316: The San Lorenzo Job
I love that this is basically the same as the “We have a Hulk” scene in Avengers (and came out before it) but that in terms of the Leverage Crew, the Hulk, who you’d think would be Elliot (rage, not good with talking out his emotions, Mr. Punchy) is actually Hardison (that cheerful grin, the sass, the neverending well of love and joy). Because the truth is, Elliot can’t do that always angry thing. He can’t sustain his anger, he can only sustain his pain. He can’t simmer for ages, he has to get in there and Do Something when he gets mad. He’s Steve, to be honest. But Hardison? Hardison who hacked a foreign bank on prom night to pay back his Nana for all the good she did her foster kids? Hardison who buries himself in games and toys and gummy frogs and orange soda because that’s what people expect of the “geek”? Hardison who grew up poor, and orphaned, and black, and oh so incredibly smart? Hardison who is so constantly afraid, of dust, of small spaces, of high places, who loves a vent-crawling building jumping thief like she’s the sun? Who had to hold Parker’s hand as she panicked about foster kids in Eastern Europe somehow ending up
brokenlike her?Hardison is angry.
He’s always angry.
And no puny evil like Damian Moreau can stop him.
Tag: alec hardison
Leverage sortings (sortinghatchats system)
Okay, I can’t be the only one here obsessed with Leverage characters, can I? I’ve been thinking about those sortings (using the lovely @sortinghatchats system) for far too much time, so HERE WE GO.
(Spoilers ahead, so be wary)
Parker, the quirky thief, is a Gryffindor primary. In The Boost Job, she’s warned the girl working in the chop shop, wanting to give her a chance, perhaps against her better judgement. In The Long Way Down Job, she insists on taking the man’s body back to his wife, despite the fact that it’d be a vain effort. She snuck back to the orphanage to save all of the kids. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. She often knows that the way she feels isn’t, logically, the best way to go about things – but her moral compass does win at times, since no matter what anyone says, no matter what she uses to convince herself, this is what a good person would have done.
She shares this Primary with Hardison. He’s very much an Idealist house – doesn’t have neither the broad loyalties of a Hufflepuff nor the pinpoint ones of a Slytherin. His fondness for the team might sometimes feel like a Puff group bonding, but as big as this nerd’s heart is, he’s not a Loyalist. He doesn’t have a sense of duty, really – just does what he thinks is right, and his morality is intuitive. Some things are just wrong, no matter how you phrase them.
Our cute heights’ fan’s Secondary is Slytherin – Parker thrives best when thrown into a situation. She’s able to figure her way into and out of any building, using more cunning and cleverness than Gryffindor’s brash force.
Hardison, alongside his Gryffindor Primary, mostly uses his vast knowledge of technology to deal with current Leverage jobs. He’s a Ravenclaw Secondary through and through – he’s usually the one to provide exposition on their current mark, going through their records, analysing data, gathering information, etc.
He does, however, model a Slytherin Secondary on top of that. He thinks his nerdy Ravenclaw isn’t cool enough, and so he tries to build this clever and witty persona on top – someone who’s able to thrive in any situation, who doesn’t need preparation and just successfully wings it every time. And he doesn’t just want to seem like that – his ambition to become the mastermind and run his own cons proves that he actually wants to be good at it. The truth is that, while this kind of method works just fine for Parker, he’s absolutely unable to pull it off. He doesn’t enjoy working under pressure and, when unprepared for the sudden twist, usually needs rescuing – or succeeds thanks to pure dumb luck. Slytherin doesn’t look good on you, Alec, sorry.
This cocky act is probably what annoys Eliot so much about our beloved hacker. Why? It’s quite simple, really: while all the badassery and punching might suggest otherwise, the hitter is actually a Hufflepuff Primary/Hufflepuff Secondary combo. Eliot’s not all that good at building communities, but he thrives off ones he joins. He’s loyal to his current group – the army, the mercenary bosses (Moreau), to Nate. He doesn’t question orders. His morality is need-based: they need him, so he shows up. He’s all about integrity and hard work, and doesn’t like cutting corners. He’s the one to say “hard work beats talent every time”, one of the most Hufflepuff things I’ve ever heard. People rely on him, because he’s dependable and solid and trustworthy, even with his rather questionable past – and he never betrays that trust.
He does have, however, a nice Ravenclaw Secondary model that he uses quite effectively. It’s a very distinctive sound, he says, and nobody questions Eliot’s knowledge. This guy’s much more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for, really.
Finally, he performs Gryfindor Secondary like nobody’s buisness, and lots of people fall for the act. He’s the hitter, Mr. Punchy, the muscles guy – the one who rushes headfirst into things, right? (Lots of those guys don’t stay concious long enough to understand just how grave their mistake was.)
…Here I need to admit: I didnt really figure out Sophie or Nate that well. They’re clearly both Slytherin Secondaries, because, duh: it’s their job as the grifter and the mastermind. I’m thinking Ravenclaw Primary for Nate, but, eh, I’m not sure about that at all.
tl;dr:
Parker – Gryffindor/Slytherin
Hardison – Gryffindor/Ravenclaw (Slytherin Secondary model)
Eliot – Hufflepuff/Hufflepuff (Ravenclaw Secondary model, Gryffindor Secondary performance)
Nate – ??/Slytherin
Sophie – ??/Slytherin
So… what do you guys think? I’m quite proud of that sorting, but I’m always open to discussion! Hope you enjoyed it!
was doing some fandom asks with @peterpandyke and came up with 34 ways I relate to Hardison, so I thought I might as well list them here
- nerd. a giant nerd. such an enormously huge nerd. amazing
- first defence against panic is sarcasm and denial
- i, too, would probably oversleep and miss a job
- can’t cook
- have i mentioned nerd
- tries to be cool and all but is in fact a marshmallow
- downloads doctor who illegally
-
is able to pay for stuff but still chooses to download it illegally
- has heart eyes for parker and eliot
- would hug everybody if he could
- has healthy reactions to bullshit (“y’all nasty” “we need jesus” etc)
- would spend entire days in front of a laptop if he could
- probably watches lots of shitty tv shows and plays a ridiculous amount of shitty games
- bullshits his way through life
- started listening to taylor swift ironically but now cannot stop
- probably sleeps with a stuffed animal
- would spend lots of $$$ on geeky stuff
- does, in fact, spend a lot of $$$ on geeky stuff
- probably regularly trips over his own limbs
- takes his nerd stuff very seriously, thank u v much
- is a squirtle person
- feels like a video game badass but always plays on easy
- can and will force others to join him in his nerdery
- wouldn’t hurt a fly even if he tried
- would send porn magazines as revenge
- others think he cute & he just rolls with it
- does anyone actually take him seriously
- others get hurt by bullets and don’t complain but he prob has allergies and catches colds easily and always thinks he’s going to die
- has a tumblr. def has a tumblr
- PUNS AND MEMES
- has a shitty music taste
- but enjoys is immensely
- will sing his favourite songs out loud
- teachers probably said he’s clever but lazy



