#but i've seen this in almost every fandom

[starkid-smosh]

Here's the thing about the Smosh Family dynamics and whatnot. They are fun and cute but they're obviously not actually a family and I think some people take it too far sometimes. People act like everyone *has* to be "siblings" or "twins" or "parent/child" and if anyone in the fandom ships two people other people deem as "related," THEY'RE the weird ones. They're the weirdos like they're shipping incest or something, but in reality, none of these people are related so people can ship whoever they want.

We saw the negative impacts of people taking the "smosh family" stuff too seriously last year when Arasha and Ian played people on a date in a sketch and everyone was like "eww this feels so weird since they're father and child," but it's like well no actually they aren't. They have every right to play a couple in a video, and they were great at it from what I remember! Like Amanda and Trevor are "mother and son" to a lot of people but they did a tntl bit where I was like "wait do they have chemistry?? 👀" and made me realize I wouldn't be opposed to that as a ship too, but they're "mother and son" to most people and the people who take that too seriously would think that idea is weird probably. But like obviously they aren't mother and son lol. Another example is how people were starting to ship Spencer and Angela and then all of a sudden a big part of the fandom decided that they are "twins" and now it's "weird" to ship them. That kind of mentality affected me too because I was also kinda shipping them and then I saw all the twins stuff and was like "ooh ok I see that too!.. Wait is this weird now??" No it's not weird bc they aren't twins!!

Another thing people need to realize is that I think almost every smosh dynamic gives siblings sometimes and gives romance at other times, so I understand why people say both things for a lot of these duos. I've seen this a lot with damangela too. "Why do people ship them they give sibling vibes??" "I don't know why people see them as siblings when they seem to flirt with each other??" Like yes both things are true and I understand both sides but don't try to dismiss someone shipping them because you decided they're "related" or even act like they're "clearly romantic so why the siblings vibe?" (although I'll admit I'm more on the "why are they siblings they literally flirt 😭" side but I see where the other people are coming from and definitely see the moments where they also can give "siblings vibes").

The smosh cast are neither related nor dating (besides like shourtney who are married lol) so neither of those things are set in stone, and you shouldn't try to act like people are weird for shipping people just because YOU'VE decided they're related. Like amangela is a very popular ship, but I also think they give sisters vibes sometimes. That doesn't negate the times they DO give romantic vibes and have shippy moments though because again they are neither in a relationship nor sisters.

I also feel like people just see two people bantering and teasing each other and automatically see that as siblings for some reason. We saw this A LOT with Shayne and Courtney before the wedding. Everyone was determined that they were siblings when they were dating 3/4 of the time everyone was saying that 😭 I saw a lot of those comments even on their Trivial Pursuit video that was posted literally a week before their wedding. Like heaven forbid a couple has some fun and teases and banters with each other instead of being super romantic all the time! Bantering is not strictly a familial activity and honestly is a crucial part of relationships imo so idk why people see two people teasing each other and go "haha SIBLINGS!"

This isn't me dissing the "smosh family" or "sibling vibes" comments in its totality like I do it too! It's fun and cute and true a lot of the time lol like the smosh cast DO give siblings vibes a lot! I've made those kinds of comments in the past and will continue to do so lol. This is more about the people who try to permanently shove every smosh dynamic into a familial box when that's not the case! Trevor and Angela give siblings vibes a lot but they also played a (short lived lol) couple in Spud Hut and were believable and had chemistry (or as much chemistry as you can have playing a couple that's about to break up lmao), and, thankfully I didn't see these kinds of comments, but if you thought that was weird because they are "siblings" that's what I'm talking about.

And honestly this isn't even just about siblings vibes vs romantic vibes/shipping because I just realized this post kinda focuses on that, but like people can just be close friends lol. People don't have to be related or dating to have a good dynamic, but sometimes I feel like some people act like if they don't explicitly have one of those two vibes, then they must not be a good duo. Two people can have a good dynamic and be a good duo even if you don't think they're fucking or family lmaoo.

Good lord this post is like 900 words I'm so sorry for writing a whole ass essay about this 💀 This is just something I've been kinda thinking about recently and I just kept thinking about more and more things as I was writing and now it's the length of a full article or something 😭.

TLDR: The Smosh Family and siblings vibes comments are really fun but aren't the end all be all for smosh dynamics and shouldn't be taken too seriously

[mercair-just-for-a-little-while]

Well, this is it !!

It's been a while ride, hasn't it?

I really don't know what else to say, so i guess i'll just keep writing and hope that whatever i say may seem inspirational in some way or another uhhh here we go !!

I joined the UTDR fandom uhhh basically almost from the very beginning (almost), and since the very beginning, i've seen tons of people with immense talent do lots of things. Music, art, you know, the kinda stuff YOU do now.

