#it's just that she doesn't trust Sydney at first so once she gets over that then she's sweet with her too

[lylahammar]

I've been rewatching the first two seasons of The Bear so I can watch the third season that just came out and man the character writing in this show makes me froth at the mouth it's like some of the best arcs I've ever seen in a TV series

[woso-lover]

Home is, whenever I'm with you | Lena Oberdorf

Lena Oberdorf x german!bayern munich!reader

Summary: Lena suprises you with her move to your childhood club. To finally be with you properly.

Warnings: a bit of angst, fluff

English is not my first language

Masterlist

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Girl, I never loved one like you

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

You grew up in Munich. Everything you know is there. Your famil. Your friends. Your bestfriend, Sydney. Your club.... Everything you loved was in one place. Exept your home, your lover, Lena Oberdorf. She plays for Wolfsburg. That wouldn't be the problem, even trought its the rival, but Wolfsburg is too far away from Munich, to see each other more then once in a month. And its slowly infecting your realationship.

It's started when you both grow out of the honeymoon phase. That doesn't mean you're stopped being smitten about each other. But the distant made it worse. A 6 hours drive or a one hour flight. It started to come to much.

It wasn't because of the lack of trust you have for each other. You trust each other very much. But you missed the closeness, the cuddles or the kisses. The things you would only get, if you play each other or in the german camp. It was rarely that one come to visit the other. To caught up with training for your clubs.

So everytime the national break started, you follow each other like lost puppies. It's mostly Lena, who follows you everywhere. Her Wolfsburg teammates will tease all the time, when the break is going to start or gets closer. But she doesn't care. She only cares about being close to you.

But you follow her everywhere too. And your teammates tease you about that too. Like obi, you don't care either. You're just happy being with her again.

-

To the problem is only one solution. One has the move clubs. But you both are too stuborn.

"I'm not moving away, liebling. (Darling) I have everything here."

"I change would look on you, baby. You can't always stay in the same place your whole life." Obi argues back on a face time call. It wasn't a fight. More like a discussion, in wich you both bring the same arguments over and over again.

"You know i can't handle change. And it would be a change for you too."

"I know you can't. And i already had a change. I moved from Essen. There wouldn't be so much change. You know half of the from national and you got friends with Lynn."

You look away, to the wall, feeling defeated. "Ha Gotcha, Schatz. (honey)" Obi said happily. "If you move to Bayern, you can play with and see Lea more often." You knew what the Lea card would do. You know that Lena misses to play in the same team as Lea, like in Essen.

"Didn't you wanted to show me your new tattoo idea?" Obi distracts from the topic.

You knew Obi wants to distracts from the topic. She was a bad loser and she knew how right you were, Obi just didn't want to admit that. So you played along.

"What do you think of something like that?" You showed her a page from your sketchbook.

Since then none of you dared to bring up the topic again. In the meanwhile Obi has gotten an offer from bayern munich. She didn't know what to do with it. Should she tell you? Should she ignore it? These question were toturing her mind.

-

Her solution: She's going to ask on national break what you would say if she got an offer from your beloved club.

But unfortunately the right time wouldn't come to Lena. Everytime she was close of telling you something happened. So she finally decide to say it to you no matter what.

She walked into the chill room, wich she knew you mostly are. You were there but you talked with Sydney. She didn't mean to overhear, but she stayed as she heard her own name out if your mouth.

"I love Lena, but i don't know how long it's going to work" Obis face fell. She doesn't want you to think like that. She wants to be with you forever. With sad face she walks away. She talks to you after your conversation with Sydney. But she stopped as she heard Sydney speaking.

"Don't say stupid shit like that. It's going to work out. You both are so smitten and follow each other like lost puppies. It makes me love sick. It's getting to the point to become disgusting."

"Yeah because your Single" you chuckle and on Obis face a smile grows.

"But i'm serious. If you leave, then there would be nothing much different. You still have me and Klara. We still be friends and pull pranks on camp or annoy Laura. Okay? You still got us and the team. We're a big family." Sydney hugs you.

'That's why' Obi realized. You're scared that if you move, your friends will turn their back on you. Obi walked away with smile. Knowing what she's about to do, calling her agent.

