THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

MAG142 - Case #018206 - Jess Terrell
Statement regarding an encounter with The Archivist.
The Magnus Archives hears a complaint from a bystander claiming that their recent talk with The Archivist in a coffee shop has brought back traumatic memories of being trapped underground.
Content Notes: Coercion, claustrophobia,
Starring: Martin Blackwood - Alexander J Newall; Alice “Daisy” Tonner - Fay Roberts; Jess Terrell - Evelyn Lockley
Writer: Jonathan Sims
Director: Alexander J Newall
Producer: Lowri Ann Davies
Editors: Alexander J Newall, Elizabeth Moffatt, Brock Winstead
MERCH:
Crowdmade: crowdmade.com/collections/rus...
Teepublic: www.teepublic.com/stores/rust...
Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/Rust...

[@afforgoto]

this lady: what are you doing in my house??! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSEEE jon: *I W A N T W A F F L E F R I E S*

[@Vi_Vi_1]

HAHAHA NOOOO

[@Booksaremysolace]

Please 💀

[@ThatOneArchivist]

I w a n t s t a t e m e n t c r i e s

[@ilomilo850]

@@ThatOneArchivistNO STAWPP 😭🙌

[@joripien]

Season 1: John gets trauma Season 2: John gets trauma Season 3: John gets trauma Season 4: John INFLICTS trauma

[@baszko6152]

EVOLUTION!

[@jazmindodds]

About...time?

[@jydeosaure6564]

Jon inflicts trauma wich causes him MORE TRAUMA

[@americantoastman7296]

@@baszko6152 FUCK GO BACK

[@someoneawesome8717]

To be fair though he did do a bit of trauma causing in 3 but it was less intense

[@himeow7454]

season 1: jon reads statements about various spooky paranormal events season 4: jon is the spooky paranormal events

[@baszko6152]

Yikes and he used to try to dissmis then as defence mechanism... That part long since gone. It seems all sort of karmic punishments just wajt to kick Jon in the ass

[@sknfmsmr]

Statement of unkown person regarding sinister powers of jon spooky at th-

[@crowbird0540]

@@sknfmsmr "I have reason to doubt the validity of these statements..."

[@kin-3877]

@@crowbird0540 "also fuck Martin. But also *fuck* Martin"

[@torcaace]

@@kin-3877 "but in an ace way"

[@tsukissX]

"Did he look like he hadn’t slept in about a week?" Yup. Definitely Jon.

[@midnights2631]

I knew the moment I heard that

[@SuzakuGame]

Can we just appreciate how Martin took the information of “Instutute staff harassing me” and IMMEDIATELY jumped to the conclusion that it was Jon?

[@mmori673]

honestly it shouldn't have been a question like how many other male archive staff are there

[@aplant9980]

​@mmori673 I mean... the Institute has artifact storage, research, the library, and I guess probably some admin and support staff? The archives are the focal point of the story, but they're not all there is

[@bunnysenpai7471]

I am sure John mentioned being the archivist. And that's why Martin was the one who received the complaint. Otherwise it might some random customer service desk lady I think such a character was mentioned once, Rosie? The one Ellias told to call the police.

[@clovercard22]

Knowing this girl was at least coping with her trauma until she got her statement forced out of her adds a new layer of "oh no" to almost every episode so far.

[@nanahuatli2144]

I think it's different if they offer it up of their volition, at least.

[@DerMoerpler]

@@nanahuatli2144 I think I remember some people saying that it helped them to Tell their story. At least right after they did it.

[@beltaya276]

exactly. i think the people who come to the archives kind of do it out of their own will, maybe not spilling as much, but still -- but being caught of guard not prepared or willing to discuss ur deepest traumas is awful

[@clovercard22]

@@beltaya276 ​I hope it does make a difference, but going back to earlier episodes on MAG 12 there's this nurse that got in touch with the Beholding by basically just being near Gerard Keay at the wrong time, and kept feeling like she was being watched afterwards. If we take that as the most indirect connection with the Beholding I cannot imagine directly giving your statement to it being much better, even if it's given freely. Nevertheless yeah, I agree that getting your statement forcefully taken from you is probably the worst case scenario.

[@angelaphsiao]

It seems to me at least that the written statements don’t cause a permanent nightmare connection. I guess that’s why the vast majority of statements aren’t in audio

[@marglefarble8280]

This really drives home that the character we love and care about is ALSO an eldritch horror who makes some people's lives miserable, whether he wants to or not. And it's getting harder to figure out whether he wants to or not...good stuff.

[@Companion92]

I love this so much about this story

[@bandidocavalier]

he can make my life miserable any day he wants

[@cupcaketv5673]

Ikr I love it

[@Companion92]

I love how Daisy's character changed after the buried. Also Jon is so creepy from an outsider perspective. I really like it

[@americantoastman7296]

I liked her before, but I absolutely love her now. So soft and open. Being away from the hunt really seemed to help her find herself. The trauma want necessary tho :

[@someoneawesome8717]

Jon is a really good example of how you're never the villain of your own story and the fans are an example of how much familiarity can make you excuse some really bad things

[@Ra_the_Sun_god]

Hi

[@Badficwriter]

@@someoneawesome8717 Lately it sickens me how fans fawn over torturing murderers if they make enough jokes. Sing a catchy song. So common that actions don't matter. Its a nice change to sympathize with a monster but also highlight the monstrousness.

