what do you think happened to john's family after john's death, like how did esme tell the kids or how did she and the kids get over it and just took off amd went to the road, and what do you think the shelby's thought about all that?
Esme might not have birthed all of John's children, but she was their mother. She was there the long nights that John was gone to do Blinder business. She was the one that made sure they were cared for, even when she was feeling caged by the Shelby's grand houses and ambitions.
The children were in the country house when their father was shot. They heard the bullets rip through their father and Esme screaming as her heart broke. They held each other until their mother came to get them. They grieved for their father, but there was no question as to what their future was.
They left in the night. Anything useful was removed from the walls and wrapped up in cloth to go in the wagon.
"Just like those days mom packs us in a tent in the ditch when she's feeling restless," Katie, the oldest, would say to the little children.
The children were tense, and moving around was quiet for a long time. They followed Esme like ghosts, peeling away the Shelby name to the gypsy children beneath.
They got a dog and found a band of gypsies to wander with. They never stayed in one area for too long. The longest was the next spring, when they stayed in a valley for a few weeks.
Then came the first letter.
Polly Gray had lost her children to the system before, and had made a vow to herself that no Shelby would ever be lost again.
At first she sent letters to the towns she knew the Lees would be by, hoping Esme returned to family. When she heard nothing back, she began to pad the pocket of any man that was sent traveling, told to look for a hardened dark haired Lee girl with a gaggle of children.
Months went by before she began to get whispers back of such a family, but they never settled long enough to pin them down.
Esme finally received one. She opened it, letting out a laugh when she read "Tommy doesn't know I'm writing you, I beg..."
Weeks later, a man pressed a folded piece of paper into Polly's hand. She opened it, her lips pressed thin as she read the two sentences scrawled inside.
Yes, he does. Money for updates.
Polly might not have told Tommy, but he knew she would keep the children tethered to the Shelby name. He pretended to look the other way when he noticed small bills being taken from general funds and his informants leaving with pockets of scrap paper.
Tommy didn't want to lose John's legacy, but he had no qualms about keeping them at distance from the business that took away their father. Air between him and the next generation of Shelby might be the only thing that kept the name going.
Ada took interest in Polly's letters when she caught her reading one, her hand covering a sad smile.
Polly held the letter to her chest as she smiled at Ada.
"John's youngest began walking last month," she said quietly. "Loves to nap next to the family dog in the sun."
Arthur stayed out of it. Tom didn't speak about it, so he thought Tom paid Esme to go off and raise them away from the city. He watched his own child and wondered what it would have been like for him to be raised around his cousins.
Finn went deeper into Peaky business, determined to take John's place if he couldn't make a space in the family for himself. Deeper into the business and deeper into the chemicals he needed to keep his conscious quiet from the violence he partook in.
Esme and the kids held John in their hearts, his rings strung around her neck like an albatross. She blessed and cursed the man who gave her the children of her dreams and heartache of her nightmares. There would be no other man in her bed. After all, what use is a man?
I see a lot about how the war affected Tommy and Arthur but do we ever talk about how it affected John?
He was the youngest of the 3 to go off to France. The first time we see him he’s getting his ass whooped by Polly…he’s struggling as a single dad back from War.
He claimed Lizzie would never replace Martha but his kids need a Mum. That leads me to believe that John loved Martha deeply. He was willing to take a chance on Lizzie before all of them. And he came to genuinely love Esme (a second chance for him).
Season 2 & 3 he’s the one to put Polly in her place about Michael (no games or bets like Tommy does). Just straightforward puts her in her place. Claims he’s killed hundreds of men by the time he was Michael’s age and nearly died himself - Michael was 18 at the time of this comment. How young was John when he left for the war? Were any of his kids born yet?
