THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES
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- Опубліковано 8 кві 2020
- MAG123 - Case #0150108 - Angie Santos
Statement regarding a website developed by one Gregory Cox.
The Magnus Archives tells the story of an unusual IT project that got more than a little involved, enmeshing the developer in an uncomfortable predicament.
Content Notes: Body horror, direct violence, emotional trauma, extreme aggression, grief, insect infestation, spiders
Starring: The Archivist - Jonathan Sims; Melanie King - Lydia Nicholas, Basira Hussain - Frank Voss
Writer: Jonathan Sims
Director: Alexander J Newall
Editors: Alexander J Newall
MERCH:
Crowdmade: crowdmade.com/collections/rus...
Teepublic: www.teepublic.com/stores/rust...
Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/Rust...
For more information or to hang out with the Rusty Quill community, visit:
WEBSITE: www.rustyquill.com
FACEBOOK: therustyquill/
TWITTER: @therustyquill
FORUMS: rustyquill.proboards.com
REDDIT: www.reddit.com/r/TheMagnusArchives/
DISCORD: / discord
EMAIL: mail@rustyquill.com - Розваги
![WE EXPLORED THE DARK WEB [INSTANT REGRET]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ID9Xw9S3I0o/mqdefault.jpg)
JON WAS LITERALLY IN A COMA FOR S I X MONTHS WHY IS EVERYONE BLAMING HIM FOR EVERYTHING
Seriously! What the actual hell!
And nothing against the story writers. it makes sense it just breaks my heart
Exactly!! Melanie went to him for help and she accepted the job while Jon wasn’t even there….
Because jon is the archivist and while Elias dicked them around Jon is still "the boss" for the arche ppl and the avatar of the eye
Reminds me of,
"Where were you!?"
"I was *kidnapped* !"
"Oh. Sorry."
“Coma, great, let’s rearrange his office” the SALT
THE ABSOLUTE Z E S T
To be fair to the others, if you had been stuck in there for months, you too would want to use all of the available space
Let’s All Blame Jon For Events Beyond His Control Simply Because He Was There
(even when he _wasn't_, looking at you, melanie)
@@alicepersson9568 Ill never forgive Melanie for blaming Jon for her issues. Not only was he not there, Martin tried to majorly hint that she shouldnt take the job. Its not her fault either cause the institute basically trapped her in this web like the others but blaming Jon is not okay people. They only do it because hes easier to punch than Elias or the big fear gods😒
Mhmm indeed, sounds reasonable
I think it's just because he technically is their boss. Think about how many people blame their boss for company decisions. Is it right. Definitely not and I think her problems are her own doing but if you've noticed that's a theme with her. She has never taken responsibility and the one time she was forced to by Elias she snapped.
this
I absolutely love the concept of someone serving a fear just because they were too awkward to say no
it's a mood and a half
That absolutely would be me lol
mood fr
@@Charlie._.Niron22fr me too
"what do I do if Melanie comes back?" - "I dunno, play dead?" fhsfksfh I love Basira
I thought she said STAY dead and I was like well then
@@jacobelavalle7065 kdshdjshjjd
Everyone: Wow Jon needs a nap
RustyQuill: *Put him in a coma for 6 months*
Everyone: NOT LIKE THAT-
A 6 month coma in which he dreams about the statements he recorded with statement givers blaming him for what happened to them, and when he woke up everyone in the real world is also blaming him
Ngl didn’t even count tho if he took a nap everyone would die and the whole building would burn down and they’d blame him cause he self cared for 30 minutes
😂
Damn. I just realized that Jon and Martin are the last members of the original crew...
nOO dont remind me ;-;
i mean,,, there's technically elias as well >_>
@@heehoo-yf5zc elias doesn't have rights
@@mozarteanchaos
Well said
the POWER OF GAY COMPELLS YOU! THE *POWER OF GAY COMPELS YOU*
Can we not blame Jon for things beyond his control? Poor man. "You weren't around!" "This is your fault!" YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. Besides, half the time he wasn't there was spent kidnapped or coma'd.
This man needs a break or a lifetime vacation with all the shit he has to go through
Jon: Let me see what you have!
Melanie: A knife!
Jon: NO!
This one had me loling
Melanie’s anger really seems similar to Jon’s s2 paranoia in that those traits are being heightened by their fears/traumas/connections to the entities
Woah, I didn't really think about that before. The more I think about it, the more I'm amazed at the details that highlight what entities are possessing them. While Melanie, who's possessed by the slaughter, gets extremely aggressive and violent, Jon, who's possessed by the Eye, constantly seeks out as much information as he can to the point of pretty much stalking. Love the detail in this series.
melanie really said "it's my turn with the paranoia arc"
Melanie is also absolutely being courted by slaughter
Melanie’s really getting mad at Jon for waking up from a coma huh. But honestly I feel like it’s not really her; I feel like one of the fears might be manifesting in her, controlling her. Even Jon said “this isn’t you” to her:
👀 good catch!
TheNitpickChick Thanks! :D
im beginning to think she's marked like daisy was. maybe by the slaughter? it's unnerving either way
My money's on The Slaughter. I think it probably sunk its claws in after Elias told her how her dad died. Now it's focusing on anything Eye related, especially Jon.
@@rorygiambalvo2955 theories are it probably happened before that. In India or the train
"Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, The Archivist" gave me chills for some reason
evolution
yeah hes just embracing it now
Thank god I thoguht I was the only one
Yeah ik, I miss "Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London."
"Sorry what's _woosh_ ?"
" _Woosh_ . Gone."
Ok Melanie's VA this episode? Amazing. She got all that hatred flowing in her performance, love it.
Yess! I get that people are upset at her character but damn, she deserves more recognition for her acting.
