#elias vs time loop

[suttttton]

helllllloooooo, hope all is well sutton! popping in to ask about the Groundhog Day fic 😌❤️

groundhog day fic,,,, love of my life, bane of my wip pile

(for those of y'all that are new here, Groundhog Day fic is about our dearly detested Elias getting stuck in a timeloop between the unknowing and the apocalypse and becoming a better person via the power of love/agressively shaking him like a snowglobe)

my first draft is still sitting at 60k words,,,, mocking me. tragically, i haven't made any progress since the last time i gave y'all an update, BUT i do have serious plans to make it my front-burner story after my RQBB stuff is finished and posted

i tend to write in a sort of cyclical fashion where i will chip away at a draft until i have a decent idea of what i want to change for the next draft, at which point i make a new outline and start on my second draft (cannibalizing the first draft as i go; i do not throw away all of the work i've already done that would be crazy), and repeat until i finally have a complete draft, at which point it only needs some light edits for me to consider it 'finished and ready for posting.’ i’ve reached the point in groundhog day where i’m shifting from draft #1 to draft #2, which means i have most of the structure of the story pretty well in hand. awesome!

the problem is. the story is just so goddamn long. and it turns out time loops are really complicated to write because you have to keep track of SO MANY DETAILS. i'm trying to make my new outline but first i have to write out everyone's character progressions for every single fucking time around and what everyone (and i do mean everyone) else is doing while Elias is focused on Elias World. i've had to make like. lists of Ways Elias Has Suffered and Must Suffer before he can be redeemed. i’m having to give him memories so he can have flashbacks because he’s the POV character and he’s been alive for 200 fucking years and some of that is probably relevant to him. i even have a fucking jonelias map tracking their relationship over the course of the story (which is 100 percent necessary for pacing purposes but COME ON I JUST WANT TO WRITE WEIRD CREEPY RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS). and even putting all that aside, 60k words is a lot to cannibalize. even just reading through my current draft is a days-long endeavor???????

no worries though! groundhog day is far from dead! my goal rn is for the final chapter to be posted next August 5 (because that's approximately the day in canon that Elias called the crew in for his pre-Unknowing meeting, which also makes it Time Loop day!) i know that's still a year away, but this fic is going to be like 15 chapters minimum, updating on a weekly schedule (which means the first chapter would go up in april), and i am going to need. quite a lot of time to finish it lol

anyway here’s a little preview of Tim and Elias bonding(??) road trip:

Tim looks at his phone, and his look of cruel, satisfied elation fades. His eyebrows furrow. There are fourteen missed calls. Four from Martin, seven from Melanie, three from Basira. He turns away from Elias, holding the phone to his ear, waiting with concern as Martin’s phone rings and rings.

Then, “Martin, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” Tim’s other hand hand is scratching over the fabric of his jeans, a nervous tic. “Martin, I can’t—slow down, just tell me what happened.”

Tim stiffens, his hand curling into a fist. “Are you sure?” he says, his voice quiet.

Elias can see Martin curled on the floor, holding tight to what remains of Jon. He hears Martin’s panting breaths, struggling to get enough control of his emotions to snap, “Jared Hopworth attacked him. I’m pretty fucking sure.”

It wasn’t a peaceful death. Elias knows exactly how unpeaceful it was, can practically hear Jon screaming as Jared Hopworth took and took and took from him. He is missing vertebrae, a kneecap, several small bones in both of his hands, his left tibia, the bones of his right eardrums, three teeth, his left ankle, and many, many ribs.

Tim stays on the phone for a few more moments, then hangs up and casts tired, dull eyes to Elias. “Did you know this would happen,” he says, his voice a low growl.

“I can’t see the future, Tim,” Elias says.

“Did you know they were coming?”

“Would it change anything, if I did? Would you have given up your chance to hunt down the Circus?”

With a snarl, Tim punches the door of the car, then slams it behind him as he slumps into his seat. Rolling his eyes, Elias gets in beside him.

[djemerald]

