#brelise

[kanerallels]

Going insane about your own OCs hits different, not gonna lie

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Incorrect Quotes Tag Game - Ships Edition

So, I've actually done this before (I was tagged by @writinglittlebeasts).

Here's the link to it:

Thank you to @writinglittlebeasts for tagging me! So, I’m meant to use this generator to produce a bunch of incorrect quotes for my OCs:

But I've been playing around with the incorrect quote generator website for fun, and I've come up with some more hilarious interactions that I really wanted to share! This time, we're focusing more on the ships - Bephanie (Ben and Stephanie) and Brelise (Bret + Elise).

Here's the link to the generator:

🏳️‍🌈Incorrect Quote Generator🏳️‍🌈

Hope you enjoy these!

Bephanie:

Ben: What are you in the mood for? Stephanie: World domination. Ben: That's a bit ambitious. Stephanie: You are my world. Ben: Aww… Stephanie: Ben: Stephanie: Ben: OH.

Stephanie, throwing her head into Ben's lap: Tell me I'm pretty! Ben, lovingly stroking her hair: You're pretty fucking annoying, that's what you are.

Ben: Did it hurt when you fell- Stephanie: From heaven? Wow, I didn’t think you were such a flirt- Ben: No, I meant when you fell down the stairs. Stephanie: … Ben: You just laid there for 15 minutes.

Stephanie: Ben, can I speak to you for a minute? In private. Ben: Ooh, someone's in trouble... It's me. I don't know why I did that.

Ben: Did you know you remind me of all 26 letters of the alphabet? Stephanie: What? Like J F K W S Q X- Ben: No, like, U R A Q T. Stephanie: Awwww!

Ben: This is a very powerful artefact. You’d be messing with some forces we don’t fully understand. Stephanie: That sounds like a dare to me. Ben: Oh my God.

Ben: Vegetable oil is made from vegetables, and coconut oil is made from coconuts, so BABY OIL- Stephanie: CAN'T WE JUST HAVE A NICE FAMILY DINNER FOR ONCE?!

Brelise:

Bret: Ugh, crushes are so dumb. Elise: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid. Bret: But you’re always acting stupid? Elise: … Elise: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

Bret: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time? Elise: AS ENEMIES?! Bret:

Cop: What are your names? Elise, whispering: Don't tell him, Bret. Cop, writing: Bret… Elise: Crap. Bret: Nice going, Elise. Cop: Bret: Uh oh.

Elise: Two wrongs don’t make a right. Bret: *sighs* That’s true… Bret: But two negatives make a positive!!!

Elise: My life is a mess. Bret: Elise relax, go get a beer. Elise: I don’t want a beer. Bret: Who said it was for you?

Bret: I am so cool. I am an absolute Chad. I am the epitome of coolness and awesomeness— Elise: Hi. Bret: *melts down in a flustered heap of softness*

Bret: You look good in that hoodie. Elise: You know where else I'd look good? Bret, zero hesitation: My bed. Elise, at the same time: By your side- wait, what?

__________

There we go!

Love these lol (Some of these actually lowkey fit perfectly characterwise... I put them in an order that chronologically kind of works in terms of plot/character development).

I think I'll tag some other writers to do this for some ships in their own works as well...

Gently tagging all these folks: @fayeiswriting, @kirsten-is-writing, @e-s-willswriting, @jay-avian, @clairelsonao3, @sarahlizziewrites, @mjparkerwriting, @silverslipstream, @winterandwords, @exquisitecrow, @elizaellwrites, @writingalterras, @thecreakywriter, @sam-glade, @mysticstarlightduck, @hollyannewrites, @ryns-ramblings, @autumnalwalker, @toribookworm22, @mousedetective, @blind-the-winds, @falesiacats, @j-1173, @gummybugg, @jessicawestonauthor, @saviournelwinter and @thelavenderwriter.

I know, it's a lot of people. But I'm curious to see some other versions of this!

[kanerallels]

WAIT MY ONE SHIP IN MY BOOK IS JUST MY VERSION OF PARKER AND HARDISON

[kanerallels]

Still going insane about those OCs, BTW

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Happy Tender Tuesday! If you could choose your favorite traits in any of your character's romantic relationships, what you it be? What would you say is the most important thing in said relationship for each of the characters involved?

