#elias fucking around with them and producing video evidence of him not being there at the time of the murder

[bigfreakinfrog]

Ok so I’ve been thinking about this for a while about Elias’s imprisonment.... So generally when people are accused of a crime they get a trial. and it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. Now: the only evidence that they had was the tape where Elias admitted to the murder of Gertrude and Lietner and possibly the tape where he actually killed Lietner? Unsure on that one. Yes both of those tapes could be prettyyyy damning evidence but you can’t really find someone guilty on just that. Elias could deny it was him on the tape or it was altered and I have a hard time believing he could actually be charged on both their murders based on tape recordings. Obviously AI voice wasn’t like it is today back in good ol’ 2017 but it probably wasn’t far off and I’m sure the defense could claim that the tapes were digitally altered. (You can make an audio file and record it onto a tape recorder pretty easily). So here are my theories:

1. Elias threw the trial and just admitted guilt. He wanted to go to prison anyway to get out of having to be around Jon and to instill Peter at the Institute. However, I think this is the least likely scenario since it’d be more difficult to get out of should anything go wrong (aka if Jon actually decided to die and he had to go to a backup plan). He probably also wouldn’t want to ruin his reputation by being found guilty. Sure being accused of murder isn’t a great look either but... lol

2. The trial keeps getting delayed due to bureaucracy/Elias’s meddling and while he’s awaiting trial they decided he was possibly too dangerous to be free. I did look it up and you can be imprisoned before trial in the UK if its determined to be necessary.

It’s possible that he organized something through blackmail to allow his court date to keep getting postponed. Also he could simply have organized with the police to simply hide out in prison without any charges (this is kinda like... a fourth theory but it wasn’t too different from the second so i didn’t make a whole new bullet point). The whole thing just for show. He literally didn’t need to be in handcuffs he’s just being dramatic

3. There *was* more evidence.

“All the evidence” does imply more than just the tapes. Perhaps they had fingerprints they could match on the pipe. Again with the tapes, Elias could argue they were spoofed and refuse to sign any confession. He also already is able of producing counter evidence through manipulating the cameras in the Institute. Fingerprints would be harder to dismiss but then... Jon’s fingerprints would also be on the pipe.

-

Anyway in my person theory number 2 is the most likely scenario. In MAG 122 we get this line from Basira:

Notably she doesn’t say he was convicted or charged. So if theory 2 is correct he really could just leave anytime he decides/speed through his trial and be found innocent should anything go awry. I find it interesting to speculate on how many backup plans Elias had going at once. Obviously all the marks were meticulously planned out, but even the best laid plans fail sometimes. It doesn’t make sense for him to allow himself to be proven guilty when Jon could kick the bucket and then he’d be stuck in prison delaying his ritual.

... Ultimately none of this really matters to the plot of the show I just thought it was interesting.

[leisurelypanda]

Here We Go Again chapter 4

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11776227/chapters/27061308

They managed to make an appointment with Michael’s ob-gyn, Dr. Whittaker for the following Thursday. In the next couple days, Craig was a bundle of excitement. He spent some time upstairs, trying to decide whether he should have the new child sleep in River’s room with her or whether they should convert the spare room into a second nursery. Michael thought that it was a bit early to be planning anything until they knew how far along he was, but he honestly loved how ecstatic the idea of having another child made his bro. He remembered his first interaction with Joseph and how he had joked that anyone with more than 2 kids had to be crazy. Now he worried whether he might be crazy himself. They had Amanda, who was in college. They had the twins, who were in elementary school. River would be 2 by the time he gave birth, she’d be starting to walk and talk and everything.

 He hoped that it was a boy, honestly. They had 4 girls already. And he loved all of them (especially Amanda, but who could blame him? He raised her himself), but he honestly was curious as to what it would be like to have a son (whether he was born that way or came out later in life). He could imagine Craig teaching him how to play sports the way he taught his daughters how to play softball (he only knew the basics about soccer, which was enough to kick the ball around with the girls). He saw himself and Amanda teaching him to be a rebellious rascal.

