#i bet i used a dumb word somewhere and this won't show up in the tags

[itjazzbicch]

Biker Prince Charming

Pairing:  Shinichiro Sano x GangLeader!Fem Reader 

First time writing for Shinichiro, so I hope I did well! 

Summary: After high school, the reader creates her own gang to create a statement and makes a big name for the gang, and when her crew crosses paths with Shiniciro's gang, she reveals to Shinichiro that she is the leader, making him wonder and need to know how she changed and wants to fix it...

Warnings:  Swearing, mentions of past bullying, depression implied on the reader

Word Count: 1.2k 

"You just wait, you suckers! Our boss will be here any second!"

The only thing that my first division captain told me was that someone crossed into our territory, her vice-captain gave them a beating, and one of them escaped to get back up.

It wasn't like we were newbies around town, so only an idiot would come over to our side in the city.

"Listen, I'm not the kind of guy to fight girls," That voice. Shinichiro. "I just want to talk to your boss and work this out. Alright? Who is your boss, anyhow?"

Excessive bullying led me to create a gang full of girls to show these douchebag guys that we girls were strong too.

"Why, that would be me," Smiling at Shinichiro at the top of some steps in the alley, he was astonished.

We were childhood friends, and I understood why he was so shocked. Shinichiro knew how timid I once was, standing up to people who bullied me, always trying to make me smile. There was no denying that we had a strong friendship.

"Shinichiro, I had no idea this was their territory!" That guy that my girls took down looked like gangs were new to him.

"Bet you know now, huh?" One of my girls laughed at him, kicking some dirt at him, but stood straight at the sound of my command:

"Cut it out. Now."

Everyone in the alley stayed silent, eyes on me while I stood next to the street sign by the stairs with our emblem spray painted on it.

"See that, rookie?" Talking to the beaten-up guy on the ground, he watched me, learning and understanding, "That's our emblem. You see this somewhere? Get the hell out. Almost every gang around here will beat the crap out of you just for crossing territories."

He only nodded, scurrying away from my gang, hiding behind Shinichiro, who was still staring at me in disbelief.

"I'm fine with letting this go, Shinichiro, but it won't happen again," So much for Shinichiro wanting to talk to me, walking up the steps, not bothering to look, I commanded to my gang, "And girls, we'll discuss this tomorrow. I don't want to hear about any other bullshit tonight."

"Yes, Boss!' They all acknowledged and then parted ways.

I took my time up the stairs, pausing when I heard footsteps behind me.

"We still need to talk, Y/N."

Now, Shinichiro wanted to talk since everyone was gone. Of course.

"Then talk," I spat, not even bothering to look at him.

"What happened to you?" He couldn't get over the fact that what he was seeing from me was reality, "You're the Leader of that crazy chick gang? Really?"

"No shit. You just saw," Turning my head and beaming an eye at him, I lost my patience a long time ago, continuing to be straightforward, "So, if you want to talk, talk."

It was evident that he needed some time to process what just happened, thinking quickly and then offering:

"Meet me at our spot, and we can talk in a bit? I need a second. I can't believe this shit."

That made me laugh, finishing my walk up the stairs:

"You're not the first to say that to me. We're not kids anymore, Shinichiro. A lot has changed, but it's whatever. I'll see you later."

With my motorcycle at the top of the stairs, I kept laughing at him. He looked dumb standing there so puzzled, making my bike roar before I took off.

Shinichiro and I used to hang out when we could under a bridge on the far side of the city. I liked to go at night because you could see the shoreline from there and the sunsets were always beautiful.

Sure enough, when sunset rolled around, I drove over and found Shinichiro putting out his kickstand:

"Perfect timing, huh?"

"I guess so," I sighed, parking and slouching back on my bike, "So, you finally gonna speak your mind now that it's just us."

"Yeah," He murmured, still thinking and admitting, "I think it's pretty cool that there's a gang full of girls out here kicking ass. Talk about girl power."

"Your buddy learned that pretty well today," I laughed softly, explaining, "Some of my girls are crazy."

"I saw," Feeling his eyes on me, I knew he would start asking questions and spark a long talk, "But you know none of my guys would hit a girl. Why do you guys go and-"

"Don't even," I snapped, sitting up and glaring at him, "We don't just go and start fights with everyone we see. As Leader, I will admit my girls thought it'd be fun to pick on some dummy today. But you saw how they instantly shut up and stayed still when I told them to. Didn't you?"

Nodding to answer my question, I continued to show how I ran things in my gang:

"They did it because they knew they messed up, and I don't mess-ups. I'm ripping them a new one tomorrow at our meeting. You need to realize I'm not to be pushed. So, if you're trying to push my buttons, leave."

"No, Y/N," Turning to me, there was hurt in his voice, leaning to me and reminiscing, "What happened to the sweet girl that I knew?"

"She died," I said with no emotion, staring back into his eyes, "She's gone."

"Naw," Shaking his head, determination in his voice, "I can bring her back to life."

I wasn't ready to tell him why I felt I died inside and drastically changed, throwing another smart remark, "Yeah, right. Good luck with that."

"Think I won't try?" He always had good intentions and was trying to help, being bold by guiding me off my bike, keeping an arm around me, "I'm cool with being your knight in a leather jacket who rides a motorcycle."

I couldn't stand the charm he had, how cute his smile was, it almost made me fall, but I caught myself, straightening my posture, whispering dominantly:

"I don't need a knight when I don't need to be saved. You're making me think you're jealous because we both know no one would stop talking about you if you picked me up."

"I'd give up my whole gang just to save you and have you," Shinichiro's words took me aback because he wasn't a liar, needing my all to hide my emotions as his came out, "I can see it in your eyes. I can see the hurt. You know you have me, don't you?"

"I told you," Having to turn away, I got back on my bike, starting the engine, "People change. You think I need saved? I only realized who I really am."

"Come on, Y/N," My words hurt him, going to say more till I reached in my pocket, wrote on a small piece of paper on top of my thigh, then handed it to him.

"Look, I'm not completely heartless," I sighed, looking away while handing him my number, "There's my new number. Maybe we can hang out sometime, but no more, biker prince charming, shit."

That managed to put a smile on his face as he accepted it, getting on his bike too, trying to spend some more time together:

"A least go for a ride with me before you go? We can even race if you think you can."

He was a bit confused as to why I was laughing like a psycho, not knowing the power my bike had, having to tease him again as I blasted off, screaming at him:

"You don't stand a chance against the boss, pretty boy!' 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome. 

[asoulsreverie]

Secrets

Tasm!Peter Parker × super!fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.2 k

Summary: based on prompt- "what are we going to do about this?" you're caught, red-handed, and peter's next move could destroy your life forever. unless... you can convince him otherwise

Genre: Angst

Warnings: kidnapping, side character deaths mentioned, tears and fears, slight panic attack, betrayal.

Image credit here

Reblogs appreciated

This story is for @liz-allyn 's most recent angst challenge and 900 Celebration! Congratulations!! I had fun writing something with a deadline for a change, turns out I can *not* procrastinate if I try hard enough.

Although I am not sure this is what you envisioned when you came up with this prompt....

Please do not copy my work or translate them to any other languages. Please do not repost on any platforms.

Masterlist Peter Parker Masterlist

You follow the tiny red dot on your screen, coming to a stop on the rooftop of a bakery. You look around but the one you seek is nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, something collides with you with enough force to knock you into the wall behind you. Your wrist was webbed to the bricks against your back. Panic rises as you know you have been discovered.

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

You have no idea how Spider-Man has been able to hide his life behind the mask all these years. When he first started helping you out with your powers six months ago, you had asked him why he kept his identity a secret. For you, it was the need to protect the people close to you and he had told you it was the same for him.

So you both took proper measures to keep your identities hidden, even from each other. You were sure not to let anyone follow you.

But when a rag covers your mouth during your morning run, muffling your screams and making your vision go black, you realise you have messed up somewhere. You vaguely feel your hands and legs being restrained before you pass out and that's how you find yourself tied up to a metal chair in a dark room. The only light comes from under the door, illuminating the room enough for you to see a table in the corner.

You struggle against the ropes as they cut into your skin. With your super strength, it shouldn't be hard to break free, but it doesn't seem to work. Your head feels heavy, vision still blurred. Suddenly you hear your full name being called out, the sound coming from just beyond the door to your right. You try harder to get out of your restraints, panicking at the fact that they knew you.

"Don't bother, Shadow" a voice says, and you know you messed up. "The drugs will wear out in a while, keeping in mind your enhanced metabolism. Besides, we are just looking for a…negotiation" the voice said, you could almost see the sneer smile he must've had on his face. "A simple trade. And we'll let you go"

You scoff, "Hard to believe someone who won't even show himself. Do whatever you want to me, I'm not doing anything for you"

"Oh we know you would put the well being of others before yours, so I don't think you have much of a choice… seeing that I have names of all the people who are close to you. Let's start the list off with your boyfriend…Peter Parker."

