#alesis newman

[pidgeons-cliffbirds-love]

alesis newman join my hoard of crazy infection ladies.

[lostwords-found]

Oh no. Oh fuck. I am relistening to some of the earlier Protocol episodes, and I have a horrible, terrible, no good very bad suspicion about Gerry.

I could, I want to emphasize, be completely wrong! I could be wildly, hilariously, off the mark. But--hear me out. This is going to take some explaining about what I think is going on in the bigger picture worldbuilding stuff; hopefully it'll be coherent, but fair warning, it may get a bit long.

First: there have been a lot of cases that have boiled down to trying to keep only the "good"/desirable/etc aspects of things or events or people, and discard the "bad"/unwanted, right? We saw this happening very explicitly in episode 23 with Alesis Newman, and way back in episode 2 with Daria the painter, but a number of episodes have presented variations on a similar theme.

Two variations in particular that I've been thinking a lot about are the violinist in episode 4 and the gambler in episode 9. The violinist can play his violin beautifully, but he wants to be rid of the price in flesh and blood that it demands. Similarly, the gambler wants the rewards of rolling high on his magic dice, but wants to be rid of the misfortunes that come with rolling low. Crucially, both episodes make clear that in this type of balance--something unwanted for something wanted--you can't just make the unwanted piece vanish. It has to go somewhere, it has to happen. But you can make it happen to someone else, somewhere else. And when that's how the game works, one of the major questions for players who want to get ahead then becomes: "how do I make the bad stuff stay happening somewhere else, and keep reaping the benefits of the good stuff that balances it out?"

Here's where this gets wildly speculative and from here on I freely acknowledge that I may be talking out my ass:

I think the Magnus Institute was investigating that question. I suspect a great many alchemists before the Institute, probably going back to the times of Albertus Magnus, were investigating it as well. I think the Great Work they were attempting -- the "universal transmutation" alluded to in episode 21 as the Magnus Institute's aim -- was the exact opposite of Jonah Magnus's own "Great Work" in TMA. In other words, I think they were probably trying to make the world an eternal paradise, rather than an eternal hell.

But if you're getting rid of all the "bad" stuff, all the suffering and misfortune, it's got to go somewhere.

I think they were sending it through to other worlds.

I'm not going to get into all the reasons I think that right now, because that's a whole essay in itself, but basically--the Leitners in TMA? The artifacts? All the little bits and pieces of evil given physical form, that never had a clear origin point in the world where they caused so much suffering for so long? We've all been worried about them winding up here, post-Archives... but I think this is where they came from in the first place. I think they were sent away in the hopes that an increase in "bad" in other worlds would lead to an increase in "good" in this one. Remember all those books Albrecht von Closen found in the tomb in the Black Forest in TMA, that Jonah Magnus later stole and let loose on the world? Remember that Albrecht found a mysterious coin along with them dated 1279? Albertus Magnus died in 1280; I strongly suspect he sent those books from the world of Protocol to that of Archives shortly before his death, much as the world of Archives sent the tapes away centuries later. But I think Protocol's world kept sending things away, kept trying to export "bad" and import "good". Remember all those happy, laughing volunteers bringing strange and sinister items to the charity shop on Hill Top Road in episode 7? "All for a good cause."

Okay so. Now. With that bit of hypothetical framework for Protocol's worldbuilding in place, let's next go back to Alesis Newman of episode 23. Her expressed wish is to create a new her. "Someone better. Someone the pain can't touch." Someone who can be everything Alesis wishes she could have been. Someone "free of all (her) mistakes."

But increasingly it sounds like what she actually wants isn't to create someone new. It is to create someone who is only a part of her current self. Someone who, she says in one of her last few posts, will "just be the good parts of me."

And if that's the case, if what she's really trying to do is make someone who holds only the "good" parts of her, someone who can be happy and strong and perfect and loved by everyone forever... what happens to the bad parts of Alesis Newman, as she currently exists? What about the parts of her that feel pain and fear, the parts of her that make mistakes, the parts of her that she rejects?

