#Someone else: really? Is he your mum or dad's dad?

[the-halfling-prince]

Most recent episode of Outlander I watched was low key so funny at the end

Fuckin Marseli was like "listen, so... doctors take an oath to do no harm. Good thing I'm not actually a doctor" and killed that bitch. Jamie walks in to her freaking out because she killed someone and just goes "damn that sucks. But shit happens."

[dont-offend-the-bees]

O o o f should not have showed the folks everything everywhere all at once

[smooth-perceval]

“Darling you’re freezing!”

Dad!Charles Leclerc x mum!Reader

Summary: Charles returns home, and gets comfortable in bed with his two favourite girls.

Warnings: fluff, Google translate!!

Key: Y/N (Your name) Juliette (Yours and Charles little girls name) Jules (your little girls nickname)

Word count: 539

A/N: Another cute short one, I just love dad!charles. 🥲

Humming a soft tune, I delicately traced my finger around Juliette’s face. She was very unsettled, knowing her favourite person was due home soon… I couldn’t put money on the exact time but she knew it was soon.

Curled up in bed with a pile of blankets wrapped around us, the cold was still finding its way in, with my own body heat and the hundreds of layers Juliette was perfectly toasty… me?

Hell I was freezing my ass off.

“bébé?” (Baby?) The sounds of the door shutting brought me out the trance I was in. Juliette’s eyes widened looking around the room.

“In the bedroom.”

“I like the sound of that!” You could hear the smile in his voice, causing myself to smile and roll my eyes.

“You’ll be highly disappointed.”

The bedroom door was pushed opened, and there was our Charles.

“Highly satisfied actually- are you tired amour?” (Love?)

Nodding my head, I then gently lifted Juliette, holding her close in my arms facing Charles. “And someone else couldn’t sleep until you got home.”

Gasping dramatically he closed the door behind him rushing over to the bed. “My pretty girl.” And once he was in her range- I was completely forgotten about.

Scooping her up into his arms cradling her close he climbed into bed next to me, as gently as possible. “This is so much better than what I was thinking.”

“Dirty mare.” Laughing a little I pulled the piles of blankets over us both.

“My Jules, you can sleep now…” whispering softly, kissing the top of her head, her eyes were slowly opening and closing, she really was okay to rest now her dad was home.

Laying on my side I watched them both, I know our Juliette loved me, but the love she and Charles have is unbeatable, and I would happily stand second place to our perfect little girl.

“I don’t think I can ever get enough of her” My eyes glanced up toward Charles, a light smile on my face- cheeks a little warm.

“She’s perfect huh?” Charles eyes met mine, a smile already on his face.

“She is” reaching over, his hand brushed over my cheek.

“Darling you’re freezing!”

Laughing a little, I cupped his hand running my thumb over his knuckles. “Can’t seem to warm up.”

“Guess I’ll have to cuddle closer hm?”

“Just a little bit.” Smiling wider we both moved slightly closer, Juliette nestled comfortably between us both.

“I don’t think life could get any better than this mon amour…” (my love…) whispering he brought my hand over placing a delicate kiss to my knuckles. “Never any better.”

Silence fell between us both, Charles watching Juliette like a hawk, arm now resting around her.

“Want a warm drink?” Nodding his head in response I got up from the bed wrapping a blanket around myself.

—

Once I had us both a hot chocolate made, I brought both mugs upstairs placing them down on Charles side- quickly rushing round and hopping back in carefully.

“That’s freez-” and just like that I fell in love with him all over again.

Charles and Jules were both sound asleep, little smiles on their faces. They soothed each other into a perfect slumber.

[austinsastrology8991]

> MC ASPECTS < How you renowned around town “You make your own reality. And once you’ve done it, apparently, everyone’s of the opinion it was all so fucking obvious.” - Logan - Fucking - ROy

!!parental advisory explicit!!

MC Aspecting Sun - “rome, I think you're a super talented superstar and I love you” - Shiv Roy : Its hard not to notice you, you got a poise of regality, and you work the public sphere with ease; you put yourself out there and you get a lot of attention from onlookers - and it makes you one of a kind. you are someone with dignity and maybe too much self respect for some, to give you the credit that you do deserve > because no one does it quite like you - high key a dominant force in any room you enter - wolf of wall street vibes and lets be honest you are not above having a party at the office... and paying hookers to make it more cool...... you do the most and its a vibe vibe MC Aspecting Moon - "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had, and add some extra just for you" - Therapist in succession You know how to put people at ease, and your basically a professional therapist at this point. You can lighten up anyones mood or piss everyone off depending on how you feel. And this understanding of psychology really benefits you; because people want to treat you right, so you can give them some insight as to why they have a mental breakdown every 5 minutes (this generations daily cycle) your like a dog that lives in a hair-salon and everyone wanna get a cuddle from it/he/she/thing/you

MC Aspecting Mercury - “Information, Greg, it’s like a bottle of fine wine. You store it, you hoard it, you save it for a special occasion and then you smash someone’s face with it.” - Tom Wambsgams When you stfu people are wondering what your thinking. because somehow. someway. you've taken control of the conversation, and whatever you say is taken with heavier consideration then the average person. However that does not mean you get your way, it just means we listen to you the most - easily the most valuable insight comes from you guys, and your perceived as. a hustler. no wonder your careful with ur words because you dont really care about getting the right answer in the known, if that ultimately inteferes with your master plan you'll just stay quiet - because you know how to navigate the world with words, and your aware that ultimately the final word - the best word - is the deciding factor of what we do MC Aspecting Venus - "Here’s the thing about being rich, okay? It’s fucking great. It’s like being a superhero, only better. You get to do what you want — the authorities can’t really touch you. You get to wear a costume, but it’s designed by Armani and it doesn’t make you look like a prick." - Tom Wambsgams Beauty pageants. Everyone is interested in you, because your beautiful and your graceful, and you'd make a fine edition to the list of exes that everyone has. So besides the fact that your fuckable, you know how to charm people so easily and thats why you get so much attention, and its positive unless your insecure about how attractive you are.... which is a real thing... and id say just get that plastic surgery or stfu and find some real solutions. i mean has anyone ever tried to tell a beautiful person, that they beautiful.... its exhausting... and then they just look for someone else (more beautiful) to get that validation. its a death trap!!! dont fall for that bs... but damn yo fine ass better get used to being a fine ass or someone gonna commit a crime on yo ass MC Aspecting Mars - "I got a track record from founding one of the most exciting new media brands in the world. And what do you got? Track marks from shooting junk? Thanks for coming down. It was great to meet you." - Lawyrence Yee Unfuckwitable - you embody the underdog - and i mean an under dog thorugh and through; youll bark at anything that pisses yall offf, and thats why people watch they step around yall, no one wanna get bitten by da big dog with a small dog complex. but your fierce and people try their best to match your aggressive energy just to save face for themselves - meanwhile your just more pissed off that you always gotta show yo teeth to anyone you talk to lol. Your competitive and act like crackhead that knows karate. everyone is low key intimidated by ya, and you know it

MC Aspecting Jupiter - "Most things don't exist. the ford motor company hardly exists. It's just a time saving expression for a collection of financial interests." - Logan RoyEveryone likes you, and sometimes you don't even understand why, and thats just another reason to like you. You show a geniune uninterest in any boring mundane activities > and this lack of care for bullshit makes it so that when you do show an interest for something > you've somehow convinced everyone in the room that your enthusiasm defines whats enjoyable. and this discernment makes others believe that your the new budha for socio-economic observations . I respect it. and you did it without even realizing, like thats a feat initself, and you guys are 100 feet tall in everyone elses eyes because you got a name fo yo self MC aspecting Saturn - "the actual fact is we're persuading more and more shareholders everyday that we offer them just a slightly better chance for them to make a little bit more money on the dollar…and that's all that this is…." - Stewy Hosseini The boss is here and now everyone gotta actually do something productive. you guys have respect, and people know that if they don't come at you correctly, then you'll correct it for them, and no one wanna be daddied by the king kong daddy. Your life is defined by hardships and this is the most noticeable trait about yall, and it has molded you into a gus fring. A stone cold killer. You don't have to say much but the weight of your presence in itself, is so much pressure, that everyone wanna ask for more time, but no one wanna be scolded by yall so we just stfu and deal with it MC Aspecting Uranus - "Nothing is a line. Everything, everywhere is always moving. Forever. Get used to it." - Logan Roy Who is they? who are we? why can they get away with acting like a complete fucking retard? Well they don't 'get away with it' they just fucking do it. I mean the balls on ya'll is undeniable, but the audacity and the concept of why. well no one knows and I don't think you do either. But you literally change the game wherever you go, because you do ridiculous shit just to make fun of reality, and it really does expose how much of a cult we all live in; since we all about our own rituals of bullshit. I applaud the audacity but everyone gets nervous around your unpredictable nervous explosions - your like a charged creeper; youve been shocked by something and now you just have to explode and ruin everyones buildings

MC Aspecting Neptune - "Climate said I was going down. Climate said I should just step aside. I guess I'm a climate denier" - Logan Roy You're imagination personified. You somehow write your favourite stories into reality > and you do this so uncosnciosuly thst you've somehow convinced everyone its real. You don't care much for whats actually real, you'd rather manifest what you want to be real > no matter whats being thrown at you (and theres a lot) you have a uncanny ability to be a energy conduit > and transform that energy into what pleases you the most. And because of this you appear to be a mystic. and theres a tendency to be very calm, and if life throws too much shit at you > and you've ran outta favours, its adios to the world. and the long road of finding your purpose again awaits! MC Aspecting Pluto - "Would you like to hear my favourite passage from Shakespear? Take the fucking money." - Logan Roy You are daunting aren't you. people don't talk to you very much, at least not any normal self abiding citizen. you look like TMNT - you look neglected > look like you ate some radioactive poison > became this mutant thing > and was raised by a rat that could beat your ass... how'd that go? you look great! I would shake your hand but Im honestly afraid your gonna bite me. Look your life is intense and borderline traumatic, I get it. but this makes you so mesmerising > you can have the whole room in a trance with your dark aura, and people just hand you power like its nothing. You don't even care tho, and thats what makes you even more powerful lol > if anyone can handle the dark. its you > and a powerful 'rep' requires someone who doesn't fuck around. and you do not

highly highly recommend succession > all the quotes used are from dat show - and its a fkn masta piece

[yuri-is-online]

Was looking back at your blurb where Yuu is staying at Ace's for the summer (and he promises whatever future they have, he'll be a part of it) and was thinking about how Ace's dad isn't a mage and Yuu bonding with Mr.Trappola over being a non-mage surrounded by mages (Trappola Family vs NRC) and not even realising why he's so giddy over his family being so taken with Yuu. The only fly in the ointment being his mum giving him knowingly smug looks and making comments "like mother like son" about dating non-mages. Just Yuu really hitting it off with the Trappola Family that even without Ace's say, their getting invited round every holiday.

Furbatsu you always have the cutest aceyuu ideas TᴖT

I can see reasons for Yuu to be popular with both Trappola parents. Ace and his brother seem to take after their dad, he's the one who taught them how to do magic tricks, he seems to have gotten Mrs. Trappola through his sense of humor, and I don't know why but I just feel like he's the silly jokester sort of guy. Now that his kids are older though and it's less socially acceptable to be close to your parents and to be a non mage... well maybe he feels a bit isolated from his kids. Mrs. Trappola is less like her kids personality wise, but she is a mage so I can see her liking the extra connection she has with them but stressing over their waning connection with their father.

So when Ace brings Yuu home both of his parents are absolutely ecstatic. Yuu's everything they would have wanted in a partner for their son anyway, them being a non mage is just a happy coincidence. Ace's mom so gives him a wink and a nod while Ace's dad is busy showing Yuu around their house. He's probably got all sorts of stories that Yuu can relate to. He makes sure to keep the magic tricks to himself though, maybe he'll show Ace the ones he did for his mom on their first date? Seven knows the kid will need some help...

The Trappola family is so not subtle about their favoritism. They just straight up add Yuu to a family group chat and make plans to have them over the Holidays there without even asking Ace. He complains about it to them but plays it off to Yuu as him just looking out for them. He does like how everyone joins in on pouting/teasing them if Yuu says they'll be spending a break with someone else though (all in good fun, they'd never force Yuu to come visit.)

[ssa-atlas-alvez]

okay but. imagine cowboy!reader is actually very educated. pro-LGBTQ, pro-choice, BLM, acab. very big speaker and doesn't take shit. BUT everyone thinks he isn't gonna educated and such until they're on a case dealing with like a trans kid and he's the first one to step up and comfort the kid and such. man im in the rabbit hole.

Allergies (Not Really)

No no no no no but the way I've started one where something of this theme happens (I don't want to give too much away aha)

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: transphobia, sad reader :( (i teared up a little ngl - it's not sad, he's just sad), guns, bullet wound, fighting, briefly mentions some murders to set the scene a bit, someone calls reader a redneck

Also I just want to say that the relationship between Mia and (Y/N) is completely platonic, maybe familial (a bit older brother-y or fatherly) not anything else. Just because I'm panicking because they spend a lot of time joking about and I wanna make that clear.

Taglist: @xweirdo101x @xdark-acadamiax

Your blood boils when you hear the case, an unsub has been targeting young families (parents and three kids all under the age of sixteen). The last family had a survivor, a twelve-year-old transgender girl named Mia, who was currently in the hospital being treated for a variety of injuries.

Your jaw clenches as you read the hospital report, whilst it wasn't too long (thankfully), you knew she would still have a lot to work through mentally.

"You alright over there, Eastwood?" Morgan asks.

"Just angers me, is all," You answer, not feeling the need to elaborate, feeling the source of your anger being fairly self-explanatory. You miss the concerned look Rossi and Hotch share. 

A few hours later, the jet landed, once everyone was situated at the police station, you turned to the team.

"I'm gonna head to the hospital, make sure Mia's okay," You said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rossi’s the one that says it, but you can see everyone's thinking the same thing. 

"Wha- Why wouldn't it be?... Oh I see," You say as the penny finally drops and it clicks, "Y'all think 'cause I'm from the South I'm against her bein' herself?" You sigh softly, rubbing the back of your neck, "Have I not proved myself yet?"

No one says anything for a moment, shocked by the hurt that flashes in your eyes, before they can, you pick your hat back up, settling it on your head, "I'm headin' to the hospital,” You mumble, leaving the room before anyone can say anything.

When you leave the room, you rub your eyes with the back of your hand. 'Not crying,' You try and convince yourself, 'allergies.' You trying to ignore the fact you know, 100%, that you don't have any allergies. 

You get into one of the SUV's and begin making your way to the hospital, ignoring your phone as it lit up with various concerned messages.

The receptionist was a nice woman and was quick to show you to Mia's room (after staring at you hungrily for a few minutes). You gave a small knock before walking in.

"Are you here to tell me I'm too young to know myself as well?" 

You furrow your eyebrows, "No, who told you that?" 

"One of the nurses," She answers with a shrug. 

"You know which one?" 

"The guy with brown hair," She shrugs as she answers, "It's fine though, happens all the time." 

"I personally don't think y'all are too young to realise who you are," You said with a shrug, "I think anyone who thinks that is trynna hide their bias by invalidatin' your identity."

Mia looks at you for a moment, "I like you." She states, "I thought you were going to be against it." 

"I've been gettin' that a lot today, it would seem," You mumble before your head snaps to the door, relaxing when it's just JJ. "Anyway, I'm (Y/N), this is my colleague, Agent Jareau. Mia, you a'right if we ask you a few questions?" 

"Sure,"

"Could you run us through what happened that night?"

"Mum and dad were cooking. We were all sitting at the table doing our homework, and someone knocked on the door." Mia began, "They asked me to open the door, and he grabbed me and put a gun to my head. He shot my dad, then-"

You gave her a small, encouraging smile, "You're doin' great,"

"Did you get a look at the person that did this?" JJ asked, when Mia nodded, she continued, "What did they look like?"

