#but I really struggled to break my opinions on Sasha apart from my opinions on the rest of the show | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wren-writes-things · 4 months

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I mean personally for me I would appreciate at least 2 Sasha episodes in Season 3a to help flesh out her arc more cause I LOVE her but I feel more screentime around 3a (and maybe) a bit around Season 2, would have done wonders for her arc. It’s almost criminal how little we know of her bad homelife other than her parents are divorced.

What would you personally add to Sasha’s arc?

So my biggest issue on Sasha’s arc (and honestly most of season 3 aside from Andrias) is just how much is left unsaid. And a lot of that does come down to her family.

Everything we see regarding Sasha is her learning to turn a set of poor coping mechanisms (seeking control, aggression, etc), into something that could benefit those around her (being a leader). The problem is that there are just large chunks of that development that are missing, specifically the origin and most of her improvement. Which are both kind of important.

Now I will say I think these flaws stem from an aspect of the show that in some scenarios (namely True Colors) was incredibly important. And that was the use of Anne as the protagonist, and really the only character you ever see the POV of. What I mean by that is that unless a character directly explained their motivations on screen in front of Anne, you really don’t know it (even then you still got Sasha’s POV though so this isn’t a strict rule). The thing is though is that this doesn’t necessarily apply to season 3

Anyway yeah back on topic, like I said a big thing for me would be stating Sasha’s perspective on things back on earth. I’m not for suggesting a full backstory episode because I don’t see that flowing well with the overall show. However starting a Sasha centric episode with a final flashback to the day of the that they stole the music box (similar to Reunion and True Colors) I believe would work quite nicely to address Sasha’s dynamic with her parents and her friends. Additionally Anne speaking with the Waybrights and Wus (not Zeus autocorrect, no one wants to speak with Zeus ever) instead of writing a letter could allow an outside perspective on how both families were handling their missing daughters. This also avoids the issue of addressing this situation in Sasha’s apology to Anne (which seemed to be what the writers kept getting hung up on based on interviews).

That being said I’m not certain how exactly I would handle Sasha’s family dynamic. I don’t think it was necessarily healthy aside from the divorce based on her actions in The Third Temple flashback and throughout the show. But… I don’t think I’m necessarily qualified to handle that topic without a lot of research. Might come back to it though because I have at least a guess that I find interesting.

Anyway, I think my next big thing would be just making season 3 more Sasha centric. (And honestly if I were doing a full rewrite I would probably take tharrb’s approach and split S3 into two seasons, I think there just wasn’t enough time to address everything even if you took out the filler episodes especially with how large the main cast of the show is). Season 3a has a lot of potential ways that it could go but overall her arc was one of the most important ones to develop in that period.

Specifically I would want to show her developing a connection with the rebellion members and learning to lead the rebellion in a way that took all members concerns into account without endangering the group. And also her dealing with her feelings regarding Marcy and Anne. Which is a lot of aspects hence why I said you honestly would need to divide season 3 up.

My one additional point because I have opinions about it, is addressing the full reason why Sasha had her change of heart. Because I was reading on the topic and it just kind of bothered me.

Like that is a pretty important aspect of the show to address and for some reason it just never is mentioned. Which is especially weird considering that she clearly had a change in perception by the season 3 finale and that is just such an interesting development that I want to see.

Anyway yeah, there’s a few other aspects to my overall take on Sasha. Like honestly I probably would have added another episode focusing on her in season 1 but my main issues with her arc are in season 3 so that’s most of what I addressed. Also this was very general so if you want further exploration of any topic I am always open to explaining it.

#amphibia #sasha waybright #answered asks #this took way longer than it should have to answer #but I really struggled to break my opinions on Sasha apart from my opinions on the rest of the show #wren’s amphibia stuff #wren's random analysis

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jilyyall · 4 years

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Animal Magnetism - Ch 2. Jacob Black.

Edward Cullen was not a normal teenager; of that I was certain. But knowing that did nothing to stop the pull I felt towards him. And if what he was saying was any indication, he felt some strange pull towards me, too. It was like we were magnets struggling against hope to stay apart. I only wondered what would happen when we inevitably collided.

Chapter 2. Jacob Black. Fanfiction.net / AO3 Intro/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/

"Are there any cute boys in Forks?"

I made a face at my phone and had the benefit of watching my best friend Madison laugh at me. It was Friday, which made it a whole entire week since Renee and I had shipped out from Phoenix to Forks.

She clearly took my reaction to mean that there weren't any cute boys around but, in all honesty, a certain face came to mind at her question. Edward Cullen, who had looked ready to murder me at lunch on Monday, wasn't in school for the rest of the week. I was beginning to think he had transferred out, but I figured something like that wouldn't stay secret for long in a town this small. His siblings were all at school every day, sitting at that same lunch table. I knew because I had made a habit of checking. Purely for my own physical wellbeing, I tried to tell myself. Because I needed to know if I was going to have to spend Biology next to a boy who hated me for no reason.

In reality, I just wanted to see him. There was something about him… I looked at the eerily lifelike sketch of his face I had made on my Government syllabus on that first day. He was beautiful. He was alluring. Apparently, he wanted to kill me. I wanted only to see if that was true. Maybe I had imagined the whole thing. Maybe he was just a normal boy who had gotten ill and left school early and was still recovering. His father was a doctor… maybe he was just a very thorough doctor.

"Hello? Bella?" Madison sang, drawing out the words in a pretty, taunting melody. "Don't tell me you're already crushing on someone."

"No!" I insisted, my face going bright red. "I was just thinking… there are a couple guys at school who I think like me."

"Nice. And which one will you be dating?" she asked.

"None of them!" I laughed just picturing it. "There's this guy named Mike… super boyish looks… blond hair, blue eyes… he's pretty popular. I don't know, maybe he's kind of cute… not my type. Anyway, this girl Jessica, I guess we're kind of friends now… she's half in love with him. He keeps walking me to class and going out of his way to talk to me and be on my team in Gym."

"Wow, he really does like you if he's willing to put himself in harm's way just to be near you," she snickered.

I ignored her, and quickly continued. "Every time he comes to talk to me, I bring the conversation around to Jess. If she's around, I try to just shove them together."

"Ultimate wing woman, as ever," Madison said with a giggle.

"Speaking of, how's Conner?" I asked. Conner was a good friend of mine back in Phoenix. His best friend Dylan was dating Alana, one of the girls we hung out with and at first they had tried to set me up with Conner, but there was nothing there but friendship. My last few months in Phoenix, I was working on getting Conner to ask out Madison, who thought he was really cute.

"Oh, you know… we're going out tomorrow," she said nonchalantly.

I gaped at her. "Wow. Way to bury the lead."

"I know! I've been choking it back ever since you called!" she squealed.

"When did he ask you?" I said.

"Yesterday!" Even if I couldn't hear the excitement in her voice, it was plain as day on her face. "I wanted to call you right away, but I decided to let it marinate."

"Wow," I said. "That's great."

"Bella, what's wrong?" Madison reined in her excitement with some effort, to study my face closely.

"I just miss you guys," I said with a weak smile. "I miss the sun."

"Even though it burns the crap out of you in three seconds?" She said, referencing the reason for my alabaster skin.

"It's better than being wet constantly," I grumbled.

"Well, at least it sounds like you're making friends!" Madison said, trying to cheer me up. "Hey, who's the other guy?"

My mind immediately went to my mysterious, handsome Biology lab partner, who I had yet to actually meet, but I knew she couldn't be talking about him. "What other guy?"

"You said there were two boys who liked you, but you only mentioned Mike," Madison said.

"Oh. Well, there's this other guy named Eric. We only have one class together, and lunch. He and Mike are friends… only the kind of friends who seem like they hate each other half the time? I don't even really sit near him in English, but he always tries to walk with me to class, and then he started sitting with us at lunch on Wednesday," I told her.

"Is he cute?" Madison asked.

"He's uh… Well, Eric is very… nice. He's a very nice guy," I said diplomatically, but Madison laughed, clearly understanding that I meant no, Eric is not cute. At least, not in my opinion.

"Bells!" Charlie called loudly up the stairs. "Billy and Jacob will be here soon!"

"Do you have to go?" Madison asked, pouting.

"I guess so. Sorry," I smiled sadly. "Dad's friend and his son are coming over."

"Ooh, cute son?" Madison asked.

"Mads!" I laughed, shaking my head. "There are more important things than cute boys!"

"That has yet to be proven," Madison said primly, then raised an expectant eyebrow. "Is he?"

"Um. I haven't seen Jacob Black since we were both kids, so how would I know?" I said, and then frowned. "I think he's only fifteen."

"What's two years, if the boy is cute?" Madison said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Bella!" Renee called.

"Go," Madison said. "I have to start getting ready anyway."

"I thought your date was tomorrow."

"It is," she said, and I could see that she was standing up from her bed now, starting to move around her room. "We're all going to that state fair tonight, remember?"

I did remember. It had originally been my idea to all go together as a group. Then my parents had sprung the move on me. I forced myself to smile by the time Madison turned her attention back to me.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Have fun!"

I could see by her frown that I hadn't fooled her. "Bella…"

"I should go before my parents yell at me again!" I said. "I'll talk to you later!"

With the click of a button, her face disappeared from my screen. Suddenly, I was feeling more depressed than ever about this move. All of my friends back in Phoenix were going off tonight to have fun at the fair that I had wanted to go to.

"Bella!" Renee called from just outside my door. "If you're not down here in five minutes…"

I tossed my phone on the bed and crossed my room to fling the door open before my mother could think of a suitable threat. It probably would have been another generic 'you will regret it' anyway.

"Oh, honey," she said, her expression fading from stern to sympathetic when she saw my face. "What happened?"

"We moved to Forks," I said, trying for deadpan, but even I could hear the slight venom in my tone. Knowing I should apologize and explain myself, but not really wanting to, I slipped past Renee and down the stairs.

Jacob Black, as it turned out, was a pretty cool kid. He lived with his dad, Billy, down in La Push on the Quileute Reservation. Billy was one of the tribe elders, and he was also Charlie's best friend. Apparently, they used to go fishing a lot, but as far as I could tell, this was the first time they had gotten together in a while.

Jacob was nice, and sweet, and effortlessly funny. He acted like we were old friends instead of two teens thrust together by their fathers. Really, we kind of were old friends, but when you hadn't seen a guy since we was eleven and you were thirteen and your clearest memory of him was the two of you making mud pies together, you could be forgiven for thinking the reunion could be a little awkward.

"Hey, Jacob?" I said.

We were washing dishes together after dinner while our parents were catching up in the living room with a few cans of beer.

"Yeah?" he asked.