I know right? Like holy fuck
yeah and in the assistant's round table the VA for melanie, lydia, said that she had never voice acted before this role so that makes it so much more impressive
@@anyoom9031 Wow, really? Melanie's one of my faves and I always thought she had one of the best VAs on this podcast, I can't believe it's her first time doing this damn.
@@anyoom9031 Gosh that is impressive, I had no idea. She's so good in this role.
"Two days out of a coma, and I'm already tired" now that'd be a freaking mood if it wasn't that depressing to hear
Also Melanie voice acting at the beggining was sooo good
And I'm so worried for Martin...
Though I already swore I was going Berserk on Stranger if anything happened to the team, I guess beating up Lonely Lukas is no more worse now
"Coma. Great, let's rearrange his office, sleeping people don't need p l a n s." I love that line xDD
Also, was Melanie hitting Jon with a broom? I hope Martin is alright...
I think he said “sleeping people don’t need _pens_ “ but I love either version. 😄
And I’m pretty sure she was just bodily shoving Jon away from her. It also sounded like she threw a mug or something when she first saw him.
@@TheNitpickChick the shattering made me think she smashed a glass bottle to make a stabby weapon
@@fauxclaws honestly, that would be on brand lol 😅
can we talk about how Basira is so adorable cause she either speaks like ravenclaw/garnet incarnate or random just noises like "is he, you know... *woOhoO* ?" and this one "he was.. *wooshhh* "
garnet would ask someting like "is he woohooo?"
tumblr is a poison
Onomatopoeia master
@@ollieri (she wouldn't though as she litterally doesn't ask any question ever)
Alex: "Hi everyone, Alex here-"
Me, suddenly beaming: HELLO!!!
Ikr iqzfvqy8, also liked the person who just named themselves "I like big books" lmao
Jon saves the world and Melanie just fucking yells at him holy shit. Yes Tim is dead, but everyone else in the world would have been too if it wasnt for Jon.
Basira, I love you, but being grateful for the effects of Melanie's mark and asking Jon to go easy on her and Martin while giving him absolutely no leniency after a damn coma is not very cash money of you
Well, to be fair, she hasn't dealt with him as much as the others.
First, her interactions with him were suspecting him of killing Gertrude while he was clearly suffering paranoid delusions.
Second, he was accused of killing an older gentleman and Sasha.
Third, once Elias confessed and she was forced to join the Institute, Jon went on his journey to stop the Unknowing, which often took him far from the Institute.
So, it makes sense she'd have a hard time sympathizing with Jon as a person as opposed to Melanie and Martin.
yeah. she tends to approve of any Fear effect that benefits her personally, and since Jon's doesn't, somehow he's the bad guy. Oh, but Daisy hunting and Melanie killing? Just fine!
@@trin-is-lateyou're right. She's happy to use others touched by the powers as long as it benefits her; allows her to feel in control. But when it's not to her direct benefit or it's inconvenient she's againt it. It's hypocrisy and Basira's biggest character flaw that she never really fully addresses.
@mechengr1731 Jon _was_ paranoid, but he _wasn't_ delusional. He was _right_ ! One of his assistants _was_ plotting to kill him (NotSasha) and Gertrude _was_ killed by someone working for the institute.
WHERE TF IS MARTIN
Being spooky
Gettin lonely with da Lonely
Peter Lucas is grooming him for the Lonely just like Elias groomed Jon for the Eye😖
@@tomdaly7088 The new Joe Spooky- ohhhh sorry too soon?
THIS episode. This is by far the most concrete evidence for the "Web is in the Web" theory.
Now the real question is... Did the Web entity *create* the Web of sites, or did the Web entity just... _infest_ the Web?
Also Melanie is Slaughter now.
From what I gather, the entities infest things but dont directly create. For example Humans seem to give "The Flesh" places to infest but it doesnt make it's own really. It's always humans (or animals) that create the space for fear
I get the feeling that Melanie had Slaughter tendencies since the start. Most of her interaction with the paranormal was Slaughter based. (Military hospital, senseless violence train cart, dead soldiers in India...)
I can feel this. Melanie I think was becoming drawn into slaughter since getting shot by the India war ghosts. Elias is a terrible person but becoming obsessed with killing him was really showing it.
That was my first instinct too. But I also see hints of the flame in her
im saying in this case the web made the website as Chelicerae is the name for spider fangs or what ever their called
I could understand some annoyance toward Jon but he literally just got out of coma and he wasn't even doing anything and yet everyone's angry at him. Nevertheless, I do feel bad for all of them but with Jon the most.
At this point, I feel like it’s more centring around distrust, which can manifest as fear or anger.
Jon just woke up from a six-month coma where he literally had no heartbeat, and was basically dead except for his brain activity. They now know for sure that he’s not human anymore. And they’ve all had bad experiences with non-human entities.
So Basira is keeping calm but acting with caution, and Melanie is scared and angry and lashing out at everything at this point (both due to general trauma and also for reasons that will later be explained).
Jon being an avatar of The Eye, the thing keeping her shackled to the Institute, makes him an especially easy target for that fear and aggression.
Everyone is going through it, and they all need hugs and extensive therapy. 😢
"She saved my life jon" SO DID TIM MARTIN DAISY AND JON
6 MONTHS AGO??? it makes so much sense why everyone feels jon is entirely to blame but gosh it hurts i just hope they try to trust him more just like he finally put trust in all of them
It really doesn't though. They are using him as a scape goat even though none of this would be prevented if he simply wasn't.
@@darcieclements4880 exactly, its really not his fault at all.
if it wasnt jon it would have been somebody else it doesnt matter who is in the roll of the archivist the fate will be the same every time
@@darcieclements4880 from what it seems like, they’ve been living in fear for 6 months, I don’t think any of them would be thinking rationally
Jon needs a hug and a nap
bruh just napped 6 months and u want him to sleep more?