You feel your heart speed up in fear, your throat constricting at the thought of the sweet love of your life being involved in something he has no part in."Leave him out of this" you say with as much confidence you can muster, but it's hard to miss the wavering of your voice. You hated the fact that you messed up somewhere and now they know your secret.

"We plan to leave everyone out of this, darling. As soon as you get us what we want" the voice says and you feel disgusted at the sound of the usually endearing term. "All we need you to do is tell us who Spider-Man is. Surely you know that much"

You let out a humourless laugh. "You think Spider-Man is dumb enough to share his identy with someone he's known for a few months? And how long have you been trying to find out who he is? I bet it's been years''. You slowly feel your strength coming back, and start working the ropes.

"Right, of course", the voice said, unusually calm as before,"but you have his trust. And as I said before, you don't have much of a choice. We will give you till the end of next month, at midnight. Find out who he is. Otherwise you know what happens to the people on the list in my hand.

There is a phone on the table. Take it. We will take updates every three days at a different location every time. Don't miss a call or text. And of course don't tell anything to Spider-Man or the NYPD cause you know what happens after that"

All sounds stop after that, and eventually you're able to break the ropes. You walk over to the table and find your phone beside an old phone, the one they want you to use.

You contemplate taking it. You can't let them blackmail Spider too, but you definitely can't risk Peter getting hurt. You couldn't let anything happen to Peter, not after what you went through when…. No. You pocket the phone despite what the logical part of your brain says. Peter comes first.

You check your phone. You have three missed calls- two from Peter and one from your friend, who you were supposed to meet up with for a project. You have a few messages from Peter asking why you weren't in class and why you aren't answering his calls.

You hate lying to Peter, especially since you already have to keep your nightly patrols with Spidey a secret. But you shoot him a text that you had a headache and wanted to rest. The locked door isn't a problem as your strength is back up, and you easily rip it off its hinges. Turns out you were in an abandoned apartment building. The one near yours and Peter's college.

It's nearly 12 noon now. You have approximately thirty-seven and a half days until the end of the coming month. That's 900 hours. 900 hours to break Spider-Man's trust and find out who's behind that mask.

Back home you pretend that you indeed do have a headache, because Peter, bless his pure soul, sent you a text immediately saying he'll come over at four with some meds and your favourite snacks.

The doorbell rings and you open the door to the most beautiful pair of eyes in the world, crinkled around the corners in a smile. Peter's hands are full of paper bags that hold the huge amount of snacks he has bought. You take a few bags from him and set them on the table. He then faces you and pulls you into a hug.

"You alright bug? Was a little scared when you didn't answer my calls" he asks.

"Yeah just my head y'know? I'm better now" you say. You feel the phone vibrate in your pocket when you tell Peter you'd like to watch a movie with him. As he moves to the TV, you whip out the phone they gave you, seeing a message.

You'll miss these moments with him if you fail to deliver

A shiver runs down your spine as you quickly move to draw all the curtains close around your house.

"Everything ok?" Peter asks from the couch as you frantically go from one window to the other.

"Uhhh- yeah, yes just making the perfect-atmosphere to enjoy the movie, yeah?" you smile as you take a place beside him.

Peter heads home after dinner, and you immediately turn your house upside down, looking for cameras or microphones that may be hidden around. You end up finding nothing, which reduces your fear only slightly. You check the time and realise you need to go for your nightly patrol.

You change into your suit and put in a wireless earphone in your left ear, tuned into the police radio. You meet up with Spider-Man on the rooftop you both first met on. He greets you with what you think is a smile hidden behind his mask.

"Hey Shadow, nice to see you" he says in a friendly tone.

"Hey Spidey, great to see you too" you say, hoping he doesn't catch the worry in your voice, but of course he does. "You alright?" he asks, but before you can answer, the radio mentions a robbery a few blocks away and Spider-Man swings the both of you to the scene.

The five people are armed with guns and are giving the police a hard time. You and Spider sneak behind them and manage to take down two of them before the others notice. The two guys immediately start firing at Spider-Man while a woman aims her gun at you. You quickly kick the gun out of her hand, tackling her and now hold her arm behind her back. What you don't expect is to hear her laugh under her breath.

"Don't forget to keep your end of the deal, Peter's life depends on it" she says with a smirk. You falter for a second, and she manages to break free, immediately reaching for her gun. But she falls down on her face as webs tie her ankles together. You stand completely paralysed, your thoughts running haywire. Of course they have many people working for them, but hearing a criminal use Peter's name makes you feel sick. You feel as if your chest is being held in a tight grip. You continue to stare at the ground where the woman had fallen down even after she is handcuffed and escorted by the policemen.

You are brought out of your thoughts as you feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, why don't you call it a night? I'll be able to handle it." Spider-Man says softly, knowing something was definitely troubling you. He hadn't seen the woman speak to you, just that she was out of your grip even with your super-strength, meaning you had faltered for some reason. He didn't want his best friend and crime-fighting partner getting hurt.

You turn your face to look at him. While his expression is hidden behind his mask, beyond him the woman who is being seated at the back of the police car has a smirk on her face, her eyes cold as she mouths your boyfriend's name, holding eye contact with you. Thankfully your mask hides the trembling of your lips and you give a nod to Spider-Man before your tears start wetting your mask.

It's almost midnight when you reach home. That's 12 hours of 900 gone. You immediately collapse on your bed, knowing that you must find out who Spider-Man is. This is so hard for you. He is so nice to you, even if you are just friends who don't know each other's name.

But the memories come back to you. The blood. The screams. The pain. The tears. The dead weight of his body in your arms. All because you were not able to be there on time. All because you couldn't save him.

Now you think about Peter. You can not let anyone hurt your love. Not again. If betrayal is the only way you can protect Peter, so be it.

Two days later you get your first location. The abandoned warehouse near the harbour. You have to miss a friend's birthday party to be here. Worst of all, Peter is going to be there and wonder why you didn't show up. But this was more important than a birthday party. Who knows what they would do to Peter if you missed the meeting?

You show up a few minutes early in your suit.

"What do you know?" you hear someone say, but it's not the voice from that night. You see a man sitting on the edge of a slightly rusted cargo container.

"As of now, nothing. He covers up his path well. But I'm working on it." you answer back. To be honest, you weren't actually trying your hardest… Spider-Man is your friend after all.

"Work faster" he says, "Boss isn't happy and he might do something that'll make you regret your slow pace"

"We have a deal" you say, a slight note of panic in your voice "I still have time"

"But Boss doesn't have patience. If I were you, I'd hurry up" he says and you sense a sincerity in his words as he leaves you be.

You have been acting distant lately. Peter had called you only to be greeted by the voicemail, texted you to be replied by silence. All the times you both have met up you seem far away, only talking to him when he asks you something. Your eyes are sunken, hair slightly dishevelled. It's been a few weeks since you have been acting this way. Even his spider-senses go off when he's around you sometimes– though he hasn't been able to figure that out yet.

It's like those moments when you fear something wrong is going to happen, but you can't do anything but wait. So that's what Peter has been doing. After you initially told him you're alright and just want some space, he hasn't confronted you about it, waiting for you to come to him instead. A part of him is scared. Maybe it's him? Maybe you don't want to be with him anymore? But then you have been acting oddly with everyone, but more so when you're with him. So he just waits.

But as the days go by and you don't show any signs of getting better, or coming to him with whatever is troubling you, he realises maybe you have talked to someone about this. And unlike all the times the both of you had shared a problem with the other, with a promise that you both will always be there for each other, maybe… Maybe you don't want that from him anymore.

That's why when you come up to hug him from behind after your classes end for the day, you are surprised to feel tears on his cheeks. You move to face him, and his eyes plead you to talk, and you know whatever it is, it's troubling him a lot.

You both silently walk to his place and as soon as the door closes behind you, tears stream down his face. When you walk up to hold him, he stops you.

"Do you not…. Do you still want to be together?" he asks, his voice brittle as glass, as he awaits your answer. "It's just that you-we haven't had a proper talk in a while and I feel like you are avoid me... Just I- I wanted you to know you don't have to... " When he first told you how people he loved were slowly taken away from him, you promised to be there for him.

Your heart broke when you heard that question. But you understood where he was coming from. You had been a little preoccupied with thoughts of keeping him safe, you even tried to distance yourself from him only so that he would not be followed by those who kidnapped you.

Worst of all, Spider-Man was giving you a hard time. You were never able to follow him to his place. He made sure to not slip any detail from his life. But then it had been like that for all the months you had known him.

