#MaribatMarch2020

[miracle-sham]

MariTim/Timinette/Timari Masterlist.

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Oneshots:

| Our Faces are Hidden Behind Masks of Glass (OFaHBMoG) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

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| Vent Your Spleen Until You Keen (VYSUYK) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

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| Instead of Dead, Become Two Dragons in Red (IoDBTDiR) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

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| Of a Sinking Severed Heart—Bleeding 'Til the End (OaSSHBTtE) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

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Series:

| Death is the Stage, My Art is Your Grave (DitSMAiYG) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

| When Sitting on the Roof, We are but Coffee Sleuths (WSotRWabCS) | | DitSMAiYG Sequel |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

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| [Masterlist Link] |

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[anjuschiffer]

To Kill A Ladybug

I couldn’t help myself but write something for Maribat March, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself. So here’s my contribution to this event. Enjoy!

Maribat March- DAY 15: Gone Wrong

Context: Marinette is Marinette Wayne, the adopted child of Bruce Wayne. She wanted to study in Paris, the Dupain-Cheng’s her host family and family that offered her to use their last name to study in Paris. While they don’t know about her secret identity, Bruce does, but Marinette made him promise to not interfere unless she says so. She didn’t want to rely on her family for help, but fate had other plans for Mari.

----

AO3

He didn’t mean it. Really he didn’t. 

“If you truly cared about me, then why don’t just accept my love for you?!” Chat Noir exclaimed, placing down his foot. Ladybug looked at him with squinted eyes

“Are you being serious right now Chat Noir?” Ladybug said, capturing the akumatized butterfly. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“Are you being serious?” Chat bellowed, his hand over his heart. “I’ve told you over and over again that I love you and each time you never give me the answer I want to hear.”

“Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I already told you that I don’t feel the same.” Ladybug said, releasing the purified Akuma. “And before you say anything else. I want to clarify something. I’m not interested in looking for a partner, not platonically nor romantically. I want to do this job properly. Until Hawkmoth is defeated, I will not be investing any time into romance.”

Chat scoffed.

“Are you enjoying this Ladybug?”

“Enjoying what?” She really hoped that what she was thinking wasn’t what was going to happen.

“Playing around with me. Playing with my feelings.” Chat emphasized.

He’s going there alright. Disappointed, but not surprised.

“Chat you know that’s not why-”

“Oh I bet it is.” He accused, walking up to her, pushing her back with his finger. “Not only do you like to keep secrets from me, but you also like to play around with my heart.”

 “Chat, that’s not true-”

“Oh, I’m sure it is.” Chat spat, “I bet you’re enjoying all my attention because I bet that no one like the real you.” Something loomed over Marinette, pressing itself onto her being. “I bet the real you adores lying, adores manipulating those around them, not caring at how they hurt others with their words.” At the accusation, Marinette took a step back. 

Again, she was being compared to that girl. That girl that always manages to crawl under her skin. That girl that she was nothing like. Nothing like what Chat was telling her he thought she was. “You do it all for fun, don’t you?” 

“I-I-”

“And maybe I was the first person to actually love you.” He turned to face the city, the chatter and noises became mute. “But how stupid was I to actually love someone like you. Maybe we really weren’t made to be partners. Nonetheless friends.” Chat huffed. “So from now on, do me a favor and take the high road, got it?” He said as he turned to face Ladybug.

 He wasn’t expecting the scene in front of him

His eyes widened upon seeing her face pale, her eyes boring through him, dripping with tears. 

“Is-Is that what you think,” Ladybug started, startling Chat. He’s never heard her voice so wobbly, so... fragile. “Is that what you think is the reason behind me not accepting your feelings for me?” Chat gulped. 

“Ladybug, I didn’t-”

“That I should take the high road?” Ladybug hiccuped, letting out a small giggle afterwards. “That’s the second time I heard that phrase.” She looked at her hands, her tears falling into them. “Both said by people whom I adore and trusted.” She looked back at Chat, who stared back at her with wide eyes, as if he just realized some grand revelation. “Maybe… maybe I really should take that piece of advice.”

With that, she dashed away, Chat’s voice fading as she grew further away from him. 

Little did he know that that was the last time he would ever see her. 

Night turned into days, which turned into a month. A solid month without Ladybug ever appearing. 

Chat had to fight akuma after akuma without Ladybug ever by his side. Sure he had allies, but none could replace the gap Ladybug had left behind. A gap he had caused and ate at his conscience every minute of the day. 

It didn’t help when the day after the whole incident, that Marinette went missing, appearing back to class a whole week later. When Adrien approached her, wanting to confirm his suspicions, she flinched harshly against his touch. After apologizing and telling Marinette that he knew she was Ladybug, her reaction horrified him. 

Marinette went pale, her breathing becoming faster with each inhalation, her eyes quickly darting around the room before she collapsed to the ground. 

Adrien simply stood there, watching and hearing as their classmates scurried to find help, Adrien watching as the world around him moved as he remained still.

A group of paramedics were soon in the class, taking Marinette off to the nearest hospital. 

Had Adrien looked closer, he would’ve seen that she no longer wore the earrings she had once held with great honor. 

He had missed the first of many signs of his bad luck.

That night, Adrien went out on patrol, wiping his tears for what seemed like the umpteenth time. 

Stopping a tiny crime didn’t relieve him of his sorrows, Adrien wanting an akuma to appear so badly so that he can forget the pain swelling in his heart.

That’s when he was taken by surprise, his vision flipping and the air from his lungs escaping him as his back hit the tar of the roof. Preparing to fight back, he froze upon feeling a cold blade pressed against his throat. All Adrien was able to tell from this guy was that he had to have been younger than him, but obviously was more trained than him.

The male was cladded in all black attire, the only color on him were his eyes.

Green met emerald.

“Adrien Agreste.” The person growled, causing the blood on Adrien’s face to drain. How did he know who he was? The only person that knew who he was was the Guardian, but the Guardian had been missing for quite a while.

“Who are-”

“On behalf of the Guardian, I now renounce your duty as Chat Noir. I hereby strip you of your mantle as Chat Noir.” The male spoke, Ariden seeing bloodlust in his eyes. Like if that was going to prevent him from backing off without a fight.

“You can’t just-”

“Orders are orders.” The male said in a monotone voice, shudders rippling through Adrien’s body. “It’s a wonder how she still kept working with such an incompetent asshole like you. If I were Ladybug, I would’ve kicked you off the team the moment I felt you were useless to me or a hindrance to the mission.”

“You know Ladybug?” A scoff.

“Of course. She’s the reason why you haven't been killed yet.” The male pressed his blade further into Adrien’s skin, causing Adrien to whimper. “If it were up to us, you would’ve been skinned alive and then killed.” 

“Us?” Adrien croaked.

“The rest of her brothers. Do you know how much pain you made her go through? For the past week, she’s gone through breakdowns and panic attacks, suffering from depression and anxiety. None of us can touch nor talk to her without her reacting negatively, mumbling self deprecating things about herself.” 

“And that’s just touching the surface.” A new voice added, Adrien watching another male emerge from the shadows. He wore a red helmet, Adrien feeling his heart temporarily stop upon seeing the guns holstered at each side of Red’s side. Adrien didn’t want to know if they truly were real or not.

“All because you threw a tantrum like a child because she said ‘no’ like the right she’s allowed to have.” Another male said, Adrien shifting his eyes to a male sitting on the building’s fence. He got up and started to walk on the fence with no care in the world, almost childlike despite Adrien having the gut feeling that he was the eldest of the new crowd. 

“I didn’t-”

“You’re an idiot if you thought your words couldn’t hurt her.” Another voice chipped. Adrien finally noticed the new person, leaning against Red. “She’s the most kind and caring person we know and you tore her because you’re spoiled ass couldn’t take a rejection. Even I know how to take one.”  

“So you’re going to do what we say unless you want to die tonight.” The young assasin said, Adrien gulping and giving an okay.

-----

Adrien watched as news spewed their opinions and theories of what happened to Ladybug and Chat Noir grew, the media wondering where they went and what was going to happen to Paris now that they were gone. 

Adrien already knew the answer to one question, but was also looking for answers for that second question himself. Where was his Lady? Where was Marinette?

The answer was soon given in the form of Adrien arriving home one day, seeing national forces in front of his house. There he saw his father get escorted to a car. Ladybug stood in the distance, Adrien cheering up upon seeing his Lady.

Or so he thought it was his Lady. 

When he had gone up to talk with her, she simply glared at him, ignoring his pleads of wanting to speak with her. It took the new cat to stop Adrien from pestering his partner.

“She obviously doesn’t want to speak to you.” The cat said, standing between the new Ladybug and Adrien.

“But I have to speak-”

“How insensitive.” The Cat said, shaking his head. “Didn’t you know? The new Ladybug can’t verbally speak? She can only physically speak.”

“What is that-”

“Sign language.” Cat said, narrowing his eyes in an all familiar fashion. “She’s a mute.” With that simple explanation, Adrien was left alone, the police surrounding him and taking him back into his empty home, giving him a briefing of what had just happened.

His Lady was gone, so was Hawkmoth, whom he found out that day was his own father. 

He had no one left. His aunt wanted him to come to England, Adrien compromising with her to let him finish his studies in Paris before heading to England. It worked. He was to live alone, but Adrien denied this fate.

He had one last hope.

However, that faith he had started to dwindle when he later found out that Marinette was no longer in their school, no longer in Paris, nonetheless France. She had left for the States, with a new family.

He was truly alone now.

Adrien struggled to keep his grades up, his health depleting thanks to his lack of self care. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days nor had a proper night’s rest. 

He was a wreck and he knew. 

It didn’t help when Damian Wayne came to the school and barged into the class, grabbing Adrien by his shirt collar and punching him square in the face and wanting to give him a few more.

A man with a white streak on his hair had to rip Damian away from Adrien while another male talked with Bustier. 

Under other circumstances, Adrien would’ve been more alert and willing to fight back, but now he didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore and for some reason, he felt like he deserved it.

Nino had helped him get back to his seat, giving him a few napkins to deal with the blood seeping from his nose. Alya then helped him go to the nurse’s office, which then led to him having to be sent to a hospital thanks to having a fracture.

As he sat on the hospital cot, he decided to ring his aunt when he found an envelope with the initials MDC and a ladybug sticker sealing the envelope. 

Adrien opened the letter, the first words caused him to tear up, covering his mouth in attempts to suppress a wail. 

He watched as tears dropped onto the letter in his hand, the paper soaking it, earning a stain. 

He didn’t want their reveal to be this way, to be done in this matter. He had imagined their reveal to be done properly, to be done face to face, not through writing.

Guilt gnawed at his body, causing him to vomit, a nearby nurse seeing this and attempted to help him before calling out for a doctor.

Soon after Adrien recovered, Gabriel  was losing to its opponent MW, Adrien having to shut it down and simply live with whatever his good-for-nothing father had left behind. 

He didn’t have anything to fall back into, having to use his aunt’s connections to get into the acting field, seeing as he had no dream to pursue and acting being the only thing he was decent at.

Another year at the Wayne Gala, Adrien sulking in a corner as this aunt and cousin enjoyed the event to their heart's content. He was only here because his company asked him to represent them. If not… there went his career...

“-introduce my lovely daughter and her fiancé, Marinette Wayne and Garfield Logan.”

Adrien’s eye ghosted over the couple that had gotten onto the stage to join Bruce when they sharply landed on Marinette Wayne, or should he say Marrinette Dupain-Cheng.

He watched as she dazzled everyone with her presence, her midnight hair done wonderfully into a side braid, covered in all different types of flowers. Her simple black sweetheart dress with golden trims matched Garfield own all black suit with golden cuffs and trims. 

That could’ve been him up there. That could’ve been him but he just had to have acted like a child instead of a professional all those years ago. 

What a fool he had been. 

