2024-05-29 3:46:16 ¶ ● ⬀ ⬈

starry-teacup:

> OKAY THEMES I’M CALLING NOW IN TMAGP

> AHEM (definitely not reading these off a red string cork board):

> -I mean the sea, drowning, water, etc. though that’s kinda obvious

> -even more obvious but tattoos. Ink5oul seems like the Jurgen leitner of the series too. They have a shtick they do but it dabbles in all of the horror themes instead of one specifically. Also it definitely seems tied to corpses? We have two separate instances of them messing around with dead bodies, and I’m gonna assume the second one was tattooed to. So maybe they’re either very old and the people they gave tattoos to died and they want them back, or they’re not the first of their kind and they’re digging up early examples.

> -haven’t heard anyone else talk about this one (though I’ve been behind in the fandom) but DEFINITELY self-improvement. I don’t know how exactly to explain why I feel so strongly about this but the paintbrush tattoo and the double Darrien statements are absolutely thematically connected, in a way that feels like it’ll be recurring. The woman who used a knife to make herself ‘better’, to fix herself, and the man who’s been working for ages to get rid of his issues and sees what the 'better’ version of himself and his life looks like? both of them seeing the ideal themself but it’s corrupted and scary? I’m not explaining it well but there’s no way it’s a coincidence.

> -oh yeah and I am by no means the first person to jump on this but games of chance working for a bit and then fucking you over. it’s cool and I really like it bc I have always had an obsession with fate, luck, and lady fortune as concepts, and just wanted to mention how it’s just awesome and I love it :)

> -and like. between redcanary and the voyeur movie there’s no way there isn’t some eye shit going on there. curiosity destroying you and being known and watched? I’m sure Jonny’s gonna be like 'surprise!! it’s actually this new other thing and we were just fucking with you!’ but it still had to be mentioned

> anyways please reblog with any other themes you’ve noticed that I haven’t brought up, or even disagreements! I’ll try to keep this chain active as the series go on with other things I notice

- In Episode 11 (Marked) Ink5oul namedrops two people. Oscar Jarrett and Sutherland Macdonald. Sutherland was someone that actually existed and wa “a prominent English tattoo artist in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and the first tattooist in Britain with an identifiable premises open to the public.” This makes Sutherland notable for the same reason someone like Smirke might have been in TMA. A historical figure who somehow learned and / or spread knowledge about the supernatural. Oscar might play a role similar to any one of Smirle’s pupils

- There seems to be a commentary on balance. So far, a lot of the victims think they are being treated unfairly or they assumed that there was some sort of counter balance for all the bad stuff happening to them only to be proven wrong. Jon mentions in TMA that the world isn’t always fair and people don’t always get what they deserve so this could be expanding on that idea. All these characters thinking someone will get their just deserts only for that not to always happen.

- Money and wealth also seem to be a major theme. People seem like they are either constantly scrambling for it or already have it and they treat others terribly in an attempt to keep it or do something with it. Mowbray is the most obvious example but even in the last episode (17) the Darrien in the Protocol universe was much wealthier than the one we were following. And you know what he does? Use that money to build a secret basement to torture people as an outlet for his anger, something our Darien couldn’t really hope to get away with. Money and the desire to get it seems to corrupt or somehow convince people that those with it or trying to obtain it are good people by virtue of having more resources to help.

- Therapy seems like a big theme in Protocol. In TMA Melanie went to therapy and it overall helped her make tough choices and strengthened her resolve. Technically, it even shielded her from the Change because it led to her cutting herself off from The Eye and Institute. However, in Protocol Colin is almost immediately sent to therapy but it doesn’t work and he sneaks back in the OIAR. “You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” therapy only works if you want help and Colin wasn’t willing to let go of his fixation on the computers. Also, last episode Darien mentions therapy and how it was working. The other Darrien seemed to have less healthy coping mechanisms.

- Corruption in the government or how the government can fail / abuse people.

- There are a lot of parallels to TMA. The first case we get in Protocol is almost a dead ringer for how the Anglerfish first appears in TMA’s first statement. Also the OIAR’s case system is of course very similar to statements. Celia even makes this connection by saying “Yeah. I mean, it’s an old system, but it could have been worse. It’s not like we’re wrestling with tape recorders and manila folders. ” in Episode 7 and “Four weirdos in a basement reading scary stories. Dream job.” in episode 6. Which is a funny description and one that could probably also apply pretty well to the Archives of the Magnus Institute (at least with Jon being a weirdo reading scary stories in a (possible) basement along with his handful of coworkers). The four weirdos when TMA starts would have been Jon, Martin, Tim, and Sasha.

- The multiverse (obviously) and multiversal travel.