#Arthur: BITCH TAKE THAT BACK FUCKING WATCH ME

[tongjaitongjai]

AU where Arthur comes back after 1,500 years and Merlin thinks Excalibur sword is very outdated at this point. It is 21st Century and unsurprisingly sword is not the best choice of weapons, magic or not.

So, Merlin creates him lots of new weapons, and soon discovers that Arthur masters everything fast and is ridiculously good at adapting everything to fight. Because if Merlin is the greatest Warlock to ever walk on earth, then Arthur is the greatest Warrior ever to exist.

So, at one point Merlin is just having SO MUCH FUN discovering Arthur’s very OP warrior skill because this man can make everything he holds a legendary weapon.

Modern Magic People being rescused: THE King Arthur is here to save us from the evil beast! look at his shining Exca..li..bur…?

Arthur, holding a ~magical and forged by Dragon’s flame~ airfryer: DO NOT DISRESPECT EXCALIBUR #2461

[lxclerc]

𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐟 | 𝐚𝐥𝟏𝟐

summary… arthur is dating someone and his fans don’t like it request… yes but it’s for the og arthur girlie faceclaim… xowie jones pairing… arthur leclerc x reader

note… @coffeehurricanes have been begging me to make something for arthur since forever and i finally caved

𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

yourusername

liked by arthur_leclerc, lorenzotl and others

yourusername my “that’s her” pictures but it’s the pics my bf showed his mum

view all comments…

user1 girlie this isn’t something to be proud of

user2 she’s so cool and different and quirky and not like other girls !!!!!!!!!! do you want a cookie or sumthing?

lorenzotl can confirm! 😂

⤷ yourusername you loved me the moment you saw me, admit it

⤷ lorenzotl i admit it!

charles_leclerc maman nearly had a heart attack!!

⤷ yourusername then i became her fav 🤭

⤷ user7 pascale prolly can’t stand this bitch

user3 nah bc what the hell does she have on the leclerc brothers bc no way they genuinely like her dating arthur

arthur_leclerc and i wouldn’t have it any other way ❤️

⤷ yourusername idiot

⤷ arthur_leclerc *your* idiot

⤷ user4 arthur was being sweet and this bitch just insults him for no reason

⤷ user5 arthur blink twice if you’re being held captive

user6 so many jealous and mad bitches in this comment section. not so gentle reminder for yall that he’ll never date you in any universe lol ♡ liked by arthur_leclerc, charles_leclerc and 203 others

arthur_leclerc

liked by yourusername, pascale_leclerc and others

arthur_leclerc my beautiful, beautiful girl ❤️

view all comments…

user1 is the beautiful beautiful girl in the room with us?

user2 arthur wear red next weekend if she’s holding a gun to your head

user3 i could be a better girlfriend than her

yourusername i’ll always save my last chicken nuggy for you, mi amore

⤷ arthur_leclerc you must really love me 😌

⤷ yourusername don’t push it

⤷ user4 she just has to ruin every sweet moment

charles_leclerc really mate?

⤷ yourusername if you’re jealous, close your eyes

⤷ user8 girl what does charles have to be jealous about

user5 why do we even hate her? like has she done anything worth hating her for? or is it just bc she looks a little different than what’s considered as conventional and happened to be dating your white boy of the month?

⤷ user6 i think she’s really a bad influence on arthur and she publicly argues with a lot of people on twitter

⤷ user5 doesn’t she only argue with people who say shit abt arthur? i mean why isn’t she not allowed to defend her bf? also where’s your proof abt her being a bad influence on arthur

⤷ user7 bitches real quiet cause they’ve got nothing to use

arthur_leclerc

liked by charles_leclerc, lorenzotl, and others

arthur_leclerc i’ve let this go on long enough and now she’s gotten hurt. i have no words to express how disappointed i am of everyone who has ever said anything against y/n for no reason other than she is with me. she has done nothing to deserve the bullying she gets and yet she does nothing to any of you.

any hate i see about her will be automatically blocked. i would rather have no fans at all than have fans who can’t respect the woman i intend to spend my life with.

and if anyone do anything to her physically, i will retaliate worse than i did today. this is a warning.

and to @yourusername i’ve failed you, baby. i sat back and watch everyone bully you telling you to just ignore it all and you didn’t deserve that. i will spend the rest of my life making up to you.

view all comments…

charles_leclerc i am so proud of you for taking a stand, brother. y/n does not deserve any of this

lorenzotl fully behind the two of you 🤍

user1 arthur has had enough on all of your bullshits and it’s time yall knew it

user2 he let yall know he’s not afraid to throw hands

user3 where yall loud mouthed ass bitches now????

yourusername i love you more than words

⤷ arthur_leclerc i will love you better now, baby

user4 it’s always seemed so fucking stupid how much hates she gets for literally no reason

[leclerc-s]

she's married you idiots!

series masterlist

isabella perez mae, i wasn't aware you and max had gotten a divorce and you were now dating barry keoghan.

mae jones-verstappen oh my god who started it this time??

oscar piastri tmz

zoya torres and fans are definitely helping troll the others who think mae is dating barry.

max jones-verstappen why are they calling him bath water guy and grave guy??

oscar piastri as someone who watched the movie with his girlfriend for the "vine" trust me when i say you don't want to know.

lando norris you do not want to watch that movie, trust me.

isabella perez so that's a negative on you and barry?

max jones-verstappen i hope you get fired. mae jones-verstappen we had dinner, as friends, a while back, but max was with us. which is something tmz kindly left out.

logan sargeant i fucking hate tmz

arthur leclerc is this because they said zoya was dating louis? logan sargeant shut the fuck up?

pierre gasly i think charles is the only one who is safe from dating rumors.

natalia ruiz because the people love him and the italians lose their shit anytime someone implies charles is dating someone.

charles leclerc and they send natalia many dms asking her if we're over so that they can make a move on me.

arthur leclerc i am safe too.

dulce perez up until three months ago, everyone thought i was dating robert. not you. trust me, you are not safe.

rhys jones this? again?

sebastian vettel next they'll be saying max is dating daniel, again.

fernando alonso when did they ever stop saying that?

daniel jones-ricciardo he's my platonic soulmate! max jones-verstappen we're lovers but our wives don't know it yet. daphne jones-ricciardo i was under the assumption that my husband was in a secret love affair with ryan and that max was engaging in an affair with charles?

lewis hamilton a bunch of children, all of you.

fernando alonso starting with me, you, and seb. as the oldest we set the examples. sebastian vettel they learned from us lewis.

lewis hamilton i'm nowhere near as dramatic as you two!

rhys jones "well we're not friends." isabella perez "and teammate" george russell "taken out by my own teammate" lewis hamilton ALRIGHT I GET IT!

maejonesverstappen and maxjonesverstappen1 have posted new stories

i don't know about anyone else, but i spent valentine's day with my husband

ik houd van je

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¡leclerc-s speaks! anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programing, not that i have a posting schedule, but i figured, you know i gave daniel and daphne two parts about relationship rumors why not give mae and max one. this is a product of that. honestly some of my best work comes when i am sleep deprived because insomnia is a bitch, this was written yesterday. is there anyone you guys would like to write relationship rumors about??

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[strrwbrrryjam]

i honestly think people would like mary more if they just, for a second, thought about the reason behind her actions and not take their actions at face value and immediately assume the worst

because of course, mary would go to arthur for help, her younger brother is with a dangerous cult who plan to kill themselves "for chelonia" and arthur is the most capable man she knows to be able to save jamie from such a horrible fate, i mean, her dads an abusive alcoholic, her husbands dead and her mothers dead too, it's clear (to me) that she lives a very isolated life, likely due to her father, so she goes to the man she knows can save her younger brother.

because of course, she gets upset when you reject her, as that means that jamie would die and she'd not only lose her younger brother but likely the only person who loves (and she loves back) unconditionally.

she isn't being "manipulative" she's fucking scared! and angry! and she has every right to be.

because of course, she doesn't want to join arthurs gang, a gang where she would absolutely be mistreated by the members in the gang, by dutch, who would see her as a threat to arthurs loyalty, by susan, who thinks that mary acts above her station, by john, who would likely hold a grudge against mary from remembering how arthur was when she broke their engagement, by micah, who is so vile n misogynistic to all the women in the gang.

because of course she wouldn't want to be in a gang where her life is in danger constantly, hers moreso seeing as annabelle died by colm's hand, a rival gang, bessie died through sickness, eliza died from a burglary, all three of the old guards have lost a partner.

because of course, she wants arthur to run away with her, to a life of safety and love, so arthur could live without the threat of death, whether by shootouts, ransoms, or hangings, without the need to ruin the lives of other people so that the van der linde gang could survive.

because of course, she tells arthur that "he'll never change" because he doesn't. he starts the game being in the van der linde gang, and he ends the game dying in the van der linde gang, he is and was always loyal to the van der linde gang and repeatedly made the conscious decision to choose the van der linde gang over her every single time. she shouldn't have to waste her life waiting on a man who will never choose her, will never be as loyal to her.

and sure, to us, we have watched him change over the course of the game, but mary hasn't. mary wasn't there to watch him change, and considering the fact that she has known her longer than us, i'll believe her when she says he hasn't changed.

mary isn't evil, she isn't manipulative, she isn't a bitch, she's in love with a man who constantly chooses a life where he is under constant risk of death, over her and a life that allows arthur to be the good man she wholeheartedly believes he is.

i'm not telling you to like her, you don't have to, but I'm telling you to not assume the worst of her and criticise her for simply being flawed.

[holylulusworld]

Designed by pain (1)

Summary: Broken hearts are hard to put back together. 8 years ago, Dean lost something he didn’t even know he had in the first place. Will he get a second chance?

Pairing: former AU!Dean Winchester x fem!Reader; Arthur Ketch x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, implied break-up, time jumps, strong reader, Dean being a douche (implied), unplanned pregnancy

A/N: This was an alternative idea for the first chapter of my Bucky story: Monster-in-law masterlist. I decided to use it for a story with Dean.

Designed by pain masterlist

Designed by pain (Prologue)

One night of passion, a life-long responsibility. The words you wrote echo in your mind. It’s only a few days since you left Dean and the house, but you are already falling apart. 

You spent the better part of the drive back to your shared home being scared of the future. 

Having a baby so soon into your relationship wasn’t in your plans. Neither was it to raise the child alone. Even though you know, there is no way you’ll not love the life growing inside your body.

“Fuck, what do I do now?” You slam the door shut behind you and immediately sink to your knees. You choke out a sob and hide your face in the palms of your hands. 

Six days and Dean didn’t even try to call you, nor did he come home. 

He’s over you already, and Lisa will take your place. Maybe it never was your place. You were only a placeholder until she came back into the picture.

You grit your teeth and huff. “Fuck you, Dean Winchester.” Something breaks inside of you, and you don’t know if it’s a bad thing. 

The part of you loving Dean unconditionally already starts to fade, and the bitch in the back of your mind taking over whenever you got hurt wins the upper hand.

You straighten your back and look at the woman in the mirror staring back at you. You smirk and put your hands on your hips. “I guess this means we are going to leave and start all over again. Don’t worry little bean,” you lovingly run your hand over your belly, “we are going to fucking rock this…”

One last step and your new life can begin. This is it, the point of no return. Your life with Dean is over, and you are not even sorry anymore.

You gave him time and space to realize what he was about to lose. In the end, you and his baby weren’t important enough to him to even try to talk things out.

Even if he didn’t want to be in a relationship with you any longer, he could’ve at least tried to be a father to his child.

Now you will be a father and mother to the bean growing in your belly. You’re strong and won’t back down, or cry over spilled milk.

If you look back at this moment in a few years, you will clap your hands and cheer for yourself. You’re stronger than Dean or anyone else gave you credit for. Everyone believed you’re only the cheerful and soft girl who loves to bake cookies and dreams of marrying the man you love.

A week ago, you were this person. 

Today you are someone else. An Amazon, who will take her life in her hands and move on from a man who never loved her…

The takeoff is both exciting and terrifying. You are flying to another country, to live on another continent. Your old life will be in the past, and you can only think about the future from now on. 

Holding your old plushie in your hands, squeezing it tightly you take deep breaths. “In and out,” you tell yourself to calm your nerves. Flying always makes you nervous. This didn’t change.

