#but how did no one ever figure out she doesnt have... organs...

[loopscereal]

Day 4: jealousy

Fred you cannot be seriously jealous of a dog please get real

Bestia got lost for a good while. Hes a street dog so usually Spring, Fox, and Meg dont worry too much when the lil thing goes missing for a couple hours cause he always comes home at at at worst just appears by the time its morning.

However, one day turns into two snd two turns into a few, and thats when the three start to worry.

Spring is always swamped with works and cant really dedicate much time to actuvly looking for bestia, but asks around where he can. Fox and Meg are the ones who make the time to make missing dog posters to out up around town.

Fox is pretty confident that the little guy will appear eventually, like Spring assures he will. Either way he has seen the dog ontop if buildings snd cruising theoigh dangerous sites like nothing, fighting with other street animals for dropped pizza so Fox is confident that Bestia can survive a couole days alone just like the three of them. The biggest worry they have on their hands is a person picking him up and taking him home, but ‘who would want the flea bag anyway?’

Meg was chill initially but gets visibly less chill about it the longer Bestia is missing. He LOVES that stupid dog. The other two do as well, but Meg is particularly kind to him. They baby the hell out of bestia and its reciprocal. Bestia is particualy cuddly with Meg, and pulls little manipulation tactics- i mean he cries to get out of baths and it works. He doesn’t pull those tricks with Spring and Fox tho, bc they never fall for it or hesitate or anything.

Anyways Meg loves this dog. Babies the hell out of him, chats and vents to Bestia. (She vents to the dog holy shit writing that out is so sad) ANYWAY POIINT IS SHE LOVED THIS DOG.

Fred finds Bestia, knows fox, Was planning in handing him in to Fox but is caught entirely off guard when they’re met with Meg instead. They did not plan for this route at all.

At this point in time, hes already interested in Meg. Not necessarily romantically (that hes aware of) but hes interested. Only ever sees them under certain circumstances and either missed opportunities to talk to Meg or its jut not *normal*. This, howeever, is an oportunity for incredibly normal intersction but he is fumbling it badly (at least he feels that way)

Hes taken off guard by the fsct that its Meg who answers the door, and also by how he’s acting due to getting his dog back. Freds typical approach to Meg and how Meg usually is is thrown out the window and they flub their chance for s nirmal ass conversation so hard.

Where does jealousy for Bestia come into play? Its the dumbest thing ever. Bestia already can get close to Meg and get ‘this nicer side’ to come out automatically just by being his silly lil dog that makes him happy. Fred is a person and will have to try and figure out how to get past Megs walls in a human way so. Yeah. Damn i wish i was a dog and it was easy to talk to you and for you to like me without having to jump through hoops.

+ bestia doesnt like fred lol.

idk if any if that makes sense i couldnt organize myself st sll today sorry :(

[paintingchimera]

Do you think Ariane ever wanted her mom? Like because when we’re in pain, or scared or really anything we tend to want our mothers, so it’d be natural for Ariane to want her mother. GOD I IMAGINED IN ARIANES LAST MOMENTS BEFORE THE BIORESONANCE THING SHE WAS CRYING FOR HER MOM

Now that got me thinking, what about the replikas?? Do they long for the neural pattern’s mothers even though they’re not biologically their child?? When they destabilise I mean, like imagine a dying STAR on the battlefield calling out for her neural patterns mom oh my days

You guys cannot convince me ariane did not want her mom, especially with how she was raised I would reckon they had a very close bond. I wish there was more stuff surrounding ariane’s mom and even the itou twins mom like who is she?? Anja Itou or Lilith itou?? I would think Anja, because Lilith never had a male lover (that we know of) but she had Alina. Lilith being a possible older sister to them seems like a much more likely scenario than their mother, and personally on how lilith’s personality is shown (this is with the theory that she’s Elsters neural pattern) she probably would not want kids

And if the case was that Lilith was their mom, realistically then, Elster would’ve most likely atleast had some more instinct to protect isa— meanwhile with a sibling you really don’t have that urge (unless their like a baby) and honestly, I think Lilith and the twins wouldn’t of known each other for that long. Lilith would’ve been just a faded memory from childhood [if I’m correct on the timing of when Lilith might’ve been put into whatever they do to the replika neural pattern and that she is Elsters neural pattern] I mean, the faint possibility of her being the twins mother is that if Alina was their second mother, but that doesn’t make sense: Ariane is often portrayed as a ‘clone’ in a way of Alina, looking almost exact same as her. So why would Alina be their second mom? And it wouldn’t be possible because Alina was in the sierpenski as we know it,

So that would leave Anja to be their mother, Lilith? Maybe a cousin or older sister. Looking at Isa (assuming that Erika looks basically the same) she looks like she would relate to Lilith but not in a mother and daughter way; more like a cousins or sisters way. And What is the deal with Alina?? Is she just meant to be Lilith’s lover, or does Ariane end up being like some reincarnation of her? Or is Alina in retrospect just made to be that person Ariane triggers Elsters neural pattern memories with? But that would make her character practically basic if she only had one purpose. But I can’t figure out what she’s even here for, maybe she doesn’t really have a purpose? Some characters in fiction might not have proper purpose but they’re very important to plot I think,

Oh the ariane having acute radiation syndrome, she would be in SO much worse of state in reality, burns everywhere only getting worse, skin cells dying, even her bone marrow [i forgot if this parts correct shh] possibly started to degrade [I think I’m thinking of chromosomes], her teeth falling out, her organs dying from the inside out, losing absolute control over her own bodily fluids, I understand that it’s probably for creepy affect with her very basic black arms and legs to show nercotic skin but realistically ariane would’ve been dead much sooner when the radiation kicked in, even with the cryo medical pod. We all know of the person who had severe radiation poisoning, he died after a long battle. Considering Ariane would’ve practically be begging Elster— if Elster didn’t die first, because to me atleast, Replikas much more fragile when it comes to things like radiation, excluding MNHR units. They would start to degrade faster than a human would,

Ariane would be in so much pain, her skin wouldn’t even turn black it’d fall off exposing muscle and nerves. And her hair doesnt make sense, when someone has that much radiation and Ariane probably got out through so much more radiation, her hair would’ve fallen OUT, not grown. She would’ve looked like a burned mummy, and most likely. Elster wasn’t Alive to see any of Ariane’s true pain, yet Ariane probably would’ve still chosen the Penrose program. Why? Because hearing how sierpenski is that shit is SCARY. But also, we all know of Ariane’s bullying on rotfront. With how much she was getting bullied [I heard she even got put in hospital temporarily?? Idk if that’s right] she would of course pick that option. It’s like giving someone the option to choose: Go to school for years, Go for a year and get all of your diplomas immediately [of course it’s not a accurate comparison but shut up]

Bullying fucking ruins people, from experience I wanted to leave my entire country because I got bullied so badly. I wanted to leave the planet [as in going to space], when your given a choice between going to a facility or seeing the stars? You’d the stars especially in ariane’s place. The eusan nation is strict, and rotfront was terrible to ariane. Why would she want to put herself through more??

Anyways I’m literally ariane yeong (I bleached my hair to look like her, my roots are over grown tho 🫡) also sorry for so much writing, I have no one to really yap my ideas to 😔🙏

[s3cr3tjuic3]

PJO AGERE HEADCANONS!!! I DID IT!!!

PROPHECY 7 AGERE HEADCANONS!!!!

-

Percy: is a flip! he mostly has a caregiver lean, and he's a big brother caregiver to all the others (minus Annabeth). Percy is used to the big brotherness and easily includes it in his caregiving when caring for one of the others. He very easily keeps up with playing along with any silly bits that the kiddos come up with. he's also very strong and loves picking up and carrying the kiddos, especially to make them giggle or lay them down for a nap. when percy regresses, he's very quiet and cuddly. his age range varies, since he usually regresses involuntarily. annabeth is his main caregiver but some of the others dont mind watching over him (except coach hedge, ever since he tried to let percy play with his weapon collection, he's been barred from watching him). and if he's not cuddling with someone, then he's sleeping. you know that boy is tired! Sally has so many pictures of Percy curled up into Annabeth's side wrapped in his favorite blue blanket.

-

Annabeth: flip! Annabeth has a regressor lean, she's very chipper when small. She's usually in the toddler range, around 3-5. Percy is her main caregiver but just like Percy, the other cgs dont mind looking after her, although only Percy can keep up with her energy. Annabeth loves playing pretend. when Percy and Annabeth visit Sally, Paul, and Estelle, Sally sets up playdates for Estelle and Annabeth. Sally also has plenty of sleeping little Annabeth blackmail. Annabeth mainly caregives for Percy, she's started working out so she could carry a sleepy Percy around the Argo II. Percy is known for koala clinging to Annabeth.

-

Frank: regressor! Frank mostly regresses involuntarily as well and he regresses around 4-8. he's not very open about it but Hazel and Percy have learned to notice when he slips and are usually the two who take care of him. He's usually quiet and cries easily so he hides in his room. Hazel is his main caregiver. Frank hides them but he loves collecting plushies, and he has a collection from piper alone. Hazel and Percy often buy him some plushies after a difficult mission. Leo even made Frank a toy archery set with velcro and fabric; Frank isnt as good as archery when he's small but he still has accurate aim. although, he just prefers playing pretend with his plushies with Hazel and occasionally Percy. He's very easy to tire out and to be put to bed.

-

Leo: flip! he's a frequent babysitter for kiddos who's cg is busy but he's mostly a regressor. His age range is about 2-5. Piper and Jason are his caregivers. Leo is a very energetic little and it's a good thing he has two cg because otherwise, no one would be able to keep up with him. Piper and Jason have to drag Leo away from his tool belt. although he does spend time with Festus in the engine room. Piper and Jason just gang out since they cant understand Festus. But with how Leo talks when he's regressed, they dont know if Festus can understand him either. Leo mainly wants to drag his cg's around and play pretend with. Jason had to figure out how to make wooden weapons so Leo wouldnt hurt himself or someone else. They unfortunately learned that real weapons and little!Leo do /not/ mix well. ...thanks again Coach Hedge! Also, since Leo was gifted with the power of fire, he likes to be completely bundled in blanket when he's put down for a nap, though he doesnt go down without a fight. It usually takes Jason promising a few too many piggyback rides before Leo will let either of his cgs put him to bed. Piper knits blankets upon blanket for Leo to curl up with. And that boy always has dirty laundry. even when he's not working around the ship, even when he's in his play clothes, he still manages to get really dirty.

-

Hazel: is a caregiver! She mostly cares for Frank but she watches Percy and Annabeth if they need it

-

Piper and Jason: are caregivers! They both are Leo's main caregivers. Piper organizes days where the littles can do arts and crafts and Jason helps out where the kids need it.

-

General: Annabeth, Leo, and Piper have helped all the regressors decorate a space for themselves to freely regress in, as well as make and design toys. Piper and Jason work with Leo to make fake/wooden weapons for any of the kids. Piper also knits blankets, sweaters, and plushies for all the kiddos

[voidwritesstuff]

Roast Show Reprive. AKA "Who gave Jane a microphone?"

Cw: mentions of animal trafficking. (Lucas' platoon rescued a cat)

Summary: with spare time on their hands,the soldiers of Alpha Foxtrot decide to do something to make the troops laugh. With their dearest Jane at the helm.

Ocs mentioned: Ayzee ( @gizm0-gadgetz ) Noa and Rick ( @graceandtheidiotsquad )

There in the Jungle there was little to do. When they werent training,the soldiers would be fucking about in the canteen or the muck, betting ill gotten goods or working out. So the troops decided to do something, put on a comedy show.

The air had been grim lately,stress and boredom mixing together with patriotism and fear of survival. In a desire to be nice,Captain Alphonso Wheeler pulled some strings to have Head Nurse Jane Zhao at the helm of the show.

And what a mistake.

--C'mon boy,The show's about to start-- Alphonso put a hand on the shoulder of his lieutenant Lucas Cole,The radioman, who was currently fixing a radio.

--Five more minutes-- the other Man mumbled,like a child who wants to Keep sleeping. He had a white cat on his lap,purring up a storm.

The sweet kitten had bed rescued by the squad not too long ago. It was common to pick up strays,to save them from trafficking or companion animals for the soldiers.

--What are you,five?--The older Man insisted with a teasing yet lighthearted voice.-- C'mon,git ' off yer ass...-- he began walking away-- And bring commander fluffball witcha.

Knowing his friend wasnt taking "No" for an answer,he Drops his tools. Dedjectedly and quite huffy, he scoops up the purring feline and falls in line with his captain. --C'mon fluffy-- he murmured-- We're about to see comedy..

The canteen had been Turned into a small stage area. Troops Ate and mingled, the medical staff was fluttering about with the intention of being friendly,which was a first given how busy they usually are.

"The Hounds" as Alphonso's troop was nicknamed, had front row seats to the stage made of wooden crates And canteen tables. Speakers set up with a microphone stand. The murmuring of the crowd grows silent as head nurse Jane Zhao gets up on the stage and takes the microphone.

Something tells Lucas this is either the worst or best,idea Wheeler ever had.

--This thing on? Good-- Jane said. She was a small woman,but also a no-nonsense one. You could feel her step into a room,her presence was unmatched. She stood with her usual nurse outfit,never free enough to change,and her eyes have this deeply mischevious and excited glint to them-- And..are we all here?

The crowd cheered.

--Great. Then lets begin-- Jane took the microphone and began to slowly pace across the stage-- I know theres little to do here,in bumfuck nowhere-- some people snicker-- So its good to organize these things. Lord knows the higher Ups dont give two shits.

--Amen!--Alphonso says from his spot,some other soldiers agree with him.

-- I dont seem like the type,but im quite good at comedy-- She answered-- Roast comedy.

The crowd groans,others cheer excitedly. So this was it. Not a comedy show,but a roasting one. Nobody was more perfect for the role than the head nurse,who had embarassing story after embarassing story to tell. Nobody was coming out unscathed.

--Yeah,yeah,dont bitch about it -- she snickered-- Its either this or drills, choose one-- upon the silence of the crowd she says-- yes,thats what I thought.

