me 😳 when da watcher👁️ is ceaseless 🥵

jon actually adopted a little stray black kitten while in the safehouse which followed them around the apocalypse and became a watcher, it just wasnt mentioned because it didn't have an impact on the plot @jonsimsandcats

"Ceaseless Watcher, Turn your gaze upon this Wretched Thing"

i did this in september but never shared it here, now i am throwing it to the wolves

Ceaseless Watcher, obliterate that twink

-in hands that should be clean but now have never seen a day they were not caked in glue and slaked with blood of all the robberies existence deems the only way to live.

me: cleaning my office with headphones in

sb: she's probably listening to some fun music

me: listening to MAG 165 :-)

Oh no. I get trauma flashbacks from this music. And I don't even know why, like it wasn't that bad comparatively. But they're doing a very good job with this podcast, because when I think back to that episode I feel like I remember I've been trapped in a weird circus horror nothing is as it seems nightmare. Also we're just moving through all the fears then, yes? Boy, I can't wait for The Lonely. And already dread so many others.

C E A S L E S S  W A T C H E R

T U R N  Y O U R  G A Z E  

U P O N  T H I S  W R E T C H E D  T H I N G

I thought Basira and Martin were the same person for a LONG time. Guess which one I am.

honestly, I think mag165 (the notsasha statement) is so underrated. The first time I listened to it, I had to rewind a few times just to get all the words. It completely caught me off guard, and it makes me dizzy to listen to, and it's great! It might actually be my favourite statement, just the way that I can feel the words twisting and confusing and just out of my grasp so that I needed to look up the transcript to make sure I was hearing right. It's also the appearance of the first "Ceaseless watcher turn your gaze upon this wretched thing," the first kill of the Jonathan Sims revenge tour, and the death of not!Sasha after so long. This is mag165 propaganda I just love it so much and I think more people should talk about it. Also we get to hear Jonathan Sims call a merry-go-round "quite thrilling"

It's poetry. This statement is so precious to me

This Wretched Thing

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/snteIxz by BlindRadiant There is only one flaw in the perfection of anonymity that otherwise surrounds you, but it is one that is impossible to ignore. You thrive in the shadows, in familiar names bearing faces never seen. The sky is ever-watching, and there are no shadows here. Identities are picked up, worn for a time, then tossed aside. And they are all Known by the staring Eye. You and the others in your domain cannot escape its gaze. It sees the unknowable, and it hurts. You pull the veil of I Do Not Know You closer, but it makes no difference. The Eye pierces through, persistently taking in what should always remain hidden. --- In the post-change world, the Not-Them encounters Jon and Martin. The encounter goes very badly for the Not-Them --- The end of MAG165 from the perspective of the Not-Them Words: 3028, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Categories: Gen Characters: Not-Them (The Magnus Archives), Not-Them Sasha James, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood Relationships: Not-Them Sasha James & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Spoilers for The Magnus Archives Season 5, Spoilers for Episode: e165 Revolutions (The Magnus Archives), Canonical Character Death, PoV not-them (The Magnus Archives), POV Second Person, Canon-Typical The Stranger Content (The Magnus Archives), in the form of identity fuckery, Canon-Typical The Beholding Content (The Magnus Archives), in the form of smiting, unreality, Imposters, Lack of identity, Scopophobia, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, LITERALLY, Beholding Avatar Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Body Horror, POV character death, no beta we die like the wretched thing the Ceaseless Watcher turns its gaze upon, I posted this fic just because of that tag read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/snteIxz

[ID: Sketch page of Jon from TMA. He is a thin man with rectangular-framed glasses and curly hair that gets noticeably longer as time passes. He also becomes increasingly dishevelled, accruing various scars and injuries over time. The sketches show:

Jon looking put together with text from MAG001: “Right. My name is Jonathan Sims. I work for the Magnus Institute, London.”

Jon in MAG055. He holds a crumpled paper in his left hand and says: “Everyone in this place has so many goddamn secrets and I can’t trust a single word you say.”

Jon in MAG080 on his smoke break, shown in profile. Text next to him reads: “tfw bastard shithead idiot just told you you’re a fear god’s slave (about to have an even worse day)”

Jon in S3, looking apprehensively to the side. Text reads “(comprehending the horrors) (do NOT recommend)”

Jon in MAG122, waking from his coma. He says “That’s a very good question.”