“How do you like first class, Miss Y/L/N,” your new boss asks. He paid for a first-class ticket so you could talk about your new position and the house he rented for you.

“Thank you for inviting me,” you give him a quick smile. Arthur Ketch is a very polite and charming man, but you cannot appreciate him at the moment. 

“I have to thank you for accepting our job offer,” he says and dips his head to watch you nervously run your hand over your belly. “How far are you?”

“Oh—” heat creeps into your cheeks. You should’ve told him that you were pregnant before accepting his company’s offer. “I…I should’ve told you.”

“Most of our employees are mothers and fathers, Y/N. We are a family-friendly company with family-friendly work conditions. And the boss likes you, and your reputation.” He smirks now and leans closer to look at your belly.

“Do you think he’ll like that I didn’t tell them about my pregnancy? I didn’t do it on purpose. I got to know about my pregnancy only a few days ago, and I didn’t intend to accept the job offer at that time.”

“You know that I’m the boss, right?” Ketch grins. 

“You are the boss now?” Your eyes round. “Since when?”

He shrugs. “I was the one behind the job offer. Robert Singer talked highly about you when we last met. From that moment on, I wanted you to work for us. If I told you back then that I was the CEO of the BMOL you would’ve never accepted our offer.”

“So, you tricked me,” you chuckle. “Lately all men seem to lie to me.” You sigh deeply. “Sorry, that was inappropriate. I didn’t want to…” You sniff. “Sorry.”

“You accepted my job offer because of a bad break-up I assume,” he pats your hand. “It’s alright, Y/N. London is the perfect place to start over. I will show you the town, and help you settle in. If you need help, I’ll be there. We care for our employees.”

“Is that a British thing?” You quirk a brow.

“It’s an Arthur Ketch thing,” he replies. “If you ask me, he’s a fool for letting you go. Sorry. Now I was the one saying inappropriate things, Y/N. You can punch me if you want to.”

“No, you’re right,” you hastily reply. “I gave him a choice, but he just gave up on us after meeting his ex-girlfriend again. The job offer was tempting, but I couldn’t imagine leaving the man I love. He made things so much easier for me. I got a new job and a new life. Maybe I should thank him for being the douche he is.”

“You deserve better,” Ketch softly says. “I know that we barely know each other, but believe me, he’s not worth a single tear. A gentleman should never make a woman cry or hurt her. Especially the one carrying his child.”

You give Ketch a sad smile. You’re embarrassed how easily he saw right through you. It wasn’t your intention to talk about your pregnancy and broken heart with your new boss.

“Y/N don’t worry. Everything we talked about today won’t leave this airplane,” he pats your hand. “If you need a friend, I’ll be there…”

Part 2

[weird-an]

Hopper has braced for a lot of things when Billy moved in.

For the shouting matches, for doors slamming shut, for El quoting movies back at him he certainly didn't approve her to watch, for Billy vanishing for a few days, for Billy staying in his room.

But that?

A fucking drama taking place in his living room.

"If you didn't want me to go to Nancy's party, you just could have said something!" Steve Harrington puts his hands in his hips like he's an annoyed parent. Coming to think of, Arthur Harrington used to stand like this in High School.

"It's not that," Billy yells back. "It's just... she asks you and you... jump. Every time."

Amazing. They don't even realize Jim has just come home. He lingers in the doorway, not sure what to do.

"That's not true," Steve shouts. "And you're just jealous!"

Does Billy like Nancy? Jim didn't get that impression from the few times he saw him interacting with her. He always sticks to Steve, more or less tolerating the presence of others. It's almost like...

"Fine," Billy screams, face flushed. "I'm jealous of that bitch! Maybe if I'd put on a dress and bang Jonathan Byers, you'd finally choose me over her."

Oh. Jesus. Jim wants to hide behind the curtains Joyce insisted he really needs in the living room. They might come in handy now.

"You need to speak to me Billy." Steve rubs his face. "And don't call her that, just because you're angry with me. If you don't say what bothers you, I can't change anything. I would have stayed or you could have come with me."

Billy stares at his feet. "I... I know. It's just..." He tugs at his ear ring. "It's hard."

Yeah. Jim knows that Billy has troubles voicing his feelings and needs.

"Just tell me next time," Steve says. "You're way more important than Nancy."

Billy's face turns red.

"I promise I won't fuck Jonathan," he mumbles.

Steve laughs. It doesn't sounds mad. "I'd like to see you in a dress though."

God. Jim wants to disappear. But he can't, because this is his living room.

"Uhm," Hopper clears his throat. "Sorry to interrupt your... lovers quarrel, but I really need a beer now."

"You.. for how long..." Billy gapes at him. Steve turns red from head to toe.

"Too long," Jim says, shaking his head. "Do you guys want a beer as well?"

Steve nods.

"I don't know what you heard, but we're.. not..."

"Not banging Jonathan, I got that." Jim rolls his eyes and gets three beers out of the fridge.

[0san-ta0]

SOCIAL MEDIA | a.fredrick (Part 1)

synopsis ★ arthur falls head over heels for george's secret girl best friend. pairings ★ fem!reader x arthur fredrick (arthurtv) face claim ★ the GORGEOUS léna mango on insta author's notes: first social media au <33 let me know what you guys think of it, reblogs are appreciated!!! don't mind the dates and times!!

𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗲𝘆,𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝖺𝗇𝖽 6,321 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗂 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗐𝗈 𝖻𝖺𝖽 𝖻𝗂𝗍𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌 𝖻𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌... 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗁𝗇𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 1 𝖻𝖺𝖽 𝖻𝗂𝗍𝖼𝗁 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖿 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐

𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐 𝖺𝗅𝗅 346 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌

𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗐𝗁𝗒 𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈 𝖿𝗎𝖼𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝗈𝗍...

𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗐𝗂𝗆𝗌𝗎𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 gorgeous 𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗁𝗁𝖽𝗁𝗌𝖻𝗌𝖻𝗌

𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗱_10 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗒 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗅𝖾𝖽𝗀𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋���� 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 '𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌' 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾

𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗌𝖺𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗃𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗎𝗌

𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗱_10 𝗂'𝗆 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈 𝗀𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾.

𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗆𝗒 𝖻𝖺𝖻𝗒 𝖼𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗒 (𝗉.𝗌. 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗁𝗎𝗍 𝗀𝖾𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖾 𝗎𝗉)

𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗲𝘆 𝖽𝖺𝗆𝗇 𝗂 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽. 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗈𝗈.

yourinstagram ....bitch we know everyone is here for me

georgeclarkeey I thought this was a george clarkey appreciation post, now you're calling me a bitch I might just take my money back

yourinstagram at this point I'll give it back on my own free will

user the queen is serving looks as always!! <33

user george is looking too fine in these pics

liked by georgeclarkeey

yourinstagram you have time to delete this before you blow his ego up anymore user OMGGG!!!! she replies

liked by arthurfnhill, georgeclarkeey, chrismd_10 and 5832 others

yourinstagram to appease the gods an appreciation post for some of my boys mostly chris!! <33 @chrismd_10 @arthurrnhill @georgeclarkeey @max_baldege peep cutey pie Chris before he gets pissy.

user AAAHHHHGHG!! cute chris and george content!!!! thank you mother

user not george hugging another man that's not his boyfriend....@arthurtv @arthurtv

user I thought the exact same thing @arthurtv

yourinstagram george told me he's single so idk about that...

user now arthur needs to know!! @arthurtv

georgeclarkeey you told me the last photo would be private...

yourinstagram well sir, in this world some pople lie and I fucking lied

georgeclarkeey photo privelleges are revoked

chrismd_10 just fyi I don't appreciate the caption at all

yourtinstagram when I give you love you don't want it but when I don't acknowledge you its also a problem!?!?!?!?! sir make up your mind

chrismd_10 treat me like a human and not a dog

yourinstagram ............................no.

user max looks absolutely disgusted

arthurtv watching my boyfriend hug other men hurts (not)

yourinstagram so this is the boyfriend who's not your boyfriend.....

georgeclarkeey how did you get here arthur!?!? and y/n leave

yourinstagram under my own post!?!? but hi boyfriend!!

arthurtv george stop being mean to the pretty lady

georgeclarkeey she deserves it after the things she's done to me

liked by gkbarry, arthurtv, wroetoshaw and 5463 others

yourinstagram anyways babes back to the regularly scheduled y/n and luna programming!!<33

user mother is mothering hard these days

user pretty and educated!! my wife is the total package

arthurtv the odessy... interesting read

yourinstagram it is !! especially the 5th time around

arthurtv 5th?? is it that good

yourinstagram maybe, maybe not? mythology is a personality trait at this point

arthurtv someday I'll be as invested as you

georgeclarkeey this wasn't supposed to happen

gkbarry you are literally stunning!! we need to go out again

yourinstagram thank you babe!! absolutely I need to get drunk off my ass again

user I need her and Arthur to meet now seriously

liked by yourinstagram user me too!! how have they never met!?!?? user chris said on a podcast I think, that most times when they hangout together as a group arthur's usually busy. but then george went on his pod and said that he didn't let them meet cause then the internet would collapse but idk. user ohhh, well his hard work has gone out the window yourinstagram I'm making it my life's mission to meet this man now

liked by arthurtv, yourinstagram, arthurfnhill and 2376 others georgeclarkeey guess who miraculously decided to join the trip @arthurtv @yourinstagram

arthurtv the internet wanted us to meet! what was I supposed to say?

georgeclarkeey how about no?

yourinstagram how about you stop being jealous and let us be friends

arthurtv yeah george stop being jealous

user EVERYBODY STAY FUCKING CALM THE ARTHUR X Y/N CONTENT IS COMING SOON!!

user the boys are back and as dashing as ever

user with that last pic I wouldn't say dashing...

yourinstagram who's that pretty boy in the second pic??

user flirty y/n??

user I don't think so they just met plus this is her usual personality

georgeclarkeey you need to stay away from my boyfriend

arthurtv I think his name is Arthur or something like that

liked by arthurtv, tbjzl, chrismd_10 and 7484 others

yourinstagram guess who I met!! hint: his boyfriend is ugly. @georgeclarkeey

user AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

user not the George slander in the caption

yourinstagram not slander if it's the truth

georgeclarkeey what do you mean by that caption?

yourinstagram none of your business to be honest

arthurtv yeah george, none of your business

taliamar pretty pretty girl!! ❤️❤️

yourinstagram not as pretty as you though!!❤️

arthurtv I can admit her taste in books is pretty good

yourinstagram thank you!! now george can stop spreading slander about me online!

arthurtv I'll make him stop don't worry

yourinstagram I never was 🥰

[call-sign-shark]

Heaven in Your Eyes || Arthur Shelby x Reader!OC

Summary:  Danger lurks in every corner of Small Heath now, a place in which you're forced to stay. A place where Changretta and Section D are ready to get you. As you're trying to work things out with Arthur following your violent argument, Polly tells you something that will definitely complicate your role in the Vendetta.

Words: 6.8k

TW: Angst, mention of drug use, canonical violence, mention of murder, mention of self-harm, co-dependent relationship, grieving.

Notes:

✞ This is chapter 13 of the Arthur Shelby x You series Heaven in Your Eyes. Each chapter can be read as stand-alone but reading the whole series will make the experience far more intense and better.

✞ Quite a long chapter I admit, certainly the longer. The future chapters won't be as long I swear -- it's just that there was a lot of small "plot twists".

✞ Lucy is @emotionalcadaver's OC.

PREVIOUS || Masterlist || NEXT

The thick fog of the night danced in front of the car’s headlights, swirling at the wind’s discretion. The driver, keeping an eagle eye on your dainty silhouette, had started the engine as soon as he saw you storming out of your house, disheveled and crying.  He only waited five seconds before driving at a very slow pace, scanning the misty streets of foul-smelling Small Heath to find you. For a short while, he was convinced you had managed to escape from his watch and, admittedly, the persistent fog only complicated the task further. “Fucking bitch”, he pestered, turning left on the next street as the car’s wheels squealed against the wet concrete of the road but you didn’t hear, far too deafened by the unremitting drumming of your own heart. You stopped your race near a field, and sat on a small wall, feeling your body wear out now that the adrenaline's effects were dispersing. Once settled, you buried your face in your cold palms and squeezed your eyes shut. Where should you go? What should you do? Were all of Arthur's promises empty? What will happen to your marriage now? Will Tommy keep ruining your life? All these questions played on repeat in your skull, like the unsettling loop of a broken record echoing in a murky abandoned house. And along the haunting tune resonated your and Arthur's voice, from a not-so-far memory.

