People, I want to see a thriving PR professional Gabi and a semi-adjusted, slightly toned down but still obsessive Sir. Imagine if Gabi was taking M&A from success to success; leading the team brilliantly (with no man chained up in her basement). In this AU, Sir would be muscle for hire (purely because I like seeing this man work out) and Gabi would be seeking his services. M&A was founded by Gabi after a girl on her street (Bella) went missing and was never found. Sir had nothing to do with Gabi until she hired him.
Warnings: physical violence, death threats, mentions of human trafficking
M&A has a few enemies; due to the nature of what they do, its inevitable. Instead of letting the threats get in the way of their work, Gabi makes the executive decision to hire security personnel for each of the team, also making various safe houses available for them. The entire team have a bodyguard that is one call away at the weekend and by their side for 15 hours a day. Their contracts are four months, pending renewal.
This might seem drastic to some but they have been dismantling trafficking rings for months now and those motherfuckers are well connected. You can never be too safe.
Gabi's personal bodyguard is called Hugh Evans. He is in his 40s, tall and has stubble. Evans seems to enjoy reading Toni Morrison, Frank L Baum and Shakespeare. He's actually quite pleasant to be around except for the fact that he insists on calling her Gabrielle.
That being said, the 15 hours feel like nothing at all sometimes. For Gabi, Evans is a conundrum. How does someone so intellectually gifted not mind running errands with her all day? She could easily see him as a college professor. One night, Gabi convinces Evans to have a drink with her (after his shift ends, of course).
Over a bottle of red wine, they learn more about eachother. Evans was training to be a literature professor but had to drop out to look after his little brother. Their mom isn't the most reliable, so Evans is the one putting him through boarding school. He loves birdwatching and sculpting; but insists that it's just recreational.
Gabi tells him about her strained relationship with her father. To him, M&A is too dangerous; he never wanted her to have a target on her back. She laments that the passing of her mother broke something in their family and neither of them knows what to do now.
She is in great company, Evans is a great listener. Empathetic when needed but never pitying. She feels safe with him.
For Hugh, this is highly unprofessional. Drinking with clients is a no go for any security personnel worth his salt but there is something special about Gabrielle. She is a breath of fresh air; smart, beautiful and charming. He isn't ready for this contract to end. Not yet, anyway.
Three months down the line, this working relationship is still going strong. The death threats to Gabi and her team are slowing down now but they all know that this could just be another tactic to get them to slip up.
Gabi doesn't read them anymore, instead she passes them to Evans who uses the letters to build a profile of the kind of people who seek to hurt Gabrielle. It's going well. These criminals are highly educated, strategic and obsessive. A four month contract looks almost naïve in the face of such a threat.
Thankfully for M&A, the police are involved and they are monitoring the situation. With the police alerts and Evans' tireless work, Gabi has been able to focus on each case and not worry about her own safety every second.
Evans has become like a permanent fixture in her life. Over the past few months, they have gotten much closer and it has only helped his work. They work out together, eat together and even watch black and white movies together. They're both into noir detective dramas.
Tonight, Gabi is (once again) working late. Its 11 and she should have been done hours ago. Evans just brought up her Doordash and they are sharing a meal. He's learned that this is the only way to get her to rest during a case.
Gabi was craving Thai food and Evans had long given up saying no to her. They shared cashew chicken and Khao pad. It was divine.
Over the meal, they talked about their the future. Evans wanted to stick with security work, for his brother's sake and Gabi was looking to find investors for M&A. Zeke bankrolling their whole operation couldn't last forever. Corporate funding was needed but that was a long term plan. For tonight, she was happy just to go to sleep.
As Gabi and Evans prepare to head back, an uneasy feeling creeps over the two of them. Sure enough, as they reach her place, the door is cracked open.
Evans gestures for her to stay back and contact the police. As Gabi dials 911, Evans checks each room. In her home office, one of the low lifes working for the Maryland trafficking ring is waiting with a 7 inch blade. Evans manages to subdue him, though not without damage.
When Gabi eventually enters her house, she finds the attacker tied up, unconscious and Evans bleeding from his side.
"Gabrielle.." he barely manages to croak out, before collapsing into her arms.
Part 3 here
ok promise i’ll shut up soon but now i’m thinking about how in Act 1 the only game we see marvin and whizzer play is chess, where marvin clearly excels and whizzer doesn’t seem to entirely know how to play. and you can tell whizzer’s insecure abt it because he knows marvin wants a smart guy and he doesn’t feel he lives up to his expectations, and they fight and break up because marvin can’t help but be petty because he wants a smart boyfriend but not one smarter than him and someone he can still win over and it just shows how petty and immature they both are in that act that they can’t get over their childish need to prove something to each other and it has to turn into a whole thing
but then in Act 2, the only game we see them play is racquetball, a game where whizzer clearly excels because he’s the more athletic one of the pair, but even though they banter a little over winning and losing, it’s lighthearted this time. marvin, who once said winning was everything to him, is able to admit defeat and still have a good time, and it’s one of the happier songs in the musical. and then even when they play the second time and marvin is winning because whizzer is obviously sick, marvin doesn’t gloat the way he once would’ve, it’s again just light hearted banter that only turns serious when something is wrong.
i just think it’s really nice to see their maturity and growth from act 1 to act 2, especially with marvin going from making them play chess because he knows he can win to letting them play a game that he knows whizzer is better at and still enjoying himself :)
Rewatching found and I got thoughts
I'm leaning more into my trents dad is sirs dad theory
Also something not a theory but a bit I started with a friend is suggesting Gabi should have just gone outside when he escaped with a book and a case file and called for him like a dog. He would have come back just throw in a couple I need yous and we are partners and he would have come back like a lost puppy and she could have chained him up. Me and said friend may have started saying "come here sir" like you would call a dog whenever they were trying to find him.
The final thought we had is the headshot photo they used in the press conferences like who took it. Every other time it's the age progression photo and the photo was what he looked like outside the basement. Probably just a plot hole but me and my friend decided for cannon sake Gabi did a photoshoot with sir after she shaved him.
Omg same he was on my nerves the first time we met him mainly because the massive power imbalances between him and his patient but the more he speaks to the Dhan the more I hate him. He is so consending when he speaks to Dhan and I can't stand it!!!
Ok I am just going to say this. I don’t like Ethan. I don’t like the vibe I get from him and Dhan in their scenes. We know Dhan leans on him a lot and can’t cope when he’s not in town. And he’s his therapist or at least he uses his professional knowledge on Dhan yeah? Idk it feels WEIRD. And it feels a bit like there’s this power imbalance there? Idk if it’s intentional or what bc this show doesn’t delve into personal lives very much. But I am not loving their dynamic esp after the newest ep.
Asta: General, Harry isn't right. He's heartbroken over his Avian girlfriend leaving him and can't work!
General: Say no more! I have a perfect solution!
General: *shows up at Harry's doorstep with an emu*
Is it bad I want Gabbi to go with Hugh for a little bit to see how it plays out?
a thought: sir's childhood neighbor is actually gabi's mom, and the neighbor/gabi's mom passing away is what prompts him to abduct gabi and try to "give" her the life he was denied by his own mother (and what he got a glimpse of through his neighbor/gabi's mom).
The fight with her father is heartwretching and then it leading to showing sir at the window with stuff to take her agian is wild. I know we know he doesn't but still gets me wanting to know what comes next.