Your eyes widen in worry as the heart machine next to Mia picks up, as does her breathing. You pull yourself together and turn your attention to her, "Mia? Mia, hey," Your voice is soft as you kneel next to her, "You need to take some deep breaths for me sweetheart,"

"Can't-"

You nod at her, "Yes, yes you can," You encourage, "Deep breaths, in, one, two, three, four, five, and out. That was good, keep going," 

It takes a moment, but her breathing evens out and she appeared to be less anxious, "There we go," You grin, "Told ya," 

"Okay, Texas," Your jaw drops slightly, the joke catching you off guard. 

"That's not fair, I can't even say anythin' back without bullin' a child," 

"Ha ha." She responds, you throw your hands up in the air, smiling when she laughs at you. 

JJ rolls her eyes slightly at you with a small smile as the doctor walks in with a few nurses for a routine checkup. Your eyebrows furrow when you see a male nurse with brown hair. Your eyes flick to the name badge, 'Darren', assuming this is the same nurse, you make a mental note of his name.

"We'll be just outside, a'right?"

Her hand shoots out, clinging onto your sleeve, "No! Don't leave!" She looks at you slightly hesitantly, "Please?"

"Hey, hey, it's a'right, I'll stay here," You answer, eyes flicking down to her for a moment before turning to JJ.

"Hotch wants me to go with Morgan to the scene," JJ said, "You good here? I'll let him know,"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good here and thanks," You give a small smile.

When the doctor and nurses left, you turned to Mia, "That nurse you mentioned earlier? The brown-haired one? Was he in the room just now?" 

Mia nodded, "Yeah,"

"Had a name badge on, name Darren?" Mia nodded once more. "Alright, I'll be back in a moment,"

"Where are you going?"

"I just want a quick word with this Darren fella," You shrug, seeing the look on Mia's face you roll your eyes slightly, "Don't you worry your little head about it, I'm not gonna hurt him or anythin'."

"Okay..." She said.

"Is that a'right?"

Mia shrugged, "Sure." You nodded before exiting the room.

Furrowing your eyes when you came face to face with Rossi, "Howdy, I'm just popping out for a few," You said. 

Rossi nodded, walking into the room after you had left. "I'm Agent Rossi," He said, "I work with (Y/N),"

"The cowboy?"

"Yeah, the cowboy," Rossi huffs a small laugh as he sits in his seat. "Have the staff here been treating you okay?"

Mia shrugs, "Yeah," She answers, "There was one nurse but I think Texas has gone to sort him out or something. He might beat him up."

Rossi smiles slightly, "Texas?" 

"Yeah, the cowboy," She said, "I think he's frustrated that everyone keeps assuming he's going to be against me being trans... I'd be frustrated too, I think," She added after a moment's thought. 

You leave Mia, now feeling slightly better that Rossi will be there whilst you're gone. Spotting your target, you speed up.

"Excuse me! Nurse?" The man turns towards you, Darren. "I just wanted to have a word with you about Mia?"

You watch as Darren shifts uncomfortably. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that perhaps telling someone they're too young to understand 'emselves probably doesn't make 'em feel a whole lotta good about 'emselves."

Darren looks you up and down slightly as he takes a few steps towards you. "And what exactly do you know?" He scoffs, "I'm surprised a redneck such as yourself can read and write."

"That's some nice deflection there," You said sarcastically, trying not to let it show how much the stereotypes flung into your face hurt. "Just... don't be a dick. If you don't understand somethin', look it up. I'm sure you can read. So perhaps do your research before you project onto a twelve year old girl." With that, you give a forced smile before turning on your heels and head back to Mia's room.

"Welp, that outta have done it," You give a lopsided grin, "A'right Rossi?" 

"I'm fine Kid, you okay?" 

"Yes sir," You answered, "I might grab myself a drink, y'all want anything?"

Mia laughs, "Y'all?"

"Rossi, Imma need your assistance, I'm getting bullied by a twelve year old," 

"Sorry, Kiddo, can't help you there." He chuckled, "I will ask that you grab me a coffee though."

"Coming right up!" 

Hours later, she's sat up on the bed whilst you're sat on a chair (a rather uncomfortable one) next to the bed, Rossi having left an hour ago, both of your gazes focused on a small, empty glass bottle that stood on the overbed tables. Each armed with a small piece of string as a makeshift lasso. 

"You're not a very good cowboy, are you?" Mia observes as you miss once more. 

"Hey, I haven't done this in a while," 

"How longs a while? Never?" She asked, throwing the lasso perfectly once more. 

"I'll have you know its been, okay so it's been like ten years, a'right? You were two last time I had to lasso something," 

"Wow, you're old." 

"I had no idea twelve year olds were so mean, you're about to make a grown man cry,"

Mia gave a laugh, you quickly joining in. You flung the lasso half-heartedly, eyes widening as it hit its target perfectly. "Yeehaw!" 

"Yeehaw? Seriously? You're so lame." You jaw dropped once more. You both jumped as gunshots echoed throughout the hospital, you sat up straight, immediately turning to Mia.

"Mia, I need you to take this," You handed your phone over to her, "The pass code is 1999, okay? You need to phone Hotch. Lock the door behind me, go into the bathroom and lock that door too, okay?"

Mia looked up at you with wide, scared eyes, "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'm gonna be absolutely fine, a'right?" When she nodded, you gave her a smile, "Don't open this door until I tell you to, or Hotch phones and says to okay?" 

You shut the door, not moving until you heard it lock in place. When you heard the soft click, you nodded to yourself as you began to make your way towards sound.

Seeing a nurse, you jogged up to her, "Ma'am, try and get everyone into their rooms, tell them not to come out, okay?" The nurse nods and runs off. You continue cautiously towards the sound of gunshots, revolver clutched in your hands.

When you find him, he's holding a person close to his chest, what with that and the people running past you, you don't have a clear shot. You meeting eyes with the wide yes of the hostage against his chest, you look at her, giving a small nod as you inch closer. 

When the moment's right, she ducks her head, pulls her elbow back, before slamming it into the guy's ribs. As he curls over, she wiggles out of her grasp, joining the others in fleeing. With a sigh, you brace yourself before charging at the man, tackling him to the floor.

It takes a moment for the unsub to recover, in that time you've delivered a few blows to his face, both of your guns falling during the tackle. He's quick to flip you over, he aims for the torso first, delivering a handful of well-aimed punches. Next, he takes a fist of your hair, slamming your head into the floor. Once, twice, three times before you get the momentum needed to push him off you.

You staggered up, paying no mind to the pain in your head throbbing in beat with your pulse, the blood on the side of you head that's slowly dripping into your eye, or the ache that's spread through your abdomen. You had to either distract this guy until the team got here or knock him out. Either way, you weren't about to let yourself pass out and let this bastard hurt Mia.

As you're breathing deeply through the pain, the unsub has stood, he (however) is not as chivalrous, so he takes the moment make his way over to you. He grabs your shoulders as he pulls his knee to your groin, pushing you to the floor as you double over in pain. Happy with having the advantage, he continues to aim cheap blows to your sides.

Despite this, you stumble up once more, you keeping your left arm wrapped close to your ribs on your right. They were definitely bruised as a minimum. You duck the punch sent your way, wincing slightly as it pulls on your arm and ribs. Both of your eyes lock on the gun at the same time as the pair of you dive for it. He reaches it first, gripping it tightly in his hands as you immediately go for it, to loosen his grip, anything you can think of.

There's a bang and you grunt as a bullet enters the top of your left arm, adding insult to injury. Okay, so disarming him didn't really work.

"FBI!" You sigh in relief as the unsub is pulled away from you, letting your head fall against the cold floor with your eyes closed - trying to get a grip on the pain. You listen as they cuff the bastard before dragging him out of the hospital. You let your eyes flutter open as you begin to push yourself off of the floor. 

"I'm fine," You mumbled, shrugging Hotch's hands off you, "I'm fine, check on Mia."

"Morgan, stay with (Y/N)."

When Hotch is gone, you turn to Morgan, "I'm fine, go help Hotch."

"Sorry, got my order," Morgan said with a shrug. You don't answer, as much as you don't want to admit it, the pain was really starting you affect your headspace. You felt like you couldn't think. "Come on, let's get you checked out." 

You shook your head, "No, I need to check on Mia first," You mumbled, giving a low groan as you pushed yourself up. 

"Alright, lead the way," Morgan said. You don't answer, simply forcing one foot in front of the other until you're back at Mia's room.

"Is he okay?!" You hear Mia's question through the door.

"He's okay," You hear Hotch reassuring her.

"Then where is he?! He said he'd be here as soon as he could!" Mia's panic causes your eyebrows to furrow, "Oh god, he's dead, isn't he?"

You push the door open, trying to look as put together as possible for Mia, not wanting her to panic. "I'm very much alive, thank you very much," You say.

"I thought he killed you!" She exclaims, rushing towards you. You groan when Mia flings her arms around you, burying her head in your chest and she immediately steps back, seeing the blood her eyes widen. "Holy shit he shot you?!"

"Hey, language," 

"Sorry Texas," She grins, and you roll your eyes. 

"Texas?" Morgan grins, "Oh, that is so sticking around,"

You groan slightly, "Seriously?"

"Seriously." 

You turn to Mia, "Thanks kid," You say sarcastically.

"No problem, old man." Your jaw drops once more.

"I don't know if my ego can take all these insults," 

"I don't know what y'all are talkin' about I would never do such a thing to y'all," She says, trying her best to do an impersonation, giggling slightly at the look of disbelief on your face. 

"That- Now that was just a bridge too far-" You barely get the sentence out before you're huffing a laugh (and then wincing because of said laugh).

"Alright, come on, Texas," Derek smirks, placing a hand on your shoulder, "Let's go get you checked out."

You weren’t too injured (thankfully), minus the bullet wound, it was mostly just bruises. Eventually, you were all stitched up and laid in a hospital bed - which you hated, but Hotch had glared at you when you went to protest. 

A soft knock echoed through the door before it opened, a blonde woman poking her head round. You frowned slightly, not recognising her.

"Hi, I'm Mia's aunt," The woman says and you straighten up (ignoring the discomfort).

"Ma'am," You said with a nod.

"I just wanted to say thank you," 

"What for?" You furrowed your eyebrows as she raised hers, motioning to your current state. "Ma'am I was just doing my job."

"Well, either way, thank you." 

You give a small smile, "No worries, Ma'am."

“I’m going to be her guardian now that-” Mia’s aunt paused, taking a deep breath to compose herself before she continued, “After everything and I really appreciate what you did for her.”

You give her a small smile, “Of course, Ma’am.”

She gives you one last smile as she leaves the room, “Oh, agent?” You look at her, “Is it alright if I bring Mia in? We’re about to head off and she wanted to say goodbye.”

You nod, “Yeah, yeah, of course,” 

When the door closes, you push yourself the best you can, the door opens a few minutes later and Mia walks in.

“How y’all healin’?”

“First, I wouldn’t say y’all if it’s just one person,” You said, rolling your eyes, “Second, I’m doin’ a’right,”

“You missed like seven letters in that sentence,” She laughs, you huff a small laugh, forcing a wince down.

“It’s an art form,” You reply. "Your aunt seems nice,"

“She is, I’m going to live with her,” Mia says, smiling, “She lives in California. I can’t wait, apparently my uncle’s been getting a room ready for me,”

“That’s great,” You smiled. "How are you feeling in yourself?" 

"I'm okay," Mia said with a shrug, "I know it's going to be a while until I'm back to one hundred percent, but I'm willing to put in the work."

"Smart kid," You said, "You'll be okay." 

"Oh, Aunty Meg you should have been there earlier! Texas was all like 'how are y'all doin'?' And he made lassos but he was absolutely useless with one and the last time he used one was when I was two and…"

Mia's voice faded as you looked at the hat on the table for a moment, lightly taking it in your own hands, brushing over the material lightly with the pad of your thumb. It was one of your favourite hats. You looked up, seeing the grin on Mia's face as she did her best cowboy impressions, you smiled. "Hey, I think you'll find, every southerner - impersonator or not - needs their very own hat," You said, reaching over to place it on her head. "Perfect, a true southerner!"

"Well I'll be damned!" Mia exclaimed, tilting the hat slightly. 

"Come on, we need to make a move," Mia's aunt said. "I think Uncle Jack's getting restless waiting for us,"

Mia nodded, reaching up and taking the hat off before handing it over to you. You shook your head. 

"Nah, you keep it kiddo, I've got hundreds." You give her a smile. 

Mia walked forward, clinging onto you as she buried her head in your chest, you ignored the dull ache that flared up in your chest as you hugged her back, "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too, kiddo," You say, lifting one hand to wipe at your eyes. 

"Are you crying?" Mia asked softly. 

"No." You answered, "I've got allergies."

You wait for Mia to let go before you do, you gave her a small smile, "See you later, a'right?" She nodded, quickly wiping her eyes. 

"See you later Texas," 

The door shut quietly behind the two of them and you were enveloped once more in silence.

Whilst everyone was wrapping up the case, you were sitting in a hospital bed, bored out of your skull. With a sigh, you pushed yourself up, sneaking past the nurses and doctors as you made your way outside, wanting some fresh air. 

You sat yourself down opposite the hospital in the grass, letting yourself pluck a blade of grass from the ground, running it through your fingers as you lost yourself in your thoughts. 

You kept your eyes trained on the grass as Hotch sat down next to you. The pair of you sitting in silence for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“‘M fine, sir,” The answer rolls off your tongue. “Nothing to worry about,”

“If you want to get something off your chest, you can always talk to me,” 

“I know, Hotch,” You said, “I just… struggle with the whole talkin’ about how you’re feelin’,”

Hotch nods in understanding, for someone who doesn’t talk about it, you sure do end up giving a lot away. You both sit in silence.

"I know people think I'm stupid," You mumble, staring intently at the blade of grass between your fingers as you spoke, "I know I have that Southern drawl," You exaggerate your accent slightly before continuing, "That I don't exactly talk like y'all. I know some just see me as some redneck, but I can hold my own. I ain't stupid. And I certainly ain't no bigot."

"I know, we all know that." Hotch replies.

"But you didn't." You pointed out before sighing, "Whatever, it doesn't matter..."

"We were concerned because there was no way could have known."

"You could've just trusted me," You said, “I have, in no way, given any of y’all a reason to believe that I am against anyone in that community. And I get it, I do, it just… stings, is all.”

Hotch doesn’t speak, unsure of what to actually say. Because he did jump to conclusions, they all did.

"I think if she didn't have any family I would have adopted her, or at least tried to, anway," Your eyebrows are furrowed, gaze deepening at the blade of grass as you tore it apart in your hands. "But, hey, she's happy, that's the main thing and her aunt seems like a lovely woman."

With that, you push yourself off of the grass, ignoring the ache that shoots through your body. Leaving Hotch sat on the curb with a frown as you limped back into the hospital for one final check-up before your flight.

You wipe your eyes with the back of your hand, “Fuckin’ allergies.”

[dreamcubed]

i don't wanna live forever | mattheo riddle x reader

song; i don't wanna live forever [taylor swift, zayn] pairing; mattheo riddle x fem!ravenclaw!reader genre; ex2l, reconciliation, ex-lovers, angst, smut, hurt comfort(ish) word count; 2,8k timeline; half-blood prince  warnings; swearing, toxic relationship, jealousy, controlling behaviour, mattheo is not a good person, neither is y/n, borderline cheating (not on y/n or mattheo), smoking, alcohol consumption, drunkenness, arguments, drunk sex, piv, fingering, degradation, ass-slapping summary; ever since you began dating, you and mattheo had been a fiery and toxic mess of breaking up and getting back together - only, when you finally try and date someone else, you realise that you miss and crave the unhealthy pattern that came with mattheo riddle

MINORS DNI! 18+ content.

i don't typically write smut but this oneshot felt incomplete without it. so, enjoy... 2 year anniversary & 1k celebration gift haha

masterlist

"wondering if i dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life."