--Man,the hell did you do?--Lucas asked,leaning over to his friend and mentor figure.

With the slow realization settling in,the sense of deep dread sinking down his chest, wheelers eyes widen with an embarassment that bordered on fear-- A mistake.

Jane waves off the complaining of the troops and stands by a Group of nurses sitting. They see Ayzee,a butch woman of short hair and defined muscles,looking up at her boss.

--Us nurses have a hard time going around with all the people here. Doesnt help we're running thin every day. -- she began-- A lot of the times, we're literally going by "Slap a bandaid on it and go". --She smirked-- And then theres Miss Winters over here,who had patched a bullet wound mid shooting with gauze and tape and sent the platoon on their way. Truly,amazing.

The crowd laughed,some clapped and Ayzee flipped her off with a tiny smirk. Jane then began to turn towards The Hounds,walking at a slow pace like a predator.

-- And "Slap on a band aid" isnt the only metaphor we go by. -- She continued,the attention of the room on her. Hanging on her every word-- Ever wondered where "Shoot yourself in the foot" comes from? I do. And im happy to say ive finally found the origin.

She stopped infront of The Hounds and looked down at the very young cadet wit a white cat on his lap. She smiles,and adds.

--Lucas Cole everyone!-- the troops explode in laughter,Lucas feels his face warm up. He also heckles at her,making her chuckle-- I still remember treating his dumb ass..

-- Give the kid a break!--Rick laughed, his blonde hair getting in the way of his sight. Seemingly fresh out of the shower.

--And that leads me right into "things you dont want to hear"-- She gestured at the blonde-- Here in the canteen we all get our food,unless you sneak in food like somebody I know-- she sneaks a glance to Alphonso-- Theres a reason Rick Hayes isnt allowed in kitchen duty. The phrase "Duck and Cover" shouldnt belong in a kitchen!-- laughter filled the room,Lucas even pushed Rick,who pushed him right back. -- It shouldnt! -- Jane insisted

The head nurse smiled,standing there with a kid like mischevious stance.

--Seriously! This guy should be in the demolitions squad!--She laughed. The crowd chuckles-- But hes here,with The Hounds,the best of our platoon. And I have to thank Noa for being the "Idiot Wrangler" of the Group. Saves me work-- She shrugged-- Though at this point she should go into the nanny bussiness. Hes got war time experience on the matter.

Noa laughed,alongside some of the other soldiers. -- I just might with your kids!

A round of "oooooh~!" Comes from the crowd. Jane laughed and waved him off-- Good one,Malie--she snickered-- And last but certainly not least, the captain Alphonso Wheeler. An invaluable veteran,who should be on his way to the retirement home by now.

More laughter and whistling fills the air,swelling like a tide. Alphonso laughed and yelled-- youre older than me! You bitch

The nurse cackled and said-- 'M taking you with me, asshole!

Continuing the show,the woman moved on to other grups. She jabbed and teased towards some of the other soldiers,couples of cadets and Nurses who werent as sneaky as they thought they'd be.

By the end,the air feels lighter,Jane exchanged a couple of words and returned to work. No time to waste, as always.

Yet by the end of the day,When she returns to her office (A tent) she couldnt help but wonder of her radio finally got fixed by the engieneers. She works better with music.

Upon her desk She finds a fresh cup of black coffee and chocolate. She chuckled and held the treat in her hands, seeing an "-A.W" written on the back. Thats Alphonso's way of saying "Try and talk shit about my contraband now"

And her radio,fixed, has a little note taped on the front. Written in green pen. "Thanks for making today lighter. PS. The commander helped -L.C"

Jane smiled,her eyes prickling with tears. She sits and enjoys the gifts she was given. She felt very lucky,despite all the stress, to be in this platoon. She was surrounded by Friends.

[the-bitterest-breakups-poll]

Poll: Round 1c #3

[Image ID. An image of Junpei and Akane from Zero Escape 999. Junpei is hugging Akane from be hide as she cries, and an image of Lea and Isa from Kingdom hearts sitting next to each other on a ledge overlooking the sun. their backs are turned toward the camera. Lea is on the right of the image and Isa is on the left. Lea looks at Isa while Isa looks forward. End ID]

*Reminder that Break up is being used loosely here and not all relationships may be romantic in nature

Propaganda under cut"

Junpei and Akane:

akane essentially used him (and others) as a pawn in a death game in order to save her own life as a child in the past (its complicated) but junpei & akane were childhood friends and had big crushes on each other and later junpei doesnt even resent her for getting him killed in multiple other timelines & what she put him thru hes just upset that she ran from him afterwards. they have a big blow-up when they meet again after a year and in one timeline they have a happily ever after but in most others one or both of them die and in Another akane deliberately wipes his memory of having met her again (but she keeps the ring he gave her for decades afterwards and still wears it as an old woman)

Lea & Isa / Axel & Saïx:

-Akusaï’s divorce after they lost their souls may not be as damaging to the rest of the worlds, but it did result in eleven years of glaring at each other across the room, verbal abuse of a child, two murders and one attempted murder, and one of the gayest scenes in the entire series (and that’s saying something). This all alongside Saïx getting his face sliced open and his getting possessed on two separate occasions.

They are the bitterest breakup because: so they were best friends, right? and this asshole (Xehanort) decided it would be fun to engage in unethical child experimentation! they meet this kid called Subject X, and she has no memories of who she was (we think she time-traveled from the super-past) and so Xehanort is experimenting on her. because he ALSO lost his memories and is trying to figure out how to get them back. anyways Lea and Isa become friends with Subject X, and they try to help her escape. however, one day she disappears (oh no!) and so Lea and Isa decide to become Ansem's (Xehanort's mentor) apprentices to figure out what happened. and then Xehanort goes on a killing spree, banishing Ansem to the Realm of Darkness and taking his name, then splitting the rest of the apprentices into their Heartlesses and their Nobodies. (lore stuff i dont feel like explaining; the important part is that Nobodies have no hearts, and therefore have no emotions! or so they're supposed to believe...) Xehanort/"the new Ansem" renames himself Xemnas and starts Organization XIII, which Lea and Isa are part of. Lea becomes Axel and Isa becomes Saix. They then spend a decade with no emotions, trying to help Xemnas achieve his goal of summoning Kingdom Hearts (the moon, not the game), which is difficult (impossible) without a Keyblade wielder, while also still figuring out where the hell Subject X went. And then Roxas and Xion, two teenagers, suddenly join Organization XIII. Axel is their basically-babysitter, but he grows a soft spot for them. And Saix doesnt like that, because he thinks Roxas and Xion are distracting Axel from their mission. Ofc it doesn't help that Saix knows what they are (Sora's Nobody and Sora's Replica, respectively) and sees them as less than the other Nobodies. Throughout the course of a year, Axel, Roxas, and Xion get closer while Axel and Saix become more hostile to each other. (funny how having no emotions can really put strain a relationship huh) And then they all die. Sort of. Xion dies and then everyone forgets her (stuff about how she's made of Sora's memories so none of the memories are really her, yada yada heart mumbo jumbo), Roxas goes back to Sora (who's been in a memory-loss-induced coma this whole time), and Axel works against Organization XIII until he dies helping Sora find his friends. But then Axel wakes up again because OOPSY DAISY turns out that killing a person's Nobody and their Heartless restores their original self! So he's Lea now, and everyone keeps deadnaming him. uhhh somewhere in there Saix also dies and gets recompleted but Xehanort (an old dude this time) kidnaps him and turns him into a Nobody (why does this keep happening). But then we find out that Saix found journal entries where he wrote about Xion (that nobody can remember at this point) and he's been working with Vexen and Demyx (other Org XIII members) to create Replica bodies to bring back Xion and Roxas. And ofc Lea doesn't know this, but he joins up with Sora and the other Guardians of Light to fight against the *REAL* Organization XIII (which Saix is a part of). *fight ensues* Saix is able to jog Xion's memories, which in turn lets Lea remember her, then Roxas (in a new Replica body) zhoops down and helps Lea, Xion, and Sora fight Saix and Xemnas. oh wait kairi's there too. uhhhh anyways Xemnas kidnaps Kairi, Sora goes off to save her (please stop doing this Squeenix) and then Lea, Xion, and Roxas all BEAT! SAIX! UP! and then Saix tells us that he was jealous and thought Lea was abandoning him. Saix and Lea have a very tender and homoromantic scene where Saix dies in Lea's arms and he lovingly says "See you, Isa" because he knows now that Isa will come back when Saix "dies" and then uhhh everyone kills Xehanort who then goes to the Kingdom Hearts Afterlife with his ex-husband and then Isa wakes up and he joins Lea, Roxas, and Xion in eating sea-salt ice cream atop a very tall clocktower. love wins!

Two sets of names because these besties break up after their hearts are stolen and they join a cult of people who have no hearts where the leader gives them new names that are anagrams of their old names with an x thrown in. The break up isn't a specific incident but a sliding scale of living without emotions (tge no hearts thing). There isn't canon material from the time of the break up but we do see the aftermath of it where they behave like the most divorced couple you have ever seen. This escalates when Axel gets kids (the cult gets two teenagers to join) and they, through the power of friendship, begin to grow new hearts. Saïx does not like the teenagers AT ALL. He gravitates closer to the cult leader while Axel drifts further away from the cult and Saïx with the kids. Literally the first interaction we see between them in canon is Axel going uh-oh and leaving immediately after he realises that Saïx is arriving. Things happen, Axel is Lea again after he gets his heart back and feels emotions, and in order to make amends Saïx, who's still tightly in the cult, acts as a double agent to betray the cult and free the teenagers. He then dies (foolproof way yo get your heart back) in Lea's arms after admitting he was such a dick bc he was jealous. Lea and Isa are later seen eating ice cream and playing frisbee together with the kids.

[kagender]

Hiya, can I hear your thoughts on Dark Keroro and possibly Miruru too? Anythings fine. Opinions, headcanons, speculation on how theyre doing now...I just want to see some discussion about them.

I LOVE DKKKKK i know i basically never talk about him but hes like, one of those characters i love but dont actively brainrot over ik. living weapons make me crazy and hes literally the definition of one like bro was incubated from tadpole to adulthood and the first thing he does once hes out is invade the earth.... because despite his similarities to keroro hes still a kiruru, driven to destroy. he makes me sooo sad he basically never had a childhood he doesnt know the whimsies of living he just wants to take over the earth bc thats his programmed purpose as a kiruru. i love that instead of giving him the same old defeat theyve given to oher kirurus, dark keroro gets redeemed. did some of the traits he inherited from keroro make him more suspecible to change than the average kiruru? probably. i think ever since he came to the alternative-pekopon planet weve seen in the movies outro, hes been trying to learn about the simpler things in life - when he walked out into the world he was instantly doing the grandest things - taking over an entire planet and commanding over other keronians. and actually i feel like a part of what makes him fail is his lack of actual bond with shivava and doruru in the events of the movie... since they basically ditch him at some point. i think since they tagged along with him hes trying to actually befriend them and learn more about them this time around. and hes a bit of a mess about everything really, because he hasnt experienced such a degree of social interaction before actually that gives me a thought. some episodes of keroro involve the platoon recalling their childhoods to the hinatas and tamama... how would that look for dark keroro? doruru and shivava absolutely have many stories to tell. would dark keroro feel left out? his whole childhood is a blur to him. he was literally born and raised in a matter of days from what it seems in the movie. would he be jealous?

as for miruru, i think as dark keroros key she wouldve watched over him while he was incubating, not only to make sure that the whole process goes over smoothly (i feel like a lot of error can happen when youre developing a whole damn complex organism in such a short window of time) but also just a sense of duty. the way i see it, this isnt the first time this kiruru model was put to use, and miruru has taken care of multiple kiruru clones before. in that way i see her as a bit of a maternal figure to dk (i know some people ship them though and this isnt meant to knock on that! do whatever you want this is just my take on their relationship) and im still genuinely sad over the fact that she was taken away in the form of a key by the garuru platoon at the end of the movie. i dunno, i dont fuck with the treatment of both mirara and miruru, since it seems that once they take their key form their purpose is over. in the case of mirara i can kinda see why she wouldnt come back, since she was sealed along with her kiruru, but if dark keroro gets a new chance at life why wouldnt miruru? wouldnt dark keroro miss her? shes the first person hes ever known, and certainly the closest :( it could be that the kiruru itself is still active, since in the movie dark keroro removes the "kiruru part" of himself, and so like mirara, miruru has to be sealed along with it for any future incidents. BUT IT MAKES ME SAD!!! the key keronians are living beings too it makes me so sad that theyre shackled to this purpose! like when u look at mirara in the first movie shes such a silly girl radiating charm and then shes just gone again! possibly for thousands of years! it makes me go like NO NO NO! but im just insane. free my pink girls 2025. anyways hmmm i think thats all. sorry if this is nonsense im insane but i dont know how to explain it sometimes. hopefully you got something cool out of it though!

[codemonki]

It has come to my attention that people actually like hearing about other peoples oc's occasionally. So im gonna be posting some images of my ocs and telling you about it! (its gonna be character specific for each one gonna do my Ace Attorney OCs, Idk about the others yet)

Starting off! Fahlin Starr, defense attorney in japanifornia.

^ her reference image.

(theres a lot under this so if you're interested lmao)

I used Joan of arc as an inspiration for how she looks, but she is a modern day knight within the courts. She attempts to take on all the damage against the defendant and reflect that evidence against the prosecution.

Here are her sprites!

She doesn't have many friends. She trusts to easily, and because of that she's shielded herself away from most people, only really giving time to her defendants (though she knows they could spurn her too, she has to take the risk). In short, she likes to protect her peace. There is one person however who's managed to get through her cold exterior! and its her long time private investigator companion, Bast Guess.

The companies of which they hailed from were close (and their mentors, closer) so they spent a lot of time working together. Fahlin swears she only requests Bast's help because it would be inconvenient to vet out a different PI, Bast knows however its because Fahlin actually things theyre friends.

Fahlin tries her best to be controlled by facts and distance herself from her emotions, but she usually fails. Though her face doesnt usually portray that fact. Shes plagued (ish) by resting bitch face.

she keeps herself organized, and doesn't stray away from networking with other attorneys. Its part of her duty to spread the word of her agency. She's also married to her work.

despite being very organized she also doesnt use calenders or daily schedules. Sometimes post-it notes but very rarely. This drives Bast mad.

