#the original audio was a guy making fun of a woman so i had to make it fandom centered

[prying-pandora666]

On Alucard and Maria

Are there actually fans advocating for Alucard to be written as Maria’s father figure in the new season of Nocturne? Like that would be a good thing and not infinitely creepier? I don’t think they’ve thought this through.

Alucard is the single most popular character in the franchise. He’s also probably the most shipped character. And yet he has only had one canon love interest in the decades since he’s existed. It’s Maria. And you’re telling me that you think that because he’s 300+ and she’s 17-18 when they started living together in the games, that it would be grooming. However, somehow him inserting himself into her life at age 16 when she’s just lost both her parents wouldn’t come off like grooming!?

Does this man look like he should be picking up random children!? He’s literally terrified of his own cursed blood. Maybe LISTEN TO HIM.

I’m convinced fandoms have forgotten what that word means. Grooming has specific features. It doesn’t just mean “older guy and younger girl.” A relationship with an age gap or an uneven power dynamic can be exploitative or abusive without being a case of grooming. Grooming specifically refers to the process of forming a relationship with a child with the intention of leveraging that relationship and trust to train and prepare (aka brainwash) your victim for the harmful activities the groomer wants to normalize. The relationship Alucard and Maria have in the games is in no way grooming. You know what would be grooming though?

Coming into a 16 year old’s life when she’s vulnerable, traumatized, and recently orphaned only to insinuate yourself as a new father figure. This is so highly inappropriate and a huge red flag. Consider what you’re actually asking for here. These characters do not exist in a a vacuum. They have a long history together as each other’s only canon love interests. You cannot fully extract them from the games, art, interviews, audio dramas, animations, and more where they’re depicted as a couple. There are decades of this precedent and you are asking Netflix to knowingly take the characters with an established romantic dynamic that the audience is already primed to see as romantic and instead portray their meeting as him trying to be her new daddy?

“Oh look! Alucard and his… daughter? Yikes.” This is an official advertisement btw.

THAT is grooming! Think about the optics of this! It would be abysmal! No it would NOT fix the problem of their age gap to make him act like a groomer and get in good with her as a dad. You just cannot completely extract them from the legacy of their relationship in the source materials. It will be incredibly creepy and textbook grooming if you get your way.

Is this really what you want to associate with an “adoptive father Alucard”? Because the art we create doesn’t exist in a vacuum. All the old content—official and fanmade—is still going to exist.

What is so objectionable about the original dynamic anyway? It’s a pretty fun subversion of the tired and problematic vampire trope of “vampire man stalks teen girl and coerces her into being his”. Instead in their original relationship, Maria is the one who pursues Alucard! It’s the young woman who takes initiative and is given the agency to go after what she wants. She courts and woos him. That’s part of the fun!

Yes, Alucard is 300+. He’s also a fictional creature that doesn’t actually exist IRL and stays eternally young. There are no actual people who will ever have his problem of staying 20 forever so it’s rather silly to say he can’t date any humans because of course he will have an age gap with any of them.

The only real problem I have seen people bring up is Maria’s age, but from what I can tell, the show’s already fixed this. Check it out.

In The Games

Rondo of Blood: Maria is 12. She and Alucard do not meet. Richter is a brother-figure and not romantic.

There is then a 5 year time skip.

Symphony of the Night: Maria is 17. She and Alucard meet to save Richter. At the end, Alucard says his goodbyes and intends to return to a life of solitude. Maria goes after him because she has developed feelings for him and doesn’t want him to suffer a life alone.

Maria is given agency to pursue what she wants and prove herself even against Alucard’s resistance and hesitance to let another person into his life.

They spend a year together before we get the audio drama.

Nocturne of Remembrance: Maria continues to try to get close to Alucard. They end up saving each other’s lives and in the end he finally confesses his romantic feelings for her. She is an adult and perfectly able to make her own choices. She chose him. He admits he returns her feelings.

How fandom can look at a story about a young woman subverting the trope and chasing the vampire to get what she wants—basically an anti-Bella Swan—and still find a way to disempower her just so they can pearl clutch? I couldn’t tell you.

So now let’s look at what the show did.

In The Show

Nocturne S1: Maria is 16. She’s been aged up from 12, probably to give her a more active and believable role. But this also means she’s within a normal age to start feeling attraction and expressing her wants. Within her society, she’s even considered of marriageable age. However we are spared the discomfort of our modern values clashing with her contemporaneous ones because Maria in this season isn’t interested in romance. She’s interested in revolution, equality, justice. They’ve portrayed her with so much love and strength. There is no indication they’d betray her by writing her as the child victim of a male suitor. In fact she only meets Alucard in the final few seconds of the season and the two do not even speak a single word to one another.

Now let’s remember the games had a five year time skip. The show only needs two years to get Maria to the adult age of 18, but assuming the follow through with the timeline and go for the full five?

Maria will be 21.

21.

Fan concept for adult Maria. Credit:@esp-art

Are you telling me a 21 year old woman is not old or mature enough to make her own decisions? How is this not a total infantilization of women? Do you think a 21 year old badass vampire hunter needs protection from the ace depressed dhampir boy who just wants to sleep and has in no way tried to pursue her until after she expressed consistent and persistent interest in him?

It is not “grooming” to meet someone when they were younger and then meet them again years later as an adult. That’s a thing that happens! In real life! Adults can still make decisions for themselves! It is only grooming if Alucard behaved in a way that would manipulate teen Maria and put her under his control and authority before she can consent. There is no indication that Alucard in the show is going to do this. And yet the fandom is basically demanding it by saying he should make her “his baby girl”?

And what of Maria’s feelings in all this? She just lost her mother and was betrayed by her father shortly after discovering he even existed. She has lived her whole life without a father. She is in no desperate need of a new one. And if she does need a family member, she already has one! Richter is 19 and is her trusted adoptive brother. Why wouldn’t she go to him over a total stranger she just met and who is half vampire - literally a predator creature that feeds on humans!?

Yeah, hi, Richter Belmont still exists. He and Maria consider each other family. Why would you want her relying on a strange man she just met as a “father figure” rather than her trusted and loving brother?

Have none of you even considered how Maria would feel if Alucard even tried to fill the paternal role? He’d have to force it on her through manipulation and coercion. No way she would want to view him that way. Especially considering she is 16 and likely to be as attracted to the sparkly 20 year old looking sculpted marble beauty as anyone else!

Don’t mind the beautiful eternally young man who looks made of pure porcelain and light. No teen girl has ever been attracted to this, right? No way it could be exploitative and creepy for him to present himself as her new daddy, giving himself authority and influence over her as his child to mold as he wishes, right? Oh yeah, this is MUCH better than Maria pursuing him of her own volition once she becomes an adult, right guys?

We are truly in the stupidest dark timeline.

Frankly, I don’t care if Netflix has them get together or not. They would work just fine as friends too. I just sure as hell hope they’ll ignore the fans clamoring for a creepy daddy/daughter dynamic. Dressing it up as “concern” won’t hide that for some it’s a fetish, and for others they’re just useful idiots who haven’t thought it through.

I implore you to think it through.

[thegoldheartlocketandkey-blog]

It’s been made pretty clear by the fandom, not just Buddie Shippers, that we aren’t really fans of who Buck and Eddie end up with in the finale.

The biggest issue I have with the pairings is that they weren’t worked up, they kind of just showed up and we have no reason to care about them.

If these women are supposed to be endgame, at least give us ample reason to support the choice.

Natalia: They really screwed up her character because there was so much potential in making her interesting and someone we would like to get to know. She’s a death dula and Buck died. Instead of having her tell Buck that it’s so “cool” that he died they could of had her play an active role in having him process his death. I mean they still have the opportunity to do that but after they gave us a cringe date, a recycled story line, but with less depth, they gave us too many reasons to dislike her as a character for me to even see that play out.

They made the same mistake they made with Lucy. Instead of having Natalia be a friend to Buck they force her to be a love interest which adds nothing new to bucks character.

But imagine Buck’s character development if Natalia was a friend. He would have gone from Buck 1.0 ( The guy who only does hook ups), to Buck 2.0 (the guy who just ends up in relationships) to Buck 3.0 (the guy who chooses himself and is able to be friends with a woman).

We can also address the fact that there is a lack of chemistry between Buck and Natalia. The kiss in the finale was awkward and not in a cute endearing way. I will say, I love that she doesn’t look like she could be related to Buck. I’m willing to see their relationship play out during season 7, but I just can’t see it being the end game.

Marisol: Where did she come from. What do you mean this is the girl that has Eddie acting like a middle schooler. She came out of nowhere and we know almost nothing about her, besides the fact that she fixes her brother’s mistakes.

I rewatched Season 6, Episode 5: Home Invasion, where we are first introduced to Marisol and after watching the episode, I believe the fan theory that her brother’s rescue was originally written as a boyfriend being rescued. But after the scenes where already filmed, the writers decided she’d be the love interest so they re-recorded the audio of the scene. I’m serious go back and watch her emergency, there is something off about it.

Marisol to me feels like another Ana. No substance, no reason for me to care about her. They both barely interacted, so their phone call makes less sense the more you think about it.

The same episode where Eddie is told he can’t look for love, he finds what he’s “been looking for”. This feels like Eddie is again only doing what he thinks he is supposed to do. Instead of processing his feelings of loneliness, he’s doing what he thinks the world expects him to do and date someone. He married Shannon because he felt like he had to. He stayed with Ana because he thought it was best for Christopher. And he’s settling for Marisol because he doesn’t want to be alone. None of those reasons are good reasons to pursue someone for a serious relationship.

It’s one thing to have Eddie date because he wants to be outside his comfort zone, meet people, and have fun. It’s a completely other thing to have him date because he feels like he needs to.

The only way to make Marisol a good character is by having her be a person that helps Eddie figure that out. She helps him realize that it’s not just about the end game, but his ability to just enjoy her company and not so worried about what the end result. She can just be someone he dates because she was fun to date. A relationship that shows him that you can have someone be an important part of your journey, but not your end game. Like a summer fling.

Given the fact that the actress who plays Marisol recently reposted a transphobic meme and couldn’t even attempt a sincere apology, I hope we don’t get to see her at all in season 7. She can be explained away by Eddie mentioning her once and just saying it felt promising but she just wasn’t the one. I have no interest in see their relationship play out.

Buddie: In my opinion, the best match for Buck and Eddie will always be each other. The writers have their relationship set up as the perfect slow burn, friends to lover scenario. And even though they screwed up the finale a bit, they can easily correct their wrongs. Buck and Eddie’s chemistry is undeniable and having them end up together would play into their individual story lines so perfectly.

I need this relationship that has developed organically to flourish in Season 7.

I will continue to manifest Buddie and let me use this moment to state couch theory is not dead. Buck will just need to get rid of another couch.

[all-souls-matinee]

A Ghost Story for Christmas, Part 2

Making my way through the rest of these! I had twelve episodes left so decided to split the count in half with a final 'part 3' to follow next year. I went the random number generator route again, nervous now that the reboot episodes outnumbered the classics. And I was right to be worried.

The Tractate Middoth (2013), story by M.R. James, written and dir. by Mark Gatiss

A university librarian helps a man search for a book that held significance for him some twenty years before, and begins to wonder what the title might mean for him. Or what curse it might carry.

Solid, serviceable episode. Directing isn't great but there are experimental camera tricks that land, and acting and intrigue make up for those that don't. It was also fun as a later watch because I'm now familiar with the Ghost Story character archetypes; 'old man who causes problems' is back in plural to create more of a fairy tale than is usual for James, and while that isn't super my thing I like that there's a suitable concluding twist* and that the protagonist randomly gets a girlfriend.

*was wary of keeping the detail that the evil book is written in Hebrew, but trust the ride, even if it is obsessed with dust motes and mouth close-ups

Martin's Close (2019), story by M.R. James, written and dir. by Mark Gatiss

Squire John Martin is confident that his social standing will grant him impunity from a murder charge, until the victim's ghost has something to say about it.

I love trials as a framing device and I love trials played for camp, but it's a weird call for this story- short and not one of James' better ones- about a man killing a disabled woman. Like, we've been telling some variation of 'a rich person is divinely punished for hurting a poor innocent' for thousands of years, it's very much a Tales from the Crypt and/or The Bible-type beat that shouldn't be taken seriously, but then why adapt it in the most patronizingly offensive, confusing, and boring way possible? The silver lining if you decide to watch is that you get to see Peter Capaldi in an insane wig.

-

A Warning to the Curious (1973), story by M.R. James, written and dir. by Lawrence Gordon Clark

An unemployed Archeology hobbyist goes looking for buried treasure and finds more than he bargained for.

I really liked the aesthetics of this one. Part of that's simply on the age of the film, but it's beautifully dingy in the way of an old library book with audio that's a mix of synths and cold wind. The story is hitting every square on the James bingo card, which means not my favorite plot but incredible sense of place and concept. Strangely subversive about who sees the ghost and how the ghost gets you, with the conclusion realizing something that's scared me in horror since childhood. This is all bolstered by good acting and clever details (e.g., a vicar is allowed to pass on the story of the treasure because he's an outsider who's 'only' lived in town for 20 years.) Having heard the original story there are some deviations that are disappointing, but most of them work much better- including a sequence that looks laughably like Slender: The Eight Pages and is all the scarier for it.

Lot No. 249 (2023), story by Arthur Conan Doyle, written and dir. by Mark Gatiss

A medical student meets an Egyptology student through a mutual friend, and quickly becomes wary of his erratic and vengeful personality.

I hate Mark Gatiss. I was actually looking forward to this one because I know the story and the kind of camp he'd failed to pull off with Martin's Close is perfectly suited for it, so was interested to see what he'd do with the plot and the creature design. The answer is uhh nothing. The effects look like garbage and making the villain a flamboyant gay guy goes absolutely nowhere. ALSO there's a whole running bit where the protagonist goes to tell the story to an unnamed friend who looks like this

and they keep cheekily being like 'he's moving to a place called baker street, and he likes doctors ;-)' at the expense of the story currently being told. Mark go back to the goddamn mummy I have had enough Shlock Brain Hurt from you to last a lifetime. Some of the acting is decent but the whole thing pissed me off to no end, so weigh that how you will.

Number 13 (2006), story by M.R. James, written by Justin Hopper, dir. Pier Wilkie

A professor is called to authenticate strange documents at another college, and finds himself frustrated by his backwards rural surroundings, staying at an inn without a room number 13 but plenty of irritating guests.

I loved this one. The early 00s editing looks laughably bad, but that style is endearing to me and it's still more competently filmed than any of the misplaced flashiness of Gatiss' directing. The "creature" design being of a piece with the no-budget Doctor Whos airing at the time makes it a million times more interesting than anything else in the modern bloc of episodes. It's also the perfect case study of my relationship with James: I don't like the plot in concept, but occult horror is a means to an end that the writing and imagery sell you on. Who among us doesn't love a good hidden room, and a Planes, Trains & Automobiles relationship between a vain know-it-all and his loutish neighbor? (I wish we'd gotten more of them. Room 13 ao3 page when.)

The Dead Room (2018), story by Mark Gatiss, written and dir. Mark Gatiss

An aging radio host gives his young producer a quick lesson in classic horror stories, only to experience one of his own.

I did laugh when I saw who was responsible for the ep that would be closing out the year of 'how I learned to hate Mark Gatiss.' The directing was as god-awful as I've come to expect (why are the dust motes back??), and it had the worst ending I think I've seen for TV since Sherlock, but my expectations were so low that other than that it was.. fine? The meta-ness didn't bother me because I think he's a decent writer in quip-laden isolation, and with full control we get less action sequences and shot transitions and more 'actors who know what they're doing just reading the words,' so most scenes aren't half bad. I'm sure he'd be touched by my praise.

[passanima]

comparing the 2002 italian (ita) notre dame de paris to the french (fr) musical of 1999

prefacing this with: the audio of (ita) was really bad, having the music much louder than the singing, and it was without subtitle so... i missed a lot of the lyrics sadly. thus, it's an incomplete comparizon

the make up of (ita) is SO fun specially gringoire and frollo! clopin... i have a problem with. they put a lot of lines on his face in a similar manner as quasimodo. which. is not good. there's a reason quasi's make up look this way! it's to show his difformity. so why. give the same treatment. to clopin...

i enjoyed how clopin put himself (literally) between esme and phoebus. he's more physically protective of esme in this version which is nice!

i do not like however how in (ita) esme is much more openly flirty toward phoebus. in the original she's just dancing, minding her own business, very clearly not realizing how men look at her. that's an important part of her characterization as she gets a song with clopin where he tells her to be careful of men. so her attracting phoebus not just from doing her own thing, but by actively flirting with him goes against that song and part of her character

one perhaps positive thing about that choice is that it makes it more understandable why, when he tells her to meet him later, he's so sure she will. in (fr) she just glares at him which makes it look like he just has a giant ego and doesn't believe a woman could ever turn him down (which i prefer cause it's immensely funny) but in (ita)... yea obviously she's gonna go, as she's not being subtle about her interest here

speaking of the "be careful of men" song, in (fr) some of the lyrics are very immature, literally "men are mean" (what is she? 5 y/o?) while in (ita) it was replaced by "in this world, there are demons" which feels less awkward to listen to. it doesn't infantilize her too much, gets to the point but it's also vague enough that she wouldn't fully understand what he means exactly (who he means to warn her about)

i miss the mannerism of (fr) quasi. he acts and sounds innocent, childlike, naive. which works for his role in the story and to make the audience sympathize with him. his (ita) counterpart looks more pathetic, tortured and sad, which absolutely fit the chara too! it's an interesting choice! but part of his characterization is completely lost because of that

in the song where esme and gringoire get to know each other, she asks him the meaning of a latin word. (fr) has gringoire hesitate for a moment, having him think on it, which i liked. but i can perhaps understand why (ita) cut the hesitation. italian is closer to latin than french so perhaps it would have seemed strange to the audience

gringoire is kind of the comedy relief guy but in (ita) they keep changing his silly lines to be more serious, and i'm upset by it. let my silly guy be silly!

quasi has one BIG pathetic scene where you're supposed to feel for him even more than usual. but because (ita) actor had been playing him pathetic the whole time it doesn't hit as hard... awkward

one character has a flower name and (ita) translate it instead of keeping it as is which is strange since. it's her name. and she's french. the story is taking place in france. why are you making her italian suddenly

(ita) has them sing the name esmeralda differently than (fr). not sure how to explain this well but they elongate a different part of her name, which almost change the tempo of the song, it's a bit strange

another problem i have with (ita) esme is that on top of acting too much like a child... she give the wrong reactions to scenes. in this one she confess to quasi that she's scared of him. (fr) singer act scared to fit the lines, makes sense. but (ita) singer just... smile. i do not get this

another thing with this: (ita) esme acting childishly and (ita) quasi being so much more morose than innocent... basically reverse their roles in their relationship. i do not... get this

in (fr) quasi tells her his house is her house, if she wants it. whenever she's scared or doesn't know where to go, she will always be safe here. it's a touching scene cause he's sincere and doesn't expect anything in return. she acts shocked by it and emotional, like it's hard for her to believe/accept

but in (ita) she just... "oh yeah? cool" about it. we lost so much...

