#you don't mess with eliot's team

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

"Eliot, what are you doing?"

Leverage S04E02 The 10 Li'l Grifters Job.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Have I mentioned today…

… how much I love Nate and Eliot?

[dont-read-this-im-dead]

Here are my take aways from The Nigerian Job.

-"I like plan M," Eliot says after Nate explains that Hardison dies in that one. This implies Eliot made a snap judgement about Hardison that made Eliot hate him.

But Eliot saves Hardison when the warehouse explodes. So clearly, Eliot DOES care if Hardison dies. Which means Eliot doesn't hate him. So why?

My theory? Eliot had a crush on Hardison at first sight, but since his last not-relationship didn't go so well (Moreau), he's pretty much closed his heart off to everyone, letting off steam in one night stands. He probably reverted back to his childhood when boys were supposed to pick on the girl they liked.

-"Don't you dare. If you kill anybody, you'll screw up my get away," Parker warns. Which implies she HAS a getaway plan, but waits until Nate is awake anyway. Why? She said it herself. She trusts him because he's an honest man.

This also implies that while Parker and Eliot have the reputation for working alone, she's heard about him only to the point where she believes that's what he does. But even before Eliot considers the team his family, he doesn't kill people willy-nilly. He punches them and knocks them out. So why?

My theory is that Parker has heard rumors of Eliot while he still worked with Moreau, but when she met him, she did not know he was a different person than he was back then.

-"What the hell's a Sophie?" Eliot asked as Hardison and Parker follow Nate out. Which implies Eliot is the only one with any common sense left in them.

I believe Eliot has stopped blindly following people since Moreau. He did some bad things for a bad man, and when he woke up, he found he couldn't wash the blood off. He wasn't going to be brainwashed again. If that meant questioning Nate, the man he says he trusts because he's an honest man, then that's what Eliot is going to do.

-"Is she injured? In the head?"

To the world, Parker is insane. To Parker, SOPHIE is insane. This makes me wonder how she views the world.

-"I promised. That would be very wrong." Hardison sounds like he's trying to convince his Nana that he didn't break the law, and I swear, the FBI has the wrong guy!

Did he really think that would work on Nate, or was he just messing around? If it's the latter, that means Hardison already feels comfortable in the group, and trusts Nate like a surrogate father, just like he trusts his Nana.

-"It was a nice try, man," Hardison sighs when Sophie doesn't immediately land the gift with Dubenich. He's already put his trust in Nate, but now he's showing doubt. But that's because he doesn't know all the plans from A-Z in Nate's head. We see in later episodes that he finally understands just how deep Nate's plan run, and he's able to put all his trust in him-not an honest man or a surrogate father, but a fellow thief, a mastermind.

-"I checked. The airport shuttle leaves in 15 minutes," is the very first line of dialogue in the episode, directed at Nate Ford.

WHY?

Nate is broke, living out of his car. Where is he planning on going after the airport?? Is he planning on bumming a ride on a plane? What's his thoughts process here??

[aardvaark]

I watched Leverage growing up and when I eventually discovered the fandom online/on tumblr I was genuinely shocked to see everyone hated The White Rabbit Job when it had been one of my favorite episodes as a teenager. I understand it's fucked up (part of why I liked it) and a little or really a lot campy/unrealistic (part of why I liked it) but I always like (as an exception to the norm ofc, it works best when it's rare) when the mark is sympathetic, and I liked the weird dream state stuff, and what the story brings out in Sophie and Parker's characters/narratives (and Nate, too, and his arrogance/brilliance/faith in the team). I don't think it's necessarily still one of my favorite episodes but I still enjoy it, although I understand better why some people don't like it. It's just funny to me every time I think about it because I always remember my initial reaction of "what do you MEAN people dont like the white rabbit job????" < totally mystified teenager me

huh, i had no idea it was so unpopular! definitely not one of my favourites, and i can see why it might not be well-liked, but i didn’t know how much people disliked it. i’m pretty new to interacting with the fandom here. im guessing the problems are how much they mess with a guy who’s fairly decent iirc and how the idea of that kind of psychological manipulation happening to you would be pretty terrifying. i can understand that. sometimes surreal things are kinda triggering for various reasons - paranoia, delusions, OCD, etc. and no it’s probably not the most realistic of their cons haha!

though mainly i liked the parker moments anyway, not so much the con. there’s:

one of the last major moments in the sophie & parker relationship arc, with sophie saying she trusts parker to talk to the mark alone.

parker proving that sophie was right to trust her, too, because she talks the mark down by herself, and she does it *as parker*, not as a grift and not trying to emulate sophie. she does it in her slightly awkward, very parkerish, completely valid way - she’s earnest and brave, and it’s not what sophie would have said (sophie would probably be very sweet and soothing) but she doesn’t have to talk to people like sophie. parker’s own way of connecting works, possibly better than sophie’s method would have!

parker opening up a little about her brother. and talking about her Feelings to a stranger!!showing a bit of vulnerability and sharing!!

parker coming back at the end and asking if they’re all good, sophie asking her if they’re all good, and parker saying they are.

THE line "they thought i was crazy, but i never was! i never was" which is SO important. parker’s always taken it on the chin when people say she’s crazy, insane, that there’s something wrong with her (and not in the now-affectionate eliot way). people have told her that for a long time. maybe she’s even believed it. but now she insists that not only is she not crazy now (ie after some time with her new family who’ve helped her heal), but that she was never crazy - not when she was a traumatized and grieving autistic kid, not when she was a scared and closed off teen or young adult, not when she does or says things that people call "weird". and she says it like a realization and she sounds so determined and insistent and aaahh!!! it’s just so important!!!!!

anyway yeah. i guess i don’t know about the episode overall, but i enjoyed the parker moments. she’s my favourite, im not even gonna pretend lol. i really like the sophie & parker relationship beats in this one and that it shows how incredibly far parker has come - without changing who she is at her core. that’s how i viewed it, at least! totally willing to hear other opinions tho :)

[make-me-imagine]

Headcanons: Taking care of each other when you are hurt (Eliot Spencer)

Headcanon Prompts: Taking care of them when they are hurt + Them taking care of you when you are hurt.

Requested By: @spuffyfan394

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Gn!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of injuries/wounds, blood, pain, stitches, etc.

-

Taking care of him:

Eliot gets hurt a lot, like A LOT.

Pretty much on every con he's a part of.

So he is used to having to take care of his own injures.

When you joined the crew, before and after the two of you began dating, you would insist on helping him when he was hurt.

He wasn't used to someone trying so hard to help him, and wanting to, that it made him feel vulnerable in a way.

At first (before you were in a relationship) you just tried to be helpful. Bringing him bandages, cleaning solutions, bringing him stuff when he was having difficulty walking or getting places.

You never treat him like a child, or like he can't handle the pain. Which he appreciates, because he is not one to be coddled.

That being said, he does love when you are gentle with him, because you do not want to add to his pain.

Once you were in a relationship, and more comfortable physically, that is when you started to be more proactive in helping him when he was hurt.

You would change the bandages that were more difficult for him to reach. You'd help him clean off an blood after an injury. You'd tie back his hair if he was too hurt to mess with it.

You would give him massages when he was sore, had pulled muscles, or was suffering from his chronic pain from past injuries.

Sometimes you insist on running him a hot bath to soak in after a rough job.

He enjoys these baths, even if you make it a bubble bath, though he insists you never tell Hardison he enjoys a nice hot bath. (Because we all know Hardison would have a field day with this and probably by him rubber ducks just to piss him off)

You learned how to take care of serious wounds after you joined the team, including doing stitches. For those jobs when things go very wrong.

The first time you had to help Eliot with a knife wound, he watched you stare intensely at the wound stitching it up.

You were delicate enough not to add any needless pain, but you were thorough. He was impressed, and touched at your need to help him.

Later he asked you how you learned to do stitches, and you told him you learned from an old "acquaintance" who owed you a favor.

When he asked why you learned, you told him you learned for moments like this.

You learned in case he ever needed you.

This only made Eliot love you all the more.

Taking care of you:

Fortunately, you do not get hurt nearly as often as Eliot does.

But when you do get hurt, Eliot becomes protective and your own personal nurse.

He also always feels guilty when you get hurt, as he thinks he should have protected you - even in situations no one could have stopped.

You learned fairly early on that words only ease his guilt somewhat.

