#Aunt Tilly too

[majoresca]

How do you imagine King Roland I, would be like as a grandfather?

[a-lilac-lyric]

Vote for who you think would be most likely to die for narrative reasons!

[marstonsboy]

had another evil thought that spiralled out of control. indulge me for a moment:

over the years, people start arriving on a near empty plot of land west of blackwater. it’s uncertain who got there first: bessie matthews, beatrice and lyle morgan, eliza, isaac morgan, etc.— but more and more people show up until it’s something of a community. jenny kirk, mac and davey callander. then soon after, jake adler, sean macguire, kieran duffy, hosea matthews, lenny summers, molly o’shea, eagle flies, susan grimshaw. more and more in such a short amount of time. arthur morgan is the last, and suddenly the deaths stop.

after a sudden stretch of years with little newcomers, a house starts taking shape. soon enough the house is a home, and peculiar things can be found all over: a dog barking where no one can find it. echoes of campfire songs going late into the night. photos of john and abigail’s wedding, attended by what remained of their family. a taxidermy squirrel that appears back on the mantle no matter how many times you throw it out, wearing a very familiar hat. in just a few years a heartbreakingly young girl comes home, bearing a strong resemblance to one abigail marston.

then, gunshots. john marston and uncle are the next to arrive.

in the next few years, the house is eerily quiet. the residents see it falling into disrepair, but they can’t do anything about it. the dog stops barking, the campfire has gone cold and won’t relight. abigail marston is next, and though they’re happy to see her, the arrival brings up a question. what happens to jack now?

the livestock are gone, and the house is dusty, all but stripped of the knickknacks and personality that built up over the years, like someone found it all too painful to look at. john’s hat and guns, once tucked away inside a box beneath the bed, vanish the night after abigail arrives. newspapers come to the door, announcing the death of former government agent edgar ross.

soon after, a wanted poster, bearing the name “john marston jr.” and a sketch resembling the boy’s namesake so much that it has john himself stumbling back. jack was only a boy when he left, and now he’s wanted dead or alive, with a price over his head that could rival some of his uncles and aunts back in the day.

every year that passes without any sign of jack is a relief. the house doesn’t change much, still abandoned, but letters come in. mary-beth gaskill, tilly jackson, simon pearson, sadie adler, charles smith— old friends and family, checking in on him. none of them reach the recipient, as he is not home, but they’re filled to the brim with love, letting him know that he isn’t alone. that he always has a home with them, if he wants it.

one day, john spots a book he doesn’t recognize on the shelf by the piano, and he stops. “Red Dead” by a J. Marston. it doesn’t take much to figure out who that could be. he opens it, flips through, and reads it to abigail. the kinder parts get read to their daughter, ecstatic to learn about how her older brother is doing. their son did become a writer after all, even if everything he’s written speaks volumes of his grief, his anger. the loneliness he’s endured since losing his family, and killing edgar ross.

arthur morgan opens his old journal to find several entries and sketches from john, but also many new ones from jack. his handwriting is just as clumsy as his father’s, but his drawings are more refined. little portraits of the gang members that lived and scribbly sketches of what the world is becoming in their absence decorate the pages. war, cars outnumbering horses, and a very detailed drawing of a revolver none of them have ever seen before.

he’s all grown up, and good lord is he angry. he’s mourning, and hurt, and he’s lost so much, but he’s still undoubtedly jack marston. he draws dogs and writes about missing rufus, slipping strays some food from his bag whenever he sees them. sometimes he’ll write a dry, sarcastic joke that speaks of his father’s influence, or mention missing his momma’s cooking, “even though it was hardly edible,” which makes abigail roll her eyes. he hates fishing and prefers to lose hours of the day with his nose in a book. the best maintained part of beecher’s hope is the graves on that hill, which gain new flowers every week. sometimes, if they listen close, they can hear him talking, telling his ma and pa what he’s been up to, though he saves the grisly details for his book.

and when jack marston finally does walk through that door, much older than when anyone he knew last saw him but far too young to die, he is welcomed home with open arms. because no matter what he’s done, and no matter how much he may hate himself, he will always have a home here with people who love him, and who can’t wait to get to know him all over again.

[allfortheslay25]

Some family tree stuff I did a while ago but finished today (changed Dan and Katelyn a bit tho after finding out more about their families)

Also to those ppl telling me identical twins aren’t genetic. I never said they were, andreil and Kateaaron have twins cuz twins run in the Hemmicks and Hatfords🫵

Hatford/Wesninski headcanons

Also forgot to write it but Nathan’s dads first name isn’t Natan, it’s his middle name but he discards it when he gets into mob business

HC: Mary doesn’t get along with her older brothers other than Stuart. She’s years younger than them so they forget about her often but also spoil her whenever they have to since she’s the only girl.

David is the heir to the Hatford Crime syndicate but his son dies young and he and his wife spend years grieving before trying again. They arent so lucky. The other boys are pressured to try too but Jacob is shooting blanks and Thomas isn’t keen on even acknowledging his betrothed

When Mary had Nathaniel, her older brothers shunned her for good since she named him Abram. In their eyes, that name belonged to the heir and David had to name his son Isaac instead (Isaac was about a year or two younger than Neil)

Alistair Hatford created the honor and pride of the Hatford name so David wanted to give Abram to his own son in hopes of bringing good luck to their future. To him, Mary had practically killed his son for taking the name for herself

Amrita was Alistair’s fourth wife and being that he killed his last, she made him fall so head over heels for her he’d never so much as lay a hand on her. Amrita knew saying no to a crime boss like him would be suicide so she gave in and manipulated her position to ensure her survival.

Fun fact, Neil (ignoring his fathers color palette) is Amrita’s carbon male copy👀

Each of the contacts Stuart gave them was just the wives/husband families syndicates of their brothers and aunt (Alissa is Turkish, Rochelle is from a smaller French syndicate, Carli is a niece from a Mexican cartel, Maks is Russian, Margarita is Romanian)

Thomas and Charlie are fraternal twins but Thomas and Jacob are the trouble makers of the family

Elizas children cannot inherit the Hatford responsibility because they’re heirs to the Popovs and upon marriage, served her ties to the Hatfords as per agreement

Stuart is acting as head of the family as of current since David has been a mess since Isaac’s death and the other brothers don’t care for challenging him for the position. He would’ve liked Nathaniel to take over but he wouldn’t push him into it after Mary’s death

Minyard/Hemmick/Mckenzie HC

Katelyn’s mom is someone I write differently depending on the au. She’s either divorced/separated from Bruce or she’s dead. Katelyn’s mom is polish but her father is Scottish

Maria has three older siblings and one younger. I hc that even tho she willingly went with Luther, she sort of misses her father and so named her son after him

Tilda used to be known as Tillie by her family, a nickname she loathed

When Tilda got pregnant, Luther demanded she get married or she’d have to get an abortion. However, marriage was too soon and twins were too much so Mr Minyard left