I like to think that her pride can take a few dings, before she crumbles (shield motif <33)

Fun Fact!: She's a lesbian but she refuses to accept that she doesn't like men (she doesn't care if you're gay, but she cant be). She's got compulsive heteronormity up the wazoo. She had a situationship with a women named Anita Rhinum in Highschool and just... hasn't acknowledged the fact that she looks for her in every man she dates.

Her mentor was a veteran Attorney, set to retire soon named Leah Mason. She had already mentored many rookies, but Fahlin would be her last one and the only one to have stayed in the Japanifornia jurisdiction. Mason Law Agency would get renamed to Starr Law Agency, where Fahlin resides on the first floor, and the upper became home to Bast Guess's private investigation agency. (it has a name I'll remember it when I get to her).

Starr Law Agency Wait Room ^

Fahlin's Office^

Leah Mason and her husband Finn D. Clau (retired attorney and retired private detective)

Leah Mason was an almost motherly figure for Fahlin, they met when Fahlin was in college and needed an internship, so at age 19 she was taken under her wing.

This would be the first time Fahlin felt how a mother should treat their kid (even if it wasn't for long, and wasn't the same). When Leah retired she left to go travel the world, but made sure Fahlin had her number in case she ever needed help.

here is were the fun family drama begins. :))

Fahlin has her father, Basile Starr, her mother Reine Starr, and her older sister (by 1 year) Jess Starr.

Basile Starr was a very busy man who didn't have a lot of time for his kids, though if he found time he was a very kind man who did really love them. Reine Starr on the other hand had very high expectations, and made it clear that if her children wanted her time, they had to prove to her that they were worth it.

(its also important to note that by the time the kids turned 5, the marriage was becoming very loveless and Reine had begun seeing other men)

Fahlin did everything she could to make her mother proud, she worked to excel in everything she could and put effort into doing the things that she liked. Jess on the other hand, tried, failed, and decided she didnt want to appease their mother. Fahlin likes feeling as though she *earned* something, so she'd keep trying.

Growing up Fahlin did fencing and ballet with her sister, she wasnt graceful enough for dance but she did have the skill for fencing.

*this is NOT blood

Jess and Fahlin were very close when they were younger. Though they were one grade apart in school, they shared many of the same friends and hobbies.

they were each others best friend.

But things started to change when they got older, they drifted apart (Fahlin not keeping friends as easily). It all came to a head when their mother was accused of murder, and Jess was called to testify agaisnt her.

This testimony permanently severed their friendship, as Fahlin couldn't believe that their mother could kill someone. She convinced herself that Jess hated their mom so much that she would lie.

Once Fahlin turned 18 she moved out of her home in France and went to college in Japanifornia. She nothing back home worth staying for anyways.

When she met Anita in college, Anita showed her around town and introduced her to a lot of what Japanifornia had to offer. They met in an elective class then began hanging out outside of it.

I haven't draw doodles of them yet (bc Anita's a newer character)

last fun image <3

[ao3feed-erasermic]

Ugh Don't Perceive Me

Use the related link post to read Ugh, Don't Perceive Me on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/56873317 by emphasis_on_ghost_writer Learning Izuku had no quirk at all was a blow to all of them. Inko was worried about her reputation amongst her peers and, much more quietly because she could barely bear to admit it to herself, that this somehow meant something was wrong with her. Hisashi went into denial the second he heard that there was a point zero zero zero two (.0002) percent chance that Izuku could develop a quirk despite the extra feet bones, teeth, and organs. Everything he’d spent a lifetime building crumbling with one doctor’s meeting was unacceptable. He’d never allow it. Izuku was only four, he was still trying to figure out what that meant, why all the adults were so upset. So he did what any four year old would do- turned to his mom for comfort and reassurance. “But I can- I can still be a hero, right?” He asked, eyes wide and holding back tears as his favorite All Might video played on loop in his memory, competing with the doctor’s words that he’d most likely never have a quirk playing on loop. For the first time in his life, his mom didn’t answer him. Inko just turned away, covering her mouth with one hand as her own tears began to fall. Nothing was ever the same after that day. Words: 14842, Chapters: 11/?, Language: English Series: Part 1 of Don't Perceive Me Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Nedzu (My Hero Academia) Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Midoriya Izuku & Shinsou Hitoshi Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead Adopts Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead Adopts Midoriya Izuku, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic Adopts Midoriya Izuku, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic Adopts Shinsou Hitoshi, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Abusive Midoriya Hisashi, Neglectful Midoriya Inko, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Midoriya Izuku is a Little Shit, Midoriya Izuku is a Good Friend, Do not repost, Author doesnt know how to tag, If I missed any tags let me know, does it count as dadzawa and yamidad adopting hitoshi if izuku adopted hitoshi first, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Feral Midoriya Izuku, Shinsou Hitoshi Needs a Hug, Midoriya Izuku Has a Perception Quirk, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, why isn't accidental child acquisition a tag?, izuku isn't a baby unless metaphorically, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Feral Nedzu (My Hero Academia), Protective Nedzu (My Hero Academia), Mentor Nedzu (My Hero Academia), Midoriya Izuku Has a Knife Use the related link post to read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/56873317

[thenixkat]

oh i can just select the page on this site. Mushroom

ooof that is not facial perspective that is incorrect

just that's not good. Like nose? how flat the facial features are to cram them all in? just no man what a bad dad

no wonder getting a 'good job' from Kafka makes her blush. Acquired nicer father figure pls explain what a uni-organ is

also Kafka is so bad at keeping a secret identity

you didnt have to show yer face and transform infront of rich girl ya coulda transformed behind some rubble or something.

ok sir, you could tell her she did a good job after saving her and didnt have to reveal yer identity

why are you so bad at secret identity

local 32 yr old strongest creature in history

says the man who turned into his monster form at the monster slaying exam

big ass power tools

i like how the vice captain just forgot about these plot points that he picked up on b/c he Kafka was really endearing

also luckily for Kafka and Ichikawa they didnt say anything suspect while Mina was secretly listening to them

also lady talk to yer fucking friend

Kafka better than me, if that's all my exfriend that i was trying to reconnect with had to say to me after I almost died, more than once, and poured my heart out about how I felt about trying to get in the fucking force (not knowing she was listening), and did help save someone I'd just fucking move on with my life

no. 9 is wild. Just sitting bare ass and bare feet on a public toilet naked

i also like how this inhuman monster was able to apparently hold down a job for who knows how long.

Tho if what happens latter is accurate it probably ate and replaced the dude who got the job rather than like went through a job application/interview

heh imagine, local intelligent monster studying humans looking up how to succeed in a job interview on its phone also yeah the anime added more action and character interactions. SO as far as I can tell its a decent adaptation that in some regards improves on some regards

her mouth looks off right here

i dont think her mouth should be at that angle if her nose is at that other angle it also seems kinda high up?

… her nose might be too small as well local 27 yr old woman is just… ma'am why are you a stone wall? Talk to yer fucking friend

ya know the way the vice captain is thinking about shit, that maybe Kafka has something to do with the mysterious kaiju that showed up and vanished, tells me that a person turning into a kaiju isn't an idea that seems farfetched to at least this one guy in this universe

and like later when Kafka got outed, folks didnt seem mindblown about the idea of a kaiju shapeshifter but that Kafka was secretly the mystery daikaiju and secrets and feelings of betrayal. But the idea of a kaiju pretending to be a human as a concept just doesnt feel like something folks think as that far-fetched. and then he found Kafka very endearing and forgot

also yeah i do agree that Aoi guy should have been browner in the anime than he was

hey if he's doing like 1% every 2 months in… X years he could be average

he is very proud of himself tho yeah sometimes the noses are too small on character's faces in some panels

which then leads to the mouth being higher than it ought to be it least that scene is shorter in the manga

also having a paunch doesnt cancel out his arms and back being fucking shredded

we're told convos at the dorms are monitored. And see that there should be shit picked up on audio while folks are in the supersuits. But none of the characters who know Kafka's secret yelling about it ever gets picked up on. And its not like they're good at doing spot checks b4 saying shit

Kafka's like 10cm taller than the vice captain so someone got shit wrong in this panel

[sakuraandscales]

"Saying goes once you rile up a killer bee hive...they will never stop chasing you." He looked off at where those two kids had gone. "Hold a vengeance something fierce. Charmette pretends like she's fine but she's changed... Some of the others have started calling her "Swarm" ever since she got back out on the battlefield. You saw why."

Enough about the bee though.

He focused on Surge as she spoke about him needing to let Velocity have his full unbridled anger. Mm... he probably should tell her off for what she did. But.... "Both of those require her to stand still for longer than five seconds. One of the downsides of being me is I'm apparently slower than the female doppelgangers I have. BUT I am stronger. Besides, it's not worth the energy that is better spent bashing the Egg-bitch's face in instead."

To him didn't matter who got to Eggma'am first. Even if Velocity didn't do it...he could think of many other people who would. Espia, Hush, Salvadore, even gentle Duke... They just had to catch the mad woman and it would be over. Problem was... Iva knew that too. Adam himself wasn't usually keen on killing but... it had been so long. So many years since all this started. Enough was enough. He liked Vel but... he knew that there was no saving Iva. No redemption available. "Well... Vel's outvoted in the mercy department... I know a certain dragon ready to roast that human alive."

He did take note of how she labeled herself however, huh...no wonder Charmette was so curious about these two. The bee was practically their own mad scientist now tamed. She must have felt at home with Surge and Kit more than she did back home. Adam himself was...annoyingly mostly normal outside of his great strength. He could probably give Brass a run for her money at this point. And he still didn't feel like it was enough...

"Weapon, huh? I was gonna guess Amazonian warrior." He smiled a bit at his comment, it was meant to be a better phrasing for the same thing. "You dominate the battlefield better than most and have plenty of pride in that! Weapons don't feel pride you're more dangerous than that. And best of all you alone chose when to go off right?"

At the end of the day....he was still a version of the pink hedgehog. A big heart beat in that chest, and he even extended it to her. Even if it was probably dangerous to do so.... he didn't mind. Maybe a little danger was what he needed.

================================================

Charmette followed him and moved just enough to enter Kitsunami's line of vision, a gentle smile on her face. She heard all he was saying, she knew what was going though his mind. And yes, she understood.

"I know. But organic problems need organic solutions, you cant just cut out emotion... it doesnt solve anything! Removing one side or the other will only result in more problems Kit." She was gentle with him as she spoke. "I've hacked into all of Iva's best creations even Metal Velocity. I can figure out Starline's work too! You just have to give me the chance to learn! Before I met you, I was well on the way to hacking into the secrets of ancient DNA. A path I have since abandoned... but it gave me enough knowlege to know I can help you. If you let me."

"Kit... you're NOT doing this alone. I know emotions are a lot for you...but I think you're looking at it the wrong way. Starline MODIFIED you, you weren't originally like this. He made you into what you are today yes, but those changes are starting to give away to the original design beneath." She tried to phrase it in a way he might understand. "I know it's scary, and I know its a lot. But look at me. I am both logical and emotional, it CAN be done right. You're just not used to natural functions anymore."

"When I first met you... I saw what you were capable of, and that was through no fault of yours." Her smile faded as the memories came to her, without her glasses it was even easier to see her frown as she looked up at him. "Even then, I wasn't afraid of you. But....I've never been more scared than I am now however... Kit.....

I can't lose you.

The very idea of you losing all that makes you who you are it....it hurts. Physically it hurts. Like invisible knives cutting into my chest..."

"If you can't do it alone....then I will help you find another way." She held up a hand, like before back at the hospital. She knew her heart was owned by him even if she could never tell him that. Her bright sunny smile returned regardless just for him. "We WILL figure this out. I won't let it destroy you Kit... And if that means I have to leave my world behind to be here, so be it! I think if we work together, we can figure this out. Don't worry about hurting me, I know you can't do that. I'm part of your protective program now, right? So...let me include you in mine!"

"My own status is...something we can deal with once you're stabilized." Her mind wandered to her meds and how they werent working anymore... maybe her and Kit were dealing with similar problems."I don't have all the facts, but I can learn! We can learn! We can solve this! Together!"

Surge tossed herself on the big couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee stand. She gave a glance to the little Bee as she didn't see her as being the angry type. But after what happened to her? Who wouldn't be furious, angry, and spiteful at the world! Hell she was all for her being angry, and giving into her dark emotions. It did wonders for her after all. But still she was also a little worried how losing her wing would effect her mentally. But if it made her more dangerous then ever she was all for it!

" never heard of no killer bee--- then again i ain't never seen another bee besides. "

She admitted as she stared at the pink hedge boy

" guessin' it makes her more vicious an i'm all for that! let her get that shit out of her system i say. "

She snorted at him just playing into the dog joke and embracing it. Well at least he was good humored, if she said that to amy she'd have gotten the hammer for sure! Still as big a dork as he was he was kinda cute wasn't he? In that she would tolerate his stupid face kind of way. But she could see him being an actor he had the face for it, and the body to--- like damn he was kinda jacked wasn't he?

She forced herself to avert her eyes and focused on instead his seeming displeasure with his version of Sonic. On the one hand all sonics sucked, and this one seemed no different. She should have been honest, but instead she ran from her problems. What a bitch!

" Sounds like a total bitch! you outta tell her how you really feel! like really let her fuckin' have it! and i mean with yer hammer! like dude... she lead you on... an hung you out ta dry that shit ain' cool..."

She shrugged her shoulders

" Then again what do i know--- i'm a genetically modified super weapon, with anger issues and a pension for chewin' on wires..."

" So your worlds got an eggman to huh? suppose your Sonic ain't got the balls to off them either--- figures. No matter what world i go to... all them blue bitches are the same... an i feel ya on the captivity bit, i hate being couped up to... or ordered around. Guess i got a real problem with authority in general..."

