#but I’m guessing Shelby was going biologically

[12u3ie]

has no one but me realized that the egg dragon baby is a boy, and the ender dragon is always a girl

[themultifandomgal]

Tommy Shelby- No More Secrets

This one was requested weeks ago before I was on holiday. I’ve finally gotten round to writing it so here it is! I’m not sure how I feel about this one but I hope you still enjoy.

Disclaimer this does not follow the time line of the tv show at all. The Shelby’s still work at the betting shop and everyone is alive.

I close my mother’s diary and place it in my bag before knocking on the door of the betting shop. Small Heath, my birth place, but mother quickly moved away after I was born. For years she told everyone around her that my father died during the war, that is until she was lying in her bed sick with cancer. The last thing she told me was my father’s name. Thomas Shelby.

Pulling me out of my thoughts the door opens revealing a woman with dark brown hair

“Yes?”

“Hi errm my name is YN I’m…”

“Finally you’re here. We’re over run. Come on” the woman turns around and begins walking towards some huge doors. I follow the woman closely after closing the front door behind me. I’m hit by the noise of shouting as soon as the large doors open “you will be doing the books, counting the money and taking bets. Here is your desk. Have you got any questions?”

“Is Thomas Shelby around?” I ask placing my bag on my desk

“He’s in his office. I’m guessing you’ve heard about him, don’t worry. As long as you do as he asks and leave him be, you’ll get on just fine. Right you’ve got yesterday’s bookings in here. Add them up and count the money. Lunch is 1pm. I’ll come by later to see how your getting on”

The day moves quickly and I manage to get everything done. I learnt the names of everyone at the betting shop, but I’m yet to meet Thomas, my biological father. Everyone else had left, leaving me alone. I collect my things from my desk and look back at his office, he’s not stepped out once. Sighing I place my bag on my shoulder and turn to leave when I hear his office door open and a lot of muttering. Something about how no one can do their job correctly and he’s missing over £100. Frowning I pick up the betting book and take a look at previous days and notice that a John Shelby counted up the bets wrong

“Excuse me, but the bets were counted incorrectly”

“Bloody hell. Who counted them?”

“John Shelby”

“Fuck. I’ll knew I shouldn’t have let him leave school” he groans rubbing his hands over his face “can you go through all of the books?”

“Erm sure, I might need a couple of days to sort it though”

“That’s fine. Now go home it’s getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Before I go I need to speak to you”

“I’ve got to get home to my wife and son, I’ll see you tomorrow” and with that I watch as he leaves me alone.

As I walk through the street all I can think about is the fact he said he has a wife and son. I wonder how old he is? Will he be the same age as me? Is that why mum never told him about me? Before I know it I’m at my temporary home, it’s not a house it’s a flat, but it suits me for now.

The following morning I arrive at the betting shops early. Once again I’ve got my mums diary in my bag and I’ve decided that today is the day I speak to Thomas about him being my father, even if I have to burst through his office door and…

“YN” he rough voice pulls me out of my thoughts “I have some time now if you wanted to have that conversation”

“That erm that would be great” I pick my bag up and follow Thomas into his office. He nods towards a chair letting me know I can take a seat

“So what did you want to speak to me about?”

“Erm I wanted to ask you about a woman named Nelly YLN” that sound of that name makes him tense up

“What about her?”

“Well she was my mother and I believe you are my biological father”

“What makes you think that?” Thomas raises his eyebrows at me looking unconvinced. I pull out mums diary from my bag and place it in front of us

“This was her diary. I found it after cleaning out her house after she died. She also told me before she passed your name. I had no idea about you until 4 months ago”

“Wait so you’re telling me that Nelly was pregnant and didn’t tell me?” I just nod at him “is this a joke? Are you here for money?”

“What no” my eyes widen at the accusation “for my whole life I believe my father to have died in the war, but then I learn that he didn’t and my mum left him because he never replied to her letters. She told you she was pregnant, but you never replied so she left. I just want to know why. I don’t want any more secrets, I just want to understand why my father didn’t want me”

“Can I?” Thomas motions towards mothers diary

“Sure” I nod feeling mixed emotions. Thomas opens up the book and takes a looks. He reads a few diary entries

“Shit. I never received any letters, if I had I would have written back. I would have been in your life. I would have done what’s right” Thomas hands me the diary back and I put it bag in my bag. A knock on the door makes Thomas stand up “come in” Polly walks in

“We’re about to open. I need YN to go to her desk”

“We will continue this later”

“You still want me to work?” I ask frowning

“Well this is a family business, and since you are family. I’ll speak to you later”

“Thank you” I quickly leave his office and head to my desk ready to start another day of counting money and hopefully help to build this business up even more.

[smcc212]

Masterlist

Peaky blinders

A Secret Unfolds -(female reader)You love and Tommy and he loves you, sometimes love just needs a little push.

Coming out- part 1 -(female reader)you’re Finn’s twin and you’re a lesbian, how does your family react?

Part 2

Part 3

You Can’t Change Want You Want - (female reader)You’re closest to your brother Tommy, but when he starts going to London more you get suspicious. You certainly weren’t expecting what you found.

My Eyes Only-(female reader) you’re a stripper, you love your job. One person that doesn’t love your job however is your best friend Thomas Shelby.

Forbidden Tryst - (male reader) You’re dating Finn Shelby, his brothers find out. How do they react?

A Happy Mistake -(female reader) You’re boyfriend, Finn gets you pregnant, what now?

Back To The Beginning -(female reader) You had to leave during the war, and come to Tommy and Grace being together. But Tommy’s feeling for you never left, what does he do?

In Debt Again part 1 -(female reader) you’re father has a lot of debt with the Shelby’s so you go to try and help. When the Shelby’s see the bruises and cuts your father left on you, they step in and help.

Part 2 -You move in with Tommy, it’s time to get to know him.

Part 3 -You finally start to feel safe, but for how long?

Part 4 - Tommy decides to spend the day with you.

Part 5 - You can’t stay lucky forever...

Part 6 - Your hell, his happiness...

Painless -Tommy’s son, Liam, has CIP/CIPA(he cant feel pain), it’s hard for Tommy to deal with, but it’s harder for his boy.

Softer - A fluffy sequel to “Painless”.

Fearless -(Male OC) Another part to the “Painless”. Learning about how Tommy’s coping, and learning a little bit more about Liam.

Not So Secret After All -(male reader)Tommy’s son is gay and dating Isiah. What happens when Tommy walks in on the two?

You’re Not Bi Yourself -Finn’s bisexual and dating Isiah, what happens when Tommy catches them and bring it up at a family meeting?

Winter Wonderland-(female reader)Your brothers have pushed you away and they made your boyfriend leave you; you’re all alone. You needed something to fill the void, but things go badly.

My Daily -(female reader)You worked for Tommy, now you’re in a relationship with him. But his family are convinced you’re a gold digger. Tommy get sick of his family and takes you and Charlie away for a few days.

Part 2 -(female reader)

Uncommon, Yet Perfect -(female reader) You, Bonnie and Isiah had been together for a year when you find out you’re pregnant. How will your families react? Who’s the father?

Normal-(male reader) After being kicked out and disowned by his parents (Y/N) gets a job working for the peaky blinders. However, after trying to drink away his problems, he comes out to Arthur Shelby, what happens next?

Part 2

Still Your Son -(Male reader) John Shelby’s son, (Y/N), is dating Bonnie Gold. He decides it’s time to tell his father, but how will he react?

Is It Hot In Here? -(female reader) You and Finn are together, but he’s been staying at the office a lot and worry about why he’s there...

Dommy! Tommy - I’ve got back to my roots and written some pure pornography... ENJOY!!!

Hope To Hunter -(ftm reader) Hunter has been lying his full life. To his family, his friends, and himself. Finally, he decides to come clean. He can’t keep being someone he’s not.

Hunting Happiness-(ftm reader) Hunter’s family have accepted him... well... most of them have, one of them had a problem with who he is. WARNING- transphobia.

Negan(The walking dead)-all my Negan fics have a (biologically)female reader- but I’ll write for Negan, with any gender(e.g. male, female, non-binary,) on request.

Negan x suicidal!reader- (Y/N) struggles with mental health issues and is dating Negan. Negan has many wives and that makes (Y/N) feel he doesn’t need her. She tries to take her own life; how will Negan react?

Negan Drabble - (Y/N) made Negan angry; he believes he has to punish her.

Negan x PTSD!reader- (Y/N) was attacked by a group of men before she met Negan which caused her to develop PTSD. She doesn’t tell anyone and is put in a situation that makes her... freak out... Negan helps her.

Why the fuck do I need a title? - Pure smut. Porn, that’s it. (Yeah... I couldn’t think of a title... 😂)

The Wolf At The Door - It gets too much; life it’s too much. You try to end it, but Negan saves you. He does his best to make you feel better; he wants to make you happy.

Forbidden Lovers- You and Negan have been secretly dating for years. The whisperers are here; Negan is called to help... What’s going to happen??

Part 2

(I forget about this series... should I continue it??)

Lil’ Negan smut - More complete porn...

Lucky Dog- This. Is. Pure. Filth.

(I’m starting to notice a running theme here...)

Dirty Affair - you- you already know what this is right... Porn... that’s all.

Attention - I not gonna say what it is... you know already...

Don’t Give Up On Me - Shit gets too much for you to deal with and you try to find a way out; Negan blocks the exist.

Reunited - (Y/N) and Negan were been together before he found the sanctuary. Judith brings (Y/N) to Alexandria where she finds the man she loves; and he finds her.

Who You Really Are - back on my bullshit... it’s porn...

A Big Secret- F.I.L.T.H.... but with a twist at the end...

I Must Be Dreaming - porn...

The Leaders Daughter- You and Negan have been sleeping together for a while... and you’re the daughter of Rick Grimes...

True Loves First Fuck - can you guess what this is?? Did you guess smut? If so,,, you’re right!

Run Aways - There’s been something between Negan and (Y/N) for awhile, sometimes it takes fleeing to fully explore all that’s hidden.

Just a little love - You and Daryl have hardships, someone helps comfort you... however, someone else sees....

Part 2

For The Love Of You - You have a tough day and Negan is there for to try and lift your spirits.

(I’ll add the rest of my Negan fics later... I’m tired and drunk, right now-well, as I write this-)

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Field of Poppies Part 27

Summary: After being apart for six years, childhood friends Tommy and Amelia reunite under odd circumstances. Tommy is an outspoken young man and Amelia is pregnant and out on the streets. The bond of family can be unbreakable but it is tested often. Especially when Europe descends into war.

Part 27: Someone from Amelia's past returns and causes a stir. Tommy begins to make himself known to people even in London

TW: Discussion of past rape/assault

It was a startling cold fall. Amelia felt the chill in her bones and she couldn’t entirely blame it on the weather. Tommy had successfully distanced himself from her and she was feeling the effects deep in her heart. The man she had married was gone. It was something that she forced herself to reckon with.

There was another thing she had to reckon with come October when a chill was starting to form in the air.

Luckily, it was Martha who intercepted him before he came into the betting shop. What was even luckier was Arthur and Tommy were gone on business in London.

She came over to find Amelia helping out with the books for the day. “Mel, there’s a man at the window asking for you.”

“Who is it?” She hardly looked up from the ledger, too consumed with work. It had become one of two outlets she had. Working in the shop and tending to the children.

The pregnant woman shrugged. “Said he knew you. Said he came from London.”

That caused to Amelia lift her head. There were few people she knew from London who knew she was in Birmingham. “Was he older?” She feared maybe her mother had disclosed her location to her father.

“No, ‘bout your age I’d guess.”

That made Amelia even sicker to her stomach. “Thanks, Marty, I’ll handle it.” She stood up and went to the window.

Martha, sensing her sister-in-law’s uneasiness, followed close behind just in case.

Steven was the son of a wealthy banker and a socialite. He’d known nothing but luxury and excess. Rarely did people deny him.

As much as Amelia hated to admit it, Max did resemble him in a way. They had the same hazelnut-colored eyes and light brown hair. But she had blocked out most of that. She could separate her son from the monster who took advantage of her.

“Leave.” She snarled.

“Amelia, please if you just let me…”

“Let you what? Huh? You don’t deserve a second to explain anything.” She gripped the doorjamb, trying to maintain her composure.

“I’ve just come back from France. I did a lot of thinking over there. Your mother sent me a letter about seeing you. About what she found out.”

