#I CAN'T DRAW DUDE I GOTTA LOCK IN

[tadbitsketch]

i'm throwing hands with my brain for giving me great ideas as soon as school starts

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Whoops Game Grumps quotes

Crash: Inside, we're all a bunch of sadists.

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Bob: No matter how hard you work and how big a celebrity you become, you'll never be as famous as cheese.

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Lily: And then.. *pulls the cord on the Beyblade* ..you let it rip!

Lil Coding: I got it! *tries to catch it as it spins off the table* OWW!!!

Lily: Why would you try and catch the spinning metal blade from another country?!

LC: I thought it was like a dredel— Yeah, I really should disinfect this cut..

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Mia, to Tulip: Wouldn't it be funny if you... lose a family member? Maybe two?

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Mario: I'm the video game boy! I'm the one who wins!

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Laharl: You can't open up the story of my life and just go to page 738 and think you know me.

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Bob: I've got.. no money.

Lily: Why?

Bob, muffling his voice: Because I spent it all on gambling...

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SMG3: You've gotta draw the line somewhere, you've gotta draw a fucking line in the sand, dude! You gotta make a statement! You gotta look inside yourself and say, "What am I willing to put up with today?

SMG3: NOT FUCKIN' THIS!!

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Zack: Listen to your elders or whatever.

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Abyssal: I'm making lemonade out of a bad situation. You know what I'm saying, ohh gotta add the sugar. Gotta add the goddamn ice cubes!

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LC: Dremind me to get my bag then.

Cody: Dremind you?

LC: Yeah, dremind me.

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Tartarus, showing Olypmus around TOTK: I just like walking through the world, man.

Olympus: I love it too.

Tartarus: Look at all this stuff we're explorning! *seeing something move out of the corner of his eye* What was that?

Olypmus: Explorning?

Tatarus, leading him over to what sees to be a deactivated Captain Construct: See, I wouldn't-

Tartarus, as the Captain Construct snaps and locks onto them: OH GOD ITS ALIVE!!!

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Ash: You speak Fran-ques! (Français)

Tulip, as she laughs: What????

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Shantae: Okay, so. Tulip, can I share something with you from earlier today?

Tulip: What is it?

Shantae, pulling up a chat box: Well, I sent you a text early in the morning.

Tulip: Yeah?

Shantae: Because we needed to figure out some stuff for the upcoming meetups, what we're going to do, and all that. And so, I was so, I was like, "Do you have any preference whether we do it this meetup or the next meetup?"

Tulip: Mhm.

Shantae: Your response..

Tulip: *already laughing*

Shantae, trying not to laugh: At 9:30 in the morning; "Motherfucking Jesse Eisenberg Jesus Christ fuck dude motherfuckin Facebook movie bullshit Jesus can you fucking believe this shit"

Shantae: No punctuation. Random capitalization. So I respond, "I have no idea what we're talking about right now"

Shantae: 45 minutes pass, I get a text from you; "God damn created Facebook then fucking lawyers and shit right fucking Winklevoss twins god damn rowing the boat fuck yo shit I can't even fucking believe this shit have you seen this shit fuck I just watched this shit fuck Jesse Eisenberg man"

Shantae, as Tulip is on the floor, laughing: I respond, "Tulip, you're scaring me." An hour passes.

Shantae: You respond; "Motherfucking Spider-man Spider-man you put in the time fuck put in the time motherfucking built shit with this bare hands fucking best friend shit Jesse Eisenberg I'm very tired"

Tulip: *losing her shit laughing*

Shantae: So I'm just like, "No problem, Tutu. I'll let Ash know, and we'll do most of the talking for you today."

Shantae: Immediate response. I'm talkin' like 5 seconds later.

Shantae, barely containing her laughter: "No man I'll just talk about the Facebook movie all day shit man you have to be so interested in the shit I have to say about the Facebook movie fuck dude I just watched it a year and a half ago fuck Jesse Eisenberg man he fucked over Spider-man crazy Winklevoss twins rowing Trent Resin or did the soundtrack fuck this guy who invented Facebook I don't like dying I can't think of who the fuck invented Facebook All I can think is who played the guy who invented Facebook who the fuck invented Facebook"

Shantae: And then, in all capital letters, two hours later;

"MARK ZUCKERBURG."

[stanleysbuttonblog]

Stanley pressed at his Big Red Button.

He knew he shouldn’t eat it yet. He’d already eaten his eight button, and this wasn’t healthy. But fuck, he was nervous. And Xigbar wasn’t helping.

So he took a little nibble.

Xigbar came in without knocking. He took one look at Stanley and - oh shit - threw a gun at him. 

Stanley tried to catch it, but awkwardly dropped it. He gave Xigbar a wild look and then reached out to sort of… cradle it? Like a baby. He certainly wasn’t holding it like a weapon.

Stanley sat the gun back down to sign.

[Thanks for that. He. Did you see that he was interested in. That fucking drawing of me.]

"I didn't. Trying to avoid that piece of shit as much as possible, because the more I learn about him, the less likely I'm gonna be to not tear his throat out."

[I want his throat torn out.] Stanley signed tensely. [I want him gone. I want {SCEPTER} back. I trust you to do it. And. I suppose I’ll go. I just. I don’t want to have to see him.]

"What are you worried about? He's not going after you. It's her that needs rescuing."

[If I try and help her, that makes me a target to him. I know she needs rescuing. I’m not arguing with you on that, of course she shouldn’t be near him. And I’ll… I’ll do it. I have to. I’m just. Scared.]

"That's what the gun is for. You don't have to kill the bastard, just get him in the knee or something. Can't walk with an exploded knee. Just ask Paul Matthews."

[Uh. Sure. Okay. How do I shoot it?]

"Give it here." He picked up the gun and held it out to show Stanley. "Pull back the top to cock it. You'll feel a click."

[Ooh a click! I like clicks.] 

"Dude. Focus. It's already loaded, so all you gotta do after that is point and shoot. Just pull the trigger. Keep your finger off the trigger until you actually mean to shoot. Basic gun safety." He sounded different while explaining. Not quite as mean.

[I’ll be careful.] Stanley signed, and then took the gun. He attempted the grip that Xigbar had shown to him, and looked for approval to see if it needed to be adjusted.

"Move your thumb. You'll end up breaking it like that. The whole top part there? It flies back when you shoot. You keep your thumb on it, and it's gonna hurt."

Stanley nodded, and adjusted his hand appropriately. He raised a brow in question.

"Better. When you fire, it'll kick. Don't lock your elbows; it'll knock you on your ass. Also, don't hold your breath. That's about it."

Stanley adjusted his arms, trying to loosen out the tension he had in his elbows. He sighed, breathed out, and looked up at Xigbar one final time.

Xigbar nodded, the closest to praise he'd ever given Stanley. Probably the closest he ever would get. 

Stanley smiled and put the gun down, and then shoved it into his cargo pants pocket.

"DUDE- Put the fucking safety on, Jesus Christ-"

[It was already on. Unless– Wait. DID YOU THROW A GUN AT ME WITHOUT PUTTING THE FUCKING SAFETY ON.]

"It doesn't matter! Always check if the safety's on, dumbass!"

[Fine.] Stanley signed and pulled it out. His eyes widened in horror and he flicked it on.

[You fucking idiot. Do you– YOU THREW IT AT ME.]

"And what did we learn." Xigbar crossed his arms. "Always check the safety. Now you know."

[I learned you’re fucking crazy. That– that’s so stupid.]

"If you're just now figuring out I'm crazy, you haven't been paying enough attention."

[We’ve barely hung out. Dick. And yeah, you’re not… stable. But this is– you could have really hurt me!]

"It's not cocked, dillweed. It wouldn't have gone off."

[It was still stupid.]

"Only if you don't know what you're doing. Like you."

Stanley scowled, and put the gun back into his pockets. He sat down on the corner of his bed, picked up his red button, and took another small nibble out of the corner.

"Holy shit. You actually do eat them. I thought you were fucking with me."

[What? No. God, is this another thing with you? Like you’re mean to me just because I’m from a video game? That’s harassment, by the way. I looked it up on the internet.]

"I'm not mean to you because you're from a video game. I'm mean to you because I don't like you." 

[...okay, then why are you denying that you’re from Kingdom Hearts?]

"Because that's not a place you can even be from. Read a fairytale once in a while."

[No, no, the video game. Hmm, stuff like this can get confusing. You see, I’m from the Stanley Parable, the video game. And I mostly live in the Parable, the office purgatory that me and the Narrator are stuck in. But there’s a difference. Kingdom Hearts, the video game. Your first one was… the second game? Kingdom Hearts II?]

"You're not making sense. I'm not from a video game. Maybe it's considered one where you're from, but your place sounds like a damn hellscape."

[Xigbar, we can look it up on the internet. And yeah. The Parable is… intended to be like that. That’s not really… that’s just accurate. Not a insult.]

"I'm not from a video game. I'm not. I'm already walking proof 'fairytales' are real, I don't need that shit too."

[What the– what? Fairytales? Like– like Rapunzel?]

"What? No. Rapunzel isn't even a fairytale. She's one of the new seven lights."

[...what? Like a lighthouse? Or. What does that mean?]

"Like a princess of heart. No darkness in her heart, just pure light." 

[Okay. Cool. Alright.]

"The only reason I'm even telling you that is because there's no way you can open Kingdom Hearts."

[What. What do you mean by that? You just put the disk in the player. And press start. It’s not that hard to open up a video game?]

"It's not a video game."

[Oh. Okay, whoops. What is it then?]

"It's a place and a concept. Could cause the apocalypse. Almost did."

[And what does Rapunzel have to do with the apocalypse?]

"Pit the 7 lights against 13 darknesses, boom. Kingdom Hearts."

[Like in a fight? Or like. Would cornhole also work?]

"People have to die. What the fuck is cornhole."

[It’s a game where you throw a beanbag into a wooden board with a hole in it! Fun at barbeques! Does everyone have to die? Or just like. Requirement of some death?]

"Usually, yeah. There's always like. One left to actually open the damn thing, but the rest of us get used like pawns."

[...you were a part of this?]

"I got roped into it. Had a completely different agenda."

[Well, yeah. What idiot would want to start the apocalypse?]

"You'd be surprised. He was dead set on it." Xigbar didn't mention who 'he' was, and didn't look like he wanted to.

