#he sees her as a superhero which made her feel like she can only ever be one or the other instead of just. a regular human being 😭

[paintingformike]

thinking about how you can never have a productive and civil discussion on sttwt about how mike is intentionally associated with brenner in s4 without people holding pitchforks in an outrage and twisting your words to make it seem like you’re trying to call mike an abuser

[bucks-babe]

hi!! i’ve had this concept in my head for a while and i love your writing style so i thought you would be perfect to ask. so reader is new to the compound, like helping out in the lab but not necessarily on the team, and because of that when she tries forming relationships with people on the team she’s kind of pushed to the side. bucky sees this and feels for her since he was kind of treated the same when he was new, so he starts becoming friends with her and building a relationship with her. then he starts involving her in things the team does like dinners or movie nights. and when they’re around each other the team can obviously see that they like each other as more than friends. you can develop it more from there but that’s kind of the base line for my idea!!

Pairing: Bucky x f!reader

Summary: Being new to the compound isn’t easy, luckily you have a supersoldier on your side

Warnings: Slight angst, fluff, reader wears glasses (no other description of reader though), Bucky thinks reader is cute, Tony is kind of a huge dick, vague implications of smut but no smut (blink and you’ll miss it), I suck at endings, they are in love, no use of Y/N

Word Count: 2.780k

“Hey, uh, Glasses, I need you to run these samples for me.” You look up and see Tony walking into the lab, straight to your table. You look around, not sure if he was talking to you, but you’re alone in the lab, given that it was almost midnight, but you had to finish the reports from the samples that Steve dropped off in the morning.

You were swamped in work, not even taking a lunch break, desperate to finish everything so that you could go back to your room in the compound and take a shower. It felt like you’ve been stuck in the lab for days on end. The Avengers having back to back missions and you being the only lab tech without a family to go home to, you were stuck working insane hours.

“Mr. Stark, can these wait until the morning? I'm still working on the reports from Captain Rogers.” Tony heaves a great sigh, clearly exasperated by your reluctance to do his work, knowing damn well he can run these samples a lot quicker with the help of F.R.I.D.A.Y. but he just doesn’t want to. Might as well make the overworked lab tech do it.

“The old man can wait until tomorrow for his report, just get mine done. If he has a problem, he can take it up with me. Goodnight, Penny.” And just like that, he walks off. You know for sure that he didn’t hear you correct him when he got your name wrong. Honestly, where did he even get Penny from? You’re so stressed you feel like you could cry, which pisses you off more. It made you feel weak when you would cry when you were frustrated but you couldn’t help it.

It's been like this since you got the job at the compound. At first you thought that this would be an amazing opportunity, getting to work side by side with the Avengers. In reality, you stay cooped up in the lab most of the day, getting overworked, and only see the Avengers when they stop by to give you more work. 

Of course, you understand that being a superhero is hard work, but a little courtesy goes a long way. It would be a nice change of pace if someone acknowledged your efforts. You push Steve’s reports to the side and start working on Tony’s samples, knowing that this is going to take all night, but you don’t really have a choice. It needs to be done and you’re the only one in the lab.

The sound of the door opening jolts you awake, a piece of paper stuck to your face with drool. “Hey, do you have those reports for me?” You groan and look at Steve. The clock on the wall reads 6:03 AM, ever the early riser, Steve is. You must have fallen asleep sometime last night trying to finish the work Tony gave you, which is just as incomplete as Steve’s reports.

“Sorry, Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark gave me an urgent request that needed priority.” You keep your head down, ashamed to look at him. 

“I gave you those samples in the morning. How are the reports not done?” He has his hands on his hips with the disappointed father's look on his face, making you feel even worse. You really are trying your best, but you’re burnt out and can't do everything at once.

“I’m sorry, I’ll have them done by early afternoon. I can drop them off if you’d like?” God, you feel so stupid! Steve just waves you off with a “I’ll come back after lunch for them” and leaves you to your own thoughts.

You get Steve’s reports done before lunch and continue to work on finishing Tony’s when the lab doors open again. Without looking up you slide Steve’s reports to him. “They’re done Captain Rogers.” 

“It’s not Steve.” You push your glasses up on your nose and see Bucky standing before your table, quite awkwardly as well, shuffling on his feet with his right hand in his pocket, left hanging down limply at his side.

“Sergeant Barnes, how can I help you?” You’ve always had a crush on Bucky, but he was the only Avenger who hasn’t come into your lab - ever. Matter of fact, he avoids the lab like the plague, which is understandable given that he was experimented on for years. 

“It’s my arm, I can’t move it.” After a few seconds of silence he adds on, “The metal one. Usually, I can recalibrate it myself but I think it has something to do with the plates.” He looks so vulnerable; Bucky’s not used to asking for help, rather always helping someone else.

“I can take a look at it if you want.” You assume that’s why he came down to the lab, not just to chit chat with you. He nods and you lead him to a lab chair. “Can you take your shirt off for me?” Bucky’s eyebrows hit his hairline and his jaw drops. “I need to see your arm, Sergeant.” Now both of you are blushing.

It takes him a little while but he gets his shirt off and stares at the floor, embarrassed of the scars surrounding his arm. “Can I touch your arm, Sergeant?” Bucky eyes widen; he’s not used to someone asking permission to touch his arm. If he doesn’t wear his gloves in public, people will stare and point, some even trying to touch his hand to get a better look at the silver arm. Bucky hates it: the arm, the stares, the scars, everything.

He mumbles a confirmation and watches you work on his arm. He thinks you’re cute, with glasses that make your eyes look slightly magnified and how you stick your tongue out when you concentrate. You’ve always hated your glasses, thinking that they make you look bug eyed, but Bucky thinks that it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. There are bags under your eyes, which makes Bucky frown. Stark is overworking you.

After a few minutes you look up and see Bucky staring at you and you both quickly look away. “One of the plates near your shoulder came loose and disrupted the signal to the rest of the arm. That’s why you couldn’t move it. It’s fixed now and you should be good to go, Sergeant.”

 Before Bucky could say anything, Tony enters. “Penn, those reports done yet or are you too busy with Terminator over there?” You ignore Bucky’s confused who’s Penn? and give Tony the finished half of his reports, hoping against hope that he won’t tear you a new one in front of Bucky.

“Uh, Glasses, where is the other half?” 

“I didn’t get to them all last night and then Captain Rogers needed his reports this morning. I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.” Not only did you not finish Tony’s reports on time, but you were also late with Steve’s, on top of getting minimal sleep and not eating. The humiliation is seeping through your pores. You’re letting your idols down in real time, seeing their disappointment right in front of you.

“I told you to prioritize my samples, not Rogers.” Bucky is still in his chair, watching, ready to jump to your defense. He doesn’t like the way Tony is talking to you. Little do you know, but Bucky sometimes comes down to the lab to watch you work, never entering, God no. He’d look like a creep. But the sweet lab tech caught his attention the moment you arrived.

“I know, but I fell behind and Captain Rogers said-”

“I don’t care what Rogers said. I told you-” 

“Back off Stark, if you want them done, do it yourself.” Bucky was pissed; you are too sweet for your own good, letting people boss you around and bending over backwards for them. Not when Bucky is around.

Before Tony can continue to argue with Bucky, F.R.I.D.A.Y. calls him away for a meeting, leaving you and Bucky in the lab alone. “Sergeant Barnes, you didn’t have to do that. Those reports should have been done anyway; it was my fault.” How pathetic is it to have someone you hardly know see your faults.

“He shouldn’t be talking to you like that, doll. You’re only one person and you're doing your best.” He’s a lot closer to you now and you can smell his cologne, making your head feel all fuzzy. “Thank you for helping me with my arm, too.”

“Thank you for letting me, Sergeant, I know that was difficult for you.” You’re looking up at him through your thick frames, eyes larger than they actually are, bags under your eyes, but Bucky thinks you’ve never been prettier. Or maybe it’s because he’s never seen you up close, but you are the most gorgeous woman he’s ever seen, 40’s or not.

“Call me Bucky.”

After that, Bucky was in the lab almost everyday. For a while he would claim to have some strange ailment until you told him that he didn’t have to feign injury to visit, which made him blush. He would spend his lunch in the lab, making sure that you were eating, too. Bucky is a very observant man, and on his trips to the lab, before he first talked to you, he would see how overworked you were and how you barely ate. 

He made it his mission to keep you well fed and get you out of the lab at a decent hour, giving a death glare to agents trying to drop off samples after a certain hour. 

Outside of the lab, Bucky was your only friend at the compound; although, he’s never hand fed Steve in bed while watching old movies. Bucky felt comfortable around you, even more so than with Steve. Bucky and you had a special bond - he would confide in you when you would both be awake at the unholy hours of night and you would do the same. He trusted you not to tell anyone else and, to him, it was easier to talk to you than Steve.

Steve had a tendency to look at Bucky as if he was a sick puppy, and Bucky hated that, he hated the pity. He didn’t want to be treated like precious glass, and you allowed him to be vulnerable without making him feel like he was falling apart.

Some nights you both would fall asleep in bed together and wake up entangled, those nights were Bucky’s favorites. You were so soft and even though you were so much smaller than him, you made him feel safe and protected. His sweet doll in his bed, keeping the nightmares away. 

He loved the way you would squint and search for your glasses on the stand next to the bed, whining when you accidentally knocked them to the floor, or stabbed yourself in the eye trying to put them on. 

The entire dynamic of your friendship changed one night. Bucky doesn’t know who moved first, but the two of you kissed, and Bucky can’t remember kisses ever being so good. The two of you only kissed that night, nothing further, but it was the best night that either of you had in a long while. From that day on, he was your old man and you were his old lady.

You both decided to keep your relationship a secret for the time being. You didn’t want the other lab techs to think you were getting special treatment and Bucky didn’t want to deal with the teasing from Sam or the questions from Steve. But Bucky loathed when he would be forced by Steve to join movie nights, alone, without you. Steve wanted what was best for his friend so he would force Bucky to get out more; little did Steve know that Bucky had the best girl waiting for him to come over.

He could tell that you were let down whenever he had to participate in “team bonding.” You wanted to be valued by the team, yet you understood why they never invited you; you weren’t an Avenger, just a lowly lab tech. Nonetheless, it broke Bucky’s heart to see you so despondent, which is why he asked you to join the next movie night, team be damned.

“Come on, doll, it will be fun. I promise.” Bucky holds you close to his chest, laying down next to you under the covers. You roll over, naked chest to naked chest, body still shaking, and bury your face in his neck, breathing him in.

“I’m not even a part of the team, Jamie. What will all your teammates think, huh? The great Bucky Barnes and the weird lab tech: A perfect match. No, they won’t.” Bucky gently grabs both sides of your face, both metal and flesh warm from previous activities, and makes you look him in the eye. 

