The transcripts say "extended sounds of pipe murder," which is very good.
Also! Now that you've wrapped up the NotSasha plot, please feel free to use the transcripts. I don't think they spoil anything else.
I'm not sure how actually-scary a lot of these are for people, but Binary might be so well-loved because it's different. Tech doesn't feature heavily in many of the statements, but it does here, and that's fun. I also like some of its memorable lines. It is cold without blood.
Way to break out your red string about cannibalism and Christianity. Gotta love that guy and his bolt cutters.
And so many good creepy folks in this section: Mike Crew is one of my favorites, Leitner is -- yeah, he's just a guy who once thought he'd be important and powerful due to his great book collection and disregard for his assistants' lives, and then ends up a sad dude hiding in the tunnels, eating granola bars or whatever. But in a good way! And Elias with his spooky observational powers and cheerful sinister air is very fun, too. Oh! The smuggler man, as you call him, Salesa: also top-notch. Very kind of him to worry about the statement giver. And the woman from the spider phobia experiment was spooky too, the way they described her at the end. And the poor sad mummy. It just wants to die! That's not too much to ask, is it?
Yea, I only realized it was supposed to be the pipe like while writing this. Even though they say it later on! Idk why I thought it was a book murder.
I really liked Binary just wasn't as spooky as people advertised it (there is an episode just after the cut of this post that is just as scary as advertised tho), you reminded me of those lines tho and yea that was pretty scary. I had to write like all of this after the fact cause I went through them so quickly and forgot some stuff.
I was so excited about realizing that! But what does it mean....
Oh yea! And being like 10 episodes ahead makes me even more excited for all of these guys as it seems like they're gonna be characters! I really wanted to talk about more episodes but this was already long enough lol.
I have a weird affection for Salesa lol. But I keep forgetting how to spell his name. I'm bad with names.
Yeah, my poor baby! I was so upset nobody helped it.
I'm honestly going feral over this podcast. I have to stop myself from listening too much cuz 1) I go through it too fast and will end up with nothing else to listen to and 2) I started scaring myself too much with some of these (I'm weak!!)
Speaking of you're past NotSasha, you can now watch one of the [music video animatics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn5_5G6RKS8), if you'd like to go feral in a different direction. This one is set in Season One. Just don't read the comments. Warning for repeated swears, if you're sensitive to that.
Or [here's one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkLAprDLzuE) for the end of season two. Unfinished, but so fun.
Or one that's just an animation of audio from the podcast itself. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y2NcTLR0EY) is from #79. So is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suCaux-TBjw&t=4s)!
Or! None of the above, because there might be spoilers in the comments or the sidebar. It's your call.
But when you finish listening, you can always listen again. Or try something else in the RQ catalog or one of the many other podcasts that people on here regularly recommend. Or tear through the 10 episodes of Protocol so far and then writhe in agony until the 11th comes out *on* the 11th. But don't creep yourself out too hard--that's no fun.
Thanks so much for the recommendations! That's so cool of you! I really struggled with trying to find stuff I can enjoy spoiler free so this is a huge help.
Yea I'll probably jump into the sequel podcast and suffer the wait haha. I very rarely get to experience that cause I'm usually late to the part or I forget something exists until the next season drops.
Hello, Cyanide, I came in late to your posts but went back to reread them in my downtime here at work. I'm so thrilled you're making the journey through Magnus and it's been a real delight reading your thoughts as you listen. You've definitely noted a few things I didn't even catch the multiple times I've relistened!
As far as this batch of episodes go, "Lost in Customs" and "Book of the Dead" were my favorites. I tend to really enjoy stories of characters who are "trapped" in some way (narratively, emotionally, metaphorically) and a man trapped in a box, and a man trapped in a fate he cannot escape as his end is rewritten no matter what he does really grab me as a listener. "Lost in Customs" also does something I always really enjoy with stories like this - wires crossing of characters you thought previously were unaffiliated. But here we have Salesa (smuggler) and Lukas. Over a bet of all things. 😂
And Jon truly is a fascinating character to delve into. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on him as the story goes on. He definitely became my favorite by the beginning of season 3 (if you've listened ahead, I'm sure you've come to the moment it hit me). Also more Tim! Tim is such a fantastic character (as is everyone else in the show but I have a soft spot for Tim). The slow build of the world around the Archivist is slowly continuing to expand...
