'I am always here for a smug, manipulative bastard inflicting trauma on a wet cat of a man, especially if he can convince the cat that the trauma is for his own good.'

tacky_tramp, twitter

'As someone that started out as an NBC Hannibal fan, JonElias was doomed to be my favoured ship in TMA, the dynamic is basically the same. Sometimes I wish the canon show had leaned more into the tragedy of Jonah creating a linchpin for his own benefit, only to have the god he sacrificed two centuries and multiple loved ones to pick said linchpin over him. The creator being outdone and destroyed by their creation is something we don't do enough but is just so perfect. Jon, as the creation that is so much more powerful than Jonah, might be exactly what Jonah needs to be grounded and put back in line. It's the perfect ship.'

Jonah Mikkael, twitter, ao3

'I was not a jonelias fan until I saw how many cool people were writing and drawing jonelias and then I made myself get into it. I made so many amazing friends, and I really challenged myself in my writing. Truly, the real je is the friends we made along the way'

Ace, twitter, ao3, tumblr

'JonElias is really sexy. I like when Jon knows something and Elias has an on screen orgasm about it.'

Linn, twitter

'Jonelias got me pregnant.'

Rook

'They r everything to me. On god. Is it the knowledge there will never be someone that understands each of them so completely? The Eye is officiating at their wedding. Even the ugly, the monstrous parts of himself that everyone else fears, Elias would cherish and care for and admire and feed. It's the codependancy for me. Elias cannot see a world without his archivist and Jon relies on him to reassure and guide him so much it's ridiculous. And the meme potential! Office romance! It's hot! Dating that one guy all of your coworkers hate! It's funny!'

Mei, tumblr

'The reason I love JonElias is because I feel like Elias is Jon's soulmate. I truly think they were meant for each other, but Elias was evil before he loved Jon, and Jon never wanted to be a full monster. Elias actually understands that when it comes to the fears, it's either live miserably or survive. He set Jon up to either die or exist as the Archivist, but he at least tried to reassure Jon that he didn't need to be miserable, and that it wasn't his fault he was like this. And on the other side, Jon does love knowledge. He's endlessly curious even to the point of putting himself in danger. He was annoyed with Elias, but didn't ever seem to hate him like everyone did. And when he found out the truth of Jonah, tried to keep them both separate when he referred to them because it could return even a slight sense of autonomy to Elias, to respect that he was also a victim. I think they were meant for each other, but circumstances meant Jon could never love "Elias" as he was. And "Elias" was too deep in his plans to ever give them up. '

Freetobeproblematic, twitter, ao3, tumblr

'It's about the manipulation and the gaslighting and how Elias lies even to himself so how can you really know what he actually thought of Jon. It's about the intellectual curiosity and the daddy issues and how similar they seem to be at the beginning and how different they wind up being in the end. It's about how neither of them really KNOW how to describe their relationship, so they put it in simpler but reductive terms that don't match up with what they actually do. It's about how they're the "I could fix him" "well I could make him worse" meme at each other. It's about DEVOTION'

J. Quadrifrons, website

'It's the gay little classics nerd in me but I love the historical aspect. You can't tell me Jon hadn't researched Jonah a little bit when he got the job at the Institute. Do you think he thought about Jonah? Do you think he wondered what Jonah was like? Perhaps idolised him, a little? And then he finds out Jonah is alive, is the boss he Definitely Isn't (is) crushing on a little, and don't you think he'd be just a bit weird about that?'

Pitter-Patter, tumblr

'Ok. This is going to be a mess. Because they make me insane in the brain and I suck at putting insanity into words.

Why do I like jonelias? Tbh all you have to do to get it is Look At Them (bit on the nose). Look at this guy who spent 2 whole centuries building something without realizing he was missing one very specific piece, and said missing piece just appearing in front of him one day. That absolute wonder of a missing piece that he never even dreamed could be so perfect. And this other guy who went through (presumably) his entire life alone and misunderstood and then one day found someone like him. Someone that not only understood him to his core, but also showed him things he didn't even know he was missing. The only thing each of them was missing to be complete was the other, and neither of them knew until the first time they made eye contact (pun intended).

Because (and I'll never get tired of saying this) Jon could've never been made into the Archive if he hadn't had his own predispositions. If he hadn't had the innate curiosity that lead him to eat through piles upon piles of books and be brought home by the cops on several occasions before the ripe old age of 8, he would've ended up like all Archivists before him. And something tells me that he didn't really need Jonah's influence to become what he became. Because what made him always keep digging, what made him need to understand, to know, to See? That wasn't Jonah. That was all Jon, as much as he'd loathe to admit it. Not saying it was his fault of course, he didn't know the consequences his choices would have, but no one chose for him. Those choices were his own and I doubt they'd have been much different without Jonah. That's what made him so authentically perfect.

