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18+ - minors DNI
A place for stories, posts and gifs related to Jack O'Connell
Stories cross-posted to AO3 under AncientWordsmith
Prompts welcome
All banners lovingly crafted by Jude | @sinfulteeth
Ask and you shall receive! It is my duty as the Patron Saint to serve
Jokes aside, this blog will be mostly stories written by myself with all banners done by the ever so lovely Jude, who of course made the banner for this post
You can find my Masterlist here. I'm currently working my way through Chronically O'Connell - a fic for every Jack O'Connell role
You're welcome to ask questions, make comments and leave prompts in the ask box. I do love a challenge. No character is off limits, but the age of the character will influence what I am willing to write about them
I specify characters for a reason - Jack O'Connell is a real person and out of respect for that I won't be turning him into a character. In a similar vein, real world adaptations will be treated with respect, regardless of who they are, and as such I will focus only on the character Jack portrayed, not the people the portrayal is inspired by (Paddy, Todd, Blake, Louis, etc.)
If you're interested in anything else I write, you can find me on AO3, or follow my mixed writing blog - where you will find links to more specific blogs and updates as I slowly begin cross-posting my portfolio of fandom writing
You can all blame Sinners for this... and maybe my brother too
Summary: Connor's always saying that something's wrong with him. Nine times out of ten, I think it's just 'cause he wants a day off school.
Warnings: Implications of child abuse but none detailed or directly mentioned.
Thank you to Jude for making my banner.
"Connor, your dad's gone to his meeting. Can I come in, love?"ย
Laura waited for a response, pushing down the urge to let herself in when Connor didn't reply. Steve had a lot of anger issues, the shouting and the violence overwhelming at times, but he was trying to better himself. He was putting the effort in to keep her, and that meant it was time she put the effort in to be a proper mum to Connor. It wasn't Connor's fault Chrissie had abandoned him, he was only six at the time, but sometimes, when they talked about her, Laura could swear it was guilt that sparked the boy's outbursts.ย
Connor's anger was part of what prompted Steve to go to the meetings. They could say it was for Laura's sake until the cows came home, but deep down they both knew they were working on their relationship to give Connor something stable. She'd made a vow to herself that part of that stability would be listening more, doing away with the dismissals and the mislaid blame so that he wouldn't feel the need to lash out just to be heard.
It had been happening for months, Connor's loss of control and his violent outbursts. He never seemed to have a reason for it, just shrugging his shoulders whenever the consequences caught up to him and shrinking deeper into his shell. Not even a half-arsed excuse. The school wanted to wipe their hands of him, like he was nothing more than a troublemaker. Laura couldn't accept that. Steve's meetings were near a library, so three weeks into the anger management course she took it upon herself to do her own research, and now she was ready, armed with drinks and biscuits, and the hope that maybe Connor meant it when he'd called her 'Mum' and begged her to stay.ย
This time the conversation had to be on his terms, so she called out again. "Connor, please. I want to talk to you. It's important."ย
The door opened and Connor looked up at her with those sad, guarded eyes. Laura would've given anything to see them shine with happiness for a change. She could remember the last time she'd seen him truly carefree. It was two months into her relationship with Steve and they'd gone out for the day, just her and Connor, to the Sea Life centre. His dad had met them for dinner and she'd watched as a comment about not scaring her off deflated Connor immediately. Their conversation with the doctor echoed in the back of her mind.
Is it worse when you feel threatened? When people put you under pressure?ย
Yeah.ย
"What?"ย
"Just thought we could sit down. Can I come in? I made you a cuppa. Well. I made me a cuppa, I made you a hot chocolate. With actual milk." Laura smiled hopefully.ย
"And marshmallows?"ย
"And marshmallows."ย
"Are you gonna make me clean my room?"ย
Laura laughed, the sound fragile where it should have been comforting. "No, love. I'm not going to make you clean your room. I just want to talk."ย
"Alright, I guess." Connor took his chocolate and sat on his bed, feeling the warmth of the cup between his hands but not daring to drink yet.ย
Laura turned the chair at his desk around to sit down, facing him without invading his personal space.ย
"What do you want then?" Connor appeared impatient, obviously anticipating a telling off, though she couldn't say what he thought he'd done wrong.ย
"Do you still think you've got asthma?" The question took him off guard.ย
"Thought you said I was faking it." Connor huffed, shoulders like hackles.ย
"I know." Laura put her cup down on the desk behind her. "I know what I said, and I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry."ย
Connor shook his head, "Where is this coming from?"ย
"I'm supposed to be your mum, aren't I? Mums listen. So talk to me. Why do you think you have asthma? What does it feel like?"ย
Connor drank some of his chocolate and sat back, either thinking over her words or unable to speak, Laura wasn't sure. She didn't push him this time. The book told her that had been her mistake before, trying to force the words out of him before he was ready, making him feel like he couldn't confide in her. It still felt like an eternity until he mumbled, "Feels like I can't breathe. Feels likeโฆ like I'm gonna be sick and my head starts bangin'."ย
Something twisted in her stomach. When she'd read about anxiety and panic attacks, and the symptoms that came with them, she hoped she was mistaken. Connor was suffering and she'd disregarded him, just like everyone else had. "Oh loveโฆ when does this happen?"ย
Connor shrugged, shutting down the way he always had when the conversation got uncomfortable. Laura could see the tears coming before they fell. She reached across the space to take his cup, setting it aside so she could move to the bed and draw him into a hug. "It's okay. I've got you, sweetheart. I'm here."ย
"When Dad shouts. When I mess up at school. Stupid stuff." Connor wrapped his arms around her waist and curled up as tight as he could.ย
Laura rubbed his trembling back. "It's not stupid, Connor. It's okay to be scared."
