#I think in the end it's not even Arthur's own death that signals his end

[howaboutswords]

Such sorrow our splendid sovereign never knew,

Nor was his spirit ever sunk as by that single sight.

The good King gazed, gripped with horror,

Groaned gruesomely, wept gouts of tears,

Bent kneeling to the body, embraced it,

Cast up his visor, quickly kissed Gawain,

Looked at his eyelids, now locked fast shut,

His lips like lead and his complexion pallid,

And then, crowned king, cried aloud:

'Dear cousin and kinsman, in care I am left,

For now my glory is gone, and my great wars finished.

I hold here my hope of joy and armed success;

Wholly on him depended my heart and strength!

O my counsellor, my comfort, keeper of my heart,

Renowned king of all knights ever known under Christ!

Worthy to be king, though I wore the crown!

Throughout the wide world my wealth and my glory

Were won by Gawain, through his wisdom alone.

Alas!' cried the King, 'my grief grows now;

I am utterly undone in my own country.

Ah, dire and dreadful death, you delay too long!

Why spin out so slowly? You smother my heart!'

- Arthur mourns on finding Gawain and his troops dead in the alliterative Morte Arthure, lines 3947-3968, translated by Brian Stone.

[xxsycamore]

𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲 [Vincent x Reader]

↬ 💛 It's as if Vincent's smile alone is able to fight your cramps, but it seems like he has a stronger weapon up his sleeve.

Vincent van Gogh x menstruating!Reader • rating: G • tags: Menstruation; Period Cramps; mentions of Menstruation art; Fluff; Pet names • wordcount:  973 • masterlist

a/n: It's Vincent's turn! If you happen to suffer from cramps and you want your favorite ikevamp suitor comforting you in their own unique way, may I also offer: Napoleon, Comte, Mozart, Theo, Leonardo, Sebastian, Arthur (NSFW) 💕(All fics in this series share the same opening scene!)

It’s another beautiful day at the mansion, and the sun is continuing to shine brightly outside as afternoon settles in. Your list of chores is more than half-way done now, the morning was a productive one and you pat yourself on the back for pushing through at your usual pace, even if your period surprised you early this morning. Sleeves rolled up and armed with a feather duster, you march towards the lounge room to take care of another chore.

Specks of dust dance in the afternoon sun, windows wide open, as you complete your task little by little. Soon the sections left to dust decrease and you start to tire - a minor pain in your tummy appearing as well, as if to persuade you into taking a short break. You throw a look to the grandfather clock. You’ve been a busy bee; not even the distraction of dusting off some of Comte’s highly intriguing antiques couldn’t get you late on your own schedule.

You sit down at the spacious couch area, grab a throw pillow to hug, and fall on your side - shoe-covered feet juust hanging off the couch because it won’t be worth the effort of taking them off for just a minute or two of rest.

Uh-oh! The pain doesn’t go away and only gets worse instead. Suddenly moving as much as a millimeter equals signing a death warrant.

“Help” You whisper to yourself, clutching onto the throw pillow.

***

Did the room just get brighter or- no, that's just your boyfriend Vincent entering. The beam of light that is his smile upon finding you here is cutting through the dark clouds of despair lingering over your head... but he still seems to notice them.

"Are you alright, schatje? I don't see you laying around here often..."

You let out a meek noise signaling he's indeed right to worry, as much as you don't want this to be the case... Rising to a seated position while still hugging the pillow, you follow Vincent's baby blue eyes as he takes a seat next to you, and finally mutter the words.

"My tummy hurts."

Vincent's eyes widen further. "Oh no! What can I do for you? Do you have more of those pills from your time in your bag?"

"I don't think so... Can you just stay here with me for a while?"

Vincent takes one of your hands to caress, giving you his best smile and a nod even though you can tell he's still worried. Relaxing back in the soft cushions together with him, you find it cute how his soft sigh comes only after yours. His care is always so gentle and thorough, and you can always feel it.

Melting into his caress as he draws figures on your palm, you suddenly think of something and giggle.

"What's it, schatje?"

"I just remembered, did you know that in my time menstrual art was a thing? Like artists using menstrual blood for their paintings?"

You catch your bottom lip between your teeth as soon as the question leaves your mouth, not quite sure if you should've said it after all. You know your Vincent but even so, it's a ...peculiar thing to talk about.

"Really? That's so intriguing, what a unique and bold way to represent one's struggles... I'm happy to know that the social stigma about it is no more. It never stood right with me, it's part of being...human."

You don't have the heart to tell him that this is far from the end of the stigma surrounding periods, but you're pleasantly surprised by his reaction. When you first started dating, you'd notice him getting red about any and all...adult topics, as well as the aspect of relationships as a whole, so you're glad to know you're not making him feel awkward with this. It must come from a place of understanding the human self, as you know his past of trying to learn about it for his paintings.

You mentioned menstrual art almost out of boredom, like a fun fact you randomly remembered, but somehow now you're thinking about him, about the struggles of his own that he'd once put on paper, about how much deeper he is beyond the surface. He'd get those surprised faces when he presents the meaning behind one of his paintings, like they'd never expect such depth coming from the shallow personality of Vincent who seems to always keep a default tiny smile on his face. The passion hidden beneath is only unraveled to those closest to him and... you're glad to be where you are, resting your head on his shoulder right now.

Vincent lets out one of those small chuckles that make flowers bloom in your chest.

"Just as I ran out of red blood."

Blink.

You raise your head from Vincent's shoulder to look at him. He smiles at you, tilting his head, but you can see something bubbling underneath the surface, as if he's holding in his laughter.

You give in first so he naturally follows, reassuring with words too as an extra measure.

"I'm joking, sorry. The others said I should joke more often... something about being able to keep a straight face."

"They're right!" You say between fits of chuckles that continue to come when you imagine this conversation taking place. "Not because of the straight face, you're genuinely funny."

"Hehe, I don't get that often. Thank you."

You return the soft smile Vincent gives you, and you're being nudged into resting your head down once again. It's then that you notice.

"I think my tummy doesn't ache as much anymore!"

Vincent's gasp is barely audible, but this close up you catch it just fine. Or maybe you're sensitive about his reactions like that.

"That's good to hear. After all, laughter is the best medicine."

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran    @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @thewitchofbooks @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @lordsister @ikemen-banshou   @themysticalbeing @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning ​ @ikemenlover24 @mcofthemansion @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 @lovely-bubb1es @aria-chikage @babyblue0t7 @rhodoliteschaos @shrimpy-kitsune @nightghoul381 @xbalayage @lucyw260 @kittygrimm88 @lokis-laugh @judejazza Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[clone-whore-99]

Warmth

Gif by: @dreamswithghosts

Mayday x GN!Reader

18+, minors gtfo

Warnings: Smutty mcsmutterson, porn with plot, unprotected sex (wrap it irl), descriptions of injuries, ship crashes, blood, guns, medical care ig? LMK if I need to add something else! Beta read by: @nunanuggets

Summary: After crashing on a random ice planet, you need to find help before freezing to death

Authors Note: I have not been this passionate about writing in forever. It was so nice to have that spark back, to have the words flowing through me. Especially since this was supposed to be a small fic, and instead ended up being 5510 words. Yea, idk what happened either, but I hope you enjoy it!

Also, if you like this, please like and comment and maybe even reblog, it means a lot to me, okay, thanks, bye 🥺👉👈

If you want to, you can also help supporting me by buying me a coffee 🥺

“Mayday! Mayday! Does anybody copy? Mayday, we’re going down!”

Nobody was answering. All the systems were glitching out, red light blinking through the smoke obscuring your vision. What a shitty way to wake up.

How did this even happen? It was an easy trip, one you had taken thousands of times before. Nothing could go wrong. So you decided to get some much needed rest, Arthur your R4 unit could pilot for a bit.

And then you awoke to every alarm going off, smoke filling your lungs and clouding your vision. You had no clue what could’ve hit you or caused this, you weren’t even really sure where on your trip you were.

“Arthur, get the smoke under control!” You shouted at your panicking droid, while you were working desperately to get a distress signal through and maybe, just maybe, get some help before you collided with a planet.

That was the only thing you knew for sure was going to happen in this mess. You were still falling, but that was the problem. You were falling. Meaning you were in some random planet's atmosphere and the smoke was keeping you from seeing how far from the ground you were.

And though Arthur did manage to get rid of enough smoke for you to see, it didn’t feel like it. All that you saw was blinding white and not even a second later, the predicted crash happened, knocking you off your feet and out of consciousness.

The first thing that registered in your mind, was how much breathing suddenly hurt. Not hurt as in possible-damage-to-the-chest, but hurt as in the air that was filling your lungs. The air stung and the more consciousness you gained, the more you realized it stung everywhere, not just your lungs.

Your mouth was dry and you struggled to open your eyes - it felt like they had been frozen shut. “Arthur?” You asked out into the darkness, as you willed your numb limbs to push you up towards a sitting position.

“Arthur!” You sounded, louder this time in the hopes of a response. A weak whimper came from the droid a couple meters away from you.

Rubbing the heel of your hands into your eyes, you finally managed to get them to open up. The first thing you saw was your own frozen, dried blood on the ground. Then the frost sneakingly taking over the ship, spreading from the damage and the corners towards you.

Arthur had been tipped over. His treads had been frozen in place, while he was trying to get back up, leaving him vulnerable and in a funny position. You reached out to help him up, but the cold metal burned your numb fingers at the touch.

Instead you opted to look for an emergency case, hoping it had something that could possibly warm you and your astromech. Every ship had to have one, though you were uncertain yours were up to date.

“What happened buddy?” You asked through clattering teeth, trying your hardest to not think about how cold you were. Moving was hard as your limbs ached and wanted to huddle together to keep warmth. 

Arthur beeped out an explanation and you shot him an accusatory look. “And you didn’t steer around it? C’mon, you’re a better pilot than that!” The droid made a sad sound and you shook your head at it. Accusing and apologizing didn’t do any good now, not if you wanted to survive.

You finally found the dusty emergency case and much to your own dismay, you were right. Most of the stuff in it was far out of date, rendering it useless. There was, however, a fire blanket and a few heating pads. You wrapped the blanket around you, the cooling side facing outwards and hoping that what you remembered from first aid was right.

Then you took two of the heating pads, activating them and placing them on each side of the droid. You only needed it to be warm enough to work properly and for you to touch it without getting hurt.

“Where exactly are we?”

Arthurs answer was anything but helpful and you shot him an exhausted look. “Yes, I can see it’s an ice planet, but does this ice planet have a name? And more importantly, is it civilized?”

Once again, Arthurs answer didn’t exactly spark enthusiasm in you. The warmth of the blanket was beginning to do its work, though it made you more aware of the damage you had sustained from the crash. Taking a quick glance around the ship, you let out a yielding sigh.

“As soon as you can, scan the planet.” You ordered the droid and finally made your way back up on your feet. Getting tired of your droid’s replies, you snapped at him: “Anything! Signs of civilizations, heat signals, electrical outputs, anything that might lead us off this planet!”

You pulled the droid up into a standing position, though the metal still was too cold to touch, leaving small patches of your skin when you ripped your hands away. Then you wandered deeper into the ship, leaving the droid to thaw and work alone.

Several minutes passed before you returned, now wearing a thick jacket to battle the cold. Through your many years of piloting, you had found it helpful to have some articles of clothing fit for different types of weather lying around. Thank the force for your foresight.

Arthur beeped excitedly at you when you returned. “How far again?” You asked him, wanting to be sure you heard correctly. When he repeated himself, you let out an exaggerated sigh. “How’s the weather looking? Any storms closing in?”

The droid searched for a bit, before happily reporting. You smiled. Finally some good news.

“Alright, I’ll head towards the outpost, you stay here and try to call for help.” Arthur beeped nervously at your plan, and though the droid was annoying you, he was still your travel companion and you hated seeing him like that.

“I’m not abandoning you, Arthur. But if this place freezes over, you have a higher chance of making it out than I do. I need you to do this for me.”

In one last attempt to stay together, Arthur made another protest. 

“Alright, here.” you gave the droid a comlink with a tracker on it, so even if he couldn’t reach you due to the environment interfering, he could still track you in case help arrived.

You grabbed the flare gun from the emergency case and your small blaster pistol just in case. And with that, you made your way out of the ship and into the cold environment. 

As the cold wind made its way under your jacket again, you regretted even more leaving your ship and the blanket. Though the jacket was made for keeping you warm during cold weather, it wasn’t made for this intensity. You tugged the collar a bit further up, wanting to warm the parts of your face the hood didn’t reach. Then you blew into the sleeves of the jacket, where your hands were hiding from the cold. Your breath didn’t do much to help, misting as soon as it left your lungs and turned into cold air in less than a second.

Though every part in your body begged you to turn around and return to your ship, you knew it was nothing but certain doom. The ship was beyond repair and upon the crash, the window cracked and the frost was threatening to break it any second.

This didn’t feel any less helpless though. You had been wandering for hours, darkness overtaking the sky and only stars and the moon lit your way towards hope. The only positive thing you could get from the cold, was that it was distracting and numbing your injuries from the crash.

It all felt so hopeless, that when a red light blinked through the darkness, you didn’t even dare to believe it was real.

It wasn’t until you were literally standing right in front of the sensor beacon, that a small ounce of hope returned to your body. You nearly started sobbing right then and there, if it weren’t out of fear that the tears would freeze your eyes.

The beacon looked about as broken down as you felt, but the blinking lights indicated it was still working. You gave it a careful kick, wanting it to alarm whoever was at the base about your approach.

If there were anybody at the base at all.

As you approached, the lack of light and sound from the singular building gave you a mixed feeling of disappointment and joy. Disappointment over the fact that you might not find any living people on the base, joy over the fact it was still intact.

Though the fear of being alone quickly subsided, when a fully armored man walked out with his gun pointed at you. “Hands where I can see them!” He barked and though your arms were begging to stay close to your body, you did as commanded.

Another man appeared behind you, the barrel of his gun resting between your shoulder blades. “If I were you, I would be very careful about my next move.” His voice was low and threatening and… Identical to other man’s. The darkness had made it hard to tell, but now you were certain they were clones.

“Please,” you begged through clattering teeth, struggling to keep your arms up in the cold air. “I mean no harm! My ship crashed and I can’t reach anyone over the communication system. I’ve been walking for hours, and…. I really can’t keep my arms up much longer.”

A fragment of a second of silence filled the air, before the clone in front of you turned around and walked back inside. The clone behind you pushed you lightly with his gun, signaling for you to start walking.

“You can put your arms down, just keep your hands where I can see them,” he said, his voice more comforting now.

Careful not to let your hands out of the clones’ sight, you followed the first man inside. The base was dark and filled with crates. In a corner sat a group of 3 men, huddled together around a heat generator. Only one of them had taken his helmet off, though a beard had taken its place in covering most of his face.

A sly smile peeked through the beard. “You look worse for wear,” he commented, his eyes glancing you over, before nodding at the man behind you to leave you be.

Once you no longer had a gun resting against your back, your arms shot up to wrap around you, in a futile attempt to regain some heat. “I feel like it too,” you shot back.

“Here,” the bearded clone grabbed your arm and pulled you closer to the generator. “I’m Commander Mayday. Those two are Hexx and Veech and the one who guided you in is Crust. What’s your name?”

“Y/N,” you replied, too exhausted to really keep a conversation going. Though, you still thanked the men for taking you in and helping you regain some warmth.

“And what leads you to Barton-4, Y/N?” Mayday probed, not ready to let the conversation drop that easily. Not that you blamed him, you were still a stranger on a military base. These men were probably breaking tons of protocol taking you in like that.

“A crashed ship,” you replied humorously, turning your head slightly to look back at the clone.

Mayday suddenly got a very stern look on his face and his eyes narrowed slightly. He reached out for you and you instinctively leaned away, though quickly remembered your situation and let him reach you. 

With a light and careful touch, Mayday removed your hood and exposed your face. He took a sharp inhale through gritted teeth, then grabbed your chin and twisted your head so he could get a closer look.

“That’s a nasty cut you got there,” he finally spoke out loud, after having examined the side of your head in what felt like forever. “That needs some proper medical attention. Any other injuries I should be made aware of?”

You stared at the man with wide eyes and mouth agape, suddenly losing the ability to think under his touch and watchful gaze. “Erm… I, erm… I don’t know?” You finally managed to get out, though rather sheepishly. “I was knocked out during the crash and when I woke up, all I could feel was cold. I haven’t had any time to really examine myself for injuries.”

Mayday nodded, his look now way more serious than it was moments ago. “Alright. Hexx, prepare the medbay so I can have a look over a guest here.”

One of the clones jumped up at that order and disappeared behind some crates. Your cheeks would probably be burning hot by now, if it wasn’t for your body’s attempt at keeping its warmth centered. Something about being looked over by Mayday made you feel some things far from appropriate to the situation.

“There’s no need, really. I… I just need to call for help offworld, that’s all, I swear.”

“Nonsense!” Mayday waved his hand dismissively. “Might as well now that you’re here. Besides, I’m not entirely sure our communication device works anyways.”

“Either that or the Empire is actively ignoring us,” Crust explained, receiving a warning look from his commander in response. Perhaps letting strangers know back up won’t arrive if needed, wasn’t that great an idea.

A few minutes later Hexx returned with the news that the medbay was ready. Mayday grabbed your arm again - this time tighter than the last - and guided you through the crates. The medbay wasn’t as much a medbay, as it was a makeshift room filled with first aid medical equipment.

“It ain’t the best, but it does it’s job.” Mayday humbly admitted, finally letting go of your arm after closing the door behind him.

The room was far from what you would call a sterile environment, but it was more organized and clean than the rest of the base. A single light hung loose from the ceiling, casting long shadows over the whole room while fully illuminating the examination bed. Around it were a few heat lamps, so the patient wouldn’t freeze to death while getting patched up.

“Right, I’m gonna need you to take off that jacket.” Mayday was looking around in the room, gathering different tools he might need. You did notice how he kept a watchful eye on you while doing so.

Noticing your hesitation, Mayday turned to fully face you. “I’m not gonna do anything, if that’s what you’re scared of. But I can’t examine you for injuries over that jacket and you might be badly hurt without knowing.”

You opened the jacket, but didn’t fully take it off just yet. Instead you went towards the heat lamp and held a hand out to test the warmth.

“If you’re not taking it off, I will.” Mayday threatened in a playful yet serious manner, giving you one last chance to comply. Which you did.

You weren’t sure why you had suddenly gotten shy around this clone, but there was something about the way he carried himself, which made your stomach flutter and your mind wander to more… intimate places. Places that should be far from your reach, at a time like this.

“That should do,” the clones’ scruffy voice sounded, as he placed a tray of tools on the table nearby. You turned to face away from the examination bed and towards him, which made him grab your waist and help you up on the bed. A small, rather insignificant gesture, that made heat finally rise to your cheeks.

“Now, I’m not a medic, but I’ll do my best here, okay? So just relax.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you got your medic to look at me?” You asked carefully, suddenly wanting any other clone to be this close to you.

Mayday laughed at this. “Probably. But he was killed during the last raid on base, so I’ll have to do.”

Raid? “Do you get raided often? Shouldn’t you have more soldiers here, then?”

“Yep,” Mayday replied nonchalantly, as he tilted your head to the side so he had easier access to your wound. “Reinforcements should’ve been here 22 rotations ago. Eventually the Empire gotta remember they got cargo waiting here. Question is whether or not we’re still alive at that point.”

You suddenly felt very small and hopeless. These poor men has been abandoned, waiting for 22 rotations in such harsh environments. Nobody deserved that kinda treatment.

“Well,” you began, carefully thinking out loud. “If Arthur manages to reach help offworld, then why don’t you come with us?”

“Arthur!?” Mayday asked, stepping back to look you over and assuring he heard right. It wasn’t until you saw the worried confusion on his face, that you realized he probably thought Arthur was another person.

“He’s a droid!” You quickly corrected and the look on the clone's face instantly relaxed. “An R4-G8 unit, to be precise. He’s back at the ship, trying to get in contact with help. If he succeeds, he’s gonna comm me. You can come along, if you want.”

Having gone back to clean your wound, Mayday sighed before deciding to change the subject of him deserting. “Where exactly is your ship, Y/N? It must be pretty far if you can’t even reach us from it.”

You glanced down at your now soaked shoes, the gun you brought along with you for security, still hiding in the rim against your leg. “About half a day's walk from here, I’d say. It doesn’t really matter though, it’s beyond repair and besides Arthur, doesn’t really carry much of value.”

The cleaning wipe made contact with the actual wound, causing you to cringe and Mayday to apologize. Though he also told you there wasn’t much he could do, since he needed to see how severe the wound actually was. Apparently you had bled so much, it was hard to tell where the actual cut was.

