#he broke into gertrude's flat

[corruptedcontainer]

Jon's paranoia arc my beloved.

His powers are all about seeing, obviously, and in season 1 he refuses to see. He closes his eyes from the truth and pretends it isn't real. In contrast, season 2 has him Looking. He's looking and looking (he's looking at Tim's house even) but he still cant see.

[heartscrypt]

mfw im trying to explain to my coworker that having a paranoia induced breakdown is actually the most sane thing i can do rn given the situations i be in

bonus:

[ahalliance]

“i may not entirely trust my assistants but… i won’t lose them” fist pounding floor s2 paranoid yet genuinely caring jon jarchivist sims my beloved you will always be famous

[deermouth]

mag 54 still life is a fantastic episode of the magnus archives but the best part is that the statement-giver is genuinely passionate about tax law.

[its-your-mind]

*deep breath in*

the fears 👏 have always 👏 been (in one way or another) 👏 parallel 👏 to 👏 desire 👏

let me explain.

so many of the statements given by actual avatars center around some sort of need that was met by their entity. Lots of them even had a positive relationship with the fear that drove them.

Jane Prentiss is an excellent example - the Corruption has always been about a form of toxic and possessive love, but she personally has a deep desire to be “fully consumed by what loves her,” and finds a perverse joy and relief at allowing herself to be a home

Jude Perry is another - she fucking loved watching people’s lives be utterly destroyed. The Desolation only offered her a power of destruction on a grander scale, and then gave her a more intense rush of joy as she did its work. When she tells Jon that he needs to feed the Eye before it feeds on him, it’s almost as an afterthought; she was happily feeding the Desolation long before it burned her into a new existence.

Simon Fairchild. Every time that old loose bag of bones wanders into the picture, he is having a fucking EXCELLENT time playing with the Vast. He loves showing people their own insignificance, and he loves luring them into situations where he can throw them into the void as he smiles and waves.

Peter Lukas (hell, the whole Lukas family (except Evan. RIP Evan.)) hated. people. all he wanted was for them all to go away, to leave him alone. The Lonely only fulfilled that desire.

Daisy, Trevor, and Julia, all devoted to hunting those things they deemed monstrous.

Melanie, holding tight to that bullet in her leg because on some level, she wanted it. It felt good, it felt right, it felt like it fit right alongside the anger and spite that drove her to success.

Annabelle Cane first encountered the Web when she was a child, running away from home in order to tug on her parents’ heartstrings in just the right way to have them wrapped around her little finger. Later on she volunteered to be the subject of an ESP study. Hell, she’s the one who dangled the “Is it really You that wants this?” question over Jon’s head in S4.

And that brings us to Jon, beloved Jarchivist, the Voice that Opened the Door. Ever since he was a child targeted by the Web, he was looking for answers. He joined the Magnus Institute’s Research Department looking for them, he stalked his coworkers in search for them, he broke into Gertrude’s flat and laptop out of desperation for them. And when he realized that all he had to do was Ask to get truthful answers to his questions? It was only natural for him to jump at that opportunity.

Elias told S3 Jon that he did want this, that he chose it, that at every crossroads he kept pushing onwards, and the inner turmoil that caused was one of the focal points for Jon’s character through the rest of the podcast.

There’s a certain line of thinking in many circles about the power of the Devil: he’s not able to create anything new. All he’s able to do is twist and warp that which was already present, making it something ugly and profane while still maintaining the facade of something desirable.

Jon didn’t choose the Eye. But he did wander into its realm of power, exhibiting exactly the qualities it was most capable of hijacking and warping to its own ends. Jon didn’t choose the Apocalypse. But Jonah picked at him little by little, pointing him towards each Fear individually. Jon didn’t want to release the Fears. But the Web tugged on his strings just so and laid a pretty trail for him to follow until he reached its desired conclusion.

Jon didn’t choose ultimate power, or omniscience, or even his own role as Head Archivist. But he said “yes” to the right (wrong?) orders and kept on pushing for the right (wrong?) answers. He wanted to succeed at the work he had been assigned. He wanted to protect his friends. He wanted to rescue them when they were lost. He wanted to prevent the apocalypse, to save the world. He wanted to know why he was still alive, when so many had died right in front of him.

The Great Wheel of Evil Color that is the Entities might not fit as neatly into categories in this universe - maybe there was no Robert Smirke trying to impose strict categories on emotional experiences, or maybe the ways they manifest in the world has turned on its head (goodness knows many of them have been showcased and blended in some very fun and new and horrifying ways so far) - but their fundamental foundations seem to be the same. Hell, in episode one we learned that there had been enough individual incidents to create a distinction between “dolls, watching” and “dolls, human skin.”