[...right. Moving on from… that. You’re a fairytale? What’s that… mean?]

"Wouldn't you like to know." He smirked at that.

[Yes, I really, really would.]

"Not telling you that. As if. Your little head would pop."

Stanley frowned at that. [Xigbar, I can understand stuff. I live in a fucking timeloop. An existential timeloop. It can’t be that confusing.]

"I'm not saying it's confusing. I'm saying it's too much for you to know. I'm not telling you."

[I’ve seen the Narrator’s elder form. Please. I really have to know this.]

"No. Drop it."

Stanley nodded and picked up his button. He took a small bite out of it again.

[So, I think that– why are you staring at me.]

"Because you're eating a button again. It's fuckin' weird."

[It’s– no, it’s just a button? It’s a type of food. This one isn’t even spicy or anything. What are you talking about?]

"Buttons aren't- Dude. Roxas had a better diet than this, and I swear I only ever saw that kid eat ice cream."

[I got them through the food portal. It’s food. I’m eating them.]

"There was also a gun. And a horse. And a weird amount of human flesh. Just because it came through the food portal doesn't mean it's food."

[But I’m eating it.]

"And I could eat glass, but that doesn't mean I should!"

[But I like buttons. Xigbar they are my comfort food and I am feeling very stressed right now.]

"Oh my g-" Xigbar pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are so fuckin' weird."

[Yeah I know that.]

Xigbar sighed, and looked Stanley over.

“You good now? I can leave? You’re not gonna get all… you again?”

[No. You’re. You’re not gonna talk to the Kins, are you?]

"Even if they did, I doubt they'd do anything for me." He almost snickered. "One of 'em didn't even want to leave me alone with her once."

[Fine. I’ll try and get her a phone. Or two.] Stanley signed. [And, Uh. Your phone number. Give it here. So I can tell her.]

"Make it a stealthy phone. They had some crazy looking ones in the 2000s, there's gotta be something. Like a compact or whatever." He scribbled a phone number on the nearest piece of paper – the corner of a user manual. At least it was in pencil.

Stanley sighed, and nodded. [Right. I’ll go make sure I have something for her to communicate with.]

Stanley left his room and began walking through the hallways.

After a few– maybe five– minutes of walking, Stanley came across an armored man. A Kin. He sighed and tried to wave at the Kin to get his attention.

It took a bit– those helmets must be hard to see out of– but eventually the Kin stopped.

[Hi!] Stanley signed. [Do you know ASL?]

The Kin looked at him, and then in a bright tone, said, “Yep! Bar– ooh, not sure if you’re supposed to hear her name. Uh. The Showrunner, yeah that’s cool– she handed out some manuals a few days ago! I’m not perfect, but we catch on quick!”

[Oh. That’s good to know. I’d like to get a phone, one that… looks like a compact case? Or something else that could easily be… hidden.]

“Oh, okay!” the Kin said. “Come on! Kendall can lead the way. That’s me. Uh. I’m Kendall.”

[Nice to meet you. I’m Stanley.]

The two of them walked through… very  pink halls, until they reached some sort of storage room. There was a pile with all sorts of contraband, and then shelving filled with all sorts of different stuff– Stanley headed over to what seemed to be the ‘electronics’ area and picked out a white Motorola Razr, and a phone that looked much like a makeup contact.

He pocketed them both– into another one of his cargo pockets.

[Thanks.] he signed to the Kin. [I’d love to hang out when we get back! Xigbar is a lot less nice than you, and I’m sort of getting lonely by myself.]

“Oh! That’d be awesome!” Kendall responded, near immediately. “See you soon!”

Stanley nodded, and headed back to his apartment.

Xigbar had left, and it didn’t seem like he’d done anything. Good.

He gathered up his things– the remaining four buttons, his laptop, an extra flannel– and bundled them up near his body. He wasn’t sure how close things had to be for it to actually count as ‘on him’ when he would be transferred, but he didn’t want to take any risks.

Stanley flipped open his laptop and waited to be pulled through to {SCEPTER}. Yes. Her.

He couldn’t think about… him.

[eolewyn1010]

Van Hellstoker thinks Jack could think him mad when he reads his journal of what is or has been going down. Well, I sure think he's a nutjob, but anyway. Mina still sleeping in the carriage, he made his way through the mountains and doesn't fail to give us some pretty description. And then they reach he castle. I'm actually surprised they got there without weird vampire magic and riding in circles. Or being eaten by wolves. As it's sunset, he manages to wake up Mina, take care of the horses and set up camp. Mina is not eating, and not doing well. Van Hellstoker draws a circle of holding around her with some crumbled Communion wafers, but our girl is pale and trembling and half a step away from going full vamp. What a splendid opportunity to use her as a guinea pig on vampire abilities - she refuses to go near the fire, for one.

They go through a cold, snowy night with the horses occasionally panicking. Not surprising, seeing as the Three Sisters seem to be observing the new arrivals; van Hellstoker can see them slowly materialize in the snow. They can't get through his holiness circle though, so Mina keeps van Hellstoker from leaving. She herself has not a trace of fear on her regarding the vampire ladies, btw. "Why fear for me? None safer in all the world from them than I am." Queen. Indeed, they call her sister and want her to join them. But Mina doesn't really care for the idea, so fire and Communion wafers keep them at bay till morning and then the whole posse skedaddles. Mina passes out like a narcoleptic at the first light of day.

Jack has kept an eye on the locals and notices they dashed away from the river all of a sudden. I suppose that means they've gotten their master, so Dracula is away from running water and free to unleash beast mode. Weather and wolf howling make for the showdown atmosphere. And Jack notes that someone is definitely gonna die.

Van Hellstoker calls himself sane. I mean, sure, whatever you wish to think. He leaves a sleeping Mina behind in her spell circle (although he's worried that, while it protects her from vampires, it won't protect her from wolves) and marches to the castle alone. And then just crashes the doors out of their hinges with a hammer. Cool, cool. How old is that dude again? Just saying, Jonathan didn't get through these by brute force. In the castle's chapel, van Hellstoker manages to find the Three Sisters sleeping in their coffins and... uh, gets annoyed with his own human impulses, I guess? "I shudder as though I have come to do murder." Yeah, she looks pretty much like a human woman and you're gonna mutilate her. I know she's an evil creature who must be dealt with, but can we not act like a human conscience is a personal failure? Oh, he just wanted to compare himself to weak men who failed this task before him because the girls are so beautiful but he is so strong-willed and determined and wonderful, blah-blah. Dude, other men might have hesitated to kill them until it was too late, but how much time are you wasting on praising your strength of character in your writings? Get chopping!

He does when he hears Mina wailing out in the storm - what happened to my girl there?!? Oh, btw, the blonde sister lies in a fancier and bigger tomb than the other two and is also so beautiful that van Hellstoker is stunned, lest we forget that the blonde woman is more beloved, more valued and definitely more attractive than the darker-haired ones with aquiline features. Gotta stick with that good old racism! Van Hellstoker puts some Communion wafer in Dracula's own tomb, banishing him from returning there, and then minces the three ladies in the tried-and-true manner. Even he calls it a butchery. Once he's done, they crumble into dust...? Uhm, did Lucy do that? Nobody said that Lucy did that! Is Lucy even dead for good? Is this a sequel hook!? ...onward. Van Hellstoker locks up the castle with what I assume must be a whole ton of Communion wafers because he claims that Dracula can't get back in there at all. He must have circled off the whole castle then. When he returns to Mina, she's not great, but there's no sign anything actually happened to her that warranted a loud wail. Nightmare visions, perhaps? Because she assures us and van Hellstoker that Dracula and the dude squad are nearing.

[garrettwrites]

Hi, how's it going? Anything new and exciting in your life?

I see you're obsessed with vampires, who are your favourites? 👀

Sorry for the 3day delay I had to think on this. Picking favourites is hard. Reminder that I welcome all sorts of asks! Especially vampire and Worldbuilding ones!

Life's hard, gotta study the hell out of roman fish productions while simultaneously making art for social media and my portfolio, but what's life without a little stress.

Onto your question (which I ended up rambling on, sorry), lore wise I have two absolute favourite pieces of vampire media:

VtM: Bloodlines (2004 game). My love. I like how they write vampires and set their powers, clan divisions and hierarchies. The aesthetic of the game is also early 2000s late 90s, which is nostalgic. It's more fantastical than straight forward, a vampire DnD in fact, so it offers a lot of liberty and flexibility for whatever story you want to tell. It also works well as inspiration for original works, since the more you look into it the more you can pick what to use for your own vampire stories.

Second one is the netflix series Vampires (2020). It's french. It is an... incredibly fresh take on vampires. The series unfortunately only has one season with six episodes. It follows the life of this poor vampire family, but the twist is that vampirism is biological and vampires are born as such, and can die of old age (they just age much slower). Their weaknesses, their biology, their social structures and the way the series explores them through the eyes of a teenage girl slowly coming into her vampire disease (because it is kind of an illness), the way the series IS NOT AFRAID of pushing forward extremely embarrassing moments (such as the girl, still unable to control herself, biting the boy she loves IN CLASS and being viewed as a weirdo for it - refreshing when many writers are afraid of such realistic moments due to how cringe they may come across as for general audiences.... It's pretty solid. The scenes with the girl's mother walking into the sun covered in scarves and pieces of cloth is also really good, more series should do that - makes sense that a vampire would still go outside during the day, they'd just need to look absolutely out of place while doing it. Which they should. Vampires don't belong in daylight.

Honorable mention: Interview with the Vampire. Of course. Especially the new TV series. I love the psychological exploration of vampirism in there. However, I think the series is good because of the characters themselves rather than the blood sucking of it all. Vampire wise I don't care much for the lore, it is there to solidify the fact they're all monsters.

Extra 2: Unironically? I know this might sound cringe, but if you ignore the main storyline and exclusively look at the lore... Vampire Diaries is kinda good. The writers clearly did their research and included ideas from all over the world in their social structures, vampiric powers, etc. One of my favourite aspects is how they utilise the concept of "vampries can't enter a house without consent" to its absolute fullest. There's even a character who is turned into a vampire, and gets locked out of his own home because he lives alone and no one is in there to allow him in. Hilarious.

CHARACTER WISE...

Lestat is definitely one of my all time favourites. He symbolizes what a vampire should be for me, but is still multi faceted enough to be a person rather than a caricature.