What helps him more, is you allowing him to help you.

Bandaging you up when needed, giving you proper medications or treatments. Just letting him help you recover.

He can over react a little, not really letting you do much.

Making you too much food to make you feel better, watching your every move to make sure you don't strain yourself.

And if the tam tries to get you back in a con too early? Uh-uh, he wont let that slide.

Eliot also tries is best to distract you from any pain you might be in. He will tell you a story, or jokes to make you laugh or smile.

He is surprisingly gentle with his care, as he never wants to be the one to cause you pain.

Eliot will softly kiss your bandages, and kiss your forehead/temple, and hands, if you are hurting.

He also draws you hot baths, using your favorite oils, salts or bath bombs. He will even light a couple candles for you.

And he always asks if you want him to join you; mostly as a joke, but also not really.

If you are seriously hurt, he will sit outside the bath with you, helping you, gently cleaning your arms and hair, something you have done for him a dozen times before.

Also, just putting this in here - anyone who hurt you, will definitely live to regret it.

xx

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @imaginesfire, @onuen, @witchygagirl, @alexxavicry

Leverage/Eliot Taglists: @groovy-lady, @aaannabbanana, @peoniarose, @fablesrose, @spuffyfan394, @malindacath, @winnifredburkleismyhero, @that-marvel-simp, @gatefleet, @bthtallmadge2

[hedgiwithapen]

The AU where Team Leverage is attempting to con Victoria Kord during the same few days that the Scarab is stolen.

Hardison adjusted the dress uniform he'd spent half the night sewing patches and arranging medals on. Authenticity was important, even if no one ever looked closely enough to see if one of the medals was a startrek badge. It wasn't--he wasn't going to risk a whole con, days of prep, on one of The Shadiest companies in Florida--for a geek joke. But he was tempted, sometimes, and never more than when he was posing as some stiff military monster at a party, talking atrocities with the Mark. Victoria Kord was certainly high on the list of 'People I feel Dirty Just Breathing The Same Air As' which was only not an official list because Eliot had pointed out that keeping such a list might bite them all in the ass.  Hardison had no intention of admitting he was right, but still. 

The food, catered by Eliot, was delicious, which counted for something. He glanced discreetly at his watch, pleased that the man he was impersonating was the type to wear real watches, and nodded to one of many hidden cameras. Originally, the plan had been to crash the party and find the paperwork about the illegal land seizures, find a way to get people back the homes they were being wrongfully evicted from. Snooping had revealed a bigger threat, and bigger target.  Parker would start her run for the secure project's room, plug in his code, and wipe all the OMAC data from Kord's system, ruining Victoria's credibility for her investors and tanking the company in three... two...

"Uh, guys? We have a problem. Like, capital p Problem," Breanna's voice hissed through the coms. 

"What?" he asked, then feigned a smile at Kord, "is that  fantastic--" he pretended to cut himself off. "My apologies, I was distracted by these canapes.  I tell you, we do not get food this flavorful in DC. You know how to make your investors feel welcome."

Over his chatter, Bre continued "Someone else just hacked the system. Majorly. I can't get it back. Hmm. I think I...might have seen this before..."

"We've got another problem," Eliot said from where he stood in chef whites, slicing meat at a table. "One of Kord's goons just walked in. Hardison, Parker, you need to bail. Now."

"Why? I'm almost--" 

"School of the Americas. That's Carapax. We'll find another way to shut them down, you need to move, now."

"And what are you going to do?" Breanna asked.

"Hey!" Parker said to someone in the hall with her. "You're messing up my heist!"

"Your heist? This is ou--my heist," said a young voice on the other end. 

"Parker, who's with you?" Eliot hissed, moving urgently now. Carapax was blocking the line of escape for Hardison, and that would not do at all.

"Uhhhhh blue buggy dude?"

Hardison's eyes bulged. "Excuse me," he said to Victoria, then muttering 

"Like... Blue Beetle?"

"I am Khaji Da," a new voice spliced into the com system, over the sound of Breanna's "Oh, no you did not just hack my coms." 

"Yes, I did."

"It's an expression," the same young man's voice said. "Um. Look. Why don't you steal whatever it is you're stealing, I'll get what I came for and we go before we all get killed?"

The overlapping chatter was going to give Eliot a headache.

"Oh, HEY," Breanna said again. "I do know you. Hey, can your hacker hear us? Tell him it's GarlicBre52. From the forums. Uh, Eliot, red truck, oh shit, and you're about to have company. the bad kind."

 Eliot rolled his eyes, and located the truck. Carapax seemed to have noticed it too. 

"Bre, Hardison, get ready to pick up Parker and go. I'll warn your nerd friend." Eliot rolled his shoulders, ready for a fight.  

Several stories up, a pulse of blue light shattered a row of windows, drawing all attention up. Eliot hoped the distraction would be enough to steal a superhero… and his back up.

[evilwickedme]

For the fic questions - number one? (Which work of yours would you recommend to someone who’s never read your stuff?)

Hi anon! Thank you so much for asking <3

The thing about this question is that the correct answer isn't necessarily my best work, but rather one that represents me as a writer overall. I have a few crack/comedy fics that are my most successful fics numerically, and they're pretty fun, but they're definitely in the minority when it comes to my writing. I also want to rec something relatively recent, to represent my current writing style, despite having plenty of works written before the pandemic. And I still want to make a good impression, obviously. I gravitate, in general, to multi-chapter fics or short series of oneshots, and my general disposition is towards character studies, angst, slow burn romance, and slow narratives in general. My alternate universes are usually mishmashes of different canons or very subtle changes (for want of a nail type of aus), although I have a lot of canon compliant fics. I have smutty fics for sure, but the smut is always secondary for me to the character, and although I enjoy a good PWP when reading, I prefer to write sex scenes that move the plot forward. Also, I've written almost no non polyamorous romance stories since 2019. I nearly always have happy endings, because unless it serves a specific purpose, I don't enjoy unnecessarily grimdark endings. I've let my characters suffer, they've gotten through it, and they're better for it. I prefer fandoms with a lot of source material - TV shows, book series, comics.

So I have two answers. The first is a series of three one shots, and might not count, but I feel like it includes all of the above - stay here (all I know is that I'm not running towards the safest thing). It's a leverage (tv show) au where eliot doesn't join the team until mid-season three. It's a character study for eliot, features an ot3 - eliot/parker/hardison, and is a very subtle au overall, mostly following canon except for the consequences of this one change. Has a happy ending. I will say the romance, while not instantaneous, is also not particular slow burn, but the plot is secondary, with the fics focusing on eliot's journey towards healing over the course of all three fics. I haven't written for leverage in over a year, but it's some of my best work, while still representing my writing style as a whole.

But if we're only accepting single fics rather than fic series, I have to pick I'm a mess (but I'm the mess that you wanted). It's a mix of a few different canons - it's mainly a spider-man into the spider-verse fic, but features details from spider-man, deadpool, and spider-gwen comics, and it's basically entirely canon compliant for all of them, because it happens post canon. It's an angsty spideypool fic, a pairing I've been writing for since 2015 (damn), but also features petermj pretty heavily. It also features a lot of character study elements for peter, and focuses on his mental health and grief for gwen. the romance isn't as slow burn as some of my other fics, but it's an 11k word fic, and peter and wade don't get together till the very end (spoiler, lmao). It also features a lot of my more abstract writing and has a bunch of parallels and time jumps, which I love doing and absolutely is something I do a lot and have since I started writing fic (I've been doing time jumps since my first major longfic, Of Three Times Lily Evans Changed Her Mind About James Potter, which I started in spring of 2014).

So yeah, long answer, but that's what I'd suggest as starters for my fics.

[wolves-in-the-world]

something something season two Moreau putting out feelers to see if Eliot will work for him again (potentially staying right where he is and spying on the team, which has a bigger reputation with each passing month) and Eliot spends his holidays taking side jobs that almost kill him several times over, earning and spending all the favours he can - to pull the right strings to call in the Italian, who's a bit less of a knife at their throat and a bit more here are some things you can use. To break his own rules and run a con on his team. To be more prepared in more ways than one by the time they figure out what he's done.

