#m michael thomas

[unravellingsilencehq]

“Oh, Merlin, tell me, does THE SERVANT get what he deserves?” He is in THE DEATH EATERS & OPEN to finding out.“

— he walks through the world as ;

name → cristiano parkinson pronouns → he/him identification → cis-male year of birth → september 1955 - september 1956 face claim → henry zaga blood status → pure-blood sexual orientation → up to applicant occupation → manager of the grave affair in knockturn alley future information → husband of valeria bulstrode, father of pansy parkinson,

— he is best described as ;

The LIFE and SOUL of the PARTY; he is the LIPSTICK STAINED COLLAR after a night of DEBAUTRY & the WHISKEY infused KISS in a DARK CORNER. He is the STEADY HAND held on a BARE THIGH and the SULTRY WINK of a SECRET only shared between two. He smells like MONEY, DESTRUCTION and INFLUENCE; a HANDSOME CREATURE intent on a BURNT world for AMUSEMENT so he can DANCE on the ASHES.

— his story starts with ;

tw: death

An illicit affair, Cristiano Parkinson is the dance with danger most women lust to trifle with. Always the last to leave the party and ensure whoever is left accompanies him home. The youngest of twins, Cristiano and his sister ANDRESSA PARKINSON [sibling] have always seemed ready for society. Always on the lips of those around them, sometimes for all the wrong reasons, Cristiano in particular was built for the gossip pages and his escapades have often been of interest to the papers. From an early age, Cristiano knew that he, like his sister, was expected to further this line, but Cristiano planned on doing so using his boyish charm rather than intelligent conversation. To his mother and father, Cristiano and his sister were the perfect children ready to make their way in the world and stamp their mark. Sorted into Ravenclaw, Cristiano was surprised to be sorted separately from his sister, though he secretly was excited by the prospect of making his own mark without her careful gaze. 

Joining the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, he quickly befriended fellow pure-blood elite ELEZAR SMITH [close friend], MICHAEL THOMAS [close friend], HARRISON BAGNOLD [close friend] and KALEB JOHNSON [close friend]. Along with Hufflepuff beater and misfit THORFINN ROWLE [best friend], they formed a little boys club famous for scoring in the game and with all of the girls, much to his sister’s embarrassment. To Cristiano this stage life was for living and he could circulate amongst the stiffness of The Twenty-Eight when he was looking to find a wife. He garnered a reputation at school for not being able to hold down a partner for very long due to a wandering eye, and typically made enemies of the women he left in his wake. RITA SKEETER [adversary/former partner] in particular has never been his biggest fan when he cheated on her, having made it somewhat of a personal mission to warn the women of Hogwarts about his philandering ways. 

In his heart, Cristiano knew he was better than everyone else due to who his family was and truly believed that no witch would ever be able to hold his gaze. That was until he got to know his sister’s rival GENEVIEVE AVERY [former partner]. It was widely known amongst his year group that Genevive was one of the most beautiful witches in his year and from a noble family, she was a good match for him. Cristiano was surprised about how much he cared for Genevive, at first she was nothing but a status symbol to him, but after a while it was worth even angering Andressa over. Graduating from Hogwarts, life looked good for Cristiano Parkinson. Although he was a sought after bachelor there was one woman for him and as he approached his twenty-first birthday he planned to propose to Genevive. When his mother died his world became unbearable. A rare blood curse through his mother’s side had claimed her suddenly and although he and Andressa had watched her waste away, they thought they’d have more time with her than they did. 

He found himself having panic attacks outside bars, partying several nights a week and crying in the shower so the sound of the running water drowned out the noise. The one promising thing in life was his girlfriend but after his family broke the news the Avery family had no money for a marriage contracy, when he felt her begin to slip away he let her go. With his father housebound and grief stricken, Andressa became the head of the family. She assumed all of their assests, bought a flat for them both in the city and considered a way to give his life some meaning. But before she could find it, he found one of his own. KLAUDIE BURKE [partner] was young, fun and naughty. She hated authority, loved to party and was more than happy to be a shoulder to cry on. Although in the Twenty-Eight, she dreamed of being a show girl rather than a pure-blood wife and together they turned up hungover to balls and slinked off to the coat rooms rather than listen to boring conversation. Andressa knew Klaudie wasn’t good for him and so did Cristiano, but she helped drown out the noises of his past and he’d always fallen hard and fast for a bad girl. 

But Klaudie Burke, was the least of his sister’s worries. Someone else had noticed Cristiano pressing self-destruct and was more than happy to help direct the blast. He met BELLATRIX BLACK [romantic liaison] one drunken night in The White Wyvern and was captivated by her. She belonged to a movement she sold him with seductive words and slight touches. She wanted to empower him by shaping a new world order where they were on top. Slowly he was sucked into her rhetoric, letting her tattoo the Dark Mark to his arm, leaving as permanent a mark on his body as she had done on his heart. Bellatrix gave him a reason to clean up his act, though he let his sister believe it was her buying The Grave Affair that gave him purpose. Now the manager of the bar, Christiano spends his time looking for new people to recruit to the movement all under the nose of Andressa. Cristinao has gotten confident in his double life, playing a recovering brother and a devoted but fun boyfriend, whilst also working as a soldier for a very important cause.

A popular drinking hot spot for the wizarding elite and beautiful creatures who frequent the venue, The Grave Affair has been a perfect place to scout people  for the movement. His latest additions are ALECTO CARROW [close friend/colleague] and her twin brother AMYCUS CARROW [close friend/colleague] who have been incredibly helpful with a task delivered straight from their leader. THE DARK LORD [leader] is looking for some objects that he needs to locate immediately, behind the bar Cristiano has done his best to find them or get the best people for the job. Wanting to show Bellatrix he is dedicated, Cristinao has sighted CAIUS BURKE [person of interest], KERVENS BORGIN [person of interest] and IRMA PINCE [person of interest] are as being up to the task, but sadly Irma isn’t quite understanding the gravity of what they need or who it is she’s dealing with. Whilst Borgin and Burke work away, Cristiano has tasked Amycus with finding Irma’s weak spot. After all three heads are always better than none- and it would be such a shame to waste an important talent such as her’s.