Yeah, ever since then, that has never changed. Everywhere i go, everywhere i turn to look at, there's always at least one of you, presenting one of your amazing pieces of music and art, to the point that you're scaring me, please stop getting under my bed i'm scared /jk

Now seriously, i can't even begin to describe how amazed i am by every single thing you guys do. All i can say is... You're so incredibly talented and i'm jealous of you lol

That being said... You know why i'm here. This is my final uhhh communication, i suppose. In a little less than a day now, Deltarune Chapter 3 & 4 will come out, and with it, an era will end. An era i participated in, the only era in which i was... Important for this fandom.

I think i've said it sometimes before but, before this, i didn't really really get... Anything from this. People didn't pay any attention to me and what i did. Not like i blame them, looking back, my old stuff is freaking HORRIBLE. But uhh yeah, that definitely had an effect on my mental stability back then.

That's why i always try to support the smaller creators of the community out there. I don't want anyone to feel like their work is under appreciated, because i know very damn well how that can feel.

But now i'm retiring, so probably everything i just said has absolutely no value to you anymore, but, still... I want you to know that, even if i'm not there anymore, even if i don't repost or give a like to your stuff, i still think that you did a great job, and i can't wait to see what amazing stuff you'll do in the future.

A new era is about to begin! I know it's a little scary, things are gonna change, but that's how life is. I may be taking my leave, but with this new era, thousands of talented people, artists and musicians are about to enter this wonderful fanbase, and honestly, i'm excited to see that!

When i made Woostern almost two years ago, i made her under the assumption that, like everything else, it would be ignored. I REALLY did not expect that, because i made that little critter, i would be here now, writing some kind of goodbye letter to the insane, weird people that are now my followers. Back then, i thought i would definitely retire after making her... Damn i'm glad that didn't happen.

You guys have done something really special for me. All this time, all the stuff that i made, i did it for all of you. I've always liked doing stuff for other people more than i like doing stuff for myself. So the fact that you liked it... Really means a lot to me.

At some point though, making music and art just kinda... Stopped feeling as good before, i can't even make a single good sounding melody anymore... So now that the time has come, then i supposed this would be a good time for me to go too.

I know i wasn't the best, i know i was not your favorite artist or musican, my characters are not your favorites, i didn't even make a single thing you could ever call your favorite fanwork...

But... If i really managed to inspire someone. At least one of you... Then despite all it's ups and downs, i'd say that my journey in this fandom was absolutely, definitely, and infinitely worth it.

But who knows, maybe this chapters are the inspiration i need to get back to work! Or they maybe the complete opposite of that. Who knows.

Now, let's get over this awful emotional stuff. Some people want to say goodbye !!

* AH' REALLY ENJOYED OUR LIL' ADVENTURE, PAL! NOW WE HAVTA' GO! REACH FOR THE SKY INTO NEW HORIZONS!

* AND WHO KNOWS, I RECKON WE MIGHT SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN SOMEDAY, *FRIEND*, TEE HEE

* SO LONG, COWBOY !! I'LL MISS YOU !!

* SEEMS LIKE THIS PLACE CAN'T HANDLE THE EPIC BONSLICK STYLE NO MORE. SO SCREW IT !!

* IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED N' ALL BUT NOW I GOTTA' BLAST !!

* COWABUNGA, NEEERRRRRDZ !!

* ♪ G-G-GOOD BB-BYE LITTLE ONES ♪

* ♪ S-SHOW'S O-O-OVER! IT'S TIME TO GO H-H-OME ♪

* ♪ RE-REMEMBER! left-e< WILL ALWAYS L-L-LOVE YOU ♪

* VALE! GOODBYE, FAREWELL!

* PLEASE DO NOT SADDEN, MY LOVE!

* DO NOT DESPAIR

* THE ANGEL WILL ALWAYS BE HERE

* TO WATCH OVER YOU

* FOR ME

* QUIIDOOO HAD FUUNNN...

* oooOOOOOOOooo...

* QUIDDO DON WANN GO YEET...

* QUIDDO MISS YOOUUuuu

* GOODBUUYYY...

* YXU ARE LUCKY YXU NXVXR GOT T FXGHT ME, "PAL".

* HXSTX LA VXSTA

* WE HAVE NXTHING TO DISCUSS. LXAVX.

* I... IT HAS... B-BEEN A PLEASURE.

* TO MEET... YOU.

* ANGEL.

* G-GOODNIGHT.

Thank you for being my audience.

Oh! i almost forgot.

Deltarune tomorrow.

