#and then volunteering to be the bro all grumpy like OH OBVIOUSLY THIS IS MY GIG I GUESSSSSSS UGHHH FML

[suddenrundown]

eliot spencer, you wanna be romcom bro’d so bad it makes you look stupid

[human-trash-fire]

Shot Through The Heart: CH4

I couldn’t wait to share the next chapter, so you beautiful humans are getting it early! As always mad shout-outs to everyone who is following along/ RB/ liking this fic <3 I can’t tell you all how fucking grateful I am for all of you. 

special thanks to @highqueenofelfhame​ for previewing the fic and making me feel like it’s worth it to write!

As always the fic is available in its entirety on ao3 glam_reaper2

** IMPORTANT NOTE: The header image is 100% what Rowan imagines when she takes a shot even though it definitely didn’t go down that way.**

******************************************************************************** Aelin:

Two weeks had come and gone since she had hauled the giant box full of goodies to the post office. Fenrys told her that mail was always delayed but that he was both excited and grateful they had sent them something. She made him promise two things: one, he wouldn’t tell the rest of the cadre that a package was coming. Aelin knew that they mentioned sending the boys something, but she didn’t want them to know when. And two, they had to open their care packages ‘Yulemas style’ all sitting around, on Skype, so Lys, Elide and her could watch their faces/ get a chance to finally talk to them face to face. 

During those two weeks they continued their flirty conversation when he wasn’t on mission and away from his phone. She woke up nearly every morning to a text, and fell asleep texting him each night. After the first few days they had moved their conversation off twitter, they iMessaged back and forth and had exchanged Snapchat information so they could send each-other little videos and such. Talking to Fenrys was comfortable. He found a way to brighten almost any situation, and she found that anytime she was irritated recently he could always cheer her up. She kept most of her past private, and though he volunteered more intimate details of his life he never pushed her to share hers. It was nice, if she was being honest, even if this went absolutely no where she was so glad to have met him.

Fenrys told her stories about his friends too, Aelin got the impression that he was kind of like their glue. He was the youngest at 27 (apparently Connall was born 3 minutes earlier and had lorded that fact over him for as long as he could remember). Vaughn and Gavriel were both 28, Rowan was 29, and Lorcan (Elide’s new project) was 30. He and Connall had enlisted when they were 18, they attended training in Perranth and ended up qualifying for special forces at an unheard of 19. That’s when they met the others, the Cadre. Aelin laughed so hard when she found out that’s what they’re known as in the military world, she had thought she was just being cheeky when she’d called them so in their video. That’s also how Connall had met Vaughn. Apparently, he spent 4 years pining after him. 

>> So how did they end up together?

 << It was so obvious they were into each other but too ‘bro’ to say anything. Worried about “team dynamic” or whatever, because Gods know we didn’t give a shit if they’re together. Then one day we’re taking shots at a bar, Con is talking to some dude, I think he was honestly trying to get over his feelings. Vaughn sees this and gets mad jealous, slams a double shot of Johnny Walker, mutters ‘fuck it’ and storms right up to them. He grabs other dude by the shoulder, shoved him out of the way, and right as Con was about to say something he kissed him. We cheered, we all got entirely too drunk, and now here we are! It’s been 4 years and I’m so happy for them.

>> That’s fucking amazing, and honestly romantic! <3

The Cadre as it stood now had been the most elite team for 8 years, running blackops around the world. And tonight was the night she and the girls would get to talk to them for the first time. Aelin was so excited she could barely contain it, there was nothing more fulfilling than giving someone a gift in her opinion.

*********************************************************

Rowan:

They finally had some down time. Command had promised them 2 days, which was more time than Rowan had expected. They’d been running themselves ragged ever since they discovered Maeve was in country. There was talk about an intel operative gathering more information on her plan, but so far they hadn’t gotten the call Rowan had waited 5 years for. He wanted a green light. He wanted her dead. He was stuck waiting on orders, and had spent 2 weeks seething while they ran, in his opinion, bullshit missions up and down the sector. 