He was two years younger than me, but he was maybe an inch or so taller than me, and his thick black hair about as long as mine and hung in a long, straight ponytail down his back; the end of it swished as he moved around the kitchen putting away dishes after I'd washed and he'd dried them.

"How come Billy and my dad haven't seen each other in a while?" I asked.

"Caught that, did you?" he said with an embarrassed laugh. He sighed and shook his head when I only nodded and watched him expectantly. "Well, it's kind of a weird story."

"I can handle weird," I said, more curious than ever.

"Ah. Well, have you met the Cullens yet?" he asked as he rearranged the dishes in a cabinet so that he could fit another bowl. "They're a family who moved here a couple years ago."

"Yeah, I know them. Well, sort of. I go to school with the kids," I said awkwardly, wondering why everything had to circle back to Edward Cullen. "Haven't actually met them yet."

"Well. There's this legend. Down on the Res," he said haltingly. "It's stupid, I'm not supposed to talk about it."

I saw that the back of his neck and the tips of his ears were flushed and considered. Was this yet another boy who might like me? Or was this just a kid embarrassed by his tribe's superstition?

"I can keep a secret," I said, trying for the flirtatious tone that Sasha, a friend of Madison's, used often to get boys to do her bidding. It sounded awkward on my lips, forced and unnatural and horribly fake, but Jacob turned to me with slightly wide eyes. I looked back down at what my hands were doing in the soapy water, partly to hide my face from Jacob and also partly so that I didn't accidentally cut myself or break anything.

"Okay, well… the Cullens just don't have a very good reputation down on the Res," he said carefully. I could tell he was leaving something out, but I didn't trust myself to be able to pull off that flirtatious tone again. "People think they're strange."

"Well, can't argue with that," I said quietly. I dried my hands when I was finished washing the dishes, and leaned against the counter to watch Jacob finish drying and putting them away. "But what does that have to do with Billy and my dad?"

"Well, I guess my dad warned Charlie about them," Jacob said slowly, and I got the feeling he was measuring each word carefully. "Said they might be dangerous, and that he ought to keep an eye on them."

"Are they dangerous?" I whispered, thinking of Edward's murderous black glare and unprovoked hatred.

Jacob shrugged and shot me a pained grimace. "I don't know, Bella. Not in Charlie's opinion, and he's police chief, so it's his job to know if someone's dangerous."

"Jake, you ready to go?" Billy said from the doorway. I could tell by the way he was looking at us from his wheelchair that he had heard enough of our conversation to think his son had already said too much.

"Sure, sure," Jacob said, hurriedly putting away the last plate. I could see that he knew his father had caught him, but he didn't seem too worried about it as he smiled at me and said goodnight.

"Don't be a stranger, Billy," Renee said, leaning into Charlie's side when he wrapped his arm around her on the front porch. "And you, Jacob. You're welcome over for dinner anytime."

"Thanks, Mrs. Swan," Jacob grinned.

"Renee," she corrected.

"Careful what you offer. Jake here could eat a whole horse," Billy warned as Jacob lifted him into the passenger's seat with more ease than any fifteen year-old should, and folded up his wheelchair to stow in the back of the car. Charlie pretended not to notice when Jacob climbed in behind the steering wheel.

"Yeah, well, maybe Jake needs to be careful too," Charlie joked. "Renee has a knack for making some really inedible meals."

I smirked at that, and Renee elbowed him in the side with a scoff. He was right; Renee couldn't cook to save her life. Jacob and Billy only laughed and drove away as we waved them off.

The weekend passed slowly. Renee and Charlie went into town to look at a few properties to rent that Renee could use as an art studio on Saturday because there wasn't any room in our house for her to work. I spent much of the day texting my friends in Phoenix, and catching up on some reading for English. On Sunday, I woke up to a phone call from Madison, who wanted to walk me through her date with Conner. She went over every minute detail of the night, from her outfit to the cologne he was wearing, to the nervous kind of smile he sent her as he walked her to her door, right before he kissed her. After she finally let me off the phone, I texted Conner to congratulate him on finally taking my advice, and got back an emoji rolling his eyes in response.

And on Sunday afternoon, I headed out to the porch to see what the commotion was when I heard a monstrous rumbling outside. There, in the driveway sat a behemoth of a truck. It was red and solidly built, and in the driver's seat was Jacob Black. He jumped out quickly, probably so that Charlie couldn't actually see him behind the wheel again, though it was pretty clear who had driven as he went to retrieve the wheelchair from the bed of the truck and helped his dad out of the passenger's seat.

"Hey, Jacob, Billy. What's up?" I asked as my parents came to the door behind me.

"Bella," Charlie said, and he sounded excited. I glanced back at him over my shoulder to see him grinning at me. "This is your new truck."

"Loose interpretation of the word 'new,' Charlie," Jacob said, laughing, probably at the look of disbelief on my face.

He wasn't wrong. The truck was ancient, probably older than I was, and the paint job was nonexistent. It was red, sure, but so faded and uneven that it was almost pink in some spots, and a very light almost orange in others. And boy was it loud, but I didn't really care. It was a truck, and it was mine. It meant that I didn't have to get Renee to drive me to and from school every day, and I would never have to be dropped off in Charlie's police cruiser.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "You bought it for me?"

I knew that this was just one more thing to mark how permanent this move was, but I couldn't help but be excited. It would be nice to be able to drive myself to school every day. And I could go into town whenever I wanted, if I ever wanted. I could go to the grocery store for myself. I could even drive up to Seattle, just to get away from Forks for a day.

"Yes, Bella, it's yours," Renee said. When I turned around, she was beaming and I knew it was because it was the first time she'd seen me smile since we came to Forks. I didn't think twice as I hugged my parents, thanking them profusely, before I ran down the walkway to inspect. I slipped when my foot hit the concrete and Jacob caught me, very gallantly deciding not to tease me as he began to give me a tour of the truck.

Before they left to head back to the Reservation with Charlie in his cruiser, Jacob warned me not take the truck over fifty. When I laughed, he told me he was serious.

"I rebuilt that engine. It's sturdy, but it will die if you drive over fifty," he reiterated.

"Good thing I know a good mechanic," I told him, and pretended to ignore his pleased flush.

On Monday, I drove my new truck to school, high on the freedom of being alone. I parked in front of a silver Volvo, by far the nicest car in the lot, and hopped cheerfully out of my truck. I wasn't even annoyed when Mike and Eric both walked with me to English, and joined in on their conversation about the weekend.

The day was smooth sailing until lunch.

I had just sat down with my tray of food at my usual table with all of my new friends when Jessica leaned over, her face right in front of Mike's, to hiss at me.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you."

I paused, my bottle of water halfway to my lips, and felt terror clawing in the pit of my stomach. "What?"

"He is," Mike confirmed, frowning. "I wonder why."

I was too much a coward to look, to confirm that he was back. After an entire week, I had gotten used to his absence. It was an absurd thing, really, to be used to the absence of someone I hadn't even met. But I knew who he was, and I knew that for some reason I couldn't grasp, he hated me. Fervently.

"Does he look mad?" I whispered.

Mike and Jessica gave me twin odd looks.

"No," Mike said slowly.

"Should he?" Jessica asked with a small, confused giggle. "I mean, how badly could you have offended him? You never even met him."

"Oh, yeah," Mike said. "He was out all last week. He's probably curious about the new girl."

His grin was teasing, and he waggled his eyebrows at me so I rolled my eyes if only because I knew I should react in some way.

"He's still staring," Jessica informed us a few minutes later.

Mike went sullen again, and stopped in the middle of what I was sure was an inflated story about the last time he went surfing. When he looked in the direction of the table I knew the Cullens occupied every day, I rammed an elbow in his side none-too-gently.

"Stop looking at him!" I hissed at them both.

Jessica giggled at my reaction, but did as I asked, her gaze dropping to the table. Mike frowned, clearly not liking that another boy was giving me attention, or that I was so affected by it. I saw the moment Jessica noticed Mike's mood: the smirk slid off her face and she propped her chin up on her fist as she pushed a pile of corn indolently around her plate.

I sighed, and pushed back my chair. I didn't have the energy for this. "I'll see you guys later," I said, and walked away.

I was dreading going to Biology and having to endure the most uncomfortable hour of my life with Edward Cullen for a lab partner. Idly, I wandered the school. Lunch had only just begun, so I had a lot of time to kill. I stopped when I came to a building I'd never been in. I didn't have any classes in Building two; I didn't even know what kind of classes were held here.

Curious, I pushed open the door and walked down the hall. I peeked in the door of the first room I passed and saw a few easels set up with paint still drying on canvas. So this building held art classes. It was comforting in a way, to be surrounded by all of the things that used to litter Renee's cramped little in-home studio back in Phoenix. I walked a little further down the hall until I came to another door. Peering inside, I was surprised to find that this was clearly the music classroom.

There was a piano in the front of the room, and several guitars and other various instruments in cases I couldn't identify. I was surprised that Forks High offered music classes; it seemed like a small town high school with only four hundred students wouldn't be the type of school to support the arts.

I stepped inside, cautiously glancing around to make sure there was no one in the room, and walked to the piano. I couldn't play very well. Aside from the embarrassingly basic Happy Birthday to You and Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, I only knew how to play a few notes. My mother enrolled me in classes back in Reno when I was about eight or nine. I made it through four lessons before I threw such a tantrum that she caved and allowed me to quit. She played a bit, but not very well. Better than me, at least. It was something that calmed her busy mind, she'd told me once. She bought a cheap, used upright when I was ten and used to sit and play poorly at night. I would tease her for her clumsy mishaps, but secretly I enjoyed sitting and listening to her play.

I sat on the bench and laid my fingers on the keys, splayed out as if I actually knew what I was doing. Quietly, I laughed to myself. What was I going to do? Play Happy Birthday? I shook my head and let my fingers smash a few keys at random, discordant notes filling the room for a split second.

A movement caught my eye and I looked up, embarrassed, ready to apologize to some teacher I hadn't met yet.

And my heart began to race when I saw him.

There, in the doorway was the bronze-haired boy from last week. Edward Cullen. I stared at him, wide-eyed, terrified, waiting to see that inexplicable hatred on his face. He stepped into the room, looked around cautiously and kept a safe distance between us. He didn't look angry. He looked confused and almost concerned.

"Hello," he said slowly. His voice was velvet on the air, soft and smooth and luxurious and as melodic as anything I'd ever heard.

Wordless, too afraid to speak, I nodded.

"I apologize. Am I interrupting?" He asked, standing rigid against the wall as far from me as he could be in this room. His guarded, almost pained expression did not match his dulcet tone.

"No," I said slowly, wondering why he was behaving so strangely.

He nodded his head and took several slow steps into the room, towards the piano and me. He looked poised to turn and flee even as he came to a halt so close to the piano that he could reach out and stroke the propped-up cover if he felt like.

