#also that last part was connected to the fact Polly told them he had no siblings

[ask-the-magic-girl]

What was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you during a magic show?

“I wouldn’t say it was necessarily embarrassing for me, but… One of the first shows I did with Polly as my assistant involved a few back-turned tricks and quite a bit of running.”

“Mid-performance I feel a clot pass and a lot of liquid- Thanks a lot, Aunt Flo -and I know I’ve already bled through. But, I finish the back-turned trick I was doing before calling intermission.

Sure, I was a bit upset I had to rush the magic so I had time to change into a non-bloodied skirt, but Polly’s face was priceless. I’ve never seen him so pale!”

“I think that was probably the day when I first suspected Polly wasn’t exactly cis. Guys don’t usually have a spare pad in their pocket if they didn’t grow up with sisters.”

@thepollyjustice

[no-where-new-hero]

Fire and Hemlock Readalong: Day 8 (Part 2, Ch.2)

...in which Polly housebreaks.

My ire against Ivy has gotten much more intense this time around: ma'am, I know you're using your boarding house as Tinder, but have you ever considered what effect this is going to have on your 11 year old daughter? Especially keeping in mind how she treats Polly over it later.

Polly is coming to understand the fallibility of Dad at last, wrapped up--as Ivy's is--in seeing him as a sexually independent being. Of course, it's all implied, but Dad is no longer just Dad, able to patch things up when he comes home. There are other complications that ripple across other people. And dealing with other people is how Polly really seems to process the divorce. We never exactly are told exactly how she feels about things--we only get them sidelong, though how she reacts to Nina and her other classmates and her desire to break into Hunsdon House. Which honestly seems like a fair reaction to me.

Fire and Hemlock encompasses many genres, and DWJ definitely dips into the Gothic a bit in this chapter. The House is never overtly personified, but the way Polly travels through it reminds me of literary theory I've read on women's Gothic fiction that describes their female protagonists moving through houses as a parallel to the masculine journeyman story. In that genre, the House is an unchartered country with real social and atmospheric danger. Here, then, DWJ manages to draw on a tradition of female heroism, while eliding it with Polly-as-male-trickster hero: by trespassing and stealing.

And though the House isn't alive enough to be personified, it's dead enough to be. The House is fairyland, but while during the funeral that meant a certain frosty splendor, it now means death:

“Lived-in houses give you a sense of life, and Hunsdon House was dead, dead as the bare twigs of the pruned roses. ”

and (when she leaves)

“She did not see another living creature until she met Mintchoc sitting on the wall in front of Granny’s house.”

There's something beautifully fated about Polly taking Tom's photograph, but it makes me wonder to what extent she might have been able to escape her part in breaking Tom's enchantment if she didn't take it at all. I remember the picture was or at least had a connection to the Obah Crypt, but I forget exactly what the Obah Crypt was, in the hero business. Of course, that doesn't negate the fact that Tom took Polly over for his own benefit--but Polly also intentionally involved herself.

[ksfoxwald]

Fire and Hemlock Readalong: Part 3 Chapter 2

In which Polly finds Tom again.

This chapter contains the most overt depiction of magic in the entire book, which almost overshadows Polly's magic. She finds Tom by "following a tugging in her head," leading her to the Dumas Quartet rehearsing for a last-minute show. "Knowing things is Polly's heroic gift," Tom says. Later on, too, she's the one who sees through Mr. Leroy's trick with the trash monster.

I have to wonder what Tom told the quartet about Polly. Like, I would be seriously side-eyeing any friend of mine that told me they had a twelve year old RP partner who they met at a funeral. I feel like Ann would have some words to say about that. Also, we later learn that she has some connections to the Perry Leroys as well, though it's not clear if Tom knows; Ann might even know enough to suspect what Tom is using Polly for, even if she doesn't know the how.

Ann alias Tan Audel is the most interesting member of the quartet to me. Her gift, as Polly says, is that she never forgets, and indeed she is the one who writes the story in the new timeline that triggers Polly's memories, even though one of the others wrote the original. But she's also interesting as pretty much the only positive adult female representation in the book (to be fair, adult men are all pretty shady here as well; but there aren't any women in Nowhere except for Hero and Edna until Tan Audel is revealed). And Ann isn't described as heroic or pretty or with anything grand; she is described as having a "frank friendliness," eyes "direct and amused," with a "square, quiet face." She's not the sort of woman who shows up in hero tales but is very much the sort of woman you want in everyday life.

And when Polly asks ("hopefully") if Tom might marry Ann, Tom responds with a laugh and a "Ann has her own ideas about such things."

The "hopefully" is interesting, because Polly's reaction to Mary Fields has strongly resembled jealousy, but perhaps it hasn't quite turned into romantic jealousy yet. Her hopefulness seems to indicate that Tom is a sort of family member to her, and she's hoping he might marry Ann the way a child might hope for a nice stepmother. Ann's "own ideas" seem decidedly queer, though.

The scene with the quartet is so gentle and soft and cozy, one of the happiest moments in the entire book. The way the quartet all immediately take care of Polly and make sure her well-being is a priority is something we haven't seen from anyone except Granny, and even Granny's love has a gruff edge to it. And this is such an important scene because it sets the standard for how people, particularly children, should be treated, and that the way Polly's parents treat her really is horrible. It's hard when you're inside a situation sometimes to see how bad it is when it just feels normal.

In fact, Polly specifically does not read her book here, because she doesn't need the escape. (We also get the call back about not putting books facedown - it's from Tom of course, and it was strong enough to make it into her second set of memories.)

Tom takes Polly to the station (and so much of this book takes place at or going to or coming from train stations, or on roads. The liminal spaces between No Where and Now Here) but the wind that has been threatening for the past two chapters rears its head - literally - becoming a monster made of wind and garbage. The Leroy magic, of course, uses what is already there. But just as Tom tries to run it over with the car, Polly realizes it is actually Sam - or Tan Hanivar, as she shouts, because they are very much in Nowhere at that moment.

This, as Tom notes, is almost exactly what happens in one of the stories he wrote. "What is it about us?" Tom asks. "We make things up, and they go and happen."

Mr. Leroy uses them, Polly wanted to say. But there was more to it than that. She thought of Mr. Piper's shop in Stow-on-the-Water, which seemed to have nothing to do with Mr. Leroy. "I don't know," she said wearily.

Tom is starting to understand his curse, though he hasn't fully accepted it yet. It's interesting because between Tom and Polly, they have a complete picture of what is going on - Tom has the adult knowledge of history and context with the Leroys, while Polly has a child's insight and intuition about magic. But they aren't able to put the pieces together yet.

[writingwithacupoftea]

A family reunited

Summary: Shelby family dinners always bring some drama with them...but none of the brothers expected their sister, Y/N, to join them. After all, she had been missing for 5 years.

Word Count: 3147

A/N: First time writing a fic with a word count over 3000, baby!!! All of the brothers are actually in this but, let’s be honest, Tommy always gets more attention in my writing than anyone else. Let me know what you think of this one, and enjoy!

Part 2

Sometimes you can be better off not knowing the truth. Because the knowing the truth can make your worst nightmares an inescapable reality. A reality that can bring everything crashing down around you.

And that's how the Shelby clan felt about knowing the fate of their sister, Y/N.

Y/N Shelby was 23 when the war began, one year Tommy's junior. Before her brothers left for France, she left them with the promise of having their Mother's favourite sponge cake waiting on the table for them when they got back. She would have to save her money and actually figure out how to make it, but Y/N swore that she'd do it (somehow, even if it did turn out to be an atrocity).

But when the boys stepped through the door of the Shelby residence again in 1918, there was no cake waiting for them. It had been four years, they reasoned, maybe she'd forgotten. Even that didn't seem to sit right with the brothers, however - Y/N always kept her promises, no matter when they were made.  

It was like a dark cloud was looming over the house, but none of them could see what had caused it. Something wasn't right at number 6 Watery Lane.

After embracing Polly and Ada, who had tears flowing down their faces at the mere sight of them, Tommy immediately asked where Y/N was. Their silence had told him everything. Not waiting for an explanation, Tommy stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.  

It was no secret that Y/N and Tommy shared a close bond; they always had each other's backs and always made time for each other. Despite there only being one year between them, Tommy was especially protective over Y/N, as he didn't want anything to happen that might risk her leaving him alone. He couldn't cope without her, for Y/N was both his rock and his light, even though she carried her own darkness with her.

It was dusk when Tommy finally returned, wanting answers. Polly simply presented him with the letter that had been left for herself and Ada on the night that Y/N vanished, for that was all she knew. It said that she had to go away for a while, to not tell Tommy, John or Arthur as she didn't want to worry them, and that she'd be back home as soon as she could. The letter was dated back to 1916. Two years ago. And no one had heard anything from her since.

Tommy refused to look up at his family after reading the letter over and over again, not wanting them to see the tears that glazed his cold blue eyes. He grabbed his bag (effectively hiding the shaking that had taken over his hands) and mumbled something about going to unpack, before retreating straight up to his bedroom, actively avoiding the pitiful looks being sent his way.

The only other time the family saw Tommy that night was when he walked through the parlour and back out of the front door again. They assumed that he was going down to Charlie's yard, where Y/N and Tommy always went together to talk. It was their special place, for they both possessed a deep-rooted love for horses and always found themselves wandering back to their Gypsy roots. When they were both younger, the siblings would be out for days on end riding in the open air. What a distant memory that was now.

According to their uncle, Tommy didn't leave the yard until the sun was fully risen the next morning.

***

Y/N Shelby had been well known to the Birmingham Police from a young age: she had a, quite frankly, remarkable ability to escape the officers no matter how tight of a spot she had managed to get herself into. She was a listener, and had an impressive memory for information that could be of use at some point in the future. Her brain, in combination with her physical abilities to slip away from or outrun trouble, made her an absolute nightmare for the coppers of Small Heath.

She built up such an impressive reputation that, during the war, she had been asked to put her talents to good use. Y/N was recruited as a spy by British Intelligence, and went undercover in Germany to retrieve vital information which ultimately helped the Allies to win the war.  

It was an opportunity that she would never have been able to resist. Her brothers had always treated her as an equal when it came to the family business (although Tommy was sometimes unwilling for her to take part in certain activities); it had annoyed her immensely when they went away to fight and she couldn't do anything to help.  

(She had tried to become a nurse with Ada, but was also kicked out because she couldn't stop laughing when her sister had started laughing).  

But this was her way around it and, as far as she was aware at the time, her brothers would never have to know about her dangerous escapades.

However, not even Y/N Shelby was the perfect criminal or spy. In the March of 1918, she had been on the verge of completing her latest mission when the plan had gone awry. Instead of using her limited time to escape, she had ensured that the information she had gained was communicated properly to her associate. This decision left her with an open police case in Germany, and Y/N was forced to go into hiding.  

As that fact hit her, only one word came to mind: shit.

***

For a year after returning home Tommy searched for Y/N, and turned up nothing. She seemed to have disappeared without a trace. His desperation fuelled his ambition: Tommy wanted to make it big, not just for money but for status and connections. This, he hoped, would provide the opportunities to dig deeper and give him access to speak to the right people, so that he could find out where his younger sister was.  

Because despite the slight shadows that lurked in the back of his mind, he clutched onto his conviction that Y/N was still alive somewhere. He didn't believe in much these days, but he would always believe in his sister.

But in 1920, even Tommy was starting to have his doubts, though he refused to admit them or accept them. His search was beginning to become futile and none of his fucking contacts had been able to turn up everything.  

And so Tommy began to spiral further and further downwards, for Y/N wasn't there to stop it and he didn't have the strength to do it alone.

By the time 1921 had rolled around, the family had pretty much given up all hope that their sister was still alive. However, none of them wanted to be told that harsh truth. What they didn't realise, though, was that it couldn't be further from the truth.

***

Polly Gray wasn't a woman to be easily shocked. She had seen and done too much in her time for that.

Having been settled in her new house (courtesy of Thomas) for a few weeks now, she knew exactly who had her new address – she had only given it to the people that she actually wanted to hear from and knew that they weren't a threat. So, when she didn't immediately recognise the writing on the front of an envelope, worry took over her. However, upon closer inspection of the handwriting, she stopped. Polly knew that writing, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She ripped the envelope open, and what was contained in that letter shocked her more than anything that had happened over the last three years:

Polly,

DO NOT SHOW THIS LETTER TO ANYONE OR TELL ANYONE ABOUT WHAT IT CONTAINS. It's not sensitive or anything, I just want to keep it a surprise. A secret between us girls, just like the old days (I've written to Ada as well).

As you can probably tell, it's Y/N, and I'm alive and well. I'll explain more when I get home - I'm on my way back to Birmingham now.

By the time you get this, I'll be arriving in two days' time. I'll come to the address that I posted this to, I know that's your fancy new home. Then, how about we organise a little family get together? You know I've always been one for the dramatics (although I promise me disappearing off for 5 years wasn't completely intentional).

I can't wait to see you again soon; I've missed you all so much.

All my love,

Y/N Shelby xxx

(P.S. in case you don't believe that I am who I say I am, I've enclosed my Mother's necklace that Tommy gave to me on my 16th birthday, to prove my identity.)

And there the necklace was, sat at the bottom of the envelope. Silent tears began to roll down Polly's face and a smile, as big as the day that Michael returned to her, brightened her features.

Y/N Shelby was coming home. And, boy, were those two going to have some fun telling her brothers...

***

The day that the 30-year-old turned up on Polly's doorstep was a blur of tears, hugs and gin.  

Y/N had been introduced to Michael, who they couldn't really avoid because he lived there, but who was more than happy to keep their secret. Just being with Polly again made her realise that she was finally home.  

Whilst Y/N already knew a lot about what had happened since she left, having kept tabs on the family through her various contacts while she was away, the next day Polly helped to fill in some of the gaps in her knowledge. Polly also told her about how torn up Tommy still was about her absence, and it was enough to nearly send Y/N running straight to him. But then her aunt reasoned that it was probably better for Thomas to pass out in shock in her home, where they could set up lots of cushions as a crash pad, as oppose to on the hard streets of Birmingham.

And so the planning commenced. It was decided that Polly would host a dinner for the whole family, telling everyone that she needed to put her new house to good use, and that they could combine it with a proper welcome for Michael.

As the day drew nearer, Y/N could feel butterflies in her stomach constantly. Her excitement at seeing her whole family again was almost overwhelming. Yet she dreaded having to tell them all the truth about her prolonged disappearance.  

But, honestly, the excitement won over her nerves every time.

***

When Y/N heard her brothers' voices booming through the house, she had never been more grateful that she was running late in getting ready (as usual) and didn't have her makeup on yet. She hadn't been able to stop the tears falling from her blue eyes as the familiar sounds of her family's squabbling travelled up the stairs like music to her ears.

Everything was ready for the night that she had dreamed of for nearly three full years.

Fuck, I'm still in my pyjamas, Y/N realised, and hurried about getting ready.

Having memorised where the creaky steps were earlier that day, Y/N creeped down the stairs silently, clad in the most gorgeous midnight blue dress that she had ever seen. When she looked in the mirror, with her makeup on and hair done, she had realised how much she had grown up since she last saw her family.

But she had no time to think about that now, for it was nearly her moment.

Lingering in the doorway with a glass of champagne, and sending Polly a wink, she felt her heart rate shoot up as her aunt stood up with her own glass.

"Now, before we have dessert, I'd like to make a toast." She paused, looking around the table, her own happiness threatening to overflow. "To family."

"To family!" The brothers and Michael chorused.

Stepping into the light and leaning against the doorframe, completely unnoticed by her siblings, Y/N waited until the noise had died down before gently repeating the toast: "To family."

***

It felt like time had stood still.

Arthur, John and Finn's heads whipped around to see where the voice came from. Tommy had frozen completely, tensing up as he heard his sister's voice for the first time in seven years.

"Y/N/N?" Arthur whispered, not believing his eyes.

"Hello boys," Y/N said with a smile and a teasing glint in her eye. "Did you miss me?"

John stood up slowly and made his way towards her, and Y/N stretched her hand out towards him after putting her glass down. Her little brother tentatively placed his hand in hers, and she squeezed it, reassuring him that she was really there. She saw a couple of tears form in his eyes, though he refused to let them fall. John started to laugh, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted Y/N up, spinning her in circles and hugging her tightly. Still laughing, he exclaimed "Oh my fucking God!" and placed her down on the ground.

Y/N was next almost knocked flying with a hug from Finn, who buried his head into the crook of her neck as he cried silently. "Look at you, eh! Almost as big as me now, aren't you?" Y/N placed a soft kiss on the top of her youngest brother's head and rubbed his back soothingly. Over Finn's shoulder, she saw Arthur approaching her, seemingly lost for words. His hand cupped her cheek as he ran his thumb over it, before finally saying "Now what sort of time do you call this, young lady?" Y/N collapsed into giggles as Arthur placed a rough kiss to her forehead.

As Finn and Arthur pulled away, Y/N's eyes found the only brother who hadn't yet greeted her and who she was the most anxious to see. Tommy still hadn't moved, his eyes fixed firmly on the table in front of him, but Y/N could tell that they were cold.

"Tom?"

There was silence. After what felt to Y/N like a lifetime, Tommy spoke quietly and slowly. "I don't want to look up and find that you're not really here. That this is all in my head. I don't think I could bear it." His voice cracked slightly as he uttered the last sentence and, for the first time since the war, the family saw their brother's vulnerability as clear as day. It was a stark contrast to the Tommy Shelby that they'd gotten so used to being around.

Y/N cautiously walked over to her beloved elder brother, as if he were a spooked horse, and lowered herself into the seat beside him. She observed his eyes flit over to her as the chair creaked, so quickly that if she had blinked at the wrong moment she would have missed it. She smiled gently at Tommy. "Well I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with me for a while now, Tom, so you'd better start getting used to having me around again."  

As Y/N gently placed her hand on top of his, Tommy's entire body relaxed and at the same time something ignited in him. He felt alive for the first time since the war, and yet so at peace at the same time.

Suddenly, Tommy grabbed her hand in his, pulled Y/N to her feet with him and brought her into a bone-crushing hug. A thousand emotions and lost words were communicated in that one embrace, in that one moment, even. Tommy clung to his sister like she would vanish again if he loosened his grip. It was only when she whispered "I'm here now, Tom" in his ear as he stroked her hair that he relinquished his hold on her.

