#she gets bigger in her defense mode

[planet-poptropica]

⋆ More doodles of...her!! I’m still trying to figure out some aspects of her design, like her Defense mode. Also, she has a name now thanks to @/popping-tropics! Her name is Mellori! ⋆

⋆ This name was too cute not to go with. Raven is truly a papa bird now. ⋆

[xxoxobree]

The Boy Is Mine

Miles Morales x Black Fem Spider-person Reader v Gwen Stacy.

Summary: He saved you and She didn’t want to and maybe she was right because the boy is now yours.

WARNINGS: Fighting, bad words, I think that’s it.

A/n: I was tied!!! Of seeing Miles cheat with Gwen so I took matters into my own hands. This is probably one of the best stories I’ve ever written too so don’t skip. I had so much fun writing this.

For the past 2 years, you've been the one and only Spider-woman. Everyone knows the story by now, bitten by a radioactive spider, and now you spend your time protecting the city. Everything was going great. Or that's what you wanted to believe as you fought Wilson Fisk, a person who is supposed to be behind bars. This Wilson was different - bigger, stronger, he was giving you a run for your money.

"What have they been feeding you at the Raft, Willie?" You quipped as you dodged a punch. "Haha, missed me," you said, landing a punch combo to his jaw.

"You stupid spiders are always in the way," he said, managing to catch you off guard, knocking you back. This fight is definitely gonna take a while.

"Who are you anyway, where's Spider-Man?" Fisk asked, walking menacingly toward you as you lay on the floor to catch a breath.

"I don't get paid enough for this," you said, getting up, squaring up with the large man.

Spider-Man, what are you talking about, Fisk?" You asked the man leaping backwards, dodging all of his hits.

"Enough of this talk, this ends now," Fisk said, running toward you. You charged back, your fist balled, about to strike, but he dodged and caught you by your throat.

"Another spider under my belt," Fisk said, laughing as he squeezed your throat. Gasping for air, you tried your best to break free from his grip, but your vision began to fade out. Your strength left you, and your eyes began to close. All you wanted to do was sleep, but you blinked your eyes again. Maybe you were hallucinating from the lack of oxygen, but a portal with glowing lights appeared, and two other spider personas flew forward, knocking Fisk out. You dropped to the floor, gasping for air, but still fainted in the process.

You probably weren't out for long, but you heard faint voices, a female and a male.

"What do we do, Gwen? We can't just leave her here."

"Miles, what are we supposed to do? We can't take her back to HQ."

You were too weak to actually open your eyes to see who was talking. Too weak to stop them from kidnapping you and taking you to wherever HQ was. You tried to let out a small groan, but it was useless.

"That's exactly what we need to do, Gwen. She needs medical care."

"Ughhh.... Fine, you grab her."

You heard footsteps move towards you, and your body being lifted before you succumbed to the darkness around you again.

✨HQ✨

Your bloodshot eyes shot open as you sat up, feeling around for your mask that wasn't on your face. You heard the fast-paced beeping of a heart monitor, letting you know your heart rate was up as you ripped all the pads off of you, standing ready to leave the room before two people came walking inside. You immediately got in defense mode as you studied them - an older man in a blue suit with a spider on the front, and a younger boy about your age in a black suit, also with a spider on the front.

"Where the fuck am I, and who are you?" you said, pointing.

"Welcome to HQ, Spiderwoman. I'm Spider-Man, and he's Spider-Man. Glad you survived. Miles, I'll leave you to it," the older man in the blue suit said, walking away.

Miles walked closer to you, setting off your spider senses. You closed one of your eyes, moving your head to the side, resting your hand on your head. "Don't come any closer," you said.

You're probably not used to that, but you're like me, it does that sometimes. I'm Miles.

"Yeah, I got that from earlier," you said, flopping back on the hospital cot, still very much in pain.

Miles wasn't in the room when they took off your mask, so this was the first time he saw your face. He scanned every detail of your face, taking in the way your plump lips formed into a natural pout, or maybe that was just because you were in pain. The way your brown eyes sparkled under the bright white light, he couldn't help but be captivated by your gaze. He loved your braids and the way your pink beads rattled every time you moved.

Miles felt something stir in the pit of his stomach the longer he looked at you. Maybe it was just gas from the spicy food he ate earlier, he thought, in denial of the growing attraction he felt for a stranger.

"Well, aren't you gonna tell me your name?" Miles finally mustered the courage to ask.

You turned to face him, the pain momentarily forgotten as you observed his silly smirk. You weren't usually the friendliest person, but there was something about Miles that felt different, something that made you want to open up.

"I'm Y/n," you replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

Nice to meet you Y/n," Miles said, offering his hand. You looked at it. "I'd shake your hand, but I'm in too much pain right now," you said, causing both of you to laugh. There it was, that fluttering feeling in the pit of Miles' stomach again as he watched a beautiful smile grace your face.

"So, what is this place and why am I here?" you asked Miles, curiosity shining in your eyes. "This is the Spider Society. We brought you here because you were in bad shape from fighting Fisk," Miles explained. You coughed a bit. "Yup, he whooped my ass," you said, making both you and Miles burst into laughter again.

Unbeknownst to the two of you, Gwen stood outside the door, her eyes fixed on the scene unfolding inside. With each word you said to Miles, with each chuckle you elicited from him, the flames of jealousy ignited within her. Unable to bear it any longer, she burst into the room, startling both you and Miles.

"What the fuck? You didn't even have to do all that, shawty," You exclaimed. Miles stood up, a look of surprise on his face. "Gwen, this is Y/n, Spider-woman, the one we helped," he explained, pointing toward you.

"Oh, hi. I'm glad you're okay," Gwen said, her words laced with a hint of insincerity.

This your girl Miles ?" You asked.

"No, no." They both said in unison dragging their o's. It was obvious to you that there was more to the story by the way she busted into the room but that was none of your business.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Y/n. We should get going," Gwen said, gently tugging Miles towards the door.

Before leaving, Miles tossed you a watch that you effortlessly caught. "Maybe we can see each other again," he said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. You smiled, watching him walk away.

"Hmmm," you hummed, examining the watch before clasping it onto your wrist. "Maybe we will, Spider-Man."

As Gwen and Miles made their way through the headquarters, Miles couldn't ignore Gwen's evident distress. He studied her face and body language.He called out to her, "Gwen?"

Getting no response, Miles tried a sing-songy voice, calling her name once more. "What, Miles?" she replied, her voice tinged with bitterness.

"I know you're upset. Do you want to talk or not?" Miles asked, genuinely wanting to understand what was bothering her.

"Why don't you go talk to Y/n?"

"Gwen, are you serious? I barely know her, but she's a cool girl," Miles defended, trying to reassure her.

"Oh, she's cool now?" Gwen's tone dripped with sarcasm and doubt.

Miles gently reached for Gwen's hand, stopping her in her tracks, making her face him directly. "Look, Gwen, you don't have to worry about her, okay?" he said softly.

Gwen's expression softened, and she nodded, a flicker of trust returning to her eyes. "Alright, Miles. She said giving him a small punch to the shoulder.

✨The Mission✨

You were back in your dimension 2 days post fight with Fisk feeling good as new. You were in bed, examining the watch Miles gave you, when a hologram of a woman appeared, making you scream.

"Oh hey there new recruit, I'm Lyla," she said, waving.

"Hi... Lyla," you said slowly, waving back.

"Sorry to scare you, but the boss needs you at HQ, your first mission... Yayyyy, so suit up," she said before disappearing.

"Uh, okay," you said, slipping into your skintight suit and mask, slapping on your watch, struggling to find out how to get it to work because no one gave you a tutorial. But you managed using your genius brain and stepped through the portal, gracefully landing in a dark room with monitors.

"Great, you're here......Miles!" the man you were familiar with but never got his name called out.

From the shadows, Miles emerged with a smile on his face. "Good to see you again, Mamita," he said.

"Oh, we're using pet names now?" you said, matching his flirty energy.

"That's enough," Miguel said as he stood before you two. "Anomaly in Earth 746, catch it."

"Anomaly?" you questioned.

"I'll tell you all about it later," Miles said, grabbing your hand, opening a portal, and pulling you through.

You dusted off your hands. The mission went well, a little too well, especially for a Goblin mission.

"You're pretty good, Miles."

"You too, Mamita. Gotta say, I doubted you a little after the Fisk fight," he teased.

"Oh, whatever," you said, rolling your eyes, chuckling a bit.

You moved closer to Miles, mere inches between you two, as you ran your fingers along his jawline.

Miles' breath hitched as you touched him, his hazel eyes expressing the tension between you two. There was no denying that Miles was handsome, and you were eager to learn more about him.

"So what dimension are you from, Papa?" you asked playfully, a flirtatious smile gracing your lips.

"1610. Maybe we could go there?" Miles responded, his voice filled with anticipation.

"Take a girl on a date first, Miles," you laughed, teasing him gently.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I..." Miles stammered, trying to explain himself.

"I would love to see your dimension, Miles," you interrupted, cutting him off.

And so, Miles took you to his dimension.

"This is Brooklyn." Miles said as you two stood atop the Williamsburg Bank building, you marveled at the city below. It was similar to your own home, yet distinctly different. Miles watched in awe as your eyes sparkled at the city, feeling a flutter in his stomach.

"It's beautiful, Miles," you whispered, taking a seat to soak in the view.

He walked forward and sat beside you, his face beaming with joy. You turned towards him, a warm smile on your lips.

"So, what's your story, big head?" you asked, playfully leaning on him.

"My story?" Miles responded, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"You're Spider-Man, Miles. What's your origin?" you asked , curious him.

"You know, regular Spider-Man stuff. I gained my powers and now I fight bad guys," Miles answered, a humble tone in his voice.

"That's not what I meant," you said, giving him a small shove. "What's the real story? I was bitten by a radioactive spider too, two years ago on a field trip to Oscorp. Your world doesn't seem to have Oscorp." You sighed, frustration and sadness mixing in your voice. "I got these crazy powers that I didn't know what to do with, so I decided to keep them a secret and pretend that I was a regular kid."

The weight of your words hung heavy in the air as you choked up, memories flooding back. Miles noticed your distress and perked up. "It's okay, you don't have to share if you don't want to," he said, trying to comfort you.

