Jonelias thought of the day is that Elias must come across as so stuffy and boring to those at the Institute - which, you know, very much helps hide his true nature - but as an avatar of the Eye and a man determined to avoid the End, Elias is someone whose entire being revolves around the interplay of knowledge and experiences. He’s compelled to Know it all and his efforts to avoid death invite him to Experience it all too, a fascinating combination of passive observer and, by virtue of being a 200+ year-old in search of true immortality, an active participant too. This is a man whose longevity and thirst for knowledge invites an obsession with life that contradicts the ‘Sits in his office doing nothing but spreadsheets all day’ image he’s learned to cultivate. (Though, to be clear, he does love the spreadsheets.) And I don’t just mean “obsession with life” in the sense of him avoiding the finality of death, but actually loving the act of being alive.
Gertrude and Jonah are so similar, I think. they both learned about the dread powers when they were young (I assume early 20s) and decided they were not going to be victims of the situation. in the world actively hostile to everyone, they dedicated their whole lives trying to solve that issue – whatever that means for them. and they were ruthless; they lied and killed and betrayed and made themselves cold and detached so as not to grow soft and vulnerable for years and years and years. don’t get attached, use people, don’t let anyone too close, sleep with one eye open, for god’s sake, you don’t have the time to be afraid. while they did have opposite goals (although one can argue they are complimentary – if no one is trying to start the apocalypse, why would you need to prevent it?), they also were the only people capable of matching each other’s intensity. unstoppable force vs unstoppable force. they were doomed to crash
Jonah Magnus is a grown man whose drive, intelligence, and strength of will I admire, but that doesn’t mean I can’t wrap him up in a blanket and give him a warm drink from time to time.
“He saw a hopeless reality and resolved to reforge the world and rebirth himself into a god just so he wouldn’t be hurt even if it seemed as impossible as defying gravity itself, which (even if I would never hurt people in real life for my goals) is a beautiful act of rebellion against the natural order, and his struggle against impossible odds is incredibly inspiring” and “he must be in constant unaddressed abject fear that he intellectualizes to the point of barely feeling anymore” are two thoughts that can coexist.
imagine for me, if you will. catboy jonah magnus being given catnip by one of the others in smirke’s band, out of curiosity as to whether it will affect him
it does. very much so. he goes out of his fucking mind
What do you think of elias/jonah wearing earth tones suits? Dark browns, tans, dark greens (not the frankly ugly neon green suits the fandom dresses him in) etc. While i do imagine him in grey s and navy suits from time to time, i feel as though his wardrobe isn’t *that* dull, styling nonwithstanding.
but i’m kind of of two minds of elias in earth and gem tones because the first three or so times i listened i was picturing him dressing like hannibal lecter…. and that’s like. what i want for him. for my babygirl. to wear bespoke tailoring made of fine fabrics… to match his pocket square to his ascot to his socks. to wear italian loafers.
but really looking at canon my interpretation is that elias is a moderately attractive man who dresses in a very neat, professional, but outdated way. so yes he does wear three piece suits but they’re old. you might assume that he got them second hand.
so i can see him in grey, navy, brown, maybe even patterned suits (but a subtle pattern… even houndstooth would be too flashy. never plaid) but i don’t think he would go as far as wearing green.
i think he purposefully dresses in very subdued colors, all the better to escape notice. his clothes are old but they aren’t shabby. they’re extremely well taken care of and well tailored. if you knew anything about tailoring you would actually recognize immediately that they were tailored for him, maybe even made. well, of course, not made. i mean. that suite is at least 30 years old. maybe 40. surely not made for him…. but clearly he bought the suite and had it fitted.
