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geekwritersworld · 2 years

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Little Artist

Pairing: Peaky Blinders x you (more mentions of Tommy and you though)

Warnings: fluff, one liner angst at the end (I am incapable of not adding angst to everything I write)

Summary: As stated below in the request. @anne-17890

Hello, I could ask one in which the younger sister of the Shelbys, maybe she is 14/15 years old wants to be an artist and she has a lot of talent but the family does not know but the art teacher one day calls the Shelbys at school to talk about her sister and they discover her talent and that she received a letter from a private school in London to study on full scholarship. Thank you for your time

A/n: I've taken forever for this request and I am so sorry about that. My only defense being that ADHD is an absolute pain in the rear :)

Do let me know what you think ❤️

You weren't much of a reader, you didn't care much for music nor did you like being stuck around your siblings all the time. And of course they didn't let you anywhere near the business so you spent most of your time by yourself. You tried out new things, hoping something would stick and become a hobby. And on a whim one day you decided to try your hand at art.

And at some point it stuck. You began frequently drawing, improving yourself each day. And it was becoming more than a hobby. So to escape you turned to art; to the one thing you found almost calming. To express your emotions and to sketch what you pictured the world beyond small heath looked like.

And you were exceptionally good too, you realized. You were grateful for that, of course. Your siblings occasionally noticed your work at the table where you'd forgotten them on late nights and ensured to compliment your skills when you woke, but lately you made sure to conceal your work.

Despite your classmates keeping their distance from you knowing you were a Shelby, you managed to make one good friend-Nancy-to whom you'd grown quite close.

You both found common ground in your love and flair for art. So you'd both spend time at Nancy's house, making mess of her living room floor with all the art supplies. Sometimes you left your sketch book with her, not wanting your brothers fussing over your art.

Taking up an art class at school without the knowledge of your siblings you found solace in the art room. You weren't sure what was keeping you from letting your family know of your art skills. Sure they knew you could sketch and create art, but they never knew the extent of it. They never knew of your capability to create hyper realistic images on paper with mere pencils everyone used everyday.

Of course, Nancy was sworn to secrecy to never reveal to your family. But it wasn't through Nancy that the Shelby's ultimately found out of their youngest sisters talent.

It all began on a particularly dreary morning. When you were relieved you'd left your sketch book with Nancy due to the rain drizzling down on the way to school.

That damp afternoon you walked home knowing something you hadn't that morning and you avoided walking home with Nancy aware that she'd ask you questions about why you'd been pulled aside that morning in school by the head.

"Now Y/n" The professor sat you down with the head on the other side of the table listening intently. Sitting down, hesitating at first, you wondered what you'd done.

"We wanted to talk to you Ms. Shelby" she paused " about what you plan to do once you've finished school" You almost wanted to laugh, if you didn't know any better, you'd assume she was literally sitting on the edge of her chair with how intently she waited for your response.

"You mean for university?" you asked confused.

"Yes" she nodded

"well I don't know really, I haven't given it much thought seeing that I have a few more years to go" you said, nervous.

Your professor smiled kindly and looked at you. You still wondered why you arts professor was here, talking to you when you were due in math class.

"Thing is, your art" she cleared her throat " your artistic abilities are admirable. It's very rare to see such talent" she continued "and we've ..er.... communicated with one of the universities in London, and they're want to offer you a full scholarship in arts, should you chose to enroll at that university, we've received a letter from them as well, for you"

You stared at her, your mind blank. You expected to see John burst into the room laughing at you for the joke they were played on you. Surely itwasn't...it couldn't be.

"what" you rasped, throat drying.

Smiling wider, the head this time, pushed an envelope towards you "here"

Reaching forward with a hesitant hand, you slipped open the envelope and began to read the letter that resided inside.

Once you'd scanned the letter and read the words over and over you held on to it.

"could I keep this?" you mumbled

"of course" both women said unison.

"can i think about it? if that's alright" you looked at them.

Nodding the professor responded "of course!"

So you took your time. Or rather you avoided your professors. Rushing out the moment school was done, reaching at the last possible moment- making sure to take an extra long route to school; you did everything you could to avoid your professors and best friend.

You made excuses and tried avoiding Nancy as much as you could.

You wouldn't tell your family. They didn't need to know.

Of course Aunt Pol noticed your sudden odd behavior. She noticed you were home more often than usual, you didn't sit in the living room as much you used to, and coming home earlier from school than normal and you'd been avoiding your family; barely talking to them anymore.

Pol and Tommy knew you were a shy kid, you had been your whole life. However you were never this quiet with you family, especially with him and Arthur.

Frustrated Tommy slammed the pen down on the table making one of the men in the betting shop to flinch. He couldn't stop wondering what was wrong with his youngest sibling. He didn't get it. Were you in trouble?

Why were you more closed off than usual? Tommy knew you were too much of a Shelby to directly tell them even if they asked you what was wrong.

He got up and decided he needed some fresh air- and a cigarette.

Tommy wasn't sure where he was heading until he got there.

Exhausted, not to mention surprised that your arts professor had walked right past you that morning, you thought it was odd since you'd been avoiding her for over a week; deciding not to dwell on it too long you put your things together and got ready to leave.

You looked forward to going home and getting some sleep and perhaps even meeting Nancy later on.

Once classes were let out, you slipped your bag onto your shoulder and bolted for the door but stopped short when you spotted your older brother standing near the gates looking straight ahead at you.

Standing still as the rest of the children rushed past you- some even knocking into you, you remained still until Tommy tilted his head at you releasing a puff of smoke from his lips.

Taking in a deep breath trying to push through the mist of confusion in your head you walked towards him "what are you doing here Tom?"

You occasionally called him Tom instead of Tommy, and sometimes it bugged Tommy but in a way it was endearing plus if there was one person he'd tolerate referring to him as Tom it would be you.

"No reason" the look in his eyes told you different.

Rolling your eyes, you moved past him, intending to walk home "why didn't you tell us?" Tommy's footsteps were slow behind you against the wet gravel.

"what?" you snapped your head to look at him, your fingers turning cold despite the humid air.

"I think" Tommy caught up to you slowly, staring ahead "you know what."

"so she fucking tattled" you snorted suddenly "how mature for a grown woman" you were infuriated but nervous at Tommy's reaction.

"she didn't have much of a choice considering I asked her how you were"

"Why the fuck are you asking my professors how I am ?!" you looked at Tommy like he was deranged. Maybe he was, you didn't know. All that smoking and drinking was probably catching up.

"Because you won't talk to us" your brothers nonchalant attitude was beginning to frustrate you even more.

"Well you never asked did you?" you sassed.

Tommy stopped walking and you stopped a few steps ahead of him turning to look at him "would you have told us if we asked?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

You rolled your eyes "no" you mumbled "fuck off" and continued walking.

Tommy let out a mirthless chuckle.

The rest of the walk back home was in silence, you could feel your brothers eyes boring in the back of your head and you did your best to bite your tongue and not snap back at him.

Shutting the door behind you Tommy spoke with an uncharacteristic soft tone "y/n"

letting your shoulders drop, you took a deep breath to avoid crying then turned to look at Tommy.

"Look, Tommy, I'm not going so leave it alone" you walked into the kitchen and picked up a glass to pour yourself some water.

"Why not?" Tommy leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen.

Instead of responding you stared right back at Tommy with unrelenting gaze that you knew your aunt held so often with your brothers too.

After a minute of the two of you standing and staring at each other in silence you said " 'cause I don't want to go. Now let it go will you" Pushing past him you went up the stairs to your room.

You didn't see Tommy again that day until the next morning when you opened the door with your school bag in hand and almost walked into him standing right outside your door.

"morning y/n" sarcasm laced your brothers words.

"What?" you narrowed your eyes looking at him.

"You" he reached forward and pulled your bag off your shoulder " are coming with me today" he shoved your bag onto your bed and put his hand on your shoulder.

Your eyes widened "where" you looked at him

He didn't respond rather he nudged you out of your doorway and downstairs.

"There's the bloody artist!" Arthur shouted when he spotted you coming down the stairs.

you immediately turned to glare at Tommy and caught him rolling his eyes at Arthur.

"Where ya goin' Tommy?" Arthur ignored the obvious annoyance his siblings felt toward him in the moment.

"Nowhere" Tommy mumbled

Taking his distraction from you as an opportunity you ducked from under his hand on your shoulder and bolted back up the stairs.

"Y/N" Tommy yelled bolting after you. Arthur laughed watching Tommy run after you.

Rushing into your room in time, you slammed the door shut and locked it. Ignoring Tommy's knocking on the door.

Grabbing your bag you slid open your window and threw it out. And then slipped your left leg out the window and securing it safely on the edge you ducked and climbed out completely, still hearing Tommy ordering you to open the door.

Managing to climb down safely, you dusted your clothes and turned around and walked right into Aunt Pol standing there arms crossed watching you, not impressed, and Tommy stood behind her smirking.

"might want to take the front door next time " John snickered walking out to where the three of you were.

"Right" Aunt Pol moved forward while guiding you back into the house- through the door- she continued "you're going with Tommy, I don't bloody know where he's taking you but he's told me it's important".

"But I have school!" you fought back " for which I'm probably late thanks to Thomas" you exclaimed.

"well then you better go along with him quickly so you don't have to skip another day" Pol smirked.

Truth was, Tommy knew, that Pol of course had noticed the change in your behavior as well no doubt, and when he told her last night that he was going to pull you out of school for the day for something important, she didn't argue knowing her nephew must obviously know something and if he wasn't telling her now he would later.

Tommy didn't tell her cause he wanted you to tell them yourself. He didn't want to push you away any further by revealing something you still preferred keeping to yourself.

You knew it was hopeless fighting back if Aunt Pol was involved and siding with your brother.

Grumbling, you let your bag fall of your shoulder, put it on the sofa and turned to Tommy "fine" you stomped outside.

Tommy, who had a cigarette in between his lips, let out a puff of smoke and then walked after you.

Slamming the door shut to the car, you sulked. Your frustration grew stronger the more you kept thinking about Tommy doing this because of yesterday. You didn't understand why he couldn't just let it be.

Tommy didn't speak at all on the drive, he juts looked ahead. And you didn't bother asking him where he was taking you. You were too stubborn to ask. Instead, you leaned your head back against the seat and closed your eyes.

Having fallen asleep you didn't realize how long the car ride was, and only woke when Tommy nudged your shoulder calling your name.

Looking out the window yawning, you felt your breath hitch the moment your eyes adjusted on the massive building in front of you. The red bricked building stood in front of you with a field of grass stretching wide in front of it. The grass was greener than you'd ever seen grass to be. You opened the door and got out standing still, afraid that if you moved you'd wake up back in your damp room in Birmingham. The air, it was-clean- it wasn't damp with a lingering smell of something stale, like in small heath.

Tommy watched you take in where he'd brought you. His chest tightened noticing the disbelief in your eyes. He felt a sudden rush of pride and love. He wanted this for you. He wanted you to be able to get away from small heath. He wanted you to have this, he knew you deserved it more than anyone.

You'd kept to yourself your whole life. Content with the little you had, never asking for anything.

And god, Tommy knew you were so smart and capable of making something of yourself. He didn't understand why you didn't want this -or rather- why you were refusing it when it was being handed to you.

He so desperately wanted you to go here. Moving to stand next to you, he put his arm around your shoulder.

"What do you think?"

You were too struck with amazement to actually speak aloud, instead you whispered "I don't know"

And you didn't. You wished so desperately to go here now that you'd seen where you had the opportunity to come. But the same questions haunted you in the back of your mind, how would your family be able to afford financing your stay. Just finding a place for you to live would be a big expense.

You couldn't ask this of them. You couldn't move to live such a life in London, when your family would still be breathing the toxic fumes of small heath.

Tommy could almost feel your longing. To come here, to make a life for yourself. But he couldn't figure out what was holding you back, why you were adamantly refusing, why you hadn't told them either.

He couldn't understand it.

"Would it be selfish Tommy?" you whispered, shifting your weight on your left leg.

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows "no it wouldn't" he said softly.

He didn't think his heart was capable of breaking again, but apparently he learnt that it was the moment you asked him that question. It broke his heart to think that you were willing to let your future go just because you thought it would be selfish to ask this of your family. Because you didn't want them to spend their money on your education.

"I want to come here Tommy, I really do" you couldn't help it anymore. You turned to look at Tommy, tears brimming your eyes and you slipped your hand in his and held it tightly.