But something compelled you to open up, to let go of the burden you had been carrying alone for so long. You rested your hand gently on top of his. "I pretended to be some regular kid, and that led to me losing my mom. And from then on, I decided to help everyone else," you finished.

Miles's heart stung as he listened to your story. "I lost someone close to me too, my uncle Aaron. He was shot saving me," he shared, the pain evident in his voice.

A sense of understanding and connection washed over you both. You leaned your head on his shoulder. "See, that's your story, Papa," you said softly, appreciating the bond that formed between you. "You know, Miles, it's so nice to have someone to talk about this stuff with now," you added, gazing at the sun setting on the horizon.

That moment solidified your blooming relationship with Miles. Whenever you had free time, you would pop into his dimension, and vice versa. Now, in your suit, you found yourself in dimension 1610, patiently waiting for Miles to catch up as you swung through the bustling city.

"Keep up, Miles," you teased, a mischievous glint in your eyes as you effortlessly jumped from building to building, landing with grace. The two of you were headed back to his house, where Jeff and Rio, his parents, adored you and had grown fond to your presence after all the time you spent with Miles.

They couldn't wrap their head around the whole different dimension thing and just assumed Miles' imagination had run wild. You two walked through his front door.

"Hey Mama Rio," you greeted Miles' mom.

"Hey Mija."

"Hey Mom," Miles said, hugging his mom before the two of you walked into his room. You two were too caught up in conversation to notice a guest. Gwen. She cleared her throat, making you two snap your attention towards her.

"Gwen, hey," Miles said nervously. "What are you - what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you because I barely see you anymore, but now I know why," Gwen answered.

You snickered a bit, knowing you essentially snatched Miles from Gwen.

"Oh, that's funny?" Gwen asked.

You threw your hands up in surrender, not wanting to get into it with her.

"We were about to watch a movie, order some pizza. You can stay if you want," Miles offered to pacify Gwen, but he was hoping she'd turn it down. He cherished his alone time with you.

"No, it's fine, Miles. I'll leave," Gwen said with a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Uh, okay. Bye," Miles said

"Bye, Gwendolyn," you added, unable to hide the small smirk on your face.

Gwen turned to you and asked, "You know what, can we talk outside, Y/n?"

Rolling your eyes, you agreed, "Sure, why not?" You grabbed Miles' hand, signaling for him to come along.

"Alone," Gwen insisted, her tone unwavering.

"Okay... I'll be back, papa," you said to Miles, giving him a smile and a pat on the cheek.

As you followed Gwen out of the window and onto the roof, you could feel the tension building up. Once you reached a secluded corner, she turned to face you, arms folded.

"What is your problem?" she asked, her voice filled with accusation.

"Girl, what are you talking about?" you answered defensively.

"Miles," she replied, her tone laced with frustration.

"What about him? He's fine, great even," you said, walking closer to her.

"Don't play dumb, Y/n," Gwen snapped.

"What are you getting at, Gwen?" you said, your tone becoming pointed as you grew tired of the conversation.

"He's mine, Y/n, and you're trying to steal him away," her voice filled with possessiveness.

You couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Yours?" you asked, shaking your head. "Gwen, you lost him the day you two saved me."

As the words left your mouth, the truth hung heavy in the air. Gwen had been holding onto her feelings for Miles while pretending everything was okay. But deep down, she knew that the connection between you and Miles was undeniable.

What you didn't see coming was a slap across your face from Gwen, not thinking she was bold enough to do it. The sting of her actions lingered in the air as shock resonated through your entire being. And what Gwen didn't see was Miles, camouflaged and watching you two from a distance. He didn't hear anything you two talked about, but he sure did see the slap.

As the pain subsided, you didn't retaliate. Deep down, you and Gwen both knew that you had won this battle, that Miles was now dedicated to you.

"Why would you do that, Gwen?" You heard a voice behind you, and turned to see Miles standing there, his eyes filled with disappointment.

You watched in satisfaction as Gwen's eyes widened, realizing that she had not only hurt you but also jeopardized her chances with Miles. She had unknowingly made it even easier for you to snatch his affection away from her.

"Miles, I..." Gwen stammered, unable to find the right words to justify her actions.

"Why would you hit her?" Miles asked, his voice filled with a mix of anger and hurt.

"You didn't hear what she said, Miles. She's trying to tear us apart. You were mine," Gwen spewed out, desperately clinging to her fading hopes.

"Yours? I'm not some object, Gwen," Miles retorted, his voice laced with disappointment. "Is that why you brought her outside? To hit her?"

A heavy silence hung in the air as Gwen struggled to find an explanation, her words failing her. The truth had been laid bare, and Miles saw her for who she truly was.

"Save it, Gwen," Miles said, his voice firm. "You just showed me the type of person you really are. I've been pining after you for months, and you always brushed me off. But now, now I have someone who actually likes me back."

With those words, he took your hand, intertwining your fingers with his.

You looked at Gwen, a smug look on your face as you squeezed Miles' hand tighter.

"You don't mean that, Miles."Gwen said.

"Yes, I do," Miles turned to you. "She likes me back, and she's the most caring, sweetest, funniest person in this dimension and every other," Miles said, making you tear up a bit, your lip bottom poking out.

"You're so cute when you do that," Miles said.

Gwen watched as her heart slowly broke. She had played with Miles,but now she had lost the game. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She should be the one he said all those things to. The tears pricked her eyes.

"Y/n, will you be my girlfriend?" The words echoed in Gwen's head, the final blow that made her tears roll down her face.

"Of course, I will, papa," you said, jumping on Miles and giving him a tight hug before pulling back and giving him a big kiss, your first one in front of his former crush.

You and Miles turned to Gwen, watching as she continued to cry.

"You should go, Gwen," you said, your heart aching a bit for the girl, but not a lot.

Miles grabbed your hand as the two of you walked off toward the stairwell, leaving Gwen behind.

[sleepynoons]

shoko x f!reader, sfw

cw: mentioned gojo x geto, smoking

notes: first time writing for a female character! though it's an ambiguous relationship... (the crowd boos) in my defense, i love tragic yuri. potentially a projection of my own struggles + confusion with my queer identity. i guess we'll never know! :D anyway, gege akutami, i can confidently say, you FUMBLED THE FUCKING BAG with ieiri shoko. give my hot doctor queen some screentime - you have 5 chapters to do something. Do something about it.

SHOKO WATCHES as ash falls from the butt of her cigarette, which she taps with quick raps of her pointer finger. she’s surprised she’s remembered to put it out at all. you made a big fuss about it when you came home later than she had one evening and caught her smoking indoors. she rolls her eyes and takes one last puff, thinking back to when the two of you had just become roommates.

you used to be the primary doctor over at kyoto jujutsu high but had quit after a short two-year run because you were overworked and exhausted. the two of you met up for drinks right after you quit (you literally called her and utahime up twelve hours after submitting your letter of resignation), and she mentioned briefly that her home was always a mess. you suggested the idea of living together, and she didn’t have a reason to reject your offer. 

anyway, you’ve become a bigger pain in the ass than she had anticipated. yes, you’re a big help when it comes to chores, but you’re also so insistent when it comes to her lifestyle. not that she bothers to listen to you, but you frequently nag about her smoking, drinking, lack of eating, so on and so forth. 

in fact, you’ve taken it upon yourself to take care of her, as if she’s a dying house plant that you’re nurturing back to life. you pack her two bentos every work day, one for lunch and the other for dinner, the meals never identical. you replenished her bare wardrobe with new turtlenecks and work pants because she’s “not steve jobs,” and it’s not like she has an excuse to wear the same thing every day now that you’re doing the laundry and ironing. this is all to say that you’re too involved, too knowledgeable about her mode of operations, for her liking. 

throwing the cigarette onto the floor, she extinguishes it with her foot and heads into your shared apartment. 

not even two steps into the foyer, she hears you call from the couch, “the bath’s ready!”

shoko shrugs her shoulder bag onto the floor next to her heels and pads over to you. “why are you still up?” she asks.

you peel your eyes away from your phone to smile at her. “i was waiting for you,” you reply, a smirk tugging at your lips. 

she heads to the bathroom and says, “go to bed.” you just giggle in response.

in the bathroom, shoko shimmies out of her clothes, brushes her teeth while avoiding her reflection in the mirror, and grabs a towel. when she sinks into the bath, she realizes you’ve added a few drops of jasmine and ylang ylang to the water to help her decompress. somehow, you’ve even managed to figure out her favorite aromatics.

your relationship is peculiar, to say the least. roommates but more. not lovers, of course.

shoko’s long distanced herself from such relationships. she barely has an interest in making friends, let alone find a lifelong partner. yet, upon some introspection, she finds her own behavior and attitude towards you… odd. you bother her, but she hasn’t put a stop to it like she normally does with others. she’s not tired or bored of long conversations with you. even though she’d like it if you gave her some more space and privacy, she doesn’t prevent you from learning more about her.

it’s not that she’s unguarded; she has deliberately lowered her guard around you.

she sinks deeper into the bath, blowing bubbles in the water as she thinks.

she doesn’t love you. (what does being in love even feel like?)

she does like having you around.

ten more minutes of half-conscious musing later, she gets out of the bath and prepares for bed. when she exits from the bathroom, she finds you still sitting on the couch, doom scrolling and humming an inane tune. but this time, she also smells the familiar scent of smoke and bitterness.

she glances at the living room table and spots a small dish. you’re smoking, she realizes.

“i thought you didn’t approve of smoking indoors,” she says.

you look over your shoulder and chuckle. “i’m trying to see what all the hype is. smoking really isn’t all that, you know, shoko?”

your roommate walks over to sit beside you. “you’ve never smoked before?” she asks.

you shrug. “no, i have, when we were much younger. but i remember choking on my first time, so i never bothered to try again.”

“so what made you try this time?”