So he’s been to war as a child, lost the first love of his life before they’ve even gotten to live, become a single dad, and treated just as he said like a “Toy soldier, do this John, do that John, kill you’re fuckin’ teacher John!” (Post Grace’s death Season 3)
There’s a scene back in season 1 where he interrupts Tommy with the opium and John mostly monologues about the war (kind of our first glimpse of his experience) and he always sounded like a scared lost kid talking with his dad (Tommy) in that moment to me.
Then he finally gets away… living peacefully with his family and then the past comes back to haunt him.
Truthfully I don’t see where John could be the most like Arthur Sr. - sure he’s violent and revels in it. I think that’s a by-product of the war. Arthur Sr. Is the type to beat a woman- John would kill any man who laid hands on women (we see that in his caring of Lizzie and Esme. He’s by far the least selfish and most caring towards his women of the brothers).
He’s not like Tommy or Polly or even Arthur. He does well as a Peaky Blinder because that’s all he knows, but I think he’s the most at peace with his family wherever they are. He just wanted to make Esme and the kids happy and safe in the end.
Makes me wonder what Martha Shelby was like? And was John the glimpse of who their mother was?
For the month of June, I want to celebrate love and the beautiful women of our most loved franchise. I spent some time thinking about not only how I could do it, but how I can encourage others to join me. For the month of June, I will be posting a short something daily celebrating WLW love. In addition, I invite you to take part in a fun collaboration project. I would like to make a book(masterlist) of beautful WLW stories, drabbles, and edits of Peaky Blinders women and their lovers(xreader/OC).
How it will work:
I want to make a book which will look like a master list. You will write a one shot, drabble, or create a moodboard, and post it on June 25th. For any writing, I want it to truly celebrate love and affection. So, I would ask that you stick to fluff oriented themes. You are more than welcome to write smut, but definitely focus and tune in on the emotional aspect. Same for Moodboards.
The work will be entirely yours and 100% credited to you. I will simply link it to an index, properly crediting you. I only ask that you clearly state that it was part of a collaboration and tag me. One, for I can find it and two, for we can really zoom into the fact that this was a community effort. I, however, take no ownership of your work.
To join, just DM me and let me know. I will remind you June 15th. I also ask that you please, please do not blow me off. At least message me that you are unable to commit. I won't be mad.
Specifics:
All work, visual and written, cannot be AI generated. They all also need to be created separate from any multi-chapter/on going series. Please no previously written entries as well. I would really love this to be disconnected from anything previous.
For one shots, they do not have to be long. I consider one-shots anything 750 words and above. Drabbles, I consider 100-749. I know those are not the traditional 'rules', but that is what I go by.
For Moodboards, feel free to use any template you'd like! You can find many on Canva. You can also create your own.
You can use any Peaky lady below~
Lastly, I ask that you kindly proofread. I am not fussed about a typo or anything, I just have a personal pet peeve when people disclaim that they didn't proof read.
Aside from that:
Please properly tag, use proper warnings, and if it's not a whole lot to ask, please add a gif or edit for a header/banner. <3
Other than that, I am not fussed.
End thoughts:
On the 26th, I will create the "book" and properly tag everyone. You can feel free to ask me all and any questions. I will tag them #peakyblinderswlwcollab . The slots will look as such:
One Shots(xReader):
15 slots available as of 05/25
Drabbles(xReader):
10 slots available as of 05/25
Moodboards(xReader):
10 slots available as of 05/25
One Shots (xOC):
7 slots available as of 05/25
You can feel free to submit up to 1 entry for each category.
Above all, I hope everyone feels excited and inspired, and will have fun taking part in this project. I know that I am pretty excited. :)
I want to stress that everyone and anyone is welcomed to join. We don't have to be mutuals or friends or anything. We don't even have to be following each other. This is open to everyone 18+.
Tagging some people that may be interested or wouldn't mind sharing the project. No pressure on either end.
