every group of occult scholars is just *guy whose organs are filled with eyeballs* *morally questionable medical professional* *the one who knows too much* *dude who owes you money (and refuses to pay you back)* *socially inept*
if you’re seducing your younger self make sure to leave room for the specter of your former lovers that he doesn’t know you (indirectly) killed
i just think that elias would evoke the memories of them on purpose. to feel how jonah feels thinking about them. it’s innocent and naive and elias feeling that pure yearning secondhand is so very nostalgic for him.
because he doesn’t feel that way for them anymore. it’s almost hard to remember how it feels to care for someone without ambition and devotion to his god eclipsing all else in his life. and yes, jonah is ambitious, he’s devoted to the Watcher, but he’s not yet had to choose between his friends and his goals. his feelings for his dead companions are sweet and not uncomplicated but still so much simpler than elias’s. and perhaps elias enjoys being able to feel that again, even if the emotions aren’t actually his own.
choosing to let Barnabas die was definitely a point of no return to Jonah. his letter asks him if he is ready to follow his goals now, if he is ready to leave behind his emotional attachments, his sense of duty, and other obstacles. there really wasn’t any other choice he could’ve made; if he had chosen to save Barnabas, there would be no such person as Jonah Magnus. Jonah, who saves Barnabas, is Jonah, who is not determined enough to follow through with his plans
it does seem like this could’ve been not the first time Barnabas got himself into trouble and went to Jonah for help… and Jonah did look out for him, he warned Barnabas about Mordechai even though he had no reason to try to protect him, but Barnabas still didn’t listen to him. between that and gambling, he seems to enjoy risk-taking behaviours
and maybe previously Jonah would’ve tried to help him anyway. maybe because they had known each other for a long time, because he felt responsible for Barnabas in some way, because he loved him. still loves him, probably, or at least he’s fond of him; why keep his bones after all that time, after he changed locations from Edinburgh to London, even? it could be to just remind himself that can’t turn back now, but it also could be sentimentality. probably both
but that was such a good opportunity to just… not. the only opportunity he will ever get. I wonder when he hesitated. was it when he just noticed the letter? did he make up his mind on the spot, knowing that he has to give up Barnabas now or he will never be able to? or did he try to save him first, went to Mordechai to ask him to release Barnabas? was it Mordechai who asked him how long he would let this continue?
I subscribe to (my mutual’s) vision of jonahbas as roommates in boarding school… Jonah escaped his family to live as a man (🏳⚧) and met Barnabas. in that way, Barnabas would be the first witness of Jonah Magnus, the man, and also the beginning of Jonah Magnus, the king of the ruined world. Jonah sacrificed him to himself
sorry, I’m back at my bullshit, but I think it’s so cute of Jonathan to actually explain what happened instead of just going no contact. especially since he’s so sure that Jonah knows what caused Albrecht’s illness. I don’t actually think that Jonathan had the option to not tell Jonah everything, because I believe that it works like a statement even in a form of a letter, so Jonathan was influentied by the Beholding anyway, but the way he rationalises that…
ALT
even before he went to Albrecht, he knew who Jonah was, at least vaguely. he collected stories for the Institute and seemed to be quite close with Jonah – which is interesting in its own right because he is a Man Of Science, and for him to willingly associate with something so esoteric… I’m not saying it’s completely unrealistic, but I do think that Jonah’s work wouldn’t be very popular with the scientific community. but not with him. but I can see why he wouldn’t think that Jonah is dangerous.
however. after the events at Albrecht’s estate, he still wants to give Jonah a chance. the letter seeps with his resentment (“consider this the severing of our acquitance”, “whatever it was that did this to him, I know in my heart that it is your fault”, “do not write to me again” – a breakup letter of all times) and yet he harbours a hope that Jonah didn’t know what he was doing. that he can be fixed. even after being subjected to all of this horror, he still!! hopes that he can save Jonah!! it would be enough to just go “kill yourself. you know what you did”. or even “kill yourself. here’s why”. but he doesn’t. he hopes that Jonan will listen to him. what a man.
(I do realize that it was done that way because it’s a podcast. but I can still dream)
now that we have something of a canonical basis for Jonathan “I can fix him” Fanshawe (it’s not very sturdy, but that’s the best you’ll get around here). may I introduce you to my personal reading of Jonathan as a complete Jonan apologist
again, he mentioned collecting stories for Jonah. it could be just literally asking people to tell their ghost stories to relay to Jonah later, or he could send them directly to the Institute. so maybe a patient with some strange health issues walks in, and he asks them if they encountered something weird recently, and maybe they did, and oh, he knows a place that deals with this sort of thing… you know. and if they return back to him to report that their issues got worse and the strange dreams they had recently… well. there’s a constant shortage of cadavers, especially with interesting conditions
I’ll criticise myself here: this is more or less what happened to Albrecht. if he dealt with this before, why would Albrecht be of any surprise to him?
first of all, these people’s condition is not Jonah’s fault. Jonah is just recording their experiences before they inevitably die
second, these people are of no value to Jonathan and Jonah, they’re strangers. Albrecht was Jonah’s old friend. I like to think about that as the main reason why Jonathan left him – he felt personally endangered. if Jonah didn’t spare someone he knew for at least 15 years, then he wouldn’t spare Jonathan either. that’s scary. not that Jonah could be a danger to other people, but that he could be a danger to Jonathan
but why would he ask Jonah to change his ways, then? if all he cared about was himself? well, maybe he’s a huge hypocrite. that would be fun. but why would he be so shocked/traumatized by the eyes inside Albrecht if he has worked with similar cases before? well. again, it could be proximity to him/knowing that it was Jonah’s fault. but most importantly, it’s that I’m just playing touys ❤️ I don’t actually think this was implied in the original text, but wouldn’t it be Fun if Jonah had a loyal pet doctor he could use for his own interests. wouldn’t it be hot.
sorry, I’m back at my bullshit, but I think it’s so cute of Jonathan to actually explain what happened instead of just going no contact. especially since he’s so sure that Jonah knows what caused Albrecht’s illness. I don’t actually think that Jonathan had the option to not tell Jonah everything, because I believe that it works like a statement even in a form of a letter, so Jonathan was influentied by the Beholding anyway, but the way he rationalises that…
ALT
even before he went to Albrecht, he knew who Jonah was, at least vaguely. he collected stories for the Institute and seemed to be quite close with Jonah – which is interesting in its own right because he is a Man Of Science, and for him to willingly associate with something so esoteric… I’m not saying it’s completely unrealistic, but I do think that Jonah’s work wouldn’t be very popular with the scientific community. but not with him. but I can see why he wouldn’t think that Jonah is dangerous.
however. after the events at Albrecht’s estate, he still wants to give Jonah a chance. the letter seeps with his resentment (“consider this the severing of our acquitance”, “whatever it was that did this to him, I know in my heart that it is your fault”, “do not write to me again” – a breakup letter of all times) and yet he harbours a hope that Jonah didn’t know what he was doing. that he can be fixed. even after being subjected to all of this horror, he still!! hopes that he can save Jonah!! it would be enough to just go “kill yourself. you know what you did”. or even “kill yourself. here’s why”. but he doesn’t. he hopes that Jonan will listen to him. what a man.
(I do realize that it was done that way because it’s a podcast. but I can still dream)
