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whencallstheheart · 3 years

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WCTH Season 8 Survey Results

Thank you so much for participating! Here’s what you all had to say:

Responses to the short answer questions are under the cut! It’s very, very long.

What do you see happening in the future with Lucas and Elizabeth?

Literally nothing except them talking about how cute they are and her stupid book

Lucas will lose everything that makes the character interesting in favor of conforming to whatever best suits Elizabeth. They'll be so boring.

I have no interest in any story between them.

A lot of candles

Reply hazy, try again.

I can definitely see them having a lot of relationship drama and business drama, as well as Lucas learning how to be a good stepdad to Little Jack

They’ll break up when she realizes his criminal ways.

Don’t know, don’t care

Nothing good

Traveling. To see her family to get married

More depth to their relationship (I feel we were told more than shown)

LOL. They're going to be as boring and disgusting as a dead slug.

Hopefully a breakup.

Lucas is shown to be Abusive and Elizabeth will be hiding it.

He loses all his money, ruins friendships through business, constantly stalks Elizabeths every move listening to any conversation she has, having zero interest in Jack and Elizabeth reverts back to her big city attitude, but they stay in Hope Valley and annoy everyone. I’m not sure I see it lasting with the ratings are bad - I think the writers may be forced to make up their mind on Lucas for maybe even Nathan. I hope Jack rises from the dead (that would reek havoc and fun). Really I wish them all the WORST. OH and I think Lucas has deep secrets he wants to hid and I think the writers may even pull a repeat storyline (like with Nathan - even though they claim they don’t repeat storylines).... COUGH COUGH CHARLES MUCH?!? Oh and they’ll have his dad show up in town to cause drama. I almost hope Lee starts to clash with Lucas.

I want them to break up...

Lots of cringe worthy dates. Maybe some disagreements about their jobs or where they might live if they get married. Lucas spending some time with Jack

Elizabeth being out of character to fit with Lucas

the same for any new relationship - rocky roads with great romance

Problems, the two are sickening when they are together and their activities are only about them

Lucas needs to leave. He is not a family man. Elizabeth is a mother first, Nathan is a family man.

Lucas will learn to have a family. Want him to loose the saloon and try to get it back. Problems with the pinkertowns

Hopefully nothing

Whatever the writers have in store. Since I'm choosing something else, I won't know and I won't care.

Well, she already has a great saloon dress, so I see her leaving teaching to work in the saloon while Robert raises Little Jack for her.😜

Boring boring boring storylines!

I do not care.

I don’t see a future as I will not be watching. Show is ruined.

Too many stupid over the top romantic dates

Marriage

Engagement, Marriage, and Pregnancy

Not much. What kind of story or life will they have? Courting and dining and not much else.

Courtship and eventually marriage if the show lasts long enough. Lucas learning how to be a father. Maybe a trip or something after her book is published.

Get married and raise Jack together. Maybe have another kid.

More of the same. Just a physical relationship with some books and candles. Boring.

I don't know! That's my biggest problem. I can't see a future for them because I can't see them together, I always saw an end point. Where will they even live??

Marriage and a new baby girl

Not much

Trouble. Stress with things not working out as easily as they thought they would.

I honestly don’t know. I just feel like she looked so uncomfortable with him all season. Then all of a sudden she’s making out with him on a bridge?? She didn’t even want to hold his hand and when she did it was awkward.

Not interested at all.

Don't care. Will only watch for other storylines.

Many dates, becoming a family with little jack , Lucas proposing On bridge in The season 9 finale episode

Disappointment when she finds out he hired Christopher to spy. Lucas will have financial hardships and will spend time with Little jack. May partner with Nathan regarding land grab and the "bad guys".

Honestly no idea. I could see them not working out, but maybe that's wishful thinking right now while I'm still bitter.

I think Lucas will be supportive of her in her work and raising jack and there relationship will grow and they will be engaged sometime in season 9.

Dinners with champagne and too many candles. That's about it.

Chris McNally should leave the show

I'm honestly not sure. I think they have a lot of work to do before they even think about getting married because we haven't even seen a fleshed out relationship between them. I assume there will be some adjustments with how Lucas will fit into Jack's life too as he will be getting older since there has been zero interaction between them. I really have no idea but I also could not care less about either of them, so I'm hoping they won't monopolize the time in each episode. But I also think it would be hard for them to monopolize time because they don't even do anything lol, this is just a long winded way of saying I have no clue.

Getting to know each other better. Helping each other with changes with their jobs. Getting married.

I see them supporting each other through career struggles, Lucas trying to find his role with Little Jack, Elizabeth maybe feeling weird about Lucas’ money and trying to go full homesteader :)

Marriage, fights, baby Jack moments, etc.

Some boring shit...

Them having trust issues only because of how little we actually really know about Lucas and he has put himself in sketchy circumstances before. I honestly just don’t trust him, he’s been portrayed so perfect this season which isn’t realistic at all.

Relationship does not work

He will lose everything and she will see he was superficial

Probably a lot of fancy dates and romance

I don’t really know, not interested much in them.

Writers will have them marry, even though they have no chemistry whatsoever.

I guess something to do with Elizabeth's writing? I'm not sure, I feel like they had such little development together that it's the only thing they share.

They should be working toward learning how to fully trust each other and communicate properly. Hopefully Lucas bonds a lot more with Jack. I have loved the little interactions between Lucas and Jack and there needs to be more if he is supposed to be Elizabeth's next husband.

Maybe a proposal by the end of next season. I'm really so neutral about the relationship that it doesn't matter to me. Maybe if we actually see some development I'll feel differently.

I really do not care enough to have any thoughts - I will be skipping what the show comes up with anyway.

They have a satisfying break-up lmao. That final scene was the most stilted and painful thing I've watched on the show in ages and that's saying alot.

He will break her heart

I'd hope they find they are just too different and break up. He's too smarmy for her.

A breakup

An engagement and Elizabeth pregnant with a baby girl

Moving back to Hamilton to live their champagne privileged life. Hope Valley deserves the other characters to have their story told. Nobody wants to see a teacher and saloon owner being together.

Nothing. Completely have no interest in them. Wasted all season watching a so called love triangle.

More of the same.

Marriage

I never saw them as a couple- don’t think it’s a good match — they have not chemistry — hope they

break up — I just find his character as having no charisma - he’s too slick looking. He was never into Baby Jack.... unlike NAthan

I hope they move away.

I hope they do not marry

I am not sure. Lucus is into the business of making money. That is what drives him. I don’t see him as a family man at all. Truthfully I will be disappointed to see Elizabeth go back to her privileged ways because of Lucus. I think she grew independent of her upbringing and to set her right back into the lifestyle she was born into totally undermines the strength and courage we watched her character blossom into and fell in love with.

Lucas will die.

Moooreee loooveee

Lucas’ relationship with Little Jack as a first time father and how it affects his relationship with Elizabeth

Who cares LOL i do not watch for Elizabeth

Getting maried

Ugh! Don't care.

More courting, scenes with baby Jack, probably some tension

Lucas is a duplicitous, dishonest person. Elizabeth will regret her choice and go back to Nathan.

Business problems, secrets galore, probably a super over the top wedding

More dinner dates?

I see Lucas and Elizabeth still in a relationship, but having some problems. Lucas's trust issues and bad communication vices needs to end!

Honestly, I have no idea. Whilst I do love the actors and watch them separately, I find it very difficult to watch their relationship on screen together. For some reason it sets off a deep seated anxiety in me, so I tend not to watch them where I can help it. If I do watch in season 9, it will be for the supporting cast stories, and I will avoid their relationship storyline altogether.

Really don't care as that pairing makes no sense to me

full courtship

Don’t really care.

courtship, some struggles, and then marriage - hopefully

No idea … don’t care about them

Candles. Lots and lots of candles.

Don't know

I don't know and I'm not interested

Blah....

Spending time together, double dates with Lee and Rosemary, and dealing with any problems Elizabeth has with the edcuation guy from the county.

I really don't care, sorry.

A nice long courtship

I think Lucas will encourage Elizabeth when her book is released they will continue to fall more and love and Lucas will propose in the finale of season 9

I have no idea. Their storyline was already so bland and boring. I guess they'll try to write stuff about E's book and then ppl trying cause trouble for the saloon. I dont really care what they do. That relationship and storyline is dry as toast

Don't really have an opinion

Elizabeth stops teaching to write full time. They marry and move into swankier diggs on the edge of town. Little Jack spends his days at Rosemary and Lee's house to get away from the constant champagne swigging and insufferably bad French.

Don’t care

I will not this show any longer. Season 8 did it for me.

a lot of kissing

Hopefully small, simple storylines that build up to an actual relationship that isn't just tonsil-sucking smooching. I think we deserve the attempt at seeing a relationship build after all this nonsensical drama.

That she finds out he isn’t who she thought he was and she made a big mistake. By then Nathan will be happy and fulfilled with someone new

More chemistry-free scenes

She leaves him for Nathan

Mismatched couple. Very materialistic. Maybe leave the show!

Move out of hope valley

They will make out all the time.

God I don't even know. I'm not remotely invested in their relationship so I don't really care honestly.

Far fetched - I hoping the past catches up and problems arise

Hopefully moving away so we dont have to watch them anymore

Nothing exciting

Boring storyline

I wish a break up

Don't care

L losing his money and figuring out how to be a real person with hardship. E struggling with the school but not actually doing anything kinda like the finale. I want them both to stay away from Nathan and not force a friendship.

Don't care

They will get married and have children

Lucas sells saloon and starts new, family friendly business. He and Elizabeth court and become more serious

Dating, getting to know each other better, marriage

His shady ways will nip him in the butt and Elizabeth will open her eyes and realize how he's caused her to change into the "Hamilton" woman she didn't want to become.

Continuing courtship, then Lucas does a shady deal and leaves town

breakup

Blech- If those last scenes are any indication

Borrowing inappropriate life

I do not give a damn

I think and truly hope Lucas will show a side of him she doesn't like and she will get with Nathan. Probably won't happen but I think Lucas is just too slick and a little shady.

Think she will discover he has some things she doesn't like or agree with and will fall out of love with him

It will be a love forever!

I honestly think nothing will happen, they'll have another rather long (one season or two) relationship, then they'll get engaged, marry again, have babies... unless they decide to bring in random troubles, but honestly nothing much

Don’t care.

I'm not really interested in these characters anymore

That they don’t get married and the storyline goes back to the original premise of the teacher and the Mountie.

I don’t care.

They split up

they will settle into a comfortable relationship and then there won't be that much oppertunity for grown

They're a terrible couple and I don't really care what the writer's do with them.

Not interested in their future

A wedding. They have unfortunately taken it this far, they have to finish it. Anything else would make John Tinker's decision even more ridicuous.

I hope she realises she made a mistake thirty seconds into S9 and runs back to Nathan.

Don't Care, will not be watching.

I hope their relationship grows until ultimately they get married and have a family

They will get married and hav a baby girl.

Boring story line of privileged life and focus on book publishing and tour. No chemistry "romance".Should marry right away as there scenes are so sexualized, which would be scandalous for that time.

fun romance, hopefully more with Jcak

No idea. I can't picture Lucas involved in the school or any other part of Elizabeth's Hope Valley circle, so I imagine the storyline will give them a new focus.

Elizabeth will realize she made a mistake and leave Lucas!!! Only to find it's too LATE!

L& E have NO CHEMISTRY

Don’t know, but I’m excited to see them as a couple! Just them getting to know each other even better and becoming more a part of each other’s lives (this includes spending time with Little Jack) as they move toward their future together. :)

They will probably get married.

Whatever serves Elizabeth’s plot line

What do you think they have planned for Nathan?

Who knows but I have no faith in the writers so they’ll probably fuck it up

Maybe he tends to a woman in need?

I would love for him to interact with more people in the town. Definitely more day to day scenes with Allie. I’d love to hear her refer to him as Dad. I hope someone new will come into town who will be perfect for Nathan and he will sweep her off her feet

Something great I hope

New romance. Maybe a tussle with the Pinkertons.

Hopefully a lot of interesting things! I'm hoping for a romance with Faith, I think they could be pretty great

Nothing. If they didn’t decide who elizabeth picked till last minute, no way they have anything planned for Nathan this far out. BB and Tinker are all talk.

Hopefully better treatment but I won’t know because I will not watch anyway

I hope someone amazing

A new love interest

More “Girl Dad” Nathan, potential relationship with Faith of a new character, a platonic acquaintance ship with Elizabeth & Lucas despite everything

Nothing that will do him justice.

No fracken clue. Maybe he’ll focus only on Allie from now on.

Nathan finds out that Lucas is abusive toward Elizabeth and ready to thrown Lucas in Jail where he belongs.

Some bullshit like always. I don’t even care to predict much. They have so much contempt for him it’s insanely uncalled for. They think he’s boring, they think he’s a Jack 2.0 (Brian Bird even said this on Twitter). They undermine his duty, frame him as if he is some like creep who followed Elizabeth to town, when in reality he was doing it out of respect, duty and honor. They are so needlessly disrespectful to him (Kevin knows this), especially bc they framed it as if Nathan never gave E space and time, which we know is BS. He is a real man and does what real men would and we know WCTH is scared of a real man. They’ll try to put him with Faith (snooze), or hell maybe they have not renewed When Hope Calls and he will become a lead on that show (I’d welcome him back into Alfonso’s arms any day). Lord knows Alfonso can write and actually respected his character.

A new love interest. Maybe a career change so he can be there for Allie more.

At this point with how they handled him so far I'm not very hopeful

I truly think something more exciting than it would have been with Nathan and Elizabeth

Not sure, can we trust anything logical to happen, hopefully he can see it was good not to be chosen by Elizabeth

He should be with Elizabeth

Probably saving Elizabeth and Lucas from danger

Help Lucas with this Spurlock Guy. Navigate with a teenager.

If the writers/producers are smart, they will get Lucas away from Elizabeth almost immediately and get her hooked up with Nathan. This was a blow and so deceiving to the fans! (I only answered “someone new” to the question above because Elizabeth was not an option).

Unfortunately not anything I trust them to do a good job with.

I am worried they’re planning to stick him with Faith. Ugh!

BB doesn't care, it will be tacky and messy.

Probably kill him. They’ve done everything else terrible to him.

Sadly, probably a relationship with Faith. Never been a fan of her.

A new love interest

I hope a new love interest. Courtship, Engagement, Marriage, and Pregnancy.

A great love story with someone new to Town!!!

Plenty of Mountie storylines, fathering Allie through teenage years, finding love, learning how to be friends with E & L. Maybe a visit from his mom.

Hopefully an epic story of heroics and a forever love who is unwavering and true to him. He deserves nothing less.

Get shot. Lose a leg. Get a life-threatening infection. Fall in a lake. Get locked inside a burning building.

I think they're gonna try to pair him with Fiona

New mountie responsibility and new love interest

No idea

Leave the Mounties and start a horse ranch or be in charge of the livery. I like him as a Mountie though.

They had all these amazing story lines for him even though it was just one road block after another for him. I want to continue to see Nathan deal with Allie growing up and their relationship.

I feel so disappointed & sad for him.

A storyline that hopefully won't screw him over, with no Elizabeth involved. She needs to stay out of his life decisions. Bring in a new character for his love interest. But, most of all give him and Allie the happiness they deserve.

Faith romance ,more challenging cases in his job and trouble with ally father

Allie’s Dad, promotion

Not enough! Will try to find him a love interest but will focus on his relationship with Allie and her father, who will come back to cause problems. Nathan will partner with Bill regarding mining disaster investigation and Pinkertons.They need to make him prominent next season for show to survive because Kevin McGarry is beloved by fans and the best actor on the show next to Martin. The Mountie character should be prominent. If they try to put him with Faith it will be like a Dr. Quinn-Sully type relationship, and I don't think it will work. I love Kevin opposite Jen Lilley.

They will probably shackle him with Faith and that will bore me.

Have no clue

Relationship drama, Mountie stuff, trouble with Allie. Pretty much the same as this season but hopefully there will be more of a focus on him instead of Elizabeth.

Love with Faith, UGH. And more incredible fathering with Allie <3 Elizabeth could have had her chance with that family but no, apparently she’s “not in love” with him and never was.

I'm hoping we get to see Nathan form more friendships with other HV residents and deepen his relationship with others. I assume the Pinkerton storyline (which I have no idea how that will play out) will bring him and Bill together professionally, so I would enjoy to see their friendship be fleshed out more. Hopefully more of him with Allie and facing her teenage years as her father will be fun to see. I hope they bring in a new love interest for him because I would really enjoy seeing him catch the eye of someone new and vice versa.

More adventures as a Mountie.

No idea - I think he should find another path though. I don’t think he likes being a Mountie.

Another suitor, work stuff, family stuff, scenes with Allie

I just hope it is not faith as his love interest

Hopefully more storylines about him and Allie! I love them and I just really hope they focus on him and his journey with Allie. I don’t want a romantic storyline for him bc that’s really soon and he was IN love with Elizabeth so it would be unrealistic for him to jump into another relationship like that. I do want him to get over Elizabeth though and see him recover and grow from that!

Elizabeth will come to her senses and ditch Lucas for Nathan

A new love. A spunky woman who goes after him.

No clue!

Probably a love story with Faith, but I don’t like that direction if they decide to go that way.

Not to be a leading man and take the focus off of Elizabeth.

Probably a new love interest. I didn't catch that he could potentially end up with Faith at first, but I'm down for it as long as they can make it work. They've both been left behind by the people they love, that would make for an interesting narrative at least.

They probably will pair him up with a female character, but I think he should stay single and continue to focus on raising Allie.

Hopefully they don't go the Faith route, but I have a feeling they might.

A good Mountie storyline with the Pinkertons etc. I'd like to see Allie's Dad again too.

Ehhh they'll probably put him with Faith which I'm not into at all.

A spin-off I hope

Not sure, I felt he belonged with Elizabeth all along.

Who knows. I don’t trust the show runners anymore.

Faith and challenges raising ally

Hopefully leave Hope Valley and leave that shit show. I’m not really buying the writers saying they have exciting things for him. They have mislead the viewers too long. It’s a ploy to keep the viewers watching the show. It’s all about covering their butt right now and try to keep the ratings.

I don’t know. I won’t be returning to watch

Grief.

Faith

I think Elizabeth has trouble w/Lucas and runs back to Nathan realizing that she made a mistake. A blended family would have been a good storyline.

I don’t know, but it better be good!

Don’t know

I would hope that he would be allowed to at least go on an actual date with someone before he is over looked and not even given a chance at love. That the decision to whether he is able to love and be loved is not determined by the uniform he is wearing but rather by the quality of the man wearing the uniform.

🤔

Mourning the loss of Elizabeth and then finding a new love interest, hopefully successfully

Something amazing I hope but the writers are so terrible I do wonder if they can

good things

I hope love

No idea.

Exploring being a father to Allie, An ACTUAL love interest, probably more career - mountie vs “normal” life thinking

I hope that Elizabeth and Lucas break up when she realizes how bad he is. Nathan loves Elizabeth and was NEVER given the chance to even have one dinner date with her. Elizabeth needs to have an opportunity to see him now for the incredible man that he is.

New love interest, new job maybe?

Probably a romance for Allie he has to handle?

Probably to put him up with Faith...