The sudden return of my tension that his presence had wrought made me uncomfortable. I was sure my heart had never raced so fast. I was impossibly aware of every small movement of his body. I realized I was holding my breath, so forced myself to exhale. When I cleared my throat, he looked at me like he was concentrating really hard.

"I was just leaving," I lied.

His expression was almost completely neutral, but I sensed just the slightest edge of frustration in his gaze as he studied me. Finally, one corner of his mouth turned up, just slightly, as if he was forcing himself to smile at me. Heart pounding and hands trembling slightly, and trying to pretend I was completely unaffected by his presence, I stood, then bent to pick up the bag I'd dropped at my feet.

"Goodbye, Bella," he said as I walked carefully past him, willing myself not to trip over my own feet. I paused at the door and glanced over my shoulder. How did he know my name? Probably, I reasoned internally, he'd heard it from a classmate. He was already seated on the bench, right where I had just been, and his fingers began to move across the keys, slowly, tenderly, coaxing the most beautiful notes I had ever heard.

I looked at his face, wondering what I would see there. With a jolt, I realized he was watching me as he played, a small, accomplished smile on his lips. Flushing, I smiled weakly, and walked away.

FFN / AO3

#twilight fanfiction #edward cullen #bella swan #jacob black #edward x bella #bellaxedward

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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how will i know (manila & trinity) - roza

[ summary ] : trinity is beginning to topple from stress, overthinking her own emotions. unable to sort them out, she calls for help in the form of the always lovestruck manila, maybe she can be of some assistance.

[ author's note ] : I rewatched all of as4 today and this iconic lip sync happened and needed a break from my figure skating fic, I think they'd have a very odd and sweet friendship with each other. based on (of course) the iconic "how will i know" by whitney houston, just a sweet ol' thing I wrote up! xx — lily.

AO3 / My Tumblr / (灬º‿º灬)♡

— ✧*。

"I need to talk to you about something, it's serious."

That wasn't exactly the most pleasant way to ever start a conversation in Manila's mind but the noirette couldn't say no to her own friend as her head seemed to nod for itself, "Yeah of course!" Her tone chipper but her face (completely beat in true Luzon fashion) suggesting a worrisome change in expression. She took Trinity by the hand and escorted her from the club they had called home for almost two years every Wednesday and Friday since they both graduated from college and became permanent roommates, New York was expensive: Trinity wasn't used to paying ten dollars for a small coffee and her entire soul for an apartment the size of her bathroom in Orlando.

Finding a deserted bench near the bar outside they strayed away and parked themselves under the streetlamp where the black bench sat, Trinity adjusting her perfectly styled and dyed blonde hair with her long acrylics pulling back hair behind her ear. The Filipina gave a comforting glance as she kicked her black and white striped dress that barely even reached her knees.

"You seem very quiet, it's enjoyable don't get me wrong." Manila laughed though Trinity could only roll her eyes as she ruffled her fluffed up yellow jacket, she had stolen it from Sasha's closet when they had been roommates and though the southerner tried to do the right thing and buy it off from her, Miss Congeniality herself said she could simply have it. The Russian not even batting an eye when she had asked for it, it was definitely a statement but the blonde liked something unexpected for her style once in a while. "What did you wanna ask me about? I know it was loud in there but if you don't wanna say it aloud we can always just walk home." Beginning to assure Trinity with her hands rubbing her shoulders, the girl beside her shook her head and began to wave her off.

"No, no—"

"You can spill! I'm your bestie!" The words leaving her red lips as she batted her eyes under the dimly lit street corner, Trinity surprised that the pink and black eyeshadow seemed to still look bright and good with such awful lighting. Manila's nose crinkled as she waited patiently for a response from Trinity who only was stuttering out a way to say exactly what she had put together in her head.

Suddenly, without even a second thought Manila gasped once the Floridian began to scratch the back of her neck, "Oh my god!" She yelled before looking around, interlocking their hands with a frown understanding now what was running through that head of Trinity Taylor's, her sneaking, sly, suspicions getting the best of her. "Trinity, you're my best friend but I really just think we should stay friends my love and I'm so sorry, I know I'm absolutely gorgeous but—" the blonde gasped quickly once the words started to pour from her mouth, slapping her wrists away with a laugh.

"I'm not in love with you, I'm not that desperate." The offended glare in Manila's eyes was enough to paint a picture with, quickly apologizing. "Besides you're with Raja, I would never get in the way of that whole thing you both have going on." Once again, a smile flashed across her roommate's lips at the mention of her girlfriend.

Trinity truthfully couldn't think of someone more compatible to Manila than Raja, one of the fashion majors at their old liberal arts college who always showed off her Indonesian heritage and her newly sewed clothing every morning as they would sit with Sasha, Shea and Detox to talk about upcoming exams or whatever new drama was boiling over. She was beautiful, well composed, had a reputation to uphold and always managed to keep her poise even if she could be a complete shady bitch. Manila instantaneously fell for her and judging by the flush that infiltrated her cheeks every day thinking about the taller girl, Trinity could only guess it didn't take too long for Raja to reciprocate the same feeling.

She was envious.

Completely and utterly envious of her best friend, she had been struggling for over a year with one crush while Manila was just living her dreams and traveling with her girlfriend back to Asia over the summer and winter months.

"How do you know someone loves you back?"

The question came as a shock to Manila who froze inner monologue, whipping her head back to Trinity as her jacket's leather fringe only followed her direction. "Are you actually in love?" The response came out a bit frazzled but it definitely was out of love and genuine concern as opposed to disappointment. "I am, that's not the problem honey." She laughed as she had the sudden urge to open another box of cigarettes though she swore to Manila to stay clean of drugs and cigarettes almost three months ago.

"Anyone would be a fool not to love you back, that's my opinion of the evening." Leaning back into the bench she outstretched her hands and put them behind her head as she listened to Trinity begin to spiral downward in conversation about how badly it was gnawing at her heart to be so silent and to feel as if she was being far too impulsive with her own emotions. Trinity was usually the most calm and meditated of the two, this was a completely different side she had now unlocked.

"I just don't think she feels the same way and I have to accept it."

"Now hold on here, don't just jump off the bridge, you are your own worst critic."

The conversation seemed to turn in Manila's favor once her tipsy friend asked about how she knew personally the moment that Raja began to feel the same romantically and how she knew when her school girl crush turned into a legitimate concern.

"Well…" she giggled, a bit surprised she had taken so long to really think about it.

"It's just those little things: her physicality changed, she had a softer tone of speaking towards me, the constant compliments, she'd smile much more in public— y'know, I could just see the sparks fly and those moments, those times when I just knew she was thinking about me and being preoccupied with thoughts of me that's something you feel and can see for yourself." Just as Trinity opened her mouth to respond, Manila only kept gushing on.

"Her eyes! She took me to the clouds above, I had no control of my emotions after."

Lovingly, Manila smiled at Trinity who still had an emotionless and blank expression wiping her face. Her words came out with a bland and robotic tone, "So you just have to feel it is what you're telling me?"

"Absolutely girl."

The blonde suddenly stood up and paced around slowly, circling the bench with her heels pounding against the concrete sidewalks. "Alright, thank you."

Dumbfounded, Manila stood up and moaned aloud, tugging at her waist as she caught Trinity trying to walk off, "No! We're not done, I've never seen you so delusional, who's preoccupied your attention so badly that you're having this much internal stress?" Blinking her brown irises she finally pushed a response from Trinity when she started to tickle her waist.

Scrambling off and screaming incompetent to realize how late it was, she laughed and fell on the bench once more as Manila joined her. Their heads resting on each other's shoulders. Biting her lip, Trinity finally gave up the act and turned towards her roommate.

"I'm in love with Detox."

Immediately, Manila jumped off the bench and yelled, covering her mouth before falling back on the bench and sitting on her knees to giddily clap her hands together and gasp in well, not exactly from surprise, but definitely from happiness. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it, I knew it!" She yelled close to her ear as they hugged again, Trinity taking in a sharp breath.

"Well now is your chance, I know she broke up with Roxxy a while ago. I wonder why." The three words making Trinity slap her in the shoulder, denying the implications that came with that response specifically. "You're such a shady bitch!" She spat, unable to hold it together, snickering as she spoke quietly.

"What! The fact you think she already isn't into you back, I mean there's a reason you always got free coffee at our University's cafe."

Cheeks turning bright as a Ruby, Trinity only brushed off that minor factoid and let it fall into the abyss. Flustered, she brushed the small bits of cat hair still visible on her bright yellow sweater as Manila didn't want to let go of this conversation so easily.

"Do you seriously think she's not into you?"

"She's way out of my league."

"Oh bitch, she wishes she had your silicone implants."

Trinity launched herself jokingly at Manila before she quickly put an end to the teasing, adding a legitimate point of conversation.

"I don't wanna make you overthink more than you already are, but I've never seen someone so desperately want attention from you. That small little glimmer in both of your eyes, I absolutely lose my mind."

Brow cocked, Trinity almost wanted to laugh: it sounded both ridiculous and far too good to be true.

"And, my final point of the night, because I can really just keep going, she's asked you how many times to go out for a drink? I mean really now."

Observing the change in Trinity's expression, seeing her pupils expand she smiled gently before feeling a tight grip strangle her arms, "Do you think she really means that for a romantic gesture or are you just playing around with me? Anyone could ask me for a drink Manila, hell, that's what we've been doing all night!"

"But do I ask you almost every other day and say that I'll pay? Because I sure wouldn't."

Awe transformed her face, "Oh fuck."

It was hilarious that it was the only words she could possibly say to express the possible, more than possible, mutual interest between her and Detox but she'll give her a pass considering it's almost midnight and she had more than enough tequila for the night being. "Told you I'm the greatest when it comes to love." A wink leaving her eyes as Trinity practically shoved her off the bench, catching her by the hem of her jacket.

"I was never doubting your matchmaker assets."

"Good, so now you can say yes and then you'll be happy and kiss and get married and have fifteen cats!"

Shaking her head, Trinity could only sigh in relief before tapping her fingertips across the black bench, "Guess I finally have to say yes to drinking and dancing with my crush, how it sucks to be me." She lamented with bitter sarcasm ingrained into her vocal chords. "I knew you two would somehow find each other: made of plastic, fashionable, secretly shady—"

"Secretly? Bitch I'm offended."

"You're brutally honest I'll give you that much."

"Plastic must be fantastic if we're both into each other so badly according to you, matchmaker Manila Luzon."

Manila held on tightly to her friend, it was an unexpected connection but at the end of the day: this was her sister till the end and no matter how badly she wanted to murder Trinity for her harsh words at times, for getting Iridescent glitters all over her bathrobe and forgetting to eat, that was still her roommate and best friend no matter if they wanted to pummel eachother's heads into the ground some days compared to the rest.