“She should’ve kept her mouth shut.” Amelia interrupted. “She had no right to tell you anything.”

“No right? How dare you not tell me about the pregnancy? I have an eight-year-old-”

Martha caught Amelia before she could lunge at the man.

“You have nothing!” She shouted. “You have no right to claim him as your own. Neither do my parents. You keep him out of your thoughts because you’ll never have anything to do with him. I’ll die before I let you near him.”

Undeterred by Amelia’s ferocious state, Steven continued. “I have every right as his father. You’ll have trouble if you keep him from me, Amelia!”

“You’re not his fucking father!”

“John!” Martha shouted back into the shop for her husband. She was having a difficult time reining Amelia in.

“He’ll know nothing of you. And you’ll never know him. You won’t even know his name. You go back to London and you never come back here again, do you hear me?”

John rushed over and separated everyone. He put himself between the two women and Steven. “Who’re you shouting at, mate?” He demanded.

“This isn’t any of your business.” Steven didn’t balk at the fresh-faced man stepping in.

“It is my fucking business. This is the Shelby shop and those women are Shelbys.”

“Typical. She returns to the slums and ends up with the likes of you.” He scoffed.

John’s eyes narrowed. It wouldn’t be wise to cut the man in front of other customers in broad daylight, even if he wanted to. “You stay here much longer and you’ll be sorry.”

“You must be one of the boys she ran the streets with. Did she whore herself out to you too or just the other one?”

Amelia tried to get back at him but couldn’t get past John.

“This family owns these streets. Soon enough we’ll be owning streets in London.” John threatened. “So, move along before you make things worse for yourself.”

“Do you know who the fuck I am?” Steven snapped.

“Your name don’t matter here. The only name that matters here is Shelby. And don’t fucking forget it.” He hissed. “Scudboat, get this bastard out of here.”

Amelia was shaking but Martha managed to get her to sit down. “I should’ve known. My mother has no problem going behind my back. That selfish, selfish, selfish woman.” She choked back a sob. The entire encounter had opened up old wounds.

“Deep breaths.” Martha coaxed.

“How dare he-he try to call himself a father. How dare he?” She ranted. “After everything, he did to me? He destroyed everything.”

“John’ll take care of it. He’ll call Tom and Arthur.” Martha assured her. “They’ll make sure he never comes back.”

Hot tears rolled down Amelia’s cheeks. “What if he takes Max from me?” She sobbed.

“That won’t happen.”

“His family is powerful, they have money. What if they go to the courts?”

John was leaning against the wall just in case Steven returned. “We’ve got money too, Mel.” He said gently although he was still angry too. Amelia was a sister to him and there was no way he was going to let a man speak to his sister in such a way. “He won’t be back if he knows what’s good for him.”

“John, why don’t you go try and call Tom?” Martha suggested.

He glanced out the window one more time before going into Arthur’s office to make the call.

“Will you check on Ada and the children?” Amelia asked her sister-in-law.

“Of course, you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah.”

Martha gave her a squeeze before going next door.

Amelia stood and made her way to Arthur’s office. She stood by the door so John couldn’t see her but she could hear him.

“Arthur, is Tom there?” John asked when his brother answered. There was a pause. “Tom, it’s John. Some bastard just came ‘round looking for Mel. Guess he’s Max’s well-yeah. Yeah, biological.” Another pause. “Scudboat took care of him. Well, guess he’s going back to London. That’s where Mel said he’s from. His car? Looked like an Austin. A sixty, maybe a fifty. Well, how should I know, Tom? He shouting at Mel and Martha, I didn’t ask for his fucking address.” John sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’ll see if they can catch up to him.” He hung up the phone and Amelia quickly moved away from the door.

John walked past her and called for Scudboat and a couple of other men. She watched as he handed the keys to the family car over and they left.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia didn’t hear from Tommy that night even though he planned on calling. The phone stayed silent on the hook. Martha came over to the flat to keep her company.

“Oof, I tell ya, this one is not easy.” The young woman held a hand to her lower back. “Abby and Wilbur were so easy. Thought it would be just as easy this time around.” She rubbed a hand over her stomach.

“Ask Polly for some remedy. She always knows what to do.” Amelia suggested. She was sitting on Annie’s bed across from her sister-in-law. The two were each braiding their daughter’s hair. Max was on the floor laying on his stomach as he toyed around with wooden soldiers with Wilbur.

Martha nodded. “Oh, Abby, your hair is so long.” She sighed. “I can’t believe how old you are sometimes.” She cooed and kissed her beloved daughter’s cheek.

“I’m big too, mummy, right?” Annie chirped.

“Very big.” Amelia smiled. “In a couple of years, you’ll be going to school like your brother and cousins.”

“School’s boring,” Max muttered from his spot on the carpet.

“Well, you need an education,” Amelia replied. “Someday you’ll thank us for that opportunity.”

“Finn says we don’t need school.” Wilbur piped up.

