#also jonah's ofc

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

ok so chances are these rambles aren't going to make any sense lol but like i hope y'all have fun reading them anyway...

so ok thoughtsss on glasses in inside no 9:

gonna start with Reece's characters because of course i am lol

the two that i was initially thinking of were Simon (simon says) and George (cold comfort) because of the way their glasses almost blend into their faces due to the thin wire frames, i guess this could be interpreted as both characters hiding their true nature in plain sight (this will be a common theme in this post btw)

Simon's are an unusual shape, though (not quite round, not oval, not square, idk how to describe them lol...)... can't explain it but they're kinda youthful looking? matching the weird (90s) school boy haircut he has lol...

we also have this a bit with Neville (misdirection), when we first see him he's wearing similar glasses to Simon, but after he kills Willy they change into thicker, darker frames, almost as if he's no longer hiding (or at least no longer hiding to the viewer). i think the 2nd pair are also there to suggest that he's more intelligent than he actually is lol and to emphasise his cockiness at thinking he could get away with murder (literally)

another character with this is Gerry (boo to a goose) who is wearing fairly old fashioned glasses (similar to the ones that Maureen wears, who I'm not gonna talk about here since she and David are Psychoville characters lol...), perhaps there to emphasis his more conservative/old fashioned values? hinting at the final reveal (also it aligns with him being older, perhaps they're just the same style of glasses he's been wearing for 40 odd years lol)

(this is a similar reasoning behind Norman lol... there's not really much to say about him lol)

other more minor characters where the glasses feel like they're a sorta stand-in for there being something hidden about the story and/or character that we're not yet privy to are; Klaus (the devil of xmas) who isn't even wearing them when we get the reveal of who he really is, Maxwell (la couchette) (ok not really a minor character i know lol but there's not really a lot to say about him... guess you could also bring up the way the eye-mask is also there as a way to emphasise him being a liar?), Maurice (private view), The Stranger (12 days of christine) & Rudolph (a random act of kindness)...

and given all of this i think it was interesting that Varney (the stakeout) doesn't wear glasses, especially since hiding in plain sight is his whole Thing but i can only assume that glasses would be a hard thing to film in such dark scenes? plus idk would vampires even need glasses? ... asking the real questions lol

Jonah's (the curse of the ninth) feel different to the other glasses on the show mainly because of the distinct vintage shape/style of them, but of course there is an element of Jonah (after killing staffordshire) having to keep a part of himself hidden? idk

Tommy (bernie clifton's dressing room) has fairly plain nondescript glasses, they almost look like reading glasses? perhaps a reflection of him being all 'serious' now, especially in comparison to the young!Tommy we see in photos that doesn't wear glasses!

have to note that Reece as himself also wears glasses and not really much to say other than the ones he wears in plodding on are my fav on him (i think they frame his face rly lovelyly... that's not a word shh) but other than that idrk any thematic relevance other than 'lad needs them to see irl' pfft...

there are ofc other characters that wear glasses that don't feel as if they're that important to the character:

so, Nick (tempting fate), Gareth (paras.........phobia), Doug (ctrl alt esc) (although arguably you could suggest that the deception here is that Doug isn't who we think he is cos he's actually a nurse? also feel like the glasses might be a subtle nod to Ollie Plimsolls, which i vaguely remember someone saying Doug kinda reminded them of??? can't remember who though rip...), Eric (lip service), Barnabus (nine lives kat), and The Reverend (dead line) (again, i guess you could make an argument for him being representative of the wider deception in the episode?)

---

now, the Steve characters with glasses are honestly a really interesting mix! haven't counted them but i think there are definitely less of his characters that wear glasses than Reece's, so in a way it feels even more significant for his characters that DO wear them!

there are a fair few Steve characters that start out seemingly as nice and end up being revealed to be baddies, and it's interesting that a lot of these also happen to be glasses wearers!

Spencer (simon says), Squires (riddle of the sphinx) and Blake (the trolley problem) come immediately to mind. Spencer's glasses are plain black, rigid frames to match the harsh unmoving lines of his house, his unwavering nature. i think both Squires and Blake have tortoise shell framed glasses? which has a suggestion of elegance and refinement in contrast to the natures of the characters that are revealed through the eps!

you also have them all pretending to be smarter than they actually are, each trying to play the other characters within their individual episodes only to have everything thrown back in their face due to their own hubris!

there are also a few of his characters that suggest towards the hidden pasts of the wider narratives in the episode:

so, Harry (mother's ruin), Carl (sardines) who has some of the most unique glasses in the whole show but i couldn't really tell you what the significance of that is... maybe someone else can figure it out idk lol?, Ezra (nine lives kat), Giles (and the winner is), Roger (empty orchestra), Jasper (the bones of st nicholas) and Il Dottore (wuthering heist).

now Adrian (to have and to hold) i don't think wears glasses throughout the whole episode, but he does have them on in various scenes (the very start comes to mind?) which feels like it's calling back to his darker nature. also the glasses he does have are on a chain, much like... well you know...

kinda suggests the idea he can put on and take off his 'disguise' with ease depending on whether he's around his wife or his lover...

the final character of Steve's that has glasses is Kenny (mulberry close) who i guess is sorta involved in the final deception but also not really? idk... this one's got me stumped ngl lol

final thing i will say is that i think there are a few other characters that wear glasses in one off moments (maybe David in Diddle Diddle Dumpling does?) but idk if they necessarily feel relevant enough to be a part of the wider character so i'm leaving them out lol...

so yeah that's about it, hopefully this makes some sort of sense lol

i said i'd write this when i'm less sleepy which i'm not, but i couldn't get this out of my head and i knew if i didn't write it now then i'd forget about it so........... here we are

in general i think it's really amazing how so much within this show feels so deliberate into giving the audience as much information about any given character! from the set designs, the costumes, hair and makeup, and of course the performances! because with such limited time they need to immediate establish certain things about the characters and world to help bring everything together after the final reveals!

and something about rewatching simon says and noticing the glasses made me think about this and the wider implications lol...

making this to remind myself to make a 'glasses in in9 and what they could mean' post at some point in the near future when im less sleeby lol

[arrayoflightarchives]

I hate to say it but I fear the British guy with a posh accent was most likely jonah/elias for the majority of the time??