I hope something fantastic after the shocking story-telling he has had to endure this season. I love him and Allie, and him and Bill, and feel there is great potential there.

I hope something good for what he's endured

Action storylines

At this point have no idea.

hopefully something fun, Kevin is a funny guy and they should take advantage of that

Downplaying his role as a “police” figure

I think they will put him with Faith, but I hope not.

New love interest

I hope that he will have as important a role as before (like, for example, the one Abigail had before she left) and that he meets a new love interest.

Faith

Nathan needs some stories with humor and adventure but they will probably focus on his romance next.

Bigger mountie related stories, new love interest perhaps

Fiona, Fiona fiona

Dealing with losing Elizabeth him and faith will bond over heartache and eventually become a couple he will have some problems taking ally as she continues to get older maybe a new aspect of his job being a Mountie

Also dont care what they do because anything after this point will never make up for the way they screwed his character over. They'll probably write him with Faith which we all know makes zero sense. I would hope someone new comes along for him to love him the way he deserves but I dont think that will happen. He'll have problems with the Pinkertons probably.

I hope some happiness for a change

They have already telegraphed that Faith will latch on to him. Yuck, what a consolation prize.

nothing

Probably some action stuff.

He will emerge as the strong wonderful Person he is. He will be involved with the Pinkertons storyline. He will find a new love and be happy

Back stab his character again

Promotion and a new mom for Allie.

Death

I hope someone new comes in and adores him.

I'm sure they'll rush a love interest for him as a consolation prize while also still trying to shove Elizabeth into his life as a "friend".

Life with Allie

Don't know with these writers

New love interest

Not sure

To be with Elizabeth that's what i want to keep watching

Saving the town from the Pinkertons. Dealing with bill and the mine. Making new friends and being admired by everyone including l&e. More sweet lessons with Allie (helping her in math) and possibly the aftermath of Dillon coming out. That could be a good opportunity to have him lean on someone new. I’d like Allie to put E in her place when she oversteps her involvement in N&A life since we know she will. It’ll show A maturing as a 14-15 y/o and serve E a much needed amount of humble pie after the crap she pulled with them in S7&8. Please no rushed friendship with e or l like give the guy a season and also make them the uncomfortable ones. He deserves to hold his head high. I would love for him to tell E he’s more than his uniform and it’s unfortunate she never tried to see that.

Don't no

A new girlfriend

He finally loses the chip from his shoulder

Not sure yet, a town mystery maybe, time him to heal with what happened.

He will uncover Lucas' shady ways.

Wrangling with the Pinkertons

No idea

Probably nothing to good

I do not want to Know. Not interested in the show anymore

I have no idea. I really can't imagine him with anyone but Elizabeth

Don't know but they did him wrong with Elizabeth's decision. She left Hamilton because of the life-style Lucas has. JUST DOESN'T FIT!!!!!!

another love

Probably more Allie and Mounties related things, and hopefully a nice, good love interest. I am really hoping they'll keep Elisabeth away from him for at least one season. The last thing we all need is her being all up in his business again with Allie and goodness forbid his new love interest #LEAVENATHANALONE (sorry, couldn't help it)

Hopefully finding love and happiness with someone who makes Elizabeth feel she made a big mistake.

j'espère juste qu'ils ne minimisent pas le temps de presence à l'écran de son personnage, qu'ils arrêteront de mal le traiter pour rien et qu'il lui arrivera que de bonnes choses

I don’t care enough to speculate.

Something lame.

No idea. They've just wasted the family Allie, baby Jack, Elizabeth and him already were.

sideling mountie buisness

I hope he finds true love.

A new love, but I hope they don't pair him up with Faith. More mountie stuff.

New love. His continuing story with Ally. More examples of his nobility, if they are smart.

If I were Kevin I don't know if I'd want to stay.

Probably another beating.

I would love to see Nathan and Fiona get together as a couple I think they would be awesome together

Romance with faith problems with ally’s father struggling with ally growing up and maybe him getting hurt on a mission.

That Nathan's heart will heal and that he will fall in love with a new beautiful godly woman coming to Hope Valley (A new teacher that can teach special needs?) Continue to build the strong relationship with Allie and be an excellent dad.

new love

They'd better have an EPIC love story for him!

He needs to find someone NEW so when Elizabeth comes back it's too LATE!! Faith and Nathan NO WAY!! You can't just fall out of love with someone just like that.

Challenges in him being a Mountie . I really hope that he has a good storyline and has some romance with faith and is happy in his life and not despressed with Lucas and Elizabeth being a couple.

For Nathan, we should see him slowly healing from his heartbreak, and fully finding his place in the community beyond Elizabeth. Definitely more of him and Allie as a family. I expect our Mountie will become involved with whatever is going on with the potential new factory and the Pinkertons hanging around. No guesses as to what he and John Tinker have in store exactly, but I hope it’s good! As this is a Hallmark show, they probably can’t bear to leave a main character single for too long, so they’ll probably start setting up a new love for him, but hopefully not too soon.

Continue to be a parent to Allie and have a new love interest.

Lessening of his prominence on the show

What did you love about this season?

Well, I liked Nathan’s parts

that they attempted to fill some of the holes in plots and that they gave everyone something meaningful to do. Ned and Florence were great. Loved meeting the Canfields.

I was happy with the season up until the finale. I loved the thought of Elizabeth and Nathan going through everything to make their relationship stronger. Now it seems pointless. They kept kicking Nathan while he was down and he never got a fair chance

Allie and nathan

References to Henrigail.

Seeing the town become more busy and lively I guess

That Nathan was going to end up with Elizabeth.

I also loved the Canfields and the bigger storylines for minor characters.

Nothing at this point, it’s all tainted by garbage finale

Too rushed and not written well

There were more stories with other people

The ensemble as a whole....

The Coulters, Henry and Christopher, the Canfields, Florence and Ned, and Hickam and Fiona.

The Nathan / Allie storyline.

Jack Jr, Elizabeth and Jack Sr Photo

Absolutely nothing. It was blasphemy. My favorite moment was Either the Fort Clay argument at Bills uniform event thing, or Allie sticking it to Mrs. Thornton by ripping up the dinner invitation in front of her face in the school house. I like any suffering Elizabeth went through and Lucas.

Some things that were left hanging from prior seasons were resolved. The Canfield family- it was nice to see faith-related things being more included in the show again like in earlier seasons. Florence and Ned were adorable. Mike and Fiona were pretty cute together too- love how they encourage each other to be their best!

Not much but Nathan as a character

The Canfields, Ned and Florence, Rosemary and the paper, and the ending of the triangle

Nathan's smile.

Nothing

Florence and Ned

The Canfields and the bell even though Lee should have is back jam when he lifted the bell.

The Nathan/Elizabeth scenes

Allie's adoption. Joseph Canfield becoming the new minister.

Florence and Ned’s romance, Lee’s one liners, Molly’s pursuit of Bill, when Elizabeth thought she was holding Lucas’ hands but it was actually Nathan

I loved the Nathan/Elizabeth story of getting over fear and do what you are afraid to do theme, until it all went sideways in the last 20mins!!!!!

Fiona and Mike

Nathan and Allie

Rosemary and Lee

The end of the triangle

The Canfield's.They are a breath of fresh air. I love that they love God, their family, and others. Ned and Florence was a beautiful love story. Bill and Molly. Molly giving her dress to Florence, Fiona adventures, Nathan and Allie's stories, Rosemary and Lee, and every minute of every Canfield.

Relationships - Fiona and Hickam, Allie and Nathan, Henry and Christopher. Joseph becoming the pastor. Nathan’s character growth.

The Canfields, Nathan’s storyline( even though nothing went his way he was always noble and true), Rosemary and Lee as always

I liked Hickam getting more story. I liked Rosemary starting the paper. I liked Minnie working at the restaurant.

Elizabeth finding love with Lucas

Allie and Nathan. Getting to see some of the fun side of Nathan.

Nathan and Allie. I liked Elizabeth with them too until the ending.

Seeing Nathan and Allie. Canfields. Mike and Fiona. Ned and Florence. Bill and Molly. Lee and Rosemary. So I guess the point is the attention on the other characters and couples. I think I enjoy the new couples just because we finally got to know two more side characters each time.

Nathan & Allie.

Everything BUT the annoying love triangle!

All the Lucas and Elizabeth dates, almost kiss in the rain , and the finale was the best episode of the entire series, there kisses were enchanting

Nathan

Humor, Ned and Flo, finding out Nathan's involvement with Jack finally. I thought Kevin did a magnificent job and I loved seeing Jaeda shine- she is so talented. I loved Henry and Christopher and the positive impact of Rachel. My personal quote favorite: "Go stuff your trout!"

Nathan's face. Rosemary and Lee, the Canfields, Ned and Florence's wedding.

The triangle Rachel and chrispthoher can fields rosemarys paper

Anytime Henry referenced Abigail and telling stories about ALL the characters, not just Elizabeth. I like the whole ensemble cast feel. This season did keep me engaged, I always tuned in when it aired.

The Canfields arriving, Henry mentioning Abigail, and Nathan and Allie - because Kevin McGarry and Jaeda Lily Miller are incredible actors with fantastic chemistry.

I really loved seeing more storylines introduced with the other characters and then for the most part developing those storylines. I adore Ned & Florence, I thought their wedding episode was so sweet, and I think they will bring a dynamic as a couple that will be fun to watch. I like how they have such a rapport together and with the mercantile being the center of town, I'll enjoy seeing more of them next season. I loved the edition of the Canfield family, both Angela and Cooper are so sweet and are great additions as HV kids. And Minnie and Joseph quickly turned into some of my faves this season too! I love them as a couple and I love them building relationships with the others, the Lee & Joseph friendship was definitely one of my favorite things this season. And Minnie is such a soft-spoken badass, I would listen to her read an audiobook all day long haha. I enjoyed learning more about Henry with the addition of Christopher, I definitely liked the depth their scenes brought. Any time my faves Lee & Rosemary were in a scene together was a win for me. I liked the crush developing between Allie & Robert too, v cute. Overall, I really enjoyed the new relationships that were formed and the new additions that were brought in, I think it paved the way for a number of new stories that I will be excited to see play out.

Fiona and the Canfields were the best storylines this season.

Lucas and Elizabeth are finally together.

Lucas' character is a real gentleman.

Martin Cummins was phenomenal, and I loved the whole Christopher story, including him and Rachel, and Henry reflecting on Abigail and being there for Ned. Joseph and Lee’s friendship is great. Loved Rosemary finding a new career. And Robert!

I would’ve liked Clare and Jesse struggling if they handled it better. I liked the general structure they began of drawing out stories and slowly unpeeling their layers but they set up too many in every episode and didn’t follow through well. If they can tighten that structure, it would be great.

Angst, Henry, The wedding, etc. (triangle ending too)

Allie and Nathan's cute family, Fiona and her interactions with Mike, Rosemary and the newspaper thing, flirty Molly and Bill

The Canfield family! I adored them they are so sweet and I really hope we see more of them next season!

Nathan and Allie

Nathan and Allie's adoption also the Canfields

Joesphs family and the return of faith to Hope valley! I also loved Lee and Rosemary’s relationship.

Lee and Rosemary were my favorites. I basically watched this entire season for them and Nathan and Allie. Ned and Florence were fun to watch as well.

Ned and Florence and the Canfields

Carson and Faith's conflict was honestly really compelling to me, and I'm fine with Carson leaving as well. The theme of calling was also really good in my opinion. I also loved Rosemary in general. She's my favorite character and I love watching her grow throughout the whole show.

I was very happy to see more representation on screen. The Canfields brought representation for POC and people who are blind. I would like to see more diversity in the cast.

I really liked the Canfields. They brought a nice dynamic to the show. As always, Rosemary and Lee were my favorites. As far as I'm concerned, they're the heart and soul of the show. Ned and Florence's wedding was nice too.

The Canfields. Lee & Rosie and Rachel. Henry and his son. Bill & Molly. Ned & Florence. Mike & Fiona.

Everything except the love triangle! The love triangle was one of the worst things I've seen on television (even before the finale). Everything but the love triangle was better than anything we've gotten since season four. Christopher, Henry, and Rachel were my favorites of the season. Loved all the stuff surrounding those characters. Also Fiona and Mike are really becoming great!

Allie & Robert

Allie's adoption was finalized.

Mike and Fiona

Triangle Clara and Jesse faith becoming a doctor Nathan adopting ally Elizabeth’s book Lucas and Elizabeth kiss

Nothing. It made me mad.

Nothing

Nathan and Allie, Henry and Christopher.

Nathan and Allie

Rosemary — and Lee. But the season writing was not good - need more dramatic things happening like - in past seasons. It was almost goofy dialogue- the Fiona barber shop thing was stupid too — boring! What happened to the blacksmith that liked her????

Canfield’s, FloYo wedding

Allie and Nathan

I loved the fact that Rosemary was patient with Elizabeth even though she didn’t deserve to be treated like she was by her.

More episodes

Glad to see Elizabeth be happy, at least for now. Also they have a number of different story lines that they can play with and help some other characters share the limelight, like Lee and Rosemary

The Canfields

fiona

Nathan and Allie

Aside from the gutsy decision to go with the less outwardly popular pairing? (I applaud it) I loved the new characters (Canfields/Christopher not Rachel) and seeing more of Nathan and Lucas outside of the triangle

Seeing Nathan get set free from his guilt and finding his voice to declare his love to Elizabeth and watching Elizabeth always pursuing him. After loving Elizabeth so much, it is not right to try to set him up with someone else.

Learning more about Henry and watching Florence and Ned get married!!

Nathan Grant

The Canfields

Fiona is a fabulous character, I really enjoy the dynamic she has brought to the valley. I have always loved Mike, so those two are always a joy. Always love Lee and Rosemary. Nathan and Allie. Bill and Molly, Florence and Ned. Robert.

The multiple storyline being dived into more

Lucas

Not able to come up with a positive answer at this point.

The Canfields, the angst of the love triangle - it felt more realistic then this show has in the past, with people making mistakes and trying to find their way. For anyone who has ever had strong feelings for two people at the same time, there was a realism in the way the writers handled it with the shifting feelings, the questions about what and who is right, the missteps and the emotional angst. The last two scenes of the finale (writers, actors, setting, humor) were pure magic. Oh yeah - Ned and Florence!!

Watching anything with Nathan and Allie

The Canfields

Scenes between Elizabeth and Nathan

Nathan/Allie relationship and her adoption

Not much

Rosemary starting the newspaper!!!!

Ned and Florence, Allie and Nathan

Lucas

Lucas and Elizabeth

I loved everything having to do with Nathan and Allie. I just wanted E and N together and to join their families into one. It would have been beautiful.

Seeing Nathan and Allie's relationship deepen

Not much, it was all over the place. I can't believe how much I've come to dislike the main character.

Not much. It has gone on a different path.

The Canfields

The Canfields were lovely, Bill was better-written, Henry had amazing scenes.

Nothing

Lee & Rosemary. Looking over your lists of major/minor storylines, I realized I didn't really enjoy any of those storylines. But I always enjoy when Lee and Rosemary are on screen.

Allie and Nathan

Nothing, the finale ruined the whole season.

I loved the Canfields. Always love Rosie and Lee scenes. I am enjoying that the show is becoming more of an ensemble rather than focusing on just a few main characters.

I loved the addition of the Canfields.

Nathan and Allie.

The Canfield and the new side they brought

Nathan and Allie. Canfields.

Nathan

Chemistry between Nathan and Elizabeth

Nathan and Ally

Disappointed

Nathan and Allie, Bill being Bill, FloYo, Henry, The Canfields

Disappointed

Elizabeth choosing Lucas in the end.

Nathan with Allie

To me each character was given the chance to grow and was able to work on things in their life. I enjoyed the new writing. It made the show better to me.

Bill and Molly. They were so cute. And new characters/family.

Rosemary’s journey to find a new hobby

Canfield family

Fiona, the Canfield, Nathan & Allie

Lee and rosemary and the Canfields

Nathan and Elizabeth chemistry

The Canfields, Fiona and Lee and Rosemary

The Canfield's and Rosemary

End of season.

Honestly, Allie's scene at Nathan's inquiry was the best thing of the season. I loved all their story lines, I'm ready for a whole season about them.

Most of it except the last episode.

the characters of Nathan and Allie

Ned & Florence

Nothing

The build up to her choosing Nathan... oh wait.

Fiona I love, Lee and Rosemary I love always

the canfields and nathan and allie

Rosemary and Lee's story line.

Not much.

Nathan's nobility, Ally, Ned and Flo, and the Canfields, especially their faith aspect.

I still think the last scene of the second episode was the strongest scene this show has ever got.

The Grant Family.

I really loved the additional episodes and hope they approve at least the same number or more next season.

Lucas and Elizabeth dates Clara and Jessie’s struggles the barbershop opening and Lucas and Elizabeth kissing and her finally choosing him.

Ned and Florence's romance and wedding. Nathan and Allie, the Canfields.

ned & Florence, the end of the triangle, robert at the babysitter, Canfield life lessons

Nathan adopting Allie and everything about their relationship, hearing Henry talk about Abigail, seeing Ned & Florence come together, cute Robert becoming a part of "adult" Hope Valley, Lee & Rosemary doing absolutely anything.

Not Much Elizabeth is not a good character anymore.

Nathan and ally Ned and Florence Elizabeth and Lucas I’m glad the triangle is over and everyone can move forward with there lives

The Canfields! They were such a welcome addition. I also loved Florence, the Florence and Ned wedding, Elizabeth and Lucas as a couple. And this was a pretty good season for Henry! Happy to see Faith back too. I also appreciated that there were more storylines that lasted more than an episode or two and it felt like a coherent season. It wasn’t exactly fantastic, but I don’t expect that of When Calls the Heart and I quite liked the season overall.

The addition of the Canfields.

Nathan and Allie

What did you miss this season? What could there have been more of?

Common sense

Lee and Rosemary! Not enough of them.

Dates with Nathan

Nice Elizabeth

Um...more Henrigail.

Emotion. I feel like other than the stuff with Nathan and Elizabeth there were no other instances of real raw emotion

A Kevin McGarry shirtless scene. Also I missed Bill. I felt like he had very little to do this year.

Elizabeth getting called on her shitty behavior

Deeper story lines

Lee and Rosemary

I did wish Allie had called Nathan dad at least once

That they dropped the ball on Rosie wanting a child

I think Lee and Rosemary could have gotten where they ended up in the season finale half way through the season. I think that would have been nice.

Nathan x Elizabeth. She didn’t even have a rain check dinner she promised him.

More of Jack Sr Mentions, but also Elizabeth not hiding what she is really feeling

Nathan and Elizabeth and their little family with Allie and Jack. I will never forgive the robbery of such happiness.

The kids in the schoolhouse.

Little Jack, more of the kids, school, L and R

more time spent on few stories - too much jumping around and not enough substance

more time with the individual characters, fewer chopped up plots

Elizbeth acting as a mother first. She should be concerned who would be an outstanding father/role model for Jack.

A date between Elizabeth and Nathan

Nathan and Elizabeth actually getting together.

Reality.

We needed more Lee and Rosemary, and I really missed the kids bc of Covid.

Some common sense maybe??? A good ending to the season maybe???

better writing and the Elizabeth that left everything she knew to make her way in a new place.

Heart warming wholesome moments. They were few and far between.