[@toadstooldarling9937]

the archivist after finding someone with paranormal trauma: *im gonna munch, im gonna crunch*

[@nerysstuart4210]

I'm sleep deprived and everything is always funnier like that and this comment made me lose my mind

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

DOO DODOO DODO

[@julie1958]

bruh im trying not to snort in the cafeteria rn

[@midnights2631]

Yummy

[@NerveUnderscore]

*Cackling*

[@nonapplicable7093]

Jesus Jon, you're not you when you're hungry.

[@arifhossain9751]

Have a statement. Jon: *cronch statement* Better? Jon: NO. I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS OH MY GOD

[@willhibbard6903]

Try a Snicker's

[@f_mva]

@@arifhossain9751 fast forward a month and he's just munching on tapes

[@arifhossain9751]

Season 5 Jon is allowed to say "fuck" so... New world new Jon I guess.

[@someoneawesome8717]

@@arifhossain9751 the thing is though he technically is the same Jon, but in the same way you are the same person you were five years ago

[@trucetruce335]

All I can think of is that vine like Jess in sitting there crying “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? Just, please... stooop...” while Jon eats a Kit Kat incorrectly.

[@YuriRamosBragaFerreira]

Oh my god that fucking tickled me ahahahahhah

[@midnights2631]

This made me laugh

[@tearez13]

i spit out my tea

[@zoethornton7665]

S1 Jon: purposefully disbelieves statements and the giver's trauma S4 Jon: becomes the very thing people give statements for

[@Shadowonwater]

This has got to be one of my favorite episodes because of how it shows that Jon is scary too, that he's not human anymore, and that this really highlights the monstrous part of himself.

[@jaderush4141]

I read your username and interpreted it not in, like, a youtube channel, which it was probably meant as, but in an imperative manner, like "channel whatchamacallit! do it! right now!" And I honestly love it and will definitely do my best to channel whatever it is that the higher power couldn't remember the name of.

[@ProjectSebastiann]

@@jaderush4141 I read it like a TV channel, like, "Tune in to channel whatchamacallit!"

[@ateawithfreak8681]

her impression of Jon on that "thank you" was so good haha

[@DSCDUO]

“He’s all eyes” That sent shivers down my back.

[@bugjams]

I wanna make a joke about being "all ears" but I don't really know how to make the joke work.

[@MrGeneralHeavy]

Considering that one autopsy a couple of episodes back, Jon might quite literally, be all eyes by now

[@rubyrouge5703]

@@MrGeneralHeavyoh fuck

[@xfrobie9773]

As you once did for the Vacuous Jon, grant us eyes, grant us eyes.

[@marinao4412]

the thing that gets me about this statement beyond "oh no jon Please Don't Do That" is that _martin_ is taking the statement and he is _taking the statement_ . she came into complain about jon following and harassing her and yet she gave an account of her initial paranormal encounter, too, the thing that she was already re traumatized by in having it extracted.

[@Companion92]

Double awful for her

[@mimkyodar]

We don't know if Martin has dreamwalking-archivist powers like Jon and Getrude, so she might be ok on that front.

[@nanusantos1696]

It does look like Martin does have some small degree of Eye abilities, to be honest

[@glumbortango7182]

She definitely didn't seem to be spilling every detail, so I doubt that it'll get any worse for her after this.

[@elliottgaylord6212]

I was thinking the same thing back in season 3 when Martin managed to get Tim to give a statement about his experience with The Circus of the Other even after Tim said he didn't want to talk about it. I don't think Martin has the same abilities Jon has so I don't think he would affect people's dreams, but it does seem like he may be developing some of the abilities associated with The Eye

[@EduardoVazquez-hh5tz]

I like putting together that she gave complaint to Martin because Martin was in Elias’s office (A.K.A complain to the manager) because of the ticking clock in the background that is always in that room.

[@frostpersonal3758]

wow, didn't realize that, good catch!

[@mushmushmush]

isn't that his office now anyways?

[@gayminggaymers6491]

@@mushmushmush yeah but it’s always gonna be _the eyes_ office

[@midnights2631]

I just realized that o.o

[@teaarson]

I also heard it in the hospital.

[@thestranger4894]

OHHH SO THAT’S WHY THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES DOESN’T ALLOW STATEMENTS THAT INVOLVES DREAMS

[@autumnspirit5402]

YES YES YES I love it sm

[@mrs.han_whitethorn]

Hearing Jon is such an awful light, the villain who is causing fear, a creep,,,, its hard

[@L.clayton.]

Yeah...

[@rynnziolkowski4642]

This is why I love this kind of horror to be frank, I love the slow transition of the hero into the villain. Wether or not jon goes full dark side I don't know, this is my first time listening through and I'm very keen to get caught up

[@americantoastman7296]

Its good imo. Its great to have that shelter of identification torn away and for once see how others perceive him. I get why theyre scared now.