— he is a LEVEL 5 WIZARD & readied for war ;

[crowleying]

Tommy's Smile | m! reader

Date: 06.10.2022

Pairing:  Tommy Shelby x m!reader

Reader’s pronouns: he/him

Words: 2.120

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Characters: m!reader, Tommy Shelby, Polly Gray, Ada Shelby, John Shelby, Arthur Shelby, Harry Fenton

Genre: Romance

Length: Oneshot

Warnings: Internalized homophobia, mention of war, mention of injury (nothing descriptive)

Requested: No

Prompts: No

Summary: Polly knows you and Tommy have been in love with each other for years, so she decides to take matters into her hands.

A/N: It's my first time writing for Peaky Blinders and with a male reader. I’m sorry for the requests still waiting in my inbox, my inspiration is all over the place.

English is not my first language so feel free to correct any mistake and I would love to know what you think about it. If you like my works, please like and reblog them. REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I posted a List of prompts, so check it out! Let me know if you would like to be tagged in my works.

IF YOU LIKE MY WORKS, PLEASE REBLOG THEM

Masterlist

Ao3

[ID: a gif of Tommy Shelby smiling. End ID]

After the war, everything had changed. The men that had come back weren't the ones that had left. They were haunted by nightmares; they drank a lot more and smiled a lot less, especially Tommy. He used to smile all the times, so bright every room would light up. Now, however, he rarely ever did. At first, Polly had even thought he wasn't smiling at all, but then she started noticing. The first time it happened was just after she had scolded him in his office. As she was leaving, you walked in and greeted her. She had almost missed the childish, amused smiles you and his nephew had exchanged then, so similar to those you used to share back when you were fifteen and you had managed to do something mischievous. From then on, she kept a close eye on the two of you, but you were too lost in each other to notice.

You had grown together. You would always play together and were joined at the hip since you were little kids. You were like a son to Polly. She and your mother used to joke about the fact that if they called one of you, both of you would appear. Polly was convinced you were two bodies sharing one soul. She was sure of it when you started to fall for each other without even knowing. You were young back then, and she thought you would have time to get your shit together and admit your love to the other, so she didn't say anything.

When Tommy announced his intention to volunteer for the war, she had looked at you, expecting you to join him, and you were already standing, looking at Tommy.

"I'm coming too," you had said, when what you really wanted to say was "I'm coming with you, I'll follow you anywhere, Tommy." The two of you had been so lost in each other's eyes that Polly was sure you didn't even hear when John and Arthur said they would come too. She had prayed for all of you that night and every night and day until the day you came back.

The day you had left, while the women and little Finn hugged the Shelby brothers, Polly had taken you to the side at the train station to ask you to take care of Tommy, and taking care of him you did.

In France, you didn't let anyone come between you. A month in and every officer knew you two weren't to be separated. You would make sure Tommy was eating and would share cigarette after cigarette with him when he couldn't sleep. You still gave him reasons to smile. And you saved his life.

You were shoving him out of the way before even realizing what was happening. You didn't die that day in Tommy's arms, but it did change your life. As you were hit by the bullet aimed at Tommy, he was hit with the realization that life was too short to spend the entirety of it trying to ignore his feelings for you.

He didn't listen to any of the people who told him he couldn't stay by your side the whole time you spent in the hospital. He was finally left alone when John and Arthur convinced one of the officers that he would be of no use on the field if you weren't there by his side.

When you woke up in the middle of the night after the surgery, Tommy was there. And hidden by the dark, he kissed you for the first time.

Keeping your relationship hidden when living in such close quarters with so many people hadn't been easy. Coming home had meant you could finally kiss and hug and fuck. Nobody knew about your relationship, but you didn't mind and you understood why Tommy didn't want anyone to know. You respected that but dreaded the day people would start to get suspicious and he would have to marry some girl to avoid the rumours.

You had no idea someone suspected of your relationship, but Polly noticed it all: smiles, fleeting touches, glances, winks. She never thought she would see his nephew wink or you blush like that. You were Tommy's smile. You clearly made him happy. So she was having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her nephew had yet to make a move on you. It seemed like her intervention was needed.

It was the end of the day. You were sitting on Tommy's desk, laughing at something he had said. He was lounging back in his chair, relaxed as he could only be around you. A cigarette was being passed between the two of you.

Polly barged into the office. You jumped up from your spot and Tommy straightened in his chair.

"Thomas, a word," she demanded, barely acknowledging your presence.

"I'll see you later at the Garrison," you said quickly to Tommy, before disappearing quickly out of the door without even waiting to see him nod.

You were always included in family meetings, and your opinions were held in high consideration, but you didn't want to intrude on Tommy's relationship with his aunt, not when Polly was like that.

Tommy's eyebrows arched as he watched Polly carefully, trying to understand what had gotten in her this time. He slowly killed his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Polly," he started cautiously, but before he could continue, his aunt spoke.

"When are you going to put an end to this foolishness, Thomas?"

Tommy's heart skipped a beat. "What are you talking about, Pol?" he asked, trying to sound more nonchalant than he felt. He leaned forward a bit. His hands gripped the armrests of his chair, bracing for the impact. He knew the moment would come, sooner or later, when he would have to choose between you and his family. But the time was here and he wasn't ready. He would never be.

"Don't play dumb, Thomas, you know what I'm talking about... This," she gestured to intend the relationship between the two of you.