He wasn't expecting to see the tears in your eyes, so when you slipped your hand his, a few seconds later he let go and instead slipped his arm around your shoulder again and pulled you into his side.

"then you're going to come here eh" he rubbed your shoulder.

"How are we going to afford it?" you hiccuped.

"you're the first Shelby to be offered a fuckin' scholarship and that's what your worried about?" Tommy chuckled.

You were always the more grounded Shelby, but it never occurred to him just how far your selflessness went.

"Listen to me" he made you look at him "we'll afford it alright, we've got more money now than before and by the time you have to leave we'll have even more, plus I've got Ada a place you could stay with her, after she finds out I've got her a place of course"

"Tommy-"

"It's not for you to worry about money, you leave that to us" your brother clarified.

You said nothing further but continued leaning into your older brothers side until he finally asked you if you were ready to leave.

Watching the building fade past you, you turned back around looking in front "they know then?"

"Only that you've been told you've got exceptional art skills" he gave a small smile.

You were grateful he hadn't told your family of your scholarship opportunity yet "thank you".

You spent the trip back to Birmingham wondering how you'd tell your family. You were beyond nervous and the bundle of nerves only worsened as Tommy turned into the familiar streets of the Small heath.

When the car came to a halt you almost refused to get out but you had to get out at some point. So you did. With shivering legs and a pounding heart.

Only when Tommy nudged you into the pub did you realize that you'd never told Tommy that you were going to tell your family today. But somehow he knew you'd agree once you'd seen the place you were being given the opportunity to go to. And seeing your family gathered at the table when you entered the pub only confirmed this realization.

"Ada will be here soon" Tommy walked over and sat down next to Arthur-a decision he knew he would regret the moment you told them.

The chair scraped against the dark wooden floor as you took one from another table and sat down. In the same instant that you sat down, Ada strolled into the Garrison, taking off her hat.

Once she'd sat down grumbling about how this better not be a meeting revealing one of Tommy's fuck ups.

But Tommy had rolled his eyes and clarified "we're here 'cause Y/n has something to tell us"

You sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling, and then looked back at the unflinching gaze of your entire family focused on you.

"right-um-well" you cleared your throat and shifted slightly in your chair. "I-um" you began bouncing your knee.

You realized in that instant that the only way you'd be bale to tell them was if you didn't look at them directly and avoided the look of disappointment they'd inevitably express at your selfish-ness of asking something like this of them.

So instead you looked at your fidgeting hands and came out with it in one breath "I've been offered a scholarship to a university In London for-um-art and I've decid-thought of taking it"

There it was. The heavy disappointed silence. Your heart dropped at the silence. Even Harry it seemed had stopped wiping the bar behind you.

You could hear everyone's breathing in the loud silence, more so you could hear your own heart beating quite rapidly and were sure everyone else could too.

"A shelby going to bloody university!" Your head snapped up to meet Aunt Pol's tear brimmed eyes. She was beaming, and you realzied you'd never actually seen a smile on her that actually reached her eyes- before this that is.

The relief washed over you like a wave, you could physically feel the relief in your skin, your shoulders felt lighter and you felt as htough you were giong to start fully sobbing at any second.

Arthur sat stunned for a few more minutes while Ada and John hugged you, raving about how proud they were of you. Finn congratulated you Arthur seemed to come to and started literally bellowing out of happiness. You were pretty sure he was just making noises and not even shouting proper sentences, "little one's going to fookin' University!", Tommy instantly took a deep breath looking at the ceiling standing up.

Chcukling, you said "I'm not litt-oh" Arthur hugged you tighter than he had before, unable to contain his happiness for you and you had to tap him on the shoulder letting him knowing you couldn't breath.

Once he let go John, Finn and Ada continued talking excitedly making lists of things you'd need for university, and you leaned your head past Arthur and looked at Tommy who was now leaning against the wooden beam; smiling at you.

"how come you got a scholar-whatever-it-is and I didn't?" You heard Finn say behind you.

"Maybe cause you never fucking went after the first day of 6th grade" John laughed, making Finn roll his eyes.

You however walked to Tommy and engulfed him in a hug. Squeezing him as tight as you could. And Tommy did the same.

He looked up at Pol who and gave him a nod. Tommy knew it was his aunts way of letting him know he had done the right thing in doing whatever he had done to convince you to get away to a better life.

"hang on" Ada said then "we've all been here talking about how fuckin proud we are of you for your scholarship, but we've barely seen your bloody art"

So of course the next thing you knew you were being dragged down to watery lane to show them your art book. Which you didn't have, seeing as you'd left it at Nancy's so John then accompanied you to pick it up and watched you tell Nancy you'd explain everything later.

John was itching to grab your book from you and take a peek on the way home, but he also knew you would chew his ear off for it and decided against it.

The moment your family's eyes glimpsed the first page, they proceeded to compliment you, but Ada made it a point to let you know you were a downright arse for keeping your work from them.

Tommy and Pol stayed up that night, long after everyone else had gone to bed- after Tommy had carried you to your room.

Sitting down next to his aunt with a drink, he leaned back on his chair.

"y/n's going to have a better life Pol" Tommy sighed, smiling a little.

"god knows if there's anyone that deserves it more than anyone, it's that child." Pol nodded.

And he knew it was true. He doted on you from the moment you were born. When you opened your eyes and looked at him with those beautiful eyes of yours, Tommy swore he would kill for you.

And not once since did he take his job as the older brother for granted, if anything he always went the extra mile to make sure you were safe.

Of course the rest of your family protected you too, but Tommy like always, went beyond what was necessary sometimes. But he would rather do too much than too little and end up having you hurt.

A few months later, it was this very habit of Tommy's, the one that kept you safe for 15 years, that made the new Irish Inspector in small heath, watch you from the alley as you walked home one evening.

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meraki-yao · 25 days

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Ok I got four asks in my inbox about the new Nick interview and I'm actually mad. I'm actually livid and exasperated because I've been getting and answering similar asks over and over again, and yet people still come to me with the same statement and the same conviction EVEN AFTER I POINTED OUT EVERY FUCKING FACT THAT CONTRADICTS IT.

Do you really need a 19-year-old to teach you reading comprehension and media literacy?

Ok, fine.

Statement One: Nick doesn't appreciate RWRB, he's brushing it aside, which is why it wasn't mentioned in the New York Times

One: Editorials don't always portray the actual thoughts or agenda of the interviewee.

Unlike a video interview or a podcast interview where we can hear the whole conversation directly from Nick with his voice, and even if there are cuts and edits we can pick it up via visual or audio continuity, in a written editorial the only thing we can rely on is the writer's words, or in other words, the writer's paraphrase or quotation of what Nick said to him. This gives much bigger room for any changes or manipulation in content because we have nothing else to reference.

It is clear that in the past three editorials, the writer or the magazine itself has deliberately demeaning and devaluing RWRB. In NY Magazine, it was only mentioned in one line and degraded to "a queer take on a common straight trope" (see the choice of word "president's daughter"), with the implication being at its core, it's a straight story/ reliant on past straight stories to be interesting; Hunger Magazine calls it fujoshi-pleasing (fujoshi: Japanese slang, denoting how a straight woman who enjoys fictional gay content is "rotten", too ruined to be married, an insult to both the audience/fans and the movie itself ); and this time New York Magazine didn't even mention RWRB, when let's be honest, it's Nick's biggest breakout role.

"Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Third Time's A Pattern" this is deliberate. I can't say what the agenda is, my guess is some extent of latent homophobia, but it's clear that this is a fucking pattern. In fact, besides the hidden agenda of devaluing RWRB, these editorials show another hidden agenda, but that's something for a later day. PM me id you want to now, I won't discuss that one on my public platform yet.

Again, there is so much more room for twisting and hiding words in a written editorial. In all the video interviews Nick did, especially in the UK, when has he ever avoided a question about RWRB? When has he ever not shown gratitude towards the project?

Two: In all video evidence that can't be manipulated, that clearly shows Nick's own thoughts which not influenced by any other party, he has made it clear that he adores RWRB.

Why else would he sign books during the M&G London premiere, going as far as to stay behind after the event just to sign books? Same with the LA M&G premiere and TIOY premiere: those were promotions for other projects, he had a valid reason to refuse to sign the RWRB books and posters, but he didn't, always signing with a big smile on his face, even playfully signing on Taylor's face. He said it himself in his Instagram post, and I quote: "The love that Henry has received has been one of the most heartwarming things to watch. It's been difficult to not talk about him. So thank you for seeing him for all he is. He was a joy to bring to life." There's your proof, directly from the man himself.

Statement Two: Nick's not interested in doing a sequel, he said he's done playing princes and he's done playing romantic leads

One: "Done playing princes" doesn't mean literally done playing princes, it means he wants to try more roles and not be stuck with only being known as the "prince" guy. (even though he's literally a prince lol)

Plus, he said that after Robert, but then Henry came along and he was attracted to Henry as a character with his scared but loving heart. He doesn't just view Henry as a prince, he views Henry as a complex, delicate person who so happens to be a prince. Him saying he's done playing princes means in the future, he doesn't really want another royal on his filmography, but this doesn't mean he doesn't want to continue Henry's story. With the given context, namely asking him about future projects he wants to take up, "he's done playing princes" and "he doesn't want to play Henry anymore" are not mutually inclusive.

Two: "Done playing romantic leads" means he wants to try new things and take up new projects that aren't romance films.

This doesn't include the continuation of already established characters i.e. sequels, this just means if he were to take up brand new projects, he wants to try something else. Sequels are inherently different from new projects because again, sequels are based on already established characters.

Three: He said several times ON VIDEO that he'd be in for a sequel

In this one, when asked if he'd be up for a sequel, he said, and I quote "Look, I think with any opportunity of doing a sequel, I think, you know, the script has to be right. But obviously, it was so lovely to see how many people it touched and having that resonance is incredibly important to me, so, yeah. Of course."

In this one, when asked if they have had conservation on a potential sequel, he said, and again I quote: "Yeah, I mean definitely had conversations. I think we're all on the same page in the sense that, you know, the script needs to be right, and sort of all the different components need to be right because we made something that has such a positive effect and I think the last thing you'd wanna do is ruin that or take that in a way, so, you know, the conversations are definitely being had."

And there are more videos from red carpet interviews that I can't be bothered to find right now but he says more or less the same thing.

(look I even transcribed it)

Not only is he on board with a sequel, he's also being careful about it to make sure once they do get to making it, it's something good. He's on board, and he values it. And again, that's directly from him.

We have a phrase in Chinese: 斷章取義, meaning "breaking off a small part of an article and deriving the meaning from that single part" That's what so many of you, in particular, the people who come to my inbox with the sentiments of the above-mentioned statement are doing. Please, use critical thinking and look at the whole picture. Stop making judgments from the surface of one source.

Tagging my friends @alittlefrenchtree and @myteavsricochet because it looks like they've been getting the same things I got

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb movie #nicholas galitzine #henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry hanover stuart fox #rwrb thoughts #meraki essay #i'm not someone who gets mad easily but I've had enough of this #nick galitzine

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becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 10 months

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hi Elanor! I'm going to be Wales for the first time (and am wildly excited), do you have any recommendations for things that really shouldn't be missed in the Cardiff area? (please feel free to disregard if you don't feel like being a virtual tour guide, I've just been seeing your abundant enthusiasm for Wales on my dash for years and can't wait to visit myself)

:D :D :D

I'm doing so much for the Welsh Tourist Board today! They should pay me.

Okay, let's think... A lot of it will depend what you're into. Do you like history and heritage stuff? Wales is extremely rich in castles, so there's a whole load around there - Cardiff Castle, obviously, but also Caerphilly Castle is the second largest in Europe and has a fun leaning tower, while Castell Coch is just west of Cardiff and was built by a lunatic who wanted his castle to Look Right, and so features the sorts of parapets, towers and moats that a cursed Disney princess would be happy with. Said lunatic also built the Animal Wall around Bute Park, which is a lovely park just left of Cardiff Castle in the city centre.

Also St Ffagans Museum, that's in west Cardiff - that's one of those living heritage museums, so they've taken historic buildings from around Wales and very carefully, brick by brick, moved them into St Ffagans to preserve them. They've made it into a little village though, it's so cool (honestly I could write an entire post about St Ffagans alone). Aim to get there for mid-morning so you can buy fresh bread from the popty in the village square, they've usually run out by about 1.30. The sweet shop does GREAT lemon sherbets. There's a lot to see (including a couple of Eisteddfod Chairs :D), so wear comfortable shoes for walking. They also have a high ropes course, and various specific events.