The Mercair

Directed by Michael Bay & Toby Fox

[the-primest-skeletron]

yknow what I'll be honest not only do I think that Kris probably likes Ralsei I think that if they're really as uncomfortable around him as most of the fandom seems to think, then they're an asshole and can go fuck themselves

if they're unwilling to give a really basic complement to someone who has never been complimented before and basically has no fucking self-image and has been nothing but kind and supportive to them, because that person might.. look a little bit like their brother? Who they like? I'm sorry it just does not make a lick of sense to me and if it does end up being true I'll be really upset.

just to be clear, I dont believe Kris is an asshole for not liking Ralsei, I believe that Kris probably does like Ralsei.

frankly it looks more likely to me that Kris wants to be friends with Ralsei and the players are the ones forcing them to be cold and distant because they think they know better.

I'm not sure why the fandom is so obsessed with this idea, because the only evidence it ever really had was tea theory and even thst was kind of just an assumption, and a really weird one because even if it's true it still means that Kris would, in the span of a single day, grow almost as close to Ralsei as they are to Noelle, their closest childhood friend.

I know it might sound petty, but it honestly does reek of people not liking Ralsei and wanting to project that onto Kris. I've seen this attitude in the fandom for a while, there are people who talk openly about wanting Ralsei to be replaced by Noelle and it's every strange to me. I think it's had a very negative effect on how people view Ralsei as acharcater, and ironically, I feel the people who are always talking about Kris being seperate from the player are the people who are quickest to project that stuff onto them.

[dewwshi]

i liked the sparring scene from the start of siege of darkness a normal amount

[thebluemoo]

I'm so tired. And Frustrated.

I'm tired of characters needing to be "in love" every time they love each other. Especially when the media goes out of the way to make it clear that they love each other without ever trying to define that as "in love". They love each other. That is just as valuable. That is Just as worthy. They can be partners without romance. They can be partners without sex.

They Can Be Partners Without Romance.

I am so Sick of not only the idea that for some god forsaken reason, Every single queer relationship needs to be labeled and categorizable to "count" as explicitly queer, but the idea that it needs to be romantic. The notion that characters and stories cannot be queer until you get to see a kiss or people are declared "boyfriends" or something else like that. We are Woefully shy of queer representation on the whole— I'm not saying you can't interpret media however you like. Do what you want.

But I am so sick of characters that Clearly mirror aromantic stories or stories about queerness that just don't focus on romance be called "not good enough" or "homophobic". Not every story is about romance. Not every partnership is romantic.

That doesn't make them not queer. That doesn't make them not important. I can promise you, those of us who don't or can't center romance in our lives? We Are living a queer experience. We are antithetical to amatonormative allonormative expectations for how life "should" be lead.

We get to see ourselves in those stories you're calling "not queer enough". Queerness is complex and weird and Fucking Queer. It's not an analog of straightness or cisness. We're not playing opposite to straightness or cisness. We're not operating in the same Framework— that's what makes us so goddamn queer. We aren't easily definable, and when we try to force ourselves to find one definitive way to be queer, we leave community behind.

So yes. We need more queer stories. We need more queer stories of all kinds that are messy and weird and romantic and aromantic and trans and ace and nonbinary and all over the place because every single story about queerness is going to be different. And that's good.

[brainclouded]

Just bc 2 characters are dark skinned it doesn't mean they have to be family....just a thought

[sidetable-drawer]

This is an awesome comment made on a video essay about why the Horrid Henry discourse on Twitter is so stupid and honestly? This is just the basics of discourse like "oooh asshole character is only like this because blankety blankety blank" being broken down into its core essentials. I can think of so much discourse over multiple shows and characters that boil down to this. Give this person an award.

(Also from what I've seen of Horrid Henry...my only stance on the "discourse" is just that everyone on this show seems to be absolutely annoying and insufferable. I heard the books are a little better but they didn't make it over to the states so I have no idea).

[hangryyeena]

hiding out in my Ryoma corner and avoiding Danganronpa fans on Twitter 🧯🛡️

[a-drop-of-golden-sun]

hii, do you think you could explain why you didn't like tsats?? I rlly liked it and I've seen a lot of praise for it but not many reasons why people don't? thank you if you reply, have a nice day ^^

ah, okay. I mean I don't have a super detailed list of reasons or anything.. mostly because I didn't even finish it (which tells you how much I disliked it because I basically always finish a book no matter how bad it is.)

also this is just my opinon on it idm if other people like it

-okay I get because its a two author project its going to be different from the rest of the rrverse, but tsats just did not feel the same (/derogatory). it felt like it was fanfictiony except fanfic is always amazing and this is an insult to fanfiction for sure. idk it was like....someone's made up idea of what fanfiction is (-> bad and inconsistent and taking out everything there was to like abt the source material. aka the previous rrverse series).