Like yeah obviosuly Jon fits into that category but also so does elias and if we're going by the 1 week : 6 months ratio, jon would have been there for the equivalent of like 5 minutes I fear-

[vagueeyes]

Reece Shearsmith as Jonah Quigley INSIDE NO. 9 | S9E5 "The Curse of the Ninth"

[superpussyking]

"I've never forgotten the first, of many, funerals attended for one of my fellows lost to the dread powers. It was in that moment, sitting in those pews, it struck me. I must never let myself die."

Close ups under the cut

[nikkodikko]

This episode was!!!! It surely was!!!!

Peter gets to look normal sometimes i just haven't figured out how and i like fog man

Also eyevatars doodle dump

Elias is extremely fun to draw i hate this man

[darcyolsson]

i think dina and amy superstore should have kissed a little send tweet

[multifanrae]

Where tf do all the avatars get their money from? Like I can’t imagine being a vessel of an eldritch god necessarily pays well. Do the entities just throw darts at a board of wealthy families or something??

[sparky-is-spiders]

T4T JE where Jonah lets Jon wear some of his old corsets <3

[r-r-raf]

what’s your favorite TMA entity/entities and why?

OHH. God that's hard, I think a lot of them are funky. I know my least favorite are The Buried and The Corruption (as in, those two are the ones that fill me w dread <3 )

My favorites though uhhhh. The Vast is absolutely up there <3 god, I love space, I love openness, I love the vastness of the universe and our smallness compared to it, I love the idea that there are things much larger than me that I don't understand and will never understand, and it's okay because I don't have to get it to find things beautiful <3 And! The thrill of going fast, and feeling like you're flying, and falling <3 I find so much. Bittersweetness in the insignificance both. Of us as individuals, and humanity as a whole. I feel like it's easy to think that that means everything is meaningless, and maybe it is! But also, you're sooooo small, and yet you exist!!!!! You exist, in a world sooo much bigger than you, and isn't that so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like I feel like I can't articulate correctly, but I think there's comfort, in that smallness. (On the flip side: I HATE the ocean <3 akdjqj)

THE DESOLATION is also absolutely up there. I've talked abt the beauty of fire and destruction. Several fucking times in the past akdjqj. It's destruction and its violence and it's consumption and it's burning and its warmth and it's comfort and it's the satisfaction of feeling something give away beneath your hands, and it's the strength that comes afterwards, and it's the control <3 I'd be very easily convinced to join the desolation

The Lonely is one that I find fascinating, bc it's just. So quiet in its cruelty. It's the fairest of the entities, in that it'll let you go if you remember a reason why you aren't lonely, but I think it's been made clear that it. Makes it very difficult for it to do that. It's so inviting, is the thing. It's so alluring, it promises comfort, and a place to rest, and for everything to finally stop, but it doesn't love you! It eats you up and leaves you hallow, allll while making you believe that that is what you wanted. I think a lot abt that in terms of Martin and Peter Lukas, the fact that (arguably) Peter Lukas attempted to fit the role of "father" because Martin never had that. The Lonely promises to fill something, but it won't, and it doesn't, and it never will, and I want to study it under a microscope.

[miyuskye]

I would like to also add!!!

1. When Elias calls him his full name (❤️) when reprimanding him about the complaint

2. When Jon is worried about the Leitners (ep 17 my beloved) and says he's going to have a discussion with Elias about it. And then randomly adds: I know he’ll just give me the old “record and study, not interfere or contain” speech again, but I at least need to make him aware of it.

which implies that a. it's so very usual for them to have conversations (about the institute and the paranormal and the statements) b. there were multiple discussions and conversations since the argument is "old" and they have probably been over this many times with super stubborn Jon and infinitely patient Elias (without knowing the plot it's fun to imagine Elias listening to Jon ramble but knowing the plot????? Jonah being so proud of his Archivist being this proactive but still that needs to be contained) (ahhhh I bet he was just as excited as Jon because of his enthusiasm but couldn't show it) c. Jon is super comfortable around Elias enough to bring up specific work-related points (instead of just taking care of them personally like how I imagine Gertrude would have done) and holds him in high esteem to discuss stuff thoroughly

Sometimes I truly want to sit into the Elias and Jon's dynamics pre-archives/Season 1 because (nottobepettyaboutpeoplewhoassumesjonautomaticallydislikeseliasfor???) I feel like it informs SO MUCH of how they behave later on. They clearly already have some sort of relationship that's based on both respect, freedom and guidance and, I feel, conversations.

"He's not smoking again, is he?" implies that Elias is not only aware Jon used to be a smoker, but has been at least involved in a periphical manner to Jon /stopping/ smoking, and approving of it. (Which, yes, drives me insane. We need so much more jonelias fics where Elias takes,, an active role in helping Jon stop that particular habit)

The fact the very first words that Jon adresses to the tape recorders are for Elias; that he's already discussed with him the problematic statements at all!