"You better say yes next time she asks or I'm just gonna text her myself. Don't think I won't: you can ask Sasha what I wrote to Shea once she broke her promise of finally admitting to her now, thanks to me, girlfriend of having a crush on her. I bet she still has the screenshots and everything girl."

"I won't test you or stick my hand in murky water, next time she asks I'll say yes and if I don't, then we certainly have a deal."

Extending their pinky's they swore, in the most childish yet serious way they could, exchanging glances that were worth a thousand words.

Thank god you're my best friend.

#rpdr fanfiction #rajila #detox x trinity #manila luzon #trinity taylor #raja gemini #sasha velour #lesbian au #roza #concrit welcome #detox icunt

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deepdisireslonging · 5 years

Text

Family Found Part 48: WrestleMania

The road is at an end. And for one wrestler, so is their career. But first, the rest of the roster get their chances to reach for glory. Titles are destined to change hands, but which ones?

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence, tiny Sheamus x reader fluff, angst

Word Count: 3830

Note: The ‘Monday’ chapter is also coming out this weekend too, so look for that. And then there will only be one more chapter that is guaranteed to rip your hearts out. Please let me know how you’ve been enjoying, or not, this series with comments, reblogs, or messages on/off anon. Thanks for sticking around this long!

Part 1: Welcome to the Team

Part 47: Resigning

WrestleMania – April 7, 2019 – Brooklyn, NY

“We have finally arrived at the end of the road. Tonight is WrestleMania!” The crowd was abuzz. Chants for favorites, and the usual random ones, sounded off every few minutes. Most of the seats were filled already because no one wanted to miss a second of the show of the year.

The announce team was preparing for interviews when Charly focused on listening closely to her headset. “Um, guys, we need to break to something going on backstage.”

Camera crew members hurried to catch up to the chaos erupting backstage. Tamina had caught Sarah Logan alone. Pinned into a corner, Sarah had nowhere to go and nothing to do except to receive the attack. Referees rushed onto the scene to break them apart. Just as Tamina was made to walk away, another fight broke out further down the hall.

This time it was Alicia Fox taking her skills to Liv Morgan, who was being held back by Ruby Riott. “Let me go,” Alicia shouted. “I’m not done with her! Viva la Alicia and Mickie!” She was still being dragged away when the cameras flipped back to the pre-show table.

Newly arrived, Bayley and Sasha Banks were snickering at the destruction. David Otunga was flabbergasted. “You don’t seem surprised to see all this. Care to explain?”

Sasha giggled and shared a look with her tag partner. “Of course we aren’t surprised. If anything, that was the plan. Our title match tonight is an open challenge. But we,” she motioned between herself and Bayley, “won’t know who it is until the bell rings. Anybody could challenge us up to that moment.”

“You see,” Bayley added, “it’s no secret that Sasha and I haven’t always gotten along. All this year we have done our best to rip each other to shreds to find out who is the better woman. We put that aside so we could win the first ever Raw Women’s Tag Team Championships, and we’re not letting them go until the rest of the locker room shows us what, or who, they’re willing to rip apart to take these from us.”

With a nod, Sasha agreed. Sorta. “Not that it’s going to happen tonight, or any time soon. If any of those ladies think they can take our championships away on the grandest stage of them all, they’ve got another thing coming.”

The champions left, leaving the announce team to hurry and get their pre-show opinions in order.

***

The first official match was the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. All of the participating wrestlers were in the ring, and at the bell, they each found an opponent. Several men flipped over the ropes, and a couple under them. It took about forty-five minutes to make it down to the final five. It was Mojo Rawley, EC3, Jeff Hardy, R-Truth, and Cesaro.

After a few more minutes, it was down to Mojo and Cesaro. The Swiss Cyborg was just going over the ropes when the missing wrestlers appeared from under the ring. The rough hype came to a standstill as he recognized his old partner and the man with the longest losing streak. Zack Ryder kept a close eye on him as Curt Hawkins followed him into the ring. It was two versus one, but Mojo succeeded in throwing both of them off. He tossed Hawkins through the ropes and set to tipping Ryder over the top. Struggling, Ryder was able to wriggle onto the apron.

Curt rolled backing into the ring, restarting the fight. It was Mojo who ended up going over the topes, but he took Ryder with him, despite Curt’s death-grip on his friend’s wrist. Mojo had a grip around Ryder’s waist. If Ryder fell, he fell. And Hawkins was the only lifeline. The duo started to slip backward, Hawkins’s grip failing. Zack smiled. “It’s all you, man.” Then he let go.

The bell rang. Rawley and Rider had been eliminated, and Curt Hawkins had won the battle royal. And, he had ended his streak.

***

Behind you on a screen, Ryder was celebrating with Hawkins in the ring. You were too busy arguing with a flurry of women to watch it. “Ladies, enough! There isn’t time to add another preshow match. As much as I hate that you are fighting backstage, I can’t give you a tornado tag match. Bayley and Sasha’s opponents will just have to bide their time and strike when they can. Whoever they are. Now please, I’ve got things to do.”

Begrudgingly, the women left your office. You were rubbing your temples when there was a hesitant knock at your door. “I thought I made myself clear- oh.” Large hands gripped your shoulders, working out the stressed kinks. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”

“Only if we get caught,” Sheamus chuckled. He succeeded in wrapping his arms around you before kissing the top of your head. It was enough to help you release a long, deep breath. Suddenly his touch was gone.

“Can I have a moment with my cousin?” Dean asked, calmly staring Sheamus down from the doorway. After your red-head gave you a reassuring pat between your shoulder blades, the men sidestepped each other.

Hey, Dean,” you whispered.

He stepped in rubbing the back of his head. “Hey, Ladybug. I know you’re busy, but I need to get something off my chest.”

“Go for it.” Easy to say. The tightness of your chest claimed otherwise.

He nodded. “I get it. I understand. And I’m sorry for the ride through hell to get there.” His hand shot up to stop you from putting yourself down again. “It was an impossible choice. Either Roman and I were going to lose Seth again, or I was going to have to give up… everything. I mean, we just got him back. And I just got you back… and there was nothing you could do.” Dean set his shoulders, but his eyes couldn’t meet yours. “I should have been willing to listen. Then maybe we could have found a way to avoid all this.”

You were on the verge of tears. He booped your nose, forcing you to smile. “Roman keeps telling me I have nothing to worry about.” You wiped away a tear. “And I have complete faith in both of you-“

“But?”

“But Brock is dangerous. Past the stupid stipulations. He’s… just about everybody ends up bloody or worse-“

“And I’m prepared for that.” He rested his hand lightly on your shoulder. “I’ve been preparing for a lot of things, actually.” His voice dropped out. Neither of you wanted to point out the two worst case scenarios again. “That was all I needed to say. Keep up the managing thing. You’re good at it… and I couldn’t be prouder of you.” He let you catch him in a tight hug, stroking the top of your head. Then he wrenched himself free and rushed out of your office.

***

The women’s battle royal was just as dramatic, if not more so, than the guys’. Of the final five, two women took the center of the ring. Zelina Vega, Asuka, and Nikki Cross huddled in corners, waiting to see what would happen. Natalya and Rhonda stared each other down. Not six months ago they were the best of friends, battling for the same goals but with handshakes after every altercation. Now they were cold. Unmoved by each other’s goals or aspirations.

They set to punches and head blows that rocked the ring. Unfortunately, in their haste and determination to eliminate one another, both women ended up landing on the apron after twisting over the ropes. Then the other three women sprang into action. It took all of them to launch the women off onto the floor. Thus, eliminating them both. Then Nikki and Asuka set on knocking each other out of the match. Zelina came bouncing off the ropes, succeeding in twisting Nikki over the top.

Now it was down to two. Zelina rushed not to lose her momentum. Bu Asuka wasn’t going to make it easy. Twice, three times one of them would stumble through the ropes. The Empress of tomorrow did everything she could to take the victory today. They both ended up on the apron. Taking a risk, Zelina jumped and grabbed hold of Asuka’s head, dropping with it. Asuka’s face bounced off the edge, and her body followed. Zelina fell back into the ring, running her hands through her hair. She’d won. After the referee raised her hand, she left the ring and stood by the trophy. Her trophy.

***

Roman marched down to the ring. He paced from ropes to rope like a caged lion, ignoring the continued mixed welcome from the crowd. When the lights finally dimmed for Dr. M’s entrance, he kneeled in one corner with his back against the turnbuckles. Dr. M grinned and eventually met him, standing toe to toe. Even though Roman towered over him, the trepidation in Roman’s eyes made the doctor smug. And gave him an edge.

Not waiting for the bell, Dr. M rushed forward. He caught Roman unawares, knocking him to the canvas. The rain of punches and kicks didn’t stop until Dr. M stepped back. He laughed. “You aren’t ready to defend yourself. How could you ever think you could keep me from healing the WWE? From healing Y/N?” His smile flickered away as Roman struggled to his feet.

They went at it again. Dr. M still had the upper hand, despite Roman’s mostly effective offense. His prior attacks had created several openings for future hits. Roman’s ribs and throat were easy targets. If he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t fight. And he wouldn’t win. But Dr. M had forgotten one very important thing.

No one messes with his family.

“You know, Roman,” Dr. M said into his ear while controlling him with a headlock, “Y/N really is such a perfect puppet for Hunter and Stephanie. Maybe they won’t mind if Sister Abigail borrows her vessel for a while, hmm. And why not bring Dean into the family too? I’d hate to break them apart again. Though I would have to break through their fevers by any means necessary.”

With a roar, Roman broke free and headbutted Dr. M. The man staggered back, fighting to shake free the blurriness in his vision. By the time it was back, so was Roman with a spear. Dr. M groaned and gasped as Roman walked away and gripped the top rope. The tape whined under his grip, and the referee took several steps back. Dr. M was eventually back on his feet. He dodged the first spear, but the second after Roman bounced off the far ropes. One, two, and three seconds later Dr. M was nowhere close to getting back up. Roman gave him an extra series of kicks to get him out of the ring, then swayed on his feet. He left the arena as the rest of WrestleMania started.

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, Elias.”

Inside the circle of light, Elias strummed his guitar. The crowd was deathly silent until he finished, then they started the ‘walk with Elias’ chant. He smiled at them. “It’s great to finally be recognized at the greatest concert of them all. Even if the arena is filled with disgusting rabble like you.” He waited for their shift in mood to die down a little before playing his song. It was dedicated to the dirt people of Brooklyn, punctuated with the occasional jab at Drew McIntyre. He was met with thunderous applause as he finished. “Finally. No interruptions.” He strummed to start another song, but he’d spoken too soon.