"I'll marry you one day."

"You're already married, Arthur."

"I don't bloody care, it's you I want ay. Fook Linda, fook the family, fook the rest of the world. It's you. It has always been you."

A shiver ran down your spine as your mind went back to the night you had this conversation. You could almost feel the warm sensation of his naked skin against yours, as he cradled you to his chest, legs entangled, and his cologne all over your bedsheet. The first time you made love.

"Listen, I know you're scared and I know I’ve got a bad reputation. But if you give me the chance to be your man, I swear to God you'll be the only one for me. Look at ya. How could I want another woman? They can all die. I'll never, fucking never, cheat on you."

"But with Linda--"

"It ain't the same. We're talking about you. My sweet angel. My soul mate. My saving grace. The other part of me broken self."

"... Alright. Promise it then."

"Cross me heart and hope to die."

"No drugs either? Like, a bit of snow occasionally never killed anyone but apart from this, no relapse okay?"

"No drugs but..." He paused, gently taking your hand in his, and kissed all your fingers one by one "But in exchange I want ye to stop hurting yourself. I saw the inside of your thighs so please, no more cuts ay?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die." You smiled, interlocking your little fingers together in a sweet pinky promise.

You pressed one trembling hand against your mouth at the bittersweet memory, tears tingling your eyes and blurring your vision. A muffled sob escaped from your plumped lips, then a second, and finally tears came in waterfalls. It's been a long time since you really cried, and here you were. Weeping like a lost kid.

Despite the darkness of the night and the patchy coat of the fog, the stalker caught sight of the long crimson streaks that ran down one of your frail arms. He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue as his hand reached for the gun hidden in the glove box. Finally, he thought, he was a short moment away from a very sweet vengeance he had spent years carefully planning. A little excited sigh escaped from his mouth while his fingers caressed the cold barrel of the gun, already aroused at the idea of pointing the canon against your head the moment he would force you to get in his car. Even if he knew that the wisest thing to do after your capture was to drive you to them, he thought about going on a little stroll with you. Maybe he'll bring you to an isolated land to shove you on the muddy ground, and make you regret the day you decided to murder his brother in the small mountainous town of Haute-Falaise. Only after he had ruined you enough, stealing every ounce of your dignity, he would drive you to Section D's headquarters. With a bit of luck, he could keep hurting you a little bit more before they decide to pull the trigger and repaint the walls with the contents of your brain.

The roots of his hatred had started the day he realized that each time he closed his lids, his brother's eyes haunted him. Or at least, the two hollow and dark holes on his face since his eyes had been gouged out. There was also the blood, running from his mouth, ears, nose, and even streaming down his cheeks in crimson tears. Maybe he should have listened to the local police when they told him not to look at the corpse, but he had to do it. To his questions, even the forensic pathologist couldn’t answer. The only certainty the experts agreed on was that Christian’s lungs and heart had been smashed to a pulp from the inside and that he had stab wounds all over his body just like the other four corpses found. Five corpses and nothing else. The murderer was nowhere to be seen: no one had witnessed something, not even heard the slightest muffled scream. It was as if Death came, struck them with his scythe, and left without a trace.

Closer. A little bit closer...

You jumped at the sudden and unexpected sensation of a man’s hand squeezing your frail shoulder. As nimble as a cat and as quick as a lightning bolt, you jumped from the wall and unsheathed the dagger you kept hidden in your right lace garter, “Who the fuck are you?!” You hissed, voice burning with fury and frozen eyes darting at the stranger. You had been so quick to react that the man, vaguely confused by what just happened, found himself in quite a poor situation. Indeed, he didn’t expect a young woman to press the tip of a sharp blade against his carotid artery, ready to slit it.  God knew he was a fearless fighter, but you had been too unpredictable, even for him. And yet, he didn’t move nor particularly react despite the unpleasant surprise.

“Heaven Shelby?” He asked.

You snarled and bared your teeth at this unfamiliar voice calling you by your name. If marrying Arthur Shelby had taught you what real love was, you had also learned how to become even more deadly than you already were. Seemed like the Shelby's wariness had turned you feral.

“Make one more step and I’ll bleed you like a fucking pig.” You warned. The cold wind of the night blew in your hair, making your long white locks dance behind you like the ghostly veil of a dead bride. He frowned, unsettled by its uncommon color. What disturbed him the most though was maybe the pale and haunting color of your eyes, whose shade reminded him of two cursed aquamarine stones.

“Mrs. Shelby. I mean no harm, ‘specially not when facing such a young and delicate lady,” He started, the corner of his lips stretching in a fathomless smile despite the awe you inspired him. His small and cunning fox-like eyes squinted as he grinned. Somehow, he didn't seem to mind the blade that was still threatening him as if such a situation was casual -- and it was. If anything, he was impressed by your fierceness and the hatred that shone in your iris, which created a striking contrast with your little frame and doll face, “Well not as delicate as I’ve been told.” His smile widened at his own comment, “It’s dangerous out’here m’lady, I’ve spotted you by chance and thought I’d bring you home safe.”

“Dangerous.” You snorted, unable to hold your sarcasm. “Get the fuck away from me.” Each word from your mouth was dripping with caustic vitriol, leaving no doubt about your hostility and lethal potential. Judging by your quick and deadly reaction, you were certainly more than capable of taking care of yourself -- in truth, he could tell you wouldn't hesitate to end his life. But instead of backing up, the man carefully brought his fingertips on the shining surface of the dagger and pried it away from his throat in a slow movement without breaking eye contact with you.

“A car is following you.” He informed you.

“What?” This phrase hit you like a train, impairing the fierceness and self-confidence you’ve been showing. Surveying your surroundings quickly, you did notice the shadow of a car not so far away in the distance with its headlights shut and two glistening eyes staring at you from the driver's seat. The moment the shadow understood that you had spotted him, the car headed away from you in a loud engine roar and disappeared in the misty night. Fuck, the lad was right: someone had been following you. You sniffed, still in shock, and quickly wiped your tears with the brush of one knuckle before tricking your anxiety into focusing on your unexpected savior again. Your armed hand might be hanging loosely from your slim body, but your fingers were still firmly wrapped around the dagger’s handle. It was an expensive and deadly blade, gifted by one mysterious red-head woman whose hair reminded you of a wildfire. You had trouble remembering the name — Lucy? Something like this. What you knew though was that this troubled soul was called ‘Tommy’s little spy” by the Shelby's family, but since you couldn’t care less about your brother-in-law’s personal life you didn’t investigate further. The girl had been nice with you, that was all that mattered.

Even armed and feral, you felt vulnerable. At your big confused eyes and at the sight of mascara running down your cheeks, the man couldn’t help but feel sorry for you. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that you could pass off for his daughter or maybe because you were just a few years older than his own son? He slightly tilted his body to one side to let the weak beam of a street light disclose his face and overall appearance: long and messy gray hair, thin lips, small glistening eyes, and a mysterious and slightly disturbing grin.

“Mrs. Shelby, you should come with me.” He advised, then he extended his arm, about to lay his strong hand on your shoulder a second time when you stepped back to avoid his touch with a dissuasive hiss. He stopped, “Lemme bring you back to your husband. It’s Arthur Shelby, ‘m I right?” This time, he simply offered you his palm and waited for you to make the first step. You replied to his invitation by looking dagger at him: if your eyes could kill, this one would already be sleeping with the fishes.

“No.” You protested, as stubborn as a Shelby by birth. Your heart squeezed in your chest at the mention of Arthur, the thought of him coming back home all coked up and intoxicated was still fueling your rage like gasoline thrown at a destructive fire. The last thing you wanted at the moment was to see your husband. If someone had asked you, you’d have answer that what you sincerely wanted was John and his comforting arms. John and his beaming smile. John and his way of teasing you, his jokes, his softness, his cockiness... Yes, that was John you wanted, and you wanted him now. But the cruel truth was that John wasn’t there anymore. He was lying dead and cold in a morgue, leaving you with nothing but the insufferable pain of his loss and your head screaming. “I don’t want to see him.” You asserted and fled the man’s gaze, who soon understood the situation — with age came experience, and from experience he could recognize the aching expression of a young woman wounded by the hazards of love. These Shelby men… He thought with a certain disdain. Oh, he had not been irreproachable all his life either, but a woman’s heart was a gift he missed every day of his life since his wife’s death. The mysterious lad softly reached for your wrist and, not minding your feral nature anymore, he brought it closer to his face to examine the open gash on your porcelain skin.

“Did he hurt you?”

“I did this to myself.” You broke the physical contact right away and pressed your palm firmly on the still-bleeding wound. Adrenaline had pumped so hard through your veins that the pain had been numbed: only now your nerves were slowly wakening up,  sending unpleasant tingles where the cut was. While he observed you carefully, the man wondered why such a young and fragile thing like you would do this to herself.

“Seems like you had a harsh night, kitten.” He stated with a slight fatherly tone which surprised you before he noticed the goosebumps on your skin. The situation had been so exceptional that he completely obliterated that you were barefoot outside, in the freezing temperature of Birmingham’s night, wearing nothing but a short dress. Without further ado, the man took his long black coat off and put it over your shoulders. While you still shot him a suspicious look, the warmth in which he wrapped you felt good. Your muscles relaxed and your hand closed on the two sides you brought together near your throat to protect it from the wind. “While I get why y’don’t wanna go home, ‘specially if you fought with your man, you have to understand that being alone at night in Small Heath is not safe. Let alone currently, with Changretta’s men trying to murder you all. Maybe you’d like me to bring you to Thomas instead?”

A shiver ran down your spine at the simple mention of your brother-in-law’s name. The sensation of his lips against yours was still burning your flesh and even hours after your last encounter you couldn’t get rid of his cologne’s scent that was still lingering on your hair and skin, “I’d rather get fucked by a horse than deal with this bastard.” The man blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected you to have such a foul mouth -- that was why let out a soft chuckle, to which you replied with a very faint smile.

“Alright kitten… I get it. No Shelby men. And what about coming with me to my vardo? My son has lit a campfire and he is cooking some rabbits. Would you like that?” He suggested, one brow raised and his fox-like grin widening almost to his ears. 

“You still haven't told me who you are.”

The man took off his brown hat at your clever comment, “Ah yes. Where are my manners ay?” His dark blue eyes glistened with a cunning gleam as he slowly nodded “The name’s Aberama Gold. Nice to meet you.” 

“You bloody idiot… Sit here and don’t do anything stupid anymore.” Polly instructed her oldest nephew as soon as he had entered the room, pointing to an empty chair with her half-consumed cigarette. All alone with Ada and his aunt, who were still waiting for the other guests to come, Arthur took place and kept his head down. Polly simply took a long drag from her black cigarette and exhaled, smoke coming out of her mouth like the Devil as she quietly observed Arthur’s eyebags and bloody knuckles. Soon after your departure, she had heard the cacophony of screams and thuds coming from his house in Watery Lane. When she witnessed all the blood, destroyed furniture, and shards of glass in the living room, she had been was convinced that Arthur had murdered you out of jealousy or something. Fortunately enough, the situation wasn't that dramatic -- at least for her. After throwing herself at her nephew and forcing him to calm the fuck down, she did her best to keep the oldest Shelby brother from hurting himself more than he already did. When things got quieter, she had even scolded him as she did when he was a kid — except that all the other sermons he had been through in his childhood were nothing compared to the anger she had unleashed when he had confessed about taking drugs again.

“Is she coming to the meeting?” She finally inquired, one of her elbows resting on the wooden table and her cigarette consuming itself between her fingers.

“Don’t know Pol.” Arthur’s usual loud and gruff voice was reduced to a shy, hoarse, and saddened whisper. No matter his attempt at distracting his mind, his thoughts always came back to you. Only you. He didn’t know where you were nor if you’d come back to him and that was slowly driving him crazy. Or more than he already was. Arthur felt his fragile sanity slipping through his fingers and knew it wouldn't be long before he went berserk if it turned out you really left. Also, he was growing frustrated and agitated about sitting here in the betting shop, waiting for a useless meeting to start instead of looking for you. All he wanted was to burn this city to the ground and make it bleed until he found you and brought you back home where you belonged. That is to say by his side. Nevertheless, Polly had advised him against this decision, convinced it would only fuel your rage against him even more. She wasn’t wrong though, you needed space.