More school scenes

Interaction with little Ja CB k

The kids. I missed Opal.

More schoolhouse scenes

More Bill, Rosemary, Lee, Molly, Henry

Substance.

I missed Lee & Rosemary! It felt like they barely got screen time. And then truly if Elizabeth & Lucas were going to end up together I would have liked to see their actual love story build, instead of her dating him while staring at Nathan the whole time, which is what we got.

More Rosemary and Lee; them adopting or having a baby

But lightheartedness. The whole season just felt stressful and misleading

Truth I missed Elizabeth and Nathan flirting.

Opal!! I feel like we needed another girls sleepover night or camping trip. It feels like we barely saw the kids aside from Allie crushing on Robert. There were no festivals or fairs. It was a bland summer for the kids.

Nathan finding happiness with Elizabeth.

Nothing really

Rosemary having a baby, Henry with oil business, jack and Lucas scenes, faith working in the infirmary , Elizabeth’s book .

Nathan

They dropped Nathan's chances at being with Elizabeth after he cried out his love for her and we should have seen him get more of a chance. Really wanted to see Allie more and less of Elizabeth. Hoped to see more of Fiona, too as she is comical playing off Hickam. Show really veered off course-[ writers kind of dropped stuff in and out on a whim and I thought the show lacked connection between storys and characters over time. Lots of whiplash- Canfields just moved in to a cabin then almost immediately sold it. Rachel was dropped in then all of a sudden leaves to celebrate a birthday. All of a sudden newlywed Ned applies for a bandaid patent! What the hell???

Better writing.

I didn’t miss anything. More of the hope valley children

Some type of villain. There was no crisis, no major overarching storyline aside from the love triangle. It overtook the whole season. Thought I was watching The Bachelorette for a second.

The love triangle was set up to bring Elizabeth and Nathan together - and don’t tell me they weren’t in love, Brian Bird, you literally spend 3 seasons showing them getting closer, feeling physically affected by being around each other, protecting each other, and becoming more open and you literally had Elizabeth seek him out and draw him in over and over again, getting closer to Allie as a mother figure in the process. Don’t tell me that’s not what a woman in love does for someone she loves, both romantically and deeply. And no resolution for ALLIE: Elizabeth telling Nathan to pass a message to Allie in that rejection scene, not even seeking Allie out to apologize? Is that somehow supposed to make that little girl feel better?! Treating Allie, her beloved student, like some insignificant afterthought, after everything Allie’s been through, just because she realized she’s in love with Lucas? Unbelievable. So yeah, sorry not sorry but I’m sore and pissed off, I feel manipulated and I’m angry. I did not buy Elizabeth’s sudden desperation to find Lucas, I did not buy that kiss or that she would want to spend a lifetime with him. The storyline literally did not support this ending at all. Even if I did want Elizabeth with Lucas I would feel shafted because their interactions were so damn surface-level the entire season. Here’s a replica of Elizabeth and Lucas’s backyard date conversation: Elizabeth: *wears a saloon-worthy, not flattering, potentially scandalous dress* Lucas: Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight? Elizabeth: yeah you mentioned it a few times Lucas: do you know how happy I am to be with you? Elizabeth: yeah...you said. Me too I guess. Oh and by the way, sorry about baby Jack, sorry he exists, and that we had to have dinner in my backyard Lucas: leave the dishes, I’ll have Gustave my slave come and collect them. Tonight should be about us Elizabeth: ... *crickets* *light hand holding*

So for season 8? I wanted more of Nathan and Elizabeth getting together I guess.

Obviously I am bummed about the lack of a baby Coulter this season, but the interview with Kavan & Pascale has made me hopeful it will happen next season. Even with the lack of a baby for them, I was disappointed with the whole Rachel thing because they barely spent any time "parenting her". She spent more time with Christopher that we saw on screen than she did with either Lee or Rosemary, and every scene they were in together was pretty much spoiled in the trailer for that episode, so that was a let down for me. I would have liked to see them actually spend some time with her or watch them struggle with parenting her. I always want more of them in general too, but I do feel like they got pushed to the side this season to make room for the triangle and other stories to play out. I'm really hoping for more of them next season, especially as it seems as though their journey to parenthood is finally in the cards. I also would have liked to see more of the HV kids this season, I did enjoy most of the scenes with the kids.

Elizabeth and the school children.

Rosemary and Lee were tired and wasted for most of the season, needed more of their fun. School scenes - I wish they would’ve tried to do something outside. More stories that weren’t romance. (And you didn’t ask but I could use way less of Elizabeth dramatically stopping and gasping.)

Kid scenes. There could be more kid scenes and unlikely interactions among all the main cast.

Elizabeth at least giving a chance to Nathan

There could’ve been more good and consistent storytelling lmao

Little Jack

Drop the triangle mid way and let the focus go back to HV

More time for Elizabeth to grieve and process. Would have loved to see her more in her role as a mother.

More Nathan and Elizabeth. It felt like they never gave Nathan a chance.

Nathan and Elizabeth going to dinner and spending time together.

More development for Lucas would have been really nice. Not that he wasn't present enough, but I feel like he took a back seat for his character development, growth, insight, etc. Also, if they focused on him more, especially in relation to Elizabeth, her choice would've made more sense to me.

I missed a certain simplicity which was evident in other seasons. I often felt that there was too much going on and that weakened the storylines since there was only so much time for each one.

More focus on the other characters and less on the love triangle.

Gah, so much screentime was wasted on the love triangle. I miss the time we could have gotten exploring other stories.

Better story telling. It was boring, frankly

Elizabeth interacting a lot with Little Jack and falling in love with Nathan like it should have been.

Mike and Fiona. I hated that she was gone for so long.

The magic that we saw in the earlier seasons. It’s too far from the books. They should have just replaced Jacks character with another actor.

More stories for all the cast

more stories that involved multiple characters (and characters that don’t interact as much to interact/form new and unique relationships)

I won't be watching Season 9.

An apology from TPTB.

Lucas true dark and evil side

Nothing. I’m not watching blasphemy.

Lee and Rosemary become parents. A fun new love interest for Nathan. Mike and Fiona dating.

For it not to happen. Take me back to season 7 ending

new love and adventures for Nathan, a baby for Lee and Rosemary, fun and challenging love for Elizabeth and Lucas

Honesty, no more bait and switch just for ratings

I won't watch it. After 8 seasons it sickened me to see Lucas as the pick when he is not a father figure or role model. So unlike a moral mother to not look at a person's interaction with your child first when choosing a partner.

Less scenes between Elizabeth and Lucas since she found her love focus the season on Nathan finding his

Nathan and Elizabeth actually getting together.

Nothing. I'm moving on to greener pastures.

I would like to see Rosemary and Lee finally have a baby or adopt, Elizabeth and Lucas break up or just leave town so I don’t have to watch them make out, Nathan find a better love, and Lee as mayor take on Wyman Walden and the Pinkertons.

Elizabeth realizing that she actually loves Nathan and Lee and rosemary surprise pregnancy or adoption.

I do not care what happens.

Elizabeth/writers/ producers realizing they are incredibly stupid. Apologizing and Nathan NOT taking her back. She needs to be alone and probably miserable. I think that’s what the show and she deserves. They’ve ruined it. I’m gone.

Less soap opera

No more triangles

Nathan finds true love. Allie getting an amazing Mother. The Canfield's (every minute of every Canfield). Rosemary and Lee. Bill and Molly. Clara and Jesse maturing. Every minute of Nathan and Allie. The kids. Ned and Florence enjoying married life and seeing him strike it rich. Lee for Mayor. Henry coming back. Mike and Fiona. Faith being a Doctor.

Healing and happiness for Nathan after getting smacked around in Season 8

A baby for Rosemary and Lee, Henry and Abigail to return together, Carson to come back and propose to Faith because she obviously does love him and want him to stay, an amazing newcomer to fall head over heels for Nathan

A cohesive storyline!

Rosemary and Lee have a baby

The whole season just felt stressful and misleading

Allie and Nathan prominence in the community and storylines. Lucas and Elizabeth to go on an extended international book tour.

Lee and Rosemary having kids finally!!!! Mayor election!

I won't be watching anymore.

A storyline that doesn't screw Nathan over. Rosemary/Lee blessed with a family. Less Elizabeth/Lucas kissing scenes. More focus on other characters.

Rosemary pregnant,faith and Nathan getting closer, more of Nathan being a Mountie,jack and Lucas bonding, Lucas and Elizabeth dates and kissing , Lucas proposing .

Nathan

I already cancelled Hallmark first thing this morning. The writers and showrunners have no credibility for me any longer, and I did not make my decision based on the triangle alone.

More focus on characters not named Elizabeth.

Henry and Abigail rosemarys paper lee for mayor Elizabeth and Lucas getting closer Nathan finding someone

I want Henry and Abigail to come back and see how that relationship plays out. I like the show but what got me excited was there relationship. Love enemies to lovers stories play out. I also hope they bring back Lori. Though she definitely does not need to be such a huge part of the show as she once was.

NOT Faith with Nathan.

Minnie Canfield becoming more a part of the town community with her fabulous boldness and integrity. I really love her.

Allie and Nathan having some incredible adoptive father-daughter laughter and tears moments, like her teasing him, him teasing her, and them going on trips together, just ALL Nathan and Allie. They deserve a spin-off. They are a great father-daughter love story. Way better than the romantic one.

Elizabeth and Lucas go on a very long trip to Europe together and season 9 is all about Hope Valley without them.

Fiona doing everything she does with boldness and fun, cause she is fantastic. Fiona getting into some real schemes!

Henry brings Abigail back.

First and foremost a little Coulter. I'll be interested to see how Rosemary's paper and hopefully Mayor Lee are doing haha. Definitely more of the friendship b/w the women, I love Florence & Molly as well as Fiona & Clara & Faith. More Nathan & Allie, and hopefully Nathan enjoying himself and meeting someone new. More of the Canfields.

Better writing

Less stressful situations. Mr. Canfield becoming the town's preacher. So happy that Hope Valley will have a preacher. Someone the town people can go to with their problems. Only good can come from putting faith back into the show. Thank you.

Henry and Abigail in some form; Rosemary being a tenacious journalist; real relationship work and personalities for Jesse and Clara; a fun mayoral race; the town coming together again for important things unlike the complete lack of momentum this season from Jesse being lost or the rig exploding; and just get rid of Faith. Bring back Dottie or something.

Nathan and Allie, Nathan Nathan and Elizabeth’s friendship, Nathan and Lucas getting along, Nathan moving on from Elizabeth, Lee and Rosemary talk about kids, and more Canfields.

A well-written storyline for Nathan, not him just as a background town mountie popping if needed sometimes

more happiness!!! Obv I still want drama but also it’s my comfort show so I just want to watch it and not be yelling at Elizabeth and other characters the whole time lol.

Elizabeth and Nathan - together!

Less commercials

Won’t be watching, but best wishes to the show!

I would like to see Abigail return, and have Lee and Rosemary somehow have a kid, though I’m not confident that either of those things will happen. I’m not sure if I’ll tune into season 9, we’ll see.

Rosemary and Lee finally starting a family, and for anything good to happen to Nathan whether it's above interest or something else. He suffered this season, he deserves good things to come his way.

I hope to see more character development. I would especially like to learn more about Nathan and Lucas now that the decision is made. I want them to be more than suitors for Elizabeth. I would also like to see them become friends. If Nathan must have a love interest, I would be interested in a woman of color being casted for the role. Also, even though it would be nice to see Rosemary and Lee have a baby, I think it would be really interesting to have them adopt a child or two (siblings).

Up until a little while ago, I was very opposed to the thought of Abigail returning. I wouldn't put it past them, and if Gowan isn't gone forever, it could be an interesting plot. (She would need to take on a less involved role, and not sure Loughlin would agree with that)

I want Henry back (don't care if it's with or without Abigail). Lee & Rosie to have a baby (don't care how). Nathan (& Allie) to have a good storyline and to be happy.

I just want to see Lucas and Elizabeth break up. I cannot hammer home enough how painful that final scene was. If this is how their relationship is going to be, I'm barely going to survive.

Abigail

Elizabeth comes to realize she is indeed in love with Nathan when she sees how taken Little Jack is with him. Little Jack never warms up to Lucas...ever.

I’m not watching, so I don’t care.

Henry’s happiness ally and Nathan scenes more Elizabeth and Lucas dating and an engagement and nick ham oil buisness

It should be the last season. The writers deserve to be unemployed for taking the series to this point.

Not watching season 9

Don’t care.

Nothing

Elizabeth - goes to Nathan — bring up happy with Lucas —- so they can be together (hey, they guy had more emotion than Lucas !!

I’ll wait to watch. Follow along on social media to make sure they don’t massacre any other storylines first.

Elizabeth and Lucas break up

Nathan to find his true love and Rosemary and Lee to start a family.

Elizabeth and Lucas to be married, Rosemary and Lee addressing the baby question and what happens with Henry trying to start with a clean slate

Better plotlines for the Coulters and the return of Henry

Henry and Abigail

A continuation of the stories already set up.

The survey did not give me an opportunity to say that Nathan needs to STILL get together with Elizabeth, so I had to pick someone else. The survey should be designed so that I do NOT have to pick an answer that I do NOT believe in. I hope that the writers will realize that they set up a story, especially at the end of season 7 and in 8 where it looked liked they were setting up Nathan as Elizabeth’s choice. Her choice of Lucas makes me wonder if she is only responding to the “temptation” she feels around Lucas. (He tells her, It is not a date, but if it were a date and he lightly touches her hand...This is duplicitous behavior!) Elizabeth and Nathan have tough conversations about real life and they have the kind of relationship that is very healthy for a long term marriage. ...Frankly, I CANNOT watch a “romance” develop between Lucas and Elizabeth. They might have a similar interest in literature, but the inside character and values of each of them are very different. Elizabeth only needed a little opportunity once Nathan was free of guilt to give him a chance to win over the “romantic” side of her heart.

Lee and Rosemary adopting a child!

For Elizabeth to dump Lucas or for Nathan to meet someone new who will really value him and let him in

I am not sure if I will be watching season 9 as yet. I need to figure out if I can get past the finale first... It took me over a year to come back after Jack's death and with the way the finale has disrespected the past 3 seasons, I don't know if I have it in me. I want to, I just don't know if I can.

Still on fence about watching it

Wholesome cast

Do not really care.

a baby for the Coulters, the development of the relationship between Elizabeth, little Jack and Lucas, the story of Nathan's journey to love, a challenge the community has to face together, a love interest for Fiona, the development of the Canfields. No more Bill and Molly. I love Bill's character - especially the role he has in Elizabeth and little Jack's life - and Molly is fine too, but I don't see any chemistry there.

Nathan becoming more popular than Elizabeth

I want a happy ending for Nathan and Allie.

N/a

Only the new adventures of Nathan, Allie, Rosemary, Lee, the Canfields, Bill and Molly, Florence and Ned and the return of Henry.

No interest in watching 9

I hope the mayoral race is fill of humor and not contention.

Whatever they write

Mike and fionas business Rosemary pregnant Nathan and Lucas are friends Elizabeth’s book is released maybe a baby for Clara Nathan and faith together ally and Robert together Henry returns Lucas and jack bonding Elizabeth continue to teach and Lucas proposing

I wont be watching to find out, but some respect for Nathan and Allie, and Rosemary and Lee. I have an inkling that Rose and Lee are going to be screwed over next. Hopefully E and L just break up randomly bc idk how anyone could sit through the show and watch them together. It's disturbing

I'm not sure of the year anymore, but the Spanish Flu should be showing up any day. I have a list of characters that could fall victim.... let's start with Elizabeth.

less kissing

Better writing, less pair-the-spares, more focus on relationships and less on interpersonal drama.

More Nathan

More Lee and Rosemary. Nathan getting a storyline instead of being a punching bag.

Not going to watch it.

Not watching

Rosie and Lee having a family of their own either by adoption or pregnancy.

Increased focus on entire ensemble.

I won't watch season 9, but I hope that they finally give Nathan and Allie happiness. I hope Allie calls him dad, and that she gets her own horse, and I wish that Elizabeth would just leave them both alone now. I hope that whoever they do pair Nathan with loves and appreciates him for who he is, and loves Allie, and puts them above everyone else. Bonus points if whoever she is tells Elizabeth to back the hell off at some point!

More of Nathan

Nothing

Not watching

Break up of Elizabeth and Lucas

Don't care not watching anymore

More action and real suspense.

Don't care not watching anymore

Lucas and Elizabeth getting married.

Meaningful conversations between E & L; Nathan being Allie's dad/Allie supporting him through his loss of Elizabeth; Hopefully Elizabeth, Lucas, and Nathan can still be friends.

Continued better writing and character growth.

More of Nathan. I really like his character. I want more of his past and what has shaped him. I want to see his honest and noble character.

More challenging life experiences; give Fiona more prominence ... perhaps as a stringer for Rosemary’s paper; Jesse develop some character.

better more coherent writing

Henry back

I don’t care. I’m no longer a viewer after this season.

Elizabeth realizing Nathan is the one and Nathan rejecting her the whole season, having another serious love interest but forgiving her for her bad choice at the end

More emotion from Nathan . A chance in Elizabeth

Elizabeth realizing she made a mistake

Many interesting stories

Lee and Rosemary getting back on their "parenting issues" the whole Rachel thing was put in and taken away way too soon? There were a lot of things thrown in this season just for something to do, and at this point, since Nathan is still the mountie...more proper mounties storylines, like the investigation on the tampered oil, that was cool (maybe I should just switch to Murdoch's Mysteries XD)

Very little of Elizabeth and Lucas

Improved writing by then staff

see less of E and L and see more of the other characters , Nathan and Faith just become friends who console each other for their heartaches not a couple

Bill & Molly

I have no hope for season nine

Abigail come back as EP because obviously Erin is terrible at it. Kick Tinker to the curb and bring back season 1 showrunner. Bring back Julie and Cat Montgomery.

less drama

Lee and Rosemary have a child.

I'm not very hopful.

Nathan and Ally moving on and eventually finding a family with a woman as selfless and noble as Nathan.

I don't even know, I'm just so angry and sad.

Don't Care , will not be watching.. I am finished with the Hallmark Channel and anything Hallmark.

Just a continuation of the hopeful storylines and of course the romance

Faith being more in charge Ned and Florence being married lee running for mayor Elizabeth and Lucas engament jack growing ally and Robert and a baby for Clara

Focus on building a compelling beautiful story for Nathan; that his heart will heal. That he will fall in love with a new beautiful lady coming to town, which will be a deeper and more epic love that would have been with Elizabeth. More storylines with Nathan and Allie; Rosemary and Lee to be parents. Hope that writers and producers will not ruin Nathan's character and storyline. And do not pair Nathan with Faith nor Fiona. Hope there will be less of Elizabeth and Lucas and focus on other characters.

more time spent on the storylines - not so many brief scenes

Nathan gets a love story as glorious as Elizabeth & Jack.

Will not be watching. This heartie is broken and lost hope.

Elizabeth engaged

Elizabeth and Lucas happy and in love. I hope we get plenty of Florence and she doesn’t fade into the background now that they gave her a romance. I’m also hoping for more of the Canfield family. Idk if there will be any progress on the Coulter family front, but I would like to see them adopt an older child or at least decide to sometime later this season. Nothing against them finding fulfillment without a child (I love a happy childless couple!), but it’s been established they want to be parents and it would be nice for them to do that as well. I do hope Henry comes back without Abigail! I’d miss Henry, but I don’t miss Abigail lol. I won’t be mad if she comes back, but I don’t want her either. Looking forward to whatever the season brings!