Jon acknowledging that Elias is the most knowledgeable man when it comes to the paranormal, which! again! I see so little people talk about but is a clear expression of Jon recognizing and admiring Elias's skills in his particular domain! AND is possibly the reason why he keeps coming back to him later on (and other people). Elias just! knows his stuff. And possibly he used to share a bit more with Jon :').

I don't know, the mere fact that Elias is like "Jon, we got a complain about you" and Jon only snarks "Fine, I'll be more lovely" and it's the end of it is insane to me. I know Elias IS known to be a passive boss, but EVEN SO. The freedom that's given to Jon, all along! Wild and beautiful.

Them flirting over Jon's birthday cake. I can see the scene. Their eyeing each other like they're two seconds away from kissing and everybody else has a moment of "oh, god, please don't, why do you make things uncomfy"

I don't know what this post is actually about, just. Elias and Jon. Getting along. From day one. JON ACTUALLY LIKING AND ADMIRING HIM. Yknow.

[sleepybugeyes]

I read through all of Elias/Jonah's dialogue (as you do) plus some relistening and mentions of him, so here's a big list of some fun things and behaviors I noted!

I thought he made a lot of eye puns/jokes, but he only does it once in mag161, however he does enjoy making jokes. "Creativity never was their forte." from mag80, "You want my account? My sworn testimony? My statement?" from 82, "If you die, I’m afraid you probably won’t be able to claim your expenses." in 116 and "I only have two eyes, after all." in 120. no one ever laughs at his jokes only he finds them amusing

His last words telling Jon a sarcastic or mocking "good luck" are mirrored earlier as he also tells Basira good luck the last time he sees her, and Martin, as he's getting arrested

He loves gloating. "I forget how new you all are to this." from mag92, "Coffee is not as good for disguising tastes as you might think." in 98, "She’s hoping that even if I see it coming she’ll still be able to overpower me. She’s wrong, of course," in 102, "A masterpiece, isn’t it?" abt his panopticon in 158 and of course his whole monologue in 160

He does his budgeting on tuesdays and his scheduling on wednesdays

He also likes getting lost in work

in mag40 he makes up proper incompetency (said he didnt know how the fire system works, while he later admits he was actively waiting) just that once, but more so he acts like he doesnt get the full picture (doesnt know whats in the tunnels, whats strange about the institute) or acts too late and apologises (not stepping into jon's stalking behaviour). Which makes me think he is quite fine letting people think less of him but unless he has something to hide hes not actively looking to give the impression

in mag92 elias slides the papers for basira across his desk, but you don't hear him take them out before, meaning he prepared and got ready for this before he called the police

in general he's a very preparing man, Lukas steps in when Elias is arrested so has has control over who'd run it. in mag118 he says he prepared something to hurt martin (my speculation is that he likely has some trauma that could hurt you prepared for any person that could cross him, just in case he needs it). When he gets arrested he has something prepared so he doesnt get killed and ofc s1-4 is preparing Jon for his grand ritual

Elias admits the idea for his ritual kinda fell into place after Getrude didnt do anything about the people's church in march 2015. He shot Getrude and appointed Jon shortly after so "when you came to me already marked by the Web, I knew it had to be you." is pure dramatics as Jon was hired 4 years prior

also he got his ritual in 2018 so he managed to acomplish his life's goal in only 3 years, love his grindset 🔥

We never get a number for how many people Elias has killed in his ritual, the real life millbank has held over 1000 people at once, but id imagine his one panopticon held less than a whole complex

its really interesting to me in mag92 that hes SO sure they all know he's talking to them of his own free will. is he just that dead set on being in control or making sure they take no credit for his confession

there is a clock in Elias' office (but it's only heard in mag98)

He has killed people but Elias is very much not a blood thirsty person. Getrude and Peter are both surprised when he results to that. He's very much just ruthless and does not care, if to get his way he has to kill someone. It doesnt seem like he's ever happy to do so, maybe this is a quirk of being eye aligned and getting rid of any type of knowledge is painful (he does for example never want Tim to die at the Unknowing), or he just finds covering those murders up a hassle

for the Unknowing Elias books them all hotel rooms, how thoughtful

something cute to me that Jon was too good at the Eye that Elias couldnt meet him face to face post coma

In mag158 he implies that even Institute employees not in the archives are tied to it, at least enough that they could suffer or die if it burned down

between finding other people just as tools to watch and discard and saying empathy holds you back he was definitely a very very lonely man

He is a very breathy person. He sounds breathy when he talks. He takes deep breaths to ready himself and before he uses his powers. And he often breathes through his nose before speaking or during pauses

He has said Jon's name 62 times, only twice calling him "Jonathan" and called him archivist 25 times (24 in the mag120 statement, 1 in mag138 and 1 in mag161)(he also kinda calls him The Archive in 160)

other fun amount of words: know (65 times), see (42), martin (35), detective (20), eyes (20) and eye (9), afraid (9) and "bullshit" (1)

its still insane to me they added all of those sound effects of Elias' cuffs in prison, thats something fun to appreciate. It also means its canon he gestures quite a bit!

