#gapollya

[heytheredeann]

#enemies to lovers

#tmfuedit #gapollya #napollya #gallya #the man from uncle #tmfu #illya x napoleon x gaby #not spn #my edit #i just love them and this movie very much bye #i am particularly obsessed with the gaby one at the moment #maybe because i don't often think about that parallel looool

[bartholomew-junior]

we’ll get a sequel announcement anyday now guys don’t worry (its been 9 years) reference image under cut

#had to fight the urge to put solo in a wiggle dress #tmfu #gaby teller #napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #barely #im tagging #gapollya #anyway #napollya #is there no ship name for #gaby x napoleon #??

[cha-melodius]

Guess who rewatched TMFU last night???

I feel inspired to talk about the end of the movie and our favorite spies' first mission as UNCLE. Caveat that these are all just my interpretations/headcanons, and aren't the only ones out there! I've been thinking about this recently because of Hard to be Soft, Tough to be Tender, which I set very early in their partnership. Namely, we get this moment, where they all look, as @heytheredeann always so accurately puts it, entirely victimized by the news that they have to keep working together:

Now this comes not long after this little moment, where Illya allows his fondness to slip out in that tiny smile, and then realizes what he's done and immediately hides behind his glass of Scotch.

They're having a moment here, one where they both let their shields down just a little, precisely BECAUSE they're sure they're never gonna see each other again. There is little risk in letting that fondness show, because the other person is unlikely to have a chance of exploiting that in the future. Then Waverly comes in and says surprise! We're keeping the team together! Which is frustrating to Napoleon and Illya especially because they were ready to go back to working alone and put this whole experiment and these feelings out of their minds. Now they're going to have to deal with them, or more likely shove them deep down where they can't be a problem, and I can see both of them initially closing themselves off again a bit more because of it.

By the end of Istandbul, though, I think we see some opening up, at least on Napoleon's part, in part because of the first of these two photos from the credits:

Obviously Napoleon and Gaby are getting along swimmingly by this point. I may prefer them as besties to romantic partners, but it's clear that they are relaxed and affectionate around each other. I guess you could argue maybe this was a cover for the mission, but the body language speaks for itself. Napoleon has a lot of masks, but for the first time he's letting little glimpses of himself show to his partners.

Now as for Illya's role in these shots: most of the credits photos don't really have a particular mood or feeling, by which I mean they're pretty much just standard covert shots, maybe taken by Waverly (except the one of him, obviously). But these two are so different. I headcanon that Illya took these photos, and probably he didn't intend anyone to see the negatives or prints but him. That one of Napoleon alone is so artistic and practically oozes longing. I can just imagine Illya seeing him there like that and thinking about how beautiful he looks, lit up by the sunset, and needing to capture it only for himself. I guess I see Illya as super conflicted by the end of this mission, maybe aware of his growing feelings and maybe not, and probably actively convincing himself that they're not those kind of feelings either way.

More about how the team relates to each other post-canon below the cut.

As to growing pains they might have as a real team in Istanbul, well, I'd say some are inevitable. I actually think Gaby's betrayal is a much bigger deal for her than it is for the boys. She clearly feels guilty about it in her last scene with Illya, and I imagine that guilt stays with her despite the fact that they don't seem to hold it against her. For Napoleon and Illya, though, I'm pretty sure they forgave her pretty quickly. She may have betrayed them, but she was acting as an agent for another country, and as Waverly says, it was the only way to keep the mission going. (Side note: It took me a while last night to realize that the reason that Gaby had to betray them to stay in the game was because Rudy & Victoria knew Illya wasn't just a Russian architect after he took his anger out on the Italian guys in the bathroom. Smoothly done, Peril, as Napoleon would say.) Napoleon and Illya have been in the spy game for a lot longer, and I'd wager they each spent the entire time in Rome expecting the other one to betray him. Gaby's betrayal was upsetting to them at first because it was unexpected (and, I'd argue, ego-bruising), but as soon as they know she's also a spy, it's understandable to them.

That brings me to Waverly, which I'd been thinking about while watching because of this ask. One would assume the same leeway applies to him, and I think it does, to an extent. I'm going to focus on what happened to Napoleon, because while Waverly all but apologizes to Illya for selling him out, he never says a peep about Napoleon's near-death experience. To Napoleon, I think he'd see this as business as usual. Of COURSE his senior officer would leave him to die. I don't think anyone doubts that Sanders would do it in a heartbeat. Napoleon had to become the CIA's most effective agent to save his own goddamned life. So Napoleon would neither expect any acknowledgement from Waverly about that, much less an apology, nor would he expect one. But that of course leaves Waverly as no better than Sanders, and I don't think many people in this fandom are fond of that idea. I think it takes Waverly a while to win any measure of real trust from Napoleon, and Napoleon is definitely the last of the three to give it. Beyond Istanbul, even. Maybe in Istanbul it starts, Waverly does something unexpected that makes Napoleon reevaluate things, but I don't think he's going to be taking kindly to any figure of authority any time soon. Napoleon is definitely the type to have issues with authority, unlike Illya IMO (the duality of Illya as the Good Soldier who disobeys orders based on his own sense of justice is an essay for another time, though).

What I think is interesting is Waverly's role in the Istanbul mission.

Maybe he's just there smoking hookah and giving them a run down on the mission, like Sanders and Oleg in Berlin, but maybe he takes a more active role. He was in the field in Rome, after all. The idea that this team is a foursome and not a threesome is an intriguing one, though, and not one I can remember seeing explored (though I read almost exclusively napollya fic, so if it's in one tagged with another relationship, I'd have missed it). I feel like Hugh Grant might have had a bigger role in the sequel movie, so it's possible that at least for this first mission they have a different dynamic in that as well.

