beholdthishotmess

[beholdthishotmess]

tma characters in a nutshell

tim:

melanie:

daisy:

jon:

martin:

elias:

basira:

georgie:

gerry:

peter lukas:

michael/helen:

gertrude:

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It’s kind of sad that this sheep is far more photogenic than I’ll ever be😭😂

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Woke up in the middle of the night consumed by this idea so apologies in advance for it being a little scattershot but honestly 167 was such a big fuck you to all the people who blamed Jon for how he got manipulated into all this end of the world stuff.

Gertrude “Motherfucker” Robinson, queen number one badass of the leave everyone behind philosophy could not be more opposite to how Jon lives his own life.  He was always first in the danger, trying to protect his individual people, and more often than not it only got him deeper into Elias’ plans, got him all marked up and twisted around in the spiderweb strings he’s danced on for at least four seasons.

But hey!  Guess who just got eye on high LITERAL CONFIRMATION that Gertrude “Agency is the name of my flamethrower” Robinson spent her entire life on puppet strings too.

The endless stream of rituals and plots that Gertrude fought on her “crusade” were plopped in her path by the Web.  To keep her busy?  To force her to eventually have to realize that they cannot ever succeed?  To teach something to Jonah who would eventually create Jon?  I don’t know.

The point is.  Jon and Gertrude are deeply opposing forces and wildly different people with entirely conflicting approaches to trying to save the world.  And yet both of them had just as little agency, were just as much puppets to the web and its invisible machinations, were just as close to the constant crises to be entirely unable to see the big picture looming up around them. 

Jon used his time to help people and value them, while Gertrude turned a blind eye to the suffering of individuals around her in favor of sacrificing people for the greater good (which was not an unreasonable choice in the puppet show the web had set up around her) but she was not superior in agency or effectiveness because of that cruelty in any way.  In fact, Jon’s kindness and loyalty to the people around him is heavily implied to be the reason he will be able to fight back effectively, with supporting friends and allies that Gertrude would never have had.

But that’s not important.

What’s important is that Gertrude was just as much a helpless guinea pig as Jon has always been while in the clutches of something much bigger than him

Despite the fact that they were basically opposites.

Makes you think that probably anyone who became archivist would have ended up in the exact same place as Jon, even if they made different mistakes.  Because this is something far bigger than any one person, no matter how genre savvy and goal oriented they try to be.

TLDR Jon’s a good boy who doesn’t deserve any kind of hate

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S1 Jon after reading a statement: I sent Martin, Tim and Sasha to investigate it, but it’s a dead end. Must be some prankster again :/

S4 Jon after reading a statement: *sighing as he knocks on the door of the monster mentioned in the statement* what the fuck Helen.

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There's something so funny about Helen literally locking Michael out of the Distortion. Imagine getting locked out of your house, except you are your house.

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It’s sad about jon hours

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19/22

THE MOON loss of direction, fear, illusion, repressed emotions, delving into the imaginary, confusion and anxiety

0 - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - XIV - XV - XVI - XVII - XVIII - XIX - XX - XXI

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Thanks to @surikane I now love two (2) grumpy Archivists

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Jon starts out with all the trappings of a cold and rational character (works in database management, scoffs at people who believe in the supernatural) and then you find out that he’s an impulsive idiot with a heart full of love who doesn’t even bother to consult his brain before he’s up and running full-tilt into an endless coffin to bring back his coworker’s gf

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Jon: I'm exhausted, miserable, and constantly doubting how much of my humanity I have left.

Other Avatars: Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you ever want to go apeshit?

Jon:

Jon: *sigh*

Jon: ...so anyway here's my comprehensive plan for how to cherish and protect my friends to the greatest degree possible, and also appreciate the sanctity of life and the goodness and resilience of the human spirit.

Jon: Fuck you.

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okay i touched on this in the tags of a post earlier but like. i just gotta say it out loud. (in text? idk)

for the record: i’m all for Jon being an oblivious idiot, particularly because i’m one too, this is just the salt in the cake. that’s a bad metaphor considering salt’s connotation’s nowadays but that’s beside the point.

THE POINT is Jon has an established history of being manipulated. his first supernatural experience was with the Web and the Web has screwed around with so much of his life that it’s kinda ridiculous. when Jon’s in trouble, Georgie’s first instinct is to ask if he’s gotten pulled into something again. (i’m paraphrasing very loosely here; bad auditory processing.) 

SO when Martin starts being nice to Jon while Jon is paranoid as all hell, legitimately believing that everyone and anyone might be trying to kill him, Jon’s immediate association is not “well that’s nice.” it’s not him twisting a kind gesture into something malicious; it is him recognizing patterns of abuse and manipulation in his past and attributing them to Martin. just for all the wrong reasons

Martin is hiding something–namely, he lied his way into the Institute and he feels real bad about it, and i think Jon’s subconscious picked up on that and, upon adding that to Martin’s sudden kindness, decided that the only explanation was malicious intent.

this is a man who is so easily manipulated that he makes a habit of pushing people away, and Martin’s… not. Jon’s not used to being on the receiving end of a people pleaser, as i’m pretty sure he’s usually the much more reluctant and snarky doormat in most relationships.

so yeah. Jon definitely misread those signals. the history as to why, however, breaks my heart.

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Ok but episode 79 really says a lot about what kind of man Jon is under the fake sceptic act and the attitude like

Not!Sasha: it was really dumb of you to think you could destroy me. Thanks for FREEING ME aaaahaha you're so stupid but THANK you

Jon: *stays quiet and hidden*

Not!Sasha: I'm going to wear your skin and steal your job

Jon:

Not!Sasha: you were such a rubbish Archivist I'll probably do a better job than you

Jon:

Not!Sasha: I'm going to kill you slowly. It's going to hurt

Jon:

Not!Sasha: just like it hurt Sasha

Jon: NOW LISTEN HERE YOU--

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Issues 1-4 of the TMA comic book that never was! Y’all have been super sweet about this series! I had a blast making these and I love reading all of your comments. For everyone asking me where they can buy these as prints: I am super psyched you want these as physical objects in your house! I’m also not going to offer them for purchase bc The Rusty Quill is an indie production and it would be hella shady of me to make money off their IP. 
HOWEVER I was thinking it might be cool to print a limited number of these for Christmas/the new year and send them out on a first come, first serve basis for people who make a donation of 15$ or something to the show. If you’re interested in that send me an ask or something and I can try to gage how many people would actually be game and then decide.

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the archivist watches