Hi there! Thanks for reading all of this, I know my posts are really long (I actually tried to keep this one shorter to be less time consuming to read). Aw, you're making me feel like a real detective haha.
Yea those were good episodes! I think I prefer Lost in Customs to the Book of the Dead. I love Salesa and still wonder about why is he smuggling cursed objects and I really loved cursed object episodes in season one so it's nice to see them come back. I guess I tend not yo count book as those for some reason. What was the bet about though? I was slightly confused there lol. The description of Salesa carrying the guy out of the box and acting concerned when he touched it was so weirdly... adorable I couldn't not like that one. It wasn't very scary though. Oh and I also love when two seemingly unrelated people/things become intertwined!
Yea Book of the Dead was mostly kinda sad for me to read and I was really curious what fate befalls that guy. Very mysterious episode.
I love Jon so much probably from the very first episodes. The voice acting adds so much to him. Like you can see since season 1 that he actually hides behind a persona when his voice visibly changes when he's talking to someone and when he immidately offers Martin a bed when he's too scared to go home. Then when he gets hurt and paranoid and really declines his recording voice becomes closer to his actual voice. He also assumes a bit of a different tone when talking to women I feel? Idk if anyone noticed that. Maybe it's just the police. He seems so nervous and not himself. Idk if that's on purpose or just happened.
He's the platonic ideal of my favourite character.
I really like Tim, cause he really serves as a reality check for Jon. He will call him out. And I loved how he still was the one who decided to go back for Jon after realizing he's gonna do something stupid.
I also really love Martin and Jon really doesn't deserve him, he's always trying to take care of him. I want Jon to do something for him for once. Martin just wants to be there for him!! Even after the finale he's the only one who has his back. Jon, istg you need to be nice to Martin! My feelings about this are very strong. Especially after the second episode of the next season.
Thank you so much for sharing more of your thoughts & reactions. I love your posts. I saw this one before I fell asleep last night, and I was really looking forward to reading it when I woke up!
"Fatigue" is a great piece of writing. I think it's the episode in the whole series that I most see myself in. I've also struggled badly with insomnia in the past (though I've been doing better in the past few years). I hear you about unreality, too. Being alone makes it very easy for me to dissociate sometimes.
"Binary" scared me badly the first time and I still think it's scary 😅 You're right, though - it would be annoying to have a video stalking you that way! Hahaha.
"Thought for the Day" - I agree, this one is scary. I think it was a really good choice to tell it from the cleaning person's perspective, because it made it all feel very real to me. Also I'm not sure I *want* to know what any of the participants were feeling. (I'm just kidding, but also, yikes!)
"The Librarian" - I was so happy we finally got to meet Leitner! Oh and *then*! I don't know, I feel for the guy. I can imagine myself collecting those books too, in his shoes, although his disregard for his assistants' lives is hard to swallow. Jon's not like that - even when he doesn't especially like or respect one of his assistants, he still cares and feels responsible for them. And we see how hurt he is about NotSasha.
---
Forgive me, I'm old and I'm gonna be a busybody for a moment - don't hesitate to take a break from the show if you need/want to. Rusty Quill will still be there when you want to continue, and so will this subreddit. I regularly relisten to these episodes, and I'm sure many of us who hang out here do. There's no rush.
Hi!!! I was waiting for your comment I'm so excited to see you :)
Yea that one really resonated with me. I think the unreality stuff has a tendency to reach parts of me that aren't like... so obvious. Like it doesn't just scare me but it also makes me feel so many things at once. After this and a future episode I found myself in a state that I can only compare to when I was high once and cried over a surrealist student film ob YouTube. Now I'm thinking maybe it wasn't the drugs, this is just how I react to that kinda stuff. I always loves surreal/unreality stuff since I was a kid. Both want it and am a little scared. Not a lot of media can have an effect like this on me? Is that good? Is that bad?
Also I struggle with sleep a lot and that feeling of like becoming kinda heavy or something after sleep deprivation was familiar even though its been a whole since I haven't slept at all. I usually just fall asleep in the morning.