Martha and Amelia shared a guilty look. It had been such a misfortune that Finn couldn’t go to school when the boys were away at war. He had missed so much and now he felt he was old enough to decide if he went or not. Unfortunately, Tommy and the others agreed. They wanted to mold him into the next Blinder. The poor boy couldn’t even read.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to see that what we do now, although it’s hard or may not be fun, it will mean a lot to us in the future. You’ll be thankful for it, I promise.”

~~~~~~~~

Tommy returned home the next night, a day later than he originally promised. Amelia was finished tucking in the children when he came upstairs. They exchanged a kiss and Tommy put his bag on the bed.

“Are they asleep?” He asked.

“No, they’ll still be awake.” She answered.

He pecked her cheek again before going to say goodnight to Annie and Max.

While he did, Amelia began to unpack his bag and sort through the dirty and clean clothes. Inside, she found one of his white button-downs. Dried blood was splattered across the collar and sleeves.

She held the shirt in her hand for longer than she realized, just staring at the maroon-colored stains. There was no question in her mind whose blood it was.

The floor creaked behind her as Tommy returned. He saw her holding the shirt.

“Did you kill him?” She asked quietly.

“No.” He answered truthfully. “Just cut him. He won’t be around again.”

Amelia finally let go of the shirt. “What if he goes to the police?”

Tommy closed the bedroom door behind him before going to sit on the bed. “He won’t if he knows what’s good for him. He knows we won’t be in there for long. And when we come out…”

“You promised not to get nicked again.”

“What was I supposed to do?” He questioned. “He thinks he can come around her again demanding to see our son? We taught him a lesson. I’m not getting nicked for anything.”

“I don’t want you getting in trouble because of him. It’s not worth it.”

“Not worth it?” He stood up and took her hand. “You don’t think I would go to prison defending you?”

“You hardly even look at me anymore.” She whispered. “I know you’re struggling, Tom, and that’s okay. I promised I would never abandon you. But don’t abandon your family because of some crusade you think you need to take on.”

“I won’t fucking let him near my family.”

“Then focus on your family.” Amelia challenged. “Stop pushing me away!”

“This again.” Tommy rubbed a hand over his face. “Every fucking conversation leads to this, Mel.”

“Because it’s been the same for weeks. I feel like you don’t even want to be around me anymore. You used to be my world, Tommy. I would wake up in the morning and you’d always be there. Every day you would be there. You were attentive and caring and so passionate. Now I-I don’t even know if you want me anymore.”

“I can’t apologize for changing,” Tommy muttered, letting go of her hand. “I can’t apologize for being forced into war and being broken down. I’m doing me best, Amelia. I don’t know what more you can ask from me. You want the old Tommy; well, I can’t bring him back for you even if I wanted. I still love you just as much as the day you came back to Small Heath. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Neither do I.”

Tommy took a deep breath and walked back over to her. There she was, still the same quiet young woman who arrived in Small Heath broken and afraid. He felt that maybe once he got his hands on the man who broke her, he would be satisfied. Maybe she would be too. If she knew that he had forced the man to his knees, forced him to beg for his life, force him to apologize for everything he’d done.

But Tommy knew all that and he still didn’t feel at ease. Just like he didn’t feel at ease when he returned home. They could be brought away from the trauma and danger, but it still clung on without mercy.

“Do you know what cycle I go through every night?” Amelia asked quietly.

“Tell me.” He begged. There was nothing more he wanted to do but heal her pain. Just like she tried to heal his. It may have been futile efforts, all of them, but he would never stop trying. Even if he felt empty inside.

“I have nightmares every night. Nightmares that you’re leaving again. That you’ve been killed in war. That you’ve-you’ve left me for someone else.” She choked back a sob. “And every week or so I have the same nightmare I’ve had longer than any other. It just replays the night that he-that he raped me.” In almost ten years since the assault, Amelia had never said the word out loud. She could never get herself to. There was so much anguish and guilt. Her parents said it had been her own fault. Steven had claimed she wanted it too. To try and put herself at ease, she never said what he truly did to her. Until that night.

Tommy pulled her into his arms. It was true that he felt so far away from her. So far away from his children, his siblings, his aunt, his nieces and nephews. Everyone. He felt so far away from Small Heath. But that didn’t mean he was withdrawing from his duty as a father, brother, husband, nephew, all of it. He’d be there physically, if not mentally. That’s all he could do.

And he vowed to himself as he held his wife flush to his chest, if he ever saw Steven again, he would murder the man.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @biba3434

@kimmietea @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997

@tarafaithe @evelynshelby

Tag list: @shelbyblinded @hanster1998 @xxbeckybeexx-blog @fairypitou

Masterlist

PB Masterpost

[wandaluvstacos]

Chapter 24 of Book 3 is up!

Reflections is available at the $1 tier. You can read the first chapter of Book 1: Reflections of the Desperate and Dumb for free here. Here is the summary of the 3rd Book:

Justin never wanted a long-distance relationship, but when his boyfriend Thad has to return to Alabama to care for his sick grandmother, Justin gets a crash course in negotiating their intimacy from afar. No matter the hiccups, Justin is determined to make this work, even when he finds out that his best friend has been sleeping with Justin’s ex-fling and the biological father Justin hasn’t seen or heard from since he was a toddler is suddenly interested in getting to know him. Justin finds himself needing Thad more than ever during a time when Thad seems increasingly distant, making an already fragile bond even more uncertain. But when the worst happens and Thad’s life is thrown into chaos, it’s up to Justin to decide if he’s ready—and willing—to step up to the challenge.

For more info, artwork, and chapter archive, go here.

Excerpt:

“Why is everyone such a dick about me and my boyfriend?” I snapped, having one of many white trash moments as I drunkenly shouted at a man in an empty parking garage. My dad’s side of the family would be so proud. “Between you and Duncan and Rachel—”

“I don’t know who those people are. Can you please stop shouting? Christ.”

“I’m sorry, maybe if I got drunk and screamed at my ex-girlfriend on a public sidewalk, you’d find it more acceptable.”

Seth got this sour look on his face, and for a second I really thought he might punch me. Instead he headed over to the door into the building, but of course it was locked because you needed a fob to get in. He turned back to me with a “well?” kind of expression, so I walked over and opened the door. He held it for me, what a gentleman.

“Listen,” he said as we entered the narrow stairwell leading to the elevator and stairs. “I know I’ve kinda been a dick, but I am worried about you drinking at work, and while I won’t tell Shelby about it, I think you need to get help. Talk to someone, go to an AA meeting, something. I don’t want you to end up like my brother, with his shitty liver function and a bunch of broken promises.”

“I’m fine,” I insisted, then reconsidered.. “Okay, I’m not, not right now, but I just gotta figure this out. I tend to drink when things get complicated. Once I fix all of this, it’ll be good again.”

“Fix what? Your relationship?”

“Yeah.”

“How are you going to do that?”

Good question. I had no idea. “Prayer, I guess.”

“If shit is so miserable you’re being driven to drink, just break up with him, dude. No man is worth an addiction.”

I stared despondently at the floor, swallowing around a lump in my throat. “You don’t know him.”

“I don’t have to. Hey.” Seth gently put a hand on the side of my neck, and my whole body seized up. “I want what’s best for you. Okay?”

I pushed Seth’s hand away without meeting his gaze. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll, uh, call you a cab.”

[eliotquillon]

the h.i.v.e timeline

(this is going to end up massive, so sorry in advance to all my none h.i.v.e followers).

obligatory disclaimer that while i’m trying to follow canon fairly closely here, i know i might have missed some details; this is a writeup of a google doc i made immediately after my feb reread and while i have reread books 1 and 2 since then, i haven’t had the time to double check anything from dreadnought onwards. there are also canon elements that i am deliberately ignoring/reordering, and i will make it clear that i am doing so when those details come up.

part one: student ages

currently, we only have two canon ages: raven, who is thirty-one in deadlock (or thereabouts; i’m basing this off her being 16 when she tries to kill nero and that being in the 15 years ago flashback), and otto, who we know turns thirteen just before he is sent to h.i.v.e (the specific age comes from the blurb of book one). we also know that nero taught diabolus and duncan cavendish as students, and that h.i.v.e was founded in the 1960s, which seems vague but actually gives us a lot to work with; cavendish’s records being faked implies that h.i.v.e does provide public examination results for its students, and that h.i.v.e’s entry year was deliberately chosen to parallel the english private school system (which, unlike the state system, is split into pre-prep, prep, and senior), where entry to senior school coincidentally takes place at the same age of entry to h.i.v.e

when it comes to making age estimations for students during the various points of the series, i’m making three assumptions:

1. all students in otto’s year are thirteen when they start h.i.v.e, just like otto.

2. otto turns thirteen in august 2006, making him one of the youngest students in his year, assuming the h.i.v.e school year starts in early september like most british schools. most of the ‘age’ section of this hinges off otto, because he’s the only student who is given an age and is seen celebrating a birthday.

3. the six years spent at h.i.v.e span what would be year 9-13 + the first year of university in the british system. in the american system this is grades 8-12 + the first year of university. therefore, students graduate at the age of nineteen.

h.i.v.e:

every first year alpha is thirteen.

the overlord protocol:

this is still set in first year, but is months after the events of book one. otto is still thirteen, but we can assume that, at this point, some people have turned fourteen. my money would be on wing, shelby, and possibly franz as being the older kids in their year (and therefore fourteen), but the semantics don’t really matter.

escape velocity:

this is the first book with a sizeable time skip - we see otto trying to steal the end-of-year exam for second years. this means everyone is now at least fourteen, and because (in my personal experience) late july/august birthdays aren’t very common, i’d wager that shelby, wing, laura, and franz are all fifteen; i’m excluding nigel here because i think, based off his physical description, he’s probably one of the younger kids in his year, and otto is obviously still fourteen, nearly fifteen. this is supported by raven telling otto that she was almost exactly the same age as the core four when she went on her first mission; we know from deadlock that she was sixteen, which would only be a year (max) older than the alphas at this point in time.

dreadnought:

dreadnought is set at the start of third year; we know this because the 93-percenter is specifically a third year field trip. this means that everyone, including lucy, is fifteen.

rogue:

rogue is where our perfectly constructed timeline slips, because it seemingly ages otto backwards - it is set thirteen years after we see otto being cloned in the tank, which would make otto thirteen even though he ends dreadnought at fifteen. there are multiple potential explanations for this - i favour the idea that otto is registered as older than he is biologically because he’s a clone/genius and was left at the orphanage with no birth certificate - but either way, i’m still going to say that otto is fifteen and that everyone else is a third year and either fifteen or sixteen. side note: otto’s benjamin button trick here is one of my least favourite ‘slips’ of the series and ruins what is otherwise one of my favourite entries.

zero hour:

there is a year between rogue and zero hour, meaning zero hour is set in fourth year and that otto is sixteen (and again, everyone else is either sixteen or seventeen). in my original doc, i made a note saying that apparently everyone is still in third year, but based off a quick search for ‘three’ and ‘third’ in the ebook, there’s no proof for that. lucy dies when she’s sixteen/seventeen.

aftershock:

there’s another short timeskip here, and based off the fact that this is when penny and tom join and that it’s the introduction of new security chief dekker, we can guess that this is the beginning of fifth year (incidentally, the fact that nero and raven are available at the beginning of the book to go meet joseph wright in london does appear to suggest that nero wasn’t needed to teach that day, meaning that there is some form of summer holiday at h.i.v.e). i also think it’s likely that this is fifth year because penny and tom a) had time to gain relative notoriety for their thefts and b) would’ve needed to be at least sixteen to leave school and local authority care (although tom is apparently a year or two older than otto and penny according to book one) and it being fifth year sets everyone at seventeen. seventeen is actually pretty old for the alphas to be taken to the glasshouse (raven went at age eleven), but i think it does make sense that the hunt was targeted, and not the third years on the 93 percenter; tom and penny actually had time to go to lessons pre field trip, and lucy didn’t, meaning that the 93 percenter mostly likely happens in the first few days of the school year and was organised before dekker became a member of staff, which wouldn’t have given the disciples the necessary time to plan and execute a retrieval. also, laura was obviously in fifth year and not third, making the hunt a far more attractive choice for anastasia to target.

deadlock:

deadlock is similar to rogue in that it fluffs an important timeline detail, but it’s not relevant to ages here, so i’ll revisit it later. it’s set several months after aftershock, but seeing as no other students are recruited to pad out the three left in the alpha stream and that aftershock was only set in the first month or so of the school year, i think it’s safe to assume that everyone is still in fifth year at this point, so either seventeen or eighteen. my gut feeling is that shelby, franz, and wing are all eighteen, and that’s because they’re allowed on the mission to break into the glasshouse; obviously we see them get into danger/be involved in plans before this point, but this is the first time we see nero actively sign off on them being allowed into a tactical situation with a known risk to life (and i’ve made a shitpost on this, but raven does say that nero would “have her shot” if she brought thirteen year old otto into a tactical situation back in the overlord protocol, so i think the only way nero would’ve allowed this to happen was if the remaining alpha students were all legal adults). the exception to this is otto, who would still be seventeen, but seeing as he isn’t an enrolled h.i.v.e student at the time of the mission, i don’t think nero’s no-student policy applies to him.

book nine:

obviously none of us know what’s going to happen, but i think it’s safe to say book nine will probably be set in otto’s final year, when he’s eighteen.

part two: adult ages

really, i should just be transparent and call this what it is, which is just blatant nero age speculation. while it’s implied that nero is immortal in book one, this is also literally never mentioned again, and the only physical indicator we know is that he has a streak of grey in his hair. however, i do have a bunch of info that can give some clues at how old nero really is.