My ‘sweetest’ Favorite 2019

もはやただのメモ！だけど、今年もやっぱりやっておこう。 ということで、2019年のスウィートな音楽をずらりと。 画像はアルバム・LP・EPのみの分をコレクションしてみました。 去年書いた「過去最高のスピードで世界中の音楽が聴けるようになった」のは、今年も継続中。 ただ、画面の中で自動的にレコメンドされるよりも、周りの友達に「これよかったよ〜」とか、「これ好きそう」とか教えてもらう方が、断然、うれしい。 ジャンルは相変わらずいろいろだけど、ジャズ的な要素が増えた気がする。（dublab.jpの影響か、原雅明さんの影響かしら、どうかしら） あと、今年はアルバム通して聴く機会が多かった、というか、その方がフィットしてた。もともとCDを買っていたときの感覚に戻ったようで、なんだかしみじみしちゃう。 そして、11月あたりからじんわりとミニマルハウス〜テクノに惹かれ中。シ��プルがゆえに、好みを見つけるのがむずかしい、でも楽しい。新しい境地。 DJ MIXはほとんど聴かなかったなぁ。音楽の聴き方って、1年の間にこんなにも変わるものなのね。 dublab.jpでラジオ番組をはじめたことも大きいかな。 ありがとう、グッドバイ2019年。 2020年は、審美眼を磨きつつ、軽快に。生身の肌で感じたい。 *アルファベット順です *今年リリース以外のものも多くあります *Vanessa Paradis、Marlene Dietrichは常時アイコンなのではぶきます ＊ - My ‘sweetest’ Favorite 2019 - ▽▼▽ ALBUM / LP / EP ▽▼▽ AFK & Bludwork / Loyalty N Service [100% Silk] Akira Rabelais / CXVI [Boomkat Editions] Alexis Le-Tan & Jess present / Space Oddities [Permanent Vacation] Amazondotcom / Mirror River [SUBREAL] Ambien Baby / En Transito [FATi Records] Ana Roxanne / ~~~ [Leaving Records] Anna Homler ‎/ Deliquium In C [Präsens Editionen] Archie Shepp, Jasper Van't Hof ‎/ Mama Rose [SteepleChase] Bartosz Kruczynski, Poly Chain / Pulses [Into The Light Records] Basil Kirchin / I Start Counting [Trunk Records] Basil Kirchin / Primitive London [Trunk Records] Black Boboi / Agate [BINDIVIDUAL] C.Tappin / Ashes to Ashes [Melting Pot Music] Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny / Beyond The Missouri Sky [Verve Records] Chihei Hatakeyama(畠山地平) / Void XIX [White Paddy Mountain] Chocolate Lips / Chocolate Lips [Sony Music] Derric Gobourne Jr. / Supremacy [P-Vine Records] Deweekend / Deweekend [OutOfStock] Dome / Dome 2 [Editions Mego] Eberhard Weber / Encore [ECM Records] Eleventeen Eston / Delta Horizon [Growing Bin Records] Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou / Ethiopiques, Vol. 21 [Buda Musique] Eric Serra ‎/ Le Grand Bleu (Bande Originale Du Film) [Virgin] G.S. Schray / First Appearance [Last Resort] Giovanni Guidi / Avec Le Temps [ECM Records] h hunt / Playing Piano for Dad [Tasty Morsels] Helena Deland ‎– Altogether Unaccompanied Vol. III [Luminelle Recordings] Holdie Gawn｜Micawber ‎/ Gleech Huis｜Parsec Telemetry [Sylphe] infinite bisous / Period [Tasty Morsels] Ion Ludwig / A Better Future To Long [Metereze] J!N /pink stm & wite ptl [Hizz] JAB / Erg Herbe [Shelter Press] Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom / Daytime Viewing [Unseen Worlds] Jai Paul / Do You Love Her Now｜He [XL Recordings] jan and naomi / Fracture [cutting edge] Jan Jelinek / Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records [~scape] Jeff Majors / Yoka Boka (For Us All) [Invisible City Editions] Joao Gilberto / Amoroso [Warner Bros. Records] Joe Tossini and Friends / Lady of Mine [Joe Tossini Music] Joseph Shabason / Anne, EP [Western Vinyl] Juan Hidalgo / Rrose Sélavy [Discos Transgénero] Kali Malone / The Sacrificial Code [iDEAL Recordings] Khotin / Beautiful You [Ghostly International] Kit Sebastian / Mantra Moderne [Mr Bongo] Leech / Data Horde [Peak Oil] Leonardo Marques / Early Bird [180g x Disk Union] Leonore Boulanger / Practice Chanter [Le Saule] Les Yeux Orange / Ghost Dog [Good Plus] Lifted / 2 [PAN] Liv.e / ::hoopdreams:: [Not On Label] Lloyd Miller / A Lifetime In Oriental Jazz [Jazzman] Loren Connors / Evangeline [Recital] Loving / Lately In Another Time [Last Gang Records] Lucas Arruda / Onda Nova [Favorite Recordings] Lunz / Lunz 3 [Curious Music] Mary Lattimore / Hundreds Of Days [Ghostly International] Mega Bog / Dolphine [Paradise Of Bachelors] Meitei(冥丁) / Komachi [Métron Records] melodiesinfonie / A Journey to You [JAKARTA] Molinaro / What The Future Was [Apron Records] Nadia Reid / Preservation [Basin Rock] Neu Balance / In My Life, I've Loved Them All [Budget Cuts] Nia Andrews / No Place Is Safe [rings] Nico Rico / Primitive Thinking EP [Not On Label] Nina Keith / MARANASATI 19111 [Grind Select] Nitai Hershkovits / Lemon the Moon [AGATE / Inpartmaint] Normal Brain / Lady Maid [Vanity Records] Olsen / Dream Operator [100%Silk] Operating Theatre / Miss Mauger [Allchival] Pejzaż / Pejzaż Remiksy [The Very Polish Cut-Outs] Powder / Powder In Space [Beats In Space Records] Priori & RAMZi / Jumanjí [FATi Records] Profit Prison ‎/ Six Strange Passions [Avant!] RAMZi / Multiquest Niveau 1: Camouflé [FATi Records] Regularfantasy /Sunsets & Sublets [Total Stasis] Repetentes 2008 / Galaxia Fini [Superconscious Records] Repetentes 2008 / Gelo Gerônimo [Gop Tun] RIP Swirl / 9TEEN90 [Public Possession] Robert Minden Ensemble / Long Journey Home [Otter Bay Recordings] Robert Minden Ensemble / The Boy Who Wanted To Talk To Whales [Otter Bay Recordings] Robert Minden Ensemble / Whisper in My Ear [Otter Bay Recordings] Robert Wyatt / Shleep [Domino] Rupert Clervaux / After Masterpieces [Whities] Santilli / Surface [Into The Light Records] Sarah Davachi / Pale Bloom [W.25th] Sebastian Gandera / Le Raccourci [Efficient Space] Simone De Kunovich / Mondo Nuovo Vol. 1 [Superconscious Records] Sipprell / I Could Be Loved [Sipprell] Sonia Sanchez / Full Moon Of Sonia [VIA International Artists] Sonny Sharrock / Black Woman [Vortex Records] Soundwalk Collective / What We Leave Behind | Jean-Luc Godard Archives [mAtter] Sparrows / Berries [flau] St. Joseph / Player Nr. 1 EP [Dokutoku Records] Stephen Steinbrink ‎/ Utopia Teased [Western Vinyl/Melodic Records] Takayuki Shiraishi / Missing Link [Studio Mule] Tamaryn / Dreaming The Dark [Dero Arcade] Teebs / Anicca [Brainfeeder] Teiji Ito / Music For Maya [Tzadik] The Caretaker / An empty bliss beyond this World [History Always Favours The Winners] Tim Hecker / Anoyo [Kranky] Tujiko Noriko / Kuro(OST) [PAN] Unknown Mobile / Daucile Moon [Pacific Rhythm] Vanishing Twin / The Age of Immunology [Fire Records] Various ‎/ I Am The Center (Private Issue New Age Music In America, 1950-1990) [Light In The Attic] Various / Visible & Invisible Persons Distributed In Space [Numero Group] Various / Wys! V&a Ep [WYS! Recordings] Various / زمان يا سكر = Zamaan Ya Sukkar - Exotic Love Songs And Instrumentals From The Egyptian 60’s [Radio Martiko] Various Artists / 4 Down [Deek Recordings] Various Artists / Turkish Hamam House Disco [Arsivplak] Viola Klein / A Passport And A Visa Stamped By The Holy Ghost [Meakusma] Violet / Togetherness [Togetherness] Voices In Latin / Voices In Latin [Morgan] Wilson Tanner / II [Efficient Space] Yasuaki Shimizu / Music For Commercials [Crammed Discs] Yohuna / Mirroring [fear of missing out records] Yoshiharu Takeda / Aspiration [METANESOS Records] Yoshinori Hayashi / γ [Smalltown Supersound] Zenit / Straight Ahead [P-Vine Records] 元ちとせ / 元唄 幽玄 ～元ちとせ 奄美シマ唄REMIX～ (Remixes) [Au(g)tunes] 孔雀眼 JADE EYES / 渴望 [香港商黑市音樂股份有限公司台灣分公司] ∞σ / DG Hadi [Hizz] ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ / ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლのʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(ƟӨ)ʃ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡ ꐑ(ཀ ඊູ ఠీੂ೧ູ࿃ूੂ✧ළඕั࿃ूੂ࿃ूੂੂ࿃ूੂළඕั✧ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ɵੂ≢࿃ूੂ೧ູఠీੂ ඊູཀ ꐑ(ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(ƟӨ)ʃ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡ [༈೧ູ≢)ꐑʅ(Ɵↂↂ. l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡| ̲̲͡ π̲̲͡͡.̸̸̨̨ ఠీੂ)༼ू༈೧ູ࿃ूੂ༽(ଳծູ l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡| ̲̲͡ π̲̲͡͡ ɵੂ≢)_̴ı ̡͌ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ꐑ*:･✧(ཽ๑ඕัළඕั)ꐑʅ(Ɵↂ๑)✧*:･ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡| ̲̲͡ π̲̲͡͡.̸̸̨̨ ఠీੂ)༼ू༈೧ູʅ(ƟӨ)ʃ ꐑ(ཀ ඊູ ఠీੂ)༼ू༈೧ູ࿃ूੂ༽(ଳծູɵੂ≢ↂ. l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡.]