Jon in profile. A thought bubble above him reads “thinking Martin thoughts” and text beside him reads: “still wears glasses for comfort. do not perceive him thank you. post-buried: unnaturally fast hair growth, clothes always a little bit visibly dirty (even when fresh)”

Martin kissing Jon’s cheek as he looks away with a smile. Text above them reads “safehouse :(“

Jon in MAG160. His hair is fanned out around his head, his eyes and scars glow lime green, and six extra eyeballs have torn fresh wounds in his skin. Bold text above him reads “I open the door”.

Jon at Upton House. His hair is very short and he looks sad. Text below him reads: “cuts hair at Upton House (hair gets matted in hellscape). wears glasses again at Upton (needs them, Martin packed them just in case). extra eyes close while here.”

Jon in MAG165. His eyes are all focused on the viewer, including a very large one in the palm of his outstretched hand. Text behind him reads “Ceaseless Watcher, turn your gaze upon this wretched thing”.

End ID.]

nailing down ur mental image of jom after ten months is something that can be so personal. also headcanons.

[IMAGE ID] Three photographs of an embroidery hoop against a dark red background. The hoop is painted purple, and a black cord is looped around the top.

The first photograph is a full view. Two overlapping faces are in the center of the fabric, outlined on either side with radiating black lines. The lower, overlapped face is outlined in cream and black floss, and has sunken cheeks, a blue, tearful eye, and a blue mouth with a purple tongue. The eye and mouth are downturned, mimicking an ancient Greek tragedy mask. The upper, overlapping face is outlined in lavender and black floss, and has angular cheeks. Its features have been rearranged; its nose and ear have been swapped, and its blue mouth and eye have been swapped. The eye is upturned and the mouth is grinning toothily, mimicking an ancient Greek comedy mask. Around the face is a cursive border stitched in red, magenta, and purple, with rainbow metallic floss overlaying it, reading: “your face is not your face is not your face is not your face is not your face.”

The second and third photographs are close-ups. The second photograph is of the tearful eye of the lower face and a section of the border reading: “your face.” The third photograph is of the grinning mouth and ear-turned-nose of the upper face and a section of the border reading “face is.” [END ID]

For there are many faces out upon the carousel, and many names that you might be. So bide your time a while and wait the coming of another one whose fate and face might sit upon your grinning carmine skull.

So turn with the turn of the merry-go-round and dance to its jolly old song. Who will you be, with a name or three, and a stranger’s face worn wrong?

— MAG165: Revolutions

Since The Magnus Archives was a constant audio companion for me when I was first getting into embroidery, I’ve wanted to stitch a tribute piece for a long time — and over two years after the episode that initially sparked this concept was released, I finally have!

MAG165 just have this rtumblr vibes out of context (probably from the despair of never leaving)

the vibe for today: the statement in MAG165 Revolution is the best piece of writing I have ever heard

MAG004, Page Turner

Case #0132806, Dominic Swain Release date: 30 March 2016 First listen: 13th Oct 2020, still on the morning feed duty.

The first instance of Jonny picking on the theatre kids, the first mention of our Gerard, and the first time I heard the name ‘Leitner’.

- The theatre industry is just ripe for the taking for some of The Entities: the punishing scheduled, the costumes and make up, the sets, the props, the shadowy, dark, secret places of a theatre building, the fleetingness of a pay cheque, the faceless audiences, the politics, the aging out of roles... OK, at one point in season 5 I was jokingly indignant for Jonny ‘coming for the theatre kids’, but 1) I was reminded that Jonny himself is very much a theatre kid and 2) it’s kind of a gold mine to be fair.

- I’ve done a lot of amdram, and I am forever grateful to the theatre techs. They make us look and sound good and they stop flats and suspended lights from falling on us. So thank you, you sweet theatre ninjas. May the blackouts always be long enough for you to do your thing.

- Right, hang tight, I’m going to do a quick wiki dive on ‘The Trojan Women’. Post sacking of Troy, husbands dead, families enslaved. And… oh it’s a yikes fest friends. It’s just a laundry list of atrocities. Cassandra though, definitely a candidate for The Eye, the gift of prophecy, with a little The Spiral or The Web thrown in, no one ever believing her.

- Hey, look, I love history and I love messing with history. I lose my tiny mind at the historical references this show pulls on. I freaking love the ahistorical setting of Rusty Quill Gaming. I didn’t think I’d ever identify with Oscar Wilde but goddamnit Alexander! I will keep doing this, this being assigning historical figures to The Entities. Fight me.

- OK, ‘The Seagull’, Chekov- NOPE. Nope not diving into that, too much like hard work.

- Ah, charity shops. Love ‘em. Can find beloved treasures and the most cursed shit in the same visit.

