#snakey rambles about malevolent

[snakeunderyourboot]

Orpheus and Eurydice, jarthur variant BUT

Arthur is Orpheus. He can see again. John has his own body. It's weak and fragile, and John has no experience operating it. He stumbles and curses and whines that it's too cold, but there is no malice in his voice. He is happy - worried and frustrated, but still happy. More than anything, Arthur wants to turn around and help John, tentatively hold him, so they can get out of the cave together. He wants even more to look at his friend.

But the cave is long and twisted, and the longer they go the more tired John becomes. He used to narrate everything, despite Arthur being able to see again, but he has been quiet for awhile. So, instead, Arthur starts talking - he tells John about the first thing they will do when they get out of the cave. What food he will order John. How great it is to sleep in sometimes. How to correctly make tea. How he hopes they can go to the Christmas fair.

John stays silent. The hand - the one that used to belong to John and the one Arthur now holds onto John's new hand - is warm and sticky and Arthur hears the quiet dripping of something onto the rock floor.

Arthur talks about everything he can think of, because if he stops - he will turn around.

OR

John is Orpheus. He has his own body but Arthur still can't see. "It's okay" - Arthur says, his voice trembling with happy tears. - "You just have to guide me again". Arthur is injured and tired, but he keeps going right behind John, holding his hand with his right one. But the cave is long and twisted and Arthur grows more tired. It frustrates John: finally, he has his own body and yet he is still useless, he can't help Arthur in a way that matters.

He just needs to get to the exit. He just needs to get to the exit of the cave and Arthur will be fine. It would be so much easier if Arthur could still talk to him. He talked a little, during the first hours of the journey, but the closer they are to the exit the weaker his voice sounds, the less Arthur says. He didn't say anything for a while - and John wants so much to turn around and check if he's okay.

Instead, he continues to narrate everything he sees. He describes the twisted turns of the cave, the bats that fly around, and the beautiful gems he sees on their way.

John talks about everything he can think of, because if he stops - he will turn around.

[snakeunderyourboot]

I cannot stop thinking about Kellin

He showed up in the first season, talked crazy, had a severed head of his sister which IS Veldigun that is super useful now in season 5, sent Arthur into a coma which led to Entity becoming John and then just dissapeared

Like, we don't even know if he is DEAD. John didn't see his body and as we know if there is no body IT IS NOT DEAD(maybe)

Plus, I remember in the first season there was a quote from Jonh that because King in Yellow can't access our realm he has to use his puppets/someone who was already influenced by him to get to Arthur and John. And those someones were that weird granny, wraith, all those monsters, and Kellin.

In addition, Kellin disappeared from the narrative, but he was mentioned several times. Like the tape recordings at the end of season 1, the beginning of the dream in season 4. For some villain from the first season who isn't that relevant, he gets too many mentiones.

ALSO ALSO something that was mentioned in The Final Fantasmagorie Malevolent analysis video, Kellin was signing a song that canonically could not exist during the first season of malevolent. This may be just a mistake, but with all other info, it is a little bit.... suspicious.

So Kellin for me is another big mystery and I am 95% sure we will get some new info about him soon. Who knows he may even be Lilith puppet or somehow connected with her.

Can we talk about Kellin? I feel like we aren't talking about Kellin enough.

Honestly I'm not sure what else can I add about Kellin, but my point stands still.

[snakeunderyourboot]

You know what could be the most fucked-up, evil, messed up detail in Faroeverse?

What if, instead of getting stubbed like her dear daddy always is, Faroe keeps almost drowning? The lake in episode 9, the sea in Dreamlands, probably some frozen lake or river in Addison?

The same way the blade calls her father, the water tries to claim her but never succeeds. Always close to, always "almost", but never quite finished.

Wouldn't be even more fucked up if, in Faroeverse, Arthur was actually stubbed to death in some alleyway. Wrong decision. Bad timing. One mistake.

[snakeunderyourboot]

was relistening to malevolent s1 and the early jarthur are so funny

Like

they don't like each other, and they do not want to be together but the situations that keep happening to them are so bizarre, that they decide that it's maybe for the best that there is some other guy with them.