He’s a little blurry since you aren’t wearing your glasses. The lenses would smush against your face everytime he would kiss you with anything more than a chaste kiss, and Bucky Barnes is a passionate kisser in bed. At your slight squint, he pulled you closer to his face so you could see him clearly; blue eyes holding nothing but the utmost love and devotion.

“I don’t give a damn what the team thinks, you hear me? You are my doll and I want to show you off. My sweet little lab tech who’s too kind for her own good. Let them all know how perfect you are.” Your resolve is crumbling like it does every time he looks at you. It is an overwhelming feeling, being the light of someone’s life, being showered with so much love you feel like you can’t breathe, but each breath fills up your lungs with joy and hope.

Bucky nuzzles his nose against yours and you both know you’ll say yes. You’d follow him to the ends of the earth, just as he would for you. “Okay, Jamie, I will, for you.”

Movie night is a week later and you’re on Bucky’s lap where he sits on the recliner. It’s his unofficial seat whenever Steve forces him to these things, stuck in the corner of the room away from everyone else with no seat next to him. At first, no one notices you on Bucky’s lap, curled up into him with tangled limbs not able to tell where Bucky begins and you end. 

Steve is the first to notice, doing a double take at the extra bulk in Bucky’s seat, and just as Bucky is observant, so is Steve. Steve had a suspicion that there was something more to Bucky’s disappearances during lunch and the extra food he would take after dinner. Steve just smiles to himself and faces the movie once more, every so often glancing back at the two lovebirds in their own world.

Bucky has no clue what movie they are watching, his sole focus is on you. You had a long day in the lab, yet you held true to your word to join movie night with him, but being curled up in Bucky’s arms was your favorite place to be and before long you were sound asleep, holding onto his metal arm, using it as a pillow. As gently as he could, Bucky took off your glasses and put them atop his head, falling asleep himself before the movie was halfway over.

Sam was the second to notice, and let the rest of the team know as well. “OH. MY. GOD. Tony, where is my phone? I can’t believe this.” The rest of the team look at each other in confusion, following Sam’s line of sight, they see you wrapped up in Bucky’s arms, the both of you sound asleep. 

“Is that…Glasses?” Comes from Tony.

“She’s so cute!” Slips from Wanda.

“Who’s Glasses?” is followed by a slap from Nat with a hissed “Thor, shut up, they’re sleeping!”

“Tony, my phone! I need evidence.”

“Terminator’s getting laid?”

“We’re watching Indiana Jones, Stark.” 

“Thor, inside voice, we’ve talked about this.”

The teasing from the team is endless the next day, but Bucky doesn’t have it in him to care, he has his sweetheart by his side and they know better than to provoke Bucky. Coincidentally, Tony offers to take some of his samples back to test them himself; Bucky insists that he must have had a change of heart, you don’t believe it for one second, but Bucky will never admit to anything. After all, he has to take care of his sweet girl. 

[hana-no-seiiki]

Hi, i dont know your request are still open, but. Maybe Arlecchino! reader? where the batfam first time met them, they think she is a enemy? (well she is actually, idk) by her mysterious manner? they know her from Damian, who is friends with Lyney and Lynette. Damian never met with reader. But, one day. Lyney and Lynette is been bring to the Wayne Manor by Damian. For a simple dinner, yes. They tell that they are orphans that live in a orphanage named "House of Hearth" at France.

They come to Gotham for study. And yes, Bruce feels sympathy for them (actually want to adopt them.). Well thats just an idea he have in his mind. But, now. Bruce interested as they said that "Father" which is reader is a woman. And lucky, Reader is at Gotham for some "business", Bruce added that he like to make this "Father" came to have dinner with them tommorow.

(Fatui Harbinger is a netral organisation. Yet, still indeed dangerous. They only search something important for their own fortune, maybe like a mafia or something?)

Anyway. When the Batfam met with Reader, they cant help. But find, reader is.. Strange, and mysterious. But cant help by their charming aura. And, why is reader suddenly accept the offer to met with the Batfam? because, she want to make sure about her guess that Bruce Wayne is the Infamous Batman. (okay, maybe the fatui harbinger have some issues with the superheros ig). As Batman was the one who failed her mission for seeking a Hydro gem. She managed to escape of course.. (Idk, its your choice to finish the rest of it, im already fucked up to think the rest of it.)

Anyway, love your writing. I mean, the things i imagened of batfam have a crossover with genshin or hsr became true by you. I never found a writer that made such a Batfam x Genshin/Hsr/Honkai impact one like you. Maybe later make a Ada Wong! reader x Batfam? Im sorry if i have a lot things to say. Thank you for reading this shitty words of mine. Rest well, may God bless you. 💕💕💕💕💕💕

omfg i was just about to start a draft on Arlecchino reader!!! but i wanted to wait for when our dear Father is out first so I can read her story, etc.

I’ll save the bulk of my ideas/fic for when I fully know her lore but this is what I got from the story quest.

The name Arlecchino was the most people got from digging information on you.

You were this mysterious entity among the notorious Fatui Harbingers. Neither vengeful nor greedy. Nor were you ever known to actively seek out blood outside of the Tsaritsa’s orders.

Your priority has and will always been the House of Hearth. Your children. You were never too far from them.

After one of the relics your master told you to obtain was destroyed, you were to punished by being forced to help with the next acquisition. The Crown of the Pyro Clan.

You were stationed in East America. Particularly Gotham for investigation.

An ordinary Wayne Ent. office worker by the day, mafia capo causing havoc by night.

You weren’t really taking your job seriously, so you were soon caught by Gotham’s finest.

And soon after that, their obsession.

God is Tim such a great pair for Arlecchino reader tho. I already see him drooling all over them-

[fukcnoplease]

Things always go wrong pt5

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 Pt4

 The man immediately rushed to correct her, tripping over his words as his hands moved wildly, too fast for her to see. Dani knew this wasn't any kind of kidnapping or imprisonment. They couldn't catch her if they tried, not without ghost equipment, but it was kind of fun to mess with this giant of a man. Who clearly had super speed as his hands and words began to go so fast she couldn't understand either. Concerning, sure, but not enough to thwart her thirst for chaos or the urge to poke fun at this seemingly superpowered teddy bear. 

“Am I gonna die here?” She asked, putting on her best scared kitten act. The man froze as he made an interesting set of noises in response to Dani’s question. She wasn't entirely sure they could be made by humans but she wasn't too worried. Her vague understanding of the superheroes around the world did mean she knew at least a few aliens existed in their ranks. She didn't know any of them by name though.

“I hope you understand that no one, no one, on this station would ever try and harm you.” The man said after taking a deep breath. A little rich since Batman had only recently tried to stick them in a lab but it was the thought that counted she supposed. He seemed to get more uncomfortable if she just stared at him silently though, so she kept silent in her scared little kitten act. Honestly it was kind of a riot seeing the man panic over things she knew were unimportant.

“Look! I’ll bring you to Batman and he can explain everything. How about that?” He said and Dani frowned. Batman likely wouldn't be as much of a help as Wonder Woman but if this guy wasn't going to bring her to the lasso lady then might as well go to Batman. Maybe she could even convince him to let her leave. 

Dani nodded, shyly as she could muster, at the big man and he relaxed. He went to pick her up but she stepped away, not even as an act, and he fumbled with his hands before nodding briskly and turning towards a hallway. She followed him a little ways in a big meeting room, extra long dining table with too many chairs and another big, massive computer at the end of the room. It was a little scary how many way too fancy computers Dani had come across in only 24 hours. 

Well, only two, but that was still more than the average person would in their lifetime.

Batman stood at the computer and typed at a raised keyboard. Dani had seen Jazz use a stand up desk, she said it was good for back posture and stress. She always talked about how posture was important and how it could affect you when you were older. Probably didn't mean much with ghost genetics so Dani never cared. 

“BR-” The red caped crusader almost shouted as he walked in but was cut off by something hitting him directly in the forehead. He cried out when it exploded in his face as well. Dani would be lying if she said it didn't make her flinch, which is why she didn't say anything.

“Batman.” The man said again, rubbing his blackened forehead, “I wanted you to explain to- well, this child? That she was not in danger while on the station nor that she was kidnapped or imprisoned.” 

Batman looked at the man then at Dani and scowled. Now that Dani was feeling better, and a little distracted from her brother dying, she started to notice how rude Batman was. He always scowled whenever they interacted and while she wasn't the best person in the world she certainly wasn't that bad. Well, not according to her anyway. “I want to leave.” She said. The caped man, she was really struggling not to just call him Teddy, looked shocked at her sudden firmness but Batman just stared her down. She racked her brain for a way to sound regal and vague when Batman cut her off with a simple answer. “No.” He said. “What?” She and Teddy said in unison. “No. Its been established that you are not safe on earth. We had medical bays if you need them and we have yet to confirm your royal status. There are heroes on the way to help with that. You will stay here.” He said. Dani could feel her ectoplasm churn and her core thrum with anger. “You don't have the right to refuse me passage back to earth. My allies can aid me more than you can and I will force my way to them if I need to.” She growled. Batman’s scowl only deepend. “There is no way we can confirm your allies are safe and until we can confirm your status you are as much of an unknown threat as they are. The Watchtower has all the facilities needed to help you. You will stay here.” Batman said before turning back to the computer. Dani was fuming, if Danny wasnt potentially withering away in another room she would have destroyed this place. “Batman, I know you feel the need to protect them but they are just kids. Can't we at least hear them out?” Teddy said and Dani felt immensely grateful for him. Maybe she would even lighten up on her bullying. Maybe.

“Kids can be more dangerous.” Was all Batman said and Teddy huffed.

“Yours, maybe, but we can't hold every kid to the standard of a robin, can we?” Teddy said and Batman finally looked back at him.

“Not every kid is a meta either.” He said and went back to work. Dani could feel Teddy flex as he grew more agitated.

“Batman.” He said lowly, and Dani instinctively took a step away from him. Batman didn't respond, but he did pause at where he was typing. There was a silence before the clack of keys started up again. Teddy took a deep breath before pressing something on his wrist, a light flashed red and he spoke into it. “Wonder Woman? Can you please come to the main meeting room? There is a young child who wishes to be escorted home.” He said. Dani looked as shocked as Batman did but she recovered faster. “Thank you!” She cried as she launched at Teddy and hugged his neck. He stiffened in shock but relaxed quickly enough to hug her back before she pulled away.

“Superman.” Batman said, he sounded angry but not enough to concern Dani. She did spin to do a double take at Teddy though.

