#Gertrude Cope

[likecharlieintherain]

Kew's first women gardeners, 1896 Source

[the-mystical-aquatic-gay]

i’ve seen a couple crossovers of doctor who and the magnus archives, which is an amazing idea in general and i would like more

but what i think is potentially the best combination for that crossover that i have yet to see is nine + whichever iteration of the archives crew

imagine this horribly traumatized little ball of sunshine who just had to destroy his entire planet, meeting jonathan jarchivist sims

obviously what point in the tma canon it happened would massively change how that went but i would like to see it and honestly i’m this close to writing it myself

[spirit-of-the-void]

Tmp episode 8 has me feel like a feral raccoon desperately trying to get into a trash can that I know has an old rotisserie chicken in it. I’m absolutely losing it. How is everyone fairing after all those little bombs were dropped on us? Feeling good? Feeling funky?

[edns]

I'm not a child anymore.

Thinking about Cyrus's backstory pre timeskip/academy got me doodling things

[divorcemotif]

FINALLY A HAMLET 2000 TRUTHER

VERY NICE TO MEET YOU I AM OBSESSED WITH HAMLET 2000. my friend and I put it on on a 3 am whim intending to make fun of it but the further in we got the more we were turning to each other like "wait is this good? is this actually good though?? holy shit?? why does this go off?"

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Jon’s subtle Becoming in season two is possibly one of my favourite aspects of the earlier show in hindsight, and I think it links really nicely with why ends up aligning with the Eye, whereas Gertrude rejected it.

There’s a consistent theme with avatars and finding a sense of protection or comfort in the entity they serve, and being an avatar is never really about what you fear, as much as it is about how you cope with what you fear.

Throughout season two, Jon is actively faced by one of the entities directly — Not!Sasha — and pairing that with Gertrude’s unknown killer, he spirals into distrust and paranoia, always feeling as though he’s being watched or that people are plotting against him. His manner of coping with this worsening state of constant fear and paranoia is by both becoming a causer of it, as well as desperately seeking answers and investigating.

He has to know, and he has to be sure of what he knows. The unknown variables bother him.

He always feels as though he’s being watched, and so, he becomes the watcher. He stalks Not!Sasha, Tim, and Martin, and then digs up as much info on them as he can, alongside Elias. He makes note of their every move, every detail, every slip up, until it becomes obvious to all of t he m.

Note that it’s a stark contrast to his original coping mechanism of ignorance, because that proved it could only work so far. After Jane’s attack, he can’t afford to let his guard down anymore. He can’t afford to trust anyone except himself and what he knows.

He finds a comfort in the Eye before he even knows about it, in a sense, and while this is likely a simplification of season two Jon, I just wanted to gush a little about it, because it’s really clever set up.

He’s the Ceaseless Watcher’s special little boy for a reason!

[stackofsnakes]

You start the Magnus Archives and you think "Oh look, they're researching the paranormal, they must be the good guys, or at least neutral" and it's like, sure they're caught up in some supernatural drama themselves but that's an occupational hazzard, right?

Them you learn more about the fears and Elias, you learn that the Institute is a stronghold of the beholder and all the sketchy shit Gertrude has done and it casts some doubt, but then the institute seems to be mostly good? Like, Gertrude did terrible stuff but she did save the world and was even trying to go stop the archive and all in all, the Eye's probably not the worst patron, right? I mean it's certainly intrusive, but compare it with the flesh or the lightless flame...

I mean, yes, being under the patronage of an eldritch god does leave its marks but then, the only sufferer seem to be those involved with the institutes and getting statements, while strange, is probably not the worst addiction out there.

Then "Scrutiny" rolls around and you realize statement givers, not all but many, are legitemate victims of the paranormal on account of giving a statement, that, whether he wants to ot not, John has turned into an eldritch horror himself. Not the cutesy "I am weird and no longer human(on account of having superpowers), however will i cope?", but the very real "I am hurting people and i cannot stop."