[@midnights2631]

It really is

[@chaoscreator7228]

it really drives home that his need for statements it’s becoming like a kind of addiction

[@leomorris7573]

random person: has trauma jon: hungy

[@arifhossain9751]

The voice of Jess is just SOOO NATURAL... Hats off, great job! So now we see THAT side of the eye... The traumatic stalker. Jon got so hungry out there he straight up *extracted* a Buried statement from a random he bumped into in a coffee shop. The dark side to the pursuit of knowledge. An unstoppable drive to be omniscient at any cost. Kinda reminds me of the SCP Foundation... Anyway, this episode proves that Jon is slipping away from his humanity, and a lot faster than we first realized. There are theories that in order to be an avatar one must DIE, either physically or emotionally by killing off a part of themselves. So either Jon literally died at the Unknowing and was reincarnated or he gave up his humanity to wake up as an avatar. You decide if you keep stock in either of these theorylets. Also Eid Mubarak to anyone who celebrates.

[@shadowfire8063]

Jon obviously believes he chose to become an avatar while in the hospital. I buy into the theory that jon gave up abit of humanity in order to wake up and that the eye itself was the only thing keeping him alive until he did.

[@Companion92]

@@shadowfire8063 Me too

[@alphalilly8207]

I wonder what happens when the archives run out of statements... Oh shit... it just hit me... maybe that's why the archives were created. To keep the eye at bay and feed people's stories without traumatizing them or increasing their fear. Holy shit. If that's true then Jonah Magnus was a genius....

[@Badficwriter]

@@alphalilly8207 Smart guy, sure, but the Serapium, a private temple library, co-existed with the Library of Alexandria and Gertrude believed a surviving secret section was inhabited by an ancient Archivist. Its funny, Eyeball Monster scared the man but probably the worst it would've done was demand stories (and watch him in his sleep ).

[@LeoDBW]

It's so funny that Martin's description of Jon isn't even "was his hair greying?" Or "did he have a lot of scars?", no, he asked if he looked sleep deprived🙃

[@citra1885]

Understandable, that's also how I look for my friend

[@lemmetalkaboutthis]

Everyone (mostly Basira tho): Jon, you need to starve yourself Jon, self-sacrificing bastard that he is: okay Also Jon, whacked out from _starving himself_ and half-overtaken by the eye: forcibly takes a statement Everyone who told him _to fucking _*_starve_*_ himself_ : Jon, how _could_ you?!

[@Idran]

what are you talking about literally no one before this episode told jon to starve himself because this episode was the reveal that now he needs statements to survive, no one else _knew_ that about him until this episode all they knew was that statements made him stronger, and even then no one said anything yet about not taking statements at all; the closest was basira last episode and that was because she literally saw jon rip one out of a person in front of her and he still convinced her it was fine and she dropped it

[@lemmetalkaboutthis]

@@Idran you've got a point there, tho, while they didn't know yet that he's needing it for survival, they DID not know he needed it like one needs food. And told him he can't have it - always being extremely judgemental when he uses his powers, even when it's for their benefit, until they tell him to use it. (And still condemning him for it then, too) Hence the "starve yourself" - not to death, necessarily, but in a way of "Don't eat to an unhealthy degree" (it reads a bit different in meaning when translated from my mother language, ya see) That's what I meant - no-one says it directly, you're right, but I think they didn't have to Edit: but, I mean, none of them are stupid. They've been dealing with this stuff - and people transforming into avatars- for a while, and they knew that Jon can make people talk, and then Basira knew he can take a whole-ass statement from someone too. They refer to him reading statements as "eating" since season one, although it was still thought of as a joke then, mostly. (Except it already wasn't)

[@shadowfire8063]

Martin being mad no one talks to him when he himself has been the one avoiding everyone is kinda hypocritical. Plus Lukas is obviously just using him for his own gain. I do like Daisy's switch though, from constant accusations and chasing to a more humbled and hushed survivor thats just kinda there.

[@mimkyodar]

Here's the thing though, depression can be like that. It's hard to describe if you don't suffer from it, but I know a LOT of people who *get* Martin's grapples with The Lonely.

[@artimessnow3950]

Also when you *literally* work for someone that's an ebodiment of loneliness you tend to show some contradictory behavior

[@Vi_Vi_1]

@@mimkyodar totally. and in that, I think sometimes we cut ourselves off BECAUSE we feel like no one wants to include us/talk to us and that creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's a tragic mess.

[@broblerone413]

@@mimkyodar so true, especially how he's gotten so used to being lonely that it's starting to feel more comfortable than actually communicating with people

[@cupcaketv5673]

​@@Vi_Vi_1Also especially when we remember how Martin always seemed to be the, slightly exaggerated here, laughing stock of the team. Elias made that clear at least. Martin's just wanted to be heard and taken seriously for once, so I def understand why that might also be a reason for him being distant 😅

[@maneater2066]

Aw, Baby's First Statement about him. Also geez the Eye is freaky, fully willing to have a person relive their fear over and over again (while at the same time feeding the Entity in question) just to gather information. Listening from his POV really makes us forget it's just as bad as the others, uh.