One might assume, from the experience she narrates, that those pieces of her are simply being destroyed. But that doesn't line up with the suggestion we've seen from earlier episodes that there has to be some kind of balance maintained in these bargains. What she actually says is happening to her--and what the forum members have apparently told her will happen, through this process--is that she and this "new her" are "becoming one... and then two."

I don't think the "bad" parts of Alesis Newman are dying. I think they're also going to become a "new her"--they're just going to go somewhere else, somewhere the new, happy, strong, perfect version of Alesis Newman never has to see them.

Still with me?

Okay.

Now let's talk about Gerry. Let's talk about the smiling, laughing, irrepressibly happy Gerry Keay we meet early in Protocol. Gerry who seems to have everything that the Gerry Keay of Archives was denied.

Gerry who underwent tests at the Magnus Institute as a child, and who, per the static over his and "Gee Gee's" words, holds a few more secrets about what went on there than he let on to Sam and Celia.

Back when I first heard Gerry's appearance in episode 8, it sure felt like a narrative gut punch: This is who he could have been in Archives, if not for the presence of the Fears. This is what Jon and Martin's final decision threatens to destroy--for this safe, happy version of Gerry, and for everyone else in his world.

I'm now suspecting it might be significantly worse than that. I think the Magnus Institute might have done to Gerry Keay something similar to what Alesis Newman later did to herself: made him New. Kept only the good parts--ensured a happy, comfortable, good life for him. In which case, all the bad stuff--all the parts of Gerry Keay that would ever have to suffer from bad luck, to feel pain and fear and misery...

...well. They'd have had to go... somewhere else, wouldn't they.

Which would suggest I had the causality the wrong way around the first time I heard Gerry's appearance in Protocol: maybe it's not "Gerry has a happy life in this world because he didn't have to suffer everything that the Gerry Keay of Archives did."

Maybe it's "Gerry in Archives had to suffer everything he did because Gerry in Protocol was made to always be happy."

[rqbossman]

Alesis Newman….. Alex Newell…. Self-insert? (Kidding, but man. That is one SIMILAR name)

Ironically I believe that was one of the fan-submitted character names from the Kickstarter so there is probably a listener out there right now reconsidering their opinions on coral!

[theaxolotlkween]

GUYS IT SAYS THERE’S NO COMMENTS AT THE END OF THESE POSTS WHERE WAS SHE GETTING THIS ADVICE?!?!?

I was weirded out by the fact that there weren’t any comments at first but I know that people tend to like more than comment. But it was really suspicious when the likes were jumping up AND there were no comments. And then she’s talking like she’s getting comments from people. The only thing I can think of is that she could’ve been getting DMs, but I feel like she would’ve said something like, “someone dm’d me this advice”. Also she talks as though this is a highly active community forum, which makes the idea that two community members, burntumberJ and LazerCat23, are just DMing Alesis Newman feel like the wrong conclusion. Because she’s not talking like she got DMs, she’s talking like she’s replying to specific comments giving her advice.

Haven’t seen anybody talk about this specific detail, and I get why. Jmart heart and bike thing??? Dyhard???? Basira????? HELEN!?!?!? But I just found it super weird when listening. When I heard “no comments” I just thought that as the thread got weirder, comments would start appearing and they would also be weird. But no comments, she just talks as though she’s been getting them.

[trans-jon-rights]

I had an idea and maybe it's because I'm sleep deprived but consider :

In the latest TMAGP episode, it's made pretty clear that Alesis Newman isn't the only person invested in finding her "piece". There's a whole forum, and despite there being no comments on her posts, there are at least like, and other users are cited.

And in the end, she panics and says there something wrong with her double, but all through the case we also more or less learn that her double didn't exactly look like her, just that it had her eyes.

Well, remember the creature in the very firts case we heard about ? "Some of him" ? Would it be possible to be the same thing ?

The "some of him" was descibed as something wearing his skin, but clearly dead. What if it was that, the coral -- or whatever his 'piece' would have been -- having grown under his skin letting only his hosk to be puppetteered ?

I need to sleep. Later.