"I don't follow," he said.

He took a cigarette from the case you had given him before the war. It had seen everything you two had gone through. He stroked the cigarette on his lips before setting it between them. The motion always made you weak. He lit it up to keep himself busy and try to calm down. There was no way she could know. she had to be talking about something else.

"You two are grown men. I didn't say anything when you were young. I thought you just needed time to figure things out, but it's been a while and nothing has changed."

He slowly exhaled the smoke, giving up all hope she could be talking about anything else. "How long have you known?"

"Years. You were sixteen and no matter how many girls tried to win you over, you only had time and eyes for him."

"He was my best friend!" he spitted through gritted teeth.

"One day, after you had spent the whole afternoon together in your room doing God knows what, you came to me and asked what was the difference between friendship and love, Thomas. Do you remember?"

He nodded slowly and cursed himself. If Polly knew, other people might find out. You were in danger. He needed to make sure you were safe, and then he would think about Polly.

Before he could spiral, Polly spoke again. "When will you grow a pair and just tell him you love him?"

He was surprised, to say the least. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand to stop him. "I know you are afraid people won't respect you anymore if they find out or that someone will try to hurt him to get to you. All I'm saying is you can be open with your own family, Tommy. He deserves this, and you do too."

He closed his mouth, then opened it again. "What if Arthur tells someone when he is drunk, eh? What if little Finn goes around telling someone thinking it's no big deal?"

Polly shook her head and smiled gently. "Do you really think you can hide that forever? With the way you look at each other? I don't think so, Tom."

She turned to leave, but before she could, Tommy's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Is this your way to say you approve?" he asked.

She looked at her nephew and for a moment she saw the sixteen years old he once was, with those big blue eyes, that were your damnation, wide, looking for approval. She smiled and left.

That was a lot and completely unexpected. Tommy fell back into his chair and ran a hand over his face.

When he walked into the Garrison, Polly was already there, sipping a whisky at the counter. He nodded at Harry to have his whisky in the private room. He didn't notice you sitting at a secluded table, uncomfortably close to a girl John had introduced to you upon your arrival. However, when he saw you weren't in the little room with his brothers, he panicked, already expecting the worst.

"Where is he?" he demanded. His brothers stopped laughing at something, to look at him confused and worried. "Who?" Arthur cautiously asked, irritating Tommy further.

"Your lover is sitting on the other side of the room with a girl your brothers so kindly introduced to him," Ada piped up from her spot, a fake smile on her face and her arms crossed. Her eyes bore into him. She knew too. Damn, the women of that family.

Arthur and John's faces were comically confused.

Tommy stormed out of the room and spotted you. Your head snapped up when you heard the door bang open. Your eyes widened as he made his way over to you with long steps. He looked unstoppable and scary. That was probably what anyone else saw when they laid their eyes on Tommy Shelby. Everyone was looking at him, trying to understand what was going on. Harry winced behind the bar, already picturing the place after the fight that would very likely take place there in a matter of minutes.

Ada, John and Arthur had followed their brother out of the room and had stopped at the door to see what would happen.

He came to a stop in front of you.

"Tommy," you uttered, trying to find the words to explain the situation. You had tried to convince John that you didn't need help finding a girl, but Shelbys would never take no for an answer.

"Mister Shelby," a sickly sweet and flirty voice interrupted the staring contest. The girl next to you leaned forward to introduce herself to your boyfriend, whose complete attention was on you. He pushed her back into her chair. She let out an outraged cry, but he ignored her in favour of grabbing the front of the suit you were wearing, one you had bought together, and pulled you into a kiss. You didn't hear the gasps and murmurs coming from around you. You relaxed and your hands fell to his hips. You kissed him back until you both needed to breathe. You gave him the brightest smile, winning one back.

He wrapped an arm around your hips and turned towards the onlookers.

"This man is mine, and if any of you fuckers tries to take him away from me or says something nasty about him, I'll cut you personally."

The room was so silent you were sure you could have heard a pin drop.

"By order of the Peaky fookin' Blinders!" Arthur roared from the other end of the room.

Polly and Ada smiled.

"Fucking finally, Tom!" John chimed in, grinning. And just like that, the tension in the room dispersed.

"Harry, open that bottle of champagne!" Arthur boomed, making Tommy laugh. You loved seeing him so happy and carefree. You promised yourself you would do everything you could to make sure he would always be like that.

You two made your way over to the private room to join the other Shelbys on the celebration. John patted your back. "Welcome to the family."

"Are you implying I wasn't part of it before?" you asked, pretending to be offended.

"No, of course not, you know..."

"Relax, Johnny boy, I'm just messing with you." You pulled his cap down his face, making Ada laugh.

She pulled you into a hug.

Tommy and Polly observed the exchange amused. "You were wrong about one thing," Tommy told her. His eyes didn't leave you.

"What's that?"

"We've been together for some years now."

She looked at him surprised. "Thomas Michael Shelby, you..." She slapped his arm, making him laugh.

"Let's make a toast," Arthur said, after filling the glasses and handing them around. Tommy wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer.

"To Tommy finally getting his shit together." Ada raised her glass and you laughed.

Tommy kissed your temple.

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: September 3, 2024

Cool Cat by Jazz Taylor This is the third book in the Wish series Nova doesn’t lie — she tells hopes for the future. That’s why she tells her mom she got an A on her math quiz, even though she got a B. It’s also why she doesn’t tell her mom about her secret Instagram that she’s almost old enough to have. When a viral video of her cat pushes her into the popular crowd, and next to her crush, Lily,…

[death-by-mercury]

Hot or not? Stars of the 80s! (Singers, actors, musicians…)

[mariocki]

A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (BBC, 1974)

"In what other parish church in the advowson of the good Abbot Thomas shall we find Bartholomew, Jude, Simon and Matthias all together in one window?"

