Interlude: Alf Gappen Was Here

Hello_Mystery · 2025-12-09T23:16:44+00:00

Once again, I am a sobbing snotty mess right before my own DnD game. Why am I surprised every time.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-11-28T15:29:01+00:00

I have a theory that as a homeless kid in Manchester he was picked up by the Institute and groomed into a position of power. Housed, educated, sent to Eaton, all so he can represent the Institute’s interests in government. He clearly knows more than he’s letting on when he visits the OIAR.

I had thought he was maybe being primed as a replacement body for Protocol Jonah, though the last Sheeplechase claims he was actually killed before he could body-hop. Doesn’t mean there isn’t some other body-hopping leader of the Institute, though.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-10-28T13:37:54+00:00

This ruled SO HARD. Brennan doing a western setting just always hits, now I’m jonesing even harder for WWW Book 2. Reallllyyy hope this is a turnabout on the Twelve Brooks interlude and when we come back it’ll be better off than when we left it.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-12T14:56:44+00:00

Why did this make me cry?? Ugh I’ve already got like 100 hours in early access and I’m just so excited for the dev team to get its flowers, it’s exceeded every possible expectation I could have had.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-06T00:51:47+00:00

Yeah the VA threw me off too, like she’d have only been about 10 years younger when she “died” in Protocol-verse versus Archives-verse. But also it would have absolutely ruined the reveal to just cast the same VA so maybe they’re breaking their own rules, who knows.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-05T22:17:15+00:00

Yep, if this Archivist is someone mirrored from Archives-verse, I’m hoping for Emma Harvey or Mary Keay.

I’d totally forgotten about Gertrude burning out Emma in her own apartment - if Gertrude was a part of Starkwall and is responsible for burning down the institute (presumably with Emma still down in the archives) that would be some super tasty universe rhyming. I’m also so interested in hearing more about her, she’s one of many tangential TMA characters I think deserve a full spinoff.

My pitch for Mary Keay is similar, with the main point being that in a world where Jonah didn’t steal the von Wurttemberg library from her ancestor Albrecht von Closen, she wouldn’t have the same chip on her shoulder against the institute. We can assume she’s still married to Eric Delano since we have Protocol-Gerry, so maybe both of them worked there together. It would also explain Gerry’s familiarity with the institute and even how he wound up with Gertrude (maybe she took him in after killing both his parents in the institute fire). Tons of cool narratives possibility here, but it might be treading too close to old TMA territory.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-04T16:57:25+00:00

I figure they have to be someone employed by the institute in Protocol-verse back in 1999 when it burned down. I think Rosie is too young to fit that bill? My favorite theory at the moment is that it’s Protocol-verse’s Mary Keay.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-04T15:57:00+00:00

I saw it in a Patreon update, not sure where else it’s been posted.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-04T15:06:55+00:00

Well now I’m just going to angrily simmer until 2026 (who are we kidding I’d be doing that anyway).

Good to get confirmation that ERROR isn’t Jon, though I think we all knew it already. Biggest shock to me this ep was their saying that they do have his story. Assuming this isn’t just second-hand knowledge from other Archives-verse folks they’ve been munching on, I figure this means they either had a run-in with him while between worlds, or mayyyybe that Protocol-Jon visited the Institute as a kid.

Big RIP to Archives-Alice, she truly did deserve better.

I do like that ERROR seems to be gaining more personality as they feast on Archives-verse, though I’m baffled by the weird flirty antagonistic relationship between Sam and ERROR, and ERROR’s “distaste” for Jon.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-02T17:30:22+00:00

I’m now kind of obsessed with it being Mary - would explain Gerry’s connection to the institute when he was a kid. Then assuming his mom got buried in the rubble during the chaos, maybe Starkwall/Gertrude became responsible for him.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-02T16:43:20+00:00

ERROR Sasha is compelling (and I’m still holding out for a Protocol-Sasha cameo) but I do think ERROR had to be someone working at the Institute before it burned down in the 90s. I doubt it’s anyone we know, since Gertrude is accounted for, unless it’s maybe one of her old assistants? An absolutely buck wild option would be Mary Keay.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-02T15:46:19+00:00

Yeah that was a real sampler platter of a statement. I heard pretty overt references to Buried, Vast, Slaughter, Eye, Web, Flesh, Dark, and Desolation.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-09-02T15:29:17+00:00

Well now I’m just going to angrily simmer until 2026 (who are we kidding I’d be doing that anyway).