It's okay that he'll probably lose them, because getting rid of Moreau will be the best thing he's ever done. In the face of Moreau's whispered promises and threats and reminders of all the grubby little things Eliot did for him, in the face of Moreau knowing the names of the people Eliot cares for and won't yet admit he considers family, in the face of the knowledge that trying to keep them oblivious for six months or more while he does what he needs to will not work - and he can't go faster without risking getting too close to Moreau, who has far too much leverage with those names in his mouth, and Eliot won't go back - Eliot will use them, and Eliot will protect them, and Eliot will leave them safer than they were before.

(when it comes to it, when the danger's locked away and the team is justifiably angry, when Eliot's ready to leave - they ask him to stay. and nothing in his life could have prepared him for that.)

[bisexualeliotspencer]

Welcome back to Hardison's fashion corner, today's installment:

Hardison and the war on his teams' fashion "choices"

(This was an idea spawned from @ishouldprobablychangemyusername and I discussing Nate's terrible hats and devolving into Eliots terrible glasses)

The entire team are aware of Nates terrible hat choices.

Hardison hates them, but because it's Nate, he ets it slide. Sometimes the terrible choices help them out in a con after all

As a joke, Hardison begins to add more stupid hats to the collection and the rest of the team take bets on how long before he notices or caves and refuses to wear the latest monstrosity

But the thing is, Nate isn't the only one with a signature accessory

Eliot's glasses.

Eliot's Goddamn Glasses.

Hardison hates them with a passion

He decides to run the opposite strategy than the hats

He enlists Parker for the heist of her life, stealing all the pairs of Eliot's glasses she can find so that Hardison can replace them with far chic-er models. (Sophie helps with the shopping)

And yet

AND YET

Despite the meddling, he still manages to whip out some godawful 90's cop show abomination of a pair

"How are there LESS rims???"

What they don't know is that Eliot once took down a gang who were using prescription glasses as a front in the 90's and so he now has a crate full of them in a storage locker

He has no intention of stopping and is fully aware of the spy vs spy tactics going on around him

Parker just enjoys the thrill of stealing around Eliot "observant to a fault" Spencer. (Eliot is secretly very impressed)

Eliot finds out where Parker keeps the stolen glasses stash and starts stealing them back causing hardison to go insane figuring out how he’s wearing pairs he knows for a fact Parker stole last week

Hardison sets up intricate security systems around the stash that only he or Parker could bypass to try and catch him in the act, but Eliot knows when he's been burned and turns to alternate sources

Ebay

He starts bidding on identical pairs of glasses to the stolen stash even if they don't match his presecription just to fuck with Hardison (Petty)

After Parker get's bored of thwarting Eliot, he ends up recruiting her to join him in wearing shitty glasses to team briefings

Hardison almost cries and calls in Sophie

She turns up to the meeting wearing yellow tinted atrocities and Hardison actually loses his mind. Full catatonic for several minutes

Nate has to ban all glasses outside of cons just to try and regain the peace

Eliot: You know I actually need these to see right? Nate: Stop messing with Hardison then Eliot: *grumbles and goes back to squinting at the screen*

Peace settles for almost a week

Then a devestating blow

Nate shows up wearing Gucci shades

Hardison goes MIA for three weeks

Parker and Eliot get worried because this is the longest Hardisons ever been off grid. They can't even apologise cause that boy is damn good at hiding when he wants to

Sophie: you broke him Nate. All of you broke Hardison. Eliot: Hey you joined in too! Sophie: Yes, and?

When Hardison returns, he's wearing a baby blue stetson and matching blue tinted aviators and refuses to take them off

Eliot grabs the hat off his head at one point

only to reveal a smaller, glittery blue stetson beneath it

Eliot contemplates everything that led him to this moment

(Parker was the one who gave Hardison the mini stetson)

[sevi007]

Technically the whole you can't be hypnotised without consent is a bit of a simplification. To kind of very very roughly explain it, It's a case of trust and alarm. Alec trusts nate and listens to him, nate is also someone whose super good at Manipulation and using the right words to get what he wants. It's not out of the question for Nate to subtly guide Alec towards relaxation and then slowly take him down into trance and deepen it over time. Especially if he used several sessions to build up his influence before planting a trigger. 1/3

Basically since he already has Alec's trust so as long as nate doesnt say or attempt to do anything that that would alarm Alec or cause his consciousness to react I.e. do something that he would instinctively object to. he could technically slowly convince Alec to want what Nate wants to do to him. As long as he words things in the right way and has enough time to build up his control. This is very rough and not exactly 1:1 with reality and definetly not what a decent 'tist would do. The only thing that would make me question it was how little time it took. But that can be handwaved as nate just being an awesome mastermind. Also shaking off hypnosis and hypnotic triggers in real life can be incredibly difficult depending on how deep they were and how long the 'tist has been reinforcing and using them. Its a long process and people who have really strong triggers can have certain things that just won't change or ever go away

TLDR: Alec wouldnt necessarily need to consent or be fully aware to be hypnotised. And actually what nate did is super scummy even though its played for laughs. And Alec is well in his rights to be super upset and angry at nate for what he did. Eliot too has a right to be upset and gry for when Sophie conditioned him without his consent especially considering what we learn in future episodes about him. These are people with a position of power and trust who decided to use it to fuck with the brains of people who rely on them. For basically a laugh. Nate could have just asked for Alecs consent and co-operation in order to hypnotise him and plant the trigger but instead did it the way he did. If it was me I'd be terrified because Alec can never be exactly a hundred percent sure what Nate has done to him or gotten him to do. Same with Eliot or even Parker. How can they be 100% sure that they don't have triggers or conditioned responses they arent aware of?

Okay so I already thanked you in another ask for this detailed and very interesting explanation,but I gotta have say THANK YOU again. I mean, wow! I didn't realize how many cliches and simplification I had already in my head about hypnosis - say, the part with "you need to agree to the hypnosis to make it work", I really thought that's real- so this was honestly an eye-opening read here!

And now I understand the team's reactions much better. Honestly, I never thought that Nate did this was played for laughs (I mean, everybody stormed out on him right after) but for me who really believed the whole "consent for hypnosis to work" bit, it was real confusing to figure out if that meant Hardison was hypnotized against his will. Hearing now that this can ACTUALLY happen makes his fear and anger much more understandable! I also would not like the idea of someone messing with my head like that, especially if it's someone whom I trust and someone who could have freaking asked before attempting this.

In this new light, I wonder why Nate did not just state what he was about to do. He did it to relax Hardison so the heist would be successful and Hardison could shine. That's a very good reason! Had he explained it like that, I don't think Hardison would have disagreed. Okay maybe he would have been like "yeah as if that's gonna work bro" but he would have agreed, I'm 99 % sure. What is this about - showing Hardison that to be a team leader, you need to be an icecold ass???

Also sheds a new light on Sophie's bit with Eliot and the tea pouring here. It's the same freaking thing! I think. At least to me as a beginner in manipulation, hypnosis and what not, it sounds incredibly similar. Suggestion, and planting triggers, and the fear of the victim that it could happen again.

Now it's kind of ironic that it's Sophie who gets to call out Nate for provoking everyone into leaving him alone, when she did the exact same thing earlier. Huh.

Alas, all in all, this leaves a really weird feeling with me. On one hand, Leverage is trying to tell me that these guys are like a family and trust each other (see: "Inside Job") and then the next episode, both the "heads" of the team manipulate their team members and make them understandably angry.

Show runners, are you trying to tell me this is a wholesome weirdo family with some problems now, or are you not? Gotta decide here, I'm getting very mixed signals on the "wholesome" part now.

EDIT: (I'm two episodes further now and the problem does not even get addressed. I do not like that it does not get addressed.)

[abbynx]

Catch feels Pt. 1

Emilia Harcourt X Reader

Genre: Romance, fluff, a dash of angst later... Maybe a bit Rivals-to-lovers

Warning: Violence and cursing, because it's Peacemaker, baby.

You aren't particularly good with hand-eye coordination, catching things isn't really your forte. One mission had everyone desperate that they tossed you a vital macguffin and it didn't end well, who'd've thought? They expected you to catch the thing and you didn't, hence losing your place as one of the most crucial members of the spy agent department and landing yourself a gig under Clemson Murn's team as a repercussion.

Oh sure, whatever. That doesn't sound bad... You had to jinx it, didn't you?

It was a mess. Why the fuck is the headquarters in an old rental? Why the fuck would you be working with the fucking Peacemaker of all people? Why were you operating with a bunch of Argus agents? You were an elite agent, for god's sake— so that's how badly you fucked up? Great, they didn't even provide you the fancy shmancy tools, how the fuck are you supposed to fight off butterfly people without your handy utility belt?

