#//i'm not very good at writing romance

[draininkiss]

What's a Blue Daisy Mean? (Sonic x Amy)

I saw this post by Junichi Kanemaru (voice of Sonic) where Taeko Kawata (voice of Amy) gifted him a blue daisy with a cute note in-character. Even though the roles are reversed, I just wrote it naturally as it came to my mind. It's not proofread, so there may be some mistakes in punctuation. I'm sorry in advance.

“Augh! Sonic, I just don’t get you sometimes!” “What’s there to get?” Amy couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as she slapped him on his shoulder. “You not only called me out here in the middle of nowhere, but you rush by doing your boost thing once, twice, three times, hand me a flower – a blue daisy for that matter – and then you claim we aren’t on a date?” 

She looked away from him as they walked, trying to control her breathing so she wouldn’t crumple the flower’s stem in her hands from her frustration.

“What am I supposed to think about that? That we’re still just friends?” Sonic sniffed and rubbed his nose to soothe the itch, his blue quills jostling with the slight breeze. “Is there something wrong with being my friend?” He looked over at her, eyes half-lidded and a coquettish smile on his face, “I think you ought to be grateful I’m not running away from you like I used to.” “So you admit you did it on purpose?” “Yeah.” “Just to mess with me?” “Yep!” “And you somehow don’t think that’s a problem?” “Not in particular, no.” Crunch. The grass gave way to Sonic’s weight as he suddenly sat down, causing Amy to nearly jump out of her own skin from the unexpected shock. “Sonic!” She turned to look at him, “What is it now?” With a loud, toothy yawn, Sonic began to snore loudly in faux-sleep. His tan chest heaved up and down in an exaggerated manner, body so unnaturally stiff you’d think he was a corpse being reanimated by the forces of nature. “Sonic,” Amy said in a stern voice, her shadow blanketing over him as the sunlight hit her bare back, “I’m not in the mood to play around.” “Who said I was playing?” Sonic countered, “I’m trying to sleep – it’s exhausting having to deal with people all day, you know?” “You barely talk to anyone outside of PR speak!” “I talk to Tails!” “He’s your little brother! Of course you’re gonna talk to him! You live in the same house!” Opening one eye, he gave a toothy grin before sighing and rolling over onto his stomach dramatically, “Ah, and what an unfortunate circumstance that is!” Crunch crunch. So she was going to walk away and pout this time, huh? “You know, I’m surprised you’re not offering your house to me,” Sonic chided, holding himself up with his elbows, “The old Amy would have jumped at the opportunity to share a room with me.” “Not true,” She placed the daisy behind her ear, already tired of holding it, “Even back then, I would have had you sleep on the couch. I was infatuated with you, but not your wet fur smell.” “It’s gritty! It’s natural! If anything, you’re weird for smelling like strawberries all the time!”

“You really don’t like strawberries, do you?”

“I ate one that was a slug motel when I was a kid,” An involuntary shiver caused him to jostle and assume a sitting position, “Been grossed out by them ever since.”

She turned suddenly on her heel, nearly slipping as the wet dirt shifted with her, “And you didn’t think to tell me?!?”

“You obviously like them, so no, I wasn’t gonna.”

“But that’s just terrible! I was here enjoying myself, thinking I smell great, and now you’re telling me I reminded you of when you ate slugs by accident as a kid! Why wouldn’t you just tell me to my face that I was gross!”

“Because you aren’t gross,” He corrected, “Strawberries are gross.”

She walked over to him and crouched down on the balls of her toes, wincing as she tried her hardest not to get her dress covered in dirt. Before she could think too hard about it, though, Sonic had sat her down by the trunk of a tree, disorienting her as she felt her back hit the tree with a sudden thud.

“You know, if I had known you were so clumsy, I wouldn’t have had your face printed on my bedroom rug.”

“Oh really?”

“...Okay, maybe I would have. What’s this about me not being gross then?”