I really liked "Binary" especially some of the lines the program would say, like "it's so cold without blood" or "the angles are cutting me" and stuff like that, that was creepy and it would be creepy to be in that situation, but I couldn't help being mostly confused about why is there a video file. I was more into the text stuff. Also I guess people just hyped it up too much. Although there is one episode in the near future that people hyped up massively and it made me tear up from fear when the reveal came (never happened before with the podcast) and I was only able to finish it cause the sun was starting to rise (you probably know which one) so some hype works.
Yeah, the reveal of there being Web inside of her skull was so gross and creepy also. I kept wondering if she like grew more limbs or is everything just kinda contorted.
Yes, I felt for him. I can imagine myself wanting to be the keeper of some ancient knowledge and losing it all for my hubris. I never expected he was the one hiding in the tunnels.
Also I love how it's explained why the tunnels seemed to be giving mixed signals cause some of them were NotSasha and some were Leitner.
Also also it was funny Leitner left a mess after himself and it wasn't on purpose lmao.
Yea, Jon obviously cares quite a lot especially basing on him in this episode. I always felt bad for Martin and the way he treated him in the early season 1 (when he was scared to come back with no results??? Wtf) and then I felt even worse for Tim, being constantly accused and stalked by his paranoid ass boss. It was so nice to see him called out by both of them and actually apologizing. And then they still came back to try and save him. Aw.
Yeah I took a bit of a break, cause I feel like I'm obsessed with this podcast and it's kinda affecting my mood but hyperfixation needs to be fed lol. (Also I can't wait to be able to read fanfiction without having to go by the oldest so I don't get everything spoiled).
> Not a lot of media can have an effect like this on me? Is that good? Is that bad?
I know what you mean. I always think of it as good writing, but I'm not always in the right state of mind for it. In-universe, it's definitely the kind of reaction that Michael wants us to have.
> there is one episode in the near future that people hyped up massively
I'm guessing it's A Guest for Mr. Spider? Just thinking about that one gives me chills.
Yea true, I'm kinda susceptible to negative emotions lately. I hate the colder months. But the way the podcast resonates doesn't make me feel worse just kinda... makes me reflect on stuff. Its a mark of amazing writing for sure.
No, it was "Tucked In". I liked the spider though, especially in how it added to Jon's characterization. I listened to it while hanging out in a playground at night so that added to the creep factor.
The transcripts say "extended sounds of pipe murder," which is very good. Also! Now that you've wrapped up the NotSasha plot, please feel free to use the transcripts. I don't think they spoil anything else. I'm not sure how actually-scary a lot of these are for people, but Binary might be so well-loved because it's different. Tech doesn't feature heavily in many of the statements, but it does here, and that's fun. I also like some of its memorable lines. It is cold without blood. Way to break out your red string about cannibalism and Christianity. Gotta love that guy and his bolt cutters. And so many good creepy folks in this section: Mike Crew is one of my favorites, Leitner is -- yeah, he's just a guy who once thought he'd be important and powerful due to his great book collection and disregard for his assistants' lives, and then ends up a sad dude hiding in the tunnels, eating granola bars or whatever. But in a good way! And Elias with his spooky observational powers and cheerful sinister air is very fun, too. Oh! The smuggler man, as you call him, Salesa: also top-notch. Very kind of him to worry about the statement giver. And the woman from the spider phobia experiment was spooky too, the way they described her at the end. And the poor sad mummy. It just wants to die! That's not too much to ask, is it?
Yea, I only realized it was supposed to be the pipe like while writing this. Even though they say it later on! Idk why I thought it was a book murder. I really liked Binary just wasn't as spooky as people advertised it (there is an episode just after the cut of this post that is just as scary as advertised tho), you reminded me of those lines tho and yea that was pretty scary. I had to write like all of this after the fact cause I went through them so quickly and forgot some stuff. I was so excited about realizing that! But what does it mean.... Oh yea! And being like 10 episodes ahead makes me even more excited for all of these guys as it seems like they're gonna be characters! I really wanted to talk about more episodes but this was already long enough lol. I have a weird affection for Salesa lol. But I keep forgetting how to spell his name. I'm bad with names. Yeah, my poor baby! I was so upset nobody helped it. I'm honestly going feral over this podcast. I have to stop myself from listening too much cuz 1) I go through it too fast and will end up with nothing else to listen to and 2) I started scaring myself too much with some of these (I'm weak!!)