==============================================

Hearing Charmette raise her voice caused him to stop and stare at her with confusion. He didn't understand initially what she meant as she barked at him. He was sure if she had her wings she'd have been buzzing loudly at him in anger. Yet as she spoke of the robotizier and its effects on her friends he could understand her apprehension. But she didn't know what he was enduring at all. She always had her emotions, she grew up with them--- he didn't have that and he couldn't fathom what it was like.

" ... I... was not designed with emotions in mind. My program, my memories... i am a Logic driven to my core. Its how he made he Chamette... i can't function with this influx of emotions... the drugs he used, and the psycho therapy are nearly impossible to replicate..."

His eyes drifted to the table where his design was still heavily in the works. So much of it was still not near ready and yet he was eager to implement it and be rid of these emotions that confused him so much.

" They are getting stronger... every day its harder to repress... the anger, the depression, and others i don't recognize... what else am i meant to do? i can't be there for Surge if i'm ruled by emotion... i know this isn't ideal but i've already considered all other avenues... if i don't do this... i could become a danger to you and surge and everyone! you must understand... this.. this is the only way..."

He seemed to freeze up when she spoke about her specialty and her desire to use it in some vain attempt to help him. On some level he felt that intense fear of Starline deep in the pit of his stomach. Yet he knew deep down she wasn't him, and wouldn't ever hurt him would she? But what could she really do for him? Drugs were all but useless, and what could she know about psychology? It seemed absolutely fruitless.

He turned and approached the design of that brain placing a hand on it and not answering her at all. At least not initially, as he run his fingers along the wire harness of the cybernetic brain. Muting his emotions was logical way to fix him wasn't it? or was he being irrational? His fear of his emotions was near overwhelming especially when she was close to him.

He... just wanted things to be like they were... before he started to feel this way.

" ... When ever you are near i feel so strange... i don't understand these feelings. I should want to continue with my plan... its the logical step to repair myself. "

He gripped at the device nearly crushing the steel cables

" But some part of me wants to believe there is another way... some other path. I just... i don't know what to do... but i'm suppose to know. I was made to know... i was meant to be the smart one... now i just feel... lost... "

" I don't know what to do... i just feel strange, like i'm becoming someone else. I keep having these dreams... i don't want to feel like this anymore--- i want these feelings to stop..."

[blookmallow]

ya FUCKED UP 

[blitzyn]

unintended effect

dottore x m!reader

request : none

Synopsis: Meeting a new stranger at your shrine didn't go as well as you had expected it to.

cw -> non-con, blood and spit as lube, anal sex, public sex, sadist dottore, kitsune reader, crying, tail pulling, face slapping, non-con drug use, choking, yall get caught but dottore doesnt care lol, brief ear pulling, not proofread

wc -> 3.6k

a/n -> i need him so bad omg. anyways super sorry if its shit. spoilers for the end of the aranara quest!

"It's not often I get new visitors."

Dottore instinctively peered up to face the voice, spotting a figure cloaked within the shadows the night offered. He could faintly see the way they curled atop the statue he stood in front of.

"I'm not visiting." He spoke with unhidden confidence.

"So what brings you here, then?" They questioned. Truth be told, finding the shrine was an accident. Although he read about them, he was far too busy with Scaramouche's ascension to "godhood". But he'd amuse you for a while longer.

“I’m simply taking a stroll,” he answered, placing his hands behind his back.

“It is quite the night for a walk, isn’t it?” He could faintly see something swish within the air. "Our village is well known for its night."

That was strange. He would have thought it would be a tourist hotspot for the sunset or sunrise - not the night. There wasn't anything noteworthy that he could see.

"Not here, of course." He could hear the amusement in your voice when you saw him slightly tilt his head in confusion. "I haven’t done anything praiseworthy yet.”

He quietly watched as you jumped down the statue, finally able to see your features. He was a bit surprised to see that you were not a human and had fox attributes. Your five tails swayed behind you, so he was able to surmise that you were around five-hundred years old. He heard about kitsunes before, though the only one currently well-known was the Head Shrine Maiden: Yae Miko in Inazuma.

He must admit, your species mildly fascinated him for a time, although the interest very quickly died out throughout his time in the Akademiya. Now that one was standing before him, that interest may have been rekindled.

"I am the guardian of the village," you spoke, ever graceful in your movements. Though, he did wonder what exactly what you were guarding against. As far as he knew, his agents informed him of the famed Traveler who adventured with the Aranara and defeated something called the “Marana Avatar '' which was the source of all Withering Zones. The only formidable enemies he saw on his journey here were the Fungi that mindlessly hopped around.

“It’s not the most interesting thing in the world, I admit,” you turned around to collect the offerings gathered within the foot of the shrine. “Not much to protect.”

You quietly laughed to yourself. “My mother would have my head if she ever heard me say that.”

“How so?” he questioned, watching as you organized a few things.

“She passed away during the Cataclysm. This village was her pride and found joy in defending it. I was but a kit at the time, so she was mostly on her own while she fought.” You sighed, though you didn’t appear the least bit upset.

It wasn’t a very thrilling tale, but he was able to surmise that you thought so, too.

“Do you enjoy guarding the village against rogue mushrooms?” The way he spoke almost made it seem as if he were genuinely asking, but the small, condescending smile that adorned his face told you that he was teasing your profession.

You laughed. “Oh, Gods’ no. I would very much rather be somewhere else right now.”

“Then why haven’t you left? I don’t see any benefits in staying,” he said. “I’m confident your villagers will be able to defend themselves if the Fungi wander around.”

“The only thing keeping me anchored here are the children that offer me some of their candy every so often,” you explained, motioning to the small basket in your hands. “They look up to me.”

“They want to become avid Fungi hunters when they’re older?” He was beginning to enjoy speaking with you, even if there wasn’t much to talk about. Maybe it’s natural Kitsune charm? 

You barked out yet another laugh. “I don’t see why, either. But, hey, free candy.”

Dottore uncovered an opportunity in your words. Various reports submitted to him reveal that children were far more likely to see the Aranara if they stumbled upon a dangerous situation. To ordinary humans, the Fungi posed a threat even to adults (as pathetic as that was), so if he managed to persuade you into leaving, one of the children could maybe encounter one of the fairies. But he was not opposed to taking you away by force, either. He would not let this chance slip by him - not after the majority of his agents stationed in Sumeru failed their mission.

“But other than that, what’s really stopping you?” Pride? A sense of responsibility? “It seems you’re not needed here.”

“Harsh.” You knew he was just saying it as it was. “Realistically? Mora. Ideally? The children.”

He hummed. “I am capable of providing you with sufficient housing and a generous amount of money.”

Your ears visibly perked up at his proposal. “But I do ask that you work for me in return.”

You looked off to the side, seemingly in thought before you looked back at him. “I’m no mercenary.”

“Maybe not, but don’t you crave a change of pace? To finally bask in what the rest of the world has to offer?” You were seriously tempted to accept his suggestion, but the chains of doubt wrapped around your wrists and pulled you back down to reality. You didn’t know if he was lying or not. While you were able to defend yourself just fine if anything were to go wrong, you preferred the safer option of just not letting it happen.

You shook your head in response. “That would be amazing, but I’ll have to decline your offer.”

He was confused. You complain, but you decide to stay? Where was the logic behind your words? Were you tied down by your mother’s legacy, perhaps? Maybe there was something else besides the weak reasons you so confidently spoke of.

A chill ran down your spine as he studied you. You were unable to see the majority of his face with his mask covering the top half of it, but it doesn’t take a genius to tell that he was unhappy with your answer.

While he wasn’t satisfied, he wasn’t left at a loss, either.

“Very well, then,” he said after a time. You smiled at his understanding, before turning on your heels to begin your trek towards the village. He watched your back for a moment before he felt his fingers slightly twitch. He managed to come up with a plan as soon as you declined; inject you with a type of drug that would make you pass out and tie you up in one of his laboratories. Simple, but effective.

He walked in your direction as his hand reached into one of his pockets to grab a syringe already full of the drug. He discreetly uncapped it before lunging towards you to tug your head forward and force the needle into the back of your neck. It was done before you could be given time to really process what just happened, but the sharp sting kept you grounded. You looked back in surprise and pressed onto the injection site in reflex while backing away from the man.

“What did you do?” Your voice was weak in shock, a pit of fear beginning to form within your chest. You heard the rustling of his clothes steadily grow louder, but you simply chalked it up as him on his way back to wherever he came from. He amusedly observed your ears flattening alongside the back of your head and how two of your tails wrapped around your legs while the others curled in a way that reminded him of a fearfully submissive dog.

“I gave you a dose of a simple knock-out drug,” he explained, leisurely striding closer to you. “It was originally for one of those forest fairies, if I ever got the chance to find one. They’re quite difficult to come across so I do hope using it on you is worth my time.”

He hummed and looked away in thought. He had heard they were relatively easy to befriend as long as you helped them out a little, so he hoped one didn’t show up right at this moment. Once he transported you to a well-hidden spot, he could create another drug and use it on a fairy. But he was slightly taken aback when he realized that you were still standing. It should’ve affected you by now.

It clearly had some type of effect on you, judging by the flushed look on your face. You were panting and your legs were trembling, it was a fight in and of itself just trying to keep yourself from falling over. There was a raging inferno within your body, and you felt like you were overheating. An arousing sensation arose in your abdomen. You quickly realized that this was no knock-out drug. At least not to you.

Dottore curiously moved so that he was face-to-face with you. He looked at the syringe in his hand to reconfirm the content that was once in it. He knew there was nothing wrong with it (after all, what use would having an aphrodisiac be?), so it was interesting to see the difference compared to his expected result and the current outcome. Your hands futilely tried to tug down your shirt now that he could see everything clearly since he was so close up, but you accidentally pressed them onto your aching cock, forcing a moan from your lips.

“Hm. This wasn’t what I expected.” He placed a hand on his chin as he began to circle you, inspecting your body. You were the one with the features of a predator, although you certainly felt like prey under his watchful gaze. You continued to display fear, as shown by your ears and tucked tails even though you so desperately tried to hide the lust that effortlessly overpowered your senses. He enjoyed seeing you this way.

He suddenly kicked your knees out from under you, forcing you to kneel as a pained expression briefly overcame your face. You had to hold back a groan when his hand found its way into your hair, fingers tightly curling around the strands to tug you around. He made you look up at him as he dug the sole of his foot onto your sensitive dick. You choked on a moan and ground your nails into his leg, weakly trying to pull him off of you.

“Aren’t you a pathetic little thing?” He pushed his foot harder, relishing in the noises you tried hard to keep from releasing. Shame squeezed your chest, making it difficult to breathe. But your mind was caught in a messy haze of arousal, confusion, anger, and fear. Each of their components only coerced you further into a stupified state, and you soon took the appearance of a babbling slut. You were fleetingly aware of the mortification when you began rutting your hips into the hard surface of his boot – just like the mutt in heat you were – but you’d be lying greatly if you said it didn’t feel relieving.

Your desperation only served to arouse Dottore as he felt his cock harden in his pants. He smiled, memorizing how quickly you were reduced into nothing but teary-eyed and stupid. Lightly palming himself, he thought of all the time he had left to spare. He might as well use some of it now.

You stifled a sob when he removed his foot, grunting when he kicked you onto your back. You were a bit disoriented due to the sudden change in positions, but as the fresh air of the night caressed the burning skin of your legs, an alarm rang through your head. It took you a moment to realize what he was about to do. Out of reflex, you attempted to sit up to try and stop him before he harshly pushed you back down from your chest.

“Fighting it will only make it worse,” he said, lining his cockhead against your asshole after spitting on it. “Relax, will you?”

“Wha–No…No..!”

You raised one of your feet in a last ditch effort to kick him away, but he simply held onto the underside of your knee and hiked it up on his shoulder. You squirmed futilely as he did the same to the other one, keeping you in place with a mating press. Now that he was finally towering over you, he used most of his body weight to force his cock deep into your hole.

Nothing could’ve prepared you for the pure agony that came with it. With his hands occupied with pinning your arms down, he had the audacity to place his lips over yours to silence your scream. You struggled to free yourself from his grasp, though the tense of your body made you tighten around him. He let out a satisfied, shuddering sigh.

It felt like he tore you apart, a burning sensation that originated from your hole reverberated throughout your body, pulsing in rhythmic waves. You hiccuped pathetically as he pulled off of you, taking away some of the strain in your legs. He noticed that the slide out was smoother than he expected, peering down to where the two of you connected. His cock throbbed fervently when he noticed that it was coated in your blood.

You bit your lip hard when he leisurely thrusted back into you. Tears rolled off of the sides of your face as you turned away from him.

A sensation akin to electricity traveled up and down his spine. “Oh, don’t cry yet. We’ve only just begun.”

He finally began his pace, irritating whatever he tore, and using you however he liked. The pain was dizzying. He refused to allow you a moment of respite as he wallowed within your agonized whimpers and grunts, thrusting hard enough to fuck the air out of your lungs. Your lower half was on fire from the tearing, the muscle strain, and the sting when his pelvis slammed against your ass. You didn’t know if you were going to be able to walk after this.

You were terrified to feel the familiar feeling of lust pooling in your gut, mixing in with the burn in your asshole. Though the drug was still hard at work, amplifying your arousal far more than you would’ve liked. Your cock weeped precum, to which Dottore gathered on his fingertips after releasing one of your numb arms.

“Look at how much you want this.” His hand was shaky on account of his relentless thrusts, but despite that, you were given a clear view of your shame. “Perhaps you were made to be my whore instead, hm?”

He groaned. “Instead of staying here for something so… ngh – insignificant. You’ll be much better off as my cum-dumpster ready to serve me at a minute’s notice. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

You shook your head, sobbing slurred ‘no’s’ and pleading for something, anything, just not that. He almost couldn’t believe how intensely he’s getting off to such a sight, and he decided, at that moment, that you were going to be his new pet. His good little dog.

He suddenly leaned backwards a bit, avoiding the sloppy attack you made.

Though, he was going to have to train you first.

You were aiming for his neck, so it’s only fair he gets to return the favor, right?

Your eyes widened when you felt his hand wrap around your throat, holding you so tightly your head began to ring almost instantly. You felt like you were going to pass out. You could feel your eyes roll back under your eyelids as drool escaped the corners of your mouth. Everything began to sound muffled when you were suddenly forced back into reality.