And, Caerleon Roman Museum, north Newport. The Romans built a lot of forts in the UK which became towns, but only three fortresses, and only where vitally needed because of Extremely Restive Locals. Caerleon is the biggest of the three, and in the Mabinogion, that's where King Arthur's fortress is - Caerllion. Whole sections of it are remarkably well preserved, including the little amphitheatre, but they built an actual museum over the top of a chunk of it; it's pretty cool.

OH ALSO do you want to go down a coal mine? Big Pit in Blaenavon will take you down an actual literal coal mine. You do not know darkness until you have been down a coal mine. There's also the Rhondda Heritage Centre, which doesn't take you down but has built a coal mine set above ground and last time I went featured one of those rollercoaster simulators.

Leisure stuff: four different escape rooms, if that takes your fancy; technically six but avoid City Mazes and Play At Pins. Cardiff Bay is swanky as fuck (albeit the most expensive part of Wales, which is... still less expensive than London) and includes things like the Millennium Centre, which will have various shows on. Also the Millennium Centre's cabaret area is currently liberally coated with photos of my husband. Oddly oppressive presence. Unsettling.

Cardiff International White Water does white water rafting/tubing, kayaking, that sort of thing - super fun if you aren't terrified of water. Cardiff International Pool and Gym has some fun slides. Techniquest is a big science centre.

Oh, and as ever, if you want to do one of those guided tours there are a billion to choose from in Cardiff. Including a Doctor Who one, if that floats your boat.

Anyway I hope there is something useful in there!

#asks #wales!#closed for cleaning on mondays

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piglinmyfeet · 3 months

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YES please pretty please talk about your historical life series au

So, the setting is roughly late 1900s to early 1910s. Pre-war era England. London to be specific, though I am looking for a specific year to set this in (partly for the sake of character design)

The au contains all members of the life series, but some don't have set roles yet and I'm open to input on those, as well as ideas for characters who already have roles

The central characters are Joel and Scar (and to an extent, Grian), though the story is more from Joel's perspective overall.

Joel is an artist, as a reference to his empires s1. He was raised by his aunt and uncle in Yorkshire, along with his cousin but moved to London at a young age to pursue his career in art.

Scar is an American nouveau riche car manufacturer (a reference to hermitcraft S8) who recently moved to England and is a new patron of Joel's art.

Ren is Scar's old money neighbour who has a suspiciously familiar manservant. Spoiler but Ren is also the legitimate brother of Joel.

Martyn was the second son of an Earl and highly respected officer in the British army, however he died recently. Another spoiler, he faked his death and is disguised as Ren's manservant.

Grian is another neighbour of Scar's, though his family's wealth goes back much less far. Grian grew up with Martyn and Ren but has a deep hatred for the two of them and is determined to find something to ruin their reputation, such as an illegitimate sibling or the truth about a suspicious death.

Gem is an officer in the British army who replaced Martyn after his death. She has been disguised as a man since joining the army and is widely disrespected due to her age, despite how strict she is with the troops, rivalling many other officers.

Etho is an older army officer and the only person who knows Gem's status as he was the one who helped her make her way into the army.

Cleo is Martyns so called widow, making her a dowager. Don't ask why there was so much alcohol at her husbands funeral, a woman may cope however she pleases.

Scott is Cleo's new fiancé after the death of Martyn. He is a bankrupt noble due to a series of bad investments at the hand of his older brother and has agreed to marrying a wealthy dowager (Cleo)

Lizzie is Joel's ex-fiance who went missing a few years ago. Yet another spoiler, she got heavily involved in the suffragette movement (theyre the violent ones, the suffragists were the more peaceful ones) and is on the run from the law and under Cleos protection.

The two with less fleshed out roles at the moment are Jimmy, Joel's cousin he was raised with in Yorkshire, and Mumbo, a mechanic who works for Scar, so they need to be further developed

Then there's Pearl, Impulse, Bdubs, Skizz, BigB are Tango who I honestly have no clue where to fit them in here so please give me ideas 🥺👉👈 i literally love using that sequence of emojis its so silly

Places I took inspiration from for this are: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Musical), The Unexpected Heiress (Visual Novel) and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Book Series)

The last one is set in a completely different time period (1700s), however I took inspiration from it's mystery aspects (this also only applies to the first two books in the series) (it also has no relation to GGLAM, ignore their similar names, and the fact both have main characters who go by Monty)

(By the way, don't expect perfect historical accuracy, this is not the time period I've studied the most extensively. The one I have studied is not really suitable for Minecraft fanfiction, however I am still a history lover.)

#my very own post #traffic historical au #smallishbeans #goodtimeswithscar #rendog #inthelittlewood #grian #geminitay #ethoslab #zombiecleo #smajor1995 #ldshadowlady #asks #ggttaob

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total-drama-brainrot · 1 month

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Solo Victory Noah AU, where Noah is in Team Victory, instead of DJ... Noah later ends up becoming the final Team Victory Contestant... Alejandro keeps trying to sabotage Noah, but Noah always outsmarts all the sabotages... Noah ends up in the Final 3, with Alejandro and Heather... Owen is super-duper proud of Noah! 🏆

I've actually been toying with an AU where Noah ends up on Victory instead of CIRRRRH, watches what's happening to his team with thinly veiled annoyance, eventually grows sick and tired of sleeping in Economy (he's not at all concerned for the people he's watched be manipulated and/or his own position in the competition, why do you ask?) and manages to make it to the merge through the power of sheer spite despite being a one-man-team.

It's... not a very fleshed out idea, mind you, and I usually only ponder over it to make myself laugh at different scenarios where Alejandro is desperately trying to get Noah- the surprise one man army that no one saw coming- eliminated, and Noah managing to either outplay him at his own game or twist the circumstances to his favour in a very Looney Tunes-like fashion.

Because Alejandro would see the continued existence of Team Victory as a personal slight, so he'd put an increasing amount of time and effort into getting Noah eliminated if only to prove that he can. And Noah's just smart enough and finally motivated enough (initially by spite, turned vengeance, turned pure amusement) to spin Alejandro's schemes on their head every time. They're literally the Road Runner and Wile. E. Coyote.

It usually ends up with Team Chris or Team Amazon heading to an elimination ceremony, only for it to be a "surprise reward challenge" or something similar.

(Of course, they'd go through a "Alejandro tries to sweet talk Noah into an alliance" stage, like Alejandro does with DJ in canon, but Noah's switched on to Alejandro's true colours since he's literally watched him eliminate the rest of his team. Maybe Noah plays into Heather's offered alliance instead? Again, I haven't really thought too much on this silly AU.

After Chris doesn't allow Noah to join Team CIRRRRH, and Noah himself refuses Alejandro's offered alliance, it turns into Alejandro driving himself crazy trying and failing to eliminate Noah.)

The main draw of the idea, for me at least, is Noah not making it to the final three though. Because (in my mind) Noah doesn't even really want to be back in the competition- he just kind of went along with the crowd for the Celeb Manhunt bus chase, and inadvertently bagged himself a spot on World Tour. He's under no delusions that he'll ever win the million, but floating his way to the merge would at least make up for the embarrassment of being voted out first from the Gophers his short run in Island.

So he makes it to the merge after playing a glorified game of cat-and-mouse (Tom and Jerry Style) with Alejandro. He's got a hypercompetent Archvillain gunning for his elimination, and now that the teams are null and void, alliances are the name of the game. So what does Noah do?

He gets himself eliminated, just to take the satisfaction of doing so away from Alejandro. Probably through a technicality or something too, like Izzy's departure from the competition, to save himself the shame effort of jumping out of the jet.

That's mostly because I really like the idea of Noah reaching the merge, thinking "I've reached the goal I've set for myself. Might as well quit whilst I'm ahead!" and just-

Leaving.

(Which is ironic, because he's spent the last ~8 challenges actually trying to remain in the competition, and now he's just. Giving up. Drawing a line in the sand. "This is as far as I go.")

It's a shame that the London challenge happens pre-merge, because the idea of Duncan being forced back into the competition and the jet taking off before anyone realises that they're missing Noah- who snuck away into the city and is having a great time using Chris' debit card (of which he memorised during his time as Chris' assistant) to live it up bourgeoisie style in London- is fuelling me.

Realistically though, he'd probably sneak off in China during the eating challenge- because why would he stick around when Owen's gone? It wouldn't be hard for him to throw the eating challenge at the first round and then just. Not sit as the loser's table. Maybe he knows enough Mandarin to get by, and manages to stowaway himself back home to his family and beloved golden lab.

Meanwhile, Alejandro is seething.

Owen is really proud of his little buddy for making the merge, and a little disappointed in Noah for 'giving up', but when Noah expresses that he didn't have anything to stay for after Owen's departure, his disappointment turns to sentimentality.

#something about noah 'quitting' the competition always has be in stiches i swear--#“yup. i've done what i set out to do. time to go home and sleep for a decade!”#noah leaves the competition early by his own accord like an introvert leaving a party early.#alejandro is SO MAD that after all of his effort he wasn't even the one to get noah eliminated.#he's even madder when he finds out that noah got HIMSELF eliminated. on PURPOSE.#yet another example of noah twisting things to his advantage.#alejandro: you are like the road runner. annoyingly competant.#noah: meep meep motherfucker.#also yes noah somehow manages to go mia post-elimination and the public is once again BAMBOOZLED by this kid's ability to ghost them #total drama #solo victory noah au #One Man Army AU #silly ideas #others' ideas #replies #...maybe i just don't want to see noah win world tour. this boy's a loser. he's not allowed to win anything.

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sophiesonlinediary · 8 days

Text

Official TTPD Review

Fortnight - Such a vibe with headphones on, but still far from being my favorite though. I'm quite shocked this is the first single but I do really like it now at the second listen, still sad post malone didn't get his own verse i was excited for that :/

The Tortured Poets Department - The charlie puth mention really ruined verse 2 for me sadly, but the bridge ruined my life "At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finge. And put it on the one people put wedding rings on. And that's the closest I've come to my heart exploding" LIKE WTF HEART = BROKEN the title of the song is really cool but i dont know i wasnt expecting the song to sound like this.

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys - I think this may be my second least favorite from this album i dont understand why i didnt really like this song. Maybe it was the vibe of the song and sound especially the choruses which sadly didnt hit. i love how she wrote about a rocky relationship in this song. I feel like this one will definetly be a grower

Down Bad - literally one of my favorites from the whole album. Maybe it's cause the sound feels familiar to me kind off like midnights vibe. But wow that chorus is amazing truly so catchy and the lyrics like wow. i love this song so muchhhh

So Long, London - Not what I expected but still so heartbreakingly pretty. I love her voice in this song it's so pretty and the lyrics are so good oh my god. I swear the verse 3's in this album are vile. "I died on the altar waitin' for the proof" like god damn this whole song is amazing.

But Daddy I Love Him - I loved this song so fucking much. When she said "I'm having his babies" my face dropped and then she hit me with "no not really but you should see your faces" was really fun i'll probably never forget that. i believe this song is of everyone trying to decide her love life for her. And her being like fuck you guys it's my life and you have to accept it and i love her for that!

Fresh Out The Slammer - Those choruses are so good man especially the second one is so good and so me. On first listen this one isn't very memorable but still really good. Now that i've listened to it more like i love this song so much too and the bride ahhh <333

Florida !!! - Ok so maybe i'm a little biased but man this one is so fucking good. I have loved Florence and Taylor for years so like them collaborating was like everything and more. I have now listened to the song like thrice and wowwwww i love it so muchhhhh. Taylor, Florence, Fl welcomes you with open arms man. And like verse 3 was so good their song writing skills are out of this world.

Guilty As Sin? - What an interesting song, like man, idk how to feel. I love the chorus fs. I've come to interpret this song as her having thoughts of a man who possibly isn't available per say or it's just something that can never happen between the two but the want for eachother is there. "They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly" I love this lyric btw and the chorus right after like wowwww

Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me - ME IM SCARED WTF. Her screaming that line was everything and like the second half of the song is so incredible like wow. also this line has stuck with me since last night "Then we could all just laugh until I cry" ALSO THE ASYLUM WHERE THEY RAISED ME SDJNVFI. I love how she's kind of portraying herself in this song as like the stereotypical scary neighbor in movies. At least that's how I saw it. The whole bridge is incredible and magnificent I adore this song.

