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.
something about the fact that Jon would never willingly choose Elias (even if a part of him enjoyed the monstrous – the very same part that he never wanted), but Elias chose him specifically
the fact that when melanie got the poisoned coffee she assumed elias likes it the same way as jon… his little AMUSED confirmation that she was right before he goes “ik youre attempting murder but nice try”
what makes it so interesting for me is that it wasn’t necessary to specify what kind of coffee she brought and why, and it definitely wasn’t necessary to confirm that yes, we do take our coffee the same way, thank you very much. besides, wouldn’t it make more sense for Elias to say that he doesn’t like it and ask Melanie to drink it? so why add this in the first place?
I thought about it a lot, and I don’t know if I’m going somewhere with this, or am I just too obsessed with them, but this little remark could be about Jon’s loss of humanity
why would Melanie assume they like the same type of coffee? well, that’s because they are the same to her. she sees both of them as eye monsters, one of which is arguably worse, but she hates Jon too and thinks it’s his fault that she’s trapped here. they are the same kind of evil for her at that point. they might as well be the same in this for all she cares
and they are. this unconscious assumption immediately gets confirmed by Elias. it’s a tiny off-hand remark, but it shows just how similar they are even in these mundane details
#I always actually thought of it from the other way around #in their little mundane very human things Jon and Elias are so similar. so she made the assumption #before they’re evil Eye monsters they’re my boring old bosses #also nudge nudge wink wink are they you know… drinking the same sort of coffee
your point of view does make sense! it’s reasonable to assume that at that moment she thought about them from a more mundane standpoint because coffee is a very mundane thing. I do, however, think that for her they are cryptids before they are human, which is where my point stems from (and also because I like to be dramatic. as a treat)
it’s still interesting, though, isn’t it? Jon thinks that trying to anchor him in his humanity will separate him from the monstrous, from Elias. he might even think that there’s a clear distinction between a human and a monster, and as long as he has these mundane traits, he’s safe. but no. not only Elias also has his little quirks, but they are the same as Jon’s
ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether she thinks if they are similar in their human traits or nonhuman traits. both are true and equally devastating to Jon: no matter where he looks, he will always see Elias’ reflection in him
JonElias week, Day 5: “You have nowhere else to go.” | Post-MAG68.
Elias spends Jon’s ride back to the house stealing glances at him through the driver’s eyes, feeling a curl of satisfaction as he puts together his own idea of what must have happened in the tunnels; an idea that blooms closer to the actual Knowledge of the truth the closer Jon gets to him. He doesn’t indulge in it, though; for once, he wants to hear it first-hand. He wants to hear for himself, in Jon’s words, if something has marked - no matter how lightly - his Archivist tonight.
He’s already waiting, when Jon pounds on the door, but he waits just a moment more before turning the lock and opening up to Jon and the frigid January air.
“Goodness, Jon.” Elias looks him over, concerned but assessing. “Come in. You look a fright.”
—
In the split second before the door opens, Jon is afraid. What if it’s the same as it was with Sasha? No, that’s stupid — the driver was fine. Jon thinks he was fine, anyway. He rubs at the back of his arm, hugging it tight to himself.
And then, there’s Elias, awash in gentler light than the street, and he's —
He’s himself. Jon huffs out a hard breath that puffs up in the air between them, and then before he can stop himself, he’s bolting over the threshold and straight into Elias, smashing himself into his chest and wrapping his arms around him. Somehow, Jon is out of breath. His lungs burn from the cold.
“You're—” No, not saying that, that would be insane. All of this, actually, is pretty insane. Jon straightens himself up, looks up at Elias. “Sorry, it’s just.” He laughs humourlessly, his eyes wild and his breath still shallow and uneven. “I’ve had a hell of a time.”
the fact that when melanie got the poisoned coffee she assumed elias likes it the same way as jon… his little AMUSED confirmation that she was right before he goes “ik youre attempting murder but nice try”
what makes it so interesting for me is that it wasn’t necessary to specify what kind of coffee she brought and why, and it definitely wasn’t necessary to confirm that yes, we do take our coffee the same way, thank you very much. besides, wouldn’t it make more sense for Elias to say that he doesn’t like it and ask Melanie to drink it? so why add this in the first place?
I thought about it a lot, and I don’t know if I’m going somewhere with this, or am I just too obsessed with them, but this little remark could be about Jon’s loss of humanity
why would Melanie assume they like the same type of coffee? well, that’s because they are the same to her. she sees both of them as eye monsters, one of which is arguably worse, but she hates Jon too and thinks it’s his fault that she’s trapped here. they are the same kind of evil for her at that point. they might as well be the same in this for all she cares
and they are. this unconscious assumption immediately gets confirmed by Elias. it’s a tiny off-hand remark, but it shows just how similar they are even in these mundane details