"Hey L/N, move your stuff off. That's my spot."

You looked up at her, raising an indignant brow. It was the same look she replicated back at you. You made no moves that Harcourt wanted to see, as you put your hand on your hip defiantly.

"I don't see your name on it. If I had seen "amateur" carved on it, then I'd know it's yours."

John glanced at both of you, spectacled gaze darting back and fourth between you. You were fighting. Over a desk. Possessing so much pride, that you refuse to move out and pick another spot, and dare call Harcourt an amateur? John almost felt scared to look at Harcourt, who just have murder in her mind, but then she scoffs.

"Aren't you the one that fucked up Operation Question Mark?" The blonde singes through you so easily and smirks at her achievement. It might be split-second reaction, but it takes a single crack to break something.

Leota glances between the two of you, above you towers a certain tension... Based on John's reaction, it might result into something not pretty.

"Uhhh, I-I— um— Y/N you can have my desk if you want to," Leota stutters, gathering her things of her desk and practically shoving it in a box.

"No, I'll take it." Emilia says, her gaze remain on you, ever so challenging.

'Fine. Two can play at this game.' You return her eye contact, before resuming to you customizing your table.

From there, a rivalry formed.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Going to the meeting was too much of a waste of a time, despite you were not informed why the hell were you meeting at a local restaurant. Given that the venue is a social place, you were at the correct assumption that it was a stupid little team building shindig. The morning before was already stressful to you, meeting with the joke of an assassin Peacemaker, the bickering at the headquarters, why bother attending?

By this, you find yourself in a local bar with alcohol in hand.

You wouldn't last long in this team anyways, Elite Agents will need their spy back any time now and you were the best of the best in the team and they surely would not operate as efficiently without you. By the time they realise your presence had made their recent performances dreadful, they would be begging Amanda Waller to get you back on the team.

What do they do quickly and successfully? None, that's what. Without you, ninety nine percent of their powerhouse is gone. It was a one time thing that you failed, why the fuck was the consequence so damn much? And you weren't even given a warning! This was your first fucking offense and you don't remember your teammates being given shit for being such incompetent cunts.

Eliot the idiot? He abandoned the reconnaissance mission after getting a hard on from a passing chick, he was distracted and the mission flunked because he needed to get his dick sucked. Maya, the fucking big mouthed bitch cannot, for the life of her, shut the fuck up— the whore talked and spilled important mission bits, oblivious to a nearby opposing spy. And big boy Laurence— "leader", credit taker and blamer, the mythic bitch. Maybe you could have performed better if he wasn't always gloating on the earpiece. And the almighty himself blamed you for the fuck up, when he should know full-well of your flaw. Your other two teammates were there, why of all people did he chose you? As a leader he should fucking know. Fucking dumbasses, all of them could deep-throat a cactus and choke for all you care—

"Funny that you're here when you said you weren't feeling well." Your narrowed eyes flickered upwards towards the source. On your left, the blondie from your work was a seat away from you.

"I wasn't." You reply, swirling the contents of your drink before downing it all in one go. "And funny that you're here, coulda sworn there's like three other bars near the shitty restaurant you were in. Of all places you headed here. You stalking me or something?" Harcourt noticed how you drawl on your words, watching you swipe the cuff of your sleeves on the corner of your lips, as you look up at her with half-lidded eyes trying hard to glare at her.

"You wish." She scoffs in amusement, before taking a sip from her beer. "Kinda wished I did the same thing, woulda saved me from wasting my time. I can't fucking stand Smith."

"Then that makes the two of us, sister." You sighed, wanting to take another sip from your drink, when you realised you just gulped it all down awhile ago.

Emilia watches as you growl in frustration and a small smile lights her features ever so slightly. "Hey waiter, get them a refill. On me."

Your head whip at her direction so swiftly, eyes wide that you swore you sobered up for a moment. To your shock, your ears weren't playing tricks on you and the bartender headed to your direction and filled your glass again. You furrow your brows at her. "Why?"

"Why not?" She muses with a smirk, before taking a sip from her bottle with a contented smile.

"This morning I was a bitch to you and you were a bitch to me. What's with the change of heart?" It was suspicious to you and if your long years as a spy that had undergone intense trainings in all aspects of combat (except eye-hand coordination, apparently) had taught you something, is that in one's kindness underlies intent.

"You ask way too much questions, just enjoy your drink. Don't get used to it." She rolls her eyes at you, before returning to her beer.

Did she secretly bribe the bartender to lace your drink with poison? No, she couldn't have. Why would she? But why buy you a drink?

"Oh for fuck's sake, just drink it." She must've sensed your inner thoughts.

"Thanks, I guess." You reply begrudgingly, before downing your drink again. A haze filled your mind for moment, before it clears, when you heard a clutter of voices beside you. You looked to see a group of men grinning and murmuring at your and Harcourt's direction.

One of them approaches, and takes advantage of the seat setting you and Harcourt apart. "Hey Goldilocks... Can I ask you a question?" You felt the disgust on her behalf as his runs his finger on her arm.

"As long it's a question about curing a rotting fish breath, sure."

A laugh broke from your throat, going as far as doubling from your seat from her quick wit and razor sharp tongue. The guy fucked off aggressively, though not causing too much of a scene and not a flinch was pulled from the blondie.

"I like you, you're not as bad as I thought." You breathed out after a good laugh, limping your wrist at her direction.

Her stone cold face cracks a subtle smile at your direction, but couldn't help but to wonder how much drinks have you had before she arrived. Though the moment did not last when a certain Chris had to barge in.

"Hey! Crazy coincidence, right?" You roll your eyes at him, turning away, ordering yourself another drink.

"Oh yeah. It's uncanny." Harcourt replies flatly.

You were in too deep in your haze to comprehend your surroundings, it was getting way too hot on your seat and everything was spinning. God, why were you so stupid? Getting drunk in these situations? What would the Elites think of you? You already made yourself out as a fool in front of them, why were you doing it to your new teammates again?

You jump from a sudden commotion taking place behind you, Harcourt having a guy maneuvered in a painful looking position without making too much of an effort. Everything was blur to you, all you saw was Harcourt approaching her seat again as if nothing happened. Miss Harcourt and her strength and beauty and brains.

Next thing you knew, she was throwing bills on the counter before she hurls you off your seat. You can only follow her, dumbfounded as she drags you off.

"Where we goin'?" You slur, attempting to keep up with her ruthless pace.

"My place. Stop by a seven eleven and buy a pack of beers or something. You like beer?" She asks, annoyance still in her voice but was fading by the moment she left with you.

"Hell yes," you drawl, looping your elbow through hers. "Fuck those guys at the bar."

"Alright then." Harcourt smirks, inwardly thinking to herself, 'At least you're slightly bearable to drink with.'

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The night was a blur to you, waking up dazed, you were confused as to why you weren't in your motel room. Sitting up, a sharp pain struck you and had you burying your head in your hands. For a moment panic had taken over you, thinking someone had placed a drug in your drink— Harcourt that little bitch and her free drink!

"Morning sleepyhead. You can get the fuck off my bed now." Speak of the she-devil.

"Why am I in your bed?" Oh god, did she—

"Dragged your drunk ass from the bar. God knows what'll happen if I leave you there with those douchebags." She hands you a glass of water. "How many drinks have you had anyways?"

"One," The blondie raises her brow at you as you paused to take a drink. "Bottle." She hums, impressed at how you held your alcohol. Apparently one bottle was still unable to knock you out until one pack of beer. "Jesus fucking Christ, this headache is killing me. You got painkillers or something?"

"Sure thing." You stare at her weirdly as you rummages through her things. When the fuck was she this kind to you? She returns and you retain your neutral expression, accepting the medicine from her before taking another swig from the glass of water. "You can get your candy ass off my sheets now. Murn's calling all of us for a meeting."

"At this early in the morning?" You groan, squinting at the light peaking through the windows.

"Try being woken up at four in the morning because your idiot coworker got caught up in some deep shit and had to cover your hungover ass for not picking up your phone."

"Which idiot? New girl or Pissmaker?"

"The latter. Apparently he fucked a butterfly."