Arthur spends the whole season between being a detective and a scared wet kitten. In the second half of the season he gets his early stages of the murder phase, but it's probably nothing, it definitely won't affect anything, chill

Both Arthur and John know that John is probably some evil eldritch being, possibly a god, but John shows 1 case of human emotion and Arthur's father's instincts(they are not very good but they are here) are activated and he is ready to forgive John for everything. John is at first "haha I am so going to use this brit" - In the next second he is saying no to being a literal god in favor of being stuck with this pathetic human, said brit

John also is so funny, he has no memories and he has no idea where the fuck is he. He has some knowledge about the human world but not a lot, which leads him to kind of trusting Arthur to make decisions which is not his plan at all. He is trying and failing to manipulate Arthur. John is not human but there are some signs that he used to be human and he immediately jumps onto this chance. He asks to be called John and Arthur immediately agrees, which probably makes John emotional and maybe that's the reason he decided to stay with Arthur.

Both John and Arthur have NO IDEA what the fuck is going on, they just keep bouncing from one situation to another, and SOMEHOW Arthur got only like…5 scars. Why is he able to not get scars in s1 but not s5?

they also have no idea who the fuck are all those dead people who are somehow connected. All alive people they interact with are mad and want to kill them

Somehow they are alive at the end of the day

If we put s1 jarthur in season 5 they will probably survive. The biggest danger for them is them, the "fuck your eyes" divorce can always happen again. If we put s5 jarthur in season 1 they will either chill and relax or somehow end up dead, there is no in-between

[snakeunderyourboot]

sometimes I think about how the book that contained John wasn't meant for Arthur.

At any point in time, before it reached Arthur and Parker's office, anyone could open it. It could have been Noel before he sent it. It could have been Roland. It could have been the guy from the bookstore or a random customer. It could have been even just Parker.

But it was Arthur who opened up that book, it was Arthur who miraculosly survived and it was Arthur who managed to retain most of his body. Out of all people who held this book in their hands it was Arthur who eventually got John.

And sometimes I think how much does this fact matters towards John's journey to humanity. Considering that Kayne only talked about other Arthurs and Johns I can only assume that only they managed to get as far(or as far as they could)

Just....this idea that neither Arthur nor John were meant for each other. If fate was a little bit different, they would completely miss each other. John would be in some other body and maybe he wouldn't even be "John". And Arthur would be still in Arkham, working as an PI (even if he continue to do so)

They weren't meant for each other, but the idea that despite that they are ultimately perfect for each other. Because only if it's them they manage to get this far. Only if it's them they manage to continue their journey. Only if it's them they are on the path to becoming a better version of themselves.

And I think that this particular instance of them being two different entities that ended up together by a stroke of fate but despite that managed to carve something beautiful is super annoying to Kayne. Considering how much he states himself as the one who controls the narrative, who can change the location and time and fates of characters how he wants - THIS ONE moment he didn't change. It just happened. And we deal with waves that this caused.

I think it's beautifull

[snakeunderyourboot]

DUDE I cannot wait for John to finally talk about DarkWorld. We know about it from the very first episode and while many things changed during those 5 seasons, this idea of the world that is basically hell for immortal beings(or dumpster for all dead things? I don't remember the exact definition of Darkworld and I think it changed a little between seasons, I really need to relisten to the whole podcast and pinpoint what exactly is Darkworld, because I am losing my mind) is even more present now than before

To add even more, from the very beginning John helped Arthur not to die because he thought that if Arthur died, he would go back to Darkworld BUT now we know that it's not true! John does not go back into Darkworld if Arthur is dead which changes everything from their sort of unspoken deal from the first season. And yeah, while they are right now staying together due to their own choice, rather than obligation it is still super interesting how this revelation changes their relationship

AND AND lets say, that John's experience in Darkworld is the same as Arthur's dinner choice being Faust in the Pits. Both were done out of pure survival, both horrible actions, and both impacted them so much that it changed how they behaved. So imagine John breaking down and talking to Arthur about his time in the Darkworld and his little kingdom there.