"'M not scared."ย
"It's not asthma, love. It's anxiety. And I am so sorry, Connor. It's not your fault, it's ours."ย
"What's that mean?"
"It means your dad and I don't always make you feel safe. It means you're scared when your dad gets angry, and maybe you're still scared of what happens if I leave."
"I'm not scared of you and Dad." Connor pulled away, rubbing at his face with his sleeves.
"I'm not saying you are. I'm not scared of Steve, but his anger still frightens me." Laura kept her hand on his back, leaving the opening there if he wanted another hug, and choosing to share her burden if only to show Connor that she was listening; that she cared. "Anxiety isn't something to be ashamed of. Loads of people have panic attacks."ย
"So I don't need an inhaler?"ย
"No, butโฆ I think we do need to go back to the doctor. There's people we can talk to. Bit like your dad's anger management, but it'll be about what's upsetting you, and about keeping calm, and you can say whatever you want to and nobody will ignore you or tell you off for it."
"And Dad won't get angry?"ย
"If he does, he'll have to deal with me. You don't need an inhaler but you're still not well. He can't get cross at you for seeing a doctor." Laura wiped away a tear that he'd missed. "I'm not ignoring you anymore, Connor. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, and I'm listening, because I love you."ย
"Mum." She couldn't bear the pain in that whine. Laura pulled him back into her arms, holding back her own tears as he shook.ย
"It's gonna be okay, love. I promise." She kissed the top of his head. "Everything is going to be okay."ย
Hello! Our server hosted an incredible Secret Santa fic exchange event and as the host, I created this post to clump everyoneโs stories for your viewing pleasure !
Disclaimer : Some (if not all) will contain explicit written content! Viewer discretion is advised!
You can also follow the tag : หหห๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ ๐น๐พ๐ธ ๐ธ๐๐ธ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐๐หหห
โฎ โ โ Remmick :
Sink Your teeth (Youโre in love for one night) | @madkingcrowley
๐ synopsis โซถ Remmick seeks refuge in your cabin, but makes a request of you. You end up biting off more than you can chew.
Monster After Dark | @scrprints
๐ synopsis โซถ An intoxicating game is underway. Outside a desolate, abandoned manor, the cold winter night is the perfect stage for the possessive hunt. A dance of fear and desire with the vampire you love, Remmick. But tonight, the handsome mask is gone. There is only the Monster. You run, thrilling in the predator's pursuit, desperate to survive the chase yet simultaneously longing for the moment of capture. You know the rules of this game. Surrender is inevitable. This is possession. And you are ready to give your beautiful, terrifying monster exactly what he craves?
Lose Control | @punani-san
๐ synopsis โซถ It's late at night as you stand outside a Gentleman's Club, seeking respite after a busy shift. You have an intriguing encounter with a mysterious man when he approaches you. After a flirty exchange you invite him to watch you perform which results in him paying for your undivided attention, and soon enough you find yourself alone with him.
Come with me | @cryptidvillage
๐ synopsis โซถ Youโre a male werewolf being kept against your will in a barn by the Jimmies. An unexpected visitor comes to you in the night to rescue you.
A Study In Lace and Blood | @weavingduck
๐ synopsis โซถ Brushstrokes of murder, stitches of suspicion. In London, the streets hide more than shadows, and every secret has teeth. Youโre a seamstress who befriends a local troupe of ballerinas that have recently come to fear the dark. Amid whispers of Jack the Ripper on the loose, you decide to investigate alone and track a recent string of brutal murders, unaware that the killer lurks far closer than you think. You thought you controlled the huntโฆ but as clever and unafraid as you think you are, youโre soon about learn that curiosity comes with a price, and some hunts lead to dangerous rewardsโas thrilling in bed as they are in the shadows.
Secret Santa Exchange | @nekkiotine
๐ synopsis โซถ You've always liked Remmick, ever since you were both little kids. Little did you know, he's felt the same.
Better Watch Out | @spikedfearn
๐ synopsis โซถ Thereโs a reason the townsfolk warn you not to go wandering alone this time of yearโbut you, with your pride and your temper, donโt listen. Itโs only a few miles through the snow, after all, and youโve never been one to fear shadows. But something walks the woods during the solsticeโsomething old, antlered and cruel, cloaked in heat and hunger. What begins as an eerie journey to a remote cabin turns into a descent into myth and nightmare, where the chains that drag behind him arenโt just for show, and punishment is pleasure in the hands of the creature whoโs been watching you all along.
Balsam | @nimisardenter
๐ synopsis โซถ While home for the holidays you're hired to work part-time at your town's local Christmas tree farm. It's the perfect gig, reallyโthat is, until your strange new coworker throws you off kilter.
At least there will be plenty implied | @eternalstrigoii
๐ synopsis โซถ tbaโฆ
โฎ โ โ Paddy Mayne :
Stress Relief | @foxtufts
๐ synopsis โซถ Paddy has been advised to blow off some steam; you're looking to do the same. After a blind date, you're both left with some intense memories to take back with you from the bar restroom that neither of you can ignore.