[skyeoak]

Thoughts on tmagp episode 24

*cough* my sister had a newborn a few months ago. Here’s some red flags about “the health visitor” from today’s episode:

- newborns feed every 2-3 hours, usually 2.5. Idk if this is different in the UK but I don’t see why it would be.

- most babies are born with greyish eyes, which changes over time. If Rupert’s a newborn when she’s talking about his black orb eyes, this is maybe a red flag?

- “I couldn’t scream, I didn’t want to wake him” AHHHHHH oh god the psychological horror of having a newborn aghfjgjfhhhhhh

Very Rosemary’s Baby, but instead of going full satanic panic, “Raising Issues” focuses on the self-sacrificial narrative mothers are told, and how that leads to a dangerous and isolating situation as Patricia ignores every red flag in sight. I had my head in my hands. Honestly, I wish we’d dived deeper into the socioeconomic stuff rather than the body horror because back to back with “A New You” it felt like too similar of a story structure, even though imo they’re meant to be parallels.

23 and 24 have been so similar that they’re definitely intentional contrasts to each other. One’s from Chester talking about how you can long to change yourself so fully only for it to all go wrong, and this one’s from Norris about destroying yourself to support the one you love… I am ill, actually. Screaming crying relistening to the last recording in this case file and finding all the points that are reminiscent of Mag 170 (Recollection).

These lines specifically are making me think. Once again, I am ill.

Chester: “Alesis Newman is leaving this world and whatever comes next – though she may look like me in some ways, though she may carry a part of me with her – she’ll be better. Free of all my mistakes. Perhaps people will like her more than me. I already like her more than me. I want to see her walk off happy and strong. I hope she doesn’t feel this now, just be the good parts of me. (hoarse) I hope it’s like I dreamt, I hope she has my eyes…”

Norris: “I can’t remember when… when I last… had sleep. I think… I think days…” + “I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s not much of me left. I’m so scared. But at least Rupey’s happy…”

Considering this is the first Norris case file in over 10 episodes (since episode 12, unless I’m wrong) and he’s literally just reading the stuff between recordings, I’m a bit concerned.

Who the fuck is reading this statement and why didn’t they mention it to Celia IMMEDIATELY? If it was Sam, he knows she has a kid and is in a support group, and if it was Celia herself, then idk why she isn’t at least concerned (that’s suspicious, Celia.) I guess Gwen and Alice don’t know about Jack, so they’re off the hook.

ALSO rupert? A red name? Philosopher’s stone alchemical reference? Or just referring to the blood he’s feeding on?

I know I’m gonna see a ton of takes on this episode being like “this is why I’m childfree” and, like yeah, I’m not planning on kids either but this story is such an extension of existing social structures that I hope we talk, at least a little, about the social narratives at work here about pregnancy, parenthood, and childcare.

[kittenpower05]

When I heard the statement giver was A.L. Newman, I confused it for alexander newall for a moment but now I have the funniest theory

What if the new coral clone chose not to use the old name alesis and instead decided to change theirs to alex newall so now we not only have a jonathan sims in cannon but also an alex newall

[disappointingcabbage]

TMAGP 23 thoughts, spoilers under the cut!!

lmao I love how Sam’s reasoning for bothering with the response department paperwork is to A) assume it’s Alice doing a bit and B) seeing how long Alice can keep up said bit. I would do the same thing tbh

Lena cautioning him against it raises some red flags about what it might actually be though. That said, if doing the paperwork really is dangerous, she isn’t exactly trying all that hard to convince him to stop so who knows?

Chester statement time!! It’s an internet one this week hell yeah I’m ready for some red canary (or weird movie) esque shit

“Creating a better me”???? this sounds… very Strange

what do you mean by “finding your piece”? It sounds at first like affirmations but then the statement writer directly refutes the idea of it being a psychological/ “inner peace” thing

The second post makes it seem like this piece thing is an object taken from a significant location in your life. That’s less cursed that what I thought it was gonna be (a body part)

the implication that this person did something at least mildly illegal to get their piece is somewhat troubling. it was probably just theft though. Also they never specified what the piece is

“I’m sure it’s totally safe and not at all dangerous to sleep with the piece in my bed” famous last words

Also why do you need to keep it warm??? Is it alive????? And you have to “bond with it” which I guess is in line with making a “better you”. I guess it has to know what you’re like to emulate you or smth idk but this doesn’t sound like it’ll end well

ok it’s coral. Why are you worried about keeping it warm? If it’s not in water it’s definitely not alive.