More story with the Canfields.

Don’t care

Any other comments?

I will only watch to support Kevin, Kayla, and Jaeda. Nathan was by far by favorite character on the show. Kevin McGarry deserves better than this decision and I hope that they will give his character more air time next season

Everybody calm down. There was nothing new, better, worse, different, or surprising about how this season was written/handled. We don't watch WTCH for it's sparkling dialogue and satisfying storylines. We hope for something showing decent people living good lives with faith and optimism, and they still manage to do that (and have finally brought back the "faith" part of this with the arrival of a new pastor) even if they screw the pooch with the details.

I understand why people were mad about the finale, but idk all this hate on IG us just rude and disrespectful to the crew

Team Nathan!

I cannot enjoy WCTH because it’s not remotely entertaining if you can’t trust you understanding of the story over time.

None

This was my first season watching live and despite the fallout from the triangle I had fun

Nothing I haven't or you haven't or the fandom hasn't already covered. I'm just disappointed in all the potential they threw out the window. I have zero trust in the PTB. They don't care about these characters.

I will pretend that the series finale was season 7. I don’t know how I will ever love the show like I used too. I’m too tired of the letdowns.

You’re the best, I’m so thankful you let us vent and give us sane, logical takes about this show. OH and all you Team Nathan people boycott the crap out of this show and maybe they will reverse their decision to Nathan on the love triangle. At these tank the ratings. You don’t owe the show runners anything for destroying this show.

I truthfully haven't seen a single episode. Had it recorded and followed this blog and live viewing comments on the FB page. After hearing how everything went down in the last episode, I have absolutely no desire to watch the season. I could have forgiven Elizabeth for how she acted towards everyone if it was truly her working through her fears of being with another Mountie. But since that wasn't the case, I have a lot of dislike for her (and the writers) now.

Thanks for your blog. I appreciate it. There must be a reason for how this turned out. Although we we can't see it and will probably never know the answer. It suck

I was Team Nathan for a long time - pretty much two years. I saw the writing on the wall when Lucas said he would wait and again when Elizabeth was resistant to moving forwarding with Nathan at so many steps along the way. Even the hand holding post wedding seemed intentionally friend zone. And look on her face when she realized that she was acting with Nathan like she did with Jack, to me that was the end. All the signs were there. Some people were so routed in Nathan that they couldn't see another possibility. I have opened my mind to Lucas because I love the show. And you know what - it's not so bad in land of Lucas and Elizabeth. For those who are devastated and done, maybe down the road, when you're feeling less heart broken, you might want to try going back and watching with a more open mind. There is some pretty hot stuff there. Because of my love for Nathan (and yes, I still love him!) I couldn't have said that a year ago. :)

It's not because my guy didn't win the girl, but because this story is getting too much like a soap opera and in the case of that last love scene, a little trashy for a family show.

After next season I will look at the recap. If you have changed Elizabeth's stupid decision I will watch again, if not, there are plenty of other shows to watch.

The love triangle wasn’t real in the true sense of the word since Elizabeth never went on a date with Nathan.

Brian Bird is a jerk.

I have never been so mad and sad at the conclusion of a TV show..not really my personality. BUT the chemistry between Nathan and Elizabeth was undeniable. Nathan proved over three seasons to be his own unique character, and fans would not have labeled him as Jack 2.0. There would have been plenty more stories to tell. Now I think I am done watching. The other characters are great, but the story is mostly Elizabeth’s....the way it was created and, in spite of Jack’s death, the way it has continued. I honestly think the producers want a show that is going to last for a long, long time, so it needs to begin focusing on other characters. And I also think that Nathan and Elizabeth would have been so great together that the spotlight would have stayed on them. This would have wrecked the direction the producers want the show to go, but instead the show is just wrecked by a new formula that isn’t working.

What a relief that I can move on and actually feel so good about it. Yippee!

I was really enjoying this season, I thought they were doing really well and better than they ever have and then in the last episode it felt so rushed and thrown together without any thought!!! That ruined the entire season for me. I can’t even go back and watch it again because it’s all for nothing! It was so obvious that E was in love with N but just scared of her past, I was waiting for something to happen for her to realize. And maybe to see the quote that N gave her again. It seemed that L was just a rebound/distraction I didn’t see one ounce of affection from E toward L. And what about the bachelorette party? Didn’t that mean she was meant to be with N? And the touch in the library? They were portrayed as “sparks” but apparently it was mistaking him for Jack??? Come on, we are meant to believe that garbage??? There was none of those scenes with L, what love story are they talking about in the last scene? So many things! How can N say it was L all along when we saw zero evidence of that!

I’m finished with the show. I do not care to see how S9 plays out. They do not deserve my time after the complete disregard to viewers time and investment over the last 8 years. I am appalled at the reaction from Brian Bird and Chris McNally. I have never been so offended as a fan. I will not watch so they can send their rude tweets to the very few people that still watch their show. I’m DONE!!!

Disappointed in Elizabeth but think back to season 2 and how she led on Charles...no surprise with how she treated poor Nathan

I'm going to watch Season 9. Just skip over E's storylines. I now hate her.

Too many storylines this season, writers need to tighten it up. Love triangle was handled the worst possible way it could be handled.

This season was a disappointment unfortunately. And not only because of Elizabeth, but also because my favorite characters either weren’t a big enough part of the storyline or they just were so different from previous seasons.

I'm still so shocked at the outcome of this finale. It's even more egregious to me because they managed to ruin just about every character and it was so unnecessary. I wish they had Elizabeth choose Lucas in the first episode of this season that way they could have let them grow together while also letting Nathan begin to move on and Nathan and Lucas to begin a friendship. But they took it so far and raked everybody through the coals that I just can't imagine any of that happening right now in a realistic way. I think I'm the most upset because there is a world where I would have been fine with Elizabeth choosing Lucas. But they spent the whole season + prior seasons showing us that her love for Nathan was deeper, that there was more to explore there and that her time with Lucas was limited & she couldn't be with him because she kept thinking about Nathan (I don't care what any one says, that is what was done) that I couldn't even get into the relationship between Elizabeth & Lucas. Then at the last second went JK NOT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE DOING AND YOU'RE STUPID FOR THINKING THAT! It's just so unbelievable.

Unsure if I will watch

Very disappointed with the finale.

They got it so wrong...

The love triangle was annoying and a straight line. Elizabeth was horribly written. Nathan was screwed over. TeamNathan got screwed over. I will still watch just to see what happens next. I will not let Elizabeth/Lucas storyline ruin it for me.

The finale was my favorite episode of the series. I’m so happy they didn’t go down the same road as jack with her picking Nathan .I love Nathan’s character as a Mountie but NOT with Elizabeth. I’m so looking forward to seeing her and Lucas as a happy in love couple I’m just so happy and there kisses were so beautiful and passionate I couldn’t love them more.

They made the case for a beautiful love story between Nathan and elizabeth- not for Lucas and Elizabeth. The ending of that triangle was not believable for me. Kevin McGarry is a fabulous actor with tremendous range and seems to bring out the best in any scene partner he has had. He has always been believable in everything I have seen him in. He is a true leading man and they should be treating him better or he will/does not have to stay with the show. I am not trying to trash Chris McNally, but he is rather limited as an actor and looks almost wooden in some scenes. I can't always hear his dialogue because he speaks too low or too fast sometimes and he is not always believable for me- nice to look at, yes, but not the actor Kevin is. Maybe they partnered him with Erin so she could help him develop more. I love Allie, Rosemary, Henry, Bill, and Fiona and can see some great stories ahead for them if the writers don't screw things up. I would never be able to stomach Lori Loughlin and Abigail again, and I feel they will force her back on the fans next season. As evidenced by the love scenes in the finale, Hallmark is changing this show forever- it will be edgier, sexier and much less "Christian-based". Not sure if the Hearties will accept that. I don't really care anymore as I am no longer supporting Hallmark channel. Don't like the mess they made this season, or many of the changes made in their movies of late. I have found myself tuning out a great deal. I hope people like Kevin McGarry, Jaeda, Kayla Wallace and Pascale are seen i other non-Hallmark projects so I can enjoy seeing their work. Really disenchanted with Erin Krakow's performances of late.

Thanks for all the work you do running this blog!

I’m very happy with this season I will continue watching as long as it continues. Does anyone here watch new Amsterdam tv series?

Love that they took characters who are always in the background and gave them actual storylines.

I think I’m in the anger phase of grieving. I’m sorry if the answers cause a reopening of wounds but it feels right to me to call them on their shit by voicing the injustice of treating your viewers this way. These writers just told the laziest, quickest, ficklest (?) “love story” I have ever seen, EVER.

Thank you so much for everything you've done this past season! I really enjoy your blog and your insights on the show as well.

There can be a conflict with women owning business (no offense) and other women in the show working and having families. Please keep the show from becoming so feminist. Please retain some strong men.

Thanks for the survey!

I hope season 9 explains things and or finishes plots left behind in season 8.

That ending really just made no sense at all..what was the point of the whole season before it?!

Nope!

Terribly written finale. So rushed and smacked together. Yuck

Sigh... it really was a letdown after it seemed that all the signs were pointing to Elizabeth facing her fears and accepting the love of Nathan and loving him in return and them being one big, happy family.

This was my first season watching WCTH in years (since like season 2), so I’m glad I wasn’t too invested just to be disappointed in the end with the decision Elizabeth made.

I hate that Elizabeth used to be my favorite character to the point of seeing myself in her, but now I really dislike her. On the bright side, at least I've grown to love Rosemary enough for her to be my new favorite!

I think the writers need to listen to their audience and work to smooth out this bumpy season. I hope the writers are more selective with the storylines they choose so that those arcs can be fully developed. For example, Jesse being missing in the last two episodes was mishandled in my opinion. So few people cared that he was gone and I don't think the writers even fully explained what happened to him.

So glad the triangle is over, and I hope we never see anything like it for anyone else again.

Overall I liked this season (except the love triangle stuff) but I don't know if it will be enough to keep me watching. Guess I'll have to see how season 9 plays out.

I'm glad Carson is gone lmao. I'd be pretty happy if I never saw him again. Henry better be back. Lucas and Elizabeth can move to Hamilton...seriously. Baby Jack deserves a more attentive and present mother. But honestly, keep Carson away & write Lucas and Elizabeth off and I'd be DELIGHTED and actually stoked for season 9.

The stories are lame. I want more Lee and Rosemary. I did not like Christopher/Rachel. And, why are they doing with Henry? It’s all confusing.

Please consider reversing Elizabeth's choice. She and Nathan look so good together. Lucas is too lecherous looking in my opinion.

I wonder if Rachel will return will Lucas and Nathan become friends?

The season sucked! The writing was poor and there really wasn’t a triangle. They misled and lied to the viewers. It would have been easier to accept Elizabeth’s decision if we saw her date both men and see how it worked out with each of them. The writers never gave Nathan the opportunity but instead used him as a punching bag the whole season.

I can’t even bear to rewatch any of the seasons after that ending. I’m so glad I didn’t preorder the season—and I’ve canceled my HM subscription.

Get new writers!

I was for either guy at the beginning of the season. All they had to do was show me the love story. They didn’t do that.

The choice of Lucas was ridiculous. Will no longer watch the show. I’m very sad.

If you are going to have Elizabeth and Lucus in a relationship I would hope that you would work on him becoming more child friendly. If he doesn’t accept little Jack then he doesn’t deserve Elizabeth. They are a package deal.

Love the show. I think people that threaten to stop watching because “Team Nathan” are just bellyaching and will wind up watching it again just to have something to grouse about. It’s just a TV show, people. If it always goes the way you want you’ll just complain that the writing is getting stale!

love your blog

Extremely disappointed with this season. Will no longer watch.

This season felt like it was perfectly setting up for the next. It felt like a lot of new beginnings were being set up leaving us ready to explore.

I’m personally Team Lucas so I’ve been happy with the decision but I actually think if Nathan had “won” it would have been more interesting for Lucas in s9 so actually think Nathan as a character will have a better, more interesting s9

I said the season was good and the writing was, but I will clarify that the finale TOTALLY ruined the underlying track that was being built up for Elizabeth to choose Nathan. I don’t believe that the script writers gave Nathan the chance that they gave Lucas. Elizabeth grilled him to try to find him guilty of wrong, but Lucas had a number of shady deals that reveal poor character and Elizabeth did not find out about those and have a chance to grill him. If she knew those things, would she still be choosing him? Elizabeth was allowed to be “charmed” by his superficial lifestyle and empty promises. Because of Lucas’s shady dealings, he and Elizabeth almost got killed in the saloon. Later, he said he would never let anything happen to her. Nathan was the one who saved Elizabeth and Nathan’s life in that scene. Lucas is a talker with empty promises and Nathan is the one who actually rescued Elizabeth from Lucas’s bad deeds. The ending of Season 8, Episode 12 is NOT even logical. She needed someone like Nathan to protect her from Lucas. If this is REALLY who Elizabeth is, I don’t want to watch her. She does not follow her own advice. Once Lucas’s full character is revealed, we would only have to watch her get hurt over and over.. I CANNOT watch an Elizabeth and Lucas love story. The writers should not be biased against Nathan just because he was a Mountie. He should be seen for himself. Also, if Elizabeth cannot love Nathan because he might get killed this is not a strong enough reason. Lucas could get killed. She told Ned that he could miss the joy if he didn’t go thru with his wedding with Florence. This should have indicated that she would get over her own fears so that she could experience joy with Nathan.

I truly hope everyone gets to the end of season 9 and is pleasantly surprised. It is the eternal optimist in me, but I would love to see getting there and being unable to imaging things being any other way, despite the heartbreak we all feel for the series right now. As I mentioned, I have my doubts, however am trying very, very hard to keep an open mind.

I hated the way Nathan was treated this season and won’t be watching anymore.

You are amazing for what you do with this blog and I thank you for your efforts to make it so enjoyable day after day.

I think my opinion on this site is in the minority, but Lucas and Elizabeth have solid chemistry and the chance for an interesting relationship. However, I would have been cool with Nathan too. I love Kevin McGarry and want to see more of his fun side as he dates and raises Ally. Could absolutely be a great relationship between Fiona and Nathan, but someone new could be exciting too if it's the right person. Happy the triangle is over. Disappointed at the number of self-proclaimed "Hearties" who are acting like angry (Team Nathan) or gloating (Team Lucas) children. I love this show because it's about kindness, being decent to one another, and forgiveness. I had hoped fans on all sides would follow that lead, but not so much I guess. Here's to hoping we all embrace the Hope Valley way, putting the triangle behind us and moving on to whatever comes next!

I thought I would continue to watch even if she chose Lucas but after the way the season played out, I feel like TPTB care more about generating drama for the ratings than good storytelling and I won’t be used like that again.

I gave season 8 an average rating because I liked the stories about Nathan/Allie, the arrival of the Canfields, the love story of Florence/Ned and finally the story of Henry and his son.

Fans need to stop getting hung up on everything BB and the actors say to manipulate viewers into watching. I learned that lesson the hard way from Pretty Little Liars. We were misled over and over by the showrunner and let down every season finale. The series finale was the longest hour of ridiculous shit to ever air on tv. We were looking for clues the whole time (7 years) and there were no clues, just a lot of pointless crap. I never pay attention to anything BB says on social media or what actors say in interviews. I watch WCTH without looking for clues or expecting any outcome. I saw E picking L a mile away. I like the idea of a heartbroken Nathan getting his own romantic storyline and look forward to that new love story next season.

This was a very good season I like the direction they went with this season and I’m very happy the triangle is finally over and she ended up with the man of her dreams. Lucas and Elizabeth are endgame .

Screwed us over big time. Not just us but the characters too. Nothing made sense and the whole season was for nothing because the story didnt go anywhere. Dont trust Hallmark anymore to write a complete, meaningful, and satisfying story. They disrespected everything about storytelling, the show, and disrespected the community that watched and supported the content. Someone either stupid, bitter, vengeful, or horny decided this finale. F them

Thank you for all you do!

The more I read about the writers of this show and some of the actors responses to the fans disappointment, the Lee’s I want anything yo do with this show. They’re arrogant, disrespectful; I guess thy think they’re so popular that everyone will tune in again next year. They think they have it in the bag. Nope! I believe season 9 will be a failure and probably their last one.

I don't hate the season but the bad balanced out the good so severely I felt like it was just a 'meh' season. I guess that's still an improvement from how I felt about S6 and 7, though.

Hopefully HM fires John Tinker his writing was awful. I don’t mean the triangle everything was dumb and disjointed

I don't know why I watch this show. But I must enjoy it on some level.

Been a fan from day one - you lost 70% of your viewers. Some comments from WCTH have made the fans feel if you don’t like their story line don’t watch - they are correct - I won’t ! Should of listen to the 70%. Good luck with your viewer ship you forgot who pays you!

I was surprised that E. was so insensitive leading Nathan on for so long. She is also very materialistic and obviously chose Lucas for all that he could do for her without much depth.

Honestly, I mainly watch the show for Rosemary and Lee. I would like to see them become parents at some point, but I would also like a little more of Rosemary’s backstory. We gotten some of Lee’s backstory. I think it would be interesting to meet some of Rosemary’s family at some point. I am glad that Lee and Rosie are finding their niches career wise.

I just don’t see Lucas as Jack’s father. He hasn’t cared one whit for the boy, and yet the boy is everything to Elizabeth?? Doesn’t make sense. Since I don’t want Abigail back, I hope Henry isn’t going to get her. Alas that also means I think he’s likely left the show. Maybe good for Martin, since it has veered so far away from its beginning. Thanks for all your work on this Melanie. I value it a lot!

I wish I could take back the last three years of life that I invested in this show. If I had known they would do this I never would have come back after Jack's death. Despite that, I still love and adore and am invested in Nathan and Allie, and some other side characters. But I can't even fathom watching season 9 after what the writers did. My WCTH, the one I loved and enjoyed, ended with season 7.

Bring Elizabeth and Nathan together

See Elizabeth and nathan hitched and get married

love the show Wish there wasn't such a long wait for the next season

I hope they can redeem themselves. I'm a true hearty and I've never missed an episode. I can't stomach the person Elizabeth is becoming. I will stop watching if she doesn't go back to the Elizabeth we fell in love with.

New actors for Ally and little Jack, or less time on screen

The storytelling was not coherent; storylines started and ended abruptly with no flow. They need to get back to the roots of the show and make it more of a family drama again, not an over-the-top soap opera.

Chris McNally and Brian Bird’s attitudes are contemptible. I was not happy with the finale and how everything played out, but their comments have set me over the edge to choose not to support anything they are in or a part of. Rude, self righteous attitudes from both. I’m done.

I am shocked at my own reactions. A TV show shouldn't have so much affect on me but I am truly unhappy with Elizabeth's choice...and I think I am crazy because it is really bothering me!!

I am upset how the season ended. She picked the wrong man. I see no chemistry there.