โฎ โ โ Patrick Sumner :
The Mercy of Limits | @flixpii
๐ synopsis โซถ Something is wrong with you. patrick knows it the moment you stop fearing the woods and start craving them. in a decaying house far from society, he teaches you how to stayโthrough discipline, restraint, and a quiet intimacy that blurs the line between care and control.
Under the mistole with Patrick Sumner | @cherryxhaze
๐ synopsis โซถ You find yourselves caught under the mistletoe at a company Christmas party. And though you try to run from the smoldering connection with the doctor, both it and he catch up with you in the washroom.
โฎ โ โ Oliver Mellors :
The Last Leaves Of Autumn | @peter-newkirks-smolder
๐ synopsis โซถ An impromptu walk through the forest becomes something much more intimate.
โฎ โ โ Roy Goode :
Beyond Blue Eyes | @patronsaintofjackoconnell
๐ synopsis โซถ This was hard to summarise, so I leave you with two song lyrics that accurately represent Roy himself in this story: My dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be but Now that I met you, I finally know just where I'm headin'
Honey, Be Good for me | @iceemochaa
๐ synopsis โซถ You hated him. He hated you. Somehow, that made you both compatible.
โฎ โ โ Lion Kaminski :
Close Enough To Catch You | @impalalullibies
๐ synopsis โซถ Lion Kaminski never stops moving not when heโs hurt, not when heโs exhausted, and definitely not when heโs sick. But when he finally canโt push through anymore, youโre the one who noticesโฆ and the one who stays.
I hope you all enjoy reading and please, be sure to like/comment/reblog whichever fic youโve enjoyed reading. It helps the author and it also encourages them to create more content!
Again, Please be sure to give everyone lots of love and to follow their blogs for more content! Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year !
My submission to the Secret Santa event. Merry Christmas to @eternalstrigoii - I hope I did your prompts justice
Summary: This was hard to summarise, so I leave you with two song lyrics that accurately represent Roy himself in this story:
My dreams, they aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be but Now that I met you, I finally know just where I'm headin'
Edit. New summary attempt: After a strange encounter with a wolf, Roy Goode had to learn how to live again. When you came into his life, he learned how to love. He isn't about to let Frank Griffin take that away from him.
Reader's gender is unspecified and there is no use of Y/N.
Thank you to @iceemochaa for hosting the event! You were amazing
Credit to @pixopix and @strangergraphics for the dividers
Men like Roy Goode were a rare breed. There were hundreds of gunfighters and thieves across the broad expanse of America who thought themselves charming and dangerous in equal measure, moving through towns with a certain arrogant swagger they had neither the skill nor the experience to back up when it came down to the draw. Roy meandered on horseback and dragged his feet with a sincere vulnerability and concealed competence that endeared him to every woman he encountered and drew a smug superiority from men all too proud of their derision. Usually those of his affliction adopted the temperament as an act, a carefully balanced disguise for the beast writhing under their skin, though in Roy's case there was no act. He was simply himself, in all ways, at all times and in all things.ย
People didn't know Roy's name when he passed through; they didn't need to, and if they happened to recognise his features from the whispers that spread faster than the horses rode across the valleys and towns of the continent or the posters that unfitted lawmen pinned to notice boards, they quickly put the thoughts from their minds. His companion was a different matter. In every town you bore a different name, a different outfit, a different voice, sometimes a different gender; impossible to identify despite being the one that did all the talking. Quidnuncs whispered about Roy's lover being a famous performer nobody could rightly recall that had answered the call of adventure and villainy, disregarding the less romantic opinion of the law that Roy took a new lover every few weeks, disposing of past infatuations like a lame horse when the excitement wore off. It was a game of whispers that amused you both whenever it made the papers.ย
Indentations in the earth warned of predators nearby large enough to kill an elk, but the risk was far outweighed by the reward. The game had been dwindling at an unusual rate, their tracks suggesting something fierce had driven them out. You lowered yourself to the ground as a shadow moved through the trees ahead, too large to be a human, not quite the shape of a horse. Your breathing slowed, until the rifle was as still as the forest around you as you aimed and fired. The shadow slumped, but by the time you reached your prey, all that was left was a trail of blood and an uneven disturbance in the duff. You followed the signs of a wounded animal and found a wolf the size of a small bear biting at its blood-matted shoulder. Its muzzle wrinkled as it exposed those huge teeth and let out a low warning. Despite the aggression, there was intelligence in its blue eyes. You examined the wound at a safe distance and determined there was no need to put the beast out of its misery, it would survive, though it would struggle to feed itself for a while.ย
"I'll leave a carcass for you." Perhaps it was a sign of madness, bartering for the forgiveness of a hungry wolf big enough to slaughter a town, but the beast settled and you felt absolved somehow of sin.
"What are they saying about you now?" Roy was laid out on the grass with his hat over his face and his arm under his head as you waited for the time to pass. He'd already done his part in the early hours before dawn, scouting the area to be sure you weren't expected. He'd swiped the newspaper from a delivery wagon along the way.
