Brian Thomas

**Brian Thomas** was a former college student who was involved in the production of Alex Kralie's *Marble Hornets* student film and, along with the rest of the crew, became a victim of the Operator's influence. Unbeknownst to the others, he also operated as the **"Hooded Man"** as part of totheark for majority of the series, and was its last surviving member until his death.

## Biography

### Trapped in the Ark

After his death, Brian woke up in the mysterious realm known as the Ark, where he was able to reunite with the deceased Jay, and met several of the Operator's other victims or "pawns", including Jeff of the EverymanHYBRID crew, when he learned they were all being hunted down by the entity known as HABIT. He also reunited with Alex and Tim after their respective deaths, but saw few of their newfound allies disappearing over time, presumably taken by HABIT.

Some time later, the group split up when HABIT came too close to finding them, and Brian rendezvoused with them at Jeff's former safe-house. Tim arrived shortly after and introduced them to his ally, a young woman who identified herself as "Skye", who was trapped in the realm along with them despite still being alive. Brian privately confronted her, having deduced that she was not the true "Skye" and exposing her as a former proxy of the Operator's, though she assured him she was no longer working for the entity and therefore not their enemy. After a brief argument with her and Tim, Brian eventually came to trust her only because Tim did, and decided to help him get her out of the Ark.

## Physical Appearance

As the Hooded Man, Brian wore a black balaclava mask with stitched red eyes and frown, to disguise his identity; he also wore his mustard-yellow hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, denim jeans and black gloves. He appeared unmasked but wearing the same attire when he re-appeared in the Ark.

## Possessions

* **Pills**: After being afflicted with the Sickness, Brian, as the Hooded Man, frequently stole Tim's pills in order to use them to alleviate his own symptoms.
* **Mask**: While operating as the Hooded Man, he wore a black balaclava mask with red eyes and frown stitched to it. It is unknown if he still retains this mask after he re-appeared in the Ark.

## Relationships

### Tim Wright

Tim was Brian's best friend, former enemy and colleague. Though Brian was known to be sociable during college, he seemed to be closest with Tim, who accompanied him when he went to audition for Alex Kralie's student film. Brian even encouraged Tim to audition along with him, and the two subsequently worked alongside each other throughout the film production.

After the film production was cancelled, the two lost contact until it became apparent that Alex was hunting down former crew members, fearing the possible spread of the Operator's influence through them. Brian and Tim soon reconnected and agreed to work together against Alex, forming the mysterious group known as "totheark" and acting as the Hooded Man and the Masked Man respectively, under the belief that Alex is responsible for inflicting them with the Sickness. The pair also attempted to interfere with Jay's investigation into the events surrounding the film production, until the Operator intervened and wiped Tim's memories. It is presumed that Brian approached Tim again and helped remind him of previous events, as well as their vendetta against Alex, before resuming their partnership.

At some point, however, Brian managed to recover Tim's medical records, and quickly deduced that Tim was in fact the one responsible for their Sickness. This led him to turn against his former best friend and partner, accusing him of being a liar, and began stealing his pills and taunting him with his own mask when Tim had his memories wiped again. With no knowledge of their previous activities as totheark, Tim came to antagonize the Hooded Man as well, without knowing that it was Brian beneath the mask. Despite their animosity, however, it was implied that Brian still cared about his former friend, and would like to see him through the ordeal. Brian stepped back from actively tampering Alex's plans, and instead arranged for Tim to collaborate with Jay to finally finish what they started. After Jay's death, Brian uploaded one last video as totheark, addressing Tim directly, bidding him a final goodbye and telling him that "the Ark awaits."

Tim ultimately confronted Brian/Hooded Man in Benedict Hall, and, after Tim gained the upper hand, Brian allowed himself to fall to his death after climbing over a ledge. Watching the tape found in Brian's pocket, Tim deduced that the Hooded Man was in fact Brian in disguise. Brian's corpse was later deliberately used by Alex to taunt and enrage Tim during the latter two's final confrontation.

After reuniting in the Ark, Brian and Tim eventually re-established some level of trust, especially due to their mutual distrust towards Alex. Brian also claimed to Siren that he was Tim's best friend, and it was therefore his job to ensure the latter did not do anything stupid even in death. He also trusted Tim's judgment enough that he ultimately chose to trust Siren despite knowing the latter had previously worked for the Operator in the past.

### Alex Kralie

Alex was Brian's former friend, enemy and colleague.

### Jay Merrick

Jay was Brian's former friend, enemy and colleague. The two met while working on Alex Kralie's student film, with Alex being their mutual friend. The two seemed to be on friendly or at least cordial terms while working with each other, with Jay occasionally taking over for Brian when the latter was unavailable for shoots. The two fell out of contact after the film crew disbanded. The two would encounter each other again when Jay begun investigating into the events leading to the cancellation of the film production, when Brian, as the Hooded Man, began stalking Jay and interfering with his investigation, both hindering and helping him at different times. Brian also began responding to Jay's video uploads as "totheark", almost always with cryptic messages that hinted towards concurrent or past events. Later, Brian, as totheark, was implied to have arranged Jay to collaborate with Tim for the remainder of their shared mission to stop Alex.