This drabble was written for the lovely @novashelby's WLW Celebration
Pairing : Esme Shelby x Female Reader
cw : cheating, affairs, neglect, references to sex, john shelby bashing
It had started off as simple revenge. Nothing more. After months working and taking care of their children followed by just as many nights spent alone, she had enough. She did give him every chance to do better, be better. Not just for her, but for their children who longed for their father’s presence in their lives. The resentment and anger she held for him piled up over months of neglect and warnings and tears and anger and threats. Everything finally came to a head three months ago when she discovered he’d been fucking other women behind her back. She almost believed an affair would’ve been better than the multitude of faceless bodies her husband spent his spare minutes with.
Anger- no, blinding rage had consumed her entire being that day. She wanted to hurt him, make him feel just as betrayed as she had been and she knew just how to do it. In town, working at the bakery where she buys her family’s bread, was a very sweet young woman. The young woman was always so warm and kind, often offering the kids in the neighborhood a small treat.
Esme would’ve been lying if she claimed to have never thought about the pretty young baker before. Often on nights when John wouldn’t come home until the early hours of the morning, she’d find her hands wandering. Fingers caressing her skin while imagining it was Y/N’s touching her how she needed. So she began going to the bakery more often just to talk to her and inviting her over for tea to be alone together. It hadn’t taken Esme as long as she thought before the two were tangled in the sheets.
The pretty young baker tasted just as sweet as the pastries she sold, but the sounds she made were even sweeter. It started off small, Y/N would only come to the house when Esme’s mother or Polly would take the children off her hands for a few hours. Then Esme started inviting her over after the kids had gone to sleep, sneaking her out if John came home. It went on like that for two months, sneaking around to have sex every chance they had. Esme didn’t particularly care if she was caught or not as this had been the most alive she’d felt in a very long time.
Besides, this was a bit of fun and a bit of repayment for her time as a Shelby. This was revenge, nothing more.
Until it wasn’t. She’s not entirely sure when, but at some point, it did become more. At some point it stopped being a game when she had to sneak Y/N out, and it started making her angry instead. Why should she leave when John treated their home as a hotel? Did he help her cook or clean or take care of their kids? No, but Y/N did. At some point it had become routine for them to make dinner together, then get the children ready for bed, and then clean up the house together. At some point, they stopped having sex every time they were alone. Sometimes they’d simply lay in bed and talk, or they’d say nothing at all. Some nights they’d just bask in each other’s presence, Y/N often playing with Esme’s curls.
At some point, she had begun to feel that her day wasn’t complete until she saw Y/N. Some of the Shelby’s commented on her sour mood when she’d have to go days without seeing her sweet little baker. She’s not sure when they found out, but she knows that Polly and Linda know. Maybe Lizzie too. They don’t say anything, but on those days when she’s tired and misses her Y/N, there’s always a look they give her. The look of ‘we know’.
At some point, she forgot that this was revenge. She forgot that she was angry with her husband and not completely indifferent. Esme never thought that her marriage would be one of convenience, that there would be no passion, and that it would be as if she had a roommate. When John did decide he wanted to fuck her, it took everything in her not to recoil in disgust. She didn’t want him to touch her, not in the ways Y/N did. It wouldn’t be the same. Sometimes she gave him the excuse of being too tired or having pains. On the nights they did have sex, she took a bath after. Hoping to soak away her sins in the hot water. It always made her guilty. Guilty like she had cheated. Guilty because her Y/N didn’t deserve that, didn’t deserve someone whose life was so divided like hers.
But then on the days and nights where they were together, it felt better. It felt right. Y/N always assured her that she understood, chasing away all her worries with just the way her fingers caressed over her cheeks. Her lips that were always so soft, making her melt into them and forget her chaotic life. Where Esme’s life had been hard and cold, Y/N had brought her warmth and softness. Her presence always feeling like sunshine and spring, like being able to breathe fresh clean country air after being in the city for too long.
So, at some point, this stopped being revenge. And as Esme looks down at Y/N, who is curled up against her peacefully asleep, she knows without a doubt that she loves her sweet little baker.
