#marinette is a kent in her heart

[quindread]

THE COTTAGECORE MARI AU PROMPT THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR

Pairing: Daminette (edit: they’re like 19/20 in this, post high-school)

Rating: It has mature themes, you have been warned. But it’s pretty tame at the same time. Violence + Sexual Themes

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Mari is diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety disorder after she quite literally removed her beloved city’s supervillain (and her dear partner’s parent) from the plane of existence. Like she removes the suffering from the minds of all of Paris and has Gabriel written off in a car accident a year after his wife’s disappearance. Only her Court (Adrien, Kagami, Zoe, Alix, Max) and the Order remembers. Mari and Adrien decide not to pursue a relationship. They’re both healing and are decidedly better off friends - siblings in everything but blood.

Lila, who was not punished due to her not really being a miraculous holder and upsetting the balance, continues to slander Mari. Her class isn’t hostile but has no desire to interact with the “new and mean Marinette” Lila was painting her to be. It’s still a huge betrayal given the fact that Mari was supportive and very generous to these people.

So here’s how her new housing arrangement works: have you ever wondered how Gina can afford to travel around the world without a job? Yeah, I think she came from money. Like, old money - real estate old money to be precise. Passive income and such. Hearing about her Fairy’s situation, she offers an unused property at the countryside of Metropolis.

Marinette’s therapist and parents approve of her vacationing there for the summer when they realize that her stressors and triggers where all environmental. So off our girl goes!

Note: She does not have the mother box with her anymore, just Tikki, Plagg, and Kaalki. (She does have unrestricted access to it as the Grand Guardian though - she trains with the Order once a week in Tibet until she doesn’t)

Mari is aware of the Supers and was relieved that the Kwamis don’t show up in x-ray visions and with the fear of them eavesdropping she learns FSL to communicate with them.

The townhouse and the verdure around the property inspires Mari to start a garden. The quiet oddly soothes her and when she feels lonely she goes into town or the nearby farmer’s market where she charms the locals. She meets the Kents - they love her! Martha enjoys baking with her. Lois uncovers her identity as Jagged and Clara Nightingale’s exclusive (and reclusive) designer - they bond over fashion trends and the gossip surrounding the industry. Clark and Jon were another story.

She figures them out having sensed the same soul in Superman and Superboy in this father-and-son duo. They x-ray her as a precaution and finds the mysterious cracks and evidence of past injuries that should have killed her. There’s a very anti-climatic reveal that Martha and Lois are not privy to with respect to Marinette’s wishes.

At least one Kent would be in her home during the day. The Kwamis are free to roam around when it was Clark and/or Jon visiting. She ends up bonding with Jon who also grew up too fast (metaphorically and literally).

She ends up extending her stay in Metropolis indefinitely. Her parents also decided to open a branch of their patisserie there which Mari managed. They visit her as often as they could.

Mari was dismayed to find that no, Metropolis had no schools with both a fashion and business degree - that’s how she ends up in Gotham University.

Jon tells Mari about a Damian - a friend of his.

J: He’s…. uh… he has a big heart.

M: …

J: He’s a bit of an asshole(?)

M: Ah.

Mari meets Damian who reminds her of Kagami - antisocial and proper. They share a few business classes and are both members of the art club.

Mari is still this ball of anxiousness and has only allowed Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi and Katherine Karlo into her life, the former she learned was close to Damian - she didn’t mind when she and the girls met up with Damian, he was quiet, honest, and minded his own business. Through their hangouts Damian finds out about the friendship between Jon and Mari.

He’s hesitant to befriend her at first due to the conflicting rumors about her: due to her timid personality she had a split reputation. One side called her sweet, shy, and kind. While the other calling her arrogant, high-maintenance, and rude. He soon finds out that the latter half were spread by cliques who’s offer of friendship she declined and men she rejected. He was glad that he relented to Maps’ insistent invitations - she was a decent person to hang out with and it didn’t hurt that she was pleasing to the eye. (She also enjoyed sharing her vegetarian salads with him - he starts appreciating it more when he learns that she picks the vegetables straight from the garden she grows.)