Maude and Evelyn were fraternal twins but weren’t close

Angelica is a good handful of years older than Katelyn but they’re close enough that Katelyn babysits Marcin often

Because I like hiding little tidbits for myself, the Hemmicks have a habit of having two kids max and giving them names with five letters then six. (Ex, Maude, Aaron, Tilda, Nicky are 5, Evelyn, Andrew, and Luther are 6)

Toxic use of religion and neglect pushed Tilda into the life she led but Luther wouldn’t quit on his sister

Just like the Hatfords, the Hemmicks are all short

Boyd/Wilds oc Facts and HC

David is named after Wymack

Miranda is named after Randy

Luca is named after Matt’s nanny, Lucca

Dan’s father was never in the picture before her mother died but Cathy knew what he looked and sounded like (hispanic, tall, and handsome)

Randy and Donald are both tall ppl (6’0 and 6’4) so Matt outgrew them both (6’6)

Miranda goes by Randy too but her parents call her Miranda as to not mix her up. Miranda plays exy her entire life (playing for the Trojans starting line throughout college) and going pro before making Court. She’s the first exy player on the very top to have a clean record on and off court. Miranda has two girlfriends

David aka Dave used to play exy in college but he had a passion for medicine (thanks to uncle Aaron) so he put down his racquet and became a ortho surgeon before settling as a physical therapist for exy players after the stress got to him.

Luca also played exy but dropped it before college since he was never as passionate about it. Randy got him into boxing and he went pro before an injury temporarily had him out of the ring. Dave recommended his best friend to be Luca’s physical therapist. Luca ended up marrying that man

Dan and Matt both make time for their children, whether they’re staying home with Dan or traveling with Matt around the state for his matches

[totaly-obsessed]

hiii! i love ur work so much!!!! i was wondering if i can request a kcc fic where she gets jealous hehehehehehe

Favorites

Kyra Cooney-Cross x reader request

-> Kyra finds out that she is not the favorite aunt or girlfriend

-> Hope you like it Anon, even though you probably meant a different jealousy haha

➳ Masterlist

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

The national break was always a welcome break from the daily club life, even if the World Cup was not that long ago. You had arrived together with the other Matilda’s that played in England. The plane journey was a long one, but one most of you were accustomed to by now.

Your plan for it? Sleeping. As much as you could. Trainers and mostly everybody you knew tried to tell you that it was bad, but you didn’t really listen – the want to sleep much too big.

Sam, your club teammate sat next to you, anxiously chewing her nails for most of the trip as she was one of the worst fliers you knew. Your captain was always thankful to sit next to you, as you calmed her down with your deep sleep and not a care in the world.

The two seats across from you were occupied by Mary and Kyra who were playing cards, bored out of their minds. Eventually, it was the new Arsenal signing who kicked your feet to wake you. “Huh? Are we there yet?” The two started laughing at your startled face and at how fast you had sat up in your seat. “No, still a while out. You’re playing cards with us.”

It wasn’t a question, Kyra knew that you would just roll your eyes and close them again, desperate for sleep. But she also knew that even you couldn’t resist her puppy eyes, so she batted her lashes at you, knowing that you would cave in.

The two of you had been dating for over a year now. Her joining Arsenal had been the best thing ever – you finally moved in together, which was quite hard with the midfielder playing in Sweden before. Even with the both of you on rival London teams, it was the best thing ever.

When in public Kyra might seem like the excited, touchy one when in private it was you who would simply refuse to let the brunette go, cuddling as close to her as you could. So whipped as you are, you played cards with them and even managed to get Sam to play as well.

“Man, I can’t wait to see Harps again. She grows so quickly.” This has been Kyra’s first time being away for such a long time from the toddler since meeting her. The two-year-old quickly found her way into all the Matilda’s hearts, helping the team relax after a long day, her gleeful giggles sounding through the halls of the facility. “Me neither, maybe she finally decides to be a striker.” Sam was back to consciousness, always happy to talk about the youngest team member – also distracting herself from flying. None of you could help but laugh, knowing that if little Harper decided to be a footballer one day, she would follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a midfielder.

The rest of the journey was long and hard, you were just happy to have Kyra at your side, knowing that you didn’t need to talk, the brunette filling the silence all by herself.

When the group of you arrived at the team hotel it was already late in the day but most of the Tillies that roamed the halls were excited to see each other again after a very successful World Cup. “Auntie Y/N!” A small body made its way through the sea of players, crashing into your open arms as you couched down, ready to hug her. “Harps!” Giggles filled the room as you threw her up in the air and caught her again.

You could feel Katrina’s watchful eyes on you but the short midfielder was never worried when Harper was with you. With Charlie and Kyra? Panic. But once you joined them? Everything was alright. It wasn’t like you were more mature, but the way you carried yourself; serious and careful when needed but you also knew how to have fun – the perfect combination.

“Harper look, Kyra’s here too!” Your girlfriend tried to get the girl's attention but she was much too busy playing with your hair, telling you the story of how her favorite stuffy had found its way to Australia. “Babe, I’ll go make out with Charls, yeah?” When you didn’t even react, the midfielder scoffed offended.

She just got replaced by a two-year-old.

Kyra didn’t know who she envied more. You for being Harper's favorite auntie, or Harper for having all your attention when in the same room.

Once back on the ground, the toddler grabbed your hand, swiftly pulling you out to a field, commanding you to grab a ball. The rest of the Matildas watched in awe as their very stoic teammate turned to mush once the tiny blonde shouted “Again!” signaling you to roll the ball to her so that she could kick it back.

“My girlfriend just got stolen.” The young Arsenal player’s mouth was wide open as Harper took you from her, in broad daylight. Harper kept pulling you out on the field further and further until you couldn’t hear the teasing anymore – not that you paid it any mind.

“Kyra just got replaced!” It was Mackenzie who started joking at their young teammate's expanse. “I still have an open room, should harper take your bed as well!” But it was Caitlin who caused the brunette to whine in defeat.

Katrina knew that you were up to no good when she saw you crouched on the floor, telling Harper something while pointing at the rest of the Matilda’s at the side of the pitch – a devious smile on your face.

Just a few short moments her daughter ran towards them, as fast as she could, arms wide open an excited smile on her face. “Auntie!” Kyra had now crouched down as well, copying your previous action, opening her arms as the small blonde raced directly toward her.

“C’mere Harps!” But Harper had a different plan, throwing herself on the ground as she army-crawled through the midfielder's legs – jumping into Alanna’s strong arms, who stood directly behind Kyra. The crowd erupted in laughter, as you made your way back to them, a sly smirk still on your lips, seeing your girlfriend's very prominent pout as Sam patted her back. “Not the favorite girlfriend, not the favorite aunt – Man, that’s gotta hurt."

[futfemfantasies]

failed \\ sam kerr x reader

TW: injury (the dreaded 3 letters), fluff

2023 World Cup. Home soil. Co-captain with the love of your life. Playing in your hometown Stadium is one thing but playing a World Cup there? It's a whole other dream come true.