1. nero taught diabolus, and is implied to have been headmaster of h.i.v.e at this time. we’re not really sure how old diabolus is, either, but seeing as he has a teenaged son and was old enough to have had a considerable career and be made head of g.l.o.v.e, he can’t be any younger than his late thirties by the time he pops up in escape velocity, and i’m guessing he’s inching towards fifty purely because he isn’t described as being particularly young when we see him in hong kong with nero 15 years before the events of deadlock. (i am, however, aware that this means nothing, because walden sucks at describing people). that means nero’s been teaching some forty years, which lines up with him co-founding h.i.v.e with his father in the 60s, and seeing as h.i.v.e is nero’s great passion project, i don’t think he could’ve been any younger than 25 when h.i.v.e opened in the original icelandic facility. basically, this tells us what we already know: nero is old as shit, and doesn’t look it.

2. the duncan cavendish thing interests me a lot more, because we see that nero actively switched cavendish from polfi to alpha. again, it was already implied that nero was headmaster from the beginning, but this shows that nero was always running the show and wasn’t just initially his father’s apprentice as deadlock almost seems to hint at.

3. nero has a doctorate. ���well duh”. but again, if nero had that doctorate when he founded h.i.v.e, he has to be nearing seventy. he could’ve gotten it earlier, sure, because nero is a very intelligent man, but he’s not otto-levels of academic genius. i don’t think he could’ve been any younger than 15/16 when he got his phd.

i did say that this would be an ‘adult ages’ section, so i’ll do a bit of background on raven, the only adult with timestamps. her being thirty one in deadlock makes her twenty seven in book one (if we follow the logic of otto being seventeen in deadlock), and because i personally believe the h.i.v.e timeline starts with book 1’s publication in 2006, this means raven was born around 1979 (which, if you subscribe to the theory that raven is elena and nero’s kid, makes her born after h.i.v.e was founded, which has some interesting implications about the origins of the glasshouse).

i know we’re all in mutual agreement about the soviet training being a bullshit throwaway line that walden wrote in before deciding to make raven a major player, but i’ll do the work of disproving it anyway: if raven was born in ‘79 and she came to the glasshouse at 11, that means she started her training in 1990. the soviet union officially fell in 1991, but the berlin wall fell in 1989, and the cold war was pretty much over by the time raven came to the glasshouse thanks to gorbachev’s new policies and military cuts. there is absolutely no way that the furans were soviet-funded, or that raven was trained by the soviet government. in fact, the only feasible way raven could’ve been trained by the soviet union in, quote from book 1 here, “their cold war prime”, would be for her to have been born almost a full 20 years earlier in the early 1960s, which would’ve made her middle aged in book 1. but, like, you tried walden.

part three: overlord

the overlord incident - the one that led to the destruction of the chinese facility and inadvertantly led to wing’s birth thanks to wu zhang and xiu mei shacking up together - is probably the most crucial part of the h.i.v.e timeline. without it, number one never would’ve been corrupted, otto wouldn’t have been born/manufactured, the seed code for h.i.v.emind wouldn’t have existed, cypher never would’ve launched his assault on h.i.v.e and nero (or felt the need to come into existence at all), and, of course, overlord himself wouldn’t have been the world’s most annoying LED lightshow for five books (because book one hardly counts). but even though raven had nothing to do with the original overlord incident, she’s still strongly linked to it. i’ll explain.

the overlord incident had to have happened before raven met nero. i can’t stress that enough, and this is the conflicting detail that i mentioned in deadlock. the nero’s internal monologue in the fifteen years before flashback appears to indicate that the overlord incident hasn’t happened yet - but that can’t be true, otherwise wing wouldn’t exist.

like i’ve laid out, wing is thirteen in late august 2006, and most likely eighteen (but at least seventeen) in 2010/11, aka deadlock. this gives him an approximate birth year of 1992/3, and all roads lead back to raven, who would’ve been fourteen when wing was born. already, that makes her too young to have met nero pre-overlord incident. but even more importantly, wu zhang and xiu mei only ended up together because of the overlord incident. like i said, if it weren’t for overlord, wing would not exist. we don’t know when wu zhang and xiu mei‘s friendship turned to romance, but if xiu mei got pregnant in 1992 (which fits with either of wing’s birth years - either he’s late ‘92 or early ‘93), i’d wager they got together in 1991 at the latest. raven would’ve been twelve.

i’m putting the overlord incident at a tentative year 1990, which would’ve allowed plenty of time for xiu mei and wu zhang to escape china together and fall in love before wing’s birth, and also gives overlord a handful of years to start corrupting number one to convince him into cloning himself to make otto (who was dropped off at the orphange in august ‘93). raven came to the glasshouse in 1990. there is absolutely no way she could’ve met nero while he was still making arrangements for overlord, unless wing was born after 1995 when raven tried to kill nero, in which case wing wouldn’t have been at h.i.v.e at the same time as shelby and laura (and nor would otto, come to think of it).

anyway, i’ll do a tl;dr with the final timeline below.

TL;DR (final timeline)

1960s: h.i.v.e is founded.

1979: raven is born.

1980s: both duncan cavendish and diabolus darkdoom presumably attend h.i.v.e during this period. the zero hour contingency plan is drawn up.

1990: overlord is created in a lab in northern china, and is destroyed by number one. it then takes up host in his body. there are three named survivors: nero, wu zhang, and xiu mei. raven is sent to the glasshouse.

1991: wu zhang and xiu mei move to japan and rename themselves as the fanchus. they fall in love around this point. this is also the year where raven tries to escape from the glasshouse and claws out pietor’s eye.

1992: overlord/number one starts work on cloning himself. xiu mei falls pregnant, and possibly gives birth.

1993: otto, shelby, wing, nigel, franz, laura and lucy are all born at varying points throughout the year. this is most likely also the year where dimitri is shot by anastasia furan, and raven is forced to murder tolya.

1994: presumably the year when h.i.v.e’s original location is compromised, and plans start being made to relocate from the icelandic facility.

1995: nero meets with the architect/his father to discuss his plans for the new h.i.v.e facility. raven tries to kill him. the first glasshouse burns.

1996-2005: construction on h.i.v.e 2.0 is completed. overlord slowly takes over more and more of number one’s body. survivors of the overlord incident start disappearing. xiu mei dies of unknown causes. nero receives his half of the amulet. lucy’s parents die of natural causes and she is sent to italy. gregori leonov’s son, yuri, attends h.i.v.e and graduates. cypher pops into existence around this time. diabolus darkdooms fakes his death.

2006: otto, wing, laura, shelby, franz, and nigel start attending h.i.v.e (cue the events of book one). duncan cavendish becomes prime minister.

2007: cypher launches his assult on nero after successfully convincing the contessa to join his cause. after cypher is captured and his identity is revealed, nero keeps him alive unbeknownst to number one. by august, everyone is fourteen.

2008: cue the events of escape velocity. number one and the contessa die. diabolus darkdoom is elected leader of g.l.o.v.e. cue the events of interception point. otto turns fifteen. lucy joins h.i.v.e at the beginning of september and the events of dreadnought take place. otto does not return to h.i.v.e.

2009: events of rogue. cypher and pietor furan die. otto turns sixteen at the end of august. laura’s baby brother, douglas, is conceived.

2010: douglas is born. the events of zero hour occur. lucy dies. overlord is destroyed. nero becomes leader of g.l.o.v.e and fires the ruling council. duncan cavendish steps down. construction of the new glasshouse is completed. otto turns seventeen. penny and tom join h.i.v.e. the events of aftershock occur, and otto is expelled.

2011: the events of deadlock occur. raven turns thirty one. tom dies. the new glasshouse is destroyed. the countdown for the disciples’ new batch of clones begins at 99 days. the artemis project discover the existence of h.i.v.e. at the end of year, otto is eighteen.

2012 onwards: otto turns nineteen and hopefully graduates h.i.v.e.

[enby-enderdragon]

Hey, just started watching One Life and found your blog and your stuff is awesome, man! Really love how you drew Lauren. Also I wanted to ask though, do you mind if I ask you to list out all the One Life group's powers from your fics?

Oh, hella!!! If you wanna meet a couple other OL people, go talk to my friends, @candie-flozz and @last-cat-standing!!! Catty is an amazing artist and her OL art is literally the best and Aryne tends to sits in the background and DM me angst like the bastard void gremlin they are. Also, I used the main squad from season 3 of OL, but lemme know if you want someone from a previous season!

Lauren:

Is a literal physical vessel of the consciousness of the universe

Create small lights at her fingertips she calls starlights

Floating

Able to create almost anything out of nothing (but usually only uses to make bread)

Ages very, very slowly (biologically immortal tbh)

Can talk to animals vaguely

Weak illusion magicks

Scott:

Acute telekinesis

Empath

Prophecy vision

Weak illusion magicks

Can commune with the MC gods

Lizzie:

Shadow manipulation

Teleportation (think Nightcrawler from X-men)

Moderate level casting of general "dark" spells

Callum:

Shapeshifting from a generally human form to a fox form

Joel:

Nature manipulation

Joey:

Has glowing crystals embedded into his upper torso (which is why he doesn't wear a shirt)

Can make crystals out of dirt and sand by crushing them in his hands (think that one scene from Steven Universe 'A Single Pale Rose'.)

Is strangely good at finding ores, almost like he can sense them

High level general witchcraft

Yammy:

Well... She's an admin, so pretty much everything a player with cheats activated can do?

Can sense lag spikes (it makes her sick to her stomach)

Immensely powerful illusion magicks

Can read and write New Standard Galactic

Has cat-like instincts

Kyle:

Acute telepathy

Stacy:

She's a werewolf, so I'm sure you can guess

Jack:

He was a vampire on Harmony Hollow S3 for so long that it attached to his code and he still has some of those powers

That would make his powers...

Acute superhuman strength (from his bloody vampire rage)

The inability to stay in the sun for long periods of time without getting horribly sunburnt

Ability to talk to bats

Shelby:

Powerful fire magicks

Mediocre illusion magicks

Can read and write in Old Standard Galactic

Meghan:

Not technically a power, but a masterful potion brewer

[hiatuswhore]

Daughter of Krypton

“Growing up Clark and I always knew we were different.  It was obvious to what the eye can see Clark and I may have come from the same place, but we were not biologically brother and sister. Living in Kansas though none of that mattered.  It was odd though my brother was the most compassionate person I knew.  While I was, well wasn’t I guess.  My parents and brother were all aware that I had a temper. From the moment I could walk, talk, and comprehend I’d have these episodes. Only my parents and Clark knew how to calm me.” “Where’d you come from?” Jonathan asked. He always did. Panting my entire body twitched, my burning with a stewing rage. Remnants of my bear laid scattered across my carpet. Shelby whimpered as she nudged her about into my calf. I couldn’t explain it then but now? Have you ever felt such anger that you could only describe it as seeing red.

I saw red that day. When it was gone singed holes decorated my bedroom floor. I had missed Shelby and my own foot by centimeters. “The stars,” I would say, balled fists would bury my nails into my own palm. The pain minuscule to my overreactions. Like a pot boiling ready to boil over from the smallest flame. A catastrophic spill over. “That’s right my fallen star. Remember you burned the brightest in the sky,” He said as he squatted down to my height at the time. Johnathan would wipe my tears, though he wasn’t, he would let me call him father. “I’m sorry I just get so angry I can’t help it,” I said burying my head in his neck as he lifted me up. Martha and Clark stood in the doorway of my room. “How about we go get some ice cream?” In school, no one bothered me but they bothered Clark.  So I bothered them. Often in detention or suspended. Who else was going to deal with the bullies, the school? I’m not just talking high school. It began all in elementary school. “What’s wrong with him?” “He’s so weird,” Another kid whispered. The entire class stood outside the closest door. Clark sat inside his hands squeezed at his ears. Our powers weren’t easy to adjust to, sound often went from too quiet to ear splitting. Vision would go from clear to seeing through everything. A six year old seeing there teachers skeleton would never end well. We both struggled, Clark more than myself. I pushed forward to the door. My hand in the doorknob, I glared at the rising heat. “Let me in Clark. Mom is on her way come on,” I said. “I can’t!” He yelled back. “What a freak,” A boy whispered. I froze. Could I tell you seconds between freezing and lifting Isaac Stevens by his throat against the wall? No, but he never said a word about Clark again. Not around me anyway. “Say it again!” I screamed. In truth, I could’ve snapped his neck. At that time, I probably wanted to, my teacher tried to grab me. Her tugs equivalent to a babe against their mother. My fingers tightened lightly without interruption I would have killed him.

I worried about my temper. For a short time I studied serial killers and their childhood dysfunctions. I feared it was me, that like them there was something wrong with me. This conclusion was easy, simple. It came with answers, just not my answers.

For a time I thought I checked a very scary box. As a child, I was always aware of my urge to kill, the tiny flicker that gnawed at my self control.  It terrified me, it was my reminder I was different. Even from Clark. “(Y/n) sweetie put him down,” Mother called to me. Her soft and poise attitude seemed to tether me to her, a want to be like her. I worshiped her. She pulled me from the depths of myself with just her words. Her presence. “I’m sorry I—just—“ Her love, the very best feeling. I found myself trying to find the words to communicate I’m not a monster. Not that I had too anyway. Mother hugged me, kissed my temple so tenderly I thought she vanquished it, the darkness in me. “It’s okay how about you help me get your brother, okay?” “Elementary school seemed to follow this habit. I started seeing a therapist, he was definitely terrified of me. He reported me so I had to see a psychiatrist and then soon a doctor.

I’ll never forget him. I remember the day in great detail. The waiting area was cold, each of the workers would smile as they passed. A poster hung on the wall, staged models posing as happy and joyful. Dr. Leandry welcomed us to the back with a gentle smile.

Her tone was light and soothing. She had a theory, her eyes carried this underlying excitement at something she described to never be seen before. A mutation in my amygdala, a point of difference. Dr. Leandry asked Mom and Dad if she could evaluate my brother as well. My parents teetered nervously, children or not we still came from the sky. A well kept secret. Our parents hesitated but Clark wanted to. His results tore through me, he lacked the mutation. I continued therapy at a different office but the results nagged away at me. The darkness still lingered.

High school was different for us though. Clark grew tall and strong. I grew tall and good with words. I hadn’t expected it, my control manageable and my powers came easy.  Much closer with Clark, we navigated life together easily.  You ever just click with someone, we clicked.

My confidant, my best friend, my brother.

Until we didn’t.

Without father, something snapped. I don’t even remember where we had been going. I just remember Clark and Dad arguing in the front seat. I sat in the back with Mom and Shelby.”

“I don’t even why (Y/n) and I listen to you. You’re not our Dad you’re just some guy who found us in a field,” Clark said, leaning forward I flicked the side of his head.

“Clark,” Mom said as she gave me a pointed look.

“(Y/n). Martha, it’s okay he’s right. Clark has a point. We’re not their parents but we’ve been doing the best we can.  Making this up as we go along so maybe our best isn’t good enough anymore,” Dad said and Mom grabbed my hand giving it a squeeze.