“Every hero needs an admiring fan… I’ve got a natural charisma, so you chasing me around was never off-putting. The sudden back-breaking hugs were, yeah, but I never minded seeing you.”

“I’d mind seeing me! I was so insecure that you had forgotten me, after I got a makeover and everything…” She pursed her lips, flattening down her quills which had been unruly from the humid summer air.

“Forget you? Pssh, nah!” Subtly, he put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so she was leaning on his chest, “I was a bit confused since I didn’t recognize you with the new look, but no one could ever forget a voice like yours going ‘SONIC!’”

“Sonic!”

He started laughing as she pulled away from him, the loud, raucous sounds dying down into snide chuckles as her peachy-pale muzzle glowed pink like the rest of her.

“You’re the worst person ever! You don’t deserve to be called a hero! Jerk! Creep!”

She began to punch him lightly on his head, his ears folding down as he quickly started to laugh again. A light huff signified the pink hedgehog was done with her onslaught of blows, and so she assumed her position next to him as she had, her arms crossed as she readjusted the blue daisy that was inches from Sonic’s nose.

“Do you know what a blue daisy means, by the way?”

“I know blue flowers usually mean something impossible. I’m just grateful you didn’t pick a rose.”

“So you read up on flower language too? Great! Then I guess I don’t have to explain what it means.”

With that, he took the flower from her hair and began to fan out its petals with his fingers, gloved cotton scratching against the delicate daisy as Amy looked over with an apprehensive glance.

“... This isn’t your way of rejecting me, is it? I’d rather you just tell me directly if I’m causing an issue.”

“Nope,” Sonic kept his gaze forward, his fingers still fanning out the petals, “I’m guessing you haven’t read about blue daisies in any of the books you bought from the department store.”

“Sonic, I…” She sighs, “No, they don’t have a chapter on blue flowers in any commonly sold book.”

“Figured. Well, if you need to know what this means, it means good health and a long life! If you ever stopped following me, I’d think the worst had happened to you, Amy.”

Shock. She didn’t really know how to reply to that, so she didn’t.

“I’ve never known you to be insecure about your feelings. I can’t really say everything that’s really on my mind – I’m very critical of my thoughts and my surroundings – so I’m surprised you’d think I’m bothered by you being around me.”

She bit her lip and looked away from him, placing her hands in her lap as she let him keep talking.

“Amy, I’m a pretty spontaneous person. Tails has always been living alone just like me, so I’m not too worried if Eggman shows up at his house, since it’s my house. But you? You’re just a regular girl. You live in an apartment and you buy groceries, for crying out loud! Tails buys groceries, yeah, but he does it in a mech-turned-race-car. Even Rouge doesn’t entirely adjust to human life like you do.”

“So you’re just saying you pity me because I’m just a city girl? Is that it, Sonic?”

“Hey, don’t get snappy! I’m not finished!” He chided her, one hand held up to act as a barrier from her grit teeth.

“I’m saying you’re really strong despite being a city girl, Amy. I don’t wanna disrupt your life any more than I already have. Little Planet, I just thought you were an annoying groupie - I’ve dealt with my fair share of those… but maybe I was wrong about it.”

She looked up at him as he began to rise from the tree trunk’s roots, carefully placing the daisy behind her ear as she felt her cheeks heat up all over again.

“Look, I’m not the type of guy to be in a relationship now,” She could only see his back as he began to walk away from her, “But that doesn’t mean I’m entirely opposed to the idea.”

Before she could get up or even say anything, he was gone. It was like she had just walked herself to this field alone, the only real indication he had been there being the blue daisy behind her ear.

She groaned in frustration as she balled her fists and began to stomp her feet in the dirt.

“Sonic, I really, really don’t understand you!”

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[theroundbartable]

After watching Bridgerton season 3 part one I have taken to read the accommodating novel as well and find myself befuddled with how strongly the language has affected my own writing. It may be noticeable. Don't worry, it's a fleeting affliction.

