#why the jobs we’ve been preparing for are a scam
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Spilling The Tea on Online Side Jobs: The Unfiltered Truth
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Spilling The Tea on Online Side Jobs: The Unfiltered Truth
Hello, my loves! It's your girl Trecia, back at it again with the unfiltered truth. Today, we're spilling tea on online side jobs. With the pandemic and all, we've all been looking for ways to secure that bag, right? Well, let's dive right in and spill some tea on making money from the comfort of your home.
The Allure of Online Side Jobs
First things first, why the sudden interest in online side jobs? Well, darling, the answer is simple. Flexibility and convenience! With an online side job, you can work from anywhere, and most times, anytime. Plus, who wouldn't love the idea of making extra cash while in their pajamas? But remember, not all that glitters is gold.
The Dark Side of Online Side Jobs
I know what you're thinking, "Trecia, spill the tea already!" Alright, here it goes. While there are legit online side jobs, there are also scams. Yes, honey, scammers are out there preying on unsuspecting job seekers. So, always do your research before signing up for any online job. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Legit Online Side Jobs To Consider
Now, let's get into the juicy part. There are legitimate online side jobs that can help you make some extra cash. Think freelance writing, graphic design, virtual assistance, tutoring, and so much more. The key is to find something that aligns with your skills and interests. And remember, it may take some time to start earning significant income, so patience is key!
The Reality Check: It’s Not as Easy as It Seems
Here's where I spill the real tea, loves. Just because it's an online job doesn't mean it's easy. It requires commitment, hard work, and sometimes long hours. So, if you're thinking about diving into the online job market, be ready to put in the work.
The Secret Sauce: Consistency and Persistence
And now for the secret sauce. Consistency and persistence are key in the world of online side jobs. You might not hit the jackpot immediately, but don't let that discourage you. Keep pushing, keep learning, and most importantly, keep consistent. Trust me, your efforts will pay off!
My #1 Recommendation: Wealthy Affiliate
Finally, if you're looking for a legitimate side job, check out my review of Wealthy Affiliate. It's a platform that teaches you how to create and monetize your own website. And the best part? You don't need any technical skills to get started. So, if you're serious about making money online, Wealthy Affiliate is definitely worth checking out.
In conclusion, online side jobs can be a great way to earn extra cash. Just remember to do your research, be prepared to work hard, and stay consistent. And don't forget to check out Wealthy Affiliate, my #1 recommendation for making money online. Until next time, loves, keep sipping that tea!
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The Owl House Starters
Change as needed
“No! My only weakness! Dying!”
“That doesn’t count, right?”
“Do you have any friends? Real ones?”
“Tiny trash thief!”
“Oops, that happens sometimes.”
“I’m a squirmy little fella.”
“I like food, I like love, just let me write about it!”
“Oh, he gets so cute when he’s thirsty for power.”
“I’ve never actually broken any of your stupid laws… in front of you.”
“I hate everything you’re saying right now.”
“We’d be the strongest power couple ever.”
“Self-doubt is a prison you can never escape from.”
“Anyways, let’s bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me.”
“I am not your cutie pie!”
“No one wants an un-oiled snake.”
“Remember, never befriend a man in sandals and always measure twice, cut once.”
“Be back by nightfall or risk mortal peril!”
“I know I’ve had enough delight for one day.”
“Sorry to break it to you, ___, but no one here is that well-dressed.”
“This has been a rough day.”
“Big houses always belong to big whack jobs.”
“Today just got good.”
“Wizards are just old people with glitter in their pockets.”
“Anyways, your food is gone and we are too.”
“Never trust a man in casual drapery.”
“All that mean-spirited laughter made me sleepy.”
“I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.”
“All your food was so tiny and cute.”
“If you can think of a better plan I’d love to hear it.”
“Betrayed by my own cool accessories.”
“I didn’t have to be part of this!”
“I… don’t like this.”
“I think I’ll head home and look at pictures of animals that are still… alive.”
“Wow, you’re so unnoticeable I almost rolled into you.”
“It’s okay, the thorns only went through a few layers of skin.”
“Alright, into the darkness you go.”
“Oh my god, I haven’t eaten real food in so long please give me some.”
“You can’t just cut open a human, can you?”
“Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life!”
“Ahh, baby’s first wanted poster.”
“Even demons have inner demons.”
“This is my paying attention face.”
“Look, now we’re boo boo buddies.”
“It’s like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out.”
“I respect your cunning but I also hate you for it.”
“Oh, gross. Can I keep that?”
“This is terrifying, so why do you look so happy?”
“Oh no, a twist!”
“I’m kind of over that nickname, but okay.”
“Oh, what lovely thing do we have here? It’s just so dang shiny, oh my.”
“And look, I drew flip book.”
“I will literally do anything to stop this.”
“If I’m seen, I could go to jail… again.”
“Alright, let’s see this mess.”
“That’s probably fine.”
“Time to prepare for bloodshed.”
“Welcome down to my level!”
“I know I should be repulsed but that look is fierce.”
“I’m gonna steal everything that’s not nailed down!”
“I was up all night poison tasting and, for some reason, I don’t feel great.”
“I need an extra pair of eyes looking out for pickpockets. And an extra pair of hands in case I want to pickpocket.”
“I got leaves in my pants. And I like it.”
“I was a strange child.”
“You think this can stop me? I can still bite your ankles.”
“If you’re gonna eat me, just do it now!”
“___, you’re getting all swoony again.”
“Rivals are meant to be annihilated, not befriended.”
“Witches eating babies is so 1693.”
“Ugh, you.”
“I thought we were as cool as cucumbers but we’re as sour as pickles.”
“Whoa, I almost passed out.”
“It’s been hours, how can it keep screaming!?”
“Say that again and I steal your tongue.”
“Keep going, this is fun to watch.”
“Isn’t that taking it a bit too far?”
“Just go away before things somehow get worse!”
“This never happened.”
“And who doesn’t like their name in lights?”
“That’s the incorrect reaction!”
“I smell an easy mark.”
“Well, I hate her.”
“It’s like demonic possession with the ones you love.”
“This is just like my favorite early 2000’s movie!”
“I’m so old… and pointy.”
“I’ve got some very confusing emotions right now.”
“My life’s not a joke! But yours is!”
“Novelty costumes are where I draw the line.”
“I am not above disrespecting my elders.”
“This vacation just took an alarming, back-alley turn.”
“Geez, I thought I’d like being babied. But I feel small and helpless, like some sort of baby.”
“Hey, take this, society!”
“I didn’t like her telling me what to do before, but now I love it!”
“Let’s go let out some teen angst!”
“This is how the cool kids ride. Super backwards, on purpose.”
“Your life is pretty terrible. But, hey, it’ll probably be over soon.”
“This is some of my best work, really captures the shame.”
“That’s sweet, kid. Now let’s never speak of this again.”
“Show, don’t tell, man.”
“Oh, look what you did. I’m gonna go rub it in.”
“That seems like a potential problem to me.”
“You being the razzle, I’ll bring the dazzle.”
“Do you always have confetti on you or—?”
“You’re just gonna be unhelpful, huh?”
“Okay, time to run for no particular reason!”
“Oof, I’ve had this nightmare before.”
“Like I’d actually apologize.”
“I want power, and I want drama.”
“Are you ready to give up?”
“I was afraid, I acted stupid.”
“I just wish you told me the truth.”
“You know, it didn’t taste as bad as I thought I would.”
“Impressive, still alive.”
“This is a throne worthy of a tyrant!”
“No, no, keep those sticky hands away.”
“No one wants to see that.”
“Since when are you into sports?”
“Gross, sympathy.”
“Don’t spend all night plotting revenge.”
“Oh, this is an interesting development.”
“I’ll take that weird grumble as a yes.”
“I’m feeling confident about this plan.”
“Trust must be earned.”
“If you run, you’ll just make it harder for yourself!”
“Your pride has destroyed you.”
“So tiny, so angry.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be clean again.”
“If you ever want to search for the truth, I’ll help you.”
“Aww, that’s a horrible lie.”
“Partake of my free snack samples!”
“Why isn’t anyone paying attention to me?”
“A, eww. B, I’m bored. C, I feel like pickpocketing some dork while they browse.”
“I know my good angle.”
“Ugh, what are the basement dwellers doing out in natural sunlight?’
“Hey, there’s more to life than shipping.”
“___, I know you’re trying to help, but I think you’re crossing a line.”
“Ooh, I love punching.”
“You’re ominous, and I like it.”
“And of course you would be here just to be a nuisance.”
“I wanted to compare sunglasses.”
“Fame can really box you in, you know?”
“Besides, if anyone’s putting you down it’s gonna be me.”
“If it’s disappointing in any way I’ll spend the rest of my life trashing it.”
“He scammed us. Can you believe he scammed us?”
“Good entrance. But that outfit? Hah!”
“I’ve got a new crush and her name is education!”
“Ahh, fresh garbage.”
“I have never seen such an extravagant earring.”
“Wow, a surprisingly peaceful domestic moment. When will it be ruined?”
“Weaponizing my pride, well played.”
“Sorry, whoever’s over there!”
“Well, go on. Eat the snow.”
“Huh, it’s no fun if they don’t tremble.”
“Oh, okay, alright. Yup, an idea’s happening.”
“Shh! I don’t need your validation!”
“Get back here before that thing bites you!”
“No, we’re gonna die.”
“Cool. I didn’t actually think you could do it.”
“It’s not a secret.”
“Alright, your adorable banter is literally making me sick.”
“Believe it or not, I’ve seen worse.”
“Aww. I won’t be doing that, but thanks.”
“Quitting: it’s like trying, but easier.”
“You humans are filled with liquids, right?”
“I guess I have always liked pouring things into other things.”
“Time to scrounge through the trash.”
“I ain’t no desk jockey.”
“You don’t know diddly dang about squiddly squat!”
“I love secret rooms!”
“You have an aura of lies.”
“Also, you can eat trash.”
“Do the right thing, you dingus!”
“It just goes on like this for an hour.”
“Carnivals bring crowds and crowds bring suckers.”
“We’ve got scams to run.”
“I know poison when I see it.”
“You can’t scam a scammer.”
“You should really put a lock on your closet.”
“I love crimes!”
“Now this is my kind of weird.”
“That’s way safer than becoming blood brothers.”
“Beat up the man and steal his things for me.”
“This mama is ready for trauma.”
“All right. Approval!”
“Curse these stubby legs!”
“Sketchy carnival rides are not to blame this time.”
“___, you’re lucky I can’t be mad at your adorable antics.”
“Just when I thought I couldn’t respect the law any less…”
“Aww, what a supportive sign.”
“Yep, I just counted to one million.”
“Looks like we ruined his life for a second time.”
“I’ve always wanted to own a jagged piece of cheap metal.”
“Yes! Bread puns, bread puns forever!”
“Now I know what friendship tastes like.”
“I think today is a talons day.”
“It’s fun because it’s stupid.”
“I’ll admit, I was adorable.”
“Be careful with my brain.”
“Wouldn’t you rather talk about it?”
“That’s my motto after all, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’”
“No schemes, no plots, no ruses. None.”
“I can’t believe I made him cry.”
“Are you solving a crime or about to commit one?”
“Sadly this is one problem crime can’t solve.”
“I’m supposed to choose someone interesting, accomplished, and noteworthy. People aren’t meant to be all those things!”
“Yup, her brain’s burned up real good.”
“Be still my fantasy-loving heart.”
“I’m pretty good at getting stuck inside people’s heads.”
“Hey, I found something magical.”
“I’ma put my face in it.”
“It’s like a little doghouse for angels.”
“If you’re handing out attention, I deserve it.”
“Eww, I mean, aww.”
“I really messed things up.”
“It’s eggs, it’s full of eggs.”
“No one turns down an interview with someone this pretty.”
“Me? Avoid? What? No. But let’s skip it.”
“There’s levels to me, kid. Levels I say!”
“Oh, right, I put people in there.”
“I’m gonna hug you so hard you’ll never forget me again!”
“I regret teaching you about the internet.”
“Ah, a severed hand. Perfect response.”
“Hmm, the demon at my shoulder makes a good point.”
“Always trust a shoulder demon.”
“The more I look at him, the more uncomfortable I get.”
“Man, you’ve got some quick grabbers.”
“I can’t wait to get overdressed, take awkward photos, push all the buttons!”
“We’re gonna turn this bloodbath into a fun bath.”
“Do you think I could pull off red eyeshadow?”
“Girl, you could pull off anything.”
“We’re style geniuses!”
“Ominous footsteps, creepy woods, this is no problem.”
“Dang, I look great.”
“___, you always go overboard and I end up bailing you out.”
“Now, what’s the fun in watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it’s my kid?”
“___, I don’t think you’re ready but we’re literally out of time.”
“Why so twitchy, witchy?”
“Teenagers are brutal. They’ll boo anyone and that kind of public humiliation will stick with you for life.”
“You look nice. Strange, but nice.”
“Honestly, I’m kind of amazed with how fearless you are.”
“You’ve done things I could never do.”
“Thing is, you’re sitting in my personal chitchat zone, which means you gotta talk.”
“I am a little weirdo.”
“You gotta pander.”
“Cheating a isn’t anything to brag about.”
“Well, can’t reason with crazy!”
“I’ve been talking for too long.”
“Feeling sentimental?”
“I love water.”
“I don’t know much about sports but I do know about sports movies.”
“What happens in the montage stays in the montage.”
“Not everything can be solved with a good attitude and a dope movie soundtrack.”
“Sorry, I just really love backstories.”
“You just destroyed your social life.”
“That’s such a stupid rule!”
“You’re not gonna show this to anyone, right?”
“I haven’t forgotten what you promised me.”
“Ahh, you’re a thorn in my side but you always dig your way into my heart.”
“Jeez, you’re morbid.”
“Ahh, it’s a fate much worse than death if you think about it.”
“Please don’t make me regret taking you here.”
“Love me a properly ventilated castle.”
“I spy with my little eye something coming this way!”
“I’m going away and I don’t know if I can come back this time.”
“And ___, thank you, for being in my life.”
“I want her back as much as you do.”
“Don’t look at me like that, this is for your own good.”
“Ah farts, I got caught.”
“You understand, don’t you?”
“Please tell me that’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“To be great, you have to make sacrifices.”
“Ahh, ___, you chose the wrong side.”
“I like your spirit, but try that again and things won’t end well for you.”
“Go on, then. Go be a hero.”
“I may have lost but so have you.”
“I can teach you what I know, and what we don’t know we can learn together.”
#the owl house#starters#rp starters#sentence starters#sentence starter meme#rp#rp meme#ask meme#long post
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INEFFABLE - Kaz Brekker
Chapter Four
If you would like to read this on Wattpad, it’s on there as well, my @ is in_my_feels_probably and there’s a few visuals and better descriptions and stuff on there. otherwise, enjoy, let me know what you think, and you can check out my masterlist for updates and more.
INEFFABLE - Kaz Brekker
ineffable (adj.) too great to be expressed in words, utterly indescribable; too sacred to speak of.
Chapter Four
Elham had wiped most of the blood from her face, patching up what she could. She could feel the bruises already forming, one across her left eyebrow, which had a nasty gash through it, and one across her right cheekbone, as well as a cut and bruised lip, courtesy of Pekka Rollins. She was following Kaz down the stairs and across the club floor, headed to Jesper, who was seated at the bar.
Kaz was absolutely fuming. His pace was quick, even with his cane broken, and Elham, whose eye was beginning to swell a bit, struggled to keep up. They approached Jesper at the bar, who turned to look at the pair, eyes widening when he noticed Kaz's disheveled appearance.
"You alright, boss?" Kaz slung back Jesper's shot, earning a look of exasperation. He turned to complain to Elham, only to suck in a breath at Elham's appearance.
"Saints, love, are you alright?" Jesper gently held her chin in his hand, lightly turning her face towards the light to check her injuries. She pulled her face from his grasp, offering him a small smile instead, patting his arm.
"I've certainly been better, Jesper. Thank you, though."
"We've been warned off the job."
Jesper hesitated before questioning. "By who?"
Kaz turned to Jesper, a grimace on his face. "Who do you think?"
"Did he remember you?"
Kaz pulled his watch from his pocket, checking the time. "If he had, I'd be dead."
Elham flinched at that, and Kaz continued. "Sunrise is in five hours."
Jesper tugged Elham along and followed Kaz, who had headed for the floor. "Yeah, but we're off the job now, right?"
Kaz glanced at Elham, who just shook her head. "Never make decisions out of fear, Jesper. Only out of spite."
"Well, greed always worked well for me."
Kaz looked unimpressed. "Go guard the door."
Jesper sighed, and Elham gave his hand a quick squeeze, before letting him go. Once he left, Elham was left next to Kaz, who was running his gloved hand through his hair, scanning the room. He suddenly stopped scanning, before motioning to a guard at the door. "I have to handle this, go keep Jesper company."
Elham chuckled, turning to walk towards the door. "Babysitting. It's what I do best."
---
Jesper was messing around, slinging his guns around his fingers, doing everything he possibly could to annoy Elham.
"You're such an idiot."
He turned to face her smirking. "Yeah, but--"
"Jesper." Inej had appeared in front of them, making Jesper jump out of his skin, clutching his chest. Elham laughed at that.
"How do you do that?"
Inej didn't look amused. "...I need your help."
"Of course, love. Doing what?"
Inej stepped closer, a pained look on her face. Elham had stood up now, walking towards her. "I need you to kill a man for me."
Jesper laughed, scoffing. "Ugh, why me? You've got as many knives as I've got teeth."
Inej only frowned, murmuring quietly. "You know why."
"Yeah. But how is getting me to do it any different from you doing it? Besides, we've got the Valkyrie right here, I'm sure she'd be happy to."
"Inej, he's right, you don't have to do this, I can do it. Just tell me who he is, love, I'll handle it."
Before Inej could even let out a sigh of relief, Kaz called from down the alley, making them turn their heads toward him. "Jesper! New job, Elham, come with me."
Elham and Jesper turned back to Inej, but she was already gone. Elham's heart filled with dread, knowing she wouldn't be able to find and get to Inej before she had gone through with it. "Damn it, Kaz. What now?"
Kaz didn't even bat an eye. "Come along."
---
Elham paid no attention to Kaz and Jesper's conversation, something about needing a demo man. She trudged along behind them, hoping Inej was alright. She was beginning to feel naked without her sword on her, vulnerable in the streets of Ketterdam. Sure, she could fight, but nothing like how she could with her sword.
Jesper suddenly stopped, putting his hand on Kaz's arm, halting them. Kaz's eyes immediately looked down to Jesper's hand on his coat, and Elham as subtly as she could stepped in between them, separating the two. Jesper paid no mind to this, seeming to not notice. "Aren't we on Pekka's turf?"
"I go to Heleen now and ask for her buyout, she knows I need Inej and sets a price I can't pay."
"That's evil. Well, how do you know that?"
Kaz hesitated. "...It's what I would do."
Elham scoffed at that, shaking her head, muttering to herself. "Saints."
"Besides, Inej refuses to kill. Would you trust her in a matter of life and death?"
Before Jesper could even speak, Elham had stepped in front of Kaz, staring him down. "Did you really just ask that? Of course I would trust her, just as much as I would trust you!"
Kaz seemed surprised at her outburst. Jesper stepped from foot to foot, uncomfortable by the staring contest going on in front of him. "You want to tell me why we're scoping out a rival club?"
"To have a talk with an old business partner."
"The bouncers will know you on sight."
"That's why I brought you. Make sure they don't see me." Kaz turned to face Elham, referring to Jesper. "Watch them."
Jesper straightened up, getting ready. "On it, Boss."
Kaz smirked. 'I wasn't talking to you." And then he was gone.
Jesper scoffed, and Elham cracked a grin. "I am the babysitter, you know. Now get to work, try not to get us killed."
Jesper grumbled, pulling his pistol from its holster. "Yes, mother."
Elham rolled her eyes, slipping away from Jesper and to one of the nearby carts, pretending to look like one of the pigeons who'd come in from the harbour to visit the clubs.
A little while later, Kaz came down one of the back alleys in a hurry. Elham met his eyes, and saw the look of urgency. She quickly grabbed onto Jesper's coat and followed Kaz down the street, pulling him with her.
---
Elham was following Kaz still, running up the steps behind him. He had explained to her something about the Conductor, a man with a supposedly safe way to cross the Fold, and he was the man Inej was sent to kill, baited with her freedom by Tante Heleen.
They had made it to the top of the stairs, to see Inej leaned over the Conductor, a knife held in her hand, ready to strike.
Kaz motioned for Elham to get out of the way. "Don't."
Inej released the knife, sending it flying towards Kaz's head, it stuck into the board right next to his head. Elham sucked in a breath, Inej trembling. Kaz took a deep breath as well. "He's our way to Alina Starkov."
Inej grimaced, pressing her arm further into the man's neck. "Him?"
"Heleen knew it, she was using you to sabotage our mission."
Inej shook her head in disbelief. "She and I made a deal."
Kaz stepped towards Inej, Elham following. "It isn't worth more than what we get with him alive."
Inej turned to face the pair. "You'd choose him over my freedom?"
Elhams eyes began to tear, a lump forming in her throat. Kaz continued. "You assume it's one or the other."
Inej took a deep breath, turning back to the Conductor. She removed her knife from his neck, nicking at the skin, leaving a small cut. Kaz let his posture relax, moving towards the conductor.
Elham pulled Inej into her, wrapping one arm around her shoulder, the other moving to hold her hand. Kaz stepped in front of the two. "Conductor. I have a job for you. Get us to the Little Palace."
---
Not long after, Jesper and Inej were out preparing for the heist. Kaz and Elham were being let into Tante Heleen's office, who sat at her desk in fancy clothes, a cigarette lit. Elham glared, it taking everything in her not to launch the knife strapped to her thigh right into Heleen's chest. Just for good measure, Kaz stood in front of her, blocking her from view.
"I'm taking her, and when we return I'll have the buyout to clear the books. Until then, this is my collateral." Kaz had stepped forward, handing her a sealed envelope.
Heleen chuckled, taking the envelope and opening it. "What do you have that could possibly be enough?" She removed the piece of paper, revealing the deed to the Crow Club.
"The Crow Club? Well, I stand corrected."
Elham had convinced Kaz to use it as collateral earlier that night, promising him that the heist would pay off, and if it didn't work, she would do whatever it took to pay him back. Elham stepped around Kaz, who gave her a warning glance.
"Heleen...if we make it back, but without the kruge, you aren't taking the Crow Club. And you aren't keeping Inej. You're gonna take me."
Kaz's eyes filled with fear, his voice now uneasy. "Elham--"
"Don't, Kaz." She turned back to Heleen. "I'm half Suli, half Zemeni. I'll be your new lynx, or fawn, or whatever it is you decide to call me if it comes to it. I...I've got experience."
Kaz's face fell, his posture rigid. She hadn't told him that. Heleen raised an eyebrow, watching the pair.
A few months before Kaz had found her, nobody would hire her. There were no odd jobs to be found, and she was desperate. She found a little club at the edge of the Barrel near the harbour, who was taking in new girls. Elham had voluntarily signed a contract of employment, barely being paid enough to get by. But she wasn't indentured to the owner, and that was what was most important to her.
She did what she had to do. After the first month or so, it got easier. She only came in on nights where she had nowhere else she could go, and in exchange for a bed and food, and a small wage, she worked. After a few months, she had enough saved up to quit, to go look for other jobs she could scam her way into.
What Kaz also didn't know, is that the night he found her, she was working for the last little bit of kruge that could get her by. Another week or so, and she would have been right back at the club.
Elham wouldn't turn around. She wouldn't meet Kaz's gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes on Heleen. "So? Do we have a deal?"
Heleen stood. "Alright, little fawn. You've got yourself a deal. Now step aside, Mr. Brekker and I were talking."
Elham stepped back, lowering her gaze so she wouldn't have to meet Kaz's eyes. He slowly stepped forward, standing in front of Heleen, who was smirking. She held out her hand for him to shake. He slowly took it. "Inej is yours to lose now."
She peered around him, glancing at Elham, who was trying to be as stoic as she could. Heleen leaned in closer to Kaz, still talking to him, but her eyes kept glancing between him and Elham.
"It's all yours to lose."