the point of this scene was that she trust him, and is no longer scared of him! quasi is now her friend! but because (ita) was never scared or touched by his kindness... we get nothing. legit you could have just cut that whole part then

lyrics changes i do not understand: (fr) "ave maria, forgive me, for i come here (the church) without shoes" (ita) "ave maria, forgive me, i don't know what i've done but you must know"

very interesting change but how did we get here. this isn't the only change in that song. both versions barely have any lyrics in common for some reason

funny lyric change (to me): in (fr) phoebus describe esme's dress as being "rainbow colored" which has always been strange to me as she only wear green. (ita) completely remove any mention of colors, instead focusing on the movement of the dress, which makes more sense for phoebus to focus on (as he's more interested in catching glimses of her legs as she dance)(legit why did he mention colors at all in (fr), as if he'd give a shit about that)

incomplete because again, the audio was really bad! in all: lyrics were improved in places but characterization lost and i have no clue what they were doing with esmeralda

she's young and that's part of what makes her tragic: not realizing when she's being used, but that doesn't mean you should have her act like a child! similarly, she shouldn't be acting in a purposefully sexual way. men look at her that way without help. having her act like a sexually confident mature woman and an innocent child with no understanding of the world at the same time is already contradictory in a ridiculous and unbelivable way! but also erase the whole point of the story: that she's a victim. neither frollo or phoebus sees her as a human being, she's just a body they want. a body that she had just grown into looking mature, making her unused to that kind of attention re the need for clopin to warn her... make it make sense! anyway, 1999 (fr) still the best

[1001albumsrated]

#5: Fats Domino - This Is Fats Domino! (1956)

Wow, the 1001 Albums guys really made me work for this one. This thing is out of print on every format. It's not on streaming. I resorted to a poor quality rip of a bootleg-adjacent CD reissue on YouTube. I actually listened ahead a couple releases and sandbagged this one with the hopes of finding a better quality version of it somewhere. I normally wouldn't complain, but a core tenet (supposedly) of their selection criteria is physical accessibility, prioritizing albums that are in print or easily found and heard. And this isn't an issue with it just recently vanishing: at the time of the book's first publishing in 2005, the album had been out of print in the US since the 1969 "forced stereo" LP reissue (which itself got a few early reprints at unknown years, I'd estimate based on the labels that the most recent is from the early 70s). If you wanted to hear the original mono recording you better have been ready to track down an original. There had been a handful of European and Japanese reissues, but I can't imagine many folks wanting to pay import prices for this. And it never hit the CD til the aforementioned bootleg-adjacent 2008 Dutch reissue (notably with the wrong name, making the easy mistake of conflating it with his 5th album, This Is Fats), with the only other CD issue being a spendy Japanese version from 2016. None of the versions I looked at were particularly expensive today for what they are, but certainly inconvenient to acquire, requiring the listener to buy used off of eBay or Discogs and understand different pressings, Goldmine gradings, etc. If I ran the zoo I would have pivoted to one of his other 50's albums, most of which are at least readily available on streaming if not in print. Obviously streaming wasn't at the forefront of their minds in 2005, but the newer editions have no excuse.

Anyways, the album! Like it says on the tin, it's Fats Domino. He's a bit of a one trick pony, but he also invented rock n roll so let's cut the man some slack (ok, debatably invented, but about as good a starting point as any in my book). This is a fun listen. If you've heard early rock music you won't find any surprises here, but you won't complain about hearing it either. And you certainly can't understate his influence on music and culture. It may not seem like as much today, but swinging 12 bar blues and beating up the piano was an earth-shaking event at the time, and his contributions to music are invaluable. My only other note is that the recording quality seemed particularly poor on this one, even for the era, but it's hard to say when you're listening to a budget Dutch needledrop through YouTube audio compression on a 480p video.

All that being said, I really would have liked to see mention of Sister Rosetta Tharpe somewhere in here as we dig through the origins of rock. Obviously she predates the concept of the LP by a bit, but there are plenty of compilations out there of her early sides, and plenty of (comparatively) more modern live material to pull from. If you know you know, and if you don't know then I'm here to tell you that the godmother of rock n roll was a mighty black woman who shouted gospel and wielded a triple humbucker Gibson SG.

Ok, I've gotten far enough off topic enough times now that I feel like I'm being rude to the legendary Fat Man, so let's put a bow on this thing. MUST you hear This Is Fats Domino!? Yes, with the caveat that your head might hurt less if you just pull up one of his other albums on your streaming service of choice; they're all equally good in my book.

Next time: we keep court with one of the highest ranking members of jazz royalty, Duke Ellington, and his 1956 live album Ellington at Newport!

[rikasfundingassociates]

[New Recording] The Heir

This interview originally took place on April 21st, 2023.

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

From your screen, the view of an empty office flickers onto the screen accompanied by the muffled sound of employees rushing through the hallway as they pass and chatter. From your angle, you are met with the sight of a long desk, bookshelves, and filing cabinets all pressed to the very back of the wall. There’s even a few items littered on these things … organization baskets labeled accordingly, bouquets of roses in glass vases, and picture frames with people who are unrecognizable right now.

A woman takes her seat, and she releases a light sigh of exhaust as she fidgets with her rings. Smoothly gliding into view from her rolling chair. She plasters a smile on her face.

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

[HEIR]: "Oh my gosh, you're here! Hi. My name is Hoshiko de la Noval-Watanabe, the heir to Marium Corporations. How may I assist you today?"

HELLO

Hello!!! How are you today?

HOSHIKO: “Hello! I’m doing fine. How about you all? I’m excited to get to talk to you.”

MY FUCKIJBGGWIFE I fucking explode

“Please don’t explode.” ^^;

Omg HIII,, do you have a favourite flower? :0

“I do! There’s so many flowers that I love, to be honest. I consider myself a bit of a flower expert … but roses will always have my heart.”

Do you like your job

“I love my job! I think it’s quite nice.”

Are those tattoos on your knuckles? Also can you date me please I'm free

“They’re rings actually! I like wearing jewelry.”

“.. Also, we just met …? And quite frankly, I’m a bit too busy to go out on a date right now.”

What do you think of your assistant?

“I love Valentin!” She clasps her hands together, “He has a really great work ethic and also is really great company. I’m glad to have him here."

If you had a theme song that would play when you walk into a room, what would you think would play?

“This is a really great question, actually.” She taps her nail against her chin. “I’d like to think … maybe one of the themes associated with Sweetheart from Omori. Or something similar … I consider myself quite regal.”

Do you like your job? What’s the biggest work perk?

“Yes! I love my job.” She grins, “Biggest work perk … Not entirely sure. The occasional wine samples are fun though … also generally working with people? Everything is quite lively here …”

omg you'se an omori fan? What's your favorite character?

“You can’t make me just choose one.” She giggles, “I think I’m most torn between Sweetheart, Basil and Hero.”

OMORI?!? What do you think of kel

“He’s so admirable .. and quite silly. I think he’s quite lovely.”

What are you hoping to see from the volunteers?

“Volunteers?” Her expression contorts into one of confusion, before tensing slightly, “Well, presuming you’re talking about the RFA … we’re not really accepting volunteer applications right now. But I mean, if we were to open them, then I just hope for cooperation and all fun times!!”

So nobody knows about the emails?

“how do you know about the emails…?” She mumbles, before shaking her head slightly. “We’re ... aware of the emails.”

We know about the emails because we’re getting emails that are applications for people who want to volunteer for the rfa

Hoshiko leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. “..Is that so?” Her gaze keeps darting around.

Though she sits back up, putting on her smile. “We’ll investigate! Don’t even worry about it. Just … don’t click on suspicious links or anything.”

WAIT CAN I ASK ABT VAL EATING MY SON hi ok pls explain ur assistant and why he eats sons thx

She looks shocked, “He would never … Where did such a rumor even come about !?”

“You guys are crazy.” She giggles.

im starting to think he didnt eat my son /j

“Don’t spread senseless rumors about my assistant!!”

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

HOSHIKO: "How silly ..— Oh! My break’s over. I have to go. I have a meeting soon. Bye-bye~ Have a great day!"

[She blows a kiss to the screen before everything goes dark.]

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ୨୧ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

Recording and audio provided by [UNKNOWN]: rika's fundinG aSsociation (oR tHe "Rfa" for sHort) is a private, non-profit organiZation whose priMaRy objective is to MakE the woRld a safer and kinder place for everyone. orGaniZation shmorGanization, does this woRk now? does this feeL good? i hope iM findinG you in an adequate pLace and i hope you can hear me loud and clear now. i need your help but you'll have to be patient for it.

[denjiholic]

love talk || gojo x reader NSFW

✎ request: suggestion: gojo breeding kink!

✎ warnings/tags: NSFW, explicit content, blowjobs, breeding kink, fingering, overstimulation, praise kink, porn watching, dom! gojo, teasing, voyeurism, light sub/dom, multiple orgasms, cockslapping

✎ pairing: gojo x fem reader

✎ summary: you and gojo watch a porno together and one thing leads to another :))

✎ word count: 2.2k

✎ a/n: sorry if some of you have seen me post this already, i was having a glitch with my tumblr the first time it uploaded, so i had to repost :)

“so what are we watching tonight?”

you look up to see gojo sitting lazily on the couch, one hand patting his empty lap. retiring to his nightly clothes, his chest is bare and his legs only clad in plaid pajama pants. you make your way to the sofa, taking a seat in his lap. he wastes no time wrapping his arms around you, letting out a contented sigh.

turning your head around slightly, you look at him skeptically, “what was that all about?”

he smiles.

“nothing, you just smell good.”

“well I did just shower.”

after you’ve turned back around to face the television he repeats his original question.

“what are we watching tonight?”

“surprise me.”

his eyes gleam with mischief. accepting your challenge, he replies, “alright then.”

he turns on the tv before pausing to say, “wait, close your eyes first.”

“why?”

“you said you wanted it to be a surprise, right? just trying to get the full effect.”

“whatever, weirdo”

shutting your eyes you wait impatiently. after a few moments, the sound of a woman loudly moaning greets your ears. lids snapping open, your eyes fly to the screen. the television displays a woman with a rather large chest, getting pounded by a muscular guy with an intricate tattoo sleeve.

gojo laughs from behind you, clearly amused at your reaction. turning around, you face him and see the smirk that adorns his face.

“what’s wrong? not surprised enough?”

“you’re such an ass”

glancing back at the screen you look again at the girl on the screen.

“are you not a fan of this type of film?”, he teases.

you sigh, “i’m not against it really, but i would like it if you picked something a little more tasteful. not just some 2 minute clip of some chesty girl getting her back blown out.”

“so picky”

after a few more searches he settles on a longer video. once he’s started it, he pulls you close to his chest, settling into the couch.

it starts as a standard porno, with very little yet messy foreplay, and the man taking sexual control over the woman. typical. nothing too exciting. yet for some reason, when watching such an explicit movie with gojo’s partially bare body pressed up behind you, heat slowly creeps up your neck. this was the first time you’d done something like this with him. you knew he obviously watched porn, he was a guy after all, but you’d never watched anything together. were you always this aware of the way his arms felt wrapped around you?

you shift your body, making him let out a small grunt.

“this getting you turned on?”, he whispers, careful to not talk over the audio.

“not really”

in all fairness, it wasn’t a lie. what was getting you turned on was him. not so much the movie. just his presence, and the fact that you are sitting in his lap, feeling the rise and fall of his chest against your back.

“no? we’ll have to do something about that then..”

he plants a soft kiss on the nape of your neck, and starts to let his hands wander. his fingers start to gently ghost the skin on your stomach from under your shirt. they’re cool in contrast to your warm skin. traveling higher until he’s gingerly caressing your chest, every movement is slow and meaningful, as if he’s feeling your body for the first time. a hand goes even further up your skin, while one goes back down to your abdomen.

the more he touches you, the harder it feels to breathe.

his fingers stroke your throat, not with the intent to squeeze harshly, but merely to just feel more of your skin. he tilts your chin back to rest on his shoulder, your head side by side with his own. by this time, you’re breathing heavier and having immense difficulty concentrating on the screen. his touch feels like euphoria, teasing almost every part of your body.

he’s obviously enjoying exploring you, as you can feel his erection against your ass. his fingers slowly slide further down your abdomen, making your breath hitch. he slowly slips a hand into your shorts.

instead of instantly going for your clit, he just keeps his palm near the waistband of your underwear. he effortlessly strokes your skin for a moment before finding his way to your sensitive spot. beginning to trace it softly, he forces a quiet moan to escape your lips, along with the catch of his breath from his own.

he slides a finger inside you, feeling your wetness on his skin. careful to tease you properly and take his time, he slips it in and out leisurely. once he’s got you breathing heavy, he pulls it out, and gently rubs on your clit once more with his dampened skin. your flesh feels unusually warm, every swipe of his fingers all over your body and pussy, sends your temperature rising. he wasn’t normally this gentle, and if he teases you anymore you might go insane.

“please.. go faster...”

“that’d be taking all the fun out of it then”

his low voice is close to your ear, and you can hear every breath he takes while he feels you up. just when it feels like you can’t take any more, he removes his hands from your shorts.

gojo shifts you from your previous spot in his lap, laying you down on your back. you lie supine on the couch for a moment, and he starts to spread your legs apart. he makes room for himself between your thighs, before one of his hands begins to tug at your waistband. it feels like your heart is about to hammer out of your chest as he slowly pulls down your shorts and damp underwear. he’s looking at you with kind and passionate eyes, a gaze that’s fully intent on seeing you fall apart to his touch.

you gasp when you feel his warm tongue meet your clit. he works it gently, licking up and down with mastery. instinctively, your hand grips a fistful of his white hair as the pleasure builds in your stomach and legs. when he begins to suck on your clit, you let out a whine. upon hearing your noise of satisfaction, he sucks harder, hoping to emit more content sounds out of you. you give in, moaning along with the woman on the tv. you’d been so caught up with gojo in between your legs, that you’d forgotten the porno was still playing.

to your surprise, you didn’t hate it.

hearing and watching the girl feel good alongside you, wasn’t totally awful. you’d watched your fair share of porn, and to be honest it didn’t do much for you, but something about him going down on you while something that vulgar played, made your sensations somehow feel stronger.

as you start to near climax, you gasp his name.

at this, he holds your hips down in place, making sure you feel your full pleasure. when you finally reach completion, he continues playing with your clit. upon being held down, you grip his hair tightly, your only support as you orgasm onto his tongue. as you pant and curse, he licks up your cum, sure to savor your taste and not leave anything left behind. after you’re finished, you feel soft kisses on your clit. he kisses his way up to your stomach, before moving up to leave small marks on your neck.

“gojo-”

“now I’m gonna need you to do something for me, pretty girl.”

you nod your head, your obedience making him smile.

he moves his body on top of yours so his torso hovers above your face. pulling his cock out of his boxers, he drags it across your lips.

“say ah”

opening your mouth, the first taste of his precum meets your tongue. he lets you take him into his mouth, holding his dick with one hand, and the television remote in the other. gojo turns up the volume before looking back down at you, your mouth full of cock. lips around his tip, you suck at him.

“that’s my good girl”

since you’re lying down, you allow him to gently thrust into your mouth. nothing too aggressive yet, but enough to make you want to gag on his length.

pushing further into your throat, he lovingly watches as the tears streak down the sides of your face. he gives you a reassuring smile, and wipes them away with his fingertips. perhaps to encourage you, he keeps muttering praise underneath his breath, constantly telling you how good of a job you’re doing for him.

he watches the tv from time to time, clearly enjoying watching the couple have sex while you blow him. no matter how much he looks at the screen, words of appreciation never fail to leave his lips.

“shit, just like that”

you swipe your tongue around his head and continue to take him in your mouth. he’s lost focus of the screen now, his body and mind taken over with the pleasure he's receiving. with a grunt, he finishes inside your mouth. he’s out of breath, but he looks satisfied.

once you’ve swallowed, he brings his lips to yours. his kiss is full of desire. desire for you, and desire to take your body and make it his. he plants kisses along your jaw and neck, and massages your chest from underneath your shirt.

“you’re really so beautiful, you know that?”, he whispers.

you hold his head close to yours, falling silent at the sudden compliment. he softly bites your neck before saying, “tonight, i plan on filling you up to the brim.”

“so no condom?”

he nods his head.

you smile, “what are you waiting for? fuck me and fill me up then”

he grins and kisses your forehead.

you squirm when he slides himself inside you, as he says softly, “i want to keep cumming inside you until I can’t feel anything anymore”

starting out slow, he begins thrusting his hips, moving in and out of your entrance. his sturdy body is on top of you, white hair falling in his face. he’s fucking you in missionary, something you’d usually chaste as being far too vanilla, but right now, seeing him above you seems to make the moment more intimate.

he occasionally kisses and bites at your neck, while you wrap your arms around his own. you pull at his hair while he fucks you, begging for him to keep going. You can feel the shake of your thighs as his hips dive in between your legs.

“gonna-” he mumbles, “fuck a baby in you”

you answer him with a plea, unable to form a sentence as he keeps bucking into your tight hole. feeling yourself grip around his length, your orgasm sends warmth and pleasure through your body, making you moan for him.

when he cums, he buries his face in the crook of your neck, breathing hard. you can hear him let out curses as he’s overcome with his climax.

“Oh god, fuck”, he moans.

his mouth meets yours in a sloppy kiss, and he groans into your lips.

instead of stopping after one round, he continues to thrust into you, aiming to stay true to his statement of fucking you until you’re completely stuffed full of his seed. he pursues, making you orgasm repeatedly until you’re on the verge of tears.

“please cum inside me again... i need it so bad”

eyes shut and panting, he sends ropes of white into you once more, his body shaking slightly. he was clearly overstimulated, as were you, but he continues thrusting into your wet heat relentlessly. the tv audio is dull in comparison to the sounds of pleasure coming from the both of you, and the sound of his cock shoving into your leaking pussy over and over.

“feels.. so good”, he chokes out.

you watch him as he reaches completion once again, his expression one of lewdness and pure bliss. he lets out small gasps and groans as he comes inside you for the third time. his face glistens with sweat and his chest heaves.

exhausted, he slumps on top of you, trying to catch his breath. you play with his hair with your fingers, keeping his head next to your own.

he kisses your cheek whispering, “can we just stay like this for a while?”

nodding your head, you pull him closer, aware he’s still sheathed inside you. the movie was long over, and for a while you lay with him on your chest, feeling the rise and fall of his own. after a bit, he grows soft and slips out. he gets up to look down at your hole, watching the cum leaking from your entrance.

