#leverage Olympics

[leverageclips]

Leverage Redemption Olympics episode but Eliot can't go undercover as an athlete of a random sport because he's too famous as multiple athletes and so the crew must convince Parker to go in

[writer-at-the-table]

Sitting here watching olympic fencing and thinking about how great a setting it would be for a leverage fic (or episode)

"Lets go steal the olympics"

[tenobelisk]

idk man, i think a future olympics should focus more on age groups than genitals and hormones. think about over 60s volleyball with agnes slagging off derek for thinking the ball was out.

think about old vets fresh from the medals joining the crowd to cheer on some teenagers. thirty-something commentators leaving the mic on the chair to run in an event.

sure, the olympic retirement village gets a little crazy after dark but the games become a celebration of life's journey. a reminder that even though our bodies hit their peak, our mind and spirit carve a different kind of curve.

how fun it would be for a couple of nine year olds to be climbing up the side of a wall in the olympics with not one circumstance of birth separating them from being judged as equals. gangly little spiders climbing up trees at a picnic. but with medals.

and before you say bUt WhAt aBoUt BoXxi1i1i1ng?!?!? in what idealistic, theoretical future world is it acceptable to bounce your brain against your skull until you fall down or give up? i'm not against it, but it stands alone as an exception in its direct, intentional and continuous head contact, and so it must live or die as an exception. besides, you gotta give the straights and the trads something to feel good about, even if it's a violent remnant of their heyday.

[sachermorte]

friend told me I should let her set up a dating app profile for me and I committed to fake gagging so hard that I actually gagged a little for real. unsure if this was a socially acceptable response. will continue to monitor

[sunlitsorrows]

co-sponsored by the Brooklyn 99

the sport i’d add to the olympics is Stealing. there is no event or ceremony. whoever is able to locate and steal the medals technically earns them

[fourdiagnosesinatrenchcoat]

LEVERAGE TAKES ON THE NHL??? And Nate is on the side of how important enforcers are in hockey?? Is he fucking Canadian??

Ok it's a fake minor league team but the principle is the same.

Pick up Boy on Ice, the biography of Derek Boogaard, and tell me you ever want to watch another hockey fight. It's possibly worse than the fuckery they get away with in the NFL. Americans don't on the whole care about ice hockey so players with serious health complications from standard play barely even gets news attention. And Canada is so "it's not hockey without the fighting" that it's impossible to stop.

I cannot handle Eliot as a French Canadian player. I was supposed to go to bed. Dammit.

[123ohwell]

LEVERAGE GRIFT TRACKER

I FINISHED SEASON 1! Shoutout to @grandma-waldo for the idea

Extra details in the parameters and the job list. I kept a list of all grifts in order they occur through season 1. If I thought about it before hand I would have draw a line between each episode but oh well hindsight and all that.

Any questions? Yes I welcome them and I'll try to answer them. Want to know why I split something? Just ask - there was definitely an overthought process to my madness. Any ideas on adjusting job titles? I want to hear it please. I invested too much in this lol but it's been fun.

Season 1 was tough in trying to decide what the jobs would be while trying to keep them broad and trying to think so I wouldn't need to add anymore come later seasons . Also me and excel nearly got into a fight.

I'm going to do the rest of the show but that will be slow coming. When I figure out how to make a master list with links, I'll make one. Since this is like my 4th post on the topic and there will be a bunch more to come

Surprises and Revelations

- Hardison grifts in intense spurts

- there was only 1 real royalty grift in season 1??? And it was hardison?? But there were 5 Southern Belle/Beau grifts

- Sophie was the first athelete?? Ik I already posted that but it still shocked me (Olympic luge)

- Parker interacts with people more than most of the team - she thieves in the shadows but she talks to people often as a misdirection

- FBI and just an ordinary person (Civilian) were the most common grifts of season 1 > not surprised since everyone played FBI in pilot part 2

- runner up was The Damsel. Plenty of times the team did the Damsel and Damsel's Knight grift together as a misdirection. But going "oh no I need help" to a stranger/mark was more popular

- Hardison and Parker were the most likely to play the Damsel card

(Sidenote: i thought about wanting to know all the scams the team calls out in the show. "Burn scam" "the cherry pie" etc. But I think someone has already made a list but I can't find it. Also my family might kill me if I restart the show - again. I was already getting side eyes for skipping back a few seconds to check out who was grifting when I wasn't paying attention)

If you've read this far! Thank you! Hope you have a great week!