Agony shot through your face as your head was abruptly tossed to the side. He had slapped you. Fresh tears cascaded down your cheeks, trying hard to process everything that you were feeling. Pain, pleasure, pain, pleasure… which was it?

You unknowingly shivered when Dottore pulled out of you, but you knew better than to assume he was finished with you. He flipped you onto your stomach, a small smirk present when you didn’t put up a fight. You were far too disoriented to do so. A wince crossed your face when the cold concrete floor touched your cock, although you made no move to adjust yourself.

He placed you on your hands and knees, manipulating your body so easily you could’ve been mistaken for a fuck doll. He pushed the tip of his dick inside your throbbing hole before separating your tails in half, taking three in one hand and two in the other. Your fur may have been thick, but it was nothing a (very) tight squeeze couldn’t handle. Once he found his grip, he yanked you backward as he thrusted forward, a loud slap echoing throughout the forest. The tip of his cock pressed against your prostate, and you couldn’t help but let out your loudest moan of the night.

His pace was as punishing as before, fucking you hard enough to make your ass burn. You tried your hardest to quiet your moans with a bite of your lip and a cover of your hand, but not even that was enough to silence your noises. The ache in your tails prompted you to fuck yourself back on his cock. He let out a small grin, though he decided against commenting on it when he noticed something moving in his peripheral.

It was only a moment later when your ears shot up and swiveled in the figure’s direction, eyes widening when you saw who it was. “G-Go… ah – go home..!”

“Oh, don’t make them leave now, they’ve only just arrived.” You barely registered the firm hand on your thigh. “Let’s give them a show.”

Your back was suddenly pressed up against his chest as the thigh he was holding was held up high enough for the person to see. The new angle allowed him to target your prostate with more accuracy, fanning the uncontrollable flame in your abdomen. You shook your head – to Dottore or the person, not even you were sure of. You weakly held onto his wrist when he reached around your body to jerk you off, digging your nails into his glove.

You tried your hardest to stop yourself from orgasming, you really did, but it persisted twice as intense until you were no longer able to hold it. Your eyes rolled back in ecstasy as cum spurt out of your cock, back arching against him. You could’ve sworn you blacked out for a second. You tightened even further around him as he finally stilled, feeling uncomfortably warm as he came inside you with a deep groan. He held your thigh so tightly you were sure you’d have bruises.

You looked back over to the spot the person was at, but was relieved to know that they no longer stood there. The leg keeping you up burned in exhaustion from holding nearly all of your weight. You trembled due to your overwhelming emotions; shame, arousal, fear, anger, confusion, exhaustion.

You stared ahead, unmoving as he pulled out of you. You rested on your folded legs, head throbbing painfully. You winced when he yanked you to him by your hair, keeping you on your knees as you faced his softening cock.

“Good pets know to clean up their messes,” he said, relaxing his grip on you, but refusing to move his hand elsewhere. You swallowed nervously before reluctantly holding onto the base to place him in your mouth. “Though, bite me, and I’ll do more than just simply tearing out your teeth.”

You nodded. He smiled to himself. Good, he was getting somewhere with you.

An urge to hide away formed in your mind, but you willed it away with the fact that he wasn’t going to let you go. Not unless some miracle saved you. You ran your tongue over his cock, licking away the remnants of his cum and your blood. The salty, metallic taste raised goosebumps all over your body, and you had to stop yourself from throwing up.

Though, just as you got to the head, he suddenly grabbed you by the ears and pulled. You choked and gagged, completely caught off guard. He kept you there, watching amusedly as you drooled and sputtered over his dick. It wasn’t until he could feel your grip on his legs weakening did he allow you to push yourself off of him, coughing hard.

He composed himself while you had your fit, crossing his arms expectantly when you finally caught your breath.

“Hurry and fix your clothes. We’ll head towards the area I’m temporarily staying at where you’ll wait until the ship to Snezhnaya arrives.” You wiped your teary eyes and put the bottom half of your clothes back on. Your legs trembled as you got up, only able to take a few weak steps forward before you fell to your knees.

He sighed and swiftly made his way over to you, grabbing you by the arm to carry you bridle style. Everything hurt now that the entire ordeal was over (at the moment), and you watched with saddened eyes as the statue gradually shrunk the farther away you went. You blinked hard. You didn’t want to fall asleep in his arms, but the feeling was far too strong for you to resist. With a heavy heart, you closed your eyes and let your slumber take you.

cross posted on ao3

[dawnleaf37]

oh god I haven’t even thought abt the lore. well there’s mecrosoft paper, suitcase, test tube, feathry, and silver spoon but I didnt really have an idea for him so. im saying ss is non canon. and then later we added gray and moon who don’t have designs yet

paper is like clippy and really clingy. I think he’s also a bit of mischievous spyware, just a silly little guy Knowing about you and your computer. despite me drawing suitcase first, paper was the first guy created. paper pops up randomly with his tips n stuff and then disappears of the screen to who knows where lol. he’s differentiated from ii paper in that he almost always has a static smile on his face and also the pink line on him is now black.

suitcase is a wonderful file organizer and works good with storage. like paper, she randomly pops up with tips and tricks about computer tech and fun facts. she usually stays on screen if there’s at least one application open. suitcase ISNT spyware however 🎉. iirc shes abt to be discontinued for a newer os (you can still archive the download site tho). difference from regular suitcase she is a flat fuck and also can float. more expressive than the other guys too!

test tube I havent talked abt too much. most recent product and is also an organizer. as well as helps run applications. they say tt makes the computer run faster but they are 8000% lying. made to replace suitcase and paper on newer operating systems but uhhh glitchy as hell not working >:(. they brought back using these guys as spyware and even adware. horrible. tt always has a clipboard and again mostly a static smiling face. silly idle animations. comes on every os and there’s youtube videos on how to uninstall her /silly

mecrosoft is a shitty company so since tt creates adware, they advertised feathry as an ad remover. and she works!!! mostly!!! theyve still gotta make money n shit so she doesnt work all the way. just enough. shes also a paid subscription so mecrosoft you bitch as. feathry has a green marker but she doesnt even scribble out ads it’s just there for appeal. but if you buy now you get a silly creature on your computer!!!!!!!! please

mecrosoft gray wasn’t really ever supposed to exist tbh lol!! they were trying to make mini helper things for each application but none of the guys ever worked except gray’s and they couldn’t figure out why. the real reason is because well! gray is the reason. fucked up little computer creature demands ten thousand attention forever and started deleting code for the other guys while they were testing. and then they just kinda forgot to take gray off of the os because no one ever uses the calculator tool. gray even buggier than metube because he just always gives the wrong answer or just some non existent unit of measurement. little fucked up thing. sentient creature. invasive species. probably a bad idea. might even give your computer a virus? idk it seems to be quite good at modifying code /silly

lore lore lore: copy of mepaper started bugging out on an old computer and the guy using it was like “hmm this is some really creepypasta shit.” idm if you wanna make that guy OJ ig that’d be cool I never really decided (I think ill just say OJ here to make it easier) but mepaper eventually became sentient and became friends with him. but OJ can’t really do work on it now so he bought another one off of like craigslist or whatever. came installed with mesuitcase. mepaper saw that n was like “what the hell dude.” keep in mind this guy(mepaper) doesnt have a voice so hes just speaking thru text boxes lol. so what mepaper did was fuck up the mecase computer with like some really bad virus but somehow mecase survived that. barely. so OJ was like “fucks sake dude” and ig mepaper felt bad so he tried to apologize. but OJ wouldn’t let them near each other so they kinda just yelled from across the house when he wasn’t home. mecase has a voice btw uh it’s not the best quality but she has it. so they made up and theyre cool now.

I haven’t thought abt anything with metube or mefeathry yet so youll have to wait for that 🎉

[fagcrisis]

alright so! im not gonna bother with a very organized post i wouldnt be me if i did but here are my collision thoughts!

i liked the theme song, which sets it apart from dynamite and rampage in that it isnt dogshit. i also liked the set and the presentation, although i wouldve loved if it was more distinct from dynamite (also i miss the tunnels) but overall they made a great job of adhering to the companys aesthetic while making a new distinct looking product. i also was hoping since its live on tnt that they would have different editors, this clearly isnt the case, editing was shit. not a collision issue aew just needs better editors.

i agree with everyone on this, commentary was a little rough. i didnt really know nigel before (i never have time for roh) so i didn't know what to expect and he and kevin obviously need time to figure out how theyre gonna work together, and kevin also clearly struggled with the american format (ad breaks, promos between matches etc). overall it is still better than dynamite commentary and i have high hopes for them! not even Hoarse Corpse Jr at the main could take them down to his level.

i'll admit i didn't fully watch punk's promo at the start, im a notorious promo skipper but i watched most of it, and it seemed alright to me. there was a bit of dissonance between how they seem to be bringing him back as a heel but being in chicago didnt get the response to his speech that he wouldve gotten elsewhere.

super excited about everyone showing up on the show if this is for real a roster split they picked some good fucking people for collision! jurys out on scorpio sky ive only ever seen him with frankie kazarian and i dont like kaz so

all the matches were good, even the tnt match i wasnt at all interested in was kind of like watchable and christian pretending he won the tnt title was really funny so ill let him have this. andrade and buddy were pretty incredible and miro looked fucking huge and awesome so ill forgive tony nese being there. skyewillow vs the outcasts slapped altho i wish they yknow. had more than one womens match. but it was really good skye looked incredible she and willow worked great together and im so happy she got the pin! i really hope skye and willow continue teaming together. also the outcats r much more enjoyable when saraya is not there, i love their over the top heel antics tbh

the main was good! sadly i dont give a shit about ftr and juice so it was kind of a struggle but they are good (well ftr are) i just dont like em. anyway punk looked good he was moving well and i thought it was well paced and everyone got their due time in the spotlight (being in the ring w punk)

overall this was a very solid start to this show, obviously we know aew can put on a good show but its the question of whether they are able to keep this momentum going. good wrestlers and a nice new look doesnt make the show good immediately, so im a little hesitant to say anything more about its impact right now but i had fun

[leverage-commentary]

Leverage Season 3, Episode 4, The Scheherezade Job, Audio Commentary Transcript

John: From left to right on your radio dial this is John Rogers, executive producer.

Aldis: This is DJ Chocolate Skittles, also known as Aldis Hodge.

Chris: And this is Chris Downey, executive producer and writer of this episode, The Scheherazade Job.

John: Aldis has very kindly decided to join us for this commentary since he was-

Aldis: Hello!

John: He did a lot of work on this episode. This one rode- 

Chris: Oh yeah

John: This was one of those ones where you're just like, ‘This actor's gonna be working his ass off for this.’

Aldis: Oh joy.

John: Well Chris, why don't you tell us the origin of this episode?

Chris: Ah well the origin came from a- my friend here to the left, Aldis, back in season one we were just talking about you know things we like to do in our spare time and Aldis mentioned that he loved the violin, he’d been studying it, it was the closest thing to the human voice for an instrument.

Aldis: Yes.

Chris: And coincidentally my wife is a violinist and at the time I said to you, ‘I'm gonna find a way in an episode of Leverage to have you play the violin’ and what did you say to me?

Aldis: I think I said, ‘Do it.’

[Laughter]

Chris: And then you laughed at me.

Aldis: Yeah, we were shooting what was that, the season finale?

Chris: Might've been the season finale

Aldis: That was- yeah, Pasadena?

John: Yup

Aldis: Yeah, yeah, I remember that conversation.

Chris: And this is Martha Boles, terrific actress from Los Angeles.

John: This is interesting actually, we had a- when we were setting up the bad guy here, we had an interesting conversation about- and this is one of those things you talk about in television. Should the reporter be white or not?

Chris: Yeah.

John: Yeah. We were looking at casting and we were like, no it should be a black reporter working with that. And then we got some, you know, feedback that's like, well now it's a white crew of criminals, apparently missing Aldis’s presence, helping out a black reporter. 

Aldis: Don’t worry, they miss me all the time.

John: It's one of those- it’s tricky, it's one of those things where one of the reasons we kinda were leery of doing international crimes, first season and second season. And you kinda- because it's always a minefield, it just is. And now in third season, everyone’s comfortable and everyone knows the show well enough that you can kinda try to swing outside the box. I think Chris did a great job taking this outside the box for the first time on the show.

Chris: Yeah it was- it was interesting cause most- I think we talked about this, most episodes start with the bad guy and we kinda work our way from there. We kinda talk about ‘what's the bad guy, what does he want, what is his weaknesses’. And this is one of those episodes that started with a big idea late in the episode which was the orchestra heist, and we kinda worked from there to kind of try and figure out whose our bad guy? And that's- we decided- we hadn't done an African kleptocrat, we wanted to do that for a long time, and this seemed like a good opportunity to do that.

John: Now also when doing a straight heist, because we were coming at it as a straight heist, we wanted a small highly portable object. The cleaner the object, the cleaner the goal of the heist, the more you can work around the elegance of the heist itself. And when you're staring with an elegant heist, which is the music heist, you have to do something very clean, which was diamonds. And so it all sort of fed into this one storyline.

Chris: Yes, yes.

Aldis: Didn't you want to play the organ? At first I mean that's plain and portable and-

[Laughter]

John: Yes, originally it was a giant Wurlitzer organ. 

Aldis: Yeah, just a whole thing.

John: This was a ton of fun, this was a great little fight scene. 

Chris: Yeah.

Aldis: Kane had too much fun shooting this.

Chris: He had a lot of fun here. And these gentlemen are Garfield Wedderburn and- yeah, Garfield Wedderburn is the lead goon here; his name is goon.

Aldis: Goon.

[Laughter]

Chris: And there he is doing this- some kind of scary tai chi?

Aldis: That was actually a joke and it just made it on the reel, it was like-

John: You know what? We saw it in the dailies, we were gonna cut out of it but it was like- but the idea he would just scare the shit out of those guys to get them to go. ‘Can your dog do that?’ That was great.

Chris: ‘Can your dog do that?’

John: It is nice every now and then to remind people exactly why everyone on the team is there.

