THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES
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- Опубліковано 10 тра 2020
- MAG136 - Case #0120112 - Alison Killala
Statement regarding their time as friend and carer to special effects artist Neil Lagorio.
The Magnus Archives hears the story of an animatronics specialist who developed a relationship with one of their idols, looking after them through their decline and felt a need to deliver some final cuts to the Institute.
Content Notes: Degenerative illness, puppets, supernatural manipulation, mental illness, body horror
Starring: The Archivist - Jonathan Sims; Melanie King - Lydia Nicholas; Alice “Daisy” Tonner - Fay Roberts; Therapist - Helen Gould
Writer: Jonathan Sims
Director: Alexander J Newall
Producer: Story Sylwester
Editors: Alexander J Newall, James Austin, Brock Winstead
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Yey! Go Daisy! Returning the favor of pulling a friend out of a dark place. Jon pulled her from the coffin. She's trying to pull him out of his own ass. HELL YEAH!
Their friendship is really lovely, I'm so glad he's got someone just being a FRIEND. He needs it, so does she
I really want to upvote your comment, but its at 666, so I'm leaving this here instead.
Daisy is being the only real friend Jon has right now. I honestly smiled and teared up a bit. She's much warmer and surprisingly empathetic when she's not being taken over by the Hunt.
In all fairness to Jon, his own ass seems to be the only place he has been wanted for the last little while 🤣
ngl daisy and jon going from enemies to friends is kinda my jam
enemies to friends!!
Isnt it though? It's the best kind of jam, honestly their friendship is so nice
So wholesome :)
Frenemies
I think she prefers being stuck with the Eye than with the Hunt. At least with the Beholden you can control yourself. Humans are naturally curious anyway, so it only slightly changes those it touches.
I love how Daisy stops Jon from taking all the blame for what happened to everybody after Tim and Melanie kept blaming everything on him before.
"You're always talking about choices. We all made ours." THANK YOU
YES. So cathartic!
About time someone said it!
YUS
daisy coming in clutch with the archives' only braincell, it was blown into the coffin after tim stopped the unknowing
@@f_mva I was beginning to wonder where it went Basira had it for a good portion of Season 3 and then it disappeared after the Season 3 finale
If I had a nickel for each time a famous figure in the film industry fell under the influence of the web I'd have two, which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice.
Isn't the Neil in this statement also the one that the director lied about working on the film in Creature Feature?
@@V3xxeyup
I do quite like the web's association with film.
"boo hoo I'm alone and a monster" damn. Daisy always goes for the kill
The hunter using her power for good.
One of the less talked about powers of the hunt is the sick comebacks
@@MyceliumNebula With great powers comes great responsibilities
@@amphitritemists4595 and even greater burns
should've been an avatar of the desolate because of the sick burns she hands out like candy
Jon's nervous laugh at the end of Daisy's "joke" really proves he's still human
Human as in the species, definitely not. Getting closer to the Eye has really made him more and more human in terms of personhood though. Weird, considering Elias. Makes me wonder if Elias is projecting on the Eye something the Eye doesn't want....
Also I think daisy COULD actually kill him, she’s proven able to kill avatars (Rip Mike).
You know what? I don't even mind the way Daisy makes fun of him at the end. It's actually quite refreshing because you can tell there's no real bite to it. I also adore the way she implied that she's started to care about Jon enough that he's part of the reason she's sticking around and not just to escape her dreams of him. "Basira's trapped here. So are you. Not like I'm going anywhere anyways."
Certainly helps that the Beholden seems to give a crap about its followers. Elias clearly doesn't, but it's noteworthy Jon is becoming more human and empathetic the less human his body and brain become.
Daisy kind of bestie goals now that she’s not constantly bloodthirsty
I’d probably be attached to the person that saved me from eight months of crushing weight occasionally interrupted by drowning in dirt too. especially knowing he went in willingly, without backup, and spent three days in there with her.
@@clayxros576 I'm binging this series so I have NO idea if this is true or not but my thought was that the Beholden is us. I feel like they've hinted at this sort of metafictional aspect to the story a few times. The Institute and the powers that it conveys to its members seem more in the line of hoarding knowledge than creating fear. Wouldn't a shadowy organization like the CIA or something fit the bill of that much better? A secret society that could be anywhere at any time, holding arcane secrets and working to unravel the world, seems like it would be much better at actually harvesting the fear of Watching or Being Watched. You could perhaps argue that knowledge itself generates fear, because the Institute and its members know about things that would rightfully make them afraid, but the more powerful one becomes in this sphere, the less afraid they seem to be. Gertrude being a case in point, it seems like NOTHING scares her.
So my thought is that the Beholder is supposed to actually be us. And the reason Jon is able to retain his humanity (and, in fact, become arguably MORE human in terms of empathy) is because the power he has been given carries with it our desire as the Watchers to see more, to see him succeed, to see a happy ending for the characters, and to know more about the world they live in. Can't really watch the world if everything is obliterated, just as the Hunt can't Hunt if everything is caught.
Jon’s nervous laugh at Daisy’s joke is so precious to me
Alison creating a Web house for Niel is that kind of Eldritch disability accessibility advocate a puppeteering enthusiast needs.
yea monsters aside it was kinda wholesome
As someone who sometimes has a hard time processing complex sentences, this comment is horrific levels of nonsense
@@emerz3530 same i was about to comment that
Daisy just hired herself and honestly I respect that
she took direct action
Daisy, incredulously: you thought I was gonna kill you?
Also Daisy, two episodes ago: I was gonna kill you, you knew that right?
