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xoxorealitygalore · 2 months ago

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Nasty Dancer III

Summary: Due to her unyielding confidence, Aphrodite earns her spot on the main roster, becoming The Bloodline's manager — or rather, Sefa's Special Counsel. His Wisewoman. But can she maintain her bold, unapologetic style when faced with her greatest challenge yet: working alongside her ex-boyfriend?

Taglist: @xbriexx @christinabae

Previous: Chapter Two

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noitsreallyaphrodite A night with the day ones ain't never hurt anybody 💕🍸

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Aphrodite’s friends—Mona, India, and Jatae—were gathered around her, their laughter and chatter forming a soft, comforting hum in the background as they readied themselves for the night ahead. The evening was meant to be a celebration of many things, though it felt a little complicated for Aphrodite. A call-up to the main roster in WWE was a huge achievement, one that deserved to be shouted from the rooftops. But tonight, there was something more she was trying to escape: the weight of her past. The weight of Joseph.

Mona, India, and Jatae were all there for her, each a vital part of the mosaic of her life. They had known Aphrodite since they were young girls in elementary school, and their bond had only strengthened over the years. Through every milestone, every heartbreak, and every success, they had been there. And tonight, they knew their role was no different: to help Aphrodite forget, if only for a few hours, the pain that still lingered from her breakup with Joseph—the man who had once been everything to her, but now, only a painful memory.

Dinner had been at Giselle, a fusion restaurant that had been their spot for as long as Aphrodite could remember. The city lights shimmered outside the windows of the sleek, upscale fusion restaurant. The hustle of the streets below was muffled by the heavy glass, but the energy of the night still found its way through—an electric hum that Aphrodite couldn’t quite ignore. The food had been good, but the company was what had really gotten her through.

The air was filled with the scent of truffle oil and seared tuna, but it was the conversation that mattered. Mona was the first to bring up the subject they all knew was on Aphrodite’s mind. They knew how much the breakup with Joseph had hurt her. It wasn’t just the end of a relationship, it was the loss of something even more significant: a future she had once thought was hers. The baby. The miscarriage. All the unspoken words, the guilt, the grief.

Jatae, always the protector, had been especially vocal about encouraging Aphrodite to speak to Joseph. To talk about the miscarriage, to not hold everything inside. She knew her friend’s silence wasn’t helping her heal. But Aphrodite wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to face Joseph—not after everything that had happened. Not after he’d broken her heart and not after she’d lost their child. Jatae had pushed. Jatae had supported. But it wasn’t until Aphrodite exploded at Joseph in an elevator, nearly screaming at him about the baby they almost had, that she realized how much the loss still consumed her.

And when she did, when she saw Jatae's look of concern, it had been the first time Aphrodite had seen the rawness of what she was carrying inside. But even then, Jatae hadn’t said "I told you so." She didn’t need to. She just offered to spend the week with Aphrodite, to help her get through it, however long it would take.

Now, an hour later, as the night morphed into something more vibrant and electric, they found themselves at the nightclub. The heavy bass of the music vibrated through the floor beneath their feet, and the colorful lights flickered overhead, splashing over the crowd like liquid rainbows. The atmosphere was infectious. The energy was real. It was supposed to be a night of fun, of distraction, and for a while, it was. Mona had Aphrodite laughing so hard that the ache in her chest seemed to ease just a little.

But then Joseph walked in.

Aphrodite’s stomach dropped, her eyes briefly meeting his from across the crowded room. He was with his cousins, Jacob and Zilla, along with a few other people Aphrodite didn’t recognize. She had heard that Joseph was a regular at this club, but seeing him in person felt like a punch to the gut. He didn’t seem to notice her at first, his attention on his own group, but as fate would have it, Yami—Jacob’s girlfriend, who also happened to work for WWE and was one of Aphrodite’s friends—spotted her from across the room.

“Hey, girl!” Yami called out, making her way over to Aphrodite’s section, her bright smile lighting up the space between them. The two shared a quick, genuine hug before Yami glanced at Joseph, then back at Aphrodite.

“Hey,” Aphrodite replied, her voice steady, though her heart was racing. She caught a glimpse of India’s narrowed eyes in her peripheral vision. India, the one who always kept an eye out for Aphrodite, the one who had never fully trusted Joseph, was already sizing him up.

Zilla, noticing the shift in the energy, leaned over and asked Mona if it was okay for them to join the girls in their section. Mona, ever the peacemaker, was quick to answer with a warm smile.

“The more, the merrier,” she said, though there was an edge to her voice that Aphrodite could hear, even through the music.

The song "Thuggin" by Big Boogie began to play, and the bass surged through the club, the rhythm like a heartbeat in the dark. Aphrodite let herself be swept into the music. She needed to feel alive again, to forget. Mona was right there beside her, dancing like they always had, and soon enough, Aphrodite found herself twerking against Mona’s body. The world around her blurred as the music consumed her, the alcohol warming her veins. For a few moments, she felt untouchable, invincible, and free from the weight of her emotions.

But then, the pressure of eyes on her returned.

Aphrodite knew Joseph was watching. She could feel it—the heat of his gaze burning through her skin like a memory she couldn’t erase. But she refused to look back. Instead, she kept dancing, focusing on Mona, who was matching her moves with a playful grin.

Meanwhile, Zilla leaned over and whispered something in Mona’s ear. Mona’s face lit up with a mischievous smile, and a few seconds later, the shift in seating took place. Without Aphrodite noticing, Mona and Joseph switched places, so now Joseph was seated behind her, his presence like a shadow she couldn’t escape.