As her luck would have it, a robbery unfolds at one of their favorite coffee spots. Mari and Damian - who were both pretending to be civ - try to find a way to protect their friends. The robbers recognizes Damian as a Wayne and takes him and another GU(a school for rich and affluent people’s children) kid - Marinette - who had stood in front of her friends.

They’re gagged, blindfolded, and carted off to who knows where. Damian discreetly activates a distress signal and the bats spur into action. Mari, aware that she was sturdier than Damian, draws the men’s attention to her (she purposely pisses them off and gets beaten up when they start to pester Damian).

M: [removes her gag somehow] Really? A ski mask? And in black? How boring can you get?

*Damian shaking his head furiously in the background*

Kidnapper(KN): Shut up, girlie!

M: You know I always wondered how Kidnappers could have a secret a warehouse as a hideout. It’s not like you can afford the rent—

KN: Are you trying to get yourself killed?

M: You’re backed up by some politician aren’t you?

KN: H-How the fuck did this bitch know?

M: There’s literally a stack of campaign papers behind you.

KN: Wha—

M: That’s some shit graphic design by the way. I’ve seen grade schoolers that can do better.

KN: [points a gun at her] Shut up or I’ll blow your brains out.

M: You wouldn’t.

KN: The fuck do you know—

M: You need me alive to get ransom from my parents.

KN: …Nobody said you had to be in one piece though.

M: Touché—[get slapped hard]

*Damian basically starts convulsing in the background*

M: …Damn. You punch like a cunt—[And the kidnappers basically start to rough her up]

The bats arrive in five minutes and it’s Red Hood that finds them first. He sees these mf’s beating up a woman and goes ballistic(pun intended). Red Robin and Spoiler has to forcibly restrain him when he starts to use his fist instead of his guns.

M: [bleeding and bruised] And that’s how you deck someone, you amateurs.

D: [who was released by Black Bat is confused, mad at himself, and in awe] You blithering idiot! Why the fuck would you aggravate our captors like that?

M: [delirious] It was either you or me Damian. Can’t have your pretty face damaged now, can we?

D: [Is floored and very concerned] And what of yours?

M: … dun worry—my assets are…elsewhere… [passes out from the pain]

D: …

Later, his family would tease him about the flirting when he isn’t all sensitive about the incident.

Winter break comes, most of the Batfam visits the Kents(they have a penthouse/some ridiculous property in Metropolis) as a tradition. The Kents went to visit Gotham and stayed at the manor last year.

(Batfam who went: Bruce, Dick, Jason, Steph, Cass, and Damian)

They visit Mari too. Dick and Steph are absolutely thrilled about her cottagecore lifestyle. So much so that they match her aesthetic and begin helping out in the garden - they send pictures to Alfred who request they bring back fresh produce.

Jon and Jason plot to get Damian and Mari together. Unbeknownst to them that Damian was already resolute on courting Mari like the decorous man that he was - he didn’t know what he was doing but Mari’s flush when he initiates flirting tells him he’s doing okay.

Because of his childhood, Damian was never the type to be touchy but imagine his shock when he finds out that one of his more prominent love languages was physical touch. He realizes he’s touch-starved almost immediately when Mari starts giving him small touches like a hand against his bicep, she had a fondness for touching his hair which never failed to deliver a shiver down his spine, and hugs from her are comforting - she felt like home.

Meanwhile Mari does not have any idea how she survived the early stages of Damian’s advances. He was blunt and did not pull his words with insults but it apparently translated to him being verbally open with his affections.

M: I always wanted to be the Knitting Fairy while growing up.

D: Does it not please you that you became a garden fairy instead?

M: Huh, that doesn’t sound so bad.

D: Well, you certainly look the part.

M: [turns into the same shade as the poppy beside her]

And then when the tension between them became more prominent he wasn’t shy with dropping innuendos too.

M: [open’s the door for Damian, haggard from lifting sacks of garden soil] Oh, I didn’t know you were coming so early. I’m a bit of a mess. Sorry.

D: [Tilts his head] You say that as if I wouldn’t appreciate you sweaty and tousled after a rigorous activity.

M: [self-combusts]

And when the touching began?

M: Damian, what color do you think looks better with this shade of blue?

D: [places a hand on her side while looking over her shoulder] I think the a more neutral cream would do.

