#'this is a romance story so the goal is to Get The Couple Together'

[pucksandpower]

Max Verstappen x Leclerc!Reader - Social Media AU

formulagossip added to their story

f1wagupdates

Liked by lightsoutmax, verstappenupdates, and 152,836 others

f1wagupdates Max Verstappen spotted leaving his hotel with a mystery woman this morning after celebrating winning his third World Championship last night. According to sources, the two partied together with the team and friends at a club following his victory before heading back to the hotel. Her face is hidden but rumor has it this could be a new romance for the World Champ. Looks like Max is enjoying the spoils of another successful season!

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lightsoutmax probably just a random groupie, max isn’t the relationship type

dutchlioness no way that’s a groupie

f1wagupdates i’m inclined to agree, they look pretty serious!

formulanone am i crazy or does that look like y/n leclerc to anyone else?

redbulletin you’re crazy

gridgossip i mean i wouldn’t be surprised. i bet this has been going on for a while between them! it would explain how she got the CTO job out of nowhere

f1girlie or she got it because she’s qualified and was literally trained by adrian newey to take over for him? it’s 2024, leave the misogyny at the door

maddermax i don’t think max would get involved with someone from his team

circuitqueen she looks so familiar but i can’t place her! it’s driving me crazy

verstappenupdates whoever she is, i need more details! our world champion’s love life is suddenly looking very interesting 😍

survivetodrive you need to learn how to stay out of drivers’ business

rblover for real! let the man live

maxverstappen1

Liked by y/n_leclerc, redbullracing, and 2,094,617 others

maxverstappen1 Five World Championships!

This one feels extra special because I get to celebrate with the love of my life who has been by my side for over three incredible years now ❤️

So I want to dedicate this championship to Y/N

Seeing Y/N thrive as Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer and pursue her passion for motorsport after everything she has been through has been so special. Her brilliance and determination inspire me daily, both on and off the track. And her contributions to the team have been invaluable to our success. I am so lucky to have such an incredible partner to share these championships with

Winning races and championships is great but sharing my life with someone as smart, driven and caring as Y/N is the greatest gift I could ever ask for. I truly am the luckiest guy in the world. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us both. Here’s to many more years of continuing to chase our dreams together!

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redbullracing our world champion found his perfect match! wishing you both continued success and happiness 🤩

christianhorner so proud of you two. the ultimate power couple!

danielricciardo i knew something was going on there. congrats you two!

maxverstappen1 you don’t have to pretend like you didn’t know about us

y/n_leclerc you literally third-wheeled our last date night … and the one last month … and the one over summer break

y/n_leclerc i love you with all my heart, champion! thank you for always being my biggest supporter. so blessed to have you in my life 🥰

charles_leclerc how could you do this, y/n? after everything our family did for you?

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verstappenupdates our guy is all grown up 🥹 you two are goals!

f1wagupdates omg! when did this happen??? why has it been a secret for so long?

lightsoutmax pretty sure they got together the year before y/n was hired by red bull

redbulletin and they probably kept it a secret because people would have found a way to twist it into something negative

officialorangearmy relationship goals to the max! you two are perfect together 🧡

y/n_leclerc

Liked by maxverstappen1, redbullracing, and 473,825 others

y/n_leclerc What a season! Winning a double championship for the second time feels so surreal. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my incredible team at Red Bull Racing who made this possible through their tireless hard work. We did it 🏆

And most of all, I am grateful for my incredible partner. Max, you’ve supported me every step of the way, encouraging me to follow my dreams and become who I was meant to be. You showed me what true unconditional love feels like

I am where I am now because of you. Your spirit pushes me to achieve greatness. Your kindness lifted me up when I needed it most. Your smile keeps me going on tough days. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate in life ❤️

The future is so bright for us. I can’t wait to see what we create together next. I love you! Let’s keep aiming for the stars ✨

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maxverstappen1 you make me so proud every day! loving and winning with you feels incredible. can’t wait for the rest of our lives together ❤️

redbullracing the ultimate teammate on and off the track! you two are unstoppable 👊

christianhorner red bull is lucky to have such a power pair leading our team. more glory to come!

danielricciardo you guys are relationship goals! congrats champs

charles_leclerc how long until you throw away this “fairytale” like you did our family?

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*this user has been blocked*

y/n_leclercfanpage our inspiring queen found her king! you give us hope that dreams do come true

f1girlie not me literally crying tears of joy 😭 they are so perfect together

womeninmotorsport seeing powerful women thrive in f1 gives me life 👏

[iinsertblognamee]

Buzzfeed; The 10 Times Sam Kerr and Y/N Arnold Made Us Believe in Love

any pictures are just for illustrative purposes, no face claim

10. They've Known Each Other for Years Before They (Finally) Started to Date

As many Matildas fans may be aware, the couple had met on the field back in 2011 when Y/N made her debut for the national team. It was Caitlin Foord (Matildas team member) who spilled the beans years later, claiming that from the moment they met, that was it. Although the pair weren't hiding their attraction to each other - when Y/N scored the second goal against Norway sending them into the next stage of the World Cup, Sam had been seen kissing Y/N during the celebration.

Picture Left; Westfield Matildas FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 squad Picture Right; Y/N Arnold scoring the second goal for Australia against Norway

In later years, Arnold was asked about the attraction between her and teammate Kerr, and she answered "We were both young when we met, she (Kerr) had taken me under her wing and a great friendship bloomed because of it. I think it was very much puppy love, rushed and a little naive - the rush of sneaking around and all that was thrilling and we liked each other enough to fall into it I guess. Feelings got hurt in the process and we removed ourselves (from the fling) before it could get too serious. She's always been my friend first and I think that really stood true during the following years and when we were both older and more mature we decided to go for it again - and here we are."

Clip; '21 Questions with Chelsea's Sam Kerr' The Women's Football.

Bonus; While being interviewed Sam Kerr admitted that she had a crush on Y/N Arnold from the moment she met her, although she didn't think the feeling was mutual. "It was our first training session together (Y/N and Sam), and we had been paired up and I was just so distracted by her that I kicked the ball too strong and hit her right in the face." she continued to explain, "I thought well that's my chance gone, though Y/N was so nice about it and even joked that she'd be able to tell our kids all about it later. Always nice to hear your crush talk about your non-existent kids." The interviewer adds, "Did she end up telling your daughter?" Sam nods her head as she laughs "It's one of Delilah's (Sam and Y/N's Daughter) favourite bedtime stories"

Turns out not even Sam Kerr can escape having a crush on Y/N Arnold. Do we blame her?

9. They Rekindled Their Romance in 2015 when both were signed on by Sky Blue FC

Picture Left; Y/N Arnold and Sam Kerr Picture Right; Y/N Arnold, Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr

Both girls were signed on in 2015, joining Matildas team member and friend, Caitlin Foord. It's not certain what exactly happened during the off-season between the pair but by the time they were both on the field the attraction to each other was obvious.

One incident included when Y/N had been involved in a rough tackle, Kerr running to aid where fans spotted Sam planting kisses on her forehead as she was looked over by the team medic. At the end of the game when asked about the incident Sam simply said " I went to check on my teammate".

Clip; Interview with Sam Kerr regarding the game

Although we don't know what was said between the pair or if kisses were shared, we can't deny the chemistry the two have.

Dating rumours started after that match, with a 'source close to the couple' claiming that 'the pair had been living together for months and were very happy. Although the hit Y/N had taken a few days before had put everything in perspective for the pair. The two of them are ready to take that next step and come out to the public'.

These claims sent fans into a spin, asking both Kerr and Arnold as well as the other Sky Blue team members about the pair. The answer simply was that they were just 'close friends'.

8. Their love language is physical touch

'Close Friends' is one way of putting it. The pair when seen together can't seem to keep their hands off each other - and we're not mad. The public displays of affection are one we're living for.

so cute

7. They post about each other

It's no secret that these two scream 'couple goals' and continue to prove it with their Instagram posts. From birthday posts to game-day celebrations these two are each other's biggest fans. (And so are we!).

and of course with the post that started it all.

Instagram post; samanthakerr20 'Guess we should make it Instagram official'.

It was Y/N Arnold's big sister who gave us the confirmation we needed, with her comment 'Been dealing with this for years, it was bad enough in person and now I have to see it on social media too?'

6. Their Families

It's not gone unnoticed that Y/N Arnold's big sister is another Matilda star, Miss Mackenzie Arnold. Who also holds the place as one of Sam's Best Friends.

Although Sam wasn't sure that was quite the case when asked in an Interview what was one of the scariest things she's ever had to do. Her answer "Telling my girlfriend's sister (Mackenzie Arnold) that we were dating." she went on to explain that the pair had been keeping their relationship private in the first few months before Mackenzie had walked in on the two of them in a comprising position. "I just remember throwing the blanket over us and trying to explain what was happening but nothing would come out, I mean was in bed with my best friend's little sister. Y/N thankfully managed to break both me and Mac out of our shock and within seconds Macca was out the door. We ended talking later that night and I was so sure that she was going to kick my ass, but instead admitted that she had known for weeks and was seeing how long it would take for us to confess."

Thank god the two besties made it through. It seems that Sam and Mackenzie aren't the only two best friends. Y/N and Sam's sister seem to be close too, with Y/N being a part of her bridal party and the Godmother to one of her children (Along with Sam).

Picture Left; Y/N Arnold, Sam Kerr, Unknown and (Bride) Maddi Picture Right; Maddi, Sam Kerr and Maddi son (Y/N and Sam's Godson)

The Aussie girls have been seen having shared Christmas with both families and Y/N mentioned in an interview that both her mum and Sam's mum would catch up with each other - as far as sharing a hotel room when the pair would come over to London to see the girls.

Seems the Arnold-Kerr families are as tight as can be.

5. Tattoos

It's not a secret that Sam loves her tattoos, showing them off whenever given the chance. But we recently learnt that Miss Y/N Arnold had given Sam her very own tattoo tribute.

Take about permanent love.

4. A wedding

Yep. That's right, the pair got married back in 2020 with family and friends to witness just before the pandemic took over. Although we still have no pictures from the ceremony itself the honeymoon photos are just as cute.

When asked about the wedding, Sam gushed about how beautiful Y/N looked in her dress (we can imagine) and said it was the best day of her life. Although we're sad we didn't get an invite in the mail - we are very happy for the couple. And of course, at the confirmation from Y/N herself that she was now Mrs Kerr (the back of her jersey is now Arnold-Kerr)

3. A Scare

Any soccer fan knows what happened on the 11th of March 2022. The collision between Y/N Arnold and a West Ham team member had the soccer world at a still.

After the game, a statement was released explaining that Y/N was at the hospital getting medical care and would be out until further notice. It was also noted that Sam would be out for the next two games.

As scary as the situation was, Sam had been by Y/N's side the whole time, when Sam scored the next goal after Y/N had been taken off she kissed her ring finger. It didn't take long after the final whistle for both Sam and Mackenize to be off the field and making their way to Y/N.

A week later Sam posted a picture of Y/N, with a thank you for all the kind wishes.

We are just glad that Y/N was okay.

2. A baby

The pair certainly know how to surprise us - on Boxing Day in Australia (2022), Sam posted a snapshot of Y/N and a bump.

Instagram post; samanthakerr20 'hey baby & baby'

Fans (and us) went wild, the comments flowing with congratulations and support from fans, friends and family members. Although we were unsure when the baby was due, we didn't have to wait too long.

The next month (January 2023) Sam posted once again.

Instagram post; samanthakerr20 'Delilah Arnold-Kerr, 21/01/2023'

And from that the newest member of the Arnold-Kerr clan was born.

In separate interviews for the Matildas, Y/N and Sam were asked about parenthood. Y/N stating 'It's definitely crazy, I mean she's been here for three months and she's already grown so fast".

