#noir being silly again

[aphicidi0]

me everytime i talk about breaking bad

[shadowusagiart]

I hav no clue how modern Tumlbr works so I have been ass at saying this but!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you all for all of the love on my fanart pieces!!!! 🥹

[chocostrwberry]

Sentimaggedon!!

Sentimonster designs I came up with bc I was thinking about Argos’s debut in my AU! Bc I’m dumb and I haven’t thought too deep about him as a character to the story yet-

They were originally suppose to all be based on the seven deadly sins, especially Gasumptious (gluttony) and Elvy (envy). But I also wanted to branch into maybe Felix’s other hidden emotions, like his deep love for Kagami and his fear of being replaced by Adrien (Bride and Athazagora).

Argos becomes an official enemy when Dragonbug tells him they need to be destroyed. He defends them, saying they’re just “infants” and can learn how to behave properly with time. But a frustrated and exhausted Dragonbug she tells him they aren’t like humans and are created for one purpose: to serve and destroy. This hits home with Argos, and he develops a fear and hatred for Ladybug and swears his loyalty to Madame Morphisa afterwards in order to take her down and prove just how monstrous he can be.

I’m still kinda trying to find a way to make this concept work in my au. He promised to serve her in exchange for the peacock miraculous, and she wants him to use it to take Ladybug’s miraculous. In a novice attempt, he might have just starting creating multiple sentimonsters that he thought were harmless enough (something she did NOT expect), but they quickly spiraled out of control. It’s much easier to make sentimonsters based on others emotions, because you can predict which one you will create it off of. But instead, he chose his own, which makes it more difficult to tell how the sentimonster will act. I think it would show the aspect that these creatures do have a mind of their own, compared to previous Mayura sentimonsters who were easily controlled by their akumas!!

Red Moon

Red Moon is obviously already canon, but her power is instead hypnosis. If you get caught in her light, you stop whatever you are doing to stare at her. The streets of Paris become like a statue exhibit: countless of unlucky citizens are bathing in her glow, staring at the beauty of the red moon.

Gasumptious

As he devours, Gasumptious grows bigger and bigger. He’ll eat anything, so beware! After finishing most of the city, Gasumptious sits atop the Eiffel Tower and gnaws on its metal posts.

Elvy

Elvy lives in the sewers. She can control water and uses it to drain you of happy memories, which she keeps in floating green orbs and guards for herself.

It’s so silly to me how the manifestation of Felix’s jealousy of Adrien is fought and defeated by Chat Noir, who is Adrien ehehehheeh.

She also sounds like a Pokémon!! Probably like a Lapras, or the one that trills really pretty

Athazagora

A timid creature, Athazagora took over the catacombs, and hides in the shadows. You can hear the creaking and rattling of its wooden limbs in the dark as it stalk you. If you can’t escape, it envelops you in its cloak of darkness, never to be seen again.

Bride

The supposed advisor of Argos. She never leaves his side, and is always whispering something in his ear. To protect Argos, she showcases her ability to turn her arm into a long spear/sword, incredible strength and mobility, and that her body is made of an indestructible crystal.

Plus, he can make multiple sentimonsters bc he’s a sentihuman himself (Other people can’t. You can only make one, kind of like how the Butterfly miraculous can only Akumatize one person at a time, unless they share an object. Current excuse I’m going with that makes semi-sense HEHEHE) . So Lila totally wants to use that to her own advantage!

Ofc he fails, but she’s impressed with his resolve (and the lengths he was willing to go, albeit unintentionally), especially after sharing her goal of destroying Ladybug. Lila was feeling the effects of unification and now has a willing minion to do her bidding whenever she pleases.

If I decide to go with this plot, Lila has to end up forgetting Felix because of the curse. But she doesn’t care: all she really needs is Argos. I might need to retcon her revenge against Felix because of this but idm! It wasn’t very important to the plot anyways!

I was considering having Dragonbug in this episode, since she could use Perfection to snipe Red Moon out of the sky! The lucky charm would be like a wand that creates a sticky translucent web to keep the sentimonsters secure so they can go find their amoks.

And a sentimonster I never ended up including, Ava. I just didn’t have a reason to put her in there but I liked the yin and yang style of her design!!

[luveline]

ah okay wait i could kinda see hopper with like a younger ish reader and he’s all like grumbly old man about it and doesn’t get why r likes him and reader is just like calm down lets go get ice cream

Your boyfriend has anger issues. Seriously, he’s easy to rile, easier to complain, and he doesn’t like doing things he doesn’t wanna do, which is lots of things, but thankfully isn’t you. 

You offer your hand, butterflies in your stomach squeezing up into your chest when he takes it, his eyes dark with his squared brow. You love being with him in part because he intimidates you, what with his frowning, his uniform, his arguable silly hate. He suits the hat. He pulls it down over his eyes when it rains, a cigarette between his teeth like he’s in a noir film.

“Where’s your hat today, Chief?” you ask. 

He nods toward the backseat. “Why, you like it?” 

“You know I like the hat. It’s a great hat. It makes you look like the Lone Ranger.” 

“I’m never wearing it again,” he says severely. 

“Come on, Hopper, don’t be like that,” you tease back, back of your head dipping back to brush the headrest, your hand right in his. Hopper had this way of making you feel pretty, or cared for? It’s definitely something. He holds your hand and rubs your knuckles and your hand feels pretty, or fine. Not delicate, but held. “I really like it. I meant it as a compliment.” 

“You mean everything as a compliment.” 

You side-eye his muttering. “You know you’re my boyfriend, right?” 

“Doesn’t make any sense.” 

“What, that you’d ever go out with me?” 

“That you’d be with me,” he corrects. 

“That’s really…” You bite your tongue. Perturbed, you crane your neck, kissing the back of his hand softly. Barely a kiss, no smack nor pressure, just a soft brush of your lips. “Hop, I don’t get you sometimes.” 

“That’s what I’m talking about,” he insists. 

“You act like we’re worlds apart. I like you. I don’t get why you don’t get it.” 

He sighs at your small tone. “Don’t take it the wrong way.” 

“Then don’t mean it that way.” 

He glares at the road outside, but he doesn’t let go of your hand. He stays rubbing soft lines with his thumb on your skin, the car speeding fast toward his cabin, snow falling in chunky flakes against the windows. You tuck your other hand over your twined fingers, thinking. What’s the right thing to say? He’s clearly upset believing that he’s not good enough for you, or not right for you, something. 

“Okay,” you say, “alright, here’s what’s gonna happen, handsome,” —he snorts— “we’re gonna go for milkshakes, you’re gonna kiss me up against the car, and I’m gonna tell you how much I like being with you, because it’s true.” 

“In that order?” 

“In that order.” 

Hopper steers the car into a u-turn. “Fucking. Alright, sweetheart. Let’s get you a milkshake.” 

[pursuedbyamemoryy]

can i req noir thinking he lost his hat but he just finds reader wearing it and this isnt the first time it happened HSNSANDNDNAN

THE HAT THIEF ᥫ᭡

word count - 0.4k

author’s note - i love writing for noir, he’s one of my fav spider people and he’s just such a silly little dude. thanks for requesting and i hope you enjoy reading <3

he had looked everywhere. he had practically flipped his whole apartment upside down looking for his damn hat and he still could. not. find it.

he was never this irresponsible with his belongings. sure he’d misplace things occasionally, everyone does, but he rarely ever loses something. especially something that he uses nearly every day.

after searching under the couch for what felt like the fifth time he decided to check the bedroom again, thinking that maybe it ended up under the bed or in the closet somehow. he opened the bedroom door slowly, being careful not to wake you. on days he had work he was up as soon as the sun was, and usually left just as you were waking up or before you did. he didn’t want to wake you for something so trivial as finding his missing hat. needless to say he was surprised when he walked in and saw you standing in front of your vanity mirror, playing dress up with and old coat of his and his hat. the same hat that he had been looking for for what, at least twenty minutes at this point?

he sighed in defeat, but he couldn’t help but smile when you turned to him with a big grin on your face, playfully asking him if he liked your outfit.

“you look great, my love. however i’ve been looking everywhere for my hat this morning, and knowing you had it would’ve saved me a lot of time”. he chuckled, making his way over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing a quick kiss to your nose.

“sorry peter” you laughed.

“after looking for some time i should’ve known that you probably had it. it seems that every time i lose my hat it finds its way to you.” he says with a smile, taking his hat off your head and placing it atop his own.

you laughed again, agreeing with him. “i just like wearing your hat, my bad.”