It had also been two weeks since Rowan had woken up to two instagram notifications. He had, in all honesty, forgotten he had the app. Work was his life, and he was never big on social media, but there they were. It was 0330 and he reached over, seeing the notifications he clicked and his jaw hit the floor. Aelin Galathynius had not only followed him but liked one of his pictures… The oldest picture there. What the fuck? He thought as he stared at her name right below the picture. This has to be an accident, but why would she be looking this far back? He didn’t really know how to feel about it. She was stunning, she was famous, and she was Fen’s date. She shouldn’t be liking his shit on instagram. She should even know who he was. 

He clicked her name.

There were hundreds of pictures, her with her friend’s, her with her dog, her with nearly every famous young person in Orynth. There were red carpet photos and vacation photos, little videos from different movie sets and links to fundraisers for various social causes. He didn’t realize he’d been scrolling through them for so long until Fenrys yelled at him for sleeping in. He quickly shut down the app and hurried off.

For the next two weeks he found himself going back to her instagram more that any healthy person should. There was something about her eyes, there had always been something about her eyes, since the first time he saw her on screen. They swallowed him whole, it was like drowning in an ocean of fire and- what the hell is wrong with you? Get your shit together Whitethorn. He chided himself. His mind was all over the damn place. Fenrys, as expected, hadn’t kept to his “no talking about her ever again” end of the bargain. Being his spotter he was with him nearly 18 hours a day, the boy never shut up. Apparently they hadn’t stopped talking, and Rowan caught him sending stupid snapchats or typing furiously with a shit-eating grin on his face nearly ever moment they were back with their phones. Everytime his face lit up, or he said something like “Aelin was saying…” he found himself clenching his jaw. He had no idea why, he was happy for Fen, this was his dream come true. 

Rowans jaw hurt.

*********************************

“Wash up boys, and try to look presentable, meet me in the office at 1700. Don’t fucking be late,” Fenrys said to them after training. It may be down time, but they all still met at the base gym for a few hours of PT in the afternoon.

“What the hell for?” Lorcan grumbled. Fenrys just winked and sauntered towards the showers.

1655 on the dot Rowan walked into the office, followed by Connall and Vaughn. The others were already there, Lorcan and Gavriel looking just as confused as he felt, and Fenrys with that insufferable grin plastered on his face. He had showered, brushed his hair, and put on possibly the tightest shirt he owned with a pair of black joggers. Rowan caught his eye and lifted a brow.

“Alright you grumpy bastards, grab a chair and come here,” Fenrys instructed while pointing towards the projector they used for movie nights. It had a camera attached to the top for more official calls with command, and they often used it to Skype their families back home. Skype was pulled up now, and they all found their seats in front of the screen. Rowan sitting towards the center chair that was left open for Fen. Vaughn and Connall had taken the two to his right while Lorcan and Gavriel brought up the other end. 

Fen was dragging a giant box out from beneath his desk when the familiar ringing began to echo through the room. He immediately dropped it in front of his chair and scrambled to answer the call. “Hello gorgeous,” he purred as the image on the screen in front of them came into focus. Once again, the cadre was floored. 

“Hello handsome,” Aelin winked. “Gentleman” she nodded to them all and stepped back. Alongside her sat Elide and Lysandra, smiling and waving at the screen. The men sat up a little straighter, and awkwardly waved back.

“Is it ready?” Aelin practically squealed.

“Yeah! Should I open it?” Fenrys asked, and Rowans attention shot back to the moving box in front of their chairs. No way, he thought. They had mentioned the possibility of sending them something but he didn’t honestly believe it would happen. Agreeing to come to the ball was already unbelievable, but a care package? The box was so big it easily could have fit a body. 

“One second. Okay so Hi, I’m Aelin, obviously, and these are my girls.” She gestured beside her. “It’s so nice to officially get to talk to you all! We’ve heard so much about you from Fen.”