Tommy pulled away only slightly from Y/N and held her face gently in his hands. "My sweet girl," he breathed, a small smile gracing his lips. Y/N brought her hand up to his and held it there, the sibling simply enjoying the moment of being together again, tear tracks staining both of their faces.

The silence was broken by Arthur, who gruffly announced: "I need another fucking drink." The whole family started to laugh, the reality of the event finally sinking in.

"Yeah, you pour us all another drink, Artie, while I go and get your pudding." Y/N skipped towards the door.

"Y/N/N we don't fucking care about pudding now, you dick, just get back here now," John shouted after her.

"Bloody hell, no need to shout, John boy, I'm only going round the corner." She leaned around the doorframe, making sure to keep one hand on it to reassure Tommy. "Anyway," Y/N continued, "I've got to give you three your coming home present!"

"Our coming home present?" Arthur chortled.

"Yes," Y/N replied, matter-of-factly. "I believed I promised you lot cake" and she entered holding a cake exactly like their Mother used to make.

The three eldest brothers simply smiled fondly at their sister, shaking their heads.

***

An hour later, the family were all crowded into Polly's living room, having consumed the entire dessert. The gramophone was gently playing music in the background, as no one had bothered to take the record off once Arthur and John had finished dancing with their sister (they had claimed that they needed their toes stepping on to bring them back to reality).

The Shelbys and Grays spent some rare time together as a family that evening. No fighting, no arguing, no business: just talking and reminiscing and laughing.  

But now the night was drawing to a close. Finn had fallen asleep, the overwhelming emotions of the evening having finally caught up to him. Arthur and John were drunkenly singing in the corner of the room, yet they occasionally looked over at their sister, wanting to check that she was still there. Tommy simply felt complete again. For once his silence did not come from an attempt to conceal his true emotions, there was no point in trying that again tonight; he was just cherishing the moment, wanting it to last forever.

As for Y/N herself, she couldn't remember ever feeling so content before. She felt like she was on cloud nine, curled up to Tommy's side as they sat on the sofa together, watching the flames dance around in the hearth. His arm was around her shoulders, holding her close to him, and every now and again Y/N felt him place a soft kiss on the top of her head.

She knew that she had a lot of explaining to do. But that could wait until the morning. For now, they were a family reunited, and none of them could wish for anything more.

[alaffy]

Riverdale 5x17 - Dance with Death

This show and it’s ability to go from zero to sixty.  Several plots were delt with tonight.  And…it works, in that it does make sense but only because there are facts that are brought in at the last second so that it does work.   And, uh, I think Jackson lived?  Maybe he’s in the hospital for the rest of the season.

Let’s start with a few simple things. (haha)  Cheryl decides the church is going to start worshiping Gia and Kevin wants out because he’s afraid it’s becoming a cult.  Honestly, Kevin, worshiping Gia makes it less of a cult in my opinion. Although Cheryl does try to write her own 12 commandments, so….

Chad, the bitch, tries to get everything in the divorce.  He then, the bitch that he is, whines to Hiram Lodge, who suggests to Chad that the only way to win is if he kills Archie.  Meanwhile Archie and Veronica are…celebrating.  Chad tries and fails, which leads to him loosing everything in the divorce (don’t ask).  Chad, still a bitch, decides he’s going to try to kill Veronica in her apartment. Veronica (in a scene that is cheesy as hell and I love it) turns off the lights and puts on Flight of the Valkyrie. She jumps Chad, they struggle for the gun, it goes off twice, and Chad dies like the bitch he is.  Good.

Meanwhile, it something slightly more serious in tone.  Britta, remember her, comes out to Toni.  Britta tells her parents, who aren’t thrilled with the news, but Toni (who’s there at the time), believes she has talked them down.  That leads Toni and Fangs to have a discussion about their lives as teenagers and coming out to their parents.  

But there are two main stories tonight.  One has already been touched on with the fact that Chard tries to kill Archie.  After Chad reports that he failed, Hiram decides he’s going to take it upon himself to end Archie once and for all.  And, yes, he blows up the mines.  Archie and Jackson are trapped inside.  Veronica, avenging angel that she is, goes to her father and knocks him unconscious.  She then ties him up in his office and makes it clear to him that she’s had enough of trying to win his approval and that if Archie dies, she will kill him.  And make no mistake, the way this is played, I don’t think she’s kidding.  Meanwhile, at the mines, Archie is trying to dig a way out and Cheryl is praying.  And with what happens next, I’m not quite sure how we’re supposed to interpret this.  So, Cheryl is praying and suddenly Archie starts to see the fallen solders from last episode, who start to help him dig out.  We then cut back to Cheryl, who calls out the elements (Which respond to her), and suddenly Archie is able to escape with Jackson.  So it does seem like Cheryl is a witch, but if they are bringing in the supernatural, does that mean Archie wasn’t just hallucinating in the caves?  

Anyway, because Archie lives, Veronica does free her father.  However, she makes it clear if he goes after her or her friends again, she will kill him.  Later, we see him burning a photo of Veronica.  The fact that Veronica brings how their story would ends with one of them dead, I’m starting to believe this might be his last season.

And, finally, we have the highway/mothman/alien plot.  So, it turns out that Squeeky is Tabitha friend who goes missing.  Tabitha asks Betty and Jughead to look into it together. But first they got to meet Dr. Curdle who has another body that might be Polly’s and asks Betty to take a DNA test. One thing that is worrying is that this body has been cut up, which the others haven’t (hmm).  Betty, meanwhile, lets her mother know about the possibility.

So, basically, Betty and Jughead first figure out that the student of Jughead’s that had gone missing might have something to do with the case, even though he doesn’t fit the profile. So, they call the student up and they meet with him.  But just before he arrives, they see Alice on tv making a passionate plea for the killing to stop, while mentioning the new body in the morgue. The student describes about being held in a box that sounds similar to the box that Polly was held in and that he heard several people arguing about how he didn’t fit the profile. Then one of the people rescued him from the shed and took him back to the highway.  So, they know wherever that place is it’s close.  

Dr Curdle then calls Betty to let her know the test results arrived. Betty, Tabitha, and Jughead go to the morgue.  The body is not Polly’s, but it is Squeeky’s.  Furthermore, while Curdle was away from the morgue, someone broke in and stole Squeeky’s and the unknown killer’s remains.  Oh, and apparently Betty is related to the unknown killer.  Jughead realizes that they might be Blossoms.  Tabitha goes to inform Squeeky’s parents. Jughead and Betty realize that the family is trying to cover their tracks and that makes Jughead connect the “alien” body in the barrel.  So, they go to talk to Nana Blossom.  That body was a cousin of hers that had died in the woods and she just decided to, you know, preserve in syrup (oh Nana).  But she then tells them of how her husband had a bunch of illegitimate children and how Nana arranged for them to live with a couple in the woods.  But the family doesn’t live in the woods anymore, they moved to the mines, and after that…Jughead realizes that Old Man Dryfus is part of that family.  Turns out the story of the Mothman and the Aliens that Dryfus told Jughead, just a story he created to cover up what was really going on.  This really is the most disturbing episode of Scooby Doo ever.

Anyway, they get a call from Toni telling them Britta is missing.  Long story short, Betty, Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Tabitha go to the Dryfus’ place.  Jughead distracts Dryfus so that the others can search for Britta.  They find Britta but are attacked by people in Mothmen costumes (and as ridiculous as this sounds it actually is an intense scene). One of them manages to choke Betty, which reminds her of TBK, but Toni saves her.  Betty hears a struggle inside and goes rushing in to help Jughead, who has Dryfus pinned on the floor.  Afterwords, in the police station, Dryfus tells Betty the location of Polly.  Betty and Alice go to a trunk of a car and, while we don’t see anything, it is clear by their reaction that Polly is dead.

Honestly, Polly’s ending kind of makes sense.  The thing is sometimes people with troubled lives, it doesn’t matter what you do to try and stop it, it’s like they are destined to have a tragic ending.  And let’s be clear, Betty’s argument with Polly didn’t cause her death.  Polly mental issues or her job didn’t cause her death.  The only people who are responsible for her death are the ones who believed they had a right to take anyone’s life.      

And it is clear by the previews that the next episode will involve the mental health of Alice.  It also seems like Archie and Veronica are moving in together, maybe?  Also, Tabitha asks Jughead to pretend to be her boyfriend.  And, while I have seen photos from the episode, I’m not going to comment on what I think may happen as the musicals have a tendency to blur reality and what’s in the character’s heads and this one really seems to be doubling down.

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

So I rewatched Raya.

And I was really trying to watch it without a skeptical lens. I wanted to be able to act like the oblivious kids in that theater and just enjoy the movie. But I just couldn't. I've mentioned it before it's a gorgeous movie but there are so many things wrong with it that just bug me. And I’ve mentioned before the changes that could be made to fix it and the main one being just completely scrapping the movie and starting from scratch with a tv show. And because I’m on spring break and I have nothing to do (also I’m a perfectionist and I tend to hyper-fixate on things that I know have easy solutions) I broke down how I would make it better in two different categories. The first one being kind of baseline stuff like animation and character designs and other stuff I had small problems with and the second being plot.

Section One:

Okay so I know we all hate Sisu’s design. As someone who grew up with Naga carvings and paintings all around my house seeing this Elsa fursona was like a slap to the face. Like I know I really shouldn’t expect more from Disney but I did. I mentioned in this post that I would have loved to see a longer series even if it meant the animation quality went down. And I feel like Neeith_ on TikTok did a great job of drawing what Sisu could have looked like which only disappointed me more. Caldatelier on Twitter also pointed out the many flaws with Raya’s outfit design which fully proved to me that Disney did little to no research and chose style points over historical accuracy. I also felt like the designs of the main characters were very unremarkable and before you’re like “that the whole point it’s supposed to be normal people saving the world” I don't mean that I mean it feels like they took previous designs and just made them Asian. Like my sister and I were talking about it and she said the baby just reminded her of the boss baby and Tong reminded her of one of the twins from rapunzel with a little more depth. This is also kind of a small thing but it kind of bugged me that they were all the same skin tone if not lighter. SEA is incredibly diverse and if they weren’t going to represent all of the cultures in full then they could at least shown their features. I feel like the food should have been more important. I know I mentioned it in my last post but food is an incredibly important part of our culture. It’s not a placeholder or a set-piece to make a scene look more aesthetically pleasing. It’s a way for us to bond and show each other we care it’s a way we show genuine love and appreciation. And when you have a main character who is emotionally stunted it felt like food was a perfect way for her to show her love and they blew it. Like can you imagine Raya and her dad getting into huge fights and then bringing each other food as an apology sitting in front of that window not needing to say a word because they simply get each other? Can you imagine Raya visiting Namaari and stocking up on foods that she knows Namaari loves but also hasn’t been able to eat for a while? We could have had genuinely heartwarming scenes centered around food but instead, we got set pieces and props. And one more thing that stuck with me was the voice acting this movie should have been a change for SEA voice actors to really put their names out there and be a part of a really big Disney project but as always out voiced were overshadowed by someone lighter.

Section Two:

(I’m going to warn you this is gonna be really long because I’m essentially rewriting the entire plot because as I said before I’m a perfectionist)

I feel like the first ep should be dedicated to the backstory and the lore

How were the Druuns made how where they defeated

I feel like it would have been interesting to see them fighting over the gem

But I think it would have been really interesting to see from the get-go how Sisu wasn’t the one who made the gem

So instead of having this big reveal alongside Raya, we would know that her hope of finding this all powerful Naga is hopeless because the story was a lie

Another thing I think another person who should have had more screentime was Raya’s dad

I think it would have been interesting to know his backstory and get some questions answered like “why does he have so much faith in the other rulers to help him on his journey to make Kumandra a thing?” “When did he become the protector of the gem?” “And how many attempts of stealing the gem has he thwarted”

Also as much as I love him I feel like his personality incredibly unrealistic because all SEA men I’ve met have been really emotionally stunted

Idk it’s just a small thing that made me go “eh he talks to his daughter. What kind of magic world is this?”

I would have liked to see Raya’s various attempts at becoming a protector of the gem

I think it would have been a really good way to show how resilient she is from a very young age

And when she finally succeeds the audience could have celebrated with her like a small “yes she finally got it and all her hard work finally paid off” moment

I feel like we should have gotten more Raya and Namaari moments right from the start

Like how they meet is basically the same but Raya doesn’t trust her with the gem’s location an hour after meeting her

It's a trust that both of them fought for in their own way

Like you get to see them bond over their mutual understanding of “well the worlds fucked”

So when Namaari finally stabs Raya in the back when she betrays her for the first time it hurts when she says the throwaway line about them being friends in another world in burns Raya

Because she thought they were friends and she genuinely trusted Namaari

Which would have really justified her distrust in the world

And again I feel like we should have seen that 6 year period of Raya trying to find Sisu

We would get to experience the frustration of building up the hope of finally finding her just to have it knocked down when she’s not there

It could also do two more things

Raya making genuine connections with people

And Raya and Namaari’s strange alliance forming

Now for the first one, I feel like it would have been really cool for Raya to be introduced to the different lands

And yeah sure I feel like it would make her feel like kind of a tourist but I feel like it would be really interesting to see her go through culture shock

Because she really thought she knew these places but boom they’re completely different from what she was told

And while she’s making her way around she learns about the different lands and the people inhabiting them and also their culture

We could have seen Raya make genuine connections outside of the main cast

And if you’re feeling a little masochistic we could see her lose those people because of the druune or simply because they died

But the main point is we would be able to see her become less and less selfish

Now back to Raya and Namaari’s alliance/romance later on

I mentioned in my other post that when Raya trusted Namaari to put the gem back together it felt very flat very fake

So I feel like it would be cool for the series to be split into two parts the first part being from Raya’s perspective and the second part being Namaari’s

I also feel like Namaari would have to be a constant in Raya’s journey

And what I mean by that is like she’s there every other episode either trying to stop Raya or she’s trying to save her from life or death situations

And later on down the line, we find out the main reason why she kept helping Raya (in her own way) was that she didn’t want to see her get seriously hurt

But anyway that’s mostly backstory and now we’re in the present tense

And like I said before we know that Sisu wasn’t the one who made the gem so we know that Raya’s quest is pointless

But because we’ve seen her various attempts at becoming the protector of the gem and the six years of looking for Sisu we know she’s too stubborn to give up just yet

So she and Sisu head out to find the other gem pieces

Now with context, her and Namaari’s standoff has more tension because for the first time in years Namaari doesn’t know the motives behind Raya’s actions

I don’t really have many ideas for Sisu other than she starts to trust people less and less

Like she’s still really innocent for the most part but there’s a small part of her a really small part that’s kind of lost faith in humanity

And after this, we meet Boun

I feel like we should have known more about Boun considering the fact he’s the first side characters we met

But it’s very clear they gave no thought to his character I’m sure they just wrote down “funny kid who lost his family”

This is such a shame because he could have been so much more than just “Raya’s funny younger brother”

Like he could have been this selfless kid who hands out food to the orphans around and offering his ship to homeless people during the night

Next with the baby and the monkeys, there’s really not much you can do with them unless you seriously age them up

Like at the very least have Noi be a grade-schooler who can express more emotions than mad and hungry

Like she can still be the baby of the group while taking care of herself and expressing her emotions a great example of this is Polly from amphibia (which is a great show with a SEA main character you should check it out)

With Tong, I have two words: Survivors Guilt which is something Raya would be able to relate to in fact they all would

I feel like Tong’s entire character arc would be him realizing that he can’t save everyone

Which yeah sure would seem pretty contradictory with the ending being them literally saving everybody but I have a fix for that too

And finally, we get to Namaari who is selfless to a fault

Giving me very much typical Disney princess she gives up food to kids who seem particularly hungry

She’s usually the one who tells the stories to the kids but her mom was taking over that day

She helps her people in any way she can and honestly, she’s wearing herself a little thin

Because while she’s doing all that she’s also saving Raya & co from their own mistakes

Giving me very much burning the candle at both ends

So you see all these characters bonding over the course of at least a year

Making and losing more allies along the way

And because Namaari has been helping them they trust her… for the most part

But there have been times when she trips them up and makes their end goal all the more difficult

And because they haven’t known her as long as Raya has each character has at least one moment when they look up at the sky and scream in frustration “What is this binturi’s deal!”