The fierce Aunt stubbed her cigarette out in the nearest ashtray and leaned toward her nephew to grab his wrist with one of her cold and sly hands. It snapped him out of his crumbling mind. “You’re insanely lucky to have a woman like her in your life, Arthur. Don’t be an ungrateful cunt by letting your addictions ruin the most precious thing you have. The bland and momentarily relief snow grants you will never hold a candle to Heaven. Understand?” She warned with the same tone she used when a young Arthur came back home all bloody after fighting at school. “Hey. Look at me.”  The gangster sniffed and raised his steel blue eyes to his Aunt, his lips trembling and dimples appearing on his cheeks as he clenched his jaws. How right she was. Even when snorting a ridiculously huge amount of snow he didn’t feel better. In fact, his high had been insipid when compared with how you made him feel, blissed out and in pure ecstasy, when his lips crashed against yours. An unpleasant surge of electricity crossed his body at this thought as he remembered how his whole being yearned for you. “She’ll come back. I know she will, and you’ll make up for your idiocy. But let me warn you, boy. Witches usually don’t believe in second chances. If she gives you one, don’t ever fuck it all up anymore, or she’ll tear your bloody heart from your chest and smash it in front of your beseeching eyes. And you’ll consider yourself lucky if she only did it figuratively. ” At these murderous words, which felt like another stab, Arthur bit the inside of his cheek until he could taste blood on his tongue.

“I’ll do that.” He concluded, closing his hands in fists in a vain attempt to keep his temper quiet despite his spiraling thoughts. Thoughts that revolve around either you and how he would end his damn life if you ever left him. With a loud bang, a strong rope, or hell, his own razor blade, he didn’t care. Polly simply nodded and sat straight again as the other members of the clan entered the room one by one and took place, waiting for Tommy. At each footstep, Arthur raised his head with impatience, wishing it was you and internally screaming when he realized it wasn’t. HeavenHeavenHeavenHeaven… It never stopped, the thought of you compulsive and maddening. He cleared his throat and grunted nervously, his gaze glaring at an invisible dot on the wall that was facing him.

Tommy erupted in the room, a placid expression etched on his face as always, giving the impression he was in complete control of the situation. Was he? No one was truly sure about that. He stood fearlessly in front of the small crowd, far from being impressed by public speeches, and let his turquoise eyes wander on every face. Sometimes you wondered if Thomas Shelby would better drop the criminal life and start a political career. After all, he had all the required qualities: manipulative, sweet-talking, dishonest, and heartless. Tommy took one look at his brother’s face and quickly got a broad understanding of what had happened -- It wasn't particularly difficult though considering how Arthur belonged to the expressive kind. His eyes usually talked before he even opened his mouth. Yet he couldn’t help but wonder if it was his fault. If it was because of the... kiss, or his moment of confusion as he liked to call it. Yet, his sharp instincts knew that Arthur hadn’t been informed of this little event otherwise he would have certainly gone straight for his throat no matter the family blood running in their veins. Loyalty had its limits, and the limits bore your name. When he noticed your absence, Tommy discreetly clenched his sharp jaws for even if he loathed you, you had your place among the family for the meeting and the rest of them would probably not vote if you weren’t there. Nevermind, he thought. He had barely parted his lips when he heard the clicking sound of heels approaching and with the sound came your perfume. Just like Arthur, he immediately recognized the spring-like fragrances of your scent, especially now that he had buried his nose in your silvery mane.

Arthur’s heart made a leap in his tight ribcage as he saw you bathed in the warm light of the betting shop, dressed like the day you left the house except for your hair that was styled in two French braids cascading down the small of your back. He wanted to get up and embrace you, choke you in a hug, or fall on his knees to beg for forgiveness without minding the other people in the room but Polly’s strong hand squeezed his thigh to prevent him from doing so. Thus, all he did was just staring at you with pitiful and beseeching eyes. But you didn’t look at him. In truth, you didn’t look at anyone. Ignoring the burning sensation of Tommy’s turquoise iris following you, you passed by him and headed right to the free chair between Polly and Arthur. As soon as you sat next to him, he obliterated the world in favor of your heavenly presence as he usually did when you were around. The lanky gangster tried his chance and his fingers shyly searched for yours under the table. He was dying to feel your touch again, the coldness of your frosty skin being the only remedy to his troubled soul and broken mind. However, you denied him your affection by slightly shifting your hand away from him no matter how hard it was for you too. Your rejection stung him more painfully than a white-hot blade. Arthur bit the inside of his cheek harder but instead of making a scene or bursting with both rage and frustration, he tried his best to be a good boy and simply lowered his head as an unruly child who had just been scolded. His lonely hand rested on his thigh he nervously rubbed, desperately trying to chase away his sadness.

“John is dead.” Tommy exhaled loudly and made a short pause as if he was still processing the awful truth. John. Is. Dead. Your frail fingers fidgeted the fabric of your dress at Tommy’s statement, doing so only to avoid digging them into your own flesh and scratching it until you bleed. For a micro while, Tommy's self-confidence flickered, afflicted by his baby brother’s savage murder, before he regained composure and his eyes darkened again, “Esme’s back on the road with the Lees. She’s taken the kids. Michael is badly wounded, they say it’s 60/40 in his favor.”

“There’s no number, there’s no percentages” Polly cut him off, “So the hand, the hand beneath him stops his falling. Spoke to someone… My son will live.” It was more or less all you’ve heard of the conversation, for your mind soon drifted. As Tommy kept talking, your frozen eyes as glacial as Dante’s latest ring of Hell locked on your husband. Observing him with great attention, you tried to look for anything that would prove he was high. But despite a huge deal of effort, you didn’t see any grain of white powder near his nostrils. Arthur’s eyes weren’t dilated, his hands didn’t shake and his breathing was as soft as quiet. If anything, he looked awfully tired and miserable. To be honest, you could not help but think about how bad you missed him and how handsome he was in his suit even if your mood was still sour and resentful.

Arthur grunted, distracting himself from the pain by following the conversation and playing his henchman role. He took a golden bullet out of the pocket of his trousers and, holding it between his thumb and his index finger, looking at its shiny surface on which he had carved Luca’s name: “Yeah, Well… The bullet’s been written… It says Luca.” He paused, a glimpse of John’s face reflecting on the gold for half a second. “When the time comes and it will come… Me as the oldest brother —“ He swallowed again, John had disappeared, “Will put this bullet into his fucking head.” He concluded his speech by putting the said bullet on the table, the metallic sound echoed in the room and chilled you to the bones. Your eyes were still focusing on Arthur, but this time it was because you felt worried for him. Despite his rough and tough demeanor, the slight tremor in his voice and his need to take short pauses had betrayed his profound sorrow. You closed your fists on your dress because of how much you hated to see him in pain. All you wanted was to hold his arm and support him in these difficult times but you were certainly as pretty as stubborn.

“There’s been some bad blood between us.” While he had ignored you for most of his speech, Tommy’s intense gaze fell on you. Feeling the ice of his eyes burning you, you cocked an eyebrow. Was it a pathetic attempt to apologize? Or was he blaming you for it?

Bad blood… Polly scoffed. You snort. That was the least he could say.

It felt like an eternity before little King Shelby spoke again, not paying attention to his Aunt’s and your attitude. He looked at the ceiling, looking for his words then he went on, “Until this business is settled we stay together. We stay here…” To assert his claim, Tommy explained how the family would be safe as long as they stayed together, surrounded by an army of faces they already knew. His plan was simple: all the family remained together until they manage to kill Luca Changretta. Until then, no one was allowed to stray away from Small Heath. Arthur's first reaction following this suggestion was to turn his head towards you, looking with concern for far too well he knew you didn't wish to stay. A small sigh escaped from your plumped lips as you dived into his sad eyes, but you remained silent. Worst, you remained awfully placid and hated yourself for looking so much like Tommy for a short while. The rest bored you to hell and blurred into a mush of unintelligible bribes of conversation, except for the mention of Aberama Gold and Johnny Dogs’ complaints about the man. Savages he had said. The same word he had used the first time you met him. She's a freakin' savage, Arthur. An evil creature straight from the woods! Rolling your eyes, you bit your tongue to keep your mouth shut, and not scream at Dogs to tell him that Aberama Gold might be a savage but at least he took care of you these last few days better than any members of the Shelby clan did. At least not before interminable months of insults and death/suspicious stares. As the conversation went on, Polly put a glass of whisky in front of you but you pushed it away almost immediately -- you've been feeling nauseous since you left Watery Lane so drinking strong alcohol was the last thing you had in mind. Thus, you simply passed the glass to Arthur, who certainly needed it more than you.

“… Which means we have to agree to end this war between us.” Thomas Shelby might be addressing the whole family, but you knew his words were mainly aimed at you, which only made you move your foot impatiently under the table. Ending this war, of course, you thought. And what about the last two years of misery you’ve made me undergo each time we met? What about the moment you strangled me? And what about all the awful things you said after thrusting your tongue in my fucking mouth?  These would have been all the things you would have screamed at him if your legendary coldness had broken. Which, fortunately for everyone in the room, hadn’t.

Truthful to himself, Tommy asked for the family to vote.

“Peace.” Arthur finally decided, taking the glass and gulping down the amber liquid it contained in hope it would numb him. It didn’t. As surprising as it was to hear the oldest sibling choosing a non-violent approach to a conflict, you knew it was the best decision to make. So as everyone shared their opinion, you thought deeply about yours until your turn came. At first, you didn’t realize it was already your time to speak — only the sudden silence and the weight of a dozen eyes on you could snatch you from your mind. And among the pair of eyes, the one that burnt the fiercest was Tommy’s.  

“Now we’re asking for my opinion?” You said, sarcastic venom coating your words.

“Angel, please…” Arthur whispered, but you waved off his comment with a disdainful gesture of the hand. He currently wasn’t in the position to advise you. Not after hurting you like he did. 

“Truce.” You stated, coldly. The word left your mouth with the power of a guillotine’s blade on an inmate’s neck and surprised everyone in the room. In truth, they were all convinced you would disagree with the idea. Polly and Ada offered you a warm smile, while Tommy lowkey nodded in approval at your wise decision.

“Five for peace, two for truce.  Let’s get on with the war.” He concluded, turning around and walking out of the betting shop without one last glance at any of his family’s members: his scheming mind already focused on the next part of his plan.

As always, Tommy couldn't live without pulling the strings.

As the room cleared out and people left, you remained alone with Arthur in an uncomfortable silence. Because you had nothing to tell him, you got up from your chair and proceeded to walk to the exit without uttering a single word but the tall gangster caught you by the wrist, forcing you to stop. His long fingers closed around you a bit too bluntly than he intended though. You winced and as a result, he immediately let go of you, showing his palm open to indicate that he didn't mean to hurt you.

“Heaven, please." His gravelly voice called. "Enough with the cold treatment…  I can’t. It’s hurting me.” He said rather slowly, for putting words on his emotions was not something he was used to. Most of the time he just yelled and resorted to violence. , “I beg ye, go back home, angel.”

"You had promised me, Arthur." You articulated.

"And you had also promised me not to hurt yourself anymore." His gruff voice raised a little bit, threatening to turn into frustrated yellings because he didn’t know how to properly communicate his emotions, especially not when they were so obsessive and overwhelming. But Arthur didn’t want to scream at you so what he did was take a deep inhale to force himself not to be his usual loud and rude self. “You also promised to me, love.” He repeated in a calmer tone even if his quivering upper lip and twitching mustache showed how much he was struggling.

“So now we both understand how it feels when the other part of your soul breaks a promise. What a great step forward we’ve made.” That was mean. So mean you could barely believe that such an awful taunt came from your tantalizing mouth — but even though you instantly regretted it, you didn’t falter. No matter your mad love for Arthur and the untamable desire to throw yourself in his arms, you weren’t going to bend: things needed to be clear right now or they’ll never never be.

“I’m sorry, love. I’m fucking sorry alright?!" He growled, opening his arms as to silently ask you what he had to do for you to believe him. "I swear there isn’t a second during which I’m not regretting everything I did and said to you.” He finally admitted, long arms falling along his slim body, “I wasn’t meself even if I know this ain’t no excuse. I won't do it again. But…Please Heaven I can’t go on without you. And I don’t want to.” The only answer to his pleadings was a heavy silence combined with your frost-like gaze.