Kaz nodded, turning around and walking out of Heleen's office, Elham following.
---
They walked back to the Crow Club in silence. Once they arrived, they made it up the stairs to Kaz's office, and Elham turned to go to her room.
"Elham?"
She turned to Kaz, keeping her gaze on the floor.
"Look at me."
She finally gave in, slowly glancing up, expecting to see disgust or disappointment. She saw none of that. Instead, it was a look of pity, which was almost worse.
"Do you need something, or can I go find Inej, get this moving quicker?"
Kaz's eyes softened, and he motioned for her to follow him into his office, a more private place. Once inside, he motioned for her to sit in her chair by the window. She did, slowly sitting, and he pulled his chair closer to her.
He sat across from her, trying to find the right thing to say. He finally settled on something.
"Why didn't you tell me before? I wouldn't have cared. I didn't look at Inej any differently when I found her, why would I look at you any different? And why, why the fuck would you do that? Offer yourself up like that to Heleen. I wouldn't have even brought you in there if I knew you were gonna do something as unbelievably stupid as that!"
Elham felt shame creeping through her, feeling uneasy in her chair, trying to sink further into it. She mumbled, her voice unsteady. "I don't know. I just knew that I couldn't let Inej go back there, not after seeing her so close to freedom tonight. And I couldn't let you potentially lose the Crow Club, not after watching you for years work to build it up. This seemed like the easiest option. If it comes to it, I can handle it."
"No."
"What?"
"No. You're not going back there. I don't care what I have to do, we're getting this kruge. We have to. I have to." Kaz was seething now leaning back in his chair, running his hands through his hair.
His broken cane was leaning against his desk, and Elham picked it up, bringing it closer to her. Kaz stilled, watching her movements now. She slowly slid it closer to him, tapping the end to the base of his ankle, like he had done so many times before to her.
His breath hitched, he was still not moving.
She offered him a small smile. "We're gonna get this kruge. Nobody's going back to Heleen. I trust you."
He gave her a small nod, his lips turning up into the ghost of a smile. "Come on, we're almost out of time. Let's go."
---
A/N - hey guys! i really hope you like this chapter, it's kinda long and it's a lot to handle, but we're so close to actually getting out of ketterdam and getting this heist moving, so i packed a lot in this chapter. i'm slowly gonna start releasing more and more about elham, so i hope you're ready for that. anyways, let me know what you think! feel free to comment or message me with anything, and check out my other work. thank you so much for the support!
#wattpad#kaz brekker x reader#kaz brekker#six of crows imagine#six of crows#shadow and bone#grishaverse#ineffable#in my feels probably
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Notes from a Con Man - Musical Great Pretender Stage Report Act 1
This is a bit extremely rambly, but I want to give some description of the distinguishing features of the staged version of Great Pretender as compared to the anime, although my plan is not to give a complete recap of the plot, as I’m sure anyone who is choosing to read this has watched the anime - or so I assume, but you know you do you. I try to control myself and keep it just to what is relevant, but I’m also a wordy bitch and that will never change, so, reader beware, I guess.
The stage is set up with three levels (the stage level, the second floor, and the third floor where the band is). Both the stage level and second floor have a couple of rooms that can be pulled out or opened, and backgrounds are projected onto the set to create different settings. With the exception of the opening theme, which is taken from the anime, all of the music is live, and there’s very good interplay between the band and the performers, and I don’t know if I’d ever been to another show that felt so vibrant/alive/idk?
First, the biggest change made for the sake of clear storytelling on the stage is the addition of a framing device: the plot is conveyed to the audience through Edamura’s (Miyata Toshiya) narration as he tells his story to a prosecutor after the events of LA Connection. The play opens where LA Connection ends with Edamura being questioned at a police station, where it’s clear that he has been attempting for hours to convince detectives to believe the team-confidence-wild-and-wacky-adventures ™ explanation as to how he came to be in possession of a bag stuffed with foreign currency. Detectives are fed up with him and ready to go berniewiththesteelchair.jpeg on his ass. Enter Kitaoji (Kato Ryo), an elite prosecutor who seems to be on track to become attorney general, although it is unclear to those at the police station why he would take interest in Edamura’s case.
Edamura is initially reluctant to open up to Kitaoji (Kato Ryo), certain that he won’t be believed, but after Kitaoji quotes from Shakunetsu (side note: I had no idea that in English Shakunetsu was turned into Die Hot which is an absolutely incredible pun and I really commend the translator), Edamura thinks Kitaoji might be just the person to believe him and help him to make amends to all those he had harmed through his life of fraud. Kitaoji encourages Edamura to start at the beginning and goes to eat a piece of candy, prompting Edamura to question, “What would you do if this simple piece of candy was sold for $5 million?” at which point he begins telling his story, transporting us first to a club in Hollywood where we are introduced to the plot with Sakura Magic and, more importantly, Laurent (Miya Rurika, goddess, dressed devastatingly in green), who is identified in quick succession as a French trader, an arrogant Don Juan, and the “bastard who got me into this mess.”
Edamura bumbles through Laurent’s plot to build hype and clinch a deal with Cassano (Otani Ryosuke) by having Abby (Yamamoto Chihiro) “test” the “drug,” while giving small asides to Kitaoji to explain the main players and reveal to him that this is all a con job, but when Edamura is called to sign the contract to supply Cassano with the drug for $5 million, he flips out, pulls Salazar’s (Mikami Ichiro) gun, and flees the club, without the excuse of believing that he had taken drugs as he did in the anime. It is also not at this point that Edamura makes the connection between Laurent and Kudo and realizes that he’s been set up (Miyata!Edamura is overall a bit less perceptive than Kobayashi!Edamura, as we shall see, although I think this was a function of simplifying aspects of the characters’ interactions for the sake of clarity for the stage).
Kitaoji pops in and out of the story from this point, donning different costumes (an unhoused person, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Razzie from the Shakunetsu series, etc.) to illustrate different aspects of the main characters’ conversations, and he serves as a way to get into Edamame’s head, allowing him to express what he is thinking and feeling as events in the story play out. It is in the metanarrative that we get some of these more comedic scenes, as well as additional insight into Edamura’s character as he grapples with his own identity as a scam artist and the son of a child trafficker.
After escaping Cassano’s henchmen outside the club, Edamura rejoins Kitaoji to ask if he’s following the story so far, which of course he is not (lol), so Edamura dives into how he met Laurent and came to be in LA. From here we flashback three days, joining Edamura and Kudo (Fukumoto Shinichi) in Asakusa as they spy Laurent as a potential mark. Edamura pulls the wallet-switch trick, and this scene generally follows the anime, although parts, such as the scenes showing Edamura selling water filters and Edamura and Kudo being raided by what seems to be the police, have been cut. After realizing that Laurent pickpocketed him and saw through his grift, Edamura quickly follows and catches him as he is about to depart in a cab to the airport. Just a moment to talk about this cab because it was such a cute, clever idea; it was really just a little push car driven by one of the supporting cast, and it can be disconnected in the middle, so as the driver pulls off, the back seat can be left behind, allowing the audience to watch Laurent and Edamura’s conversation as they are taken to the airport.
Similarly to the anime, the successive scenes are nominally delivered in English, so Edamura switches to a dialect of Japanese to represent his accented English, which I mention only because Miyata discussed Edamura’s code switching with Kobayashi (Edamura’s Japanese voice actor) in an interview in vol. 51 of Stage Square and how he was concerned that he might confuse Standard Japanese and the dialect during scenes where he has to go back and forth quickly. Kobayashi reassured him that as he got into the character of Edamura Miyata would naturally fall into dialect whenever speaking to Laurent and Abby, and I’m very biased, buuuttttt throughout the run of the show, Miyata performed this beautifully, and as someone who for several years lived in the Tohoku region, the dialect of which Edamura’s accent reminded me of, his accent made me really nostalgic.
Anywayyyyyy
After Laurent and Edamura bet on the outcome of Laurent’s upcoming “business negotiations” and it’s agreed that they will travel to LA together, the opening theme plays, the main cast is introduced, with Edamura running up and down the set to give a sense of action, the title in massive letters is lowered onto the stage, and we rejoin the main plot with Edamura trying to elude Cassano’s gang on the streets of LA by hiding behind the title. The supporting cast gives us some great background color as like random people in LA, like we’ve got some girls with Starbucks cups, some people breakdancing while simultaneously mugging a Dodgers fan, a skateboarder shouting “STREET”...for some reason. Perfect encapsulation of America *chef’s kiss*
Laurent finds Edamura and tells him to come home because he’s a good boy (😳), and Edamura is then introduced to Abby who, just as in the anime, kicks and knocks him out, after which they collect him and take him to an upscale hotel where Cynthia/Paula Dickens (Senna Ayase) is performing as a jazz singer. Laurent greets her briefly, but we don’t properly get introduced to her character until a later, very frustrating scene, but I’m not going to get started on that yet (it’s not her that’s frustrating, but it’s how they chose to have her and Edamura meet, but anyway we’ll get there). She sings “Summertime,” and it’s a lovely performance; all of her acting choices are very clearly informed by her experience in Takarazuka - she has these really dynamic, almost over-the-top movements and she uses that to her advantage to be one of the more comedic actors - and it’s really entertaining to watch.
Laurent orders them drinks; Edamura has something pink in a little martini glass, and he splutters when he tries to take a sip because he can’t handle his alcohol, which makes Laurent laugh, giving a lot of credence to Laurent’s statement soon after that he derives a lot of pleasure out of toying with naive boys like Edamura who pretend to be tougher than they really are. There’s also some funny adlib with Abby at this point where she gets brought different plates of food like fake fruit on one day and a tower of donuts on another. Laurent explains who Cassano is and the plan to defraud him and gives Edamura a notebook with a fabricated recipe for Sakura Magic, so the notebook is not part of what Edamura prepares himself when he goes later to get himself captured by Cassano to negotiate with him. Edamura has a couple of outbursts accusing Laurent and Abby of putting on airs, pretending to be carrying out justice, repeatedly interrupting the band who give him dirty looks and Shi-won, dressed as one of the saxophonists, loudly blows the saxophone back at him, and this prompts Laurent to be like nah we’re getting too much attention here let’s continue this back at the hotel.
The hotel scene is fairly similar to the anime, but once Edamura is left alone, we get the first instance of him thinking about his family as he reflect on what Laurent had to say about how people don’t always believe the truth that is in front of them as they would rather believe whatever is most convenient. He flashes back to his family going home together after his father finished a case (the hotel room is on the second floor with his mom and dad entering on the stage level; the younger version of Edamura is done in voice over), and of course they seem like a happy family, although it’s interesting that what his dad has to say about ethics was cut from the script. The scene focuses more on Edamura idolizing his father as a great lawyer.
Okay, so we’ve finally come to the scene I absolutely hated and did not think was necessary, after Edamura leaves the hotel room. He is approached by three unhoused persons, one of whom he at first thinks is Kitaoji coming to interrupt the narrative again, but he soon realizes that they are “real homeless.” It was really just a disgusting, cruel stereotype; one of them is playing with a rat they found, another is acting like a junkie, and the ringleader is trying to get money off of him because they haven’t eaten in three days and then they steal his little Toyotomi Hideyoshi figurine and play keepaway with it and don’t stop until Cynthia/Paula Dickens (at this point she’s Paula tho so I’m going to refer to her that way) enters and is like knock it off. So that’s how they meet. Cool. They could easily have come up with something else and they just didn’t.
But, anyway, since he got his figurine back, he explains to Paula that his hobby is collecting capsule toys, and during his explanation, a gacha machine is projected up on the stage, out of which comes Kitaoji dressed as Toyotomi, followed by a bunch of other figures from Japanese history. This part always got a pretty good laugh out of the audience, and I think it was a pretty cute way to stage it. Paula insists they go to dinner together, so she can hear more about Toyotomi, and the capsule toy figurines all follow to a diner (serving “breadfast” 24hrs lol) where Shi-won is dressed as someone named Ricardo. The figurines all start to get drunk, while “Ricardo” fixes Edamura and Paula some tacos; meanwhile Edamura explains that Toyotomi began as a simple peasant, but because of his hard work and study, he was able to climb all the way to the top and unite all of Japan as a powerful lord.
Edamura asks why she decided to help him before and he despairs that he must seem like a beaten dog, but she explains that while she might seem confident, she faces tremendous anxiety getting on stage every day, particularly as she wants to make it big as a performer but can’t expect to get the attention of a label just because she can sing a bit. (In the background, Francis Xavier is completely sloshed and ends up drinking with Ricardo) Edamura suggests that she take inspiration from Toyotomi as someone who was able to trick even his enemies into working with him and represent herself as someone more important than she is to get music producers onto her side. She seems fired up by this proposal, and she says that she’ll follow the example of Toyotomi, “Japan’s best confidence man,” which gives Edamura his own motivation to get back to trying to win the bet with Laurent. He asks Paula to wish him good luck and runs off, and we get the first dance scene with Edamura and a number of samurai as he builds up to confronting Cassano. The scene ends with him running into a video shop, presumably to rent Cassano’s movies.
Laurent and Abby are called to Cassano’s mansion - they argue if Edamura is capable of pulling off a job like this, although Laurent insists that he has a natural talent - but they are certain that he must be dead when they hear from Salazar that Edamura was taken into their custody at the airport trying to run. However, Edamura bursts onto the scene, dressed in a new Hawaiian shirt, and at this point, Miyata looks as though he has been in a swimming pool, but it’s just sweat lmao. Cassano informs them that he’s made a new deal with Edamura for $10 million, and when they ask how, we get a flashback showing how he got onto Cassano’s good side by praising Shakunetsu with Kitaoji, as Razzie, acting out scenes from the Shakunetsu movies on the second floor of the stage. Whenever Cassano hugs Edamura in these scenes, it was really funny because his jacket would get just absolutely covered in Miyata’s sweat just ugh gross lol
Cassano’s accountant joins them and they play out the whole bit about confirming Edamura’s credentials as a pharmaceutical scientist, at which point Edamura finally realizes that Kudo is working with Laurent, when he calls Kudo to thank him for deceiving Cassano’s attorneys. After Cassano has confirmed Edamura’s identity, he takes the crew to his factory and insists that Edamura make Sakura Magic for them right there and then so that they can be sure to properly replicate his recipe. She does this the whole play, but particularly during this scene, you can really see how well Miya Rurika portrays Laurent as always calm and and in control before Edamura but as quietly losing his shit whenever he feels like they’ve been backed into a corner, and we also get some very cute like Laurent clearly being exasperated with Edamura but the two of them starting to be able to play off one another as they convince Cassano that the factory isn’t up to snuff for making Sakura Magic.
They have to clear out because they hear someone coming, but Cassano promises that he will build a new laboratory for Edamura and entrusts his care to Salazar. The police bust in after everyone has left; Anderson does the absolute most to show off to everyone that he’s properly securing the scene, but he’s clearly relieved that Cassano slipped through their fingers once again oh my how does this keep happening oh well better luck next time. We get a proper introduction to Paula and Shi-won as members of the FBI who have come to investigate Laurent and his organization (Paula has changed into this beautifully tailored brown tweed pantsuit and she pulls it off so well), and Paula threatens to expose Anderson’s connections to Cassano if he doesn’t follow her lead.
After the scene in the factory, we return to the present in the interrogation room with Kitaoji and Edamura. Detectives bring Kitaoji additional files on Edamura, asking if the prosecutor has heard of the attorney Ozaki. They inform him that Edamura is Ozaki’s son, and Kitaoji is a bit shocked; he leaves, saying that he will review the files. The detectives collect the money before exiting the room, but not without getting in a dig at Edamura, telling him that he clearly takes after his father. Edamura is stricken by this statement, and the act ends with Edamura battling with this internal conflict.
I don’t think anyone would want to read all of this, but if you have, thank you so much. I hope some of it at least was interesting or informative. I’m going to end there for now, as I’ve already gone on for too long, and I’ll finish writing up the second act in another post.
#it's too long i'm sorry lmao#i have not edited this so sorry as well if there are mistakes#great pretender
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Leverage Season 2, Episode 14, The Three Strikes Job, Audio Commentary Transcript
Dean: Hi I'm Dean Devlin, Executive Producer and Director of this episode.
John: John Rogers, Executive Producer, Writer of this episode.
Chris: Chris Downey, Executive Producer, and this is the Three Strikes Job.
John: This is the first half of the big season finale which we like to do. And we are meeting our favorite recurring character Detective Bonanno, played by our friend Mr. Blanche, right?
Dean: Yes, Robert Blanche.
Chris: Robert Blanche.
John: Fantastic find; local actor. And it was interesting because really as we had come to- first time dealing with split season, first time Sophies not around, we had to- you know, we really hunted around for the character we would be emotionally anchored to for the season finale; you don't want it to be a random vic. And- cause last year was the whole Nate arc-
Chris: Right.
John: And having- Robert having established his character made him really beloved, made it easier.
Dean: And we've never really done a pre-opening like this that's quite this violent.
John: Yes.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: So it was a little bit out of our tool box, but yet we tried to do it in a way that it didn't seem like a completely different show.
John: This is the edited version. In the original version, a toddler wanders through the field of fire and is brutally mowed down.
[Laughter]
John: I'm glad we cut that out, that was weird.
Dean: That wasn't good.
John: Just seemed odd.
Dean: Especially when the toddler pulled out a gun and-
John: And was doing the [unintelligible] the dubs were cool though. I liked those.
[Laughter]
John: So this is Sonny at the toll booth; there's no two ways around this.
Chris: Oh, yeah.
John: How tough was this to shoot?
Dean: You know, it was actually pretty easy. We had about six cameras shooting simultaneously; we did it 3 different times and moved the camera each time. And this van you may recognize from Beantown Bailout-
John: Yes
Dean: Which also got shot up. So whenever we need to shoot up a car, that’s the car.
Chris: And did we add-? Or did we-
Dean: Now here’s the interesting thing-
John: We putty it in.
Chris: We putty it in? Oh.
Dean: The actor was not available this day to shoot. So that’s a different actor made up to look like Robert Blanche.
Chris: Oh wow, that’s great.
John: That's great. So our local Portland actor has a double? A stand in?
Dean: Has a double. [Laughs]
John: Wow, that's great. Oh, she's fantastic. And now this is- again, one of these sorts of things where we’re trying to anchor all of Nate Ford’s emotional cues. And you actually tried to shoot this identically, if I remember correctly.
Dean: That's right. We wanted to try and match the look and feel of the hospital scene from the pilot, but just skewed enough so that we know we’re someplace else.
John: Paul Blackthorne's name. And this was a lot of fun. This was a big giant episode concept.
Dean: One of the things you have to understand is- you gotta know when we do these two-part season finales, they're really shot like a movie, cause you shoot them all at the same time. And this one is, as you will see - far more ambitious than what we did in season one. Yet because it’s at the end of a very tough season where the writers actually ended earlier than normal; we only have four days to prepare to shoot this two-part season finale.
John: Yeah. We actually started prepping off outlines.
Chris: Yeah.
John: And then I think I turned in the first half? First half first? Second half-
Dean: Yeah.
John: I think I kept in order at least. And then, you know, turn them each in. And by that point, nicely enough, the Portland crew was such a well oiled machine that they knew what they wanted. Also, we had learned by this point to really try to find anchor locations.
Chris: Yeah.
John: To build and tie our acts around. So knowing that we were gonna do the baseball scam, they knew they could start processing all that was needed.
Dean: This is also the first time in season two that we brought back this recurring nightmare of him reliving the death of his son. The idea was that he had to some degree resolved it at the end of season one, but yet it’s still there just below the surface, and then suddenly kicking in to the end of season two it comes back up again.
John: And it was really the last trigger. If you’ve been watching the arc all the way through, we’ve been playing with his control issues and the fact that he's drinking again, and that feeling of helplessness has triggered him back into his addictive behavior. I mean, he’s already kind of bathing in his addictive behavior at this point in the previous episodes, but this is what really pushes him over the edge.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: Also normally we like to have fun kick in pretty early after the opening scene, but yet this- because we're trying to set up a larger emotional arc in this two-part season finale. We have an emotional opening with Bonanno getting shot, then we have another emotional beat where he’s reminded of his son, and here another emotional beat where he’s trying to connect with Sophie and his frustration of not being able to reunite with her is bubbling. So we really actually took a long time on this before we let the fun kick in, which is not usual.
John: Because we were really gonna screw with Nate Ford in these two episodes, and you really feel like you just can't, ‘Oh, remember that stuff you should have noticed in previous episodes? That’s why he's doing this.’ We really needed to reset it.
Chris: One of the reasons that I think this plays so well is that if you watch them back to back, which I'm so glad they were broadcast that way on TNT, is that this scene here really pays off in part two.
Dean: Yeah.
Chris: And it’s- you know, it's a little ways to go if you have to wait a week between them.
John: Yeah.
Chris: But now it really plays like a movie.
Dean: And big kudos to Jeri Ryan because she had- she only had a few episodes to create an arc, and really everything she did in the previous episodes come together in these last two.
John: Yeah.
Dean: She’s really part of the team by now.
John: Yeah. And that bit where she drinks his booze in order to get it away from him was actually the first physical bit we ever pitched talking about the character. We were trying to figure out a way to differentiate between Sophie and Tara, and the idea where Sophie is a little more sensitive, a little more coddling...
Chris: More empathetic.
John: More empathetic, yeah. Tara will just basically drink you out of your own problems.
Chris: Right.
John: This was a tough day. Mainly because Tim really dug in on this.
Dean: Yeah.
John: This rage- this was a tough day. You know, he’s angry. And you can hear him-
Chris: Yeah.
John: And you can- he really- this was a small set for them to be screaming at each other on. It was really nice.
Dean: Yeah. And it really helped the other actors as you’ll see just in the way they are reacting. I mean, you see Christian is really messed up by this.
John: Yeah.
Dean: And it was a great way to-
John: Yeah cause one of his best friends in the world is sitting eight feet from him screaming at his face.
Dean: Yeah.
John: I mean, you know. And yeah, they're all really digging in on the idea that Nate Ford has gone off the rails.
Dean: But once they jump in, then the fun begins again.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: And now we start to get into that rhythm of, ‘Ok.’
Chris: You can see his little look on his face right here is the cue for the fun on Hardison.
John: Yeah. As soon as- yeah, as soon as the sarcastic ‘these guys are goons’ face comes up.
[Laughter]
Dean: Now by the way, those goons faces on the board are actually people who work here at post production at Electric.
[Laughter]
John: So don't be alarmed if you see them at your local bank or supermarket.
Chris: And I'll call out another couple of people whose faces are on this, too, you two guys a little later.
John: Oh yeah, we’re a little later. Exactly. This was also fun because this was something we kind of picked up on if you watch the second season episodes. A little bit more of detective Nate Ford.
Chris: Yeah.
John: You know, he was a guy who hunted bad guys.
Dean: Right.
John: And we put him back in the context a couple times this season of hunting bad guys. You know, and this one in particular he figures out exactly the situation in which case they should pursue.
Chris: Yeah.
John: Good crime scene photos. Big shout out to Derek.
Chris: Gruesome, yeah.
John: Gruesome, yeah. Nice.
Dean: But because we shot this scene before we had shot the scene with Bonanno getting shot-
John: We had no footage, that’s right.
Dean: We had no footage, so we had to make up fake crime scene photos and hoped that they would somehow-
Chris: Derek had those crime scene photos pretty easily, don’t you think?
John: That was a little disturbing.
[Laughter]
John: ‘I just went out and did it in a back alley in Chicago.’ This is also fun because this is one of the few times we’ve had Hardison of all people go, ‘I don't want to do this one. This one seems like a bad idea.’
Chris: Yeah. Now look at this shot.
Dean: Now this actor here- those of you who may have seen my film Flyboys, he was one of the pilots in Flyboys. And he did me a solid and came and did this little guest spot. And this is Richard Kind, who I had not worked with since Stargate-
John: Wow.
Dean: -and has been a family friend forever, and I think one of our most underrated actors in this country.
Chris: Yeah, I mean, it's the kind of part you typically don't see him in. I mean he plays kind of a nebbish-y guy.
John: Yeah.
Chris: And boy, did he just bring a gravitas and a menace and really built a whole backstory to his character.
John: Well let's talk about it- that’s where this story comes from. We really wanted to do our city of industry, corrupt east coast port town. I grew up near Boston, you grew up in New York-
Chris: Yeah.