▽▼▽ SONG ▽▼▽ Akis / New Age Rising (Part VIII) [Into The Light Records] Anatolian Weapons / Ofiodaimon (Tolouse Low Trax vs Anatolian Weapons Remix) [Beats In Space Records] Anna Karina / Pierrot Le Fou-Jamais Je Ne T'Ai Dit Que Je T'Aimerai Toujours (いつまでも愛するとは言わなかった) [Barclay] Baba Stiltz / Showtime [XL Recordings] Bartosz Kruczyński / Pastoral Sequences [Growing Bin Records] Beatrice Dillon / Workaround Two [PAN] Bee Gees / How Deep Is Your Love [RSO] Bell Biv DeVoe ‎/ Poison [MCA Records] Betonkust, Palmbomen II / Rejected Demo Tape [Dekmantel] Blue Gas / Shadows From Nowhere [Archeo / Best Record] Bobby Hutcherson / Tranquillity [Blue Note] Bohren & und Club of Gore - Karin [[PIAS] Recordings] Cécile McLorin Salvant / One Step Ahead [Mack Avenue Records] Cigarettes After Sex / Heavenly [Partisan Records] Cleaners From Venus / Corridor of Dreams [Man At The Off Licence] De Beren Gieren / Broensgebuzze 8.2 [Sdban Ultra] Dolphins Into The Future & Lieven Marten Moana / Lava (Long Version) [Edições Cn] DOS / Need U [Nerang Recordings] Dove, Le Makeup / Angel Diaries [Pure Voyage] Duval Timothy / DYE [NTS Radio] Eliza Dickson, Braxton Cook, Lauren Desberg / Gold [Tokyo Dawn Records] Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch / End Scene [130701 (FatCat Records)] Empress Of / When I’m With Him (Perfume Genius Cover) [Terrible Records] Fafá de Belém / Aconteceu Você [Som Livre] Gary Burton / Las Vegas Tango [Atlantic] Hanne Mjøen / Sounds Good To Me [Spinnin' Deep] Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣) / 薔薇と野獣(New ver.) [Speedstar] Jay Som / Superbike [Lucky Number] John Cameron / Half-Forgotten Daydreams [KPM Music] John McLaughlin, Mahavishnu Orchestra / You Know, You Know [Columbia] Joni Mitchell / Shine [Hear Music] Karen Gwyer / Ian on Fire [Don't Be Afraid] Kelsey Lu / I’m Not In Love [Columbia] Klein Zage / Womanhood (DJ Python Remix) [Orphan Records] Kllo - Back To You [PLANCHA] Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, Jesse Paris Smith / Lotus Born, No Need to Fear [Smithsonian Folkways] Laurie Spiegel / The Unquestioned Answer [Unseen Worlds] Leon Vynehall / I, Cavallo [Ninja Tune] Lucrecia Dalt / Tar (Jan Jelinek Remix) [Rvng Intl.] mabanua / Call on Me feat. Chara (Knxwledge Remix) [Lawson Entertainment] Madeline Kenney / Nick of Time [Not On Label] Marc Johnson, Eliane Elias / Swept Away [ECM Records] Marcella Bella / Nell'aria [CBS] Mary Lou Williams / It Ain’t Necessarily So [Jazzman] Matthew Halsall, The Gondwana Orchestra, Josephine Oniyama / Into Forever (feat. Josephine Oniyama) [Gondwana Records] Mehmet Aslan / Beat Two Chase [Highlife] Mehmet Aslan / Lobster Is Coincidence [Planisphere Music] Men I Trust / I Hope to Be Around [Men i Trust] Michael Andrews / I’m Not Following You [Everloving] millennium parade / Plankton [PERIMETRON] Murlo / Ferment (Yamaneko’s Flashback) [Coil Records] Noname / Self [Not On Label] Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Mustt Mustt (Massive Attack Remix) [‎Real World Records] O Terno / volta e meia [Risco] Octo Octa / I Need You [Technicolour] Ralph Tresvant / Sensitivity [MCA Records] Ratna Das / Rajuan Bulan [Rice Records] Roberto Musci / The Advent of Rose + Croix [Les Disques Victo] Ronald Langestraat / Lowdown [South of North] Salami Rose Joe Louis / Nostalgic Montage [Brainfeeder] Simon Hinter / Makros [Purveyor Underground] SKRS / Dub Shoulda Known [Ancient Monarchy] Smoke Trees / Man in the Moon [Urban Waves Records] Steve Hauschildt ‎/ Strands [Kranky] Tash Sultana / Salvation [Mom + Pop] Tei Shi / Even If It Hurts (feat. Blood Orange) [Downtown] The Golden Filter / Autonomy [4GN3S] Tyme./Tatsuya Yamada / Catch A Fire [astrollage] Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Hanoi 6 [Jagjaguwar] Will Saul / Room 9 [Aus Music] WONK / Sweeter, More Bitter [EPISTROPH] Yo La Tengo / Eight Candles [Verve Forecast] ギターウルフ / バッテラ惑星 [GuitarWolf Records] ちあきなおみ / 泣かせるぜ [TEICHIKU ENTERTAINMENT] んoon / Gum [Flake Sounds] 近田春夫 / 超冗談だから [Victor Entertainment] 佐藤千亜妃 / Lovin' You [EMI Records] 小沢健二 / 彗星 [Universal Music] 大貫妙子 / タンタンの冒険 [Dear Heart] 中原理恵 / ヒーローはあなた [CBS/Sony] 優河 / June [P-Vine Records] (Sandy) Alex G / So [Lucky Number] ▽▼▽ DJ / LIVE ▽▼▽ Sapphire Slows at SUPER DOMMUNE [28 Nov] Nia Andrews at Blue Note Tokyo [31 Oct] Julianna Barwick / Mary Lattimore / DJ Shhhhh at Shibuya WWW ［1 Jul］ Meakusma X dublab.jp at Shimokitazawa Cage LỒNG VÀ QUÁN [28 Apr] 東京楽所第12回定期公演「奉祝の雅楽」 at サントリーホール［2 Feb］ 12月25日のdublab.jpの番組《In Every Second Dream》内で、一部楽曲をON AIRしたのでそちらも是非◎ アーカイヴはこちらから↓

愛を込めてxxx DJ Emerald

[mittensmorgul]

6.18, Frontierland.

heck I love this episode too. I love a good number of s6 episodes individually, but I especially love the ones that actually make narrative sense together, and this is definitely one of them...

Of course, Dabb knows his themes, and the major ones are literally all over this episode. Things from Dabb Era that he spent pages on in this episode:

-the never-ending loop, fate vs free will, being trapped in a narrative despite attempting to write your own destiny, the Colt as potential to break that cycle but always falling just short of being the Magical Fix Everything Gun:

SAM But you're a hunter. SAMUEL COLT Retired. SAM There's no such thing. SAMUEL COLT I'm out. SAM There is no getting out. Look, for what it's worth, in my time, you're a hero. SAMUEL COLT Me? SAM Yes, sir. [...] SAMUEL COLT (nods) Not bad. (Samuel opens his jacket so Sam can see the colt in his holster) You don't want it. It's a curse. Believe me. SAM Great. Then let me take it off your hands. SAMUEL COLT You go put on a few more miles and come back, and we'll talk. SAM Trust me, I've got plenty of mileage. SAMUEL COLT I'm doing you a favor. Believe me. SAM So, what? You can really just sit there? SAMUEL COLT I've given my whole life to this. I'm done. SAM So it doesn't matter what happens. SAMUEL COLT No, it doesn't. SAM So everything you did, it all means nothing? Give me the gun.

(Sam proves his worthiness to use the Colt, but still believes this might magically be the solution to their problems-- indirectly, using the Colt to get an even more impossible ingredient of phoenix ashes)

and

BOBBY Cas, you -- you look like you went 12 rounds with truckasaurus. What happened? CASTIEL I was, uh...I was betrayed. Rachel, uh...Raphael...He corrupted her. She turned on me. BOBBY Sorry. Girl's a real... peach. CASTIEL She's... dead. I... was wounded. I needed... safety. Thank you. (He tries to get up from the couch, coughs and grunts, Bobby pushes him back down) BOBBY Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey. What's with the finger painting? CASTIEL It's a warding symbol against angels. BOBBY How bad's it hurt? CASTIEL I'll heal. BOBBY Well, good...'Cause we got less than an hour before you pick up the kids at Frontierland. CASTIEL I can't.

(We see the first glimpse of just how shady whatever Cas has been up to all season really is, that even his closest allies in Heaven were unaware of his machinations and when they learn the truth they threaten to abandon his side because the plan was That Horrific, and yet he persists, reframing their reaction as "betrayal" and his actions as just. He's attempting to author this season the way Chuck had before, and Metatron will in s9, and Billie has been biding her time on since s11... but Cas doesn't even understand how much he's actually being manipulated by the larger cosmic plan yet, to his own detriment... It will take YEARS for him to recover from this)

and

ELIAS Open up that cell. DEAN Open it yourself. You melt people's faces off. I'll bet you got the juice to tear that apart easy, don't you? Unless you can't. Just like you couldn't break those cuffs when they strung you up. (Dean throws the iron nail he's holding at Elias, who catches it by reflex) ELIAS Aah. (he drops the nail and his hand smolders) DEAN Iron shackles...iron bars, iron nail. See a pattern? Don't worry. Most creatures I meet can't get it up for iron. It's a common monster problem. ELIAS So you're a hunter. DEAN Slash sheriff. ELIAS You know what this son of a bitch did? DEAN Do tell. ELIAS I was married to a woman. Good woman -- human. We lived outside of town, didn't bother anyone. DEAN Sure, freak with a heart of gold. ELIAS You want to call me "monster," fine. But all we did was go into town. I go into the bank for five minutes. I come out, she's gone. And then I heard her scream. (Exhales sharply) This... man had her pinned in the alley. I go to stop him, he pulls his gun, shoots me, then her. She died in my arms. 'Course, I don't die. The shots brought the Sheriff. Next thing I know, I'm in iron. That's why I want him just where he is -- trapped, scared. I saved the best for last. DEAN (to the deputy)Is that true? ELIAS So tell me -- are you really willing to die to protect this piece of filth? DEAN Honestly, I could care less about him. He's a dick and a coward. DEPUTY Hey! DEAN But this ain't about him. I know what you are. ELIAS Really? DEAN Yeah. So...I got to kill you. ELIAS Well, if you know what I am, then you know you can't. (Elias grabs the deputy's gun from where his holster hangs on the wall and shoots the deputy) DEAN Wow, I should've seen that coming.

(Dean, as always, the perfect mixture of complete understanding combined with his inability to see the bigger picture until he stumbles over the edge of his own intuition into the region of the narrative that's being deliberately manpulated by an outside force he can't even see yet, by the specific design of that outside force... every time he gets to a point where he can see victory, there's another roadblock thrown in his way that forces him back into the narrative circle. Oh, and the Magic Gun can't possibly solve all their problems, but believing it can and putting his trust in the weapon leave him hanging out to dry more often than not...)