Sitting next to Sam, your knee is bouncing uncontrollably. She put her hand on your thigh and gives it a light squeeze, silently asking if you're okay. You nod and plant a soft kiss on her cheek. The starting lineup including you and Sam start to walk out to meet your mascots. You look around and everyone has theirs except you. A small tap on your thigh forces you to look down at your mascot. It’s none other than your mini me aka your niece Athena. You pick up the smiling and now excited to-year-old and kiss her squishy, chubby cheeks.

"You win Aunt y/n/n?"

"Not yet princess, Aunt Sammy has to score some goals first"

Sam turns around before giving your your niece multiple kisses.

You nudge Sam to start walking out and the roaring of the fans brought a wide smile to your face. Lining up, Athena starts bouncing on your hip in excitement. After the national anthem, you give Athena back to your sister and start to get prepped for the game. Your job back to the team just in time to hear Sam's pep talk.

"1...2...3... TILLIES!"

You and Sam do your quick handshake before you jog to midfield alongside Katrina and Kyra. The whistle starts and the battle for third place begins. Sweden have come in strong but you and your midfield trio have held your own. So far, Rolfö and Asilani have been targeting you and every time you get up, Sam looks more pissed than before. Around 30 minutes into the second half is where things went wrong. Recovering the ball from Stina was fine, it was the popping sound in your left knee that wasn't.

Screaming as you went down immediately saw the ref blow her whistle. Medics rushed to you, only for Sam to beat them. Same place your head in her lap as the medics touched around the rapidly swelling area.

"Even if it is what we think, I'll be there every step of the way"

Sam helped you off the field, with a standing ovation from the crowd and players. Sam turns back to the game and stomps over to Stina.

"What the fuck is your problem huh? She's injured because of you. You injured your teammates and the best midfielder in the game! I hope you're happy with yourself"

Stina looks visibly scared and your teammates push Sam away before she got herself carded. Sam made at her personal mission to win this game for you, even if that meant doing a few extra slide tackles and shoulder pushes. The final whistle blows after extra time and Sam is speechless. You watch on the small tv as Sam is in full blown tears and the medic said you can go out to the field.

Hopping down the hallways, you see the familiar entryway to the field. Taking your time, you finally get to the grass and you start looking for your short ponytailed beauty. Stina notices you looking around and decides to quickly apologise before Sam scares her off again. The poor girl was on the verge of tears until you reassured her it was nothing she did. You lock eyes with Sam and said your goodbyes to Stina.

You both meet halfway and Sam pulled you into a tight hug, burying her face in your neck. Crutches dropped to the floor, you gave back and even tighter hug as you hear what Sam's mumbling.

"Hey, look at me"

You almost whisper, holding Sam's face in your hands.

"You gave it your all and that's what matters. I love you through all the wins, losses, draws, fourth places. We've done this country so proud okay?"

Sam looks down at your knee and nods slowly.

"I love you too, I'll be here through it all. I'll take some personal leave"

You argue back-and-forth but decided she can take two weeks off. Sam turns around and squats down a little picking up the crutches.

"Jump on. I think there's some fans that want to say thank you to their hometown hero"

You roll your eyes and hop on the slightly older girls back.

You see your teammates first before doing a lap of honour. Right at the end, Sam stops just before a little boy with your jersey on. You direct Sam over and hop down, still leaning on Sam.

"Hey buddy, cool jersey you have on there"

"Y-you my favourite. I wanna be you when I’m older"

You pout at the cuteness at the boy who couldn't be older than 4. You decide in the moment to give the boy your jersey. You take it off and someone gives you a marker. You write a sweet message on it before giving it to him. His mum asked for a photo and of course you say yes. The boy thanks you numerous times and you give him a hug before leaving.

Sam comes back and put a jacket on you before carrying you to the locker room. She said she down at your cubby, which is next to hers, and gives you a look.

"i'm fine babe, really. Are you okay?"

Sam shrugs her shoulders and looks at you.

"I dunno. I wanted to win for you and I failed"

Sam hangs her head, looking at her boots. She hold back tears and you scoot closer to her the best you can.

"You didn't fail me baby. Every game you play for a club or country makes me so unbelievably proud of you. You can never fail in my eyes Sam"

Without warning, Sam pulled you into a bruising kiss, with your teammates wolf whistling and fake gagging.

"Marry me?"

Sam whispers as your foreheads touch.

"A million times yes my love"

“Now let’s get that knee better Mrs Kerr”

“MRS KERR?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

liked by samanthakerr20, stephcatley, leahwilliamson and 89,064 others

ynyln: 19.08.23 ✨ the worst day became the best ✨ can’t wait to do life with you 🥺😍

view all 42,689 comments…

stephcatley: she’s growing up!! Happy for you boo xx

↪️ ynyln: ❤️❤️ love you my steffy

samanthakerr20: Mrs Kerr has a nice ring to it I think 😉

↪️ ynyln: 🙄🙄🙄

leahwilliamson: big sis is getting married!! I’m so happy for you 😁 love you always xx

↪️ ynyln: 🥺 lil sis, love you xx

[redpensandgreenarrows]

Wait... I just had a thought...

Care for some Sophie Beckett speculation?

I've seen some posts on Threads where people are speculating that the maid we get a glimpse of at the Cowper residence - the who Cressida asks for help from - might be Sophie. I couldn't remember who they were talking about, so I'm currently rewatching episodes 7 & 8. (Episode 7 is where we see the maid.)

And not to quash anyone's theories, because this truly is all just speculation, but the maid's performance just doesn't scream Sophie to me. In my mind I'd expect more timidness, stiffer, stilted speech, a more unhappy look on her face, and possibly a gaunt countenance. Maybe even fear or wariness the second Cressida asked her for help. Idk, I just don't think that was her.

BUT! Now I'm on epsiode 8, and just got to the part where we meet the Aunt come to take Cressida away to the countryside. And simply by her tone, remarks, and countenance we know this woman is a BITCH. Cressida's mother (remember, who is named Araminta) even remarks that she forgot how horrible a woman this aunt is. SO, what if the "Araminta from the books" character is kind of split into two: Araminta Cowper & this Aunt.

Sophie is still a bastard, Lord Cowper is her father, and he's pawned her off on his sister - the Aunt - to live out in the country where he doesn't have to deal/see her. Both Araminta & the Aunt know who Sophie really is and both hate her, but we need someone doling out some truly horrible treatment and that could fit the Aunt's personality.

This also gives Cressida more storyline, because truthfully I wasn't sure how they were going to bring Cressida back in after this season. BUT having Sophie at the Aunt's house gives Cressida plot out in the country that can also loop in Benedict & the Bridgerton's since this is obviously their stories. And as we all know, there is Benedict/Sophie plot out involving the countryside, so that helps too.

Idk, this all literally just popped into my head and now I'm word-vomiting it here. Anyone else see the plausibility? Thoughts?

Tagging some people, but anyone is free to comment! >> @silverhallow @tilly-tilly-2827 @sophiamariabeckett @queen-of-the-misfit-toys

[kaytheday]

Ace Head Canon's (Part 2!)

