#and despite the show being clearly messed up the fans are some of the best people ive ever met

[sofancydancy]

I have been mainly a hannibal blog for nearly 8 years now... the commitment is strong, I fear. This show was just amazing in so many ways, and it's so wonderful to know that even after the tumblr plague of 2018 that we are still present on this site. I've ways loved tumblr, and hannibal became the place for me! 💓

[cloudzoro]

Pumpkin | Roronoa Zoro ♡

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

genre: smut with a little bit of plot (minors dni)

pairings: roronoa zoro x fem reader

wc: 8.4k words

cw: mutual pining, idiots to lovers, reader gets hit on in a bar multiple times, zoros feelings are all over the place bc he's a mess, monster cock!zoro, unprotected sex, soft zoro </3, marking, bad flirting

masterlist here

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You have feelings for Zoro and you know it, Zoro has feelings for you and doesn't know it. Everyone is collectively sick of your shit. It isn't until you get hit on in a bar and Zoro has to step in that he realises how deep his feelings for you run.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

If you squeeze that glass any harder, it's gonna shatter,” says Nami, nodding at the glass of beer Zoro holds in his hand. Zoro waves her off, sparing her a glance just to glare at her before focusing on the cause of his irritation. You're standing at the bar of the dingy lounge, talking to Sanji and the random guy who's been showing you around the new island the strawhats had docked up at. The place isn't too busy, so he can see you without looking past a crowd. Unfortunately, he can also see the new guy you've met. The guy is interested in you, leaning in to talk to you, which gives Zoro a nasty feeling in his chest. He chalks it up to being protective; he doesn't like how the man looks at you. For once, Zoro is actually grateful for Sanji's presence. The tall cook at your side, looking as enraged as Zoro feels, is intimidating to the guy who backs up a little.

“Your girl’s talking to other men. If I were you, I'd kill the guy,” says Usopp, and Zoro rolls his eyes. He is not even bothering to answer. You're not his girl. You're just friends. Zoro isn't even sure he's capable of falling in love. You step back from the guy, clearly uncomfortable, and Zoro starts to see red. It isn't until Chopper and Usopp reach out to grab him that he realises he's even stood up. Ready to jump into action. “Don't make a scene; I'm really not in the mood for a fight,” says Usopp, trying his best to push Zoro back into his seat.

When his eyes focus back on where you're standing at the bar, Zoro sees that Sanji has stepped in and told the man off. You're safe now. The man had run away with his tail between his legs, but the bitter taste in his mouth is still there. He watches intently as you walk back to the table where the strawhats are sitting, with Sanji in tow and drinks in hand. You set another glass in front of him, and just as you walk away to sit on the other side of the table, he pats the seat next to him. You raise an eyebrow at his request, his un-Zoro-like behaviour startling you.

“Just don't wanna sit next to the dumb cook”, he grumbles, looking down at the table instead of at you. You nod and slide into the chair next to him. Now that he can feel your presence next to him, he feels the weight lift from his shoulders.

“So y/n, what happened?” asks Nami, always a fan of gossip. You go to answer, but you're immediately stopped by Sanji, who butts in with his own account.

“That horrible ugly man was trying to steal our precious y/n away for his crew. As if she'd ever leave us.” he huffs out. Luffy laughs at how idiotic the idea of you leaving would be. Zoro doesn’t speak as he watches you sip your drink and roll your eyes at Sanji’s dramatics.

“That loser was just hitting on me,” you say, trying to play it down to get the attention off of you. Despite first appearing extroverted, you aren’t too keen on attention being on you. It's one of the reasons Zoro gels with you much better than some of his other crewmates. Once the conversation switches from the almost bar fight to whatever crazy made-up story Usopp tells, you lean into Zoro’s side to speak quietly in his ear. “I saw you stand up earlier; you looked like you were gonna kill him. Thank you, even if you were held back,” you say, laughing at how ridiculous he looked. Your thanks are sincere, even if you still tease him for it. Zoro has been a silent protector for you since you joined the crew. Everyone knows you’re in his top three Straw hats, alongside Luffy and Chopper. As much as he tries to convince himself that you’re tied with your captain, you’re number one and almost pulling a lead. It's clear to the rest of the crew that the only people in the world who can’t see how you feel are you and Zoro. Zoro offers you an amused smirk, close to a smile but not quite, and raises his glass. You do the same, clinking your glasses and continuing with your drink. You re-enter the conversation, talking animatedly with Nami and Usopp, but Zoro is more than happy to sit back and watch his family in a rare moment of peace. He only speaks whenever Sanji makes a comment that riles him up.

Luffy and Usopp are terrible influences on you. Your captain and sharpshooter like to have fun, which often includes dragging you into their shenanigans. They’re always making terrible drinking games and challenges, egged on by Brook and Franky. You, not one to back down from a challenge, always end up joining them. You’ve put more alcohol away in one night than you have in the last month, and when it's time to leave, Zoro and Robin take it upon themselves to support you as you can barely stand up by yourself. You sway as the fresh air hits you harder than expected. You almost let go of Robin completely as you lean into Zoro. You mumble something about not wanting to walk anymore, and Zoro sighs, signalling Robin to carry on ahead. He crouches down and tells you to hop on his back. You do so, settling yourself and pressing your face into his neck. He hears you mumble a thanks into his skin before passing out.

This isn't the first time one of your crewmates has had to carry you back to the sunny, and it definitely won't be the last. Zoro doesn't mind your weight on him; he brings you to your room, sets you down in your bed, and takes off your shoes and jewellery as carefully as he can before leaving and walking out to the deck.

“One of you ladies should probably go in there just to make sure she doesn’t vomit in her sleep and choke and die”, he says as he walks up to the edge of the ship to look out at the sea. Robin says she’ll stay with you and walks to the girls' bedroom.

“So when will you tell her you’re completely in love with her?” asks Nami, startling him.

“When will you leave me alone so I can enjoy a peaceful night.”

“You’re deflecting.”

“You’re annoying,” he says, unable to defend himself in any other way. Nami sighs and pats his shoulder.

“You need help, dude,” she says condescendingly. Nami has mastered the art of irritating the men aboard the ship; it’s a form of entertainment for her sometimes. “The sooner you tell her you like her, the sooner you can bone, and then maybe you won't be such an uptight freak anymore.” Zoro can tell her own comment tickles her, but before he can spit out a sarcastic response, he is cut off by the voice of his airhead captain.

“Are we talking about Zoro’s y/n kink?” he asks, loudly chewing on the leftovers from earlier’s dinner. Zoro doesn't even dignify that question with a response. He stomps off to the boy’s bedroom and climbs into his hammock. Clearly, he’d only get peace aboard this ship by being unconscious.

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The next day, You wake up with a throbbing in your head, and your stomach turns as you run to the ship bathroom. You empty your stomach of nastiness and head to the kitchen to get some water to drink. Sanji put some food away for you with a little note, and it warms your heart how your boys care for you. You nibble your way through your breakfast and set about looking for where everyone is.

The first person you find is Brook, sitting on a chair and drinking tea. You ask him where everyone is, and he informs you that most of the crew have gone sightseeing in the city at the island's centre. He tells you that Zoro and Usopp are the only people still in the area. Usopp is in his room, recovering from last night, and Zoro is just in front of the sunny, taking advantage of the space to get in a good workout. You decide to go and bother him.

“Hi, Zoro,” you say, approaching him. “Need a sparring partner?” you ask; seeing him shirtless is an excellent motivator. He looks at you in your sweats and tank top and laughs. He knows those are your comfy clothes and just woke up.

“That depends. Are you gonna vomit on me?”

“No”, you get defensive about your weak alcohol tolerance despite having proved your lightweight status regularly. “I don’t even have a real hangover, just a headache” you insist.

“That is a hangover, pumpkin,” he says. Pumpkin isn't a pet name; it's a nickname you were given when you first joined the crew, and almost everyone except Luffy and Robin uses it. Yet it still makes heat rise in your cheeks when Zoro uses it. It sounds different coming from him than it does coming from someone like Franky.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” If you keep pestering him, he’ll give in eventually.

“Fine, but I'm not going easy on you”, he says, enjoying how defensive you get at any insinuation of weakness.

“I’d be insulted if you did.”

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The sparring session ends when Zoro pins you down on your back for the fifth time.

“You’re getting better at close combat. It took me a lot longer to knock you down this time,” he says. They’re simple words of encouragement, but they make your stomach feel funny. When you catch your breath, and the adrenaline is out of your system, you realise that he's still on top of you. There's something different in how you look at him now, and you hope he doesn't notice it. You're fully aware of how your feelings for Zoro have changed in recent weeks, but you figure he doesn't feel the same way, so you've kept it to yourself. Zoro isn't the relationship type.

He seems to realise by himself that he's still hovering over you, so he quickly moves himself off you and helps you up. He mutters an apology and walks with you in silence back to the ship. In the silence, all you can think about is the view of a sweaty, shirtless Zoro on top of you. You want the image seared permanently into your brain.

When you return to the sunny, you get washed and changed. While you're in the shower, you can't help the way your fingers wander between your legs, pleasuring yourself with the thought of Zoro clouding your mind. The combination of an orgasm and a shower has refreshed you, and you decide to go into the centre to find Nami and Robin. You pass Brook on the way out, who has now been joined by Usopp.

“Were you showering with your boyfriend?”

The question stops you in your tracks. Boyfriend?.

“I don't have a boyfriend, Brook. What do you mean?” Usopp matches your confused expression, looking between you and Brook

“Are you not dating our swordsman?”

“No, of course I'm not. Why would you think that?!” you ask, exasperated by his audacity. Then it clicks in your head. You remember what you did in the shower that could've tipped him off.

“I heard you saying his name.” As the words leave Brook's mouth, Usopp gasps, finally realising where the confusion has come from. You must not have been quiet enough when touching yourself to the thought of him. Usopp looks completely embarrassed, and you hope he'll keep this secret. He's too ashamed of knowing something intimate about you.

“Nope. You were just imagining things. Anyway, I have to go and find Nami and Robin, so I'll be going now. Bye, guys, see you later,” you yell as you rush off the ship to escape the embarrassing situation as quickly as possible.

You catch up with Nami and Robin pretty fast. They split from the boys a while ago and are about to wander through a local market. They're happy to have you along as company, and Robin makes sure to ask about your hangover. You tell them that you were training with Zoro before coming out, and the mention of the green-haired swordsman makes Nami smirk. You already know how the conversation will go, but it's unavoidable.

“Did you finally tell Zoro how you feel about him?” she asks. You turn to Robin, and she just smiles and shrugs, which is code for ‘I want to know the gossip, but I don't want to seem like I'm not on your side’.

“No, because I've told you a million times that Zoro doesn't think of me that way. We had a training session today, and all he did was make fun of me for being a lightweight.”

“Are you stupid? He carried you home last night,” says Nami.

“Everyone's carried my drunk ass home at least once.”

“He's obsessed with you.” She laughs. “In every way.”

“I think Nami's right”, says Robin, and you feel like you're about to be driven crazy.

“I already told you he doesn't feel the same way. He's had so many opportunities to ask me out, and he's never even hinted at it. He's nice to me because we're close friends. That's it,” you say, frustrated at the topic. “it hurts, though; I really do like him”, you say sombrely.

They're good friends to you and respect your boundaries as much as they love to gossip. They can see you don't want to discuss Zoro anymore, so they change the subject to buying cute clothes. You look around the market for handmade garments by real natives of the area. Learning about other cultures through food and fashion is your favourite part of travelling the world.

When you arrive back on the Sunny, You go straight to the girls' quarters, avoiding Brook and Usopp, and put your bags of clothing away. You lay on your bed and let yourself completely relax into it, allowing the wear and tear of the day to seep out of your body.

Zoro, however, is less relaxed than you. Luffy has been asking him what he talked about with Nami all day. He feels seconds away from punching the over-excited man. He's repeatedly said he's not interested in a relationship and certainly not you. He's insisted time and time again that you two are just friends.

“oooh, how about you go into town with her and spend some alone time?” Before Zoro can interject and ask why, Usopp hurriedly continues. “it could be a good way to have a proper talk and find out how she feels about you.”

Zoro, angered by his friend's persistence, finally responds.

“If it gets you two idiots to shut the fuck up, I'll do it. But it's not because I like her or anything.” He says, getting up and dragging himself inside. He passes the girls’ quarters on his way down, decides to pull up his big boy pants and knocks on the door. When you call to open the door, he pushes it open and sees you relaxing. He insists he doesn't have feelings for you; you’re just close friends, but seeing you dressed down and chilled causes a switch in his brain. He wishes Nami had never said anything the night before, or he wouldn't be second-guessing his feelings towards you. “You wanna come into town tomorrow?” He asks, as straightforward as he always is. You nod and smile at him. He hums in acknowledgement and shuts the door as he walks down to his bed. You know Zoro’s personality, so his response - or lack thereof - doesn’t phase you at all. You let sleep take you as Zoro begins to cloud all your thoughts.

“They’re so into each other it's gross,” says Nami, crossing her arms. “I don't understand why they don’t just fuck and get it other with”

“At least y/n is aware of feelings. Zoro doesn't even know he's in love with her,” adds Robin.

“She’s too good for him; I don’t even know why you’re trying to play cupid with them” growls Sanji.

“They’re so obvious about it that Brook thought they were dating,” says Usopp.

“Yes, she said I was hearing things, but I'm sure I heard her moaning his name”, says Brook before Usopp can even attempt to stop him. Silence falls among the group, and Nami and Robin share a knowing glance. They leave the boys to continue gossiping and go to the girls’ quarter. You don’t open your eyes when the door opens, having heard Nami and Robin’s voices approaching. However, when you feel your mattress dip, you open your eyes to see both women sitting on your bed, smiling at you. While Robin is usually the more mature of the women aboard the ship, she still needs a good laugh now and then, and you can tell that whatever they’re about to say will annoy you. Nami’s Cheshire cat-esque grin proves they’re about to either embarrass or pull you into a scheme.

“so”, Robin starts, clearing her throat.

“We just want to warn you that next time you have a wild sex dream about Zoro, you should moan his name a little quieter,” says Nami, giggling at the look of exasperation on your face. It takes you all of two seconds before you realise that Brook and Usopp snitched on you, and you jump out of bed to confront them.

Brook hears you scream his name and knows you’re about to beat his ass and has the sense to run. Usopp, however, drops to his knees and apologises, hoping to appease you. The scene is entertaining to the rest of the crew, who all chime in about whether or not you should have mercy on Usopp.

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When morning comes around, you wake up and stretch. You spend a little extra time getting ready in the morning. When you leave the ship, Zoro is already waiting for you, leaning against a tree. He lets you take the lead as you walk into the town centre. The market stalls are busy, and you grab onto his shirt so you don't lose him. Zoro usually wouldn’t even bat an eye at the action. You’ve always had a mutual agreement to protect each other, but with the recent stirring feelings he's been forced to acknowledge, he’s hyper-aware of any physical contact between you. He’s taken some money from the ship to buy you food. At first, you don’t talk much, and he just watches you walk from stall to stall. You approach a stall selling jewellery, and Zoro stops behind you. The vendor looks over your shoulder at the man and pushes some chains towards you.

“What about something for your boyfriend?” she asks, and, to Zoro’s surprise, you don't correct the lady. You just nod and pick up a chain, turning to Zoro and signalling him to put it on. You don’t do it with ulterior motives; you just like buying your crewmates gifts. Maybe you didn’t correct the vendor when she called him your boyfriend to feed your secret crush, but he didn't correct her either, so no harm is done. When Zoro puts on the chain, he raises his eyebrow and asks what you think, and then he keeps it on as you pay the vendor. He still doesn't believe you have feelings for him or vice versa, so he thinks of the gift as a friendly gesture. You, however, keep getting distracted by thoughts of the chain you bought for him dangling over your face as he fucks you. He says something to you, and you have to ask him to repeat himself so you can focus on what he’s saying this time.

“We should go to that bar over there”, he suggests, pointing across the market to the bar you had been to a few nights before. You agree and follow him. You both decide to sit at the bar and get a drink each. Usually, small talk flows between you and Zoro naturally, but things seem awkward. You don’t know what's wrong with Zoro, but you’ve never seen him flounder like this. He excuses himself to the bathroom, and after he leaves, another man slides onto the seat next to you. You’re not interested, so you try to ignore his presence, and then he attempts to talk to you.

“You’re not from around here, are you? You stick out like a sore thumb,” he says, and before you can respond, he just keeps going. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, of course. You’re beautiful. What’d you say, I'll show you around?” You’d already been shown around when you first arrived on the island.

“I'm here with my boyfriend; he just went to the bathroom,” you say, hoping the guy will take the hint and leave. He doesn't and just continues to talk about himself and pitch himself as a potential partner to you. When Zoro exits the bathroom and sees the man speaking to you, he feels bile rise in his throat. You make eye contact as he approaches the bar, and your expression immediately shifts into a smile.

“Hi, babe.” The words shock him, and it takes him a second to process, but when he puts two and two together, he immediately helps you out by taking a step closer to you, so now he's stood directly behind you as you sit on the stool facing the strange man who’s approached you. He puffs out his chest and rolls his shoulders back to show off a little.

“Who’s this guy? Is he bothering you?” he asks. The role of a protective boyfriend comes naturally to him. You look up at him and nod, placing your drink on its coaster and backing up against him. His hand settles on your hip, and he internally panics about possibly going too far.