But anyway they finally get to fang and Raya is more open to the idea of just talking to Namaari because she trusts her not because Sisu told her to but because she’s seen Namaari do good

And Namaari is even more reluctant to take the gem pieces by force because she has a decent relationship with Raya like yeah sure they’re not best friends but they’re in a good place

And shocker shocker she’s maybe just maybe head over heels in love with the princess of heart

But her mother gives her an ultimatum and that is “either you take it from her or I will”

Because here’s the thing, Queen Virana isn't a moron the exact opposite in fact and she knows her daughter has been going easy on Raya these past six years

She also knows that she could squash Raya under her shoe if she damn well pleased and Namaari knows this too

So when Namaari gets her necklace back she doesn’t even hesitate to take her crossbow when she leaves

The meet up goes basically the same except its more Raya talking Namaari down than Sisu

And while they’re having their little heart to heart Sisu notices Namaari’s finger twitch and she goes to jump in front of Raya

And Namaari was shaken by the sudden movement and fires and kills Sisu

I feel like this would make Raya furious for two reasons one she killed her best friend and two she deep down trusted Namaari to do the right thing

So when the fight goes down instead of the whole “I don't care if you trust me because Sisu did” it would be “I trusted you and you murdered her”

And when the dust settles Raya realizes that this battle doesn’t matter because fighting Namaari isn’t going to bring Sisu and she’s also sick and tired of hurting the people she loves

And she decides to help people instead not because Sisu would want her to but because its the right thing to do

Which is cliche sure but its better than the scene they gave us which really wasn’t faithful to her character arc of not caring for people who aren't close to her

And I feel like Namaari joining her makes more sense with my context if anything else

And here’s how I would fix this scene even with them fighting the Druune off to the best of their abilities there are still falling buildings and the gem can’t really save people from that

So they lose some people not because of the Druune but because death happens even when the heroes are fighting their hardest

And because I feel like this would just affirm Tong’s character arc because there are people dying under these buildings he knows it’ll take too long to save them and its not time they have

So he leaves them behind prioritizing the people he knows he can save

Anyway, after a long battle scene, they finally end up underground

And it goes basically the same except it doesn’t take Raya as long to convince them

And instead of Raya’s reasoning of “Sisu told us to” it's more “all this fighting isn't going to bring Sisu back” and “I know she’s done something terrible and you can be mad at her after this but for now trust her”

So when they all make their sacrifices it’s less “I’m doing this for Raya” and more “I’m doing this because deep down I know you’ll do the right thing”

And Namaari does do the right thing obviously

Sisu comes back and it's all “yay we saved the world!” but it doesn’t really end there

Because I hate the “lifetime” ending of “even though we all went through incredibly traumatic events we’re all fine months later” no they’re running around for months and years fixing their mess

And while this is happening Raya and Namaari is mending their relationship they’ve apologized for all the terrible things they’ve done to each other

And when they’re fixing their world they’re helping each other become the best versions of themselves

That’s when they really fall in love

Like don't get me wrong they loved each other when all the bad shit was going down but there was too much bad blood them to really process it and talk it out

But that’s exactly what they do when it’s all over they talk it out for hours

In fact, they both said its the most they’ve heard the other speak

They both agree they’re in the best place to start a relationship and so they do

[floatinginwords]

Saved by the Devil (10/?) - Tommy Shelby

Summary: You spend a little time with Tommy (Again sorry about my summaries i suck at them)

Paring: Tommy Shelby x Fem!reader (not romantic..but we are getting there slowly but surely) 

A/n: Hi everyone. this chapter maybe a bit shorter than what i usually write and i didnt proof read this one so apologizes for that. This semester is just annoying. Too much going on for stupid online courses. Anyway this chapter is bit more in Tommys p.o.v, i mean we get a bit of readers in the end but yea...if you dont like that tell me or if you do tell me. If you guys have any questions or anything like that just tell me. And of course and always have a lovely day. 

Thomas Shelby leads you to a little apartment near his office. He knew he could have driven you to the train station, given you some fare as you went on your way. He could have driven you to London. Hell, he could have paid someone to do it. But there was part of him deep down within that didn’t want you to go yet. It was a surprise for him to see you in the office. He hadn’t been avoiding you, things were just getting hectic around with the business. And with the constant pressure from the inspector and the sudden charges on Arthur and Michael, his focus needed to be sharp. And then he exits his office and see you standing with Lizzie, Polly, and Esme. For the first since he’s known you, he actually detected a little bit of nervousness from you.

At first he didn’t understand why you wanted to help in his little plan. It didn’t make sense for you to put yourself in harms way with all the shit you’ve already been through. He notices that when he asks about your father the way you tense up. He doesn’t know why he asks, its something he rather not talk about either. But it was a question that bothered him for awhile. He could of asked your father, in that last meeting when…

Thomas shakes his head from his thoughts turning to look at you who seemed just as dazed and muddled in their own thoughts. You were definitely an enigma to him. He doesn’t even remember what he said to make you laugh. All he remembers is that he did.

To him you laugh was like a canary singing a song of hope in the middle of brutal winter. Thomas doesn’t think he ever heard a sound so sweet. He feels his lips stretch into a smile, something that felt foreign on his face. It was definitely something he hadn’t done in awhile. So as he walks you to his place, keeping a gentle hand on your elbow to keep your balance. He couldn’t help but to think to himself ‘how can I hear that sound again?’

So he leads you in the apartment, setting you down on his couch. You flop down like a child and he cant help but be amused at your drunken state.

 “Mr.Shelby, I believe I drank too much.” You hiccup.

 “Thats alright,” Thomas says, “Listen you can rest here and we’ll talk more in the morning.” He doesn’t really want to end the night yet but he can see the fatigue in your face.

 You shake you head at him, “We can talk now. I don’t sleep very much.” You don’t look into his eyes as you speak which he finds odd. A detail he’s always noticed was the eye contact you gave. He couldn’t tell what you were searching but he appreciated it, not many people could look him in the eye.

Hes suddenly reminded of a conversation you had awhile ago. When you had bluntly asked him your father was dead. He had expected you to say nothing for that entire ride. But you didn’t. He remembers your question.

“Do your nightmares ever stay with you longer that you would like?”

He had answered honestly. The nightmares often lingered around him for days sometimes weeks. It wasn’t often he got a good nights sleep. He could see the sleep in your eyes wanting to take over. You were fighting it though quite easily like you’ve done it before.  He didn’t want to be overstepping any line and he also didn’t want to seem creepy remembering a conversation, a small detail from weeks ago. He wasn’t sure at all how you’d react to it. So he decided to say nothing, wait for you to take the lead. Which you did, mostly because your mouth seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes.

 “You get nightmares too Mr. Shelby, I remember you agreeing with me this one time…”You trail off slurring your word, “Sometimes they can be so much…”

 “What do you dream about?” He asks.

 You don’t answer. Thomas doesn’t pressure you for answer, you look to be searching for one. Your mouth open and eyes wandering around the room. But you give no answer.

 Thomas decides to speak, lighting a cigarette as he does, “I dream about France sometimes.” The answer surprise him. Hes not one for opening up.

 You don’t say anything so he continues, “I can hear the shovels at night. That’s when their the loudest.” He blows the smoke as he talks.

“I sometimes dream of the hospital…they didn’t exactly treat me great there. Sometimes its my father…” You say the word ‘father’ quietly as if it was like a little curse falling off your lips.

 Thomas wants to ask you what that man had done to you, why it seemed you feared and hated him so much. He wished he asked you in that first meeting with you. When he promised to kill him for you…..he knew then it was something you wanted, he didn’t know how badly…maybe if he had known he would have done things differently.

 “Sometime he’s not even doing anything…he’s just watching me. And smiling,” You say pulling him away from his thoughts, “It takes a moment for me to realize he’s not there. He’s not watching.” You stop talking suddenly, certainly not meaning to get that honest.

 Thomas clenches his jaw, “well it’s a good thing hes not around anymore.”

 You look up at him for the first time the whole night, meeting his eyes. Your stare sends shivers up his arms.

 “Right…” you trail off, looking uncertain. “Mr Shelby I-“

 “You know,” He cuts you off wanting to change the subject, “I don’t think this is very business like.”

“Excuse me.” You blink confused with the sudden statement.

 “I mean you won’t’ call me by my name because this is business but here you are at my place, drunk, talking to me about stuff that not business.”

 You scoff at him. “Are you really that bothered by it?” you tease

 “I just think in settings like this, you can let go a little bit.”

 “I think you should get used to disappointment, Mr.Shelby.” You emphasize his name a bit.

 “You must admit that we aren’t doing anything related to business.”

 “Then what would you call it?” You challenge.

 And he didn’t know what to call it. But he just felt more. Maybe it was friendship. He definitely enjoyed your company. He wasn’t afraid to admit that to himself. Hes reminded of the feelings of when you got hurt at the horse auction and went missing those three days. He didn’t want to admit that there was apart of him that cared for you. That part has been locked away ever since Grace. He had trusted her and loved her. And then she betrayed him. And there was just a part of him that just didn’t want to go through that again.

“Are you okay,” you ask, “you went quiet for a minute.”

 “ Yea just thinking.”

 “Do you wanna keep talking?” you say shyly.

 And he couldn’t say no to you. That night the two of you spend you time just talking. It’s the first time Tommy’s ever done something like that. Take a woman home and not bed her. He wasn’t thinking about doing that with you but it had dawned on him later that small fact. You listened to his stories about his family. You were an only child and had no stories nearly s fun as his. You tell him you wish you grew up in a big family. You list all the places you wanted to travel to and he watches you ramble about them. The two of you laugh and smile. Both feeling lighter in each others presence. He can see you loosening up a bit and he just wonders what your like when you aren’t fully on guard. He can fee himself doing the same. He doesn’t mind but he knews that hes going to berate himself later. Hours pass and You both fall asleep on the couch, neither of you remembering what the other was talking about as you do. It was the first time in a long time that either of you had fallen asleep peacefully.

 You wake up first, feeling an awful pudding within your head. Why was it that you never could know your limit. You attempt to get up when you sense an arm around you. A unwelcomed flutter of butterflies erupt in your stomach as you realize who the arm belongs to.

 ‘Fuck’ you think to yourself trying to untangle yourself from his arm, trying to understand how you even got roped up in him.

 Successfully you manage to unwrap your self from him, the warmth of his body leaving your side making you feel cold. You’re tempted to roll back but think against it. You stretch up from the couch and walk around the apartment quietly. It wasn’t very big. The living room connected to the kitchen. And his room connected to the bathroom. You wonder around trying to wake your creaky bones. You see a bundle of letters on his, dresser with very neat and lovely writing, addressed to him. You see a pipe beside his bed and pick it up wondering if he used this on himself last night. You walk backwards trying to take it all in. He didnt have much. A few pictures of him and his siblings. And that woman from before. The older one who gave you chills with her stare. Pol-polly you think her name was. You continue walking backward before bumping into his dresser. The letters falling down. You bend down picking them up not without looking more closely at the beautiful stationary. You see at corner of the envelope

From Grace

 For a minute  you’re really disappointed. And you don’t know why. And then the pieces fall together. When you remember Mr.shelbys horses name, “Graces secret,” And when Ada told you ‘he had someone last year.” You don’t know why you feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. You don’t feel right hanging around his apartment. Unless their not together? Wait why do you even care? You neatly stack the envelopes back to their place and calmly walk away, needing to distract yourself from the sudden intrusion of thoughts you would very much like to get rid of.

 You pass by Thomas sleeping body. You pause to look at him. Admiring the way his feature seem to soften up as he slept. You almost compare him to an angel. A knock on the door alerts you as you sit up straight. Thomas shoots up in a panic. He looks at you confused before getting up.

 “How long have you been up?” he asks you, heading for the door.

 You don’t answer. Watching him go to get the door. A small boy is behind the door, you cant hear what either of them say as they talk in hushed voices.

 “(y/n),,” he calls you over, “my brother finn here is gonna lead you to the garrison I have a meeting I have to attend to.” He says not leaving you any room to argue to deny his request as he grabs his jacket and locks the door before the two of you.

 “Ill be back soon, try not to run into trouble.” He says.

 You nod and go your separate ways, following the young boy through the streets of Birmingham.

Read pt.11

Tags

@babylooneytoonz @captivatedbycillianmurphy @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat @evelyn-4034  @ms-dont-care @owenniasstars

[nineteenninety-six]

Cheater Cheater - Part 2

Here’s part two! I’m not sure I like but eh. I made Tommy into a massive asshole in this but truly speaking, he’s always an asshole so lol

I also watched Knives Out last night and omg!! What a great fucking movie, like holy shit. Fun fact, I’m a film student but I’m not a big fan of watching films lol

TAG LIST: @shadow-of-wonder @stassiebabyy @dayna041101 @kingarthurscat @soleil-dor @gothicwidowsworld @captivatedbycillianmurphy @porcelainjokersmadness @futuristicslimemongerbanana 

(I can’t tag some of the people who asked so I’ll see if I can tag you in the notes or smth)

WORD COUNT: 1837 

[PART ONE] 

(Y/N) strolled into the distillery, Alfie’s men greeting her as she passed by. It was nearly one pm and (Y/N) decided to bring her husband lunch, knowing that if she didn’t, he wouldn’t eat until dinner, where she would force him to eat with her.

Alfie’s tendency to spend all day working and less time eating and sleeping reminded her of a certain someone from her past, one that she had tried so hard to forget about over the past three years but it didn’t help that Alfie was very similar to him.

(Y/N) had met Alfie just a few days after she had arrived in London. She had gotten a room at a boarding house with the bit of money she had left with and was prowling the streets of London looking for a job when she had stumbled into a bakery in Camden after a long day of walking around looking for jobs and getting rejected. She had only initially gone in there to buy herself a snack but in a moment of desperation, she had asked if there were any jobs going and just after the man said there wasn’t, the hulking form of a man who had walked into the shop through the back had interrupted the man and told her there was a job vacancy. The man had introduced himself as Alfie Solomons and he was the owner of the bakery and after a brief meeting, he gave her a job of the bookkeeper for the bakery.

As time went on, (Y/N) found herself getting closer and closer to Alfie and after a few months of not so subtle flirting, Alfie had asked her out to dinner as a date and the rest was history. (Y/N) fell for Alfie hard and fast, she had doubts about being in a relationship after what had happened with Tommy and feared that she would never love someone like how she loved Tommy but Alfie quickly erased those fears and doubts and he quickly became the love of her life. (Y/N) had thought that Tommy was the one for her but after a lot of thinking, she realised that her relationship with Tommy was one-sided, she gave him all the love and affection she could whilst he could barely be bothered to reciprocate. To Tommy, she was a someone who loved him unconditionally and would do pretty much anything for him and of course, he didn’t want to throw that away, his affair with Grace wasn’t probably the only time he had cheated on her and as she spent more time with Alfie, (Y/N) realised that she hadn’t truly loved him, not like how she loved Alfie.

Alfie had treated her like a princess, always taking her out and buying her things and if she hadn’t told him that she didn’t care about those materialistic things and all she wanted was him and his love, he would still be spoiling her to this day, though he still has those moments where he gifts her extravagant and expensive things.

After a year of dating, Alfie had proposed and they married only a few months after his proposal. Their wedding was small, only a few of Alfie’s friends in attendance but (Y/N) had no-one. Despite how much she missed Ada and Polly and how much she wanted them there at her wedding, she thought it was best to cut off everyone from or connected to the Shelby family, it was only way she was going to live a safe and peaceful life, though her opinion on living a peaceful and safe life quickly changed after she was followed by a small group of men shortly after the wedding. Luckily for her, some of Alfie’s men had seen what was happening and dealt with them before anything could happen to her but it meant that night Alfie was quietly explaining about what he actually did for a living and how the bakery was just a front to his distillery business before begging and pleading for her not to leave him. (Y/N) had spent a couple of days locked up in one of the guest bedrooms, thinking about her future with Alfie and whether or not being married to a gangster is what she really wants and after those few days of thinking, she left the guest bedroom and tripped over Alfie who had been sitting outside of her door and she was pretty sure she saw tears in his eyes when she told him that she would stay with him and that she had no plan on leaving, not that he would admit he was tearing up anyway.

(Y/N) was happy and content with Alfie and he never got her involved with his illegal business, allowing her to manage to the bakery instead. Her almost three years with Alfie were pretty much perfect.

“Is in Ollie?” (Y/N) asked Alfie’s assistant, Ollie.

“Yes, Mrs Solomons but he has a meeting in a bit” Ollie gave her a smile.

“Ah okay, I won’t be long then.” With one last wave, (Y/N) left Ollie’s desk and made her way over to Alfie’s office.

(Y/N) knocked on the door before she stepped in, a wide smile coming over her face as she locked eyes with her husband.

“Mrs Solomons, how wonderful it is to see ya” Alfie smiled as he leant back on his chair.

“You’re in a good mood, Alf.” (Y/N) made her way over to him, placing the bag with Alfie’s lunch on it on his desk.

“My lovely wife has decided to come visit me, why wouldn’ ah be?” Alfie pushed himself out of his chair and walked around his desk so he could stand in front of (Y/N).

“Uh-hmm” (Y/N) hummed before she pushed herself up on her tippy-toes so that she kiss Alfie.

“Not that I don’t like to see ya luv but what’s the special occasion?” Alfie slowly walked back towards his chair, dragging (Y/N) along with him.

“I brought you some lunch, I know what you’re like.” (Y/N) allowed herself to be pulled by Alfie.

“Ahh!” (Y/N) let out a small shriek as she was suddenly pulled down as Alfie slumped down into his seat.

“Sorry darlin’” Alfie smiled at her, his large hand running up and down her thigh.

“No, you’re not, you horrible person.” (Y/N) muttered.

Alfie simply grinned at her before pulling her into a kiss.

A knock on the door along with Ollie announcing that the person Alfie was supposed to meet had arrived, had the couple pulling away from the kiss. (Y/N) hopped off of Alfie’s lap whilst the man glared at Ollie- or rather the door to his office that separated them for interrupting.

“Stop pouting Alf.” (Y/N) smiled at her husband.

Alfie good-naturedly rolled his eyes before shouting to Ollie to let the man in.

(Y/N) was too busy saying goodbye to Alfie and making sure that he remembered to eat the lunch she bought him to pay attention to who walked it but when Ollie announced who the person was, she left like a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown over her and when she looked at the man with wide eyes, she found her ex-boyfriend looking back at her with surprise written on his face.

“(Y/N)?”

“T-tommy?” “How do you know my wife, Shelby?” Alfie had stood up, his large form standing behind her and a strong, comforting hand resting on the small of her back.

Tommy said nothing, still staring in shock at (Y/N) so Alfie asked (Y/N) instead.

“(Y/N)?”

“This is Tommy, I-uh, my ex from when I was in Birmingham.” (Y/N) said, reaching behind her searching for Alfie’s hand, gripping it tightly when she found it.

“The one who had cheated on you?” Alfie tensed up and growled.

“Yeah…” (Y/N) whispered.

Ollie had smartly escaped and (Y/N) was wishing that she too could escape.

“So you left me for another gangster eh?” Tommy scoffed, disbelief on his face.

“No” (Y/N) retorted, feeling insulted by Tommy’s insinuation, “I left you because you cheated on me and treated me like rubbish Thomas.”

“You blew it out of proportion. You know that if a man cheats on you, it’s because you’re lacking and he has to seek elsewhere.”

Alfie growled, ready to shout at Tommy but (Y/N) spoke up before he did,

“So you sought your way into the Irish whore’s bed who also ended up being a spy that got your brother-in-law thrown into jail and in turn severed your relationship with your only sister? Or how about when she nearly got you killed and the business ruined? I wasn’t the fucking problem Tommy, you were. You and your massive ego.”

(Y/N) didn’t know where all that came from but she was glad she spoke up and finally spoke her mind.

Tommy grit his teeth, “That’s been resolved, everything ended up fine.”

“Oh so I guess you’re still with Grace if everything ended up being fine”

Tommy’s jaw ticked as he hesitated to answer and (Y/N) instantly knew what had happened. She guessed that she was able to read him after all those years together.

