#biconicfinn

Like the accidental marriage AU earlier, this is one that does already exist in my WIP folder! I'm hoping to tackle it in the first half of 2024; it takes a LOT more planning than I'm used to hahaha. So let's go.

ONE: The first time Alex comes across the famous Henry Fox, he's convinced it's a fakeout. There's no way someone that genteel, that pretty, is the sort of hitter that even the most hardened criminals whisper about with a mixture of fear and respect in their voices.

(The second time he comes across the famous Henry Fox is the day the team comes together, and if he wasn't in the room, he'd be convinced Nora doctored the footage—Henry takes out eight mooks without breaking a sweat, the lock of hair falling across his face and one scrape on his knuckle where one idiot opened their mouth right before Henry punched him in it the only evidence Henry had anything to do with the bodies lying at his feet in varying degrees of pain. Alex is impressed, grateful, and more than a little turned on.)

TWO: Nora is a terrible grifter. Absolutely atrocious. After a few disastrous attempts, they all agree that if the choices are between Nora grifting, and abandoning the con... well, you can't win 'em all.

THREE: Pez brings them together as a team, but June is their glue. She's the one who finds clients, and who keeps them... well, not honest, but on the right path.

FOUR: Henry worries, when he and Alex get together, when Nora and June and Pez are doing whatever it is they're doing, that Bea will feel like some sort of sixth wheel. He needn't have been concerned—Bea and Alex are a terrifyingly chaotic duo, Bea and June combine their big sister energy when needed, Bea and Nora occasionally disappear for a side job the rest of them know better than to ask about, and Bea and Pez gang up on Henry at any given opportunity. Some days it feels like she's the star they're all orbiting.

FIVE: Nora doesn't tell the rest of them—not even June and Pez—but she has contingency plans on top of contingency plans for when any or all of them get burned. There are fake identities living whole lives, at least according to their digital footprint, that any of them will be able to jump into at a moment's notice. The crew is her family, and she'll keep them safe.

okay first of all nothing but canon facts in this house, i love it. second of all you should do it. third of all, i thought you were gonna say that he was doing paperwork and then suddenly noticed how big his hands are and he was like "wow. my hands are really big" idjdidbdudbduddjddkdn

but also idk why but this made me picture a scene where Raphael bursts into the room like "Magnus just scraped his knee" and they both like run and treat his "wound" like a perfectly oiled machine like Raphael rubs the rubbing alcohol, Alec puts a band-aid over it, Raphael gives his knee a little kiss, Alec goes "there, there, it's alright now" and Magnus is like "can you two stupid doing that"

a wonderful concept. what can i say except i wholeheartedly agree

raphael is just a huge fan of petting, okay. be it her hair or her fur, it's just the best thing, the idle movements of his hands/fingers, the great textures that they provide, the way it's such a simple way to remind her that he's there and bring her comfort and express his love. they can stay like that for hours, maia cuddling on his chest or laying on his lap as he softly squeezes her curls or strokes her fur

and it feels so great for maia! first of all, because finally someone who knows how to pet curly hair. you can't just run your fingers through it because it hurts and it's frustrating that she rarely ever got to have her hair petted right because the scalp is sensitive and it just feels so good and relaxing, okay??? im picturing jordan used to stroke her hair like that and get mad when she complained because oh isnt she happy with anything he does? or just refusing to ever pet her head again basically. haha im fine but raphael knows how to do it and pays a lot of attention and it feels great, to relax in his arms and be cherished like this, particularly when it comes to her natural hair (which he loves, and makes a point of telling her that. constantly)

and with her wolf form... it's very similar. again, for so long she has rejected that form and seen it as something that was done to her, that took her from herself, made her a monster. and now that she's working to reclaim it, it's just... really nice to see how much raphael cherishes it. the way he always gives her that huge, but somehow still private-looking, smile whenever she feels comfortable enough to shift around him? beautiful. amazing. and he loves stroking her fur, grooming her, giving her wolf form a shower (look i dont care it needs it too okay and i just really love the idea of wolf!maia getting showered and soaped up all over and wagging her tail and nuzzling against raphael and making a mess okay) and everything