 They hadn’t told the kids yet. It was still too soon. That said, nearly everyone who saw Craig knew that he was even more happy and boisterous than he usually was. It was infectious, really. His personal apprehension at being pregnant again was mitigated somewhat by his bro’s enthusiasm. He honestly could not have asked for a better partner to have another child with. He knew, of course, that there were lots of people who had children later in life and were completely fine. But he had lived so long with the message that pregnancy was dangerous later in life that he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. It was a huge help that Craig’s boundless optimism and enthusiasm for the situation was so predominant.

 By the time the day of the ob-gyn appointment arrived, Michael was a lot steadier and calmer than he had been when he first received the positive result. Craig went with him, of course. For moral support. The official test echoed the over-the-counter tests and Michael’s doctor, Dr. Whittaker, did a general health assessment to determine the risk of complication during the pregnancy. Michael, it turned out, was about 4 or 5 weeks pregnant.

 “You seem much healthier than the last time you scheduled a visit with us,” she remarked. “I’m generally optimistic about your prognosis.”

 “So there’s no risk?” Michael asked.

 “Well there’s always some risk,” she said. “but I would say that your risk is largely minimal.”

 “See, dude?” Craig beamed. “All that running and working out is paying off.”

 “Your workout regimen should be scaled back, however,” Dr. Whittaker said. “Don’t overdo it.”

 “How much are we talking, here?” Craig asked.

 “30 minutes of moderate exercise at least 4 days a week is ideal,” she said. “Avoid heavy lifting. Avoid overheating while working out and saunas, hot tubs, and the like. Yoga sessions for pregnant people would be an excellent option.”

 They asked some a few more questions, when around the baby would be born, when they could find out the sex, dieting suggestions to help ensure Michael’s health. When they were done, she handed them a schedule that had visits twice a month every month for the first 6 months and then every week for the last 3 months. As they left the office, Michael felt more optimistic about the situation than he had in days. He was actually a little excited to be pregnant again.

  2 weeks after the ob-gyn visit, Michael decided the worst part about being pregnant, aside from the whole throwing up every morning thing, was that he had to limit his intake of caffeine. Which was sort of okay so far, since he hadn’t started feeling tired all the time, but he really hated not being able to drink coffee when he woke up in the morning so he could go into the world without hating literally everyone. The first time Craig said early in the morning that water was better for you anyway, Michael glared groggy, sleepy daggers at him over a mug of said water.

 Pregnancy sucks, he thought, sitting at his work desk bitterly wishing he could go get some fucking coffee. He was just tired. All. The. Time. Amanda didn’t give me this much trouble, he tried to telepathically communicate to their little hybrid bro growing in his uterus. Please have mercy on me.

 When he was pregnant with Amanda he hadn’t actually been that tired for most of the pregnancy. Just the last month or so. Which was hell, but that was expected. These days, the only way he woke up was by running to the bathroom early in the morning.

 He sighed and got back to work. And by work, he meant thinking up baby names for the baby because it was a slow day at the firm and he had finished all the busy work he had for the day. On the sheet of paper in front of him he had a column for boy names and one for girl names. The list of boy names was longer. Bryce. Dakota. Jeremy. Jordan. Aiden. Liam. Julian. Samuel. Landon. Adrian. Brayden. Bryson. Easton. Nolan. Hayden. Leo. Jayce.  Chase (the potential for puns would be amazing). Elias. Evan. Asher. Malcolm. Simon. Cameron. Mark. Hunter. Mason. Grayson.

 I should really go to human services and tell them that I’m pregnant so no one will be surprised by my frequent need to pee or see my doctor, he thought. That’ll burn, like 30 minutes of my time if I’m lucky. He looked at the clock. 2:30. Maybe I can just leave early to pick up the kids and go home. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

 Craig got home later that night to find no one home. There was evidence of the twins. Their backpacks were on the kitchen table, homework looked done. But they were nowhere to be found. Finally he heard laughing outside from the back yard and he went out to find his bro and tiny bros running around kicking a soccer ball in the dark with the porch lights on. Michael was carrying River around strapped to his chest, going a little more slowly than his girls so he wouldn’t exert himself. Craig just watched them play for a while. He could get used to seeing his bro and tiny bros running around together. It was a beautiful thing.