"Not the 'good' Abbot Thomas, Peter. That was never suggested, not even by himself."

[lunelicmoone]

just watched almost 5 hours of wendigoon explaining faith the unholy trinity. i am so extremely normal about every character in that game

[nofatclips]

Memorize by Benoît Pioulard & offthesky from the album Sunder

[theoscarsproject]

The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986). A young Cro-Magnon woman is raised by Neanderthals.

Not even sure what to say about this one other than it's a mess from start to finish. It feels pretty transparently like an attempt to capitalise on the success and cultural legacy of Quest for Fire five years earlier, but Michael Chapman is no Jean-Jacques Annaud. It's clunky, misogynistic, and the worst thing cinema can be - boring. 2/10.

[ao3cassandraic]

Caitlin Thomas passed.

Many of us likely know (or know of) Lynne M. and Michael D. Thomas. They have been active in SFF and fandom circles for many years, winning multiple awards for their stewardship of Uncanny Magazine.

Lynne is also a brilliant, accomplished, and generous special-collections librarian; I know this personally because of her service to the Digital POWRR program I've been involved with, which helps small and underfunded libraries, archives, and historical societies embark on digital-preservation work.

Their daughter Caitlin, also an enthusiastic fan and a longtime presence at fandom conventions, passed earlier today; I saw Lynne announce this on Mastodon. Mary Robinette Kowal has started a GoFundMe for Caitlin's final expenses, which may be substantial due to insurance-claims denials.

Now is the time to be kind to Lynne and Michael, should you have the opportunity. Caitlin was extraordinary and is already dearly missed.

[camyfilms]

EVEREST 2015

We don’t need competition between people. There is competition between every person and this mountain. The last word always belongs to the mountain.

[tgirldarkholme]

Roy Thomas, Arnold Heck, Gary Friedrich, Archie Goodwin: Carol may be NASA chief of security, but she hates the military higher-ups' guts and will always put what she believe is right over their orders. Gerry Conway, Chris Claremont: Carol's first love is writing. She published a tell-all exposé about her experiences in NASA which pissed off the military higher-ups quite a bit. She's an hardass investigative journalist who has no problem going against the government and military. She has massive untreated PTSD from when she was in the military before that. She is an ally of the anti-government mutant rights movement and she happily hacked the Pentagon's central database to wipe out all evidence of both her and the X-Men's existence. She strongly empathizes with Mar-Vell's own rebellion against his military. David Michelinie, Kurt Busiek: Carol enjoys casually threatening to maim obstructive bureaucrats because she actively wants her identity and past to remain a secret. Brian Reed, Brian Michael Bendis: Carol tried to be the middle ground between the underground resistance and the government in the first Civil War, and even then only because the pro-Registration side was led by a friend of her. She kept angsting about her best friend Jessica Jones and her daughter (Carol's goddaughter) being in Canada due to it and she was relieved when it ended (even if it was due to the Skrulls invading). During Norman Osborn's dictatorship she was one of the most radical members of the underground resistance due to her strong anti-imperialist convictions borne out of her being tortured when she was 18 by CIA regime change agents. Christos Gage: Her House of M reality counterpart (representing her greatest wish and which she spent her entire second stint as Ms. Marvel trying to emulate because she has all her memories) was a double agent inside S.H.I.E.L.D. for the mutant rights movement and a key figure in overthrowing the right-wing anti-mutant Nixon-Trask regime. Kelly Sue DeConnick:

(x)

I feel like this interview is somehow the galaxy-brained missing key to explaining everything that’s happened to Carol since becoming Captain Marvel. (cc @chadfarsight @danzafila)

[unravellingsilencehq]

“Oh, Merlin, tell me, does THE DETERMINED get what she deserves?” She is NEUTRAL & OPEN to finding out.“

— she walks through the world as ;

name → emma squiggle  pronouns → she/her identification → trans-woman year of birth → september 1955 - september 1956 face claim → zion moreno blood status → pure-blood sexual orientation → up to applicant occupation → investigative journalist for the daily prophet future information → n/a

— she is best described as ;

The CLARITY & SUBSTANCE of a CRYSTAL INKWELL & the SOFTNESS & SENSUALITY of a LEATHER DESK CHAIR. She is as REFINED as a full bodied RED and as plush as a long FEATHERED EVENING GOWN. 

— her story starts with ;

Some people in life are simply better than others and Emma Squiggle has made that her mantra. Born in New York to the former British Wizarding Ambassador and her menswear fashion designer husband, Emma was raised in the knowledge that the world rewards those who were willing to try and thrive. Of course, Emma knew she would be thriving. Although the Squiggle family would not grace the tapestries of The Sacred Twenty-Eight, Emma never lost a wink of sleep over it. Everyone who was anyone knew old money was out and the best way to make a splash was good family connections, a healthy traceable bloodline and a winning smile. Her very busy parents put as much effort as they could muster into Emma, treating her as a best friend or an associate rather than a child. Whilst most children were trying to grapple with The Tales of Beedle The Bard, Emma was encouraged to sit at the table alongside her parents and discuss what a day of tutoring had taught her, listening intently afterwards as her parents discussed their days. The family moved back to London not long before Emma had received her multiple offers for schooling. Hogwarts was an easy choice for her. Her family had all attended and any school that was regarded as the best in the world would be the only one she would consider. 