It's weird tho. However the story's concerned, i'm mostly on John's side now. I mean, i barely passed the halfway mark of season four, it might change, but if John wanted to bring about the Watchers ritual, i'd root for him. Maybe i'm just curious to see what that would entail. No spoilers please

[p0tatostuck]

martin has a better time because jon is busy hating gertrude. sasha and tim are there to foster havoc and then gossip about it, as is their right. jon is murdered by gertrude. as is her right

listen listen I think Tim and Sasha should be in their 40s. And then you just have this obviously 20 something year old who's now THEIR BOSS claiming is 38 as if they can't spot a fresh out of college baby a mile away

[annabelle--cane]

Hey so I'm not good at subtext and I saw you posting about ep 200 of TMA being awesome. I've listened to it a few times and I'm mostly...confused? I don't understand what happened

(I mean, I get what Martin did to Jon, but nothing other than that)

Would you mind explaining why it's impactful to you?

honestly the main standout thing that makes it really shine to me is the soundscaping and vocal editing, and I've seen people take that as an indirect snide comment about the writing before but it really isn't, the entire scene in the panopticon just sounds gorgeous. the distortion and static on jon's voice, the underscoring of the statement, the way jon and martin's dialogue pops out from the sounds of the crumbling tower, it's just. aaaaaaaaaa. I find it really pleasant to listen to, if you've only listened through speakers then I'd 100% recommend trying it with headphones, it is simply very pretty and well made.

from the story side, it's beat after beat of ultimate catharsis for threads and arcs that have been set up for the whole show.

jon going ham and just really brutally killing jonah with his own hands, no supernatural influence, finally fulling snapping and, it sounds like, gutting him like a fish. it's just about the most lively and impassioned we've heard him all season, and, as far as anyone could deserve to do such a thing, he really is the person who deserved to get to do it.

jon and martin both betraying each other and making the choices that the whole story has been leading them to. jon has spent years fighting against his internalized idea that he can't trust anyone and he's the only person who's powerful/expendable/knowledgeable enough to make decisions and solve problems, and at last he submits to it and takes matters into his own hands. martin has spent years operating under the assumption that he's unimportant and incapable, and now just as he finally accepts that his choices have meaning, he sets the plan in motion that ends up getting them both killed. and jon has tried so hard to be transparent and show him trust that he underestimates just how willing jon is to go behind his back and disregard the plan completely.

and the fuckign. web lighter. I have a longstanding obsession with the mechanics of fate in tragedy narratives, and this lighter. hhh. so, fate (the web) was guiding jon & co to release the fears, but to jon's knowledge, killing jonah and becoming the pupil should have been his winning move to keep them contained. as far as he was capable of comprehending, he made all the right choices, but fate (the web) (the oppressive forces that govern all of our lives) doesn't play fair, it planned for this and cheated him. because he couldn't remember the lighter. he couldn't remember that he already gave georgie the catalyst for the explosion.

this tells me a few things: the ultimate end of releasing the fears was always going to happen, there was nothing jon could have done, but, technically, he could have adhered to the plan and lived to spend what was left of his life with martin and the rest of his nearest and dearest. but that was never really an option, was it? jon archivist sims would never have made that decision, that's why martin tried and failed to plan around it, that's why the web tried and succeeded to plan around it, it would never have happened differently. jon made his choice, it made no difference except to doom himself and the one he loves, he didn't have to do it, and it was inevitable.

and after all of that, after the web cheated him, he could still have won. he could have survived the tower collapse and kept the fears. but one of his biggest stated motives, over and over, is that he can't stand to lose anyone else, and martin is not immune to burning buildings the way he is. in an inverse to gertrude, at the last moment, he chose the barest chance for martin to survive over his own life and principles and big picture goals. he could cope with being responsible for killing the world in the abstract, but when it came to watching the person he loves most die right before his eyes, he caved and came around to martin's perspective. the other worlds can cope, he wants to save the man he loves.

[shiplessoceans]

Magnus Protocol theory incoming:

Disclaimer: I have only listened to the original podcast once through. Binged it in the span of 2 months while playing Disney Dreamlight Valley (it was a dark time in my life, I cope how I cope). I am still hazy on the finer details and names (Bouchard's, Leitners etc etc.)

But I had a thought around TMP episode 5 and I am more convinced of it now having listened to the latest episode.

I think when Martin and Jon went through the rift, they went to an alternate universe, but also an alternate TIME within the universe.

And in the timeline of the Magnus Protocol as we are listening to it, they are both either older than when we left them, or long dead having lived for years in this current world.

The evidence we have is their voices on the computers. I did initially wonder: "wait, have they been turned into A.I voice programs by the horrors?"