Fen, she says. Like they’re close. Rowan’s jaw clenched again. He shook his head and crossed his arms, then uncrossed them because he realized he probably looked rude. He didn’t know what to do with his hands and was so busy trying to look nonchalant he was startled when he heard his name.

“Whitethorn!” Fen yelled, it clearly wasn’t the first time he’d called for him. “Say hello to the women and try and remember your manners.”

“Oh,” he cleared his throat. “Hey... I’m Rowan.”

“We know,” Aelin smiled, and Rowan was momentarily stupid.

“Okay, as much fun as official introductions are, Fen can you open the box? Inside it are smaller boxes with each of your names. Enjoy!” Aelin chimed. As Fenrys ripped open the box Elide and Lysandra started asking each of them questions. At the same time Aelin reached past the camera to grab 3 shot glasses and a bottle of Johnny Walker. Jealous Rowan thought. That was his favorite drink. Of course she would drink it, she looks like that, and shoots whiskey. Gods have mercy...

Fenrys passed him a large box, and when they each held their own he spoke again. “This is like Yulemas Ace, thank  you! Can we just tear them open or do we go one at a time?” Ace? How adorable. Rowan’s eyes found Aelin’s again, and it felt like she was looking at him, but it was a giant screen and that was nonsense.

“Oh, tear in! Fen told us a little about each of you so we tried to go with things you might like. I hope we guessed right!” Aelin’s smile was like the sun, as he looked down to begin opening the package on his lap Rowan felt a rare smile grace his own lips in response. With a loud cracking noise 6 boxes popped open, and the room was filled with “NO WAY”s and “ THANK YOU”s as the cadre tore through their gifts. 

On the top of each box was an Orynth Bane Jersey, they were all Ashryver jerseys (obviously) and stitched in the pro style. As he unfurled his he realised that the entire team had signed the jerseys for each of the men. He began shaking his head, this was already more than they could have ever asked for.

“The boys wanted to say thank you as well! Aideon and Ren got you all, and us, some front row, 50 yard line-” At that Elide made an unladylike snort, Aelin choked, and Lysandra glared. The Cadre was clearly missing something. Aelin cleared her throat in an attempt to recover, “50 yardline tickets. Whole VIP experience for the Adarlan game in November!” She finished, and that statement was met with cheers from all of them. The Bane was their favorite team, and while they had seen a couple games they never could have dreamt of what she was talking. Granted her cousin was the starting QB and “Ren” was his best running-back. This is insane he thought.

With the jersey, and tickets out of the way Rowan looked back into the box. Sitting right there was a bottle of Johnny Walker black label, 3 expensive cigars, a cutter, a lighter, and a shot glass that read “SSG Whitethorn reporting for Booty.” He didn’t know when he had started giggling like a school boy, but he was entirely sure he looked like an idiot. 

He looked up with his shot glass in hand, and stared at the screen. The others still had their heads in their boxes, but he was looking at her. “Classic,” he wiggled the shot glass “Thank you so much Aelin.” She smiled a soft smile, and nodded. 

He glanced around and saw his friends had all received a bottle of their favorite liquor as well, Connall and Vaughn were already lighting a cigar each while digging through the rest of their boxes. The smoke was sweet, and the room smelled of vanilla and burnt sugar. The girls were currently taking shots on skype and clapping when something new was unveiled or explaining why they included certain random things.

“Salvaterre!” Elide shouted. The tiny woman’s cheeks had begun to flush, she was clearly feeling the shots she had taken so far. Lorcan’s head shot up and she giggled, he sat up a little straighter, and she leaned into the camera. “There’s something a little special in there for you, you’ll know it when you see it. That’s from me. You’re welcome.” She winked and Rowan swore his friend blushed. The rest of the men had seen it too because everyone began laughing, and he made a note to try and figure out what exactly she’d sent that made him act that way. 