[convenientalias]

SVSS Fic Rec List

I figured I'd make a fic rec list for the Scum Villain fics I've been reading lately, since that's been a large portion of my recent fic reading. It's 90% Luo Binghe/Shen Yuan, I am a simple woman. (I'm calling SQQ Shen Yuan for this list and original!SQQ Shen Jiu, to avoid confusion.)

Multichapter Fics:

Run For Cover--Modern setting, Shen Yuan summons a dangerous demon. Quite a bit of attempted murder!!! 56k.

If Marriage Was an Olympic Sport--Shen Yuan gets wifeplotted into a marriage hunt. Binghe, fresh out of the abyss, joins the fun. 34k.

Tarnished Gold--Binghe schemes against Gongyi-Xiao!Shen Yuan, and tries not to catch feelings. Immensely slow burn but I was living for it. 118k.

Heartbreak and Other Foreplay--Modern setting, Luo Binghe mistakes Shen Yuan for Shen Jiu and seduces him with revenge in mind. The misunderstanding doesn't last too long but it does cause some chaos. Also, this AU still has cultivation (and, notably, dual cultivation). 108k.

raised by winter winds--Shen Yuan transmigrates into a random Qing Jing disciple and becomes Shen Jiu's head disciple (their relationship is a complicated mess). When Luo Binghe arrives, he asks if he can take Luo Binghe as a pet. 35k.

you are who you love--Shen Yuan gets selective amnesia and forgets about Binghe post-canon. Binghe must seduce him in order to cure said amnesia the same way PIDW cures everything. 38k.

Tongfang--Shen Yuan transmigrates into a sickly young master who canonically is supposed to be a murder victim. Binghe is loaned out by Cang Qiong to work there seasonally. 24k.

Oneshots Or Short Enough I'm Pretending They're Oneshots:

Imposter Syndrome--Shen Yuan, Luo Binghe, Shang Qinghua, Liu Qingge, and Yue Qingyuan run into a doppelganger situation (Dungeon Meshi style, apparently, but easy to understand if you haven't watched Dungeon Meshi--I haven't). 11k.

petal and vine--Plant!Shen Yuan with amnesia, after Huayue City. 5k.

right from the start, i gave you my heart--Jinlan City confrontations grow more complicated when Shen Yuan gets pollened by an obedience curse flower. 11k.

I Want You To Be Happier--Shen Yuan gets full blown amnesia in Jinlan City. Binghe claims they're married and runs away with him. 12k.

Medical Diplomacy--Post-Abyss Binghe finagles an arranged marriage with Shen Yuan, leveraging that he can cure Without a Cure. 12k.

Consanguine--Prince!Shen Yuan and now-Emperor!Luo Binghe (they're siblings... sort of) are reunited after some misunderstandings of the past.

suno to zaraa ye phoolon ki vaadi--Plant!Shang Qinghua after Shang Qinghua gets killed, but he starts out as a tiny small child due to some miscalculations. Rare Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua fic on this list!! 9k.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart--Unable to use spiritual power and stranded in the middle of nowhere, Mobei-jun has to watch while Shang Qinghua gets worsening hypothermia. The h/c is incredible. 16k. Once again MobeiShang!!! 16k.

Plastromancy--Shen Yuan is the Other Shizun in a sort of a Coraline AU. 16k.

I'd be interested in seeing recs from anyone else :D<3

[ohforfrithssake]

Okay but look at the first photo and tell me that doesn’t look like a screenshot from Leverage

“Why is snoop dogg at the Olympics-“

WRONG QUESTION!

WHY ISNT MARTHA STEWART THERE WITH HIM?