like I know the writing will be a little different but I didn't expect it to be bad different :( for example the pacing ?? one of the main reasons I didn't finish it was because it was so boring and felt really slow. which is so strange for an rrverse boook because they're normally known for being really fast-paced and fun...if they wanted to do like a slower demigod-day-in story that would be fine but the plot is literally them literally going to tartarus to save someone and fight monsters lol so whats up with that

in general I remember not being amused by any of the jokes. it just doesn't fit in with any of the past rrverse humour. its just annoying...rrverse's main charm is them being funny little adventures with crazy greek god shennanigans but none of the things in tsats were funny (at least to me)

the way they talk about mental health and queer issues is weird to me somehow? I didn't fully get up to quite a bit of this but the charcters talk in a sort of "I just memorised an infographic and now I am regurgitating the information to the reader to educate them" kind of way. lol that was really specific...aldkxdk but yeah none of the other books do that. when they talk about queer identities or disabilities or mental health they keep it very brief and to the point and it just feels so much more realistic and incorporated into the story a lot better

AH SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT I DID NOT REALISE

yikes I yap way too much on this website :'')

um but yee that's all :) hope you have a nice day too anon !! thank you for being very nice :3

[cherrydeprived]

I feel like a huge part of "fandom problems" come either from the fact that you're in a really, REALLY wrong side of fandom or that you take everything in the worst way possible on purpose

[tanasha-not-yet]

it's kind of a cedric version of this piece

[vroomvroomwee]

I cannot stress how much of an impact this will have for the aspec community. It shows a character who has quite literally seen almost every inch of the universe, met all kinds of people, has been in all kinds of relationships. And what makes him the happiest is settling down with his best friend. He doesn't need romantic love or a relationship. How incredible is that? To have a show, in this sex obsessed day and age, do that?

When the entire world is telling aspec people our "lifestyle" is wrong or depressing or sad. When everyone is trying to "fix" us or is pitying us. When aroace erasure is so deeply rooted in society that you can scarcely find a fictional pairing where the fandom isn't crying their eyes out because they didn't get together or didn't kiss, as if their relationship is somehow lesser or inferior because of it.

I could go on and on about how earth-shattering it is to have one of the most popular and beloved characters in media choose platonic love. To show how platonic love and friendships are so powerful they even defied physics, probably even deeper and more powerful than romantic ones.

"This is the happiest I've ever been" Me too pal. Me too

[elventhespian]

So like... it's a Thing in all fandoms where fans sort of latch onto fanon versions of characters and their dynamics with each other that are actually completely off-base, right? I don't know if this phenomenon has an official name, but I've seen it so many times and it's fascinated me every time. Especially when a character's popular fanon selves don't end up just diluted from their source material, but straight up OPPOSITE their canon portrayal.

So one of my "favorite" variations on this was how the early PotC fandom used to get Will EXTREMELY wrong, especially in comparison to Jack, and it made finding in-character fics SO. DAMN. DIFFICULT.

I've talked about this MULTIPLE times before, as have several other fans. It's a dead horse being beaten. But basically certain prevalent takes on fanon!Will have in the past leaned towards a personality that was very patient and grounded and even demure to contrast against Jack's off-beat personality and Elizabeth's fiery rebelliousness. Because Elizabeth has the drive to push back against social norms, Will became the foil who fell back to his pre-pirate version, reluctant to break rules unless she pulled him into it, even in post-CotBP timelines. Likewise, Jack was the one with the WTF decision making, while Will was more rooted in reasonable decisions.

And by their appearances, archetypes, and certain elements of their world views, you'd THINK that's how it works. When we meet Will in the governor's foyer, Will is so lovestruck and doe-eyed and subservient to the governor, I think that people thought that's just Who He Is. Especially because he often acts as Jack's straight-man foil in the comedic elements. Straight-laced. Rigid. Even boring or timid.

But if you actually pay attention to the movies, it's very much the opposite. In canon, Jack's USUALLY the level-headed one who just happens to have chaos follow him, because of the way he can wield it. He thinks in long run, tries to solve problems with words and as little fighting as possible as often as he can. Ideal situations for Jack are more like a thief--he wants to be in and out of the job as silently and slick as possible. The scenarios he's in are insane, because the way he throws other people around with those scenarios is kind of insane, but he himself remains largely cool and collected.

That's Jack.

THIS is Will:

Canon!Will starts out literally so impulsive and rash, Jack has to physically manhandle him at certain points to keep him from blowing up his plans--and then still gets taken out because he underestimates his listening skills and impatience. Will corners Jack into what is functionally a cage match to the death by sanely locking the door with his sword and very nearly wins. He is constantly at 11, constantly demanding things be done faster, more directly, and at the same time quietly scheming behind Jack's back almost from the get-go. He does flashy jumps and flips off of things because using the stairs is too slow or whatever. He shows up in DMC yelling at Jack to give him his compass at the point of the sword, and insisting he'll get Davy Jones' key by just "cutting down everyone in his path."