“Wait, Superman? You’re superman?” She asked incredulously as she looked the man up and down. His costume made sense for the name, both the S on the front and the absurdity of it. “Yes?” Superman said, confused by why Dani was so surprised, “Did you not recognize me?” “Well, I guess I just expected Superman to look more… I don't know. Super?” She said. Someone laughed from the entryway and they turned to see Wonder Woman laughing at the doorway. “Praytell, how did you think he would look?” The woman laughed as she entered the room. Batman gave a grunt but was ignored in favor of the child now deep in thought. “I guess like, red skin? Fire hair? Maybe extra arms?” She said, “A cooler outfit?” Superman looked like a wounded puppy at her words and she felt a little bad. Wonder Woman started laughing again and quickly closed the distance between them, which Dani was surprisingly OK with.

“I suppose that truly would have been super,” She chuckled before composing herself, “Now what was this about a child wanting to go home?” Batman stepped forward this time. Dani felt the humor wash out of her as she glared down the man now officially holding her prisoner. “Until royal status can be confirmed both the metas will be staying on the Watchtower until further notice.” He said. Wonder Woman hummed as she looked at him, hip cocked in a friendly but challenging stance.

“And you?” She addressed Dani and Dani fumbled to find the right words. Batman couldnt look more sour if he tried.

“My friends are in Gotham, they can help more than you can but I need to get to them.” Dani managed as Wonder Woman watched her. It didnt feel as challenging or doubtful as it did when she was looking at Batman but it was still intimidating. “I see. And would you let us meet your friends?” She asked. Dani blinked. She hadnt thought of that. If they were in Gotham they would end up on Batmans turf regardless so the chances of him meeting the phantom gang was already pretty high. If they initiated though, maybe it would be easier when they eventually cause problems in the city? Or it would be worse because Batman would already know where to find them. “I can ask.” Dani said as she pulled out her phone from her torso, which shocked the heroes present. As Dani began typing, Wonder Woman turned to Batman. “I appreciate your desire to ensure there wasn't a dimensional war threat but there is an ill royal ambassador. Having an ambassador die under our care would have a similar effect to attacking them directly. Especially if we were denying them what could be life saving treatment.” She said. Batman grunted and stepped away from Dani, creating a small circle of just the heroes. Too far for normal hearing perhaps, but not for Dani’s enhanced hearing. “We have a medical bay on the Watchtower.” He grumbled and Wonder woman sighed. “Yes, but we cannot force them to use it. If they wish to use their own medicine that is their choice. Especially since we know nothing about them.” She scolded. Dani could have sworn Batman almost winced at her words. She sped up typing.

TravelerOfWorlds

Ok so 1) the heroes want to meet you guys

2) I think Wonder Woman is my favorite hero

3) Batman is my least favorite hero

EcoTerrorist

Why do the heroes want to meet us?

TravelerOfWorlds

Unclear. I think its just to establish you are real and not going to kill us.

EcoTerrorist

We are real. Depends on what Danny did to end up more dead.

But I am willing to meet a hero if thats what it takes to get Danny here.

TravelerOfWorlds

As in just one?

EcoTerrorist

As in just one. 

And only if we get Danny first.

Dani squinted at the screen and sighed. She had lost where the heroes conversation was going but that just made it easier to interrupt.

“Excuse me?” Dani waited for Wonder Woman to hold a hand up to silence the arguing men as she turned to Dani and nodded for her to continue. “My… allies decided that they are willing to meet one hero. Just one. And only if my ambassador gets dropped off first.” Batman grunted but it was Wonder Woman who stepped up to talk. “Would you be willing to settle for a hero helping you drop off the ambassador?” she asked and Dani nodded.

“Yeah, I think that will work. They just need to get to the ambassador as soon as possible. I dont think they care about much more than that.” Dani said. Batman shifted behind Wonder Woman and Superman glared at him.

“Thats fine then. Do you know where you need to be dropped off?” Wonder woman asked and Dani sent another quick text asking for the address before nodding. “Somewhere in Gotham. I have the address if that helps.” Dani said. Wonder Woman paused thoughtfully before smiling, a bit too wide. “Well, Batman knows Gotham the best. Im sure he can help you and I think it would be best if he was the one to meet your friends. If your staying in Gotham, its probably best to know the local hero you can call upon.” She said. Dani scrunched her nose and Batman scowled. There was no way Dani was going to be asking Batman for help. Not if she had anything to say about it. 

Except she didnt, because just as she was about to argue a crackling static filled the air around them. It sounded like tv static but layered underneath was the high pitch keen of electricity and a faint scream. Dani would recognize Danny’s ghost speech anywhere and was moving before any of the league had recovered from hearing the eerie sound. 

Batman was first to recover, closely followed by Wonder woman and Superman as they followed the young, alleged monarch through the hallways of the watchtower. Dani didnt struggle to find her way back to the small room, Danny’s call for her being something of a homing beacon.

She slammed her hand on the keypad and the door opened to a tangled-in-sheets Danny who was face planted half off the bed. When he saw her the keen of electricity shifted into the pops and bangs of fuses blowing and he reached a hand for her.

She was quick to grab it and help him back onto the bed, untangling him as her own ghost speech layered on his. Her static overlayed with the sound of bubbles escaping liquid and splashes of something more viscous than water.

Once Danny had her in eyesight and her hand in his he started to calm down. The static dimmed and eventually stopped but he never stopped looking at Dani. It would be disconcerting if Dani wasnt freaking out about Danny using his ghost speech so publicly. 

Some weaker ghosts used ghost speech regularly because it took less energy than projecting feelings core to core, distinct words were even more taxing, but Danny was powerful. He was the King of the Infinite Realms. He hated broadcasting the sounds of his death and he always had the energy to project entire paragraphs into someone's core. 

“We need to get him to Gotham now.” Dani said and she moved to try to pick Danny up but was pulled back by Wonder Woman. She wanted to growl or hiss or something but Batman was already moving to pick up Danny, who was still carefully watching his little sister.

Dani moved quickly to stay with Batman as he made his way to the boom tubes. Behind them she caught the barest whispers between Wonder Woman and Superman.

“He is an impressive warrior. He never let his gaze waver, even in such a state.” Wonder Woman commented. 

“Still worrying. With all the powers she has casually shown, I have to wonder what got him in such a state in the first place.” Superman added. Dani lost the conversation as they moved away and towards the metal cones.

The journey back was moderately better than the journey there, especially now that she knew what to expect. She still made sure to grip Danny’s hand tightly and send comforting thrums to his core as they passed through.

His eyes flashed a brighter green and he shuddered when they exited the swirling vortex but that was all and Dani was going to count that as a win.

The crazy batcar rolled up in front of them before they had even stepped off the boom tube platform and the doors popped open. Batman carefully put Danny in the back and Dani climbed in after him. The doors closed as Batman got situated in the drivers seat and they were off. Down the same path they used to enter, the crazy bat cave shrinking behind them until it was swallowed by the darkness of the tunnel.

Batman didnt pull up any directions for the address, didnt even give it a second look, he just drove in silence, which Dani was grateful for. She didnt have much choice but to go with him since Danny needed help sooner rather than later and arguing with Batman would have taken too much time. Time that Danny desperately needed. It didnt mean Dani had to be happy about it though.

They exited the tunnels into the dingy light of a clouded sky, blinding Dani. Huge gothic buildings towered around them, modern skyscrapers awkwardly built in between the historical stone. It was actually kind of endearing. The mish mosh of styles and buildings and the giant gargoyles on every building. If it was under different circumstances Dani might have loved visiting Gotham.

As it were they pulled into an alley next to a nicer skyscraper, one that was clearly trying to bridge the gap between modern and historic. Batman parked by the dumpsters and went to pick up Danny. “I can carry him.” Dani said, pulling the dazed halfa towards herself. Batman paused, a frown permanently pasted on his face, but stepped back. He moved to the nearby staff entrance and opened the door for Dani. After some cajoling and awkward shifting, she had Danny in a piggyback hold. It wasnt the most comfortable but after a few years Danny had stopped being the small teen and grown into a lanky young adult. Sure he weighed nothing to Dani but his awkward length made him unruly to carry with her smaller body. She still wasnt going to let Batman carry him though so she could suck it up.

The door was clearly a staff entrance so Dani was a little surprised it had been left unlocked but elected to not focus on that. Batman led them through the staff walkways and to the elevators, thankfully no one was around. Dani might have keeled over if someone had seen her getting into a fancy elevator with THE Batman. 