But you didn't realise what Peter must've been going through the time you were off planning how to find Spider-Man's secret. As he cries, the tears take you back to the first time you fought in a relationship. The time you never got a chance to apologise. Because he was taken away from you. Because you could not save him. And you have to live with that weight every day.

Your eyes sting as you call his name gently, reaching your hand towards his. He subconsciously grips onto it, as he slowly lifts his eyes to meet yours.

"I love you Peter. I know this is the first time in a situation like this, and I know I haven't been the best at communicating recently. But I love you. From the bottom of my heart" you reach your free hand to cup his face,"I promised I will always be with you. And I will never break that promise Peter. I need you to know that”. You move to hold him,”Peter I… I have been having a hard time recently. And- I promise I’ll talk to you about it. Just not yet… But I’m sorry I made you feel this way baby”

He sniffles, as he tries not to cry more. He hugs you tight, latching onto you hoping to never let go.

It’s now been 34 days since you made the unwilling deal. You have finally worked out how you will be able to keep Peter safe. It required a lot of research, since technology was not exactly your forte. When you meet up with the random guy in an old warehouse, you tell him what to do.

“All you have to do is tell your Boss to send out a few people, and one of them has to put this tracker on him”. You can’t believe what you are doing right now. How can you let something like this happen to the person who helped you? You remember when all those years ago the freak accident had given you your powers. Spiderman, who had then shown up not too long ago, had pulled you out of the wreckage. You owed your life to him. This was one of the reasons why you had decided to use your powers to help people, even if you had not made proper use of them for the first few years.

You realise fear is what is forcing you to do this. Love is also a reason, but mostly you're scared. Scared of going through the same pain you went through when you couldn't save him. Maybe this was selfish of you, but as long as Peter was safe, the rest didn't matter.

The next night, everything went well. Half a dozen guys attacked you and Spider-Man, the tracker activated. Just before midnight, the both of you parted, just as usual. Now was the part you didn’t look forward to.

Five minutes after Spiderman left, you pulled out your back-up phone to locate him. He had stopped moving 10 blocks away, and you quickly made your way to the rooftop of a bakery. According to the tracker, he was supposed to be here. You were confused as to where he went. Suddenly something collides with you with enough force to knock you into the wall behind you. Your wrist was webbed to the brick wall behind your back. Panic rises as you know you have been discovered. As you tug on the web, more take its place, as Spider-Man successfully makes a cocoon to trap you.

"So all this was a sick plan, huh? Have to say, it was pretty elaborate. Almost seven months of gaining my trust just to find out who I am. If it weren't for you acting a little suspicious the last couple of weeks, and of course my spidey-senses, I would never have found out." he says, and even though he puts up a tough act you know he's hurt.

“Spider-Man I can explain this, just-”

“The only people you need to explain this to is the judicial system. All I need to do is ask them to prepare a special cell for you. Till then, enjoy sticking around” he says as he salutes you with two fingers and turns around, ignoring your attempts at justification. "You know Shadow, I actually trusted you. I honestly thought you meant good for the city like I did. But now…” he shakes his head.

You can’t let him leave like this. You need to tell him why you did it… You can’t Peter think you’re the bad guy when the police tell him about you. He would be destroyed. Peter was the reason you could move on after him. Peter was the reason you found the courage to help the city. You didn’t even care if there was anyone tailing you. You were going to tell Spider-man the truth.

So as he is about to jump, he hears you scream out.

“They found out!” you sobbed, “They found out who I am- they’re making me do this! I didn’t want to do this- I had no choice”

Peter stood there, deciding whether he should believe what you said. The pain in your voice sounded genuine, but he didn’t understand why you hadn't come to him for help.

“Th-they were going to target m-my boyfriend. Spidey I can’t let anything happen to him- I can’t- Can’t lose him. I can’t lose the love of my life again ” you cried, tugging at the webs uselessly. That sentence made Peter stop completely.

To be honest, Shadow had never shown any signs of being against Spiderman. You had never pushed him for any information and he hadn’t pushed you. That was an unsaid agreement between the two of you. You had only started making his Spider senses go off about five weeks ago. He looked at your face, your mask looking blotchy as tears started to wet the fabric.

He didn’t want to admit it but it would have been a hard place for him to be for him as well. He couldn’t let anything happen to his girlfriend. He believed you to some extent.

“Please Spidey, you need to believe me… Please I’ll even tell you who I am! I’ll tell you because I trust you and I know I was about to break yours in me, but I need you to trust me too. please” he could hear you gasping for air, choking on your own tears.

Spider-Man carefully moves closer to you, removing the webs from one of your hands. You immediately remove the mask from your face. As your tear stained face comes into his vision, Peter’s world turns upside down.

His girlfriend was the one who had been fighting beside him for the last seven months. You were the one who had been injured so many times, all because you wanted to protect the city. He did everything to keep you away from his life as Spider-Man, making sure he was never followed. But he never knew you were right there beside him for such a long part of it. And yes, you were about to do something wrong, but it was to protect him.

Both of you know about the other’s past. You both lost the someone special you had in your lives. And now Peter realises he wasn’t the only one who blamed himself for not being able to save his love. You too were not able to save them.

“Spider-Man, please I know I did wrong but I was _scared_ Spidey. I couldn’t save my love last time, but had a say in it this time, I need you to understand-”

Your rambling is cut short when you hear Spiderman say your name gently. The way he says it startles you. The vulnerability. The softness in his voice. You immediately know who he is. But you don’t react.

“Spiderman they may still be around. Please, just understand where this is coming from” you say, calmer than before. He nods, removing the rest of the webs from you.

“I believe you”

When you meet Peter the next day at his home, you throw yourself into his arms. “I’m so sorry Peter” you whisper to him,”I was really scared… I can’t lose you too.... What are we going to do?"

“It’s ok bug” he coos, rubbing circles on your back. “We will figure this out”

The next few hours are spent plotting and discussing both of your pasts. You learn how Peter blamed himself for Gwen’s death, telling him it was not his fault and also realising you had done the same.

Thankfully most of the people who came for the information exchange referred to you as Shadow and not your real name, so you were sure that your identity was the knowledge of only a few.

You two still don’t know if the group who blackmailed you saw anything that happened yesterday. Assuming they didn’t already know otherwise, your plan was to pretend to continue to work for them. Because of your plan they had demanded to meet you tonight. This time Peter and you were going to be in contact.

You met with the guy they had sent, telling them that you knew who Spider-Man was. He seemed to believe you, so you knew you could keep the act up. He tells you that their Boss was getting impatient, and it would be best for you to end this quickly; to tell him who Spider-Man was and that he would let their boss know. However, you ask him to tell their boss to meet you tomorrow at midnight, at the deadline they had given you. He seems irritated but eventually agrees.

Of course, you realise that there was a huge chance they never kept their side of the deal anyway, and now that you knew Peter would be able to defend himself if the need arises, you both could work towards taking down the whole organisation at once.

After all, with the both of you fighting side by side, there was nothing you and Peter couldn’t do.

[not to mention I was not able to come up with a proper title]

[paladin7cleric]

Let's address some of this:

The CAST and audience have all picked up on the OBVIOUS tension that Will and Mike have in the show. Especially since season 4, as they tried to make it even more clearer.

If byler is happening, reminder that the cast or crew obviously aren't allowed to say so and spoil it, which is why I firmly believe it's happening as none of the cast have shut it down.

They really are a will they or won't they couple...

If people sense tension, it takes two to create the tension therefore Mike clearly has just as much chemistry with Will as Will does with him.

Now for this part, which I see in most media articles related to Byler,

Most people assume that Mike romantically loves El simply because he wanted to 'look for his girlfriend'. Firstly, wether he loves her like that or not, you'd obviously look for your girlfriend if she got taken away somewhere.

The monologue. I can bet you most ppl who think their relationship is sailing because of that, haven't re watched the show or season. When watching it the first time, you aren't focused on clues. it's easy to think he loves her but when you take a step back...

in the van scene he said the truth that it was SIMPLE DUMB LUCK that SUPERMAN landed on his doorstep. He doesn't believe in love at first sight. He said what he thought SHE wanted to hear.

Also I don't think many people really focused on how El's been reacting to Mike the entire season. She KNOWS he doesn't love her. He may have liked her like that but he sure doesn't love her.

Now most scenes where parralled to s2, so compare the monologues, Mike and Will where the only ones in shot on their one. With El, why did it show us not only Will's but Johnathons sad reactions to Mike saying I love you.

I get El was in physical pain from the veins tightening but she could still smile at that joke about the yellow tshirt. It took her looking at MAX to break loose, not hearing Mikes words. And I don't think most people in the fan base picked up on it, unless they went back and re watched.