Even when Will mellows out significantly in AWE, there are remnants of this contrast still there. Jack's plan for leading Beckett to Shipwreck Cove seems to have been a very reasonable and underhanded effort to deliberately make sure Elizabeth is inside the Cove while Will is on Beckett's ship, in command of the Compass. Meanwhile Will's plan was to leave a breadcrumb trail of vulture-sea gulls feasting on dead soldiers' corpses.

What I'm getting at is, yeah, Jack's a charismatic "rogue" and Will's a "romantic hero" TECHNICALLY. Jack makes quippy jokes, and Will glares and scowls and WTFs back. But not only are they are both more alike than people give them credit for, they are also totally opposite their roles' traditional personalities in ways that the fandom tends to overlook.

TLDR; Jack's crazy, Will's a sweetheart. But Will is also a manic gremlin, and Jack doesn't always know what to do with him about it, so they often end up something like this:

And more fans need to play with this fact, the end.

[three--rings]

One thing I haven't seen a lot of talk about in the fandom so far is about the financials of this season.

It took us two whole months to get a confirmation of renewal from Max, and I talked at the time that I think there was probably a lot of heated negotiations going on at the time with contracts and that's why it took as long as it did.

I think we see a huge number of indications of the compromises that were made in order for S2 to be made. One obvious one that has been talked about is being making in in NZ instead of LA, to save $.

But there's also the eight episodes instead of ten. And then the cast aspect. One downside of moving overseas was having to fly out and house the cast, not just pay day wages.

We knew immediately about Guz Khan not coming back, losing Ivan as a character. At the time I was sad but I thought it had the air of a pretty harshly practical call. If you went through the main recurring cast and said okay which character will affect the fewest things, has the least character interactions of anyone? It would be Ivan. (With the only competition being The Swede IMO, but he's Stede's crew and therefore a little more central.)

And then this season started and we got first The Swede sidelined and taken out of major scenes. And then I noticed that different members of the crew were simply absent for long stretches, like Wee John isn't around for ep 5 at all. And then Buttons takes flight.

Lucius and Pete aren't at the party for most of it. Fang isn't in the torture scene. Roach and Fang aren't in the bar. Etc. SCHEDULING IS HAPPENING.

The new characters are almost entirely played by NZ local actors, which is great, but also...cheaper.

In other words there are big signs that they did everything possible to give us a giant cast of almost everyone we love from S1, and cool new characters, in the most economical way possible.

And I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful we got S2, and it looks great, and it's well written, I'm having a blast, and we get to spend more time with this awesome cast.

But I also kinda think it needs to be said that the cost-cutting shows. That it shouldn't have been only 8 episodes, the pacing is off. That we miss every time someone from the ensemble isn't on screen.

That despite what they've put on screen looking very good, there's far less costuming budget, there's less elaborate sets, and it's a little disappointing. And it's clear it's not a lack of will or talent or vision but blatantly lack of money.

Look, streaming networks want brilliant shows that people love (that will get them to subscribe) but they very don't want to pay anyone to make them. That's like, the whole moment we're having right now.

Max puts out promos about how great it is to not have unions messing shit up in NZ. Well I have friends who are union costumers in LA and guess what union costumers did amazing last season. This season, well, I guess Stede got three whole shirts, so that's cool.

So I dunno. It's just stuff I think about. I'm not trying to be negative about the show in any way. I'm extremely happy with this season; I love it more than well, possibly any show I've ever been in fandom for.

But I see you, Max. You're cheap. You weren't that cheap when you were called HBO.

[aegis-noctua]

Allow me to finally break and enter this fandom with my humble offering!

I just wanted to do something with them all being good friends. Love, love, love their group dynamic! Also I have like 20+ pages worth of silly little dialogs that I want to turn into equally silly little comics, so hopefully I'll be sticking around.

Aaand a lot of rambling under the cut.

I'm an avid reader, you see. I generally don't watch things (sometimes not in literal years), it's just not something I do. So when at the beginning of fall tumblr exploded with outrage over the Dead Boy Detectives cancellation, my first thought genuinely was "what a stupid f*cking name" and then immediately "people are overreacting, it's just a series, nothing is worth that much of a fuss". But after observing for some time from a safe distance I eventually grew curious. I thought I knew what I was getting into.