Everything went wrong when he decided to kill a ladybug. 

He had killed their everyday ladybug and then Ladybug herself, although in reality, he had killed the same person twice.

They said killing a Ladybug was bad luck… seems like that was true. 

[ethelphantom]

How to Become a Part of Your Target's Family as Told by Damian al Ghul (or should he say, Damian Dupain-Cheng)

You should be happy and very thankful. I would have given you angst, but then I came up with this and instead you're getting humour with little to no angst.

Ao3

This is Maribat -- Don’t like; Don’t read

___________________________

It was supposed to be easy.

He’d had her in his sights, she wasn’t moving at all, there were no obstacles between them, and she was just a girl. He knew how to aim a moving target even when he was moving as well, this should’ve been easier than ‘snatching candy from a baby’. He was rather certain that was the expression anyway.

But then…

Then why…

Why was she able to sneak up on him, now in front of him, and completely unharmed?

The girl — Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Ladybug, he’d been told — was standing in front of her, looking like she was just disappointed. For some reason, the chance that was the case stung. She had his crossbow in her hands, as well as the arrow he had shot at her which she snapped in half, and with a sigh, she crossed her hands over her chest.

“Are they serious? A child? Do they really think I’m that easy to get rid of?” she asked, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “Go home, kid, and please tell Ra’s that just because I said no to his offers doesn’t mean I should be underestimated. If he’s heard about all of his missions around here having gone wrong, he should have already realised it was me and that a kid isn’t going to be what takes me down.”

“I— what? What are you talking about?”

“Oh my god, I was just joking about the kid part, you’re just so short, but you’re actually a child? What are you, ten? Goodness, he’s getting even worse at this.”

Damian, for a moment forgetting all his training and the fact this girl was holding his weapon and that she could see him and was far too close to him for comfort, just stared at her. She was young as well, a little bit shorter than him, and dressed in a red skirt and satin shirt and there was no good reasoning or logic behind how she somehow had managed to approach him without him noticing.

The girl looked at him up and down as though she were sizing him up. Which, now that he thought about it, was most likely the case. “Well, aren’t you gonna try again? Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Surely Ra’s had you trained better.”

The words hit him a little too late, and his eyes just widened. Did this girl actually ask him if he was going to attempt assassinating her again? Just who was she? Was she to be killed because she had refused the league, had she said she was not going to join them? Or was it because she’d been ruining Grandfather’s missions? Was she even telling him the truth?

Still looking at him, she cocked her hips and tilted her head. “Kid, please. You’re the only one in a long time that has made even a mediocre attempt on my life, it’s offensive if you don’t try again. Not trying again would be rude. And you wouldn’t want to offend your target when you’ve also managed to fail at killing them? Like, please choose to either succeed and offend me or fail and at least try once more,” she sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Then she booped his nose. Which, excuse her? Who did this girl think she was? He was Damian of the House of al Ghul, the heir of Ra’s al Ghul and his League of Assassins, and he was not to be disrespected like this, by his target nonetheless.

This was so confusing. “You actually want me to kill you?” slipped from his lips.

The girl shrugged. “I mean, not really, I don’t think I would enjoy dying, but I do want you to try again. If you manage to kill me while you’re at it, that’s fine with me. It’s not like I didn’t ask you to do it.” The girl flipped her hair from her front to her back, pushing it away from her eyes. “Besides, I’m bored. You, kid, are the most interesting thing that has happened to me in weeks.”

Then she flipped out her yoyo — a yoyo? What even… — and made a ‘come here’ gesture with her hand. The crossbow she abandoned on the side, though not without taking it apart first.

Damian huffed out of irritation and unsheathed his sword, brows still furrowed because he was confused and rather offended for getting sassed by his own target for missing. It was humiliating.

He didn’t think enough much, and instead just went for her. That was… definitely a mistake on his part as she simply stepped aside, giggling. Giggling. That had him realise this was not a fight to be won without plans and she was not an opponent to be defeated all that easily, so he jumped and grabbed a tree branch above him, bringing himself to the safety of the shadows of the leaves. The shadows were familiar, they were home — they were the best place to hide.

He knew them and they knew him, and he could use that.

The girl was left yawning on the ground, and her eyes seemed to search where exactly he went. While she was doing that, he studied her and her movements, trying to find a weak spot. There was a limp in her walk, clearly. Maybe she’d injured her knee while they were at it because she hadn’t had that a moment ago?

Well, he had not been trained to fight fairly, he’d been trained to fight to win. He could also use her injury to his advantage.

So that was what he did.

As soon as he moved though, there appeared a slight smirk on her face and she turned to look at him, her eyes locking with his even though she wasn’t supposed to be able to see him. It was disturbing. After all, he had tried to hide from her.

Regardless, he dropped down from the tree right at her, almost managing to pin her under him. The problem was, she threw him off of her, and that was lost.

That continued for a while. He attacked, she dodged. Every single time. She didn’t even try to attack him, which on its own was insulting as well. Did she think he was too young to be attacked? That he couldn’t handle it? He was eleven already. He wasn’t that young anymore. Surely Grandfather and Mother had known how well trained this girl was and decided that Damian was the best suited to take her down.

Aside from dodging and the occasional remark (“Is that the best you got?”, “In order to kill me, you must first be able to actually get the sword to touch me, but nice try”, “Rule number one of assassinating: don’t let the target find you, and especially don’t let them start a game — chances are, they’re better than you and you haven’t got even a chance at winning”, “It’s okay, don’t worry about not succeeding, worry about why I’m winning”, “Actually, you know what, if you’re indeed Ra’s’, maybe you should worry about not succeeding”), the girl did nothing. It was infuriating, and at this point, Damian wanted to slap her before actually killing her.

It took him until the latest remark to actually snap, though.

“Please tell me Ra’s didn’t think he was sending his best because this? This is not the best,” she sighed at some point and shook her head, jumping to the side, away from his blade.

“Silence yourself!” he snapped, clutching at the handle of his sword desperately. His voice wavered a little. “I am one of the best Grandfather has! Mother made sure of it!”

That had the girl stop. She threw her yoyo at his sword and snatched it from him before throwing it away and placing her yoyo back at her hip where it seemed to belong. Then she approached him cautiously, her hands open in front of her so he could see she had no weapon in her hands. When she got close enough, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a serious expression, brows furrowed and mouth a thin line.

“Your grandfather? You are the perfect vessel and weapon Ra’s mentioned in passing? You must still be like, ten.”

“I’m eleven!”

“You just proved my point, kid, and that doesn’t make it any better. Okay, yeah, the game’s off, I’m coming with you to the league. Nope, you don’t have a say in that.”

“You’re what?”

“Coming with you to the league. You’re too young for this, and I’m gonna make sure nothing happens to you for failing to kill me. It’s not like you’re gonna succeed anyway, and neither is your grandfather — or mother — if I have any say in it. They’re not the only people in this world with training too excellent. Especially not when one’s been trained by a lot of people, including someone from the league. Besides, if I willingly come there with a changed mind, I doubt Ra’s would kill me until he found out why. So. Let’s go.”

Still, not completely sure about what was happening, Damian let himself be dragged along towards his transportation, and he couldn’t understand how she knew where it was until she showed the little tracker she’d taken from his pocket. This day was proving out to be the most embarrassing and humiliating he had ever had the dishonour to face.

When they got back to where Mother and Grandfather were waiting for him, even they couldn’t hide their surprise at the girl that had forced herself to come along, completely unharmed (had she faked the limp earlier?), smiling. Damian was sure the smile wasn’t happy or gentle though — he’d seen it before so many times, and it reminded him more of Mother’s smiles when she saw someone she loathed or someone she was furious at. It was sharp and dripping with something that could only be called wrath and superiority. Like she somehow had power over Mother and Grandfather.

Judging by how Mother sighed and told Grandfather she was leaving him to deal with this, and how Grandfather just told her that yes, sure, she can stay if she does what the league tells her to do like his offer months ago had been, there was a chance she actually did have power over them. Some, at the very least.

It was confusing.

Years later, the girl — he’d eventually taken to mostly calling her by Ladybug or Akhtaa (my sister) — who had proclaimed herself Damian’s big sister but said that if Ra’s somehow got the idea of making her an heiress or something because she was older, she was going to ruin any and all plans Ra’s had, and then gift that right straight back to Damian as long as it didn’t bring him any harm, and who had become one of the best assassins the league had ever had, told him to stay quiet as she took him to a plane she’d insisted on learning how to fly a year back. He could now see why she had wanted to learn. It was smart of her not to try anything until now. At some point, she stopped, took out a paper and a pen from her pocket, scribbled something on it and slammed it on the wall closest to her. It seemed to be a post-it note as it stuck.

When he questioned her actions, she replied with “They’re abusing you, and you’re still a child, which also means, you still have a chance at a better life and I’m going to make sure you get it before they fucking destroy any chance at the life you might’ve been able to get” before the plane took off.

They ended up in Paris, of all places. If Ladybug was planning on having them hide somewhere, the capital city of France wasn’t probably the best of places. At least she’d left the plane in another country.

The bakery, instead, might have been. It was small, even if popular judging by the number of people waiting in line, but Ladybug — maybe Akhtaa when they were near civilians who certainly didn’t know of her other life — just cut in line (apologising, of course, she was always so very polite to most people despite usually also being superior to them on all fronts), and told them she needed to see the bakers, and no, she was not going to buy anything, she’s not cutting in line that way. It was unlikely Grandfather or Mother would look into a bakery, of all places.

“Maman! I’m back,” she yelled when she got inside, dragged Damian to what looked like a living room and seated him on the sofa. In full assassin regalia. Accompanied by what was at least three different weapons, few kinds of knives and daggers and a sword. How was she going to explain this to anyone, let alone her… mother?

A woman came in, wiping her hands on her trousers. She did indeed look like Ladybug did — and yeah, he should maybe learn to call her Marinette now, shouldn’t he? Unless she was still content with him calling her Akhtaa because that was more comfortable to him —, just older. She also looked way too much like the infamous Nocturne in the league. She couldn’t, right— “Ah, it’s good to see you, baby. My, you’ve grown. Ra’s didn’t treat you badly, now did he? I don’t need to go kick his ass?” the short woman with a pixie cut asked Marinette, pulling her into a hug. Marinette hugged her back and smiled before untangling herself from the embrace and leading her to Damian.

“Maman, this is Damian. I saved him and he’s now my little brother, which, actually, I should probably inform Papa of. Also, I’m not sure he actually listened to me when I taught him how to bake, so that might be in order.”

The woman looked at him up and down, as though she were sizing him up, and didn’t being looked at like that feel just a bit too familiar? At least now he knew where Marinette — no, she’d called him her little brother in front of her mother, Akhtaa was probably still alright — had gotten her ability to do so from.

“You look a lot like Talia. And maybe a bit like— Baby, please tell me this isn’t who I think it is.”

“It’s exactly who you think it is, Maman. Talia’s only son, Ra’s heir and the perfect vessel, but also the son of the Detective Ra’s originally was so obsessed with years ago. I would’ve taken him to his Father but that’s no less safe than staying with the league since he’s an emotionally constipated idiot who fights crime dressed as a Bat instead of getting therapy and would have taken him along, so I took him here. I thought we could keep him until I trust he’s either old enough to actually say no to his father if the need be or at least old enough for the fighting part not to be that bad. It’s not like I could’ve left him now. Oh, and you remember how I left for the league for a few years?”

“Yes, how could I forget?”

“Well, it’s because this kid was only eleven at the time, was told to assassinate me, failed, and you know how Ra’s would have taken that. So.”

A beat. Then a groan, which then turned into a growl.

“I am going to kill Ra’s.”

The exchange between Akhtaa and her mother was, the least to say, strange. They were talking about the league like both knew it like the backs of their hands, and there was a chance they did.

The woman Akhtaa called her mother was the Nocturne, wasn’t she.