Soon enough, Drew was in the ring, dark and foreboding. He handed the Intercontinental title to the referee, glaring at Elias while the title match was announced. Elias only let go of his guitar long enough to get rid of his mic and his scarves. Once the bell rang, the instrument whistled through the air, just barely missing Drew’s head. The champion slid out of the ring to quickly arm himself. Steel chairs, tables, and another guitar hidden in the bell box (after the first one was broken) came into play. The ring was littered with bamboo strips and fractured tables. Still, both men eluded the count.

A third guitar came out from under the ring. “How many guitars does Elias have?” Corey asked, flabbergasted. No matter how many more were hidden under the ring, it was the last one Elias needed. He scaled a turnbuckle and jumped. Drew turned just in time to catch the hit on his shoulder, collapsing as it splintered. Elias pinned him, even with chunks of wood jabbing into his own body. It had taken almost a year, but Elias was finally the Intercontinental champion once again.

***

It was time to see who won the backstage battle to face Bayley and Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Tag Titles. Renee had kept up with the results better than anyone else. “The last people we saw standing were Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan of the Riott Squad. Right before Roman’s match against Dr. M, they had gotten the jump on Natalya and Rhonda.”

Corey shrugged. “I don’t think any of us really thought that team was going to face the champions. They had quite a moment during the women’s battle royal. And it cost them.”

“But now it’s Boss and Hug time,” Cole said as the champions came down the ramp. The women waited patiently in the ring to see who their opponents were going to be. They bumped each other’s shoulders as the aforementioned team came out to the stage. Sarah and Liv cackled, proud of themselves for having won the moment. They were just about to take a step forward when they were hit from behind. Not waiting for them to get up, Alicia Fox and Mickie James rushed down the ramp. If they could make it to the ring and survive until the bell, the match was theirs. They made it, jumping and hugging one another while Sasha and Bayley stood back and golf-clapped.

The partying didn’t last long. It was time for the match. And it was a showstopper. Alicia and Mickie had years of experience on their side, years of being glossed over, years of waiting to step up only to be stepped over. Sasha and Bayley had the legacy NXT’s four horsewomen behind them and the rebuilt strength of their friendship. They had the championship buffer as well. That helped a lot when Mickie knocked Sasha out of the ring. She was willing to wait for the count, taking her time to roll around, but Alicia raced around the ring and shoved the champion back into the ring. Caught off-guard, Mickie was too busy mocking Bayley to sense the danger behind her.

Bayley ran across the ring to spear Alicia off the apron so Mickie could be pinned. Their titles retained, they stood together, ushering the new era of women’s wrestling.

***

The guys’ tag match didn’t go as smoothly for the champions. At first, it looked like they had everything under control. Rezar started the match against Sami Zayn. Behind him, Akam shouted what to do, and when to move away from the ropes when it looked like Kevin Owens was about to try something. Eventually, the tags switched and the process was the same. But as the match progressed, battle lines were drawn. Akam took a particularly teasing hit from Sami, who was good at dodging his grasp. Kevin was able to keep up with Rezar and keep him on his toes. The fight extended to ringside, and that’s when things got… broken.

No limbs, thankfully. But things definitely fell apart. Rezar was ringside meeting Owens blow for blow, toss for toss, and was mid-roar after throwing Owens into a barricade when Sami came running by. Akam was quick on his heels, but the champions zigged when they should have zagged. The two massive bodies colliding sent both men flying back the way they came. Sami and Kevin had recovered, and it took both to toss Akam back into the ring. With Rezar still reeling and unable to help, Sami made the pin. The victors met in the center of the ring, falling to their knees and accepting their new tag championship. They met again at the top of the massive ramp and held their titles high.

***

The last singles match of the night was for the Raw Women’s Championship between Ruby Riott and Alexa Bliss. As hostess, Alexa directed the biggest entrance of the night worthy of her talent, and arguably her ego. Ruby took a simpler entrance. Not that she needed anything bigger. Having the championship around her waist, and then on her shoulder, was stunning enough.

Alexa brought out all the stops. An unspoken goal had been for her team to hold all the Raw women’s titles. But with Mickie and Alicia coming up short, it was up to her to take up the slack. Ruby was similarly in mood. Her tag-mates had been denied their match. If she could retain, the Riott Squad had hope to rise again. Ruby accepted Alexa’s attack, then rerouted it for her own mission. A Twisted Bliss was narrowly avoided, and the stunned Alexa was easy to catch in a submission while Ruby caught her breath. Several more dives from the top ropes happened, but it was a Riot Kick to one of Alexa’s leaps that finished the match. Ruby retained, screaming into the night air with her title in her hands.

***

Now was the main event.

“This match is a Universal Championship triple-threat match set for one fall. The competitor who is pinned will have to leave the WWE forever.”

Dean nervously looked between Seth and Brock Lesnar. And the title. He bit back the urge to look towards the ramp as if you were there. Backstage, you were just as nervous. Roman was hovering by the tv too, but from a distance, so he could run to the ring as soon as the match was over. Sheamus stood right behind you, holding the hand you had resting on your shoulder.

At the bell, Seth and Dean instantly rushed to attack Lesnar in one swoop. He was laughing before they reached him. With his two large hands, he caught each around the throat. First, Lesnar tossed Seth one way and between the ropes. He threw Dean back towards the center of the ring, then caught him with the first suplex of the match. Seth pulled Dean to the floor and slid in, starting the attack he planned. His quick movements kept confusing the Beast. And they were wearing him down. A well-placed Frog-Splash caught Lesnar in the ribs, but he twisted Seth into a submission. Dean rushed back in to break it up before his brother had to tap out.

Seth remained huddled in the corner, nursing his arm while Dean and Lesnar faced off again. This time Dean was successful in dodging the harder blows and the attempted suplexes. He managed to drop him with a Dirty Deeds and instantly tried for a pin. Which instantly failed. Dean knew he couldn’t let up on the attack, but Lesnar’s low laugh was unnerving.

“I don’t care which one of you I pin,” he chuckled. “It’s all the same to me. No, what will matter after this match, is how your little cousin survives with me as champion.” They both rose to their feet, circling each other. “Maybe I do care. If my reign is going to be a bit more hands-on, I’d rather not have you in the way.” Behind them on the floor, Paul Heyman nodded, grinning ear to ear. Seth heard too and used the ropes to get back to his feet.

Lesnar was flanked on both sides. E wasn’t bothered by that until the timing of brothers kicked in. If he thought keeping up with Rollins or stomping down Ambrose was hard, it was nigh impossible to keep tabs on both. Dean was wildest of the two. The threat was enough to send him boarder-lining on several mistakes. Those close calls got him suplexed across the ring, several of which sent him hurtling to the floor. Still, it distracted the Beast enough from Seth’s darting attacks. Alone, the plan might have worked. With both of them working against Lesnar? It was becoming a sure match.

Then Lesnar fell out of the ring, just as Dean and Seth found themselves on opposite sides of it.

Backstage, you shook your head. “No.” You whispered. “Don’t do it guys.”

They looked at one another, and to where Brock was out of sight. Seth launched half a second before Dean did, catching him in the chest and taking him to the canvas. The referee was just swooping in to count when Seth jolted back. The price came to mind. And it was too high. With another shared look, they rolled through the ropes and set on bringing Lesnar back onto the canvas. With both of them then leaning on his chest, the referee kneeled to count. Dean backed away before he started, watching as all three seconds went by.

The screen erupted with the cheers of the crowd, but you were frozen. Sheamus shook your shoulders. “What’s wrong? They won.”

“If this had been the original contract, Dean would have just given up his career… of his own free will.”

Roman was already gone. You hurried out the door to follow him. By the time you made it to the ramp, Dean was already enveloped in a Roman-sized bear hug. You took over, hugging Dean with all your strength. Seth was still in the ring, showing off his retained Universal title at each ring post. Brock Lesnar and his advocate came up the ramp, both of them panting. Dean’s back was still turned to them. Unaware of the danger. You pushed him and Roman back and stood between them and the advancing party. Lensar paused, amused that you thought he’d give an effort now that he was done with the company. He was long gone by the time Seth caught up.

The brothers in arms shared a victory hug. One that you watched from a distance. You couldn’t hear what they were saying to one another, but that was okay. It wasn’t for you to hear. When the huddle broke, Dean caught you around the shoulders the same way Roman caught his, and they led you backstage.

Seth Rollins looked out over the crowd. A sold-out arena all shouting ‘slay the beast’. Because he had. With the biggest smile on his face in a long time, he lifted the red and gold belt above his head. It was theirs; he’d won it for them. And he’d defend it for them, no matter what it took.

Part 49: Wrapped Up

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Forever Tags: @blondekel77 @hallemichelles @laochbaineann @ramblingsofabourbondrinker @savmontreal @southsidebucky @tinyelfperson @chwehansol98

WWE/Series Tags: @a-home-for-stray-stories @crossfitjesusismysavior @top-1-percent @mother-forker @neversatisfiedgirlfics @racheo91 @roman-reigns-princess @secretagentfangirl @thetherianthropydaily @scuzmunkie @cait-kae @ramsaypants @sony-undead18 @brianaraydean @st4yingstrong @dopeybubbles @crystallizeme @jessica91073 @denise8691 @stalelight @kenyadakblalock @1dluver13xx @lauren-novak @lunatic-desert-child @littledeadrottinghood @livelifewondering

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spotlightsaga · 7 years

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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Untucked (S09E06) Snatch Game Airdate: April 29, 2017 @wowreport Ratings: 593,000+ on @youtube as of 6/15/17 Score: 8/10

**********SPOILERS BELLW**********

I made a specific contestant a promise I would go ahead and watch Untucked to not only highlight the juxtaposition of my styles of writing when it comes the two totally different series (one competition, one what’s morphed into a show of spirit and sense of community), but also because Drag Race is simply a tough one for me to review. I have a lot of respect for everyone that comes on the show and demonstrates that ‘fire’, and I get caught up in trying to both critique ‘Drag Race’ as the competition style calls for and pad my blunt critiques with humor that can be sometimes taken the wrong way. Last week’s 'Untucked’, I focused heavily on Nina, I recognized a pattern, certain tendencies, withdrawing fro. The group, and a look of the eyes that I know all too well because I myself have battled depression, addiction, dependency, a slew of shit (as most of us have) and had to figure out how to maneuver life without throwing up too many buckets of water on myself when I start to get white hot. It’s not easy, but for some people it is… And sometimes those very people want to say, 'Get over it’, 'Suck it up’, or write you off… Depression, self doubt, all these things that plague us in the cycle of the human condition are not something you can just wipe off the mirror like lipstick… But I see you Queens struggling with that too, so…

We start this 'Untucked’ off with a bit of fun, the same fun we aren’t exactly seeing translate to VH1 on the 'Main Stage’… Then again VH1 was the network that picked Wendy Williams to host the between breaks 'Viewing Party’. Just ask our buddy Jonny McGovern & his friend Erickatoure why that’s not the best move… Better yet just go subscribe to his channel on YouTube. 'Hey Qween’ is literally just waiting for you, calling your name, just sitting on YouTube Red’s digital shelf waiting for you to watch until your eyes turn glossy & red, leaving you pupils dilated to the size of mega saucers… And when you finally emerge from your house everyone will assume your either a tweaker or from Wilton Manors.