-

You were more then suprised as Lena said she will be visiting for a few days, but gadly take it. With Lena being in Munich you were happier. Sydney and Klara took notice of it and asked themselves why. But they got the answer, when Lena picks you up from training.

"Hope it wasn't too boring, being alone." You kissed Obi. After you two broke apart, you hugged her. Behind your back Sydney, Klara and Georgia made gagging faces. Lena rolled her eyes at them.

"No it wasn't, Liebling" It really wasn't. It was exhausting. She was talking with the club, her agent and the Bayern coach. All to negotiate her move to Bayern Munich.

-

The day she signed the contract she had mixed feelings. The tought of leaving Jule behind haunted her. But the blonde told her to go, to get her girl. It made Obi feel a bit better about it, but not fully. The other side was excitment. To be near you. To kiss you everyday. To cuddle with you. To cook with you. To do everything with you.

-

Before the national camp in february the romurs of Lenas move spread over. You saw it too, of course. You didn't know how to feel. There was hope, but you knew to not trust rumors. And Obi wasn't a help either. She only said that she didn't know how or why there are rumors. It broke her heart to see your face fell, just to cover it up quickly with a smile.

-

On the 14th february her move to Bayern will be officinal. She came to munich for the day, because of valentines. She knew you had a came on the evening, so she took you on a date for lunch. The whole day you weren't allowed to look on your phone. You wondered why and asked her. She only told you it would ruin her suprise.

After lunch in your favourite restaurant she took you to your favourite park, in wich you finally were allowed to look on your phone. You looked confussed at her but did anyway.

"Now go on insta"

"Obi what have you done?"

"Nothing" she smiles at you.

You looked on your phone your confussed look turned into shock. You looked up at Obi, who smiled slyly at you. "Suprise?"

"You fucking idiot. I love you" You run to Lena and hug her. "But why would you do that? You didn't had to"

"I know. But i love you. And Bayern didn't Sound that bad." With that she kisses you. Happy play with you next season and to in with you

[deanwritings]

The Guest House - Chapter 6

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Series Summary: Dean Winchester is going through a nasty divorce. He doesn't have much left to his name, but what he does have is his house. Leave it to his soon-to-be ex wife to find a way to even ruin that for him. Enter Y/N, who is looking to get away from life for a bit, and stumbles right into the middle of it all.

The Guest House Master List

Word Count: 3,288

A/N: Almost missed this week's chapter because I've been obsessively reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Took a lot of willpower to put the books down and get this finished 😅

You were absolutely shocked, flabbergasted, dismayed, aghast, and every other word in the thesaurus when Dean offered to be your hiking buddy. 

Never in a million years did you ever expect the man to offer you any favors, not alone fix your car, and definitely not take you hiking. 

After he left for work, a part of you still wanted to go. You weren’t one to wait around if you didn’t have to, but if you were being honest with yourself, you had been scared to go alone. The only times you had ever hiked alone was when you were a fearless teenager, and even then you had your 110 pound dog, Beau, by your side, so you never had to worry about someone bothering you. Plus, those were your home trails, you knew them even when you took a wrong turn. Mount Carmel was entirely new to you. Even though the hiking reviews said the trails were relatively easy, there was always a chance of missing a trail marker, especially being out of season. Hiking markers were typically re-sprayed in spring, so it had been almost a year of weathering the elements since the last time they’d likely have been updated. 

And of course, the big question ringing in your mind – could you trust Dean? The truth was, you didn’t know much about him. Every interaction up until that point had been contentious at best. Not to mention that gun he first greeted you with. Sure, you two had a nice morning together, but was that enough to trust him and let him lead you through the woods alone? 

So you decided to give Sydney a call.

“Absolutely not.” Her voice rings through the receiver. “Just cause he was nice to you once means nothing.” You sigh as you throw yourself onto the couch. 

“I know.” And you do. That’s why you were calling her for a second opinion. “But he actually seemed genuine. Surprisingly so.”

“Nope. No. No way.” She reinforces her position on it. “Please don’t make me have to do an interview on Dateline. I will not be nice. I will say ‘I told her not to go but she was dumb and didn’t listen.’ Twitter will have a field day with it.” You laugh quietly as you let your head fall against the back of the couch, staring up at the plank ceilings that match the floors. 

