN THE DISTANCE] ARCHIVIST: Nightmares. [BANG IN THE DISTANCE] Come on – that trench is our first. MARTIN: What tren– [BANG IN THE DISTANCE] … Where did that– … Why is that here? ARCHIVIST: In the world as was… we wouldn’t be too far from Kinloss Barracks. So instead, we get the trench. MARTIN: … How do you know all this stuff? [SILENCE] ARCHIVIST: Not sure…! I just do. [BANGS IN THE DISTANCE] MARTIN: Jon… I’m scared. ARCHIVIST: … Yes… That’s the idea…!

(Big big Divina Commedia vibe overall, with Jon’s “The journey will be the journey, regardless of how we choose to make it” and the premise of two people going through multiple layers before they’ll be able to reach an apotheosis through the final destination.)

And on the one hand, it doesn’t mean that there will be 12 or 13 (depending on if the cabin counted) Fears-fuelled territories to go through before reaching the 14th, the Institute, given that Smirke’s categorisation was what it is. On the other hand… Jonah still used the division in 14 in his incantation, so that could have consequences in how the Fears manifest: intertwined, but with a strong dominant one every time.

… If there is a Corruption-dominant one, might be really hard on Martin&Jon given their experience with Prentiss, but the worst might be a Lonely one…

(Is Daisy currently haunting a Hunt nightmare, in a forest or something?)

- Last episode had given us tips about the new world through Gertrude&Gerry’s speculation last episode (MAG162: “If one were to – genuinely – press through, I suspect they would rewrite them wholesale; most likely making them… utterly incomprehensible to any survivors. They, they might still need us human enough to be afraid, but beyond that… Let’s just surmise that petty rules like space or time would be unlikely to factor into the proceedings. They might even stop death entirely, deny us the one last escape; keeping us… alive and afraid – forever.”), and indeed, I felt like it helped to follow what was happening.

The Trench’s nightmare shows us memories being rewritten to fit a narrative that would hurt its victims the most (“Ishaan remembers the recruiters. […] But he didn’t know about this war, that had always been raging and would never stop.” / “Charlie saw Ryan, who he’d known since childhood – though the other details were hazy. Ryan gave him a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile – before his face exploded inwards to a sniper’s bullet, peppering the boat with shards of bone and gore.” Did Ryan even exist, or was the memory just created to make Charlie feel the pain and the loss?). Like in a dream, scenes can skip from place to place with no particular logic, only forming a succession of diversified anguish (“He could not move, and as he waited for the shot that would take him… his legs fell away in fear. Now, he is in a helicopter, strapped in tight and unable to move.”). Like in a dream, metaphor becomes reality: The Enemy being “rats” and “pigs” mean that they become literally that through other victims’ eyes (“Sometimes, in the distance, Hasanna sees them. The enemy, their skin rough, dark and scaly; their faces twisted around cruel tusks, viciously sharpened teeth, and a pair of beady red eyes. Their lips are smeared crimson with the blood of children, and their greatest delight… is to pluck the eyes of the innocent with their bayonets. To call them monsters is the simple truth. They feel no pain, no remorse, and seek nothing but carnage. […] Alexei in turn looks out from deep in the trench. He catches sight of the enemy, their shrivelled rat-like heads causing the bile to rise in his throat.”) Like in a dream, dying doesn’t mean an absolute ending, and people seem to respawn (“Charlie is immediately pulled under its tread. He has a moment of shocked horror, before being reduced to a smear in the mud. […] Next to his bleeding corpse, Charlie wakes from what passes for sleep in this place. A sergeant is yelling at him, screaming for him to take his gun and get into the waiting transport.”)

It’s interesting to note that, in that logic, nightmares get interrelated, and that everyone’s actions have the power to make it worse for others: they don’t have a choice… and yet still seem to have a bit of autonomy resulting in more misery for other victims: Ishaan is still firing at people (“Now, his body has contorted itself to fit, his fingers clutched around the firing lever; pulling it frantically is the only thing that will reduce the impossible heat even for a moment.”), Hasanna still turns down all the other wounded without bringing any semblance of comfort (“Hasanna’s eyes fall on the entrance to the tent, and she sees the line of civilians, stretching away into the distance. They are no less maimed, their agonies no more bearable; but there is simply no room. She tries to apologise – but instead, she closes the tent.”). Interesting is that the Fears at work still seem to search for more opportunities to hurt (“He places his hand down and it sinks suddenly into the mud; he cries out as the rusted barbed wire curls itself eagerly around his wrist, digging into his skin. Tasting fear, more wire slithers through the churned earth towards him”). Not sure about the “portly man in a tailored suit, with a blood-red flower on his lapel”’s status, though: because he’s both a very real caricature of the “powerful and those that thirst to see bodies piled high in their name” mentioned at the beginning (and indeed: the symbol puts to mind the Red Poppy, the moustache various ~war leaders~)… and also doesn’t seem to suffer at all from the situation. So did he also use to be a real, normal person, or is he just an emanation of the nightmare to remind Alexei of his own powerlessness and despair?