Sam commenting 'Our family and friends have been really supportive and helpful y'know. Both Y/N and I training for the World Cup so the time management with a baby and training is hectic. And of course, Y/N is just superwoman, D and I are very lucky to have her in our lives."

My favourite part was when at the end the interviewer asked how parenting looked on Sam and Y/N responded 'Well she's definitely my favourite milf'.

We 100% agree with you Y/N.

1.The World Cup

Although Sam was called out of the game due to a calf injury that didn't stop her (and baby Delilah) from cheering on the girls during the match. Every time Y/N would get the ball, a cheer could be heard from Sam. Talk about a supportive wife!

And when Sam was let back on the field the next game you best believe that Y/N cheered the loudest on the field.

But it was at the end of the game when Sam ran towards the crowd, grabbing Delilah and bringing her over to Y/N - the two of them sharing a kiss as the crowds around them cheered. Their little family is forever in our hearts.

[nouvxllev]

the girl across your street || p5 (FINAL)

Pairing: Jenna Ortega x Fem!Reader

Summary: You spent half of your life waiting for the right person to just step into your life and take over your heart by storm, someone who would think of you when they see a shooting star, someone who'd paint canvases of your face so the world would know who considered you greater than the Mona Lisa, someone who cherished you oh so dearly. Now, you can happily say with all your heart, you found her.

Words: 4.4k

Warnings: restating my statement on the previous chapter, this is the longest chapter of all lol

a/n: got a lovely suggestion from @ajortga (check out their stories btw, theyre amazing!) and an anon request for this part! i appreciate them and i wrote it to the best of my abilities.

part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || masterlist.

'...I still got love for you

Your braids like a pattern

Love you to the moon and to Saturn

Passed down like folk songs

The love lasts so long...'

"There's my favorite actress of all time, Jenna goddamn Ortega!"

You shouted with your arms out, ready for a hug, while running over to Jenna in the freezing cold. She was clad in a puffy hoodie and comfortable jogging pants, and she had her beanie on, wrapped around her head along with her own pair of headphones, preparing for the impact of your body-crushing hug.

"Y/n, y/n! No, slow down!" she screamed before toppling down to the snowy ground along with you, your arms wrapped around hers as you laughed together in harmony.

She sat up, your body going in rhythm with hers, "You really love that line, don't you?" She chuckled before cupping your cheeks with her hands. She muttered a quiet sorry, noticing how you flinched at the cold touch.

"Hey, you've finally accomplished your goal. You deserve it, Jenna." You loved saying her name, no amount of terms of endearment could ever beat the love and devotion you had for it.

Jenna looked at you, a smile covering her face as her dimples took over and her freckles became more visible to you, a sense of hopeless romance reflected in both of your eyes before pulling you in with her hands and planting her lips against yours.

It hasn't been one day since you last kissed her and oh how you missed the taste of her lips on yours. It's like your problems melted away by her scent and the taste of her lipbalm.

Before you knew it, you and Jenna had become the IT couple of the year. It even surprised you how the world knew the both of you were dating in the first place considering how Jenna never really posts on social media about her personal life and neither do you. But with how paparazzis work and how Jennas fans work harder than the devil, you can see now why your relationship with Jenna got blasted online.

Now, the two of you were the global love team, featured in commercials, advertisements for certain brands, and even you trying a hand at acting. You occasionally made appearances as Jenna's love interest in a show, though your role was more of a background character, the audience always loved seeing you together with Jenna.

In each film you directed, Jenna was sure to be in it, and she always became the character you couldn't bear to kill off even with a gun to your head.

Jenna always assured you that it was perfectly fine if her character was killed off since she's an amazing actress who pulls all her stunts so flawlessly, but watching her act getting shot in the head, stabbed, or possibly tortured in the horror movies you were set to direct? Just right in front of you? Hell, you'd rather do that to yourself with no pay.

But of course, like Jenna always ranted to you about, the entertainment industry was ass. Jenna warned you after you guys made it official that you'll be under the spotlight for a couple months, or even years. You couldn't go outside for even a minute without seeing a paparazzi literally in the bushes with a huge goddamn camera as if you can't see them. But if that was the price to pay just for Jenna to be beside you at all times, you'd deal with it even if you'll have paparazzi surrounding your coffin soon.

"Y/n?" she said, waving her hands in front of you, as if the only thing keeping you grounded was your tight grip on her waist. "I have something to tell you."

"Yeah? Yeah, sorry, what is it?"

"I'm moving in with you."

"What?"

Damn, you were certainly not ready for that.

"If— If that's okay, of course—"

"It's always okay, it's more than okay, Jenna!" You took her hands into yours, shaking them with excitement. "When are you moving? Actually, why are you moving?"

"It's been months into our relationship, y/n. I don't like how you always drive to my apartment every day just to see me." She stood up, lifting you by your grip, "also, I'm moving next week. I still have a schedule to clean up on."

You stood up alongside her, walking backward while facing Jenna as she walked beside you. "But driving to your apartment is my favorite part of the day, Jenna."

She sighed, "Okay, you choose, driving miles to my apartment or waking up beside me?"

"Definitely the latter." You picked, way too instantly, pointing a finger at her and clicking your tongue while she laughs.

"See? It'll be fun. For the both of us." She ran beside you then took your hand, pushing her body to be against yours as you smiled under your breath. Oh, how you loved being in her presence.

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

The two of you approached the front door, kicking off your shoes while Jenna placed hers gently near the entrance. You turned on the lights as you headed for the kitchen, calling out, "You want something to drink, Jenna?" while noticing Jenna was still at the doorway.

She immediately turned the corner upon hearing your voice. A small smile played on her lips as she looked over at you, one of your hands on your hips as you scanned the refrigerator for ingredients. "I'm good. Thanks, y/n."

"Make yourself at home, Jenna. Since you are moving in," you said, glancing over your shoulder. You noticed Jenna looking around your house, finding the interior and atmosphere both familiar and yet vaguely new.

"You got it fixed?" she called out after noticing the DSLR camera you always loved and adored on top of the coffee table. You had it fixed for the holidays and for Jenna, of course, considering how both of you always enjoyed making videos with it in the past. You figured it was time to revive those memories.

"Yup! I had to. Its got my treasured moments in it." You approached her. After scanning your near-empty refrigerator, you took the DSLR camera in your hands and handed it to her. "I wanted to do a Christmas special on it, this time, with you on here."

"Christmas special?" She looked up at you, smiles and all. You remained the same for her—the one who always loved making videos, even if you were too scared to post them online or just didn't have a reason to. Nonetheless, you gave your best in those videos, and it truly brought out your happiest side.

"Didn't even know that was possible. I mean, no offense, but this looked like it got run over by a bullet train." She fiddled with your camera, turning it on and scrolling through the photos and videos. She was surprised to find old videos she hadn't seen the last time she turned it on.

You chuckled at Jenna's comment. "Okay, I'll admit it was pretty busted, but I found a technician who worked wonders on it. And about the Christmas special, well, it's going to be the first video I filmed in a long while."

"Long while? You haven't filmed something in this?" She looked at you, concern filling her eyes. She always knew you were the one in the friendgroup always recording a moment, even in the past she had heard, so why stop?

You sat down with her, "Ever since you left, I haven't been able to record. Even if I did, I'd just delete it anyway. Nothing is ever perfect without you, Jenna. I didn't realize how much it meant to me until I couldn't bring myself to do it without you." Your voice dwindled down into a whisper as you took her free hand that was beside yours, gently grazing your thumb on her palm. The vulnerability in your voice was something Jenna liked about you, how you spoke your mind whenever you were with her.

"I never knew," Jenna admitted, her fingers gently intertwining with yours. "I'm sorry, y/n."

You nodded, a small smile playing on your lips before you checked your phone for the time. "Okay, sappy moment over!" You immediately stood up, putting your phone in your pocket, "I have to go and buy some groceries. Wanna to come, Jenna?"

"I'll stay if it's alright." She assured you, chuckling at how fast you got over the moment so quickly.

"More than alright. I won't be long anyway." You headed for the doorway, putting on your boots and coat, your hand already on the doorknob until you heard Jenna call out your name.

"Y/n! You forgot something!" She called out, approaching you with headphones in hand.

You looked over at her, already smiling at the fact that she was more than an inch smaller when you put on your boots. "Oh, right," you said before cupping her cheeks and giving her a quick peck on the lips, completely ignoring the fact that she was already handing you your headphones.

You gave a little wave and a quick goodbye before going out and closing the door behind you.

"Your headphones—!" Jenna called out before you were already running across the street with your hands in your pockets. Honestly, she was more surprised with your ability to forget everything in your vicinity rather than how you walked so fast.

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

Your voice from the camera echoed throughout your bedroom, the room where the both of you had confessed your love for each other. Jenna laid comfortably on your bed, the window opened as cold air flowed into the room, and your camera held up high by her hands. She was watching an old video you had filmed before, you and Jenna in her old home, filming a cooking video, she’d think you’d call it.

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

"Weeelcome to—hey Jenna, what should we name our cooking show?" You picked the camera up from the camera as it started recording. You went over to Jenna who was already prepping the ingredients needed, even she was in get-up, an apron and all. You contemplated if you could quickly go to the store and buy a chefs hat for her.

Jenna glanced up from her task, her eyes going to the camera before going to you. "Maybe just our names together? Jenna and Y/n."

You lowered the camera a slight bit, the perspective looking a little wonky, "But Jenna, that's so boring! We need more pizzaz." You looked at Jenna who was screaming towards the kitchen and the cupboards to check where her knife went.

"Then have you got something in mind?" She sharply asked, turning her heel around, "Have you, somehow, seen my knife? I swear it was just around the sink."

"Yeah, okay, great point, I have nothing as well." You placed down the camera on the counter, using a jar of whatever behind to keep it from falling down. "Here," you said with a cheeky smile as you presented the knife as if you were kneeling before a queen, and Jenna could only give you an unimpressed look.

You helped Jenna for a hot minute before turning to the camera once again, your full body being shown and a certain someone who was outside of view "Today, we're baking cookies—Jenna, c'mere." You held your hand to Jenna who wasn't in frame.

Jenna, still holding an unimpressed expression, walked over to where you were standing, joining you as you both appeared side by side in the frame. You appeared comically taller in the camera than Jenna, making you laugh just slightly before the shorter one punched you in the gut.

"Alright, anyway, let's bake some cookies!" You clasped your hands together, and Jenna could only look at you with eyes that conveyed love and adoration, wondering how you never noticed it.

Jenna picked up the camera and whispered, a little bit too loudly into the camera, "Side note, we have little to no experience at all at baking," she said, "We have absolutely no idea what we're doing!" You screamed from the background, already mixing in the ingredients, making her laugh before yelling that you made the wrong step.

"We're winging it, Jenna! God, who knew we could be such good bakers?" You exclaimed while mixing everything up, your hand was getting tired by how you whisked everything at such random paces, but Jenna didn't mind.

Everything was going smoothly, and perfectly Jenna could say so herself before her face scrunched up in confusion when you accidentally added salt instead of sugar.

Jenna's eyes widened, her warnings to stop you were a bit too late as you had already added half of the cup into the mixture. "Wait, oh fuck, y/n, y/n! That's a whole cup of salt!" She exclaimed, throwing her body against you as she tried to grab your arm that was pouring the sugar, but it was already too late.

You paused mid-mix, staring at Jenna, then at the bowl with a horrid expression. "Shoot!" You immediately, in instincts you'd defend until your dying days, dove your hand right into the mixture, as if your hand could magically pull out the tiniest ass bits of salt grains.

Jenna with all her might, restrained herself from bursting into laughter, "Okay, that's just so wrong, you can't just—!"