MAAM WHY DO YOU HAVE SURGICAL EQUIPMENT AND WHY IS THIS POST CALLED “FIRST CUT”

you fucking watered your coral with your own blood to grow a better copy of yourself? The fuck? What is the point??? Do you WANT to get replaced????

Wait no she transplanted the coral into her body to grow it. What the fuck maam are you trying to reproduce through some cursed version of asexual budding???

okay yeah that’s exactly what’s happening this thing burst out of her

I mean at least she planned this out and took off work so she doesn’t lose her source of income I guess??? And she made sure she had proper supplies and a paralysis computer.

Oh damn this lady is just straight up willingly getting replaced. This is reading more and more like the original Alesis Newman is more akin to a shed skin than anything related to asexual reproduction

Oooh it went wrong. Not sure how but it definitely did

Oh shit this world’s Jon and Martin have been dead for 20 years and have no connection to the Magnus Institute

YOOO CELIA’S LOOKING INTO BASIRA AND HELEN

wait how would she know about Helen? Did the tunnels cult ever meet her? I don’t remember

OH WAIT I REMEMBER SHE TRIED TO EAT CELIA (at least, according to Melanie and Georgie) lol girlie why would you want to find her ageidjdief

Oh poor Gwen is not doing great.

Oh my god she’s actually talking to Alice instead of being snappy

And Alice seems to be. Actually listening !!!! Here’s how Dyhard can still win-

Alice fully believes Gwen

LMAO THE IMMEDIATE GLITCH AFTER GWEN SAID “I’ve not been arsey”

we’ve got confirmation that [Error] has a shitload of eyes let’s gooooo archivist moment

Alice immediately recognizing the tape recorder from her own experience and putting the pieces together that the whole oiar is being targeted is peak girlboss energy hell yeah Alice

And Gwen is obviously taking Alice’s experience seriously too hell yeah

Alice and Gwen are in danger? I think they should kiss about it

[alwaysdeepkitten]

SPOILERS - Thoughts on tonight's episode of The Magnus Protocol (the case in the episode 23, to be precise). Copied from my youtube comment from the episode's comment section.

Did anyone else catch the date of the deleted post (#14)? It's more than 5 months prior to the post #1. But looks like it's describing something horrible after the 'transformation's' already happened, even though post #1 states the girl's only come round to going through with it.

And her name is Alesis Newman. New man. A meaningful name in this case. A self-assigned name.

I think what she's been going through is basically a cycle.

She feels really depressed, decides to go through with this transformation, is really excited about 'the new' her - clean of all mistakes, free of the past - and hopes she will be better. But something goes wrong. She realises it during her last moments: the new version is not magically better as a superior being would be but ultimately the new person or consciousness prone to any and all flaws like any other being. The moderators delete her concerned last post of the previous transformation updates and the clean-slate-her gets to live as the 'better new'. But only for a little more than 5 months since that is when she too gets crushed by the same feelings as her predecessor and seeks the transformation anew, not aware of there having already been past versions of her and her being the result of their attempts at this 'better new'.

The language seems to suggest this too - she sees herself, she's been with her desired new version all along, she hates there being people who want her to be better in spite of who she really is - the very wish her past self had for her, etc.

The whole transformation is ultimately flawed.

There is no 'better new you' (the nickname of the person who's locked the thread), there's only 'a new you' ( the actual title of the episode - the truth).

Or maybe it has been her deleting her previous posts herself: post #14 was published at 2:27 and deleted almost immediately at 2:28, deleting a post a minute after it's been published is a feat no ordinary moderator is capable of, especially when said post was made in the middle of the night at 2:27. But it would make sense if she started writing the post, was unable to finish her thought, seized to exist as her past consciousness and immediately went to delete it as a new version. Although this part might be attributed to some omnipresent magical moderators that are part of the forum as in wired and existing there, which seems to be one of the themes in TMP. I admit I am a bit shake in my theory with this specific part.