[bellysoupset]

heeeyyyy back at it again with me requesting my girl lollll <3 (only bc you asked for requests!!! (i’ve been dying to request sth but didn’t wanna be annoying))

soo i’ve been craving some wen/jon for a bit bc ofc i have💀 SO I WAS THINKING!! (this is so specific and long im so sorry) what if wen starts to get sick at work and jon gets worried and annoys her into leaving work early. and so he takes her home but then on his way home he starts feeling bleh too and kinda just falls asleep when he gets back. BUT THEN wen gets worse and in the middle of the night calls jon bc she’s like super sick and out of it and feverish and alone, but bc jon is also pretty sick, it just ends up being leo taking care of both of them <333 the more angsty the better ofc but also no worries if it’s not ♥️

no pressure at all to write this bc i know it’s pretty detailed and idk if you’d like this prompt? but i just thought i’d ask heheheheh <3333

(on a completely different short note,, vin+wen are so adorable with max aahhhh i was blushing throughout that whole cabin trip fic🤭🥹)

as always, KEEP SLAYING!!!!

- 🦦

Otter!! You're back! How are you, honey?

Loved the request 💕TW: there's some fatphobia talk towards the middle, Wendy about herself (triggered by the fever).

----

As lunch arrived, Wendy knew something wasn't right.

Many things weren't right, to be more specific. Bell and Luke were occupying the back of her thoughts, as she carried the secret, and then there was the fact Vince and Luke didn't seem to be talking, again, and well... Wendy felt silly for being so drained over problems that weren't truly hers, but she was.

Jonah, on the other hand, seemed to be on cloud nine lately. Oblivious to the outside world, he couldn't smile more if he tried and Wendy had overheard the nurses giggling about the doctor being in such a good mood.

Through some stroke of a miracle her schedule was coinciding with Jon's this week and they sat together in the cafeteria, Jonah having lunch before he left and her halfway through her shift. He pulled his chair to be side by side with hers and scrolled through his phone as he showed her several pictures of the venues he was considering.

She couldn't look at her plate, revulsion swimming in her belly, and Wendy pushed the dish away, grabbing her juice bottle and leaning back against her seat.

"That's a gorgeous place," she said, as Jonah scrolled past a picture of a whimsical fairytale venue. He scrolled back up and raised his eyebrows as if agreeing.

"Pretty, but not really our speed," he zoomed in the picture, "we're not the fairytale type."

"Uhm..." Wendy pinched her nose bridge and moved closer on her seat, so she could press her cheek to Jonah's shoulder. He raised a surprised eyebrow at the touch, but didn't say anything, "I guess. You're looking at more of a sleek vibe?"

"Yes, classical, but modern..." Jonah saved the item anyway and when Wen made a puzzled expression, he opened a sneaky smile, "for when it's your turn."

She rolled her eyes, without any energy even to blush at the implication, "not any time soon," Wendy planted her elbow on the table and gulped down as the smell of food assaulted her. She pulled back, breathing slowly out of her mouth and when she opened her eyes again, Jonah had pocketed his phone and was staring at her openly.

"You're sick," he accused, squinting, and Wendy shook her head.

"No, I'm not," convincing enough, Wendy mentally patted herself on the back, "just a long week-" it had been, Jonah couldn't deny that...

He rolled his eyes, "uh-hu," Jon scoffed, reaching without hesitation and planting his hand to her forehead. Wendy jumped back, spooked, but it had been enough for him, "and did your long week give you a fever, Dee?"

Wendy's cheeks flushed, but she also couldn't help the squeeze in her heart at the nickname. Whenever Jonah called her that, she melted. She let out a sigh, "I have three more hours to go, I can power through-"

"Darling, no," Jonah scoffed, getting up and gesturing for her to do the same, "you don't just have a fever, you're clearly queasy too and you don't wanna be stranded in the doctor's headquarters when that hits in full force... C'mon, I'll drive you home."

Wendy hesitated, chewing on her lip, but Jon only rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, ushering her up, "no point arguing, Wen," he scolded her, pushing her forward.

The change of positions caused her head to swim and Wendy stumbled, pressing herself against his arm and taking a shallow breath, "Oh crap... Yeah, get me out of here," she pinched her nose bridge and squeezed her eyes until the world came back into focus.

Jonah followed her like a shadow as she clocked out early and requested a replacement. His own shift was already over and he seemed unbothered by the bureaucratic process that was a doctor leaving early, scrolling through his phone and occasionally looking up as Wendy stumbled over her own feet.

Finally they were in his car and Wendy pressed her forehead to the cold window, letting out a soft burp under her breath as Jon circled the vehicle. There was a ding-ding-ding over her head as the driver's door opened and closed, then Jon's hand was on her back, "Dee?"

Wendy swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth and leaned back on the seat, "I'm okay..." she turned her head to look at him, everything felt horrible and sluggish, "are... Are you okay?" now she frowned, even through the fever haze able to pinpoint something was off with her best friend.

Usually, Jonah's skin was a russet, reddish-brown, but when he got pale all the warmth seemed to be depleted, an ashy tone taking its place. Besides that, his lips seemed to melt into his skin, despite normally being a dark shade of earthy-pink.

"I'm fine," he started the car and Wendy squinted at him, the motion doing nothing to ease her nausea. She muffled another little burp on her hand, blushing and mumbling a weak "excuse me..."

Jonah waved her off and Wendy squirmed on her seat, "you're not feeling well either, are you?"

"I'm fine," he repeated, stealing a glance at her, "you're gonna make yourself sicker in this position, seat correctly and put on your seatbelt."

"Yes, dad," Wendy rolled her eyes, but obeyed and closed her eyes, leaning back her head. Her stomach was churning uncomfortably, the small amount she had been able to eat at lunch sloshing around and causing a burn on the back of her throat. She planted a hand on her belly, rubbing it lightly, and blushed even more at the thought of how gross she probably looked...