Olrox from Castlevania: Nocturne (animated series). I miss drawing him. I wrote two whole ass fanfics about him, but they were romantic rather than focused exclusively on him.... A shame. I think he's pretty interesting. Depending on where Nocturne goes, he might surpass Lestat in the future. He's charming, but dangerous. Tragic yet with a chance of rising above the rubble. He's also native american, and possibly a god - all really fresh concepts. I really love Olrox. Top tier vampire dude, sorry Alucard but you're just not as cool.

Talking about Castlevania... Carmilla. She's not even that original as a character, but she's what people nowadays call a "Girlboss" except she's actually well written. You feel for her. You love her. You hate her. And she's a vampire that knows she's a monster and wants to keep being one. None of that "oh naur I'm immortal but must... commit the sin of drinking blood" bullshit. She, much like Olrox, steals every scene she's in.

Jonathan Reid from Vampyr (2018 game). A very... text intensive game. But I like reading, so I don't mind. He's a doctor, and was a soldier during WW1. He's the main character of the game and you can take his path in multiple directions. He's a favourite of mine because I like the concept of a doctor vampire, plus I genuinely love Vampyr.

The cast of The Lost Boys. No explanation needed,

Least favourite vampire: Astarion because 1) he took over my dash, can't talk about vampires anymore without that man being there and 2) people can't tag his fucking name properly and I'm over here trying to find minotaur content (AstErion) and I see that kind of muscular kinda lean white haired small fangs elf taking over the tags. Please people. Learn how to tag.

[yearsofangst]

What should I do when I've got nothing to do nothing to prove no motivation to move I could lose myself for maybe and hour or two it's true but then I'll just get bored dude I go back again and again to fetishizing my friends write novels and never press send I've gotta attend to myself and tend my mental health but it doesn't end what is there to do when I gotta fend for myself and I wonder how can I cry if I'm already dead inside is every teardrop a lie to try shed to try to deny wanting to finally die and someday will I fry for some stupid shit I decide to try when I'm waving goodbye to everything thing that i write how will it look when I'm splattered against the wall will poetry really have mattered at all when the poet's finally shattered the last shard of the platter holding their sanity clattered to the floor waiting no more for some dedication to chores to moderation in stores to the day that I can honestly say I'm not bored and I'll be allowed to afford even the slightest bit more than survival cuz at my core maybe that's all I'm looking for

just a reality in which I identify as me and can see myself and know how to put new shoes on my feet and be able to leave the house without being a freak without panicking the whole time that reality isn't what it seems to be and maybe even be free from dissociation, disillusionment, and anxiety and no, I mislead you, I'm not ready for death. It's not my time yet and if you're willing to bet I'll give you even odds that I'll get another decade or two left before I even have to consider that for real but I still feel what I feel and it haunts me, it taunts me, the things I cannot see, the future being the most fucking obvious mystery because there's nothing to see, nothing for which to prepare, and I'm pulling out my hair from the fear of what could be there and I'm scared and I swear, I never knew I'd be where

I am right now so please tell me how I could possibly foretell what this story's all about what's my genre and theme? What does it mean when I scream (internally, don't feel like letting anyone hear me) what kind of character will I be and become and who am I currently? These questions certainly worry me because iIcan't say with certainty if I'll be worth the currency that the government curries me so I just keep ranting trying to sell all these grand things that maybe make me seem like something more than a dream, anchor me from a whisper into something more solid.

I fill my head up with knowledge and try to be the best but no matter how hard I'm pressed I just feel tight in my chest and I can't rest and I'd like to divest myself of these delusions of inadequacy but that's a challenge for me because nobody ever really taught me how to be me or even how to be they just told me I was wrong and that I didn't belong and now that they are gone it's just my head singing that song of failure, drawing me in with its familiarity and that also scares me but really so does everything so why shouldn't it sing about how I can't do the right things or really even anything sometimes when I'm stuck in this mind and I've tried to find a way out but I'm blind to my real flaws, because, all I've got are the ones that they caused and they fed me like bread I just dip my head into this oil of self-hatred and everything that they've said

it's inside me, it rides me, it follows and derides me and hides me, whatever I'm supposed to be, from my friends and from me, and I put on so many costumes to appease the people I love dearly and those I hold close might, just, maybe see, there's something inside me, something that I can't reach. A person, in theory, but nobody near me is quite close enough to hear me, that me, whoever it may be. It's too quiet and hidden to speak effectively and it's locked away from me so maybe they see a speck of that me but really it's probably irrelevant to their needs and it won't break free on its own, it is home, in the tiny box hidden under a stone at the end of a driveway paved over with bones of past selves and the shelves covered in old wigs and masks that I'll show to anyone who asks

but the question dies on their tongues before it's done and they run because really it isn't much fun to put so much effort into just one shattered psyche, I don't doubt that they like me, but the pay's not so much and the work can be frighteningly dull, or evocative, it is the outsider's prerogative how much effort it's worth to dig through scorched and salted earth in someone else's mind only to find something tied up in binds and protected by a blind keeper hiding deeper than initial sweeps or checks would indicate, something painful and twisted and hard to vindicate, guarded by a syndicate of defensive identities that claim to be friends to me but feel more like enemies when they start to pretend that me equals them and my external friends are fooled by the errant selves I present.

[aspenmissing]

𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚊 𝙻𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚎 (𝙿𝚝 𝟸)

Later, Sam walks over to the beds with three cups of liquid. Dean and Y/N are sat on the bed, waiting for him. As Sam comes over, he hands Dean one of the cups and Y/N another and then sits down on the other bed.

"Uh, should we dim the lights and synch up Wizard of Oz to Dark Side of the Moon?" Dean says. Sam looks over at him, with a smile.

"Why?" He asks. Dean and Y/N look at him, disappointed.

"What did you do during college?" Y/N asks. Sam gives the two a look; Dean goes to drink the liquid but Sam stops him.

"Wait, wait, wait. Whew. Can't forget this." Dean puts down the cup and looks over at him as he pulls out a little envelope from his shirt pocket. He pulls something out and passes one to Dean and another to Y/N. "Here."

"What the hell is that?" Y/N asks, holding up the envelope.

"Bobby's hair." Dean looks at the hair in disgust.

"We have to drink Bobby's hair?"

"That's how you control whose dream you're entering. You gotta ... drink some of their, uh... some of their body."

"Well, guess the hair of the dog is better than other parts of the body." The three put the hair into the cup and Sam exhales before they raise their cups up a bit.

"Bottoms up," Y/N says.

"Yeah." They clink their cups together in a toast and then drink it all up. They both grunt, trying to swallow, which seems to be a little hard. They smack their mouths a bit, due to the awful taste. They look quite disgusted and nothing seems to have changed.

"Feel anything?" Dean asks.

"No. You feel anything?" Sam looks over at Dean as he shakes his head a little.

"No."

"Me neither." Y/N holds up the cup and looks in it. "Maybe we got some bad shwag." There's suddenly thunder from outside and rain pattering on the window causing Sam to look over, a little confused.

"Hey, when did it start raining?" Dean and Y/N look over at the window as well. Dean gets up and walks slowly to the window, drawing open the white curtain liners.

"When did it start raining upside down?" Dean turns around to Sam and Y/N, to see that they are standing in a different place. "Okay, I don't know what's weirder - the fact that we're in Bobby's head...or that he's dreaming of Better Homes and Gardens." Dean is looking at Sam and Y/N while he just looks around the room a bit more.

"Wait. Wait a sec. Imagine the place, uh, without the paint job." Sam begins gesturing to everything he's talking about. "More cluttered, dusty, books all over the place." They move around the living room.

"It's Bobby's house," Y/N says.

"Yeah."

"Bobby?!" Dean calls out. Sam walks to the opening of the living room, by the stairs. He turns around, feeling like someone's watching him. Sam eventually turns back around and walks slowly to the stairs. He looks up towards the top of the stairs.

"Bobby?" Sam whispers. Sam looks towards the door, while Dean and Y/N are still in the living room.

"Guys?" The twins turn around to Sam. "I'm gonna go look outside."

"No, no, no, stay close," Dean says.

"Dude, I'll be fine. Just, you two look around here. Look, we gotta find him." Y/N sighs.

"Don't do anything stupid," Y/N says. Sam nods and walks to the door.

==

He comes out of the door only to see sunshine. The house is bright blue, with flowers all around, and birds chirping. Sam walks out on the porch, a confused look on his face. While Sam looks around the place, the door suddenly slams shut behind him. Sam turns around at the sound and goes back and tries to open it, but it's locked.

"Dean! Y/N!" He walks over to the window next to the door and bangs on the wall while looking in.

"Guys!" He sees Dean and Y/N still looking around the house with their backs to Sam. The two don't react to either Sam calling their names or him banging on the wall. Eventually, Sam gives up and walks down the porch.

==

Y/N opens the doors to the kitchen, Dean beside her. The two walk in, looking around cautiously. They move through the kitchen towards the hallway on the other side.

"Bobby?" Y/N says. They walk out into the hallway, where there are two doors - one across from the kitchen and one on the left.

"Bobby!" They turn around as if they heard something and look down the hallway in the other direction, where there's another closed door. The two share a look.

"Who's out there?" a scared voice says. The two turn back to the door that was on their left when they entered the hallway. They walk over to the door and they see long scratch marks on it. Y/N touches them as Dean goes for the doorknob.

"Bobby, you in there?" Dean whispers.

"Dean?"

"Are you alright?"

"Y/N?"

"Yeah. It's us. Open up," Dean says. Bobby opens the door and looks behind Dean and Y/N. "Hey," Bobby moves into the kitchen, looking scared. He has scratches on his cheek and nose. Dean and Y/N walk up next to him.

"How in the hell did you find me?" Bobby asks.

"Sam and us got our hands on some of that Dream Root stuff," Y/N says.

"Dream Root? What?"

"Dr. Gregg, the experiments?" Bobby, who's still looking around, throws them a glance. He's terrified.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The lamps begin to flicker. "Hurry," he runs for the closet again. Dean turns around and grabs him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean says. Y/N places her hand on his arm.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"She's coming."

"Okay, you know this is a dream, don't you?"

"What are you, crazy?" Bobby says, terrified.

"It's a dream, Bobby! None of this is real," Y/N says, and Bobby points behind the two.