It would explain why Akhtaa had said she’d been trained by a League soldier years and years ago. Why she knew exactly how he would move. Why she knew how to handle Grandfather and Mother because there was only a handful of League soldiers who could leave the League and stay alive — she must have learnt it from Nocturne.

Nocturne turned her eyes to Damian and smiled. It was sharp, but not in the same way as Akhtaa’s had been when she’d smiled at his Mother and Grandfather a long time ago. This smile was also soft, like she wanted to make sure Damian knew he was safe here with them.

“Hello, Damian. I’m Sabine, Marinette’s mother, though you might know me better as Nocturne since you’re from the League. And, as she claims you to be her new little brother, I suppose I’m your new mother as well. You can call me Sabine or any version of ‘mother’, whichever you prefer. House rules are as stands: No smoking, no drugs, no underage drinking, no weapons at the dinner table, at least one meal with the family a day is a must unless the rest of the family has been informed of absence at least three hours before, and absolutely no killing within the city bounds. Also, no scaring away the customers.”

Damian just found himself nodding as Sabine continued speaking.

“Marinette can show you to your new room. If you need anything, just tell me or Marinette. Dinner is at 8 pm sharp. Being late is not an option today. You can choose between getting homeschooled and an actual school, but we’ll discuss that later. Have fun, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

And that was how Damian found himself inserted into the Dupain-Cheng family. How he’d gotten here from trying to kill their only daughter, he wasn’t too sure, but honestly? He wasn’t complaining.

Five years later, Akhtaa took him to Gotham and introduced him to his Father and adopted siblings (which, how in the world had Father adopted so many kids? There was at least Cassandra and Jason whom he’d met at some point in the league, Richard, the first of his children and on par with Akhtaa when it came to hugging people, Timothy, the second youngest of the children, and Duke, who was only a few years older than Damian.) They were confused but welcomed him after they’d confirmed he was indeed Father’s blood son, and Damian was relieved about it. He’d come to appreciate found family with the Dupain-Chengs and Akhtaa over the years, so it wasn’t too hard to adapt into this family either — though that was probably because Akhtaa and he had insisted on having her as a family as well. After all, she was more of a big sibling to him than any of the others together.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how meeting them would have gone if Mother and Grandfather were the ones to send him to his Father, especially if that had happened when he was still younger.

Good thing he didn’t need to know.

He would never need to know.

____________________

Basically, Marinette is hurt and offended because the only one who has made a proper attempt on her life is a child, and Damian is confused and offended that his target is sassing him for missing. You were supposed to get someone actually, physically hurt and instead you're getting this. Be happy.

@kris-pines04 @thethirdwheelfriend @daminett4life @abrx2002 @persephonebutkore @rebecarojas07 @corabeth11 @freshbark @maribat-march2020 @catsandfanfic @fertileleaf @eat0crow @cutechip

[black-streak]

Maribat March - Day 25 - Roommates

I'm really on a kick with the Timinette lately. Probably just because I'm looking forward to working on my next big work here soon. Dick is everyone's big brother.

MM Taglist:

@maribat-march2020 @emo-elaine13

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08

~---~

Living with a strange man you technically don't know but trust with your safety is a strange feeling. I mean sure, both Harley and Ivy had assured her that Richard Grayson was perfectly harmless. Well. Beyond the fact that he could break a man in two with ease, but to someone like her? Harmless. Perfectly sweet and caring and willing to protect her should she need it.

The only reason the two lovely rogues hadn't taken her in themselves was a lack of space and willingness to drag her into their lifestyle. Not that Nightwing himself was much better, but at least here she wasn't cramped up on a small couch. 

Really, it worked out well for the two. Mutually beneficial, if you will. Despite him being a good decade older than her, the guy couldn't cook for shit. Or maintain his space. But then again, she's an immigrant with no documentation. That wasn't quite on the top of her priority list when she portaled out of Paris. So maybe cleaning up and cooking wasn't too steep a price to pay for a safe place to stay. Plus, Dick made great company whenever he was actually home.

Speaking of, that sounded like him coming through the window now.

Wait, no.

That's definitely not him.

Standing in the middle of the living room, she stared at the red, black, and gold vigilante crouched upon the window sill and staring back. He made a move for something at his side and she decided now would be as good a time as any to speak up.

"Um. Dick's not home at the moment. Obviously. Uh… should be back any second now though. You can wait? If you'd like?"

The eyes narrowed further on her and his hand pulled out a baton, so very like the one Chat once used, leaning forward in preparation to pounce. Her reflexes kicked in, sliding her feet into a defensive posture, prepared for the attack. The vigilante launched off the perch, but only to tumble straight to the ground, revealing Nightwing in the window, having landed directly against the other's back, throwing him in.

"Oh hey! Sorry, Mari, I forgot to tell him you were here. This is my little brother," Dick gave a shit-eating grin as he peeled off his mask after having closed the window, sidestepping the said brother who stayed face down on the floor, grumbling to himself.

As Dick went off to the kitchen to make a mess of it, she was sure, she picked her way over to the pile of human below the window, kneeling down and tilting sideways to meet his eyes with a warm, apologetic smile, "Hello, I'm Marinette. His roommate. You must be Tim."

His eyes snapped up to hers, mouth gaping open.

"Oh shoot, I'm not supposed to know that, am I? Sorry, he has no filter at home," she pouted.

Tim's face slowly turned red as she watched, and deepening her concern, "hey, are you okay? You're not injured, are you? I'm great with stitches," she tried to reassure.

Seemingly snapping out of it, he lifted himself off the ground and peeled off the mask, clearing his throat simultaneously, "I'm fine. Sorry, just wasn't expecting you."

Her lips perked up into a comforting smile, offering him a hand up, "That's understandable. Here, let me help you. Would you like anything? I was baking bread before you showed up. Hopefully Dick hasn't eaten it all," she drifted off, grabbing his hand and leading him into the kitchen to join his brother.

His brother, who took one look at his little brother's flushed face, speechless quiet, and grasped hand and grinned bright and wide. He knew it was a good idea to offer his place up for the night.

[18-fandoms-unite-08]

Maribat March Day 1: Firsts

@maribat-march2020

Hope y'all enjoy! Yes, this is late. But I was busy ;)

~~

Every year on this day, he had always felt a sense of calmness about him.

How could he not feel that way? Today was the day He met the love of his life. Marinette Dupain-cheng.

That girl, she was a living, breathing beacon of hope. She always prioritised others above herself. Always willing to drop whatever she was doing to help someone in need.

That's how they met actually.

"The name's Marinette, a.k.a Scarlett Luck," She winked at him cheekily, "Batman's newest protégé. Nice to meet you! You must be the current Robin" She stuck her hand out to shake.

Caught off guard by her utterly unfazed reaction of him glaring, the corner of his lips pulled up, slightly.

"Damian Wayne," He said, grasping her hand. She had a strong grip, he'll give her that.

Marinette had been there for him the way no one else could. Not even Richard. Marinette had guided and supported him through all the tough events in his life. She had never poked around in his business, rather waiting when he was comfortable enough.

Damian had been in the middle of changing out of his Robin suit after patrol.

"Damian! Alfred told me t-" She stopped dead in her tracks. Both of their eyes went wide.

Damian froze. He's never let anyone see his back. Not even his father knew. He's never been this careless.

He was expecting pity, maybe something along the lines of 'I'm so sorry' . But instead Marinette just silently came closer and hugged him. He didn't realise he had been so.. touch starved until she did that.

Before he could truly cherish the hug, Marinette pulled away. Smiling softly, she looked up at him and said, "Damian, I know you've been through a lot," Mari reached for his hand and squeezed gently, "It's not my place to ask, but if you ever need to.. let it out, just know I'll always be here."

He didn't know what to say to that. So he just nodded, portraying all of his emotions and thoughts into that one gesture.

The highlight of Damian's life, you ask? Well, there's only two major events in Damian's life that he would cherish until his dying day.

The day he finally got up the courage to put a ring on the love his life.

Saying that he was nervous would probably be the understatement of the century. He was finally going to do it. He was going to propose to Marinette. He had this whole thing planned out, courtesy of some help from Alfred and Richard that is.

Sadly, the universe seemed to be against him, even at a time like this.

The Joker escaped Arkham and the problem took literal hours to handle.

He ended up foregoing the whole plan.

Arriving at the Batcave, suits still on, he walks up to Marinette, and kissed her.

"What was that for?" She had asked, while giggling.

He got on one knee and reached for the ring he put in his suit.

Marinette gasped and out her hands to he mouth.

She said yes.

There was also the day another beacon of light and hope was born into his life. His daughter, Kalila 'Kalie' Wayne.

He cherished every moment he had with her.

Her first steps.

Her first words.

Her first day of school.

Everything.

Staring at the words in front of him, he could only think of one thought.

"I wish you could've been there with us, love."

In loving memory of,

Marinette Wayne

2003 – 2030

Loving mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend.

~~

Sorry, not sorry. ;))

{Permanent Tag list}

@miraculous786 @theatreandcomicfreak

---

All my fics are under the tag #18fandomsfics

[emixion]

Mantle: Maribat March Day 7

This was noooot beta read I'm too tired. @maribat-march2020 _______________________________________________________________________ “You two are sure about this?” Tikki’s uncertain voice asks. Marinette and Plagg nod in confirmation. “We’re sure. We’ve talked about it a lot and even discussed it with Bruce.” Marinette reassures her Kwami. “He’s our black cat.” “Yeah, Sugarcube, you can sense the ring’s inclination for him as much as I can.” Plagg chimes in. ”Not to mention all the icky chemistry between him and pigtails.” Marinette flushes at that. “I know, I’m just worried about Marinette. After last time…” Tikki trails off, leaving a beat of silence as all three slightly stiffen slightly. “She should never have to deal with such horrible behavior ever again.” Marinette smiles sadly, pulling Tikki against her cheek for a hug. “This is not like Adrien. I won’t let anything like Adrien happen ever again. I swear on all of the camembert in the world, Sugarcube.” Plagg’s voice is surprisingly serious as he speaks to Tikki. “This kid is different, and if it turns out I’m wrong I’ll pull the damn ring off of him myself.” He promises both girls. Marinette’s eyes go a little glassy and she pulls Plagg close as well, cuddling the two Kwamis. “I love you guys. Thank you for always having my back.” She whispers with watery gratitude. Plagg and Tikki just cuddle her back. “We love you too, Marinette.” Tikki kisses her cheek, making the noirette giggle. Once they’re done with their hug, Plagg floats back up to face Marinette. “You ready, Pigtails?” He asks. “Let’s do it.” _______________________________________________________________________