——————————————

"I mean, why did you even date him in the first place?" Cho asked you, chewing on a chip, "He's literally You-Know-Who's son."

You sighed, used to this conversation from every person you knew, "You can't judge someone by their parents."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Cho, his dad went MIA for thirteen years when he was one and his mum was in prison until last year. He hardly knows them."

"But," she said, "He was raised by the Malfoys and he was sorted into Slytherin."

You rolled your eyes.

She shrugged, "I'm just saying, the red flags were there."

You didn't reply, moving your gaze over to the group of Slytherin boys sat laughing with each other while they ate. Your ex-boyfriend, Mattheo Riddle, was sat among them.

It felt too definitive saying ex, however, since you two broke up and made up constantly, and had for the last year and a half, much to your friends' horror. You argued with him, you cried over him, you talked shit about him - but you loved him. And the love you had was a burning flame of passion, but it wasn't healthy. You had broken up a week ago, which was actually the longest you had gone without talking.

Normally, you would have caved by now, but you felt different this time. You felt immensely stubborn.

"It's time you stayed apart for good," Cho said, just as Mattheo's eyes locked on to yours, "He's bad for you."

You knew she was right, which was why you accepted when a nice Hufflepuff boy asked you to Hosmeade that weekend.

***

The bouquet of pink and red flowers being presented to you really should have given you butterflies, maybe even made you squeal, but they horrified you. Nonetheless, you smiled and said, "Awh, thank you. You shouldn't have," before taking Leon's extended arm and letting him lead you to the Three Broomsticks. He pulled the chair out for you, and you forced another smile on to your face.

"I've been wanting to ask you out for ages," he said excitedly, "But you were still on and off with Riddle."

You hummed.

"I'm glad you're done with him. He didn't treat you right."

It was mutual. You were just as toxic as Mattheo.

"But I will."

"Well, thank you, Leon," you said gently, "We'll see, won't we?"

He beamed at you, "You're so beautiful."

Surely such a comment should make you blush, right?

***

"How was the date?" Cho wiggled her eyebrows back in the Ravenclaw dormitories.

"It was... good," you said, placing the flowers on your desk haphazardly.

"Just good?"

"He's really nice, I- I just..."

Cho frowned, "He's boring?"

You shook your head, "No, he's funny and interesting."

"Then what's the issue?"

You shrugged, "I don't know."

"Give him a chance then, babe."

***

Leon wrote you poems, he took you on cute dates, he fed you, he walked you to classes, and he hung off your every word. But your eyes would always linger over to Mattheo - because despite everything Leon did for you, the only time you felt butterflies anymore was when you made eye contact with your ex-boyfriend. That glittery spark had never once burnt out in those long eighteen months you were on and off. Every argument and break up only seemed to make it burn stronger and brighter.

And the thing was, Leon was too healthy for you: too sane, too trusting, too normal. Mattheo had turned you into a raging jealous monster, as you had him, and it was part of the reason you were on and off. Neither of you had ever actually cheated, but if you got too close to a boy? He would start an argument and scream at you until you yelled back that you were over. Two days later, he would corner you, never truly apologising but kissing and making up, muttering how he loved you before fucking you until the sun came up.

And you had done the same thing to him.

That was the issue with Leon: he was friends with everyone. Some of his closest friends were girls. Were you jealous? No. But you knew if you began to develop feelings for him then you would become more jealous than an innocent boy like him could handle. You would ruin him the way Mattheo ruined you, fucking him up for any future romantic endeavours.

It drove you crazy how respectful he was, how he didn't bat an eye at you saying you were going to study with a male friend. You needed more push and pull than what he was giving you: you craved a fight, because you craved the crazed passion that came with it.

Yet, three weeks passed by and Mattheo had made no effort to do anything more than glare daggers at you and Leon from across the room.

Then the Christmas holidays hit.

***

A rich Hufflepuff in your year - not Leon - was hosting a house party at their gigantic home, and you had scored an invite. In fact, so had everyone in your year, including a few people from the year above and year below. Leon had immediately owled you to say that he would pick you up before heading there, but you knew that as you patted on concealer and highlight, you were thinking about Mattheo's reaction when he saw you. He had hated when you dressed too revealing, saying that he could see guys' eyes on you - and he wasn't wrong, you just didn't care.

You had purposefully dressed yourself in a tiny black miniskirt and matching bralette, which as a combination left very little to the imagination. With the fishnets you adorned as well, it was borderline lingerie.

Maybe Leon would finally argue with you and make you feel something.

"Y/N, you look gorgeous," he beamed, not a trace of anger on his perfect face when you opened the door to him.

"Thank you," you said, fighting the urge to sigh, "You don't look so shabby yourself."

"Shall we?" he held out his hand to you, which you accepted.

***

The party was already in full swing when you arrived, and you made a quick motion to catch up by downing two shots. Leon watched you in amazement.

"You want one?" you asked, going to pour another drink.

He shook his head, "I don't drink."

"No?" you paused in your movements, thinking that maybe this would be the time you finally argued, "I drink a lot."

"Each to their own," he shrugged, "I'll look out for you."

"Thanks, then," you said awkwardly, "I'm gonna go for a smoke, you coming?" Had you partially said that as another attempt at angering him? Yes. But you also were craving nicotine.

He shook his head, "I'm good, we'll catch up in a bit, yeah?"

You nodded absently, pouring a third shot for yourself before creating a mixed drink and heading outside to the smokers' area. And, there he was, Mattheo Riddle stood with a cigarette between his lips and a drink in his hand.

Pulling out a cigarette that you had tucked in your bralette, you boldly walked up to the group of Slytherin boys and asked, "Anyone got a light?"

Nott, who was right next you, passed you his, but you never took your eyes off Mattheo. His eyes glided up and down your exposed body as you lit your cigarette and took a long drag, relishing in the taste. You watched his jaw clench.

"You and Duggard official yet?" Berkshire asked, referring to Leon. At his question, a borderline growl erupted from Mattheo.

You shrugged vaguely, "We'll see."

"Will you?" Mattheo asked coldly.

You exhaled some smoke, "Well, he's handsome, smart, funny and attentive to my every need."

"Oh, is he?" Mattheo stepped closer to you.

Chuckling, you said, "He's a very kind man."

Mattheo scoffed, pushing past you with a mutter of, "That's not what you need."

He was right, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

You turned your focus to your cigarette.

"He's not the same without you," Nott said casually, dropping his finished cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

"No?" you murmured, a smile tugging on your lips.

"He hardly sleeps, hardly eats, is angry all the time," he continued, "So, please, stop your little charade with Duggard and get back with him already."

"Who says it's a charade?"

You heard Berkshire scoff, "C'mon, L/N, everyone sees you stare at Matt all the time. Everyone except Duggard, that is."

Biting your lip, you ashed your cigarette, "Well, maybe Riddle should man up and apologise."

***

The party raged on, and as the alcohol flowed through your system, so did the music. Leon didn't seem that keen on the party atmosphere, so you resorted to dancing with Cho and other Ravenclaw girls. That was until you felt a guy come up behind you and begin dancing with you.

You turned around to see a Gryffindor boy from the year above, and he wasn't half-bad looking, so in your drunken state you allowed it to happen. Cho gave you a sceptical look, but didn't intervene.

A hand tugged on your wrist, and you looked up to see Leon.

"Can we talk?" he mouthed, and you nodded absently, following him to the quieter room that was the kitchen.

"What?" you said a little harshly.

"I'd appreciate if you wouldn't dance with other guys," he said, his tone completely without malice.

Your instinct in these situations was to get aggravated, so you snapped, "Well, if you actually knew how to party, I wouldn't have to."

Leon stared at you blankly, "I'm sorry."

For fuck's sake, why did he have to sound so genuine?

"I'll try and come out on the dancefloor if that's what you want."

"Fucking hell," you cursed.

"What? What is it?" he sounded worried.

"Why don't you argue with me?" you exasperated, tugging at your scalp.

Leon frowned, "That's no way to resolve things."

"It's not about resolving things," you snapped, "It's about passion, it's about the spark, it's- it's..." you trailed off, "Rowena, I feel crazy."

"I understand your relationship with Riddle wasn't the easiest one, but I want to help you learn what a calm and healthy relationship is," Leon said gently, "Because you deserve better."

"Are you even listening to me?" you pulled your hands down your face, "I don't want peace. I want passion. I want twin flame bruises. I want a push and pull."

"I-"

You cut him off, "Mattheo would have beat the shit out of that guy for dancing with me."

"That guy probably didn't know you were taken-"

"Mattheo made sure that everybody knew I was his," you said firmly, feeling tears prick at your eyes, "I just need to argue, Leon - I crave it."

"Well, I can't give that to you."

"Y/N," a voice spoke in a growl behind you.

You span around, being faced with the one man who could make you feel electric. And that was when your emotions crashed all over you: upset and anger expressed through tears and yelling.

"Why are you taking so fucking long?" you screamed.

But he wasn't looking at you - no, he was glaring at Leon. "I think you've had long enough with my girl, Duggard," he drawled.

"She's not your girl anymore," you heard Leon reply, before he said to you, "What did you mean when you asked him why he's taking so long?"

You saw Mattheo clench his fist, and you grabbed his wrist to halt him, "Fucking talk to me, Riddle."

His eyes snapped to yours, "I will never be Riddle to you, princess."

"Considering we've hardly spoken the last few weeks, I'd say you are."

"Guess I'll have to remind you who you are to me, then," he chuckled darkly, pulling you away from Leon. The Hufflepuff boy went to follow you worriedly, but you glared at him and he stayed put. Part of you felt bad: a tiny, sober part.

You found yourself in an upstairs bathroom, pressed against a cool tile wall.

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I can't promise I'll be a good person about it."

"You're never a good person about anything," you muttered, relishing in his hot breath fanning on to your face.

He smirked, "We both know that's the way you like me."

You hummed, "Fuck me, Mattheo."

"I'm not sure you deserve a good fuck after everything you've done."

"I never fucked him."

"No?" he chuckled, "Good."

And then his lips were on yours, tasting, sucking, nibbling every centimetre. His hand quickly trailed to underneath your skirt, rubbing your clit through your scandalously thin panties.

He pulled away from the kiss, "Don't ever wear anything like this again," he kissed you again, "At least not in public."

"Whatever you want."

He hummed his approval, pushing your panties aside to push two fingers inside of you.

"Please, I just want your dick."

"Yeah?" he murmured, "How bad?"

"So bad, please," you begged, your tear and mascara stained cheeks enhancing the puppy dog eyes you gave him. Mattheo had to admit, he loved seeing you so desperate for him.

"You really don't deserve this," he sighed, unzipping his trousers.

You licked your lips as you watched him pull his rock hard dick out.

"I can't wait to feel your mouth on it again," he muttered, "But I'm feeling nice, so I'll just give you what you want."

Mattheo bent you over the sink countertop, lifting up your skirt and slapping your ass in the process. He pulled your panties further aside.

"Don't act like you don't just miss being inside me," you forced out, making him slap your ass harder.

To your surprise, he said, "Of course I fucking did."

And then he pushed inside you, quickly and without warning, causing you to gasp loudly.

"So fucking wet."

You arched your ass up to him, moaning.

"I don't think I'm gonna last long."

You were hardly able to reply, as he had begun to run circles on your clit as well. But, you agreed with him, as the absence of this feeling had made your body hypersensitive to Mattheo's every touch.

"Fuck, you're such a whore," he murmured, picking up the pace relentlessly.

"Your whore," you managed to say, your eyes rolling back into your head as you felt your orgasm build up.

"I bloody well hope so," he chuckled.

And then, as you both came closer to ecstasy, things went silent - the only noise being his groans, your moans, and the sound of skin slapping.

"Matty, I'm gonna co- fuck!" you cursed, feeling your release wash over you in red hot passion, your vision going white as your every limb shook. You didn't normally orgasm so easily.

He continued to fuck your overstimulated pussy, gripping your hips so hard it would probably leave bruises. "Gonna fill you up," he choked out, his breathing growing heavier as you finally felt his dick throb inside you, signifying his release.

Mattheo stilled, staying inside you for a moment as you both processed the situation. Eventually, he pulled out, helping you turn over so you were sat on the counter facing him. You were both panting.

"I'm sorry," he said eventually, and your eyes widened.

He had never outright apologised before.

"I'm sorry too," you mumbled back.

"I love you so much," he pressed his forehead against yours, "I just I-"

"I love you too. So much."

He hummed, "I just- I don't understand my father. I don't want to live forever."

You frowned, "Why not?"

"Because," he took your hands in his, "Without you, I'd just be living in vain."

A smile stretched widely on your face, "Want to leave this stupid party?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

And as you left the party, hand in hand and evidently in a post-sex haze, Mattheo said - loud enough for a few close people to hear - "I'm gonna marry you, you know that?"

And you did.

———————————————

masterlist

written; 25/02/2024 —> 09/03/2024 published; 09/03/2024 edited; —/—/——

[beachylupin]

Harvest Moon || Remus Lupin x Muggle!Fem!Reader

it's finally here! here’s the moodboard to go with it! i worked far too hard on this so please let me know if you like it or if you want to see more of her! <3 to preface: this part takes place in roughly september :-) pt. 2 here word count: 4.6k warnings: mention of alcohol and cigarettes, maybe like two swear words, fluffy, some pining, quickly edited

You and Lily went to primary school together. Your mum and dad loved her like she was their own, and even though she had loving parents, she would often spend a lot of her evenings after school and summers at your house, evading Petunia’s constant need to bully her. The two of you were like sisters: sharing secrets, having constant sleepovers, playing pretend.

However, there was something different about her that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Petunia incessantly told you that Lily was a witch, but you didn’t believe her. Why would you believe someone who hated the girl that you loved so dearly? Lily wasn’t green or wicked, and she didn’t have a wart growing on the end of her nose. That’s all witches were to you back then, and Lily was the opposite. She was radiant and kind, like sunlight on a dark day. She was your best friend, not some evil hag.

It wasn’t until a giggling Lily appeared on your doorstep the July before you turned eleven.

“Look!” She said, shoving an odd letter into your hand. “It’s for a place called Hogwarts! Go on! Read it!”

She eagerly watched you read it out loud. “Dear Miss Evans. You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” You couldn’t believe it. Lily, the radiant girl, was actually a witch. Petunia was right all along, and that September, Lily left to go to this magical school.

When Lily came home, she had befriended the greasy haired boy from down the street that you had only known as “snipe” from the kids at school, saying he looked close to the little bird that shared the name. You were willing to share her, seeing as he had no other options for friends, but he tried to take Lily away from you completely, saying she was his kind. Of course, Lily didn’t stand for this and split her time with the two of you equally.

As the years went on, the more you grew to dislike Severus. It was almost like he had a vendetta against you because you were Lily’s friend before she was his, or something like that. Whatever it was, you kept your head high whenever you saw him, ignoring his constant “filthy muggle” comments, and greeting him with a nice, “Hi, Severus! It’s so wonderful to see you again!”

His possessiveness didn’t seem to matter in the long run because Lily came back from her fifth year at this magical school gushing to you about some bloke named James. He was all she ever talked about. James, James, James.

“He’s annoying, and kind of a prick, but God, I just love looking at him…”

You felt like her real sister as you cursed Lily under your breath the entire way to the reception tent next to Potter Manor. She didn’t invite anyone else in your family to her wedding except you.

Sure, you were the only one to really know Lily, but a quick explanation, and your mum wouldn’t have asked any questions.

It wouldn’t have been that simple, you decided, when you saw the actual wedding. James and Lily took part in what the pixie-haired girl sitting next to you called the “Unbreakable Vow” in which they used wands to seal their promise to marriage. If one of them were to break this vow, they would die, the girl explained. It sounded intense, but as a hopeless romantic, it was one of the most beautiful sentiments of love you had ever seen.