The car came to a slow stop and she felt the back of Jonah's hand pressed to her cheek, "you're really warm, Wendy," he said, his voice sounding frustrated, "were you feeling sick since morning?"

"Were you?" She grumbled, then cupped a hand over her lips as the little line caused more acid to trickle her throat and a weak gag. The car started moving again.

"I'm not sick," Jonah scoffed, in denial. Wendy let out a huff, if she had puked already he could pass it off as sympathy sickness but as it stood... She opened her eyes, looking at him. There was a glint of perspiration all over his face and Jonah had a grimace on, not counting on her studying him.

The idiot.

Turning her head had been a bad idea, because it caused a wave of carsickness to hit her and Wendy felt sticky all over. She closed her eyes again, breathing out slowly and gulped down... The act of swallowing caused another gag and she vaguely heard Jonah cursing-

The car came to a second stop and Wendy opened her eyes just as Jon leaned over her, pushing her door open. Wendy leaned out and the seatbelt squeezed her in the middle like a rope, around her neck and tickling her gag reflex.

She let out a sob as her lunch made a nasty reappearance in one chunky splash on the asphalt. Wendy coughed, trying to clear her throat and reached blindly to get rid of the seatbelt, only for a pair of hands to aid her.

Her belly clenched again and Wendy had barely any time to push her hair out of the way before another stream came up, more liquid this time around and burning her throat.

She sniffled, pitifully, ears unblocking as the retching tapered off, and she was left gasping for air and trying to spit out the horrible taste.

"Here," Jonah's voice was very soft as he pushed a bottle of lukewarm water in her hands, "swish it around," he instructed and Wendy obeyed, spitting out the stale water and coughing once more before sitting back.

Jon pushed her hair behind her ears and Wendy sniffled, angrily trying to get rid of the tears clinging to her lashes. She hated throwing up, not only the horrible sensation, but how vulnerable and disgusting it made her feel. Clearly Jon could read it all on her face, because despite the fact his own pallor had moved straight into corpse-grey territory, he cupped her cheeks and offered her a strained smile, "you're okay," he stroked her cheek with his thumbs, "take a breath, darling."

It was so soft and Wendy was feeling so incredibly wretched, that all the gentleness had the opposite of the desired effect, causing another sob to bubble up and tears to well in her eyes, "I don't feel well..."

"I know, I know," Jonah frowned at her, all but mounting the handbrake as he pulled her into a hug, "I know, Dee. Shhh-"

She clung to his sweater, curling up on the passenger seat and trying to burrow her face in the crook of Jonah's arm, crying in the awkward hug that was more of a headlock. Jon made a wounded noise, but didn't pull back, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

It took her a handful of minutes before the tears stopped and Wendy pulled back from the embrace, wiping at her face. Her head was throbbing now from crying and her eyes hurt, like she had accidentally spilled shampoo in them and done a poor job of washing it off. Jon was watching her closely, "Wen?"

"I'm sorry-" Her voice sounded like she had just gargled with glass, "sorry... Can we go?"

He nodded, before pausing and lowering his forehead to the steering wheel, raising his index as if asking her to stand-by. Wendy raised her eyebrows, planting a hand on his back, "Jon..." She cooed, "sweetheart, you're not well..."

Which was bad, considering he was the one driving.

Jonah didn't bother denying this time around, instead he just squeezed his eyes shut, taking a measured breath, "just a little dizzy..."

"Is it a vertigo episode?" Wendy asked, continuing to rub her hand up and down his back.

He frowned, not opening his eyes, "no... Just give me a minute, Dee."

Understanding he wanted silence, Wendy clammed her mouth shut and focused on getting a hold of herself. Throwing up hadn't made even a dent on her nausea and she still felt like her stomach was filled with liquid, but at least her mouth wasn't watering like crazy anymore. She was freezing, which made sense considering the car door was open and it was January...

Wendy slammed it shut, shuddering, and Jonah startled, sitting back up. As he moved, he let out a large burp, hand moving up to muffle it, but being a second too late. He wrinkled his nose, cheeks turning dark with a blush, "sorry..." his voice was all distorted, deep in his chest and Wendy shrugged.

"It's fine," she rubbed his arm, "you feel better?"

It was clear that he didn't, but Jonah grit his teeth and nodded, "yeah. Let's get you home."

--------------------

Jonah wasn't sure what had hit him. In one minute he had been waiting for Wendy to clock out of work, texting Leo that he'd be taking her home so probably not have the full afternoon free like he had planned, and in the other there was cold sipping down to his fucking bones.

The speed at which his condition had deteriorated had been alarming, but not as much as seeing his best friend bawl her eyes out. Wendy was a crier when it came to movies, but not when it was her life. It made his stomach squeeze into a horrible knot as she clutched his arm and sobbed like a little kid.

Her cheeks were a blazing red and her green eyes were droopy with fever by the time he parked in her garage, taking her spot. Wendy swayed dangerously on her feet as she got out and Jonah circled the car, wrapping his arm around her back, "we're almost there," he promised, squeezing her and fighting the urge to rattle her like a toy. It was awful to see her this down for the count.

Wendy leaned into him, pressing her forehead to his chest and gulping down loudly as they entered the elevator, "my stomach... I'm going to be sick, Jon..." she groaned and Jonah's own stomach churned at the warning. He couldn't even fathom the possibility of dealing with vomit when his lunch was sitting like a brick inside.

"We're almost in your apartment," he soothed her, pressing the 6th button twice more, just out of anxiety. Wendy let out a little burp, sickly wet, and gulped down, not saying a thing. She didn't even excuse herself, which was wildly out of character.