@@clvrblzzrd8333 Y E S but hopefully not a coma this time tho
@@clvrblzzrd8333 i mean, he had nightmares the whole time
He needs Martin too
honestly, kudos to Lydia Nicholas who plays Melanie, that was damn real
“Sorry what’s WHSSSH-“
“WSHHS”
“WSHHH”
Jon: Conclusion to Do My Friends Hate Me or Do I Just Need to Go To Sleep?
I went to sleep and my friends do indeed hate me.
5:44 ooooooooooh is Jon jealous of peter??????
Melanie is really getting on my nerves
Yeah tell me about it!
True! She was the only one of them who had a choice in the beginning. She just HAD to say yes to Elias, now she's making things difficult.
@@bellatrixharrieblack yah that's kinda true but she was manipulated into joining by Elias and Beholding; I think it's not entirely her fault
been for me since the start
I don't remember exactly when, but in a previous episode she accused John of making her join the Institude even if he wasn't even there, so I guess she just likes to blame other people for her own actions (Sorry if I said something wrong, English is not my first language)
"I Like Big Books" lmao
And I cannot lie
Alex enunciated that one so ~carefully~.
Wait wait wait... Is Jon JEALOUS?.. that martin is getting cozy work someone else?! GASP maybe it's possible!
Martin does have the tendency to fall for and be too close to his non-human avatar bosses...
I like how Jon said "The web tends to go after those who don't stick up for themselves," or something like it, then proceeds to say "I wish I could talk to them about it... Nah I don't want to bother them" lol
My heart hurts so much for Jon, why does no one ever realize how difficult all of this has been for him? Like they’re all so upset over how hard they have it when he’s been the one at the centre of it all since the start. And now the only person who might understand is being spirited away by Peter.
Please just someone give our little archivist a hug :(
In a different show, Jon would call a meeting and play his tape where he talked about Mr. Spider.
Then they'd know, he was chosen. Just like Agnes. Just like Oliver/Antonio.
He never had a choice.
His destiny was decided when he was 7 years old.
Melanie is slipping from my "likable character list"
tbh I still like her because for some reason I can, more than with other characters for sure, see through her facade of abrasiveness and hatred into something below. Its obvious shes struggling MAJORLY with something and for some reason with her I find it a lot easier to forgive and empathize than I would with other chars. Her behavior is terrible tho and I hope she sorts her shit out soon.
I always found her obnoxious, but she was growing on me... until she started trying to murder Elias, which would have killed all her coworkers
She's just in her Season 2 Jon era
yeah i used to really love her character, although i don't think it's her fault, i think something's influencing her (i'm a first-time listener)
i only don't despise her because i fully believe she's for the slaughter
Why are they mad at Jon for being in a coma?
They’re not mad at Jon for being in a coma. They’re extremely distrustful of Jon for waking up from a six-month long coma where he wasn’t breathing, had no heartbeat, and was all but dead except for his active brain activity.
They don’t know what he is yet, or if they can still trust him. Plus they’ve been through a lot of shit over those six months that have put them even more on edge than they were before.
_We_ know Jon is still basically the same, except he probably can’t die anymore and is a bit more powerful, but they don’t. They need time. 😔
Jonathan Sims hates his namesake character and takes every chance to torture him
@@kellanlevi5663 The TommyInnit Effect (tm)
“Coma. Great, let’s rearrange his office, sleeping people don’t need *pens.“* I love the salt.
I love Basira's way of explaining things😭 started off with "is he... wooOoOoOO?" to "woosh!... you know.... woosh!"
Okay that's it I'm getting real tired of Melanie. She keeps on yelling at our tired traumatized boi :(
yeah everyone acts like he's off Scott free but he's suffering just as much as the rest of them. At least when Tim was angry it wasn't specifically at Jon.
I think that's rather the point of Melanie's character and I believe there is significant evidence now to show melanie as claimed by the slaughter.and the VA is so good it started good and now it's exemplary
I'm kind of curious how the Flesh attack would have gone. Meat and teeth and meat and meat and meat
All the members of Jared’s gym rolling up on the Archives like “What up?! I’m just a ball of arms! Here’s my friend who’s a big ol’ tongue with limbs and a tail! We’re here to fuck shit up!”
I'm just imagining a sea of raw steaks, rolling and flooding and crashing over each, rushing down the street to get to the Institute's doors.
Basira: Yeah we discussed eating the remanence, but I didn't know if it was Kosher, so Martin just put it in a tupperwere in the breakroom freezer. It's still there if you want to try it. Someone up in marketing said they ate some and that it's a bit gamey, but good with garlic butter...
Jon: ???OKAY???
I know there's been revelations and drama in this episode but Jon grumbling about his desk getting rearranged and his snacks being expired is strangely sweet
Okay so Basira says that Melanie singlehandedly took on The Flesh but how the fuck could she handle that monster all by herself without being one herself . . . okay listen, I may be so completely wrong but she's faced so many ghost war situations and maybe something got to her???
becoming an avatar of the slaughter?
This one felt nostalgic, like season 1.
The new status quo, i guess. The show basically got soft-rebooted. Well, not quite, but you know what o mean.
Okay, No! Tim and Martin and Sasha might be able to blame Jon a little. Hell, even the sectioned cops might be able to blame him for it, he was the one pushing the Gertrude case. MELANIE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO ACTIVELY LOOKED FOR THE PARANORMAL! SHE WENT LOOKING FOR IT, AND NOW SHE'S SAD BECAUSE SHE FOUND IT AND IT HURT.
melanie king (of shifting blame)
seriously i understand her mistrust of jon after everything that's happened, the guy was basically dead for six months... but still, this is way too extreme. i think she might be marked by the slaughter or something :/
The Web team is as technologically advanced as the The Lonely, and The Eye
"What do I do if Melanie comes back?"
"Dunno, play dead"
AWFUL JOKE, BASIRA!
