#mag 23

[disacurveball]

Good evening, fellow Magnus-heads. I come to you with enlightenment.

[generalb]

MAG 23 “Schwartzwald” review:

no little German man don’t go into the tomb

Albrecht: mein gott zees is ein tomb full of bööksrotten!

Jokes aside, we have a letter addressed to the big man himself! Mr John Magnus. Or whatever his first name was. I’d say this episode is a solid 7/10. Great Classic fucked up things happen if you go too deep in European forests type deal. Granted, I think that message applies to every forest.

Also, this episode reminds me once more that Sims is reading these statements. You can’t write tone or pauses in statements, yet there is such emotion. This man is just out here roleplaying these actual awful events and it’s really funny to think about.

Anyways, today’s name drop is one Mary Keay. It was said as a name we’ve supposedly already heard so I tempted to see what episode we’ve heard of her first and promptly got spoiled that she dies a second time??? I looked no further so I hope a fellow Magnus enjoyer could enlighten me as to which story first has mention of her.

Statement ends.

Edit: I almost forgot! Martin interrupted the interview with no pants on! It’s been 10 days since last episode in lore.

[grapefruide]

Re-listening to the Magnus Archives... damn this is good. I'm on Schwartzwald at the moment (always love the Eye ones for obvious reasons). This is one of my favorite episodes I think... all the bits left unexplained really adds to it. It just doesn't make full sense and that makes me love it all the more. It's just so cool! I wish I could live in this world just so I could know everything about everything. I'd be such a great Archivist lmao

Maybe it's a good thing this stuff isn't real tho?

I kinda want to do one of those episode-by-episode analysis things, so tell me if you want that! I'll do it with, like, the slightest positive support cuz i really want to lol

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 23, MAG 23 Schwartzland

"Hey dude, some weird shit happened, thought you might be in to that."

Albrecht Von Closen writes letters to his colleagues the same way my friends text me. MAG 23 analysis, spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Albrecht Von Closen regarding a tomb near his estate in the Black Forest.

Statement Notes: While this episode doesn't necessarily have many of the classic TMA style horror, I do think this one of the more objectively scary episodes. The imagery of Closen's story as he wanders deeper into the forest, the dread that creeps in as he discovers the story of Johann's Steps, his surety that the man with no eyes saw him, all serves to create particularly frightening vision.

In spite of his excellent description, I didn't find Closen particularly compelling. The complexity of his backstory was interesting, but would possibly be more entertaining/captivating if presented through a visual medium. Through his description of his familial circumstances alone, it's more difficult to connect with him and his wife in spite of their apparently kind personalities. I was more intrigued by Wilheim. He was left alone in Schwarzwald without a proper caretaker. He was left mere miles from the temple. He was left to be haunted by the man with no eyes. What becomes of a young, sickly boy who can't escape something that cannot see but always watches?

Entity Alignment: The broadness of the forest indicates the Vast, the tomb holds elements of the Dark, the Buried, and the End. But of course, what Jonah really cares about is the living library. What Jonah cares about is a man who can continue watching even without eyes. Jonah cares about the Eye.

This episode is the first mention of Jonah in the series, and it explicitly mentions a man with no eyes being able to see all continuously. In spite of all rules of nature, he watches. He hoards knowledge in his hidden library until it becomes an organism in itself. Did Albrecht send this letter because the experience reminded him of Jonah, or did this letter give Jonah ideas?

Character Notes: "Good lord man!"- Actual Victorian librarian Jonathan Sims.

I love the no-trousers Martin scene. You love the no-trousers Martin scene. We all love the no-trousers Martin scene. But what stood out to me this listen, as opposed to the most ridiculous interaction to ever take place in a horror, was the fact that Jon is in the office before 7 am. He says that he wants to leave before dark to avoid Prentiss, but given how his work schedule lines up with other characters later in the season, it seems more likely that Jon's obsessive tendencies began to take over after Martin this was attacked, and he began working 12 or more hours a day. Whether this is because of fear for himself, fear for Martin, or just using work as a coping mechanism to avoid dealing with his emotions, Jon is pushing himself.

