Daisy is like. Canonically interested in presenting her femininity juxtaposed with her strength as an intimidation tactic it’s literally why her name is Daisy. And then the fandom was like, violent lesbian, probably butch.
What amuses me (and infuriated me back when the show was still airing and I was considerably less zen about it) about people calling Elias entitled is that he does not, by any stretch of the imagination, consider that his life is worth more than others. He believes his life has the exact same inherent value as any other life: zero, because they might be snuffed out without warning at any moment. Therefore, he can and has to do whatever he pleases. Look at Mister “Your own rotten luck” here and tell me he believes there is a preexisting hierarchy (and therefore inherent order to the universe) he is a part of.
elias is very clear that he thinks a huge number of people would do exactly what he did if they could. and that the transformation of the world through a successful ritual is inevitable.
he wants to win. he knows he can. he does. but it’s not because he was special or predestined!! he just could. and you couldn’t. poor show, old chap.
Yes! Good citations. And his belief that someone would manage it eventually (at first, anyway) really solidifies the reason why he first went down this path. He tried to be a quote-unquote “good person” and prevent the rituals rather than attempt his own, but this could only carry him so far. Someone was going to crown themself and leave everyone else for suckers, so why shouldn’t it be him? Why should he allow others to make him suffer?
the inevitability of it is really important, i think, both in how it informs jonah’s own morality and in how it parallels jon’s transformation
there are many examples in s3 and s4 that clearly show jon’s transform into the archivist as not just beyond his control but totally inevitable, whether it’s by beholding’s pull or the web’s, but this exchange with helen really wraps it up nice and simple for me
there is nothing you can do to stop it, so why fight it? how pointless.
if the world is inevitably going to be devoured by the eldritch forces that live just beyond it, and all of humanity save one will be plunged into endless heretofore unimagined terror, why shouldn’t you be the one? what makes you more or less worthy of taking that spot?
only your ability to do so.
And the milestone that most explicitly marks Jon’s transformation as inevitable is the same simple decision that Jonah made: not to die.
in the same way as positioning jm as a healthy and happy couple is annoying, claiming they’re a pinnacle of “toxic yaoi” or whatever is annoying. no, they’re not. they’re simply not that interesting
there is a conversation to be had about their relationship in s4-5 specifically. how they stick with each other just to have some illusion of normalcy (which is especially important to Jon) despite not knowing each other all that well. how Martin treats him in s5 – belittling and dehumanizing him, laughing at him, enjoying his newfound powers, and then blaming Jon for enjoying it too. kinda fucked up! but the reason why I don’t find them very appealing to me (despite very much enjoying fucked up relationships) is that 1) they have no underlying chemistry that would make their suffering count, 2) all of that is not really a conversion on its own, it’s more of a specific example of how Jon’s monstrousness is being treated by most people, if that makes sense? like, Martin is not special for blaming Jon for being an avatar. almost everyone does that. the only thing that sets Martin aside from everyone else is that he is in a romantic relationship with Jon, and therefore, he feels like he has the right to treat Jon like his unruly pet. the fandom has picked up on it too, whether they know it or not – their relationship is often seen as Jon’s only redeeming, “human” quality (which is why there are so many “love makes you human” takes). how very brave Martin is for taking it upon himself to tame this morally inferior beast that Jon has become! (though, to be honest, Jon is being infantilised even in early-seasons depictions of him. and again, Martin is the only person actually capable of fixing him, of course)
it’s just an extrapolated version of what Jon has been hearing for seasons now. it’s a case study of how people treat him. but, again, it’s not very unique. there are people who have far more interesting relationships with Jon’s non-humanness – from Daisy and Helen to, of course, Elias
…or something like that
man, even the ant guy has a more unique relationship with Jon’s avatarhood.