- ‘From the Library of Jurgen Leitner.’ I think at this stage, I was still naive to who this rat bastard was but to this day my phone autocorrects ‘Leitner’ to ‘LEITNER’ as I have screamed about his dusty ass to dodgelogic just that many times. I have a deep love of books and library collections and everything he stands for offends me on a cellular level. If I am ever asked to prepare an monologue for an audition it’s either going to be the statement from MAG165 or the ‘I Hate Jurgen Leitner’ rant.

- There’s one thing I’ve learnt from Rusty Quill; Latin = Bad News. Magnus trailer, chanting in Latin = Bad News. Rusty Quill Gaming, Ancient Rome, Latin = Bad News. A Leitner written in Latin = Bad News. Look, I know a lot of us did the Cambridge Latin Course, yes, including the writers of that one Doctor Who episode, but Caecilius can’t save us now!

- The choice of ozone smell makes perfect sense but there is something terribly unnerving about it. Something so terribly out of place.

- OK, this has nothing to do with the plot but he mentions the show he’s doing is ‘Much Ado About Nohing’ which is quiet possibly my favourite Shakespeare. I refuse to go to my grave quietly before I’ve had the chance to play Beatrice.

- 2007, grbookworm1818… Ms Robinson… screaming

- Leitner active in the 1990’s, 1995 he dropped from public view. OK we’re getting a time line.

- I wonder if there’s any significance to the name ‘Pinhole Books’.

- ‘Walking felt as natural as falling’… my dude.

- Mary Keay. Mary Fucking Keay… See, when we first meet her, tattooed and blasting death metal, I thought she was awesome… yikes. ‘Her Gerard kept and eye out’. And, unfairly again, I formed an opinion. One of a glowering, hulking enforcer.

- Fishing wire and safety razor… huh?!

- The eye painting. "Grant us the sight that we may not know, grant us the scent that we may not catch, grant us the sound that we may not call’. Our Gerard, a very talented artist. Our Gerard deserved so much better, I love our boy.

- ‘Tea tasting of dust and smoke’. I am not as well versed in tea as I’d like to be, but I have had Lapsang souchong tea before. It felt very decadent for my tastes, who’s used to whatever tea bag I can justify paying for, but I really enjoyed it. Every time I hiccuped or burped for the rest of the day I could taste smoke. I felt like a dragon.

- Place book in shadows, get tiny woodland creature bones?

- The Lichtenberg figure, and the first mention of Michael Crew. The smell, the sensation of falling. Waiting for something. For impact.

- Gerard Keay. My son. The description the statement giver gives of him is not flattering; obviously dyed hair, unshaven and haggard. But, I’m sorry, I you had Mary Keay for a mother, you’d be losing sleep too. Any why is everyone so mean about his hair. Can someone just treat him please, take him to a specialist, get it done right?

- £5k for ‘Ex Altiora’, £1,200 for ‘The Key of Solomon’. Where are they getting this sort of money? I’ll have to ask mum about the last fine arts auction she worked, see what sort of money books were making.

- Would have given it away but feared it ‘wouldn’t count’. There’s something about ownership here,something about responsibility. Reminds me of the golems of Ankh-Morepork in Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld buying themselves out of, well, slavery. With the passing of coin, no matter how much or little, something else intangible but vitally important also changes hands.

- This section of finding the news report of Gerard on trial for Mary’s murder painted my opinion of Gerard rather poorly. I thought he was some terrible, dangerous person, holding Mary captive somehow. God, I was so wrong.

- ‘If I never hear the name Jurgen Leitner again it will be too soon.’ Jooooon…. Jooooon whyyyyy….

- ‘Library Incident’ in 1994.

- Jon not trusting Martin’s research efforts, sending Sasha to double check. Rude.

- ‘Cause for some small alarm.’…. SMALL ALARM!?…. SIR! LEITNERS ON THE LOOSE ARE CAUSE FOR HEFFING BIG ALARM.

- Unable to locate Gerard Keay… soft weeping

- ‘Jurgen Leitner has done the world enough harm’. I mean… I agree whole heartedly, but, just see how that glass house treats you in 4 seasons’ time.

Supplemental: In looking for the ‘I Hate Jurgen Leitner’ video link, I found that there has been a dramatic reading in the style of The Archivist with a follow up statement taken post-brutal pipe murder included. Enjoy. 

Supplemental: dodgylogic has once again come through, a very dear friend who is at once my enabler and sponsor through this ridiculousness. But she had some insight into my question about the significance in the naming of Pinhole Books: 

‘A pinhole is how you make a Camera Obscura, a very early form of photography, which is also explicitly associated with The Eye. [x-files theme plays].’ - @dodgylogic