#his mustach and glasses really hide alot

[tatck]

why is eggmans face so hard to draw?? it's made up of such simple shapes? why do i struggle so much with it

[flowerbloom-arts]

Welp, since two people asked (@xanzusx and @ratdaduniverse ) I suppose I have an excuse to do an unnecessarily deep dive into a character literally nobody cared about that much or bothers to draw before I came along with my thing for all too unpopular characters!

Let's start with a quick tl;dr :

Aunt Jane is (probably, this is more speculative than anything) a victim of capitalism and misogyny working together to create a damaged woman with anger issues and a toxic relationship with money.

How, you may ask? Well, let's take a close look at her titular, starring, and only episode of the 90s series;

episode 27: Aunt Jane

In the beginning of the episode, Moominpappa receives a letter from an aunt from his father's side and it's made immediately clear that he is not a fan of his aunt or the reason she sent the letter to him, it's also stated that Aunt Jane had no one else to turn to besides her nephew to "discuss money matters" as the episode puts it. Moominpappa says that he isn't really scared of Aunt Jane herself (though she is quite scary and a not-great person as MP himself describes, being bossy and not letting people have a moment of peace) but it's the money he's afraid of, he's afraid of having to discuss something he knows nothing about with someone he dislikes, so he takes it upon himself to leave before she arrives. (sidenote: this may tie into some fear Moominpappa has of looking dumb and ruining his ego, aswell as generally not being able to put up with people he finds unpleasant for very long)

Then Aunt Jane arrives on a rowboat down the Moomin Valley river with someone else rowing for her (cool detail: her boat actually matches her umbrella! We can assume she owns the boat based on this and the rower is either an employee or some guy she paid [his mustache is delightful by the way, I love the round little fella]) and she just has this... Very odd blank stare as our very first shot of her? It's an odd first impression for the viewer to be sure.

Jane gets off the boat and the rower simply continues down stream without her, Jane notices Snufkin fishing and asks for directions to Moominhouse, Snufkin gives her the tip and then Jane asks Snufkin if he could carry her suitcase of gold coins for her. Snufkin politely declines, saying he's busy, and then Jane attempts to bribe Snufkin by offering a "handsome reward" in a very confident manner, almost as if that trick has always worked before. Snufkin still declines, saying he just wants to fish. Aunt Jane is legitimately shocked at Snufkin not wanting money, now a first-time viewer might interpret this as Jane being vain with her wealth but it actually ties into how everyone in her life would simply be interested in her money (which is something that'll be elaborated further on) so Snufkin is perhaps the first person in a long while to not be interested.

Jane has little time to let that sink in as Sniff (the ultimate capitalist of the show) runs in, introduces himself as simply someone to help take her to Moominhouse and goes to help Jane carry her suitcase, to which Jane simply acts like a more poised individual and bimbles behind Sniff.

They arrive at Moominhouse right after Moominpappa had already left in the previous scene, Aunt Jane adjusts her glasses and says "A round house? How stupi- typical of my nephew." which establishes that Jane... doesn't like her nephew (and considers round shaped houses as being dumb [which I think a couple architects/engineers would agree but correct me if I'm wrong])

Jane gets welcomed by Moominmamma and after Moomintroll introduces himself Jane's attention immediately goes to Little My, assuming that My is a child of the family, she says that My's too small for a daughter (her expression says that she's bothered by it more than anything), then Moominmamma explains that Little My's not related but lives with them and My says she won't get any bigger, to which Jane simply squints at the small creature in a strange but I guess concerned manner? It's easy to assume that there were some strange beliefs about daughters that she was raised on.

Jane then asks where her "worthless nephew" is (again, she doesn't think highly of him), Moominmamma barely manages to not tell her the truth and Moomintroll saves her by saying Pappa's away to find inspiration for his work. Jane says "When has he ever worked? I'm here to see him!" (Score 3 for putting down her nephew) and Moomintroll suggests she should talk to him instead, Sniff butts in saying Moomintroll knows nothing about money and Aunt Jane simply says "In that case it's about high time he learned! As for his father, I may still disinherit him." (Score 4), Sniff says he's a member of the family and she can talk to him about money, Moomintroll says he's a great friend of his, and Jane adjusts her glasses then says "But hardly a member of the family" (we can see here she only really cares about relations more than anything when it comes to others taking care of her money, perhaps the money was passed down through generations and she wants to uphold that tradition, which is only one major reason she wants to get rid of it)

Snork and Snorkmaiden walk in, Snork introduces himself and explains how his sister is a "special friend" to Moomintroll and basically that they might get married someday, thus merging the Snork and Moomin family together, thus making them practically family already (Which I find just so utterly hilarious, he can be such a weasel I love him). Jane doesn't accept that as an argument (OBVIOUSLY) so Snork explains that he needs money to fund his flying ship project, and then Mr. Hemulen walks in with a very happy confidence (that chaotic metallic theme [you know the one if you pay attention to the soundtrack] cues but then stops shortly, I got so hyped and it just ended like that :( ) and he tells Aunt Jane about himself and asks her to fund his scientific research (assuming Sniff had already told her about it) and Sniff tries to save it by explaining that they could grow a greenhouse of orchids and roses and sell them to make money, he corrects himself by saying "I mean you'll make alot of money!" instead of "we'll" which he thinks might make her more lenient to the idea, but Jane shuts it down by saying she already has plenty of money (showing that she really isn't interested in hoarding wealth, she's satisfied with what she has especially since the whole point of going to the Valley was to shove her money-related issues onto her nephew)