“Angel? Is everything alright?” Damian asks in concern when he opens the door to his bedroom and sees the nervousness on his girlfriend’s face. “Yes, everything’s fine.” She replies as he ushers her into the room. “I have something to ask you.” “Alright..” Damian raises an eyebrow at her. Marinette takes a deep breath before pulling the small box out of her pocket. If she were anyone else Damian would think this was a proposal, but she isn’t anyone else. “Damian Wayne,” Marinette proclaims, tilting her head up to look him dead in the eyes. “You have been selected to wield the Black Cat Miraculous, which grants the power of destruction. You will be a full time wielder, and you will use the ring’s power to help defeat Hawkmoth. Do you accept?” Damian looks at her in shock. “Marinette…you want me to be the new black cat? Are you certain?” Damian glances down at the silver ring in the box. Marinette nods firmly. “I am. Plagg and I agreed you were the best choice.” She confirms. Her face is still hard and professional, the face of a true Guardian. “Your dad agreed with us.” “You spoke with Father about it?” He asks. “Yes. He said he’d be willing to help you work out a schedule to balance it all if you choose to accept.” Marinette explains. Damian looks at her for a long moment, brow knit in thought. “It’s a big decision…if you need time to think-“ Marinette’s wavering voice is cut off by Damian saying, “I accept.” She stops short, staring back at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “You accept?” She asks, the cool professionalism in her voice fading into something lighter. “Yes, I accept, Habibti. I will be your black cat and fight alongside you.” He places his hands on her shoulder. “I won’t let you down.” Tears of relief flood Marinette’s eyes as she flings herself into Damian’s arms. She finally has a partner again. Someone to support her and strategize with her. Someone to carry their weight in battle. And it’s the person she would trust with her life. “I’m so glad. I’m so so glad.” She blubbers into his shoulder, making Damian squeeze her tighter. “I am too. I think we’ll make a great team, Marinette.” He smiles, stroking her hair as she clings to him. Marinette sniffs, looking up at him with a relieved giggle. “Yeah, I think we will, too.” She beams, pulling back to stand in front of him. “Now, as the Guardian of the Miraculous, I hereby grant you the black cat Miraculous.” She hands him the box, watching fondly as he takes the ring out and places it on his finger. Plagg appears in front of him. “Hey, kid. Glad you accepted, you’ve got such fancy cheese here.” The cat Kwami sighs at the thought of his favorite snack. “Shall I tell Alfred to make sure we have camembert at all times now?” Damian asks in amusement. “Yes you shall. And remember kid,” Plagg’s voice suddenly goes deathly serious. “If you do anything to hurt Marinette or make her believe that you’re not the absolute best and only choice for the black cat, I will have this ring taken back so fast that your finger will come along with it. I am not letting Marinette get hurt again.” Damian doesn’t flinch at the threat, but doesn’t scowl either. He just nods and says, “I’d rather be drowned in a Lazarus Pit than hurt her.” He declares, looking Plagg dead in the eye. “Good answer, kid. See, Sugarcube? I told you he’s a good one.” Plagg calls to the red blob floating up beside Marinette. “You certainly did Plagg. I look forward to working with you, Damian.” Tikki surges forward to cuddle Damian’s cheek. The normally frigid vigilante brings a hand up to pat the Kwami’s head. “You as well, Tikki.” He smiles softly. “This is really touching,” Plagg pipes up “but are you gonna transform? I want to know if I’m allowed to nap yet or not.” “Oh!” Marinette chirps. “That’s right, you haven’t even transformed yet.” “What do I have to do?” Damian asks, looking between Marinette and Plagg. The cat Kwami zips back up near his face. “All you’ve gotta do is say, ‘Plagg, claws out.’ Then you’ve got your cataclysm, which you can only use once and only have five minutes left before you transform back after using, but Pigtails can fill you in from there.” He tells his new chosen. Damian looks to Mari who smiles and nods in encouragement, and says the magic words. “Plagg, claws out.” The green light washes over him, covering the new holder in his costume. The black covering him is not leather, but a looser material, allowing him to move about freely. His belt and gloves are radioactive green, and he has a hooded cloak with cat ears. The mask is a similar shape to his Robin mask, green replacing the area over his eyes that are usually covered in white. Marinette looks him up and down in approval. “You look very handsome, Dove.” She smiles. Damian snorts, looking himself over in the nearby mirror. “Do I?” “Mhm, but you’re missing one thing.” She giggles, causing Damian to turn to her. “And what’s that?” “Tikki, spots on.” Pink lights up the room, and Marinette grins widely at him through her mask. “Your Ladybug, of course!” She exclaims. “Of course, how could I forget that?” He  chuckles, pulling her close.  All of the kwamis in the Miracle Box feel the otherworldly calm that ascends over their world as the finally balanced Ladybug and Black Cat’s lips collide.

[fridayfirefly]

Paper Rings

For Maribat March Day 22: Rarepair

Ao3

@maribat-march2020

There is not nearly enough Garmari fanfiction in the world so I took matters into my own hands.

This isn’t a songfic, but it is majorly inspired by "Paper Rings" by Taylor Swift.

----------♡----------♡----------♡----------♡----------

“I’m not drunk,” protested Marinette as she and her boyfriend of three years walked down the Paris streets. The full moon was high in the night sky, lighting up the streets below. Marinette and Garfield had just left Adrien's housewarming party, which turned out to be a complete success. Everyone loved the macaroon tray that Marinette brought. All in all, Marinette had been having a perfect night, until Garfield had the audacity to accuse her of being drunk.

“I know you don't want to hear this, Marinette, but you are most certainly drunk," Gar said with a smile.

“I am not. I’m just...” Marinette paused, thinking. “Tipsy. I’m just a little tipsy.”

“Maribug, you are definitely drunk right now.”

“Nu-uh. No. There’s no way I’m drunk, I only had..." Marinette counted on her fingers. "Four glasses of wine."

“I'm sorry to tell you this, darling, but four glasses is a lot, and you are a lightweight.”

“Well- Well you’re a fun ruiner. Ruining all of my fun.” Marinette pouted.

Gar smile only grew wider. “I have to admit though, you're pretty cute when you’re drunk.”

“I'm cute all the time. And I'm not drunk.”

“Prove it then." Gar's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Why don’t you try walking in a straight line for me.”

“Fine.” Marinette found a straight line in the sidewalk and started walking down it. Only to find herself three feet to the left of the line. "No fair, you cheated. Give me a second try."

"Okay," said Gar, humoring her.

Marinette's second try was an even greater disaster than the first. She took three fairly straight steps before she somehow managed to stumble over her own two feet, and fall right into Gar's arms.

Gar pressed a kiss against his girlfriend's forehead. “You’re drunk, Maribug.”

“Fine. I’m drunk,” Marinette pouted. “But straight lines are overrated, anyway.”

"Of course," said Gar, barely managing to keep a straight face. "Completely overrated. Who needs them? We sure don't?"

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Are you teasing me?"

"Never," promised Gar, mischief still present in his green gaze.

"I don't believe you," Marinette said in a sing-song voice.

As they passed by a grocery store, Gar stopped in to buy Marinette a bottle of water and a croissant. "To help sober you up," said Gar.

Marinette pouted. "I thought you said I was a cute drunk."

"You certainly are cute, Maribug. I just don't want you to wake up with a hangover."

"Oh, you're right," Marinette said brightly, taking a long sip of water. "Mmm water. I love water. And I love croissants. And I love you, Garfield Logan."

"Love you too, Buginette."

Their walk took them over the Seine River, across the Pont Des Arts Bridge. It was one of Marinette's favorite spots in the whole city. Couple would attach padlocks to the bridge to represent their love for each other, and throw the key into the river so that their love will never be broken. Garfield and Marinette attached their own lock to the bridge on their one year anniversary, and they came back every year after to attach another lock. Marinette hoped that she and Gar would have the opportunity to attach many, many more locks to the bridge.

Marinette then stopped dead in her tracks, underneath a streetlight. "Wait. I have something to show you." She opened up her purse and started rummaging through it. "I got bored last night so I starting doing origami and.... here they are." Marinette pulled out two origami rings, one green and one pink. "One for you and one for me."

Marinette grabbed the pink ring and slipped it onto Garfield's finger. "You should take my name when we get married. Garfield Dupain-Cheng. Or we could hyphenate your name in too. Garfield Dupain-Logan-Cheng."

Gar gazed at the Marinette, adoration in his eyes. "Maribug, is that a proposal?"

"Of course it is. I decided months ago that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I was going to get a real engagement ring, but I don't think it matters that much." Marinette smiled. "I like shiny things, but I would marry you with paper rings." It was the truth. The origami rings had been a spontaneous decision, but marrying Gar was a decision that Marinette made with full certainty.

Gar took the green ring out of Marinette's hand and got down on one knee. "You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you marry me?"

Marinette giggled. "Yes, Gar. I will marry you."

Gar stood up, in the process slipping the paper ring onto Marinette's finger. He pulled her into a long kiss, the taste of her vanilla lip balm mixing with the aftertaste of wine in her mouth. It was a combination he burned into his memory as his first kiss with his fiancée.

"Why don't we get home so that we can properly celebrate, my Maribug."

"I like the sound of that."

The moon shined brightly overhead as they walked back to their apartment hand in hand, wearing paper rings and dreaming of the future. Dreaming of white wedding dresses and growing old together. Dreaming of late-night kisses and love that never fades.

[meanids]

Maribat March - Firsts

Day 2 Day 3

@eat0crow

'I love you'

Tim stared down at his dozing girlfriend in a mix of shock and awe. The casual way she had said it, softly and sincerely, was completely different from how he thought the first time of saying 'I love you' would go.

He thought he would be the one saying it, letting it slip out after watching her be particularly badass, or that maybe Marinette would be the one to brave it first, by slipping it into a ramble and then proceeding to turn into a stumbling, blushing (and adorable) mess.

But despite the thousand ways Tim had imagined it would go, he hadn't expected it to happen in the quiet of the sitting room at night, in a spot where he and Mari were often caught napping together. It was so mundane, so domestic and so right.

He loved Mari and she loved him, and they didn't need to say it to know it.

Their love spoke for itself in their actions. In the way Mari dragged him to bed if he hadn't slept in twenty four hours, in the way Tim had to remind her to eat if she was too focused on a commission, even in the small moments like now, where they could relax and be vulnerable, taking comfort in the safety of one another.

Marinette probably wouldn't even remember this tomorrow, wouldn't remember the doting smile on Tim's face or the light blush on his cheeks, but Tim would make sure to remind her everyday that he loved her and to cherish every reaction, whether it's a big grin or a flustered ramble.

Leaning down, Tim lightly kissed her nose, admiring the way her face briefly scrunched up before settling into a peaceful expression.

'I love you, Ma Lutine'

[vln-vibes]

Mantle

Week One Day Seven for Maribat March

“Hello, I’m Tikki-”

“Goddess of Creation and Fortune, it is an honor.” Marinette found herself bowing at the small kwami.

“You know who I am?” Tikki asked confused at the small human child before her, she had to be no older than thirteen, with awe and honor in her bluebell eyes. She seemed vaguely familiar but the small goddess could not place her metaphorical finger as to why.

“Yes, my mother and grandmother have told me countless stories of you and your past wielders” Marinette said enthusiastically, “It has been centuries, but Queen Hippolyta still holds you in the highest regards.”

“Hippolyta? But I thought she𑁋” the small Kwami was confused, there was no way Hippolyta should be alive unless…

“She is Queen of the Amazons on the island of Themyscira, she doesn’t tend to leave the island but Mother and I go visit every so often.” Marinette clarified for the kwami, still she was confused as to why the Ladybug’s Earrings ended up in her bedroom. A loud crash outside her window answered her question; a stone beast was stomping across the street, yelling something along the line of Kim… It couldn’t be her friend, could it?

“Marinette Astraea Prince, you have been chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous and myself to wield the power of the Ladybug. Do you accept the duty of protecting the world against evil and retrieving the Butterfly Miraculous, which has gotten into the hands of dark forces.”

“I accept, Kwami of Creation and Fortune, Tikki.”

“Great! Now I’m sure you know how to activate my powers?” Tikki asked curiously as Marinette nodded enthusiastically, the Ladybug earrings now looking like simple round black onyx earrings rather than its normal red with black spots.

“Of course, they were always my favorite stories as a child. Tikki, spots on!”

___________________________

“I’m guessing you’re my new partner?” She looked to see the new Black Cat, hoping things would go better than what had happened with Hercules. She had been running on the rooftops, something familiar to her, when they had quite literally bumped into each other, the boy nearly falling off before she was able to hold him up with her new yo-yo.

His outfit reminded her vaguely of the Gotham rogue and Batfamily member Catwoman; which she still needed to finish Selina’s dress now that she thought about it, his leather, though not as shiny, did not leave much up to imagination; he was clearly built but not terribly muscular like the women back in her motherland.The silver accents did help brighten up the color scheme a bit along with his green eyes, his leather cat ears and belt tail were adorable if she was being honest. Her grandmother had explained that the outfits were made subconsciously though always maintained its animal theme.