Because we don't know much about the Protocol yet, I hesitate to include many mentions in these analyses. However, I did notice that the only speaking-characters who ever have statements directly addressed to them are Jonah, Jon, and Martin. The three of them are the most deeply ingrained in the system of knowledge collection--they have the most tapes and wires wrapped around them. It stands to reason that, if shocked into another universe, they would be forced even further into that system.

[tmascrapbook]

Mag 23: schwartzwald

[aspookycrow]

Why Hill Top Road is most certainly not the only portal:

A theory I didn’t type out because I had thought to eventually write a fanfic about it, but here you go because it’s the last possible day for me to post a called shot with my tma theory without tmp lore being involved.

Section 1 - The Tree

When we’re first introduced to Hill Top road in MAG 08, the statement giver provides us with his gut-check instinct about the tree on the premises, which cast odd shadows and “creeped him the hell out”, culminating with him feeling the need to destroy it.

This tree, as we all understand by the end of MAG 196 - This Old House, is a symptom of the crack in reality seeping out from underground, but let me draw your attention to MAG 127 - Remains to be Seen, where Jonah hires Doctor Jonathan Fanshawe to visit Albrecht von Closen in the Schwartzwald, otherwise known as the Black Forest in Germany. When his carriage arrives, what does he see but some absolutely heinous tree that absolutely must be killed:

and then, later on:

A single tree so inexplicably foul, it inspires the urge to kill it dead. Section 2 - Underground In MAG 59 - Recluse, the orphan Ronald Sinclair wanders into the basement of Hill Top Road, and recounts his observations of the room:

Compare this with Anya Villette’s description in 114 of the unlisted HTR basement, involving unfinished masonry and damp earth

As a curious parallel, in Albrecht Von Closen’s experience descending down the strange, isolated mausoleum in the Schwartzwald, the tree-punctured, decaying stone stairway yields to a room with books touching walls so weather exposed, the statement giver is unable to tell if the books are truly touching walls at all, or are in fact bordered in with bare soil.

And what item did Albrecht find conspicuously on the floor of Johann von Württemberg’s mausoleum, the subtler mystery detail hidden by the much thematically larger mystery of the books? Section 3 -The coin anomaly Inside this strangely placed, isolated mausoleum in the Scwartzwald, Albrecht von Closen found a coin, dated the year the count Ulrich II of Württemberg passed away.

Interestingly, in both our universe and the in-fiction one, Eberhard I succeeded Ulrich II, and not any bastard named Johann. Our dear Archivist comments on this in the same breath as dismissing it as coincidence, which historically means it definitely isn’t. 

Preposterously familiar for anyone who’s spent any amount of time thinking about the obvious HTR-based disappearance/reappearance/time skipping of Anya Villette (MAG 114) and Anne Kasuma nee Willette (MAG 08). Kind of curious how this absolutely cursed book collection shows up in proximity of a cursed tree that people are urged to kill, in a weird mausoleum nobody has any record of, alongside a coin of a man who may not have existed and definitely wasn’t a lord or any sort of royalty and yet there’s currency commemorating him? This is not the end of the Scwartzwald anomalies, though. You see, this coin…went missing. Section 4 - Profound violence, and an eyeless man It’s unclear the circumstances of how Albrecht lost this coin, though given that he wrote his statement in 1816, I suspect it fell out from a pocket during Albrecht’s very next encounter which causes him to flee the Black Forest entirely. The encounter where the guy who keeps creeping around the outside of the mausoleum, issuing vaguely intimidating warnings, decides to accost Albrecht and reveals himself to have empty eye sockets, and the ability to “see” regardless. 

The identity of the Eyeless man remains unknown definitively, as he runs off as if he was startled by some sort of predator, but in some Absolute Hunt Bullshit that seems to follow pretty much immediately, there was a murder that same year that investigators briefly thought was committed by Albrecht’s host and nephew, Wilhelm.