“Fair enough,” you conceded, knowing that what she’s saying is absolutely true. “But what if I told you he was really hot?” You raise your eyebrows even though she can’t see you. 

The other line is silent for a moment.

“How hot we talking? Like Tom Hiddleston hot or Chris Hemsworth hot?”

“Hemsworth, definitely.” You smile as you think about Dean’s defined features; a strong jaw covered in a few days worth of scruff and his oddly beautiful green eyes. You don’t think you’ve ever considered a man’s eyes beautiful until you met him. You also enjoyed the way his hair swooped over his forehead. It wasn’t long, per say, but you definitely could see yourself grabbing a handful of it if the time were right.

“Are we forgetting the vindictive ex-wife?” Sydney chimes in, breaking you from your daydreaming before it takes a shameful turn. “I mean, he had to do something to her to make her hate him that much.”

“I’m not trying to marry him, Syd.” You roll your eyes. “Yeah, he’s kinda an asshole, but he’s a hot asshole. And it’s not like I’m going to be around here much longer.” You only had about two weeks left on your rental, and now that Dean was starting to come around to you, the thought crossed your mind that maybe he could be that vacation fling you had been hoping to find. 

“Okay, well I gotta get back to work.” You can hear her heels click before background voices filter in. You glance over to the kitchen clock; 1:31. Her lunch break was ending. “Just make smart choices, please.” Her voice pleads just a bit. You know she trusts you, but you would be looking out for her if the roles were reversed. 

“Always do, Sydy. I’ll text you later.” 

As you hang up, you realize that you haven’t actually gotten lunch yet for yourself. You had some cold cuts in the fridge, but considering you were supposed to be out hiking right now, you were antsy to get out of the house. 

You decide it’s a good day to head back into town and grab some lunch, and who knows, maybe you’ll run into a certain mechanic. The idea has you smiling as you grab your coat and throw on your boots, not before freshening up with some quick makeup before you go. Just in case. 

Thankfully, your car starts with just one easy press of the ignition, and your lips turn upward as you think about Dean saving you this morning. 

A few minutes later, you’re parked downtown, this time getting a spot right in front of BILLIES. Your eyes scan the street, not seeing the tell-tale forest green truck of your neighbor. 

It had been wishful thinking, but you still need lunch so you head inside.

“Afternoon, hun.” Billie herself greets you, and you give her a wave as you take a seat at the counter. This was your fourth visit now, and each time Billie had always greeted you with a warm smile and treated you like a regular, even though she knew you were leaving soon. 

She drops a menu and a water in front of you.

“You know the deal.” She gives you a smirk before turning towards the kitchen. And you do. Once you are ready to order, just flag her down.

You’ve been making a point to order something new each time you visit, so today you were going with a chipotle turkey cheeseburger, curly fries, and your usual Diet Coke. 

Once your food is ready, Billie drops it in front of you, but you stop her before she can hurry away. Even with a near-empty diner, she always manages to find something to keep her busy.

“Hey, can I get your opinion on something?” She nods, her hair bouncing around her as she drops a hand to her hip.

“What’s up, hun?” 

“You know Dean pretty well, right?” Her chestnut eyes narrow at you. 

“Sure do,” Her tone is lighter than her gaze. “Known that boy since he was a tyke. Babysat him and his brother a few times.” 

Well that was interesting, you didn’t know Dean had a brother. Not that you would, but considering all your run-ins, you assumed he would have been around. Maybe he didn’t live here anymore. 

“He offered to take me hiking on Mount Carmel on Thursday. Obviously I barely know him, he’s safe to go with right? Like, I don’t have to worry about him killing me or anything?” Her head falls back with a deep laugh, and her hands clap together. It takes her a moment to collect herself as her chest heaves, and she wipes a tear away from her eye. You just watch her with wide eyes as she draws the attention of the few patrons enjoying a late lunch. 

“Oh, LORD, I have not laughed like that in a while.” She throws a hand onto her chest. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then?” You assume from her reaction. 

“Sweetie, that boy is harmless.” She assures you, a hint of laughter still in her tone. “A pain in the ass, maybe, but you don’t have anything to worry about with Dean.” 