John: -and, you know, this is very much based around that, sort of, north of Boston, Route 1 type of town.
Dean: Right.
John: And so getting an east coast actor, just a guy who could bring you that kind of New York power family vibe made a difference. And he showed up- he loved the script, showed up with three ideas. Three lines of dialogue, in three scenes that gave this character backstory, depth, and pathos. It’s like, ‘Wow, that’s a very good actor.’
Chris: And what the fact to do is Brad Culpepper the Third. I mean that he was from a long line-
John: Yes. And he dug in on that and he found something that just made you, you know-
Dean: He also came up with this concept that he wasn’t in it for the money, he was in it for the power and the legacy.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: Which is an interesting distinction.
John: Yeah, exactly. There is- he really dug in on the evil speech of evil. The idea that he is not a bad guy in his own head in any way shape or form. This was- what hotel was this? Was this the Governor?
Dean: This was the Governor Hotel.
John: They really did us a solid this episode, they did a fantastic job.
Dean: We ended up shooting three different episodes at the Governor, and then they were our host for the Leverage convention.
John: Oh, also the wrap party.
Chris: Which was fantastic.
John: I don't remember that much.
Chris: The Leverage convention, which was awesome.
John: I can't believe you people missed it.
[Laughter]
John: We’re gonna assume nothing horrible happens. The horrible irony of when we try to recall these DVDs.
Chris: Oh, no, please.
[Laughter]
John: Lovely little- this was a great neighborhood; they put up with us. And this was a lot of fun, whenever you can play the annoyed brother vibe between the two of them.
Dean: Oh, I could watch it all day long.
John: Yeah. This was also the night we found out we got picked up for a third season.
Dean: That’s right.
Chris: Oh yeah, that’s right.
John: This is fun, that’s Beth in the rig on the ledge. If you go to my blog, you’ll see the pictures of her doing this. It’s insane. There's just no way we should be allowing her to be on the edge.
Chris: Oh that’s great.
John: That’s city hall, by the way, in Portland. That’s city hall.
Dean: That is, that is.
Chris: They let you just jump off the roof in city hall?
John: You know what- if you're in Portland, show up, ask, and they'll let you. I'm sure there will be no repercussions to me saying that. And this is kind of fun, Paul Blackthorne as the shadowy character that you kind of touch on. And this is all based on- his character’s actually based on a guy down in Florida-
Dean: Yes.
John: -who got an arms deal with the US government, who was like a bar guy.
Chris: Yeah, he was kinda like a party kid.
John: Yeah, who somehow got a 300 million dollar contract with the US government selling recycled arms from Eastern-
Chris: Recycled arms from Eastern Europe, yeah.
John: That’s Beth on the rappelling line. Remember that? We shot that.
Dean: And I’ll tell you, this is an example of how Beth, even alone, just completely captures your imagination. She has no one else to act with here except for our AD off camera reading dialogue, and yet she's completely engaged in the story, in the character.
John: Yeah, this was a lot- this was- actually you wrote this whole chunk.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: Oh, here's another great local guest star.
John: Yeah. And that was another thing that Portland gave us. There's a lot of great local theater guys, a lot of local great actors who can really land a joke.
Dean: Yeah, it was so surprising.
Chris: I love that he has the ice tea, it's such a great-
[Laughter]
Chris: Such a great touch.
John: I like- and also the sort of- I don't know if it’s the weird veiled hostility between Hardison and Eliot gets turned outward whenever they run one of these cons-
Dean: Right.
John: -but that guy is going to be the subject of their rage at each other. This guy was really great.
[Laughter]
Chris: And this is a crime lab bit. I mean, let’s be honest, there are eight different CSIs on; we wanted to have a little fun.
John: Yes. We were kind of making fun of the CSI- the whole idea that CSI shows up at your house. I had my house broken into, they didn’t show up.
[Laughter]
Chris: The fact that the beat cop could be-
John: Bossed around by-
Chris: Bossed around by CSI guys was born out of those shows
John: And this, by the way, the bit with the balloons, was Richard.
Dean: Great.
John: Just awkward, just trying to shift it, trying to ground it. And again, this- what amazes me when we got into the research of it, was how cheap it was to buy these guys.
Chris: Yeah.
John: I mean really- like $10,000 gets you somebody's kid in city politics.
Dean: That's true.
Chris: The promise of a job when you're out of the office. You know, I mean, that's what brought down the Illinois governor.
John: Yeah, that's right. That’s right. And that's what is kinda fun is we do- oh, I love this bit.
Dean: Comedy frame.
John: Comedy frame! What is this? A locked off comedy frame.
Dean: Exactly.
John: Locked off frame, two people come in facing each other-
Dean: And I love this little smile right there on Christian’s face .
[Laughter]
Dean: He was just enjoying the bit until he realized, ‘Oh wait, I have to perform in the bit.’
John: Is that on the X? Is that- how did you get the RED so low?
Dean: Oh we just put it right on the floor on a sandbag.
John: Oh that's good.
[Laughter]
John: Thanks to these nice folks for letting us trash their home, by the way.
Dean: Yes. And for those of you who may have noticed in the wide angles, just the little numbers on the evidence things on the floors.
John: Yes, that they’ve scattered all over the ground. Yeah no set-dec did a great job.
Dean: You can see the numbers in the background.
Chris: Oh those are great!
John: And- and earning his pay-
[Laughter]
John: Nicely done.
Chris: That’s a nice little transition there.
John: It is a nice- almost like you put some thought into this.
Dean: And I swear I didn't. And this is our line producer’s wife .
John: Yeah.
Dean: Who also did a guest star in last year’s two-part season finale.
John: Last year’s finale!
Chris: Oh, that’s right!
John: I like the idea she was on vacation in LA last year.
Dean: Exactly.
John: And now she’s back and involved in another Leverage scam. In my head it's the same person.
Dean: And this is an interesting scene for their arc, because, you know, Beth - Parker - really didn't trust Tara coming in.
John: Well she's not part of the family.
Dean: And only in this scene does she actually start to earn her trust, and they start to bond.
John: And we also wanted to reset the fact that, again, Parker is good in the short con. If you throw a surprise at her she doesn't handle it well, because talking to people doesn't even go well. Interestingly enough, she relates to people better in character than as Parker.
Chris: Yes.
John: Yeah. And so until Tara gives her- so yes, the awkward- we really pulled up every political trope we could find.
Chris: Oh, sure.
John: I think we sat down - adultery, pregnancy, corruption. Then we just went through the Times one day, just pulled up every scandal from that summer.
[Laughter]
John: And the 4-18 months. And there's actually a mayor’s conference, too.
Dean: That’s right.
John: We found out where the mayor’s conference was.
Chris: It's in Vegas. Sure that's where you would have the mayors conference, and that’s where he would meet her.
Dean: I like the little turn Parker makes here, after she’s been coached part way through it, now she gets it. So now she’s feeling comfortable doing it.
John: Now she understands, yeah.
Dean: And you can see her-
Chris: ‘Yeah, I'll just wait out there.’
John: And that is an actual office- that's a conference room at the city hall?
Dean: That sure is.
John: That we rappelled down into.
Dean: We had to use it as the mayor's office, cause the actual mayor's office was too small.
[Laughter]
John: That's right.
Chris: Oh, yeah.
John: Infamously the mayor took the smaller office in the city of Portland cause he just felt like he only needed that much work space.
Dean: That's right. Mayor Sam Adams who’s been incredibly helpful to this show, and we’re very grateful.
John: Yes. Very cool guy. I don't regret that duffle bag full of cash at all.
Chris: That is a great shot there.
John: That is a great shot. That really establishes that space.
Chris: She’s- jeez.
John: She's beautiful, yes. I was referring to the setting, but-
Chris: Sorry, I was just-
John: Yes, Jeri Ryan was very beautiful, too.
Chris: I was just lost in Jeri Ryan.
John: It happens. And this is the great speech. And again, we listened to transcripts and looked at testimony. I mean if you look at Blagojevich-
Chris: Blagojevich, sure.
John: The remarkable bluntness with which they announce their terms and prices always amazes me.
Chris: Yeah. And it almost sounds like movie dialogue, but it’s not! It’s just the way they talk!
John: Yeah.
Dean: The evil speech of evil.
John: And we come up with evil speeches of evil, and then when you go find the real ones it's like, really? You said that? With a straight face? Alright.
Chris: Yeah.
John: No, research is your friend. We really- you know, this is a remarkable static act with an awful lot going on. I never noticed that before.
Dean: Well I think- again, this is- when we separate our team into different locations, but yet having them communicate, it really gives a sense of energy to it.
John: But we only have, like, three agendas.
Dean: Right.
John: You know, running it at any one time. This was a tight little shot. I remember this. This was- we were in that back bedroom, and trying to shoot. And then you had to- you had a totally different blocking, if I remember correctly.
Dean: Yeah, instead of being in the room with him, we decided we’d squeeze him through the doorway and make him feel like he’s in an even tighter space than he was by framing it that way. But it also gives a chance to use this hallway and bring in our guest performer.
John: Yeah. And the clue that travels over two different episodes. Hopefully, again, I'm glad that they aired these back to back because it would be tricky to-
Chris: Yes it’s- to track- there's a lot of stuff that this really did play like a movie.
Dean: And once again, we got to the-
John: Oh, the big smile.
Dean: -comedy frame.
John: Yes.
[Laughter]
John: That’s for all you young filmmakers out there, that is the comedy frame. And then the look- just the look of pity on his face. Yeah.
[Laughter]
John: And the badge on the- there's no reason the CSI guys should have a badge on a shield. Chris just loves the badge on the shield- the badge on a chain.
Dean: Exactly.
Chris: He likes that.
John: He really likes that look. If he can be doing like a 1970s- if he could be doing the British version of Life on Mars, he’d be the happiest man alive.
Dean: Oh yeah.
[Laughter]
Chris: Now I got a question for you. So was- now we had a Maltese Falcon joke, just one line in-
Dean: The previous episode.
Chris: -the previous episode. Did that give you the idea for the Maltese Falcon? Who came up with the Maltese Falcon bit?
John: No, you know it was- it was literally, I was trying to figure out, ‘What's the MacGuffin? What’s the maltese falcon? You know what, it'd be actually kind of fun to just call it that.’
Chris: Just the Maltese Falcon, OK.
John: Cause it’s so famous now, it's a little meta. And, you know, the fact that it would be called something rather than a shorthand for something-
Chris: Right.
John: Cause we use that in the writers room all the time.
Chris: Yeah, we do.
John: The maltese falcon, what's the thing? Macguffin, Hitchcock famously defined it as. And this is Nate deciding to bail on the pitch and making- and this is tough. He’s basically processing offscreen dialogue and acting like he’s coming to a decision.
Dean: I love Richard’s reaction to it, it's like ‘What?’
John: We just went for the whole-
Chris: ‘You just paid all this money, you don't want to engage in graft with me?’
John: Behind though-
Dean: Even out of focus he's stealing the scene.
John: I know. He's really upstaging the hell out of- out of focus. Look how far back he is. Aaand you're back.
[Laughter]
John: And we've announced our agenda.
Chris: We've announced our agenda, we know our- and here we go.
Dean: Now this place was great, this ballpark. We wanted to shoot here all year and hadn’t really found a way to do it.
John: And that's why I give full props to Chris, is cuz I had the crime story back half of this done, and I could not figure out what the con on the mayor was. And you had fallen in love with this location you had seen- you were like-
Chris: This was great, I had gone to a game here.
John: We can finally pay off this location. And that’s- again, that's an advantage of being a city where you get to know- cause the baseball con was always a half an episode.
Chris: Right.
John: And we could never quite get it to be a whole. And then it was like, ‘Oh, we need half an episode. Boom.’
Chris: Well also there's a lot of public corruption around building ballparks, and we did a little research that minor league ballparks bring 30 million dollars into the local economy.
John: That was great. The day we did research and found out it was just a flat 30 million for almost every ballpark, it’s like, that’s just a great number.
Chris: Yup.
Dean: And by the way, I think some of the best special effects we’ve ever done are in this two-part season finale, but I don't think you'd even notice it. For instance all these shots in the ballpark, we had to erase and change all the signage-
John: Oh, that’s right.
Dean: -because we didn't have permission. And then later, we had to put in the crowds that were reacting. So there are amazing special effects in this, but they are so real you didn’t even know.
John: That’s right. Utterly seamless. If you see them, we screwed up. Yeah, and this particularly since those aren’t lockoff, the camera is moving, you know, the character is wiping in front of it, yeah.
Dean: And again, I love what David is doing in this scene, he is just channeling Smithers.
John: Yes.
[Laughter]
John: And there’s Paul Blackthorne, he’s really doing the job for us as evil European dude. He has a large black car-
Chris: Yeah.
John: He's got a halfway rolled down window. We know what his job is in the story, we know what his job is in the narrative.
[Laughter]
John: But what I love here is the fact that Richard there's just so dismissive. I mean the body language here besides- Why is this a good shot? Because you don’t have to turn around to get both of them.
Dean: Exactly.
John: He’s very casually powerful.
Dean: Right.
John: This is a man who’s used to the world running the way he wants it to run.
Chris: Right, in this little burg of Bellbridge.
John: Yes.
Dean: And this is such a terrific location, and we were there early in the morning, got this great light. I was so excited to shoot this.
Chris: And they have a nice-
John: Story shcmory. Pictures.
Chris: They have a nice rapport here, too. They have this kind of easy going, you know, banter.
Dean: You know, so much of this episode- these episodes, was wish fulfillment. We wanted to be in that ballpark all year, we wanted to get near the water under the bridges...
Chris: Yes.
John: You also- in case you're skipping through the commentaries, you’ll notice this happens in Bellbridge, Massachusetts. Bellbridge is the corrupt town in Chris’s episode, Order 23.
Chris: Yes, yeah.
John: We decided to create just one imaginary Massachusetts city we could crap on for an entire season.
Chris: Yes.
John: Just to make sure we had clearances, and we always knew-
Dean: Exactly.
John: So please, if you're from a real Bellbridge, don’t be angry.
Chris: Yeah.
John: Yeah, their rhythm here is lovely. They are partners by this point, in a very different way. And the fact that Jeri has established that over six episodes is pretty cool. How tough is it to shoot in a ballpark, my friend?
Dean: Well some of this we actually stole footage at a real- during a real game, but the rest was very easy because they were so cooperative. I mean, this is the actual locker room and they let us have it for the day, and gave us equipment and were-
Chris: And those are the- are those the uniforms?
Dean: Just terrific. Those are the actual uniforms. The ‘P’ is actually for Portland.
[Laughter]
Dean: But in our show it’s-
Chris: Palmerstown.
John: And I love the fact it's actually the Portland Beavers, because if we come up with a comedy mascot we couldn't have beat beavers.
Dean: No.
John: And by the way the Portland Beaver? Good guy.
Dean: Very good guy.
John: Very good guy. Really cool. We hung out, everything.
Chris: Oh apologies to Crash Davis here, but boy does he do- he does-
John: Oh he's so digging in.
Chris: Does a great Bull Durham.
John: Really digging up. This is- we went back and forth- are we doing Major League or Bull Durham here?
Chris: It's pretty Bull Durham here.
John: It’s pretty Bull Durham.
Chris: The journeyman catcher who shows up unannounced, it’s-
John: Yeah, and also the idea that these- you know, talking to a lot of these guys who play this level ball, the precarious nature of their lives- I mean the guys who are kind of on rota from a major league team make a lot of money.
Chris: Yeah.
John: The guys who are journeymanning this out, a lot of them have day jobs, man.
Dean: What I love about this is that Eliot himself doesn’t like baseball. Because we’ve already established what a big, giant sports fan he is.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: About how excited he was about all the sports channels in- both season one and season two.
John: But it's hockey- and it’s always hockey and football. And interestingly, we gave him your problem with baseball.
Dean: Exactly.
Chris: Yes we did, it really worked great.
John: I love baseball and I'm like, ‘I have no idea what he wouldn't like.’ And you said, I don’t like-’ Oh.
Chris: Oh, and John did a beautiful job directing this.
John: This is my directing debut right here
[Laughter]
Chris: Mark it down folks.
John: Japanese power drink commercial. Because it really was one of those things I had in mind and it's like, ‘Alright describe it. You know what? I can't describe it, I'll just shoot this.’
Chris: I think I originally wrote it as it’s like a car- like a local car ad.
John: Yeah.
Chris: Oh my god, how great is this Japanese sports drink commercial?
John: Also, again, you're lucky to have Chris Kane because a lot of actors wouldn't do the comedy beat in the commercial.
[Laughter]
Dean: Nails it.
John: He nails it. Look at the big smile!
Dean: And he enjoys it!
John: Look at that, having a good time.
[Laughter]
Dean: But he hates baseball, and then he comes in here and the minute he cracks that bat you just see- you know, heroin to the junkie.
Chris: He really did- he gave it a real arc, you know.
John: And also, I like the fact that this is the first time he uses a baseball bat for what it's actually meant for.
Dean: Right.
[Laughter]
John: He's been beating people up with baseball bats for like 20 years, and never really hit a ball with one before. Also, by the way, cool digital ball.
Chris: Oh watch this.
Dean: Exactly.
John: There you go.
Chris: Oh that is great.
Dean: I'm telling you some of our best digital effects-
Chris: That’s fantastic.
John: Oh look at that look.
Dean: And the second one- watch the indentation on the pad on the wall when the ball hits it. Small thing for effects artists, but really lovely, just oh that little indentation.
John: Oh that’s nice, the shadow. And there we are.
Chris: Oh there you go folks, there's Dean and John.
Dean: Oh dear, oh dear.
John: We’re also doing the voices here on the radio shows. On the DVD there should be about nine takes of this scene. Because the two of them, at one point it got very weird and sexual with her speaking Spanish, and Hardison getting all ramped up.
[Laughter]
John: It- this was definitely one of the ones where you just, like, park the camera and let the two of them go.
Dean: Yeah.
John: Yeah.
[Laughter]
John: Interesting, one of the challenges of shooting the greenscreens is color temperature.
Dean: Yes.
John: We actually had a little bit of trouble with this shot because- most people don’t understand, there’s a lot of different greens that go on green screens. It was not dead right, doing the special effects goes from easy to unspeakable.
Dean: Exactly, and so this one had- a lot of work had to go into being able to see what was on the screen.
John: Ironically, a lot of this was harder to see than the incredibly complex crowds and baseball stuff.
Dean: The stands, exactly.
John: This was a lot of fun. Outside real city hall, outside Portland city hall, at a coffee shop across the street at some ungodly hour of the morning.
Dean: Yeah, this was the first thing we shot that day.
John: And again, this is- it was interesting how originally there was an entire subplot where, how they’d been lured there, how the mayor- and you don’t need it.
Chris: Yeah. This is much better.
John: Yeah.
Dean: He just sees them, he walks across the street.
Chris: Yes.
John: We even took that bit out. We originally had him see them.
Dean: I love the really, really bad heist.
[Laughter]
John: The bad lift.
Dean: Smithers stumbles into the table.
John: And Kind just drops the look there a little bit.
Chris: A little disgust right there.
Dean: Just a little squint.
[Laughter]
John: And the turnaway when it’s like, ‘Oh horrible lift.’ They don’t even have to- they both know what happened, they both know it was unspeakable.
Dean: Well, you know, amateurs to pros, you know?
John: And this was fun, these are based on real blueprints.
Chris: Yeah, real blueprints for-
Dean: This was that other shot was the beginning of the day. This was the last shot of the day, and we’d run out of time. So I had to shoot this all in one shot.
John: Oh this is a one-er!
Chris: This is a one-er, take a look at that.
Dean: This is a very hard steadicam shot. While it’s not that impressive of a shot, it's a very difficult shot.
John: And also-
Dean: Cause you’re doing all the coverage with one camera.
John: And you're banging focus like crazy.
Chris: You’re getting a lot of information, right.
John: And also the actors can’t mess up.
Dean: That’s right.
John: At no point can they stop, can they drop a line, can they, you know.
Dean: The only thing we did is one little reverse at the very end on David’s character. But as you can see all of this-
John: To give you a cut, or?
Dean: Just to give us a cut in case we needed to combine.
Chris: It’s interesting how great these end of day one-ers come out.
Dean: Yeah.
Chris: And they're born of necessity.
Dean: That’s what so interesting about television is, you know, it really forces you to be creative.
John: Yeah. Oh there you go, I see what you did.
Chris: Oh here's the ballpark.
Dean: Now this is a mixture of stuff that we staged and stuff that we stole during an actual ballgame. But all the-
Chris: The actual ballgame you shot before, I think, the script was written.
John: I think I sent the outline saying we would be at the ballpark. And so Dean had to come up with a shot list based on basically our friendship-
Chris: This is great.
John: -figuring out what I would probably put in the script.
Dean: These are all real things there.
John: Yeah.
Dean: That we shot. Now all the crowds, though, we added digitally.
John: Yeah.
Chris: Oh that’s great.
Dean: So in all these wide shots when you see these full crowds, they had about- there was a scattered amount of people. In all the shots where it’s full, that’s us.
John: Yeah.
Chris: That’s great.
Dean: For all these shots here. And of course all the signage is changed digitally.
John: And Kane went down, caught a couple pitches, and actually on the shot we have him hit, he actually connected, put it on the warning track. It was a good day for Chris Kane.
Chris: That’s a beautiful shot, too, there; love that.
John: That's a beautiful one, yeah.
Dean: And this actor is actually a state senator.
[Laughter]
Dean: Who had helped pass the legislation for us to-
John: I actually think we’re the bad guys at this point. Seriously, we’re doing an episode about graft and corruption and-
Dean: Well the hilarious thing is, he wanted to play the corrupt mayor.
John: I know. And we were like ‘You know dude, that's probably not the best idea for you to play the corrupt mayor.’
Chris: I can see the campaign commercials.
Dean: All those crowds, digital.
Chris: Wow, that’s great.
Dean: I mean that's really something.
John: And look at that, through a moving shot.
Dean: And then all the signage behind them is changed as well.
John: And that’s our-
Dean: And if you notice, that’s Hardison’s orange drink on the sign.
Chris: Oh that’s great.
John: Oh my god, that's right.
Chris: And to do with- with a moving camera is very difficult.
Dean: Very difficult.
John: And this is a conference on the mound from both Major League and Bull Durham.
Dean: And the pitcher is actually our second AD.
John: Kyle, yeah.
Dean: Yeah.
John: That's right, you give him a nice hero shot here, too.
Chris: Oh, that's a great shot of Kyle.
John: I also love- This helps lock in the arc where he’s like, ‘I'm now fully committed to winning baseball as much as I am to winning fights.’
Dean: Exactly.
John: No this was a lot of- and this is a lot of fun. This was- it's amazing what you can do with implication.
Dean: Right.
John: You know, just put two people in the same geography and let the characters draw their own conclusions.
Chris: Yeah, let them do the math.
John: A lot of time you'll try to oversell the con, and what you have to remember is people create narrative about the world around them, you know?
Dean: Oh and I love this bit.
John: Yeah this is a lot of fun, the stuntie really took a hit. And down!
Chris: Oh, oh, oh!
[Laughter]
John: I love he does kind of the -
Dean: Notice that the ref is cross eyed; he's a real ref!
[Laughter]
Dean: That is not something that- I didn't ask him to act cross eyed.
John: I love this- that dude is dead. That dude is dead. He’s plainly just- he's not getting up. Right now they're asking people to leave the park quietly.
Chris: I think he did that in one or two takes, I mean, he just got it.
Dean: Yeah.
John: He just- it was a beautiful fall.
Dean: By the way, this is another one-er and this is a very difficult scene to light for television where you don't have that much time. And our DP was really creative in the way he made the sun blazing through the back to light up pretty much the entire set.
John: Yeah.
Chris: Now was it easier because you're working with the RED camera for something like this? Available light...
Dean: The RED helps, but at the end of the day it’s about your DP and your gaffer, and we really have, really, two of the best guys in the business.
John: And again, this is also- so much help to be able to do the research on this. Where it’s like, ‘Well, how could he possibly communicate in code how much money-?’ No, he would write it down and give it to him.
Dean: Right.
John: That's what they do, apparently, I had no idea.
[Laughter]
Dean: Right.