in the same way as positioning jm as a healthy and happy couple is annoying, claiming they’re a pinnacle of “toxic yaoi” or whatever is annoying. no, they’re not. they’re simply not that interesting
there is a conversation to be had about their relationship in s4-5 specifically. how they stick with each other just to have some illusion of normalcy (which is especially important to Jon) despite not knowing each other all that well. how Martin treats him in s5 – belittling and dehumanizing him, laughing at him, enjoying his newfound powers, and then blaming Jon for enjoying it too. kinda fucked up! but the reason why I don’t find them very appealing to me (despite very much enjoying fucked up relationships) is that 1) they have no underlying chemistry that would make their suffering count, 2) all of that is not really a conversion on its own, it’s more of a specific example of how Jon’s monstrousness is being treated by most people, if that makes sense? like, Martin is not special for blaming Jon for being an avatar. almost everyone does that. the only thing that sets Martin aside from everyone else is that he is in a romantic relationship with Jon, and therefore, he feels like he has the right to treat Jon like his unruly pet. the fandom has picked up on it too, whether they know it or not – their relationship is often seen as Jon’s only redeeming, “human” quality (which is why there are so many “love makes you human” takes). how very brave Martin is for taking it upon himself to tame this morally inferior beast that Jon has become! (though, to be honest, Jon is being infantilised even in early-seasons depictions of him. and again, Martin is the only person actually capable of fixing him, of course)
it’s just an extrapolated version of what Jon has been hearing for seasons now. it’s a case study of how people treat him. but, again, it’s not very unique. there are people who have far more interesting relationships with Jon’s non-humanness – from Daisy and Helen to, of course, Elias
in the same way as positioning jm as a healthy and happy couple is annoying, claiming they’re a pinnacle of “toxic yaoi” or whatever is annoying. no, they’re not. they’re simply not that interesting
HERE @ineskew and anon!
I’m very partial to MAG 127′s EYES ON THE INSIDE business, as well as the vibe of 16th-19th century anatomical drawings where people were posed just like…chillin w/ their guts.
constantly switching between “this is MY tumblr and i post whatever i want” and “oghg god . oh my god. okh god. okay. im going to talk abt. an interest now. im so sorry.”
I’m obsessed with the fact that, even with so much ritual sabotage going on (the hunter in Simon’s ritual, the avatar of the Slaughter that “stopped” the Unknowing), Jonah’s first attempt at the Watcher’s Crown only failed because the ritual itself was flawed. Nobody could have stopped him. He’s so competent and smart <3
I’m struck by how much Jonah loves living in spite of being driven largely by fear. He dooms the world “to ensure [his] own happiness”, he felt curiosity and not only fear when he discovered the Entities, he loves scheduling, he has a sense of humour, he likes cake… He genuinely wanted more life for its own sake and not simply because it was the alternative to dying.
I fucking LOVE Jonah’s response to Jon’s question of whether he’s still human. It refuses to give a straight definition of humanity because he’s a chad who understands nuances and complexities. It includes Jonah himself but not what Jonah aspires to be (can still die). It’s subtle manipulation by placing Jon’s will in his hands (your will is still your own, mostly) when in MAG 160 he explicitly takes it away (your own rotten luck). It infuriatingly answers a question with a question with a tone of voice like he’s disappointed Jon even asked such a pedestrian question. King.
It actually does boil down to compatibility, doesn’t it. Jon and Martin are out of synch all the time. Peter Lukas wasn’t lying when he said they do not know each other outside of fighting for their lives and bickering. At what point can you call that love and at what point is it just being desperate not to be alone?
elias’s mag 40 statement is deliberately written to allude it’s all improvisation. it’s the way he starts actively lying halfway through when he apologises for not taking jon’s concerns seriously and the ellipses start getting prominent. the compulsion does not let people pause to recollect their thoughts.
elias’s tone and manner of speech also remain light and conversational, the statement is not characteristic of prose, of a story (his 92 and 120 narrations otoh are appropriately dramatic because they’re proper statements). at one point he says he had “one close call” and that he “composed” himself and made his way to the boiler room. if he was successfully being compelled he would’ve been forced to elaborate on these encounters, because beholding wants its victim’s fear in exquisite detail, they should be describing the memory like they’re being made to relive every horrible second of it. elias is not doing this, he’s not revealing any secrets he doesn’t want to and he’s not feeding jon his fear. nobody’s going to notice this on a first listen, but the way the episode is structured also helps here because you’re not expecting any grand revelations right at the beginning -> elias (doesn’t sound like an official statement; tries to make a joke at one point) -> then tim (real. unnerving) -> not!sasha (lying. dramatic irony) -> finally, martin (gertrude robinson was shot. which means someone here is a killer)
“it’s polite to knock” in a guest for mr spider (mag 81), the passive voice of the statement making it neither a question nor an order, removing any sense of either having or lacking agency
elias saying something like “on a thousand thresholds, you pushed on” in mag 92, again equating doors with choice and making it seem like jon chose to become the archivist
the door being locked in mag 101. jon straight up chose to die rather than be part of ending the world, the exact choice everyone (including him) blames him for not making in his coma, but it didn’t matter. that option turned out to never have been available to him in the first place. the illusion of free will babey.
