#i should probably go thru this for typos and such but eughhhhh dont wanna

[anony-mouse-writer]

why hermit archives Joe Hills is less despicable than Jurgen Leitner even though they technically serve the same role in the story:

Simple - he's Joe Hills

okay no but for real. Joe has more of his special brand of charisma in his pinky than Jurgen has in his whole body. that being said, im feeling verbose and needed a half decent excuse to re-read the hermit archives, so spoilers for The Magnus Archives distributed by the Rusty Quill and the crossover fanfic From The Archives by @sixteenth-days

Introduction - Hi there, Joe Hills here, recording as I always do...

so obviously, every narrator in both series is an unreliable narrator to some extent. something about the eldritch influence of fear itself seems to have an adverse affect on the little things, like authorial bias. its whatever.

however, for both of these cases, our primary impressions of the these two characters- whose role I will be referring to as The Curator for the rest of this cuz I'll be referencing it a lot and im lazy- is the same. both are only spoken of in passing reference by the victims of their books. there's usually an understandable lack of curiosity by the victims to dig further into the origins of their books, but for everyone lacking immediate incentive to stop looking (and occasionally, even those who aren't), the pattern is unmistakable: Curator's nameplate = dangerous spooky book.

as the audience (on the first viewing), we're increasingly aware of the nameplates and their ties to the entities and it's clear that the archivists are aware of them to some extent as well, but neither party has any real glimpse into The Curator's motivations or story until:

The Curator's Statement - Call it a desire for narrative presence!

when we finally meet Jurgen in person, he saves Jon lotta J names in this, huh from the Strange clutches of Not!Sasha with a book and a pithy one liner. The entire rest of his screen time is spent with a dawning realization that this man isn't a malicious actor or even a knowledgeable shadow, standing against the forces of fear with wit and skill. instead, he's just a man. a particularly lucky man whose cloying, whining cowardice isn't even enough to tempt the fear entities he's willingly surrounded himself with. For all his attempts to appear otherwise, Jurgen is an underwhelming disappointment - a fail upward bohemian whose eye for 'value' and sense of drama painted him into a much more intimidating figure than reality.

Joe Hills, on the other hand is an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in lime green scene gloves and chains. He is, in many ways, a perfect foil to Jurgen. Obviously, there is the narrative awareness that is endemic to Joe Hills, an advantage which seems to have served him as well as Jurgen's luck. But there's also the little quirks of their personalities. Jurgen's failed attempts at self preservation and heroics contrasted to Joe's blithe acceptance of his mortality the fates of his collection's victims. Jurgen whines impatiently at Jon about wasted time and Joe meanders thoughtfully through his reflections and their little asides until Cleo reminds him of the limited tape.

And then there's the presentation of their statements. Jurgen comes to the archives for aid and gives his statement as a bartering tool. For all his former vanity, he recognizes his tale is not one of a shadowed hero or tragic warden, but a cautionary tale of trying to contain the forces of fear. He hides and waits till a point of dramatic tension to reveal himself, using the bits of knowledge he gained through the blood and sanity of others to keep himself safe. He is alone. Reviled and hunted, with just enough knowledge to be a problem, and not enough to be a threat. And in the end, his last, half-hearted attempt to leave a mark on the narrative is dashed and he becomes a conduit for someone else's bid for power.

Joe sends the institute his statement of his own accord in order to participate in the narrative of the archives. He is introduced in much less tenuous position largely due to his own agency in his life. Joe, as he tells Cleo, lives as though in a fable. He is careful and aware of his surroundings, but he is also clever and willing to exploit the offers given to him. he doesn't wait for the story to come to him, he reaches out to find it.

Outside Looking In - ...gathering the evils of the world and locking them away.

There are, of course, several lists for which roles and entities the hermits best embody- personally, I quite enjoy @magicalmanhattanproject's- but what all of them agree on is that whatever his role in the narrative, JoeHills is Definitely Not Normal. on one hand, he is too aware of himself and his surroundings to be an easy pawn or the catalyst of pandora's box by ignorant hubris; but on the other, his mercurial sense of chaos lends perfectly well to the sorts that become avatars of fear. the question from there is not if, but who's avatar is Joe Hills? regardless of your answer, his participation as an avatar is not in question.

Jurgen longs to be a part of the story. he wants recognition, and even after he realizes the ironic monkey's paw granting of his wish, he still strives to be a hero. but the lesson he seems to have failed to grasp, despite his time in-the-know as it were, is that one cannot have an affect on the story without first being a part of it. Adelard Dekker is perhaps the closest to an exception there is, succumbing in the end to death, but remaining himself throughout. but in every other case, the only thing reliably capable of countering one fear entity is another. Jurgen tries to use the books as a conduit, to harness their power while remaining untouched, and it's not enough. not even close.

(arguably, not surrendering oneself to an eldritch fear entity would be the ethically correct move, but from someone who was self admittedly ruthless and sacrificed several other people to gain the paltry knowledge he can use, it seems to be less for some attempt at an uncorrupted high ground and more because he was a coward too afraid to commit his own skin to the game.)

Joe doesn't seek to harness the entities. he doesn't play his game with death to prolong his life for the sake of living or a fear of the end, but to explore and experience a world that he is very much a part of.

Conclusion - And really, isn’t that the most any of us fragile little humans could ask for?

so in conclusion, Joe is a more likable character than Jurgen because he's more charismatic, more autonomous, and hasn't managed to alienate every affiliated existence on earth. what else is there?

well, the rest from here is more speculation then analysis since we haven't seen Joe's response to pressure since his time as the Curator. but if I had to guess, when confronted by a man with a pipe and good reason to want him out of the picture, Joe would do a bit more than snivel and beg.

and that is the Joe Hills difference.