Chris: Yeah.
John: Or they'll just say it, unaware. And this yeah, this was a lot of fun, because also- Richard really found the idea that he was supposed to help Nate feel overconfident.
Dean: Right.
John: You know, he's supposed to play into it a little easy. And he's- now he's totally into it.
Dean: I love how cross eyed the ref is, that's so great. I mean, the umpire, that's just so great.
John: Boom! That was a good solid hit. That's- Chris Kane put it on the warning track ladies and gentlemen.
Dean: And if you listen carefully in the background, you can hear the crowd chanting ‘Roy, Roy.’
[Laughter]
John: Oh he's become a hometown hero in roughly two weeks. What's the next shot up? Oh there we go, back at McRorys.
Chris: Now- now we're back.
John: Now this is one of our lovely roundy- and oh, this is great. One of our roundy-rounds where we just basically- script kids, when you want to communicate pipe and reset, the way to do it is have somebody not give a crap about the pipe that you're talking about.
[Laughter]
John: He has his own agenda, it makes it instantly amusing.
Chris: Somebody comes in irritated.
Dean: And boy did he knock this out of the park.
Chris: Yeah, yeah.
Dean: Kane, who didn’t care- I mean Eliot, who didn't care about baseball at all, is so proud of himself and he's so mad they didn't share his moment of glory.
John: His joy. They named a sandwich after him. Also, that’s a nice beat that they all chose. It’s like, you know, alright, you gotta give it up. That's a nice moment; boom, boom, and the fistbump.
Chris: You got a sandwich named after him.
Dean: Eliot has a hoage? No a reuben.
[Laughter]
John: I also like- I had not noticed before because I was kind of- Nate’s taking a phone call and I was watching it for that beat, the, sort of, fun that Jeri Ryan’s playing there, it's like, ‘OK, I'm part of the family now, this is genuinely amusing.’
Dean: Now this is a fun reveal shot.
John: One of the cross cuts that I gave you again as your birthday gift. Moving in opposite directions?
Dean: Moving in opposite directions so that they are always looking at each other screen direction wise.
Chris: Right, right.
John: Cause we know awful things happen when you cross the lines.
Dean: If you cross the line, cities fall.
[Laughter]
Chris: No, but I mean, when you do phone calls that's an important thing to do.
Dean: For me I think so. I’m old school.
John: What I love is the fact that he starts the incredibly confident powerful guy that we know. And by the end of this swing around, Richard lets himself just kind of look- just
Dean: Now he's-
Chris: Nice reveal there.
John: Yeah, and nice reveal on that blown out window. And now he's just a pawn, he's just a broken little man, you know. And that's very- the last shot is plainly Nixon.
[Laughter]
John: It’s plainly like- what's that famous shot of Nixon at 2am in the oval office?
Dean: Right.
John: It’s that look at him. And he did all that in one take, conveying pipe to Nate.
Dean: And now we switch to our handheld, because our guys are in trouble. And I love how much Nate is overcompensating. Whenever Nate’s overcompensating, you know something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
John: And his addiction is taking over. Be it booze or control.
Dean: And in this case, both.
John: Yes. He's not really got his head on in this particular case. Yeah, everyone's arguing with him, everyone- and this is another great thing, when Nate spins out you don’t ever have a problem with the plot, because the problem with the plot is the point of the plot.
Chris: Right.
John: Like with, ‘That doesn't make sense. That doesn't make sense.’ Exactly! Tell that to Nate!
Chris: Yeah.
John: It's important for him to know.
Dean: Our editor did- Brian Gonosey, did a very interesting choice here from cutting from Nate to Nate. Which we almost never do, and it gives it, kind of, strange, nervous energy.
Chris: Well you're kinda-
John: It's claustrophobic.
Chris: You get the sense of people's eyes on him.
Jon: Right.
Chris: A lot of people looking at him.
Dean: But it’s not- again, that kind of cut we don't normally do on the show, and it really makes this a nervous scene.
John: Yeah, you’re going-
Dean: Nate to Nate to Nate to Nate.
John: Yeah, cause you're hopping- Jeri to Parker, you're seeing him plead his case. Jeri to Beth, Jeri to Beth, you know, you're seeing him through their eyes. And then back to the reactions where they know, yeah.
Dean: Something’s wrong.
John: And each one of them is making a very specific decision at that point.
Dean: Again, this port- these guys were so great to let us shoot there.
John: Oh man.
Dean: Gave us such wonderful access.
John: That’s the real port, that's not stock, baby, that’s-
Dean: That’s right, that’s the real deal.
John: And- and a lot of fun doing the TSA stuff, doing the Homeland Security stuff. The research on this was as horrifying as you'd imagine. Most of this is security theater, your ports are not secure, sleep tight America.
Dean: And this actor was also discovered in that same improv group that we found the actor from the doctor episode.
Chris: Oh that’s interesting.
Dean: The Order 23.
Chris: John, you made a good point about how Order 23 pays off. A question about Order 23, about security at the courthouse.
John: Yes, in Order 23 there's a beat like ‘How do they get the gun in there?’ And it’s because the courthouse has not been refurbished, because the budget on the town-
Dean: Right.
John: The city is so poor. And that's also why he felt confident hiding the money there.
Chris: Right, right.
John: That pays off here in the- you find out the reason there's no money for the city is the mayor has grifted it all.
Dean: Right.
Chris: All the security money that he got, federal anti-terrorism money went into his own pocket.
Dean: And I love how Eliot is now playing a celebrity.
[Laughter]
Dean: And he's so proud that he's a celebrity.
John: And we also flipped roles for once, cause Hardison is usually not the one who’s annoyed, it’s-
Dean: Right.
Chris: Yeah, no it's true, he is.
John: It's really he’s- and it’s really both, ‘Get back on the job,’ and, ‘I'm not the center of attention.’
Chris: Yes.
Dean: These two are magical together.
John: Yeah, that's a great- this is a great noir set up.
Dean: Yeah, even with the black car in the distance, which is a bit of red herring.
Chris: Look at this shot, I mean this is a movie shot.
John: Beautiful. Now how do we- was this at night? Or were we during the day here on this?
Dean: This was at the end of the day, so we actually spilled into night and had to light it to keep it looking like this. And that's an actual oil tanker that they allowed us to shoot at.
John: Yeah.
Chris: Wow.
John: And then that- this walkway is actually exactly where we just located it. It's directly below the docks. And it really was- a lot of the fun was walking around the location going, ‘OK, this scene can happen here, this scene can happen here.’ And we didn't get too poisoned shooting in this warehouse. We all had funny coughs for about a week, but we were OK.
Dean: They warned us about spiders and raccoons under this-
John: Yeah.
Dean: So we were looking for eight-legged raccoons at some point.
John: At some point we were very worried there would be a horrible combination.
Chris: Oh really? Wow, I missed this part.
John: Well you weren't up here for shooting at the oil tanker, getting poisoned by fumes.
Chris: Yeah, yeah. I looked at the schedule and went, ‘What’s the day you hang out in the baseball park?’
John: I noticed that. You came for the baseball park-
Chris: ‘Oh, I’ll come for that.’
John: You really didn't hang out with us in the oil tanker hold. Yeah, black lung kicking in.
[Laughter]
John: This is a great cross cutting by Brian, this kind of- what he's doing is he's finding some- finding an odd rhythm here. It's not danger, it's unease.
Dean: Right.
John: You know, every shot is a little too short, it's a little too- yeah. And again, sort of end of day shooting, everything in the warehouse from the moment they walk in- like they get to the oil barrel, through the end of the episode pretty much, you did in a one-er.
Dean: Yup.
John: One direction one way, one direction the other.
Dean: Your easy bake oven reference is awesome. I don't know how many people under the age of 40 are gonna get it, but god I love that reference.
John: Who under 40 watches television anyway?
Chris: I appreciate it so much. Made me laugh so hard.
John: They've still got those. I got one for my niece.
Chris: With the one little bulb that actually makes the cake.
John: Who knew? I love, Parker is constantly finding crates full of guns.
[Laughter]
John: I'm fairly sure she could open a gift with purchase from Neiman Marcus and it would have guns in it.
Chris: And by the way, kudos to you to find- when we put this thing together, to find the transition between corrupt mayor and arms deal in the docks. I mean, the thing was built around certain setpieces.
John: Yeah. And also it sort of made sense these- when you research, the amount of legal arms dealing that goes on in the states is magnificent.
Chris: Right, right.
John: And when you find out these guys run these things out of Boston, New York, Miami, you know.
Chris: Right.
John: It's got to be somewhere.
Dean: And this is one of the rare times where our team is really losing at the end of an episode.
John: Oh yeah, they’ve got to lose. They really- they have- and this was interesting, because it really was one of those times where we sat back and said, ‘In what version of this show are our guys the bad guys that get caught?’
Dean: Right.
John: Just write this section of this show like that show. Like we're writing NCIS or we’re writing CSI or something. And really put our guys in the dead seat. And man he just radiates rage.
Chris: Yeah.
John: And it's not just because Richard Kind is a bad guy, it's because he's lost control.
Chris: Yeah.
John: You know, that is Nate Ford in a world he doesn't want to live in.
Dean: Now we got them in this impossible situation, and- but we can’t end the show without a little bit of fun.
John: Yeah.
Dean: And the win within the loss here is, I think, is truly inspired.
John: Oh yeah, managing to get them out of there.
Dean: Yeah.
John: That was a lot of fun. I can't remember where the idea from- the idea of the multiple exits came from. We were playing around in another episode with ambiguity, somebody- signal of, like, time and ambiguity, and that held over, because you use all the parts of the animal, and that hung out and that's of course-
Chris: That's Katie O’Grady.
John: Katie O’Grady.
Chris: She’s a terrific Portland actress. She runs an acting school up there.
John: Yup, yup. And she really came in as kind of one off, and it’s- after two episodes it’s like, ‘Yeah, I could see this character coming back. I could see this fed,’ you know. A lot of Portland actors did that. A lot of Portland actors turned one day into a recurring role.
Dean: Yeah.
John: The- and just barely buying him enough time. And that's the important thing here, is that each character is finding a little piece of the solution. That was the fun of this episode is, there's a famous fighter pilot saying which is, ‘Stay alive for the next 10 seconds.’ That's all you have to do. In the next 10 seconds, your wingman will get the guy, or the guy will get out of position, and that's all they are trying to do for this section of this script.
Chris: Yeah.
Dean: Thers a great turn here where he reveals that he was somehow part of this attempted assassination of one of the family- the extended family.
John: Yeah.
Dean: And the rage that comes out of Nate is everything that’s built up over the entire year.
John: And what's really interesting is, because you shot this all in one piece- this is not split up into takes, this built in real time.
Dean: That's right.
John: You know, this really builds from that confession- and I was out of position the first time he did the wrench, and I was like ‘What the hell just happened? Did Tim just crush Richard Kind’s head?’
Chris: It's his friend! They're friends!
[Laughter]
John: Yeah, they're friends, but the wrench wasn't in the script. Tim just picked up the wrench!
Dean: Right.
Chris: He just picked up a wrench. And we were like, ‘Is that a rubber prop wrench?’
Dean: I love her character is like, ‘Then just kill him.’ I mean, she has no moral position on this, she just wants to get out alive.
John: Yeah, this- like we were talking the other day, where Sophie still exchanges Christmas cards with people she's ripped off, Tara Cole has walked out of a lot of burning buildings with metal suitcases full of bloodstained cash.
Dean: And never looked back.
John: And never looked back. And in that moment she is absolutely serious. If you're gonna kill this guy, get it done. You know, but she’s not gonna coddle him.
Dean: Now this may be one of my favorite bits that you guys have ever come up with, and it starts with a great turn.
John: It’s like- you know why? Cause it’s a locked off comedy frame, my friend.
Chris: That is.
Dean: Locked off comedy frame. But it's one of the oldest gags in television.
John: It is.
Dean: Is that slow turn look.
Chris: The turn look.
John: And then the turn reveal, and this-
Chris: ‘Oh no. Oh no, you're not gonna do it. Oh no, no way, Jose.’
[Laughter]
Dean: And once again, Aldis Hodge showing why he is a truly, truly special talent. This part is not written.
John: No.
Dean: This part is just him going-
John: The printed page ends with, ‘They turn and look at the van.’
Dean: Right.
Chris: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
John: Yes and-
Dean: All of this is him being brilliant.
John: And that means also that Beth and Chris had to find the timing to when they were both gonna turn.
Dean: Right.
John: And that's the thing is, they work together a lot, now they've got a lot of, sort of, physical cues from each other. But yeah, this is all him, this is all him going off. And this is born of 207 when we shot him and Will Wheaton versus each other; they spent the whole day in the van alternating. And so Aldis was making a joke about the fact he has a very weird relationship with that van, cause he's in it and nobody else is.
Dean: And he even brought back in the fact that everyone teases him that the van smells.
John: Yes, exactly.
Chris: That the van smells, we made that a recurring thing.
John: So that's become a recurring thing and it was really- it was really the actors discussion of his character that led to the bit.
Dean: Now a lot of people may miss this-
John: Oh this is my favorite bit-
Dean: -but just watch Parker when the doors shut.
John: Yup.
Dean: Because Parker is so close to Aldis she gives a kiss goodbye and leaves the little lip print.
[Laughter]
John: I never noticed that before.
Chris: Oh she did, she leaves the lip print, that’s great.
John: Not in the script.
Dean: One of my favorite camera moves right here. ‘Aaaaand, let’s begin.’
[Laughter]
John: There is- definitely been working together long enough now that we know- and now that jazz music is in the background, we’re up and running.
Chris: There you go.
Dean: It all kicks in. And again, how Richard was able to now change from that dark to humorous. Literally turning on a dime.
John: And this is him-
Chris: Oh there's so many speeches he made saying goodbye.
John: This is him doing the- that is Kirk saying goodbye to Spock.
[Laughter]
John: By the way, from the Wrath of Kahn, that is the speech he's doing right there.
Dean: And we- my favorite digital effect.
John: No van, no van there.
Dean: All painted.
Chris: Oh that’s great.
John: ‘I’ll miss you.’ No and that was- but of course, again, you were blowing stuff up at a dock.
[Laughter]
John: Without any real permission or notifying the authorities. It’s really I think I'd be disappointed now if you called ahead.
Dean: That’s right.
John: And this is the reveal, and this was really tricky, trying to figure out the timeframe, how they could get around, how quickly they get around.
Dean: So we had to use the bomb as the time signature.
John: Yeah.
Chris: Right.
John: Because the- when we got there originally, this was structured slightly differently, but the exits in the physical locations didn't match. But that’s why TV is great, you have a writer on set-
Dean: Exactly.
John: So you can actually have the director walk around with you and go, ‘This isn't gonna work.’ ‘Sure it will.’ ‘No it won't, fix it.’
[Laughter]
Chris: Well I think originally the thing went inside the-
John: Yes, yeah. And we couldn't do that, and you couldn't see the blow, and then you had to blow all three doors simultaneously if you did it, and it would've been madness. And Katie's look of rage there is magnificent.
Chris: That’s great, as the car goes by.
John: It really- ‘I am an angry, angry fed.’ And this is also one of the times when we don’t let Nate off the hook.
Dean: Right.
John: You know and Aldis is genuinely- yeah.
Chris: Yeah, he managed to transition from the fun of saying goodbye to the van, to actual rage.
Dean: Genuinely pissed off. And now another bit of John Rogers directing on this episode is the car getting away.
Chris: Nice!
John: The car- yeah, this is-
Dean: Right here, here we go and then look at this nice power slide.
Chris: Oh, good job.
John: I caught the reflection in the side of the car that was suction cup bounce and they actually hold on. You didn't give me the wet down one.
Dean: And this is my favorite reveal of a character ever.
John: I have no idea how you did this! Did you lower him by rope? How does he get in the shot?
[Laughter]
Chris: Well he comes in-
John: And we’re coming around, this is all a one-er and… he… is… there.
[Laughter]
John: He just- it is one of those things where, much like-
Chris: How would he fit inside?
Dean: [Mimicking Mark Sheppard] There's no one else that can make an entrance-
John: Quite like Mark Sheppard.
Dean: -like Mark Sheppard.
[Laughter]
John: And by the way, we decided to make him- because we were cooking up a threat, and- we’ll actually continue talking about this in the next episode...
Chris: In the next episode.
Dean: Please stay tuned for the second part of this.
Chris: Stay tuned.
Dean: But this was a lot of fun, and thank you for listening to the first half. Stay tuned for part two.
#Leverage#Leverage TNT#Leverage Audio Commentary Transcripts#Audio Commentary#Transcripts#Parker#Alec Hardison#Elliot Spencer#Nate Ford#Sophie Deveraux#Season 2#Episode 14#Season 2 Episode 14#The Three Strikes Job
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12 Companies Leading the Way in GTA 5 Online Money Generator
There aren't any cheats out there for that example as well as all the third-party money generators you see online should not be trusted. You likewise can not use these cheats in GTA Online, so keep that in mind. You can't make use of any one of the GTA 5 cheat codes in GTA Online.There are a multitude of cheat codes offered for GTA 5 as well as we've rounded them all up in the substantial table below. To assist make points less complicated to gta5moneygen comply with, you'll find that each code is broken down to consist of the crucial arrangement as well as code that you require to get in whether you're playing on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC. We have actually also included the phone code for a number of them too. From PS4 to Xbox, all of the cheats for GTA 5 you 'd like to find are inside one app. Our GTA 5 Hack as well as Cheats online is entirely free and also any person can utilize it.
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Broke To Abundant In 1 Basic Step! (gta 5 Online Money Glitch) Novices Money Guide! 2018.
Grand Burglary Auto V is an action-adventure game played from either a first-person or third-person view. Outside of missions, gamers may easily wander the open globe.
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It will appear as an arbitrary occasion after you finish the "Worried Ron" objective with Trevor. Once the Dodo seaplane has been opened, you can spawn it by calling"" on your mobile phone. Find the 50 Ape Mosaics spread around the map, and also take an image of each of them with any character to unlock a random event as well as monkey outfits for Trevor. Prior to starting this random event, ensure to acquire all three garages for Michael, Franklin, as well as Trevor. This will certainly raise the chances for the arbitrary event to spawn. Effectively complete the arbitrary occasion to open the Dinka Go Go Monkey Blista car in your garage. As Soon As the Dinka Go Go Ape Blista car has been opened, you can generate it by calling"" on your cell phone.
Cheat Codes For Gta 5 Ps4 Money.
If the companies do well you obtain greater than what you have spent. There are 2 stock markets in GTA 5, they are LCN and BAWSAQ. Rates of stocks in the LCN securities market in Grand Theft Car 5 adjustments based on the in-game event. Either great or poor it will have an impact on the share costs. It can be played offline, as it is a part of the game. BAWSAQ is an online securities market where you will have to connect your Superstar's Social Club account. You can trade or access the BAWSAQ stock market in GTA 5 without the internet as well as when Social Club is offline.
On PS4, GTA 5 cheats are inputted by pressing a series of buttons on the controller in fast succession. Listed below, we have actually detailed each of the cheats as well as the string of switches to push in order to activate it. Allow's face it; the Grand Burglary Auto collection has never ever had to do with playing by the guidelines, anyhow. Why bother swiping a car when you can simply generate one Right where you stand? There are definitely tonnes of GTA 5 cheat codes, permitting players to do every little thing from making themselves unyielding to making themselves drunk. We're not sure why you 'd intend to, however hey, you do you. If you're going to get entailed with the BAQSAQ market, it's important that you keep an eye on community activity closely, and utilize the current cost information offered through the Rockstar Games Social Club site.
Point the gun at the seller, pick up the loot, as well as run.
GTA 5 players are on a regular basis discovering and also developing brand-new techniques to get unlimited money, along with checking to see to it their strategies stay unpatched.
Several of the tracks were created especially for the game, such as rap artist as well as producer Flying Lotus' original job made up for the FlyLo FM radio terminal he holds.
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My sibling, buddies, as well as I would being in front of the TV and also circulate the controller to make it through the hardest of goals on single-player gameslike those from the Grand Burglary Vehicle series. One of us would go to the computer system to look up a GTA rip off code if an area was rage-inducingly hard. These video games were amongst the first franchises to present rip off codes that weren't just for aiding players in their goal, but just for full blast fun and turmoil. Rip off codes were and also still become part of the enjoyable, especially in GTA.
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day 1: ouija board
prompt from: cocktober (don’t let the name fool you, this one’s very sfw!)
pairing: felix x ace
notes: some silly humor to kick off the challenge!
warnings: none
word count: 1300
”Honey, you’re not seriously doing this?” Ace asks, quirking an amused eyebrow as Felix, for some crazy reason, gets up to join the girls in their dumb little game.
“Why not?” Felix shrugs. “I’m curious to see who answers.”
“Wait wait wait,” Ace realizes. “You actually believe in that kind of crap?”
He eyes the worn, pathetic board that looks like something you’d buy right alongside other overprized spiritual crap like healing crystals and tarot cards. There’s a mismatch of symbols printed on the board’s edges, like someone was trying to shove all supernatural elements they could think of on it; there’s a few sigils, what looks to be Latin inscriptions, and even the Chinese zodiac.
All in all, it looks like a child’s game and not the paranormal relic the girls insist it is.
“Um, Ace,” Zarina starts, clearing her throat. “Are you saying you don’t believe in the paranormal? After everything we’ve been through?”
“Nothing weird about a demonic spider-god and being resurrected every other day, no sir,” Meg snarks.
“I didn’t say that,” Ace scoffs. “Just that there’s no such thing as ghosts. All that psychic powers, lingering spirits shit? A massive con—I should know.”
“I still think we should give it a shot,” Felix says, and Ace resists the urge to roll his eyes. He knows Felix is a little lacking in the street smarts department, having spent most of his life tucked away in comfortable luxury, but this is the first time Ace has seen him completely disregard common sense.
“Yeah, I didn’t go through the trouble of stealing it for nothing!” Nea insists, puffing up her chest and expecting even more cheers for having managed to nick the item from the Legion’s hideout.
“I think we’ll definitely get an answer. We know there have been survivors before us,” Zarina tries to rationalize as much as the idea of ghosts can be rationalized.
“Knock yourselves out,” Ace dismisses with a wave of his hand, lounging back against the log and preparing to watch the group make complete fools of themselves.
“Alright, let’s do this!” Meg announces when all of the four take their places on each side of the board and place their fingers on the wooden marker. “Who’s gonna ask the questions?”
“I think Zarina should do it!” Nea says. “I’d probably just piss the ghost off.”
“Alright,” Zarina says, taking a deep breath. And then, someone starts frantically moving the marker around.
“Wow, looks like a really angry ghost is possessing Meg’s hand,” Ace smirks.
“We’re warming up the board, dumbass,” Meg shoots back.
Jesus H Christ, Ace didn’t know there was a protocol to this kind of thing. It just makes it even more ridiculous.
“I think we’re ready,” Felix says, and everyone stops the marker.
“Are there any spirits present?” Zarina asks, and the way she stares at the board with a dead serious expression is almost enough for Ace to lose it.
The pointer, predictably, is still, until someone decides to slowly move it to “Yes”.
“It’s working!” Meg exclaims. “Come on, do another one!”
“Are… were you a survivor?” Zarina asks, hesitating a little bit.
Ace really wants someone to move the marker to the rooster zodiac symbol in the background so he can make a cock joke.
He’s out of luck, because the marker only spins in a slow circle, until someone pushes it to “No”.
“You…” Zarina starts, much more meekly than before. “Were you a killer?”
Someone yanks the pointer immediately to “Yes”.
“Shit,” Nea curses, eyes going wide.
“What do I do?” Zarina hisses to the group.
“Ask if—” Felix starts, but then quiets as the marker starts moving.
“L… E… T… M…” Meg’s eyes fly over the board as the marker moves. “E... O—” she gasps as it makes its way to the final two letters.
“’Let me out’,” Felix murmurs, and there’s a genuine fear in his expression that makes Ace do a double take. He’s really buying into this stuff, huh?
“We can’t do that,” Zarina addresses the board, having somewhat collected herself. She looks like she’s about to say more, but almost loses her grip on the pointer when it zips to “Yes”.