“you.” you say it so effortlessly. then, you beam at her before scrolling to another video on your phone.

shoko is unsure how to react, so she just leans her head on your shoulder. does she have that much of an influence on you? probably not. it’s common for people to pick up on mannerisms and habits of those around them.

she recalls her high school days with gojo and geto. those two were undeniably close, and they frequently behaved like one another. when she caught wind of the nature of their relationship, it all seemed to make sense – they looked and acted exactly like a couple should.

she wonders if the two of you are anything like her classmates. do you share the same sense of humor? do you have your own language – your own catchphrases and inside jokes and syntax? do you enjoy being around her? does she know you the way you know her?

does she want to know you?

she’s feeling a slight pinch in her temple. she’s not in a rush to figure things out.

shoko reaches across you to take the cigarette from your grasp, acutely aware that she’s taking a breath from where your lips were just moments ago.

“i want something savory tomorrow,” she says.

you nod your head. “i know.”

of course you already know she hates sweet things. she puts out the cigarette.

[mamisfavmosher]

i love your judgment day writings so much!

and i love how you write the one about the safe word use, i feel like it’s still an understatement topic and i’m glad someone can write about it!

would you feel comfortable making a similar one but where reader goes non verbal, where reader won’t speak and only uses gestures to make them understand that she’s uncomfortable and how would they comfort her? maybe they know she goes non verbal when she’s uncomfortable but it never happened that she had to tap out during a scene so they don’t know what to do?

thank you so much, if u don’t feel comfortable it’s okay🫶🏻 hope you have a nice day !

thank you! that makes me so happy that you think i write understated topics well! and i'm so sorry this took so long! but on the bright side, i passed all my classes!!

quiet gestures // poly!judgment day x fem!reader

SMUT - MINORS DNI

warnings: language, safewording variation, rough judgment day, slight degradation, oral, penetration, hair pulling, spit k!nk, slight electricity play, etc, JD is not apart of this

Readers POV

It had been a rough night in general for The Judgment Day, but for some reason, losing my contender's match against Iyo Sky is really what set the rest of my partners off. They had chosen to wait for me backstage, and personally, I think that's part of the reason I lost the match. I always do better with them cheering me on from ringside, but Mami suggested I prove I can do it on my own. Since that plan went terribly, I knew I was in for it.

I cautiously walked backstage and immediately caught their heated glares. "Locker room. Now." Damian demanded and gestured for me to walk in front of all of them. Letting out a shaky sigh, I lead the way back to the locker room and quickly went inside.

"What the hell was that, lass? What were you thinkin'?" Finn started going off as soon as he walked in the room. "I mean, was there anything going through your head at all?"

Dom was quick to add his opinion, too. "Clearly, she doesn't know what she's doing." He shook his head in disappointment.

Then, Damian. "Honestly, this is ridiculous. We get you this match, we train you to win and hopefully have a chance at becoming a champion, and then you go and screw it all up!"

"Boys," Rhea cut them off with an icy tone. "Enough. She knows what happens when she loses." Her features still expressed her anger, but she calmly walked over to me.

Her hand reached out and fisted into my hair, causing a gasp to escape my throat at the surprise. "Open," Her free hand tapped a finger on my lips. She spit onto my tongue and forced my mouth closed. I swallowed on instinct, an eerie smile spreading across her face. "Good girl. Obviously, she knows how to do something right." Rhea called out to the boys behind us.

"She needs to prove it to all of us, then." Dom said and yanked me toward the rest of them. "You know what to do, slut. Bend over the couch." He pushed me toward the couch and I stumbled over my feet.

"I really don't think we have to do this-" I attempted to plea. "I mean, I think I put up a pretty good fight against Iyo." My defense was shut down as Damian and Finn quickly worked on tearing my clothes off and bending me over the side of the couch. Dom came around me and kneeled on the couch, unzipping his pants and thrusting himself into my mouth. I sputtered and gagged as Finn held my hands behind my back, tears gathering in my eyes as my throat burned and I struggled to breathe.

Damian had dug through one of Rhea's bags that she always brings to shows and pulled out a small prodding stick with a shocker at the end. My mind immediately went into panic mode. That tool had only been used on me once and I made it very clear that I wasn't a fan.

Finn was holding my head against Dom's stomach to make me deepthroat his cock and Rhea was attaching one of her bigger straps to her waist. Rhea had walked over to me, Damian in tow, and quickly thrusted the toy into me from behind. Finn let Rhea take over holding my hands and moved to take turns with Dom while Damian started poking the shocker around near my breasts, building up my nerves before actually turning it on.

I squealed around Dom's and Finn's cocks as I felt the multiple stabbing shocks. My body writhed to try and get away from Damian. "Don't move away from me, babygirl. I can always make it worse." He tutted and began to move the stick lower towards my cunt. I whimpered in fear, but remained silent even as Dom and Finn stopped using my mouth to watch the other two use me.

"C'mon, pretty. Let Mami know how good she's making you feel. It's the least you could do after tonight." Rhea snarled and pounded into me harder.

Finn seemed to be the only one who caught on to the fact that something might be wrong as no words or sounds left my mouth. This was a scenario he had become familiar with over the months. If I was in an uncomfortable situation that I didn't really know how to handle, I chose silence. "Lass?" He attempted to check in.

Rhea and Damian, oblivious to the situation, carried on with their actions. Damian moved the shocker right over my clit and I hurriedly squeezed at Rhea's hands in a panic. My eyes widened, glossy and teary, as I made eye contact with Finn and Dom, silently pleading for an end to this.

As soon as Rhea felt the squeezing on her hands, she quickly pulled out and helped me lay down on the couch, quietly informing Damian on what happened.

"Love? Are you okay? What's happening?" Finn wiped at my falling tears as I curled my knees up to my chest.

Dom ran a comforting hand over my side. "Chica, what's wrong?"

Damian started pacing the room, fearing that they had broken my trust and scared me. Rhea moved to try and hold my hands, sending a worried glance to the boys as I continued to cry. "Was it too much, babe?" She softly smoothed a hand over my hair and down my cheek. I slowly nodded and gripped Rhea's hand tightly.

The tense silence in the room conveyed their concern. They were too rough and it got out of hand. To the point that their girl, who they're supposed to take care of, became uncomfortable and had to tap out.

Damian finally kneeled down next to the others, his brows deeply furrowed. "Please forgive us, babygirl. This shouldn't have happened." His warm hand was placed on my thigh.

Sniffling, I looked at all of them and gently nodded my head. They all breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent soft smiles my way.

Finn peered up at me, "I'm just glad I was able to realize the moment you became uncomfortable, love. And I'm sorry I didn't react as quick as I should have, but at least now I know what to look for." I sweetly smiled at him and reached for his hand. He took mine and kissed my knuckles.

"You really had me worried there for a second, sweetheart." Dom said as he and Rhea both moved closer. "I think we should come up with an official gesture for you to use when things are getting out of hand. Something that would let us all know to stop when we see it."

I excitedly nodded my head and held my hand up in signature Judgment Day style, a rock 'n' roll gesture.

"It's settled, then. Anytime we see you use that signal during a scene, we all stop immediately. We just wanna keep you safe and happy, babydoll." Rhea said, giving me a quick kiss, smiling into it. "We love you."

From then on, they stuck to their word and kept a close eye out for any specific gestures during some of their rougher scenes, proving time and time again how much they love me.

[dcitrinegames]

Thieves At Midnight Book 1 Master Post

Thieves at Midnight is an interactive work focused on character and relationship development and replayability. It’s set in the heist genre, and you’ll have missions throughout the course of the game that you can choose or fail and choices to make that will eventually culminate in the final heist.

Trigger Warnings: Parent death, grief, child abuse

Word Count: 95k

Chapter Three available on my patreon!

Demo  ❂ Patreon  ❂ Forum

You were born a child prodigy-a natural genius, talented at everything and anything, and it put you on the fast track for a career in law enforcement, until it went down in flames.

You built a new life for yourself on the other side of the law, but but it all came to a stop with an encounter with an upcoming thief team. You were set up to meet each other by someone who is pulling the strings, but to what end? With no other options, you agree to sign on with them for their first real job, but only to investigate who the person targeting you is and why. It’s supposed to be only temporary, and you were supposed to only be trying to find out who is coming after you, but eventually it becomes obvious that this mystery is bigger than you could’ve imagined, and the answers seem to be where you actually came from...

Lots of different orientation/sexuality choices (nonbinary lesbian, she/her gay man, my gender is bisexual, and more)

Play on Narrative and not have to worry about stat checks and correct answers, normal to play the game as intended, or Master Thief Mode, a true challenge.

Tons of achievements to earn!

Choose your origin between driver, forger, and thief-this will choose who your contact is, which prologue you play through, which missions you’ll play, and what role you’ll have in the final heist at the end of the game.

The player character has a set backstory and core personality traits; you’ll choose how you lean into them.

You can communicate entirely in sign language and choose which sign language you communicate with.

A variety of skills to potentially build; be a jack of all trades, a blend of two or three, or a specialist.

Decisions you made, your lifepath, and your successes or failures over the course of the game will decide the final heist at the end of the game.

Book One of Thieves At Midnight has eight love interests:

“Whatever it is that you want out of this life, I want to give it to you. I want to be your hero.” Caolán / Clíodhna O’Cunningham is the team’s leader; something spurned them to choose a life of building a professional thief team and dodging law enforcement over taking the path of a professor or diplomat. But after they meet you, their professional front soon starts combating with their heart. They are a love interest for any player.

“I’ll say or do almost anything if it’ll make you stay.” Isaiah/Ivanna is the team’s explosives expert and eternal optimist; they have the utmost faith that no matter what happens, the team will pull through. But maybe the optimism and sense of humor is just a defense. They are a love interest for any player.

“I didn’t know what to think the first time I saw you again, but I do now, and I think that we’re supposed to be together.” Milana is the team’s hacker, and your fellow prodigy; you knew Milana when you were children, and fate has brought you back together again. Milana is intelligent and hardworking, but she needs someone to show her that she’s more than just how she’s useful to people. She is a love interest for female players.

“I said to you when we met that you were just a person, but you’re not just a person anymore, you’re my person.” Suzanne is the team’s damsel. Emotionally intelligent and observant, Suzanne serves a vital part on the team; you just have to get her to see that. She is a love interest for female players.

“I could feed you a line about how if you stay, you could make a difference in the world, but I’m selfish, and I want you to stay for me.” Aeneas is one of the team’s grifters; utterly self-serving, Aeneas excels at putting on a new face and they’ve never gotten attached. But perhaps their icy exterior is just protecting a wounded heart. They are a love interest for any player.