But it's far more likely that they made each recording and put it into this old analogue system that could handle and contain the records without glitching.

Which would mean the Institute (Office of Incident Assessment and Response) as it currently exists could have been established by Jon and Martin, or at least they took part in setting it up in an attempt to prevent what happened in TMA from happening here. Yes, they brought the horrors through, but they can contain them. Keep the records random, screen young people for some kind of study (not sure what that's about yet) and then hire a bunch of casuals to sit around on shifts and catalogue the recordings to feed The Eye. But keep them vague, rotate staff in and out frequently and make sure none of them can become The Archivist to repeat the ritual.

Gwen mentioning time travel study feels important.

The Magnus Insistute was destroyed in this universe, which feels like something Jon and Martin would do, to prevent history from repeating.

Gwen being a Bouchard could be a coincidental throwaway, red herring style, because Elias Bouchard wasn't innately anyone special until the horrors marked him. Gertrude being alive in this universe feels important and is another indicator that history in this world is different than in TMA.

I think we're supposed to think this world is different because it's an alternate universe but I am convinced Jon and Martin made changes to try to fix the timeline.

My question is: Who's watching? We know we only ever hear security footage and people's mobile phones secretly listening to them and in the most recent episode a tape switched on in the burnt down Institute to record Sam and Alice digging around.

We are listening. We are still avatars of The Eye. But I have to wonder if Jon is off somewhere, unable to keep his eyes off things, making sure nothing is going wrong...

Will come back and eat my words if I'm wrong!

[ao3feed-jonmartin]

The Great Un-Twisting of Michael Shelley

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/zEHwk8V by Er1sCha0s What if Michael wasn't destroyed, but instead turned back a human? Back into Michael Shelley? How would it cope with being a human after so long, and would it even want to be who a fragment of it's mind once was? Words: 2710, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F, M/M Characters: Michael | The Distortion (The Magnus Archives), Michael Shelley, Ryan | Michael Shelley's Childhood Friend, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Elias Bouchard | Jonah Magnus, Gertrude Robinson, Gerard Keay, Nikola Orsinov, Melanie King, Georgie Barker, Basira Hussain, Alice "Daisy" Tonner Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley Additional Tags: He/Him Pronouns for Michael Shelley, Minor Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley, Autistic Michael Shelley, Michael Shelley Lives, It/Its Pronouns For Michael | The Distortion (The Magnus Archives), Human Michael | The Distortion (The Magnus Archives), Asexual Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Autistic Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood Has a Crush on Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, teaholding, Angst, Weird Plot Shit, Who knows what the plot will be? I don't, Michael becomes un-distorted?, My First Fanfic, No Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Titles, The Spiral Fear Entity (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical The Spiral Content (The Magnus Archives), michael gets re-shelley'd read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/zEHwk8V

[the-blossica-fan]

Actors AU: Where the actors answer some of the internet's most asked questions, such as:

"How old is Bessmert?"

"Who is Mesmer Sr.?"

"Is it true that Vertin owns an Xbox?"

"Is Lorelei actually Christian?"

"Who in the cast of R1999 is straight?"

"What is Balloon Party's full name?"

"How old is Eternity IRL?"

"Who in the cast is straight" 😭

Answering those questions must be pretty awkward but unfortunately, it's their job to.

ONION: and the internet asks; How old is Miss Bessmert?

(The 1.6 cast collectively turns to look at her)

Bessmert: ...Uh, I wonder what has made it such a big question. (She's around 40 years old)

"Is it true that Vertin owns an Xbox?"

Vertin: ? Why is that question so important? Well, I do own one

Vert: she doesn't even let me see it! Only mom has seen that thing, I'm not even sure if it exists.

Mercuria: Last time we played on a console, you dropped a glass filled with alcohol on it and it got damaged irreparably

Vert: ...

"Lorelei is actually Christian?"

Lorelei, with a rosary on her neck and usually prays: ...Not sure about that.

"What is Balloon Party's full name?"

Balloon Party/Gertrude: Those who know need to perish in a horrible way

Lorelei: 😦

Gertrude: No, not you.

"How old is Eternity in real life?"

Eternity: Huh? How rude! Has no one taught you any manners? You do not ask a lady how old she is!