"Does that look made-up?" The two turn around to see a woman coming out into the hallway. She's wearing a white dress with blood, coming from wounds on her neck and chest. Suddenly the closet door slams shut and Bobby turns around, rattling the doorknob to make it open. Dean looks at him, then to Y/N with a confused look. Bobby turns around and the two look back at the woman.

"Bobby, who is that?" Dean asks. Bobby has tears in his eyes.

"She's... She's my wife," Dean and Y/N look from Bobby to her and back again.

==

The three are lying on the beds, knocked out. Dean still having the cup in his hand, Y/N’s beside her hand. Sam is on the floor between the beds, his arm hanging above one of the beds.

==

Sam comes around the house to see a little pond and loads of flowers. Sam walks further into the backyard, looking around.

==

"Why, Bobby?" Bobby's wife asks. "Why did you do this to me?" Bobby, Y/N, and Dean are standing in the kitchen, by the living room, and the woman is standing in the doorway leading to the hall. At her words, Bobby turns around.

"I'd rather died myself than hurt you."

"But you did hurt me. You shoved that knife into me. Again, and again. You watched me bleed. Watched me die," Y/N comes up behind Bobby and grabs hold of him, Dean beside her.

"Bobby, she's not real," she says. Bobby doesn't respond to Y/N; his eyes are on his wife.

"How could you?" Bobby is close to crying now.

"You were possessed, baby. You were rabid. And I didn't know what I know now. I didn't know how to save you."

"You're lying. You wanted me dead! If you'd loved me, you would've found a way!" she screams.

"I'm sorry," Bobby sobs. Dean grabs hold of him, more forcefully.

"Come on!" Dean drags Bobby into the living room, Y/N helping, and they begin to slide the doors closed. Bobby's wife runs for the door, screaming at them.

==

Sam is walking by a line of washed sheets, drying in the wind. When he turns around, he sees a man behind him. He swings his bat at Sam, hitting him hard in the chest and shoulder.

==

Sam flinches from the hit that his dream-self just took.

==

Sam falls to the ground with the hit. He holds his shoulder as Jeremy stands over him.

"Who are you?" Sam asks.

"Who are you? You don't belong here"

"You're one to talk. You're in my friend's head"

"You got a poor choice in friends. This is self-defence. He came after me. He wanted to hurt me"

"That may be because you're a killer"

"You should be nicer to me" Jeremy threatened "In here...you're just an insect. I'm a god"

==

Bobby's wife is jumping and banging on the doors to the living room, screaming. Dean and Y/N are leaning against the door, holding it closed.

"We're telling you, all of it. Your house, your wife, it's a nightmare!" Dean says. Bobby is standing across from them, just looking at them as Bobby's wife continues to bang and scream. Y/N finally grabs a wire to tie around the door handles.

"I killed her," Bobby cries.

"Bobby! This is our dream. And you can wake up," Y/N says. "I mean, hell, you can do anything." She ties the doors together just as Bobby walks up behind her.

"Just leave me alone. Let her kill me already." Dean grabs hold of him, trying to get him to wake up.

"Look at me. You gotta snap out of this now," Dean says. "You gotta snap out of this now!"

"You're not gonna die. We're not gonna let you die," Y/N says. "We're not gonna let you die. You're like a father to us. You gotta believe us, please." The three look at each other for a moment. Bobby looks once at the door his wife is still banging on and screaming behind, and then he looks back at Dean and Y/N.

"I'm dreaming?" he asks.

"Yes! Now take control of it." Bobby looks towards the door, and then he closes his eyes tightly and suddenly all the banging and screaming stops. Dean lets go of him and looks to Y/N, nodding. She walks over to the doors and removes the cable, then slides the doors open, revealing an empty kitchen.

"I don't believe it." The two turn around and look at him. Dean and Y/N are breathing heavily.

"Believe it," Dean says. "Now would you wake up?"

==

Sam is still on the ground and Jeremy is standing over him.

"Sweet dreams," he says, raising the bat as Sam puts his arm up to take the impact, just before Jeremy swings the bat down hard.

==

Y/N, Dean, and Sam wake up suddenly at the same time, sitting up on their beds, panting. Dean looks down at his cup before looking at each other. Later, the three are in Bobby's hospital room. Bobby is sat in bed, looking over papers. Y/N is sat on the bed next to him.

"Hey, Bobby. That, uh... that stuff, all that stuff with your wife?" Y/N asks. Bobby looks over at her. "That actually happen?"

"Everybody got into hunting somehow."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. If it weren't for you and Dean, I'd still be lost in there. Or dead," Bobby looks to Y/N. "Thank you." Y/N responds with a smile. Sam and Dean come in after that, seeing the two sharing a look.

"So, uh, stoner boy wasn't in his dorm," Dean says.

"My guess is he's long gone by now."

"He ain't much of a stoner." Bobby picks up a picture of Jeremy, looking at it.

"No?" Y/N asks.

"No. His name's Jeremy Frost. Full-on genius. Hundred-and-sixty IQ. Which is saying' something, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head." Dean nods at that. Bobby picks up another paper and hands it to Sam. "Here's Father of the Year." Dean looks over at the paper. "He died before Jeremy was 10."

"Looks like a real sweetheart," Dean jokes.

"Injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand. He hasn't dreamt since," Sam puts the paper back on the little side table.

"Till he started dosing the dream drug," Y/N says.

"Yep."

"How'd he know how to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?"

"Hey, he was rooting around in my skull," Bobby says. "God knows what he saw in there."

"Yeah. How'd he get in there in the first place? Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair, your DNA, or something?"

"Yeah."

"Yeahhh. 'Fore I knew it was him, he offered me a beer. I drank it." Y/N's face is showing a growing realization. "Dumbest friggin thing."

"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that dumb," Y/N lets out a nervous laugh as Sam, Dean, and Bobby look at her.

"Y/N, you didn't," Sam says.

"I was thirsty?"

"That's great. Now he can come after either one of you," Dean says.

"Well, now we just have to find him first," Y/N says.

"We better work fast... and coffee up. Because the one thing we cannot do - is fall asleep."

"Man..." Y/N says.

==

Two days later, the Impala zooms down a road at night. Y/N is behind the wheel, Dean is sat next to her and Sam is in the back. Y/N looks annoyed and tired.

"I mean, this Jeremy guy's not a friggin' ghost," she says. "Where the hell could he be?"

"Y/N, you sure you don't want me to drive?" Dean asks. "You seem a little..." Y/N looks over at him. "...caffeinated."

"Well, thanks for the news flash, Edison!" Y/N says angrily.

"Wrong choice of words," Sam mutters. Y/N's cell rings and she tries to get hold of it but she fumbles, muttering indistinctly in frustration before she eventually gets it in her hand.

"Tell me you got something!"

"Strip club was a bust, huh?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah."

"That was our last lead."

"What the hell, Bobby!"

"Don't yell at me, woman. I'm working my ass off here."

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm-I'm-I'm tired," she stutters. In the motel room, Bela is using her spirit board and tarot cards.

"Well, who ain't?"

"What's Bela got?" Y/N asks. Bobby turns to Bela.

"What do you got, Bela?"

"Sorry. Sometimes the spirit world is in a chatty mood, and sometimes it isn't."

"She's got nothing," Bobby says to Y/N.

"Great! Well, I'm just gonna go blow my brains out now!" She flips the phone closed and throws it in her lap. She hits the steering-wheel grunting angrily. The Impala speeds down the road for a couple more minutes before Y/N turns the car on a side road instead of continuing on. When they get to a clearing in the woods, she shuts off the engine. "All right, that's it. I'm done."

"What are you doing?" Dean asks as Y/N slides down a bit in her seat, resting her head on the back of it.

"Taking myself a long-overdue nap."

"What?! Y/N, Jeremy can come after you," Sam says.

"That's the idea."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on guys, we can't find him, so let him come to me."

"On his own turf? Where he's basically a god?"

"I can handle it."

"Not alone, you can't," Dean says. He reaches over and pulls out some of Y/N's hair.

"Ow!" She says, touching her head. She looks over at Dean. "What are you doing?" Dean passes the hair back to Sam.

"We're coming in with you," Sam says.

"No, you're not."

"Why not? At least it'll be three against one," Y/N doesn't respond, only opening and closing her mouth.

"'Cause I don't want you two digging around in my head."

"Too bad," Dean says. Sam goes for the items to make the liquid and Y/N looks at him for a moment.

==

Later, the three are asleep, leaning on the doors of the Impala. Sam wakes up first, clearing his throat, followed by Dean. They look around to see they are in the same place.

"Y/N," Dean says. He hits Y/N on her arm and Y/N wakes up forcefully.

"Jeez," Y/N wakes up. "For the love of God," Y/N looks around a bit, looking tired. "What are we still doing here?"

"I have no idea," Sam says. A sound comes from outside the car. They get out of the car, looking around. As they walk in front of the car, music can suddenly be heard. Y/N looks behind her and sees a familiar young man, dressed in a tuxedo, holding a champagne bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other.

"Daniel?"(The Kids Are Alright)

"Hey. You gonna come over? Have a drink?" He asks, holding up the bottle. Y/N doesn't move, she just looks at him. "Come on. We have the rest of the night, the babysitter's looking after Alexis." He holds out the glass for her, giving her another smile. Sam and Dean are standing a bit behind Y/N, taking it all in as Y/N just looks at him. She then looks over at Sam and Dean.

"I've never had this dream before," she turns back, away from Sam and Dean, the two taking a few steps towards her.

"Stop looking at me like that," Y/N says.

"Sorry."

"Y/N. I love you," Daniel says, smiling at her before he and the picnic scene disappears. Y/N looks around, Sam and Dean turn around, doing the same.

"Where'd he go?" She asks. Sam looks into the woods and suddenly Jeremy comes out from behind a tree.

"Guys," Sam takes after Jeremy, who runs off. Dean and Y/N quickly follow Sam and they run into the woods. Y/N loses track of Sam and Dean, but keeps running in the same direction. Suddenly she stops and turns, looking around confused.

"Okay," Y/N sees that she's standing in a hallway with doors on both sides.

==

Sam is still running through the woods, in pursuit of Jeremy. He comes to a clearing, where he stops, panting, looking around.

"Dean?! Y/N!"

==

Dean keeps running and comes to a small clearing, he looks around.