Apparently Trinity Taylor, God Bless her Floridian soul, has never seen 'Bad Girls Club’ or been the only white girl in the room… As she has no clue what 'edges’ are. I can’t tell you why this is so damn funny to me, maybe it’s Shea’s earnest and surprisingly highly detailed & accurate attempt at educating Trinity on the matter (This is emerging as Shea’s specialty, not the history and extensive knowledge of edges, but breaking things down in articulate manner that anyone can follow - plus she’s talent personified)… Maybe it’s Valentina’s adorably juvenile delivery of the line she delivers to Trinity explaining to her that she has her own form of edges, 'that black spray stuff you be spraying, DUH!’ But as god as my witness, there are simply no words to describe the laughter this scene inspires!

Trinity still doesn’t get it, she’s 'from the south’ she says we don’t use words like 'Edges’… Tho, again, I’m gonna have to break something down… South Florida and even parts of Central Florida aren’t really the south. Consider us more of the North Caribbean, hell we aren’t even really a part of the United States, thats just what it looks like on the map so everyone including your parents and teachers have told you so. But yeah, 'edges’ are most definitely still a word down here in the 'North Carribean’. Valentina’s adorableness continues… Her Hispanic background leads her to really appreciate Trinity’s astonishing ability to be 'so evil and so nice at the same time’. See, that’s how we do it here in South & Central FL… We love you, but we simply don’t have time to dance around your feelings. We’ll give you the shirt off of our backs then have you lay down in a mud puddle so we can walk over you. I’m kidding, of course. We’d obviously pick you you up and give you a peck on the cheek, dust off the mud and take our fn’ shirt back. It’s just the way the bottom half of Florida works, and that’s why I 'get’ and love Trinity Taylor so very much. Now that we got some proper Florida representation, maybe S10 we can get South Florida’s legendary 'Daisy Deadpetals’ finally on this show! Ru, please?

Enter the tops and the bottoms… Tho Alexis clearly states, 'This top is versatile.’ Told you, Alex, we could have so much fun. Tho for me it’s always much more about the passion and connection than it is about the final act. We’re getting way off topic. Sasha and Alexis go back and forth telling the others how much the judges praised each other… There is a deep respect between the two and though I absolutely loved Sasha’s 'Marlene Dietrich’ and did pad my opinion with a bit of comedy on the 'Main Stage’ review… I do want to set the record straight and say Alexis’s Liza was most definitely a highlight. Seeing the top two sit across from each other with their dignified 'Northern Poise’ is quite the scene… And Alexis’s shape from the side is nothing short of astounding. If the hair was different and the dress were pants, it would be spot on to my favorite Madonna… 'Bedtime Stories’ Madonna, particularly 'Human Nature’. Either way, I love it and for some reason Sasha’s poise is so proper I can’t help but keep rolling the word 'Yankee’ through my head… I don’t know how to interpret that for you, but I have it on pause and can’t stop laughing.

With VH1 taking the show in such a vastly different direction, I can’t say how much I appreciate this 'Untucked’ enough. Alexis, Shea, and Sasha look to immediately focus on Nina who needs a bit of love after the strange exploitation of her depression reared its ugly head the episode before last of 'Drag Race’. It’s clear Nina is feeling a bit better at this point but those kinds of battles are never over. These three obviously are aware of that and I want to show love to all three of them, particularly Shea who goes the extra mile for her and really tries to continue to hammer things back into perspective for Nina. This is the 'Drag Race’ I want to see. People have criticized the show for being too 'best friend race’ as they have with Slice’s RHOT… But we do enough of beating each other down, especially when you are in a high pressure situation constantly trying to squeeze every last drop of creativity that you can for the next challenge and the next and being paraded around on a runway and criticized, by both the judges and the world… I’m happy to see (however you want put this) the brotherly/sisterly… Straight up human empathy shining under the bright stage lights of television.

The bottoms… Peppermint, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, and Farrah Moan speak next. Peppermint is frustrated that she nailed Brittany in a prior challenge, but couldn’t nail Nene Leakes. It’s much different when you are given a character with lines & direction than when you literally have to create one from scratch… Then again, everyone knows 'Snatch Games’ is coming, so they really do need to be prepared. Farrah looks stunning, and is clearly saved by her fantastic runway look, I’m still curious as to who Gigi was or why anyone would care… Then again I’m in my 30’s and an ex-athlete, Ginger Cub who thinks the thicker the better… Im not scouring the internet for makeup tips. Either way, Farrah is just very young for this competition. Bring her back in 5-10 years and she’d be a massive threat. Her talent is there, it just needs a few years of experience before she can really show what she’s made of.

I often find myself very frustrated with Cynthia Lee Fontaine. This is a competition, I want to see the best of the best battle it out. This is Cynthia’s second time on the show and she’s screwing up essential Drag Race portions of the show… But here, she’s just so defeated, but she instantly goes through a horde of emotions within 2 seconds and is all the sudden firing herself back up with her own words, and it melts me. Despite any critiques I give as a judge would in my reviews of the 'Main Stage’, I’m a softie on the inside and nobody does Cynthia like Cynthia Lee Fontaine. I just don’t think a 2nd stent on 'Drag Race’ was in order, but there is something about that fighting spirit Cynthia displays that I feel needs to be seen, not just by this younger generation, but by everyone. Alexis takes note and proposes a toast, “L'chaim”, bitches!

World Of Wonder, come through! If VH1 has the producers focusing on the negative, then WOW always has their own freedom with 'Untucked’ to make up for that… And they do. Our girl Nina needed this video message from her mother, and that soft, loving, and tender look Nina shoots the screen that you can see if you pause the show right at 13:49 is all I needed and wanted for Nina. Keep pushing, girl… And listen to Shea! That’s a true friend, and there aren’t that many of those in the world. Like I keep saying, you can always tell who the strongest men and women in the room are… They are the ones lifting everyone up, instead of tearing them all apart.

Before I close out yet another long-winded love letter to World Of Wonder’s 'Untucked’ and all the contestants in this show… As I’ve explained in the past, I’ve always had an extremely tough time with the gay community. I sold myself at Johnny’s in Ft Lauderdale for years and nearly destroyed myself after my Aunt (who was like my sister) took her own life. My past experiences made it difficult for me to separate sex and shame, I will not point fingers as to why, but I’ve opened up about it in other reviews and will continue to do so as I sort it out as I go along. My critiques for the main stage of 'Drag Race’ are always difficult to navigate. I have a deep respect for the art form and contestants of Drag Race from Jaymes Mansfield to Nina BoNina Brown to Alexis Michelle and everyone in between, but like Trinity Taylor I try to tell it like it is from a loving place. I enjoy writing about the show. I enjoy watching the show. And if I’ve ever offended a contestant or said something that crossed a line or was taken the wrong way, I apologize. I fight to kind of hold onto the gay community in a weird way through this show, because my experiences with said community have been mainly negative in real life… Whether I was selling myself on stage at Johnny’s or Boardwalk… Or being introduced to methamphetamine at an early age.

I write because it’s my passion, and I’m starting to make a nice living at it and turning my dreams into reality. I said something in my last review of 'Drag Race’ and attempted to pad it with humor and the person who it affected respectfully came to me and talked to me about it directly. I appreciate that… And I think we were both able to see where each other were coming from and hopefully a friendship will come of it. But then this morning I wake up to death threats, 'kill yourself’, and a variety of hate speech from a community that I’ve never been able to find that true piece of love and acceptance I needed… One that for some reason is the hardest on me than any other community or subject I write on. I’m not over here crying about it, but all that nastiness will get you blocked real quick. My Spotlight Saga project, which is growing fast, and I’m happy to tell you all is being built into an online magazine slowly but surely - as well as a place where people can share perspectives to open hearts, minds, mouths, and ears, is my baby and I will fight for it till the end of time. There’s nothing in this world that I do half assed, my momma sure of that. So show love, address each other with respect, and fools… Don’t come at me crazy, cuz I’m not throwing the towel in anytime soon.

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joslynfoxes · 7 years

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very late recap of my experience at Alexis Michelle and Farrah Moan's show in Bristol on 11/5/17

Note that I was blitzed out of my mind when I wrote this recap, except for the edits I made when I started to remember things:

One was called Leeonce Knowles (sp?), who did a good number but I legitimately can’t remember what it was (EDIT: IT WAS CLAT, FOLLOWED BY THE INTRO TO READ U WROTE U BUT INSTEAD OF THE LYRICS HAD THE LINDA EVANGELISTA REMIX), then Polly Amory (sp?) who did a great fun Hermione-witchcraft inspired number which included Harry Potter film audio clips, Little Mix’s Black Magic, School’s Out For Summer and What Time Is It from HSM2 (in my opinion she was the best of the ‘local queens’, besides the host). Another queen who I can’t remember the name of did another number but it was a song I’d never heard of so I didn’t really remember it. She had amazing legs.

Then the hostess introduced Alexis. Alexis started with S&M by Rihanna and was BRILLIANT. She pulled a guy onstage and like pretended to suck his dick it was funny and she had this whip. Then she finished the performance and spoke a little bit, mainly jokes about giving the guy chlamydia. She was like actually funny and i enjoyed her a lot. She then introduced her “little sister” Farrah.

Farrah was wearing her pink robe (my friend who doesn’t watch drag race kept yelling “OH MY GOD SHES SO PRETTY”) and she did a song I didn’t know but it was very good and very Farrah. (EDIT: It was a female cover of Whatever You Like which turns out is an absolute banger and we listened to it on repeat the next day in the hotel room). I filmed literally all of it because she’s really captivating in person. She got the biggest applause out of everyone for that number. Then she took the mic for a couple of minutes and said “This number was dedicated to everyone who says I’ve got a boy body. Number 1) Who gets to say what a woman’s body should look like anyway? Number 2) I am a boy. Number 3) We should all just be nice to each other (tl;dr version). She also mentioned the roast episode and explicitly said she struggled. She mentions how she didn’t want to rip on anybody who made a career out of it but she doesn’t really find it funny to make fun of people because she was bullied so much that it’s just associated with negativity and bullying for her.