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) - GIRL NO YOU CANT AND IM SO HAPPY YOU ACCEPTED THAT. Once I got past the point that this song is about ratty healy I really liked it. it's vibes are so good and the imagery is amazing.

loml - what if i said this should've been track 5. This was the only song in the album I cried to on first listen. It hit me like a bullet and I will never forgive cat lady swift for not preparing me for this song. Literally so fucking hurtful i'm screaming oh my lord. I- no im never getting over this song, sorry not sorry. And the fact "They almost had it all" but there life was cut short aka the relationship ended oh god kill me.

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. This song is heartbreaking don't let the production fool you, the lyrics want to make you rip you're hair out. And you know what i'll be dancing to this song with a broken heart. "The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night. I can show you lies" it's giving mirrorball like augh i love this song so much!!! and the chorus is everything "I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague" SO FUCKING REAL.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived - DRAG HIS ASS TAYLOR YEAHHHH. HELLO WTF THIS SONG IS SO GOOD AND FOR ALL OF U HATING ON IT U JUST DONT GET IT THE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVENESS IS EVERYTHINGGGG. mad woman you'd be proud asf. also my religion mentioned as a tongue in cheek to his anti religion views 👏

The Alchemy - I'm not gonna talk about this song much but like I didn't like it at all, i'm sorry. It sounds like one of those Kelce parody songs 😭

Clara Bow - Not the name-dropping herself, damn. I wanna manifest that second pre-chorus btw 🤞 i need to see the light of manhattan. I truly love this song and I can tell it's very personal to her. she's had such an unbelievable career it's always interesting when she writes about it. loved this as the album closer!

this is my ttpd review. remember im just a girl who's only listened to this album twice so please dont drag me for these opinions. gonna do the anthology later!

#sophie's diary entry #taylor swift #the tortured poets department #soo good and pretty <3

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canmom · 2 months

Text

NieR Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] (London, 15/2/2024)

NieR concert was incredible just as expected. Honestly, from the moment I got there - the cosplayers, the general atmosphere, it was just a good place to be surrounded by NieR nerds lmao. So many people happy to chat with the stranger next to them, kind of a con vibe.

But of course we were there for the music! And it was fuckin amazing. The emi evans/j'nique nicole duets😭These were special orchestral arrangements specifically for this concert, and the way the sound of the orchestra fills the space, how you can see a phrase physically ripple across the orchestra... I don't get to go to a lot of concerts but I really should try to go more often, because it's something else to hear orchestral music.

below: further comments on the concert, lots of cosplay photos.

The multimedia elements also worked really well - every piece was accompanied with backing videos using either demosceney abstract visuals or images from the games, along with text that told a short story over the course of the concert, with some segments voice acted by the English voices of 2B and 9S (Kira Buckland and Kyle McCarley, who have previously made their own performances of the original Japan-only concert readings). I won't spoil the story in this post since there are still concerts to come, but it was... not that substantial I'll admit, but sweet, and a nice framing device to create a flow through the songs and various moments from the games.

Hearing J'nique Nicole's voice live though, that was incredible. Emi Evans was there just as last time, and just as amazing as always - but this time we had both of them on stage together, and it was absolutely sublime. We all went wild. They performed duets in several songs, with the standouts naturally being A Beautiful Song, Ashes of Dreams, and of course Weight of the World. I think we all thought that was the end because we gave it a standing ovation but then Emi came back out to perform Kainé. After that we got into the groove of standing up and stood up again like three more times lol.

Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito showed up at the end and made a bunch of rapidfire jokes in Japanese that the translator couldn't keep up with, bless her. But we got to give them like the fourth standing ovation of the night, and made a lot of noise when Yoko Taro suggested it would persuade the president of Squeenix to fund a sequel. I'm sure they appreciated it lmao. I think it must be so weird for Yoko Taro to go from someone with a career of niche, unsuccessful games to being internationally renowned to the point that a massive auditorium full of people in multiple countries will go absolutely nuts just to hear him speak a language we mostly don't speak.

Good mix of people who were at a NieR concert for the first time and people who'd been to the last one. There was a guy near me who had apparently been to the Berlin concert just a few days before, and snagged a ticket for this one literally yesterday just to get it again with better acoustics. I respect it lol. Everyone I spoke to was remarkably friendly - last time I went to one of these things I felt really nervous about approaching anyone but it seems I've gotten better about that kind of thing in the last few years. Anyway, people had come from all over - I chatted with a pair of Americans from Boston all the way down the merch line.

Here are some pictures, mostly of cosplayers. I am still getting used to shooting with the DSLR my friend gave me, so not all of these came out perfectly steady and some of them the exposure wasn't right,, but there are some nice ones in here...

bokeeeeehhhhhhhhh... I spoke a bit to the owner of this 9S doll. Her mum was there too, and it turns out she's a haberdasher who makes cosplays for her daughters and has now done over 70. That's a legendary mum right there.

The 9S cosplayer here gave me his instagram. he's a pro photographer so I feel a little embarassed at the quality of the photos I took of him ^^'

I got some merch too, since I understand it's the main way events like this support themselves.

That Kainé thing isn't a print, it's a vinyl record with a few arrangements of Kainé. Though I was totally prepared to buy it as a print because it's a lovely drawing. I don't actually own a record player, but one day I'll surely listen to it ^^'

I was too fatigued to make a cosplay this time, but I'm sure there will be another concert and next time, for sure, I will go as Devola or Popola. Unless Yoko Taro comes up with another redhead character in the meantime lmao.

#nier #nier automata #nier replicant #nier reincarnation #nier orchestra concert #if you're in any of those photos please let me know! i'm gonna post them on instagram and twitter too

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veeisdunn · 1 year

Text

Sneaking around

Shelby family x sister!reader

warning: period typical homophobia

context: set before season one, reader is a few years younger than Ada.

I know this isn't an original idea and is kind of overdone, but I figured since I am very very queer I might as well give it a shot.

WC: 4.1K

MASTERLIST

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

It took awhile for everyone to recognise, but it was clear as day now. The youngest Shelby girl was slipping away.

Finn saw it first. The young boy idolised his older sister. Though less than a year was between them, Y/N was his world. You were there, day in day out, to offer support, advice, or generally cause trouble; until one day, you weren't.

Arthur, bless his heart, took a long time to come around.

"But I fuck off all the bloody time and I don't see any of yous all stressed"

"This is different Arthur, it's y/n" Tommy, the replacement voice of reason.

You were barely a teenager when you first realised you were different. You had a playground boyfriend who you adored, but not in the right way. You always looked at him like a best friend, but it became painfully obvious he was dealing with some serious puppy love. He kissed you. You hated it.

You promptly ended things after that embarrassment.

As you got older, it clicked. You didn't like boys, not in that way. You looked at women the same way many men would.

I'm fucking delusional. A looney.

The Shelby boys would tease your lack of romance, but deep down appreciated that you being single gave them one less thing to worry about.

You was all alone with these thoughts of self-loathing, until you met her.

Emma was a few years your senior and worked as a seamstress on the other side of Small Heath. You were caught in the rain together one evening, and the rest was history. You and Emma became close friends, both craving female companionship in your male-dominated lives. Your relationship escalated one drunken night in the snug of the Garrison. Most of the Blinders were in London doing god knows what, leaving the private room of the pub to you and her friend.

"Truth or dare?" Emma slurred

You hummed, "truth!"

"Who was your first love?"

"That's a big question." you pondered

"I've just never seen you around any men! You never even talk about them, you literally have your pick of every man in Birmingham." Emma giggled, her inhibitions getting the best of her.

"I… I just haven't found the right person yet." you quipped defensively, pouring yourself and Emman another glass.

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong place?"

You choked on her gin. "What's that supposed to mean?”

Emma leaned back into her chair and stared you down. "I saw the way you look at the barmaid." she smirked.

shit. shit. shit.

"I think she's cute as well" Emma continued, swirling her drink around her glass.

You felt like all of the air had been ejected from your lungs. Did Emma feel it too?

"Wait. You also like women?"

"Yes. I think they're rather more attractive" the older girl replied nonchalantly.

—

Ever since that fateful evening, you had been "best friends" - more accurately, you were sneaking around each other's houses, stealing kisses behind buildings or under tables, and fighting the urge not to show any physical affection in public. You were enamored by each other.

This new arrangement made you fear your family, quite simply because they ran the entire city - the walls may as well have had piercing eyes following your every move. Though if the you were exposed, you didn't worry for yourself, you worried for Emma - an unmarried 20 year-old living in a bedsit above a cobbler who had no family (or gang for that matter) to come to her defense.

Y/N was certain this was one of the only laws her family hadn’t broken, and now you were walking all over it. Homosexuality, as Emma had taught you, was fully natural, but extremely illegal. Sometimes the you wished you could just be normal, but then you wouldn’t be able to spend hours gazing into your girlfriend's glowing eyes - a truly impossible predicament.

—

The sun peaked up over the dense bog of factory smoke, darkened rays illuminating the dusty streets. Y/N took a deep breath in, halfway between a slumber and reality.

That’s a nice smell.

Only a few minutes later did you realise that that nice smell was, in fact, Emma’s perfume and your head was, in fact, buried in Emma's chest.

“Morning, sunshine.” The older girl whispered, resting her hand on your knotty h/c hair, attempting in vain to comb through it with her fingers.

“What time is it?” you yawned and relaxed into Emma’s gentle touch.

“Just turned seven, the bird’s woke me.” She spoke softly but the you were thrown into a panic. This was your first time sleeping in your bed and you'd slept in.

“They'll be up.” You shot up from Emma’s embrace. This revelation ruined the tranquillity of your night together. Emma hastily slipped on one of your frilly blouses and long woollen skirt, abandoning last night’s evening dress for the sake of blending in outside. You then helped your lover out of the window and onto the fence, then down to the alleyway beside the Shelby home.

“Em I’m sorry, again. I’m just scared, I don’t want anything to happen to you.” You apologised profusely, feeling ashamed that you went to such lengths to hide.

Emma smiled sadly “No, I get it. We can’t have our fun end now can we?” She giggled playfully “I best be off, you should sleep over in my room tonight.”

You blushed as Emma waltzed down the alley and onto the bustle of Watery Lane as if nothing had just happened.

—

“Aunt Polly, guess what?” Finn giggled, skipping into the crowded kitchen. The whole family, except you, were crowded around the table eating breakfast. “I heard someone in Y/N’s room!”

“Finn, that’s not funny. Go and cause trouble elsewhere.” Tommy scolded, glancing up from his newspaper.

“No!” the boy protested, grabbing his Aunt’s arm as she walked past, “I heard her talking! And I heard lots of footsteps! And the window!” he blabbed

The chorus of murmurs that filled the room ceased.

“Y/N’s finally gotten herself a man!” John cheered, slapping an angry Tommy on the back. Across the table, it looked as if steam was pouring from Arthur’s ears.

“Boys, I say it’s a good thing. It’s time she found someone to have fun with.” Ada sighed, sensing one of her brother’s was about to blow up.

“I agree with Ada.” Polly announced, “Y/N is an adult now, she can do whatever the bloody hell she pleases”

“She’s barely 18!” Tommy slammed his paper down “she should NOT be having men sharing her bed.” Ada glared daggers into him. A floorboard creaking across the hall meant that you had accidentally announced yourself sneaking back to bed.

“Speak of the devil.” Arthur tutted.

You apprehensively stepped towards the stairs.

Maybe if I walk slowly, they won’t see me?

“Y/N! Y/N! Who was it? When can I meet him?” Finn sang, bounding up to you, Tommy hot on his heels.

“Who was the man in your bed?” Tommy demanded “Do we know him? Or will I have to introduce myself?” He snapped, a menacing undertone in his voice.

“THIS is why she felt the need to sneak him out!” Ada shouted over her brother, “you could at least pretend to be supportive!”

Tommy let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Okay, how was your secret fuck last night?”

“THOMAS! Cut it out. Now.” Polly could have broken glass with her shriek. “Girls, I suggest you leave. Your brothers need educating.”

You fled up the stairs to her room. Ada followed close behind, stopping her sister from slamming the door and locking herself away. You threw yourself on the bed in despair.

“That’s a nice dress. Did you wear it last night?” Ada tried her best to be friendly, inspecting Emma’s crimson dress hung over a desk chair.

“That’s not my dress.” You rolled over to face the wall, “it’s my friends.” you huffed defensively.

“You know, you can always borrow my dresses?” Ada settled down at the end of her sister’s bed, misjudging the situation.

“No Ada, it’s just that she wore it last night and left it here.”

“So if one of your friends slept over, can’t you just tell everyone so they’ll shut up?”