(I had no bloody idea)

Well. Here I am now, almost four months of obsession later, eating my words with shards of glass and no sign of reaching the bottom of this cursed rabbit hole. I've been drawing more than ever and for the first time seriously thinking about honing my artistic skills. I have some drafts for at least two stories, and even though I'm a little hesitant to write (not being a native and all), I'm pretty determined to give it a go anyway. I tend to avoid social media and digital public spaces in general, but #SaveDeadBoyDetectives campaign changed that as well. To my great regret, there is not much I can do or participate in, so I settled for trying to be supportive of all the lovely people who created probably the safest and most comfortable online space I've ever encountered. I'm not as good as Charles at keeping spirits up, but damn I wanna try.

It honestly feels like if I had something like dbda growing up, I'd turn out at least 40% less traumatized as a person. It grew to mean so much so quickly. It's like some moments were plucked right out of my life and then embedded in the show. I felt (and still feel) so seen, and understood, and reassured, and safe, and hopeful, and accepted when watching (pretty much everybody's but especially) Edwin's side of the story. It's so much more than "just a series", and these Dead Boys deserve every good word that's being said about them.

Okay, I'm wrapping it up now, and the only thing left to say is thank you to all the people who put their effort into keeping this wonderful story alive and making the fandom so friendly and welcoming.

(right now I'm working on a big Christmas comic that I definitely won't be able to finish in time, but it will appear here at some point)

[cressidagrey]

The Queen of Romantasy and the Race Car Prince - Chapter 13

Pairing: Lando Norris x Elizabeth "Lizzie" Treshton (Original Character)

Summary:

Elizabeth Treshton—bestselling romantasy author, queen of fae heartbreak, and sworn devotee of a carefully structured routine—never expected her service dog to abandon protocol and diagnose a Formula 1 driver with something. But that’s exactly what happens when Mara the wonder-dog ditches Lizzie’s side to aggressively alert to none other than Lando Norris in the middle of a coffee shop.

Warnings and Notes: 

Mention of epilepsy and service animals. I don't myself suffer from epilepsy, so I asked my IRL friend, who thankfully was nice enough to let me ask her all the questions I could come up with. The rest I asked Reddit. So everything that's wrong...that's totally my fault and not on purpose. Also Discussion of toxic media/fandom/death threats.

As always big thanks to @llirawolf , who listens to me ramble

Lando knew this was going to be a mess, but at this point, he had no choice. He’d been bullied into this.

He slouched in his chair, arms crossed, waiting for the right moment to speak up. Zak Brown was reviewing sponsorship commitments, Andrea Stella was making notes on the schedule, and Sophie, McLaren’s head of PR, was rattling off media obligations. Across the table, Oscar was watching him, barely holding back a smirk.

Lando cleared his throat. “By the way, I’m bringing my girlfriend to Silverstone.”

The room went silent. Heads turned, eyebrows raised, and even Zak looked up from his paperwork. And then there was Oscar, unable to bite back his smirk any longer.

Sophie was the first to regain composure. “Girlfriend?” she repeated, clearly caught off guard.

"Yeah," Lando affirmed, trying to sound casual, but the tension in the room was palpable. "I've been seeing someone for a while. And she's coming to Silverstone."

There was a pause, an awkward beat of silence.

Zak narrowed his eyes. “And when exactly were you planning on telling us this?”

Lando shrugged. “Now?”

Sophie sighed, already dreading the impending PR nightmare. "Alright," she said, pushing up her glasses and steeling herself. "Who is this mystery girlfriend?"

“Elizabeth Treshton,” Lando said casually.

The room exploded.

Sophie looked like she was malfunctioning. “Wait—Elizabeth Treshton? As in—”

Zak leaned forward, looking genuinely shocked. “The Elizabeth Treshton?”

Andrea, who usually stayed calm, looked almost rattled. “The author?”

“Yes, the author,” Lando confirmed, rolling his eyes. “Why is everyone acting like I just said I’m dating the Queen of England?”

Sophie groaned, already rubbing her temples. “Lando, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

Zak was still shaking his head, somewhere between impressed and exasperated. “You’ve been secretly dating a bestselling fantasy author and didn’t think to mention it?”

Sophie looked like she had a migraine. "Lando, you’ve just added a whole new layer to your public image. And you have no idea what kind of circus the media will make out of this.”

Andrea sighed. “Lando. You realize that this means—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lando cut in, waving a hand. “Social media chaos, headlines, fans losing their minds. Trust me, I know.”

Not like he hadn’t thought about it…constantly.  

Sophie, now frantically typing away on her laptop, let out a sharp exhale. “You do understand her fanbase is massive, right? You’re dating one of the most popular fantasy authors in the world. This isn’t just a random reveal. This is—this is—”

“Huge,” Oscar supplied helpfully, still looking thoroguhly amused. 