“so i’ve learned. i’ve got to get to work, but i’ll see you later darling.” he leans down and presses a gentle kiss to your lips.

“don’t forget about our date tonight.” you reminded him once you parted.

“i would never forget, have a good day my love.” he says, giving you another quick kiss before grabbing his briefcase and keys and heading out the door.

on his way to work he thought about the whole situation, shaking his head and laughing to himself about it. perhaps he’d get you your own hat, so you would stop stealing his. although he had his doubts about it, knowing you’d say something about how it’s not the same and you want to wear his hat.

later that night he let you wear his hat for the entirety of your date, he just couldn’t say no.

© pursuedbyamemoryy 2023. please do not copy, translate, or modify any of my work

[mamawasatesttube]

thinking abt the kon, bart, and cass (cain) trio again. guys who just never had any semblance of a childhood... i want them to go on a little adventure together. they're just like "we've never done kid stuff let's go be silly for a day!!!" and then kon realizes that out of the three of them, he's gonna be stuck being the closest thing they've got to impulse (haha) control. cass and bart would enable each other about all sorts of things and i need them to get up to shenanigans.

like, i need cass to steal one of bruce's cards so they can go to a theme park together. they're getting photos and kon calls cass "bat-babe" and she calls him "super-stud" and bart's like "i need one of these nicknames too hello??" and cass thinks really hard and goes "imp-ass?" and kon loses his shit. bart's like "that just sounds like impasse. no thanks." and kon looks at cass and says "imp passes," and then breaks into a gigglefit again. bart complains all of the roller coasters go too slow. bart and kon centrifuge poor cass on the teacup ride. she nearly throws up as soon as they get off and then demands to go again. bart challenges her to a candy eating contest and kon's like NO!!!!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT!!!!!!!! HES A SPEEDSTER!!!! so of course cass accepts. and then makes herself sick. bart's still impressed by how fast she can shove candy in her mouth for someone with no superspeed at all though.

also it would be fun if they stumbled upon a murder mystery or something in this theme park. i mean they would be like oh this is fucked up, but i would see it as enrichment in their enclosure or whatever. let cass be a noir detective with her two extremely op sillies as backup. idk. the vibes. you get me??

[mickeyswhore]

Just A Nobody

A/N: might feel silly and write a Part 2 of this, lmk if I should.

Summary: Homelander wants you, and you find an unlikely ally in Soldier Boy, at least that's what you think.

Soldier Boy x Reader

Warnings: not a lot of smut, manipulation, degradation.

GIF by @coppoladelrey

You started working at Vought while you finished college, Ashley needed a new assistant and she wanted someone young to be able to relate to the younger demographic that you represented. To say that your job was a nightmare was the understatement of the year, everyone treated you like a doormat, especially people in the Seven, except Starlight but when she left you were in the lion’s den again.

You had a system of how to navigate the supes, if it was The Deep, never be in a room alone with him under no circumstances. If it was Noir, it didn't matter because he never talked to you or anyone else for that matter so he was harmless, A Train was a mess and Ashley was very strict with you, never do any favours for him so you stayed away, Queen Maeve was always unpleasant with you so you stayed away. The only person Ashley said that you needed to do anything they asked was Homelander, which resulted in him rentelesly flirting with you. 

The different ways that you were avoiding him were insanely creative, you knew that no one could stop Homelander if he decided to attack you so you had to rely only on yourself and your intelligence. You were constantly stressed, every time you went to work you were on the verge of a panic attack and you were so close to quitting when Vought took it upon themselves to pay for your college.

“Ashley? What is this?” You were so pissed, you had written up your resignation letter and everything.

“You’re welcome are the only words that should be coming out of your mouth right now, darling.” You despised her tone, it was filled with a superiority complex.

“I didn't ask for this.” You protested.

“It wasn’t me, alright? It was Homelander! You made quite an impression on him, if I were you I’d express some gratitude.” She left, tears were already running down your cheeks. Homelander basically owned you and he would come back to claim you.

After freaking out and hyperventilating for hours in Ashley’s office, you decided to take a sick day and go to your apartment. You needed a way out of this but you had no idea of how yet, you took the subway and went home after warning Ashley.

At home you were thinking about what to do, if you ran away Homelander would eventually find you. He found his son and the mother and was with Vought’s help, you wouldn’t even last a day. While you were freaking out and thinking about all of the worst possible scenarios Ashley was blowing up your phone.

WHERE ARE YOU?????

SOLDIER BOY WAS FOUND

NEED YOU HERE STAT

NOWWWWWWWWWW

You thought that Soldier Boy was dead since before your father was born, maybe Ashley was mistaken? Maybe Vought being in disarray about this person would clear you from being away from Homelander for a while. You got up from your sofa and you were ready to get back to work and deal with Ashley almost having a mental breakdown. When you opened the door you saw him there, your blood ran cold.

“Homelander.” You whispered and he smiled, his smile always unsettled you. “What you’re doing here?” You had no idea that he knew you where you lived, that made you so fucking scared.

“I wanted to explain myself, I paid for your college tuition and we barely spoke before.” He entered your apartment and looked everywhere, you felt so violated.

“It’s gonna have to wait, Ashley needs me.” You were about to touch him so he could leave your apartment but his facade fell.

“She can wait.” You felt the urge to cry but somehow you didn't.

“Not really, Soldier Boy is back.” That was the first time you saw Homelander scared, and for a second you were more afraid of Soldier Boy than Homelander. Who was he that even the strongest man on earth is afraid of? “So I really need to go. You understand that, right?” You had no idea what he was going to do, you sighed relieved when he got out of your apartment.

“It’s fine, I’ll take you back to the tower.” Homelander motioned for you to follow him and you looked confused.

“No worries, I’ll take the subway.” He invaded your personal space and got inches near your face.

“I’m trying to be a gentleman here, girl. I said, I’ll take you.” Homelander was definetly getting off on the fact that you were scared of him, the way you smelled when you were scared and he didn't hide the fact that he enjoyed it. You simply nodded and the two of you walked in silence outside.

Outside, Homelander scooped you up and flew with you that made you so scared but you didn't even had the mental capacity to scream. You were at Vought in less than two minutes, you were about to remove yourself from Homelander when he kept you in place.

“Meet me in my room at 10, hm?” He smiled wickedly at you and released you. It felt as if you couldn’t breathe and Ashley’s words were repeating in your head:

“If I were you I’d express some gratitude.” 

You knew what was implied but you didn't want to do this, why it had to be you? Why couldn’t Homelander just find you unnatractive? You were just a nobody, why couldn’t it continue that way?

Ashley was waiting for you, and apparently all of the testing proved that it was Soldier Boy. How he was able to look the same age or get captured are questions that need to be answered. The two of you entered the room Soldier Boy was being held, Ashley needed to talk to him about all of the optics, how he was going to be in the Seven, if he insisted on it. Vought was more than happy to keep him under wraps, you can’t really control a supe, no matter how hard you tried.

Soldier Boy had his head down, he didn't look at Ashley when she introduced herself and started rambling about PR and how to mitigate the situation and you could tell that he wasn’t interested in the slightest. That’s when he looked at you, and the look he gave you was not one you describe, no one ever looked at you that way before.

“Shut the fuck up.” His voice boomed around the room and Ashley stopped talking instantly. “I’ll talk to her and her only.” Soldier Boy pointed at you and the two of you were speechless. Ashley quickly left the room and the two of you were alone, you sat down in the chair that your boss was sat a couple of seconds ago.

“Why do you want to talk to me?” You whispered, you have no idea why you had the courage to speak first maybe because since Homelander wanted you in his room, you had nothing to lose.

“I want to know what you do you think I should do, doll?” He looked genuinely interested in your opinion, but the reason behind it was totally lost on you.

“But why?” The look on your face could only be described as utter confusion making Soldier Boy laugh.

“You seem the only person I’ve seen so far to have integrity.” That took you by surprise and you simply nodded. “So? What do you think I should do?” He asked again, this time it seemed that was impatient.

“Well, you’ve been tortured by Russians all this time. The thing that seemingly makes the most sense is getting revenge?” It sounded more like a question than a statement and Soldier Boy picked up on that.

“You’re not sure? Speak up, woman.” He banged his hand on the table and startled you, making you jump slightly. 

“If I was you, I would take the time to decompress and enjoy something before going on a suicide mission killing everyone that wronged you.” You said rather quickly and he grinned at you.