😐
The former they were talking about while she was in the coffin and the latter she was talking about after the Unknowing if she hadn't been thrown in the coffin though
I also wouldn't say the former was asked incredulously, it sounded more casual to me
@@Idransounded a little surprised imo
I like how daisy implied she's staying at the archive for basira AND jon and i like that theyer going drinking
Omg. Jon getting drunk. I wonder what that's like XDD
@@alphalilly8207 I hope he isn't a talkative drunk. Just imagine drinking in a pub, minding your own business when some random guy already half on his ass comes up to you and asks how your day is going, and suddenly you're stuck there for the next half hour spilling your guts out to this stranger you've never met, freely telling him things you wouldn't confide to your closest friends. Sounds like something someone would make a statement about.
@@screamingcactus1753 omfg lol. i can totally picture that. and Jon's smug face XDD
@@alphalilly8207 well considering hes working so hard to not to it itd be the equivilant of you being an addict, going out for some innocent drinks with your friends (one of which is a recovering addict being daisy no longer listening to the hunt) and you accidentally step on a heroin needle on the floor (asking someone a normal question) and suddenly your activly shooting up heroin into your veins relishing every moment as you ruin someone's dreams for the rest of their life, and then your friends see your high as a kite, call you a horrible monster and never drink with you again, never talk with you, or maybe even kill you, putting you down like a rabid dog because youre "no longer human". Jon is very sad and having some drinks is wonderful, he just has to make sure he never asks a question. He accidentally made melanie tell him avout therapy before she was ready, and look how hard that hit him
the archive team can have a little friendship and therapy. as a treat
Now time for a controlled shock.
@@Ghostrecall_M How about a little tea instead?
I found Elias!
@@pseudotangerine9687aaand there's Martin! 😊
Not as long as Lucas is around lol
"I always felt Frankenstein should have been an engineer, not a medical student" *nervously glances at Karl Heisenberg*
Daisy: That's messed up
Jon: (laughs)
Me: (laugh-cries) Finally someone who knows how much Jon really cares about them and dammit Jon you're making me cry!
Daisy: Basira's trapped here, so are you
Me: (laugh-cries some more) Does-does Daisy like Jon now? Cares about him?
(Continues to listen)
And now I'm crying in happiness. Finally someone tells Jon to NOT put all the blame on his shoulders.
I guess Jon is no longer as lonely now, what a relief. His little laugh gave me life.
WHEN SHE SAID "SO ARE YOU" LIKE, HE'S ONE OF HER PEOPLE AND SHE CARES ABOUT HIM I CRY
I need to know how you reacted to the final season, if you were crying at this, darling.
@@biancamlf288 Destroyed, basically *thumbs up* :))))
Edit: thinking on it too deeply made me tear up and go "nooooo" in my head, so now I'm writing this edit as distraction
But hey, I hear news of more from TMA coming, we'll see what happened after.... all that
Worse case scenario the universe is losing another monster... oh Jon. I'm so happy, that Daisy is there for him
Daisy's reply of "That's messed up." is the most I've ever related to her. Took the words right out my mouth.
She's really becoming the Zuko of the cast. That scene really had the feel of "That's rough buddy"
@@clayxros576 SHE IS. Thank goodness. I love her.
Good episode, but the best part is the name of the patron called "A dog with human hands".
you have to choose face cat
Face cat is the best of the two
I was thinking that
I thought it was part of the statement for a second and panicked so hard holy-
I wonder how many takes they need to say some of those names with a straight face
"i am alone Martin-"THE FIRST NAM EH SAID WAS MARTIN JUST KISS ALREADY
He definitely listened to the tapes where the girls talked about Martin's crush on him and if that tape wasn't enough he had to have listened to the one where Elias was bullying Martin over his crush
Sidenote. Daisy and Basira are "together now", as in together meaning physical proximity and geography, or as in together *together* ?? Asking for a friend
Yes
Yes
@@nopeimout3182 which one? The together together???
Mhm. Yeah❤️
Yes
I'm sorry but listening to Jon being supportive of Melanie going to therapy and trying to just be nice to people in general is so dang cute. He may have failed in the past at being a good friend but he's trying so hard to do better, you're doing great honey
yesssssss daisy and jon being friends and healing is giving LIFE
(....something horrible is gonna happen.)
_EXACTLY_
I'm worried too
nooooo!!!!!
Is it just me, or does the therapist sound a little bit like Nikola?
Welcome to the world of British therapists. I had a speech therapist who spoke just like Nikola Orsinov. She spoke normally to everyone else! I literally laughed out loud when I heard Nikola's voice.
(Didn't have her for long - she refused me another appointment after I asked her if she got her degree from a thermometer.)
@@fiddlesticksmeow6269 sorry gotta ask, is the thermometer thing a reference to this podcast and you made it as a joke? If it is I totally missed it so can you please explain it
@@oak_w00d89 Oh! No, it's not. You probably know this, but I'm on about a degree as in a qualification needed to be a therapist. You've got to go to university for that. But thermometers are measured in degrees (degrees celcius or degrees fahrenheit), so I was saying she was a terrible therapist and I don't know how she qualified. It's an insult, but also a pun.
@@fiddlesticksmeow6269 two years late, but damn! Are you an avatar of the Desolation? Because you BURNED her! 😅
@@fiddlesticksmeow6269 you hitting that poor woman with lines akin to hamlet's "do you believe me a flute? since you coming here tryna play me" lmaooooo.
irl psychologist here, yes "therapist" is sadly an umbrella term for... way too many things that apparently don't seem to need a degree...which ngl is infuriating. hopefully you found a better (and legit) therapist!
me up until this season in the comments: god daisy sucks ACAB can't stand her she's a villain
me this season: well would you look at that i'm boo boo the fool
To be fair, she changed jobs.