You sighed, hearing the news made your head pound more painfully. "Well fuck." You stir yourself into a sitting position, wincing at the heavy weight on your frontal lobe and pulled the blankets off you. "I'mma shower real quick."

"Sure thing, L/N." Harcourt watches as your stumbling form made your way towards the door and leave.

'I guess you're not as bad as I thought.' She sighs, before preparing herself for another meeting.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The reconnaissance mission around the Goff house would have been far too easy for you, but apparently it was crucial to keep your distance. Though, being from a far distance with a pair of binoculars is good too. Just all three of you saddled up to take this mission. It would have been better if it were just Harcourt, though. You weren't particularly paying attention to their conversation, opting to stay silent and concentrated on the family, but it admittedly vexxed you. How dare they talk? Can't they just stay focused for a little bit? Not to mention, the rustling sounds you've been hearing has been a constant pain in the ass.

"Hey Y/N."

You glance at her, eyes widening in panic and before you can process anything, you flail and attempt to catch a flask Harcourt had just thrown at you. You manage to catch it after a bit of a flimsy hand flailing, before glaring at her.

"You know you could have just handed it to me like a normal person." You twist the cap off, before realising it was alcohol inside it. She just shrugs, before heading off somewhere. "Is this vodka?"

"Yeah. Big boys need their vodkas to keep warm." Chris grins at you.

You flatly chuckle. "Ah huh." Drinking on duty? No thanks. You twist the cap back on before handing it back to Chris. You return to the binoculars and spy on the Goff family.

"So... L/N... What's your story?" Chris breaks the silence between you, almost hesitantly. You always knew he's been intimated by your presence, rightly so, but occasionally makes jabs at your direction. After spending some time with him, you were desensitized by his annoying nature, but you must admit, the annoyance was still there, lingering.

"My daddy is a genius who want nothing to do with me but I was hellbent on wanting to get his attention and approval, but instead I got Amanda Waller's attention at the age of sixteen and now I'm here." Your attention remain on the the Goff housez but decided to indulge Chris out of boredom.

"Aren't you an Elite Agent? One of the higher up douches? I mean you're not a douche— kind of— but I heard the guys were douches."

"Mhmmm. And I hope to work with those douches again."

"Why?" His question have strike something in you. He's right, they are a bunch of douches. Why did you want to work with them again, when you hated them?

"None of your business. Now will you please zip it?" You take your attention away from the binoculars for a moment to glare at Chris, before resuming. "And tell your friend to fuck off before I kill his whole fucking family."

"Jokes on you!" The aforementioned friend pops from the bushes with a rustle. "They're all gone hehe... Heh..." He pauses midway his laugh, when he comes upon a realisation. He fell in your trap so seamlessly and it was stupid. He smacks the bottom of his palm over his forehead. "Ahhh damn it."

"The fuck are you doing here, man?" Chris asks, more visibly shocked than you are.

"Oh I followed you in my Vigilantemobile." Vigilante replies with an as a matter of factly-tone.

You can only sigh, disregarding their conversation as you took a close look at the house. Still no sign of them being butterflies. Eventually, Harcourt had returned and joined in the chaos that is their banter. As much as you love her, she really needs to know the matter in hand.

Wait...

Oh no. Oh fucking no.

Love her? Pfft, no. What the fuck, that was a slip of a tongue you didn't love her, fuck that, you hate her. She's a sharp tongued bitch that doesn't watch her tone with you!

"Can everyone shut the fuck up and get back to the mission?" You interject from their banter, turning to glare at them before returning to the binoculars with an indignant sigh.

"Yeah, what they said." Harcourt agrees, before returning to her post beside you.

Beside you... Oh gosh, she's so near... Wait fuck no, that's not how it's supposed to go—

You faux concentration was bullshit and all you did was to stare at nothing as your head ran a hundred miles because of her. Ugh, why the fuck is she so damn beautiful, gorgeous, intelligent, sharp—

Denying was your saving grace and came to your salvation. There's nothing wrong about admiring and recognising your teammates best traits, it's normal. It goes to show how they manage to make the group stick even if it's highly amateur to your standard... Yeah, that's it.

You sighed, shaking your head before regaining your vision and getting back to the task at hand. You were probably the least concentrated person in the team despite your lack of response to your surroundings.

The family was confirmed as butterflies courtesy of you and all that needed to be done was Chris to pull the trigger. Glancing over him, you immediately notice the trembling of his finger against the trigger. Wanting to get over it, you almost stood from your spot to take over the assassination, when Vigilante took it.

In Elite, they really don't keep witnesses alive, let alone get near you, let alone do the fucking killing for you. But perhaps they do it different in this department. Or maybe the team was just desperate for another member, they're willing to take a rando from the street to do their bidding.

You attention turn to Chris flinching at the sound of the gunshots being fired, a tinge of pity almost surges within you but you reminded yourself being objective at the task at hand is the number one rule in this line of career. He's killed before, in what way does this differ from other murders he committed?

"And papa bear, ouuuuuuu—"

"KYAAAA,"

Caught off guard, you were unprepared when Judomaster attacked from the shadows and made himself known by pinning a target on you, taking you out before you can pull gun at him. He effortless took two birds with one stone as upon taking you out, he had your unconscious body hindering Vigilante by pushing you on him.

It was pathetic in hindsight, how you were the first one to be taken out, seeing as you claimed you were the powerhouse of every group. It was so fucking ironic a simple chop on the nape had you collapsing and be used as a human trajectory.

'Fuckin' damnit, I barely put up a fight! Stupid, fucking pathetic little bitch!'

[krakenartificer]

Hello! A comment of yours about Harry Wilson popped up on my dash, on how he’s agreeable to the point of dysfunction: “It also makes his inability to follow instructions in The Tower Job particularly significant but that’s a separate essay”

Could you expound on The Tower Job bit if you’re so inclined? I’m fascinated!

*straightens lapels* I would be delighted to!

For those who haven't seen the post in question, it's here [x], but the TLDR is that much like Eliot's temper and Sophie's secretiveness, Harry's defining characteristic is that he has absolutely no ability to stand up to anyone; he just does whatever anyone tells him to do, without any regard for whether or not it's a good idea for him and his goals. And kudos the Sophie and Parker for using that so effectively that you don't notice it as a weakness, but seriously, dude. When someone tells you that "you don't get a vote" about whether you get dumped in a shallow grave ,,, you're supposed to object! You absolutely DO get a vote on that!

My absolute favorite example of this is actually in the season finale, when Sophie tells him that he's supposed to ask for help. For anyone else in the multiverse, this would trigger at least the slightest twinge of "I don't NEED your help! I can do it on my own!" But Harry just says, "Got it. So. Help?" And it's not unrealistic, and it's not out of character, because we've already established that Harry has no "you can't tell me what to do" reflex whatsoever.

Just in the episode before The Tower Job, he was given about 10 seconds' worth of acting prep from Sophie -- "Draw from experience" -- and he went ALL-IN on following that advice. No holds barred, no hesitation, no self-consciousness. He just digs deep and bares his soul for all to see, with no restraint, because that's what Sophie told him to do.

Also notable in that same episode is that Sophie -- while giving that prep -- strongly implies that they're not only aware of his divorce, they're aware of the private, messy details of that divorce. And he says nothing -- even afterwards when they have plenty of time -- about a reasonable expectation of privacy or the morality of that kind of invasion of it, or to question whether that kind of voyeurism is conducive to effective teamwork.

Just like he says nothing beyond a little sardonic exasperation when Breanna picks his pocket. Just like he says nothing when Parker explicitly state that he's being compared to a 15-year-old and losing. Hell, having been told that, the next thing he does is help that 15-year-old out in the most gently encouraging way he can think of.

He loses nose-goes and makes no complaint about the unfairness of not being told the rules, nor does he even ask what is the unpleasant job he's just been signed up for that everyone else wanted to avoid. Even in The Tower Job, he complains that people are acting like there are rules but no one will tell him what they are,,,, but it's pretty clear by this point that the rules are "mess with New Guy", and that Breanna is NOT being subjected to that kind of harassment, and he's apparently fine with that, too.

Parker reserves the right to push him off a roof if he screws up again, and (after establishing that she means that entirely literally) his response is "Thank you." Then, he does screw up again, and at the end of the episode, he throws himself off the roof, because that is the kind of accommodating he is.