She might keel over just having to be in the fancy elevator with the Batman. It was a long elevator ride to experience in complete silence, excluding Batman’s breathing. Damn, Sam’s parents for getting them a penthouse on the top floors of a skyscraper.

~~~ Hey gang sorry for how long this took, lots of stuff happening hopefully the next bit will be out sooner than later

thanks for waiting and for all the positive feedback this isnt beta read so sorry about the grammar

[iamumbra195]

Ashlyn Spider-woman AUs are genuinely so funny because this girl would hate it so much.

She already has to deal with sensitive hearing now she has to worry about super strength, spider senses and sticky hands that only relax when she's calm which is like never because how on Earth is she supposed to calm down when she can punch through walls without breaking her arms and can practically sense everything within a mile-radius?!

The sensory overload would be painful as hell too.

If it was set in the canon universe, I think she'd tell her parents and they would all work together to figure out her powers. They'd probably use all the junk in the bus graveyard to gauge how much she could carry and how strong she was overall.

Over time, she'd probably get used to her powers, maybe even find some of them fun. Sticking to the ceiling and just chilling there for hours without all the blood rushing to her head was kinda nice and seeing her dad's reaction to her sticking to the ceiling for the first was entertaining. Plus, the powers made her even more flexible and she's into ballet. This girl would love being able to jump super high.

But she only really uses her powers at home where she feels like she doesn't need to hide it anymore. I don't think she'd feel the need to ever become a spider-woman. They'd managed just fine without her before and Alto was a pretty boring town. She wasn't a superhero anyway. I don't think her parents would ever want her to put herself in danger like that either. Plus, they don't their daughter to get attention from any unsavoury people or the government. They were both in the military after all. They knew how corrupt and messed up the government could be and they didn't want Ashlyn anywhere near it.

But then the new school year starts and there's a weird new kid that makes her senses prickle with unease. In fact, almost everything about her first day back at school makes her uneasy. The new kid. The shoe that almost took her head off. The new teacher. The field trip. The new kid.

Aiden just won't leave her alone and it was irritating. He was loud and talked too much as well. Still, her dad wanted her to give it a shot and it couldn't be that bad. It was just a field trip, she'd been to plenty of those.

Although the last field trip she went on was the reason she ended up with her superpowers... She really didn't want to go. Especially with Aiden constantly pestering her about it. Agreeing to go felt like losing. Urgh.

She ends up going and at first, it's not bad. All until a woman offers to give them a free tour of a 'haunted' house. Ashlyn doesn't want to go. Something about the whole situation was making her uneasy. But the others all wanted to go so she went with them. The uneasy feeling along with the phantom noises that kept getting louder made it even worse, sweat collecting in her palms and the urge to flee only getting stronger.

So when she sees that creature and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, she doesn't catch her reaction fast enough, hastily taking a few steps back.

"Ash?" Aiden said and there was a hint of concern in his voice. The others were all staring at her with varying looks on their faces, from concern to irritation. It wasn't real. She needed to calm down. It was just a hallucination. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

But what if it was, the paranoid voice in her mind whispered. She had superpowers, who's to say that demons or ghosts couldn't be real?

She shook the thought away, tearing her eyes away from the creature and taking a deep breath before turning back to her classmates. She was being ridiculous. "Sorry, I thought I saw some-"

She was paralyzed in place when she saw them staring past her with terrified expressions, senses blaring with warning as a cold, slippery hand wrapped around her arm.

It was real.

And it was right behind her.

[nitewrighter]

Re: Lois in episode 2, I don’t think Clark ever *told* Lois that all the Kryptonians are dead???? And the only experience she’s ever had with opening Kryptonian portals was immediate invasion. And if she doesn’t know that there aren’t really any left *to* invade? Her fear seems incredibly reasonable for the information she has.

This version of Clark can not communicate to save his life. And I think a big part of why Lois is constantly putting her foot in her mouth is because she’s going off half the information at any given time.

They both mean well, but their character flaws are bumping against each other in REALLY interesting ways and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Yeah no exactly! Like, we, as viewers, have had months to pore over details and imagine all the therapyspeak-riddled hurt/comfort conversations Clark should have with his friends (*cough* my closing Clois conversation in 'Scoops!', for example), but in the actual show, IT'S ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS SINCE THANKSGIVING AND EVERYONE IS SO CAUGHT UP IN OVERWHELMING SHIT THAT THEY BARELY HAVE TIME TO ARTICULATE THEIR OWN FEELINGS TO THEMSELVES, LET ALONE EACH OTHER. And also because Superman is such a big pop icon of course we as the viewers are more inclined to be like "Noooo Krypton's not eeeeevil! Clark, Lois, it's not eeeeeevil!"

And honestly--while I'm talking about Krypton--I've read enough Byrne and Bronze age comics where I'm in the space that I'm not completely opposed to a more messy and morally complex Krypton--I don't mind a Krypton that's as flawed as we are, and we're pretty fucking flawed! I feel like everyone's so inclined to view a problematic Krypton as like, "See! This writer is saying that Krypton had X, Y, Z problems, so this writer is arguing that it deserved to be blown up!" And it's like... no??? No one deserves to be blown up just because their society is flawed??? Have we not been paying attention to Superman, the "I do literally everything I can to protect Life regardless of how shitty and cruel it can be" superhero??? Do you not see Krypton's flaws as a natural exploration of sci-fi concepts because it's "a world of tomorrow?"

This is also why the YA House of El graphic novel duology is good, because it's basically two teens going, "Oh shit, Krypton's kind of Bene Gesserit'd itself into a corner--we got so caught up in creating a perfect society that we've actually created massive inequities" and it only makes them want to save their world more because they're made aware of how much they have to live for even outside the confines of societal expectations. Like--flaws in a person or in a society shouldn't instantly activate your "Kill it with fire" instincts--which I'm realizing probably has pretty heavy implications regarding the fact that Superman has heat vision--He can perceive and destroy in an instant, he can destroy through perception, but he makes the constant choice not to.

...this got off-track from your ask. Yeah I'm simultaneously looking forward to and bracing myself for the inevitable Clois drama this season.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Something something about Zoe admitting that she used to lie to make a friend's and end up losing them because of it.

Where do I ever hear of it?

Oh, right! Lila!

Before Chameleon Lila is just simply a liar, even Adrien(?) reasoned maybe it's because she want to fit in.

Funny how Marinette end up antagonize her while welcoming Zoe heartily and the only difference between them is only one of them has a crush on Adrien. Guess which one that Marinette made enemies of?

I agree that Zoe's backstory is similar to Lila's canon story, but you haven't given a fair assessment of the differences in their introductory episodes. It's not even necessarily fair to call them the same character. Zoe's lying is presented as her acting different to try to fit in. She's not telling major lies about her life to make herself stand out. The worst we get is stuff like this:

Chloé: (closes the door) Since your father isn't here, you'll use mine! If you become my sister, of course. Rule number two: you need a minion. Where's yours? Zoé: Uhhh, I left them…in New York!

Which is still enough to understandably turn someone off to Zoe, but it doesn't make her a Lila clone. Let's look at why that is.

Lila's intro has her actively coming up with very extreme lies that aren't about fitting it. They're about making her stand out! She doesn't want to be part of the crowd. She wants to be worshiped. Here are some quotes from the start of Volpina to give the flavor of lies we see from Lila:

Rose: Can you believe Lila knows Prince Ali? She even flew in his private jet with him! Chloé: Why did Jagged Stone write a song about Lila when he could've written it about me? Nino: Lila knows all of the Hollywood directors. She promised she'd mention me to Steven Basielberg himself! Marinette: (rushes back to Alya's side) Lila? Alya: Yeah, she just started at our school! (points to Lila, who's on the second floor of the school with Adrien) She even gave me an exclusive interview for the Ladyblog, 'cause Ladybug saved her life once! Watch! (shows Marinette the video of Lila on her blog)

It's worth noting that this exchange makes Marinette feel jealous and threatened, but she doesn't hate Lila. She's just afraid that Adrien will fall for the cool new girl. This leads her to follow Lila and Adrien into the school library where we get this:

Lila: So you've got a little soft spot for the bug, huh? Adrien: Me? Oh, no! Not at all! (The book cart moves closer to them, but is unnoticed.) Lila: You know I actually happen to be very close friends with Ladybug. (Adrien and Marinette both gasp.) Adrien: Really?!

This is where Marinette's hatred comes from and it's justified. This scene would play the exact same way no matter who Lila was talking to. Someone is using Marinette's name to get close to people. That would upset most of us. We also get this moment at the end of that same scene:

Adrien:(gets an alert from his phone) I gotta go! I've got a lesson in 58 seconds. (Lila causes Adrien to drop his bag on the floor) Lila: So, the park? (pushes the superhero book on the floor away from Adrien's bag with her foot) Adrien: Uh sure! (runs out) Lila:(picks up the book) A vixen superheroine? Hmm, interesting... (leaves the library) Tikki: Marinette! Marinette: I know. I gotta talk to Adrien before he meets up with Lila in the park. He needs to know that she's a total thief.

Once again, Marinette's feelings are extremely justified. Lila stole Adrien's book and will go on to toss it in the trash, showing that she never meant to return it, probably to avoid the risk of him thinking that she took it. These are two incredibly negative things for someone to witness and they're basically Marinette's first impression of Lila! Meanwhile, this was Marinette and Zoe's first interaction:

Marinette: Sorry I got held up here! (bumps into Zoé) Sabine: Is everyone all right? Marinette: Sorry, sorry, sorry! Zoé: It's totally okay, but maybe I should be asking if you're okay. That was quite a fall!

Very different. Not enough to justify Marinette trusting Zoe, but Marinette's hatred of Chloe combined with this initial good first impression are arguably enough for Marinette to be willing to hear Zoe out and give her a chance to prove herself. It's easy to be rude to service workers and Zoe wasn't, so I can see why Marinette would believe that Zoe isn't a manipulative monster especially since Zoe does apologize and promise to explain herself pretty quickly after the scene where she's rude to Marinette and Co:

(Zoé, sitting at the end of Chloé's bed, gets a text message as Chloé continues to search for shoes. She sees it is a message from Marinette, and reads.) Marinette: (voiceover) I can tell something is keeping you from being yourself. If it's Chloé, we can talk about it tonight, if you want. You're still welcome to come to the Barge. (Zoé texts Marinette back.) Zoé: (internal voiceover as she types) Sorry. I'll explain tonight. (sends the message, Marinette's picture and name pops up as she does)

It would be better if Zoe instigated this text exchange, but I don't hate this scene. I just think it's rushed and that Marinette should come across as more cautious about Zoe after everything that happened at the end of the last season. Marinette's actions here and conviction about her initial judgement of Zoe would make a lot more sense if they came in an earlier season, but this is a formula show, so that's probably playing a part in the awkwardness. Marinette isn't allowed to become more guarded, I guess...

If we go back to looking at Volpina, we find a very different type of story. After Marinette's terrible first impression of Lila, she watches the aforementioned Ladyblog interview off screen and gains even more reasons for her to be justifiably pissed at Lila, further cementing that bad first impression:

Ladybug: (sarcastically) Well hey Lila! How's it going? Long time no see. I saw your interview on the Ladyblog, awesome job. (puts her foot on the bench between Lila and Adrien, and leans closer to Lila) Oh sure! I remember our instant connection when I saved your life and we've been really good friends ever since! Practically BFF's! Uh actually, when did I save your life again, Lila? I don't recall. Oh yes! Of course, now I remember. Never! And we're not friends either! (to Adrien) Miss Show-Off here was trying to impress you and everyone around her.