Silence filled the room between the two of you, as Mayday focused on causing as little discomfort as possible and you were doing your best to keep your groin from throbbing at the closeness and the scent of him.

After what felt like forever and yet not long enough, Mayday finally put down the wipe and spoke up: “Alright, Y/N, I’m not gonna lie to you. This next part is going to sting, a lot, but I need you to relax or it’s just going to get worse, understood?”

Nodding slowly and carefully, you stared wide eyed and terrified at the man in front of you. “You’re not exactly making it easy to relax, you know that, right?”

Mayday chuckled, a genuine chuckle, the kind that made your heart skip a beat and an unwilling smile cross your lips. “That’s not really my specialty, I’m afraid. If it helps, just close your eyes and focus on your breathing.”

You did as suggested, closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing. Only problem was that with every breath, Mayday's musky scent filled your senses, making you nearly lightheaded with arousal.

You shifted carefully in your seat, trying to keep your lustful reaction at bay, only to be told off by Mayday. “You’re tensing up, I need you to relax.” He tried to sound gentle, but it came out in an annoyed order.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying, really!” You panicked in response, something deeply rooted inside of you desperate to please this man at all costs.

Mayday grabbed your jaw to keep your head still, while continuing his work the best he could. “Talk to me, soldier. What’s going on, why are you suddenly so riled up?”

You let out a weak moan at his sudden forceful touch, which did the opposite of getting you to relax. “It doesn’t matter, it’s not important.” You dismissed, not wanting to admit your very primal, lustful reaction towards the clone.

“Humor me.”

“I’d really rather not.”

Mayday's hands landed on opposite sides of your thighs, as he leaned in closer to study you. You realized he was done working on your wound, too busy concentrating on not reacting to really notice the sting. You reached up to touch it, but your hand was grabbed and forcefully put down by your side again.

“Don’t touch it,” he said sternly, and it just now occurred to you he was suspicious of you. “What is it you’re hiding? What aren’t you telling me? Because if there’s ever been a time and place to start talking, I’d say this is it.”

How was it possible to be so terrified yet so aroused at the same time? You bit your lip thoughtfully, considering whether or not to tell the truth. With a quick glance down towards his groin and then back up to meet his eyes, you were hopeful the soldier picked up what you were hinting at. 

But when he looked down, all he saw was the gun hidden in your shoe. He grabbed it and threw it to the side in a swift motion. “Use your words.” He grunted through gritted teeth, which sent another wave of arousal down to the apex of your legs.

“It’s nothing, I swear,” you muttered, your voice barely a squeak at that point. Though you finally figured that no matter the outcome of you telling the truth, it couldn’t be worse than him thinking you were a spy or there to hurt you.

So, with eyes tightly closed and a grip onto the edge so hard it turned your knuckles white, you confessed out loud: “It’s just… I’m really turned on by you.”

Silence.

You barely dared to breathe, let alone open your eyes again. But your curiosity got the better of you and very carefully, you opened one eye.

Mayday was still leaning in close to you, his eyes studying you with an eyebrow raised questioningly. Though when he supposedly was satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he leaned back with a sly smirk. He ran his fingers confidently through his hair, as he seemingly considered the opportunity.

“Well,” he half chuckled, finally breaking the tense silence between the two of you. “I guess that’s one way to look you over and keep you warm at the same time.”

Removing his glove, Mayday held his hand out in front of you. “May I?” He asked and though you didn’t know what he was requesting, you still gave permission. Though you definitely weren’t expecting him to reach into your pants.

Maydays fingers sliding across your sex was a cold reminder about what was actually happening. Suddenly you weren’t sure if this was real or a hallucination caused by you lying dying in the snow. Either way, you didn’t really want it to stop.

Low, wanton moans escaped your lips, as your hips voluntarily leaned into the touch.

“You weren’t lying, you really are turned on by me,” Mayday sounded surprised, as if he were expecting otherwise. “Didn’t know I had that effect on people.” He removed his hand from your sex, much to your dismay, and licked off the arousal he had gathered.

“Guess you haven’t had a lot of chances to meet anyone to have that effect on,” you replied, pushing yourself towards the edge of the bed. “Why don’t you let me show you how hot you’re making me feel?”

As if reading your mind, Mayday let his thumb run across your lower lip, considering the options laid in front of him. His lips then made contact with yours, surprisingly soft compared to his rough exterior.

Your hands found home by his groin, rubbing the codpiece guarding it in the hopes the friction was somewhat stimulating for him.

Though the attempt didn’t last long, before Mayday removed your hands and pressed his groin against yours. He put your hands up on his shoulders, while his own found purpose by your hips, holding you in place.

With a slight tilt of his head, his tongue protruded his soft lips, wettening your cracked, damaged lips while indirectly asking for permission. You gladly allowed entrance and soon enough his tongue was dancing with yours.

If you thought the large, unkempt beard was going to be a problem, you’d’ve been sorely mistaken. On the contrary, it was creating extra friction and tickled in all the right places. Only minor issue was how hard it was to breathe through.

So as little as you wanted to, you needed to break the kiss before passing out. That didn’t stop Mayday though, as he moved down your neck and began sucking, kissing, licking and biting that. 

His hips began grinding against yours, causing your head to lull back as lewd noises escaped your lips.

One of your hands slid down his biceps, feeling the muscles work through the broken armor. Your other hand found purpose in his long hair, stroking it and pulling it if the biting got a bit too rough.

Something that Mayday undoubtedly found humor in, as his low chuckles sent pleasurable waves through your body. 

While one of his arms was wrapped around your waist, holding you in place, the other traced a finger up and down your spine, pressing odd places and seemingly randomly searching your body.

You chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for possible fractures caused by the crash,” Mayday replied against your shoulder, before straightening up to look at you properly. “Don’t think you get out of the examination that easily, babe.” He said with a wink.

Your hand shot once again down to his codpiece, rubbing the cold plastoid protecting his jewels. “Why don’t you let me examine you for a change? Make sure everything still works.”

“All in dues time, sweetheart.” Mayday teased you, while grabbing your chin. But just as you thought he was about to kiss you again, his hands grabbed the edge of your shirt and pulled it off, exposing your upper body to the cold.

Removing his other glove, Mayday let his bare hands slither over your bare torso, thumbs flicking over your stiff nubs. His deep, brown eyes skimmed over your frame, admiring the detailed piece of art in front of him.

“Looks like you landed on your side when you crashed, but nothing appears broken.” He noted, his voice laced with wonder. He let one hand trace over the bruise covering the entire side of your body, outlining your bones and the pattern of your ship's floor. 

You smiled at his admiration over your body, hating to interrupt it, but even with heat lamps it was far too cold to be undressed like that. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, but I’m starting to freeze my butt off again.”

Reaching over to grab your shirt, Mayday caught your hands and pinned them to your side again. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm.” He assured you, before pushing you to lie down while leaning over you.

Maydays lips began tracing over your upper body, making their way towards your hardened nipple and began teasingly biting and sucking it.

In response, your hips buckled up and began grinding desperately for attention. Mayday's hand found home on your hips again, holding them down. “Easy soldier,” he said half jokingly.

Though he did seem to get the hint and began unbuttoning your pants, while his lips began traveling downwards, beard tickling along the way.

He finally pulled your pants down, exposing your glistening sex to the cold environment as well. “Beautiful,” he muttered, before ducking under and reappearing between your thighs. 

Surpassing your sex, Mayday paused shortly to give it a kiss and lick all the way up, causing you to fall back with your back arching and a dirty moan.

As he straightened to stand upright, you could hear the ‘clank’ of plastoid hitting the hard, metal floor.

You looked up to see his beard slightly glistening in the light, as he looked down and spat on his own cock. Stroking it a bit to spread the spit evenly, Mayday finally lined his member up with your entrance. 

He shot you a teasing look. “Ready?”

“Oh fuck yea, please just fuck me already!” You begged.

With your permission, Mayday began his intrusion, slowly pushing himself in and stretching you in the most wonderful way.

You, however, weren’t ready for how much of a stretch it was going to be. Every inch filled you so wonderfully, it felt like your brain was going to short circuit.

“There we go, nice and slowly,” Mayday cooed at you, when he was about halfway inside. Assuring the stretch wasn’t going to be too much of a burden on your body, he eased it with caresses, kisses and compliments so sweet, they could be desserts. 

When Mayday was fully hilted inside of you, he leaned over and planted a celebratory kiss on your lips, before resting his forehead against yours. He didn’t move yet, allowing you to adjust to his size.

You wrapped your arms around the soldier's neck, with one hand lightly tussling his hair. “You’re bigger than I thought,” you breathily whispered, as you moved your hips to show you were ready. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Mayday smirked at your comment and planted another kiss on your lips, while slowly dragging out till just the tip, before ruthlessly clashing his hips back against yours again.

Your back arched again in response, head lulling back with a moan so loud it might cause an avalanche. 

Mayday used this opportunity to slide an arm around your waist, keeping you in place when he slammed against you. The hand caressing your hip moved on to under your thigh, creating more room for him to work in.

“Seems like your reflexes also survived the crash.” Mayday joked through heavy breaths.

You rolled your eyes in response. “Quit playing doctor already,” you replied, teasingly pulling his hair as punishment.

Eventually he began picking up the pace, doing so without compromising the rigor of his motion.

You were hardly keeping it together, hands tightly gripping onto his hair and armor, desperately attempting to ground yourself. Loud moans were filling the room, undoubtedly alerting the other soldiers to what was happening.

“Kriff, May…” You moaned, closing your eyes and trying to refrain yourself from the ever-rising peak you were reaching. You didn’t want to reach it too soon, wanting nothing more but for this moment to last forever.

“I know,” Mayday whispered, not nearly as out of breath as you. “I’m close too. Where do you want me to…?” 

“Inside!” You moaned, the edge rapidly closing in and threatening to tip you over.

After a couple ruthless thrust more, Mayday kissed your cheek so gently it completely contrasted everything else. “Go ahead, cum for me,” he whispered into your ear, before biting its shell.

That was all you needed to tip over the edge, reaching an orgasm unlike any other you’d ever experienced. Your whole body tensed, holding him so close you nearly became one. Mayday was forced to kiss you, as your moans were reaching a volume they nearly became screams. 

You came harder than you thought possible, your juices spilling over the both of you. Seemingly that was Maydays undoing, as his body tensed up as well and you felt hot ropes filling up your insides.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, coming down from your highs and breathing in each other. You winced at the loss of contact when Mayday pulled out, and the cold air of the base stung to your sweat and cum covered skin.

Mayday returned shortly, wiping his softened cock with a hot towel.

You pouted. “I wanted to suck that.”

“Another time, maybe.” Mayday kissed your temple, while beginning to wipe down your body with the hot towel and help you get dressed again. “Afterall, you know where I live.”

While getting dressed, your comlink went off. It was Arthur, having made contact with a rescue team, which was on their way.

Suddenly you regretted having left the ship, not wanting to wander in the cold once again.

As if reading your mind, Mayday placed a comforting hand on your shoulder and said: “We have a speeder. If you want, I’ll have Crust take you back to your ship.” 

You looked at the commander with pleading eyes. “You’re not coming with me? It’d be a ticket off the snowball and we could have some more examinations whenever you want.”

Mayday shot you an apologetic look. “Sorry, this is where I belong. The Empire may have its flaws, but I still have a duty towards it and I’m not one for desertion.” 

“Shame,” you said, then grabbed his hand and placed your comlink in it. “If you ever change your mind or just want some warmth, you can reach me on this.”

Dividers by: Unknown and @djarrex

Taglist: @zoeykallus @rain-on-kamino @ashotofspotchka @chxpsi @maulsrightleg @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @wildmoonflower @nunanuggets (again <3)

Please don't hesitate to let me know, if you want to be added to my taglist (✿◡‿◡)

[rogue-durin-16]

HIS WARM EYES

Summary: Some members of the Order are reticent about letting in a Lestrange, specially after Snape's betrayal. Whilst taking Harry to the the burrow, an ambush has place. Everything points to Y/n, right?

Pairing: George Weasley x Slytherin!Lestrange!Reader

Genre: angst

Tags:

George Weasley: @meph1stophelian

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog @amourtentiaa @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @skarlettmikaelson

Warnings: blood, injuries, death

A/N: OH MY GOD THIS IS SO LONG AND BAD— I AM GENUINELY SORRY BUT I HAD TO

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

Lestrange wasn't a good name.

It wasn't a good name in the streets, nor in close-doors, let alone amongst The Order.

That's why I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they had accepted me— well, maybe 'accepted' was a strong word; they had let me in, reticent, weary, but still they had done it. Plus, after Snape's betrayal and Dumbledore's death, no one would think there was a vacant for a Slytherin and a Lestrange.

It wasn't until I found myself exiting the abandoned Grimauld's Place along with the rest of the volunteers to go to Privet Drive, that it dawned on me; they were short on people.

They were so short on people that the Order would have to swallow my name, my family and my House.

That didn't mean they would quiet down their opinions about me being there.

"I'm gonna say it." Fred announced, taking a spot in the living room's corner while Shacklebolt, Arthur and Lupin searched the place.

"Again?" Fleur groaned.

Fred had already spoken his mind about my presence before we reached Potter's house.

His and George's shocked looks had been on me since the very first moment I had walked into the old Black's home, which was understandable; last time they saw me I was joking about joining the death eaters.

Although the shock on their faces had been accompanied by very different emotions on each.

Fred's held reticence. During our school years, he had never liked me; I would dare to say he was scared of me, even.

George's gaze, on the other hand, held hope —maybe even excitement— which was comforting.

In our first year, I had managed to draw George's interest, and for three years he was adamant about Slytherins not being 'all that bad'.

George's friendship was the thread I was hanging on; he was the only thing stopping from taking the easy way and live up to my name.

The thread was cut after he asked his mother to bring me over during Christmas, which ended up in her forbidding him to talk to me. He, being George Weasley, ignored his mom's pleads and twin's scolding and still tried his best to stay close to me, so I did what was right and, at the end of our fifth year, I cut ties with him.

It hurt more than I would dare to admit.

After our drifting apart, I was forced to completely rely on Slytherins. And you see, Slytherins, as 11 year-old George would say, aren't all that bad, but the ones my name attracted were.

They were bad sort —the worst—, and keeping that company around after our sixth year wasn't the best record to have, but Merlin's sake, I was there, I had volunteered— people change.

"Son." His father warned Fred, well aware this wasn't the time, though he obviously wanted to side with him. "Don't start again."

"Someone has yet to tell me why is she here?"

"She has a name." I hissed, unable to stop myself.

"Which is why you shouldn't be here, Lestrange." The name rolled out of his tongue like poison. "She's not one to trust."

"Oi, she's willing to risk her life, isn't she?" George's words seemed to be meant to calm his twin's temper, though his warm eyes did land on mines with a reassuring look.

"Yeah but for whom?" I tried to stay quiet as Moody had asked me too, but Fred was making it quite difficult. "If something goes wrong—"

"Weasley!" Mad-eye's tone was dry as he bursted into the room. "Are you questioning my judgment?" Fred scoffed, but stayed quiet.

"If we're throwing in the surnames, you're gonna wanna know her mum's my auntie." Tonks spoke, folding her arms.

"But you're a Hufflepuff." He was quick to respond, giving me a disgusted look. "She's a Serpent."

"And you're still a mouthful, aren't you?!" I snapped, stepping forward, though Tonks gave me a lazy tug before I could get to Fred.

"Wanna fight, Lestrange?" He had taken a couple of steps in my direction already when George yanked his twins arm.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He yelled, giving his brother a push. "She's here for Harry! She's helping! What else do you want?!"

"Oh my gosh, Georgie— get over your teen crush already, she's not on our team!" George's knuckles went visibly white, unlike his cheeks, which turned red.

"Are you done making a scene? The three of you." Bill questioned in a calm tone, resting against the window's bench. "I don't fancy the idea either, but we need help, Fred, so shut your mouth because we have things to do."

"Pity, I was enjoying the teen drama." Moody teased before grabbing his flask and the ones who would take the Polyjuice potion moved to stand in line.

"Y/n." George's hand brushed my hand, drawing my attention to him as we stood besides one another. "I'm glad you're here." He whispered with a side smile.

"Missed me much?" I couldn't help but grin back, bumping his arm with mine. I stole a proper look at him and thought I might as well ask before the mission. "So... Teen crush huh?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him, though I could feel my own face flushing.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't fancy George —could someone blame me?—, and the idea of those feelings not being unrequited was very appealing.

He only threw his head back and looked away, the half smile growing wider and more bashful. "We'll talk about it at the Burrow." He assured me, taking the flask with his right hand and squeezing mine with his left.

"If we don't die before that." I was joking, but fear was shaking me to the core.

"We won't." He looked at the potion disgusted and gave me a peeked at me saying, "You have to hear me embarrass myself first." And with a wink, he drank the potion and passed it to me.

Gosh, I couldn't get over the mission to hear him 'embarrass' himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

GEORGE'S P. O. V.

The first five minutes were calm, despite all of us being on edge. We kept checking on each other, dreading if we lost sight of someone, that someone would banish.

The storm came when we had to dive into the dark clouds.

Funnily enough, I did think it was a literal storm before entering; oh, what I would have given for it to be a literal storm.

Black, cloaked intruders flew among us, making us divide in the pairs we had been assigned to.

Lupin started casting protegos and hexes to everyone that got too close while I tried to take down as many enemies as possible.

A couple of yelled warnings were heard when both Moody and the real Harry had entered the ambush.

"WATCH OUT!" Tonks screamed, flying past me with Ron at her tail. "REMUS!" She made a signal to her husband "ESCORT!" I got the hint; we were supposed to clear Moody's and Y/n's way so it would confuse our attackers while Tonks and Shacklebolt made sure to get Harry out of there.

"ON MY LEFT!" Lupin shouted over the chaos, changing to my right for me to be by Y/n's side.

"WE'RE FUCKED!" She yelled dropping her flight to dodge an Avada Kedavra.

"WE'LL MANAGE!" I automatically dropped my flight with hers too, which was a bad decision, since we had gotten rid of the protection provided by Lupin, Mad-eye and Bill and Fleur.

Soon enough three death eaters came flying towards us.

"STUPEFY!" another Harry with the voice of Fred passed by us, closely followed by my dad.

"GO BACK UP!" Y/n was quicker than me following my father's instructions; when I did though, I realised the little formation we had going on was gone.

Suddenly, all we could hear were screams; it felt as if someone was missing but I blamed it on everyone flying around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Tonks almost crashed against me on her way down; Ron was nowhere near me, nor Lupin.

We were outnumbered, and instead of moving forward, we were stuck in the grey clouds, trying not to die.

It took me a hot second, a crash against a death eater and a couple of hexes to get to Lupin, and even when I did, it was a hard task to keep track of him.

I had just taken out someone in my way when I caught a glimpse of something my eyes refused to believe.

Snape.

Our bloody professor was trying to kill us.

I felt the need to laugh at the situation.

"GEORGE!" It was Y/n's voice snapping me out of it, although her actions shocked me even more.

Y/n casted a spell on me, pushing my broomstick to the left and consequently making me crash against Lupin and lose balance.

Then something happened, something my mind didn't quite process.

At first it felt like a slap, but the pain stung my side as if someone had sliced me with a blade.

I didn't hear my own cry, nor Lupin's desperate 'help'; I didn't feel his hands struggling to take a firm hold of me, nor my own shakily reaching to my side, searching for an injury I didn't want to find.

A second after that, everything was black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

FRED'S P. O. V.

As soon as my father and I apparated in the fields of our home, I ran into the house. For some unexplainable reason, it felt as if something wasn't right.

A couple of steps into the house were enough for that 'something' to strike me. George had been laid on the settee, barely conscious; blood was covering the side of his face, neck and left shoulder, making his hair and clothes stick to his skin.

I was left speechless at the sight, my eyes welling up while I dragged my feet towards my twin.

"Mad-Eye is dead." Bill's words, despite sounding far away, made the gears in my head turn.

Lupin was quicker than me, though, "I told you we couldn't trust a Lestrange!"

"Remus! we don't know—" Tonks tried to calm him down, just to be cut off by Bill.

"Mad-Eye and Lestrange traveled between us and" he gestured at our wounded brother, "Remus and George." His jaw twitching let me know that he was desperately trying to stay calm. "Mad-Eye is dead and my brother just lost an ear, who is it if not bloody Lestrange, Dora?"

"Bill..." Fleur held onto her fiance's arm in an attempt to ground him.

"Did you see her disapparating?" Tonks's point was logical and hopeful.

George would have sided with her.

My eyes fixed on my wounded twin again. He was as pale as a corpse now, and the absence of his ear was way more noticeable now that my mother had begun to remove the blood.