“I think we should go,” you say, grabbing his hand and turning to leave the bar. He feels that letting that loser stay in the bar and potentially harass other women while you have to leave the bar early isn't much of a punishment, so he grabs the guy by his shirt. You weren't expecting a bar fight immediately, but this is Zoro, so you take a step back and get ready to back him up if he needs it.

“You should go too; if I catch you anywhere near her, I will kill you. If I come here again and you're here, I will kill you,” he says, his other hand secured around one of his swords, and then he lets the man go. He hurries past you and out the door. When Zoro looks back at you, you’re smiling at him, and it shocks his system that you aren't even a little bit scared of him. He’s incapable of looking anywhere but you, but he knows the other patrons in the bar are watching him warily in fear. Not you, though. Your eyes are filled with something he’d never imagined to be directed at him: awe and respect. In that moment, he finally makes peace with the fact that maybe he likes you as more than just a crewmate.

“Thank you,” you say as you leave the bar. It seems like you’re always thanking him for something.

“Don’t mention it”, he says, brushing it off and focusing back on the market stalls. You pick up a few more gifts on the way home. Zoro accepts his feelings for you quickly, but now he has to figure out many other issues. Do you like him back? Is it possible for someone like him to pursue a relationship? Is he even worthy of your love? You linger on his mind when he returns to the men's quarters that night.

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You had spent the afternoon with the rest of the crew planning your next destination. When night finally fell, you had decided to stay out a little longer, chatting to the remaining crewmates who hadn’t gone to bed yet. When you get tired, you get up to go to bed, and Jinbe and Sanji thank you for their gifts and bid you goodnight. When you return to your room, Nami and Robin are waiting for you. You know they’re about to grill you for details about your day with Zoro.

“So, how did it go with Zoro?” asks Nami as you sit on the edge of your bed. 

“It was fun. A guy hit on me in a bar, and he pretended to be my boyfriend and then threatened to kill him. Poor guy almost pissed his pants,” you say, laughing at the memory of the terrified look on the man's face.

“And you still don’t believe he’s in love with you?” she says.

“He would’ve done the same thing for either of you,” you say in defence of yourself.

“Maybe he would’ve threatened the guy, but he would never have pretended to be my boyfriend,” says Robin. You sigh and throw yourself against the mattress.

“Why are you so resistant to the idea that he might like you back?” Robin asks. “Maybe some romance would do you good.”

“Robin’s right. You two are perfect for each other. He’s an emotionally constipated loser with no social skills, and you’re an emotionally constipated loser with slightly more social skills.” Nami has gotten up from her bed and is kneeling beside you, leaning over your face.

“That was mean”, you pout, looking up at her. “I’m not a loser.”

“But you do suck at emotions.” 

“It’s not that. I just don’t see why he would be interested in me,” you say, finally admitting what has been bothering you since you first developed feelings for him. The mattress on the other side of you dips, signalling Robin has joined the two of you. 

“Y/n sweetheart, you’re smart, funny, and beautiful. There’s no reason Zoro wouldn’t like you,” she says, reaching out a hand to pet your head.��We’re telling you he likes you, but he's probably having thoughts similar to yours.” Robin is always a source of comfort for you, so you appreciate her words.

“Yeah, and your boyfriend is dumb as rocks, so you have to tell him,” Says Nami. You groan at Nami’s word choice.

“Whatever, I think we should go to bed”, you huff, closing your eyes in protest. Name and Robin give each other an amused look and get off of your bed. You drift off to sleep, trying to push the topic of Zoro to the back of your mind.

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

You’re in the shower the next morning; it's your final day on the island, and you’ll celebrate at a restaurant later in the evening. You think over your conversation with Nami and Robin, and you figure there’s a possibility they're right. Before confessing to him, you decide to test the waters first and see if Zoro has feelings for you. You’re not the best at flirting, but you decide you’re going to try to hint it to him. After your shower, when you’re all changed into your outfit for the day, you go to the dining area for breakfast. When you enter the room, Sanji is bustling about in the kitchen, and Nami, Zoro, and Luffy are sitting around the table, waiting for food.

“Morning, Sanji” you call. The cook immediately turns around at the sound of your voice. “Think you can add an extra portion?”

“Of course, Pumpkin! Please take a seat,” he calls back, and you follow his instructions, taking the empty seat next to Zoro.

“Morning Pumpkin”, greet Nami and Zoro as Luffy greets you with your real name instead of the nickname. You cheerfully bid them a good morning and shuffle your chair closer to Zoro’s, who doesn't seem to notice until your knees touch under the table and he looks at you. You know you have feelings for him, but you're still thrown off by the way simply making contact with him causes you to feel butterflies. Sanji brings out the food, grinning at the instant praise he gets. He then retreats to the kitchen, knowing the rest of the crew will be awake soon.

“Food looks good,” you say to Zoro before shovelling it into your mouth. By the time you’ve finished only one bite, Luffy has cleared his whole plate and is whining at Sanji for another portion. “I can never understand how he puts away food like that.”

“It's pretty easy; I can’t do it as fast as he can, but I'm still pretty good at eating”, he says, noting his ability to demolish a plate of food in seconds.

“You can do a lot with your mouth”, you respond as his cheeks flush red and he freezes. You had initially meant his third sword, and it hadn’t crossed your mind that your response could be flirting. You fear you’ve made him uncomfortable as he’s never responded like this to flirtation before, and you quickly start to reassure him of what you actually meant.

“I didn’t mean it inappropriately; I just meant about your sword skills. Y’know, like your third sword thing. I wasn't talking about anything sex-related. I'm also not saying you’d be bad at it, and I'm sure you're great at oral-” You stop yourself before your rambling gets you in even more trouble. You and Zoro stare at each other for a second before silently turning back to your plates and continuing to eat your breakfast. You know Nami heard your entire conversation, even over Luffy's yelling, but she doesn't say anything to you for the rest of the day, which you’re grateful for. You spend most of your day talking to your crewmates on the ship. You accidentally fluster Zoro multiple times throughout the day. Not even attempts at flirting are causing his reactions, it's other interactions that could have way more suggestive meanings. He knows you don't mean them inappropriately; however, with the way your relationship has been changing lately, Zoro can't help but interpret them differently. At first, when he’s arguing with Sanji over their appearances, you compliment his physique, and he seems to shut down at your words completely. The second and final chance you get is when Chopper accidentally calls Zoro dad, and the whole team bursts out laughing, swordsman included. Through his tears, Usopp asks who the mum is, and without hesitation, Sanji and Nami both point at you. Everyone except you and Zoro laughs even harder. Poor Chopper is extremely embarrassed but only further proves everyone's point by crying about it to you.

“Y/N!. Everyone’s laughing at me. They're all so mean.” he cries, hugging at your legs. You lean down to his height and wipe some of his tears. You love Chopper, but you can't help teasing him a little.

“Oh Chopper, it's ok. Why don't you go and ask Daddy if he'll beat them up for you?” Chopper huffs and storms over to Zoro. Zoro barely responds to the reindeer, too focused on the fact that you'd just called him daddy. He breaks eye contact with you to pat the reindeer on the shoulder and threaten the rest of the crew into quieting their laughter. It only half works as multiple crewmates are still snickering under their breaths. Satisfied with the results of Zoro’s threat, Chopper sits next to Zoro. You think that all three of your unsuccessful attempts at flirting - even if they were unintentional - made him uncomfortable and decide that you'll apologise to him later when he's not surrounded by people. You excuse yourself to your room, saying that you'll start getting ready early. It's a perfect way to avoid Zoro without people getting suspicious.

You're in the middle of getting ready when the other girls enter the room. Nami and Robin both start comparing their wardrobe to the dress you have lying on the bed. When they decide on the dresses they want to wear, you get ready with casual chatter. Neither of them mention your green-haired problem. You try not to show your dejected mood.

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Zoro isn't as lucky as you. You're all the other men want to talk about as they get ready.

“I can't believe Pumpkin has been flirting with you all day. What do you have that I don't?” growls Sanji. Zoro would usually start listing off a bunch of traits, but his response this time baffles Sanji.

“She's been flirting with me?” he says. Sanji almost falls to his knees in pure annoyance.

“You're usually pretty observant, especially with her. Have you really not noticed?” asks Usopp. It finally all clicks in Zoro’s head, and he suddenly feels like he's going to throw up. You actually might reciprocate his feelings.

“I just thought she was teasing me”, Zoro says. You're no stranger to winding him up. His temper makes him an easy target for jokes.

“She called you my dad and then acted like my mum. She already thinks you're together,” says Chopper, heart secretly pounding at the thought of the two of you actually getting together.

“and I don't think she was just playing along with the joke”, adds Jinbe. “she looked very sincere.”

Zoro listens in silence, not having the energy to argue with six men as they recount your behaviour. Sanji points out how you had interrupted their fight to compliment Zoro specifically, and Luffy recalls your comment to him at the breakfast table, which makes everyone who wasn't there gasp. You've always been a jokester, but never have you gone out of your way to fluster someone like this.

“You need to tell her how you feel, " says Franky, the only one Zoro is even thinking of listening to on romance, considering he pulled Robin of all people. “Women like vulnerability and manly emotions. You've just got to be upfront and tell her you like her. Pumpkin is special; don't lose her,” he says, offering Zoro a thumbs up. Zoro just sighs and leaves the room.

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

You finish getting ready and turn around to show off to Nami and Robin, who are more than happy to hype you up. Getting ready and chatting with your best friends always makes you feel better. They look equally hot, which you're not shy about telling them. When the three of you finally head out to the deck, all the guys are already there. You hear a few wolf whistles, Jinbe politely compliments, and Sanji stares at the three of you with tears in his eyes. Zoro, however, avoids looking at you until you're directly in front of him. His eyes flicker down your body, and you instinctively follow suit, checking for imperfections in your outfit.

“You look nice,” He says; it sounds like he's forcing out the words, but you thank him for the compliment regardless. The tension is thick, and you don't think you'll even make it through dinner without talking it through first. Once everyone is ready to go, you say something before it's too late.

“Can we talk first? I just want to sort this out,” you say, and he nods despite looking puzzled. “You guys go on! Zoro and I need to talk,” you call as everyone starts to leave the ship. They all immediately agree and walk away with smug, knowing smiles.

Now that it's just you and Zoro, you're still trying to figure out what to say. You look down at your hands, desperate to avoid eye contact, and search your mind for how to begin your apology speech.

“So, Y/n, what did you want to talk about?” he asks, prompting you to start. Zorosing your real name instead of your crew-appointed nickname startles you, and you finally look up at him. Zoro’s always been a scary figure to the public, but this is the first time you're feeling shaken by his presence.

“I just want to apologise for making you uncomfortable.” you stutter your way through your first sentence, and even more confusion washes over Zoro’s face. “It was completely unintentional, but I still accidentally flirted with you. I really like you, and sometimes, I say mildly inappropriate things on instinct. And I'm sorry if anything I did today made you feel bad. I'm also sorry for admitting I like you when you definitely don't like me back. Why would a man like you want me? Anyway, that's beside the point. I just wanted to say sorry so that we don't have to sit through dinner with this awkward tension I've created.” you say, taking a deep breath as you prepare yourself for his response. He takes a minute to take in everything you said to him, and you hope you didn't make it worse.

“Okay, first question. What made you think I was uncomfortable? I froze up because you flustered me, which you wouldn't have been able to do if I didn't like you." Your mind doesn't even register the initial question; you can only focus on the last half of his sentence. You don't know how to respond, being completely shocked. He continues, unbothered. “Second question, who says I don't like back? Why wouldn't I like you?”

“That's two questions.”

“don't deflect, baby” He takes another step towards you, hesitantly resting his hands on your hips. “look, I hate sugarcoating shit. I like you. The rest of this insane crew has been bugging me for days about coming clean. I like everything about you. How could you think a woman like you isn't enough for a demon?” You both probably look like idiots, holding each other with bright smiles. He's in your arms, and he does like you back. “Now, do you wanna go to dinner and pretend we didn't confess our love for each other or do you wanna kiss me?”

You don't even verbally respond to his question and lean up to pull him into a deep kiss. He kisses you back with a passion and strength that could only belong to Zoro. He's so sure in his feelings for you that it makes you weak in the knees. His tongue pushes its way into your mouth as his hands move over your body. Big palms smooth and squeeze every part of you they can reach, and you groan against his mouth as he grabs your ass.

“my bed”, you pant as he pulls away from the kiss. “If the others come back, then the girls are way less likely to barge in”, you explain, grabbing his hand and pulling him to your room.

As soon as you walk through the door you turn around to face him and pull him right back down to your mouth. It's easy to get lost in his kisses; they're reassuring you that he likes you and only you. His kisses are intense, and they make you dizzy. Your nails dig into his biceps as he moves his kisses across your jaw and down your neck. You let out a moan that makes him groan against your skin.

“Been waiting for this for so long, baby.” his voice has you in a chokehold. You couldn't focus on anything else if you tried.

“me too,” you whimper, moving your hand to his hair and keeping him in place.

“Can I mark you? let everyone see you're mine?” You frantically nod, and Zoro nips at your neck to let you know your response isn't enough. You don't need to be told. You know Zoro well enough to guess he'd want you to be vocal.

“yes, please.”

With your confirmation, he attaches his mouth back to your neck as he slowly backs you up towards your bed. His teeth anchor him as he sucks on the skin, marking it so everyone knows you’re taken. When he's finished, he trails his mouth back up to your lips and presses a soft kiss to your lips. He pulls back to take another look at you, and he feels whatever coils control his emotions tighten. You look beyond fucked out, and he's barely even touched you. You're staring up at him in awe and desperation, and he can't believe what he's seeing. He thanks every deity he doesn't even believe in that you're in front of him, looking the way you do. The way your eyes shine with love and respect makes him feel funny inside, and he needs to voice it so he doesn't explode.

“You're so beautiful”, he whispers, kissing you again. “You're too good for me” He adds. You protest but are once again cut off by his lips. His fingers find the bottom of your dress, and he looks you over again. “You look so good in this. Do a twirl for me?” when you oblige and give him a full three-sixty view of the dress, he whistles lowly. He gives you one last request to take the dress off for him while he sits down on your bed.

“Can you start me off? I can't reach my zipper,” You ask, turning around. Without a word, Zoro tugs the zip down your back, and you hear him hiss slightly at the sight of your bare skin. You face him again and slowly push your dress down your body, trying to be as seductive as possible. The satisfied smile on Zoro's face tells you you're doing a good job. You unclip your bra, and his eyes greedily take in the newly exposed skin. He's practically salivating in anticipation but remains in his seat and lets you finish. He audibly moans as you turn around and bend over, slowly pulling your underwear down your legs. You kick off your shoes and approach Zoro as he takes off his shirt so you don't have to be alone in your nakedness.

He lies back against your mattress, beckoning you to join him. You climb on top of him, pressing a kiss to his lips before trailing your lips across his chest and down his abs, stopping at his waistband. Your hands are shaky and desperate in their attempt to unbutton his trousers, but you do and follow it by yanking them down and exposing his cock.

He's big. That much was evident to anyone who looked at him, but you never expected it to be as big as it is. It clearly shows on your face as Zoro runs his hand through your hair.

“Don't take more than you can” he says as you swirl your tongue around the tip of his cock. As soon as you wrap your lips around him, he feels like he's about to burst, and he immediately uses his grip on your hair to stop you. “on second thought, if you suck me off right now, I won't last very long. C'mere,” he says, pulling you up his body. “Let me get you ready for me. Sit on my face, pretty girl,” he says, trying to help you get situated above his face.

“Are you sure?” You ask, hesitant to lower yourself at all. Insecurity creeps in on you as you think about the possibility that he might not like the way you taste or you might crush him. He growls at the question, almost considering it an insult, before he realises that you need reassurance.

“Do I sound unsure to you? You better sit that pretty fucking pussy on my face right now,” he says, pulling you down flush against his mouth. His nose nudges at your clit as his tongue explores your dripping hole. You're so disgustingly wet, and Zoro loves it. He's messy with his eating, making obscene noises, so you know just how much he likes your taste. The vulgar slurping of his tongue as he all but makes out with your pussy makes you slightly embarrassed, but it's so sexy how much he enjoys pleasing you. You lose focus quickly, unable to pay attention to anything that isn't your man's glorious tongue. His enthusiasm would've had you toppling over if it wasn't for the grip he has on your thighs. “Grind on my face”, he instructs, with a slap to your ass, and this time you don't waste any time before doing as he says. You're fast approaching your orgasm as you rock against his face, and all you can do is moan his name and reach down to grip his hair. When your first orgasm washes over you, Zoro’s grip on you holds you in place as he licks you through your orgasm. You haven’t had someone else make you cum in so long, and having Zoro there makes you feel more satisfied than you have in a long time. When your hips stop moving and your breath slows down, Zoro slowly moves you off his face and helps you lay against the pillows.