[pixie-unger]

The Tailors

Not part of The Raid, but in the same universe.  I was trying something and it went too long without actually contributing to the plot.  On AO3, I have a story collection called the Discard Pile.  This would end up there.  Or here.  IF you are interested.  SFW - with appropriately used Anglo-saxon words (aka: mild swearing)

Raj-ak and Elias were helping Zira shop for Yule gifts.  Raj-ak believed that it was Ural punishing him for upsetting her daughter.  They had been in all of the shops in Willowdale.  Zira, under a certain amount of suffrage, was allowing them to carry her purchases.  The discussion had focused on how being pregnant was not the same as being sick vs orc’s tendency to worship pregnant women as signs of their tribe’s virility. They had to invoke Jivvaar’s name to make this happen, but she had eventually agreed.  

That wasn’t the problem.  No the problem was, she kept asking their opinions on things.

Things neither of them wanted to comment on.

Like did this dress make her hips look big.

Or was this too tight over her bust.

Or would this fabric be good for making underthings.

The answers that neither orc was willing to give her were:

Yes! And it is a damn sexy look on you!

Instead what she got was:

*incoherent mumbling followed by careful trouser adjustment*

*blushing and careful examination of the floor and/or ceiling*

*raising of eyebrows as they realized exactly how soft and sheer the fabric was*

Finally, Zira crossed her arms, “You two are precisely no help!”

Elias cleared his throat, then rumbled, “I thought we were here to choose a Yule gift for Jivvaar.”

Zira nodded.  “And find me human sized pregnancy clothes.”

Elias considered this.  “Jivvaar didn’t mention that.  He said we were to keep you from getting stoled again.”

Zira stared at him.

“Only, cuz, he didn’t want you getting snatched.  Or bumped.  Or groped.  Or harassed.  Or cheated.  Or-”

“There was a list of concerns.” Raj-ak finished.  “Jivvaar is very… protective of you.”

Now Zira looked down, but her ears turned red.  “Um… OK.  Let’s just pack up and go then.”

“You need pretty lacy things first.” Elias said firmly.  “Ural said humies don’t always like fertile women.  Said we needed to take care of you.  Just didn’t think she meant …”  He trailed off and gestured at the wall of fabric.  Zira nodded without looking up.  Elias waved over the fabric merchant, “Ya got any of that stuff made of worm shit?”

Zira’s head snapped up.  “What?”

The merchant cleared his throat.  “I have two bolts of silk in store just now, but it is very expensive.”

Elias nodded.  “That-” he pointed firmly at Zira, “is an orcish princess.  What colour is your bolts?”

It turned out one was golden yellow and one was pink, having been dyes with yellow and red onion skins respectively.  The merchant named his price.  

Raj-ak and Elias frowned at him.  He dropped it by a third.  Elias shrugged.  “How even is the dye?  Is that a fair price or are we going to have to come back and take stuff to make up for the difference?”

The merchant considered that.  “The dye isn’t perfect,” he admitted.  “How is it that you know about silk?”

Elias shrugged.  “We raid for cloth all over.  Don’t make it ourselves.  Don’t really wear a lot of it most of the time.  Orcs don’t get cold like you fragile, week - um-” he looked down at Zira, “people,” he finished lamely.

“Why not buy it?” the man asked.

Raj-ak pointed to the door.  It was human sized.  The boys had needed to duck and turn sideways to get into the shop and were currently huddled trying not to bump into anything.  “Not the most welcoming of places, fabric merchants.  Last time I tried to buy something in a place like this, someone hit me with a broom until I left.”

The merchant was giving Zira such a calculating look that both orcs subtly shifted so that their hands were on their ax handles.  “A princess you say.  Hmmm.  How does that work?”

Zira shrugged.  “I was adopted.”

“Hmmm.”  he repeated.  “You can have the bolt of Debouillet wool you were looking at, if you buy both bolts of silk and allow my nephew who has a tailoring shop up the street.”

Zira shook her head.  “I am only in town for today and I need orc style clothing, not human style clothing.”

The merchant considered this.  Then he handed Elias all three bolts of fabric, hmm-ed and ha-ed to himself then added a bolt of pale green linen to the pile and announced, “Come with me.”  He pushed past both orcs and beckoned them into the street.

Raj-ak went first, then Zira, then Elias squished out the door.  They crossed the street and went up a few shops.  “Wait here.” he commanded, then ducked inside, leave Zira and the boys with several bolts of fabric they hadn’t paid for.

They all looked at each other not sure what to expect next.

What they got was a fussy little man with a measuring string looped over his neck and a slightly bigger man holding a slate and a piece of chalk.  “I will give you a deal on tailoring and deliver to the orc settlement next week, if you promise me safe passage.”

Raj-ak frowned.  “So we give you our coin and leave with nothing?”

“That is how tailors work, Raj-ak,” Zira explained.  “Why would you deliver?”

The weedy little man grinned, “It sounds like orcs are an untapped market.  If you are happy with my designs, maybe other orcs will order from me in the future.”

“I need orc style clothing.  Hose and shirts, but cut to fit me.  Also chemise and culotte.”

The bigger man was making notes.  “And a corset, I presume.”

Zira winced.  “Um… no. Orcs have these little, tight fitting tops with laces in the front or sides to offer… um… support.”

The two men looked at each other.  The fabric merchant cleared his throat and said, “If you can negotiate with my nephew, you can leave the fabric here.  If not, you can still leave it here and he will return it to me.”  Then he fled.

To the orc’s amazement, Zira agreed.  She spent a few minutes talking to the men about orc fashion.  She drew them some pictures.  They invited her in to be measured.  Looking around, Raj-ak frowned, “This isn’t a dress shop.”

Zira shrugged.  “I’m not looking for a dress.”

Raj frowned.  “Maybe you should.  Keep your legs warmer that way.  Keep that bump toasty warm.”

The tailor froze, “You’re pregnant?”

Elias immediately step between her and the little man.  “Is that going to be a problem?”

The man looked up and swallowed nervously.  “No,” he squeaked. “Um.. are you the … father?”

“Nah.  He’s way worse than either of us.” Raj-ak said with a straight face.

“I’m in town to get him a Yule present.” Zira explained.

The two men frowned at each other.  “Yule was more than a week ago.”

“Not on our calendar.” Elias rumbled.

The tailor grabbed the slate from his assistant and scribbled some notes.  “If I’m careful, we should be able to come up with a way for you to wear this after you deliver as well.  Silk and linen base layers, long wool tunic and loose hose over that.  Maybe a longer knit coat to go over all of that.”

“How much is this going to cost?” Zira asked nervously.

The man wandered over to a desk and pulled out an abacus.   He muttered to himself sounding very much like his uncle.  Then inspected the fabric and added again.  “Assuming I am making up all of that… full wardrobe with panel inserts for expansion….. Hmmm.”  He named his price.  

Zira gasped.

“And that includes the fabric and delivery, mind.”

“Um… why so cheap?”

He winked, “Well, I am auditioning to be the official tailor to orcish royalty, right?”

“I’m… not exactly royalty.”  Zira stammered.

The man frowned.  “My uncle said you were an orcish princess.  Your bodyguard is certainly better turned out than most of the orcs we see in town.”

“She is the Keeper’s daughter.” Raj-ak said firmly.  “But she is still settling into the title.”  He dug out his money bag.  “How soon can you deliver?”

‘I’m going to need fittings and … how is this going to work?”

“The settlement isn’t that far away.” The tailor suggested.

Elias nodded at the little man.  “What’s your name?”

The man blushed and looked down.  He muttered, ”... but people call me Hom.”

[heir-to-the-diamond-throne]

Masterlist

I’ve actually received a few people interested in my current list of podcasts so I’m writing them all down (also it’ll be helpful in case my podcast app decides to crash and wipe my library for the fourth time)

I just want to preface this by saying I’m probably still missing a few that I haven’t been able to remember. Also there’s a few on here that have finished, a few I’ve stopped listening to and am waiting to see if I’ll go back to, and a few that I haven’t gotten around to listening to yet.

