Quite honestly, I don't know what the other crew member is, exactly. I mean, yes you have the Alpha, Female Alpha, Right Hand, Joker, Tech guy(thank you "Furious 7" for that list).
But that's if you have a big heist crew.
The Gutter Rats aren't a Big Heist Crew.
So I'm not sure what exactly Jago's "role in the crew" is.
But I do know he's reckless, and passionate, and the youngest, so I guess that makes him...the Heart?
Maybe?
Anyway....
Jago LeValle is the final member of the Gutter Rat crew. Like everyone else, he has an animal parallel(because everyone in the Sherwood Cycle does). It's a squirrel.
I know, I know, I've said before how I feel about these bushy-tailed--things but this particular animal fits Jago's persona. Squirrels are symbols of passion, preparedness, ambition, peace, joy, and lightheartedness). See? Perfect fit.
And in my head he looks like this:
This is Hnery Golding, from "Crazy Rich Asians", "Last Christmas" and most recognizable currently as Snake Eyes in the "Snake Eyes" reboot (which BEAUTIFUL, by the way, I don't care what anyone says). Mostly it's the sound of his voice that I adore. There's something in his speech pattern and tone register that just seems to scream "Jago" at me. (Also, he's related to a certain person in the Sherwood Cycle, so that's cool)
Here's his soundtrack:
Push It, by Rick Ross
Kingdom (feat. League of Legends), by JAXON GAMBLE
Starts Right Here (feat. Kenny Mason & Foreign Air), by League of Legends
Caught in the Fire (feat. Sam Tinnesz), by Tommee Proffitt
Not because he's bigger or stronger than anyone else in the Gutter Rats (ok, fine, there's only three in the crew but still)
But because this is a man who has Intimidation down to an Art.
You know those characters in films and tv shows that just stand in a corner and the first time you see them you think "oh, crap, that is so not someone I ever want to screw with"?
Well, that's Bellamy.
To a T.
He's one of those people who when they say jump, they expect to hear "how high".
Except the Scorpion's Nest isn't ever among those people, so that's fun!
For someone who's perfected the Art of Intimidation, Bellamy has an interesting animal parallel. It's--a rabbit.
Doesn't look very harmless, does it? But, if anyone has ever read or seen "Watership Down"(both the BBC/Netflix miniseries and the frankly terrifying 1970s animated film) you'll know that rabbits can be downright deadly. They have vicious little claws that can slice their attackers like nobody's business and are certainly animals you don't want to piss off even if they do look all cute a fluffy.
Rabbits symbolize survival, divination, wit, psychic abilities, abundance and protection, which are all facets to Bellamy's personality. He might look totally harmless, but if you threaten the Gutter Rats, you're dead before you hit the floor(sometimes literally).
Bellamy's model is someone that I adore watching onscreen, whether he's running around in 16th-century leather armor, or disabling bombs in Iraq, or meekly helping a very creepy Ben Barnes carry out his plans to take over the world(I actually felt really bad watching him do this, poor guy).
This is Luke Pasquilino from BBC's "Musketeers", Netflix's "Shadow and Bone", and BBC's "Our Girl"--among other things. Having seen and loved him in all of these roles(including the meek crony of Ben Barnes, see above) I would love to see him lock horns with the Scorpion's Nest.
Made For The Battle, by UNSECRET & GAITS(originally, this was just part of the soundtrack, but the more I listed to it, the more it sounded like Bellamy, so there you go)
Won’t Go Down Easy, by JAXON GAMBLE
Bad Boy For Life, by Black Rob, Mark Curry & P. Diddy
So remember when I said that "Scorpion's Nest" had a heist type plot?
Well, one of the things in a heist-type plot has to do with rivalry either between the heroes and the villains or with in the heist crew, or with another crew pulling the same job.
This particular plot deals with the latter.
The Scorpion's Nests is going head to head with the Gutter Rats. Which is kind of amazing. The particular crew is rougher around the edges than the Scorpion's Nest, but they're also a bit more polished in terms of how they work together(since this is Declan/Enzo/Mai pre "Nottingham's Legacy", and all). They even have their own theme tracks:
Reckless, by JAXON GAMBLE
Dangerous, by UNSECRET and Manafest
Remember the Name, by Fort Minor
Every successful crew has to have a leader--the "Brains" as it were. In this particular instance, the "Brains" of the Gutter Rats is:
Petra.
I love this woman.
Ok, fine so I tend to "love" all of my women characters, so this isn't a new sentiment. I haven't written a female character yet that I despise(ok, some of the villainesses are kinds icky, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to write).
Petra is shrewd and tenacious and level-headed and maybe just the tiniest bit self-sacrificing. She's protective of her fellow Gutter Rats and will do anything to keep them alive.
Literally anything.
In my head, she looks like this:
This is Anna Popplewell, known for the Chronicles of Narnia films, the television show Reign, and most recently as the narrator for AJ Pearce's Emmy Lake Chronicles(which--even though there's only one book so far unitl the second one comes in...August, I think?--are fantastic, by the way)
Petra's soundtrack is relatively short at the moment, but still pretty good. It gives a little insight to her personality:
They're back with more demands, because of course they are.
Declan was introduced in first play in the Sherwood Cycle(which has gone from being titled "Lure of the Fox", to "Locke and Cage" and is now permanently called "Beyond Sherwood"); and Enzo and Mai where introduced in the final Sherwood Cycle play(Nottingham's Legacy).
Now they get their own show.
And I'm not upset about it.
Because, you know, Dark Horses and all of that.
Only this time, it's the Scorpion's Nest before they were actually "The Scorpion's Nest."
Yes, I know I've said before how much I loathe The Origin Story, but this is one I can actually get behind, since it doesn't deal with Well Established Characters or any of that.
Plus, the little devil in my head loves throwing people who have little to nothing in common into the same room and watching them hash it out.
Because of course I do.
Thanks to "Nottingham's Legacy" I have most of the Scorpion's Nest soundtrack figured out, but recently, there have been a couple of new additions which I love, such as
Here We Go, by Chris Classic
Who's Gonna Stop Me (feat. Yung Youth), by Tommee Proffitt
Animal I have Become, by Three Days Grace
La La Land, by Adam Jensen
Gladiator, by Zayde Wolf
Running For Your Life, by UNSECRET
We Runnin (feat. Beacon Light), by Tommee Proffitt
Eat Them Apples, by Zuzi Woo
THE BADDEST (feat. Bea Miller), by K/DA, (G)I-DLE, and Wolftyla
Pain, by Adam Jensen
Here I Am(feat. Brooke), by Tommee Proffitt
Dangerous Game(feat. Sam Tinnesz), by UNSECRET
Lowlife, by Adam Jensen
I Am Legend(feat. Colton Dixon), by Tommee Proffitt
Ain't About You(feat. Kiiara), by Wonho
Chills, by Why Don't We
Rescue(feat. Raine Wilder & Svcerina), by Tommee Proffitt
Cocaine Shame, by Adam Jensen
Better Together(feat. Sam Tinnesz), by UNSECRET
Undefeated(feat. Beacon Lights), by Tommee Proffitt
Wolves, by Coasts
Ok, fine, so apparently there have been quite few additions to the soundtrack and I'm not upset about that either 😜
So what is "Scorpion's Nest" going to be about?
It's a Heist Play
Which is fun.
And they go head to head with another group of outcasts(more on them later)
I guess the thing I'm most excited about, though, is that I love these three so much I'm over the moon that I can write a play that focuses on just them.
So for the next little bit I get to share little tidbits with y'all and this little playwright is very excited about that!