Honestly no, I am not happy with how the characters were written, both Lucas and Nathan deserved better, Elisabeth came across as constantly freaking out and not following her heart while running over a lot of people (Rosemary, Nathan and Allie in particular) but she's never been my favourite character anyway, so whatever.

p.s. thank you so much for all your amazing work! I love your gifs and your blog <3 keep it up!

Elizabeth’s character has changed drastically. She has become egotistical, pompous, cruel, The character that Jeanette Oke originally wrote is nothing like the Elizabeth we now have.

Elizabeth played games with Nathan and Lucas just like she did with Jack and Charles. The series was written about a school teacher and a Mountie. Not so anymore.

The betrayal of the original story and the fan base is hard to overcome.

I have completely changed my opinion about this show, Erin Krakow, and the direction this series is going in.

This season had so much promise but the finale left me angry. Agree with other comments that if they had invested in a better story for E&L it would be different. Warming the serge was the only time E “might” have been confusing Nathan for Jack. Their relationship was so different... single parenting, especially. Their love story could’ve been even more epic than E & J. Just a real shame. Will not continue to watch. Moving on.

The writer's blew this. I am absolutely disgusted with the character of Elizabeth. There is no way a school teacher and mother would have been allowed to associate with a saloon owner in that time period without being run out of town. It's ridiculous that they expect fans to be okay with this.

If I decide to watch, I will skip the Elizabeth and Lucas scenes.

I just discovered your Tumblr site yesterday: it a really comprehensive and insightful work!

Thank you so much for your blog, I seriously need a place to vent and scream for a while. This is ridiculous.

Tell your bean counter I will not be watching . Hallmark has gone WOKE.

Hopefully John tinker will continue a show runner he did a wonderful job brought some new life to help Valley

I’m very happy with all of the promising storylines in season 9 , Rosemary and Lee’s business vendors, faith being the head doctor Henry’s story Elizabeth and Lucas finally being a couple there is a lot of promise in season 9

Tinker and the producers destroyed in 1 season, what Moreno worked so hard in weaving and building up a beautiful storyline with Nathan and Elizabeth to form the Grant family. They have to understand that fans are leaving not because of Elizabeth's final choice. The reason is that Tinker and the producers disregarded the premise and the family wholesomeness of the show, and debased it by making it into a poorly written soap opera with lots of shouting and cheap superficial steamy scenes and called it "romance'. They did not take the time to carefully development of storyline of why Elizabeth's decision. If they have done a good job leading to Lucas as a decision, I think that Team Nathan's fans would have accepted the choice. Instead, they played with fans emotions and hurt them badly through the season from both Teams misleading them and make them think who was the endgame. They need to realize that we watch WCTH because of the feel good and heart warming story. The fans kept to the end because they wanted to see their guy been chosen, even though there was lots of anger and disappointment. Who really wants to watch a show that does not entertain us in a heartwarming way. Tinker and the producers are arrogant, prideful, foolish, and not to be trusted and have no integrity to go back to what WCTH values that kept the loyal Hearties coming back yearly. They destroyed all Moreno's hard work to rescue the show after season 5. We wanted a family friendly clean show that make us happy and hopeful. The show is shifting to likes of Dallas and Dynasty with steamy scenes, skimpy clothes, bickering and may become darker stories.

Tinker did a horrendous job by introducing too many disjointed scenes and characters that led nowhere. He did not take the opportunity to develop the story behind Allie's dad, Rosemary and Lee barely had any storyline, many couples bickering and destroyed Elizabeth's character as a morally strong caring woman. The "new" Elizabeth in this season was cruel, mean, self-centred, uncaring and was not really sorry or remorseful for her actions that hurt Nathan and Allie badly, as well as Rosemary. Is unrealistic that Nathan was the one who convinced Lucas to stay.

Positives of the show was Ned and Florence's romance and wedding. Loved the Nathan and Allie's storyline. Nathan portrayed as the noble, sacrificial, kind, wise, heroic and because he loved Elizabeth, he let her go. It showed that Nathan was the better man with an impeccable character.

After this season, Elizabeth has been cheapened to a weak character that did not overcome fear, getting onto people's affair (Especially into Nathan's even when she rejected him, which gave him false hopes), was attracted to wealth and superficial romance, instead of the deep abiding unconditional love with Nathan. She became hypocritical by giving everybody advise and yet she did opposite to what she was saying. This Elizabeth did not deserve to have Nathan. He is too good for her. I don't know what will happen to littleJack as I can't see Lucas to love Jack as his own. He might be raised by nannies (as Elizabeth have already done) and become a Little Lord Fauntleroy.

If the writers and producers are smart, they should focus on developing a compelling and heartfelt story for Nathan. In my opinion, he is the favourite character that embodies all the good values in When Calls the Heart, even through his imperfections. If they focus on Nathan and weave a great story, they may get some of Team Nathan fans coming back to the show and avoid cancellation after season 9.

Thank you for providing a platform to voice my opinion and disappointment of Tinker and the producers (eg Bird, Erin Krakow) ruining a show that could have been wonderful with lovely storylines for years to come.

It is time to move on from the love triangle. No matter what a fan group was going to be heartbroken. No point feeling so betrayed. We were never promised an outcome one way or the other so there was no betrayal. There was only disappointment of not getting what we wanted.

This was my least favorite season overall. The main characters didn't seem quite themselves, key couples weren't in sync, no compelling storylines other than the arrival of the wonderful Canfields, Elizabeth & Rosemary were even on the outs. Missed the kids (although completely understand why they couldn't be there). And very, very disappointed in the ending. Not a fan of Lucas' character at all.

Hallmark really dropped it on this one. Look at the survey and polls the fans wanted Nathan! A good show ruined. If this was the plan for Elizabeth a different actor should have been cast as Lucas. No chemistry , a saloon owner it just makes NO sense. The storylines are so disappointing. I am done!

I have some complaints, but overall I liked the season and am genuinely excited for season nine! Positive feelings here for sure! Still, I understand and respect that a sizeable portion of the fandom is upset (I was prepared to be completely crushed myself so I Get It). Since the love triangle ended the way I wanted, I’m relieved and prepared to just enjoy whatever comes our way next.

PS to the person behind this survey and blog - we have some ugh... disagreements, but you have contributed so much to this fandom with your gifs and these surveys. Thank you so much for that. <3

Ratings were down in the key 18-49 demo by 10 percent last year, and now 20 percent this year while total viewers remain flat. I guess we’ll see if their gamble pays off next season. But it really seems like a lot of their most loyal fans really got hurt, and as we know, karma is a b%^^. So much for the showrunner righting the ship.

#When Calls the Heart #WCTH polls

26 notes · View notes

marastriker · 3 years

Note

I know you love Electraboose, so what abt all of the otp questions for them?

OH BOY MY LOVES

1) What's their love language?

Electra shows how much he loves/cares about someone through gift giving. He doesn't know how to express his feelings in any other way, so he hopes that the other person will understand the thought and effort he puts behind the gifts he gives. But Electra does prefer others to show him they love him through quality time spent together. He and CB hang out all the time, even before they started dating, so that's never something he has to beg for.

CB however, shows others he loves them with little handmade trinkets, drawings, etc. He's a "I found this thing that reminded me of you, so here!" He loves Electra showing him that he loves him with physical affection. The boy is touch starved.

2) Who confesses first?

Electra, for sure. He can't hold back his feelings (or urge to fuck CB) for much longer. He confesses, at the expense of short circuiting because he cannot handle the Big Emotion™

3) Who plans the dates?

Electra, since he has tons of ideas on places to take CB. Unfortunately, a lot of these places are high class and fancy, so Electra has to give CB a crash course in professional behaviorism. Regardless, Electra still takes him to fancy restaurants, galas, dancing, etc. Electra secretly loves seeing CB all dressed up and fancy. Even if CB can be less than enthused at the change of environment.

There are a few times where CB invites Lex out to small, simple dates like scouring a Walmart late at night or watching the sunrise/sunset. He takes small pleasures at the simpler things in life.

4) Who's the better driver.

CB, and let me tell you why. He has to be very meticulous and calculating to pull off all the crashes he has. He knows his way around the controls a lot better than your standard engine. Greaseball is just focused on going fast and Electra, while being a bit smarter about it, still relies on others to do the work for him. CB is the master of control. The tiny details.

5) Who likes to be the little spoon?

Both of them, and yes, they will fight over it. Electra likes to be held just as much, but CB just ends up being a little jetpack. CB will whine and complain until Electra agrees to be the big spoon though.

6) What's their stance on PDA?

Electra has absolutely no problem feeling up CB at any and all moments of the day. CB secretly enjoys it, but knows that it can be distracting. He will partake in PDA as well, but he's definitely not as smooth about it.

7) Who shows affection through words?

Neither of them are particularly good with words, but Electra makes a huge effort to get better about it. He practices what he's going to say in the mirror. CB wishes he could try as hard but can never find anything as eloquent as Electra to say.

8) Who shows affection through touch?

Both of them. Touch is very easy for them. They practically can't keep their hands off each other.

9) How do they like to initiate intimacy?

Electra doesn't even have to say a word, he just knows exactly where to touch CB for him to know he wants to get intimate. While Electra is smooth and sultry, CB is a jokester. He will pose stupidly and make the dumbest jokes (a la "draw me like one of your French girls"). Either that, or he'll make random pouty noises. Electra knows what it means and is more than happy to satisfy.

10) Do they have a dream wedding venue?

Electra does, for damn sure. Electra would do most of the planning for any sort of wedding related stuff. It's not that CB isn't interested in helping, he just never thought that he would get married and has no idea how to go about it. All he can genuinely offer is, "I like these colors."

11) How do they comfort each other?

CB swears Electra's kisses could cure cancer. Whenever CB is feeling upset, Electra's embrace and kisses seem to help melt all his troubles away. CB is just really good at cheering Electra up with jokes that make him forget about his problems.

12) What's an ideal evening for them?

They're honestly just happy to be spending time with each other, but Electra has a tendency to like more relaxing evenings like a bubble bath with champagne and yoga. CB wants Electra to play video games or watch a movie with him.

13) Who's the most playful in bed?

They're both rather playful, but CB definitely has more energy for being hyper about it.

14) Who shows affection through gift giving?

As mentioned above, Electra.

15) Who's the first one up in the morning?

Probably Electra, only because they go to sleep at a reasonable time. CB has a lot more trouble sleeping, and therefore more trouble getting up early.

16) Were they friends before they were lovers?

For sure, but not for a long amount of time since Electra might have exploded if he didn't tell CB about his feelings.

17) Who is the better singer.

Not that either of them are bad, but Electra is particularly good. They have that soul 🎵

18) Who has the best jokes?

CB, of course! What's a clown without jokes? He's very clever, witty, and funny and Electra can't get over just how much CB makes him laugh.

19) Who's the better cook?

CB isn't allowed near the appliances and can only make simple stuff and Electra definitely isn't great at first, but comes to be an okay cook. Dinah still outshines them both, though.

20) What's their stance on having kids?

Electra has always dreamed of having little mini mes and doesn't have any compunctions about having kids. CB never thought it would be a possibility and probably thought he'd make a terrible parent. Electra helps him warm up to the idea, even suggesting they have another caboose first so it'll be easier on him. Her name is Rose and she is hot pink.

Thank you so much for the ask lol

#starlight express #stex cb #cb stex #cb starlight express #starlight express cb #cb the red caboose #electra stex #stex electra #electra starlight express #electra the electric engine #electraboose

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hauntedtaylors · 3 years

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evermore “sister songs” predictions

alright evermore, midnight.

taylor referred to this album as a “sister album” with folklore. i saw someone on twitter suggest that maybe that means the corresponding track numbers between folklore and evermore are connected.

so basically here are my connection predictions after seeing nothing more than the titles off evermore

ALSO I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT ILLICIT AFFAIRS SO THE ORDER IS COMPLETLY MESSED UP LMFAO WHOOPS ITS OKAY ITS OKAY I TRIED

track 1: the 1 x willow

- okay i’m literally writing this one last like i’ve already written all the other connections because i can’t really think of anything for this lmao

- i suspect that the theme of willow is gonna be like specifically like a willow tree ??

- idk i mean i’ve always interpreted the 1 as being from specifically taylor’s perspective so my only guess is that it’s like a reference to taylor’s personal life that we’re not expected to figure out lol

- i’m sorry this was a terrible start lmfao i swear they get better

- you can tell which ones i wrote first lol

track 2: cardigan x champagne problems

- okay i wrote the track 8 stuff first so most of what i’m gonna say is based off that

- so i think tracks 2/8/13 are gonna all gonna have the same theme, either that it’s like another side of the james/betty/august story or it’s a whole different story with different characters but like similar themes

- based on the name champagne problems, i think this song could be more like the august in the sense that it’s like telling the story of the cheating

- i think this time though it would be from the perspective of the cheater (the james), rather than the august, based on the use of the word “problems”, which i feel like reflects how james knew being with august was a mistake but everything just went by so quickly that they (james) couldn’t stop themselves and this song is almost like a reflection / reliving the mistakes

track 3: the last great american dynasty x gold rush

- okay i literally don’t know anything about rebekah harkness nor the gold rush but like the names give off the same vibes yk

- like idk what the gold rush was but it sounds like an american history thing and like rebekah harkness was a person in history yk and didn’t she like lose her money or something and like,,, like gold is money,,

- i def don’t know enough about the two subjects to be making points lmao but they just give me similar vibes and tlgad is one my favs off folklore so i’m excited for this

track 4: exile x ‘tis the damn season

- “i think i’ve seen this film before and i didn’t like the ending”

- that’s me with like 90% of the holiday movies i watch (& ‘tis the damn season is literally my holiday catchphrase)

- so like in conclusion track 4 is for people that love the holidays but just can’t get on board with like holiday movies and music and like annoying family members yk

track 5: my tears ricochet x tolerate it

- taylor described in the long pond studio sessions that this song is like the story of someone who knows you so well that when they suddenly turn on you, they know exactly where to punch you so it hurts

- i think tolerate it could be like the story of a toxic relationship (platonic, romantic, etc) and how you know it’s not healthy but you’re too scared to be without this person that’s been in your life for so long that you just tolerate their terrible actions because you feel like you can’t leave

track 6: mirrorball x no body, no crime

- i’ll be honest, my first thought when i saw “no body, no crime” was “oh shit we’re back to vehicular manslaughter taylor” and now i can’t really move past that idea lmao

- anyway so in the long pond studio sessions, taylor discussed her story behind mirrorball and how it’s like she feels like she has to come out and perform and be this shining light for everybody and how she never stops performing until the last person is gone

- so like my interpretation is like it’s telling the story how of one day she just couldn’t keep performing and she like snapped or something and like i’m not saying necessarily that like ms swizzle pulled a classic bachelor(ette) movie trope and murdered someone and like hid the body but it’s like she snapped but she had to force herself to keep going and pretend like it never happened and continue to be that shining mirrorball for everybody

track 7: seven x happiness

- tw abuse

- okay i forget if there was like an actual confirmation of what seven is about but i very much interpret it as like young best friends who care for each other very much and one of them is living in an abusive household but they’re still somewhat protected by the bliss of ignorance to the terrible things and people in the world and they always dream about running away together and living out the dream life together that they imagine the world, beyond their home, to be

- so like happiness would kinda be a part 2 to seven where like they’re imagining themselves living out that dream life and they’re telling that story to distract themselves from the horrors that they’re facing at home in that moment

- i kinda imagine it like if it were a movie, the entire thing would be them living in pure bliss and peace together, not having to worry the world around them but then at the very end there’s like a cut and you see them crammed in a small space, hiding from the worst

track 8: august x dorothea

- idk who dorothea is lol i haven’t seen anyone say that the name is significant yet so i’m just gonna assume it’s a random name

- because it’s paired with august i think it could potentially be like another side to the same story (betty, james, august)

- or it’s like similar to cardigan/august/betty in the sense that it’s another story told from the perspectives of 3 different people and dorothea is like this story’s august (or maybe james/betty based on what i said for track 2)

track 9: this is me trying x coney island

- this is me trying not to puke on the rollercoaster

- this is me trying to stuff my fourth corndog down

- this is me trying to get that damn ring on the bottle to win that giant pink monkey

- this is me trying not to cry that coney island is still closed cause y’all can’t stay home while ms swift over here is literally staying in a cottage in the woods

- this is me trying to pretend i’ve been to coney island and i know what it is

- this is me trying to come up with a connection between the two songs which sound like they have nothing in common based off the names

- WAIT

- NO I GOT SOMETHING

- okay nvm i wrote this whole thing about this super detailed metaphor before remembering english is my worst class and it made no sense lol

- in conclusion this is me trying (and failing)

track 10: invisible string x ivy

- okay so ivy could be like the literal plant or like a name

- it obviously makes more sense for it to be a person, like she said invisible string was written after sending a baby gift to an ex or something

- idk how these are like related lol but maybe the ivy’s like a metaphor for something else in the invisible string story

track 11: mad woman x cowboy like me

- well they both have similar titles in the sense that they refer to a person or like a specific type of person

- are we getting a mad woman/cowboy love story

- it’s a love story, cowboy, just say yes

track 12: epiphany x long story short

- okay when i think of epiphanies and like the word epiphany, i think of like this long drawn out story or issue and then it’s like woah lightbulb

- i just think the titles alone have similar themes, they may not be related at all but i think they have potential to be

- like long story short could be like the telling of the epiphany yk?

track 13: betty x marjorie

- this is my third time describing this so yea in conclusion i think this is a betty/james/august situation

- i saw someone on twitter say that marjorie is the name of taylor’s grandmother or something ?? i might have made that up idk lol but maybe that’s like where the significance of the names come from this time

track 14: peace x closure

- the name’s of these songs give off such similar vibes

- they may not necessarily be like a part 1/part 2 type like the some of the other songs but i think they’ll be telling similar stories

- since peace was about taylor not being able to give the people in her life peace, this could be like a similar story like maybe it’s how she can never give closure to her former relationships because of the paps/press/media etc always prying in her personal life and like trying to determine which exes her songs are about etc so her exes never truly get closure or the opportunity to move on because the public never lets them forget

- kinda like when mr all too well posted that photo on instagram earlier this year and the comments were flooded with swifties lmfao like idk maybe they’ve like both moved on from that breakup etc (idfk it’s not my place to speculate) and everyone’s just like continuously reminding them of their past (this was just an example of like the themes of the song, i’m not tryna speculate about anything)

track 15: hoax x evermore

- i suddenly cannot remember any of the themes from hoax lmao im sorry

- all i remember from lpss is taylor talking about how she likes the word hoax

- evermore is such a cool word as well like maybe the theme is cool words

- i also think evermore is such a cool name for the album closer, i literally love her album closers so much bye

- change rights !!

track 16/17: the lakes x right where you left me x it’s time to go

- maybe she was left at the lakes

- and it’s like time to leave the lakes

- like it’s time to stop living that cottagecore fantasy and get back to work

- no im kidding pls take a break ms swift u work so damn hard ily

- and i think ur the only person that can combine work and cottagecore and make it so damn beautiful

the way i put a million times the effort into this as i’ve ever put into an english assignment damn

anyway i’m very excited

i’m extremely sleep deprived but excited

@taylorswift @taylornation

#taylor swift #evermore #taylor nation #folklore

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agilenano · 4 years

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Agilenano - News: Rising with the Tide - What’s it Really Like to Live on a Boat?

