It’s Getting Cold Outside..

My favorite character interpretation for both Jonathan Sims and pre distortion Michael Shelley is that they’re a little odd in general even without all the fear entity stuff.

Jon stares just a little too long when makes conversation. Michael moves in a sudden jerky way that would remind most people of a spider moving its legs. Jon always looks a little too…stiff. Like he’s a porcelain doll sat against the chair instead of a man. Michael never walks flat on feet, he noticeably puts his weight on either on his heels or his toes.

Jon’s eye, hair, and clothing colors always look a bit dull somehow. Like someone drew him and then turned the contrast down. Michael’s fingers and toes are noticeably long and quite a few people have told him that he has the longest fingers/toes they’ve ever seen.

I could pretend this headcanon is profound commentary on their humanity, but honestly I’m just very fond of viewing Jon and Michael as cryptid adjacent.

Based on actual events

I feel like not enough pre-canon stuff with Arthur shows him threatening, scary and cold enough. One of the first things John says to him is about how cold he is. Arthur has been batshit crazy

I want Parker to be scared off him, I want him to me more mean and cruel while drunk instead of weepy. I want him to physically fight Parker

I want him to use his teeth in a fight, I want him to draw blood, I want him to be oddly cynical around dead bodies, I want Parker to wonder wtf is wrong with him, I want him to try and gouge our someone's eyes, I want him to try and take out someone's throat with his teeth, I want him to outlandishly threaten someone like he did The Butcher

People recognize he's got the energy of a stray cat or cornered feral dog, but they forget that they're hostile and violent. And he has been feral since he lost his parents

AND I want his sharp edges melting away around kids in a sad way, and then melting away with Parker in a fond way

I think that, despite recent events and the fact that Kayne has greater power than the King in Yellow, Arthur would still consider the King more terrifying. The King was the first eldritch being to torture him, and while Kayne has done a shitload of stuff to Arthur, the King has tortured Arthur for years.

But I think Kayne would be incredibly jealous and infuriated if he found out Arthur was more traumatized by the King in Yellow than by him.

Kayne: What...what do you mean? I...I mutilated you! I made John lie to you! I manipulated you into killing Matthew! All the horrors you faced in the past are my fault! I...and...those mean nothing to you!?!

Arthur: Not nothing! Of course not nothing! Kayne, I swear to you that at least 30% of my most traumatic moments are due to you-

Kayne: Only 30%!?!

Arthur: M-maybe 35? Look, the Dreamlands were rough, and they happened at a time where I was new to all of this. Naturally, they made a strong impression on me. When I met you, I had already been through the wringer, so-

Kayne: (muttering to himself) Damn it, Hastur, I knew I should have killed you!

“ough” is such a raw emotion i dont think i could live without it

I need other people to bear the curse of knowing that that "The Ex-boyfriends, collect them all!" audio fits the malevolent characters so well (here is a link but I couldn't find the original so woe, mcyt animatic be upon ye)

Larson: Beautiful eyes, great sense of humor! (Belonged to a weird cult and would always talk about the weird cult and eventually you realized he wasn't your boyfriend at all he was just trying to get you to join his weird cult)

Arthur: Aspiring musician! Forgot your birthday! Was secretly several dozen weasels in a human disguise.

John: Unemployed! Slept on an air mattress. Claimed he "wasn't the rat king" [or kiy] but then one night you followed him into the sewers and he sat down on a makeshift throne and a bunch of rats surrounded him and he definitely said "I am the rat king"

Noel: Never paid for you! Feared commitment. Said his favorite movie was The Godfather but it was actually Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Like okay it's not perfect BUT DO YOU SEE THE VISION???

OMG LMAO

"Where is the blackstone?"

Suspiciously blackstone shaped Antoine:

FINALLY I can post this sketch

So you know when Kayne is dunking John about his name in the Order Part II while comparing Larson and Arthur?:

KAYNE: God, you are so… unremarkable! Worthless, really. You know, I don’t hate many humans, but you – (He growls.) Look at him! I mean! Look at him! Look at Arthur. John – I mean, look at John! (Scathing.) John! What kind of Great Old One calls himself fucking John, for fuck’s sake! Do you not get it?

LARSON (quietly): No.

KAYNE: And you never will. You are nothing like Arthur! You still have your sight, for fuck’s sake! Actually… let me help you with that.

So I actually think Kayne is delighted that John goes by John. I think what he's trying to express here to Larson is why Arthur is interesting compared to him.

Arthur has an entity in his head. After a little more than a month (of which a month worth was spent in a coma) the entity calls itself John. Arthur reinforces this chosen identity.

Yellow, although having a rocky path with Arthur did have his moments of questioning things. He was interested in poetry and philosophy, and it's implied he might have had some of John's residual memories when John and the King came back together before John was thrown into the dark world. Arthur fumbled, but if they had been stuck together long enough there were signs there might have been growth. (Kayne didn't need that growth though and canceled the Arthur and Yellow reboot.) Also it seemed like Larson knew about the entity and was trying to put a wedge between them as soon as they met. From the start he appeals to Yellow's inclination toward power and godhood.

Larson has Yellow for a few weeks and he becomes the King in Yellow. Yes he gets some stronger abilities, but he has been completely encouraged to see himself as only a god. Larson is obviously manipulating him and they are not friends just mutually beneficial.

So you give Arthur a piece of the King in Yellow he becomes John. You give Larson a piece of the King in Yellow and he becomes the King in Yellow. Larson and Arthur are not the same.

And that's why Kayne finds Larson boring. He doesn't effect change, he just keeps doing what he needs to for power.

I'm not trying to pin all of John's character growth on Arthur. John had to develop for himself, but Arthur is a big proponent of why that character growth was allowed to happen.

So yeah. Kayne can make fun of John and also absolutely delight in it.

Stupid comic because I am really missing The Stand today