#not-them

[wonderlands-ass]

Good ol' sasha and good ol' classic sash-..

.. sasha?

[heartshapedfangs]

Probably how Melanie felt after seeing Not-Sasha

[thatghostthateatspeople]

day 17! 2 hours late- i really liked doing this piece actually, especially the hand. The hair took a few tries for both of them buuuttt they turned out good. :D

[fabled-table]

TMA HC: "Somewhere Else" for those who aren't JMJ

I would like to think that those who became avatars through death have a special place: og!Elias, Michael Shelley, Helen Richardson, heck even Oliver Banks, Jane Prentiss, Richard Mendelson, James Wright, Sasha James and all those turned into the not-them, the victims of Maxwell Rayner, and others I probably forgot. It's not quite a heaven, a hell, or even a purgatory but a place where they are sent after their deaths that acknowledges that their lives were cut short in an unfortunate and supernatural way. That their bodies are still out there but are no longer theirs. They didn't get a funeral. They didn't get a goodbye because seemingly they are still there.

And above all, I would like to think that it is pleasant, even if just out of pity from the universe. It would be sad, yes--Michael who realised that he had been kept in the dark by his coworkers this entire time knowing that things could've ended differently, Helen realising she wasn't crazy, Sasha knowing that there was so much left for her to do at the Institute and watching as her friends/coworkers don't recognise her, Oliver who just wanted a night of rest, og!Elias having many regrets over how he went through life without any real purpose--but it wouldn't be like a hell. It's more bitter than sweet but it isn't torture. It's not an eternal punishment or eternal life. It's just a special place where they mourn what could've been. A Somewhere Else just for them, for the victims of the Fears who died knowing that a horrible thing now wears their identity.

[hffghhf]

Not going to lie, The Not Them is kind of an ass name. Like It couldn’t be referred to as the replacement or something like that? Like The Not Them isn’t an inherently bad name for the creature but at the same time, it just sounds very awkward.

[oceansreducedtoshallowcreeks]

archival assistant face claims/outfits

Martin thru the seasons

S1 MARTIN Tooth gap, braces, freckles, and a button nose. Ginger, with stubble and some scarring. Much more scars post S1. Wears glasses. H

Tim thru the seasons

S1 TIM Silver canines, heavy makeup, and a celestial nose. Naturally black hair, can’t grow facial hair. No scars. Stretches his lobes. Has

Sasha thru the seasons

S1 SASHA Dark skin, black hair, with brown eyes and full lips. She has a high nose. She loves yellow and sun themed items. Needs/wears glas

[avatarofthearchives]

One of the craziest things The Magnus Archives ever did was "randomly" bring up changelings in a statement about the Not-Them creature.

If you don't know, changelings are creatures from European Folklore. They were often said to be fae that would swap their inhuman fae children with human's children, leaving behind a shapeshifter who could (often temporarily) mimic the human child.

Sounds familiar to the Not-Sasha situation doesn't it? I think so. That's why I think this reference is so crazy! Because to me it carries one of two implications:

A: Since The Fears are based on...well, fear people's anxieties around the stories they've heard can manifest into real, similar, creatures.

B: We know things like vampires and werewolves adjacent wolf men exist in the TMA universe. So my theory is that these creatures already existed outside the fears. Then when the fears started to emerge, they claimed the creatures that aligned with them as their own. That would make the wolf man a technical werewolf, and Not-Sasha a technical changeling.

Personally, I love urban legends so I think either interpretation is really cool. I just really think there is something to a shapeshifter creature being brought up in the same statement as the Not-Them creature. That's just too much of a coincidence for me, someone who loves a good theory.