The three guys try to talk over eachother trying to explain themselves, Jane is overwhelmed and confused so she stops them and asks Snork to clarify that he's Snorkmaiden and it goes downhill from there, Snork asks if he's explained his connection to the moomins well enough, Sniff says he's a friend of Moomin's, Mr. Hemulen asks Sniff if he could explain his research to her for him, and they all talk over eachother, Aunt Jane looks back in forth in a confused and overwhelmed manner and then gets angry, then she yells "BE QUIET EVERYONE!" with an overhead shot of Moominhouse (this sort of sets up Jane's anger issues which builds and builds until the climax of the episode)

Moominmamma escorts Jane to her room and tells her that she can call if she needs anything before leaving Jane alone, Jane more or less just observes her surroundings (it's clear she wasn't used to such a simple environment but she isn't opposed to it either) and then sits down on her bed with her eyes closed, looking peaceful for literally less than two seconds before Sniff knocks and she stands up instantly with her hands held in front of her like a "proper woman" sort of pose. Sniff stumbles in the room with the suitcase of gold and sets it on the floor, Jane thanks him and then Sniff stands there and looks around as if he's looking for something and goes "Ehem". Jane sees this and unenthusiastically asks "What is it? Want a reward?" (This is like the most telling scene of the episode and shows that this kind of thing is something that she's used to) Sniff lies at first but then admits it after a second thought, he hesitates and looks around if anyone would eavesdrop on them, Jane tells him to make up his mind and then Sniff gets close to her and whispers that he knows where Moominpappa is, Jane dismisses it saying she knows that he's on a trip (atleast she's willing to believe it? Doesn't revert any of her put-down points tho), Sniff corrects her by saying he's actually nearby and Jane is immediately interested and asks Sniff where he is, Sniff says Pappa said not to tell her where he is since it's a secret and after teasing it with her Sniff says he'll be taking a risk if he tells her so Jane asks "Oh, how much do you want?" knowing full well Sniff wanted to get paid for this without him even saying it, Sniff plays it safe and says she can decide how much she'll give him.

Sniff leads her on the beach, Snufkin notices this and runs to the cave to warn Moominpappa before she arrives (what a champ, that Snufkin) and then Sniff and Jane enter the cave with it's watery floor, Jane thanks him with a singular silver coin, Sniff asks if that's it and then Jane replies (with a very angry tone) that yes that's it until she actually sees her nephew, the two enter the cave with no Moominpappa in sight, Sniff is bewildered by this and Jane is very angrily disappointed that her "worthless nephew" (Score 5, though it's just a repeated insult, it still counts) isn't there, Sniff says "this is very strange!" while desperately looking for Moominpappa and Jane assumes Sniff had tricked her and takes away Sniff's one coin as punishment and simply leaves despite Sniff's desperate cries that he has to be there somewhere.

Jane goes back to Moominhouse and enters the kitchen to ask Moominmamma where Moominpappa is hiding, Moominmamma gasps and tries to reiterate the lie Moomintroll said, but Jane says she wants to know the TRUTH, so Moominmamma stutters and Jane tells her to hurry up, Mamma sadly admits that Moominpappa is hiding in the cave but Jane says she's already been there and didn't find him. Mamma is suddenly hopeful and is like "Oh so he really must have gone on a trip!", Jane proceeds to ask why Moominpappa would want to hide from her anyway, Moominmamma "suggests" that maybe Moominpappa is afraid of her, and Jane gets legitimately surprised and furious over this and asks "But why!?", Mamma says that he's mostly afraid of money matters, Jane exclaims "Incredible!" and contemplates "Afraid of me because of money matters...?" and then storms out of the kitchen saying "He must be utterly mad!" (Score 6)

Jane sits down on the table in her room and talks to herself about how this family is so confusing and only Sniff seems to know anything about money, Little My enters smuggly and shits the behind her, saying she knows where Moominpappa is at that moment, Jane assumes Little My wants gold from her and My says she couldn't care less about her silly gold, Jane strangely enough seems to try and defend the thing by saying "My 'silly gold' indeed! With my 'silly gold' I can assure you you could do just about anything you want!" and My claps back with how it isn't helping her find Moominpappa, this arouses Jane and My continues saying she should forget about her money. Jane responds by turning around in her chair to look at Little My directly and says "Young lady, money isn't something you could just forget about! It needs constant looking after- that's why I must talk to Moominpappa at once! Now take me to that rascal nephew you of mine if you really know where he is, you hear me!?"

My and Jane walk down the dirt path and see Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden being all lovey-dovey with eachother on a tree stump, saying how they love eachother and such, Jane scoffs "Oh, how frivolous!" and My smugky responds with "Not really, if I could find a small enough boyfriend, I'd be frivolous just like them too!" and starts to walk away, Aunt Jane turns to her and says with a very strong sense of longing "Ah well, Fredrick and I were frivolous once..." (With an inexplicable voice change by the way) and My just teasingly says "Really? If you says so! Suppose I'll have to believe you!" while still walking away, and Jane gets so mad at this dismissal/mockery that she almost snaps her umbrella but stops herself and stomps forward to follow Little My. The marshmallow couple notices the two and follow them.

