Dash of Mystery to go with Misery

i don't think essek ever actually decided to join the Cobalt Soul, I think Beau just dropped by Caleb's house unannounced to ask for a ride only to find Essek home alone and just went "eh, you'll do."

when someone asked who he was Beau is like "this is Seth, a new archivist" like what are they gonna do, tell her she's wrong? clearly you misplaced Seth's admission records. you should really be less sloppy, you're making us look bad.

& then it's a slippery slope to "hey essek I need you to stop by the archive in port damali to pick something up, I'm banned again" and then random archivists are asking him for favors bc he's smart and he's friends with expositor lionett and much like m9 accidentally stole a ship, Essek Thelyss accidentally becomes a Cobalt Soul Archivist.

Nate and Sophie during their retirement telling anyone who asked that yes, they do have children— 3 of them— but they're grown up and off living their own lives

Thank you @aj-lenoire for this god-teir inside joke

I love this! I was also gonna say the family business was "consulting," so maybe both? A criminal justice consulting firm. But then they start talking about how each kid also has their own little Thing on the side. The eldest is a chef and athletic type, Sophie says. Nate talks about how their youngest is a computer genius and handles all the tech for their firm. When asked about their middle child, the two of them just smile at one another and say she's a security specialist.

"They must be very successful,' someone says.

Nate smiles. "There's nobody better."

Look, guys, you need to know something really important about Batman.

The whole traditional English butler thing? Yeah, “master ____” is a form of address used for children. Alfred has been lowkey calling Bruce a manchild for decades.

And I think that’s beautiful.

@unpretty

i always assumed that when bruce got older, alfred called him ‘mister wayne’ exactly once, because the look on bruce’s face when alfred called him what he’d previously always called thomas wasn’t one he ever wanted to see again

Okay *clears throat* that was uncalled for

This went from funny to heartbreaking real quick

Third take: Alfred is essentially Bruce’s parent, and this is both of them’s weird, bat-ly way of acknowledging that without ever (god forbid) talking about their feelings.

That last one.

I know Eliot’s single-con “baseball career” was too short for this to actually make sense, but I have a sudden delightful mental picture of pre-season 3 Damien Moreau sitting in some expensive cushy office, studying a Roy Chappell baseball card* in utter confusion, trying to figure out 1) whether that is actually Eliot Spencer and 2) if so…why?

*The baseball card of course features a photo of “Roy” smiling mid-game, hair at maximum floof.

You say this as if Hardison did not actually design a limited edition Roy Chappell baseball card and hack the Topps website to add it to the catalog. AND as if the limited edition Roy Chappell Topps cards didn’t sell out within an hour and promptly create mass chaos at Topps’ HQ because a) no one knows who this guy is and b) where are these cards and how are they going to ship things that don’t exist and c) 5-10 business days later: HOW are we getting reviews on the website about a product we did not ship to customers because we do not have?

I stand corrected. This is clearly what happened.

You know, thinking about it, I imagine the Leverage crew are pretty philanthropic. Parker might have had to be introduced to the concept (”You just give them money and they go away with it? How does that work?”) but probably once she got her head around it she’d be into it. 

What gets me is how god damned frustrating it would be to work somewhere that one of the Leverage crew supports. Nate would be okay, he’d just make small monthly gifts to ten million different organizations so that nobody thinks he’s worth very much (he doesn’t own his home and he gives such small amounts monthly that Development writes him off as an earnest but low-capacity donor who should get a thank-you card around the holidays). It’s probably a bigger inconvenience to him because he’s on every nonprofit mailing list known to man. He has so many address labels, guys. (I don’t want to be Nate but I am Nate. I have so many address labels.)

Sophie I imagine has an extravagant alias for every charity she supports; she gives outrageous amounts and in return demands only attention and adulation, tickets to all the galas, and to be in at least one photo in every annual report. We have a donor like this – she’s genuinely invested in our work, gives generously of her time and money, is never rude or demanding, but if she’s in the room all eyes must be on her at all times. I actually really like her but constant exposure could get…tiring. 

Eliot just sends enormous, anonymous checks once a year through a shell company or DAF, which while not unusual would be irritating in that they can’t ever reach out to thank him and/or steward him into a larger gift appealing to his interests. They can’t even send him dumb swag! He deserves a charity-branded bottle opener and keychain flashlight! (He has stolen all of Nate’s, but they don’t know that.) Still, they’ve probably got a fun nickname for him; I have a few people in my research files who are simply named after characters from Greek mythology because that’s all the data I have or am allowed to store. 

For a long time Hardison just dumped money into the bank accounts of his charities of choice, seamlessly, invisibly – it just APPEARED in the account, and he was cool with that until he checked back after a few years and found none of his money was being used because they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from and were worried it was a clerical error despite the bank assuring them otherwise. Now he still dumps money into the accounts but he entertains himself building an elaborate digital paper trail so that the accounting all works. Have you ever watched a Gift Processing office try to balance a nonprofit’s books? Sometimes they cry! Don’t be mean to them, Hardison. 