I like how the relationship between Martin and Jon has gone from "well... 3 helps, though I doubt that Martin will cause anything other than delays" straight to 'I miss Martin, where is he, I miss his company'
Ok, I really like all the remaining characters and I get that they're all mad and frustrated and scared, but it's not Jon's fault? I feel honestly bad for him and how much everyone blames him for things beyond his control. He's clearly just as scared, mad, and frustrated as them.
I wonder if the woman who gave Greg the job was Annabelle Cane from the episode about the psychology experiment?
It seems like it would fit. That incident occurred in 2010, and the statements of Carlos Vittery and Angie here were both given years after. The spider connection is obvious, and Greg reported noticing "a network of pale stitches that stretched over one side of her head" that she was trying to cover up with her hoodie. This would match the injury she received in the story of episode 69, which stated that a part of her skull was caved in, revealing cobwebs.
I think it has to have been her.
You're genius!
@@teleutenachtigaller2762 Little did I realize at the time I wrote this how big of a role she had to play later (that's as much as I can say without saying anything specific enough to qualify as a spoiler).
"I like big books"
Didn't know Jurgen Leitner was also a patreon of the Institute...
okey but this part "But we never really did that, did we?" really hurt soooo bad
aye :(
I'm becoming very fond of the tape recorder (recorders?) just showing up at random times running or not running as they please. Its like an easter egg hunt, except all the easter eggs are observing you when you least expect it and the easter bunny is out to get you
Reminds me of the shapeshifting students
@@ThatOneArchivist oh yeah I love them. They were just trying to be good students lol
@@hamburgerdog25 oh we are supposed to have TWO lungs. Riiiggghht. Yep, yep, yep,,,,
same energy as the tapes
Oh I’m not supposed to be running? *gets turned off* (they don’t know i know this trick) *turns back on*
The web is in the web... well I guess that makes sense
Holy shit be nice to Jon
18:53 "MISTER SPIDER DOESN'T LIKE *CHANGE* "
Over 100 episodes talking about spider "fangs" or "jaws" and it turns out they knew chelicerae are a thing.
While on the topic of the Fears and their Alliances... The alliance of Eye, Web, Lonely and Vast. Introverts, like many of us here, can relate very well to these. And we are... "immune" to their effects. It's almost like the fears naturally group together... And it feels like being marked by one increases your chance of being marked by the others.
And you *can* be marked by multiple fears at once...
The Story Spinner
You can be marked by multiple fears but it's still very much experimental it seems, as no one was sure Martin could be, not even Elias or Peter. Also I dont think it makes us immune; in fact it might make us more susceptible to the fears, we aren't likely to be touched by The Slaughter but the Web, oh we are prime real estate.
I imagine it would be on a case by case basis? Like if you're marked by one, whether you get more or less afraid of it depends how you react to the event that marked you. Your natural tendencies towards that Fear, as in how much you're willing to get close to it without really feeling afraid, would affect it as well.
Remember how Gerry described them. Its like... colours. They do have these clear themes, but they blend and mix, and you can get ones that have several influences at once.
6:33 Basira: they ignored him and- *whoosh*
Jon: sorry, what’s “whoosh”
Basira: *WhOoOoSH*
Why did this make me laugh so hard🤡💔
The Slaughter really has Melanie by the adrenal glands doesn’t it?
I am going to CRY I miss the rest of the og group ;;;; jONNNNN
poor jon
The Magnus archives is just Jon going through the 5 stages of grief. YOU CANT CHANGE MY MIND.
God as much as this episode was a rollercoaster of emotions, this Greg guy is such a mood
Men will really record statements for a demonic eye instead of just going to therapy
[INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES, JOHN’S OFFICE]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
[THE ARCHIVIST SIGHS.]
ARCHIVIST
(under his breath) Where did the - (sighs)
[SOME SHUFFLING AS HE LOOKS THROUGH PAPERS/WHATEVER’S ON HIS DESK.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
(salt) Coma, great! Let’s rearrange his office. Sleeping people don’t need-pens.
[HE STEPS IN SOMETHING WITH A SQUELCH!]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Euagh! What -
[SOMETHING IN THE DISTANCE IS KNOCKING ABOUT. THE ARCHIVIST SIGHS AGAIN, DEFEATED, AND GETS UP TO SEE WHAT THE SOUND IS.]
[THE ANGRY KNOCKING SOUND GETS CLOSER AND LOUDER AS THE ARCHIVIST MOVES TOWARDS THE DOOR.]
[THE ARCHIVIST OPENS THE DOOR AND STEPS OUT INTO INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES, HALLWAY]
ARCHIVIST
Melanie! It’s very good to, uh - (surprised concern) Melanie? Are you al - WOAH!
[SOMETHING CRASHES. PRESUMABLY IT WAS THROWN AT JOHN.]
MELANIE
(extremely angry) Get away from me.
ARCHIVIST
Now, Melanie - i-it’s me.
MELANIE
No, no.
ARCHIVIST
No, I, I, I, I - I’m back.
MELANIE
(overlapping) No. (after Archivist) Oh! Oh, yeah, back to your happy little family?
ARCHIVIST
What; no! I j - I didn’t mean to-
MELANIE
How did you make it out then, hm?
ARCHIVIST
What?
MELANIE
Tim is dead. Daisy is dead, and you - what, you’re just fine?
ARCHIVIST
What - no! I’ve been in hospital for six months!
MELANIE
Something has been in hospital. Something that’s got your face, like - I warned Basira; I said not to let you back in here, but she just (increasingly angry; starts slamming [the wall]) doesn’t! listen!
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) Melanie, Melanie, it’s - it’s me.
MELANIE
Oh! Okay, so it’s what, hi John, how are you, get anyone killed lately?
ARCHIVIST
(dumbstruck) I - I -
MELANIE
Wipe that look off of your face. Like you’re not the reason all of this is happening! (she takes a breath) Like you’re any better than [unintelligible] -
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) (stammering)
MELANIE
- than him!