Little My interrupts a game of chess between Snufkin and Moominpappa in Snufkin's tent, she introduces them to Jane as a "special guest" and Snufkin is shocked by her presence, he says Moominpappa's name and he looks up to look at his very angry aunt, Moominpappa runs out of the tent and Jane chases him with her umbrella around a tree and stomps on the ground with enough force to make Moominpappa, Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden hop off the ground (OKAY I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THIS PART SINCE IT DOESN'T REALLY TIE INTO THE THESIS THAT MUCH AND WOULD BE TOO SPECULATIVE BUT HOLY CRAP??? HOW??? WHY DOES SHE HAVE THAT KIND OF STRENGTH??? IS IT SUPERNATURAL??? HELP????), this causes Moominpappa to fall over on the ground and Snufkin intervenes by saying Moominpappa was just coming back from his trip and stopping by to play chess with him, Moominpappa tries to go along with this but Little My says it's no use since Moominmamma already told her the truth, Moominpappa gets all defeated and Jane asks him why he's afraid of her, Moominpappa says it's not that he's afraid of her, he's afraid of her money. Jane gets enraged by this and stomps of the ground again to send everyone hopping, she then tries to "reason" with Moominpappa on this by saying "It's perfectly good money and all in gold coins! Listen nephew, I'm depending on you as my only relative!" (For some reason her voice gradually gets higher pitched in this line? But anyway this just confirms Moominpappa is literally the only family she has left), Moominpappa echoes "Yes, yes, depend." and Jane continues with "When I get too old to do it, you must look after my gold for me! I'm relying on you!", Moominpappa gets spooked by this and desperately suggests they should just give it away to people who need it, Jane blurts out "HOW UNGRATEFUL!" and turns red from rage but then is subsides, the red fades away and Jane, probably after having a thought, breaks into actual sobbing and falls to the ground to cry even more, Moominpappa tries to comfort her and suggests that maybe they should put it in a bank, Jane retorts through her sobbing that her money would hate being in a bank and it's a terrible idea (which is the start of her talking about it like it's a person/entity which follows to the very end of the episode), Moominpappa reassures her by saying banks are so nice these days and Jane looks up asking "They are...?", Moominpappa continues by describing how they have "Flowers and shiny little piggy banks and paintings on the wall!" and Jane lifts herself up asking "Is that really true...?", then Moominpappa tells everyone they should go home and fix a welcoming party for Aunt Jane, the scene ends with a shot of a sad Aunt Jane looking around everyone, possibly confused or even sorry.

We cut to the dinner party when Mamma is putting the cake on the table saying it's her grandma's best recipe (I have to note that Aunt Jane's face here is just... So sad and guilty-looking), Moominpappa gets up and says to drink a toast to the only millionaire in their small circle and how he hopes she'll live a long and happy life. Everyone drinks except for Jane who simply looks around and then looks down at her glass to sigh, Moominmamma asks what's wrong and Jane says "Never in my life have I and my money felt ourselves so welcomed before, I'm so happy I could cry" (jeez woman that is actually sad to hear considering just earlier that day 3 complete strangers went to her asking for money and her nephew literally tried to hide from her before she even arrived, that must've been one heck of a welcoming party) and then she genuinely starts crying saying "And once you start crying- you just wanna go on and on-" and proceeds to sob a bit and says "Oh dear- oh deAr- Moominmamma-" and looks up "Moominpappa-?" Moominpappa answers and she says "I'll put some of my gold in a bag, but you must look after the rest when I'm too old!", Moominpappa hesitates and then Jane snaps into anger mode by asking "Why not?" and slamming her fists against the table, Moominpappa sheepishly describes how they'll take care of it and Jane says it's not what she had in mind though it does sound nice and sufficient, but then she says how the money will miss her. She decides then and there that she'll leave the suitcase of gold to Moominpappa so they can "get sorta used to eachother" and use it as they please, even complimenting the flying ship and botanical research funding as rather splendid. Everyone is happy except Sniff who laments he should've gotten a better idea than flowers, and the episode ends with Jane smiling and a pan out of the house as the narrator closes off the episode.

~

Alright so already we have quite alot to unpack here and it's all gonna get a bit rambly and jumbled if I don't segment it into specific parts so let's do that. We're gonna put allllll of that baggage into 5 parts

1. Moominpappa and the lack of a family

2. Money is not a good partner

3. A woman millionaire

4. A bitter, lonely maiden

5. Conclusion

~

1. Moominpappa and the lack of a family

It's been stated twice that Moominpappa is Aunt Jane's only relative, and it's said that they relate through Moominpappa's father.

(Side note: We'll be going by the 90s cartoon canon because Aunt Jane is a moomin comic strip character and in the comic strip Moominpappa wasn't left at an orphanage I don't think, so it's logical to assume they just met eachother because they're family. But we're talking about the 90s canon where Moominpappa WAS left at an orphanage like in Moominpappa's Memoirs/Exploits of Moominpappa)

It's really unclear on the backstory of their relationship. It's unclear how these two met, it's unclear when they've met, and it's unclear how they knew they were related. Moominpappa clearly met her atleast without anyone in his current family (esp. Moominmamma) and hasn't talked about her ever since (given how literally nobody INCLUDING MOOMINMAMMA knew who she was) which to me signifies that their encounter was both somewhat isolated and unpleasant given how he describes her as bossy and not letting people have a moment of peace (which only brings images of some kind of business setting when they met in my mind, and knowing how Moomin stories operate Moominpappa probably found himself as one of her employees somehow). Whatever happened between them has certainly put a sour taste in eachother's mouths, making Moominpappa believe Aunt Jane to be unpleasant enough to avoid at all cost (he probably also witnessed the horrors of wealth which is why he's scared of her money) and Jane believing Moominpappa to be incompetent, worthless and idiotic.