[kevinsdsy]

I just want to hear jean say jock truisms. give this man a “LETS GOOO” and a back slap. makes me go insane

i have these saved up for upcoming parts for the socmed au

but uhhhh you’re now making me think about jean playing a match with the trojans AGAINST the foxes, against kevin (and neil), with NO PRESSURE— nothing at stake.

just kevin day, the son of exy, using his charm and name to convince the olympics committee, or whoever is in charge, to use the court after the official olympics exy games just because he’s so obsessed and there’s no way he has come all this way just to watch?

and they’re all just having fun and kevin is being his obsessed fanatic self who is yelling at andrew to take the game seriously and andrew is looking at him with a bored expression telling him this is his vacation and he’s not obligated to stand on the court in the first place.

and it’s not even an official match so jean realises he doesn’t even have to worry about not ruining the trojans’ precious image; so he plays a mix of the less aggressive tactics he’s learned with the trojans while also falling back to his more aggressive tactics— and he’s never used a mix of both tactics which even catches kevin off guard and they’re all just so determined to prove something even though it’s supposed to be a friendly game (but let’s be real when has a friendly game ever been friendly?)

and jean is actually having fun. he realises he enjoys not having to worry about which tactics to use and not having to worry about the consequences. so what if they lose? it’s not an official game so it won’t even have any effect of their standings and what if they win? he can use it against kevin as leverage for as long as he likes.

and i’m not even going to think about whatever the score is going to end up being because idek— i just like to think that whenever jeremy scores a point jean goes over to celebrate. then there’s cat who makes such a great move while defending against neil that jean and cat click their sticks together proudly.

not to mention exy is an aggressive sport after all, so maybe jean hits kevin a little harder than he’s supposed to but instead of feeling remorseful he says LETS GOOO and kevin scoffes and says: “i thought you trojans were supposed to be nice?” but his tone is playful and he doesn’t seem to care at all that he just got floored. jean helps him up and even though jean’s helmet is covering his face and it’s hard to see his expression kevin is convinced jean is actually grinning under his helmet.

and oh my god i’m ranting so much and barely covered the jock truisms but in conclusion I AGREE WITH YOU— ITS NOT A WANT ITS A NEED AT THIS POINT

[certifiedsexed]

It's fucked up that apparently people are calling you slurs and I hope the actual harassment ends soon!!! And it sucks that people are making things up about you to malign you; things should never come to that.

But I do feel like it really would be good to address the genuine criticism instead of just painting everyone who has questions as being just harassors? Like. You started posting about how non-transfems always have a "trump card" over transfems (one post specifically mentioning "cis intersex women") very shortly after Imane Khelif got harassed over the mere assumption of her possibly being intersex and or secretly trans, where her AGAB didn't matter to the bigots one bit. In fact, the mentions of TMA/TME terminology ONLY started appearing on your blog immediately after the Paris Olympics. For me, that was extremely eyebrow-raising.

I appreciate that. It's largely died down for the moment but I'm not sure if that's just momentary or not. Here's hoping.

I wasn't painting anyone who had questions as being harassers, that's very extreme language to use and I'd appreciate maybe reading my posts thoroughly before accusing me of things like that.

I said the people sending me slurs and messages simply calling me names and intersexist were harassers, I also explicitly said anyone who had questions or actually wanted to discuss the issue should still feel free to send me asks or whatever.

I also was not asked even vaguely about what you're talking about. I was only told that I was intersexist for blocking two intersex blogs and then I was accused of claiming something to do with intersex people and autism.

I had two people in my inbox mention the possibility people were upset that I discussed transmisogyny, but neither of them were sure and only guessing, so I didn't want to throw guesses out. [I did get a more concrete mention of this late last night tho from an anon!]

But no one else said any of the shit you're talking about to me.

I don't remember mentioning cis intersex women in particular but I might've. I had a lot of questions from people about transmisogyny but I did definitely say that anyone who isn't TMA or transfeminized does definitely have leverage explicitly over people who are in the context of transmisogyny. That's true and literally how every type of bigotry works.

I'll address the Imane Khelif bit in a second but first, I do want to point out that my blog started around that same time, Anon.

I didn't start posting about transmisogyny because of the Paris Olympics. I started this blog around that time and transmisogyny is one of the issues I've reblogged posts about and afterwards, gotten many questions about, that's all.

It had nothing to do with the Olympics; I don't watch them and while I paid attention to some of the issues that arose from them [the blatant ableism, sinophobia, COVID issues, intersexism, racism, etc], I didn't make any posts on my sex education blog with the Olympics in mind.

