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this is actually james and sirius, i hope someone sees my vision

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more fics need to explore tom being pursued by military recruiters tbh

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🖤 Tom Marvolo Riddle — commission for @wrengaunt 🖤

I’ve been itching to paint Tom for ages—and yes, Michael Bublé’s “Sway” was on an endless loop the whole time. Cheers for letting me have a go at him, mate. 🫂 Christmas has come early.

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this whole exchange, this is harry james potter ladies and gents, we must bow down

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knights of walpurgis core:

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Shout out to all the girlies who would've gone alone to the Yule Ball

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tom, after killing myrtle and getting away with it:

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something about tommy doing voices with his siblings when they were younger and then doing it years later to cheer up john when he's 25... the shelby family is dear to me

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𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃. tommy shelby.

✐ 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

cw. canon-typical violence, alcohol consumption of course, mentions of a child almost getting blown up, the usual yk 🤷🏻‍♀️... r. I was wondering if I could request one where she happens to be back at the house/betting shop at the time when the Lees destroy it and the fact that the Lees still did that with there being a woman, let alone the woman who is his significant other, in the shop really infuriates Tommy when he comes back to see that she’d been affected by it. I’ll leave it up to you for how you want to end it. ☺️ — @runnning-outof-time

"ooh, where are you heading?" you ask polly who places a hat on top of her head and she sends you a smile when you greet her. she means to answer but tommy joins your side and interrupts her by asking "where's john?"

"john's at the garrison," she informs him and tommy's brows furrow as she continues "says he wants a meeting about a family matter." he sighs prompting you to settle a hand onto his shoulder and he sends you a look of exasperation.

"easy," you chuckle "he just wants a meeting, not to overthrow the government."

"and well, we know he'd do that himself." polly remarks and you snicker in response, she purses her lips in amusement "besides, he'll say his piece and he'll be back to take his place with scudboat." her nephew merely rolls his eyes and shakes his head in disbelief.

"scudboat, john will be here in ten minutes." polly declares and walks away, fixing her gloves on her way out to the garrison.

"five." tommy corrects before following her, but he stops halfway and turns to you "you coming?"

"i'll stay, still haven't had breakfast." you tell him and point over to scudboat "he might also need some help counting."

tommy stares for a few seconds before nodding "i'll be back soon, love."

.

he walks out and you take a seat at scudboat's table, continuing his counting as he locks up. having two people deal with the work quickened the pace and soon the two of you were done. you leaned back in your seat.

"would you like something from the kitchen, scudboat?" you follow your question with some offers "tea or some biscuits?"

he nods "tea would be nice, miss." you shoot him a smile as you get up however you're stopped from actually walking to the kitchen as the instant you stand, the doors bust open. almost like instinct, you see scudboat pull out what you presume is a gun from the side of your eye and you freeze in your spot with both arms raised in surrender.

"put that down!" you hear one of the men order and around 2-3 men with weapons circle scudboat and restrain him whilst you face the end of a barrel.

"this is for cheltham." a man with a gypsy accent and bandages covering his right ear announces as he moves his aim from you to scudboat and you hold back a groan. of course tommy angered the lee family during his visit to the races, of fucking course "we're just taking back what's ours." he drives the end of the gun to scudboat's face, effectively dropping him to the floor.

he then turns to you once more "where are the loots, huh?" he asks gruffly and you withhold a grimace.

"i don't what you're talking about." you respond, annoyed at the entire situation you were left in.

"come on, you're tommy's girl, are you not? he must've told you where they are." a scoff escapes your lips and you roll your eyes, arms crossing before your chest.

"what makes you think that?" you cock your head to the side, eyes widening in an innocent expression "i only work here to serve the men drinks and clean up after them."

the man lets out a hoarse laugh and clutches your face in his hold "don't mess with me, i know who you are." your face drops and you hold his gaze.

"then you must know that tommy will have your head if he so much as sees a scar on me?" you recount softly and his grip loosens just a little "or are you as stupid as you look, i mean you must be because who in their right mind would steal from the peaky blinders?-" you're stopped by a slap across your face.

"fuck you," he spits in your direction, probably realising that you won't give up information and are only wasting time, stalling for the shelby's return. you don't react, however, eyes staring daggers as he orders his men "search everywhere!" he tells them and they leave scudboat to fall to the floor, choosing to disperse around the betting shop, flipping the place all over in search of what the peaky blinders retrieved. you slip away during their distraction and kneel beside the injured man.

"i'm sorry" you whisper, reaching for a cloth on a nearby table to dab at the deep wound on his temple. it didn't take long for the men to leave, laughing as you hear something clunk against a table and within a few minutes, finn walks through the kitchen, his stroll halted at the sight of you and scudboat crouched on the floor.

"finn!" you call the boy and he runs to you, worry in his eyes "go and call your brothers, tell them to hurry here." you pat his cheek softly once he's close enough and with a nod, he races off to the garrison. you pull a fallen chair and stand it up right, helping scudboat onto the chair.