Their vow keepers were the best man and maid of honor. The best man wore flamboyant plum dress robes with jewels adoring the lapels. He had shoulder-length, raven-colored hair and the biggest smile you had ever seen. He didn’t let the smile drop once. The maid of honor wore a pretty sapphire blue dress that complemented her skin tone very well. She wore her curls in a high bun, curly bangs framing her face.

James and Lily looked magnificent. James had on maroon dress robes that nearly matched his best man’s, but they were more humble with gold accents rather than the gaudy jewels the other man chose. Lily wore an ivory dress that flowed off her body like it was made of water. It had lace cap sleeves, and a bodice that contoured to her small shape. Every step she took, the ground blossomed with small lilies. 

The more you looked around, the more you realized that everyone dressed insanely nice. You felt self conscious seeing that other people around went “all out” for this wedding: beautiful gowns and tea-length dresses of all colors of the rainbow, and the fanciest dress-robes you had ever seen adorned with silver, gold, and jewels. Obviously, you thought, they had gotten their clothes enchanted, seeing a special tailor to look as amazing as they did. 

You got to work with Primark and Harrods, and since you didn’t have the luxury of getting something custom made by a literal wizard, you looked simple. You wore your hair down your back in loose waves, a plunging rose colored dress, and nude heels. In any wizard’s eyes, you’d look plain, unwilling to flaunt your nonexistent wealth through fancy clothes.

While the other people were nice and smiled widely at you as you walked past, you could tell that they knew you were different. It was in the hushing of their voices as you passed, and the way they looked at you like you had something growing out of the top of your head.

As far as you could tell, you were the only outsider in a sea of people that seemed to know each other. They all mingled, hugging and kissing each other like none of them expected this type of occasion, which baffled you.

Lily and James were made for one another. Even though James was quite literally Lily’s opposite, they worked. They fit together like two fiery puzzle pieces. You couldn’t see why anyone wouldn’t be expecting their wedding.

You self-consciously raked a hand through your hair, taking extra care to not snag any of it on your fingers, and looked at the table spots on the board next to the giant tent, desperately searching for your name. When you found it at table nine, you walked, head down, into the tent to sit down.

You took your seat in the nearly empty tent, pouring yourself a generous amount of the table wine, and drank it down. You sighed, taking a breath for what felt like the first time in an hour.

You wouldn’t necessarily consider yourself shy, but in this specific scenario, you felt yourself clamming up. These people, the party; it was all overwhelming. It was so different from the normal, non-magical life you were used to. You were normally willing to talk to just about anyone, but feeling underdressed at a huge wedding where you thought you were the only outsider left you feeling less than worthy.

You poured yourself another glass of wine and took a butter mint, popping it into your mouth. You sucked on it, looking around the slow-to-fill tent to catch a man glancing at you.

He was tall, lanky, and just so happened to be one of the most normally dressed people you had seen all evening. He wore a creamy brown sweater, with darker brown slacks, and a jacket that matched. From where you sat, you could see the faintest stubble on his cheeks and around his mouth. He was leaning on a cane, but didn’t seem to look any older than you since he had sandy brown hair that was long and swept off to the side with not a grey in sight.

A chill ran through you, and you looked away, feeling your face flush. He was handsome, and you decided then and there that at one point during this strange reception, you would talk to him. Needing the eventual confidence, you took another sip, glancing to see if he was still standing there, but he wasn’t.

“So you were the name I didn’t recognize,” said a voice from behind you, followed by a mention of your name.

“Oh!” You nearly jumped out of your skin, setting your wine down before you dropped it on your lap.

“I’m sorry, love! I didn’t mean to startle you!” He gushed, patting your shoulder as he pulled out the chair next to you to sit.

Embarrassed at the way his hand made your shoulder burn, you huffed, “You didn’t startle-”

You turned to look at him, your mouth turning bone dry despite the mint you had been sucking on.

It was the same man that had been staring at you before. Closer up, you could see that he had jagged white lines covering his face. A fresh scratch worked its way down his cheek, sure to leave a scar to match the rest of them. If you looked closer, you could see the tip of a wand sticking out of his jacket pocket. You were wrong.

You blinked, realizing you had been trying to figure out how to melt inside the chocolate that his eyes resembled. You swallowed the mint thickly. “Sorry, um-” you said sheepishly, tucking hair behind your pink-tipped ears. “What did you say your name was?”

You suddenly felt drunk, butterflies filling your belly with tenacity, but your mouth was so dry that you had to take another sip of wine before saying anything else.

“I didn’t,” he said, sitting. “I’m Remus.” He stuck his hand out to capture yours in his with a quick shake. Your eyes flicked to his hand, seeing if it was on fire. He was looking too, your gaze captured in the middle when you both looked up at each other. You pulled your hands away at the same time, Remus making himself busy by hanging his coat and cane on the back of his chair, a smile lingering on his lips.

You stared at the plate in front of you, trying to mentally blame your flush on the amount of wine you had already consumed. “Do uh- Do you know everyone here?” You asked, glancing at him.

Remus blew a puff of air out of his nose, amused as he looked around. “Just about everyone. You?”

“Nobody except for Lily,” you said, grabbing another buttermint to try and sate your dry mouth. “I mean, I know of James, but I spent every summer with Lily when she was home from school.”

“Oh?” Remus said, sitting straighter. He cleared his throat like had gotten something stuck. “Where did you go to school?”

“Saint Grogory’s,” you answered him. You tried to ignore that he was staring at his lap instead of you, his posture still stiff. “Now I work at a cafe while I’m going to the University of London to get my Master’s in English Literature.” 

“You can just study that?” He asked quietly, looking at you. Your eyebrows raised with amusement, gathering that he didn’t know you knew about any of them. “Sorry, that’s a daft question,” he said, exasperated. “I mean, that’s really… Um- That’s really neat.” You didn’t say anything, deciding to let the poor wizard flounder. “I’d go to school for… For um… For maths, but I hate maths, so it wouldn’t really-”

“I know that I’m the only muggle here,” you said, eyebrows still raised as your mouth tugged into a smile. “It’d be very hard to think this was a normal muggle wedding. There are candles floating mid air. That doesn’t happen in the muggle world. You know that right?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Yeah.” He visibly relaxed, sending his gaze skyward as his ears started to burn red. “Here I was thinking that I was about to spoil everything.”

“Lily told me the day she got the letter,” you said, smirking as you nudged him. “I sure got you though.”

The heat from Remus’ ears made its way to his face, his cheeks turning crimson as he nodded, looking back at you.

“Wine?” You asked, filling his cup without a response. “How do you know Lily then?”

Remus took his glass before you overfilled it, taking a sip. “We went to school together.”

“Is that where everyone is from?” You asked, and he nodded.

“Mainly,” he said, looking around. “A few from-”

“There you are!” The best man shouted, slapping Remus on the back. He rested his bottom on the table next to his friend. He peered over to you, his grey eyes sparkling. “Magnificent wedding, isn’t it? I heard the house elves did a real bang-up job on the feast too.” He grabbed the near empty bottle of wine, pouring what was maybe a sip into the glass next of him. “Merlin, Moons, you finished it all yourself? Nervous about sitting next to a pretty bird?”

“Sorry, that was me,” you admitted, flushing when the raven-haired man looked back at you with furrowed eyebrows.

“No worries,” he said, waving his hand nonchalantly over the bottle. It filled instantly, and he took it, pouring more into his glass.

You blinked hard, staring at the wine bottle. Grabbing it, you peered inside to make sure it was real. “How’d you do that?”

“Do what?” He asked incredulously. “Do you not know that spell or something?”

Remus took the bottle from you, setting it in front of his friend. He introduced you to his friend, finishing with, “Sirius, this is Lily’s friend from home.”

Sirius paled. “Oh… Fuck.” His hands met his face as he muttered something about James being upset. He looked at you, his face still alarmingly pale as he started taking out his wand. “I’m so sorry, love. Just sit still, and I can help you forget-”

“I just didn’t know that you could do magic with your hands,” you said, still staring at the wine bottle. “I thought you always needed a wand.”

Sirius shook his head, the color slightly returning to his face as he deadpanned, “What?”

“She knows we’re all wizards, you plank,” Remus sighed, drinking his wine. “Put your wand away.”

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, a smile breaking his face. “Oh, good! Brilliant! Ignore that comment then.” He pocketed his wand then turned to his friend. “Have you got a light and a ciggy?”

Remus huffed, patting the table in front of you. “Excuse us for just a moment, will you?” He grabbed his cane, slipped on his coat, and he and Sirius went off to smoke.

Sirius was right. Dinner was magnificent, as well at the people who sat with you. Remus was back in time to introduce you to them all. Frank and Alice, who said they were going to have the next wedding, were the same people you sat next to during the ceremony. Next to them sat Marlene and Dorcas. Marlene had a bright smile and a head full of white blonde hair that hardly ever left Dorcas’ tanned shoulder. On the other side of Frank sat Peter, who looked to be the youngest of the group with his baby-faced cheeks.

The wine was passed and refilled a few more times as the night went on, as well as special cocktails, feuling riveting conversations amongst the wizards and witches. You decided to listen, taking in everything the boys were talking about. From the legalization of recreational boomslang to the crackdown on broom riding. Eventually, their conversation hushed down to mumbles and whispers.

Dorcas, Marlene, and Alice, however, were busily chatting about her wedding and how excited she was to finally marry Frank. They eventually roped you in on their conversation, asking your opinion about what would be better: live unicorns or a toad choir. Of course, you chose unicorns which had the girls roaring in laughter.

By the time that James and Lily danced their first dance, you felt good, and that wasn’t including the way you brushed up against Remus’s side as you stood alongside your newfound friends.

“We’re gettin’ drinks then goin’ to dance,” you slurred, the butterflies reemerging as he looked at you. “You want me t’ grab you somethin’? ‘M gettin’ water.”

He shook his head, pushing himself up from the chair. “I’ll come with you.”

“You sure?” You asked, watching him grab his cane and coat and nod a goodbye to Frank and Peter. “‘S not a big deal f’ me-”

“I insist,” Remus said, walking past you, slightly turning over his shoulder. “Come on then.”

You caught up, trying not to stumble alongside him. Focused on him, the two of you walked straight past the drink table.

As if Remus could sense your reminder, he said, “I want to show you something quick,” and led you out of the tent into the dusky lawn.

You didn’t protest, rather you felt bad for him, his nose scrunching every time he took a step. You lightly hooked your arm in his, your hand resting on his bicep.

“You ‘right?” You asked, feeling dumb as the words left your mouth. “‘M sorry. That was rude.”

“It’s a valid question,” he reassured you with a soft nudge of his elbow. “Hip just acts up sometimes. I’ll live,” he said, glancing at you as you pressed your cheek against his arm. “Are you okay?”

You sighed. “Yeah.” You moved off his arm, rubbing the side of your face that touched him, praying there wasn’t a burn mark. “I think I overshot.”

“You were drinking a lot of wine,” he snorted, opening a large manor door for you. “Do you need some water?” You entered, and he followed you, offering you his arm again. “A sober up potion?”

“The latter,” you said, desperate to feel the burning in your hand again as you hooked onto him. “‘M gonna hurl if I drink anymore.”

“We don’t want that.” Remus led you down a long hallway in the expansive manor. Marble floors and large columns made up the hallway, breaking off into the entryway and the living room. The two of you passed the huge, bustling kitchen and came to a double door.

“Here,” Remus said, nudging the door open slightly. “You go wait in there while I go find that potion, alright love?”

You nodded and the corner of his mouth tugged into a half smile. You watched him, entering the door he had nudged open.

You could’ve dropped dead on the spot, and you would’ve died the happiest lady on the planet. Books covered the walls up to the ceilings, lit by the large moon as it rose over the manor. 

You stepped closer to the shelves, tickling the spines when you noticed that they weren’t just books. There were books on runes, books with fur, and books that were quietly whispering.

You picked up a shiny book, cracking it open. While nothing popped out, the book began shouting. You screamed and quickly slammed it shut, putting it back. Your heart beat out of your chest as you picked up another one, finding ice cold air blowing out of it as soon as you opened it. The third book you picked up had a plaid spine, and looked safe. The cover read, “Frankenstein's Monster: Did It Actually Happen?” You held it to your chest and sighed, breathing in the dusty, papery scent.

You could live here, and nobody would know. You could nestle in amongst the shelves, hiding in the hole until all the books were read. Feeling drunk and overwhelmingly happy, you sighed again, closing your eyes as you plopped down on the sofa.

“Do you like it?” Remus asked from the door.

“I think I’m in love,” you replied dreamily, turning to look at him. “Has anyone read all of ‘em?”

“James said his dad was working through them,” he said, sitting down on the sofa. He handed you the potion. “I think he got about halfway through before he gave up.”

“God,” you said, looking around. “I’d try to read ‘em all.” You smelled the potion, instantly recoiling with a gag. “‘M not drinkin’ this.”

“It just smells bad,” he said, an amused smile gracing his face. “Drink it and you’ll feel better.”

You sighed, grumbled, “Fine,” and downed the potion like a shot. 

Remus lied to you. It tasted just as bad as it smelled, but it worked. You felt all the drunkenness leave you like it was being siphoned out of your body. You sat up straighter, pushing your hair out of your face.

“Better?” Remus asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Much,” you said, smiling as you looked at him. “Thank you.”

Despite not being drunk, you still felt the butterflies in your stomach as he matched your toothy grin, glancing at the book in your hands. “Are you going to steal that?” He teased.

“I’d like to,” you admitted, reading the first page to yourself. “It’s the first book that hasn’t done something.”

“I’m sure Fleamont wouldn’t care,” he said, his fingers dancing against yours as he took the book from you, pocketing it in his coat. “I can hold onto it for now. Until you leave, of course.”

“I suppose I should probably get back and say goodbye to everyone,” you said, standing and smoothing out your dress over your thighs. “The last bus leaves in an hour, and I still have to see Lily.”

Quietly, Remus nodded, standing alongside you. He offered you his arm again, and even though you weren't stumbling, you took his desperately, letting him lead you back out of the manor.

“Moon’s really big,” you said, looking up at the moon that shone orange in the sky. “Must be full.”

Remus winced, glancing at you to see if you noticed, finding you still staring. “There was a full harvest moon a few nights ago. If you look, you can see it waning.”

You narrowed your eyes trying to see what he was talking about. “Do you like the moon or something?”

“I-” He paused, catching you already looking up at him. “Sure.”

“I like the sun more,” you admitted, looking back at the moon. “The moon is fine, but without the sun, it’s just another dark rock.” You glanced at him to catch him staring at the moon, a grimace on his face.

Before you could say anything, a sharp squeal followed a flurry of red hair that was barreling toward you.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere! I thought you left already!” Lily shouted, picking you up and spinning you around. She held you at arms length. “Look at you!”

“I wouldn’t have left without saying anything to my favorite girl!” You beamed, taking in your Lily. “You... you look radiant.”

“Oh, pish,” Lily said, waving her hand in the air. She looked at Remus, who was still staring at the sky as if to give you and Lily your space. “Hi, space man,” she cooed at him, causing Remus to look at her, a tight smile on his face. She reached up, squishing his cheek between her fingers. “I’m stealing her from you.”

“Be my guest,” he said, pulling cigarettes out of his pocket. “I’ll be in there in a minute,” he said more to you than to Lily.

“That’s a nasty habit, Lupin,” Lily sighed like she had said it about a million times.

“Really? That’s funny,” he said, lighting a cigarette and holding out the pack to the three other men coming toward him. “Seems as though the other Potter likes it.”

You smiled as Lily pulled you away toward the tent, grumbling about James being irresponsible and how she was going to have to have a little chat with him later.

“Oh, you love him,” you cooed, and Lily sighed heavily.