Soooooooooooooo sorry for the late response! I've been suuuuuuuuper busy.

Thank you for the ask. This is a really good question!

I personally believe that communication is a key element of a healthy, positive romantic relationship (or any relationship, for that matter - even with family). I mean, when you think about it, a lot of the biggest issues in most ships on tv/books/movies and stuff all come down to misunderstandings and disagreements that could have easily been avoided by having a proper conversation lol.

(It's super annoying to me when a pointless misunderstanding pops up in the middle of a movie JUST as a contrived way to trigger a "third act break up" scene...)

I don't typically want to give my characters this problem. This is why for most of the ships that I write, I tend to have at least one character that isn't entirely useless when it comes to effective communication.

For my two Steph's Crew ships, I try to incorporate this rule. I'd say that Ben is the emotionally mature one in his and Steph's relationship overall, but they have pretty solid and effective communication all around... mostly. I mean, at the start, it's great! But once they go long distance, things change a bit. Mostly from Stephanie's end. She kind of closes herself off and downplays how much she's struggling with the distance. The thing with her though, is that she hates not expressing how she truly feels, so this is all kind of building up to a moment when she has this huge breakdown, leading her to make a change in her life.

(Can't really give more away without spoiling future posts lol)

But I'd say that's probably the thing I like most about Stephanie (in regards to her romantic relationships). It's the fact that she's honest about her feelings and she has the nerve to make tough choices.

Bret and Elise are a slightly different case, though (mostly because they are a newly formed couple, not a long-standing one like Stephanie and Ben. They're in the honeymoon stage lol). I wanted to give them a few weeks of just happiness and sweet moments and fun times before things go off the rails... because of course it will.

These two are comfortable sharing stuff with each other - they're besties, after all. Bret loves being with Elise - she makes him really happy, and he just wants to make her as happy as she makes him. That's the nice thing about Bret, in my opinion - he's a sensitive soul (more so than he lets on lol). People that feel deeply tend to love deeply also. However, he has a lot of issues that he struggles to open up about (with anyone, not just El) for a couple of reasons, and this puts a lot of strain on their relationship later on in the story.

And Elise doesn't really know how to deal with him. She's out of her depth, for a couple of valid reasons - she's never been in a romantic relationship with anyone before, so she's navigating all this stuff for the very first time, she comes from a family that's kind of cold and private and rigid, preferring to deal with things like this in a particular way, so her upbringing may not be the best preparation one could have for dealing with matters of the heart lol, etc. But the good thing about El is that she's very mature, perceptive, and she learns quickly. She gets the hang of things and finds a way to deal with their problems properly. This is the reason why she's rather good at maintaining relationships in her life (she makes friends really quickly, despite the fact that she's naturally quite shy and super introverted, and she's the only person in her family that still has a close relationship with Adam after he got kicked out).

So yeah. Needless to say, there were already several issues going into this ship that they weren't properly taking the time to address (because they're just having too much fun on ~Honeymoon Avenue~ lol) until things start to go crazy later on in the story. That's all I'm going to say about that.

So yeah! These are the main traits from my ships that I admire a lot (from each character).

Hope this answers your question!

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Happy Tender Tuesday!!!

Out of all your character's romances which is the most complicated? How do the different emotional intensities of your characters affected theif relationship? Who is more protective of the other and who is the most chill?

Hi! Happy Tender Tuesday!

Thanks for the ask. This is an interesting question.

I love to put a bit of romance into my writing (even if it’s a minor subplot or something), just because I love a good love story. 💖

In my main WIP, there are two main romantic pairings (which come with their own playlists lol. I make them for my characters sometimes because I love my music… it’s fun to think of a potential soundtrack for your stories):

Stephanie and Ben

Bret and Elise

I love writing for both! Probably because they are both really different and give different vibes.

Stephanie and Ben are already an established relationship from the start. They’re like the long term couple in the story (I don’t think I ever stated how long they’ve been together for, but I’d like to think it has been at least a year). So they are really comfortable together and enjoy each other’s company.

They also live together - after Steph ran away from her foster home, she moved in with Ben (he’s older, so he has his own place. I know it kind of sounds weird since she’s still in high school, but she’s 18, so it’s not like it’s illegal). Stephanie and Ben protect and support each other. They need each other. Stephanie has lived a life full of instability, and Ben is like her safe haven from all of that (because of this, I kind of characterise him as the “chill” one, but that doesn’t automatically mean that he isn’t protective of his lady).

