#the notthem

Thanks for the art someone made for the last poll btw??? Should I make these for each fear??? Could make them all sexy to the death at the end

Anyway

This is a rambled mess but I think it holds up, enjoy!

Okay, several of the early magnus episodes were outliers as the show found it's footing. Mag 5: Thrown Away is the most Overt, where there's no real Entity tied to the events. I never found it too jarring as it doesn't have any knock-on effects however.

No, for me, the odd one out is Mag 3: Across The Street. From how Amy and Graham act, to the actions taken by the NotThem. It sticks out from all the other NotThem and Web table statements we get, so let me spin you a yarn, and you can tell me if it can hold water.

Graham has a sad but stable life, his parents are dead, he's got a lot of money, and he takes night classes frequently. Graham has also had the web table since his college days. Mind you, Graham is apparently "A bit older than me [Amy], maybe ten years or so ... he was starting to grey at the edges of his hair. " So Graham has had the web table long before Amy started Stalking Watching him.

I've seen the theory that Graham's behaviour is to keep Amy interested and keep her watching, and I agree. I just don't think he's the one making that decision. The classic theory is that he's acting out on purpose because he knows the NotThem is after him. I think he was oblivious to the NotThem, and it was The Eye making him act for Amy's Avatarhood.

Whenever the NotThem has taken someone, it's quick. For Sasha and Rose Cooper, it was quick and without warning, neither of them even knew it was a threat. The NotThem isn't a stalker, it's a mockery to the deceased's loved ones. It wants to kill YOU quickly to make them suffer slowly.

So how did Graham know it was after him? He has no ties to the esoteric, a tentative link to Oliver Banks but they seem well and truely over before Oliver becomes an Avatar. So what clued Graham in?

I think nothing did, Graham wasn't being made paranoid and anxious by the NotThem, he was being tortured by Amy Patel.

Not on purpose by Amy, at least at first. What we know is that Amy never knew Graham before he was a mess. Ever since she was in his life, he's been a wreck. But we know he was a constant student, taking course after course. Maybe sad, but also not a lifestyle that you can have if you're an anxious heap. No, I think before Amy joined the criminology class Graham was Sad, lonely but generally sane, and most importantly, not being targeted by the NotThem.

No, the NotThem loved Graham. His apartment in the middle of Clapham allowed for a vast array of prey. We know from Sasha that the NotThem isn't tied too closely to the table, so along as the table is in a dense popular area (like London), it'll be fine. That's why Graham could have the table for years and not be preyed upon. But if Graham was being targeted by another Fear? If he were to die soon, what would happen to the table? He has no next of kin, a charity store? A landfill? That isn't good hunting for the NotThem.

In this theory, Amy is becoming an Avatar of The Eye. She's compelling Graham to be paranoid and anxious for her to have a "detached interest in his life." She says she wouldn't of stalked him outside of his house but I don't think that would've lasted, I think her avatarhood would've been solidified when Graham inevitably killed himself in his flat, with Amy watching the entire thing.

This would've left the Web table at the mercy of the landlord however, so I think the second the NotThem noticed Amy is saw The Eye around her and put 2 and 2 together around Graham's new behaviour. So it tried to kill her ... by pushing her into the road.

That was always a detail I found odd, who pushed Amy? We all think it was the NotThem but why would it? That's not its style, unless ... it was protecting its territory from another Fear.

The next time we see the NotThem is when it's a flowerbox, that Amy notices, but Graham, paranoid, "everyone says I know about the NotThem" Graham, doesn't. Because it wasn't there for Graham, it was watching Amy.

At this point the NotThem has realised Amy is abit to far gone for traditional offing, and Graham is eating fucking notebooks so he's on his way out soon. So it switched tactics. It pruned her will to watch by replacing Graham and starting to watch HER. She lost her joy of being the watcher and became the watched. It worked so well that when the institute reaches out about finding a notebook she turns them down. The NotThem scared The Eye out of her.

At the same time, killing Graham isn't great for the NotThem (we see from Sasha, Carl and Rose it doesn't keep bodies long if it can help it) so it'll have to move out of prime London real estate but atleast it can now control where the table goes, not a bailiff.

Tl ; Dr

So that's my theory. Amy was an ascending avatar of the Eye. Noticing her and the Eye's plan, the NotThem tried to off her to protect it's territory. Failing that it kills Graham to scare her straight and gain control over the table. This is a sacrifice because it'll have to move, but better than the table being abandoned somewhere after Amy gets Graham to kill himself.

Thank you for reading this entire Novella, I hope your nights are terrifying.

TMAtober Day 18 - The Stranger

[ID: a drawing of the NotThem from TMA, not currently being a person. It has long, dark limbs with several joints going in the wrong direction. It is standing in an unnatural pose, staring at the viewer with round, white eyes. It has no facial features; only scribbled-out darkness. It is on grass, in front of a brick wall. end ID.]

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