1. 2 Dope Queens 2. 36 Questions 3. A New Winter 4. A Scottish Podcast 5. Action Science Theatre 6. Active Radioactive Radio 7. The Adventure Zone 8. The Adventures of Mechabetty 9. The After Disaster Broadcast 10. Alba Salix, Royal Physician 11. The Alexandra Archives 12. Alice isn’t Dead 13. All in the Mind 14. And that’s why we Drink 15. Anything Ghost 16. Archive 81 17. Ark City 18. Ars Paradoxica 19. Astonishing Legends 20. Athiest Apocalypse 21. Attention Hellmart Shoppers 22. Audio Diary of a Superhero 23. Audio Drama Production 24. Audio Verse Awards 25. Augustine 26. Aural Traditions: Anthology 27. Aural Traditions: Crosswired 28. Beast of Bardon College 29. Bedtime Stories 30. Beef and Dairy Network 31. Big Data 32. Bizarre States 33. The Black Tapes 34. The Blood Crow Stories 35. Boone Shepard 36. The Box 37. The Bridge 38. The Bright Sessions 39. Bronzeville 40. The Bunker 41. Bunker Buddies 42. Busy Gamer Nation presents I Love Bees 43. The Call of Cthulhu Mysteries 44. Carpe DM 45. Celestial Blood 46. The Cleansed 47. Code: Severe 48. Coffee Break Chinese 49. Conversations with People who Hate Me 50. Cool Games 51. Cop Doctors 52. Corpse Club 53. Creepy 54. Critical Hit 55. Critical Role 56. Crossing Wires 57. The Cryptid Keeper 58. Cthulhu and Friends 59. Cults 60. D&D is for Nerds 61. The Dark Tome 62. Darkest Night 63. Dead Oaks 64. Dead Ringers 65. Dead Serious 66. Deadly Manners 67. Dear Hank + John 68. Deck the Halls 69. The Deep Vault 70. Defence Learning Portal 71. Detective 72. Diana’s Monster 73. Diary of a Mad Man 74. Dinosaur Park 75. Discovery 76. The Discovery Adventures 77. Don’t Worry; It’s Only the End of the World 78. Dopple Avenue Hurt 79. The Drift and Ramble 80. Drywater 81. DWM presents Unwritten 82. The Earth Collective 83. Easy Japanese 84. Edict Zero 85. The Elysium Project 86. Empty 87. End of All Hope 88. EOS 10 89. Fables Radio 90. The Faculty of Horror 91. Fall of the House of Sunshine 92. The Family Tree 93. The Far Meridian 94. Fictional 95. Field Craft Survival 96. Flash Forward 97. Focused AF 98. Freed 99. Friends at the Table 100. Gallowtree Radio 101. Geek by Night 102. Generation Why 103. The Ghost Radio Project 104. Ghosts in the Burbs 105. Girl in Space 106. The Good Friends of Jackson Elias 107. Good Morning Zahera Ward 108. The Gray Area 109. Greater Boston 110. Hackable? 111. The Harry Strange Radio Drama 112. Haunted Places 113. The Haven Chronicles 114. Hayward Sanitarium 115. Heaven’s Gate 116. Hector vs the Future 117. Hello from the Magic Tavern 118. Help Me 119. Henderson + Havner 120. Herbarium Podcasts 121. History of Alchemy 122. The History of Rome 123. Hollywood and Crime 124. Homecoming 125. Horror City 126. How to do Everything 127. How we Roll 128. Hunt the Truth 129. Hush 130. I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats 131. Illusionoid 132. Immunities 133. In Darkness Vast 134. The Infinite 135. The Infinite Bad 136. The Infinite Now 137. Inkwyrm 138. Inner Sanctum 139. Inside the Exorcist 140. Inside the NYPD 141. International Waters 142. It Makes A Sound 143. Jim Robbie and the Wanderers 144. Join the Party 145. Junction 146. Kakos Industries 147. Kevin’s Cryptids 148. King Falls AM 149. The Kingery 150. Knifepoint Horror 151. Knights of the Night 152. Knite Coffee! 153. Lake Clarity 154. The Last Podcast on the Left 155. The Late Night Driving Show 156. LEARN 157. The Lesbian Romantic 158. Lesser Gods 159. The Leviathan 160. Liberty 161. LifeAfter 162. The Lift 163. Limetown 164. Lore 165. The Lost Cat 166. The Lovecraft Covenant 167. Lucyd 168. Mabel 169. Magic Lessons 170. The Magnus Archives 171. Mars Corp 172. Marsfall 173. The McElroy Brothers will be in Trolls 2 174. The Meat Blockade 175. The Mental Illness Happy Hour 176. Misadventure by Death 177. Miskatonic University 178. Mission to Zyxx 179. Modern Audio Drama 180. Mollyville 181. The Moonlit Road 182. My Brother, My Brother, and Me 183. My Brother, My Brother, and Me: Fantasy Football League 184. My Favourite Murder 185. Mysterious Universe 186. The Mythology Podcast 187. Myths and Legends 188. Neon Nights 189. The Night Blogger 190. Night Time 191. No Extra Words 192. No Such Thing as a Fish 193. The No Sleep Podcast 194. Oak Podcast 195. The Orbiting Human Circus (of the air) 196. Organism 197. The Orphans 198. The Orpheus Protocol 199. Ostium 200. The Other Stories 201. Otherverse 202. Our Fair City 203. Paralyzed 204. Passage 205. The Penumbra Podcast 206. Pleasure Town 207. Plumbing the Death Star 208. Podcast Detected 209. The Podcast Method 210. Podcasts Collected 211. Point Mystic 212. Poplar Cove 213. Powder Burns 214. Public Domain Universe 215. Purrcast 216. Qwerpline 217. Rabbits 218. Radiation World 219. Radio Demons 220. Ray Gunn + Starburst 221. Real Ghost Stories Online 222. Return Home 223. Rex Rivetter: Private Eye 224. Rippercast 225. The Rogues Gallery 226. Rose Drive 227. Rover Red 228. Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe 229. Rusty Quill Gaming 230. S-Town 231. Sable 232. Saffron and Peri 233. Sage + Savant 234. Sawbones 235. Sayer 236. Scared? 237. Secret Cabinet 238. Seminar 239. Serial 240. Serial Killers 241. The Shadowvane Podcast 242. Shattered Worlds RPG 243. Shut up a Second 244. Sirenicide 245. Small Town Horror 246. Snap Judgements Presents: Spooked 247. SOFREP Radio 248. Someone Knows Something 249. Space 250. Space Log 251. Spines 252. Spire 253. Spirits 254. Star Talk 255. Station to Station 256. Stay Talkingish 257. Steal the Stars 258. The Strange Case of Starship Iris 259. Strange 260. Strangers in Space 261. Stuff to Blow your Mind 262. Stuff you Should Know 263. Subject: Found 264. Subvercity Transmit 265. Supervillian Corner 266. Synesthesia Theatre 267. Taking Care of Paul 278. Tales of Nowhere 269. Tales of THATTOWN 270. Tanis 271. Terms 272. Theatre for the Mind 273. The Theatre of Tomorrow 274. The Thrilling Adventure Hour 275. Timelapse 276. Tokyo Hotel 277. Tribulation 278. True Crime Garage 279. The Tunnels 280. Twelve Chimes it’s Midnight 281. Uncanny County 282. Uncanny Japan 283. Under Pressure 284. Undiscovered 285. Unexplained 286. Unsolved Murders 287. Urban Chicken Podcast 288. Urban Decay 289. Victoriocity 290. We’re Alive 291. We’re Alive: Lockdown 292. We’re so Bad at Adventuring 293. Weird Work 294. Welcome to Night Vale 295. What the Cluck 296. What’s the Frequency 297. The White Vault 298. The Wicked Library 299. Wisecracks: The Squanch 300. Within the Wires 301. Wolf 359 302. Wooden Overcoats 303. The Writers Panel 304. You Are Here 305. Zoolaplex And a couple of podcasts that haven’t come out yet: 306. The Big Loop 307. Tarnum

[flauntpage]

Bobi, Tobi, and T.J. McConnell – Observations from Sixers 106, Heat 102

It wasn’t the best performance of all time, but you’ll take that win.

You’ll take that win any day of the week, considering that your best player was on the shelf while the rest of the squad hadn’t been on the floor together since last Tuesday. We know from last year’s playoff series that Miami is just one of those pain in the ass teams that isn’t gonna roll over and give you anything easy, and while they’re certainly not as talented as the Sixers, they did a nice job keeping it close, deep into the “guts of the game,” as Marc Zumoff would say.