“Very much so.” She turned the two of you around, gazing at the group of four boys all smoking and chatting away. “I mean look at him,” she mumbled to you. “I just want to hit that cigarette out of his hand and scream at him until my throat bleeds, but God, I just want to kiss him until he chokes, and I love him, and I just wish I could-”

While Lily continued to tell you about all the things she loved about her new husband, you couldn’t help but to look at Remus whose face was pulled in a genuine smile as James and Sirius began loudly talking about God knows what. The way he threw his head back as he laughed had your cheeks flushing, and this time, you couldn’t blame the wine.

“He’s cute,” you blurted, sensing Lily following your gaze.

“Remus?” She asked, and you confirmed with a short nod.

“He took me into the library,” you said, looking at Lily. “He’s got a book in his pocket for me.”

“Really…” She said, sounding far off as she continued looking at the group of boys. “It makes a lot of sense…”

“What does?” You could hear your heartbeat in your ears watching the way she smiled, knowing she made eye contact with one of them.

“You and Remus,” she said, looking at you with the same smile. “You should give him your number.”

“Lily,” you groaned and she grabbed your arm, leaning in.

“He wouldn’t have looked over here at least four times if he didn’t want it,” she whispered, a fiery look in her eye when you began to protest with pink cheeks. “He lives in muggle London. He owns a phone.”

You huffed. “Fine.”

Lily’s smize turned giddy as she gave you a napkin, your number already written on it. “I’ve had this in my pocket since I saw you sitting next to him.”

“You’re a minx,” you hissed, taking the napkin. You checked your watch and sighed. “You planned this out so I couldn’t say no, didn’t you?”

The glint in Lily’s eye said it all as she threw her arms around you. “I’ll see you soon. I can come round your flat, and we can watch movies, and we can have a proper girl’s night, alright?”

You squeezed her tightly. “That sounds amazing, Lils. I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you!” She said, pulling away. A mischievous grin grew on her face as she pushed you forward. “Now go get ‘em, tiger!”

You stumbled forward, throwing Lily a scrunched nose over your shoulder. She met it with a thumbs up and a cheeky smile before James snuck up behind her, batting him away as he tried to kiss her.

You laughed to yourself, shaking your head. You could only hope to have a love like Lily and James one day.

The napkin in your hand grew increasingly damp the closer you got to Remus. He was still standing outside nursing a cider that one of his friends must’ve given him. You stepped outside of the tent, siding up to him.

“Hey, you!” Remus said, nudging you with his elbow. “Are you heading out?”

“I am!” You said, the napkin becoming damp in your hands. “Bus leaves soon, and I need to catch it before I’m stranded here.”

“Alright,” he said, grabbing the book from his pocket. “Here you are.”

You took it, smiling while you looked at it. “Thank you,” you mumbled.

The two of you became quiet, not knowing what to do next. A handshake would’ve been proper, you thought, considering you had just met him and he took you under his wing for the night.

You panicked and stuck out your napkin-filled hand without saying anything. He looked at you with furrowed brows then took your hand, the burning sensation filling you from the tips of your fingers straight to your chest.

“It was really nice to meet you, Remus,” you said, pulling away and leaving the napkin in his hand.

You turned around before he could say anything, head down as you walked quickly down the Manor drive, hoping the scorched feeling in your hands would never go away.

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

1: Magic is a Metaphor < 2: Morgana is a Lesbian < 3: Merlin is Gay < 4: Arthur is Bi

Do you remember when you were bullied in middle school? Because if you're reading this, I think it's fair to assume that you were. And your parents would say to you, 'that boy is just being mean to you because he likes you'. That's what this is.

Arthur is just so repressed. He has really bad daddy issues, and he doesn't know how to express his emotions, and he's really uncomfortable with physical intimacy, especially with other men, especially with Merlin. And this isn't me trying to psychoanalyse away his heterosexuality. It is a very evident part of his character.

And another big part of his character is that he has inherited all of these bigoted ideas about magic from his father that he has to work to overcome. Because, of course, Arthur himself is born of magic, but his dad is so ashamed of it that he hides the true circumstances of his birth from Arthur. Honestly, I don't know exactly how that would fit into this whole metaphor. I do have a half-formed theory that it could be interpreted as an allegory for intersex identity, I know that a lot of people headcanon Arthur as trans, so idk there could be something there. But regardless, it is only through his relationship with Merlin that he is able to overcome this magicphobia, because he realises: how could it be wrong when everything about Merlin is so right. And I just feel like there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

Of course, I have to mention this iconic quote from the audio commentary of the final episode: when the executive producer refers to Arthur taking off his royal seal to give back to Guinevere as passing over "the last vestige of his heterosexu- oh sorry, I mean his marriage." So, they knew exactly what they were doing.

I also thought I would just draw your attention to the fact that at one point Arthur says, "I only care about my men, they're more than friends, more than brothers." Now, I think we can all agree that out of context, that is a very gay thing to say, and yet somehow the context is even gayer, because Arthur is pretending to be talking about the Knights of the Round Table, but he's actually talking about Merlin, how Merlin is the only person he cares about, more than a friend. And then Merlin responds, "I understand. I wish I didn't, but I do." It's barely subtext at that point. This of course, brings me to my final argument:

Arthur risked his life to save Merlin at least eight times. It could be more than that, I genuinely lost count. And you have to keep in mind that Arthur is the King of Camelot and he doesn't have any heirs. It is quite important that he stays alive. And yet anytime that Merlin is in the slightest bit of danger, he will just drop everything to protect him.

And it's really only in those moments where he's faced with the thought of losing Merlin that he shows him genuine emotion. Such as in this scene (which was cut out of 4x02 purely because it was too gay) where Arthur is planning to sacrifice himself to protect Merlin, again, and he gives Merlin his mother's sigil, the only thing he has left of his dead mum and he wants Merlin to have it as something to remember him by. Also, apparently in medieval times giving someone your family crest was basically a marriage proposal, so that's pretty gay.

You know what else is pretty gay? Telepathically communicating with Merlin and then immediately leaving Gwen in the middle of an active war. This is literally the last time that Arthur and Gwen ever see each other. Poor Gwen.

In conclusion, Merlin is the story of gay sorcerers and bisexual knights getting into love triangles. Everyone in this show is queer and you cannot tell me otherwise.

[l0v3tast3]

More young!reader and 141 maybeeee? I feel like I just need more headcanons and drabbles

Also maybe like, 141 reacting to reader randomly dropping information like "well, my mum's an alcoholic and she used to beat me"

And this is me speaking from experience cause I do that and like 🥲

✎ i think i got this request like almost a month ago now i am. so sorry lmao but i'm actually getting to it and that's what counts right? right. i pumped this out in like 2 hours which if you knew how i write you would be very impressed 😎

✎ tags: young!reader, military!reader, not proofread im too cool for that, just general fluff like one mention of simon being angsty about u dying ig?

♡ so soap and the reader are definitely really good friends. i don't really think he's like super "mushy"? i guess? like some people make him out to be (not that there's anything wrong with that i love that trope) because like, look at him. i love him but some of the stuff he says in the games is like super fucking #militaryman if that makes sense lmao

♡ you're friends in a sibling kind of way. you make fun of each other all of the time and play pranks with (and on) each other. he goes rough on you when you're sparring but always makes sure you're okay afterwards. a lot of the time he talks to you like you're a little kid in an annoying tone just to piss you off.

♡ simon definitely didn't really want to like you at first, partly because he didn't want to get close to you in case you died or got seriously injured or captured or whatever else could possibly happen. but you literally weaseled your way in as his friend.

♡ after a few weeks of being with the team, you picked up on their likes and dislikes. in particular, you learned which foods simon liked at the cafeteria, you learned what kind of books he read, etc. etc. and so ensued you doing nice things for him.

♡ you would grab him the protein bar he liked from the vending machine when you went to grab yourself or someone else something. if you went somewhere with cheap books, you would grab him one that was similar to what you saw him reading last. you always made it a point to get him cheap things so you could refuse if he tried to pay you back.

♡ most of the time, though, he would say he didn't want it when you handed it to him. you would just shrug and tell him to give it to someone else (you see him with whatever you got him not long after). other times, you'll just sit down next to him and talk to him out of nowhere. towards the beginning, it was more of you talking at him, but that was okay with you. it took longer than the others, but you wormed your way into his cold heart.

♡ price is your new father. he gives you advice on literally everything, whether or not you ask for it (you almost never do). he does the dad thing of the hands on the hips and legs kinda spread while he explains the topic in depth. he has a very vast wealth of knowledge, you come to learn.

♡ i feel like one time you would comment on price's outfit, saying it looked good and matched well one day and he would kind of take it to heart. from then on he'll occasionally ask you how his outfit is that day. he'll play it off as if he's joking, but deep down he's actually curious. you always make fun of him for the hat that's seemingly glued to his head, though.

♡ gaz fully leans into becoming your older brother. he doesn't deny it, he just laughs when someone says anything. also i feel like he'll literally do anything you want to do. he'll go shopping with you, he'll go to bookstores or antique stores or crystal places, literally anywhere. it's gotten to the point where you just tell him to go with you and he just grabs his coat.

♡ he also will play any video game with you and he always beats you at it. it literally does not matter if he's never even heard of this random game you just pulled out of some alternate dimension, he'll be better than you at it. he's also absolutely clueless about his natural talent; if you ask him what the hell he's doing right, he's just like "huh? 🤨🤨"

♡ yeah in regards to randomly dropping trauma like it's nothing, it's definitely a smack in the face to all of them. they talk about the time they almost died in a firefight or when they got shot several times over, but they don't talk about the "deep" stuff.

♡ so it's like, you say some shit like "yeah my [super close person] died when i was really young that was #rough lol" and they all just slowly turn their heads to you like "what the actual fuck did you just say" and you're just like "what's going on why did we stop talking 🧐"

♡ they either move on to a new conversation after several long moments of silence or you just don't notice and continue talking like you didn't just give them mental whiplash.

♡ also so like i'm the type of person that loves clutter and just wants to decorate the hell out of my apartment n shit right? so like if you're also that kind of person and you just amass all this stuff in your room and put in shelves and lamps and posters and pictures covering every wall (even though it's probably against some military code or rules or whatever) and they got a peek they're just like "what the fuck"

♡ every time price sees it he tells you to clean it up but it's half-hearted at best. you tell him he's just jealous of all of your cool stuff, and he secretly is (if you're a mini-fridge kind of person he would definitely want to steal it from you).

♡ if you don't really decorate your room that much or just don't have a lot of stuff, they all get you little things to clutter up your space with. kyle and you come up with a system of buying each other a gift whenever you go shopping together, and he's good at remembering what you like.

♡ i think simon likes carving wood in his spare time, and you'll see him doing this and say that's really cool and good, and he's always just like "ya want it?" and tosses it at you. you don't bother asking if he's sure he wants to give it to you because he already pulled out another block of wood to carve into.

♡ they all also will fight literally anyone for you once you all get closer. you're probably one of, if not the youngest person working in the entire compound and they know how people talk, and if they hear anyone saying anything bad about you for any reason they shut that shit down immediately. you are good, in every aspect, and they all will let everyone know that.

[itsss4t4n]

Hi!! Could I get some harry hook x male!reader where reader is the eldest child of Anna and Kristoff please? Also maybe reader looks just like his mum but acts like his dad? Thanks and sorry if it's too specific fjdjdjvjs

Always - Harry Hook x male!reader

a/n: I honestly think that reader personaliy is more like anna han kristoff. somehow i really struggled wih that. i lowkey hate this but i still hope you enjoy his <3

warnings: no use of y/n, making out, small fight/angst, ew emotions, I love some good drama, i hate this tbh, not proofread

When Mal decided to open the barrier forever, it was cerainly an adjusment for everyone.

The Vks that came over to auradon were enrolled into auradon prep and all assigned an auradon student to help them settle in and answer any questions they might have.

You weren't the biggest fan of that arrangementt. Not because you didnt like or trust the vks, you were actually quite close with all of the cour four. You just werent a big people person. So having to share your dorm with someone you dont know and most likely having them at your side 24/7? Not ideal for you.

Especially when you heard who you were going to be paired with. 

But Mal had basically begged you to help. 

"Please. I know you dont like this but he is kind of difficult and i know that you could handle him. I dont know anyone else that could."

So you reluctantly agreed.

Mal was right. Harry Hook was certainly difficult. He was really stuck in ways and refused to change. He refused to follow any rules, he was mean and he hated school. And the worst thing? He was stupidly hot.

Now, you hated school just as much, and you did skip a few lessons here and there but you had respect for your teachers and your peers. And you knew that unfortunately school was important for your future. 

Usually you couldnt care less if other people got on trouble but harry was your responsibility now, so everytime he got into trouble, you were getting dragged into it. And you hated it.

So thats how you ended up in fairy godmothers office for the 7th time that week (it was thursday) sitting next to Harry, who just looked bored while you were about to beat him up.

This has been happeneing for almost 3 months at this point.

"This can not keep going on. Harry If you cannot follow the rules and integrate yourself into Auradon then we might be forced to take stronger action." 

Back in your dorm Harry threw himself onto his bed.

"Well that a tad overdramatic aye?"

You couldnt hold it in anymore. 

"HARRY! THIS IS NOT A GAME! YOU KEEP GETTING IN TROUBLE SIMPLY FOR THE SAKE OF IT AND YOU HURT OTHERS. ARE YOU AWARE OF THE FACT THAT YOU ARE BASICALLY A FEW OFFENSES AWAY FROM EXPULSION?! AND IF THAT HAPPENS YOU BASICALLY HAVE NO CHANCE ANYMORE TO DO ANYTHING! NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU RUIN MY REPUTATION WITH YOUR BEHAVIOUR AS WELL. JUST THINK ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE THAN YOURSELF FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE!"

Without looking at him you stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind you.

The rest of your day was spend ranting to Mal and Evie about Harry.  Mal hat texted Uma during your rant, telling her to speak with Harry. He would probably listen to her. She was his best friend after all.

You dreaded going to bed that night. Just being in the same room with him.

Uma left your Room just before you arrived, so when you entered Harry was sitting on his bed, a conflicted expression on his face. 

You decided to ignore him, just grabbing a pair of sweatpants and heading to the bathroom to change for bed.

When you exited the beathroom agin harry had also changed into sweatpants. GREY sweatpants.

Fuck. Was he trying to kill you?

His head perked up at the sound of the bathroom door. 

"Hey..."

You looked over at him.

"What Hook?"

He looked a little conflicted still, which confused you. Why the sudden change in mood?

"Look... I'm nae good at this but- fuck..." He sighed exxasperated. "I wanted to apologize."

You head snapped to him again In surprise.

"What?"

"I acted like a total dickhead." He started ranting, trying to get it all outbefore he mentally talked himself out of it. " I didnt care how I might hurt ya. And I don't even have a good reason for that. I was just scared. I was scared of being vulnerable. All I have ever known was the Isle. I am used to hiding myself behind a Tough outside and I was scared to change from that."

Harry quickly wiped his eyes of the tears swimming in them, hoping you wouldnt notice. But you did.

You were shocked by his sudden and surprisingly honest outburst. For a few very long seconds you just stared at each other.

"Harry...." You took a slow step towards him. "I'm sorry. I should've realized how hard this would be. And I know it will be difficult, but i promise you that from now on you wont have to hide anymore. You're safe here." 

Now, standing right before harry, you layed your hand on his shoulder. Harrys eyes met yours, once again swimming with tears but a small smile gacing his lips.

"Thank ye."

You reached up to wipe the tear that had fallen from his eye, your hand resting on harrys cheek, his head leaning into your touch.

You noticed how close you two had gotten. Your eyes flickering from harrys eyes to his lips for a split second.

"Harry?" Your noses brushed against each other ever so slightly.

"Yea?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"I really hope I'm not reading this wrong," You voice matched his. "but can I kiss you?"

Harry was silent, and for a few excruciating second you truly thought you were wrong. Harry was into guys, you knew that much. He didnt hide that part about himself. But did he like you?

"Yes please." 