Jonah counted the seconds, looking up and gulping the sticky sensation in his mouth. It felt like his tongue was too big for it and he felt the urge to open his jaw and breath through his mouth like those dogs, but he knew this was only going to make him gag. His body luring him into a trap.

Wendy let out a groan, wrapping an arm around her stomach and sniffling, "Jon..."

"Almost there," he repeated, leg bouncing nervously, "try to hold it..." he bossed, before adding a weak, "I'm sorry."

Wendy gulped down again, pressing a hand to her mouth and shuddering violently, whole spine curling as she retched, but it was non-productive.

The elevator came to a stop and immediately Jonah was jumping ahead, grabbing the emergency keys that he had and unlocking the door as Wendy sprinted under his arm.

She rushed into the powder room and he heard the distinctive noise of her heaving, but Jonah couldn't bring his own feet to move. He pressed his forehead to the front door, shutting it with his weight and breathed slowly through his mouth. His stomach let out a nasty gurgle and Jon wrapped an arm around it, waiting until the cramp eased up.

Down the hall he heard a crash and Jonah sprung into action, the gnawing sensation in his stomach be damned. Wendy had collapsed down in front of the toilet, but she had tried to get up and put too much of her weight on the towel holder, causing the whole thing to collapse.

She was curled up on the ground, with the towel crumped next to her, a cut on her knee and through her lilac pants and the metal structure hanging by one handle on the wall.

"Wendy," Jonah couldn't help but let out a surprised chuckle at the image, although his smile faded as she heard her sniffle.

"I'm horrible," it was the fever speaking, he knew, but it didn't stop Jonah from feeling a pang in his chest as she sat there with a bruised knee and trying really hard not to start crying again, "I'm a whale, I broke the stupid thing-"

"Oh Wendy, shush it," Jonah scoffed, crouching down and avoiding looking at the toilet, closing the lid and gulping down, "that thing was a piece of crap, stop with this nonsense," he scolded her sharply, rolling up her pants and cringing at the purple bruise already forming.

Wendy let out a whimper, curling up against her bathtub and angrily wiping the tears on the corner of her eyes, "I wanna go to bed..." She wrapped her arms around her stomach, groaning softly as she rocked back and forth, "Jon..."

"Are you gonna be sick again?" He asked, moving closer to her and reaching to uncurl her from the position. Wendy hesitated, whole face wrinkling up with a grimace.

"I'm not sure..." She gulped down, "my stomach feels awful..."

"Okay," Jonah knew, deep down, that moving her was a bad idea, but he couldn't deny her anything when she looked this pitiful, "okay, c'mere-" he wrapped an arm behind her back, helping her up and the minute he did, Wendy lunged for the toilet once more, throwing the lid open hastily as she barely had any time before bringing up another wave of vomit.

It splattered all over the seat and Jonah was forced to let go of her as his lunch immediately rushed up, causing him to throw himself onto the sink. He covered his ears with his hands, squeezing his eyes shut as the foamy vomit fell into the bowl and his stomach convulsed several times.

Behind him, even with his ears covered, he heard the loud noise of flushing and Wendy coughing several times. Jonah let out a sick burp, panting and spitting the ropes of saliva still pooling in his mouth, "I'm-I'msssorry..." he slurred, feeling like the worst friend ever. He had taken Wendy home and now there he was being an even bigger burden.

Wendy answered him with a groan, pushing the lid closed once again and stumbling up, using his belt as support. She clumsily planted a hand on his back, patting completely out of rhythm, "are you good...?"

Jonah nodded, burping under his breath twice more and taking a drink from the tap, washing the bowl with his eyes closed before daring to open them, "yeah..." he met her eyes on the mirror, green and drowsy, "I'm good... Let's get you into bed."

Together they stumbled down the hall almost like drunks and Wendy immediately collapsed on the bed, kicking off her shoes and burying her face on the pillow. Jonah stood, awkwardly, next to her bed. In some recess of his mind he knew there were things he should be doing. Water, thermometer. Bucket.

However, his body felt so heavy and he was struggling to think through the fever — Wendy's fingers wrapped around his wrist and she tugged, hard, on his arm, pulling him down. There wasn't a bone in his body to fight it and Jonah immediately collapsed down, barely avoiding crushing her with his body.

Her pillow was cool and soft and he let out a groan, rolling on the bed and breathing out. His head was pounding and his stomach was churning once more, nausea starting to prickle him all over. Wendy pushed her back against his arm and Jonah forced his eyes open, staring at the side of her face. The redness coloring her cheeks was down her neck and exposed chest, like angry marks.

"Wendy...?"

"Uhm?" Wendy's eyes were closed and she was taking deep breaths, facing up the ceiling. Jonah scooted closer, feeling like he was freezing and seeking out her warmth.

"Are you leaving...?" He rasped out, staring intently at her. Wendy frowned, opening her eyes.

"Are you kicking me out my own bed...?"

"What?" Jonah blinked at her, flabbergasted, struggling to understand, "no, I- No! Are you leaving to Doveport?" he asked, then raised a hand to interrupt her answer, turning his face and muffling a sick burp against the pillow. Acid tickled his throat and he gagged, but it was unproductive.

Jonah moved his face away from the pillow, wiping the drool from his lips and Wendy was staring at him, unimpressed, her lids heavy with exhaustion, "I think I should call Leo," she whispered, her voice weak and Jon frowned at her.

"Why? Does Leo know...?"