@@EldritchMcPie Well, Basira too, but she seems to now be a Detective like Daisy was last season so..... not anymore??
"I wot?" Daisy you rock calling Jon out on his mopey shite. We all need a friend who will not tolerate our excuses and dumb behavior.
Such a weird turn of events that Daisy is now the one being nicest to Jon out of everyone, but it really happened so organically that it feels like just the natural progression of events and relationships.
Neil worked with a sculptor named Gabe? As in, Gabriel from Sculptor's Tool?
That’s what I was thinking ☠️
I've always had such mixed opinions of Daisy but I've always thought her character was so very well written, this episode truly making me like the lesbian badass she is.
Daisy was literally like i would have killed you after stopping the unknowing and Jon is still completely fine being alone with her so she doesnt have to cope with being on her own
I can't believe my ears. Is this really it? Are they.... healing??? Something incredibly awful must be about to come. Sidenote: the unofficial transcripts I've been following are just hilarious this episode; including 22:52 "(the picture of Edwardian offense) I what?" and 23:25 "I - I don’t - I - (slight pause, he grapples with the concept of friendship)Yeah, okay."
edit: (spoilers)
after watching 160, YEAH DAMN I WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY
That is amazing and thank you for sharing, this comment just made my night. That is exactly what I was thinking. Edwardian offense XD
nooo i accidentally got spoil er
aah im so glad that Jon has someone he can talk to that isnt just gonna tell him how all their problems are his fault
Jon can have one friendly conversation, as treat
_okay but the way Daisy said rip? Rolling her R like that?? Yes please._
Her accent is adorable when she's not actively threatening anyone.
...When she _is,_ it's *hot.*
Daisy pointing out everyone made a choice, that it's not Jon's fault, is sweet. Jon didn't asked to be kidnapped, he didn't ask for people to die, he never asked for his friends to be in pain. He only wanted his friends to be safe.
In Season 1, Jon let Martin stay in the Archives because Martin was in danger. While Jon didn't believe in the supernatural completely, he knew Martin was in danger. We always heard him complain about Martin but he cared about him.
I'm scared for what will happened next.
I agree, but i can't resist an um actually.
Jon DID belive in the supernatural. Always. Aaz revealed in the heart to heart at the end of season 1 and, if i'm not mistaken, at the beginning of season 3, when he talks about his first Leightner.
Season 1 Jon would be proud of my pedancy, i hope. :>
Lowkey thinking about recording myself ranting from now on just because
Honestly same
I already do this lmao
I started doing this for my Thesis (and the stress) and it's incredible useful to organize your thoughts and feelings.
10/10, Great idea.
And do it on little tape cassettes and give each one a statement number !! :D
For that "lo-fi vibe"
Jesus Christ when Martin was listing the patrons and said "A Dog with Human Hands" I thought it was part of the statement and I PANICKED
Finally! Melanie getting therapy, it's what she deserves in fact it's what everyone deserves.
Got weird vibes from that therapist tho O.o
Just noticed that the titles of Neil's films might be references to avatars. Like, "Dead Sky" might be the Void, "Under New York" is probably the Buried, "Forty Winks" might be the Eye, etc.
I love Daisy's aggressive friendship.
22:54 - you need to stop mopin'
- I wHaT
23:10 - ...there's me, Melanie, Basira
- traumatized, traumatized and paranoid
gferuugfpeofksjk their friendly banter added 20 years to my lifespan
Melanie's therapist seems shady, hope she's gonna be ok
"we're together" THEY'RE????DATING????
God willing. The tension between then was thick enough to trip over. JUST KISS ALREADY. 😂
We love friends babysitting their kinda traumatized body guard
"i AM alone, Martin is--"
👀👀
Daisy hired herself, that’s hilarious.
I absolutely love how the beholding is reaching beyond the walls of the institute. Is it because they are employees? Or is it Jon subconscious trying to hear the session. All fun speculations
It went "ooh, recording!", reached with its tendrils to touch it, then the doctor turned it off and it withdrew, pouting.
@@nanahuatli2144
The Beholding definitely seems to be more...positive in general. Outside of the lady who got stalked by eyeballs (I'm not counting mr Eyeball lungs cause I'm pretty sure that was Jonah's fault) it seems to try and keep its avatars and followers at least somewhat healthy. It makes sense, you can't search and archive information without having a clear head and mind, but the people running the seats of power for it always seems to be way more hostile than their patron. I mean, Jon is becoming more human as he becomes less human. Makes you wonder how many of the fears are really....malicious, so to speak, and how many have their powers twisted by malicious followers.
I don't know. I think the reason why he "seems more human" is maybe because he's becoming more accepting of himself. He knows that he's a monster now so why try to beat himself up about it. All he can do is keep going.
I'm still not convinced that the tapes are part of the beholding. I sort of feel like Jon has been touched by something else, something none of the Powers even know about.