Then there was a break. After the break the hostess sang Its Not Fair by Lily Allen, and then Mamma Mia by ABBA, she was very good. She sings live (like all the English queens according to Charlie). She cracked a lot of jokes and was very funny. Two of the local girls performed again, they were good but I was rather drunk so I honestly forgot what they performed. (EDIT: one of them did Titanium and I got a little bit of video of it, she sang live and was very good)

Farrah performed another song (it was very good but again I didn’t know what it was and again I was drunk so tbh I don’t know what it was). She wore the dress she wore at the premiere and did a reveal. She took the mic and chatted for a bit about England and then went quiet for a bit and then said "I’ve run out of things to say” which was cute. Alexis came out again and sang “Here’s to the ladies who lunch” (idk if that’s the actual song name but it’s That Song you know). Then she did a lip sync mash up that included spoken word and Hey Big Spender. It was brilliant honestly.

NON-PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Max was there! I’ve wanted to meet Max for ages, and I was actually wearing my Max shirt (totally by accident because I wear it most of the time), and she appeared at the beginning of the show in a little raised cage/box thing behind some of the audience, and she was just there enjoying the show. During the break I went over to her where she was behind the barrier and showed her I was wearing her shirt and we screamed at each other for like 3 minutes. Then she said “We should take a picture together” and I got my friend to take a picture and Max came out from behind the barrier to take a picture with me, and then she held my face and told me she was going to get a drink at the bar and then she hugged me again and then left. She’s such a sweet person, and seemed to make an extra effort because I was wearing her shirt when she came out from the barrier, because people before me taking pictures with Max took pictures where they were in front of the barrier and Max was behind. It was such a special moment and then we bowed at each other like weirdos because I was drunk.

Oh, Max also may have overheard me singing Sasha Velour’s verse in CLAT while I was peeing. The toilets were unisex and I was in a cubicle and my friend was outside of it washing her hands when Max walked in. I was complaining about how there wasn’t a handbag/jacket holder on the back of the door and Max was like “oh it might be because they’re unisex toilets” but because I was drunk and peeing I didn’t realise it was him, and then he said “Gender is a construct, tear it apart,” and I freaked and started rapping the rest of Sasha’s verse and my friend (who had no idea what was going on and only vaguely knew who Max was) was like “don’t rap in the cubicle!” and according to her Max just looked up from washing his hands and kind of just smiled. So that’s the story of how I sang at Max from a toilet cubicle without realising it was him.

Alexis and Farrah were so sweet during the meet and greet. They initiated hugs and they both looked amazing. I told Farrah she looked beautiful and then stood next to Alexis in the photo and then turned to her like “I wasn’t expecting you to look so good in real life” which honestly sounds like a back-handed compliment but I was just drunk, and Alexis laughed, and then I elaborated that she looked so amazing and she went “You do too!” and then she complimented my hair.

There was a cool guy with a bright pink beard who we chatted with in the queue, and who also told us about when the club got Unisex toilets and which side used to be the ladies and which the gents. He was good fun to talk to and was very nice.

The bartenders were very nice and patient and had cute purple bow ties.

Merch stall was small but had a reasonable amount of merch for a reasonable price. I had to ask about the merch a couple of times and apologised for being so drunk and the woman laughed and said “Don’t worry, I wish I were.” I bought a Farrah shirt and an air freshener because I had £30 cash and that came to the exact cost. Alexis had some merch but not as much because there were apparently problems when it came to shipping it from LA to New York and so she couldn’t bring as much.

Shoutout to my friend Liv who came along despite not knowing anything about drag race just so I wouldn’t have to go 165 miles alone to Bristol, and who gave me piggybacks when we lost our place at barrier so I could see.

Also in the break they played Read U Wrote U but the moment Roxxxy’s verse was about to play they cut it off abruptly and I’ve never been so upset in my life.

#god this was long but here's my review I wrote it all while I was drunk #rupaul's tag race #alexis michelle #farrah moan #max malanaphy #i'm reading through this like Wow was I drunk both writing this and at the actual gig #we were drinking literally from the moment doors opened at 7 till the moment we left at almost 2am

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artificialqueens · 6 years

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If Samson and Delilah Lived Happily Ever After (Sashea)- Melon

A/N:

To those of you who actually remember this fic: I’m so sorry. I know it’s been over four months. I know.

I’m a day later than I promised, but we always knew I was a liar. I also promised a weekly update schedule, too. I’m actually hoping to get back on that, or at least updating as much as I possibly can. I genuinely love this story, and I’m gonna get it done y'all, I swear.

This chapter (2k words) is about partially just Shea’s day, including a lot of character exploration for her, but not necessarily focused on the actual plot. It gives you a good sense of who Shea is in this world, but it’s not crucial to the story. The second half is the date! A lot of fluff, Sashea getting to know each other better, developing their dynamic, and just overall good gayness. I’m trying a new format for the poems, let me know what you think on my fic blog!

Part One Part Two Part Three Side Blog

Sasha and Shea swap schedules over the weekend, planning out the logistics in between banter. A movie takes too long, wouldn’t want to be late for the show; it’s too early for dinner and too late for lunch, and Shea doesn’t share Sasha’s belief that time is a social construct that should be ignored when at all possible; they’re broke as hell, so extravagant dates are a solid no. Sasha suggests meeting up at a fro-yo place in Bushwick and just walking around afterwards.

It’s a risk. Shea knows she wants Sasha, but she doesn’t really know her, not yet. A spark of chemistry across a room doesn’t secure a lifetime of happiness, or whatever, and it’s easy to forget how someone made her feel for a moment in the hours that followed it- plus there’s no time limit to an ‘eat and walk around’ date besides the show. The show they’re going to together.

They could run out of things to say.

Shea types out her agreement, they plan to meet three hours before the show. Being prepared for the worst has never hurt Shea in the past, but she can’t stand in her own way here.

———-

Saturday morning sees Shea up before dawn, dance bag in hand as she heads to the cheapest coffee shop within a ten mile radius. She’s exhausted, but she’s always exhausted, always moving, figuring out the bare minimum hours she has to work at her day job to pay rent and be able to buy a morning coffee when she desperately needs it.

She smiles at the barista despite her lack of sleep. Her mama raised her right.

The studio walls welcome her home when she arrives, unchanged since she last saw them two days ago. The sun is just coming above the city horizon, painting the room orange and shining in the wall of mirrors. Everything is either shadow or warmth, the safety of darkness succumbing to the small windows left of her without a fight. She rarely sees the dance hall in the daylight, usually arriving at closer to one AM for a late night practice. It’s pretty. It’s a little strange.

Facing the glass covered wall in front of her, Shea begins her stretches. Everything in the world around her slows with her body, moving like elastic bands, expanding as she pulls towards each limb’s end. She’s unaware of anything outside of her own vision, a movie that no one watched because the director chose to shoot in black-and-white despite making it in 2010.

This moment is what she lives for. It’s the power that comes only when she’s on, performing or practicing, facing down her own physical form or the limits of her creative mind. Shea is all powerful when she’s in artistic spaces, removed from the clatter of the world. She was born to be in a world of loud talking, messy bitches- but the calm of this moment is part of her, too.

The stretches morph into routines, mapping out ideas that push her body ever so slightly out of its comfort zone. She’s still connected to her physical form enough to know her limits. Somewhere in the distance, far away from her conscious, Shea’s phone is playing music and recording her spontaneous changes to the choreography.

It’s now that she thinks of Sasha, when she’s half in tune with her body and even less in tune with her mind.

Here, Shea is focusing on her heart.

The pragmatist still runs in the background, reminding her to keep an eye on the time, planning her outfit, telling her to wear sensible shoes even though pumps go better with those jeans, but it’s quieted.

The loudest voice says to remember the night she first saw Sasha. How Sasha looked at her the way so many had before her but better because Shea wanted to look at her back. How Shea doesn’t know her, but knows she wants to. How she ran the first night. And then, how she came back.

It helps that she’s a good kisser, too.

Her train of thought comes to a stop as the next song comes to an end, her time in the studio going with them. She’s almost surprised to see that the world continued on after she abandoned it, but the sun’s higher now, the streets below more crowded. Time to go home, get ready.

———-

Sasha finds Shea on a park bench outside Frosty’s five minutes before they’re supposed to meet up. She’s on her phone, scrolling through an endless stream of some social media that reflects in her sunglasses. God I hope it’s not Tumblr, Sasha thinks.

Shea glances up, smiling when she sees Sasha. “Hey, good looking,” she calls. “How’s it going?”

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Sasha asks in her low, joking tone, hair bouncing with the movement of her head. Shea stands, reaching Sasha in a few long strides. She pulls her close, placing an air kiss on either cheek, separating with a gentle squeeze of Sasha’s waist. It’s all too fluid, too casual, to be reserved just for Sasha- but God does she wish it was.

“Come on, let’s head in.”

Many describe a perfect a perfect pair as two who contrast each other in every way, sharing only core pieces. Yin and Yang. The two that argue constantly but have a deeper understanding.

Those people missed Sasha and Shea entering a tiny frozen yogurt store side by side. They don’t stand stronger in stark contrast to each other, but rather gravitate towards each other because of how much they look like they belong in the same world.

Shea finishes choosing her flavors and toppings in under two minutes. Sasha takes…longer. She wants to try a new flavor but doesn’t want to sample each one that looks interesting. Shea’s glancing at her in both annoyance and amusement, her own yogurt already paid for. Sasha’s walking in between stations, eyebrows furrowed in a way that is not entirely unadorable. Shea can’t help but smile to herself. They have enough time for Shea to humor Sasha’s five minute internal struggle over dessert.

After way too long of a decision making process, Sasha steps up to the cashier, smiling as she hands him four dollars. Shea notes this, checking off the “nice to service industry workers” box in her mental list. It’s a small thing, but it says a lot.

The pair make their way out. Neither remembers who holds the door for who, but someone does and it’s nice. Sasha curves towards Shea once on the sidewalk, legs crossing as she walks. She’s radiating the midday sunshine right back at Shea.

“So who’s on for tonight?” She asks. Shea has to think for a moment, even though she set up the schedule. She hosts every other week, Trinity taking the other half of the schedule when she’s in town, so it’s hard to keep up with who she planned last time she hosted and who she has tonight.

“Well, there’s Val, I think, if she shows up. Aja for sure, Nina, myself, and Trinity.” The cast is a genuinely good one, especially Aja, who usually reserves her poetry for her house meetings.

“Val was really interesting last time. I don’t fully remember what she said, but I remember being impressed by how she captivates a crowd,” Sasha pauses, thinking of how to word her observation of the poet, “The audience see as the embodiment of an idealistic worldview, which I actually agree with- she is. She’s beautiful, positive, and a natural entertainer,” she says, but it’s missing the end, like she’s holding back her full opinion because of Shea.