George would have sided with Tonks because he wanted to trust Y/n, and he couldn't even speak because of that same reason.

Since everyone was arguing, they missed the flash of someone apparating near the front door.

I didn't.

Before I knew it, I was running outside with my wand in hand, Lupin and Bill following me instantly when they realised what I had just seen.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Y/n's wand flew to my hand even before I could properly see her.

My rushed march came to a halt when I was a couple of feet away from her, making Bill bump into me; she was as pale as George, maybe more.

She took a seemingly calm, deep breath before attempting to walk.

Luckily, I saw the pools of blood on her shirt and stepped to reach her before she could touch the ground.

"Oh my..." Lupin covered his mouth with both his hands and Bill stood frozen at the sight of the girl in my arms. "MOLLY!!" my old professor yelled at the top of his lungs, going as livid as me.

We shouldn't talk on impulse, I told myself, rushing into the kitchen with Y/n in my arms. A series of gasps and regretful whispers broke the silence while I laid her on the dining table.

"Y/n?" George's trembling voice was heartbreaking, and, as my dad forced him to stay on the couch, I prayed the girl in my arms would survive.

"Oh Lord..." My mother muttered, examining her. It wasn't only her shirt stained with blood; her left leg and arm were too. "Oh dear..."

"She took the blow." Lupin ran his hands through his hair, understandably stressed. After a couple of seconds, her turned to my dad and commanded, "Get him up. Quick— go get him up." His eyes stared right into my soul and I dreaded the worst, but still obeyed and helped my dad drag George to the dining table.

I heard Lupin telling Bill something about Sectumsempra, and my heart sunk.

She took the blow.

"No..." George's murmur was close to a cry, but it was enough for Y/n's eyes to snap open.

"George." tears were effortlessly streaming down her cheeks at the sight of him. "You're... A-alive..."

"Please stay" My brother fell on his knees, reaching for Y/n's bloody hand with his own. We all looked away to give them some kind of intimacy, except from my mother, who was still trying to fix the poor girl.

I heard them both whispering sweet nothings with shattered voices until only one of them died out. I looked over to Tonks, whose eyes were gleaming with tears, and then to Lupin.

I couldn't bring myself to look at George.

After a moment of intense sobbing, my dad managed to pull my twin away from the corpse, and we carried him back to the settee.

I stayed with him the night, holding his hand and assuring him it was not his fault, but I knew my words would have little effect on his state; after all, he had been in love with Y/n for years.

All those years he had spent trying to convince all of us that Y/n was a good person, that we should give her a chance; all those years begging our mother to bring her over because she wanted to see our home.

Now her body was lying on our kitchen and I knew none of us would forgive ourselves for misjudging her.

READER'S P. O. V.

"Nervous?" A tall, redheaded kid appeared besides me; I supposed he didn't know my name by the warmth and curiosity with which his eyes stared at me.

"Aren't we all?" I replied with an anxious laugh.

He seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "Fair point, though I'll probably go into Gryffindor." He assured me with a proud smile, causing my head to cast down. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing," I shrugged, aware I would not be able to befriend that sweet boy with warm eyes. "I think I'll be sorted into Slytherin."

"Nonsense!" His intentions had been obviously to reassure me, but when he realised his response only made it worse, he added. "It'd be wicked to have a Slytherin friend, though." My eyes widened at his words; did he just— "I'm George, by the way."

"I'm Y/n."

"That's a very pretty name." Professor Mcgonagall led us into the Great Hall, and before I knew what was happening, George's hand was holding mine. "It'll be fine."

The lighting of the Castle changed once the Great Hall's doors opened; a bright, white light seemed to be coming out of it.

"Wait!" My hand gripped George's before he could leave my side. "Can you hold my hand? I-I'm scared." My voice no longer sounded like a 11 year old.

For some reason I didn't comprehend, my eyes were watery, making the view in front of me blurry.

"Don't be scared, darling." When I turned to George, I didn't see a kid; it was him, in the expensive suit I had seen him mere hours ago. "I'm here."

I just nodded and, swallowing my fear, took a step ahead, and then another one, and another, until I reached the Great Hall.

[raphaellalacognizi]

Interesting thought: we never actually here from the original Rose Red throughout all of OUAT(is), just her clones

Also interesting thought: Odin is the only suspect that gets her song all to herself, while the other three all have guest appearances from other characters

OKAY, this is actually one of my favorite things about the Mechs- it isn’t just about the story itself, but how the story is told. i have Many Thoughts on this, so sorry for the incoming rambling.

OUAT(IS) technically has several solos, like Old King Cole and Our Boy Jack, but the only solo sung by a real character is Cinders’ Song- and she’s the only character who survives the album (okay, so technically Briar Rose and the Mechs, who share a song, also survive, but that's a fun thing to think about too, that the only person to share a song with them here was also the only one to survive meeting them- not only survive, but be practically brought back to life because of these Harbingers of Death). But then, on the other end of the spectrum is her own wife, Rose Red. Rose never gets a chance to really live- her life was cut short by her kidnapping and subsequent murder at the hands of King Cole- and that's in parallel in her never getting a chance to tell her story. Every other player in the story gets to speak or sing something, but she’s locked away until literally the last few minutes. It really lends an air to the “the story can only be told by those who survive” vibe that i’m really into.

In contrast, in UDAD, nearly everyone has a solo- Ulysses has three, and each of the Suits has one of their own, because they all see themselves as the Main Character of the story (but of course, only Ulysses really is). (Also, side note, the way each of the Suits sings a melodic line from their own song in Torn Suits, because they’re sticking to their guns and refusing to compromise. The way each of the instruments cuts out with their deadly wounds. The way the bass is the last instrument playing because Ashes was the only one who knew what was happening and was really the mastermind behind it all, as well as the only survivor of the planet. Torn Suits is truly the Perfect Song, i could talk about it for hours.) However, neither Daedalus nor Hades/Ashes have solos- Ashes sings in Underworld Blues, and Daedalus doesn’t sing at all, and they’re the last two left alive at the end of the album (“the Suits lie dead or dying,” as Jonny narrates, and the fiction has that line about Daedalus’ complaining being annoying enough for Ashes to turn off the cameras, iirc). The thing about these two is that they’re pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and that secrecy reflects in their not taking as big a role in the story musically.

Then, in HNOC, i want to point out how lovely it is that when the Pendragons sing, they sing together, and the way their lines compliment each other in Gunfight with Guinevere’s fast high harmony and Lancelot’s lower, more steady line, because of LOVE is one of my most favorite things (although only Arthur appears in Boy’s Night Out The Hanged Man Rusts but really, it’s his mistake here that helps set the tragedy ball rolling, so it’s important that he be here alone). In this one, the solos belong to She Who Sings Empty Trail, Galahad, and Captain Mathea if we count The General’s presence as more of a cool harmony than a duet, who all sort of end up in a category i describe as “Leader Who is Trying Their Best But This Is a Ship of Tragedy And Sometimes You Have to Be Willing to Sacrifice Yourself for the Greater Good” (Empty Trail lady doesn’t actually sacrifice herself, unlike Galahad and Mathea, but i get the feeling she would. it’s about the vibes.) They don't have anyone else to rely on to help them make these heartwrenching decisions, and that's shown in the fact that they're literally singing alone- that's part of why that last verse of Holder of the GRAIL hits so hard, because it doesn't even have that sinister harmony, and it feels so much emptier for it.

Finally, in TBI, as you pointed out, Odin is the only one with a solo (unless you count The Void doing Red Signal, which could still technically work with all this, especially as Raph sings both the background vocals in RS and as Odin). Loki’s song is interrupted by Thor, Thor’s song features Odin, and during Sigyn’s song Loki joins in. And in this album, Odin’s the only one who actually knows really anything about what’s going on. But unlike Daedalus, who you could argue is in a similar position of Holding Knowledge in UDAD, Odin wants to be the center of attention, so she gets her own solo and butts into other people's numbers- she’s the All-Mother, she is the Serpent that Shall Poison the Sky and Boil the Sea, and this is her legacy... which makes it all the more important that it’s actually Thor who gets the last word in on their confrontation in Ragnarok IV, and then Loki and Sigyn have an entire duet after- she doesn’t get what she wants, not really.

i’m sorry this got so long and drawn out and i don’t even know if it makes any sense, but i have a lot of feelings about music and story analysis

[yesttoheaven]

I SEE YOU – chapter IV

pairing – arthur fleck x female!reader

wc – 2.3k

warnings – idk... misty being a b*tch with arthur?

a/n – hi everyone! I hope you are well because I'm brazilian and I cannot say the same lol the president is a piece of shit and he can't rule the country in the middle of a pandemic (not even without the pandemic, in fact)

anyway enjoy the chapter!

English is not my first language. I am getting help from google translator and he is not always a good ally, so I apologize for any typos or grammar errors.

Y/N – your name

chapter one. chapter two.

chapter three. chapter four.

"What are you doing here, Misty?" The surprise was notable in Y/N's words.

Many people could walk through that door, but Misty was definitely not one of them.

"I should ask you the same question..." The woman came over and put her hands on the actress' shoulders, smiling amiably. "But we don't have time for that right now. You have a dinner to go! And it is not right to keep a man like Charles waiting."

"Charles?" Arthur asked, trying to find a way to join the conversation. "Is he also an actor?"

After these simple words, the redhead burst out laughing and Arthur didn't understand what he had done wrong this time. He was just curious and a little interested to know who was the man who had a date with Y/N that night.

"Actor? God, have you never heard of Charles Lewis Tiffany?" Misty questioned how if the fact that Arthur didn’t know the man was an offense to humanity and Arthur just shook his head, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Who the hell was this man? The Pope? And why did Y/N have a dinner with Pope?

"It's okay, Arthur." Always so graceful, the actress reassured him and left Misty's side to be close to him. "Charles owns Tiffany & Co., the one that appears in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's... Have you watched this movie before?"

"Oh, oftentimes!"

"Me either! And now Charles wants me to be the face of his new collection! I'm so excited, he came to Gotham just to follow it up in person!" The happiness shining in her eyes was contagious, but Misty didn’t like seeing Y/N squeeze the man’s arm gently.

"I hate to have to do this... the conversation is so pleasant, but we have to go, mon cher." With a smile, Y/N's manager adjusted the bag on her shoulder. She wanted to take the actress away from this freak as soon as possible.

"You cannot go without the VHS tape." Arthur objected, receiving a death glare from Misty, but the only thing that mattered to him was Y/N. "I'll get this for you." After these words, the man left the living room with a reason to make her stay a little longer in his apartment.

"Well, I think we're going to have to wait." Y/N shrugged, but inside she was beaming.

Feeling her mouth dry, she picked up the glass of water on the table, but that was her worst mistake.

"What are you doing? Don't drink this! That dirty glass is full of germs!" The glass was snatched from her hand and Y/N looked at Misty in disbelief.

"That glass is not dirty, Misty."

"How can you be sure of that? I heard that the Narrows sewer is one of the worst in Gotham!"

"Thanks for the lesson, but that didn’t come from the Narrows sewer. This water is from the kitchen tap."

"Oh my God..." The actress could have sworn that the woman's face turned green and she would vomit at any moment. "Why did you drink this? You'll be sick!"

Before Y/N had a chance to respond to these insanities, someone called her. She ran over to the bag and took out her cell phone. It was Charles.

"Hey, Charles! It's good to talk to you." On the other side, all she received were strange noises. The man's voice was being cut off and it was difficult to understand. "The connection is awful..."

"Why am I not surprised? Narrows is the end of the world!" Misty commented, rolling her eyes.

Without time for this discussion, Y/N said:

"Maybe in the corridor I will get a better signal."

"Be careful, you don't know what kind of neighbors there are in this place." She warned, listening to the door open and close, but Y/N said nothing.

Alone in the living room, Misty had the same disgusted look as when she arrived. For her this apartment is small even for an ant and this wallpaper is ridiculous, but in the midst of so much poverty, something on the couch attracted her attention.

"What do we have right here? I don't believe he has a diary..." The woman whispers to herself, laughing, after picking up Arthur's journal. She knew it was wrong, but she was bored.

The first few pages were OK, he had a shitty life like any other unfortunate person, but what came next scared the hell out of her. Misty knew there was something wrong with this man. The instant she saw him, she knew, but that... those words... were from a sick person. Arthur was a disgusting pervert. The redhead needed a moment to breathe and then she saw the magazines on the table and an scissors...

Oh no. He intends to include Y/N in this depravity show!

"I finally found." With bright eyes, Arthur looked for Y/N in the living room, but all he found was Misty... and his journal. "W-What... What are you d-doing?"

"Stay away from me!" She exclaimed, backing away for fear that he would do something against her. "I swear, if you get close I'll scream so loud and when Y/N comes through that door, I will tell her your little secret. She will be so disappointed, but she will finally find out who you really are... A perv!"

"N-No, please... You got it wrong." He tried, his voice taking on a desperate tone. Arthur didn't want to lose the actress's friendship. She was too important for him. "I c-can explain."

"Oh, can you explain? You will glue Y/N's head to a cat's body and then you will sit on that old sofa and touch yourself? You should be in Arkham! You're a sick person! I can't believe Y/N was alone with you..."

Arthur felt his stomach churning.

"You're wrong... I have a lot of respect for her. Y/N is special to me and I would never do something like that."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" The woman threw the journal at him and Arthur cringed like a frightened dog. After hitting him on the back, the journal fell to the floor and when he saw those collages, he felt ashamed of himself. "Listen to me... I will say this only once: Stay away from her. It doesn’t matter what kind of fantasies you’ve created in your sick head, Y/N will not be a part of that. If I know that after today you keep talking to her, I'll call the police and when they find out you're a fucking perv, you will spend the rest of your days in Arkham." She warned with all the letters and threats, now it was up to him to choose to cooperate or not. This man is too old to play being a teenager. These images of naked women, these cats and those sad quotes in his journal prove just one thing. Maybe he's a sexual predator, but Misty wouldn't be here to find that out either. "Enjoy your pornography and leave Y/N alone. I hope I never see you again."

Arthur saw his world fall apart as soon as the redhead left his apartment with the worst assumptions about him. He was not a perverted monster. He would never touch Y/N without her consent and would never endanger her life. Never ever. Y/N was the only good thing about Gotham; she was a light at the end of the tunnel. So angelic and peaceful. Whenever she smiles, butterflies appear in his stomach and Arthur knows what these famous butterflies mean, but he doesn't know what those collages mean... If Y/N knew, she would probably be afraid of him.

In the corridor, the actress was trapped in a bubble, talking animatedly with Charles. The call had no specific reason, the man just wanted to make sure everything was fine for dinner that night.

"Okay... This is one of Gotham's best restaurants. Trust me, you will love the place!" She assured him, intending to make a good impression. It wasn't every day that she got a chance to dine with the genius behind Tiffany & Co. and represent that brand. This was an important step in her career. "Now I need to go, Charles. See you soon, bye!" Y/N hummed the ending, watching Misty approach where she was. "Why are you here?"

"It's just your friend's mom. She's not feeling very well..."

"Isn't Penny okay?" Concern crossed Y/N's face and she tried to get back to apartment 8J, but Misty took her arm, lying again:

"Y/N, don't be indiscreet. This is a family problem and Arthur is taking care of it." With those words, she guided the actress to the elevator, but Y/N kept looking at the door to Arthur's apartment. "You need to prepare for dinner... I chose a beautiful dress for you."

...

THREE DAYS LATER

"Put red on her lips... Don't forget the mascara... and on the cheeks use this blush... Not this one! The peach blush!"

It was possible to say that Charles Lewis Tiffany was taking the place of the makeup artist. The woman was losing patience, Y/N realized this, but he wanted to participate in every second of it. When she finished, Charles smiled, admiring Y/N's beauty through the mirror.

"You see? You're genuinely beautiful... I think I finally found my muse." The actress was flattered by the compliments and that reflected in her smile when Charles took a blue box, but this was not a simple blue box. This is the famous Tiffany Blue Box. "I want you to meet my new creation..." He opened the box, stealing Y/N's breath instantly. "Dramatically plunging down the decolletage, an incredible emerald-cut bicolor zoisite that shifts from violet-blue to purplish-red, depending on the angle. The pendant is over 48 carats and it's wrapped in a halo of baguette diamonds and suspended from a diamond rondelle chain of over 37 total carats."

"Oh Charles, this is absolutely beautiful. I'm speechless..." She confessed, watching him take the necklace and offer to put it around her neck. Y/N accepted immediately and when the pendant touched the white fabric of the dress, she smiled at the mirror.

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend" Charles whispered, eliciting a giggle from her. "Now I need to speak to the photographer, but take a few minutes to prepare yourself." The man smiled one last time and Y/N walked to the door, opening it for him. She took the opportunity to spy on what was happening on the other side and it was possible to say that there was a little sadness in her eyes.

"What are you looking for?" Misty's voice echoed and she closed the door quickly.

"Huh... nothing!"

The woman was checking the contract – something about image authorization – and when she took her eyes off the papers, she found Y/N with a half-hearted smile.

"Go ahead... Spill the tea."

Brian was probably smoking, so Misty was her only option.

"Arthur was busy these days, but he called me this morning... He looked nervous and said he would like to talk to me, so I invited him to accompany the photoshoot, but..."

"You did what?!" Misty left the chair, interrupting her. Not wanting to start a scene, the redhead looked at Dariela, the makeup artist, and said: "Get out." The woman immediately stopped organizing her makeup and ran out of the dressing room.

"Was that necessary?" Y/N asked, crossing her arms.

"And was it necessary to invite that maniac to come here too?"

"Jesus, Misty!" She walked to the other side of the dressing room. "Manic? Really?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Based on what? His bank account?"

"Based on his journal." Misty replied and the actress looked in her direction with a frown. Shaking her head, the redhead let out a bitter laugh before confessing: "He doesn't use it just to write jokes... I found a lot of pornography on those pages."

Y/N felt a little uncomfortable with that. Certain things do not need to be exposed... She didn't need to know about that part of Arthur's life and Misty just invaded his privacy.

"Well... many men consume pornography daily."

"Y/N, pornography is not the point here. He makes some weird collages... women with cat heads... skulls... one of these women was tied up in a compromising position... Can you see how problematic this is?" Misty was trying to open her eyes and consequently was scaring the actress, but that was not all. "I saw the magazines. That man will probably do the same to you... your face on the body of these naked women or on a cat's body! You have always been uncomfortable with the way men see you only as a sex symbol... and now Arthur is using you as a sex toy!"

"Stop! Just stop, okay?" Y/N demanded, using an edgy tone of voice. That was too much for her to assimilate. "You're saying this because you do not accept the idea of ​​Arthur being my friend! All that matters to you is status, but it doesn't matter to me! When are you going to let me live my own life?"

"This is not about social classes, this man is a pervert! I'm trying to protect you!"

"Enough, Misty!" That was enough to make the redhead shut up and Y/N found her way back to the mirror.

To complete the look, inside the blue box was a beautiful diamond ring and a pair of shiny round diamond earrings, just waiting for her. Putting on the ring was an easy task, but she couldn’t say the same about earrings; her hands were shaking and this is all the fault of the stress.

"Let me help you." The manager approached and at first Y/N refused her help, but after another failed attempt, she handed the earrings to the woman. "I know I can be a bitch sometimes..."

"Sometimes?"