[@tossoutacc9241]

I know this is an old comment but I think it’s also because the eye is the most “rational” of the fears. Like it’s easy to spin it in a way that makes it seem like gaining knowledge is innocent, but if you look at it like stalking, someone living in the attic, looking outside and seeing a face you don’t know in the window, it becomes just as unsettling if not more than spiders or darkness. This podcast is so wonderfully written istg

[@the_next_da_vinci1056]

Martin just going *"what the hell do i do with that?"* made me laugh so fuckin hard

[@loading7496]

I love how this woman came in like "your employee is harassing me :(" and Martin immediately went "JON" Also, my take on the Jon Traumatizing People front. Let's remember that he doesn't know that taking statements hurts people. To him it's just making someone tell their story, which you could argue isn't as bad. I'm sure Jon "I'm becoming a monster" Sims would sooner die than take statements to sustain himself once he figures this out, and is gonna have some first class ANGST when he hears this tape, but his hand is kinda being forced. He needs this information to save the world. But, yeah. In this case the statement doesn't seem directly related to the apocalypse. Don't stare at women Jon. Also!! I love how Martin is realizing that he's being controlled by the Eye and is cutting him a little slack. We STAN people actually having compassion for our Archivist.

[@theprideling]

He does know though. He knows he's in their dreams, like his chat with Daisy. He does seem to need it to survive but... he also knows it hurts people. He just can't seem to resist anymore.

[@americantoastman7296]

Oh come on, oh course he knows. That's his whole thing isnt it? He knows things. He feels what his... victims feel. He knows he is hurting them and he is doing it anyway.

[@NerveUnderscore]

He knows, mate. He knows very well

[@mimkyodar]

Also Martin: "No-one talks to me anymore." BECAUSE YOU ARE ACTIVELY AVOIDING THEM, YOU NUMPTY

[@lightninghedgehog5963]

Reminds me of how thought patterns of depression have felt to me. I imagine there’s a lot of self blame for having avoided people, avoiding because it feels safer not to talk to them, and spiraling from there.

[@mimkyodar]

@@lightninghedgehog5963 I mean, fair. Depression spirals mess you up like that. Doesn't stop his descent into The Lonely being assisted by his own informed choices.

[@ashnesslinguistics3570]

I'm so sad for him. What did Jon do to deserve becoming a monster other than being a good fit for Archivist? Now he needs stories about people's traumatic experiences like he needs food and I want to CRY because of it

[@L.clayton.]

I know... like in the last episode, where Jon forces the other dude as well.... Just the way he *sounds* while saying it all, so regretful and helpless...

[@Vi_Vi_1]

And when I think about how chaotic being hungry--well and truly hungry, starving--can make you, like...it's NOT okay and I feel so so bad for this girl, but also ugh, he's essentially starving and that can make you crazy. Especially if (as I suspect) he doesn't know HOW MUCH this is going to torture these poor people afterwards, and forever. What a nightmare for everyone involved, fantastic conflict/drama. I appreciate that it's a genuinely complicated and messy situation, rather than characters just being stupid.

[@Badficwriter]

Now I can't help picturing Jon obsessively watching one of those shows that have trauma survivors retelling their stories. There are real people addicted to that kind of thing.

[@angelaphsiao]

Archivist powers are like reverse therapy

[@notlurking2128]

Holy Hell that description of Jon was absolute terrifying. I feel so awful for him because I'd doubt that he had any control. In the end they're all just victims, even Jon. :((

[@TheJuliana0901]

VERY unsettling to have someone else say the name of the episode. don't even know why oh.That. that woman's statement made me sick to my stomach. goddamn it, Jon. stop... defending him, Martin, and please don't give in to the Lonely either. god. how is daisy the sane one now?

[@trucetruce335]

Trauma, apparently.

[@someoneawesome8717]

I'm from several episodes ahead, I'm kinda curious as to what Martin's "next steps" would've actually have been

[@shelbyfox-winkler2445]

Jonathan was literally starving, can you blame him for eating?

[@cupcaketv5673]

And I thought I was hearing things when it came to the name of the episode haha

[@shelbyfox-winkler2445]

Its so weird to read a comment i don't remember making.

[@mikulek04]

Jon really said 👁️👄👁️

[@vanessa2603__]

noo he said 👀👁️👀👁️👀👄👀👁️👀👁️👀

[@mikulek04]

FJSKDKDSKDKSNDJ

[@justeundonut-moi.7979]

@@vanessa2603__ This is some FINE HUMOUR !

[@_-________]

martin's out here making everyone's hearts wrench

[@frostpersonal3758]

man, jon has become the very encounter scared people talk about in their statements

[@-S.L.]

I hate how Jon is perpetually trapped in the shadow of his upbringing; his grandmother resented him and couldn't see very far past her own grief, and he had no friends. He's used to taking the blame upon himself and being unwanted, a burden, a nuisance, without anyone to support him. Taking knowledge from books was Jon's childhood method of coping, and now he's trapped in taking knowledge from people for something larger than himself.