“as hot as that is, i think you might need to take another shower”

“wanna join me?”, you ask with a smile.

“fuck, don’t tempt me”

grinning, he asks, “was the movie tasteful enough for you?”

“i could barely pay attention”

“what a shame, i guess we’ll have to watch another one sometime”

“only if i get to pick it out”

he smiles, “it’s a deal”

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Do-S Kyuuketsu VERSUS Ⅳ Vol.2 Shuu VS Ruki [TRACK 5]

Original title: ゲームエンド

Source: DIABOLIK LOVERS Do-S Kyuuketsu VERSUS Ⅳ Vol.2 Shuu VS Ruki [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke & Takahiro Sakurai

Translator’s note: This CD was kind of...mediocre? My proofreader agreed with me in this sense that there isn’t that much development or a fun gimmick compared to the other VERSUS IV CDs. While the appearance of the ghouls was definitely interesting, this CD seems very bleak in comparison to say the Reiji VERSUS Azusa one which had some serious emotional conflict due to the set-up of Kino’s game.

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

TRACK 5: THE END OF THE GAME (28:16 - 41:03)

They are once again being attacked by ghouls.

Ruki: Move out of the way!! ーー Ugh!

*THUD*

Shuu: Back off. 

*WOOSH*

Ruki: Hah…The path has been cleared. We’ll cut through it in one go!

*Rustle*

Shuu: Ugh…Yeah…Seems like we have to run for a bit. Don’t let go of my hand, okay? 

You nod as the three of you dash away.

Ruki: …!! …Hah. 

The three of you come to a halt.

Ruki: A door made out of steel. Could this be the exit? 

Ruki attempts to open the door but gets shocked in return. 

*BZZZT*

Ruki: …Ugh! ーー An anti-magic seal…I see. Which means he does not intend to let us go. However…!

Ruki turns towards Shuu. 

Ruki: Oi. Do your thing. 

Shuu: I’m not your servant. I don’t need you to tell me what to do…

Shuu starts charging an attack. 

Shuu: ーー Hah!

*WOOSH*

*BZZT*

Shuu: Haah…It’s sturdy…

Ruki: You’re holding back in an attempt to keep your powers under control. You have to pull out all the stops!

Shuu: Haah, haah…Shut up! I know!

Ruki approaches you. 

Ruki: Oi, lend me a hand here. 

*Rustle* 

Shuu: O-Oi…! What are you doing!? 

Ruki: You’re afraid of losing control and harming this woman, aren’t you? Hence why you refuse to go all out. Therefore, I shall get rid of the obstacle. I will suck her dry down to the very last drop. Then there will no longer be anything holding you back, correct? 

*Rustle*

Ruki: Well then, offer your blood to me. You should be delighted. I will engrave your whole body with a mixture of pain and pleasure. 

Ruki bites you. 

*Sluuuurp*

Ruki: Ah…Such a sweet scent…I suppose I see no harm in letting myself get drunk on it. 

Shuu: Ugh…Cut it out!

He pushes Ruki aside. 

Shuu: Don’t be kidding me. If I have no other choice but to have her stolen from me by you, then I’d rather just suck her dry myself…

Ruki: Try it then? 

Shuu: …Ugh. 

Ruki: Sakamaki Shuu. Suck her blood. 

Shuu: Haah…? Have you finally gone bonkers? 

Ruki: I have not. After you sucked her blood in the cell, you were able to hold yourself back. You’ve only become unstable after you used your powers to blast through the iron bars. Once you realize that you are indeed still capable of keeping your bloodthirst in check, it should get rid of any of the insecurities you have left.

Shuu: You came up with a troublesome plan again…

*Woosh*

Shuu: Ugh…Kuh…!

You ask Shuu what is wrong. 

Shuu: The magic…is surging throughout my whole body…If I were…to go all out now…

Ruki: Then what is the point in enduring it and stalling? The longer we stay here like this, the more you will become cornered by your own powers. 

The ghouls approach them. 

Ruki: …!! There’s still more of them coming? 

Ruki charges at them. 

*THUD*

Ruki: If you have the time to worry about me, then use it to do something about that guy instead! Listen up, I will give you a choice for once. Do you want to be eaten alive by these ghouls, devoured by that guy after he loses control, or actually escape this place? I’m sure that even with that questionable intelligence of yours, you should be able to find an answer? ーー Ugh!

*THUD*

Ruki: Hurry up! Kuhー!

*THUD*

Shuu: Haah…He makes it sound so easy. …You stay back, okay? I don’t want you near me right now. It makes me want to…latch onto your throat…

You step closer.

Shuu: Oi…Are you even listening? 

You run up to him and embrace Shuu.

*Rustle*

Shuu: Wha…!? What are you doing!? Cut it outーー!!

You tell Shuu to suck your blood. 

Shuu: Aah…? Do you have any idea what you’re saying? If I suck your blood in my current condition, I might very well kill you, you know? There’s no way to guarantee that Ruki’s plan will work. Even right now, I’m very close to reaching my limit just from the sweet smell you’re spreading all over…

You insist that he sucks your blood. 

Shuu: You really are…an idiot. Just remember that you’re the one who told me not to hold back. Haahn…

Shuu bites her. 

*Gulp*

Shuu: Nn…Mmh…

*Gulp*

Shuu: Nnh… ーー Haah, haah…Your blood really is on a different level…I can’t stop…I need more…more…!

*Gulp gulp*

Shuu: Haahn…Don’t faint on me, okay? You’re the one who offered me your blood after all. 

*Rustle*

Shuu: Oh…Ah…Offering me your nape like that…Are you pretty much asking me to sink my fangs in? 

You nod.

Shuu: Haha…I can’t believe you’d actually admit it. You truly are hopeless. It’s honestly almost annoying how much of a people-pleaser you are…Hah. Ah-ahー Sucking someone’s blood in a place as noisy as this one isn’t exactly my go-to either. 

You ask if he already had enough.

Shuu: I think it should be okay? Nothing happened even when I sucked your blood. I think I can use my full strength now. 

Shuu turns towards the ghouls. 

Ruki: Shuu!

Shuu: Spare me the explanation. I know what to do. 

He steps closer. 

Shuu: I will send this stupid door flying…using everything I’ve got!

He charges an attack.

Shuu: …Hah!!

*SHATTER*

*TIMESKIP*

Ruki: Haah…It doesn’t seem like those ghouls are chasing after us. …We’re lucky it happened to be night. Even if we’re currently deep into the mountains, with an explosion as large as that, it would have been quite troublesome if someone were to have noticed it. 

Shuu: We actually made it out alive and that’s the first thing you say? After making me go through all the trouble…

Ruki: Hmph. I do not feel like expressing my gratitude towards you. If you had gotten your act together sooner, it would have saved us a lot of trouble after all. Well...I suppose I should at least give you credit for succeeding at controlling your own powers. 

*Rustle rustle* 

Ruki: ーー Oi. Are you listening? Sakamaki Shuu. 

Shuu: Nn…Sleepy. 

Shuu collapses on the ground. 

*Thud*

You rush to his side. 

Shuu: Zz…Zz…

Ruki: I can’t believe this guy…How could he fall asleep out here in the open? Just as I thought, he simply is not fit to wield that man’s powers. 

ーー That being said, that Kino guy seems to favor rather questionable games as well. Above all, I doubt this is the end. We must return to Eden sooner rather than later…

Ruki turns towards you.

*Rustle*

Ruki: Hm…?

He approaches.

Ruki: His marks are still clearly visible on your skin…He thrust them in quite aggressively, good grief…How vexing. 

Ruki laps the wound. 

Ruki: Mmh…

*Sluuuurp*

*Gulp*

Ruki: …Haah. …Hah. This is the price you have to pay in return for getting me involved. Additionally, I simply couldn’t bear having to look at those sloppy bite marks any longer. 

You whimper.

Ruki: Hah…What a shameful expression. If that man is not enough to satisfy you, I will tend to you as much as you wish.

Your cheeks flush a bright red. 

Ruki: Heh. Seems like you don’t dislike the thought of that, judging by the look on your face. It’s that attitude of yours which only further tempts us. Don’t come crying if I choose to steal you away. 

He steps back. 

Ruki: ーー Well, let’s leave that for another time. Make sure to keep an eye on that guy so he doesn’t lose control, okay? See you…

Ruki walks away.

Ruki: …Oh, also…You should be a little more cautious as well. At this rate, I simply can’t come to your rescue every single time. 

Shuu: Zz…

You thank Ruki for always helping you. 

Ruki: That was a figure of speech. Since you’re Eve, I have no other choiーー …No, nevermind. I’ll get going now. 

Ruki leaves. 

Shuu: …What was that about? He pisses me off. 

You seem surprised that Shuu is actually awake. 

Shuu: How could I not wake up when you two were making a fuss next to me? Come here for a sec…

He pulls you down with him. 

*Rustle* 

*Thud* 

Shuu: The exhaustion has made me thirsty…Show me your wrist. 

*Rustle*

Shuu: Haahn…

*Gulp gulp*

Shuu: Haah…

*Smooch*

Shuu: …There, I can suck your blood and not leave any marks as well. I hate how he always talks like he’s the special one. Also…You make a way better expression when I’m the one sucking your blood. 

You get flustered. 

Shuu: Why is your face all red? Are you asking for more? ーー I’d love to take you up on that offer but…Pwaaah…Nn…

*Rustle*

Shuu: I’m sleepy…

You insist that you should go back home now.

Shuu: Shut up. I’m gonna take a nap now. If you want to head back, you can just carry me home, right? …Goodnight. …This time, it was just a fluke…Controlling these powers…just isn’t my cup of tea…Honestly…I really got myself involved in some troublesome game…Next time we meet that Kino guy…I’m gonna settle the score with him…Also…with Ruki as well…Zzーー...

ーー THE END ーー

[negasonicimagines]

Tell Me I'm Not Funny

Request: darkandmysteriousbutheartofgold!ellie and wholesomeanddoesn'tunderstandwhyelliedoesn'tlikeher!reader where they're both part of the friend group but ellie just thinks reader is straight and messing with her pls

Notes: I don’t usually write MCU!Peter, so if he comes up in any future fics (like as the reader’s stepdad 👀 I’ve loved spideypool longer than I’ve loved Negasonic) you can safely assume it’s Andrew Garfield. But, for this time, this is MCU!Peter. Everyone in the friend group is 18-20, just to be clear.

This really isn't my best work, but it's a fun little slice of life piece. A lot of my ideas are pretty cinematic, I can picture them in my head but sometimes those pictures don't really translate into words. I may revisit this one day.

Warnings: D-slur (reclaimed by Ellie in one line), allusions to prior assault (an unwanted kiss that could've been more had another character not stepped in), and that's about it. Oh, and a little swearing, but this is an imagine for a character from Deadpool. If you can't handle swearing, you're on the wrong blog.

Synopsis: You’re into Ellie, but she’s with your good friend Peter. She treats you like you don’t even exist, and in the few instances she does acknowledge you, it’s usually just to make some sarcastic remark. You’re head-over-heels, though, and decide to deal with your unrequited love by writing her a song she’ll never hear.

“Fuck, that movie was terrible,” Michelle groans. “I’m just glad it was a matinee show and we didn’t have to pay as much to see it.”

“The special effects were good, but can’t Disney just leave stuff alone?” Peter agrees.

“Next thing you know they’ll be making a live action Toy Story, as if the original wasn’t traumatizing enough. I don’t want to imagine Watermelon as a sentient being. She’s seen some shit,” you snicker.

“Who’s Watermelon?” Ellie asks with a dark chuckle, and you clam up. How had you forgotten she was here?

“Oh, uh, nobody.”

“Don’t tell me you still sleep with a stuffed animal,” she snarks. “You really do need to grow up.”

“Don’t be mean, Ellie,” Peter protests.

“Watermelon is cute, everybody likes cute things!” Yukio adds.

“I think a live-action Toy Story could be cool,” Ned says. “It’d look really good if they did stop-motion animation.”

“Oh, you’re right!” you chirp. “It’d be quite the undertaking, but it would look badass.”

“I think you’re using that term a little loosely,” Ellie grumbles, and you have to stop yourself from frowning, instead you laugh it off. Why does she always pick on you? Sure, she’s got a witty remark for everybody, but she’s way harder on you. It hurts, she really is so gorgeous and funny and mysterious and everything you want in a woman, but she acts like she can’t stand you.

Ellie and Peter head off together, Peter still hasn’t gotten around to getting his license and Ellie seems happy to give him a ride. You really don’t stand a chance.

You and the others pile up in MJ’s SUV for some late-night band practice.

“I don’t know if I can do it,” you admit to Yukio in the furthest row back.

“You can,” she insists. “You’re a way better singer than Lola, anyways.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to give her the wrong impression, I-”

“For the millionth time, Y/N, you didn’t. If she hadn’t left the band, we would’ve kicked her out. Not just for cheating on me, but for hurting you.”

“I guess,” you sigh. “Why can’t you sing instead?”

“Because I’m flat.”

“Yukio, breast size doesn’t have anything to do with singing ability, you’ve just gotta practice,” you joke.

“Shut up!” she giggles, punching you in the arm. “Plus, when you sing, the songs are being sung as they were written. We’re getting the real feelings.”

“Speaking of… I have something new I’m thinking about sharing tonight. Do you mind if I text you the demo?”

“Ooh, a first look! Hell yes!”

You text her the audio file and she puts in a wireless earbud, nodding along. Her smile gets wider and wider as she listens, and when she’s done, her assessment shocks you.

“Oh my gosh. You’re into Ellie.”

“What?!” you squeak. “No way!”

“You are! But, uh-”

“Don’t even say it. I know I don’t have a chance in hell. She only tolerates me for the sake of you and Peter.” Despite the gloominess of your tone, Yukio gets a mischievous glint in her eye, it confuses you. But, that’s just Yukio. Her thoughts are all over the place; she and Ellie balance each other out that way. They dated a couple of years ago, but it didn’t work out. They decided they were better off as friends.

“Screw that other song, we’re using this as the lead single. Everybody’s gonna love it, do you have the sheet music?”

“Yeah, uh, it’s in my bag.”

“Awesome.” Yukio’s grinning like she’s won something. Is the song that good? “We’ll have to practice this one a lot, we definitely need to have it ready by the concert this Friday.”

Right. Liz’s 19th birthday party. Apparently Peter had convinced her to let the band play, it’d be cheaper than hiring a more established artist.

“Our first paying gig? I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” you remind her. She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

“We’re mostly gonna be playing covers of Liz’s favorite songs, and she only has so many. We’ve gotta beef up the setlist with originals, and this is perfect! Has that pop-y fun vibe, it’ll fit right in.”

“Yeah, but if it’s that obvious how I feel about her after one listen-”

“Only because I already had a hunch after Daft Pretty Boys,” Yukio clarifies cheerily, and you sigh.

“Fair enough.”

The gang makes it to Michelle’s house, travelling down to the side door and going into the basement from there. MJ’s parents have encouraged her creativity from day one, and were ecstatic when the band was formed. You speculate that they’re mostly happy that she’s made friends. Writing and photography can be lonely hobbies.

“Y/N has something new for us!” Yukio chirps.

“That fast?” Ned’s surprised as you hand him the sheet music. He skims it. “Holy shit, this is a wicked solo! Thanks, Y/N!”

“Well, I’m hoping highlighting everybody else’s talent will disguise my lack thereof,” you chuckle.

“Don’t be stupid, we’ve all heard you sing backup,” MJ says. “You’re Ryan Ross, she’s Brendon Urie. I’m just glad we booted her out before she decided she was gonna be the only pangolin in The Pangolins.”

Everyone laughs at that.

“Let’s try it,” Michelle continues, and everybody agrees. After a sound check and a few runs of the song, it’s still clumsy, especially on your part. You’re not really used to playing and singing at the same time, outside of backup vocals, which require far less focus.

“I suck,” you mumble, but it happens to be into the microphone.

“You don’t!” Ned insists.

“With that attitude, we’re not going anywhere,” Yukio says. You hate it when she gets to the tough love stage of her support. You wish she’d stay in the shallow reassurances stage, it’s easier to brush off. “You wouldn’t be the lead singer if we all thought you sucked. We would’ve just put an ad in the paper. You’re awesome, get over it!”

You sigh.

“Fine. Thank you.”

“Say it,” she insists.

“I’m awesome,” you huff, it’s hard not to smile when Yukio tries to look serious.

“Damn straight,” Yukio says. “Or, I guess not, considering that was about Ellie.”

“Yukio!” you squeal.

“That’s about Ellie?!” Ned exclaims.

“Obviously,” MJ scoffs, fiddling with her tuners.

“Is it that obvious?!” You can’t help but feel embarrassed. Ellie probably knows exactly how you feel, maybe that’s why she dislikes you so much. Her boyfriend’s stupid friend has a crush.

“Wait, but at the beginning…” Ned trails off, before laughing. “Oh my gosh, I get it.”

“Get what? Oh… Y/N, have I ever told you how much I love you?” MJ asks.

“I- I love you, too?” You’re puzzled by their words, but you’ve got enough on your plate.

“Let’s go ahead and practice some of Liz’s favorites while we’re here,” Yukio suggests. “It’s a pretty big set list.”

You practice until dinner, getting a pizza and deciding to make a night of it since it was a little late for Michelle to be dropping you all off at your assorted residences.

You all sleep on a pallet in the basement, and despite your worries, you manage to get some rest.

Over the next few days, The Pangolins practice at every free moment, until it’s finally time for the party.

“So, just pictures of everything?” Oh, shit. She’s not supposed to be here. How are you supposed to sing that song with her here?

“Yeah! I know with how many people are coming, I’m probably not going to get as much time as I want with everyone, so pictures will be a good way to remember the night.”

“Why not just invite less people?” Ellie wonders.

“I want all my friends to be here,” Liz explains. “How’s the sound check going, Y/N?”

“It’s going great,” you say into the microphone, demonstrating the quality and volume with a smile. “Thanks for letting us play here tonight.”

“Well, Peter said you guys are great. Are you really gonna debut your best song so far tonight?”

“Oh, um,” you stutter, stepping away from the microphone. “Maybe not.”

“What? Oh, come on, please, it’ll make the night even more special! You’re playing covers of all my old favorites, sing me my new favorite!” Liz presses, but she’s not being demanding or bratty, she seems genuinely excited.

“If the birthday girl says so, who am I to say no?” you concede. Hopefully Ellie will be too distracted taking pictures. “You have way too much faith in me.”

“If you don’t quit with the self-deprecation, I’m gonna duct tape your mouth shut,” MJ interjects.

“But, Daddy, how will I say my safe word?” you tease, giggling at your own joke with the rest of the group. Yukio’s laugh seems the loudest. Ellie glares.

“We should practice a song!” Ned suggests.

“Ooh, a private show!” Liz seems excited.