M: [stops functioning]

Their first kiss?

Pulled straight out of a book that Marinette only read in the privacy of her bedroom.

They’re teasing each other, it evolves to a game of cat and mouse with Damian skillfully evading her. She corners him by turning on some of her sprinkles. He gets wet, growls in the way he would in Mari’s dreams, and pulls of his shirt. She’s too distracted by the hard planes of his stomach to notice him prowling towards her like a beast moving to claim his prey. He picks her off the ground with ease - he’s a foot taller than her - and takes her to the sprinklers.

(I’m going to write this part out properly, maybe to inspire myself or a potential adopter of this prompt)

“Nononono!” Marinette shrieks as the first round of water splashes her. She writhes but Damian had her arms held down her sides.

“All is fair in love and war, Ya Amar.” She ignores the endearment in favor of closing her eyes as the sprinkles rotate in their direction again. But she knows what it means. Ya Amar. My moon. His moon. The water had nothing on the chill that ran down her spine

The water stars seeping into her intimates and she’s soberly aware that the light fabric of her dress would betray her. It doesn’t take long for Damian to discover that fact, he releases a strangle sound. She opens her eyes, he snaps his eyes from where he was clearly looking at her chest. He scrambles to drop her.

“Shit— I’m sorry. This was not my intention—“ he starts but she’s faster. Her now free arms grasps his shoulders and without a second thought, she drops her lips to meet his. Damian inhales sharply and he tilts his head, temporarily breaking the kiss before raising her higher and pulling her by the back of neck - he kisses her with hunger and passion that has Marinette melting further against his chest.

She wraps her legs around his back and he moves to tightly grasp both the back of her thighs. She would worry about bruises later when she didn’t have Damian’s tongue caressing her own. He drops them to the ground and Marinette does not release her hold over his waist. She whines against his lips when she feels the consequences of their activity.

His hands start wandering as he greedily collects and files the sounds that leaves her lips. He begins to trail kisses down her neck to the neckline of her dress that now clung to her body like a second skin giving him his first peek at the maddening shape of her body. And just when he trails a finger against the underside of her breast a loud noise pulls them apart.

Jason finds them and the sight in Mari’s garden has him dropping the shovel he was asked to bring over.

J: Fuck! No, don’t stop! Hell—I’ll leave—I didn’t see shit!

D: [moving to cover Marinette who covered her face in embarrassment] Fuck off, Todd!

J: I’m sorry! [slams the door shot]

D: Tt.

J: [shouts from inside the house] Use protection!

D: Todd!

They started officially dating that day and Jason had no reservations in sharing that he definitely cockblocked his little brother much to Mari and Damian’s horror.

Both keeps the PDA to minimum in school but it was very clear how amorous they where in “private”. There is a table in the art hall that Mari can’t quite look at without blushing to her roots.

She finds out he’s Robin after her first encounter with his alter-ego. He confesses his past when she confronts him. There’s fear of abandonment in his eyes when he gazes at her after his spiel but she kisses his worries and doubts away. She even goes to show her appreciation for his years of service to Gotham.

Her reveal happens when she unceremoniously drops a vial in Jason’s hand claiming that it would remedy the effects of the Lazarus pits with continuous use - it was completed after a year in the making.

Cardinal joins the Batfam occasionally as part of Batman’s contingency plans. They respect her choice as a retired super-soldier and try to keep her out of the business which she appreciates. She is officially initiated as a member of Justice League Dark as an informant/magic specialist and a wildcard.

Years later, she legally inherits the property from Gina when she and Damian get engaged. Damian moves in with her and she lives her cottage life all while being a reclusive designer that comes out once in a while for fashion week.

FIN

AN:

Maybe there’s a Lila take down somewhere but I don’t have the energy to write her at all. We all know its Damian and Tim that makes sure she never sets a foot in high society ever again.

Ig add some details about learning to healthily cope with her anxiety disorder under the guidance and love of her found family? (I have a similar illness but me and my therapist are still figuring it out so I have little idea how to write this) Her PTSD does not need further discussion (miss ma’am had to kill someone) but her anxiety disorder stems from the fact the she’s a person who’s in charge of world-ending powers - everyone and even yourself can become untrustworthy. She starts to get nervous from misreading body languages and everyone is suddenly out to get her.