[forestwater87]

The absurdly-overdue Niekki post

I don’t think I realized it until I answered a Ma//kk//i ask a few days ago, but I fucking love Nikki and Neil as a ship. It’s just really cute and sweet, they make perfect sense together, and if I was a betting nerd I’d call them endgame.

And they’re also the least popular ship in the entire fandom. Including the gross ones.

And it honestly comes as such a surprise to me, because thinking it over, I realized something completely fucking bonkers that I don’t think anyone has paid much attention to:

Neil/Nikki has a stronger canon basis than any other ship in Camp Camp, by miles.

Yes, more than Gwe//nvid. 

That should tell you how dead-fucking-serious I am about this ship.

Season 1, Episode 1: Escape from Camp Campbell

These two spent an entire who-knows-how-long bus ride together, as the only people on that bus (QM doesn’t count as people and you know it), both of them convinced they were going to entirely separate camps.

I want more than anything on this earth to know what that conversation was like. Nikki being such an enthusiastic and chatty little bean, there’s no way she didn’t talk his ear off the entire time and we were robbed of that conversation, Rooster Teeth. 

MAKE IT RIGHT, ROOSTER TEETH.

Season 1, Episode 2: Mascot

They went on a fun little adventure together, without Max! They risked life and limb and found a new mascot and learned about each other and held hands and it was so cute and sweet -- and I failed to take a single screencap of it, because like everyone else I somehow missed that this ship is perfect and everything I ever needed. But I do have a picture of them bonding with David, so:

“Bonding.”

Season 1, Episode 3: Scout’s Dishonor

Not only do I have no pictures from this episode because it doesn’t include David and when I first started watching/screencapping I was a total slut for that good tree boy, but the Camp Camp wiki has no pictures from this episode. WHY DOES NO ONE WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW GOOD THIS SHIP IS?!

Anyway, picture-less: Neil explores his gender, is exposed to basically the camp of his dreams, and in the end decides to abandon it because Nikki gives him the sweetest most vulnerable smile --

Man, a picture would sure go down smooth right here, huh? Too bad no one cares about these two or their interactions, my 2016 self apparently included. (My 2019 self is currently doing this during some downtime at work, hence not just pulling up new caps. If I must suffer, y’all must suffer.)

-- and then they fly away together on a bird Nikki summoned! And Neil thinks that’s the coolest shit ever, and the awe in his face and voice when she shows the Flower Scouts Timothy is really good and HOW? HOW DID NO ONE NOTICE?!

They learn about each other and accept one another even though they’re not exactly alike, and it’s one of the more wholesome parts of the entire show. 

  ETA: JUST KIDDING I TOTALLY HAD A POST I FORGOT ABOUT! I’m keeping my comments in because they made me laugh though.

Season 1, Episode 4: Camp Cool Kidz

They’re on opposite sides of this conflict because Neil is on the side of his bro/boyfriend Max, but it doesn’t seem to damage their friendship at all. These two can forgive and forget like nobody’s business. (This also applies to Max and Nikki, yes. Makkiel4lyfe.)

Also she saw him shirtless. Mrow.

Season 1, Episode 5: Journey to Spooky Island

They . . . um . . .

Listen, not every episode is gonna have ironclad evidence, okay? Just look how cute they are and shut up.

Season 1, Episode 6: Reigny Day

Actually, Nikki’s kind of a dick to Neil in this episode. She doesn’t especially care if he’s dead and laughs at him for having a diary. This episode is really all about Max being Neil’s bro and looking for him when he goes missing. 

Like I said, not all gold, but adorable.

Season 1, Episode 7: Romeo & Juliet: Love Resurrected

HE IS SO NERVOUS TO KISS HER OH MY GODDDDDD

And I think that’s all the incisive commentary this episode needs.

Season 1, Episode 8: Into Town

Neil is the first and only person to notice that something is wrong with Nikki; even though they didn’t spend a ton of time together this episode, they do have one of the more powerful emotional beats. He knows her arguably better than Max does, and can therefore more quickly recognize when she’s not herself (though how you miss that says less about Neil and more about what a single-minded revenge-obsessed monster Max is at this point in the show).

This is not the first time he notices that Nikki’s being mistreated and expresses concern, either. He’s much more protective of her than his often-selfish nature would imply.

Season 1, Episode 9: David Gets Hard

They spend the entire episode playing together! Bonding! This is basically what we can assume they’re doing whenever Max is off with David or Dolph or whatever scheme he has going on when he’s not with them, and the fact that they basically spend all their waking hours hanging out and being friends is just really lovely, especially considering how little they have in common and how few the things they’d both enjoy doing are.

It becomes clear that their friendship can survive without Max acting as an anchor, which, as anyone who’s been in a 3-person friendship can attest, is not always the case.

Season 1, Episode 10: Mind Freakers

Neil is such a jerk in this one, and I actually think it makes a really nice contrast. Nikki’s been mean to him in previous episodes, and in a very similar way; in “Reigny Day,” she cares less about his well-being than about having her own fun and exciting adventure. In this episode, Neil’s similarly too self-absorbed to worry about his friend’s personal safety -- albeit with much more disastrous (maybe? Is Nikki magic?) results.

But the way Nikki just trots along beside him down the path to hell and choking on magic scarves is adorable. She more or less always trusts him and does what he tells her to.

This is perhaps not the wisest idea, but Nikki isn’t known for her wisdom.

What’s the opposite of that “get you a man who” meme? Because this is not. Get a man who never does this.

That being said, the look on his face when he’s genuinely scared for her life and about to turn his back on everything he believes? 

I ship it.

Season 1, Episode 11: Camporee

There’s literally nothing. They’re barely in this episode and I don’t think they interact at all. They can’t all be winners, I guess.

That being said, Max and Neil have this really cute moment and it should be appreciated. Anyway.

Season 1, Episode 12: The Order of the Sparrow

Shit, they’re not really in this one either! The closest we get to shipping fodder is Neilxplatypus.

I mean . . . Nikki is basically a wild animal, and apparently Neil is cool with that under very specific circumstances. It’s a stretch, but I still think there’s more than enough -- 

Holy shit.

Wait.

I’ve only done the first season so far! And this is long as balls! Oh my god, there’s no fucking way I’m doing all the episodes in this post. Niekki is getting a multi-post spectacular because they deserve it, damn it.

[unhingedmalewives]

Stranger things incorrect quote part 1

(They are so cute )

Robin : Physically, yes, I could fight a bird. But emotionally? Imagine the toll.

Y/N: Bye robin ! Bye Steve ! Bye Nancy! Bye Will ! Bye robin

Max : You said ‘bye robin ’ twice.

Y/N : I like robin the most

Dustin : Anyone d-

Will : Depressed?

Lucas : Drained?

Mike : Dumb?

Eleven : Disliked?

Dustin : -done with their work... what is wrong with you people ...

Steve : I’m an idiot.

Robin:

Jonathan:

Nancy:

Y/N: If you’re waiting for us to disagree, this is going to be a long day

Y/N: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the items you have lost throughout your life

Mike : Self-esteem, haven't seen you in years!

Will : Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this!

Dustin : I knew I lost that potential somewhere!

Lucas : My moral code, is that you?

Y/N:

Y/N: I was just gonna show you this cool trunk my mother left me but do you guys need a hug?

Jonathan: Looking left cause you don’t treat me right

Y/N: Looking right because you left

Nancy: Looking up cause you let me down

Robin : Looking down cause you fucked up

Steve : What is wrong with you guys

Mike : Are we really going to let Steve keep Y/N

Dustin : We kept max

Will: Can I be frank with you guys?

Mike : Sure, but I don’t see how changing your name is gonna help.

El : Can I still be Eleven ?

Dustin : Shh, let Frank speak.

Max : I just ended a four year relationship.

Y/N : Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?

Max : Hm? Oh yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t my relationship.

*Mike and el fighting from across the room*

Steve : Y/N and I are having a baby.

Dustin : That's gre-

Steve , slamming adoption papers on the table: It's you, sign here.

Lucas: Okay, help me please!

Max : Got two words for you.

Lucas : I bet they won't be helpful.

Max : Your problem.

Lucas : I was right

Steve : So are we flirting right now?

Y/N : I LITERALLY JUST BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU

Steve : That doesn’t answer my question

Steve : I was born for politics. I have great hair and Im great at lying.

Eleven : You think I really give a fuck? I can’t even read.

Mike after that one scene with will : Well, well, well... if it isn’t my old friend: the dawning realization that I fucked up bad.

[sery-chan-13]

Burnt Out

Bitches... (1, I love you all very much. 2, .... read 1) it's time for some angst...