Misty just sighed, shaking her head.

~~~~~~~▪~~~~~~~~~▪~~~~~~~~~▪~~~~~~~~~~

a/n – likes and reblogs are appreciated but honestly I’d love to know what you all think of this one. really hope you enjoy it and thank you soooo much for reading ♡

[anything-goes-my-friends]

A New Beginning

The ending of ROTT broke me and I was left very disappointed in the ending of the show. I loved the movie, but the last 10 minutes didn’t sit well with me. I needed a fix-it fic with the ending I think the series deserves, so don’t be mad at me if you don’t like it. This is just what I think it needs, obviously not what everyone else thinks it needs.

In this fic Jim goes back to the day he got the amulet, but instead of giving it to Toby he takes it himself, and relives his journey with the knowledge and experience to save everyone he lost.

A New Beginning When he said goodbye to Blinky, Claire, and the others, Jim knew the journey ahead would be the most difficult thing he’d ever have to do. He needed to find a good time to jump back to, but whenever he settled on a date he thought of someone else he could save, and the date was pushed forward.

So he settled on the day it all began.

When his alarm buzzed, there were no words to explain the emotions swirling through him. With the deaths he witnessed still raw, and the destruction fresh in his mind, being in his old room seemed foreign. He remembered one of the last times he was there, recently half troll and struggling to adapt. But now, none of that had happened, but it had to him. He thought of everything ahead and smiled. But first, Toby.

He hastily prepared the meals for himself, his mom, and Toby, but nothing as fancy as the meatloaf he made the first time around. His head was buzzing and he struggled to focus on the simple task of making the sandwiches. But soon enough it was time.

The garage door opened and he gripped the handlebars of his bike until his knuckles turned white. This would prove that everything he did was worth it. Just to see Toby’s smile once more. The innocence in his eyes. He would never take it for granted again.

And there he was, his best friend. Jim let out a sound that was a mixture of a laugh and a sob and rammed into his friend to engulf him in a hug. It was worth it. All the pain he’ll endure again, and the burdens he has to bear were worth it for this moment.

“Come on Tobes, let’s take the canals today, I have a good feeling about it.” Jim took off on his bike, Toby hollering nonsense to pass the time and it was music to Jim’s ears. 

And when they reached the bottom of the canal, and he heard the amulet speaking his name in Kanjigar’s voice, Jim smiled.

“Hello again, old friend.” He whispered as he ran his finger over the familiar metal of the amulet.

<><>Time Skip to the end of ROTT with the new ending Jim created<><>

Jim read the text on his phone from Claire, asking him when he was on his way to Trollmarket. He hastily typed out ‘be there in 10’ before shoving the phone back in his pocket. He could feel the amulet buzzing in his bag, and grinned to himself. He knew what today was, he had it marked on his calendar for years. Today was the day the Titans were defeated in the old timeline. The day Toby died, and Strickler, and Nomura, and countless others. He thought of how different things had become as he rummaged in his bag for his horngazel. The door opened easily under the bridge and he started to descend the stairs.

“There you are, Trollhunter, cutting it close aren’t we?” Claire teased as she met him at the bottom of the stairs. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and she threaded her fingers through his. They began to walk through Trollmarket, all the familiar buzz that had been lost the first time. Jim had learned from his mistakes, but also knew there were some events that had to happen. Losing Trollmarket was not one he could bring himself to do. His gaze shifted to Claire, who’s white streak in her hair, the ponytail, and purple armor was the same as the day the titans attacked. But she was smiling, and there was still a light in her eyes.

“Romeo and Juliet? I would love to try out...Your brother was taken by goblins into the Darklands, I’m sorry, but I’ll get him back I promise. For now, try to get to know NotEnrique, he might surprise you...Everything we’ve done, we’ve done together, I love you Claire, and I always will.”

He had dreaded letting Enrique get taken into the Darklands, but Claire had once remarked that she was glad NotEnrique came into her life, and thought of him as a brother. He didn’t want her to lose that relationship. And saving Enrique pushed Claire to become the sorceress and warrior she was destined to be, bringing the two of them closer together in the process.

The two of them waved to Barbara and Strickler, as Barbara showed off her new ring to a group of changelings. Strickler gave Jim a nod, and he returned it with a smile.

“Strickler, I would like you to meet my mom...The Janus Order has fallen, you’ll be safe in Trollmarket...Yes, I would be honored to be your best man.”

The fall of Gunmar had been a shock to troll kind. Jim had arrived in Trollmarket knowing where the Janus Order had hid the bridge, and used that knowledge to secure it early on. Toby, Claire, and Jim had trained for months as Trollhunters, answering calls and building strength to enter the Darklands. Jim had made the mistake of going alone once, and didn’t want to do that again. So when they were ready, they entered together. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh had rescued Gunmar’s prisoners, even though they got distracted by Blinky’s brother. Claire and Toby had gone off with NotEnrique to free all of the babies, while Draal and Jim faced Gunmar. And at the end of the day, and with a battle that lived in infamy, they emerged victorious.

Gunmar, eager to avenge his son that Jim had slain, and his ego clouding his judgement, had agreed to a fight to the death with Jim. A fight that Jim won. The Trollhunters exited the Darklands with refugees and freed Gum Gums, and babies that were taken care of by Barbara and Strickler until they could find loving homes for them all. And with the fall of Gunmar, the troll world was left without direction. The Janus Order struggled to adapt now that they couldn’t take form as human, but Jim made sure they were welcomed into Trollmarket with open arms. Gunmar’s spies and allies were hunted down by the Trollhunters if they made a mess of things, and after months of struggling, peace was nearing. When Strickler was brought into Trollmarket, he drifted closer to the Lakes, and when he got down on one knee, Barbara didn’t even hesitate to say yes. He had even given Jim the ring to Angor Rot’s soul, and Jim was able to return it to its rightful owner, and set the Trollhunter Hunter free. And Claire, reunited with the real Enrique, gained a brother in NotEnrique, and her family became a little bit bigger. 

Jim never slept better after the Darklands. He was proud of his decision to go in together once they were ready, as was the original plan the first time around. Jim knew the importance of seeking help from friends, and he was able to live without that particular trauma twice.

Gunmar was defeated, Trollmarket wasn’t lost, Angor Rot became an ally, and his friends were alive and happy. Jim smiled as he and Claire walked past the forge, where Draal and Nomura were sparing, swapping insults that bordered on flirting, although both would deny it. Jim was most proud of saving Draal, although he would never tell anyone that. After defeating him in battle in the forge and gaining the respect of Trollmarket, Draal moved into his basement and the two of them renewed the bond that had been ripped away by Gunmar. Draal never lost his arm, was never under the control of Gunmar, and never died saving Jim’s life. He fought beside Jim as equals throughout his battles, and remained one of his closest allies and friends.

Vendel entered the forge to yell something at Nomura and Draal, but it wasn’t long before the three of them erupted in laughter. Vendel looked around and noticed Jim smiling at them, and gave a curt nod with his staff to signal a hello and his continued respect. 

“Vendell, Queen Usurna is working for Gunmar, she wants to take over Trollmarket and steal the Hearthstone.”

When it had come the time of the Eternal Night, there was no Morgana to rage war, and no Gunmar to destroy Arcadia. Jim stayed human, and stayed in Arcadia where he belonged. Blinky shortly became Vendel’s right hand, and the two of them set out on a mission to organize trollkind in the wake of Gunmar’s defeat. Dictatious had wanted to go along with his brother, but knew he was needed in Trollmarket to help the Changelings and Gum Gums adjust to a life post-war. He was joined by Aaarrrgghh in his endevor, who was happy to help others the way Blinky helped him. 

After the day the Eternal Night was supposed to be, Jim found himself wandering into the cafe Douxie worked at.

“Douxie, we need to find Merlin.”

Teaming up with Archie and Claire, the four of them set off to the tomb, where Merlin was resurrected and the next steps were taken. While they prepared for the war with the Arcane Order, Toby had stayed back in Arcadia as it’s one Trollhunter. He had formed bonds with Aja and Krel, and protected Arcadia from the threats better than Jim would’ve. He came into his own as WarHammer, and had accepted the role he chose himself.

“Claire, let’s free Morgana. She isn’t a bad woman, and she can help us in the days to come.”

With Douxie and Merlin at her side, Claire had freed Morgana and managed to settle her down enough to talk. And with her help the plan was made. The Wizards and Trollhunters traveled in time to determine the identity of the Green Knight, where Douxie was named a Master Wizard and the Trollhunter amulet was made. Deya was named the first Trollhunter, and the past was secured. And when they returned, it was Morgana that saved them from the Green Knight. She gave Arthur the rest he deserved, and when the battle was over, she left with Merlin to grieve and find themselves in the new world. Nari had stayed behind with Douxie, who had accepted his role as protector.

“There’s Douxie!” Claire briefly let go of Jim’s hand to wave, and Douxie beamed and returned it. Archie was sitting on his shoulder while Nari padded along after the two of them. Archie was mentioning something about going to visit his dad, and Douxie agreed to go along for moral support. Nari looked at Jim with a knowing look in her eyes, the way she always looked at him. He could never tell if she knew what he did, and all that he had changed, but he decided he didn’t care. She was alive, and Douxie had succeeded in protecting her, and that was all that mattered.

“We need to find the seals Nari...Do you know where the rest of the Arcane Order might have gone?...It’s over now, you’re safe.”

The Genesis Seals had been found and rehidden by Douxie, who didn’t tell anyone where he hid them. Not even Jim or Nari. They had all agreed it was for the best. When Douxie died the secret would die with him. Unable to find and open the seals, Skrael and Bellroc scrambled to find Nari and finish what they started. And with the help of Krel and Aja, the Trollhunters, and the Wizards, the two had their magic stripped away by Akiridian tech, and Jim was able to deliver the finishing blows.

Now today, the day the Titans were supposed to have risen, there was nothing but blue skies. School happened like normal, and the world was at peace. Claire and Jim finished their stroll through Trollmarket as they arrived at Blinky’s study. He was ready for them, and complained that they were the last to arrive. 

Inside sat Toby and Aaarrrgghh, who were shoving their faces with the feast that Blinky had prepared. Jim and Claire sat down at the large table and Blinky looked at him expecting him to speak. Jim chuckled and rose to make a toast.

“We have overcome a lot. The defeat of Bular, Gunmar, and the Arcane Order. Merlin and Morgana are off on their own. Douxie and Archie are protecting Arcadia from mystical threats. Aja, Krel, Steve, and Eli are off on Akiridion-5 to rule together. The Darklands liberated, our families reunited, and our loved ones close. This was all I ever wanted for all of you, and I couldn’t be happier.” Jim looked around at the smiling faces surrounding him. This was his family, the ones that had been with him since the start. Blinky, his mentor and father figure, Aaarrrgghh his loyal friend, Claire the love of his life and powerful sorceress, and Toby, the friend who had been with him since the beginning. From a time before trolls and aliens and wizards. When he had wanted more excitement in life.

There were days the burden of the what-could’ve-beens plagued Jim’s mind and he struggled to carry on with the weight of his mistakes. But then days like this happened, where he knew he had changed things for the better, and the world was better off because of his sacrifice. He wouldn’t change a thing, and given the choice to have the time stone again, he would toss it aside. This was the happy ending they all deserved, the ending he worked hard to give them all. There had been changes that brought new threats to face, new calls to answer. But he faced them all with the friends and family he chose and surrounded himself with, and he used his experience to do what he could. He was a hero, the Trollhunter, the champion of Trollmarket. He was Jim the Bular Slayer, the Gunmar Slayer, but most importantly he was Jim Lake. The first Human Trollhunter. And he didn’t think, he became.

[camelotsheart]

Alright. I’m watching 1x11 and trying a new way of liveblogging. Which is just me writing random paragraphs. Enjoy.

A creature of magic mourning the loss of a creature of magic 😭

“Arthur is a hunter. It's in his blood. Whereas you are something entirely different.“ reminds me of “He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.“ “You are wrong.” Especially with the way that Arthur then proves what is in his heart by the end of the episode, and how his ‘heart’ is shown to constantly guide him towards the ‘correct’ choice in s5 (e.g. “My heart says do anything I can to save Mordred.“)

“You've got a face like a wounded bear ever since we got back from that hunting trip." Arthur means bear. I have no idea what to do with this information.

The unicorn as a metaphor for those sorcerers who “do no harm” and thus Camelot serves no purpose in killing them. Especially since people like the Disir and Alator describe the purge as a “hunt”.

The drought serving as a parallel to the events that happened before the purge to Uther, in that Arthur sees all the harm that “magic” is doing to the land and his people, just like Uther witnesses Ygraine’s death. Arthur initially refuses to accept that what happens is caused by him, just like Uther does. But unlike Uther, Arthur is able to acknowledge his mistakes given time (it’s interesting how in the book adaptation of 1x02 merlin makes this comparison too)

“If it is magic, it's more powerful magic than I possess.“ So unicorn magic is more powerful than Merlin’s magic. Would dragon magic be more powerful too? Is that why Merlin couldn’t heal Arthur from the poison of Mordred’s sword tha was forged in a dragon’s breath?

Merlin not understanding hand signals is my life 😂💖

Ok I can literally draw so many parallels between Anhora and Arthur’s first conversation, and Nimueh and Uther’s conversation in 1x09. Especially from how both Arthur and Uther seem completely unable to understand how the ‘curse’ that happened to Ygraine and Camelot was technically their fault.

“And could you bear for your children to see you be executed?“ The way in which Arthur says this breaks my heart because he does understand the feeling of blaming himself for the loss of a parent, just like those hypothetical children would. This is highlighted more by the fact that Evan later plays on Arthur’s insecurities about being his father’s son.

“If you're tested again, you have a chance to end your people's suffering. I know you want that more than anything." Reminds me of what Bradley says about Arthur putting Camelot above everything, even his personal relationships. Compare this to Lancelot and Merlin, who’s “something that is more important than anything” is a person (or people, in the case of Lancelot).

I LOVE S1 MORGANA. S1 AND 2 MORGWEN WOULD HAVE MADE A PERFECT QUEEN DUO FIGHT ME.

Merlin’s face when Arthur says he’s going to the forest to seek Anhorra out 🥺 Also the way he looks back like he wants to see the exact moment Arthur figures out that he’s eating rat meat 🤣 Merlin’s sarcastic little nod. Arthur’s shit-eating grin. This is what I mean by sibling dynamics.

AND THEN THEY TURN ON MORGANA ASDJSAJASLDKKLDJSA. MERLIN. ARTHUR. NO 🤣🤣🤣

“The King must wonder if you are even his son.“ I absolutely do not like how Anhora chose to do the test with Evan here. I hate it. But it does prepare Arthur for a lot of things. It prepares him to do things his father normally would not do. It prepares him to ignore when people compare him to his father (not that it worked with Agravaine, but Arthur does eventually come around most of the time with Merlin’s help). I find it like a mini 5x03 in a way. Also the fact that Arthur doesn’t even try to defend himself by saying that the looter would have been executed by the law of the land anyway; because deep down he knows that reasoning is wrong. What needs to be changed currently is Arthur’s arrogance in regards to his honour, not his internal morals. He has already proven his internal morals with saving Mordred, laying down his life in 1x09, as well as rescuing Ealdor and his reaction to finding out Will was a sorcerer in 1x10. Right now, Arthur needs to be able to accept that he is wrong.

“Besides I would rather starve than beg my enemies for help! What of our kingdom's reputation? Have you no pride?” “I cannot think of my pride when our people go hungry. They're all I can think of.” I’m screaming over the fact that what ends up beating sense into Arthur is his love for his people. I want to cry. He loves his people so much that his battle cry is “for the love of Camelot” 😭❤️

“Very well. But if you'd caught the sorcerer, I would not have to. That's your responsibility! One day you will understand what it takes to be King!” One day, Uther, you’ll learn to blame yourself for other people’s suffering.

“My people are starving. Camelot is on the verge of collapse. And it is all my doing.“ IT DIDN’T EVEN TAKE ARTHUR A DAY TO LEARN THIS I WANT TO CRY 😭 FUCK YOU UTHER YOU DON’T DESERVE ARTHUR AT ALL. (also the fact that Arthur fiddles with Ygraine’s ring as he says this 😭❤️)

“I trust Arthur with my life” the fact that arthur proves that trust right both in this episode by drinking the goblet and in the previous episode by admitting that he “of course” would not kill Will despite thinking he was a sorcerer.

Why the hell does Anhora use a sword to cast the vine spell.

“I thought I told you to stay at home.” Every time Arthur calls Camelot ‘home’ for Merlin I 🥺

Are those carvings... horseshoes...? Making the shape of a heart....? I--

(Sorry guys. By this point it’s 200% certain that my shipper brain is going to take over. Please expect a lot of screaming)

“What kind of ridiculous test is that? What does that prove?” “What it proves is for you to decide.” Which means that by the end, Arthur realizes what this test proves. And he proves what is truly in his heart by sacrificing his life for merlin. Remember “To sacrifice his life to save Gwen’s... I can’t imagine any man loving me so much.” “I certainly can’t imagine that either” “That’s because you’re not like Merlin. He’s a lover” “Yeah? Maybe that’s because I haven’t found the right person to love”. Remember how in the book adaptation this episode, it says that Arthur proves that there is love in his heart by giving his life for Merlin? Remember “there was magic at the heart of Camelot”? Remember how in the book version Arthur doesn’t deny having love in his heart when Anhora says so when the Unicorn lives again, and instead turns his head to smile at Merlin--

“I’m glad you’re here, Merlin.” @thebookluvrr1816​ More 1x11-finale parallels to scream about 😭 The book version describes Merlin’s surprise at this statement, and how he thought it was “ironic and unfair” that they understood each other "at the very moment that death was about to tear them apart.”

“No, I will drink it!” “As if I’d let you.” Someone stop these dollopheads from having a domestic about who will die for the other i beg

“You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you.” reminds me of “I’m the king Merlin, you can’t tell me what to do.” “I always have. I’m not going to change now.” Also, in the books Arthur actually says “farewell, Merlin” after this. Book Arthur is way more suave just saying.

HOW ARTHUR LOOKS INTO MERLIN’S EYES IN HIS FINAL MOMENTS UNTIL HE ISN’T PHYSICALLY ABLE TO ANYMORE. SOMEONE HELP ME 😭

“This was Arthur's test, not yours.“ idk but this reminds me of the fisher king saying “For this is not Arthur's quest, it is yours.“

“You've killed him! I was meant to protect him!” This is going to sound harsh but by this point I think Merlin was still putting Arthur’s destiny above Arthur himself. In the books, there’s a distinct difference in how he feels about Arthur’s death in this scene compared to 1x13 (I’m amazed at how fast his feelings changes, actually). Here, I feel like he focuses more on his own failure to protect Arthur as part of his destiny, but in 1x13, he says that the idea of destiny not being fulfilled was nothing compared to the idea of not being by Arthur’s side. I wonder what happens between this and 1x13 for Merlin’s feelings to change so much.

THIS HAS PROBABLY BEEN STATED MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE BUT “HE HAS PROVEN WHAT IS TRULY IN HIS HEART“ AS THE CAMERA FOCUSES ON MERLIN. PRODUCERS YOU AIN’T SNEAKY.

Merlin’s smile as he looks down at Arthur sleeping 🥺

Arthur looking at Uther’s hand on his shoulder as if he’s trying to identify a foreign object 🙂 I can never say this enough but fuck you Uther.

“When he who kills a unicorn proves himself to be pure of heart, the unicorn will live again.” this is a stretch but it reminds me of “when Albion’s need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.”

And that’s done! I have a small meta that ties the theme of Arthur and magic in this episode to the same themes in 1x10, but I might do it on a separate post since this one is already so long 😂

[moral-turpitudes]

Butterflies 🦋: Part 2

Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of fighting, Gore, Blood, Mentions of Death, Angst, Fluff, Swearing, etc.

Word Count: 3,993

Summary: Y/N and Esmeralda are left to look after things and are planning for the wedding, meanwhile Bonnie and his father are on yet another perilous mission for Thomas Shelby.

Requested: Nah

A/N: I’ve worked on this in my drafts for days cuz my motivation has been super shitty recently so I hope this doesn’t suck as much as I think it does lol. I appreciate all the feedback on these fics and stuff though, it means the world. <3

Part 1 | Part 2

Aberama and Bonnie’s footsteps echoed over the expanse of hallowed ground, the leaves crunching as they walked through the brisk morning air, causing the hair on the back of their necks to stand on edge. In the distance Tommy and his brothers were standing near a tombstone, the thick fog eerily clearing where he stood as they got closer. He wore his usual dusty black coat and had his peaked cap sitting perfectly atop his head. 

“Now that you all are here, I say it’s about time we get this over with aye?” He asked, his icy gaze piercing Bonnie’s.

“Where are they Tom? Are we bait now?” Aberama asked, frustration lacing his voice.

“No. They told me to meet them here. If you look off to the distance they dug a grave, for us. We won’t go in there though, not today.” He said, taking a drag from his cigarette. 

“Do you have your men positioned behind the trees?” Tommy asked.

“Yes. We have 5 men, not much but they’re good shots.” Bonnie said.

“Good.” Tommy said, turning around and scanning the tree line.

A shot rung out down near the grave suddenly, causing Tommy, his brothers, and Bonnie and Aberama to duck behind the nearby tombstones.

Tommy got his machine gun and loaded it expertly, taking aim where the shot came from as Aberama did the same. Bonnie looked out from the side of the decaying gray stone in front of him, his hands shaking slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw John aim for someone to the side of them. John missed the first time, making him have to stop and reload. Without thinking, Bonnie quickly aimed and steadied his breathing, pretending it was similar to hunting for his own sake. He watched the mans movements in the distance like he would a deer, estimating the best angle and time to shoot.