(-Indeed, the scene was so striking!

(MAG163) “He runs almost headfirst into a portly man in a tailored suit, with a blood-red flower on his lapel. He smiles, pale skin splitting beneath his bristling white moustache, and he begins to shake Alexei by the hand. “Good lad!” he says. “Good lad. Heroes one and all. A noble sacrifice.” Alexei starts to speak, to say he doesn’t want to be a hero, he doesn’t… want to be a sacrifice – he wants to go home. But the man with the flower reaches his hand into the soldier’s chest, and with a single, jolly motion, plucks out Alexei’s heart, and places it in his wallet.”

The man labelling Alexei a “sacrifice” even before he was dead, and wearing the red flower (Remembrance Day) while the war was still ongoing, highlighting how death (in the nightmare) was the only possible outcome…)

- So far, I found it interesting that the season has been dealing with spaces, down to the episode titles. “Dwelling” was the state of being as well as the safehouse itself, same with “A Cosy Cabin”. This episode, “In the Trenches”, felt to me like it was mostly the statement of the place trapping people, rather than people’s stories. Smirke had explained that his taxonomy had come from his own experience of the Dread Powers as something he identified as “places” in his nightmares:

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “Did I ever tell you about the dreams? I’m sure I must have. I would dream about them, you see, as a young man, long before I devised my taxonomy. I would find myself in nightmares of strange, far-off places: a field of graves; a grasping tunnel; an abattoir, knee-deep in pigs’ blood. I believed then, as I still believe now, that these places I saw were the Powers themselves, expressed in their truest form, far more entirely than any “secret book” can claim. And if, as I came to believe, the Dread Powers were themselves places of a sort, then surely with the right space, the right architecture, they could be contained. Channelled. Harnessed. […] No. No, I… stand by my work. And thus, we must conclude that the only explanation is a new Power, created from what was once others, yet also distinct. And if such change is possible, how then can any “true balance” be achieved through immutable, unchanging stone…?”

So. Two things.

* If the season keeps going with “places”, I wonder if we’ll get a few titles like “The Magnus Institute” (both as Jonah Magnus’s organisation and the building), “The Archive(s)” (… the physical department and Jon-as-the-Archive), “Hill Top Road”. At the very least, if it keeps going with places, Hill Top Road sounds like a mandatory stop… Annabelle had kicked Jon out of there during season 4, it was already a “scar in reality” (MAG139, MAG146) before The Change. How is the house/field looking, now?

* ……………. If we’re now dealing with “places”, I’m squintsquintsquint about the relationship between Jonah and the Institute/Panopticon now:

(MAG092) ELIAS: Ah, of course. Er, sometimes I forget how new you all are to this. Basira is now tied to the Institute. All of you are. Like fingers on a hand. And I am the beating heart of it. Should I, or the Institute, be destroyed, you will all, unfortunately, follow suit.

(MAG120) PETER: Oh! Right, of course! Well, you’ve successfully managed to remove Elias as the Head of the Magnus Institute. So… MARTIN: Oh. Oh, god, what does that do? PETER: Oh! No, no no no! No. Not in any, hum, metaphysical sense, no, he’s still very much the… how did he insist on phrasing it… Ah yes, the “beating heart of the Institute”.

(MAG158) MARTIN: [SHAKY INHALE] … Where are his eyes? ELIAS: Exactly– MARTIN: [GASP] ELIAS: –where they’ve always been, Martin. Watching over my Institute.

Jonah already identified himself as “the heart of the Institute”, refused to let it go, presented it as “his” Institute, and was getting his powers from his body that remained inside of the Panopticon. Could it be possible that, in the nightmare logic, he has now fused with the building, is the building itself?