ALSO YEAH "I will not let you drown" THAT WAS UNEXPECTED CALL BACK

Also that's what I am saying about their own cult, like I know they pretending right now to be a prince but if the cards call it - they can definitely play into doing their own cult. Either to escape some danger or to get info - how is that any different than Arthur's detective adventures in season 4( I mean like sort of going back to their own roots, and how they started)

I am vibrating over season 5, it is one of my favourite season and its only been 4 episodes

I wonder if. Maybe. Since we are back in an unfamiliar forest setting… this all might be a sort of mirror to s3? Or at least we are getting to one.

Back in the woods fresh off the cusp of death, though he did actually die this time to be fair, still injured but there is help this time. Arthur is still, despite it all, tentatively happy. Not like he was back in Addison.

The blood covered snow in the dark versus the green of a bright afternoon.

Last time Arthur was the most alone he has ever been, at least that we have directly been around for, with Yellow. A bitter partnership formed on lies and threats. Versus now, filled with a sort of hope for the future, not alone.

I just don’t think the parallel is unintentional. I just think it’s nice. Because there was so much hopelessness in that time—but he isn’t stuck in that anymore. At least not right now.

The forest is still isolating, yes, it still pushes off the path and leads deeper into a sense of uncertainty. But we don’t seem heading into the forest? We are coasting it, beside the path, but not on it. Still grounded to reality, not wandering aimless with no direction. Not falling deeper into it, heading for a point, not to be stolen away and tucked deeper.

Is that, perhaps, part of the theme of rebirth we have been leaning heavily on? Forced back into the unknown but it is better, and safer than it was before.

This forest is a place of security in contrast to the all the threats it previously provided because the situation has changed, the company has changed, their mentalities have changed.

They more or less know what they need, where to go, having a sense of direction and purpose. And I just think that’s a notably nice change.

[snakeunderyourboot]

Arthur Lester "I would die for you" VS John Doe "I would die with you"

[snakeunderyourboot]

we should talk about malevolent but soulmates au, especially in the context of Jarthur

Imagine the situation when your soulmate is not only some eldritch being BUT ALSO someone you have to share a body with. Also, it could be both romantic and platonic

like....there are many different versions of how soulmates work. There could be soulmate marks, or being colorblind and only seeing color when you met your soulmate, the timer that runs out when you see your soulmate, the first phrase they are going to say to you, some tatoo, or even just a name etc etc. All of those are potentially interesting, ESSPECIALLY if we apply them to jarthur

Soulmate marks, where Arthur left pinkie has a darker color. Or his eyes are. Or all parts that John would later come to possess have darker color. OR Arthur has weird scars that no human has ever seen before and could not be explained by any human logic. It is almost like they are divine in nature.

Seeing color when you first meet your soulmate, where Arthur has never in his life seen color. He has no idea what John means when he says that something is yellow, because what the fuck yellow even means. Sure, he knows that the sun is yellow or dandelions are yellow, but he doesn't understand. He would probably think that John is able to see colors because he is outwordly being so he doesn't apply by the same rules mortals do. And if it is true, what if John being able to see color is his proof that he is human, that he is no longer God. Or if it is NOT true and gods do have soulmates, what if Kayne or King in Yellow mention something about it?

Would Yellow see color? Would he see it with Larson? Would he see it later in Dreamlands, whenever he is?

The timer that runs out when you meet your soulmate, what if Arthur's timer is all fucked up, with strange symbols, that are always changing? And what if the second he picked up the book his timer abruptly stopped on zero? What if John later asks what the strange line of zeroes means and Arthur wouldn't know what to even say to that. What if in Addison his timer is back again to being all fucked up and Larson notices it and recognizes some of the symbols? What if after he has Yellow, his timer is also all fucked up?

The first phrase your soulmate is going to say to you, where Arthur doesn't have "Don't you remember?" INSTEAD he has "Arthur? Arthur!" because that is the first thing JOHN tells him after a coma? I just think it would be neat if the prase is from John when he is John, and not the Entity. You know what, we can even play it out to episode 43, where Arthur has tattooed the first words John says to him when he is resurrected. ORRR what if it's the first words John says after he has his own body?