And something about Jon looking at Jonah and knowing that this is his place. After so long lost he's found it, this is where he needs to be, this is where he belongs, and Jonah looking at Jon and knowing that it's him. He's the one. He's what he's been waiting for for 200 years. So many lives lived and so many lives sacrificed and finally, there he is. And he is perfect.

He is perfect and Jonah has spent his entire life separating himself and putting himself beyond anyone and everyone and then Jon comes out of nowhere and Jonah sees an equal. He is his equal and he is like him and all Jonah has to say is join me. See me. Help me make a world fit for us and then rule it with me. And then we can both be safe. we can both be beyond pain and death and fear. Together. Because you are like me. And the sheer devotion Jonah shows his Archive, his perfect, perfect missing piece, his saving grace, is like nothing I have ever seen before.

Also something about how alike they are, even if you subtract the whole eldritch business. They're both old men at heart. Everyone finds them so boring and at the same time deeply Weird and Unsettling. They are both freaks. They are both weirdos. They are both eternally learning. They take their coffee the same way for fuck’s sake. And the way they just connect. The way they just seem to instinctively Understand each other juxtaposed to the way no one else has ever Understood either of them (them infodumping on each other- Jon hanging onto every word Jonah says because he just knows so much, and Jonah hanging onto every word Jon says even though he already knows everything Jon does and more).

It's all about Jonah begging Jon to See him and Jon begging not to because to see Jonah he would have to see parts of himself that scare him too much to even acknowledge them tbh.

They're cult leader/prophet, chess king/chess queen, artist/masterpiece, mad scientist/the experiment that finally kills him. It's someone giving their everything and getting themselves killed in an attempt to free themselves of humanity/someone giving their everything and getting themselves killed in an attempt to cling to it. Neither of them is fully himself without the other and they're both so terrified of that fact. And in that terror they spend years orbiting around each other like 2 dying stars (or one dying and one being born) until finally, finally they collide and their collision is powerful enough to start the apocalypse and end it.

Jonelias is about trying to create something perfect for you and then realizing that something perfect was there all along, waiting for you to bring it forth. It's about mutual understanding and the humanity in godhood and the godhood in humanity and revelations and sadomasochism and curiosity and change and acceptance and freedom and so, so, so much Fear. And they drive me fucking insane.

Also they could've definitely ruled the world together. They would've literally been unstoppable. But Jon's (very necessary) villain arc is another story, and I'll get into it at another time because this is already enough of a mess lol.

Bottom like: jonelias supremacy, thank you for coming to my ted talk.'

Lucky, tumblr

'If I were to pick one favourite thing about JE' it'd have to be how dynamic they are. Each season, their relationship with each other changes, and I honestly do think that nearly anybody who likes shipping could find SOME aspect of JE (no matter how small) that they find appealing.'

Iris, tumblr

'I'm trying to be coherent about them but it's so HARD. Okay. Jonelias.

It's about the intensity; when you're in a show which has such high stakes, there are two types of ships, I'd say. There are the ones which are all about remembering/keeping the "normal lfe", sort of, which are the canon ships we get, and it's lovely, of course, but then you've got the ships that beckon and call from the other side, the unnatural, the monstrous, that makes you LEAVE the normal, and as such are immediately given the same sort of intensity and high stake as the rest of the monstrous and unnatural going on, if that makes sense. Tha'’s what I love the most about Jonelias, how intense it is by virtue of who the characters are in canon, and how their relationship plays out.

THE ARTIST/CREATION OF IT ALL, THE PARALLELS BETWEEN JON AND JONAH, THE ULTIMATE KEY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEIR NATURE THAT KEEPS THEM FROM EVER ENDING UP ON THE SAME SIDE! At the end of the day Jon will choose the world over the Horrors, whilst Jonah will choose himself over everything else. And yet they're so similar to one another, they have the same drive and the same curiosity, they understand each other, and that's why of COURSE Jonah choses Jon; yes yes yes the web mark, but also he sees something of himself in Jon. He builds Jon up as a monster expecting Jon to understand him at the end. He keeps saying "us" and "our" and "we" because to him, Jon is an extension of himself. AND THE VERY END he tells him "good luck" because he might be dying, something he worked centuries to prevent, but he's dying at Jon's hand; Jon's his creation and his legacy and therefore he is a little bit of Jonah surviving.

Literally had to be kept apart in the last seasons because they were stealing the show in S3. That’s how powerful they are. They have such a delightful dynamic where you never ever feel like Elias is Jon's boss, not really; Elias has (on purpose) very little authority on Jon, per say, because Jon gets to retort and roll his eyes at reprimands and barge into Elias' office and Give His Opinion as he pleases, but you do get that Elias was and still plays the role of a mentor to him all the same. Jon still seeks ADVICE from him; he seeks help, information, advice, AND HE DOES THAT LONG AFTER HE KNOWS ELIAS IS A MURDERER WHO WORSHIPS AN EVIL GOD. 10/10, no note.