DOWN SIZING TO A COMPLETLY NEW LIFE AFLOAT Would you move from a 3,000 square ft house to a 350 square ft boat? In our former life we had a beautiful historic timber house - 280 square metres, (3,000 square feet) on nearly 2000m2 (half acre) of land. We raised our children there with one even getting married on the grounds. Once the kids all flew the coop, it was much more than two people could ever need and we also found ourselves spending a very large proportion of our very valuable non-working time keeping up the never ending house maintenance, lawns, gardens and pool. We were spending at least one day of every weekend maintaining the home and the rest of the week going to work to pay for the chunk of it the bank still owned. We had loved our time living and raising our family in this beautiful home but it was time to change. We told family or friends we had decided to downsize, however none really understood just how down in size we were planning. A beautiful family home that was keeping us working up 60 hours a week. We weren't talking about a smaller house or apartment. We were selling up and quitting the office for a new life afloat. We began sailing full time in 2011 crewing on other people boats to gain experience and cruised through South East Asia and then Europe. This lead us to teaming up with a crew mate to buy a yacht in Spain and sail the Mediterranean for a couple of years. In truth, it all felt like some sort of extended holiday after our decades in the workforce. You can read all about it in earlier chapters of our blog. With SV Alcheringa sold in Sicily, we then returned to Australia to find our forever boat which turned out to be a Whitby 42 cutter rigged ketch. We have now officially lived on Our Dreamtime for over 5 Years!! Can you believe it? People ask us a lot of questions and now we feel at least a little qualified to speak about the live aboard lifestyle. First of all if you are one of those who thinks living on a boat is "roughing it" think again. Some boats out there have all the modern facilities including washing machines, driers, microwaves, air-conditioning, heating and even satellite TV. A problem is that you cane way too much of your money buying the big boat with all the mod-cons then not really have the funds to go cruising. We do have a very comfortable boat but made sure we bought what we could afford. We chose to keep things more simple. The more gadgetry you have onboard, the more energy you need to supply and the more maintenance required. Good advice we read was to buy the smallest, simplest boat you will be comfortable on. On SV Our Dreamtime, the two of us can easily cruise for months at a time without needing to come into a land base to refuel, buy food or replenish water tanks. Here’s some of the questions we’ve been asked about our lifestyle: What's it REALLY like to live on a boat? Our Dreamtime at anchor in the Whitsunday Islands Do you feel cramped? Usually no. We have plenty of room for the two of us. The old saying “cabin fever” is a well known saying for a reason. The only time we really feel a bit cramped is when we are trying to do “jobs” onboard. This can mean having the boat pulled apart trying to get to the repair or upgrade but also reaching tools and equipment that are often stored in awkward places to access. It’s not uncommon to have floors walls and furniture all pulled apart just to change a water pump. Extended wet weather is another time “cabin fever” can set in. Being below when the whole boat closed up can be a little more claustrophobic than having the windows closed in a house. You can get a bit frustrated, especially when you are living on anchor and can't simply step off the boat. So yes, we can feel cramped sometimes but not normally. If you currently feel cramped during the COVID19 lockdown well maybe living on a boat is not for you. How do you entertain? So far the most people we’ve had on the boat at one time is 11, and it was a squeeze. Everyone sat with no real movement other than from Karen serving drinks and food from the galley below. Because we have a couch that seats 4 comfortable or 6 cozy at the dinner table we limit our entertaining to intimate groups for dinner or drinks in the cockpit. We love to BBQ on the aft deck and this also allows us to entertain quite well with a small group of guests. When we have guests stay aboard again it is really only 2 guests at a time. When we are sailing in groups we find that we congregate on the beach for drinks and nibbles watch the sun go down and then venture back to our own boats. We call it “Sundowners”. Entertaining on the aft deck is really one of our favourite places to be on a glorious day sharing food and wine with friends. We don't miss out on the opportunity to spend time with friends. It quite the opposite we gravitate to each other to enjoy each others company. You are always meeting new people from all walks of life. Where do you eat? We have three areas on the boat that we dine. Below we have a fold down table in the main salon that seats a cozy 6. In the cockpit we have added a removable table that seats a comfortable 4. And we have a small table that also doubles as a fish filleting table on the aft deck that we love to use for “Sundowners” and when we BBQ. z Dinner whether it be for 2 or 6 is always an occasion on Our Dreamtime What is the biggest problem with living on a boat? Wet weather. Wet weather, Wet weather ...... when you are living on the hook you are constantly at the perils of the weather. So you will be forced to move anchorages to find a safer or more sheltered position when the weather changes. This can sometimes be a daily reality if the weather is not settled. Anchoring has its own worries, especially with the occasional storm front that comes through. This means we are awake for the storms duration, whatever time of night or day. You just can’t leave the boat and go off for days exploring unless you know the boat is well secured. If we are intending on leaving the boat for an extended period we need to find a secure swing mooring or put her in a marina. Both can be costly. Friends just don’t drop on by for a coffee, everything is pre planed and this sometimes is hard to coordinate. The only thing that is even remotely uncomfortable for us right now is we both have had some minor medical issues and coping with these onboard gives you a big appreciation for the good health we thankfully normally have. Fitness is something you do need on a boat. We are not saying you need to be a marathon runner, but we climb ladders constantly we hop on and off into a dinghy and jump onto docks etc ... so a level of fitness is required. How is living on a boat different from apartment living? Well, personally, we’ve only stayed in an apartment during holiday times. In terms of space, it really isn't that much different. But living on a boat is different than an apartment in the same way as owning or living in a single-family home: you don't have people on top of you, or right next door to you, or below you. Unless of course you are living in a marina which then it is similar to apartment living because of close proximity to neighbours. We are currently in a marina, and it took a little getting use to. If it weren’t for the fact that we needed to return to work for a short time to rebuild the cruising fund we would not live in a marina. One major difference between the two is, that when you're out cruising, if you don't like your neighbours you can just pick up the anchor and move. If you get sick of the scenery same thing just move. What was the hardest adjustment? It’s letting go of things. We had throughout our life together collected stuff. Some of that “stuff” has sentimental value like the painting we bought in Monmarte Paris, on our 13th wedding anniversary. Or the porcelain dinner service that we had so many great dinner parties with. The only thing that we really refused to give up when moving onboard was decent crockery and crystal glassware - everyone said you can only have plastic onboard. Well we have bucked the trend and eat on real plates. You find ways to bring sentimental with you. Most of it just isn’t in the form of “Stuff”. We also say where possible, everything onboard should have two uses to save on space. For example, Karen uses her crystal champagne flutes as scone cutters. Who would of thought that a scone cutter could be so classy Did you also feel a bit of relief about getting rid of clutter? Yes, and it is because, we Aussies especially, have so much stuff that we don't even usually know what we have. Like us in the past, we're sure you've had that feeling of cleaning out a cupboard and thinking, oh, my, I didn't even remember that I had that. Well, if you don't remember that you have it, you probably don't need it. There's some pain if it's something that's sentimental, but you find other ways to keep those things in your memories, despite having to purge your "stuff" and limit new purchases. Your memories really aren't tied up in the things but experiences. We admit we are not minimalists, and we do have material possessions that bring us joy. We have a collection of artwork onboard. We have “Nic-nacks”. Mainly through Karen wanting a homly feel to the boat. It’s really not about how many things but rather which things. It's really more about living than it is about counting your possessions or square meterage. Karen adds a homely touch with artwork and gifts from around the world. So talking about size. How big is the boat in square meterage? The boat is 12.3 meters long and at her widest she is 4 meters. We lose quite a bit of space at the pointy end “bow” and the blunt end “stern”. In this compact space we however fit two cabins with double beds each with their own en-suites, including toilet, shower and hand basin. Both cabins have hanging space and lockers for clothes. The aft cabin is our's which features our own ensuite, plenty of storage but a bunk that gives Karen a yoga workout each morning just to make The main living area has a dining table as previously mentioned, and a separate lounge that can also be a single bunk when required. We have plenty of storage in this area both under the seating but also 3 built in bookcases, a cocktail cabinet and a locker that hides away the pivotal TV/DVD/Blueray with surround sound. Rob has a navigational station which is really his desk for writing and vlogging, but it contains our important navigational equipment, radio, radar, AIS, Chartplotter, Satellite Phone, Internet services and computer, The galley “kitchen” is very compact, at 1.5m by 1.5m, but very user friendly. We have a four burner stove with oven and grill, 90lt Fridge and a separate freezer of 95lt. Double sink, built in rubbish bin, pantry, pots and pan cupboards and space for the all important “real” crockery. Karen has all her best cooking gear onboard Plenty of room to cook up a feast The dinette area has a fold down table which secures away for more living room. The all important cocktail cabinet We have plenty of areas to relax or make into extra sleeping quarters if required Navigation Station. Apart from all of this living stuff ... we have 3 water tanks with a total 800lt, 690lt of fuel, Engine room and tools and spares to fix just about everything. The cockpit really serves two purposes, whilst underway it is our main work area to drive the boat, all lines (ropes) come back to this area for us to work the sails and this is where the wheel is. However once anchored this area really turns into our second living area and gives us the most joy with 360 degree sea views. The cockpit is really where all the sailing action happens But when at anchor or in a marina we transform the cockpit into another living area. Cheers Cocktails in the Cockpit What are the challenges of living onboard together? You find out what really good relationships are. You start working as a team in every aspect of your daily life. When you live with somebody else on a boat, it’s obvious you don't have as much room to spread out. As mentioned, we had a good sized family home. Once the kids moved out, we found we spent most of our time in the same areas together and not using the majority of the home. Living small has taught us new things about each other and taught us to compromise, including on basic things such as TV watching. Karen gets to watch the Food Channel 24/7 .... lol ... not really, so now we take turns with choosing shows or finding shows we both like to watch together. We've kind of learned to like the same things while also having our own interests. You learn to let each other have space and down time. We will often be in the same space but enjoying totally different things. Privacy is limited, actually it's non existent. Were there any mistakes that you made that you think others could avoid? We were a little hesitant in our first step, once we sold the family home we bought a smaller home and renovated it. We then took on another larger project house, in the hope of renovating and flipping it quickly to make some extra money. In hindsight, we should have bought the smaller house rented it without the renovation, bought the boat and gone. We would of been 2 years further down the track. And not have been caught up in the property market downturn. Also do not fall for the trap of putting lots of "stuff" in storage. Don't waste that money because you're probably never going to need it again, and if you do, when you go back for it, it's probably going to be damaged, not your taste anymore and technology has moved on. That TV you've been storing all these years can now be replaced by a much smarter version for a fraction of the price. The clothes don't fit and are out of fashion, as is the furniture which won't fit in the small apartment you moved to when you finally left the boat anyway. Each time we arrived back in Australia it was “garage sale” time again as we did another clean out of "stuff" we'll never need again. Seriously just get rid of the stuff from the outset What have been the benefits of living on a boat? Well, there have been many, many benefits to living on a boat for us and for a lot of people in the same situation. We get to travel by taking our home with us. You may say "So do grey nomads with caravans", but we are not limited by roads. The whole world is available to us. We experience the beauty of nature each day. Of course, we have no mortgage on the boat. Our utility costs are really low. We buy fewer things because we don't have places to put things. You waste less money and effort, and again, you have more time to concentrate on your life together rather than maintaining and paying for a big house and a yard. So aside from not having room for some things that we’d really like, it's great. We have always liked a clean space. So having a smaller space you are not “cleaning” as much. We like to be out on the water and outside having experiences and living life. A boat is really, good for people like us. It takes us less than two hours to clean, top to bottom. No mowing lawns, weeding gardens, leaves in eves, cobwebs lots of floors to sweep and mop. A magical sunset to ourselves We never get tired of these guys playing on our bow Are you eco warriors? We'd rather describe ourselves as Eco Aware. We’ve always been people who have tried to be considerate of the environment, and it makes us even more so now living on the boat because we feel so much closer of the delicate ecosystem we float on. Do we burn fossil fuels? With an 80hp diesel engine onboard of course we do, but not if we can sail. Do we have plastic on board? Yep, because doing things like cryovacing our food makes it last some much longer. However, we try to buy unpackaged foods as much as possible in the first place so the amount of plastics used in our cryovacing is actually far less than you'll find in a normal trolley of supermarket goods. We are very conscientious of how much rubbish we produce and how we dispose of it responsibly to limit harm. We tend to look for quality, sustainable products as we don’t want to be replacing them all the time creating more waste. We are careful not to over purchase produce only to throw it out uneaten. We try to be self sufficient in energy use and water as much as possible. We have solar panels that can handle our normal daily energy use. We have a reverse osmosis watermaker onboard that turns seawater into pure drinking water. We catch fish and other seafood to feed ourselves. Of course it's no sacrifice to enjoy a nice feed of crabs or the like but all these things help reduce our carbon footprint. (Here is a story on us fitting our Solar Panels) Solar Panels keep us powered up Catching our own seafood is just another way of living healthy while decreasing our carbon foot print. We try to be self sufficient. Traveling by wind, generating energy from the sun, making our own water and catching seafood. What do you eat onboard? We eat really well .... everything that you eat at home we can prepare and eat on the boat. The difference is you have to plan well. We can be away from a land base for months at a time so you need to provision the boat with all that you will need in that time. If we run out of milk we can’t just duck down to the shop and buy a litre. It is an art form to get it right, but you will discover what you need pretty quickly when you run out. It’s also not all about canned food, lentils and dehydrated eggs. We actually think we eat healthier away from land as there is no temptation for a quick takeaway or packaged meal. Fresh boat made Salads Sri Lankan Fish Curry Blue Cheese Mousse with Sandcrab and Figs We stock the boat for long periods away from land If you want to know more about how we eat onboard check out the section on Our Galley Is it really the financial freedom that it's touted to be? Yes, it can be if you select the right boat for your needs and maintain it rather than waiting for things to break. Once we're out cruising, we rarely pay rent, never pay for rates, power or water. We have learned to live on much, much less than before. We wish we learned a little faster and didn't waste so much early in our cruising but never the less, the lessons are learned. We left a life of a house and garden to maintain, 3 good cars, 2 motorcycles, cafes for lunch, restaurants with friends, city clothes and hairdressers on a monthly basis. Now we have a bike and a cheap car. We don't fill the boat with "stuff" like we did a house. Now to buy something it has to have a purpose and a place onboard to fit. We entertain onboard or socialise with other cruisers on the beach and easily enjoy it as much as any five star restaurant. Karen hasn’t been to the hairdressers in over 12 months and we each own 3 pairs of shoes, not three wardrobes of shoes. You find out very quickly that it's not about building a "financial portfolio" but you are building a strong "experience portfolio" of incredible memories. If you think money is more important than life, try holding your breath while you count your money. What about maintenance costs of a boat? People have a saying B.O.A.T means “break out another thousand”. If something is for a boat the retail price will be AT LEAST double that of a similar non-marine product. There is always ongoing maintenance costs on a boat but ,to a degree, how high those costs are depends on how you go about things. We would rather do preventative maintenance rather than wait to fix something once it has broken. That gives us the time to search out the best deals which can provide big savings. One large unexpected expense for us was keeping our old school fridge and freezers going. We followed the route of getting the professionals in to replace component after component all with high labour costs because we didn't think we could do it ourselves. Well let’s just say in the end we pulled all the old systems out then replaced both with off the shelf "Do it yourself" kits for a fraction of what we had paid the experts and have never had a problem since. So we keep learning lot of new skills on the boat to be as self reliant as possible regarding repairs and installations. Out with the old. This was the refrigeration system we paid professionals big dollars to not make reliable. This is the new system we fitted ourselves in one day for a 3rd of the price we had already paid the pros. You may find our blog on learning to maintain your Sails of interest What are the ongoing maintenance issues? It costs far less than running a household and living on land. But in reality, this will very much depend on your type of boat and how much you do yourself. Timber older boats will cost more to maintain, not unlike timber older homes. Insurance is on par with what we were paying annually on our home but for far less of a payout if we totally lose Our Dreamtime. Each year we need to lift the boat out in a boatyard to iservice all of her through hulls and to antifoul the hull, (special paint to stop weed and crustaceans growing on the hull). We do a basic service on the engine ourselves every 100 hours and maintain the sails and rigging. If these things are all done on a regular basis there should be no surprises. The more you learn to do on the boat yourself the more you will save. You do really need to learn to be, plumber, electrician, mechanic, sailmaker, painter, engineer, sailor, weather forecaster and navigator all rolled into one. If you are living in a marina your costs are going to be higher than if you are living on the "hook" (at anchor). You will be paying a monthly fee which will include a liveaboard component. For Our Dreamtime the average is about $1100 per month. If you are living on the hook, you will be faced with extra fuel costs for dinghy transportation and on the times you need to run the generator to supply charge to the batteries, if you have had no sun for days. With equipment in all sorts of places, sometimes being very flexible on a boat is handy Once a year we haul-out and do the antifoul and hull work Here is a comprehensive list of our Boat Maintenance What do you say to the people that call you Grotty-Yachties? Well, we say it's not for everybody. It’s a lifestyle we have chosen because it suits us and probably wear the title with pride. A lot of people enjoy their big homes, flash cars and being able to entertain a lot of people at once It's quite ironic that most of the big houses that sit overlooking the marinas and bays where the grotty yachts live are mortgaged to the hilt. Their owners going to work every week to pay for them while we are out there cruising the reefs and islands. If living with the elements, conserving water, conserving power and having limited things and space is not for you, that's cool. Many people enjoy the blog stories and pictures of our journeys and dream of the lifestyle. In fact 90% of our followers on FaceBook, Instagram and our Blogs do not live on a boat, nor do they ever plan to, but they still enjoy being part of our "Virtual Crew" and dreaming that, maybe someday, they could "do that". If you want to find out what it's actually like, there are plenty of ways to try before you buy like we did in the beginning documented in our book “Stuff it let’s go Sailing Anyway”. We went crewing on other people's boats first to make sure we were in love with the cruising lifestyle and not just in love with the idea of cruising. Fortunately we both found we shared the love. We do keep asking ourselves .... Why didn't we do this sooner? We love to read your comments on our blog and will reply. If you have any questions that we did not cover in this blog please ask in the comment section below. Cheers Rob and Karen. o stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos, also check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at DreamtimeSail If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway. You can also find a full list of all our blogs by clicking on the Contents tab above.

Agilenano - News from Agilenano from shopsnetwork (4 sites) https://agilenano.com/blogs/news/rising-with-the-tide-what-s-it-really-like-to-live-on-a-boat

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kkatot · 5 years

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My speculative-fiction-based provocation for the AoIR 2019 “fuck the system” roundtable

I did a talk in a panel re: the Tumblr NSFW ban (which I’ll post later) and participated in this roundtable at my most beloved conference - AoIR2019 this year. Both were fun and led to amazing conversations, but “Fuck the System” was particularly awesome, because it was incredibly well attended, and included so many interesting comments and contributions not just from the speakers, but also from the audience (the pic is about half of the room doing their version of ‘fuck the system’).

My amazing colleague and co-author Emily van der Nagel created a great twitter thread from the round table, which the Thread Reader App unrolled for everyone’s reading pleasure. Anyway, here is my provocation.