Arthur’s eyes lingered over your arm until they fell on the deep cut you had inflicted upon yourself. This is what it feels like when you take drugs. The powerlessness he had felt when he watched the blood running down your skin and soaking the fabric of your clothes was etched in his mind: he, who had promised to protect you against everything, realized he couldn’t save you from yourself if you chose to destroy you… And that powerlessness was the same you experienced when he egoistically relapsed. That was a harsh lesson, but a lesson he had learned.  “Please forgive me.” He begged and sucked in a sharp breath as if he was physically in pain, yet he still took your arm in his hand with indescribable softness and, with his free one, caressed your still swollen and red gash.

Your dainty body stood still, trying not to give in to the delightful sensation of his warm skin against yours but your heart sunk in your chest “You have to understand that you cannot act like a jerk, hurt me, treat me like shit and then come back with your puppy eyes, and beg for forgiveness. It doesn’t work like that." You said.

“So you're not coming back...” His voice broke, warm hand closing on your wound.

Your touch. I need it. It's a damn physical need.

“Don’t be stupid Arthur…” You sighed, the traits of your angelic face softening, “That’s not what I said."

"So please, love. Forgive me. I'll do whatever ye want. I'll get on my knees right now if that's what you want." His body shifted, closing the distance between the two of you until his arms wrapped around your waist. Butterflies swarmed in your stomach at the sight of his enchanting blue eyes, whose color was so different from his brothers. Slightly darker, far less colder. With your heart beating fast and your mind buzzing, you couldn't keep your fingers from gently grazing one of his cheeks. He half closed his eyelids at the sensation, the tremors of his body already calming down now that you were touching him.

"I don't want you to get on your knees. And I don't want to make a dog out of you like Linda did. All I ask for is my husband, who I know is a wonderfully strong man who doesn't need any chemicals to face the world. Not anymore." Your holy voice sounded like the purest melody in his ears like God's mercy whispered to him. Lulled by your words and strokes, Arthur would have purred if he wasn't already fighting against tears of relief.

"I've been such a fucking bastard... What the fuck is wrong with me eh? I still can't believe every mean thing I've screamed. The words I told ya, they're eating me sick brain." He gritted his teeth, "I don't fucking deserve you." Noticing that his breathing was getting faster, you wrapped his neck with your arms and lifted yourself on your tiptoes to lay a kiss on his chin.

"Stop it, Art. Don't beat yourself." You whispered in his ear, one hand lost in his perfectly slicked hair. "You want me to forgive you? Well; show me that all these promises you made weren’t empty. That our wedding can overcome everything, even the worst. Prove it to me." As you spoke, you softly rocked him from left to right, trying to calm his anxiety. A sigh escaped from your lips: you just couldn't abandon him as everyone else did. And part of you cursed him for making you feel so weak, especially when he was looking at you with his confused puppy eyes.

“I’ll show you then, angel. I’ll show you because without you birds don’t sing anymore.”  He nodded, softly rubbing his cheek against yours. You could feel his heart drumming against your bosom, crying for yours to open up to him again. “I'll show you I'm still a good husband." His lips trailed down your cheek to capture yours, but the moment he tried to kiss them you slightly turned your head to the other side to deny him access to your mouth. He clenched his jaws.

“Go find Thomas and organize the funerals with him." You simply instructed, taking a step back to free yourself from his arms. The lanky gangster nodded and left, head down and arms swinging as he walked away.

All you wished now was that he truly meant what he said.

All alone in the betting shop, you leaned against a wall and closed your eyes, needing a bit of peace to reorganize your thoughts and soothe your overwhelming emotions. Moreover, you had to come to terms with the idea of living near Tommy, here in Small Heath. It has been only weeks since you left your small house in the forest but you already missed it. Suddenly, you jumped at the feeling of two cold hands grasping you by the shoulders. When you reopened your eyelids, you were met by Polly’s motherly smile and dark gaze. Eyes so black it outmatched the bark of the most ancient trees you had ever seen. And just like these trees, they had something mystical, as if they were keeping the Earth's secrets and infinite wisdom. For sure, Elizabeth Gray was a woman of nature, born in the wilderness and raised among the soft whispers of the leaves. You even wonder if her body contained blood or if it was amber sap that was coursing through her veins.

“I’m happy you came back, white Devil.” She said with a soft smile. Since the day she heard Tommy spat the insult at your face, she decided to reverse the curse and use it as an affectionate nickname for you -- an idea you found absolutely delightful.

“I’m a Shelby now, everyone says so… So I suppose my place is here.” The melancholy of your grin betrayed your thoughts and Polly understood that only now you were starting to understand what bearing this family name truly meant. “I'm not gonna lie, Polly, I didn’t want to come. That’s Mr. Gold who convinced me I needed to. After hours of bargaining, he got me by telling me it would get under Tommy's skin.” 

“You call him Tommy now?” She teased, trying to make you smile but little she knew her remark had the opposite effect. You pursed your juicy lips and looked away.

“Something happened with him right.” The fierce Aunt frowned, observing your face as if she would be able to find an answer to her question hidden in your holy traits. Now sincerely concerned, her grip tightened on your shoulders, like benevolent roots anchoring you to reality. While she knew the difficult and rocky relationship you had with little King Shelby, she had never seen you display such a dreadful expression when his name was mentioned. 

“Something always happens with him anyway. But that’s not important.” You closed the topic, not wanting to talk about him any longer. The fucker had done enough to infect your brain, so you didn’t want to give him more space. "Do you think Johnny Dogs says the truth about the Gold? I mean, I'm not Romani but the Gold are nice to me and--"

"Heaven. Oh Lord." She cut you off, her smile swept away from her face so quickly you blinked several times.

"What's the matter, Pol?" You asked, eyebrows frowned.

Freeing your shoulders, her left hand grabbed one of your breasts to squeeze it softly while the right one felt your abdomen at different places, looking for something you didn't know. The more she touched you, the more her facial expression seemed concerned. Completely taken aback by her sudden behavior, your lips parted in surprise as you watched her.

"Does Arthur know it?!" She inquired, her dark eyes switching between you and your tummy.

“Does Arthur know what?"

“That you’re pregnant.”

✞ Any comment, review, reblog, or constructive criticism is welcome. Your reactions really motivate me and keep me alive, so please don't be shy. English is not my first language.

✞ taglist: @adaydreamaway08 @theshelbyclan @jomarch-wannabe @esposadomd @zablife @woofgocows @anathemasworld @anastasia000 @kate654 @kxnnxy @babayaga67 @meowtastick @shelbyssins @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @bluevenus19 @raincoffeeandfandoms @kishie8 @zablife @alexandra-001 @dearshelby @alexizodd @helen06dreamer @kmc1989 @emotionalcadaver @peakyswritings @peakyltd @bluevenus19

[mlmxreader]

The Outlaw In Front of You | Arthur Morgan x gn!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ arthur morgan x gn!reader (or male, idrc) “Do we have to meet in a dingy motel in the middle of fucking nowhere?” aftermath of smut, like they’re both putting their clothes on when one of you two realize you only meet in hotels/motels - @mockerycrow ❞

: ̗̀➛ It's a moment of curiosity, a moment of wondering "we've always done this, but why?". Nothing else.

: ̗̀➛ swearing, sexual references

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

Drying yourself off with the towel, you hummed as you thought about your relationship with Arthur; for years, you had been together, and although you didn’t mind the secrecy and the sneaking around, you did have to admit - you were kind of curious as to why he always asked you to meet in inns all the time as opposed to in the houses of your friends or at your own home.

You knew it was safe there, as your friends were all… sympathetic, for lack of a better word, when it came to you and Arthur. There was no way that they would tell bounty hunters where he was, and he knew that.

It was just a little curiosity, you didn’t actually mind it so much; a good, warm bed for the night with a hot meal and the man you cared most about in the world beside you - what could possibly be to complain about?

Plus, admittedly, it usually got you away from the small rural village where you worked and lived. It always gave you a change of scenery for a night - or two, if Arthur had found a good enough excuse to be gone from the gang for so long.

But as you left the bathroom and went back into the main bedroom where Arthur was, you paused at the door frame, leaning against it with your arms crossed over your chest; you watched him as he pulled on his trousers, and when he noticed you there, he looked over, and he smiled. 

“You all good?”

You nodded, running your hand over the soft bite mark on your throat absent-mindedly. “You sure did a number on me, cowpoke.”

Arthur laughed softly, blush across his features as he chewed at the inside of his lip. “I didn’t mean t’be so rough…”

“Oh, I know, don’t worry… plus, I like it when you fuck me and mark me,” you hummed, coming to sit beside him. Gently, you kissed his bare shoulder. “Y’know, I’ve been meaning to ask - do we have to meet in a dingy motel in the middle of fucking nowhere?”

He shrugged, taking a moment to look at you and all the marks he had left across your skin. “No, but… it’s nice to get away, ain’t it? Just us?”

You nodded, licking your lips. “I’m not complaining, mind… I like the fact that we can go somewhere.”

Arthur nodded, daring to softly kiss you. “You said about a museum a few miles back… I ain’t gotta go back to camp for a couple days - said I was trackin’ down a lead… if you wanna go, we can.”

“You? In a museum?” You scoffed, raising a brow. “I didn’t think it was your sorta thing.”

“It ain’t,” he admitted with a shrug, handing you your shirt when he noticed the small bumps up and down your arms. “But… you like ‘em, don’t ya?”

“I do, yeah,” you tugged on the shirt between short, soft kisses. “But I don’t wanna drag you along if you ain’t gonna enjoy it.”

“Ah, don’t worry ‘bout me,” he moved so that he could gently lie you on the bed, straddling your waist as he gently ran his thumb down your jaw. “I ain’t that worried - if you’re gonna like it… we can go.”

“Arthur,” you hummed, hooking your arms around his neck as you smiled. “For a son of a bitch, you sure can be a good damn boyfriend, y’know.”

He smiled, daring to steal another kiss. “Do you wanna go?”

“I do,” you whispered. “And to make it up to you, I’ll buy the first round at the saloon?”

“That sounds great,” he admitted softly. “How’d I get so lucky?”

Arthur wasn’t shy about it. He knew he had found the diamond in the rough with you; he knew that he had found someone who was more than willing to go through every risk and precaution there was to be with an outlaw like him, someone who knew what they were getting into and didn’t mind.

You could keep yourself safe, he had seen that much when you had taken on a pack of wolves who were after a local herd of sheep; he didn’t have any doubts that you could have held your own if bounty hunters were to get in your way.

Sure, he still wanted to protect you, but no more so than anyone else in the world wanted to protect their own partners. He knew he could never introduce you to Dutch or Charles or Lenny or Hosea or Abigail, but that wasn’t your fault in the slightest; you couldn’t change something like that, although he was sure you would have tried if you could. 

With you, it wasn’t like with his other partners; you didn’t try to change him at all. You didn’t try and convince him to leave the only family he had ever known, you didn’t try to turn him into a gentleman.

You were content with Arthur the way he was, although you did keep telling him off for shaving, which never failed to make him laugh. You didn’t tell him to change the way he spoke, to try and take away his strong, thick working class accent.

Never once. You didn’t try to tell him that he had to speak “properly”, or that he had to watch how much he swore. The Arthur you had in front of him was the one you were content with, the one you loved. 

You always made that known to him, that you loved him just as he was; you noticed a few times when you were first together that he often tried to make himself into someone different, and since then, you always felt like you had to tell him - you didn’t want him to be somebody else, you didn’t want him to try and act like somebody else.

You wanted Arthur Morgan.

You didn’t want somebody else, you didn’t want an actor, you wanted the outlaw you had fallen in love with.

The outlaw you adored.