And the start of me making poly relationship things-

Request away lol (I'm working on a request and small project chapters :) )

Warnings: Toxic Relationship, mentions scars, burns, Manga spoilers, swearing, emotionally abusive behavior, mentally abusive behavior, gaslighting(?) Let me know if I missed any!

You giggled as both men chased after you through the halls of the hotel. "(Y/N), you're wearing socks! You're going to- shit!" Niragi yelled after you, cursing when he saw you fall. You slipped down the stairs. You landed with a thud at the bottom. Tears filled your eyes at the pain, but you swallowed them back, standing up. You yelped, falling back to the floor. Chishiya stared down at you, kneeling besides you,  squeezing your leg. "Ow! Shi-Shi, hurts," you whined, slapping his hand away. He glared up at you. "Maybe don't be stupid next time. I'm just trying to help you," he scoffed, going back to trying to find out what was wrong. "You don't have to be so mean to he-" "Shut up. You're dumber than her, you're the whole reason this happened anyways." He felt people stare, and stopped. "Take her back up to our room. I'll figure out what's wrong there," Chishiya stated, getting up, and walking away. You expected Niragi to yell after him, or repremand him for something, but we're met by silence. "Gi-Gi, you ok?" You whispered as he picked you up softly. He pressed a quick kiss to your forehead nodding.

"Niragi... this isn't the way back to our room," you said, noticing he was taking you the opposite way. "Clever girl," he praised with a smile. You laughed at his words. "I'm taking you to Ann. She has more equipment to help you. I'll get Chishiya after I take you to her though," he explained. You nodded.

_______________________________________

"And then it was like bam, then woosh, and like... wow!!" You exclaimed, trying to find the words to explain your game. Niragi laughed, patting the top of your head. "Sounds fun sweetheart. Tell me all about it after I take a shower," he said. You nodded with a smile, sitting on the edge of your bed. Chishiya had been on the bed, listening to your rambling. "Chishiya, I think it was really cool how you tried to-" you started. "Gods you're loud. Quiet down. And I know. I'm clever, after all. Neither of you would be here without me. Probably dead," he lectured. "But Chishiya, Niragi and I survived without you before we came to the Beach, remember? We were t-" you started, confused at his words. "I get it, he's your favorite out of us both! You make it so fucking obvious. I bet the only reason you wanted both of us is because you're an attention whore who needs multiple men to use her to feel good about herself. Shut up and let me sleep," he shouted. Tears filled your eyes as he turned away from you. Had you really shown favoritism? You didn't try to, if you had. You always made sure you tried to do things with both. Was he feeling left out? Is that why he was being a jerk?

Those were all thoughts running through your mind, not knowing that you weren't the problem. You had spent equal time with both, giving them equal attention. Chishiya just never wanted you around him.

_______________________________________

"(Y/N), come with me. Now," Chishiya ordered. Ten of Hearts. That was tonight's game. And you were terrified. He had pulled you away before anything got to out of hand. You thought that maybe he was trying to be nice. Maybe he had finally come around? Had you given him enough attention? "W-where's Niragi?" You asked, jogging to catch up with him. "Don't worry about him let's go."

You followed him around the whole time, watching as his hands quickly grabbed items. ''What are you making?" You asked, hoping he didn't snap at you. You feared his response. "Something to beat the game with. If you can't bring the witch to the fire, bring the fire to the witch," he said. You sighed in relief. He didn't yell at you, and you were happy about it. "Ok... so... you know who the witch is?" You questioned. "I have a hunch. Now stop asking questions," he stated. "So annoying..." you heard him mutter. You frowned, keeping your lips shut.

Following him up the stairs, you kept to yourself. You knew he wouldn't care about your thoughts. He might yell at you, or call you annoying. You didn't want to make him angry... He was just trying to protect you, right?

"Niragi!" You shouted happily, seeing he was at the rooftop. He wasn't dead. He looked over at you with a smirk. "Ah, so he did keep you safe. Where were you hiding?" He asked, picking up his gun from the floor. "There's many places for me to hide," Chishiya responded. You tried walking towards Niragi, but Chishiya grabbed your sleeve. You tugged at his hand, trying to get away. "Let me go," you said, struggling against him. "No."

The next few minutes went in a blur. All you remember was Chishiya and Niragi arguing a bit back and forth. You were so overwhelmed already, the game getting to you, and now your lovers were fighting. Cards flying, fire, screaming. You couldn't tell if it was your own scream or Niragi's, but it didn't matter.

"C-chishiya what the hell?! W-what?!" You yelled, shaking, stepping back from him. "Hmm... guess he wasn't the witch then,'' he stated, dropping the homemade flamethrower to the ground. He started picking up the cards on the floor. You however tried taking deep breaths, trying to calm yourself. You couldn't. Tears slipped off your face, hands scratching you your arms. You couldn't scream, couldn't talk, couldn't move. It was like you were living in a nightmare.

_______________________________________

There was more instances, of course, but you were so done with everything. Niragi was still alive, to your relief. After all that, he was alive. And that's all that mattered to you. Chishiya had been with you, and still was. Understandably, you were scared of him. Niragi was angry at him, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Look, just tell me I'm right, and we're fine," Chishiya stated bored of the conversation. Both you and Niragi were so tired of this. The constant fighting, gaslighting, and hateful words. Chishiya was just too prideful to admit he was wrong.

It was a relationship between you three. You and Niragi shouldn't be putting in all the work, while he didn't try. At the begin he had. He had tried to be a part of the relationship, giving you both kisses and hugs. Random bouts of energy at 3 am to go to a random room. It had all started slowly going down hill. He pushed you both away, but didn't want to leave. He never left, giving you hope that maybe he really loved you both, and just didn't know how to express it. He had told you about his parents, and you just always tried to excuse his behavior as his trauma, but it just got to a point where you couldn't anymore.

"You're right," you started. You saw him smirk, and continued. "We couldn't fix you," you said. Suddenly he wasn't so sure of where this was going. "You're right, we shouldn't have tried to. Your pride is what you're concerned about?" Niragi said. He was tired of dealing with this as well. All he wanted was to find someone who actually cared about him, and who showed it. He didn't want to be with someone who made him feel alone. You didn't make him feel alone... "I'm still right, he wo-" Chishiya started, getting ready to argue back and forth with you two until you finally gave into him. But that wasn't going to happen today.

"Is "you're right" really all you wanna hear right now?" You whimpered, sitting on your knees next to Niragi.

"Well, you're right, we should've walked away faster... should've know You would only break our hearts after we were already in love," You whispered. You were all hurt. Niragi had severe burns, and bullet wounds, Chishiya had bullet wounds as well. You had burns on your arms and legs, cuts and bruises adorned your (s/c) skin. Most of which Chishiya had caused when he put you in danger at games for his own gain. Or when he needed to test one of the weapons he made, you were his test subject. "Yeah, I guess I'm just not good enough for either of you then. All you two do is act scared of me like I'm the bad guy-"

"You're right, you aren't good enough," Niragi stated angrily, caughing up blood after. He winced in pain at the sudden movement. You felt tears fill your eyes, and shook them away. ''I kissed your scars even after you hurt me, and he held your hand, even when you fucking burned him-" you shouted angrily. "Do you know how embarrassing that was?" Niragi whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy.

"Oh, because it's all my fault?"

"Yeah! That's exactly what we're saying! When was the last time you actually tried acting like you liked us?"

''She's right. You agreed to be with us. This is just fucking embarrassing to be with somebody who hates us, and doesn't even try to hide it."

"I don't hate you two I-"

"Liar."

"We hoped things got better, we hoped that love could turn a monster into a man," you stated, getting angrier by him trying to defend himself. "But it doesn't and it won't

Because you're beyond repair

But there is still someone for her somewhere, who will treat her so nice, you'll wish that you did-" Niragi retorted to his words. He didn't hate you both? He sure did a horrible job at showing it. Niragi knew he would die with his injuries. You would live. You could find someone who would treat you better than either of them could. "For someone so smart you're so fucking stupid to think that we're really that dumb..." you interrupted Niragi. He was losing energy, and anytime he coughed you could tell it was so painful to him. "We love you, but we're done... Pretending this was gonna work... Pretending loving you didn't hurt... Pretending that it doesn't burn when you think you're always right..." Niragi ended. Those words were hard for him to say, and hard for you to realize. You three had just been pretending this was going to work after Chishiya started pushing you two away. You two tried so hard to stay with him, and tried so hard to fit all three of you together, that you didn't realize how much staying fucking hurt.