Lando nodded, feigning nonchalance. "I’ve seen the numbers. I know she’s a big deal. But you’re acting like it’s a bad thing."

Zak raised an eyebrow. "It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes things… complicated."

Andrea nodded in agreement. "Treshton’s fan base is extremely passionate. They’ll be watching your every move. And given her genre of books, well… let’s just say they have… very active imaginations.”

Lando couldn’t help an amused smirk. "You mean they’ll write fanfiction about us?"

Sophie looked more pained at the mention of fanfiction. "They’ll do so much more than that, Lando. Interviews, gossip sites, fan theories—the media will have a field day with this. Her privacy is going to be nonexistent, and so is yours."

Lando shrugged, trying to look unperturbed. "I can deal with the press. I’ve been doing it for years. And honestly, her fans can’t be any worse than some of the crazies online."

Andrea sighed again, muttering something in Italian under his breath before looking at Sophie. “How do we handle this?”

Sophie, now looking more exhausted than ever, replied, "We handle this very carefully. We’ll need a statement, some approved talking points, and a ton of media training. This has the potential to be a PR nightmare if we don’t get out ahead of it."

Lando let out a long sigh, regretting his decision to mention anything. "Great, just great."

"And we'll need to meet her," Sophie continued. "And probably her team."

Zak leaned back in his chair, a small smirk on his face. "I can’t wait to meet the woman who’s managed to tame our Lando."

Lando rolled his eyes. "I’m not tamed," he muttered, ignoring the smirks from his teammates.

"Sure, you’re not," Oscar said, clearly amused. "You are just reading romantasy books and getting her dog Ferrari bandanas."

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Zak said drily. "Lando...why?"

Lando groaned, slumping back in his chair. "Don’t start with that."

Zak smirked, all too pleased with the subject. "I’m just curious. Lando Norris,  McLaren race car driver, getting a dog a Ferrari bandana. Also, I am going to put my foot down and say that we are not having the dog in the garage in a ferrari bandana."

Lando huffed, but there was a reluctant smirk on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, it’s a PR nightmare. But the dog is innocent. Lizzie has been a Ferrari fan since childhood. The dog is literally named Maranello."

Zak’s eyes widened, and he looked to the rest of the room. "You’re kidding."

Sophie just shook her head in disbelief, while Andrea let out a low whistle. "Damn, she’s really committed to being a Ferrari fan, isn’t she?"

Lando just ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "Yes, I know. I’ve made my peace with it."

***

Lizzie had been in her fair share of nerve-wracking meetings—editorial reviews, publisher strategy calls, even a few intense negotiations about movie rights—but nothing quite prepared her for sitting in McLaren’s conference room, facing Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, and the entire PR team.

She sat up straight, hands folded in her lap as she tried not to let her nerves show. It wasn’t every day that she was the center of attention for an entire Formula One team.

Zak Brown looked directly at her. “Ms. Treshton—”

“Lizzie, please.” She interrupted, cringing internally at just how nervous she sounded.

Zak folded his hands on the table and leaned forward. “So, Lizzie. First of all—welcome. I have to say, this is a bit of a surprise.”

Yeah, it was. Not just for them. If someboy woul have told LIzzie a year ago that she was going to sit in a team meeting in the MTC and discuss her romantic relationship with Lando Norris, she would have started laughing hysterically. 

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” she settled on saying. 

Lando squeezed her hand under the table. 

Sophie, McLaren’s head of PR, sighed, already scribbling notes. “Okay, let’s get to the important stuff. You’re a bestselling author with a massive online following. Lando is one of the most popular drivers on the grid. When this relationship goes public, it’s not going to be small.”

Lizzie nodded, trying to keep her face neutral. She knew all too well the scrutiny that came with being a public figure. But hearing McLaren spell it out, in the context of Lando’s world, was still a bit jarring. “I’m aware of the attention it will bring,” she agreed. 

Zak nodded. “We need to prepare a few talking points, a plan for the media, and figure out how to approach this. Given your...passionate fanbase, we’re expecting some fallout.”

She took a deep breath, trying to sound assured. “I understand. I’ve been in the public eye for a while, so I have some idea of what to expect. But I’ll do my best to handle it.”

Zak nodded, glancing at Lizzie. “Which brings me to my next question. Are you prepared for that?”

Lizzie met his gaze evenly. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

There was a moment of silence as the team digested her answer. She could almost see their surprise.

Sophie, ever the media manager, pressed on. “Publicity can be ruthless. The media will dig into your past, speculate on your relationship, and try to find any angle they can to sensationalize the story. You’ll have cameras and microphones in your face, people demanding interviews, autograph requests. Are you ready for that?”

