File #75 (S2-35) - Broken fraternity

[Oneiros]

Ah, the trials and tribulations of living with one's sibling... Regret is the things you never said or did when you had the chance and now we have to wonder if Stephen Walker's animosity to the "lightning-scarred" man is valid or the transference of a guilty conscience. Could he have imagined this person as a way to absolve himself? Or does the figure of Michael Crew loom so large as to be a vertiginous presence in the world?

An interesting tale of a disappearing sibling - could this mirror in some way the sudden vanishing of Laura Popham's sister, Alena? Or we have the disappearing young man from 'Freefall' that the Archivist remarks on. And then there's Michael Crew himself, someone bound up in the story of multiple 'Leitners', who disappeared after jumping off a tower... on a journey of transformation, perhaps? Aren't we all? Or is the intent to simply leave a wake of sadness and regret?

But at least there is some brightness in the Archives - Basira has brought Gertrude's tapes back! Huzzah?

[julsbo]

This second bout of sibling resentment is certainly feeling noteworthy, isn't it? Especially as Laura Popham also described a clingy-sounding sibling whose behaviour seemed to "justify" a trip that results in an uncanny disappearance. I wonder if there's an equivalent "take her not me" hidden behind this statement, too?

I wonder if there's a motivation our possibly unreliable narrators aren't telling us about. Did Laura gain something from sacrificing her sister to someone/thing? Has Stephen Walker?

Feels like the string is already connected in this episode, so now there are only more questions...

[amethystend]

Oh baby, our dear Archivist has the tapes! Basira's last words dripped with finality but I love her character and hope we see her again (and not in a situation that leads to her death, or worse).

I always love these Leitner related episodes, too.

[omjs]

This one was so sad. It's interesting how when the statement includes a first-person encounter, I tend to feel their fear but not much pity. But here, where the incident really happened to his brother, I just felt so bad for his poor brother. What an awful thing to have happen.

It does seem that too much contact with a Leitner means it uses you more than you ever used it. Reminds me of the change in Jared Hopworth between The Boneturner's Tale and The Butcher's Window. I wonder how many of the supernatural figures we've encountered are actually Leitner victims.

Also: more Gertrude tapes!

[kea]

I wonder if the Leitners choose their "victims" - reacting to something innate within them. Jared was mentioned as being a bit of a bully pre-Leitner, whereas the narrator of the episode came into contact with that book first and didn't feel as drawn to it. Same with the narrator of "Page Turner" - he got the dizziness without deciding to trap innocent people on endless ladders- as with the bookseller from Literary Heights. It's certainly pretty clear there was something very wrong with Mary Kaey, even before she found her book, which she has obviously made good use of.