" 'Cause you're still stuck on your past...You hate him so much but you're just like your dad!!" You screamed, shouting the first thing that came to mind. It hurt him. That was a first. The first time someone's words hurt him. And you, (Y/N), his sweet (Y/N), said them. You could see the shock written all over his face when you said them, and it made you feel a bit bad. Niragi was secretly proud of you, but focused on the situation at hand. Tears feel from your eyes, and you cursed yourself. "(Y/N), I- I'm- I can't... I-" Chishiya stammered. For once, he was at a loss for words. You and Niragi had made him happy. He didn't feel alone with you two, and that scared him. So he tried to push you both away, scared of hurting either of you, but I'm the end, he hurt you more than he meant to. He tried, he really tried at the beginning, the feeling of being together with you two bringing him the feeling of love, understanding, and happiness he'd never felt. But he ruined that. He hurt himself in this instance, he hurt the people he loved, making them scared of him. He realized you were right. He was turning out to be just like his father. He didn't want that. He wanted to wake up, this was surely a nightmare. He would wake up and you would be squished in between him and Niragi. You would be playing with his hair, talking about your dream. You wouldn't be scared of him, and you would all be back at the beach. Like the 10 of hearts never happened. But he knew that was wishful thinking. This was real, and this was happening. Everything he used to laugh about people worrying about was happening to him right now. This was his karma. It had finally caught up to him.

"And I know, that you tried...Gave it all that you had," you whispered through tears. No. He couldn't let the one thing that made him happy slip through his fingers. But... he had to let you go. You wanted to leave. Niragi wanted to leave. It would be cruel to both of you to make you stay. So he stayed quiet. Did you really think he tried? That made him feel a tiny bit better. You thought he tried. That he tried to make things work. "And being a monster doesn't necessarily make you bad..." Niragi added quietly. He was a monster. The words he had said to not only you, but Niragi could back that up. Not just his words either. His actions. He was a horrible person to both of you. Why did he expect both of you to stay with him, when neither of you had anymore energy to put into the relationship.

"But...even if we could staple it back together now... we all know that you can't light a fire that's already burnt out," Chishiya whispered. You both looked up, shocked he was agreeing with you. Was he crying? Neither you nor Niragi had ever seen him cry. Niragi chuckled a bit, not at the fact that Chishiya was crying, but at the fact that this was what it took for him to care. "Fuck... it hurts," Chishiya muttered with a laugh. "My injuries hurt less than losing both of you... fuck... I-"

He was interrupted by a voice. The games were over. "Oh my gods... we can go home! I reject citizenship in the borderlands," you said. "Same. I don't want to stay here. Fuck that," Niragi stated. "I also reject citezenship of the borderlands. This is like a personal hell..." Chishiya muttered. A bright light obstructed your vision.

You walked on crutches into their hospital room with a smile. " 'M back!" You chirped. You had all been in an accident, as a lot of people that were currently in the hospital were. You didn't know why, but the seemed so familiar. You liked being around them, and constantly visited them. "Ah, finally a pleasant noise to hear," the blonde man complemented. You could hear the teasing tone directed towards the other man in the room. "I can't really help it can I? So... shaddup..." the other muttered. "My nurse told me... that my heart stopped... for a minute," you mentioned, sitting in a chair in between their beds careful to not hurt your legs more. They had burns and scars, nothing tho serious. "What a coincidence. Us too," Chishiya said. You nodded, humming in acknowledgement. "I um... I also... get released tomorrow..." you said sadly. "That's great (Y/N). You can head back to your home," Niragi said. You shook your head. "I wanna stay. I don't know why, but you two seem familiar to me. And... I want to know why... it feels like...I don't know how to explain it..." you stated. "I... I've felt that as well," Chishiya admitted. "Ok, good I'm not crazy then," Niragi joked, coughing slightly after. "Well... how about I come visit everyday until you both get released... then we can figure out why? Or get to know each other more? It feels like... I've loved you in a past life kinda thing. Silly of me to say, huh?" You giggled. "I think... we'd both enjoy that... and it's not silly, in fact, we've both been talking about it, and that's how we feel. About you, and each other. It's quite weird, I've never met either of you in my life. You're both rather attractive though," Chishiya said. Niragi snickered and you looked over at Chishiya, who's eats had turned red.

"I said that outloud, didn't I?"

"Yep."

"It's a good thing I find both of you attractive too, blondie."

"Hey, I think you're both cute too! Lemme join in on this!"

"Of course. Join in on it (Y/N)."

I couldn't let you guys be sad, I'm sorry-

Also, I'm going on a trip to Arizona this week, so there will probably not be many (or any) updates. Sorry, but I do hope you enjoy this!

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Session 10

Connections

A half-elf conwoman (and the moth tasked with keeping her out of trouble) travel the Jewel in search of, uh, whatever a fashionable accessory is pointing them at. [Campaign log]

Last time, the party arrived in Cauterdale, the heavily-fortified port city at war with nature. They arrived in search of members of the Deathseekers' Guild- the organization of professional adventurers and monster-hunters that likes to be very up-front about its mortality rate- to handle a dragon problem that they're personally a little underleveled for.

While Looseleaf had a fateful encounter with the Plot at the Temple of Andra, Saelhen and Oyobi were headed to the barracks of the city guard, to speak to "Mags", the guard on duty when the local Deathseekers were last seen leaving town. And there...

You remember Medd Cutter, right? Highly-memorable Medd Cutter, the NPC who got oneshot by a T-rex and whose life the party saved? Well, to spite Rex... whatever his last name was, the pro-patria-mori asshole guard captain guy, Saelhen has decided that she's going to start spreading the word of Medd's heroism.

Oyobi, unfortunately, is bent on spreading the word of her own extremely ill-advised heroism, and so the two are having some sort of hype-off as they make their way into the barracks and effortlessly charm their way past the guards to where their quarry is posted.

These two are manning some sort of huge brass contraption, bristling with lenses and dials. One of them is a yuan-ti pureblood- which there are an unusual number of in the city guard, compared to the general population. Weird. Saelhen politely introduces herself, and Verity Truescale refers them to Magnaranth aka Mags, the loxodon who last saw the Deathseekers leave town.

Mags doesn't have a huge amount to tell them- the Deathseekers, evidently, were going hunting, out east somewhere. They brought a lot of torches, so apparently they were headed somewhere dark? Underground, maybe? They were pretty cagey about what exactly they were going out to do. Still, Mags can provide the names and addresses of the Deathseekers in question.

...And Verity, checking the instruments, notices that something is wrong with the tides- apparently something large is disturbing the waters, but they can't quite pinpoint what- it's not any of the usual suspects, which include things by the name of "Darkie" or "Unnessie". Ominous!

After that, the party meets up at the local Temple of Iska, their designated rendezvous point. They catch each other up on their gains, and decide... well, the Deathseekers are going to be back within a couple days, so they'll just wait for them in town and get going with them, to make sure things in Barley and Wheat go smoothly.

Of course, the question then is "where do we stay?"

Options aren't great- Cauterdale is crowded, and the B&B market is incredibly shitty. The best lodging is on Eman's Knee, the island just off the coast of Cauterdale, but getting the ferry over there is expensive, and resort lodging on a tropical island is also expensive.

That- you can't just- I mean, just because- I'm- I'm allowed to be predictable, okay???

(And anyway, it's Corolos where I ended up doing a murder mystery.)

So, Looseleaf gets a 24 investigating the town's B&B market, and finds a pretty good place! It's a weapons shop Saelhen noticed earlier, which is renting out rooms. The place has a huge fence topped with spikes, so they probably won't even get robbed!

Aria of War, as it happens, is run by an elderly yet ripped-as-hell tabaxi man, who Saelhen... vaguely recognizes.

Benedict I. (GM): So, this shopkeeper's coat is familiar to you. It's definitely not the same person, but you once knew a girl in Timber Towers named Toothbrush, with almost the exact same coat. Could be a relative! Saelhen du Fishercrown: Yeah, tabaxi have a lot of coat variation; it's not a safe bet that they're related, but Saelhen is willing to go out on a limb with him. "Good evening, sir, and I'm sorry to bother you, but I felt I had to ask..." Fish Especially: "No discounts." Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Do you have any relation to a..." Was Toothbrush her real name? Benedict I. (GM): As far as you know! Tabaxi have weird names. Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Toothbrush?" Fish Especially: He looks surprised. "Hold on, you know Toothbrush?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...I knew I knew that speckle pattern." Saelhen smiles widely and without guile. "I met her in Timber Towers a while back. She played the violin." "More specifically, she couldn't play the violin, but she always failed very effectively." Fish Especially: "I'll be! Her theatre troupe doing all right for itself, then?" "Even with the noise of that awful thing?" "I never know what to think when she writes those letters..." Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Last I saw of them, they were doing pretty well for themselves! To be honest, I did a stint with them for a bit, they wanted advice on a traditional elven piece..." Saelhen leans in on her elbows. "Oh, she mangled it, but she compensated with charm and that one face. Her confident face, you know the one, where you think she's so confident that maybe it's supposed to sound like that?" Fish Especially: He laughs. "You do know my girl!" "She hasn't written in- I think a year, now. How's she been?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Oh, it's been so long, I'm barely an authority by now -- but I remember she was talking about taking classes in -- what was it..." "...oh, where are my manners -- I'm Saelhen du Fishercrown, it's a pleasure." Saelhen reaches out for a very unelven handshake.