“Oh fuck,” Nea curses. Ace doesn’t think he’s ever seen the headstrong tagger look genuinely scared before, not since first arriving in the realm. Which one of them is controlling the marker?
“Ask what it’s after,” Felix urges Zarina.
“What do you want?” Zarina asks, her voice trembling just the tiniest bit. Shit, even the Ice Queen is scared? Meg is doing a fantastic job pulling the strings.
The marker goes crazy, frantically moving between letters, seeming to repeat a pattern that spells—
“’Kill’,” Meg gasps, retreating her hand as if burned, and it just keeps moving, almost like it’s possessed, and damnit, that means it’s not her doing it—
“Meg come on, we need all of us to bind it!” Nea says, and they’re all seeming to struggle with getting the marker under control, like it has a mind of its own.
“Quick, ask it something!” Felix says, an urgency in his voice as he addresses Zarina. Suddenly, Ace doesn’t want to know what happens if the marker manages to get free from their grasp.
“Who? Who do you want to kill?” Zarina nearly shouts, pressing down on the rogue game piece with both hands to get it under control.
Nea’s finger slips when the pointer flies across the board, landing on A and then moving to C—
Ace’s eyes go wide when he sees the violent spirit spell out his name on the board, his heartbeat suddenly thundering in his ears and no longer feeling safe at all, despite the familiar glow of the campfire and being surrounded by his companions.
And then it gets so much worse when Felix turns to look at him and his face blanches in fear, and Meg is doing the same, looking behind him and yelling out a warning—
“Ace!”
Cold hands emerge from the shadows and grab at him before he can turn around, and Ace shrieks and scrambles away, not about to let the ghost drag him to the void—
And then the ghost starts laughing in a very familiar manner and his companions are quick to join in, and Ace’s adrenaline-fueled brain finally allows him to turn to face his attacker and realize the fluffy-haired ghost looks awfully familiar.
“Steve,” Ace addresses the teen through gritted teeth.
“Oh man, you screamed like a girl!” Steve cackles, actually doubling over in laughter.
“I told you it’d work!” Nea snickers, elbowing Felix.
“Wait, you planned this!?” Ace screeches, turning to face his lover in accusation.
“Maybe,” Felix smirks like the infuriating bastard that he is.
“Remember the time you scammed me out of my skeleton keys?” Zarina asks with a sickly sweet smile.
“Or when you got that chest and let me die on hook?” Steve adds, still chuckling.
“Wait, you were all in on it?” Ace realizes.
“Payback’s a bitch!” Meg sing-songs, and Ace can’t help but be impressed at their coordination. It was a perfectly executed prank, and he can’t believe Felix managed to fool him so completely.
“You,” Ace demands, an accusing finger pointing at his lover. “You’d better make this up to me.”
“Of course, darling,” Felix smirks, and Ace resigns himself to his fate of seeing that smug little smile for at least the next couple of days. Felix walks up to him and places a cute kiss into his hairline, and Ace is maybe, maybe prepared to forgive him.
“I’ll protect you from the scary ghost,” Felix murmurs and when Ace snaps his head back to gape at him in offense, Felix has the audacity to laugh.
Since when has his boyfriend been such a little demon?
#riconti#cocktober#ace visconti#felix richter#dweetwrites#dbd#dead by daylight#dbd fanfic#felix x ace#prompt
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Hey if you want to be an artist, I want to be artist but on the side since I am worried about the financial situation and I have to get a career and stay in school that’s what my parents say do you think I can become an artist still or? Or how do you manage? I’m not sure o becoming an artist since I’m not that good at digital, colors but I would like to be but in a more financially stable future.
Hi anon,
They don’t call us starving artists for no reason.
I’m not sure I’m the best person suited to answer this, as this is something I personally struggle with in becoming a full-time illustrator. However, I’m going to give you as honest of an answer as I can based on my own experiences. Please note, that I do not speak on the behalf of other artists.
I’ve been a graphic designer for over 10 years, and an art director for a production company for half of that. What you see me doing on social media is something out of pure hobby. Fan art doesn’t pay my bills.
Short answer: Yes, it’s possible to become a full time artist and be financially stable. Is it easy? DEFINITELY NOT. Like with literally anything, it takes a lot of work and dedication to be successful. I’ve had the pleasure of conversing and working with several different types of artists. We’ve all struggled and continue to struggle, but the pay off is incredibly rewarding, if you can get your foot in the right door... but you gotta find the right door to begin with. What kind of artist are you interested in becoming?
Artist is a vary vague term. There’s so many different career paths for each specialty. Comics: Pencilers, inkers, colorists, letterers; Concept artists: props, vehicles, costumes, backgrounds, fauna, aliens, buildings; Animation: 3d modeling, flash animation, compositing, rigging, storyboards, 2d hand drawn animation, 3d computer animation, stop motion animation. There’s a lot of positions out there. Saying you want to be an artist is like saying I want to be a doctor. Okay, but what type? Podiatrist? Veterinarian? Neurologist? Pediatrician? Psychiatrist?
Long scary answer below the cut.
Disclaimer: I’m not speaking on behalf of other artists, just my own opinion from my own experiences. Also, I am in no way trying to discourage you because a lot of what is written below is negative. The last thing I’d want is to deprive the world of another artist, but I also don’t want to provide some sort of false hope.
Being a full time artist is not easy. It’s extremely competitive regardless of what industry you want to dive into. It’s a lot of work and sleepless nights overcoming deadlines, your own self-esteem, and the biggest hurdle of all, finances.
Choosing any career is a big deal. As stated above, you have to do your research to really understand what you’re going to get yourself into. What’s the job market like for where you currently live? If there are not enough opportunities, are you willing to move for work? Yes, a lot of jobs can be done remotely, but if we’re talking about being financially stable, your best bet is to get yourself in with a studio full-time or on a long contract project. Freelance artistry is difficult—you set and negotiate your own rates for projects, and you’re responsible for marketing yourself to keep getting jobs, not to mention you are more susceptible to getting scammed and taken advantage of. And with social media being a driving force for a lot of marketing, you’re constantly fighting with the algorithm to get your work seen. Not to mention, there’s a lot of pressure because you get paid per project and if you can’t land a project, then you’re not getting paid. Whereas if you can work for a studio, the work is brought to you on a consistent basis, provided you can keep up with the demands and perform to the task at hand. A lot of the work may be repetitive and time sensitive, but it will be steady. Working for a studio/business gets you benefits like retirement options, health benefits, vacation/sick pay, tuition reimbursement, etc.
There’s also the other side of being a freelance artist that no one ever really talks about. Everyone thinks that we spend every day just pumping out art, which is somewhat true, but we don’t often talk about the missing the endless emails with clients, the constant marketing, searching on artstation, fiverr, etc for gigs, querying literary agents, changing your portfolio(this is another thing I can talk about for days so hit me up in DMS if you want to discuss) constantly to reflect your very best work, keeping up on all your social media platforms to engage your audience, honestly, finding an audience in general is another conversation, dealing with carpel tunnel and other muscle related injuries... it goes on and on.
I moved 3000 miles across the United States from my hometown to California for better work opportunities. Are you prepared to work another job(s) to make ends meet? I worked in retail and a handful of odd jobs for several years before I fell into an actual full-time art job.
Ultimately, it really depends on how passionate you are about this, and how much you’re willing to struggle to get to do what you want. For me, I fall into a very depressive state if I can’t flex my creative muscles for even one day. I worked as an event coordinator for several years, and was never worried about money. However, despite being financially well-off, I was so incredibly miserable every single day because I just didn’t have the energy to draw when I got home. It was nearly impossible for me to get out of bed every morning. Then, I landed a job as a graphic designer, I made less, but I was so much happier, but it still wasn’t enough. I would work a full day and still come home and draw something after having dinner, even though I had already spent 8 hours being creative beforehand. It’s literally something I just need to do to be happy. It helps me relax and de-stress. So, what I’m saying is, if you’re not passionate about it, don’t make it your main focus. Why open a restaurant if you’re not ready to wake up at 3 am to bake bread or go to the fish market for fresh ingredients?
In the end, I’d rather be dirt poor and drawing, than be wealthy and miserable. But that’s not for everyone. It really, really, really, just depends on who you are.
A lot of artists have day jobs and do art on the side for supplemental income. If you have the drive to keep that up, because it will be taxing on your physical and mental health (please take proper breaks), then please pursue it. I would NEVER want to discourage anyone from pursuing art as a career or hobby. I just want to be real about the struggle. The beautiful thing about art is that it’s never too late to fall into. It just takes time and dedication to the craft. I’ve spoken with dozens of animators that didn’t fall into it until they were in their 30s and now work full-time for Disney. Anything is possible if you have the talent and the drive for improvement.
Again, I’m not speaking on any other artists’ behalf. I’m sure we all have differing opinions and experiences on the topic. Feel free to DM me if you want to talk about this further. As you can see, I can ramble about this for days, so I’m just gonna shut up now lol
#Anonymous#this was a really difficult question for me to answer#I have a lot of feels#art questions
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Best Part of Me -Chapter 12
Warnings: none
Tagging: @alievans007, @thunderintheshadows, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @c-a-v-a-l-r-y
Preparing to leave the house with five kids in tow is a full-time job all in itself. Bathing them after a long and active day at school, getting them dressed –which includes incessant bitching and moaning about the textures of clothes and how the tags are ‘too itchy’, having to actually put on socks and shoes-, and giving them the usual list of warnings before even stepping out the front door. No arguing, no fighting, and no bad language. And by the time you manage to get to the front door, at least two have to go to the bathroom and another wants to change what they’re wearing. This time it’s Millie; her self-described princess dress suddenly not ‘princessy enough’. Opting for one with more frills and more sparkles and way too much pink, then insisting on topping the look off with her well-worn light up Spiderman sandals. Tyler had long ago learned to pick his battles, especially as a girl dad. Was suggesting nicer shoes really worth the epic diva style meltdown he’d have to endure? Especially when he’d rather be in flip flops or even bare foot himself?
“I honestly do not care,” he says, when she holds aloft the sandals with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Other parents would force their kids to comply; embarrassed by the mismatched lock. But he’s gotten so used to carting around boys dressed in superhero costumes –masks and all- that the stares and whispers of strangers don’t both him anymore. And fighting over shoes with a soon to be six-year-old is not the hill he wants to die on. “Do what you want.”
For a brief moment –as he buckles the three oldest into the their car seats in the very back of their second, and much larger, vehicle, he muses about just how different his was now is compared to the one that he used to live. When he was drunk off of his practically twenty-four seven, numbing the pain, guilt, and grief with a potent combination of booze and pain meds. Back in that little shack of his in the Outback, with nothing but a dog and a chicken to keep him company. When he was totally committed to the job and spending his days fighting to keep himself –and quite often someone else- alive in dangerous situations. When he was battered and bloody and sometimes on the brink of death. Now he’s proficient in changing diapers, fixing bottles, and making and packing school lunches. A far cry from the old days. And for a brief moment, the thought makes him feels sad; that his existence is nothing more than a mere shadow of what it used to be. That he’s gone from one extreme to the other. And it shouldn’t; he’d made the conscious decision to give it all up. For his family. So he’d be able to hold his marriage together.
And the sadness is replaced with guilt; that he’d miss the job while getting the opportunity to even have kids and watch them grow. A lot of guys in the job weren’t so lucky; they either never turned alive to their wives and kids, or their marriages completely disintegrated, and they never saw their children again. That’s his worst nightmare; things falling apart and either rarely getting to spend time with them, or not being able to see them at all. Being a dad has given him something to take pride in; raising tiny humans that will hopefully one day grow up to be amazing big humans. Decent adults with compassion and humility. Fiercely independent. Alarmingly intelligent. And it’s given him a chance to finally do it right. He’d been an epic failure as a father with Austin; he’d been cowardly and selfish and would never truly forgive himself for it. But he’d been given another chance; entrusted with helping bring five beautiful lives into the world. And he’s determined not to fuck that up.
“I don’t wanna wear shoes!” TJ laments, and proceeds to use his toes to push his sneakers off one heel, then the other, letting the offending items fall to the floor of the SUV.
“Listen, mate. We’re not going to fight about this. If your mum says you wear shoes, you wear the shoes.”
“This is crap!” Tanner chimes in. “My feet are so hot! Like they’re gonna catch on fire!”
“No one’s feet are going to catch on fire,” Tyler assures him. “You’re wearing the thinnest socks possible. We get there, the shoes go back on. And how come you guys don’t have to wear normal pants?” They’re clad in matching tan cargo shorts; one in a green and white stripped golf shirt, the other in blue and white. Always insisting on matching in some way, despite the fact their parents have purposely dressing them differently from day one.
“’Cause we’re only five!” Tanner huffs, as if he’s just been subjected to the dumbest question that’s ever been asked in the history of mankind.
“By the way,” Tyler says, as he finishes buckling Tanner into his seat. “I want my fifteen bucks back that you scammed me out of the other night.”
“I got that money fair and square,” his son argues. “I got you the info just like you asked.”
“Your mom gave me the info. Which technically means half of the money should go to her.”
“It’s not my fault that you fell for it, daddy. You should be smarter than that. You got totally played by a five-year-old.”
“He’s not wrong,” Esme says as she appears alongside of him, clutching Declan by the hand, the baby resting along her forearm. “You did fall for it.”
“You’re in on this together, aren’t you? You probably put him up to it. You’ve been teaching him some of the tricks of the trade. Getting him ready to follow in your footsteps. I bet he even split the money with you.”
“Please just put the kids in the car before we’re really late,” she implores, then stands on her tip toes to brush her lips against his. Which in turns prompts loud and dramatic gagging from all three of the older kids.
“Don’t do that!” TJ cries. “We don’t need any more babies in the house! Why can’t we have a puppy for a change? I don’t want any more sisters!”
“Well I don’t want any more brothers either,” Millie retorts, and sticks her tongue at him.
“Okay, don’t start.” Esme warns. “At least wait until we’re out of the driveway. And besides, it takes a lot more than that to get a baby brother or sister.”
“Like what?” Millie inquires.”
“Like none of your business,” Tyler replies as he tends to Declan, scooping him of the ground and settling him into his car seat. “Besides, there won’t be any more brothers or sisters. It’s not possible.”
“Can we get a dog then?” Tanner asks
“We already have a dog,” his mother reminds him.
“Let’s get another one!” Millie enthuses. “A puppy!”
“I have enough mouths to feed and barely any sanity left.” Esme says, and passes the baby to her husband, who arches a brow and stares at her pointedly over the dog comment. “Not you too!”
“It’s not a bad idea. We’ve got the room. Inside and outside.”
“Please don’t encourage them. They won’t stop talking about it now. They’re going to ask a million times a day about getting a puppy and I don’t think my mental well-being can take it.”
“We’ll talk about it,” he says, then kisses her and shit the SUV door.
“Oh, you think so do you,” she grins, then runs her hands across his shoulders and down his chest; smoothing out the wrinkles in his simple white dress shirt., the first three buttons undone and no tie; paired with dark washed jeans that fit ‘just right’. Beard still full but neatly trimmed, the product in his hair giving it that unruly ‘bed head’ look. “You clean up nice.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” he chides, and then places a hand on her hip and leans into her, pressing a kiss to her ear. “You look beautiful,” he praises, as his hand slides up the middle of her back. The dress is simple and modest; emerald green and off the shoulder, flaring out at the waist and just skimming the bottom of her knees.
She’s still self-conscious about her post-baby body; she’d on twenty-five pounds and had damaged to drop fifteen of them seemingly overnight after Addie was born. She hates the extra weight that clings to her hips and gathers at her waist; despises the stretch marks that mar her skin. Yet to him they just make her even more beautiful; the signs left behind that she’s given him children. There’s no woman in the world that could ever hold a candle to her. It stretches far beyond physical appearance. It’s her strength and her tenacity and the loyalty that that she’s always shown towards him and their kids. And it’s the way she looks at him; as if he’s the most incredible man on the planet even though there’s times he’s shown he’s anything but.
A slight blush creeps into her cheeks. Even after six and a half years of marriage she’s still not used to his random compliments. Mark had all but destroyed every ounce of self-esteem she’d ever had, so Tyler had taken it upon himself to help rebuilt it every chance he got. Whether it’s when she’d dressed up with her done and make up on, or when she’s worn down from lack sleep and her hair is messy and she’s still in her pajamas with baby puke stains on them.
“I’m serious,” he says, as his hand slides down to the small of her back and his lips find hers; soft, slow, simple kiss. “You look incredible.”
She smiles. A genuine, glowing smile that lights up her entire face and makes her eyes sparkle and dance. And with her hands on his chest, she stands on her tip toes once again and places a kiss on the corner of his mouth, then lays her hand against the side of his face and runs the end of pad of her thumb over his lips, her eyes never leaving his.
It’s the sincerest ‘thank you’ he’s ever received.
****
Nik and Kyle have a room at Sovreign Resort Hotel, and they’ve arranged to meet on the outdoor patio belonging to the in-house restaurant. It’s better for the kids; no cooping them up in a crowded, busy room and expecting them to sit still and keep quiet. Being outside gives them a chance to breathe; away from the hustle and bustle and all the judgmental stares and comments if they dare step out of line. There are gardens and fishponds to investigate when they get bored or agitated and need some time to decompress, and room for a high chair for Declan and Addie’s stroller, giving her a comfortable and safe place to retreat to while the others eat and converse.
“Now I know why we don’t go out more often,” Esme comments, as she notices the curious looks and hears the comments tossed their way. A fairly young couple with so many kids, all close together in age. Most find it cute; drawn to the twins in their complimenting outfits and Millie in her princess dress, but there’s the bitchy people as well. The ‘children should be seen and not heard’ crowd that find it ridiculous –and maybe even disgusting- that people are willingly having such large families in this day and age. “People are staring at us,” she frets. “And whispering.”
Tyler moves Declan from one hip to the other, than lays a hand on the back of her neck and gives it a comforting squeeze. “Want me to tell them that I have weak pull out game? Lighten the mood?”
“I’d laugh but I wouldn’t but it past you do actually do something like that. Seriously, what is everyone’s issue?”
“Who gives a shit. Just ignore it. Maybe it bothers them because it’s obvious by all the kids that we’ve had more sex in five years than they’ve had in fifty.”
Normally it would aggravate him, that kind of attention and all the talk. But he’d taken half a dozen Ativan before getting out of the car and the effects are already starting to take hold. He’s relaxed. The calmest he’s been in the past four days. Although he’s pretty sure having to be in Nik’s presence and enduring her version of ‘small talk’ will change that.
Nik and Kyle have already arrived; sitting side by side at a large table near the edge of the patio, leaning into one another, foreheads nearly touching as they talk, their hands joined on top of the table.
“I’m going to be sick,” Esme mutters. “Ughhhh. The way she’s looking at him. He’s way too good for her. Let’s just leave. I don’t think they’ve seen us yet. If we just sneak out now...”
Kyle has spotted them and is already on his feet and making his way towards them; the kids so focused on their surroundings that they’re completely unsuspecting until he’s within five feet, noisily clearing his throat to grab their attention.
“Uncle Kyle!” Millie cries, and is the first to break away, the soles of those old sandals flapping against the concreate patio as she rushes to where he’s already crouched down, arms outstretched, gathering her into them and pulling her tight against him.
The twins follow suit; shrieking his name as they run towards him, finding themselves enveloped by his strong arms and gathered into a bear hug along with their sister. Tears sparkling in Kyle’s eyes as he showers them with kisses and tousles their hair and listens to their excited ramblings; all three talking at the same time, filling him in on all the excitement and adventures they’ve experienced in the past six months. And Tyler notices that Nik doesn’t budge from the table, sipping at a glass of wine and never acknowledging the scene playing out in front of her.
“Wish me luck,” Esme sighs, and he gives a reassuring before taken Declan from him, carrying him on her hip and pushing the baby in the stroller as she herds the other three towards the table to get them settled.
He watches as the two women exchange tight lipped smiles; Esme’s one of lingering bitterness and anger, Nik’s filled with a hint of remorse and maybe even regret. And how his wife holds it together despite wanting to completely unleash on her old friend; instead patiently getting the kids settled and Declan strapped into a highchair. He knows it’s difficult for her; his ‘history’ with Nik still the elephant that lingers in the room, the other issues that she’s caused over the past six and a half years adding insult to injury.
“Good to see you, man,” Kyle gives him an awkward one-armed hug and then claps him on the shoulder. “What the has she been feeding you? You’re a fucking tank.”
“Just a lot of hours in the gym. Gotta keep myself busy somehow. Things are good with you?”
Their relationship has been strained; not just because of the thousands of miles between them and Kyle holding him responsible for yet again ‘stealing’ his sister, but the ongoing hostility with Nik. The last time they’d talked, Tyler hadn’t been kind; letting her know to stay the hell away from him, to never contact him again. He’d been harsh. He’s the first one to admit that. But it had worked. At least until now.
“Things are good,” Kyle says, and then glances over his shoulder at Nik, a smile curving his lips. “Things are really good. What about here? You guys are doing alright? The kids seem happier.”
“We’re all happier. It was the right thing to do. Coming back here.”
“She’s struggling though,” Kyle nods in the direction of his sister. “Don’t even try and tell me she’s not.”
“She’d be struggling a lot less if you have just listened and kept Nik away. It wasn’t enough you’re marrying her considering everything in the past? You had to make things worse by bringing her here?”
“We hadn’t heard from you guys yet. About the wedding.”
“And that means you come all the way here and fuck things up? You have a phone. You've got the internet. Send an email. Don’t just show up. We’re still trying to get past all of this. Nik and her shit, the job.”
"It was her idea. Nik’s. To come here and try and make things. Patch things up. I told her that I didn’t know if either you or Esme were ready for that that yet, but....”
He frowns. “It was her idea?”
Kyle nods. “She wanted to make amends. In person.”
“She told you that? That that’s why we wanted to come here?”
You poor delusional bastard, Tyler thinks. Kyle’s being played and manipulated in the say way she’d messed with him. Nik always has an ulterior motive. And Kyle is either blind to it, doesn’t give a shit, or genuinely doesn’t realize what she’s capable of.
He decides it’s the latter.
“We want you guys at the wedding,” Kyle says. “I mean, if it wasn’t for you and Esme, we never would have met.”
He feels as if he should apologize in advance. Because six months from now, Kyle’s going to realize just what kind of shit show he’s gotten himself into. “
“And we want the kids there,” Kyle continues. “Millie could be the flower girl, the twins could be junior ushers, Declan could carry the ring up. We want it to be a family affair.
The last thing Tyler wants it to be stuck anywhere with Esme’s family. He doesn’t give a shit about their feelings towards him. If they want to spend the rest of their lives hating him and viewing him as the enemy, so be it. But the way they’ve treated her.... his wife...is unacceptable. And the worst place to air those grievances is at the wedding of the only member of that clan he can actually stand.
“Won’t be the same without all of you,” Kyle says. “I mean, we’re family.”
Tyler wouldn’t go that far. You usually don’t become family with someone you used to casually fuck,
“This is a big deal for her,” his brother in law continues. “Wanting to come here. Wanting to make things right.”
“And you really think that’s why she wanted to come here?”
“Why wouldn’t I? She hasn’t given me a reason not to believe her. Why?” his eyes narrow. “You know something I don’t know.”
“I don’t think you know Nik as well as you think you do,” Tyler says, then gives him a sympathetic pat on shoulder before heading for the table.
****
“You’re here to take daddy away, aren’t you.” Millie voice is accusatory and full of venom; eyes narrowed as she regards Nik from across the table.
Dinner is long finished; all dirty dishes and cutlery cleared away in favor of tea and coffee for the adults and ice cream for the kids. His daughter has been glued to his side all night, Nik bringing out the clingy and protective side of her. Nearly causing a fight with Tanner when he initially wouldn’t give up the seat to Tyler’s right. Then climbing up into his lap as soon as the meal was finished; sitting sideways on his thighs, an arm curled tightly around his neck.
Esme shifts uncomfortably beside him, then noisily clears her throat and reaches for a glass of ice water. He takes her hand, squeezing it tightly before placing their joined hands on her thigh.
“No one is taking anyone away,” he assures his daughter.
“That's what you said last time,” Millie reminds him. “And then you were gone forever.”
“Well this time is different. I’m not going anywhere. Uncle Kyle just came to see you guys. So she tagged along. Nothing more than that.”