“That’s right. I am Ladybug, who may you be?” She stated confidently, reminding her of all the diplomacy lessons and whenever she’d go out as Wonder Girl. Her own outfit, which she had only glimpsed at briefly before leaping out of her window, was significantly more colorful by comparison. Its base was a black spandex with a ladybug patterned unitard on top, she also had red knee pads and ladybug patterned boots that fell underneath them, along with over the elbow fingerless gloves. Her outfit was complete with a pinned red translucent cape in the shape of ladybug wings, she wondered if she’d be able to fly with them. Her hair was placed in a high ponytail, and her midnight black hair fading into scarlet red by the tips while her framed by a domino mask and red lipstick.

“Nice name, you can call me Chat Noir.'' The new Black Cat bowed to her in an overzealous courtesy.

“Well then, Chat Noir, we have a city to save.”

___________________________

Diana Prince was walking home from her work at the Louvre, wondering what she should make for dinner with her daughter. 

Then the shaking began.

She looked up, turning to see a stone monster jump into the Dupont sports stadium followed by the screams of children.

Using her superspeed, she quickly changed into her armor before following after it. As she landed on the open ceiling she could see the monster stand above her daughter’s friend, Kim Le Chien. Before Wonder Woman could interfere, a silver staff extended between them; a person wearing a black leather suit with cat ears arriving soon after.

“Hey, it's not nice picking on people that are smaller than you.”

A soft thump landed beside her, Wonder Woman only caught a glimpse of red before the figure jumped off, throwing a roped item item towards the monster as they landed.

“Animal cruelty, how shameful!” 

A new Ladybug and Black Cat have been chosen.

Diana decided to stay back and see what the new chosen would do, prepared to step in should they need assistance.

The two seemed to talk before the Black Cat activated Cataclysm, Diana found herself reaching out just when the Ladybug did too, both watching in remorse as he used it to disintegrate the soccer goal. He tried to run towards the stone being pulled by the tail, the Ladybug gesturing something and shaking her head. She took out the iconic yo-yo, raising it towards the air and calling for her Lucky Charm. A watersuit dropped into her waiting hands.

The scarlet hero looked around before she began tying the ends of the watersuit, fastening a hose towards one end. Quickly she wrapped her yo-yo on her partner, twirling him around before throwing him towards the stone being with a practiced ease.

“Trust me!”

She jumped into the air, running along with the hose and watersuit, both her and the black cat becoming trapped in the fists of the stone monster, a small object falling from its fist. Diana was ready to make a move when the Ladybug yelled out,

“Reporter, the tap!”

Wonder Woman turned to see a teenage girl run towards the tap where the hose was attached, phone at hand most likely recording the events going down in a hurry. Soon the stone being released ladybug and the now filled up water suit. The Ladybug ran towards the discarded item, stepping on it before it released a black and purple butterfly.

“That’s enough trouble for today, time to purify!” she opened her yo-yo, twirling it around and capturing the butterfly within it. She released the now white butterfly with a small wave, “Bye-bye little butterfly.”

They looked to see the stone being transformed back into a husky teenage boy, a schoolmate of Marinette’s if she was correct. He looked confused as to why he was there, the hero duo walking up to him. They seemed to speak with him, hopefully consolation, Diana thought, before the Ladybug handed him a crumpled up piece of paper with a smile. The scarlet hero then grabbed the watersuit, throwing it in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Diana looked on in awe as the swarm of ladybugs flew around the air, fixing the goal and any other damages made during the incident. 

“Woah, that was awesome!” The teenager from earlier began to cheer, “Uncanny, amazing, spectacular! How did you get your powers? Will you be staying permanently? What should we call you?”

“You can call me Ladybug.”

“And I’m Chat Noir!”

“We have to go, but rest assured that we will be around for as long as you need us.”

The duo made their way out towards the open rooftop on her opposite side. Diana followed behind them as discreetly as she could, wanting to speak to them personally. She caught up to them a few buildings down the road, where they wouldn’t be seen by onlookers, and the duo were about to part ways before Ladybug turned towards her with a nervous smile.

“Hello Wonder Woman.” Ladybug stood with her back straight while Chat Noir had the same look of awe most people did the first time they met her in real life, strangely Ladybug gave her a look of familiarity.

“What did you think of our first outing?”

Diana looked between the two, the magic only let her theorize that they were young to early adults, she had the sensation that she had seen the two before, more strongly with Ladybug, but her mother had explained that the Miraculous magic cloaked the identities of the users even without masks, unless they informed others. 

The two looked different kinds of nervous: Chat Noir was visibly twisting his fingers and even kicking his foot, not even making eye contact with her; was she really so imposing or was this perhaps how he usually reacted towards adults or those in authority? Ladybug, while standing straight and looking at her in the eyes like a warrior, her eyes still visibly showed her nervousness.

“You have both performed admirably for your first day on the job. I can already see the great potential you both have. However, training is still needed in order to learn your abilities and  limitations, something we best learn before your next battle.” The two seemed to preen at her compliments, so perhaps leaning more on the young in adult. The beeping coming from the Miraculous becoming more urgent in Chat Noir, breaking the little moment as he grew flustered.

“Looks like this cat has to skedaddle. It was great meeting you Wonder Woman!” Chat Noir shook her hand before bowing towards Ladybug, “Until next time Ladybug.” He ran towards the opposite way they’d been heading using his staff to leap across the city until they could no longer see him. Ladybug stood straight next to her, not making a move to run off even as her fourth spot was fading.

“Are you not leaving for your own home, Ladybug?” she asked curiously, she was sure they’d have to keep identities a secret and hoped Ladybug didn’t just automatically trust her for being a well known hero. She was honored but even still Ladybug should be more precocious.

“It would be strange for me to head home a different way from you. I think grandmother will be pleased with this development.” Almost like a splash of water hitting her face, Diana soon realized why Ladybug had looked so familiar.

“My Star?” She softly asked, placing her hand on Ladybug’s cheek, her little girl nudging into it before erupting into a nervous smile, much like the one her mother described she would have as child.

“Hello mother.”

Ko-Fi

AO3

@tired-yeetling​ @bamagirl513​ @thequestionablyhuman​ @satans-favorite-homo​ @officiallyathiana​ @moonshoon​ @chez-pezeater​ @vixen-uchiha​ @mystery-5-5​ @eliza-bich​ @schrodingers25​ @zerotosiki​ @driftingmoonlitpetals

[bouwrites]

Maribat March 2020 Prompt: Soulmate

Week 4, Day 2. This story has been previously posted in response to @theatreandcomicfreak‘s prompt here. I’ve done some minor editing to it, but if you’ve read that already, there’s no significant difference. I’m simply reposting the story in a better format to fit within the guidelines of this Maribat event, so that I can more easily link each story together as a group.

Maribat March 2020 Calendar.

Day 1: Sweetheart’s Dance, Day 3: Coffee Shop.

Ao3.

2133 words. Story under read-more.

Marinette has always been a princess. She likes the nickname. Likes being treated like one. Likes the meaning behind it. She’s not so unusual in that way. After all, how many young girls dream of being princesses? Even she can admit that the number of Disney movies alone Marinette has watched over and over again is a little ridiculous. And since her soulmark appeared, Marinette understandably never quite left behind the princess phase. After all, proudly curving on the back of her neck, almost hidden by her hairline, in clear script, is the word “Princess”. The thing her soulmate will call her. She’s not demanding or spoiled or anything like that, or she tries not to be, but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy feeling like a princess now and then.

She’s comfortable with her soulmark. It’s not the most uncommon thing, and her having a preference for more established nicknames means she knows from a young age that she’s bound to run into some confusion somewhere down the line. The whole, “are they or are they not?” thing that happens when people use nicknames for friends that just happens to align with their soulmark. She knows it’s coming, so she’s comfortable. Prepared.

She gets a little too comfortable, truth be told, but she learns to hold her tongue. Some people can be like Chat Noir, making up nicknames for everyone, their originality driving them through the cloud of the most common terms of endearment on soulmarks. Marinette is creative enough, and she used to do the same thing, but she learns better now. That leaves her in the other pool of people, who try not to use nicknames much at all, to avoid confusion.

Once you say something, there’s no taking it back. One affectionate “Chaton” and her crime-fighting partner thinks she’s the love of his life. But he never calls her “princess”. He never uses her mark-name. It doesn’t even occur to him to. Marinette takes this as proof that he’s not her soulmate after all, but whenever she tells him this, he just thinks up another nickname to call her.

It’s not frightening or even annoying so much as it is simply awkward. With an everyday friend, that may not be such a problem, but with her partner? They aren’t on the same wavelength, all because of a stupid mark-name. That’s dangerous.

Marinette learns to hold her tongue. Sure, a mistake in everyday life may not have such potentially severe consequences, but even so she’d rather avoid insistent men on her case in her civilian life if possible. Chat Noir is no problem, because Marinette trusts and likes him, but he does teach her a lesson on how some people may react to the wrong name. Nicknames, for her, end up reserved for only her closest friends, if that. The change isn’t as hard as she thinks.

Princess. Marinette can’t help the violent flinch that overcomes her at the name, but Chat Noir doesn’t seem to notice. He keeps going on showboating for her. Princess? Really? Is this a joke?

There’s no other explanation. It has to be some grand cosmic joke. The punchline to the greatest show on Earth. Because Marinette knows Chat Noir isn’t her soulmate. She knows he likes to make up nicknames, but never once has he called her “Princess”.

Marinette uncomfortably touches the mark on the back of her neck, disguising it as simply rubbing it awkwardly. The bold lines spelling out that word. Princess. What… Chat Noir calls her?

Marinette doesn’t have time to think about this. She has an akuma to take down, and with it targeting her as a civilian, she has to be at the top of her game. Chat Noir can wait, soulmate or not. At least for now.

It makes sense, to some extent. If Chat Noir has only not called her princess because his soulmate isn’t Ladybug but Marinette. But then what about him? She called him Chaton while and because he is Chat Noir. Marinette would never even think of calling someone that who isn’t moonlighting as a cat. But then, does that prove that they are soulmates? Or does it prove that they aren’t? Surely someone other than her will call him Chaton. It’s not exactly a hard place to reach, once they learn of his alter ego.

Yeah. Marinette thinks. It’s just a coincidence. Calling some damsel “princess” is just like him, anyway. It should be more surprising that he hasn’t until now. Marinette holds her hair up with one hand and a mirror with the other, examining the mark. Right?

“Tikki?” Marinette reaches one hand up into the air, idly grasping at nothing as her mind consumes her.

“What is it, Marinette?”

Marinette worries her lip, unsure if she can or should ask the question on the tip of her tongue. It takes a few stumbling attempts, but she ends up closing her eyes and asking what’s on her mind. “Why would I have a soulmate that I don’t love?”

Tikki is quiet for long enough that Marinette is tempted to sit up and look, but she refrains. She’s not sure she wants to see the expression on Tikki’s face.

“I just-” Marinette tries to explain. “Chat called me it. Princess. And I called him Chaton. That means we’re soulmates, right? But… I do- I don’t… I’m not sure I love him like that. He’s my best friend, of course, but… I just don’t see him as a… soulmate. Am I broken?”

“Oh, Marinette! No, no you’re not broken at all! Don’t you ever think that about yourself.”

“Bu-”

“No! I said, don’t! There’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t even know for sure that he is your soulmate, and even if he is, there’s nothing wrong with having a platonic soulmate! You don’t have to be in love to be soulmates!”

Marinette mulls over Tikki’s words. They echo in her head and roll in her mouth. “But… he loves me.”

“You’re both still so young, Marinette. Give it time! I’m sure things will become clear sooner or later.”

Now, Marinette does sit up. Tikki is smiling earnestly at her, the optimism and confidence in her eyes too infectious for Marinette to resist her own smile. “You really think so?”