A small sigh of relief left your mouth as you leaned in, your lips moving against his. Harrys hands moved to your hips, gripping at the exposed skin, thanks to your lack of shirt. In turn your hands wrapped around his neck, your fingers gripping onto his hair.

When you parted for air, you kept your eyes closed, your foreheads leaning against each other. 

For a few seconds all you could hear was you heavy breathing and your own heartbeat, loud in your ears, before Harry leaned in and kissed you again. His hands pulling you flush against his bare chest by your hips.

Once again you pulled back, this time a little more, looking into each others eyes.

"Thank ye, darlin"

"Always."

[acewritesfics]

36 Minutes | TOMMY SHELBY

⚠️ THIS IS A REPOST FROM MY MAIN BLOG @/DLMLUFICS. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY. MORE INFO IN MY PINNED POST. ⚠️

Pairing: Modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

Fic Type: Imagine, fluff.

Request: from @runnning-outof-time from my valentines special over on main blog.

PROMPTS: being stood up, meet cute, and proposal.  

Warnings: Slightly Workaholic!Tommy. Break up over the phone. Swearing. Time jump at the end.

Word Count: 2,908

TOMMY SHELBY MASTERLIST

Not caring that she's in one of the fanciest restaurants in London, Y/N has her elbows on the table, her chin resting on a closed first while her other hand swirls the wine in her glass around before she takes a sip. She looks around the restaurant longingly wishing she was any of the happy couples that surrounded her. After placing her glass on the table, she picks up her phone, checking the time and see if she had any messages from her boyfriend. 

It was 30 minutes after their reservation had been made. The only message she’s received is from her mum letting her know that her date went well, and she wouldn't be home until tomorrow if not tonight.  

‘At least my mum's having a lovely time...’ she thinks to herself. It's been a few years since her dad left her mum for a much younger woman. Y/N was excited to hear that her mum was going out on a date this valentine with her first love. They reconnected about a year ago and have been close since. Y/N is genuinely happy for her mum. She deserves to be happy again.  

Finishing the last of her wine, she waves the waiter over, "I'll take one more and if he hasn't arrived in ten minutes, I'll give up the table to someone else and move to the bar," she tells him holding up her empty glass. 

"Sure thing, Miss," he smiles sadly at her as he pours more wine into the glass, making sure to fill it up a little more than he usually would. "If you don't mind me saying, whoever is keeping you waiting is surely a fool." 

"Well, the thing is..." she pauses to get his name. 

"Joe," he tells her. 

"Joe," she repeats with a smile, but her eyes hold no joy, "The thing is Joe, you're absolutely right. He is a fool for keeping me waiting but I am also a fool for waiting for him." 

"I don't think you're a fool, Miss," he assures her. "None of this is your doing. It's all on him." 

"Thank you, Joe," she says giving him a more genuine smile now. "If you weren't working, I would invite you to sit with me." 

"Speaking of work, I better get back to it," he tells her. "I'll be around if you need me again." Joe leaves making his way over to the maître de. 

Picking up her phone, she goes through her messages until she finds the ones from her boyfriend. Tapping on it, she starts typing a not so lovely message for him when she hears someone sit across from her. 

Looking up, thinking it could finally be here boyfriend joining her for their valentine's day dinner, she's surprised to see a man she doesn't recognize.  

“Uh… excuse me, I think you have the wrong table,” she says to the man typing on his phone. He looks up, his beautiful blue eyes connecting with hers. ‘My goodness, he's beautiful...’ she thinks as she swallows the lump that has formed in her throat. Feeling slightly intimidated under his gaze, she stands up from her seat. “I was actually about to leave so… you can keep the table.” When he doesn’t say anything, she picks up her phone and clutch. “I uh… I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.” She goes to leave when he stops her.  

“Stay,” he finds himself telling her. She goes to refuse when he speaks again stopping her. "My business partner just cancelled on me, and I don't really want to waste a reservation here." 

"I'm waiting for my boyfriend," she tells him. 

"You said you were leaving, how long have you been waiting for him?" he questions her, his intimidating but beautiful eyes still boring into her.  

She looks at the time on her phone. "36 minutes." 

"I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but he's not coming," he says.  

If she knew it wasn't true would have come back with a retort, but she knew this stranger was right. This isn't the first time he hasn't shown up for their date and it wasn't uncommon for him to be late.  

"I know," she sighs.  

"So, let me make a proposal," he says.  

"Little early for that, isn't it," she tries to make a joke. "We only just met." 

He rolls his eyes. "Both our plans have fallen through. Instead of letting our reservations go to waste, you should stay and have dinner with me." 

"But we are," she points out as she accepts his lack of a 'proposal'. "Were you really meeting your business partner in the fanciest restaurant in London on what is meant to be the most romantic night of the year?" 

"Valentine's Day?" he asks before shrugging. "It's just another day to me." 

"Do you not have someone special to spend it with?" 

"I haven't had someone special in a while," he admits. "Does my work count?" 

Her eyes widen as she shakes his head, "No, it doesn't."  

As his phone begins to ring, she bites the inside of her cheek and watches him answer it. Knowing that this is how her date with her boyfriend would have gone and not wanting to spend her evening this way, she gets an idea. 

Reaching across the table, she snatches his phone from him and holds it to her ear as begins to talk into it, ignoring the death glare her impromptu date is sending her. "Sorry for the rude interruption but is there any way that this can wait until tomorrow?" she asks the person on the other side as she gives him a sheepish smile. 

"Who are you? Where's Tommy?" A woman's voice comes through. 

"I'm his date for this evening," she tells her. 

"His date?" the woman asks sounding surprised. "This certainly can wait until tomorrow. Let him know I told him to relax and enjoy himself and make sure to turn off his phone. The man needs a night away from work." 

"I'll make sure to do that. You have a lovely evening ma'am," Y/N tells her. 

"Call me Polly, love," she can hear the smile in Polly's voice. She glances at Tommy, her smile more confident than a moment ago and his death glare turning to a look of annoyance, but his eyes gave away to his amusement. "You have a lovely evening as well. Tommy will treat you well," she adds before ending the call. 

As soon as the call ends, she turns off Tommy's phone. "Polly seems lovely. She told me to tell you to relax and enjoy yourself and for me to turn off your phone." She goes to hand his phone back to him but pulls it back towards herself before he can take it from her. "You can have it back if you promise me that you won't turn it back on." 

He looks at her unimpressed but sighs. "Fine, but only if you tell me your name." 

"It's Y/N," she smiles and hands it to him giving him the benefit of the doubt. Instead of turning it back on like she thought he would, he places it back inside his pocket. 

"I'm Tommy," he introduces himself just as Joe returns to their table. 

"I'm sorry for what I just did. I'm usually not that forward," she apologizes when Joe leaves, after taking their drink and meal orders.  

"I was being rude," he admits. "I asked you to stay and I answered my phone like you weren’t here. But why did you do it?" 

"If my boyfriend was here, it would have been the same," she answers as a sadness comes over her as she thinks about her boyfriend. He got her to make the reservations and promised to give her a night filled with romance and love with no interruptions, but he was the one who hasn’t shown up or bothered to call or message her with an excuse. "Sometimes I feel as though work comes first." 

Tommy looks down at the table, a guilty look in his eyes. "I was a bit of a workaholic when I met my wife." 

"You're married?" she asks, surprised. Polly never alluded to him being married. It seemed she encouraged their little 'date'. 

"Widowed," he tells her. "My wife died a few years ago." 

"I'm sorry," she says, looking at him with sympathy.  

"How long have you been with your boyfriend?" he asks, wanting to move on from his deceased wife. Tommy wasn't even sure why he brought it up to her, a stranger who he has no plans on seeing after tonight. 

"Five years," she tells him. 

"And he's still only your boyfriend?" he asks.  

"We did talk about getting married once," she tells him, feeling as though he's being a little judgmental. "Three years ago," she sighs seeing his point.  

"Can I ask something without you getting mad at me?" he asks her. 

"Go ahead. I'm sure it can’t make me as mad as my boyfriend’s made me," she tells him, now feeling more disappointed than mad at her boyfriend.  

"Why are you still with him?"  

At first, she wanted to defend the man she's been with for the past five years, but nothing really came to mind. At first their relationship had been great. They made time for each other, went away on trips together, took holidays in the summer, had sex whenever they got the chance and were happy and in love. It was the past two years when things took a turn. Their time together becoming less and less, their talks of marriage and a family fading along with it and the arguments became more frequent. There's no more love between them. She doesn't know why she hasn't ended it with him yet. Maybe she was holding on to hope that the man she fell in love with would return and it would go back to how it was. 

"I don't know," she honestly tells him. "I really don't know." 

After eating, Tommy pays for their meals and drinks despite Y/N's protests of being able to pay for herself. He refuses to let her say he was the one who invited her to stay and that she should never have to pay for herself in the first place, given it was her idiot boyfriend’s idea to go out for dinner in the first place.  

As they leave the restaurant, they both find themselves not wanting the night to end just yet. It was the most fun they've had in a while, smiling and laughing, telling old stories, her boyfriend and his deceased wife not once coming up again as they enjoyed their meals. 

"You should let us take you home," Tommy tells her as he stands beside his car. His driver was already out and holding the door open for him.  

"I need to go figure out why my boyfriend was a no show," she sighs, wanting nothing more than to leave with the pretty blue-eyed man. As if her boyfriend knew she was speaking about him, her phone began to ring, flashing his photo and name. "Speaking of the devil." 

Before she could answer it, Tommy takes her phone and answers it for her. "Y/N's a little busy right now. You'll have to call her back later or never." 

"Tommy," she scolds him trying to get her phone back. He holds up his finger as he moves to avoid her trying to take it back from him.  

"Who are you?" Y/N can hear her boyfriend ask when Tommy pulls the phone away to put it on speaker and hold the phone further away from her. 

"I'm Tommy," he introduces himself. "And I just spent a wonderful evening with your girlfriend, who you stood up. She's a lovely woman, by the way. Deserves far better than this." 

"You think you can give her better?" her boyfriend speaks, not realizing he's on speaker. 

"I don't think I can," Tommy begins. "I know I can," he adds his eyes looking deeply into hers, letting her know he means every word. 

"You can have her, mate," she hears him say making her eyes snap to her phone. "Just a word of warning, she's clingy, demanding, whiny and she'll hold you back." 

Feeling her heart drop into her stomach, Tommy lets her have her phone back. "I wouldn't have to be those things if you actually made time for me, you arrogant, self-centered, neglectful bastard. You and your tiny dick can fuck right off." 

Her boyfriend starts to stutter out an apology but instead of listening to it, she ends the call and blocks his number knowing he'll try to ring her back. "Does that offer to take me home still stand?" 

"Of course, Love," Tommy smiles as he helps her into the car before he gets in himself. 

1 YEAR LATER: 

"Tommy, we're going to be late," Y/N giggles, biting her lip to stop the moan that's threatening to escape her throat. Tommy has her trapped in his arms as he trails kisses up her throat and along her jawline to the sweet spot below her ear. 

"Good thing I own the bloody restaurant now, eh?" She feels him smirk against her skin before moving back to press his lips to hers.  

After the night they met, Y/N and Tommy continued to hit it off. Their relationship quickly developed, and Tommy always made sure to make time for her as well as letting her know how much he loves and appreciates her. Despite the bumps in their relationship, Y/N is far happier with Tommy than she ever was with her ex-boyfriend. Tommy knew within the first four months of their relationship Y/N would be the one he gets remarried to. Not only were they great together, she and Charlie got along like a house on fire and often ganged up together against him. It made his heart swell seeing his son happy again. Y/N knows she’ll never replace his mum, who Tommy opened up to her about not long into their relationship, but she sure does love him as if he’s her own child.  

Tommy helps Y/N into her coat and opens the door to go outside. Leading her out to the car, he helps her in before getting in beside her.  

“What time do you have that meeting tomorrow?” She asks him when they’re not far from arriving at the restaurant.  

“Not until the afternoon. I told them I won’t be coming in until after lunch,” he replies taking her hand into his and kisses the back of it. “No more talk about work. Tonight’s about us.” 

“Can you believe we only met a year ago,” she smiles turning her body slightly towards him. “Do you think we’d be here if you hadn’t mistakenly sat at my table and begged me to have dinner with you,” she jests.  

“I think you and I remember it differently,” he chuckles, looking at her lovingly. “Who said it was a mistake? And I didn’t beg you to stay.” 

“You called it a proposal,” she teases. “It wasn’t a very good one, to be honest.” 

“You still stayed,” he points out. 

“Can’t pass up a free dinner,” she smiles as the car comes to a stop in front of the restaurant that they met at, which Tommy just so happened to buy a few weeks after that.  

The door opens and Tommy gets out before helping her out also. Stepping out of the car, she notices the lights are off inside the restaurant. “Did you close the restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year?” 

“We can afford to close for one night,” he tells her as he leads her inside. “Tonight’s also a special night.” 

As they enter the dining area, she gasps in amazement seeing a single table is set up for two with a candle, some rose petals scattered around it, a champagne bucket with the most expensive bottle sitting inside it. The lights are dimmed and there’s music playing softly in the background.  

“This is incredible, Tom,” she says leaning back into Tommy as his arms wrap around her waist.  

“It’s all for you, love,” he says, softly kissing her cheek before letting her go and moving to stand in front of her. “Before we eat, I have one more surprise for you.” 

She’s unable to say anything, becoming speechless as Tommy pulls out a ring box from inside his suits pocket. “I can list everything I love about you, but we’d be here forever so instead I want to spend the rest of our lives showing you how much I love, appreciate, want and need you. I can’t imagine spending a day without you in my life. Will you do me the honour and make me the happiest man and marry me?” 

Unable to speak through her tears she nods her head, holding her left hand out towards him. Slipping the ring on her finger, he pulls her in for a passionate kiss.  

“I love you,” he says in between kisses. 

“I love you too,” she says finding her voice, breaking the kiss to hug him tightly. “Now this is how proposals are done,” she chuckles, teasing him. 

“I did have a year to prepare,” he smiles and pulls her in for another kiss. 

CREDIT: Razorblade and dots dividers made by me. Peaky Blinders divider made by @/firefly-graphics. Support divider made by @/cafekitsune.

TAGGED: @forgottenpeakywriter | @rainydayteacups | @bernelflo

[mountymase]

invisible string - part five

and if you ask me too daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird, i'ma give you the world

pairing: reader x mason mount summary: It’s been you and your daughter until life decides to prank you by putting her dad back into your life. The only problem is that he doesn’t know he’s her dad. warnings: fluff, angst, a bit of swearing author: SURPRISE!!! nothing to say other than thank you. i hope this will make you cry! also, tumblr didn't let me tag people, i'm sorry! word count: 4.378k

PART FOUR

Too nervous to drive, with your hands constantly shaking and your mind everywhere, you thought it was better to get an Uber home and leave your car at Jaz’s - for yours and, mostly, Lily’s safety. Trying to act normal around your daughter when she was such a sensitive kid was the toughest task, but she seemed convinced when you mentioned it was just a bad migraine, like the ones you usually had when you were worried about work. Instead of just asking loads of questions, Lily kissed your temple and held your hand the entire way home.

How would you tell her that she was to meet her daddy tonight? That, actually, she already knew who he was and called him ‘uncle’ because her bestie said she could, because he said she could. You digged your brain, trying to find the right words, as you watched Lily throw herself on the sofa and let out a long tired sigh. 

“Why don’t we change you into something more comfortable, peanut?” She nodded but closed her eyes instead of getting up. You made the short way towards her and took her in your arms, Lily half asleep. “Come on, gorgeous. Don’t sleep on me now, I need you wide awake for your surprise.”

Though that was usually the magic word, Lily’s reaction wasn’t what you expected.

“But I’m so tired, mummy. Summer made me run after her all the time at the Zoo,” She mumbled, brushing her eyes with the back of her hand as her head now rested on your shoulder. You walked into her bedroom, turning on just the lamp on the side of her bed. “Can’t you wake me up when it’s here?”