“She’s left?” (Y/N) couldn’t help but laugh, “So she spied on you, betrayed you and left you.”

Tommy just glared at her.

“Good, you deserve it.” (Y/N) shook her head, a small smile on her face.

Tommy was visibly angry and opened his mouth, most likely to yell abuse at (Y/N) but Alfie cut in,

“While it was great to see ya mate,” Alfie says, sarcasm dripping from his voice before he switched to a serious and intimidating growl, “I never wanna see you again, now piss off.”

Tommy opened his mouth to argue but Alfie interrupted yet again, “Any business we might have had is finished and if I see you or anyone from your fuckin’ gang around (Y/N) or in Camden, I will kill you.”

Tommy glared one more time at them before storming out of Alfie’s office, the door slamming loudly behind him.

When (Y/N) was sure Tommy was gone, she turned around and cried into Alfie’s chest. Alfie simply wrapped his arms around and slowly rocked them from side to side, whispering comforting words to her along with pressing soft kisses on her head.

When (Y/N) had stopped crying, she slightly pulled away from Alfie and looked up at him, “I’m sorry Alf.”

“You’ve got nothing to apologise for luv. Don’t worry about him or anyone else eh, you and me are the only one who matter.” Alfie soothed her

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around Alfie and hugged him tightly, grateful for him and his love and support for her. She was glad she had found someone who loved and appreciated her for who she was.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Emoji Analysis 5x08

So it this has just come to my attention but Evan Kyle has posted this on Istagram:

And we all know what that means, we all have to drive ourselves crazy trying to decipher what these emoji’s mean (or is that just me) so lets pull out our magnifying glasses and put on our detective hats. 

First though I just need to freak out about the ‘for love’ part and the barchiegang hashtag. We’ve also been told that this next episode is more about the ships than the mystery which obviously I am excited for but I do think it’ll be nice to have a little break from the mysteries and have more of a fun episode. So lets go through the emojis for each of the ships and I’ll tell you what I think each one means. 

Cheronica: I think this one is most likely to do with that whole Chad, Archie scene. I doubt Vee is happy with Cheryl for starting the game. I am not really sure what else it could be to do with. Veronica never does seem to enjoy Cheryl’s party games the first one she ended up upsetting Betty by kissing Archie in the closet and the second it was revealed that her father had brought the drive in land. I feel like Veronica will see right through the game and will likely call Cheryl out for it. 

Kangs: Well maybe its Kevin, Fangs and Reggie who are having the threesome then and we all thought it was going to be Archie, Chad and Veronica silly us. No I’m joking I don’t think anyone is going to be having a threesome. I actually think this could support my theory about Kangs either adopting Toni’s baby or that Toni is a surrogate for them. So basically 2 becoming 3. 

Jabitha: So this one is interesting its the sleeping emoji I’m not as sure on this one. I mean it could be like a play on the word like they sleep together but that seems a bit sudden for them to suddenly hook up. But then this is Riverdale and they are potentially at a key party plus we know Jughead isn’t opposed to a hook up seeing as he took Cora home from a bar right after meeting her. (Just to be clear that isn’t a judgement on Jughead) The other theory that I have is to do with that still released showing Jughead coming out of the shower and a freaky ass alien mothman behind him. It could be that Jughead is having nightmares and Tabitha is either comforting him or he tells her about them and she helps him figure out what it means. We know from the synopsis that he is trying to make sense of his encounter from last episode so maybe Tabitha is the one helping him do this. I think the second theory is more likely than the first and in all honestly its the one I’d prefer. I do think Jabitha could be a really cute couple but I would like them to take their time building it up.

Varchie: Ok so this one I am little confused about, as you can see from my screenshot the emoji is a gift but then I saw some screenshots on twitter where the emoji is of a spanner and hammer. In all honesty the hammer and spanner emoji makes more sense as we have seen stills of them working on Veronica’s apartment. So construction together, hammer and spanner, makes sense. So I think maybe this is a kind of lost in translation type thing where if your device doesn’t have the spanner/hammer emoji then it shows it as a gift instead. If it is a gift then I am not sure what it means. Maybe the locket and watch they gave each other for Christmas in season 2 comes back into play somehow? 

Choni: I really can’t think of anything for this one. I mean red lipstick is very Cheryl but I’m not sure how it could relate to Toni. The description says that the tension between Toni and Cheryl comes to a head. So maybe Cheryl kisses that Marble woman and some of her lipstick transfers over and Toni sees it, a kind of lipstick on your collar type deal. Or maybe Toni wears red lipstick and Cheryl tells her that red lipstick is her thing and no one else can wear it so Toni is banished from town. Who knows. 

Bughead: This one shows a blonde girl running which I believe is the same emoji they used to tease the whole Polly going missing plotline. In episode 9 we know that they are investigating together so maybe that starts in this episode and Jughead finds the connection between the Mothmen mystery and the truck driver killer and talks to betty about it. 

Barchie: I mean a ghost and a lightbulb is probably the most ambiguous of all the emojis. But taking a stab in the dark a ghost makes me think of ghost from the past. In RAS’ interview with Tvline he says ‘and people start having hard conversations that they’ve mostly been avoiding. Betty and Archie, in particular, are wrestling with what they mean to each other.’ This makes me think that Betty and Archie are going to be one of those people having a hard conversation and maybe this is about what happened on the porch in the pilot. I mean they are going to find themselves in a similar situation as they were in the pilot. Once again they are at Cheryl’s party and they are obviously playing a game that’s going to cause some drama. That could bring up memories for them just as I feel like it will for Veronica too as I mentioned above. As for the lightbulb that could be this idea of having an epiphany so maybe its one or both of them realise they have feelings for the other. Or it could be like to shed light on something so maybe its that someone sheds light on the fact that Barchie have been sleeping together. 

Well that's the best I’ve got for you all. What are your best theories for what the emojis could mean?          

Ok major Edit here. So apparently the writer was actually referring to Chad and Veronica when he put Cheronica not Cheryl and Veronica like I thought. But I do think it’ll essentially mean the same thing and its to do with that scene where he and Archie have a confrontation. It’ll be to do with more of his possessive behaviour that will likely make us all cringe and feel really uncomfortable. 

[geekydane]

Talk to me - Tommy Shelby x reader - chapter 6

Masterlist 

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It was a weird sensation for you to wake up. It was disorientating, unfamiliar but at the same time comforting. You were curled up on your side, which you were sure was because of the aching in your back that could still feel. Like the stairs was still piercing into your skin. But you were curled up next to something so comforting and warm that you didn’t want to move. It was first when you wanted to rub the sleep out of your eyes that you felt that your hand was stuck. Or not stuck, but tugged under something. You opened your eyes and saw that your hand was still secured in Tommy’s grip. He was on his side as well, with your locked hands between your faces. You could feel his breath on your hand. It tickled and it might have been what actually had woken you up, but you couldn’t make yourself tuck your hand away from him. He looked so peaceful. His hair was still a mess and his white button up was wrinkled now. Even one of the sides of his suspenders was sliding down from one of his shoulders. It was a sweet morning mess. You hated that you had to wake him up, but your body was aching and you knew you had to move to another position to be able to get some movement back to your body.

You started by slowly trying to get your hand out from Tommy’s but as you thought you were succeeding he tightened the grip on you as he mumbled something you couldn’t understand a word of. Only the moment after he opened his eyes, the sleep still clung to him and tried to force him back in its grasp. But when he noticed how close you were he finally opened his eyes wide and blinked a few times.

“Good morning.” He said with a raspy voice. Please say something more, you thought instantly. He lifted his head to look behind him, out of the window. The sun was about to rise and it was a new day. He lay back down again and squeezed your hand before he finally let go. The two of you looked at each other for a moment, before he sighed.

“How are you feeling? Better?” You shrugged as an answer to him. You were feeling a little better, but that was purely mentally. You had actually slept without the nightmares and through the whole night. If you didn’t know better, you thought that Tommy might have too. Your body still felt like one big bruise and you really wanted to figure out how bad you looked.

“I will have to go and get a wash. I am needed at the office in half an hour. Polly will be here shortly.” He said and he finally let himself roll over and get out of the bed. He strolled over to the mirror in the dressing area and grumbled when he saw himself. Adjusting his suspenders and tried to take his hair by running his fingers through it. You sat up slowly, trying to put some weight on your arms, to see if you could hold yourself up. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. You caught Tommy’s gaze in the mirror as he was buttoning up his shirt. He send you a hint of a smile before he stopping unbuttoning his shirt and grabbed another one in one of the closets.

“I’ll go fetch Polly now. Then you can get some food and maybe go to the wash room yourself.” He said and as if your stomach was connected to his words it growled loud and empty. You blushed instantly but Tommy didn’t reach to it at all. He simply nodded your way and disappeared out the door. You tried to shake the sudden emptiness of the room off you by focusing on your ruined body.

Carefully you tried to adjust the pillows behind you, without making any big and sudden movements. When you could sit comfortable you started moving all your limps one by one. The toes were stiff but still moving. Your left knee was hurting like hell but you could move it, so it couldn’t be broken. You looked down your arms that were covered in bruises in brown, black and yellow but no dirt. Someone most have been washing you off, while you were unconscious and the thought made you a little uneasy. Someone had been touching you all over to wash you off and… change your clothing.

“Oh you are awake! I told Tommy to call on me as soon you came to, but now he tells me that you were already awake last night? Did he at least check your head?” Polly marched toward the bed, not even a second after she entered the door without warning. You were startled but managed to nod. He hadn’t really checked you but you didn’t want Tommy to get into trouble with his aunt.

She took your temperature and much to your dismay she started to feel around your body for any think that might hurt. She wanted you to raise your hand if something hurt. You were very sore but it wasn’t like anything was broken. She then decided that she wanted you to try and stand up from the bed. Your leg muscles were tight but you swung your legs over the edge of the bed and let your feet rest on the floor for a bit. It was the first time you saw your legs. They almost looked worse than your arms. Especially your shins. You looked exactly like someone who had been dragged down the stairs and thrown around. You were only wearing a light blue nightgown that went a little under your knees. It wasn’t yours, that was one thing, but who might have put you in it?

“Come on. You want help?” She reached her hand out for you to take but you really didn’t want her hands on more parts of your body. She just poked you all over your bruised body with two fingers and asked if it hurt. Of course it did! You fidgeted with your hands while you tried to make yourself take her hand as Tommy came back in. He was fixing his cuffs on his new and clean button up. His hair was styled like he used to and he was back to being your boss Tommy in that handsome suit of his. It was almost a petty.

“You are up.” He said as he looked at you with a hint of a smirk on his lips. It wasn’t a question but you nodded as an answer. He walked over as he straightened out his cuff one last time.

“Have you been standing?” He asked as he stood next to Polly. She looked at him stiffly and with attentive eyes, like she was trying to calculate what he was doing next. You shock your head no as an answer for his question, which made him reach out his hand like Polly was doing only a moment ago. Without any hesitation you took his hand and let him pull you up from the bed. It hurt, but your eyes were fixed on Tommy’s and it was like a pain-relive in itself. He let go of your hand and walked a step backwards to get a better view of you. You couldn’t stop blushing as you felt how his eyes were roaming over you.

“Did you tell her about…?” Polly started but Tommy interrupted her.

“She knows the bastard is dead. I told her yesterday.” The way Tommy said that, made you finally think about it and it made you shiver. The man was really dead? It wasn’t like you weren’t angry at him, but was your health and pain really worth more than another man’s life? Tommy took one last glance at you before turning to leave.

“I’ll make sure you won’t come to this kind of injuries again.” Without looking back he left the room again.

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You were back at work the next day. Polly told you to stay home for a few days but you couldn’t imagine being alone with your thoughts at your apartment for days. You wanted to get out and see people and listen to others lives and concentrate on that. People really looked at you strangely when you entered a room. You weren’t able to hind all of your bruises. You were trying to hide your legs with stockings but the thin fabric didn’t hide much away, almost quite the opposite. But the fact that you were wearing them made you feel better. You didn’t own enough makeup products to hide away the blue markings in your face and the stitches over your eyebrow.

If you had to be honest with yourself, you felt mostly safe when you knew you were near Tommy. Not that he was at the office a lot, but just being nearby was enough for you to not look over your shoulders every 5 minutes. Lizzie was a big help for you yet again. There wasn’t long between your breaks - that was Polly’s doing. Lizzie kept an eye on you and send you out of the office and into the Shelby’s private quarters to lay down. Polly would run in and out of her office to see to you or make sure that one of the maids did it.

When you were in there you would close your eyes and listen to all the sounds of the busy Shelbys. The brothers would yell and some of their so called “blinders”. That was one of the words that you caught on to. You have heard Tommy use that term more than once. When the man broke into the office with a warning from Mick King - the man who Tommy also killed – Tommy had said that Birmingham belonged to the Peaky Blinders. Was he some kind of leader? He was the head of the Shelby Company Limited, but was that just the top of the iceberg?

After work either Polly or Ada followed you home. Ada brought her little boy with her and one day she even brought groceries. She sat her son on the kitchen counter in your apartment as the two of you cooked dinner. It was nice to have someone else than you in the apartment, it was usually so quiet. The little boy mumbled while throwing around a teddy bear. Ada had to pick it up from the floor a few times.

“I hear that you started going into the meetings with Tommy? It took me a lot longer to even be included in any of the business. My husband would turn around in his grave, if he knew how involved I am with the whole business now.” You looked at her sympathetic. You did know that she had been married, but you didn’t know that her husband actually had died. She could easily have just divorced him. After the war the women was much more independent.

“Oh hush it is a few years ago now and we are doing great.” She looked at the boys who smiled back at the two of you. He was very charming and not very noisy of a small child. He had Ada’s eyes and hair colour but his smile was much different to hers, so maybe he got that from his dad. It was very contagious.

“Look at you! You are smiling! Maybe I should a brought him with me days ago.” Ada teased and helped the little boy down from the counter and watched as he ran into the living room.

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t in all this mess of a company, so I could just relax and enjoy him, you know? I feel like I’m always looking over my shoulder to see if anyone wants to get a good punch in on a Shelby. Even though I took my husband’s name, I can’t get away from the family name.” Ada sighed and mixed in the cut vegetable in the stew you were making. She fell silent for a moment before looking you anew.

“You must know that feeling too. I mean… Polly told me about what… happened to you. And that it was all because of your father, your name.” She said it with a lot of pauses to see your reaction. She might be wondering if it was okay to talk about. You didn’t like talking about it but you couldn’t change the fact that it happened to you. Despite everything that happened only a few days ago, you still felt much safer, then when you were with the Langstons. The fact that you now had a Shelby on your side every time you left your apartment or work made that part easier. You did halt in front of the stairs to your apartment building the last few days, because it brought back some images from that night. But that episode also reminded you of how Tommy came running and saved you and took care of you afterward along with his family.

You felt that you had to reassure her somehow. She might be thinking that if it happened to you it might happen to her too. You wanted so bad to say something to her but the ever barrier of your words was there and it kind of made you sweat a little bit just thinking about talking. You lifted a finger to signal that she should wait a minute. You went into the living room where you had a large dark wood desk, that you had never used, but you knew that whoever decorated the apartment had filled up the drawers with papers and a few pens. You found what you need and stepped over Karl that was crawling around the carpet playing with his teddy bear. You sat down at the kitchen table and wrote down your thoughts.

You don’t have to be afraid when your family is on your side. The Shelby’s make me feel safe.

“But y/n, my family is also the reason I’m afraid. I know that if anything ever happened to me they would be there in an instant. That is reassuring, of course. My brother isn’t the leader of the biggest gang in Birmingham for nothing. He would go through hell for me or anyone in the family.” You took the stew off the stove and placed it on the trivet in front of you. She went and fetched Karl as you sat thinking. How much shit was the Peaky Blinders actually involved in? The size of their houses and the number of employees was a sign that they were very rich, maybe as rich as your father once was. So how can a man with such wealth and such a public face be the leader of a gang on the same time? You had never thought much about the underground world of the big cities of England, but maybe it wasn’t as underground as you thought?

Ada came back with Karl and a pillow. She placed the pillow on one of the kitchen chairs, so that Karl could get high enough up to be see over the table edge. You looked to Ada apologetic but she shook her head.

“I could have brought the Booster seat. It’s not your fault that you don’t have kids and all what comes with them.” She sat down and poured a little bowl of stew up to Karl. You sat and ate in silence for a while before Ada spoke again.

“So now that my brother isn’t here to answer for you, how do you really feel about working for us? For him?” She asked and nodded in the direction of your note from before. You paused for a moment and put down your spoon.

I really like it. It gives me something to do every day and getting out and meet people. Your family is really lovely and I like it when Tommy includes me in the meetings. I like to think that I’m needed. It makes me feel good about my work.

Pouring out your heart like that wasn’t something you had done with anyone except Tommy when he had asked as well. It wasn’t very often you let people in and until now it was only the Shelbys that made you feel okay doing so. The Langstons had never asked you if you were okay and how you felt about things. They avoided you most of the time and just made sure you got what you needed to live day by day, while they used your money.

Ada smiled at the note before continuing feeding Karl.

“I’m sure Tommy sees it beneficial to have you with him, or else he wouldn’t do it. But on the other side, you wouldn’t have been attacked the other night if it wasn’t for your job at the office.” Ada sighed at her words and frowned.

“I wasn’t trying to make you…” She began but you reached over and pointed at the note and to some of the first words you wrote on it.

…The Shelby’s make me feel safe.

“I really like you y/n… I was about to say that you are easy to talk to but it’s only me talking. But you are certainly been a topic in the family since your arrival. I’m still not sure how Polly found you but everyone have grown fond of you. Maybe the men like it when a woman doesn’t have much to say? It’s not everyone that can deal with the new ways after the war. It’s like the men that came back didn’t realize that it was us women that kept the country going while they were overseas?” You nodded because even though you knew the war has been terrible it hadn’t really affected you in any way. You heard the sirens that told you to get inside and take cover but that was all you did back then anyway. Many had died in the fight against the Germans and you felt bad for all those who had lost their loved ones.