Chris: By the way, I love that you named the dog Megabyte. 

Aldis: Megabyte, yeah, yes.

John: That was you, that’s right. 

Chris: That was all you.

Aldis: If anybody can get that, Megabyte, yes. Now if one of those days we just see the dog, which will probably be a poofy little yorkie or something like that.

John: Dogs are too expensive; we can't afford them.

Chris: We can't afford them.

Aldis: We can't afford dogs.

Chris: We'll do a virtual dog.

Aldis: A virtual dog, yes.

John: That's sad.

Aldis: The little mechanical one with the batteries? Yeah.

Chris: Sure.

John: Now continuing the original conversation, so we knew we were working backwards towards an African kleptocrat, but how do you find a guy who’s like based in the states, so we’re not flying overseas, we’re not trying to fake a city you can't fake on our budget. And so that led us to the research and- did we find someone who was real, Chris?

Chris: Well, there's no similarities to persons living or dead. But, um-

John: We’d like to say for both legal reasons, and so we don't get shot in the face.

Chris: Yes, please.

John: Oh my god, this guy is real and he's horrible!

Chris: He's real, he's horrible. He's not a classical music fan, that was something we brought to it, to facilitate the story. But he is a very wealthy relative of an African kleptocrat who has a house here in the United States and in Paris and has a Bugatti and all the things you would imagine a kleptocrat would.

John: All the way down, actually, to the fact that the reason he does not fall under the- is not criminalized under some of the kleptocrat laws we have here in the States, with the same plot point we have in the show, which is he's been a friend in the war on terror.

Chris: Yes, yes that’s all true.

John: Which looks like he pretty much turns in political opponents.

Chris: Wow, we certainly don't want to say that he does that, but-

John: But oh come on.

Chris: And here we have-

John: Your name’s on the show, they're gonna kill you. I'm not too worried. 

[Laughter]

John: And here's Elisabetta Canalis, the loveliest Elisabetta Canalis.

Aldis: Aldis Hodge was never here, was never here. This actually is the second time we've seen her in the entire arc of this third season. So now the audience is getting another taste of exactly who she is, because she just left us off with blackmail, and now, you know, we're digging into her story. Of course at the end of the show, we get to see that she's not as fair game as she comes up to be.

Chris: Yeah, and we wanted to make her kind of you know sexy and mysterious, and I like this scene cause-

Aldis: Sexy what? Sexy?

Chris: Yeah well she-

John: Well there's no reason we just shoot her legs in every scene.

[Laughter]

Aldis: Exactly, there's no reason to put her in heels and closeups on the face, no! Not at all.

John: This was a nice bit that you came up with: the idea that kind of flirting, sexy, dangerous. And Nate Ford being smart enough to realize it’s a very bad idea.

Chris: I love this, this is one of my favorite flashes.

John: It's one of my favorite zooms, it's a hypothetical zoom, it's something we never usually do.

Chris: I like it because right here she looks so bored,

[Laughter]

Chris: There's something about the insouciance of it, of her.

John: Oh another guy being garotted in front of me.

Chris: Oh stop the tape.

John: It's another Thursday for me.

Chris: And he was- Tim was great at, you know, holding his throat like that.

John: Yeah the- well the sort of implication, again, is again, it’s tricky the team has been playing a lot without ever being taken down themselves. Tim has to carry a lot of the weight acting because he's the one who interacts with Elizabetta the most, to convey the threat she portrays to make sure you take her seriously. And nice diagrams on the glass boards. I always love the glass boards

Aldis: Provided by…?

John: Who drew on that one? I don't think I drew on that one, I wasn't there for that one. 

Aldis: Really?

John: No, that handwriting is too good that's not me. Usually- yeah, usually I spew the bullshit that goes up on the glass.

Chris: Now what's nice- 

Aldis: And it- oh, sorry, go ahead

Chris: Oh I was gonna say it’s a nice opportunity to get a little bit into Eliot's backstory which we, in the early scene in the bar, he alludes to the fact that knows about these- what goes on in these countries, these Chinese- these child soldiers. And you know I think here you can kinda see this whole- this whole particular case is really, you know, affecting him directly.

John: Yeah it's part of the over the course of the arc, kind of peeling back everybodys past this season. And we gave Eliot you know- we really wanted to sort of reset and remind people for the finale that Eliot, you know Eliot killed people. Eliot was not a good guy and is trying to be a better guy.

Aldis: What I had to say was nowhere near as intuitive as that, but the prior scene a lot of- a lot of times you'll see Sophie wearing that dog tag, it’s blank. It's like a name tag, but it's blank, and that's an ode to the fact that she hasn't given Nate her real name. And it kind plays throughout the entire season so for those of you have paid attention-

John: We actually used it, we actually- the audience doesn't know those dog tags are blank because she doesnt show the dog tags. But when she told us she was doing it we wrote- 

Aldis: Did I just give up a secret?

John: No, no, no it’s cool. What happened is: she wears them. And we were like, ‘What are those?’ And she told us dog tags are blank, it's a little private joke. So we wrote it into the show, that's why she gets the blank pendant in episode 13, cause we just thought that was really cool and that's something Gina came up with on her own.

Aldis: It's just gonna be a drinking game every time they spot the dog tags. 

John: Sure, there's already a lot of drinking games.

Aldis: There are.

John: There are a lot on the web, you go on there's a lot of drinking games.

Aldis: Every time we say ‘seriously’, drink! 

[Laughter]

Aldis: Not that we promote that here, no.

Chris: Not at all.

John: No, I don't do all of these with a beer in my hand.

Chris: No no drinking games.

Aldis: What is that you're drinking John, water?

John: It’s- yes, dark Irish water.

Aldis: Yes.

John: This was a nice again- we started splitting people up so we could- the coverage is a little easier. and it helped us remind- Third season we started taking a lot of the prep that was implied in act 0 of seasons 1 and 2 and moving it into act 1 and act 2 of this season. Where you see them doing the prep and putting together the plan on the fly as they get information.

Chris: Right.

John: Which both makes it more dynamic, and helps us with shooting.

Chris: Yeah, I mean this is a very plan-intensive episode, and you want to try and make the planning side interesting visually.

John: Yeah because there's so much pipe to lay in a believable way to get to that great fourth act. I mean you have to make sure the audience is utterly invested by that point.

Chris: I like this little bit with you guys right here.

Aldis: Me and Kane man, when we get together it's always a party.

Chris: But what's great about you guys is it's not always the bickering brothers, where you're yelling at each other that makes me laugh. It's just the little throwaway things of the two of you together.

Aldis: It's the little things that bring the sparkle to your eye, the little things.

[Laughter]

Chris: And they just the way we did this- 

Aldis: This was a funny sequence to shoot.

John: Yeah this was great. This was- what did we name the reporter?

Chris: Guy Hamilton which is an ode to Mel Gibson's character in The Year of Living Dangerously.

[Laughter]

Chris: For all you folks out there keeping score. By the way, I forgot yesterday when we did Gone Fishing Job that you are- your names when you went into the bank and were Brody and Quinn from Jaws.

John: Because you're gonna need a bigger boat.

Chris: This looks great, by the way!

Aldis: I'm pretty sure you need another drink for that.

Chris: Look at that, he's there!

John: I've seen far less convincing stuff on CNN.

[Laughter]

John: I'm fairly sure, yeah

Chris: And there's Giancarlo Esposito fantastic.

John: Friend of Tim, came in and did this for us. Really really great, flew in.

Aldis: His daughters’ actually in the orchestra, they- one plays violin the other plays viola.

John: Oh cool.

Aldis: Yeah, so he had a lot to discuss.

John: I love seeing the evil dude Skype list; I just realized we could see it on there. It’s like ‘Lefou is away. Where is Lefou?’

Chris: Pizza Hut? Why does he have Pizza Hut on Skype?

John: On Skype? That's weird. And who is that lurking behind him?

Chris: Oh lurking behind him is Nnamdi Asomugha who is an all pro cornerback for the Oakland Raiders. Arguably the best cornerback in the NFL.

Aldis: And you have your Raiders ball here, it's perfect.

Chris: And I have my Raiders ball here to prove it.

John: Now how did he wind up on the show?

Chris: Well, you know, like any famous Hollywood story, it started at a hockey game.

[Laughter]

Chris: My- we have a mutual agent, and he invited me to a hockey game and said, ‘This is my friend Nnamdi.’ And although I am a big sports fan, for some reason the best cornerback in the NFL eluded me and I just met him as a guy. And we were chatting and found out he was- he acted and I asked him at the time, his families from Nigeria and I- this was a year ago, and I said, ‘Can you do a good African accent?’ He said, ‘Oh definitely.’ I said, ‘Alright, well if we get a part for, you know a big guy, menacing guy with an African accent I'll call you’. And lo and behold, episode came up and he did a fantastic job.

John: I think his family is from Ethiopia, actually.

Chris: No, I think he’s Nigerian.

John: Nigerian? Oh ok. And here- this is her playing Christie Connelly again.

Chris: Yes, yes.

John: Yes, this is why we started bringing back the- as we realized that they are gonna be roles that the- it also sort of came up as we did our research that con artists tend to settle into certain roles that they've done background on, and also that they've established the credentials to. We mention later actually on another episode that she's like, ‘I got seven years worth of work on this identity’, so she's doing a similar gig, so why not use the same name?

Chris: And let's be honest it's also our nod to James Garner, who was Jimmy Joe Meeker in multiple episodes of the Rockford Files.

John: Yes exactly, also she gets to use her native accent in this.

Chris: Yeah, that’s right!

John: Cause Gina is from New Zealand, not England. Most people- she grew up in England but she was born in New Zealand, and was a child in New Zealand, so she gets to use her kiwi accent here. Very kicky little gold chain going on there.

Chris: And I love this, this is a great kind of subtle sales pitch that she just sells so well.

John: Yeah. And again this is one of those great things in the show, not blowing smoke up our own skirts, but the fun of having great actors is you con, con, con, and then you park it on these little two-person scenes and it's fun, you know, it actually plays.

Chris: And here's- you know I like the idea that we've kind of developed with Hardison’s character that, you know, he's chafing a little bit around the crew, and, kind of, as the youngest member of the crew, kind of like, sees that he’d like to run his own crew someday and kind of expressing that here. I mean how did you approach this Aldis? Was that something that you kinda thought of for the character?

Aldis: I approached it, I stretched, I, uh, did a couple push ups.

John: Well we get a lot of emails from him ‘I should be the lead of the show,’ so it's a similar thing.

[Laughter]

Chris: But I know we had discussions about it not being a typical father/son kind of vibe. Right?

Aldis: Right, right, right. This is- this entire situation was newly presented to me in the script. That's when I found out that I was  like, ‘OK, Hardison wants to step up.’ But I think that- I mean, it's a great premise and he is the youngest, so he has the most to learn because he hasn't figured out all of his bad habits just yet. 

Chris: Right.

Aldis: And so he can sit back, watch his team, watch how they work, watch the mistakes they make, and then ten season later, hint hint, audience, hint hint-

Chris: Ten seasons when you'll be all of 35.

[Laughter]

Aldis: Exactly.

John: Then you'll be ready to lead the crew. 

Aldis: Exactly.

John: Yeah no it's- we really played around with it. It's not father/son it's sort of- it’s really Paper Chase but for crime.

Chris: Yes, yes, very much, I think that's a great way of putting it. And I love, here, too, if I can blow some more smoke up you, that, you know, we play big characters in these cons that are, like, larger than life. I mean, I think, you know, the Ice Man Job character comes to mind-

Aldis: [Mimicking the accent he did] The Ice Man Job.

Chris: When you play a kind of a small reserved guy, all inside, it's such a nice change, and it’s like it adds a vulnerability to these con characters that I think is great.

Aldis: He's very not- he wasn't a meek character, but he's very, very humble.

Chris: Humble that's better.

Aldis: He came from a hard life, he knew how to appreciate what was there, he knows how to prioritize, you know, to put everything else before his own needs. And that's kinda where I felt this character was coming from. He couldn't be too big or else, you know, with all of the skills, his grandeur, he would have done something with that by now; he's a cab driver, so he's gotta be quiet about something.

John: And the- also, this was the first time I think we put- we had talked about the different skills, as you go into every season you talk about like, ‘How do we make sure we focus on the characters? How do we make sure nobody blends in the background?’ And one of the things is reminding everyone- and we did this really in the Jailbreak and especially in this one to set it up, Parker is great at three dimensional heists. Parker rotates objects in three dimensional space. So she's Nate's partner here; he might be able to cook up plans, but she's the one telling him the parameters of those plans with the physical heists. 

Aldis: Right.

John: No one is better than her at physical insertion, and that's one of the things we kinda hammered during this season. 

Aldis: I think our skills- I mean we’re all necessary to one another, but our skills kinda levy a system of checks and balances-

John: Yeah.

Aldis: The way the government should do it. But we can do one thing and take it only so far and then pass it off, then the next team member polishes it up and takes you to the very next level. 

John: What- Chris why don't you talk about how we structured the heist?

Chris: Well you know the- back when we were trying to break the story the initial idea behind it was that there would be two levels of tension in the big act, in the big heist. There would be part of the team breaking in to steal the object, and there would be Hardison on stage sweating out having to play this impossible solo in front of people. And the problem that I was running  into was: why did these two things have to happen at the same time? Why now? Why can't they be breaking in on a Wednesday, you know, when Hardison's not scheduled to play this. And John, you said- thought about it for a minute, and you said, ‘Well obviously it's the only time that they can do the heist is when there’s- when the orchestra is playing because that's when they have to turn off the motion detectors.’

Aldis: Because John has stolen from an orchestra before, when they-

[Laughter]

Aldis: He speaks from personal experience.

Chris: And I took a minute and I said, ‘I could kiss you on the mouth.’

[Laughter]

John: That was one of those ‘what's in the Arclight’ days? I contributed almost nothing else to this episode. I was busy off doing the season opener. We were banging these out before the rest of the staff- and I came up with that bit and I'm like, ‘You're gold, go have fun, I’m out.’ I got that, and then we basically- knowing the motion detectors couldn't be beaten and played us back into the other security measures, and created this impossible vault. And that was also fun, we started for the first time throwing stuff at the team where it's like, ‘yeah there's some stuff you just can't beat,’ you know, that you have to go sideways. 

