2025-04-07 13:41:15 ¶ ● ⬈

martinblackwoodhaterfan:

> When you think about it, Jon and Martin’s experiences with the Institute were roughly the same. The only difference is in their behaviour, and in how each of them handled themselves.

> Oh Martin had to work alongside Peter Lukas and fulfill all his wishes and orders, even if they didn’t sit right with him? Jon had to do the exact same for Elias.

> Martin worked his ass off to protect his coworkers from a big unknown evil, and isolated himself from everyone in the process? Jon went through the same with his Gertrude murder investogation.

> Martin had no one left in the world to care for him, especially after his mother died? Jon was alone too - at a certain point everyone in the Archives resented him, he was an orphan without any living family members, and the only person he could turn to was an ex girlfriend who really didn’t like him all that much.

> Jon and Martin even have similar self-esteem issues. They are both depressed.

> But somehow Martin always ends up as the fandom’s poor mistreated boy, and all Jon ever gets to be is a wet blanket antichrist boyfriend whose only redeeming characteristic is his undying love and devotion for the former man.

Every time I make an attempt to analyze Martin, I realize more and more that he’s just… an ordinary person.

With every other character their experience is somewhat unique - it’s not everyday someone gets consumed by an ancient eldritch fear entity (Jon), or encounters a living corpse and loses the ability to feel fear (Georgie). The closest encounter Martin had with anything supernatural was with Prentiss, and still that didn’t have any impact on him whatsoever (aside from introducing him to the Fears). He reacted as any other statement giver would.

He’s a shy awkward guy with a high voice who kinda sucks at his job, and the first impression of him that we get is he’s unlikeable (based off of what Jon says about him). He’s shy and bubbly and stuttering, has a strong sense of justice, he feels like he doesn’t fit in anywhere. Stereotype personified. Even his “succumbing to the Fear” arc was just a metaphor for heavy depression, with fog added for aesthetics.

I’m not trying to paint it as a bad thing, it’s just that almost every piece of modern media has a character like that. Because they are relatable. Because the viewer sees themself in them. Martin is very relatable. His experiences are almost universal, especially for young queer people (who seem to be the majority of the podcast’s audience).

And that’s why, unless you relate to him and project your own issues onto him, there is ultimately nothing unique to be found in his character. Fans put him on a pedestal because he’s a reflection of themself, or they dislike him because he’s a reflection of themself. Not me tho I hate him because he’s an annoying asshole (but that’s purely personal)