So having established the kind of instructions he will follow, the kinds of transgressions he will tolerate, let's look at the instructions he fails to follow, in The Tower Job:

Sophie tells him to focus, to keep his eye on the work in front of them. He fails at this utterly.

Sophie tells him to play the role, to stop acting ashamed, to keep the marks engaged until Parker is done. This is quite literally what he brings to the team; his value to the crew consists of his ability to play the smarmy lawyer who thinks that regret is a defect and exploitation is cleverness. In the prior episode he even commented on it straight-out, with sorrow, but he still played his part to perfection. Here, he falls apart almost instantly.

The mark makes some disparaging comment about the people he killed; Harry is FURIOUS and instantly goes to confront the guy.

As he squares off with the mark, Sophie stops dropping hints, stops giving guidance, and tells him unequivocally: DON'T. And he blows the whole con anyway, just to object to a microaggression against a dead man whose family's security depends on this con succeeding.

Now I'm not saying that's bad. Standing up against microaggressions is a fantastic use of privilege, and Mateo absolutely 100% deserves to be defended here. But the point is, that's not Harry. He makes a complete 180, utter reversal from who he's been. It would be like if Hardison spent a full episode being quiet and verbally respectful, or we had an episode where Parker was carefully and patiently explaining human emotions better than Sophie could.

Is it simply because -- as he and Sophie conclude -- he was too close to this one? Because he was dealing with a problem not like the ones he caused, but an actual one that he caused?

Is it because he's more ashamed of this one than he was of the opioids in E1?

Is it because this time he had to play himself? Not a smarmy lawyer who happens to be named Harry Wilson, but actually real Harry Wilson, with a past?

Is it because he can tolerate disrespecting him, but he draws the line at disrespecting the people he's hurt?

Is it because the mark kept complimenting him?

Is it because he's ashamed of having tried to deceive and manipulate the team?

Is it because Eliot's elevator speech about winning back a piece of your soul threw him off his game?

I'm not sure what it signifies, but it's sure as hell significant.

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

Yo I had a thought last night and it’s probably not super coherent bc I feel Not Good right now BUT: Kate knows Hardison bc he’s David, but what if she also met all of the other members of the crew separately before finding out they were David’s other team (before they are a team?????)?

Because okay like. Elliot knows Clint, or maybe he tries to kill her when they accidentally end up on the same job.

Derek seems like exactly the kind of asshole that would try to commit insurance fraud, and be bad enough at it to warrant calling in Nate, but ass-cover-y enough to get away with it anyway.

Tara and Sophie both like running cons on wealthy idiots, so Kate probably met them at various Society™️ functions, and maybe caught on to the fact that they seem to be different people every time she meets them??? But doesn’t say anything, which confuses Tara and absolutely delights Sophie (this thought process started with me thinking “what if Sophie and Kate met years ago and Sophie started slowly teaching Kate grifter stuff as like. three different people. over the course of Kate’s teen years. what if.”)

Kate and Parker literally run into each other in the vents of some fancy-pants building. Kate is trying to escape a terribly boring fancy-pants gala/dinner/whatever. Parker is stealing things. They go different directions and both decide without telling each other that they’ll just. never mention this again to anyone ever.

And then Kate meets David’s other team.

💖Sabrina

actual video of me receiving this submission

!!!!!!

I've had thoughts about this on and off the past week but nothing this thought out!!! Mostly just "Harry was one of Derek's lawyers for a time"

And Eliot of COURSE knows Clint, but there's also the possibility that Eliot was hired to retrieve a kidnapped Kate as a teen? Or was a Bishop bodyguard at some point? ( or Eliot IS clint???????)

insurance fraud derek. yesyesyesssss. Kate meets Nate briefly and is pretty sure he eats people's souls for lunch. Kate unironically being like "who on our team is Nate? Who has the batshit mess ideas that invariably work out and is a human disaster but also strikes terror wherever he goes? Who can be half out of his gourd and still play you? Nate? Is Nate Our Nate Nate?" And her whole team is just going "don't make eye contact, don't look at her, don't look at her in the eye". I'm not saying Kate IS nate I'm just saying if you break him down to the bare essentials there's some Hawkeye smelling bullshit there, ok? I can see Kate being all " this is my evil adopted dad, but evil in a better way than my other dad," and Nate going "this is my fake daughter, a designer mess."

Omg a job where that's the cover. Kate as nate's daughter. Maggie gets roped in and just gives an eyebrow raise.Maggie KNOWS Kate isn’t, but she does a damn good “fuck yourself, rich man” speech

OOOOHHH my GOOOODDDDDDD, Sophie consistently running into Kate and teaching her grifting techniques as different people. I LOVE THIS SO MUCHHHH. Sophie is being introduced to Kate for the second time and Kate says something to the effect of "oh you look like this [whatever sophie was pretending to be for the last con] I met once." to let sophie know she knows, but other than that often kind of helps sophie? “you learn AND you con” sophie has done that before and it was with Kate. omg. 

kate knows sophie as so many different names and she never wants to use the wrong one and blow sophie’s con. one time kate just BLANKS and blurts out “mom”. sophie’s brain is just *RECORD SCREECH* and she has to go on a continent-spanning stealing tour for a month just to reach equilibrium. 

I’m seeing tiny Kate sitting cross-legged as her nanny Sophie teaches her how to read people. Parties where Susan is flirting, Kate is learning how to read a mark. Eventually saying “while you were busy being heterosexual i studied the grift”

galaxy brain is that Kate runs into Sophie on a Leverage con. sophie says “i know that person” and everyone is freaking out, "are you blown? do we need to get you out?" while Sophie is going " :D this is actually fantastic, she's never blown me on a con once" which makes everyone else go "???? did you used to work with her?" and how does she even TRY to explain that? “i liked this kid so much that I’d run cons on her family every few years so I could go back and teach her stuff”

Sophie vouches for Kate and ropes her into the con and Kate and David have one of these

at wherever they’re using as a base and they have matching “you’re a CRIMINAL??” moments which then of course leads to everyone asking how THEY know each other and WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE A SUPERHERO??? FOR REAL???

kate just. keeps. meeting. parker. in. vents. they NEVER mention it. you know that scene with parker and apollo in the vents talking about birds as distractions? something like that happens at least once. they talk about why they like vents. different reasons, but it’s nice to meet a fellow enthusiast. they run into each other once when Parker is with Leverage, before Kate meets David’s team. and they have that “shit i know you” moment. Kate signs to Parker, Parker signs back, they’re both stealing but different things so Parker doesn’t mention it. She would if something happened but she’s not going to interfere with someone else’s work

the more i’ve been thinking about this i’m OBsessed with the idea that everyone is excited for another grifter and Eliot is OVERJOYED because they’re WRONG, they don’t have another grifter they have another HITTER oh HELL yeah

bonus points if this is the first time Harry meets her as not-an-heiress, if he’s trying to hold back exasperation because Kate Bishop, heiress who was so irresponsible her dad cut her off (or whatever Derek is telling his fellow rich people), is supposed to HELP him?? how?? by drinking an entire bottle of champagne?. harry is doing some thief stuff. Eliot tells Kate to use harry as bait, a la the first episode, and kate just DROPS five guys WHILE she is in a floor length evening gown. no heels though, she hooked those into harry’s belt. . “Yoga, huh?” he says (because whenever anyone asks her what she’s been up to she always says “oh, a lot of yoga”)

i also have a lot of feelings about Jim Sterling getting roped into being a SHIELD agent and wrangling Young Avengers or Hawkeyes so just. Imagine him going to fetch his Hawkeye and she’s WHERE??? with WHOM??? he gets hazard pay on these trips because Eliot WILL punch him. At some point he gets injured really badly and Kate is the one who gets Olivia to the hospital, so when Sterling wakes up Olivia is really glad he’s okay!!! but um are you dating?? kate? bishop?? just. curious. (because obviously kate bishop isn’t a secret agent?? don’t be ridiculous)

kate is still in the room, pretending to sleep (in case the person comes back to try and finish the job) and he can TELL she’s laughing, What did he Do to Deserve this. Surely there is another believable explanation, MORE believable, why does his daughter think this, and more importantly, why is he still conscious

aanyway i love how you went “you know how you like to go ‘kate bishop is actually alec hardison’s problem?’ what if she was the problem of EVERY MEMBER OF LEVERAGE.” and i love it so much

[make-me-imagine]

Scenario Game Prompts: June, 29, A: Eliot gives you his jacket when your cold because he's in love with you + June 24 D: Elliot Spencer asks you to be his s/o because he's in love with you.

