Emily Engstler X OC

At the start of Paige Bueckers' rookie year with the Connecticut Sun, the league is already watching her every move-but nothing prepares her for Olivia Santoro. Olivia is a Brooklyn-born woman with a sharp tongue, faster comebacks, and a presence that fills every room without trying. She works a high-powered, "how is she even doing that at her age?" kind of job in media strategy for a major sports brand, always in motion, always five steps ahead. From the outside, she reads like pure confidence-straightforward, unbothered, a little intimidating in that New York way, dropping phrases like "deadass," "you good?" and "don't play with me" without thinking twice. What almost no one sees is that Olivia is autistic-something she's learned to mask so well that even people close to her rarely notice. Her world runs on structure, patterns, and intensity, even when she hides the effort it takes to keep up with everyone else's pace. When Paige meets her, it isn't some instant fairytale moment-it's friction first. Olivia doesn't get impressed by fame, doesn't soften her edges for anyone, and treats Paige like just another rookie trying to prove herself. But Paige can't stop noticing her: the way she thinks differently, speaks honestly, and never performs for attention in a world built on it. As rookie season pressure builds, media noise grows, and Paige struggles with her own expectations, Olivia becomes the one person who doesn't ask her to be anything but real. And somewhere between late-night conversations, Brooklyn honesty, and the quiet understanding neither of them can explain, Paige starts to realize this isn't just admiration anymore-it's something deeper, something grounding, something that changes the way she sees everything.

Getting drafted was supposed to be the hardest part. When Paige Bueckers hears her name called by the new expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, she's ready for everything that comes with being the face of a new team-training camp, media attention, expectations, and the pressure of helping build something from the ground up. What she isn't ready for is the woman living across the hall. Marlowe Bennett is twenty-five, fiercely independent, and raising seven-month-old twin girls on her own. Between diapers, bottles, sleepless nights, and balancing work with motherhood, romance is the last thing on her mind. Her daughters, Sunny and Sailor, are her entire world-and that's exactly how she plans to keep it. At first, Paige and Marlowe are just neighbors. A borrowed package. A shared elevator ride. Late-night conversations in the hallway when neither of them can sleep. Before long, Paige finds herself looking forward to the sound of tiny giggles coming from across the hall and the sight of Marlowe's tired but beautiful smile. What starts as friendly check-ins turns into bottle feedings, stroller walks along the bay, and afternoons spent making Sunny and Sailor laugh until their cheeks hurt. For the first time since turning professional, Paige discovers a life beyond basketball-one filled with baby blankets, messy kitchens, and a family she never expected to find. But falling for Marlowe means more than falling for a girl. It means falling for two little girls who slowly begin to see Paige as part of their world. As Paige navigates the pressure of her rookie season with the Valkyries and Marlowe struggles to trust someone with her heart again, they'll have to decide if what they're building is worth the risk. Because sometimes home isn't a place. Sometimes it's the apartment across the hall. And sometimes the family you never planned for becomes the one you can't imagine living without. 🏀💛🍼🌊

IN WHICH... carolina, in a mentally exhausting relationship, finds herself questioning if love is real or not. she finds comfort in her best friend lamine, and eventually realizes that true love does exist.. and it might have been in front of her face this whole time. social media + real life! lamine yamal x fem oc! #3 in #lamineyamal sraaalz, 2024

Emory Burke is sunshine in human form - sweet, oblivious, and deeply unqualified to survive group chat chaos. As the new team manager for UConn women's basketball, she's just trying to avoid tripping over towels and maybe impress Coach Geno. Paige Bueckers? UConn royalty. Star player. All smug smiles and sharp passes. For some reason, Paige keeps calling Emmy "sweet thing." For an even less explainable reason... she seems a little obsessed. Everyone sees it. Emmy? Absolutely not.

When Tate Valenti - UConn volleyball's rising star - adopts a golden retriever with abandonment issues and an appetite for socks, the last person she expects to get wrapped up with is Nika Mhül, UConn basketball phenom with a dangerous smile and a guarded heart. What starts as harmless banter and dog-walking turns into flirty texts, hoodie theft, and one inconvenient truth: Tate might be falling. Nika's past is a hurricane. Tate's still learning how to swim. But storm season's coming, and neither of them are backing down.

"𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐲-𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞" 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 (𝙬𝙣𝙗𝙖/𝙬𝙗𝙗 𝙭 𝙛𝙚𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨) (𝙨𝙝𝙚/𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙) (𝙥𝙤𝙘/𝙬𝙤𝙘 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙮) 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧! 𝙞 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙣𝙗𝙖, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙘𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨!

In which Ronaldo's oldest kid, Ariana gets into trouble with Lamine Yamal, Barcelona's star boy.