Pulling back from whatever encounter they had... Was Aunt Jane aware of her nephew's existence before then? We don't know the circumstances which lead to Moominpappa's parents leaving him at an orphanage in a paper grocery bag (if the person/people who left him ever WERE his parents), and since him and Aunt Jane are the last members of their family, it's easy assume something tragic most likely happened to the parents. And not only that, the rest of Jane's family would've been gone aswell, leaving Jane as the sole heir and possibly not knowing about her orphaned nephew. Can you imagine being in such a position? Your whole family is gone for whatever reason, you're the only one left to your knowledge, and you have all the money you could ever want in the early 20th century. You are responsible for millions of [money unit] in gold coins. Jane is responsible of that kind of money. And what is that to her?

2. Money is not a good partner

Aunt Jane's relationship with money is extremely weird but clearly somewhat toxic in a sense. We know she has it in the millions and she's not interested in making more of it (though we do have to ask if she runs a business or if all of it is inheritance and nothing more, does she turn in a profit? What business does she work in? How big is her paycheck? Does she work with employees? Why is it all in gold coins? Where does she even live? Nobody knows! It's all vague and unspecified and there really is no point in speculating something like this because there's literally no evidence to speculate about)

Anyway, money is 3 things to her: it's something people use to get what they want, it's a burden and it's something that needs to be taken great care of. It's both a commodity and a child to her, she doesn't particularly "like" having it yet she thinks it's in need of care by someone she knows she could trust, it's a pet she doesn't want since it attracts so many people who want to pet it. By the end of the episode she treats her money like it has feelings, it "hates being in a bank" (presumably because it's "uncomfortable" since Aunt Jane is swayed as Moominpappa describes how nice they are), it "has never felt so welcomed", it "will miss [Jane]" and it "needs to get used to Moominpappa", the thing is she hasn't treated it like an entity with feelings until her breakdown near the end of the episode. Moominpappa's "ungratefulness" broke her so much that she resorted to characterizing her money, and it's unclear if she ever has done this before in her life. It's odd to me, but her life does revolve around the thing, for all we know she's gone for extended periods of time talking to her money when she feels particularly unsafe/alone, but I digress.

Aunt Jane has presumably spent alot of her life taking care of her money and fears growing too old to do so anymore, so she turns to the only person she believes she could trust to continue that legacy. She has enough wealth to do whatever her heart desires, And what is her social reward for having such wealth to look after?

3. A woman millionaire

Misogyny exists. Yes, even in the moominverse, it sucks but it's true even if it isn't explicit sexism. Jane is presumably single, she had someone by the name of Fredrick who she was "frivolous" with but clearly that didn't work out as implied with the tone of her voice when she drops that information, Jane is alone in her wealth and that leaves her open to many people who believe they can get themselves some cash for whatever venture they want to pursue. It has happened plenty of times before in her life and it has happened within the episode when 3 males come up to her asking for funds, of course they didn't seem to care that she is a woman, not a word of it was even mentioned, but it's an issue that may be less present if she wasn't. Nobody is intimidated by her aside from Moominpappa who has met her, Snork and Sniff think they can weasel a family inheritance if they just do enough logical leaps, Mr. Hemulen just assumes she'd be interested from his botany credentials alone, and none of them really listen to her, they just talk over eachother trying to convince her to give them money until she bursts out yelling at them to shut up.

And she has to have some traditional feminity instilled in her, given the way she stands when Sniff knocks and gets in her room, how she arrived to Moomin Valley under a pink shade with curtains, having someone else carry her suitcase for her, being bothered at how small Little My is, her whole outfit among other small things, she seems to have been raised on traditional values, and those values, well, they don't lend well to someone of her status. She can be bossy and terrifying (and surprisingly powerful) but she's not respected by anyone that we know of, nobody's explicitly treated her kindly besides Moominmamma and maybe everyone at the welcome party if you count that, everyone only cares about her because of her money. Moominpappa is scared of her money and every other male only cares to get it from her for their own gain, she just can't win as a millionairess because any care directed towards her is actually care directed towards her money. And what does that treatment leave her as?

4. A bitter, lonely maiden

Jane is very, very alone. Nobody likes her as a person and the fact nobody likes her as a person only makes her more bitter and unlikable, it's a feedback loop. She doesn't seem to have anyone, and I mean, literally ANYONE. We have her rower but he's just a random guy she pays for all we know, she just sits there and stares blankly at the pink curtains until the guy rings the bell and she gets out, she just has no personal connection with anyone even by the end of the episode. Speaking of the end of the episode; she literally cries because she hasn't felt so welcomed by anyone IN HER LIFE (side note: I know I'm not supposed to bring up the comics but she actually cries when Moominpappa uses the word fond on her and it makes me so upset because she's treated even worse there too)

She's angry and alone because people use her for her money and don't care about her, everybody cares only about her money including herself, the only times she'd pay mind to her own self as a person is when she's flabbergasted at Moominpappa "BEING AFRAID OF HIS OWN AUNT!?" or when she feels disrespected by My teasing her about how she used to be frivolous with someone, Little My doesn't really care about her, she just takes her to Moominpappa to view the chaos that would ensue at such a meeting of two worlds. Moominpappa says she doesn't let people have a moment of peace yet it looks like she doesn't have a moment's peace herself, there's literally one moment and it's the one second she sits on her bed before Sniff knocks on the door.