"Alright, alright!" You pulled your hands from the mixture, putting them up in the air in surrender as the gooey texture of incorporated eggs, flour, milk, and whatever was in there went down from your sleeves.

"Let's just make another batch." You turned to her, "let's just make another batch," you repeated.

"Y/n, we went through 3 batches already."

A moment of silence you both had as both of you looked at the batter you two worked hard on. Before a playful fight completely outraged from the both of you when you started to hand paint Jenna's face from the batter, creating silly drawings on her face as she ran away from you armed with a spatula to fend you off.

In the end, the both of you completed your task of baking cookies while using the same batch, and, well, they turned out... nice. On the camera, they looked really nice, and they kinda even smelled good from afar.

"Annnd, it's done!" You exclaimed, and Jenna tilted the pan slightly to give the camera a preview of the cookies.

After a bit of banter from the both of you, a minute passed by, and you two were holding cookies.

"They look... edible enough to eat anyway," Jenna said, inspecting them before looking towards you with your own cookie. "Cheers?"

"Cheers!" you echoed, holding up your cookie to Jenna's in a mock toast. The camera captured the moment as both of you took a bite simultaneously. And how your faces contorted into disgust.

"Y/n, just take it out, even I can't swallow this."

"Okay, good choice, oh god—!"

The last thing the camera recorded before it fell was you and Jenna quickly spitting out the bites into a nearby trash can and rushing over to the sink, pushing each other as you tried to turn the faucet on and rinse off the disgusting taste you both had in your mouth.

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

Jenna laughed heartily as she scrolled through the numerous videos you both had filmed over the past months with the camera in her hand. She couldn't believe that your entire bond had been created over this camera—how you wanted to become a director and how she wanted to become an actress. It was surprising how well the both of you fit with each other, down to your interests.

She kept watching the videos you had filmed for the both of you. Jenna even went out of her way to roam around your room, looking for memory cards to see what other videos you both had done. That was until she opened a certain drawer in your table lamp, tucked away all the way to the end. She couldn't have spotted it if she hadn't opened it all the way.

Handwritten notes, letters, wilted flowers, keychains, an abundance of printed polaroid photos, and photos in general that you had kept, intending to give them to Jenna. These mementos had been tucked away in this drawer for months on end.

She didn't want to pry, but a part of her was drawn to the crumpled letter that stood out among the rest. When she opened it, it had pen scribbles and stains from what she assumed were tears.

The letter read,

To my Jenna To my dearest To Jenna

To the girl across my street, (9/27/2020)

                  You shouldn’t be the one I should be writing a love letter to at 1 in the morning, even if I know in my bones I’ll be writing letters for you until I rest for eternity. You shouldn’t be the one that keeps me up at night wondering if you’ll ever come back until now. You shouldn’t be the one that I subject my undying love to, the love that I kept reserved all these years, and yet you arrive and suddenly, all of it is yours. You shouldn’t be the one for me at all. But you are, and I hate that you’re everything I want in my life. I shouldn’t be mad at you Jenna. In fact, I love you. I love you so much, it hurts as I write this. I love you so much, I can’t look at myself anymore wondering what I would’ve done to keep you moving away from my life. Ever since I saw you, I felt like nothing in my life mattered more than being with you, even if I knew that was impossible. Well, until you suddenly picked me up after a horrible fall. I knew from everyone in my town that you were the most private person, you never opened up to them even if they always kept coming to your doorstep with leftovers from their family dinner. You told me that it was a bit overwhelming, seeing your fridge pile up everyday with everybody’s leftovers, you even got a lollipop from a kid. From our conversations, it was those random moments you told me from your life that I cherished the most, even if it was just something you remembered out of the blue. I fell mad in love with you, head over heels. No one would know falling in love with a great force other than me with you. I realized that when you invited me to your family's house for Christmas after you found out about the relationship I had with my parents, since then, I knew the love I had for you was soon going to drown me until my heart was filled with your name.

The way your family welcomed me with open arms as if I was someone, finally someone a part of something, I couldn’t bear to walk away anymore. The way you had introduced me to your siblings and cousins with a smile that I could only mistake for as a star, the way you had made me a part of your family, the way you made your family love me the way they loved you. I hate it, Jenna. I hate how your eyes brought revelry upon those who are grieving, how your touch brought forth the saints buried in the hearts of sinners, how your laugh would make every great poet struggle to illustrate the sound of your voice, how your soul brings every angel and saint to shame. I hate how you made me so happy, how you made the happiest side of me shine. I hate how I hate none of these things at all. I love everything about you, I can’t just pretend like I don’t. I love you, Jenna. I love you with all of my heart, each bone in my body yearns for yours, your very being became the muse of every thought, my soul is eternally yours forever, why did I let it be that way? And why until now, It’s still yours to keep? To rip apart? Yours to silently remind you that there’s someone out there who had their heart programmed to beat for you, and for only you. The day you left, I only realized how you were so important to me. It’s maddening how that was the first thought came to mind, how I fell so in love with your soul I completely forgot how you left me in pieces. How you didn’t text me, how you didn’t call me, how you didn’t even do the bare minimum as knocking on my door or maybe leaving a note to say you were leaving entirely. It’s been exactly a year since you left, and I haven’t stopped thinking about you ever since. A part of you still stayed with me, or maybe I just looked for you everywhere, hoping one day you’d appear beside me like nothing ever happened and grace me once again with that smile of yours that would last me a lifetime. Everything reminds me of you, Jenna. Every place, every home, every street, every film, every note that I hear from a song you’d used to sing to me with your stupid guitar you always wanted to master but never got the chance to. I’m in love with you, Jenna. I’m so in love with you to the point I can’t say it to your face. I’m yours forever more, and I hate that I am.

From, y/n. Happy Birthday, Jenna.

I wished I confessed to you more earlier.

"Jenna! Jenna!" A voice she loved, loved now more than anything, quickly pulled her out of her thoughts, banging against her own door. She pulled herself up from your bed, running towards the door in a hurry while holding the letter in her hands.

Jenna unlocked the door to see you. The love of her life, someone who wrote thousands of letters for her every day since she left, someone who had the stupidest idea to spend every inch of her savings to go buy her the headphones she always wished to own, someone who was now standing in the freezing cold.

"Jenna— Oh, Jenna, I forgot my headphones, and—and it was freezing like shit. God, I never knew there was a snowstorm coming in. I'm sorry I took so long I—"

You were cut off mid-sentence by her, who pulled you by your collar into a passionate kiss. The warmth of your house, the warmth of Jenna's body against yours, the warmth of her lips that brought every inch of your body to heaven was everything you needed to calm down. If only you had paused for a minute to take a glance at Jenna when you were rambling, you could only see her eyes in a lovesick gaze for you, you could see how much she loved you, you could see how she was everything you perceived her to be.

"Y/n," Jenna whispered, her voice a soft melody that resonated in the quiet room as you wrapped your arms around her waist.

You smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Jenna's ear. "What… What was that for?"

"I love you," she whispered under her breath. "I love you," she added, one more time, as if you were going to disappear if she didn't.

"I love you too, Jenna. What's going on?"

"I just—I just love you so much, y/n. I always said I love you, but never added so much or expressed how much I loved you." Jenna was always straightforward when it came to talking. It was her nature, her style of sentence, how she spoke aloud, the quiet confidence she had whenever she spoke to someone; it was one of the characteristics she had that made you fall in love with her. But now, she couldn't express herself in the way she wanted to. She did, but it only fell short. The amount of love she had for you was something she could never express properly, even with a dictionary in her hands, it couldn't be possible.

It only took you a minute before figuring what had happened.

"You... you read the letter?"

"Yes—Yes, I read the letter, y/n. All of it."

"Well, what'd you think?" You almost thought that you had discarded the letters you wrote for her, but you kept the most important one of all.

She pulled you into a soul-crushing hug, "I love you. I'm sorry, I just love, love, love, you, y/n. I'm sorry if I'm not enough for you."

"Jenna," you whispered, gently pulling back to look into her eyes, "You don't know how much you're more than enough for me. You don't know how much your smile just means everything to me, good or bad, and your love is everything I've ever wanted. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jenna's gaze softened, and a relieved smile played on her lips. "I'm just afraid that my love might fall short, you know? That I couldn't express it the way you do."

You cupped her face, your thumb gently grazing her skin, admiring her freckles. "Your love is perfect, Jenna, it's yours. I don't need grand gestures or expressions to make me feel happy. I just need you—your love, your presence, and everything that makes you who you are. Just, please, don't change that just for me—or for anyone."

The both of you kissed, the middle of the night while the orange light coming off from the kitchen flickered. A kiss, you knew, lasted only for a second. Or maybe even a few seconds, but this kiss lingered like a memory that lasted forever, a picture that was photographed and kept in a sealed case, stars that die but explode into a gorgeous nebula, a kiss that's worth for a thousand lifetimes.

Afterward, both of you watched the videos that you had filmed whenever and wherever. Jenna noted your habit of bringing the DSLR everywhere, capturing snippets of your private life where she wasn't in the frame. However, you quickly threw the camera against the headboard when she came across the holy grail of you trying out some skateboard tricks, where you horribly fell and got various scars on your leg.

In that moment, both of you probably knew you were going to stay with each other no matter what happened, or what challenges you faced. The way you both kissed then, in the doorway, was the most romantic kiss you had shared in your entire life. Probably not the most ideal of spots to decide to marry someone, but then again, who was the insane one who dated the girl across her street?

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Invisible string.

That was the saying for those who believe there's a string of fate binding people who were destined to be together, or for anyone who was in love for that matter. It's a sweet thing, you can say, considering how you're one of the people who truly believed in it. You spent half of your life waiting for the right person to just step into your life and take over your heart by storm, someone who would think of you when they see a shooting star, someone who'd paint canvases of your face so the world would know who considered you greater than the Mona Lisa, someone who cherished you oh so dearly. Now, you can happily say with all your heart, you found her.

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a/n: aaahhh this series has come to a close, thank you for all the love and support! now i can finally do another series with JO's characters or maybe just oneshots. (i have a fuck ton of drafts.)

[theunsinkableship1]

Lukola, maybe it's a fear about love.

This is Lukolaland. Do not read if you're not a shipper. This is not factual, just pure speculation.

The curious case of the Ross and Rachel reference

L insists on comparing Penelope and Colin to Ross and Rachel from Friends, but it doesn’t make much sense.

Ross and Rachel from Friends and Penelope and Colin from Bridgerton both explore the theme of "will-they-won't-they" romance, but their dynamics differ. Ross and Rachel's relationship is marked by a series of breakups and makeups, driven by misunderstandings and differing life goals. Their chemistry is undeniable, but their timing is often off, leading to a tumultuous journey before their eventual reconciliation.

Penelope and Colin, on the other hand, begin as close friends, with Penelope harboring secret feelings for Colin. Their relationship evolves more subtly, with the tension coming from Penelope's hidden identity as Lady Whistledown and Colin's obliviousness to her feelings. Unlike Ross and Rachel's dramatic ups and downs, Penelope and Colin's story is one of gradual realization and deepening affection. While both couples capture the complexities of love, Ross and Rachel's journey is marked by overt drama, whereas Penelope and Colin's is more about unspoken emotions and trust.

Why is he making the connection with the two couples then?

The blurred lines are at play here again.  He can relate to Colin in many ways, but I think he is more like a Penelope in the Lukola situation. L said that he believes in love at first sight:

“If I meet someone I know immediately. There’s a difference between me and Colin.” “I’ve felt that. I’ve met someone and been immediately infatuated with them. That’s something that’s more me than Colin.”

He also stated that he felt “warmth from N immediately “and he recalls their first meeting very well for someone who has a bad memory. This meeting was probably important as it was so well preserved in his memory and his heart.