"One of these days, you're going to have to let me teach you how to read, Roy Goode. Won't always be around to tell you what the letters mean."ย
"Sure you will." Roy smiled and tilted his hat up to be able to meet your eyes. "I have your scent. Ain't a damn thing out there that can keep us apart for long."ย
"You don't know that, Roy. I could come down with typhoid or get clipped by a train."ย
"Uh-huh. Well the train ain't likely unless you're planning on dancing down the tracks in the direction of a rolling engine, now is it?" Roy let his body fall back and blinded himself with his hat again, shifting his shoulders to get comfortable. "Besides. I can always bite you if you come down hard with sickness."ย
Roy had once vowed that he would only bestow that curse as a last resort, when an injury was fatal or an illness was terminal. It turned his stomach to think of forcing anyone else into his nomadic life of frenzied ostracism in the same way he had been dragged into it, screaming and afraid. This was different; he already had your enthusiastic consent, but the bite would be given only when absolutely necessary, not on the whims of the love and lust that drove so much of your time together.ย
"'Witnesses claimed Goode escaped via the graveyard, likely riding for a valley past the ridge beyond. If this is the case he will be travelling East, and the following towns should be wary of his arrival.' Then they list about six places I've never been through, andโฆ here. 'His current chosen companion appears to be a tall female with hair that is either dark or dirty and either short or kept high beneath her hat. She either carried a pistol or a rifle, was last seen wearing a brown dress or long coat and is suspected of the murder of Joseph Colliers.' Sounds to me like your witnesses are making things up, Mr Gilroy."ย
Roy snorted. "So they have the wrong direction, the wrong clothes, the wrong weaponโฆ"ย
"I don't even know who Joseph Colliers is. Wasn't our doing, however he died."
"You know what the papers are like. Whatever sells a story." Roy sat up and took off his hat. "I can smell a storm coming in. Should make it easier to disappear, if the horses can handle the way."ย
"Yours ain't limping anymore so we should be safe."ย
"We're never safe. Ready?" His keen ears picked up on the signal they'd been waiting for: the imminent arrival of the express.ย
He hadn't intended to enter the saloon. Brothels were an assault on his senses and he could smell the backroom from a mile away. A familiar scent caught his attention beneath the sex, blood and alcohol, his shoulder aching as it dragged up a fragmented memory of moonlight, lead and a sacrificial deer. It was distinct, something that had followed him into the waking consciousness that was ripped from him during those lunar transformations. In his memory it was apprehensive, like a tentative fawn too naive to know it was too late to run. Now it was acidic with fear, and mingled with the tar of rageful lust. He followed it without a comprehensible thought, through rowdy tables and forbidden doors, until he found the source.ย
"You got one chance to walk away before I blow your goddamn brains out," Roy warned. The threat was anything but empty; it was a crime he couldn't abide. A fist swung for his face and he moved in retaliation, shifting his gait to avoid the blow and land his own in the stomach of the aggressor. It took three bullets to put them all down for good.ย
You regarded your saviour with bewildered recognition, an impossible likeness in those indignant blue eyes. And then Roy was gone, riding out before anyone could catch up to him.ย
You rode in together as the train pulled away, hitting the bank while the safe was full. Roy said nothing, as usual, his role restricted to pointing his weapon, grabbing the bag and listening for unwanted intruders on your carefully orchestrated event. You were gone before the law even knew you were there, two bags to a saddle.ย
The aim was to cut through the forest the town had begun to encroach on. You'd ride as far as the horses could manage then set up camp, alter your appearances and study the map for your next destination. The last time you hit National City, you'd found an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere and spent two months enjoying the wilderness until the family that owned it returned and you'd had to escape out the back door. It was those brief stints of isolation that sang to Roy's inner wolf. He felt whole when his biggest worry was not devouring his own horse when the full moon took over. You might have settled down in such a place permanently if not for Roy's infamy and that relentless call to roam.ย
Something familiar and unwelcome cut into Roy's concentration, scratching at his senses like a feral bobcat. He reached over for your reins and used the leverage to slow your paces until the horses stopped. Silence echoed around you as Roy tugged down his scarf. He turned his horse slowly, watching for any movement in the trees, that distinct essence raising his hackles. You knew better than to interrupt when his lupine inclinations rose to the surface, taking measured breaths to reduce distraction for a tense few moments. Finally, Roy handed over his canvas bags and gave a firm command, "South. Follow the river." I'll find you, was the unspoken promise.
You weren't strangers anymore. You'd chased each other across the country, a mutual if reluctant obsession driving you together, and eventually you'd fallen willingly into that primitive need to belong to one another. The fire of your mutual lust consumed you like wildfire once you'd set the kindling in place. Roy tried to be gentle; the wolf had other ideas. Claws tore to shreds where fingers tried to draw apart fabric and fangs left sharp lines where lips were desperate to taste.ย
"Are you sure you can take it?" Roy grunted, digging what was left of his sanity into the earth as you lay beneath him, eager for the beast. It wasn't the first time you'd been together, or the first time you'd taken his forever altered cock, but beneath the moonlight Roy couldn't control how much of the animal consumed him. Rationality would be abandoned in the mating and you would be trapped in the whims of a monster breeding its bitch.ย
Your answer was lost beneath the sound of his blood rushing in his ears, followed by a succession of cracks and an inhuman roar. It didn't matter. It was there in the way that perfect arch urged his rutting hips to find welcoming wet warmth, presenting through submission. The wolf knew its mate well. You'd spent so many nights saturated in each other that, even in a mindless haze, he would never cause you harm. That didn't stop teeth sinking into the back of your neck, holding you in place, drawing tiny rivulets of blood as an aching cock buried itself deeper. Whines blended together in a symphony of desperation as the wolf snapped his hips faster, getting harsher with the intensity of the motion. He pressed harder against your writhing body as you both shuddered through a release. His knot locked him in place and neither of you moved, him unwilling and you incapable. If there was no going back before, the inevitable was settling in now.