We learn here that Lila didn't just claim that she was saved by Ladybug, which is honestly a pretty minor lie. Instead, she's once again claiming that they're close friends! Take out the Adrien complication and Marinette would still quickly start to hate Lila because Lila is using her name left and right and that's not okay! It's also not a minor thing.

The show is a little unclear about how seriously society takes the Ladyblog, but it's serious enough for Alya to be treated as an authority who is invited on talk shows as we saw in Prime Queen

Nadja: Don't be bemused, it's just the news! Hi, I'm Nadja Chamack, and this is Side by Side. Today, I'm joined by Alya Césiare, who created the Ladyblog! Together, we'll be looking back over Cat Noir and Ladybug's greatest feats.

The Ladyblog is also the resource that Felix uses to research the miraculous. So it's fair to say that the Ladyblog is not an unknown news source. At the very least, it's being treated as a true authority on all things Ladybug and Alya is getting serious public attention, which means that Lila's little interview is probably going to be treated seriously by a significant portion of society since it's coming from the Ladyblog.

Ladybug would be well within her rights to have Alya publish a retraction. In fact, it's super weird that Ladybug didn't do that and is one of the many reasons why I hate Volpina. The episode completely justifies almost everything Marinette does and then tries to present her actions as being in the wrong by having Adrien chastise her:

Adrien:(to Lila, who is crying) So I guess you aren't the descendant of a superhero either? Ladybug: She's more like a super liar. Lila: How dare you?! Adrien: Wait! Lila! (Lila runs away) Hey, what was that all about? Uh, I mean, weren't you kinda harsh with her? Ladybug: I...I don't put up with lies, especially when they're about me. (yo-yos away)

Which does eventually lead to Ladybug apologizing to Lila:

Ladybug: I... totally overreacted and... never should've spoken to you like that. I'm sorry.

No you didn't overreact! Writers, why are you telling kids that it's wrong to confront people who are lying about you? How should the Lila problem have been addressed if confronting her is wrong? It's not like she stops lying after this or like the show treats her as a minor threat. She's literally the new main villain and her eventual outing to the class is way more dramatic than this, so how was Marinette in the wrong here? Why did the writers have Adrien chastise her?

I've seen people justify Adrien's reaction here as him viewing Lila like a gossip rag spreading lies. To be fair, that's a valid way to make his actions make sense. The best course of action for the lies in those things IS to ignore them because no one with a brain is going to treat a gossip rag as a credible source.

However, the Ladyblog is not treated like a gossip rag and Lila wasn't just spreading rumors for quick cash. She was actively manipulating Adrien and has claimed authority via a reputable news outlet. The appropriate response to that kind of misinformation IS a retraction. It IS appropriate for Ladybug to do something here. If anything, Ladybug was being quite tame! She had a mostly private confrontation with Lila and then let the matter died for some reason. If it were me, I'd be telling the world that I don't know this woman and to not believe a word she says!

If anyone should have learned a lesson in this episode, it's Adrien. He needed to learn the difference between gossip rag lies and lies that you actually need to address, which is frankly a good lesson for a sheltered teen celebrity to learn! It makes sense that he wouldn't know what to do here, but the show treats this as him being in the right and I hate it! Him guilting Ladybug into staying quiet is why Lila is able to maintain her power for 4 more seasons.

Alya could also stand to learn a lesson on checking her sources. It's not like she never runs into Ladybug. Just hold off on posting the interview for a few days.

Circling back to the original ask: if Lila was telling the kind of minor lies that we see from Zoe, then I'd agree that this was a case of hypocrisy, but that's not what we see. It's also why I never really bought the whole, "Lila is just tying to fit in" excuse. Those are not the sort of lies you tell if you're trying to fit in! They're way too extreme!

While I'm not a fan of Zoe's character, her initial lies match the story she tells about wanting to fit in. Lila, on the other hand, feels like someone with an agenda. What that agenda is I do not know, but she clearly has one and she's had it from day one. It's really not weird that Marinette came to hate Lila while she was willing to give Zoe a second chance. The characters were set up in a way where that is an understandable response for her character even if you remove Adrien from the equation.

There are many episodes that make Marinette look terrible. Neither of these make that list. The only questionable thing Marinette does is follow Adrien and Lila into a public library and listen in on their conversation. I'm not going to call that good behavior, but it's hard to be too critical when it's clearly only there because the writers needed Marinette to overhear the lies to kick off the rest of the episode. I personally would have just had Marinette be in the library already and accidentally overhear her alter ego's name, leading her to listen in, but that's not drastically different than what we actually got so it's hard for me to get too worked up over the writers going the dramatic route. That's what they always do. The show relies heavily on absurdity so it make sense for Marinette overhearing the conversation to be done in the most absurd way possible.

[natrogersfics]

The Anthology - Chapter 1: The Bolter

Artwork by @faith2nyc Read on AO3

His place, as it turns out. More out of proximity than anything else. And despite Natasha’s blood humming contentedly in her veins as she nestles underneath the sheets later that night, sleep doesn’t quite manage to find her. She looks away from the shadows dancing across the ceiling and turns to the space next to her, where Steve is slumbering peacefully. One side of his face is burrowed into his pillow, but it doesn’t matter. Somehow, underneath the moonlight streaming through the liminal space between the curtains, cutting through the darkness of his bedroom, he manages to look even more beautiful. Surrendering to the urge to reach across what little distance remains between them, she lets her fingers brush away the rogue strands of hair that have fallen over his forehead. The action elicits a blissful sigh from him as he stirs ever so slightly, and she doesn’t miss the way that makes her heart feel as though it’s a little too big for her chest.

This wasn’t the plan. When the directors had suggested that they spend more time together – allow the chemistry to blossom, they had said – they hadn’t agreed to anything more than afternoon coffees in the name of, as the panel’s mediator had put it, movie magic. And if either of them expected anything more, it’s not as though anything could really come of this anyway. He’s America’s sweetheart, the current darling of the industry and the face of the hottest superhero franchise. Tarnishing that image would be a crime – especially by her hands. Only those coffees had quickly turned into dinners in each other’s rentals. Which seamlessly paved the way for late night chats over bottles of wine that never quite made it into glasses. And before either of them realized, they were hooked on the taste of Bordeaux on each other’s lips. But even as reaching for each other in the middle of the night had started to become so automatic it was practically a reflex, she never thought it would turn into… well, this. This was only supposed to be fun, a harmless outlet for the relentless pressure that came with headlining a blockbuster. Nothing more. There was never supposed to be any reverence in this. At least, not in the way Steve touched her, setting her skin alight as he got to know every single inch of it as if it were his own. Nor was it supposed to be in the way he looked at her, his blue eyes baring into hers and seeing past seemingly every façade she’s spent years carefully crafting. But it’s there, its presence as glaring as the sun on a cloudless morning that even she can’t convince herself otherwise. Above all else, though, she was never supposed to reciprocate any of that. Not willingly, anyway. She could chalk up knowing that he can only take his coffee if it’s piping hot and that he can’t stand the taste of pickles to the many hours spent on set together, but what of the rest? She had no excuse for revealing to him, truthfully, the meaning behind the tattoos on her skin when he had asked – close to dozing off as he was. Or the vitriol that burns deep within her each time she hears the invasive questions the press directs at him, shamelessly trying to pry into what little of his life he doesn’t share with the world. Perhaps most egregious, though, is how sometimes, she catches herself wishing that here, next to him, is truly her place. That, when the sets are taken down and the shutters are placed back on all the lenses, she could still, at the end of the day, watch him dream.

Which is what she’s doing now, it seems. Fuck. The realization runs through her like a freight train, and it’s as though for a moment, the breath gets caught in her lungs. For this feeling, it’s one she knows well. One she’s felt before, one too many times, if the entire world were to have their say. And while the bruises from those times were solely metaphorical, she still knows where they are, and can still feel where they once marked her. A sudden flash in the dark breaks her reverie, and it’s almost in relief that she shifts to her side to reach for her phone on the bedside table, her lungs finally remembering how to function as she breathes in. On the screen, an email from her agent catches her eye. To: nromanoff@redroomagency.com From: mvostokoff@redroomagency.com Subject: URGENT

www.thedailystar.com/castmates-or-more - You don’t need this right now. Neither of you do.

Melina Vostokoff Head of Talent, Red Room Agency 310.168.0098

Her eyebrows furrow as she taps on the link and watches as it opens up her browser.

THE SOLDIER & THE SPY: ROMANCE ON SET

Love is in the air… but is it for who we think it is?

When Marvel Studios had announced that Captain America and Black Widow would be teaming up in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the long-awaited next installment to the studio’s burgeoning superhero franchise, fans were elated at the possibility of seeing the world’s first Super Soldier finally find his match in the reformed assassin. And while details of the movie’s plot are still being kept under wraps, it appears that regardless of what happens when the movie hits the big screen in the Summer, people may just get the sizzling romance they were seeking.

Costars Steve Rogers, 29, and Natasha Romanoff, 32, who play Captain America and Black Widow respectively, were recently seen having dinner at celebrity hotspot, Nobu Los Angeles. While they had arrived separately, a picture captured of Romanoff driving her onyx Corvette out the parking garage with Rogers in the passenger seat confirmed that the pair had left together at the end of the evening.

“They’ve definitely grown closer since filming began,” an anonymous on-set source tells The Daily Star. “They enjoy each other’s company and it’s not surprising to find them together during downtime. At least not to the people on set.”

Though Rogers hasn’t been linked to anyone in recent months, Romanoff’s divorce from Matt Murdock, star of the Daredevil television series on Disney+, was finalized in the Spring of last year. Prior to marrying the silver screen star, though, Romanoff, who rose to fame taking on roles as enigmatic ingenues in various acclaimed independent films, and who has twice been voted Maxim’s Sexiest Woman Alive, was also married to renowned surgeon, Stephen Strange, earlier on in her career.

The Daily Star has reached out to both Rogers’ and Romanoff’s representatives for comment but did not receive a response prior to this article’s publication.

What do you think of a potential romance between these two costars? Sound off below in the comments!

She knows better by now. Truly, she does. She was a mere child when she entered this industry. Back then, it did no good for anyone to look through the tabloid opinion pages when they were merely in print, and it’s even more deleterious now that anyone could fire off their hot take for the world to see. Even so, like a moth to a flame, she finds herself scrolling further down the page.

HannahLovesCap1918: if he’s wise he’ll stay away from this Maneater!!!!!!!!!!

_sarah_: Husband #3 already in her web, I see!

marvelloverr: Does she never not hang onto the next hot thing?

sophiaxxrogers: it’s giving engagement ring collector fr fr 💀

She stops there, but it doesn’t matter. Every headline written about her begins to flash through her mind like a highlight reel of every mistake she’s ever made, perceived or otherwise. And with a career that’s spanned as long as hers has, that list is lengthy – a ledger gushing with enough red to drown even those who claim to be unfazed by it. The reminder reawakens the pain that’s since dulled but found a permanent home deep in her bones nonetheless, quickly consuming the bubbly effervescence that occupied her mere moments ago, and if that isn’t reason enough to have her bolting out of bed, one final glance at the man sleeping next to her certainly is.