[stardustizuku]

Part 2: The Alter Ego Of A Heroine And It’s Relationship To The Protagonist

You can’t have a good Love Square, if you don’t have likable protagonists.

It’s very easy that when emotions play a role, for hearts to be swayed one way or the other. So you have to have very concrete and powerful characters that you will not hate – even if they mess up.

If you don’t have them, much like any Love Triangle, you will begin to hate one of the options. Then, trying to insinuate, whoever is left of the couple as ending with this less-liked-character will just end up pissing everyone off. This delicate balance is even more imperative in the Love Square.

Therefore, we need not only a lovable protagonist, but one we really want to root for – and Marinette has been suffering in that department for quite a while now.

So, we have to talk about her. Unfortunately, despite her being central for the show to work, she’s probably the second most character that suffer from the terrible writing of this show (and we all know who’s the one who suffered the most).

So, to understand what went wrong with her character, we first need to clear the bases and talk about Alter Egos.

An alter ego is the “alternative version” of someone. The Superman to Clark Kent, the Spider-Man to Peter Parker, the Batman to Bruce Wayne. They represent the hero version, the other self, the better version if you will, of protagonist were supposed to root for.

In magical girls, these better versions are key to understanding our Main Character. While, yes, there’s many magical girl like Sugar Sugar Rune or Sakura Card Captor that don’t place emphasis on the Alter Ego, MLB definitely does.

You see, the Alter Ego is better. Brighter, happier, have a sense of justice and are able to confront the world. While our Main Character doesn’t have these characteristics, or at least not as external. The alter ego represents everything they wish to be, while the real them hides underneath.

And it’s this push and pull between two of them that becomes a core, of sorts, for the story. For two main reasons. One, it explains the character. And two, it represents the theme.

A very good example of this – is Madoka. What makes a magical girl, a magical girl, in this universe?

You make a wish. Something you want more than anything. And that wish is what fuels your hearts to fight against the ghosts of the peers that came before. And if you lose sight of what that wish originally was – your soul gem cracks.

When Ayaka realizes that saving everyone is useless, her soul gem cracks, because proving that Mami was right and Homura was wrong was what drove her to be a magical girl.  She became a Magical Girl to prove Homura wrong, that she could be happy being selfless.

When Homura’s goal to save Madoka is over, and she despairs over how she didn’t save her (only doomed her to an eternity of fighting), her soul gem cracks. She becomes a demon. She became a Magical Girl to save Madoka, so it makes sense she would become something worse when it turns out she didn’t.

Magical girls, are just that. A wish. Usually fighting the “failed versions” of themselves. Rue, who couldn’t have Mythos heart. Utau who hid half of her personality to please others. Sara, who couldn’t find love.

Magical Girls are a wish. While they become magical girls to save the planet, there’s something behind it that they guard deeply and wish to protect even more. And conflicts with their “true” self.

Other examples, are…

Princess Tutu is the representation of Ahiru’s love for Mytho. Ahiru wanted to save him, so it only stands to reason that her Alter ego is one that collects his heart shards, desperate to make him whole again. That’s what she fights for - For Mytho's, and eventually her own, happiness.

Sailor Moon is the representation of Usagi’s past as Princess Serenity. It’s her bonds that transcend space, it’s her duty to protect the earth like she couldn’t protect the Moon Kingdom. While this doesn’t happen in the first seasons, by the end of the series, it’s her deep connections and love for the rest of the sailor scouts that drives her to bear the weight of saving the world. These connections and bonds to her past, are what make her step forward and become a ruler again, and the reason she keeps fighting for Earth. In the future, we even see that Usagi, becomes Princess Serenity – her past. By becoming the queen of Neo Tokyo.    

Amulet Heart is the representation of Amu’s “I want to be” self. Her desire to be sporty and happy, easy to mix with people. She has many others and through them all she aims to find herself. Who she really is, and where she fits in a school that idolizes a fake version of herself. Because in truth, the “real” amu doesn’t have a personality. She constantly feels like she copies others, but never truly finds who “she” is. But her Shugo Charas help her do exactly that. Break out of her shell, become someone very uniquely her. To the point that she eventually (in the manga) develops entirely new shugo charas. Because her ”I want to be self” has changed, and by defector, her. She became a Magical Girl to finds herself.