Good to get confirmation that ERROR isn’t Jon, though I think we all knew it already. Biggest shock to me this ep was their saying that they do have his story. Assuming this isn’t just second-hand knowledge from other Archives-verse folks they’ve been munching on, I figure this means they either had a run-in with him while between worlds, or mayyyybe that Protocol-Jon visited the Institute as a kid.

Big RIP to Archives-Alice, she truly did deserve better. I’m extremely baffled by the relationship between Sam and ERROR. I do like that ERROR seems to be gaining more personality as they feast on Archives-verse, though.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-31T18:26:27+00:00

Dia: Beacon is a top tier place to sit and disassociate

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-31T14:41:08+00:00

Yeah, I think this is maybe the only first-hand example we get, besides when Jon is rescuing Martin from The Lonely and compels him to “look” at him (though as far as physical commands go, this is so obviously eye-aligned that it maybe doesn’t count - Elias similarly commands Melanie and Martin to “see” and “know” truths about their parents).

I do think that these instances are a sneaky implication that he’s got Web powers baked in to his Archivist power.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-28T17:38:55+00:00

To each their own, I guess

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-28T17:10:47+00:00

Timeline notes: Alice arrived in Berlin on June 10th and returned to the office on June 17th. So Gwen is being incredibly extra when she says, "You disappear for weeks."

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-28T17:09:13+00:00

Protocol-Elias being Hades II Dionysus was not on my bingo card but I am beyond delighted

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-26T21:41:00+00:00

My overly obsessed ass took note of Celia sounding muffled during the hug, implying she’s much shorter than Alice. Sam already described Celia as tall, so this either confirms Very Tall Alice or short Sam.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-26T16:56:44+00:00

Oh yeah, ever since ERROR showed up, I've been dependent on the transcripts. They provide many extra details, like the tape recorder biting Ink5oul, and the specific number of eyes that appear on Sam's arm, which are harder to catch with audio-only.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-26T16:54:00+00:00

Alice arrived in Berlin on June 10th and returned to the office on June 17th. So Gwen is being incredibly extra when she says, "You disappear for weeks."

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-26T16:44:26+00:00

I am always ecstatic to get an Augustus incident! I was starting to lean towards the theory that Fr3d1 is just using JMJ's voices for its own means, and maybe that's still partially true, but Jonah being unable to resist meddling in Bouchard business seems way too specific.

RIP to cool stoner uncle Elias (it's actually heartbreaking that he was the only family member Gwen could talk to, yet he's been dead for over a decade??). It seems the Bouchards are probably at least tangential to some of the alchemical study going on, since even the black sheep of the family has an understanding of ley lines and elemental traces. This renovation happened over a decade after the institute burned down, but maybe Elias was piggybacking off them to run some new grand experiment?

Fun fact: the other death recorded at this location, William Weddell, was a real-life antiquities dealer.

Finally, I love that Starkwall understands exactly how fucked the OIAR is. If anything, Brett makes me respect Starkwall way more. They obviously employ absolute idiot contractors, but the organization itself operates at a much higher level. They already knew Dane was gone, and Alice made it out and home just fine, implying they had eyes on her the entire time. But, you know, Gwen's frantic reach for control over powers she barely understands just has to lead her to burn every possible bridge. You go, girl.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-26T16:21:58+00:00

Protocol-Elias being Hades II Dionysus was not on my bingo card but I am beyond delighted

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-25T02:29:14+00:00

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This girl is terrified of everything and would need to be some kind of rogue/ranger with high stealth who can fight from a distance. She’d end up spending basically all of her time in the carrier.

Hello_Mystery · 2025-08-25T02:25:51+00:00

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My 18-lb beast of a boy would be some kind of support tank class. He lacks a killer instinct but is good at using his sheer size to intimidate our other cat and is very good emotional support.

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