[neoncat666]

The suckening ep 7 spoilers

Thoughts but mostly Arthur per usual

Hi I disappeared about talking about Arthur cause I got (still am) hyperfixated on Grizzly's new gnc dnd baddie please go watch Shadows Over Welde

Anyways can we talk about how Arthur is fucking gone again 😭😭😭 like the whole episode was fucking insane to me and I soooo genuinely hate Edward Twilight with a burning passion oh my god I have always hated that bitch and I think started like lowket disassociating during his scenes cause he made me that uncomfortable 😭

But yeah Arthur is now flying back to England,,,, the note he left for the boys kinda hurts and especially after Shilo had been wanting, asking to be there with Arthur because he wants to help him the same way he's help the twins. It's gotta be insane emotions swirling up. I just wonder how long it really is gonna take and what he's gonna be up to. I also wonder if he has any other contacts there or if he's gonna have to face any dangers even more alone than usual. Or if Magnus is somehow there again lol

I also wonder what Arthur is gonna feel when he gets back and the twins have literally intertwined themselves into the plans of some vampires that wanna play God. It's just. We're in for another insane episode for ep 8

[adhd-merlin]

merlin S1 rewatch: episode 9

let’s move on to ep 1x09 because I need to get on. with my life. I already re-watched this ep months ago and I can’t be arsed to do it again so I’m going to use screencaps and perhaps the transcript to refresh my memory.

kilgharrah warning merlin that excalibur MUST NOT be wielded by anyone but arthur, and merlin handing the sword to uther literally the next morning is so funny to me. it's kind of the same thing that happens with the cup of life, when iseldir tells merlin “hey this is important so don’t lose it okay?” and five minutes later we see the cup rolling down a hill. I love consistent characterisation. please don’t give this boy anything important for safekeeping he has enough on his plate already!!

I think Arthur’s coronet looks a bit dumb but still it’s nothing compared to the horrendous Burger King crown he'll wear as king. why did uther get such a prettier crown. why couldn't arthur just wear his father's crown. so many questions

why did they name the undead knight tristan, was he supposed to be the tristan? I think he was. I think their take on tristan and isolde in S4 was so disappointing btw. anyway moving on

Merlin: Gaius have you seen that knight’s crest before? Gaius: No, I don’t think so. I didn’t see it clearly. Actually I’m not even sure I saw a knight. Perhaps it was a trick of the light or a collective hallucination

Sir Owain: I don’t need luck Arthur: oh fuck he’s going to die

Arthur’s face after Uther holds him back and someone else picks up the undead knight’s gauntlet. so much self-sacrificing acts of bravery and NONE of them done by him. wrong and upsetting

S1 Arthur I'm not sure how to tell you this so I'll just say it. your haircut looks dangerously close to a mullet

Merlin: maybe arson can fix this

Nimueh telling Uther she was his friend!!! fuck season 6 I want a Merlin prequel

he’s a precious baby. he’s shmol. only tiny

gwen doing her whole “you know I'd grant you anything merlin… I mean, not anything! haha” meanwhile merlin is too worried about keeping arthur alive to notice. GIRL HE'S BUSY

WHY. who stands like this

he holds this stupid pose the entire time morgana is talking to him. imagine begging someone not to commit suicide while they brood and look out of the window like a sullen byronic hero. I would have pushed him out of the window. drama ass bitch

this is the second nighttime encounter between uther and gaius in this episode. uther saying goodbye to gaius before going to fight in arthur’s place. toxic yaoi. is this anything

YOU KNOW NOTHING YOU STUPID CHILD. I love that Kilgharrah is a hater and a bitch. to be fair to him he spent 20 years in solitary confinement so he's earned it

gaius drugging arthur then gently helping him into his bed is hilarious. he’s so good at lying and drugging people. big fan of gaius using his evil talents for the greater good, or just to have a laugh sometimes which is equally valid

what a fine blade you have there… it would be a shame if something were to happen to it

he’s wearing silver bracelets!! plural!!

[Enter Arthur, visibly furious]

Gaius [gathering his things]: I've just remembered I've left something on the stove. I must go right now immediately

Arthur [while Gaius scurries away]: YOU HAD GAIUS DRUG ME??

arthur and uther little father and son moment was cute ngl

there are a few more scenes until the end but I don't have much to say about them except that I love gaius and merlin's relationship

Gaius: [stares loudly] Merlin: [pretends not to notice]

[evita-shelby]

Earn Me

Part three

Gif by @bonniebird

Taglist: @jyessaminereads

“Did they replace your blood with ice water in France?” You slapped him and tried to hit him again when he tried to comfort you after you watched Freddie be dragged away flailing and shouting for them not to hurt Ada and his baby.

“It wasn’t me, how many fucking times do I need to tell you before you listen to me.” He drives you back to the little house in the country once you had calmed down enough to demand he take you home.

But you’ll either have to walk there tonight or wait till morning.

Car was out of petrol, or at least that was what Tommy had said. He was lying, Curly had said the car was full before you left.

“Then who could’ve been? You know Freddie’s neighbors wouldn’t hurt him, no one is as heartless to call the police on a man who came to meet his new born son.” You indulged him.

“There’s a rat. Someone is working for Campbell. Once is chance, second time’s coincidence, third time is a pattern. It’s someone at the Pub, has to be.” He doesn’t look at her, looks ahead as if he’s looking at a conspiracy map.

“Its not Arthur, not Harry and not any of your men. They’d cut their tongue out before betraying you.” You point out.

Oh great, he’s made you believe him.

Its on the tip of your tongue. Like an unpleasant aftertaste.

If you say it, he’ll just think you’re being clouded by your loathing of her.

“Grace.” You feel immense relief to hear him come to the obvious conclusion.

“I know you’re dying to say it, love. Out with it.” He knows you too well.

“I told you so, but did you believe me? No, you fucking didn’t!” you’d known she was trouble the moment you saw her make eyes at your man. “Thomas fucking Shelby getting screwed over by a lying barmaid who thinks she’s the next Mistinguett.”

You laugh, you laugh at the man who ruined his chance at happiness with you for a pretty lump of fool’s gold.

His family hates him, his gang no longer trusts him and all because he wanted to fuck that lying bitch from Galway.

And he sits there and takes it like he always does. He takes a cigarette and light’s it up. The only sign that your mockery has hurt him.

You feel bad, deep down you do, but he ruined things first and you aren’t going to make things easier for him.

But you’d get revenge for Ada, for yourself, while he earns your forgiveness.

And you can’t do that hiding away in the country.

The next day, you show up at the pub wearing that ring he gave you.

“Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?” he asked wanting to kiss you and you pulling away with a smirk.

“Not yet.”

[leclerc-s]

paint the town red - part three

FERRARI IS BACK BABY!

series masterlist

peter parker added 8 people

peter parker anyone have oscar piastri's number? this is for research. ALSO, CAN WE BRING BACK THE BLACK FIRE PROOFS??

carlos sainz you're a strange child.

harley keener that's what i've been saying since we met.

bianca stark-potts peter, let it go.

tony stark i don't know if it's still a joke or if you're being serious about it.

peter parker it isn't for me, it's for ned.

bianca stark-potts BULLSHIT!!

peter parker i'm in love with him, mj understands (i think)

arthur leclerc i too am in love with oscar piastri, we kissed one time. charles leclerc it was for a video, and you didn't actually kiss. arthur leclerc but i wanted too.

peter parker but think about it, i get oscar to fall madly in love with me, i take the competition out at the same time.

carlos sainz you think oscar is the only competition we have?

peter parker well no, i can send the avengers after the rest. like what’s max verstappen gonna do against black widow? or lewis hamilton against bucky barnes?

ollie bearman right i forget you people know the avengers

tony stark i am the avengers

arthur leclerc no, you’re iron man. the avengers are the entire team.

peter parker realistically speaking the only one able to take an avenger on would be toto, and i think he could only take on rocket or groot.

arthur leclerc the fucking raccoon?

peter parker he gets defensive when you call him a raccoon.

bianca stark-potts right, who gave him coffee? he only brings this type of shit up when he's had sugar.

charles leclerc it was an accident…i did not know he would get like this. and he made those eyes!

tony stark he does that a lot.

arthur leclerc one could say it was an inchident?

charles leclerc ARTHUR I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL YOU harley keener THIS IS GOLD!! I'VE HIT THE GOLD MINE!! ARTHUR LECLERC YOUR HAND IN MARRIAGE NOW!!

harley keener fucking snitch, parker

bianca stark-potts peter had coffee, well if what charles drinks is even coffee. it's pure sugar.

harley keener facts.

natasha romanoff again, aren't you people supposed to be working?

harley keener considering seb and tony are busy scolding peter and charles for the coffee thing, we're good for now. also, carlos left to pick up our lunch it was his turn today.

steve rogers peter drank coffee? i thought that was banned at the paddock??

bianca stark-potts it was, but charles wasn't here the day of the wall-climbing incident. therefore he didn’t know what would happen

bucky barnes did he not know peter was spider-man?

harley keener he did because we told him, carlos, and seb first. however, we never went over the rules

sam wilson i guess it’s time to break out the peter parker handbook again

tony stark aren't you two supposed to be working? focusing on the upcoming race?

bianca stark-potts i'm trying to mass send the peter parker handbook to everyone.

harley keener i'm currently watching old C2 videos.

sam wilson lord help all the fans who are counting on you two idiots to deliver a decent car

bianca stark-potts WE BUILT A FUCKING ROCKET SHIP SAMUEL!

BAHRAIN 2024

scuderiaferrari CHARLES LECLERC P1! CARLOS SAINZ P2! IT'S A FERRARI 1-2 IN BAHRAIN MOTHER FUCKERS!! THAT'S HOW YOU KICK OFF A SEASON!! CONGRATS TO SIR LEWIS HAMILTON FOR HIS P3!!

tagged: charles_leclerc, carlossainz55, lewishamilton

view all comments

username NEVER BACK DOWN NEVER WHAT?

↳ username NEVER GIVE UP!!

username I CAN FORZA FERRARI SEMPRE AGAIN BITCHES!!

harleykeener LET'S FUCKING GO!!

↳ samwilson i never doubted you guys for a second

↳ biancastark_potts lies. slander. you said we couldn't do it.

username IS THIS WHAT RED BULL FANS FELT AFTER EVERY WIN??

↳ username you guys got luck max had a breaking issue. he ended up in 4th but next week is our week.

↳ username as a longtime tifosi, i've heard that one before

↳ username however, wishing you guys the best of luck next week.

biancastark_potts and harleykeener posted new stories

ferrari 1-2 here in bahrain! ferrari is back baby!

the only way to kick off a season is with a 1-2!

SAUDI ARABIA 2024

taglist: @celesteblack08 @be-your-coffee-pot @evans-dejong @elliegrey2803 @bingewatche @arkhammaid @sunflower-golden-vol6 @lorarri @melanier7 @ironspdy @mypage-myfandoms @vellicora @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive @enchantedthoughts @stopeatread @hobiismyhopeu @lilsiz @alessioayla @niniluvsainz @au-ghosttype @fulla02 @cowboylikemets1989 @six-call @embrosegraves @justtprachisblog

strikethrough means i couldn't tag you

¡leclerc-s speaks! this is what i wish the 2024 season would look like for ferrari but who knows if we'll ever get that. on the brightside only two more races left with the sf-23 and then we can finally throw that shitbox in the trash can, where it belongs. (note: the drivers on the top tweet are as follows: lando, esteban, max, and george.)

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[kayhi808]

Perfect Match -16

You don't know when you lost consciousness, but you're woken up to soft tapping on your arm. Mike is trying hard not to jar your body, because he knows you're in pain. Even the slightest movement triggers a pounding in your head & sets your chest on fire. "Y/N? Y/N? I did it. I did exactly what you told me to do," Mike whispers.

You can barely open your eyes, "Mike?"

"Yea, Bill will be here soon. He'll come for you here. Your dad made the follow-up call and they left to meet up with your grandfather. He has no idea Bill will know it's a trap. It'll be easier to break in with most of the guys gone."

"You did good. Real good." Speaking those few words bring on a coughing fit. The pain alone makes you see stars, but the amount of blood that comes up scares you.

"Y/N??" Mike kneels down next to you. "Your...there's blood." You start to softly cry. You feel it. Internal bleeding. This just confirms it.

The door opens behind Mike, "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Get your hands off me! You pervert!" You try to muster up as much anger as you can. Mike has a look of shock & fear.

He turns to see the leer on Arthur's face and he catches on. Getting to his feet, "Shut the fuck up! Don't flatter yourself. You look like shit!" He pulls it off with just a slight waver in his voice.

"Look at you, little gangster. I ain't stopping you. Go ahead." Arthur walks further into the room.

"No way. I'm not messing with her while you watch, you sick fuck!""

Shoving Mike back, "Then get outta my way so I can have some fun."