In the same way, John doesn't have the soulmate mark until they are in the hospital or in the witch's lair? Or what if it is different, what if the words tattoed on your skin are the words your soulmate says when they realize they love you. Would then Arthur's words be "I suppose so" (when he talks to the King in Yellow in s2 finale) while John has "Because I care about him?"(from s4 finale)?? What if he only understands what the words mean when they are confronting the Witch?

This is actually my favorite variant because THERE IS SO MUCH that could be said.

A tattoo where again Arthur's tattoo is all fucked up, some weird sign that he knows nothing about. He starts looking, finds some mentions of eldritch gods, and decides that NOPE he is out of here. And then he meets John?

Or even just a regular name, where life is so much more complicated for Arthur. I would say homosexuality would be acceptable much earlier in human history if soulmates were a thing, but I would say he still would have a hard time with it. John is one of the most common names, but the problem is also that the name "John Doe" is literally given to people who are not identified. Can you imagine how long Arthur needs to search for his soulmate? And then in the hospital when John asks to be called by John and Arthur is just head in hands??

And you could say even MORE I just listed the most popular and the ones that come first to my mind. We should talk about malevolent soulmates au because this is an entirely new level that is so interesting to talk about

EDIT: also I did not mention Arthur relationship with love BUT we could play it out too. Arthur could be completely ignorant of the soulmarks. Or he could think that soulmarks mean only romantic love. Or both of these or neither or something completely different!

[snakeunderyourboot]

I love when the King is more assertive and doesn't view John anything more than his fragment, but consider

King, who after finding John expresses joy and happiness. Who cradles him against his chest, right where his heart used to be, where John used to be. Who holds him gently in his hands, afraid to accidentally hurt him but too scared to lose him again.

The King who plays along by calling John by his chosen name. The King who explains to John how they were separated, how scared the King was for John, how distressed he was. How he tried so hard to find him again, to bring him back home, where he belongs, where he can be cared for and attended for.

The King who gives John time to process information, genuinely promising Arthur's safety, maybe even rewarding Arthur with something for taking care of his fragment.

The King who gives John time to acclimate but still wants him to rejoin him. The King who has great patience for the many changes that John has now but still believes that they are one. The King who never actually threatens Arthur but whose kindness is so great that it makes you think how much worse his anger can be.

[snakeunderyourboot]

okay, hear me out

Oscar and Yellow

part of, because I think it's fun taking random malevolent human characters and then fragments of different eldritch gods and creating a new Frankeistain's monster of fucked up relationships and dynamics. Are they going to be worse or better than canon? Are they going to actually help each other or destroy each other? What choices would they make during their journey

another part of, because of the 𝓿𝓲𝓫𝓮𝓼

A priest who had horrible experiences with his faith and yet decided to stay to help others - a fragment of a god who has been through a lot of stuff and tries to save only himself now.

A priest who recently had a crisis of faith because of the eldritch encounter and a kind-of-betrayal-kind-of-accident with someone he considered his purpose - a fragment of a god who was told who he was before he could decide for himself and whose every deviation from what he was supposed to be were shut down immediately.

A priest who had encounter with Arthur Lester - A fragment of a god who had encounter with Arthur Lester.

A priest who wonders about the name Arthur Lester would whisper when he thought no one was listening - a fragment of a god who was constantly compared and pit against the same name, who was told by Arthur Lester, that he was better than him in every way, even if they had the same origin

A priest who was left behind with no apology - a fragment of a god who was left behind with an apology that came too late

A priest who sticks to his profession no matter what - a fragment of a god who sticks to what he believes is his only destiny

[snakeunderyourboot]

forever is going to be obsess with john's interest for detective work

like in the first season, during the first episodes, when Arthur is a little bit more himself and starts deducing everything, making logical connections, and being all detective, while John is looking at it, thinking "wow. this guy really knows his stuff". And the way Arthur talks about how he connected the events and stuff pulls John a little too. I personally hc that this was one of the first pushes for John to become his own

Then in the second season, when Arthur still relies on logic and his deduction to try and survive and John is furious because it won't work in Dreamlands. It is pointless, it is stupid and they should stop it. But what if wants to do it, what if he wants to keep analyzing stuff like Arthur, and try to find connections, but they can't because they are in danger and it is far more important for them to stay alive than solve a mystery.

