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Post by Oneiros on Sept 8, 2016 9:15:59 GMT
Well, you can't complain that the episodes aren't packing a lot in... :-) Lots of loose threads tightening up the slack a bit here then as we hear tell of a literal breakthrough in the history of Jurgen Leitner and his library, which I know many of us have been eagerly awaiting. Plus connections to the Norway links and a likely appearance from a young Gerard Kaey, and just which library book has he probably purloined?? And that ending?! Confirmation I guess that the worms have managed to breach the seals and then a pair of delivery men... All of that said, lovely episode full of twists and turns - I really feel like we're ratcheting up the tension here. And the attention to detail with the architect references and Pall Mall history is beautiful, grounding us even as TMA knocks away at the foundations. Great work Jonny!
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Post by cannonlongshot on Sept 8, 2016 9:54:56 GMT
With that "End Recording..." I'd like to tell you exactly where to put your podcast, as I jumped out of my skin in a public place, but this is a family forum I like how we seem to have elements from the three main plot threads coming together in this episode - assuming, of course, that the delivery men are former Breekon and Hope employees. I found myself saying "Wherever there's a Leitner, there's always a Keay" when Gerard appeared, which seemed like a good summary of the Leitner story! I really liked the pun in the name, didn't see it coming - "Passages" meaning both an underground area and an excerpt from a book. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the first mention of Leitner, so I had to rewind that section Also, when Jonathan claims that it's taken a bit of work to look for police reports, he wasn't kidding - we last heard about Harold Silvana was way back in MAG24, when Sasha interrupted to discuss the pronunciation of "calliope". Interestingly, then she claimed to have, with difficulty, got hold of the police reports, but now it seems like the reports are minimal. This is in line with the apparent cover-up.
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Post by spooniermist on Sept 8, 2016 10:01:01 GMT
Oh god there's so much to say on this episode. Damn you, real life work! Anyway, wiki page is up: MAG 35: Old Passages, I'll post all my thoughts tonight.
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Samwise
Member of the Order of the Quill
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Post by Samwise on Sept 8, 2016 10:21:45 GMT
OOOOOH I was shocked when I heard the name Jorgen Lightener, then I almost spat out my tea when I heard Gerad was there too (I know I'm getting all the names spelt wrong!) everything's coming together.
I like the reference to a number of the books we know about already, the one Mary has that can create tiny bones (MAG 4 - Page Turner), perhaps the stranger is the Bone turner (MAG 17)? or Michael (MAG 26)? and then Harold feeling burning must be a reference to what ever burned Gerad and that other guy during MAG 12 (First Aid).
the guys from Breekon and Hope, they reminded me so much of Croup and Vandemar from Neverwhere. I hope that's the theme you were going for because they are creepy as hell!
The worms! you could hear them before Sims realised! oh god that gave me the worst shivers ever, I don't feel clean and I need to scrub off a couple layers of skin.
good catch Cannon with remembering Harold Silvana, I made a note of that after listening to Mag 24 because I knew it would be important.
overall a fantastic episode of TMA, really don't feel anyone is safe anymore...
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Post by cannonlongshot on Sept 8, 2016 10:30:08 GMT
I like the reference to a number of the books we know about already, the one Mary has that can create tiny bones (MAG 4 - Page Turner), perhaps the stranger is the Bone turner (MAG 17)? or Michael (MAG 26)? and then Harold feeling burning must be a reference to what ever burned Gerad and that other guy during MAG 12 (First Aid). ... The worms! you could hear them before Sims realised! oh god that gave me the worst shivers ever, I don't feel clean and I need to scrub off a couple layers of skin. ... good catch Cannon with remembering Harold Silvana, I made a note of that after listening to Mag 24 because I knew it would be important. 1) I'm pretty certain this one is the one that can create bones - Silvana finds a small bone as Gerard flees, and in MAG4 Mary Keay seems to suggest that she only owns one Leitner. 2) ... Why would you mention this?! 3) It's only through constant repetition! XD Don't think it's important, but I love it when we get a sign of how well-designed this world is!
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kea
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Post by kea on Sept 8, 2016 10:40:41 GMT
Damn. DAMN. What a hell of an episode. I don't think I can analyze anything at present (I usually do that on the second listening anyway) because I need to absorb the last 5 or so minutes, with the force of the plot hitting so hard.
But, as usual, nicely understated (apart from the bit that made me make a rather undignified squeak) - the noise of the worms, the appearance of two guys who can ONLY be from Breekon and Hope...and a great snapshot of Gerard Kaey, before he realized that his mother really doesn't know what's best for their family...
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Post by cannonlongshot on Sept 8, 2016 10:51:21 GMT
You haven't listened to it twice already? Get your head in the game, kea! ;P Also, spoons, congrats on 100 posts!
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Coil
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Post by Coil on Sept 8, 2016 11:05:00 GMT
What an episode... As Kea says above, i can't really unpack it all right now, but I would like to compliment Gerard Kaey on his ability to time travel! He's wearing a Mastadon t-shirt in March of 2002, but their first album wasn't released until the end of May the same year
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Jonny
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Host of The Magnus Archives
Turns out I was a ghost all along.
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Post by Jonny on Sept 8, 2016 11:16:16 GMT
What an episode... As Kea says above, i can't really unpack it all right now, but I would like to compliment Gerard Kaey on his ability to time travel! He's wearing a Mastadon t-shirt in March of 2002, but their first album wasn't released until the end of May the same year Well, they did release an EP in 2001, and they formed in 2000 and toured widely before the release of that album.