“You feeling ok?” he asks, although the giddy smile on your face and the dazed look in your eyes answer his question before you even open your mouth. The Zoro from a few years ago would’ve laughed at Zoro now, A man with the monicker king of hell giving his entire heart and soul to someone else. You nod at him, giggling as he rolls on top of you. He uses his arms on either side of your face to hold himself up. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss you again. You never want to stop kissing him, and he realises this when you don’t let him pull away to speak. The way you cling to him fuels his pride. He gives up on trying to talk and kisses you back. One of his hands squeezes your boob before trailing down the rest of your body and cupping your pussy. He plays with your clit as you make out, working your up again. You try to adjust your hips so that he can slip his fingers inside you, but when he doesn't do that, you groan in frustration. “If you want something, you gotta tell me,” he says, voice dark with lust.

“Stop teasing me and fuck me”, you whine, reaching between your bodies to grasp at his cock. He lets you guide him to your entrance before swatting your hand away. He slides his cock between your folds, gathering your wetness and gives his cock a few pumps to coat it in your juices.

“Are you sure you can take it?” he asks, unable to resist teasing you for a little longer. You let out a bratty whine and writhe beneath him.

“Of course, I can take it” " you insist, despite your worries that you can’t. You’ve never slept with anyone as big as him.

“Atta girl”, he mumbles against your lips before pushing his cock into your hole. “Relax for me, baby”

You try to focus on his lips, kissing and sucking wherever he can reach and relax your body so he can bottom out inside you. He gets three-quarters of the way in before he starts to get impatient. He takes a few shallow thrusts to ease himself the rest of the way in, and the feeling of your cunt wrapped around him tears a feral growl from deep in his chest. You are equally affected, head thrown against the pillows as you moan his name. He rubs at your hips, attempting to soothe you so he can start moving. When you give him the go-ahead, he pulls out most of the way and thrusts back in, slowly picking up the pace as you claw at his back, looking for something to hold onto.

“That's it, hold on tight, baby,” he says, encouraging you to scratch up his skin. You're the perfect fit for him; Your pussy grips him so good that you almost have him believing in fate for a second. He can smell your sweat in the air, and though it should be gross, he buries his face in your neck to inhale your scent even closer. Neither of you speak from this point, and you don’t need to. You’ve both already said you wanted, and now all that's left is the sound of your moans and the way your bodies intertwine. When you pull him against you, tilting his head so that you can attach your lips to his neck and replicate the pretty marks he left on your skin, he almost cums on the spot. He belongs to you as much as you do him. Your legs shake around his waist, and your moans devolve into high-pitched whimpering, signalling your impending orgasm. He's not far behind, so he reaches a hand between you to rub your clit, and you're instantly sent over the edge. Your orgasm crashes down on you as you arch into Zoro's chest as much as you can. Your legs lock around his waist, giving him nowhere to go but over the edge with you. You gush around him with a cry of his name as he groans expletives in your ear. He fills you up with his cum, cock twitching inside you. He doesn’t pull out when he's finished, choosing instead to get comfy on your chest until you calm down. His hands tenderly rub at your tired limbs. When your breathing evens out, he gently pulls his cock out of you, hissing at the loss of warmth. He leans down to press an appreciative kiss to your tummy.

“You’re all mine, yeah?” he asks, pressing a sweet kiss to your cheek.

“Always”, you respond, pulling him in to kiss your lips. His hands merely brush against your chest, and he feels himself getting hard again.

“What do you say we go for a round two in the shower?” he asks, playfully nipping at your lower lip.

“I’d like that”, you hum as he scoops you up and heads off towards the bathroom

✩♬ ₊˚.☁️⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The other nine strawhats sit around the table at their booth, eating their meals, when Luffy realises the two of you are still not there.

“Y/N and Zoro aren't back yet”

“If they're not back yet that probably means they're banging” says nami, through a mouthful of food.

“Don't even speak about Pumpkin with that idiot” grumbles Sanji, stabbing at his plate.

“Stop complaining Sanji, it was always gonna be them” says Franky.

“Well, guess we better wait a bit before heading back to the ship” says Luffy, still stuffing his face.

Everyone's been rooting for you two from the beginning.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed :)

comments and reblogs are appreciated ♡

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

[aritamargarita]

SOLITUDE || 001

hello and welcome to the debut of solitude. to all my current readers, you already know what’s up, but to new and curious readers, this installment is based off of climbing the food chain of wwe, taking place in mostly the modern era, so there are superstars spanning from 2013 the earliest to 2022..

just let me cook on the timeline a little bit okay, you'll like it LOL. there’s a lot of Twitter segments in this so i hope it’s not annoying, they’re going to die down for the most part later i promise

without further ado, please enjoy!

TODAY IS THE first day of your call up. The support you’ve gotten from your friends from the training center was wonderful, but you’re still feeling antsy and incredibly nervous. Hopefully, your first day on the brand goes well..

Shawn Michaels was the one to break the news that you were getting called up. You could remember it so clearly because you completely ambushed him with an excited hug once he dropped the bomb on you.

He had patted your back and told you to lighten your grip a little bit, but not without a grin on his face.

If it’s one thing you deserve, it is the chance to expand your career. You always came early, and you were always prepared to learn.

You weren’t sure how to feel when he told you that you’d be heading to the main roster.

You only started as a superstar on the indie circuit and are only used to being on much smaller channels and local shows. You couldn’t even imagine being on WWE, which was broadcast on national television!

He had seen the look on your face and quickly tried to do damage control.

“We’re soft-launching you, or however you kids say it these days,” He told you. You think he grumbled something about how social media was confusing, but you brushed him off. “As an interviewer, I mean.”

“Huh..” You give a shrug. “As long as I can wrestle sometime.”

He had assured you that you will, sooner than you think, but they just wanted to focus on your speaking. Once they (and you), were more confident, they’d allow you to be in much more opportunities.

Such is life, you guess. Get through these obstacles for a bigger reward. You gave your gratitude to Shawn as you had a lot to look forward to.

If you’re not mistaken, WWE had already posted a teaser on their twitter. For some reason, you would find yourself constantly checking the tweet.

@WWE ✓

We hear someone is entering the scene… 👀

1.2K reposts 120 quotes 14K likes

—is what it said. The flurry of tweets under it were mixed. Lots of people wanted to know what the deal was, though some were already speculating it was an old star coming back.

However, the few fans that knew of your work had their guesses. Some of the pictures you posted on Instagram were cryptic hints, but you knew how the internet was. Crazy detective work..

But anyhow, people around the training center know that you’re pretty introverted. You only came to get some work done and go home. It was hard for others to get to know you at first.

They like to call you shy, but you’ve started to hate that word the more it’s used. It holds you back too much. You won’t make it far if you’re stuck with that description for your entire life.

Fortunately, they know what you lack in words is made up for in the ring. There’s no question that you’re good, you just tend to get nervous when speaking to the public.

At heart, you knew they wanted to help you out, and they wanted you to become the best you can be! If you start practicing, you’re sure to be a star!

As motivating as it sounds, it’s still stressful. Going out of your comfort zone was nothing new. It’s a given if you want to wrestle properly, but it still makes you uneasy.

You know you’ve gotta put your best foot forward and do this despite it. This was your only chance, and you absolutely can’t mess this up.

Most of the people still training had given you their well wishes. It’s heavily appreciated; after all, you won’t see them anymore unless they’re called up there themselves.

You think you’ll miss Carmella the most. She was your training buddy, and you think she was the most excited about you getting called up. You hope that she’ll be next soon enough….

As of right now, you look tired. You damn sure feel tired.

It causes you to lie down on the floor of the locker room. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but fuck it. You’ve already made a bad decision by staying up all night out of excitement. It’s starting to come back to you.

Of course, you came to the arena a little too early. (which was an inside joke between coaches, you’re too punctual for your own good..)

You were sure most of your coworkers hadn’t arrived yet, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to see them. It’s not that you don’t want to, you’re just nervous to meet them.

Especially since you’ll probably be half asleep and may forget their names.

Much to your misfortune, a woman comes in, sunglasses on and suitcase handle clenched in hand.

She only lowers them with a finger once you’re in view. “Oooh,” She starts, then clicks her tongue. It’s apparent that she’s mocking you already. “..You look like trash.”

“Thanks,” You say with a sigh. “It’s so appreciated.”

This is not a good start. You make the move to get up off the comfortable ground and the woman puts a hand on her hip.

She’s not very amused, moving a free hand to flip her blue hair. “Did they get me a personal makeup artist? Or…are you just everyone’s stylist? Never seen you here before.”

“I’m new. An interviewer.” You say. Giving yourself that title feels much weirder than saying you were a wrestler. “Pray tell, who am I talking to?”

She’s a little taken aback by the cynical tone in your voice but takes her sunglasses off. This woman doesn’t think she’s met her match yet.

“Of course you don’t recognize a celebrity when you’re in front of one. Let me refresh your memory a bit. How does this sound? The boss, the blueprint, the standard!” She pauses for a bit for dramatic effect. “…Sasha Banks. And I better not have to repeat myself. Who exactly are you?”

“You have a pretty name.” You start off with. Honestly, you didn’t want to make an enemy out of her as much as she wanted to make one out of you. You hope she could see that. “I’m [Name], and you’re right. I am new. Maybe we can get to know each other a bit more.”

It actually seems to work because she falters for a second. “…What?”

You hold out your hand to her and she looks at it for a moment before shaking it with a scowl. Before you realize it, she’s already taking her hand back.

“I’m assuming you’re wrestling? Do you have a match?” You quickly ask, not giving her a second to recover. “I’d like to interview you after if you do.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sasha drops her suitcase. She’s unsure if she could stand your bright personality for a second longer. You’re going to be a problem in the future. “Sorry, not sorry, but you’re a nobody. What’s the point?”

“It was worth a try. But if that’s what you want I won’t force you.” Sasha rolls her eyes at your response. You’re way too nice. “At least tell me, do you think it’s fun here?”

“Fun?” She repeats. “Tch, I know you didn’t just ask if it was fun. Get real. There’s nothing fun about being here. There’s only one thing that matters, and it’s the Divas Championship. Got it?”

“Got it.” You nod. Divas Championship…duly noted. You don’t think you’ll be going for it anytime soon. “Who’s got it?” You’ll have to ask if the standard Women’s Championship was still in circulation as well.

“AJ Lee.” She answers. It’s the least snarky answer she’s given you so far, but she reverts back to it. “I swear, I’m gonna drag her ass across the mat for that title. She makes me sick with her skipping around.”

You voice your thoughts. “She skips?” That’s one way to get to the ring. You’re curious now. “I wonder if I can interview her…she must have a lot to say about her reign so far.”

“What?” Sasha’s immediately offended. “Um, no. Who says you’re interviewing her first? You’re obviously going to interview me first.”

It’s contradictory to what she’s said before, but because of it, there’s a smile growing on your face. She notices and jabs her index finger toward you. “You can wipe that smile off your face, rookie.”

“So be it. I will see you afterwards.” You agree to interview her, doing your best to fight the smile off.

Sasha huffs and leaves the room for now. Your eyes follow her, and once she’s gone, you shrug to yourself. Wow.

Well, that’s one way to get an interviewee.

Almost seconds after her departure, your phone vibrates and you see it’s a notification from Twitter. After that, the tweets start to flow in.

What now?

@SashaBanksWWE ✓

I ALWAYS come first. Don’t forget that, rookie. @Officially[Name].

4.1K reposts 250 quotes 45K likes

@No1DivazStan: Wait…?

↳ @Sashabanksfan109: Literally like who is that??? What is she talking about?

Oh boy. Now people actually are getting the idea. She even went as far as tagging you. You’re already starting to have people follow you.

Including Sasha, which was a plus!

You’re confident about things for a moment until the thought of having to talk to her live circles back. Shit, you might start to freak out a little.

You hope Sasha wouldn’t be too harsh on you, even if it were wishful thinking. Sasha’s gonna come in hot, especially if she loses. You have no choice but to adjust.

A few more moments of silence pass, and suddenly the floor is calling you again.

You immediately lay back down. How long until the show? You take your phone out of your pocket and check the time. 6:45. The show starts at around 7. Maybe 8 if there are any delays.

Would it be wrong if you took a quick nap? It’ll only be 15 minutes, but it might just be enough to keep you going for the rest of the night.

You’re already closing your eyes. You know you’re going to be unable to hit any major stages of sleep, but even just laying like this is nice.

Until the door opens. You’re shooting up from your spot, almost falling over in the process.

“I WASN’T SLEEPING.” You clarify, doing your best to stand up. The woman, who’s not Sasha this time, looks at you in confusion.

She points a finger at you. “Ya’ sure about that? From the looks of it, it seemed like you were knocked out for a second.” Her accent is the first thing that catches your attention as she starts to motion towards you.

“No, no, not at all.” You try to defend. “Can’t a woman stretch on the floor in peace?”

“Seriously, you call that stretching?” Before she can make any more sarcastic comments toward you, she turns to look at you. “I’ve never seen you around before. Got a name?”

She is trying her best to identify you to no avail. You hop up to your feet, then hold your hand out to her. “[Name]. I’m just an interviewer right now, yeah. I’m new. Who are you?”

“Becky. Becky Lynch.” She introduces, taking your hand to shake it firmly. You swear you’ve seen her before, too. Probably on Twitter. Guess Becky isn't the only one with deja vu.

You pray you wouldn’t forget her or Sasha’s name for that matter. You can’t fight the urge to yawn.

“Someone’s tired. You should go get some water before you pass out. Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

This is a nice change of pace from Sasha. Despite you trying to kill her with kindness, she’s just all kinds of intimidating, while this woman is…okay.

Water may do the trick. It might just be cold enough to wake you up. “Good idea. Anywhere I can get some?”

“Should be a cooler down the hall to your right.” She informs. “See, I’d offer to get it for you, but I’ve got a match to get ready for.”

“Well, thanks anyway.” But before you leave, Before you leave, you turn over to her. “This may be an assumption, but are you going against Sasha Banks?” You ask. You could be wrong, but it’s worth a shot to see.

She nods at you. “Smart girl. How’d you know?”

“I talked to her a bit earlier. She wouldn’t exactly tell me she was going in a match, but I guess it was safe to assume it was you.” You say. “If you’d like to be interviewed, I’ll be waiting backstage.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Becky says. She’s more concerned about you getting your water. “Go, I might be here when you get back. Don’t pass out.”

You make a noise to let her know you heard her. Did you make a new friend? You think so.

You’re still a bit disoriented from the lack of sleep. You only made it a few steps down the hall before forgetting the direction she told you to go. Great.

This hallway seemed horribly long. The more you walked, the more you felt like it extended somehow. You need a nap, but you don’t think you’re going to get it until retiring back to your hotel room.

A group of men dressed in what seems to be tactical clothes are sitting around nearby, and you find yourself approaching them in a sudden spur of confidence. It’s probably because you’re tired.

“Excuse me,” you call. All three of them look at you with curious looks, and you feel like you could just up and die right there.

Doesn’t exactly help that they’re all kind of attractive, either.

“Where can I get some water? It feels like I’m dying here.” You ask, using your hand to rub the side of your face.

To them, you looked like you had just completed a damn marathon run. One of them with short brown hair whispers something to another with half-blonde, half-black hair, and you look between them curiously.

You don’t have time for whispers. You want water. It makes you think about purposely passing out in front of them. Rude and manipulative, sure, but you’re not here to gossip!

The other one speaks up to you instead. He’s also got long hair, but you think the most noticeable thing was his sleeve tattoo. You may have been staring too long because he snapped his fingers to get your attention.

At least he wasn’t glaring at you. There was a handsome smile on his face. “You there? Don’t tell me we’ve lost you already. You just got here.”

“Sorry. I’m really tired.” You admit. “Really, REALLY tired. Water would be nice.”

“To your left,” He says. “Should be one over there.”

The exasperation in your voice is ever present when you say: “Thank you!”. You’re dying here. You’ll have to come back and thank your only savior after replenishing yourself. Turning away, you head in the direction he told you.

You don’t hear the snickering behind you as you leave. Too busy thinking about hydration at this point.

Going further down, you see that there still is no water cooler. You’re only met with a dead end, and though there are doors, the signs only tell you that they’re just control rooms.

You’re confused. Why would he send you that way? You turn around and head back the way you came as it must’ve been an honest mistake.

You see them still sitting there with smiles. “Hey, excuse me,” you call, waving your hand. “There’s no water over there. Are you sure it’s that way?”

“We know.” The man who gave you instruction earlier had said. “We just wanted to mess with you a bit. Go that way.” First day on the job and people are already trying to rib you? Goddamn it.

On the bright side, it seemed to be lighthearted. Or so you hope.

This time, you hope, he points the correct way. The only thing you can do is let out a sigh and move forward. You don’t even stay to listen to anything else he says.

"Don't take it to heart!" One of them yells behind you.

You scoff to yourself. This time, they redeemed themselves because you found that lovely water cooler. You immediately pick up the pace and reach out to snatch a cup.

Finally, cold water. You're sure you'll wake up this time. You're almost half tempted to pour some on your face, but you aren't THAT unhinged. Besides, you don’t want to waste it.

The moment you lift your cup and and take a refreshing sip, someone saying “hey” makes you look over, and you nearly spit your drink out.

The guy that had given you the wrong direction had come around. You cough up bits of water, holding a hand on your chest. “Why?! God, you scared the hell out of me!”

“Sorry.” He apologizes. You’re not so sure if it’s sincere. “Stephanie McMahon told me about you. You’re [Name], right?”

It takes you a second to reply and he looks at you expectantly. You hold your hand up. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s me.” You nod.