"Who in the R1999 cast is straight?"

J: Definitely me, I love women

Pioneer: I literally saw you kissing your coworker last week!

J: That was as bros, we said no homo after yk?

Pioneer: These youngsters are so weird sometimes.

Dessert Flannel: Lower your hand Ezra.

Ezra: 😞

Trista: This dumb brother of mine has been flirting with Heinrich for a long time and he still dared to raise his hand

Theophil: HUH- YOU DARE EXPOSE ME?!

Isolde: I apologize, it is in our blood to fail at romance, he is coping

Theophil: ISOLDE

[heartshapedbubble]

Hi there! I was wondering if it's ok if you could do some angsty head canons of Eli Clark and/or Aesop Carl. Only do this if you have time though :)

ANON.......anon your brain is so huge anon..... so ginormos

im sorry for delaying this ask i was having a brat summer (playing p3p for 4 hours a day) but ACKKKKK i was so excited when i got it i love angsty prompts

cw for: mentions of attempted death and alcohol

eli clark and aesop carl angsty hcs 🦉⚰️

eli clark🦉

he's so selfish.

he gave into the comforts of the manor too easily. the free yet quality booze that makes you feel all warm inside, the heavy meals served everyday, warm sofa cushions padding your back. he got used to it so quickly it stopped seeming like a privilege.

in moments like these he often remembers gertrude, how she's probably somewhere out there praying for his - presumably dead - body to at least be found in one piece. it has been too long since he left home in order to pursue a chance of a comfortable life for the two of them. no one would think he survived.

the unfairness of it all is what hurts him the most. how shameless of him is indulging in luxuries when his most beloved is probably rationing a two-day's portion of bread? there's probably a way to escape - but maybe he just doesn't want to.

the fastest way to cope is to indulge in those same luxuries over and over, day by day. a lavish life that would otherwise cost one a fortune is easily available to any resident. haunted by the past? down a bottle of wine with the other nobodies to forget your sorrows. or two, if one doesn't give you the kick you need. stressed? ring the butler, serve yourself and light a cigarette. don't mind the ash and the butts staining the velvet covers since it's not your duty to clean up. nothing's working yet? there's enough concoctions and drugs in the basement to take them recreatively.

he might not look like the type, but he has tried them all. he stopped with some, though, but mostly because they don't work anymore. the others, guilt. luckily his alcohol tolerance remained the same through the years and - although on very rare occassions - just a puff from a cigarette helps him unwind a bit. his two trusty companions when his head pulses from thinking too hard and the weight on his chest makes it difficult to move a muscle.

not a single speck of high taste in his actions. he doesn't chug the wine with vigour like demi or josé and whatever he smokes slips out of his fingers 'cause of his clumsy grip. the devilish temptations are splayed on the low table in front of him like a tarot deck and he slowly takes in whatever his gut finds appropriate for the moment.

he's not addicted, it's not like he'll die from withdrawal, it's just (sadly) the quickest and most effective way of avoiding his problems.

only a handful of people know about his destructive habit, and the secret hasn't spread any further since he first joined. the same way of coping with guilt and shame results in more of guilt and shame, creating a vicious cycle. especially since many newbies admire him, a veteran, for persisting for so long in the games and remaining near the top of the food chain. it's not an image one should uphold, let alone someone with his reputation.

as time passed, this means of escape became more like a ritual, way less frequent and if not more important.

besides, the end is inevitable. it has been haunting him from the very beginning, day and night. visions of chaos intrude on his peace of mind everyday and there's no way he can avoid them.

it's only a matter of time before this garden of eden turns to ash. the end is near, but what hurts the most is he's the only one who knows what's coming.

aesop carl⚰️

one may assume the influence of jerry carl upon him has dwindled with time. it has been years since aesop joined in the survivor faction and started interacting with others. he already has a set of prepared phrases to use in daily communication. to most, this might give off an impression of someone skilled in socializing - of course, this is all just learned behavior.

even with him gone, jerry did build the foundation on which aesop carl's whole being is constructed. he taught him the ropes, how to prepare the dead - or the living - for a safe departure to the other side. jerry nullified every speck of empathy that may have resided in him once, for he's just a third faction in this exchange of life and death, not somebody who can choose between mercy and violence.