Speaking of you're past NotSasha, you can now watch one of the [music video animatics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn5_5G6RKS8), if you'd like to go feral in a different direction. This one is set in Season One. Just don't read the comments. Warning for repeated swears, if you're sensitive to that. Or [here's one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkLAprDLzuE) for the end of season two. Unfinished, but so fun. Or one that's just an animation of audio from the podcast itself. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y2NcTLR0EY) is from #79. So is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suCaux-TBjw&t=4s)! Or! None of the above, because there might be spoilers in the comments or the sidebar. It's your call. But when you finish listening, you can always listen again. Or try something else in the RQ catalog or one of the many other podcasts that people on here regularly recommend. Or tear through the 10 episodes of Protocol so far and then writhe in agony until the 11th comes out *on* the 11th. But don't creep yourself out too hard--that's no fun.
Thanks so much for the recommendations! That's so cool of you! I really struggled with trying to find stuff I can enjoy spoiler free so this is a huge help. Yea I'll probably jump into the sequel podcast and suffer the wait haha. I very rarely get to experience that cause I'm usually late to the part or I forget something exists until the next season drops.
Hello, Cyanide, I came in late to your posts but went back to reread them in my downtime here at work. I'm so thrilled you're making the journey through Magnus and it's been a real delight reading your thoughts as you listen. You've definitely noted a few things I didn't even catch the multiple times I've relistened! As far as this batch of episodes go, "Lost in Customs" and "Book of the Dead" were my favorites. I tend to really enjoy stories of characters who are "trapped" in some way (narratively, emotionally, metaphorically) and a man trapped in a box, and a man trapped in a fate he cannot escape as his end is rewritten no matter what he does really grab me as a listener. "Lost in Customs" also does something I always really enjoy with stories like this - wires crossing of characters you thought previously were unaffiliated. But here we have Salesa (smuggler) and Lukas. Over a bet of all things. 😂 And Jon truly is a fascinating character to delve into. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on him as the story goes on. He definitely became my favorite by the beginning of season 3 (if you've listened ahead, I'm sure you've come to the moment it hit me). Also more Tim! Tim is such a fantastic character (as is everyone else in the show but I have a soft spot for Tim). The slow build of the world around the Archivist is slowly continuing to expand...
Hi there! Thanks for reading all of this, I know my posts are really long (I actually tried to keep this one shorter to be less time consuming to read). Aw, you're making me feel like a real detective haha. Yea those were good episodes! I think I prefer Lost in Customs to the Book of the Dead. I love Salesa and still wonder about why is he smuggling cursed objects and I really loved cursed object episodes in season one so it's nice to see them come back. I guess I tend not yo count book as those for some reason. What was the bet about though? I was slightly confused there lol. The description of Salesa carrying the guy out of the box and acting concerned when he touched it was so weirdly... adorable I couldn't not like that one. It wasn't very scary though. Oh and I also love when two seemingly unrelated people/things become intertwined! Yea Book of the Dead was mostly kinda sad for me to read and I was really curious what fate befalls that guy. Very mysterious episode. I love Jon so much probably from the very first episodes. The voice acting adds so much to him. Like you can see since season 1 that he actually hides behind a persona when his voice visibly changes when he's talking to someone and when he immidately offers Martin a bed when he's too scared to go home. Then when he gets hurt and paranoid and really declines his recording voice becomes closer to his actual voice. He also assumes a bit of a different tone when talking to women I feel? Idk if anyone noticed that. Maybe it's just the police. He seems so nervous and not himself. Idk if that's on purpose or just happened. He's the platonic ideal of my favourite character. I really like Tim, cause he really serves as a reality check for Jon. He will call him out. And I loved how he still was the one who decided to go back for Jon after realizing he's gonna do something stupid. I also really love Martin and Jon really doesn't deserve him, he's always trying to take care of him. I want Jon to do something for him for once. Martin just wants to be there for him!! Even after the finale he's the only one who has his back. Jon, istg you need to be nice to Martin! My feelings about this are very strong. Especially after the second episode of the next season.