Roy inspected the bite the next morning. It was barely a scrape. The wolf hadn't given a proper bite yet, but it was only a matter of time before patience would run dry and a final claim would be laid.ย
Frank Griffin was no fool. He'd seen what Roy Goode was, a devil-touched beast wearing the flesh of a boy he had loved as his own, but so too had he seen the opportunity taming the foul fiend could bring. Roy was tainted, not quite consumed, and therefore it was his duty to save him. Even if it meant breaking him in a well-engineered trap first. He watched as you rode down the river like the law was an inch behind, then nudged his own mount out of hiding and fired.ย
Your horse reared as his bullet grazed your shoulder. A well-aimed warning that promised Frank would have shot to kill if he'd a mind in the moment, and he still might. Nervous but well trained, your mare stood her ground as Frank leaned forward and kept his weapon ready.ย
"Am I supposed to be afraid of you, Frank Griffin?" You spoke with a self-assured sort of antagonism.ย
"Most people would be. You'd be smarter if you were, especially knowing me the way you do." Frank warned in turn, a stand-off in place. "But you have me at a disadvantage."ย
"Call me Bonnie."
"That ain't your name."ย
"It is for this conversation."ย
"Not Sam or Diane? How about Michael?" Frank rattled off a few of the names the papers had ascribed, trying to decipher just what kind of crazy he was dealing with. His eyes travelled down, searching for any indication of your true identity. Dark clouds rolled overhead, harbingers of a storm that could make the river treacherous.ย
"What can I say? I like the way a new hat smells."ย
"You don't carry a gun."
"I don't need to."ย
"Because you think Roy will always be there to save you? He won't."ย
"Is that right?" Your tone was indecipherable, but there was confidence in it. "That pistol is awfully loud, don't you think?"ย
Wandering from the group had become a habit for Roy. As he matured, he found himself growing evermore resentful of Frank Griffin and the gang he was expected to call his family. They were volatile in every way imaginable, tempered only by brief moments of fabricated benevolence meant to soothe the echoes of long dead men demanding Griffin's soul be dragged to the depths.
As familiar as his isolation was, having travelled that lonely expanse nearly all his life, something in the air was different that night. It was as if the world itself had become stagnant, not a sound or a sight beyond the whispers of a chilling wind and the eerie glow of a cloudless full moon. Roy had settled on an abandoned log, lingering in the chill instead of sticking to his usual routine of sparking a campfire. Behind him, his horse was nervous, body shifting in a way that suggested it could bolt at any moment.ย
"Easy now," Roy stood slowly, easing himself up like the shadows themselves were hunting him. Something deep in his gut suggested they were. Behind the treeline, a heavy, calculated weight broke a fallen branch. Roy's hand settled on his .38 and he inched towards the sound with careful footing. "Who's there?"ย
The beast moved faster than he could comprehend it, a hulking figure of fang and fur and a ferocious sound that would haunt any man to insanity. Roy fired three shots, never knowing if they even landed before those teeth tore into him.ย
He woke alone, his clothes torn and bloody but his body unmarred, and the beast nowhere to be seen. There was an ache in his jaw that made his lip curl and his tongue smother over his traitorous teeth. They felt sharper somehow, as did everything else around him. He was drowning in his own senses. A painful scream turned to an unsettling roar as he pressed his face into the dirt beneath him and willed it all to repose.ย
The scent was turning stale, the distinctive sign that Roy was following it in the wrong direction. It branched off in several routes, mingling with other familiar odours. An ambush laid ahead. He considered circling around and picking off the old gang one by one, simultaneously sending a sign to Griffin that these games would not be tolerated. He had too much to lose now to entertain the mad bastard who had impersonated fatherhood to claim ownership over his youth.ย
A gunshot broke his concentration, his head whipping instinctively towards the sound before thunder followed. The rains could come but Roy didn't need Griffin's scent anymore. The gang was forgotten as he pushed his horse into a gallop, heading straight for the river. The storm on his heels was a light drizzle compared to the animalistic rage that was rising in him. The wind was in his face, carrying sharp traces of that unmistakable copper. His snarl brought forth that barely constrained predator beneath the skin.ย
It had been days, Roy wasn't sure how many; they had mostly blended together in a haze of sensory assault and insatiable hunger. He didn't know if his sins had caught up to him or if God had finally taken pity when a rider cast a shadow over him. He looked up slowly, struggling to keep his breathing steady. "I can'tโฆ"ย
"I know." The man guided him to a settlement. Among the horses being tended to by children, Roy spotted his own mount and was glad to know it hadn't been killed by the thing that had attacked him. Roy didn't know who these people were, but some smell that held a lingering familiarity told him he could trust the natives. They taught him what he was and how to manage it, and warned him not to go after the man that had cursed him, but they would not let him leave without his horse.ย
"What does a wolf-man need a horse for anyway? I'm fast enough on my own two feet." Roy was frustrated every time his horse ran from him, too afraid of the predator it knew had twisted his very bones.ย
"You must live as a man, or one day you will be nothing but the wolf." His friend warned.ย
Roy took a deep breath, heeding that warning more readily than even he had expected, and shook out the tension in his body. "Alright." He took a step forward and watched the horse, waiting for any sign at all that it was adjusting to the proximity.ย
It took a wealth of long days and patient nights, and even longer for the wolf to learn it had to hunt elsewhere, but eventually Roy climbed into the saddle and found a part of himself repaired by the bond they'd worked so hard to forge. It was still unsettled beneath him, not as eager to have him on his back as it once had been, but it hadn't thrown him yet.ย
"You'll have to do it all again one day. Some of them will never learn to tolerate you, so choose the horses wisely."ย
"Tolerate." Roy stroked the horse's neck. "That all they'll ever do? Tolerate me?" He shook his head, willing himself to remain calm, just as the good folk had taught him. "I used to be good with horses."