The difference was a couple of 4th quarter runs, one an 8-0 stretch that pulled the Sixers in front at the five minute mark, then a 6-0 run comprising 90 of the game’s final 120 seconds. A trio of Boban Marjanovic free throws and a JJ Redick dagger three were good enough to secure the win.

JJ didn’t have a great shooting night, but it was a balanced output across the board from the other four starters. Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 23 points, Boban added 19, Jimmy Butler contributed 18, and Ben Simmons put up 21 while carrying his team through a sluggish third quarter.

Throw in a couple of positive bursts from T.J. McConnell off the bench, and it was good enough for a four-point home win coming out of the All-Star break.

Boban

I found it slightly amusing that, on Australian Heritage Night in South Philadelphia, it was the 7’3″ Serbian player who stole the show.

Obviously the big topic going into this one was determining how many minutes Boban can feasibly give you, considering that he’s been a 10-14 type of player for most of his career. They got 27 out of him last night and he finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, 11 and 7 of which came in the first quarter alone.

Here’s Brett Brown on Boban’s game:

Well, initially, I was always curious about his conditioning. Is he going to be able to sustain whatever period of minutes that I was giving him? I think I said pregame, I hope I’m going more like five-minute clumps, six-minute clumps, I’m not worried about if it ends up thirty minutes, but I am the duration. He kept telling me he was fine and the game spun out in that first period and he was really good. Then, the game left, I think a little bit where it went probably a minute and a half longer than I had hoped, but in general, I thought that he was really good. There were times that you knew the matchup was unfavorable and so we got him out. Then, at the end we tried to use a foul, because we had one, to get him back in and have some level of rim protection. I thought, in general, he was very good and he was our bell-ringer tonight.

Yeah, the ��clumps” thing is interesting, because in theory you’re wondering how many consecutive possessions a 7’3″ guy can really handle. You don’t want him running up and down the floor at length.

I went through the play-by-play log to pick out those clumps:

first shift: start of the game to 3:34 in the first quarter

second shift: 8:08 in the second quarter to to 2:13 in the second quarter

third shift: start of the third quarter to 5:05 in the third quarter

fourth shift: start of the fourth quarter to 9:18

fifth shift: 3:39 in the fourth to 0:32 in the fourth

So a couple of longer shifts to start, 8.5 minutes and 6 minutes respectively, then Brett used him in smaller bursts in the second half as Miami adjusted their lineups a bit. Jonah Bolden played 14:44 off the bench and looked… not great, but to be fair, dude has been glued to the pine and hasn’t seen the floor in two weeks anyway. This was more of a Boban matchup anyway, with noted slug Hassan Whiteside in the starting lineup and Bam Adebayo coming off the bench. I thought stretchy Kelly Olynyk might be a problem, but he didn’t too much damage.

Boban was not on the floor, however, when the Sixers went small during the 8-0 run with a lineup of McConnell, Redick, Butler, Harris, and B. Simmons. When he did return, he hit some clutch free throws, finishing 7-10 from the foul line and 5-6 from the floor.

One of the things I mentioned about Boban when doing that brief evaluation of his game after the trade, is that he’s sort of an underrated passer. Yes, he did have five turnovers last night, but when you get him out on the elbow or the perimeter, he’s so damn tall that he can throw these really nifty backdoor and half-lobs by simply looping the ball over an opponent’s head.

Case in point:

Blown layup, but wonderful pass.

Whiteside is 7’0″ and Boban is just dropping the ball over his head to a cutting Jimmy Butler. It’s interesting from a system standpoint as well, because Boban is able to throw those passes off a DHO, which is a staple of Brett’s offense. If he continues to grow that part of the game, I could see him running very similar elbow and stagger sets, the same stuff that Embiid and Redick run with a high level of success. This time you add a cutting wrinkle to it, and now you’ve got another action to think about if you’re a defender.

Another pass I loved:

Bobi bouncin' to Butler.

Boban finds Jimmy for the dish and bucket. Sixers up, 61-56. pic.twitter.com/9gYjngh9Bw

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 22, 2019

Great cut from Butler, super clever screen from Harris, and Boban has the wherewithal to just bounce that pass right into the lane for the easy bucket.

After the game, I polled Sixers fans.

Is Boban a Philly guy? There’s still time to vote:

Is Boban a "Philly guy?"

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) February 22, 2019

I also thought this was a great stat from ESPN, via Elias:

Boban Marjanovic reached 1,000 career points in 1,574 minutes of playing time. From @EliasSports, that’s the 2nd-fewest minutes needed to reach 1,000 career points among active players. Only Joel Embiid reached the mark in fewer minutes (1,271).

Pretty efficient.

T.J. McConnell

I go back and forth with T.J. Sometimes I love him as an energy guy off the bench who just picks up the team and helps string together a couple of spirit plays – steals, lobs, defensive hustle, etc. Other times he’s a matchup liability who makes you question his value on a playoff-bound team. How many effective postseason minutes can he really give you?

Last night was the former. He just provided this team with so much “pop,” an incredibly efficient 6 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in just 11 minutes of play. T.J. was the catalyst for the late run, a +8 off the bench in that small lineup I mentioned above.

This was a precursor to the 8-0 run, just two possessions prior:

A savvy steal, on a 16-year veteran no less.

Strange case, T.J. McConnell. I’m in the camp of people who thinks he can be effective in limited playoff minutes, but in a game like last night, he probably should have played more than the 11 he received.

Said Brown:

“I think it’s another reminder for all of us, how he can come in, and without significant minutes, just change a game’s tempo. He did that. I thought he was excellent as far as putting his own thumb print (on the game) with not a lot of time, especially in the fourth.”

Yep.

Tobias Harris

That left side high was his sweet spot last night.

Look at the chart:

He was 8-15 overall, and 3-7 from deep, with every make coming just 3-4 feet apart.

Interestingly enough, he actually shoots fewer three pointers from the left side, but hits at a higher percentage over there. Here’s his seasonal shot chart:

Left side three: 34-73, 46.6% vs. a league average of 35.1%.

Middle three: 20-53, 37.7% vs. a league average of 34%.

Right side: 44-108, 40.7% vs. a league average of 35.1%.

Something to keep an eye on going forward. Embiid I think is more effective when trailing and starting from the left side slot/elbow, and if that’s the case, Harris begins on the weakside in the opposite corner. I need to look more at that when Joel returns.

Other notes:

I loved the wink from D Wade to Harris after he got him off the ground and earned the foul on his very first offensive possession

This team still can’t defend Wade, for whatever reason. Luckily he’s headed out the door and into retirement.

25-35 from the line isn’t great. That’s 71.4%. There was a point where the Sixers missed three in a row at one point in the 2nd quarter and were shooting 60%. They got better down the stretch in this area.

The rotation felt out of whack a bit in the second quarter or third quarter, I can’t remember off the top of my head, but Butler and Harris were sitting for what felt like an eternity. Brown had a lineup on the floor of Ben Simmons, Jonathon Simmons, James Ennis, Mike Scott and Jonah Bolden. He’s tinkering, he’s experimenting, I get it, but sooner rather than later I’d like to see him starting gearing this thing towards a playoff-style rotation.

Hassan Whiteside – I don’t get it. Guy always looks utterly pedestrian whenever he plays against the Sixers.

Hell of a defensive close-out by Justise Winslow on the Redick dagger 3, even better side step and release from JJ.

The post Bobi, Tobi, and T.J. McConnell – Observations from Sixers 106, Heat 102 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Bobi, Tobi, and T.J. McConnell – Observations from Sixers 106, Heat 102 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[suttttton]

Hey there! Saw your new posts and am wondering, what is the Groundhog Day? New fic?

groundhog day (aka elias vs. the time loop) is about elias getting stuck in a time loop that stretches from the events of MAG 117 (when elias briefs the team before the Unknowing) until the end of the world (whenever that may be in each particular timeline). initially elias is like, "woo-hoo! a chance to create a version of the apocalypse where jon doesn't steal my spotlight and then murder me :)" but eventually he gets EXTREMELY sick of being stuck in a time loop, falls deeply in love with jon, and becomes a better person. and dies <3

it's a fic that starts out INCREDIBLY dark and serious, and then halfway through it just morphs into a clown show. in one loop elias just abandons everyone with no explanation and fucks off to his lake house for a full year. in another loop elias brings jon and martin to his lake house to Keep Them Safe (but mostly they're just Extremely Confused because they're suddenly on vacation with their evil boss???). in another loop elias kidnaps jon and holds him captive in his house to Keep Him Safe except the things that want to attack jon just keep coming into elias' house so it doesn't work AT ALL

it's also very very long, which is why I've been working on it for almost 2 years, and it's still nowhere near done. hopefully after nano this year, it'll be way closer though!

snippet below the cut:

“Why—why—why is—why?” Martin says, his breath picking up as he stares at Jon with an expression that can only be described as horror. He swallows hard and looks back at Elias. “Why did you put him in the boot?”