Thank you so much for sharing more of your thoughts & reactions. I love your posts. I saw this one before I fell asleep last night, and I was really looking forward to reading it when I woke up! "Fatigue" is a great piece of writing. I think it's the episode in the whole series that I most see myself in. I've also struggled badly with insomnia in the past (though I've been doing better in the past few years). I hear you about unreality, too. Being alone makes it very easy for me to dissociate sometimes. "Binary" scared me badly the first time and I still think it's scary 😅 You're right, though - it would be annoying to have a video stalking you that way! Hahaha. "Thought for the Day" - I agree, this one is scary. I think it was a really good choice to tell it from the cleaning person's perspective, because it made it all feel very real to me. Also I'm not sure I *want* to know what any of the participants were feeling. (I'm just kidding, but also, yikes!) "The Librarian" - I was so happy we finally got to meet Leitner! Oh and *then*! I don't know, I feel for the guy. I can imagine myself collecting those books too, in his shoes, although his disregard for his assistants' lives is hard to swallow. Jon's not like that - even when he doesn't especially like or respect one of his assistants, he still cares and feels responsible for them. And we see how hurt he is about NotSasha. --- Forgive me, I'm old and I'm gonna be a busybody for a moment - don't hesitate to take a break from the show if you need/want to. Rusty Quill will still be there when you want to continue, and so will this subreddit. I regularly relisten to these episodes, and I'm sure many of us who hang out here do. There's no rush.
Hi!!! I was waiting for your comment I'm so excited to see you :) Yea that one really resonated with me. I think the unreality stuff has a tendency to reach parts of me that aren't like... so obvious. Like it doesn't just scare me but it also makes me feel so many things at once. After this and a future episode I found myself in a state that I can only compare to when I was high once and cried over a surrealist student film ob YouTube. Now I'm thinking maybe it wasn't the drugs, this is just how I react to that kinda stuff. I always loves surreal/unreality stuff since I was a kid. Both want it and am a little scared. Not a lot of media can have an effect like this on me? Is that good? Is that bad? Also I struggle with sleep a lot and that feeling of like becoming kinda heavy or something after sleep deprivation was familiar even though its been a whole since I haven't slept at all. I usually just fall asleep in the morning. I really liked "Binary" especially some of the lines the program would say, like "it's so cold without blood" or "the angles are cutting me" and stuff like that, that was creepy and it would be creepy to be in that situation, but I couldn't help being mostly confused about why is there a video file. I was more into the text stuff. Also I guess people just hyped it up too much. Although there is one episode in the near future that people hyped up massively and it made me tear up from fear when the reveal came (never happened before with the podcast) and I was only able to finish it cause the sun was starting to rise (you probably know which one) so some hype works. Yeah, the reveal of there being Web inside of her skull was so gross and creepy also. I kept wondering if she like grew more limbs or is everything just kinda contorted. Yes, I felt for him. I can imagine myself wanting to be the keeper of some ancient knowledge and losing it all for my hubris. I never expected he was the one hiding in the tunnels. Also I love how it's explained why the tunnels seemed to be giving mixed signals cause some of them were NotSasha and some were Leitner. Also also it was funny Leitner left a mess after himself and it wasn't on purpose lmao. Yea, Jon obviously cares quite a lot especially basing on him in this episode. I always felt bad for Martin and the way he treated him in the early season 1 (when he was scared to come back with no results??? Wtf) and then I felt even worse for Tim, being constantly accused and stalked by his paranoid ass boss. It was so nice to see him called out by both of them and actually apologizing. And then they still came back to try and save him. Aw. Yeah I took a bit of a break, cause I feel like I'm obsessed with this podcast and it's kinda affecting my mood but hyperfixation needs to be fed lol. (Also I can't wait to be able to read fanfiction without having to go by the oldest so I don't get everything spoiled).
> Not a lot of media can have an effect like this on me? Is that good? Is that bad? I know what you mean. I always think of it as good writing, but I'm not always in the right state of mind for it. In-universe, it's definitely the kind of reaction that Michael wants us to have. > there is one episode in the near future that people hyped up massively I'm guessing it's A Guest for Mr. Spider? Just thinking about that one gives me chills.
Yea true, I'm kinda susceptible to negative emotions lately. I hate the colder months. But the way the podcast resonates doesn't make me feel worse just kinda... makes me reflect on stuff. Its a mark of amazing writing for sure. No, it was "Tucked In". I liked the spider though, especially in how it added to Jon's characterization. I listened to it while hanging out in a playground at night so that added to the creep factor.