I think that he had been crushing on her since day 1 and his infatuation has only grown stronger over the years and turned into Love. My guess is that J probably realized that he had more than friendly feelings towards N in 2022, maybe he didn’t really admitted that to himself before she pointed it out, maybe he knew all along and tried to suppress it. But I’m sure that he knew what he was feeling during the filming of season 3.

I’m not sure that he made a move at the time as he was fresh off a long-term relationship, and I have the feeling that he truly admires, he looks up to her, N maybe he thought that she was out of his league, he loves her company, he clearly finds her attractive, intelligent, kind and funny. Maybe he was comfortable only fantasizing about her, maybe he was waiting for the right time and trying to build up the courage to cross the lines. I don’t think that they’ve dated, maybe they’ve had hook ups . But I don’t think they have had a serious thing but I’m sure they’ve always had serious feelings towards each other. That’s probably why he sees their situation as a Ross and Rachel situation. He was in a relationship when he met her and she was probably in a relationship when he wasn’t anymore.

N doesn’t believe in love at first sight, she said that friends-to-lovers is the healthiest way to go, because “you’ve skipped all of the posturing and all of the initial things you do when you meet someone—you try and pretend to have only nice underwear, or that you don’t sit on the couch and eat your dinner off your lap. Because they’ve been friends first, they go, ‘I know you.’ Deep, true, abiding love comes from when you love the bones of someone. You love them deeply in their entirety. That’s a thing that you get with friends-to-lovers, because you love them first as a friend.”

I believe that N also always loved L, but she is very level-headed, practical, and down-to-earth. She probably thought that it was important for them to be friends to work together and portray their friends to lovers’s storyline. She took him under her wing as she was more experienced. I think that L was a nice surprise as she couldn’t have wished for a better partner. I think that she has always valued their friendship, and loved him. She had certainly put him in the friendzone as he was taken and they were working together, she may also had never really considered him as a potential boyfriend as he was a little younger and less mature at the time. She needs a significant amount of time to warm up to people, especially a partner, I think that she gradually fell for L charm and qualities over the years.  She found comfort , stability and felt at ease with him. She likes him because he is sweet, generous, dependable, has no ego, and laughs at her jokes. She also finds him attractive. I think that she noticed the effects that she has on him. But I’m sure that she was building walls and compartmenting the whole time. She may even have rejected his feelings explicitly.

N has stated that” she hasn’t been in love since she was like 9 and she can’t imagine t it”. N is extremely cautious when it comes to love,  and she relies heavily on logic when it comes to her romantic endeavors, she is looking for “the one” as she takes love extremely seriously. She might have thought that L was not the ideal partner ignoring what she was feeling or failing to recognize it as romantic love. She has a clear vision for herself and her life and she would stay away from what could potentially deter her from achieving her goals. N could also have a fear of romantic love as she knows that it’ll make her lose control, she may perceive love as source of vulnerability, and potentially pain and disappointment.

Both may have been confused at times about their own feelings, they were really committed to their characters and the lines between reality and fiction were blurred. It could have taken time to understand what they were feeling. And you know they didn’t want to mess up whatever they had going on.

After the filming of season 3 they both went their separate ways, I can’t help to think that L was kind of hurt in a way and maybe heartbroken during his HBS, “Aquarian guys want to know that you’re as serious about him as he is about you, so if you’re closed-off emotionally or physically distant, he might just assume he isn’t wanted he was”. L was certainly trying to get over his feelings. And he got into a situationship, he is a relationship kind of guy, but I’m not sure that he was not taking A too seriously and he still isn’t in my opinion.

We all saw what happened when L and N reunited, it’s flagrant! During this PR tour their hidden feelings came back to the surface, the PR may have encouraged them, they couldn’t help themselves and they overdid it. L was totally enamored with her, girlfriend or not. N was playful and flirty, but she fell into her own trap. You could see the power struggle in Italy, there was a lot of tension, and they came to an agreement of sort there. In the beginning of the tour N was quite jaded, but the time they spent together changed everything.

If you look in N’s eyes, you can clearly see the shift, she was opening to him, her walls were crumbling, she was openly falling in love with an Englishman. L was more assertive, bolder, more territorial. They were happy in Brazil and Ireland. N was letting her guard down. By the end, N started to believe in love.

We all know what happened. I think that N is deeply hurt, he crushed her intentionally or not, she had reservations for a long time and the doubts about their compatibility, his maturity , their priorities and social needs… Everything  that could be barrier, a reason why this could be a mistake, was proven to be true.

In my opinion, L could be hurt and petty about something too, but I believe that he needs to apologize and clean up his mess. He needs to find out what he really needs for himself whether this includes N or not and proceed with caution to achieve his goals.

N needs a best friend in her life partner, someone fun and loving, someone steady she can trust and who supports her, he has proven himself to be capable of that. She needs someone who is not hesitant and honest about his feelings.

L needs a life partner who is less pessimistic and cautious about love, he needs to be sure of her feelings and needs to be her” number one”. He insisted on good communication as it seems to be source of misunderstandings and conflicts between them.

I think that life is really short and what they have is really precious and rare. It’ll be shame and quite disheartening to see it go to waste.

I believe they could have  a beautiful and long lasting relationship if they find a way to acknowledge properly what they are feeling , communicate efficiently and be patient and understanding. They already have what it takes to be in a strong supportive successful and fulfilling relationship.

They should really consider it (for our sakes also).

*Correction: I've come to realize that I made a mistake. When Nicola said she hasn't been in love since she was 9, she was actually making a comparison with Penelope.

[5starl1ght]

Daniel ricciardo x horner!Reader

Boss's daugther

A/n: I got this idea from someone else when I was scrolling through tumblr. So please don't come for me. And while we wait for the poll to end here you go!

Mesterlist

Y/N Horner had always been passionate about journalism. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved to read newspapers and magazines, watch documentaries and interviews, and write her own stories and articles. She dreamed of becoming a famous reporter who would travel the world and expose the truth. She worked hard to achieve her goal, studying journalism at university and landing a job at a prestigious media outlet. She quickly rose through the ranks, earning a reputation as a fearless and talented journalist who could cover any topic, from politics and business to sports and entertainment. She had interviewed celebrities, politicians, activists, and even royalty. She had won awards and accolades for her work. She had everything she wanted in her career, but nothing in her personal life.

Y/N was notoriously single, and she liked it that way. She didn't have time for romance, nor did she feel the need for it. She was happy with her independence and freedom, and she didn't want to compromise that for anyone. She had dated a few people in the past, but none of them had lasted long. They either couldn't handle her busy schedule, her ambitious nature, or her adventurous spirit. They either bored her, annoyed her, or betrayed her. She decided that she was better off alone, and she focused all her energy on her work.

Her father, Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, was not happy with her decision. He loved his daughter more than anything, and he was proud of her achievements, but he also wanted her to find someone who could make her happy and give him some grandchildren. He knew that Y/N was not getting any younger, and he worried that she would end up lonely and regretful if she didn't settle down soon. He had tried to set her up with various men over the years, but none of them had impressed Y/N or caught her interest. He had almost given up hope, until he thought of Daniel Ricciardo.

Daniel Ricciardo was Christian's former driver and a close friend of the family. He had joined Red Bull Racing in 2014, and had quickly become one of the best drivers in Formula One. He had won seven races, 31 podiums, and three pole positions with the team, before leaving for Renault in 2019. He was also one of the most popular and charismatic drivers on the grid, known for his infectious smile, his cheeky humor, his daring overtakes, and his love for life. He was charming, funny, handsome, and adventurous. He was also single and looking for love.

Christian had always liked Daniel as a person and as a driver. He had seen him grow from a young rookie to a mature champion. He had supported him through his highs and lows, his victories and defeats, his joys and sorrows. He had treated him like a son, and Daniel had treated him like a father. They had remained in touch even after Daniel's departure from Red Bull Racing, and they still met occasionally for lunch or dinner. Christian knew that Daniel was unhappy at Renault, and that he missed his old team and his old friends. He also knew that Daniel was lonely, and that he wanted to find someone who could share his passion for racing and for life.

Christian thought that Daniel would be perfect for Y/N. They were both successful in their fields, they both loved to travel and explore new places, they both had a great sense of humor and a positive attitude, they both were loyal and honest to their friends and family, they both were attractive and fit. They also knew each other since childhood, as Daniel had often visited Christian's house when he was racing for Red Bull Racing. They had always gotten along well, teasing each other and laughing together. Christian thought that they would make a great couple if they gave each other a chance.

Christian decided to play matchmaker and invited Daniel to join them for dinner at his house one night, hoping that sparks would fly between him and Y/N. He didn't tell either of them about his plan,

he just said that he wanted to catch up with Daniel and see how he was doing. He also asked Y/N to come over for dinner as well,

saying that he missed spending time with her and that he wanted to talk to her about something important.

He hoped that they would be pleasantly surprised to see each other,

and that they would hit it off right away.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

How ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Became the Funniest Show on TV

Creator and showrunner David Jenkins breaks down the new season of TV’s most adorable star-crossed pirates.

Our Flag Means Death debuted in March 2022 to respectable viewership numbers that grew. And grew. And grew some more. With each week of its 10-episode run, viewership increased, eventually tripling its original audience. The little gay pirate workplace and romantic comedy-cum-historical fantasy that could is back for a second season on Max, and fans will be glad to know that piracy power couple Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed Teach, aka Blackbeard (Academy Award winner Taika Waititi) won’t be parted for long.

The first season of Our Flag Means Death introduced viewers to fictional versions of the real historical figures Stede Bonnet (aka The Gentleman Pirate) and Blackbeard, as well as their respective crews. The two captains instantly forged an unlikely connection. Stede, who decided to exorcize his midlife crisis by abandoning his family and taking to the seas, despite being at best a piracy novice, hero-worships Blackbeard and is thrilled to make his acquaintance. The fearsome Blackbeard, who among friends goes by his real first name, Ed, is taken with Stede’s commitment to enjoying the finer and frillier things in life, marveling at his new friend’s on-ship library and massive, beautiful wardrobe.

While the two captains are an odd couple, each of their crews regards the other as an entirely different species. Aboard the Revenge, Stede reads bedtime stories to his crew and encourages them to use their words when conflicts emerge, while on Blackbeard’s ship, Ed’s first mate Izzy Hands (a deliciously scowling, jealous Con O’Neill) rants that his captain is now a shell of the terrifying legend he used to be. Over time, Blackbeard’s crew begin to appreciate the healthier work-life culture on the Revenge, where there’s room for romantic and collegial dyads to form and pair off.

Of course, the path of true love never runs smooth even for a couple as invested in each other as Stede and Ed. At the end of the first season, the crews are split between ships and land, and Ed believes Stede has permanently abandoned their relationship for his original family, causing a heartbroken Ed to revert to his fearsome Kraken persona. As the second season opens, Stede is frantically trying to get back to Ed and explain that he’s all in on their relationship. Ed’s behavior has been swinging erratically from depressed to murderous, even toward Izzy, and when the two captains and crews meet again, there’s an extra twist: Stede and company have been co-opted by the far more capable and successful Chinese Pirate Queen, Zheng Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian).

On the eve of the second season’s three-episode premiere, creator and showrunner David Jenkins reflected on the series’ approach to workplace dynamics, male friendships and romance, and the character arcs he’s most excited for fans to see.

The first three episodes of the season premiere feature a bunch of breakups and reshuffling of romantic and work relationships—not just Stede and Ed. Were you chasing anything in particular, narratively, by splitting up so many dyads?

Definitely. To watch the effects of Stede and Blackbeard’s relationship reverberate through everybody's lives is so interesting. Their separation doesn’t just happen to the two of them, it’s happening to all of them, because they’re a family. Just as the breakup reverberated throughout both crews, getting back together is going to do the same thing.

That makes sense.