An eyeless man, a cursed tree, the profound violence of a hunt, the man who doesn’t belong with a history that couldn’t be true. And that’s not to mention the incredibly cursed vibes of both locations. To wit, in MAG 196 regarding the nature of these cracks in the universe:

Compare this to Albrecht’s description of the Schwartzwald:

AND ALL THIS IS TO SAY, in my heart I know it’s true that there are more portals, because as a patreon subscriber I got to submit a question for the Q&A And do you know what they did? Do you know what happened to my question? They reworded it beyond recognition, to a thing that was NOT what I was on about at all. I asked about the potential for other Cracks in reality to exist currently, like the hints for Schwartzwald or The Eschatology Door in Paris, and do you know what they rewrote the question to be about (but still put my name on so I KNOW it was supposed to be mine) (also please dont go find it, it’s embarrassing how they butchered my ask and also it has my human name on it and I don’t know yall like that tbh, so just take my word for it)? The question they answered was if different places and countries had their own regionally specific fear domains, like Paris for example. Which like, obviously?? I forget how exactly they rephrased it, I was on a walk listening and my ears went hot and my eyes went wide and I KNEW I HAD SOMETHING WITH A MELTY HOT CORE OF TRUTH TO IT. Pure adrenaline, sign me up for the Fucked Up Red String Tower where People Judge Marble Domain I guess, but I feel it in my GUTS now. And you know, maybe the question was rewritten by a staff member before they ever saw it, any number of things could have happened along the pipeline. It seems bizarre to me that they’d even leave it in after choosing to rework it that hard, though. But I’ll tell you what, the question posed was about cracks in reality, not fear domains. And I feel CLOSE to something. In Annabelle’s own words, 

Indeed, few have ever thought much of it at all. Perhaps there are many such places across the Earth. Perhaps it is unique. Certainly, no-one has known either way.

(PS don’t get me started on MAG 134 - Time of Revelation, DON’T GET ME STARTED ON IT)

Transcripts lovingly taken from https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/ All the screenshots have alt texts with the contents in plain text. Mainly, the goal I set here was to get it out there before TMP, so I can feel very very clever if they ever address it. Also, this is my first effortpost using this editor and BOY YA'LL WEREN'T KIDDING.

[silly-lil-blog]

My favorite thing in the about the statements is the random person they encounter that says something spooky and gives me goosebumps. Fav examples include:

"Enjoy sky blue." -Simon MAG21

"No, sir, you have nothing to fear from the dead." -Man from the Cemetery MAG23

"Be still, for there is strange music." (Not a person but it counts for me) -The Calliope MAG24

"You cannot stop slaughter by closing the door." Tom Haan- MAG30

"Tomorrow will be a good day for a run." -Hiker MAG31

I'll add as i go further along

[curiouscornfieldcryptid]

honestly? good on Jon for keeping relative composure when his least favorite coworker unexpectedly shows up trouser-less. and in the middle of a recording session no less.

[itchyeye]

mag 23 / mag 127

[a-mag-meme-a-day]

meme for @a-mag-a-day Day 24

MAG 23 - Schwartzwald

[disacurveball]

TMAGP EP 4 SPOILERS (Jonah Magnus Discussion)

“My playing was rough; eliciting only dismissive muttering from my audience. A surge of indignation welled within me, urged on by the knowledge that I, my father’s sin, who had done terrible things to reach this hall, could never return home in disgrace. I executed a jeté, a jarring musical demand for their attention, a declaration that I must be seen and heard.”

When I heard that I went actually slack jawed because genuinely, that was the most Jonah Magnus statement I ever heard in my life. The indignation, the pitless ambition, the declaration to be seen and heard.

If I wasn't sure beforehand, I am definitely sure that Augustus = Jonah Magnus now. Each of the first statements that the computer voices have read have had snippets of the TMA character they are tied to. Norris with "I'm sorry" filled with regret. Chester with the curiosity involving the institute. And now this.

I have seen a little of people saying Augustus = Jurgen which, I want to dispel. Their accent is similar, which is where I think this initially comes from, but that is because it's an antiquated, posh, southern English accent. It's posh RP. Which makes sense for more characters other than Jurgen, and that man has been dead and gone. If Chester and Norris are Jon and Martin, I really don't think it would make sense for Augustus to be a character who died in TMA S2. The voices could be no one, but if Chester and Norris = Jon and Martin, then Augustus = Jonah. I don't think you can't not have both.

Also! This is just a coincidence but did anyone else get MAG 23/MAG 127 vibes from the setting? I am pretty sure it was in Austria in TMAGP 4, not Germany- but something about the woods in a letter, where the writer (just as Dr. Fanshawe to Albrecht von Closen in MAG 127) watches another go insane, from a historical letter realllyyy connected the two in vibes to me. It would be interesting to me if Augustus just read historical statements, and what that would mean.