“I’ve always seen other people fall in love, and I’ve been waiting for it to happen to me, and now it feels like it finally has.” Dominic is the team’s engineer, adept at taking anything technological apart and putting it back together. He builds the team’s gadgets and disables any security that could be in the team’s way. But the sweet and shy person that he is, maybe he’s more afraid than he’s letting on. He is a love interest for female players.

“I want to be able to close my eyes, fall back, and know that you’re going to catch me.” Milo is the team’s jack of all trades-the pickpocket, safecracker, and inside man. Independent and self-reliant, Milo has put survival first all her life. She is more than adept in the field, but she’s struggling with another aspect of the team-actually being part of it. She is a love interest for male players.

“I want you to choose someone who for once is going to put you first.” The team’s protector and guardian, Jason knows trouble when he sees it, and while initially he thinks it’s you and keeps you at a distance, but perhaps it’s not the team he’s trying to protect. Jason is a love interest for male players.

[smoothielenny]

Bearly see any Norm or Max and seeing artists reader got me thinking of this

Unlike Spider in some ways Reader respect the people of the tribe and not try to be liked them but try to understand them ( like Steve Erwin on how he respects the animals and people) and they went to a solo adventure to draw more plants that haven't even documented in her art book and one day she came back kinda late and they holding something and it's few jars of bry dyes, and when asked where they got it she just said " I meet a small group of Na'vi in my adventure and they seem to liked drawing so we trade one of my art book with these "

Turns out they meet different type of Na'vi who wears a type of skull mask due to the high altitude they travel with their large flight companions ( bigger then the banshees ) that been traveling, and they seem to be very friendly as they view reader as a just a child despite being a sky demon, apparently these Na'vis are very allusive and private individuals but willing to learn of things that Pandora have to offer with a open mind

Dora, Dora, Dora, The Explorer

I couldn’t think of better title lol.

“Norm! Where is (y/n)!?” Max yelled. Max and Norm is like your parents, they deeply care for you. Max is mostly the worried one while Norm is more focused f that chill dad. Norm scratched his head responding with ‘I don’t know’ Max just sighed and face palmed himself.

“I’m sure she’s around, you know how she is, always on adventures.” Norm calmed Max, but he wasn’t having it. What if you accidentally went to the enemy’s territory? And got kidnapped by them? What if this time you got lost? These ‘what ifs’ is messing with Max mind and it’s making him crazy.

While you ‘dad’ is having a panic attack, you were walking around the jungle, actually opposite where the enemies territory are, so basically you are safe. While walking you saw through wood some Na’vi, you thought it would be some Omatikaya who is in hunting, but no, they look different. The clothing seems a bit similar, but they were wearing a mask. A mask that looks like a skeleton (luckily not a human skeleton). You walk further to them make a crisp noise from stepping at a dried leaves. They all look at you way, they took their arrow and bow and on their defensive mode. You gasped and put your hands up causing to drop your sketch book and pencil. Your breathing started to go faster. Nervousness is crawling up to you head.

“I…I’m not a threat I swear.” You said in Na’vi. They were shocked that a human knows their language though they didn’t back down yet.

“I’m a friend, not an enemy.” You said slowly. They all look at each other and finally lowered their weapons. You sigh in relief from this, but now feel intimidated, you don’t know what to do after, but you just asked, “are you part of Omatikaya?” They said no and answered with ‘We are not, We are mountain people.’ You nodded. They were about to leave, but you said something along the lines with, “Will you let me follow you? I want to know more about you.”

You are now in the air riding with one of them on a big ikran, well at least like an ikran, it is bigger that an actual ikran. They all landed on the top of a mountain. It is different from the Hellelujah mountain, it has its own type of plants and habitats. You were intrigued by it and starts drawing it. One of them got curious and gets close to know what you are doing. They saw you vastly sketch out a plant, they were impressed. You started asking them about everything you could find and taking notes of it, they happily answered you. Talking to a human who has an interest in their clan and place makes them happy. They told you about their tradition, their food, animals, and their own spirit tree.

Night has come and Max is extra stress. He still couldn’t find you and Norm is now also worried. You usually go back afternoon and now it’s night. You now probably got lost.

“Norm that’s it, I’m going out—“ his arms is grabbed by Norm, again trying to calm Max.

“Hey, hey. It’s already night, why don’t you relax and I’ll find her with my avatar bo—“ his words interrupted by a bang of a door opening. It was you.

“(y/n)! Where were you!?” Max exclaimed. You have a lot of thing to tell him.

[gemini-sensei]

Started thinking about poly!parents!Demetri and Eli with their wife and children.

CW: protective dads Demetri and Eli, intruders, little section of pregnancy, Canon level fighting, big protective dog, Demetri Alexopoulos is a cat person.

Before their son was born, they wanted a pet, but it couldn't be that easy. Demetri wanted a cat while Eli wanted a dog. They debated it for a week's time before Reader made them compromise and get both. So they have a mixed breed pretty, prissy cat that Demetri named Dot and treats like a princess, and a Doberman Pinscher that Eli named Diablo and runs around the yard with on a daily basis. Those are their cat and dog respectfully, but as soon as Reader popped up pregnant with their son, they lost them to her as they always wants to be by her side at that point.

If she were on the couch watching TV, Dot is either by curled up her side or trying to sit on her lap. Diablo is at her feet 24/7, following her around the house and watching her. As she gets bigger with the baby, both are intrigued and interested in her belly. Dot touches a paw to her belly whenever the baby visibly moves and it freaks her out while Diablo stands at attention and watches. When their sonnis born, Dot and Diablo love him. It's the same way when the twins are born.

Then I thought of what if someone tried to break into house. Diablo starts barking and it wakes literally everyone up. The babies and the parents. Reader is a little confused and frightened at first, wondering what's going on.

"He never acts like this."

Eli just throws the covers off of himself and is jumping up. "Exactly. D, stay with her and you two go to the kids."

They're all getting up and rushing around. Reader immediately goes to her fussy and crying babies, lifting them out of their cribs to comfort them. She ends up on the floor with her 11 month old twins in her arms and her 2 year old on her lap, all huddled up and seeking comfort. Demetri locks the door and leaves the room to go find Eli and see what's going on.

The house is dark and he doesn't make it far before someone is walking into him. They stumble, catch themselves, and look up only to see a stone faced man staring back at them with cold eyes. This intruder has broken into his home, scared his wife and children, and has made one of the most agreeable people on earth mad.

Somewhere in the house, Diablo is still barking up a storm and it's driving demetri crazy because he knows why Eli got that specific dog. He knows Eli wanted a dog that could be scary and mean when the time called for it, just like him. So the fact that he was still alerting was concerning. He didn't like it.

"Look man, let's just forget this happened."

"You got this far into my home and you want me to let that go?"

Dude bolts and Demetri goes after him. He manages to snag him buy the bag he's wearing and pull him back, getting punched in the cheek as it happens. He reacts with a jab back, knocking the intruder back a bit. He takes a defensive stance as a warning, but the intruder is in fight mode now and doesn't heed it. He gets kicked in the stomach and falls.

When he gets up, he says, "I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to either," Demetri tells him. "But he does."

The guy only has enough time to turn around to meet a fist straight to his face. Eli shakes his hand and almost spits on the guy, but Diablo gets on top of him to keep him down on the ground. He's an angry, protective dog bearing his teeth as he stares the guy down.

By the time Demetri and Eli get the intruder and his friend that Eli and Diablo didn't hold back on restrained, the cops are showing up thanks to their security system. Diablo is at attention the entire time, even following the officers to the door and watching them take the intruders out of the house. He only stands down when they're gone and his family is left talking to some officers. He goes to the nursery to make sure that Reader and the babies are okay, sniffing them all over.

The kids are so happy to see him, one of the twins hugging him and babbling about "Didi." Dot crawls out of hiding and comes to the oldest son to love on him, butting her head against his leg to tell him she's there and they're all okay.

I don't know what this is, but I hope it was as enjoyable to you as it is to me. I'd love a big bad guard dog if I wasn't allergic.

[lericekrispie]

With the new TMNT movie coming out soon, me and my brother have been binge watching the 2012 TMNT series!!! It's his first watch through, and its been so nostalgic for me. And as always, I'm addicted to my character designs so I thought I'd share

NOTES:

Age 15: They all get the same uniform the first time they go to the surface, I can imagine Splinter handing the uniform down as a heirloom, or he created it just for them :) they are so young, don't know what they are getting into or who they are yet, just babies. I tried to keep it as turtle inspired as possible

Age 16: They are getting a little older, finding themselves more. They would be getting more into human culture, watching human TV and getting April to get clothes for them so for the first time they can express themselves through their clothes. They keep elements of the uniform throughout the changes, but their clothes grow and evolve with them. Also, Mikey repping the gay and MLM colors :)

Age 17: Around the battle for New York, they had to leave just in the clothes they had, and don't get update clothes until they do the spiritual journey into the forest. They have seen and experienced harder things that have caused them to grow up faster, and have experienced life threatening injuries, and in Leo's case, his leg that for the rest of his outfits will be extra armored.

Age 18: They are more confident in themselves, their fighting style, and while not having a lot of down time, they value it immensely. This is the most free their outfits have been, the most them, without an excessive need to look a certain way. To look tough, to be armored, to be practical. It really is the outfits of where the highest of their skills meet the least unburdened they will be, shortly after this they will dress to send a message or project a certain image, will have seen their father die to shredder, and the world destroyed. Also She/Him Leo and Ace Donnie :)

Age 19: While understanding more who they are, the brothers now have certain ways they are trying to present themselves and the way these burdens have made them try to protect themselves. These outfits are based off of the Shredder Killer outfits. Leo is trying to present as armored, with unbreakable defenses, like a hero or a knight, for his allies to know that she will protect them, and for the enemies to know exactly who she is on the playing field, and hopefully draw attention away from her brothers as the leader. Raph has always presented more punk and tough, but now he shows it more in the jacket he wears, covering more skin, being less confident about where he is going to be hit and if he can take it. The shoulders and hair make him look bigger than he actually is. Donnie goes full practicality mode, adding more spaces for pockets and armor. Mikey also looses some of his colors he wore, in leu of stealth and being safer on the battle field.