"Guys! Where the hell are you!" He shouts "Man, they owe me a pie"

==

Y/N walks down the hallway towards a door at the end of it. Before she reaches it, it suddenly opens slowly. Y/N stops, watching. The door glides open more, revealing a motel room. She hears clicking, as she enters the room. She walks into the room and across the room from the door, sits a darken figure sat on the chair by the desk. Y/N walks further into the room, watching it.

"Jeremy?" She asks. "Wait, you're not Jeremy. Unless he grew his hair out quickly. So, how the hell are you?" The figure keeps clicking the one and off button for the lamp on the desk, its back to Y/N. It clicks the lamp back on, keeping it on. The figure turns its head back towards Y/N, whose jaw tenses. The figure stands up, smirking at Y/N.

"Hello, Y/N," Dream Y/N says.

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

(Written for Adrien August... I'm not sorry)

Bad Luck: Frozer

Summary: Adrien struggles to move on from his first crush so he confides in one of his friends. Or is she more than a friend?

-------------------------------

Chat Noir smiled sadly down at the red rose in his hands. Passion, romance, true love, he recalled in his head.

"Chat?"

Hiding the rose behind his back as he turned around, Chat Noir grinned at the question in Ladybug's eyes. "I have to say that rescuing civilians without a supervillain around is a nice change of pace. Don't you think, My Lady?"

"Not every day you see a hang glider delivery service," she agreed, smiling at the nickname.

Chest suddenly constricting Chat Noir's smile became a touch strained. "Love to stay and chat but this cat's gotta run!" Taking out his baton he extended it, launching himself away.

"Oh! See you la... ter..." Ladybug called to his retreating form.

---------------

Landing in the empty locker room Adrien detransformed in a flash of green light. Plagg stretching as he came out of the ring.

Eyeing Adrien's downcast features, Plagg pried at his holder. "It's not like you to leave Ladybug so abruptly."

"Yeah..." Adrien absently offered a wedge of Camembert to his floating friend who promptly swallowed it whole. "Guess I just need some time to myself."

"So she turned you down. There's plenty of other kinds of cheese!"

Despite himself Adrien smiled. "You need better metaphors."

Plagg shrugged. "You could always take it literally. You can never have enough cheese!"

Adrien rolled his eyes as he changed into his fencing gear. Plagg wasn't as articulate as he thought but... he wasn't wrong...

These thoughts swirled in Adrien's head as he joined Kagami at practice.

A mistake he paid for when Kagami knocked him off his feet. Standing, Adrien parried as Kagami lunged. She always gave her all in beating her opponent. Scoring a point he smiled and they retook their positions.

But his heart still wasn't into the sparing session and her next lunge drove him off balance. Her foil poking into his chest.

"Predictable," Kagami chastised.

Eyes narrowing, Adrien's more competitive nature surged forward at her words. Heart beating faster, grip tightening on his foil and-

It was gone as soon as it came.

Leaving Adrien vulnerable to Kagami's strike...

---------------

Adrien stared pensively at his fencing helmet. He knew Ladybug didn't like him the same way he liked her. That wasn't anything new. So why was he-

"What's wrong, Adrien? Usually I like beating you but it's no fun when you make it this easy." Kagami stood in front of him with an unreadable expression.

Adrien gave her a bittersweet smile. "You ever feel like you're stuck, Kagami? Like, no matter how much you try to move forward, nothing will ever, ever change?"

Kagami blinked in surprise as Adrien opened up to her. This wasn't what she was expecting... Sitting next to him Kagami took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Adrien. The biggest mistake a fencer can make isn't choosing the wrong technique. It's choosing the wrong target."

Oh. She liked metaphors too. Well, with his luck to was bound to-

Her hand gently cupped his cheek and turned his head to face her. "So, switch targets."

...Oh. A rose tint colored Adrien's cheeks. Kagami was always beautiful but for some reason... it was especially true just then.

Smiling in encouragement Kagami grabbed her things and walked out of the locker room. Leaving Adrien to his thoughts.

He stared after her for a moment... Launching to his feet Adrien raced after her in a moment of sheer panic and recklessness.

"Kagami!" Adrien practically shouted.

Not having gone far Kagami turned around, puzzled.

Taking a deep breath, heart pounding against his ribs, Adrien let out the thought that propelled him to his feet. "Would you like to go out some time!?"

Kagami's eyes went wide. "Out? As in a date?"

The color on Adrien's cheeks bloomed into scarlet. Suddenly even more self-conscious he rubbed the back of his neck- "Um," -and nodded. His mouth refusing to form words.

Half turning, Kagami gave him a small smile. "I'd like that."

Adrien felt his lips pull into a grin. Heart somersaulting in his chest for some reason.

---------------

"What should I do, Plagg?" Adrien bemoaned. Head thunking onto his computer desk. "I've never been on a date before!"

"Wasn't this your idea?" Plagg flipped through his favorite cheese magazine. He swore this romance nonsense was the silliest invention humans had ever come up with. "If you ask me it's about time you expanded your palate."

"You're no help," Adrien grumbled. Lifting his head up Adrien swiveled around to look at Plagg. "What if I asked Father or Nathalie for advice?"

"Sure." Plagg stretched lazily. "If ya want them to know about you and sword girl."

Sighing, Adrien discounted that idea. "Oh! We can ask the Gorilla!"

"I don't know," Plagg mused, "doesn't seem like a good idea."

"You just don't like it 'cause he found your Camembert stash that time," Adrien teased, poking Plagg lightly.

"It was perfectly edible! How could he!?"

Chuckling at his antics, Adrien thought about who he could go to for advice...

---------------

Adrien tried not to hurry ahead of Kagami into the ice rink proper. The chill making his arm hairs stand on end. His breath sharp in his throat. Heart beating with a mix of excitement and nervousness. Asking Marinette had been a great idea!

He turned back to see Alya and Nino slowly catch up. If only she could have made it. But that essay on periwinkle migration sounded important to her... Oh, Chloe's dad was here.

As they put on their skates Adrien glanced at Kagami out of the corner of his eye. Scooting closer to Nino he whispered: "Thanks for coming last minute, Nino."

"Hey, no problem dude! Anything for my bro." Nino's grin was a tad forced and his eyes drifted to something behind Adrien before snapping back.

"I don't know what to do with Kagami."Adrien admitted, leaning in. "Should I... offer to hold her hand?"

"Yes!" Nino snapped his fingers and held up finger guns at Adrien. His eyes flickered away again. "I mean, no! I mean- Why don't you take it slow?"

Adrien turned around to see what Nino was looking at but it was just Alya smiling politely, hands behind her back. Probably waiting patiently for him to finish with her boyfriend.

Straightening, Adrien smiled at her. "Thanks for coming, Alya."

"No big deal! Just a double date, right!" Alya smiled wide in an attempt to draw attention away from her accidental inflection.

"...Right." Adrien politely declined to comment on it.

"Anyway!" Alya grabbed Nino's hand and dragged him off. "We'll let you two get to it!"

Adrien turned back to Kagami, who was tying her skates. Hesitantly, he made his way over and stood beside her.

"Don't be scared," Kagami promised conspiratorially as she looked up, "I won't tell anyone."

"About what?" Adrien asked slowly.

"That you don't know how to tie your laces," she teased, kneeling down to do just that. Once done Kagami smiled at him, grabbed his hand and led him onto the ice.

---------------

"I can't believe you agreed to this!" Alya stage whispered. Arm locked tightly around Nino's elbow as they skated on the opposite side of the rink.

"Aw, c'mon Als. Y'know I couldn't leave my bro hanging like that!" Nino widened his eyes and tried to sparkle them like Adrien had. "He gave me the look. How could I say no to that?"

"I know..." Alya sighed. The crease between her eyes softening from accusation to guilt. "I just..." Adrien and Kagami caught her eye as they skated hand in hand. "Feel like I'm betraying my girl just by being here."

Nino patted her hand and gave her a soft smile. "I'm sure the dudette will understand." His gaze drifted towards Adrien and Kagami. "Besides... I don't think she'd want to see this."

"Hey, young man! Have you ever thought about signing up for ice skating lessons!?"

--------------

Kagami turned her head as Alya and Nino skated past them on their lap. "Did you invite them because you were scared of being alone with me?"

"Of course not!" Adrien lied, waving his hand to ward off her words. "It's just... that I asked Nino to help... me."

Her brow creased. "Help you with what?"

"Uh, to perfect my figure skating skills!" Adrien decided.

"But you don't need him for that." Suddenly, Kagami let go of his hand and launched into a short routine of spins and twirls.

Adrien blinked at her presentation before an appreciative smile graced his lips. Kagami has so many talents, Adrien thought as she talked with that man who had been discussing something with Mayor Bourgeois.

Seamlessly, Kagami interlaced their fingers as she took his hand again and pulled him forward with her momentum. Glancing at his smile through the corner of her eye.

"Adrien Agreste, I can see it now!" The skating instructor (that's what he was) was suddenly beside Adrien. "Grace and style model! And professional ice skating champion! If you take lessons with me I'll have you shining like the candles on a birthday cake!"

Skating? Adrien had never thought about it before. "Uh, may-beeee!"

Kagami switched their positions so she was closest to the instructor. "He already does fencing with me," she informed him. And sped up with Adrien in tow.

Adrien stared at the back of Kagami's head. She was very assertive in her desires, bold even. Kagami knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go for it. He admired that about her, was drawn to it. Kagami would meet any challenge without backing down.

Just like Ladybug.

His fingers slipped from Kagami's grasp as he slowed to a stop. Staring at the floor as his cheeks burned not with embarrassment but shame.

"Adrien? What is it?" Kagami asked as she circled back.

Adrien smiled. "Nothing. I just have to use the restroom real quick." Turning, he let his smile fall as he left the rink.

Plagg poked his head out of his pocket once they were alone. "What's gotten into you, kid?"

Adrien stared at him. "I don't know."

Worry started to prick at Plagg's fur. "Adrien-"

"I don't know what I want, Plagg!" His heart hammered against his chest, pulse rising to his throat. "Kagami knows. Ladybug knows. Chat Noir thought he knew but... but I don't." Adrien wrapped his arms around himself, making himself smaller.

"... Listen, you're young right? Even by human standards? Like a freshly made wheel of Camembert."