“Any requests?” you ask her. Ellie’s resting scowl intensifies. If she’s more pissed off the more you open your mouth, you’re not sure how she’s gonna survive a night of you singing without going nuclear.

“Oh, oh, Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne, please?”

“You’ve got it,” you agree.

The song goes smoothly.

“What happened to the old singer?” Ellie asks, clearly unimpressed.

“You didn’t tell her?” you ask Yukio, grateful for the excuse to turn away from the sharp-tongued girl you adore.

“Didn’t want her to get the wrong impression,” Yukio explains. “She already makes enough rude comments towards you.” Yukio leans over her drum kit to give Ellie a pointed look.

“Oh, wait, shit, I didn’t mean it like that. You, uh, sound good, Y/N.”

You can’t help but whip your head back to look at her with a flabbergasted expression.

“What?! It’s true,” Ellie defends herself.

“Uh, yeah, but you just said something nice. About me. Liz, do you mind checking her for a fever?”

Liz obliges for the sake of going along with the joke before quickly withdrawing her hand.

“Jeez! I know you were kidding, but she’s burning up,” Liz declares.

“My internal temperature is higher due to my mutation,” Ellie quickly explains, looking a bit bashful. “Besides, I say nice shit about Y/N all the time.”

“No, you don’t,” the whole band says in unison, including you.

“Well, clearly I shouldn’t if everyone���s gonna make a big fucking deal about it,” she retorts, rolling her eyes. “I’m gonna go get some pictures of the decorations before there’s a bunch of fucking people here to block them.”

She stomps off in her heavy boots, and The Pangolins get back to work, putting on the final touches and making sure all the blocking looks right.

Soon enough, guests start flooding in, and Liz zips around to greet them, eventually meeting up with Peter and keeping him with her. He and Liz eventually pull Ellie away from her picture-taking, confident she’s done enough and needs to just relax and enjoy the party.

So much for distracting herself with work, she thinks.

They sit on the couch and eat, the dining room was monopolized by The Pangolins due to its elevation and space.

Ellie’s mesmerized by the way your fingers move until she hears Peter talking to Liz. They really are a cute couple.

“You really do need to hang out with us. Yukio told me Y/N thinks Ellie and I are a thing,” he says.

“Gross, you’re like my annoying little brother,” Ellie remarks.

“And you’re like my bitchy older sister,” Peter retorts with a shit-eating grin.

“Both of you, quiet! They’re about to play the new song. You’re in for a real treat, Ellie.”

“What does it have to do with me?”

Liz gives Peter a confused and slightly irritated look.

“I haven’t said anything to her, I didn’t know how,” Peter squeaks, blushing a little at the look in his girlfriend’s eyes.

“Explain, quickly,” Ellie demands.

But, then you start to sing again.

“Y/N-” Peter starts.

“Shut up.”

“But you asked-”

“I said, shut up,” Ellie insists.

“You know me as your boyfriend's goofy friend. I seem to have this effect on women, and your friends aren't as goofy as I am. I try my best to keep you entertained, always laughing at the jokes you are saying. I nod my head when you make a point, oh oh…

“Kiss me, kiss me with your eyes closed! Whisper that your heart shows all I want is you, yeah, you… Hold me, hold me I'm your bunny! Tell me I'm not funny, tell me I’m legit! ‘Cause I feel weak, in your hands and your feet… A precious end, I’ll never feel your touch…”

Ellie continues to listen to the song, all expression drained from her face. All the yearning in the words and your voice, all you want is…

Ellie looks at Peter, who’s looking at her with a triumphant smile.

“I told you.”

Ellie feels like she’s about to faint. She notices you’re talking to Liz— when did she leave? —your hand over your mic. Despite the knowledge that Liz is taken, Ellie gets jealous. You look so happy to be talking to Liz, to just about any girl you talk to.

She wishes you’d smile at her that way.

You nod at whatever Liz said, and the band starts packing away their instruments. Liz sets up her phone on some Bluetooth speakers, and songs that sounded so much better when you were singing them start to play.

No! Ellie internally protests. Sing for me again, please, sing that stupid song about how you think I don’t like you.

Yukio’s dragging you somewhere. Gosh, Ellie wishes it was her holding your hand.

Suddenly, though, you and Yukio are approaching her. She knows what she has to do.

“So, what’d you think of our- Eek! Finally!”

Ellie parts from the kiss to tell her to fuck off and not ruin the moment before kissing you again.

“Holy fucking shit,” you breathe. “Uh, I thought you were-“

“Dating Peter?! Seriously?! Do I need to write ‘dyke’ on my fucking forehead? I practically already have with the way I dress and act and-”

“I, uh, I try not to make assumptions,” you mumble, fingers touching your lips.

“I’m, uh, sorry for not asking.”

“No, it’s- It was good. I’ve wanted you to do that for a while. It’s just that that was the first time somebody’s kissed me, since, uh…” Your eyes dart to Yukio, who’s ruffling Ned’s hair and laughing.

“Yukio?!” Orange flickers in Ellie’s eyes for a moment, but she keeps it under control.

“No, no, of course not, uh… The old singer, Lola. She and Yukio were dating, but apparently I was the one she really had her sights on, and… She was entitled. Thought that because she wanted me, I must want her. That wasn’t really the case, I was already pining over you. Didn’t stop her from forcing a few kisses on me and trying to go further. If Yukio hadn't shown up early with cupcakes, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

“I am such an asshole,” Ellie says softly. “Can I kiss you again? The right way.”

“I’d say what you did before was pretty right, but sure,” you consent.

Her kiss before had been rough, needy, and impatient. Just the way you like it. This, though, this is gentle, soft, and exploratory. You tangle your hands in her hair and kiss her harder. She moans into the kiss before pulling away, bewildered.

“That was…” Ellie trails off, trying to find a positive adjective that won’t sound to frilly or lovesick.

“A mistake, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, fuck, no. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” she corrects you. “Just- Didn’t really know how. Even when you were kinda flirting with me at first, I just thought you were messing with me, so I- I am so stupid.”

“So am I,” you scoff. “I thought you were dating Peter.”

“I was spending a lot of time with him, but… I was just using him as an excuse to avoid you so I wouldn’t embarrass myself anymore. And I was asking him for advice. I figured if he could land somebody as far out of his league as Liz, maybe I stood the slightest bit of a chance with you. But I kept fucking it up. I’d just get so nervous, all of my compliments would turn into insults, all of my teasing turned into straight-up cruelty. I don’t know how you actually like me.”

“I’m a little bit of a masochist, I’ll admit,” you tell her. “I’m really glad you don’t hate me.”

“I’m really glad you don’t hate me,” Ellie replies, but she can’t help but think that what she‘s really saying is ‘I love you, too.’

She takes your hand, and you two rejoin your friends, swept up in a group hug. They wanted this to happen almost as much as you two did.

[neocatharsis]

NCT 127 Reveal The Hobbies & Obsessions They Can’t Give Up In Their Down Time

In Elite Daily’s series Rent-Free, celebrities unpack the one thought, memory, or unforgettable pop culture moment that'll always live in their head. In this piece, NCT 127 reveals the interests and hobbies even die-hard fans will be surprised to learn about.

In the past year, most musical acts had to cancel their highly-anticipated tours due to the coronavirus pandemic, and NCT 127 was no exception. That’s why its members — Johnny, Haechan, Mark, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Yuta, Taeil, Jungwoo, and Doyoung — have taken every opportunity to get closer to their fans with new music. After dropping their second Japanese EP, Loveholic, in February, the group returned on June 4 with “Save,” their latest single all about making unforgettable memories. Up next? An entirely new era. On July 7 (the group’s fifth anniversary), they announced their next album is coming in September. In celebration of all the exciting things ahead, NCT 127 opened up about how they wind down after a hard day’s work.

NCT 127 tells Elite Daily these past five years as a group have been worthwhile, and it’s all thanks to their fans, called NCTzens, who have supported them throughout their journey. “[We have so many] memories from practicing together pre-debut to our actual debut stage, and also all those times we spent working on our music and performance to meet our fans at our first concert and first world tour as well,” the group collectively says. “Each and every moment we spend on our music is for our fans, and we are working hard to better show ourselves in various different ways, so we hope you’re all excited!”

Fans have impacted the group so much that they’ve become the muse behind NCT 127’s biggest tracks. “The inspiration [behind ‘Save’] comes from wanting to save our precious memories with each other and with our fans,” the group says. And NCT 127 hasn’t let go of a single one. While they haven’t been able to perform in front of a live audience since early 2020, they held their online Beyond The Origin concert in May. They add, “It was new getting to meet fans from every part of the world at the same time.”

While the guys have their hands full recording their next project, they’re making sure to get some much-deserved R&R whenever they can. Below, NCT 127 reveal the interests that have been living in their minds rent-free.

Johnny

Johnny is a major fan of horror movies. “I love how they keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you’re watching,” he says. His favorite scary movie of all time is Shutter, which is about a couple who accidentally run over a woman and then see her ghost in photographs they develop. “Even though I watched it when I was young, I still remember the movie, and it’s one I think about often. I’ve seen the movie multiple times since I first saw it in high school, and I recall being scared of red-lit rooms for quite some time afterward,” he says.

His most recent watch was The Conjuring franchise. He adds, “After I saw the movies, I looked up some articles about the behind stories. They were pretty interesting!”

Taeil

Taeil keeps music on his mind even after a full day of rehearsals. “Audio speakers really amplify music so you can hear the intricate details of the track, and there’s also that sense of excitement from when you hear a sound you like!” Taeil says, explaining his love for audio. “I like the speaker brand Focal. There’s still a lot I don’t know about speakers, but I find the brand very attractive since you can experience a flat sound that’s similar to what the songwriter intended to create.”

Taeil says the group’s sound has changed a lot since their debut in 2016. He says, “With time, our team color is definitely becoming more distinct and defined. I think the sound we have now is a very captivating one with strong hip-hop and R&B colors.”

Taeyong

The group’s leader enjoys connecting with others, but especially with NCTzens. “[Our relationship] is a very precious and one that I’m truly grateful for. Not only do we enjoy the same things, but we also try to improve and show that to each other. All of this is very special and meaningful to me,” he says. “It’s nice to learn of each other’s culture, and by singing in different languages, it makes me feel as if I’ve grown closer to our fans from those countries.”

Yuta

Yuta loves exercising because it’s very rewarding, and although he doesn’t have a specific fitness routine, he prefers working out at a gym rather than at home. “I like how exercising makes me feel stronger and helps me to build up my strength... which is very helpful when practicing group dances that require attention to body angles,” he says. “We had a short preparation period [to learn ‘Save’], but I was able to learn the choreography quickly and had a fun time preparing.”

Doyoung

Ever since he was cast as Axel von Fergen in the Korean adaptation of Marie Antoinette, which is based on the 2006 musical of the same name that originally premiered in Japan, Doyoung has found a newfound appreciation for theatre. “I find it very precious how you can share emotions through singing and acting,” he says. “It’s been very meaningful preparing for my musical debut, and it’s really all thanks to the amazing seniors and producers! The process in itself has been a very fun one, and I have been preparing with a heart of gratitude.”

Doyoung is set to make his musical debut on July 13 when the production opens at the Charlotte Theater in Seoul.

Jaehyun

Jaehyun says he “fell in love” with tennis in April because it helps relieve stress. “I’ve always enjoyed trying out new sports like basketball, bowling, and boxing whenever I had the chance. But I actually started tennis because my father recommended it,” he says. “I know this is the case for all sports, but tennis isn’t something you can master after a few tries. It requires persistence, and I started to enjoy it even more as I saw myself gradually improving.”

Jaehyun’s favorite tennis player is Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old Italian athlete who competed in the 2020 French Open as the youngest quarterfinalist in the men’s singles event. He says, “I’d really like to go see a tournament.”

Mark

Lately, Mark is interested in taking better care of his hair. “It’s really important to me because I change my hair color a lot, and because I want my hair and scalp to be healthy,” he says. While he’s experimented with just about every color in the rainbow, there’s one he always loves going back to. He adds, “I think I liked my blue hair the most. It is my favorite color, after all, and I believe my fans liked it as much as I did. I was glad to be able to film the ‘Save’ music video during my blue-haired period. It fit well with all the scenes and the aesthetics!”

Jungwoo

Similar to Yuta, Jungwoo has also had exercising on his mind. “My life has become more lively since I started exercising. More so than exercising to improve my physique, I exercise in order to have a healthier, richer life. Also, it makes me proud knowing I’m spending my day more productively,” he says. “The first thing I do after I wake up is to start off the day with simple stretches that improve body balance... Stretching helps to warm up the body, which reduces the risk of injury, and can also boost your mood! I think this is why when I dance, I’m able to express those movements in more detail.”

Haechan

Haechan is now experimenting with all things fragrance. “I started using perfume since scents can give a sense of self-satisfaction and because I wanted to smell good all the time!” he says, adding he doesn’t have a favorite perfume. “The scent that suits me well, that I personally like, and that will suit me is always different!” However, there’s one scent that will always remind him of a certain memory with NCT 127. “This might sound funny, but I’d have to say the smell of sweat in our practice rooms,” Haechan says, adding it’s “satisfying” because it makes him feel like they worked hard after a long day. As for what draws fans to NCT 127, Haechan credits their “sincere music and performances.”

© Elite Daily

[stolascloaca]

behold! i didn't see any otgw icebergs, so i made my own :)

if you think i should add something, lmk!!

Explanations under cut :)

First layer:

▪︎Beast!Wirt au - very popular au in which Wirt stays in the Unknown, possessed by the Beast to some extent.

▪︎Bad End Friends - Crossover AU of Beast!Wirt teaming up with Ice Finn from Adventure Time and Bipper from Gravity Falls; sometimes other 'bad end' au characters are thrown in such as a glitched Gumball from TAWOG

▪︎Irl Copies of the For Sara tape - Limited copies of the For Sara tape were sold at two points. They have yet to sell for a third time. (🤞🤞🤞)

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (pilot) - The Pilot of the series. Can be watched on YouTube.

▪︎Wirt Staying in the Unknown - In a scrapped ending, Wirt was to stay in the Unknown, saying that facing your real problems was scarier than staying there.

▪︎Mystery Kids - Crossover AU with other child-late teens aged characters from sources based on mysterious and supernatural themes such as Gravity Falls and Psychonauts.

▪︎Quincy Endicott's grave - Quincy's grave can be seen in the graveyard that Sara and the others are hanging out in.

▪︎Original Beatrice Voice Actress - Beatrice had a different VA in the pilot, Natasha Leggero. Melanie Lynskey voices her in the actual series.

▪︎The Woodsman's Daughter is Named Anna - The comics have several issues focused on his daughter, in which her name is revealed to be Anna.

▪︎Jason Funderburker's Ax Murderer Story - At the gathering in the graveyard, Funderburker is telling a story about a man with an ax; this story is believed to have influenced the existence of the Woodsman.

▪︎Full Versions of Songs in the OST - A handful of the songs are cut down for their appearances in the series and can only be heard in full on the OST. The most notable example is Old Black Train , which is actually 2 minutes and 15 seconds long, but is only in the series for about 15-20 seconds.

Second Layer:

▪︎Sara is named after the Fleetwood Mac song - Listen to it here :) it is notable that it includes lyrics about "drowning in a sea of love" and that Sara is "the poet of [the singer's] heart."

▪︎OTGW Reanimated - a reanimated project for the first episode. Got taken off of YouTube, but can be viewed on Dailymotion.

▪︎Baby Wirt Audio - In the For Sara cassette, there is a small section of audio that can be heard in about the middle of the recording of Wirt's father talking to him as a baby.

▪︎Funderburker/Funderberker - The two Jasons's surnames are spelled slightly differently to avoid confusion.

▪︎The Brothers Never Ate or Needed to Rest - Although Greg expressed being hungry, neither of the boys actually ate anything (outside of one spoonful of bland potatoes and inedible items such as dirt and leaves) and never laid down to rest, only sleeping when night came.

▪︎Book on Interior Design in Wirt's Room - In Wirt's from, a book on interior design can be seen laying on the floor, backing up the knowledge he displayed when analyzing the interconnected mansions.

▪︎Mad Love was Based on a Dream - The plot of Mad Love came from a dream that Pat McHale had about house hunting. In the dream, while exploring one of the houses being shown, he ended up wandering into someone else's home.

▪︎Beatriceoftheday - A blog dedicated to our lord and savior Beatrice, known for its strange shitposts and intense praise of the titular bird girl.

▪︎Wirt is Jealous of Greg's Popularity - Shown in the Circus Friends issue of the comics, Wirt is jealous of Greg's ability to make everyone laugh and have fun. This may factor into his dislike of his brother.

▪︎Greg was Feeding Fred at the Tavern - At first watching, one may be confused as to where all the food Greg was gathering went, why Fred was wearing lipstick and why he was refusing to talk to Beatrice. Shown in a deleted scene, this all explained, as Fred tells Beatrice that he didn't talk to her because Greg was feeding him.

▪︎Elijah Wood Voiced the Crazy Driver - Exactly what is says on the tin, the nutty driver was voiced by Wood.

▪︎Cloud City is Heaven - A popular theory that Cloud City actually represents Heaven.

▪︎Greg is Greg Universe - A headcanon/theory that has mostly died out that Greg is the same Greg in Steven Universe.

▪︎Bee Beatrice - Beatrice was originally cursed to become a bee, but was changed into a bluebird to match better with the seasonal autumn theme.

▪︎Pat McHale Voiced Wirt's Voice Crack - Wirt's voice crack when asking the Beast Are You? was actually done by McHale, not Wood.

▪︎The Other Actors Harassing Elijah Wood When Singing Wirt's Song - In order to make the performance as awkward as possible, the other actors were asked to yell and demand Wirt to sing. This can be heard in the episode.

▪︎Come Wayward Souls Has the Same Melody as O Holy Night - The song shares a cadence with "O Holy Night", and can be sung to its tune.

▪︎Black Turtles Origin/Purpose - No one knows why the black turtles exist, and McHale has said that they're just one of the unexplainable things of the Unknown.

▪︎Anna Never Left the House - In the aforementioned comics, it is shown that Anna had never left the house, living on her own until the Woodsman's return.

▪︎Sailor Suit Greg - Greg originally wore a sailor suit, but was changed later on to his current, Johnny Appleseed inspired outfit .

▪︎Beatrice Missing Being Able to Flip People Off - In the Art Book, Beatrice's introduction states that one of the reasons she hates being a bird is because she no longer has hands to flip people off with.

Third Layer

▪︎Jason Funderberker is Visually Based on a Teen Pat McHale - As seen here, Funderberker was designed after McHale.

▪︎Babes in the Wood is Based on an Old Alice in Wonderland Cartoon - You can view the original 1923 cartoon here! Starts at 4:25.