so when she's on the mood to be in her wolf form, either she lies on top of raphael (she's like a huge blanket it's so warm and he loves it) and raphael runs his hands through her neck and back, soothing repetitive motions that have her wagging her tail until she falls asleep... or raphael lies on top of her back (carefully so as not to weight too much) and kisses her neck and pats her head and scratches behind her ears

god cooking is fun but im bad at it but im actually not terrible at baking and desserts--other than breaking eggs, which i still have to ask someone else to do because im a garbage baby

but Y E S  ok desserts are, great. i admit i actually like cooking them more than eating them a lot of the time? especially most cake 

although i do love strawberry cake,, my local grocery store’s generic bakery does this strawberry cake with whipped cream icing that tastes SO GOOD especially chilled. like idk bro that shit is good

chocolate cake is overrated but not disgusting (if its like Moist And Dense its pretty good especially with the right like, fudgey icing?) and vanilla is fine. better in cupcake form

as for like pie, i like pecan and certain kinds of chocolate pie a lot, i like apple and rhubarb but i might pick out some of the filling like a loser, pumpkin pie and coconut cream i can stand in small amounts bc unique flavor but not great texture. key lime and lemon meringue i ADORE in concept but in practice always seem to fail me. peach and cherry i just dont like im sorry :( i mean cherry is good if i just eat the cherry juice soaked crust like a heathen but pretty sure that doesn’t count

fglkhjfgh im trying to think of other desserts... spotted dick is TERRIBLE, had it once, i hate it. all bread pudding sucks im sorry 

cookies,,, chocolate chip is boring unless very fresh and gooey and a little underdone so its like warm cookie dough but not dangerous, shortbread is great if done right but needs something with it, anything with raisins is trash, sugar cookies are only good if they’re those weird soft lofthouse ones, double choc is fine, white choc macademia nut is fine.... i can’t think of any others rn 

apple turnovers? the shit. cherry turnovers? suck. those strawberry cream cheese ones the walmart near me has sometimes? delicious. i love fake strawberry shit ngl

same with fake blueberry shit like blueberry muffins or waffles with like, the weird processed blueberry stains that aren’t really blueberries? good blueberry flavor without the texture i hate

TARTS. LEMON TARTS AND CREAM CHEESE TARTS GOOD. 

Shakthi ILY!!!!! Thank you so so much!!! Heist AU is BRILLIANT and I wanna hear your take!!!!!!! here are some thoughts, say in sh universe canon divergence, immortal squad... idk when this would take place so maybe that is the AU:

It all starts because Catarina is doing some research and found a reference to an old book she must get her hands on for what she is working on. The next step is to call up Ragnor to see if he knows where there might be a copy. He tells her, after some research, that there are only two copies left, one in Idris and one at the New York Institute. One of those is clearly easier to get into than the other.

Well. It's not like she can rock up to the Institute and asked for them to give her the book. So Catarina adds Magnus to the call because Magnus helps with the Institute wards. Would he be able to get through them? Of course he could!

Round out the heist group by bringing Raphael with them. It will be helpful to have someone who is very strong in case something in the Institute dampens their magic. Who knows what they might find?

Heist steps: Ragnor causes some false demon activity spikes, so there will be fewer shadowhunters in the Institute. Catarina portals them all near the Institute gardens, where there is more natural cover. Magnus opens a little hole in the wards they can all step through. The door to get inside the Institute resists unlocking charms, but Raphael is able to break the hinges.

Now they're in! Ragnor stays in the garden to guard the escape route. Catarina keeps the other three under a charm that deflects people's sight while Magnus leads them to where the library is and gets them through the extra layer of wards around it. Raphael is able to use vamp speed to search for the book in question when they decide it is too risky to try and summon it.

(They grab some other books and artifacts before they leave too, anything that looks familiar or anything that could be used against the downworld).

It goes surprisingly well though Ragnor does have to cause a distraction by running off and leading some shadowhunters away so the others can portal. They all meet back at the loft and spend the rest of the evening going over their hard-won items!

To go more canon divergence, maybe Alec is instructed to investigate this Incident, and we have an alternate Malec first meeting! Alec can be the inside man if they try and pull another such heist, such as a bigger one to get into Alicante...