With that being said, the ultimate power of Jonelias is that, you take all this from canon, you look at them both, and you realise that, were they married in a normal AU, they’d be an incredibly boring couple who do crosswords on Sunday mornings and bicker about forgetting to do the groceries before ending up at the restaurant down their house for the fourth time this week, watch obscure documentaries on the weirdest things, and never leave the Institute because they both get caught up in their work until it's two a.m and they're like "...ah". Two academics in love, basically.

This is already probably a lot (??). Jonelias is so good. You can have them any flavour you want and it'll all be delicious. Good for Them.'

Elodie/RavenXavier, ao3, tumblr

'JonElias was a slow burn for me... I entered the fandom during the break between S3 and S4, and I knew JonElias was a big ship, I just didn't see the full picture of what was appealing about them right away. Over time, however, it grew on me, and as I started to write it, it grew on me even more, and by the end of S4 I was fully on the train and never left it. They have just given so much inspiration and joy over the years and I love to examine them from different angles, and I will continue to explore them.'

Anysin, twitter

'I just think they should fuck nasty.'

Anonymous

'I've always liked the sort of Frankenstein-esque dynamic of the two. The way Elias made Jon, in a sense. Elias being so markedly kind to him in the first season and the way they only are the only ones who really understand each other'

Cyril

'jonelias is enemies-to-lovers for office workers, i too would like my boss to promote me to "lynchpin of the apocalypse"'

dubbedcorn, tumblr

'so I started shipping bc I was bored, but then was like WAIT THEYRE ACTUALLY KINDA CUTE TOGETHER? EVIL TEACHER X STUDENT?!'

Anonymous

'Like many ships, Jonelias holds not only a profound intrinsic, but also instrumental value for me! Unlike many ships, JE actually holds the greatest value of them all!

Regarding its intrinsic value, JE has almost everything I’ve ever wanted in a pairing. I love the idea of a vulnerable and oblivious, yet skeptical and curmudgeonly younger man ensnared in an epic plot of the highest possible stakes. Especially when the one orchestrating his grand design is internally an extremely sexy eldritch regency gentleman body-hopping monster, but is externally a somewhat benign manager. The power dynamics could barely be more unhinged.

That Elias’ machinations were– from the start!-- leading to Jon’s inevitable corruption, destruction and rebirth (“becoming”) has made me feel like a crazy person for four years! Furthermore, Elias’ gleeful recounting of the unspeakable mental and physical suffering he imposed upon Jon is one of the most mind-meltingly exciting aspects of the whole thing. I’m absolutely consumed by the idea that Elias indirectly marked, scarred, and ruined Jon’s body and mind for his own ultimate desire.

In terms of what he did to Jon in order to prepare him for his personal use, I’m consumed by the entire campaign of grooming and corruption upon which Elias embarked. He kept Jon in the dark the entire time, and yet his victim would come to him for things like reassurance, wanting the man who warped him into something unspeakable to assure him that he was still human.

And as to Jon’s Elias-inflicted moral degeneration, I’m absolutely destroyed by Elias engaging in a bizarre kind of feeding with Jon, except with psychological trauma instead of food. This makes me insane. The fact that Elias uses this process to make an addict of Jon adds another level of ecstasy to the whole thing for me.

The way Elias’ shenanigans lead to Jon’s inevitable corruption blows my mind to this day. Despite Jon not being primed for pleasure, there are potential sexual parallels to the process. In some ways, Jon is a man prone to self-denial, but we see him devolve into indulgence in terms of his statement consumption. He attempts to resist, he thinks that he wants to– but then he admits he doesn’t want to stop, and won’t, and can’t. Tremendously sexy of Elias to do this to him.

On top of all of this, both men have mind control powers. Jon’s mind control powers canonically feel pleasurable when used on Elias. Elias’ could be easily used for any kind of degeneracy one might be inclined to come up with. This opens the door to some of the most sexually depraved concepts imaginable.

All in all, Elias molds Jon into his perfect terrified tool, and together they create a sort of “bad end,” a world that, to paraphrase the text, they have made; that constitutes their victory. It might just be the most intense and rewarding form of mental manipulation imaginable.

And finally, regarding instrumental value, Jonelias got me through the lockdowns. It gave me something absolutely soul-rending on which to hyperfocus. It got me writing again, and writing more and more regularly than I ever have in my entire life. And finally it brought me about as close to my friends, old and new, that I could get.

I love Jonelias more than I’ve ever loved anything! And it made me so horny that I was shaking and crying. At least four times.'

CaptainSwank, twitter

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