"love," you hear tommy's voice before you see him "are you alright?" he asks and you leave scudboat as tommy gathers you in his arms, a kiss pressed against the crown of your head, and you inhale his familiar scent of cigarettes, whiskey and a mix of cologne.

"what the bloody hell happened here?" arthur asks from somewhere behind you and scudboat answers him as john surveys the betting shop, feet stomping in anger.

"tommy, i'm fine" you reassure him, patting his chest as you pull away. the slap was nothing as far as you were concerned "however, they took what they could find, sorry we couldn't do anything about it, they were all armed."

tommy shakes his head at you "fuck that, what matters is you're alright." he places a kiss on your forehead once more before detaching from you to scan the place. you turn to see arthur tending to scudboat (serving him alcohol, you note with a chuckle) and instead choose to stand beside polly who reaches a hand out to hold your own.

"your cheek's red." you see the dissatisfied expression she's wearing and tap her hand.

"polly, i'm fine, don't worry." whatever she intends to say dies down her throat as tommy approaches the centre of the room, wire cutters held in his hand.

"they left these." he shows the people in the room the tool and you and polly share a confused look.

"wire cutters?" the older woman questions.

"what for?" you ask and hesitate when you see the alarm quickly taking over the shelby brothers faces.

"nobody move." arthur instructs but you furrow your eyebrows at him.

"i think our friends are playing the game." your confusion turns to tommy instead and you feel the frustration rising at the lack of explanation.

"what game?" polly asks, putting away the cash box she picked up earlier with her free hand and john stops her from continuing "aunt pol, don't touch anything." he pleads.

"erasmus lee was in france."

"an explanation would be grand since not all of us were in said france." you snap, anxiety at its peak.

"when we gave up ground to the germans," tommy begins, looking straight into your eyes "we'd leave behind booby traps set up with wires. then we'd leave wire cutters, it's part of the joke." you let out a laugh of disbelief.

"somewhere in here there's a hand grenade attached to a wire." john declares and you shake your head.

"holy jesus."

"but we've all moved and touched multiple things in the room, surely it would've gone off by now," you surmise, nibbling on your lip and you catch sight of tommy's pensive face "and there aren't any obvious wires here, they couldn't have stayed long enough to set it either." you clarify.

"you're right," tommy nods "the bullet's in my name. he set up a trap intended for me specifically." you hold his gaze and see the pieces click in his brain and soon he walks out of the house.

everyone pauses and they look at you "the car!" you exclaim and follow after him, leaving the shelby's and scudboat behind.

you hike your dress up and catch up to tommy, bumping into him when you arrive outside just to find his arm extended, talking to someone in his car. the person he's softly talking to causes your heart to drop to your stomach.

"finn," he calls out "stay exactly where you are." you raise a hand to cover your mouth and try to steady your fast beating heart.

"i was pretending i was you." finn giggles and you almost feel like you were stabbed. tommy leaves you behind as he slowly inches towards his baby brother.

"which door did you open to come in, finn?" tommy asks him and you can hear the panic in his voice, so unlike him.

"i didn't, i climbed in."

"i want you to climb out exactly the same way you climbed in, okay?" tommy approaches even closer, getting to the right side of the car.

"listen to your brother, finn." you call out from the entrance of the garage but finn merely giggles and opens the door anyways.

"NO!"

"FINN!"

you run towards the boy in an instant, arms opening to pull him and cover his small body as tommy quickly retracts the bomb from the car and throws it outside into the streets, yelling a "clear!" as he discards it. you feel him shortly join your embrace afterwards as it goes off.

once he deems it safe to assess the damage, you both walk together with finn holding onto both your hands and tommy's. a collective sigh of relief escapes you two before tommy drops down to face finn, holding the boy's face in his hands as he chides sympathetically "this is why you should never pretend to be me."

you watch tommy hug finn who still tightly clung to your hand and tommy looks into your eyes once again, relief washing over them and you send him a tired smile.

"come on finn, how about we go get you some sweets huh?" you ask the boy and he nods eagerly. tommy ruffles his hair and gives him another short hug before letting him leave with you.

once you get home, finn full of sweets and no longer ruffled, you prepare a bath before you settle in bed. you allow your restless body to finally relax and soak in the warmth of the tub. around half an hour later you wrap your hair in a cloth to absorb the water that still clung to your tresses and apply your moisturiser. your fingers pause when you hear your door open suddenly and in an instant you grab the closest thing beside you and hold it in the direction of the intruder.

"very effective weapon, dear." you look at the item in your hand and let out a scoff/laugh.

"wouldn't need to think about having a weapon if it weren't for your lifestyle." you argue and tommy scoffs in return, busy removing his shoes and outerwear.