“You’re not wrong, doll. Tell Vought that I want a private island, and if you want a promotion you can come live with me and be my handler, I’ll need one since mine is fucking dead.” He laughed and you were about to refuse when Homelander’s demand for you to be in his room flashed in your mind.

“Alright, I accept.” If that meant being as far away from Homelander as possible, you’d accept whatever job in a heartbeat.

“Great to hear, sweetheart.” Soldier Boy smiled at you, there’s no denying that he’s the most handsome man you’ve ever laid eyes on. “Are we done here?” He spoke in the direction of the glass, you could tell that he was annoyed but he wasn’t as scary as Homelander, you felt at ease with Soldier Boy.

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

You didn't leave Soldier Boy’s side, the deadline to meet Homelander was approaching and if you were with a supe that wanted you near there’s nothing that Homelander can do, right? So you took full advantage of your brand new position, Ashley was annoyed about the fact that she needs a new assistant. But she wasn’t about to go against Soldier Boy, so she kept quiet.

Homelander was not happy about your new predicament, he was supposed to have you all to himself. He was looking for you, but you were packing all of Soldier Boy’s clothes that Vought even after all this time, that was very handy. Packing was always something that brought you peace, so you were humming your favourite songs whilst doing this chore. You gasped when you realised that Homelander was right behind you, he was angry you could tell that much, you looked around and realised that Soldier Boy probably went to the bathroon so you were all alone with Homelander.

“Let me get this straight, you’re going to jump on Soldier Boy’s dick the moment I pay for your college tuition? Talk about being an ungrateful brat.” He walked slowly towards you, and you took a step back.

“It was a job opportunity, a really good one…I…” Homelander raised his finger to stop you from talking.

“No, no.” He got closer to you, this was it. He was going to kill you, he raised his hand and caressed your cheek. “You’re not his, you’re mine.” You started crying, that’s when you heard someone clearing their throat.

“Do we have a problem here?” It was Soldier Boy and you were relieved, Homelander was pissed and your saviour was as cool as cucumber.

“No, we do not.” It was the first time you saw fear in Homelander’s features, and he quickly got away from you and he left without saying another word. After he left you sat down in Soldier Boy’s bed and sighed relieved.

“What’s going on between the two of you? Do I have to kill a supe to keep my handler?” Soldier Boy snickered and you let out a small laugh.

“He…always wanted…me.” The awkwardness seeping through every pore of your body makes you cringe. “He also demanded me to be in his room now…so…he came to talk.” Soldier Boy had a strange look on his face, the only thing that you could place was jealousy? That wasn’t possible, he barely knew you? You just ignored it.

“He’s never gonna bother you again, don’t worry.” Soldier Boy placed his hand on your thigh and it felt…nice. You knew that Soldier Boy was attractive, but him being comforting? The icing on the cake.

“Thank you, Soldier Boy.” You gave him a genuine smile.

“Ben.” You looked at him confused. “My name is Ben.” He clarified and the two of you smiled.

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

You and Ben, as he insisted to be called were now in this private island. You realised quite quick that besides some members of staff that took care of cooking and cleaning, the two of you were all by yourselves. But other than that, you had the most amazing bedroom ever, it was bigger than your apartment and you couldn’t be happier to be away from Homelander.

Ben was always flirting with you, he never stopped. He was also touching you constantly but it never made you uncomfortable, it felt natural to have that intimacy with him. Your days consisted of just making sure that Ben was comfortable and if Vought had any plans for him, which they never did. That made the supe on the edge, you could that he wanted something and you had no idea what.

Until you found out.

It was raining, so neither of you left the house. Ben still hasn’t come out of his bedroom which was odd, he was the first one to wake up at 5 AM. You needed to ask him about what he wanted to eat, so you approached his door before you could knock you heard his gruntings and moaning, he was masturbating in there.

“I know you can hear me, doll. I can smell your arousal from a mile away.” You got caught and there was no way out, so you opened the door and there he was was, his dick was huge, it felt that it should be on a porn actor not a super hero. “There she is, why don’t you come here and let me fuck your mouth, huh?” It felt that he had power over you, so that was exactly what you did.

When you took his cock in your mouth, Ben grabbed your head and started fucking your throat. You tapped his leg so he could slow down but he didn't, you were gagging around his cock, it was painful but he never slowed down. Tears were running down your face, and you could hear Ben’s grunts and moans.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum doll.” He warned and you felt the thick ropes of cum and that made you gag but you did your best to swallow it all, after you were done, you looked at him and he was trying to catch his breath.

“I knew that I made a good deal with Vought.” You looked at him confused. “They let me keep you to do whatever I want in return I don’t appear in public.” He kissed you but you didn't have the ability to kiss him back. “If I was you, I’d warm up to me real quick. There’s nowhere for you to go, and remember sweetheart, you’re just a nobody.” He laughed and went to clean himself, it was going to be a very different stay on this island now, Ben would make sure of it.

[starsfic]

Protective Rose

Rose was loving.

It was part of her nature. "I would think the world would end if you ever stopped loving," Juleka had said once, soft and gentle. Rose knew that if one of her friends asked, she would try her best to snuff out the sun or rearrange the stars. It was silly and ridiculous, but Rose loved.

She loved Juleka. She loved her friends.

That was why she didn't say anything when Alya brought Adrien to the modeling shoot. She loved Adrien and Marinette, and both of them deserved good things. Would it be bad if that good thing was each other?

Then she had looked at Marinette's face.

Marinette couldn't hide the stress the moment Adrien appeared. Rose wasn't sure when it started, but at that moment, the time limit was being presented, and she had a feeling that she was looking at ancient stress. Stress that couldn't be easily scraped away.

The modeling shoot was fun, but Alya's behavior wasn't. Even though this shoot had been for Juleka to start modeling, Alya shoved Marinette in front of the camera. Even as she plastered on a smile, the stress never faded from her eyes.

Rose had looked at the others behind Alya's back. Mylene looked uncertain, Alix had looked so annoyed that she was honestly surprised she didn't throw something, and Juleka was gone. The next few minutes, the akuma and sentimonster had appeared and Rose was left to scramble.

Thankfully, Lady Noire and Mister Bug had saved Juleka. Rose had figured things would be better now. Marinette apologized for Juleka for ruining her first modeling shoot, even though it wasn't really her fault. Rose waited for Alya to apologize too.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Alya never apologized. As Rose waited, she started to think.

Alya was the catalyst for Marinette to start reaching out again. The rest of the class tried their best to avoid Chloe's attention, meaning she had retreated into herself. Before Alya came, Rose could count the times that all the girls had hung out together on one hand. She had Alya to thank.

But...Alya never really let them talk. Not unless it was about getting Marinette and Adrien together. To be fair, Rose liked the idea of Marinette and Adrien getting together. They were so sweet, with sunshine pouring from them, and Rose knew they would be happy together. But, no matter what the conversation started as Alya would divert it back to Adrien.

They tried to talk about more than Adrien. Marinette tried the hardest of all. Alya didn't seem to care.

And Rose wondered if Alya's help was really just a deal with the devil.

She didn't notice the black butterfly settling onto the bracelet Marinette had made her, which matched Juleka's mirror. She did notice the familiar sensation of a hand reaching into her mind, prying it open.

"Roseheart, I am Shadowmoth..."

-_-

"CESAIRE!"

"What did you do to make her angry?"

"I have no idea!" Alya admitted, her voice nearly lost in the rush of wind. Ladybug held her tight, yoyoing from building to building, all trying to outpace the latest akuma.

Roseheart looked like a living rose, with green clothes leading into petal pink curls. Rose's usually friendly blue eyes were clouded with yellow, matching the roses blossoming on her vines and the roses her minions gave people. The person would be entranced with one smell of the flower, accepting more flowers to hand out. That, at least, meant that only Roseheart was actually chasing Alya.

"Are you sure?" Ladybug landed on a roof, yanking Alya out of sight. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but your friend Rose seems willing to bottle things up. Can you think of anything?"

Alya scrunched her face up in thought, trying to think. "Ugh, no," she finally said. "Last time I saw Rose, she was happy. The girls in our class were planning a sleepover to make a plan to help my best friend confess to her crush."

Okay, so Alya was willing to talk about Adrien to Ladybug. Good to know.

"AAAAAAALLLLLYYYAAAA!" Roseheart's screech interrupted her thoughts. "COME OUT! YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE!"