On rewatch, is that the tiniest hint of static when Daisy asks Jon about the lighter? Gotta love those little details
i absolutely love this new daisy, shes really trying to be a better person and so far i really really like how shes becoming friends with jon. hes literally suicidal and im very glad theres finally someone that can tell him hes being stupid without making him feel worse, and hes actually getting a drink with people now! i dont think that ever happened before and i love it
theyre really supporting each other through trauma and honestly, daisy was the last person i expected to do that (aside from elias maybe lol) but it works so well and im so glad theyre there for each other
also, the last part with melanie was so funny to me
no ones talking about how neil was with the scary clay man ?? ok
OMG HOW DID I NOT PUT THAT TOGETHER?! 😲
Great catch!!! 😃
Wait are there 2? Cause i thought his name was Gabriel
@@ducklord7952 Gabe is a common shortened version of Gabriel
WHY THIS STATEMENT IS SO SWEET LIKE ALISON WANT TO HELP HER AND WE CAN FEEL HER ADORATION
THEY'RE FRIENDS YOUR HONOR OHMYGOD I'M SO HAPPY
i love that daisy and jon had a (traumatic) bonding experience together and are going out for drinks. amazing
When was the last time we've heard Jon laugh? It was so refreshing I'm crying now dang it
Roughly around when martin confess he lied on his cv
THANK YOU, DAISY. 😢 you're the wake up call he needs. No more taking responsibility for other people's actions, jon!!! Ugh I love them. I love this dynamic.
*cries in someone finally supporting Jon*
“The Dog With Human Hands”
Finally, some therapy. Basira's therapist might need to get a therapist of their own, though
This one reminds me of Junji Ito's short story manga "House of Puppets", which I recommend reading! There's something great about puppeteers who want to become puppets
Yeah, the pulleys really reminded me of that!
In the other side of the spectrum, there is William Afton.
I forgive daisy everything for getting jon out for the drink he deserves and for "boo hoo I'm a monster and alone". We stan.
Lol “it’s a joke Jon 🙄”
And Jon’s incredibly awkward “oh... hA hA”
@@_mel_9953 has this poor man forgotten how to laugh
@_Filipa Maria Costa. Yes, he definitely has
I absolutely love Daisies and Jons unique bond with each other. They experienced a lot of shit together, saved each others lives and they are each to another the only person who really gets and understands what theyre both going through/went through. To become something else entirely through choices that are yours, even tho it never felt that way, and being hated and feared by anyone around them in kind...only these 2 know what thats like and it seems like neither of them need any words to understand this or each other.
Daisy I care you
at least someone around here is getting therapy
I feel like the therapist is related to the entities otherwise how would we have heard that last bit hmmm suspicious 😬
And her voice, that wasn't normal person voice.
@@late_prince8945 i'm not caught up on acast, but did this plot line ever go anywhere?
@@late_prince8945 im caught up and yet to see that therapist again hmm
I mean if Melanie is able to talk to her about the stuff she's been through she must have some knowledge of what goes on in the institute.
@@late_prince8945
Sounds like miss Skin Puppet, I do not like.
I am starting to like Daisy a lot, which is very, and I mean VERY concerning.
the mental image of a dog with human hands just made me choke on my tea
Hm...I see - scribbles down : probably traumatized as a child by her dad's tape recorder screaming Black Sabbath in the back...
Us hearing the therapy session kind of tell us that we as the audience are the eye
That little laugh that Jon did was so funny, he was so afraid 🤣🤣🤣
therapist lady.. "it's just for my own notes." "...I see." hmmm 🤔🤔🤔 there be monsters?
(Not so) fun fact! In 1940 a man named Dr. Thomas Midgley Jr. contracted polio, and became paralyzed. However, he was a skilled engineer and so created a system of ropes and pulleys to move himself about. In 1944 he got tangled up in the system and died of asphyxiation. Truth is almost as strange as fiction sometimes, eh?
WOAH maybe this story was based off of him? if not, thats such a neat coincidence!
Damn!
Jon’s so awkward I love him
It amazes me that Daisy is the one to tell Jon that he isn't to blame for everything. First Nino confessing to Futarou and now this.
I can imagine Melanie getting triggered whenever she sees or hears the word tape recorder.
That "Dancer" movie that Neil was going to work on... Was it going to be a thing for the Stranger? Idk, it just reminds me of how the Unknowing was a macabre dance...
FINALLY SOMEONE IN THE INSTITUTE IS GETTING THERAPY
Somehow making Daisy likable has gotta be the most impressive thing Rustyquill has achieved
This episode has been calm, we have the gang having drinks, Daisy is being a badass ball of marshmello and I love it, someone FINALLY tells Jon that he is not alone... and a little comedy with Melany and a recorder tape!
We are going to cry the next episode aren't we?
“You need to stop moping”
“I wot?”
Jon be like: Friendship ended with martin now daisy is my new best friend
FINALLY someone in the archive is getting fucking therapy THANK YOU MELANIE
Okay, I swear I heard the _very_ faint open and close of a door while Jon was in the middle of reading the statement. Like each sound occurred in the middle of a word, so as to mask the noise.
Assuming this was intentional, I'm afraid Mr. Lucas may have overheard Jon and Daisy's conversation at the end and will somehow use it against them.
*:0 do you remember the timestamp?
I love daisy :,)
god if that aint a lowkey mood
Someone other than the fans NEEDED to care Jon this season and Daisy stepped up, thank u
I absolutely ADORE Daisy for being the ONE person who doesn't blame Jon for the choices made.
I'm so glad there's someone out there who doesn't blame him for things out of his control. 10/10 I love daisy
JON'S LAUGH 😭💖
The other fear entities: it's only a matter of time before I consume the world hehehehe
The web: he's doing a happy jig _makes Neil do a flip_
YES! Yes! You go Melanie! Get yourself some help you need. Good for you.
0:06 unexpected mbmbam
Could be a manifestation of the stranger
[INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES, JOHN’S OFFICE]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
ARCHIVIST
Uh - not really; I was just going to record a statement. Why?
MELANIE
Well… (sigh) Daisy’s been, um… I’ve been keeping her company, uh, while, while Basira’s busy. She’s, um…
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) Oh! No, I, uh, I know.