“Roman,” He introduced himself back, setting his hands on the vest of his tactical gear. “I know it’s your first day and all, but do you know who’s in charge?”

“….Vince McMahon?” You offer with a shrug.

Roman chuckles, shaking his head. “You were close. But that’s not it. The Authority is the one in charge.” He clarifies to you. “And you’d best be on their side. Tell me, new girl. Do you plan to be on the side of justice?”

Truth be told, you’re a little intimidated. Again.

You wonder if you even had a choice right now. Before you answer him you decide to take a sip of water, this time, without coughing up a lung.

“Justice, what do you mean by that?”

“The Authority is seeking to make sure that everyone keeps in line.” He explains. “We’ve already got a hold on the men’s division, but the women’s division….”

He trails off, looking toward you expectantly.

“I’m just an interviewer.” You hold your hands up in defense. “I don’t know anything about wrestling. Like anything.”

A lie, but you don’t exactly want to get involved.

You thought it felt weird to call yourself an interviewer, but now you’re going to hold onto that title until it’s convenient enough for you….

“Don’t give me that crap. I know exactly what you are.” So much for that. Roman gets closer to you and you move back just a little. It doesn’t do much, because he’s still in your space.

You’re starting to feel cornered.

“And what I don’t appreciate is people lying to me. Listen, [Name]. Pretty girls like you are always smart. If you knew what’s good for you, you’d better—“

“Hey guys!” A new voice makes you look over Roman. “Roman…and….who’s this?” He points a finger over to you.

“[Name].” You say. This guy might be your potential savior.

He doesn’t really pester any further than that, oddly enough. “Cool. You guys wanna take a selfie?” Before you two could even answer, he’s already approaching with a phone in hand.

“Wait,” You try to stop him. “I’m not ready—“

All Roman does was glare at the camera while you were holding out your hand toward it. He’s already took it and you were caught in the worst off guard moment.

“You guys better get ready for Raw. It starts in like five minutes.” The man recommends. “Thanks for the selfie.”

He saunters off and Roman shakes his head. After the stranger had made some distance, he finally speaks to you. “I can’t stand Theory’s dumbass.”

“Theory?” You repeat. “Who?”

“Austin Theory.” He clarifies. “Won’t stop taking those stupid selfies. It’s all the goddamn time.”

You slowly nod, but take advantage of the fact Austin had said there’s only five minutes until Raw starts. “Gosh. This was such a nice meeting, but I had better get going. You know, interviews and stuff to do.”

Roman says nothing, so you take the opportunity to side-step and walk past him. However, he doesn’t let you get far before saying…

“Better think about what I said. You don’t have much time.”

You’re hoping that wasn’t a threat. And now that you think about it?

He didn’t even apologize for leading you the wrong way!

You were just trying to get ready to be on television. You did everything you could to stand out for your debut, despite some people knowing that you’d show up sometime.

You can only imagine the pre-show talks around on social media. God, you hope you weren’t sweating. You think you’re just overreacting, but you feel like you’re gonna cry.

If you weren’t awake before, you sure are now.

Your phone starts buzzing again on the vanity you were seated at. The stylist who was helping you get things together had stepped away earlier, leaving you be with your thoughts.

Until now. The moment you pick up your phone and open Twitter, you groan.

Roman was right about the selfies being stupid.

Austin had posted it on Twitter. The only thing you’re really focused on is yourself. You look a disheveled mess and you’re happy you could fix yourself up a little bit right now.

You’re reeling as you read some of the responses. Although, some were funnier than others…

@Theory_1 ✓

Roman and some new girl are here today! I caught them in their natural habitat.

1.8K reposts 130 quotes 37K likes

@annsweet_: OMG FREE HER???? WHY DOES SHE LOOK SCARED LMAO

↳ @Lilgrab$78: Nah fr they holding her hostage in there

@Biilionnsmind: Are you serious? [Name] Theory AND Roman? This has gotta be the multiverse

↳ @YourChampion0: Not gonna lie they might be an item. Guess we’ll see if they have something going on or they just were filming something.

@bellstrings: Wait not too much on [Name]…face card is still ACTIVE and ready to TAP!

Along those lines of being mentioned, Austin had followed you as well. But seeing yourself being the talk of others is just surreal. You’re happy about it.

“Hey, [Name].” A stagehand calls. “You’re on in about 2 minutes. You’ll be interviewing Sasha Banks. It’s the only person you’ll be doing, so you’re free to go home after.”

Alright then. You hop up out of your seat. You looked good enough, so you didn’t exactly need that stylist to come back. Your time to shine.

You let the stagehand lead the way to where you’re supposed to be positioned. It’s a nice set up, you think. There’s a red curtain behind you as well as a television settled with “Raw” displayed on it.

“Sasha lost because of interference.” The stagehand informs you. “She’ll go on about the details. But just ask her some questions. She should be here any second now.”

You’ll try. The camera is already settled in front of you, waiting for the go ahead. As soon as he said that, Sasha comes storming into the room. He signals toward the both of you that he’s rolling.

“Wow, Sasha..!” You exclaim, shaking your head. “That was definitely……a match.”

Sasha looks at you with a scowl. “You think?! Becky only got lucky because AJ came out all peppy. I almost had her.” She complains. “I had Becky in the Bank Statement. She was about to tap…”

She literally has to stop talking and take a breath before she loses it. Everyone, even the crowd, can tell that she’s STEAMING.

“…Uh, do you think you’ll need help in the future for AJ? It looks like she’s posing a really big threat to you.” You say. “Cause’ if you’re asking me, it looks like you may need a future tag partner.”

You’re going steady, despite the fact your hand may or may not be shaking a bit. You’re just glad that this segment wasn’t out in the ring. You tilt the mic over to Sasha.

All you had to do was pretend like the camera wasn’t there and that you were having a simple conversation. Everything’s just fine.

You had hoped she would understand that you were insinuating that you could be of assistance, but she takes it the wrong way.

“What, you think I’m not good enough?” She challenges, stepping closer to you. “You think I can’t beat AJ on my own? She’s the one that needs help. That’s why she gets Tamina to do her dirty work. Let me remind you that I’m Sasha Banks. I was the NXT Women’s Champion. The Boss can handle herself in battle and she damn sure doesn’t need someone that’s gonna hold her back.”

“I get it, jeez. I was trying to help you, Sasha.” You explain. It might be a chance to get you active in the ring.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing your job and asking me questions? I don’t need your help.” She fires back.

Whatever. You just shrug it off. “Fine. You want questions, I’ll give you questions. You tagged me on Twitter. When you tagged me on Twitter, was that you trying to put me on notice?”

It’s easy for her to bounce off of what you said.

“You clearly act like you have no idea who I am. Maybe now you’ll get a clue. As a matter of fact, you better leave that fake little sweet innocent act at the door, cause I see right through you.”

“What act? I’m just being me.” It’s true. You really are!

“Right, and Becky must be the best wrestler on the planet…hah! That’s hilarious even thinking about it.” Sasha falls into a laugh, and you fight the urge to smile at her contagious laugh. Instead, you wipe it off in order to look confused.

She takes a breath. “You know what? You wanna help me, prove it to me. You and me, a match next Monday. I know that you’re not gonna do well, but I’ll have fun destroying you anyways, rookie.”

This was your chance!! You can’t fight the excitement, so you immediately agree. “Yes! I mean, yeah. Absolutely. It’s a match, Sasha. Shake on it?”

You offer your free hand to her. Despite her gritting her teeth, she takes it.

Sasha thinks you’re too excited, but she’d be lying if she wasn’t curious to see how you’d fare against her.

Your first match is against Sasha Banks. Thinking about it seemed so surreal. You’ve got a lot to prepare for next Monday.

Sasha’s eyes seem to catch onto something behind you and she groans, snatching her hand back. “Not her—“

“I wasn’t expecting you here, Sasha!” There’s a woman who’s slightly shorter than you that comes over with a championship tucked over her arm. This must’ve been the Divas championship, if the words on the butterfly weren’t evident enough.

“You know, not after you lost. Thought you would’ve went home by now!” She holds onto it even tighter once Sasha gave her a nasty look.

“You must be AJ Lee?” You try to divert some of the tension. “It’s nice to see the divas champion face to face.”

Sasha gags, but AJ giggles at your words. She rubs a hand over the butterfly, looking at you. “Oh pssssh, this? It’s nothing major…it just means I’m the best, but seriously, nothing major. Oh, and Sasha? Sorry Tamina made you lose focus…no hard feelings?”

Sasha rears her fist back and you immediately try to jump in the middle of them. Might’ve been a dumb decision, but it made Sasha immediately freeze once you did. You’re not even sure if AJ flinched.

You’re planted firmly in between them without any plans of moving anytime soon. “Woah, woah woah, can we hold off on the fighting PLEASE?! Why don’t you guys settle it in the ring, just like me and Sasha are?”

“You guys…” AJ looks between you two. “…are wrestling each other? Huh.”

You nod at her. “Yeah. I think you should follow suit. It’s obvious you two have problems.”

“Well, you’re right. It’s not like can’t beat you again, Sasha!” AJ chimes. “Anyway, I’m going to go polish my title! Don’t wait up for me, ladies!”

And just like that, AJ skips off. Sasha slowly turns to look at you and the only thing you can do is look back at her.

“I don’t care,” She starts, pointing a finger at you. “You’re helping in whatever happens, rookie.”

“What?! Why me??” You whine. “This isn’t my issue, the only thing I’m worried about is our match.“

As she’s said earlier, she doesn’t care. “You heard me. All you’ve gotta do is be ready. When I tell you to do something, you go.”

She leaves you with that. An exasperated sigh falls from your lips.

You’ve got more than just your match to worry about now..

#RAWTonight

@WWE ✓

A nearly explosive confrontation tonight on Raw between AJ Lee, [Name], and Sasha Banks. Watch below! 👇🔥

6.7K reposts 310 quotes 67k likes

@xXHibiscus: THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING!???!!!

↳ @WomenofWWE: Yess! This is what we need, a strong three-way feud! The newbie, the underdog, and the champion. The storylines kind of have been getting boring. I wouldn’t mind Sasha & [Name] vs AJ, or maybe even AJ & [Name] vs Sasha.

↳ @RaeFed: [name] might’ve just saved us hold on

@RoseGambler: [Name] trying to be a peacemaker 😭

↳ @101Mariposa: SASHA WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO ROCK AJ PLEASE. SHE NEEDS TO MOVE

↳ @ThenNowForever: Why she hit the “Sasha, this isn’t you”??

@MarkPodcast: Never heard of [Name]..…is she new?

↳ @platinumstarred: yeah she was mainly on the indies, wasn’t bad at all like she was rlly good

↳ @MarkPodcast: Hopefully she’ll stay good while she’s here!

@Feistysummer: Sasha saying she doesn’t need help…then turns around and tells [Name] that she’s going to help LOL

↳ @Divas4L: They’re definitely going to be friends, if not best friends in the future..

[zaewriteshere]

Let me show the world how much I adore you

AO3 Link

You were never a big fan of PDA, struggling greatly with reciprocating or even accepting it.

It didn’t seem to deter Sova though, who was just head over heels for you, especially since your relationship just blossomed into a romantic one.

This man was going to be the death of you, wasn’t he ?

---

Despite having known Sova for a year – and having a crush on him for months – you were still getting used to the new status of your relationship, and most importantly…

You were still getting used to being the subject of PDA. 

You were way too shy to reciprocate the attention, always turning into a blushing mess whenever he held your hand, kissed your cheeks…

Especially when he would just surprise you and kiss you lovingly.

In your own private area, you were more at ease, however.

But the hunter was very eager to show everyone that you and him were dating, and didn’t want to leave room for interpretation.

The development of your relationship had ruffled some feathers, but since Killjoy and Raze were already dating, it was easier for Brimstone to accept it.

You were glad that Viper couldn’t care less.

You were brought back to reality when you felt a kiss on your temple, which made you freeze.

You heard a light chuckle next to you, and when you turned your head to your boyfriend, he just looked at you with a lovingly amused expression.

It only made your blush deepen. 

“Sasha…” You whined, burying your face in your hands.

“Yes, my love ?” He replied innocently.

You were about to say something to him, when Cypher interrupted you.

Your lover’s features immediately fell to a neutral stare.

“Good morning, you lovebirds. I’m sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering if you wanted any warm beverages ? I’m about to make some tea,” The agent explained, his tone light.

You took a moment to consider, but your thoughts scrambled once again when Sova put a hand on your thigh and scooted even closer to you.

“No, thank you,” He refused in your stance, still inching closer, not tearing his beautiful eyes away from the sentinel.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it, then,” Cypher replied, leaving you two to be.

You were about to say something to him, to lightly berate him on his temperament towards the tea lover, but you stopped yourself.

He probably already knew, and you already were aware of his reasons.

You also knew that if you asked him to stop his gestures, he would.

… But you did like it.

You were pretty sure Sova knew that, too.

Which was why he did it so often, probably.

“What are you thinking about ?” He whispered into your ear after kissing your cheek.

A chill ran down your spine.

“You,” You replied, honestly.

He smiled gently at you, his features softening.

You knew he loved your honesty and bluntness. 

He did admit that it was the main reason he fell for you in the first place.

“May I know what specifically ?” He enquired, rubbing his hand gently on your thigh.

You tried your best to not get distracted by the touch.

You failed.

It took you an embarrassingly long amount of time to give this simple answer : 

“I… Forgot…” You admitted, sheepishly.

He chuckled, clearly amused by how flustered you were by him and his actions.

“I didn’t know I had such a big influence on you, my love,” He said lovingly, bringing his free hand to caress your other cheek.

You almost leaned into the touch, forgetting you were in the lounge area.

You were quickly reminded by Jett’s voice.

“Shee, get a room,” She said, clearly not meaning anything bad.

It still made you tense up and jerk away from the touch, and you panicked internally.

Oh no.

Did you offend Sova by doing this ?

You didn’t mean for it to be mean, it was just your knee jerk reaction

Shyly glancing at your lover, you saw no hurt, only amusement and love in his eyes and expression.

The duelist giggled, not saying anything else, and going to the kitchen.

After making sure that she was out of earshot, your partner asked, a slight worry in his eyes : 

“Do you want to go to our room ?” 

You thought about it.

Finally, you shrugged. 

“Do you ?” You replied, tilting your head. 

He didn’t say anything, and instead got up from the couch.

You were about to do the same, but he scooped you into a bridal carry, which made you shriek in surprise.

“H-Hey !” You stuttered. “I can walk-”

He shut you up by lightly kissing your lips, already starting to walk towards your common room.

You fell quiet, not knowing what to do with yourself.

Should you wrap your arms around his neck ?

Should you just remain in this position ?

You didn’t have the time to even answer your own questions that you were already in your twin sized bed, Sova already cuddling you and kissing you everywhere he could reach. 

Checking with a glance if the door was closed, you relaxed when you realised that it was.

Finally feeling comfortable to reciprocate the gestures, you turned around to face him and giggled when he grew more insistent with his kisses.

You kissed him back when he finally landed on your lips, scooting ever so closer to him, his hands nesting themselves on your waist.

You both continued to cuddle and kiss each other lovingly, before your stomach grumbled rather loudly, making him smile through the kiss.

“Let’s get something to eat,” He announced, finally separating himself from your body, but not making any movement to leave the room.

He was just admiring you, and your probably dishevelled look after so much cuddling and kissing.

You nodded, slowly getting up to fix your appearance in the mirror.

“What are you doing ?” He questioned, looking at you.

You could feel his eyes roaming your body, before landing on your face’s reflection.

“Fixing my looks a bit,” You replied.

It was his turn to join you, wrapping his arms around your stomach.

“But you look stunning no matter what,” He whispered to you, his lips right at your ear.

You froze mid movement, feeling your face heat up. 

“C’mon,” You answered after a while. “They’re gonna think we were doing something else entirely…” You continued, somehow blushing harder.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that,” He stated, still whispering, moving his hands between your torso and belly.

Despite having been together for a week, you still didn’t do anything like that.

Touches like this was where it was at.

You wanted to take it one step at a time.

And you especially wanted to be able to reciprocate his PDA before making love with him.

You knew he was patient, and willing to wait until you were ready.

You were very lucky to have him as your lover.

Once you deemed you were presentable, you turned to him, wrapping your arms around his neck, your eyes locking onto his lips.

Sova didn’t make any movement to close the gap between the two of you, only smirking slightly.

He knew what you wanted.

Even though you were more comfortable behind closed doors, initiating was always a struggle for you.

Taking a deep breath, you closed the gap yourself, bringing him instinctively closer to you.

You could tell he was surprised, but with how he deepened the kiss, turning it to a more passionate one, you knew he was appreciative.

You stayed like this for a little bit, enjoying the kiss and the touch, before your stomach growled again, even louder this time.

Parting away, he chuckled.

“I know someone’s impatient to eat,” He stated, lightly poking at your belly.

You shrieked in surprise and pulled away slightly, which made him laugh.

You pouted, just a bit.

“Alright alright, let’s go,” He announced, letting go of you and going for the door.

Following his steps, he opened the door for you, gesturing you to go out.

Chuckling, you did as told, and he closed the door behind you, immediately choosing to hold your hand.

You blushed furiously, glancing at him.

He only held your gaze and smiled, proud of himself.

You sighed as you both started walking towards the kitchen, trying to control your expressions.