Ace and Steve’s girlfriend Evie get along pretty well. Though, Ace doesn’t know what she sees in him. 

Ace could be very good in school as well, she just doesn’t try. She spends more time goofing off with Two-Bit and ditching with Soda and Steve than trying to get any actual work done. Also, her teachers are not that kind to her and she has a hard time listening to anyone who is slightly dismissive of her. 

She is NOT a good cook even though she’s been feeding herself for a long time. For the most part, she survived on old candy bars and quick meal solutions. 

As a kid, she was a biter. She got suspended in the second grade for biting another girl in the bathrooms during recess wash up. The only thing that could get her to stop was her teacher making her suck on a bar of soap. She hated the way that lye soap tasted. 

So far in high school, she’s been suspended twice. The first time was for scalping another greaser girl who was calling her names. The next time was for sucker punching a boy for springing her bra strap. Then she proceeded to make fun of him for crying about getting punched by a girl. 

Ace loves music but she can’t hardly sing. She’s also one of the only ones who knows about Johnny's secret singing voice. Her and Ponyboy. 

She is a good dancer but that’s not really public information to anyone but Two-Bit and Dallas. Her and Two-Bit often frequent a Tulsa Juke Joint called the Double Deuce. She’s friends with the owner Rosie who is dating Dallas Winston on and off. Those two are the only members of the gang who have seen her dance. 

Johnny claims he has too but he’s lying! He’s never seen Ace dance because she is very careful about who gets to see her dance.  

This might have been covered in Tilly’s ‘Ace Lore’ but she does cut her own hair. She cuts it close to her scalp and usually with Steve’s switchblade. The first time she did it, it looked really bad but she’s gotten better. Evie also gave her a couple tips about cutting her own hair, even going so far as to fix a couple bad cuts. She’s the one that gifted Ace a nice pair of scissors so she wasn’t using an old switchblade that everyone was pretty sure Steve had stabbed someone with. 

Ace really used to like wearing jewelry. Necklaces, rings, bracelets, and anklets. But then some soc’s caught her and ripped off all the necklaces she was wearing. Left marks on her neck and scared her to death so now she hardly wears jewelry. Just an anklet that Mrs. Matthews helped her make out of beads and string after a bad night at her aunt's house. Two-Bit said the colors looked tough and she hasn’t taken it off since. 

Like Steve and Dallas, Ace always hated swimming. Not that she was allowed in any public pools in Tulsa anyway. Steve had told her some story of a black kid who tried to swim in a public pool down by the rec center and how the white kids had thrown acid in the pool. Since then she’d been scared to go. Sodapop invited her and Steve to go swimming at the lake with them one day. After a lot of convincing, they both went. It took her about three hours for her to actually get in the water but she learned how to swim and she started to love it. 

(Dallas said he would never go to the lake because there might be ‘creatures’ in the water. He said he’d never go to the public pool because of the ‘monster whites’.  

Ace started to really like swimming and decided to try the community pool on the East Side. She thought she’d have a chance at the East Side community center because it was way more rundown and sometimes the workers let her group play pool in the lobby. They tried, and after the pool wouldn’t let her, Two-Bit (and Sodapop) in to swim on account that it was whites only, Dallas smashed in all the windows and poured fifteen buckets of black paint in the pool. 

Now it doesn’t matter because they just go to the lake when they can. But they haven’t gone to the lake since the Curtis parents were killed. 

Ace has stayed the night at Bucks in Dallas’s room lots of times but one of the most memorable was when she was staying there with Johnny. Dallas had tried to bring a girl back and kick her out of the room so he could… you know… and the girl didn’t let him kick Ace and Johnny out. Instead she drove them back to her place so that Ace and Johnny could get some sleep while the girl and Dallas did things.

Johnny and Ace ended up sleeping in the same room as the girl's little brothers. It wasn’t as awkward as Ace thought it was going to be. 

Sometimes, if Ace is feeling sentimental or just missing her grandparents extra, she’ll go to church. Not just any church, the same one that her Gram used to go to at 10:00 AM sharp every Sunday. She’ll try to dress decently, sneaking out of her Aunt’s house before Steve wakes up and she’ll go. Sitting in the back of the church, humming along to the songs they are singing and really trying to listen. Almost imagining that she’s a little girl again, her grandma is sitting next to her, holding her hand and smiling. 

Steve doesn’t know but sometimes, it’s just really comforting for Ace to go to church. It makes her feel close to her grandparents.

[pdpenpals]

Hiii could I get a love letter from pdh!vylad.

For context he’s sending it to his gf/ reader who he’s away from at the moment because he’s on vacation with his family and lost his phone or just wanted to write her a personal physical letter so it would never get lost in there text. She/her pronouns please.

hey, nonnie! this prompt’s pretty lovely, actually. i’ve always wanted to write to friends (and i suppose those who’ve set my heart ablaze) while traveling myself, letting them know what i’m thinking of, feeling, and seeing in the moment, but they all just end up as messages unsent that i hoard under my bed like a dragon, haha!

anyway, i’m hoping you find that this delivery does this ro’meave justice. i’ll be honest with you, i had the most fun making the envelope header accompanying this request. enjoy!

what promises to be a boring day is immediately taken back when the mailman pops up at your doorstep unexpectedly. he usually never shows up unless there are bills to be paid. the envelope looks and smells pretty old, but the date listed on its back indicates it was clearly made in the last week at the very least. a smile creeps onto your face when you recognize the handwriting, and you waste no time opening it up when you’re in the privacy of your own room, careful not to damage the stamp sealing it. it’s way too pretty to break, and you want to keep it.

not only is there a letter inside, but three laminated bookmarks. they contain real pressed flowers against a painted background. it’s a bit reminiscent of some art movement vylad mentioned before. art nouveau, was it? just like the rest of the materials used to make this letter, it appears to be pretty…antique. not that it’s a bad thing! it feels just like receiving a little time capsule, a blast from the past if you will. 

but irene above, the more time you spend not reading, the more you miss him. you carefully unfold the paper and let your eyes glaze over the paper.

Hey! 

Missed y (too desperate? hope you don't mind.)

Hope this reaches you as soon as it can. Did all the bookmarks make it in one piece? Do you like them? I’ve looked high and low through some pretty old catalogs to see where they came from and how much they sold for, but it would seem that they’re all individually handpainted and hand-pressed, therefore one of a kind.

I’m still quite bummed that I didn’t get a choice between going here or not during break. It was all so last minute! But I’ll be honest: O’Khasis is much prettier than I remember. What isn’t pretty is that Aunt Tilly (apparently she’s not our actual aunt? I guess we’re just used to calling her that.) absolutely insists that the place we spend our vacation at just happens to have no signal. Before, I absolutely wouldn’t have minded as there’s so much to do around here, but I can’t help but lie awake at night with the guilt eating at me thinking about how your messages must not be reaching my inbox. I’m sorry for not finding a way sooner. If anything, I didn’t quite expect the way this letter would find its way to you.