As for Imane Khelif, I do want to mention that what happened to her was not solely about the possibility of her being intersex and/or secretly trans, nor is it true that her AGAB didn't factor into what happened.

What happened to Imane Khelif was very explicitly intersexist but it was also extremely racist. I mention that because it's very important that's not left out of the conversation. It's a very common racist, misogynistic tactic that has been revitalized in current politics and to ignore the racism is to ignore a good part of the picture.

I also don't want to ignore your claim that her being not-transfem had no affect on what happened with her.

To ignore that transfems were largely disallowed from competing in the Olympics at all is absurd and to insinuate there's not privilege in being allowed to compete is not a claim that should be made. If not being transfem didn't affect Imane Khelif at all, she wouldn't have even been in the Olympics.

Nor would it have been as "controversial" as it was [because they likely would have had genuine evidence], nor would she have been allowed to compete afterwards, nor would she have the legal standing to be able to sue people for accusing her of being intersex and/or transfem.

I do understand being wary but absolutely nothing I said had anything to do with Imane Khelif or even vaguely denies or belittles what she and many other people have had to go through because of racism, misogyny, intersexism and transmisogyny.

Just to be absolutely clear, because the poor are absolutely drenched in piss from the way people keep trying to misinterpret my posts:

I did not make any posts on transmisogyny to argue that what happened to Imane Khelif was not awful, nor did I make any posts to insinuate cisgender intersex women do not experience oppression, nor did I start posting about transmisogyny because of the Olympics.

But if that's what people are upset about, I appreciate you letting me know, fr. It's absurdly convoluted and feels like a lot of assumptions were made but it's very kind of you to tell me and I always appreciate people coming into my inbox to discuss things.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. <3

[kiefbowl]

What do you think of the Olympics boxing controversy

Very disappointed how fast "online radfems" jumped to quick conclusions with no evidence. Same thing happened to Caster Semenya. I appreciate how much feminists want female sport issues to be taken seriously, but it's clear there is a racial component to this. Many white feminists are incapable of avoiding weird race science b.s., incredibly disappointing. I think people are exposed more than ever in very casual ways to a lot of black political theories, and instead of trying to understand them and internalize them, are eager to leverage them for online clout and self-aggrandizing even if they completely misattribute them. That why you get weird takes like "black women have masculine features" because it's like a weird bastardization of black feminists who have discussed the ways culture will prescribe gendered cultural implications to black women at the detriment of black women. Black women are always, always women. They're female. They aren't a biologically different category, to believe so is both misogynistic and racist.

Additionally, I find it frustrating that so many feminists decide that intersex athletes are this huge priority. The anxiety over natural testosterone levels in otherwise biological female athletes veers on weird gender science of how women should be, what women should be, and other bio-essentialist views. All for a very tiny portion of the population who are already vulnerable and marginalized. The best faith argument is that in some sports, high testosterone in women may skew averages and create records that are near impossible to break, but given enough time outstanding performances become outliners, so I just don't see the big deal to have this much anxiety over intersex athletes. Doping, yes. Male, actual unambivalently male athletes invading female sports, yes. One singular born and raised female African athlete performing exceptionally, and well within the means of human performance? Good god there's a lot at risk here if we become insensitive, unnuanced, racist pieces of shit. Even from a pure optics point of view, if you disagree with me we certainly don't move the needle in favor to critical examine how trans gender ideas impact female athletes if it appears to everyone we really do believe "women = dainty, women are incapable, black women are men."

And since I always get the weirdest responses whenever I talk about this, please spare me you rote arguments because I've heard it before. I'm truly not moved by the argument that female intersex athletes tend to outperform in the sports they're in. I don't care. Good for them. I hope they make big bucks and live well for the rest of their lives. I don't need to know their medical history, I just don't care!! :)

[ecstarry]

snippet from pt.3 of olympic villa au - full fic here

James had been devouring and teasing Regulus, slowly making him crumble, but all Regulus needed to have James at his will was stand there. He tried to conceal his immense desire but there was no point in doing it now. All the leverage James had built for himself was lost now that an angel stood in front of him, wanting him back just as badly. He could no longer tell who was in control. 