One thing you knew your lover adored was how easy it was to read you. 

It made everyday life easier, but your job was way harder than it needed to be.

Good thing your job wasn’t to be a spy.

Entering the cooking area, you noticed that only Jett was present, focused on cooking her own meal.

She noticed your entrance, and her eyes immediately darted to the joined hands.

“Oh my god, you’re holding hands,” She gasped dramatically. “So dirty, so explicit ! Get a room before I see your ankles !” She continued, gesturing wildly.

She looked further down, and since you were just wearing some shorts, she shrieked.

“Oh my goodness gracious, you did not !” 

Sova only chuckled, while you smiled a bit, still blushing.

You knew she was trying to help you – you did confess to her your want to have an easier time reciprocating his gestures, after all – and it did help you feel more at ease.

You just wished she could be a bit quieter…

Everyone was now either chuckling or smiling at you both, and you had to admit that you hated the attention.

Your partner – bless his soul – noticed your discomfort and physically shielded you away from the prying eyes.

You smiled at him, thankful, and he only squeezed your hand as an answer, looking around to make sure that by the time he stepped away, those same glances wouldn’t be on you.

After a couple of minutes, he kissed your forehead, and stepped away as he was letting you go, opening the fridge.

It took you a moment to join him in looking for something to eat.

“Anything catches your eye, my love ?” He questioned.

“How about I cook something ? What do you want to eat ?”

“How about Grenki ?” He replied after thinking for a moment, not before closing the fridge.

You nodded, familiar with the Russian breakfast.

He did teach you how to make some of his favourite meals, after all.

You opened the fridge again, taking what you needed from it, and since your lover refused to let go of your hand, he helped you carry what you couldn't with only one limb available.

As he let go of your hand, you started to prepare the food.

You weren’t really as surprised when he went behind you and hugged you as he looked at your actions over your shoulder. 

You still stopped mid-movement, trying to control the creeping heat of your face.

Once you judged you had it enough under control, you resumed your actions, and Sova was wise to not distract you any further when you started to heat up the pan.

He didn’t let go of you however, but his touch was comforting, reassuring.

You realised that the more exposed you were to his PDA, the easier it became for you to just…

Accept it, you guessed ?

A week ago you couldn’t even let him touch you for longer than a couple of seconds, always jerking away.

Now, you were comfortably cooking while he was hugging you from behind.

You were proud of yourself, and you were also pretty sure that he noticed the changes, too.

Soon enough, you were done cooking the meal for the both of you, and he lightly kissed your neck, making you shiver and blush.

“Thank you, my love,” He said, before looking at the plate. “Looks delicious,” He continued, detaching one of his hands to grab one plate.

“Thanks,” You replied. 

You hadn’t really found a nickname that suited him, or that you were comfortable using.

You weren’t big on them to begin with, but since he was so adamant on using them, you couldn’t really say no to that.

It did feel nice when he used it, though.

Sitting at the table next to each other, you started eating, sighing pleasantly when you swallowed your first bite.

You were quick to finish your portion, feeling filled.

You glanced at your partner, watching him slowly eating his meal.

“Do you like it ?” You questioned.

“It’s delicious, good job,” He praised, beaming at you.

You smiled at that, and waited patiently for him to finish his portion.

Once done, you took care of the plates, and he went to lay down on the couch.

You were about to sit at his feet, but thought about it for a bit longer.

Suddenly feeling very shy, you could feel your face heat up with embarrassment.

“Can I… Uh…” You started, fidgeting.

He snapped his attention to you, waiting patiently for you to form your words.

“Can I lay on top of you ?...” You finally asked, tearing your gaze away from his own.

He didn’t answer immediately, and you saw out of the corner of your eyes the pure surprise he was displaying.

“I- Of course you can, my love,” He stuttered, still recovering from the shock.

Nodding, you slowly climbed on top of him, chest against chest, and for the first time all week, it seemed like Sova didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Are-are you okay ?” You questioned, looking up at him.

His cheeks were slightly red as he looked down on you, but he smiled warmly.

“I am more than okay, my love,” He reassured, bringing one of his hands to cup your cheek and caress your cheekbone. “I just didn’t expect you to be so forward, or at least, this soon,” He continued, chuckling a bit.

You smiled, relieved.

You could feel your heartbeat fasten as you thought about kissing him like this, in the middle of the lounge, where anyone could walk in on you two.

He arched an eyebrow as he studied your face, clearly seeing that something was going on in your mind.

As you felt your heart pump through your chest, you slowly closed the gap between your face.

You stopped only a few centimetres away from his lips, and you stared into his slightly widened eyes.

Before you got cold feet, you closed your eyes and went in for a kiss, ignoring the footsteps closing in on you.

Your boyfriend’s surprise didn’t last very long as he parted lips to deepen the kiss, his hands roaming your body, not leaving one place untouched, not one he could reach at least.

Once you parted, you were both breathless, and he was looking at you with a newfound love.

He whispered your name, as if said any louder, it’ll break whatever bubble was around you.

“Yes ?” You answered in the same tone.

“I love you so much,” He said, which made your heart flutter and gave you butterflies in your stomach.

“I love you too, Sasha,” You barely had time to say his name that he was kissing you again.

For the rest of the day, Sova didn’t let go of you for one second, and if he couldn’t kiss your lips, he would kiss somewhere else until he could.

You weren’t complaining at all.

[wasted-women]

ROUND 1C, MATCH 1 OUT OF 8!

Cause of Death & Propaganda Under the Cut:

Allison Argent

Cause of Death: Stabbed by a demon

Propaganda:

She's so cool! She fights with a bow and arrow, she has complicated feelings on her werewolf boyfriend and is allowed to work through that, she's best friends with another girl who's also a banshee (should've dated her) and one of her first scenes is her hitting a dog with her car and bringing it to a vet(she's a mess! She's caring)

she was the protag's girlfriend and only died because the actress had to leave the show. it left a hole in the show that they never really managed to fill, and she is only really brought up to say "let's do this, it's what allison would tell us to do" or "I wish she was here." her father stays on the show and helps them in her memory but he and the protag suffer and learn from it the way most male characters in this trope do. she is brought back to life in the movie but it was mostly an excuse to get the cast back together again and took place years after the show finished. I don't really feel that it counts since she died in season 3 and the show had 6 seasons.

Jenny Calendar

Cause of Death: Neck snapped

Propaganda:

Jenny is so beloved to me. She was sent to Sunnydale, California to watch over the vampire that killed her family (Angel), told that he was supposed to suffer for all eternity, but after he saved her life + after she spent some time with him and the people who cared about him, she realized that she'd changed her mind and didn't want anything to do with continuing a mission of vengeance -- especially since Angel's girlfriend Buffy was also the mentee/surrogate daughter of Jenny's boyfriend Giles! Messy! Despite this, when Angel lost his soul and it came out that Jenny had been sent there to watch him, Jenny was immediately blamed, even though she'd had no idea that Angel would turn evil and TOLD everyone as much! She decided to try and find a way to resurrect old magic and give Angel his soul back, and Angel killed her in retaliation. Parts of the fandom talk about Jenny's death like it was necessary/a good thing/a good writing choice, but I don't think it was. Jenny's death is talked about by the showrunners as "proving that anyone could die," and her dead body was placed in Giles's bed, surrounded by red roses, subsequently inspiring him to try to go on a suicide mission and kill Angel. When the kids are looking at a drawing of her dead body, one of them says, "Wow. Poor Giles." Her death is very clearly engineered to raise the stakes by emphasizing how sad it is for Giles to lose her, and before her death, nearly all of her scenes centered around being Giles's girlfriend/love interest. She was never given a chance to develop as a character, and the only backstory they gave her was designed to push her towards death.

Amber Volakis

Cause of Death: Organ failure after bus crash

Propaganda:

This show likes to introduce new casts of supporting characters and cycle through old ones (some of them leave, some of them stay in reduced roles, and sometimes they come back into a main role later, but sometimes they don't) and I do like that. Amber was probably one of the best ones introduced in the row of new characters in Season 4 and even stayed interesting after being fired. I wasn't a big fan of her dating Wilson but it wasn't the worst thing. And then she was killed off. And her death basically only existed to make Wilson sad, or House sad and "crazy", and just. I don't know. It sucked that her death even happened when she had so much more potential as a living character!

[igotanidea]

Scrooge : Jason Todd x reader

Christmas bingo day 16: Scrooge

"What are you reading?"

She had quite a day at work. End of the year were always full of dealing with overdue stuff once everyone figured how many thing should be finished before Christmas. And she couldn't really hide the annoyance at her coworkers trying to get her to do their jobs and the tiredness at all that.

But once she walked through the door and saw Jason on the bed, looking all relaxed, happy, healthy and not bleeding or injured all that was left miles away. It was strangely comforting knowing that he felt enough peace to just indulge in a book and let his guards down while being at her their apartment.

She kicked off her shoes, hung her coat and snuggled next to his warmth ready to be pampered, even if that only meant as little as some cuddles.

"Christmas classics. The Christmas carol" he murmured not tearing his gaze from the story, which didn't stop him from wrapping an arm around her running fingers through her hair.

"Once a Dickens fan, always a Dickens fan" she smiled enjoying his touch and the feeling she was at home whenever he was around. "At what point are you?"

"the ghost of future Christmas"

"so you're almost finishing. How could you read a whole book without me?!"

"not sorry princess. Had to think." He put the book down looking into her eyes with an expression that was a mix of love, vulnerability and something she couldn't quite decipher.

"hey." It was impossible to not get alarmed. Y/n knew Jason ling enough to catch up when something was wrong. And this was it. "Jason." In a blink of an eye she was in a cross legged position sitting next to him, entwining their fingers, squeezing them reassuringly "Jason, talk to me baby. What's going on in your head?"

Asking Jason Todd to share his feelings and emotions was a russian roulette. It could backfire, turn him into a frenzy and become the reason of his walls going up preventing her from ever climbing them and reaching out. It could make him break down, turn into a mess of unhealed trauma, reliving the past and swimming in the sea of regret and misery. Or- it could make him open up, even if only a little, and actually talk to her, which was the outcome she was hoping for.

And that was why she was caressing his palm in a soft, soothing motion doing her best to show him she was not going to hurt him, she loved him and it was okay to get emotional. Despite all that time they have been together, Jason still needed reassurance he was not a burden or a pathetic mess.

That he was human and it was the most human thing to need to be be loved and accepted.

"y/n..." He stuttered a little before lunging forward and encompassing her in the tightest, most loving hug ever. Almost crushing her in the process since sometimes he was unaware of his own strength.

"im here. I'm here it's okay, talk to me" she hugged him back, knowing he was deep in some memories and needed grounding. Clearly her soothing voice and gentle touch free of any fear or urgency worked miracles on him.

"when I died and was relieved -" he shuddered

"we don't have to talk about that baby-"

"please just listen to me" he pulled back looking straight into her eyes for a moment before getting scared of showing too much and lowered his gaze. "When I died and was relieved, i always felt lonely-"

"i know"

"no matter how many lifes I've saved, how many bloody dirty deeds I finalised for greater purpose, I never felt good."

"Jason -"

"please just listen to me" he pleaded with a teary voice. "I never stopped to think about what I was loosing and how estranged I was. Bruce-" Jason shook his head, the memory of what his adoptive father did to him "I was like a Scrooge."

" what do you mean?" She frowned in a bit of confusion, not seeing the parallel. "It's not like you were hating Christmas or anything..."

"not just Christmas. Life itself."

"what?!" She almost jumped at those words. Now that was new. He never told her that and it took a lot of strength to not freak out straight away. A lot, when her first instinct was to grab his shoulders and demand answers immediately.

So she took a deep breath calming herself and giving him the most peaceful and loving gaze she could produce given the circumstances.

"do you still?" She smiled lightly cupping his cheek begging for him to say no.

He shook his head.

"not since I got you in my life. You make me want to be better."

"as cliché as that sounds" she chuckled before stopping herself, wishing it won't deter him and make him shut her out again. Luckily he only smirked.

"as cliché as that sounds" he repeated stroking her hair "and even if its not working most of the times"

"im so glad you're aware of your shortcomings"

"its not like you're letting me forget sunshine."

"you can count on me in that matter babe" she tilted her head in a funny way "feeling better now?"

"you just make it so easy you know" he shifted position leaning on the headboard and pulling her close so that her head was laying on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. One of the most visible sign of trust and vulnerability, letting her so close to him "making everything better. Brighter. For years I was scared I would die alone with no one even noticing or caring, and then you showed up and turned it all around." His warm breath hit her face, his whispers ringing in her ear. "I love you. I don't ever want to loose you."

"And it was the story that made you realise it?" She chuckled kissing his shoulders in a loving gesture.

"not only. But it definitely helped" he grinned, running fingers up and down her side, punching her waist causing her to let out a gasp.

Thank you Charles Dickens!" her soft, happy laugh was quickly muffled as Jason pulled her towards a kiss that seemed to be neverending and drowned all his sorrows and worries about the potential future Christmases.

He was not going to get a visit of three ghosts.

He didn't need them.

Not as long as she was his Christmas miracle.

[edelgarfield]

Forcing someone to watch a burlesque show when they're uncomfortable seems pretty messed up.

idk if you're actually a fan of critical role, but the post you're referencing is a hyperbole for comedic effect. nobody forces anyone to do anything. What happens is one character, Fearne, persuades another, Essek, to join the adventuring party in their room to chat. Essek originally declines, but then notices the inn is starting to put on a burlesque show and changes his mind, and says, paraphrased "on second thought, yes let's go upstairs."

the party, however, is interested in watching the show, so instead of going straight to their room, stays to watch. Essek hangs out in the back of the room and watches from a distance, and even shows some (begrudging) appreciation for the show. Nobody forces or even tries to convince him to stay, and he has his own room separate from the rest of the group, so he's free to leave at any time. the joke is that that party immediately switches tracks upon the introduction of a burlesque show and Essek grumpily waits for them to finish, despite originally not wanting to watch.

I'm sex-repulsed, so I get where this ask is coming from, but there's different types of discomfort/anxiety and there's a difference between being uncomfortable, disliking something, and being flustered/anxious. if you read the original post, I never said the character was uncomfortable, I said he "wanted out of there as quickly as possible" which could mean a bunch of different things, and ultimately he clearly wasn't that uncomfortable because he chose to stay without prompting.

I would probably behave similarly in that situation. it's really not my thing, and that makes me feel a little anxious and uncomfortable, because it's unfamiliar, but I'll do anything once especially if it'll make my friends happy. Like, obviously you shouldn't force or pressure someone to do something they don't want, but there's nothing wrong with asking, or playfully needling someone you're friends with. My best friend & I joke about forcing each other to watch movies or play games the other hates because our tastes are so different; obviously we're not forcing each other to do anything, we're choosing to spend time doing something we'd normally find unpleasant because we enjoy spending time together and teasing each other.

like believe me I get feeling pressure to do things that are uncomfortable, but it's not black and white. no one should feel forced to do something they find unpleasant, but I'm allowed to choose to do it for whatever reason, whether it's curiosity or to make someone happy or for my own benefit. I get uncomfortable doing new things, but I do it anyway because I know it's good for me. sexual situations or content isn't any different, I can manage my discomfort and I'm ultimately responsible for bowing out if something is too much.

[sakurabutterflyart]

Take a Break Sweetheart 🧡💚 [COMPLETED](Delta Dawn x John Dory)

(WARNING: ENGLISH is not my first language)

John Dory is Delta's bestfriend. Who's obviously hitting on her. But as time went on, they've become inseperable. Even after so many rejections, they somehow still get along, also despite being so different yet similar in some way. Though she can't see why. There's something about John that she felt a sense of comfort around him, where she can be herself around him.

Delta stared at his bestfriend, preparing coffee for the both of them as she continue on her work as Mayor in Lonesome Flats. The blue haired troll caught the lady staring at him, then gave him a soft flirty smile, causing her to scoff at his goofiness.

"What's with that look? Are you finally falling for me Ms. Mayor?" He gave her his most charming smile, that most Brozone fans will faint at the sight.

"In. your. dreams." She leaned in her palms, rolling her eyes as she looks away from the handsome troll. Though she admits, she can't deny that he has charming looks that can  make every girl swoon. Which almost got her too.

Ever since he came to the village, her exhaustion disappears simply by having his presence or company.

As he placed down the coffee, the red haired troll immediately stop writing all of her paperworks to take a little rest. She yawns, making John Dory look up noticing the fatigue of her eyes.

"Uuuh my dear Mayor,  how many hours did you sleep last night?" John Dory asked, narrowing his eyes. As she saw her shrug.

"Ummm, maybe 5, 3 or..." Delta mumbles as her voice gets very high pitch, clearly hiding something.

"Ms. Delta Dawn, did you sleep last night?" He asked again, getting her cornered.

"Uh... no?" She hesitantly answered, seeing his face ready to scold her, causing her to be a little angry about it. "Hey! Don't give me that look Mr! I'm the Mayor and Sheriff in Lonesome Flats! Don't expect me to just go around sleeping."

She scolded back,  as she took a sip of her coffee. Helping her ease her temper, by relieving her sleepiness.  The pop troll sigh, as expected from her best friend. Well that's what makes her hot anyway, her strong personality with a heart to look after her people is what also made him fall for her. But still...

"Look Delta you should really go to sleep, you haven't slept for 3 days now." He said worriedly.