[themagnustournament]

Round Two Part Five - Match 38

Mary, with all her shitty parenting and Leitner collecting skills! But can she beat Albrecht von Closen's Archive (129)?

MAG 062 - First Edition | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Mary Keay regarding her first Leitner.

MAG 023 - Schwartzwald | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript

Statement of Albrecht von Closen, regarding a discovered tomb near his estate in the Black Forest.

[somanyfuckedupiftruebooks]

Mag 23

It finally happened folks! More than halfway into series one and we hit two milestones I was waiting for with the same statement!

By my reckoning, we now have at least one statement primarily dealing with each of Smirke's 14 (including Extinction, for those who observe). The Eye was lucky last!

We have hit the first statement that I have no memory of. I don't know what the fuck is happening in this statement.

Let's dive in.

Well, here's why I don't remember this. I never paid much attention to the historical statements, because I figured they were just flavour. It's not like anything from 200 years ago could still be relevant to our main plot, right?

I'm an idiot.

Anyway, there's a lot of important firsts here! If I'm remembering correctly, this is our first mention of Jonah Magnus. It's definitely the first statement we've gotten from someone in his harem*. And it's our first glimpse at the beginnings of the Archives/Institute itself. That's a lot of important information that past me for some reason decided was too boring to pay attention to.

*Maybe you want to say that not everyone who sent a letter to Jonah Magnus was a fuck buddy of his, but my interpretation is funnier so I disrepectfully disagree. He may as well have written, 'My darling Jonah you must think me so dreadful for being away with my wife (whose name I obviously don't remember because the transcripts use Clara and Carla interchangeably) all winter, but I'm bringing you a nice book as a present to make up for it. Hornily yours, Albrecht.'

Desperate to know what these opinions are. No idea what the German Confederation is and I don't care enough to look it up, but I want to hear Elias throw 200 year old shade about it.

Ah, the olden times, when you carried a pistol around in case you had to shoot at brigands. Simplier times...

Shout out to Albrecht for the correct reaction of backing the fuck away from the creepy stranger saying ominous shit about the dead and fear. And a much more enthusiastic shout out to Neddy No Eyes for pulling my favourite move ever and disappearing without a trace as soon as someone watching you looks away. He's living the dream.

*Clapping and cheering like I'm at a sports game* Hurray! No pants Martin!! Yay!!!

Okay, serious talk. Has anyone ever come up with a reason why Martin was going into Jon's office wearing nothing but his underwear? It's early enough in the morning that he wouldn't have been working, and he outright says that he wasn't expecting Jon to be there. So what was he doing?

I swear to god the episode doesn't even address it. Jon is so flustered by pantless Martin that he asks no follow up questions, and Martin offers no explanation.

These are the important questions that I hope we finally get answers to in The Magnus Scrotocol.

I desire this man carnally.

^ Flirting.

Okay, pretty sure on my first listen through I was under the vauge impression that this was an early iteration of the Library of Jurgen Leitner. Probably because I'm a very stupid person and thought 'Jurgen' and 'Johann' sounded similar enough that the weird book collection must mean they were connected in some way.

[a-mag-a-day]

Something I haven’t seen discussed in the fandom, and it took me ages to properly realize it myself: the tomb library, like the caves under Alexandria, must have been a past iteration of the Archive, and Johann his era’s Archivist! As we see later in “Remains to Be Seen”, the books contain just the kind of stories that the Archivist likes to collect.

And guess who now knows about them and is probably thinking to himself "it's free real estate"

[kanani-akina]

meet my newest, raleigh!! i wasn’t in the market for any new dolls but i fell in love with this girlie on ebay. she has a few marks that i need to bleach out and permapanties, but other than that she’s perfect. i’ve never wanted number 23 but i couldn’t resist. she’ll be chilling in my dorm to get me through the rest of the semester :)

[insanearchivist]

I know there's probably a lot of information in these older statements that is currently going over my head. Still, I find them a little uninteresting. But a connection to Mary Keay??? I'm trying to be calm and cool about it.