Adrien frowned, turning away. "Plagg-"

"Hear me out!" Plagg zipped closer to Adrien's face, keeping in his line of sight. "But freshly made Camembert is terrible! It's got no flavor! No delicious scent! You need to let it age to bring out all the good stuff."

Adrien glanced at Plagg. Seeing his tail twitching in concern even if he wouldn't voice it. Strangely, Adrien understood what he was trying to say.

"All cheeses age differently. There's nothing wrong with taking your time." Plagg finished, not quite satisfied with how it came out.

Adrien smiled at him, reaching out to pet his head. "Thanks, Plagg."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Plagg let himself be petted. Not because he enjoyed it, of course. It just happened to make Adrien feel better.

Suddenly, ice started crawling up the walls. Magic coming from the ice rink. "Oh, no. Guess we have to go save the day," Plagg said, very disappointedly, yes.

Adrien grinned as he brought out the transformation cheese. "Uh-huh."

---------------

Chat Noir's good humor lasted until he spotted Ladybug on a rooftop. Oh. He didn't... want to see her right now. Reluctantly, he landed beside her. Doing his best to keep the conflicting emotions wrestling in his chest off his face.

"Chat Noir! We need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink." Ladybug anchored her yo-yo onto a nearby building, ready to take off.

Say something. Say something! "My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack." Ha! Nailed it! Chat Noir scooted closer to the roof's edge as he scanned the frozen city.

Ladybug gave him a puzzled look. "What? Since when?"

Chat Noir pouted. "Rude."

Shaking her head as she fought back a fond smile Ladybug inched towards him. "We have to work together on this."

His hand rubbed the back of his neck, catching her eye. "I don't know. We don't have to do everything together. If we split up we'll have a better chance of finding him." Chat Noir jumped. "Race you!"

"Chat Noir, be careful!" Ladybug called out as he sped away. "... Okay, so he's acting weird. Not the first time he's acted weird. It'll be fine!" She cast her yo-yo and swung off. I hope.

---------------

Being by himself helped Adrien order his thoughts. His feelings were all over the place so he focused on doing what he told Ladybug he was gonna do. It was child's play to follow the only imperfection on otherwise smooth ice. Leading him to the Eiffel Tower where the akuma victim was hiding.

Okay. Now I just need to-

Frozer launched himself at Ladybug!

Acting quickly Chat Noir tackled Ladybug out of the way. Grabbing her hand and leading her onto the frozen Seine. Skating away at top speed to put some distance between them and Frozer.

"Thanks, kitty!" Ladybug smiled.

And Adrien smiled back. Confusing questions forgotten for the moment. Then Frozer launched shards of ice; Chat Noir letting go of Ladybug's hand so they could dodge it. Only then realizing that he'd been holding it at all.

"He's too fast!"

She was right. Frozer easily kept pace with them. Leaping into the air to launch more ice shards. Rounding a bend in the river they were out of sight for a second. Taking advantage of it to hide.

"I'm positive the akuma's in his skates," Ladybug stated once Frozer passed them.

"My Cataclysm could destroy them but he'd have to be up in the air... You were right My Lady. We're going to have to set a trap."

"You were right, too. We observed and now we know enough."

Chat Noir smiled. "Seems we're just missing a little push of luck to get the edge on him."

Ladybug nodded. "Lucky Charm!"

---------------

Adrien raced back to the ice rink. In the end the plan had been pretty straightforward. Ladybug baited Frozer into following her while Chat Noir laid in wait.

Business as usual. Except...

'Are you sure you're okay? You've been off since yesterday.'

'...I'm just figuring some things out. Might take me a while but that's okay... Thanks for worrying about me.'

Being around Ladybug didn't make him feel quite so sad anymore. Chat Noir meant it when he said her friendship was important to him, after all. And... Adrien was happy. That he could be normal around her.

He spotted Alya and Nino discussing something, waving at them as he looked for... There. Kagami was returning her skates. Adrien walked up to her, fidgeting with his ring. "Uh, hey, Kagami. Sorry I ran off like that."

"It is fine. We were interrupted anyway."

Adrien couldn't tell how she meant that but he took a deep breath and forged ahead. "So, I know I'm the one who asked you out and all. But..."

Kagami frowned. "Are you saying you do not wish to date me?"

"No!" Adrien waved both hands emphatically in the negative. "No, no, no! I just... wanted to say that I think we should take it slow."

She raised an eyebrow. "We go any slower and our pace will be glacial."

Adrien was 90 percent sure that was a joke... 80 percent. "W-well if you think it's too much of a challenge..."

Kagami's eyes widened at Adrien's audacity. She poked him in the chest. "Don't flatter yourself, Agreste."

Without thinking, Adrien grabbed her hand and kissed the back of her palm. Kagami's answering blush nowhere near as radiant as Adrien's. Why did I do that!? Who froze for a moment before turning around. "W-wouldn't dream of it... Ryuko."

"Ryuko?" Kagami raised a brow at the nickname.

Adrien's hand went back to rubbing his neck. "I can call you something else if you don't like it."

"No," Kagami decided, a small smile on her lips as she passed Adrien on her way to the exit. "Ryuko will do just fine."

"... So, that's a yes?" Adrien sprinted to catch up.

"Mm, perhaps if you define what you think 'taking it slow' is."

Adrien leapt in front of her and held out his hand. "Let us drive you home?"

Kagami blinked at the offered hand. Slowly reaching out for it. His palm was warm in hers. "Going slow is not too bad. I suppose," she relented.

Adrien beamed. "Oh! Just one last thing!"

--------------

Kagami entered the Agreste car as Adrien held the door open, sliding in behind her. "You're still doing what other people want."

"No, I just want him to be happy," Adrien countered. Giving the skating instructor free advertising didn't cost him anything. "Besides, how're we supposed to come back if it's a Chloe catered gym?"

"Back?" That sounded promising.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and couldn't quite look at her but he smiled. "Since our first date was cut short I was hoping we could try again."

Kagami gazed at Adrien as he fidgeted. "Just the two of us?"

"Y-yup!" Adrien's face burned.

"Good. You're crush on Nino was distracting."

"Wh-what!?" Adrien spluttered.

"... You're crush on Nino? I thought everyone knew. Personally, I prefer Alya but-"

"I don't- That is- I..." Adrien's shoulders slumped. "His eyes are so beautiful, it's like he stares into your soul."

Kagami's hands hovered awkwardly. "I am sorry. I thought you knew."

Adrien buried his face in his hands to muffle his yelling. "I thought I only had the one thing! This is... I don't even know how many things this is!"

Reaching for his hand again, Kagami squeezed it reassuringly. Back straightening as his grip turned out stronger than she expected.

He peeked at her through the splayed fingers covering his red face. Breath speeding up. "I... I don't..."

"You don't have to say anything. I know it is not easy to come to terms with."

Nodding gratefully, Adrien slowly took his hand away from his face. Taking deep breaths.

Kagami relaxed as Adrien did the same. This wasn't what she was expecting. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Turns out, Kagami had been aiming at the wrong target too.

Adrien's grip eased as he looked up at Kagami. That was... certainly a lot. But Kagami hadn't turned away from him. Only a handful of people had ever seen him so vulnerable. And two of them preferred to pretend otherwise. But Kagami didn't pretend. And Adrien admired her for it. He smiled, wobbly and honest.

"Thanks... Ryuko."

------------------------------

In case it's unclear the two people Adrien's talking about are Gabriel and Nathalie.

*Rewatches Frozer (again) for this fic* ... If my friend fell and they said they didn't feel well I'd check up on them too. IDK why the the fandom- I mean, Plagg, is so hung up on that part.

I have taken liberties with the production of Camembert for this fic. Please, forgive my transgressions cheese enthusiasts.

@adrienaugust

[aestheticallyholland]

Dance with Me | t. holland

a/n: i recommend you to listen to the song: I WONT TELL A SOUL by Charlie Puth. play the song as soon as it tells you to. enjoy reading! 💫

song i wont tell a soul by charlie puth

word count 1.6k words

You stood there with your party dress on. You were just in the corner while everyone was socializing and dancing with one another. Your best friend, Zendaya, was out talking with some of her friends. This was a celebration night for the success of the Spider man: Far From Home movie. You were so lucky to be part of that film even though you only had small parts there.

You gave a heavy sigh and walked going towards the bar. You needed to drink, but not a strong one. You didn't want to get yourself drunk in this party.

You sat on the high chair and the bartender approached you.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" He asked.

"Just a champagne, please." You answered and the bartender nodded as an answer and went to get your drink.

As you were waiting, you watched as the people were enjoying themselves. After a few seconds, the bartender came back with your drink and gave it to you. You got the glass with your hand and took a sip.

"You should totally go to her, dude."

Tom looked at Jacob confusingly. He looked at where Jacob was pointing at and there he saw you, drinking your drink.

"What? No! She'll probably think that I'm weird." He said with his think British accent that made Jacob chuckle.

"You really won't tell her, mate? You're practically all over her." Harrison added and took a sip of his drink. "She's basically alone. Give it a shot." He said.

Tom had this little crush on you ever since you were on set. Not just little, but a huge crush on you as what Jacob and Harrison would say.

Tom could feel heat forming on  his cheeks just when he looked at you. He really find you so beautiful to the point where he can't help but just stare at you. He is friends with you but he was just scared to tell you.

But go talk to her! His gut told him.

He had no idea what came over him. He stood up and didn't say anything as he walked towards you.

You finished your drink and placed it on the table. On the corner of you eye, you saw a familiar person walking towards you. You turned to the side and felt your cheeks blush. It was Tom Holland.

He gave a small smile to you that made your heart flutter, like he always does.

"Can I sit beside you?" He asked.

You blinked your eyes before answering him. "Y-yeah, go ahead." You said. He sat beside you and faced you. It's been a while since the last time you have talked to each other. Both of you were so busy with the film that you didn't really get to talk to one another.

"Where's Harrison and Jacob?" You asked him.

"Just somewhere. I just really wanted to be with you since you were alone and to catch things up with you." He answered and looked at you. You didn't know what to say so you just gave him a smile.

You spent your time talking and laughing with Tom. There was one time that you laughed so hard that you almost fell off the high chair. With Tom's reflexes, he caught you and with his arms.

"Be careful, love." He said when he caught you. You looked up to him and saw him just looking at you. The way he called you love made your heart beat so fast.

You broke your stare with each other and sat down properly on the chair. You fixed your skirt and Tom awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

You were about to say something until the host of the party called everyone's attention.