Requested by: One Anon and @fablesrose

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Gen!Neutral Reader

Triggers: None Words: 1.1k

Genre: A teeny bit of angst/comforting, but mostly fluff.

Eliot Spencer Taglist: @peoniarose, @spuffyfan394 Leverage Taglist: @groovyfluxie, @aaannabbanana, @peoniarose, @fablesrose

Eliot sighed as he walked through the Leverage headquarters, checking to see if the doors were locked and no candles were left lit by Parker.

Seeing the balcony doors still open he slowly walked towards them, wondering why they were still open. When he spotted your familiar figure leaning against the railing, his heart beat picked up in pace. His chest tightened the way it only ever does around you.

Walking out, he tapped his knuckles on the door, to let you know he was there "Hey."

You turned your head to see him and smiled "Hey Eliot, still here?"

"Yeah, I was just locking everything up, I didn't know you were still here."

You hummed quietly as you turned back to look out at the city skyline, the dark cloudy night sky hiding any moonlight that might shine through. "What time is it?"

"Nearly ten." Eliot answered as he came and leaned on the railing next to you. He looked over at you, seeing your bare arms covered in goosebumps. Quickly he took off his jacket and draped it over your shoulders. Looking back at him as he did so, you felt your heart flutter in your chest as he smiled at you "Don't need you catching a cold out here."

You gently grabbed the jacket and pulled it a little tighter around yourself "Thank you" you said quietly with a smile. As you did so, Eliot familiar smell filled your nose, a mix of cologne, shaving cream, and mint. The smell comforted you, made you feel safe, just like Eliot's presence does. Part of you wished you could bottle up that smell.

Eliot had similar thoughts of his own, hoping that some of your smell would rub off on his jacket. Anytime he got a whiff of your familiar body spray, lotion and shampoo it sent a shiver up his spine.

"Are you doing okay?" Eliot broke the silence as he watched your face closely. The recent job had been a bit emotionally taxing on everyone, especially you. You got close to one of the victims you were helping, and they ended up nearly getting killed. You blamed yourself. But luckily they ended up okay, and your team finished the job, but he could tell you had been a bit quiet since it happened.

You smiled sadly "I messed up Eliot."

"Don't do that to yourself okay? Y/n, look at me." He waited until you met his eyes to continue "The plan went haywire and it wasn't your fault, if you hadn't made the decisions you did it would have gone a lot worse than it did. You did a good job, that's what you need to focus on."

You let out a deep breath before nodding, Eliot's words comforting you. You nodded your head "You're right." You smiled softly at him "I think I'm just used to taking the blame."

"Well you shouldn't be. You did good." Eliot stated as he kept his eyes locked on yours "You're good for this team. It's better with you in it. Hell, I'm better with you in it."

You let out a soft chuckle "What?"

"You heard me." He smiled, his eyes quickly flicking to your lips and back to your eyes, so quick you almost missed it. His voice got softer as he spoke "When I see how much you care about the people we help, how little you could care about the pay out when the job is done. You...You make me wanna be better than I am. You make me work harder to be better. And that is because of you Y/n."

"You don't need me to make you better Eliot. You are a good man. One of the best." You smiled at him, your words genuine.

Eliot heart was pounding in his chest, the way you looked at him, through him, made him feel as though he had no need to hide anything from you, not that he could in the first place. You believed he was good, no matter what he had done in his past, you never let him forget that he was a good guy now. And he was more than grateful for that. And all he wanted was to make you see that in yourself as well.

"Yeah. But I hadn't been able to see that when I look in the mirror, until I met you." Eliot admitted as he turned fully towards you.

You moved to face him as well your smile widening "Then I will wear that with pride."

Eliot smiled at you before looking down at his feet, clearing his throat and then meeting your eyes again "I wanna ask you something Y/n."

"Shoot." You replied quickly, your heart picking up pace as you noticed Eliot' demeanor change.

He took a breath before he spoke, slowly, and with a little less confidence than he had hoped "Is it obvious, how I feel about you? 'Cause the others say it is."

You couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out of your mouth at his question as you felt heat rise up your neck "I'd always wondered if what I was seeing was what I thought it was, or, if it was just me hoping. So no, maybe not obvious, but it was there, I think."

Eliot smiled at his as he moved just a little bit closer to you "And all those times I thought I felt it from you?"

"Probably did." You admitted.

Eliot continued to smile as he took another step closer, his face only a few inches from yours now "So, another question. If I asked you, to be with me, would you?"

"Do you mean, as in dating, from this point on, or only temporary?" You asked tentatively. Knowing that Eliot hadn't been with any one person for a long period of time, so you feared that he would not want that you with you either.

"From this point on, until you grow tired of me, which hopefully wouldn't be too soon in the future. I want you to be with me for a long time Y/n. Hell, you're the only person I've met, that I've...fallen for, that I can see having a future with. A long one at that." He reached his hand up as he spoke, gentle stroking his hand across your face.

You smiled at his touch "Well in that case. Yes." you whispered.

Eliot smiled, bringing up his other hand as he know held your face, bringing you closer "Good" he whispered, before pulling you into a deep and passionate, long awaited kiss.

xx

[egelantier]

guess who binged the entirety of leverage: redemption in 24 hours? i did, i did, even though i had to psych myself up a bit first. leverage was one of vanishingly few american/english-speaking TV shows that didn't let me down, didn't meander or lose the plot or did the characters dirty or lost its sense of hope and kindness and beautifully lived-in humor, and i was so afraid the sequel is going to mess it up. hardison's not there? new-ish lineup? noah whyle? (rant about him pulling the blanket onto himself and messing up with the nice ensemble show on librarians omitted for time).

what if they did it wrong? what if they're too egregiously dated or embarrassing? what if rogers forgot how to write eliot/hardison/parker? aaah. i had so much anxiety!

and now i have to report that NO EVERYTHING WAS EXCELLENT AND GREAT AND IT'S THE BEST SEQUEL EVER AND I'M SO GRATEFUL IT EXIST. GO WATCH IT NOW. IT'S A RAY OF JOY IN THIS TURBULENT WORLD AND I LOVE IT.

ahem.

dumping a bunch of spoilery and unspoilery reactions under one undiscriminating cut:

i loved how they dealt with timothy hutton not being on the show anymore, and by extension with nate's character, who was, for me, a very important part of the story: with nice verve and gravitas, and selling it with emotions, not just plot convenience.

eliot, hardison and parker are extremely, extremely, extremely married. i'm not sure, by the vibe, if it's an equal triangle of hardison-centered v with eliot and parker being platonic buddies, but yes, those are people who spent eight years together. (and banging.) the in-jokes! the synchronisity! the klingon! the nerdspeak! eliot calling hardison 'babe' at least two times! parker's incredibly inappropriate delight over hot, tight, new vents! god, if they only ever interacted in this pilot, i could live on it forever, and it continued, and it was great.

i'm extremely sad they didn't had hodge for the duration of the show, because apparently he grew from magnificent to incandescent in the interim, but the way they did it was absolutely amazing and worked extremely well for his character (and eliot/parker/hardison family too).

eliot is always my growly favorite, and the best thing about his show is how it's very… without being spelled out too much, it's visible that in those eight years, he's let go of last of his grief and rage and guilt, and he's happy. he's got his soul back, entire, he has his family and his world-changing job and his hobbies and his joys, and he knows that redemption is a lifetime work, and he's doing it with a smile. it was just great to see him, every moment of screen time.(he also kept his habit of being into very tall warrior women, which i can imagine fitting in with his family with no problem, and: good for him. i'm sad they didn't get mikel back for this particular beat, but it was still great.)

parker: sheer delight. just, she's still very much parker in all her gorgeous and gloriousness parker-ness, but she grew into it and into herself and into a variety of roles without reserve and without a limit, and i love her.

brianna the new baby hacker, hardison's baby sister, was SUPER good, fitted the crew like she was always there, and had a variety of great and fun relationships with the entire team. loved her.