“Well that I knew.” You pick up a fry and take a bite.

“How’d you manage to talk him into taking you for a hike anyhow?” Billie asks as she rests one hand on the counter and the other finding its way back to her hip.

“He offered,” you shrug, biting into another fry as her eyebrows shoot up. 

“He offered to take you hiking?” She parrots in disbelief and you nod. Her eyes look you up and down and you suddenly sit up straighter under her scrutiny. 

“What?” You now feel self-conscious. You don’t know what she’s looking at or for, but heat rises to your ears and cheeks as she looks you over. 

She just tsks and shakes her head, pushing off the counter. 

“Just surprised is all.” She gives a small shrug as someone behind you flags her down. “Enjoy your meal, hun.” 

And with that, she hurries into the dining room, leaving you confused and hungry as you pick up your burger and dig in.

Dean’s toweling off his hair, the bathroom steamed and warm from his shower, when his phone buzzes on the counter. 

He clicks his phone alive, 7:02 in big white numerals above the text notification bearing your name. 

He stands up a little straighter as he clicks open the text, his eyes quickly scanning your words.

If the offer still stands, I wouldn’t mind a hiking buddy on Thursday. 

He smiles down at the text. He obviously didn’t know you very well, but he fully anticipated you ignoring his warning and going hiking alone today anyways. 

But his shoulders drop as he realizes he’s now committed to a hike and he drops his head back. 

“Fuck,” he mumbles as he tossed his damp towel in the hamper and heads into the bedroom, thinking about his response as he grabs some sweats, a henley, and a thick pair of socks, because god damn, it was cold out. 

 Once he’s changed, he picks his phone back up.

Consider it done. He texts back as he heads downstairs to whip up some dinner. 

Dean didn’t have a lot of skills outside the auto shop, but one thing he was good at was cooking. He spent a lot of his childhood watching cooking shows with his mom as she tried to up her own ability, his early years being a lot of tv dinners and mac and cheese. By the time he was a teenager, she could pull together the most delicious pot roast and mashed potatoes you ever had. And Dean was her number one helper. 

“My little sous chef.” She would call him until he begged her to stop one day when he was twelve. 

The thought makes him smile, and he realizes he hasn’t called her in a while.

Once he gets out the ingredients he needs, he grabs his headphones and pops them into his ears.

“Hey Siri,” He unwraps the strip steak and slaps it down onto a cutting board. “Call mom.”

The phone rings as he heavily salts the beef.

“Dean!” His mother's excitement makes him wince as it nearly blows out his eardrums.

“Hi, mom,” he smiles, happy to be talking to her for the first time in well over a week. He tried to call her every few days, but as his divorce has been draining him mentally and financially, he’s been calling less. And at this moment, he feels really bad about it. 

“It’s been a while.” She says much softer. “How are things?” The genuineness in her voice immediately eases the stress that has burrowed in his shoulders ever since Lisa left. 

As he heats up and butters his cast iron skillet, he fills his mom in on happenings at the shop, Mary needing full updates on Benny, Adam, and the rest of the gang. How the divorce is going, and Dean fills her in about his guest. 

“Dean,” she sighs. He knows this divorce hurts her. She had loved Lisa like the daughter she never had, and was so excited to watch her son start his life with what she thought was a lovely woman. He still remembers her heartbreak when he told her that he caught Lisa cheating and that she had left him.

“Sweetheart, is this really worth dragging on?” He rolls his eyes as he bastes the steak. 

Here comes the mom lecture. 

“I really wish you could just move on from all this. I know she hurt you, but Dean, how long are you going to continue giving her power over your life?” His shoulders drop as he sighs. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move on, but to be honest, he just didn’t know how. Everything went so wrong so fast, his head was spinning like a top, and that was before he found Lisa in bed with Gavin. 

“I really want you to be happy, Dean.” The break in her voice has him shaking his head. This was another reason he hasn’t been calling as often. He didn’t want his own mother to pity him. 

Here he was, 32 years old, in the middle of a divorce, with nothing but a house and bitterness, while his brother was thriving. 