ARCHIVIST
- B,B,B,Basira said Elias was gone!
MELANIE
Oh, gone, right, yes, yes, he is (she takes a breath and sighs) he’s gone. Like that makes any difference.
ARCHIVIST
I don’t understand.
MELANIE
No! You don’t, do you? He’s still alive. You are still alive. So this place is still -
[SHE STARTS TO TAKE BIG, HEAVING BREATHS, ALMOST TO THE POINT OF TEARS.]
ARCHIVIST
Melanie, Melanie, this isn’t you-
MELANIE
Get back! off!
[SHE PUSHES THE ARCHIVIST AND HE GRUNTS.]
MELANIE (CONT’D)
You don’t know me. And I don’t know you, so stay the hell away from me or I swear I will -
ARCHIVIST
(as one would to a riled up grizzly bear) Okay.
[MELANIE TAKES A DEEP, GUTTURAL BREATH.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Okay.
[HE OPENS AND STEPS BACK THROUGH THE DOOR TO INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES, JOHN’S OFFICE]
ARCHIVIST
Okay.
[HE TAKES A LONG, SHAKY BREATH.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
I’m sorry.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
[INT. MAGNUS INSTITUTE, ARCHIVES]
[TAPE CLICKS ON.]
ARCHIVIST
She nearly attacked me, Basira. I know me and Melanie haven’t always seen eye to eye before, but - (sigh) Christ!
BASIRA
Yeah, I did warn you. She’s not uh… She’s not been having a good time.
ARCHIVIST
(oh, really?) Mm. Yes, I did get that impression. (sigh) Elias is gone. I thought - I mean, wasn’t that supposed to be - it. (breath) But she is still -
BASIRA
It’s not that simple.
ARCHIVIST
She needs help, Basira. God, it didn’t even get like that with - (slower, neutral) Even Tim never threatened me. Not like that.
BASIRA
Alright, just back off. You haven’t been here.
ARCHIVIST
O-okay. You’re right. I haven’t. So explain it to me.
[BASIRA SIGHS.]
BASIRA
Alright. Best I can understand it, Beholding, or the Eye, or… whatever you wanna call it, we’re one of the only powers that hasn’t taken a shot at a ritual. Yet. And everything out there knows it.
ARCHIVIST
No - I mean, we can’t be the only ones, surely.
BASIRA
(sigh) I don’t know. Probably not. But we made a big noise with the Unknowing and… other stuff and now they’ve taken notice. We’re safe in here, usually. But we don’t go out much anymore.
ARCHIVIST
Usually.
BASIRA
Yeah.
ARCHIVIST
You were attacked. When?
BASIRA
About two months ago. It was, uh, it was the Flesh.
ARCHIVIST
Oh, god.
BASIRA
Yeah, it was bad. We took them all out. Melanie did most of them. She was… she got a knife from somewhere and -
ARCHIVIST
(overlapping) Basira I-I don’t know if that’s a good sign?
BASIRA
She saved my life, John. She saved all of us. I won’t forget that.
ARCHIVIST
(sighs) Fine. Fine.
[PAUSE.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Haven’t seen Martin about.
BASIRA
Yeah, he comes and goes. He’s busy.
Well, he seems it.
ARCHIVIST
Working for Peter Lukas.
BASIRA
Don’t be too hard on him, John. Your, uh, situation. It hit him. Hard.
ARCHIVIST
(sighs) Yes. Well, I’m sure there are better ways to deal with it than getting - cozy with Elias’s successor. Who I’ve yet to meet, by the way.
[BASIRA LAUGHS, MIRTHLESS.]
BASIRA
Yeah, join the club.
ARCHIVIST
Sorry, you haven’t? -
BASIRA
Nope. Never seen him. Far as I can tell, Martin’s the only one who has.
ARCHIVIST
R-right. A-and you’re sure he’s…real?
BASIRA
We get emails from him. Memos.
[THE ARCHIVIST LAUGHS IN DISBELIEF.]
BASIRA (CONT’D)
He’s been restructuring. Separating out the departments a bit. Not a surprise, I guess, with his pedigree.
ARCHIVIST
But i-if you’ve never seen him, I mean…
BASIRA
(sighs) Rumor is a couple of researchers up on the third floor decided to ignore some of his new directives, and… whoosh.
ARCHIVIST
Sorry, what’s whoosh?
BASIRA
Whoosh. Gone.
ARCHIVIST
Oh.
[HE LAUGHS, BUT IT, TOO, IS HUMORLESS.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
The more things change… So, we’re under siege, Melanie is aggressively unstable, Martin is working very closely with - The Lonely, who is predictably enough isolating him, and, oh, yes, uh, Tim and Daisy are still dead. (laughing) Which is at least easy to keep track of.
BASIRA
That isn’t funny, John.
ARCHIVIST
I know it’s not - (pause) Sorry. It’s just - it’s a lot.
[HE SIGHS, QUIETLY.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
And we’ve got an audience. Perfect. I thought you said you decided to throw them all out.
BASIRA
Yep. And I did. And here’s another one.
ARCHIVIST
Maybe it’s hungry.
BASIRA
Seriously.
ARCHIVIST
I mean, I did have a statement I was planning to record.
BASIRA
Great. Perfect. You can get on with that, and I’ll just leave, then.
ARCHIVIST
Right. Ah, what do I do if Melanie comes back?
BASIRA
I don’t know. Play dead.
[SHE OPENS THE DOOR AND STARTS TO LEAVE.]
ARCHIVIST
Right.
[THE DOOR SHUTS BEHIND HER.]
[SOME PAPERS SHUFFLE AS HE GETS THE STATEMENT READY.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
Statement of Angie Santos, regarding a website developed by one Gregory Cox. Original statement given 1st August, 2015. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, The Archivist.
Statement begins.
ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)
Okay, for this to make any… real kind of sense, you sort of need to know Greg. Or, at least, understand how he works. Don’t… misunderstand me, please, I, I’m very fond of the man, but I have never in my life encountered anyone quite so… passive. So willing to go along with whatever situation he finds himself in. No matter how awkward or uncomfortable he might be, he just seems to… accept his position.
Actually, now I think about it, it’s more that his being uncomfortable actually makes him more likely to… dig in, to double down on whatever’s happening, as if increasing his investment in a thing will somehow make it easier to endure.
To give you an example, I first met him about seven years ago, when he was twenty-six. At that point he’d just got out of his first real relationship, and it was one that had lasted nearly a decade. To hear him talk about it, it sounded like he’d never actually been happy. I mean, it didn’t even sound like happiness was a consideration for him when thinking about it. For the last - four years of the relationship, she had just treated him worse and worse, taken more and more liberties, and he’d just tried to - shrug it off. He still does. He wasn’t even the one to end things. She’d found herself a rich older guy, fresh from a divorce, and just - disappeared. Something Greg once described as “fair enough, I suppose.”
Oh, as another example, when I was first getting to know Greg, I went for a drink with him, that I mistakenly thought was romantic. I mean, he’s not a bad looking guy. But he’d intended the evening as purely platonic. Do you know how long we “dated,” before I realized what had happened and actually pressed him on the whole misunderstanding? Two months. Sometimes I think if I’d just been a little more oblivious, we’d be married by now.
Anyway, all of this is to try and explain why, when it started to get really weird, Greg didn’t just quit the job. I mean, it’s a freelance web project, and from what he said it doesn’t even pay very well. He wouldn’t be breaking any contract, and (breath) the client hardly ever even gets in touch. There is no reason he couldn’t just walk away, but I honestly don’t think he ever will. And I really don’t know how it’s going to end for him.
I knew it was going to be bad as soon as he started telling me about it; I mean, Greg doesn’t really talk about work unless something’s gone badly and he wants to not listen to me tell him to drop whatever project he’s locked himself into.
And this job was red flags all the way down. (sigh) An email out of the blue from what looked like a personal address rather than a business one. Vague, occasionally contradictory descriptions of what they actually wanted the site to do; I mean - even the email was a bit strange, not the broken or algorithmic English I’d have expected; the short passage was - quite well-composed.
But for some reason, something in it caused the font to appear incredibly large, and Greg had had to scroll through almost word by word. None of it was exactly what you’d call a good sign, but… Greg being Greg, he was taking a train down to Guildford before you know it, to meet the client in person. Small coffeeshop just off the High Street.
As he told it, she was young, rail-thin underneath an oversized brown hoodie, which she kept pulled up, trying to cover up a network of pale stitches that stretched over one side of her head. She didn’t - say much, other than to briefly outline the job. She wanted a forum made, though she couldn’t seem to explain exactly what audience or topic she wanted it to be targeted towards, or why she couldn’t use one of the countless online services that specifically made and admined forums. She just mumbled something about custom requirements and told Greg to drink his latte, which he did, so he tells me, though he can’t stand milk in his coffee. All through it she just kept staring at him, hands pressed into the pockets of her hoodie, occasionally pushing long, spindly fingers out against the fabric, smiling to herself.
I haven’t given the name of this mystery client because, to be honest, Greg’s never told me. I’ve asked him, plenty of times, but whenever I do, he gives me this… surprised look, insists he’s told me before, and then immediately forgets and changes the subject. I know that’s not exactly helpful, but - honestly I’m a bit lost here myself. I mean - none of this feels normal, some of it doesn’t even feel natural. Greg’s an odd one, sure, but - until recently, he’s always been very sharp.
This was all about six months ago. He’s been working on the website ever since. Set up took him all of two days, maybe more, since the client insisted on him coding from scratch. It was bare bones, since he’d been given no copy, or indication of how it was to be organized, except for the name of the site: Chelicerae, which he made sure stood prominently at the top in a tasteful Sans Serif.
The client had requested only a single area where threads could be posted, labeled ‘come in.’ Of course, there was never anything in there. The site was called Chelicerae, but the URL, the web address, was nothing like the name. Just a long string of numbers and letters with no pattern or reason to them, almost impossible to memorize. Once the site was live, Greg would get an email every few weeks with a new domain name, another long string of gibberish, and he would have to change it all over.
There were… other things, though, that the client would email through. Things that she insisted were included not on the website itself, but in the code. I-I’m not really a computer person, but according to Greg, they had nothing to do with any coding language he’d ever seen. Meaningless strings of words, or weird little fragments of poetry, or a name, different every time, repeated over and over again, hundreds of times. He tried to explain to her, more than once, that just pasting these things into the code wouldn’t - cause them to appear on the page, or have any effect at all. But she insisted, so he did it. And he’s been doing it ever since.
He’s on some sort of retainer to administrate the site, and this amounts to changing the domain name every few weeks, checking the statistics that, yes, still no one has visited, and pasting whatever the latest nonsense the client wants in the code. I’d have said it was good money for doing basically nothing, except that for the last two months it’s all started to go… really, really weird.
It started with an email he got from a hotmail address he didn’t recognize. The subject line was simply “Are you the Chelicerae?” At first, Greg thought his client must have passed his details on, but opening the message, there were just four more words: “Please make it stop.”
[THE STATIC OF THE TAPE RECORDER IN THE BACKGROUND GETS LOUDER.]
Now, Greg being Greg, he just - deleted the message and pretended it didn’t bother him. But after he told me about it, I pressed him further, and he admitted that it wasn’t the first unsettling email he’d gotten from strangers about the site. He wouldn’t tell me the others. He kept insisting that I drop it, that it was fine. That I shouldn’t worry. But of course I did worry. I knew that, secretly, he was as well.