"For what?!" Alya's screech was just a touch too loud. In the next second, Ladybug found herself knocked off her feet as the chimney exploded, revealing Roseheart. The heroine landed on her feet on the other end of the roof, looking in time to see Alya scooting away from Rose. "Whatever I did, Rose, I am so sorry, okay? But I need to know what I did wrong before I do!"

Roseheart's already furious expression darkened further. "You don't know what you did?" she growled. Alya, realizing that her words might've not been the best, shook her head slowly. The akuma raised her hand above her head. Vines started to collect and grow, creating a makeshift club. "You hurt Juleka, you put Adrien above us, and you don't know what you did?"

Hurt Juleka? Put Adrien above?

Was she talking about when Juleka got akumatized during that first modeling session? That had been months ago, to the point that Ladybug had almost forgotten that it happened. Based on Alya's blank stare, so did she.

"Marinette apologized," Roseheart growled out, lifting the club higher. "But it wasn't her fault. It was yours. You were the one to push Juleka out, even though that modeling session was for her. And..." Bigger. "...you..." Bigger. "...never..." Big.

Ladybug yanked out her yo-yo.

"APOLOGIZED!"

Before the club could slam into Alya, her yo-yo wrapped around her best friend's waist and yanked her back. As Roseheart struggled to lift up her club, she scooped up Alya and made a run for it.

"I guess that explains that!"

"...yeah..."

If she looked down, she would've seen Alya's eyes widen, thinking. Right now, however, her focus was on running.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/24/2024

you might be wondering “is my dear friend tumblr user girlfriendsofthegalaxy still unemployed?” the answer is yes. take this cat off my hands please i don’t think he’s causing the unemployment but he certainly isn’t helping

listening

via Wendy @dying-suffering-french-stalkers, Huoy Meas' ប្រគល់ក្ដីស្នេហ៍មកខ្ញុំវិញ. figuring out what this incredibly zippy Cambodian rock song is named and what it's about was really difficult bc spotify is a bane upon this earth and won't let you fucking copy-paste and OCR was not working on the Khmer script. i ended up listening to the first couple seconds of each of her songs on apple music, and finally figured out this roughly translates to Give Me Back My Love and is about begging a fuckboy for closure.

via the spotify discover weekly, Night Club's Pretty Girls Do Ugly Things. all Night Club's songs sound the same so if you like one, great news! i had this song on for a full gregorian hour bc, i am only a tiny bit ashamed to say, i was storyboarding a The Man With No Name fancam to this. i think it would go pretty hard.

Smoke you like a cigarette Choke you like a lariat Fatalistic tourniquet Do you want more?

-

reading

thank you mackintosh.

i did not Adore any of these comics from the library. i sort of enjoyed Night of the Ghoul, a one-volume TPB by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla. i think ive blogged about this before but every once in a while i'll get a bee in my bonnet to read some horror comics even though i am a giant baby about horror movies.

Night of the Ghoul is about how you can't save your dad from PTSD but also about a lost horror film and also about the extremely dad behavior of tracking down every scrap of info about an auteur. there's also a monster.

the subtle art changes from present day to the remains of the film to the non-film flashbacks are well done, imo. the cover screams mignola but the inside pages are really fun pulp nonsense. i love a piece of genre writing that rolls around and delights in being a piece of genre writing.

im doing my level best not to get sucked into tiktok but i DO love watching this lady revive antique nail polish and look for dupes for shades from like the 20s. she found an almost exact dupe for a shade produced during wwii which is crazy insane to me!!!

-

watching

The Asphalt Jungle (1950, dir. Huston), it's a very painterly heist noir. i even like Sterling Hayden in one of the more prominent roles, even though i think he generally has the appeal of undercooked dough.

much like Fritz Lang's M, it presents the criminal element of the city as its own class with its own reputation and reference systems. it got in some trouble with the censors for having a VERY clearly laid out heist plan and execution. it's also got the babiest Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles

this was such a gloriously messy movie. everyone is such a fucking mess. this woman only known as Doll is heartbreakingly, head over heels in love with Sterling Hayden's character. she's a little flighty and bumbling and silly, but determined! they're constantly orbiting the gravitational weight of her desire for this man and desire for a real life with this man. and that's just one subplot! she has maybe five minutes total screentime! she should have gotten a supporting actress oscar!!! everyone acted their fucking hearts out and it was so much fun to watch!

-

playing

monument valley is in the netflix games library this month (i don't actually know what their liscencing agreements would even look like, they and the studios they worked with were very tightlipped about that when they were rolling this out three years ago) but i assume it's going to be on the service for a while. i have never played this game, which makes me feel a little bit like a bad gamer. you can tell it's ten years old from some of the color and texture choices, but WOW did literally everyone take inspiration from this game.

this is the platonic ideal of a phone game. i get why everyone went insane about it and there was a brief boom of geometry-based puzzle mobile games. it is MUCH much harder now to get people to pay money to play a game that has a planned endpoint and planned number of levels, so netflix is a good home for it.

i was often frustrated but always delighted. the level below involves making something happening that made me genuinely gasp out loud in glee. well worth the annoyance of downloading the netflix app and scrolling through the poorly labeled and poorly sorted carousel of games.

great retrospective, a bit about how you need to have tiny teams go off and just kind of fuck around and bring weird stuff back, and a lot about how they actually designed the levels

The end result had a pixel-perfect axonometric aesthetic that not only went hard on its references to Dutch master artist and printmaker Maurits Cornelis Escher, but also dug deep into classic video game design, going right back to early arcade machines and 8-bit titles. Each of the ten levels is like a piece of fine furniture, built with invisible dovetail joints and inlaid with marquetry, stuffed with secret compartments and little design flourishes. Gray cites the world of theatre and stage design, as well as graphics, as important keystones in the way the levels were constructed. ‘Ken would always talk about flower arranging, and how you frame a silhouette of a level on the screen,’ he says.

-

making

update on the Phantom Menace fabric: pinked the raw edges and threw it in the laundry again with a very large quantity of vinegar. 50% poly was too high for it to really do anything, which is interesting. it didn’t lessen the seam edge effects either, which is a little annoying bc the seams were so gigantic and that’s a good chunk of fabric to lose. i am going to buy a camp shirt pattern at some point when i have money again but for now it goes in The Box

also! thrifted a pack of o-rings for jars for a dollar and finally put my grains etc in my pretty jars. they’re going to live in the pantry but today they live out on the countertop

[blindmagdalena]

Hi, an adorable, silly little thought came to my mind, how would Homelander act if he was turned into a chibi (chibi is like Japanese of a cute character shrunk so small). He would very upset that he isn't taken seriously because of his size, but loves the attention he is getting from his s/o. He could literally take advantage of faking and injury, blaming it on one of his teammates, and having being taken care of by his s/o. He could see this as a win/win for him with his small, cute size.

"It's temporary, darling," you say for the umpteenth time, your smile gentle and sympathetic. Despite sitting in your cupped hands, Homelander still has his back to you, his arms stubbornly crossed.

He's refused to speak ever since you made the mistake of laughing at the pitch of his little voice.

Dramatically, he flops down onto his side, head thumping lightly against the curve of your finger.

"You aren't still upset about the fly swatter, are you? Noir was just trying to cheer you up," you say, but that only causes him to look sharply over his shoulder at you, eyes narrowed in a half-hearted glower.

"Okay, okay, still upset," you say, bringing him parallel to your face, closing your fingers slightly to adjust him upright before splaying your hands again. "Would a kiss make it better?"

His gaze drifts up to meet yours. You know that expression. He's going to milk this for everything it's worth. He nods.

Obligingly, you kiss his cheek, though it's more like kissing the entire left side of his head. When you draw back, he's already pointing to the other side of his face, lips pursed in a subtle pout.

You laugh, swiftly diving in to deliver another curative kiss to the right side of his face. When you pull back, he still has that dejected look on his face, but it's growing more performative with every kiss.

"Oh dear," you say, tsking softly. "It's a more severe case than I anticipated. We need twenty CC of kisses stat!"

You relentlessly assail him with a flood of kisses from any and every angle, biting back a laugh at the resigned way he sinks down into your hands, accepting his fate with open arms. To your delight, you can hear him laughing. It's a little squeakier than you're used to, but it's no less his laugh, and it brings you just as much joy to hear it.

His gloved hands land on either side of your chin, and with strength that continues to defy his size even now, he tilts your face down to place his own kiss on your nose.