The goal was just being true to the character beats and finding ways to make them ring true. Oluwande (Samson Kayo) and Jim (Vico Ortiz, they/them) are friends who got romantic. It rang true to me that they’d watch each others’ lives move forward, and then come back together to find that they still care about each other, and each of them is also happy for the other person. I've seen that happen in real life a bunch of times, but I don't see that dramatized a lot. I think there should be a lot of different flavors of relationships in this show. And there's so many different pairings that you get a lot of chances to be like, “Oh, how are these two different from Stede and Ed?”

How does that relate to your interest in exploring tenderness and vulnerability in male characters? In previous interviews, you’ve referred to Our Flag Means Death as examining the burlesque of masculinity. What does it bring to your work to be exploring it over the course of many hours of storytelling?

That’s an area where Taika’s and my interests overlap a lot. There’s something so understated about his sensibility—I think some of it derives from his New Zealand accent, actually—that suits asking questions about masculinity. And it's fun to look at pirate stories, to play against that genre’s whitewashed, heteronormative conventions. Growing up as a guy, you get a lot of pressure to be just one type of a guy, the guy who refuses to feel things. Men are in terrible trouble in that way. We’re getting better about talking about feelings, but there’s so much more to cover—body dysmorphia, vulnerability, not just talking about feelings, but understanding them and having this whole range of emotions—those are always the things I want to watch.

Do you have favorites among on-screen stories that make room for a broader emotional palette?

Heat and Midnight Run are two really lovely Robert De Niro movies where characters have these very big emotional lives. It’s a similar thing with Robert Redford and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I like extending that. We can push it further, because there's so many different ways to be a man! Not everything has to be a shoot ’em up action thing where people don’t have feelings. A lot of men feel like they need permission to just be their weird selves, to be funny, to dress differently. Try some different things! Maybe wear a color! Put some product in your hair! Don't worry about it, it's gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine.

Our Flag Means Death is not a casual show. It’s very funny and playful! But there is not one single frame of the show that plays it cool. As an artist, what’s the significance of qualities like sincerity and earnestness?

I hate coolness, it’s so ungenerous. And I like that you said that it’s not casual. I’m not a casual guy. This is a deeply uncool show. There’s something so special about seeing comedic actors like Rhys or Taika, who are so used to coming into a scene, being incredibly funny and destroying, and then leaving, having to use their earnestness, and not using their weapon of immediately diffusing it by going for a laugh. When I see that, it makes my heart leap. There’s something particularly special about seeing a comedic actor do it.

It’s really fun to watch comedic actors dispel the notion that dramatic acting is 180 degrees away from comedic acting.

Characters that call for that type of performance are a lot of what I love about Robert Altman, Christopher Guest, and Harold Ashby movies. They’re comedies, but those characters really grow and they experience pain, and the pain they feel is real. And then the funny shit that they do is even funnier because of it. Those are the things that bring me the most joy.

Tell me about Zheng Yi Sao, the Pirate Queen. She’s such a good foil for Ed and Stede—her ambition, competence, and leadership style are all so distinct from theirs.

Zheng Yi Sao is the most competent pirate captain on our show, and was the most successful pirate captain in history. She lived about 100 years apart from these fellas, and she was so successful that China had to cut her in and do a treaty with her so she would move on to some other field. She wound up making another fortune in gambling!

One thing that jumped out at me in these first three episodes of the season is how much therapy-literate dialogue is used—where did that come from?

I just think it's funny. The thing about a workplace is that they all see everything that’s going on with others, because they're all on top of each other all the time. I don't want to go l too far with it, but it’s fun that some of these characters can see that one of their friends is in a weird relationship with his boss, and then say “hey, you might want to look at that.”

Where do you think that comes from for the characters themselves?

There’s a level of care on that ship that Stede almost infected them with in the first season, and now those ideas are more alive because of how Stede built the Revenge’s culture. You can see that that spirit is still kind of alive when Jim tells the story of the wooden boy to Bang to calm him down. That’s a little bit of Stede’s kindness being alive in the world still, and of Jim needing and being able to call on it now that everything’s so dark. For them to go from an “every person for themselves” ethos to thinking “there was a time when life meant something on this ship, it doesn’t have to be this way” is interesting growth for the character, and is true to Vico as a person. There's a real kindness to how they carry themselves—they’re one of those people that just makes everybody feel safe. It’s nice to see some of those character traits bleed through to Jim.

Without getting too spoilery, what’s coming up over the rest of this season that you can’t wait for viewers to see?

I’m really excited for Izzy’s journey. Con O’Neill did such beautiful work, and getting to see where that character goes and how he grows, I think is one of the most exciting things of the season. To see where Ed and Stede’s relationship goes is gratifying—to see how they navigate each other and find, hopefully, a more mature way of being together.

Jim's relationships with Archie (Madeleine Sami) and Olu develop, too, and more broadly, the crew coming together as a new kind of family, now that Mom and Dad are getting back together. I also like that Lucius (Nathan Foad) is back, and has an angry young man thing going on that he has to process. For Lucius to go through something really harrowing and have to grow up with it is so interesting, because he had all the answers in the first season.

We can’t not talk about the mermaid sequence at the end of the second episode. How did that come about?

We really have to pick our shots on the show, so that was very storyboarded out. I knew I wanted Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” for the scene, so that was incorporated in it. Unfortunately, Rhys had had a really bad near-drowning experience shooting in a tank before, but I didn’t know that until we were working on the stunts! But when Rhys saw the gorgeous tail, and it looked so cool and beautiful, he decided to go for it. He knew the scene was going to look awesome. So he navigated that costume, which is basically a big flipper that he needed to move his entire core to make it work, and Taika’s there with all this glue to keep his wig on underwater all day. When it’s humming and all the departments are working, everyone feels safe. It gives everyone a feeling of “let’s do it—let’s jump in!”

Speaking of jumping in, what degree of pressure did you all feel coming into the second season, knowing how high the expectations were from the show’s incredibly passionate fan base?

I don’t feel pressure from the fans, I just feel unconditional love and acceptance, and I think that the writers room feels that too. We all want it to be good, and we want the storylines to be cool. But it’s less pressure, and more just the level of freedom that it gave us, knowing somebody’s watching. It makes doing all the hard work a joy, because you know it’s going to be appreciated. Some people will have critiques, and that’s fine.

I just know that this—the fan reaction to this show—will be the honor of my career. The fan community is so kind and nice and talented—it's just a good vibe, and it’s been safe and affirming for everyone.

We’re all basking in the glow of the adoration of the show from our fanbase. It’s infectious—when we all get together, it saturates every element of the show, and it's a very special thing for all of us.

Source: The Daily Beast

[silviakundera]

Oooh I like duke su from the show but the one from the novel sounds so much more interesting tbh I love a morally grey character with his own goals who doesn't give a f*ck what the lead is trying to do but has their own agenda and it's a much slower burn. Though with how Chinese dramas operate these days it's no wonder they made him like the FL and start helping her extremely early I don't think they know or even can with how netizens are write anything else.

Though I too love novel Su guogong, I think we're in a real quandary for the adaption.

The censors won't let him be characterized as black as the novel version AND be allowed to survive (see: Eternal Brotherhood where we can have a main character who is a dark schemer with blood on his hands that adores his wife -- only because he's doomed, doomed, doomed!) Boooooo!!! I do not agree that this softening was required for this work nor Story of Kunning Palace. Grr!!

But the change to make the FL and ML interact much more and work together in the 1st half, rather than him observing coldly and uncaring about her life or death -- imo that's a quandary about different mediums and how the audience reacts to them.

I wrote a lil meta post previously about the live action adaption of MDZS and why imo the production was forced to change the WWX and LWJ backstory. Once they decided on a linear storyline, imo the otp had to eventually be friends in his first life with a mutually acknowledged bond. The audience simply CANNOT be asked to wade through 20+ hours of episodes before LWJ as love interest isn't repeatedly rejecting the protagonist. 25 episodes and weeks in real-time of him being only cold & standoffish is too much for most viewers. When consuming the novel, the reader both won't have that stretched out real time delay until the couple are on the same page. And it won't take them 20 hours of reading to get there.

Things hit different for a crafted romance on page than performed live on screen for a 40-50 episode drama.

I can still see the adaption's struggle with this. Su suogong is truly a minor character in the novel and frankly not an active participant in most of the problem > scheme > resolution sub-arcs. He has this whole other full life of his own separate interests happening..... somewhere else. The novel mostly leaves his weekly activities as a black box, an obscured mystery. Drama boy is out there somewhere moving his chess pieces & murdering people for power but the reader often just sees glimpses of him ominously sipping his tea & ordering his minions around. In order raise him to a main, the drama is forced to make him involve himself in the play much earlier - to give him a reason to be on screen that is fully tied in with the main plot & its themes. He has to care about FL by the 9th hour in, and want to support her.... or give up ML status to Ye Shijie. 🤷

We can see the strain of this as 3 episodes may happen and all the screenwriter can do is have Su guogong show up for 5 minutes just to flirt a little and remind viewers he's alive 😂😂 but that's what you gotta do with 40 episodes tbh. I can't disgree that this is a more enjoyable viewing experience.

[gorgxoxus]

Ranking the Bridgerton books:

1. The Viscount Who Loved Me - 4 ⭐️. Kate and Anthony’s book is number 1 because the characters were true to themselves throughout the book, I understood their motives and that made them amazing characters to follow as they fall in love with each other. It’s a great rivals to lovers, and seeing their love grow is beautiful. It made me giddy with happiness, kick my feet, cringe and made me almost cry. The angsty first time sex scene was everything I needed it to be. Season 2 was amazing, and the book is almost better!!

2. ⁠When He Was Wicked - 4⭐️. Side note before I get into it: I loved Micheal’s familial relationships in this book, as he grew up with his mother and Johns mother as parental figures, and I consider those two lesbian icons.

I loved reading Francesca and Micheal’s story. When you meet them before their story begins in earnest you see their friendship, and they immediately jumped out of the page as two people who have a fun and interesting connection as friends and ‘cousins/ family’ (they’re not actually cousins, Micheal is John’s cousin). When you meet them four years after John’s death, they have to work to become friends again. In the midst of that you see that Micheal respects Francesca as the countess of Kilmartin as he left her in charge as he left England for four years. Because Michael and Francesca are technically family (Micheal becomes the new Earl of Kilmartin when John dies) and share some residencies the lack of propriety is expected so they are alone together. It brings them together and it lets them do wicked and sexy acts to each other, especially when the story moves to Scotland and they are alone together in the Scottish country-side ( and Francesca’s been married, the power dynamics in the bedroom were 🥵🥵❤️❤️). It was beautiful to see Francesca experience love and desire after loss, and after expecting to get married again just to produce a child (and also keep the Kilmartin name and estates she’s run for years, and her connection with Micheal and John).

3. ⁠ It’s in His Kiss - 4⭐️. Hyacinth and Gareth are the most well matched characters in the series. Hyacinth is such a riot and never shuts up and Gareth is her match. The banter between them is amazing. Hyacinth and Gareth have a shared goal in the book which makes it interesting and gets them into all kinds of trouble. As Hyacinth is a person who knows who she is, that also translated to the best first kiss and first time, as she was taking as much control as she could. There is some dodgy lines of consent in this series, and I appreciated the full and out loud consent Hyacinth gave at all steps. They’re great characters to read about, and Lady Danbury plays a prominent role which is so much fun.

4. ⁠Romancing Mr Bridgerton - 4⭐️. Colin and Penelope’s story ranks fourth because Colin is one of the worst men in this series, with his anger and resentment and hurt he causes Penelope both emotionally and physically were hard to read. I love Penelope in the book, 28 year old her is quietly confident and has some of the best lines of the whole series. This book also highlighted friendship, between Pen and Lady Danbury, Pen and the Bridgertons especially Eloise and Hyacinth and Pen and Colin. I also appreciate this book as the Lady Whistledown plot running parallel to the love story gave it intrigue and drama, and made up for the fact that the romance was very middle of the road.

