#hen was eating something dead xx

[sidetongue]

someone issue them a ticket

[vostokovasmelina]

Hey! I truly love your writing 👉👈 Do you think you’d ever write something about a reader battling an eating disorder (preferably anorexia nervosa)? Maybe how the Shelbys would handle her disorder or something of that sort. Thank you if you do it! Good day ⭐️

a/n: i did contemplate whether or not i should accept this request but here’s to me trying to stay objective and not project on an issue i’m way too familiar with. wish me luck xx

trigger warning for obvious reasons, everything under the cut

i decided not to include the taglist here because of the topic xx

TOMMY

we have no record of thomas shelby’s last actual meal in this life - honestly, when did he last eat?? -, so i don’t think he would think too much into it at first

like, he really doesn’t care when and how much people eat since he barely has any interest in food himself

nevertheless, he has always taken your safe upbringing seriously, so he would still be one of the first people to notice the slight changes in your behaviour around food and once he’d get it, his immediate reaction would be anger

not at you, much rather at the certain person or thing that had planted the poisonous seed in your head

he would probably try and sniff around at first, suggesting to take you out for dinner every now and again just to see your reaction

and despite his cold dead heart being unable to feel genuine human emotions, tommy would have a knot tightening in his stomach every time he saw you tossing your food around on your plate

as he watched your clothes getting baggier, he would probably just blurt it out with no warning - he would finally ask you about all this

and yeah, you might try to deny it at first but tommy would see through all the bullshit and you’d eventually have to tell him otherwise he wouldn’t let you out of his office anymore

and after you’ve cried on his shoulder, he would get to work immediately and would probably go out of his way to help you get back on the right track

and would stick with you through thick and thin, cos tommy can be a good big brother when he wants to be, okay?

ARTHUR

okay, we’ve already established that arthur is a mother hen to you and he’s a real softie around you

he would always try to protect you from all harm but your disorder would slip his attention for a while

now don’t blame arthur here, he really loves you but an*rexia is a sneaky bitch and the eldest shelby is not necessarily the observer type

he’d probably only notice once you had lost quite a few pounds - and man, would he ask you about it straight-away

he would probably say something like “love, what’s happened to your hugs, eh?” or “i thought you loved *insert any fav type of food here*”

he would be half joking and you would try to shrug it off but the harder you would try, the harder you would stutter and arthur would finally understand there was something serious going on

“who called you fat, y/n? who was that fucker? just say the name, love!”

tommy would have to push him back down into the chair

i don’t think arthur would fully understand the whole emotional aspect of your disorder but he would still try his absolute best to be there for you, even if a bit misinformed at times

and even when he was forcing you to eat his terrible cooking, arthur would have the best intentions

but would always try to hide how worried sick he is

JOHN

he would probably handle it the best?

like, he wouldn’t try to fix you, john would just simply want to make your days at least a little bit bearable by joking around with you and continuing to look at you the same way

he would probably be the one you went to when all the others were getting too much to take

though all this does not mean he would support or would be okay with your ed

i guess he would just understand it a little better (john is an empath, don’t @ me) and would be more patient with you as you stepped on the path to recovery

john would also always reassure you of how beautiful you are and would be super proud of you every time you managed to eat a meal no matter the size

he would just be the most supportive big brother :(

ADA

she would be bloody worried, honestly, but would always try to keep that a secret from you

sometimes she would break down though, and you two would cry together or something dramatic of that sort but she’d always try her best to build you up

ada would spend more time with you, so she could keep an eye on you and also to cheer you up on your worst days

she would definitely encourage you and sometimes even push you to eat more since she wouldn’t want you to pass out on the streets of small heath

she would still kind of understand it and would always take ‘no’ for an answer - ada would never want to force anything on you

she would also fix your clothes if they got too baggy and would always listen to whatever you wanted to talk about

but wouldn’t treat you as a special case and you could always count on her if you wanted to go out and do something fun to forget about your ed for a few hours

ada would be the absolute most responsible big sister and would be your biggest help as you learnt how to eat normally again

POLLY

of course she would be the first to find out

probably quite early on and probably in some nasty way

like finding half-rotten food hidden deep in your wardrobe

and you can bet your ass she would be real pissed off

like, pol would probably perform a whole 20-minute long monologue and would cut you if you tried to cut her off

it would seem like she didn’t understand and was angry with you

but, just like tommy, she would actually be pissed at whatever started this in you - she would simply take out her frustration on you

once she collected herself and cooled down, though, she would pull you in for the tightest hug and silently swear to protect you forever and look after you better

she would be discreet about it around the boys though but would “plot” your recovery together with tommy in secret

polly would be surprisingly patient and understanding, however, she would definitely push you a bit more than ada

and it might seem like she was hard on you, her heart would actually ache at the sight of your shrinking clothes and she would want to do anything to make you feel better

FINN

finn wouldn’t get what’s going on

he wouldn’t understand how you could hate your body so much to go all this way to change it

and it would actually take a toll on him, seeing you like this

please, don’t make lil finn sad :(

he thinks you’re utterly beautiful and deserving of all the love in the world - including your own