"Dude, I'm not sure we should be doing this. Paulo gave us clear instructions. We aren't supposed to touch her. Him and Mr. Luciano will be back soon."

"Fuck them. She killed my brother!" Arthur takes out a knife & pulls your body closer to him. You scream in pain, thanking the darkness that begins to overtake you. You don't want to be conscious for what Arthur has in mind. But with a sharp slap cross the cheek, it drags you back to the present, "Don't pass out yet, bitch. I have big plans for you."

*****

Micro stayed behind to coordinate the attack on the house and to monitor the feeds to keep Billy & the team safe. Using the equipment Micro had, he was able to monitor live feeds from the site. Using the earpieces, Billy reminded everyone of their orders. "We shoot to kill. The only people in that house that doesn't get a bullet is Y/N & Mike. If she says he's innocent, I'll believe her. I can always kill him at a later date if he's lying to me. Understood?"

The house is easily found, the tiara is sitting on a hedge against the house. Billy has Frank & a couple of your grandfather's men with him. Your grandfather insisted on coming along, but agreed to stay with the cars until the house was secure. Micro was able to get old maps to the house, so we had the layout, but he also hacked into government satellite that can use infrared to determine how many people are inside & where. The plan of attack has been memorized. Billy is methodical on his missions.

As they are making their way to the house to get into position, Micro's voice comes over the communication device. "Fuck, Russo. You need to go now! The infrared reading for Y/N shows her temperature is flickering into a dangerously low zone. Plus, there is some asshole towering over her in a position that does not look appropriate."

So much for methodical, Bill rushes the door & kicks it open. Listening to the instructions in their ear, the team trusts Micro to guide them through the house.

Bill gets to your room, the door is open & he enters to see a gangly man being tossed across the room. Mike. Arthur is between your thighs digging through the layers of your wedding dress trying to get at you. Arthur hears Bill enter & picks up his knife. He recognizes immediately who he is & plunges the knife in your abdomen. Your scream matches the one torn from Bill's throat. Bill squeezes the trigger. Even through the red haze of fury clouding Bill's vision, his hand doesn't waver and his aim is true. The bullet leaves the gun & hits precisely in the center of Arthur's forehead.

Bill falls to his knees by your side. "Micro! Get that fucking ambulance in here now! She's dying. Oh, fuck...I can't lose her. She can't die!" Billy wants to touch you, to cradle you so that you know he's there, but not one part of you doesn't look damaged. Bill lets the others secure the room & the house & he lays on the floor curled up next to you, so you know he's there. That he came for you. He traces his fingertips against parts of your skin that isn't bruised or bloody. "Angel, I love you. Please don't leave me." he whispers into your ear before pressing his lips to your cold, cracked lips.

His eyes trail to the knife sticking out of you and he want to pull it out, but he knows he can't or you'll bleed out faster. His tears fall on your face as he watches helplessly as your breathing slows to a stop.

Before he can register what's happening, Frank has his arms wrapped around Billy, pulling him away. The paramedics arrived and immediately start working on you. They are able to stabilize you enough to move you. "We need to get her to the hospital straight away. We also need to contact her next of kin, as they will probably need permission for surgery."

"I'm her fiance. Today should have been our wedding day. Can I come in the ambulance, please?" Billy asks, unable to hide the desperation in his voice.

"Of course. I'm sorry to hear that, but unfortunately you are not legally her next of kin. What about her parents?"

Billy didn't even realize your grandfather was in the room. "They are not available or able to give consent. I am her grandfather. I have document proving I am her legal next of kin. I can get you it if needed." Billy looks at him in confusion, but with a subtle shake of his head, Billy remains silent, watching Enzo text his on-call forger. Bill knew that whatever documents needed will no doubt be at the hospital before they get there.

You're loaded on to the ambulance and Bill is quick to follow, but quickly remembers something. "Frank, get Mike over & look after him! Make sure no harm comes to him. Bring him to the hospital, ok?" Frank nods in confirmation before heading back towards the house to find him.

Bill straps himself into the ambulance, holding your hand. He spends the whole trip talking to you, telling you all about what you should have been doing right now. You both would be married, but not to worry because as soon as you're the slightest bit better, he'll be marrying his girl. That you needed to get better because there's a kitten named Ginger that needed you. That he needed you. It was like Billy had moved through life in black and white. Until he met You You brought color to his world. He doesn't want to go through it without you.

@e-dubbc11 @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @idaofinfinity @jvanilly

@snowkestrel @pequodprincessa @danzer8705 @aoi-targaryen

[21witnokidz]

IN THE GHETTO

Chapter 22

Warning: Smut

“I’m ready to get outta this damn snow!” You complained.

“There’s a lot of things I can do dear girl, but changing the weather is not one of them” Dutch explained.

You could hear Abigail begging Arthur to go and look for John.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Micah killed him before he got back here” you half joked.

“You got a problem with me girl?” Micah threatened.

“Yea I do-“

“Well no one gives two shits about you bitchin’ and moanin’ about whatever it is you bitch and moan about behind my back”

“You watch your damn mouth!” Arthur growled.

“Woah there cowpoke. Just because you’re fucking her don’t mean you gotta get aggressive”

“The nerve of all three of you!” Hosea yelled. “One of our members are stuck out there and we need to bring them back. Y/n and Arthur you go with Javier to retrieve John. Micah sit down and leave everyone alone”

“Hey to be fair that bitch came at me first. If she never said anything we wouldn’t have a problem” Micah put his hands up.

You went to lung at him but Arthur held you back and dragged you outside with Javier behind.

“Some morning huh?” He chuckled.

“Exactly! It’s literally 7 in the morning! The day just started and he’s already starting shit”

-

“This way. Last I know, John was headed up the river” Javier lead.

You guys made it up a mountain and started calling for him.

Not long after you found John on a ledge.

“Little John” you greeted him.

“Look can you just make fun of me later so we can get the hell outta here?”

You and Javier helped John onto Arthur’s shoulder and walked to the horses.

From the corner of your eyes you could notice a pack of wolves coming down the mountain.

“I got it” you took out your shotgun and shot the wolves while the boys got John on a horse.

“Y’know John we ought a put a whistle on you for whenever you get lost from the gang” you joke.

“Or when you try to run away again” Arthur includes.

“Y’all will never let me live that down will you?”

“It was a dick move John”

“And I apologized for it. Besides didn’t you say you two would work on each other?” John referred to you and Arthur working on your relationship.

“Just go to sleep Marston”

Blackwater

“Josiah Trelawny” you greeted Trelwany who was laying on his stomach looking at the prison in front of him. A few of us were in blackwater now ready to get Sean back.

“Ike skelding’s boys are moving him to a camp nearby”

You all came up with a plan to just go to the camp and get Sean while Josiah makes a distraction.

“How’s the family Josiah?” Arthur asked.

“Not too bad. What about you? We’re around the same age yet you’re not even married”

“Well I guess there’s a time for everything”

Josiah went down to make his distraction while you, Arthur and Javier went up the mountain taking out the guards.

Finally you got to Sean Maguire. You cut him loose and untied his hands.

“Miss y/n. Still as pretty as a picture”

“Oh don’t let Molly hear you say that”

“But it’s true. Or are you just saying that because Charles is here and you don’t want to make him jealous” Sean was aware of your past relationship because the girls in the gang love to gossip “was it Charles or Arthur? I always get them mixed up”

“Sean there’s nothing that means more to me than this gang. It’s the realest thing to me. I would kill for it and I would happily die for it” Arthur put his hand on the young man’s shoulder “but I would’ve left you here to rot if Charles hadn’t stopped me”

“I don’t believe a word of that”

Then Sean just went on about how Arthur was a good man. Of course Arthur denied it. You hated how Arthur would talk to himself sometimes it really made you upset because of how much he meant to you.

“Alright you all go on back to camp. Me and y/n will catch up” Arthur sent them.

“Come on Arthur what are we doing harboring an O’Driscoll?” You demanded to know why Arthur had bring back an O’Driscoll boy named Kieran Duffy “and to put more salt in the wound, our newest girl hates O’Driscolls”

“Well that’s great maybe you and her can play pin the donkey with him”

“Pin the donkey?”

“Yea. Y’know cause he’s Irish and you can pin him with a knife- oh forget it”

“No Arthur it was just a bad pun. If you can even call it that”

“It wasn’t bad you just need everything to be explained to you”

Back at camp

Sean was finally back and everything was the same again. He was telling some stupid joke that didn’t even make sense but you didn’t care. Sean was naturally funny and that’s why you enjoyed having him around.

Everyone was having a good time and you saw Javier sitting at a table writing something.

“What’s that Javier?”

“Nothing!”

You looked and saw a quick glance of his paper. All the words were written in Spanish but you saw Tilly’s name a few times.

“Are you writing about Tilly”

“Hey” he looked around “let’s just keep this between us ok?”

“Oh my god you’re writing poetry? I never knew you were sweet on her”

“No one can know. It’s already embarrassing enough”

“Let me help you. I’ll go tell her to give you a chance right now”

“No!” He grabbed your arm “you can’t say anything especially to her. Promise me”

“Ok fine” you stuck your pinky out.

“I don’t get it what’s with the pinky?”

“You’re supposed to link yours with mine. To seal a promise”

“Must be an American thing” he shrugged and linked his pinky with yours.

“But I won’t forget about this. We’ll talk later”

You got up to look for Arthur. You haven’t seen him the whole night. You just found him in his cot writing in his journal as usual.

Before the Blackwater incident, Mary-Beth had suggested Arthur try journaling since he didn’t like talking about his problems he could just write them down.

“Arthur” you made your presence known.

“Hey I’m just finishing up” you looked to see him drawing a picture of a wolf. Identical to the one we saw on the mountain.

“I don’t know how you’re so good at this”

“Me neither. But it’s really calming” he closed his book and set it aside.

“You really think we could make it back to blackwater and get that money?”

“Hell no. But lord knows Dutch won’t dare forget about it. I just wish I could’ve saved a little some of it for the gang”

“It’s not just your fault we were all there”

“No I should’ve done something. I don’t know… nowadays I just kinda feel useless. You know how back in the day I used to be this gang’s most useful asset. Now I’m like a firefighter helping people get outta mess”

“It’s not like that. People just trust you is all”

“You even heard Josiah. I ain’t married yet. Do you think.. maybe we’ve been wasting our lives with this?” He said referring to the gang.

“No. I mean we’re all a family and we have each other. You don’t have to marry people to live your life. And that’s coming from a woman”

“There’s just this clock inside me that’s been ticking ever since. Like I need to discover something soon”

You stopped him and kissed him on the lips.

He looked at you in the eyes and you stared back.

He grabbed your jaw and kissed you this time.

“I could feel a clock ticking too. I’m done beating around the bush with you Arthur”

You slammed your lips on his again.

“Let’s go someplace else”

He led you into the forest away from the party.

You walked to a tree and leaned your back against it. Arthur stared at you like you were his meal and walked slowly towards you.

He grabbed your hips and pulled them to his and he began softly kissing your neck.

“I missed this. I missed you so much”

He pulled took off his jacket and laid it on the floor for you to lay on. He climbed on top of you and kissed you once again and grabbed your hand.

“I don’t want you to think about Charles” he whispered from the crook of your neck.

“What?”

“When I’m making love to you. I want you to forget how Charles ever did it”

“Me and Charles never had sex”he lifted his head to look at you “you’re the only man who’s ever touched me Arthur”

This made Arthur incredibly happy. He would literally be kept up at night thinking about the chance that Charles probably had you but he didn’t. “Me and Mary never did it either” he explained.

“I’m so glad”

You kissed him again and he pulled your dress up and you ran your fingers through his hair.

He unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants just a bit to release his already growing member.

He aligned himself with you and you squeezed his hand. He pushed himself in and you both moaned at the same time.

“Oh Arthur I-“

Arthur couldn’t get his own words out neither. It’s been too long without each other.

Your body automatically knew how to respond to his. It’s like everything about him was engraved into your genetic code or something. His smell was everywhere. The noises he made filled your ears. The way he touched you sent shivers down your spine and all over.

He continued thrusting into your hot pussy and he finally was able to construct a conceivable phrase.

“I love you y/n. I really love you”

“I lov- I-“ you couldn’t even get it out before your orgasm came crashing down on you.

Arthur was not far behind.