Anyway, if you've read all of this, thank you for indulging me! And feel free to send asks with headcanons or aus or questions or if you want my thoughts on anything, because I am raring to talk about this movie lol.

#tmfu #tmfu meta #the man from u.n.c.l.e. #the man from uncle #napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #gaby teller #alexander waverly #napoleon x illya #napoleon x illya x gaby #napollya #gapollya

[i1lya]

#i hope this one hasnt been done yetfkdsf #gapollya #tmfu #the man from uncle #illya kuryakin #gaby teller #napoleon solo

[supervisorkenadams]

Based on @johnandrasjaqobis text post

#man from uncle #gapollya #napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #gaby teller #tmfu #tmfu 2015 #my art #ot3 #napollya #armie hammer #henry cavill #alicia vikander

[alfvenwave]

Post mission cuddles

Referenced from this

#tmfu #gapollya #the man from uncle #man from uncle #illya kuryakin #napoleon solo #gaby teller #my art

[lannisterdaddyissues]

okaay picture this: gaby is driving, illya is shotgun, napoleon at the back. Napoleon asks for mcdonald's. gaby gets in the drive thru. napoleon is excited. illya is rolling his eyes. Gaby orders one black coffee. Napoleon pouts. illya turns to him and goes: well, we have food at home.

THATS IT. THATS THE MOVIE

#tmfu #man from uncle #gapollya #napollyaislife #mutual #ask #reply

[heytheredeann]

#in which Illya is a worried worrier who worries

#tmfuedit #napollya #gallya #gapollya #illya kuryakin #the man from uncle #illya x napoleon x gaby #napoleon x illya #illya x gaby #tmfu #not spn #my edit #i just #me while writing fics: am i making him too much of a worrier? #meanwhile canon:

[isnottherussianway]

Mixology

Their downtime afforded hours upon hours of time in which to get to know each other on a more personal level, but it was more of a bore than anything. They’d spent month as partners within UNCLE, and even Illya--normally so stoic and stern-faced in the presence of boredom, had begun to crack. They spent endless days in Napoleon’s New York apartment rather than their own separate ones, because, well..he could cook.

They’d grown close at least; Gaby and Illya had reconciled their affections for each other but hadn’t wanted to make it exclusive. Exclusivity didn’t bode well for agents whose missions sometimes ran toward the romantic, and Illya wasn’t really looking for much in the way of constant companionship, so long as he had the two of them as company.

The two of them; Napoleon factored into the relationship status, as well. It was still a point of conjecture for Illya, but Gaby was very slowly worming out Illya’s appreciation of Napoleon, whether Illya liked it or not. He’d shared the odd kiss with the American agent, but light touches and bodies piled together on the sofa while watching television were common enough and platonic enough for Illya’s confused self.

#chopshopchic #thiefonaleash #closed starter #ot3 verse #gapollya

[transgenderastarion]

If you don’t ship Napollya (or Gapollya) I’m sorry but we can’t be friends

#the man from uncle #the man from uncle 2015 #napoleon solo #napollya #gapollya #ot3 #otp #illya kuryakin #gaby teller

[chaoticace22]

Gaby: What the hell is wrong with Solo?

Illya: Do you want me to go chronologically or alphabetically?

#the man from uncle #gaby teller #napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #napollya #gapollya

[cha-melodius]

do you have any headcanons about Napoleon's, Peril's and Gaby's sleeping positions? like who moves around the most or who likes to curl up? stuff like that.

Oh, I love thinking about them sleeping and cuddling lol. I think the one that I have that qualifies as a true headcanon, and is something I've written into a number of fics, is that Napoleon is a clingy sleeper (or, as @heytheredeann would say, OCTOPUS NAPOLEON RIGHTS 😂😂😂). He's gonna wrap his arms around his bed partner and tangle legs together, no matter how far apart they were laying when they went to sleep.

I honestly go back and forth about Illya, I could definitely see him sleeping without moving much, even when there's someone else in the bed. He's always the cling-ee in these situations, lol. BUT I also love the idea of Illya unconsciously using people as his personal teddy bears and hugging onto them without meaning to. He'd know that he does it and so he'd avoid sharing a bed, taking couches and floors and just not sleeping, until he was sick or drunk or otherwise pliable and his partners actually got him into a bed. (I might have written this one into a fic, lol...)

I'm partial to Gaby as a flailer in her sleep, like she'd go to sleep curled against someone but before long she'd be arms and legs everywhere. And woe be it on you if you wake her up when she's actually getting a decent sleep in, she's been known to punch first and ask questions later. 😅

And if they're all three sharing a bed, I always see Illya as the middle sleeper, long-sufferingly putting up with his partners' crazy sleeping habits, but loving every minute of it. 😊

#napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #gaby teller #napollya #gapollya #napoleon x illya x gaby #tmfu #the man from u.n.c.l.e. #the man from uncle #headcanons and aus #asks and answers #octopus napoleon rights

[i1lya]

Let my girl Gaby be a race car driver 😩 it's what she deserves!!!

#i can see napoleon and illya cheering her on in the crowd they be like thats our gf :') #tmfu #gaby teller #the man from uncle #gapollya

[alfvenwave]

want to post drawing but am too embarrassed.....

#pewter.txt #its gapollya....... #the inherent shame in drawing ship art