Parker, bless her heart, just leaves bags of money on the doorsteps of random employees with notes directing how, in general terms, it should be spent. If she’s particularly pleased with the climbability of their home, she leaves a donut for them, too. Generally if she mentions she’s done this to the crew, Eliot calls up the charity to assure them that the large bag of cash was a legitimate donation and is not some kind of money-laundering scam. (That was ONE TIME Eliot, and the IRS didn’t even NOTICE.) This happened to me once. A tiny old lady in a Cubs jacket showed up to our office with a backpack full of money and it was a very intense morning. 

Anyway, what I’m saying is that every year, across the span of roughly two weeks, Hardison’s Nana’s church gets their regular $25 check from that nice Mr. Ford, a visit from the very devout but slightly weird Madam Sofia who wants a private choir recital, an enormous check from a bank in the Bahamas with no name attached, a large direct deposit from a heretofore-undiscovered bond the church invested in a decade ago, and a large bag of cash with a dozen donuts on it and a note reading THANK YOU FOR THE NEW ROOF IT WAS VERY SLIPPERY AND FUN. PLEASE BUY STUFFED ANIMALS FOR CHILDREN WHO NEED STUFFED ANIMALS. 

do you think Hardison’s nana calls him about random computer stuff like every other grandparent ever? I bet she does. I bet Alec has a great easy to use set up for her too. Like imagine that, middle of a stake out, Hardison in the back of the van patiently talking Nana through how to get her email back since she accidentally deleted the internet explorer icon or something.  

“No, Nana, you didn’t delete the internet. The internet is fine. Yes, I’m sure. I’ll come put the icon back for you later, okay?”

Okay so like yes I do LOVE this. Like I really do love it. But can we consider for a moment the exact opposite? It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the show so this might be completely contradictory BUT I present to you:

Tech savvy Nana.

Nana who was one of the first human computers. Nana who worked for JPL when we were trying to put men on the moon. Nana who fought very hard to learn everything about this new machine so she would be absolutely essential to any company that used it. Nana who was the first black woman hired by IBM. Nana who bought an Apple computer from that eccentric man in a turtleneck because he was probably on to something. Nana who cursed Bill Gates with every breath in her. Nana who first put her grandson in a keyboarding class at the age of 8 because if he was going to keep sneaking on her computer at night he damn well better learn proper form. Nana who bought 9 year old Alec his first laptop. Nana who answered her grandson’s questions about the internet and hacker name etiquette. Nana who taught Alec Hardison everything he goddamn knows about coding because she practically invented the word. But now computers are just so hoity toity and any Tom dick or Harry with a buck can start calling themselves a hacker. So Hardison doesn’t think she keeps up with that stuff anymore. Except she does. She just calls him to ask silly questions because she wants to hear his voice, wants to make sure he’s safe with that nice girl and boy he brought over for Sunday dinner one night. She just wants to make sure he’s happy.

Ohh, I love this idea!

And when you go one step further, imagine Hardison thinking he got hacked by Chaos because this looks like Chaos’ MO- BUT! It’s Nana. She first hacked into Chaos system (and uses everything she dug up on this hacking-spree to make Chaos do as she says (which is basically just her trying to make him into a better human being, even if he argues she’s blackmailing him. “The groceries for the retirement home are not gonna be picked up by anyone else. Now, you don’t want those people to starve, do you, young man?”)). And now she knows Chaos’ MO.

And she’s bored, okay. So bored. So while she’s on the phone with Hardison, asking him where her Email program went, she’s hacking into his system using Chaos’ MO. 

She’s having a VERY hard time not to laugh at Hardison and blow her cover. Because she can see him - she hacked into his webcam. And it’s hilarious how he tries to talk to her, not wanting to hang up on her while at the same time, his whole system crashes and he tries to evade the attack (she has to admonish him once or twice because “Language, Alec! I taught you better than this.”).

Kudos if Parker is sitting next to Nana, eating Popcorn and recording everything as a Christmas present for the whole team.

And why was Nana hacking Chaos in the first place?  Because Chaos thought he’d make trouble for Hardison by scamming his sweet little old Nana out of her retirement savings.  Nana had so much fun raining digital hellfire down on him while pretending she was trying to figure out how to wire him money for that nice Nigerian prince he was calling about.

a concept: zuko waiting tables at the jasmine dragon as a well-deserved break from firelord duties, but he does not understand how he keeps getting recognized!!! he’s wearing green and everything!!! it’s inexplicable!!!

zuko: hi what can I get for you today?

extremely bemused customer: um...... aren’t you the firelord???

zuko: you know, I get that a lot. I think it’s the nose

After a while it’s just

Zuko, without skipping a beat: No, his scar’s on the other side.