Aldis: I’d like to note here that I'm wearing every possible shade of gray that there is known to man.

[Laughter]

John: Why is that? Is that an emotional choice? Is that about his ambivalence about his role in the con? Or is that-?

Aldis: I have no idea

John: Always say- you know what? Do the thing I just did with him, start with ‘obviously’ it's a good way- when you wanna throw up an enormous amount of bullshit just start with ‘Obviously.’

Aldis: Obviously!

John: And then just, people buy it.

Aldis: What we wanted to do was confuse the audience.

John: Oh Scheherezade, exactly how'd you choose Scheherezade?

Chris: Well we needed- we needed a piece that was public domain, as a practical matter, because we have budget constraints in this show. And that ended on a violin solo. And it was- I forgot what the other candidates were, but my wife, I have to give her credit at least a little, fantastic violinist, picked Scheherezade and said, ‘You gotta listen to this.’ And I listened to the last 7 minutes because I knew we needed it to kind of roll out in real time over the course of the heist. And the solo just kinda like dropped me, I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is gonna be fantastic.’ And then when I did a little research on Scheherezade’s story, how she was the wife of a- in the story of the Arabian Nights he killed- every night he married a different wife, and killed them the next morning. And then Scheherezade walked in and figured she'd be finished, but every night she told him a story, and the story kept him on- you know, on the edge of his seat, she never told him the ending and finally after 1001 nights he married her. So I said OK, that’s the first grifter in history’. And that just kinda fit in thematically with the whole episode, and that's when we knew we had to use that piece.

John: And our music guy Joe Deluca putting a lovely little sort of spin, sort of- 

Chris: Yeah he had a very nice-

John: -Arabian Nights spin on the score there. Now, you play violin. What did you think when we dropped Scheherezade on your lap?

Aldis: Well I was screaming inside, running for my life.

[Laughter]

Aldis: Jesus I've only been playing just for- not even five years, and when I took the music to my music teacher, she like- lord have mercy, she had a heart attack. She was like- she had been playing professionally for 20 years before she tackled Scheherezade. My other teacher had been playing, also, I believe between 20 and 30 years before she tackled Scheherezade so I had no confidence whatsoever. No, kidding, obviously I was very impressed with the piece. It's a beautiful piece. I love the song and I was actually very open to the challenge. I just wanted to make sure I did it well enough to do the song some justice. Now shooting these scenes being surrounded by actual musicians was awe-inspiring and-

John: Really? You really? Oh.

Aldis: Man, it was terrifying.

Chris: Yeah where did this rank among the scarier things you've done on the show? Where would you put this?

Aldis: This is the top right here.

Chris: This is the top right here.

John: So not running on top of a moving train.

[Laughter]

Aldis: Not at all man.

John: Really? That was fine, but this? This was terrifying.

Aldis: I'm a nut man, I'm a nut. I can do that because-

John: I can tell you as your executive producer with an insurance policy on you, you can do this whenever you want, don't do the train again.

Aldis: I shan't! I shall not.

Chris: And this actor, Michael Winther, fantastic New York stage actor who came in and did an amazing job. It was originally written I think he was Spanish and then I asked Michael-

John: Well you were kinda basing it on Dudamel.

Chris: Exactly it was based on Gustavo Dudamel who was the Venezuelan, kind of, rockstar conductor of the LA Philharmonic.

Aldis: Oh yeah.

Chris: Yeah, and Michael said that he could do German and I thought well there's nothing more intimidating than someone talking to you with a German accent.

Aldis: German accent, yeah.

John: Really?

Chris: And he was just great.

John: Even if it's like ‘I would like some hugs now,’ still it's creepy, it's not- yeah.

[Laughter]

John: Apologies, and now the angry letters from people with a German accent will be coming in.

Aldis: Exactly, you'll be getting a letter from the government.

John: A nice stall, you can't get it too far. And, you know, this again is kinda focusing on how everyone does things. Parker needs paper. Parker needs plans. Parker needs drawings. This is how she thinks. She was trained by an old school thief, and it's cool cause we're kinda hinting at the thing you're gonna find out in episode 5, like how she was trained, you know, trained by an old school thief, she thinks like an old school thief.

Aldis: Yeah

John: And then we do the fun- and this is, when you're constructing something based on a high concept, the fun of it was we have an impossible heist, stuff rolls back from that. Okay if it's impossible, that means we have to see the planning, we have to see the surveillance, we have to see the surveillance to establish to the audience the rules of the heist. 

Chris: Right.

John: Cause you had already said, and I will say the first thing you said to me was ‘I wanna do a heist where there's no words.’

Chris: Yes.

John: And I said ‘You're out of your mind and it's unshootable’. I actually utterly dismissed you, and then you came back like, ‘We do it this way.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, that’s slightly less insane.’ But that required the rest of the episode to do an enormous amount of work.

Chris: Yeah, you need to know- once you got to the heist, you need to know exactly what people were doing and why, without any dialogue. And so- and that kinda required that the heist needed to be fairly simple.

John: Yes.

Chris: So, you know, that kinda was a little bit liberating for me, cause once I realized, OK, I drew this corridor, you know, we had to get past this keypad, and then there was a room, we had to blow a hole in the floor, it was like from a to b to c, as long as I made it fairly simple and easy to remember in the planning stages, we could carry it out. 

John: And this is also one of the great things about physical production. You actually flew up and scouted this, right? 

Chris: Yeah, we did.

John: You adjusted the heist based around the physical location.

Chris: Yeah well, we built this hallway here-

John: Is that a build? I thought it was a-

Chris: This is the hardest working hallway in show business.

John: I thought it was the hallway on the other side of the concert hall?

Chris: No, no.

Aldis: No, me and Chrisitan built it ourselves.

John: Oh that's where Elizabetta was. That's right, there you go. 

Chris: That’s right.

John: Yeah, now we're establishing the rules, and a little hint there that Nnamdi is not your ordinary thug. 

Chris: Yeah.

Aldis: Yes.

John: Yeah, just that little wince. 

Chris: And here, again, you know, it was we had plans in front of Tim that he could actually trace the line and that's exactly where you were going. Those are the plans of the set. 

John: Those are the plans for the set?

Chris: Yeah. 

Aldis: Yeah!

John: That’s great!

Chris: I mean that showed him, he could draw- I showed him here's where you draw the hole, that’s where it’s gonna be.

John: Yeah and big props to Bekka Melino and everybody in production design this year. That vault looked gorgeous. 

Chris: Yeah, it did.

John: Everything looked gorgeous, you know, set dec.

Chris: I have to give her credit for something else in that too. In the original script, the locker numbers in the vault were numbered; they were just numbered. And she called me up and said, ‘What do you think if we made like some kind of symbol or something for them, and maybe like musical terms?’ And I said, ‘That's fantastic.’ And it kinda helped build the character of Moto as someone who is just, you know, obsessed with music.

Aldis: Appreciates music.

John: Yeah. 

Chris: And here's where-

Aldis: This is a tough thing, a tough deal for me. Not me personally, but for Hardison because of the fact that- I mean, this is a big deal trying to walk away from a mission with such reasonable cause. 

Chris: Right.

Aldis: Only because of the fact that he's afraid, it's not because his life is endangered, it's simply because he's afraid. 

Chris: Did you feel like that was- I mean, but performing without being prepared is like the, sort of, go to nightmare that people have, right?

John: Only if you were pantless could this be worse.

Aldis: Exactly, it's also the fact that if he performs poorly he could mess up the entire heist.

Chris: Yes

Aldis: But he was more afraid of himself performing badly then messing up the heist. And-

John: It's an interesting look into the character, because he's a perfectionist and he tends to- he’s tended to take the path he has in life because he's been able to be good at it.

Aldis: Yes.

Chris: Right.

John: You know, it's always interesting once you're past school and once you're an adult when you try to do things, you try to learn a new skill once you're out of your teens, and you realize ‘Oh, this is very hard.‘

Aldis: Yeah it's like learning violin.

John: Yeah exactly.

Aldis: As an adult, as I am doing now.

John: Really hard. But no, you just couldn't drop Scheherezade on you.

Chris: Here's a great-

John: This is a great shot actually, because we actually never shot this. This was footage of them actually getting into place.

Chris: Yes.

John: From the dailies that we had when we rolled the camera on. And that we wound up assembling together into a shot and then digitally placing the conductor into the middle of it.

Chris: Oh yeah, when we get to the later shot of the conductor there, that was- that’s totally digital. This the- orchestra is Marshall Tuttle is the conductor of the orchestra, it’s a local Portland community college orchestra. And they, you know, I have to give a lot of props to them because they got the music and they had to mock play the piece, but that meant they had to prepare for it, they had to know. 

Aldis: Yeah I actually learned from them that day the rest of the piece. I mean all I knew up to that point was the solo. Until they said- and I knew bits and pieces of the other music until they said, ‘Hey, so we actually wanna shoot you playing the, you know, the bit before stuff.’ I’m like, ‘Right now, guys?’ 

John: Oh yes, a surprise by the way.

Aldis: Surprise! 

John: This quick thing, they're gonna pop the camera on you there as you do this thing you just learned how to do.

Aldis: So I was just watching my fellow musicians around me as we shot, I was just watching their fingers and going off of them but hopefully you can’t tell.

John: That's a great little shake, that head shake like, ‘No, let's not get too heavily invested’.

Aldis: That was a real head shake that was ‘I do not wanna shoot this scene right now.’

[Laughter]

John: Could we please stop?

Aldis: None of the trepidation in this is faked, it’s real fear people. Real fear. 

[Laughter]

Aldis: I dreaded this more than anything.

Chris: So there was less acting in this than typical episodes because you actually had fear.

Aldis: The fear yes, no acting at all, man, it was not hard to be afraid. At all. Whatsoever.

John: And here's Elizabetta, and it was interesting- I will be totally honest we knew we needed stuff for the finale-

Chris: Yeah.

John: And no idea what we needed it to be yet.

Chris: Right and right. And also to a certain degree, you know, when you have a MacGuffin, you know an item I want you to get, and you struggle as to what it could be, and we did struggle, we argued what is- what's in the envelope? And ultimately it's pretty cool when you don't know what it is.

John: Yeah it's point blank. It’s- yeah.

Chris: And you know we don't want to give anything away, but it did help us in the finale.

John: Yeah, well they've seen it by now, in theory. 

Chris: Oh, okay.

John: Usually they watch all the way through and then do the commentaries.

Chris: That’s fine then. So that's fine, I'm not a spoiler.

Aldis: So what was in the envelope, fellows?

John: In the envelope is the evidence that the Italian needs because she's part of the shadowy international intelligence organization that launders money through Moto’s blood diamond accounts.

Chris: Yes.

John: And yeah that's actually- if you do a lot of research in money laundering, we did a lot of money laundering this year. 

Aldis: Yes we did.

John: You find out that a lot of sort of black ops stuff, and a lot of the governments- there's a reason it's still around. You know governments find it useful, you know, and certain parts of governments find money laundering, international money laundering useful.

Chris: And here we go now we start- we start the clock and the dialogue is about to end pretty quickly.

John: Yeah I think we did like two touches, two clarifying things once we test screened it.

Chris: Yeah.

Aldis: We did an entire fourth act with just pure music.

Chris: Yeah, this is it here, we go.

John: Yeah this is it. Nnamdi did a great job in this, by the way, I want to say, because he's acting without dialogue and that's hard, you know, for a young actor. 

Aldis: It’s like stare at this paper bag and make it interesting.

John: Yeah, exactly.

Chris: And I have to give Brian Gonosey here, our editor, a lot of credit here, too, because this was like editing a music video, because this was- we had to kinda time this stuff to the music, and this was, you know, this- in listening to the piece, you know, in my mind I had punching in numbers for this part, cause I could hear it in my head, and-

Aldis: Now this-

Chris: And now- oh.

Aldis: No, I’m sorry, go ahead.

Chris: Well this is just when you have an all pro quarterback from the NFL on your show, and you have Christian Kane who is a gigantic football fan, you're gonna have him knock him down in full run.

Aldis: Now Christian really took that hit.

Chris: He sure did folks.

John: He hit that wall hard, baby!

Aldis: This man is paid to hit people.

[Laughter]

John: Beth took this hit too.

Aldis: Yeah.

Chris: She did take that hit.

Aldis: She took it like a trooper.

John: Wait where'd- Chris played football for a while, what was he, tailback? What was Chris?

Chris: Well I know, back in high school, yeah.

Aldis: He played in it, and he wrestled, too. Nnamdi is a big guy.

John: Nnamdi is a big guy.

Aldis: He's like 6’ 4” something, 6’ 6”?

Chris: And he wanted to do all his own stunts and we were like, ‘Please, we do not want Al Davis on our ass.’

[Laughter]

John: ‘I'm sorry, did you hurt the greatest quarterback in the NFL in your little pretend show this weekend?’

Chris: He's like, ‘You know what the stunt mans doing? I can do that!’ And we said, ‘We know! Please don’t!’

Aldis: Now the NFL owns Leverage.

John: We’d have a bigger budget, that'd be alright. 

[Laughter]

John: And then now down through the floor, this was fun playing around with- thank you Mythbusters, playing around with directional blowouts, and thermite and all the other sort of how to- oh that's a- and Nnamdi won't go down. 

Chris: No, he won’t.

John: We were- this- he’s the thug who ate his Wheaties.

Aldis: I think that's a great part about this entire sequence and just the character in general is: cause he finally- somebody gave Eliot a challenge, a real challenge you know. It was kinda like the season finale for the first season.

John: But that guy had technique, you know, that was the thing. What Eliot is facing right now is another dude who kills people professionally.

Aldis: Yeah.

John: You know, and just with power. It's also fun cause it’s- all Eliot/Parker scenes are inherently fun.

Chris: And here, and this was all built around the music. We knew this was gonna- we were gonna build to- there's a giant gong hit here and that was gonna be- that was the whole thing was timed to the explosion and now one of the words ‘boom’.

Aldis: We really blew a hole in a floor and let Nnamdi fall through? He was a trooper, he took it?