[@marhunt8192]

Imagine they had a "Jon complaint" file

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

You know what? They probably do!

[@cae2212]

Daisy really said that it is her turn to use the brain cell, huh? So the travel route of the brain cell now is Sasha - Tim - Martin (for a pretty short time)- Basira- Daisy. John will probably never see the brain cell in his entire life

[@vaishaliwarrier6610]

Does....... Does the Eye make people relive their terrifying encounters with various fears as they give their statement, thus feeding the relevant fear?? If so, then the Eye doesn't seem relatively better than any of the others. Worse, actually.

[@danteslayer9455]

At the very least it doesn't not kill like the spider, the hunt and the lightless flame nor trap it's victims in pocket universes like the vast, the deep and the Lonely

[@danteslayer9455]

Actually the "better" (as much as it can be) forces seems to be the Eye, the hunter and the End (just because that one doesn't try to take over the word and the former two can never succeed)

[@bellatrixharrieblack]

It's innately 'better' more because it's the least evil of all the fears.

[@danteslayer9455]

@@bellatrixharrieblack now that I think about it, it's possible the Eye is just as bad as the others and we just don't know. Given that the purpose of the statements is to take the fear of the other power's survivors for itself its logical that we don't get to see much of the watcher's manifestations and encounters.

[@germanerd6148]

@@danteslayer9455 I also think there are less statements about the eye because people that have become its victim will do their very best to not beeing watched again so they don´t go to the Magnus Archives.

[@triciajanedomalanta1860]

idk if jonny meant it this way but presenting jon's abilities as a double edged sword like this is just so. clever. it sheds some light on basira's intense (rightfully so) reaction to jon forcing a statement out of floyd. the consequences of him doing so means the poor man is going to be haunted by jon when he relives his trauma for life. and at that present moment it doesn't seem like. the most malicious thing. not really. we know jon's intentions are for a righteous cause. and then you're buried in the perspective of someone who is downright _miserable_ after having jon force a statement out of her. what's harrowing becomes more insidious. daisy says he thinks he's not a human. martin doesn't want to believe he's all gone. and now you're left wondering if there's anything left. if jon is human at all.

[@jaderush4141]

I can not possibly express my love for the description of the episode being "Statement regarding an encounter with The Archivist" with actual human words. It is just incredibly good and bone-chilling. Wow, how y'all turned on Jon, my dudes. I love the man, and will gladly die on this hill. The most painful part of the episode was still "I can’t believe he’d choose to do something like that. No, no, I can’t think like that, though, I can't let myself, because if he’s already gone, then all of this is just-". Think about it. This is Martin. Desparately hoping Jon DID choose to do this horrible thing. Because the alternative would be Jon just being gone. And then there's, of course, Daisy's on-point guesses on why Jon is half-assing all of his plans and charging blindly ( _eye-ronic_ ) into attack. He's just waiting for the end, trying to take out as many bastards as he can on his way out. Imagine Jon dying on a suicide mission because he thought he was completely alone. Because Martin. Abandoned him. That's the real Romeo and Juliet right here, guys. I swear to god, this was the original story that Shakespear overheard with like half an ear, drunk at the pub, and then, suffering from hangover and regret, half-remembered-half-bullshitted it into what we have today. Jon did make a choice, but honestly... it's really hard to even call it that properly. He was basically dead. The only thing working in his body was his brain, bc the Eye needed it running for its nightmarish promotional slide-show on how painful it generally is to not be doing its bidding. It was quite literal brainwashing (ba-dum-tss). He was standing on the borderline, his only two options being death or dishonor. Jon. Lasted. 6. Months. Living the nightmare. And yes, I know a lot of people would be quick to scream "well you should have died then!", but I'm not buying it. Firstly, he didn't know what he was getting himself into, not really. I don't even think he was properly conscious at the time of making this decision - remember, he's a corpse who has been constantly traumatized for 6 consecutive months. Secondly, death is scary. Like, I don't think you can really appreciate how darn terrifyng it is unless you've seen your own reflection in its eyes. And when you know exactly how much supernatural horror life offers... it makes you wonder if death could bring something even worse with it. Thirdly, Jon, even traumatizing random bystanders and devising plans using only one of his precious eldritch ass-cheeks, is still humanity's best chance to delay the impending Apokalypse for at least a little while longer. So, honestly... I think it's kinda worth it?.. I mean, I don't want to say traumatizing people is okay in any way, obviously, I'm just kind of analyzing the situation here. It's all for fun anyway, so, y'know. Don't come to bite me in the ass because of this.

[@chaozglow]

no cuz i will die on that exact hill with you, reading the comments honestly had me in shock to see how many people turned on Jon as soon as he's depicted from an outsider's view while loving his morally grey side just in the previous episode and immediately forgetting what mans has been through like most of the characters in the story as well. he's an eldritch entity now, that won't change, and i love him for it. Jon is a beyond fascinating character and he's traumatized to hell and back, I'm astonished so many just forgot the reasons why he's doing what he's doing. he literally HAS to to survive and to get all the info he can get to help him stop the apocalypse

[@Falcon-doing-doodles]

I think he's a good person, but we already know reading statements revitalizes him. I get that things are hard, and I won't condemn him for being human, but he probably should have thought a little harder about the choices he was making.