- I was fearing that this season would hit too close, got a moment of “Oh, that was okay actually? And intense and pretty!” after the episode, and then… for once, it didn’t really leave something in me, and I have to admit that no, actually, the episode didn’t really work for me, that the “statement” didn’t leave me with many emotions. It’s a cascade of very striking and beautiful pictures, so maybe it felt too saturated? But I think that it’s mostly because… the episode didn’t make me feel like “people aside from the main characters” had the right to be their own individuals: I felt like the four vignettes (Charlie’s, Ishaan’s, Hasanna’s, Alexei’s) composing the “statement” could have been… anyone’s, put in that same situation. You could move a character and put it in the shoes of another on that battlefield, and nothing significant would really change in the flow of words. Combined with the fact that these people weren’t choosing to tell their nightmares/stories (they weren’t coming to Jon, they weren’t aware of him, they weren’t giving the stories more or less on their terms), that it wasn’t even about preserving/honouring the people who are trapped, but that it was entirely down to Jon’s inability to hold on any longer, that it was all about how It Was Too Hard On Jon And That He Had To “Let It Out”… eh. It felt too voyeuristic and a bit gratuitous? I’m aware that it’s fitting for a world where Beholding is watching, and that Jon is, after all, an avatar of The Eye; it’s still not something that I find super interesting in itself when main characters are allowed to have some freedom and individual traits, especially when the series’ strong forte was precisely… each statement-giver feeling like they were their own person, with their own life and quirks and stories. And this statement fails to give me much of that feeling ;; (Plus, I’m… a bit surprised that we had four characters, 3 men and only 1 woman, who is a passive nurse when all the others were soldiers. It’s a nightmare, it didn’t need to be logical, and yet it felt like it went casually and very blatantly sexist? I know that “women have the right to be gored and traumatised on a hellish battleground too” is an odd thing to say, but also, equality?)

Crossing fingers that I get the emotional charge in later episodes, but yeah, as it stands right now the road trip format is a bit doomed to leaving me indifferent if it remains Martin&Jon journeying in the same conditions: the season began with extremely strong personalities and individualities (through tapes, people who had been lost: Sasha, Tim, Gertrude, Leitner, Gerry), Jon and Martin are clearly their own persons… and so far, that’s it. “People” feel like “undistinguished people” outside of them, and I’m not too fond of that…

I’m aware that it might be a point being progressively introduced into the show, and that’s how first-person nightmares work, too: you’re “you” and at the same time, you’re entirely rewritten and could be anyone else, just experiencing things. It also follows the desensitisation already explored in season 4 – Martin’s concern in this episode felt very performative, staying on the surface of things (being polite, being aware that it’s bad for the people involved; but he didn’t sound crush or heartbroken for them either, didn’t try to push Jon to do something to help them), which might tie in with his Lonely experience, while Jon is used to Watching Nightmares in his own dream zoo (and attacked people last season), so it makes sense that both of them wouldn’t really manifest actual empathy faced with this sort of things. It makes sense; but it’s still not something I find compelling in itself if the bottom line is that individuals are becoming an indistinct blob of people stripped of their uniqueness in the new world and that’s just the way it is. (The fact that the only main characters “out of the box” that we’re following right now are both male doesn’t really help ^^”)

- … So. Lot of focus is given to the tape recorders spawning around Jon (and now Martin), their behaviour is acknowledged as odd, so we might get an answer about them soon… but I’m really curious about the fact that with MAG162 and MAG163, it feels like the new statement-format is a entirely new activity for Jon:

(Season 5 trailer) [CLICK–] [APOCALYPSE SOUNDSCAPING] ARCHIVIST: [SLOW BREATHING] [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] … What? What do you want? … The world is…! It’s over. You’ve won. What can you possibly still need to hear?

(MAG161) MARTIN: Hey – when, when did you start recording? [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] ARCHIVIST: I… didn’t. MARTIN: [TENSE EXHALE] ARCHIVIST: I only brought one, and I’ve been using it to play the tapes. MARTIN: Oh. [INHALE] That’s not a great sign. ARCHIVIST: No… No it’s not.

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: “This place wishes to be our tomb. But The Eye does not wish that. No. [STATIC RISES] The Eye wishes instead that it be my chrysalis. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] It is time that I emerge…” […] ARCHIVIST: This cabin. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] It’s not right. And, when I thought that, I–I felt… It, it all poured out of me down… into the tape. MARTIN: [SIGH] ARCHIVIST: A–a–an–and it… felt good. It–it felt… right. MARTIN: Okay. [BREATHES IN] So you’re recording again? ARCHIVIST: I might need to. If we’re going to make it…! […] MARTIN: You’re… taking the recorder? ARCHIVIST: Uh, just in case I need to… vent. Again, it… [INHALE] it helps.