his profession is what he is. he can't remember the last time he worked with a real human body, although that just might be the effect of the memory distorting drugs he unknowingly took during his stay. with no real purpose, no need for his kind, aesop carl started to crumble.

his life has been on a downward spiral ever since he stepped foot into the manor. "oh, but he embalms the puppets!" - aren't they just a disgrace to his craft!? they're nothing but a perversion of what should be the most graceful and important duty on this earth. turning cloth into skin, rice filling into flesh, doesn't all this just scream idolatry? playing god? the dead are supposed to rest, not come back to life! it's completely reversing the natural process!

he dreams of being of use again, to finally be praised and admired instead of scrutinized and avoided. the same people that treat him like a creep beg for his aid when their body lays limp in the hunter's hands.

he wants to work with real people again. sometimes he drifts off and finds himself picking out the best candidate for embalming. fantasizes of their tranquil expression, the faint traces of warmth on the skin after they die. blood trailing down the curves of their body and him gently wiping it, their life taken with just one little scar that he'll patch up anyway.

it doesn't have to always be someone else, though. he's often enarmored in thoughts about his own death. he has already decided he'll stuff his usual coffin which he uses in matches with the softest padding he can find and the freshest yellow roses from the garden. maybe he'll overdose? smoothly transport his mind from one world to another? if things don't get better, this solution is always available.

his own little funeral, fit for a prince. he has to treat himself with care, no? his frail frame has already been damaged enough.

he sometimes avoids visiting emily after matches since he'd rather suffer than engage in unnecessary conversations. he's pretty sure his left rib is broken and his right knee makes concerning noises when he puts a lot of pressure on it. not to mention the amount of times he dislocated his knees and ankles. it's all good until it hurts to breathe while running and he gets hit in the same spot over and over again until he coughs up blood. hunters catch up with weak spots faster than one may think.

the smartest decision would be letting the expert heal him, but aesop knows emily would mercilessly scold him beforehand. he often finds starting arguments and conflicts fun, but this one he wants to avoid under any circumstances.

despite how torn he is between morals his mentor showed him and morals imposed by the society he's now part of, jerry undeniably cared for aesop. he was like a father he never had. he's starving for praise, just a whiff of validation coming from somebody he knows. he's the only person that truly knew his worth.

maybe all this physical pain is a good omen, a sign that he'll pass by natural causes soon. he learned a lot about other interpretations of reality and death from fiona's seances and the religious residents' prayers. he hopes this feeling he has is right and, maybe, he'll meet jerry again in the afterlife.

[thewhoreinthian]

“He… worried about Gertrude Robinson. About how this poor old woman might cope with the chill. But now she was like iron, and walked with a purpose that Michael had never before seen in her.”

I will never forgive Gertrude for sacrificing my boi

[jdragsky]

where did the idea to have Gertrude wear a mask come from?

i think the idea for gertrude's mask was really early in the book! this was one of the first pieces of text written for yazeba's, and gertrude's mask is central to her character

i think the idea of a human girl who copes with her assigned gender with a mask that covers her face spoke profoundly to both mazey and i , on account of the trans

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Gertrude Robinson artwork courtesy of @spiralstain!

Propaganda under the cut.

Gertrude Robinson:

She is the definition of the trolley problem. Sacrificing those who trusted her in order to save the world, only to find out the world would have been safe either way.

Gertrude is a badass old lady who killed many people and many monsters, ate people’s fears and forced information out of them. She manipulated folks into doing what she needed, neglected the health of one of her closest allies, and stopped several apocalyptic rituals. She was only stopped because the guy trying to manipulate her into ending the world shot her in the chest three times. Morally gray queen, rest in violence maam

She once dismembered a guy and dumped him in a sinkhole, destroying an entire town, in order to prevent the end of the world. She's dedicated to preventing various armageddons, and her favorite methods to do so involve plastic explosives.

Hornet:

I think Hornet always has good intentions but like. Bro she actually killed at least one of her siblings. AND PEOPLE BEND OVER BACKWARDS TO SAY SHE DID NOT. It’s actually so funny how in denial people are that she has fucked up. But like!!! I like that about her!!! Let her make some soul-crushing mistakes and be a little evil!!! People trying to cope saying she maybe killed them to put them out of their misery… look I get it you want your fav to be golden but she’s not and that’s what makes her great!!!