One thing you need to know is that up until yesterday, Aunt Tilly did not like me. At all. It kind of broke my heart a little as a kid because I didn’t know why. Now I can name a few reasons, but that’s not really what’s important right now. As usual, she would come with boxes full of stuff that she brought home from where she’s based abroad and let us pick what we wanted. There were a few old books and vintage clothes that interested me, but what caught my eye the most were the pressed flower bookmarks you got in this very envelope. And that’s just a fraction of them! You’d be amazed to see how many of them are in the collection.

Anyway, Aunt Tilly seemed reluctant to give them to me, even surprised to see that they were in the box in the first place. But ever since that, she’s warmed up to me, and it’s honestly much more terrifying than the times she’s barely acknowledged me. I should be upfront about it and ask her why soon. I suppose now should be the time to say that she even helped me pick out which flowers would be on the bookmarks I sent you. Says I should treat it like I’m actually picking out a bouquet or something. That woman takes her flowers seriously. At least now she knows she isn’t the only one in the family with an interest in floriography. She seemed even more delighted learning this letter was for a special someone, so she talked Mom and Dad into letting me have a few hours to myself in the town nearby just to have this letter delivered. I’m grateful to get a bonding experience with her out of this, but I really need to figure out what brought on this sudden change. Will definitely update you about it in another letter. This is quite fun, actually. Writing to you, pen on paper, feels way more personal, don’t you think?

Back to the bookmarks though, I’m not sure if you can read the text on them, but if I had to pick out a bouquet for you right now, I’d choose these three. Imagine the following with me now, will you? White clovers, balsamine, and pale red carnations. I don’t trust the Internet at the moment to be able to give you the exact message I want to convey, and I think it’s something better said in person. 

I promise I’ll make things up to you when I get back soon. A date maybe? Please write back soon. I’d love to hear your thoughts.  

Yours evermore, V.R.

PS. In the future, we should definitely go on a proper sightseeing trip around O’Khasis. Just you and me. How does that sound? 

[wizard-on-whales]

Modern AU! for rdr2 characters

These are my headcannons for each character and what I think they would do in modern times.

Characters included: Arthur, Micah, Dutch, John, Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, Tilly, Sadie, Strauss, Charles, Susan, Bill, Lenny, Hosea, Sean, Molly, Javier, Swanson

_______________________________

Arthur Morgan: 

He works a blue-collar job. He would most likely be a ranch hand, but for some reason, I can also imagine him being a plumber or welder. In his free time, he does art and sells prints on Etsy. He is still an old-fashioned gentleman (In a good way), and all of the ladies he meets swoon for him, but he is a himbo and doesn't realize they are practically in love with him. They will give him the most obvious hints, but he will think the women are just being nice. 

Micah Bell:

He's the creepy uncle that you avoid at every family gathering. He hasn't had a job in like 15 years, and no one knows how he can still pay his bills. And he also always smells like lingering alcohol and cigarettes. He will lean too close to his nieces and say extremely concerning things everyone would choose to ignore. Im also getting the vibes that he went to prison for several years, but no one knows what for.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

He sells people scams or owns a pyramid scheme business. Similar to Scentsy products, he somehow convinces all of these people to buy his products to sell to other people, telling them they will get rich by selling these products, but, in reality, he's screwing them over and making most of the money himself. 

John Marston: 

If we are talking about early Red Dead 2 Marston, he still lives in his parent's basement and plays video games on his PC all day. He also watches Andrew Tate and would try to boss Abigail around and tell her he's an alpha male. (She'd slap him and tell him to get over himself) Late rdr2 and rdr1, he's grown out of that mindset and has become a working family man. Potentially also a welder, like I said for Arthur. But any high-paying physical job works.  

I feel like Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, and Tilly would all have a mom group they host every week to discuss their child's newest achievements. Their husbands think that is all they do at the meetings, but they also have in-depth conversations about women's suffrage and how the world caters to men. They think of ways to better the world and bring more women together to discuss these topics and bring light to issues regarding women. The girls would run a pretty popular Facebook group where they let other women express their opinions on those topics. (Arthur is a part of the Facebook group and likes every post he sees and comments shit like, “You're doing great, ladies! Keep up the good work! 😁🥰👍”) 

Sadie would probably occasionally attend these meetings (Although I dont see her having children, she would go for the cheap wine and to hang with her friends). Sadie would also go for the in-depth conversations and bring new thoughts to the table because she is a CEO or manager for a very successful company. She would share her experiences of what it's like to be on top of the men who work for her but still be looked down upon by them simply because of her gender. She would also probably share tips on that Facebook page on how to create a successful business without having to attend years of college and give tips for all stay-at-home moms who want to be more than just moms and wives. (She would also be the cool rich aunt)

Leopold Strauss: 

He would do the same thing. He gives loans to people who he knows won't be able to pay back the money, and then when the bill comes, he'd ruin their lives and probably end up breaking up families/ relationships and send people to jail for not paying back the money in time. 

Charles Smith:

I can see him being a park ranger or working in any conservation field. Potentially even a firefighter who deals with all of the forest fires that happen in places along the West Coast. He’d also be one to do something similar to what he did in the game, but he would work with the local native tribes against companies to try to win back their lands before it gets plowed over for an Amazon factory or something. 

Susan Grimshaw:

I can see her being the mean substitute teacher who yells at everyone to get to work, and then when someone does something slightly wrong, she would yell at the whole class and be like, “In all of my years of teaching, I have never seen a class behave this badly.” Either that or she would work at the front desk of the business Sadie runs. Miss Grimshaw would NOT play with anyone who would try to be rude towards her. 

Bill Williamson: 

Ehem…a police officer. I feel like this one is self-explanatory. But he would mostly sit in his car and do nothing his entire shift. Occasionally pulling someone over for speeding. If they are a white dude, he'd would let them off with just a warning. Poor Lenny would probably get the ticket. 

Lenny Summers: 

I feel like he would be the one to graduate high school early and go to college as soon as possible. I dont know exactly what he would choose for his degree, but I feel like it would be something involving politics. Maybe that wouldn't be his major, but he would take a government class. Or Potentially going into journaling. 

Hosea Matthews:

He's the retired grandpa who used to work in a factory where he made a surprising amount of money and was able to retire early. He spends most of his days walking up at 5 in the morning to watch the sunrise and read the morning paper. And he’ll spend every opportunity he gets to take his kids or grandkids fishing. And if you stay at his house overnight or for the weekend, he gives you a bowl of ice cream every night before bed and recounts every story he could think of that happened from the last time you saw him. (Some of them are surprisingly concerning, but he is one of those badass grandpas)

Sean Macguire:

Similar to John, Sean would spend most of his time gaming on his PC and arguing with children on COD or Fortnite. But he also works at a local bar as the bartender and won't hesitate to argue with the drunk assholes and would slap a bitch if needed. But he also embarrasses himself by flirting with women who will give him dirty looks or tell him that they are gay. (I feel like Karen would also work late-night shifts at the bar with him, but shes also taking online college classes because she wants to be a social worker) 

Molly O’Shea:

Instagram and TikTok influencer 100%, and lots of brands like to sponsor her and send her free stuff (Mostly because of Dutch’s business.) and she posts videos of her and Dutch, and everyone in the comments freaks out about how he is grooming her because of their age difference but she denies it all and says that they are actually in love.  But then she would post a video to that one sound, “My god this reminds me of when we were young.” And Molly be like 8, and Dutch be in his mid-to-late 20s. 