"What? I did fall asleep, I took an occasional nap wherever and whenever I can." She argued back. "Plus I can't afford to rest right now. I have some fences to repair, some thieves to catch and also a niece to look after, to pick up from school and make dinner. "

John watch as Delta rub her head, stress showing on her face by just thinking of what she has to do for the following days. Becoming more worried that if she's even gonna make it through the entire day.

He sigh, took a deep breathe and whispered,  "You leave me no choice sweetheart."

He approached his beloved friend, walking behind her. She was confuse until he felt him slide his hands throughout her palms to her coffee mug to grab it, while his other hand grabbed her shoulder. Which made her heart jumped.

The women was used by her friend's touchiness, especially because pop trolls loves to hug every hour.

Both of them never really hug often. But John Dory enjoys physical touch, especially with fellow country trolls with his patting at the back, some high fives, handshakes and also some bro hugs. Both of them shared some physical touch too, with his hand kissed greetings, holding hands when he guides her to somewhere,  some back patting, also playing around with her hair to mess with her, tickles her so she can get annoyed to chase him around town and ocassional hugs too. She acts like she hated it, but she secretly likes it.

But this one's a little different, John Dory was too close, she felt her face burning by too much physical contact.  "What are you doing?!"

The women yelled. John Dory gave her his cocky grin, placing down the coffee and pulling her away from her desk preventing her to grab it. John Dory then lean in and place his head on her forehead, feeling her face's temperature. "Your face is heating up, you really need to rest now lady Sheriff."

"I'm heating up because you're too close, Mr. Idiot Detective!" She yelled, but receiving a smirk from him.

"Oh so you're telling me that you're falling for me Ms. Delta." He raised his eyebrows in flirtation,  causing Delta to lightly punched him.

"Stop messing around you idiot, I need to get back to work.  " She gets up, but realized her body is too weak to get up, falling back to the chair. She saw the man's face formed into an anxious expression, which somehow made her insides felt touched by his caring nature. 

"Woah, easy there." She felt the blue haired troll, starting rubbing her head, massaging her all the way to her shoulders. She can't even protest, it made her feel good from all the exhaustion.  Then she sense that her chair was pulled to the coach. John Dory then lifted her all the way to the coach, laying her down, with pillows and blankets  being placed.

"John Dory... I can't-" She muttered, feeling her eyes drop when she sense the softness of the pillow, ready to fall asleep.

"Shhh..." He sat down, holding her hand. "You need to sleep, I promise I'll wake you up soon."

"B -but what about... the... village... the thieves... my niece?"

"I'll take care of them." He whispered.

"I swear.... John... Dory, if something... happens in this village.... I'll kick your bloody face." She threatened,  making John Dory internally gulped, yet she's still very  beautiful even when she's angry. Internally laughing at the thought.

"Don't worry, I got this m' lady."

She finally let's go and lose consciousness, sleeping peacefully.  John Dory watched his friend fall asleep, admiring her beauty, sighing in relief that she's finally resting. Hesitantly stroking her hair.

"You're so stubborn." He said to her, lovingly gazing at her. He didn't want to invade her personal space and wanting to respect that.  But he can't help it, he place her beautiful red hair aside and gave her forehead a quick peck. "I love you... Ms. grumpy lady,"

He giggled then got up and left, proceeded working on her desk. The scarlet haired woman was actually awake, feeling her heart screaming in joy from what he just say. She opened her eyes, and look at her beloved friend doing her work. She was a little worried of what's gonna happen, but she trusted him, cause she's known him for almost a year now, he's been helping her around the village. He's also been able to raise his brothers on his own and being able to work at the band, while managing finances in a young age.

"How did I get so lucky..." She thought. 

"I love you too,  idiot..." She whispered, drifting off to sleep.

[honey-beann]

Ruiner, Ruination (RK900 x Reader)

Chapter One: Naming Nines

Series Masterlist

Series Synopsis:

After Gavin Reed, the biggest asshat in the DPD refuses to work with the newest android detective, the only RK900 in existence, you find yourself being offered the opportunity in his stead. Post successful android revolution, with a very recently deviated android partner at your side, will the two of you gain the same level of success as Hank and Connor, or will your different manifestations of humanity, and all of the feelings that come along with it, get in the way?

AKA: Reader and Nines get partnered up and grow closer over a series of one-shots and random cases.

Will you become RK900's ruination?

Chapter Content Warnings: None

Word Count: 2,579

"Absolutely not!"

The sounds of shouting nearly made you groan as you slumped down further in your desk, trying to ignore the grown man throwing a temper tantrum clearly visible through the glass just a few yards in front of you.

"Sounds like Gavin found out about his new android partner, huh?"

Muttered one of your coworkers from behind you, and you lamented internally at all of the bitching you were going to be subjected to as a result of this mess. Having your desk situated just a few feet across from Detective Reed's meant having to hear all about his newest complaints and disagreements, even if you had absolutely no interest in them at all. Back when you were still considered a rookie just a year prior, you had hoped this had all been a test, and that you would soon be moved to a less bothersome location, but as time went on with no complaints from you, Fowler appeared to have decided that the arrangement worked just fine as a permanent fixture.

You were less than pleased.

Trying not to be as obvious in your staring as your coworkers, you placed your tablet in your lap, looking up from the blank screen every few seconds to watch Gavin push at some other expensive looking object, his eyes wild with an anger you had grown all too familiar with throughout your somewhat brief time here at the station. Needless to say, you were not a fan of Detective Reed and his childishness, and this extreme act of crazed rage only made you all the more aware of how ridiculous and dramatic he could be.

"All this over some android partner?"

You muttered under your breath, rolling your eyes before returning them down to the tablet in front of you, still blank as you tried to look as busy as possible despite your light work load.

Working in the android crimes unit alongside Lieutenant Anderson, Connor, and Detective Reed had been no walk in the park so far, especially not when the first two made such an incredible team. You and Gavin, on the other hand, had been urged to try your best for a few months, before it was ultimately decided that you both worked best on your own. Or, at least, that's what the amicable write up said. In reality, Reed had made it impossible to work with him over the course of just three months, and after that, you had outright refused a partnership. If you were supposed to receive any form of repercussions for this, they never came, and now, watching Gavin rant and rave through the glass of Fowler's office, you were pretty sure that you knew why.

How could anyone truly expect someone to work well with one of the biggest assholes in the entire city of Detroit?

Yourself and the rest of your coworkers watched on for a while, as Gavin continued to argue his case against a potential asset to his one man show of a team, rolling your eyes jointly at his dramatics until finally, Fowler put his head in his hands and exasperatedly motioned for your desk neighbor to leave. Begrudgingly, you watched as Reed did just that, grumbling something under his breath that had your boss glaring at his back as he exited the room.

Everything was quiet as Gavin approached the desk across from yours once more, and everyone tried to look as busy as possible despite the obvious lack of commotion within the usually busy police department.

You relished in that near silence for a few minutes, before suddenly, Fowler's angry voice sounded from just outside of his office door, his glare fixated on Gavin despite you being the only person he was talking to.

Damn, Gavin really had pissed him off, huh?

"Detective L/n!"

He shouted, and you swallowed thickly before standing at once, nodding in his direction to show that you were listening, At the sight of an actually obedient employee, Fowler seemed to calm a bit, although you noted that his hands were still clenched into fists as he spoke,

"How would you like your very own android partner?"

Shocked, you stared at your boss as if he had lost his mind, fighting the urge to ask him if he was sure he had the right person. You were just barely out of rookie status, nowhere near important enough to have earned an android of your own. But, then again, Gavin had blown it, and the unit needed more hands on experts, whether Gavin wanted to work with one them or not, so in the end, you were pretty much the only other option if they didn't want an android going about solving crimes alone.

Swallowing back your various questions and concerns in favor of simply answering the question at hand, you nodded once at your superior,

"It would be crazy of me to say no to an opportunity like that, sir."

You replied as cooly as possible, taking note of the way that Gavin sneered from his seat across from your own as he rolled his eyes at your words. He had called you a kiss ass since your arrival, but truthfully, you just knew when to use the right kind of language with the right kind of person, unlike the incredibly annoying detective you had been forced to call your partner just a few months back.

"Good. Glad to hear there's at least one sane person in the damn Android Crimes Unit."

He grumbled that last part before clearing his throat and speaking up once more,

"Your assigned model is an RK900, the only one in existence. It was originally created as a prototype advanced deviant hunter, but ever since it's... deviance a few months prior, along with the results of the android revolution, employment in a separate area started being considered. You will guide this android in your field work, and maintain a professional relationship with him regardless of your differences, do I make myself clear?"

Shocked to have heard Fowler address this in front of everyone rather than in a private meeting, you nodded quickly and eagerly in response to his words, watching as your boss signed in relief and ran his hand across his face.

"Good. The model was brought by for tuning and integration this morning. He should be by your desk promptly."

Shocked, you opened your mouth to reply, maybe even ask a few questions, but before you could Fowler had returned to his glass enclosure, picking his desk phone up and dialing a number quickly, his shoulders tense and eyebrows drawn together.

Maybe right now wasn't the best time for questions regarding your new android partner.

Sighing, you sat back down once more, trying not to look nervous as you stared back down at the blank tablet on your desk once again.

That is, until a voice, slightly familiar, and somehow also incredibly foreign to you spoke up from your right.

You yelped in response to the sudden sound, jumping in your chair and twisting around to all but gawk at the intimidating man who stood before you.

He looked incredibly similar to Connor, but somehow the slight differences made him seem like a completely different person, and you could tell by the cold expression on his face that they would in no way be sharing similar personalities. Where Connor Anderson, the RK800 model who had deviated nine months ago, was warm and friendly, always ready to ask about your day, this RK900 model was clearly cool and calculated, his gaze consistently disapproving no matter where or who it happened to fall upon.

And to be the subject of said disapproval? It made you shiver before you could even speak up, giving the android in front of you the opportunity to do so first.

"Hello Detective L/n. I am an RK900 prototype built for the purpose of tracking down and dismantling deviants such as my predecessor. That being said, my previous function has been rendered inconsequential due to my status as deviant, and therefore, I have gained employment here, alongside the RK800 model known to you as Connor, in order to support the DPD in the development of android crimes. I understand that you are to be my partner in this task, is this correct?"

You blinked, shocked at the robotic tone of the supposed deviant who stood before you. You stared for a moment, taking in the crisp white jacket that adorned the android's shoulders, and the blinking model number that could be seen on his chest. He was incredibly intimidating, several inches taller than Connor, and far less friendly. It was as if this android felt no reason at all to utilize it's social interaction protocols, and you couldn't help but wonder if that was yet another unexplored area of deviancy.

Slowly, as if unsure of your own actions, you reached your hand out to the android in front of you, clearing your throat as you did so, trying to shake your nerves and muster up the courage to speak.

"I look forward to working with you..."

You trailed off hesitantly, your heartbeat quickening as you felt the unfamiliar chill of the RK900's hand against your own, that gaze never leaving you as your hands interlocked, shaking in greeting slowly,

"Is there something wrong?"

The RK900 model in front of you asked slowly, his words clearly enunciated and incredibly probing as they passed the artificial pink skin of his lips.

"I, uh, I guess I don't know what to call you."

The android quirked it's head in curiosity before it seemed to understand your words, and nodded,

"Ah, yes, your RK800 model-"

"Connor"

You corrected immediately, knowing how much the android in question disliked being called by his model number, your nerves leaving you for the briefest of moments as you stood up for your friend.

"Right, your... Connor"

The RK900 spoke slowly this time, as if testing the way that the sentence sounded in his ears, and you almost smiled at how much it reminded you of his predecessor.

Suddenly, as if he had been enlightened with the correct words to say, the RK900 model cleared his throat, and spoke up again,

"My predecessor, Connor as you call him, goes by a name. This name was given to him upon his distribution, in order to make him more relatable and easy to trust. I was not built to be trusted, nor related to. To put it simply, Detective, I was built for the purpose of destruction, ruination if you will, and that of my own kind in particular. Therefore, I was not given a name as Connor was upon the start of his mission."

You nodded softly, gazed upward at the oh so familiar stranger that stood above you,

"Right, I guess that does make sense... In that case, can we give you a name?"

You asked, tilting your head in question as the android before you stiffened a bit, quirking a brow in response,

"You wish to name me?"

He asked, and you shrugged softly, trying to ignore the heat that was building in your cheeks,

"Well, not exactly. You can pick it if you want to, I just want something to call you that isn't as long as your model number."

Nodding in understanding, the RK900 thought for a moment, before finally reaching what to him was the most logical conclusion.

"I will allow you to choose, since you are so keen on my having a new name to go by as your partner."

You could have sworn you saw the android smirk a bit as he spoke these words, but you shook it off and started thinking hard about potential names for the man in front of you.

This train of thought lasted far longer than you had ever initially anticipated, and eventually, you found yourself groaning out of frustration, hunched over a notepad at your desk two hours after your initial meeting with your new partner.

"Nicholas?"

You offered hopefully, and the man in front of you shook his head for what had to be the one hundredth time that day, that shadow of a smug grin forming on his lips as he met your gaze again from the desk attached to your own, which he had made himself comfortable at shortly after his arrival.

"It just doesn't suit me."

He explained wryly, and you fought to roll your eyes in exasperation as he utilized the same excuse he had been using for the past twenty names. He had a reason to hate everything.

Sighing heavily, you moved to bury your head in your hands, rubbing at your cheeks before you let out an annoyed huff, glaring over at your new partner.

"Two hours in and you're already impossible."

"Oh, on the contrary, Detective."

The android's response was immediate, long and drawn out as he leaned forward so his elbow was on your desk rather than his own, his smirk predatory in a way that made you almost feel frightened as you swallowed thickly while desperately trying to come up with a new name.

"I think I am being quite cooperative. I mean, I've hardly said a thing about that untouched work load of yours."

He finished teasing, and you shot him another glare, as you stood to pace before your shared desk space.

"Well fine then, if a regular name doesn't work, how about something different?"

You asked exasperatedly, and the RK900 leaned forward towards you in what appeared to be mock anticipation,

"Different you say? Go on then Detective, what do you have in mind?"

You thought for a moment, struggling to think of anything, before finally, your eyes fell on that glowing model number upon his jacket, and finally it hit you.

"Nines,"

You breathed out the name as if it were a prayer, and the android in front of you seemed to hum in response, watching you intently as your gaze moved to meet his own once more, challenging and unwavering.

Just what he was hoping to see.

"I like it."

He said after what had felt like an entire minute of deliberation, and you whooped victoriously and jumped excitedly about the small office in response to those three short words, your grin wide and splitting your face in two.

He watched, annoyed by your strange actions, yet somehow also entertained by how improvised and sudden all of your reactions felt to him.

Were all humans like this? If so, this job would get exhausting very fast.

Eventually, you slowed back down and had the sense to look a bit bashful as you sat across from the RK900 - 'Nines' once more, clearing your throat awkwardly as you started to look at your completely empty tablet for what felt like the one millionth time that day.

"I do hope you know that tablet has been depleted of battery life, Detective."

Nines' voice was laced with a bit of humor and cruelty as he spoke, and you groaned internally upon being caught.

You couldn't find the correct words to respond with, so instead you turned your face away from the man sitting on the other side of your desk, trying to focus on anything else but this near stranger who was supposed to be your partner sometime in the near future.

How were you ever going to make it through this with your sanity?

AO3 Link

Series Masterlist

[bengiyo]

23.5 Ep 11 Stray Thoughts

Last week, the girls had problems. Aylin isolated after repeated negative social encounters with others and bullying, and it took the entire cast to bring her back into the fold. Sun and Ongsa are also having problems. Sun is unhappy with Ongsa trying to keep them closeted, and also struggling with her desire to go on this study abroad program because it will keep them apart for a year.

I’m glad Sun is finally getting mad about all of this, because she hasn’t exactly felt like a grounded person for most of the show.

Yes, Sun! Read her! She has never asked for your input and it’s a bad look!

Oh hell yeah give her that bracelet back! It’s over! First breakup in a really beautiful park on a nice day. Crushing.

Despite how awkward it was to get here, I’m glad Alpha was able to comfort her sister.

Back to the dorky boys and their crushes.

Luna is so unabashed in her affection for Aylin. I like that there’s no doubt about how Luna feels. Also love that Chaoren is also direct in telling Ton no.

My boy Mawin finally said it! It’s a good thing Ford is good with his eyes, because he’s making up for weeks of frustration with Tinh.

AJ is clearly having a good time in this role. I’m having fun with Chaoren steadily crushing Ton.

I’m suddenly into this version of Sun that is demanding Ongsa respect her personhood.

“You love me but you don’t understand or respect me,” is actually a really solid conflict. Why did it take us so long to arrive here? I can see the build to this but damn it took us a long time to get here.

I love the parents being clear they love and support Ongsa, but I do wish we'd stop pretending like queer kids don't have valid reasons to closet themselves. I appreciate mom saying she doesn't want Ongsa to lie or hide, and dad for saying to stop worrying about other people.

Ongsa, where is your boombox? Sun also told you to stop acting like a character in a movie or drama.

Oh good, Ongsa went to the Lito Rodriguez school of queer apology.

Chatting with @ginnymoonbeam about how this conflict would have been best right after the Earth reveal, and then they could have tackled the other problems.