“Look, Dad—“ Clark said but Dad’s hand silenced the car. Father stared forward silently, it was painfully awkward. I wish it had stayed that way. The wind whipped angrily, screams surrounded the car as splashes of people ran past. Out of the car the road was in chaos.

“Go for the overpass!” Dad yelled and Mom began pulled me that way her grip on me tight as Clark sheltered us. While getting there Dad helped others from their cars. I reached to scratch Shelby’s ear, it was then I heard her whimper—back near the car.

“Clark, Shelby is in the car,” I said. Dad stopped Clark from going to get Shelby. We watched as Dad as he let Shelby out. It should’ve been that simple, he should’ve let one of us do it. Dad got stuck. As Shelby happily licked hand, my heart caught in my throat. I couldn’t just stand there, how could we not do something?

“(Y/n) stop!” Clark snatched me as the wind snatched Dad. My body shook violently, my mouth opened but no scream left me. Mom spoke to me, none of her words registered.

“Dad's funeral was a week later.  That entire week I had not spoken to Clark or our mother, I just laid in bed.  It was the day of the funeral that everything fell apart, all those days alone I was angry.  I was so angry at Clark, I don’t know what Dad would’ve wanted but us fighting definitely wasn’t it. After everything was over and all our guests were gone all that anger that I swallowed consumed me, as Clark tried to comfort me.”

“(Y/n)—” Clark said as he placed his suit jacket on my shoulders.  I had been staring up at the stars in front of the house.  Both Clark and Mom watched me for sometime before finally, he decided to come out.

“Don’t touch me,” I hissed. I pushed his shoulder across the yard with brute strength. Mother ran out on the porch.

“(Y/n) it’s no one's fault. Not Clarks and not yours,” She said. I outgrew my uncontrollable tantrums. My actions intentional. I knew that, so did Clark.

“No, but because of him,” I pointed at Clark who leaned up on his forearms, still on the ground. He moved cautiously, “Dad could have given us to the government for a pretty penny but instead he loved us and raised us. In his final moments, the last thing he heard from us was that he was not our father so why listen to him.”

“Sweetheart he knew you both loved him just like I know you love me,” Mom said, I wiped my my tears. My sadness fueled my anger. Kissing Mother’s head I stepped back looking at my brother. For the first time ever there was a true disconnect between us.

“I hate you,” I flew off without a destination the farm was out of sight. From that point on Clark and I were never the same.  I left for College he left for answers, we rarely visited mother at the same time and when we did Mom did most of the talking.  Last I heard he had found someone like us, a cousin named Kara but that was it. Then I came to the Daily Planet as an editor and he went off again, we have not spoken in almost two years. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Lois asked, sitting behind my desk I stared at the redhead.

“Lois you’ve met my brother, found the place where we grew up, and know about our powers. Knowing all of this I expected you to come in here and demand answers but you didn’t. I guess I wanted to tell you that I trust you,” Thanking her for her time I say nothing as she moves toward the door.  She pauses at my office door and looks back with a tender smile.

“He misses you. The first real conversation we had you and Martha are all he talked about.”

Part 2

[retschina]

Marriage preparatory course, Part 3

Arthur Shelby/OC

Part 1: https://retschina.tumblr.com/post/180350967093/marriage-preparatory-course

Part 2: https://retschina.tumblr.com/post/180478570868/marriage-preparatory-course-part-2

 “Your opinions on marriage seemed to be very modern and progressive. Are you a supporter of women’s rights?” She asked and Arthur looked up from his clenched fists.

“Uh ...,” he answered and shrugged helplessly. “I ... I don’t know. I’m a supporter of ... to be honest, Miss Armstrong, I’m not a ... part of the Birmingham upper class, my home is the underworld, the ganglands. I do my own politics, our own politics, and women’s rights are not a part of my day to day business.”

“Oh,” she answered and bit on her lower lip.

The following silence was a little bit embarrassing, and he took a deep, relieved breath in the moment the waiter served them the Cream tea and the malt bread.

“Thank you,” she said and gave the waiter a smile.

After drinking some tea and tasting the malt bread and the scones she stated: “That’s heavenly, you were right. That’s maybe the best Cream Tea and the best malt bread I’ve ever had.”

Arthur, who hadn’t touched his tea or the scones or the malt bread nodded: “It is. I’m glad you like it.”

“So,” she stated after another sip of the tea, “despite being a resident of the underworld you might have an opinion on women’s rights?”

Once again, he shrugged. The discussion of women’s suffrage, on women’s rights had never drawn his interest. He didn’t think that they would be able to enforce something like equality, not in the totally men controlled world they lived in. No clear-thinking politician would support women’s rights. And what kind of power could women bring up to change this? Go on strike? Risible.

“Then maybe on marriage?”

“I ... since I came back from the war I never thought I would marry one day, so ... I don’t know. Marriage doesn’t concern me. At least that’s what I thought until ...” He didn’t finish the sentence and her smile did things in the pit of his stomach he never felt before.

“What would a woman have to expect if she agrees in marrying Arthur Shelby?”

He chuckled joylessly and shook his head. “Do you want the truth?”

“Of course.”

“She has to expect a man who drinks too much, who’s plagued by nightmares and mood swings, a man who isn’t at home in many nights, a man who tends to violence and a quick and short temper.” He stopped and looked to the floor, uncomfortable with his own frankness.

“And the positive aspects?” She asked and took another piece of malt bread.

“I don’t think there are many,” he answered and shook his head. “I’m ... old-fashioned and bad-mannered.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” she encouraged him. “And being old-fashioned doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person. Back in May you’ve talked about love and that a woman shouldn’t have to complain, you implied that you know how to ... do it without hurting your wife. You talked about love and you sounded like love is a very important thing in a marriage.”

He smiled a little bit and nodded: “Aye, maybe that’s one positive thing about me. I know what to do in the nights I’d be at home. I’m gentle ... no, no ... I can be gentle and slow. And love ... I don’t know if love is something men are able to feel. Maybe love is for women, to help them bear their fate. Guess marriage is a bit easier if you love your husband. It’s most likely the pitch black hell if you don’t.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she answered and paused for a moment, clearly struggling with a fit of sadness. “How old are you, Mr. Shelby?” She asked and handed him the plate with the malt bread, so he could have a piece before she’d eaten it all by herself.

“Thank you. I’m 33. I was born on 9 August, 1887, here in Birmingham.” Finally a question he was able to answer without feeling stupid or embarrassed or uncomfortable. “Where are you from? You’re not from Birmingham. Otherwise you’d known my name and my ... reputation.”

She nodded, smiling: “I’m from Barnsley. I moved to Birmingham after Andrew proposed. I’ve found a job as a switchboard operator at the Municipal Technical School at Suffolk Street. I like it there and I grew to like Birmingham, so I decided to stay after Andrew and I split up.”

Arthur nodded, stirred with the spoon in his cup like there was nothing more interesting than his tea and said after a short pause: “I long for love, for being loved and for loving someone. I need someone who makes me forget the past, the present and the future. But my hopes ... are still unfulfilled. And with every year that passes my hopes fading. I’m not lovable, I guess. Every decent, respectable woman I’ve met was stark and stiff of fear because of my reputation. The whores only care for my money. You’re the first one since 1915 who agreed in a date without being paid.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. They don’t know what they’re missing, Mr. Shelby,” Maud answered and added: “I’d go on a second date with you, without hesitation.”

“Thank you. Would you mind calling me Arthur?” He asked and put the spoon aside.

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all. I’m Maud.”

“Aye. Maud.” He whispered her name and looked up, still overwhelmed by her beauty. “You’re so beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you, Arthur.” She answered and her smile got bigger. “But ...”

He flinched because he noticed that he must have said this aloud: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ... go like a bull to the gate. What ... what are your opinions on marriage? We’ve talked about mine a lot ...”

“I grew up in a working class family. My foster parents seem to be pretty unhappy with each other. So I always hoped that I would find a man who’s at least a bit sympathetic. And one who’s not beating up his wife on a regular basis. My father, the biological one, died in prison when I was 14 years old. He’d been sentenced for killing my mother. He’d beaten her to dead because she bought milk instead of Absinthe. She’d made nettle soup for dinner. The soup had already been cold and the piece of bread he’d found in the kitchen had been mouldy.” Maud looked on the tabletop and gave the half eaten piece of scones with clotted cream and jam a little push. “Her death sentence was a bottle of milk, bought for the child he’d fathered, a cold soup and a mouldy piece of bread. She was 23 years old. I can’t imagine that he’d loved her. My foster parents weren’t in love either, but there was no ... violence. They argued a lot, but he didn’t beat her up.”

“I’m sorry,” Arthur answered lowly. “So sorry.”

“So, long story short: I have no clue about love, neither the one affecting one’s heart nor the one affecting the ... carnal side. I wish for love, too, of course, but I have no idea how to ... love someone. I’ve read a few books, love stories, by Jane Austen, for example, and I hope for someone who respects me, appreciates me and the work I do all day. I guess that’s a basic for finding love, don’t you think? Respect and appreciation.”

“Aye,” Arthur nodded and knew he wasn’t the right man for her.

And he knew that she knew. He was just like her father, a ruthless bloke beating his wife to death because he drank too much, because she did something wrong in his eyes. This was a perfect description of Arthur fucking Shelby. This would be him if he ever decided to marry. He had to leave her alone, for god’s sake.

 A week later he received a letter, sent to his office. He opened the envelope and his heart stopped for a second after he’d read the first lines.

 Mr. Arthur Shelby

The Shelby Company Ltd.

Watery Lane

Small Heath

  Dear Arthur.

 Thank you for the wonderful tea time hour at Bellham’s. I enjoyed our conversation very much and you gave me a few topics to think about, topics I want to discuss further. Next Thursday (21 October) I’ll be at Bellham’s for tea time. Maybe you want to join me. I am looking forward to seeing you again.

 Yours sincerely,

 Maud Armstrong

 He placed the letter on the table and took a deep breath. His head still told him he was the wrong man for her. But his heart, dear god, his heart told him otherwise. He wanted her so much it hurt.

Part 4: https://retschina.tumblr.com/post/180712699093/marriage-preparatory-course-part-4

Part 5: https://retschina.tumblr.com/post/180885625713/marriage-preparatory-course-part-5

Part 6: https://retschina.tumblr.com/post/180981534258/marriage-preparatory-course-part-6

[alfiesolcmons-blog]

Chapter 3: Vivienne Summary: Alfie’s a man with simple needs and a straightforward business logic but when a famous singer catches his attention and he catches hers in return he begins to wonder what’s really best for his life and what the fuck he’s done with the mess he’s created in his neck of the woods. Camden Town, London centric. (also I’m Lana Del Rey trash and she pretty much helped me make this, thank you queen)

Word count: 1,469 Pairing: Alfie Solomons x OC, (eventual Arthur Shelby x different OC) AO3: [HERE]

Ch. 1 [post] [ao3] Ch. 2 [post] [ao3]

Masterlist – Ask Box 

I hear the birds on the summer breeze I drive fast, I am alone at midnight Been trying hard not to get into trouble But I, I've got a war in my mind - LDR

Vivienne performed the rest of her tenure at Hempstead’s Paradise with Alfie in the crowd. She sang to him every night, but he would leave the applauding crowd before she could get off the stage. Vivienne was still happy that he would show up to watch her perform, but the fact that he left before she could even try to speak to him was a clear rejection of her.

She mulled it over in her head the first week after she had met him, and disappointment bothered her immensely, but when the second week rolled around she had come to terms with it. She was still pleased that he came to watch her of course, but she could not even sense a possible friendship.

Vivienne had entered the church after the mass had ended. She sat in the back, at the end of the pew, hoping not to be bothered. She felt a darkness swelling inside her and she knew nowhere to turn to.

She loved to sing but was that really her purpose?

She could sing forever, she loved it after all, but she couldn’t be the object of everyone’s desire forever, she didn’t want that.

She just wanted one person to love her in the end, just one.

She felt alone.

Bruce was there of course, but she couldn’t consider him in the way she wanted to consider someone. After the brief time she spent in the church she took her time to walk back to the Savoy Hotel. She had no plans for the next day and she was enjoying being outside on her own. She walked down a busy street with many street vendors selling apples and an assortment of vegetables, and then she came across a bakery. The blue sign above the shop read “Veronika’s Bakery” in curly letters. For a split second Vivienne wondered if the bakery was owned by Mr. Solomons, she had been walking for a while and she knew that he owned a bakery, but it took her less time to shut the thought down.

She went inside and noticed the calming shades of blue on the wall. There was a portrait of a middle-aged woman on one wall, with small Russian text beneath it. Directly in front of the portrait, there was a display of baked goods, a wooden cash register, and two ladies behind it all.

Vivienne greeted them kindly before she dipped her head down to look at the concealed glass displays of freshly baked goods. She could smell the sugars, jams, and wheat. It made her feel strangely at home, though she never knew any home, to begin with. Let alone one that smelled so freshly of baked bread and pastries.

“Can I have five scones please?” Vivienne had not lifted her head yet. She took a quick glance at the shortcake in the corner. It had an incredible looking strawberry on top, but Vivienne thought best not to buy too much.

When she looked up both girls were looking at her with awestruck. The one furthest from the exit stared at Vivienne with eyes wide and the one next to her, closest to the door, took a quick glance at the window. Vivienne followed her gaze toward the window and noticed a man in a bowler hat and thick black moustache. Vivienne gulped and shook her resolve in place. She opted for the serene look that she often sported.

She cleared her throat, hoping to finally catch the girls’ attention.

“You’re— You’re Vivienne Kelly?” The wide-eyed girl stammered.

“Yes, I am. Can I have five scones, dear?” They both rushed to grab the scones for her. Vivienne was no longer sure if their strangeness was caused by the man that occasionally glanced inside the bakery or the fact that she was Vivienne Kelly.

“Here you are, Miss Kelly. No charge.” She said carefully. The other girl tried to smile at her as she said so.

“Oh, I can’t possibly.” Vivienne couldn’t understand why they were being so strange. Was it really the man standing outside?

“It’s no worry miss.” The girl with the strained smile offered.

“Well, at least let us give you something for your kindness. Put it in your pockets, alright?” She took a pound out for each girl from her handbag and walked around the display to give it to them personally. A pound each was a probably a little too generous as they were part-time shop girls, but Vivienne did have a bad feeling about the man outside.

“You’re very kind Miss Kelly,” the other girl gave her a genuine smile.