Lizzie considered the question for a moment. Ready? Probably not. But was she willing to face it?

“I’ve dealt with the press before. I know how to handle myself in front of cameras and microphones.” It was at least partially true.

Andrea, who had been silently watching her this whole time, finally spoke. “You have a service dog. Lando mentioned that you have epilepsy.” His tone wasn’t unkind—just careful. “Do you have any concerns about attending a race weekend?”

Lando stiffened slightly beside her, but Lizzie appreciated the directness.

“I’ve thought about it,” she admitted. “It’s a high-stimulation environment—loud, crowded, unpredictable. But I’ve managed fine at other big events before, and I wouldn’t put myself in a situation I couldn’t handle.”

She glanced down, where Mara lay calmly at her feet. “Mara will be with me at all times. She’s trained to alert me before a seizure, and I trust her completely.”

There was a long silence as the McLaren team absorbed this new information. Lizzie could see the wheels turning in their heads, weighing the pros and cons and determining how this added new variable would affect their strategy.

Sophie finally broke the silence, her pen still scratching notes across a pad of paper. “This definitely adds another element to consider.”

Zak looked thoughtful. “We’ll need to ensure that Mara has access wherever you go on race weekends. And our medics will need to be briefed on your condition in case of an emergency.”

Lizzie nodded, feeling a wave of relief that they were taking this seriously. “I can provide them with all the necessary medical information beforehand.”

Sophie, however, still looked concerned. “The press is going to latch onto your condition. We need to be prepared for that.”

"It's not a secret," Lizzie said drily.

"Lizzie has been openly talking about her epilepsy online for years," Lando said quickly.

The words hung in the air for a beat. It was true. Lizzie had been open about her epilepsy on social media—but that was to her fans, to people who loved her books and cared about her as an author. This was an entirely different beast.

Sophie frowned slightly, clearly worried. "Yes, but this will bring a whole new level of scrutiny. The media will ask invasive questions, demand to know every detail—"

"I know," Lizzie said calmly. "I'm aware of how relentless the press can be. I'm not naive."

Andrea nodded, his frown slightly softened. "We'll do everything we can to protect your privacy, but—"

"There's only so much you can control," Lizzie finished for him. "I get it. I know what to expect."

Lando on the other hand already looked murderous.

He hadn't said a word, just sitting there in brooding silence. But one look at his expression, at the muscle in his jaw clenching, told Lizzie he did not like this angle of questioning at all.

Zak noticed too. "Lando, you've been unusually quiet."

Lando was bristling now. "What? You think I'm happy that the press is going to exploit her medical condition for headlines?"

Zak raised a placating hand. "No one said that. But it's something we have to consider. We need to be prepared for the questions they'll ask."

Lando's glare could've melted steel. But Lizzie, knowing him too well, gave his hand a subtle squeeze under the table. A nonverbal plea for calm.

It worked. Lando took a deep breath, managing to tone down his scowl to a slightly less homicidal expression.

Zak, noticing Lizzie's silent intervention, gave her a look that clearly said, "Nice one."

"Okay," Zak said, clearing his throat and redirecting the conversation. "There's one more thing we need to discuss."

Lizzie braced herself, wondering what could possibly be left.

"Ferrari. Really?!"

It was the last thing Lizzie expected to hear.

She bit back a laugh, trying not to show her amusement, while Lando groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Here we go," he muttered.

Zak was shaking his head, clearly torn between exasperation and amusement. "I can't believe one of my star drivers is dating a die-hard Ferrari fan."

Lizzie couldn't help herself anymore. A soft laugh escaped her lips.

Sophie, seeing her reaction, rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth.

Andrea, the most composed of the group, raised an eyebrow at Lando. "Did you not think we were going to bring this up?"

"I promise not to wear Ferrari Merch in the McLaren Garage?" Lizzie suggested, trying to stay serious.

Lando snorted, looking both horrified and amused at the thought.

Zak, clearly torn between amusement and protectiveness over his team, ran a hand through his hair. "I'd prefer if you didn't, yeah."

"But no promises about Mara's Bandana. I am not putting a McLaren Bandana on Mara. That would be treason," Lizzie said seriously.

There was a round of disbelieving chuckles from the McLaren team. It seemed like the ice was finally broken.

Sophie bit back a laugh, looking slightly more relaxed. "I can't believe we're discussing your dog's loyalties in a serious strategy meeting."

"This is a very serious topic," Lizzie said dryly, trying to keep a straight face. "Mara is very attached to her Ferrari bandana. I don't think she'd take kindly to switching allegiances."

Lando looked at her aghast. "How have I managed to fall in love with a woman who has a Ferrari dog?"

Zak chuckled. "You just know the press is going to have a field day with this."