“The war really changed my brothers. They try their best to live on like it all didn’t happen, but they are all haunted by what they experienced in France. They reacted in each their way but keeps up an appearance when they aren’t alone. It’s hard to see them struggle but we can’t really do anything else than be patient. I’m sure you understand that as well. You know, maybe there is a bit of all of us in you and that’s why you are so easy to be around.” Ada looked thoughtfully at you and then cleared her throat. At this point in the conversation Karl was already restless and was starting to act up.

“Well, we should get going. I will help clean everything up and then I’ll have to get Karl to bed. He’s a little tired.” She said the last thing in a much higher pitch and was talking to Karl and not you. She had given you something to think about that night. It kept the noises at distance for a while but eventually everything closed in on you like you were used to and you were back to a sleepless night with a racing heart.

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Something was up. You could feel it in the air as soon you stepped into the office. Tommy came in running past you with Arthur right behind him. Soon after came John as well and they closed the door hard behind them. You looked a little nervously around the rest of the day. They were in there the whole day, which were unusual. At noon Polly joined them after giving your shoulder a squeeze on the way through. It made you jump and Lizzie calmed you. It wasn’t like Polly to not think about the fact that you didn’t like sudden touches. You could hear yelling and you exchanged glances with Lizzie but she looked down in her papers again shortly after.

When you were about to get off work you waited at your desk. Lizzie asked if she should take you home but you just shook your head. You were afraid of what was going on in the office and you wanted to wait for Polly to take you home. Then maybe they would tell you what was going on.

You waited for almost an hour before anything happened - other than them either talking or shouting at each other inside the office. Suddenly there was a long crash against the door, like something or someone was thrown against it. You debated with yourself if you should try and go in there to make sure that everyone was okay, but it was only the family that went in there. There was no one to harm them other than themselves… Would they harm each other?

You didn’t get to think further before the door was thrown up and hit the wall next to it. Tommy came almost flying out from there with rage in his eyes and tight jaw. Right after him was Polly that tried to reach out for him.

“You need to step down, Tommy! Do you hear me! You can’t deal with this alone. If we are going into this war you have to include the rest of us. You are not doing this again!” She shouted at him before both of them noticed you. Your eyes widened because you knew that you weren’t supposed to hear this. It was family matters and you weren’t a part of that. They stopped and were both staring at you, unblinking, until finally Tommy shook his head in frustration.

“We deal with this later. I have to talk with y/n.” Tommy said and surprised you by reaching out and with a hand in the small of your back he pushed you out of the front office and grabbed your bag with the other hand. Polly didn’t say any more and didn’t follow you wither. She must have returned to the office with the other brothers. You let Tommy lead you and were surprised that he didn’t head for the front door and on your way to your apartment. He let you through the betting rooms and into the Shelby’s private quarters. You entered one of the sitting rooms and he guided you to one of the big comfortable armchairs in a cobalt blue colour that matched the sofa Tommy dumped into. Strangely enough he didn’t reach for the liquor table right next to him. He was usually not this slouchy. The way he was falling into the sofa was so unlike him. Even when he had JUST killed a man and was sitting and keeping an eye on your concussion he was sat with a straight back and crossed legs.

“A lot of things are happening right now.” He said and swallowed. You looked at his Adam's apple move up and down. You wanted to reach out for him and place a hand on his shoulder or something that could show that you heard him. Instead you just leaned forward and placed your elbows on your knees. It made you feel a little close to him. Maybe he could feel it too.

“I have a request for you. It’s… It’s stupid but Polly…” He struggled with words. That wasn’t like him either. What was going on?

“I’m trying to remain clear… My mind… I can’t sleep, y/n. So much is happening and I need to have a clear head… But then I can’t sleep.” He mumbled with his head in his hands now. You waited for him to continue because you wanted to know why he grabbed you and told you this.

“I need you to… I… Sleep with me y/n.” He said and finally looked up so fast, that the movement made you sit back up in shock. Sleep with him? What was he implying? He knew that you possibly couldn’t…

“Not like that. I just… I need you to be there next to me. I haven’t slept since the war but that day where I laid down in the bed with you. I slept thought the whole night without seeing the tunnels - without the nightmares.” He had seen the shock in your eyes and he was a mumbling mess by now, trying to explain himself.

“I don’t know if it would work, but I’m willing to try anything if I can just… sleep again.” It was the first time he had sounded so lost, so small. The big Tommy Shelby was almost pleading you. It didn’t look good on him. Tommy shouldn’t be small and weak. It killed you to see him like that. Whatever was happening now that made the whole family fight for hours and needed his attention all hours of the day must really be serious. If you could help him somehow, even though it might be over your comfort zone, you would absolutely do it. He had done so much for you.

“It’s stupid…” He still mumbled when you crouched in front of him and let your hand stroke his cheek to make him look at you. His eyes were still wild but it was like the tension that was build up in his shoulders loosened a bit.

“It’s a stupid idea. It was just…” You didn’t know where the confident came from but you silenced the big Tommy Shelby by just placing a finger to your lips and smiled.

“You will do it?” He finally asked and you nodded immediately. He took your hand from his cheek and placed it back on your knee, like he finally came to his sense, and stood up. He drew his fingers through his hair a single time before clearing his throat.

“Well then. We have to get your things at your apartment then. Shall we?”

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[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 33

Summary: Kate is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 33:  Kate finds solace in her new friends and Tommy wants to escape for a bit. 

            When Michael returned to the office, it was tense, to say the least. He and Tommy got into shouting matches a few times and everyone could clearly hear them in the office. But it seemed that Michael was too invested in the company to let things get in the way. As well as Tommy wasn’t willing to give up his accountant.

            So, things died down a couple of weeks after he returned. Meanwhile, the deal was written and the company was now working with the Forty Elephants. Kate kept in regular contact with Alice and Maggie, building a repertoire as she did with Alfie. Of course, like with Alfie, she found she enjoyed the women’s company. They were women who understood her, understood the things she did. Before, Kate had no one who really understood her other than a group of men. Still, how could they understand what it was like to be a woman in their line of work?

            So, being friends with Alice and the rest of her close cohorts was refreshing.

             “So, Alfie told me you were in Boston for some time.”

            Kate had invited Alice and a few of the other women to join her for lunch at Arrow House. Maggie came along as well as Ruby Sparks and Lillian Goldstein. What looked like a typical ladies' lunch out on the patio was actually a gathering of some of the most dangerous women Britain had ever seen. And Kate felt right at home with them.

            “There were things from my past that caught up with me,” Kate admitted. “Things I needed to take care of.”

            While Alice looked genuinely interested, Maggie seemed a bit more intent on digging for anything that might garner mistrust. The contract was signed, but that didn’t mean they completely trusted each other yet. They were women who knew the true value of loyalty and how rare it was to find.

            “Stuff like what?” Maggie inquired.

            “A man I had dealings with.” Kate realized that there was no reason to skimp on details. These girls would understand. “I hired him to kill the man who killed my mother. A man in the Chicago Outfit. I promised him money for doing it but fell through. The deal was either I paid or I married him.”

            Ruby made a noise of disgust. “Fucking pig. Who on Earth does he think he is?”

            It made her smile a bit even though the memory was so painful. “He caught up to me eventually so I had to return to Boston.”

            “Do you need him killed?” Alice asked bluntly. “You name the day and way, love.”

            “Fucking castrate him and throw him out on the streets,” Ruby muttered into her teacup.

            “Thank you, but he’s dead,” Kate assured them. It was different, hearing them become angry about it. The reactions were similar to Alfie and Tommy. They all wanted to kill the man who treated her poorly. But Alice and the others were acting on empathy instead of sympathy. They understood the plight of being a woman. Struggling under the thumb of a man. They understood the anger and desire to change the tides. To make other men feel the pressure on the back of their necks. It was a shared existence. And as hard as he could try, Tommy wouldn’t understand.

            “Good.” Alice nodded. “You killed him?”

            “I wouldn’t let him kill me.” Her voice quieted as her brow furrowed in thought. “He took so much from me.”

            Lillian, who seemed to be the gentlest of the group touched Kate’s arm. “You’re still standing. You’re still here. He couldn’t take that away from you.”

            She nodded, not sure what else to say about the matter. There was comfort in knowing she had allies who understood. Then, Kate noticed the ring on Lillian’s finger. “Oh, I didn’t know you were married.”

            Alice, Maggie, and Ruby all snorted. “I’m not, technically.” Lillian looked to Ruby at her right. “Ruby and I…”

            It took a moment for Kate to connect the dots but she finally realized when they looked at each other. “Oh, oh of course. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

            Maggie studied Kate’s reaction with scrutiny. “It’s something we accept.” She spoke in a firm tone as if to ward off any criticism.

            “Of course, no I…I completely understand,” Kate assured them. “There are no rules when it comes to love, least not in my eyes.”

            Lillian smiled as Ruby reached for her hand. Both of them seemed relieved to act normally around Kate. There wasn’t anything to hide between the women.

            “We hope your men understand that as well,” Alice added.

            “Well, I can certainly talk to Tommy about it if you want me to. But I wouldn’t call them my men.” She laughed softly. “I don’t call the shots around the company.”

            Alice just shook her head with an amused look. “Men can think they’re in control, but it’s usually not the case. It’s usually the woman behind him.”

            “Yeah, the one who’s got his balls in her purse.” Maggie quipped making them all burst out into laughter.