"The night is coming to an end and we are going to have our last dance for the night. Pick a partner  now because this is going to be a slow dance." He said. "And let's welcome, Charlie Puth!"

The singer then walked on stage and you wanted to scream. He was one of your favorite singers.

(play the song)

Tom saw how happy you were and the song started to play. He turned to you and grabbed a hand of yours. This was his chance.

"Dance with me, Y/N." He said. That made your heart beat even more fast. He was looking down at you with his chocolate brown eyes. You didn't want to lose this chance.

You gave him a smile. "Of course, Tom."

❝ oh, darling, i know you're taken. something about this just don't feel right. every time one of us tries to leave here, oh, the other one holds on tight, oh ❞

"You are not a bad dancer, Y/N." He started.

Both of you walked at the center of the dance floor. Both of your turned to face each other. He placed an arm around your waist and your hands were around his neck.

❝ baby, tonight, there's so much love in between us but you say you gotta get home stay here with me i won't tell soul ❞

Both of you started to sway in sync while looking at each other.

❝ you tell me someone's waiting for ya that you can't do this anymore. but you kiss me again so go ahead and draw the blinds and lock all the doors ❞

"I'll try not to step on your shoes, Holland." You said and that made tom chuckle.

Tom started to turn you around slowly and bring you back to him. You would smile when he would do that to you. Both of you started doing waltz on the center of the dance floor. It was like only the both of you were the only ones dancing. The spotlight was focused on the both of you.

"You really look beautiful, Y/N." He said after he turned you around. Your hair came back from the flip and you smiled at his compliment.

❝ baby, tonight, there's so much love in between us but you say that you gotta go home. stay here with me. iwon't tell a soul ❞

❝ oh, if you want me like i want you, i wont judge you, this could be our little secret (secret). our secret (secret) ❞

❝ so tell me if you're ready cause if no one knows then it ain't really cheating ❞

Both you and Tom started to dance around the dance floor since people gave way to the both of you.

"And you look dashing too, Tom." You complimented back.

❝ baby, tonight, there so much love in between us you say that you gotta get home ❞

Both of you started to dance slow when the song was ending. You just both looked deeply in each other's eyes. He held your waist and your arms were around his neck again.

❝ oh, darling, i know you're taken but something 'bout this just feels so right. cause every time one of us tries to justify the situation, we just hold on tighter. oh, oh ❞

You placed your head on his chest and slowly swayed as the song was coming to an end. He wrapped his arms around you.

He let you dip down and slowly bright you back up again with your faces near each other.

When the song ended, the people around you clapped at your performance and both of you let you of each other, realizing that there were lots of people watching you.

❝ stay here with me ❞

❝ i won't tell a soul ❞

"Well, I didn't expect us to have an audience." Tom broke the awkwardness between you two. You laughed at his comment and the both of you walked away with your arms intertwined to his.

You felt a blush across your cheeks and Tom felt the same. You looked at Tom and he looked back at you with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Tom. I had fun with the dance. It was like prom all over again." You said with a chuckle. He smiled at you.

"It won't be the last dance, don't worry." He said.

You reached to the bar again and you faced Tom.

You blushed at his sentence before Jacob and Harrison could even interrupt the both of you.

"It's getting late, Tom. Want to go, mate?" Harrison asked Tom. Tom looked at you once again and you smiled at him. He smiled back before he could answer Harrison.

"Actually." He started. "I want to take Y/N home." He said and you felt shock inside you. Both of you never planned this out.

Jacob and Harrison looked at each other before realized it. Both of then went near Tom and whispered to him. "Good luck." They walked away leaving the two of you behind.

"I'm sorry I blurted those out." He said and scratched the back of his neck.

"Hey, Y/N! That dance was awesome, dude." Jacob said and you could only smile as the answer.

"I would love you to take me home." You answered which made him stopped scratching the back of his neck and looked at you.

see more of my stories here

With a smile on his face, both of you went out of the room. He offered his hand to your's and you gladly took it, wrapped your fingers to his.

"Z wouldn't mind, right?" Tom asked. You chuckled at him since you find it so cute when he asked that before you answered.

"Of course, she won't. "

[marvel-has-my-soul]

Jet Fighter

(Peter Parker x OC Female)

Description: Jet is a girl with wings and superhuman strength. Need I say more?

CHAPTER 1-

Choose a Side

Jet touched down outside of Steve's hideout. Sam had told her where they were against his better judgement. She folded her wings and pulled her jacket over her shoulders. Stepping up the the door, she knocked three times.

Inside, Steve froze at the sound of knocking. Him and Sam jumped up, ready for a fight. But what person would knock? Steve walked cautiously to the door, taking care to keep his footsteps silent. And he listened. There was a sigh from the other side.

"Cap, it's only me, Jet. Sam told me where you were." Steve shot a glare at Sam.

"I didn't think she would come and find us." He defended.

"Jet, you gotta go home. Okay? This doesn't concern you." Steve said through the door.

"I want to fight." She declared.

"You're too young."

"That's not what you said when you asked me to be an Avenger." She countered, then she added, "Tony knows what you're planning. You'll need all the help you can get." Steve sighed and unlocked the door. Jet immediately jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He chuckled and hugged her back.

"Good to see you too, kid." Jet released the soldier and turned to Sam, holding her hand out.  He smirked and clapped his hand against hers then brought it back, hitting her knuckles before they looped their thumbs together and raised their hands, fluttering their fingers like bird wings.

The both laughed at Steve led them further in. As Jet rounded the corner, she froze, spotting the winter soldier -- Bucky Barnes. His metal arm was restrained tightly in a vise. He looked up as Jet walked in, and Jet say his eyes were filled with clarity, a hint of fear, and a whole lot of sadness. Jet walked up and held her hand out to him.

“Name’s Jet.” Bucky smiled and took her hand with his free one. 

“Bucky.” He said, his eyes flitting over to her half unfurled wings. “are those...?”

“Real? yea, but don’t worry, I’m not an angel and you’re not dead yet.” She said with a smile. Bucky laughed and Jet could tell that it must’ve been his first one in a long time. 

“Good to know.”

***

Jet flew high above the airport, using her enhanced goggles to zoom in and scan for any movement.

“Cap, just saw Tony and Rhodey outside, heading in your direction.” She reported. “And some dude dressed in red is up on the roof.”

“Thank. Stay high, Jet.” She rolled her eyes. Steve had given her the easiest job in this plan. A lookout, what a joke. She decided to investigate the red dude. Jet flew lower, still keeping her distance before landing on the roof, just behind the new guy.

“Don’t believe I’ve seen you before.” She commented, making the guy jump. He turned around.

“You’re the Jet Fighter!” He exclaimed. “Oh my God, I’m such a big fan!”

“What’re you doing here?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“Underoos!” Tony called.

“Sorry, gotta run!” The red dude said, leaping off the building. Jet ran forward to see him shoot out some sort of webbing from his wrists and grabbed Steve’s shield, landing on a nearby truck.  

“Nice job, kid.” Tony said

“Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit… Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-It's perfect. Thank you.” The guy rambled. Jet suppressed a snort.

“Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation.”

“Okay. Cap… Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man.” He introduced himself. Explains the webbing. Jet took off, back into the sky, instead this time she stayed close. The fight broke out not soon after. Jet kept her distance for a long as possible, not wanting Steve to get distracted by scolding her. That was until Tony flew up next to her.

"Kid, what are you doing here?" He said. Jet didn't say anything, instead flying towards Tony and kicking her legs out. With one strong flap of her wings, she forced Tony back, throwing him off his course.

“Not you too!” He shouted. Jet saluted with a smile and flew up higher before swooping down into a corkscrew dive, straight for Tony. He dodged to the side, but Jet recovered quickly, stretching her wings out and wacking him across his chest. He spun out of control and Jet flew out of his reach again.

“What’d I do to make you go rogue?” Tony asked tiredly.

“Getting government involved. I can’t be kept safe if half the world knows who I am.” Jet answered before swooping down towards the ground. She flew just above Steve as their group ran for the Quinjet.

A fizzing stream of energy slices across the runway and they stop. Vision hovers overhead.

“Captain Rogers. I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now.” Tony’s team arrives, lining up in front of Steve and his group, blocking their path. Jet lowered herself to the ground, folding her wings.

“What do we do, Cap?” Sam asked

“We fight.” The two teams began striding towards each other, everyone with fixed grim expressions. They quicken to a jog. Jet unfurls her wings and flies into the air with Sam. The teams collide, Steve blocking a punch from Tony, Natasha and Clint throwing punches and kicks. Jet flies down just as Spiderman swings into the air, catching him in her arms and tossing him down to the ground. He recovers quickly and shoots out web, catching Jet’s wings up in the sticky material. He pulls her down to the ground. Jet flaps her wings hard, sending Spiderman flying into the air.

Jet turned her attention to the fight around her. She flew up into the air, swooping down and picking up T’Challa, the Black Panther, and flying up into the sky, away from Bucky. The soldier sent her a look of thanks before turning to run for the Quinjet. T'Challa twisted around and clawed at her face, ripping her mask open. She let out a shout and dropped him. He went plummeting to the ground, but Rhodey caught him before he hit the concrete.

“We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now.” Bucky says over the com.

“We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision. You get to the jet.” Steve replied.

"No, you get to the jet! Both of you! The rest of us aren't getting out of here.” Sam said, as Rhodey chased after him.

“As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.” Clint said

“This isn't the real fight, Steve.” Sam added.

“Alright, Sam, what's the play?” Steve said after a moments hesitation.

“We need a diversion, something big.”

“I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long.” Scott Lang cut in. Jet couldn’t see him from her view so she assumed he was still small. “On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half… don't come back for me.”

“You're sure about this, Scott?” Steve asked.

“I do it all the time. I mean once… in a lab. Then I passed out. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the boss. I'm the BOSS!” Scott said. Within seconds, Scott appeared, twenty times his height, grabbing hold of Rhodey and holding him in place. He let out a loud laugh. Tony’s team turned their attention to Scott in shock. They begin fighting him, but Scott merely flicks them away. Vision flies up towards Scott. Scott tries to stop him, but Vision flies straight through him, flying towards Steve and Bucky who run for the Quinjet.

“Guys! Something just flew in me!” Scott shouts.

“I’ve got Vision, Cap.” Jet said, swooping down for the android.

