>>005{ The Beating Heart }elias.hc - Tumblr Posts

Elias’s physical and mental capabilities that don’t come from serving Beholding, not counting his memories and experiences of course, are entirely dependent of the body he inhabits. So, while he is careful to choose a host whose disappearance or personality change wouldn’t be noticed, he also takes note of what they know and what they can do. 

For his current body, he noted the young Bouchard was just a young researcher just trying to get by without being noticed, getting high on his breaks to make the monotony and creepy things seem more interesting. He was a capable man, and one who chose to carry several large books and file boxes at once instead of making multiple trips. 

For everyone: Cookies with raisins or nah?

“I’m not much of a sweets guy, even less of raisins,” Jordi just shrugged, folding his arms across his chest, “As a concept? Sure, go nuts.”

Dusan waved his hand to the side, “I don’t have any issue with them, but it’s not as if I eat cookies too much. Gotta watch my figure, you know?” He smirked, gesturing to his waist, obviously thin in his tight sweats. He’s proud of himself. 

“All of the above,” Elias just nodded once, “However, it is quite rude to tempt one if you have no biscuits to offer. I suggest you fix that before you return.”

There was a sort of loud hum from Zenyatta’s systems as the sensors on his head flickered sporadically for a moment, “I can not eat them, but I do enjoy baking them. Many I have met enjoy oatmeal raisin cookies. It is a delight to see their smiles when they smell them baking.”

The young Five just tapped his foot, his head tilting to the side as he considered the question, “I prefer chocolate, but after so many years spent alone with only cans of beans to sustain me, I’m not particularly picky anymore.”

jon saying that most of the other archivists went a similar way to gertrude implies that jonah magnus had a habit of murdering his archivists whenever they started to threaten to fuck his shit up. which is funny in contrast to how he presents himself as a enigmatic puppet master pulling the strings from behind the scenes when in reality the moment anyone starts to pose a threat to him he’s like “oh god oh fuck guess it’s uhhhh time for some brutal pipe murder”

I think.. my favorite think Elias has said was just simply “Be seeing you.” to Martin as he was being arrested. Because I know-- I just know-- he had that huge shit eating grin on his face because seeing them is literally all he’s going to do from his cell. The inside joke energy is so strong and I just love it. 

For Elias: Describe what you looked like when you were actually still you. What were you like as a person? What did people see when they looked at you?

Elias folds his hands across his desk, remained intact within the Institute as the panopticon stretches to the sky above him. Far above him is the body of Jonah Magnus-- his body. Seated at the top of the world, watching and observing everything. Preserved, still intact, though his consciousness moved through this current vessel. He was an old man, hair completely white though the hairline did not recede, thin, still wearing the loose shirt and pants he had put on that day he attempted the Watcher’s Crown. His eyes were shut, the lids sunken in without the support of the eyeballs themselves.

The current body, one such Elias Bouchard, was not much different, having been changed once Jonah took over. He was still fairly thin, but there was more of a build to this one, more bulk. He filled out the suits he tended to wear to work much better. His hair was much the same as well, slicked back, still perfectly in place, slowly starting to turn white with age and time. These eyes almost seemed to glow, bright hazels that could see for literal miles and beyond. He stared directly into the one standing before him, the one who had appeared to ask him such a question.

“I was a scholar,” Elias answered simply, reaching into his shirt pocket to take out a silver monocle and chain, “Possibly not much to look at, just another student passing through the streets. Unremarkable. But, I had a hunger for knowledge, a desire to see more. Things beyond out comprehension, outside of our understanding. It was what drew me to the powers that be, these entities, and eventually to Beholding itself. It Knows and it understands. I think... to an extent anyone who looked at me could see that. That I was beyond my time, beyond my age. They certainly kept their distance as if they did.”

He smirked, the wide smile spreading further and further across his face in an almost unnatural way as he placed the monocle in front of his left eye, “And they would have been right,” he said, almost gleeful, as he dropped his hand back down to the other, “I have not changed, nor have my goals. I believe one might have described me as ‘arrogant,’” he gave a laugh, “Superiority is earned now, isn’t it? Sitting here high above all the world and the fears that tear apart humanity. I am right where I deserve to be, what I have worked for.”

He leaned back in the chair, letting his hands rest across his lap, “Do enjoy your stay. It was a lot of work to get things to this state.”

Elias’s eyes are not gray in the sense that that’s the color they are. No, they are gray in the sense that they are old, worn, and certainly don’t belong in the head that they are in. The point of saying they were gray in context was just to emphasize the fact that they don’t belong, that they know more than they seem, that they are well worn and used. And....have been passed through honestly a few heads too many. The eyes are dead and grayed. The way a corpse starts to look the moment after death. 