The next thing he unpacked was a pair of super lush running shoes, Fenrys clearly had given all their shoe sizes to the women because he was holding a $200 pair of black sneakers. It was beyond too much but Aelin looked so excited when they all started trying them on, the desert ruined your shoes. The last items in the box were something else entirely. A small stuffed hawk sat in one corner, it wore a nametag: Buzzard. He raised it and an eyebrow to the screen and Aelin started laughing. “Buzzard?” he asked.

“Indeed sir. Can’t tell you why though, it’s a secret.” She slammed a shot back “You each got a little stuffed animal to keep you company on the long nights. Since you can’t have puppies in the desert apparently.” He shook his head laughing, this girl was too much. Next to where the Hawk had been laying was a wrapped package. He lifted it up and was about to tear it open when she half screamed, “WAIT! Okay so, wait. This is my favorite gift.” She had everyone’s attention now turned to him. Fenrys was laughing, apparently he knew what came next.

“Oooookayyyyyy.. I’m a little nervous,” Rowan admitted. He didn’t like the spotlight on him like this.

“Well here’s the thing, as you can see everyone got their favorite sweets,” she made a sweeping motion at the camera. “Candy is an important food group, but Fen said you don’t like sugar or something. Which by the way is blasphemous. Anyways, I asked what your favorite food was and he said-”

“MEAT ON A STICK!” The entire cadre chorused, along with all three women on screen. They were all laughing like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. 

“But I couldn’t send you a kabob, so I figured this would be the next best thing!!”

He tore open the package in his hands. Sitting there were 8 bags of beef jerky and a packet of skewers. He started laughing  so hard, tears were streaming down his face, “Thank you!” he croaked between fits of laughter. 

After the gifts were all opened, cigars were lit and shots were poured. The group drank and laughed for hours. At one point the girls started playing music on their end, and the Rowan found himself singing along with everyone to Bohemian Rhapsody and watching Aelin dance on her kitchen table. It was the lightest he’d felt in years. Lorcan and Elide had exchanged numbers and he could see the girl texting him from the screen. Connall and Vaughn were in the corner in matching jerseys kissing and dancing to the music on the speakers.

They eventually said their goodnight’s, and another round of heartfelt thank you’s. As Rowan half stumbled into his bed he found himself still smiling and holding the small stuffed Hawk that smelled of lavender and embers.

***************************************************************

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[grapehyasynth]

AOS Rewatch, Part 9

2x03

JEMMA WE HAVE JEMMA

The cheery little opening with Jemma’s morning routine is a fun little tidbit but also does not seem to match her reality at all? Like yes it’s meant to fool the audience into thinking she left SHIELD and is super happy but she’s alone in this sequence, not putting on a good face for Hydra, so it’s actually quite disingenuous

Hunter in his tiny tanktop. lol I wonder how much the men volunteer to show off their arms and how much is Ann Foley doing God’s work

Jemma carries a gun in her purse and the Hydra security guards were okay with it? Also, our baby Jemma carries a gun in her purse now!

She has a bunch of fancy hats hanging in the hallway of her apartment -- I want to know more

Jemma: “it’s been a tad lonely”

Coulson says Jemma is “very likeable” (thx dad)

I want to know if Fitz knew already/this early where Jemma was -- did he suspect?

Fitz calls Jemma “Jemma”, not “Simmons,” in an official briefing

Jemma likes happy hour and karaoke

Hydra’s black lab coats (in contrast to SHIELD’s white ones) are a  bit on the nose

Jemma may be becoming a better liar, but she does the not-breaking-eye-contact thing that Ward called Skye out for as a tell

Fitz is really sensitive to people keeping things from him (a natural human reaction, I think, but made that much worse by many events from last season)

imaginary Jemma speaks for Fitz’s rational side

Omg. The Fitz scenes with Ward. I can’t. Iain’s acting. I die. We all die.

Does anyone actually believe Ward was trying to save Fitzsimmons?