With a single pull of the trigger, the bullet flew through the air and hit the man in the chest as he turned, giving Bonnie an easy shot in the end.

John looked back and nodded at him before aiming again, this time at the three men barreling towards them.

Aberama looked on as they came running and then stuck his finger in the air, moving it in a swift motion, signaling their men to shoot.

Shots rang out seemingly from all sides, as the three men tried to make it past the hail of bullets, but none of them escaped, falling with an audible thud on the near-frozen ground.

A whistle then came from the distance, giving the gruesome scene before them an eerie feeling.

“It’s those damn Billy Boys again... We have to take them out. Wait for my orders.” Tommy said, changing his clips and looking on ahead.

The Billy Boys sang loudly as they marched forward clutching their guns. The rest of the men from the troublesome gang were close behind them.

“I count 4 men from the gang, and 5 Billy Boys...” John said over their singing.

“Alright, Arthur you stay with me, Bonnie you take the right, Aberama you take the left. John you back Bonnie up.” He said, loading the last of the bullets into his machine gun.

With a deep breath Tommy got the unruly lead member, Jimmy McCavern, in his sights and steadied himself like he did in the war.

“In the bleak midwinter...” He muttered quietly under his breath, before taking his shot.

Back at the camp, Y/N and Esmeralda helped plan the wedding down to the last details. They excitedly talked about the food and music they’ll have and Bonnie’s younger sisters even helped Y/N learn some of the dances they traditionally did.

As the day went on, the sun started poking through the trees in dancing golden beams as they prepared lunch, adjusting the portions since most of the men were gone.

Y/N sat down and looked into the crackling flames of the bonfire, letting the warmth soothe her cold skin.

“You okay love?” Esmeralda said, a concerned look on her face as she stirred the kettle over the flames.

“Yeah...just worried ya know? It’s not easy being here without him.” Y/N said running her finger over the small diamond ring.

“They know what they’re doing. They’ll be back. If not, me and you will just have to go over there ourselves.” She said with a wink. Y/N smiled and gathered some bowls, finally working up a somewhat decent appetite after all the cleaning and wedding preparations earlier in the morning.

She and the remaining people there all sat around, talking about random things and discussing their plans for the wedding decorations and music, some asking her opinion, others excitedly showing her jewelry or clothing she could borrow.

“I’d get to resting if I were you Y/N who knows, they may be home later.” Esmeralda said, draping a blanket over your shoulders. She didn’t realize that she had been going nonstop all day, partly to relish in her excitement, and partly to take her mind off how her fiancé was off fighting in one of Thomas Shelby’s little battles.

“That’s true. I’ll go do that I guess...wake me if you need help.” Y/N said before going into the forest green vardo. Her head hit the pillow and she reluctantly closed her eyes, wanting to sleep but not wanting to wake later in fear of getting her hopes up.

Shots rang out in the graveyard, the cold air a bleak afterthought as the bullets pierced through the fog and into the men’s flesh.

Tommy ducked as Aberama took over, shooting two of the 5 Billy Boys. Meanwhile Arthur fought a fourth one who ran off towards the tree line. Jimmy struggled to breathe, choking on his own blood on the frozen dirt as the last of the Billy Boys ran towards Bonnie and John.

Bonnie shot quickly, aiming for the mans head, missing just by a hair. John then shot, hitting him in the shoulder. But before Bonnie could finish him off, he felt a sharp pain in his arm, blood trickling down as he stared at the smoking gun a few feet in front of him. John shot him dead while Bonnie retreated behind the tombstone for a moment to assess his wound. It was bleeding pretty badly and he hissed as the pain tore through his arm as he tied some cloth around it.

“Bonnie are you okay?!” His father yelled as he ran over to him and ducking by a nearby tombstone as well.

“Missed an artery but still bleeding pretty bad. He was a terrible shot, I’ll be fine.” He said, winking at his father slightly before checking the clip in his gun. Aberama took a long glance at him and then at the other 4 men who were no doubt doing business with the now-deceased Billy Boys.

They nervously ran towards Tommy who was aiming again and Aberama watched as Arthur stood in a bloody mess over the last of the Billy Boy bodies.

“Take them out.” Tommy yelled.

Aberama signaled again as Bonnie and John shot at the men, their shots piercing through two of them while the other two managed to almost get to Tommy, a bullet whizzing past his head before the pair were shot by the men in the tree line.

As the last of the bodies dropped, an eerie silence fell over Tommy and the rest.

They all worked together, painstakingly dragging the bodies to the grave that was dug, only to be stopped in their tracks by an odd object in the center of the hole.

“Stop! Don’t throw them in. Get back!” Tommy yelled.

“What is it Tom?” Arthur said as he watched his brothers gears turning frantically in his head.

“A bomb.” He said loudly.

“Everyone get back, do we have anything not valuable...and heavy?” He asked the group.

“We have our guns...but...we need them Tom.” John said.

“We can get more. Give them to me, every one of you.” He said.

Aberama reluctantly let his go, as did Bonnie and Tommy’s brothers followed suit.

Tommy gathered them all, including his in his arms and stood near the edge of the grave.

“Everyone go. Now.” He said.

“What? No of course not! Are you mad?” John yelled.

“Fucking go. That’s an order. Now!” He said, his eyes piercing his brothers.

They swallowed hard and took a look at their brother before running towards the fragile shelter of the tombstones with Aberama and Bonnie following.

Tommy took a few steps back, checking the weight of the guns in his arms before closing his eyes and whispering to himself once again, the images of Grace and Charlie playing in his mind before he got a running start, chucking the guns at the center of the hole and desperately running for his life.

In the 30 seconds it took for the guns to make an impact, the ground rumbled around the bodies of the men they killed and eventually erupted in a loud fiery boom, sending their limbs flying and Tommy slamming into the ground, covering his head in a desperate attempt to save himself.

As the dirt, debris, and blood fell down on him, the others watched nearby as the gross mixture rained down on them as well.

Tommy got up slowly, his ears ringing loudly and vision blurring as he held his arm, wincing at the deep cut that came from some of the debris.

“Fucking hell he’s alive...” John said in disbelief. Tommy always found a way to cheat death, in some twisted way.

As he limped slightly to the men, he lit a cigarette, bringing it to his muddy, blood stained lips.

“I’ll deliver your guns and your payment. Tell your men you all are free to go. Thank you for the help Mr. Gold.” He said looking at Aberama as blood dripped down his arm.

“They better be good guns because we’ll need them Mr. Shelby. Let us know when you need us and we’ll be there, if the pay is right of course.” He said.

“It’ll be right, you’ll see.” He said, before waving them off and inspecting his arm.

Bonnie and Aberama slowly walked off after saying goodbye, leaving the gory scene behind them as they walked through the damp grass, the sun glowing in the autumn afternoon. The fog had cleared, revealing the true mess they’d made.

“You’ll need to get that cleaned up before Y/N sees ya know...she’ll kick your ass.” One of their men said, chuckling.

“Oh I will. She’ll kick my ass regardless, because she hates that I’m gone.” He said.

“You’ll see her soon my boy, soon.” Aberama said as they walked down the muddy road and to their horses.

Y/N awoke to yet another empty spot beside her, making her heart drop slightly as she assumed the worst.

Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders and stepping out of the vardo, she walked towards the bonfire which was going strong thanks to Bonnie’s sisters.

“They’re not back Y/N, don’t worry though they’ll be here I’m sure of-“ His younger sister started to say before being cut off by the sound of hooves in the distance.

“It’s them!” She said before getting up with her sister, including Esmeralda.

Y/N joined them as they walked towards the slightly worn path that lead out of the camp and waited. Her eyes darting between everyone. When the men stopped and got off their horses, and that’s when she saw him.

They were all covered in dirt and god knows what, blood and debris covering their hair and clothes. But he stood out amongst the men, having a bright red cloth wrapped around his arm.

Y/N’s eyes grew wide as she walked towards him quickly, hoping he wasn’t hurt too badly.

She didn’t say anything though, just ran into his arms, doing all she could not to hurt him.

“Told you I’d come back my love...” He said smiling down at her, exhausted.

“Are you okay?” Y/N asked, trying to look at his arm.

“Just a bullet to the arm, I’ll need to get it looked at though. I’m okay love I promise.” He said, looking into her eyes before bringing his lips to hers.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She said, taking his hand and leading him to one of the logs near the bonfire.

“Sit here I’ll be back.” She said, getting a pail of water, some fresh cloth, and alcohol.

“Need any help?” Aberama asked, walking over as she laid the items out.

“Yes please.” She said grinning as she moved Bonnies sleeve out of the way and carefully unwrapped the blood soaked cloth.

“You have a knife?” Y/N asked.

“Always, here you go. Bonnie bite down on this cloth here alright?” He said shoving a dark cloth in his mouth.

Y/N had helped Aberama a couple of times before when some of the men came back from hunting or getting into fights, so she hoped she could at least dislodge a bullet.

She carefully used the tip of the knife to feel around, cutting a bit to fit her finger into the hole, grabbing the bullet quickly. Bonnie grunted in pain as she did so, and only got louder as she poured the alcohol into the wound.

“Here’s this, remeber that stitch I showed you dear?” Aberama asked. Y/N nodded and put the handle of the knife in her mouth, brows furrowing in concentration while she stitched him up.

She took the knife and cut a clean strip of cloth and tied it around his arm, wiping her hands in the water as she did her hands of the crimson mess. Bonnie took the cloth out of his mouth and composed himself a bit as he watched her clean up and come back with another bowl of water and soap.

“Sorry my love, I know that hurt.” She said caressing his cheek.

“It’s alright, I’m glad you helped me out lord knows no would’ve bled out if we didn’t get back soon.” He said.

“I know...do you want to talk about it?” She asked, bringing the wet cloth to his face, clearing it of all the dirt and blood.

“I don’t want to cause you any stress love. But I’m here and that’s all that matters.” He said, drying his face and hands and then bringing Y/N in close.

“Did you all have fun planning the wedding?” He asked.

“Yes! I think you’re going to love what we’ve picked out. I also learned some of the dances thanks to your sisters...” Y/N said looking up at him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Oh really? Do you think you could take on my dad? He’s the best dancer of us.” He said chuckling.

“I’ll have to bribe him to dance huh. This will be fun...I can’t wait to marry you Bonnie Gold.” Y/N said kissing him as the sun set over the flames of the fire, the night growing colder as time went on.

“Let’s get some sleep love, you need it. We have a big day tomorrow.” She said winking at him, getting up and carefully walking to their vardo.

Bonnie smiled and got up, following behind her and up into the vardo where the warm bed awaited them.

The birds chirped loudly the next morning, stirring Y/N awake. She ran her hand over her small bump while looking out the little window, her eyes going to the new sights before her. She giggled to herself as she got up carefully, slipping on her robe and slippers before stepping out of the vardo.

“Have you been up all night decorating?” She asked, a playful grin on her lips as she questioned Esmeralda who was finishing up throwing petals on the ground.

“What...? No....” She said, giggling as Y/N came over, giving her a hug.

“It looks beautiful. Thank you so much for all this...” Y/N said looking at the lamps placed all around the cleared open space, the only things out were wooden seats set up with the petals all over the ground, and a small platform that was covered in various flowers.

“Now I know Bonnie is asleep, but I wanted to help you get ready for the big day, and I don’t want him to see you until it’s time to say “I do” alright? He’ll be so surprised it’ll be great.” Esmeralda said excitedly.

“Should I wake him at least?” Y/N asked as Esmeralda led her to her vardo.

“No. Aberama will take care of him, you’ll be with me alllll day!” She said, having Y/N sit on her bed while she got out a dress. It was a white lace dress that flowed almost down to the floor.

“Wait you want me to wear that? Is...isn’t that...” Y/N trailed off.

“The one you saw in Small Heath? Yes. I remember when we went to the shops just looking around for fun. And well, you’ll know why I got it, soon.” She said mischievously.

“Oh I love it! I can’t believe it. Oh my I’ll pay you back I swear it.” Y/N said giving her a hug.

Esmeralda giggled as she broke from her embrace to help Y/N slip on the dress. She zipped it up and led her over to a small mirror where she could move it around to see it at various angles. It hugged her small bump which was slightly more prominent now unlike in her other loose fitting clothes.

“I’m gonna be racking my brain all night for how you got this just so you know. This is fucking beautiful.” Y/N said twirling around slightly.

“Bonnie will love it. We got him a suit too. You’ll see.” She said winking. After Y/N got situated she sat patiently while the girls did her hair and makeup, giving her a bold red lip.

After they finished that, Y/N helped them get all dressed up as well in various colored dresses and jewelry.

“Here, I forgot these.” One of the younger sisters said, pinning gold earrings to Y/N’s ears and placing a gold necklace around her neck. It complimented the dress nicely, the suns rays bouncing off the jewels and the sparkling dress.

After one more look in the mirror she felt tears prick at her eyes, threatening to fall. She felt beautiful for the first time in so long, and she was so excited to start this new chapter, never thinking she’d make it this far because of her past home-life. She sighed, thinking about how her parents should be there, but she looked at the women before her and realized she had all the family she needed right there in this small forested area, and she couldn’t be happier.

“You okay?” Esmeralda said rubbing her back lightly.

“Yeah...I’m just so excited, and happy, it’s also a bit terrifying if I’m honest.” She said wiping her eyes gently, not wanting to ruin her makeup.

“This is going to be one of the best nights of your life Y/N, just wait.” She said giving her a reassuring hug.

“I don’t know where I’d be without any of you. I love you guys so much.” Y/N said smiling and hugging them before taking a deep breath and stepping out of the vardo.

She felt the cool ground on her feet, not wanting to wear heels as they’d just sink in the damp earth. She was carefully led behind the vardo to an elaborately colored curtain that hung between two of the trees. Esmeralda placed a string of flowers in her hair before going to her seat, and she saw Aberama in a nice suit walking up to her.

“Are you ready?” He asked, a gentle smile playing across his lips.

“Yes.” She said quietly, nervously holding onto his arm as he walked her through the curtain and down towards the flower covered platform.

Some of the people who lived in the camp played instruments as she walked, the music filling the air as she looked out and saw all of the people she’s gotten to know there over the past year, and saw Tommy and the other blinders among the guests, watching her as she made her way to Bonnie. She looked at him with a huge grin as he watched her walk with his father up onto the platform, the blinders friend Jeremiah acting as the officiant off to the side of them. Aberama let go of her arm and hugged her gently and patted Bonnie on the back before heading to his seat.

“You look absolutely beautiful my love.” He said smiling down at her.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She said looking up at him, her eyes searching his.

As Jeremiah concluded the ceremony, everyone cheered, the loud music consuming their ears as they kissed.

They then waded through the small crowd, Bonnie introducing Y/N to various people he knew that came in from other areas. But Y/N had a sneaky suspicion whilst chatting with them. Tommy was eyeing them in the distance as she spoke to some of Bonnies friends, making her a bit uneasy. She knew he wasn’t as bad as he had been made out to be, but she couldn’t help feel nervous and Bonnie could tell.

“Hey let me introduce you to them better than I did last time aye?” He said taking her hand and leading her over to them. Tommy’s face faltered from his usual grimace to a warm smile as they approached.

“Mr. and Mrs. Gold....congratulations.” He said shaking Bonnies hand and kissing the top of yours.

“I told you we’d pay you back right...didn’t I Aberama?” He asked playfully, eyeing Aberama as he stood next to her.

“Indeed, thank you for everything, Mr. Shelby.” He said before excusing himself.

Esmeralda came over shortly after, making the interaction less awkward.

“Thank you so much Mr. Shelby. The dress, the lights, everything’s beautiful!” She said winking at Y/N.

“Wait....” Y/N said, as she looked at Tommy with a genuine smile, surprised he’d help them with something like this.

“I should be thanking you as well Mr. Shelby, I don’t see why you went to the trouble though. That was very thoughtful.” She said.

“Your husband and father in law have helped me a lot recently with the business as you know, and I figured I’d give our best fighter something as a bit of a thank you. Don’t worry about paying anything back though love, I insist you keep the dress, for memories sake.” He said.

Y/N grinned as she looked up at Bonnie who held her hand in his. As the night drug on, you two departed from the Shelby’s and went to the source of the music, nervously stepping out with him to dance.

“Oh I’m so nervous...what if I fall?” Y/N said, clutching onto his hand as he spun her around. His sisters were near her dancing like they’d taught her.

“I’ll catch you.” He said before picking up the pace with the beat, everyone cheering as they both danced near the bonfire. Y/N remembered to transition to the other people and so she went to Esmeralda who giggled as they danced around, linking arms with each other and then eventually made her way back to Bonnie.

“Bon...?” She said, smiling up at him.

He grinned at her, her eyes sparkling as the sun set around them.

“Yeah?”

“I...I mean-we love you. Always will...” She said as she caressed his cheek, the music slowed down as their movements came to a stop.

“I love you both too, more than all the stars in the sky.” He said.

The small crowd cheered as they shared a kiss, ending the dance as the light died down around them, surrounded only by family and friends and the sparkling night sky above.

Tag List:

(If you’d like to be added/removed from the Bonnie Gold tag list just shoot me an ask!) :)

@bonniesgoldengirl, @peakyrogers, @ta-ka-shi-ma

[craziigamerchick]

My Prediction: Grace is Alive

Unpopular opinion here I know. I know SK said she was dead and she may very well be but till I see REAL ghost Grace, her funeral, or a flashback to her dead body then nope I won’t believe it.

I didn’t actually believe she was alive till after the 5th season. But down below I’ll list the signs I’ve seen throughout the show that I think point to her not really being dead.

Grace is all over season 5 but the signs I’ve seen that point to her not being dead are in episode 4 and 5.

For starters the swans represent Grace this season as told in an article from Den of Geek.  Which is a big theme for episode 4.

So episode 4 is called The Loop and there are quite of bit of things that are repeating in this episode from previous seasons. Actually I’d say this whole season feels like a loop. But anyways for the Grace clues...

We have only 2 scenes this season in the Garrison snug which are both in this episode back to back. This is also where the swans are present. So we are to be thinking of Grace during these scenes. 

The first scene is with Mrs.Conners, she is there because her 3 songbirds (goldfinch’s) were killed by her husband. Now I believe the songbird represents Grace along with the swan. As she’s already been linked to the blackbird in s3 and s4 which is also a songbird. Plus one definition of songbird is: a female singer, which she is. When Mrs.Conner says “their singing was the only pretty thing in my life” it focuses on Tommy and the swans to the side of him. I’m sure he thinks the same of Grace and her singing. 

Now I also think songbirds represent the Shelby’s in general or at least Goldfinch’s do. Mosley talks of Tommy being a songbird and his singing beautifully in the house and in that same scene he calls Ada a finch. Then when Tommy tells Mrs.Conner Arthur will go get her 3 new Goldfinch’s she says she’ll name them Tommy, Arthur, and Finn. So that’s all 4 siblings being linked to a finch.

Mrs.Conner leaves and here comes Brilliant Chang. Now don’t forget this happens in the room with the swans that represent Grace.

Shows Chang sitting down right where the swan is unlike Mrs.Conners. We really didn’t see the swan behind her because it wasn’t important. But I believe we saw Chang sit right where the swan was because we are to link him specifically to Grace. Just check out this dialogue:

Chang: My name is Brilliant Chang

Arthur: Brilliant Chang is dead

Chang: Perhaps. Sometimes, I wonder... Is this heaven? Doesn’t smell like heaven. So I would say I have survived.

Now that might not seem like a big deal but the real Brilliant Chang got deported in 1924 and was never thought to be dead (the year here is 1929). So they essentially just made this scenario up for the show and they decide to do it in the room that has Grace motif’s all over it. Yeah...

After Arthur thinks Finn has been shot by Chang’s accomplice he pulls a gun on him. Watch Chang stare down Arthur, it’s exactly like Grace’s with Kimber and IRA man she shot. 

After this Chang puts the “purest” opium on the table. Pure truth he calls it. Which the opium also represents Grace, as you know that’s what Tommy drinks to hallucinate her and quite literally later as she takes the opium’s place on the barge in Tommy’s hallucination.

When Chang gives the Opium to Tommy as a gift, Tommy’s line is “I’ll throw it in the canal” which is just like his line to Grace in 1.06 “One day we’ll throw this gun in the canal”.

So now we have 4 things that represent Grace. The songbird, Swans, Chang, and Opium. Those will be important later.

The Next big scene we have is when Tommy hallucinates Grace in his office after Mosley leaves and she’s blaming him for her death. He can’t even look at her in this scene. It goes straight from this scene to him standing on bridge looking down, He see’s the January with Grace half covered in the coals (she’s in the spot the opium would be).

He runs to Ada to tell her about his vision (hallucination) of Grace even though it’s 2 AM. He tells Ada “Grace was there. But she was still alive. The name of the barge was the January”. Now this sticks out to me because he says she was still alive. It made no sense to me while this is the hallucination he says this about. He’s been talking to her and seeing her in other places but doesn’t say anything like that. He knows she’s not real so what gives. Then I read in the article above they originally had a swan that swimming in front of the barge but decided to cut it. So this scene was supposed to be the one you linked the swan imagery to Grace but since they cut it most people won’t know that the swan represents her through this series. 