(MAG163) MARTIN: J–Jon, enough! Enough! [STATIC FADES] … Please don’t tell me these things. ARCHIVIST: I… I’m sorry, I– There’s just so much! There’s so much, Martin, and I know all of it, I can see all of it, and I– It’s filling me up, I need to let it out! MARTIN: I’m sorry, but tough. Okay? Tha–that’s not what I’m here for. [VOICE IN THE DISTANCE: “No… No!”] MARTIN: I can’t be that for you, I–I just can’t. ARCHIVIST: [QUIET] I… I know. [SILENCE] I–I’ll use the tape recorder…! [PLASTIC OF A TAPE] I just… [INHALE] You probably want to wait outside. […] End recording…! [CLEARS THROAT] [SHUFFLING] MARTIN: Mm? All done? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] Yes. [EXHALE] MARTIN: Good.

The concept that tape recorders might be feeding from Jon’s reading is not fundamentally new, since Jon had humorously mentioned the possibility at the beginning of season 4:

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: And we’ve got an audience – perfect. I thought you said you decided to throw them all out. BASIRA: Yup. And I did. And here’s another one. ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] Maybe it’s hungry…! BASIRA: Seriously? ARCHIVIST: I mean, I did have a statement I was planning to record.

But it’s still a new thing regarding the effects they seem to have on Jon as the Archivist/Archive. Before, Jon was reading statements to feed The Eye and himself; not reading statements resulted in withdrawal symptoms, as shown during his American trip (MAG107), with Gerry pointing out that Gertrude also needed them to stay afloat (MAG111). Now, in this new setting, “statements” are an excess that Jon has to regularly spit out into the tape (MAG162: “It, it all poured out of me down… into the tape.”). Whatever the tapes are, it sounds like Jon is feeding them nowadays (or that they’re feeding on that surplus) – and… that can’t be good, uh. What is Jon feeding, now; what is it growing into?

It also put me in mind of Albrecht’s way of regurgitating stories to Fanshawe:

(MAG127, Jonathan Fanshawe) “Again he ignored me. Instead, he took the seat opposite me, and started to tell me… a story. And then another. And another. A stream of… strange tales began to pour out of him, and I just sat there, transfixed, [STATIC], desperately wishing I had the strength of will to stand and leave, but all I could do… was listen. He told me of a seamstress, who laced her body with fine black thread; and when she pulled it all out in a single swift motion, her skin dropped away like a loose shift. He told me of a man so scared to die he spent a year weaving a rope blindfolded, so that he would not know the length, and could not foresee the moment it would tighten around his neck when he finally threw himself into the void. He told me of a fire that burns so hot and fierce, that to even know about it is enough to burn a man’s tongue from his head. He told me so many terrible things. [STATIC FADES] And at the end of it all, the only thing I could think to ask him… was where he read them. My eyes darted to the books that surrounded us; but Albrecht laughed at this, and placed his hands across a spine that was simply labelled A Warning. For a moment, he looked as though he were about to wrench it from its place and hurl it into the fire. But it passed. He turned back to me. [STATIC] ‘You do not understand,’ he said to me in German. ‘I do not read the books. They read me.’” [STATIC FADES]

Albrecht had already read (/been read by) the books, and yet was vomiting these stories. Is that the same thing as what’s now happening to Jon? It would lend credit to the idea that Albrecht was Jonah’s first attempt to create an Archivist if it’s how it usually goes: first, feeding the creature… and then, when they reach maturity, they spit out stories like eggs, made to spread the terrors and the suffering…? (I’m even more thinking about “eggs” given that butterfly!Jon/Archivist was apparently coming out from the chrysalis in MAG162. What does a butterfly seek to do before dying?)

Anyway, if Jon&Martin are unwittingly making the situation worse somehow, I’m fully expecting the tape recorders to play a part – but how could they possibly make things worse than they already are…?

- Gotta love how season 4 finally broke the shackles of Martin and his ability to swear loudly.

(MAG154) MARTIN: What, [CHUCKLING] you gotta gouge your eyes out or something? [SILENCE] … Fuck off?!

(MAG163) [CLICK–] [LOUD BAGPIPES] [EXPLOSIONS] [LOUD GUNSHOT RAFFLES] MARTIN: [SHOUTING] SHIT, SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Martin! MARTIN: SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Stay with me, don’t let go! MARTIN: Oh! [LOUD BANG] ARCHIVIST: Come on! MARTIN: Shit, shit, shit…! […] Don’t be a prick, Jon.