"You still are."ย
"They just ain't good with me."ย
"It is the way of things. Do not let this curse consume you. Control it."ย
"And adapt with it, I know." Roy urged the horse forward. "Why does he smell like a feast still?"ย
"Because you are a wolf."ย
"I don't want to be a damn wolf."ย
"Then live as a man."ย
Roy laughed under his breath and shook his head. "I know. I know."ย
"Why are we here, Frank?"ย
Frank's pride writhed under the sharp sting of your dismissive exasperation. Where he was used to fear or respect, or a healthy mix of the two, from those who knew of him, you offered him only contempt and boredom.
"I just wanted to see for myself what turned my boy so readily from my side. Roy was good and loyal before you came along."
Something evil tainted the air around Frank Griffin. Roy knew when the tribe took him in that he couldn't stay forever. His newfound nature was a threat to everyone around him, but with the wolf more or less under control Roy wasn't sure he was ready to live a life of near isolation either, so he'd ridden out towards where he knew Frank would be camped to rejoin his makeshift family.ย
The darkness that surrounded them all lit a fear inside him that made his stomach curl with the itch to escape them. It didn't make sense for his intuition to deem them so volatile, and yet there he stood, reluctant to accept Frank's raised arm.ย
"Welcome home, son." Frank watched him with wary eyes. Something had changed in Roy in his extended absence, he just didn't know what yet.ย
"Nothing to do with me. You were already the curse in Roy's shadow when I came along."ย
Frank found that hard to believe, but any protest he might've voiced was silenced by a raucous snarl that straightened his spine like a rabbit in the jaws of a lion just as quickly as it softened the tension that had been imperceptibly building in you. Your mare flicked her ears and snorted softly as Frank's own horse stomped its feet and threw its head up in alarm.ย
"You got a good partner here, Roy. Got about as much spine as you did the day we met. Not too smart though." He didn't raise his voice; he didn't need to, the phantom looming over you could hear him as clear as if he were sharing the saddle.ย
Roy rolled his shoulders and dismounted. You used your teeth to pull off your gloves without urgency, bringing your exposed fingers to your barely concealed smirk to amplify a strong whistle. It travelled far enough for Roy's horse to respond at a canter, then settle once its reigns were in your hand. Frank took another long look at you, realising far too late that Roy was just the lickspittle.
Beneath him, Frank's mount began to shift again, refusing to be settled as he dug in. The slow approach of a starving wolf was inevitable, but Frank had seen his death. This wasn't it. He planted his feet on solid ground seconds before the horse bolted. "You'll have to teach me how to make the beasts behave, son."
"I'm not your son," Roy's skin was crawling, a rumble of gravel and spite flowing beneath his flesh like a river of vitriol. If it were a full moon, he'd have crushed Griffin's head between his colossal maw. As it was, he wanted to reach into the devil's chest and rip out his black heart. The beast recoiled at the thought of both, bile coating his tongue just considering the taste of such vermin. It wouldn't give their enemy the satisfaction.ย
It didn't take long for Roy to make his mind up. There was a distinct sensation that could only be described as wrong that crept around them like a miasma everywhere they went. The more Roy pondered on that scent, the more he realised just how blind he had been. The warning that had been repeated to him so often haunted his nightmares. Be a man, or become a wolf.ย
Exhausted by sleepless nights and blood soaked visions, he made his mind up. In the dead of night, while Frank was distracted with a whiskey and a saloon girl, Roy took off. He didn't have it in him to do what the wolf wanted, to rip out the throats of monsters disguised as men, so he took the coward's way and held some naรฏve hope that Griffin would let him go.ย
In the end, it was anticlimactic. There was no hesitation or reminiscent feelings of a childhood saved by a false preacher. He looked at you, as he always did before the kill, saw a subtle and familiar gesture you gave that allowed him to act, then fired. Two bullets in quick succession; one through the heart then one through the head. His last words were an aborted wheeze Roy didn't even pay mind to. Griffin's horse was still running, headed in the direction of the town you were still supposed to be fleeing. It would be taken in by an opportunistic stable or an altruistic bleeding heart, and it'd have a better life for it.ย
"We've been here before," he approached you and reached up to examine where the bullet had drawn blood. It was shallow, barely a graze. "Nothing changes."
"Roy."
"Nothing changes. We might as well keep to the river now. Head for Moses." Roy climbed back into the saddle. "There's someone I want to introduce you to."ย
"Who?"ย
Roy smiled as your hand settled over his with tender intent. "Lucy Cole."
Stick around to watch me suffer as I attempt to write at least one fic for all 52 Jack O'Connell characters (that I am aware of. Feel free to update me if you know any I've missed off the list). Links to be added to the Masterlist as the challenge is completed... characters to be added and the number to rise as Jack continues to bless us with his acting career.