So here we have a swan in front of the barge that has Grace on it in place of the opium which Chang called “pure truth” and Tommy saying she was alive. Also, she’s not on just any barge but the January which is the boat Tommy had his healing journey on in s2. Hmm...He even says at one point to Ada “there is a part me that is unfamiliar to myself and I keep finding myself there and only the January can get me away”...Is that the shows way of saying that Grace being alive would help heal him like the January did in s2?

Now I agree with Ada that the black barge signals guilt for him too especially with Grace inside it. Even though he won’t admit it to anyone, we all know he feels guilty about her death. 

Now about the Swan Lake Ballet. Polly tells Michael that Tommy want to impress someone which is Mosley this time but who is the other person he was constantly trying to impress. It’s the shows way of reminding you of her without saying her name.

When we get to the Lizzie’s party the first scene is with Michael and Gina Grey (Tommy and Grace lite lol). Tommy and Grace’s Secret Portrait are featured in most of this scene. They even focus on it at the end of their scene. Maybe the horse was named Grace’s Secret because her secret is she’s alive. The paintings are supposed to have a storyline of their own but we’ve never actually seen it. That portrait is the portrait we’ve seen every season (or a version of it) so it’s important. SK already had the series mapped out by s2 just hadn’t written it yet so it wouldn’t surprise me.

Now another thing that caught my attention, when Gina is telling Michael he’ll be replacing Tommy and he asks where Tommy will be she replies “where he wants to go to most”. We all think of that as death but let’s be honest, it’s with Grace. That’s what tips him over the edge every time to actually try to commit suicide (to be with her). So if she’s dead that’s where but if she’s not then it’s wherever she is.

On to another scene, in the scene between Mosley and Tommy having a brandy before the play we see pictures on the table with the liquor. There’s quite a few on there but Grace’s is the lightest one on the table and the one our eyes are drawn to. It’s a way to remind us of her again and look it’s her undercover picture. 

Now we have the Swan Lake ballet. @korinthya has an exceptional analysis on this and what it means for the Peaky universe. So I’d go check it out if you’re interested. 

We only see the swan dancing and not much of the story but as she’s dancing, Linda rolls up in her car and when she gets out she’s wearing a dress with songbirds on it!

She gets shot the exact same time as the Swan does. It looks like both Linda and the swan are dead (just Like Grace) but at the last second it makes a point to show the swan open her eyes. No need to do that unless it was important to the narrative because there is no other scene connected to that shot. Also, normally the swan dies by drowning not getting shot, so they changed that specifically to mirror Grace.

Once the next episode starts (ep5) we see that Linda has not died (the songbird lives). She was just shot in the arm, the same side as Grace (which is funny because Aberama and Finn were shot in the almost exact same spots this season and lived too). Now this scene could be a retelling of what sort of happened with Grace, not exact of course. Think about it, this whole season has been a loop of events. Working with the Chinese, the white flag truce, the bartender is a spy, there is a singer in the bar, Tommy shooting a horse, him doing his arm gesture in 5x01 like he did 3x01 with the no f’ fighting scene, ect. There’s so much more if you look. 

So lets look at the key things from this scene with Linda and see what could have happened after Grace got shot.. Tommy is pulling Arthur away and telling him to go outside till it’s done (Linda getting the bullet out), which if you remember in 4x01 he told Polly to let the nurses and doctors do their job too. So it’s not out of the realm of impossibility that he let the doctors work on Grace and him not be in the room (she was still moving by the end of 3x02 so I don’t doubt she was alive when an ambulance got there).  Tommy also says the bullet is still in there, it’s above the bone which could also be what happened to Grace. Don’t forget it looks like she got shot right on her collarbone not under it. This is part is important and can be a big clue as to how someone could pass her off as dead, Tommy sends Arthur out to get some Opium for Linda but Polly has some of her own and so Tommy gives it to Linda while Arthur is still out of the room. She passes out and then Arthur comes in the room and thinks she’s dead. He doesn’t even realize she’s alive until Tommy tells him that she’s ok and he gave her something to knock her out. 

That could easily be what happened to Grace. Tommy might have let the doctors do their work, someone slipped her something (maybe section D, they did say they can get to anyone anywhere and they were there at the party) and when Tommy came back in it looked like she was dead. He might not have been able to handle looking at her like that and left. Remember in his hallucination in his office where she is holding the stone, bleeding and accusing him of her death he can’t look at her once. It might have been the same way in the hospital. 

We also have another loop in this scene. Arthur is saying that Polly should have let him take the bullet (the original bullet was meant for Arthur but Polly stepped in and saved him) and it’s a repeat of the original bullet that Grace took was meant for Tommy. So the brothers were supposed to take a bullet but nope the wife ended up getting it. It doesn’t stop there during this scene either. We have another loop. Polly tells Arthur, Aberama wants him as his best man at their wedding just like Tommy wanted him as his best man at his wedding in 3x01.

Seriously just watch this season over and see how many loops there are. There is so many it’s unreal.

In the next scene with Linda and Arthur, she leaves him. which is essentially what Grace did with Tommy (voluntary or not it happened). 

Then there is Ben Younger which is also some of a loop. He’s a British intelligence officer like Grace was.  He’s having threats made to him by Section D because of Tommy (don’t forget they threatened Tommy’s family). He even brings up Section D’s history with Tommy. Tommy tells Ada “he pushed him to report on the Fascists” which is a loop of him telling the Gypsy lady “he pushed some people to far” (about the Italians). Saying he is guilty of both their death’s. He tells Ada that Section D or the intelligence branch had him killed (the loop here is that is who could have took Grace). Then some other things that connect younger to Grace also, Tommy said his death would go down as “an IRA assassination of a British Military Officer” which is what happened to Grace’s father. Then we see neither Grace’s or Ben’s dead bodies or funerals. Plenty of loops here. I do think Ben is dead though. The loop with Grace for him is the connections to section D and maybe the excuse to as how she died. I bet they didn’t say she was shot by an Italian in revenge. The ladies at the institute know of her death and aren’t afraid of Tommy so I bet they had a good cover.

Back to Chang, in his next scene we have talk of the police, Irish, and Opium. Which can be associated with Grace. He also talks about the Uncles being mad. That is the part that caught my attention. It was just a quick one liner that didn’t make much sense but remember the only family member we seen of Grace is her uncle and he was not happy about the marriage. 

Arthur then says “F’ your uncles. And your aunts, your cousins, all of them Right?” which reminds me of Tatiana’s line in s3 “Brothers gave sisters, aunts gave uncles, fathers gave daughter and servants”. The deliveries were identical. So another loop.

Now I Think that’s most of the symbolism in S5. 

Before I end this post I want to talk about SK saying Grace is dead. He’s probably not lying but it doesn’t have to mean dead like we think. Look at both Alfie in season 5 and Polly in s4, both say they died (when they had an attempt on their life) but are actually still alive. I mean even Aberama calls Polly a ghost in their kissing scene in s4. So I could see the same thing happening to Grace. She is dead like them but also still alive. 

I mean isn’t that Tommy’s thing? He died in the war but he’s still here. Aren’t him and Grace the same but also mirrors? So who she was when she shot could very well be dead and a different Grace (maybe even different name if undercover) emerged and SK could still say she’s dead because hey guess what in context of the show she is, just like Polly, Alfie, Tommy, Danny Whizzbang(was), Chang, and Arthur (his fake out in s4).

If she does come back I don’t see it happening until maybe 11 years have passed. 11 seems to be the special number between Tommy and her. When Tommy has his soldiers minute in s1 the time on the watch is 11. Then before they sleep together in s2 Grace tells Tommy “it’s too late” and he says “Grace it’s 11:00″ and her replay is no “no I mean it’s too late”. So it’s not about time at all. I could see her coming back 11 years later and her telling Tommy it’s too late. 

Now while I don’t think she is dead (final) after watching season 5 and going back through the seasons if I ever do see real ghostGrace I will hang up that theory. But the more I pay attention the more I see that something is amiss.

Ok, I’m done now. I may do a post about s3 and s4 and the signs there but this post is long enough as it is.

[justimagineitblog]

“You Used To Love Me” Michael Gray Fan Fiction - Chapter 10

A/N: Alright this one broke and mended my heart all at once while I was writing it - goddamn these characters hahahahaha. 

WARNINGS: Swearing, Violence, Guns, Death, Alcohol - 

I know I’ve used swear words in previous chapters but this one is quite heavily riddled with it, I also thought I’d warn that there are mentions of death in this one my loves - it’s nothing too full on and I don’t go into heavy descriptions but I just felt like this one needed a warning just incase x

As always, please enjoy xx 

As the alarm goes off, Charlie and I both jolt awake in bed. It only takes a few moments to realise that it’s almost half an hour past when we were supposed to be up.

“Fuck!” He shouts as he jumps out of the bed, ripping the sheets back. He’s going on a work trip this weekend with his brother, and if the time on the clock is correct, then the car should be pulling up any moment. 

I tear myself out of the bed after him, frantically running around with him to help him get ready. 

“Charlie your suit case is in here!” I call as I hear him fumbling around my apartment for his luggage. He runs back into the room, tearing through the cupboards for his suit. 

He strips naked right in front of me, and I can’t help but laugh at how much of a mess this is as I try and help him get his suit on. 

“He’s gonna kill me if I’m late” he stresses, his hands desperately trying to do up his buttons but he fails. This is a big weekend for their business. If he’s late or messes his up, I know how horrible he will feel about it for a long time. 

“Hey, just breathe okay, let me do this” I coo, swatting his hands away as I do his buttons up for him. 

He nods, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath. Once his shirt is buttoned up he takes off again, scurrying around gathering all his paper work, luggage and some how wriggling his shoes on. We both jump in fright as the beeping of a horn below signals that his car is here. 

Swearing repeatedly, he runs to the door, but freezes right before he walks out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” he breathes, turning back to me with a shaking his head.

“Stop, it’s okay” I promise him, my hands on his chest as I straighten his tie and jacket “You’re gonna be amazing” 

With a relieved smile, he presses his lips against mine. I hold his face, trying to soak up as much of him as I can. 

“I’ll miss you, don’t get in any trouble while I’m gone eh?”

“Me?” I furrow my brows “I have no idea what you’re talking about” 

He laughs, pulling me in for another kiss. 

“Okay, okay you have to go” I chuckle as the car horn continues to beep downstairs. He gives me a few last pecks and before I know it he’s gone, running down the hallway, leaving me flustered in his wake. 

I run over to the window, watching as he gets in the car and gives me one last wave. I return the gesture, blowing him a kiss that he pretends to catch as the car pulls away and disappears from my sight. 

Slinking back through my apartment I collapse lazily back into my bed, arms and legs flailed in every direction as I fall back asleep. 

LATER THAT AFTERNOON

“Hello?”

“Hi you” 

I smile as Charlie’s voice speaks like honey through the phone line. 

“Miss me already?” I tease.

“Most definitely” he replies, when suddenly the sound of excitement and hollering fills the phone.

“The deal went well then?” I chuckle at his excitement.  

“The deal went… incredibly,” he begins, trying to speak over the mens in the background “Actually, we made an ever bigger deal than we originally planned on… they want to financially support the entire business, Izzy”

“Oh my god, Charlie, that’s amazing!” I exclaim 

“I was gonna wait to tell you when I got home but… Izzy I think we’re going to move up here” 

My jaw drops as I press the phone closer to my ear to make sure I heard him right. When I don’t reply, he begins to fill in the blanks eagerly. 

“They want us to move up here Izzy, they want to support us and the whole business-“

The weight of what he’s actually saying begins to wash over me as a million questions leap and bound through my mind. 

“Charlie-“ I stutter “You’ve been there for 5 hours” I blurt out, glancing at the clock. 5 hours. That’s barely enough time to decide you want to move 3 hours away. Permanently. 

“I know, I know, but we just made the biggest deal of our lives… I’ve gotta follow this Izzy”

“Oh my god” I breathe, trying to sound excited but doing an absolutely horrid job of hiding my shock. 

“That’s not why I wanted to call you though, I think I have a proposition for you” I hold my breath. So far, I couldn’t have predicted this conversation even if I tried. I have no idea what is about to come out of his mouth.

“Well you see, I told him I wasn’t moving up here unless they set us up with a proper home because…” He takes a deep breath before blurting out his next words “I want you to come with me, Izzy” 

The second the words leave his mouth I freeze. Go with him. Did he just ask me to move away with him? Move three hours away? Away from my home. The place I grew up. Away from my job. Away from the Shelby’s. 

“Izzy? Izzy are you there? What do you think?” I hear his muffled voice asking through the phone as I snap back into reality. Heat rises up my neck and over my face as I fumble for my words. 

“What do I think?” I echo his words. I don’t know what I think. Actually, I’m thinking way to much.

“I know it’s a lot. You don’t have to pack your bags right now. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home” 

Pack my bags?

My breath quickens as do my racing thoughts and heart rate. 

“Okay, I have to go!” he rushes quickly as the shouting and hollering behind him gets louder, urging him to go and join the celebrations. 

And just like that, the phone line goes silent. I stand in the lurch for minute after minute trying to digest what just happened. I fumble for a chair,  trying to steady myself as I sit down. The whole conversation was such a rush and a whirlwind that I feel physically light headed. 

We’ve only been together for a month. 

But if I don’t move away with him, is that the end of us? We would hardly be able to visit one another during the week. And even weekends aren’t always free. Between both of our work schedules, how would we ever make time. Three hours away. That’s no short trip. If anything happened back here, I wouldn’t be able to get back in a hurry. What if Tommy got into trouble? And Arthur? What if Polly needed me? And then the most regretful, dreaded thought crosses my mind. What about Michael? 

I feel physically ill. I can’t move. I can’t do this. The phone that’s rested in my lap begins to ring obnoxiously, frightening me so badly I almost throw it clean across the room. Maybe I should. Maybe I should break the goddamn thing. 

“Shit” I hiss, running a hand through my hair as my heart pounds so hard it feels like it might just jump straight out of my chest. 

I yank the phone towards my ear, completely exhausted and flustered. 

“Izzy? Darling it’s Polly” 

I sigh, trying to calm myself down enough to sound somewhat normal and coherent.

“Hi Poll, what’s up?”

“Look don’t panic, we just need you to come down here okay”

The tight nervousness of her voice snaps me straight out of my cloudy, foggy state.

“Polly what’s going on?” I reply urgently, standing up from my chair in a panic.

“It’s alright. Just come down to the office okay? We’ve got a client here and-” she pauses as voices in the background get louder and I strain desperately to hear who is there “We just need you to go over some things”

“I’m coming now” I hang up the phone immediately. 

Something isn’t right. 

I race out the door without my coat, my hand bag, anything. I don’t even bother trying to be subtle as I run through the streets, tearing my way through people and around corners until I see the office ahead. As I get closer the fear in the pit of my stomach grows bigger and bigger. 

Polly never sounds like that. What the hell is going on. What am I about to find inside. 

The sound of sudden shouting from inside sends a crashing wave of fear and adrenaline through me as I burst into the office through the back door. What I find when I walk in sends my stomach into back flips. I freeze, almost tripping over my own feet from stopping to abruptly. 

All heads shoot towards me. Tommy, Arthur, Polly and Michael. They look terrified, there eyes wide with panic as they’re stood at the edges of the room, their backs practically up against the walls. And it doesn’t take me long to figure out why. My eye’s immediately fall over a man stood in the middle of the room. 

He’s standing amidst the office desks which have been flipped and smashed all over the floor. Paper is thrown everywhere. I would call him a stranger, but he’s not. I know this man. We all know this man. He is a client. Bill Rodgers. 

I have seen him a few times. Met with him. Met his wife and children. He pays donations to us once a month, in return, we look after his family if they ever need anything. A simple agreement. We do that for a lot of families around here. He’s never been overly warm. But friendly enough. And I don’t know him incredibly well. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise there is something wrong. Besides the fact that the office is a mess. With chairs, desks and tables scattered across the room. Paper work everywhere. Bill stands in the middle of it all. 

His doing I assume. 

And he is completely wasted. I can smell it on him. All the way from the door way, my nose catches the distinct smell of whiskey. It almost fills the room. You have to drink bottles of whiskey, or spend days on end inside of a pub to smell like that. Even the way he stands, head to the floor, grumbling, swaying. Muttering to himself. But that’s not even the most concerning thing. No. The most concerning thing about Mr Rodgers is not his drunken stupor. 

But the pistol that he is clutching in his hand. 

I swallow hard when I see it. I glance to the floor, where I realise they have placed all of their guns. 

He must have demanded them to drop their guns. 

What I cannot figure out, about Bill, is what the hell he wants. He has never caused any trouble. Never gotten in trouble with the law. Never betrayed us. What the hell is doing here in a drunken rage with a gun?

“Bill,” Tommy begins, his arms outstretched to him “This is Isabelle” 

I glance nervously at Tommy as he signals for me to come over to stand beside him. I rush over to his side, and he steps in front of me ever so slightly.  Bill looks up at me gravely, through the disheveled hair falling in his face.  I try to hold his eyes, staying calm and gentle. In his state, anything could set him off. 

“And what is she gonna do about it huh?” He growls “They’re dead Tommy” 

“Bill-“

“No, Tommy” he shouts “I pay you donations every month, yeah, and you look after my family in return. BUT THEY’RE GONE! THEY’RE GONE TOMMY!” His voice grows louder as he waves his arms in the air, and we all take a few steps back as we watch the pistol in his clutch nervously. 

Tommy opens his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. 

“Bill,” I say gently and he shoots his eyes in my direction “Just tell me what happened, and I can help you. Whatever you need. But I have to know how to help you first”

He stares at me, reluctantly, angrily, before something seems to give. 

“They’re dead” He breathes “Sarah, and my boys. I was out, and the house was robbed. They stole everything and killed my fucking family” 

My heart drops. He lost his family. All of them. This man is hurting. He is in pain.  We are supposed to provide protection. His house being robbed is something none of us could have prevented, or helped, but he has just lost his entire family, and he’s looking for someone to blame. 

I can’t believe my own actions when I find myself walking slowly towards him. I feel everyone in the room tense, as I do. This man may normally be harmless, but right now he is intoxicated and armed. And I’m walking straight into it. 

“Izzy, don’t” I hear Tommy’s voice hiss so silently I almost miss it. But I ignore him. 

“Bill, we can help you okay” I take another slow, weary step towards him treading so lightly I barely make a sound “We can find the men who did this, but I just need you to put your gun down for me”

He sways, seeming to lose his stability. The whiskey coursing through him right now must be making him see double. 

Suddenly he bursts into sobs, and I almost jump out of my skin. He sinks to the floor, falling among the debris in a pile of sobs and cries. 

Keeping my eyes firmly glued on the gun, I lower myself to his level. 

“No one can help me” he whimpers in between cries. 

“We can help you, I promise” I breathe, the stench of whiskey slapping me in the face and burning my nostrils as I shuffle closer and closer. I’m only inches away from him. Close enough to reach out and take the gun from his lose grip. With one head in his hands, and the other hanging by his side, he’s so distraught I don’t even think he would notice. 

I hear feet shuffling around me, as they all begin to reach for their guns just incase. 

I hold my breath, praying over and over again silently to myself as I extend my arm. My hand shaking as I close in on the pistol. 

But the second my skin touches his, my hand brushing the pistol ever so slightly as I almost grab a hold of it, it sets him off like a match igniting a bomb.  His giant stature lurches upwards as he roars with rage. Happening all to fast for me to comprehend, or even try to escape, he shoves me with a brute force that I’ve never felt before. He pummels me, bashing me up against the wall, the back of my head colliding with it so loudly against it that I think I black out momentarily as everything goes white. My ears, are ringing, piercing and loud and I only just begin to comprehend what’s happening when I feel his hands around my throat. 

His forehead is pressed roughly against mine, his thick breath hot and drenched in pungent alcohol as his chest rises and falls heavily. I grab at his hands, clawing desperately to try and pry them off as his grip tightens. He shakes me like a rag doll, shoving me so harshly into the wall that I’m just waiting for it to give way. He stares at me with rage, with ferocity that I have never seen before. Frozen, paralysed in fear, all I can do is stare back into them. 

The sound of gun chambers cocking all around us catches his attention, and suddenly I’m being pulled away from the wall. He spins me around, and the blow to my head as well as lack of oxygen disorients me completely. It’s not until I feel the burning of cold metal against my temple that I come back to my senses. Bill is stood behind me, one arm around my chest to keep me still, my back pressed against him. The other hand, is pressing the barrel of his pistol against the side of my skull. 

I stiffen immediately, not even breathing as he faces me towards the Tommy, Arthur, Polly and Michael, who all have their guns aimed at him. 

“PUT THE FUCKING GUNS DOWN OR I’LL BLOW HER BRAINS OUT ALL OVER THESE WALLS” He screams at them, his booming voice almost defeating me in one ear as he presses the pistol harder against my head. 