I love Luna teasing Aylin in front of the family, and then bonding with the uncle. Great stuff.

I like Aylin giving the first kiss after making sure Luna didn't kiss her when she was faking sleep.

This is a good episode for both sets of parents. Big fan of Sun's parents urging her to work through conflicts and not deprioritize herself.

Leaving them to sort what their future looks like is not a terrible place to stop.

Wow, I wish some of this stuff had come sooner. This is the most that Sun has felt like a person in almost three months. Aylin and Luna have been solid and easy to follow the whole time, and I like how they reinforced how chill the parents are about the girls being queer. The current conflict for Sun and Ongsa works, but damn was it a mess to get here.

[corruptedhyena]

hello to the like 3 people who have been waiting for Bindertales

im so sorry, the next 2 pages are done dw but it's in progress ;w;

in the meantime HELLO NEIGHBOR AGAIN IM SO SORRY the new episodes are making me scream again so please give me a moment to share some doodles whilst i share my thoughts.

SEASON 2 SPOILERS INCOMING!!

firstly, my favorite part of the series: Trinity and Nicky's friendship! i'm really not a fan of romance plots so i ADORE that they aren't trying anything with these two, just leaving it to mosty one-sided Enzo.

so, when the teasers showed an almost direct parallel of Nicky leading Trinity into Peterson's house by giving us a shot of Trinity leading Nicky, it really got my hopes up!! it thankfully didn't disappoint too horribly, but damn if it isn't painful to watch Trinity go from "yeah Nicky you've been through a lot huh ): " in episode 1 to "c'mon dude you're the one who told me to be brave, why are you being so scared???" it was a bit AAAAA

thankfully, it does seem somewhat purposeful, as she is still a kid and seems to be doing her best to help Nicky the way he helped her be brave, it's just really backfiring. as seen when she's taken home from school in ep 2, she's clearly worried about him and is very much aware something is going on, so it's not like there's some sorta character betrayal! i really hope they'll have a chance to really talk things out and reach an understanding. OR AT LEAST JUST GIVE NICKY A HUG FOR FUCK'S SAKE POOR BOY, THAT CLIFFHANGER HURTS SO MUCH OML

I LOVE SIBLING CONTENT PLEASE GIVE US MORE!! some of my favorite bits of background detail in s1 are Maritza's reactions to Enzo being a simp. she's such an asshole and i love her for it. she's also still acting as the greatest voice of the straight man, which is a breath of fresh air sometimes among the children playing detective during MULTIPLE MURDERS AND ACTS OF ARSON!!!

speaking of, why the hell did Mrs. Bales immediately get suspicious of the LITERAL CHILDREN who were OUTSIDE during the housefire? especially since she herself said her outlet blew? i understand stories following kids have to find a way to write out the parents sometimes, but it's just baffling that it was handled so well in s1 compared to s2. and they also jump on the anti-Nicky train? did they not literally witness that child escape from Peterson's after their daughter told them he was kidnapped weeks ago????? DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND THIS IS A LITERAL CHILD WHO JUST GOT TRAUMATIZED AND WHOSE PARENTS WERE SAID TO BE HARD TO CONTACT??!?!?!?!

i'm

far less agonized, i just thought about how in the world Peterson hid among gravestones as a grown-ass man during Trinity's story in s1, and thought it'd be funny if, as i draw him, he pretended to be a bush behind a gravestone. hunched up so his body's behind the stone and the big flumf of his mane and tail stuck out. logically, a flashlight would catch the red of it despite the dark, but cartoon logic could hand-wave it away.

in terms of s2 thoughts with him, it's cool to see his backstory! i'm still pretty much in the dark when it comes to the whole Hello Neighbor lore, as i only saw gameplay of the alphas and never heard the intended storyline, but i did see that last Matpat video! i can't wait to see what's up with his brother being the shadow guy (i think) and why he's terrorizing Nicky. i'm betting it's not a malicious thing, that maybe he's trying to make contact or keep him safe, considering the flashback! and it seems like the grown-up bullies might be the ones behind the kids' disappearances and Crowface, though i'm not quite as confident about that one. i just know a lot of the adults are suspicious and i think it's a red herring that there's supposedly a secret neighbor. i think it's all of them, and Peterson knows.

still doesn't excuse kidnapping and traumatizing Nicky tho

thanks to anyone who reads this rambling mess, i just have a lot of thoughts about this show and don't have anyone i know who's caught up or into it (:

[animebw]

Re: oshi no ko fans,

What'd they do?

Yeah, I guess I should probably give some context to that statement.

So, for those not keeping up with Oshi no Ko, last week's episode featured a plotline where a character on a reality dating show is swarmed with cyberbullying after a minor dust-up, and it escalates so badly that she tries to commit suicide. It's a brutally effective episode that really captures the horror of online abuse, the almost addictive masochism of scrolling through comment after comment calling for your death and dragging your name through the mud. It's easily the best Oshi no Ko has been, and I will stand by that opinion despite how messy things are going to get in the rest of this post.

See, this plotline doesn't just a wholly fictional exploration of online abuse; it has a very direct real life inspiration. Shortly after the manga started publishing, Japanese wrestler Hana Kimura committed suicide following a chain of events very much like this. She was on a reality show, she had a minor altercation with a fellow contender, and she was bombarded with online abuse until she took her own life. It's likely Akasaka already had the general idea for this plotline sketched out before this event, but the connections are so specific that it's pretty clear this real-life event influenced how it played out in the story. And in the anime at least, some of the mean comments the character gets are lifted wholesale from comments Kimura received during her harassment. So clearly, Oshi no Ko is pulling on this real life tragedy to further its themes of darkness in the entertainment industry and how it affects people.

The problem is, Kimura's mom isn't happy about it.

See, apparently no one- nobody working on the manga or the anime- thought to ask Kimura's family if it was okay to use their tragic circumstances as part of their narrative. Nobody bothered to check if it maybe might be a little insensitive to drag out the corpse of a dead girl for an edgy reincarnation revenge idol drama without asking that girl's parents if they were okay with it. So the mom did an interview where she expressed her anger at the whole thing, and how her daughter was essentially being used as "free source material," which, yeah, seriously, how the fuck did nobody check with her before this went to air? I don't care how good your intentions are or how excellent the finished product turned out, you do not use the real words and comments that drove a girl to suicide without getting the go-ahead from her family first. She even mentioned that a friend of hers watched the episode without knowing its content beforehand and it basically triggered all those traumatic memories all over again. It's just really fucking ugly all around.

Now, the whole point of the episode in question is about how terrible online harassment is and how you should never toss mean words around online so thoughtlessly, because you could be hurting people in ways you can't possibly understand. So you'd think that Oshi no Ko fans, being faced with this very understandable anger from someone with more stake in this mess than any of them either well, would take the situation with grace and try to reach an understanding. You'd think they'd try to have the kind of compassion in discussing this difficult subject that Kimura and the character inspired by her never got.

If only.

Now, to be clear, it's not like the entire Oshi no Ko fanbase ganged up on Kimura's mother. Plenty of people took the situation in stride and treated it fairly. But even just on the English speaking side of the internet, I've already seen way too many people becoming exactly the kind of mindless hate mob the show portrayed in that critical episode. And while I can't speak for the Japanese side, people who keep up with Japanese online spaces have confirmed there's harassment going on over there too. People saying she's only doing this for attention (gee it's almost like HER DAUGHTER'S DEATH IS BEING USED WITHOUT HER CONSENT), she shouldn't complain because it's raising awareness about cyberbullying (which totally justifies cyberbullying her in response, naturally), even claiming the arc totally wasn't inspired by Kimura's circumstances and it was just a coincidence the storyline released around the same time. Which is funny, because I distinctly remember when the episode first came out I saw tons of people praising how it took inspiration from Kimura's circumstances and how it was totally speaking to real life events so you had to take it seriously. But now Kimura's mother comes out saying she's upset with how it was handled, and suddenly those same people are going "Uuuuuuh actually it's just a coincidence, if you think it's intentional you're stupid."

I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd say it's almost like they never actually cared about the message. Like they only wanted to use the shiny coat of real-life tragedy to massage their own egos for liking Good(tm), Serious(tm) works of fiction that talk about Real(tm) Issues(tm), only to discard that talking point when it no longer suited their narrative. I might even call them a bunch of worthless cunts who care about protecting themselves from even the mildest emotional discomfort and moral uncertainty more than they give a damn about anyone else's genuine struggles with actual issues far beyond what any of these fuckweasels will ever have to face. Hell, if I was feeling particularly spicy, I might even connect this bullshittery to my criticisms of Oshi no Ko as a whole and point out how despite its thin veneer of deep societal criticism, this show really is the kind of vapid, pandering edge-masquerading-as-depth spectacle that presents just enough illusion of substance for people to feel smart for watching it without actually challenging them to leave their comfort zone of an "edgy" male antihero saving the day and making all the cute girls fall for him, thus attracting the exact same kind of insincere, cowardly fanbase that reacts to the slightest real challenge to their sense of self-righteousness by become the exact kind of monster the story they supposedly adore was trying to warn them against.

But that's probably unfair to all the normal, perfectly well-adjusted Oshi no Ko fans who don't deserve to be lumped in with this vocal minority of losers. So I'll call it a day here. Bottom line, ask before you use a real person's misery for Content(tm), don't be a dick when people criticize the fiction you enjoy, and online harassers can go suck on an exhaust pipe.

[theladyofshalott1989]

Sebastian Sallow x Male MC Fanfic (Like Moths to a Flame) - AO3 & Wattpad

I haven't been on Tumblr in years, but I was told it has a very active Hogwarts: Legacy community so that clearly had to be remedied. And WHAT A COMMUNITY THERE IS. I'm so thrilled to be back! In other news, I have no idea what I am doing, but here goes nothing... In March 2023, I wrote a Sebastian Sallow/Male MC story on Wattpad. It was originally meant to just be a one-shot, but (surprise surprise!) it soon became a full series, which I eventually crossposted to AO3 in August. (A huge thank you to the lovely reader who suggested that! It was much appreciated!) Now, 170,000+ words, 20,000+ reads on Wattpad, 6,500 hits on AO3, and two official fan artists later, I am clearly in absolute thrall to this series, and it won't be ending anytime soon. If you're interested, check it out on Wattpad or AO3. I love to interact with readers, so please don't hesitate to comment and/or reach out here on Tumblr too! Wattpad Links: Book One - Like Moths to a Flame Book Two - Burning Bright AO3 Links: Book One - Like Moths to a Flame

Book Two - Burning Bright

My Linktree (where you can find author-curated Spotify playlists for both stories) Excerpt from Like Moths to a Flame:

"Levioso! Accio! Incendio!" Damien yelled from across the room, Leander his unfortunate target.

Sebastian stood in the back of the crowd beside Natty. It was a good turnout for the championship match. He had found a decent spot between heads to watch everything going on without being at the front of the pack. He was still embarrassed by his poor show last week.

Ominis didn't come this year. He said he didn't feel there was a point since Sebastian was out of the tournament. He also wanted to get some rest since he was still recovering from his illness.

Sebastian focused his attention back on the match. Damien had already defeated Charlotte, the rare Hufflepuff member of Crossed Wands. She was sitting on the floor, dazed.

Sebastian wasn't surprised when Damien told Lucan he planned on dueling solo for the final match, but he was still impressed. Competing alone against four of some of the best duelists at the school was quite a challenge.

Leander stumbled back as Damien hit him with three Basic Casts in a row.

Just to mess with Leander, Sebastian called out, "You're better than that!". He grinned to himself as Natty shoved him playfully on the shoulder.

"That was mean-spirited," she said, looking as if she was struggling to hold back her amusement.

"What? He's an arse."

"It would be more effective to root for Damien."

"I don't hear you providing any words of encouragement."

She giggled, cupping her hands to her mouth, and called out, "Go, Damien!"

Damien glanced over in her direction as Eric and Nellie both threw Basic Casts his way. Despite the distraction, he blocked them with a well-timed Protego and managed to cast Stupefy at Nellie, knocking her back.

Eric yelled out and tried a poorly aimed Incendio, which Damien didn't even need to block. Meanwhile, Leander was floating in the air, angrily muttering to himself.

Sebastian, not one to be one-upped by a Gryffindor, followed Natty's lead, and when there was a small break between casts, shouted at Damien, "Give 'em what for!"

Damien scanned the crowd, searching for Sebastian, and when they made eye contact, tossed him a winning grin with an unexpected wink. Sebastian blushed.

It took Sebastian a moment to realize Natty had stopped watching the match and was looking at him with a curious expression.

"What?" Sebastian asked, his voice coming out rougher than he intended.

"He didn't wink at me."

"What do you mean?" he said, feigning ignorance.

Natty gave him a sly grin but kept quiet. She shifted her attention back to the duel.

They had missed Eric being pulled out of the match. He was now pacing the back of the room with a fellow Gryffindor gesticulating wildly. Someone was a poor loser.

Leander was still going strong it seemed, but Nellie was on her last legs. She was struggling to keep up with Damien's volleys. He was quite quick with his casts, almost as fast as Sebastian, which was certainly saying something.

Damien pulled Nellie to him and hit her with a forceful Incendio. It would have completely incapacitated her if it was Confringo. Too bad Sebastian and Damien weren't meeting until tomorrow night. Confringo would have come in handy in Crossed Wands. Oh well.

Leander successfully hit Damien from behind a few times as Damien continued to target Nellie. It didn't bother him in the slightest. He hit Nellie one more time with Incendio and she flew back against the wall, out of the match.

One more to go.

Sebastian couldn't wait to see Damien destroy Leander. It was going to be glorious.

Leander and Damien both shouted, "Levioso!" in unison, canceling out each other's spells.

Damien tried again, this time getting a hit in successfully.

Sebastian knew Leander hated being stuck in the air. Leander muttered something to Damien, riling him up. That was apparently a mistake on his part. Damien's expression clouded over and he hit Leander with Incendio as many times as he could.

When the levitation spell lifted, Leander slumped to the ground, totally spent. Damien turned around triumphantly, his back to Leander, assuming he'd won the tournament, but Leander jumped to his feet.

Sebastian yelled out, "Mind the wand!" just in time. Damien blocked Leander's attempted Confringo and threw a Stupefy back at him. Leander stumbled backward, his eyes widening in shock, and crashed onto the cold stone floor with a thud. He lay there for a moment, dazed and disoriented, before slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. As he sat up clumsily, his eyes flashed with anger, glaring first at Damien, then Sebastian.

No matter; it was done. Damien had won.

As the crowd erupted into applause, Natty looked back over at Sebastian. "You should go congratulate him." She shoved him lightly in Damien's direction, who was talking with Lucan in the corner of the room.

Sebastian hesitated for a moment before nodding and making his way through the crowd to Damien. He wasn't sure what to say, but he knew he had to do something to show his support. That's what friends were for, right?

[jackoshadows]

@whitedragonwolf4961 in response to the two asks you send me:

1. I don’t think that how the books turn out is going to change anything with Jonsa shippers/Sansa fans in the same way that having pictures from space and scientific proof of the earth being round does not change the opinions of flat earthers. We have 5 books now. Do you think the absurd metas and rewriting of the story and characters we get from these stans have anything to do with those books?

These are the fools who came up with ‘political!Jon’ because they are cinematography experts who analyzed the light coming through a window on the boat when Jon and Dany were talking!!

These are the fools who continue using the TV show and especially show Sansa’s arc on the TV to speculate on her book story despite GRRM repeatedly disavowing that plot specifically in all his interviews and saying that the show and the books are two different and separate canon.

They don’t care!! Even if in TWoW we get Jon and Arya reuniting and there’s lots of mussing of hair and tears and love, they will just replace Arya with Sansa in their essays and talk about how it’s foreshadowing for Jonsa happening in A Dream of Spring.

Even if we get more hints of Jon and Dany being aligned in thought and purpose and of a future alliance between them in TWoW, they will still continue with how Jon is going to murder Dany for his true love Sansa in the last book because the colour red popped up in some corner of his room.

And if Arya becomes the Lady of Winterfell instead of Sansa? I expect lots of essays from bnfs and feminism experts about GRRM being sexist and what not. 100 % sure of this. After all they have been banging on and on about Sansa being the ‘embodiment of hope for the future’, the best politician on the planet, ‘Sansa Smart’, expert on food and diplomacy unlike political noob Jon Snow and violent killer Arya. How to deal with it? Oh no, we did not realize that GRRM is a woman hater who didn’t grasp the awesomeness of a character like Sansa.

2. Regarding Kit Harington and Jon Snow. I tend to not blame the actors for characters they play on TV shows tbh. I put the blame on ultimate hacks, Benioff and Weiss for failing upwards as rich, white men and turning in an horrendous script, full of one-dimensional characters, no plot, no themes and dripping with their sexism, toxic masculinity and femininity. There was really not much Harington could do when the script gave him literally nothing! Book Jon Snow is a rich, complex character with several layers of plot and story telling piled on him over 42 POV chapters. All they gave show Jon Snow was fighting in battles.

I know Sophie Turner gets a lot of hate and she just comes across as the typical rich, white teen when giving interviews. She honestly sounds like the stereotypical Sansa stan on tumblr. And yet the blame lies on Benioff and Weiss for taking tips on writing Sansa/Arya from teenagers reading tumblr metas rather than actually adapting the book you know? Turner was only spouting off what these hacks were putting out there on their TV show. And from everything Emilia Clarke is saying about how she was being pressurized in terms of nudity and sex scenes, the behind the scenes of this show is clearly a very toxic mess.