(I have to admit that the transition from Jon&Martin’s slightly melancholic and tired scene to the battlefield and Martin screaming obscenities made me laugh because. That whiplash. A perfect summary of Martin’s life.)

Congrats to Martin for spending out the Swear Quota this season. (I feel like, recently, most “sweary” episodes tended to also get a bit more gruesome or close-to-home than usual (MAG131 with the self-inflicted injury attempt and the rib-removal, MAG154 with the abusive relationship and description of Eric’s murder, MAG158 with the gunshots, here with the atrocities of war), so I wonder if it’s a conscious decision each time, since sweary episodes will up the rating and that could serve as a warning?)

No wonder that Martin was… “not okay” (Martin-is-never-going-to-be-okay), since he really really didn’t like experiencing MAG095, already dealing with war/Slaughter-y:

(MAG095) MARTIN: S–s–statement… done. [HEAVY BREATHING & TREMBLING AS MARTIN STEADIES HIMSELF] I don’t like recording these. There. I–I said it. I’m sorry whoever’s listening to this, I know it’s unprofessional, but they f… I don’t like it. I guess we’re past professionalism now. Probably.

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: It’s okay! MARTIN: No! [LOUD GUNSHOT RAFFLES] ARCHIVIST: You’re okay! MARTIN: [You don’t even know if I’m okay], this is not okay! ARCHIVIST: In here, [LOUD BANG] come on! [LOUD GUNSHOT RAFFLES] ARCHIVIST: [GRUNT FROM EFFORT] [MOTOR ROARING AND FADING] [BATTLEFIELD SOUNDS NOW MUFFLED; SOME ECHO] [PANTS] ARCHIVIST: Are you…? MARTIN: [ANGRY SOBBING] I’m fine, fine, I just… [SIGH] How, how about you, you’re not hurt? ARCHIVIST: Uh… No. MARTIN: Good. ARCHIVIST: No, I’m not. MARTIN: Good. Good.

So. Really not his cup of tea.

… I’m not sure about this, but it feels to me like Martin’s way of showing concern or “caring” for people outside of Jon right now is… kind of performative, more focused on keeping a clean outside appearance rather than genuine empathy?

(MAG163) MARTIN: Good. Good. [SILENCE PUNCTUATED BY PANTING] … J–J–Jon, Jon, w–we’re not alone. ARCHIVIST: I–ignore them, they’re not… Just ignore them. MARTIN: … They’re not… real? [VOICES SHOUTING IN THE DISTANCE] ARCHIVIST: [MIRTHLESS CHUCKLING] No…! They’re real; they were… normal people before the– … Before me. But now they’re here, meat for the grinder. I just mean there’s no point… talking to them. MARTIN: Don’t be a prick, Jon. Hey! I’m, I’m sorry about him. He’s–he’s going through a lot – well… we all are, I suppose, but well… “Hi”, I guess. [SILENCE] Hello? […] It’s dangerous. Could… get yourself blown up, like all these poor… [PLASTIC RATTLING] Who d’you think they were? Really don’t see why [they] can’t just… go round, picked a better place to… [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] [SIGH] I guess there… aren’t really any “better” places anymore, are there? [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] It’s all this. Or worse, or… or different.

Which doesn’t mean (as Martin is showing) that it can’t lead to a conscious decision to be at least polite/not make things worse. But I’m thinking that Jon wasn’t exaggerating when he told Martin that “some of us weren’t able to cut ourselves off from the world before it ended” (MAG161), and that Martin… doesn’t really feel much for people themselves?

- When Martin Blackwood says stop, Beholding…

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: They won’t hear you, Martin, they’re all… too busy waiting to die. MARTIN: Jon… ARCHIVIST: They sit here – [STATIC RISES] the image of everyone they hold dear locked in their mind, knowing they’ll never see them again. Waiting for the order; dreading the bullet or the drone or the barbed wire that will tear them to shreds and leave them nothing but a bloody– [STATIC REACHING A PEAK] MARTIN: J–Jon, enough! Enough! [STATIC FADES] … Please don’t tell me these things.

… STOPS. I love how it felt like Martin was able to tame the evil all-knowing god just by shouting at it, the static receding was an amazing bit!!

I’m REALLY GLAD that Martin faced Jon firmly about what he didn’t want to “give”, about his boundaries and what would be damaging to him, and that Jon manoeuvred around it to find a solution acceptable for the both of them!