“Do you still hate me?” James asked. 

Regulus took a moment and pressed his lips together. Still backed against the wall, his hands reached for James' shirt and slid it off. The first half had been entirely on James’ terms, but the match was not over yet. Medals weren’t won by those incapable of maintaining power for the entire match.

Finally, Regulus touched him, and James could no longer tell what winning even meant.

“Yes.”

[partycatty]

Hear me out bi han with a figure skating reader?..

YAS i actually have two other requests for the same thing! u guys r so cute i love ur lil ideas :))

bi-han > foolish

how it goes when you're an elegant skater and he's a stoic ninja!

warnings: u almost die, controversial bi-han character writing?

notes: this reads like a barbie movie it's a little corny, also i imagine his frost/ice shoots out like elsa LMFAO like all beautiful n shit when he's not trying to spear someone w an icicle

masterlist <3

•when i say bi-han is absolutely horrible at verbalizing his romantic thoughts, i promise with my entire being that i mean it.

•so it comes to nobody's surprise when all bi-han can do is watch you as you glide across the ice like a gorgeous fairy, eyes closed and completely encapsulated in the movement. he was supposed to be scouring the land for raiden and kung lao to confirm their whereabouts, but he stopped when he heard your pretty humming and scraping of ice. all he could do was stand atop a roof and observe you quietly, suddenly feeling a little warm, which was completely out of character for the cryomancer.

•your skates were handmade and your movements weren't professional. you learned through VHS tapes and magazines growing up, and you wanted nothing more than to leave fengjian and make it big in the olympics.

•each time he returns to fengjian to spy on the farmers and report back to liu kang, he's sure to stray from the path when nobody is looking, and checks on the frozen pond to see if you're skating. something about it entrances him. perhaps it's because he uses his ice for dominance and strength, while you submit your entire life to the deadly pond in such a beautiful display of grace.

•it takes him several visits to actually approach you, and it was entirely unintentional. you had actually fallen into a thin patch of ice, your leg trapped in a jagged part and effectively sucking your leg into the freezing water. he leapt from the rooftop and revealed himself to you. while he may not be the best at encouraging words, he's great at barking commands. so, in his all-ice-knowing voice, he tells you how to save yourself step by step, since you seemed entirely clueless about this incredibly important survival skill.

•your nerves got the better of you as you cry out and squirm, and the ice cracked even more. bi-han let out a growl of frustration with the situation before stomping across the ice to you. you wanted to shout out and tell him to stand back or he'd make it worse, but the words get caught in your throat when, with each step, his footsteps spawned large swirling waves of frosty ice, effectively repairing the cracks around you.

•bi-han doesn't outstretch an arm, he just stands menacingly - and silently - over you as you whimper in pain. saving yourself, you use his thick arm as leverage and hoist yourself out of the water, and he barely flinches at your soggy weight.

•"you... you did that," you say incredulously and out of breath, pointing at the intricate patterns along the ice top. bi-han's eyes follow your point and he exhales before turning back to you. "with the ice... how?"

•"you were foolish," he replies coldly, though you sense a morbidly caring tone in his voice. "stay near the shore. you'll lose that leg if you're not careful. no more skating then."

•your hand is on his chest as you regain your balance, and your eyes fall to the emblem on his uniform.

•"how did you know i was skating?" you ask, with a smirk teasing your lips. bi-han tenses up at your question, looking away momentarily. he would literally rather die than admit he was staring at you, and you sense that, so you move back to the emblem.

•"you are in a clan," you mutter, reaching to trace it. "what are ninjas doing in fengjian?"

•instinctively, he snatches up your wrist and holds it in the air, warning you silently not to touch it. but even so, bi-han's lips part for a moment, his eagerness to speak to you overtaking his stoicism. he covers his mouth and furrows his brows. something about your gentleness, your kindness, causes him to desire to match it. your sweet eyes looking into his, you tilt your head and he nearly collapses.

•he decides not to answer your question, and you assume whatever it is is a private matter. perhaps the whispers in madam bo's restaurant might offer an explanation later.