Prologue | Chapter 2

[michimonie]

I don't know, maybe it seemed to me, but for some reason Scrooge McDuck interacts with Daisy even better than with Donald sometimes... In old and modern stories, there are many examples of their friendship, and even confrontation, because of many things, such as Donald. Maybe McDuck sees something yours in her?

I can see that. There have been quite a few times where, for some reason or another, Daisy either has to prove herself or just accidentally does something amazing. A comic I was reading again recently was Uncle Scrooge IDW #39, where Daisy basically takes Donald's place in the adventure.

One part of that might come from the fact that (and people can totally correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of what Donald does goes unseen (PK, Double Duck, etc...) and the stuff that Scrooge does end up seeing isn't a lot compared to how much he thinks his nephew is "lazing around."

In contrast, (from what I've seen) Daisy, tends to have a more "go-getter" attitude, and often encounters Scrooge either through work or while planning something. She tends to have something going on or a goal in mind.

For a visual example, here's a possible idea of what Scrooge sees:

Graphs showing Scrooge thinking of Daisy as someone who works a lot, and Donald as someone who rests often.

Meanwhile, the reality is probably more like this:

Graphs now showing Family, Other (superhero, spy, hobbies, etc...), Work, and Rest. A more balanced schedule than before.

Definitely take my little doodle graphs with a metaphorical grain a salt, but I can see this being a big problem.

There are comics I wanted to mention, but couldn't find. They also showcase skills he probably sees often in Daisy:

One comic with Daisy chasing Scrooge across the globe, finding him no matter where he went and saving him from trouble, all so she could have the right to write his biography.

Another story featured scrooge going missing for a day so Daisy took over. When he was found in a chute and rescued, he saw what "terrible" decisions she had made, only to find moments later (through her added thoughts) that the decisions were making him more cash than ever. He was so impressed that he decided to keep her close (for fear that she might take his job someday!)

(If someone knows where to find these, or the titles, feel free to comment or reblog them!)

Whether Donald can do these things or not, he doesn't really have any reason or desire, so Scrooge never sees it happen.

I would also like to add that, while Donald is highly capable, it seems like he complains a lot more than Daisy, which could (unfortunately) give off a more "unwilling" or "lazy" feeling/vibe. For instance, the comic in the beginning of this post has Daisy in a whole adventure and I believe she doesn't complain even once (sassy, sure, but no complaints). In fact, she spends a good amount of that adventure excited.

Sorry for the longer answer! There's a lot to be said about this subject, and this is probably as much as I can add. If anyone else has thoughts or related comics to add, feel free to add to this. (I'm still pretty new to Disney Ducks)

[drgarrisonandpaul]

Random Quincy Headcanons

MINORS DNI, SOME OF THESE ARE NSFW

I'm only doing this because I'm bored and I love them, but sadly, I'm not well-researched on all of them so I may be objectively or subjectively wrong on some of these takes. I am very open to criticism if you think I may have mischaracterized your faves <3

Quilge makes it a point to ACTIVELY avoid Mask De Masculine. He hates the guy, thinks he's too loud and too excited about... well... everything

Despite this, Quilge does have a weird soft spot for James and can sometimes be found sharing food and/or conversation with the little dude when no one is looking. He doesn't have many moments of vulnerability, seeing as he's a cruel conqueror in an army of Quincy warlords that revels in the murder of others and hates anything small, pathetic, or weak. The only reason James is exempt from this is because he truly doesn't see the little man as 'weak' in the first place

Quilge also has a sweet tooth, but it isn't universal. Don't just throw Valentine chocolate at him, they're not bougie enough. He's extra, he wants lavish pastries that take hours to make

Askin is the same way, big bougie sweet tooth ^ ^ ^

Mask De Masculine isn't a loyalist, he's just a really strong Quincy that really likes fighting. He couldn't care less about the empire, he just wants to beat the ever-living shit outta people. Now, that isn't to say he doesn't agree with the GOALS of the empire, because he does, which is why he sees himself in a justice-driven, superhero sort of light.

Nanana is one of those people that walk quietly without trying and he consistently spooks everyone. Sometimes mid-conversation

He spooked Yhwach once. Once.

Uryu is TERRIFIED of Gremmy. I think most people are terrified of Gremmy

Honestly, I think Uryu is spooked by a good portion of the Sternritters, but especially Gremmy... and Giselle

Speaking of Giselle, she has a collection of Pop figurines and has definitely made custom ones of all the Sternritters and can be found acting out scenes of murdering them whenever the others piss her off. Just sits in the kitchen with her custom Funko Pops and threatens the object of her distaste (AHEM Bambietta) whenever they walk by

Gremmy writes fan fiction about the other Sternritters to pass the time

Äs Nödt is a touch-starved, lovesick, hopelessly romantic puppy dog somewhere under all that fear-talk and he's in COMPLETE denial about it

Jugram and Ryūken are related in some way, idk, it just feels right

Bazz-B and Bambietta smoke weed together. They don't even like each other most of the time since they're both pretty standoffish and outwardly confrontational, but they smoke together anyways because reasons

Bazz-B has a podcast somewhere and everyone has bets placed on who's gonna find it first. No one has found it yet

Somewhere in the Silbern, possibly public but maybe private, depending on how egotistical we're assuming he is, Yhwach has a harem. And he doesn't just 'pick one every night', no, it's a group activity. A group project, if you will.

[prodbymaui]

hi again!😅 i saw you had your requests open so i thought of this. reader is a famous supermodel (like bella hadid level) and is in a established relationship with idol!jaehyun since 2020. during last year’s the link+ in seoul she attends with her niece and nephew, (and you know how they vlog all bts of touring and stuff) so they appear in it and after the concert the camera records nct (cause the second day of the link+ members went to support) interacting with the kids and then the pair having a moment. it’s very specific i know 😫🥹, feel free to do whatever you want with it hahaha

vlogging with boyfriend!jaehyun

okay so relationship with jaehyun will definitely not be easy. you guys went through a lot ever since your relationship got announced to the public, a lot of people were against it and such. but none of you expressed the want to break it off, both stayed strong and it was the reason why fans realized how serious you two were about the relationship, which made them to support the said romantic connection.

until then, they started to look forward to contents from you and jaehyun, especially the ones with kids!! oh how they love to see the couple interacting with children. it was one of their favorite things to see in your vlogs because they adore how you both treat the little ones as if they were your own.

their hearts melts when the camera pans to your niece and nephew holding banners that says, ''go uncle jaehyun!'' and ''uncle jaehyun is the best!''. the kids screaming along the thousands of fans, determined to be the number 1 fan of their uncle. if ever jaehyun failed to see where you were seated, worry no more because his group members would definitely mention your name every now and then during the concert. the staffs surely loved showing you supporting jaehyun with the kids and their little pompoms!

playing with the children after the concert, jaehyun usually exaggerates his reactions and expressions for the kids, praising them whenever they did or made something. while you stood by their side, looking out in case one would spill some food, caressing their backs if they ended up crying due to tripping over.

of course, the cliché game where jaehyun acts like the monster while you became the villager who needs help from the superheroes (the kids). it usually starts with you screaming, ''oh no! the monster is here, help!'' and jaehyun would automatically roar with his hands formed as claws. and it would end with your boyfriend dying dramatically, saying he can only be saved and revived again if he received a sweet kiss from a princess. the kids, bless their pure and innocent hearts, believed that you are the said princess and you should kiss jaehyun! saving him from his mystery so he won't be a villain again!

a clap and squeals of glee would be followed after you pecking jaehyun on his lips, your boyfriend grinning widely as he sat up, cheering with the kids.

the other favorite of the fans would be the part where you both would be settled in your room, most likely a hotel room, and would talk about how you felt for the day. it consists of sharing fun and memorable moments here and there and would eventually end up with telling how you were finally glad to spend some time with one another after a while

jaehyun often buries his head at the crook of your neck as he grumbled about how he misses you so much and seeing you today gives him a lot of energy for the next few concerts. he would hug you tightly, seeking comfort in your embrace and you would chuckle at his baby behavior, kissing his head a few times, cupping his cheeks as you expresses your longing for him as well.

the fans would swoon with being able to catch a glimpse of the sweet moment, it was rare for them to see jaehyun so vulnerable and so baby-like as he always fronts as someone independent and strong.

the vlog would end with the two of you sharing a sweet kiss and hugging each other for a moment, just enjoying each other's presence after being away for months. thanking them and bidding a temporary goodbye as you promised them yet another vlog.

you bet the fans would be left wanting for more, they just couldn't get enough with the lovely couple!

[unohanadaydreams]

I read a fanfic once that talked about how overlooked Yuzu is. Like everybody talks about Karin's potential but nobody ever talks about Yuzu - she's only eleven years old but she does everything Masaki did for the family (or tries to). She's does the chores, she's the family cook, she's the one who tries to keep everyone afloat on top of school as well. We see Karin has some friends she plays soccer with but Yuzu doesn't seem to have much of a social life. Idk it makes me sad for her.

I think she doesn't have many friends. When Yuzu "steals" Kon and treats him like a doll, we see that she has a pretty solid collection of various dolls and treats them all with an amount of care & infuses them with an amount of personality that indicates she spends a lot of time with them. Not to mention the amount of time keeping a household (and helping in the clinic) takes up is massive.

She is overly invested in what everyone in the house--especially Ichigo--is doing like a mother figure would be (like saying he's different since entering highschool/officially being a teen??) & its played as a brothercon thing, but it just smacks of Yuzu feeling like this is the only way she can connect with him and desperately trying to bring her family back to being close again, if only she could just pull them into orbit and be half of what her mother was. Which is such a concerning way to go about it, but she's a child and has no idea how impossible it is.

The only time I can think of where she has anything resembling friends is when she & Karin are part of the Karakura Superheroes which is a throw away thing. I'd like to think she does stay friends with them. And Jinta having a crush on her is a recurring little thing, so it makes me hopeful that she does hang out with him and Ururu from time to time.

Like it's very obviously a choice she is making to stay at home and care for her family, but it's one from a misguided place borne from seeing what her mother's death has done to her family. And Isshin just lets it happen, mostly because he is at his core a Shinigami from Soul Society where no one deals with their trauma, they just keep it pushing and hope a battle will bring them enough catharsis to over come it for a while.

Compound that with the fact that Yuzu canonically feels left out because she can't really see spirits like her brother or sister & there's this firm distance between them. The gravity is keeping them at arms length, no matter how hard she tries.

If anyone would really benefit from getting to know the Shiba family, I think it would be Yuzu. Kuukaku's household is kept by men while she leisurely drinks and goes about her business and makes sure she knows the intimate details of everyone elses'. Yuzu would be sitting on her hands trying to keep from picking up a broom, at first, but then get amped up on feeling so close to everyone's actions.

I think Yuzu discovering a purpose outside of what she currently has is essential, even if she doesn't gain much in the way of friends to accomplish that.