Elias - 

>>005{ who watches the watcher? }elias.ic

>>005{ paperwork and tape recorders }elias.aes

>>005{ in the eye of a hurricane there is quiet }elias.musing

>>005{ servant of the eye }elias bouchard

>>005{ let us begin }elias.drabble

>>005{ the beating heart }elias.hc

verses-

>>105{ apologies for the deception }v.canon

>>205{ placeholder }v.post canon (dependent on the end of the podcast)

Jonah is a watcher through and through. He doesn’t have a particular opinion on anyone. No hate, no love, just interest. Curiosity. He has a desire to see what happens with the way people lead their lives, as he also has a desire to see them suffer. He can’t really blame anyone for wanting to kill him, though he would obviously prefer they didn’t. 

Ok I saw this post by another lovely rper and think it only fair to share my own thoughts on Elias. Their TL;DR is basically he’s the perfect wolf in sheeps clothing and honestly it’s true. 

Major spoiler alert

The very fact that Elias is unassuming from the start is EXACTLY why I love him. Literally, I didn't even think he was an important character until he killed a man. He wasn't on my radar in the least. But I heard him pop up in that room and suddenly it's owo what's this?? But unironically. But, if you really think about it, thats the entire nature of Beholding. It is a fear of being watched, but being watched is not a malicious action on anyone or anything. It is simply to be observed, to simply see what happens. That is the entirety of what Elias is and what he became. He was curious, he wanted to know what would happen naturally, without interference. That’s why he left Barnabas in the Lonely, he needed to know what would happen to him. And going forward he has that knowledge. 

Throughout the entirety of the show, Elias doesn’t do anything. Because it’s his job to watch, and he’s happy to do it, but there’s nothing truly malicious behind what he does. I truly don’t think he has any genuine feelings towards anyone or anything that isn’t The Eye. He has his interests and enjoys his work, sure. He was clearly born a scholar. But, he enjoys it mostly because it all ultimately serves his patron. Elias loves to do scheduling? So he knows where everyone will be at any time. Everything he does is with purpose. 

He is the simplest man serving the most curious fear. There’s nothing truly sinister about him, and I think thats the most fascinating thing. Because it rings true in the real world. The most ordinary people could be truly fucked up and crazy. And isn’t that the scariest thing?

Elias's eyes are noticably grayer in the whites, as if there was no real light to them at all. The kind of white that almost looks like there's no working blood vessels in them. It's something that is very clear if you are close enough to his face, a couple feet at least, to see well enough. But, if you're that close to him and are staring that intently into his eyes, the moment the thought crosses your mind he will push it back out. Typically when he does this he replaces it with the simple notion that his eyes are perfectly normal, so it's never brought up again.

has anyone ever betrayed their trust?  do they still speak to them? / Elias

Character development asks // open

Elias doesn't really hold other people in very high regard unless it suits his own purposes. Everyone is just a pawn in his game to get what he wants out of his life. Really no one is safe, not even the Archivist who he tries so hard to push towards the end goal. He's already left people to die who were supposedly close to him. Friend just isn't a word he really understands the meaning of.

That being said, the last one to really betray his trust, being Gertrude Robinson, the previous Archivist before Jon, is dead because she tried to pull a fast one and destroy the institute. Elias handled that as soon as he was able.

So the answer is yes. And no he doesn't talk to them because people who betray his trust don't really live to tell the tale.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖   /   𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒.

𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔.

name. Jonah Magnus Elias Bouchard

nickname. Boss, Dickhead

age. physically 47, actual age 200+

species. human / avatar of the Eye

𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍.

morality.  Lawful Evil

religion.  atheist 

sins.    greed   ⁄   gluttony   ⁄   sloth   ⁄   lust   ⁄   pride  ⁄   envy  ⁄   wrath

virtues.    chastity   ⁄  charity  ⁄   diligence   ⁄   humility   ⁄   kindness  ⁄   patience  ⁄   justice

known  languages.   English, Latin, scatter recognition of others depending on context but no fluidity

𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍.

build.    scrawny   ⁄   bony  ⁄   slender   ⁄   fit   ⁄   athletic   ⁄   curvy   ⁄   herculean   ⁄   pudgy   ⁄   average

height.  5′11″

scars   ⁄   birthmarks.  Birthmark on the back of his right shoulder, small enough to think it's a mole

abilities   ⁄   powers.  Limited omniscience - he is able to see and know anything he puts his mind to. 

Memory Insertion - can put any information he wants into another person's mind. 

Limited Technopathy - used only to affect technology within the Institute, changing them to suit his purpose or keeping them from working all together.

Body-hopping - Able to transfer to a new body whenever he needs to extend his life by removing his own eyes and placing them in the new body.

