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#samuel a81
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“There are a surprising number of decent people in this horror story.”
Samuel Spare, Archive 81 #09
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eldritchqueerture · 2 years
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this pod sure can fucking cast
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omophagic-beast · 1 year
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TELL ME ABOUT THOSE PODCASTS!!! TELL ME WHY YOU LOVE IT AND WHY IT STUCK OUT!!!!!!!!! I LOVE PODCASTS!!!!!!!!
my friend, you have activated my trap card in such a major way, this is the special interest that has me writing a dissertation in one of my friends discords, they had to quarantine me in a thread because of how much I love Archive 81. I'll be quarantining myself below a read more so I dont clog up dashes.
Archive 81 is a podcast about ritual, stories, and sound. It's also a REALLY, REALLY BAD NETFLIX SHOW. DO NOT WATCH THE NETFLIX "ADAPTATION", PLEASE. (this is whats in the discord thread, by the way, a currently ongoing compare and contrast of the podcast and the show where im breaking down why the show is so truly fucking terrible)
There are currently three seasons to A81, and two miniseries that exist between the second and third season, and after the third season. All are equally important and I sincerely recommend listening to each season in order, and not skipping the miniseries. However, each season is very different from the last, so I will pretty much be focusing only on season one to avoid spoilers.
Archive 81 season one is about Daniel Powell, a capital G Guy who has just taken a job with the Housing Historical Committee of New York State to digitize some old tapes. If you've listened to The Magnus Archives, this premise may sound familiar to you, and I promise if you enjoyed that podcast you'll like A81 as well.
I think that the first episode of A81 is a masterclass in setup, and really I can talk about it forever but you should just go listen to it, it's only 16 minutes long and seriously sets everything up so, so well. But I'll go over the basic premise here, partially because I really do just like talking about it.
First episode Dan gets set up by his boss, a condescending man named Davenport, in his new temporary home: a concrete bunker in the middle of nowhere with no internet and limited cell service. Sounds super normal and not sketchy At All! Oh, also the stocked food consists of mainly canned peaches, there's no sheets on the bed, and the power goes out intermittently. Again, just ideal living conditions.
And there's one more thing! Dan has to be recorded, constantly. 24/7.
So he's set up and immediately set to work, Davenport leaves and Dan slots in the first tape.
This is where we meet Melody Pendras, a journalist working for the Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State and god, don't these departments and committees just sound so official?
All of Melody's tapes take place in the mid-90s and contain a series of interviews that she conducted in the Visser Apartments in New York. See, the apartments are kinda... weird. To put it mildly. There's voices that disappear when you turn the corner, music that comes from nowhere, and a cult run by someone named Samuel.
See, this is where I have to geek out a bit about the first episode in particular. Its, *insert hand flaps here* its so good.
The first tape that Dan puts is Melody's first time going in to Visser. She introduces herself, the apartment, and gives us the beginning of her story. The second tape Dan puts in is Melody's last time going in to Visser. She's panicked, talking about Samuel and how hes evil and a boiler room and how shes got a plan and -
the tape cuts off, damaged, warped, something.
This is how the story hooks Dan, showing him it's beginning and almost-end. Leaving him to figure out it's middle and the mystery of what actually happened to Melody.
At the end of the first episode, we meet Mark. Mark informs us that what we just listened to was a tape sent to him by Dan, before Dan went missing. He's not sure what to do, but is hoping that, by putting these tapes out here, someone who knows something will come forward.
This is how the story hooks us, showing us it's beginning and almost-end. Leaving us to figure out it's middle and the mystery of what actually happened to Dan.
And that's the first season. We, the audience, parallel Dan the whole way through. Its just, so good, for reasons I, again, don't want to spoil. But this parallel becomes important in The Golden Age, the miniseries between the second and third season.
Speaking of the second season, this is why I think the switch was so jarring to a lot of listeners. The first season gets us to relate to Dan so closely because we are him in a way, and the second season breaks that parallel. Well, this and the uhh. cough. there's a community created content warning document for the show, and the second season required a breakdown of body horror into four different types. so. yeah. If you're not a fan of Bad Meat Noises, it... may not be for you, sadly (season 2 is my favorite season).
The third season I will talk a bit about because it again turns a 180 to the point where a brief summary is not much of a spoiler. This is partially because Dan is not our main character! Instead we get to meet Nicholas and Christine, half-siblings who are attempting to preform a ritual left by their horrible occultist father.
When I say season two is my favorite it is by the smallest margin. I adore this whole entire show so, so much. Including the miniseries. The third season is fucking excellent, and if you find yourself turned off by the second season then honestly go ahead and scooch up to the third, with a stop at The Golden Age on the way. You'll be a bit confused, but ok.
There are also transcripts of the show available (the lovely unofficial ones which are fantastic but not finished, and the official ones) if you don't want to listen to the Bad Meat Noises but don't mind reading them, however I really strongly recommend against this. Sound is a huge part of the show (rituals, stories, and sound, remember?) and the sound design is really good.
Again I can talk about A81 all day, and when I finish my lecture on the podcast versus the show (evil, terrible) I'll clean it up and post it on here, because I'm actually rather proud of it so far and I'm not even halfway through my talking points.
Hopefully this has convinced you to give A81 a try! Seriously, the whole first season is 10 15-18 minute episodes, you can chomp through the whole thing in an afternoon.