On the upside, after the initial bumps in the road that would come from her moving in, I think Orihime would be a huge boon for her. And Orihime would definitely encourage her to transfer her energy into school clubs and such. Sewing club sisters would be made a reality. They are creating bentos never before seen by mankind that crush Instagram with each one posted. They are shoving a bone back into a leg with complete calm together like they've been working alongside each other for years. The Yuzu & Karin going to college fund is alive and building.

Orihime would definitely be the driving force of Yuzu stepping away from holding the ghost of her mother over her shoulders, imo.

Also side tangent, speaking of Yuzu in fics:

I actually have this draft where Mayuri sends a bogus resort offer in the mail & Yuzu falls for it, resulting in Yuzu & Karin taking a train to the Soul Society where Mayuri tries to figure out if they have the potential to be like their brother under the guise of "spa treatments" that I did not finish in time for a Bleach prompt event on here. And one of my favorite parts in there is that Yuzu is so experienced with maintaining a home that she realizes one of the walls is not like the others and wanders out of the charade. Great with sewing, not squeamish since she helps in the clinic so often, and very level headed since she has to balance so many concerns. Huge people management skills. Time management God.

Akon is playing 4d chess trying to find a way to keep her around as she spends her vacation helping him discover just how much potential Karin has to be like their brother in power while helping juggle his other duties.

Yuzu would own in R&D.

[sofasoap]

Miss Sunflower

Pairing : Kyle “ Gaz” Garrick x F!reader Summary:  Gaz and you started long distance… friendship? Sequel to Miss Sunshine

Warning: M theme.

Gaz route for my Mini MacTavish verse, I just love the photo of Elliot Knight big cute smile! As always, Thanks to mother of my Mini MacTavish @saltofmercury for lending me the character “ Mini” from her story. <3 Go read her  “The Favorite MacTavish”  !

“Masterlist” for other stories to this Mini MacTavish expanded verse.

Gaz gasped and dropped his phone.

“Everything Ok?” Soap asked as he started bending down to pick up the phone for him. Gaz was quicker to snatch the phone off the floor.

“ No, yes. All good. Um, Price wants me to see me in his office, I’ll talk to you later.” Gaz made a quick retreat from the common room, ducking towards the opposite direction of the office, leaving a very confused Soap behind, while pointing to Price, who is currently sitting by the window, chatting to Ghost. 

He can’t let Soap see what was on his phone. 

Not that it’s some risque picture or anything. Well. Not quite. But it’s a selfie picture of you, in a beautiful sunflower pattern dress, LOW CUT DRESS, wearing a cap very similar to his, except with a St Andrew’s cross instead of Union jack on it. That beautiful smile again.

“ Look what I found! Now we have matching cap :) Well, I can’t get a Union Jack one otherwise Johnny will be angry with me.” you wrote in the caption. 

Your brother will kill me. Gaz thought. 

He wasn’t quite sure if it was the alcohol that did the talking when you slipped him the phone number that night.  Took him a week of self-deliberation to finally summon up the courage to text you. Your response was immediate. Which gave him great relief. It was a start of blossoming friendship, constant messaging back and forth, occasional phone calls when he is in the privacy of his own room back at the base.

He started sending you photos of all the places he has been to on mission, letting you travel through him, all stemmed from you complaining one day;

“ I am very envious of Johnny and you boys.. Getting to travel all over the world.. Sorry I know it's to war zones... But I have never stepped outside of The British isle before.. Ma claims she took us to France once, but I don’t remember a thing. I was only one year old!”

How he wishes he can take you with him, by his side, showing you the famous sites of the world. Reality is a bitch. He is always out for work, not pleasure. Saving the world, just like the superheroes. You teased him once. 

In return, you update him about little tidbits of your life, what happened at work, the new ER doctor everyone is drooling over, (he denies a burn of jealousy rising when heard about it), little gossips you heard, new food you tried out. “Sorry my life is boring compared to yours.” Gaz loves it though. It gives him a sense of normalcy amongst the blood sheds and killings, and getting to know you more. What your favourite foods are, your irks. Even though you two haven’t met again physically after that night, he always feels he is close to you, by heart. 

He loves hearing your voice just before they had to go dark for missions. Even with the time differences, you will always answer his message, picking up the call.

“Stay safe please.” That whisper of yours. Always laced with sadness. 

“I will.” I will stay alive. To come back to you. He wanted to say. 

Where is the relationship at? You two never discuss it. The feeling of trapping in this friendzone, both of you waiting for each other to step over that little boundary line, to finally take the relationship into the next phase. He’s been with other people before. But no one else ever makes him so nervous like a teenager again. What is stopping him from making the move? Wrath of Soap? Not wanting to disturb the peace of the team, jeopardising missions. Or people are going to judge him for going after his friend’s younger sister? 

Or people are going to call him selfish, for leading you on, entering into a relationship that is heading to a tragic end, with a high possibility that he might not return from mission one day, leaving you heartbroken.

Or he is just finding excuses, because he is damn scared. Scared of your rejection, and losing you entirely.

He just can’t help it. He is falling more and more for you. He wants to confess to you. His Miss Sunflower.

“Come on Mini, I dare you, send him the picture! Maybe he will finally make a move on you.”

“But… but… isn’t this showing a bit too much of my…. this…..”“ OH hush, you look very cute in that dress. DO IT.” 

Gaz ran back to his room afterwards, trying to dispel any ungentlemanly thoughts out of his brain. Failed miserably.  

I seriously suck at writing long chapters, I think short little  bits really suit me. Thank you for reading, comments and reblogs always appreciated :) 

taglist: @deadbranch

@voxyin

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Perfection

This is another Lila episode, so get ready for dumb writing and lies only an infant would find convincing.

Let's get into the twelfth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Perfection

We start off with a sort of funny scene of Ladybug and Cat Noir doing heroic things while casually discussing the new relationships they're both in, unaware that they're talking about each other. It's less the irony that I like, but just the visuals showing how they're so experienced as superheroes at this point, they can casually chat while saving people.

Of course, even though the last scene confirmed that Marinette and Adrien are officially dating after four and a half seasons, the main conflict for the civilian plotline is that Marinette somehow isn't able to simply tell Adrien that she loves him. So basically, even though they're now in a relationship, the show is still going to rely on Marinette stuttering around Adrien like an idiot. Oh, thank God! I thought the writers were actually going to have Marinette and Adrien talk with each other like humans beings for a second there.

We then get a montage of Marinette struggling to get closer to Adrien, stumbling around and breaking stuff as if she was a character in an infomercial, culminating in a scene where Marinette attempts to confess to a picture of a cow, only to say “I love moo” instead. Get used to her saying this, because it's going to be a running gag.

During the aforementioned montage, we get a decent moment where Lila helps Chloe realize she needs to be more discreet when it comes to screwing with Marinette instead of her usual blunt attitude, which does a good job showing the one thing that sets Chloe and Lila apart: Their approaches to dealing with Marinette. It's not much, but it's something.

Meanwhile, the writers remembered Adrien is a musician, as he wrote a song for Marinette. A bunch of their friends come over to the Liberty, including Kagami.

Adrien: It's great to see you here, Kagami. You get to hear the song I wrote for Marinette.

Kagami: You made your feelings clear and you're dealing with them. That's good. I'm very proud of you.

Man, even the characters are glad the Love Square is finally going somewhere.

After another scene where Marinette once again tries to confess to the picture of a cow (the writers are really running with this gag, aren't they?), Adrien starts to perform the song he wrote for Marinette. Fun Fact: Adrien was originally going to sing a cover of that one song from Miami Connection, but Luka helped convince him that it would be better if he used his own song instead.

As for the song itself? Well, the music itself is nice, but the lyrics? They're decent, showing how Adrien doesn't want anything complex from his relationship with Marinette, but I'm just going to say it: I don't like the way Bryce Papenbrook sings. Like, I don't know how to describe it. It's not awful, but I just don't like the way he delivers the lyrics. He just sounds so monotone when he sings, which makes it hard to take this grand romantic gesture seriously.

Marinette once again struggles to tell Adrien she loves him, so we get even more of Marinette blaming other things for her hesitance, but not before we get more jokes about the cow picture.

Marinette: I'm just grabbing the cow to tell Adrien that I love him because I have the "I love" but not the “moo”. I know it's ridiculous. I'm ridiculous.

You know, at least C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, a show full of cow puns, actually did more with the jokes instead of just saying the words “cow” and “moo”.

Kagami tries to talk to Marinette, only for her to essentially be ignored. After Marinette transforms into Ladybug as an excuse to get out of there, Kagami then decides to call Lila about Marinette failing some kind of “friendship test”.

Kagami: You were right, Lila. I checked every box on your friendship test. Marinette doesn't consider me her best friend. I'm not even sure she ever considered me a friend.

Lila: Oh, no, Kagami... I'm so sorry she didn't see all the effort you've been making to get closer to her. Someone as amazing as you deserves a more considerate friend and... I'd be honored to be that friend.

I know I used this clip last time, but this is essentially the same problem I had there. Lila only had a single line in this episode before this scene, and it was her talking to Chloe, and I don't think Lila and Kagami have even shared a scene together before this episode, much less exchange numbers. Yeah, Kagami had been checking off things on a sheet of paper earlier in the episode, but we never got any explanation as to where and when Lila even gave her the friendship test. While we know that Lila's test was obviously fake, it seems out of character for Kagami to be this gullible, given that she was able to easily see through Adrien's lies last season (Lies).

Kagami then decides to just give up on having friends entirely, deleting all of her contacts except her mother's. I'm not sure if it was an animation error, or if the writers forgot, but for some reason, Adrien wasn't listed in there. We then cut to Lila, cutting Marinette's face out of some random pictures she got.

The scene's clearly supposed to be menacing, but I'd be more invested if I actually knew why Lila was so obsessed with Marinette outside of Marinette telling her to stop being a liar.

Kagami goes somewhere so she can be alone where she cries, where Monarch senses this and akumatizes her into Ryukomori through her ring.

Ryukomori's design is simple, but I think the concept behind it and use of Miraculous power makes it work. Monarch gives her the power to make it hard for her to see or hear anyone (insert your own Helen Keller joke here), and thanks to the Dragon Miraculous's Wind/Lightning/Water Dragon, Ryukomori is now a giant cloud person who can shoot lightning. Yeah, you have to wonder why Monarch gave her powers that would make it harder to see people, much less get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, but this is the kind of stuff I wanted to see from the Miraculous powers used this season: Past heroes getting akumatized and having perverted versions of the powers they're familiar with.

Adrien sees this and transforms into Cat Noir, meeting up with Ladybug and showing her the friendship test he found earlier. Ladybug and Cat Noir try to talk with Ryukomori, but in her current state, it's hard to talk to her, so they'll need to find a different way to communicate. Ladybug and Cat Noir try arranging some cars into a kanji sign.

Hey, this is a French show! I'm supposed to be seeing french words I don't understand, not Japanese words I don't understand.

Ryukomori ignores the kanji, so now, the two have to come up with another plan while Monarch goads her into trying to kill them so she can finally be alone, whipping up a storm in anger.