▪︎Wirt and Sara are Dipper and Mabel's Parents - A popular AU/hc where Dipper and Mabel of Gravity Falls are the future kids of Wirt and Sara.

▪︎The Tune of Wirt's Song is Improvised - In addition to the aforementioned harassment, in a further attempt to make the performance as awkward as possible, Elijah Wood was not given a tune to sing, only the lyrics.

▪︎Wirt's Costume Origin - As said in the art book and on his tumblr, Wirt's cone and cape come from an attempted rock and roll persona from McHale's teen years.

▪︎Greg is Based on Pat McHale's Son - It has been claimed that Greg is based on McHale's son, but Greg existed before him. The similarities are simply coincidental.

▪︎Old Scratch - The original name of the Beast.

▪︎The Beast Killed the Woodsman's Wife - Shown in the comics, The Woodsman's wife was mortally injured, with her attacker implied to be the Beast.

▪︎Wirt and Greg Staying in the Unknown Until Christmas - Another scrapped ending, in which the brothers stay in The Unknown until Christmas, with their absence unexplained.

▪︎Tome of the Unknown (original plot) - Early concepts had the Beast ( then known as Old Scratch as mentioned earlier ) scattering the pages of the titular book for the brothers to collect. Each page would come to life and the brothers would explore each story.

▪︎Dante's Inferno Comparisons - Check out these videos for full analysis!

▪︎Wirt Panty Shots - In the aforementioned Circus Friend comics, Wirt dons a dress as part of a disguise. Later on, he rips off the bottom half off, revealing that he is wearing bloomers.

▪︎The Beast's True Form was Inspired by Trypophobia - As stated in the art book, The Beast's hole-filled appearance was inspired by Trypophobia, the fear of many small holes.

▪︎The Fight is Over is About Drowning - Give the lyrics another read.

▪︎The Beast Last Minute Design Change - The Beast had a very different design, and it was changed into the current one at the last minute.

▪︎Gnome in Cloud City Representing Wirt - Many people believed that the Gnome with the lantern in cloud city was a parallel to Wirt, or a glimpse into his future. However, this was debunked.

▪︎Send Me a Peach - This song is included in the ost, but isn't in the actual series.

▪︎Fred and the Highwayman's Backstory - The comics expand upon the story of Fred the Horse and his involvement with the Highwayman.

Fourth Layer

▪︎Babes in the Wood Title Origin - The name of this episode comes from an old story of a pair of children getting lost in the woods, dying, and being buried in leaves by robins.

▪︎poorlydrawnotgw - This was a blog created during the poorly drawn series meme period. It consisted of poorly drawn and very strange shitposts and has since been deactivated. I was a part of it as mod Goopy Wirt and only have a handful of images saved from it.

▪︎Read and Listen Book Lost Audio - A read and listen book was created, with the book being read by Greg's Frog, who would stop every now and again to talk about being a frog. The pages can be found online, but the audio is currently lost.

▪︎Skinless Witch - A scrapped episode concept involved a skinless witch that kidnapped Greg and rode him like a horse.

▪︎Gentleman Burglar Wirt - A scrapped concept in which Wirt breaks into a woman's home, who is charmed by this young man who has come to visit her.

▪︎Animal Transformation - It was originally planned for Wirt and Greg to be turned into a bear/dog and a duck and remain that way for several episodes. This was later used in the comics.

▪︎The Unknown is influenced by Wirt's mind/interests - The Unknown is influenced by those who walk in it, in this case, Wirt. This includes the old timey mystical nature of it, as Wirt has been stated to have an interest in old folk tales.

▪︎Good Guy Beast/Black Train Scrapped Concept - In an earlier draft, the brothers were on a train, heading to what they assumed was death. They jump off, ending up in the Unknown. The Beast tries to get them back on the train, which turns out to be heading back to life.

▪︎Evil Woodsman - At one point, the Woodsman was intended to be under the influence of the Beast and tried to sabotage the brothers's attempts to return home.

▪︎Lorna Reading the Tome of the Unknown in the Epilogue - In the epilogue, Lorna can be seen reading the titular book from the aforementioned scrapped plot.

▪︎The Beast was Originally the Devil Himself - The Beast was first designed as a devil-like character, the aforementioned Old Scratch.

▪︎The Brothers Never Went Home/The Hospital is Part of The Unknown - a theory based on the fact that the edges of the screen are still blurred at the end of chapter 10, the rushed narration, and the lack of consequences of nearly drowning.

▪︎Beatrice Seeing Wirt Nude - In one of the comics, Beatrice accidentally sees Wirt while he is washing his clothes in the river.

▪︎Sara is a Descendant of Lorna - A theory that Sara is a distant relative of Lorna.

▪︎Exists in the Same Universe as Clarence and Home Movies - The most well known piece of evidence is the overhead shot of the town matching the town that Clarence is set in. Wirt and Greg also have a cameo in another episode, and one of the final episodes shows Brendon Small of Home Movies runs a movie rental store in the town, connecting all three series together.

Final Layer

▪︎Beast x Wirt - Also known as Poetree.

▪︎Candycone - Greg x Wirt.

[sugako]

friends help friends

suga x f!reader x daichi

sum: when suga finds about a secret desire you’ve been hiding he asks the person he trusts the most to help fulfill your fantasy 

cw: 18+ minors dni, nsfw, smut, watching porn, Dom/sub, threesome, pet names (angel, baby), thigh riding, face sitting/oral (f!receiving) spit roast, oral/face fucking (m!receiving), anal plug, spanking, degradation, anal sex/cockwarming, double penetration, all holes filled, squirting, sloppy, pearl necklace/cumming on you, creampie

wc: 3.5k 

a/n: very excited to post my first threesome i hope yall like it <3 

“Whatcha watching?” Suga’s sharp sing-song voice ringing from behind your ear jolted you out of your seat. On instinct, you snapped off your phone and shoved it between you and the chair.  

“Nothing!” You yelped. You hadn’t even heard him sneak up behind you, still thinking he was working away in his home office. 

“Oh, so you weren’t just watching a woman get railed by two big guys at the same time in the middle of our living room on your phone?” He smirked as he rounded the big chair, moving you over so you were cradled in his lap. You adjusted yourself so your red face was hidden, pressed against his chest and your knees hung over the arm of the chair. 

“Depends on what you count as nothing, I guess.” You muttered into him. 

When he cupped your already soaked center through your soft lounge pants, you knew his joking tone would vanish shortly. Your thighs struggled to shut around his wrist as he ground his palm into your clit. 

“You wish that was you?” He whispers into the crown of your head, placing a little kiss there. “I don’t even know why I’m asking when you’re dripping through your clothes like this.” His little scoff making you whine. 

“I just wanted to see.” You sigh into him as his hand travels back to your leg, urging you to straddle his thigh. Melting into his warm touch, you readily comply. 

When your hands wrap around the back of his neck, he sharply raises his knee against you. With a little whine, you start to hump yourself against him and kiss against the soft, pale skin of his neck. “You don’t even need a cock to get off, so why be greedy and want two?” His harsh words only served to encourage you as you ground against him harder. “Kinda hurts my feelings. My baby wants another man’s cock.” He fake pouted and pulled your head away to admire how your lust-filled eyes shimmered in the soft afternoon light. 

“N-no, you’re all I need.” You assured him, although his farce was obvious. 

“But you want two cocks?” He challenged. 

“I don’t-” 

“Don’t lie, angel, it’s not very nice of you.” 

You paused, distracted by the feeling between your legs. At this point, you knew the fabric of his pants had to be getting soaked with how you were dripping against him. 

“Yeah, but we could use a fake one.” You suggest, tightening your grip on his shoulders.

“Hmm, it’s not the same, you know that.” He grins at the confused look on your face, enjoying watching you struggle to respond appropriately. “I’ll find you someone, hmmkay? But first, you should probably be punished for being a little liar and holding back from me.”

Just as you’re teetering at the edge of release, he pulls you off his leg and lays you out over his lap with your ass in the air. 

“Don’t forget to count, angel.” 

That’s how, about a week later, you end up awkwardly sitting beside Daichi on your living room couch. The night he found out about your little secret, Suga had gotten to work right away. Originally, Daichi thought the texts were a joke until Suga added you to the group and sent a lewd photo of your fucked out body and a short audio clip of you begging for more. 

Suga was humming happily as he watched the two of you nervously sip your teas as he prattled on with meaningless small talk as if this was casual. Part of you wondered just how much he was doing this for you and how much he was doing for himself. Still, the excitement far outweighed any inhibitions you had about the entire thing. 

You turned to Daichi, who was currently keeping his eyes locked on the bottom of his empty cup, both hands firmly clamped around it. Seeing him like that, usually so cool and confident, actually boosted your ego. 

“Hey,” you said softly, putting a hand over his knee, “You wanna go to the bedroom?” 

His eyes flickered down the front of your oversized shirt. When he walked in it had been painfully obvious you weren’t wearing anything except a frilly pair of panties underneath, and although he was only over for one reason, he still felt a little bad when he got hard at the sight of your body. The way your fingers smoothed over his knee and thigh, trying to calm him down only added to his fluster. “We can go slow if you’re nervous.” You draw out, creeping closer to him. 

Suga watches, silently and carefully, seated adjacent to you. Daichi’s always followed the ‘rules’ too much and Suga relishes in watching him unravel under your pretty stare. 

“Th-that’s not, I mean I’m not-”

“She’s right, you’ll feel more comfortable in the bedroom. Take him, angel, I’ll be right behind after I take these to the sink.” Suga cuts off his sputtering before it can get out of hand and quickly swoops in to take the empty cups from the both of you. 

Daichi lets you take his hand and lead him. He knows where the bedroom is, he’s been over dozens, maybe even hundreds of times before, but now everything looks a little new for some reason. When he blinked again and finally took a breath to ground himself you were cocking your head up at him, waiting patiently beside the bed. 

“Here,” you said quietly, taking his cheeks into the palms of your hands, “Let’s start slow, huh? Kiss me.” Craning into him, you hesitate, wanting him to be the one to close the gap. After a long moment, he finally does. Still cautious, he hums against your lips, letting you lead him through the short contact before you pull away. “Kōshi will probably ask you again too, but are you sure you want to do this?” 

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he nods, realizing his arms somehow got bound up in holding you. “Yes, I’m sure, this is all just new.” 

“I know, it’s new for us too, but don’t worry, it’ll be fun!” You’re giving him a firm pat on the shoulder when Suga strolls in, barely rolling his eyes at the two of you. 

“You’re here to fuck her, not hug her.” He laments as he takes you into his arms, planting a firm kiss against your lips. “And don’t worry, she’s a slut, she can take whatever.” When he spins you around harshly and you let out a little yelp at the sudden twist, feeling a little more exposed now that he’s holding your back against his chest. “I think this is more than enough buildup, so why don’t we just get to it?” 

He scrunches up your long, shirt, pulling it over your head and messing up your hair in the process. His hands come around your front to palm your tits, putting them on display for Daichi. You’re already panting, watching him slowly reach down to the front of his pants and begin to unbutton them. 

“So pretty, isn’t she?” Suga beams from behind you, looking down at how you’re already squirming in his arms. “I’m so lucky she’s also such a perfect, little cumslut too.” With only a little force he pushes you toward the bed. “On the bed, on your knees, baby.” He starts disrobing and glances back at Daichi who’s thick tip is peeking out from behind the band of his boxers. “You want her to suck your dick? Just tell her, you’ll do anything, right baby? Always so obedient.” 

You’re sitting back on your knees, waiting for the two of them to finish undressing, but you nod quickly. “Yeah, just like we talked about. Want you to tell me what you want.” 

“Ahh, yeah, um alright.” 

Suga tried to hold back another eye roll. Daichi, usually so in charge and dominating, was nervously puttering before you - his sweet, submissive fuck baby, of all people. With a little huff, Suga fell back onto the bed behind you. Feeling the mattress dip beside you, you went to turn before he stopped you. 

“No, stay. Let’s just get these off,” he tugs down on your soaked panties, tossing them off the side of the bed, “and you can sit on my face.” 

Even though you don’t turn, you know he can feel your excitement growing. You turn your eyes back to Daichi, who’s standing a little more confidently in front of you even if his cheeks are stained red, gripping his cock with white knuckles. Balancing on your knees while Suga snuggled between your thighs, you reached out beckoning him to come closer. When your fingertips grazed over his, brushing up his head, damp with pre-cum, any hesitation he had left seemed to dissipate. 

“Please,” you didn’t know if you were whining to him or to Suga who was caressing your ass and slowly kissing up between your thighs, “want you.” Thighs pressed tightly against the bed to get as close to you as possible, Daichi held his breath as you gripped him harder and opened your mouth.

His girth was impressive, you had to admit, and the way his angry purple head stretched your lips made you silently whimper around him. In response, he let out a low groan, pushing into you a little more. You were so focused on holding and pumping him in time with your mouth you barely noticed how Suga had slowed his actions. 

Below you, he was admiring how your pretty cunt fluttered and clenched every time you took a little more of his friend. It hadn’t taken much for you to get soaked, so even in the shadow under your body, he could see the glistening slick seeping from you. But when he heard you whine more needily he couldn’t hold back. 

Your jaw tightened around Daichi as you let out a high-pitched moan, muffled by his cock between your lips, and your hand around him fell to the bed to keep you upright. Suga licked thick stripes up and down, smearing your wetness as much as he could, and pulling you to sit flush to his face. Your eyes teared up as he stopped the sloppy licks and started in on your clit. 

Daichi’s head fell back when his hips, on their own volition, started thrusting into you. His hand wrapped around the side of your head and kept you in place as he fucked himself into your mouth. As best you could while distracted by both men, you slackened your jaw to take more of him until his tip was prodding at the back of your throat. Suga’s tongue did not let up on you either, and in minutes you were a slobbering mess humping against his face as release bounded upon you. 

Overwhelmed, Daichi slowed his motions in your mouth, watching you come undone. Hot, little tears flowed over your pretty cheeks and your body twitched and spasmed, but you stayed with your lips firmly wrapped around him. The little whines and moans vibrated his length only adding to his own tension. 

Suga licked one last messy stripe up you, needing a last taste as you slowly stilled. He shuffled out from under you and got up on his knees, lifting your ass to meet his hips. Easily lining his cock up he slapped a harsh mark against your skin. The motion made you lurch forward, moaning again around Daichi. 

“Like I said,” Suga panted out, “You can be a little rougher with her, she likes it.” He kept his eyes on the two of you as you started bobbing your head once more, and reached into the bedside table to pull out a short, thick object and a small bottle - both of which Daichi recognized at once. When you heard Suga squirt the lube into his hand, you couldn’t help but clenching, knowing what was to come. 

He was too impatient to warm it up in his hands, simply coating your tight, puckered hole in it before easing a finger in. “Relax, angel baby.” He coos, voice far softer than before. You always got too excited, accidentally clenching when you shouldn’t be, especially with someone’s cock fucking your mouth so good. Slowly, he eases the plug in, rubbing your back all the while. 

Nose puffing wildly against Daichi, you relax as best you can as you feel the plug bottom out, knowing it’s only the beginning. Suga doesn’t give you a moment’s rest, landing another rough smack against your bottom before he pushes himself into your ready cunt in one smooth motion. You feel so full already, every hole being filled and fucked to the brim. 

Between the two of them, you’re barely doing anything anymore. Their thrusts effortlessly sync up and you’re suddenly being tossed back and forth, back and forth on their cocks. It’s more than you had imagined, being so full and so fucked out already.

“My cute little whore, you love this, don’t you?” Suga calls out hoarsely. “Your little pussy is just creaming all over me.” 

Deftly, you hum around the cock in your mouth, unable to actually respond. Daichi’s motions get sloppier and harder when you look up at his determined expression with your teary eyes. With a sharp huff, he pulls you off by tugging back your hair and takes a small step back from the bed. Your numb jaw stays parted as you gasp for air, spit leaking down the corner of your dry lips. 

“Didn’t… didn’t wanna cum just yet.” He puffs out, knowing Suga was gearing up to ask. You feel emptier, having easily gotten so used to being skewered by their cocks. 

“You want to fuck her?” Suga slows his rough thrusts, lazily rutting against you before he lets out a short laugh. Letting your front half fall into the mattress for some respite, you clench around him at the question. “I know you want that, angel, calm down,” he scoffs. “Besides, you haven’t even seen her perfect cunny, that’s what you’re really here for anyway.” 

You whimper into the sheets when Suga suddenly pulls out, unable to move. Daichi clears his throat and sits beside you on the bed, smoothing the hair out of your face. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he sighs, “I’m gonna fuck you now.” He says simply just as Suga wraps his arms around you, pulling you back into his lap. He keeps himself upright with his back against the headboard and reaches between your legs and carefully slides the plug out, only to replace it with his soaked cockhead. Not capable of forming a sentence you just moan and nod as his cock slips into you, aided by an ample amount of added lube. 

It’s not a new sensation, but the stretch aches each time, especially when he bottoms out and spreads your legs. His own legs are spread enough for yours to be wide enough to fit Daichi’s thick body. When you finally look up, haze clearing from your mind, you’re met with a dark expression etched into Daichi’s face while he positions himself between your legs. 

He doesn’t look directly at you, eyes fixed between your puffy spread folds and the sliver of where he can see how Suga is nestled inside of you. From behind, Suga’s hand comes up around your chin, forcing you to look back. His thumb taps against your cheek and, on command, you open your mouth and stick out your flat tongue. Daichi can only watch as Suga spits down into your bruised mouth and immediately presses a burning kiss against your lips. 

Daichi doesn’t even realize he’s frozen until Suga pulls away from you, forcing you to look forward. “Come on then, she’s been good, don’t you think she deserves your cock? She’s squeezing me to death here.” 

Blinking hard, Daichi comes out of his stupor. “Yeah, you’ve been a good girl.” He echoes back. “You wanna be filled up by these two cocks?” 

It’s barely a question, but you stutter out an answer anyway. “Please, yes, please, please. Want you so bad.” 

He eases between both of your legs, putting his hands on either side of Suga to keep himself steady as he prods at your hole. The little sigh you let out when his tip slides in makes him shudder and force himself in deeper. His fat cock burns you, and with Suga’s lodged deep in your ass, you feel like your being split. Along your thin wall, you can feel the two of them nestled against one another as Daichi slowly enters you. 

Suga pants across the back of your neck, holding himself back from fucking your tight hole that only grows tighter as Daichi eases into you. For what feels like forever, he looms over your whimpering mess of a body, inching in little by little until at last, he bottoms out. 

“Good, baby? Both your cute, little holes all filled out.” Suga whispered against your ear. 

Already shaking, you feverishly nod. “F-feels so good, ah… uh, both so big.” 

Daichi’s hips are vibrating as he holds back from fucking into you, choosing instead to shallowly rut against you. “So tight,” he sighs, “but you’re taking us so well.” For once, not silently pleading for Suga’s permission, he pulls out most of the way before slamming back into you. The way his cock drags against your stretched walls and the hardness of Suga’s closely centered cock is completely new to him, but it makes his mind go feral. 