Like many of us, I was very frustrated with Tumblr’s choices in December of 2018. So I thought that it might be worth engaging in some speculative fiction thinking on what social media would be like if it did not try to deplatform sex every time someone pointed out a platform has a nazi problem. Because it really seems kind of Pavlovian by now – we say: “hey, uh … you have these people advocating for hatred or genocide.” And they say: “titties, titties, omg I saw nipples, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!” It’s kind of the inverse of that old movie Wag the Dog. Instead of faking a war to cover up a sex scandal, social media platforms seem to be faking a sex scandal every time they need to cover up how their platforms are used for disseminating hate.

Speculative fiction builds on approaches like socio literary techniques, speculative design, design fiction, creative prototyping, speculative science fictions etc. (i.e. Future oriented methods of Donna Haraway and Bruno Latour. Speculative science fiction (Annette Markham and Kseniia Kalugina, 2017) Design fiction and creative prototyping techniques (Burnam Fink 2015) ‘socio-literary techniques’ (Bennett & Clark Miller, 2008)). These are methods for harnessing socio-literary imagination, and they sometimes work with prompts developed from existing knowledge and literature. I too came up with prompts: First I asked some of my Facebook friends to fill out a Facebook profile for someone who would post sexually explicit content on Facebook Second, I asked some of my friends, who are at least hobby level creative writers, to imagine that all sexual content has been banned everywhere on the internet for 10 years, and then to write me a short vignette from the perspective of a content moderation AI, a sexdoll, a priest, etc, there was a whole list

Based on this, I want to briefly go through the imaginaries about Facebook with sex, the whole internet without sex, and Tumblr with and without sex, and see where we end up, provocation wise.

Let’s start with the Facebook profiles. It seemed that people thought that it would be either:

young, kind of ditsy, not very career-oriented women, who are into nightlife, witchcraft, Charli XCX and 24-hour champagne diet”

completely nondescript successful men

or these incel-y young men, who have 73 Reddit profiles and post 4 different kinds of anti feminist quotes who would post sexual content on Facebook.

That was very brief, but let’s move to the narratives.

I had a story from the POV of a priest, a 50 year old woman, a 50 year old man, and a sex doll in a post internet sex ban world. Here’s what I picked out from these:

The priest story communicated...

... certain relief to be able to live in the world where a celebrity boob selfie is not going to commandeer attention.

... worry that life without flirting on Facebook would be sad - and the presumption that not being able to post sexual content on the internet also means no flirting is interesting here

... Finally, this story ended with a question: “But is a cat sad to be castrated?” – which tells us that an internet with no sexual content equals castration.

The 50 year old woman POV story painted a very evocative picture of going in circles and how rhetorical leaps are made by those governing our internet. I think my favorite part of this story was how the author linked declaring young women’s exposed bodies on social media explicit content with the feeling she had when she was “young, and full of uncomfortableness with your own body” until she gathered up her guts to take off her bikini and swim naked and laugh

The 50 year old man POV story, I think, was perhaps the most surprising for me. In it the protagonist tells a story of how he remembers masturbating furiously all night before the ban went into effect, and how hard it was for him to get off or get or keep an erection for months after the ban. But then spring came, women wore yoga pants, so all he needed to do now was to sit on his window, stare and masturbate. During summers he went to the beach, and during winters he just had to recollect a mental image from the summer. So basically the porn ban made him a raging peeping tom.

Finally the sex doll POV story told a tale of a male owner, who used scream at her and pull her hair, but since the ban of sexual content on the internet, he has been getting calmer and gentler. Just rubbing his finger over her nipples makes him sigh happily. He has named the doll Helena and likes sleeping with it. “I think he loves me” the story ends.

Ok, so let’s now look at Tumblr CEOs blog post about the NSFW ban. He says, multiple times, that they have thought really super very hard about it and Tumblr with sex is:

not positive

does not have deep sense of community

does not feel like a safe space for creative expression and self-discovery

and makes it impossible for Tumblr to fulfill their “promise and place in the culture”, to “grow” and “evolve”, to “have an impact on the world”, and to create a place where more people want to express themselves.

It is unclear what these big promises are that Tumblr feels it has made to “the culture” or what impact it is planning to have on the world.

The updated community guidelines, however, assure us, that throwing sex out of the window “negates the need for Safe Mode.” When there was porn you could at least opt out of seeing it, but everyone must see the hateful content that remains on the platform.

So putting all of this together, and trying to imagine social media WITH sex, we get this bizarre, but not entirely useless picture, which I hope can be used to start more conversations or ask consequent research questions.

Sex on social media, according to this speculative fiction exercise, is:

like being able to swim naked and laugh

like being led around by your dick - uncomfortable, but you’d rather keep it than be castrated

keeps men from stalking and peeping on women on the streets

but also trains men to be really aggressive and rough at sex

allows young women to get attention, and they like it

men just like it

young incel men weaponize it

but it makes tumblr feel really unsafe and doesn’t allow it to fulfill their huge promise towards the future of Culture.

#AoIR2019 #speculative fiction #socio literary methods #speculative methods #roundtable #deplatforming of sex

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foreverfangirl2011 · 7 years

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Louis Imagine Chapter 3

Hey Lovelies!

Ok so here’s chapter 3 of my Louis Imagine! Sorry its really long, but Its i think its worth the read! The next chapter is going to be NSFW again so keep your eyes peeled for that! Hope you enjoy!

Love,

-M

Chapter 3: You Tore Us Apart!

Panic ensues as you rampage through your closet searching for the perfect outfit. You go through at least 6 different outfits before landing on the one. Louis however, was ready in a matter of minutes. So you tortured him by making him help you.

“Baby just pick one already! There all hot!” Louis wines flopping back on the bed.

“Oh shut up Louis! It’s your fault I’m so frantic, you and your perfect body… interrupting my shower… and don’t lie down like that you’ll mess up your hair!”

“So… I have a perfect body eh?”

“Yes and it already wasted enough of my time! Now, I think this is the one.” You say finally stepping out in the perfect ensemble. I champagne coloured short skirt and a black plunging neckline top. You do your hair straight with a braid crown and finish with a Smokey eye makeup look. You finish with a classy black pointy heel.

“Wow… you look… wow….”

“Aaaww, do I really look that good?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be hard to focus on dinner when all I can think about is dessert…”

“Well, the sooner they get here the sooner they leave and then we can get to that!” you say hurrying downstairs to put the last minute touches on everything. Within 10 minutes the doorbell rings. Here it goes… the she beast has landed… You take a deep breath as Louis answers the door.

“Roni! Drew! Good to see you!” he says shaking Drew’s hand and hugging Roni.

“Oh boo bear it’s amazing seeing you too!” she says hugging him so tight her nails are practically digging into him.

“Hey Drew! Long- time no see!” I say coming into the foyer to greet him.

“Hey Cassie! Wow you look great!” he says hugging me.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I reply breaking the hug.

“Cassandra!” Roni says practically jumping me!

“Veronica, nice to see you.” I say rolling my eyes, Louis gives me a knowing look and roll my eyes at him and then plaster a fake smile on my face as she lets go of me.

We all head to the dining room and Louis and I start bringing out dinner. As we eat we engage in small talk. The usual, what’s knew, how’s life, etc. Bu the whole time Roni is getting on my nerves. She and Louis sit across from Drew and I and she has her hands all over him. Rubbing his arm, laying her hand on his leg, giggling hair flipping and the whole time the idiot is totally oblivious. Although I have to give it to him, when she put her hand on his thigh he did quietly move it. I can tell Drew is tense to, he keeps looking at her and biting his lip and I know he does that when he’s holding something back. Finally, Louis and I start to put dinner away and bring out dessert and while Louis’ in the kitchen and Roni excuse herself to the restroom I get a minute alone with Drew.

“Ok Drew, you’ve biting your lip all night, out with it!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Don’t to do that, I know bite your lip when you’re holding something back!”

“You know I’m amazed you remember that you know!”

“Stop deflecting, c’mon I know it’s been a while but you know you can talk to me.” I say reassuringly giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

“Ok, the truth is Roni and I aren’t really together…”

“I knew it, I knew you’d never fall for her!”

“Shh! Just listen, I couple days after Louis invited Roni over we bumped into each other at the market and we made a deal…”

“What deal?”

“Well…”

“Drew!”

“Ok alright! The thing is she wanted Louis back, she wanted to break you guys up. But I didn’t know that at the time. She told me that she was too embarrassed to tell Louis that she was single so she told him she was with me-‘

“Ok, but why would you go along with that! I thought you were my friend!”

“I am! Look, when I said “deal” I really meant blackmail. I didn’t want to do it, but she told me she had something on me. Last year at a farewell frat party at my college, I don’t even know what she was doing there, probably trying find someone to screw with… anyway she caught me making out with a guy… and the thing is I’m still not ready to come out to my family and stuff yet… she threaten to out me if I didn’t go along with her plan…”

“Oh Drew, I’m so sorry! This is so typical Roni I can’t believe she’d go that far!” I say hugging him.

“It’s ok, I’m the one that should be sorry… I just couldn’t let her out me, I’m just not ready yet…” he says breaking the hug.

“Drew I totally get that, look I’m going to tell you something in confidence. There’s someone you should talk to, someone who is going through the same thing right now, I think you two could really help each other.”

“Really who?”

“Listen Drew, this person is still very much in the closet and has asked me to keep this to myself, so you have to promise you will too.

“I promise.”

“Ok… it’s Eric.”

“Eric Huntington! He’s gay?”

“He is, that’s why we broke up. Give me your phone I’ll give you his number and you can call him ok? I really think you two can be there for each other.” He gives me his phone and I add the number.

“Thanks Cas, you have no idea how much this means to me…”

“Don’t mention it… literally!” I say laughing. He laughs too and he hugs me silently thanking me once more. “You know what I still don’t get though, why after all these years Roni’s still out to get me!”

“You and Louis really do live in your own world, I mean you’re so in love with each other it’s like you’re not aware of anything that’s going on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Roni is jealous of you Cas, she couldn’t handle college, she dropped out and ever since her dad has refused to pay for anything for her. She has nothing, she works at one of her father’s offices cleaning for god sake! That’s the only way she can afford anything! But you have everything, this amazing home, Louis, a teaching job. You got everything she thinks she deserves and she can’t stand it! That’s why she set out to destroy you and Louis, it’s the only way she can get even.”

“Look she has to grow the hell up already! I worked hard for everything I have, I earned it, Louis and I pay for everything together! She has no right to do this to either of us and we’re going to stop her! Come on!” I get up and pick up the almost empty salad bowl, carrying it to the kitchen, but Drew pulls me into the hall and stops me before I get there.

“Wait a sec Cas, what are going to do?”

“We’re going to tell Louis, he deserves to know too!”

“I can’t! If she finds out I told you she’ll out me!”

“No she won’t, I won’t let her. Besides now that I think about it we have something on her… I’m sure if her daddy found out about this little plan of hers he would be too happy…”

“Oh you wouldn’t!” he says a little shocked.

“Oh yes I would, she brought this on herself, she didn’t have to do any of this. She made the choice and now she can either walk away quietly or suffer the consequences!”

“Ok, your right, lets end this.”

At the time I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that Roni had supposedly been in the washroom for so long... I guess the shock of everything made me forget. You see the whole tome Drew was telling me everything Roni was continuing her little game with Louis. She had scampered into the kitchen after leaving the bathroom and was flirting her ass off trying to get his attention.

Louis POV

“Oh come on boo bear… you remember how much fun we used to have?” Roni says running her hands up and down my arm.

I swiftly move away and continue putting dishes away. “Drop it Roni, we’ve been over for a long time, I don’t have any feelings for you. Truthfully, I never did. I always loved Cassie, you were just a distraction from her and Eric back then. And seriously, you didn’t have real feeling for me either. I mean no offense but I don’t think you had real feelings for anyone actually. You were practically with every guy in our class Roni, you don’t actually think that real?”

“A distraction! That’s all I was to you! Well, let’s see if I can distract you from Cassie again then!” Suddenly she yanks me by the collar and kisses me roughly! I instantly try to pull her off me but she’s digging her nails into me arms, just as I finally free myself from her it happens the kitchen door opens and I hear a crash! It’s Cassie, she and Drew walk in and as soon as she catches sight of us she drops the salad dish she holding and it shatters onto the floor. She gasps, he hand covering her face and runs out of the kitchen, tear streaming down her face already.

“Get away from me you stupid bitch!” I say ripping Roni’s hands off me and pushing her into the counter. I run after Cassie but it’s too late, she already gotten into her car and is driving away by the time I get outside.

Roni’s POV

I freeze, the look on Louis’ face when he sees her stuns me. It’s like I’m suddenly woken up. What have I done? I’m shaken out of my trance by Drew’s voice yelling at me.

“Roni what have you done! You jealous slut! Are you happy now?”

“Oh shut up Drew! Remember, I still know your secret!”

“Yeah, Roni and you know what I was so busy being afraid of you that I didn’t realize I have something on you too!”

“And what is that moron?”

“Oh I don’t think daddy would be so happy to find out what you’ve been up to? You wouldn’t want to lose your job now would you? I mean how else would you pay for your pathetic little life?”

My eyes go wide, he’s got me. “Ok fine, I your off the hook, I swear I’ll keep your secret, just as long as you keep mine.”

“Well-“ Drew starts but is interrupted by Louis storming back in.

“She’s gone, are you satisfied you poisonous bitch! You know she was 100% right about you! Just get out, both of you!” he says pointing to the door.

“Louis I-“

“Roni shut up! Your big mouth has already caused enough problems!” Drew says interrupting me. “I really am so incredibly sorry man… the crazy bitch set this whole thing up, we’re not even together… I’ll just go now.” He starts to leave and then turns back to me, “Oh and you’re on your own Roni, call a cab, take the bus, walk if you have to, I don’t give a shit.” He shakes Louis hand and quietly leaves.

I don’t know what to say so I just grab my purse from the foyer and leave. What have I done? I think heading to the bus stop…

Louis’s POV

As soon as there both gone I lose it. What is happening! She gone! What am I gonna do! She’s gone! I’m frantic, I scream at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing through the empty house. My anger, confusion and heart ache get the better of me and suddenly I’m destroying everything! Knocking down chairs, throwing books, breaking a few dishes, and even punching the wall. Finally I collapse on the bedroom floor, my head in my hands, my body shaking and tears running down my cheeks. I lie there for what seems like hours, crying until my throat is dry and I eventually pass out from exhaustion…

Cassie’s POV

My brain is telling me one thing and my hear another. When I saw Louis and Roni it suddenly didn’t matter that I knew her whole plan. It heart shatter and I didn’t know how to do anything except run. How could he do that? How could he fall for her? How could tear us apart? Doesn’t he love me? What is happening? What am I gonna do? The first place I think to go is my twin brothers Nicky and Ricky’s flat (Their full names are Nicholas and Ricardo, but as kids we called them Nicky and Ricky, anyway back to the story). I know there’s an empty room there’s Ricky recently got married and moved out and Nicky has yet to find a new roommate. The tears stream down my face during the entire drive. I just cry and cry and cry. My throat is sore and dry but the tears just don’t stop. Finally, I get there. I wipe my face and as I flip down the visor to check myself in the mirror a picture falls out. It’s me and Louis in the park. It was just a regular date, I jumped on his back and we had someone take our picture. On the back of the picture in Louis handwriting was the words: The Day I said “I Love You” the first time! I put my head in my hands and start sobbing. I can’t believe this is happening! Absentmindedly I stuff the picture in my purse and slam the visor back up. I rush to the door and ring the bell, hugging myself when I realize how cold it is and that I forgot my sweater. Nicky answers the door in a tank and sweats.

“Cassie? What are you doing here? What happened?” he says taking in my appearance, my makeup running and tears still streaming down my face. I can’t take it anymore and lunge at Nicky, wrapping my arms around him tight and sobbing violently.

“Nicky I… I… I caught Louis kissing Roni!”

I can tell he’s angered as his grip on my suddenly tightens. “Come on sis, let’s get you out of the cold and you can tell me everything.” He says (probably through clenched teeth) taking me inside. He gets me some cocoa and a warm blanket and I tell him the whole ugly story. About Louis inviting them and Roni’s whole scheme. And he actually seems a little less angry after he’s heard everything.

“Listen Cas, what Louis did was wrong. But I mean, you knew what Roni was up to… don’t you think that there’s a tiny possibility that maybe… just maybe… Louis isn’t really to blame here?”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”

“Ok sis, calm-“

“NICHOLAS DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I KNOW WHAT SHE WAS UP TO, BUT HE STILL KISSED HER! YES HE PUSHED HER OFF, BUT HOE DO I KNOW THAT THAT WASN’T BECAUSE HE REALIZED I WAS THERE?”

“Cassie, please. Listen to yourself, your talking about a man who has loved you for years! I know I’m your brother and I should want to kill him, but I also know Roni! I know what a bitch she is and I know how much Louis loves you! Enough to make me certain that he pushed her off because he didn’t want her to kiss him in the first place!”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, my brain is telling me one thing and my heart another. In my brain I knew that it had to be Roni’s scheme. But my heart wouldn’t listen I didn’t care, when I saw them it tore me apart I just had to get out of there, no matter what my brain was trying to tell me!”

“I get it, I really do. But I really think you should talk to him. I mean he is crazy about you, he’s probably going insane right now! I just know there’s another side to the story here.”

“Yeah…I owe it to him to hear him out, I mean I love him so much, I can’t lose that… I just can’t do it tonight… maybe tomorrow morning I’ll go home and we can talk… is it ok if I stay the night?”

“Of course, you can stay in Ricky’s room. I’ll lend you some clothes and there’s some new toothbrushes in the guest bathroom too.”

“Thanks bro, you’re the best, I love you.” I say, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Love you too sis, don’t worry everything is going to be ok…” he says kissing my forehead before getting up to bring me clothes.

Little did I know Louis wouldn’t be the only person I was going to be seeing tomorrow…

#louis tomlinson #louis one direction #louis tomlinson imagine #one direction #one direction imagine

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nyclimobus-blog · 6 years

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3one3 · 7 years

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The Sequel - 824

Three True Things

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

“Which thing you ate did you like best?”

“The flaaaaaan,” Christina told the new restaurateur dreamily while turning onto her back and sighing with the back of her left hand on her forehead dramatically. It sounded like she was talking about something fantastical, and it made Juan smile again. “It was sooooo good. I didn’t even know orange liqueur caramel is a thing. I also didn’t even order it. It just showed up. People are really going to love your restaurant if dessert just arrives out of nowhere.”

“I sent it for you! We tried a few flavors for the caramel the other day and it was tough to decide. David asked me which you would like best and we went with that one. I was texting with you, that’s why.” He patted her very full tummy where her shirt rode up from the khaki blanket. “So far I’m happy he got involved. Hopefully it doesn’t all go to hell.”

“Well you said before that he’s not going to be here full-time, right? He’s just a partner, and the executive chef?”

“Yes. You had a good time with Natasha? You two were laughing each time I looked to check on you.”

“Yeah, it was fine. We were laughing at Eden, mostly. What’s your favorite thing on the menu?”

“To be honest I’m sick of everything already. I had to eat a lot of it while David perfected each dish.”

“Did he make a cocktail for me too or was that you?” Christina turned her head to smirk. She didn’t actually try Christina’s Bellini though, because Juan’s dad told her about a bunch of wines she absolutely had to have.