MELANIE
Well. I’ve kinda got to… uh. (inhale) I’ve got somewhere to be. Do you mind if - if she hangs around with…?
ARCHIVIST
Uh, I suppose - Not at all. She’s very welcome.
MELANIE
Great.
ARCHIVIST
If you don’t mind me asking - where are you off to?
[UNFORTUNATELY FOR BOTH OF THEM, THE ARCHIVIST’S SIGNATURE STATIC RUMBLES LOW IN THE BACKGROUND AS HE SPEAKS.]
MELANIE
Therapy. (surprised inhale) Wait…
ARCHIVIST
Oh - Oh god, Melanie, I, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to -
[MELANIE LETS OUT A VERY ANNOYED, VERY “NOT THIS AGAIN” SIGH.]
MELANIE
It’s fine. I would probably have told you eventually anyway.
ARCHIVIST
E-Even so, I shouldn’t have - I -
MELANIE
(overlapping) Just forget it.
[SHE SIGHS.]
ARCHIVIST
It’s good though. I-I’m glad you’re getting help.
MELANIE
Yes, well. We’ll see. (inhale) There’s a - a lot of crap therapists out there.
ARCHIVIST
I guess. Still. I-It is a good step.
MELANIE
I suppose.
ARCHIVIST
You going to tell them the truth?
MELANIE
I don’t know! (long, steadying breath) It’s all a bit - (fwoo-phkush sound) - you know? Uh - C-Can we drop it?
ARCHIVIST
Of course.
[MELANIE OPENS THE DOOR AND STICKS HER HEAD OUT TO CALL TO DAISY.]
MELANIE
(to Daisy) Uh yeah, he’s - he’s fine with it, so…
[DAISY COMES IN.]
DAISY
Alright?
ARCHIVIST
Yeah, uh - are you okay?
DAISY
Yeah.
MELANIE
Right. So, anyway - I’m - I’m running late, so, uh - thank you.
ARCHIVIST
Anytime.
[MELANIE LEAVES, CLOSING THE DOOR BEHIND HER.]
ARCHIVIST (CON’T)
You alright?
DAISY
Asked me that already.
ARCHIVIST
Right. Sorry.
[THERE’S AN UNCHARACTERISTIC CASUAL HAPPINESS TO HIS WORDS.]
DAISY
I didn’t ask her to do that.
ARCHIVIST
B - I-I-I-It’s fine.
[DAISY EXHALES.]
DAISY
You’re not babysitting me, alright? I know that’s what the others think, sometimes, but that’s not it; I just - don’t like being on my own if I can help it. You know,flashbacks, panic attacks, the usual. (breath) Just trying to avoid it if I can.
ARCHIVIST
I know, Daisy. I - I do.
(exhale) It’s hard.
DAISY
Yeah, well. Don’t let me get in your way.
ARCHIVIST
Of course. (clears his throat) Statement of Alison Killala, regarding her time as friend and carer to special effects artist Neil Lagorio. Original statement given 1st December 2012. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, The Archivist. Statement begins.
ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)
I loved Neil. I might even have been in love with him; it’s hard to say. When there are so many emotions caught up in a single person, when they’re such a significant force in your life - it gets difficult to say what’s really there at the heart of it.
His work, his art, defined my early life, as his friendship defined the last twenty years of it. One of my earliest memories is cowering behind my mother, watching Labyrinth of the Minotaur on our tiny television, seeing the clay of the creature move and come alive in stop-motion. It terrified me. It thrilled me. It’s a moment that’s never completely left me. I’ve always had two passions: engineering and special effects. So naturally, the course of my life gradually led me towards working on animatronics. I don’t - care about the other stuff, not really. A squib’s a squib no matter how much you dress it up, and… (inhales) makeup never really wowed me. Even pyrotechnics, while… impressive and visually spectacular… They just didn’t give me the same sharp joy as making something that could move. That came alive, directed and controlled by my hand. I always felt Frankenstein should have been an engineer, not a medical student, as reading that book I couldn’t help but see myself in that obsession.
But I suppose everyone’s already done the monster as a robot, haven’t they? (heh)
And none made it move as well as Neil did in 1975 when he worked on Agents of Orion. That was one of his movies that I went back to time and again. The way the robot moved, the weight and life he managed to give each clanking, hissing step. I was fourteen when I managed to hunt down a copy on Betamax, and I just watched that scene over and over again. I was already obsessed with Neil’s work by then, mostly his sci-fi stuff from the late 70’s - Beyond Time, Under New York, The Crawling Ones, all that sort of thing. His earlier stuff I certainly enjoyed, but… for all my fondness for that - animated Minotaur, his stop-motion work never really grabbed me like his animatronics.
The way Neil tells it, he split from his partner Gabe in 1972, and sculpting for stop-motion had never really had the same charm after that.
“Besides,” he always told me, “I’m a puppeteer at heart.” And that was certainly true. Neil never really talked about his early life, but, sometimes, when the medication was kicking in, he would tell me about his training with puppets.
I could never figure out what performance school he learned at, or even if he went to one at all, but he would twist his fingers into all sort of bizarre, intricate shapes, until I could see the strings flowing over them.
“We made them dance,” he would say, wonder and nostalgia in his voice. “Oh, how we made them dance.”
Growing up an 80s cinephile and devotee of his art, I obviously had to learn to love horror. It wasn’t just his work with John Carpenter, either. It was common knowledge that Neil was deliberately seeking out darker and - more grotesque works, though no one knew why. Dead Sky, The Nightmare Children, Forty Winks - they were all in this period of his career, which culminated of course with Toy Shop. While it’s now regarded as a cult classic, I still remember the editorials of the time condemning it, and some even called it “the end of Neil Lagorio.”