An unfamiliar knot tied itself in your stomach. It was one thing sneaking around behind the backs of your family, lying to their faces was not something you'd considered. You opted to remain silent.

“What’s going on with you lately? You keep shutting everyone out.” Ada leaned over and looked down over her little (adult) sister with concern.

“I’m just so fucking tired of hiding.”

Ada’s the least likely to kill me.

“From what?”

“Everyone. I am sick of living life like this.”

“Y/N, who was here last night?” Ada asked softly, catching on.

You snapped. “My girlfriend. My girlfriend was here and we slept in my bed. We didn’t have sex, we just talked.”

Ada silently gasped and took a moment to compose herself. “Look, I don’t care what you’re doing with her-”

“No, it’s not that.” tears began to well in your eyes, “it’s the fact they all probably think I’m no better than a common prostitute despite the fact they sleep with every woman they find.”

“Oh Y/N…” Ada mumbled with a smile, “Polly will sort them out. You shouldn’t be sneaking around us.”

You was taken aback by Ada’s lack of anger.

“Now…” Ada jumped up and picked up Emma’s dress from the chair, admiring the quality “tell me about her!”

—

“Look Thomas, just because she is a woman and you are a man, it doesn’t mean you have more rights than Y/N.” Polly snapped, towering above her nephew.

“You just can’t seem to get it through your head, Pol.” Tommy retorted, standing from his seat, “men are bad, they can’t be trusted.”

“Yes, and you would know all about bad men Tommy, since you yourself run with the devil.” Polly squared up to him and snarled, staring into his dark eyes.

John joined the pair standing and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. “Eva is a smart girl, she probably picked someone who’s the total opposite of a Blinder. He’ll be nothing like Tommy.”

“At least if he’s a fuckin’ Blinder we can finish him off quickly.” Arthur chimed in, gripping his glass so hard it could have smashed.

“There will be no finishing of anyone off. You boys cannot sentence an innocent man to death for sleeping with Y/N. How do you think she will take that? Will she thank you? Or will she leave this God forsaken city and never come back?” Polly snapped, “It’s your decision, but it’s one you should take in a fucking heartbeat.”

As Polly berated Arthur and John sat back with indifference, Tommy stormed into the hallway and ascended the rickety stairs to your room. His mind was running at lightning speed, anger and guilt both clouding his rational brain. He had to know who this man was before he decided on his next step. Your jubilant voice and Ada’s giggles stopped him from bashing her door off its hinges.

“And when Emma kisses me, I swear my heart is going to explode.”

“Does she treat you well?”

“She’s so thoughtful. On the anniversary of Mum’s death, she brought flowers for us to throw in the cut. We sat on the edge for hours and she just listened to me ramble.”

“Oh my gosh! You lucky girl Y/N!”

Tommy kissed his teeth and looked up at the ceiling before opening the door.

If there is a God, he thought, then please tell me what the fuck is going on.

Both yourself and Ada jumped as your older brother entered, his expression was impossible for either of you to decipher.

“Tommy, before you yell at her, can you at least think about this!” Ada begged, standing between him and yourself.

“Ada. Out. I need to talk with Y/N alone.”

Ada stepped forward “If you upset her Tommy, I’ll fucking kill you.” she threatened through gritted teeth.

Begrudgingly, after bickering some more, Ada left your bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Thomas sighed, listening to the rapid rhythm of his pulse. Wordlessly, he picked up your desk chair and placed it next to your bed, sitting down and staring at his sister who was leant against the headboard, your knees to yourchest. You refused to meet his gaze.

“So,” He coughed, “Who is Emma?”

You traced circles into your thigh as you took a shaky breath in.

“My friend.” You mumbled

“Your friend who you shared a bed with and kissed?” Tommy raised his eyebrows. He needed to hear you say it for yourself, though, as Ada did, he’d caught on.

“I - you know, Tommy.” You sniffed your tears back.

“I need to hear it from you, Y/N. Use your words.”

“Fine. I love her Tommy! I love her more than all the girls you sleep around with. I know you don’t want me to be happy but I don’t care because I love her.” You lost it, you sat up and faced him, shouting with tears streaming down your face. The only thing stopping you from attacking him was the iron grip you were keeping on your bed sheets.

Tommy didn’t reply. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands.

“I know you’re pissed but quite frankly I’m sick to death of being a prisoner to the men in this family. For once, I have someone who loves me for me and who doesn’t treat me like a child. If you don’t like it, I’ll fucking leave and you can be rid of me.” The words flew out of your mouth without much doubt and you couldn’t figure out if they were empty threats or if you were ready to run. Your brother’s reaction would decide that.

Silence. “So?” you spat, “when do you want me gone?”

Tommy barely registered what he had heard. He was stunned, sifting through his racing thoughts: She could be arrested, or even killed. Her reputation would be finished. What if she wanted her own life and career? Would she even be able to find a job?

He was so engrossed, in fact, that he didn’t even notice you leave in floods of tears.

—

You were running on fumes. You hadn’t woken up prepared for any of this anguish. Your legs carried you to the one place where you knew you’d be safe - Emma. Before long, and after lots of odd looks from people around you, you'd ended up at the door of the dress shop where your girlfriend worked.

“G’morning! How can I help?” The woman behind the counter looked up from her work at you, a fake smile on her face.

“Emma.” you panted, catching your breath, “Is Emma here? I’m her friend and it’s an emergency.”

After studying your face, the woman’s smile faded. “Emma!” She poked her head through a door behind her and called, “There is a Miss Shelby here looking for you.”

A crash, a slam, and then Emma appeared, rather flustered. If it wasn’t for your panic, you would be swooning at the sight of your lover in your clothes.

“You should step in the back for a minute - I don’t want customers seeing you girls chit-chat.” The woman, who you had now deduced was the boss, spoke quietly. Emma didn’t respond and grabbed your forearm, leading you into the back room and closing the door.

“What happened? Why’re you crying?” Emma fretted, sitting you down at a desk.

You held back your tears in fear of getting your girlfriend in trouble. “They know.” You whispered, “My little brother heard someone in my room and they’ve all found out.”

Emma cursed under her breath, holding onto your hands so hard her knuckles went white. “Are they angry?” She whispered back, her eyes flicking to the door cautiously.

“I - I don’t know. My sister was really happy but I don’t think my brothers are. I asked Tommy if he wanted me to leave and he didn’t even say anything. I don’t think I can go back.”

The older girl walked over to a set of pegs and took a key out of a bag, handing it to you. “Go back to my room. I’ll finish at six today, then we can come up with a plan.”

“No!” You snapped in a hushed voice “You don’t understand how crazy my family are. You should leave me here and go somewhere else, it won’t be safe in the city for you anymore.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you. If you don’t think it’s safe here, then let’s both get out.”

After that exchange, you were sent on your way back to Emma’s bedsit. Luckily everyone else was at work so no one saw you run in. You were originally planning to spend the day figuring out what you and Emma were going to do come the evening, but you instead collapsed from exhaustion and slept.

—

“Thomas Michael Shelby!” Polly bellowed, practically picking him up by his collar. “What in God’s name have you done?!”

Tommy snapped out of his haze. Y/N was gone. Polly was out for blood. Ada was crying. Arthur was having a drink - at 8am. John was gone, too. What the fuck happend?

“You were meant to comfort her! Not drive her out of the fucking house!”

Tommy ignored his raging aunt. “I’ll get every bloody man on the street to find her.” His voice was monotone as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket.

Ada chuckled sarcastically, “John’s already onto that, got all the Blinder’s after her. He was being a brother while you were sitting on your arse.”

“SHIT” Tommy stood up and threw the pile of books from Y/N’s desk into the wall. “Shit shit shit.” And he was gone.

—

The three brothers were out all day looking for their sister, while Polly, Ada, and Finn stayed home waiting in case she returned. She didn’t. As the night approached, the trio returned and handed over to a group of their associates who planned to search all night.

On the other side of Small Heath, you and Emma were getting ready to head out. Your plan was to sneak back to Watery Lane, get your things, leave a note, and get out. You was intending to hide in Emma’s room until you could both figure out where to go next. You took the reverse route that you had that morning, seeing that all the lights were on downstairs, but no one appeared to be upstairs. Down the alley, up the fence, onto the roof, then through the window. The one thing that you'd forgotten to consider was that somebody could already be in there.

Ada was laying on your bed in floods of tears. The second your feet hit the floor, she shot up and screamed, bounding over. “Y/N! I thought you were never coming back!” She grabbed you and smothered her in an embrace, “Tommy didn’t mean it. He was just being an idiot. Good god Y/N I thought we’d lost you.”

Emma awkwardly slid in through the window, extremely embarrassed. At the same time, a pair of footsteps sprinted up the stairs and into the room and the door flew open. John. He looked exhausted and was too shocked to even speak, he assumed Ada was having a nightmare. On her guard, Emma stormed over to him and backed him in a corner.

“Are you Thomas?!” She snapped, seething with anger.

John let out a sincere chuckle and smiled. “So Y/N did pick someone tough after all - I’m John, not Tommy.” Emma retreated in embarrassment.

“Sorry, I thought he’d made you cry.” She mumbled to you “I couldn’t help myself.”

“I like her, Y/N.” Ada smiled, taking a good look at the new woman in the room.

You walked over to Emma and took her hand. “You don’t need to protect me, it’s ok.” You whispered, wrapping her in a calming hug. You could feel her pulse pumping across her body.

“So you’re the girl who stole my little sister’s heart?” John enquired, relieved.

“Emma.” You spoke into the girl’s chest, “You’re hugging me too tight.”

Emma immediately let go “I’m sorry, I’m just tense.” You pecked her lips, “Better now?”

Ada awed at the interaction and took in the sight of her baby sister in love, John could have sworn his legs had turned to jelly. The moment was destroyed by another set of footsteps, Tommy entered drearily.

John ceased his opportunity to wind his brother up. “Emma.” He announced, turning to her, “This is Thomas. Tommy, meet Emma.”

The loving embrace between you both ended as Emma stormed over to the doorway and pinned Tommy against it. Ada covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at the exchange.

“You. You fucking made Y/N cry. She’s been in my room all day crying because you couldn’t talk to her, after demanding that she ‘use her words’ you fucking prick.” she spat. Tommy lifted his hands up in surrender, shocked at this new girl’s confidence.

“Ay, no need to shout. I came to apologise to my sister for being an arse.”

“Honest to God Tommy, I don’t think an apology will cut it.” John folded his arms and walked towards the door.

“No. I’ll listen.” You piped up, pushing past John. “Emma, it’s ok, I promise.”

Emma shook her head and stood back. Ada took her out of the room begrudgingly and John followed, the three of them waiting outside of your door.

“Tommy, I-” You began but you were cut off by your brother engulfing you in a hug and practically picking you up.

“I’m so sorry sweetheart. I’m sorry. You can be angry at me but I’m just so happy you’re home.” He rambled, gripping you as if you were about to disappear again.

“I’m not angry, I’m hurt.” You stepped back from the hug and looked into his glassy eyes. “Why didn’t you say something, anything Tommy? I thought you were mad, I thought you hated me.” You spoke as tears fell down her cheeks.

“I - Y/N I was thinking about you. I was scared. You’re too good for this world and people won’t understand this.”

“I just wish you could have said something. Tommy you fucking terrified me.” You sniffed.

He took your hand in his and held it to his chest. “I don’t care who you love, Y/N, as long as you love. I don’t know where all that talk of me hating you came from. You could scream and shout at me, but I will never, ever, hate you. I got scared that you’d met some man like me who wouldn’t treat you well; but now I see you’ve found yourself a woman who will fight me over your feelings - a brave woman.”

“So… you don't hate me? I thought you’d want me locked up.”

Tommy scoffed “Locked up, eh? You don’t have shell shock. You aren’t crazy. And even if you were, I'd look after you, I wouldn’t shut you away.”

You burst into relieved tears, prompting Emma to open the door. Tommy immediately stood to face her, his arms yet again up in a surrender.

“I don’t know if you heard that, Love, but I was apologising, so please don’t cut me.” He spoke, locking eyes with her pleadingly.

“Ok.” Emma sighed. “You’re forgiven, for now.” She warned. John skipped through the door cheering. “Tommy brother, we have found your match!” He laughed, “Aunt Polly will love you!”

The rollercoaster of a day came to a crashing halt as night fell across Watery Lane. You apprehensively introduced Emma to your family. John was right, Polly adored her: “Finally, another woman to help me control these feral men.”

Arthur was less expressive: “D’ya want a whisky?” Emma obliged - immediate friends.