I started to do a bit of - searching online, just to see if there was anything we were missing. And there was. A lot, as it turns out. I-It didn’t take more than an hour or so to discover that Greg had apparently found himself the web administrator for an urban legend.
The Chelicerae popped up on the occasional paranormal site or edgy message board, each time accompanied by a now-defunct link. According to those who followed such things, all you had to do was start a new thread as a Guest, something Greg had been instructed to make sure was possible, and the title of that thread should be the name of someone you want dead.
As the stories went, you would receive a reply almost immediately, and it would simply ask you for a story. You would have to write out, and post, in full, a horrible event that had happened to you, or someone that you loved. All the instructions were very clear that the target would only die, if the account satisfied the “Story-spinner.” None of them made any mention of what would happen if it did not.
Pretty standard fare spooky stuff; at least, I would have thought so, if it hadn’t been for the messages that Greg kept getting. Someone more technically adept than him had clearly found his email associated with the site, and had posted about it, so he had become the de facto mailbox for this… (sigh) forum.
Greg swore blind the site had never received any visitors at all, never had a single thing posted in it.
But still the emails came.
[THE STATIC INCREASES INTENSITY AGAIN.]
“Bring them back.” “What is happening?” “I’m sorry I lied.”
It’s been getting to him; I know it has. He’s lost weight. He rarely goes out anymore, and, judging by the cobwebs, he definitely doesn’t clean his house like he used to. I’ve tried talking to him, but it’s like talking to a brick wall that refuses to admit it’s crumbling. That’s why it’s me here rather than him; I mean - I had to talk to someone.
We were… walking home from The Cricketer’s, uhh, a pub just off Horsell Birch. We were heading back to his house, since I’d missed my last train, and when that happened I tended to sleep on his sofa. We were turning down into his road when there was a small voice from a doorway next to us, asking for help.
Now, the last few years there had been a lot more homeless folk around Woking - I know, welcome to Tory Britain - but my point is, Greg usually made a point of giving whatever change he had left from the pub to… whoever we stumbled across on our way back. So when we heard this, he turned towards the voice and held out his hand towards the dark, crumpled shape, offering some change. (pause)
What grabbed his wrist was not a hand. Not exactly, not - anymore. It was coarse and bony and covered in fine, sharp hairs. Greg screamed, falling backwards, pulling the figure under the street lamp where, for a second, I saw it more completely than he did.
It was definitely human once. At least, based on how it was screaming. But it was thin, with bits of twisted and discolored, covered in small, scurrying shapes. Its face was the most human part of it remaining. Except for the two black and hollow spaces where its eyes once were. From which now poured an endless stream of scuttling legs and fangs. Its mouth was full of them too, but I could see, as it grasped desperately at Greg; it was trying to say: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Tell her I’m sorry,” but words were not what tumbled from those lips.
We ran, of course; th-the thing was frantic but clumsy, and it wasn’t difficult to get away. I wanted to go to the police, to tell them everything, but Greg - refused, of course. He said there must have been some mistake, that it was just a-a tramp, with an unfortunate condition. That he wasn’t going to bother the police, just because we’d had a bit of a shock. I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I still don’t, really.
I don’t know what to think. Greg’s my best friend, but I might have to stop seeing him. He’s still working on that site, updating the domain name, still pasting gibberish into the code. I think he might be part of something really awful, and I don’t know how to make him see that.
If I had… a little bit more courage, I might just hang around a few message boards I know, waiting for a link to the Chelicerae. Waiting to post a name that might end it. (pause) I’ve got a story for it, all right. But I won’t. I’m just - too much of a coward, I suppose. So I guess I’m telling it to you instead. For all the good that’ll do.
ARCHIVIST
Statement ends. (shaky sigh)
The Web does seem to have a preference for those who prefer not to assert themselves. The investigation is tricky - I don’t want to impose on Basira, and obviously Melanie and - (brief noise) - Martin aren’t available.
But I did do some light searching myself on Gregory Cox. Vanished, unsurprisngly. Sometime in late July 2016, which I think is… (mirthless laugh) two years ago. That doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t feel like - There’s just this great… gap of time where I wasn’t.
No notes or followup here that I can see, just… (sigh) It looks like this statement came in just after Gertrude disappeared. Another gap. And whoever took it didn’t do any follow-up, just… filed it away. I may be the first person to actually read it, so… (same mirthless cough of a laugh) Sorry, Angie. I suppose. (sigh)
There’s a small supplemental document with it, though, that is a - bit alarming. I-It’s apparently a list of people whose names appeared in the various pieces of text Mr. Cox was pasting into the code. It’s unclear if they were meant to be users or victims, but I cannot help but note that there seem to be the names of several statement givers who found their way to the Institute, including noted arachnophobe Carlos Vittery. Perhaps a coincidence, just people shopping their traumatic incidents around, but…but I have to wonder… how much their actions were their own.
I have no theories on this. No - no sudden insights. (sigh) I wish I could talk it through with Martin. Or Tim. Or Sasha. But we never really did that, did we? (sigh) Everything’s changed. (shaky, long breath)
Two days out of a coma, and I’m already tired.
[PAUSE.]
ARCHIVIST (CONT’D)
End recording.
[TAPE CLICKS OFF.]
Thank you! Also the little descriptions are so funny (≧艸≦*)
Thank you!
Finally, took me 5 days but I'm finally caught up.
boi 3 days of doing absolutely nothing but listening to these 😀✌️
Ceo of not taking human breaks between episodes and staring at the walls for hours while this plays in the backround
Well it been really fun so far 😁
@@nuggs5509 We're balls deep in season 5 over on spotify :P
ive binged all 123 episodes in 13 days :') i need to know what happens....
I never understood Melanie's irrational hatred of Jon. Like I thought it would die down over the seasons, it did for Jon, but for Melanie her hatred burned till the very end. I don't even think we got a legit reason WHY she hates him.
Tbh in this episode, the way her intonation was reminded me of a family member when anxiety got bad.