5. ⁠To Sir Phillip, With Love - 3⭐️. I was nervous about reading Eloise and Phillip’s love story because I had heard bad things about it, but it was fine. Phillip is a bad man, but all the men are in this series. I appreciated that Phillip knew he was bad and wanted to change himself and started to make changes in the small amount of time we had with him in the book, I respected his growth. Eloise is great, of course, speaks her mind, is talkative and interesting. I don’t think they are the most well matched couple but I had an enjoyable time reading the book and I think when they did communicate it did work. Phillips kids from his first marriage are a riot and very well written as children in my opinion. I do read Eloise as queer in the books, she literally runs away from home to a guy she’s never met because Penelope, her bestie she was planning to grow old together as a spinster, got married.

Side note: Penelope, Eloise and Francesca (to Micheal) get married in the same year and month in the books, poor Violet.

6. ⁠On the Way to the Wedding - 3⭐️. Gregory and Lucy had an interesting story (there was action, twists and turns, guns, blackmail, a gay character), but I don’t think they are well matched. Gregory believes so much about true love after watching the rest of his family marry for love, and Lucy values looking after her family and order. They didn’t convince me they were meant to be, they clearly loved each other but was it enough? I was definitely getting jaded near the end of reading the series. And I kept thinking that Lucy is like 17 (she’s the youngest of all the wives by a few years) and Gregory is 26, their age gap really took me out of the story.

7. ⁠The Duke and I - 2.5⭐️. Just watch season 1, the book is almost the same with a little less characterisation and less exciting and beautiful sets and costumes. I respected Simon’s hold on his values, but it definitely conflicted with Daphne’s. I wanted to smash their heads together to communicate. As with the show, the best part is when they are fake courting.

8. ⁠An Offer from a Gentleman - 1.5⭐️

Benedict and Sophie’s story ended up being my least favourite. I actually think Benedict and Sophie are well matched, but some of the things in this book really annoyed me. Benedict is the worst Bridgerton man/ sibling because of inexcusable actions he made in this book. I respected and enjoyed Sophie until she did something totally and completely out of character and then I stopped respecting her. My favourite part was when they met, my least favourite part was almost everything else.

[copperbadge]

Just talking some Shivadh Romances stuff out to myself, but because I have no inner monologue, I'm actually talking it out to all of you -- aren't you guys lucky :D

I did a bit of cleanup on the Chicken Salad War working document today, and aside from a few iffy points to navigate I think I've got it pretty much laid out. There's 25K words complete, so in theory I'm roughly halfway through the book. It's closer to 1/3 complete in terms of pure timeline, because the book covers from mid-May 2023 through the end of the summer, and at 25K words I haven't quite hit July yet. But much of May and June were groundwork, and the rest is outlined, so I expect July and August to take up slightly less real estate, just more important real estate.

I'm pretty sure it'll come in under 80K, which was the goal. Short and sharp, this one, at least I hope.

The football novel is its own mess, but I'll sort that out later, and then I have a couple of options. There are some time constraints; I need to write the "roman ruin" novel soon, because that has to happen before Gerald finishes collectivizing the estate, and I also need to write Ophelia's Ofelia's (fucking autocorrect) novel soon, since that one is meant to take place during the transition in Galia from monarchy to democracy. So those are, in theory, the next two on the slate.

After that it's the "legalizing davzda" novel, and then from there things are a bit more amorphous, lots of ideas but nothing concretely laid out -- three different historical novels I could work on, or I'm also considering a story about the Duke of Marliave, and one about AI. The AI one was a lot more fun sounding a year or two ago, admittedly. And I'd like to revisit Santa Luna, if for no other reason than it means I get to use the title "The Santa Luna Literary Criticism and Practical Magic Society" referencing Ceece's book club that is also possibly a coven; that could offer an update on Noah too, since by then he'll be at UCSC and sailing to Santa Luna on weekends to hang with the Ramblers.

It's ambitious, and who knows how much will actually get done, but there is a certain level of drive to completing these things because it means all these bits and pieces of stories I've written can be pulled together cohesively. So we will see...

[stormyoceans]

see the thing is. i understand why people wouldn't like first note of love or even find it boring. this isn't an overly romantic show, in the sense that the romance, while obviously there, is only a part of this story, and when it happens they do not wallow in it for long, they don't spell things out step by step, which can be frustrating considering the short run-time of the episodes. so i get it, i really do

BUT GOD. the way this show took such a simple premise and was able to unravel both neil and xiao hai as characters, treating them as complex individuals who, yes, are in love with each other and made each other's life better by entering it, but are also facing their own struggles that they have to face and overcome by themselves, because love is not the solution for everything, and only by growing as people and letting their past behind they can move forward into the future together

but while other shows would take this and use it as an excuse to create drama and break up the characters or separate them for god knows how long, first note of love flips the usual script by giving the characters (AND THE VIEWERS!!!!!!!) not only a fixed yet temporary period for the separation (which is gonna last at most until their concert), but also a common goal that they are working towards to, apart, yes, but also together

and the fact that the separation comes as an actual confirmation of neil and xiao hai's feelings and status as a couple!!!!!! the fact that there wasn't a single moment where they thought this was the end but treated it simply as a stoplight on the road of their relationship, flashing yellow as a warning for things they have to deal with before it can turn green!!!!!!! the fact that they're gonna miss each other but they know they aren't going anywhere!!!!!!!

I NEED SOMEONE TO SEDATE ME RN IMMEDIATELY

[writingquestionsanswered]

I’m currently trying to write/outline a romance novel. It is starkly different from 3 act structures, what plot outlines/structures would you recommend for romance? Do they usually have 2-3 conflicts? For characters, especially for a normal romance, what are the goals usually, isn’t it just to find love or is that too 2d/flat? I can’t find any external/internal conflicts online, some external ones are available, but yeah, mostly unavailable. What are a few examples and what do external/internal conflicts mean in silly romance novels that are not so deep and intense as general fiction? Stuff on this topic are very scarce, sadly. I’d love ur perspective on this! Thank you in advance, love!!

Outlining a Romance Novel

Romance novel structure depends on the type of romance you want to write. Straight up romance revolves around two people meeting and falling in love. There is usually an external conflict against which this romance plays out, which provides the necessary tension, conflict of interest, fodder for misunderstanding, and other obstacles and challenges that create a bumpy road on the way to true love. However, this external conflict is in full service of the developing romance.

A great example of this type of romance would be the romance movies you see on Hallmark and Lifetime. Here's a trailer for a random one, but fair warning that this trailer gives everything away, so "spoiler alert" if that matters to you...)

In Bottled with Love, Abbey and Nick meet when they're forced to work together on a project at the company he works for (where he's the CEO's wayward son.) The project (and their subsequent butting of heads) is the external conflict against which their romance plays out, but the focus is on the development of their relationship, not on the actual project. This story also has the added internal conflict for both characters, which is the "pen pal" relationships they both have going on secretly in the background, which adds additional conflict later on. Lately, romances that play out against genre conflicts are also popular. Like traditional romance, the romantic couple is still central to the story, but unlike traditional romance, the external conflict is given a lot more weight. And, there are usually internal conflicts for the main characters as well. A great example of this kind of romance is Outlander. I'm sticking in the season one trailer, but fair warning... there are glimpses of scenes with violence, nudity, sex, and SA:

In the case of Outlander, Claire and Jamie meet when she is transported back in time from her home era of 1945 to the past era of 1743. In addition to the external conflict of Claire wanting to get back home to her own time, there's also an English officer (who turns out to be an ancestor of the husband she left in 1945) who is determined to make her life difficult. And, the first few books also play out first against the conflict between Scottish highlanders and the British occupiers. And, you can also have a combination of the two, where it's still a straight up romance, but it plays out against a genre background. In this case, the genre-related external conflict is still minor compared to the development of the romantic couple:

In the case of the first and third example, there are very specific romance beats you'll want to hit. A really popular structure template is Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beat. The Dabble web site and the DIY MFA web site also both have romance structure templates, and there are certainly others you can find via a general search for romance story structure. In the case of the second example, you will want to hit a lot of those beats, but you'll be weaving that into a story structure for stories with a plot-driven element (like Save the Cat! Writes a Novel or the Three-Act Structure.) Just remember, in all of these cases, you don't have to follow a template to a tee. They're just there as guidelines to help you navigate and plot your story. With romance, though, you do want to make sure you hit the important romantic beats.

As for some of your other questions:

Do they usually have 2-3 conflicts? Most romances have both internal and external conflict. Then, there may be multiple external conflicts if you do a story like Outlander which plays out against a genre-based backdrop and has an external conflict related to that genre.

For characters, especially for a normal romance, what are the goals usually, isn’t it just to find love or is that too 2d/flat? Romance beat sheets will clarify this for you, but yes, if you do a traditional romance, a "happily ever after" is the goal.

What are a few examples and what do external/internal conflicts mean in silly romance novels that are not so deep and intense as general fiction? Examples #1 and #3 provide an idea of what the external and internal conflicts can look like in traditional, straight up romance. External conflict in romance usually happens one of two ways: the protagonist leaves their "normal life" and ends up in a place where they meet the love interest. Or, the love interest gets dropped into their "normal life." Some examples:

-- protagonist leaves their big city job to visit their small hometown for Christmas

-- protagonist leaves their small hometown to attend a friend's destination wedding in Rome

-- protagonist leaves their stressful office job and takes a job a bakery that desperately needs a manager

-- love interest is the new partner on the protagonist's work project

-- love interest is the popular new photographer showing up at the weddings the protagonist plans/coordinates

-- love interest is the new supplier for the bakery the protagonist manages

As for internal conflict, it works the same as in other stories. The internal conflict is usually something that is keeping them from moving forward in their lives. Sometimes, whatever it is that brings the love interest into their lives is a result of them trying to break out of that rut. Or, it could be that however their life changes as a result of meeting the love interest is the thing that helps them get out of that rut.

I hope that gives you some direction for how to come up with conflict ideas and how to structure your story!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[weirdowithaquill]

Ships? But Sir, They're Trains!

It's Valentine's Day, and to celebrate, I thought I'd break my usual streak of not shipping the talking trains together and share the pairings that I like the best! But only of the original 11, and a few other RWS-related friends (and maybe a bonus or two from the TVS).

Also known as: local weirdo decides trains can kiss, but only on Valentine's Day.

Let's get into the ships... er... trains.

Thomas:

Almost chronically single. I'm sorry Thomas, but you're not very good at the dating thing. Maybe Hank if I swallowed my pride and went to watch Season 12 - just because Hank's calm and friendly personality would naturally balance out Thomas. But also because they are the epitome of 'gentle giant' and 'tank engine terror'. Also, Thomas blushes in this episode:

(Sorry for the Season 12 image, but it's the only Season Hank was in!)

Edward:

This engine has options! Or more to the point - this engine has suitors. Not all make sense to the poor engine - but that's the pain of being the one everyone looks up to. I would put him with BoCo, but I must admit I had a phase where I read EdwardxJames fanfics. So... nostalgia wins (that and Edward needs someone with a fiery personality to boost his confidence sometimes, and James needs a cooler head all the time).

(Look at the smile on James' face! He's ecstatic to see his engine.)

Henry:

Bear. The answer is Bear. I'm sorry, but that Hymek has it bad for Henry, and Henry fought for Bear to stay on Sodor. And after the early days when every engine fought, Henry has no interest in getting tangled up with them again, only this time romantically. Besides, the youthful energy and eagerness Bear has will only benefit Henry, who can be a bit of an old grump.

(Bear, I can't tell if you're looking into Henry's eyes or not...)