Tommy, Polly and Arthur drops their guns to the floor immediately. 

But Michael doesn’t budge. 

Our eyes lock, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so terrified. He is completely pale, all the blood drained from his face as he aims the gun at Bill’s head. 

“Just put the gun down” I whimper, and he shakes his head frantically, refusing to. 

“Let go of her” he growls through clenched teeth, his voice cracking and shaking.

My ears prick as Bill cocks the gun, the chamber clicking.

“An eye for an eye huh,” Bill breathes, beginning to sob again “I fucking kill her and then we’re even for you not protecting my fucking boys”  

“Bill let her go” Tommy warms, holding his arms out to him “We are going to find the men that did this and when we do, they are going to get what they deserve. But this…” she shakes his head “This isn’t the answer”

My eyes dart from Tommy back to Michael, who has not moved an inch, gun still aimed. 

“I TOLD YOU TO PUT THAT FUCKING GUN DOWN” Bill shouts at Michael, completely ignoring Tommy’s words. 

“Michael” I plead desperately, dread washing over me so heavily that I feel ill. I watch as he shakes his head, refusing. His wide open, panic strike eyes have turned glassy, and I can feel tears stinging and biting at my own eyes.  

“It’s okay,” I breathe, giving him the smallest nod I can manage with the pistol against my head “Just put it down” 

His eyes flicker between me and Bill, and I have to fight to not release a harsh exhale of relief as he lowers his gun to the ground. 

“There you go Bill, all the guns are down, now let us talk to you eh?” Tommy negotiates, trying to sound as calm and gentle as he can. But I can see his palpating jaw. His tense body. The veins in his neck bulging from holding his breath. He is the furthest thing from calm. 

For a moment I feel Bill’s grip loosen, and in my peripheral I can see the pistol fall away from my head as his arms falls to his side. 

He’s letting his guard down. 

I shut my eyes, taking a shaky breath in through my nose. 

“You’re going to find them” he growls his orders at Tommy “And when you find them, I’m going to kill them” 

“Bill…” Tommy shakes his head, trying to be as polite as possible “Bill I can’t let you do that. If you kill them, they’ll only send you to jail… just let us take care of it-“

“TAKE CARE OF IT!” He screams, and I can’t help a whimper from escaping my mouth “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF MY FAMILY. BUT YOU DIDN’T-“

Tommy opens his mouth, to try and say anything that will calm him, appease him. But once bill has been set off, there is no taming the fire that is his rage. I should have known. There is no reasoning with a drunk man. 

With a grieving man. 

“No, no, this is your fault” I feel him nodding his head behind me as he points the gun at all of them “This is your fault, and you’re the ones who are going to fucking pay. YOU’RE ALL GOING TO FUCKING PAY”

His cry is the one of a final war cry, and I know what’s coming next. 

The next moments of my life feel like they are in slow motion. Suddenly the barrel of the gun is pressed straight up against my head again as he shoves it against my temple. The last thing I see is Tommy, Polly, and Arthur lunging forward, all shouting and begging for Bill to stop before it’s to late. 

This is it.  This is the last thing I’m going to hear.  The last thing I’m going to feel is the end of a pistol pressed again my skull, before I feel nothing at all. Please let it be painless. 

A single gun shot fires into the atmosphere. 

I expect nothingness. More black. Maybe heaven. Or hell. Though I’m not ever sure if I believed in God. 

But I feel myself breathing, my chest still rising and falling. I hadn’t even realised I had squeezed my eyes shut when they shoot open to find myself still in the office. 

I’m alive.

The first thing I see is Michael. His gun aimed not at me, but at where Bill had been standing.

It wasn’t Bill’s gun that fired. It was Michael’s. 

Bill is dead.

Everything washes over me all at once. Relief. Horror. Fear. Adrenaline. My head is pounding, and entire body feels like I’m floating. Completely weak and empty. Not strong enough to stand, and having lost all feeling in my body, I feel myself collapsing to the floor. 

Right before I hit the ground, I find myself falling right into a pair of arms. All noise is muffled, and I feel completely numb as I almost completely pass out for a moment. The only thing I can hear is the throbbing and pounding of my head. It’s not until I come back around moments later that I realise whose arms I’m in. 

They’re familiar arms. Strong. Firm. I’ve felt this exact grip before. They way the seem to hold me together. I thought I had forgotten how they felt. But I still know them anywhere. 

Michael. 

He scoops me up with desperation, and I don’t know who is clinging on to who as he holds onto me like its his life that depends on it. The only thing stopping me from crashing to the floor is him. His arms has envelope me completely, engulfing me in like a safety net. Wrapping me up in a way that I’ve only ever experienced with Michael. 

My body and mind still completely disoriented, I find myself only being able to cry. That’s the only thing that comes out. With my face buried in his chest, he holds the back of my head, pressing me so close to him I can barely even breath. But I don’t care. I’m alive. 

“You’re okay, you’re okay, I’ve got you” He chants frantically against my ear, and I can’t tell who he is trying to calm down more. Me or himself. 

Beneath his chest, I can hear his heart racing. It pounds loudly against my ear. His grip on me never lets up, he doesn’t budge whatsoever. He just holds me. Let’s me sob, staining through his shirt. Everything else fades out. Everything seems to go away. Not just Bill’s attack. It’s like the last few months haven’t even happened. Nothing else matters right now except for the fact that I’m in his arms. 

I feel a pair of trembling hands on my face and when I look up I find my eyes opening into Michael’s. His eyes are wide, panic filled and pooling with tears. As we stare at one another, it’s almost like he can’t quite believe I’m in his arms right now. Even though it’s over now, he still has residue terror all over his face. I know he thought that he was about to lose me for good. Forever. 

Up until now I’ve barely been able to take a full breath or even begin to stop hyperventilating. But something about the hold his eyes have on me begins to centre me. I feel myself being grounded. Like I’m coming back to my surroundings. Those serene blue eyes give me something to anchor to as the panic slowly but surely leaves my system. 

Without even meaning to we find our foreheads pressed to each others, his grip on my face still firm. 

“Look at me” his voice is barely a whisper, as it shakes, threatening to break completely “You’re safe”

Pulling me back into a hug, he grips onto me so tightly as if I’m going to disappear if he doesn’t. And I don’t want him to let go, because I feel like I might just break and crumble if I don’t have him holding all my pieces together.

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[the-awkward-outlaw]

A New Adventure - Pt. 15

Merry Christmas cowpokes! (for those of you who celebrate it.) For the first time, someone sent in a request for a scenario in this piece. I’m happy to say it fit in perfectly for this. Their request was: some cookie making with playful fighting that ends with both covered in sugar, dough, and of course frosting! With a sweet kiss ;) 

Anyways, hope y’all enjoy it. And yes, if you’re wondering, I am open to ideas for future scenarios. 

Masterlist 

Read on AO3

An Eve to Remember 

Christmas is rapidly approaching 

You’re getting nervous about it, even though you’re prepared for the most part

You’ve bought a couple of gifts for Arthur, nothing too big or expensive. Not because you don’t have the money, but you have a feeling he wouldn’t really appreciate it. Arthur is not a material man

You’re pretty sure Arthur has gotten a couple of things for you as well. Mostly because you taught him how to do some online shopping some time ago and you’ve seen the empty shipping boxes in your recycling bin

Once in a store, Arthur saw stockings. You didn’t have any of course, having not celebrated Christmas in a long time. He insisted that you should both get some as he wanted to celebrate it properly. 

You’ve both got stockings as well as things to fill them with. 

For Arthur, you’ve gotten him some of his favorite candies that he’s explored so far (he really likes chocolate covered almonds). 

But he’s also a pretty big fan of jerky. 

All your presents for him are wrapped and under the tree. There’s a few under there for you. 

For the first time since your father died, you’re feeling excited for the day. Not as much as when you were a kid of course, but there’s still some anticipation there. 

You can tell Arthur is excited too. He tries to hide it, but it’s obvious. 

The two of you are still having lots of sex. 

He’s the best partner you’ve ever had in the bedroom. Sure, he doesn’t know a lot of the modern day tricks or toys, but he’s a fast learner. 

The best part about him is he never leaves you half baked during a session. He always makes sure you get your satisfaction.

Your relationship with him has grown stronger the more you’ve made love. Arthur seems to be more crazy about you as well. 

It’s a few days before Christmas and you’ve just come home from work. Arthur greets you with a kiss as he’s more prone to doing. 

As you take off your shoes, Arthur asks if you know how to make cookies. 

“Depends. What kind?” you ask. 

Arthur is a bit surprised to find out there’s multiple kinds of cookies. He shrugs his shoulders. “Just the ones with that frosting.”

He admits he saw a photo on your computer of some sugar cookies and he wanted to try them. 

Of course, you can’t resist his eagerness. So after dinner, you pull up a fairly simple recipe. Luckily you have all the ingredients at hand. 

Arthur does his best to help you, but he’s still pretty new to baking. Sometimes he can be a bit more of a nuisance than a help, but you don’t mind. You know he doesn’t do it on purpose. 

When the first batch of cookies go in the oven and you begin preparing the frosting, Arthur dips his finger in it to taste it. 

“Hey! No tasting before it’s done!” you playfully scold. 

Arthur winks at you and moves to dip his finger back in. You slap his hand. 

Things quickly escalate and you’re both flicking flour and sugar at one another. Normally you’d never let your kitchen get this dirty, but you’re having too much fun to really care. 

Arthur’s much better at smacking you with the powders than you are. Probably thanks to his good aim. 

The oven timer dings, signalling that the first batch of cookies are done. Shit, you never got around to cutting out your second batch because you were fighting with Arthur. 

He pulls them out, appreciatively sniffing as the smell hits him in the face. 

“Mm, shame we gotta wait.” 

“Come on, big guy. Let’s finish this frosting so we can eat them sooner.” 

When he puts the cookies down, he comes over to you. 

“You got some sugar on your cheek,” he says. Instead of brushing it away with his hand, he bends down and kisses your cheek. 

He’s got you trapped between him and the counter, which you don’t mind. 

His lips move from your cheek to your lips. With his hands on your hips, you drape your arms across his firm shoulders. You rub the scruff of his chin and he sighs. 

Already it’s easy to see where things will lead. You almost want to grab the frosting and use it on your bodies, but you end up not. 

When you’re both done in the bedroom, Arthur comes out with you to help clean up the kitchen. 

The cookies turn out pretty good. 

Christmas Eve comes. You have to work, but you’ll be done by mid afternoon. Luckily you’re also working from home, so it’ll make your evening a little easier. 

Despite how boring it will be for him, Arthur insists on staying with you while you work. He just wants to keep you company. 

Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve been introducing Arthur to some simpler video games you’ve been able to get for free on your console (you have not introduced him to Red Dead yet and you probably won’t for a long time). 

He’s pretty shabby at them, mostly because he still hasn’t quite figured out how to use the controller without looking at it. 

He never plays without you being home, but seeing as you’re working, you encourage him to play in order to keep him busy. 

He tries not to ask a lot of questions as to not interrupt your work, but he ends up asking frequently, which you don’t mind. 

Finally your shift ends and you can quit for the rest of the holiday. Arthur’s ecstatic about it. 

For dinner, you do what your family used to do, in that you make a cheese fondue, some marinated steak, french bread and some vegetables. 

Arthur’s never had a cheese dip before, but he ends up rather liking it. 

After dinner, the two of you end up opening your stocking gifts. 

You gave Arthur a new swiss knife which he ends up finding quite impressive. 

He managed to get you a few small gifts that you never would have thought of. None of them are the typical necklaces or jewelry most guys get. 

One of them is a rather unique tree decoration of your favorite animal. It’s your favorite gift by far. 

After stockings, you decide to introduce Arthur to Mr. Bean. You only watch the Christmas episode for now, but you’ll introduce the other ones to him later. 

At first, Arthur thinks it’s overly silly, but once you get to the scene with the nativity, he’s roaring with laughter (although he doesn’t fully understand some of the props like the dalek). 

After that, Arthur’s sold on Mr. Bean, especially after you explain that he’s supposed to be stupid and odd. 

His favorite scene ends up being the one where Bean gets his head stuck in the turkey, mostly because it reminds him of the year Pearson was stuffing a huge turkey Arthur had brought into camp and managed to somehow get it stuck around his arm. 

When Mr. Bean is done, you don’t have any other Christmas movies to watch (except for the best one which you’ll watch tomorrow). 

Instead you and Arthur decide to trade stories of some of your best Christmas memories. 

You don’t have a whole lot as they make you sad, seeing as most of them revolve around your father. 

Arthur has some good ones though. Especially involving Sean and Lenny. 

He does tell one about John when he was a teenager that has you in stitches. 

John had been trying to level up to Arthur’s hunting skill and so he’d tried to go and hunt an elk on his own. Of course, things had not gone well for him as the elk, being unafraid and just coming out of the rut season, had chased John. 

He’d gotten stuck in a tree and been trapped there by the elk for hours until Arthur, sent out by Dutch, found him. 

John had lied about getting trapped and said he was coming up with a strategy to jump onto the elk’s back and ride it like a bronco. 

“Well then, show me your plan,” Arthur had said, leaning on the horn of his saddle. 

John tried jumping off the tree and onto the still furious elk’s back, but fell out of the tree. 

Arthur ended up having to shoot the elk so it didn’t gore John. He was unhurt, aside from a couple of scrapes and a bruised pride. 

“John still insists to this day that he could have ridden that elk,” Arthur finishes with a chuckle. “He’s tried telling it from his perspective every year.” 

He grows somber after this, clearly still stung by losing so much of his family. You can’t blame him. After all, he could go back, but it would mean his death. Plus the gang’s being torn apart by Dutch and Micah. 

Of course, Arthur doesn’t know about Micah, seeing as the last time he was there he was only in the beginning of chapter 6 and just been diagnosed with TB. You don’t have the heart yet to tell him the end results of Dutch’s actions, driven by Micah. 

When the two of you decide to turn in for the night, Arthur surprises you by telling you he doesn’t want to have sex. Instead he just wants to cuddle with you. 

He turns out to be just as good at cuddling as he is at sex. He just holds your head to his chest, his thumb tracing along your shoulder and back. 

You’re just starting to drift off when he kisses your head. “I love you, sweetheart,” he says quietly. 

You smile into his chest, but you fall asleep before you manage to say anything to him. 

In the morning, you wake up to Arthur spooning you. 

Unlike last night, he pulls some moves that lets you know he wants to make love. 

Seeing as it’s Christmas morning, you give in. Arthur really pulls out some of his best moves, making it the best session you’ve had so far. It’s so good you almost don’t want to get out of bed. 

Too soon though, it’s Arthur who insists on getting out in order to unwrap presents. 

Before unwrapping presents though, you decide to cook a big breakfast first. 

When your father was still alive, he’d always cook a big breakfast, with all your favorite foods. 

Arthur is ecstatic to do the same, saying he’d love nothing more than to give you something to add to those memories. 

After stuffing yourself, you and Arthur head into the living room and open presents. 

You got him a beautiful pair of white deer antlers you found in a funny little store a few weeks ago. You like this gift because the antlers were dropped and the animal is likely still alive. 

Arthur hands you a rather heavy gift and when you open it, you gasp. It’s a block of wood that’s carved into a beautiful eagle. Then Arthur says something that brings tears to your eyes. 

“You said your pa loved eagles. So I bought a wood carvin’ set on that Amazon sight and watched some of them Youtube videos.” 

“You… you made this, Arthur?” 

He blushes and looks down, but his smile says it all. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him. “Arthur, I couldn’t ask for anything so incredible. Thank you.” 

Arthur hugs you right back, but he squeezes so tight it’s almost like he doesn’t want to let you go.

After gifts, you tell Arthur to sit down and you turn on the best Christmas movie (in your opinion): Christmas Vacation. 

Arthur’s laughing by just the cartoon in the beginning. 

He absolutely loves Eddie, even though he’s a complete dumbass. He has to admire him for his drive to try and give his kids a good Christmas (even if he isn’t very good at it). 

When the movie ends, Arthur says he really likes it and he can see why you save it for last. 

As you smile at him, you suddenly recall what he’d said last night in bed. 

“By the way, I love you too,” you say. 

“Huh?” he says, but he’s blushing. 

“You said you loved me last night. I just… wanted to tell you I feel the same.” 

Arthur smiles. The kiss he gives you in return is one you will never forget.

[ajokeformur-ray]

Hiii Erika ! I love your little drabbles ! My mother had a breast cancer in 2012 (she’s healed). My doctor just said today that I have to do exams on my breasts in a few years because there is a little risk. Nothing to worry but I can’t imagine Joker’s reaction when I will tell him. He’s so anxious to lose the woman he loves ... I think maybe he will have a panic attack.

Hello, my love!💚Thank youuu ~ that means a lot to me! OMG darling I’m so sorry to hear about your mum but I’m so glad to hear that she’s healed! Joker would definitely be worried and I think it’d go a little something like... 

TW: Joker has a panic attack type reaction to the scenario. Reader comforts.

Word count: 861.

Joker was up and out of his seat even before you had fully crossed through the threshold of the doctor’s office. He had wanted to come in with you, but you had asked for him to wait outside, to wait for you, and he had reluctantly agreed. The rapid rising and falling of his brightly coloured chest told you that he had been pacing up and down the corridor like a lion in a cage while he had been waiting for you and only recently had he sat down. It was likely to have been only seconds ago, so anxious and so pent up was he.

“Ho - how did it go, Y/N?”

Usually was Joker an imposing figure but now, with his hands tugging either side of his crimson blazer, he looked apprehensive; scared. His bottom lip and his chin trembled slightly and you could see that his beautiful sea green eyes were rimmed red with the force of holding back tears. He was trying so hard to remain strong for you, but you could see how easily he was crumbling, even now. Joker reached you in just a few strides and your fingers slipped easily into the spaces between Joker’s own, as if your hands were made to hold his own despite the fact that you were two individual persons who were complete all on their own already. You raised one set of joined hands to smooth out the crease between Joker’s real eyebrows, which were set between two dark blue triangles. The green of his eyes was accentuated by his painted visage and you naturally felt yourself take a deep breath; such was the effect which your clown had on you. You were scared in this moment, too, of what the doctors may or may not find, but you tried to be strong for your clown, just as he always tried to be strong for you.

“It went... well.” Joker caught your hesitation, he caught you, and he let go of your hands and pulled you into his arms pre-emptively. You heard him swallow, you felt his arms tighten around you as his hands twisted the material of your shirt. His fingers plucked and you knew that he was not only grounding himself, but also reassuring himself of your current safety. Even in the hallway of a hospital was Joker focused only on you. “I have to have a breast exam in a few years because there’s some risk. Mum had it, so - “

Joker listened to you carefully, his brows furrowed as you explained the doctor’s findings to him. When you had finished explaining everything, he took a deep breath. Then another, slightly unsteady. Then another. And again. His breathing picked up quickly and you squeezed yourself into his lithe form. “Breathe, angel. Just breathe.” Joker nodded helplessly and he dropped his head down into the crook of your neck. You took exaggerated breaths, your own panic now amplified by Joker’s own, and you shook your head to signal to an approaching staff member that you had the situation under control. 

You had always been able to help your Arthur.

“I - I could - lose - “ Joker’s throat convulsed and he audibly swallowed. You began to stroke up and down his back in soothing motions. You could feel his vertebrae and the sharp curves of his shoulders even through his crimson blazer, and you stood there with Joker, determined to remain with him for as long as it took. You would wait forever for and with the man who cradled your heart in the palms of his hands.

“There’s some risk. yes. It’s just a check-up, darling. It’s better to know for sure than it is to leave such a big question unanswered.” You struggled to speak around the lump in your throat and your eyes burned with tears; you were scared too and memories of years past, when your mother had breast cancer, were beginning to come back to the surface. Now was not the time to fall apart and you needed to get yourselves home.

Slowly did Joker’s breathing slow down and you felt him coming back into himself. Wanting to help him more, you began to hum That’s Life while you rocked Joker side to side in your hug; it was something which he always did for you when you needed to be comforted, and he gave a strained chuckle upon realising what you were doing for him. You were loving him, comforting him, even through something which was happening to you.

“You won’t lose me, Joker. If Death tries anything any time soon, I’ll rip their arm off and beat them up with the soggy end.” Your dark joke, so perfectly aligned with Joker’s own sense of humour, made the distressed clown giggle, and Joker pressed a tender, lingering kiss to your cheek as he straightened himself up. You wiped his tears away, you kissed the faded red tip of his nose, and the two of you made your way home, hand in hand. In a few years time, when the time for the exam came, the two of you would face it hand in hand as well, for there was nothing more you could do. 

AF/J @impulsiveclown   @astheworlddturns @fluffedstar @jokersqueenofchaos @germansarechill @tsukiakarinobara  @lynnesm @sagyunaro  @docsportello  @flowerglitterwoman @ben-solos-writing-avenger @jokers-doll @jokersspookyhyena @arthurjokersgirl @antonija89 @lilliryth @hotpacino @obsessedandthirsty  @call-me-harley-quinn  @anais-angel

[writings-of-dumpy]

George Weasley and the Girl in Ravenclaw: Prologue