I somehow hadn't cried in the season 3 finale but Jon's closing statement about missing his friends brought me to tears
4:30
Basira: we're one of the only powers that haven't taken a shot at a ritual....yet.
*John Cena theme plays in Jon's head.* 🎶
Oh shit.
Been hooked on the podcast since last week. Couldn't stop listening, just love it. I thought I had 40 more episodes waiting for me but sadly I'm at the end. Guess I will have to wait :(
you can actually listen to all of them up until 162 on the rustyquill website! it's so great! there's also much more content there
I want to point out the fact the recorder is squeaker and there is a really quite static now when John is near it
3 eps into the season and this is The Big Sad. Poor Jon can't catch a break. Also my emotions about origigi crew are just all over the place. They all deserved better.
Who disliked? Listen- I just want to talk.
Melanie did
Greg in this is too real to me i could easily imagine a person like him getting in that problem
Okay so, the acting from Melanie was absolutely fantastic.
And the ✨wosh✨ scene with Basira... I just love her so much.
Welcome to death note two: story spinner spookaloo
WHY TF EVERYBODY GOTTA BLAME JON. No, “Thanks for helping the world not to end. Sorry about the coma. Welcome back!” How is any of this his fault? I mean seriously.
fair, but the price was their friends, sooo...
the highlight was hearing martin say “i like big books”
ye same I was looking for a comment on this
With a title like *W E B* development, I really wonder what entity this one is going to focus on...
Denial really is a river in Eqypt huh
I live for Jon showing his feelings with all this jealousy for Peter
1:56 okay but the voice acting here? FLAWLESS
I see nobody took Lucas up on the whole therapy offer.
TMA REALLY SAID BUN THE TORIES
Gotta say, warms my heart to see everyone in the comments calling Melanie out on her BS.
:<
Melanie to Jon: Goddammit Jon! You're alive and the others are not! How DARE you get everyone killed? This is all your fault!
Melanie to Basira: Hi bestie :D glad ur here, let me keep blaming Jon for everything even tho u were there and survived too ;)
Well I couldn't help but to laugh at the beginning. It's just too much for my brain I suppose.
Is it me or John is jealous that Martin is spending time with Peter Lukas ?
"Welcome to Tory Britain"
"sorry, what is 'wshshhhhhh'?"
I think its cute to think of these as jon telling the eye bedtime stories
aw i will definitely be thinking of it like this from now on, thank you
I don't really see it as Melanie and Basira 'blaming' Jon, it's more like they don't trust him and have been stressed out by what happened after Peter Lukas came (and probably due to his influence too). I get that everyone wants to see the team happy and together again (I do too) and it's sad to see them fall apart like this but I don't see why we have to blame everyone for 'blaming' Jon, it feels from the comments like there's an overwhelming amount of empathy allotted to the main character and no-one else
The thing is Jon is the only one here who's currently dealing with his trauma without taking it out on other people. He's consciously tried his damnest to grow out of his s2 habits, and he's done pretty damn well considering he's been traumatized over and over and over.
Agreed. The amount of hate for Melanie in particular is seriously frustrating. Remember what Elias did to her.
@kyberserpent6397 This so much! I can completely understand why everyone is acting the way they are. They have valid reasons to be upset! But lashing out at people for no reason and taking out your anger on them is NOT gonna get me on your side! I've spent way too long being used as an emotional punching bag for other people lashing out at me in ways that were completely uncalled for, so when I hear stuff like this it kinda triggers me a little bit.
Jon was extremely unlikable in the first couple of seasons but I've started gravitating towards him not just because of his character growth but because he's one of the few characters who's dealing with his trauma in a way that doesn't involve lashing out at the people around him!
@@birdbrainiac Melania is the only one who sought out supernatural evil. And she suffered a job she can't leave and her boss hurt her feelings once. That's it. Becerra was an asshole to start, being a lying cop, taking knowledge supposedly as "evidence" but knowing it would never be investigated and then never given back. The fact she decided to not let her partner murder an innocent is the BARE MINIMUM of humanity. She lost her partner and thats sad, but her partner was a monster and she knew it. She chose to be part of the team that went to fight supernatural evil, both in the cops and the Institute, despite being able to leave the cops anytime, and working for the Institute doesn't mean you have to go to the Unknowing. She's working for monsters and is finding freedom being an ass to the only monster who is blameless.
Can we acknowledge what an aroace icon Greg is? As someone who ended up "dating" a guy for an entire _year_ without realizing it, because I perceive everything as platonic, this episode was unexpectedly very relatable. It's kind of hilarious to see that kind of situation from the opposite perspective. I still feel so bad lol.
I feel so sad for Jon. He deserves to be welcomed, to come back to a place that missed him. Instead everyone’s just angry at him, which isn’t justified at all. I have now become scared that Martin won’t be welcoming to Jon either, but I’m hopeful that I might be wrong and there’s nothing to worry about.
Many excellent puns, truly. Props to Jonnu who has probably been waiting to use all of them. The title alone I mean
The 'whoosh' scene was a nice moment.
Let's learn a lesson everyone: Jon is not a escape goat. Repeat after me. "JON IS NOT A ESCAPE GOAT"
Gods.
And now lets save Martin and kick some Lonely ass, please.
I thought that I was imagining it... but everytime there is a dialogue in the statements... the static becomes louder.
The story about first meeting Greg would have been even funnier if the statement giver was a guy and Greg was straight.
Thats what I thought happened until i went back and saw the pronouns being used lmao
@@the_next_da_vinci1056 "yeah im not like into dudes but is chill dont even worry about it its not a big deal"
"NOT INTO DUDES??? WE BEEN DATING FOR TWO MONTHS"
I have auditory processing issues so I never usually notice the static, and I just play it off as my ears being funky but this time I heard it and I was very startled
oh shit is melanie becoming a slaughter avatar