At 28, Sam was proving to be a shining star at the law firm he started with when he graduated law school. And last month, he proposed to his college sweetheart, Jessica. His life was just beginning, while Dean’s was stuck in the mud. 

“I am happy, mom.” He lies. “And I’ll be a lot happier once this divorce is over and Lisa is out of my life for good.” He carefully flips his steak, continuing to baste so it doesn’t burn. He can hear his mother’s sigh in his ears. She always knew when he was lying.

“Are you coming up to visit anytime soon?” She changes the subject.

“Actually, I’m coming up this weekend. There’s a car auction Sunday and Rick wants me to come tune up a few of his cars before he puts them on the block.” 

“Oh good!” His mother’s excitement returns, and they carry on with their conversation. 

Fifteen minutes later, Dean carries his finished plate to the table; seared stripe steak and roasted green beans with some leftover potatoes he had from a few nights ago. 

He rubs his hands together before he cuts into the steak, humming at the perfectly medium rare center. 

After a few bites, he picks up his phone, and sees he has a missed text from you stamped 24 minutes ago, while he was on the phone with his mom. 

Not sure if you wake up early on your days off, but if you do, I was thinking a sunrise hike? But if not I’m happy to go anytime. 

Dean purses his lips as he takes another bite, this time mixing in some mashed potato. 

He Googles Thursday’s sunrise: 6:59am. The hiking trails were about 25 minutes away, and it takes about an hour to hike to the lookout. Doing the math backwards, they would have to leave here by 5:30am. Definitely a little early for his taste on his one day off this week, but he invited himself on your hike, so he was going to swallow down his own distaste for that early of a start and agree. 

Sounds good to me. Meet me in the driveway 5:30am. We can take my car. 

Dean’s about to put his phone down but the three text bubbles jump up on the screen, and only a few seconds later, your next text.

On second thought, how about a post-sunrise hike? 

Dean smiles and lets you know that works, and you agree to meet in the driveway at 7:30am instead. 

See you then. You reply, and Dean closes out the screen and returns to his dinner. 

He’s not sure why, but he feels almost excited for tomorrow. Which is odd considering how much he fucking hates hiking. And though you two have been civil, he still wouldn't say he likes you. He just doesn’t dislike you anymore, finally able to separate you from the scheme Lisa dropped you into.

But Dean doesn’t dwell on it, more than likely just looking forward to a change of scenery as he takes a big bite of steak and settles into his seat.

“I can’t believe you consider this fun,” Dean huffs behind you, watching every step he takes as you transverse the mountainside. The incline is not overly steep, and thankfully the path isn’t too rocky, but the real danger is the one Dean warned you about; the ice. Thankfully you haven’t fallen flat on your ass, but you’ve definitely slipped a few times, once which had you rolling out your ankle to make sure you hadn’t sprained it only fifteen minutes in. 

“No one forced you to come.” You remind him with an easy breath as you focus back on your own steps, your gloved hands resting easy on the lapels of your backpack. Not that you’re trying to taunt him while he seems to be struggling as he staggers behind you.

“You know, you could walk on a flat road.” Dean continues to complain a few minutes later, as the trees start to fall away, replaced by boulders and lingering snow patches. “I mean, really, what the hells the difference? There’s plenty of trees on the road by my place if that’s what you’re looking for.” He gripes as you turn over your shoulder, watching as he steps around an iced-over puddle.  

“Tell me Dean, are you always this grumpy, or do I just seem to bring out the worst in you?” You pause and fully look towards him, dropping your hands across your chest as he takes a few more cautious steps, closing the distance between you as he steps up on a rock, the added height making him tower over you.

You’ve been at this for almost an hour, and Dean has complained almost every chance he’s had. It was very clear that he did not enjoy hiking, and it was starting to sour your morning. This was supposed to be your get-into-nature, positive energy, meditative morning hike. You had no problem taking this hike alone, he was the one who invited himself. So it was time he started acting like the guest he was. 

“Must be you, sweetheart.” He grins widely down at you, his white teeth flashing, and you suck in a breath as your heart halts.

Holy shit, this man is beautiful. His hair is tucked into a gray knit hat, and his broad frame is hidden under a thick, camel hunting coat. But his eyes. Those green eyes are shining bright in the early morning sun, and they may be the most amazing eyes you’ve ever seen, on a man or woman. It’s almost unfair. 