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: I… I’m sorry, I– There’s just so much! There’s so much, Martin, and I know all of it, I can see all of it, and I– It’s filling me up, I need to let it out! MARTIN: I’m sorry, but tough. Okay? Tha–that’s not what I’m here for. [VOICE IN THE DISTANCE: “No… No!”] MARTIN: I can’t be that for you, I–I just can’t. ARCHIVIST: [QUIET] I… I know. [SILENCE] I–I’ll use the tape recorder…! [PLASTIC OF A TAPE] I just… [INHALE] You probably want to wait outside. MARTIN: … Hum, no?! ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] Well… Put your fingers in your ears then, I, I suppose. MARTIN: [SNORT] Fine, and what about them? ARCHIVIST: … They don’t even know we’re here. We’re not part of their nightmare. [DRIP] MARTIN: … Right.

The trailer and first episode had worried me because of the way Martin was back to being a caretaker of a moody&difficult person, with Jon push-pulling and Martin accommodating. The cabin bubble broke last episode (and Martin revealed that he had already begun planning), I’m glad it’s continuing in that vein of communication and respect! Oppositions without big conflicts nor relationship drama! They’re surprisingly healthy in the middle of the apocalypse!

- Regarding the liquid sounds in the last scene, was it actually the lake mentioned at the beginning of the statement? Since we could still hear bagpipes in the distance, that area might have still been influenced by the trench:

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: “Once, it was a thin metal landing craft, drifting slowly through a fetid lake. The waters were red and black by turns with blood and oil and the floating bodies of those before them, that were pushed aside by the boat’s wake.” […] [CLICK–] [BAGPIPES IN THE DISTANCE] [BODIES WADING THROUGH LIQUID] ARCHIVIST: [DISTANT] Try to keep up! MARTIN: Yeah, yeah… [INELEGANT DEJECTED SPUTTERING]

So, if they were crossing the lake of blood and oil and floating bodies – yikes, Martin, what is your life. (I LOVE how Done Martin sounded with the whole thing.)

- Another bit in the saga of Martin having a special relationship with the tape recorders, and directly talking to them / expressing concern for them / asking them questions!

(MAG039) TIM: Why do you have a second tape recorder, Martin? MARTIN: Oh, um… well, I’ve been using it to record myself. I write poetry and I think the tapes have a sort of… low-fi charm.

(MAG098) MARTIN: Huh. Yeah, y’know, y’know what? A little privacy would be nice sometimes, okay? Not everything’s for you! You don’t need to listen to everything that we– … Alright, you know what? Y’know what… If you’re that eager, fine.

(MAG102) [CLICK–] ARCHIVIST: You’re sure you don’t mind? MARTIN: No, no, no, it’s fine, I’ve… I’ve kind of stop noticing if I’m honest. They just sort of… turn themselves on these days.

(MAG118) [CLICK–] MARTIN: [INHALES] Are you listening? … Good. Case… 0071304. Statement of… Ivo Lensik. [BREATHES] [LIGHTER FLICKED ON] All right. [BURNING SOUNDS] [EXHALES DEEPLY] Statement ends, I guess. […] ELIAS: You might want to turn the tape off, Martin. [CLICK.] [CLICK–] MARTIN: Mm! Sorry. Looks like it wants to know what’s going on.

(MAG126) [CLICK–] [CLOCK TICKING IN THE BACKGROUND] [TYPING SOUNDS] MARTIN: [SIGH] [MOUSE-CLICK] … Oh. Hello. [MOUSE-CLICK] Haven’t seen you in a while. [TYPING] … Really? I mean, it’s just admin. It’s not exactly thrilling listening. [SILENCE] Alright, fine. Whatever. You do you. [MOUSE-CLICKS] Spool away, I guess. [MOUSE-CLICK] Just, you know – let me know if you need some more batteries or something. [EXHALE] [FIRM TYPING] [SILENCE] … It’s because he’s back, isn’t it. [MOUSE-CLICK] [SIGH] He’s back, so now you’re going to be… around, again. Listening in. [MOUSE-CLICKS] [HUFF] You missed him, didn’t you. … Yeah. … [VERY SHARP SQUEAL OF DISTORTION] Yeah, me too.

(MAG154) [CLICK–] [CLOCK TICKING IN THE BACKGROUND] [TYPING SOUNDS] [COMPUTER MOUSE CLICKING] MARTIN: Oh. Right. [CHUCKLE] Hello, again. [TWO CLICKS, TYPING RESUMES] Look, sorry pal, [SHORT LAUGH] false alarm this time…! [ONE CLICK] Oh, unless… [SIGH] [TWO AGGRESSIVE CLICKS] [TO THE ROOM:] Peter!