John: Yes, please don’t tell the Raiders.

Chris: Please don't tell Al Davis.

Aldis: I'm kidding, guys. Kinda.

John: This was actually shot later, we actually rebuilt the ceiling and then dropped it in later.

Chris: Yeah, it’s great.

John: They did a great job because they- it was like ‘We need you to build that ceiling that we built a couple episodes, but put a hole in it.’ Like, ‘Alright.’ Yeah. And Nate being in the middle of it unexpectedly is a wonderful development.

Chris: Even this, all this all the editing was just timed perfectly to the music as he pulls, Walle is his character, pulls into the corner. And here it is.

John: That's a nice beat, actually, was Sophie- that's a nice choice by Gina, Sophie being totally confident because she knows, she's already in on the hypnosis thing. So she's already ahead of it, and what that was meant to be encouraging. 

Chris: Now here it is. 

Aldis: [Humming the song]

Chris: And, you know, I have to say my wife, violinist, gives you huge props here for your fingering and your bow work.

Aldis: Thank you. You do realize this song haunted me as I was practicing and preparing for it? It literally was playing in my head when no other sound was on in the room. I painted a picture called The Scheherazade. I painted the notes themselves because I had to get it outta my head. It was-

Chris: That’s great.

John: Where's the painting?

Aldis: It’s still back in Portland waiting for me to get back to it.

John: Nice.

Chris: Now what kind of response did you get from people when this aired?

Aldis: A lot of musicians actually said I did a good job, which I was proud about. I was- I was more concerned about how musicians would take it. Because they know what to look for, and as I watched I was like, ‘Alright,’ you know, cringing, but a lot of them they really, really dug it.

John: Well you always see the flaws in your performance, you know.

Aldis: Yeah of course because I’m looking for it, as the actor. By the way, this scene when Beth has the tear, that wasn't a tear she just had allergies, but played to her strengths and- right there the yeah.

John: It's just the smoke and stuff, the allergies.

Aldis: Very dusty, you know, we just kept it, we kept it. I’m kidding Beth’s a great actress, she did that on her own.

Chris: She’s fantastic. She did that, I mean, that's pretty amazing. 

Aldis: Yeah was that her choice there?

Chris: Yeah.

John: Yeah, that wasn’t in the script.

Chris: And we didn't have a lot of time for that, too, we were really running out of time for that scene and they, boy were they great reacting to it.

Aldis: The boy did it! Uh!

[Laughter]

Aldis: Y'all know what this is! Sexual chocolate!

John: We’re gonna have to make t-shirts now, I hope.

Aldis: We are gonna have to make t-shirts.

Chris: Now in the original script, you got a girl's phone number; we had to cut it for time but there was.

John: Sexy violinists.

Aldis: It's alright, Hardison gets numbers.

Chris: You know, Hardison, we've been trying to hook you up and I'm sorry we ran out of time.

John: Well, you know that's alright, there's- I don't think the fans would like the girl.

Aldis: I think if I ever got hooked up, fans would just murder Hardison because-

John: They would not be happy.

Aldis: They're waiting on Parker.

John: Well also, you know, and what's interesting is: you've kind of changed looks since the first season. You were a very skinny kid when you came in that first season. You turned 21 the night we hired you.

Aldis: Yeah 21, I'm 24 now.

John: Yeah, you put a little man weight on you now.

Aldis: Man weight, shaved the whiskers a little bit, try to give you a little something different each year. Next year I'm gonna come in about 250 pounds.

John: Nice, maybe with a cane cause you can't quite walk, you got the gout.

Aldis: Cankles baby.

John: Rock the gout. This is brutal- just looking for the rematch.

Chris: I love the look.

John: Every time I see this, I try to figure out a way to bring that character back.

Chris: Can we bring him back?

John: Seriously man, that look as he rolls forward is like, I want that rematch.

Chris: You know he makes more money than everyone in- you know, I mean he's- he’ll fly out on a private jet and come do it.

John: Just I gotta figure out something. And then I remember cause it was great, cause- I was actually out of town and then you shot this, and I didn’t see anything until I saw the first cut of this. I didn't see any dailies and so I saw the first cut of this and when he rolled forward that time I'm like ‘Oh! No wait, I know there's no rematch’ but-

Aldis: Yeah.

John: It’s- it was fun it was being able to watch this episode as a fan was a big treat.

Chris: Yeah, and here it was trying to pay off the Scheherezade story by having Nate make up something on the fly.

John: Yeah, it's the- thematically it yeah it starts with a con, it has a heist in the middle, and ends with a con.

Chris: Ends with a con.

Aldis: Yeah.

John: And you just the balls- the sheer stones it takes, ‘I have no idea what's in this.’

Chris: Yeah, right?

John: Just absolute sheer stones. To just bet on a sealed deck. We actually talked about that, we had played around with poker episodes and just what kind of- we talked at length- and it's one of those things that will never wind up in the show but we wind up talking in the room, what kind of gambler Nate is. And Nate is a guy who will bet on whole cards he hasn't seen.

Chris: Right, yes.

John: Yeah which is not necessarily the smartest thing in the world, but that’s that guy.

Aldis: He's the kind of guy who loses all his money first at the table, but eventually gains a couple chips back.

John: Yeah, yeah. Or manages to just be luckier than smarter, but smart enough to know he's lucky.

Chris: And I have to say Marcel Davis here played Simian Moto the president, and did an amazing job. I mean he's a local Portland actor. 

John: Yeah, really- Portland. Never disappoints, Portland is a great place with great actors.

Chris: Now you can kinda see Gina slipping in there. It was- I know we had a couple of comments.

John: We had ten people on that set!

Chris: It was hard.

John: She's that black shape that kinda moves in with the secret service.

Aldis: I just saw her slip in there, keep your eyes open.

Chris: Keep your eyes open folks. She had- apparently she had a great time assembling this gun.

John: She was kinda rocking out the Helen Mirren in RED there.

Chris: She was.

John: She was really kinda- that was hot. She did- I watched the dailies on that like eight times, come on, she's very good at this. And the gloat, the drag out, the gloat.

Chris: The gloat and the drag away.

John: Very nice and the president. Oh Nnamdi wants to go! Let them go! Let them fight! That drinking game for Enter the Dragon. It’s like every time.

Chris: There we go, another time we’ll bring him back.

Aldis: Let's just send this out to all the Oakland raiders fans and see if they put in a vote, do you want Nnamdi back?

Chris: Do you wanna see Nnamdi back, please?

Aldis: Let's see what happens.

John: Promised by the DVD. Yeah. 

Aldis: I feel it'll be promising.

John: And this was a nice set up, and again it was interesting because she had such the upper hand in the first episode, this is the one where Chris really kinda reset that, yeah, Nate Ford is not a patsy. 

Chris: Yeah.

John: You know he is- there's a reason they’re using him. He's a dangerous guy, and he's become more of a dangerous guy this year because he's acknowledged who he is. Last year this would've played out differently.

Chris: Yeah, no it was- you know, the sequence was flirty, dangerous, a little bit of banter then she puts the screws to him and then he puts the screws to her here.

John: Yeah cause he knows. He knows, he dealt with these types of people, you know, he's not ignorant of exactly how big a game he's playing in right now. Great, great shot. She- this is a 1960s shot, that shot right there, I really love this. And she's got a very classic late 60s look and that was interesting because we used it- we actually called the character the Italian as shorthand because it was an archetype from the 60s, and then when she came on the show we were trying to come up with a name it's like, we're not gonna beat The Italian. 

Chris: No no, it’s the best.

John: Just keep it there. And it kinda kept her in the headspace, when we wrote the scripts it kept her in that zone.

Aldis: And when she happened to actually be Italian!

John: We started with that, that was the-

Aldis: Ahhh, ohhh, ahhhh!

John: Did we not explain that to you?

Aldis: Ahhhh!

John: We just happened to get Elisabetta. Yeah, there you go.

Aldis: There go- ahhh!

Chris: And this is a nice kind of close out to, you know we sort of set up earlier that Eliot has some regrets of things that he may have done back when he was a soldier. Things he saw in Africa. And I thought Tim had a nice ad lib here, cause he kinda indicated that it was Eliot's idea to provide money for kids in the community based on them selling the violin.

John: And that's- and yeah it was another thing, too, as we moved into the third season of, why are these people still together. You know the second year they had realized they were family but were not emotionally evolved enough to explain, to acknowledge that. Third year where they are together and you begin to see- you know Hardison sees this as his crime college. And he loves these people, but this is his crime college. You know, Eliot is beginning to see the path to his redemption. You know, Nate is the acknowledgement of his identity. Parker is becoming a human being. You know, everyone has their reason they're there. You know, Sophie's reason to be there is basically, she had come back to run the crew while Nate was in prison. And to be acknowledged as the co-lead. This is a great scene. By the way, you play this wonderfully, this is a big turn here.

Chris: Yeah.

Aldis: Thanks.

Chris: It was- you know this was a tricky reveal here because- and I'll say that on the hypnosis front I consulted with a hypnotist-

[Laughter]

Chris: This is not just me making stuff up out of thin air.

John: I'm the one to make stuff up out of thin air, Chris actually researches shit.

Chris: And in fact, the hypnotist said to me that if somebody had a- was extremely proficient in something at an early age, whether it was athletics or music, that he could put someone in a deep trance state and return them to their ability, that their life experience is kinda what's gotten in the way of their ability, that it's all up there in their head. And that's all that we’re saying here, we’re not saying that he made you- Nate made Hardison able to play, Hardison always knew how to play, it was just cleaning out the cobwebs to get you back.

Aldis: Right.

John: Also Sophie's- Gina's playing that complicitness in a really nice way, which is she went with it, she didn't like it, and she doesn't necessarily like what Nate’s become. Also fun, you had really focused on this is, during the research, the idea that prison is a bad idea for most criminals. Most criminals just go in and become better criminals. It's- they call it crime college, you know, and what tricks had Nate picked up while he was inside.

Chris: And look ultimately that the one of the things that makes Nate able to run this crew from- is that he's not a nice guy. And that he will push any button to get whatever he wants done. And that makes him, I think, a better leader, and a more interesting character than if he's just you know got your back every time you're in trouble.

John: We cannot say this enough: Nate Ford is not a nice man. 

Chris: Yeah.

Aldis: Right.

John: But that's what's required in the world that we set up in this show. And that's Scheherezade Job! Amazing job, both of you. I really wanna say this, I came to this as a viewer and this is one of my favorite episodes of the season, and of the entire run.

Aldis: It's one of my favorites.

John: I told the first time I watched this, I told Chris I wish my name was on it. I wish that I had the ‘Written by’ credit.

Chris: And you, you know I made a little comment to you back in season one, and boy did you make me happy.

Aldis: It happened. 

John: It’s great.

Aldis: Well thank you man I enjoyed it. The script was one of my best scripts, one of my favorite scripts from the entire three seasons, so.

John: Thanks man.

Chris: Thanks.

John: Alright stay tuned more coming up.

Aldis: Peace.

[isolated-bug]

Thoughts on Sevika? What do you think is headed for her in s2 ? How do you think she is going to react to the news about silco being dead ?

ahhh as always, amazing questions! Honestly this is something i have given a lot of thought to and still dont have an answer But here is my thinking on the matter: With Silco gone, Sevika really has only 3 options. Fade into the background, find a new leader, or become a leader. I definitely dont ever see her just fading into the background; she is too strong willed and opinionated for that. And Jinx is not a leader nor would Sevika follow her. To what Sevika has said in the show, she wont change leaders unless she finds someone good enough to lead and from what we have seen there is no one like that currently displayed in the show. However, we ALSO have seen that Sevika has never taken a leadership role before. And i dont imagine she would because its likely too much work and she seems to like being a doer rather than an organizer. I think she likes having a leader so she doesnt have to own responsibility for decision making etc. So i see this going a few ways. One option is that someone we havent been introduced to comes out of the woodwork and took up control of reconstructing Singed's Shimmer operation with his assistance. I can easily see Singed agreeing to that cuz what is important to him is access to develop and research the product so anyone willing to help create a path for that is fine by him. In that situation, i could see them offering a job to Sevika since she knows all the routes and connections Silco had and her essentially retaining her prior position with new leadership. Though if that happens i ALSO see her having a personal vendetta against Jinx because the shimmer operation would JUST be a drug money grab rather than funding a renaissance the way it had been and i see her spending her personal time trying to hunt Jinx down and get payback for Silco and for her own life struggles as a result of Jinxs existence and actions. This would help further the isolation plot for Jinx and help push the story further into her madness so i think its a solid option. The other thing i see possibly happening is that Sevika herself chooses to take control of the operation out of respect for Silco and finally taking the leadership mantel. She would trust herself to run things as he did and she would have his same drive and motivation.. though i expect that Sevika, in a leadership position, would be willing to go to the Piltover council and accept the deal previously offered to Silco. In this situation she would be communicating to Piltover that Jinx is solely responsible for the rocket and would have her men help head the manhunt for Jinx. Again, meeting the needs of personal vendetta against Jinx for all the suffering, plans gone wrong, and loss of Silco. Either way, in S2 i see Sevika being a representation and active participant in further isolating Jinx and trying to turn the lanes against her. Without Silco keeping her on a leash, Sevika is free to act of her own will against Jinx without repercussion. I definitely see her taking advantage of that. That being said... there is a third alternative. The third, unlikely but plot twist surprise alternative, is that Sevika could be at peace with loosing Silco after mourning him. She could realize that the uprisings always fail and she looses people she respects. And this could turn into her giving up the fight. She would fade into the background and just be very drunk most days. And she may even possibly try to look for Jinx. Next to Silco, Sevika would be the most likely person capable of understanding Jinxs relationship with Silco and she would likely know that Jinx would never intentionally hurt him. She may even, in a surprise plot twist, sympathize with the loss of a second father figure and try and find Jinx to help her. Though i doubt Jinx would accept/trust anything from Sevika. I dont really see that happening. But i think it would be a neat option to follow. It would better put Sevika back into that grey humanity that Arcane is so good at doing. And it would give us a chance to see her as something other than a high ranking thug.