Age 20: Set after the show, who knows what happens, but they are now adults and can put some space between what had happened and have time to digest. Leo doesn't un-armor, but she lets her hair grow longer and wears a longer cape, a sign of time passing and growing maturity, as well as taking on the title as the last sensi of the Hamato Clan. Mikey still wears fun clothes, but he has chosen his uniform to be more akin to his childhood uniform splinter gave them, in honor of his memory and their culture (like hes taking his childhood back, not letting the years lost mean his life is over kinda). Donnie only makes a couple adjustments, like covering skin- to show how the events have shaken him and made him feel more vulnerable, but adding more brown into the mix, showing hope and a peace that might be on the horizon. Raph grows into his skin more, loosing the sharp silhouette and having a more rounder one, showing his sharp edges calming down in a time of peace, and letting his hair down as he has time to relax. They all have the Hamato Clan sigil on their clothes :)

If you read that, Just scroll between ages 15 and 20. Crazy shit this is why I die for character design :')

[jacenbren]

I know it's probably been pointed out before, but I am Having Thoughts about the twins' shift in personality after the Big Fall so forgive me but I NEED to rant (here be spoilers be warned)

At first glance it's easy to think that Knives is very cold and emotionless and closed off, but when you look closer, you realize that that's probably the furthest thing from the truth. When we see him as a kid—no matter which iteration of Trigun you're watching—Knives is the high-energy, outgoing twin, with big ambitions and an even bigger desire to go seek out knowledge. Especially in trimax, he's the one who's the most intrigued by humans and wants to get along with them (it should be noted that both of the twins have a very black-and-white way of thinking and a very strong sense of justice; I personally headcanon both of them as autistic). He's the one who follows Rem around the ship, constantly bombarding her with why why why, and when she doesn't give him answers—either because said answers to his questions require a level of maturity he doesn't yet have to understand, or because Rem is fucking tired from taking care of twin alien boys who age rapidly and could blow up the entire fleet with their godlike powers—Knives stubbornly starts to look for them himself.

Then the Tesla incident happens. For Knives, this is the mother of all fuckery, and he basically is subjected to the alien equivalent of watching Mufasa get K.O.'ed by a herd of wildebeests in The Lion King. This scares the living shit out of him, because every one of his prior beliefs have just been obliterated. Knives being naturally very inquisitive and hungry for knowledge... well, after Rem comes and gets them and calms them down, Knives starts digging. He doesn't want to believe that this is what humans are capable of, but as he combs through the ship's data archives, he keeps getting atrocity after atrocity thrown in his face. Knives bears witness to the horrors of mankind's history, and with his black-and-white thinking, he can't help just fucking losing it.

We're all pretty aware that Knives wears his heart on his sleeve. Sure he acts all cool and calculating, but when he's actually in the heat of the moment, he clearly reacts to everything in a very emotional manner. That adventurous, energetic little kid he once was is still in there, but he's been damaged so very badly, and twisted to where his strong emotions are expressed almost entirely as anger and his inquisitive nature has become recklessness; Knives just doesn't know when to stop, because he can't. All he's been focused on for the past century and a half is the survival of himself and his kind, and he's basically been in a kind of high-alert attack mode since the Big Fall.

Knives has built up a shell around himself. A sharp, spiky shell of weaponized emotions, that nothing but Vash can break through.

Speaking of Vash, he was a pretty shy, reserved kid. Especially in tristamp, he's the softspoken, mama's boy type. He's pretty clingy towards Rem especially, and he's more than happy to let Knives do all the decision-making and talking. He fits the younger sibling archetype very well, despite him and Knives being twins.

When the Tesla incident happens, Vash takes it a bit better. He's not curious to a fault like Knives is, so he takes Rem's word for it when she reassures him and says that she would never let anything happen to him or his brother. Instead of flipping his viewpoints on a dime out of fear, Vash instead becomes even more firm in his ideals: yes, humans are by no means perfect, but they've been nothing but kind to him and Knives so far. Vash comes to the conclusion that if he doesn't give the humans a reason to hurt him, everything will be okay, so Vash constructs a wall around himself like Knives did, only Vash's is purely defensive and deliberately disarming. Especially after the Big Fall, Vash is extremely aware of how untrusting humanity is of him, so he pours all his energy into making himself as likeable and non-threatening as he can.

Unlike Knives, we rarely see Vash react to dangerous situations with genuine emotion. It's very obvious that Vash's careless, happy-go-lucky attitude is a construct that he uses to hide his true feelings, and a meticulously-constructed one at that—in the '98 anime, Wolfwood is one of the few people who seem to be able to pick up on this and point it out. Sure, Vash might be a genuinely good-hearted and hopeful person, but he's just as scared as Knives is, only he hides behind a facade and tries to make himself as palatable to humans as he can (yet another reason why I headcanon the twins as autistic; homeboy has been masking for literal centuries and when he finally ends up having a meltdown because of it he levels cities lmao).

Vash has also built up a shell around himself. His, however, is deliberately made to seal himself away from the world, out of fear for himself, humanity, and the rest of his kind.

forgive me for the long post but I am rotating these two little shits in my Mind Microwave omg

[cutelittlenightmarethings]

Okay, this is just a little thing but, the card deck.

Of all the images in the deck, these are the six (save for razzle and winners) that we really haven't seen in the show yet. We have yet to see Charlie use her pitchfork, but we can assue it will be necessary with the up coming fight against the angles? Similarly, razzle and dazzle are Charlie's protectors, so this is probably their defense mode. But being this scary, they are probably protecting Charlie from something bigger than just an everyday attack on the hotel.

Oh shit, the hotel. If we expect everything on the cards to be in the show, then clearly it takes a beating, probably the aforementioned angle conflict, then gets a serious glow up (the apple upfront showing lucifer helping with reconstruction or Charlie leaning into the apple motif of her family).

And then we have two cards featuring characters we haven't seen yet. Now the winners card could just be a general heaven population card, but these specific characters have a pink, lovey motif and I don't think they were in episode six. And if it was general heaven, why not show the crowd from the welcome to heaven song? But more important, Susan. A named character we haven't seen, who has a grey/blue look. She definitely looks demonic, but a new demon character who's just a demon at this point seems weird, like what's her important role that gets her a name and a playing card?

Anyway that's just my observations, can't wait for episode 7&8!

[citizengodzilla]

Something that intrigued me rewatching the t2 commencement where we found out the results of our verdicts:

Amane fans love talking about the way her aggression is being framed (audience perception as a whole in milgram is meant to be skewed; its demonstrated by multiple chars and ive seen some REALLY good analysis posts on it ill probably reblog w/ some) and even Jackelope himself is doing the same.

What irks me: this is Amane. It's Amane and her contempt, Amane and her pain, Amane and her anger, Amane and her fear, Amane and her resentment. Just Amane. Amane who wants to be something bigger than herself. She's seen firsthand how little control and autonomy a child is allowed when "adults" are in the same space - maybe it isn't the intention of the audience, Es, or other prisoners, but undeniably that is how Amane has experienced life. All she's had to learn her entire life is that if she wants to defend herself, this defensive aggression is the only way.

(Literally just gets sadder from there because Amane has so much will to live that the cult has taught her to deny and she Tries but just. It becomes obvious just how much murdering her mother was just To Live. And clearly if she thinks it's justified to punish with intent to kill then she believed her mother was the same. And i could go off about that some more but I won't bc it's late.)

Es kinda discusses it in her t2 VD, although as usual, it's a bit off the mark. It's just been bothering me how she's being treated in-universe as if she isn't an abused child who has never been shown a healthy way to cope because she is in Survival mode 24/7. And then everyone else watching buys into it, too. I could talk about Amane's writing as a victim of abuse but arhgh im tired

[spiridakos]

I didn't watch last Wednesday's ep, just some Hailey clips, but it's amusing (to me) cos adopting a childlike persona can ironically be a trauma response (aka the scene with Hailey and Voight). She's cute in it and of course she's a sweetie, but if you want to go deep you can ask why she didn't present that dialogue normally and went into age regression/adult child mode when trying to question him.

I'm likely overthinking it, but as someone that does it when i'm uncomfortable challenging someone cos of my background, that's straight where my head went in that scene as she only did it with him. Unless i'm meant to ignore it and see this just as day 2 in Hailey's voyage of self discovery as a free woman.

Total change of subject but the hate Hailey got in this ep on X though is insane. Adam always makes mistakes and is the weakest of the group as an officer in my view. He means well but he frustrates me. Something else that amuses/annoys me is that these character centrics tend to mean that if you're not a focus, you often do a personality 180° to how a character is in their own eps and it messes up the flow. It's the case with all the characters, they all come across as different people in non-centrics.

Like i'm gutted this Hailey wasn't there when Voight kept nagging in ep1 and she stubbornly sent the divorce papers and cried to him, but it's just because it didn't serve her story to have a backbone in that moment. But suddenly after all that she's able to see the bigger picture in a case again. When it's her next ep she'll probably go back to confiding in Voight and stressing out and as a viewer you're getting whiplash keeping up with the changing personalities. Med and Fire aren't as bad as this in my view, so the bad storytelling is a PD speciality.

Oh, there's a lot here. Okay. Hello, anon.

I did not watch the episode - I didn't even watch Hailey's scenes. I fast-forwarded the episode on mute to clip Hailey's scenes so I could gif them, but I have no idea what was said or going on in any moment, so I can't really comment on the episode.

Re: the Hailey hate - it's kind of absurd. I find it...it's annoying, but also, I just ignore it. These haters want a response, they want a fight, and they likely are getting it when people jump to the defense of Hailey. It's fine to not like Hailey, we all don't like certain fictional characters, but purposely spending all your energy on channeling that hate is just weird to me. Focus on what you love.

The Hailey/Voight switch is also annoying. These characters personality and mannerisms and responses to Voight change based on the story Gwennie seems to want to tell per episode, and that's just...it's a sign of bad storytelling. From two episodes to have her confiding in him and then standing up to him, it's just poor choices. It's not writing for the character, it's writing for the plot. The flip-flopping in only two episodes alone tells me all I need to know about her exit - it will not be satisfactory.