They know each other really, really well because of this. They have this deep connection and understanding that is unique to them - Stephanie’s always talking about how she never truly felt understood or close to anyone before she met him. It’s cute… but it does have its flaws/downsides.

Steph lowkey becomes codependent in her relationship with Ben. She’s a strong independent young woman, but she’s also super attached to her boyfriend and she’s just used to him being there for her all the time. Which makes their long distance relationship even more of a struggle for her. Ben gets a work opportunity out of the country, leaving Stephanie behind for a year. She’s living alone for the first time in her whole life, and she gets really sad and lonely. She also worries that things will change between them while he’s away (and has nightmares about him cheating). She’s not doing so well… and this even affects the way she acts around her friends.

(More below)

Now let’s discuss the other main ship: Bret and Elise. These two are serving the “friends to lovers” vibes lol. Well, more like “childhood friends to lovers” vibes - they’ve known each other since primary school, and they’ve been close friends for years. Because they’ve essentially grown up together, they know each other quite well, too (not the same exact way as Ben and Steph, tho. Since they don’t live together. But they’ve known each other for a way longer duration than Ben and Steph have).

I think I might actually enjoy writing for them a little more (just a LITTLE bit. I still love Steph and Ben’s storyline), just because it’s that classic high school love story, you know? Like, it’s the story of two characters getting to know one another, seeing each other in a new light, and then falling in love. It’s beautiful. 😍

They are also really interesting characters together. They are very different (opposites attract and all that), and their dynamic is fun and engaging because of this. This also means that they argue quite a bit. 😅

They also just have a strong connection even before they start falling for each other - aside from the fact that El has had a minor crush on Bret for years, we see them reaching out to each other when they need support, and trusting each other with things that they probably wouldn’t share with the other members of the group.

Something about their relationship that I feel like I should probably mention, though, is their storyline is… a lot. The main gist of it is that Bret is a chaotic slacker troublemaking mess, and he decides after a while that he doesn’t want to be that person anymore. So he goes to Elise (his kind, agreeable, responsible model student friend) for some help with changing. She agrees to support him on his journey, and it goes smoothly at first, but he just can’t stay focused. He relapses into his old habits, frustrating her more and more, until he does something that upsets her so much that she just can’t take this whole “let’s fix Bret” mission anymore. And that’s not even half of it.

I don’t think this is the best way to start a relationship in real life. Bret becomes super dependent on Elise to become her coach at life, essentially, which is a lot of pressure to put on a person (especially someone that’s a teenager like you, who you also consider a friend, or someone you care about a lot). Add that to the fact that he never really followed her advice, either - not most of the time, anyways. And when you take all his trauma and emotional baggage into account as well… it’s a lot of stress for just one person. It’s understandable that Elise eventually snapped.

Something I just wanted to say here is that I don’t believe that a romantic relationship (or any relationship, for that matter) is a solution to your life problems. It’s not a substitute for therapy. It’s not the job or responsibility of your partner to “fix” you, despite what many romance stories and movies tell us nowadays lol. I just came up with this plot for them as a starting point because I wanted to set up these two (both together, and separately) and their overall dynamic and vibes.

It’s not healthy to completely depend on someone else to give you stability, especially in this case (teenagers figuring out who they are while also dealing with the challenges of student life and all… towards the end of their final year of high school). Fortunately, that’s part of what Bret’s arc is about! Learning to build discipline and changing his life for himself, instead of depending on external factors. This definitely improves his relationship with El.

At least I’m trying to be self aware with things lol. 😂

But yeah. Both romantic subplots are great, in my opinion. I’m biased, but still.

Stephanie and Ben bring a lot of drama to the table, while Bret and Elise are a fun high school romance (with its fair share of drama as well, tbh).

And I think I’ll end it here, since I’ve been going on forever.😆

Man, this was a good ask. Thank you so much! I love talking about ships. 💕

I hope this is a good answer. And I hope that you enjoy the playlists!

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Steph's Crew - Bonus Scene (Friendship Day)

Intro:

I've been trying to clear out the storage on my laptop, and I found some really precious scenes that I forgot to include in the dialogue series! Reading them again after not seeing them in a while really made me smile. Thought I'd share one with you real quick.