Jemma: “Fitz is very hard to impress”

Just hearing “nice work Fitz” from Coulson probably did so much good for our boy

Skye claims SHIELD is different from Hydra because they wouldn’t take an asset out, but that’s exactly what they do with Donnie, on Coulson’s orders...

There’s no way Donnie would’ve fallen overboard from that show -- the angle (his height, the height of the side of the ship) is all wrong

May believes in Simmons -- “She can handle it. She’s good” (love the contrast to beginning of S1 when May/everyone was like damn these two kids didn’t even pass their field test)

Fitz: “I’m not a killer” -- REMEMBER THIS IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS MMKAY?

I love that Fitzsimmons both asked about each other and were not at all subtle with their emotions even as they tried to be slick

2x04

First of all, solid ep all around

I love watching Hunter be the smooth man undercover. His flirting, his kissing, his little wink to Skye!

I think we *all* love this undercover ep with Philinda

I always think of the BTS picture of Ming and Clark practicing the dance on the deck of a ship

Coulson isn’t wearing a tie and went for a few buttons undone -- bold!

Hunter first met Bobbi on a spring night on a pier

Fitz at May flirting: “That’s alarming”

“Maybe Talbot is still pissed because we kidnapped him that one time”

I also always think of the gag reel portion of Ming and Clark pretending to make out in the elevator

So much messy tuck going on in this episode

Hunter with the soccer ball on the plane -- I want scenes of him and Fitz playing and getting yelled at. I want BTS of Nick and Iain fooling around with it between scenes.

Mack: “All my exes are awesome”

Hunter, Mack, and Trip all know each other’s past a bit (Hunter knows Mack’s romantic history, the ex with quinoa) so it’s strange to me that they never mention Bobbi by name. Obviously, again it’s meant to keep the audience in the dark, but it rings false

“You hate being alone” imaginary Jemma says -- this is SO IMPORTANT to Fitz’s characterization, how we as an audience see and understand him, how we write him -- Fitz is often written (including by me) as a recluse, but that’s more something that shows up in him after the pod, and still seemingly against his will. He likes people, he wants to be with them. He just struggles.

Fitz calling the lab “our place” <3

“Where are you based?” “Currently? About five feet away from kicking your ass.” May. Just -- what a queen.

Coulson would tap May as the next director

Fitz looks so earnest and desperate as he wishes to join in on socializing

I love Coulson outing fake May. “May hates coffee.”

May frees herself and kicks multiple asses- I repeat, what a queen.

I love the team helping Fitz fill in the blanks as they try to fix the plane. They’re eager to help him, to include him -- or maybe they’re just aware of their dangerous situation

Coulson about the 2 Mays: “I can’t believe I’m the only one seeing this right now”

You can see in one shot that it’s Ming’s stunt double, but on the whole it’s impressively seamless

Hunter does one thing and then says “Is that it? Is the plane fixed now?”

I would watch a whole hour (or a whole series) of just Nick and Iain, in character or not.

God their adorable high-five.

Hunter reaching out to Fitz with the beer <3

I love the codependence in Fitzsimmons’s relationship but I also think it’s very healthy for them to have other friends so I love the scenes with Fitz and his bros

“Moving on” -- Fitz clearly doesn’t believe himself

I can’t help thinking of the outtake of Nick salaciously licking his overflowing bottle

May has a cabin in the Australian Outback and Coulson likes kangaroos. Noted.

2x05

Another solid ep all around.

Hunter’s look of delight when Skye challenges Coulson

Poll: Do you say oh-belisk or ah-belisk? (for obelisk)

Kyle Maclachlan’s delivery of “I’m a man trying to put my family back together” is excellent

I love Fitz acknowledging that Mack is quite a man -- whether it’s him projecting what he imagines Jemma would think or thinking it for himself, it’s a nice intricacy

The whole “I still miss her” convo <3

“Shut up Ward” -- why don’t more people say that?