Truly, what the hell is a man as good-looking as Dean doing hiding away in this small town? Especially with the city only two hours away. He could easily be a model or an actor if he wanted to. The world opens doors for beautiful people. 

“Lucky me,” you regain your composure and return a tight smile as you turn on your heel, but as you shift, your left foot slips out from under your boot and you start to fall forward, your hands shooting out to brace your fall just as two hands grip your hips, catching you. 

“Warned you about that ice.” You can hear the cheeky grin in his voice as he helps you straighten up, his fingers digging deliciously into your skin through your workout tights before he lets go.

You want to shoot back a sassy remark, but you bite your tongue.

“Thank you.” You offer instead, turning towards him carefully as to not lose your footing again. 

“Don’t mention it,” he smiles down at you as he pushes past, taking the lead for the first time since you started your hike, and you have no choice but to follow.

Keep Reading

NEXT TIME:

“This is weird, right?” You say to yourself once you’re back to your little cabin. Who the fuck goes on a trip with a man they barely know, to stay with his mother of all people. 

Aunt Rose would. Your inner voice rings out. Hell, she would jump at the opportunity for the chance at a fun weekend at a fancy car show. 

I mean, it did sound cool. You’ve never been to a car show before, not that you know much about them, but you do “ohhh” and “ahhh” whenever a nice car drives by. You can at least appreciate them. And what were you going to do this weekend? The loneliness was starting to grate at you. Turns out four weeks alone wasn’t as relaxing as you expected it to be. It was nice at first, but now it was getting boring. You’ve hiked, you’ve read, you’ve meditated, you’ve shopped. Though it sounds like the town is bustling with city tourists during the warmer months, there was not much going on while there’s snow on the ground. Really, the only thing you could think of was to head to Max’s. Maybe you could meet someone this time, and not get interrupted since Dean won’t be around. 

But you know that’s not what you want to do. 

Oh god, Sydney is going to murder me. 

You pick up your phone and open a text.

I’m in. 

Forever Tag List

@iprobablyshipit91  @likesiriusly @kittyque @findingfitnessforme @wonderange @captainemwinchester @xtina2191 @smoothdogsgirl @mogaruke @chin-up-love @tsunadesenjuuchiha @lyarr24 @globetrotter28 @krazykelly @roseblue373 @k-slla @stephv213 @kaydallas21 @nerdymuffinbonkcloud

[tiredmagicalwarrior]

Sydney and Tina

Am I crazy for shipping them?

I'm so serious. I think Syd and Carmy are great, I do! I really do! But can we admit Syd and Tina also have so much chemistry?

Tina and Sydney had a rocky start. Tina won't just trust anyone. Respect is earned, not given. Tina's won over by Sydney's organization, patience and brilliance. Even when Tina sabotages Syd, Sydney still rises to the occasion.

Tina comes to do a lot more than just respect her. Tina admires Sydney, adores her with all her heart. Tina comes to seek her approval, uses Syd as the measurement of good enough. If Syd thinks it's good, then it's good.

Sydney is the first person Tina ever refers to as "chef" instead of "Jeff".

Sydney also comes to respect and admire Tina.

Sydney arrives at the restaurant being disrespected left and right. She has to claw her way to the top to garner minimal respect and recognition. And even when she does, Carmy still has outburts.

Tina's tenacity, raw skill and comfort is a high necessity from Sydney. There's a big reason why Sydney appoints Tina as her Sous chef. After going toe to toe with Tina, Sydney sees clearly how skilled Tina actually is.

She's stubborn and will only respect people worth her admiration. When garnered, Tina works to her 120% best, and nothing less. She's resourceful, a quick learner, critical, agile and takes no one's shit.

Once Tina realizes how much a badass Syd actually is, she becomes a Sydney's greatest aid.

As such, Sydney grants Tina the respect she deserves.

There's no one in the restaurant that respects and recognizes Tina more than Sydney does.

And how does she react?

THEY'RE SO CUUUUTE. UGGHHH.

Sydney makes Tina so happy.