All you can do is sit back against Suga’s smooth chest as Daichi fucks you into him, both of them moving to kiss any bit of you they comfortably can. It’s a sloppy mess of tongues and teeth and skin slapping and scraping while you’re crushed between them. After feeling Daichi’s cock rub so manically against his, Suga can’t help but thrust up into you, holding back as much as he humanly can. 

The only noises that fill the air are a garbled mix of broken sobs and moans intertwined with the loud slaps of skin and wet squelch between your legs. A tight knot ropes itself in the base of your abdomen, between being stuffed and the way Daichi’s hip keeps battering your still-sensitive clit you know you’re not far from the edge. 

“Gonna cum on our cocks?” Suga manages out from behind you. 

“Uh… uh-huh, c-close.” 

“Come on, cum all over my cock.” Daichi groans into your shoulder, the way your shake under him giving him the confidence to slam into you harder. The added pressure is enough to unravel you. Orgasm violently crashing down, Suga holds your thrashing body still, watching where Daichi’s cock was still pounding into your fluttering cunt. You felt the pressure keep inside of you as the waves continued, and then a sputter of wetness came from between your legs, soaking Daichi’s abdomen. 

“Good girl,” Suga sighed and stilled completely. 

He couldn’t even try to hold back a loud moan as he looked down to watch you squirt all over him. That was the end of the line for him. Despite what his heart wanted, he pulled out of you, sitting back on his knees and furiously pumping his weeping cock. The emptiness made you feel exposed, but you could only needily whine and grind back in Suga’s lap.

“Gonna cum on those tits. All over you.” Daichi’s eyes are flickering between yours and your empty pussy. Before you can get a simple ‘please’ in, his cum is shooting all over your abdomen and across your chest. A broken, breathy moan shatters out of his mouth when he clearly looks at you. “So pretty like this.” He whispers as he relaxes. 

Giving him his moment, Suga waits until the gentle smile finds its way back onto Daichi’s face to lift you off his throbbing cock. The sudden motion makes you squeak as your back on your hands and knees again and Suga’s pushing you into the comforter. 

“Let me help you.” You manage, looking up into Daichi’s eyes just before Suga rams into you, starting at a blistering pace immediately. Your entire body is rocked, the bed creaking under you. 

Daichi gently takes your chin, scooting up so you can take his softening cock into your mouth and suck him clean. Just as you finish, leaving a little trail of saliva between his tip and your lips, you feel Suga’s hips stutter and slow. His cock twitches inside of you one final time before he shoots his load deep into you, holding your hips flush to the front of his thighs. Purposefully, you clench tightly around him, sucking him in and milking him dry. 

He stays tucked inside of you until he starts to soften, then flops back onto the bed, dragging you along with him. You paw out for Daichi, pulling him back to lay on the other side of you. The three of you pant silently for a minute, cooling down. 

After a while, Suga clears his throat. “Everything you dreamed of, angel?” You hummed softly and often a small nod. Looking over your head, he made eye contact with Daichi and grinned. “Same time next week?” 

[kukuandkookie]

As someone who’s recently gotten more into Chinese media, all the news surrounding these “gritty live-action” adaptations from the west has me feeling a little more grateful for cdrama adaptations of popular novels/manga.

I suddenly feel lucky that since I’ve gotten into Chinese media, these live-action adaptions by China have generally turned out to be of good quality.

Like The Bad Kids—which is the most recent cdrama I watched in full for a neo-noir presentation assignment for my film noir class—it was so good!!

And I know it’s not the same thing since Netflix adapting something like The Winx Club is more international and the Chinese entertainment industry may run a little differently.

That being said, when a cdrama adaption does go a little more international by adapting something from Japan like Boys Over Flowers, Prince of Tennis, and Hikaru no Go, they generally do a good job and are well-received (mostly in part thanks to them respecting the source material NVKSJFJSHD).

Like I’ve heard so many good things about Prince of Tennis and Hikaru no Go (which I’m currently a little obsessed with) from fans of the originals.

And as someone who was so ready to be disappointed by The Untamed and who worried it would be cheap and unlikeable in comparison to the original novel I loved, I was so pleasantly surprised when I fell in love with the show!

Because even with censorship, even with the rewriting, even with the softening of characters, even with the rearrangement of the timeline, even with the additional stories... It’s still really good?

The crew clearly respected the original novel, and the actors also did a great job.

The same can be said for Guardian and The King’s Avatar—both live-action adaptations of novels that had different vibes from the original source material, but had enough respect and care put into them that even fans of the original who were ready to hate it ended up enjoying it.

Many of them also draw inspiration from the animated (donghua) and comic (manhua) and audio drama versions of the novel they’re adapting, and that once again shows respect to the fans who already like the donghua/manhua/audio drama.

And I guess that’s the thing? Like you don’t have to adapt something perfectly. Just...respect the original. Respect the fans. Care about the product you’re making. Put some effort into it.

I didn’t even mind Riverdale (1st season), and I say this as someone who liked to read the comics occasionally. It wasn’t perfect, but some of the storytelling surprises and mystery was fun (and Bughead was very cute), but that’s in part thanks to the Archie comics being so damn flexible in the first place (Archie can literally go from goofy fun to fighting zombies if you wanted).

But the more Riverdale pulled away from the comics, the more off it seemed to get, and since fans began critiquing it, I haven’t kept up with any of its news (I also stopped watching back in season 2).

But the Powerpuff Girls live-action and the Winx Club live-action? Idk they lack the flexibility of the Archie comics, and while some elements of their shows could be good for live-action adaptations (PPG could lend itself to a grittier superhero show if you really wanted; Winx could probably make for a cool fantasy show in a school setting), you have to respect the original!!

And I don’t see how what we’ve seen of Fate the Winx Saga is respectful to the original or to the fans (whitewashing, renaming a character you whitewashed because of fan backlash—ignoring the fact you’re still basically replacing a WOC with a white woman, ignoring some of the elements in character/aesthetic of the original, and erasing other characters)??

I was never into Winx Club as a kid, but even I recognize this is quite a...butchering of source material, to say the least. Not everything has to be edgy/gritty to be cool, you guys.

As someone who loves the Powerpuff Girls and was big into the fandom for years, this makes me more concerned for the live-action. 😬

But also while I’m still hesitant and cautious in my excitement for the upcoming Tian Guan Ci Fu live-action adaptation, it’s at least a bit of a relief that they’re in better hands than the western live-action adaptations. At least they’re in hands that will respect the source material more...

Besides having to balance the same struggles as the western entertainment industry (which parts to adapt, which to change, how to draw in new fans but keep old ones, etc), China literally has censors the creators may face in adapting gay/supernatural/violent stories.

But if they can still make something good that both old and new fans enjoy, then what excuse can the west turn to?

[hamaon]

audio drama natterings

- i love hearing this voice-acted jin guangyao because there is often NO correlation between his tone of voice, actions, and intentions. he can be saying one thing and doing another and you just need to do the math, with the benefit of hindsight, to figure out what third thing he was actually thinking at the time

there are also many times he is just being genuine, but picking those up probably needs, again, the benefit of hindsight

- su minshan has an amazing voice. whiny nasal baby, i love him

- no comment on the audio drama actor, but there were some clips with interviews with the voice actors from the animation included in the files, and holy shit, lan xichen. a voice to make love to

- yi city is an interesting self-contained tragedy, but it’s slim enough that i doubt that there is any alternate reality where that’s the part of the story that caught my particular attention. but still, if that had happened, most likely i would have hatched into a xiao xingchen fan

- nie deputy meng yao singing a distressed abandoned baby to sleep before continuing to sort out a battlefield, is there anything this man can’t do

i’m losing my mind over this a little to be perfectly honest, there was never any doubt in my mind that “gentle dad” is one of jin guangyao’s most dominant personality traits, but to have it validated so

- meng yao finally, after years and years of abuse and dead ends, decides to take matters into his own hands, hard work isn’t getting him anywhere, and nie fucking mingjue, who lives several realms away, just happens to walk in on him the one time he kills a man for personal gain

what were the ODDS

i’m also trying to figure out the logistics of this:

like. how. i guess no one had quite as much faith in jin guangyao’s abilities as nie mingjue

(also love how in the audio drama meng yao just keeps getting shit from every direction, so it’s absolutely not a question of whether he’s just exaggerating how bad it is for him 24/7)

this is the drop in the relationship. up to this point nie mingjue has been one of the only people who don’t (seem to) care about his background, but this is where his own version of meng yao starts overwriting reality. the moment there’s a crack in the presentation, it’s over for good.

he still appears very considerate (and in his own mind he is definitely being extremely reasonable! for nie mingjue he IS being extremely reasonable!) about meng yao’s incoming punishment and will leave it to the jin, but meng yao’s own estimation of his situation is that he will be executed.

dude relax, he didn’t even hurt you.

it’s an interesting pattern though, jin guangyao’s primary motivation is almost never harming others, and he often goes out of his way to avoid it, too. this is the first time he could have killed nie mingjue easily, made it look like an attack from the wen like he was doing with the jin guy.

fun contrast with the temple, where things are looking dire until you start unpacking what’s actually going on

- one of nie mingjue’s most dominant personality traits is concerning himself with the quality of character of people who are not him

- it is very commendable of nie mingjue to not let corrupt people in charge keep getting away with this shit, and to continue hounding the jin about xue yang. the eternal question, though: why is he taking this up with jin guangyao instead of someone who, you know, is in charge

- lan xichen really, really, really wanting to be sworn brothers, c’mon mingjue-xiong aren’t you ready to be nicer to a-yao, please please please, and now that we’ve all agreed to it and don’t need an auspicious date, we can do it the first thing tomorrow (almost literally what he says)

- lan xichen fucks on the first date and gets married on the second

then stays married to that person for fifty years, perfectly monogamous

(- one of lan xichen’s most dominant personality traits is being the teacher you can actually talk to)

- i like how nie mingjue’s attitude toward jin guangyao varies even when their relationship is at its tensest point, he can be civil and almost light-hearted with him and then soon enough take a swing at him, it’s... uncomfortably realistic, honestly.

- corrupted cleansing, very good here also. rip nie mingjue before your time but it’s just a nice tune. though here the quality is partially improved by the fact that it actually sounds like the original cleansing, just a little off sideways

- the paperman extra, i’m in awe. jin guangyao has noticed lan xichen isn’t feeling too good, distracts nie huaisang (who is getting a lecture) from bothering er-ge and gets him to lavish er-ge’s paintings with praise instead. wow.

- there’s something sadly poetic about lan xichen being stressed mostly because of jin guangyao, who is also the one who notices and immediately starts working on alleviating that discomfort

- things jin guangyao feeds lan xichen: only the best perfectly selected tea for the lan, let’s try it wangji. his favorite fruits, already waiting for him inside. that peppy tone of voice when they meet in the present day for the first time. imagine being the man someone of jin guangyao’s caliber of caregiving gives his full devotion to. zewu-jun luckiest motherfucker in the world. (he deserves it)

- lan xichen getting that laser-focused intimate care his family is completely unable to provide

- the cl- the clothes washing extra. i genuinely think lan xichen is just inexperienced, if it was just lol lan muscle he couldn’t interact with the world without destroying everything around himself. he shows signs of being interested to learn. let him hone his house spouse skills. he deserves it

- i thought i was desensitized to this backstory, but the brothel flashback actually made me cry, what the hell

- scenarios where meng shi who has any choice chooses the same profession make me uncomfortable. this is a woman suffering in sex slavery who was destroyed and killed by it, and she always wanted out. for positive representation, how about sisi instead. or literally anyone else

- it’s almost funny looking at the temple scenes in hindsight, because. the sound direction, the sense of threat. and what is implied to be the source of that threat? the question of what jin guangyao is going to do, how dangerous is that thing he is digging for, what will he use it for

and the answers are: he was running away, it was his mom’s corpse he wanted to take with him because he adored her even when the rest of the world thought she was garbage. also, no one was ever in any danger besides jin guangyao himself and his sect and allies.

i will fight people about this btw, everyone comes out of the temple as unharmed as they were always intended to be. he has ample opportunities to kill every single one of them and he never acts in a way that shows he has the slightest inclination to actually do so. he threatens people into behaving and then tries to leave. and in every adaptation so far when he is leaving he's going to leave the captives behind, untouched.

[leverage-commentary]

Leverage Season 2, Episode 9, The Lost Heir Job, Audio Commentary Transcript

Peter: This is Peter Winther, the Director of episode...

John: 209.

Peter: 209.

John: John Rogers, Executive Producer.

Chris: Chris Downey, Executive Producer and Writer of this episode, entitled The Lost Heir Job.

John: There you go. Chris, where did this episode come from?

Chris: Well, there was a different episode, very different episode, that didn't come together, and uh, I called Dean, Dean Devlin, our Executive Producer, and I kinda asked him, ‘What kinda bad guys are you thinking about, we haven't done?’ And one of the things he said was, ‘How about an evil lawyer?’ And me being—

John: And you used to be an evil lawyer!

Chris: And me being a former evil lawyer, I thought okay, I can work with that. And it kinda sprung from there.

John: The uh, Peter, uh, this is a lovely affecting scene. Is this in our hospital set that we get enormous mileage out of, or are we in a hospital today?

Peter: Ah, no this is the hospital set that we redesigned to look like a different hospital set.

John: Nicely done. This is very touching. Peter, let me ask you, this is the first episode of Leverage that you've directed, and there's Peter Reigert as the evil lawyer.

Peter: Yes.

John: When you're coming onto a new show to direct for the first time, what's your prep? What do you do?

Peter: Well, you know, first of all, you read the amazing script by the writers. And yeah, I cried, I laughed. Yeah, then you do the normal stuff, you location scout, you find anything that you need to find, and you kinda work with—I mean luckily for me, like a lot of the guys that worked on Leverage, I've worked with before, whether it's through the Dean Devlin world of Independence Day and Godzilla, so...

John: And Librarian, you directed the first Librarian.

Peter: And the first Librarian.

John: A big thing about this episode is- Uh, and that's London. A big thing about this—

Peter: We went to London.

Chris: If you can't tell, there's Big Ben right there.

John: Ah, we like to assume that whenever we find Sophie, she's standing in front of the most recognizable landmark ever. 'Who's dead?' I love that reaction by the way. This was a challenge. This was the first episode where we knew that we needed a female grifter for the team; we had to introduce her, we wanted to check in with Sophie, and kind of establish why we were going to introduce a semi-permanent character. A lot of struts and bolts had to be thrown up here.

Chris: Yeah, yeah.

John: That was the real challenge. We had to have a scene that made us not think this relationship was broken, but that she wasn't coming back.

Chris: Well, I mean, the hard thing is when you're introducing a new character who's gonna take over, you wanna make sure that the audience understands that that character has been approved of by the character that she's replacing.

John: Yeah, to a great degree you need—it's weird—you need Gina's character to be the initiator of the replacement in order for the, you know-

Chris: And there's kind of a story about the Mary Tyler Moore pilot, that I heard from Jim Brooks, who wrote- the great Jim Brooks, apparently when they tested the Mary Tyler Moore pilot, the audience initially hated the Rhoda character.

John: Really?

Chris: Absolutely hated her. And the network said, 'You gotta get rid of her.' And Jim Brooks re-shot a scene in which Phyllis's daughter, Phyllis the neighbor upstairs, hugs the Rhoda character, just gives her a hug in one of the scenes. They tested again, went through the roof. And what they realized was, all they needed was someone on the cast that the audience liked to give their approval of this character. And Dean really was the driving force here because he said, 'We have to make sure that the audience buys into this.'

John: Yeah, a lot of shows replace people in between seasons, but coming up with a substitute person in the middle of the season has—I've never seen it successfully done.

Peter: Until now.

John: Until now. And this is interesting, this was tricky, is, essentially we talked about bringing the Tara character in, we'd beaten out the backstory of the character, given it to Jeri Ryan, so, you know, she could consider it, and consider signing on, and then we originally were talking about her coming straight in, and then realized we'd need at least—particularly since this episode is kind of a classic Rockford mystery—that we needed to throw a little spin on it.

Chris: Yeah, this episode doesn't have a— doesn't really have a con in it, but what— and I think this was your idea, John—was to make Tara's presence in the episode the con. That she cons the rest of the team.

John: At least engaging so we could get ahead with the story rather than the audience like, 'Wait, who's she? Why am I watching her?' Instead it's- we're playing this as if she could be a character on a, you know- And you stage this beautifully, by the way, putting her on the same side of the table, you know, really locking in for the audience who that is. And we know that most of the audience thought ‘Oh, they're gonna take this lawyer character and corrupt her.’ And the twist worked right up until the end; it was nicely done.

Peter: And especially when you see Jeri Ryan come in, you assume that something's gonna happen with her. So the whole game is to make it seem like she's just playing this part. Nothing else.

John: TV audiences have seen a lot of TV; it's very hard to fool a TV audience.

Peter: Yeah, exactly. They're like, ‘Ooh, she's a special guest, there's something significant's gonna happen with her.’ So we have to keep clouding that and make it seem like nothing's happening with her, and she played it great.

John: Yeah, this is just the guest star, yeah.

Peter: Just the guest star, that's it.

Timestamp: [5:00]

John: That's a nice shot of the bar I don't think we've done before, with the light coming in, like it's 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Peter: And this is Anna Campbell, by the way. She actually is a local actress, and she did a terrific job. She's on Mad Men, as well.

John: Oh yeah!

Chris: Was she on Mad Men? Wow.

John: That was a great vic scene, by the way. That was really- when I was watching this the first time, I'm like, wow, dragging away the nice young woman, helping the old alzheimer guy, this is a dark one, man. You know what? I hate that guy. And getting Peter Reigert was a stunning bit of casting.

Chris: And that we have to give credit to Tim. Tim, who has lots of friends who are terrific actors in New York, and he suggested Peter, who, you know—I didn't even think was on the list of our casting people to even consider. Peter Reigert of course, you would know from Animal House, played Boon in Animal House, and my favourite movie of all time, Local Hero, which I asked him about incessantly about during the week of filming.

Peter: Yeah, see, Chris was stalking Peter, pretty much. On the weekends, Chris would track him down and keep asking him stuff.

Chris: [Laughs] There's not a frame of that movie I didn't ask him about.

John: The, uh, this is a nice conversation, the whole way that she digs in here, and the way she gets very righteous. And what we're kind of doing here, is making her be the way Nate Ford used to be before his fall. And that was—that's pretty much how this worked.

Peter: And it was very interesting. She was like, she had a hard time of it, because she's used to playing very strong, independent, powerful women, and not naive at all, and that's who she is as a person too. So she was really going and taking a risk by playing this person.