"You're delirious," she groaned, pushing herself up, "you're not making any- Any sense..." Wendy shivered violently, eyes scanning the room for her phone, although her purse had been dropped by the front door.

Jonah grabbed her hand, stopping her from getting up from the bed, "so no? You're not leaving?" he pulled her down once again and Wendy frowned, pressing her hand to his cheek, trying to check his fever, although it was nearly impossible considering how warm she was.

"No, I'm not leaving-" she cupped his forehead, "you don't feel that warm..."

Jonah grumbled something, closing his eyes and reaching blindly, wrapping his hand on her shoulder and tugging her down on the bed, so he could hide his face against her neck, "you need to rest-" he rasped out and Wendy squirmed under him, but not trying to pull away. Instead, she wrapped herself around him and Jonah grimaced as he felt her arm wrap around his middle, his stomach sloshing at the movement.

Wendy let out a deep sigh, muffling a cough against his chest and he decided he could deal with everything in a moment, he just needed to rest his eyes for a minute.

TBC

[dreadfuldevotee]

we're still getting some of the worst takes on the top/bottom discourse in 2025 instead of actually paying attention to what's onscreen. did people just suddenly forget that louis and lestat canonically weren't fucking for an extended time in their marriage? lestat perceived this as louis withholding sex from him, another example of him expressing entitlement over louis' body.

but no, louis needs magical healing dick from a white french... all so he can be "put in his place" as the satisfied housewife according to some of these fans. how nauseating.

Whaaaat?!?! noooo, Loustat was totally a consistently active and healthy sexual relationship. No, don't bring up Louis' weak libido and Lestat punishing him by cheating with Antoinette in episode 3. No, also not the 7 years squirreled away in Rue Royale where Louis only acknowledged Lestat to piss him off. Or the 6 months they were apart after Lestat beat the shit out of Louis for not fucking him. No no, magical white penis is what makes the world go 'round. Heaven forbid Louis find sexual gratification from anyone else.

Let's forget about how Louis who is constantly trying to get control over his own life might be into calling the shots in his bedroom, with a partner who is not only willing, but enthusiastic to explore the depth of his still burgeoning sexuality. Louis himself describes Paris as an awakening, and while the direct context of that line is about how proximity to Armand opened him up intellectually- it's no coincidence that they meet in a cruising park. That they cruise together seemingly all through their relationship. Remember when Lestat said "You can fuck them and I'll eat them?" and exactly a season later Louis and Armand are bashfully remincent on the young men they devoured- both literally and metaphorically? Viewing, this show specifically through a lense of Ethical Monogomy is the Thesis is profoundly stupid- straight up. It makes sense that Louis, who has never been in a relationship and has no desire for his peers, is not pleased by Lestat's wandering eyes especially as they kept seeming to wander to only white women. But enjoys seeing Jonah thought it was always going to be a fling between them. Lestat ofc punishes him for this aswell, and will continue to hurt Louis by cheating or mocking him with group sex. Armand, in all his crazy- isn't threatened by Louis having sex with other men. What Loumand has is just a fuckin kink, dude. They're exhibitionist with similar tastes in men and/or prey that it is something they can sustain from Paris, to SF to Dubai. Built a sex dungeon in your crypt with an Alaskan King bed that is quote "big enough to fit more [people] than them on it", a cuck chair, and steps with cusions that bear resemblance to amphitheater seating. Oh and kinky master/servant role play including vampire sex for a straight week. incase anyone forgot about the on screen vampire sex.

They only reason there isnt a 3rd person in Loustats bed is because Les is a jealous freak and world probably set the whole house on fire

[just-an-enby-lemon]

The people are different versions but still exist in TMAGP and that absolutly is the one thing moving a very specific TMA AU.

Basically besides joining the Institute, Tim gets very into online supernatural foruns trying to find people with similar experiences. So one day he gets a mysterious mensage from someone about the "thing wearing my brother's skin". The e-mail is about a young lady that says something very similar happened to her and her uncle and she has been investigating similar stories since. They chat more and with Sasha advice Tim decides fuck it and meets the woman, both pretend it's a date.

Everything is well until Tim mentions working dor the Magnus Institute, she, who presented herself only by Gwen, pales and goes "oh you're one of them" and leaves after saying "I'm not playing his games. I'm not feeding him." Tim is very confused, he thinks maybe the Institue tried to investigate her case and failed. They are not in the archive yet so he asks Jon and Sasha with help without giving any detail, basically hoping Sasha conection with Gertrude means she has acess to the archives and Jon being way to into spending long nights working will help them sort whatever Sasha finds.

Except Sasha finds nothing. Until a random day were she comes up with a big grim and goes "you guys won't ever be abble to guess what I found out?" and open in a very funky web page advertising Gwendolyn Bouchard, paranormal lawyer. Sasha is laughting, Jon is ranting about what a paranormal lawyer would even be but Tim is like "oh shit, that's her".

He doesn't connect the dots at first. Or doesn't want to. But he keeps thinking about "I'm not feeding him" and he is like "random question what do you guys know about Elias" and Sasha goes research into it.

At this point he and Jon aren't close friends but they are friends and if their boss is one of the things that ate his brother he needs to figure out something. With the assumption Elias is a clown, Tim does actually notice how creepy Elias is with Jon and is fully "Jon won't belive me but Elias is totally into eating his insides or whatever". So he tells the truth to Sasha and tricks Jon into visiting Gwen's lawyer thing for answers.

I still did not figure out most of the other things, except that Alice and Gwen are together in this verse and Alice made the web design for Gwen's page. I also know I want alt Sam and I want just our Celia who keeps almost meeting them but never doing. Or even a Celia that came back and has a dificult time being at her world and interacting with different versions of people that mattered so much to her.