India, who had been silently observing the whole situation, shook her head. She knew what Mona was trying to do. She knew Mona had a tendency to push things to the edge, to stir up emotions that Aphrodite wasn’t ready to face. India didn’t like it, and she wasn’t about to let it go down without a fight.

“Jatae,” India muttered under her breath, clearly irritated, “She’s doing it again. You know what she’s trying to do.”

Jatae, ever the calm one, simply grabbed India by the arm. “Let it be, India,” she said softly. “Let her handle this in her own way.”

But even Jatae couldn’t ignore the way the night was unfolding. The tension in the air was thick, almost tangible, like a storm on the horizon. Aphrodite felt it, too. The alcohol was loosening her inhibitions, but the feelings were still there, lurking beneath the surface. She wasn’t ready to deal with Joseph, but here he was, in her space, as if fate was forcing them to face what they hadn’t finished.

And then, without thinking, she turned around.

She could feel Joseph’s breath on her skin as he tugged her down onto his lap. His hands moved instinctively along her sides, tracing the contours of her body like he had done so many times before. And Aphrodite, in her slightly drunken haze, let herself lean back against his chest.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she told him, her voice low and almost defiant.

Joseph’s lips brushed her ear as he replied, his voice dark and steady. “I think it does.”

Before Aphrodite could respond, India, who had seen enough, rushed over and yanked her away from Joseph’s lap. “Bathroom break,” she said firmly, her grip tight on Aphrodite’s arm as she dragged her away.

Once in the bathroom, India didn’t hold back. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice a mix of confusion and frustration.

Aphrodite, feeling the alcohol start to dull the edges of her thoughts, shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Do you still love him?” India asked, already knowing the answer. “Of course you do. I don’t know why I even asked.”

Aphrodite sighed, but before she could respond, India went on a mini rant about how Joseph had hurt her, how he didn’t deserve her. Aphrodite didn’t have the energy to argue, but when India’s words started to sting, she snapped.

“Enough!” Aphrodite screamed. “I love you, and I know you’re looking out for me, but please stop. Let me figure things out on my own.”

India pouted, the hurt evident in her eyes, but she nodded silently. “I just don’t want you hurt again. Especially by him,” she said softly.

Aphrodite leaned into her, holding onto her tightly. “I know,” she whispered. “I know.”

In the quiet bathroom, the music from the club still thrummed faintly in the distance, but in that moment, everything else faded away. Aphrodite felt a strange sense of clarity, as though, for the first time in months, she was beginning to untangle the knots in her heart.

Tonight wasn’t about finding answers. It wasn’t about solving everything. It was about taking a breath. Letting go of the past, even if just for a few hours. And with her friends by her side, Aphrodite realized that, maybe, just maybe, that was enough.

Next: Chapter Four

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fantastic-nonsense · 2 months ago

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As a Wonder Woman fan, what's your exact opinion of Yara Flor? I see she's been received quite negatively in some parts of the internet (namely South American portions).

This ask is making me once again think about how every single piece of Yara Flor concept art is god-tier and the concept of introducing "an Amazon from the Amazon" was absolutely galaxy-brained and then DC just RUINED it by making her an adult from Idaho and doing absolutely nothing with her supposedly indigenous Brazilian mythological roots.

I'm actually super angry about how Yara was handled. Yara was the first new major Wonderfam character in 20+ years, had a ton of hype and reader buy-in, and had a fantastic initial concept; she was a desperately needed new legacy character and DC just fumbled it in every way possible. Yara could have been a vital addition to the lore, especially since the core Wonderfam is so heavily white and we've needed a new Wonder Girl for ages. But instead of creating that added dimension, we got......that.

I just...there was SO MUCH MOMENTUM AND EXCITEMENT for her, and then she absolutely bombed because no one at DC sat down and planned out who she was or what her story was going to be, then gave her introduction solo to a woman whose lack of research and care is offensively tacky at best and outright racist at worst. Joelle Jones' awful writing for Yara's initial solo combined with the bait-and-switch of introducing her not as an indigenous teenage girl from Brazil (as advertised) but as an adult woman from Idaho completely torpedoed Yara's hype and sustainability as a character.

Jones failed to define who Yara is, what she cares about, and why she matters to the rest of the Wonderfam despite having 12 issues and an event comic to do so. She also didn't do the research and DC refused to put someone on the book who would or had lived experience, and it shows. Yara's backstory was bungled horrendously, her lore is offensive, convoluted, and contradictory to the already established Amazonian lore, and she has no real, lasting connection to either the Themyscirans or the tribe she supposedly hails from. All of which were huge mistakes.

The Esquecidas (the Amazonian splinter tribe Yara is theoretically from) have successfully been integrated into the larger Amazonian mythos (thankfully), but Yara herself is just kinda there because she's effectively a dead character. There's nowhere for her to go since her introduction was fumbled so badly. I'm sure there's a lot of scrapped plans sitting around at DC while someone tries to figure out how to make her into a workable character, but at the moment she's basically unsalvagable as-is and needs a bottom-up revamp.

tl;dr most people, including me, like the concept of Yara. We like the execution a lot less, for a variety of reasons (mostly racism and cultural ignorance issues, but also narrative incoherence and a lot of missed opportunities). She's technically fixable, but she's fundamentally not sustainable as she's been built thus far.

anyway, forever thinking about the sheer wasted potential of not introducing Mainverse!Yara as a young teenager so she could actually reasonably be titled "Wonder Girl," be in Jon and Damian's age group to give her a natural group of friends, and have a natural narrative path forward for her stories