“I don’t think he minded, Martin.”

“That’s not the point!”

Elias sighs. “I didn’t want to risk questions about the corpse in my car if we happened to get pulled over,” he says, turning back towards the house, and Martin pales.

“He isn’t a corpse!” Martin says. He follows slowly, taking excessive care not to jostle Jon. “Why is he here at all? He needs to be in a hospital!”

It’s all Elias can do not to roll his eyes. “What, pray tell, do you think the hospital is going to do for him?”

“He—he needs to be hooked up to an IV, he’ll get dehydrated—”

“Martin.” Elias fixes him with his most patronizing stare as he fishes the keys from his pockets. Turning back to the door, he continues, “His heart isn’t beating. Dehydration is the least of his worries.”

[suttttton]

Sutton, how goes The Elias Groundhog Day Fic 👀 ?

this has been sitting in my inbox for MONTHS now I am so sorry it's taken me this long to get to it. short answer: it's on the backburner, but not abandoned! RQBB took all of my attention for awhile, and now I'm back at school and have,,,, dishearteningly little time to write. but! there are 60k words so far in the draft, so i am definitely going to come back to it eventually.

i'm putting a sneak-peek beneath the cut, since you've been waiting SO LONG for this response and because i really apprecaite the interest! click through for fucked up jonelias content and the classic jon-brand angst :)

Despite Elias’ intervention, Jon still vows to stop taking live statements. No matter how Elias tries to convince him, Jon always just shakes his head. “It isn’t right,” he says. “What I do is traumatizing, I—It ruins people’s lives. It won’t kill me to limit myself to written statements.”

It won’t kill him, but it clearly wears on him. He looks more and more haggard, feels exhausted all the time. Every use of his powers brings with it massive migraines.

Before, Elias didn’t particularly care how Jon used his Beholding powers. Now that Elias has to see him constantly, it bothers him. Not to mention that he needs Jon to embrace his beholding nature, if his plan has any hope to succeed.

Elias decides to intervene.

“It isn’t good for you to starve yourself like this,” Elias says when they are driving home one day.

“It’s better this way,” Jon mumbles, staring glassily out the window. He doesn’t feel well at all, dizzy and a little feverish. And so hungry.

Elias doesn’t drive home, and it takes Jon a long time to realize they’re going the wrong way, exhausted as he is. “Elias, where are we going?”

“Hush,” Elias says in return.

Jon swallows. “Elias—”

“Jon.” Elias’ voice is hard, severe. Jon shrinks beneath it. None of that petulance now.

Jon wants to protest. He wants to run, to go home and lay down and just try to sleep through this. Wait for the nausea to pass, and then read another written statement.

But some part of him wants to be led along. Wants Elias to force him into this, to free him of his guilt. He’s so hungry.

Elias parks the car.

Across the street is a bus stop where a young man sits, face vaguely illuminated in the light of his phone. Four years ago, he’d had an encounter with the Stranger, and he’d never told a soul, knowing he would never be believed. Privately, he believes it was aliens, and he’s taken to stalking extraterrestrial forums, looking for experiences similar to his own. Thus far, he’s found nothing but thinly disguised creative writing.

Jon has gone stiff in the seat next to Elias, eyes fixed on the man.

“Don’t you want to Ask him?” Elias says.

Jon numbly shakes his head, but he has a trembling hand on the door handle.

Elias takes Jon’s other hand, and Jon’s attention snaps to him. There’s a faint green sheen behind his eyes. Elias run his thumb over the back of Jon’s hand. “It’s alright, Jon. You need this. You know that as well as I do.”

Jon still hesitates.

“Look at him,” Elias says. “He already has nightmares. You aren’t going to kill him. He might even appreciate some more context for what he’s seen.”

Jon looks back at the man, eyes faintly glowing.

“Imagine how much better you’ll feel,” Elias says.

Jon closes his eyes for a long moment, then opens his door and steps out of the car. Elias smiles, watching his Archivist feeding just as he was always meant to.

Twenty minutes later, Jon gets back into the car, looking much, much healthier.

“How do you feel?” Elias asks.

Jon just shakes his head, curling his arms around himself.

Elias doesn’t press the issue.

When they get home, Jon doesn’t talk to Elias. He doesn’t make dinner, doesn’t even eat some of the leftovers in the fridge. He goes straight to his room, curls up in bed with the lights off.

Elias can see into his mind; he Knows Jon isn’t sleeping. Part of him wants to challenge him, to force Jon to talk to him. But anger runs deep in Jon’s mind right now, and Elias doesn’t particularly want to risk turning it into true rage.

He lets Jon sulk. Eventually, he’ll realize that it was for the best.

***

The next morning, Elias wakes up to find Jon making breakfast for one. Beside the couch is Jon’s little bag, packed with all his things. He intends to move back to the Institute.

“Jon, you’re being absurd,” Elias says, leaning against the counter next to him.

Jon doesn’t say anything, just sets his jaw, glaring even harder at the eggs frying on the stove.

“Jon. I’d like for you to talk to me about this.”

“What do you want me to say?” Jon says, angrily flipping his eggs, breaking one of the yolks. He glares at it a second, then abruptly shifts to making scrambled eggs. “You said I would be safer here, and I’m not. So I’m leaving.”

Elias rolls his eyes. “I didn’t actually force you to do anything.”

Jon sucks in a tight breath. He’s thought about that too, turned it over and over in his mind. He can’t absolve himself of blame. But neither does he absolve Elias. “You manipulated me,” he says, scooping his eggs onto a plate. He shoves past Elias to the table and begins to eat, clearly trying to be done with the conversation.

“You were starving,” Elias says. “You were sick and barely functioning! I wasn’t just going to watch you waste away. What else was I supposed to do?”

“You could have talked to me about it!” Jon says, shouting now. “You could have actually helped, instead of manipulating me into becoming more like you!”

“Fine,” Elias says, turning away. He’s had enough of this. “Do what you want, if you think so little of my help.”

They don’t speak, on their way back to the archives. Jon hugs his little bag to his chest and stares pointedly out the window. When they get to the Institute, Jon is out of the car before Elias has even put in park.

Jon is still a social pariah in the Archives. Melanie and Basira want nothing to do with him; as far as they’re concerned, he’s still a traitor. He doesn’t mind having to sleep on the hard little cot in document storage, or eating microwave dinners in the break room for every meal. But the loneliness starts to wear on him after just one night.

He misses Elias. More than once, he thinks about climbing the stairs to Elias’ office and apologizing. Asking to move back in with him, on the condition that Elias never pull anything like that again.

His pride won’t allow it. Instead, he spends a week staring at the ceiling in document storage, listening to the noises of the Institute, longing for… something. Why did you get your hopes up? He thinks. You knew what kind of person Elias is.

And then his eyes start to fill with tears that are as much anger as they are sadness. He tries to blink them away, doesn’t want to cry about this, of all things. Pull yourself together, for god’s sake. But the tears slip down his cheeks anyway because he had hoped, had, in fact, just started to believe, that he had misjudged Elias.

After a week, when it becomes clear that Jon is not going to beg forgiveness from Elias, Elias goes to beg forgiveness from Jon. He sends Jon an email, asking to meet in his office. When that goes ignored, he braves the Archives, knocking softly on Jon’s door.

“Come in,” Jon says absently. He shoots to attention when Elias walks in, a cocktail of anger fear relief sadness flashing through his mind. “Oh,” he says, voice flat. “Hello, Elias.”

“Jon,” Elias says. “I owe you an apology.”

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re: Groundhog Day, the fact that there are 15 loops and thus Elias has spent roughly 15 years trapped in this cycle, is hilarious! horrifying, even! may I ask for more crumbs of this beautiful fic?

sure! here's a snippet where elias has juuust gotten to the point of "will-do-anything-if-it-ends-the-loop" (ft. helen <3):

Elias knocks on Helen’s door, preparing for the same conversation he’s had a dozen times before. He isn’t prepared for her to answer with the words, “Doesn’t it bore you, doing exactly the same things over and over?”

Elias blinks. “What?”