Finn, bless his heart, was very confused - “Y/N, your boyfriend is a girl.” but he eventually figured it out.

—

“You know,” You started, looking into the fire surrounded by your family with the woman you loved, “sometimes Em and I joke that the Shelby’s have now broken every law in the book.”

“No, I’m sure your brothers could find a few others.” Polly chuckled, leaning back into her seat, a smile plastered across her face.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

please drop me a comment or message with any feedback or suggestions! I'd love to hear from you ♡

Vee x

MASTERLIST

#peaky blinders #peaky fucking blinders #thomas shelby #tommy shelby #shelby #finn shelby #angst #hurt #comfort #shelby sister #peaky fookin blinders #cillian murphy #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #imagines #peaky blinder imagines #shelby sis #lesbian

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neednottoneed · 8 months

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"Die neue Mrs de Winter" - Translation of Danny's part

SO in the new London production they cut Danny's part of "Die neue Mrs de Winter," which I'm frankly annoyed by because I like that moment for her character--it's the musical version of the Hitchcock camera zoom onto her. So with that in mind I thought I'd try my hand at translating her part in the German into English, with some explanation for why I made the choices I did.

The original German lyrics are below, as well as a literal word-for-word English translation, and then my translation after that. I'll put my thoughts under the cut as I'm afraid it'll get really long otherwise.

German:

Selbst wenn sie eine Fürstin wär' Was will sie hier in Manderley? Für mich gibt es auf dieser Welt nur eine Mrs. de Winter Denn ruht dein Körper auch im Grab Dein Geist ist noch in Manderley Und keine nimmt dir deinen Platz Niemals!

Literal English:

Even if she were a princess What does she want in Manderley? For me there's only one Mrs de Winter in this world Your body rests then in the grave Your ghost is still in Manderley And no one can take your place Never!

My translation:

No matter how well bred she is She has no place in Manderley I know there can only be One true Mrs de Winter They say you’re lying in your grave, But you’re still here in Manderley And nobody can take your place Ever

Explanation of choices under the cut!

SO right off the bat I've never been huge fan of the "princess" line though it works in German (and Fürstin has a nice old-fashioned nobility connotation) but I wanted something that still got that meaning across, and between that and "she has no place" I wanted to get across the point of what Ich believes is Danvers' disdain for Ich's lower-class upbringing (something Ich obsesses over in the novel), as well as make it clear her feelings on someone replacing Rebecca.

I could've stuck with "For me there can only be" instead of "I know there can only be" but I thought "I know" sounded nicer. "One true Mrs de Winter" - same effect.

"They say you're lying in your grave" - I wanted to set up the echo of this line we get in "She's invincible" and go ahead and get that across, plus there's my favorite detail in the German where Danny addresses Rebecca here (and throughout) with the informal "you," something she only does a few other times--to Ich, when she's mad at her or terrorizing her (Nur ein Schritt/Mrs de Winter bin Ich.) I wanted to keep that direct address, so this works here.

"But you're still here in Manderley" a little less subtle than "Your spirit/ghost is still in Manderley."

"And nobody can take your place / ever" - I toyed between "never" and "ever" as Never would be more a direct translation, but "Nobody would ever take your place" flows if this were just a sentence spoken in English, where never does not, so I went with that.

If you made it this far, congrats! I find all of this extremely interesting and fun and love talking/thinking about translation choices.

#rebecca das musical #rebecca #daphne du maurier #rebecca london #rebecca musical #translation #meta #i shouldn't have to say it but i'm gonna #translation copyright here belongs to me

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withoutyouimsaskia · 2 years

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Remember Me, Special Dreams

Part X.

GIF: Originally posted by @sic-vita

Summary: Self-insert. You're having trouble with recurring night terrors and Morpheus pays you a visit. (Title from the lyrics of Placebo’s Special Needs)

Warnings: language, angst, mentions of night terrors.

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: Good evening wonderful peeps. Hope you've had a good week. It's just been announced that Tom Sturridge and Mason Alexander Park are going to be at London MCM Comic Con next weekend and the thought of it is too much for me to handle. I think I might be having a day in London... 😉 Anyway, please enjoy this next one. All my love, Saskia xx

Sandman Masterlist

---------------

The instant that yours and Morpheus' lips touch, you feel him tense. There’s an acute intake of breath. Then he is a statue. Carved from ice.

You consider pulling back but then the ice begins to melt.

He’s kissing you back.

Only very slightly yet it’s all the encouragement you need to keep going.

His lips are just as perfect to kiss as they are to look at.

Soft. And combined with his smooth skin, it is like being caressed by silk.

Within seconds, you are lost in him.

The reaction your body gives is unlike anything you have ever experienced before from a first kiss, or any other kiss for that matter. You are completely overtaken by the oxytocin binding to your neuroreceptors, and there's an additional layer of bliss to cushion your aching heart. It laps over you like a wave soaking the sand at high tide.

An otherworldly sensation.

You presume it is because he is that entirely. Not of your world.

The thought is sobering. He’s a powerful, ageless, visually stunning being. And you’re a human.

A human going through a crisis.

You know full well that trying to solve it through intimacy is wrong, regardless of the physical attraction and the burgeoning connection you feel with him on an emotional level.

You pull away.

Out of his personal space and further still. You withdraw into yourself.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Morpheus speaks your name in a whisper.

It takes a great amount of force for you to feel able to look at him.

His eyes are gleaming with tears. He looks so vulnerable.

Vulnerability caused by your actions.

Shame floods through you.

What must you think of me? You question inside your head.

He had been dutifully trying to help you, attempted to bring you comfort, shared what it meant to be the guardian of dreams and apologised for upsetting you, and the only thing you could think to do in that moment was to take advantage of his kindness by kissing him.

You feel despicable.

You're pushing your hands shakily over your scalp.

He says your name again. There’s real confusion on his face.

"Please can we forget that happened? I've literally just told you about my break up and kissing you, well, it’s a classic rebound reaction. I should know better.”

"Rebounding is a concept created by humans to bring shame to those who have the fortitude to act on their desires."

His words, though they sound seductively logical, do not sway your resolve.

“That may be true, but it was still massively impulsive of me.”

You watch as his walls go back up, cleaning his face of all feeling and freezing his eyes to a dark, frosty blue.

"Then I will do as you ask and ignore its occurrence."

You exhale with relief.

"I appreciate that."

Morpheus changes the subject so quickly, not even allowing for a second of unease.

"We should return to the library."

"Okay."

You shift into a better position to be able to stand but then he is in front of you and extending a long-fingered hand for you to take.

You hesitate.

"Please, Y/N."

You slip your hand into his grasp.

The skin on skin contact creates a buzzing sensation in the back of your head. Your body was going to take some convincing to detach.

You think back to his choice of adjective.

Desire.

That was what had happened. A heady moment of desire. One that you had enjoyed, yes, but nothing that could be pursued.

He helps you up gracefully.

"Thank you."

He simply nods and begins to walk back the way you had both originally come.

You fall into step beside him.

You occupy your thoughts by looking at every detail of the dense, green forest.

The textures of the tree bark, the colours of the leaves, the smell of the air.

It’s easier to distract yourself when you get closer to the palace. In your upset, you had completely missed the details of the gorgeous structure before. The pale stone and gleaming copper of the domes and towers. Statues dotted in amongst the architecture. A dragon and a Pegasus that move with their own autonomy greet you at the entrance doors.

It is fantastical.

Once inside, you re-trace the steps you had taken so hurriedly not an hour ago. Through the corridors with their abundance of arches and pillars and swathes of red carpets trimmed with gold.

Once back in the library, Lucienne greets you with a glowing smile.

You all sit down around the table.

Morpheus nods for Lucienne to present their findings.

“We have found the moment when your night terrors started. You were thirteen years old and you had a hallucination about a spider.”

You nod, remembering that well. You had been so convinced that it was dangling above your face that you had hit out at it with all of your limbs in turn.

“The exact same night, there was a small disturbance recorded here.”

Lucienne takes off her glasses.

“Every parasomnia episode that you have had from that moment on has coincided with some unexplained event in the Dreaming. However, because they were low magnitude and happened so infrequently, there was no cause for concern. Until now, of course.”

You wet your lips nervously. You are fearfully replaying Matthew’s words from earlier in your head about what happens to vortexes.

“What course of action are you going to take to stop it from happening again?”

“Well, it appears that it only happens when you are severely stressed or afraid and then have a nightmare,” Lucienne replies.

You look at Morpheus.

“So you could just stop me from having nightmares?”

“I cannot do that. I do not think it wise. Nightmares serve a purpose. They are a necessary means to help you confront your fears.”

His stance is regal and tone unyielding.

You visibly deflate, there will be no persuading him, you are certain.

“What I will do is grant you a reprieve from them until you are less unsettled in your waking life.”

You blink as you process his words before becoming alarmed.

“And what happens the next time something bad happens? I can’t just stay inside and avoid everything and everyone that could potentially upset me. That’s no way to live.”

“I will step in,” he says this like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You are going to stop my nightmares every time I feel emotionally out of control?”

“Yes.”

You stare at him in shock.

“If that is agreeable to you,” he adds.

“It is.”

He stands.

“Then it is decided.”

***

You and Morpheus return to the main doors of the palace and stand on the bridge side by side.

His hands are clasped formally behind his back as he watches you looking out at the gates in the distance that are book-ended by mountains.

Subconscious life bustles in the landscape around you and beyond. Dreamers have been dreaming the entire time you have been here, completely oblivious to the threat you pose to them.

You look up at Morpheus and gesture before you with both hands.

“So you made all of this?”

"Yes.”

“How long did it take you?”

“Eons.”

"I feel privileged to have experienced it in such a lucid way. It's more beautiful than anything I have ever seen.”

“I am pleased you think so.” His voice sounds strained despite his choice of words.

A murmur of Starlings are suddenly dancing in the sky. Clearly someone is dreaming about bird watching.

“You will need to wake up soon,” Morpheus says.

“Oh, okay.” His comment is so abrupt that you can’t help but feel like you are being kicked out.

“I will come and check on you in two weeks.”

He goes to raise his hand and end the dream.

Your heart lurches.

“Morpheus, wait.”

He pauses.

“Thank you. For everything. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve your kindness but I am really grateful for what you’re doing for me.”

His eyes soften to an ocean blue.

“I meant what I said to Lucienne. I will do my utmost to protect you. You have my word."

---------------------------

"I used to be overwhelmed by every little thing. Torn apart, unravelled at the seams. I think it rooted in the way I breathe."

Taglist: @pinkcyclewitch @layla2-49 @shoidy-cat @silverhart93 @boofy1998 @dotieeee @ponyboys-sunsets @fangirlmary @littledollll @fatimakinney @jamiethenerdymonster @rosaren2498 @mr-sandman-bring-me-a-dream

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toomuchracket · 1 year

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D word Matty bouncing up and down like. Golden retriever puppy trying to wait so he doesn't come across as desperate but just blurts it out in the end because he's too excited is so fucking cute to imagine

yeah like say your rental agreement on your flat is a few months from its end and you kind of absent-mindedly say to matty that you're not sure if you'll renew it or look for somewhere else - you're not hinting at him, though, despite the fact you've been together for over a year at this point. but as soon as he hears you mention it, matty's mind cannot stop wandering to what it would be like to officially live with you - he loves it when you stay over and he gets to wake up next to you all warm and cuddly, loves seeing your current read on the coffee table next to his, loves the way your perfume lingers around the house for hours after you put it on... yeah, he wants you to live with him (and to marry him, but it's definitely still too soon to say that). but matty's so aware that you're still young and ambitious and successful, and as much as he wants the domestic life with you and knows you love him, he's so wary of the fact that you might not be as ready to settle down as he is. so he keeps quiet at first, even when you decide you're going to look for another place - matty even offers to come and view potentials with you, on the grounds that he's lived in london longer than you have and he knows a bit more about the property market/where's a decent place to stay etc. than you do. and you're grateful for his help, and you love matty coming to viewings with you because you can daydream that it's actually the two of you picking a home to live in together - you're just as desperate to move in with matty as he is, but you don't want to come across as a gold-digger trying to get wifed up for his money or anything like that, so you don't mention it to him.

this mutual "i want this but i don't want to freak you out" thing continues for a few weeks, and only ends when you and matty are about to leave his for another viewing, only for matty to be like "...this is two streets from here". and you're like "well, that's the appeal", and matty goes "oh, because it's a nice area?" and you smile shyly and say "i mean, yes, but also the close proximity to you is definitely an added bonus. such a bonus that it's put this place to the top of my list, even before i've actually seen it in person. wanna be near you all the time, honestly". and matty's SO EXCITED by this - he beams and immediately says "you know, we could just save ourselves the walk and you could move in here with me, if you'd like that. i know i would", and your eyes go wide and you're like "you want us to live together too?" and matty's literally jumping up and down all hyper like "TOO?! you're actually up for living with me? why didn't you say anything? i've been daydreaming about us doing dishes together for weeks". you laugh and kiss matty's nose before you say "you know, babe, you're so weird sometimes. but i love it. i love you. and i'd love to move in with you, if you'll have me", and matty scoops you up and kisses you deeply and says "i'll have you in that sense anytime. can we work out the logistics after i've had you in another sense, though?" - you smile into another deep kiss and say "take me to our bedroom, then" and matty's like "fuck yeah, OUR bedroom" and does as you ask lol. and yeah, you move in officially a couple of weeks later and it's just the best <3

#mads muses #mads answers asks #matty asks #fluff asks #d word matty

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joannerowling · 7 months

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Finished the book!