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Post by Oneiros on Sept 8, 2016 11:20:04 GMT
What an episode... As Kea says above, i can't really unpack it all right now, but I would like to compliment Gerard Kaey on his ability to time travel! He's wearing a Mastadon t-shirt in March of 2002, but their first album wasn't released until the end of May the same year Merch from an early concert, mayhaps? Edit: Ninja'd by the writer :-)
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Post by cannonlongshot on Sept 8, 2016 11:25:20 GMT
We assume March 2002! It's never stated that the statement is taken the same year as the incident, though it's a safe assumption. For all we know it happened in 1989 ;P
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Coil
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Post by Coil on Sept 8, 2016 16:02:51 GMT
What an episode... As Kea says above, i can't really unpack it all right now, but I would like to compliment Gerard Kaey on his ability to time travel! He's wearing a Mastadon t-shirt in March of 2002, but their first album wasn't released until the end of May the same year Well, they did release an EP in 2001, and they formed in 2000 and toured widely before the release of that album. I just wanted to join in with the people who pay more attention than me and noticed discrepancies in previous episodes either way, we know that Gerard was into emerging sludge metal bands in the early naughties. *strokes chin* maybe that's somehow relevant...
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Post by cannonlongshot on Sept 8, 2016 16:02:54 GMT
Shout out right back to MAG 26, where Sasha mentions that Tim and Jonathan are arguing over Robert Smirke!
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Post by spooniermist on Sept 8, 2016 16:17:31 GMT
Also, spoons, congrats on 100 posts! Oh yeah! Thanks! Feels good to be a member of the Order of RQ So, so, so many things I have to say about this episode. Firstly, it's a really great one for moving the overall arch along, although not as much as I thought after the first listen. To have Gerard Kaey, Jurgen Leitner, the worms *and* Breekon & Hope in one episode is basically like Christmas as TMI (although I'd imagine Christmas at TMI is more like ' The Orphanage' the film, but hey). Gerard KaeyWe see that he was as strong as he is now since his teens, and it's not some ritual or power that he gained later in life, suggesting that he was born with it, or his mother gave it to him at an early age. Anyone else getting a Friday The 13th vibe? Anyway, it looks like his history with Leitner goes way back. As he's a teenager now, and assuming he ages normally, he would have been born around 1985 I'd guess. As Leitner disappeared around 1994, when Gerard was 10, I'm guessing that he didn't have much interaction with the Norwegian, but Mary Kaey may have done. Either way he seems to know about Leitner books from a young age. Bones in the BookThis was interesting, and raises the question of if all Leitner books shed animal bones, or if this is the same book that Mary Kaey later had in MAG 4: Page Turner. I'm kinda tempted to think that it's a property of all the Leitner books, as we've seen at least two books (this one and Ex Altiora), however, we haven't seen this happening too much otherwise, so maybe not. The bones all around the room where the book was taken from was interesting, suggesting that Gerard didn't have the book when Alf was killed, or killed him with the book, somehow? Although I feel like the mummified hand was more involved. LeitnerIt's cool to see another account of Leitner, although I don't think we really got a massive amount of new information about him, other than that he was well known. 'Other' worldsSo, this is a theory I've been thinking about for a while. There appears to be a bit of a theme within some of the TMI cases, where someone is transported to another place that is separate from reality. Specifically, the endless sky, the eternal misty graveyard, a pitch black church, a place full of writhing worms that Jane Prentiss mentions in passing, an empty meat processing plant and maybe the black tentacled dreamscape. I wondered if these people were actually transported to another plane/dimension/whatever. Then we had this episode and it feels like we may have found a hub for these planes. Of the 14 passages mentioned, one goes to the Reform Club, one goes to a place which Harold felt like he was falling into (like the endless sky in MAG 21: Freefall), another one is so dark that torches couldn't penetrate it (like the church in MAG 25: Growing Dark when there's no light sources in the church). Leitner certainly seemed to think that this was a place of power. I'd love to know what you all think about this theory as I might make another 'recurring theme' wiki page about it. WormsOH GOD THEY'RE ALL ALREADY DEAD! But, I keep thinking, if the worms are this close, what are they trying to do? Surely if they're close enough to Sims when he's recording his tapes, surely, *surely* they can have infected them all? Is Jane Prentiss actually waiting for something to happen? She's mentioned the 'Archivist's crimson fate'. Maybe we'll see that soon what with the introduction of... ...Breekon & Hope!There's no doubt in my mind that the delivery men were from Breekon & Hope. I'd been wondering if they worked for the Lucas family, but surely not. Why deliver to a place that you own? Anyway, I'm really intrigued to see what's going on with this package. I think it might be another tape, or case, or something that leads Sims & Crew down the right path to salvation, or something. I find it unlikely that it's a worm bomb or something. I'm almost certain that we'll find out next episode. I feel like this might be something from Gertrude, although I don't know what or why.
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Jonny
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Post by Jonny on Sept 8, 2016 16:28:59 GMT
I just wanted to join in with the people who pay more attention than me and noticed discrepancies in previous episodes either way, we know that Gerard was into emerging sludge metal bands in the early naughties. *strokes chin* maybe that's somehow relevant... Well, in the interests of rewarding such observance, I will say that perhaps more relevant is that at such an early point in their musical career, it is unlikely the band were touring much beyond their home country. Not directly relevant, of course, but knowledge is its own reward, I'm sure
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