“But did you like her?”

“No,” Sasha laughingly admits. “I liked the whiny one way better,” she giggles, doing her best to mimic the high pitched, toddler-esque noises that often came out of Farrah’s mouth. Shea laughs with her failed attempts, and harder at her successes. Sasha gets eerily good at impersonating the tiny blonde.

“You,” Shea pauses to catch her breath, “You shady bitch, stop it or I’m gonna drop my ice-cream.” She’s not lying- said frozen yogurt had nearly fallen with Shea’s laughter shaken body multiple times. Being here with Sasha, giggling over the dumbest shit imaginable, felt right. She almost misses the hours passing.

The conversation takes them through the streets, stopping to step into an antique store here and there, but never finding something worth buying.

They never quite stop laughing.

Sasha and Shea start walking to the bar just before sunset, comfortable silence overcoming them as night took hold of the city. They no longer have to say anything to prove they were capable of talking to each other in the first place- they could if they wanted to, but for now they were both content with just walking next to each other.

They break apart at the entrance, Sasha joining her friends in the crowd, Shea disappearing behind the scenes to organize everyone. Sasha keeps the midday sunshine in her smile all the way to the table Pepper saved for herself, Aja, and Sasha.

Sasha settles next to her friend, ignoring the raised eyebrow presented to her in favor of stealing a sip Pep’s drink. She scrunches her nose at the unexpectedly boozy cocktail. “Peppermint it’s literally 6:00. This is a midnight drink,” Sasha says disparagingly.

“I am getting tired of you judging my life choices, Sasha,” Peppermint snatches the drink back, since it clearly won’t be appreciated by her friend. “You forget, I knew you in college.”

“Oh god, I wasn’t that bad,” Sasha smiles, thinking back on her and Pep’s first years of friendship. Okay, she wasn’t very good, either, if she’s honest, but she was hardly alone. Getting your Masters is hard, especially when your parents are such hyper-intellectual academics; the pressure was a lot. Young Sasha deserved to have a little fun.

“You kept up bitch, you kept up,”

“Shh, they’re getting started. You can remind me of all the mistakes I’ve made later,” Sasha casually leans against Peppermint as Shea opens the show. Shea magically located a pair of heels backstage, somehow. Sasha’s becoming more and more convinced of her initial Goddess theory.

“How you guys doing tonight?” Shea yells to the crowded room, easily heard over the remaining chatter. Her energy is a lot brighter now than the first show Sasha attended, exuberant instead of smooth and mischievous. She’s riling them up, pushing their energy to its peak, and they’re responding.

Sasha realizes Shea’s finished speaking while Sasha watched the crowd, stepping off the stage for the first performer. This time, Sasha’s eyes don’t follow her- she knows where Shea will be for the next few minutes, the way Shea will interact with the people backstage- she’s no less enraptured by Shea, but there’s already a comfortability there. She can enjoy the actual show, for once.

Her reaction to Shea coming onstage for her own piece doesn’t change, though. Shea still walks like that, like she meant to drive her heel through the wood instead of on top of it, still steals the air from everyone’s lungs when she speaks.

She skips an introduction, again, she usually does for her own pieces. She knows the audience remembers her name.

“Before I found me:

I have words to speak,

but will not.

Tucked into an alcove,

my tongue sewn safely into the lining of my cheek,

I am lost.

Teeth clamped tight around a final shred of dignity,

embalmed,

saved posthumously,

but the rotting has started to leak.

Bodies of text embossed,

growing moss in a grove

covers everything Brown.

Tongue-in-cheek

is not a subtle death,

but it is a silent one.

One nobody likes to confront

because loud women are just so

inconvenient.”

It’s longer than most- sadder. She carried the weight of it in her stomach, as though it will be safe there. Sasha hopes it will be, for Shea’s sake. Uncurling herself from the melancholy of her piece, Shea addresses the audience a final time, introducing the last act. Sasha desperately tries to listen to her, but she keeps getting caught up in her voice while missing her words.

Shea steps off the stage for the second to last time, taking the energy of the past few minutes with her. Sasha can only watch her go hopelessly.

Shea is, undeniably, turning into a problem for her. She’s pretty sure she’s okay with it.

#sasha velour #shea coulee #sashea #fluff #lesbian au #melon #rpdr fanfiction #samson and delilah

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artificialqueens · 7 years

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Struggling Artists [Sasha/Johnny] Chap. 3 - Courtney

Hello all! Welcome back to yet another chapter of struggling artists. I tried to make this chapter a bit more cute on the aspect of Sasha and Johnny interacting, and I wanted to introduce a new character! I hope you all enjoy this, and any feedback is extremely appreciated. Thank you all so much! - Courtney

Before Sasha even knew it, the doors to the gallery were open to the public, and people were looking at her art. She circled around a few times, introducing herself to as many people as she could. This could be her big break, and if Sasha was lucky, maybe she could be an inspiration to other young artists. She smiled politely, nodded when she was asked questions, and she shook countless of hands.

When a tall, dark woman approached her and smiled, Sasha felt comfortable. Probably too comfortable, considering that this person was a stranger.

“Hi, I’m sorry. I don’t want to seem weird but are you… Sasha Velour?” Great. She knew her.

“Yes, that would be I.”

“I’m Shea Coulee. I work with a company that would love to buy one of your pieces.”

“Oh! Well, you can consult Johnny for-“

“No, I mean, I want to buy a piece that isn’t featured here today.” A small smile found itself on her face, and Shea backtracked quickly. “Not that these pieces aren’t beautiful! We’d just like to showcase more of your art.”

Sasha’s heart was beating out of her chest, when she suddenly felt an arm wrapping around her waist. She jumped, whipping her head to find who exactly put their hands on her. When she caught sight of the perpetrator, she leaned into the touch. Johnny.

“Hi! My name is Johnny, a pleasure to meet you.” He reached his hand out, taking Shea’s and giving it a firm squeeze.

“Shea Coulee. I’m interested in buying one of Miss Velour’s paintings. Im assuming you are her..” She trails off, hoping Johnny would finish the sentence.

“I’m the owner of the gallery. You could say that Sasha and I are friends though.”

“Um, Shea, I would love to give you one of my undebuted pieces.” Sasha spoke up, though her words were a bit shaky. How was she supposed to act calm when Johnny was that close?

“Lovely! I’ll offer you five hundred up front, and you can pick out your best piece.” The woman smiled, and Sasha nearly choked on her salvia.

“Five hundred dollars!? No, I’m sorry I can’t accept that. That’s too much, I’ll give it to you for a hundred.”

“If you say so..” Shea looked a bit disappointed, but Sasha felt much better. There was no way she could sell a piece of her artwork for that much money. It just seemed dirty to her. After scrawling her number onto a piece of paper and giving it to Sasha, Shea had left to explore the rest of the gallery. Johnny grabbed Sasha’s hands, beaming up at her.

“She wanted to buy your art!” The smile that was on his lips only made Sasha laugh, and she nodded along. The rest of the night went by quickly. Sasha introduced herself to more people, she explained her art and why she does why she does. A lot of people were interested in what she had to say, though she could tell that a few didn’t care for it. That was alright; everyone is welcome to their own opinions.

Once the building had cleared out, Sasha began to pack up her things. It was barely light outside, she had to assume it was around six or seven o’clock. The rest of her night would probably be locked up in her apartment, trying to come up with something new and interesting. Her creativity was completely drained from working so hard, but she couldn’t just stop all of a sudden.

Small arms wrapped around her from behind, and Sasha jumped at the cold touch. When Johnny rounded her, he was wearing a bright smile.

“Going home already? You do need to pick that piece out for Shea.”

A lump grew in the back of her throat, and she almost wanted to burst into tears at the thought of it.

“Actually..” What was she doing? “I was wondering if you could..” Sasha stop talking. “Do you want to come over? Help me pick the piece out?” Sasha felt stupid for even asking it, and after she said it she regretted it. Johnny was probably busy, probably had someone to go home to.

“I would love to!” Sasha surely didn’t expect that. A soft hand wrapped around hers, tugging her towards the door. “Come on! The night is still young!”

She laughed quietly, following Johnny outside. They twirled for a moment, taking in the cold air of New York. Sasha couldn’t ask for a better place to be, and with a better person to be with. Her eyes darted to Johnny, taking his expression in. He was looking at the sky, taking in the orange and purples that swirled together to make the sunset. Sasha wanted nothing more than to just stare at him, take in every feature of his face.

“It’s really beautiful out right now. I don’t know if I want to go inside yet.” His voice was soft, and Sasha only nodded along. She understood what he meant, when the night was full of so many possibilities she didn’t want to stay inside either.

“How about this, we can go back to my apartment and sit on the roof. It’s not far from here, so we should be able to catch the ending of the sunset before it’s dark.” She smiled, holding her hand out for him. When he took her hand, she giggled, taking off towards the nearest subway station. The two laughed in unison, their voices filling the quiet night with pure happiness.

When the pair entered the subway, they were being squished between strangers left and right. But, they didn’t let it bother them. They held onto each other’s hand tightly, making sure not to get lost in the sea of people. The walk from the station to Sasha’s apartment wasn’t long, and before she knew it, they were climbing the stairs to her home.

“I just need to grab some stuff and I’ll be ready!” Sasha’s voice was much more calm as she unlocked the door, leading into the mess that was her apartment. Canvases littered her floor, and scattered paintbrushes were on her coffee table. Small bowls of water were placed haphazardly, and paint tubes were thrown around carelessly. Johnny looked around as Sasha disappeared, taking in the cluster of paintings that she had lying around.

One caught his attention, and as he reached for it, Sasha stepped back into the room.

“Ready?” She smiled brightly, and Johnny nodded along. He didn’t want to snoop through Sasha’s belongings anyway. Sasha took his hand again, twirling her keys around on her finger. Every resident got a key to the roof, considering that’s where most of the people liked to hang out.

Climbing the few final steps, Sasha unlocked the door and let Johnny in through first. The sky was darker now, the purples mixing with blues to create an almost black sky. Luckily, Sasha had grabbed a few candles to light so the two wouldn’t be left in the dark. As she lit them, she instructed Johnny to lay a few blankets down on the ground so they could sit. Once both things were done, the two sat down and stared up at the sky.

“You know,” Johnny started, his gaze flicking over to Sasha. “I’m really glad that I met you.”

Sasha met his eyes, a small smile coming to her lips. “I’m glad I met you too, Johnny.”

#sasha velour #johnny velour #struggling artists #courtney #fluff #au #sasha x johnny #rpdr fanfiction

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