Also - the 'piece' being a piece of coral is crucial. I was asking myself why of all manner of things did it have to be a coral she needed to start the transformation. The answer is in the coral's nature - corals are clones of their previous selves, genetically identical, new polyps growing upon the exoskeletal remains of their predecessors. Thus she is identical to her previous self, she doesn't become a better version as she hopes, it's literally her but with a clean slate for a mind. She is doomed to go through the same cycle again and again much like a coral.

This would also explain her frequent mentions of the bright color of the new growing version of herself - dead or dying corals are white or 'bleached', it can actually indicate their response to the harsh and stressful environmental conditions. You know, the state of mind of Newman's previous version before the transformation. The fact that the doppelganger is all bright and full of vibrant color (=alive and thriving) comes from her own dying and 'bleached' state.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 23 Thoughts: Not Not NotThem

After quite the hiatus we're back with another guest writer. This time it's Harlan Guthrie of Malevolent fame. A show I likely won't ever get around to listening to but have heard nothing but good things about. So everyone go check it out if you liked this. This one is very obviously from a guest writer too. Its style and contents are pretty distinct from TMA. Which is not a bad thing by any means and it's a really great episode overall.

Spoilers for episode 23 below the cut.

There isn't a huge amount to dig into in the opening scene. I do like that the paperwork is a continuing process and it's pretty likely there will be some sort of pay of too it. Lena doesn't seem to be lying in this scene either. She really does seem to think that it's a prank. So assuming it's not a prank she doesn't seem to have as tight a grip on the office as she thinks she does. It's also interesting how engrossed it makes Sam but that might just be a character quirk rather than anything greater.

I really liked this incident but, honestly, I really don't have a load to say on this incident. I thought it was a really well written incident but quite explicit as incidents go and not a huge amount to dig into for larger puzzle pieces. It's also always tricky to know what's meaningful to the larger story when there is a guest writer. Jonny and Alex do give input but it's not like we know what that input is. Either way there is only two things I can think to mention here for it. The first is the time discrepancy in the post dates. The penultimate post comes a months after the final post. Which might not really mean much of anything to be honest. This is a doppelganger incident and those have typically had time discrepancies in them but the nature of this one doesn't lead to an easy explanation of that. So it might mean something, or it might be a mistake. I don't think it's a particularly important detail as of yet in either case.

The other bit in the mention of copper. Copper is a planetary metal, along with things like silver and mercury that have recently appeared, but the symbolic nature of those is a tricky subject to get into. Alchemy as a subject is mixed up with a lot of newer takes on things and so any its not always wise to assign too much in the way of importance to that. But that being said copper is the metal of Venus, both the planet and the god. Venus/Aphrodite obviously have some strong connection to this sort of incident. However part of the reason for copper being associated with Venus is copper's role as a metal to make mirrors from. That's a more compelling angle to this one for me. Alesis did pretty literally make their mirror double here.

Newman is a very on the nose name here too.

Sam and Celia's Institute sleuthing has not a whole lot of interest for me either if I'm honest. Basira and Helen are Basira and Helen, not much to say there until we meet them. The version of John and Martin Sam identified is weird though. It's weird in that it doesn't actually make any sense. He said they were "close to the right age" but that doesn't really track. It either means they were born at the right time, or died at the right time. But in either scenario it's sort of just nonsense. If they were born at the right time they died around 10. That's obviously possible but it raises a lot of questions about why Celia would be looking into some 10 year olds. If they died at the right age then they're offset by about 20 years which also doesn't track with anything else we've seen. The only other scenario is that she's not looking for TMP's John and Martin but rather TMA's as that could account for a time discrepancy but if that's the case neither of those ages are the right age. So all of that is probably a red herring.

Gwen and Alice opening up to each other is really nice to see too. Even though they do both hate each other outside of Sam and Alice they're the characters with the most history and it's great to see that having some weight. There isn't anything new here from our perspective, other than [Error] having too many eyes but that's not a big shock, but it's nice that the characters are actually talking about this stuff. It did seem pretty likely that they'd all be having their own insular adventures around the mid-season point but having them all come together like this is a nice thing to see.