[@Vi_Vi_1]

@@chaozglow I'm with you guys. People are complex, let alone people being changed and altered by evil forces beyond human comprehension. Hurt people hurt people and it doesn't make it OKAY but it also doesn't mean I'm just done with Jon. I still love him and want to help him, even while I feel compassion for this woman and others like her. He's in a terrible situation and trying his best to fix things and honestly, most of us wouldn't handle this stuff great either. I really like these analyses, they get into the layers and depth of a multifaceted character who's not all any one thing, but still definitely a character I feel for and care about

[@plutoandpolaris]

We love Jon becoming what is essentially a trauma vampire What a king

[@Badficwriter]

Its like the opposite of an energy vampire 😅

[@rory1336]

"Can you not stay safe for like 10 MINUTES??" lmaoo

[@kingstarama5478]

I love that the person giving a statement to Martin instead of Jon stumbles more in her story because he doesn’t have the powers, such attention to detail bravo

[@madiw2097]

fucked up how we can witness exactly what happened last episode from a different perspective - the /victim’s/ perspective. fantastic timing.

[@freamoonlight9395]

I'd love it if Daisy was the one to pull these depressed babies together again. I really like her character development.

[@germanerd6148]

I think there might be hundreds of horror stories about the eye out there but we never get to hear them because people that met the eye would never go and let themselves be watched by going into the Magnus Archives and make a statement.

[@elliottgaylord6212]

No wonder none of the statement givers they tried to reach out to in earlier episodes ever wanted to come back for a follow up

[@skyclaude8847]

I think what's interesting to hear here is that we now know why Gertrude rarely ever compelled anyone given that the victim relives their nightmares and would see the archivists in their dreams. With all the gruel crimes Gertrude committed this somehow shows how there is some humanity in her, I think.

[@someoneawesome8717]

Not to get too spoilery but Gertrude actually did a lot of those "bad" things out of grief

[@Badficwriter]

I remember one statement giver getting mad because she was there! But still wanted a statement.

[@purplecatloverrandompizza]

Person: yes I'd like to make a complaint about one of your employees, it feels like he's always watching me Martin: goddamit jon

[@achnav3762]

I heard about the coffee shop part and couldn't help but to think "It wouldn't have happened if you kept getting John tea, right Martin?" And I really think it would have been easier for John to hang to his humanity if Martin was there. John feels like a monster because everyone looks at him as such.

[@Cedar128]

That last sentence is painful,, god i can’t help but feel bad for him, he never wanted any of this but now he’s having to deal with it and try to figure things out constantly on his own cause no one will treat him like a person

[@conibal5045]

i LOVE that jon is one of the creepy supernatural stories now, he doesnt just have superpowers hes a an Actual Creepy Supernatural Entity now and people get scared and make statements about it and i LOVE it i feel very bad for martin though lol and im so proud of daisy basira would be a great eye avatar tbh

[@meganminer9931]

Does Martin not know that when he woke up Basira and Melanie basically hated him for still being alive?

[@gentlywithachainsaw2000]

I doubt it. He isn't around and why would Peter tell him?

[@crowbird0540]

Kinda weird how despite never giving her name, we know she's Jess Terrell, *isn't it Jon?*

[@kninenights]

Everyone out here talking about relatively relevant stuff. Me for most of the episode: “Huh me too. I have a really sucky sense of time. Don’t even have to be stuck under rubble to have a jacked up sense of time.”

[@Gekyouryuu]

I like how it sounds like she misheard Jon's introduction and thinks the building is called "The Madness Institute". That makes me realize, 142 episodes in, that that was probably a pun intended by the title. this is The Madness Archives.

[@Maskami]

The lady giving this statement to Martin is an incredible voice actor, it sounds both genuine and unique. Excellent job, I hope someone on staff reads this and tells her she's great

[@pyrosianheir]

Definitely enjoying this post-Buried Daisy. She's got enough extra chill that she's just right. Also poor Martin. He cares so much about goofy Jon, who is getting deeper and deeper into the crazy.

[@destiny5321]

Martin is so real for that " what the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

[@achnav3762]

Can get over Martin being desperate about John risking his life every ten minutes while he is busy sacrificing himself to save all of them (but mostly him)

[@generallylevel-headed9671]

Can we all appreciate that Martin is able to get people to talk without spooky powers? Proud of this boy ❤️

[@rotemsosna8893]

when Daisy said she wanted to go with Jon and Basira to protect them but “life is more complicated than that” and Martin said “not really” 🥺🥺🥺 he really is sacrificing himself for his friends and he knows it 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[@michaelrobinson996]

Season 2 Jon Kinda set this up, Tim would hate to see this Imagine Jon creepy around corners on people pointing at the tape recorder. "Tell me your trauma"

[@StartOfTheYear]

Jon should start having snickers.... He’s not him when he’s hungry.