"come now love, you're a woman who lives alone in small heath of all places." the look he sends you makes you snort "even if you had nothing to do with me, you wouldn't be that safe."

"that's wonderful to hear actually, will go to bed feeling safe and sound." you deadpan and he sits himself on your bed, watching as you get back to working the moisturiser into your skin.

"of course, always happy to let my woman know she's secure." you toss one of your powder brushes at him and he easily catches it with a laugh.

"come here already," he beckons you and with a roll of your eyes, you join him under the covers.

"i need you to know that i won't ever let anything harm you," he says once you settle in his arms, eyes gazing into yours "truly."

"i know." you peck his lips before resting your head on his collarbone, he picks up your "weapon" and flicks through the pages to continue from the last time he stopped.

"what did john end up wanting by the way?" you mutter into his skin, feeling sleep pulling you in.

"wanted a wedding he did, a mother for his kids." you hum in response to his answer, empathising for the younger shelby man "must be hard to raise the kids with martha gone, did he have anyone in mind."

thomas shelby snorts which absolutely causes you to open your eyes and look at his face "lizzie stark." he bites his lip to hold back a laugh. your mouth falls open just the tiniest bit.

"oh that's... well she's a nice lady, i'm sure."

that causes a proper laugh to escape tommy as he chuckles deeply "oh yeah, that's for sure." you slap his chest but smile nonetheless, returning to rest your head on his body.

"i assume it's not going through then?"

"definitely not." he confirms and you sigh, fluttering your eyes shut once more.

"erasmus and john's wedding have been dealt with, all in a good day's work. of course."

you roll your eyes at him once more and huff out a breath of irritation "if polly ever complains to me about this i'm kicking you out of my house and you'll have no access to my books, i've had enough of your drama and surprise plans."

"you like me too much to get rid of me, love."

"i'll be the judge of that." you drift off to sleep, but not before you feel a kiss against the top of your head.

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i just wanna write summer tom again god i’m so far gone idk whats ooc anymore but he calls to me…. milk-pale tom who’s only ever known the tan of rolled up sleeves and crew socks, bathing in the sun for the first time, apprehensive at the simple human pleasure of it. tom travelling for some magical/historical quest or another, something he can only learn hands-on, labouring for lodging in a rural farmstead or vineyard. the work is familiar, like the war effort and odd jobs for burke; resentment boils under heat and the soft, menial haze of something so distantly simple. he studies his findings on whatever ancient magical site drew him here in the first place, dusk sweeping in through his window, notes scattered on a sunbleached desk. his dark hair is always warm, and the water is different. he feels the delicate contrast in temperature and texture where his ankles graze the summer air before dipping in. and he pulls back, tugs his socks back on and slips into his shoes, frowns at his own wanting with no one there to see it.

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maybe part of why tom doesn't like his first name even when he's in the orphanage is because he knows he's named after his father, but with such a common first name that's not much help in tracking him down and almost any random man named tom could be his father so every time he comes across one part of him has to wonder if this is the person who abandoned him and his mother to their fate. maybe that's what he means by his look of annoyance and his "there are a lot of toms" comment.

i don't think this was jkr's intent. but i think it's a reading that works well with the text and characterization. i think even before he knew his true identity tom was very curious about his father and also harbored a lot of anger towards him.

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it's so crazy to me how people just overlook the women in the harry potter series, and the marauders era.

are we forgetting it was lily's love for her family that ended the first war? that dorcas was so strong that voldermort himself had to kill her? that marlene was one of the best players on the quidditch team? that mary is the only one left standing?

bellatrix being the most powerful death eater? narcissa ending the second war? andromeda defying her blood supremacist family? ginny holding the horcrux's power all alone (at 11), when the golden trio had to take turns wearing it and still falling under its weight? hermione being the most brilliant witch of her age?

guys. emphasis on the women please.

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Hopping on the Propaganda I Will Not Fall For trend:

Dog person Sirius

Intimidating Regulus

Nonchalant Remus

Pandora Rosier

Seer Pandora

Abusive Lucius

Immodest Bellatrix

Idiot James and Sirius

Gold digger Lily

Regulus’ Voldemort shrine = research

Pinterest tattoos on Sirius Black

Abusive Lyall Lupin

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sirius bringing a random stag into the flat thinking it’s james then actual james walks out of the bathroom and they both start screaming

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Snape never told anyone he was a half-blood prince. But I find it funny that Voldemort called himself Voldemort at school. He used his father's last name, and his real name. He didn't use the Gaunts' last name, or anything new.

Let Tommy have daddy issues.

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The four genders

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Rowling is weird. Tom Riddle killed Harry's parents, but Harry admires his beauty every time he sees Tom quote young tall handsome teenage Voldemort. He constantly notes his handsome face. Voldemort and Tom are one person. Its so strange.

Harry having his first bisexual experience without even realizing it’s a bisexual experience and with the worst possible person is honestly something that could totally happen to me, and I find it super relatable lol