“Wouldn’t it be more interesting if you tried out different tactics?” Helen asks. “You could experiment with the Fears, examine the various ways they leave their marks. But here we are, once again, following the same boring script. Doesn’t it get tiring?”

“You—” Elias feels fury growing in his chest. “You know what I’ve been going through. The—the loop. You know?”

Helen stares at him for a moment. “Well, of course I do!” She says, laughing so hard she doubles over, which only makes Elias’ fury rise.

“Is this your doing?” he demands. “This—this curse. Is it just you toying with me?”

If anything, Helen’s laughter increases at that.

“Tell me!” Elias says.

“Oh, Elias,” Helen says patronizingly, her voice warmly fond. “No. I’m afraid this loop was not my creation.”

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Oh my god guys I just four thousand MORE words in my current journal + the notes app on my phone. I can't believe this. How have I written this much nonsense what

wow turns out i have //a lot// of time loop scenes written down in my journals that I just,,, never transferred to my computer. so uhhh I guess that's my afternoon sorted

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groundhog day fic is nowhere near being done but i’m thinking about titles for things that are getting posted today or tomorrow and i just...

i don’t think there’s going to be a better title than ‘Elias Bouchard vs. the Time Loop.’ like. i’m constantly hoping that something more poetic will occur to me but honestly... what else could i possibly call it?

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Elias vs. time loop snippet that I had to cut because the plot went a different direction, but I’m posting it anyway because I like it:

(Context, if you care: In this version, the time loop was created by Jon and Annabelle as a way to create a pocket-dimension shielded from the apocalypse. Every subsequent iteration of the loop makes the pocket-dimension more stable, and when it is finally ready to stand on its own is when Jon and Annabelle release Elias. It isn’t really a loss for Elias, as he still gets to be immortal in his apocalypse dimension. Jon is also still immortal (the apocalypse is technically still happening), and there’s a looming threat that eventually, when everyone he loves has died, he will lose his humanity entirely and just be a monster.)

He thinks about it—Jon becoming a creature like him. He knows what it feels like, sitting on a throne and watching Jon harvest fear, both of them feasting on it. Knowing that as much as his mind is on his Archivist, Jon’s mind is also on him.

He could taste it again, and more, drinking fear from Jon’s lips like fine wine. Jon sprawled across his lap, tiny and perfect and monstrous.

It’s a nice picture, a picture that Elias wants to fall into.

But.

He imagines what it would take to get there. Jon, losing everyone important to him, to time if not the Entities. Losing Martin, who has always been Jon’s reason.

Unbidden, an image flashes in his mind of Jon’s cold, uncaring eyes, leaving him behind in the wasteland of the apocalypse. Jon, who’d lost everyone he cared about, and his body, and the whole world besides, and decided that his humanity wasn’t worth hanging onto either.

Elias thinks about the loop when he ruled beside Jon, and for the first time realizes how much of Jon was missing, then.

Time and again, Jon clung so tightly to his humanity, his morals. He was a good person, and he cared so deeply, so honestly. He was easy to manipulate, and that was only a flaw because he’d had the bad fortune to meet Elias.

Elias thinks about Jon grabbing his wrist, pulling him to safety. He thinks of the concern in his eyes as he shepherded him through the Archives, doing his best to shield him from the others. He thinks of Jon coming into the Buried for him.

Absurdly, in his tower-throne room at the end of the world, he thinks of Jon making pancakes on a sunny morning in a lakeside cottage, and that’s when he realizes that he loves Jon.

The revelation strikes him like a blow. He looks at Jon with newly-wide eyes, and realizes just how much affection he has for this man. How much he wants to hold him in his arms, kiss him.

He could do that. Jon is terrified of him. It would be the easiest thing in the world to stride over, wrap an arm around Jon’s hips, his shoulders, place a hand on the back of his neck, press his lips to Jon’s, and feed on his shivering, trembling fear of what his future holds.

The thought makes him nauseous.

He just wants Jon to be happy, as acutely as he wants anything.

He tries to drown that thought, to bury it in the same cemetery where he’d laid to rest whatever feelings he’d once had for Barnabas, where he’d smothered any budding romantic feelings. He’d long ago decided that the point of love was pleasure, that the whole concept was inherently selfish.

But he doesn’t want to smother these feelings. He wants Jon to be happy, even at the cost of his own paradise. Especially at the cost of his own paradise, because Jon is so scared, and that’s his fault.

Jon is miserable, and all Jonah wants is to fix it. He briefly lets himself imagine a world where he could simply sweep Jon into his arms, gently dry his tears, whisper words of reassurance into his hair. But that isn’t the world he’s created.

He’s cultivated Jon’s fear, Jon’s hatred, and he knows his touch won’t be remotely welcomed.

So he stays where he is, and simply asks, “Can you send me back once more?”

“Why?” Jon asks, nothing but suspicion on his face.

“To try and fix this,” Elias manages.

“Unhappy with your accommodations here? I promise you won’t find more power in the new world. Annabelle wouldn’t allow it.”

“I don’t want more power,” Elias says. “I want to tell you how to quit.”

[suttttton]

Last Line Tag Game

Tagged by @inklingofadream and @bluejayblueskies! Thanks guys!!

Rules: Write the latest line from your WIP and tag as many people as there are words in the line.

Once again, the trap catches him, and suddenly he isn’t very relaxed at all.

(This is, of course, from that Elias vs. Time Loop story that I won’t shut up about)

That’s fourteen words, but I don’t know very many people and lots of people have already been tagged. I did get half: @damnit-julian @measureyourlifeincake @storm-does-stuff @theyrejustboys @dathen @ebenrosetaylor @bookish-bi-christian and also @ everyone else who wants to do it and hasn’t been tagged

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Elias vs. Time Loop is approaching 30k and I'm very excited (this fic is gonna be absurdly long guys)

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@excavatinglizard said: I’m so curious about Elias vs time loop???

And I am SO GLAD someone asked about Elias vs. time loop! Basically, after getting killed in the apocalypse, Elias gets trapped in an ~year-long time loop from the day before the Unknowing to the end of the world. He tries everything he can think of to escape the loop, gradually loses his mind, and experiences Regret for the first time in his life (and also falls deeply in love with Jon).

Excerpt from Apocalypse Attempt #3:

Jon is crying. It’s one of those things that Elias is aware of, the way he is aware of everything. Jon is crying, silently on the balcony that overlooks the vast nightmare world they created together. He is biting his hand so hard that it bleeds, but he doesn’t care. He knows it will heal, and besides that, he deserves the pain. He is thinking about Martin, again, wondering how he let Martin go so easily. Wondering if Martin could have stopped this.

Elias steps out on the balcony, and Jon stiffens, wiping at his eyes with his still-bleeding hand.

“You shouldn’t hurt yourself,” Elias says, reaching for it.

Jon sniffs and jerks his hand away, not responding.

Elias hums, and leans on the railing. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Jon ignores him.

Elias studies him out of the corner of his eye. Jon does see the beauty in the ruined world, in spite of himself. Of course he does; he belongs to their patron as much as Elias does. His shoulders are tight with how much he doesn’t want to admit it. With how much he wants Elias to leave him alone.

Jon’s eyes wander towards Elias, and Elias smiles as he meets them. They flick away quickly, and Jon’s scowl deepens. He thinks about Martin again, grounding himself in pain.

“Why are you torturing yourself?” Elias asks. “You know you don’t have to.”

It doesn’t break through Jon’s cold silence, but Elias wasn’t really expecting it to.

“Martin couldn’t have stopped this happening, you know,” Elias said. “He was clever, but I keep my secrets well.”

“Get out of my head,” Jon says. He wants to say that something about how Martin would’ve seen through his scheme, but his voice is rough and nearly breaks on just those five words. Elias smiles.

Send me suggestions for WIP snippets you’d like to see! I am going to post another once I finish part 3 of my essay~

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Okay tonight I need to get this essay to 10 more-or-less coherent pages that are at least partially sourced. I currently have ~5.5 pages that are completely incoherent.

So we're gonna make a night of it. There are 3 major sections of this paper, plus the introduction and conclusion. I also want to do an editing pass tonight. Every time I finish one of those sections, I'm gonna let myself post an excerpt from one of my current WIPs:

fairy/borrower!Jon

Little Black Bird alternate ending

Elias vs. time loop

Enchanted AU

If any of those sound especially interesting to you, let me know and I'll post something from that story! Alternatively, you can suggest a vibe like angst or fluff or a particular ship or whatever