 Eventually one of them looked up and shouted, “Dad’s home!” They ran up to him and he knelt and grabbed them in one big hug, kissing their heads.

 “Hey tiny bros,” he said. “How was school, today?”

 “Briar ate a bug at recess,” Hazel said. “It was awesome!”

 “Nuh-uh!” she protested. “Hazel ate a bug and she’s trying to pin it on me!”

 “Hazel…” Craig said. “What have I told you about impersonating your sister?”

 “That it was impulsive and rude?” she asked.

 “Yes exactly,” Craig replied. “Except the exact phrase I used was, ‘don’t.”

 “I’m so proud of you,” Michael said. “Of your dad, not you Hazel. Don’t impersonate your sister.”

 Craig let them go and stood up to kiss his bro. “How are you feeling, bro? How was work?”

 Michael sighed into the kiss. “It was boring. I’m tired. I miss coffee. I looked up some baby names.”

 “Oh yeah, bro?” he asked, grinning. “Gimme a minute to change and get started on dinner. I wanna hear what you got.”

 Craig changed out of his business suit. Michael got out the paper with his list of names and read them aloud as he helped Craig cook dinner. And by help, he mostly just chopped vegetables to throw into the spaghetti. Craig listened and occasionally commented on ones he liked (not surprisingly, he liked any and all nature names). When he was done, Craig produced his list of names and they compared notes.

 “Craig, bro, babe, I’m not calling my child Forrest,” Michael insisted.

 “What’s wrong with Forrest?” Craig asked. “Forests are awesome!”

 “Until you get lost in one,” Michael countered, chopping some mushrooms.

 “Whatever, bro. Nature is cool. Nature names are cool,” Craig said. “And may I remind you of how we started dating in the first place?”

 “I’m not saying I disagree with you, just not with Forrest,” Michael replied. “And if you ask me, that’s all the more reason to not name our child that. Who wants to be named after the place where their parents first had sex? That would scar them.”

 “Bro, I think we need a third opinion.”

 “YOU’RE PREGNANT????” Amanda said calmly over the video chat thing. “Skype” the twins had called it. “POPS, I DEMAND TO KNOW WHY I WASN’T THE FIRST TO KNOW!!! Or, you know, at least the second. But why am I JUST NOW hearing about this?”

 “Well…” Michael said, “I was nervous about the whole thing so I didn’t want to tell you/make a general announcement until we were a few months along.”

 “I can respect that,” Amanda replied. “How far are you along, anyway?”

 “The doctor figures I’m about 6-7 weeks pregnant,” he said.

 Amanda nodded. “Yeah, I can see why you didn’t want to say anything. So what do you need my opinion on? I’m not giving up my room for the new kid.”

“No worries Manda Panda,” Michael said. “We already moved all your stuff back to the old house.”

 “Wait, really?” she said. “Then hell yeah the kid can have my room! I’ll have loud, obnoxious parties all summer and adopt, like 6 dogs!”

 “Nope, sorry kiddo,” Craig said. “We’re converting the spare room into another nursery. Briar and Hazel will room together.”

 “Well, as long as I get my own space, I’m happy,” she said. “What’s the question, now that we’ve gotten off topic?”

 “If the kid turns out to be a boy,” Michael said, “Craig wants to name him Forrest.”

 “No.” Amanda said. “My little brother will not be named Forrest.”

 “What do you two have against Forrest?” Craig demanded.

 “It’s kind of a boring name. No offense, Craig” Amanda said.

 “Thanks, Manda Panda,” Michael said.

 “We have to name him something nature themed,” Craig said. “I got a whole thing going with my kids.”

 “Craig, I hate to break it to you,” Michael said, “but most nature names are feminine names.”

 “So?”

 “So even though I’m all for breaking the gender binary,” he explained, “I also know what it’s like to be misgendered and I don’t want that for my kids, bro.”

 Craig thought for a moment. “I get where you’re coming from, bro,” he said. “I didn’t think about that.”

 Michael laid a hand on his. “We have plenty of time to figure out a name, bro,” he said. “We’ll figure it out.”