You draw back and see him slumped in your hands, lips now set in a languid smile, his little cheeks flushed pink all the way to his ears. You touch his warm cheek with your thumb—giving an affectionate little stroke—and he turns his head to kiss the pad of it.

Thanks, his tender expression reads.

"You'll be yourself again soon," you promise him quietly, smoothing down his hair. "But I'm kind of going to miss this."

His eyes narrow, but after a beat, his expression relaxes. Maybe—just maybe—a teeny tiny part of him is enjoying at least this part almost as much as you are.

[oceanlipgloss]

FILM NOIR

SYLUS.

+ warnings: extremely implicit suggestive themes (in ending), mentions of blood, strong language.

A film noir marred with smears of red. The colour of their hearts, his irises, and fresh blood. At first glance, his world looked like that—black, illegal, corrupt.

They were the two of them not quite the classical example of a pair from one of those atmospheric motion pictures, however. He was not plagued by illusions, and she did not want to lead him to armageddon.

This was a noir much more modern, its basic foundations twisted and rotated so as to become their own.

Sexier dreams are sold in cities, or so they say. Because between the clustered buildings and peeling walls, things differ. There’s the seductive motions, the sweet corruptions, the disruptive temptations.

Murder dripped from his fingertips. Crime trickled down his palms. He was one with his guns. Death couldn’t even kiss his sharp cheek. She saw in him an incarnate of demons.

That, however, began to change later.

The tall haughty man shrunk into a silly little boy sometimes. He was still as annoying as ever, of course, but also quite kind. Even a bit childlike.

As it turned out, his world wasn’t all about crime. Core truths were hidden, away from her sight. He could be...nice.

In his crimson world, he hummed an unknown melody in the kitchen. Hearing musical notes clumsily tiptoe on the octaves of his baritone was both unfamiliar and endearing alike. And in that shady world of his, she turned her fingers into a surprise weapon that poked his side.

The blue galaxy took in her sighs. She was beginning to care about him despite herself, despite all his violence, arrogance, and nonsense.

Was he arrogant, though, or did he merely know himself, with that frightening perception and alluring confidence?

Some time ago, he had bound her wrists with burgundy fog and captured her unwilling fingers.

His was a nauseating existence.

Such a handsome man, such a sickening attitude. Those were her thoughts back then. He was so beautiful, but so vile—always making her heart shrivel with subconscious repulsion.

How harsh. Did it wound his heart?

Well, she had always been defiant. Not her fault. He lived on the dark side. It was only fair, perfectly right.

These days, being near him shot her veins with neon. It flowed inside her, darker than cherries, as irresistible as his power.

Like children, they were always bickering. He threatened stubborn plush toys for her. She scolded his moody crow for being a stalker. Together they took over the arcade, capturing soft soldiers. His teeth marked her hand with the pink crescents of playful bites. ‘Gifts,’ he called them.

He appeared to be the kind of man who would indulge in cinema’s greatest noirs, but he could entertain her childish antics, too. He played along so often.

They were so good together.

Never again did he let his coarse fingers so much as brush her tender skin all of a sudden.

Women had their wiles, but he adored her and only her—so much so that his heartbeat became manic under her small hand on his broad chest.

Nothing and no one could be as cute, his love was pure, and he wasn’t about to be seduced. By anyone else, that is. Perhaps he would give in to her; all he needed now was her sweet acceptance, her absolute consent, so that one day he very much could, with pleasure.

Just what about them was similar to a fucked up couple from a film noir?

+notes: finally, finally, my first Love and Deepspace fic debuts and sees the light of day or that of the moon, 'cause it's late at night rn anyway :P

May I now offer you a short babble on how I died a thousand deaths in order to settle on an idea? I kid you not, I've been quite literally yearning and agonising to write a Sylus fic almost since I saw in-game screenshots/videos of him for the first time, which was quite a while before I even began playing the game. I didn't give in and do that, though, as I didn't have a clear, precise picture of what exactly he's like—and I always study characters down to their cells and bones before I write a fic about them—so I resisted the temptation. Some time later (a little over a week ago, in fact), I installed the game, learned a lot more about him with a lot more to go, and my God...

Listen, I really liked him prior to downloading, but right now? I love him very much :/ how could I not? He likes fishing, but the only thing he's catching on that darn hook is hearts. It's a lame joke to make, but can the truth be denied, for goodness' sake? His personality, his mind, his attitude, his darkness, his sweetness, his humour, his face, his height, his fashion sense, his secrets, his lil' son Mephisto too.

Anyways, the inspiration for this piece came from a mixture of parts and sources: the main story, interactions (i.e. arcade, chats, Destiny Café, etc.), home screen and combat lines, dates, Tender Moments, animations, as well as content I have yet to unlock, of course. Do I also need to mention how I adore MC's dynamic with Sylus? They're so cute and funny together pls lol

Seriously, I was confused out of my mind with indecisiveness, writer's block, and this intense desire to write. I genuinely feel a lust to write fics about him until I combust. A fun and silly fic, an innocent one, a sensual one, a melancholic one, a philosophical one, anything and everything else I can think of/that comes to my mind. May the odds be ever in my favour, for sometimes the brain's mechanisms really suck.

+ MASTERLIST

+ AO3 POST

©𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨

[baenyth]

First Half of Miraculous Season 2 Done. Here's my thoughts:

The Collector: A pretty good start! They made the teens smart while still being dumb teens!

Despair Bear: Chloe needs a therapist, arguably moreso than a redemption arc and especially a downward villainous spiral. Also Dangit Grandpa

Prime Queen: Wow, this was a lot more chill than expected. Even Cat Noir was left aghast at what Nadja was doing, Nadja seemed to be pressuring Ladybug and Cat Noir more for views than anything else, and I'm not entirely sure Akuma personalities can be trusted.

Befana: Fun fact: This was the episode that got me into Miraculous in the first place because of how shocking it was. And then I discovered even more. In hindsight from watching the other episodes, it was relatively darker, but mostly because it's Marinette's friends and family that are getting G-rated killed instead of random civilians like every other episode.

Riposte: Kagami is here! I don't see too much chemistry with her and Adrien yet, but she's cool and I like her and feel like I could be friends in real life. Also this feels like a relatively uncommon trope, but I wish "X is blatantly a woman but no one notices" was spedran through by someone with brains.

Robustus: Pretty good, all things considered. From what I've heard about Miraculous lore, creating sapient or at the very least semi-sapient AI isn't that uncommon for weirdness hotspots, and I'm putting Max in the list of characters I think should have figured out Ladybug and Cat Noir's identity. (There's four now!)

Gigantitan: It turns out my favorite parts of Miraculous are the slice-of-life bits instead of the superhero bits the show is about! We got to see more of Marinette's friends! Alix! Mylene! Julie! The Eeby Deeby herself! Also it was really sweet to see Adrien's bodyguard calm down just by looking at the kid. Adrien's true daddy.

Dark Owl: No wonder these two aren't allowed to know eachothers' identities, considering how much of a loose tongue Marinette has!

Glaciator: Alright, it's finally time to talk about the sins of Marinette and Cat Noir, considering the fan content I osmosed before watching the series was heavy salt stuff, and I wanna see how much it holds up. So far Cat Noir has acted as if he's already dating Ladybug previously, and in this episode he got mad at Ladybug for not showing up at a date when she herself said she might not come due to having other plans. Isn't he supposed to be used to not-showing-up disappointment as Adrien due to his dad? Is it different because he's Cat Noir? Is this a breaking point? No matter, he eventually calms down and is ultimately the less bad member of the relationship. Marinette, meanwhile, doesn't have as many misdemeanors to her name but they're a lot worse. She stole Adrien's phone to get rid of an embarrassing message and got away with it too, what the hell, and also owns the schedule. Although I don't believe she stalked Adrien and made it herself due to how busy she is as both Marinette and Ladybug, that's just weird and wrong. I'm reluctant to call her a stalker, but her actions are still wrong. Ultimately, this relationship is going to need a lot of therapy and counseling to not crash and burn. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. The ice cream episode. I think the ice cream guy can be wrong and he doesn't understand that.

Sapotis: Silly little fun episode, also it introduces the first new Miraculous holder! I'm honestly fine with it so far if it means more screentime for side characters. I honestly really like seeing Marinette's classmates. They're neat. Also I was this close to putting Alya on the list but she proves time and time again that she doesn't actually know Ladybug's identity.