So the writing, essentially, is a way for the obelisk/terrigenesis/Inhuman gene/whatever to propagate? When it doesn’t succeed in a host (like people who aren’t Inhuman, like Coulson and Garrett), it needs to find a viable host and uses the writing to guide candidates there?

I’m curious what city Jemma’s supposed to be in

QUEEEEEENNNN BOBBBBIIIIIIIIIII

Did Jemma move the secret communique or did Bobbi? Either way, v slick

The first time I watched this, I definitely didn’t think Bobbi would be SHIELD. One of my favorite surprise reveals

I wonder if Jemma’s new, darker wardrobe was meant to be a reflection of her emotional state or of her trying to go under the radar at Hydra

lol that they sent at least four men in full TAC gear and helmets to grab Jemma

BOBBI AND HER FREAKING BATONS AND HAIRFLIP

And Jemma’s reaction to the aforementioned is perfect

Hunter: “So is this a group hug type situation?”

I feel like Hunter’s drinking is emphasized too heavily with no follow-through

I love Jemma rambling

OH GOD MY CHILDREN REUNITING

HE CALLS HER SIMMONS AND SHE LOOKS DEVASTATED BY THAT AND HIS SLIGHTLY TERRIFIED RESPONSE AND HER CLENCHED HANDS I DIE

I love the Bobbi/Mack friendship

I love Hunter but I really really love him being flummoxed by Bobbi

Trip knew Bobbi but not that she was Hunter’s ex?

I’m still amazed they got Kyle Maclachlan for this. He’s such a powerhouse.

2x06

I enjoy Scarlotti (the mohawked fake-SHIELD guy) -- he always reminded me of an evil Hunter

lol at the Grumpy Cat mug. There’s gotta be a backstory to why they included that. That was like a full ten or twenty second bit. Why?

The backdrop for the Belgian ambassador or whatever is a quaint little town -- he’d probably be in a city

Jemma’s trying so hard to act normal. Fitz’s adoration for her is so blatant. It’s so hard to know what to feel for these two, to know what they need. To be fair, if someone looked at me that openly worshiping, I’d probably be terrified, especially if I felt like they also hated me for leaving them

Ugh their dynamics are so complex. He accepts Mack helping him/finishing his sentences, but he gets upset when Jemma does it, even though they used to for years. Jemma, meanwhile, is overcompensating, walking on eggshells, not sure where they stand.

Hunter is so thrown off by Bobbi I LOVE IT

The Huntingbird “Don’t die out there” ritual <3

Hunter: “excuse me for doing my job thoroughly. and with style.”

Huntingbird is such a power couple

Poor May having to babysit Huntingbird; Mack has to babysit Fitzsimmons

Fitz says SO MUCH to her it’s amazing. “You gave up on me”, “You think i’m useless”, “I needed you”, “For all I know you could’ve--” -- I wish they’d had a chance/been forced to really talk

I still don’t know the truth of the Ward brothers/the well, but maybe that’s the point

Jemma brings 2 mugs, trying to reach out to Fitz, willing to accept that it’ll take work. And the way he looks when he sees her, the way he says hi -- there’s still hope

“I thought we were rebuilding trust, Coulson” -- lol you’re delusional, Ward

Hunter stalling at the safe house and May and Bobbi crashing in is so amazing

Bobbi and Hunter with the simultaneous leg sweep

Scarlotti’s knife rope seems really inefficient

Adrianne Palicki was born to be a superhero -- with her casual baton twirls and her suit, she’s so set

Jemma is trying so hard, in her own way -- giving Fitz the space she thinks he needs, going instead to Mack to thank him for being Fitz’s friend

The tears in Jemma’s eyes when she says “I know, why do you think I left?”

I’m so glad Mack and Jemma eventually get a resolution to this tension and have that lovely conversation in 3B, but UGH my heart.

Christian Ward says “At first I was ashamed” and I fully expect him to continue “...I WAS PETRIFIED”

“Tell Skye this doesn’t change anything” you’re such a gross man Ward