I think it was too late to officially be a video nasty, but it was certainly referred to as such in the UK Press. He told me later that he just needed to get it out of his system, though I don’t know if I entirely believed him.
Whatever the case, my own relationship with him started in 1992, on the set of Jewel of the Amazon, a mid-budget effects-driven Kevin Costner vehicle. I’d been working in the industry only a couple of years by that point, and while I’d always dreamed of working with Neil Lagorio someday, it wasn’t - quite how I’d always pictured it. The production was rushed, the budget was stretched, the direction was… uninspired, and Neil seemed broadly miserable.
Despite this - or, maybe because of it - we became friends. I think we bonded on that shoot, sheltering from the rain for hours at a time, watching a soggy animatronic jaguar gradually start to rust. I had to fight every instinct inside me, everything that wanted to burst out in admiration for his work and his - profound effect on my life, but instead I chain-smoked and laughed, trying my best to come across as my hero’s peer.
What was Neil Lagorio like? The question is harder to answer than I always thought it would be. In so many ways, he was his work.
Conversations were usually about the current shoot, future projects, or the most recent films of anyone he considered worth his attention. He had no time for whatever the issue of the day was, and despised Hollywood gossip and anyone who dealt in it.
I will say that there was no… warmth to him. At all. He was not unpleasant or cruel, but beyond that you may as well have been talking to one of his steel-and-hydraulic creations.
There were two sorts of people in the world as far as Neil saw it: those who were worth his time, and those who were not, and if you were in the latter group he honestly couldn’t care if you lived or died. Not that most people could tell which side of the line they fell on. There were even days that - I wasn’t sure myself.
Sometimes, I remember, he would invite people over to his studio that I was sure he hated, for screenings of his original cuts. I was - quite jealous of this at the time, as I’d never got such an invitation. But it was probably for the best. I didn’t realize it back then, but… (sigh) Those guests… (how do I say this) …they never quite looked the same afterwards. We stayed in touch over the next few years, even worked together on The Wire Runner, his one underwhelming foray into CGI. He even kept in contact when I left to have my baby. It wasn’t planned, but while I may not have had much time for makeup and monster suits, the bodies inside of them were a… different matter.
Anyway, even once I’d sorted out childcare arrangements, I found myself… more and more unwelcome, in the industry. It wasn’t that people weren’t willing to hire me - by this point, I had a hell of a special effects resume - but the hours you were expected to be working, the way shoots were set up, the culture of drinking, networking - (sigh) - none of it was really possible alongside parenting.
I only really heard about Neil’s work from - what he told me. His disappointment at the director’s limited vision for the irradiated creatures in Eagle Falls, or his satisfaction with his latest - and, as it turned out - last foray into horror, with The Harvestmen. He’d always had a fondness for spiders, he told me, and I of course reminded him that harvestmen weren’t technically spiders.
It was around that time that he started to suffer his first symptoms. He told me later his greatest regret was not being able to finish his final film, an art house piece simply titled Dancer. He never explained what it was about, nor do I think it actually came out, in the end. By the time it was due to start shooting he’d already begun to seize up.
I became his carer a few months later. It just seemed to make sense. A frugal life, lucrative career, and prickly personality had left him with lots of money but no real support, while my life had left me in a position where I cared deeply about his wellbeing and was in desperate need of money.
Everything just - lined up so neatly.
I will say this once, and you can draw whatever conclusions you wish from it: Neil Lagorio did not have Parkinson’s disease.
He began to have difficulty moving, yes, but his mind remained razor-sharp at all times, and his growing immobility at no point seemed to cause him any pain, or discomfort. It was simply that, over the course of several years, he stopped being able to move under his own power. The doctors were never able to name it anything other than Parkinson’s, and - I’ll admit I’m no expert… But I know they were wrong.
When it started, I was worried that Neil would take the loss of his work very hard. It had been all he was for so long, surely being unable to continue would devastate him. Instead, he threw himself into a new project, one I would never have expected, but that suited my engineering background perfectly: Neil had devised a series of frames, ropes, and pulleys, to be constructed in the rooms and corridors of his home. At the end of these ropes were hooks, which slotted into harnesses, again of his own design, that he wore on his wrists, his neck, his torso, and his legs. When properly built and attached, it allowed me to move him, without a wheelchair or my own support. I could stand him up, and walk him like a puppet.
I protested of course; this man was my hero, I loved him, and there was no way I could subject him to this - awful indignity. But my objections were ignored, as always, and Neil insisted that this was what he wanted.
So I built that - strange contraption, using the skills I had developed across my whole life, to fill every corner of Neil Lagorio’s house with wood and steel and cable. And when it was all done, and I pulled him through his first jerky, standing motions, it did seem to make him happy. Pulling on those levers and cords, moving him step by stiff-limbed step through his house - it was the first time I had seen Neil smile in years.
And so that became our life. For almost a decade, I went to his home every day, strapped him up, and gradually puppeted my idol through whatever strange, parodied version of domestic life he desired.
I still had to feed him, had to wash him, but he would always insist that his arm be hoisted to his mouth before I fed him a sandwich, or that I correctly position him in the bath. And gradually the surreal gave way to the mundane, and it simply became… our life. I barely even noticed when the harnesses were no longer necessary, when the loops for those hooks were now embedded directly into his body. I must have asked him about it, but at the time it just seemed like - such a natural progression.