Man Jo really bamboozled me, i got played like a fiddle right until the end (the Daiyu identity???) !! That woman's brain is NOT normal (compliment). The only thing i got right was…

MAN EATING PIGS

I KNEW those pigs had eaten someone and what Kevin had written wasn't about the masks! Even though that was just a Checkov's Gun kinda deduction. Checkov's Pig? Anyways, i like how it was ultimately subverted - turns out it's not such a foolproof method of making a body disappear after all!

I also looove the idea that the murderer is once again the one Rowling haters would least have suspected because they think she's a hateful misandrist lmao. And how this forced Strike to face his judgemental tendencies (fatal flaw if i've ever seen one, except he's able to rear it in when it counts).

The 80-90 chapters were the most intense and terrifying stretch of reading i've had in a long while. Literally had to pause and reassure myself that Jo would never ACTUALLY put Robin through rape again because that's not the point, but it was a near thing. The reunion with Strike was hysterical, his little jokes had me in totally unwarranted stitches, i felt like i'd just narrowly escaped myself! Amazingly immersive writing. And of course Strike's reckoning when he visisted the UHC temple in London was so incredibly satisfying.

(Also, will never forget how Robin and Strike baptised the men following them unsubtly the clown show. Jo you have spent too much time online for real this time XD)

Can't wait for ssdc especially to finish aksjhjfsjk SHE HAD THE RIGHT SUSPECT AGAIN and she even guessed the Becca/Daiyu switcharoo, even if it turned out to not have happened (which i was so relieved about for a moment, i would have been horrified if it turned out the real Becca had been murdered and they'd been forcing Louise, Kevin and Emily to pretend they couldn't tell she wasn't really herself).

I wish we'd had more news on what happened to all the people in the farm. I hope Kyle is ok. Of all the recruits on the farm his part - however small - really shook me the most besides Lin, Emily and Louise.

And of course: the ending?????? Cormoran. Honey. This wasn't ideal timing. But i'm proud of you regardless. You earned your "most character growth" badge of honour for this one. The future is bright Saladman.

#trg #trg spoilers #the running grave #cormoran strike #jk rowling #jkr

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mariana-oconnor · 7 months

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Charles Augustus Milverton pt 1

This one I remember. In multiple incarnations. I don't know why, but this guy sticks with me more than Moriarty in a lot of ways. ACD did a great job of making me absolutely disgusted with him. And I'm just going to start at the top and say Fuck Him. He's the worst.

...but now the principal person concerned is beyond the reach of human law, and with due suppression the story may be told in such fashion as to injure no one.

Watson for once waiting until people are dead to drag all their sordid secrets into the light. How kind of him.

Can't help but feeling with some things people probably wouldn't want them revealed even after death, especially considering the nature of this story, but sure.

We had been out for one of our evening rambles, Holmes and I, and had returned about six o'clock on a cold, frosty winter's evening.

They regularly have long night-time walks together. And before you say it isn't night-time, it gets dark in winter in the UK at 4pm in December, so yes they absolutely walking in the dark. I won't say starlight, because this is Victorian London and the chances of seeing the sky are close to zero, but lamplit, at least.

“Who is he?” I asked. “The worst man in London,” Holmes answered

Ah, so that's why I have it so reinforced in my brain that he is the actual worst. Because he is literally introduced as the Actual Worst.

"Do you feel a creeping, shrinking sensation, Watson, when you stand before the serpents in the Zoo and see the slithery, gliding, venomous creatures, with their deadly eyes and wicked, flattened faces? Well, that's how Milverton impresses me. I've had to do with fifty murderers in my career, but the worst of them never gave me the repulsion which I have for this fellow."

Tonight the part of Charles Augustus Milverton will be played by:

But seriously, though. The emphasis that is put on how much Holmes loathes this person. Moriarty, he respected, even appreciated as an opponent, but Milverton makes his skin crawl.

This does seem like snake slander, though. What did the snakes do to deserve this?

"The fellow is a genius in his way, and would have made his mark in some more savoury trade. His method is as follows: He allows it to be known that he is prepared to pay very high sums for letters which compromise people of wealth or position. He receives these wares not only from treacherous valets or maids, but frequently from genteel ruffians who have gained the confidence and affection of trusting women."

Capitalism meet blackmail. Blackmail meet capitalism. I'm sure you're going to get along just great.

“She is to be married in a fortnight to the Earl of Dovercourt. This fiend has several imprudent letters—imprudent, Watson, nothing worse—which were written to an impecunious young squire in the country."

Could go on for a year about the utter bullshit of 'reputation' and 'honour' for women in this era and before. The way he says 'imprudent, nothing worse' indicates to me that she's just sent some slightly romantic letters. I'm guessing that there's nothing really racy about them, and even if they were. Why does anyone even care? It's all so much fucking nonsense. And if you get rid of the stigma and societal judgement attached to such things (which literally hurt no one) then people like Milverton wouldn't be able to do anything to the women. Yes, Milverton is a dickbag of astounding proportions, but he couldn't exist without society itself ensuring his continued survival with its bullshit purity culture and hypocrisy.

Attaching shame to non-harmful actions only hurts innocent people and allows horrible people to flourish. Fuck that bullshit.

/rant

Charles Augustus Milverton was a man of fifty, with a large, intellectual head, a round, plump, hairless face, a perpetual frozen smile, and two keen grey eyes, which gleamed brightly from behind broad, golden-rimmed glasses.

Of course he has a big head. He's been described as a genius, therefore his head must be large 😂.

“My dear sir, it is painful for me to discuss it; but if the money is not paid on the 14th there certainly will be no marriage on the 18th.” His insufferable smile was more complacent than ever.

Oh so painful for him to discuss.

“They are sprightly—very sprightly,” Milverton answered. “The lady was a charming correspondent. But I can assure you that the Earl of Dovercourt would fail to appreciate them."

WTF does 'sprightly' mean? Maybe I was wrong, maybe she was writing erotica to the squire. Honestly, if her husband judges her for it, then he's also a dick. Ugh ugh ugh. This man is such a prick. I hate him.

“There you make a mistake, Mr. Holmes. An exposure would profit me indirectly to a considerable extent. I have eight or ten similar cases maturing. If it was circulated among them that I had made a severe example of the Lady Eva I should find all of them much more open to reason. You see my point?”

Ah, marketing...

"I assure you that I am armed to the teeth, and I am perfectly prepared to use my weapons, knowing that the law will support me."

Here he presupposes that a) he would win and b) Holmes wouldn't be able to hide his body and cover up his death effectively. That seems a little shortsighted of him.

But yes, we leave with Holmes seemingly foiled for now, and disguised for a bit of... perhaps burglary? We know from the last story how much he enjoys burglary.

#Letters from Watson #Sherlock Holmes #Charles Augustus Milverton #Ugh #I hate this guy #long post

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becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 1 year

Text

Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 37

It's still 1941! And still London! And we're watching Victory of the Daleks.

Funnily enough, for a truly shite episode, it really benefits from this stupid watch order and following the Empty Child. It makes it much more atmospheric, and makes you feel the world war going on outside. That's good, because there's fuck all real urgency going on. Weird episode, really. Weirdly structured.

Anyway, it's Matt Smith and Amy for this one. No Rory. Amy seems new, too - at the end of the episode they have a conversation which boils down to "So you have archnemeses? I didn't realise travelling with you would be so dangerous." It's actually a very stupid conversation because the Doctor's response is "Yes it is dangerous, is that a problem?" and Amy says "Well I'm still here, aren't I?" which might have been a meaningful line if they were back home in her house or something, but as it is, they're standing in a World War Two war room about 70-odd years away from her timeline and have only just wrapped up the adventure, so there is LITERALLY NO CONCEIVABLE WAY SHE WOULDN'T STILL BE HERE.

This is a pattern of trite lines badly delivered that is repeated through the episode.

Plot-wise: Winston Churchill is trying to use Daleks to win the war. Fleabag's dad is here, and claims to have built them. There are three! Last we saw there was only Dalek Caan. Then the Doctor yells at them in a big badly-written grandiose speech that he is the Doctor and they are the Daleks, and that means up in space their space ship can activate some sort of gene bank to resurrect lots of Daleks. The rest of the episode is six new Daleks in Power Ranger colours trying to blow up Fleabag's dad, who it emerges is a robot. The Doctor can either kill the Daleks, or stop the Earth being destroyed. Obviously he chooses the latter.

It's... okay well, there are some great bits, actually. Love all the Troughton nods - nothing has ever scared me as much as that cliffhanger in Evil of the Daleks where the Dalek is just repeating "I am your servant" over and over while the Doctor screams and begs everyone to believe him that it's going to kill everyone, and they were clearly aiming to recreate that scene. They don't entirely manage it, like, but I love the attempt. Love the quotes, too. All great. Also, here's another way this watch order actually benefits this story: we've just seen a Dalek episode where even the slightest attempt at compromise doesn't work, and they'll kill everyone first, thanks to Daleks in Manhattan. So seeing them here, with them claiming to be on our side, is genuinely shocking.

Uhhhh, the entire rest of the episode is shit, though. Fuck I hate WW2 stories. They just nosedive into nauseating jingoism every time. The fawning and sycophantic dick-sucking of Churchill is just gross, given that the man was a monster who merely happened to be on the right side of a war. I hope we one day get a Matt Smith story with Yaz where he tries this schtick with Churchill in front of her, and she's allowed to strangle him with a Union Jack. Meanwhile, this might be one of the worst attempts at a trolley problem I've ever seen? I think? Like the issue is, if the Doctor allows the Dalek ship to be shot down by the RAF and destroyed, they will activate the countdown on the robot and crack the Earth in half. If he leaves, and lets them go off to the future, they won't.

So he goes with option two, BUT immediately pegs it back to the robot, because he knows they're going to activate the countdown anyway. Which they do. So why did you bother calling off the RAF. What was the point. Just fucking shoot them. But no, the plot demanded it I guess, so here we are.

Also the Power Ranger Daleks are just terrible. The bronze ones are so cool, all steampunky and creepy, and then the Power Ranger ones legit look like they're about to break apart and form a Megazord. They don't even have a good silhouette, they sort of bulge weirdly at the back.

BUT ANYWAY let's focus on what's important - the new info!

Because we get quite a bit here. As the Doctor tries to convince Churchill that the Daleks are evil (over the course of about five separate scenes in which they have the same conversation on a loop and you start to wonder when any plot will happen) he turns to Amy.

"Amy, tell him," he says.

"Why would I know?" Amy asks fairly.

"Because you've seen Daleks!" the Doctor exclaims. "Thousands of their ships, trying to conquer your world!"

Omg what??? When???

"Omg what??? When???" says Amy

"OMG WHAT??? HOW???" says the Doctor. "YOU CAN'T JUST GO FORGETTING THAT SHIT???"

So that happened. Meanwhile, the Doctor gets a right cob on with a Dalek and starts boasting about killing them.

"I sent you all back into the void to save the universe!" he says.

Yet more plot threads. I can't believe there are so many. Almost like this is a stupid watch order etc.

Oh, and at the end of the episode, the Doctor reminds us that Amy has unnaturally forgotten the Daleks invading her planet, and we're treated to a weird crack in the wall. I wonder if that's relevant?

“She” (an unknown person) is returning (perhaps River returned as Missy. Maybe Me? Maybe Clara???!)

There is something on Donna’s back

An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest.)

Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)

The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)

River is possibly blown up (unless she’s Missy. Nope: she is definitely not blown up)

The TARDIS has blown up (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again)

The universe appears to have ended (the universe is back again)

The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole

(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)

There’s a vault in the TARDIS and it contains Missy but we don’t know why (sometimes she knocks for the bants)

There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons

Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?

What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?

Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)

Why is Amy’s pregnancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?)

Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?

How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?

What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???

What happened with the Other Cyber War?

What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?

Why does Rose seem particularly important?

What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)

Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?

Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri

There is a Lupari shield around Earth.

What’s a Time War?

What’s the Rift?

What’s Bad Wolf?

In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?

Who is the Master?

Why has Amy forgotten Rory? NEW INFO: how did she forget a Dalek invasion?

Is Rory plastic or not?

Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?

How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?

What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?

Which friend killed Strax?

Which friend brought Strax back?

Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?

What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?

How does Clara actually join?

Why so many Claras?

Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven?

Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?

What is Trensilor and what happened there?

Who is Handles?

The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man

The universe is being crushed by the Flux

Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?

Sontarans are invading Earth again

Who is Kate?

Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?

The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent

Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?

How did the Doctor forget Clara?

Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather?

How did Nardole die?

When does Bill get Cyberman-ed and die?

When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?

Whittaker is falling to her death rn

Was that ring relevant?

Does anyone know the Doctor’s name?

When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?

When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?

What’s happening with the bees?

What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?

What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?

What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”

If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?

How did the rest of the Time Lords die?

How and why did Amy melt?

What’s the question that will make silence fall?

Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?

How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?

How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?

What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?

Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?

What happened with the space whale?

When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years?

How does the Doctor survive River

How does he erase himself from history

Did Captain Jack lose his memories to the same people as the Doctor? What did he lose?

When did the Doctor send the Daleks into a void to save the universe?

What's with the weird crack in the wall and is it affecting memories?

#doctor whom #and yet we are continuing

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callsign-bunnie · 1 year

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Hey, uuuhhhhh, can I get a uh GazAlex Date Night Combo? With a side of everything seems to go wrong, hold the angst, add more fluff?

This is the funniest thing I've ever done, I love these asks. I listened to a playlist I have for Gazalex in AAP for this and a song that really fit was Like Real People Do by Hozier

Gaz had severe anxiety. This was relevant, he promises. Granted, he'd hid just how bad his anxiety was so he could get into the military, and he continued to hide it but... Well, it still existed.

He'd get severe panic attacks, wake up from nightmares about nothing... Look, if it was a stereotypical symptom, he had it. Even still, he'd never ever been on a level of stress that Alex was actively on.

It'd started with his favorite button-down. Gaz had had it since he was first in the military and he supposed he should have noticed that it was getting kind of tight. Obviously, Gaz had never focused much on bulking and being muscular, just worrying about being able to defend himself, but he'd still bulked a little and he didn't notice that the buttons were wearing down.

So, he'd put it on and twisted to adjust it and the whole damn shirt just fell apart. Honestly, despite it being his favorite, he hadn't even found it that big of a deal! It was just a shirt. Alex? Alex had almost lost his mind.

"Love, I own other shirts." Gaz shook his head, half amused, half worried for his boyfriend, who was going through the closet to find a shirt.

"This one was your favorite though! You wore it more than any of the others and... It's torn to shreds." Alex groaned, shaking his head.

Gaz chuckled, shaking his head in response. "Alex. It's a shirt. Yeah, it was my favorite and I'll probably be upset, later, but I'm more concerned for my boyfriend right now. Come on, I have a green shirt I like, I can just wear that. It'll take over as favorite now that this one is gone, I'm sure." He went into the closet, coming back out with the shirt and shrugging it on.

Alex paused before sighing and nodding. "Right. You're right." He nodded, again. "It's just a shirt."

"Thank you." Gaz smiled. "It's just a shirt."

Alex sighed and nodded. After that, they'd finished getting dressed. They planned to apparently walk to the place Alex had gotten a reservation to, but...

Gaz put his hand out as they stepped outside. This wasn't good. Rain. "Love, did you get an umbrella?"

"What?? Why??" Alex came over. They had an covered entrance for their apartment building, so getting wet wasn't really an issue right now. He groaned when he saw the rain. "Stupid fucking London weather."

"You chose to move here." Gaz reminded, amused again.

Alex shook his head, getting out his phone. "You are the only thing making it worth it, sometimes." He muttered.

Gaz watched him pull up the uber app and he smiled. "See? Not so bad."

Alex gave him a look and Gaz chuckled, again. Poor Alex. He didn't understand why he was getting so stressed out, though! It was just a date and things went wrong all of the time, it would be fine! "Alright, I have one, it should only be a few minutes."

Gaz nodded. "Good. Of course, that does mean we'll be early. Will we be able to get in?"

"Fuck." Alex groaned. "I'll just reschedule it." He shook his head. "What do you want to do in the meantime?"

Gaz hesitated and then shrugged. "We can just wait in the lobby." He smiled, leaning into Alex a little. "Or we can wait right here. The rain is pretty nice to watch."

Alex looked around and then Gaz saw him visibly relax, nodding. "You're right. It is nice to watch." Gaz felt his hand touch his own a moment later and so Gaz gladly accepted it, intertwining their fingers.

However, it appeared God had other plans for where they were waiting, because a moment later, the rain had really started to pick up, and so before Alex could stress again, Gaz tugged him inside, sitting with him in the lobby.

Until, literally the moment they sat down, their uber arrived and Gaz was laughing softly. "Piss poor timing." He commented, getting back up and going out with Alex.

Alex snorted. "I'm just glad it's on time." He muttered, letting Gaz get into the car, first.

The driver was polite enough, which Gaz was appreciative for. He really didn't think Alex was going to be able to handle an asshole well.

He knew it was just because Alex cared a lot about Gaz having a nice time, since Gaz had expressed in the past that he'd never really been on nice dates, so he found it more endearing. It was sweet!

The uber ride happened without incident, which Gaz was completely grateful for, and Alex had seemed to relax as well, which was good. Everything was going to be fine...

"What the fuck do you mean my name is not under a reservation??" Alex asked the host, who looked fairly nervous. "I made it online."

"Yeah, about that... So, we've been having issues with the website lately and..." The host winced. "So, several reservations have been deleted."

"I paid a holding fee!" Alex looked flabbergasted.

Gaz just kind of nudged Alex out of the way. "Look, I'm sorry, but is there anything you can do for us? When is the next available table?"

"Th-the holding fee should be refunded..." The host quickly said. "But, um... due to phone reservations, we won't have a table all night."

"All night?!-"

"That's alright. We get it." Gaz nodded, ignoring Alex. "Thank you for doing what you could." He thanked the host and then turned to Alex, tugging him out. "Come on, I don't really feel like eating there, anyway." Gaz shrugged, linking arms with Alex.

Alex groaned. "Nothing is going right! This is frustrating!"

"It is." Gaz acknowledged. "But... it's okay. Let's get pizza. I like pizza." He pat Alex's arm. "You like pizza."

"I do..." Alex conceded. "Fuck, what would I do without you?"

"Cuss everyone out." Gaz laughed. Since the rain had let up to a light sprinkle, they walked to a pizza place both liked nearby. "See? The rain let up." He said as they arrived.

And, the pizza place was open. More than that, it was where Soap worked when they were all on leave, like they were now. It kept him from being bored.

"Oh! Guys!" Soap grinned when they came in and up to the counter. "Wait-" He paused and then frowned, looking at Alex. "Did he do the thing already?"

Gaz frowned. "The thing-"

"No!" Alex quickly cut him off, looking embarrassed. "Shut up, Soap. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Alex told Gaz, shaking his head.

Gaz didn't believe that for a second, looking at Soap, who was laughing nervously. "The thing?" Soap asked. "I didn't mention a thing."

Gaz glanced between the two of them before narrowing his eyes. Whatever, he wanted pizza. Soap didn't even have to ask them what they wanted, just ringing it up. "Don't worry about paying." Soap waved his hand. "Um... it's on the house."

Gaz relaxed and nodded. "Thanks, Soap. I appreciate it."

"No problem." Soap then grinned at Alex. "Good luck."

Gaz just shook it off, following Alex to a table. "See? The pizza is going fine."

"You're right." Alex nodded, relaxing. He put his hand on the table, clenching it into a fist. So, Gaz took it and rubbed over the knuckles, soothing him. Alex looked at him and then relaxed, shaking his head. "Really. What would I do without you?"

Gaz smiled, flattered. "I'm sure you'd make do."

"I don't want to, though." Alex admitted. "I love you. So much."

"I love you, too." Gaz relaxed and then brought Alex's hand up, kissing his palm. "Come on. Let's enjoy pizza and then go home and cuddle."

Alex nodded. "Alright. Sure." He seemed to relax a bit.

A moment later, their pizza was brought and Gaz happily started to eat, honestly just glad to be on a date with Alex. He loved him so much and he didn't need a fancy restaurant to be happy. He just needed Alex.

When they were done eating, Gaz raised an eyebrow when he watched Alex start to tense again. "Alex, everything is fine. I promise."

"No, no, I know that, I just-" Alex cringed. "Okay, I know you... saw what was going on with Soap and... I don't want to go home without just doing it."

"I... what?" Gaz looked back at Soap, who was watching them with an anxious expression, and he turned back to Alex, confused.

Alex took a deep breath and then he was reaching into his pocket, getting out a little book. Like a very small book. "It's dumb, but I saw it and I knew you'd like it."

Gaz tilted his head. "All this stress about a little trinket?" He was deeply amused, taking it from Alex. "I love it, but I don't think it was worth all of this."

"Just... open it, baby." Alex shook his head.

Gaz raised an eyebrow at him, before opening the book. The first thing he noticed was that a very large rose almost grew before his eyes. It was made of paper, he knew that, but it was still beautiful. And then, a black onyx band with little diamonds set into it was staring right at him.

He paused, eyes wide, and stared at the ring, almost unable to comprehend what it was. "I..."

He looked up, noticing Alex had moved to get down on one knee. "So, I wanted to do this in the other restaurant but... Well, we eat here all the time. I guess it just makes sense." Alex shook his head. "You make me so happy and... I can't imagine going through the rest of my life with anyone else. Please marry me. I don't want to use emotional blackmail, but.. well you saw what it took to get here, today."

Gaz laughed at the joke, his brain finally catching up to the situation. He took the ring out of the box and put it on, noting that it fit perfectly. "So... That's why you were so stressed out?"

Alex's whole body relaxed and he got back up into the chair, looking embarrassed. "Yes. I wanted it all to be perfect and... Everything was going wrong, but... you've been so sweet and I just... I realized I'm not proposing to a date, I'm proposing to you. It doesn't matter where I do it, as long as you say yes."

"I'm saying yes." Gaz assured him, looking over the ring. "Alex... you don't need to stress so much. Any moment with you is perfect, I promise."

"That's what I figured out." Alex nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too..." Gaz melted.

Then, Alex sighed, raising his voice. "Alright, Soap, you can come over, now."

Soap was over within seconds, grinning. Alex shook his head, looking amused. "He's been practically vibrating the entire time."

Gaz laughed. "Thank you, Soap."

"Congratulations, you two! Lang may yer lum reek!" Soap grinned.

Gaz didn't bother to ask for a translation, just thanking Soap again. "I guess we'll have to have a little announcement party."

"I hope it goes better than the engagement." Alex groaned.

Soap again congratulated them and then Gaz decided to go home, for those cuddles that had been promised before and maybe something more, he'd decide when he got there.

The rain was completely clear, leaving a beautiful night view, which Gaz enjoyed, walking with Alex, their hands intertwined. God, he loved his fiance so much. His fiance... He was so excited to tell Price and Laswell. They'd have to invite Alejandro and Rudy from Mexico, too, wouldn't they? Well, he couldn't wait for that, either.

Alex paused in front of the door and then he was pulling Gaz close, kissing him deeply and pressing him back against the wall. "God, I'm so glad you said yes. I was genuinely worried you wouldn't."

"You shouldn't have been." Gaz murmured, pulling back a bit. "I must admit, I'm quite obsessed with you."

"The feeling is mutual, trust me." Alex grinned at him and then kissed him for another long moment before pulling away and reaching into his pocket.

Gaz tilted his head as Alex frowned and then he watched Alex do a little dance, patting all of his pockets. "You grabbed the key before we left, right?"

"Fuck."

How many times have I written them getting engaged? Who knows.

#Kyle Gaz Garrick #Gaz Cod #Alex Keller #Alex COD #Gaz x Alex #Alex x Gaz #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare II

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