That she says this is notable for one big reason: this is the first time she's used her real name, and not "Lady Noeru de la Surplus". Nobody else in the party has heard this before!

It's also notable because according to Fish Especially, Toothbrush thought Saelhen was dead- and he's going to let her know otherwise.

Anyway, the deal for rooms goes through without incident, and the night also goes without incident! As is entirely normal, they hear Vayen in the halls making some sort of attempt to sneak into Saelhen's room in the night... and this time, sighing and going "never mind" without even attempting to pick the lock for some reason.

In the morning... Looseleaf grills Saelhen on the name thing, and she confesses the truth of the matter to the whole party- who take it fairly well.

After team bonding, the party heads to the Temple of Andra to check in and see if the Deathseekers have showed up. And by the stablehand's account, they have- or at least, a bunch of weird old people showed up to meet with Gabbro.

Gabbro seems surprised to see them- he was under the impression that they'd leave the matter to them. The further involvement of the party should be unnecessary, right...?

Looseleaf: "Oh, yeah, I was going to let you know we were staying in town and ask for you to let us know when the deathseekers showed up, but, uh, judging by that meeting we interrupted, they're already back and right here." Gabbro: "That is correct," he says, as the stablehand leaves. "I was just briefing them on the mission, you see." "The situation is well in hand, so you needn't concern yourselves with it any longer." "That pesky dragon shouldn't be an issue." Looseleaf: "W-well, uh. I was, uh, we were, kiiiinda hoping to travel with you back to the dragon's tower." "I mean, it's our quest, so, it'd be nice to, for us to see it happening so we can be sure of it, y'know?" Gabbro: He looks somewhat taken aback. "That... seems... risky, don't you think?" "To bring along... certain... people?" Looseleaf: "We're going to stay very very far away from the action! We're not that dumb!" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...I assure you that we have no intention of fighting the dragon ourselves, sir." Gabbro: "Ah, yes, of course not..." "However..." He gives Looseleaf a pleading look. Saelhen du Fishercrown: "And there are... certain persons in the nearby town, whose safety I would like to check up on. Personally." Looseleaf: He doesn't seem to want people witnessing the fight? It could be explicable through just, him being worried we'll get hurt. But it could also be, 'their deathseekers fight with methods that Orluthe in particular should not be allowed to witness.' Gabbro: "Ah, well, if that's the case... if you don't mean to get involved with the Deathseekers and their work..." Looseleaf: "We're not going to- we don't want any claim to the loot in the tower either, if that's a problem! Everything in the tower is you and your group's prerogative to deal with however we like."

Gabbro seems... put slightly more at ease, and decides to introduce the group to the ones who'll be their traveling companions shortly- the Cauterdale Deathseekers.

In order:

Doon Softbreeze, half-halfling rogue and all-around Grunkle Stan-type, friendliest with the party.

Kevin Softbreeze, Doon's soft-spoken herbalist husband and that's it, probably, just a gardener.

John Human, an extremely decrepit extremely human man who seems to make weird buzzing sounds when he speaks, as if with mouthparts instead of human lips.

Ryuusatsu Takuma, totally silent elf (not present at this meeting with Gabbro) who probably just doesn't like talking, is all.

Lady Fidelia Greatholder, heavily-armored and heavily-everything human noblewoman (also not present at this meeting), who- well, she shows up next session.

Gabbro makes a point of making clear to those present that Orluthe, who they'll be traveling with, is a cleric of Diamode- apparently they need to know this for some reason!

Doon's pretty friendly with the party, and offers to take on their job pro-bono- on the basis that, c'mon, if they could actually afford them, they wouldn't be knocking on their door for help. So it looks like they've enlisted some highly-capable dragonslayers with no ulterior motives! Fantastic.

Next time: The road back to Barley, and the tying up of a few loose ends in town. Saelhen needs to get her kimono back!

[ma-gic-gay]

"I'm sorry, what?" Carly asks when Olivia tells her the news. "You- repeat that, please."

"Jason has been shot. He's going to the hospital right now. I didn't get a good look at him or anyone, really, but I do know that he's not doing so hot right now. Go to GH, I'll handle everything tonight," Olivia repeats, urging her to leave. "Do you want me to call Sonny?"

"God no. I-I'll do it myself. Thank you," the blonde says, rushing to catch her breath and get to her purse, behind the bar. He's been shot. With a gun. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen to him. Dammit!

She doesn't have the time to fall apart, though, and calls Michael when she locates her phone in her purse. "Michael. Jason's been shot. I'm heading to GH right now," she rushes out before ending the call and fumbling for her keys.

Finally getting the keys, she sprints to her car and runs every red she sees, not caring about getting a ticket or whatever. The hospital's only a few minutes away, so she's able to get there in record time and runs in the doors, conveniently right at the time Michael shows up with an anxious Willow, Dante, Wiley, and Monica. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Jason got shot," she forces out, the realization of what happened sinking down on her like the way a bullet sinks into the skin.

That was a morbid metaphor.

"Where's Dad? Does he know what happened?" Michael asks impatiently. He's probably thinking about his personal experience with guns: He got shot and was in a coma for awhile.

"He's at home, I haven't told him yet," Carly sighs, processing.

"Why isn't he here? Jason's his best friend, Mom. Did Dad get shot too?" Michael continues to ask and she sighs again. Well, better now than never he finds out. Though this is incredibly unideal timing.

"No, he's fine. It's just that Sonny's not exactly thrilled with either Jason or me right now."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story," the blonde shakes her head quickly. "I want to tell you but right now we should all be focused on how Jason's doing and what his condition is."

"Carly?" Elizabeth asks, confused. "What are you doing here?'

"It's Jason. He, he's been shot," Carly manages to get out, her heart breaking again. That's the last time she ever wants to say those words. God, why couldn't he be a farmer or something, maybe a musician or a normal person with a mundane job?

Well, then again, if he was, Carly probably wouldn't have cared much about him. Normal people bore her, it's why she kept coming back to Sonny.

"He's been what?" Elizabeth asks. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know. All I know is we heard sirens outside of the Metro Court and Olivia went outside to figure out what was going on and then Jason was being loaded into an ambulance for a gunshot wound. He's not here yet?" Carly asks, containing her sobs and minor hatred for her.

"No, he's not. How did you get here faster than him?"

"May or may not have broken several traffic laws."

"We were at the hospital for Wiley's appointment," Michael says, gesturing to the clan of Q's and Dante with him.

"We have an ambulance coming in, gunshot wound to the chest!" Portia informs everyone and that's when the very first tear is shed from her. The chest? How the hell do you shoot someone in the chest in that parking garage? How didn't she think of this before, that someone could go and shoot them in plain sight; HER parking garage was a target too. Great. Just great.

The stretcher with him is rushed in and everything becomes blurry as she fights off the tears. Nope, not today. He is not dying today if she's got anything to say about it.

"Male, 48, GSW to the chest. Sats are staying roughly the same and BP is as well. Found him in his car. Apparently there might be a gunman running around town. Cops didn't find anything at the scene," the paramedic says quickly, rushing him into the nearest room.

"That's Jason," Willow gasps, gripping her husband's hand.

"Yes it is. And I bet I know who shot him, too! One of Cyrus's guys," Michael says and his mother can feel the anger coming off of him.

"Michael. Causing a scene won't help anything here. Let's just let them do their jobs and tell us what we need to know when we need to know it," Carly says uncharacteristically. She's never, ever calm when anyone gets into an accident like this.

"Carly, are you okay?" Dante questions his stepmom.

"No."

"I'm calling Sonny. No arguing," he says to her, walking away.

She gives herself a minute to collect her thoughts before thinking about how disastrous Dante calling Sonny is. For all they know, he gave the damm order!

Put some faith in the guy, Carly. He is your husband, after all.

That's how, twenty minutes later, Sonny ends up finally showing up at GH with Joss, who's clearly worried. By the looks of it, Sonny's been pretty damn loud with his rage. She just hopes he didn't scare her too bad. It takes a lot to rattle her mini me, though, and so this reaction is concerning.

"Mom, I need to talk to you for a minute," Joss asks, looking highly concerned.