Pink Pearl Voice is representation of Lucia’s duty as a princess. She has seen her people be in distress and knows the weight her actions have on her nation. Her purpose is to fight those who want to hurt her kingdom. To return peace to the seven seas. While her true self, Lucia, just wants to be happy, free. Fall in love with a human – even though its forbidden by her kin. So, who should she be? Fall in love, or follow her duty? Again, in the manga, she becomes Agua Regina, the ruler of the seven seas, pointing to the fact that falling in love and ruling, aren’t as opposed to each other as she once believed.

So, with all this as context, what exactly is ladybug’s purpose? What does she represent? Why did Marinette decide to become Ladybug?

Again, it’s not “Just to save the world” or “because they’re forced to”. And the ones whose premise is that, are the most dark and disturbing magical girls there are (princess tutu, madoka, and utena)

So, Marinette has something, right? Something she fights for? To protect her friends? Her country? Her school? Her family? Is it pressure from her parents? Or is it herself? Why pressure herself, and to this extend?

What exactly would have been her wish when she became Ladybug? Why would she have accepted a deal where herself is in jeorpardy, and continue to accept it as more and more burdens pile up on her?

What’s stopping (in season 1-3) from ditching everything and asking Master Fu to find a new ladybug? Realistically.

Aaaaand, you probably have an answer.

But here’s the thing.

It's either an answer that came post-season 4, which again it’s too damn late. Or, outright not an actual reason given by the show.

Because the reason a lot of Aus, fanfics, and fancomics work  are because they answer this question. Reality is, canon really doesn’t have much of an answer – except a very vague “sense of justice” Marinette has. There’s no clear answer. According to previous actions, we can speculate why. But we don’t have a real reason.

Is it because she was bullied? Is it because she got made fun of? Or is it simply her good nature? When has she expressed this outright or even sat down to talk about it with anyone?

We don’t know what Ladybug represents.

We don’t know why she keeps fighting evil. Why she takes on this mantle that’s slowly eating her away. And without knowing this, we really don’t know Marinnette herself.  

And this is a Marinette-exclusive problem, may I add.  

In the case of Chat Noir, it’s easy to find his reason to fight, and very early on - Season 1 early on.

He wants to be free, wants to be able to escape his home that feels like a prison, but still craves a place that will welcome him as he is: a mischievous trickster who messes up sometimes. Represented by a cat with a bell, meaning a cat with a home. A mischievous person who craves a place to belong

And that place is Ladybug. She offers that, while Chat Noir lends him the means to show that “true self” he can’t allow to others. He would never give up his miraculous because it would mean losing all that.

But Marinette doesn’t have that.

The closes thing we get to a “ideal self” is the fact that as Ladybug she gets to be the leader and the confident girl she always wanted to be, because she’s clumsy…But I have to say, that doesn’t really make sense. Its implied, in the first season, when they run for president, that she’s a naturally born leader. And if it weren’t for Adrien making her nervous, she’d be much more capable that she is right now.

Which makes the Marinette we have as of now, an amalgamation of many different MC tropes all stitched together with the world’s flimsiest needle. It’s a poke away from entirely crumbling.

We have:

I have a crush on my idol classmate

I am clumsy and ditzy

You can’t bully people! That’s wrong and you’re a meanie!

But also I’m kind hearted and will offer a helping to hand to those ostracized by society

Except if they’re the villain or the villain’s minions, they’re bad

I am a natural born leader and inspire others

But also I have no self steem and constantly doubt myself

I am soo shyyy

But also I will be weird abt my crush

And while these definitely can work together and form something coherent. They didn’t. They tried, and a very big emphasis on TRIED here, to give some of these aspects a backstory – like the stupid Kim Backstory about obsessive behaviour – but again, too little too late.

And even if, big if, it never really gets explored beyond this surface level. Did she talk about it with Chat Noir? Did she talk about it with Adrien? Did she ever stop to think or reflect on it?

It seems to me more like an effort from the writers to shrug off Marinette’s creepy behaviour by trying to justify it via trauma, rather than confront it and have a serious conversation about what it might entail.

