#OP is reblogging this with fucking JONGERTRUDE.

[sparky-is-spiders]

Alternatively Jon gives their statement to Gertrude when they begin working at the institute. She wouldn’t think much of it except that Elias has taken a personal interest in this random web-marked researcher, and you can never be too careful with the Web. Gertrude would kill him, except that she isn’t sure where Jon fits in his plans (no use getting her hands dirty and risking her own plans just to kill an entirely replaceable rando, especially if said rando can give her insight into Elias’ plans…) and so the old people start fighting over who gets to control Jon. Elias refuses to let him near the Archives, but Jon is curious and Gertrude keeps asking for “the nice young man from research” to help her (note: it takes a while for the Institute research team to connect these dots to Jon, who has never been described as nice or young, and who only sometimes describes themselves as a man (also I think Gertrude pulling her nice old lady act is funny)). She decides the best way to keep an eye on Jon is to gain their trust and respect (they are so obviously dying for an authoritative figure to tell him that they’re doing a good job that she doesn’t think this will be hard). Plus since Elias is trying to worm his way into a romantic relationship with Jon Gertrude figures it might be best to get there first, just in case Elias’ new toy can be used against him (it’ll also give her an excuse to spend more time with Jon in private/without any witnesses if she decides that it’s ultimately time for them to go).

Queue terrible unhealthy Jongertrude, where Gertrude deliberately isolates Jon from everyone (but especially Elias), works to make him dependent on her for validation and affection, and probably also doms him. It’s a lonely, miserable relationship (for Jon) but he had nobody else to turn to and she’s the closest thing he has to someone who might care about his wellbeing (even as he slowly comes to learn and accept that she really, really doesn’t). Possibly she also tricks him into signing an archival assistant contract (which makes Elias FURIOUS, but there’s not much he can do about it once the deed is done).

I think Jon should give his statement to Gertrude as a child and be so haunted by the nightmares it gives him that he seeks refuge in the Lonely. Like obviously he wouldn’t know what he was turning to (not until it was too late) but he should anyway. The awful watching figure he dreams of making him fear being seen, DESPISE being looked at completely, and make an already isolated and lonely child desperate to avoid other people and, well, Lonely. And as he gets older this would probably mix really badly with the gender dysphoria too, as well as worsening his aversion to eye contact.

And I think that’s when he’d notice the faint fog that’s always creeping around the edges of his vision.