Aunt Jane is both pitiful and somewhat sympathetic, she's an antagonist who's clearly not a good person but she has her own very understandable reasons as to why she's the way that she is. And what do we take from this?

5. Conclusion

I don't know if you know this but uhm, capitalism is bad, folks. It really just brings out the worst in people wether it's the scummy ways they gain money or the problems money causes for your mental health, and in Jane's case it's the latter. It's unclear how she got the money to begin with, I assume it's inherited but I could be wrong obviously, though I don't think that question could truly be answered. Aunt Jane is insistent on keeping her wealth and only giving her wealth away to her own family even if it's the root of her problems, but also Snork and Mr. Hemulen only ask for her money so they can continue with their hopes and dreams, Sniff is well, Sniff, but I'm pretty sure he's traumatized into believing he's only worth the wealth he has so that's another capitalistic problem.

Moominpappa is happy the way he is without the money, the Moomin family is decidedly non-capitalistic and Moominpappa knows nothing about how it works, so he chooses to simply not have it. They simply don't need it with the way things are.

And I suppose that was the appeal of the Moomins franchise that got people hooked into the fantasy of living there, it's pure freedom from an oppressive system that doesn't even give people what they're worth, it's being able to be yourself with a small, loving and accepting community.

But Aunt Jane never had that, which makes her feel out of place in this valley more than other outsider characters do in the show. And like the weirdly smooth and good animation that was clearly outsourced to a different studio for this one specific episode, being rich looks nice, but the cutthroat system of how it's made probably doesn't make it worth it.

[floatinginwords]

Saved by the Devil (5/?) - Tommy Shelby

Summary: You try to get a handle on you anxious thoughts and an old face returns to cause trouble

Paring: Tommy Shelby x fem!reader (not romantic...yet)

A/n: So this took forever. Had alot of trouble with the action part of the scenes but it came through :)  Hope you all have lovely days

 Thomas face recovers from your question rather quickly, “He is dead. You can check records for yourself.”

  He says it like it’s a fact. But he’s quick and dismissive and doesn’t utter another word. You want to ask more questions, details of it to ease your anxiety. But he clenches his jaw and his grip on the wheel tightens. You worry you may have angered him. Your questions weird and all over the place. He didn’t like not being able to anticipate another person moves. Thomas Shelby didn’t like being caught off guard. You were the same and it seemed that neither of you could figure each other out. You didn’t know whether to believe him or not.

 As if on cue, the engine begins smoking. Thomas stops the car on the side of the road. You continue staring out the window. He gets out without another word. You stay by yourself in the front. A mix of emotions your struggling to contain. Your embarrassed for asking the question, your angry about the nightmare, sad that you get paranoid over something this small. You can hear the men talking, you don’t stretch your ears to listen. You rather the day end here and now but there was still more to go. You see a tall, bald man come around the car and open the engine. He doesn’t take a moment, his hands already messing with the parts. He knew what was wrong immediately. Within a few minutes, hes done, the smoking ceasing. He notices you watching and pulls off his cap and bows his head to you.

 “Ma’am” He says, heading back with the other lads.

 Thomas returns with sandwiches to give. He hands one over to you, you take it gently.

 “we should be there shortly.” He starts the engine, it works smoothly.

 You hold the sandwich delicately in your hand. You can’t eat because of the anxiety pains there. You try to get out of your head, knowing you didn’t want to be distracted when you got to your destination. You try to find solace in his dismissive words. You can check yourself he says. You can go see the body yourself. Find the records. You can do that all later. You take a deep breath.

 “Mr. Shelby, I feel I need to apologize-“

 “No need. You did nothing wrong.”

 “I just feel my questions were-“

 He cuts you off again, “they was nothing wrong. I’m surprised you didn’t ask sooner.”

 “I'm not sure I wanted to know before.”

“And now?”

 “Sometimes a person needs confirmation that what’s in the past, stays there.” You answer.

He hums in response. You keep talking forgetting who you were talking to for a moment.

 “Do your nightmares ever stay with longer that you would like?” you ask. The both of you stare at the road in front of you.

 “All the damm time.” He answers.

 The rest of the ride is spent in silence. The only thing you hear is the tires rolling on the road and the chatter the men were having in the back. This time the silence wasn’t as loud.

  The horse auction was nothing to what you thought. Cars filled the parking lot and it seemed like it was a lot of people from all over came to buy some horses. The men from the back all introduced themselves quickly. The one you met John trying to be cheeky and kiss your hand. The guy with the mustache, who would later introduce himself as Arthur, slaps him behind the head.

“Arthur Shelby ma’am”  He shakes your hand and smiles. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

 You learn the others quite quickly, Curly (the one who fixed the engine) Charlie, the brothers uncle. and Michael their cousin who reminded you more of a boy than a man. You walk next to Arthur and Thomas as you enter the auction. You see people of the rich kind with glasses of champagne leaning over a railing, laughing and talking. You noticed that a lot of people staring at your group. Some of their eyes held fear, others jealousy or disdain.

Thomas finds a spot around the railing that he likes, you all follow in suit. Below its like a pit where you can see all the horses prancing. You can hear numbers being yelled out from beneath you as a man runs around with a horse showing her off to the audience. Around you notice people nodding their heads, putting their money down for the horse they wanted. Across from the railing you see a familiar face.

 May Carleton. You didn’t know her personally no. But you knew who she was. Rich and full of connections. The Carleton family were very well off and respected. You can see her eyes trained over on your side, she doesn’t notice you. In fact, you catch her gawking at Thomas.

 “Tommy that’s the horse.” Curly says pointing at the new horse they were prancing around.