Anyway. I really liked Polin this season. Ignoring Season 2, I found Penelope so captivating and they really teased us with that final smile of hers, didn't they? That was perhaps the only real smile she's given is in 3 entire seasons. That was radiant, I tell you. I like that her book version managed to make her own fortune but the whole Stunt with defending her legacy was very reckless. She's smarter than that.

Now, Colin Bridgerton... I definitely prefer show Colin. He's awkward and a little confused and very much an oblivious puppy. He's trying to fit in but never really does and never really wants to either. But he's a little guy and I can't actually be angry with him.

Book Colin - that's a feral cat, if not a literal racoon! What happened?!?! He was so sweet in the beginning I wanted to punch him in the face and then he turns all possessive and jealous of her and physical and my mind went from awww to "red flag, red flag" in an INSTANT.

Very worth the read, but I honestly don't get what she sees in him. Racoon! Possibly with rabies.

I saw a post here recently, saying that show Polin realised that we think consent is sexy. And yes, that. Definitely that. I'm very worried about book Penelope.

[redstarfish-art]

Nico: You're just not my type. *walks off* Percy: ... Percy: ..... Percy: ...... Annabeth: Percy, are you okay? You're still my type. Percy: *turns to Annabeth very slowly* Percy: Were guys always an option? Annabeth: O_O

[fictionadventurer]

Maybe love triangles work better in classic books because, well first off, because sex isn't really mentioned. Most people's complaint about YA love triangles is that it devolves into "I can't decide which one is hotter." Physical attraction is an element of romance in classic literature, but it's rarely the only one, and you're not going to have the same kind of in-depth descriptions of how standing near a guy causes heat or tingling sensations or whatever. Physical attraction in classic literature is more about what draws someone to another person, while the YA approach is more often about the feelings the other person causes within you, which makes the YA approach feel much more self-centered.

But I also think the different approaches to courtship may be a factor. The other big reason people hate YA love triangles is because the girl is "stringing along" two guys and "not making up her mind." This seems to be tied to assumptions of dating culture--even in the exploration stage when a girl isn't thinking about lifelong commitments, she needs to be in an exclusive relationship, otherwise she's being emotionally unfaithful. (And if she's kissing two separate boys, she's straight-up cheating).

In a lot of classic literature, the relationship only becomes exclusive during the engagement. Before that, the woman is just living her life, meeting men who could be romantic options, but not necessarily pursuing any individual one. She does have to be careful so guys don't interpret her behaviors as romantic interest, because it doesn't take much to be seen as flirtatious and "drawing men in". But she can still be around multiple men and getting to know them without it necessarily feeling like she's "stringing them along". (And she's not likely to be kissing these guys the way a modern YA heroine would). This gives her more opportunity to slowly get to know these guys without being pressured to choose just one at this early stage.

[transannabeth]

for research purposes (genuinely), i'm looking to make a list of what people consider Required Viewing™ (or reading) in terms of vampire fiction. while specifically this research is for paranormal romance, other iconic vampire fiction that add to the canon would be much appreciated. i would especially be interested in any stories about non western vampiric creatures since they are absolutely out there!

some (but not all!) of my current list includes

dracula by bram stoker

carmilla by sheridan le fanu

interview with the vampire by anne rice

twilight by stephenie meyer (yeah i know)

the awakening by l. j. smith

[daddy-long-legssss]

The Story Behind The Song: Arctic Monkeys’ early ambitions on ‘A Certain Romance’

Lucy Harbron – Far Out Magazine | January 17, 2024

It was 2006. Mortgages were crashing, and businesses were going bust. Tony Blair was on his last legs in office as the longest-serving prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, and the hangover of ‘Cool Brittania’ was beginning to set in with an unexpected ferocity. Things were bleak when a young Alex Turner sang, “There ain’t no romance around there” through the public’s speakers. Arctic Monkeys were about to write themselves into musical history as the voice of a new generation.