And then season 3 happens, which leaves both Arthur and John so so tired and exhausted. Both mentally and physically.

And then season 4 comes with a new mystery to solve, new suspects, new evidence, and new witnesses. "There was a brief moment, where the prospect of your occupation seemed quite exciting". He is so excited to be back in the field with Arthur, now more experienced and he wants to solve this together with him. But his memory suddenly is failing him, Arthur finds new people to help him solve the case and John is so so alone. What was supposed to be their thing, is now not

And now they are in England but so so far from what John wanted....It is basically Dreamlands again, where logic and deduction won't work

All I want for malevolent finale is john being able to be a proper detective. I think he would like that

[snakeunderyourboot]

thinking about how Arthur(pre-John) chooses to use words as his weapon VS John who uses words as his weapon because he doesn't have anything else

okay stay with me, this may become too convoluted

we don't know much about Arthur's detective days with Parker. We do know, that in his duo, Parker would use intimidation as his main tactic, while Arthur would rather talk and figure out the rest from the response he is given. We don't know why Arthur liked this variant better: was it because he wasn't as intimidating as Parker, was it because he didn't want to hurt anyone, was it his personal belief or something else entirely. He did say that he would fight someone before (amazing lift conversation in s4 as proof) BUT I would guess that it was a rare occurrence. They were private detectives, so it's expected for them to get into fights. In any case, Arthur uses words and communication to either get the information, outsmart his opponents or to get something else entirely. Whatever the reasoning, he CHOOSES to use words as his weapon.

It is something that we can see multiple times in malevolent: i would say that now in s5 he uses the intimidation tactic because he has the ability to do so (he needs to process the trauma SOMEHOW). But even than, in s4 he talks to Oscar, in s5 he communicates with Horig, in the castle he talks with the guests. His first instinct is to talk to people rather than to fight them and he chooses this variant every time.

John, on the other hand, doesn't have the luxury of this choice. The words are the only weapon he has.

Coming back from DarkWorld, he is stuck in someone else's body with nothing but his eyes and voice. It may seem, that Arthur is in a worse position than John, but I would argue it's the other way around and the only reason why it doesn't seem this way is BECAUSE John is good with using the words as his weapon. He manipulates Arthur, he lies and deflects and purposefully hides information because that is the only thing he can do. He doesn't have a say in where they go, but he can guide Arthur into what he deems a better choice. He is a prisoner in Arthur's body and the only thing he has to defend himself with are the words.

But then, he uses words as a way to help Arthur. It is now not only about manipulation and lying, it's about calming Arthur down when he is scared, encouraging him to do something, and cheering for him. At first, it's another tactic, another clever lie, a little bit more leverage from Arthur, but later it becomes something more genuine. He is sincerely happy for Arthur when he succeeds, and he tries to find the right words to help Arthur. "I can save you the details of this horrible place" - John says to Arthur when they are in the Dreamlands.

The words are his weapon but later he starts using them as a shield not only for himself but for Arthur.

Anyway. The fact that Arthur and John are pretty similar in this regard, they are both clever with words, they know what to say and how to say it to make their opponent do what they want. Something about how they use the words against each other and to help each other. Because this is something they have in common and something that stays with them despite everything

[snakeunderyourboot]

rotating malevolent swap au in my mind like it's in a microwave

[snakeunderyourboot]

if we as listeners (and patreons) are some kind of canon to the malevolent - patreons do make decisions and I think even Kayne knows about us - imagine being Parker

Like you didn't live a spectacular life, but good enough. You tried to help people and you were good at it. At least, until you die: at the hands of your friend no less. You would think that this is it, the end, the finale, it was good while it lasted

Only it's not. Because someone liked you

The liked you enough to make art with you. They like you enough to create stories with you. They like you enough to want to know more about you, even though you didn't do much. In a sense, you were a plot device to something bigger and greater and yet for some reason - they like you.

The only trace of you they could see is in the words of your friend. In his descriptions and stories and jokes and in general your impact on this one particular person. It's not much (it is) but it's enough for them to love you anyway.

They want to meet you, to know your story, to hear your voice, and to let you interact with their other favorites. And they don't do it because they are evil and want pain (although, some of them definitely do). They do it because they like you, because for some reason, even though they never knew you, they are interested in you.