Gordon:

Hoo boy... Gordon, oh Gordon. What to do with you? Henry and James are taken, Edward and Thomas are more siblings than romantic interests - and engines 6 through 11 are just not close enough. But how about BoCo? (Yes, this is why I didn't pair him up with Edward). BoCo is calm and polite where Gordon is loud and brash - and Gordon does see BoCo as his saviour. It would probably be the plot of a b-list romantic movie, but I can see these two getting together, with Gordon being the jock and BoCo being the 'kid' of Edward.

(Look at that little smile Gordon has! This engine is smitten.)

James:

He's with Edward, thank you. More than that, he doesn't really fit well with the other RWS cast romance-wise. Thomas is something of a rival and friend, while he wants Gordon and Henry to acknowledge him and Percy is something of a little brother/annoyance to James. Edward and he have a lot to work out (mostly James groveling) but they got a lot of coding in the series from what I remember. Plus Edward saved him - so we've ticked the cliche box.

(Yes, this means Edward is the knight in shining armour. James is a diva anyway.)

Percy:

Has about as much luck as Thomas does, if we're honest. Young, childish Percy has no chance, while older, grumpier Percy is more interesting to consider. The Percy of Seasons 5 and 6 I could see bagging Harold. But then, we could also consider the absolute insanity of Percy and Diesel 10. Imagine the shock, imagine the story! (I'm a writer, let me dream about how I'd write this lot). Diesel 10 would be the delinquent who is soft for Percy and Percy only. It would also lead to an epic fight between the helicopter and the engine with a giant claw.

(Um, is Percy... blushing?! What are these faces?! I have questions.)

Toby:

Is married to Henrietta. They are old couple goals. Percy and Thomas are extremely jealous.

(Toby is grinning cause he knows his wife - that poor manager...)

Duck and Donald:

I considered Percy for Duck, but I feel like what Duck needs is an engine who can really bring out the playful side in Duck - the engine who helps him be more than just the railway he used to work for. That engine is Donald. When they ended up playing pranks on each other in Donald's Duck to the point where Duck stooped to putting a literal duck in Donald's tender knowing Donald would find it funny really says it all about these two.

(Look at him, so excited to play his little prank! His driver is wheezing!)

Douglas and Oliver:

These two practically have a kid in Toad already (or an advice-giving uncle. One of the two). Douglas saved Oliver, and that sort of thing has a lasting impact - especially because it's also the most likely relationship to actually happen. Both Douglas and Oliver are known for sticking it to authority, being a bit hot-headed and being led a bit more by spirit and the heart than by their heads. They have Toad for critical thinking. They live and work together too - and it would be hilarious to watch Duck blast his safety valve off when he finds out.

(Ah yes, let me just stare into your eyes for half an episode.)

Mavis and Daisy:

These two are disaster lesbians, and we love them for it. It's also the femme fatale (or as femme fatale as a diesel railcar can be) and the butch (she works in a quarry - this girl wears overalls) tropes - and they're disasters. Need I remind anyone that Daisy was the one who encouraged Mavis to ignore Toby? It would also be hilarious purely for how much Thomas and Percy would grumble about being single, while Daisy and Mavis rub their relationship in the pair's faces. Which would lead to that one memorable incident where Thomas tried to flirt with a very unamused and confused Bertie.

(Mavis, sweetie - don't listen to Daisy's advice. I know you're distracted but ple-- and she's gone.)

Annie and Clarabel:

Are wine aunts and siblings. And no, neither of them are interested in Thomas, so you can stop thinking that.

(These coaches are Thomas' wine aunts and best friends - and he loves them too.)

Bill and Ben:

Are children! Edward's children! That he has with BoCo (sort of) leading to the brilliant moments where Gordon has to 'babysit' them - which is mostly done with a lot of grimacing and begging BoCo to just hand this lot over to Edward and James - no seriously, please stop letting these two just randomly adopt you as their parent. They're evil, and they wanted to throw me in the sea, remember? No, I don't care that James doesn't like them, I don't like them! BoCo!

(He's petrified of them, but he wants to be nice for BoCo's sake...)

Emily:

Does not need a man, thank you. But she is entranced sometimes by Caitlin's streamlining (yes, I have seen some CGI - I am not a true purist, I am sorry Awdry). Then again, sometimes Emily likes Hiro - and then there was that one time where she was just so upset that Mavis wouldn't notice her. Emily doesn't need no man - but she's also not exactly got the best selection of potential candidates at her shed...

(She's got an amazing poker face. Caitlin however...)

So... that was a thing I did. Somewhere around Percy's entry, this gained a coherent plot in my mind - probably a High School AU? - and now I'm just thinking of Diesel 10 towering over Percy, blushing and trying to give him flowers (with his claw???) while Harold seethes. Clearly, being a single pringle has driven me insane.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, I hope you enjoyed this wild idea and if people want expansions on these ships (still trains) and why I like the idea of them, please go ahead and ask!

If people really like this, I will take on the Narrow Gauge engines.

[melsie-sims]

The Sims is love. List 5 facts about a favorite sim couple of yours, and why you love them so much. Then pass this on to 5 others, whose sim couple(s) you also love. 💘💕 :D

(Pictured: Jericho and Andy's first kiss v.s. their last cuddle post-woohoo years later)

Listen, I'll be honest, I'm not really in love with any of my Sims at the moment or the pairings I've got going on. So I'm bringing back an old couple I haven't played in years (and missing terribly!)

Jericho and Andy were two founders in my original BACC that, honestly, I did not expect would get together. They didn't SEEM to have anything in common... until Jericho decided he wanted a baby of his own and Andy agreed to be the baby mama/platonic co-parent. AKA they became friends with benefits, but caught feelings and eventually became an actual couple.

They ended up having three kids together by the time I stopped playing. Caeley (the FWB baby) was a young adult, they had a teenager named Fabe, and then their youngest was an oopsie baby (I think?) named Karter. She was only a toddler (pre-infants) when that save went RIP.

I think I gave like 20 facts just in the overview but here are some more.

I loved developing their friendship first and doing the whole "slow burn" thing. It was a great foundation for their romance!

They were so supportive of each other's dreams and goals.

He was an erratic sim, she was a lazy sim... It was my first time really playing with "negative" traits and it added a lot of depth to their characters.

Their eldest daughter Caeley was my all-time FAVORITE sim I've ever played. She still is to this day, and if you wanna see her in action she was adopted by @sparepartsbacc.

I don't know where their story would've gone if I'd kept up with my BACC, but I'm positive they would've been together until the end.

Thanks Payte for letting me gush about my old sims! I'd love to see which couple @cyazurai and @memoirsofasim love most right now!

Most of the simmers I actively follow right now are playing Sims 2, but I'm gonna ask them anyway! I wanna see your fave Sims 2 couples: @solarsimblr, @keoni-chan and @kayleigh-83.

If you don't wanna participate just ignore me! I will not be mad at all!

[gayofthefae]

The thing about romance is it can't be the only thing happening. Like any story, it's important that achieving the end goal requires personal growth.

With Jonathan and Nancy, Nancy needed to leave her comfort zone and Jonathan had to learn to trust (as Murray laid out for us). Max has to proudly make her own choices, independent of her brother, and Lucas has to let himself be the guy who "gets the girl" instead of just backing off and letting Dustin have her. Hopper has to solve his anger issues and Joyce needs to allow herself to trust enough that she can fall for someone naturally without needing to seek out over-correction of Lonnie and instead have a present love life detached from her history. Mike needs to overcome his internalized homophobia of a fear of being irrevocably queer and Will needs to overcome his internalized homophobia of a fear of taking up space or impeding on others. In season 3, Jonathan and Nancy need to become more empathetic to each other's struggles they can't understand. In season 4, they need to trust each other to listen to their desires and collaboratively solve complex issues instead of making assumptions in anxious silence. In season 4, Lucas needed to be more persistent in his care of Max and Max needed to open up more (as they laid out for us).

Notice how Joyce and Bob were just happy with no arc going on. Dustin needed confidence in himself but he was seeking it from Max as a symbol rather than building it in order to talk to her, and it was ultimately applicable in other ways, and Max had no obstacle to overcome with him. Steve failed to support Nancy in her grief but there was nothing else. Then Steve and Nancy's obstacle was..."Jonathan", and Steve doesn't need to grow in order to be able to confess as it isn't outside his willpower to be with Nancy OR confess love vulnerably, as seen in the previous season.

And my main point, as always: Mike and El. Their obstacles when I was invested were all physical. In season 1 they just get interrupted. We also didn't have enough information to know that, had he been given opportunity with liking a different girl, he wouldn't have had the confidence for that - we don't have a baseline for his growth to confession anyways. Their relationship CAUSES growth, which is good, but it doesn't require it. In season 2 they are physically separated. That is actionable on her part by overcoming Hopper's rules, but that isn't specific to him and she ends up applying them more climactically by going to Chicago. In season 3, he needs to learn to trust her more and she needs to...uhh...learn she doesn't need boys? Um, anyways...Mike does his thing though! But according to season 4, maybe he...didn't? He trusts her with her powers now so that is good but he doesn't yet trust her to come back to him if he messes up or is vulnerable. And by the end of season 4, he does, but how can we be sure given we thought so in season 3 too, right? That does count though, even if we only saw the before and after and the storyline of him getting there was told entirely offscreen for some reason. And her arc in season 4 is security in her decisions, specifically standing up against men who make decisions she doesn't support.

So easily solved obstacle, easily solved obstacle, one-sided real obstacle but she needs to grow in order to NOT be with him, one-sided real obstacle but she needs to grow in order to NOT be with him. Yeah...

Jancy is a great example as I earlier laid out as a similar couple who got together early but had recurrent problems done with this in mind. Each of their problems requires growth: empathy, communication. El has never need growth in order to be with him, twice having growth take her away from him meaning he holds her back from it, and twice having Mike need it alone - and if a character is alone in their required growth, one could argue it's more personal and could be applied to another situation ex. wanting to feel needed vs wanting to feel needed BY El.

Tldr: relationships need to require growth to be achieved, just like any other plot climax. If there hadn't been distance in season 2, Mike and El would have been together immediately and only broken up for the reason they did - El's growth requiring arc led her away from him. All other relationships in the show

Addition:

This doesn't even just apply to romantic relationships. Will needs to grow from his jealousy to get closer with El. El needs to grow from hers to get closer with Max. Steve needs to grow in his worldview to become friends with Robin, something that you'll notice you partially thought was romance because they created that obstacle that is otherwise absent from some REAL romances. Nancy needs to break out of her protected worldview to get closer with her ostracized brother, and Mike needs to break out of his black and white thinking to get closer to her. There are lots. Mike needs to trust El to stay even if he can't be who he was when they met and El needs to allow herself to let go of past dependencies in order to be friends. See? It's everywhere. They're just saying that their romantic relationship is holding them back because it isn't a good way. There is SOMETHING for everybody that requires growth. So if it doesn't, it needs to end.

[barbi2709]

Soobin with an anime nerd s/o

Disclaimer: This and each of my stories are only fiction and are not intended to offend or make anyone uncomfortable, if this type of content makes you uncomfortable, feel free to leave without resentment :]

Paring: Soobin x gn!reader

A/N: I'm doing this bc it's just a underrated topic here (no bc I'm in my delulu moments and bc im an anime nerd myself, nonono). Also im doing this to get out of a writer block to continue with my other txt series which I haven't even started (loln't)

Our Soobinnie <3

My boy just want someone who gets just as excited as him when they watch anime :(

So when he met you he was so excited to finally meet someone like him.

Once u both started dating, anime dates became a thing really quick.

You going to his place or him going to yours to watch anime.

You both have a list of animes to watch and is endless.

You both promised to never finish an anime that you are currently watching together.