The final song on their debut album, there has always been something special about ‘A Certain Romance’. In 2022, after the release of their seventh album, The Car, Turner seemed to find himself reflecting back on that 2006 track. To the musician, that early cut holds a clue to everything that was to come as he said the piece “showed that we did actually have these ambitions beyond what we once thought we were capable of”.

Coming in at over the five-minute mark, ‘A Certain Romance’ almost feels like the Arctic Monkeys’ version of a rock opera, summarising all the themes, feelings and energy that came before it on their seminal album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. It has the cheekiness of ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’ and the catchy instrumentals of hits like ‘Dancing Shoes’ or ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’. Utilising the northern charm of ‘Mardy Bum’, it stands as a final, neatly summarising point on the social commentary found in their early tracks like ‘From The Ritz To The Rubble’ or ‘Riot Van’. Really, it could be argued that ‘A Certain Romance’ is the ultimate example of Arctic Monkeys’ original sound, perfectly encapsulating all the things that made the world listen up and pay attention.

It’s like they seemed to know that, too, always allowing the song a special place. In fact, it was really the band’s opening remark. Years before the offer of a debut album came around, the group were a well-oiled machine with their own local hits. They had the northern live music scene in their hands as their homemade demo CD was passed around like everyone’s worst-kept secret. Beneath the Boardwalk features eight out of the 13 songs that would be on Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, albeit in a slightly different, lower-quality version. But the opening number, ‘A Certain Romance’, sounds just the same.

It’s all there, from the rolling opening drums to that final guitar solo. Recorded and produced in a rented studio at only age 17, the existence of ‘A Certain Romance’, one of the band’s most explorative and energetic numbers, in this form this early in their career feels like a diamond sitting in a mine. It proves that they were always onto something special.

They never needed any help. In fact, their producer, Jim Abbiss, noted that they even seemed nervous about the help. “I think they were probably a bit weary, like ‘who’s this guy? And is he gonna make our sound this or that.’”

They didn’t want anything to change too much, as the group already had the songs figured out. Turner certainly did, as the track’s meandering narrative about hometown lads, fights, and local boredom is already there. Talking on a podcast, original member Andy Nicholson revealed the story behind the song. “We had a practice room with a pool table in, and we had a party in there, and we invited another band who were friends of ours, and we all had some drinks,” he said. “Then something happened, someone throws a pool cue, someone throws a pool ball, and everyone ends up fighting,” he added, explaining the lyrics, “there’s boys in bands / And kids who like to scrap with pool cues in their hands.”

But the magic of Arctic Monkeys lies in their nuance. What begins as a snooty analysis of his local landscape is a genuinely affectionate take. “Well, over there, there’s friends of mine / What can I say? I’ve known ’em for a long long time / And, yeah, they might overstep the line / But you just cannot get angry in the same way,” Turner sings, looking around at his bandmates and lifelong friends. ‘A Certain Romance’ is not only a time capsule for the group’s beginnings but is an ode to all the people who were there with them. It’s an ode to the hometown that made them and all its various characters.

But as the last guitar solo roars to life, there is an unspoken statement that they’re going to be bigger than what they came from. “I remember when we were recording ‘A Certain Romance’ and having a conversation with the producer about the final guitar solo,” Turner told NME, recalling the moment these songs were reworked for their debut. But they wouldn’t let anyone mess with ‘A Certain Romance’, knowing exactly what they were doing and trying to say with that one. In the 2003 demo version, all the feeling is already there, and Turner wouldn’t risk it.

“There’s something that happens at the end of that track where we break some rules in a single moment,” he continued. What happens at the end of the piece feels even more special, considering how the album was recorded. “These are the songs we wanna do, and I think this is the order we wanna do them in,” Alex Turner told their producer, recounting the conversation in 2007 to RadioX, “And he goes, ‘alright, we’ll try to record them in that order as well.’” As the final song, that last guitar solo is the last thing recorded for the album, standing as a cathartic outlet and a chance for the band to prove themselves.