It's Sydney's natural faith in Tina that helps bring out the best in her. And the more Sydney demonstrates this, the more confident Tina gets, the more she strives to be better. And the people around her recognize it too!

Can we also talk about how Sydney reignited the fire of Tina's dreams?

Going to culinary school, getting the opportunity to choose more and lead, relearning, all of this from Sydney's faith on her and push for betterment.

In the end of the day, it's Tina who makes all this happen. But it might not have ever happened had Syd not put her trust in Tina and tell her through her actions "you're capable. I trust you."

They become precious to each other.

It begins as protectiveness. Specifically, Tina being protective over Sydney. Syd isn't much of a back-talker, unless she's being pushed so far the edge she might as well explode.

And whenever Sydney is disrespected in front of Tina, she rises to defend her.

Sydney may be above telling people when they're full of shit, sometimes, but Tina can do it, any day, every day, all day. She's seen everything and is unafraid to tell folks how easy it is to spot their bullshit.

Especially when it comes to Carmy or Richie. Listen, I love Carmy, I get Richie, but there are a lot of moment where they treat baby girl like shit. Sydney suffers quite a bit on their hands

Consequentially, Tina is always watching Carmy and Syd when they get together. Calling out or to Carmy, keeping him on his toes and relatively good behavior.

Checking in on Syd, making sure she's okay, after their discussions with Carmen and Richie. Or just taking care of her in general, looking out for her.

Tina is also someone Sydney trusts to let her know when it's too much. She'll call Syd out on her shit, but so much more softly than she does with others. Tina knows how much it means to Sydney to do not just good, but fantastic work. Words go a long way for Syd. There's a developed carefulness Tina learned to take with her when it comes to Sydney.

In turn, Sydney listens to her. Every word.

Sydney doesn't take anything lightly. If she hears it, it goes to her heart. And Tina knows this, perhaps more than anyone.

This doesn't go unnoticed by Syd. She appreciates getting the criticism she needs to continuously grow, but in a softer, kinder manner to be constructive instead of destructive.

It lets Sydney know she can be vulnerable with Tina. That's she's trustworthy enough to see beyond the serious, capable chef and get to know the cute, dorky girl who jokes around and makes mistakes and doesn't have the answers.

In turn, Tina, who had begun trusting to be vulnerable Syd waaaay before, gets to be reciprocated in her playfulness, received an environment of comfort, creativity and love where they just get to be and create the work they adore.

Their bond ultimately evolves into open affection (now also from Sydney), silly moments and creation beyond work, as something of love to be shared.

HELL, Tina says it herself that she's BEEN alone. Past tense. Now that Sydney is here, she's no longer lonely.

They make each other so, so happy. Light in the other's life. The fire that reignites the spark, the gentle breeze that heals the wounds, the laughter that reminds why we are here in the first place.

They're so together to me. Please, I need to see some fanfic, I beg. Some soft girlfriends. Something, anything at all about them.

Anyways. I'm so normal about them. Love me some Sydney x Tina a normal ammount.

[desertgremlin]

Omg I was out all day yesterday and forgot to reply lol.

I actually saw a post on IG that had Molly's character and Cicero together, like a splitscreen of their faces, and then I was like, "Wait..." so maybe Carmy knows her from childhood? Which would also be interesting.

But for some reason I still have a strong feeling she will be some sort of love interest. And like, I agree, I think it's okay if there is no romance in the show but I always side eye people who are like, "Why do we have to have a romance? Why are you ruining the show?" And they need to keep that energy for her too and I'm not seeing it =/

As if romance isn't a part of people's lives? Yes it's heavy-handed and overly focused on, especially on television shows. And I'm not saying that it needs to be a telenovela, but like, I trust the writers and the showrunners. Some people were so nervous because they were like, the first season was so good, what if they mess it up? Which I think is so disrespectful. As if they could write a script for a TV show. An actual good one. There's a possessiveness people seem to have over this show in particular so when they are adamant about no romance, it's weird to me because....they didn't create the show and don't know these characters and stories as well as the creators.