Gorizilla: In this episode we are introduced to Adrien's deranged parasocial fanbase. I'm starting to understand some of his father's decisions at this point. This is what I was talking about with the schedule, by the way. These obsessive stalker creeps make Marinette look reasonable, and I wouldn't be surprised if the one guy who I'm pretty sure becomes Party Crasher discreetly stalked Adrien to get his schedule. Restraining orders need to be filed.

Captain Hardrock: One of the funniest episodes, up there with Dark Cupid. Also Luka is here! And he already has great chemistry with Marinette! And more Rosie and Julie content even if it's crumbs!

[familyagrestefanblog]

You know what's so sad about how badly Ladynoir got nuked that it actually turns around to be funny again?

Not only did Marinette telling Chat Noir that she'll never abandon him loose all meaning in season 5 because she left after being told "no" by him once (and she already wanted to leave before Plagg initiated his plan:

I know, its almost like the show is going out of its way to nuke Ladynoir) and proceeded to not think about making sure it's at least Scarabella again who Chat Noir will be meeting after last episode to try and prevent the same "new Ladybug" disaster she said she was sorry for from happening again. And who has to tell him the bad news that this time Ladybug left for good and that it was him saying "no" that caused it.

So exactly all the problems with Hack-San again just for real and WORSE, and even the fear he was talking about at the end - that one day it wouldn't be her and he'll never see her again.

It is incredibly difficult for me to be upset with Adrien for leaving bc of all this. Even if I want to. Marinette's side is just so much worse again

But, no. That's not it!

Even the one and only tini-tiny thing she actually DID manage to remember him for while she threw the darkest red-alert situation at him in "Hack-San", it still ended up ringing pretty much hollow by the end of season 5.

I swear, not a single Ladynoir excuse for Marinette in "Hack-San" is in any way holding up. It's insane.

Cause not ONCE in all of season 4 and 5 does Marinette as Ladybug laugh at anything Chat Noir says. She straight up acknowledged it towards Alya that it makes him happy and she seriously never once does.

That is... genuinely sad. Not sad as in pathetic, just deeply saddening.

And even the few times when civilian Marinette laughs with Chat Noir, I can't remember it ever being at his jokes. It happens when other civilians are bothered by them in the cinema in "Glaciator 2" and in "Elation" when she's having fun at the date in general and later when Adrien tries to be silly while explaining something and then Marinette laughs at Chat being frustrated at himself for not being able to put what he wants to say into words.

But all of these cases are not her laughing at his jokes the way she literally said she knows makes him happy. So she's still not doing it.

Wait, no. When Marichat get the ice cream in "Elation". At least thats a moment where Marinette actively laughs at a joke Chat made. Although, she revealed in "Hack-San" that she would do so, too, even if she didn't think it's funny at all and that unfortunately does leave a very sour taste in my mouth:

Person B being the only one who genuinely laughs at person A's jokes is such a popular trope for a reason and it stings knowing that even that doesn't truly apply here.

The trope was ironically recycled into Adrien thinking Marinette's behavior is funny which he then in season 5 got shamed for by the narrative when he then found out that he was laughing at her trauma responses and he beats himself up for it (what a weird writing decision, honestly)

But Marinette as Ladybug for some reason just continued to be written to not laugh to make Chat Noir happy (even when she was oh so in love with him in the beginning of season 5) and that puts the genuineness of the rare times she does into question bc Marinette is apparently just willing to fake it every blue moon.

But I guess, credit where credit is due. She did indeed do the thing she said she knows makes Chat Noir happy ONE TIME in 52 episodes. Only as civilian, though. And mind you, she left the next episode and previously said that her laughing doesn't mean she actually thinks he's funny.

But one questionable time is better than non, right ?

[kttyn1or]

monbisou's mlb fic rec!! mlb fics recced by monbisou(me)!!

okay let’s get crackin!!

There’s Something About Marinette by ThoughtWarfare

im telling you this fic is so funny and honestly kind of the reason i got pulled back into ml fandom after thinking i’d finally moved on with my life. ever since i read this, marinette x ladybug has been my otp.

Girls Talk Boys by LNC

the core four and adrienette being oh so charming. to be honest, i would recommend everything and anything by LNC, this just happens to be my most recent read.

golden (like daylight) by okayanna

in my mind everyone has already read this because it’s so perfect and classic and lovely. also, well written! adrien is so well characterized. what else can i say. ummm 10/10.

Who Kissed Dupain-Cheng by Ridiculosity

sometimes i think about the marichat dynamic in this fic. actually, who am i kidding. i think about it all the time. constantly. i’m obsessed with the marichat dynamic in this fic.

Friends by meeble

short and sweet and deadly. god i love adrienette.

final girl by picayunewrites

could i do a fic rec and not mention final girl? could any honest marichat lover stay silent in the face of the work that is final girl? i recommend this. i recommend it so so hard.

comfort food by Reiaji

marinette cooks for adrien. marinette teaches adrien how to cook. marinette loves adrien. she loves him.

Trying to Get Bi by breeelis

adrien is ladybugs celebrity crush. is he your celebrity crush chat noir?

bon voyage by gentlefist

set more recently in canon! adrien and marinette are dating! they are dating one another! “dang it!” says chat noir.

Mr Perfect Disguise by caprisuns(marimbles)

ladybug wearing a very big floppy hat. adrien agreste wearing slides. romance!

baker “enemies” comic by buggachat

okay, you’re on tumblr, you’re a ml fan. i’m sure you’ve read or at least heard about buggachats comic. i think my favorite thing about buggachat is their portrayal of the core four. or maybe it’s their adrien? maybe it’s their ladynoir. i love buggachat so much.

oeuf ouch owie by miraculousumflower (ominousunflower)

hahahahahahahahahaha:):))

daydream by a_miiraculer and clairelutra

marinette and adrien are so so into eachother. also, he’s figuring out who ladybug is.

But All I’m Seeing Is You by chealseababylove

for a while i was like, “idk man i’m not sure i’m a ladrien type of guy” but that was before i read but all i’m seeing is you by chelseababylove.

The Dating App by leadernovaandthemacabre

chat noir and marinette. marinette and chat noir. they text eachother and analyze eachother from different angles. ps! a lot of sexy talk! for those who are opposed!

for the record by peachcitt

adrien and marinette set the dating record straight! as friends!!!! prpr

telepathy by thelibraryloser

sometimes you just want a good reveal fic. this one is really good.

A Partir De

something i’ve noticed in ladrien fics so far? a lot of very silly disguises. i’m talking extremely silly.

Strangers in the Bright Lights by poodles

poodles you cook my metaphorical noodles. also, this fic is wondrous.

and that’s it!! for now!!! more coming soon i suspect but then again, who knows?

[lnc2]

seeing a lot of posts asking why ladrien wouldn't have a scene like exaltation in previous seasons which i think completely misses the point of why this episode happened at all.

marichat and ladrien scenes are touch points for what's happening in the love square as a whole because a marichat scene for marinette is also ladynoir while for chat noir is also adrinette. in the same way that a ladrien scene for ladybug would be an adrinette moment and for adrien it would be a ladynoir moment. every interaction informs how they see each other in all sides. they are also vehicles that move the plot forward.

ladrien being requited means that we saw them being silly and excited to be around each other and then in season 4 we saw the shift in strike back where marinette decided that any time she tried to get close to adrien bad things happened. simultaneously chat noir was there to pull her through her darkest moment and she was like here i will be safe. meanwhile we have adrien who is realizing how much he cares for marinette and acknowledging that ladybug said they weren't going to happen so he's moving on too.

so we have two kids so desperate to be around their crush, desperate to move on from another crush, and with the experience of what went wrong the first time and also some sense of confidence that their new crush has liked them before and presumably still does.

but for some reason their new crush keeps avoiding them and running away. maybe they've moved on but it's frustrating and a little bit devastating, especially for marinette who is hanging on by a thread right now and whose main support system isn't taking her new feelings as seriously as she would like.

enter chat noir at the moment her frustration is at its peak. and they're both staying and flirting and excited to be together and so weeks of frustration boils over and they're like fucking bet let's go.

it's silly, it's sweet, but it's a moment out of time. it's borrowed time.

andre throws a bucket of cold water on them and then when they talk about how their previous crushes were too big too bear marinette bridges that gap and they kiss.

but it can't stay like that, it's not sustainable, and the point of the episode is that as long as there is a mask between them they cannot be together.

the secrets that adrien and marinette are forced to hold will always be a ripe source for angst and misunderstandings and hurt and will make one or both of them a target for akumatization.

so it ends with marinette once again thinking that she's the problem and any time she gets close to someone she likes she will mess up in her role as ladybug and that no guy could want to be with her. and then we have adrien who is like fine she loved me once she can love me again let's go.

this episode couldn't have been ladrien because that's not the purpose that ladrien serves for love square. it had to be marichat and it had to be now. it didn't happen because they are more free and authentic with each other- it happened because they were desperate and that's the point. no earlier season would have them trying to go out like this in this way and the only reason it happened in exaltation is because they couldn't reach each other as ladynoir and adrinette.

this episode is the turning point.

adrien go get your girl.