“We focused on the [emotional] effect of the instrumentals over the words,” Turner reflected on the track, concluding, “and I feel like we’ve been trying to do that again and again since then.”

+

[ratwithhands]

I never get to post about this AU so this prompt had me PUMPED!!! This is Emmet from my Stelleret AU, where he made a deal with a star weaving, soul eating, spider Ultra Beast in order to find Ingo. He gave up his physical body for Stelleret's interdimensional/time travelling powers on the condition that he would continue to feed it. So they fused and now Emmet's a weird monster thing trying to manage the hunger of the other soul in the vessel and also find Ingo, wherever he is. There's more but I don't want to bore the audience rn ^^* if I have time I might post doodles/sketches, since this is one of my favourite AUs I've written but also very tedious and longwinded to explain. Anyways, hope you guys like the art and have a good day!

[gigantomachylesbian]

Guys. I did not know before now that writing could be painfully millennial in a full prose book but the pho*nix ke*per has proven me wrong and I have to complain about it in the tags

[elboxitracio]

Now why would my dad, this cishet construction worker pushing 60 who spend his life watching only action movies and the occasional comedy movie, suddenly got VERY into mostly romantic K-dramas ??

[the-official-account]

I can't write fanfiction anymore. got burnt out of pretending I care about fucking for kudos and now everything I write is a thinnly veiled fantasy that boils down to "What if it were possible to be loved despite being. Somewhat strange" spoken with awe and reverence

[my-current-obsession]

My hyper-specific type when it comes to otome guys:

- Absolutely pathetic - Cannot speak to a girl normally to save his life - Tries to be calm/aloof, but turns tsundere when flustered enough - A good and pure man at heart, yet does some questionable things - ...Little Red Riding Hood???

[milfbrainrot]

have always been a bit more neutral to timebomb but it has rly surprisingly grown on me so much ;-; i think i do see it more from the tragedy angle and maybe more one-sided. i'm not sure jinx has ever been in a place to reciprocate the feelings i'm sure ekko has, but it is nice to think about for years down the line and in terms of what could have been.

[hikarry]

Whats your idea of a perfect date

Perfect date? In my eyes, it's all about the little things.

I don't have a license and I don't want to have one, but it would start with a good drive while I play passenger princess, enjoying the open road. I don't trust myself behind a wheel, but I love being driven around, I love velocity and long long trips. Sometimes I do enjoy the car drive more than the destination, but welp

Stopping by a pub or a dark, smoky bar with a jazz band playing in the background. Good drinks, good music...or a cafe and share a good cappuccino - each with their own. I dunnot share my caffeine

Followed by a moonlit stroll in a beautiful park by a river, ending with… watching the stars together

Sitting on a rooftop with a view of the city could also be fun, even though I'm afraid of heights

Maybe some more pleasurable activities afterwards, if we feel so inclined

But, alas, I don't exactly believe in perfect dates. Life is too messy and unpredictable for perfectly curated moments.

[coolspacequips]

Have been reading this sci-fi romance and like UGH u ever really wish a book was just at least a little better??? There's stuff in this that's interesting but also a lot about it that's so... Juvenile and kinda undercooked lol...... But it's so hard finding good romance bc for a lot of romance readers this is enough, except even then not really since they prolly didn't fuck nasty enough in this book for the ppl that just need the merest pretense to read smut (which is fine if that's what u like there's just an oversaturation of this, esp when you can have a light plot/heavy smut story with slightly better writing and internal world building without having to explain and describe the 'boring' parts 😅)

[i-cast-zone-of-truth]

I'm not saying cloud strife CAN'T have a romantic relationship. i'm just saying that during the story, he has several Most Important Relationships, and elevating one above the rest as The Romance overwrites something really special!!