"Sure, hon. Let's just wait for the doctors to tell us what's going on with Jason first, okay?" The blonde suggests to her daughter, who nods her agreement as Portia walks towards them.

"Jason has to be taken into surgery to remove the bullet. He has stabilized and that's a good sign. Carly, you have his power of attorney, right?" Portia asks and Carly nods. "Good. I'm going to need you to sign off on this paperwork for the surgery before we can actually dislodge the bullet."

Thankfully there's a pen attached to the clipboard Portia extends to her and so Carly signs off quickly, not even registering what she's signing. "Can we see him?"

Portia sighs, considering it. "We won't have the OR prepped for a few more minutes, so if you like, you can visit one at a time."

Not wasting another minute, Carly hands her the clipboard and walks into the room seeing the very disheartening sight of him going in and out of consciousness, groaning in pain. She sheds a few years and he notices her presence in the room. "Carly? What are you doing here?"

"You got shot," she answers simply.

"Yes, I did," he nods, confused.

"You're not allowed to die," she tells him firmly. "You simply cannot. I will not be okay if you do and I know that if I tell you that you'll fight harder. So I'm telling it to you as best I can, I won't be okay if you die. You put me through it once, and I will be damned if I let that happen again. You'll survive this, promise me."

"Carly," he sighs, "you know I can't make you that promise. I promise you that I'll do my best to survive this."

"Don't make me guilt trip you," she threatens playfully.

"I get the gist of it and need to get this bullet out of me, so please go so the doctors can save me and you can give me more headaches with your plans," he smiles at her before drifting out of consciousness again. Ugh.

"Fine," she agrees though she doesn't want to, "I'll agree to that. Don't you dare die on me though. I love you."

As she leaves the room, a single tear falls from her eyes that she quickly wipes away, putting on a brave face for the kids. "He's gonna make it out of this, I have faith he will," Dante assures her.

"Thanks. I needed that," Carly smiles at him. "Now, Joss, do you want to go talk about this somewhere else?"

"Yeah, please," the teenager agrees.

They walk away and as soon as they're out of earshot, Joss asks, "Did you and Jason kiss?"

That was... Direct. "Yes," Carly admits, studying her daughter's face for any sign of not being okay with it or anything else like that but instead notices there's a sigh of relief. What the hell?

Noting the expression on her mom's face, Joss says, "Sonny was losing his mind at home, he screamed about it. He was scaring Avery and Donna so I took them outside and had them play for a few minutes while he was losing it and went inside. He was drinking... Something, I couldn't tell, and I asked him what the hell he was doing. That was probably a dumb thing to do, though, because he started yelling at me about how I was going to hate you and that he needed to tell me before you two got to but then Dante called him and so we came here."

Carly engulfs her daughter in a hug at that, mama bear and Jason got shot rage all combining into one. Sonny's got good reason to be scared if he's not already. "Oh Joss, I am so sorry you had to deal with that. Sonny shouldn't have been drinking in the first place around you girls. Thank you, for taking your little sisters outside."

"Of course. I figured he's just angry about something, so when I found out we were going here I was happy he wasn't seeing things or off his lithium," Joss beans at her mom. "I don't want anything bad happening to Jason, of course, but I was scared, Mom. Scared of what he was gonna do."

"You have every right to that fear," she smiles at her. "When he gets like this, it's completely unacceptable behavior. I'm so sorry he did that to you. He had no right to scare your little sisters and you like that." He is so dead. No one messes with her kids.

"Please don't kill him," Joss jokes and Carly fakes a smile.

"I would never."

"Well, I think we've got the slightly more pressing matter of you being in love with a certain Jason Morgan to discuss," Joss smiles at her mom.

"God, Sonny really did tell all the story," Carly sighs. "Are you okay with all of this?"

"Mom," she rolls her eyes, "you're in love! This is a good thing! I'm happy for you two. Besides, you know we all love him. It's not like it'll be a huge adjustment until I move."

"Oh god, I haven't even thought of that yet," Carly sighs, pinching her temples.

"Sorry to wreck the party, but Sam's over there losing it," Monica tells them before excusing herself to go to the chapel.

"I have a headache already," Carly complains before walking to Sam. "Hey, Sam. May I ask why you're sobbing on the hospital floor?"

"Jason's been shot, Carly! Why aren't you sobbing and screaming and causing a scene?" Sam asks her.

"I know he's been shot, but I'm being strong for my kids and Monica and Willow. I've got plenty of time to fall apart and I'm barely not," she admits, "but it won't help anything. He's in surgery right now and the best thing you can do is go spend time with the kids. They need their mom."

"This is what I get for breaking up with him. He's in love with you and look at me, pathetically crying. God, this is so pathetic," Sam sighs, collecting herself after a minute. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"You were upset and lashed out. Trust me, out of you and Sonny he's the one I'd shoot first," Carly attempts to crack a smile.

Sam lets out a hollow laugh at that before leaving, confusing pretty much everyone. "Aren't her and Jason together? Why isn't she pacing the halls of GH with us?" Michael presses his mother and Sonny snaps.

"Your mother and him are in love or something disgusting like that," he says, shocking everyone. "Him and Sam have been over for a couple of weeks."

"Did-did-did he say love?" Michael stutters out, the first to collect himself enough to say that. "Like, romantically?"

"Yes," Carly admits. "Look, we can talk more about this later."

"Actually, I see this as the perfect time to talk about it," Sonny chimes in, smiling. "After all, Jason's in surgery for god knows how long and you've got nothing but time to explain to them what happened between you two today. Repeatedly."

"Oh my god, did you-" Dante starts, trailing off.

"No! God no, we did not sleep together," Carly answers quickly and Joss flicks him in the back of the head. Attagirl.

"Then what did you do?" Willow asks cautiously. Unlike everyone else here, this is her first big fight between Carly and Sonny to deal with.

"They kissed. In public. Where anyone who cared to dine at the Metro Court could see them," Sonny starts. "And them when I got upset, they both started defending each other to me and I ended up finding out that they're in love. My wife and my best friend, in love! Give it up for things I wasn't expecting this year!"

"Sonny that's enough," Joss starts in on her stepfather before Michael cuts in.

"Dad. Shut up. Mom's in love with Jason? This is a lot to wrap my head around so give me a minute," he urges of his unresponsive father.

"I'm not exactly hearing a thank you or a single- Ow, Joss, what the hell?" Sonny asks when she elbows him in the ribs.

"Stop talking down to my mom, first off, and second, don't be rude to Jason either. He's your business partner! You two have known each other forever!"

"Which is why this hurts so much, Josslyn! They've betrayed me," Sonny moans in pain when she elbows him yet again. Motherly pride fills Carly.

"Following your heart isn't betrayal, it's doing what you feel is best. It's listening to your heart no matter the consequences. You're supposed to be an adult, so start acting like one dammit! I'm embarrassed to be seen in public when you're throwing a temper tantrum so grow the hell up," Joss explains to him.

"Mom, you cheated on Dad? With Jason?" Michael asks, connecting the dots.

"Yes. I didn't mean to and I know it was wrong to do and I'm so sorry if this taints your view of either of us but it just happened so fast and," Carly gestures around the hospital. "Now we're here."

"I don't know what to feel," he admits.

"That's okay, Michael. Please, take your time to process this and work through your emotions. I'm sure you especially will have a lot of them," she smiles at her oldest son.

"Him especially?" Dante asks, confused.

"Jason raised me for the first couple years of my life and on and off since then, because Dad couldn't always do that. It's like I had two dads growing up. So this news kinda confuses me a lot and I've got lots of questions but I'm only with this," Michael dmes.

"You're siding with the?" Sonny snarls. "Really? After everything they put you through-"

"You shot me in the head and put me in a coma! They're not doing anything illegal and it's not my place to judge," Michael snaps at his father. "Joss is right, grow the hell up."

"I'm always right," she smiles at her big brother who pulls her in for a hug.

"Not always, but it happens on occasion," Michael teases her and she gently slaps his arm. "Where the hell did you learn how to hit like that?"

"I took self defense classes from Jason."

"Of course you did," Michael sighs at his sister's antics. "For when you start a massive fight."

"Ooh, good idea," she teases him.

Sonny interrupts the moment. "Hey you two, you're on her side in all of this?"

"Yes, we are, because you scared our little sisters into making me take them outside so they wouldn't have to hear you screaming. They lost their minds and they didn't know what happened to you. Honestly, neither do I!" Joss exclaims.

This is providing a good distraction from the whole Jason's having surgery thing right now, but that doesn't mean it's not at the front of everyone's mind. Everyone except Sonny, it seems, and that in and of itself is suspicious to Carly. They don't know who ordered the hit on him yet.

Too much complicated.

To be continued

:,)