[@lightninghedgehog5963]

This was his snickers 😔

[@Harleymotor]

Damn it Jon you can't just walk up to people and demand they relive their traumas. Also I love how the voice acting is so different- more human, when they aren't giving a statement to Jon. Like, instead of long, detailed explanations it's short, stuttering, getting distracted. Like, you know it would have been a story with Jon, but here it's a genuine recollection. And you get to really see how the statement givers live afterwards- how it's not just giving to Jon- it's him and their traumas haunting them unable to move on.

[@cactusc9519]

yes and also how, the most coherent part is now her old story about the buried

[@k.t.4613]

Love love how the description said "encounter with The Archivist" instead of Jon's name. Because as many had said, Johnathan Sims would never do this. The Archivist though, absolutely would. Does he identity as "Archivist" more than "Jon" now? Who know... (first listener here kindly shut about spoiler pls)

[@lavenderdoesart5844]

I should feel bad for Jess but I'm imagining Jonn with his pupils dialated while asking for that statement.

[@paigefuentes1055]

It can't really be him right?? i mean the stammering, just wants everyone to be okay jonathan sims, archivist, wouldn't do something like that right?? I'm genuinely getting worried.... and martin is slowly starting to prefer being alone and not needing company or connection to anyone else.... i'm getting wworriieedddd

[@DerMoerpler]

He wouldn't, and that's the scary part. It shows that there is less and less of the original Jonathan Sims left.

[@f_mva]

i mean.... given what happened last episode on the ship.... :\\

[@Badficwriter]

@@f_mva Enh, everybody very protective of random sailor guy, but that guy admitted he knew he was smuggling MAGICALLY DANGEROUS ARTIFACTS including something that sounded very important to the Eye. Very different from random coffee shop girl who had random encounter with The Buried that didn't mean anything.

[@julisantillan6379]

I don't want to even think about how difficult, and weird and painful must be for Martin to hear about someone they love and care about be presented in such an awful way, be faced on their terrible actions, how the person you loved has been transformed and taken away from you, that they are not themselves anymore, and perhaps never will be again 😢

[@Badficwriter]

It kind of reminds me of the time I found out an old friend had developed a serious insanity, bi-polar disorder perhaps? And had done a bunch of illegal things to the point his family had him committed. I saw him later when he was taking pills and agreed to work for his dad so people could keep an eye on him. He seemed fine, but brittle.

[@f_mva]

bad, jon. no statements for a month ok but seriously, this episode was really hard to listen to. so, so well done, mr sims ;~;

[@nuggs5509]

This pretty creepy... Jon why you do this to PEOPLE! The eye is taking over him....he's losing his humanity

[@someoneawesome8717]

Hangry entity overwrote him with cravings for info fresh from the mouth

[@DSCDUO]

It’s weird but also kinda cool how Jon is now the monster that people talk about in their statements.

[@trin-is-late]

Wow, Martin hissed and fluffed his feathers this ep, didn't he

[@heidiwren7713]

Jon your eldritch horror side is showing

[@safetyhazard8599]

You know, i somehow get the feeling that the whole learning about the other rituals/factions might be the Eyes ritual. Because the more they learn about the other factions the more the tapes seem to pop up.

[@dylanfauner2202]

I had a similar thought. Maybe the search for the Eye's ritual *is* actually its ritual or the culmination of it

[@emppu1012]

You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. And it looks like Jon's perfect circle is about complete. He's become one of the statements he so dearly craves

[@mjamin9124]

imagining the seagull SHUT meme instead of the word there

[@lemonace6695]

Relistening to this episode and suddently I remembered season one Jon saying "I don't want to be another godamm mistery" and now I'm extra sad.

[@anromeow]

it seems that the one (1) braincell of the crew has been passed on to Daisy. good for her.

[@daughtersstormcrow553]

Hot take: Jon is now a faceless old woman secretly living inside your trauma

[@koroplays3200]

I get that reference

[@hollynotholy]

The thing about reaching this point and finding out Jon is feeding on people who are unwilling to give a statement is that you realize (he's being creepy) he's just winging this "being an Avatar" thing. Gertrude had her own set of rules. She found other ways to feed The Eye that didn't involve compelling people or Knowing Things. But she also seemed much more informed about what her role entailed when she became The Archivist. I think Elias did this on purpose. And the fact that Jon is slowly bur surely letting the entity's needs push him to action that he would've otherwise considered absolutely abhorrent is worrying. If Jess didn't complain about him, though, people wouldn't have known. Now that they know, they can do something about it. I think this is why it was important to not isolate him. He pushed Helen away when she first started "consuming" people and she ended up fully embracing her nature as Spiral-aligned entity. Now she does it without an ounce of regret or worry on her mind. She needed a friend to help her try and keep some of her humanity even though she wasn't human anymore. Then everybody turned on Jon and now he's also "consuming" people; if nobody does anything to stop him, he'll end up like her. Like Daisy was before going into the coffin. This is not something easy to control, especially when it starts to consume the Avatar in question. You feed the entity or it feeds on you. But it's a choice to prey on innocent people. If Gertrude managed to get by reading statements out loud, so can Jon.