“Thank you for the scones girls.” Vivienne took her bag of scones, put her handbag snuggly in the crook of her elbow, and proceeded to leave. When she passed the man in the bowler hat, she passed him with the most haughty look she could muster, her nose in the air, her lips pursed, and her eyes lazy. He didn’t even bother to look at her, and that was Vivienne’s cue to continue her trip back to her hotel as quickly as she could in case the man followed her.

When she got back to the hotel she ordered strawberry jam to her room and sat down at a table on the balcony of her room. Only the top floor had balconies for each of its suites. Vivienne sat down for some leisure time. She covered her scones in strawberry jam, they were quite lovely to taste, and then she began to read her mail. There were several love letters, a few job offers that she left for Bruce to look over in a separate pile and then another letter that didn’t fit either category.

Vivienne’s heart fluttered at the touch of the slightly yellow paper. ‘Annie Clayton’ was scribbled in the corner. Vivienne quickly opened the letter to see what her closest and oldest friend had to say.

Viv,

I have to say I was quite disappointed you didn’t write to me during your last month in America. I was also expecting a gift if I’m completely honest with you. But, I’m happy to hear you’re back. Are you going to tell me about America? I hope you will drop by for tea, whenever you’re in Birmingham for one of your shows.

I also bought your last record. It was absolutely beautiful, honestly. I’m so proud of you Viv, you’ve really done it for us, orphan girls. I love you to bits, but if you don’t come to visit me when you’re in Birmingham next we're going to have to talk. Ha!

I was also meaning to tell you, Marjorie passed two weeks ago. The funeral was as sad as any other funeral. I miss her, and I’m sure you miss her too. She left her six-year-old son behind, remember him? His name is Simon, he’s a good boy, but the instability and his mum passing has been hard on him. He spent a few days with me, and the rest he spent with his aunt. His aunt seemed nice, so I let him stay, it was getting hard on me to take care of him, and I’m sure Marjorie would have preferred his family to take care of him. But I do kind of miss the little boy, he was entertaining.

Rupert left a month ago too, I caught him with a woman at a bar. He had the audacity, didn’t he? But I got the house, so I guess things are fine with me, but I am kind of lonely. So, I really hope you’ll be coming by soon.

Miss you too bits, Viv!

Annie

The letter was a lot longer than Annie’s usual letters, perhaps it was because Vivienne had neglected her best friend during her last month in America. The most dreadful month of her life, she had stupidly shut out her best friend. But she was back and content in England, and she knew now that she couldn’t shut out Annie. She was the only solid and unchanging thing in her life. They had been in the same orphanage together, they had grown up together, done everything together, they were more like sisters than any other pair of biological sisters out there. So Vivienne made a mental note to ask Bruce where her next venues were. She wanted to be in Birmingham to see Annie as soon as she could.

Vivienne cleaned up her mess putting everything back inside the suite and then went in search of a fountain pen and a sheet of notepaper. When she got a hold of her items she went back out to the balcony and sat down, soaking in what was left of the sunlight.

She began to write back to her friend.

[shelbythompxon]

thisisjoeys���:

joey smiled as he looked over at the other. it felt weird. joey had never thought to look for his biological dad, especially not after all of these years. he had grown up in a happy family, with his two moms and his brother. he never thought that he might have more family and even if the thought crossed his mind, he would have never guessed that they would be over at bridgeport. “it’s kind of weird, but… also good at the same time. if that makes sense.” joey said with a small shrug of his shoulders, looking over at shelby, before taking a taco and putting it in his mouth. “oh, really?” he asked at the other’s mention of joey having his dad’s chin, before he tried looking down at his own chin and giving up when it found out to be impossible. “uh, sure… i’d love to see some of the pictures.” he said, taking the envelope from the other’s hand carefully but not opening it just yet. he wasn’t sure if he needed to see them. “well, i’ve always thought about how it would feel to have a sister… i have an older brother. but he’s in new york.” he said with a small nod. “you can go ahead. i’m sure that you probably have more to say than i do.” he said with a nod.

“ Yeah. I’m feeling the same way. It’s cool though. Having a little brother.” She admitted, hoping she and Joey could foster a relationship past this initial meeting. “Yea you do. Among other things.” She laughed, taking a bite of her own food.  she could see parts of her dad sprinkled in him, but there was a lot that she didn’t recognize. His mothers she assumed. he was sweet and funny though, she was glad that he reached out and asked to meet up. “There’s a few of me in there as well. If you wanna have a laugh at my awkward preteen stage.” She respected that he didn’t want to open them now, and if he never did that was also his choice. She simply wanted to give him the information and opportunities to know their side of the family. “oh? What’s he like?” She asked curiously. “ it’s just me. So growing up it was pretty lonely, you’re lucky that you have a brother.. now I guess I have one too. That’s gonna take some getting used to, but I’m really glad things worked out the way they did.” She smiled at him. “ I think you’re really sweet, and I hope we can keep having meetings like this..” She was open to it, even if it was odd. Joey seemed cool. “ I don’t know about that. We’ll see. I was born and raised here. I work at the marina. I’m a boating mechanic and I love to play sports. I was head of the lacrosse team in school.” She gave a sweet brag. “My parents split up when I was little, they’ve always had kind of an on and off again in relationship. I lived with dad, but I still see my mom sometimes. We do better at a distance. How are you and your mothers?” 

[gregpayne]

23&Me:How I found my dad

I was adopted at 3 weeks of age.  A few years ago my wife was having migraines so I thought we should sign her up for 23&Me to see if any markers showed what it might be.  I decided that maybe I should also sign up so I can get an idea of my health history, since I have none.

Since I have signed up I’ve had some people reach out and want to figure out how we are related.  I told them I was adopted and didn’t know my family, so I wasn’t much help.  On February 6, 2018 I got a message through 23&Me from a woman that said, “I was surprised when your name came up as a first cousin and I thought I knew every single one of my first cousins on both my mother and father's side. Will be interesting to hear from you. By the way I am 82 years old and your picture looks like you are much younger” (I am 38). I responded with the standard, I’m not sure how we are related.  I did find out she lived in Oregon, and I knew I was born in Washington State.  I also told her my mother’s name (I was able to get it from the adoption agency, but when I contacted her a few times, she was always high, and we didn’t make a connection)

On February 9, 2018, I received the following message from the 82 year old woman: “Hi Greg: Do I have news for you. Tonight my 2 sisters and my nephew were here for dinner. My nephew is visiting here from California for the week. We were just talking about things in general when I brought up that I wanted to figure out how you were related to us. I gave what I knew and my nephew started making statements that only your father would have known the answer to!! I guess I have found your father and he is my very own nephew!! (One of the women at dinner was my grandmother)  I am still in shock. I wanted to help you so much but didn't realize the answer lay right in my own close family.”

So I have located my biological father.  We started emailing and there was an immediate connection (almost 2 years later, we still text almost every day).  He flew out in March from San Francisco to Atlanta to meet my family, and it was a wonderful experience.  That trip ended with him going to dinner with my adopted parents.  In June last year, my 7 yr old son (their first grandchild), and I will flew from Atlanta to San Francisco to meet the rest of my “new” family.  I have 2 sisters and a brother, and we interact through texts like a normal family.  Everyone giving everyone a hard time, but you can see there is loads of love in there.  He has flown back out to Atlanta twice since that first trip.

First time Grandpa met his grand kids

Ryan, Sabrina, Shelbi, Greg (L to R)

[purplespacecats]

alphabet meme

Rules: Copy this post into a new text post, remove my answers, and put in yours. When you’re done, tag 10 people plus the person who tagged you. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

tagged by @pipwasreal, thank!! :D

A- Age: 24 (sounds fake but ok)

B- Biggest fear: hhhh idk but i’m afraid to think too much about it lmao... um, fucking up in ways that permanently alter people’s perception of me, in general? also sexual violence, for a not disordered-thinking-related fear

C- Current time: 1:34am

D- Drink you last had: water; i have a gallon jug i keep on my desk always

E- Every day starts with: turning off my first alarm and going back to sleep (and repeat)

F- Favourite song: angels & airwaves by angel haze. like wow, that song exists, thank god

G- Ghosts, are they real: i mean i don’t have like Strong Convictions on this, but basically i ain’t taking chances ya feel (also i mean. i guess i’d have Strong Convictions if i trusted my 6 year old self more? because 6 year old shelby was very sure she saw a ghost that one time and had two other 6 year olds to back her up)

J- Jealous of: neurotypicals. i mean sounds fake but a functional brain is like, such a Concept

K- Killed someone: do people straight up just confess murders here on tumblr dot com or

L- Last time you cried: *frowns* i don’t remember, which is very less than ideal given how depressed i’ve been since like crying makes me feel less bad... shit i genuinely don’t know? i cried a lot over christmas break bc i was off my meds for a minute, but i must’ve cried since then..???

M- Middle name(s): marie, The generic white girl middle name lmao

N- Number of siblings: no like biological or legal siblings, but i have satya ♥

O- One wish: ...i just wanna graduate tbh so, that

P- Person you last called/texted: my roommate

Q- Questions you’re always asked: um... “when are your office hours” lmao

R- Reasons to smile: um, recently: spring-y weather and sunlight, being on the same page in chats with friends, fluffy yuri on ice comics (/that show in general given that its been my go-to coping mechanism lately, obv), cute kids playing on my street

S- Song last sung: um ok it’s def been like over a week? mayb longer (hmm so that’s def The Disorder) so idk, possibly la bicicleta by shakira & carlos vives

T- Time you woke up: 1ish, after um i think 4 and a half hours of alarms lmao

U- Underwear colour: yellow

V- Vacation destination: i would love to go to bermuda

W- Worst habit: yeah i’m gonna abstain to avoid like spiraling here haha i am entirely too unstable at this point in time to answer this rather mundane question without triggering like intense compounding self-hatred :D

X- X-rays you’ve had: my teeth several times, but that’s it

Y- Your favourite food: my mom’s spinach quiche

Z- Zodiac sign: Scorpio (why is everything about this sign centered on characterizing scorpios as super sexual i’m literally ace aah)

Friends! @desiprincex @thenightisland @bluelikeblood @pantlessvictorydance @electronique-brain @tokimorihazama @rairii @bishopped @echrai @ninjasquirrelss @villa-kulla

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Field of Poppies Part 6

Summary: After being apart for six years, childhood friends Tommy and Amelia reunite under odd circumstances. Tommy is an outspoken young man and Amelia is pregnant and out on the streets. The bond of family can be unbreakable but it is tested often. Especially when Europe descends into war.

Part 6: Amelia thinks about soon becoming a mother while Tommy asks Polly for advice

     Ada and John had been arguing all morning. It all started off with Ada telling everyone that John had kissed Martha behind a tree. John was adamant that they hadn’t even gotten close to each other. Ada said otherwise because she said Martha’s friend Bess had confirmed that the two had kissed. The two erupted in a huge argument and Polly did her best to break it up. But the two kept bringing it back up.

           Arthur and Tommy were itching to get away from the chaos so they made an excuse about going hunting with some of the other Strongs.

           Polly saw the helplessness in Amelia’s eyes so she suggested that the pregnant woman go for a walk to get some space. Amelia agreed, glad to get some quiet time. So, she went for a walk along the river, adoring the sun on her face.

           Along the way, her feet got a little swollen so she decided to take a rest. She walked closer to the bank of the river.

           Nearby, there was a woman kneeling beside a basin. At first, Amelia thought she was watching clothes, but then a little hand popped up. She realized the woman was bathing a little baby.

           A bit curious, Amelia inched a little closer. That gained the attention of the woman who looked up and smiled at her.

           “You look like you’re due soon.” She noted.

           Amelia put a hand to her stomach. “Oh, about a month and a half.” She answered sheepishly.

           “Is it your first?”

           Amelia nodded.

           “This is my second.” The woman waved her over. “My name is Maxine.” She introduced herself to invite Amelia to sit. “This is Ava.”

           She took the invitation and sat near the woman who appeared to be a couple of years older than her. The baby in the basin was about six months and had lovely green eyes. “I’m Amelia.”

           “It’s nice to meet you.” Maxine smiled warmly. “I know it can be a little scary with your first pregnancy.”

           “It’s been a bit of a journey.” She admitted. “Sometimes I still wake up and it’s hard to believe that…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Ava. The baby peered up at her and waved her hand, splashing the water with a gummy smile. “That I’ll have a baby so soon. Someone that’s so dependent on me.”

           “I know it can be surreal now, but once you hold your child, you’ll know. You’ll know how to love them with all your heart.” She assured her.

           The two had only just recently met, but Amelia was starting to see that there was a sort of bond between mothers. It gave her some relief to know that there were others who understood her fears and doubts.

           Maxine grabbed a towel and scooped up Ava to dry her off. “Could you hold her for a moment?” She wondered.

           “Oh, sure.” Amelia cradled the baby in her arms. Ava cooed softly and reached for Amelia’s hair.

           Maxine stood up to dump out the water and rinse the basin out in the river. “Is the father around?” She asked.

           “The father? Oh oh, um no. Well, not the biological father, at least.” Amelia answered, looking up from Ava. “There’s someone very close to me who offered to help me.”

           “That’s very good. You can do it on your own but it isn’t easy. Having family around is helpful.” She set the empty basin down by the river bank and sat down again. She smiled. “See, you’re already a natural at this.” She motioned to Ava.

           Amelia smiled shyly. “I suppose it’s easier when they’re calm.”

           Maxine laughed and nodded. “Much easier. But you’ll manage.”

           She settled Ava back into Maxine’s arms. “Other women make it look so easy I suppose.” She admitted. “I just don’t ever see myself being so…able.”

           “I thought the same thing when I had my first little one.” Maxine sat her daughter on her lap so she could carefully dry her off. “It’s so daunting but all you can do is take it one minute at a time. Then minutes turn to hours and hours turn to days. They grow so fast.” She sighed and affectionately smoothed her thumb over Ava’s pudgy cheek. “There’ll be difficult times, like with everything. But it’s nice to savor the calm moments.”

           Amelia tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thank you for talking to me, it’s really helped.”

           “Of course.” Maxine gave her a smile and stood up, resting Ava on her hip.

           Amelia stood as well, bending down to pick up the basin for her so she wouldn’t have to bend over.

           “If I don’t see you the rest of the fair, good luck with everything. You’ll do great.”

           Amelia was a bit more reassured as Maxine walked away with Ava. But there was still that hint of doubt that she wouldn’t compare.