“Technically our bartender made that up, but I asked him to make something. I said you love apple juice, apple cider, apple water, apple chips, and regular apples, and I told him you love champagne. He asked some questions about other cocktails you like and when he said Bellini I remembered your story about how you love them because the girl in your favorite book loved them and had them everywhere she went, and at strange times.”

“Awww.”

“Did you try it?”

“No. Next time! I assume I can always get a table there,” the rider winked.

“I can take you back for lunch if you like. We open at 11.”

“No thank you. I hope to still be in this bed at 11, with you.” She started to wriggle over to get closer, preparing to get some of her on top of some of him, or at least mingle their legs together. I’ve had to wait long enough for Juanin snuggles, she complained inside. Why are we doing our catching up on separate pillows? Why aren’t his arms around me yet? “Where exactly did you have surgery? Is there anywhere I can’t climb on you, or?”

Juan lifted his shirt and pulled down his shorts and underwear to show her the evidence of the procedure. His curious friend was surprised to see only a line of previously sutured skin about an inch and a half long. He explained that there was a little “blob of escaped intestine” down by the pubic bone that the doctor pushed back inside the wall of muscle that was meant to keep it in place, did something about a nerve, and then reinforced the wall so it wouldn’t happen again. It was the pain of the affected muscles that was most difficult to deal with, and waiting for them to repair themselves was what would keep him off the pitch for so long. They needed time to heal before they could be asked to do difficult work again. Christina understood just how much work abdominal muscles really do despite seeming like a relatively non-vital group in terms of kicking a ball. She’d pulled muscles there before, and even just suffered soreness from ab workouts that made it painful for her to do anything from getting out of bed in the morning to balancing on one foot to buckle a sandal. She proffered a kiss for the stubbly skin beside the surgery site. The player also said he wasn’t supposed to have sex yet, but was willing to try for her.

“If I sit still and you do everything, it might be okay,” he suggested 30 seconds into Christina’s series of liplocks she claimed were to make him feel better and to apologize for not being around to look after him. In reality she just wanted to make out with him and was done with the catching up on other stuff part of the program. Their lips and fingertips had catching up to do of their own. The only problem was the awkwardness of leaning over on her hands and knees from next to him, since she wasn’t allowed to sit on his stomach as she normally would. This is awkward and it’s ruining how good the making out should be, she thought to herself instead of addressing the Spanish player’s sex suggestion. I need more of us to be touching. How hard is it to make out and spoon? Is that like the worst neck pain of life? What if we were face to face but on our sides? Is it okay to press against his tummy if it’s not the weight of my body? “What’s wrong? You keep making the frustrated little girl noise.”

“I wanna be closer. I- I know it’s silly given everything but...I was just starting to feel like...like...” The plaintive breaths turned into plaintive words and gestures.

“Like what, cariña?”

“Like your body is mine,” Christina cringed. “And then I went away, and now I’m back but there’s like a bubble around your waist that I can’t go near now, and...I don’t know. I’m so lame. This is just a weird Chris thing.”

“No you aren’t. I’m not sure I know what you mean though.” Juan remained understanding of her frustration if not the actual source of it. He was patient as she figured out how to express herself the best way she could, no matter the subject or the level of convolution in her explanations.

“I was at like...maximum comfort level with you, physically speaking. Where not only do I not have to think about what you’ll think about whatever I do, but I actually just magically stop thinking about it- where I can touch you anywhere, any time, or be touched anywhere, any time, and not be anxious that you’ll be bothered, or that you’re going to feel a stretch mark and judge me, or you’ll think I’m overstepping. I mean- I- I kinda haven’t cared for a really long time, like years and years, but I guess it’s just more lately. I guess before it was more that I just didn’t worry too much about what you thought when you took liberties but I didn’t feel entitled to take as many with you? Maybe? I dunno, man. Forget I even brought it up.”

“I’ve been trying to put my penis into your colon for like 4 years and you think you aren’t entitled to touch me however you want?” the Chelsea man laughed. It was practically a cackle. Christina was almost too busy bristling and cowering away from the word “colon” to notice the joy in his laughter, and by the time she did she then worried that he was going to hurt himself. How does someone who laughs as much as Juanin survive torn tummy muscles? It must be so painful. “You are such a weird girl. I love it. There is no other like you,” he teased.

“Can you please never use the word “colon” in a sex discussion ever again? And stop laughing or you’ll pop a suture or something.”

“I don’t have any to pop! I’m fine. You can touch wherever you want, cariña.” His laughter wound down some but it still bubbled out of his face and his eyes. The carefree nature of his amusement really assured her that he wasn’t that bothered about what they were talking about before- about their situation, and the inherent unfairness. That was a relief to her too. She reached under his right arm with her left and held onto his shoulder, nuzzling her face right into the middle of his small chest, unsure of whether she wanted him to see her gesture as something funny and put on, like a demonstration of her desire for the entitlement, or if she wanted him to think she was just that in need of affection and closeness. Also, she wasn’t sure which one would have been the correct interpretation. “What are you doing? Who invited you to touch me this way? Why are you doing this?”

“Shut up.”

“Why are you even in my bed? This is my personal space.”

“Want me to leave?”

“Maybe.”

“Want me to stay forever?”

“Definitely.”

“Love you,” Christina said quietly, her face still rubbing up and down over a very small section of the player’s shirt. She thought absently about the fact that she hadn’t washed her face yet, and was likely transferring a lot of makeup onto him. That makeup was the foremost thing on her mind in that embrace was actually a significant thing. Juan was a naturally occurring anti-anxiety supplement for her. She could forget about bombs, horses, conflicts, relationships, etc. She could just “be”, and do it as herself instead of someone else, or as one of her many titles. Christina wasn’t “Mommy” to him, or “the boss”, or “the talent”, or “wife”. It seemed nice earlier in the day to just be “the client” in the chair at her hairdresser’s place, and be pampered and catered to. That was nothing compared to just being Christina holding Juan, in Juan’s room, without any crises going on, while Juan held onto her too.

“Forever is a lot to ask, but I wish you were here more than tonight.”

“Me too. I’m so behind with the other horses though. Hey. What’s happening for you birthday?” the rider questioned, sitting up.

“You’re jumping out of a cake, naked.”

“Yeah, no.”

“I want to do something at the beach house, with family, but this weekend instead of my birthday weekend, because we’re back to thinking I could do team training toward the end of next week.”

“And me?”

“And you.”

“K good.” Christina settled back down on her side, and found a way to get her head on the inside of Juan’s left elbow, trapping his whole arm but not his hand, which immediately took up some of her freshly trimmed hair. “D’ya’know’what? I would like to cook a meal for your whole family. Can I do that? Or do you need your mom to make your favorite stuff for your birthday?”

“You can do the cooking if you want, angel.” He gazed down at her profile with a mostly blank expression, and to her that meant he was thinking about something besides what he was saying. She wondered what exactly it was, but didn’t want to know enough to actually ask. “I think I have a few nights free that I can go away, so that’s enough time that everyone can cook whatever they like. ”

“I don’t know how long I can come. Probably just one night. Do you have to eat less because you’re not running around every day?”

“I keep that in mind, yes. I’m less hungry anyway when I do less. You should come Sunday afternoon and stay until Monday night. I know my dad only wants to come that night. He doesn’t want to miss the first two weekend nights at the restaurant.”

“That would work for me actually, ‘cause Schü is going to the doctor in Munich on Monday anyway and I can still spend time with him Sunday before leaving. He likes Sunday stuff. I want to light some candles and kill the lights but I also want to not move.”

“I support not moving,” the Spaniard declared. “Except for a little.” He let his balance shift forward, and collected his ex-girlfriend by the waist in order to drag her nearer to his. His arm stayed around her even when she was secure against him, and kept her in just the right spot- touching him but not putting pressure on his healing sore spots. He also moved forward on his pillow to let his chin rest on the top of her head, which was still holding down his other arm. “I support staying still in this best moment of the night.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t around when they made holes in your tummy.”

“I didn’t even tell you it was happening, so how could you have done?”

“If I were around regularly then you wouldn’t have to tell me because I would see and know. You know, I was thinking the other night-“

“I hope you didn’t injure yourself doing that.”

“Shush. I think all the time! You love my thinking. What was I saying?”

“I have no idea.”

“Me either.”

“I’m sure it would have been brilliant.”

“Naturally.”

“Tired?”

“Not especially,” Christina yawned. She couldn’t reach to cover her mouth and didn’t bother to try. She did, however, let go of Juan’s shoulder in favor of rubbing his chest right in front of her face. It was hard for her to stop thinking about how things like needing surgery, and missing out on the end of the season, are the kind of life events that make one extra thankful for their partner, or that highlight the absence of one. It really seemed like a terrible time for him to be withdrawing from his relationship with Taylor. He always says he loves her. It has to be hard to stop seeing someone you love, even if you have reasons, or you don’t enjoy seeing them that much anymore, and you want somebody you love to bring you clear liquids and bland food while you recover, and to be there when you open the restaurant you’ve been working on for months and months. And it’s not just that I wasn’t there for the surgery. I’m away all the time now. It must be so lonely, she rued on his behalf. Part of her wanted to be brave and ask for more information about the Taylor situation, or at least how they arrived at the lack of a situation. The rest didn’t necessarily want to know.

“What are you thinking about? You have problems being still in your mind when you’re still with your body, even in my arms.”

“Just you,” she replied, as if to insist. “How you are...”

“I don’t seem well?” her pillow asked with mock surprise.

“I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I’m not lonely, baby girl. I haven’t been lonely in so long that I don’t know if I would recognize lonely again if it introduced itself to me.”

“Uhhuh.”

“That’s the truth.”

“K.”

“I’m especially not lonely when I’m with you,” Juan assured, lowering his head to make eye contact. He made lip contact too, and his hand slid down from the small of her back to the fullest part of her butt.

“What percentage of your missing me would you say is related to my delightful companionship and what percent is my female anatomy?” Christina questioned knowingly.

“Why do all girls ask that? Every one I’ve ever been with asked some version of that question.”

“Because we all want to be loved for who we are, not what we are. Duh.”

“What is the proper answer though? If I said I could live without fucking you, then you think I don’t like it, or that I think you’re fat and ugly. If I say 50/50 then you don’t believe me anyway.”

“How about just going with the truth?” she smiled, a finger tapping and then rubbing side to side over his chin. She was delighted to be able to make an innocuous yet intimate contact such as that.

“One night I go to bed and the only thing I want in the world is to talk to you on the same pillow like this,” he told her, calm and plain, like he wasn’t about to grow her smile. “The next, I look at pictures of you in a bikini on the beach and can’t stop thinking about how far past the bikini my cock goes. Like where between the bikini and your belly button do I reach? Does it make your stomach stick out? How do girls just absorb cock into the body? Things are crowded in there already, I assume. “Ewww, Juaniiiin!”,” he finished, mimicking her expected response. She was too busy laughing to be grossed out though.

“I feel like you’re not the first guy to tell me he wonders about that, and yet it’s still hilarious.”

“Do girls not wonder?” the footballer shot back, shocked. “I would wonder. I would look at a big cock and worry that it’s going to do some damage.”

“Okay stop.”

“But seriously, if you had to guess where it goes, where would it be? Can you point-“

“This isn’t sexy. You’re not being sexy, Juanin,” Christina pouted.

“I think you’re sexy when you say silly things. I think you only think I’m sexy when I wear a suit and drive my Aston Martin.”

“Oh my god you’re so wrong,” she giggled back. “I think you’re sexy when you play football, except when you do something klutzy like aggressively faceplant or kick the ball in your face. Football is like your most sexy thing. Then...” The rider’s eyes lifted toward the ceiling in a gesture illustrative of her brainstorming. All the attention of fans, media, and colleagues concentrated on her for her performances or her controversial quotes on the show circuit paled in comparison to the attention paid to her in the form of youthful flirting. She basked in it. It masked pain in her lower back, and the sting in the corner of her eyes from wearing makeup all day long. “Sometimes you’re really sexy when you read, and always when you push your sleeves up and do stuff with your hands. I even think you’re sexy when you talk to me late at night and you’re really sleepy and your voice gets all quiet and soft and innocent. Oh and when you smirk. You’re so sexy when you smirk. It’s unbearable. Every single time you touch me, it’s sexy. It doesn’t matter if you’re just trying to get me to move out of the way because I walk slow and I’m taking up the whole sidewalk and getting in someone’s way, not just when you close your hand around my throat and look at me like you want to chain me to your bed and never let me leave.”

“I couldn’t keep you as a sex slave.” Juan shook his head a little to reject the notion, but was wedging two of his fingers between her butt cheeks at the same time. “I enjoy being out with you too much. The sex is better when I spend all day or all night waiting for it anyway.”

“I bet you were too busy tonight to even think of it.”

“This is true. Not since we got home though. Since we came home and you took your jacket off and spun around in that dress...Since we came home I want to see the face between when you know it’s going to happen and when you get off.”

“Oh yeah? Is it a very sexy face?” Christina tried to emulate what she imagined her about-to-orgasm expression looked like to a guy who believed he was the sole reason she was going to have one, but she knew she just looked fake and silly. Everything about her friend’s tone and touch told her he was trying to be serious, and to conjure a certain mood. The rider was just momentarily more interested in the chat than the foreplay. Anyone could turn her on or flatter. A pillow-to-pillow conversation with Juan was singular and unique. It couldn’t happen with anyone else, and it couldn’t happen all the time. She didn’t want to waste the opportunity.

“It’s a beautiful face- an honest face.”

“Yes,” she smiled. “I’ve never faked it for you.”

“Not what I meant. Your face...it’s like...it’s the most true moment of your life. I know for sure it’s the only moment you don’t worry about anything. I’ve told you that before. You look so carefree and happy. But also like the only thing in the world that you actually trust and believe in is that when you get that feeling, the full release is coming. It’s guaranteed. It’s definitely about to happen and there’s no question. I think that’s the only thing you actually trust- the only thing you know for sure. Your face is beautiful anyway, and sometimes your mouth hangs open a certain way and your eyebrows pinch just together and your eyelashes lose control, but I love the belief in it. You get close when you talk about Dirk sometimes, but never all the way to the same thing.”

“I have a list of things I know to be true, 100%, and never question.” Christina stopped touching the Spaniard’s chin and slid her palm to the side of his neck instead, but she spoke directly to the chin. It was easier. He’d succeeded in making her serious. “It’s very short; I’ll grant you that. The first thing is that Sebastian Vettel is the best Formula 1 driver ever. I have reasons. He’s better than Schumi and I’ll explain it to you again if you want, but not right now. The second is that Dirk is the greatest jumping horse of my generation. He’s better than Hickstead. I know it in it my heart. His peak was better. And I know you love me more than anyone else.” He smiled dismissively at the first item on her list, fondly at the second, and quizzically at the last.

“I love you more than I love anyone else, or I love you more than anyone else loves you?”

“Both, but I was saying it the second way.” Schü loves me the first way, and I think he believes the second way too, but I’m not sure that’s true. I’m not sure he’s capable of as much love as Juanin is. I’m not sure if he loved me that way that he could have left me. I also don’t know if I love him that way. I don’t know how you know. That’s why I only know three things are true.

“How do you know?”

“I used to look for evidence. I look for evidence for everything. I’m data-based. I like information. But I know it’s true because I feel it and I don’t question it. Seb and Dirk are the only other things in my life that I trust my instincts about, and don’t even have to fight or struggle to do it. They’re the three things I believe in.”

“What about André?”

“As I was just reminding myself, I’m not sure if he has the ability to love someone as much as you do. I think his maximum is a little less. Maybe. Or something. I don’t know. And the fact that I don’t know means I can’t put it on the list. Get it?”

“I do.”

“Good.”

“Who do you love more than anyone else?”

“Lukas.”

“That’s not fair,” Juan laughed with a bunch of her butt squeezed in his hand. “That’s an easy answer.”

“If I knew another one then things would be different.”

“I believe that.”

I don’t even want an answer, the dethroned World Cup Jumping Champion concluded. She’d shut her eyes and hoped for a little silence, despite her earlier wish for endless pillow talk. Juan seemed prepared to give her the quiet. He continued messing with her hair and expanded his grip on her behind into a more comprehensive massage under, over, and around her underwear. If I knew which one of them I love more, then I would have to give the other one up...or something. I don’t know. I don’t know what the rules are. Juanin doesn’t think you should only reserve yourself for “The One”. He’s fine with being with the person who falls short of that while waiting for The One. So if he were going to be with two people the way I kinda am right now, would he be fine with one being on another level compared to the other? Or is he done with Taylor now because that’s not how it works? Why can’t there just not be any rules? Or why can’t the only rule be: Do what makes you happy. Because I’m pretty happy with the prospect of not having to give up either of them. But that’s not even really the situation, Christina sighed inside. The situation is that I don’t know if Schü and I can be together anymore. I don’t know if this nice period we’re in right now is going to be the normal thing or the rarity. And if us being happy together is going to be a regular thing, then do I keep having this thing with Juan too? There’s no way he would hang around for that for long. It’s so unfair for him. So where does all this go, and am I capable of doing what I said I’m doing, and just waiting to see what happens? God, she groaned to herself. If I could negotiate for any major personality trait, that would be it. I would love to be able to wait and see.

The Chelsea man whose bed she felt very at home in was giving her the necessary quiet to think through the things their conversation forced back to the forefront, but he thought he was giving her a chance to be quiet and enjoy his touch. He got closer still to her, and brought his fingertips nearer to the place none of her other friends were allowed to touch, and his lips somehow ended up resting passively on her forehead. Percentage of need or want relating to personality and percentage of need or want relating to sex aside, the player had shifted his focus to just one of those. Not until she made an amateur effort at “wait and see” did Christina really notice the focus of his effort. His hands did feel good. The one opening and closing in her hair at the back of her head was relaxing and kind of numbing, and the one between her legs was provocative in its experienced method. Juan knew just the right way to play with his best friend’s sensitive spots. He knew she liked when he literally petted just beyond the defined indentation where her butt became not her butt, and when he curled his finger so that the specific contact went from the cushy and broad surface of his entire fingertip pad to the harder, smaller, more precise feeing of just the end of the finger. All his explorations were just a little bit teasing as a collective, and a lot satisfying- and not just physically. Knowing he knew exactly what he was doing was important too. Intimacy was the greatest turn on for her, and he touched her in a manner demonstrative of their long cultivated intimacy. She gathered some of his shirt in her left hand and squeezed it tight, stuck between wanting to tell her body to calm down a little and wanting the opposite.

“Babe,” she mumbled unintentionally as her legs made the decision for her. They began to move, with no real purpose other than looking for a way to exaggerate the feeling of the Spaniard’s touch. Her big toe traced the bottom of her heel and then spread from her other toes enough to clamp gently on the back of her Achilles, and the muscles in her butt and thighs took turns tightening and loosening just to see how that changed things.

“How do you want to try this?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” Now, or in general. In the future. In the long term.

“We could do just hands,” Juan offered before lowering his chin so that he could kiss the girl desperate to be with him but terrified of making his life more difficult. “And lips.” She got a second smooch that helped to distract from the fear of long-term injury at least. “And tongues.”

“I do love your tongue,” she whispered back when he was finished with the kisses.

“When you say you miss me, what percent would you say is that you miss my tongue, and-“

“Shoosh!”

“Show me where to put my mouth so I can’t talk.”

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