Fun headcanon that can go with either zutara OR zukka is that Hakoda is really hesitant to see his child dating a fire nation prince, MUCH less one who’s going to become the fire lord, and so he’s grilling the shit out of Zuko asking him a million questions about his history and his plans for the fire nation and whether he’s truly changed and finally he’s ike “where’d you get that scar, kid? A bit reckless with your bending maybe?” And zuko’s like “oh actually my dad lit my face on fire” and Hakoda is like “cool cool. So actually, on second thought, after much deliberation, are you perhaps in the market for a new dad”

shoutout to the earth kingdom girl zuko went on one date with. i truly believe she made the choice not to snitch on his firebending

#okay but i kind of shipped her with Zuko harder than i ever did Zuko and Mai #like i LOVE MAI do not get me wrong #but can you imagine #this girl has been dating Lee for a few months by this point #only for him to say ‘hey im going out of town for a bit’ #and then the fire nation invades so like #okay its understandable that i havent seen my boyfriend in WEEKS #the war ends #she gets a summons to the FIRE NATION CAPITAL PER LORD ZUKO’S REQUEST #and Jin’s just like ?????? okay #honestly she thinks Lee somehow managed to be the fire lord’s tea server because he would do that #IN WALKS HER BOYFRIEND THE FIRE LORD AND SHE IS JUST LIKE LEE WTF #LEE I KNEW YOU WERE FIRE NATION I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE THE FIRE NATION #L E E #LEE DO I HAVE TO GO TO ETIQUETTE SCHOOL NOW #BABE I WASNT PREPARED FOR THIS  (via @majestically-fangirling)

oh, oh, oh, but i liiiiike this — you know that theory about how, Zuko, Katara, and Toph are each crazy-powerful, especially given their respective ages (like, Katara and Toph are literally unparalleled in their field despite being so young, and sure - in terms of Brute Force - Zuko isnt as strong as Azula, but he is unquestionably the better bender of the two of them, not only in his ability to redirect lightning - an insanely difficult thing to do - but also just in his overall understanding of the element of fire) and that the three of them are their respective element’s chosen champion; their element’s answer to the fact that the Avatar was absent for 100 years. That each element is trying to fill the vacuum left by an absent-Avatar, and they each have picked one champion to fill that void, and those champions are our three here. That the three of them together make three-quarters of an Avatar. That the world was trying to create balance by gifting extraordinary abilities to three non-Avatars, who - if they worked together - could maybe bring the balance that the Avatar was supposed to. 

Well the couple of versions of that theory I’ve seen either don’t account for the Spirit element of the Avatar, or say that Iroh is the Spirit’s representation, which… works, I suppose, as he certainly has a great respect for and understanding of the spirits. But as OP says, he has to work very hard for any actual encounter with them. And it breaks pattern, because the others are all of a similar age to each other, whereas Iroh significantly older and also not a core member of the Gaang. 

But Sokka —– Sokka. 

Our boy Sokka just strolls into situations with Spirits on the regular. He finds himself tangled up in Spirit related bullshit all the time - which is hilarious, given how scientifically-minded he is and how disdainful he is towards “spirity nonsense,” and I confess I’ve always just seen it as that. Easy comic relief. Get the scientific guy tangled up in intangible, spirity shenanigans, how hilarious would that be. But what if it’s more than that? 

No one else has just…. falls into Spirit shenanigans the way Sokka does, or has encounters with Spirits the way Sokka does. Even Aang objectively has a harder time getting in touch with Spirits than Sokka (unwittingly) does, and not only is Aang the actual Avatar, but he’s a monk. They're known for their spiritual enlightenment. 

But Sokka just…… crashed straight into the Avatar’s ice-ball, and he not only fell in love with a girl who was part-Moon Spirit, but she fell in love with him too. Sokka was the one who spotted the Wan Shi Tong Library in the desert. You know - the literal domain of the Spirit of Knowledge. He’s the one who decided to go there, and then he just… found it. This library that’s so hard to find that many scholars believe it’s just a myth, he decided to find it and then he did. Just spotted it out in the desert. Just like that. 

Sokka got kidnapped by Hei Bai and just…. chilled out in the Spirit World for a day. The Spirit hallucinations talked to him in the swamp – the only one of the Gaang who was actually spoken to by them. I feel like there’s other occasions, too, of Spirity Bullshit befalling Sokka, but I can’t remember them off the top of my head. But none of the others have this many interactions with Spirits, and certainly not accidentally. Aang has to seek them out; they don’t really just happen to him, not the way they Just Happen to Sokka. 

So what if, what if, what if…. What if Sokka is the Spirits’ answer to the lack of an Avatar. What if Katara, Toph and Zuko represent their respective elements, and Sokka represents the Spirits. What if Sokka is the Gaang’s bridge to the Spirit World. 

@e-vasong why would you hide these in the tags like this

#they’re all out there making bets with their horses about who commissioned and/or slept with a bard #literally no one puts money on geralt #no one wins this bet there are only losers (tags from @aethersea)

Okay this might just be the most far-fetched theory I’ve ever come up with and there’s no actual proof that this happened but just…hear me out okay?

Let’s present the facts before I present the actual theory:

Yep.

My theory is that

This kind, spiritual, and lovable teacher/father-figure:

Was reincarnated into this kind, spiritual, and lovable teacher/father-figure:

(Hey, Bryke originally wanted Gyatso to be reincarnated into Momo and I frankly think this does his character a lot more justice.)

Which suddenly puts a whole new spin on this scene:

And now I’m in tears.

Oh wow you really stabbed the knife DIRECTLY into my heart halfway thru and then kept twisting didn’t u