can someone smart write a whole entire character breakdown comparing jonathan sims from tma to curly from mouthwashing
magnus archives 160 be like
can someone smart write a whole entire character breakdown comparing jonathan sims from tma to curly from mouthwashing
interviewer: given the chaotic state of the archives, why do you believe gertrude robinson was hired?
sasha: she probably had blackmail on James Wright
tim: or maybe he was into her, and her promotion was some sorta flirting attempt
elias: I heard her cat passed away shortly before her promotion. I suspect she got it out of pity.
…
jon: James Wright just closed his eyes and chose a name at random.
jon: Jonah Magnus would be rolling in his grave if he saw James Wright’s hiring process.
the magnus archives asks the question of What if you went through something horrible. what if you experienced unspeakable trauma. and whether or not you survive is irrelevant, because it changed you so fundamentally that not only does no one extend any sympathy towards you, but you’re now looked upon with fear and disgust for what you’ve become. you will forever be seen as a monster.
and maybe you are.
Home–Daughtry / Crack Baby–Mitski / DEBT COLLECTOR–Jhariah / Scars–The Crane Wives / I’m Sorry Trojans –Marijke Perry
Notre Dame–Paris Paloma / Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks–Panic at the Disco / Abbey–Mitski / Take Me To Church–Hozier / Spirit–Penelope Scott
back on my soap box screaming about how these Fear Entities aren’t even feeding off of fear.
There seems to be two ways the Fear Entities feed: actively and passively
Actively is when they manifest into the world. Instances of something blatantly supernatural happening. Every statement recorded is an example of the entities actively manifesting and feeding.
Passively, however, is when natural things happen, causing people to feel negative emotions associated with the entities. Elias feeding off of the Institute employees’ discomfort and paranoia, for example.
These negative emotions that they feed off of are often not even fear. ‘Fear Entities’ is practically a misnomer. As for what each feeds off of, let’s try for a messy quick run-down:
corruption -> disgust
end -> sense of finitude
extinction -> existential dread
vast -> nihilism
buried -> helplessness
desolation -> greif, loss
hunt-> fight or flight reflex. prey instincts.
slaughter-> anger. jump scares; flinch instinct. basically Fear Classic ™.
flesh -> feeling of a lack of (bodily) autonomy, your (physical) body being used in a way you don’t approve of (as opposed to the web, which uses you and your personhood in a way you don’t approve of.)
web -> powerlessness; loss of control, lack of autonomy
spiral -> distrust (in yourself, in others, usually both at once)
stranger -> paranoia, generalized unsettled feeling
lonely -> numbness, apathy with a hint of self-loathing
eye -> shame, guilt, feeling of violation
dark-> anxiety. over possibilities that you can’t even imagine. because you’re.. you’re in the dark about them–
magnus archives’ fear entities are so interesting I wish we got to know more about them. 200 whole episodes and we really just don’t know much about any of them and how they work
we see more of what they do (manifest as supernatural occurrences and haunt people) than get any understanding of what they are.
How do they choose who to target? We see them targeting both people with an aversion to the Fear and people with an affinity for the Fear in question. Is it completely random, or is there something specific that draws them to people?
What qualifies as ‘fear’ by their standards? Based on the series as a whole it seems to be more of any negative emotional response rather than the biological chemical release of the hormones we would classify as 'fear’.
What level of sentience or will do the entities themselves have? Do they have enough 'will’ to actively seek out feeding themselves, or is it more of a reflex, like a plant rotating its leaves towards sunlight?
Do they choose their own avatars? We know that not every person affiliated with an entity who has a near-death experience becomes an avatar, and we can’t just dismiss that as them actively choosing to remain human. And if the entities do choose, that would imply more sentience than we’ve previously afforded them.
What’s the line between Avatar and just being affiliated with an entity? Melanie was affiliated strongly enough with the slaughter that she was able to mark Jon, but she wasn’t an avatar. How does that work? How does 'getting marked’ even work? It’s deeply unclear. You’d think you’d need an avatar or an active manifestation to occur to mark someone.
ALSO. Absolutely stupid question, I’m a bit embarrassed to ask, but.
How was Jon marked by the Eye.
Just 'working at the magnus institute’ shouldn’t mark him. And becoming an avatar shouldn’t mark him either. He never had an adverse experience with the eye. he was never haunted or harmed by the eye. All the other marks were from clear adverse experiences. If every person who existed in the vicinity of supernatural things was considered 'marked’ then half of the magnus institute’s employees would have been marked by everything by now.
Jon was validly harmed and haunted by everything else, but the eye never did anything spooky and haunting to him.
bonus: Jon @ Elias, circa s3-4