Thank you, Jude, for this masterpiece of a banner, and to the Remmick server for helping us title this challenge!
Connor Yates - Doctors
Ross Trescot - The Bill
Pukey Nicholls - This Is England
Chris - Black Dog
Dale Baxter - Waterloo Road
Davey Hunt - Holby City
Jack Norton - Wire in the Blood
Dax - Scarborough
Brett - Eden Lake
Shepherd Lad - Wuthering Heights
James Cook - Skins
Bobby Brewer - Wayfaring Stranger
Marky - Harry Brown
Robert - Dive
Thug - The Hardest Part
Bobby Charlton - United
Eamonn Docherty - The Runaway
Dylan - Weekender
Man 10 - The Somnambulists
Kurtis - Tower Block
Charlie Peaceful - Private Peaceful
Adam - The Liability (aka The Hitman's Apprentice)
Eric Love - Starred Up
Gary Hook - '71
Calisto - 300: Rise of an Empire
Private Charlie Miller - Shelter
Louis Zamperini - Unbroken
Boxing Guy - 9 Kisses
Jack - Home
Kyle Budwell - Money Monster
Dylan Spokes - The Nap
Jan Kubis - The Man with the Iron Heart
Scarecrow - Robot & Scarecrow
Willem Brok - Tulip Fever
Roy Goode - Godless
Brick Pollitt - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cameron 'Todd' Willingham - Trial by Fire
Jack Solomon - Seberg
Walter 'Lion' Kaminski - Jungleland
Dancing Guy - Blue Moon Rising
Jude Williams - Little Fish
Patrick Sumner - The North Water
Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne - SAS Rogue Heroes
Oliver Mellors - Lady Chatterley's Lover
Peter Collins - Ferrari
Blake Fielder-Civil - Back to Black
Remmick - Sinners
Sir Jimmy Crystal - 28 Years Later / The Bone Temple
Fic Masterlist | Main Masterlist
Chapter 1 | Let Me Love You
Summary:
Manchester, 1990.
Even the creation of the universe kicked off with a four-to-the-floor beat, and from the dawn of mankind we have come together in numbers, in tribes. And at the heart of this delirious connection was music. Always the music.
This is the story of Dylan's tribe.
Warnings: use of a slur in a non-derogatory way
This is the reader version of the story. You can read the original version with OC Rose on AO3
The song Dylan plays: Let Me Love You For Tonight (House Club Version)
Spotify Link | YouTube Link | Amazon Music Link
It was never really a relationship. You'd been mates since you were kids, knocking about Derby with fuck all to do until you were old enough to knock about in Manchester instead. You'd kissed, you'd had sex, you'd shared a flat for five and a half weeks until Dylan moved in with Matt and left you in the lurch with the rent. Half his things were still cluttering up the flat, owing to the fact you were the one doing his laundry because Matt's machine hadn't worked since he moved in and neither of the boys could be arsed to get it fixed. Dylan hadn't even given you his set of keys for the flat, treating your bed like a rest stop when he was too pissed up and sky high after a night out to remember he wasn't supposed to live there anymore. It was never supposed to be a relationship, but every time he walked in with that stupid grin and takeout for two, you wanted it to be.
You looked around at the peeling wallpaper and the stained carpet, remnants of the people who had lived there before you lingering because redecorating cost money you just didn't have to spare. If you were smart, you'd pack up and move back to Derby. Your mum and dad would take you in in a heartbeat, and you could probably talk your way back into your old job if you put a little charm into it, but that meant leaving behind Dylan and you weren't sure you had it in you to abandon him. You had stuck together from playground trouble to the plight of the dole. You'd be leaving a piece of yourself in Manchester with him.
"You have got to hear this. This is audio gold," Dylan announced as he let himself in, brandishing a bootleg cassette like a golden chalice. He slid it into the player sitting on the kitchen counter and turned it up so loud you almost wept for the woman next door with the baby that never slept through the night. Almost. She was a pretentious bitch that looked down her nose whenever she copped Dylan leaving in the early hours, like you were the single mother fighting for child support from a maybe-father.
Dylan closed his eyes and moved his body to the music, hands rhythmically alternating in the air. The carefree grin he wore when he was in the zone always made your heart feel tighter. You rolled your shoulders and started to dance in your chair, nodding your head to the beat. Dylan pulled you to your feet, moving his body around yours in abstract shapes with enough enthusiasm to create the world's only two-man rave.
"Coming out tonight?"
"Haven't got enough for the door."
"Don't worry about that, I'll get you in. Matt and I have something planned. Come on. Come out tonight. It's never as good without you." Dylan shot your conviction down with a pet lip, hands clapping together like he was praying to you.
"Alright!" you relented. "Pick me up on the way. I've gotta get changed after my shift."
"Yes! Out on the town with my best girl!"
"Dickhead," you laughed and shoved him.
"My sweetheart? My darling. Princess! Noโฆ beloved light of my life." Dylan cackled when you whipped him with a twisted tea towel. "Did you have a chance to sort out those boiler suits? Can't rob a fag machine in my England shirt, can I? I'll look a right tit banging on about switches and faults looking like I'm there for a piss up."
"Dylan, babe," you hung your arms over his shoulders and kissed him. "You look like a tit on your best days."