Javier Escuella: 

He’d be a musician. He would have started out in a shitty garage band with Sean and John or something, but then he’d realize he actually wants to be a serious musician while the other guys were just messing around. So he’d leave and make solo music that blows up, and he ends up going on tour, and making a lot of money and becoming hugely successful. 

Reverend Swanson:

The preacher you always see in the corner of the bar Sean works at. And if you went up to him and started talking to him, he’d tell you the most profound things. He would tell you about his life when he was younger and what happened that made him lose hope, but he would motivate you to never give up. He’d be that person you meet by chance for a few seconds that you would never forget. Hosea probably invites him to go fishing with him from time to time. But instead of fishing, Swanson stares at the water ripples in silence. Hosea would let him sit in silence and let Swanson enjoy the company and the time to think while being sober. 

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

[esotericas-sims]

Manon Yvaine de Falstaff, 1789.

"It is the unique gift of the orphan: freedom from the burden of a family legacy. It is also their unique misery. The maintenance of a legacy is a laborious task. The creation of one has been known to drive men mad."

– M.F.

Chapter One

My name is Manon Yvaine de Falstaff. You have not heard of me.

By the time this book is published, I am either dead or as-good-as. This is by design. It is only with the knowledge that I will not live to suffer the consequences of my actions, that I can report them truly and honestly here.

There is a general narrative convention that a story starts at the beginning. I see no reason to break this pattern.

My story begins in France, 1785. I was born in blood and tears and disappointment. My parents were Conrad and Mathilde de Falstaff, Baron and Baronne of ----- (a vanity title, gifted to them by the King as reward for my father's friendship. We had no money, and no land.) My parents despised one another; Conrad, for his wife's inability to bear sons, and Mathilde, for her husband's inability to remain faithful. It was a marriage of equals, in terms of hatred.

They were divorced not long after I was born - Failure to produce a male heir - Four girls was four too many, and Ophelie and I were twins. It was more than my father could tolerate.

I was born last. I took pride, for some years, in being the straw that broke the camel's back. I learned in later years that the divorce was my mother's idea, not my father's. I can not blame her for wanting an escape, though my sisters resented her for abandoning us to him.

Neither of them, as far as I know, ever took credit for giving me my name. There is a significance to that, I think. A name is an important thing, and mine purports to be handed down from God himself.

Manon... a nickname, I was born Marie, though I have never once been called by that. It is a name I have always felt to be fateful, an act of God, determining my path. My mother could not have known about Mary, who I would meet many years after I left France, but perhaps the all-seeing eyes of the heavens observed our crossing-of-paths. Who's to say?

Yvaine... "North Star." The kinder of my elder sisters, Mathilde Junior - though we all called her Tilly - claimed it was my mother's choice, a reference to my odd appearance - shockingly white hair, and icy skin. The other, Emelie, insisted my father had meant to call me Yvonne, for my resemblance to our hideous aunt.

All these matters of fate and God and names were far from my mind as I grew, however. I was concerned almost entirely with my father, and my relentless pursuit of his love.

It was a game we played, the battle for affection. He praised me when I was clever, but scorned me when I won an argument. He played dolls with me only when my toys were soldiers, politicians, or clergymen. I begged to attend his meetings, balls, and dinner parties. Of all his children, there was no denying I took after him the most. It is one of the greatest shames of my life. For those golden years, however, I chased after him with the undying devotion known only to children. It did not last long, though. Change was coming.

previous | next latest | chronological

[alotofpockets]

Katrina Gorry and #23, Our girl’s First Football Practice, (or First Game?).

AKA Harper playing Football. And maybe some of her Matilda aunts and big sis Kyra could be there too?

Hiya, thank you for the request! Loved writing this one, hope you like it :)

[the-lonelyshepherd]

tell me abt your OCs please🙏 including the horses you draw them so prettyyy

HIII HI HI

gonna do a simple overview of main two and their horses for now

evelyn sinead “shay” murphy

first (and a half?) generation american. her father immigrated from ireland and her mother’s parents from ireland and england.

youngest sibling of five daughters. all the others are already adults and out of the house, she’s 17/18 range.

her family started out poor, only recently got pretty wealthy

personality wise she’s very silly - kinda excitable, talkative but in a very nervous energy type of way. like a chihuahua or something. she kinda spaces out a lot or is off in her own world and jumps from thing to thing really fast without a lot of regard for others (not on purpose, she just doesn’t notice). overall she just really wants to be wanted - she’d bleed for anyone if they held her the right way.

fun fact: she likes fishing

othello - shay’s horse

when shay was younger her whole family had two horses between the seven of them. after their recently accumulated wealth, she gets her own - a top of the line tenessee walking horse. she names him othello after the title of some fancy play her father bought to make the house look more distinguished for guests. she thought the name was cool.

othello is a fucking bitch to literally anyone but shay (and later catalina and tumble). he’s really loyal but can get overtly defensive sometimes. very quiet, just stands there menacingly. we love him though. he’s really tall.

catalina “cat” “tilly” “lina” “bird” osorio

mexican-american, family has been in america for forever (she has some portugese heritage mixed in though)

nickname haver. almost everyone calls her something different. she lives with her aunt and uncle, two cousins and younger brother. they work as ranch hands for hire, and help on cattle drives. occasionally her cousins will pick up odd jobs and rope her into them.

she’s generally pretty quiet but is actually pretty funny sometimes. she’s constantly seen as “the responsible one” out of her family, but it really just stems from a constant worry that she’s not good enough and that she doesn’t want to cause problems. daydreams a lot, kinda anxious, tired a lot because she has sleep problems.

fun fact: really likes birds. can identify them and draws them a lot

tumbleweed “tumble” - catalina’s horse

descended from some of the first horses on the osorio family’s farm, tumble is a mutt of a horse, but she’s perfect for any job you would need on a ranch. she does get distracted a lot though - she’s pretty playful which doesn’t always bode well for a horse her size.

she wasn’t supposed to be named tumble - catalina wanted to name her first horse something cool, like trigger or hawk. but when tumble was born her legs were a little too long and her tawny roan color made her look like a tumbleweed. so after a while the name stuck.

that’s just a basic overview of the main two and their horses but if you have any more questions lmk!! this was pretty short for each of em i tried to leave it open ended

[gardenofbookworms]

week #29 recommendation: bee

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden

▪︎ fantasy fiction graphic novel ▪︎

when you’ve been around the same people for too long, the familiar starts feeling suffocating. that’s why lou lets bea in the passenger seat.

it was only a short trip, just out west to visit an aunt and uncle. uneventful, simply a break from all the work that lou isn’t even sure she should be on. but then a distant family friend named bea shows up, too far from “home” to still live there. but it’s nearly impossible for an eighteen-year-old to run away on her own with no plan whatsoever, and bea needs someone to look after her. especially in the ever-shifting land of texas, especially with a stray cat with magical powers, and especially with two men who’ve been tailing them. lou’s got a new goal—keep bea safe, no matter the cost. and bring diamond home while she’s at it.