 She was grey and spotted, young and wild. Thomas nods his head putting a bid on the horse. You look at May as she leans over to the man next to her. Her lips move fast but her gaze doesn’t waver from Thomas.

 “You’re about to have another bid.” You mutter to Thomas.

 He looks at you confused before the announcer call out what you just predicted. You direct your gaze to May; the woman trying to get attention from the leader of the Peaky Blinders. Thomas grips the railing and leans forward, not willing to give up the horse.

“I have a bad feeling Tommy.” Curly says.

Thomas ignore him as he and May have a silent battle. You see her fascinated with it. You back away from the bidding and excuse yourself to walk around the building. Honestly you were bored from what’s going on.

  You walk around the people listening in on their conversations pretending to just be passing by. You giggle at the gossip you hear loving how out of context it sounds. And then you see them. They blend in with the crowds  quite nicely. No one would point them out if they didn’t know em. But you did. Sabinis men.

You cover your face with your hands a fake a sneeze as one walks right past you. You count two but you wouldn’t be surprised if there were more hiding somewhere. You try to make your way back to the spot the group was at. But they’re gone.

“Fuck.” You say under your breath. The auction starts to dwindle in numbers the people beginning to go home. You walk around the facility, hoping to run into one of the Shelby brothers and not Sabinis men. You had no weapons on you, a choice you curse yourself for doing.

 ‘Never leave without a weapon” You tell yourself, angry for leaving yourself vulnerable. You hear footsteps behind you. You stop in your tracks, the footsteps continue to come closer. You look around for any objects that could save you. There’s only a small statue of an angel.  It would have to do. You turn around, face to face with the third guy. One you did not see from earlier. One you would have surely recognized. Alastair.

 “(Y/N),” he says pulling out a knife from within his pocket.

 You don’t say anything watching as he moves slowly towards you. You don’t feel angry or betrayed. The two of you were never friends. Never enemies either.

 “Alastair, How are you?” You say sarcastically. You drop your coat to the floor, it would only slow you down.

 He stands a good distance from you. He doesn’t move or walk any further.

 You clench your teeth. “I’m gonna guess that this doesn’t look to good.”

 “Afraid not,” he pauses throwing and catching his knife in the air. You fight the urge to roll your eyes, “I can give you the choice to do this the easy way.”

 You scoff. “I’m not gonna let you drag me to Sabini.”

 “Then I guess I’ll bring him two heads.”

 Alastair lunges at you, cutting the top of your arm. You jump back back and hiss in pain, he lunges again. This time you duck, spinning fast to kick him around the back of his knees. Alastair falls but he doesn’t go down without jerking his body around, swinging his arm fast aiming to slash your stomach. You stupidly grab the knife mid air and hold it. He stares at you wide eyes as blood leaks from your hand but you don’t let release

“Wha-“ you didn’t give him the time to finish.

 You kick him right in the jaw knocking him back. You run toward the angel statue grabbing it by the wings. You feel your hair being pulled back. You decide to knock back hard your skull colliding with another. You both walk away from each feeling a painful pounding in each others head. You watch the blood leak from Alastairs nose. You take the butt of the statue and collide again with his face.  You hear an awful crunch as he fall down to the ground dropping the knife. He groans like an hurt animal. You must have broke his nose.

 You drop the statue on the floor and pick up the knife. Your about to make decision of what to do when you hear gunshots close by. You run toward them leaving Alistair. The gunshots don’t stop until you arrive downstairs in the pit where you were watching the horses prance. You see a body on the floor, the face bloody. You see Thomas, Curly and Charlie holding back Arthur who had blood all over hands and face. Michael watches them. You stay silent watching the scene unfold.

Thomas rushes over the to the bloody body. “He’s still breathing.” He yells, “Don’t get blood on the kid!” You see him yell at Michael demanding he give him the keys to the car.

 “I’ m alright to drive.” Michael says looking as if he hadn’t blinked since the whole ordeal.  He walks out with Curly, Charlie, Arthur and the assassin.

Thomas just stands and waits with his hands in his pickets watching them trail out.

 John walks back in, his face hardened, “I fucking lost em.”

 “So Sabini sent two to get the job done.” Thomas says

 “Three,” You chime in, finally making yourself known, “He sent three after you. He must be really paranoid.”

 The brothers eyes widen as they look at you. Did you look that bad. You had won the fight after all. You look down at your yellow dress seeing the stained all over it. You see cuts littered across your arms some where you hadn’t even felt them. And your hand was definitely the worst of them all, the blood still dripping from it. You can’t imagine the damage done to your face.

“I left him back there.” You say suddenly feeling very faint and tired.

 “John put her in the car.” He says walking past you. You feel Johns hands lead you away, the cheekiness from earlier gone replaced with fear and gentleness.

 “You can let go of the knife.” John tell you. You hadn’t even realized you were still holding it, as you let it drop to the ground.

 He leads you to the passenger seat where Michael . “What happened to her?” You hear him say.

 A gunshot rings from the distance.  Everyone goes quiet. Thomas walks back out casually. His face void of any emotion, he opens the door to the drivers seat.

  “Out.” He says. Michael does so. The tone not something you want to disagree with.

 John stands in by your window, giving Thomas the death stare. “Why did you do that, Tommy?”  

 “We only needed one alive.” He simply replies.