Thanks for giving me a space to talk about it :3 <3
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dragon-chica · 10 months
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Bodily Fluids & More Relationship Headcanons - Rat/Jacob Lester
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Podcast: Archive 81
Back again with more on my favorite A81 character, give me this unhinged little scientist.
Rat is always readily willing to offer up his bodily fluids, any of them (as he has multiple) and means it innocently enough.
But your dirty mind had to jump in on part of it and ask how he might give you each of them.
It took him a moment to understand your insinuation, but he thought it was very funny.
You may also take any of his fluids however you like :)
Getting rather irritated and at times defensive at how often Rat is referred to as a thing or creature or abomination in a derogatory sense.
Rat may an inhuman creature like no other you've ever seen, but he is your oddity of a being. So fuck off.
Rat felt very fuzzy inside after you said so and defended him, and told you as much. He is not at all bothered by the things he is called, but to see you to protective over him and his feelings! Oh how wonderful.
Suit is very untrusting and weary of you once she starts to come back, you may have been kind to her in her state but she doesn't forgive you for associating with Rat.
She refuses your help as much as she can, even after she gives up her fingers and will only give you looks of disdain and a cold shoulder.
Dan is your friend, he's a nice guy, and a tiny celebrity. At least it feels like it when you meet him after listening to all his podcast episodes again with Rat upon his arrival.
You also give him some extra credit for being friendly to Rat still once he settled down. And he likes having another friend besides his tentative talks with Lou and Clara.
When Melody goes to send Rat home, he is given a choice. In an instant, for an eternity, paused to decide to go to his god and his choir, or somewhere else, to that which meant to much to him before or stay with what means so much to him now. A choice he never imagines he would need to make.
He knew instantly, he considered for lengths. He should have asked you if you would want this, to meet Samuel and to sing. But he did not, he did not know to.
Maybe one day he would receive this offer and boon again, but in this time he stays by your side instead.
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anissapierce · 1 year
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Its so funny that samuel literally asks dan 'do you read derrida?' like horror comedy podcasts peaked w a81 and i will hear nothing different
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hte-spagheti · 1 year
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i am not familiar with the characters in a81 but can you do the character bingo with one of them? :)
yessss we are now on 24 hour samuel lockdown
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im lying im not normal abt him in tha slightest <3 i dont hav So Many headcanons but Sum,,,,,, i feel so much liek those 2 illustrated squares i drew a tiny samuel and he lives in my phone wallpaper. i carry him around liek a purse dog <3 microorganism
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its not rlly that evry1 else is wrong or mean it just that they ignore him </3 im tha only 1 out here talking abt him extensively. anyway yayyyy spin that thang. hes not actually very silly i just luv him 2 much. i luv 2 say "wowww and then tha capital of tha world became a desiccated soulless husk upon whos streets we walk? ahaha and then wut [fuckboy lip bite emoji]" im being silly enuf that he becomes silly by proxy. u understand. anyway kissing him obviously. self explanatory. biting self explanatory as well. and he does hav this aesthetic. its a vibe. yea <3
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danielpowell · 2 years
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ooo how about rat from a81 👀
I want to study him like a bug
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- I find him fascinating but I want him far, far away from me (leaves him on the fire escape with no tools in his reach)
- Problems disease <3
- I think he's at his best with Samuel or with a straight man going 'hey Rat ?' 'Yeees?' 'What the fuck dude'
- Not sorry apologists, he's fucked up and nothing excuses his actions and I think he had a good ending that I was satisfied with
Overall I think he's a very fun character to dissect and theorize, but also his popularity in the fandom has soured him a lot for me and I think he's best left as comedic relief with moments of poetry
Character Opinion Bingo here !
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vaddiadraws · 2 years
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I've been sick recently so I haven't been able to draw much but I do have a few a81 doodles
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Fandoms be like: if evil, why're they so hot?
And i, a demisexual am standing here like:... That man eats rats???
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zackmoonz · 2 years
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Samuel @ episode 10
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mourningmaybells · 3 years
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Ah, yes, the A81 main characters-
Boombox fuck boy
In a worse world, she would be called a ‘waifu’
Sci fi pirate, unintentional lesbophobe
Comedy duo
Rat (derogatory)
Rat (affectionate)
Functional wlw
Is he a sentient truck?? I forgot.
Dead beat dad
Satisfying death, in the sense that I was satisfied he was finally dead
Vulgar
Popeyes ad
gay old wizard
Fuck them pets
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eggbabey · 2 years
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rage. killing. violence.
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seafoamfuckinggreen · 2 years
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Just watched episode 2 of archive 81
gonna hunt a Netflix exec
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they better get rid of this heterosexuality real quick
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lesbeinghere · 2 years
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A81 Netflix Spoilers!
I was into the Netflix a81 adaptation but,, no longer. It’s really well done but they changed SO MUCH, what was the point of changing the lesbians, going as far as making Melodys wife a totally DIFFERENT CHARACTER
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sashasparrow · 3 years
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the only reason a81 didn't blow up like tma is because like. what the fuck is the fanart gonna be. dan dan the radio man? m(ma(mar(mark)k)rk)ark)? a rat? a can of peaches?
nah they got too powerful at making you hear things you would really rather not see and nerfed themselves.
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