SOPHIE: flat out stole the show. i always liked her, but secondary to the ot3, but: she brought so much weight into this reunion tour, her power and her grief and her mischievous streak and her ruthlessness and her hilarity, it was amazing. and i loved how she was very - she was her age in a way that you very rarely see on tv, i think. she and parker both, but sophie especially. my heart for her.

harry the dirtbag lawyer turned good, aka noah whyle: surprisingly great! they didn't give him a mastermind role, which would've killed the show for me, but instead drew him in as an overwhelmed but quickly invested and happy newbie with a lot of sins to atone for, and his bumbling and enthusiastic delight (with some darker underneath) fit the crew dynamics very well without being overpowering or distracting. good for him, and good for the show.

ELIOT LEARNED KLINGON FOR HARDISON AND PARKER DID TOO I REPEAT.

hardison's nanna is alive! and used to fbi on her doorstep.

sadly no sterling or bumbling interpol agents.

eliot made an aging security agent friend who bakes on one of the jobs, and it was adorable.

'LET'S LURE HIM IN AND ALL STAB HIM WITH THE FORKS.'

i laughed my entire ass off the george martin bit. oh show.

ELIOT JOUSTING: THANK YOU, GOD AND JOHN ROGERS. THANK YOU.

the updated and modernized cases - i recognized shkreil, but i'm sure everything else is also america- and current-world based, because the center cannot hold, et cetera - is sliding juuuuuuuuust to the line of being pleasant wish-fulfillment - if only there was a team of genius criminals to punish the unjust and save the innocent! - without being too bitter. i was worried about this aspect, and some of it is too on the nose, but - this was always leverage.

still no gay people, unless this one word in brianna's speech meant she was non-hetero in some unspecified way. that's a pity.

at least two of the marks had anxiety/ptsd that the team exploited in a way that was also very borderline to me: like, on one hand it should be recognized that mental illness doesn't excuse you from being a monstrous asshole to other people, and on the other hand, i wish the devs would learn their lesson from white rabbit job and just, like, don't. but whatever.

parker's cinderella dress, ehehehe.

"you just flipped your hair, eliot."

a surprising amount of the show, for all that it's, as always, hilarious, was - i'd say the entire theme was - about grief, and about grieving for the unfixable and lost, and continuing to move. i liked it a lot, and while sophie carried a lot of it, pretty much everybody had a bit of their own to do, and they all just - grew so much.

in conclusion: ah, ah, ah. what love.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Have you noticed the thing in fanfics of children's lit where the writer gives the protagonist new parent figures? The parent figures say things like "no child should have had to do x!". PF's don't prevent protagonist from doing heroism but might ground them for it after. Under their care, the protagonist is likely to get a job, often at the business of the PF. Seems less common for the Animorph (more in ATLA and Harry Potter), but if you have seen this, what's going on? Why do writers do this?

Why do writers do this?

Welcome to the fandom renaissance, Nonny!  My best stab as to what’s going on here is that we’re seeing fewer and fewer shipping wars due to a whole range of forces from “the average age of fandom is increasing” to “there’s an ongoing post-monogamy societal shift.”   BUT that there’s still a desire to see relationship-building fic go in the gaps where (for instance) Pro-Jacob Anti-Edward fic used to go.  So instead of writing about Edward and Bella’s romance, people are writing about Edward and Carlisle’s mentorship, or Leah and Rosalie’s friendship.

What’s going on?

Again, a stab in the dark: it’s a really fun story premise, one that can get away from the way ships are sometimes fraught with baggage.  Found Family is intensely cathartic, in the sense that it takes characters who are miserable and/or lonely in canon and allows them to build loving relationships with each other.  It also (IMHO) reflects that trend among Millennial Whippersnappers to move away from nuclear definitions of “family” and toward embracing everything from polyamory to sexless romance to adult adoption.

Not only that, but it’s awesome in that it lets writers play so much with foils.  Stranger Things obviously does this Up to Eleven (pun intended): Steve’s an arrogant jerk when he’s interacting with Nancy but a dorky sweetheart around Dustin, Hopper’s at his worst around Joyce but at his best around El, Billy’s evil to Max but might be redeemable around his mom, etcetera.  This premise gives fan writers the chance to get wildly different characters into a room together — what if the Tonks family adopted Neville Longbottom? — and start playing out the fun potential.

Why Avatar and Harry Potter (but not Animorphs)?

In a word: FOILS.  Both AtLA and Harry Potter are series filled with good, bad, and ugly mentors, and both series have contrasts between the good and the bad.  For AtLA, it’s no accident that Zuko finally reuniting with his father in S3E1 is intercut with the scene of Katara finally reuniting with her father.  Katara’s fam airs their grievances, talks things out, yells, cries, apologizes, forgives, hugs, and affirms their ongoing love.  Zuko’s fam deals with having 500 times as much baggage by... Zuko kowtowing silently on the floor while Ozai talks about everything but their problems with each other.  After that sequence, the desire to get Zuko into a room with Hakoda for some proper fathering is practically overwhelming, and many brilliant fan writers have obliged us by doing exactly that.

For Harry Potter, there’s no scene that’s as in-your-face with the contrast between healthy vs. unhealthy disagreement with one’s father, but there are still plenty of mentor foils.  Sirius and Petunia are probably the clearest examples.  Sirius is a raging mess who (on the surface) has nothing to offer Harry: he’s an ex-con with a drinking problem and untreated mental health issues who spends much of the series homeless.  Petunia has her shit together and (on the surface) is the perfect guardian for Harry: she’s a wealthy full-time parent who lives in a large suburban house, and is both his closest surviving relative and his legal guardian.  But of course all Harry needs from a parent is love and support, and Sirius offers that in spades while Petunia has none to spare.  Again, the desire to rip Harry away from the Dursleys and ship him off to go be a Black is overwhelming, and many beautiful works of fan fiction have done exactly that.

Animorphs... doesn’t have mentor characters.  Like, none.  Elfangor dies, Toby does her own thing, Erek can’t be trusted, neither Ax nor Jake wants to mentor, and all adults are possible controllers.  Eva’s the closest we get, but by the time she’s free, everyone (especially Eva) recognizes that the Animorphs are already more experienced than her.  We don’t even see a dynamic like the Teen Titans show where the villains mentor the heroes — Jake and Marco might occasionally parallel Visser Three and Visser One, but they don’t learn from the vissers the way that Robin does from Slade or Raven does from Trigon.  The kids just... find their own way.  So while people have written fic where Elfangor or Eva or Mertil or Tom mentors the team, there’s not this in-your-face missed opportunity for the kids to get the parenting they deserve in Animorphs the way there is with Harry Potter and Avatar.

Have you noticed the thing?

Personally, I love this trend.  I’m not much of a shipper — I’m not fond of “will they or won’t they” romantic premises, and actively dislike “they will because they’re soulmates” premises.  My favorite Ship Dynamics are all platonic.  Like, my faves include (but are not limited to):

Grubby Semi-Feral Mentee and Aloof Socially-Incompetent Mentor Bond with Alarming Speed Over Niche Magical Interest (see: Briar and Rosethorn in Circle of Magic, Boy 412 and Marcia in Septimus Heap, Jason and Bruce in Batman, Wart and Merlin in The Once and Future King)

Well-Intentioned Loving Parent Irretrievably Fucks Up Child, Copes with Fallout (see: John and Dean in Supernatural, Adam and Cal in East of Eden, Soichiro and Light in Death Note, Elaine and T.J. in Political Animals)

I’ve Only Known This Person With Extremely Specific Shared Trauma for 10 Minutes But If Anything Happened to Them I Would Kill Everyone (see: Toph and Zuko in AtLA, Luke and Annabeth in Demigod Diaries, Ax and Tobias in Animorphs, Spike and Angel in Angel, Parker and Eliot in Leverage, Johanna and Finnick in Catching Fire)

Saving the World Sucks But At Least My Ultra-Competent Siblings Are Suffering With Me (see: Edmund and Lucy in Chronicles of Narnia, Sam and Dean in Supernatural, the Hargreeveses in Umbrella Academy, the Crains in Haunting of Hill House)

Just Because I Tried to Kill You That One Time Doesn’t Mean I Won’t Help You Hide a Body, JFC We’re Still Family and I Don’t Know What You Take Me For (see: the Robins in Batman, Septimus and Simon in Septimus Heap, Kyle and Ian in The Host)

We Were the Weird Cousins At All the Family Reunions and We’ve Only Gotten Weirder Since (see: Kate and George in Story Time, Jake and Rachel in Animorphs, Po and Bitterblue in Graceling Realm)