(MAG156) [CLICK–] [CLOCK TICKING IN THE BACKGROUND] [PAPER RUSTLING] MARTIN: Hm? … Oh. [CHUCKLE] Yeah. [PAPER RUSTLING] I was gonna read one. Hate for you to miss it! [CHUCKLE] [PAUSE] You know… I’ve been wondering about your batteries. Like, could I just take the batteries out each time one of you appears and just… have an infinite supply of batteries? I mean, I, I won’t, don’t worry. Don’t really have anything that needs them these days. … Also, I know there’s every chance you don’t even have any?, and it’s just empty, and… well… I’m not really sure that’s something I want to confirm. Or, I open up your compartment and it’s like, meat, or–or maggots, or something. … Mm. “Emptiness or maggots”…! It’s kinda the shape of things around here, isn’t it? Still, kind of nice to talk to some… thing. […] I’m on my own so much these days, I… just wish I didn’t like it so much. I mean, if you’ve got any thoughts, I’d love to hear them. … Hm? [SILENCE] No – didn’t think so. [LONG INHALE] That’s not what you’re here for, is it? [SIGH] No. You want this. [PAPER RUSTLING] Fine. [LONG INHALE] Fine, have it your way. As usual.

(MAG163) MARTIN: Yeah, yeah… [INELEGANT DEJECTED SPUTTERING] … Oh. Oh, hey! [SHUFFLING] [CLOSER] Jon, did you– … No. No, he was carrying his. [INHALE] Alright…! [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] What’re you doing here? [PLASTIC RATTLING] It’s dangerous. Could… get yourself blown up, like all these poor… [PLASTIC RATTLING] Who d’you think they were? Really don’t see why they can’t just… go round, picked a better place to… [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] [SIGH] I guess there… aren’t really any “better” places anymore, are there? [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] It’s all this. Or worse, or… or different. [STEPS THROUGH LIQUID] You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here. [OLD PHONE RINGING] [STEPS STOP] MARTIN: Uh… Jon? [OLD PHONE RINGING] Uh, Jo–Jon, the, uh, the payphone that’s… here, for some reason, it’s–it’s ringing?

No idea if they’re sentient enough for it, but I like to toy with the concept that the tape recorders are fond of Martin because he’s polite to them. When this one appeared (and we could hear that Jon was a bit further away), I panicked thinking that Martin and Jon were going to get separated – so that a tape recorder was popping up to follow Martin personally, since we wouldn’t be able to hear him with Jon. It didn’t happen (I THINK. Jon was back at the end but? Their words were a bit stiff and Jon sounded a bit out of it?), but it could be foreshadowing that it will happen…

Interestingly: the tape spawned before the phone rang. Did it pop up because it could sense that the call would happen? Because Jon and Martin were leaving sight of each other and the tape recorder didn’t want to lose access to Martin? Only thanks to the fact that Jon was getting far away? With the fact that Jonah told Jon to ~keep an eye on Martin~, and given how Martin hasn’t been seized by a nightmare like the others (… or is he, and we haven’t realised it yet?), there is a possibility that Jon, as the Archivist, is immunising Martin through his simple presence:

(MAG160, Jonah Magnus) “How is Martin, by the way? He looks well. You will keep an eye on him when all this is over, won’t you? [RUMBLE OF THUNDER] He’s earned that.”

(MAG161) MARTIN: … Are we still safe? ARCHIVIST: Y–yes, it… it doesn’t want to harm me. MARTIN: And me? ARCHIVIST: I won’t let it. [CREAKING SOUND] MARTIN: Hum… thanks.

(MAG163) [LOUD BAGPIPES] [EXPLOSIONS] [LOUD GUNSHOT RAFFLES] MARTIN: [SHOUTING] SHIT, SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Martin! MARTIN: SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Stay with me, don’t let go! MARTIN: Oh! [LOUD BANG] ARCHIVIST: Come on! MARTIN: Shit, shit, shit…! ARCHIVIST: It’s okay! […] [DISTANT] Try to keep up! MARTIN: Yeah, yeah… […] ARCHIVIST: Martin, you need to keep up. It’s not safe. … Martin? You okay? MARTIN: Uh, I… Th–ther–there was a phone – that phone. ARCHIVIST: … Oh. MARTIN: It… Yeah, it was ringing? ARCHIVIST: Oh. Right… Did you answer it? MARTIN: No. ARCHIVIST: Hm. [INHALE] Probably for the best…! MARTIN: Yeeaahh. ARCHIVIST: … Let’s keep going. MARTIN: Hm.