I’ve not been “arsey”- bzzt

10/10

Great ep all around.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

DPHW Theory: 3536 seems pretty normal to me on this one. The more data I get the less I feel like anything comes up that needs explaining in my theory. Beyond the initial shift from my conceptions of these groups as fears to broader thematic elements I think this is proving to be pretty rock solid now. I'll keep this section around but I do think there will be not much of interest in these at this point.

CAT# Theory: 13 is great for my "It's not People/Places/Objects" essay. There wasn't an object in this one. Coral are animals and so count as people, the host is person, the Not Not NotThem also a person. If you say that animals count as objects it creates large problems in the theory. I really should have a sit down to puzzle this one out.

R# Theory: BC is interesting because initially I thought that was a bit low as the most similar case to this format was RedCanary's and that's AB. But that also had a lot more interaction and photos included which would bump it up for my theory there. So this one does actually check out.

Header talk: Transformation (Dysmorphic) -/- Doppleganger (Infection) is very peculiar. Daria's incident has a very similar header but Dysmorphic was the crosslink and Full was the subsection. Hard to know if it means anything but it's interesting in some sense of the word.

[pmpknsoup]

i had this weird half-dream last night (you know, when youre not fully awake but definitely not asleep anymore?), about the apotheosis of jonathan sims, the archivist, and how this sense of Becoming and transformation and absolute change seems to be such an inherent part of the magnus protocol. i cant really explain this coherently because it was not a coherent thought, but there seems to be two intertwining plot threads of culmination and devotion? both in a physical and metaphorical sense.

theres Becoming. new creation. bastardization, if you will. off the top of my head, we see this in ink5oul, in alesis newman, in daria, and samuel webber.

but theres also:

devotion. an unhealthy, uncomfortable dedication. we see this in the new mother, in tom's blog (at least, i can argue for that one), in the gambler's statement.

whats interesting to me, is the way it seems to extend to our main characters, which is what i really cant get out of my head .

notably, its devotion that we're seeing in our characters. sams devotion to the institute, colins obsession with being watched, celia in general. but with that comment sam makes in mag 25,

i wouldnt be surprised if this sort of Becoming happens to one of our main characters.

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 23 SPOILERS

Theories and reactions

Pre Case (Sam and Lena chat):

Sam's filling out more Response Department forms. Why do I feel like he's going to kickstart his Becoming or a ritual with these forms 😭.

Lena's said other former employees had filled out forms like Sam. I wonder if they Became or fell victim to the Fears. Alice has said in the past that she's seen people die, perhaps the forms could have been related to that?

Theory: The Response Department acts similarly to the Archives in TMA: It provides a base ground for rituals. However, when someone fills out the paperwork and goes to explore the "rabbit hole" (Sam, my man, please stop filling out this paperwork 😭), it compells them, leading to them getting marked and/or Becoming.

I love Sam and Lena being neurodivergent together.

Case (Chester):

Alnewman86/Alesis Newman, finds a forum about "finding your peice" and proceeds to follow the instructions to place a coral inside them and grow a doppelganger of them (hoping they would have out of the best parts of them). This case reads very Stranger and Corruption to me. The idea of growing something inside you to feel loved and to get away from pain is basically what happened to Pretiss. The idea of doppelgangers and "better selves" is very Stranger - reminiscent, it also feels similar to what happened to Nikola, with her "father" (Gregor Orshinov) changing their former self (Joseph Grimaldi) into Nikola to be "better." Also, the idea that "something was wrong with their doppelganger" seems similar to Nikola, in the sense that Orshinov didn't expect her to rebel (and kill him because he was boring), Newman seems to have experienced similar to Orshinov.

Post- Case (Celia and Sam chat):

Sam found a Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood. However, they both died 20 years ago (a cycling accident and a heart problem) without ties to the Institute. I wonder if their deaths are somehow tied to their entities. Maybe Jon died in the cycling accident trying to learn new information. Maybe Martin's heart problem resulted in him dying alone or being alone before his death. Although it's sad to think about, I think their deaths will be relevant, but we need more information...