The hat barely brushed her head before she was announced a Ravenclaw and Emma seated herself on the long mahogany table waiting for people to begin assessing one another so she could wow them with her brilliance. The qualities that Emma loved most about herself was her creativity, strong sense of self and considered herself a good leader- the issue with being sorted into Ravenclaw was that her entire house felt the same way and it was very difficult to get a word in edgeways. Her year group housed some very strong personalities, including Quidditch legends, ELEZAR SMITH [adversary/former romantic liaison], MICHAEL THOMAS [adversary/former romantic liaison] and CRISTIANO PARKINSON [acquaintance], self-established queen bee GENEVIEVE AVERY [rival] and political princess ISOLDE CROUCH [rival]. With everyone in her year intent on a wand measuring competition, Emma forged her own group of likeminded people it wouldn’t hurt her brain to try and associate with. It surprised her how much she adored the company of ADRIAN CAVERLY [former best friend/colleague] and RITA SKEETER [adversary/former best friend/colleague]. In a flock of pigeons they were the true flamingos and nothing made her happier than when they were together. 

The three bonded over their love of pop culture, good reads, newspapers and magazines. Each day the three would sit in the common room, passing round issues of muggle and wizarding publications they’d managed to get their hands on, underlining passages for the other to read. It had been Emma’s bright idea that they go into the press business together, though it’s something Rita debates. The school was lacking a newspaper and between them they had the skills to set one up and ensure it succeeded. Emma quickly declared herself the hard news journalist amongst them, happy to give up the position of editor in order to focus on the issues that mattered. Her passion lied in investigation and nothing made Emma’s heart beat faster than a good story. The mystery of The Shrieking Shack was one that made her famous, though her theory that there was a werewolf roaming their grounds was laughed off by most of the staff and the students, except for XENOPHILIUS LOVEGOOD [friend], though she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. She earned herself a reputation for trouble, sticking her nose in places it didn’t belong and despite having a better wardrobe and more money than most of her classmates she struggled popularity wise. 

To her surprise, Michael Thomas didn’t seem to think that ambition was a bad thing. To the whole world they seemed like a couple, but the problem with Michael was that he was allergic to commitment and no matter how much Emma thought she could change him, the likelihood is no witch ever would. He was the first man to break her heart and began a bit of an unhealthy relationship for Emma when it came to love. Emma knew that she was always the better option. The smartest woman in the room, but boys her age were simply stupid. She went looking for love in all the wrong places, the fun single girl with the good job and the cute flat, with the failed love life. Unlike her best friend Rita, Emma didn’t have to pull any strings to get her job at The Daily Prophet, though it did help that her mother was good friends with the Cuffe family. She worked as the intern for ELIAS SPENCER-MOON [former boss], spending her time getting his coffee. Understandably for such a main character, Emma got bored pretty quickly and began taking it upon herself to listen in on Elias’ conversations and do some detective work of her own. 

It was only after she undercut him for a scoop and brought it straight to BARNABUS CUFFE [boss] she was awarded a position as an investigative journalist. Though Emma worked hard at her job, it just never seemed to be good enough- not in her eyes of course, but in the eyes of the establishment she worked for. While she was doing noble work trying to uncover injustice, Rita would write about Florence and her boyfriend having another argument and was gifted her own column by the time she was twenty-five. Emma was irritated about the whole thing, but then again she had always felt that way about her. Rita wasn’t a team player, she didn’t want to share the spotlight, always concerned with herself and enjoyed putting down others. Silently she plotted to take her down a peg, Emma knew there was only one real MVP at The Daily Prophet and until she had some breathing room no one would see it. At Rita’s launch party, Emma flirted shamelessly with Rita’s boyfriend AUGUSTUS ROOKWOOD [partner]. It didn’t take long for him to follow her out the door in front of Rita’s face and as she settled into bed with him that evening she did so with a smile. 

Emma didn’t expect to fall in love with him. She also didn’t expect for him to fall in love with her, yet here they both were five years later. With Rita out of her life, Emma is truly thriving. She has better friends like, EDGAR CUFFE [best friend] and AURELIA ROOKWOOD [close friend].  An investigative journalist, she has been on the front line trying to figure out who is responsible for the murders taking place in the city, by any means necessary. Like anyone with more than half a brain-cell, Emma believes The Ministry are some how involved, looking to point the finger at a werewolf to contain the issue. With whispers of a dark wizard on the rise bouncing around the street Emma is curious to see if any of these claims have traction and unmask such a figure. The topic of such an investigation has spelt trouble in paradise in one area of her life, as Augustus has often seemed a little too invested in her latest case. Emma believes she might be self-sabotaging, clear on who she has been sharing a bed with for half a decade, but with his behaviour becoming increasingly strange she can’t help but wonder, is she sleeping with the enemy?

— she is a LEVEL 5 WITCH & readied for war ;

[crowleying]

Will get us all killed | m!reader

Date: 29.10.2022

Pairing:  Tommy Shelby x m!reader

Reader’s pronouns: he/him

Words: 3.318

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Characters: m!reader, Tommy Shelby, Polly Gray, Ada Shelby, John Shelby, Arthur Shelby, Esme Shelby

Genre: Romance

Length: Oneshot

Warnings: Mention of injury (nothing descriptive), slightly sexual content (there is an erection mentioned but nothing more), angst with a happy ending

Requested: No

Prompts: No

Summary: Tommy's plan is stupid. It gets John injured and you angry. Your hate for each other gets out of hand.

A/N: English is not my first language, so feel free to correct any mistake, and I would love to know what you think about it. If you like my works, please like and reblog them. REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I posted a List of prompts, so check it out! Let me know if you would like to be tagged in my works.