[sehtoast]

Tender Threads CH6 (Homelander x OC)

chapter six: mentorship

chapter directory | slow burn, hurt/comfort, fluff, spidersona as original character, original trans male character, smut, sublander

summary: time to learn the ropes, bug boy. hope you're ready. it's just one week with homelander, how bad can it be?

She hates me.  She fuckin’ hates me and there’s no two ways about it.

Why else would Stillwell do this to him?  A mentorship?  Mandatory training? Benjamin had half a mind to be irritated with Starlight for being the reason this was even a thing.  That mugging she stopped the other day– same one she got in trouble for?

Yeah…

Now Benjamin had to suffer for it.  Learn the ropes, Stillwell had said.  Learn to be a Vought hero.  One week with each member, sans Noir due to the more sensitive nature of his missions.

At least it goes reasonably fast. Most of it, anyway.

From Starlight, he learns to use his position and influence to uplift outreach programs and charities, along with applying his image for promotion to a wider audience.  Despite his annoyance with the whole ordeal, Benjamin finds that he doesn’t mind Starlight one bit.  In fact, the two of them got along splendidly, sharing their life stories from their silly small town upbringings and how different their lives had become.  By the end of the week, Ben freely keeps his mask off around her and hardly minds her knowing about his secret identity.  

A-Train was a bit of a jackass if Ben was being entirely honest, and he spent most of the week watching the speedster practicing his fraction-of-a-second laps or signing his image away to endorse yet another sports company.  With him, Benjamin began to connect the dots of which supe represented what facet of life as a Vought hero.  Starlight was charity; A-Train was product licensing.  By the end, though, A-Train had begun to grow on the bug.

The Deep managed to be the worst week by far.  Benjamin spent his time listening to the aquatic supe drone on and on about sea creatures.  Their feelings, what they said to him, what they said about Benjamin, which fish at the aquarium found the bug attractive– Jesus fucking Christ please save me– how beautiful the sea is, and just about any other mindless drivel that disphit could ramble on about.  With him, Ben learned about scripted saves.

Few, if any, rescues performed by The Seven were authentic.  Some, but certainly not all.  Real ones seemed to only occur on a right-place-right-time basis.

And absolutely none of The Deep’s saves were legitimate.  Together, they tackled a staged smuggling bust at the harbor, much to Ben’s embarrassment.

His week with Maeve was spent sparring and bonding over cocktails and martinis.  Wasn’t hard to find the connection between the note of alcoholism in her file and the way she drank.  Had Benjamin been trying to keep up, he’d have probably needed his stomach pumped.

To each their own.

Four weeks turned to five, which was the one Ben had been most petrified to reach.

A week with Homelander.

He’d been so anxious the night before that he barely slept at all.  Must have been when the sun was rising that he finally dozed off in the warmth of his fuzzy blankets and silky sheets, bare legs rubbing between the textures like some kind of snuggly cricket until sleep overtook him with a force.

He doesn’t even wake for his alarms.  The trickling of light through the curtains fails to rouse him.  Life is… fine.  His dreams are nothing, but sometimes that’s all they need to be.  Just simple, comfy nothingness, that’s all–

“Mmm, cozy little setup you’ve got here.”

Benjamin barely registers the words as his eyes blink open, vision bleary, just to shut them again.  The cool air wafting about with every rotation of the ceiling fan tickles his shoulders.  The bug gives a weak groan and stretches his legs, poking one out from beneath his knitted blanket to splay across the bed.  Instead of its usual plush resting place, it lands on something firm.

Did I leave something...?

Ben slides his leg over the intrusion, trying to get a feel for whatever it is.

“You could buy me dinner first, you know.”

Huh?

Ben sucks in a deep breath and lifts his head, blinking slowly until–

“The fuck!?”  He yelps, scrambling toward the edge and clutching a cover to his bare chest.

“About time, sleepyhead.”  Homelander says, grinning from ear to ear as he lays beside the bug as if there were nothing wrong with any of it.  “Please, what’s with that face?  I can’t be the worst thing you’ve ever woken up beside.”

“Wh– why– what–”  Ben sputters, brain too foggy to coherently tell him to fuck off, too startled to give him shit for such a brazen violation of his boundaries.

“You overslept.”  

“So you got in my bed?”  The bug asks exasperatedly, eyes wide in disbelief.  “D’you know what boundaries are or–”

“Do you know what an alarm clock is?”  Homelander quips, all too happy with himself.  “Just go get ready.  The more time you waste, the longer we both have to be out tonight and I don’t particularly don’t wanna drag this one into tomorrow and overlap the days.  I also like to sleep, you know.”

“I–”  Ben shuffles to move out of bed, but stops.  “Can you like… look the other way or something?”

“Why would I do that?”

“I’m like… very naked under here.”  Ben blurts.

Homelander looks at him, hums, then covers his eyes with his bare palm.  “Fine,” he says.  “Won’t look.  Scout’s honor.  Just go get ready.”

Benjamin will never know that Homelander cheated his way out of that little promise.  Didn’t count as peeking if he didn’t peek– which he didn’t. He did, however, peer through his hand to see the bug scurry away with a little knitted blanket wrapped around his body.  Not that the blanket could stop him from seeing anything anyway.

There isn’t much that he hasn’t seen at this rate.  He’s watched Benjamin shower, seen him get ready or undress after a long day, seen him peel the spandex suit from his body and slump into bed as naked as the day he came into the world.  Hell, he’s seen even more than that.  Not like there was much awareness on Benjamin’s part back when Homelander had caught sight of such performances, but all the same… 

The first sight of Benjamin’s bare body caught him off guard.  Along the lower ridge of his pectorals sat two long scars, each running from his sternum to just below the pits of his arms, light pink in color and not terribly jagged.  Seeing them up close before the bug woke had been exhilarating in its own right.  Even more so to peer through those covers and catch that special sight that always left him unwittingly licking and suckling at his lips.

Ever the curiosity, it seemed. 

Homelander chooses to remain in Benjamin’s bed while the bug hurtles through his morning routine.  While Ben showers, Homelander rolls and buries his nose in the ruffled sheets.  The warmth of them is… different.  He’s done this before, tons of times actually.  He’d plopped himself into Ben’s bed back at the bug’s old apartment and relaxed before heading back to the hustle and bustle of the tower, but basking in it?   Inhaling Ben’s fresh scent, committing it to memory, the lingering heat making it seem like the bug was right there–

He almost hates himself for feeding this fixation.

Almost.

Their first stop for the day is the set of Homelander’s current movie: Homelander Origins.   Just an ordinary introduction to the entertainment industry, right?

“Oh Jesus– oh fuck!!” 

Homelander has him by the arms, dangling him thousands of feet in the air, flying at a mach whatever-the-fuck.  Ben’s body streamlines horizontally, almost perfectly parallel to Homelander’s as they zip through the clouds.  The bug’s stomach is practically in his throat and he’d long since threatened to barf in his mask only to be told that such an occurrence was a personal problem.  Turns out, Benjamin hadn’t totally conquered his fear of heights.  Diving off the Empire State Building was one thing, but this? This was a whole ‘nother ball game– practically a form of fucking torture.

Only after he stops wailing like a big baby on his first roller coaster ride does Benjamin wonder how big the shit-eating grin on Homelander’s face must be.  He must be thrilled to be instilling such terror in the bug after being held up due to Ben’s inability to wake up on time.

Benjamin spends the bulk of the flight staring up at Homelander, finding, as predicted, a satisfied smile splitting his features from ear to ear.  Every so often he looks down and winks, blue eyes twinkling with excited mischief.

“Well, you know what they say.”  Homelander chirps as they begin their descent– slower, thankfully.  “First time flying is always the hardest.”

The bug all but kisses the ground.  “Concrete!  Oh, beautiful, beautiful concrete!”  

He can practically hear Homelander’s eyes roll.