This seems like Celia didn't find them in paperwork and is providing him information from her memories of TMA-verse.

BASIRA???

Celia thinks she found Basira Hudson???? We might meet Basira??? Yippee!!!!

HELEN???????

Celia has a lead on Helen Richardson?!

(Helen is my favorite character from TMA, so I'm so so so excited!) :DDDD

Ok, theories once again:

I think Celia is relying on her memories to guide her information quest in this new universe. She's found Georgie and knows of Melonie, the two she was closest with, and followed in their cult; then Jon and Martin, the next two she spent the most time with; now, she's looking into Basira and Helen - although she didn't have much contact with Basira, we do know that she saw the connection between her and the previous four, so it's natural she would look into her. With Helen, we know she visited Melonie and Georgie often, so by extent, she would have had contact with Celia. Furthermore, Helen was the ONLY of those she's named thus far who acted actively as an Avatar, even when she was "helping." Helen would be a great lead on Avatars and learning how they work in this world. With the help of Sam, her research can get done quicker, and if she can show Gertrude some proof, maybe the three will work together?

Now Sam and Celia are going to talk to Basira and Helen! I wonder if they will meet Daisy with Basira since they were partners.

Post- Case (Alice and Gwen chat):

Gwen is under so much pressure at the moment- not only because of the trauma from the externals and Lena forcing her to step down, but pressure from herself (and probably her family, who helped her get the job) to do better, live up to her family name, ect, ect.

Alice trying to relate to Gwen by telling her about her mug from Luke that Sam broke was really cute.

Gwen's opened up to Alice! To be honest, I don't think Gwen would have opened up at all if Alice had not caught her crying. However, I think that Alice is the only person Gwen would open up to. She won't try with Sam again after the Bonzo- incident, Colin and Teddy are out of reach, Celia's new and they don't have an established relationship, and Lena is the woman she's blackmailed and doesn't outwardly care about her (while it does look like she cares about her employees, she doesn't show it openly). Alice is the only person at the office who is openly available and has a long- established connection with both Gwen and the OIAR. Thus, Gwen started telling her abour Ink5oul, [Error], and the assignments from Lena. Which leads to the two connecting over [Error] and their tape recorders. Both recognize they are in danger (along with the rest of the OIAR) and both understand that something needs to be done. I really hope these two team up in the near future to figure out how to defeat [Error].

Also, [Error] looks human but has more than 2 eyes? This definitely supporters the theory that they are some part of an Archivist! I'm very excited to see what they do in the future :D

[lostwords-found]

So that last post by Alesis Newman, the one that was locked by "BetterTheNew", was dated January 3 2018. Eight months before her previous post.

The police files on Dr Samuel Webber were dated April 3 2009. Eight months before the date in his journal.

Dr Samuel Webber murdered his ex and then was turned into a tree. We don't know what happened to Alesis Newman's ex before she turned herself into some kind of coral creature, but she was taking bereavement leave at the end. Out of death, something is trying to be born. Or reborn...

...Oh yeah, and let's not even go near this other (lonely, eye-encrusted) rabbithole, let alone down it:

Norris read Dr. Webber's case, about a man who murdered his lover rather than lose her and then was trapped alone in a walled garden, in denial about what he had done and eternally haunted by her voice, with only a small piece of himself remaining aware and perpetually terrified but unable to voice its fear. Cool! Yeah. That's definitely... that's definitely not significant or deeply upsetting in any way.

But Chester... Chester read Alesis Newman's case, about a woman who intentionally destroyed herself in the wake of a lover whom she saw as trying to change her into the person he wanted her to be--and replaced herself with something new and inhuman. Something that has her eyes.

And by post 13, using her paralysis computer, Alesis is writing with her eyes. So is that actually her writing? If it's not, when in that sequence of posts did it stop being her? What does "no longer her" actually mean in this context? Certainly, she's becoming something that the Alesis of eight months earlier, the Alesis of the immediately-deleted fourteenth post, would no longer identify with--if some part of her still existed.