“She is your Aunt,” Kyle speaks up. “It’s okay if you guys call her that even if certain people don’t want to acknowledge it or accept it.”
Esme clears her throat once more, hand tightening around Tyler’s.
Millie isn’t convinced. “If I wake up tomorrow and my daddy's gone, I’m going to be really pissed!”
“Okay, calm down,” Tyler presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m still going to be here when you wake up tomorrow. So just relax, okay? Take it easy.”
Millie turns to face him, then kneels on his laps as she leans in close and whispers. “I don’t trust her, daddy.”
“It’s a long way to come,” Esme pipes up. “Just because you missed the kids. Web cam chats do exist, you know.”
“It’s not the same,” Kyle says. “And things are slow right now for Nik and I had some vacation time owe to me, so...well...here we are.”
“Yeah,” Esme gives a tense smile. “Here you guys are.”
Tyler moves Mille over to his other thigh, then let’s go his wife’s hand in favor of laying his arm across the back of her chair, thumb repeatedly brushing against her shoulder.
“We thought it was time to smooth things out,” Kyle explains. “Before the wedding. So things aren’t tense that day like they are now. I mean, it’s been six months. Time to let it go, don’t you think.”
“I think you’re underestimating what the nearly six years before were like,” his sister calmly responds. “Or am I just supposed to pretend they never happened? That she...sorry.... you...” she looks over at Nik. “...never pulled all the bullshit you did?”
“Mommy.” Tanner looks up from his ice cream. “That’s a bad word. Daddy said no bad words tonight.”
“You’re right,” she says, and then gives her son a smile and wraps an arm around him, drawing him tight against her. “Bad mommy,” she scolds herself, and then runs her fingers through his hair and places a kiss to his cheek.
“No one is saying that you have to forget about all of that or pretend it never happened.” Kyle informs her. “But wouldn’t you rather iron things out so you’re carrying around so much animosity?”
“Oh, that’s rich, K. Maybe you should be addressing your future wife’s animosity. And how she was so pissed at Tyler and I that she was willing to leave us both on a bridge in Dhaka to die.”
“Okay...no one needs to hear about this,” Tyler says, and rubs her shoulder. “Especially little ears.”
“I’ve already apologized for that,” Nik finally speaks. “Countless times. But things didn’t exactly happen the way you think they did.”
Esme snorts. “Spare me, Nik. Yaz told me all I needed to know. So don’t waste your breath lying to me. Dhaka was a total crap show and you just went ahead and made it even worse.”
“Alright, settle down,” Tyler implores, and then leans sideways to press a kiss to her temple, lips settling against her ear. “The kids do not need to hear this. Any of this. Okay? Can you stop? For me? Please?”
She reluctantly nods.
“It was Nik’s idea to come here,” Kyle says. “She wanted to patch things up. With both of you. So we could be part of the kids’ lives. They deserve to have family. Are you going to let your ego get in the way of what’s best for them?”
“Whoa...whoa...” Tyler comes to his wife’s defense. “...that’s way out of line, mate. Don't use her kids against her. Don’t ever accuse of not doing what’s for her kids. Our kids. Don’t stoop that low or you are I are going to have problems.”
“I’m just saying that...”
“I know what you’re saying. But find another way to say. Because I won’t let you disrespect the mother of my children like that.”
Nik gives a dramatic sigh. “Obviously the two of you are still holding onto a lot of bitterness and anger and this was a total waste of our time.”
“We’re holding onto a lot of bitterness and anger?” Esme retorts, then laughs. “Says the woman who couldn’t handle that her with friend with benefits met someone and decided to move on with his life. The same woman who was so mad about it that she spent six years trying to get my husband to cheat on me? Or are you going to pretend none of that ever happened?”
“And I’ve apologized for that, Esme. But you’re just so childish and petty that you can't let it go.”
‘Well I’m sorry, Nik. Maybe I’m not comfortable with my husband’s old side piece becoming my sister in law.”
“There’s kids here,” Tyler reminds them both. “They don’t need to hear this. Either settle down or just drop it.”
Esme glares at him. “And suddenly you’re on her side?”
“I’m on your side. I’m always on your side. But I’m also on the side of my kids not having to hear this stuff.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ve heard a lot worse,” Nik snidely remarks. “With you as their father.”
Esme’s eyes narrow. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You know what he’s like. The mouth on him. I’m just saying that I’m sure the kids have heard a lot worse than what we’re talking about.”
“How about you just leave my kids out of this,” Esme suggests. “Or is that the real issue? That they’re my kids...with him...and not yours.”
“Jesus Christ,” Kyle moans. “Not this again.”
“That’s what really pissed off six and a half years ago, wasn’t it, Nik. The fact that you wanted more than just the dick and he wouldn’t give it to you. It just pissed you off when he met me and all of sudden he was getting married, having kids, enjoying a normal life. That’s what really bugged you. What still bugs you.”
“Can we not talk about that?” Tyler asks. “Do you really think the kids need to know this kind of shit?”
Esme ignores him. “Why don’t you tell Kyle the real reason you’re here, Nik. And don’t lie and say it was to repair things between us. Tell the truth for once. Tell him you’re here to screw things up all over again.”
“I don’t think we need to talk about this now,” Nik says. “This was supposed to be about coming together and sitting down and ironing things out. To patch things up and see the kids and...”
“I think we should call it a night,” Tyler suggests. “It’s getting late and the kids are tired and have school tomorrow.”
“No,” Esme responds. “We’re not leaving. She’s going to come clear to my brother about what she’s really here for. How she used our kids as an excuse to come here. Tell him, Nik. Tell him exactly what you came all this way for.”
“Esme,” Tyler warns. “...not here...please.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Kyle. It isn’t for my husband’s dick. For once. It’s all business, isn’t it, Nik. It’s all about the job. And you trying to manipulate Tyler into helping you.”
“Would you stop,” Tyler tightly squeezes her shoulder. “Enough. Stop Not here. Not now. And not in front of the kids.”
“Nik wants to hire Ovi to be a mercenary,” Esme announces. “Ovi. Of all goddamn people.”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Tyler orders. “If you two wants to hash it out or kick the crap out of each other, go do it somewhere else. Just not in front of my kids.”
“You’d think she’d have more comment sense than that because of everything Ovi went through in Dhaka,” Esme continues. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering we wanted us to leave him in the street like a piece of trash. She probably wanted Tyler to leave me there too. Because I was the obstacle in the way or getting what she really wanted.”
“Is this true?” Kyle address Nik. “That’s why you really wanted to come here? To hire Ovi?”
“Oh, not just that,” Esme informs him. “She wants Tyler’s help. She wants him to train Ovi before she sends him off to be killed. She probably wants more than that. She always has.”
“Okay, we’re going.” Tyler tightens his hold on Millie and stands up. “Enough. I’ve had enough. I said not to do this, and you did it anyway. Let’s go.”
“I want to know if any of this is true,” Kyle says. “If that’s the real reason we ended up here. Is it?” he looks back at Nik. “IT had nothing do with fixing things, did it. It was all bullshit. Just to get something you want.”
“That’s Nik’s M.O,” Esme smirks. “That’s all she ever cares about. Getting what she wants. And trying to destroy anyone that stands in her way.”
“Why would you do this?” Nik hisses. “Stoop this low?”
“Now you know how it feels,” Esme give a victorious smile as she stands up. “Doesn’t feel good, does it? Having some bitch trying to fuck your life up.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tyler snarls. “Let’s just go. Enough. You’ve said enough.”
“Oh, I have more tons more I could say.”
“Well another time, another place. We’re leaving. Now.” His tone is demanding. Authoritative. But his face remains calm as he gathers up all the kids; Declan on one hip, Millie on the other. “Let’s go guys,” he says to the twins. “Home time.”
“Thank God,” Tanner huffs. “Adult stuff is so boring.”
Kyle hurries after them as they leave, catching Tyler by the arm before he can get out the side entrance of the patio. “I am so fucking sorry. I had no idea what she was up to,” he says, as Esme and the twins –with TJ pushing the baby stroller- continue the walk to the car. “She told me that she wanted to come here and fix things. And so I could see the kids. I had no clue she had an ulterior motive.”
“That’s one thing about Nik. She always has an ulterior motive. I’m sorry, too. That you had to find out that way. Esme should have just kept her mouth shut. For tonight at least. I tried, but...” Tyler shrugs. “...she doesn’t always listen to me.”
“She doesn’t listen to anyone,” Kyle gives a dry laugh. You guys going to be okay?”
“We’ll be fine. She’ll get home and go off on me for a bit and then she’ll calm down. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I’m used to it after six and a half years. Good luck with Nik, though. You’re going to need it.”
Kyle frowns and runs a hand over the back of his head. “That bad, huh?”
“Mate, you have idea. If she boots you out and you need a place to crash, you know where to find us.”
“Yeah, don’t be surprised if you come out in the morning and find me drunk and passed out on the beach.”
Tyler smirks. “There’s been times I wished I was loaded and passed out on the beach, believe me. I am sorry. That your sister went off like that. But you were going to find out sooner or later.”
“Better sooner if you ask me.” Kyle says. “Tell her I’m sorry. That you’re dragged back into this shit. Into that life. Esme deserves better than that.”
“Yeah,” Tyler agrees. “She does.”
#tyler rake#tyler rake fan fic#tyler rake fan fiction#best part of me#extraction#chris hemsworth character
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Types of Investigators for Story Writers
Did you all know that it’s really hard to find investigator jobs that aren’t for dead bodies, missing persons, or criminals? Like, to make a character who isn’t your standard Detective, PI or Cop?
I sure didn’t, until I started working on a character who was supposed to be an investigator but spent more time at a desk than in the field. I said to myself, “Alright, what kind of desk investigator should he be? Wait, what kind of desk guys are there who aren’t, like, morticians?”
And I didn’t know. So I want looking, and it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped it would be. BUT I FOUND IT.
So, to celebrate my success, I’ve decided to share the list I found of Investigator Licenses so my fellow writers can get nice and particular about their character’s specialties. This is a long list, so I’m putting it under a Read More
Types of Investigator Specialties
Please note: Most of these aren’t single jobs, they’re licenses investigators can get before they’re official investigators. And usually they need to have more than one of these licenses before they can be hired.
Accident Investigation and Reconstruction: After a car accident occurs, either independent investigators or police will conduct an investigation and follow up with a reconstruction of the incident.
Arson and Fire Investigation: Among the types of investigation a private detective might undertake is finding the cause of arson-related fires.
Asset Investigator: Asset searches are conducted to discover details about the current and past details of a property.
Background Check Investigator: Background checks usually performed through PI’s for employers as a method of assessing job candidate traits.
Bounty Hunters: Bail enforcement agents come in two general varieties: bounty hunters and private investigators.
Cell Phone Records Investigations: In this day and age, cell phone records can provide a near-complete history of what we’ve done and where we’ve been at any given time.
Civil Investigator: Civil investigators focus on investigations within cases of civil law.
Computer Forensic and Cyber Crime Investigator: High level computer scam investigations.
Corporate Investigator: Corporate investigations involve looking into a business or corporation in order to reveal mis-behaviors, or deliberate harmful actions committed.
Criminal Investigator: Criminal investigators are professionals who are experts at gathering and interpreting clues and evidence.
Domestic Investigator: The primary benefit of Domestic investigation is that you are able to investigate those who are closest to you so that can family, friends, and associates remain safe.
Due Diligence Investigation: A private investigator will use a variety of methods to conduct a due diligence investigation.
Electronic Data Discovery: Electronic data discovery is an increasingly important kind of investigation in the digital age.
Executive Protection: Though not one of the more famous or well-known aspects of private investigations, executive protection is an essential function of the job.
Financial Investigator: Financial Investigators are most commonly used to look into corporate misdeeds to uncover evidence regarding allegations of embezzlement, asset searching, tax evasion, money laundering, or other varieties of financial crime.
Fraud Investigator: Fraud investigators look into cases of insurance and credit card fraud.
General Private Investigator: There are several reasons for why investigative cases can be called “general investigations.”
Identity Theft: Identity theft is one of the biggest problems we face in our increasingly technologized society.
Infidelity Investigator: An infidelity investigation is what is conducted by a professional private investigator who specializes in the area of infidelity and catching cheating spouses.
Insurance Fraud Investigator: An insurance fraud investigator typically investigates cases in which individuals seek compensation for false claims.
Internet Dating Investigation: When someone thinks they are the victim of, or targeted by, an online dating scam, they might hire a private detective to conduct an internet dating investigation.
Judgment Recovery: Private investigators will conduct thorough research into the resources and assets held by the debtor.
Legal Investigator: Legal investigation is considered the proper gathering together of details and facts in a case that will be utilized in the courts.
Missing Persons Investigator: Investigating and hopefully locating a child who has run away from home or a child who has been kidnapped.
Mystery Shoppers: Generally speaking, a mystery shopper will pose as a normal customer, which means they need to be someone with whom the staff is unfamiliar.
Public Records Search: Some people wonder why, if these records are public, they need to secure the services of a licensed private investigator.
People Locate, Fugitive Tracking and Skip Tracing: Usually, a private investigator will be contacted by a client and given information about the person that needs to be located and why.
Surveillance: A surveillance investigator can investigate cases for businesses, especially involving insurance fraud.
Social Media: People hire private investigators for social media investigations because they have the skills, knowledge, resources and tenacity to uncover exactly the information that’s needed.
Trial Preparation: The goal of trial preparation is to create a story, draw lines from points A to B to C, and give the judge and jury a clear picture of what happened, as well as to protect against counterattacks that seek to punch holes in the story.
Bug Detection, Bug Sweep, Technical Counter-Surveillance Measures: Technical counter-surveillance measures, or TCSM, involves using electronic countermeasures to find and remove bugs and other technical surveillance devices.
Workers’ Compensation: A private detective called in to conduct workers’ compensation investigations can fulfill a broad variety of functions and gather a range of facts to explore the situation.
Wrongful Death: Private detectives and wrongful death cases usually connect through someone seeking to establish the events of an accident.
#from one writer to another#writer tips#things you'll want to know#detectives#detective#investigators#private investigators#investigator licenses
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The Bounty Hunter: Chpt. 1
This is chapter 1 of a book I started writing about a year or two ago. If you like it and want me to continue please leave a comment! Enjoy!
People I’m tagging because I love them and need their advice: @xicarusisfallingx @kirii-thenotreally-kitten @awesomeunicat @haze517 @jdc1717
‘So,’ Luna said impatiently, ‘what’s the payment?’
‘Ten gold for turning in disloyal citizens. You know your king. Wouldn’t spare a cup of water for a beggar on the street. Still, this offer is generous for a bastard like him.’
Luna huffed but she knew Aaron was right. This offer was by far the best she would get for such a task even though that pathetic amount of money wouldn’t even be enough to buy a cheap whore. She needed the money though and wouldn’t let any opportunity pass no matter how demeaning. She was already a criminal. Cowards looking to get their hands on otherwise unreachable items often employ her services, though she’s not always faithful to her clients. Not a very good reputation for a mere seventeen-year-old but struggle builds character, and she’d gotten to know a lot about struggle. She didn’t care much for her pride either. She’d lost that luxury years ago, replaced by desperation. All she needed was enough money to pay for a decent doctor for her father. Once she’d done that she’d live a normal, care-free life.
‘So,’ Aaron said, jarring her from her thoughts with his deep whisper, ‘Are you in or what?’
Luna didn’t need to think twice before she said, ‘I’m in.’
Aaron gave a slight nod before explaining their objective. ‘You know Estagio Vanamir, baker’s son? Asked for a very special gem from the king’s repository. Probably Selena’s Ruby. Says he’ll pay handsomely. Twenty silver.’
‘Twenty Silver? A handsome reward?’ Luna stifled a laugh and was about to berate her partner for not haggling for a higher price, before he continued, ‘That’s a high price for the son of a baker Luna,’ Aaron said, ‘obviously it was no use haggling. We’re going to turn him at the guard anyway for the king’s meager reward.’
‘Yes, but we could’ve brought the man the gem, gotten his reward and then led the guards to him to make a greater profit. Honestly, Aaron, why am I always three steps ahead of you when you are supposed to come up with our strategies?’
‘If the heist was to fail and we were to be spotted we would be the ones behind the bars of a cell,’ he said, exasperated, ‘So Vanami’s offer won’t matter in the end.’
‘I still think you were scammed. For the job he expects us to do, a small fortune would be the least he could offer. What does he want with the ruby anyway?’
Aaron shrugged. ‘I don’t know and I didn’t bother to ask.’
Luna gave a resigned huff. The two stood in silence for a brief moment.
‘Be ready at sunrise tomorrow,’ Aaron said seriously.
‘Since when do you give orders? Have you suddenly grown bold,’ Luna said only half-seriously.
‘I’m merely making suggestions, a good one at that. We’ve been working together long enough to be considered equal partners in trade. Or is it just me who thinks that?’
‘It’s just you Aaron,’ Luna said before turning and walking to her father’s house. It was beginning to get late and her father was probably wondering where she was. He wasn’t aware of her criminal reputation at all and she intended to keep it that way. She wouldn’t want to cause him an early death if he found out.
Before she managed two steps she heard Aaron calling her. Luna turned around and acknowledged him. ‘I can’t imagine you’re leaving so soon,’ he said, ‘would you care to join me for a flagon? I still have some coin left from our last haul.’
Luna rolled her eyes. ‘I’m a thief, not a drunk. You have fun drowning your sorrows away.’
‘Don’t be a sissy. Join me, and even if you don’t drink, you could still have yourself a good time, if ya know what I mean.’
‘I’m not interested. Enjoy with your whores you pervert. And don’t blame me at sunrise when your head becomes a blacksmith’s anvil if ya know what I mean.’ Luna swiftly turned around tittering to herself and hurried home to her father. His condition had been steadily worsening for months and had finally driven him to incapacitation. No doubt the death of Luna’s mother had spurred his illness into action. She had been one of his only joys in life: since she worked as a servant in the king’s palace she earned a helpful sum, partially supporting them financially while he made his earnings working at his forge, she kept his health in check and made sure their needs were taken care of. The love he had for his wife was unmatched by any and all human emotion. When she suddenly died, his health spiraled downwards.
Luna arrived at the small house. She’d prepared a pot of vegetable soup that morning that was simmering on the cooking fire. She picked up the ladle and gingerly spooned the mixture into a bowl to serve to her father, who was sitting up in bed, staring dazed at the drab brown curtains hung in front of him.
Luna quietly walked to his bedside and hesitantly put a hand of his shoulder. He jolted in surprise, causing Luna to nearly spill the contents of the bowl as she jumped in shock.
Luna’s father turned his head sleepily in her direction and stared at her confused for a moment before his face lit up in recognition. ‘Luna, my dear, did I startle you? I’m afraid I haven’t been able to get up to much aside from admiring the scenery,’ he glanced at the curtain and attempted a good-natured laugh, which came out more as a wheeze followed by a series of painful coughs.
Luna set the bowl of soup on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Did Katherine come? She said she would bring a remedy for that cough.’
The man rolled his eyes, giving Luna a full view of his reddening sclerae. ‘You just arrived and are already playing physician. Have a rest, child. Have you eaten? You’re so thin.’ Luna thought it strange that the man was worrying for her sake when his own body looked as if it had been constructed out of twigs with skin as thin and pale as a bedsheet. His pale eyes, once sparkling like the polished silver, were dull and lifeless.
‘I understand that my worry is warranted since you refuse to attend to your own health. I will eat once you have finished your supper.’ Luna took the bowl from the bedside table and scooped a spoonful, blowing on it to cool it down before holding the spoon out to her father. His eyes went to the spoon before darting to his daughter. ‘What is the meaning of this? I am perfectly capable of feeding myself. I’ve hefted axes, hammered at steel for hours, and you doubt I can lift a spoon,’ he spluttered in discontent.
Luna raised an eyebrow, still holding out the utensil. She understood that he must have felt undignified, but his circumstances simply did not allow him the freedom he used to relish only months ago. As hard as it was for her to see the once-proud man he was confined to a state of total helplessness, she had no choice. The man gave a sigh of resignation and opened his mouth. The way he pouted like a sad child broke Luna’s heart, but she continued feeding him until the bowl was empty.
Her father blinked slowly and scooted lower in the bed until his head rested on the thin pillow. His face glistened with a sheen of sweat and he looked utterly exhausted. ‘I’m spent. You go eat my dear, you need not worry any longer. A sleeping figure threatens no danger,’ he uttered with a joking smile.
Luna nodded and leaned over to place a kiss on her father’s forehead, subsequently wiping the sweat off her mouth, earning a chuckle from the man.
She did as her father requested and ate her supper. The sun had set long before she had finished so she dressed down for bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When the sun had just begun steadily crawling over the horizon, before the cocks began to crow, Luna rose from her bed and tiredly rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She quickly threw her dress on and attached her dagger to her belt along with a vile of a potent sleeping draught she’d used on her father a few times just in case. She preferred to render enemies unconscious rather than kill them but underestimating her battle prowess was a grave mistake people dared not make. She wouldn’t hesitate to take action if need be. After making sure her father was peacefully asleep, she laced up her boots and made her way to the tavern to meet with Aaron.
She arrived just in time to see the tall boy retching in the adjacent ally, his curly brown locks drenched in sweat. Luna recoiled at the sight, but couldn’t help smiling at her confirmed prediction. The boy leaned miserably against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked exhausted but Luna had to applaud his commitment, which was exactly what she did. She snuck quietly to his side, avoiding his disgorged stomach contents, and loudly clapped her hands right next to his ear. Aaron nearly jumped in the air, but he opted instead to double over clutching his aching head.
‘Fuck you,’ he said as he rose from his stooped position, punctuating the effort with a groan of discomfort.
‘Did I not foresee this,’ I asked mockingly, ‘I knew you would drown in your cups. You possess the minimum amount of self-control equal to that of a horny dog.’
‘What can I say? I blame the impulsiveness of youth.’ He made of gesture of shaking his fist in the air before letting it drop listlessly to his side.
‘Do you really expect me to bring you with me in the state you’re in? You’ll only be a hindrance.’
‘What are you talking about,’ he asked, looking at her with tired golden eyes, ‘did we not agree to turn Vanamir in? There’s no heist involved, hence you won’t need me for much. I just came to discuss our approach.’
‘No, you wanted to turn him in, I wanted to kill two birds with one stone, earn some extra coin, and not be a sissy about getting caught. Now that you’re no longer an asset on this mission, I’ll be opting for my plan.’
Aaron pushed away from the wall, stumbling before regaining his footing and somewhat steady composure. ‘Whatever,’ he said, ‘as long as you get it done. Though I should warn you, the king has upped his guard recently. I have no idea why so I advise you to just watch your back.’
‘And I would advise you to stay away from the bar. You look positively awful and you smell like a piss pot.’
Aaron blinked and made a face. ‘Incredible. I never would have thought it possible but, I must say, your social skills have gotten better,’ Aaron retorted sarcastically.
The two parted ways, Luna making for the castle.
While Luna’s mother was a servant she had learned that the castle had a servants’ entrance separate from the main doors. If she looked the part she could easily slip by bustling maids and watchful guards. Navigating the castle wasn’t a problem either. The king’s private business hadn’t been kept very private at all from careful listeners so Luna was aware that the repository was situated on the lowest level. All she had to do was make her way there without being noticed. She hoped she hadn’t bitten off more than she could chew, but she was confident in her abilities. If worse came to worst she could simply render her victims unconscious.
She set her plan into action; she walked through the servants’ entrance and picked up a basket of the king’s laundry to carry around with her. Luckily none of the other servants questioned this. A person could mistake her for a servant just by her attire and the way she walked with purpose as if washing the king’s clothing was her only goal and pleasure in life (which, for most servants, it was). With the laundry basket balancing on her hip, Luna turned down hallway after hallway, ignoring suspicious glances from guards and trying to muster as much confidence in her step as she could, which was proving to work. The guards she passed had stopped paying much attention to her apart from the occasional lustful gaze and so she continued until she made it all the way to the stairwell that led down to the king’s repository. Unfortunately, the stairwell was guarded by two rather distracted guards, who were sitting at a wooden table gambling with dice and gulping down mouthfuls of whatever beverage was in their cups.