[@-S.L.]

Excellent comment, tyvm!

[@americantoastman7296]

Half of the institute needs some serious counseling at this point, they just cant interact with each other anymore at ALL. Martin willingly overstepping Daisies boundaries with a serious, *recent* trauma, when she told him to stop several times only as petty payback for he felt she was pushing him some random ass time in the past... That's just so bad, dude. Really made me hate Martin there and I did not think I would ever say that. Dudes been weird since Lucas.

[@-S.L.]

Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, I was mad and disturbed by Martin at that point. Like - SHE WAS BURIED ALIVE IN A HELL PIT FOR 8 MONTHS, MARTIN, F OFF.

[@LiaLe-mk9bf]

Did she say the "Madness Institute"? 🤣🤣🤣

[@spookyfable5367]

I guess I love Daisy now?????

[@americantoastman7296]

Wtf i love Daisy now???

[@King-Bubel]

Gotta be one of my new favorites. It totally recontextualizes what we’ve seen so far. If this was season one, this story wouldn’t have seemed even a little bit out of place as a story of some creepy monster guy, and that’s incredible.

[@natachabi]

BABES at this point Daisy is more one of The Lonely than Martin? Who is being coded as one of the Web since....ALWAYS???? WELP

[@ZeroOhClock]

Y'all: Why is everyone mean to Jon. Jon does nothing wrong boo Jon:

[@ricejuice8982]

Jon doesn't know how bad it is

[@lightninghedgehog5963]

@@ricejuice8982 I think he knows it’s wrong, but still gives in to the urge; or the “hunger” as it’s been phrased

[@ricejuice8982]

@@lightninghedgehog5963 it's like how addicts are like "one more won't hurt anyone" But are still somewhat aware that it's bad. I dunno like Johnny Sims said it's like he's an addict

[@flamingtorrent2109]

The way i went “oh Jon…” at multiple instances throughout the episode. It’s good he’s figuring out his powers, but sir you are the sUBJECT OF A STATEMENT NOW REEL IT IN

[@sevin3887]

the magnus institute must have the fucking weirdest yelp reviews ever

[@cristalat101]

2/5 stars: The weirdo who took my statement keeps appearing in my nightmares. Nice decor. Don't talk to man who looks sleep deprived.

[@bindablinda]

Sooo.... Jon is basically anti-therapy? Truly horrifying.

[@io_online]

Yes, okay yes, Daisy doesn't like being alone and Martin is isolating himself and sort of converting to the *Lonely* but he can't be doing that if Daisy is around (hopefully). Daisy keep it up, you're doing god's work here. Also, Jon. Jon nO-

[@immapoisonyou5218]

"Scrutiny" MMMHH I THINK THE EYE WILL BE INVOLVED

[@raskr8137]

Damn last episode I literally thought "I'm curious about how the statement giver must feel when they get information extracted out of them with spooky powers, and especially curious how John will describe that feeling as a writer" and immediately I receiveth this episode

[@rorygiambalvo2955]

So if Jon's victims continue to feed him after giving a statement through their resurgence of fear in their waking and sleeping life, maybe if he takes enough he'll be kind of continually satisfied. Like, Elias doesn't force statements from people because he created an environment of fear in the Institute that constantly feeds him, even when he's not there. Maybe Jon will eventually do the same.

[@lightninghedgehog5963]

Elias seems to have a different set of abilities; compared to Jon being The Archivist, Elias acts as the Head of The Institute (or as he called it, its “Beating Heart). Not!Sasha also called Jon “The Eye’s Pupil” in Hide and Seek

[@screamingcactus1753]

I think the recurring nightmares feed the Eye directly. I don't think Jon was even aware they were happening until his coma.

[@huntercharleston5812]

Season 1: gets trauma Season 2: gets trauma Season 3: gets trauma Season 4: *is the trauma*

[@cristalat101]

Just wait until season 5

[@shewolfblacklink1062]

Apparently three seasons of trauma makes one a bit hungry.

[@cupcaketv5673]

I love that we're getting a, well, negative aspect about Jon's powers bc that makes him a more layered character for me hh Also the mini counseling + such different viewpoints at the end >>>

[@wynnt1]

Poor Greg Lastrade. His date can't remember his name. Garry, Gavin, Gophery, ect.

[@HeyItsNovalee]

God damn it the eye is turning jon into a creeper and the lonely is giving Martin social anxiety 😩

[@suzerainty4192]

Jon being naughty two episodes in a row...feels bad

[@Forlorn_Overseer]

V v v b a d

[@KeKe-bv8qv]

Clock in the background, Elias' office. What are you doing in Elias' office Martin?

[@PixelMarker]

jon the cafe: prolonged eye contact *prolonged eye contact* (repeat 6 times) Jon looks away: jess: oh thank god he sto- jon again: prolonged eye contact *prolonged eye contact* (repeat 2 times) lick your lips to make it more comforting *jon proceeds to lick his lips*