Ok, but the anime dates you have are just so cute :(((((

Like, you both with cozy blankets while cuddling on the couch and watching like 6 chapters on a raw bc neither of you want to stop watching or leave each other.

(I truly believe he would agree to build a pillow fort)

He wouldn't admit it at first but he IS into romance animes.

The most cheesy shit you can find out there, he'd be like 🤮🤮🤮🤮 at first but once you ask him to watch it together my man agrees before he can register his answer.

If you're more into Shonen and seinen, be prepared to an excited Soobin every time a fight scene come to the screen.

You both could be talking for HOURS about theories or making bets about who would win the last battle.

And also be prepared to defend your fav characters from this man *cofcofmegumicofcof*

(If Megumi hater, why so hot?)

But also my man is the type to get a little bit jealous of 2D characters, so whenever you got a new husbando please make sure to reassure him.

(Or tell your sexy bf that the character is ur fav bc they're almost as sexy as him)

Having crisis together at 3 a.m. because of the spoilers for the next anime or manga chapter that you're waiting for.

He comforts you when your fav character dies.

You both cried the shit out of you after the end of snk.

Manga shopping dates are also a thing in your relationship and I swear is the cutest thing ever :(

Like, you want that one limited edition but you think you've bought enough for the day so he bought it for you and leave it at your dorm as a surprise :(

I want him </3

Whenever he's on tour, he tries everything on his power to take you when he's going to Japan.

Or he plans a trip with you to Japan bc one of his life goals is to go with u at least once in his life.

If you can't go to Japan with him he'd buy EVERYTHING for you.

"I saw this Okkotsu plushie and bought it for you"

"I thought you'd like to have a Naruto lamp for your night stand"

:((((((

The members think you both are annoying bc of how nerds you're.

But they are happy that Soobin found someone who shared his same interests.

So now you're just annoyingly cute as a couple.

I feel like he's the one to watch "guess the anime opening challenge" type of videos.

And you both are SO. FUCKING. COMPETITIVE

He's always making rules to got one win

"Let's add the rule that if you also sing the opening you got the point"

"Binnie, you didn't knew the lyrics"

There's also dates when you both are just reading mangas with soft music at the background, no one's talking, just the comfort of each other presence.

You got him to do the Tik Tok trend of Wotakoi hands dance with you during pandemic.

At least in one of his social media accounts he has an anime matching icon with you.

I don't think he'd be into cosplay or going to conventions, but if you ask him enough times he'd be doing anything for you <3.

And that's it, love y'all

[bugs1nmybrain]

Have you heard the song “give your heart a break” by Demi Lovato imagine that as a cute love story for Shigaraki with the female reader?

(I was thinking about just using the song as a story title and then use your imagination and get creative with whatever you choose and just have fun with it?😅)

Give Your Heart a Break - a soft Tomura Shigaraki x fem!reader series

CHAPTER 1 (Minors Don't Interact)

You can read Chapter 2 here.

Notes: You asked for a love story, and you're getting a love story XD. I plan for this to be a continuing series. No overarching goal with this series, just a sweet story about how Shigaraki fell hard for the reader. It will be messy! Shigaraki is not a healthy guy and would be a vile boyfriend, but I will make this as fluffy as possible. Underneath all that homicidal rage is just a boy who was never loved. This is admittedly a very, "I can fix him," kind of story lmao.

Summary: First encounter between Shigaraki and the reader. The whole chapter is literally Shiggy freaking out in GameStop because you walked in and you're so pretty and he wants to talk to you but doesn't know how.

Warnings will come and go as each chapter comes out.

Warnings: The canon of BNHA is altered; quirks still exist but Shigaraki is more of a domestic gang leader than a domestic terrorist lmao. NSFW (no sex in this chapter), Shigaraki is a creep, fluff, blue-haired Shigaraki (season 4ish), CHEESY, Shigaraki hears voices and has very loud intrusive thoughts (they are highlighted in blue and red), POV swings, CLIFFHANGER

Notes about Reader's Appearance and Personality: HEAVILY based off of me. She's shy and polite up front but silly and vulgar with people close to her. She is short and a little thicc. Alternative clothing style and she's messy looking. She is a gamer! She is insinuated to be Shigaraki's age (20), maybe even older. She likes anime! She has crooked teeth.

Tomura wasn't unlike other 20-year-old men in that he found himself checking out girls from time to time. He usually didn't do more than look in his peripheral vision, actually, love and romance and even sex were all things Tomura wasn't acquainted with. There's no way someone so twisted could ever be loved.

Tomura loved giving off the impression that he needed nobody. Even in the League, he isolated a lot while the other members would be doing something together. He'd retreat to his own room and play games or plan out operations, but sometimes he'd retreat so that he could cuddle up with his favorite body pillow and just lay there.

He'd probably kill anyone who ever found out about it, but he was starving for love. To be touched, held, kissed. For someone to play with his hair and be comfortable around him. Everyone's so afraid of him, and that's a good thing! However, sometimes he just wished he had someone, just ONE person who wanted his company. Someone to listen to him rant for hours about how much he hates heroes, someone to play games with, someone to make love to, or someone to just hold for comfort when he was stressed.

He'd commit mass genocide if anyone knew he'd had imaginary girlfriends.

Now, a big scary bad guy like Tomura could get a girlfriend, right?? Just use those scare tactics, hold her by the throat with one finger up, and tell her she has no option but to love him. Steal her, hide her, keep her to himself? Sure, the fantasy was a little hot to him, and he could so easily do it. Tomura didn't want that though. As possessive as he is, he wanted to be loved. Not feared. He's feared plenty.

He'd kill if anyone knew how much pain he's in every time he sees a cute couple walk into GameStop. It pisses him off so bad. Why can't he have that?

"Well, doi, Shigaraki. You're a murderer, a psychopath, and a villain. Just one touch and it's over. What girl is going to want your hands all over her?"

"Whatever."

-

Shigaraki was currently at GameStop looking for a video game he'd been wanting to play. He picked the game and came up with a few fingers, turning it the other way around to read the details. As he was reading, he heard a ding from the door, meaning someone was entering the store. Shigaraki always looked when it went off because he could never be too sure that some hero bounty hadn't tracked him down. He looked over to the door, expecting it to be nothing special.

Whatever Tomura was feeling right now started in his eyes. Goodness, you were so...colorful. Not even! It was funny, considering you were wearing mostly black. However, your pretty hair that was put up in pigtails and your sharp black eyeliner made you stand out like a sore thumb.

You were little, too. Tomura looked in comparison as you stood at the door, seeing that you were only around the 5' mark on the height scale.

The feeling started going to his brain now. You stepped closer and closer to the store, your pumped boots making you seem all big (even tho ur're small), bad, and mysterious. He worried you were going to walk over to his area, but you made a beeline toward the anime section.

"Hehe weeb."

Tomura didn't want to stand out, so he just stayed put, looking at games he was never going to play. He didn't even read the labels, he merely pretended to so he could observe you. He saw the other losers in the store eyeball you, too. That made him wanna kill them for some reason. He wanted to get a proper look at you, but he didn't want you to know that he was blatantly creeping on you. Even if he just looked at you, you'd probably leave the store like that. After all, he was wearing a black hoodie and the parts of his face that were visible were his rather creepy features. He'd scare you off.

He's planned some pretty crazy missions before, surely he could gather intel on you in your short time in GameStop, right?

He wanted a better look at you, so he switched from the PS area to the T-shirts. He even pretended to do a little "aha" at the shirts to make it seem like he wasn't purposely there so he could see you better. When he could get a solid look, though, he instantly needed to know everything about you.

Goodness, he's a simp, huh? You were just so goshdarn cute. Sure, he saw gothic and alt girls around the mall all the time. You looked a bit silly, though. Your makeup wasn't bad, but it was messy. Your hair could probably use some brushing too. You held a phone that had a case of some anime guy, though he didn't know which one.

"Hehe weeb."

Fuck, you were heading his way. He didn't know if he should leave before you were near him or just stay. You kept your distance anyway, as you were standing very far off to the side. Surely, you weren't able to get a good look at the shirts. He stepped back, hoping that you'd be able to tell he was giving you room. You smiled and said, "thank you," going to step forward.

Now the feeling was going to his nuts.

Now that you were in front of him, he got a nice view of the back of you. Not only could he see up close how small you really were, but he got a great view of your more intimate areas. He could tell from your skirt that you had wide hips and thick thighs, which made him pop a tiny smirk while you weren't looking.

"Grab her."

Oh, come on, not now.

Stupid fucking voices. Though, they had a point. She's small and seems polite enough to manipulate. She's thick but probably isn't that heavy in the grand scheme of things. Alone. And she ain't getting nowhere in those shoes.

While his voice distracted him, you had managed to end up at the registrar with a t-shirt in your hand. Tomura didn't really think as he bolted over behind you, he wasn't ready for you to leave. He already had his game that he had to buy so it wasn't like he was in line for no reason.

The feeling started going into his blood. He felt hot, and it was because of the stupid cashier making jokes with you and being friendly. Your laugh. He could tell it was fake, but you were so warm?

"Pet her hair."

Wow, ok, Tomura thought. Sometimes they'd say very bizarre things. Voices were confusing because he could never tell if they were deep-seated desires of his or if his brain just purposely wanted to fuck him over.

She started to pull out her wallet to pay but ended up dropping something. It landed right at Tomura's feet, so he bent down to grab it. A debit card!

"I'm sorry," you laugh nervously.

Tomura made sure to read your name intently before handing it back to you.

"No worries, hah. Guess I got to be somebody's hero today," he joked. Fuck. That was a bad joke wasn't it?

"That'd be the first time a hero has done anything helpful for me, then, haha."

...!

"That was a jab at heroes, wasn't it?" He thought. Now the feeling was in his chest. Maybe he's running with too little information but that sounded like an "I hate heroes," joke. Oh, now he's really got to know you.

"Yeah, maybe if they got off all those stacks they make they'd actually save a life, huh?"

"Hehe! You get it!"

You were smiling at him. And laughing. But not the fake laugh you gave the cashier. Your cheeks also flushed up as you giggled at his insult to hero society and he even got to see your teeth. Crooked, like his. He felt paralyzed, being able to look at you without sneaking it this time.

"I like your hair," you said to him.

Shit. He didn't even notice his hoodie fell off when he grabbed your card. Hopefully, the shopkeeper didn't know what "Shigaraki" was supposed to look like.

"I don't see many guys with blue hair like yours."

His eyes lit up when you said that. He may have even felt a small blush creep on his cheeks. Tomura knew he had an ugly face, one that made people whisper and steadily move away from him. But you complimented his hair instead of getting creeped out by him. "Really?"

"Yea. I like it a lot. Most people go for dark blue, but your color is prettier."

Pretty?!

He could swear that he can see you flustered. Is he making you blush? He didn't even do anything but have blue hair.

"Sorry, that was weird," you stammer, realizing that the word "pretty" could've offended him.

"Oh, no. You're fine! I like your hair too, the way you styled it is cute," he beams, hoping to earn some flirting points. You flashed him an adorable smile back, so he must've struck a chord.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to interrupt, but there's a line," the cashier says, getting your attention.

"Oh, right."

The way your voice shot down maybe two octaves was so funny to Tomura. You were so bubbly and flustered with him and yet so dry and indifferent with this guy. You were so interesting already. It's a good thing he made sure to remember the name on that card. Your name fits you so well, too.

You paid for your shirt and started leaving the store. Fuck, no! He didn't want you to go just yet.

"Stop her."

"Grab her."

"Tell her she's hot."

"jesus christ shut the fuck up!" Tomura mutters to himself as quiet as he could. He was trying so hard to think of how to get your attention again, but before he could, you had already been no where to be found.

"Stupid short bitch, I'll find you."

He may have thought of that one voluntarily.