Smirke’s Fourteen isn’t going to be relevant as common parlance, RQ said that already, but I don’t think that means the Fears themselves (and their Dream Logic-based rules) are different - I think it means that the levels of understanding, language used, and personal connections among people “in the know” are going to be entirely unfamiliar

[spiralling-spires]

I love how opinions on s2 jon are either “he’s way too paranoid in s2 it’s almost hard to listen to” or “he’s so silly in s2 i love him he broke into gertrude’s flat and thought he was sneaky about it even after hearing sirens s2 jon is the best” no in between

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 25 SPOILERS

(Reactions and Theories)

Pre-Case (Sam/Alice chat):

I'm glad Sam and Alice are finally communicating! Sam explained to Alice how he feels like she is overbearing, especially when worrying about Sam. So many problems could be solved with communication, and I'm glad they're getting along again.

Also, Celia is asking Sam to reassure Alice was so cute.

Case:

This case disgusted me, I was nauseous the entire time. I don't think a case or statement has affected me that much, ever. I hated it, but that's the goal of horror, so I'm not upset about it, lol.

It definitely reads Corruption, but maybe with Web in it as well? I don't have many notes about this case because, well, I hate thinking about the case lol.

Overall, I think the Hungry Man Grill works similar to the Distortion's Hallways or Hilltop Road in TMA as a certified location for the fears to feed.

It could also be a breeding place for Avatars. The hunger that Harte felt was definitely unnatural for their situation. Perhaps it wasn't a human hunger at all - perhaps it was the hunger for fear. Maybe the people that escape this place are meant to Become, while the rest are used as feeding.

(I might add on to this later, once I've processed everything, but IDK)

Post- Case -

Colin:

Woo! He's back and alive!

He reminds me of S2 Jonathan "Supplemental - I broke into Gertrude's Flat" Sims here. He just wants to save everyone, like he said, and he believes FR3D1 is the one causing everything (the fears, the externals, [Error], ect), and therefore, it must be destroyed. It's odd to me, though, that he didn't go directly to the servers, FR3D1's main system, and instead targeted the computers. If he really wanted to destroy FR3D1, why go to the extension instead of the head?

There are two reasons he could have done this:

1. (The most likely imo) - He wanted to protect the others. By destroying all the computers first (and probably their phones/other technology), he could safely explain what was going on and then destroy the server. If Alice believed him, it would satisfy that small part in him that's questioning if he's just crazy. I pinpoint Alice here because we know she's much closer to Colin than Sam. Therefore, if she believed her, it would be more reassurance for him than if Sam believed him. Furthermore, if he destroyed their computers, he could, in theory, destroy any influence Fr3D1 has over them.

2. He was compelled to, in order to minimize damage. Colin was compelled by someone ( who could've been Fr3D1 (I'm pretty sure it's an entity of some kind itself), Lena (while she did seem surprised about Colin, she didn't seem too worried about the servers, only the initial computers), Jon/Martin/Jonah (who I'm theorizing are trapped in the computer, and thus, could manipulate the systems (as we've seen with cases popping up for specific people) and possibly outside figures close to the system via the compute), [Error], or some other force we have not met yet). If the damage Colin did was minimized, it would dave Fr3D1 and the overall function of the OIAR.

Group Chat:

Lena speaking to the group with a tired mother tone was very funny to me; I love the interactions in this series so much!

I'm glad people are worried for Colin - thank you, Alice and Sam (although, arguably, Sam is more worried about the information Colin provided than Colin himself, which is very Web vibes).

"I thought he might hurt Alice" - awww

Gwen seems to be agreeing with Lena, a lot, which is kinda put of character for her - I wonder what her plan is...

"While I understand your concerns [Sam], there is no way we can realistically act upon them." Lena's higher-ups have something to do with this, don't they? I wonder if Lena is trying to protect Sam by shutting down his worries. Maybe she was doing the same with Colin?

The server is essential for the OIAR? I wonder if she means more than just cases? Perhaps it serves as a way to find future Externals (like INK5OUL and [Error]). Maybe it also serves as a way to keep tabs on Lena?

Celia:

Celia is in Oxford again, and her teleporting/sleepwalking seems to be getting more and more frequent. I've been wondering for a while - why now? Why would she go looking for everyone (besides Georgie) now, when she had time to do it before?