•"well... thank you," you thank him gently, with your arm still in his grip. it's evident that... he doesn't scare you. in fact, you're fascinated by this man. everyone knows everyone, so who could this big yummy scoop of ice cream be??

•"don't thank me yet," he replies, eyes looking down at the ice and back to the shore. "with me. come."

•you do an awkward combination of skating and walking beside bi-han as he leads you back to the snowy shore. his hand rests on your back, full palm taking up a great amount of space on your back. you shudder at the thought.

•"may i thank you now?" you ask with gentle playfulness, smiling up at the ninja before bowing out of respect. "you saved my life, sir. the least you can do is tell me your name."

•"bi-han," he finally replies, his lips in a firm line. "don't make me save you again. be smart. be vigilant."

•his lecture halts when he hears his brothers call for his name in the echoey distance. he shares one last glance with you before walking off into the village alleys, and you're utterly dumbfounded. did that actually happen, or was that a weird hypothermic hallucination? do those even happen?

•before the lin kuei end their exploration of your village, bi-han decides to leave one last lesson for you at your doorstep. how he even knew where you lived baffled you. but, the uneasiness went away when you opened the hastily put together box, and see a brand new pair of ice skates, the blades frosted with the same beautiful pattern you saw on the ice that day.

•never again did you get near the thin points of the icy pond. and, every winter after that, you can't help but feel a pair of eyes on you in the distance as you improve your flips and pivots using your gorgeous skates. and you're pretty sure the lin kuei's business in the village ended quite some time ago...

[technoturian]

I think I've said it before but honestly the whole "rich people actually face consequences, can you imagine???" thing is only the second least believable part of Leverage.

A distant second in fact, to the number one least believable thing in Leverage: the constant stale jokes about Hardison being a dateless virgin nerd.

Hardison, who we're supposed to believe is some kind of introvert and everyman in comparison to his ~studly~ and ~charismatic~ co-stars when the fact is he is so attractive that he makes said co-stars, played by Hollywood actors in their own right, look about as captivating as any random dude I avoid eye contact with at the gas station.

Hardison, who we're supposed to believe is a desk jockey uncomfortable with the more physical feats they sometimes perform, as if he doesn't have the physique of some manner of demigod whose domain of worship is perfect anatomical symmetry.

Hardison, who seems like he would never have time to become an expert hacker and deep lore consumer of nerd culture because he's too busy being an Olympic athlete who moonlights as an underwear model, not because he needs the money but because he was convinced that doing so was a service to the world.

[seat-safety-switch]

Have you ever wondered how many camerafolks are involved in your favourite YouTube dirtbag car channels? It's a lot. Scientists estimate by 2025 that one in three greasy car people will be employed full-time, filming other sketchy folks while they drive poorly-maintained cars over long distances.

We're all to blame for this state of affairs. Prior to the development of YouTube, it was unthinkable that anyone would sit down and watch a forty-minute video about a dude rewiring his shitty Japanese car at a gas station in the middle of the night. Now, with the outlawing of dating competition shows and the Olympics, it is our only form of visceral reality entertainment.

Demand for worn-out, field-found cars with peculiar smells and a malfunctioning transmission has never been higher. I've profited from it, of course, selling my vast hoard of shitty 1970s Plymouths to ill-equipped people who would later cannibalize their cameramen trying to make the interstate. Sometimes I'd buy them back from the next of kin, who were all too willing to let this terrible reminder of their loved ones' fate go for a ridiculous lowball, and the cycle would repeat with another earnest YouTuber with an account name like Scrapyard Toucher or Garbage-Can Dan. With some clever investments leveraging that beater money, I now sit atop a media empire that is incalculably large. You can't blame me for making it popular in the first place. That was all you.

Still, the money from sending endless numbers of camerapeople and media personalities to their almost certain death does not fill me with pleasure. Money is meant to be used, to be spent on beaters, and yet I can only find well-preserved, immaculately-restored cars for cheap in my local classifieds. No demand for them, explain the tearful grannies, who only drove these low-mileage cream puffs to church and back on Sundays.

There's only one thing left to do: run these cars into the ground, in order to produce the next generation of barely-hanging-together shitboxes that will create great content. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, although it is really boring to always arrive at my intended destination. Without the thrill of a random breakdown, what even is the point of living?