It was almost six months ago when the woman came to our door. She looked like a film student, and at first I took her for a fan. Neil’s work wasn’t the sort to attract adoring masses, but occasionally admirers would find their way to his home. Usually he’d send them away, but sometimes he’d have them wait in the atrium while I positioned him in his studio, ready for a short meeting or Q-and-A session.
I was about to ask her to wait while I checked with him, but as I started to speak she turned her head, revealing a mass of white thread criss-crossing all over the side of her temple, standing starkly against the dark brown of her skin.
She told me to sit down, and I did. I heard the levers and pulleys move behind me, and I could tell that Neil was being walked down the corridor towards this woman, but I couldn’t see. I couldn’t turn my head. So I don’t really know what his reaction was. But it didn’t sound like one of fear, or despair. He called her ‘Annabelle,’ and she sent me to his screening room. She told me I was to watch his original cuts. “Just until we’re all done here,” she said.
And as I walked away from Neil, the last time I saw him alive, he was dancing, the cables shifting and moving him in a graceful, sweeping ballet. And he was crying with joy.
I don’t know how long I was watching those films. I don’t - It was hard to keep track of time. According to my daughter, I was missing for five months. When Annabelle let me out, Neil was dead. He was hanging there, wrapped in his strings like a cocoon, twisting gently around, and around, and around.
She told me to take the films, his original cuts. She told me to come here. She told me to give them to you. I resisted for some time, but I’m done now. She’s won. And I’d - very much like to go home.
ARCHIVIST
(sharp intake of breath) Statement ends. (exhale) Hm. Neil Lagorio. You ever see any of his work?
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) Mm, they were… Well, let’s just say it’s not a complete shock there was something unnatural to them. Didn’t know we had copies in the Institute, though, let alone original cuts.
[HE LAUGHS.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Records indicate they ended up in… (paper flips) Artifact Storage.
DAISY
Probably best they stay there.
ARCHIVIST
Yeah. (inhale) Yes, of course.
[PAUSE.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Annabelle Cane, though… She worries me - I - I don’t know. This is the second time she’s turned up, uh… Peripheral to the Institute?
DAISY
That you know of.
ARCHIVIST
Meaning what?
DAISY
(sigh) She’s Web. Spider’s sneaky like that. Like that lighter you’re always using; where’d you get that?
ARCHIVIST
Mm. Good point. We should keep our eyes open. Anyways - How’s Basira doing? I haven’t seen her much since - (inhale) Well, she seemed a bit tense the last few times we spoke. (cautiously) How are you guys doing?
DAISY
(overlapping, clears throat) N-No, Basira she’s - she’s been good. We’re together, so it’s good, (sigh) if she didn’t keep treating me like a china doll. (inhale, exhale over speaking) But it’s alright.
ARCHIVIST
That’s understandable, I suppose.
DAISY
(sigh) Yeah, well - (sigh) What do you think? You think I’m weak, just - (sigh) - ‘cause I’m not already chasing the next kill? You think I’m less me?
ARCHIVIST
I - (sigh) I don’t feel like I’m exactly in the best place to judge the… intersection between free will and humanity. (stuttering inhale) I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
DAISY
John… When you went in the coffin, was it you choosing to do that? Did you actually think you could save me, or was that something telling you to do it?
ARCHIVIST
It was me. I was - drawn to it, I’ll admit, but it was my decision. It wasn’t entirely about you, though.
[HE SIGHS AS HE SAYS THOSE LAST WORDS.]
DAISY
What was it?
ARCHIVIST
My - (large sigh) My memories of the coma are not clear, but I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die. But ever since then, I - I don’t know if I made the right decision; I’m stronger now, tougher, I can - (he cuts himself off) If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever? I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. And I don’t want to lose anyone else, so if I can maybe - stop that happening, and the only danger is to me, I - I’ll do it in a heartbeat; worst case scenario, the universe loses another monster.
DAISY
That’s messed up.
[THE ARCHIVIST LETS OUT A LAUGH.]
ARCHIVIST
(inhale) Yeah. I suppose it is.
DAISY
Did you know the coffin wouldn’t kill you?
ARCHIVIST
I - guess I thought imprisonment wouldn’t - wouldn’t be as bad as it was.
[DAISY SIGHS.]
ARCHIVIST
And it’s a lot easier to make that choice than it is to actually endure the result; you might have noticed when I was in there with you I… I had regrets.
DAISY
Yeah. I remember.
ARCHIVIST
Plus I thought - (pause, small sigh) Well, I didn’t know what being down there had done to you.
DAISY
(slight intake of breath) You thought I was gonna kill you?
ARCHIVIST
It was a possibility.
DAISY
Guess so.
[A SHORT PAUSE, SILENT BUT FOR THE ARCHIVIST’S BREATHING.]
ARCHIVIST
Daisy.
DAISY
Hm?
ARCHIVIST
It, uh - hm - Is it, uh - Weird question, but - I - (sigh) I haven’t seen you in my dreams? The last couple of weeks?
DAISY
Oh, ah - No, I - I work here now. Figured it seemed to protect the others, so -
ARCHIVIST
Oh! Right, so you - wait, did you talk to Lukas, or…?
DAISY
(overlapping, hah) Broke into Elias’s old office, found an employment contract, filled it in, and signed it.
ARCHIVIST
And that worked.
DAISY
Seems so.
ARCHIVIST
And you’re not… worried about -
DAISY
Basira’s trapped here. So are you. Not like I’m going anywhere anyway.
ARCHIVIST
I suppose not. So… (sigh) No more dreams.
DAISY
Not of you and your weird eyes. Just the coffin.
ARCHIVIST
Is that better?
DAISY
(fierce) It’s mine.
ARCHIVIST
Right.
DAISY
You need to stop moping.