“I suppose I can.” You replied, watching her nod with her eyes closed as you put her in bed and grabbed a pair of flannel pyjamas so she’d sleep more comfortably. Lily had both arms tightly wrapped around her stuffed bunny and didn’t help much when you started to change her, to which you just sighed, wondering for how long you’d keep doing it as she was starting to get really heavy. But then, it hit you - there was someone else who could do that, now… Mason. After they meet, he starts to become a constant presence in both of your lives.

A smile curled the sides of your lips when you heard a little snore coming from Lily and you couldn’t help but softly kiss her cheek, but as the heavy sleeper she was, she didn’t move. Making your way out of her bedroom, leaving the door slightly open just in case she woke up looking for you, you went to the kitchen and searched for that almost empty bottle of red wine in the back of the fridge. Drinking straight from the bottle, you let out a long sigh as your phone buzzed with a few notifications, all from Mason. Two follower requests and a message. You chuckled when he questioned your dad being an Arsenal fan, that amused you enough to think how it’d be when you tell your dad that Lily’s father is a Chelsea player - it amused you even more the idea of them meeting because your entire family was die hard fans of Arsenal and even Lily’s first word was ‘goal’, during a match. You were on the other side, with your mum, who didn’t care much about football.

When the sun was down and you were already slightly tipsy - not drunk, though! -, you got a message from Mason saying he’d be there in about 40 minutes and it was right when Lily woke up and silently made her way to the kitchen, looking for you and asking for water. As the grown up girl she said she was, Lily refused her bottle and opted for a Moana cup instead. 

“Sweetheart,” You called her, big brown eyes looking at you as she gulped each sip as if it'd be her last. Taking her in your arms, you took Lily to the living room, sitting on the sofa with her on your leg. “Mummy needs to talk to you about something.”

Noticing your voice was serious despite the soft smile on your lips, Lily quickly asked if this was about her surprise and you just nodded. “It won’t be a surprise then, mummy.”

“It will, baby. But it’s a fantastic surprise.”

“Am I getting a puppy?” You chuckled, shaking your head.

“Not yet, peanut. This is about something else you’ve been wishing for…”

Lily’s jaw dropped, brown eyes widened at you and you could swear there was a sparkle there you’ve never seen before. Next thing, her tiny arms wrapped around your neck and she hid her face on your chest, your shirt getting instantly wet with silent tears. Your arms cradled her, giving Lily the comfort she needed that moment and though your eyes also burned a little with tears, you could only smile.

“Is it my daddy? The surprise?” She looked at you again and you brushed her cheek with your thumb, wiping off her tears. She sniffed a few times, the back of her hand scratching her little nose. 

“He’ll be here in a bit to meet you.” 

“Mummy! I have to wear something pretty or he won’t like me!” She jumped off your lap and rushed to her bedroom as you followed, a loud laugh parting your lips.

“He’ll love you no matter what, baby girl!” Searching for something to wear, Lily let out repeated groans of frustration. Her face lit up when she found her Arsenal shirt but you quickly took it from her hands and tossed it aside. “Not this, love. He’s a Chelsea fan.”

Lily pouted, but quickly let go of the fact her dad was a Chelsea fan, and you wondered how she’d react knowing he was way more than just a fan and that she knew who he was, although she never made any funny comments about Summer’s uncle playing for a rival team, only that she still loved her best friend and that her family was kind, that she liked them. “Mummy,” Lily called you after opting for a mini Nike set of lavender sweatpants and hoodie that Willow got her a few months ago, changing it from her pyjamas herself, without any sort of help from you. Each day, she was growing more independent - much like you were at her age.

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you really think he’ll love me no matter what?”

Lily’s eyes sparkled in a way you’ve never seen before, they were full of expectations, happiness, hope; although her question came off nearly as a whisper, there was also excitement there. He really was everything she’s been wanting lately. Going to school holding his hand, having him picking her up and taking her to ballet, baking chocolate chip biscuits because they were her favourite and she hoped they were his too. You often heard Lily call him in her sleep - ‘daddy’, she repeated relentlessly, sometimes followed by a giggle and others by a soft cry that broke your heart into a billion tiny pieces. And you wanted him there too, you needed him there to watch her grow and educate Lily in a way she’d be the kindest and smartest woman you’ve ever met, and also the most successful. You knew that once Mason got to know her and see the wonderful kid she was, he’d want the exact same.

“There’s no way a person could not love you, whether it’s your daddy or any other.” Sitting on the floor, next to her, you took Lily in your arms and softly kissed the tip of her nose, making her giggle with her eyes closed. Once big brown eyes met yours again, you felt your chest clench with all the love you felt for that little girl and wondered how that love would extend to Mason now that he’d be part of your lives. Simply because she was just like him and it felt obvious that if you loved her, you loved him too. If not romantically, then for giving you Lily.

“What is his name?” You hoped she’d ask you that before his arrival. Holding her tight, you leaned a bit as you were about to tell her a secret.

“Mason.” You whispered in her ear, causing Lily to gasp almost instantly and cup your face with her hands.

“Mason and Maisie?” Nodding, you kissed her cheek, and watched your daughter grow silent this time. No giggles, no smile, just a frown on her face that you thought it could become permanent at how fast her mind was working now. “You said he’s a Chelsea fan, mummy?” You nodded again and, this time, your moment with Lily was interrupted by the bell ringing, an always discreet sound that now made you feel instantly anxious. 

“It’s him, baby. Let’s do this together?” Lily shook her head and you’ve decided to respect her space and time, allowing her to be wherever it felt most comfortable to meet her dad and if she wanted to wait in her bedroom, with all her toys and teddy bears, you’d let her. “I’ll pick up the door and bring him here then. Is that okay for you?”

“Yes, mummy.” She pulled away from you, rushing to pick up all the clothes that were spread on the floor as you walked out of her room and took large, quick steps towards the door.

Taking a deep breath before opening it, you found Mason standing there almost ready to ring the bell again and giving you a shy smile when your eyes met. His nose was pink from the cold outside and so were his cheeks, but from the anticipation of meeting his daughter. Mason’s hands were sweating, he constantly rubbed them in his hoodie, not trying to hide his anxiety. You liked that he wasn’t shy about showing off his emotions, it was important to you knowing how important this moment was for him. 

“Come in, Mason. She’s been waiting for you.”

“She knows?” He walked in when you gave him space and after quickly scanning your living room without you noticing, he watched you close the door behind you.

“Yes and no. I told her you were coming and she was about to connect the dots about who you are when you rang the bell. I think that’s what she’s probably doing now.” You knew that because you could hear the familiar sound of tiny footsteps quickly pacing around coming from Lily’s room. Part of you couldn’t help but let a grin curl the sides of your lips, Mason watching you curiously, but apparently getting the fun of it; of how Lily was so smart for her age, a mini adult, always observing around and capturing every little detail so she’d never be left behind by absolutely nobody - not even her own mother. You didn’t know if Mason was like that too, but you secretly hoped that he wasn’t so Lily would have at least that in common with you.

In her room, Lily walked in perfect circles, her mind and heart racing as she held her teddy bear as tight as she could against her small frame. A desperate attempt of trying to control the unfamiliar feelings that suddenly weighed so much on her little shoulders. She was finally meeting her dad. She could remember every night she whispered for him, hoping that the love she felt for him - even not knowing who he was - would, somehow, reach him and bring him to her. The greatest gift she could ever ask for, even better than when her fish Moana came home for Christmas. Lily hoped he would love her just as much, that he’d find her pretty and loved the sound of her laugh because she loved his smile too, the first time they met.

Lily knew it was no coincidence - his smile was just like hers, she recognised herself on that man who was smiling at her, on the other side of the screen.

Mason and Maisie.

There was a knot forming on her throat when Lily finally decided to sit on her bed, anxiously waiting, a sniff filling the quiet room when she heard her daddy’s voice. It really was him, she knew his voice from when they FaceTimed. Lily quickly wiped her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie before they could fall, she didn’t want her daddy to see her crying. Hoping he’d be just as happy to meet her for the first time, Lily wanted to open the biggest smile in the world for him and tell him how much she missed him everyday even if they’d just met.

The sound of soft and slow steps getting close to her bedroom woke her up, and if it was any possible, she held the teddy bear against her body even tighter. Her mind now raced on what she’d say first and although she didn’t know, on the other side of the door, Mason felt just the same. He was taken by anxious, hopeful and also uncertain feelings. The only image he had of her was that adorable giggle she gave him, and how her nose scrunched a bit when she smiled, and her eyes closed in pure innocent bliss. She had his dimples, too. 

Now, every detail about Lily that went almost unnoticed at first, were back in Mason’s mind and if anyone asked, he’d describe her perfectly. Bottom nose and all - because she was pretty much just like him and Mason found himself amazed by that. The sudden urge to take Lily in his arms and tell her he’d never leave her side took his entire being, he just wanted to burst into that room and try to understand what was all that he was suddenly feeling. 

Mason watched you giving him a soft, reassuring smile before opening the door. He wanted to stretch his neck and peek inside, but he didn’t want to creep the little girl out, so he just waited both patiently and impatiently, watching you open the door enough you could see Lily and she could see you too.

“Hi mummy,” That soft, warm voice made him instantly smile. His chest clenched, and Mason unconsciously grabbed your pinky with his again.

“Hi peanut. There’s someone here I know you’ve been wanting to meet for a while. Can we come in?” 

He deduced Lily said yes with a nod, because you were now leading him inside the room. Finally, you moved to the side, giving him the perfect vision of that tiny human watching him with her two big brown orbs with curiosity and amazement. Lily beamed at him shyly, her little legs anxiously wiggling, breathing becoming now faster but at a pace that didn’t worry you because you knew all she wanted to do was jump from her bed straight to his arms. You only noticed tears now were falling freely down your cheeks when your vision blurred and you had to wipe them with the back of your hands as you watched Mason slowly approach Lily.

You could feel it - those two being pulled towards each other like magnets, four years of being apart, something always missing but Mason not knowing what it was while his daughter called him every night before falling asleep. You watched him kneeling in front of your daughter, stretch out his hands so she could place hers on his - as she did, finally letting go of the teddy bear - and softly squeeze them as his thumbs brushed his daughter’s hands.

Mason took a long, deep breath, and finally opened a wide smile. The one that made his nose scrunch, and Lily mimicked him. “Your mum said you wanted to meet me, but did you know I couldn’t wait to meet you too?”

Lily’s jaw dropped in amazement, as if he had just told her a big secret, and she let out a giggle. “Do you promise?”

“I do, princess. She told me you’re very smart and funny, and that your laugh is the greatest sound in the world but I already knew that.” Still holding her hands, Mason tickled her ribs, making Lily let out a loud laugh. “There it is.”

Wrapping your arms around your body, you swallowed a sob.

“Can I-” Lily lowered her gaze to Mason’s hand still holding hers and, after a soft squeeze of encouragement from him, she looked at him again. “Can I hug you?”

Mason nodded, still smiling, letting go of her hands and opening his arms so he could nestle her in a long awaited hug. He had to hold himself on her bed when Lily threw herself into his arms, tiny hands gripping the fabric of his hoodie so tight she pulled it against her body - hiding her face on the crook of his neck, Mason felt his skin getting warm and wet from tears Lily wanted to hide. He rubbed her back, up and down, and the other hand cupped the back of her head, feeling how soft her dark brown hair was under his touch. If there was anything missing in his life before, there wasn’t now, because he instantly knew that Lily was the missing piece.

“Shh, no need to cry. I’m never leaving.” With flushed cheeks and puffy, teary eyes, Lily finally looked at him when he said the words she’s been longing to hear. She felt safe in her daddy’s arms and although she wanted to say it, say the word, Lily was shy to do it because in her mind he was her daddy but also Summer’s cool uncle. 

“My cousin.” Lily whispered, watching Mason frown. “Summer!!”

This time, Mason chuckled. He didn’t say anything, just nodded, and pulled Lily on a tight hug again. The little girl finally looked at her mummy, not sure how she felt about seeing you cry so much because she knew you weren’t sad, so she shouldn’t be sad too but your tears bothered her.

“Mummy,” She called you, stretching her arm at you so you could hold her hand. In the blink of an eye, you found yourself sitting on the floor, next to Mason. “Don’t cry. He said he’s never leaving.”

“I know, baby.” You cooed, pressing soft kisses on her hand, the smell of baby cologne and the warmth of her soft skin instantly calming your fast heartbeat. 

Mason finally looked at you, but you couldn’t figure out how he felt about you at this moment and although it bothered you a bit, it also didn’t matter because it was all about how Lily felt, and how much his presence would positively impact on her life. 

It took some time for Lily to pull away from Mason, and you all agreed that moving to the living room would be more comfortable. With Lily still in his arms, Mason carried her as you followed, until you were comfortably sitting on the sofa. 

Mason wanted to know everything about her, from her. He asked about her days at school, at ballet, asked what her favourite movie was and if she liked super heroes - Spider Man, to be more specific, to which Lily replied that although she did like it, it wasn’t as much as her mummy did. He also asked what her favourite food was, and Maisie was quick to ask if he liked chocolate chip biscuits because those were her favourites in the world. They learned that both shared a passion for spag bol, and Mason seemed to be amused by the fact that his own kid played football at school. Lily made him promise he’d play with her, someday. 

She danced around the living room when pizza arrived and you couldn’t ignore how Mason’s eyes sparkled as he watched her with a wide smile spread across his lips; he was loving every bit of the night, not holding back every loud laugh at Lily’s witty and sassy personality. You wanted to hit your head against the wall when you noticed that even the way they chewed the food was similar, how they just switched off and focused on eating, humming softly at every bite. 

Mason offered himself to be in charge of the dishes as you prepared the living room for a late night Moana session, after Lily practically begged him to stay a little longer, almost threatening to cry thinking she’d never see him again, although Mason was constantly reassuring her - and you  - that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he’d never let Lily go too. That was going to be the hard part of him being in her life, now. She’d want him constantly around, for everything, and you couldn’t blame your daughter, especially because you also wanted him around for her and whatever she needed from him. 

Much to your surprise, Lily managed to stay awake for the first 30 minutes of the movie, but you noticed how sleepy she was, constantly blinking and yawning, fighting against it and eyes never moving from Mason. She checked him constantly and, as he nestled her in his arms, her hands were back gripping his hoodie. Again, you couldn’t blame her for not wanting to let him go - as far as you could remember, Mason radiated this comforting warmth as he was the sun. Sitting close enough to him, you could swear that it was him also keeping you warm. 

“Masey,” She called him, and the look of pure adoration he gave her - not mad at all that she wasn’t comfortable yet calling him ‘daddy’ - made you sigh in pure bliss. “Mummy makes the best pancakes.”

Mason raised an eyebrow at her, a soft grin playing on his lips when he quickly glanced at you, making your cheeks blush a little. “Does she, really?”

“Mhmm…” Lily nodded, yawning before continuing with her logic. “Can you come for breakfast?”

“I suppose I can, beautiful.” He was quick to give her the answer she wanted, and you knew he’d do anything for that girl. Mason would spoil her, do all of her wishes and she wouldn’t even have to ask - it felt like he’d always be one step ahead. He’d give her the world. 

With the answer she wanted, Lily felt safe enough to give in and sleep take her to dreamland, even if reality felt much better. She’d dream about it - about her dream coming true. You and Mason shared a laugh when Lily let out a sigh followed by a hum and a low, soft snore that was getting louder as she breathed heavily.

“She didn’t get that from me.” You whispered, and it was Mason’s turn to blush. “Can you take her to bed?”

“Absolutely.”

The way he carefully stood up still holding her warmed your entire being, your heart pounding so hard against your chest that you could almost hear it. That was something you’ve always wanted to see, it just made you feel sad that he wasn’t around when she was a baby too, and you couldn’t help but feel guilty. You should’ve tried harder, should’ve made him listen even if he behaved like an idiot that day. 