[caffeineyum]

Bad Dream

The night was deep and quiet on Reach, except for the not-so-stealthy shuffling of pajama-clad feet outside John and Linda's quarters. The soft whoosh of the sliding door was almost drowned out by the hum of the base's sleep-mode operations.

John, whose usual sharp awareness was dulled by the first decent sleep he'd had in weeks, cracked open an eye. The dim blue light from the clock cast ghostly shadows across the room, making the trio at the door look like specters from some kid’s ghost story.

"Hey," John mumbled, his voice gravelly with sleep, "What's up, team?"Kat stood there, awkward in a way that only a teenager trying to appear unbothered can manage, her prosthetic arm catching the light as she crossed her arms defensively. Beside her, Rosenda clutched a raggedy tiger plushie like a lifeline, while Emile—his expression more sulky than scary in his skull-print pajama bottoms—seemed to be wrestling with the indignity of being seen in such a state.

"Um, sir... ma'am..." Kat's usually crisp officer cadence was replaced by the hesitant tones of a kid caught sneaking cookies. "We had nightmares. All of us. Kinda didn't want to be alone."

Linda, ever the mom of the group even when half asleep, patted the bed beside her. "C’mon then. There’s room for everyone."

Rosenda needed no second invitation, scampering over with her plushie in tow and hopping onto the bed with all the grace of a happy puppy. Emile followed at a more dignified pace, though the quickness of his movements betrayed his eagerness. Kat lingered by the door just a moment longer before giving in and joining, though she chose the foot of the bed like a wary cat deciding this lap might be acceptable.

John shuffled over to make room, the bed now a mosaic of Spartans and one brave stuffed tiger. "So, what were these nightmares about? Covenant back for a rematch in your dreams?"

"It's always Reach falling," Kat muttered, picking at a loose thread on her pajama sleeve. "Like a broken record. Can't turn it off."

Rosenda nodded vigorously, her words tumbling out in a sleepy slur. "And the monsters are so big, like, bigger than big. And so many teeth!"

Emile, ever the tough guy, added with a scowl, "They just keep coming. Waves and waves. And I shoot, but my gun's shooting marshmallows or something stupid like that."

Linda reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Rosenda's ear, her voice soothing. "Dreams can do that, make you feel helpless. But it’s just your brain being a drama queen. It’s all quiet on the real front."

"Yeah, and hey, look at it this way," John chimed in, adopting a mock-serious tone, "if your gun ever really shoots marshmallows, I'll make sure you get a refillable chocolate syrup scope to go with it. Turn it into a snack attack."

That got a giggle out of Rosenda and even a reluctant smirk from Emile. Kat rolled her eyes but the corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

The room settled into a comfortable quiet, filled with the soft, steady breathing of family—not bound by blood but by battles, shared dreams, and now shared nightmares. Outside, the stars were still, untroubled by the small dramas below, yet somehow serving as a silent reassurance that some things remained steadfast and true.

Awwww! This wonderful! Thank you for sharing with me!

[the-autism]

rewatching transformers prime and studying its body language !!! gonna update with notes on what i see

part (season) 1 ! seasons 2 and 3 will be separate

right off the bat, you’ll notice how fluid the movements for the bots are !!! you’ll see how this is important later (lots of little movements, cliffjumper is our first example)

autobots seem to have more fluid body language than (most) decepticons

metal is HEAVY . this show handles weight distribution beautifully it’s gen stunning

starscream’s body language interestingly seems based off of cobras (his silhouette is based off of them, too)

ratchet’s eyes widened upon finding out cliffjumper’s signal went offline

optimus’ hands are often balled into fists more than idly open

i find his body language super interesting — his stance is often straight with that first point in mind ! his hands are more commonly open when talking with team prime

he’s aware of how huge he is and looks down + leans a little to make eye contact (while he’s talking to the kids in s1e01, he looks between the three a few times)

^ additional attentiveness !! he looks down at whoever’s talking to him even if he’s not replying

his eyebrows are furrowed the majority of the time, this is important later

handles smaller objects/people with gentle care

his hips sway more than megatron’s but his arms swing less HSJS

bots seem to use rear view mirrors/headlights to look around in their vehicle modes

jack put his hands up after getting off of arcee in s1e01, probably instinctively for self defense

man was clinging on for dear life every time he was on her seat during that episode LMAO

arcee is also aware of her size — she utilizes it in combat

bumblebee has VERY expressive body language !!! for example, his eyes and doors

jack has somewhat resting bitch face NFJAJSK

not particularly body language, but it’s very visible if a bot has been roughed up ! beautiful attention to detail

characters often make eye contact or just glance someone’s way when they’re talking to one another

bots are typically 2-3 times larger than humans (they know this) and a handful of them kneel when they talk to any on the ground

ratchet’s eyes widened upon seeing the humans and his posture straightened

bulkhead visibly tensed when miko went up to him

miko very obviously thought bulkhead was cool as SHIT

the sass in ratchet’s eye roll and glance to the side was horrendous LMAO

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO HOW FUCKING HUGE OPTIMUS IS . THE GROUND SHOOK

the ground shakes whenever megatron walks too !!!!

it appears that the bigger the bot, the heavier their steps are

miko seems the most relaxed out of the three about the situation in s1e01

since soundwave is nonverbal, he communicates a lot through nods, gestures, and recordings/displays on his screen

megatron is fuckinf HUGE . like dwarfing everybody else huge

he doesn’t really move much to make eye contact, but he does look down/give glances to whoever he’s talking to ! his eyebrow lifts whenever he looks to the side

his movements are precise, calculated

HIP SWAYS . WHEW

his steps are HEAVY . his arms swing more than per usual whenever he walks

ratchet did a little step after going “squish” HSJSK

agent fowler’s body language is tense at first

despite the stoic expression, optimus has somewhat emotive facial expressions ! it helps if you pay attention to his eyebrows

cliffjumper (when reanimated) has very rapid and unpredictable movements

ratchet had his hands on his hips talking about the ground bridge QHSJAJ

optimus waited for arcee before they fled the mine in s1e02

ERRATIC FUCKING MOVEMENTS WHEN MEGATRON STABBED HIMSELF WITH DARK ENERGON

the thing that got infected with it as well also had erratic movement

bulkhead is careful with handling equipment, technology, and moving around the kids — also expressive eyes

HE SHIELDED MIKO WHEN HE PICKED HER UP . FOUND FAMILY BOND IN THE MAKING

starscream has gay ass hand movements sorry

ratchet rolled his head to crack his neck in s1e03

things under the influence of dark energon after megatron Fucking Stabs Himself with It have more ragged movements than erratic

megatron has fucking theater kid movements sorry

the more confident he is, the more that shows LMAO

also appears to be pretty emotive with his eyebrows

miko’s ponytails droop whenever she’s upset/sick

arcee had a soft look when she caught jack and raf ☹️☹️ /pos

ratchet and optimus did move a little more sluggish/slowly when ratchet pointed out their energy being sapped

all of the autobots kneel and squint at miko’s phone at some point HWJAHA

optics (specifically their pupils) appear to dilate/retract to get a closer look or zoom out

they can individually dilate/retract

soundwave’s combat appears to be stationary — he doesn’t move around much

he nods when he takes photos HAHA

both optimus and megatron are HORRENDOUSLY strong

they nearly knock each other over several times duking it out in s1e05

MEGATRON CASUALLY LIFTING A CLUSTER OF DARK ENERGON TWICE HIS SIZE OVER HIS HEAD???

MIKO’S FACE LIT UP SEEING BULKHEAD

bots who don’t necessarily talk/speak coherent languages are a lot more expressive in their body language

ratchet looks fucking batshit when his eyes are completely widened LMAO

the bots talk a lot with their hands ! particularly optimus, starscream and ratchet

the general first response for self defense for bots is also to hold their hands in front of their faces

optimus and arcee’s movements were shivery before they got back to base in s1e07

bulkhead nodded at miko around a minute into s1e08 !!!

i found it interesting how makeshift also had rigid body language while mimicking wheeljack — staying true to the very first point of this study !

his expressions were more empty than per usual of what you see in bots

his eyes widened ONCE and that was it

OPTIMUS SMILED THRICE IN S1E08

bulkhead’s body language is a lot more vigorous in that same episode !

starscream subtly shakes for a second when he’s pissed LMAO

not necessarily body language but it was clear in optimus’ voice that he didn’t like agent fowler touching the driver’s wheel in s1e09 DJWKJDW

^ minimal force was bumping into mech’s vehicles apparently HAHA

bumblebee does a few little bounces before swinging at an opponent

optimus shakes his head a little after recovering from fatigue/being knocked out

HIS HEAD LEANED BACK WHEN HE HELD BACK THAT TRAIN

it also tilted a little when ratchet commed asking if everything was okay

his eyes COMPLETELY widen if he’s hurt and unable to move

not body language but optimus has little claws on the sides of his fingers . like those on construction vehicles !

bots use their headlights for communication ! (morse code)

starscream always does the gayest fucking poses before he transforms LMFAO

he is so fucking pompous . especially when he’s confident in himself

knockout is the most fucking pompous and flamboyant man you’ve ever SEEN . he immediately targeted the guy that scratched his paint in s1e11 LMAO

he pointed at the scratch later on in the episode

bastard smile.

breakdown has the blankest stare known to man HWHAHA

bumblebee’s optics spin a lot when he makes facial expressions !

either the stereo or the wheel glows when a bot talks in their vehicle mode

breakdown stumbled a little when bumblebee shot him LMFAO

also looked away and shuddered a little when starscream scratched knockout’s paint

arcee actually has incredible balance

OPTIMUS CAME OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE NEAR THE END OF S1E11

both megatron and starscream get all up in people’s faces HAHA

arcee’s body language is much more tense upon finding airachnid’s ship

it’s subtle, but she’s shaking upon coming out of it

she shakes + flinches a lot in s1e12

HER YELLS ARE SO FUCKING GUTTURAL

^ jack was also shaking a little while waiting !

arcee and airachnid are FAST . fights between the two are vigorous and quickly paced

airachnid hisses a lot . freaky

she tapped her fingers on her arm while asking where jack scampered off to LMAO

SHE GROWLED NEAR THE END OF THE EPISODE??