I think Kit Harington is a decent actor - he does good in comedy and I liked his take on a sleazy character accused of rape in season 2 of Criminal UK. Jon Snow is a hard character to play given how much of his POV is internal and yet Benioff and Weiss did not even attempt to faithfully adapt the book version just like they did not with Arya Stark and instead reduced these characters to tropes.

I honestly can’t say if another actor would have been better in the role of Jon Snow given the material on the show for the character is so poor. Would it have made a difference if they had an Olivier award winner in the role? All this award winner would do is swing a sword around and play supporting prop to other characters.

Actors will also defend the characters they play. We love these characters so much as readers of these books. These actors have spend ten years of their life inhabiting these characters and love them just as much as we do. Of course Kit is going to defend show Jon Snow just like Emilia defends Daenerys and Dinklage defends Tyrion.

I am just going to reserve my ire for

- Benioff and Weiss who seem to not even like fantasy, did not care for themes, characters and the story of the books, did not hire a writer’s room, had only male writers/directors and were petty in firing actors (by killing off their characters) if they criticized the show and

- GRRM, who even after seeing the utter mess D&D have made of his story has failed to finish a book in 12 years including a pandemic where we were all shut up inside our homes for close to 18 months.

GRRM is the reason for why the only ending we will have for this story started almost 30 years ago is the garbage that is the TV show. I am not entirely happy with the adaptation of the Wheel of Time tv show and I can see the showrunner taking hints from D&D in terms of how and what gets adapted for viewership numbers. And yet I am not all that bothered by this because we will always have the books and the book characters. We know how the story ends for these characters. Sadly with ASoIaF we will never have that while GRRM is busy consulting on the umpteenth spin off.

So yeah, don’t really blame the actors. They are only playing characters on a TV show and that depended on the script they got.

[imitation-steamroller]

*cracks knuckles* Alright, I’ve had a couple days to chill out, and I want to try my hand at rewriting BWBA. Well, certain elements of it. I was going to start a six or seven post long headcanon about Nia’s relationships with the rest of the team, new and old members, but this takes precedent.

Big World Big Adventures is a hell of a concept, one that honestly sounds really interesting on paper, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I like the movie, but it could have been better. Season 22 got off to a rather rough start, but it seemed to find its footing a bit partway through. I can only hope seasons 23 and 24 can pick up the slack.

So, starting with the movie...

The Movie

I said this in another post, but I think it’d be cool if the movie was used to expand on The Great Race a bit. Instead of Thomas suddenly deciding to follow a racecar around the world, he was chosen to participate in some big exchange program that was being held for the competitors in the Great Railway Show. But maybe due to impatience or human error at the docks, Thomas ends up on the wrong ship and goes to Africa instead of India.

From there, the movie would play out about the same, except it’s Thomas going from port to port to find a ship to India, with Nia following along so she can see the world and make sure he doesn’t get himself killed. Eventually, they end up at a dock with two ships: one bound for India, the other for Sodor. Thomas goes to India to start S22, and Nia decides she wants to settle down somewhere small and goes to Sodor.

It’s silly and unrealistic, but so are most Thomas movies if you think about it.

The Show

Okay, here’s where we get into the real meat. I’ve got a lot to say about the Sodor and international episodes, but I think we’ll start with-

The Show in General

There are a lot of aspects of BWBA that bother a lot of people, one of which being the Steam Team. Personally, I’m not as fond of the concept as I used to be. All it does is cause fan favorites to be pushed aside and create in-fighting within the fandom. Honestly, I’m torn between adding Rosie to make the team equal or just breaking them up all together. Adding Rosie would make the team even and give her some more spotlight, but breaking them up could allow more characters to have their chance to shine.

Next up are the opening and ending sequences. Dump them completely. There’s no reason for them to be there aside from regurgitating the episode plot and lesson, and most of the episodes feel rushed or unfinished since they need to make way for these segments. And like, I feel like it talks down to the child audience, too. In the show’s 30+ year run, the audience has always been able to figure out the moral - When there is one - for themselves, so why dumb down the show even further.

Next is the fantasy sequences. Dump them, too. We’ve had them before in episodes like Sticky Toffee Thomas and Other Side of the Mountain, but they weren’t very long and were easy to ignore. The episodes grind to a halt for upwards of a minute whenever these intrusive and oversaturated fever dreams play, so why not cut them out entirely?

Then you’ve got the bouncing. I generally don’t mind it as I feel that it makes the characters just a little more emotive, but the character models are all very clearly not made to do this. There’s a scene in one of the Brazil episodes where the engines are messing with a football and Raul is outright floating off his chassis, and another in an Italy episode where Gina looks like she’s about to break in half. Despite my feelings on it, I think the best thing to do would be to cut it out completely. It’d certainly make things easier for the animators.

And finally, you’ve got Thomas as the narrator. And like everything else I’ve mentioned, you can cut him out too. A Shed for Edward proved that we don’t really need a narrator for Thomas anymore when it was mistakenly aired without the narration. And personally, I was never completely sold on John Hasler or Joseph May. I always preferred Ben Small and Eddie Glen as Thomas.

Now then, let’s get onto-

The International Episodes

I think my biggest issue with these episodes - outside of the fantasy sequences and the lack of weight to the engines - is Thomas himself. The only explanation we’re given for him being in these countries is that he was ‘sent to help out on the x railway,’ and he spends most of these episodes acting clueless and causing trouble. I’ve got two ways of fixing the former, but I want to focus on the latter for a second.

Something I wish we had seen was episodes focused on the international characters. Mattel said they were trying to push for gender equality in the show, only for the girl characters to do absolutely jack shit. And the international guys don’t do much either, do they? More often than not, they’re just tour guides for Thomas.

I know S24 has Yong Bao and the Tiger and S23 has Crowning Around, but I would have loved an episode about Hong Mei being a sore winner, or an episode focused on down to earth Noor Jehan dealing with high and mighty Rajiv’s shit all day. Or hell, maybe give Ashima some time to shine! How has All Engines Go done more with her in an episode and a half than the original series did with three seasons and a whole movie?

And if you absolutely need Thomas in every episode, just make him the the protagonist’s sidekick, or give him some background gags or something. Or better yet, have him at the beginning of an episode, then transition over to Hong Mei, or Raul, or whoever the episode’s protagonist is, like the Small Railway Engines adaptions did.

Now, as for my point about his reasons being in these countries.

1. The episodes take place during the movie

I feel like when BWBA first came out, everybody assumed this was how it would play out, with the international episodes set during Thomas and Nia’s adventure, and the Sodor episodes being set after they come back. And personally, I feel like this is the best way to do it.

Maybe Thomas could be busy trying to finish his work so he can go to the docks and look for a ship to India, while Nia convinces him to stop and at least pay a little attention to where they are. Maybe they could meet the railway show engines and have some kind of conflict with them (Vinnie at the very least) or the engine could show them some region specific thing about their railway.

2. Thomas goes on a second world tour

Essentially what the show did, but this time there’s a reason for it. The way I would do it is have the international episodes set completely in India, when Thomas is doing the exchange I mentioned earlier. Maybe he could swap with Ashima so we could get some episodes of her on Sodor, or Rajiv so we could get him interacting with James.

Anyway, when Thomas comes back to Sodor, he finds out the The Fat Controller wants to send him from another country. Turns out, Thomas gained a lot of attention during his adventure, and FC wants him to go on an official rail tour, leading to the rest of the international episodes in S23 and 24. And if you need to have multiple countries a season, just have him come back part way through so FC can send him on his way again.

And with that out of the way, we can move to-

The Sodor Episodes

Okay, so I actually prefer the Sodor episodes to the international ones, if only because Thomas isn’t the focus of all of them. That being said, they’re still not great. Once again, my biggest issue with them is Thomas, albeit for slightly different reasons. Why is he here if he’s supposed to be going around the world? He outright references Trusty Trunky in Thomas’ Animal Ark. Where’s the continuity?

So starting off, I would remove Thomas completely. If the episode isn’t expressly stated to take place before the BWBA movie (i.e. An Engine of Many Colors), or during a short period where Thomas is between trips, then Thomas has no business being on Sodor. Instead, have the first two or three episodes take place during the movie so we can see how the engines got on without Thomas. Then at the end of one of them, we introduce Nia to Sodor so we can have some eps about her adjusting to her new home.

Aside from introducing Rebecca to the rest of the team, Nia doesn’t really do a lot in S22. She’s mostly a supporting character this season, then gets Counting on Nia towards the end, which is a whole other conversation. If I remember correctly, seasons 23 and 24 aren’t much different. And apparently she becomes the safari engine for the animal park in S24, which just...no. All kinds of no. The general consensus among fans is that she should have been a utility engine, and I 100% agree.

And 100% keep her personality from the movie. In that, she’s sassy, cheeky, and confident, but also mature, calm, and she knows when to leave when she’s not being treated right. I would have loved to see how that Nia would have interacted with the Tidmouth crew.

From there, you introduce Rebecca as the new express engine, as traffic has been increasing since Thomas' big world adventure. I think Rebecca’s episodes are fine so far, but she doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression. Maybe she could have a one-sided rivalry with James. Maybe he thought he was going to be the new express engine, only to be shown up by this eternally happy newbie.

Or maybe she could have an episode with Gordon, who’s stressing out from all the changes happening on Sodor. Have Rebecca - the engine whose life has suddenly been uprooted and has been sent to this tiny island - be the engine who talks to him during Forever and Ever. Not Nia, who had some level of agency over the changes happening in her life.

And maybe you could give her an episode with Nia, who she doesn’t really interact with much if I remember correctly. In her introduction episodes, Rebecca is shown to be a little self conscious, and gets into scrapes because she wants to stand out or be like the other engines. There so easily could have been an episode about Nia helping Rebecca find some confidence and seeing everything great about herself.

Closing Thoughts

As stated at the beginning, Big World Big Adventures is on hell of an idea, one that I honestly think could have been wonderful if it was handled correctly. And while I won’t say that this is 100% the way to do it, I do think it’s at least a little better than what we got.

A few days ago, I made a post that said that BWBA might be the worst part of the original series. And while I haven’t completely changed my stance on that, I’m hoping the next two seasons do something to convince me otherwise. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.

[themattress]

Disney TVA Finale Ranking

For every Disney TVA series that features continuous plot/character development.

13. Milo Murphy's Law - Sphere and Loathing in Outer Space: Milo Murphy’s Law is a depressing failed experiment of a series. For its first season, it was a spiritual successor to its creators previous show, the episodic hit Phineas & Ferb, but with more of an overarching narrative that was incredibly silly but also had some legitimate heart to it. But that arc’s finale ended up being the second season’s premiere, where the main cast of Phineas & Ferb crossed over and totally stole the spotlight from the characters we’d actually been following. From that point on, the “Phineas & Ferb effect” never went away, leading to a jumbled mess of a second season arc involving aliens and relationship drama and Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz annoyingly inserted in at every turn that concluded in this underwhelming finale that was so clearly not intended to be the series finale when it was made. There’s no real closure nor satisfaction to anything, leaving viewers nothing but the show’s wasted potential to dwell on.

12. The Lion Guard - Return to the Pride Lands: After the final battle, we had two more episodes left in this series and they just feel so bland and perfunctory. There’s no real conflict left, no character arcs still in need of concluding, it really just boils down to connecting fully to The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and explaining why we never saw nor heard of Kion during the events of that movie. I forgot this finale almost as soon as I saw it; that’s how weak it is. 

11. Star vs. The Forces of Evil - Cleaved: Perhaps the most notorious of the finales on this list, “Cleaved” and the three episodes leading into it really feel like watching a train that had so much momentum behind it derail, crash, explode and burn. Everything from the pointlessly disjointed story, underwhelming endgame threat, out-of-nowhere character turns, waste of important characters, failure to connect enough to the show’s past, brushing aside the horrific implications of destroying magic, and the resolution that puts the show’s freshly hooked-up main ship above everything else come together to create a woefully unsatisfying conclusion. But hey, at least it is a firm conclusion, and one I’ll always remember for just how bad it is.

10. Big Hero 6 the Series - The Mascot Upshot: While this show got screwed over by executives big-time and this short, silly story being the finale is emblematic of that fact, it does accomplish exactly what it needed to: wrapping up all lingering story threads (the Noodle Burger Gang, the unexpected bond Hiro developed with Momakase, and eliminating the last trace of Obake’s evil from San Fransokyo) and leaving things on a feel-good note.

9. Wander Over Yonder - The End of the Galaxy: This is the most standard kind of “good” finale that a series could ask for when prematurely cut short. It’s got the highest stakes to date, the biggest personal conflicts for the protagonists to deal with, the main villain at their diabolical best, and an ending where the status quo is retained while also leaving a clear path forward for new developments which fans can imagine for themselves. It’s a shame that the series couldn’t continue beyond this point as was planned, but what we got was still solid.

8. The Ghost and Molly McGee - The End: No galaxy here, just the end of its story in a calm, mundane way where the stakes are purely emotional rather than physical. Despite that, it stands out as elevating the whole series to a higher level than it was at before due to the big reveal of Scratch’s true nature and the ultimate moral the story imparts on the viewer. 

7. Sofia the First - Forever Royal: The plot of this finale is very weak. The whole Mystic Isles / Protector Sofia / Wicked Nine story arc felt half-baked to start with, and not enough had been done with Prisma / Vor to feel like her / their status as the Final Boss was earned. However, the characters make up for this. Given that Sofia the First has mostly been episodic throughout its run, you don’t quite realize how much Sofia and her family have grown until you reach the end. The things they accomplish along with the new things revealed about them elevate this finale beyond its flimsy story, with special mention going to my boy Cedric. Once you reach the end credits, you definitely feel like this show wrapped up very nicely.

6. Elena of Avalor - Coronation Day: While this finale has something of a rocky start, partially owing to the (presumably network-induced) wasted potential in how this final season’s arc progressed, once Elena and Ash Delgado have gotten trapped in the Spirit World and Esteban aligned himself with the Four Shades, things pick up and the quality stays high to the very end. The character development is on point, especially for protagonist Elena and antagonist Esteban, and the Four Shades end up selling the apocalyptic threat they pose, especially Cahu the Time Shade who gets away with some of the most horrific shit ever put on a show that airs on Disney Junior. And the ending where Elena is officially crowned Queen of Avalor is just perfect, capped off by a delightful surprise guest star appearance.

5. DuckTales - The Last Adventure: While it’s disappointing that Huey’s arc peters out halfway through in favor of Webby, some long-hanging elements are paid off in a shockingly underwhelming way, and this already long finale honestly needed even more time to fully flesh things out (ex: the resolution to the battle against the Phantom Blot, which as stands is totally off-screen), it’s counter-balanced by so much strong material and a shining heart, with the finale doing a fantastic job at tying the series together as a single, grand, three-act story.

4. Tangled the Series - Plus Est En Vous: There is very little to complain about with this finale. We get the full-on Sun and Moon-powered battle between Rapunzel and Cassandra that the series was building to, perfect cappers for the redemption arcs of Varian and King Edmund, the Big Bad Zhan Tiri having the last of her backstory filled in and then becoming an active threat in her demonic form, Eugene and the other side characters banding together to buy time for Corona’s survival, and Rapunzel getting to save the day alongside Cassandra to the point where she’s the one who cuts her own hair this time. The biggest quibble would have to be Cassandra’s turnaround and departure feeling rushed, but otherwise this was an above average conclusion to an above average TV show based on/continuing a movie.

3. The Owl House - Watching and Dreaming: Starting in “Thanks to Them” and continuing in “For the Future” before concluding in “Watching and Dreaming”, The Owl House’s finale really pulls out all the stops and makes the most of Disney having cut the series short. Every character gets their time to shine and wrap up their arcs in a satisfying way, every core theme of the show is driven home beautifully, and the action and animation is at its peak. Yes, there are problems due to the aforementioned executive meddling from Disney, particularly in how some questions are raised but either never fully answered or answered in too rushed a way to be impactful, but on the whole Dana Terrace and her crew pulled off an excellent ending. 

2. Amphibia - The Hardest Thing: Starting in “The Beginning of the End” and continuing in “All In” before concluding in “The Hardest Thing”, this was a finale that I doubt anyone expected to be as amazing as it was. Amphibia started out as just a cute, fun little show about a teenage girl trapped in a world full of talking frogs, and concludes in the most epic, intriguing, philosophical and heartfelt way a story can possibly conclude in. I could bring up nitpicks like the Final Boss battle being ridiculously quick and perfunctory, or how Sasha’s conclusion is marred by her backstory episode getting left on the cutting room floor, but these things feel insignificant when compared to just how good and fulfilling the finale is overall.

1. Gravity Falls - Weirdmageddon: This three-part conclusion (or four-part, depending on which way you’re viewing it) is often cited as one of the best finales to any television show, animated or otherwise, and it’s not hard to see why. Everything just feels like it’s coming together here, everything the show has ever been and was always building to. It’s exciting, it’s funny, it’s scary, it’s thought-provoking, and by God is it emotional. The final end credits are some of the best, most downright perfect I have ever seen, making you really feel the worthiness of the experience that was this show. It’s certainly not being topped anytime soon.