Chris: She was- she was very—and she said, 'Is the audience gonna buy, me, you know, an adult woman in—'

John: Paragon of virtue.

Chris: Yeah.

John: But you know, that's a role that people played in the 40s and 50s all the time. You know, this is very much kind of our take on a classic con, classic con movie. Ah, and that's 'we never let Vicki Vale in the Batcave.' That was my big beef from the original Batman movie, is, 'No one must ever know I'm Batman! Except for the nine or ten women who've wandered through here at any given time.' C'mon man, that's the whole point.

Chris: This is a tricky scene too, to do, because you- Uh, Peter, maybe talk about the kind of emotional—you gotta cover a lot of emotional ground here.

Peter: Well these scenes, I mean, it was interesting for me, being the first time I've done these episodes. They've all done, you guys have done these informational scenes in front of the screens before. This scene scared the hell out of me, 'cause how much, like the explainer scene can you do, you know? And uh, but it was great because, the way you guys wrote the script, we could play the comedy of him getting busted, going there, and then lead into it. So it took a little bit of the curse of trying to explain it, you added some comedy, and like—

John: I also like how you've got them appearing around him at first, so he has to keep turning and looking.

Peter: [Laughing] Yeah, exactly.

Chris: And these little, kind of, photoshopped shots look great. I mean it really does look like he's in London.

John: And what's a lot of fun about the—and they're tormenting him, this is very much the family vibe. What's really kinda fun about this is, you know, we dread these scenes as writers too. And the fans love them.

Peter: Oh no, I know, it is. But that's because every time you do a little twist on it, you know, and this scene had a lot of emotional beats; there's the fun of teasing him, and then they find out she's not coming back, which you have to really then transition into a big emotional moment there, and then he's gotta rally everyone back, and now they gotta get it.

John: Yeah it's like three or four emotional beats in one one scene, yeah.

Peter: So it's really tough. But it turned out really well, I thought.

John: And then you let the screens go to black, to show their mood. That was a nice choice. I'm sure that was totally intentional.

Peter: Oh yeah, exactly. I'm a genius like that. I'm an accidental genius.

John: You are. And, uh, Eliot knowing this is not a good idea; everyone knowing this is not a good idea, and...what was I gonna say? Oh, that's the key to these scenes also, is, get somebody pissed off in it. Someone in one of these informational scenes has to either not like the con, or not like the—

Chris: By the way, I need to interject, this is one of my favorite montages ever. This is an industrialist, and I think there's a picture of a, of like a drum of oil—

John: Look, there's a drum of goo poisoning children, and then an oil well fire, and him drinking a whiskey. [Evil laughter] I like, also, that this is a magazine called Lawyer Monthly. Is there a Lawyer Monthly? Is there an evil Lawyer Monthly magazine? I would like to get a subscription to that. And again, this was kind of the thing that we were learning, is that, you know, the lost heir, and the lost will, is a crime trope from the 1600s, that has been done on a lot of different crime shows, a lot of different con show, and so the fun is taking it and finding the variation that fits your show. You know, that's one of the great things about working in a genre that has a long history. To a great degree, you're almost like—it's more like what your variation on this theme is than the actual theme itself.

Peter: It's your homage.

Timestamp: [10:00]

John: It's more than an homage, it's uh, you know. Homages are more accurate.

Peter: Yeah it's more like folk music, you know, like—

John: You're supposed to put a little spin on it, you know, and your spin adds to it.

Peter: Yeah, you're updating it, that's what it's all about.

John: Exactly. God this is a long informational scene.

Peter: I know.

Chris: This is a big one; it's a lot.

John: We gotta do the character beats, we gotta do the—and that was the other thing we found, is, you know, that you can hang out—even in like, really fast moving episodes—you can hang out for half an act in this room.

Chris: Yeah. I mean, that's what we learned.

John: As long as there's emotional beats, or you open it really strong, and, you know, uh, taking away alzheimer dude's only hope really lands it. Now this is amazing. Where are we here, guys?

Peter: Uh.

Chris: Well, we're at a jail that was built outside of Portland, and then they ran out of money. So it's basically been just sitting there, and really, this whole act was designed because we knew we had this jail. And here is of course, we wanna introduce—

John: The 'pan up legs' shot.

Chris: The pan up from the pair of legs.

Peter: We had a slow motion version, but I didn't [mumbles] time to shoot. It was a little, a little too much.

John: It was a little buttery.

Peter: Yeah, you know, I've got, I like buttery though.

Chris: But the happy accident was that, like, whatever that stuff was in the air that was blowing—

John: Gave, like, a view.

Peter: I had a guy there, he was sorta—

John: You just had a big thing of pollen?

Peter: Yeah. We did it in the Patriot actually once, where it was like, we had—it was all this stuff and there was no really apparent reason for it, but it was up in the air.

John: Looks really pretty.

Peter: Yeah, exactly. That's the reason.

John: 'Put some more schmutz, put schmutz in the air. I want schmutz, Peter.'

Peter: Yeah, pretty much.

John: And this is again, you know, outside our character, different attitude, lot of fun. And not being able to tell the truth—this is another thing where we—

Chris: This was Guys and Dolls, it was when we were breaking it, this was- we're gonna see if we can corrupt her.

John: And that was the idea, is originally, you know, we didn't know how Tara was gonna come in, and who the character was. We talked about a Guys and Dolls variation, where we would corrupt the character, and then realized that would take too much explanation, and wouldn't be approved by Sophie... but we used every part of the animal.

Chris: Yes.

John: Wow, Chris wound up really rocking those 70s sunglasses this season. He really looks like he's come out of um, Grand Theft Auto there. Ah, this shot.

Chris: Oh this guy. This guy, uh, is this actor, Tobias Anderson, is a local actor in Portland, and is just fantastic. As a matter of fact, when we were looking—when we were doing this shot, right here, I went up to Tim afterwards and I said, ‘I wanna—can we do Chinatown? Can we remake Chinatown with you in the Jack Nicholson role, and him as.. not Walter…

John: Walter Huston?

Chris: The Walter Huston role, 'cause he really just had that perfect, kind of patrician accent.

Peter: And he was the last guy I saw, like, cast. Everyone else I was like, ‘eh, I dunno’, and then finally he came in.

John: This was kind of a recurring theme this year, to. We were really busting on the whole white collar, minimum security jails, 'cause I'm like seriously man, if you steal a billion dollars, your ass gets sent to the pen. Why do you get a vacation? It was also probably tied into the fact that at this point, we were working fourteen to sixteen hours a day, and a stint in a white collar jail sounded really good to me. I was like 'so I can't work at all, I gotta sit in there and be in jail.' Oh, this was my favorite character we did all year. This is very Rockford, this is Jimmy Joe Meeker.

Peter: I have to say, when he first came in with that blue suit, I wasn't too sure about it, but [snaps fingers] his character, he totally pulled it off, like after the first scene I'm like 'Okay, I get it, I totally get it.'

Chris: Well the thing is that in the cons, essentially when Nate is in these roles, his job is to get under the skin of the mark. I mea,n that's really what it is, because that's gonna lead the mark to make bad decisions, so that's what— there was actually more to this whole sequence too, where he actually—

John: This sequence, he gets dragged out outside and beaten up.

Peter: Oh yeah, yeah, because he's that irritating. Or the suit was that blue.

John: And also, you haven't done a Rockford homage until you had the gut punch.

Peter: And this was my first shot on Leverage; right here, this is where we started.

John: Oh really, great, nice. Look at this production value in Portland, wow.

Peter: And I have to tell you, these guys are the right guys to start your career on Leverage with, these two guys, because they are so hilarious–

John: It's really just, roll the camera and get out of their way, isn't it?

Peter: It's roll the camera [laughs] and like, let the guys play.

John: Look at that!

Chris: Look at that, isn't that a great-? Look at that shot. I mean, this pristine jail. Yeah, I mean the key we've found with them was to give them a funny attitude to play. If you find an attitude for them to play, it doesn't really matter what the script is, they know what to do.

Peter: Right, you just give them, like, guidelines and a goal at the end, and where to start, and then you roll. And these guys just go—especially these two together are like, amazing.

John: And nicely enough it's a happy blend, because it's not totally improv, they really do go off the dialogue, but there's always a little twist right at the end.

Peter: Absolutely.

Chris: Oh, but boy, him playing the traumatized prison guard just killed me.

John: Yeah, just the panic—he does panic very well. [Chris laughs] And again, Hardison, Hardison always goes over the top, always a little up.

Peter: But his over the top works, because every time I was watching him I was 'he's almost–he's not quite over the top, he's just at the edge of it, he keeps it right there.'

John: Well, cause the whole point is to make you so uncomfortable you're distracted. That's a lot of—

Peter: It's all sleight of hand.

Timestamp: [15:00]

Chris: And also to sell to him the idea that to go to maximum security prison would be the end of his life.

John: Is an unspeakable nightmare, yeah. Oh, I forgot, that’s our nurse, right, that's, um...

Chris: Yes, uh, in the picture.

John: We shouldn't say her name actually so she's not stalked, but yeah. And this is a lovely ventilation shaft scene, um, really, you can't go more than two episodes on Leverage without a ventilation shaft scene.

Peter: You would think that when people make buildings they would, like, stop making ventilation shafts, because that's how everybody steals the stuff, you know what I mean?

John: Well they tend to make them small, but Beth is very small.

Chris: By the way, she's just adorable in ventilation shafts, just the childlike wonder that she has.

Peter: Just goes together.

John: I also love that Hardison's managed to find Orangina even in a prison. He's just found an orange drink, even there.

Chris: And this is Doug Brookes, who was great also.

John: Yeah, he's the other guard here.

Peter: He was hilarious. I mean there was so much stuff—this was one of— I could have shot this for three day straight, this scene, because we were cracking up the whole time.

John: And what's really interesting here is, this is something that if you're going to shoot comedy, don't over complicate comedy. Your best friend on a comedy shot is a locked off comedy shot. It's just like—you see how often we just go back to this wide right here? 'Cause all comedy plays—well that's a Woody Allen rule, comedy plays on a two shot. And this is all attitudes and reactions. You know, there's no fucking camera movement, yeah, exactly.

Peter: Because you see two different reactions in one shot that's why it works.

John: Oh, and he's so hurt. He's so hurt.

Chris: And I love him yelling ‘clear’, I mean he just digs in.

Peter: And then usually, as you guys know, we just roll the camera at him and he just keeps talking. We'll keep rolling for another two minutes, he's got—he will never stop, we have to cut.

John: I love that this is what was—this is the worst frameup in history. I remember we were pitching this in the room, we came up with stuff like, like an M16 he'd assembled out of bed parts—

Peter: But it's the tone of the show, you can get away with it.

Chris: It's all he needs, it's a Nazi armband and a picture of Hitler.

John: But why the picture of Hitler??!!

Peter: But what about the first Nazi armband they gave me? It was like, yellow and white, I'm like...

Chris: Kudos to the wardrobe department, who quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, sewed a Nazi armband when we needed.

Peter: Maybe they didn't sew it; maybe they just had one.

John: But this was also, it's pretty amazing when you think, alright we're a cable show, we're in Portland, our wardrobe department had to come up with all these prisoner outfits, because random outfits are much easier, people often wear their own clothes when they're extras. All the uniforms, all the prisoner outfits, on like half a week of prep, by the time they get the script and everything, you know for blocking. And, the bookending scene.

Peter: And I will say, Tim's suits, they pulled out of their derriere as well, because that was kind of a last minute addition, and they went to some pimp store, and found it in Oregon.

John: There's a pimp store in Oregon?

Peter: I think so.

John: Wow, I wouldn't think there'd be enough pimps to support a mini culture like that.

Peter: I mean if you look at his jackets, there's like a little button that you can hang it on from the back on, it's like, really a great jacket.

John: And she's being great, she's really selling the whole innocent lawyer. There was a moment, when we were doing this, watching the dailies, I was like 'I'm gonna miss this character'. I kinda like Jeri as this—

Peter: As the earnest...

John: Yeah, as the earnest lawyer, because she usually plays so aggressive. Because she's a very good looking, powerful woman, and, uh, it was really great. That suit's magnificent. 

Peter: Yes.

John: And this is another one, when our guys—the only way to put pressure on our guys is, things are moving too fast, they're constrained in time and space, you know, it's—

Peter: Here's one I love; I love this shot. Whoop, and then—

John: Aaand, that's.. you're right, there it is.

Peter: The button—

John: And ripping out the pages, and here, here's what I love about Reigert here, if I may, and we wrote it a little like this, but really, most of our bad guys are like, 'what the hell are you doing here?' Reigert has, in theory, been an evil dude for thirty five years. He has buried a lot of bodies. This Papadokalis—this Tim Hutton character is not gonna throw him.

Chris: No, that was really the key, the key was for him to underestimate him for the entire episode, and this, this scene to me just epitomizes the whole episode. These two guys—

John: This is one of my favorite bad guy scenes, absolutely.

Peter: And these- we put them on opposite sides of the table for obvious reasons, but then these two guys really just—again, it was like the prison scene, but in a different way—these guys really, I mean, ad libbed, and played off each other the whole time. And it was pretty amazing, it was fun to watch.

John: That's a lot of craft at that table, right there.

Peter: A lot of craft. And it really worked, there was like, they were kinda playing with each other on an actor level, and on a character level at the same time, and it worked both ways.

John: Kinda trying to one up each other a little bit in the scene. That's a great set—what is, what offices were those?

Peter: That was a real lawyer office.

Chris: Yeah, I mean we—

Timestamp: [20:00]

John: Look at that deadpan, just that total dead-eyed—

Peter: Yeah and it's great, it's really like a fire and ice kinda scene, because Jimmy Papadokalis is all over the place, and he's like this, and Peter's just cool as ice.

John: And that's another thing, and you'll see it—we kinda found the rhythm as we went into the back half of second season, the bad guys get progressively scarier. And more competent. I like to think that the Leverage crew has cleaned out all the easy white collar dudes. Like in their first year, they got all the easy marks.

Chris: Well, I gotta give credit to Peter Reigert, I mean, he so inhabits this character. I remember being on set and people talking about, ‘I think this guy's killed people before’. Like, literally, when people debate about the backstory, you know you've hit a home run.

John: Now this one I like, is that we go out, and we're strung and we have no answer, and you're watching Nate Ford play chess here in his head. He's putting the facts together, he's doing detective work. And again, this is the thing we mention in a couple of the commentaries, a lot of second season was realizing, criminals are like detectives - they know crime, they can put stuff together. And Nate Ford was a detective, so you know, when he throws this together, it's using the available facts in a convincing way. And he's reading Reigert.

Chris: Yeah.

Peter: And the way Tim plays it, he was really brilliant in the scene, because you really feel like he's making this stuff up as he goes along. You do. I mean, you're like—like I'm watching, like we were watching and we were like, like what's he gonna do now? It was, like, it was amazing.

John: How is he saying the words, they seem fresh.

Peter: Yeah, and you just get sucked in, he's like, I mean he's—those looks, those blue eyes he's got man, they're just a killer.

John: And that's, again, structurally, this episode really is, we need X information, we do a mini con in act two to get X information. That information is not what we think it is, therefore we have to change the plan in act three. In act four, the violent ramifications of that changed plan comes to the fore. It's the template, it's the one comforting blanket...

Peter: What I love about this episode—besides 'I directed it'— was that I really felt, even when I was watching it, as a fan, later, I was like 'I don’t know how they're gonna defeat this guy', you know, like he's not gonna get ruffled.

John: He's a good bad guy.

Peter: And even like, in the scene that's about to happen, when she comes in, it's like, he doesn't buy that for a second either.

John: That's a big difference on shows, is, uh, a lot of times for us it's not are they going to defeat this guy, because meta structure—again, TV audiences have seen a lot of TV—it's how. This is one of the few times it's like 'I don't really know— I dunno if they're gonna do this.'

Chris: Well, I mean, that's what was so nice about introducing The Lost Heir Con, fairly deep into the show, I mean you know, there could have been an episode where that came out of the briefing scene, but because it became a development...

Peter: Right, because a lot of the episodes I saw, like that— they figured out the con at the end of the first act—

Chris: This is the con, this is what we're gonna do.

John: And that's really tricky, 'cause we really know we're not a detective show, because we have broken some episodes where there's like an investigatory first and second act. We always wind up throwing out those outlines. You know, it's gotta be a weird mix of investigation first and second act—

Chris: Well...

John: Because you do. If you introduce the con too early, you run out of steam.

Chris: But I think what we learned here was, that what the audience wants at the end is a twist. And you can give them a detective twist if we put it, like with the Tara character, if there's a con shell around it.

John: Yeah. You could easily do this as a private investigation episode, on any other show. 'Bye bye. Out. Get out.' And Parker's utter inability to act now.

Chris: 'Are we gonna go get meth?'

Peter: Dude, the meth line, we were all in tears. And there's like four different versions, and they're all awesome, and uh, yeah.

John: It's really hat-rific in there today, look at that. That's one, two, three, that suit's really a hat. [All laugh] Uh, that's three hats in there. And I remember breaking this, and going over like, women's names, or what we could possibly do, we had to look up and see uh, what had been, what could wind up on drivers licenses, when the drivers licenses were digitized—

Chris: Well the tricky thing here was, and you came up with it, was finding ways to bury the colorblind... because if you kinda like, if they they keyed up on colorblindness here, really we're tipping the ending, and it was just, trying to find a way to throw it in.

John: But that's one of those times where writing is really, we describe it as making the license plates, you sit in the writer's room for six hours, staring at the ceiling, until the answer comes, you know and just throwing out crap.

Peter: Yeah but it was a great 'gun in the drawer' kinda thing, you know, where it's like, he really—

Chris: He saw it up there, it landed visually, he mentions is—

Peter: Yeah, it's right in front of your face, and then it comes back later and no one sees it coming, and that's the best way. I always hate shows where it's like, suddenly they come up with a magic answer, and it was like, we never saw it. Here, you put it in front, but it's all sleight of hand.

John: There's a—Dean Devlin's father had a great thing, which is 'there are no drive ups in the third act', and we have the same thing. There's no new information in the fifth act. You're not allowed to give anything new, it has to be something, a version of what we've already seen.

Chris: That's a nice transition, too.

John: Yeah it is, a nice whip over to her. And there was actually an original scene, another scene in this, too, where he's kind of talking her into doing this? But the fun—it turns out this is much better, just knowing that somehow he's conned her into this.

Chris: The audience, you should know, this episode was eight minutes long when we finished it, and we kept—and it was a real hard thing to edit it down—

Timestamp: [25:00]

John: Oh, there's a lot of good scenes on the floor, in this one.

Chris: But I still feel like in the end, the final edit was the best edit. I mean, you've really like- when you get into it, you find out that you really didn't need all this stuff.

John: Yeah, a lot of the other stuff were grace notes.

Chris: And the eating stuff was Peter's—Peter likes eating scenes. [All Laugh]

John: All actors like eating scenes.