            Kate realized how nice it was to laugh again.

 ~~~~~~~

            That same night, Tommy came home earlier than usual. Kate found him downstairs smoking a cigarette and flipped through some mail.

            He smiled when he saw her walk into his study. “Did you have a nice lunch today?” He asked. “Mary said you four were in stitches the whole time.”

            Kate laughed softly. “They’re very fun to be around.” She agreed.

            “All they do is give me the cold shoulder.”

            “Hm, maybe it’s how you come across.” She walked over to him, adjusting the collar of his shirt to turn his attention away from the mail in his hand. “I wasn’t very fond of you at first.”

            “That’s not true, you liked me.” He dropped the envelopes to pull her close.

            “Eh, you were difficult to like. At least you’re handsome.” She teased.

            He scoffed and shook his head. “Those women are a bad influence on you.” He joked.

            Kate laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s nice to have other women to talk to. It’s boring talking to men all day.”

            “Hm.” He hummed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

            “But I am glad to see you again.” She murmured and kissed him.

            He deepened the kiss, pressing his hands to the small of her back. But he knew it was up to her to lead. There had been a few times when Tommy overstepped, getting carried away with the moment and Kate shied away. She said it wasn’t his fault, but he knew he was responsible for making her feel safe.

            She pulled away and hugged him close, inhaling his cologne mixed with cigarettes to feel at home again.

            He lightly peppered kisses down her jaw and neck, holding her tenderly. “Want to go away with me this weekend?” He asked.

            “Sure, where to?” A little break sounded like heaven to her.

            “Doncaster. I’m going to buy another racehorse and there’s an auction there on Monday. But I figure we could make it a longer trip. If you’d like.”

            “That sounds perfect.”

            “We could make a week of it.” He proposed. “Go further north, somewhere on the ocean. Scarborough has a nice place to stay by the water.”

            Kate lifted her head to look at him. “I’ll follow you wherever, Tommy Shelby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

            “Morning, Kate.” Michael greeted her as she entered the office.

            “Michael, how are you?”

            Tommy’s cousin didn’t answer because he noticed she had a luggage case with her. “Are you going somewhere?” He asked.

            “Tommy and I are leaving this afternoon for Doncaster then to Scarborough.” She answered, setting her case down so she could take a paper that Michael was holding out for her.

            The young man seemed a little disgruntled at the fact that his cousin was taking the time to have a holiday while the rest of the family was in turmoil. But there was little he could say or do. Mentioning anything would only lead to another argument. And Michael didn’t have the energy. He was only barely making it by, using snow to keep from crashing as he worked tireless hours.

            “I suspect he’s getting another horse,” Michael noted, remembering the last time he went to Doncaster with the rest of the family. When they were all still speaking to each other. Before the terrible nightmares, he had.

            “I suppose. I guess we’ll see when we get there.” Kate looked to the door. Tommy had followed her into the building but stayed on the first floor to speak with some of the workers. “How is your mom?” She asked. Seldom could she ask Tommy about the others. He never wanted to talk about what happened and always cast aside her concern.

            Michael sighed. “She’s not well. S’been seeing things because of the tablets they have her on.” He admitted. “Talks to spirits.”

            Kate had always known Polly as the strong, woman in charge. Secure and reliable, it was hard to hear how the imprisonment had such a negative effect on her. It didn’t matter how strong one was, there was always something that could break them. “I’ve tried to talk to Tommy about everything, I really have but…”

            “I know.” Michael nodded. “It’s okay, Kate, it’s not your place to fix things. It’s Tommy’s responsibility.” He scrubbed a hand over his weary eyes. “But they’re all too headstrong to face each other.”

            “Right, I’m aware.” She agreed, still glancing at the door every so often just to see if Tommy would walk in. She didn’t mind if he heard her talking about his family. But she also didn’t want the subject to sour their trip together. “And John and Arthur?”

            “Out in the countryside. Linda’s due any day now.” Michael figured. “Ada said she’d tell me when the baby was born. He won’t talk to me. Ada’s been…well the buffer I suppose.” He mumbled.

            “I haven’t spoken to her in a bit.” Kate admitted. She’d been so caught up in the deal with the Forty Elephants that she’d neglected to stay in touch.

            “Tommy’s sending her to Boston soon.” Michael shrugged. “Guess he’s got plans out there.”

            Kate’s heart nearly stopped. “What?”

            He looked at her blankly. “He didn’t tell you?”

            “No…no he didn’t.” She cursed under her breath. “I’m going to leave this here for a moment.” She said, gesturing to her luggage before leaving. “I need to find Tommy.”  

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[peakyblinderswhore]

My poor heart... your Finn imagine was sooooooo good!!!! Could you possibly do a part 2 to it where they make up or not maybe she gets with Isaiah or Michael all up to you

A/N: since so many of you liked the first one, here’s a part two, as requested by a few in the comments and this anon here!

W/C: 1.9k

You learnt up against a wall and cried. Finn had come running out looking for you but you had dipped in and out of alleyways and stayed away from lampposts, mostly so it didn’t illuminate how red and puffy your face was to others but also so Finn couldn’t find you.

He hadn’t always been one to think on his feet so he just ran down the street in hopes that you’d be waiting for him at the end of one. He did make it as far as the Garrison and gave the bartender a good talking to for having not served his girlfriend. Funny that only five minutes ago he was saying the exact opposite. 

Whenever you went down to the Garrison you never managed to catch any of the Shelby boys and when you did, Arthur was too drunk, Tommy was too busy being haunted by his dead true love, Michael was trying to overthrow his cousins with his ideas for the Shelby company in the states and Finn was never around to be seen. Mostly you tried to talk to one of them or join in but they didn’t know how to face you when they knew full well their youngest brother was leading you on.

When you got to the Garrison yourself, you were served a drink without even looking up from the bar. This was how you knew that Finn had been round doing his bit as best he could. 

Isaiah was the one who saw you, sitting by yourself. None of the other men on there would’ve touched you with a six-foot barge pole. 

“Hey, you okay?” he asked softly, noticing that Finn was nowhere to be seen.

You look up from where your head rested on the bar, your eyes had lessened but were still slightly puffy and Isaiah could see that they were strained.

“You could say, I’m having a mid-life crisis.”

“But you’re only 19…”

“My bad, a three-quarter life crisis.”

You flop back down into the position that you were in before, head on arms on the bar, hidden from the other men in there. Isaiah wasn’t stupid but he didn’t want to push you much further before finding out what was up.

“Your face is red,” he whispered, leaning closer to you, “you gonna tell me why you’re upset?”

“No,” you sulk.

“How about we settle in the snug and I’ll fetch you a drink.”

You agree, liking the sound of a dozen men not staring at you like you were an alien.

Trudging over to the snug, Isaiah opens the door for you and has whoever serves there now (you hadn’t taken much notice after Harry died) put your drink through the window to the two of you.

You drop yourself onto a seat in there and Isiah passes your drink over to you. You try not to slump over in your seat as you wouldn’t like it yourself if someone did the same to you after being kind enough to ask how you were. You sigh heavily as you come to terms with the fact that you’re going to have to tell Isiah what is happening since no one else will listen to you.

“Isaiah,” you begin, “Finn and I got into an argument.”

“I gathered that much. I don’t see you very often down the Garrison since Harry died, less so after dark.”

“Yeah, that’s another thing. How is it that not one of these men will say that I know a Shelby but the second that Finn and I get into an argument, he comes round and now they’re all scared of me like they were when I used to walk in with Finn and the other Shelby boys.”

You whimper, realising how pathetic you sound.

“Because they preferred Grace tending to them and they also preferred when women weren’t served in bars so with the new bartender and the lack of Finn as of recent, they blurred you out,” Isaiah says, sliding next to you on the seat.

You lean your head on his shoulder and he wraps an arm around your shoulder and he rubs up and down your arm, “You know, you should talk to him about it.”

You lift your head so he can see your expression as you raise an eyebrow and reply, “The fuck do you think I’ve been trying to do for months, Isaiah?”

He shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t know, I don’t live with the two of you.”

“I’ll tell you then,” you drop your head back, not wanting to face him in case you begin to cry again, “I waited up for Finn tonight. I don’t like waiting up for him and he knows it. I wouldn’t mind if it was every once in a while but it’s every night and I don’t know what to do about it anymore.”

“Don’t wait up?” Isaiah offers and you poke him in the abdomen before he can object.

“My point is,” you continue, “I waited up for him tonight; I haven’t in weeks. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m out to argue with him every time we talk now. It’s never just a talk; it’s always a fight or a fight and a fuck to make up – even those don’t happen very much anymore.”

Isaiah chuckles at your words and you say, “Funny, eh? I told him Polly fucks more than I do and he said that me and him fuck too,” you quieten as you say, “I told him he fucks more without me than with me.”

Isaiah lets out a big blow of air, “Woah, you went there.”

You laugh lightly, “I did.”

A small silence was welcomed between the two of you where every now and then Isaiah would sip from his whiskey glass.

Looking down at you, Isaiah thinks before saying, “What do you want from all of this, with Finn, I mean?”

“I wanted what we had, you know?” Isaiah grabs your face, lightly pulling you up by your chin as you say, “A relationship. Something loving, maybe,” he pulls you closer, putting his glass down on the table in front of you before staring down at your lips, “some sex now and then… you know?”

At this statement, he closes the gap between your faces and presses his lips against yours. Before you can pull back he puts his hand on the back of your head and tangles it in your hair. You lightly moan at the sensation rippling through your scalp at the same time as your mouth moving against his.

Isaiah deepens the kiss, keeps a steady hand on the back of your head and moves a hand down to your thigh, inching it up and under your dress that had hitched up slightly. When his hand connected with your skin after finally moving your dress out of the way you made a split-second decision and pulled away, gasping at him. Well, at yourself too.

“Isaiah…” you pause, trying to come up with the words to explain yourself, leaving your mouth to move without words coming out.

He grins at you “I–”

You put up a hand, “No, Isaiah, that was lovely, but no.”

His smile falls and for a second you pity him, “Honey, I think you pitied me at that moment…” you wince at your own words, “but as much as I hate him sometimes, I still love Finn.”

Isaiah’s eyes turn dark, “he doesn’t care about you. He’s always out with other women, you said it yourself!”

You flinch at him raising his voice, “It’s not just me I’m thinking about now. Isaiah… I’m pregnant.”

He recoils from you, “Pregnant?”

“Pregnant.”

“How, I thought you barely fucked him?”

You sigh, “the last time we fought he hadn’t been out too late and turned around my anger when he started flirting with whatever rude words I threw at him. It was a make-up fuck. Should’ve known better to be fucking honest, shouldn’t I?”

Isaiah scoffs at your words, “Nah, I was just testing you anyway. He’s out back waiting for the bartender to tell him it’s safe to come out.”

“What?”

“Here,” he pulls you up by your hand before letting go and walking out and fetching Finn himself.

Finn appears at the door and Isaiah winks at you before putting his cap back on and walking out of the front doors.

Finn walks in and closes the door behind him so that the two of you had some privacy.

“Pregnant, eh?”

He stood wringing his hat in his hands for something to fiddle with while you crossed your arms and scowled at him.

He sighs, knowing that it’s going to take some talking to get out of this hole he’d dug for himself, “I do love you.”

You point your nose in the air and turn from him, “Doesn’t show.”

“But I do,” he reaches out to touch your arm but you step back, he looks down at coughs before saying, “I know, I know, that I fucked it up this time, real good.”

You scoff.

“But I also know that I really do love you. I don’t know what’s going through my head those times I fucked those whores.”

You wait, watching him as he says his peace.

“I’ve stopped since the last time we had sex. That was love, to me, love. I love you and I didn’t know how to come to terms with myself over it. I knew I loved you because I had a bad feeling whenever I tried with someone else. It might’ve been Polly sending me glares every now and then cause she manages to know before it’s even happened when women are pregnant.”

You can’t help but laugh a little at that one as you know first-hand that it was true.

He looks up, happy to hear you smile, you drop your arms and shake your head at him, “Come here.”

He walks over, pulls you in by your waist and kisses you full-on, emotion and all.

“I want to be yours and for you to be mine.”

“Oh, Finn,” you whisper to him, resting your forehead on his, “but we always have been. You’ve just been too blind to see it.”

“Marry me.”

You pull back, “What?”

“I mean, would you – marry me?”

“Finn… are you serious?”

“We’ll move into a bigger house together, somewhere for our child. I’ll have breakfast and dinner with you – I might have off days where I come home late or leave before dawn but you’ll know about them. I’ll send for Ada and Karl for you or see if Tommy can find Esme and the kids so you can learn off of them. Maybe Linda will take a shine to you now that you’re pregnant, she’s very good with Billy.”

You stand, eyes brimming with tears, “Oh Finn.”

“What? Are you saying no? Please don’t –”

You cover his mouth with your palm and smile widely at him, tears threatening to spill, “Of course I’ll marry you,” and you kiss him one more to quieten him.

“How about that new home, then?” you ask.

“Anything for you, now that I know what’s good for me.”

You laugh, “Polly tells you a few things before you made it here?”

“Maybe.”

You walk out hand in hand, your head resting on his arm, happy for how things turned out.

Maybe things do work out for the best after all.

[psycheswritings]

Nothing’s Fair in Love and War - Nine

Title: Nothing’s Fair in Love and War

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Thomas Shelby x Daphne Scott (OFC)

Warnings: Swearing, a little misogyny and a lot of angst.

Word Count: 4795

Author's Note: So, how have you all been? Good, I expect. This chapter is a little, well, angsty. There is a lot of emotions going around and things start to go wrong for everyone. I will post the playlist for the fic soon but I warn you, I'll break your heart there might be some spoilers in the lyrics. The music recommended for this chapter is "Big Guns" by Ruelle. A big, huge thank you for everybody who still reads the fic even after nine ass long chapters. Be prepared for a lot more. As always, this haven’t been proofread, so feel free to report any mistakes back to me; warnings are expecific for each chapter; tags are at the end of the post and if you want to be added, let me know. Also, your feedback is also highly appreciated.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Tommy discovers that Arthur and Michael are in prison and confronts Campbell about it. When Daphne discovers the whole ordeal about Arthur's prison, she and Alfie have a discussion that doesn't end all that well.

Nine

Things were going smoothly for the Shelby family - the pubs in London were earning a god profit, the exportation of the alcohol had encountered no hindrance so far and then there was Daphne, that had finally give in to his advances. Tommy should have expected that something would go wrong, because things had always been like that for them. It had been this way when his mom died and his father ran away, it had been like that with the war, this time was no different.

“We had a deal.” He entered the church to find the irishman on his usual spot, reading the newspaper. “Hey! We had a fucking deal!”

“I would think that you would moderate your language in a place of worship.” His tone didn’t conceal the disdain and Tommy has had enough of the attitude, so he rips the paper out of Campbell’s hands and throws it away, pointing a finger to the policeman’s face.

“We had a fucking deal.”

“Mr. Shelby, if you read the papers, you might have seen that the Home Secretary has got himself into a bit of a fizz about certain moral issues. Prostitution, protection, racketeering, drinking, cocaine and, of course, gambling. He has demanded results.” As the Irishman lectures, Tommy starts to pace around, breath uneven, trying his best to not let his anger take over. He had to think of a way to get them out of this situation.

“You offered me protection. You promised me protection.”

“Well, no, you see it was Mr. Churchill that made you that promise. And the Home Secretary outranks him, so…” Campbell observes as Tommy walks around before saying. “And I can hardly be blamed if your demented brother decided to go on some sort of blood orgy during dinner.” The little patience that the gangster had was gone and as he approaches the policeman he is already shouting at him.

“Don't fucking lie to me! Do not sit here in your fucking church and lie to me!”

“You will need to contain your emotions or this meeting is at an end.” Tommy faces Campbell for a moment, his only wish is to put a bullet through his head, has been for a long time, but he tries his best to regain his composure, stepping back from the man and turning his back from him, resting his hands on the benches on the other side of the aisle. “Good. That's better. So, let us review the new situation. I have your brother in a prison cell charged with the murder of Billy Kitchen. The case against him is strong and I have no doubt that his destiny is to hang. And then there is Polly's son, Michael. He has already admitted to helping Arthur burn down the Marquis pub. He was a tough nut to crack, that boy, but crack he did. So I have your brother facing the noose, I have your cousin facing five years for arson. And I have your entire organization in disarray in Birmingham and in London.”

“What do you want?” Tommy asks, facing the policeman again.

“What do I want?!” Campbell looks at the gangster like he is not making sense at all. “I don't understand.”

“I have already agreed to do your fucking killing for you. Now, what is it you want from me?” Tommy’s voice is low and he punctuates every word. Campbell stands up from the bench to get closer to the gangster and the younger man just observes him, trying to conceal his anger.

“There you go, you see. An agreement is not the same thing as an assurance, now, is it? You see, I found I wasn't sleeping so well. It wasn't just the smell and the noise in that room, no. It was the nagging doubt. The knowledge… The knowledge that Tommy Shelby is not afraid to die. Therefore, the threat to your own life might not be enough to make it certain that you will obey me on the given day. I needed also the power of life and death over your family. And that I now have. Your brother, your cousin and your sister. I have known her address in Primrose Hill since the day she moved i, she is safe only as long as I want her to be. I have been ahead of you every step of the way. And, as my father used to say, to make sure your dog obeys you, you have to show it the stick once in a while.” He holds his cane up, as to illustrate his words, before walking out of the church, the echoes of the walking stick filling the air as Tommy stands there, weighing down his options.

#* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #

“Tommy, Arthur is in solitary confinement. Michael is in the remand wing of…” Lizzie follows him when he enters the office, but he is only partially registering what she is saying to him, the sound of the telephone ringing on the background.

“I already know. Get out, shut the doors.” She does as he says and Tommy sits on his desk, hands resting on the wood, eyes observing the telephone before he picks it up.

“Tommy? It's me. Tommy, can you hear me?” It’s impossible to not recognize the voice and the gangster is not sure about the way it makes him feel.

“Yes, Grace.”

“I think you called. I haven't slept.” He takes a deep breath before answering.

“Grace, this is not a good time.”

“I can call you back.” There is a hint of desperation on her voice, like she is clinging to something, a thread of hope perhaps. He should expect that, between her proposal before she left to America and the letters she kept sending him even when he didn’t answer none of them, even after she married, but part of him still felt a little surprised by her tone.

“No, it's fine. It's all right.”

“Can we meet?” The words had barely left his lips when she talks again and something occurs to Tommy - maybe this is the chance he has to balance things between him and Campbell and find out once and for all how he feels about her.

“Yes. We'll meet.”

“When?”

“Grace, there are some things I have to do first.”

#* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #* #

Tommy entered the Shelby house to find Polly sitting at the table in the room connected to the betting shop, smocking. He walked past her, entering the other room where John, Esme and Finn where waiting. Stooding near the table, hands behind his back, he prepared himself to survey the damage containment. “John?”

“The coppers have lifted ten of our men in Camden Town, the rest of them are on the run.”

“Tom, they've taken Michael.” It was Finn, clearly worried about his cousin’s situation.

“Business first.”Was all Tommy said to his brother to silence the boy.

“They took Michael last night...” Polly got up from her seat, clearly exasperated by the fact that her son was now in jail. All she wanted was a way to get him out, business be damned.

“I said business first.”

“They picked him up…” Tommy didn’t let her finish, raising his voice and looking at her as he said.

“Polly, business first!” She leaned into the doorframe, restless, her nephew ignored that, turning to look at his brother. “John?”

“They took all our whisky, so no doubt they'll be supping that for Christmas. They've impounded all our vans, put their own locks on the warehouse. The Eden Club and all our pubs have been raided by the coppers and handed back to Sabini and Solomons.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “The Black Country boys think it was Arthur that killed Billy because that's what the coppers told them. So there'll be no more free passes for our whisky boats.”

“I don't give a fuck about whisky. I don't give a fuck about Billy Kitchen. I want my son out of prison. Now.” Polly came forward talking directly at Thomas.

“Thomas, I spoke to Johnny Dogs...”

“This meeting should just be family.” The older woman interrupts Esme, not boring herself to look at the girl.

“I can help.” John’s wife protests but Polly directs her answer to Tommy again.

“It's family only, she is not blood, Tommy!”

“Let her speak.” The gangster says, trying to maintain his voice low.

“Or is this a business? Have you forgotten…”

“Enough!” He screams looking at his aunt. “Enough, Polly.” The man turns to his sister-in-law. “Esme?”

“I spoke to Johnny Dogs. The Lees are kin.”

“The bloody Lees!” Polly exclaims, not believing that Tommy is really considering the offer.

“They can give us men!” Esme argues.

“We don't need more fucking men! It's men that have done the damage! It... It... is men fighting like cockerels that have put us here in the first place.” Tommy just ignores his aunt outburst, knowing that she is not thinking rationally because of Michael’s situation.

“Esme, I'll take up their offer. We need men.” He takes a brief look at Polly, who stares at him, shaking her head before taking a step closer to him.

“If Michael ever gets out of prison, I am taking him away from this family. For good.” She marches up to Finn, taking the young boy by the arm, all the while Tommy observes her, quiet. “This life is bad. This life is all bad.”