But probably the most frustrating part - is that it could absolutely still have worked. If anyone gave a crap about admitting they f-ed up and working to fix it.

*Sighs*

 I liked the Marinette from the PV. She reminded me a lot of Ahiru. A kind and cheery girl, with a golden heart, who secretly crushes on her idol prince. Probably someone who would be kind to a fault, trying to brefriending even the ultimate boss.

But Marinette right now wouldn’t. Or at least I think she wouldn’t. I mean, she hates Chloe and Lila, and would never offer to help them. Never has opened up and has an antagonistic rship with them.

But she did help Ivan that first time. And we see her forgive people who aren’t explicitly villains.

But she WAS really nasty towards Kagami when they didn’t even know all that much about her.

And this is not a sailor moon/fish eye situation where Adrien and Marinette are dating, or a lost memory thing that happened in the first part of sailor moon R. She’s just – mean bcs this girl has a crush on the boy she likes.

“It makes her a complex character-!”

It makes her confusing. You can’t know how she’ll act, so you can’t understand her and her actions. It alienates her.

Not really Magical Girl, but a good example of an extremely weird girl, who we understand is Rozemyne from Ascendance of a Bookworm. She has wild and unpredictable reactions – but we understand her internal logic. We know she’ll offer help when she can, but draws a hard line between friends and acquaintances. She wouldn’t jeopardized her loved ones for people she barely knows.

Something like that is missing from Marinette.

Unfortunately, at this point we only have one defining characteristic of her.

The one thing you’re sure won’t change, the one thing you can trust her to be no matter the circumstances. Her defining characteristic:

Adrien

Her feelings for Adrien are the only true constant.

We can’t trust her to be kind, bcs maybe the girl is crushing on Adrien and we’ve seen how she treat those girls. We can’t trust her to put art before anything, bcs we rarely see her design. We can’t trust her to be smart, clumsy, a good leader, a crybaby or happy.

The only thing we can trust about her, is Adrien

Which could work. Many other magical girls base their character around their love interest. It’s not an automatic recipe for disaster. An MC with heavy focus on romance can work.

Ichigo Monomiya, for example, is someone whose crush is a big part of her character AND motivation. She wants to protect Earth (as in nature) because it means so much to Aoyama and her main conflict comes from how she doesn’t want him finding out about her being a Mew. Her story revolves around how much she wants to spend time with him - but is unable to.

And Ahiru’s entire wish is for Mytho to be happy at the cost of her own. For a while the only motivation she seemed to have was Mytho and we knew little abt her aside from that.

Marinette basing her entire identity around Adrien may not be a bad thing (writing wise) if the writers acknowledged that’s what they’re doing. If they allowed conflict to build upon it.

Maybe a explore who she is without Adrien, and how he affects the perception Marinette has on herself. Who does she become without him and more importantly,

Why can’t she get together with him?

Real, why can’t Marinette get Adrien?

Well, the show  has told us many times why. Awful consequences, the end of the world, etc etc.

But what I’m asking is why Marinette can’t get closer to Adrien? Even as a friend?

What’s stopping her from confessing? Or giving the first step? Being ladybug? Her own nervousness?

There’s usually a reason why these things can’t progress. Nervousness, after four seasons, shouldn’t have been one.

I mean, it worked on the first few episodes and even seasons. But at some point, her nervousness just became unrealistic, and it falls to the point of annoyance and even blatant fetishization by Thomas’ part – for a girl obsessed over a boy.

Again, Ichigo took steps to get closer to Aoyama since day one. The only reason why she can’t confess, isn’t because she gets nervous or can’t seem to talk to him. It’s because she’s scared that when Aoyama finds out she’s half-cat, he’ll be grossed out and won’t want to date her.

And if we talk about shyness and clumsiness, Ahiru comes to mind. Someone who also messes up when her crush is involved.

However, Ahiru gets competent the more time she spends with Mytho. By the end of it, even if she’s scared or nervous, she jumps headfirst into danger to protect him. She’s able to have conversations with him, and even gets close to his friends. She breaks out of her crush so much, that she’s willing to accept that Mytho is not meant for her.

So, no. Shyness and clumsiness when writing a character, isn’t a good answer.