Oh to be a character that dies literally seconds before the story begins and yet to be loved by the fandom anyway

[snakeunderyourboot]

back when s5 started I had a WILD theory how everything was about to go, but with new information, relistening to s1-2 and me pondering about it in my free time - this is a Canon Divergent AU now, BUT LISTEN

RACE TO THE BLACKSTONE AGAINST OTHER VARIANTS OF ARTHUR

So my idea was, is that there is only one Blackstone in the whole multiverse and it constantly jumps between the universes. There are hints and mentions about it in all universes, but it exists physically in only one. To make it even worse, it stays in one place and in one time period and only for some time frame, before jumping into the next universe with a new place, time period, and time frame. Kayne was, along with killing his other versions, trying to track down where exactly Blackstone was going to end up and for how long. Unfortunately for him, not only it was escaping him, but he couldn't look at it, like he couldn't perceive Blackstone at all. The only reason he managed to find it and pinpoint was because he started looking at it's absence, rather than it's presence.

And Kayne being Kayne decides the spice thing up

Kayne throws our Arthur (and John) into the timeline where Blackstone exists (still Medieval England, in 1300) and gives him the quest to find it. BUT THEN, he throws other Arthurs and gives them the same objective. Basically, he makes a treasure hunt including 4-5 different versions of Arthurs, who are the best of the best. The one who gets him the Blackstone will get what he asked.

So, I was thinking apart from our Arthur (Canon Arthur next) there are Darkthur, Darkthur Without Right Hand, Anna Stanczyk and maybe another variant of Arthur, which was similar to Canon Arthur, but there was something different about him(sense of wrongness you know) (I am not sure about him now, but I still kind of like him)

So, now Arthurs would need to try and find Blackstone. Either helping each other or fighting each other. I was thinking that to differentiate one another they would give themselves the names of their favourite poets. I was also thinking about Anna actually being Faroe from Faroeverse but hiding her identity from other versions of her father.

I was also thinking about giving different names to Johns. Maybe Darkthur variant of John doesn't have a name, Darkthur Without Right Hand's variant of John is actually named Hastur (I was thinking this different version of Darkthur is John accepting his identity as the King). Slightly Different Arthur's John named Parker or Peter. Of course Jane for Anna/Faroe's variant

And now it is a grand adventure of weird versions of you trying to reach for an object of immense power. I wasn't sure how exactly everything would play out (Darkthur definitely wouldn't operate with others, Darkthur Without Right Hand would want to but couldn't do so because of Hastur, Anna/Faroe avoiding all Arthur Variants, and Slightly Different Arthur being the only one who cooperates with Canon Arthur). There could be mysteries about how exactly all variants' timelines are different, the grand revelation that Anna is Faroe, who will betray who to reach the Blackstone or will they try to work together, and whats the deal with Slightly Different Arthur. And the finale of who will get the Blackstone

Rereading this, and this is a WILD au, someone please write a fic about it

[snakeunderyourboot]

I wanted to write how Lilith should have had interest in John rather than Arthur, because she knows how is it to be fragmented and there is a clear lack of eldritch creatures obsessed with John but then I thought

Arthur Lester - a human, who somehow makes each and every eldritch creature obsessed with him

and John Doe - a fragment of an eldritch God, who makes other humans obsess with him(additional layer of him being KiY and making people mad)

which is like…not a lot of humans, but consider

Noel, who even though never actually talked with John, knows him through Arthur and only for a couple of days - after finding out that John used to be a part of the King in Yellow, the same thing that tortured him for 10 years, and yet Noel immediately forgives him

Larson, who wasn’t interested in John as John, more like him being a god. He wanted John to give him power, the same way Yellow did. He expressed more interest in John, than in Arthur

Oscar (and here we are going to headcanon territory) who noticed Arthur mumbling under his breath, who asked Arthur who is John, who would probably wonder after the incident on the farm, who was John and how was he connected to all of this

And now we have new CompanyTM and a hint that John is actually going to be the fourth one, after someone dies(probably Alia, but I am still in denial). And he would probably reveal himself to them. Probably manifested. And hm. Something about it.