This posed a problem of course. Before she could approach them she needed a plan. She couldn’t simply stab them; one of them might sound an alarm before she can get in a clean blow. Her only chance was to lace their drinks somehow. Luna had never been one for flirting, but she might’ve needed to summon what little knowledge she has on the subject and use it to her advantage. Her mother had taught her how to dance before Luna became more interested in learning how to use her dagger, so she knew how to move her body to get the right reactions.
She moved seductively towards the men, swaying her hips while still balancing the basket. One guard noticed her advancing and stood from his seat, while the other glanced over and fumbled to rise, but ended up toppling onto the floor. Luna knelt down with a kind smile on her face and offered her hand to the fallen guard, who furrowed his brow in confusion.
Luna giggled in response to the guard’s baffled expression, ‘I don’t bite, I promise,’ she said as sweetly as her shaking voice allowed. The guard continued to stare for a moment longer before accepting her help and smiling goofily at the wink Luna gave him once he stood.
‘My my, it isn’t often we get visitors here, especially ones this beautiful,’ said the guard on the left. ‘Tell me, my dear, what is your business here?’
Luna spoke convincingly, ‘I’m a servant washing the king’s clothing. I’m new so I got lost-’
‘A servant, eh,’ said the guard on the right, clearly not too interested in her reason for being there. ‘What’s a beauty such as yourself doing serving the king? A maiden this lovely, why your time would be better spent gracing a dance floor.’
‘Don’t you know how to flatter a girl,’ Luna ran her hand down the guard’s chest, ‘tell me,’ she said glancing over to his gawking friend, ‘may I join you?’
The two guards glanced at each other, smirks creeping up both of their faces. Luna felt rather uncomfortable with that but she had a mission to accomplish. The guard on the right answered, ‘Of course, you can. However, we only have two chairs, but, if you want, you can sit on my lap,’ the man said, a wild glint in his eyes and a slit of a smile on his face. Luna nearly outright retched at the man’s offer, though instead, she gave a shy smile and an innocent nod. The guard whom she had helped looked mildly jealous but sat down, sipping his drink miserably. The other sat down slowly, trying his best to appear sexy but failing rather spectacularly. He patted his lap and Luna begrudgingly sat down, swallowing the bile rising in the back of her throat. She had to drug them quickly. She inconspicuously slipped the draught under the long sleeve of her dress and folded her fingers over the cork.
‘Do you mind if I have a taste,’ she asked pointing at the drink in front of her. The man held it out to her. She took the cup, the guard rocking his leg as if to tease her, sloshing the liquid in the cup. He laughed as if he’d just made the funniest joke ever, Luna laughing along to please him. She held the cup close to her lap so the guard wouldn’t see her slyly pour the liquid in the cup. She emptied the vile before realizing too late that she hadn’t laced the second guard's drink. Luna panicked, still holding the cup low. The guard furrowed his brow, looking slightly annoyed that she hadn’t drunk anything and took the cup from her, taking a long sip. ‘When you get to be a big girl you can have a sip of my drink,’ he set down his drink and put a hand on Luna’s back, ‘So what do you do for fun lass? Or, more importantly,’ he made eye contact with Luna and Luna saw the man’s intentions written plain as day on his features, ‘ what would you like to do? Whatever it is, we can do it together if ya fancy. Maybe afterward I’ll let you have a sip.’ The man laughed and it was the vilest thing Luna had ever heard. His hand started sliding down Luna’s back until it was far too low for comfort.
She inwardly scowled and blanched at the man’s suggestion. She knew the effects of the draught would kick in soon, but she was getting worried that this man was going to do something unsavory to her. She needed to stall for time.
‘Um… H-how about you two tell me your names first?’
The man let loose a booming laugh, his eyelids drooping, but his advances continued. He looked at his partner with a smug smirk, ‘this one likes to get personal,’ his friend rolled his eyes. ‘My name’s Gilbert, and that over there,’ he said, pointing at the guards across the table, ‘is Simeon. And what’s your name sweetheart,’ he asked, but before Luna could answer his head lulled forward and he planted his head firmly on the table, his torso folding over her lap. Luna heaved a sigh of relief and took the guards inactivity as an opportunity to take action. She drew her dagger, threw the man’s upper body away from her and jumped up. The remaining guard hurriedly got up from his chair. She saw him notice the dagger in her hand. He looked up at her, an angry expression marring his features, ‘What did you do to him,’ he shouted, ‘Intruder,’ he alerted the forces. ‘Wait! He’s not dead,’ Luna said, but it was too late. She had to act quickly. She made a run for the stairwell, but the guard lunged at her. Luna swung her dagger at his chest, but he was too quick. He dodged her attack and made a grab at her shoulders and pinned her to the wall. He twisted her arm until she dropped her dagger, the silver blade clattering helplessly to the floor. She had been caught. She heard the hurried footsteps of the alerted forces making their way. If she tried to escape she would just be caught by the oncoming support. There was nothing she could do.
Before long two new faces pulled her from the wall and held her firmly by the shoulders, the sleeping guard lying unmoving on his chair. Luna had to think of a plan, and quickly before she was brought to the king for sentencing. She could acknowledge how suspicious it looked that a guard somehow dropped down while she held a dagger in her hand, and with a witness present, it made her case even less convincing. The fact that she’s tried to run into the repository made her case vastly doubtful. Did she even have a case to present? She had really made this a very difficult situation.
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Writer's Month 2019
Day 3 Prompt: Coffee Shop AU
Fandom: Superbat, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Superman/Batman
Writer: batzmaru65
(Summary: An AU similar to a parallel universe take. Bruce is a detective in this story, not a vigilante or a billionaire. Clark is still Superman and a reporter. There is slight change in the spelling of Clark and Bruce's surname.)
Bruce stumbled into the coffee shop, hair dishevelled, tie askew and suit crumpled. He dragged himself towards the counter where a female barista stood smiling, not at all shocked at the sight of him.
“The usual, Mr Weyne?” The middle-aged lady asked, already starting preparations to make Bruce’s double espresso, extra strong, no milk and just a dash of sugar.
Bruce did not even have the energy to give a reply. He merely nodded and leaned against the counter, head propped on a fist, sucking in the aroma of brewing coffee as if his life depended on it. But it was not enough to stave off his exhaustion and a huge yawn broke out, bringing tears to his eyes.
“You’re gonna kill yourself one day at the rate you’re going,” the dark-haired woman admonished as she poured Bruce’s order into a takeaway cup and closed the lid.
Bruce smiled wanly and reached out to take the proffered cup.
“Just a little while more, Martha,” he muttered, stifling another yawn, “We’ve finally found something and it’s all going to end soon.”
“That’s good to hear and all the best, Mr Wyene.”
Bruce nodded again and after slipping some bills onto the counter, he dragged himself out of the shop, all attention fixed on the coffee. Distracted and eager to have his caffeine fix, Bruce did not watch where he was going. A careless step, a trip over a flowerpot and Bruce was falling forward, gravity pulling him down a flight of steps. His heart lurched and he gasped, arms flailing, trying to stop the inevitable. The cup tumbled out of his grasp, lid falling off and dark liquid splashed out, sparkling in the sunlight. The ground rushed up and Bruce squeezed his eyes shut, body tensed in anticipation of the pain that would come.
However, instead of hard concrete smashing against his face and body, Bruce fell against warmth and soft strength. An arm had gone round his waist, fingers gripping his hips, holding him steady. It took a moment for Bruce to realise that the anticipated pain was not forthcoming. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a pair of brilliant blue peeping out from behind a long fringe.
“Are you alright?” the stranger frowned in concern and leaned in closer. Bruce flushed at how intimate their posture was and he scrambled out of the grasp of the taller man.
“Yes I...ah...thanks.”
Averting his gaze from that pair of attractive blue eyes, Bruce froze at the sight of a press pass hanging around the stranger’s neck.
Clarke Kent. Daily Globe.
Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Bruce glared at the reporter but the ferocity of his glare was without much impact. With his puffy eyes and dark circles, he came across as sleepy rather than angry.
“I’m not falling for your trick and stay away from me and my team!”
Bruce growled before he turned and darted away, berating himself as he made his escape. He had let his guard down, had not checked whether there was a tail when he snuck out. He wished the press would stop hounding him and his team of investigators. They had been hot on their heels ever since they were appointed as the independent committee to look into the Lex’s Charity scandal – a scam that had stretched across America and several countries overseas. The number of front companies and shell corporations, not to mention the complex paper trail to move and hide the embezzlement were so cleverly thought out. Bruce and his team had a hard time cracking the case, misled by false trails which ended up in dead ends. It was frustrating as hell but last night, they had finally found a clue to unravelling the entire mess. Elated, Bruce wanted to reward himself with his favourite drink so tired was he of the awful-tasting coffee the police headquarters had been serving. And look at the trouble it had almost caused him.
Bruce waved a hand in greeting to the few investigators still awake. The rest of his team had fallen into an exhausted slumber, slumped over their desks or curled up on the floor. They had not slept much and neither had they gone home much either. Pressurized by the higher-ups who wanted the case solved as fast as possible, none of them had wanted to waste their time on trivialities.
Opening the door to his tiny cluttered office. Bruce slumped into his chair with a tired sigh, only to jerk up in shock at the sight of his double espresso sitting quietly on his desk pad, steam curling from the cup which was missing its lid.
Didn’t I spill it just now?
Question marks ran circles round his head and his eyes darted wildly around to find no one in the room. Lurching out of his seat, he wrenched the door open, the blinds rattling in protest against the glass.
“Hey, Alfred,” he called to his assistant, still immaculately dressed unlike the rest of them, “Did anyone come in just now?”
“Not that I know of, sir,” Alfred replied with an arch of an eyebrow.
“You’re sure? That a tall, blue eyes, long fringe reporter guy didn’t drop by?”
Alfred stopped his typing and gave Bruce a pointed stare.
“I have 20/20 vision, sir.”
“Oh, okay...okay then.”
Bruce retreated back into his office and rushed to the window, checking it. It was still locked and even if it was not, it would be impossible for anyone to enter anyway. His office was on the 11th floor and there were no ledges or protruding edges near the window. Lips pursed, Bruce flopped back into his chair, legs up on his desk and crossed. He stared thoughtfully at the cup of coffee.
The only culprit he could think of was Clarke Kent from the Daily Globe. But if it was really him, how did he pull it off then? A flash of memory brought the coffee shop incident to mind. Bruce was certain that he was about to hit the ground and then Mr Kent was suddenly there holding him tight.
Who or what are you?
Bruce wondered and then grinned fierce and feral. A mystery to solve. Just what Bruce loved most and why he ended up in this job. Mr Clarke Kent had better watch out for Bruce was going to get to the bottom of the truth no matter what. That was why he was called the “Hound”.
-
If Bruce had opened his window and looked up at the sky with a pair of powerful binoculars, he would have seen an interesting sight. A man was floating way up high, red cape fluttering, arms crossed over his chest where a S-like symbol marked his suit. Clarke was smiling, a mischievous grin, as he watched Bruce’s reaction.
Mr Bruce Weyne had intrigued him for a long while, even though the detective had no inkling of his existence. In this day and age where corruption abounds and money makes the world goes round, crime was the norm and the oppressed was left to rot. Clarke had been fighting a losing battle to address this injustice despite his superpowers. He had been on a lookout for some help. Someone or a few someones who could take on the system and continue the fight from within. His own investigations had led him to Bruce, descended from a long lineage of crimefighters from the grand old days of sheriffs to his late father’s career as a judge. His mother was a political activist and both of them had died in a shootout when he was eight, courtesy of the mafia.
Because of the tragedy, Bruce had grown up with the determination to undo the wrongs happening in his city. However, his recent investigations into the Lex’s Charity scam was leading him towards the same fate as his parents. As the saying goes, Bruce had opened up a can of worms and the current mafia bass, Jack Napier, was aiming to make an example of him, as bloody and cruel as possible, That was why Clarke had been watching over him and he had surged forward, panic constricting his heart when he saw Bruce fall. He had not intended to reveal himself in this manner but since the dice had been cast, he might as well make full use of the situation. Hence, the mystery of a steaming cup of coffee in his office which no one had entered. He knew that that would get Bruce hooked and hot on his trail.
Clarke grinned at the thought of Bruce coming after him just like the nickname his colleagues had fondly christened him with. At last, he need not watch him from afar. He could finally get close and build a relationship that, fingers crossed, would go beyond mere friendship. Clarke liked what he had seen of Bruce and he was not one to deny his feelings. It was nice holding him in his arms just now and Clarke wished for more intimacy between them.
#writersmonth#writersmonth2019#superbat#clark kent/bruce wayne#clark x bruce#prompt: coffee shop AU#wm: day 3#Fanfiction#DCU
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Hey this might sound stupid but I’ve been feelin kinda down about myself recently could you do a oneshot where the reader has low self-esteem and doesn’t thinks she’s attractive and stuff so Arthur takes it upon himself to cheer her up and make her feel better (it’s okay if you don’t wanna, I just think some soft Arthur would make me feel better ♥️) thanks x
Nawwwww we all know Arthur would make it his mission to cheer you up; though he’d probably be really confused as to why you were sad, as he thinks you’re the most beautiful person he’s ever met.Again, I wasn’t meaning to do any backstory/pre-amble, but it just kind of happened…..
I’ve tried to deliberately leave the details vague on the areas affecting the reader’s self-esteem to make it mouldable to whatever you need cheering up about :) Though, I would say this; it’s called self-esteem for a reason. It needs to come from within you; there’s no quick fix, but certainly hearing that you’re loved by Arthur might help! Just keep on trying to re-jig your brain, positively reinforce good thoughts and don’t linger on negative ones. Enjoy :) x
Arthur x F reader | “Esteem? Mine field is barren.”
Guidance: Just fluff, lovely lovely fluff.
Words: 2.1k
“Good mornin’, darlin’“. Arthur kissed the back of your neck as he stood behind you, wrapping his arms around you in a gentle embrace.
“Morning Arthur” you smiled, placing your hands on his. “You want some coffee?”
“Mhmm I’d rather have you.” Arthur smiled as he kissed your shoulder.
“Don’t be silly Arthur, coffee’s much better than me” you said as you pulled away, pouring him a cup. You felt embarrassed by his attention, you didn’t really know why. You loved being held in his arms, but lately, every time he did, you couldn’t help but hear those little voices… “he’ll leave you” “he’s far too good for you” “he’d be so much happier with Mary” “he’s only with you because he never meets anyone else”. It wasn’t his fault, he seemed to worship you, god knows why. You just….well…… didn’t feel comfortable in your own skin. Or your own clothes, which were growing more ragged by the day.
You hadn’t always felt this way; when you first started courting Arthur, you were full of confidence. You knew exactly what you wanted - him - and knew you could get it. Arthur had been a bit surprised by your self-assured approach to begin with, bemused as to why you were focusing on him; but it didn’t take long for him to want more, to want you. But the last few years of life in the gang had taken its toll. One too many failed scam of yours, too much running, too much stress. That horrible incident in the Rhodes saloon last week had just been too much.
You’d just been trying to have a nice meal with Mary-Beth and Abigail, a bit of time away from the camp, anything to let you pretend life was more normal. You were nearly done when those men - and by men, you meant degenerates - decided that you three need some company. You still didn’t understand how a man like Arthur - someone who killed, robbed, stole - was more of a gentleman than most of the other men you met. You’d politely told them you were fine, thank you, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. When you’d been more forceful they’d turned on you. “We weren’t talkin’ to you, ugly. Why would you think we’d want the likes of you” they’d sneered. “I wouldn’t even let my dog fuck you”. They’d shut the hell up pretty quickly with yours and Abigail’s knives to their throats, but still….. their words had stuck with you, crept into your thoughts every time you caught a glimpse of yourself in Arthur’s shaving mirror.
You went to give Arthur his coffee, but instead of taking it he put both hands on your face, staring into your eyes.
“Darlin’, nothin’s better than you. Just seein’ you every day make me smile.” He kissed your forehead gently before resuming eye contact. “And seein’ you in the evening…. while that makes me a whole other kind of happy.” Arthur winked as he let his hands fall from your face and took the coffee.
“You’re a strange man Mr Morgan, you should get that head looked at.” You laughed and gave Arthur a little fake smile. “I best be getting on before Miss Grimshaw has words.”
—–
Arthur watched you walk away, shaking his head. He’d noticed a change in you, but didn’t really understand what; you weren’t quite yourself. You still smiled, and laughed, but he’d seen a sadness in your eyes that appeared when you let your mind wander.
“Mornin’ Mary-Beth. You well?”
“Yes thank you Arthur. How’s things with you?”
“Well, I’m alright. but something’s a bit off with (Y/N). She’s been a bit..well… I don’t know how t’say it. It’s like she don’t like herself no more.”
Arthur shuffled awkwardly - he was used to that feeling, the self-hatred, and he knew how unpleasant it was.
“Yeh, I know Arthur, I’ve seen it too. I told you about the saloon didn’t I?”
“Yeh Mary-Beth, you did, thanks. I just….I always tell her much I love her, and how gorgeous she is - and it’s true Mary-Beth, it’s true, I’ve got the drawings to prove it - but it don’t seem to help. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, unfortunately just cause she’s hearing it from you Arthur doesn’t mean her brain is listening. It’s something she’ll need to work on herself, and she’ll get there; but whatever you do, just don’t stop trying. It’ll be helping, I promise.”
“Mhmmm, if you say so.”
“Tell you what Arthur, I’ve got some ideas from a book I just read. Come sit with me a while and I’ll explain”.
——
“Come on (Y/N), we’re goin’ shopping. For a…. job you’ll be doin’”. Arthur smiled as gently took you by the shoulders and turned you in the direction of your tent.
“I can’t Arthur, I’ve got things to do. Miss Grimshaw will kill me if I don’t have this all done by the end of the afternoon” you protested, but not wholeheartedly - of course you’d rather be shopping than scrubbing and skinning.
“Yeh you can, I’ve spoke to her, Mary-Beth’s coverin’ ya. Grab what you need for an overnight too.”
“What on earth are you planning Mr Morgan?” You loved it with Arthur surprised you, but it did make you nervous too.
“Nothin’ bad darlin’, just trust me” he winked at you as he walked away to ready the horses.
The ride to Saint-Denis was pleasant; you rode mostly in silence, as you often did, both lost in your own thoughts. Arthur brought you both to a stop outside one of Saint-Denis’ many upmarket clothing boutiques.
“Come on darlin’, we need to get you a new outfit” Arthur said as he helped you off your horse.
“Arthur, what on earth do I need a new outfit for?”
“Errr… a job Hosea needs help with. You need somethin’ posh, like one of them ladies of leisure. Whatever one of them is.” You laughed at this, and Arthur loved it when those little creases appearing at the corner of your eyes when you did.
“Okay Mr Morgan, lead the way.”
You enjoyed trying on the dresses and silly hats; you weren’t used to wearing something that required two people to put on, but it was fun pretending that this was your normal laugh. Arthur was doing his best to behave, being very polite with his compliments, but you could tell from the way he shuffled in his chair and bit his lip that you putting clothes on was the opposite of what was on his mind. It was nice to be wearing clothes that were better designed, fit you well; this, and the combination of the faces Arthur was making but trying to hide were making you feel quite pleased with.
“You know darlin’ I reckon that last one was perfect. You get that one on again, I’ll get the bill sorted. Here, mister - I mean, sir - are you able to have one of the girls help her with her here? We’ve got a meetin’ to go to.”
“Arthur, you didn’t say we were doin….it….now?” You frowned, you didn’t like not being prepared or forewarned.
“Don’t worry, we ain’t, just need you to be seen somewhere for a bit, maybe meet someone briefly. trust me darlin’, you’ll enjoy it.” He kissed you on the hand before continuing. “I’ll head on ahead to the bar, get a few things sorted - it’s the one just a few doors up. You come on in when you’re ready and I’ll meet you at the bar.” Before you could object, Arthur was paying the shopowner and leaving. You were panicking a bit as the girls fussed and pulled at your hair; what the hell was going on? You tried your best to calm yourself, to slow your breathing. It’s Arthur. He may be daft but he isn’t stupid, if he says it’s okay it will be. But you were still a bit miffed at him, and without him here saying how pretty the dress was, you started feeling like it was a bit….much. But you went along with it, like you always did.
After much longer than you’d have liked, you were finally making your way into the bar. This was one of Saint-Denis’ finer establishments, and you were actually glad that you were dressed up. Unfortunately, Arthur was nowhere to be seen. You sighed, and walked up to the bar to order yourself a whiskey. Just as the bartender poured it, a familiar deep voice rumbled next to you.
“Please put that on my tab sir.” You turned, smiling, to look at Arthur, and your jaw dropped. He looked……. magnificent, all dressed up in an evening suit, with his hair slicked back with pomade. You were so used to seeing him covered in some combination of mud, blood and sweat, seeing him like this was a shock. Before you could say anything, Arthur turned to address you.
“Good evenin’ Ma’am. I do hope you don’t mind. My name’s Tacitus Kilgore. I’m looking for the most beautiful woman in Saint-Denis, and I do believe that maybe you”. You blushed at this, finally shutting your slightly open mouth.
“May I request the name of the beauty standin’ before me?” Arthur gave you a sly grin, which you returned.
“Why o’course Master Kilgore.” It hadn’t taken you long to perfect a southern drawl, and you slipped right into it. “Ma name’s Penelope Balfour.”
“Penelope Balfour? Well that name’s just about deservin’ of that gorgeous face.”
“Oh Master Kilgore, don’t be sayin’ things like that, you’ll be givin’ a girl ideas” you gave a delicate laugh as you spoke, drawing and opening the fan that had come with the outfit.
“Miss Balfour, please call me Tacitus. I would be honoured if you’d join me for dinner.”
“Why, Tacitus, very forward of you” you giggled as you fanned yourself.
“Well, Penelope, I figured I best ask before a queue formed behind me.”Arthur was laying it on thick you thought. But hell, you didn’t care. This was fun.
“I’d be delighted Tacitus” you smiled, offering your arm to Arthur as he took it and gently steered you to a table.
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter, as you and Arthur - Penelope and Tacitus - shared increasingly outlandish stories about their backgrounds, peppering each story with the fanciest compliments you could think of.
“Penelope, I do believe I’ve fallen in love with you. Would you care to join me in my room for a nightcap.”
“Oh Tacitus, that’s very kind o’ you. I could do with a lie-down, all these drinks have made me light-headed”
Giggling, you made your way upstairs arm in arm. As Arthur shut the door to the room you assumed he’d rented for the night, you burst out laughing, you couldn’t help yourself.
“Arthur, what the hell was that” you managed to get the words out as you wheezed. “That was no job!”
“I just wanted to make you smile darlin’” he said as he lifted your head by the chin so you were looking at him. “I love hearin’ you laugh.” He smiled at you and kissed you softly on the lips.
“Well you did that, for sure. But what’s with the dress and all the compliments?”
Arthur looked more serious now. “I just wanted to….release you a bit. Help you relax. I know you’ve been stressed, and you’ve been gettin’ down on yourself. But darlin’, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I know it might not mean much, and that it’ll take more than that to convince ya, but I’ll keep on sayin’ it as long as you let me. And I’ll always be here darlin’, waitin’ for you, adoring you.”
His words were as gorgeous as his face, and you nearly burst into tears. You threw your arms around his shoulders and kissed him hard.
“Mr Morgan, I don’t know what I’d do without you, you fantastic man. Now help me get this damn dress off.”
“I’ve been lookin’ forward to this bit” he said as he bit his lip, turning you round to undo the laces on your corset.
So have I Arthur, so have I. You sighed gently as Arthur carefully worked his way up your back. You had a little way to go, you knew that, but if you grew to love yourself a fraction of the amount Arthur did, you knew you’d be okay.
#arthur morgan x reader#arthur morgan x f reader#arthur morgan fic#arthur morgan fluff#rdr2 fanfic#rdr2 fluff#rdr2 fic#my work#arthur morgan
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Behind the Blue: chapter 1
It was just another average night in The Gray Mare inn in Chorrol, packed to the brim with customers. Now and then footsteps of patrons and employees walked across the wooden floor, sounds of septims clinked against wooden tables to pay for a room, ale or a warm meal, and the ever present noise of conversation, laughter and mumbling in different languages and dialects hung in the air. There were perhaps 2 empty tables in the whole establishment, so amongst all the Imperials, Bosmer, Nords, Argonians, Khajiit and the Orsimer group, it was understandable that at first glance nobody saw the Dunmer and the hooded figure that were sitting at a corner of the inn. Then again, this was also justified by the low wall that covered this table somewhat from the prying eyes of others. The Dunmer seemed to have been here for a longer time, since the level of his drink was low and the hooded figure was only now taking a seat. The Dunmer waited for the figure to have sat down before he spoke.