▪︎

am i going to praise the illustrations of every comic book i review? yes. in this case, the drawings are a little hard to get used to at the beginning, but they’re wonderfully abstract and colors are used so well i just—the atmosphere they create is so soft and comforting, and still i got nervous when the tension finally broke. they’re amazing, take my word for it. the other thing—THE REPRESENTATION IS GOLDEN. i was really happy to see not only queer, but female and POC rep. times two!! and the way lou handles bea—she’s trying so hard not to baby her because bea’s an adult, for god’s sake, but she’s going to get herself into trouble if lou’s not around. these kinds of “your family was shitty to you so I’M gonna be your parent now” relationships always get me.

[chernobog13]

"Hey, Mr. Golden Bat, can I have a piece of gum, too?"

"No, you smell funny."

I swear on my Aunt Tillie's beard that the above is a true and accurate translation.

[agendabymooner]

9 to 5 || f1 drivers (5)

(SPIN OFF OF COLOUR ME YOUR COLOUR (WIP) and RUSH)

Summary: Lorelei Hester ‘Lester’ Alessandro is a bassist first and Daniel Ricciardo’s partner second. But it seems like another role is added to her resume as she begins her weekend in Baku as Toto Wolff’s children’s babysitter. 

Chapter summary: Daniel Ricciardo stopped by to say hi to what the team principals had considered as threats to their drivers - it was very hard not to get distracted by Soren and Tia Wolff after all. AND Lester Alessandro envied the Wolff cubs' intelligence as Soren was already on his fourteenth short story on a Thursday noon (he just started reading the book that morning).

Content warning: family-centric content, people trying not to swear in front of children, Uncle Danny content, Australia references, Christian Horner mentioned, Hearth sister!OFC x Max Verstappen relationship, Hearth sister!OFC x Charles Leclerc relationship. 

masterlist

v. the little weapons of destruction distraction

Fourteenth story. 

They were barely halfway through the day and Tilly and Toto’s eldest son had finished thirteen fairy tale stories. The thick book of Grimms Fairy Tales, if she was being truthful, would be something that she’d be able to read in the span of three days. Six hours, if she was motivated enough. 

But as she sat there with her own book opened, she couldn’t help but wonder if Tilly worked extremely hard on getting these children to read a lot. 

Lester knew that the kids she was babysitting were fluent in four languages, but she didn’t know if fluency came with the fast paced reading comprehension skills that Soren obviously had been showing. 

Soren Philip Alphonse Wolff was born to an unmarried couple, Tilly Marie (Hearth) and Toto Wolff. When he was born, it was almost like the wall that Toto used to protect his heart broke down. Despite the obvious features that came from Toto, Ren was more like Tilly, if you were to ask Lester or anyone close to them. Timid, shy, but if you ask him about his books and the characters, his eyes would brighten and he would endlessly ramble about it. At the age of five, you would think that he would be talking about dinosaurs (he likes dinosaurs) and rockets (and he likes rockets too) but not Soren. Soren would share his interest in children’s literature to anyone who would like to listen.

So it somehow didn’t come as a surprise when the boy finished his thirteenth story and moved on to the next. He was so occupied by it that he could hear no one but the characters and the background noise. 

“Zia Lori,” a tiny voice beside her spoke, making the bassist turn and give Tia a smile. The girl looked up at her aunt and raised the colouring book that she was just working on. “Do you like it?” 

There were colours outside the lines but Lester could tell that Tia tried staying inside the shapes while she used different crayons. Paddington had never been this vibrant until now. 

Besides from the initials of her name, Tia Christie Vienna Wolff had more commonalities shared with her namesake. She had Toto’s temperament and the way of how she thrived to colour without going outside the line just proved how she was practically Toto’s carbon copy. 

She had a tendency to get frustrated whenever she sat herself down in front of the shape sorters and she couldn’t fit the right animal on it. The first time she (a year and a half during that time) threw the blocks out of frustration, bewilderment was written all over Toto’s face. But when he turned to look at Tilly for an explanation all she said was, “Haven’t you looked at the mirrors lately?” Still to this day, Toto’s reminding his mini me to take a breather first before her temper goes down to shit. Her perfectionism and the frustration that came with it? Yeah. That was all Toto, and ironically, neither of the parents had ever set some expectations for the children. 

“Like it? What do you mean? I love it!” Lester exclaimed, giving the little girl a high five. 

“But look,” Tia pointed at the colours outside the line, “this is bad.”

“No it’s not,” Lester shook her head, “that’s an accident, and an accident isn’t bad sometimes.”

“What’s acc-ent?” Tia tilted her head, curious about the foreign word that came out of her aunt’s mouth. 

Lester chuckled, both at her curiosity and the fact that she could speak as much German and French (and Italian) as she'd like yet not know the word accident in any language, “It is when you do something that you did not mean to do. Like… Oops!” 

“Ah!” Tia nodded enthusiastically. “Acc-ent!” 

“No, no, Tia,” Lester instructed, “follow Zia Lori… ready?” 

“Mhm!” Tia nodded again. 

“A…” “A…” 

“…k…” “…k…”

“si…” “si…”

“…dent.” “…dent.” 

“Accident!” Lester said the word faster.

“Accident!” Tia repeated with a clap of her hands. 

“There we go,” Lester nodded approvingly. She should teach kids about phonics. It seemed fun to teach. “You do so well at words. Do you read with Mama every night?” 

“Yes,” Tia said meekly, shying away from the woman as she continued, “Mama reads English… and French… and I-t’lian! But she only do French and English more. Papa teaches Italian.” 

“Ahh,” Lester nodded. “It must be exciting reading with Mama, eh? How do you like it?” 

“I love Mama! She reads so well,” Tia paused while she thought of something, “but Papa can do Eeyore more. He sound sad! I love Eeyore! But! So-en reads books to me too!” 

The little lad sitting across the two paused from reading and looked up from the page he was reading, wondering why he was called by Tia. Not sensing any cry for help, Soren returned to his book. 

“I hope Adelmo— when he grows— he can listen to me read,” Tia said with her eyes twinkling. “I can teach him F-ench! Like Mama!” 

According to Tilly, Soren and Toto often hover over Tia. They tended to be more protective when it came to Tia—perhaps it’s the effect of being the only girl in the family. Soren loved his sister a lot and would always read her books, trying to raise her as another version of himself.