“Aunt Pol, what are you doing?” The youngest Shelby protests as she forces him out of the room with her.

“Shut up and walk.” There’s just him, John and Esme on the betting shop now. They listen to the door opening and then closing. Tommy leans his hands into fists on the table, before sitting down on the chair in front of John.

“Thomas? Should I go and speak to Queen Mary Lee at the Black Patch?” Esme takes a step closer to her husband, watching as Thomas rests his elbows on the table, hands intertwined together in front of his mouth.

“Yes.”

“She can give us soldiers for a few nights.” She says and he just murmurs.

“Mm, good.” Fingers moving restlessly as he looks down onto the table, mind racing to think of solutions.

“John, go and bring up the car.” The other Shelby looks up at his wife, that just nods her head towards the door. He gets up from the chair, giving a last glance at his brother who is still silent, then he picks up his hat and leaves. Esme walks to the door to certifie herself that he really left before coming back to the table and inclining herself on the table to get closer to her brother-in-law. “Imagine riding away, Thomas. Living the real life, you know? Your Gypsy half is the stronger. You just want to ride away.” Thomas looks up at her, just observing quietly as she talks. “France is the new place for us, they say. Lot of metal lying around still. Guns and trucks and spent shells and things. Then you go south. Saintes-Maries, where the Black Madonna is. My brothers go sometimes for the fair. It's like a home for us. They still let you get lost there.” He lowers his hands to the table and leans closer to her, speaking low and calmly.

“I've been to France, Esme. So has John. Now get your coat and go with your husband.” The gangster just observes her for a moment, before taking her face between the fingers of his left hand. “And if you ever talk about getting lost again, I will cut you from this family.” After he releases her, Esme looks around, as to make a point, before speaking.

“What family?” And then she leaves and Thomas can’t help to think that she is not all wrong.

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Daphne doesn’t see Alfie before going to the bakery that morning, what she finds a little strange, because they usually go to work together, but she brushes it off as overthinking. Yet, things get weirder as she approaches the bakery and all the man go dead silent as she passes then. She ignores it too, like she ignores the little remnants of blood on the floor and the fact that Ollie seems more nervous than usual around her. That is until she has to get out of her office to ask something to Ollie and overhears a conversation between two of their employees - a conversation about the prison of one of the gypsy brothers.

She stops dead on her tracks, the two men see her and look at each other like they’ve just seem a ghost, until Ollie shoo them away, looking back at her with a very frightened expression. It’s then that it all comes weighing down on her - Alfie’s extrange behavior for all these past months, the fact that he wanted her out of the house last night, his cold demeanor towards her since the wedding.

Ollie tries to intercept her when she starts walking again but there is no stopping her as she storms through the corridor to Alfie’s office. Her breath is uneven and she has a hard time recognizing what exactly is the feeling bubbling under her skin - is it anger? Or maybe it’s betrayal but she can figure it out why she would feel that way. When she opens the door, unceremoniously, Alfie immediately looks up from whatever it is he is working on. He nods at Ollie, who is standing right behind her, and the younger man leaves, closing the door.

“You already know then?” There was no reason to pretend he didn’t know why she was there, he had been preparing himself for that all morning. Alfie reclines himself back into his chair, letting his glasses fall to his chest as he looks at her. She doesn’t sit on her usual chair, right in front of him, doesn’t think she can, not in the state she is in and that is his first sign of what is about to come.

“That’s what you’ve been hiding from me all along?” If he didn’t knew her so well, Alfie would think that she wasn’t unsettled by the news. Standing there, in the middle of his office, speaking to him without raising her voice, her speech did not falter, like this was just a normal conversation about the business and not the questioning that he knew it was, Daphne showed few signs of the raging battle roaring inside of her. She had always been good at concealing her feelings even when she was a kid, having been raised to be a proper lady, not letting others know that underneath all that pretense lived a real woman with real feelings.

“I knew you would vouch against it if I told ya.”

“Then you just decided that it was better to do it behind my back?” It was already bad enough to think the exact same thing on his head, hearing her said it out loud only made things ten times worse and he kinda hated himself for that.

“Look, love, I’ve told ya we were going to use them to win the war and then get rid of the fucking gypsies, haven’t I?” Rolling her eyes she asked him.

“Sabini is not a problem anymore then, is he?” Alfie almost swore under his breath - she was too damn perceptive, he had been fooling her for far more time than he thought was possible. The Jew took a deep breath before stating.

“We’ve made an agreement.” She laughs, humourless, hands resting on her waist before she traps him in her gaze.

“An agreement.” A pause. “Let me guess, he promised you that our bookies could go to Epsom this year in exchange of your help to get rid of the Blinders?” Daphne waits for him to say something, which he doesn’t, and she caughts herself massaging her temples as she paces around the room. “And like all the other times, he will deceive you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Don’t I?” She snaps at his tone, walking to his desk, standing between the two chairs and propping her hands, closed into fists, on the wood.

“We have a written deal.” He tries to hold his ground but stops as he hears her laugh again, mockingly.

“A written deal, of course, how haven’t I thought of this before, huh?” Her hazel eyes search for his blue ones. “Tell me, Alfie, this is what you call winning a war?”

“What do you know about winning wars, Daphne?” He regrets the words the moment they left his mouth, specially when she flinches away from him, taking a step back from the desk.

“I know plenty about war, Alfred, you know that better than anyone.”

“Daph…” The Jew almost gets up from his seat but she stops him before he could finish the movement.

“Don’t.” Turning her back to him, Daphne closes her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply, trying to keep her cool. “What did you do?”

“We’ve taken all of the clubs back and Arthur is in prison.” She looked at him from over her shoulder.

“For what?”

“The murder of Billy Kitchen.”

“That was your plan all along?” She hears him exhale loudly before his voice is heard.

“Not in detail, but yeah, it was the plan since the beginning, aye.” 

“And you didn’t told me before… why?”

“Because you’ve turned soft, Daphne.” When she turned to face him his expression had changed, it’s like he was telling her something that is obvious. “I knew that from the moment that that fucking gypsy put foot on this bakery.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I knew you wouldn’t accept the deal with Sabinni because of Thomas.” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the desk, hands intertwined, venon in his voice.

“Tommy has nothing to do with me thinking that this deal is bad for us.” She snaps back at him and this time he is the one who laughs.

“He has everything to do with it, love, because you love him.” He pauses to gauge her reaction. Daphne shakes her head in denial.

“You are out of your damn mind.”

“I am out of my mind?” He stands up, leaning onto his fists, his tone of voice higher than before. “Are you even hearing yourself and how much of a hypocrite you are being, huh? How’s he any different than all the ones we betrayed before him, huh? I will tell you the difference, the difference is that you’ve let yourself fall in love with him, that’s the fucking difference, innit?”

“You know me well enough to know that I would never let my feelings get in the way of the business.”

“You don’t deny it then? You do love him, don’t you?” She doesn’t answer him and that only seems to add fuel to the fire. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were already sneaking around with him, huh? Opening your…”

“STOP!” Her scream seems to get him out of his trance and the hurt in her eyes is like a knife to his heart. “Don’t say something that you will regret later. Don’t make me hate you, Alfie, because I don’t know if I can come back from that.” They just stare at each other for a long moment before she speaks again. “Why do you keep me around, Alfie? Why do you keep me around if you truly believe that I will betray you at the first opportunity I have?”

“Because I made a fucking promise…” His tone is lower and solemn but she doesn’t let him finish.

“Fuck you and your promises. It’s not me you have to worry about, Alfred, is yourself.” His expression softens and Alfie almost takes a step back at the sheer force of her words. “You push everyone around you away, always have something up your sleeve to try and gain something from everybody. You want to call me a hypocrite, fine, maybe I am, but so are you. Because you stand there, looking at me and talking about fucking promises when you’ve been lying to me for months in a row and even after all these years that I’ve been nothing but loyal to you, you have the nerve to look me in the eye and tell me that you’re afraid I would betray you for somebody else.”

“Daph…” He walks around the table to get closer to her but she steps back, not letting him talk or get closer to her.

“If I really wanted to do that you really think I would choose Thomas? That I would have waited all these years listening from everyone how crazy I was to still be around you, hearing people calling me your mistress and God knows what else behind my back. If I really wanted to betray you, Alfie, I would have done it a hell lot sooner, because that’s all that Sabini has been waiting.”

Silence fills the room and neither of them is really sure how many time has passed when she speaks again.

“I’m going home. I’ll be there tomorrow morning, don’t wait for me.” He reaches for her as she turns to leave, catching her wrist on his hand, forcing her to face him.

“Are you leaving?” There is a certain level of desperation on his voice and there is no mistaking the worry in his blue eyes, she almost caves in.

“Yes, I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going?” Daphne takes a deep breath, holding his gaze.

“To a hotel. I need some time alone. I will still come to work, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“It’s not about the fucking work I’m worried about, innit?” There is silence again and she recognizes the conflict on his face. “And if I don’t let you go?”

“I’m not asking for your permission.” She breaks away from his hold and walks to the door while Alfie waits for her to look back. She doesn’t.

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“Where've you been?” Ada asks her aunt as she enters the room and sees her taking a bath.

“I went to the Spotted Dog in Digbeth for a glass or two of rum.” The younger woman observes her aunt and frowns, asking.

“Was it one glass or two?”

“It was three.” Polly looks around. “Where's the baby?”

“Sleeping.” Ada reclines herself into the couch. “More like five.” The older woman groans lightly, lifting her arms from the water to rest it on the rim of the tub ad look at her niece.

“It was more like six.” She reaches for the cigarette, resting on the ashtray on the table near her. “Did you meet the maid?”

“I talked politics with her, she got bored and went to bed.” They both chuckle at Ada’s statement. “I phoned James. He talked to the lawyer anyway. He said he'd take Arthur's case for free, so we don't need Tommy.” The older woman exhales loudly, clearly disturbed by the topic. “Pol? We'll get Michael free, as well, I promise.”

“There's no need, they're letting him out in the morning.” Her expression changes to something somber and Ada frowns, worried. “Do you still talk to Daphne?” The question sounds strange to the young woman, but she answers anyway.

“Yes.”

“Then tell her that the best thing she can do is stay away from your brother. She is a nice girl, has certainly suffered enough. There is no future for her besides a man like him.”

“Pol, why…”

“If the baby wants anything at night, ring the bell by the bed. She gets paid to work twenty four hours, that girl, she's getting lazy. Well, take advantage if you're nice.” Ada observes as her aunt leans into the tub and concludes that the best think she can do is leave her, so that’s what she does.

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Daphne doesn't sleep that night. She tosses and turns on the bed, restless, thinking about her fight with Alfie and how the Shelby’s might be dealing with all the trouble, until she decides that there is no reason to stay laying down when no sleep will come to her. So she gets up and sits on one of the armchairs by the fireplace, a glass of whiskey on her hands, eyes focused on the fire burning there.

She recalls the words exchanged between her and Alfie that morning and starts to question herself about his accusation. Had her judgment of the situation been tainted by her feelings towards Tommy? Had she really let herself be blinded by love, like Polly had waned her? She, who always had done her best to conceal her feelings from everybody and leave her life dealing with things as rationally as she could?

The burning of the alcohol down her throat brings her back to the present and she hears the banging on the door. Daphne tries to ignore it, thinking that it might be Alfie or one of his man. She doesn’t have the strength or the patience to deal with neither now. Then she hears talking and all of a sudden the doors opens and Harriet comes in - no makeup, loose hair and wearing a simple plain gray dress, a worried expression on her face.

“What happened?” The courtesan closes the door behind her, approaching the other woman, taking a sit on the vacant armchair. Daphne turns her face to look through the windows, noticing that is already dawning, she haven’t noticed how many time she had been there.

Harriet looks around before fixing her gaze on her friend again - the bed is disheveled but just one look at Daphne says enough for her to know that the woman hadn't had a minute of sleep in the past few hours. Her legs are pulled up on the chair, closer to her chest, hair messily tied in, an empty glass of whiskey in her hands.

“Ollie called me in the middle of the afternoon saying that Alfie was beyond himself and that you had left.” There is still no response, the only reaction she gets from Daphne is that she rests her head on the back of the armchair, body relaxing into the armchair as her gaze falls onto the fire. “He keeps saying that he fucked up and that he doesn’t deserves your trust but he refused to tell me the meaning of it.”

“We fought.” Harriet is almost giving up, preparing herself to leave, when Daphne’s voice resounds on the room.

“That much I could tell.” Hazel eyes focus on her and the courtesan sighs. “What about?”

“Thomas.” Daphne pauses, inhales deeply before moving to serve herself another glass of whiskey. “Well, I thought it was about the business, but you can say that the main reason was him.” Harriet says nothing, waiting, because she knows that pressing her right now is not the best of choices. “Did you knew?”

“Knew what?”

“About his plans to serve the Shelby’s to Sabini on a silver plate.” They look at each other for a moment before Harriet answers.

“No. I had my suspicions that he would do something about them soon but he never told me anything.” Daphne only hums in response, taking a sip of her drink. “What did he do?” The other woman sneers.

“He made a deal with Sabini so our bookies could work Epsom this year. They have raided all the clubs taken by the Blinders and Tommy’s older brother is in jail, framed by the murder of one of their men.”

“Oh my…”

“That’s what he had been hiding from me all these months.” Daphne downs the rest of the whiskey, observing as she turns the glass in her hand. “I told him that Sabini was going to betray him like he has done so many times before and he told me that I was being a hypocrite questioning his actions because we have done that before.” She takes a deep breath, looking at the fire again. “And that I was only doing that because I loved Tommy.”

“What the fuck! Alfie is out of his damn mind?!” Harriet gets up from her sit, takes the glass from Daphne's hands and pours whiskey on it, taking it in one gulp.

“He is not.” The courtesan turns to face her friend, who is still sprawled out on the armchair.

“What…”

“He may have said some things that he shouldn’t, but he is not out of his mind.” Daphne’s expression is devoid of emotion and she is calmer than she had been on the previous day. “The thing is... The thing is he is right, Harriet. Alfie is right. The only difference between Thomas and all of the other people we betrayed is that I love him.”

Taglist: @stressedandbandobessed7771​

[nomdeguerreblogs]

hello!! i don't know if you still into tommy x grace ....but if so, what do you think that season 3 would had be? in terms of their relationship with each other, and others, particularly grace with polly and ada. i miss them, and im terrible afraid of tommy and lizzie having more years together, and more kids.

Hello anon! I answered an ask a little while ago about how the Time Gap Tommy and Grace looked and hopefully that goes some way to answering this. The other part of your question - about how Grace interacted with other family members is tricky. I don’t think S3 tried very hard at all to answer it, but I do think it’s interesting. Because I want to know who Grace was (at least partly to know why THIS woman, why does Tommy who we know quite a lot about, love HER); and I want to know what she thinks of Tommy who, despite what SK thinks about his charismatic bad boy is not readily loveable; and I want to know what the family - especially Arthur, Ada and Polly - think of the pairing. The family members might have counterpointed Tommy’s grief too and given the audience a slightly more sympathetic way in (yes I know he bats away Arthur and Polly but…) Before I wander off who knows where…

Let’s start with Arthur, who you didn’t ask about, but I like, so. He remembers Grace in the Garrison covering for him taking cash and talking about manky cigarettes, and that he was attracted to her then too. He remembers watching Tommy watching her and being amused and pleased that his brother was doing something palpably normal and comprehensible; ie. lusting after a good-looking bird. He’s not capable at the time of appreciating the emotion though (“give her a good seeing to” I mean, Arthur please Tommy’s nearly proposing). The other thing Arthur brings in perspective is the idea of betrayal; after being scammed by his father he understands being manipulated by someone you love, and still loving them, and wanting things to be changed, better, kind. (FWIW, there are several parallels that begin way back in 1.05 between Grace and Arthur Sr, usually antithetical.) Arthur’s relationship with Linda seems to have taken Tommy’s with Grace as a bit of a template too. I would suggest that, just as much as Polly might, Arthur gets Tommy’s perspective in the relationship with Grace, just in a different way. It’s kind of a masculine perspective; he gets the lust and that she softens him, and finally in S3 he understands that’s good. He’s best man for a reason. Anyway, Arthur I think likes Grace in an uncomplicated way, and cheers them on. His “Sorry, sister” is possibly my favourite line of the entire series from anyone to anyone (it’s a close run thing with Tommy finally saying ‘I love you’) because it is the only one that indicates she is family, not just to Tommy, but the rest of them as well.

Now, Polly. *rolls up sleeves*

Oh my giddy fucking aunt where do I go with this? In series one, Polly and Grace have a frank exchange that is by turns tense, warm, charming and deadly and ultimately, woman to woman, honest. Polly intuits (way better than Tommy who has been thinking with his penis for episodes) some of Grace’s background (rich girl; Ulster Volunteer), and her opinions about her surroundings*. Grace gets to ask what Tommy was like before France and they connect briefly, because Polly sees how Grace really feels and understands it. They both love him, and recognise his extraordinariness, there is momentary compassion. After Polly has given the ultimatum - I run the business of the heart in this family and I will never accept you and if you’re not gone tomorrow I’ll shoot you (or something very similar, I’m rusty) - Grace also gets to deliver the final barb, and she’s right too when she tells Polly of her fear of losing him. Anyway, we learn quite a bit about Grace, and a bit about Tommy during this exchange (how many people have lost their minds to the line “He used to laugh. A lot.”? At least 98% of the fandom at last count). It is the ideal template for a parallel conversation in a different tone several years later - Gray and Shelby, hatpins at the ready, interpreting our dear protagonist and love and fear and loathing. Instead there was a suggestion that Polly has really let fly at Grace (“Tommy’s orders, no upsets tonight”), Grace’s handy expository monologue about the Russian business, her cheap shot about the power of her vagina to suck information out of him (“We were late coming down because we were having sex and then he told me everything”), and Polly trying to one-up her by telling her the final piece of the puzzle before the smug “remember I used to do this for a living.” Like the conversation in the first series, it’s about power (and don’t get me wrong I love that there are two female characters in this kind of dynamic) but that’s its limit, and that disappoints me because the characters have things in common (like, being desired by and shooting Campbell for example; wanting what is good for the family; actually knowing what it is to love Tommy and what a complicated business indeed that is; knowing how it is to work in a ‘man’s world’) that are richer and more interesting than their differences, yet it’s the differences that were emphasised.

AND ANOTHER THING. I’m not done with Polly yet. She is the emotion to Arthur’s lustful understanding. She ‘gets’ love: “Polly is never wrong about matters of the heart.” It is one of the first series’ most delightful twists that Polly, after chasing Grace out of town, gives Tommy the news that it was ‘for real,’ Grace did indeed love him. Perhaps this is cold comfort. Perhaps it is Polly’s way of telling him that his intuition wasn’t broken. And yet it is also Polly who tells Grace he might forgive her, giving hope she never imagined to have. Despite her threat in 1919, Polly is absolutely up to her neck in responsibility for allowing them to happen at all - I’m surprised Tommy hasn’t called a horse Polly’s Gift tbh - and I hoped S3 would acknowledge if not celebrate that fact. But it’s like SK only remembered the hatred and hardness. Beyond that, there’s this lowkey implication that Polly’s dislike for Grace colours her response to her death. Of all the characters, excepting Ada, Polly is the one who should have mined Tommy’s grief for the audience. But apparently Tatiana looks a little like Edna Purviance (Chaplin’s leading lady, you know?) to John and when you grieve you make bad choices. I mean. That’s it? Yep. That’s it. I know Tommy basically turned inwards and hardened his carapace to avoid descending completely into madness, but it is Polly’s job as a character to connect with emotion and empathise with grief, but she didn’t at all and it’s a bit baffling. Tommy is left wondering at the end of the series whether the family is worth all his effort, and Polly’s distance, brought on by her own romantic sub-plot and coolness towards Tommy’s chosen other half, is definitely part of that. But it feels cheap and thin when it could have been rich and gravy. (Just to clarify, while Tommy was definitely in no mood for a heart-to-heart she could still have been the audience’s anchor to the emotion in other ways, other conversations, actions. Polly doesn’t even mention Grace Shelby at the opening of the Institute bearing her name.)

OK, Ada. In my head, before the series began, I imagined Ada and Grace as warily respectful of each other and actually able to connect quite well. The biggest fly in their ointment is Grace’s responsibility for Freddie’s arrest in 1.04. But because it has never been mentioned since I’m not sure how it all fell; I’m also not convinced Ada wound up in a good place with Freddie before ‘pestilence’ took him so maybe that would colour her opinion too. They probably don’t see each other that much because Ada’s still largely committed to her cause in S3. Of all the characters, they are probably closest in terms of how they see Tommy - with hope and kindness (remember the way they both point out to him that he is loved on Derby Day?) - and, of all the characters, they are the two with reason to think this way. I wish I had heard a conversation between them because, like Polly’s, it could have been insightful.