“I know so!” Tikki says firmly. “Everything will be okay.”

The school trip is unexpected, in the sense that Marinette all but forgets about it. She knows she has a part in planning it, of course, and she does her part with aplomb, but all of that was set in stone so long ago that with everything else going on, from Hawk Moth to Chat being her maybe-soulmate, it totally slips her mind.

Not to mention how she almost doesn’t go at all. She has a city to protect now, after all. She can’t just go on vacation.

Master Fu solves that problem for her, though, and Marinette finds herself oddly relieved that Kaalki has such a convenient power. Time away from Hawk Moth, even if she is still on call, is just what the doctor ordered. Maybe, without all this outside pressure, she can sit down and figure everything out once and for all.

Plus, it should be fun. A visit to the Daily Planet with Alya in tow alone will make this trip to Metropolis more than worth it. That’s not even starting on all the other events, tours, and activities they have planned. It’s very exciting, and Marinette almost wishes she isn’t so distracted just so she can properly enjoy her classmate’s raving about everything they’re going to do in America.

She’s sure she’s missed some very entertaining discussions. Maybe Alya can catch me up?

“Woah, careful there, princess.”

Marinette freezes at the unexpected touch on her shoulders. She’s a hair away from taking this guy to the ground, but then the situation catches up with her and she barely stops herself.

Pole in the middle of the sidewalk? Threat. Cute guy who has just saved her from slamming face-first into that pole? Probably less so. Also, Princess?!

Marinette examines the guy warily. Black hair, unkempt like he’s just been through a wind tunnel, bright eyes furrowed with concern, muscular arms leading to hands that have still not removed themselves from her shoulders. She shrugs him off, never tearing her eyes from his. She knows how suspicious she must look, and the way he wilts under her stare makes her think she should probably tone it back a bit, but still.

She knows that mistakes happen. She knows Chat might be her soulmate. She knows the likelihood of it being some random passerby in America isn’t exactly in her favor. But he has to be sure. “Princess?” She echoes, more testily than she means.

The guy clears his throat awkwardly. “Ah, I- I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from, I just- I saw you weren’t looking at the pole and I-”

“You what?” Marinette pushes him just for fun, because he’s so flustered, but she can’t help but smile. The bite leaves her voice, replaced with sarcasm. She hopes he can hear that it’s friendly. “Thought you’d save the princess? Eh, superman?” The boy flushes brilliantly, scratching at his neck as he looks to the ground. “I can take care of myself. A little pole isn’t going to hurt me.” She teases. “Thanks, though. You did save me this time.”

The boy chuckles awkwardly. “Ahaha, you’re welcome! Hey, uh, my name’s Jon! I… I’m not sure how to say this, I, uh…”

Now, Marinette knows mistakes happen, but she can also read a situation. The way his cheeks stay color as he bumbles through his introduction, the way he holds his neck a bit too reverent to be sheepish, the way his eyes go wide when she calls him “Superman”.

Jon takes a deep breath, apparently composing himself. “Sorry, I… that was super awkward. Um… You called me superman. That’s, uh…” He ducks down a bit, turning so that she can see the script on the back of his neck. “My mark-name. Also, weird, but, whatever. So, I was wondering if maybe princess was yours?”

Marinette chuckles and pulls her hair aside, turning so he can see her own mark. In the same exact place. Most soul-pairs have their marks in the same place, so that makes this seem more likely. Even still, Marinette has had false alarms before. This seems more legit than any so far, but…

But the way he lights up at the sight of the mark. That stops Marinette’s breath in her lungs. “It is!” Jon cheers. “I can’t believe it! It’s really you!”

Marinette calms her heart and tries to rid her face of the damn soft look she knows she has. “Maybe.” She says. “I’ve had a close call before. This looks legit, though, so… no promises, but maybe we can… I don’t know. Get coffee or something?”

“Yes! Yeah, sure! I’m- I am so down for that!” Jon grins from ear to ear. “Get to know each other, and then decide if we want to trust the mark-names or not?”

“Exactly.” Marinette says. “If you’re okay with that?”

“A hundred percent! I totally understand being cautious. Uh, here! Let me give you my number. You can let me know when you’re free? Unless… you are now?”

Marinette ducks her head to hide from the intensity of his gaze. It’s so… adoring. Not like Chat, not in the depths of love way, or the confident way he claims her as his. It’s in an optimistic way. In a hopeful, nervous way. It makes her chest flutter, and she can’t help but hope, too. “I’m actually in the city on a class trip. We’re having free time right now, so I’ve got, uh,” she checks her phone, “a couple hours.”

“Great! I know a good place to get coffee just around the corner. And, if you want, I could show you around a bit? I know the city pretty well.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Jon guides her to the coffee shop, awkwardly drifting close but carefully keeping his hands off of her. It’s cute, watching him want to grab her hand or throw his arm over her shoulder, but Marinette appreciates that he doesn’t.

She can’t be sure from one conversation and a couple of mark-names, but Jon seems just as likely as Chat to be her soulmate. Is he? Is Chat? Marinette ducks away from his eyes again, brushing her hair behind her ear as that single glimpse makes her stomach somersault. It’s impossible to tell from this meeting alone, but if the feeling in her chest is telling her anything, it’s saying to give this a chance. Maybe that’s all she really needs.

[my-northern-downpour]

Maribat March Day 3-Mission

Here’s day 3 of maribat march! I wasn’t too sure what to write about with this one but I’m happy with how it turned out!

Marinette had a mission that day. It included school and any possible akuma attacks that Hawkmoth sent out. It didn't include following a stoplight looking person running across the skyline of Paris like he owned the place.

@maribat-march2020

AO3

Her mission that day was simple. Go to school. Pass the test. Take down any akuma that Hawkmoth sent out. Her mission that day didn’t include following a boy in a horrendous, traffic light stop looking, outfit running across the roofs of Paris like he belonged there. She sighed as she tracked him, wishing and hoping that it wasn’t another akuma. His outfit made it seem likely.

Damian worked his way across the Parisian skyline, his mission real simple; attract the local heroes attention and get them to follow him to the rest of the bat group. He grumbled at the memory of how he had been chosen to be the bait.

“I vote Robin!” Red Robin all but shouted above the commotion of the gathered bats. Damian glared daggers at him while Red Robin held the biggest shit eating grin on his face. 

“And why should I be the one to be the lure bait?” Robin sneered. 

Red Robin just shrugged his shoulders like the answer was obvious. “It’s a simple answer. We know Ladybug’s past comments on akuma outfits and how tacky they are. And well,” he motioned to Robin ,”no offense Batsy, but his is the tackiest uniform of us all. She’ll definitely follow you.”

Damian felt his face go warm with anger with each word that was said, but he knew it was the truth. Robins all had the same color scheme and there was nothing he could do about it. 

And that was how he ended up leaping across the roofs of the foreign city, until he heard a buzzing sound and then felt a wire wrap around him. Robin took one step forward and fell, his face meeting the tiles of the roof. Great. Absolutely great. They won’t let that one die for the next year. He thought to himself as he struggled to sit up. When he did, he was face to face with an irritated Ladybug.

“Okay,” she started with a tired huff, “I already know what Hawkmoth is after so you can skip the whole ‘Give me the miraculous!’ spiel today. I’m tired and hungry and I just want to go home,” Ladybug groaned, looking down at Robin trying to figure out what the akumatized object was. “So, let’s just call this game over so we can all go home. Okay?” 

Robin just looked at her, noting how tired she actually did look and smirked. Hopefully she would be easier to convince that he wasn’t an akuma. “Actually Ladybug, I’m very glad to have run into you. My name is Robin and I, along with the other Bats, are here to assist you in your search for Hawkmoth,” he voiced the speech he had been made to memorize. The others didn’t want him to give off the wrong vibe when they eventually met. 

Ladybug just blankly looked at the mysterious person before her. What in the world was going on?! Him being an akuma would be easier to deal with right now than whatever it was he had just told her. She needed to go home, take some Tylenol, and sleep for the next week. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t have time to think about his words before she was surrounded by more unknown figures, each costume getting worse. 

“Ladybug,” the big guy in all black addressed her, “please listen to him. We are from the Justice League. We are only here to help.” It took some convincing and proof that they were really heroes, actually vigilantes but whatever, before she let Robin go. 

They sat there for hours, trying to figure out the situation and the best way to help out the Miraculous crew. When the talks were done, everyone had new missions to delve into. 

Damian was to begin his mission at the local Lycee that had the most akuma victims and see if Ladybug was there. 

Marinette had two missions. The first was to introduce Chat Noir to everyone and get him caught up, after her nap, and get to work on finally tracking down Hawkmoth.

Her second one was to design better outfits for the Batfam. And based on the past outfits, she had her work cut out for her.  

[miracle-sham]

Maribat March 2020 Masterlist.

———

| {Week 1, Day 5: Transformation} |

| Instead of Dead, Become Two Dragons in Red (IoDBTDiR) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

—

| {Week 1, Day 6: Unconventional Weapon} |

| Plan D for Dicey (PDfD) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

—

| {Week 3, Day 17: Grave} |

| Hold Your Wake Softly, for the Dead Sleep Lightly (HYWSftDS) |

| [Tumblr Link] | | [Ao3 Link] |

———

| [Masterlist Link] |

———

[anjuschiffer]

Moving On and a Final Goodbye

I just adore torturing myself with my own writing :)

For Maribat March Day 19- Theme: Nightmares

@-@-@-@-@-@-

Context: Marinette lives in Gotham with the Bats, who know nothing of her former life. Only Damian knows, but it’s not his secret to tell.

Warning: DEATH

@-@-@-@-@-@-

AO3

@-@-@-@-@-@-

A piercing scream rang through the halls of the manor, prompting everyone to wake up, dashing for their weapons and out their respective rooms, Damian quickly turning a corner.

If he recalled, that scream sounded like it came from Marinette’s room. He hopes it was just a nightmare… he hoped she was okay...

When he got to her room, the door was slightly ajar, Damian carefully creeped towards it, hearing someone sing. 

“Little kitty on the rooftop 

without his Lady.” 

A shaky breath.

“Sitting here all alone

awaiting for her return.” 

Damian set his weapon aside and pushed the door open, letting out a shuddering sigh. Marinette was fine… but he knew that was just a lie to trick himself into believing that she was indeed fine.

There was Marinette, sitting in the middle of her oversized bed, a blanket thrown tightly over her. Her comforters were on the floor, her plushies scattered across the room and her pillows knocked about where she had thrashed around the bed. Meanwhile Marinette stared at the floor, slightly rocking herself as she continued to sing to herself. 

“Everything seems to move 

Slowly but steadily.”

Damian heard a creak at the door, seeing Tim and Dick enter the room with caution, lowering their weapons- a lamp pole and gun respectively. 

“Yet here he remains 

Sitting patiently for his Lady.” 

Marinette continued to rock herself, comforting herself by rubbing her arms. Her eyes now shifted to the walls across from her, the rocking slowly came to a stop.

“What’s going on Damian?” Bruce asked as he stepped into the room, Alfred behind him with a rifle at hand and musket at his side. Whoever made his godchild scream like that was going to die tonight.

“The wind peppers him with kisses

The sunlight hugging him.”

Everyone just stared at Marinette as she quietly sang, looking at Damian for answers. And he gave them one. 

“I don’t know.” He looked back at Marinette, watching as tears slowly took turns to fall, plopping onto the sheets. 

“Keeping him company 

Until she arrives.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jason asked, but Damian ignored the question. “You were the first one to get here, Demon Spawn.”

“He'd wait for eternity if he had to

Just to see her once again.”

“Are you sure Damian?” Bruce asked, and Damian avoided his father’s eyes. “You know, don’t you?”

“And he does see her.”

“You know don’t you?” Richard repeated, Damian having to dig his nails into his palm to keep himself from telling them. It wasn’t his story to tell. It was hers.