Watcher's Call - ability to call his Archivist directly to him from anywhere.

restrictions.  Limited omniscience - It takes concentration in order to see or know whatever he wants and is usually limited to just that one thing.

Memory Insertion - information inserted must be true, and he is not capable of "removing" information.

Body-hopping - His original body is his one weakness, if it is harmed then so is he and anyone in the Institute connected to him. 

𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔.

food.   Bowtie pasta salad with a basil vinaigrette

pizza  topping.   Pineapple

color.   Ivory, brown, teal

music  genre.  classical

movie  genre.  horror

curse  word. doesn't really have one in particular, he curses so little

𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒇𝒇.

top  or  bottom. switch

sings  in  the  shower.  no

likes  puns.  Yes. He likes when he makes them and knows the other person doesn't get it. He's bad at telling jokes really

Stolen from somewhere

Feel free to steal and do your own :3

thinking about what jude said in mag89 about eye avatars having itchy eyes and cannot stop picturing elias sitting alone in his office and rubbing his eyes furiously 

Ok, so I want to talk about this. Because it IS very interesting and an important detail about Jonah Magnus as a character, his whole journey and the way he's lived his life.

First off, it's been pretty much established that he is close with the Lukas family to some extent. They are-- assumed monetarily-- patrons of the institute. Considering the way Magnus began this whole journey and the fascination he had with the fears from the start, it's easy to assume he and Mordechai were on the same page, allies perhaps.

When he mentions that he retrieved the bones "when the time came" to me that sounds like he waited for that moment. Waited for the moment when Barnabas was no more than bones. And why? Because he wanted to know EXACTLY what would become of someone stuck in the Lonely. He needed to see it first hand, and unfortunately poor Barnabas crossed the wrong family in the end. Always pay your debts everyone -- But, I think Mordechai probably told him where he could find them, or at least let them be released from the Lonely. But Magnus was probably free to come and go as he pleased anyway.

As to why he keeps them, and where they are, again, what he says is "bones you can find in my office if you know where to look." To me, sounds like they are locked away somewhere in the office, probably in a safe or just a locked drawer or something depending on the furnishing of his office. Honestly, I don't think he's told anyone about them, nor would anyone probably even hear that tape. We have NO WAY of knowing if Jon even heard that tape. I'm under the impression he never heard it, considering that it would have given a pretty big hint to who Elias really is, even for Jon. No, the only one who knows that secret is the one controlling the tape recorders.

Does he told to them? Perhaps. I think that's open to interpretation. My own personal headcanon is that he's careful not to say anything out loud he doesn't want overheard. He's careful, he knows better than to spill secrets before they're ready to be revealed.

But if he did, if someone walked in on him talking to them, that would be the funniest thing in the world. But, I think they'd probably get fussed at or just leave thinking it was totally normal. Because, you know, it probably is.

In short. Jonah Magnus is more sentimental than he lets on, assuming Barnabas was more than just a simple friend. Either he kept them because he did care for him or he keeps them as a reminder. But, that's just my opinion on it. :3

So, I have a series of questions concerning what may be considered a weirdly niche piece of TMA canon. Namely, the time Elias casually mentioned that someone’s bones have been stored in the office of the head of the Magnus Institute since the fucking Victorian era.

For those of you who either didn’t pay attention to the old-timey parts of TMA or just don’t remember, here’s a refresher on how this shit went down: A man named Barnabas Bennett ended up in debt to Mordechai Lukas, a man whose family is notable for serving an eldritch entity which embodies the fear of loneliness. Mordechai, annoyed at not being paid back, Barnabas to a fucked up Lonely pocket dimension. Barnabas was the only person in this fucked up Lonely pocket dimension, but objects in said pocket dimension could be affected by those in reality and vice-versa. So, Barnabas sent a letter to his close friend and probably-lover, Jonah Magnus, BEGGING him for help. Jonah, being a bitch, didn’t do shit, not out of any spite towards Barnabas, or because he didn’t think he could get Mordechai to let him go, or out of fear of meeting the same fate, but because he wanted to see what would happen. Then, when Barnabas finally wasted away into nothing, Jonah went and picked up his bones, then stashed them in his office. Where they remained for like 200 years.

I have several questions about this event, which are as follows:

1. How did Jonah acquire the bones? Did Mordechai offer them to Jonah, or did Jonah ask for them?

2. Did anyone else know about the bones prior to Elias talking about them on tape?

3. Does he ever talk to the bones like they can hear him?

4. If the answer to the previous question is yes, has someone ever walked in on Elias while he was doing so? Has someone walked into Elias’s office only to find him mid-evil monologue while tenderly cradling a human skull and, if so, how the fuck did they react to that?