IF YOU LIKE MY WORKS, PLEASE REBLOG THEM

Masterlist

Ao3

It wasn't that you weren't listening. You were, which is exactly why you were furious. Tommy had called yet another family meeting to explain one of his absurd plans. They usually didn't make any sense, mainly because he kept most things for himself. The others executed blindly everything he asked, which often got them to get shot at, which, okay, fine, probably was partly their fault because they were quite stupid, and you thought that with all the love. You really cared for John and Arthur.  You, however, couldn't help but point out all the plans' flaws. Tommy hated you for that, but it wasn't your fault if his stupid plans weren't foolproof. You were sure Tommy would have kicked you out of the family meetings, and even from the Peaky Blinders if he could, but you had Polly's protection. She had raised you as her son, taking you in when your mother, her best friend, died. You had grown up with the Shelbys, and while you got along with everyone, you just couldn't see Tommy without wanting to punch him. It hadn't always been like that, though. Tommy was the most brilliant of the family, with Ada being a close second, so he wasn't used to having people rival his intelligence before meeting you. At first, you had tried to be his friend, since he seemed to be the one who was more like you, but he had pushed you away, and after a while, you had stopped trying. Instead, you got really close to John and Ada.

When Tommy finished explaining his plan, the others slipped out of the door, glancing your way. You were still leaning with your back against the wall. Your arms were crossed in front of your chest, and you were burning holes into Tommy's face with your gaze. John snorted, amused at your antics, and exchanged a look with Arthur, who chuckled and patted your shoulder.

"I know a few gipsy curses if you need them," Esme whispered passing by on her way to the door. It made you smile, but it didn't last long. It soon disappeared when Tommy's icy eyes met yours.

"Don't kill each other. We need you both," Ada said as she was leaving. Her tone betrayed the fact that she didn't really believe you would ever come close to that.

Polly was the last one to leave. Before closing the door, she looked at you, trying to tell you just with her gaze to go easy on Tommy. You ignored it.

"Close the door, Pol," Tommy said without turning to her or taking his eyes away from you. She did so, leaving the two of you alone.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, mirroring your stance. "So?"

"So you keep underestimating threats and you keep important information to yourself." You pushed away from the wall and took a couple of steps towards the table between you and Tommy. "And this plan won't fucking work because that man knows Arthur. He knows he is your brother," you explained waving your hands around animatedly.

"It will be fine."

"Because you are so fucking brilliant, right?" you spat.

He took a cigarette from his silver case. He stroked it against his plump lips, then placed it between them in that way that irritated you so much. He offered you one too.

You ignored the offering. Instead, you went around the table, stopping mere inches from his face. "If someone gets hurt, I will personally hurt you, Thomas," you said, punctuating the words and poking his firm chest with your finger before storming out. Tommy smiled to himself. He loved riling you up.

As you stepped out of the room, people scrambled around, avoiding your gaze, almost as if they had been eavesdropping on the conversation and didn't want you to notice. You decided you didn't care and went to your office to get back to work. On your way there, Ada approached you.

"What happened?" she asked, walking by your side.

"Your brother is an idiot and will get us all killed, that's what happened." You walked into your office and she followed.

"You are the only one thinking that, you know that, right?"

"Apparently I'm the only one with some fucking sense here." You sat at your desk and took a cigarette from the case you had left there. You placed it between your lips and reached for the matches.

She closed the door behind her and walked up to your desk.

"You are the only one who made the point of his life to go against every word Tommy speaks," she corrected.

You arched your eyebrows and lit your cigarette.

"Not my fault he is a bloody idiot." You released the smoke upwards.

She shook her head smiling. "The day you get over this hate of yours, you'll see what we all see."

"And what is it that you see, Ada?"

She crossed her arms. She had no intention of telling you, clearly. "You two are so similar."

"No, we are not," you replied, with more heat than necessary.

She smiled triumphantly. "We all see through your little act," she sing-songed heading to the door.

You got up hastily.

"What are you talking about? Ada, I'm not done talking with you." Before you could go around your desk, she was already out of the door. "Come back here, Ada!" You had all intentions of following her, but one of the men walked in to show you one of the books.

"Fucking Shelbys," you grumbled, making the man chuckle.

You would deal with Ada later.

Later never came, because Thomas' stupid plan had gone to hell not even half an hour in. The man had recognized Arthur as soon as he had seen him, as you had said, and had opened fire on him and John. A bullet had grazed Arthur's arm. He would be fine. John, however, hadn't been so lucky. Before you could put a bullet in that bastard's head, he had hit John in his left shoulder, too close to his heart for your liking. Now he was laying in a hospital bed. The doctor had said that he would be fine, but you were fuming. Polly and Arthur nervously watched you pace back and forth next to your best friend's bed. They had tried to calm you down, but had stopped after you had yelled at Arthur. You were halfway through Arthur's cigarettes. You had already finished yours, but they hadn't helped calm your nerves.

Tommy stormed into the room, Ada hot on his heels. Polly and Arthur stood straighter, ready to intervene. You turned to look at him and quickly killed the cigarette in the ashtray.

"Tommy, what the fuck!" Ada tried to hold him back by his arm, but to no avail.

"What the fuck did you do?" he yelled to your face.

You clenched your fist and before Tommy knew it, you had punched him.

"I tried to save our asses, you fucking cunt!" you snarled through your teeth.

He grabbed the collar of your jacket and you took hold of the front of his shirt.

"You killed that man and fucked up every chance we had. That's what you did," he replied through his teeth.

Arthur and Polly stepped in just as a nurse rushed in, asking you to leave.

"I told you this would happen and you didn't listen because you are oh so fucking clever, and now my best friend is in that bed because of you."

Polly gently put a hand on your shoulder, but you kept glaring at Tommy.

"Alright, boys, you better take this outside."

Her other hand rested on one of Tommy's. He let you go and slowly you did too.

He nodded to the door and turned to leave. You followed him out and didn't register the relief that flooded the room the moment you left.

Tommy walked down the hall, looking for an empty room. He finally found one and pushed the door open to let you in. You spared him a glare as you walked him. He followed and closed the door.

You crossed your arms and turned to look at him, waiting for him to talk. You had said everything you needed to already.