I don't know still what to do with Sam, because I think Martin was very clearly Jonah backup archivist and the thing is Elias will try to convince Jon Gwen is the crazy/evil one and either he'll suceed making Jon betray his friends and be the archivist but with different assistants (except Martin) or he won't and Martin will start as the archivist. And while backup archivist/archival assistant Sam makes sense I'm unsure I want that for him. I'm thinking maybe this version of Sam after failing to get into Oxford went into a "rebelious" phase instead of doubling down in trying to met his parents high expectations and ended up joining Melanie ghost hunting channel. But not sure.

Like if I actually go the route of Celia is back trying to find help for both her worlds a Sam that's not quite the Sam she knows/cares about would be interesting. Like he is deep down the same but also he isn't in some obvious ways and she might just miss her Sam more. But if this is an AU not as connected with Protocol than maybe a Sam that's pretty much our Sam but if he was in Archives would make sense. Idk.

And ofc Basira and Daisy that I'm always partial to but I have no clue how to add, except maybe with them starting as Gwen and Alice rivals because Gwen attorney bussiness interferes with their sectioned police work. Also Gwen being an attorney is a 100% because I fully think she was her normal manipulative rise to the top and keep the Bouchard's name girl and went into law school for it except she mets Alice and by the same period Jonah happens and she was close to Elias (even if in parts was because she looked better in the family eyes when they were together by comparison) and it changed everything.

I don't know a lot about Alice either but she was Lena's college roomate and atended classes with Colin (yes he is here as well, unsure what to do with him tho). She had a paranormal encounter that left a scar similar but in oposition to Georgie's where she has a "spider sense" sort of think and can feel when the fears are involved, she knows if a library or book fair has a Leitner and where for example. It happened when she was young and possibly involved meeting my boy Gerry but she tried to avoid the supernatural ever since. She was very reluctant over helping Gwen except she acidentaly overheard her talking to "Elias" and Jonah messed with her head. More importantly she knows that ignoring sometimes is worse because some secret involving her baby brother who may or may not have joined Grifters Bone and becamed a Slaughter Avatar.

The supernatural lawyer was a joke from Alice but Gwen took it seriusly and Alice was loke "really?" and guess this moron will need help to not die/became an avatar and became her paralegal (tho it had nothing to do with her actual college diploma).

[vagueeyes]

Finished reading and rewatching THE CURSE OF THE NINTH.

There's two big reasons to love this episode:

The first being, its distinction as the third(!) period piece of the entire show - even down to having its own typeface for the titlecard:

The second and more obvious one being, the ~*meta commentary*~ (henry paker: is it a jeu de miroir~) of a composer being terrified of finishing their 9th symphony vs r&s finishing the 9th series of their show. I loved all the quotes alluding to this - probably the most subtle one being, "After all, there's many a good tune can be played on an old piano." Which I feel is quite a hopeful outlook in terms of what they'll have in store post-S/F? :)

It's really interesting that in the foreword, they explain that this episode had almost been written as part of s8, but they held off due to its similarities to PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBIA!

The main difference between the script and the ep - apart from a few lines being cut out (and the ending, ofc) - were changes to the wording in the dialogue, presumably to make it more "era appropriate". Little things like: "I'm one of his biggest admirers" to "I'm one of his greatest admirers", or "I'm pretty much done now, actually" to "I'm finished now, in fact".

Six more points that stood out on read & rewatch:

Stage directions for an establishing shot of the house is written in multiple times (I don't immediately recall r&s being this explicit about establishers in the other scripts)! It's quite clear they meant to go big in this episode and I'm very glad they got that opportunity.

I definitely giggled a lot during the scene where Jonah first meets Lillian (how can you not?), but I laughed out loud at finally learning how Dicky's surname is actually spelt! I never watched the ep with subtitles lol

This comment from the sub came to my mind during the grave-digging scene. The sound effects when Jonah snaps the fingers off and the fact that this was specifically scripted!! When they were thinking, "What else haven't we done?" did R just go, "I'd like to bury someone alive"??

This is easily my favourite scene. I love that the initial fake-out of looking like the bust is talking to Jonah was scripted. The reveal of Nathaniel ended up being such a slow burn as well - so well done! "You're not at the beginning, boy, you're at the end. It's the final movement, remember." Another subtle meta quote! Actually quite apt from a viewer's perspective as well, as someone who got into the show in s9.

Also, it took a third watch (today was my fourth lol) to really notice the exchange: "I've been assured by your wife that the curse isn't real." / "Then why didn't she complete it herself?" If this is Jonah talking to himself (that's my read on it, anyway), then it's a very telling moment just before the ending. It explains why he looks so damned smug when he hands the missing piece of the symphony to Lillian!!

I sometimes think whether the curse is "real" or not is a bit open-ended - the script even made this a bit vague? But at the same time, I appreciate how full on they made it in the ep (I mean ofc, it's Guillem lol). The fall over the balcony is also very THE OMEN-esque! Speaking of Guillem, I'm so glad they got him back to direct this ep!! I couldn't appreciate this on first watch but I definitely did by the time I had completed the show and rewatched s9!

Reece tweeting about this episode having a different ending was definitely what prompted me to look into getting the scriptbooks. And what an ending?? (Another stage direction for an establisher as well!) Jonah's really not so innocent, is he...

[a-thousand-little-things]

just another idiot who thought these things could be controlled.

robert smirke is a dumbass. fight me