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, a box of ironing beads, and gets an idea. Cat Noir goes to Socqueline's art shop (because I guess the animators really want to get their money's worth out of this character model and set) for supplies while Ladybug assembles a bunch of her friends and shows her a picture she made using the beads, wanting to make a bigger one for Ryukomori to see by holding up these panels to reveal it.

As simplistic as it is, it's a pretty cute visual, and it does the trick, causing Ryukomori to reject the Akuma. While I guess the Akuma was already de-evilized by Kagami, Ladybug hands her a Magical Charm as the students cheer for her.

Marinette apologizes to Kagami about how insensitive she was, but Kagami explains that she feels pressured to be perfect around others, which is meant to parallel Marinette's anxiety around Adrien. The two make up, and Marinette calls Kagami her best friend alongside Alya. Of course, Marinette somehow never asked about the friendship test, because that would actually clear everything up, and then we wouldn't have Kagami and Lila becoming friends again. Marinette and Alya talk about what exactly is keeping her from getting closer to Adrien, something that they'll figure out together. And so the episode ends with Tomoe storming into Gabriel's office that she endangered her daughter's life by akumatizing her... ignoring the last four times she's been akumatized (Riposte, Heroes' Day, Oni-Chan, Lies). In fact, if she's working with Gabriel, shouldn't she know Kagami was also Ryuko, and—okay, forget it, episode's over.

This episode was very hit or miss. The scenes with Ryukomori were well done. I like the way they called back to earlier episodes and how emotional the memories made Ryukomori, and the overall message of friendship was handled pretty well. But while I really like the way Ryukomori was handled, the road there was a pretty bumpy one. The subplot with Marinette wasn't funny, Adrien's song was really forgettable, and the writers just expect us to assume Kagami would fall for Lila's lies when earlier episodes have shown how perceptive she is. I get that the episode's probably setting up Kagami learning the truth in a later episode, it seems very out of character for her.

Overall, this episode just had a great Akuma fight, and a mediocre first half. Nothing too special, but it's still better than “Illusion” or “Determination”.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... KAGAMI

While Marinette came close thanks for her inability to say three basic words, Kagami ended up taking the award home. Not only did she fall for Lila's lies without even questioning her, she assumed that Marinette didn't care for her in the slightest, and after that, decided she had no other friends, not even Adrien, and after everything that happened, she still chose to believe Lila even though her test ended up being false when earlier episodes showed her being able to see through lies.

[wordgirlexploration]

Now that we have two new ref line ups, allow me to share with y'all some headcanons for some of them!

Rex/Kid Math

Most of our Kid Math takes are based off of FountainPenguin's two Kid Math fics: Factor It In and AlgoRythym. We just love those fics <3

Last name is Pemdas.

Non-binary. Really I just imagine most of the aliens in the show are some flavor of non-binary and Kid Math is no exception.

Autistic and has synesthesia. Same as Becky :) Comes with the territory of being from a subject obsessed planet and gaining superpowers on another world that overstimulates the senses.

His birthday (equivalent on Earth) is Pi day

He is so, so small. 3'7" (or exactly 110 centimeters!) tall. He looks more like he should be in Kindergarten/1st grade than 3rd grade.

More of a Hexagon headcanon than a Kid Math specific one: Hexagon is a very logical planet and as a result, when they do superhero work it's always 1) track down villain 2) get rid of villain 3) day is saved! Wordgirl's way of being a superhero would baffle ANYONE from Hexagon. Kid Math is just a product of his environment.

Mr Big + Leslie

Mr Big is trans.

His orientation is queer because we can't quite pin down what it is but he's definitely not straight.

Stands at 6'5". He's not called "Mr Big " for nothing!

Sees Dr Two-Brains on the weekends ever since their team up in Invasion of the Bunny Lovers. >:3

Leslie is a lesbian. We think she and the Mayor's assistant should kiss but not sure if it's canon to Exploration.

She's only 5'5" but wears 2 inch heels so you can't immediately tell.

Leslie's last name is Little. She's Leslie Little.

Both are in their early/mid 30's. Mr Big is only a couple years older than Leslie.

Granny May

She's been a villain the longest. Being a petty pickpocket since her late teens. Her "career" as a supervillian really took off though when she met her future husband.

Her husband was a man named Walter, who she met after charming her way into some fancy event. She stole his heart and his wallet that night <3

Walter made most of her gadgets that she uses today. Her suit of armor was his wedding present to her.

They got married later than most people from their time. Granny May was very hesitant about marriage at first. Worried it would affect her crime career since she relied mostly on her charm, which works better on suckers men when they think you're single.

Note: I really could go on and on about Granny's past but I'll leave off here because we have a whole episode planned for exploring her past ;)

Granny May has always been very small. In her prime she only stood at 5'1". In her old age she's now only 4'11".

Victoria Best

Dyes her hair. She's a natural brunette but since the rest of her family is blonde it's for the best (heh) that she match her family.

Her eyes are naturally blue but have an unusual red tint to the pupils and iris.

As of Exploration, she's currently taller than Becky at 4'9".

On the aroace spectrum but hasn't figured it out yet. She's the best at ignoring her feelings <3

We have big plans for her :)

Beatrice Bixby/Lady Redundant Woman

In her mid 30's.

Beatrice herself is aroace. Her clones are not. It drives her insane when one of them develops a crush because she doesn't get it.

Her clones are not perfect copies of her. She's had to recall one or two because they refuse to help in her crime sprees.

All her clones are effectively vegetarian because they can only consume ink. Ever since she became Lady Redundant Woman, Beatrice has had to supplement her own diet with ink every now and then. She can just change out her ink cartridge, but it's surprisingly cheaper to just eat ink. Also less of a hassle.

Lady Redundant Woman herself might also just be vegetarian. We haven't figured that out yet.

Tall woman. She stands at 6'1" plus her boots make her appear a couple inches taller. She looks shorter as Beatrice because of her Customer Service Slouch(TM).

She's ambidextrous.

Todd "Scoops" Ming

Hitting him with the trans beam. Came about because of that one episode where, aside from Bob, he was the only boy in the scouts group. We think he joined before he transitioned, and then when he did come out as trans the group wanted him to stay <3 Now he's one of the exceptions because it'd be rude to kick him and also all the other scouts will defend his place with their dying breaths.

Aside from Eugene May (because no one is gonna catch up with him), he's the tallest kid in 7th grade right now at 4'11".

While currently dating Violet, Scoops is bi and has had a couple crushes before Violet. His type seems to be blondes with weird eyes...

ale: we gave him ugly shoes because his top half is the only thing that needs to look presentable.

we obviously also fixed his skintone and haircut. we love you wordgirl, you did this kid so incredibly dirty.

we made his shirt blue because he's a little older now and Raven thought he deserved to have a different shirt.

Violet Heaslip

Her eyes are an unusual pinkish-purple color. Becky and Scoops think it's really cool.

She's currently the same height as Victoria.

Back in 4th grade/beginning of 5th grade she had a crush on Becky. She outgrew it halfway through the school year.

ale: we really just gave her an all-new detailed outfit because, as we realized after we finished her, her outfit is so.... plain for an art kid!

her pockets full of flowers are inspired by a piece of fanart showing the worg kids as elementary schoolers. the doodles on her skirt are inspired by a Dear Evan Hansen lyric.

gets a beret because she's an artist <3

i gave her warmly rainbow socks because i thought they'd look like something i'd see in a Justice as a kid.

TJ Botsford

"TJ" is short for Tim Jr.

His birthday is May 4th.

He's gay but hasn't figured it out yet. Got more important things to worry about such as how to grow the WordGirl Fan Club.

ale: made his skin darker to match with his parents, and his hair darker to match with his skin. and gave him a fade because, like. look at him. he would.

Tim and Sally Botsford (Do not separate <3)

Both are in their late 30's but Sally is older by a couple years.

Tim is just a little taller than average at 5'10", while Sally is close to average height at 5'4", but wears 3 inch heels to give herself that extra height. Makes her a little more intimidating at her job.

They met in college at the ice cream parlor from Whammer Anniversary <3 it was for some get together/study group and the two just clicked.

Their wedding anniversary is October 13th.

Tim is pan.

Tim's family specifically is of Ethiopian descent. It's why his spicier meals pack such a punch.

We mostly just like Sally the way she is <3

As we've mentioned before, Sally is Afro-Latina.

Shown in the episode That's Entertainment, Sally's hair actually becomes poofy and curly when not "blow-dried." Her hair is still like this (it's what inspired us to make her Afro-Latina), but we've decided that her hair becomes straightened through normal straightening means.

ale: made Tim's hair more afro-textured for obvious reasons. also it's canon that it used to look like that. also, he's graying more.

made Tim more brown because we couldn't live with keeping him orange.

i INSISTED that he keep his horrible outfit. everyone watching me draw him hated it, however, he is my "horrible fashion sense" king.

we mostly kept Sally the same, just made her skin more skin-tone like. also, we turned that weird line in her hair into a gray streak, because she's a little older now, and we couldn't figure out why it was there.

[hushimstressed]

About the spiderman au:

Who fell in love first? Also who did they fall in love with (the civilian or alter ego version)?

Also do they ever reveal to each other? (I think it would be silly if they accidentally revealed to each other and it was the spiderman pointing meme like “wait YOURE spiderman? I’M *insert venom slimes name*” )

Gonna split this into their civillian vs alter egos because Mariana has a different relation ship with Slime than with Venom and vice versa.

also this has also gotten really long and i've only been able to answer like half your ask so this is probably gonna be a part one... anyway all i've written so far is under the cut :>

Mariana fell first softly and found herself reaching out for Slime's hand just for their fingers to brush. content with keeping this crush at arm's length, it would only complicate things further, what with them pratically co-parenting Juana at this point and being an undercover superhero (and studying for her future career as an investigative journalist).

in comparison, Slime fell so hard and suddenly it felt like a pit in his stomach. he never noticed anything until he looked up at Mariana while at the breakfast table, and saw how the sun shon like a halo around her hair. and sorta stares for an awkward amount of time, looks down at their fingers intertwined and thinks oh

and then they make out

Spider-Man!Mariana thinks Venom is kinda gross at least at first becuase being a writhing and contorting black sludge can do that. she tries to just ignore him as impossible as that turned out to be

they do get to know each other better though, they just kept running into each other on rooftops and eventually, Mariana began to understand that Venom was deeply, deeply afraid, be it the man underneath who was possessed by an alien entity, or the alien itself, which found itself on an unknown planet.

Mariana finds a friend in Venom, the only other guy in the city who understands her, a person who hides everyday of their life and lie to the ones they love to protect them

Venom!Slime really looks up to Spider-Man, he's the kinda guy that was in the business for all the right reasons, to save innocent people at the wrong place at the wrong time. Slime/ Venom isn't like that. he's selfish, desperate and a fuck up. so seeing Spider-Man, someone so heroic and good, a person Slime aspires to be, but can't dream of ever being. because he was ruined from the start.

So he decides to bother Spider-Man. first, purely out of excitement and an unknown draw to the hero. then because he just likes to annoy him, then because they just so happen to frequent the same pizza place, then because he just wanted someone to talk to.

Slime begins to realise that Spider-Man is just as lonely as him, sure, Slime's got Venom, but there's only so much conversation with a being driven by impulse and an unending hunger. speaking to another human being like him, someone who always has something to hide- made him feel like a person for the first time in a long time.

WHICH IS A VERY LONG EXPLAINATION TO JUST SAY: Slime loves deeply and intensely very quickly (with Spider-Man first, and then with Mariana), while Mariana's love simmers like a cooked home meal (in a way he's always loved Charlie) and became friends with Venom. They both love juanaflippa more than life.