~~~~~~~~~~

           Later on, in the day, Tommy and the other boys returned from hunting. While Amelia occupied Finn and Ada, Polly and the others skinned and cut the stag and rabbits. As Polly cleaned some of the furs, Tommy sat near the fire.

           He looked over to where Amelia and Ada were sitting in the grass. Finn was toddling back and forth between him. A great big smile on the little boy’s face as Amelia cooed sweetly to him. She seemed to glow in the summer sun. There were honey tones in her hair that Tommy hadn’t really noticed before. Maybe there was never enough sun in Birmingham to see them. Maybe before he had been too young and immature to give her a second look.

           But once he noticed, it was hard to look away.

           “Pol?”

           “Mhm?”

           Tommy tore his eyes from Amelia. “Mel and I were talking a couple of weeks back about the baby.”

           Polly sighed and looked up at her nephew. “Thomas Michael Shelby, I told you to leave her alone about it.”

           “No, it’s-she said it was okay to talk about.” He clarified. “I didn’t pester her or nothing.”

           “Alright, what did she say then?”

           “Well, she was wondering about raising the baby without a father.” Tommy felt a little uncomfortable saying it out loud to others. It made so much sense when he talked about it with Amelia. But explaining it to Polly was like standing on thorns. He was waiting for her to call him foolish and stupid for ever thinking he could fill such a role. Tommy already had enough doubt in his head that he projected it onto others without realizing it.

           “Right…”

           “And I said-well I said I’d step up, y’know?” He wiped his pocket knife off on his already dirtied shirt.

           Polly laid out a rabbit fur to dry. “That’s a big responsibility.”

           His eyes went downward and his head hung a little, waiting for her to berate him. “I know.”

           “But I think that’s admirable of you, Thomas.” She said, her voice softening. “What she needs most right now is a companion and someone to be there for her. She’ll have all of our support but if she has someone who is more of a confidante then, she deserves that.”

           Tommy looked up at her, a bit surprised but relieved at the same time. “You think I can do that?”

           “It will be a lot of work. Children aren’t easy but you know that. You’ve helped me with Finn and Ada. John too. And-” There was a break in her voice. She shook her head. It was too soon. She hadn’t spoken their names since they were torn from her arms. “Anyway,” She continued past the heartache she needed to be strong. That’s all she could do. There was so much that needed to be done. It seemed she only had time at night to think about Anna and Michael. Time to think about when they would be returned to her.

           “Pol…”

           “The child ought to grow up with a mother and father. And Amelia should have someone to rely on. But you cannot” She pointed her knife at him to prove a point, “abandon her once you commit. I won’t have you getting cold feet and running off like your father.”

           Tommy’s nose wrinkled at the comparison between him and his absent father. “Won’t be like him.” He promised. “Never.”

           Polly sighed and nodded. “Then, I think it will work out perfectly fine. You two are very close, I’m sure you’ll make it work.”

           “Pol!” John came running over. “Can I go riding with Martha and her brothers? They said there’s this big open place for racing ‘n I wanna show ‘em I can gallop!” He rambled off.

           “Of course, your siblings, and I will just keep camp and make dinner for you when you return.” She replied with an eyebrow raised.

           The teenage boy grimaced, picking up on the sarcasm hinting in his aunt’s voice. “Please?”

           Polly sighed and shook her head. At least it would be easy to get things done if she didn’t have Ada and John bickering the rest of the evening. “Go on then. Be back for dinner!”

           “Thanks, Pol!”  

           “Don’t let Martha’s brothers so you kissing her, they’ll skin ya alive!” Tommy called.

           John stuck his tongue out at his brother and flipped him the middle finger.

           Polly stood up. “John Shelby!” She scolded.      

           But he simply ran off so she wouldn’t be able to catch him.

           “That’s your future if Amelia has a boy,” Polly warned Tommy as she sat back down.

           He just chuckled. “Eh, he won’t have any Shelby blood so maybe not.”

           “It matters more who raised you. That’s why you’re not a clone of your father, none of you are. You’ve got your mother in you and that counts for something. She keeps the demons at bay.”

           “Yeah…I guess.” Tommy looked down at his hands, bloody from cutting the meat. “I guess.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

           “Is it going to be a boy or a girl?” One of Polly’s cousins, Marie asked.

           Amelia was sat by one of the vardos with Polly and some of her kin. All women, they were discussing everything over fixing some clothing and blankets. Amelia was no good at mending anything but she tried her best with Polly subtly giving her guidance.

           “Oh, I’m not sure.” Amelia laughed softly. “I don’t know how I would be able to tell.”

           “Well hasn’t Polly figured it out?” Marie’s daughter, Hazel, asked.

           “No?” Amelia glanced over at Tommy’s aunt.

           She smiled and shook her head. “I didn’t know if you wanted it to be a surprise or not. But if you’d like to know…”

           “Oh, it’s no fun if it’s a surprise!” Marie protested. “You’ll be holding a baby with no fucking clue what to name them.”

           The women voiced their agreement. “Alright, I guess it would be nice to know.” Amelia’s cheeks went a little red from the attention.

           Polly set down her needles and reached over to Amelia. She lightly cupped her right breast and furrowed her brow in thought. Amelia snorted out a confused laugh, unsure how that would ever tell the gender of her child.

           “It’s a boy.” Polly decided after a brief moment. “Lord help us all.”

           They all laughed. “Well, you can always try again for a girl.” Marie pointed out. “Although if you do, you might end up with a house full of boys and no girl.” She warned.

           “Oh, I think a boy will be fine. Tommy will be able to teach him right.” Amelia shrugged and tried to resume her focus on the hole in the blanket she was attempting to fix.

           There was a little disruption as the women in the group stifled a collective gasp. Hazel bit back a coy smile. “So Tommy is the father?”

           Amelia realized the slip as her eyes widened. “Um well…” She glanced to Polly who gave her a nod of reassurance, almost allowing her to make up her own mind. “Yes, he is.” The answer wasn’t to save face for herself but for the Shelby family. What would say about Tommy if he was raising the bastard son of another mysterious man? Amelia thought it was clear that he was a very good man who was willing to help out a friend, but she figured others might not see it the same way she did. Maybe they would think he was a fool for supporting a child who wasn’t his blood.

           The women tittered with excitement. “We knew, or I suppose we all guessed.” Marie clarified.

           Another woman, who Amelia wasn’t sure what her relation to Polly was, pointed at Hazel. “I told you, didn’t I? I said ‘look at the way he looks at her. That is the look of a man who loved the woman carrying his child’.”

           Amelia’s face was burning. Had Tommy really been looking at her that way? She hadn’t noticed, maybe it was when she wasn’t looking at him. She tried to imagine that look and it made her heart skip a beat.

           “They’ve been in love for years,” Polly said with a casual shrug.

           “Pol!” Amelia exclaimed in embarrassment.

           “It’s true! I would always say to his mother that you two were just meant to be. Tommy never gave any other girl the time of day. And every dinner it would be ‘Amelia this and Amelia that’.” Polly smiled fondly. Whenever any of them would mention Tommy’s little crush on Amelia, the young boy would make a sour face and say girls were gross. But Polly knew that he never explicitly denied it. Now she still saw the adoration they had for each other. It had matured and aged to be something more, however. Polly knew it was love, but it would be for them to figure that out.

           “Well speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Marie said with an amused look in her eye.

           Amelia turned and indeed Tommy was making his way over to the group. She felt her chest tighten. He looked a dream, even she couldn’t deny that. His dark hair was unkempt as were his clothes. His white shirt was partially untucked and sported a bit of dirt from his morning’s ride. His bracers hung by his hips and his hat was tucked the back pocket of his trousers. But what really stood out was the crystal-clear blue in his eyes that shone so brilliantly in the sun.

           “There you are.” He said to her. “I thought Pol might’ve kidnapped you and brought you here.” He smiled.

           “I was just helping mend a few things,” Amelia responded but her voice sounded strange to her. As if she wasn’t really sure if she was speaking the words correctly or if they were coming out in complete gibberish.

           “I’ve never known you to pick up darning needles in your life.” He smirked, amused by seeing her be so domestic.  

           “Well, neither have you.” She retorted. But realized all the women in the group were watching them tease each other. They looked coy, as if they all knew something Amelia didn’t. She cleared her throat and ducked her head a bit to shake off their attention.

           “You’re having a little boy, Tommy, isn’t that exciting?” Marie asked.

           He looked perplexed for a split moment. “Oh…a boy, really?” He didn’t quite pick up on the notion that Amelia had said he was the father of her child.

           “That’s what Pol said.” Amelia nodded.

           Tommy smiled slowly. “That’ll-well that’ll be nice, won’t it? He’ll grow up with Finn. They could be good friends, aye?” His excitement ebbed a bit when he realized all of Polly’s kin and friends were listening to him. A bit embarrassed, he cleared his throat. “Want to take a walk with me?” He offered Amelia.

           “Um, yeah, alright.” She set down her handiwork and took his hand to stand up. “I’ll be back, Pol.”

           “Take your time.” Polly shared a knowing smile with her cousin.

           “They love to gossip, don’t they?” Tommy sighed when they were out of earshot.

           “They’re nice though.”

           “Yeah.” He shoved a hand in his pocket. It was hard to know what to say first. Tommy hadn’t put much thought into the gender of the baby. A baby was a baby and he figured when they were young, it didn’t matter. He hadn’t put much thought into when they were old enough and exhibited a personality. “He could learn how to ride and hunt,” Tommy mentioned. “I could teach him when he’s old enough.”

           Amelia smiled. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest. “I could see him wanting to be just like you.” She wished, deep down, that her child would have Tommy’s eyes. Realistically, it was impossible. She had brown eyes and so did his biological father. But they could always… She paused and stopped to look at him. “Polly said that you-well-maybe at one point you…loved me.”

           He looked a little stunned. Tommy had never told his aunt how he felt about Amelia when they were younger. The little puppy dog crush he had on her. And he certainly hadn’t told her about how he felt about Amelia at the moment. But perhaps he’d made it obvious enough. Maybe there was no hiding it.

           “Would that have been okay?” He asked. He felt like the same young boy that could talk to his best friend for hours about anything, but when it came to how his heart skipped a beat when she was around? He couldn’t say a word about it to her.

           She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Yeah, that would’ve been more than okay. It still is more than okay.”

           Tommy felt like the world was quickly running out of oxygen. Was this truly happening? Were they on that verge? The final leap of faith before everything would fall into seemingly perfect order? “Yeah?”

           “Yeah.”

           He laughed nervously. “Sorry.”

           “What are you apologizing for?” She gazed up at him with the sun bringing out all the warm amber hues in her eyes.

           Tommy wasn’t sure if his palms were sweating from the summer heat or because of the way she was looking at him. Either way, it made him feel a little self-conscious. How manly was he if he couldn’t even admit his feelings in clear words? That he had to rely on some school-yard, round-about way of confessing to her.

           “Tom?” Amelia tilted her head to the side. “You’ve gone a bit quiet.”

           “Oh, well I was just apologizing for leaving you with Polly and the rest of ‘em.” He lied and rubbed his palms over the front of his pants. “I should go wash up though.” He made up an excuse to slip away.

           “Tommy?” Amelia reached out to grab his arm before he could vanish. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to, y’know, be with me. I appreciate you wanting to help with the baby but that doesn’t mean you need to be any more than just a father figure. I don’t expect anything else from you.” There was a hint of sadness in her eyes as if she’d lost some sort of hope.

           “That’s not it, Mel.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not it at all.”

           “Then what is it?”

           “What is what?”

           Her eyes widened in disbelief that they were dragging out the conversation much longer than was necessary. “The-the reason you wanted to speak with me right now.

           “I didn’t have anything to really say. I just didn’t want them looking at us like that.” He waved a hand towards the group of women. “You were the one saying all that about what Pol said.”

           “But-” Amelia made a noise of frustration at him. “Why is this so difficult?”