Cool. Yeah. That's definitely not significant... or deeply upsetting... in any way.

OK but I said let's not go down that rabbithole, so let's forget I just said any of that and go back to talking about the post dates, yeah?

Yeah.

So, sometimes some of these cases have some interesting correspondences with TMA statements, so there might be something there. Alesis started that thread, opening up to everyone about her journey to creating a better her, on June 20, 2018. I wonder if there were any TMA statements dated June of 2018?

Case #0181206 (June 12, 2018)

Statement of unknown bystander regarding an encounter with The Archivist.

...Oh.

Okay, well, that's... interesting, but not necessarily meaningful. Let's try this: the last date in her transformation/replacement, the last point where maybe there was still something left of the original "her," was September 3, 2018. Anything interesting happen in TMA in September of 2018?

Case #0182509-A (September 25, 2018)

Original recording of events leading to the disappearances of Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood, Alice Tonner and Peter Lukas.

...Ah. Ha. Um. Well, that could also be an interesting coincidence. What about that deleted 14th post that was somehow eight months earlier, back in January? The one with an Alesis who still tried to cry out against the thing she was becoming?

There's nothing in January, but... oh... right.

Case #0170908 (August 7, 2017 )

Statement of Elias Bouchard, regarding the dreams of Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, currently unresponsive.

...

Case #0181502 (February 15, 2018)

Statement of Oliver Banks, regarding his dreams and trying to run away. Statement given directly to Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, currently unresponsive.

...January of 2018, Jonathan Sims was in a coma. September of 2018, the Archivist received the final mark that would enable Jonah's ritual.

January through September of 2018 in the world of Protocol, something was trying to be born into a physical form, replacing Alesis Newman.

Cool, I say through gritted teeth. Yeah. That's definitely not significant, or deeply upsetting, in. any. way.

[rebeccasteventaylor]

Ooh, Magnus Protocol 23 A New You, spoilers below

Harlan Guthrie, what do you have for us?

Is it just me or is Freddie getting louder?

Oh, Lena’s getting involved…and is also directing Sam away from the Response department. Is she protecting him? And yet Sam continues to act someone desperate to uncover their doom.

The music is different. Haunting.

Goodness - Chester seems to really feel this, especially the line ‘I’m so ready to be whole’

Wouldn’t be a Harlan story if someone didn’t end up cut and bleeding…

This is about the ocean again, isn’t it?

No-one ever comments on her posts. There are likes, and she’s getting some interaction as she refers to advice from others but no-one ever comments until post 13. The final published one, before the deleted post.

BurntumberJ - who is that? That’s an art reference surely.

Oh, this is getting very disturbing and unsettling.

I know this isn’t how Sasha was replaced but it reminds me of Sasha.

Alesis Newman? That’s a name fraught with meaning.

Oh, that was unsettling, the kind of horror that gets under the skin, metaphorically and literally…(and also - replacements…)

The names!

THEY DIED!!!???

Cycling? Heart? Which was which? I’m guessing Martin on the bike, Jon’s heart - breaking. They never even met. (So Chester and Norris can’t be copies of their voice, it could be our Jon and Martin).

Ooh, glitch on Celia saying ‘old documents’. She’s lying to Sam. Manipulating him…

What if - what if Celia is this world’s version of Elias? Trying to control and manipulate everyone, to get things started- what if she’s a villain…

Basira! Helen! Oh, I have been hoping to hear Helen.

Oh, Alice. Taking care of Gwen, being sympathetic and understanding. Not mocking or disbelieving, like she does with Sam. Just listening.

I knew it! I knew Gwen would turn to Alice eventually.

Glitch on ‘I’ve not been arsey’

Too many eyes!! Tape recorder! It’s an archivist!

Gwen and Alice teaming up together to save the others! As I always predicted! Oh, thank you, I’ve been longing for this moment.

[howboutsleep]

fun fact !! all of that actually happened to alexander j newall harlan just described it and changed his name to alesis newman to be sneaky about it

[dysaniadisorder]

i want to be the coral alesis newman