… How come Jon didn’t hear the phone, though, and it stopped as soon as he arrived? Because Jon&Martin could both hear and see the people trapped in the Trench’s nightmare (and their sounds were caught on tape) – why not the phone?

- Martin said “nop!” to your horror tropes, and is turning down your supernatural and likely threatening phone call. Same as when he suspected that Jane Prentiss could be behind his door, hesitated, and then never answered her knocking <3

- I have no certitude when it comes to the phone, but considering a few things:

1°) It was specifically an old tone (AN ANALOG PHONE? Or a phone imitating the old sound of ANALOG PHONE, it’s odd.) and a payphone, so falling right into Martin’s taste of ~retro aesthetic~, like it was trying to appeal to him specifically.

2°) Martin had a few experiences with phones: he dropped his, and it got used by Jane Prentiss to send texts to Jon in season 1; he received a phone call during the season 4 trailer while at Jon’s bedside (which was from Peter… assumedly); the last time he spoke to someone on a phone before The Change was with Basira, in MAG160, when she updated him about the Institute’s state and confirmed the delivery of the statements she had sent to Jon (which included tapes, that she had not mentioned).

3°) So. Absolutely no certitude regarding “who” or “what” it was (/what was happening), but thinking about a few options:

* Dream-logic: Martin asked about what the tape recorders were, expecting an answer, so the tapes tried to answer back to suggest him “better” places, since Martin was wondering about those.

* It was the Trench’s nightmare trying to pull Martin inside of the nightmare by calling to draft him, since Jon’s protection was wavering due to distance.

* Dream-logic: someone was trying to contact Martin, so they only needed to “call him” for the call to reach him, and it only happened because Jon wasn’t immunising Martin. As for that someone: Basira? Melanie&Georgie? Elias? Annabelle?

* It was a Martin-tailored nightmare trying to pull him in => a dead person calling him. (Tim? Martin’s mother? Peter?)

I wonder if that “something” will keep trying to get in touch with Martin, until he answers? (For the season finale? Or before?)

MAG164’s title is “… yeeeeeep”, no cookie for guessing what ~Smirke Fear~ should be predominantly starring in this one.

[soveryanon]

Hey, hey, hey, I’m not 100% sure it’s exhaustive, could have missed a few; but on the subject of characters entering rooms/offices… Times characters knock on a door: - Martin before entering Elias’s office, after having fetched Melanie&Tim as Elias had requested (MAG092). - Melanie most of the time with everyone, waiting for them to allow her to enter (with Tim in MAG086, with Martin in MAG088, with Elias in MAG102 and MAG106, although she only does a “Knock knock?” with him in MAG098 – Elias later does the “Knock knock?” thing to Tim&Martin in MAG104). - Daisy, on two occasions, when she wants to get Basira in MAG112. - “Helen” arriving through Not A Door in MAG117. - Martin&the police officer on Elias’s door in MAG120. - Oh, and Elias in MAG118, aggressively and to no avail, when Martin is inside (carve “Sorry Elias…! I can’t hear you. There’s a door in the way.” on my headstone). Times characters do NOT knock on a door: - Accidents when the room is supposed to be unoccupied (Martin in Jon’s office in MAG023; Martin when Tim and Elias are talking in MAG090; Tim when Martin is there in MAG098). - Emergency (Martin barging into Elias’s office to warn him about Jon&Daisy&Basira’s arrival in MAG092) - Knowing someone is inside and assuming they’re not interrupting anything (Basira to Melanie when the door was explicitly open in MAG106, and after hearing Martin call for her in MAG108) - Melanie waltzing in while Martin was inside in MAG098. - And most importantly: unless I missed one… EVERY SINGLE TIME ANYONE HAS EVER WALKED INTO JON’S OFFICE WHILE EXPECTING HIM TO BE INSIDE (Elias in MAG017; Sasha in MAG024 and MAG038; Martin in MAG045 and MAG053; Not!Sasha in MAG047, after Jon had called her; Basira in MAG052 and MAG075; Tim in MAG065; Melanie in MAG063, all COMPLETELY CASUALLY). Sssssso. Has Jon put up a sign on his door ordering people to come in WITHOUT knocking… given how he has a very specific relationship to Guests Knocking At One’s Door?