“they have to open my door, I can’t just push them in” (mag 146). bro this is my whole thing it’s my whole deal. the strange hazy grey area of what is and isn’t a choice. yes eventually only you can open a door for yourself, but if your world has been carefully shaped around you to take away more and more of your options, is it really up to you?
“I open the door” (mag 160), the most clear example of agency being taken out of one’s hands. here jon is quite literally having his body and voice physically controlled, but still afterwards everyone (including himself) points to him as the one responsible for the apocalypse.
Saw @thedistortionshallways whipping up a scrumptious IWTV (AMC version) x TMA crossover and thought I’d propose an alternate casting of the regency harem.
Dr. Jonathan Fanshawe as Louis DPDL
You should have guessed this take from #1 Repressed Jfan/Magshawe truther. Nobody matches the level of vitriol towards his ex (Jonah) like this guy. His name would be un-uttered in their home for 23 years until it was pounding in their heads like a jackhammer. “Considering this the severing of our acquaintance” (MAG 127) has the exact same energy as Louis kissing Armand in front of Lestat. His repressed Georgian ass laid down with the Devil and he’s now having a moment. Also, being a little unethical as a surgeon would be a great Louis’s guilt stand-in. As a treat.
Jonah Magnus as Lestat de Lioncourt
While canon Jonah isn’t as flamboyant or volatile as Lestat is….it really comes down to everything always circles back to him. I thought about casting Jonah as Armand because of his tendency to grand-master plan, and allegedly being “forced into this position by his fear of death,” but ultimately from a narrative standpoint he’s in Lestat’s role. He’s the one who puts everything into motion. Jonah has also already had a “You are a killer Louis” dynamic with another Jonathan so…why not the original one too?
Barnabas Bennett as Armand
HEAR ME OUT OKAY? Think about it. When it comes to the Louis/Armand relationship, the crux is Lestat: he’s both their ex and it’s obvious this was a rebound for Louis. Barnabas/Jfan are both connected to Jonah, and both have reason to hate him— Jonah left Barnabas to be alone as Lestat left Armand.
Barnabas is also very much “I’m just a little guy”/not really, in the way he started to just straight up beef with Mordechai Lukas. “After all, what judge would find in his favour over mine?” (MAG 92) is insane. Like Armand, Barnabas also has the problem of never being the first choice from the sheer lonely nature of his statement— “I have no-one whose absence truly pains me.” (MAG 92)
Albrecht von Closen as Daniel Molloy
So my friend has a headcanon of Albrecht being a failed Archivist (hence the books killing him with putting eyes inside him), but what if he survived that? What if he survived his encounter with the supernatural and continued to curate/collect knowledge? Do you see where I’m going.
Mordechai Lukas as Santiago
See: previous mention of the Barnabas/Mordechai beef. Also a Lukas on stage would be funny.
Bonus: Robert Smirke as The Vampire Sam
(“Is that the actual real life playwright Samuel Beckett?”/“Is that the actual real life architect Robert Smirke?”)
did Jonathan have to end his break-up letter with “your obedient servant”… freak
it throws me off because he didn’t have to do this. yes, formalities, sure, but he didn’t bother with that in the opening of the letter – it’s just “Jonah”. on the other hand… he is right. he agreed to travel to some distant mansion in a foreign country with less-than-ideal knowledge of the language (at least that’s the impression I got from Jon’s “my German is… fine”) to tend to Jonah’s friend whom he seemingly did not know. and before that, he’d been collecting stories for Jonah… he is Jonah’s obedient servant. and a fool
last sentences of his letter are:
[…] Because whatever it was that did this to him, I know in my heart that it is your fault. I have had the body burned. Please do not write to me again. Your obedient servant, Doctor Jonathan Fanshawe.
this is your fault. do not talk to me again. I am yours
your 'jerking it to the smell of isopropyl alcohol' post has me remembering how i used to be so ashamed of having any sexual desires that i only allowed myself to jack off to the mental image of an arial drone shot of a pine forest
I don’t understand people who think Jonah wouldn’t know Elias was a stealth trans man and only find out when he takes over his body. Jonah isn’t switching bodies for fun, he is terrified of dying. so do you think he wouldn’t know the entire medical history of his next body? let’s be real
also. there is the whole Eye aspect to the fear of being outed, something I am sure Elias would feel as a stealth trans man in the 90s
it’s funny how much tma fanart isn’t meant to be jonelias fanart but because of the made in his image vs dying by his hand bonds it’s like. well yeah that’s jonelias fanart
ALT