Oh god and Lizzie and Tommy. I really dislike it. I really do. But it does seem to be endgame. I just consume vast quantities of whiskey before every episode now to deal with the pain. xx

*I have to point out that I’m not sure Grace exactly thinks the people of Small Heath are ‘scum,’ and also that Tommy sees himself as above them as well. Also while they are both loners, Grace is a loner in exile.

[iamkatehardy]

Unlikely Allies (Tommy Shelby x Reader | Alfie Solomons x Reader)

A/N: First time writing for Peaky Blinders, please have mercy 😂 This will be a multi-chapter work; the chapters won’t be long and won’t be many, though. For those of you who haven’t finish the series, there might be some spoilers in the next chapters, but I had to connect the story to the original plot somehow 😘😘

This is a sort of introduction, in the next chapters I’ll explore more the relationship with Thomas and Alfie.

Let me know what you think! ❤️❤️❤️

Warnings: Violence; Swearing

Chapter 1

1921

You had never thought you’d return to Small Heath, but the good son always comes home. Despite the strong ties between you and the Shelby family, it was purely business that bough you back, at least at first.

It wasn’t the place you once knew anymore, and from what you had heard you probably wouldn’t find the same people you used to know either. Sometimes big changes are inevitable, and you too weren’t the fragile naïve girl who had left the city some years back. New York changed you, your arranged marriage and widowhood changed you, to sum up, the hardness of your life changed you.

Everyone in Birmingham knew the Shelby family, it wouldn’t be hard to find them; all you had to do was ask their whereabouts to whichever living soul in Small Heath, and you did.

Walking to the office where the bookmaking was taking place, you wondered. Would you find the same Tommy you once knew or a complete stranger? Although you knew what the strongest possibility was, you refused to believe he could put your past behind his back and act ruthlessly, just like he did with most people these days.

Entering the building, you came across Polly, the only familiar face you immediately spotted in that place. Hearing your confident steps, her gaze lifted from the papers in her desk to you; putting her cigarette out, she got up, coming closer, and inspecting you with her keen eye. Your features were the same as the little girl she used to sing lullabies to, one that she saw growing and become a fine lady.

“(Y/N)?” – Her face lit up when she recognized the woman standing in front of her. – “My goodness, just look at you!”

“Polly Gray, look at you! It’s like not a single day has gone by since I last saw you!” – You hugged her tightly.

“I’ve heard life has been good to you, so what brings you back to Small Heath , love?”

“Well, it hasn’t been that good…” – Taking a deep breath, you bit your lower lip. – “Business. It was business that brought me here.”

“Come on, back in the day you didn’t need those excuses to see Tommy (Y/N).” – She smirked.

“That was before I left. Look, I’d be lying if I said my heart isn’t racing… It’s still hard to remain indifferent. But I know the Tommy I’m about to meet probably isn’t my Tommy anymore. So I’ll just focus on business.” – Your lips curved into a sincere smile.

“He’ll be here at any minute, you can wait for him in his office” – Taking your hands on hers, she smiled back.

“Thank you, Pol.” – With the same smile you followed her to the office.

You sat down in his chairs, restless; seconds looked like hours in that moment. The sound of the door knob made your heart flutter even more. There he was, Tommy Fucking Shelby, in all his glory. He held his head up high; and not only it highlighted his heavenly features, but also his power and confidence. When he laid his eyes on you, you could swear that for a split second you saw the old Tommy, your Tommy.

“(Y/N).” – He was awestruck when he saw you.

“Tommy…” – You got up, smiling radiantly, not only with your lips, but also with your eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

He was unreadable now. Was his surprise good or bad? You couldn’t tell the difference anymore, so you just heavily sighed.

Coming closer, he wrapped his arms around you; there, in his arms, it was the only moment Small Heath really felt like home again. Although his words weren’t clear, his eyes were; he didn’t look at you like he used to. It was bold of you to assume he would, after so many years. When reality hit you, you felt your heart breaking into a million pieces, just like shattered glass; but you wouldn’t let it get to you, you were there for business.

“I…” – Tommy noticed your voice cracked, and lifted your chin with his fingers. You offered him a smile and kept on talking. – “I came here because I have a business proposal for you.”

“And what proposal would that be?”

“I’ve heard you’re trying to expand the business. I want to help you with that, but I need a small favor in return.”

Tommy sat down, muffling a laugh and lighting a cigarette.

“Of course you do… You seem to know a lot about my business, but here’s what I know: you married a powerful Italian, so this probably has something to do with Sabini’s club or something like that, right?”

“No. My late husband had a hard time trusting Sicilians, in fact he hated them, and so do I. I put up with them only because of the agreements between families. You can keep Eden’s Club, I couldn’t care less. In fact, I’m glad you’re fucking Sabini, once I can’t do it myself.”

“So, if it’s not about the Sicilians…”

“I’ll go straight to the point, Tommy. I know you smuggle beverages… You do that on a small scale, for pubs…”

“Will you use that information to blackmail me? Is that why you’re here?”

“No. You know about the Prohibition in the US, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“My family sees that as a great business opportunity… And so could you. I’m here to offer you a fair share in that business, and believe me; we’re talking about a lot of money. Your influence here, our influence there… Your booze, combined with our distribution… We could do something great, I’m sure.”

“You’re insane, that’s all I have to say.”

“And so are you, Thomas Shelby. That’s why I’m here.”

“And that small favor you wanted in return, what would that be?” - He smiled, considering your offer.

“I’ve heard your disputes with Sabini were originated not only by your interests, but also because you have a coalition with a Jewish gangster. A Jewish gangster who owns a fucking distillery. All I’m asking you, is your help   to set up a meeting with him.”

“Alfie Solomons is  a mad dog, (Y/N).”

“Well, then I’ll put him on a leash, and make a deal with him. I don’t intend to go back to New York without your whiskey and Solomons’s rum.”

“If I know you, you won’t give up, will you?” – He rubbed his hands together.

“Never. Set up that meeting and call me.” – You smirked and delivered him a piece of paper, with information on how to contact you.

Some days after, Tommy made contact with you. He reluctantly set a meeting between you and Alfie, and offered to go with you; you simply declined his offer and left, heading to Camden Town. Tommy warned you about Alfie; he was violent, vicious and unpredictable, but you wouldn’t let that stop you.

In the bakery, all eyes were on you. Alfie’s thirsty henchmen weren’t used to have women around, let alone an attractive one like you. When you asked where Alfie’s office was, they couldn’t even tell you without stuttering; your confidence and charm were both appealing and intimidating.

You thought Alfie would be expecting you, so you didn’t even knock. His eyes were glued to paperwork, he didn’t even see you at first, just heard the steps.

“What brings you here must be really important, aye. You danced with the Devil, just for him to set up this meeting … You don’t even fucking bother to knock, mate.” – He pressed his lips together and adjusted his glasses, still lost in paperwork.

“Mr. Solomons, I believe you’ve been misinformed, between me and Mr. Shelby it’s definitely not me who’s dancing with the Devil.. And I didn’t knock because I figured you’d be waiting for me, but it looks like I was wrong, so I’m sorry.”

Hearing a female voice, his eyes darted to you, letting his pen down and the paperwork aside. Tommy told him about a business associate, what he didn’t tell Alfie was that his associate was a woman; and what a woman… You were a sight for his sore eyes. Your smooth hair fell lightly around your face, framing it perfectly, and your soul shined through your fiery eyes.  His gaze immediately dropped to your lips, which seemed so soft, yet able to enslave any man for a lifetime. A million different thoughts crossed his mind in that moment, but he battled all of them; he let suspicion wash over him once again.

“You work for Tommy Shelby, innit? Then you can tell him from me, aye, that if he wants something he must come to face me like a man, instead of sending some missus as his fucking figurehead, a’ight sweetheart?”

“I don’t work for Tommy, and I don’t work for anyone, Mr. Solomons. At most, we can say I work with him. But I didn’t come here to talk about him. I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N), but you can call me simply (Y/N).” – You offered him your hand, hoping he’d shake it, after you sat down.

“I only shake hands to seal good deals, love. I’m sorry.”

“Then I hope we’ll be shaking hands by the end of this meeting.” – You smirked.

You started to explain your plans to Alfie, at least the part of wanting to buy large amounts rum, but not that you’d export him to the US, or he’d want his share. He was mistrustful as always, thinking that was only a trap conceived by Tommy to double-cross him. He was almost convinced, but when he was about to shake your hand, he noticed the ring on your pinky finger; it was adorned by a constellation of precious gems. That was when he went mad and aimed a gun at your head. You kept impassive.

“I thought you were with the gypos, but it’s worse than that! You’re with Sabini, right?  You must have lost your mind to come here on their behalf!”

“Why do you people think all the Italians, or their associates, are birds of a feather?! I despise Sabini as much as you do.”

“Shut up or I swear I’ll blow your brains out.” – He said dryly.

Rolling your eyes, you slid the fabric of your black dress, just enough to reveal the smooth skin of your chest, and a hint of your scarlet underwear.

“Mr. Solomons, If I really was with Sabini and wanted you dead, you’d be fucking dead already, and I wouldn’t bother coming to this bloody shithole for that, aye? I just wanted your rum, and it’s ok if you don’t want to make a deal with me, because I bet I can find much better, anyway. Now, please, if you’re no fucking idea who you’re aiming at, and will actually shoot me, for fuck’s sake, do it once for all. And not in the head, it’s fucking messy, mate. So, please, do it fast and straight through my heart.”

You were gutsy, maybe a little too gutsy, and it really annoyed Alfie, but it amazed him as well. He slammed his hand on the table.

“Just fuck off. NOW. If you don’t, I’m going to fucking shoot you. It would be a shame to kill such a beautiful woman.”

You exhaled angrily, getting up.

“We’ll meet again Alfred Solomons, we’ll meet again.” – You said, pointing your finger at him furiously, before storming out of the bakery.

Tommy didn’t listen to you, you found him waiting for you outside the bakery.

“What are you doing here? I told you not to come…” – Sighing heavily, you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“Are you ok, (Y/N)?” – He said, rubbing your shoulder gently.

“He put a gun in my fucking face! He thinks I’m with the Sicilians or something like that.”

“Did he hurt you?! I’ll kill him, I swear.” – Tommy’s hand nervously slid on his hair.

“No. But how dare he?!” – You weren’t hurt or scared, just furious, as he had never seen before.´

He cupped your cheek on his hands and smiled; proud of the strong woman you had become in all these years he hadn’t been with you.

“Come, love. Let’s forget Alfie now, ok?”

“I won’t. I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t fucking forget.”

Alfie haunted your thoughts for the following weeks, day and night, and you haunted his. Was it about business and revenge, or were you under each other’s spell?

[ronniesqueen]

A Journey To Find True Love

We start off with Archie as the bachelor, Ronnie is in his season. The story progresses, and she becomes the next bachelorette after he finishes his season. Both of them go on their journey to find true love.

I will be writing this AU in the form of a tv show. Since, we all know that “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” are reality tv shows.

Previously on “The Bachelor”

 Archie and Cheryl had their first one-on-one date

 He took her shopping and bought her everything she wanted

 And the rest of the girls DEFINITELY had an opinion about it.

 Especially Valerie, who grew frustrated with Archie for showing the other girls more attention than her

 Betty and Archie have an intimate conversation where she opens up about her home life

 Cheryl and Archie have an intimate conversation too, where Cheryl opened up about Jason’s death

 Cheryl and Valerie have some animosity between them after Valerie discovers Cheryl getting more time with Archie

 Archie sends Ethel and Valerie home at the rose ceremony, knowing he has deeper feelings for the other women.

 Ethel had no hard feelings whatsoever, and she wished Archie the best as they parted ways

 Valerie, on the other hand, called him out on making “easier choices” with the other women. 

 She also told him to not get distracted by the “shiny objects”

 Leaving everyone shook.

 Ronnie, Josie, Betty, and Cheryl remain.

 Archie is meeting their families this week!!!!

 Who will win Archie’s final rose?

 Okay. Without further ado,

 Buckle up, buckaroos!!!

Week Four. 

Barchie’s Hometown Date

(setting: Confessional Booth)

             Archie grinned as he buttoned up his shirt. “Tonight, I’m over the moon excited to see Betty. I’m meeting her family, this is huge! And I’m extremely nervous. But all I can hope for, is for her family to see how happy we are together, and see how we make each other feel.”

            He stood up. “Oh, and I plan on asking her mom for her blessing on me proposing to Betty at the end of this. I plan to do that for the other women too. Keep things fair. But I also really want to do this right. And if any of the parents don’t give me their approval...well, that’s going to feel very discouraging.”

(setting: Betty’s bedroom.)

            “How do you feel?” Kevin asked, lying down on Betty’s bed as she was doing her makeup. 

           “I’m excited,” Betty said, applying her mascara. “But I’m also nervous. My mom still doesn’t really understand this whole process.”

          “Aww. How do you think your relationship with Archie is right now?”

         “I think we definitely have a strong connection. And it just gets better and better every time we’re together,” she said. She turned around to face Kevin. “Last night, he told me I reminded him of home.”

          Kevin gasped. “Okay Archie is completely head over heels for you,” he said. “When someone thinks of home, they think of their safe place. You’re probably Archie’s safe place, Betty. That’s a good thing! It means he probably really trusts you.”

         Betty blushed. “I do trust him. And...I do see a future.”

        (setting: The rooftop of Riverdale High.)

              Betty was standing on top of the roof at Riverdale, as requested from Archie, via text message.

           All of a sudden, there was a abrupt gust of wind.

           Betty looked up, to see a helicopter coming towards her. As the helicopter landed on the rooftop beside her, the door opened. Archie got out of the helicopter, and she immediately ran to him.

           “What the heck?” she laughed as she hugged him. 

           “I told some of the producers that I wanted to make this date really special. So, Chris hooked me up,” Archie explained, beaming at her.

         “This is insane,” she continued laughing.

         He took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

(setting: Confessional Booth)

          “Archie blew me away. Literally,” Betty laughed. “I can’t get over it. I can’t stop smiling! Oh my gosh.”

          She put her hands on her cheeks. “The fact that he went out of his way to make this big romantic gesture for me. I’m completely in awe.”

(setting: Inside the Helicopter)

                      Archie and Betty spent the last thirty minutes flying around Riverdale, viewing the city from the sky. 

         She leaned her head on his shoulder. “This is amazing.”

         “The date’s not over,” he grinned.

         “Nothing can top this,” she giggled.

         He landed the helicopter at the beach, a little further out from Riverdale. 

         “Arch, it’s completely empty.”

        “I know,” he said with a wink.

        “You did this?” she asked, completely shook.

        “I told the producers I wanted us to have this moment to ourselves.”

        They exited the helicopter and made their way to the beach.

(setting: Beach at sunset)

             After playing in the water together for quite a while, Archie and Betty sat down for a glass of wine where Archie had set up for them. 

            “Today has been an absolute dream,” Archie said. 

           “It really has. Thank you,” she said, smiling.

          “No, thank you” he said. He paused. “So, I have to ask. Are there any tips you could give me for how to impress your family?”

         She laughed. “Just be yourself. My mom is pretty good at spotting someone for bad intentions, and she’s done that in the past. So, I’m not worried about what she’ll think of you,” Betty said, taking his hand.

         “I love that you have faith in me,” Archie said. “It really means a lot. Especially now, that I’m nervous as hell,” he laughed.

         She smiled, and looked down.

         “Something on your mind?” he asked.

         “I want to ask you this. And I’m really scared to know the answer. But,” she began. “Where do you this relationship going?”

         He smiled, and kissed her. “I can see myself with you at the end of this. I can see this being, a regular Friday night. Relaxing from a crazy week at work, sending our kids to my dad’s for the night so we can have time to ourselves. I see a future with us.”

          She blushed. “I know you want an engagement at the end of this, that’s why you chose to be the bachelor and to find true love. And Archie, I want you to know that I’m absolutely ready for that. I see a future with us. I want to get married, start a family.”

         Archie’s smile grew wider as she spoke.

        “And I-” she continued, then stopped herself.

       “What is it?”

       “I don’t know,” she said bashfully.

      He took her hand. “You can say anything you feel right now, Betty. You remind me of home because you just always give a comfort in knowing that I can trust you. You’re my safe place. And I want to be yours too, if you let me.”

        She took a deep breath. “What I was going to say, was...”

        She paused. “Well, what I WANT to say is..”

            “I’m falling in love with you,” she finished.

           He kissed her passionately. “I know that I’m falling in love with you, Betty.”

(setting: Cooper Household)

           Archie and Betty stood on the front lawn. 

          “You ready?” she playfully asked him.

         “I was born ready,” he laughed.

         He took a deep breath, feeling the nerves hitting him.

         She took his hand, and looked in his eyes. “I’m here.”

        He kissed her. “That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

        She giggled. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”

        She used her keys to open the door.

        “Betty!” Alice cheered, running towards her and hugging her. “I’ve missed you so much!”

         “I missed you too mom.”

        “Polly! They’re here!” Alice called out.

        Polly entered the room, with the stroller, with her twins.

        “Oh my goodness!” Betty squealed. “They’ve gotten so big!”

       Polly hugged her. “Missed you so much.”

      “Missed you too Polly.”

      Betty smiled. “Mom, Polly, this is Archie.”

     “Hello Mrs. Cooper, hey Polly,” he said, shaking their hands.

     “Hey Archie! So great to finally meet you,” Polly said.

     “Hello Archie,” Alice began. “I assume you’ve been treating my Betty with the utmost respect.”

     Archie grinned at Betty. “I like to think I have.”

     Betty blushed. “He’s been absolute gem through all of this, Mom.”

     “Are you still dating the other women?” Alice abruptly asked.

    “Uhh…” Archie stuttered, taken aback.

   “Mom!” Betty began.

    “Well I’m sorry Elizabeth but this process is very new to me. And very strange, if I might add,” Alice continued.

     “Archie do you mind giving us a minute?” Poly asked politely.

     “Of course, take all the time you need,” Archie said.

    The three Cooper women left the room to go talk in the backyard.

     They sat down on the grass.

     “So, now that it’s just us. What’s really been going on?” Polly asked.

     “Honestly,” Betty began. “It’s been amazing. Archie and I have been connecting, and-” she paused. “I really see a lot of potential there.”

      “You don’t actually see a FUTURE with this boy do you?” Alice asked.

     “Do you?” Polly asked.

    Betty took a deep breath. “You two are the most important people in my life. Do you really think I’d be bringing someone home to meet you, if I didn’t feel confident in my feelings for him?”

     Polly smiled. “So, I guess that means...”

    “You want to be engaged,” Alice stated.

   “I do,” Betty said with confidence.

   “Elizabeth,” Alice began, softening her expression. “You need to be realistic. I’m not saying this to hurt you or rain on your love parade. You’ve known each other for 4 weeks. And he’s still seeing other women. Relationships don’t work like that. An engagement doesn’t work like that. A marriage isn’t something you just microwave into.”

    Polly chuckled. “Microwave?”

    Alice ignored her. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” she asked Betty.

    Betty smiled. “I do, mom. I completely understand where you’re coming from. And I’ve taken that into account before even coming on this show. I knew he was going to be weighing his options, because he is at a point in his life where he wants to settle down and start a family. He is. And I know this isn't...a normal way to do it. But, I feel really good about this. And I would really appreciate your support if he does choose me at the end of this.”

    Alice smiled back. “You definitely have seen this from all angles, I admire that. I respect that. I just really don’t want to see you hurt if he chooses someone else.”

     “It’ll hurt for a while but in the long run, I’ll be happy. Cause I do care for him enough to wish that for him, even if it means he’s not with me.”

    “I’ve raised such a strong, smart, kind girl.”

    The three women hugged.

(setting: Living room)

       “Hello Archie, want to chat with me for a bit?” Alice asked, sitting down beside him.

     “Of course, Mrs. Cooper.”

     She folded her hands. “So, what exactly are your intentions with my Betty?”

     Archie’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard her name. “I intend to make her happy as long as I can.”

      “She has expressed to me that she feels confident in your relationship with her. Do you feel the same way?”

      “I do,” Archie said. “I told Betty that she reminds me of home. She gives me a comfort, a reassurance that everything is going to be fine. She’s my safe place. I trust her more than I knew I could trust anyone.”

      Alice narrowed her eyes. “How do you feel about the chemistry?”

        “The chemistry has been there since night one, since she stepped out of the limo with her little box of butterflies,” Archie blushed at the memory. “Every moment with her leaves me wanting to know more about her. She is someone that...really puts a light in my heart that I just don’t want it to fade out.”

      Alice smiled.

          “Mrs. Cooper,” he continued. “If I would be so lucky...would you do me the honor of-”

         “My blessing?” she interrupted.

         Archie nodded.

        She rubbed his shoulder. “I saw the way you looked at her. And right now, listening to you talk about her... it doesn’t feel like you’re just trying to suck up to me. No. This feels genuine. You’re a good man, Archie. And with that,” she said, smiling. “You have my blessing to propose to my Elizabeth.”

(setting: Outside the front porch)

             The limo arrived, ready to pick up Archie for his next hometown date. He and Betty kissed for a while, enjoying the moment.

             “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Betty began.

            Archie raised one eyebrow.

          “Okay, I did try to. But anyway. I’m so happy my mom actually gave you her blessing. Did you mean all those things you said?”

          “I absolutely did. I wouldn’t have asked her if I didn’t see myself getting down on one knee and asking you to be my wife.”

            She giggled.

       He turned around. “There’s my ride.”

          “I’ll see you soon.”

              “I’ll find you.”

     Archie got inside the limo, and Betty watched as the limo drove away.

          --------------------END CREDITS--------------