Peter: They do, it gives them some—they need business.

John: By the way, that's one of Spielberg's tricks.

Chris: Really?

John: One of Spielberg's tricks is to show, if he wants you to like people, he shows them—he shows them cooking.

Chris: That's interesting. Well, I guess it also shows how little, you know, disregard he has for everything.

John: And this was another trick, was to figure out a way to involve the lawyer character in the con, in a way that didn't violate the character, and the idea is, we were sitting there, 'but she's supposed to be scrupulously honest,' and we realized, well, we use that, that's the point.

Chris: And also it answers the question as to, wouldn't this guy just ask for a DNA test? Well, we always find—

John: Oh that's right, that was the big argument in the room, is, how do you get him to not want a DNA test?

Chris: Well, you convince him it's the worst possible option. Ah, and this is a great scene, too.

John: And, a couple months afterwards, it was in the news, a way to fake DNA tests. We killed ourselves, we killed ourselves to figure out some way to get him to not ask for the DNA, and then a couple months later in the news there was a way about how to fake it.

Peter: They probably saw the episode and —

John: Yeah, I sent them all the research. This is a very classic, this is, we could stamp a Quinn Martin production on this scene.

Chris: He looks like the, uh, actor here, who I'm gonna look up his name quickly—

Peter: David.

Chris: Is it David?

Peter: I think so.

Chris: Yeah. He— right out of a Quinn Martin production.

John: Actually I — He could play in Spencer as the, uh, the heavyset Boston sargeant that's his buddy, yeah. And this is, a good, uh, good showdown on the docks scene. This was originally an alley, in a parking garage,

Chris: Yeah, wasn't it, it was a parking garage, and what was—what led to you guys scouting out here?

Peter: You know what, it was just, for me, I'd watched all the episodes, and I just felt, you- There was this whole river thing, and in Boston there's a river even though, you know- 

Chris: It worked great.

Peter: But I just wanted to open it up, you know, give some size to it, and I dunno, the parking garage, there was no good alley parking garage in Portland. So, we went into this scene. And it opened it up a little bit, 'cause we were in a lot of rooms, up until then.

John: Yeah, there's that whole, that whole second act, to a great degree, is prison, lawyers office, and that's a good- you know what, any act break where a dude's aiming a gun at you is a good act break.

Peter: It's always good.

John: You know what, I'm gonna—I'm gonna stand by that. Now, what happened is, people were wondering, how did Eliot see this guy? This is Eliot's job. Eliot's job is to walk the perimeter and beat the hell out of people.

Peter: He showed up with them in the car, and then like, got out earlier—

John: They dropped him off so he could— now this is great.

Chris: This is great, there we go.

John: This is not CG. [Referring to Eliot chucking a rock at a guy's head.]

Peter: This is not, this is real, and this was- this was Christian's idea, you know, to throw the rock, because we had played softball that weekend, and he was shortstop and he was so good and then he came up "Dude, you saw how good I was at shortstop, right? I can do that, I can throw that." And he kept it in frame and everything.

Chris: And his, uh, his baseball skills become in evidence later in the season, I'd say.

John: Yeah, exactly. This is also a nice fight, because it really showcases something that Kevin Jackson really tried to do this year, which was, all of Eliot's fight style, because he's, you know, he's fast, is getting inside your reach and just working the ribs; it's not big kicks, his job is to get in there, break your ribs, and make you lay down. Yeah, maybe break an elbow, uh, and this was also great. We had to figure out how to get a time constraint on it, having him shoot the tires out, it was just a nice bit of work.

Peter: Yeah.

John: We should have used the Hyundai Genesis for this, though. Why the hell didn't we do that? Oh, we shot the tires out, that's right. That's right, you can't really do an endorsement for a car that you shoot.

Peter: Right, exactly.

Chris: Aww.

John: Aww, this is fantastic.

Peter: Oh, this is the best.

John: And Reigert's acting—

Peter: And by the way, we were in a mad rush right now, because the sun's going down.

John: Yeah. And just, gimme the gun. There you go. Thank you. Boom. Oh god!

Peter: And he's so blasé.

Chris: [Laughing] He says thanks!

John: Ahh. Dude, he has so put a bullet in a junkie, like in 1985 in an alley.

Peter: We had a great moment there, too, where he drives off and the guy's left in the dust. But it's really extra.

Chris: And I can say that this episode, in the earliest versions, one of the earliest nuggets of it was this fourth act, which was a race to the courthouse. It was one of those things we always knew was, there was gonna be Eliot and Parker, racing to the courthouse, and cops trying to shoot them, and it was the gauntlet.

John: Yeah, and that's, again, very simple goal, one goal per act, you can make—

Peter: I just love, like they think 'Oh I'm gonna put on some shades, no one will recognize us.' 

[All Laugh]

John: And this, this is really my favorite Eliot-Parker run in the entire two years. Because it's one of the times that we're really reminded of the fact that they are the two most dangerous people on the team, and then when they're not with the others, they can sometimes allow themselves that.

Timestamp: [30:00]

John: You know, they pretend to be normal humans around Hardison and Nate and Sophie, because they know they're not supposed to be, you know, like, not supposed to enjoy this. And now a good gloat from Reigert, that's nice.

Peter: Yeah, exactly.

Chris: 'Crawl under a rock.'

John: Yeah, so the entire thing was us sitting around like, what are the three or four locations, if you're trying to get to the courthouse, you know, what could the possible obstacles be? And I think this, this whole run was uh, I think this one's mine just because I did the key bit, remember?

Chris: Yeah the key bit, I think that was gonna be something with a ball bearing at one point?

John: Yeah, we played around with it, and just um, it was... oh, it was jury duty. It was like, the only thing that's keeping you from getting into a courtroom, really, is a metal detector. I love this push in on the reverse by the way,

Peter: Yeah, this was great, this was like, we really blocked this out big time, but then Mark shot-

John: There you go!

Chris: Oh, that's an iconic shot.

John: Yeah it is. And what's kinda interesting there is, he's not looking forward to it, and she's smiling, she genuinely is looking forward to it. And there's our naive lawyer, completely hung, and we've just said this girl is not part of it.

Peter: But this is the scene that, like, I think people really believe that she really is that person, and really is naive. She really sells—

Chris: Yeah, she did.

John: She sold the hell out of it. Now, she was—you know what, you get a new actor to come to your show in the middle of your season, it could be a disaster in a lot of ways. Jeri was nothing but a professional, and she was sweet and she's funny as hell, seriously, it couldn't have gone better.

Peter: And so, so prepared, you know when she's so prepared, you can play around a little bit.

John: You know what, this also comes from - my mom, when I was eight, we flew down to see friends of hers in San Antonio, she was taking kielbasa from this deli in Worcester with us—

Peter: This is already a good story.

John: But we go through the x-ray—it was one of the first times they'd had an x-ray machine—so there are three, uh, tinfoil wrapped cylinders that looked like explosives in my mother's luggage. And I remember at eight, like the guards just descending on us.

Peter: I love that. That's like, let's be blatant shall we?

John: You know what, television is not [???]

Peter: No, no, no. But here's what's great about Peter in this scene - he really made everyone around him feel nervous, like he was like really doing that thing. He did like, you know, acting-directing, you know, which I always love.

John: Okay—THERE, THE CATCH!

Chris: The catch! By the way, after he did that, he came up to me—because I wasn't there for this—and he said 'You gotta call Rogers and tell him I caught the bullet.' I mean he was like a little kid, talking about that.

Peter: He did it on three different takes, he caught the bullet.

John: He did it on three takes without—and she tasers him without looking. And the little smile...

Peter: Loves it. And then she gives him another one as she bails.

John: And just the look back to him, like, 'What? What? I'm supposed to not do that?'

Peter: 'I just went to the dark side for a second.'

Chris: And just one little *zzz* jolt on the way out.

Peter: It's so great with her, 'cause she's so sweet looking, and then she's got this little dark side which is awesome.

John: And that was the other thing, you really see that coming out in the back half of the season. Like from here on—it was nice because things had slowed down and we were like, 'Alright, what are some beats that we haven't hit in a while? Oh that's right, Parker's crazy.'

Chris: Yeah, she's crazy. That's a beautiful entrance too, that sweeping camera.

John: Great courtroom. Was this the same courtroom we shot yours in?

Chris: Same courtroom we shot in.

John: Nice. But they're not in Belbridge, they're in Boston proper.

Peter: It is the best, it's like the peacock, you know, he's totally got his mirror out, and—

Chris: Well that, I'll tell you where that was from, Gerald Shargel, the great mob lawyer. I remember there's a famous story where he was doing a mob trial and opened his briefcase before he was about to do a cross examination, and it was all hairbrushes. [Peter laughs] it was like, there was not one file folder...

John: Yeah, you think anybody else is gonna wander in here, no. She’s—and now we're doing our courtrooms. Oh, look at that. Was that a federal courthouse?

Chris: It was a former federal courthouse, and you know, I said this, I think, in the earlier one, there are, in a lot of American cities, there are beautiful federal courthouses built in the twenties and thirties. And then, you know, they decided 'no, they don't work for us anymore', built brand new federal courthouses with your tax dollars, and these things are sitting there—

John: Just sitting around empty.

Chris: Just waiting for television shows to arrive.

John: We could do a courtroom drama, we could just live in this place, yeah.

Peter: And by the way, Jeri feeling very at home in a courtroom because of Boston Legal. She was like, she had that down, but in a different way. She was playing, more of an innocent...

John: Yeah, not the shark. No the, uh, and then the show becomes a courtroom drama. The show really is, like, four different episodes, you know? There's kind of an early Rockford, then there's the gauntlet—

Chris: And then becomes a courtroom drama.

John: —and now it's Perry Mason.

Chris: It really is, that's it.

John: Except Peter Reigert is much more formidable than Hamilton Burger. Hamilton Burger, a reference only five of you will get. Oh no, and now he's really starting to get pissed off. No it was interesting, we actually played around a lot with, like, how evidence is admitted, and what the...

Chris: Yeah, you know me, I get very...

John: No, it was interesting, it was one of the few times that I've been, ‘I wanna make sure I get this right’. And you were explaining that what is allowed as evidence is pretty much up to the judge. 

Chris: It is, yeah. I mean, this was all, I vetted this, this is pretty much all on the level. 

Timestamp: [35:00]

Peter: What I love about this scene is like, on one level, we have no idea how he as a character, Tim as a character, is gonna, like, pull this off, because we're not thinking about the color blind thing. But on another level, Tim is like ad-libbing a lot in there, and so the actors are also like, they don't know what's gonna come at them. So everyone's like on their toes, which worked really perfectly for the scene, because you really had to listen to everything he said, because everyone had to react to it. And all the actors, including the judge, the local actors, they all rose up and like, really handled it well, and it makes the scene work terrific. 

John: This was interesting, I just, looking at these shots, because this is not a designed courthouse but a real courthouse, a designed courthouse would have more gack on either side on those sight-lines. You know, there'd just be like high risers, or wouldn't be quite so deep, you know.

Chris: But this was, I remember, there's a few times when you're watching, you know, filming something, when you're like, this is something special. And there was a take here where it was like, between the two of these guys ad libbing, that was really something special. And I remember the three of us looked—it was you, me, and Dean—were like, wow, that's it.

Peter: No, it really was.

John: The, uh, and then now the launch. The whole unraveling, and she's really sympathetic; that was good casting on our part.

Peter: So sympathetic.

Chris: She was fantastic.

John: 'What color?'— that was the moment in the room when we got it. Because we're trying to figure out like, what's the moment? What's the one thing that'll lock it in? Because we were doing the lost heir con, and we hadn't come up with the idea that she was the lost heir yet.

Chris: Yeah that was a fairly late addition.

Peter: And all this stuff that Tim does, where he's like, it looks like he's trying to—but now as a character, he's playing Peter Reigert's character, like, 'Oh I don't really know what I'm doing,' but his character totally does.

Chris: It's the typical like, ‘I'm just a country lawyer. I dunno about you big—’

John: It's very Columbo.

Chris: ‘—you big city lawyers, I mean all I know is this.’

John: 'Pardon me, just one more thing before I leave, my wife's very excited that I met you, I gotta ask—'

Chris: 'Now, maestro—'

John: 'Maestro, when you doing one of these orchestra things? Exactly how long are you playing here?' And that's when we do the revelations of observation.

Chris: Here's where he figured it all out. Colorblindness, trying to play fair.

John: See, if you go back on the DVD, right there, it's right there.

Peter: All those shots are there.

Chris: There was a lot of debate about how much to see of the flowers in that scene, it was—

John: No, because you're focused on Jeri Ryan.

Peter: But the whole thing for me is, you have to see all that stuff, but not see it at the same time. But it has to be there, else you're cheating.

John: I'd forgotten that. That's one of my favorite moments in the room this year, where we're just sitting there, staring at the ceiling, and we've just been beating at this for hours, and all of a sudden, 'what color is my tie?' and you just saw like the walls fall into place, like, bang bang bang bang.

Chris: And a great choice of Tim here to drop the Papadokalis character. Like by now, by now he becomes Nate Ford, lawyer.

John: And sympathetic dad. You know, he kinda, he genuinely, he's figured out that there's a massive tragedy at the center of this, you know? And we had a big talk about, like, redemption and what the- why this guy would try to change, and... lovely. It's a nice little episode. I think everybody dug this one. Yeah. And she's working the hell out of that, look at that, she's tearing up.

Peter: She's so good. No, and she totally gets it, you know, for me, acting's all about transitions; it's all about, that's the most important part, the change. And she really gets it, she's like, really... and Tim really helped a lot, like on the off camera stuff, 'cause he would just start rattling off all this different stuff to help her get there.

John: I gotta tell you, that was kinda cool, when you're up there in Portland, and you're watching, like, local actors get a seminar with Tim Hutton. Because he worked with the girl who played the victim's daughter in the opening one. I'm like, you're a fifteen year old Portland actor, and you're working with an Oscar—

Peter: She, by the way, was fantastic.

John: She was fantastic. Yeah, and you're working with Tim Hutton. I mean, you're not gonna get this anywhere else. No, we loved the Portland actors. We love shooting there, it's a great place. Now, he's losing it.

Chris: Now he's completely unhinged. [Laughing]

Peter: He's suddenly realized. And it's only now that you realize, he's gonna lose. And it took this long, and that's what's great, is like—

John: 'Papadokalis!!'

Peter: Yeah, dude. That was the best. 

[All Laughing]

John: And he's gone, now Nate's gone from the clown to the guy in charge. And it's, yeah, utterly unmanned him. And I love the fact that, if you go back and watch this now, knowing what Tara is, she's running, like, a double con at this moment.

Chris: Yeah.

Peter: But at this point, you would never guess it, because the Papadokalis character is so big, it camouflages everything that Tara is doing, you know what I mean? And uh, and that's what helped it, her performance and Jimmy Papadokalis being so big, makes you not think about it.

John: I like that wink he threw her, too. That moment, it was a really sweet moment. And uh, a little gloat.

Chris: Oh, here's the gloat. Dean loves the gloat.

John: Dean's rules, the villain must suffer, and there should always be a gloat, if you're going for optimal. I love that she kisses stuff when she gets—she kisses money, she kisses—this is her, she gets pleasure from stealing. No other way around it.

Peter: I gave her like, what that was, in the thing, what's in the paper, and then she kissed it, but I wouldn't tell you what it was because it's private.

John: What? Aww.

Timestamp: [40:00]

Peter: I'll tell you after the DVD thing.

Chris: Oh, and he's dragged away.

John: Dragged away! Ruined! That, my friend—

Peter: I love how she perches up there; she's like a percher. She likes to perch on things.

John: Actually, in another episode, you know, we note the fact that you almost never see her enter a room. Usually the camera comes around, and she's just sitting there. You have no idea how she got there.

Chris: And here this really sells that; you think this is the end of the line for her.

John: Oh, special guest star Jeri Ryan.

Chris: This is like, you know, 'I hope you learned from me.' 'I think you learned something from me.' Like, the audience goes, ‘Oh okay, that's the end of Jeri Ryan.’

Peter: That was a good part for Jeri. That was a good thing for her.

Chris: Now this is very much a Rockford scene, because in every Rockford, there's usually a scene with the girl at the taco stand at the very end, when Rockford surmises why what happened happened. And he doesn't really know why, he just, he's taking a guess with his Rockford wisdom, and that's what Tim is doing right here. I felt very much writing this, that this was the quintessential coda Rockford scene.

John: Yeah. And the sort of, you know, the universe is a disordered place, and our job is to bring order to it. And you really have to read Harlan Ellisons—

Peter: I always love that entrance, these guys 'eh, we all happened to come in and enter right at this time.'

John: They wait around for each other outside, they know the effect they have when they walk in. And now the flip. And look at each one of them locking it in in a different way.

Peter: This is the zoinks moment; that's the zoinks moment.

Chris: And there she is, rocking the boots.

John: And she looks a little different there.

Peter: Slightly.

Chris: That's no librarian!

John: This was great. And it was a great way to introduce the character. Because again, the team is hypercompetent, you really have to... there's only so many ways you get a character to come in here and ordinarily, if you're bringing in a new character, as most shows do in the pilot, it’s the rookie story. We can't have this be the rookie story, because we're in the middle of a season. So, you know.

Peter: I just love, I love the interplay between her, Jeri and Beth, it's great. Because like, you know, that's the two girls and she's the biggest defender for Gina's character.

John: Yes, exactly. And they, by the end, they became really fantastic friends over the course of the season. And it really started being a lot of fun just putting the two of them in scenes together, because they'd found a really nice rhythm between Parker and Tara.

Chris: And I think the actors hung out a lot, they had a really nice—

John: They did; that's what I'm saying, they really were very good friends.

Peter: Well, especially because it's such a guys club, you know. [Laughs]

John: Especially since Gina wasn't, by that point, not in the [mumbles] because of her pregnancy, so this—and we had a bigger scene here and this was just a nice look. This is just—

Chris: That smile!

Peter: And that's her like, in her full like, 'Oh, this is gonna be great.'

John: And it was. We had a great time with her. And the turn, and ‘Dad, make it stop’, and there you go.

Chris: 'What did I just do?' That's—we went out on our summer season finale.

John: On that. Exactly. And this wasn't supposed to be the summer season finale, and it turned out to be a great one. It really was a great, solid, sort of back to basics episode.

Peter: It just makes sense, when you're introducing that new character, now it's like, a whole new change, and then you make 'em wait to get the next ep.

John: Uh, anything you want to say to the nice folks before we wrap it up?

Peter: Well for me, I had a great time doing it. It was a great time in Portland, except for the writers on the set—

John: I understand. Nothing but trouble. 

[Chris Laughs]

Peter: Yeah, nothing but trouble. But otherwise, I mean, great cast, great crew, everything was a lot of fun.

Chris: We had a good time.