“Tell us so that we can help her!” Jason exclaimed. Damian realized he said that last part out loud.

“M’lady, you’re here. Welcome back.”

“Damian, say something.” Tim urged, noticing that everyone was getting on edge by Damian’s silence. Damian couldn’t tell them. He promised her he wouldn’t.

“Damian, please tell us,” Richard begged. Damian resisted the urge to cry as he saw tears build up in Richard’s eyes. Didn’t he know it hurt him too?

“Smiling while he said it.”

He watched silently as Jason pushed everyone aside. “Tell us already Damian!” Jason yelled into his face, shaking Damian by his shoulders. “She’s suffering… how long do you want her to stay like this?” It was Jason’s trailing voice that finally made him break.

“Smiling as he slipped into her embrace.”

Averting his gaze to prevent the others from worrying, Damian finally spoke as tears trailed down his face.

“Her warmth- the only thing that kept him going.

“From slipping into the eternal darkness inside of him.”

“Ever since she left Paris, she has been having nightmares, almost once a night… sometimes multiple times.” He let out a dry laugh as more tears cascaded. “They’re not even nightmares,” he looked at his family and then at Mari, “They’re her memories from her former life... from her past.”

“For his Lady was his savior, his Love.

Whom he’d love until his dying days...”

“Memories from her battles in her old life.” Tim finally pieced, the family now in silence as they absorbed what they had learned. How long was she suffering in utter silence? Why didn’t they know this sooner? Didn’t she trust them? Weren’t they family?

The family pondered on what to do next, not noticing that Mari was looking at them now, her face drenched in tears, yet her eyes weren’t red nor puffy. 

“Marinette.” Damian soft spoke, walking up to her, cupping her face into his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. But she didn’t respond nor budge. Her eyes were misty, the tears still falling.

“Do you mind if-” Richard asked, Damian realizing he took a seat at the edge of the bed. Damian parted from Mari, giving a nod to his brother.

With a gentle smile, Richard scooted closer to Mari.

“Mari, did you write that song?” 

Everyone held their breath as they awaited an answer. None was given.

“It was a lovely song… did you write it?” Richard asked again, a faint hope blossoming in him when he saw Marinette’s eyes flutter.

“That… that was Chat’s lullaby.” Marinette spoke, looking out towards her balcony. “He’d always sing it when he’d wait for me during our night patrols.” 

Everyone looked at each other except Damian. Night patrols?

“Chat must be pretty talented for composing something like that.” Dick praised, watching as Marinette nodded in agreement, a small smile on her face.

“He really was.” Her smile faltered, but was soon overtaken by a quivering frown, a sob escaping her lips. “He really was.” A wail escaped her lips, more tears quickly pouring.

“Mari…”

“He was the most caring person I had in my life, the kindness and most well-rounded boy I loved during my last year in lycee.” Marinette stated, wiping away her tears. “He was my best friend, the love of my life and I-”

“Marinette, breath.” Richard softly said, rubbing her back. But she didn’t listen.

“I-I-I let him down. I… I broke our promise… I never got to tell him that I was sorry. That I was sorry for never returning his feelings even though I wanted to. For lying to him for keeping our identities a secret even though I knew everyone’s identities, even his.” Marinette cried some more, Damian now approaching her and sat beside her.

“To tell him that I was willing to tarnish my reputation as a designer to keep him safe from his father, that I knew what was happening to him at home, that I was willing to rip him from that man’s hands and get my hands dirty just to keep him safe.” She felt someone rub circles onto her back, the urge to wail getting stronger. “That he was the one I was most grateful for, for being at my side when the whole world was against me, when my parents started to doubt me and…” Marinette wiped away her tears, looking up at her family, crying harder when she saw the sorrow in their eyes.

Alfred remained stoic, but she knew he was trying to be strong for everyone. Bruce was silently crying along with Tim and Jason… she’s never seen him cry and seeing that- that made her want to go over to him and tell her everything was fine… that she was fine, but she knew that was a lie she had been telling herself since the beginning. 

“I wanted to tell him that I would never leave his side, no matter what happened.” Marinette looked at her hands, stained with red, black leather glitching in her sight. “But I never did… not even as he died in my arms.”

-----

The fight was over. After years of fighting Hawk Moth, the war was over and done with.

Now free from their duties as heroes, Marinette has decided to finally tell Chat how she feels about him and to reveal herself to him.

Waiting for him at the top of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, Mari let the summer breeze kiss her skin, her long hair gently swaying behind her. Her white sundress made her stick out in the green rooftop garden, a tiny patch of sunflowers surrounding her. 

The view from the garden was magnificent, even though she had been there plenty of times as Ladybug. But Ladybug never had the time to lean on the rails and soak in the wonders of Paris.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Mari turned with a smile, thinking it was her beloved Chaton, but that smile faltered when she saw it wasn’t him. She was too shocked to save herself as she fell over the railing, the unknown figure grinning at her before running away, and Chat now looking at her fall. His face was white a sheet, his pupils shrinking as her sunhat drifted in the wind.

“MARINETTE!”

Desperately, Chat jumped after her, holding her close to him as he attempted to find a way to save her, but he knew his time was running out.

Marinette watched as he detransformed in front of her, her eyes dilating as she saw the man behind the mask.

“A...drien?”

“Surprised, Princess?” Adrien said with a weak chuckle. That’s when her eyes landed on Plagg.

“Plagg?!”

“You can see- nevermind! Wish we met again under different circumstances, but I really need you to listen to me Mari.” Adrien states, slipping off his ring and placing it on Mari’s left ring finger. 

“Adrien, what are-”

“There’s no time!” Adrien yelled, Mari catching the crack in his voice. He wasn’t-

“Adrien, don’t, don’t do it… don’t do it!” Marinette cried out, watching as the ground was getting closer to them.

“Plagg! As your master, I demand you to let Mari use the ring! Transform her into Chat Noir!”

“Adrien! NO!”

“As you wish.” Plagg quietly said, nuzzling Adrien before a light blinded everyone, the crowd at the base of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris screaming as a crater was formed in the ground.

Mari’s eyes fluttered as she woke, realizing that Plagg was crying somewhere in the distance. It only took a second to realize what had happened. Scampering to her feet, Mari looked for Adrien, the man a few feet away from her, Marinette’s breath stuck inside her as she clasped her hands to her mouth.

No… not him… why… WHY?!

“ADRIEN!” Marinette screamed, running the boy, scooping him up into her arms, her hands getting covered in the blood that seeped from his head and cuts around his body.

“Adrien wake up! Adrien. ADRIEN!” Marinette wailed into his body, jolting when she felt something on her cheek. Looking up, she realized he was smiling.

“Don’t… cry.” He whispered to her. “Keep living… for me…” Adrien closed his eyes. “Love… you…” His hand slipped from her face, Marinette rushing to grab it, to hold it for a bit longer.

He couldn’t leave her, he can’t leave her by herself! What was she going to do without him? What was she going to do without her beloved Cat?!

The sounds of the ambulance drowned out her thoughts as he was quickly taken from her and to never again see until the day of his funeral, which only his aunt, his cousin and herself were present for.

-----

“Mari.” Jason softly spoke, crouching down so that Marinette could see him. He caressed her cheek. “I’m pretty sure he already knew that.” She looked at her brother with glossed eyes, his own mirroring the same thing. “After all, he sacrificed himself for you. He told you to live on for him.” Mari sniffled. “If he didn’t know this, if you didn’t mean so much for him, he would’ve probably found a way to make sure the both of you got away with minimal damage.” Jason patted her head as she wiped the tears that incomed. “You meant so much to him that he rather let himself get hurt over losing you.” Jason raised her head up, lifting her chest. “So forgive yourself Mari, live for him with happiness so that he can also live happily through you.” Marinette hiccupped, throwing herself to Jason, causing the two to fall to the floor.

“You kept your promise Mari.” Richard added, smiling upon seeing Mari looking up towards everyone. “You were with him until the end. Now, complete the wish he left behind, okay?” Marinette nodded.”

“I will try.”

-----

The night’s wind howled, the ringing of a bell jiggled with laughter.

Looking through the glass window, Chat looked at Marinette sleeping soundly in the arms of her new found family, smiling that she’s finally healing. They huddled against each other, one way or another, wrapped in blankets and hugging pillows, making sure that Mari knew they were there for her, although Damian was the one spooning her and kicked anyone who dared to get close.

He was glad she finally found somewhere to call home, something he feared she would not find. He was glad she was able to love again… even if it hurted him a bit.

Looking up towards the moon, Chat decided it was okay for him to sit on the balcony, longing to remember what the wind felt like across his face during a winter’s night. 

It probably felt cold, not like it affected him, but he knew it affected his Lady a lot. Something about finally merging with the Ladybug’s nature.

Closing his eyes, Chat smiled and opened his mouth to sing one final time.

“Little kitty on the rooftop without his lady.

Sitting here all alone, waiting for her return.

Everything seems to move slowly, but steadily.

Yet here he remains, sitting patiently for his Lady.

The wind peppers him with kisses

The sunlight hugging him

Keeping him company 

Until she arrives.

He'd wait for eternity if he had to.

Just to see her once again .

And he does see her,

“M’lady, you’re here. Welcome back.” 

Smiling while he said it

Smiling as he slipped into her embrace.

Her warmth- the only thing that kept him going.

From slipping into the eternal darkness inside of him.

For his Lady was his savior, his Love.

Whom he’d love until his dying days...

He smiles as he kisses her, her giggles ringing in his ears.

He soaks it all in as he slips into darkness

Never to see his Lady again.”

[ethelphantom]

Things a Pet Name Can Reveal

Scroll down to the end for the art btw, don’t miss it! Also, you’re getting pure fluffy humour again, you should consider yourselves lucky. Maribat March day 13, Pet Names. Also, this is your friendly reminder that yes, I can tag you to stuff if you ask me to do it. This month or all my Maribat content or a specific series... You decide.

Ao3

This is Maribat -- don’t like; don’t read

_________________________

So, maybe, looking back on it, Tim regretted wanting to come over to see how Marinette was doing. He really hadn’t wanted to see and know what he did now and while it wasn’t honestly that bad, he kind of wished he’d found out some other way. Such as, maybe someone actually telling him with words.

The only good thing about any of it was that he had knowledge about Marinette none of the others except for maybe Alfred and Cass had. Scratch that, the two of them definitely knew, but the rest.

Marinette had gotten commissioned by many big names in the movie industry, as well as by a lot of the Wayne Industries’ partners, and yeah, she was definitely drowning in them. Of course, she had wanted to take them all as they paid well, they were good publicity to her, and they were okay with waiting as they knew she had a ton of people wanting to commission her at the same time. Tim would have felt bad for talking so much about his favourite designer to them because he was proud of her and how far she’d come, but Marinette had said it was okay and that she greatly appreciated it.

That was why he decided he wanted to come over to see how she was doing, maybe help her if she needed take-out (because yeah, he couldn’t cook to save his life), coffee (because at least he knew how to brew actually good and strong coffee), or really, anything. She would only need to ask and say the word, and he would do whatever she asked.

As he got to the door, the one that had opened it had been Jason. Which, okay, he could understand, they were close and Jason was the reason the rest of them knew her in the first place, but it still surprised Tim. Jason hadn’t even blinked an eye and let him in. And told him were Marinette was. And was that dark turtleneck Marinette's design he was wearing?

Marinette was, as Jason had said, sitting at the kitchen table (okay, to be precise, she was sitting on top of it), biting her pencil as she had a sketchbook in her hands. Some of her hair fell on her face and shoulders though most of it had been pulled up in space buns to stay away from her eyes. She didn’t even notice Tim had come in.