“So I’m guessing there’s a reason for the messenger in the middle of the night, corner table of the inn and the hood.” Toivon began.
“You guessed right.” The female voice coming from the hood said in an uncertain, low voice, “Is…is everything alright?”
“…yes, why are you asking?”
“Well, you look…you look concerned. Angry.”
“Madame, this is just my face.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it swiftly, “Oh. I beg your pardon. Well! Let’s get on to business.” She straightened up, blinking and feigning that the embarrassing moment hadn’t happened, “This…is a matter that I’d prefer be handled with the utmost discretion.”
“Not a word will be spoken out of here to anyone else.”
“Not just out of here. The whole affaire must be done with extreme care. You can’t be caught or suspected on. Your identity and mine cannot ever go to the public. My name and my family’s has to stay away from the scandal that will come.”
“Sounds serious. No one will know. Now tell me, what do I have to do?”
The hooded figure pushed her hood slightly back as she leaned forward in her seat, only enough for Toivon to see her face better. She had crow’s feet, some fine facial lines, bags under her gray eyes and some gray strands mixed among the rest of her black hair. She had a single beauty mark in the top right part of her forehead.
“My family,” she began, “the Ferchants, have been members of nobility since Evermor’s beginnings. We have contributed greatly to the city’s economy, our ancestors have been members of its history and served our community. Then, Emmanuel Hawkcroft came to my life when I was around the 15 years of age. My father helped him greatly get the title, lands, riches and honor he has now in exchange of errands and missions to do for him, as is usual, in High Rock, when it comes to people of his….economic position. His whole life is indebted to my father, who took him in as a son, who grew up with us as another brother. We thought he saw us as family as well, so naturally, when my family was in trouble, we turned to him for a favor that could’ve not just helped us but also kept face. Just until we could be stable. He refused, and because of him we lost everything.”
“Ouch.” Maybe it was the expected answer, or maybe it was Toivon’s deadpan expression, but the woman didn’t catch the sympathetic sarcasm.
“Hawkcroft amassed his fortune via piracy, scams and investments in transport, and yet after all we’ve gone through, there’s not a look, not an apology, nothing. We only got back to barely what we were thanks to my husband’s family and my brother’s wife’s.”
Toivon leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, “Mhm” Just his luck to get a Breton, these people talked sermons before getting to the point. The only ones worse than them were the Altmer.
“His fortune is simply ridiculous, he became richer than my father was, he’s part of the Evermor elite. I just thought…after having shared with him as a brother, as a friend, I thought he’d think of us in the end. That he’d remember us and mend everything right. But he didn’t.” she shook her head, as if still in disbelief, and sighed as she leaned back on her seat, “He didn’t.”
“Ma’am, not meaning to say this isn’t interesting, but get to the point.”
“When I investigated, I heard nothing but good word about you. They say you are one of the stealthiest in the business, but you stand out specifically for discretion. I need both skills from you. I will pay 7000 Septims for you to steal La Zadine and bring it to me, and 2000 to your team members.”
Toivon blinked, “How much?”
“Seven thousand Septim to you, two thousand to your associates.”
“Huh, I heard right. What exactly is La Sadine?”
“La Zadine, sir, La Zadine!” Toivon didn’t move a single muscle of his face, “It’s a famous sapphire in Evermor, it belongs to Hawkcroft. He came across it in one of his voyages, during a trip my father sent him to, and was one of the jewels he presented my cousin, Edwynne, as a gift to ask her for her hand in marriage. It’s just the most coveted sapphire in the region.”
“So, let me summarize. You are willing to pay me 7000 Septims, just so I can steal a rock. A sapphire, to be exact. Lady, this is a lot of effort for one rock. Not saying I’m rejecting the contract, but…If you want to hit this bastard where it hurts, wouldn’t it make sense to steal all his money? Leave him in poverty? Begging at the main street in nothing but the clothes he has on?”
The woman gave a small yet cruel chuckle through tight lips, “I’d love to see that, but even if we wipe his bank account clean he’d still have his business and lands to give to his children, both most likely on his will, now that he knows he’ll die soon. I know Hawkcroft, despite appearances he’s as sentimental as a weeping bride and he placed a lot of emotional value on that specific sapphire. Especially since my dear cousin passed.” She leaned forward, “He can get into business. He can call his rich friends, he can do investments, but he’ll be devastated to find that rock missing.”
“Cold.” Toivon said, then nodded, “Alright, I can do the job. I’ll just need to know where I can find Hawkcroft’s estate.”
“The manor is located in the outskirts of Evermor. Hawkcroft is planning a grand dinner in honor of his daughter, Avelle, and her name day. He will be too focused on the guests and the preparations to pay mind to La Zadine in his room. You can take this night as an opportunity, having the party as a distraction.”
“Wait, how do you know the rock is in his room?”
“Three years back I sent my most trusted maid, Sorcise, to work at his estate so she could report back to me his moves until we could find something that were of his weakness. She told me there’s a chest underneath his bed that he guards jealously. Chances are, La Zadine is kept there. He’s never trusted banks to guard his things to begin with.”
“If it’s as easy as breaking into his room, why has your maid not done it yet? She can walk around the house, no?”
“The chest needs a key, one that Emmanuel has with him at all times. Sorcise is discreet, but she’s not an experienced thief. And despite her claims, she’s got nervous fingers. Emmanuel would feel her trying to grab the key a mile away with how her hands shake. This is something an expert needs to do.”
Toivon nodded, contemplating the information that had just been given to him in silence. To fill the void of conversation, a table to their right burst in a roar of laughter that settled down enough for Toivon to say, “Breaking into a house in the middle of a party. That’d also involve higher security, but I’m guessing that with your maid’s help I may be able to bypass it.”
“Precisely.”
Toivon bit the inside of his cheek as he looked away, then looked back at her and said, “I’ll be risking a lot in here. My hide, my men’s, your maid’s, your name and three years of careful planning. I’d raise the price for my associates to, say, 5000 Septims.”
“Per person?” Madame Ferchant’s eyes widened, “I can pay 2500 each.”
“Still low. I can leave it in 4000 if you’ve got a tight purse. If you want me to steal La Zadine in a party, it won’t be that many men. I’m not going to scam you. It’ll be me, your girl and two more and that’s it. It’s already cost you three years without Sorcise, careful planning and keeping appearances up. Besides, how much does the gem by itself cost?”
Madame Ferchant sighed, her lips tightening a bit. “Fine. I can pay 4000 Septims, but only for two of your men. Not more, not less.”
“Rest assured, you’ll get your jewel. Quietly.” Madame Ferchant nodded and pulled her hood back to cover her face.
“Your pay will arrive to you once the jewel is in my hand.We will meet in Evermor the night before the party, in around a month.”
“…the party is in a month?”
“Of course! You need proper time to prepare a proper party. Otherwise it’s just a gathering. And Avelle is known for going over the top.”
“Fine, right.”
“I’ll see you in a month, monsieur.” And with that, she rose from her seat, walked around the table, and left. Toivon leaned back on his seat, mulling over the details of the operation as he drank. The tavern was still noisy, still merry with laughter and arguments and discussions and plates banging, cups clinking, mouths chewing, orders being tossed, the fire cackling and warming whoever was closest.
#Behind the Blue#btb#tes#tesblr#take this story with a grain of salt ok#it's literally practice for me when writing mystery and romance#and I know nothing of the lore#the elder scrolls#dunmer#breton#altmer
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Halloween (2018)
Hello!
Night human, hello!
Are you playing music, or is it coming from somewhere else?
It should be coming from my end.
If it's not, well...
Ah, good
Follow the sound of the unexplicable Halloween theme for a magical adventure.
I LOVE magical adventures!
I like how some of the whipped cream disappeared mysteriously before they put the nutmeg on
Very mysterious indeed.
I assume the answer involves licking.
The answer always involves licking.
Is that considered humane? Just keep them standing around in the sun?
I... have no idea what the exact setup is supposed to be, but presumably they're not outside all the time
Wuh oh
So the mask is supposed to be... a magic artifact now?
Good old Pumpkin!
It's... un-rotting!
It's got things to do! Things to watch!
Yes. Things.
The slit between the nose and the mouth kind of weirds me out there.
You too?
"well, surely they don't mean us"
"Not us! We're starting things on a respectful note, comparing her to her almost-killer and a caged animal all within under the space of a minute!"
"we've traveled a very long way... we didn't feel like trying to contact you ahead of time or make an appointment or anything, though"
unbiased as SHIT
"Here's 3000 dollars, now let us make a rubbing of your scar."
IKR?
"how the fuck should I know"
I kinda hope this guy is the first victim.
"We did, but we were sort of hoping to snap off a few shots of you crying."
Likewise.
I have a bad feeling about those mousetraps
I hope they go off on Podcast Man's person. Somehow.
That sounds like a lie
That's Pumpkin's polar opposite, the disgusted one. The one who kinkshames.
Kast, I swear to various gods, I will destroy you.
Victim #2
Starscream!
Hello!
I finally beat the blasted thing into working. I did not want to miss the shenanigans.
You haven't missed much!
And so you didn't!
A couple of idiot journalists went to bother the final girl from the first movie
I'm glad. Today requires dead teenagers.
And upset Michael's fellow patients for no reason.
Ah, that is always a good idea.
Ah, that is always a good idea.
This one is aware she lives in a horror movie universe, isn't she.
Yeah.
Is *anyone* going to approach her and her very obvious trauma in anything resembling a respectful way?
Probably not!
Doubtful.
wow
awww man
She clearly is not handling herself well.
"It's not like this is a difficult day for you or anything."
What kind of person doesn't shrug off a whole lot of her friends getting murdered and nearly getting murdered herself?
Shiiiit
I mean, we knew it was coming, but
"don't get murdered"
Who gave that child a rifle?
Oh good, the kid has a gun
I bet it'll do him a world of good
I bet he startles and shoots his own father.
cool, cool, investigate by yourself
Well, you guessed close, anyway!
And who's in the backs....yep
That's about right.
"And, don't forget, just naked enough for """fanservice""""
Let's see.... known serial killer on the loose on the night he's known for being extra murderous... Yes, maybe you should cancel Halloween.
What can possibly go wrong?!
Oh, great
Lovely!
Ugh
He's very strong for an older fellow.
Maybe should have given him a little less fresh air and healthy food.
So, that's four more corpses. Think they will cancel Halloween yet?
Says the soon-to-be-corpse
Whatever you say, Corpse Number 5.
Just think of how squirrelly she will be when her stupid family gets murdered for not listening to her.
:(
And journalists intrude on her privacy to ask her about it.
Does no one in this town lock their door?
Apparently not?
Ham, never eaten.
Oh, jeez
He doesn
There's no effort needed to get in.
Oh, I like this little human.
Awww.
Yes, leave the door open. Every door in this town must be left open, so murderers can get in.
Welp.
"If you're cold, they're cold. Bring them in."
Wow.
What the fuck.
I hope he is stabbed nineteen times.
Uhh.
"a noise like... a murderer?"
Oh goody, dry!
fuuuuck
cue murder
...really, dude
So I guess she didn't QUITE check everywhere
That kid is going to need so much therapy.
Run, sensible child! Run!
Again, they know that they have a murderer problem. Why does he have no backup?
Backup is for losers
I think he wants to be murdered.
"Captured"
"so in a way, all this is his fault"
It is not paranoia, if there really is something out there to get you.
If only some shithead hadn't dropped her phone in the punch bowl, or soup, or whatevr that was
facepalm
. . . .
Oh, I've heard that one.
oh my god.
dude
stop
Look at that, she managed to not be killed for the moment.
...Well, that took care of that!
Double tap.
Is it Ben Tramer?
.... Well, that's a problem.
Damn it.
So did he survive that after all? Are there two of them now?
Oh, he's not going to be happy about that. Now his mask has old man stink inside it.
I admit I don't quite get how he did that through the grate
He kicked the grate out.
Ohhh
His head was...overripe, apparently?
I guess?
That was a strange plot cul-de-sac
...I feel like taking the van would've been a better bet
It's Pumpkin!
Well, damn it
Oh. No, no it isn't.
Oh, no! That guy I hated is dead now!
Hopefully she didn't like him too much.
I don't like that he gets to survive most of the movie and Fun Babysitter didn't.
I feel like it's a bad idea to leave that remote up there.
I feel like her just leaving the remote on the counter there is a bad thing
urgh
I hope she brought it down with her, at least
Well, that gave you away.
But what do I know? It's not my paranoia cellar.
I feel like she should have forced him into a chute, for a clean kill.
Oh, crap
Don't be impatient...
For someone planning this for forty years, she's done a poor job of building a trap house.
That is a creepy target practice area
Why have a scary mannequin room, if you know one day this situation is coming?
Right?
For that matter, why not install proper indoor lighting, to see who you're trying to shoot?
That would spoil the jumpscares!
When you're planning on facing off with your supernatural attacker someday and plotting things out to the minute, but you need to keep the atmosphere Spooky.
About time.
hey
Hello and goodbye, Nude Human.
Keep shooting him.
I feel like this is a kill that should be confirmed before they relax.
No more relaxing for any of them ever.
But on the plus side, they no longer think Grandmother is crazy.
Now they love Grandmother and her room full of non-jamming guns and canned corn!
Grandmother who they all call grandmother for some reason.
Why *did* she stock rations? Did she think Michael would just pop a seat down on the kitchen floor for a month on end and they'd have to wait him out?
Perhaps she was planning for zombies as well, given she knows at least one creature that refuses to stay dead.
She likes to cover all bases. Michael, zombies...got a couple of hobgoblin defenses lined up just in case.
If one is going to be prepared, might as well cover all bases.
Except when it comes to well lit rooms and moving the mannequins out. Who has time for that?
Sigh.
My computer froze and I missed everything after the spooky mannequin rom.
What happened?
They eventually got him into the basement, and lit him on fire.
Which he'll almost assuredly walk off.
Oh, good.
Less good.
And we hear his spooky breathing at the end of the credits, so...
And Allison has a knife.
Of course we do.
I haven't been able to pull up a light note to end on, so I'm open to suggestions!
Goose game!
Goose game it is!
How about a fun goose game highlight reel?
Beautiful!
He's enjoying the moment.
Sun hat!
put it in the pond!
What did this old man ever do to anyone?
He dared try to get work done.
Tried to keep the goose out of the garden!
Unforgiveable!
Unforgourdable!
I'm having this great idea for a game for you to stream sometime!
I'm thinking the same thing!
I thought he did too!
no, no, it's floating back!
Somebody do something!
Oh this kid gets TERRORIZED
What kinda scam is she running here!
Clearly she knows how to make the money.
oh my gosh I wonder if you could make him buy back his glasses...
His evil delight is infectious.
He is having too much fun.
What kind of person walks right up to a goose to take a ribbon off it
I want to play this, but I don't think it's on steam... yet.
That's going to be a beautiful day when it is.
Right?
Well, that wraps it up, I'd say!
I am very glad I did not miss out. Your streams are definitely a highlight.
Goodnight, and thanks for the stream!
Oh, hush! But don't, of course, never hush.
Thank you for coming!
Good night!
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Liar! Uncover the Truth Part 2 - 6th to 9th Liars
6th Liar
Gotta agree that the family situation can become a big hindrance to the relationship depending on things, especially if they don’t approve. Lmao at the heroine thinking Sotaro’s parents are actually farmers and not the doctor lineage vibe he gives off. Well, can’t tell for sure right now but parents that like to grow their own vegetables sound exactly like my parents, and that photo with his parents with cows, they could really just enjoy this as an interest and so went to check out farms in the US haha. LOL but if she does marry him and they move to the US and she’s expected to help out on the farm then yeah…. But really, just moving to the US is a big change to her life so I don’t see the heroine doing that at all for a guy.
Azusa is sooo pushy. He practically forced himself into her apartment. The heroine usually stands her ground so well, she really should have just said no, especially since they barely know each other and he’s already trying to get into her home. At least he cooked for her after barging in I guess lol. It can’t be helped that Haruichi actually being a head of the Yakuza would frighten her considering that no matter how kind he may be, he’s a part of the underground world and who knows what he’s actually done and will do in the future. I didn’t mind Haruichi but I doubt you can be prepared to marry someone with such a background so fast lol.
I think it’s just kinda saddening how hurt Haruichi was. It was understandable why he hid it and why he didn’t want to tell her, but yeah, if she’s getting married to him, she has the right to know.. The good thing was that Haruichi was truly sincere in his love for her, he never thought about finding a Yakuza wife until recently, but seeing how bold, strong and fearless she was, he fell for her and cared about her. Not that following her and getting someone to report about what she does everyday is good but considering his background, it’s probably expected. Finally decided to check out the other endings besides the True and Secret, and dangg, I feel sorry for her in the bad ending, she steeled herself into being a Mafia wife and he uses her as a sacrifice to go to jail instead of him and then dumps her, yeah that’s terrible. Now I don’t feel so bad for the heroine dumping him if that’s a possibility lmao.
7th Liar
I always feel so bad that my favourite is Itaru but Sotaro looks so similar to him that it makes me mix them up lmao, I’m sorry I don’t love you enough to be able to tell the difference between you two! Hmm, so we’re dealing with some sort of addict this time~ hope it’s not a gaming addict because that’s me lolol. Hahaha omg, is Sotaro a gaming addict? Lolll, right after I said that too…
Wow, Kazumi just brings her to a fancy party and gets people to do her makeup and hair and he even got her a dress lol. Why couldn’t he tell her that beforehand? What if she put a lot of effort into her makeup and dress that day lol. But wow, the host of the party, Kazumi’s friend who is a director is such a sleazebag, who the hell tells a woman on their first meeting that instead of being a wedding planner, she’d be a great model and that he’d introduce her to a porn director?! Wow, just wow. Lmao at her being clueless to ice referring to drugs, guess it’s nice that she’s innocent. Whether Kazumi’s lack of appetite is related to that and whether the girl hanging off Itaru on the streets is an escort is something hard to gauge right now, but I’m hoping that Sotaro or Kazumi is the liar this time XD
Kazumi is the liar, as expected, but I guess from now on, the things they lie about won’t be as bad? He was actually lying because he had a terminal illness, when the heroine thought he was a drug addict. Can’t blame her though, but honestly, I don’t see this love he has for her. Don’t think they really matched tbh, so I’m glad she didn’t want to be with him lol. But, I feel like Kazumi is the only liar that I genuinely felt sorry for and could see why he lied, it just feels so terrible..?
8th Liar
Heroine is running out of time! Only 2 weeks left before the mother comes to see her so called boyfriend, she better step up her game lol. Tbh though, with Azusa’s spending habits etc, I feel like if there’s a guy that doesn’t seem to be earning as much as he seems/lying about his job, I have to say, I feel like it’s Azusa. But who knows, he might be a rich boy lol. I don’t know if Itaru will be fired from his marketing/sales job that earns him big bucks but is super stressful, although very fulfilling to him but I do think that someone who can brave through all that is someone that must enjoy their job and the challenges that come with it, so I think that whatever he’s going through, he’ll be okay. As for Sotaro possibly selling drugs in the hospital or whatever hmmm, sounds rather far-fetched tbh. And Itaru was just recommending some vitamin supplements he thinks is good to her and she thinks he’s a jerk and some kinda dodgy guy???
Anyway, with the amount of evidence and him asking for money, it was obvious that Azusa was a marriage scam artist, which is a terrible thing to do. Not only do you steal precious money from a woman but you also rob them of their love and also their ability to believe in love again. As a person that isn’t doing well with his parents and was raised by his relatives and has worked multiple jobs to help out his little brother’s living expenses etc and understands the difficulties of earning money, you would think he would have more consideration for other people’s hard earned money. But no, he only thinks that his situation gives him the right to take all this money. Especially since he spends so much on clothes etc too! Luckily I never liked Azusa, I always thought he was rather fake and was constantly just trying to appeal to the heroine, so yep, ditch that fraud.
9th Liar
It’s finally the last one! Please be Sotaro! Loll. Why did Itaru seem kinda flustered with her standard of guys to not have illegitimate children? Noooo. Lol at the heroine doing her makeup to go to the doctor when she’s so sick just in case she sees Sotaro at the hospital. Sure, the doctor wasn’t very nice in the way she said that if the heroine has the time to put on makeup, she has time to rest, but the heroine didn’t need to call her a bitch lol… I mean, she could have been just concerned about her well-being. On the other hand, it’s very difficult for some people to go out without makeup because they’ve got a reputation and a professional appearance they have to keep up just in case they see anyone and I think it’s reasonable for the heroine to put on makeup though.
Hahahah I can’t believe Itaru and Sotaro met at a ramen restaurant that serves ramen from spicy level one to 99, where they just happened to sit next to each other and started fighting through who can eat spicier but in the end they both couldn’t take the 99 and just became rivals after that lmao. Wow guess that female doctor really was a bitch lol, she’s so rude to the heroine to call her a silly redneck pig like wtf, no basic respect at all, disgusting. Anyway, so sad that the game is pointing to Itaru probably being the liar, sigh. So envious that the heroine has such a good friend like Yuri that she can consult all the time and even help her deal with bugs and clean up her whole apartment! Not sure how I feel about Sotaro right now, he keeps saying that the heroine should not approach Itaru but doesn’t give any reason why. Itaru doesn’t even do that, he just tries to get her heart whilst knowing Sotaro will be doing the same.
Omggg I actually didn’t expect Sotaro to be the liar! I think I was just so down in the dumps in the beginning because everything wanted to show that Itaru was a liar so I thought my favourite guy (from the beginning!) was going to lose. But, anyway lol omg, who would have thought Sotaro had actually divorced twice?! And omg, initially I thought being divorced was okay since you can understand why he ended up hiding it (secret ending) since he never really got the chance to tell her truthfully after he lost the courage once. But after reading the endings, yeah, Sotaro is terrible. He’s not looking for a wife, he’s looking for a 24/7 domestic housewife aka a maid. That bad ending is exactly how things will turn out considering his attitude and criteria for picking women. Someone like the heroine who can’t even clean her house or take care of bugs would never be Sotaro’s ideal wife lol, he should be happy she ran off lmao.
Anyway, turns out I had a good eye and actually chose the best guy from the beginning hahahah. They’re really pushing the destiny thing with her mum having sent a photo of the marriage partner she wanted to introduce to her and it was actually Itaru all along lol. She didn’t even need to go to the party to find him lol. But I guess it was important for the heroine to go through all those liars in order to completely trust Itaru now, so I’m happy for her. The only crappy thing is that you don’t get to see romance between them even though we’ve gotten through all these crappy guys to get here but it doesn’t feel like we got a reward at all lol. You have to purchase Itaru’s lovers route to probably get to see how they’re doing but really, I think they should have a bit of an epilogue and then if people want more, they can do the lovers route. Now it just feels so… Like I feel so not accomplished with no reward, it’s like, you find all the liars, read their endings and it’s the end. I know this is a game revolved around catching the liars over everything but I also feel like it’s unreasonable to not be able to see a romantic happy ending, sigh, disappointed.
Overall though, I think this game was too hyped up so I had too many expectations that weren’t fulfilled (lacklustre story and characters to an extent, but fun gameplay and straightforwardness from the heroine). However, it was still pretty fun, it was quite light hearted and interesting to look at the evidence and try to decipher who’s the liar, what they’re lying about and then seeing how they came to be who they are. It was quite fascinating and a lot of fun, I enjoyed it as a nice and chill story of a distrustful woman that gets through all the crappy men to find one that will give her the best and what she needs. So now I can tell myself that I have a good eye for men hahahaha!
Office Deception (next series) is next! But I’m gonna take a bit of a break to get more tickets accumulated so I can always get all the endings and have a more wholesome experience I guess haha. I hope it’ll be even better~ EDIT: I didn’t realise there was a sequel, I’ll do that after I’m done with Office Deception since I already started it loll.
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