           Tommy knew exactly what she meant. But he wasn’t going to be the one to own up to that. “Why is what so difficult?”

           “This!”

           “What?”

           She threw her hands up. “Thomas Shelby, you know what I’m talking about! The fact that at one point you maybe, might’ve loved me and at one point I probably loved you too. And now that it’s just-it just never went away. And I probably still love you and I thought maybe you still loved me too. But I suppose I was wrong because you’re being so bloody difficult.” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

           He stared at her. All of a sudden, all her cards were on the table. And he was still holding his tight to his chest like a coward. “I never said I didn’t love you.”

           Amelia blinked and opened her mouth only to falter for a second. “You never said you loved me either.” She countered.

           “Well, I do.”

           The two stood there in a long pause of silence, merely looking at each other. Amelia’s arms dropped to her side. “W-well I do too.”

           A small smile of disbelief formed on Tommy’s face. “Then there’s nothing difficult about it.”

           She laughed and rolled her eyes. “We certainly made it difficult.”

           “I think we’re just good at making everything difficult.” He grinned.

           “Yeah, we sure are.”

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[gershwintheatre]

For remember-me-with-smiles

So I had this idea where Walt found David after realizing he had a son out there. David, feeling miserable because he is not connecting with his military father meets Walt and discovers the truth. That Walt is his real dad and the fact that David is very impressionable pushes David to doing this. The idea behind Shelby being taken and the other girl being taken is this... David gets a blond, blue-eyed prostitute (basically a Jane Doe) and takes her into the woods while Walt kidnaps Shelby. Walt has always wanted Shelby so Walt kills the Jane Doe with the belief that if they make everyone believe it is Shelby then he could hide her away.

This context makes gives a lot of clarification to the outline! I think as long as you give a well-enough explanation of how David is Walt’s biological son and how they were separated it could work. I’d also keep in mind that though David is a negative character in the show he’s still a kid who was sent to Horizon because of his struggles. It may come across negatively to some readers to make him a villain.

For some reason I thought Shelby was closer to 18 which is why the whole under-age thing completely flew over my head. So in the case of this story, I guess Shelby will be older. I thought Shelby was going to be graduating from Horizon soon? I will have to go back and rewatch the last episode to see how Shelby’s story ends.

I admittedly haven’t watched the show in quite a while, but I believe Katherine was the only one close to graduation. I got the sense that she was the only senior in the group, and that the rest were sophomores or juniors. Not sure if this is helpful to you, but as a viewer I imagined Ezra, Juliette, Shelby, and maybe Scott were sophomores, Daisy and Auggie were juniors, and Kat was a senior.

As for Peter, I figure Shelby has always seen Peter as the Dad she never had and I felt like he would want to watch out for her too. I was thinking that at first he tries to convince her to stay and maybe she fools him into believing she would. However, Shelby is a runner and she takes off. Now my idea was to leave Jess in the dark for her safety and knowing she could trust Peter and Sophie to care for her.

I definitely agree with the father point, or at least that Shelby views him as a stand in for a parental figure! And I think it is reasonable that Shelby would feel she could trust them enough to leave her sister behind, especially if she consciously recognized how young her sister is and how difficult her (Shelby) life will be as she tries to leave her entire identity behind.

I still need to work out where JJ goes and the connections she makes. Another option is that Peter knows someone who puts her in witness protection because of Walt and David. In this case, she would have to know it was them. I’ve just honestly read some other JJ/Shelby stories where she is placed in witness protection and I didn’t want to seem like I was copying them, but if think of a way I can twist it I will consider it. If I do go the witness protection plot-line I lose the added shock value towards the end of the story, but it could work.

I think the witness protection program could work; I don’t have too much knowledge on how it works tbh, but it seems like something a reader could reasonably suspend a bit of belief over even if it isn’t the most realistic

Like I said above, I figure Peter would be the one person from her old life she would keep in contact with. Maybe her sister to if you think it’s worth adding. Peter watches over Shelby from a distance making sure she’s okay.

I think that as long as the story follows a certain path in terms of when & how Shelby leaves Horizon and changes her identity, then keeping in contact with Peter seems believable/feasible. Outside of these restraints, there’s also the factor of Shelby’s personality. If she were to keep in contact with him, she seems like the type of person that would keep sporadic contact and kind of does is begrudgingly (imo). All of this could also translate to a relationship with Jess, if you decide to go that route.  

At first I was going to have Peter write to her and or she calls him when she receives the invitation, but I figured an in-person meeting would make it harder for her to turn him down. If you don’t think Peter coming to her work is a good idea I could always have them meet maybe at a diner or at her home. A diner could be interesting and maybe a co-worker is there picking up breakfast and sees them talk. Of course they don’t know who this guy is sitting with JJ. Instead of them overhearing JJ talk about Shelby it could be the shock value of them recognizing a picture of Peter when they later look into Horizon. They remember JJ sitting with him. No matter the case, Peter reveals to JJ that her sister is still working at the school as a counselor and Scott is planning on visiting once the off-season of football starts up.

I think a non-work setting seems the most realistic, and the idea of a diner or other place that this person could see them sounds fun! The idea of them recognizing Peter seems like it would fit better in terms of realism, because Shelby/JJ’s interaction with him isn’t as incriminating (they don’t know exactly why she has a connection with him and can’t prove that she actually knows anything about the case), whereas her stating anything about the case is very damning.

If I do keep this part in... When JJ makes the loud statement about “Shelby died in the woods that night.” And her co-worker overhears I do believe that is something to be brought up later. Her team has a rule of not profiling each other so her teammate watches and waits for the right moment to confront her. Of course she pushes away and gets angry.

You’d have to be very careful about how this statement & her co-worker’s suspicions and how they tie in later. I think once it becomes known to her coworker that Shelby/JJ’s statement is tied to the case in any way, it may come across as unbelievable that her teammate would keep this completely under-wraps. Maybe they could confront her about it and if Shelby/JJ is able to give them a convincing enough answer they’d decide to keep quiet.

What I was really going for was the idea that her co-worker asks her about Shelby and JJ pushes away. Then when the name pops up during search history and the fact she was found in the woods they put it all together. That JJ knew this girl Shelby. Either this, or the co-worker recalls seeing JJ sitting with Peter at the diner.

Similar to my last point, I think this could work in the situation where Shelby gives them a convincing answer/lie to keep them quiet

I’m glad you like the idea about Ezra being the one who brings her the case. I was thinking more along the lines of Ezra being a story reporter rather than a police officer. He seemed to enjoy documentaries and creative writing at Horizon so I thought it would fit his character. My thought was that Ezra knew Shelby and when these similar cases start popping up he puts it all together and brings JJ the cases in the hopes of not only finding the person responsible but also getting an exclusive on the story.

I think this could definitely work as well; I can totally see him as a reporter!

I know I’m going overboard on the crossovers, but I figure the way I’m planning on doing it will make sense. So JJ meets Kat at the police station, she married Hank who is now the lead investigator. Just because Kat and JJ meet does not mean Kat has to recognize her. Daisy works at the ME. When they arrive at the station two of JJ’s co-workers head to the ME’s office and get their information. When they return and JJ hears whom the ME is she makes a visit while her teammates are off having dinner (maybe she fakes being ill and with her odd behavior they all let it slide). JJ runs into Daisy who has this instinct about who she really is. I felt they had a strong connection as teens. Its an eye opening moment for JJ, realizing these girls at the ME’s office could have been her had she not gotten away. As for Juliette, well her story turned out sad. After leaving Horizon she hooked back up with Auggie but when he died (maybe a rival gang caught up with him) Juliette lost her compass. She really lost her way and found herself on the streets. Because the girls being taken are prostitutes (Jane Does), I was thinking JJ’s team could be out canvasing local hook ups. There, JJ finds Juliette who can vaguely recall who might be taking the girls and how it is being done. I Thought this would be an interesting tie-in. Maybe JJ helps Juliette by bringing her to Kat who offers to help her get back on her feet.

Kat’s ties through Hank definitely seem believable, and I like the Daisy idea as well. I immediately pictured a scenario where Daisy doesn’t really let Shelby/JJ know if she recognizes her or not, and Shelby/JJ is kind of uncomfortable because of it, but at the end of their interaction as they are parting ways she says something kind of cryptic that leads us and Shelby to believe she recognizes her. It seems very in-character for Daisy to silently recognize Shelby and not let on that she recognizes her until they are parting ways. I can also totally picture her working for a ME. I think that’s also an interesting spin for Juliette’s character and could fit into the storyline. Tbh I visually pictured Ruby from the early seasons of Once Upon a Time (lol!), so if you were looking for another spinoff/reference, maybe she could be going by the name Ruby! I think in all situations where someone don’t recognize Shelby, it would be helpful to make this known to the reader so they aren’t thinking “why doesn’t so and so recognize her?”. Maybe portraying Shelby/JJ worrying that they will recognize her and being relieved when they don’t.

My idea was maybe JJ was told to pick up lunch for her teammates and when she returns she overhears Garcia talking about how there was a similar case 10 years ago. A Shelby Merrick. Her co-worker recalls JJ talking about a girl named Shelby. Either that or when a picture of Peter shows up the one profiler remembers seeing JJ with Peter. She decides to put the take-out food on the doorstep and takes a company car to Horizon. JJ knows its just a matter of time before they find out the truth and scared of what her teammates will think and also about her Horizon family finding out the truth about her running away she decided to go to Horizon. Knowing that her long ago boyfriend and sister are there she wants to come clean to them about what she did before it all breaks lose in front of her FBI crew.

This additional context definitely helps clarify things. I think this could also be a cool opportunity to exemplify the battle between her personality/identity as Shelby and JJ; in a situation like this it seems likely Shelby would instinctually try to run and avoid being found out, but JJ would be more likely to try to get a handle on things and prepare for when everything comes out.

There, she does run into Scott who is visiting the school during the off-season of Football and for the reunion. Jess is now working there as a counselor. I wasn’t planning on having Jess know about JJ, but as a reader if you think it is something worth adding then I will consider it. Maybe Peter and Jess were both people she wrote to. If I do decide to keep Jess in the dark I think JJ would have her reasons. She trusts Peter and Sophie to care for her and know Peter will keep her updated. Jess would have a hard time with JJ coming back, but I think regardless she would whether she knew the truth or not. It has been 10 years after all. So like I said, when JJ returns to Horizon Jess is working at the school. She counsels a group of kids, one being a girl similar to Shelby and Jess (doesn’t have to be the same childhood trauma but in looks). Somehow Jess and JJ get on the subject about a tiger necklace Jess wears. Walt used to call Jess and Shelby Kitten. The necklace is a reminder that he no longer can hurt them and that Jess is in control over her life. She doesn't have to live in fear.

I think either way could work for Jess. I definitely agree that reuniting with Shelby and/or realizing what happened to her would be a big moment for both and this stands out as something that can’t be rushed through.

When JJ arrives at Horizon she and Scott get into a big argument (the kind they used to have as teens…good old Shelby and Scott). Anyways, Peter suggests they go on a buddy hike to talk over what happened. No people, only nature and the two of them working together and talking. I was thinking that by the time they return to Horizon her team is just arriving and they do bring in Peter, Scott, and JJ for questioning. Her team figures it was Peter and Scott working as a team to take these girls and somehow JJ knows about Shelby. It’s during JJ’s interview that it all comes out, about Walt and her being Shelby. How she was taken one night when the Jane Doe was found and everyone thought it was her she felt like she could finally breath for the first time. She had her chance to make a new life for herself and she took it.

I really like the idea of being back at Horizon/around her old classmates bringing out her Shelby personality and letting the readers see the struggle she probably has with trying to suppress that part of herself so she can live as JJ. I could see this whole portion of the story really being a blend of her Shelby and JJ personalities, and the two identities kind of battling each other as her two worlds really collide.

While being interviewed that night Jess and the female student who resembles the two girls is taken. Jess leaves the tiger necklace for JJ to find knowing she would understand. Going off of the necklace and memories, JJ convinces her team that she knows who has them and where they are. She tells them the wrong location so she can get to them first and by the time they realize what has happened JJ is face to face with Walt and David.

As a reader, I would question why Walt/David decided to resurface on this specific night, so you’d want to make sure to have an explanation for this. I think this could also another opportunity to show the Shelby/JJ inner struggle.

Overall, this gave a lot of clarification! As I said, I think a really interesting opportunity with this story would be to see Shelby/JJ’s inner struggle as her two worlds collide.