There was a huge pot on the stove, and the smell hanging in the air was wonderful. It was possible Marinette was cooking — that would explain why she was in the kitchen instead of her study — but somehow Tim found that unlikely. Marinette wasn’t focusing on any clock, didn’t check the food even once, and looked a whole lot like she’d stayed in one place for the past hour or two. There were chopping boards and knives behind her, as well as a whole lot of still untouched vegetables.

Yeah, so it wasn’t her cooking. Then who…?

The answer came in the form of a six-foot man with a white streak in his hair and a scar splitting his lips. “You gonna eat, Timbo?” Jason asked, crossing the kitchen easily with large strides before getting to the food he started stirring. “We’ve got quinoa.” And, as an afterthought, he added, “And avocado, tomato, corn, tuna, carrot and a ton of spices.”

Only then did Marinette realise there was someone else in the room as well. She lifted her head, looked at Jason, and then turned to Tim. The smile that had appeared on her face when she saw Jason widened and she abandoned the sketchbook and the pencil on the table in favour of getting down to give Tim a hug. “Hi Tim, it’s wonderful to see you. Sorry I haven’t texted you or anything, I’ve just been so—”

“Busy, I know. It’s alright, I didn’t really expect anything less from you,” he replied laughing. “You’re you, and you’re like me, and neither of us really knows how to stop working. That’s why I came over as soon as I had finished the biggest projects going on at the WE. I wanted to see you and thought that I could maybe help, even if it’s only in the form of providing you with strong coffee or snacks or something.”

Marinette snorted and covered her mouth with her hand. The ring in her hand glimmered in the light and her eyes crinkled. It was only then that Tim noticed the dark circles around her eyes that were so easy to see now that he paid attention. When was the last time she’d slept?

Not that he really had any say in it, he didn’t remember the last time he’d slept more than four hours at once. The last week had gone cat napping so much Selina would be proud of him. Dick would be horrified and disappointed. Well, who cared about that, that man didn’t know how to eat anything but takeout and cereal, so he had no right to judge the rest of them. Absolutely no right.

...Honestly, Steph, Cass or Jason were probably the most stable of them at this point. Maybe Duke. It was, the least to say, disturbing.

“Well, I appreciate that. You still remember how to make that death coffee you made for me like, a year ago when I was drowning in schoolwork?”

“The one that would probably kill any normal person with the amount of caffeine it contains but that both of us crave for because of the sweet, sweet caffeine?”

“Yes, that one.”

“Definitely. Where’s your coffee and coffee grinder?”

Marinette pointed him to the direction — to the left, the topmost shelf, hidden where neither of them could actually reach. When Tim asked why, Marinette’s sharp response of “Guess once,” and pointed look at Jason had told him everything.

Which meant, he needed to either get Jason to give the things to him or climb.

His dignity wouldn’t let him ask for help with this (after all, it wasn’t a life or death situation, or even an actual mission or job they had, simply his own personal need to be able to do something without anyone’s help on the line), so he climbed.

Eventually, he managed to reach the things and set them on the kitchen counter, careful as to not damage either of them.

After that, the coffee was soon finished, and he set a cup of scalding hot coffee in front of Marinette, who inhaled the strong smell of coffee into her lungs and sighed with satisfaction. He was rather sure someone else had sighed as well, and when he turned around to look at Jason, his suspicions were confirmed. He shook his head and looked at Tim like he’d ruined something personal.

“I was tryna to keep her from coffee. Just like you should be kept away from it, Baby Bird. Neither of you needs it, especially not the amounts I know both of you are drinkin’. God.”

“Yeah, we do need it,” Marinette and Tim chorused, followed by, “It’s the liquid of the gods”, “You can’t stop us”, and “stay away from our fountain of fortune.”

Jason just pinched the bridge of his nose but refrained from saying anything more even though it was clear he wanted to. That was alright with Tim — he didn’t, contrary to popular belief, have a need to fight Jason over every single little thing. No, the one he had the need to do that was Damian, even if he got along with the little brat significantly better these days.

When it seemed Marinette didn’t need him to do anything anymore and just wanted to concentrate on her designs again, Tim took out his laptop and set to work alongside her, just on the chair instead of the table. After all, just because he didn’t have that much work to do didn’t mean he didn’t have any or a lot of work to do.

Later, he was alerted back to the real world from his work by Jason who informed him food was done. A quick glance at the clock told him it had been forty-six minutes since the last time he checked it, so a little bit after he started working.

Reluctantly, he put his laptop away and accepted the plate full of the quinoa thing — whatever Jason had done — that was set in front of him. Marinette didn’t even move.

“Sweet Cheeks, you’ve got to stop working on that design before you burn yourself out. At least eat something.”

Tim’s gaze literally snapped at Jason. Sweet Cheeks? What was even going on?

Marinette groaned and let her face fall into her hands, but she missed and hit the table instead. That must have hurt. Then she gave Jason the finger, somehow perfectly aware where in the room he was located. “See, you started off saying that as a joke to annoy me and now I think you got so used to it that you're saying it unironically, and it's getting to be a problem.”

Jason just raised his eyebrow. “Does it still annoy you, Sweet Cheeks?”

“Yes!”

“Then I fail to see the problem here.”

“You are an asshole, Jason. Asshole.”

“No shit. We’ve been married for, what, half a year and you’re only noticing now?”

Tim’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He could not believe his ears. The fork in his hands falling to the floor, he finally got his brain to cooperate and asked, slowly, as to make sure he didn’t say something wrong and would actually be able to understand what was going on, “You’re what now?”

“We’re married, I just said so. You seriously didn’t know? I thought that out of all of the people B’s trained in his life, you would have been able to figure it out on your own.”

“And you — neither of you — thought to invite us to the wedding?”

“Nah. It kinda happened in the spur of the moment and well. I mean we did have a suit for me and a dress for her so maybe it wasn't that impulsively done but yeah. Forgot to tell you after that and then we started betting on who would notice and when.”

“Of course you did. I shouldn’t probably be surprised even, now should I?”

“No, no you shouldn’t.”

Marinette, that little shit, just laughed. Tim sighed.

“Well, congratulations, you two. I hate you both.”

“We love you too, Tim.”

The rest of the visit was spent discussing the hows, whens and whys of their relationship and marriage. It was cute, he supposed. He was most definitely sure that he was happy the two of them were happy together, though. They clearly deserved one another.

Also, it would be fun to see the rest of the family’s reactions because they told him that if they didn’t figure it out by the end of the month, the two of them would come over and tell them, in some way or another. Tim kind of hoped the family would not figure it out.

A week later, Marinette received a package that contained a card and a framed picture of herself and Jason, taken by Tim on the day he had visited. Under the picture, there was a quote from one of the few plays Tim knew for certain Jason favoured. What the card said was lost in the wonder that was the gift Tim had sent them.

“Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.”

_________________

@kris-pines04​ @thethirdwheelfriend @daminett4life @abrx2002 @persephonebutkore​ @rebecarojas07 @corabeth11 @freshbark @maribat-march2020 @catsandfanfic @fertileleaf @eat0crow @cutechip

[black-streak]

Maribat March - Day 23 - Soulmates

Timinette, because that's my go to nowadays. Also kinda angsty? Hints at JasonxRoy, can be platonic or romantic, dealer's choice for interpretation.

MM Taglist:

@maribat-march2020 @emo-elaine13

Permanent list

@naoryllis @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @my-name-is-michell @maribat-is-lifeblood @dast218 @novicevoice @shizukiryuu @princess-of-fangirls @bigpicklebananatree @pirats-pizzacanninibles @abrx2002 @breemeister @darkthunder1589 @thestressmademedoit @severelyenchantedwonderland @isabellemasen @multi-fandom-freak0221 @fantasyloversblog @bzz75 @cloudiedraws @jardimazul @orbitsvt @gingerdaile @sotheresthatthought @kadmeread @novaloptr @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @crazylittlemunchkin @18-fandoms-unite-08

~---~

Tim had resigned himself to the idea of being absolutely covered in ink a long time ago. Truly, he couldn't complain considering how certain he was that his soulmate must look much the same. 

That's just how having soulmarks went when you were in this line of business. Your soulmate's life was endangered? A red pattern appears on your skin. If they survived, the pattern turned black. If they didn't, it remained red for the rest of your life. Everytime after that, it builds off the original design. Should both come to have this line work, the patterns would match. Some were lucky and only ever saw the markings once, when their other was old and coming to their end. Others weren't lucky and only saw the markings once, when their other died a tragic, early death sometimes without ever meeting. 

Tim, however, was covered in ink. Some forming into mandalas, only for the next addition to swirl away like vines across his skin. Most of it was black. Some of it was red. The first time that had happened, he'd mourned the loss of a love never found, only for a new black addition to occur the next day. He never really understood what happened until he saw the lines on Roy that Jason had caused, the same patchwork black with one noticeably red section that Roy informed him came from when Jason had died. Said it took months for the next portion to appear.

So Tim could honestly say he was a bit freaked out by how often his lines remained red. His soulmate had died. Often. Only to return to life once again. 

He remember looking into the League of Assassins first, wondering if someone dipped into the pits multiple times could be them only to come up empty handed. He remembers being grateful he never took up the tiny Robin shorts from his predecessors what with the patterns curling down his legs. He remembers wearing long sleeves and covering up completely even in the middle of summer to avoid questions or pitying looks at the patchwork of red and black that marred his skin. Fitting, considering those were his colors.

He remembers finally finding a possible source to this insanity in the form of Paris, where many had supposedly died and lived once more for many years back when he was younger, when the first of the red marks began.

It took time and patience and diligence, but he was here. Finally. 

And by some twist of fate, he saw her. You could tell she hadn't planned on anyone seeing her by the defensive stance she held, the way she gripped her heavily inked arms, head tilted down and to the side as she informed him that they weren't open yet. 

He knew this, but he had seen her through the window, seen the curve of her marks so similar to his own, if black in color, and knew he had found her.

Carefully, slowly, he took off his hoodie, moving to put his arm right up next to hers where she could see it. Saw the way her breath hitched and her eyes snapped up to meet his.

"What happened to you?"

[eat0crow]

Maribat March

(I'm reposting because someone told me my stuff wasn't showing up in the tags. I couldn't find the original calendar post when I went to search myself, honestly, I have no idea why my stuff is being hidden, but after attempting to edit the tags with no success I decided to try again.)

Due to popular demand I present to you Maribat March!!! A month long event dedicated to any and every pairing of the Miraculous Ladybug DCU crossover.

For this event all a ship needs to do to qualify is contain at least one character from the Miraculous Ladybug universe paired with at least one character from the DCU. Slash and poly ships are more then welcome, and a ship can be either romantic or platonic.

Each week has a theme:

Week 1: Hero

Week 2: Fluff

Week 3: Angst

Week 4: Popular Aus

Along the bottom are seven additional prompts that can be substituted in for any prompt that just doesn’t do it for you. Don’t feel the need to participate in every day if it’s not something feasible, do as many or as few prompt as you like. This is meant to be a fun event!

There is no Tumblr page for this event, however I will be moderating a collection on AO3, so please, submit your works to Maribat March (Maribat_March).

When submitting your work please include in the first line of your summary-

So I can organize everything all nice, submissions without this will be asked to reformat before they’re accepted.

Also note: For those who don’t use AO3, the Tumblr Tag is #MaribatMarch2020. Do to my schedule I won’t be able to closely follow this tag, so tag my blog if you want to be included in the Tumblr Masterlist.

For this event DC and ML tags are allowed, they’re optional here on Tumblr, and mandatory on AO3. Any work submitted to the collection without proper character and fandom tags will be asked to reformat. I’m sorry, but so people can properly blacklist/fliter out our work, I won’t accept anyone into the collection with just a relationship tag listed. This is so everyone can curate their own online experience.

Note: This doesn’t apply to the Masterlist here on Tumblr. The only requirement for being placed on the list is that you tag your works both #Maribat and #MaribatMarch2020.