Read pt.6

Tags

@captivatedbycillianmurphy @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat

[alienqueen4]

Kai love story: When the girl of his dreams hides her inner rock and roll

Chapter 6: My Career Needs A Beginning

(*Thursday, 6:35 pm*)

The girl Skyler has the tree house set up ready for some free time with the new guy, Kai, how is it that these are starting a connection. Kai, a new man in the neighborhood next door sets eyes on a sight of roses, the sight catched the moment when he met Skyler. Sky is a different girl, Kai is a different boy, they wanna know about eachother. It makes sense to start something new....

Skyler’s POV

This is going to be something I will never forget, I’m buying delivered pizza for my “guest” which guest I mean Kai. I got a few chips that might be his favorite and beverage, Peace Tea, that shit is real stuff. I have the stuff ready for the connetion of my Xbox to connect the Wifi. As soon as I turn around I hit my Dad by accident dropping everything “Dad!” He chuckles a laugh “Woah when I said a few snacks I didn’t mean to go over board the boy must have some appetitite.” Jesus christ I hate jump scares right in front of me “Dad hehe I hope you can hurry things up before you and Chris leave for a concert you both are going” He has his hands in his pockets “Skyler my own daughter, are you scared to let me meet the man?” he grins making a silly look as I quickly did saw Chris dressed up “Bye Dad!” I wave my hand good bye pushing him away with Chris “Let’s go pop the sooner the better we can stop by the merchandise table” my brother said. He then looks back at Chris “Since when did you start calling me pop?” he smiles at him. Dad gives the finger look “No violence or shinanagins in this home young lady” I hate it when he gives me the finger look “Yes sir, have fun!” I smiled closing the door. Dad stops from inches away from the door closing cause I know what he wanted and I give him a kiss on the cheek “Bye Dad love you” I shut the door and sighed smiling looking up. My dog arrives in front of me barking as I said “Sparky, we got the freedom we need for a very long time...”

(*A few minutes past by from the arrival of Kai dressed up normal white v neck t shirt black marks design, black vest jacket, skinny jeans, and All Star sneakers as he approaches the front door but noticed the back door open for him remembering she’s outside not in doors note take*)

I got the connection set up in my Xbox logging in to my account as I heard voices inches away “Woah! Uh Sky, I really don’t wanna hurt your dog” Hehe it’s Kai, from looking down he’s being barked and sniffed around by Sparky “Hey! *whistles*” Sparky stops looking up at me “Take a break bud he ain’t a midnight snack” I said laughing. I smiled seeing Kai and he looks relieve about my Sparky “Don’t worry he’s friendly, I love my dog best friend” I said. he came up taking a look of my tree house “A smart girl with soccer girls, draws, listens to music, and has a tree house, you are friendly alright.” I giggled putting down my ladder I use from a construction man who gave it to my Dad. He starts climbing up as he approached his head pop up “Hi” I smiled and he smiles too “Thank you for that warm welcome” he says hoping in. My tree house is top secret, designed painted graffiti walls, flat screen television set, Xbox console, my video games, comfy couches plus bean bags, lighted skull lamps, and Sparky’s throne also known as his relaxation to sleep. Kai had a surprised face looking around my cave “What is that?” I noticed he had some kind of blue bag gift he brought. He then says “Oh well I was about to explain to you about this but since you noticed, this came in the mail as soon as I thought it would arrive...” he reached it out of the bag when I knew the color, the familiar shape, it was a new soccer ball he promised. I had a shock face of my own that this is something I wouldn’t expected “....Kai, how on earth did you do this, my mom bought me this for my birthday it’s an exact replica my favorite soccer player used, it costed about $500″ He takes a seat on one of my bean bags “My money isn’t what keeps me alive with my bills, cell phone, food, and other materials....I wanted to give you a chance so that you can talk to me not just a stranger.” I held the soccer ball, I gotta admit it I don’t know how but it still has that smell “...Kai you know how much I’m gonna pay you back for this” He smiles looking up at me “You are already, I’m here to play video games with you, like you said bring a 2nd controller with me” He held it up as I smiled connecting it in the console. I take a seat “Pizza should be here, um I don’t know if you like Peace Tea Rasberry or Blue Berry” I said him the 2 cans. He took the blue can “You hang out with emo kids do ya?” he said it joking around as I hit his shoulder. The screen pops up “Mostly my favorite map when I play online I play the barn, it’s got parts where I have advantage to take down as many zombies as I can kill” I said. Kai’s user name pop up and “Oh my god, themasterwheelsmk09?” I said. He starts laughing “Don’t judge me it was my favorite Mortal Kombat game” Haha “Are you the master of killing zombies though?” I press start as the both of us begin wave 1 I grabbed the best shot gun I can pay out of my score. “We got company” Kai says. Zombies are approaching, I take a good head shot point view from the brain, now this is gonna be a fun time like I thought it would be.

With a good hour of playing video games killing zombies we worked together making it up to the 23rd wave, a perfect high score me and Kai. 