Once the theatrics are wrapped up and Benjamin’s stomach ceases its acrobatics, the two make their way inside of the studio hangar. In truth, Ben never thought he’d be setting foot in a Vought set– ever, actually.  It’s intimidating.

Which, of course, turns him into a bit of a lost puppy.  He stays practically glued to Homelander’s heels, even when it’s time for the makeup chair.

The bug watches with fascination as Homelander gets his on-screen face applied and his windswept hair fixed up.  The makeup artist doesn’t look overly thrilled to be working on him, but his captain barely seems to care.  In fact, he keeps his eyes shut, almost as if he refuses to look in the mirror at himself.  It was only when he would gaze in Ben’s direction to say anything that he bothered opening them at all.

The next half hour is spent rehearsing his lines, and Ben is far from a stellar actor.  Homelander complains more than half of the time that the bug’s line delivery is subpar, that there was no way for him to get his head in the right space because of his pathetically unconvincing delivery, that there was a snowball’s chance in hell that the bug could ever actually swing his own movies– any number of jabs.

Ben simply laughs it off.  “You plucked me off the streets, y’know.”

“And?  What, you can’t read lines like a normal person?”

“Apparently not, Mister Shakespeare.” Ben giggles.  He’s got his mask off while they’re alone in the dressing room, which somehow feels less vulnerable than usual.  Perhaps knowing that Homelander’s been looking through it the whole time has desensitized the bug to the idea of it, or maybe it was the fact that he’s been literally face to face with him so many times now whether by having it yanked off his head or just simply not having it on to begin with.

Homelander just shakes his head, drops his script on the table, and motions for Ben to follow.

Watching him perform his scenes is a whole different kind of beast.  All that talk about being in the right headspace seemed like just a load of hot air.

Homelander is flawless.  Line delivery perfect, body language spot on, expressions perfectly emotive… truly the whole package of an incredibly talented actor.  Ben watches, almost totally mystified until the director’s insistence to have multiple takes of the same scenes gets boring enough to warrant fiddling with his phone instead.

Beyond his own antics, the only other thing left to entertain him was Homelander’s half-hearted little tour guides around the set between breaks.  So you know what to expect when it’s your turn, bug boy, he’d said.  Homelander’s oddly patient throughout, showing little if any irritation when Ben asks objectively stupid questions or wants to swing by the snack table.  Though he does give some commentary.

“Careful,” he chides.  “You do wear a spandex suit.”

“Mhm,” Ben hums in return, chewing on sliced bell pepper.  “It’s vegetables, dude.”  But that’s exactly the kind of shallow commentary the bug had figured he’d be walking into after joining.  Hell, Vought tried to stick him with a meal plan for exactly the same thing Homelander just said.  High protein, low sugar, low carbs…

Yeah fuckin’ right.

They kick back again for a while in the dressing room to chat.  

“So how’d you even end up joining The Seven anyway?”  He asks, red webbed feet kicked up on the table in front of the couch.  This was overdue.  If Homelander was going to be metaphorically up his ass, breaking into his home, monitoring his performance, showing him the ropes, and whatever else ol' stars and stripes may cook up, then Ben was going to at least try to bond with him.  If he was stuck with the guy for the rest of however-the-fuck-long that contract was, then it only made sense to make the process less painful.

A flicker of… something flashes across Homelander’s face. “Oh, you know… Knew a guy who knew a guy.  Saw me in my little league games, threw me an offer right out of school.”

“Huh,” Ben purses his lips.  “Sounds like a blast.”

“Doesn’t sound like you mean that,” Homelander says.

“Well… You’re not wrong.”

Homelander’s lip twitches and that same little break in composure sweeps his features once more, disappearing just as fast as it came.

“Sorry,” Ben says with a tight lipped smile.  “I just… I dunno, actually.”  He huffs a small laugh.  “Y'did better than me, at least.  I was waiting tables right out of school.  Hey, what was school like for you, anyway?”

A tense moment passes, though Homelander’s irate energy seems to dim.

“Why do you care?”  Not a question terribly like him, being Mister Center-of-The-Universe and all.  He’s never asked anything like that before when Ben has inquired about him– granted that’s only been a small handful of times, but... "I'm not here to play fucking Twenty Questions with you."

Ah, yeah... Hit a nerve. 

Which means there's far more than what meets the eye to that picture-perfect story Vought's flung around on every screen and print medium that'd run it.

“I just–” think, Ben.  Think.  He worries his lower lip between his teeth for a second, anxiety bubbling.  If he lies, Homelander will know.  He’d already seen that super power earlier with an assistant who lied about why they were late.  Honesty was the best policy… “It’s– I just–”

Homelander arches a brow.

Ben lets loose a heavy sigh, letting as much tension free as possible.

“Everything I can find about you online is like, too pristine.”  Perhaps not the best way to say it, but at least it was mostly the truth.  Online really meant in Vought’s files, but Homelander didn’t need to know that.  At least not yet.  “Everyone else– ‘cept Noir, I guess– has like any number of rough spots in their life, and Vought fuckin’ loves to milk ‘em for sob stories.  I mean, just look at A-Train’s struggle movies.  Half that shit is blown out of proportion.  And I know 'cuz I asked him during my week with him.”  Benjamin leans back against the couch.  "I just... I don't believe the bits they put out about you guys, y'know?  S'just money to them.  So... yeah.  I wanna ask.  Maybe get to know you now that you're my boss and all."

“Is it so bad that I’ve had a perfect life?”  Homelander counters, almost too nonchalantly. That flicker returns, betraying him.

“No, just–”

“Does it make you jealous?”

He’s getting defensive…

“Look, man.  I’m sorry.”  Ben raises his hands, sitting forward.  Best to end it before Homelander gets pissed off. “M’just curious about you is all.”

Homelander stares him down for a moment, blue eyes boring into browns that couldn’t quite hold his gaze for more than a flash.  An all too forced smile cuts into Homelander’s face, though the intensity of his gaze fails to falter.

“No worries, bug boy.”

And, just like that, he’s standing to head out for his next scene.

Huh..?

The flight home was much less horrifying than the first time around.  Perhaps Homelander just lacked the energy to torture Benjamin more, as evidenced by his nearly child-like ‘fucking finally,’ groaned once the director announced the day was over.  

This time around, Homelander lets Ben hang on with his arms wrapped around his neck and one of his own around the bug’s waist. The proximity was a little awkward at first, but Benjamin eventually got used to it.  It’s all still pretty terrifying despite the fact Homelander even flies slower.

Benjamin embeds the setae of his fingerpads into Homelander’s suit just to be safe.

He didn’t bother to wear his mask, either.  Once they were in the air, there was no point.  Who would see them?  What phone camera could possibly catch them at such a height?  Besides, the cool air helps too.  Ben’s exhausted in his own right, and the battering of wind against his head helps keep him from dozing off, though he does eventually find it in himself to nuzzle his face against Homelander’s neck to spare his face from the whipping wind, although he does so quite timidly.

It’s odd all around.  Trusting the man who threatened to murk his parents to not drop him.  Burying his face in the neck of the man who stalked him for weeks on end.  Finding it… not totally awful?

Yeah, maybe that was the worst part.  If that somehow meant Homelander was growing on him, well...

Ben always was bad at keeping his nose out of trouble.  And right now, it is very much buried in trouble- literally and figuratively.

Homelander has to shuffle him away from the creeping tendrils of sleep threatening to overtake him.

“Huh…?  Oh.”

Home.

At least, as much of a home as it can be.  They’re hovering outside the exterior access panel to Ben’s tower apartment.  Homelander even brought him close to the wall…

“Thanks, I…” Ben turns his head to yawn, giving a few slow blinks.  “Mm…”

“Get in there before you fall asleep on the wall,” Homelander orders.  The smile is all too obvious in his tone even if Benjamin doesn't quite catch it in time.

The bug gives a weak laugh huffed through his nose.  “Right, right.  G’night, Homie…”  He doesn’t turn around to see if that half-cocked nickname won him a look of confusion, a smile, or potentially even ire.

Benjamin doesn't even bother trying to snack on something before bed.  He simply shuffles to his room, peeling the suit away with every step and kicking it to the floor before flopping into bed and burrowing under his blankets.  He stares at the other side for a while, finding sleep elusive despite how beat he is.

“Can’t believe he got in my bed,” Ben thinks aloud.  He runs a hand over the top of the covers where Homelander would’ve laid.  

Wonder what shenanigans he has planned for tomorrow…