oops I hyperfixated again

‘how did you learn to accept Dr. Dawkins and his criminal past?’

‘Oh it’s not just part of his past, it’s part of him. And you don’t learn it sort of just sneaks up on you.’

*troubled silence from Boxer*

*sighs* ‘Inspector, I’d advise you to stop trying to accept it and start trying to understand it’

Imagine you roll up to your first day on the job as the new Head Inspector. And you step off the boat and are immediately key in capturing an escaped convict as he was running from the law and happened right past you--but he claims he did not commit the murder he is found guilty of.

Boy good thing you were there to stop him.

But then! Just at that moment, a man is pulled ashore with screams of a shark bite. And since the convict is also the best surgeon in the country, you reluctantly let him assist the wounded man to the hospital.

What's the harm? You have the man in custody. You can hang him after he saves the man.

While he is prepping the patient for surgery at the short-staffed hospital, a teary-eyed woman barges in, right past the soldiers... You're told she's the governor's daughter? And they clearly have history. But then she slaps him for some reason. They start bickering about not seeing each other for 6 months while he was in prison. She immediately takes over helping him with the surgery, and he lets her while explaining how he had help getting free.

Huh?

Then the Head Surgeon joins them, actually happy to see them. But as they are all debating about how to save the man, the woman's parents barge in and her mother insists their daughter stop and the prisoner be taken away. Oh, and remember, her father is the governor.

The daughter insists the prisoner/surgeon is innocent and that she has proof. So you, on your first day as Inspector, have to admit that yes, any new evidence must be heard.

The parents and the girl step to a sideroom, and you are now witness to the woman's impassioned plea that the prisoner is innocent and that she loves him. And just as her father, the Governor, is about to soften, her mother reminds them that even if he's not a murderer, he's still guilty of running away from the law which is a hangable offense.

The Head Surgeon then joins them in the room, exasperated, and says you can't hang this man, he could save too many lives. He is desperately needed.

So you think about it.... Guilty or not, you bring up a possible arrangement which would allow him to live as an "essential worker" under a supervised parole with terms.

And the girl's mother immediately stipulates that as on of the terms, the convict is to have no contact with her daughter and that likewise, her daughter is not to perform surgery. The girl protests, and the father is about to side with her. But the mother insists. The convict who has been eavesdropping as he performs surgery, then drops what he is doing and rushes towards them, restrained only by the soldiers at his side, and starts yelling at the girl's mother that he saved her daughter's life with a surgery that had never been done before, and now she's punishing him for daring to love that same daughter.

LIKE.

OKOKOK. SO much TEA. And you've only been on the job like 20 minutes.

However, I need them to bring back some of Jack’s swagger and Belle’s sass in season 3. Like when Jack enters the theatre just soaking in the crowd and introduces himself as “The much celebrated Dr. Jack Dawkins” in the intro to season 1? I need some of that energy from him in season 3. And then same with Belle and her quips and sass and just unhinged behavior like testing acid on her own leg. Like let her be a little weirdo about medicine with sassy comebacks again!

THE ARTFUL DODGER (2023 - present) • dodgerfox parallels [2/??]

@jakeperalta okay now i had to make this