Watching him carefully put Lily in bed, cover her and kiss her forehead before leaving her bedroom, your eyes burned with tears as you waited in the hallway, your body leaning against the wall.

“I’m sorry.” You sniffed, forcing yourself to swallow the knot that formed on your throat. “I’m sorry for keeping her away from you, all these years.”

“It doesn’t matter, Y/n.” Mason sighed, hands in his pockets as he mimicked you and leaned on the wall in front of you. “What matters is that I’m here now, and that I’m not leaving. I’m here for her and for you, too.”

“For me?” You raised an eyebrow, watching Mason shrug with a nod.

“You’re her mum, we’ll always be in each other’s lives. I’ll look after you too.”

“I’ll look after you too, then.”

Mason seemed content with your answer. For him, there was no point bringing back the past because it wouldn’t be good for anyone, especially not for Lily - if you two were on good terms, she’d always be happy and her happiness was what truly mattered. He’d find a way to tell his parents as smoothly as possible, his friends, his teammates and the fans, eventually, always respecting yours and Lily’s privacy so it’d be a calm transition from the life you all had to the life that included Lily in every situation of his, and the attention the media would give to Mason Mount being the father of a four year old and how it’d turn things upside down.

“It’s too late for you to drive home, Mason. We have a spare room.” You pointed to the closed door on his left. “Stay for early morning pancakes.”

It indeed was too late and Mason could feel his eyelids getting heavier by each second. He nodded, covering his mouth when a yawn parted his lips. “You don’t have to insist, I accept the invitation.” 

“Good”. You chuckled. “You’ll find clean towels in the closet if you want to shower, and clean clothes too. I had some friends over a few weekends ago and they just left their stuff here.”

You watched Mason nod and pull away from the wall, arms stretching in front of his body, letting out all the tension from today’s events. Suddenly, the awkwardness of not knowing what to say nor do weighed a ton between you; Mason watched you curiously, and you could swear there was a hint of a smile curling his lips.

“She’s perfect, you’ve been doing the most fantastic job raising this girl.” His cheeks blushed a little and so did yours, you cleared your throat, hands nervously touching your hair. Mason took one step forward, enough to end the short distance between you, and that made your heart pound against your chest. His body towered yours, making the most intense shiver run through your body - Mason leaned a bit, the softness of his warm and wet lips pressing against your cheek made you gulp. “Good night, Y/n.” He whispered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

[charlesf1leclerc]

The Leclerc family

Now we have every member of the Leclerc family for now unless I choose to add another kid or someone else later on I thought I would give a little description of the life of each kid.

I’ve been following these ideas for each kid when I wrote each fic as I feel like having a bit of a background really makes the character 

Indy Jules is by far the sweetest of the children. You wouldn’t say she’s introverted as she knew how to speak her opinion and boss her siblings around but she did seem like an introvert when standing next to the Leclerc siblings. She always helped out around the house and wanted to help her mum in whatever way possible. Indy loved her dancing and gymnastics she was very good at it as well. She was also the most fashionable person in the family she must of gotten that from you, she loved to look her best all the time and loved to dress just like her mum. Jules was a Gemini being born in June. She is a mummy’s girl and loves to follow her mum around and be just like her. Indy was also very talented at playing the piano as Charles had been teaching her for most of her life. Indy’s favrouite colour was light blue, he favrouite season was Spring and she loves bunnies and ducks. She wants to be a professional dancer when she grows up and you and Charles are doing all you can to support her in that. Unlike her other siblings her favrouite uncle is Lorenzo as he matched her energy better than Arthur. She enjoyed school and it wasn’t a problem to get her to participate and complete her homework. She really was an easy first child.

Sicily was the middle child of the leclercs but by no means was she ignored. She was a crazy Virgo she loved to run and rough around with her friends and her brother. She was less of a fashionista she loved to dress herself and could care less what she looked like as long as she got to run around in it. Sicily was definitely taking after her dad she enjoyed watching cars and sports she was always eager to go to as many of Charles racing events as possible. Charles was excited for the day they could put her in karting and build her career in racing. As of right now Sicily was enrolled in soccer and she was loving it, as well as the fact she was very good at it sure it was only junior soccer but everyone knew there was a talent their. Sicily loved all animals , the colour green and she loved the outdoors always insisting on trips to the park to hang upside down on the monkey bars , or climbing a tree whenever she got the chance. Her favourite uncle was by far Arthur she loved to rough around with him Sicily was also the most talkative child of the three always speaking her opinion in a sense she had very little filter. Sometimes Indy wonders if she has two brothers instead of a brother and a sister as the two younger siblings are very similar. 

Remy was the youngest and only boy of the leclercs. He was loving but wild just like his middle sister he loved running around and he would climb on anything and everything. He loved dinosaurs and cars as a typical boy. Of course Charles was in love with the fact two out of three of his kids were obsessed with racing as he was excited that they were following his passion. Remy loved sweets he would often spend time baking with you any type of cake or biscuit although most of the batter was normally eaten after. Even though he was super crazy he was not your craziest,  child that went to Sicily as he was still super soft and loving, he loved cuddles on the couch at night and he enjoyed telling everyone in his family how much he loved them. He was the only child who had inherited Charles curls it’s seems and you loved taking care of them and styling his hair just as much as Remy did. Remy was an energetic Aries, he loved the colour green and blue, and at this stage in his life he was obsessed with any animal he could find , he was obsessed with bring snails and bugs in claiming them as pets until you and Charles explained that their home was outside. He was majorly addicted to anything dinosaur one day he plans on meeting a dinosaur you weren’t sure how but let the kid dream. His favrouite uncle like his uncle was Lorenzo as although Lorenzo was quite mellow he felt comfortable around Lorenzo as he was the calm to his crazy. Currently he was very involved in tennis as it got the energy out but also it wasn’t a team sport as although he was wild Remy was still learning to be comfortable engaging in conversation with someone other then his Mum, Dad and sisters so tennis was the perfect sport for him and there was no doubt in the fact he was good at it as everyone in the Leclerc family had those sporting genes in them. 

[zeta-in-de-walls]

TommyInnit Times article

Hey, so Tommy apparently did an Interview for the Times. I’m copy and pasting the whole Times article for those who can’t access it. It’s a nice read. Enjoy!

If you’ve never heard of Tom Simons — aka TommyInnit — your children most definitely have. The 18-year-old gamer from Nottingham is one of the world’s most successful online streamers, with 40 million followers across all social platforms hanging on his every (loud) word and anarchic in-joke. You know, the kind of shouty Minecraft-related banter that tweens and teens find hilarious but leaves their parents baffled.

There’s no doubt he’s a master of his craft, with Guinness world records for most viewers of a Minecraft livestream on Twitch, the gamers’ platform, and most followed Minecraft channel. His net worth is estimated to be $10 million. His live show in July at the Brighton Dome sold out within 24 hours and he had a book published this week. Not many gamers make that crossover, or have their first interview in The Times come to that.

Simons must be one of the richest self-made 18-year-olds in the country and has a running joke with his subscribers that he’s a billionaire. (It’s presumably a joke, but he won’t be drawn.) “It’s cool I’m set up for life, but it doesn’t feel relevant to who I am. I don’t spend very much,” he says. “It hasn’t changed how pissed off I was when they upped the cost of the bus fare by 10p to £1.30.” He seems to mean it. This summer he visited fellow YouTube millionaires in their mansions and on private jets in LA, but he’s content living in the two-bedroom flat in Brighton he bought from his landlord, and his mum still orders him a Tesco shop occasionally.

He’s definitely got one over on the kids at his secondary school in Nottingham who made fun of him after they discovered Channelnutpig, the first gaming channel he set up on YouTube aged 11. He was mortified and took it down immediately. “You want to fit in and make friends, and in year 7 you’re beginning to understand that girls exist,” he says. “So it wasn’t that cool shouting, ‘Hello everyone, it’s me, Tom!’ on my channel every week and have people play that back in front of you.”

Two years later he migrated to Twitch, again streaming Minecraft videos and filming banter with his online friends, and at 14 began the TommyInnit YouTube channel that now has 11.8 million subscribers. This time he kept it secret. “Every time we’d be in a science lesson and they’d show an educational video my eyes would be glued to the ‘recommended’ on YouTube in case I popped up and people found out. I kept that secret for so long. I had 100,000 subscribers when people started finding out. “When I got to 100,000 there was this weird new respect everyone had for me. I’d walk through the hallway and they would still glare at me, but no one would shove me. It was like I had a force field around me. It was so strange. I remember a week before someone getting me in a headlock and shoving me around. I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve levelled up!’ ”

Was he bullied at school? He pauses. “Just normal arseholes, not anything more than anyone else. I was quite quiet. I just teetered on the edge of being funny enough that people wouldn’t beat me up. If someone was shoving me around I’d just make jokes and they’d leave me alone. But also funny enough that no one thought I was cool. At all. Which is the exact place I’m in now really.”

Simons is more quiet, thoughtful and endearing in person than he is on his channels or in the book, a collection of silly quotes and zany ramblings. He’s a self-confessed nerd (“My dad and I are massive nerds”) and says that his audience are mostly “the people I would hang out with at school, who were awkward like me”. He adds, “I’m quite anxious in real life, but I’ve always been very social on the internet. If you message someone and they ignore you, who cares? It’s not real life.”

He believes that most of his fans are aged between 14 and 20, but he knows that a lot of younger kids tune in for the Minecraft banter (or possibly the swearing). A year ago he started a YouTube channel under his own name to make real-life videos that now has 5.6 million followers. It’s free to subscribe — his earnings come from the advertising. He recently spent a month in New York vlogging his daily antics, such as I’m literally Spider-Man, in which he dressed up as the superhero, and Making 100 Friends in 1 Day.

Why does he think he’s so successful when there are others creating content along the same lines? He’s perceptive in his answer. “I think it’s the loud funniness — me having fun with my friends. But there’s also this element of warmness. It’s welcoming and safe,” he says. “It’s never toxic or preying on other people. Nothing is at the expense of anyone else. It’s better for the world not to say the easy, rude joke or the put-downs. There’s so much of that on YouTube.”

He says that his parents have always been supportive. His dad, Iain, was in the gaming industry, owning an arcade in Nottingham before setting up the GameCity festival. He now works with his son.

Simons’s mum, Sarah, is an actor-turned-English teacher for adults with disabilities who set up the further education group, UKFEchat on Twitter. “She was on Twitter long before I was,” he says. “Now she has a cool internet personality advising people how to keep safe online.”

She was less cool, he admits, when his GCSEs were approaching in 2020. “She sat me down and said, ‘Right, you have 100,000 subscribers and that’s really good, but you need to take school seriously. I know you’re not revising and your grades are dropping.’ She was right — I was getting grade 3s in science. Then that week we went into a global pandemic and I didn’t do a minute of revision as the exams were cancelled.” He ended up with a very respectable collection of GCSEs, including a 9 (the top grade) in English language. “It was the perfect amount of ‘mum points’ I needed to spend the [lockdowns] in my bedroom making videos.”

He then went to college to study for a BTEC in film and TV. By now he was vlogging and would spend time out filming. “Near the start of the second year I remember saying to my tutor, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t make it in very much.’ He said, ‘Listen, I shouldn’t say this, but we’re teaching you the thing you’re already doing so if I were you I would drop out.’ So I did. I started college with a million [subscribers] and ended it with ten million.”

When his schoolfriends were studying for their A-levels this summer, Simons already had his own flat in Brighton, renting then buying it. However, he says: “A lot of people want to live a lavish life and I just don’t. Mum still orders me a Tesco shop occasionally and will say, ‘I knew you needed groceries.’ I’ll say, ‘How on earth did you know that from Nottingham?’ ”

He says that his parents were no pushovers when he was younger and his dad refused to let him play Grand Theft Auto 5, even though his friends were allowed. “He said: ‘It’s got strippers in; you murder in that game. You’re 12, you can’t look at that, I’m sorry.’ They were really on top of it because they understood [gaming] and they communicated with me about it. When it turned into a career, they said, ‘OK, it’s important. We get it.’ But they’d still make sure I didn’t stay in my room all day. I’d still have to walk the dogs and [we’d] have dinner as a family.”

Simons doesn’t know how his career will unfold. He’s also getting used to being recognised. “Walking through Brighton I can hear my name being whispered all around me. It was a big adjustment. I became a bit scared of people after being inside for a year [during the pandemic]. I forgot how big the world was beyond my screen, but I’m loving it now.”

TommyInnit Says . . . The Quote Book by Tom Simons, curated and edited by Wilbur Soot, is published by Quercus, £14.99

[outlanderfandomfollies]

MIK s2e2: MĀORI CULTURE: Sam recalls some poignant moments when he gets a Māori "moko"

After reading a post about a TV Line recap of MIK episode 202, I decided to watch this episode about Māori culture for myself. I was touched by the scenes where Sam and Graham each tell their stories in the process of getting a nonpermanent version of a "moko" (or tā moko), a deeply meaningful form of tattoo in the Māori culture.

Tā moko artist Hohua Mohi explains that someone who wants a moko will "sit down for a good hour" and start talking about some part of their life that is meaningful, like their family, where they came from, etc. As they are talking, the moko artist is drawing, and consequently, every moko is unique and very personal.

The Story Behind Sam's Moko

SAM: Well my dad left, when I was, uh, very young, three years old, so I didn't--I didn't know him at all. HOHUA: Yeah. SAM: I actually didn't know his name.

SAM: And uh, my mum brought me up with my elder brother in the south of Scotland. She's--she's been very, very strong my whole life. And she struggled, I think, to look after two young boys.

SAM: Um, and it probably wasn't until I was… mid-20s that I finally, uh, met my dad. And, actually, very recently, I got to see him just before he died, which was uh, incredible, just to learn about him and his life.

SAM: And, uh, we spent a few days together. I work a lot, and I'm very fortunate. But I always put it first. So I guess, uh, relationships are difficult.

Sam's Moko Explained and Revealed

HOHUA: So, if you look at it, it talks about your--your father. It talks about your dad and then your brother in here. This manaia here represents your mum. And so it's obviously facing upwards. SAM: Yeah. HOHUA: I've been giving you advice. SAM: Ah, so she's been giving me advice, mm.

HOHUA: And if you look at it, rather than just follow a single line, all of these colors, they branch off, they branch off, they branch off. SAM: Yeah, yeah. HOHUA: And it was-- They came from you talking about how you wanted-- ultimately, you know, you don't know whether or not you're gonna settle down there, but you- you want to go and see the world. SAM: Somewhere else, yeah, yeah. HOHUA: So that's what--that's what this will remind you of. You know? SAM: Different branches.

HOHUA: Yeah, but also, no matter which way you branch off, never forget where... [speaking native language] SAM: Wow. HOHUA: Hmm. SAM: My friend. [shakes hand] So beautiful. GRAHAM: That is really-- SAM: Thank you so much. GRAHAM: It's pretty. SAM: Isn't that awesome?

SAM: A strange experience as well. GRAHAM: A unique experience. SAM: Yeah, just also very personal. It felt like going to therapy a little bit. GRAHAM: Yeah. SAM: But, uh, very, very honored. GRAHAM: Yeah. Yeah. Really, thank you so much.

Being a therapist myself, it seemed to me that the process of getting a moko is very much a therapeutic experience. The person getting a moko focuses inwardly and shares important parts of their past that define who they are. The moko artist appears not to be judgmental and listens at a deep level. Then the artist presents the moko, which is a visual symbol of something very unique about the person. And they also give verbal feedback to the person about what they have understood to be the essence of their story.

Sounds like a "therapeutic" encounter to me!

[edited]

___________ NOTE: Images of Sam's moko were enhanced for clarity and to accentuate the colors. Thanks @thetruthwilloutsworld for making the TV Line Recap post. I'd never watched any episode of MIK before. I'm glad I watched this episode. I enjoyed learning about Māori culture, as well as finding out more about Sam's and Graham's personal backgrounds.