“No Jet! Stay high.” Steve protested.

Vision fires a shining beam of energy from his mind stone, hitting the control tower, just as Jet flew in front of him. The energy hits her in her stomach and she screams. Vision watches in shock as she plummets towards the ground. The control tower begins to collapse towards the entrance of the hangar and Wanda uses her powers to halt it for a moment before Rhodey fires a  sonic disrupter behind her and she covers her ears, letting out a scream. The tower collapses, but Steve and Bucky make it just in time, sliding under the falling ruble.

Jet hits the ground hard, letting out a gasp. There was a large hole in the stomach of her suit and a large, blistering wound covered her abdomen. The fight around her was drowned out by the pain as she tried to sit up. She gasped for breath, watching Scott fall to the ground, his legs bound together by Spiderman. Vision held Wanda in his arms as the debris from the fallen control tower suddenly are blown away. The Quinjet bursts through and flies up into the sky. Rhodey chases after it, Sam following closely behind. Tony catches up with them in the sky.

Vision takes aim and fires a blast of energy towards Sam. Sam spots it coming and tucks into a tumble. The laser overshoots and slices through the core on War Machines chest plate. Rhodey loses power and goes into a spinning free fall.

Both Tony and Sam dive after Rhodey, but they aren’t fast enough. Jet clenches her teeth and stands, jumping into the air. Her wings carry her through the air, twice the speed of Tony and Sam. She reached Rhodey, wrapping her arms around him and flapping her wings as hard as she can, but her body gives in to pain and her wings buckle under the weight of herself and Rhodey in his armor. They both fall towards the ground at gaining speed. Jet, on instinct, wraps her arms around herself and Rhodey just as they hit the ground with a loud smack.

Jet couldn’t move. Her winds were stiff and unresponsive to her mind telling them to retract. All she could feel was pain. Someone pushed her to the side and grabbed hold of Rhodey. Jet locked eyes with Tony, his face stone cold.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, not knowing if he could even hear her. Her eyes slipped closed and the world faded away.

Tag list:

@ginger-elf-queen

[ravenvsfox]

I know you have already done a lot of the ship posts (and they are all phenomenal and accurate af) but can you pretty please do Jesper and Wylan from six of crows/crooked kingdom? Xoxo

I’m SO sorry this took so long, you’re such an absolute sweetheart and also christ I’ve never been called an inspiration before holy.. god

also heck i love wesper this is a treat

SEND ME A SHIP AND I’LL TELL YOU… 

who is more likely to hurt the other?

don’t.. do this

they’re genuinely so good neither of them would ever TRY to hurt the other, and they’re both so tender and apologetic if they ever do. I think I’m gonna have to say jesper though just because. he’s still a little stirred by his addiction (to trouble! to bringing two guns to a gun fight! to gambling! to love!) and he’s got some jealousy and sensitivity baked into him, bless him. I feel like he’d run a risk and break Wy’s heart by accident, a little bit

who is emotionally stronger?

a genuine toughie bc they’ve both survived and persevered so MUCH. I think in terms of immediate reactionary instincts, Jes is better at letting bad vibes roll right off of him. He’s made of smiles. He’s trouble and a good time rolled into a waistcoat. If you insult him he only gets stronger. Wy was raised in silk and champagne but he was raised BY an absolute monster so. he’s a very bruised peach. criticism pierces him v easily. Though in a more fundamental way, wylan has fashioned his past trauma into a shield. by the end of ck he’s building himself new emotional strength with his bare hands

who is physically stronger?

ohhh man. They’re both noodle boys. Wylan is too smart for exercise. Jesper does his fighting at a 20 metre distance from his target. Jesper is bigger than wylan but most of his size is gangly and delightful and awkward. I think jes could probably still beat wylan in a pinch, but I’m more caught up in how funny it would be to see them try to fight it out

who is more likely to break a bone? 

man I’m tempted to say jesper just bc he seems like he would be...... brittle. I think he gets into scrapes a lot. I think wylan starts to get into p frequent scrapes by nature of being the sixth crow. I think the both of them are so busy worrying about each other’s fights that they neglect their own and trip off a building or smth

who knows best what to say to upset the other? 

I think wylan can be a nasty piece of work when he’s pissed enough. like he may be a silk eared puppy but he’ll chew your shoes and track mud around if you forget to feed him. jesper doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body man, I think he’s a sarcasm queen and a joker but he’s definitely not mean

who is most likely to apologize first after an argument? 

I think jesper’s constantly assuming he did something wrong and he sits down with wylan 100% serious like ‘babe.. im so, so sorry. I never wanted to be the sort of person who made you look sad like that, we’re past that, I truly made a promise--’ and wy would be like ‘what no I was sad bc a screw on my flute is loose and I couldn’t practice today’. but also yeah if it’s a serious fight they make up in a rush, and they laugh at themselves, and they use their energy for something better

who treats who’s wounds more often? 

here’s the thing about the crows man, they’re always sustaining minor injuries as a team and it’s a win if they live, right? All I can picture is the roar of activity when they pull off a job and they come back limping and bleeding and swearing and crowing w joy, and jes and wy take their seats opposite each other and clean wounds, kiss foreheads, smooth back sweaty curls, squeeze hands, make promises. the routine, u kno

who is in constant need of comfort? 

uhhh both of them (it’s always both my guy jot that down). Wylan has 16 years of shitty imposed self loathing to unlearn, and traumatic experiences all over him. jes has lost a lot (including his mom) and he struggles with addiction so like. yeah they both need comfort. they both wake up w the phantom feeling of a mother’s arms around their shoulders. they’ve both seen the very worst of humanity. They’re just two nervy, high stress kids trying to figure things out

who gets more jealous? 

lmao WYLAN VAN ECK did y’all read his scenes in crooked kingdom that boy is NOT SHARING. he glared real holes in kuwei’s head guys. jesper tbh is a terrible flirt and a HANDFUL and wylan is happy. to have his hands full. no one else.

who’s most likely to walk out on the other? 

mmm nahhh

who will propose? 

u bet ur ASS it’ll be jesper. Imagine wylan’s blushing face...... he’d do it for that alone. tbh there’s probably a point in their relationship where jesper’s outrageous flirting isn’t enough to get that pretty blush from wylan like he’ll roll his eyes and shove jes in the shoulder and w/e but they have to have increasingly ridiculous conversations about kinks or w/e until that blush comes out. jesper’s like ‘dang. guess I gotta step up the romance. what’s the most romantic thing? marriage? marrying wylan? son absolutely where do i sign’

who has the most difficult parents?

lmao lm a o lmaooo Lmao LMAO lmao

who initiates hand-holding when they’re out in public? 

I feel like depending on the social climate of Ketterdam, hand holding might not be on the table?? especially for two criminals associated w the bastard of the barrel like idk man I can’t picture it. they don’t want to draw attention to themselves (well i mean. jes wants to. but they can’t). I think they’re all about sly glances and the most obvious smirks you’ve ever seen, and brushing shoulders!! brushing shoulders are their makeouts

who comes up for the other all the time? 

they’re always together man bf’s that blow shit up together and live together stay together so like they rarely have the opportunity to talk about each other. howEVER jesper probably mentions his boyfriend in the middle of a hand of poker w an inappropriate smile or gushes to w/e prisoner he’s breaking out of jail or makes Kaz’s day weird by trying to confide in him

who hogs the blankets? 

wylan is exhausted w luxury and jesper is a child who wants to be held so he rolls over and then over again so that wy always wakes up to a lapful of boyfriend and a roll of blankets and he has to wait for jesper’s heavy sleeper ass to arise so he can get up to pee 

who gets more sad? 

booooth -- jesper is understated sad with a side of unnerving frowns, wylan is a wobbling mouth and clenched fists. Sometimes they stay in the Wylan Van mansion and lock the doors so the maids can’t come in, and they bring the lavish decorative pillows into a heap on the carpet and feed each other sweets and rub each others backs and laugh and laugh the darkness away. wylan sketches. jesper poses. there’s scheming & kaz impressions. jesper is a storyteller and he imagines out loud what nina or inej are up to at that very minute, controlling gravity and hearts and the sea and their lives 

who is better at cheering the other up? 

see above ^^ they both go pro at the comfort olympics. Jesper is that little bit better though. He’s a sweetheart with all the right words in his pockets. He knows how to chop wylan’s dad down like the overgrown dead tree that he is. he knows how to flirt a smile onto wy’s face. he maybe lacks delicacy sometimes, but he’s so fun and wholehearted and warm that he can’t really go wrong

who’s the one that playfully slaps the other all the time after they make silly jokes?

this is canon y’all, jesper is a lecherous bastard and wylan is equal parts disdain and delight. he absolutely will slap a boy

who is more streetwise?

god bless wylan but he knows a hell of a lot less about the streets than jes. He’s learning fast by the end of ck, but he’s still very sheltered in a lot of ways. Jesper has a few years under his belt, and he’s.. like tbh he’s a part of a gang so. He’s seen a lot. He’s participated in a lot. He has a pretty steep list of kills, same as every other survivor out there. He’s detached from the deaths but he’s been on the other side of a lot of bullets that have crumpled people up and thrown them in the trash. He knows his business, too. He knows Ketterdam. Well. Wy knows the half of it Kaz wants him to see.

who is more wise?

Wylan is utterly brilliant and Jesper is wholeheartedly here for it. What was that line again? ‘you’re cuter when you’re smart’? Wylan can think his way out of just about anything, the world belongs to him. jsyk

who’s the shyest? 

Wylan absolutely what a sweetie. I mean a lot of it stems from unfortunate self esteem issues and a history of being burnt but a lot of it is pure soul deep candy sweet embarrassment and not knowing what to do w his own cute face. He doesn’t know how to deal w people a lot of the time. he knows sheet music & formulas. he does not know how to look at a boy with beautiful lips all curled up at him and not pass out

who boasts about the other more? 

jesper is loudmouthed usually and he’s that much more loudmouthed when he’s in love, catch him talking to anyone who will listen about wy’s stupid face 

who sits on who’s lap? 

jesper would definitely try it, don’t even test him, he would fold all his crane limbs into wylan’s lap and say ‘hello peaches’ and wylan would have to slide both of them onto the floor to escape his embarrassment. on a good day, jes’ll scoop wylan into his lap and he’ll feel quiet, for a while