Maybe it's because her "late-night travels" to Oxford are getting more and more frequent (as supproted by her thoughts at the end of the episode and Lena being concerned about her absences affecting her work). Perhaps she thought she had more time, but now- now, "her self" is rejecting being in this new universe and is taking her to the portal to go back. She can't stay here long because eventually, she will be pushed back to somewhere (maybe not even her home universe).

I called "her self" because I'm not quite sure if I should describe it as a soul or her unconscious or something else, but with the themes of self in many cases, it seems fitting to call it "her self."

(Sorry for the tangent!/gen)

I loved the character interactions in this episode! Very fun stuff. Although the case disgusted me completely, it was really good.

[a-mag-a-day]

ALEXANDER SCAPLEHORN

I love this episode so much. This man doesn't care how spooky things are, he's. got. to. talk. about. money. laundering. Amazing, flawless, spectacular, 12 out of 10 perfect character.

And the cherry on top of this episode is Jon "I broke into Gertrude's flat" Sim. The first time I listened I had to pause because I was laughing so hard. I love this man so much.

Alexander Infodumping About Taxes Scaplehorn is great he's got his priorities straight yeah xD

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

"Supplemental : I broke into Gertrude's flat."

I can see why you love Jon lmaoooo what is UP with this guy

season 2 has been fun so far, like every interaction between characters is hilarious. Jon rlly got stabbed by Fucked Up Distorted Creature and then said he accidentally did it himself. ya gotta love this weirdo theater kid

YES HE IS SUCH A NERDDDD SUCH A LAW-BREAKING dISPICABLE AND YET STRANGELY FUCKING AWESOME NERDDDDD

tma is literally the only thing ever in which the main character is my fave. like

JONATHAN SIMSSS WHO COULD NOT LOVE THAT LITTLE RAT MAN

[coolgirlmedia]

mild magnus archives spoilers

I'm listening to The Magnus Archives and I'm around episode 60 right now and I just wanted to say it's so funny to me how erratic Jon has gotten after Gertrude's body was found. I mean I understand why but it's killing me the way he suspects absolutely everyone and is breaking into people's houses and shit. He needs to take a xanax I think

"Supplemental. I broke into Gertrude's flat" bro?? then get the hell out of there

[horseshoecrabman]

season 2 jon was fucking crazy. he finishes his statement and goes “supplemental: i broke into gertrude’s flat” WITH JUST THE MOST DEADPAN VOICE ever??????????? and im still not over it

[human-adjacent]

episode 54 - still life

- the stuffed tiger, the gorilla skin, the anglerfish, breekon and hope, so many little things in this one. i love the stranger every stranger episode is so good

- “all in all, he was a real pleasure to discuss money laundering with!”

- sasha volunteers to investigate a deadly paranormal taxidermy shop and then reports that supposedly it’s completely normal and jon trusts her but when martin brings jon tea jon decides martin is trying to murder him

- “i broke into gertrude’s flat” okay!

- the detail of gertrude cutting the eyes out of all of her books is interesting i like that

[hailthedragonmaster]

held in customs my beloved and beloathed </3 should not be surprised that salesa and peter lukas at the very least know each other! it feels expected

but also

gertrude 👀 what were u doing huh

also burning desire was :( feel bad for both agnes and the guy, they were doing pretty nice with each other

THIS also got me all 👀 who's the lady who was in the group? who was the last person? im gnawing on a bone

and elias giving jon a key to the tunnels. that'll go well, surely

for example:

tbh i know he's panicked here but it's funny ajshfjgjh same vibes as "supplemental. i broke into gertrude's flat."

and he is NOTICING even MORE i wanna see how this goes

[its-your-mind]

Gertrude Robinson, receiving a statement from a dude who claims to have the ability to see when people are gonna die and telling her she’s up next: huh. anyway, about burning down the archives

Jonathan Sims, with half a possible inkling that maybe someone he works with has it out for him, despite having no evidence or proof of this: time to dive into full stalker mode. anyway I broke into a dead woman’s flat.

[queenerdloser]

re-listening to tma knowing what i know about elias now is both infuriating and hilarious in equal measure. like. yes, he is gaslighting and torturing jon for his own amusement BUT at the same time listening to him manipulate things as he pretends to be a caring boss is pretty fucking funny. 

[yaboyspodcastpalace]

hey do you think jon knows how to lockpick shit? this is an extremely serious and important question