some sketchdumps of The Magnus Archives from twitter. i’ve been listening to it a bunch while traveling / working, and it’s my new favorite thing + super fun to explore the characters when i take breaks.
they’re still evolving in my mind as i go thru it but i think i’m getting there. spooky stuff next time i have ..time! (PS please no spoilers, im only in s2!)
Which one of you is the *monologues about my entire life story and how much I hate people and love being alone*, and which one of you is the *extended sounds of brutal pipe murder*?
I know there are, like, so many posts about the reasons why trans Jonah Magnus and trans Daisy Tonner are problematic concepts because of their characterisation (i.e. Jonah Magnus/Elias Bouchard’s character is willingly serving the God of Voyeurism and all that, watching people and invading their personal space; and he is proven to be incredibly manipulative and dishonest, both of which are serious stereotypes used to dehumanise and attack transgender people; and Daisy Tonner is quite literally a predator, a murderer, a horrible, violent threat, and a great source of trauma for the main character - and a cop, which.. Stonewall Riots? I- Yep.)
But, like, I think it’s interesting why we project onto these people, as opposed to other characters - who could easily also represent problematic, or just general, stereotypes. Like, how internalised are this world’s fucked up prejudices and prenotions, that we project straight onto these problematic stereotypes?
Anyway. Not an in-depth analysis. Might do one later. But, interesting.
This photoset is a lot larger than I was expecting it to be but uhhh I’ve really gotten into podcasts recently, these are all based on The Magnus Archives by Rusty Quill (be sure to check them out on twitter and wherever you listen to your podcasts!!) If you’d like to talk podcasts with me too please hmu on twitter @elefluff
You ever think about Jon and and what it means to be human?
You ever think about how small he sounded when he asked Elias if he’s still human. How much terror there was in his voice when he realised he recorded a statement that was written in a language he didn’t speak. How he tried to deny it when he first Knew something.
You ever think about him being not quite humans enough to die, but still too human to survive.
You ever think about how much he didn’t want to stop taking statements, how good it felt when he did. How he knew it was wrong but how he desperately still wanted it.
You ever think about how frustrated he became that he’s still feeling things, that he hasn’t become a monster like all the other avatars, who enjoy feeding fear to their patrons, who revel in it and he’s still a monster that cares.
You ever think about that time Jon went to Helen to ask when he would become that way, when he’d finally loose the last scraps of the humanity that he has left and she told him anytime. Anytime you want to, Jon.
You ever think about the way Jon laughed when the eye opened. How he sounded so triumphant and defeated at once. How he told Martin that he wished it felt horrible that he Saw and Felt everything.
You ever think about him sleeping with his eyes open. How he felt faint and less focused when outside the Eye’s vision, how he forgot everything that happened at Salesa’s safe house.
You ever think about how he held so much power. The power to See and Know basically everything and he purposefully held back about Looking at Martin, Basira, Helen, because that’s just the decent thing to do.
You ever think about how much it hurt him to be the catalyst for the apocalypse, how much guilt he felt over that to the point that the thought of another having to go through the same thing was unbereable to him. He was prepared to let everyone die, to stand as king over a barren world, to go behind his love’s, his anchor’s back because he couldn’t let there be even a tiny chance that somebody would have to suffer like he did.
You ever think about how on every step of the way they tried to rip his humanity away. To make him the monster he believed himself to be. How his humanity caused him nothing but grief and hurt but also love.How he clung to it, how he kept his humanity deep within himself and never gave it up. How it would have been so easy to do so. And so hard at the same time. How despite everything, Jon remained so human throughout it all?
Your senses will betray you. Your memories can be rewritten. You hear the cruel and distant laughter. You will reach for sleep, but not find it. You will reach for certainty, and fall. You will dissolve, and yet live. Examination only leads to greater confusion; and, It wants you to try. It is drawn to windows, stairs and doors. Remember this: It Lies.
This skill is not healthy. It isn’t good for you. It is an obsession that will drive you to uncover things that should not be known. It will drain you.
It will separate you from your life. It will hollow you out and fill you up with the ceaseless need to know- that will be the only fire of your life.
It is a suitable skill for tragic occult detectives, arrogant scholars or servants of the Ceaseless Watcher.
0: Discover a relevant folktale, dreadful past event or local legend about some supernatural force or event, after a few days of research. 1: Identify and name a known supernatural force at play in a place or upon an object or person.
Magical techniques
0: Have recording devices or writing implements on hand. 1: Discover a relevant folktale, dreadful past event or local legend with a few hours of research. 1: Cause a willing witness to give you a clearer, more detailed and more truthful account of a supernatural event they witnessed. 1: Decipher something in an archaic text, difficult format or something that’s been slightly ruined or destroyed- like shredded files. 1: Recall some piece of public record, such as a phone number or encyclopedia fact, without ever having learned it. 2: Endure long and grueling research sessions without your findings suffering. 2: Understand a language you do not speak. 3: Coerce, with terrible supernatural compulsion, someone to answer a question.
The following are traditional bonds associated with this magical skill.
I am always wrestling with some question, enigma or mystery. Once I become attached to one, I dedicate all my time and energy to dragging it out into the light.
I can always be drawn into a mystery by… …a blisteringly attractive person. …an old friend in need. …a member of a certain marginalized group. …the memory of someone I failed.
My enemies have plans and schemes, and I need to know what they are before it’s too late!
I feed off of the terror of… …exposure or vulnerability. …revealed secrets. …observation, or the implication of having been observed. ….the violation of trust.
I am sustained by… …other’s recounted tales of horror and pain. …coffee and the hunt. …the satisfaction of being proved right.
I make people feel like I know their secrets.
I am repulsed and weakened by uncanniness, distortion and ambiguity.
Regardless of their resolve, everyone speaks to me in due time.
In my questioning, I am so blunt as to be cruel.
I have very odd and distinctive eyes.
The following are some non-standard techniques associated with this magical skill. They are not inherent parts of it, but characters may pick them up as quest rewards.
0 - Manifest either viscerally physical or colorfully spectral extra eyes. 1 - Organize an archive such that anyone attempting to use it as the focal point of research spends hours instead of days, or minutes instead of hours, when performing research there. This fades after a chapter or two of you dropping the intention. 1 - Escape a complex maze, or lead a group out of the same. 2 - Escape a place that is supernaturally entrapping, alluring or inescapable. 2 - Cause a useful source or clue to some mystery you are studying to appear, after spending some time discussing theories and searching the records. 2 - Appear in a surreal and liminal spiritual space, or a dream, long enough to convey a message or observe something happening. 2 - Form a solid understanding of the underlying occult mechanics that govern a particular and specific type of supernatural power, being or place. 3 - Use a solid understanding of underlying occult mechanics to redirect powers, curses, influence or similar to another target, or ward an area against something that uses those mechanics.