(*8:30 passes the time with Kai and Skyler in Netflix watching Criminal Minds*)

So it’s been great so far, me and Kai are full from eating pizza plus tin cans of empty Peace Tea. I love Criminal Minds so much even The Walking Dead, I’m a Netflix nerd you should my show list I added of series I’m into. Kai comments “If I had to choose a job position of this team it would have to be Spencer Reid, I kinda like it, I wanna be a doctor” I smiled at him “Well you do look like the type of nerd boy” I tease him as his head turns back at me I started to giggle and can’t help but smile at his stupid face. He smiles back at me laughing “This is the first time I see a smile like that” Hehe “Well....uh ya know I go to the dentist” Kai starts laughing at me “You are so weird Skyler!” I roll my eyes as he then says “Weird in a good way” he rubs my back. I twirl a bit of my hair smiling and then lift a piece of hair like a mustache being silly. Kai was getting something “Wait wait wait” he got his phone to take a picture of me when I didn’t noticed from the flash “My eyes!” I smiled covering them. Kai has a cute laugh, I cannot help it but smile. We continue back watching the episode of Criminal Minds as Kai is concerned but curious lifting up his left arm wearing many braclets including mine “Why did you gave this to me? What is this?” he ask. Oh, he still hasn’t know about it does he “My grandmother passed it to me, she says this was from a trip to Japan, Sora, the sky because my name Skyler, I don’t know why but alot of people call me as a nickname Sky cause I am the sky but I do love the color blue” I said. I then tell him “But the reason why I gave it to you.....is so that you can keep part of your home cause your home sick.” He then turns around looking at me but his expression changed “....W-Who told you I was home sick?” Oh well “No one but not my brother-” Kai then says “Your brother?” he spoke up raising his voice. I heard voices coming outside from the arrival of my Dad and my brother “Yo Sky we’re home!” Kai quickly looked back and his movement changed walking out of here grabbing the ladder “Kai?” I got a bit worried now cause he’s moving fast. This is strange not even for me, a guy like him he’s looking angry. Kai out of nowhere came up front pushing back my brother from the walls “I am not home sick! This is not your invasion to be in my personal family life!! You better stay away from my life or you’ll get a taste out of your own blood!!! do you understand!!!” Kai yelled furious even I can hear it while coming down from my ladder “Kai! Hey let go of Chris! Kai calm down!” My Dad stopped me then with Chris, his scared look never knew what was going on when Kai yelled at him in dirt right in front of his face. Kai is starting to calm down letting go of Chris from the shirt. I looked at him very confused of his actions turning into violence. His voice cracks as if he almost wanted to cry “I-Im sorry Sky, Sky I’m sorry I gotta go” he begins running away in a hurry out of the house. Chris was in a serious shock after what happen “Was it something I said?” he said rubbing his head. That was some performance, this isn’t the Kai I was expecting to show his dark side like that. 

(*Next day*)

(*Friday morning Skyler’s shift today at work has changed in night shifts on a Friday then gets the weekend off*)

So much for a good morning’s breakfast, I saw nothing in the fridge that could make my stomach happy “Hey Dad, let’s go out for breakfast, I’m down for iHop Im in a mood for chicken and waffles” I said. My Dad ruffles my messy hair I didn’t brushed yet as he reaches for an asprin “Nah I’m okay, hey bring along Ruth if you like, I still got a headache from last night’s concert and thank god I wasn’t almost pushed in the circle pit, I would’ve been dead” he said. Doing 2 things at the same time multi tasking is madness, I got a glass of apple juice on my right hand then there is my left hand with my phone making a call from someone...

“*voicemail* Hi I’m sorry can’t answer at the moment, please leave your message and I’ll call ya back as soon as I can *beep*”

God dammit Kai...

My Dad says “Gummy worm, the boy felt terrible for himself from what happen last night, maybe he is doing his laundry right now.” I said “Dad please, I have been calling him 10 times since 8:30 I woke up, I don’t think it’s that early to do laundry” I’m a bit worried right now after what went down with him and Chris. Even my idiot brother is still sleeping upstairs in his room then locks his door cause I knew he would. All of a sudden my mind poped a curious note “Hey Dad um, a few days ago I remember, me and Chris met a man name Manny” I said. My Dad pours hot water in his mug to make his favorite tea “Manny? a guy name Manny was never a name in my book” I make a face even I can’t be stupid that he knows I might be talking about “Dad, this isn’t time for games I know you know him.....why did you never told us the....man had a brother, he has a son a little kid and I’m glad he didn’t end up being a twin like the evil one.” I turn face to face against my Dad, his emotion changed “Manny is doing something he can do on his own this isn’t your business here neither it’s Chris, Sky I love my kids and your mom......your mom wanted attention she wasn’t prepared for a family.” I then have my voice speak loudly “Dad your talking crazy! I saw mom walk out that door! She didn’t even gave me and Chris a kiss goodbye!” My Dad points a finger very demanding “Don’t use that tone voice at me young lady, you know what I don’t wanna talk about this I might go for a walk on my own” he rushes out upstairs to get a jacket and leave. Ugh don’t nerve on my Dad! My fist hits the counter feeling the blood boil my anger, I let out a sigh thinking in my mind from how my Dad changed since my mom isn’t part of a family anymore. The memories bring back my childhood to watch an image at the backyard, a ghost of my mom is playing my little self when I was 4 years old, the laughs are a happy moment with my mom. She smiles like the sun has bright teeth. My mom was beautiful, she meant everything to me. I have a heart who loved my mom because she wants me to live a life forever. 

“Skyler...”

The voice, my image of mom is seen from the backyard door window “Mom...” I’m seeing a ghost, the ghost is mom. “...Your eyes are a hazel brown sugar sparks a vision, my little cloud is grown into a women” Why am I seeing my mom as a ghost “Mom....I....I met a cute guy....I wish you were here to meet him” I said. My mom smiles a shining star looking into my eyes. The ghost is a vision of me, mom is right here. But I had to ask her “...What do I do? Without you” My mom’s voice tells me “You choose your own path Skyler, this is a career that needs a beginning.” Those words hit my entire brain, my career is just getting started......