#manslaught

[ladyintree]

it wasn’t until her teammates had all finally made their way out of the locker room that she let herself cry  —   though she wasn’t actually sure if that had come from what happened to allie or what her teammates were implying about her.   the latter is what she can’t seem to get off her mind now,   wondering the same thing they’re all wondering:  if she did it on purpose.   she hasn’t spoken a word since hearing the crack of allie’s bone,   hasn’t made eye contact with anyone,   hasn’t uttered an apology,  hasn’t even made an attempt to defend herself from all the snide comments shot her way.   she feels like she doesn’t even recognize herself—  but not because of what she did,   but rather,   how she hasn’t been able to bounce back yet,  because every time nat reminded the team what taissa did,  it would have normally been instinct for taissa to fight dirty,   to make her look worse than tai somehow,  but she couldn’t even pretend to deflect from her words.   she just let herself feel them all,   allowed the team to take it all out on her—  because at least this time, she knows she deserves it.   she just has to shake this off before the plane takes off tomorrow,  and then she can focus again.  that’s why she’s here,  alone,  trying to get her teammates’ words and the vision of allie out of her head before she can move on.

but when she hears the door to the locker room open,  she finally lifts her head out of her hands,  then anxiously swipes at her cheeks to not let anyone know she was crying— as if it’s not clear by her eyes,  anyway.   she sits up,  glancing around for her items in an attempt to hurry out,  but when she looks up to see that @manslaught is the one to enter the locker room,  she freezes,  less anxious and more confused.  ❝  i— was just leaving,  ❞    she mumbles,  as if she needs to get out of her way,  but then she realizes mikayla doesn’t have any real reason to be in here,   and maybe that would have only made her want to leave quicker before—  but this time,  instead,   she relaxes slightly,  remaining in her seat on the bench,  waiting for her to say something.

[tarote]

         ›          [   CONTINUED.   ]                         @manslaught

the corners of her mouth quirk up,    “  yeah,  actually                 i got him on tour,  i named him henry.  ”     she still doesn't know how far is too far when it comes to joking with mikayla given the past and their history.   but part of her wants to just say fuck it to everything and say that they're going to be coparenting this stupid stuffed shark in mikayla's hands.   however,  she persists and keeps herself from making such a stupid and out of pocket joke.

if she's scared of that i wonder how           oh god,  the card.

it feels like its burning through the fabric of her torn jeans.   it was stupid,  this all was stupid,  so stupid.   teddy was really regretting even bringing,  let alone writing the card.   she wasn't sure if she was quite ready yet to express that much emotion with her close friend from the wilderness but something has to be done.

it was like a game of cat and mouse since mikayla had stumbled her way into teddy's VIP a few months prior.   perhaps chicken would be a better way to describe it.   who was going to make a move first.   sure,  the two of them had shared a kiss or two in the past couple of months but it wasn't entirely what teddy had wanted.   desired,  even.

she wants the same thing that eighteen year old teddy would've wanted.   to get the hell back home and settled down with mikayla desousa.   but she knew she couldn't do that.   even after their quick kiss they'd shared when rescue was immanent and teddy didn't know what to do with her body and made that move.

the only move teddy had ever had the balls or brains enough to fully make on mikayla.

which is why she's sitting here.   her hand resting on the card in her pocket.   the greeting card she'd filled completely.   the inside as well as on the back.   it was too much,  this was entirely too much.   why was it that mikayla always seemed to catch her off guard in ways she would've never expected?   usually teddy wouldn't have this much of an issue asking someone that she has feelings for some sort of reassurance that they felt the same way.

as she finally reaches into her pocket she pulls out the birthday card.   the envelope was sort of tattered,  a coffee stain on the ridge of it making it clear that it wasn't written in the same day.   it sat somewhere for a while.   the name mick adorns the front of the envelope,  a single heart and star on opposite sides of each other next to the name.

as she hands it over to mikayla,  she's spoiling the surprise instead of letting the suspense build as to what could possibly be under,     “  i fear literally just writing do you like me yes or no would've been less mortifying.  ”     teddy is then completely burying her face into her hands.   embarrassment washing over her even though she has nothing to be embarrassed about.   yet.

[clownfields]

"i'll let you pick," he says, pointing between his challenger and his jeep, raising a brow as he looks back to her. cole actually knows which car he'd rather let @manslaught test drive, but he's trying to make her happy, and that's not something he's ever really good at with his girlfriends. he's usually already fumbled by now, got cold feet for reasons he can never figure out, but something about this thing with mikayla seems to be working, so if that means putting one of his cars at risk to convince himself he's doing something right, he'll stick to it. he tries not to dwell on something bad happening — he'll just buy another if he has to. "come on, i know you already have an answer."

[gamer2002]

Alec Baldwin case means that you are not guilty of manslaughter if some random dude insists some random bullets are evidence in your criminal case.

[itchose]

@manslaught ... 🍃 mikayla isn't the first person she would normally go to with something like this. when she was younger, maybe, but mikayla made it clear a long time ago that the friendship they once had is over — something that hurt, but as she grew up, she learned to understand it, even if the ache of sharing something like that with someone and then immediately losing her never really went away.

none of that really seems to matter anymore after a year stranded in the wilderness, which is why she approaches her now, hesitant in the way she always is with her, specifically. ❝  i know this is really dumb, but could you help me with my hair for a second?  ❞   it’s not the question she really wants to ask.  that,  she’s working up to. mikayla's the only one who can really answer it from both sides: she's a girl who's disappeared on her after kissing her before and she's the girl who's been with shauna before. ❝  like, are these... fucking braids even? ❞ she asks, looking back at mikayla shyly, and it's obvious that's not really what she wants to talk about. she wants to look presentable, as much as she can given their circumstances, but she really wants mikayla's help with something else.

[fruitywhovian]

Istg if I see one more of those cringe tinder ads I’m gonna make a pipe bomb

[l0calhero]

"okay, dude, are you good?" she stares at @manslaught blankly, almost impressed by her show of strength; maybe because it feels too familiar, the way mikayla's anger seems to be fueling her every movement now, because audrey's been there before. she's used to the casual bitchiness from her coworker, but something clearly shifted after two of their classmates came through. one more pump of the popcorn and she officially can't take it anymore, stepping forward and reaching for mikayla's arm carefully to pull it away. "any more and we're going to have a fucking butter shortage that puts us out of business. what's your deal?"

[cutetalented]

she's staring blankly at the bracelet on her wrist, aimlessly running her fingers along it as she waits for @manslaught to finish what she's going on about. something about taissa being busy, something brittany finds relieving, actually, because maybe it's a chance for mikayla to think about literally anything else. brittany doesn't know first hand was it was really like for her out there, or even in prison, but she does know that her ex is back in her life way too late for what she deserves. when there's a pause, she quickly sits up, putting her hands out in front of her. ❝  okay, i know what you need. ❞ her brow raises, and she hopes mikayla's mind doesn't immediately go to her. ❝  we need to get you a date. or— at least someone to take your mind off this. if you want to be friends with her, fine, but that doesn't mean you're closing yourself off to the possibility of meeting someone. ❞ because that's all this is, right? they're just friends, so to save mikayla from getting trapped into wanting more with someone who doesn't deserve it, she wants to help her move on. it's almost a test, one she's hoping mikayla won't back out of.