"Oh very funny," Dylan shook his head. "I don't know why I come here."
"Sex, food and laundry services. Usually in that order."
"You should be a comedian. You'd fit right in with the other wankers."
You laughed and dropped your head between your elbows, "Fuck you too. The suits are on the back of the bedroom door. I even ironed them for you."
"You, my lovely, are Derby's shining star." Dylan gave you a brief kiss, "I'll show you a good time later, yeah? I'm late already." He moved into the hallway, slipping a tenner into your jacket while you weren't looking. "Oh and keep the tape! Made that one up for you last night. Got loads of proper tunes on it."
Matt was leaning against the van when Dylan got outside, watching him panting to catch his breath. Sometimes Dylan wondered if there was a vendetta at the council to make sure every lift in the north broke down before anyone bothered to fix them. "What the fuck took you so long?"
"Matt. Mate. You can't just run in, grab shit and get out. You gotta sweeten the ladies up a bit. She's not a doormat."
"Did I say she was? Didn't need to spend twenty minutes picking up two suits though, did you?"
"God help any girls you get with." Dylan pulled on his boiler suit and got in the passenger seat.
"What part of this are you not getting?" Matt zipped his own suit up and started driving, speeding to make up time. "If we don't get in early enough, the landlord will stop us. If we fuck it up, we don't have any coin to get into the rave tonight."
"If there is a rave tonight." Dylan huffed, leaning against the window and watching the road race beneath them.
"Don't start. The Captain is never wrong about a party."
"You have got to get out of his arse, Matthew. You've never even met the geezer. He's probably a right cunt."
"You're a cunt. He's the real deal."
"Yeah, well, if there is a party then I promised our laundrette we'd pick her up on the way so he better not go radio silent tonight."
"Here we go."
"Shut up, Matthew."
Dylan hit play on the cassette player, letting the music wash over him. It was the same song he'd played for you and it dragged his mind back to that moment. Flashes came between the lines of the road across his vision of those pockets of bliss where it was just the two of you. He didn't know if he'd have ever really left Derby if you hadn't been by his side; he knew he wouldn't have lasted in Manchester as long as he had without you to lean on. You were more than his best mate, you were the constant that kept him going through the hard times, and one day he was determined to pay you back for it all. He didn't notice when the van stopped.
Matt shut off the music. "You ready?"
Dylan faced him. "Let's have it."
They walked into the pub through the open fire door. Dylan held back, keeping his eye out for any additional staff and the landlord while Matt did the talking to the woman smoking behind the bar. "All right, love. We're here about the fag machine."
"What about it?"
"Ah, your coin dispenser needs a new trip switch."
"Eh?"
"It's proper fucked, love." Dylan backed him up.
"Well I'll go get t' landlord, he's still bed," the bartender flicked her ash and turned toward the back.
"Oh, don't worry about it. We've got a new one in the van. Just be two ticks." Matt fobbed her off as he and Dylan lifted the machine out the door.
"Hurting my back, this is, Matthew," Dylan huffed.
"Good, that means it's full."
"Can we not park closer to the fucking doors next time?" He reached ahead to open the boot.
"What you fucking doing, you fucking little bastards?!" The landlord shouted out of the window above them.
Dylan caught the machine as Matt ran around to the driver's seat. "Oh, yeah, fucking lovely, Matt! I'll break my back while you play fucking Buggy Boy up there. Leave me to graft. I want a bigger percentage for this one, mate." He finally shoved it in and climbed on top of the machine to pull the boot shut.
The engine stalled on them. "Oh, mate!" Matt kept turning the key, watching in disgust as the landlord ran out of the pub bare bollocks naked to attack the van.
"What the fuck!" Dylan could've gone his whole life without seeing some pervy old cunt's sagging cock bouncing in his face.
"Give me my fucking machine back, you little bollocks!" The landlord opened the boot and grabbed Dylan by the ankle. He tried not to look as he kicked himself free, crawling deeper into the van to escape. "Who do you think you are?!"
"Matthew! Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive!" Dylan shouted, clawing towards the front. His shoe came off in the landlord's hand, making him fall back far enough for Dylan to yank the boot shut again. "You dirty, dodgy bastard!"
The van finally came to life and Matt put his foot down to get them out of there.
"Oh that was fucking horrible, man." Dylan climbed into the front and threw his singular shoe out the window. "This party better be fucking worth it."
Even the creation of the universe kicked off with a four-to-the-floor beat, and from the dawn of mankind we have come together in numbers, in tribes. And at the heart of this delirious connection was music. Always the music.
This is the story of Dylan's tribe.
Some dialogue is lifted from the movie. Warning for offensive language, heavy drug use, borderline domestic abuse, mental manipulation and gang violence. Please heed these warnings.
As decided by a vote, this is the reader version of the story. You can read the original version with OC Rose on AO3
Thank you so much to the lovely Jude for creating the banners for this post, and for all chapters.
Some language in this story, and in the film, is incredibly English. This is based in the north of England in the 1990s and the language is tailored to that effect. Harmless phrases, such as 'pet lip' for pouting, and phrases that may offend people, such as 'fag' for cigarette, will be a frequent occurrence.
A place for all my Jack O'Connell media relevant posts. For Vampyr, Bioshock or anything else, please check out the links here on my "main" - let's be honest, this is my most active blog
Thank you Jude for creating my banner, you are a generous and shining star and I adore you