Toto loved his kids equally, no doubt. His older kids (not with Tilly) were the subjects of his love alongside his little ones, but even they couldn’t deny that Tia was the most loved one. 

But it seemed like Tia, despite being everyone’s favourite, loved her little brother Adelmo more. It never caused any rift between siblings, but Tia tended to be protective of Adelmo more than anyone. 

At least none of them were bitter or arguing over who liked who. They all loved each other equally. It was just an observation that Lester had done. 

“He’ll grow soon enough, Tia,” Lester told the little girl. “But, right now, he has to feel better so when you get home… you can tell him about your trip with Papa.” 

“Hey, hey! Are those the mini Tillys I’m seeing?” The kids’ eyes widened at the voice as they turned and gasped. 

“Zio Danny!” “Oncle Dan!” 

“I have different names in different languages,” Daniel hoisted the two kids up in his arms as he grunted, “You two are becoming more like your dad. So heavy and tall!” 

“Not tall enough,” Soren crossed his arms with a huff, “Papa is tall like a building!” 

“Godzilla!” Tia exclaimed as Soren nodded in agreement.

“Or… Or King Kong!” It was Tia’s turn to nod enthusiastically. 

“Yeah, he’s incredibly tall, indeed,” Daniel turned and walked towards his girlfriend, leaning forward to kiss her on the temple as he asked, “What have you and the little wombats been up to?” 

“Wombats?” Soren slightly shoved himself away from Daniel’s face as he asked, “what is a wombat?” 

“Ahh, I forgot, you haven’t been to Australia yet,” Daniel let out a ‘tsk’ with a shake of his head. “Your Mum and Dad are depriving you of those little adorable creatures! We need to get that fixed. Tell your Mum or Dad to take you there next time.”

Lester chuckled quietly before finally answering, “We have been doing a lot of colouring and reading so far.”

“‘s that right?” 

“Yes,” Lester insisted with a widened pair of eyes, “too much reading if I am being honest.” 

“Oh! Uncle Dan!” Soren placed his hand on top of Daniel’s head, making the Australian look at him with a slight frown. “Guess what? I’m reading Hansel und Gretel!” He shook himself off from Daniel’s hold and grabbed the opened book from the table, raising it as Daniel looked down at the book.

A frown etched on Daniel’s face as he said, “Ren, lad, I can’t understand this.” 

“What do you mean?” Soren asked. Walking up to Lester, Soren raised the same book for her to read. 

At least Daniel and Lester could agree on not being able to read German. At this rate, they’re both thinking that Toto and Tilly were raising intellectuals. The next Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Hypatia of Alexandria, if you would ask either of them. 

“That explains why Uncle Daniel can’t read it,” Lester found herself chuckling, “we both cannot read German language, Soren.” 

“Oh,” the boy murmured, “okay.” 

“But are you loving it so far?” Daniel asked, now sitting next to Lester with Tia perched on his lap. 

“Yes,” Soren nodded eagerly, “I am about to finish the story!” 

“Such a smart boy,” Lester complimented Soren, the little boy’s cheeks turning red at the compliment. Much like Tilly, her children always shy away from the compliments thrown their way. They were the sweetest children that Lester had met. It was probably because her younger siblings and her nephews and niece are just chihuahuas in the form of human beings.

Lester looked up at her beau, “I am more worried that you’re here and you’re not where you’re supposed to be now.” 

“I got here first before any of the people in the grid does,” Daniel told her smugly. “Some of them are just hearing that the kids are here this weekend and it will be an absolute disaster if all of them found the two at once.”

Tia and Soren Wolff were what Lester could call the tactical team of Mercedes. Well… of any team to be fair. Anyone from other teams could get easily distracted by the kids. Jenson at some point had joked about the two working for their father in Mercedes to distract Red Bull’s drivers hours or days before the race. 

At some point Christian had wanted to ban the kids from visiting their motorhome, but why? The kids were toddlers and entering the school-aged stage. They know nothing about tactics and driving besides from “Papa! Look, cars go fast!” But they still had Tilly’s heart and the drivers, if you were to ask anyone on any team, enjoyed being around Tilly. The Wolff kids often lifted the spirits up in the grid. 

The most fortunate driver to spend his time with the children would be Lewis Hamilton. Not only did he drive for Mercedes-AMG but he was Soren’s godfather. He had been Tilly’s best friend first before Toto was Tilly’s partner. Toto had gotten more softer on him once Stevie changed her surname to Hamilton on Valentine's Day. The other two didn’t stand a chance. 

Max Verstappen was certainly trying to be on Toto's good side. It took him a good while to convince Sylvie, his now-girlfriend, that he hadn’t meant to screw her over once— so you could barely imagine convincing Toto that. Not only was he trying to appease the older man, but he had an opportunity to prove that he’s a good uncle to the kids by babysitting them. Perhaps to prove that he would be a good father as well, but it wasn’t the right words to say in front of Toto Wolff, of all people. 

Charles Leclerc was fairly close to becoming a welcome face at some point, if it hadn’t been for the fact that some gossip page decided to take the context out of a private conversation where he said that he wouldn’t have a child with someone who nearly broke him one way or another. He was speaking of an ex-girlfriend who wouldn’t let go. But once that the story had spread out and his girlfriend had gotten a hold of it, she ran straight to Toto. Yeah, no. Still to this day, Toto wasn’t as convinced that Charles’ intention was to remain true. 

But still. Tia and Soren were what the team principals assumed to be Mercedes’ little weapons of distraction. Especially with Max Verstappen? Yeah. Christian Horner definitely did not want the kids near him during the race weekends. But it wasn’t like he could say it upfront. Max was fairly close to marrying Sylvie. Max’s family was practically connected to Toto’s. 

“Who was the first to hear that?” Lester asked her beau with a brow raised. 

“Charles,” Daniel answered with a shit-eating grin, “but he can’t get out of his media duties.”

“Wow, if Ferrari only made time for their strategies instead of putting their drivers in front of a camera for their spare time,” Lester feigned satisfaction as she sighed dramatically, “just imagine the podiums that they could get.”

“A lot!” Soren piped up before his guilty eyes looked up at the adults, “I am sorry, Zia and Zio. Papa and Mama said it is rude to listen to adults talking.”

“No, it’s alright, mi niño pequeño,” Lester smiled sweetly at the boy. “Thank you for apologizing.”

Daniel only shrugged, “But he isn’t wrong.” He and Soren exchanged grins. 

If there’s anything that Lester had learned at the very beginning of her relationship with Daniel, it would be that he would be one to encourage Soren to say something that a smart-ass would say. Tilly told Lester once that Daniel was the devil on her shoulder back when she started in her racing teams in 2014. Like that shoey during the Silverstone 2014. That was all Daniel.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise when Soren nodded at Daniel’s approving look. Soren was smart, indeed, and clearly Daniel’s trying to “corrupt” his brain with mischief and whatever it was he’s concocting at the paddock. 

Maybe this was what they meant when Soren and Tia were Mercedes’ weapons of destruction. And they were both being influenced by a Red Bull driver. Ironic.