ratchet shrugged a little at the start of s1e13

^ optimus stumbled a little upon entering the ship in the same episode

man shook his head like a dog that got wet

his optics flickered a little after he was returned to base in every scene he was shown in :((

ratchet was so worried about optimus in s1e13 you could see his eyebrows bro

bumblebee very subtly shook when they found megatron

arcee raised her eyebrow when ratchet said “perfect” LMAO

starscream shook his head a little as the vehicons he was talking to left in s1e13

bumblebee went 👍 HWHAHA

his doors flapped a little at one point while in megatron’s head

he also did a little shrug

^ megatron circled bumblebee somewhat in the same episode

also like the one time he willingly bent down to talk to a smaller bot

soundwave’s head twitched a little shortly before pointing out the cortical psychic patch

ratchet held out his hand in case optimus stumbled while helping him up !!!

bumblebee’s movements are much more rigid when megatron is in control ! another nod to the first point of this study

his eyebrows also raise higher ?? didn’t remember him being more emotive because of megs

his optics retract whenever megatron gains control

knockout and breakdown’s movements are more fluid than the typical decepticon’s ! i feel this was an allusion to when knockout joins the autobots

breakdown was originally supposed to join with him :(

bumblebee struggled to grab the shard of dark energon for a moment

he ran his thumb along it for a sec ,,

ratchet motioned for raf to stay behind him on the nemesis :((

ALSO THE FIRST TO GET HIM OUT OF HARM’S WAY

starscream grabbed knockout’s face and then megatron grabbed starscream’s face later on LMFAO

bumblebee tilted his head when he turned to look at miko yelling at jack in s1e15 LMAO

ops’ eyes widened upon hearing the decepticon’s ground bridge open in that same episode

reanimated skyquake's movements are more slow and ragged (animalistic, in a way ? like a predator stalking prey)

his arm moved MUCH more erratically

OP SMILED AT THE KIDS AT THE END OF S1E15 :(( /POS

[tani-b-art]

Brutally honest it would be best the Aces do not keep Kiah going into next year. Stat-wise, she is the most non-producing Aces player we have. She doesn’t score at all. Okay forget scoring (not really) but she’s not even providing the rebounding presence we desperately need! I’ve looked at stats from all other teams and their duo of forward and center almost consistently puts up double-doubles. Kiah has never given this production in tandem with A’ja. Alysha goes into this conversation as well (she is a small forward or whatever so I kinda don’t expect much defensively from her but she even matches up pretty well for her smaller size. She actually compensates for her height difference against much bigger forwards and centers she’s tasked to guard a lot better than Kiah). But her lack of scoring—it’s become a huge sore factor for us. She can be traded too if you ask me. A’ja can’t have a single game of underscoring or else we walk away with the L because not only do these 2 players not make up her slack, the entire team doesn’t. A can’t score under 20 or else we lose. Heck, she almost can score 30+ and we barely win.

I don’t get why the coaching plans never adjust to bench Kelsey when she starts majorly slacking in every area. When she starts selfishly taking circus shots and starts to dribble in circles leading to a turnover. Kate is right there to replace her when she decides to operate this way and it’s becoming extremely questionable why the coaching continues that. Sydney comes in way too late (but she came in tonight and was a negative impact). By the time Becky decides to put her in, we’re too far gone. Tiffany should start. We just need for her to lessen her fouls and knock down those uncontested paint shots a whole lot more. It’s so frustrating seeing how many layups she misses.

What are we doing with KB? Now, she’s just taking up trade space at this point.

Kate and Megan should be getting more minutes. Try something else. And I’m this close to saying…no, I won’t go there but can we please trade or sign for the number 1 (and 2) position? An additional guard, specifically a point, would be beneficial for Chelsea. She’s not giving the same minutes or production from last season since the injury and them not recognizing this and doing something about it 2 months ago is beyond me. And now, she’s also become an offensive turnover liability too with her over dribbling and force passing.

Still maintaining that post-Olympic Jackie is off. She’s on sleep mode or something. Something is different. Big nite tonight but that’s been this one game since coming back.

Becky…you deliberately sabotaging the team this season? It’s gotten so bad that I actually verbally said out loud to myself, “Trade Becky.” We talking about trading players—maybe we need to trade her. Coaches don’t get traded but fired. So there’s that.

We are running out of time! Regroup and repurpose now.

[mrsaltieri-real]

His Perfect Victim (Mickey Altieri X OC!Dahlia Levine)

Chapter 3: Rejection

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: language, alcohol consumption, talks of Dahlia dying, mentions of stabbing and scarring, Mickey being an asshole, smut, p in v, jealousy, angst

Chapter 3! It isn’t as long as I initially planned but it just ended at the perfect spot I didn’t feel the need to drag it out any further. God I love this series so much it’s ridiculous but I’m really going to be putting poor Dahlia through it. Thank you to @bisexual-horror-fan for editing and beta reading this once again! My fucking star!

God, what the fuck was wrong with me?

I stood a foot or so away from the door, many people chatting and drinking away cheerfully around me in a haze of noise and blurred figures as I remained hesitating. How long have I been here? A minute? Five minutes? An hour? Time seemed to have no meaning as I listened to the bouncing music coming from inside Sid and Hallie’s dorm room, the loud laughter and shouting.

It was all uncomfortably familiar.

Suddenly the door swung open and out stumbled Hallie, evidently already plastered, who grinned eagerly when she saw me.

Hands out she exclaims with a smile, “Dahlia! You came! Randy owes me twenty bucks.”

I was immediately engulfed in a warm embrace by Hallie the minute I walked into her dorm room, unable to stop my body from automatically tensing defensively. I consciously knew she wouldn’t hurt me, but my subconscious was immediately put in self preservation mode. Hallie seemed too drunk to notice as she pulled back, an even bigger smile on her face.

“Come in, have a drink!” Hallie finally released me after what felt like an eternity and I smiled half-heartedly at her. I definitely needed a drink if I was going to get through tonight.

I hadn’t been to a party since Stu’s in Woodsbro the night everything changed. In that moment glancing at all the unfamiliar faces I felt painfully aware of that fact, half expecting some jackass in a Ghostface costume to leap out at me no matter how ridiculous that may sound.

Hallie had wandered off to greet more guests, leaving me alone to make a beeline toward the large table full of drinks, eyes scanning the array of booze for whichever would get me drunk the fastest.

“Look who actually turned up.”

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. I hadn’t even been here two minutes and he’d already found me. I refused to turn and look at him, lifting a red solo cup from the stack and tapping the tops of the bottles for something that sounded at least appetising.

“May I?” His voice floods my ears and I suppress the urge to sigh. This time I did look up at him with a slightly raised brow. “You the connoisseur of cheap booze?”

Mickey laughed a little, shaking his head at me before replying, “I just have an idea of what people like. See,” My eyes followed his finger that now pointed over to Randy, who was sitting chatting to a group of people with his drink gripped in one hand as he waved his other hand around in manic gestures clearly in a deep discussion, “I made Randy a Gimlet.”

“What the fucks a Gimlet?” I muttered, toying with the cup in my hands.

Mickey laughed again, dropping his hand and looking back at me before explaining, “Simple syrup, lime juice and gin shaken over ice. He can’t handle his booze but likes to make it look like he can so it’s pretty perfect for him. Sidney-“ His eyes flickered over to where Sid was standing in the corner with Derek, laughing at something he said, “- Whiskey sour, of course. She’s complex.” I nodded my head, somehow that made perfect sense for her.

“Okay, what about Hallie?” I asked, squinting my eyes to try and make out what she had in her hand as she stood chatting to a few girls. I loosely registered the smell of rum and lime on her breath before her unwelcome embrace.

He made a move of his hand towards her direction as he said, “Hal? I made her an AMF.”

Eyebrows pinched together as I questioned him curiously, “AMF?”

“Adios Motherfucker.” He smiled slightly as he leaned closer.

I couldn’t help but smile back. That was somehow absolutely perfect for her even without context.

“And Derek?” I asked, nodding over in his direction.

“Are you kidding? Beer. He’s a frat bro, you think he’s gonna let me make him a fucking cocktail?” Mickey rolled his eyes, lifting his drink to his lips. It was hard to look away as he took a sip, his tongue darting out and licking the leftover liquid from his lips. I couldn’t help but ask, “And you? What have you got?”

He offered his drink to me and I hesitated for a moment. A soft laugh before he said flatly, “I haven’t got the fucking herp, Dahl.”

I felt my cheeks heat up at his nickname, quickly taking his drink so I could hide my face in it only to be taken by surprise at the overwhelming but delicious taste and aroma of mint, “A Mojito?”

“You look surprised. What, a man can’t enjoy a cocktail?” His hand rose to his chest in mock offence and I couldn’t help but smile again, handing him his cup back.

“You think you can make me one then?” I asked curiously before pressing on further, “You hardly know me.”

He sounded confident as he asserted, “I’m intuitive, I’m sure I can work out what you like even with our limited interaction. Unless of course you want me to get to know you better first?”

Was he flirting with me?

I looked at him blankly for a second before diverting my eyes down. He didn’t miss a beat, immediately changing the subject back to the drink, “You know what a Paloma is?” As he spoke, he took the cup from my hands, his warm fingers touching mine for just a second making my hand jolt back, an action he seemingly chose to ignore, “Tequila, lime juice, grapefruit soda,” With every ingredient he listened he free poured them into the cup until the drink was prepared, handing it to me with a flourish, “Can't exactly salt the rim but here.”

I took the drink from his hand, sniffing it suspiciously before taking a small sip, only to be surprised at how delicious it was.

“Wow.” I mumbled, taking a larger sip.

“Easy,” He chuckled, moving to make himself another drink, “I’m already gonna have to end up carrying Randy to bed. I don't want to have to carry you too.”

I paused for a second before forcing myself to look up at him and meet his eyes, asking with sudden bold curiosity, “What did you mean earlier?”

He looked genuinely surprised at my question, his hands pausing over the bottles as he glanced at me before asking, “What?“

I explained, “Earlier today, you said I’m not going to be able to stay away from you. What did you mean?”

He was quiet for a moment, returning to assemble his drink before walking to the free couch next to the table, raising his hand to the side for me to sit beside him to which I did so.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, just that we’re in the same social circle. I admit to being an ass when we first met, so I do apologise for that. It was just… interesting to meet you.”