"You know this is a dangerous business and Arthur and John know too. You all know there are risks. You can't go around killing every person I need, no matter how much of a dick they are."

You rolled your eyes and scoffed shaking your head. You pointed the finger at him.

"This is your fault. This wouldn't have happened if you just had listened to me! But you never fucking do. And I'm so tired of your bullshit. I know you never liked me because I am more intelligent than you but, for fucks sake, get over it," you hissed in his face.

He seemed taken aback by your words. When he didn't reply, you rolled your eyes and walked away from him.

"You're wrong."

You scoffed. "Of course."

"No, I mean-"

"I know exactly what you mean. Because you are the one who is always fucking right. The only one with a brain and all that. Isn't that right, Tommy?" You spat out the words like venom.

You heard him cover the distance between you with a few steps, and when you turned back to him, you didn't expect him to be so close.

"It's not what you think it is," he murmured. How could he be so collected when you just wanted to punch him again?

"I know exactly what it is, Thomas!"

"No, you don't."

"Fuck you."

He licked his lips, and you knew he was about to talk again, but you wouldn't let him.

"Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you, Thomas Shelby. Your brother is laying on that bed with a bullet in him and you-"

"They already took it out," he corrected offhandedly.

And you just couldn't help it. You pushed him full force with both hands. He bumped into the wall behind him. You walked up to him and took him by the collar of his jacket.

Instead of pushing you away, Tommy grabbed your hips and pushed them forward, against him. You were confused for a brief moment before you felt his erection pressing against your leg. You looked down to where your bodies met and then up at him.

"Tommy..."

"You're wrong."

Before you could react to his words, he pulled you into a heated kiss. You were paralyzed for a moment before you melted into it. Your body relaxed against his as you kissed him back. His lips were as soft as they looked. You would never admit to anyone that you had wondered how they would feel on yours every time he stroked a cigarette on them or licked them, but you had. It seemed like his lips were a match that had put your stomach on fire. Your desire to punch him had faded away. The kiss you were sharing and your bodies touching was all that mattered. Until the door opened and you pulled away as fast as lightning.

A nurse entered with fresh sheets in her arms and looked at you confused, then she spotted Tommy.

"I'm very sorry, Mr Shelby, I didn't know you were here. I'll leave you alone."

You fixed your suit. "No need to, we were done," you assured, and without waiting for a reply, you passed by her and walked out the door without sparing Thomas a glance. His eyes followed you until you disappeared, and then he cleared his throat and fixed his suit before leaving with a whispered "have a nice day" to the nurse.

When he walked out, you were nowhere to be seen. He went back to John's room, but you weren't there either.

It took him almost two days to realize you were avoiding him. He had been busy fixing the mess, and Polly said you were spending all your time by John's bed, which was to be expected. Except for the fact that when he went to the hospital the evening after the incident, you weren't there. He figured you had gone home to change and rest now that John was awake and his life wasn't at risk anymore.

When you didn't show up for dinner as always, he just thought you were too tired.

That night he fell asleep to the memory of your lips on his and for once his dreams weren't filled with the noise of the shovels but with your voice whispering his name.

The morning after, you weren't at the shop. That was weird, you were always the first to arrive.

By midday, he had been on the receiving end of so many of Ada and Esme's glares, he decided he needed a break.

He visited John, hoping to find you there, but once again you weren't.

He had thought Ada and Esme's looks were because they deemed him to be the cause of John's injury, but he changed his mind later that afternoon when Polly walked into his office like a woman with a mission.

"You two need to talk."

He glanced at her before his eyes went back to the papers he was reading. "I already talked with John."

"It's not John I'm talking about."

That grabbed his attention. "What are you talking about?" he asked, forgetting about the papers for a minute.

"Fix whatever mess you have caused, Thomas." She walked out without waiting for his reply.

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. So you were avoiding him because of what had happened.

He decided not to listen to Polly, so maybe you were right when you said he never listened. He would give you some time. Maybe you just needed to come to terms with what had happened between the two of you.

You didn't come to work the day after, even though all the paperwork that had been on your desk the day before had been done. Tommy wasn't surprised. You were a workaholic just like him. You probably had just moved your office to your house.

Family meetings were weird without you glaring at him, interrupting, huffing and insulting him under your breath. Ada and Esme's looks weren't as fun.

"What are you waiting for, Thomas?" Polly questioned after the others had left the meeting.

"I'll talk to him," he assured.

That same night, he grabbed the dinner Polly had put aside for you and set out to come to visit you.

You had told Polly times and times again that you were fully capable of taking care of yourself and that she didn't need to cook for you, but there was no saying no to Polly Gray. She had been sending you food through Ada or Esme every evening you hadn't shown up for dinner with the family at hers. She hadn't asked anything, but she was Polly Gray. She didn't need to ask. She just knew things and she knew something had happened between you and Tommy.

You weren't surprised when you heard a knock at your door.

"Coming," you yelled as you made your way to the door.

"Finally, I'm star-" you cut yourself off midsentence when you saw Tommy.

"Tommy... What are you doing here?"

He handed you the plate. "Brought you dinner. Thought it was time for us to talk."

You sighed and nodded, inviting him in. He stepped in and you closed the door behind him. You didn't remember him ever visiting you before.

You passed by him and went to the kitchen, followed by him. "You don't mind if I eat while you talk?"

He took off his coat he abandoned on the back of a chair and his cap throwing it on the table before he sat down. "Please."

You sat down on the opposite end of the table with the dish in front of you and started eating.

Tommy took his time to light a cigarette.

"You've been avoiding me."

You didn't say anything. You couldn't really deny that.

"Why?" he asked when you didn't reply.

You scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? I tried to figure out why you would do something like that and came up with nothing. I thought you might have wanted to get me caught but then they-"

"Stop thinking I hate you."

You looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Why would I? It's not exactly like you ever proved me wrong."

"I kissed you."

"Which you might have done for some ulterior motive. Did you forget I know you, Tommy? You always have some kind of hidden agenda."

He took a long drag from his cigarette, his eyes were fixed on you as if he was analysing you.

"There was no hidden agenda. I've been wanting to kiss you since... forever," he admitted softly.

You snorted. "You hate everything I do. I'm always in your way, have been since we were kids."

Tommy shook his head. "Yeah, I wasn't fond of you when we were kids, but things change." He leaned forward and you looked at him, the food now forgotten. "I don't hate anything you do. On the contrary, I love it. You are the only one who stands his ground with me and speaks up against me and points out all the flaws in my plans because you're not only clever but also very observant. How could I hate it when it's so hot?"

You shook your head, smiling bitterly. "Please. Don't play with me. You've had your fun."

"I'm not playing. I've been waiting for this for ages."

"Why didn't you say anything, then?"

"I had a lot of reasons to believe you didn't like me," he said matter-of-factly, "and you had your reasons not to like me. I just think we should start anew, give each other a chance. Give this a chance."

You couldn't deny it was a good prospect. Peace at last.

"If that's what you want. If you like me too."

You hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. Yeah. I think we can try."

Tommy smiled and got up. He slowly walked around the table. He stopped to kill the cigarette in the ashtray you kept on the table, then continued towards you and stopped in front of you. He put his hands in the pockets of his elegant trousers.

"Are you going to come back to work now?"

You sighed. "Ugh... I mean, the boss is a pain in the ass, but the guy next door is cute," you joked.

He snorted. "Is that a yes?"

You nodded.

"Everything clear?"

"Good. See you tomorrow."

You huffed. "We are gonna die," you mumbled.

"What was that?" Tommy asked lifting his chin, daring you to repeat what you had just said.

"Your plan has more holes than a colander."

"Not again," Ada groaned.

"Okay, we'll leave you to it," John announced. He was the first to leave the room, followed by everyone else while you and Tommy had a staring match.

Polly was the last to leave. She looked at the two of you knowingly.

"Make it quick, boys," she said as she closed the door.

You got closer and sat on the table.

"So?" Tommy asked, walking up to you.

"You are an idiot." Before he could retort, you pulled him into a kiss by his collar.

His hands slipped to your hips and pulled you against his chest. You smiled against his lips.

He pulled away from your lips just a few inches to speak. "You need to stop challenging my authority in front of everyone."

"Nah, It's too much fun."

He pushed you away, making you laugh. He tried to suppress a smile trying to act annoyed, but he couldn't, not when he heard you laughing.

[superbatson]

[cow-boy-caviar]

UNCANNY MAGAZINE

My goal with writing these reviews, apart from celebrating pulpy sci-fi in all its weird glory, is to get more eyes on stories, publishers, and presses that deserve more than the niche cult following they currently have. (It’s also a great excuse for me to eventually read Clarkesworld’s entire backlog.) So many of these small, independent publishers who don’t have the clout or prestige of the New Yorker still publish some of the best writing I’ve ever seen. Not to diss the literati of Zoetrope or Granta, but their pieces have never made me cry. Those litmags don’t force me to decenter my own worldview, yearn for a hopeful future, or rejoice in all the strange new worlds that exist outside of Brooklyn circa 2015. Those litmags also aren’t on the brink of collapse after losing revenue without Kindle magazine subscriptions. I’m here to platform magazines that publish award-winning work, pay their authors, and rarely have a paywall. Read them, support them, submit your work to them, tell your friends about them. We can’t let Lit Hub be the only thing left.

Uncanny Magazine was founded in 2014 by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. It publishes short stories, poetry, nonfiction, and interviews with authors in bimonthly issues. Their entire back catalog is available for free on their website, and I’m slowly working my way through all of it. They’re almost entirely funded by Patreon subscriptions and annual Kickstarter campaigns. As of time of writing, they’re fully funded for an 11th year of publishing, and we’re all luckier for it. Like many magazines, Uncanny took a hit with Amazon’s shift to Kindle Unlimited for periodicals. As I continue reading and writing and reviewing, I’m sure I’ll come across more shuttered magazines than active ones as a result of this one decision that probably barely moved the margin for the megacorporation but spelled doom for so many genre magazines.

While I find their author interviews to be lacking and their nonfiction to be hit or miss (and this is my own fault when Jamie Loftus’ long-form creative nonfiction and journalism are my goalposts), Uncanny’s fiction is outstanding. Yes, it has won Hugo and Nebula and Locus awards — as it should. It’s also something I look forward to receiving in my inbox every single month. They also seem to make a point to include stories that are about and by queer, disabled, and POC writers and their cultures in conversation with their mythologies, histories, and languages. Their 30th issue, subtitled Disabled People Destroy Fantasy, was comprised entirely of works by disabled writers and artists. Every story they publish presents a fully developed, living, breathing world, from high fantasy to dystopian futures to pedestrian ghost tales. Ever wondered about the sentience of worms in a human-centric society? Ever dared to hope that your community would hold together in a crisis? Ever seen god at the gym? Let Uncanny show you these things. Let it be your entry into genre fiction. Let it show you what is possible when people work to put their passion out into the world, and the world says, “Yes! As long as we can, yes!”

[whatcha-reading-today]

Death in the Grand Canyon | Michael P. Ghiglieri, Thomas M. Myers

This was such a fascinating read! Each chapter is organized by the 'type' of death--falls, water craft, plane crash, temperature..etc. It has a ton of data and the perspective of two rangers who have either had to save folks, or heard stories of rescues. It's absolutely riveting and so well written.

Read in: 2022

Format: Physical copy (found at a thrift store)