This scene is a bit of a flashback. Takes place at the start of Year 7 (so the characters are about 11-12 years old). It is a Brelise scene (you know how much I love this dynamic lol), and it's essentially their friendship origin story. A lot of people I've shared this story with had expressed confusion as to how these two became as close as they did, especially considering how different they are. So I thought I'd give them a nice wholesome starting point.

Something I should make clear to you is that they've known each other for a really long time before this point (they went to the same primary school), but this is the point where they become actual friends (since you can be in a person's life for a while, but not really know them or have a close bond with them).

(Today is Friendship Day. It is a big annual trip that the school does in late September, where all the new students in Year 7 and Year 12 get taken out for the day in order to build relationships and learn new skills. Everyone always has fun on this day, and it is a great way to get used to being in a new school and making new friends, like the name of the trip suggests. About halfway through the Year 7 final group activity, Elise notices Bret sitting outside by himself, facing away from the window. She leaves the room and goes out to go check on him)

Elise: Bretton Christopher Carter.

Bret: (looks up from his phone) Oh. Hey, El.

Elise: What on earth are you doing? Why are you using a cut-down tree log as a bench instead of having fun with everyone else?

Bret: Because I want to.

Elise: (sits down beside him) Why?

Bret: Because I feel like a failure.

Elise: Ok… why's that?

Bret: Today's Friendship Day. The whole point of today was to make friends, and barely anyone has wanted to work with me since we got here!

Elise: Maybe they would if you took things seriously for once...

Bret: I AM being serious! It's not my fault that everyone else thinks I'm not, is it?

Elise: Well, I mean… you do have a reputation. Mostly due to actual legit facts. And I get that changing people's minds about you can be hard, but something you need to understand about life is that people are going to judge you based on your past actions, whether wrong or right.

Bret: I know...

Elise: But hey, look on the bright side. You still have a bit of time to turn things around. You can still make a friend, the day's not over yet!

Bret: May as well be. Nothing's happened so far, so it probably never will happen.

Elise: (rolls her eyes) Certainly not with that attitude, it won't.

Bret: What's that supposed to mean?

Elise: No-nothing!

(Bret glances at Elise, clearly not convinced)

Elise: It's just that it won't kill you to lighten up. Having a positive attitude works wonders, believe me.

Bret: It's hard to be positive when positive things aren't happening to you.

Elise: Oh, I know, I know.

Bret: Making friends was so much easier in primary school. You didn't need to get to know one another, you could just throw a ball at a kid, and then sooner or later, the whole class is out playing catch together.

(Elise chuckles at this)

Bret: There wasn't any need for formalities or nothing. Back then, we just had fun and just... acted like yourself. That's it.

Elise: Those rules still apply now.

Bret: No, they don't. Everything's different now.

Elise: But does it have to be?

(There's a slight pause between them as they think about this)

Elise: (nudges Bret's arm) Come on, B. Up you get.

Bret: What?

Elise: (stands up, pulls Bret by the arm) We're going back inside.

Bret: (stands up) Why?

Elise: To have as much fun as we can before the end of the day. And then, later on, I'm walking you home.

Bret: …Why, though?

Elise: 'Cause that's what friends do.

Bret: (smiles) Really?

Elise: (smiles back) Yeah. I think. (pauses) I don't know, I've never done this before.

And then, six years later, they fell in love haha.

But yeah, that's basically it. It's sweet! They're both so awkward lol.

The actual chapters/book I've been working on reveals that the walking home together after school ended up being a routine with these two (The introduction to these two characters is them driving to the park to meet up with the others lol. They're singing and rapping along to "Empire State of Mind," I think. Not a big fan of it nowadays, but back in the early 2010s, that song was my jam). They'd go home together almost every day, and they'd discover new places in the town because of this (like their favourite record shop, for example). Once Elise got her own car, they'd drive home after school instead of walk.

Btw, the concept of "Friendship Day" was actually a real thing in my secondary school. Anyone else have an experience like that? Or is it just me?

[kanerallels]

Fun fact #10: Breccan first meets his wife on the worst day of his life

WAIT I TELL A LIE! He first meets her when she tries to kill his brother. He second meets her on the worst day of his life!