You two were just laying there catching your breaths. He laid his forehead on yours and closed his eyes with his dick still deep inside of you. Cum spilling out of your pussy you didn’t care.

“Hey when was the last time you came before me?”

Your joke caused y’all to laugh and Arthur pulled you on top of him.

“Why are we such fools?” He whispered.

“We were just young”

“We’re you really in love with me back then?”

You took your head off his chest and looked at him.

“I loved you ever since that day we spent at the camp alone. I never stopped since then”

“I loved you ever since I saw you dance in that bar” you smacked his chest. “What I’m being honest”

“Let’s just stop fooling around and making ourselves miserable”

Arthur kissed your forehead again and began to sit up.

“I really don’t want the rest teasing us when we get back. Let’s hurry now”

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Blood and sand - Chapter Sixteen

In the weeks since Luke had come here, this number of onlookers had never come to watch, and those who did were clearly between shifts—often drunk, always rowdy. Not these people. Not today.

>>>>READ ON AO3 OR BELOW<<<<

----------

Chapter Sixteen: John

At breakfast, the King declared all current remaining warriors “finalists.” There would be no wagons of new combatants today.

“Battle Royale,” announced Dennis, who seemed to know something was going on, and eyed Luke’s little group suspiciously. “And as it’s a true fight to the end, you’ll be facing the King’s champion.” For all the talk about Charlie Dowd, Luke had not yet seen him. Now, he would.

Luke knew exactly what this was: he was being given a shot. One shot to make this compromise work. He’d never felt so determined in his life.

“Battle Royale,” said John, low. “Athur, stick with me.”

“I can do this,” Arthur said, slamming his fork down and baring his teeth.

“We will do this,” John growled.

“I can help,” Arthur snapped.

“You will,” said John. “By helping Luke.”

Arthur didn’t want to help Luke. He didn’t have to verbalize it. “I can do more than that!”

“Not now, you can’t,” John growled. “Fucking fill your role.”

Arthur clenched his fists.

“We’re almost done,” said Luke, who didn’t know how to fix this, who had no idea how to calm them down. “It’ll work.”

“Dowd,” Arthur said, low.

“He’ll be free. We all will,” said Luke, who for once in his life, lied. They would be free. He licked his lips. “Take Parker with you.”

Arthur stiffened. “What?”

“If something happens to me,” said Luke.

“If something happens to you,” said John, “Parker won’t—”

“Be dead anymore,” Arthur broke in. “Yes. I know.” His voice was rough.

John growled.

Arthur bared his teeth again. “This is what’s happening. Deal with it!” he hissed.

John growled again. “A life-debt is dangerous.”

“This will satisfy requirements,” said Luke, drawing the phrase from some long-past overheard adult conversation. “I’m certain.”

Arthur snorted, then suddenly laughed. “Sure,” he said. “All right. Satisfy requirements. All right.”

The warning trumpet sounded, loud and blatting.

Luke stood and immediately had to brace on the table. His legs felt weak, his knees useless. It was fear, plain and simple. Nothing was physically wrong.

This would work because it had to. That was all. “Come on.” He headed for the door.

#

The arena was different today.

Longer, somehow, though not wider; the sand was pristine, white, gleaming, casting tiny sparkles back at the double suns. The stands were, for once, occupied, if not packed; all the guests were there, but also the entire staff of this place, from nurses to cooks, and they didn’t quite behave as sports fans might be expected. They were largely silent, muttering, and watching very hard.

In the weeks since Luke had come here, this number of onlookers had never come to watch, and those who did were clearly between shifts—often drunk, always rowdy. Not these people. Not today.

Whatever was going on might genuinely be a one-off. This was it. Their one chance.

Luke stayed at the back with his new partners. “Right. Everyone know their timing?”

“Yes,” said John.

“Yes,” said Arthur a moment later.

“You sure you can do this?” said John.

Luke hesitated. “I can get most of them,” he said. “I don’t know if I can get everyone, but I can get a lot. Then…”

“We’ll take care of the rest,” Arthur said grimly.

“And then we’re making our wish,” said John.

“Don’t you try to be a bitch about this,” said Arthur.

Luke had to trust them to be grownups. “Get ready.”

“Fuck me, there he is,” said John.

Luke peered. At the far, far end of the arena, guarding the only exit door, stood a nude man. He was muscled; tattooed runes circled his biceps, reached around his calves, covered his stomach. He carried two enormous, spiked maces, and he wore a mask—smooth and white like Hastur’s, mouthless. Two black eye-holes stared at them.

“What?” whispered Arthur. "He’s here? How does he look? Is he okay?”

“He’s… I don’t know,” said John. “He’s wearing that pallid mask.”

“Fuck,” said Arthur, low. “Luke, he’s going to see what you’re doing.”

“What I’m doing?”

“Casting magic. We’re going to have to be very careful about this.”

“Hey,” said John. “That’s an idea. I wonder if you could see with the mask on now.”

“No,” said Arthur.

“But Arthur—”

“No. I might be about to die, and I won’t with that fucking thing on my face.”

John’s many limbs sagged a little, as if Arthur's hatred of the mask—the handiwork of the King—hurt John personally.

Hastur had assumed John wanted nothing to do with him, but that wasn’t the vibe at all. John had reacted badly to news that Hastur wanted to die, too, though he hadn’t exactly gone running to prevent it. This was complicated.

The second trumpet blasted, and the horde attacked itself. Attacked itself (Luke couldn’t help thinking) the way a really sick body did, going after its own cells with its own defense systems. Some held back, like Arthur and John and Luke, waiting to see who was left standing, but most did not.

A few, however, did make a run for that exit. They didn’t last long.

Luke hadn’t expected Dowd to be so fast. His bare feet dug into the sand as if he’d been born to it, and he swung his maces so quickly they were black blurs.

Luke gasped, pressed back against the wall.

Blood, brains, bone spattered the sand, the arena. Dowd calmed again, waiting, stationed in front of that door.

John grunted.

“What?” said Arthur.

“He moves like a monster,” John mumbled. “I don’t know how he’s been enhanced, but he has. Arthur… we have to do Luke’s plan. I don’t see how we can beat him without killing him.”

“We were already going to do it,” Arthur snapped.

Without warning, the horns-all-over guy—the one with multiple heads who had exploded fake Dennis—suddenly turned and ran at them.

“Watch it!” John bellowed. Arthur and John may not share a body anymore, but they moved as one, even though Arthur couldn’t see. Arthur grabbed Luke and pulled him back, and John moved in the way, meeting the oncoming charge with so much power that he grabbed, hefted, and slammed the enemy down with a bone-aching crack.

The attacker lay still.

Luke looked. Not dead. Very thoroughly concussed. Luke resisted the urge to heal, to help; he had to save every drop of everything he had for the key moment. Still, it was hard to resist.

The eerily quiet stands, the intensity of Hastur’s presence, the weirdness of Dowd’s presence—all of it combined to make insanity, to add a strange desperation to everyone there, as if… of course. Luke hadn’t been the only person to figure out that new people kept being brought in, and that this was maybe the only chance to actually win that wish. Desperation didn’t cover this mood, didn’t even come close. These beings were fighting for so much more than their lives today. They fought for that one wish.

Above the arena, above Dowd, the King in Yellow loomed, his robe billowing, brighter than both suns.

Luke steeled himself. “Steady.”

“Fuck!” said John, grabbing Luke, grabbing Arthur (“Hey!”), and taking off at a run.

The spell hit where they’d been, sizzling the white sand gray, hissing and spitting.

Luke cried out.

“What the fuck, John?” Arthur cried, tucked under numerous arms.

“Curses,” said John. “Someone’s throwing them.”

“How-ma-ny-peo-ple-are-left?” Luke said, voice unsteady as he bounced with every step.

“Too many,” snarled John, and kept moving.

Held as he was, Luke couldn’t see; he was facing the sand. The breath kept leaving him as John leaped and landed, and bodies—injured, screaming, unconscious—filled the space around John’s tentacle-feet.

Luke resisted. Closed his eyes tightly. Resisted the urge to heal.

“Almost there,” muttered John, and then suddenly dropped them both into the sand. Luke shouted as something launched over him, something John grabbed and deflected and rolled away with, snarling.

Arthur reached for Luke, and Luke grabbed him. “Stay down!” Arthur snapped, and pulled Luke close enough to shield him.

“We have to get closer to the front!” Luke shouted, closing his eyes again as booted feet spat sand in their direction in passing.

Arthur began crawling, keeping low, holding Luke to his chest.

“Left!” Luke shouted, and Arthur dodged. A hammer came down where they’d been, spraying more sand.

John came out of nowhere and ate the hammer-guy.

Ate him. Just grabbed with many limbs, held him in the air, and then… John’s hood fell back. He had a white mask like Hastur’s, exactly the same, except chipped, and beneath it opened a maw that would haunt Luke’s dreams for years to come. John bit the guy in half. Gulp.

Arthur was moving again.

Luke’s breath felt high and wheezy. Never again, he’d never fight again—

“Dowd!” warned John, and Arthur suddenly changed direction.

Luke stared up to see Charlie Dowd coming for them. His eyes behind his mask were insane, wide, bloodshot. He didn’t seem aware of his nudity, or much else, except that Arthur had come too close to the door.

There was no time left. Luke used his spell.

It was like lifting an elephant, like holding back a cargo ship with will alone, like controlling a vast and terrible storm with his hands. It reached into every single body on the arena floor, into their brains, into their circulation. Searching and finding a universal need for oxygen, though it varied; major arteries weren’t all in the same places, and oxygen requirements varied by species.

But he didn’t need specifics. He knew how to increase oxygen to the brain, to ensure extra help. So now, he cut it off.

It took precious seconds. Everything seemed to slow down, or maybe he was just skipping moments, tied to his heart beat. Blink: everyone frozen, blood drops hovering in the air. Blink: bodies falling, eyes rolled back, faces turning bad colors. Blink: the entire arena of warriors was down, scattered, gasping, most already unconscious.

They had a little air. Luke would not kill unnecessarily. And it hadn't been precise. Arthur was unconscious, too, because Luke hadn't been able to aim it, and fuck a grown man was heavier than Luke realized.

John was still conscious. That had been a gamble; he was a god, and he may breathe, but he could resist this human spell. Unfortunately, thanks to Hastur, so could Charlie Dowd.

Luke wriggled, shifted, dug his heels into the sand and struggled out from under Arthur Lester (who was snoring again). His head felt like a thousand little hooks had found it, each one sharp and yanking. He had to keep everyone unconscious. Had to.

John was doing everything in his power to just… stop Dowd from doing more damage. Luke tried to look, and his gaze and his power slid off; whatever protections Dowd had, Luke could not take him down. But looking like that, Luke could see tendrils, dark gold magic, reaching down from the King. There was no quarter given. They had to win this, for real.

Dowd got his arm loose again and swung the mace.

John took the hit, then took the mace.

Dowd growled like an animal and fully focused on John, and Luke couldn’t see what he did, but ichor flew. John bellowed in pain.

Luke stood, his head a thousand pounds, and walked toward them.

John roared. In the mostly asleep arena, it rumbled, rattled, shocked. Dowd screeched like some kind of ancient dinosaur.

Those tendrils—

Luke had one shot, and he took it. He gathered himself, ran, and leaped.

John startled badly as Luke climbed him, using those many uncountable limbs as hand and footholds, over John’s asymmetrical shoulder, until he came face-to-face with Charlie Dowd.

Luke was quick. He’d always been quick.

Dowd was quick, and wrenched his other arm free and raised his mace.

Luke was quicker, and pulled off Dowd’s mask.

Under it, Dowd was pale, gray, ragged. His lips were cracked, and his nose had been broken and not set right. His eyes—wide and insane, then wide and horrified—looked like they belonged to a man who hadn’t slept in a year.

Luke hit him with the spell.

Dowd went down like a chump, eyes rolled back.

John panted, shaking.

“Down,” hissed Luke. “They’re stirring. Get down, damn it!”

John hesitated. Looked toward Arthur.

“Down!” said Luke.

John sighed. “Don’t fuck it up,” he muttered, plucked Luke off, placed him on the sand, and then dramatically and with much flailing flopped onto his back.

And just like that Luke was the last one standing.

The arena broke into howls.

Luke turned, panting, inundated by a thousand thousand voices, and looking directly at the King in Yellow, held the mask up over his head.

[chapter seventeen] [masterpost]