A/N:And now for Something Completely Different. Yes, I have been reading Harry Potter again, and NO I will not be taking feedback at this time. I’m aware that what you are about to read is utter garbage, but there it is. Love youuu

Summary: George Weasley is a hopeless romantic, and when the dangerous events of his last three years of school start to grip him, he has to protect the one he loves even if she doesn’t know it. WARNING: mention of death and violence in this part.

The first time George Weasley noticed her was in year three. After he and Fred finished their satire of the Hogwarts song at the very first banquet, she had been the only one to giggle at the end of their serenade. Dumbledore was enjoying the joke as much as they were, but she was the one to laugh. George looked over toward the Ravenclaw table where he saw who he believed was the love of his life. At thirteen he was quite the hopeless romantic, but didn’t quite understand the meaning of love yet, but was sure this girl would hold the answers for him. When she caught his eye, she blushed and curled a stray piece of long hair behind her ear to reveal an amethyst earring while averting her gaze with a smile. The room erupted in applause led by Dumbledore, and once the room was starting to empty, he lost sight of her. As luck would have it, George would be sat next to her the following day.

“Ello there,” he said as he sat next to her in the middle of the divination classroom, opposite his brother Fred, who sat next to fellow Gryffindor Angelina Johnson.

“Hi,” she said with a small smile.

“Fancy seeing you here. I’m George Weasley, this is my brother, Fred,” he said with a cheeky grin.

She nodded. “I’m Raven Barrie.”

“A Raven in Ravenclaw, original of that sorting hat,” Fred said with sarcasm.

“Just like another Weasley in Gryffindor, yeah?” Raven shot back with a small smile.

“Wit indeed, Miss Barrie,” George complimented with a chuckle. The three of them became very close friends in their third year and often spent many a night in the Gryffindor common room with Raven tutoring either Fred or George or both on a subject. Not that either of them were particularly incompetent, Raven was just the best at the subjects, naturally. George found himself wanting to spend even more time with Raven, so he invited her to the Burrow over winter holiday almost every year.

“I couldn’t possibly impose like that… Besides, the muggle neighbors would give my mother hell if they thought her only daughter had abandoned her,” she would say, and that’s when George found out she was a muggle-born. He vowed that day to keep her closer than ever and protect her from the harsh pure-blood wizards in this world. In their fourth and fifth years, Raven, George and Fred were bound at the hip with the latter two causing mischief and Raven offering tips on efficiency and execution.

In the summer before their sixth year, George (and Fred, but George read the letter first) received a devastating letter. Raven’s mother had fallen ill and died a few weeks prior. She said in the letter that she was sorry for the slow responses and George scoffed with empathetic tears in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Georgie?” Fred asked from behind him. George couldn’t speak, and handed the letter to his brother. The pair explained to their mother, and without another word, she sent them with the car to fetch Raven.

“I knew my boys would go for those Ravenclaws,” Arthur had mumbled with a grin from across the room in reference to Harry’s recent infatuation with a Ravenclaw girl and now Fred and George’s hero complex manifesting on one. George blushed and the twins were on their way. George had been the one to learn to drive the Muggle way as Fred had decided he’d be more suited to busting the bars on Harry’s windows when the pair plus Ron were working on Harry’s escape two years ago. When the car rode up to Raven’s house, George felt a sense of melancholy. He was excited to be seeing Raven, but he had wished it was under better circumstances.

“What are you doing here?” Raven said with a small smile and shocked expression once she opened the door. “It’s so good to see you…”

She wrapped her arms around Fred first, and then George, who held her close and for a little bit longer than Fred had done. She felt wonderful in his arms and he couldn’t help but get butterflies in his stomach as she held him close too.

“Well, come on inside,” she said once they had separated. The three of them went into the small house and George noticed the massive amount of boxes strewn about the house. He didn’t want to ask her too quickly about how she was doing and felt it best to lead with an invitation rather than an expression of condolences. “would you like some tea?”

The twins nodded and shared a look of uncertainty as she made her way to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. George’s chest ached for her embrace once more as he noticed her slightly puffy eyes. He saw a small jewel resting on the side of her right nostril as he examined her face and he smiled.

“You decided to get it?” he asked her and pointed to his nose. Raven looked up with brows furrowed and then smiled in realization.

“Oh! Yeah, about two months ago at the start of summer. My mom didn’t want me to get it, but once I came out with it, she…” Raven said excitedly and then her speech trailed off. George’s heart broke at the sight of her so upset. “She said she liked it on me and that it suits me well.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—” George began, but Raven shook her head.

“It’s okay…” she said and handed the boys their tea.

“Well, it does suit you well,” Fred said. “A beautiful accessory to a beautiful face.”

George’s head whipped to look at his twin at such a high speed that he thought he might snap his own neck. The three were close, but Fred hadn’t ever said anything like that to her before. Come to think of it, that was the first time either of them had said that she was beautiful. Sure, George thought about it constantly, but he couldn’t recall ever actually saying it. A pang of jealousy struck his chest and he fought the urge to curse at his brother. Fred sipped his tea and smirked at George, signaling that a game was about to begin between them.

“Thank you, Fred,” Raven said with a small smile. “So.. to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you lovely twins?”

“Quidditch World Cup! Dad’s got us all tickets, including you, love,” George said with a dashing and persuasive smile as the pet name rolled off his tongue. Raven put down her mug and raised her eyebrows.

“Wow… That’s too much, I couldn’t possibly impose like that, and with school starting so soon, your family must be swamped,” Raven said in a lower voice.

“Really, you must stop thinking you’re an imposition,” Fred started.

“We love being around you,” George continued.

“And mum’s been begging us to let her meet you,” said Fred.

“And you can stay for a while if you’d like,” George offered.

“It’ll be fun!” they said in unison.

Raven looked between them and smiled gratefully. “And you’re sure your mom and dad are okay with this? I mean, there are seven of you living there now…”

“Nine if you count Harry and Hermione, who’ve been there since last week,” Fred said with another sip of his tea.

“And mum’s motto is literally ‘the more the merrier,’” George added. “So really, you’d be doing her a kindness.”

Within a few hours, Raven had piled a few suitcases containing her personal and school belongings. As Fred loaded them into the small car as he so kindly offered to do, George noticed Raven looking up at her house with a sad look in her eye. He couldn’t bear to see her in so much pain, and he walked over to her.

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling,” he began in a soft voice and stood next to her. She didn’t take her eyes off of the house, and George could see tears form in her eyes. She said nothing.

“I want you know that I’m here for you. If you need anything at all, I’m here,” he said with conviction as if he were making a vow to her. He gently reached out and held her soft hand in his. His heart started to flutter and ache as she looked at him with glassy eyes.

“Thank you,” she said with a small crack in her voice. George pulled her into his chest and felt her arms hug him close to her. He felt a sense of relief wash over him as she accepted his affection.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 67: The Dark Mark

Regulus was used to landing in the absolute silence by now, only the sounds of his companions groaning and shuffling back to their feet. Wherever they were was dimly lit, with a soft green hue barely enough to discern the closely packed trees surrounding their little clearing. Otherwise, there were no birds chirping, hardly a breeze blowing about, no hint of a presence beyond.

Yet when he heard Smith scream, his first instinct was still to look around for the danger, until he actually spotted her looking up.

He'd swear his heart stopped in his chest, he felt like he may as well be looking into another mirror that could show his future. The Dark Mark hung above them in all its glory.

"What, what is it?" Evans hissed, backing to the far edge of the clearing, looking from the symbol to Alice like she expected all of us to start sprouting extra heads.

No one seemed to want to be the one to tell her, all eyes still fixated on the skulls bottomless depth, the snake entwined through every thought he'd ever had. He knew he couldn't form the words as his throat kept convulsing.

"It's the Dark Mark," Potter finally got out, breaking his gaze away but talking more to her shoes. "It's, You-Know-Who's symbol, it means someone's died."

Regulus felt more than saw as everyone then began inspecting the ground instead, as if waiting for the dead body to appear. They'd once landed in the same spot as a deceased unicorn, would they for a person as well?

"Harry?" She asked of no one.

Potter could only swallow in answer, and now everyone was scanning the ground for the book to give an answer. He did seem the most likely, and some very small horrible part of each of them almost hoped it to be true. Maybe, if this was how Harry died, they would finally be free of this madness casting them about and get back to their time, their life.

No one got a chance to do anything else though as Sirius launched himself at his once friend and socked him clean in the nose.

Peter hit the ground, blood pouring down his face once more, except now from broken cartilage in the center of his face rather than his ear.

"Sirius!"

"Padfoot, mate what the hell-"

"If you killed him too, I swear I'll-" The elder Black fought like crazy to get Lupin off of him again, Potter scrambling in between them desperately. It was so like the last time, right before Lupin had transformed, Frank couldn't help to back even farther away in fright, glancing up at the sky once more, trying to see past the deadly skull and snake to wherever the moon might be.

Alice dithered on the spot, as if she wanted to help but didn't know who. Evans drew her wand but seemed unclear who to point it at. Regulus didn't even hesitate and darted to Peter's side, offering him a hand up, and letting out a sigh of relief when Peter took it.

He may have staggered to his feet, but did nothing more. He didn't draw his wand to defend himself, or fix his now clearly broken and swelling nose, he just clasped his arms in front of him and cringed in place, as if prepared to take whatever blow came next.

"Sirius! Sirius stop!"

He didn't seem capable of even listening to Prongs anymore, he fought out of the arms pinning him like a madman, unable to see or hear anything but James screaming and the green light dousing everything around them. Then his own face exploded with pain.

"Oi!"

"I am not holding him back so you can-"

Regulus drew his wand and pressed it against the pulse in his older brothers neck. He didn't care Potter shoved him back away or that Lupin now looked likely to let Sirius go and throw a punch himself, all he saw was that he finally had Sirius Black's irrevocable attention.

He spat a bit of blood onto the ground, and against all odds an almost cocky grin slipped into place. "Well look at you, throwing a Muggle blow. Didn't think you had it in you."

Regulus had known exactly what he was doing, and didn't let himself be distracted as he flicked his wand to where he wanted him to see. "Look at him Sirius, really look at him."

He instead busied himself by wincing and pulling at his nose as if to fix it back into place, Lupin and Potter stood at his shoulders ready for whatever came next. Regulus was not backing down, he was tired of second guessing himself.

"Regulus, please don't-"

but Regulus spoke louder, stamping his foot and demanding attention. "How can you lecture me on the decisions of my life, dare call them your friends, when you're just as much of a two-faced, back-stabbing, arse!"

His chest was heaving by the end, but it felt like he'd finally thrown a brick from his chest getting all of that out. He stood waiting for Sirius to hit him, yell at him, something. Instead Sirius' sharp gray eyes wavered from him, he finally dared to look where he'd refused before. He tried to turn away just as quickly again, but everything was still swathed in a green light he'd always hated so much.

The air caught in his throat, his eyes stung. If he looked at him for too long all he'd see was his own mistakes seeping into others all over again. It's not like it was hard to imagine what he could have done to Peter in the future to cause him to get James killed...which meant he was the one to-

Turning sharply away, he went as far as he could from the others, mentally begging anyone from following him, not trusting his voice to say it regardless. His foot crunched over something along the way and he didn't even pause to see what.

Potter and Lupin exchanged a wordless look before Lupin took after him once more. The two were just visible in the verdant gloom. Potter just looked desperately between the two and Peter, who was looking after Sirius as well longingly. He'd seen something on his face, there for just a second, but wasn't even sure what to make of it. It certainly wasn't the all-consuming hatred he'd been expecting. Not able to look at anyone else now, he finally quietly summoned the book to him. It came shooting to his hand from a nearby tree, and he read the almost predictable chapter title now.

Regulus for his part was left fuming in place, even if he still did feel just slightly better for finally getting to fully say his piece. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he liked to think this was a step in the right direction.

Frank, Lily, and Alice all felt like spectators at the most awkward show imaginable. They had no stakes in this recurring bomb of a life. Well, Lily supposed she should, as she watched Potter bend down and pick up whatever Black had stepped on.

Pettigrew was reading quietly but swiftly, before they knew it the peace of the game in the book was as much a thing of the past as it had been the moment they'd landed here. The kids were running for their lives, a Muggle family was being put on a grotesque display. The closer she looked, she saw the way Pettigrew's skin turned sallow as he described it all happening, how sick he looked at the thought that really could be him one day. She watched Potter's hand close convulsively over what appeared to be a toy, a little Quidditch player with its arm popped out of socket.

Now Harry's wand was missing, and he was possibly running for his life. She couldn't get it out of her head, that the Death Eater's were going to catch up to him and end his life. She chanced a glance towards Black and Lupin, standing as close to each other as they could, gazes unwillingly fixed back on the book just like everyone else's. It had amazed her, among other things, how all four of them had almost instantly accepted this future and begun talking about Potter's kid as some inevitable thing to be.

She was only just catching up, she was sixteen for crying out loud! If she ever fantasized about having kids, it certainly wasn't with Potter! She couldn't even pretend to deny it anymore, her heart clenched with painful worry as a boy who was to be her son was separated even farther, now it was only him and his two friends alone with a threat out here.

A nightmare she never even knew she could have seemed about to come to life before her ears, she staggered back in fear even as she drew her wand for a protection that wasn't her own, despite no threat appearing. Harry was surrounded, and she wanted to help him.

Peter Pettigrew's voice shook, he stammered for a few more painful moments before looking to James Potter for what to do, still a source of comfort. Only the steady look of worry for his boy remained as he finally read it out, and there was a tiny break of relief it was only stunners sent his way. Then, a more stable breath of fresh air, as it turned out to be the Ministry coming to call for whichever Death Eater had sent up the signal instead of the opposite.

What happened next was a madhouse, and yet somehow still easier to take in stride as a house-elf was accused of these crimes and a high-end official of the Ministry Winky belonged to seemed to take control of the mess. Harry's wand having done it all was the only piece she latched onto. When had this shift occurred? At what point had she finally allowed herself to admit she was worried about this kid- her kid?

As Arthur Weasley explained in more detail what exactly had happened, and Hermione mentioned she'd know because of a book, it occurred to Lily to think of this backwards. What Harry would think of her if he'd seen how she'd been acting towards him all this time. She glanced helplessly at Alice and Frank, who were standing in each other's arms for comfort.

If Severus had been here, would she be doing the same? Seeking comfort in familiarity? Through every step of this she'd clung to her current life without admitting it may well be her past.

[coinofstone]

5x03 The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

Arthur went out to collect firewood while Merlin watched over the dying lady 🥺

They saved a woman from being burned at the stake for sorcery and she repays them with a super powerful magic artifact

"He's always like this at the anniversary of his coronation."

"I thought it was a cause for celebration?"

"It is, but it's also the anniversary of Uther's death."

I would like to refer everyone back to my 4x03 post where I point out that Uther was stabbed on Arthur's birthday, which is also the anniversary of his mother's death. Uther would've died a day or two later. So within the span of let's say, half a week, Arthur's got his birthday, his mother's death anniversary, his father's death anniversary, and his coronation. He needs a hug. It's gotta be the hardest week of the year for him, every year. Speaking from personal experience, I know I wouldn't be anywhere near as upright as Arthur is, for all his thousand yard staring.

It's a very nice sarcophagus but what is going on with Uther's left leg?

No srsly wut is this

Is it reeeeally swollen? Did he break his ankle in the fight or perhaps when he fell?

Ok I'll stop being mean

The ONE time Merlin knocks

You think this was a sex thing? I think it might've been a sex thing.

Spirit!Uther, while traumatizing in his own right, still isn't as frightening as actual King Uther could be.

Oooof I have Things To Say™️ about this. The reason Arthur chooses to use the horn, to use magic, is because, "there isn't a day that goes by when I don't think of the thing I wish I'd said to him." But when he gets to speak to Uther, he doesn't actually get to say very much at all, because Uther immediately begins criticizing everything he's done as king. Arthur doesn't get what he sought at all, instead of an opportunity to tell his father any of the things he wished to say, he gets spoken to, harshly criticized. It's a major blow. And he says as much, when the single man tear spills over and he says "this can't be the last time I ever see you" - yes the line is foreshadowing Uther's haunting of Camelot but it's also signaling that Arthur's been traumatized; he went from having had his father mortally wounded in saving Arthur's own life, to having seen his father 3+ years into Arthur's rule as King of Camelot, and point blank being told Uther is disappointed in him. Not proud of him - actively un-proud. We don't really know what exactly Arthur wanted, if he'd hoped his father would've seen all the good his way of ruling had done and praised him, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that was on the wish list.

Be careful what you wish for indeed.

I AMUSE MYSELF. (I spent two hours figuring out how to create this please appreciate me)

Merlin's angry face when Arthur tells goin what Uther said is literally all of us.

I feel terrible for this but when Percival is leaving Gaius' chambers and he stops to look at the wall-torch, I immediately flash backed to Alice Troughton on commentary in S4 saying "Percival's a bit of a wuss isn't he?"

This is also awful but this episode kind of makes me miss the castle-centric contained episodes of S1

Never any guards around when you're being attacked by the ghost of your husband's dead dad, typical.

I understand Merlin bringing Guinevere to Gaius but putting her in Merlin's bed??????

The way Bradley and Colin both convincingly jumped when they turned around and found Gaius had snuck up right behind them kills me every time.

"Poetry". What he means to say there is, 'why didn't you just tell him we were fucking, since that would actually sound less gay'

So. Merlin took the ghost visibility potion but he can't see Utter knocking over barrels and shelves and things to trap in that store room.

Also why is there a pigeon in a windowless store room? Now I'm wondering why there aren't more birds randomly flying into the citadel, cuz they do have quite a lot of open windows... you'd think that might happen now and again.

Mmmmmmmm

Hmmmmmmm

Ooooof I love a bamf husband coming through to deal with a shit-for-brains abusive father... ghost.

^^actual canon scene

Was Tony shot entirely on green for this? That unearthly blue glow even in close ups where he doesn't look like he's on a green scene makes me wonder.

The 'horseplay' scene at the end was so full of sexual tension and d/s undertones that I literally do not want to say anything lest tumblr flag this post for content.

Commentary is Angel and Rupert. The two regulars who were in the least number of scenes in this ep. Since this post is already crazy long I'll keep this brief.

Aaaaand it's the first time either of them have seen this episode 😂 wow.

They've made 'horn' jokes and Rupert's gone full on tongue in cheek dad jokes.

They are also cracking jokes on Colin being all jacked up for S5 compared to previously when he was so skinny hehe... personally I ain't mad at him 😂

Fifteen minutes into the episode and Leon makes his first appearance

The little bottles and decor things in Gaius' chambers are part of a static set so they pretty much just sit there... Angel says that some of the contents have started to go moldy and they found maggots in one of them 🤢

They're talking about Gwen's new hair and while Angel is being really diplomatic, I get the impression she's as annoyed as I am by it. It literally doesn't match her own hair at all. But she also said some people saw her without the piece on and just said 'omg you cut your hair' so I guess 🤷‍♀️

The scene where Gwen is knocked out by a vase smashing her head - Angel says she was hit with the heavier bottom piece of it, which hurt more than she was expecting, and she wound up with a bump on her head from it.

Not a word about Colin picking up Angel 😢

They're talking about childhood pets and a beverage called lilt? Anyway Angel is really clever and Rupert's corny af but he's funny and I love them both.

Oh this is interesting: Rupert says he and the director talked about having Leon walking through the corridor hand in hand with the cook when he stumbles upon Merlin and Arthur's 'poetry lesson', but they weren't allowed to do that bc it would've been just a little bit too much, or a little too tongue in cheek. Which I'm taking to mean, would've accentuated the subtext of 'poetry' too much.

Angel and Rupert didn't know how they got Uther all glowy either, though Angel said it was probably lighting

Rupert says the line where Utter got caught off, what he was gonna say was "Merlin has ... been to the gym!" 😂😂😂😂😂

They really are great together doing these things

Rupert's story was the horse he had been riding all season had a foal, and nobody even knew she'd been pregnant. They just came out one morning and saw she'd given birth, and he got a call to inform him. That's kind of sweet. I wonder if he sent them some apples or something.