I know the actors were surprised that a lot of people saw any sort of romantic or sexual potential in the story but it is there. Maybe Jeremy Allen White doesn't know what he looks like in the mirror but his face is quite expressive, especially his eyes. And we can see, as the audience, what he is feeling just by looking at him. And he always had that "I love you" look when he looked at Sydney. I've seen so many guys look at people that way when they are enamored. It's a very specific look and I always know what it means whether it's with children or parents or significant others. He has it when he looks at Syd. He doesn't even look at Sugar in any way that conveys like care or anything and Natalie is his sister! Like even with the people he tolerates and likes, he isn't like that. That look is reserved for Sydney.

I personally do think Carmy and Syd are soul mates. Maybe not romantic soul mates but they get one another. It can be platonic, it can be familial. But it's there. And I'm open to it being anything, but......I really do think it's more than platonic or familial. And the people who are like, oh Carmy is just a mentor.....I'm like, what are you on about? A mentor would NOT look at me the way he looks at Syd. A mentor would not put me in charge of literally everything. It's such a paternalistic way of viewing their relationship when they are clearly equals and could be intimate in kore ways than one.

no omg that's totally fine!!

Ooh okay, I do love characters who show up and know a lot about the main character's past and possibly upheaves some memories, so if that is the case 👀 Interesting!!

Once a show is out there it definitely gets subject to possessiveness - whether it be because people have interpreted it a certain way that's meaningful to them or whether they just think they know these characters better than the writers. So like, I get the people who are all for ace!carmy or more really good platonic relationship representation through this show. As for the other people, side eye-ing them along with you!

100% agree with you about The Look. It is there. It is undeniable!!! It gets me weak in the freaking knees. Carmy and Sydney just Get each other and those are my fave types of relationships. Ones where there's a synergy, a shorthand. And that doesn't mean they get along 24/7 - because lol just look at season one - but there's always an understanding there at the bottom of it all and I live for it. So I agree, whatever way the writers go with it - there is def a soulmate type bond there. I can't waitttt to see more of it in s2.

[draftmare]

Every couple of weeks I see a post asking for advice with bitting a very fussy horse. I use to be one of those people asking for help, and I wanted to share my experience on what helped "cure" my mare. We had bit troubles basically from day one and I had resigned myself that her going around with her tongue over the bit was just going to be the status quo for forever. I had tried every single dressage legal bit known to man.

Two years ago I moved to a barn that was out of the range that my vet at the time would travel. Up to that point my vet had been floating my mare's teeth once a year by hand. I thought I had the teeth situation under control. The new barn used an actual equine dentist that employed sedation. Once sedated and able to get a really good look in Sydney's mouth we discovered that she had an extra tooth at the very back of her lower jaw. There was no tooth above that tooth to help grind it down, so for the first 8 years of her life it had just been erupting with no intervention. So, step 1 is...you may think you are getting your horse's teeth done, but are you really getting them done well? I highly recommend using a specialised equine dentist if you can. Sydney now gets her teeth floated every 6 months to help with the one weird tooth.

Just correcting her teeth wasn't an automatic cure, but it was a step forward. This spring I swapped her to a leather bit. Sweet Billy's bits makes a really nice one. These bits are soft and mould to your horse's mouth completely. They are not dressage legal though, so only a short term cure. I rode in it for 4-5 months and the softness of it seemed to help her start to trust the contact again. Once she was more trusting of the contact I worked on really sending her forward every ride. Teaching her that she doesn't have to suck back and pitter-patter along to protect her mouth. She almost immediately started keeping the bit over her tongue instead of under it.

However, since these bits aren't dressage legal I knew it wasn't a long term fix if I wanted to show her. I swapped her back to a boucher and a drop noseband. The combination seems to help keep the bit very quiet in her mouth. I found that any kind of o-ring created too much "noise" for her. Because she had learned to trust the contact, going back to the boucher (I use the Stubben boucher with the German silver mouth) was a pretty smooth transition. She is now happily keeping her tongue under the bit and is much quieter in the contact compared to last year.

Sorry, I know that was long. The TL:DR is, make sure you are really and truly using a knowledgeable dentist for your horse. I found that spending some time in a leather bit teaching her to trust the contact and getting her thinking really forward every ride helped. We have now been able to transition back to a dressage legal bit, but I think the combo of the drop noseband and boucher bit are key in that as they stay very quiet in her mouth.