I didn’t miss the emphasis he put on the word “Interesting.” It made me pause, eyeing him suspiciously. He wasn’t looking at me, his eyes set into the corner of the room as though I wasn’t even there. “What do you mean interesting?”

He blinked, drink rising up to his lips again as I waited impatiently for his reply only to wish I never asked, “Not everyday I meet someone like you.” He responded simply with a subtle curve of his lips.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Mickey leaned back on the couch, hand resting on his knee as he turned his head to look at me, eyes doing that stupid once over on me that I was growing to hate. Then he said it. “Someone who's supposed to be dead.”

My mouth fell open with a plop at how candidly he said it, staring at him in disbelief. Just when I thought he could be sweet.

“I’m sorry, supposed to be dead? The fact I fucking died is interesting to you?“ I snapped, the alcohol making me bolder than I usually would be.

Or was it the alcohol? Or was it yet again Mickey somehow awakening the parts of me I thought would never see the light of day again? The anger bubbling in my stomach was distantly familiar and honestly, it felt really fucking good.

Mickey groaned, head falling back against the back of the couch. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. Fucking hell you’re so sensitive Dahl. Bit of a lightweight, no?”

“Dahlia.” I wanted to shout at him, not appreciating the new nickname he seemed to have branded me with.

“Jesus, fine. Dahlia.” He said my name dripping with sarcasm before he quickly finished his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before continuing, “You’ve gotta stop being so damn oversensitive about shit. Your little broken bird act is kind of getting old to be honest.”

“Oh God, Mickey! I’m so sorry that I’m not living up to your fucking expectations. What do you want from me? Your fascination with the fact I died is really fucking creepy.” I couldn’t help but spit the words out at him. I was only slightly aware that people were beginning to look at us but for once, I didn’t care. I knew he was just trying to get a rise out of me and fuck, it was working.

“Oh, come on.” He laughed, a real laugh, raising his palms up, “You walk around campus like a ghost, you hardly speak to anybody except Sid and Randy, why?”

What was the use in trying to argue with this guy? I sighed, slouching back on the couch and closing my eyes, anger lessening, something more akin to sadness overtakes while I answered him, “They’re the only ones who understand.” I said quietly.

I felt him move to sit back next to me, feeling his eyes on my face although I refused to open them. He stayed quiet for once, waiting for me to continue.

“I don’t like you but I’ll be honest with you-“ I heard him let out a stifled laugh before I continued, “- I’m assuming you know Billy Loomis was Sidney’s boyfriend. Well, it’s lesser known who his accomplice was to me. We don’t share a last name and hell, we look absolutely nothing alike, but Stu Macher was my cousin. I loved him like a brother so when he just stood by and watched that stupid asshole drive a knife into my stomach-“ My fingers automatically touched the healed over wound over the material of my shirt and I winced, not in pain but at the memory before I continued, “- And I died, I’m pretty sure the part where I can… Feel went with me.”

Mickey was silent as he intently listened to me speak before I felt his hand clasp over mine that was still tracing my scar through my shirt, making my eyes snap open and look at him as I asked him in an undeniably self conscious tone, “What?”

“Nothing, I just think that’s the most I’ve heard you talk since I’ve known you.”

His face was close to mine, slightly tilted back as his head rested on the cushions behind him and mine did the same.

Now this feeling was new.

I saw his eyes drop to my lips for a brief moment before looking back into mine. Did I want this? Did I want him?

My mind started to race and my heart began to thud unsteadily in my chest as I watched his tongue swipe his bottom lip as he leaned forward. I could feel the pulse in my ears as I froze in place, unable to make my body move.

Fight or flight, fight or flight?

In a second, I made a decision.

I shot to my feet, dropping my empty cup to the floor and stumbling back a little, my eyes wide and his shown surprise. For the first time I saw a flash of an emotion that wasn’t sarcastic or pissed but I couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what it was.

“Dahlia?” He asked, looking slightly concerned.

“You can’t just do that!” I hissed, hands shaking a little as my eyes flickered around my surroundings. Thank God, nobody was looking.

He leaned forward, his posture significantly less relaxed as he questioned, “Jesus, do what?”

You rushed out, “Lean forward and try to… Kiss me like that!”

Mickey looked at me blankly for a moment before his head fell back and he let out a loud, obnoxious laugh before managing to get out, “Are you fucking kidding me? You thought I was trying to kiss you? We were just having a conversation, Dahlia. How self involved are you?”

Of course, I know now Mickey isn’t used to not getting what he wants. He had grown accustomed to girls tripping over themselves to fuck him and the fact I didn’t, the fact I went out of my way to get away from him? He hates it. I could tell in that moment with the way he laughed but his eyes were blazing that he had an edge to him. I suppose that should’ve been one of many red flags.

Instead I scoffed at him, grabbing a random bottle of booze from the table before stalking off to go drink in peace.

I settled down on a chair in what I guess was supposed to be the communal living room, crossing my legs and eagerly knocking back the rum in my hand straight from the bottle.

“Jesus, Dahlia.”

I glanced up and saw a tipsy Randy flop down beside me, his drink spilling over the side of his cup as he did so but he didn’t seem to notice, eyes on me as he spoke, “Going hard, huh? What’s up?”

“Mickey.” I muttered simply.

“Ah.” Randy was quiet for a moment, looking at me thoughtfully.

Randy and I had what you would call and sandbox friendship. We met in kindergarten when he’d attempted to snatch a toy from my hand and I’d smacked him over the head with it in retaliation. I can’t really remember what led to it, but after that we became inseparable. We got “married” at recess with Sid and Tatum officiating but it was just childish fun and games. I of course loved him, but it was never romantic in any way.

During my time in the hospital, he visited every single day. During this time I wasn’t talking much so we just watched movies until visiting hours were up, he’d go home and then come back the next day to do it all over again. Never horror. He knew me well enough to know that after everything with Billy and Stu, for me at least real life was scary enough.

“Is he giving you a hard time?” Randy asked, rolling his head to look at me, he said in a more serious tone, “Ignore him, okay? Mickey can be an ass.”

“Oh, I know.” I muttered, bringing the bottle to my lips once more, “Such a fucking ass.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Randy’s eyebrows shoot up and I sighed, “What?”

He shrugged, “Nothing. It’s just I haven’t heard you speak with venom like that in… Fuck, forever. It’s disconcerting.”

I looked at Randy, a deep frown on my face as I asked, “What do you mean?”

“No, I don’t mean anything by it. I don’t know what Mickey did or said but I’ve gotta say, he really brings the fire out in you, you know?”

I dropped my eyes to the bottle in my hand, fingernails tapping lightly on the glass. I knew Randy was right. Whenever I was around Mickey he just revived me somehow. As annoying and infuriatingly difficult he was, there was no way I could dispute that fact.

In the space of a month I’d felt more irritation and fire than I’d probably felt in my entire life. Honestly, I never thought I’d feel anything again.

What was it about him?

I lifted my head as I heard footsteps approaching Randy and I and looked up to see Sidney hastily walking over to us.

“Dahlia, Mickey’s looking for you. He’s in my room, said he wanted to find you to apologise or something?” She shrugged a little, hand waving down the hall and toward hers and Hallie’s shared room.

I frowned, my grip on the bottle tightening which Randy seemed to notice as he asked, “You want me to come with?”

“No, no.” I mumbled, starting to stand up before the room spun a little. I blinked, feeling myself fall back on the couch and Randy quickly gripped my arm with a small, nervous laugh. “How much of that have you had?”

I shook my head as I mumbled, “I’m fine.”

Sidney looked at me, soulful brown eyes doubtful. “We all know you’re a lightweight Dahlia. Maybe Randy and I should take you back to your dorm.”

“I’m okay, honest.” In truth, I really just wanted to hear Mickey apologise to me. Who knew he was capable? “What number is your dorm?”

Sidney told me her dorm room number and I felt both her and Randy watching me cautiously as I slowly walked away, trying my best to walk in a straight line. Fuck, I really was a lightweight. Was it down to Mickey’s strong ass cocktail or the straight rum? Probably the straight rum.

My hands both rested on the walls as I walked down the corridor, eyes blurring as I blinked unseeingly at the number of the doors until I found Sidney’s.

I heard muffled voices coming from the other side of the door and infringed a little, hand hesitating on the door knob. Even hammered, something felt off. I didn’t know Mickey that well, but I did know he wasn’t one to apologise.

Fuck it.

I turned the door handle and pushed the door open, eyes widening and mouth falling open and the sight before me.

A blonde girl was lying face down, ass up on what I assumed to be Sidney’s bed without a stitch of clothing on her. She was gasping and moaning into the mattress beneath her, and who else would be behind her? Mickey.

He had her arms behind her back, one of his hands circling her wrists and the other gripping her hip, pulling her back as he thrusted into her. His head was back, groaning softly before it fell forward and he released her wrists, moving his hand up her back until it found her hair and twisting it around his fist, yanking it back so she was sat up, her head leaning on his shoulder as she gasped out, “Oh my fucking God Mickey, please don’t stop!“ with her eyes screwed up tight and her chest heaving. I saw her face and for some reason it seemed to bother me to see how attractive the girl was.

His eyes opened and met mine from over her shoulder, quickly roaming over my stunned form before he smiled.

He fucking smiled, a sick and almost depraved smile directly at me, a slight upturn of his shoulders before he mouthed, “Fuck you” to me as he pushed the writhing, moaning girl down on her stomach. His fingers kneeding the soft flesh of her ass as he continued fucking her, his eyes now never leaving mine as I remained frozen at the door.

Walk away, walk away! Why the fuck are you stood watching this shit?

The voice in my head was screaming at me until she was finally loud enough for me to listen. I turned on my heel, quickly slamming the door behind me.

What the fuck?

Why would he tell Sid he wanted to apologise to me if he was busy fucking some slut in her bed? Why would he want me to see that?

I was clearly drunk because I could feel tears burning my eyes, and I wasn’t sure if they were out of anger or something else. I shook out my head, hands coming up to tap on my cheeks lightly in an attempt to snap myself out of it as I heard Mickey let out another loud laugh and the girl let out an even louder cry of what I could only assume to be pleasure.

Guess this is how he acts when he gets rejected.

What a fucking asshole.

Chapter Four HERE