ARCHIVIST
(the picture of Edwardian offense) I what?
DAISY
You need to stop swanning around, being all sad.
ARCHIVIST
I - I’m not swanning around -
DAISY (OVERLAPPING)
“Boo-hoo, I’m so alone and a monster.”
ARCHIVIST
I am alone. Martin is -
DAISY
Busy doing paperwork. Not like he’s dead. Besides, he’s not the only other person here, you know. There’s me, Melanie, Basira -
ARCHIVIST
Traumatized, traumatized, and paranoid because of me.
DAISY
(give me strength) Get over yourself! You’re always talking about choices; we all made ours. Now I’m making a choice to get some drinks in. Coming?
ARCHIVIST
(wha?) I - I don’t - I - (slight pause, he grapples with the concept of friendship) Yeah, okay.
DAISY
Melanie’s out. But I’ll go get Basira.
ARCHIVIST
(sigh) Is she - W-Will she want to join us?
DAISY
(darkly) If she doesn’t, I’ll rip her throat out.
ARCHIVIST
Uhhh…
DAISY
It’s a joke, John.
ARCHIVIST
Oh. Haha! (soft) Yes. I - I-I’ll get my coat.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. THERAPIST’S OFFICE]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
THERAPIST
Right, have a seat.
[IMMEDIATELY, WE NOTICE A LARGE RUSH OF BACKGROUND NOISE. IT’S NOT OBVIOUS WHAT’S MAKING IT UP - IT’S VERY CONDENSED - BUT IT’S DEFINITELY THERE. THE THERAPIST HERSELF SOUNDS VERY PLEASANT.]
THERAPIST
Do you mind if I record our sessions?
MELANIE
I do mind, yes.
THERAPIST
Ah, I mean, it’s just for my own notes -
MELANIE
I categorically, and completely, do not give consent for you to make any recording of me, ever. Turn it off. Please.
THERAPIST
I - I see. Yes, of course.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
@@petraivan6778 thank you o(^^o)
You are welcome :)
Petra Iván thank youuuuu
Neil Ligorio's pullies for the paralised remind me of this guy, Thomas Midgly Jr. He was paralised by polio later in life and contrived a system of pullies and strings that allowed him to sit himself up in bed. He died from becoming entangled in that system. He's also the inventor of leaded petrol, and of the CFC gasses that caused the hole in the ozone layer
*Ominous "Master of Puppets" plays in the background*
so you've made it to the Puppet man episode...
oh yeah it gets worse in the next Web statement *Don't you worry...*
now if you're still wondering what spiders, the internet, secrets and puppets have in common... Manipulation, dawg, that what it be! The puppet-master, which i'm pretty sure is Annabelle Cain, is known to carry many secrets that would potentially derail any and all attempts for the Fears taking over the world... but she's *passive* . Therein lies the her strength. Nobody can touch her, and in return, she keeps to herself and doesn't hurt people. well... MOST people. now you must understand... the Web, and perhaps Annabelle herself, is in control of pretty much *EVERY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE IMAGINABLE* and she CHOOSES to only hunt one victim at a time... and never leaves a trace. She could've taken over the world at the turn of the century if she wanted to.... SHE. DOES. NOT. NEED. A. RITUAL. and that makes her the most powerful being in the universe (currently) , yes even above Elias the all seeing. Even he cannot parse as much raw data that Anny crunches EVERY SECOND with here tiny little spider mandibles... where was i? oh yes, MANIPULATION.
it is my belief that the secrets are there to *protect us* . because knowing that you have no free will *only makes things worse* . and that is not the point of the Web. it relishes in subtlety and suspense. it wants to creep up on you when you least expect it and BAM you're a goner. why do you think it chose a *children's book* of all things to manifest as?
The Web is the entirety of our cruel existence. the illusion of free will is a defense mechanism to hide the horrors of *the web between our ears and the string that binds us to those we love and hate and those who lurk in the shadows, in the filth, in the open sky, to undermine our every move with strings of their own going higher still up the painted cardboard walls of this puppet show*
thus begins my thesis paper on "Why Annabelle Cain is Jesus"
Spider wife is best wife.
@@mimkyodar Better than fire wife though???
Don’t be shy OP finish the thesis
Well... A few of the later episodes kinda derail some of the details in this red-string conspiracy board... But the essence of it is still pretty true. Anny never wanted a ritual. But alas... Doors were *made* to be opened.
me reading the episode description: hey isn't that the guy from the episode about the guy making a movie about a spider?
Whoa whoa whoa, was... was that the Web actively on tape at 19:23? A gentle nudge to get them both to move on from the lighter?
He's mopy because everyone blames him for everything so obviously he blames himself gawd
i stopped watching just before this and now I'm starting again since s5 has started :D
Wait this is season 4
@@SaigonWaigon9036 The podcast is long past this. You can listen to it on their website link to Acast. Season 5 already started, about midway by now.
The Eldritch fear being watching Daisy forge the shit out of those employment papers: you know what sure fuck it welcome aboard
Daisy I love you and thank you for being the one (1) positive influence in Jon's life rn.
22:10 "I haven't seen you in my dreams the last couple weeks" just so casually
That "haha!" from Jon after asked to drinks, the most uncomfortable strained sound ever
That was weird, he changed up the topic when the lighter after the web got mentioned
Unconscious eh? Could be he has a thread
Ohmy
yes, he did the same when someone else asked about it in a previous episode.
Jon really got asked to dogsit Daisy like "Hey man, can you watch my dog while I step out for a minute? Alright cheers"
Jon’s sweet little laugh 😭
I absolutely love Daisy in this season!