What about her being Ladybug and the responsibility it comes with it, impeding her from finding love?

Well THAT plot point doesn’t get explored. At least, not with Adrien.

It only ever gets explored until season 4 and with MAY I REMIND YOU Luka. That she’ll always be distant or unable to connect with someone because of how much she has to keep from him. And it’s also kinda weird, when you juxtapose Luka and Aoyama.

Aoyama is the main love interest in the anime Tokyo Mew Mew. He was often sad and disappointed that Ichigo couldn’t put priority on him.

In one particular episode, he asked her out to go to the movies and was waiting for Ichigo, but a fight broke out and she was unable to go meet him. Mid-fight she does try to contact him but a jealous alien breaks her phone, making her unable to tell him she’s going to be late.

The iconic scene where she comes late to her date, and Aoyama is still waiting in the rain, will always be ingrained in my mind. The music, the writing, it all builds up to this point. You can see how much they long to be together, but there’s this impossible barrier for them. Caused entirely by circumstance. If Ichigo were normal, if she weren’t a hero, if she were just like other girls, she would be with the man she loves.

But she can’t. So she has to hide. Hide parts of herself, and her life. Even as she confesses that she loves him, she’s hiding her tail and ears. Worried that he’ll hate her but still trying to reach out.

And Aoyama forgives her. He says “I love you too”

It truly showed how they can’t be 100% together. That there’s a gap they can never truly fill.

But Aoyama /tries/. He doesn’t break up with her, doesn’t get angry, he hears how truly sorry she is and sees how anxious she’s getting - and accepts it. He forgives her. Because there’s things, they still don’t know about each other, and neither are ready to share.

That’s why Luka’s reaction Is weird. Wanting the whole truth from your gf is strange. And yes, Marinette is an asshole for still crushing on Adrien - but Luka knew! And he still accepted her. But he draws the line at Marinette having a secret he won’t tell her 2-month boyfriend and not even her closest friends KNOW?? And, it gets even worse, when you know that the secret of her “being ladybug” is something he’s known for a long a time. (And so has Aoyama by the way)

So a fundamental part of Marinette’s struggles were shoved into a padded 30 min episode. Where the blame is placed entirely on her.

I know they’re trying to fix it in season 5, an attempt to make her more proactive and give her a backstory and the like.

But this is your protagonist.

You shouldn’t be trying to fix her five goddamned seasons in. This should have been something addressed in – at LATEST – the second season. The villains also have this problem, but this is much more saveable in their case. We’re not supposed to care much for them to begin with.

And as I said, both the protagonist Alter Ego, and the Theme of a story are extremely linked together. If anything, they should have been able to fall back on their theme. What were they trying to say?

If, say for the sake of argument, Ichigo is an unlikable protagonist, maybe by just leaning into the Nature and Ecology theme of the show, you can build a new personality.

This is what star vs did – they gave Star character development as they developed the theme of intergenerational conflict and colonization.

So, SURELY, if Marinnette is a bad protagonist with no real reason for her Alter ego –

The writers can fall back on their theme to write a cohesive protagonist for the overall story of theme they’re trying to talk about

Right?

Spoiler. No.

PREV << MASTERLIST >> NEXT

[ggomos-maribat]

A Real One for Christmas

Cross posted from AO3

You know, when I said I was ready to return the favor,

I didn't expect it to be like this

Pleaseeee? 🥺🥺🥺

It's just for one Christmas dinner

EVERYONE has their own boyfriend or girlfriend now

And Ma and Pa's been asking when I'm getting together with someone

you're overlooking something here

your best friend knows me

how do we explain that to them?

we just tell them the truth

we met online and hit it off

uh huh

he won't ask questions in front of the family

i think

i can think of a million reasons how this can go wrong

it won't🙂

wow that smiling face is really assuring

that's good ^ _^

seriously?

another question..

am I supposed to know about your powers?

that's the fun part

if they know you're a 'civilian'

they'll be fighting to hide their powers

and/or tech

thru the whole dinner

you're actually evil

haha

this is me getting back at them

so i'll fly you on the 20th?

i can't fly with you

you need to book me a flight, im in Paris

France

Europe

Or else they'll be suspicious

Right

I'll ask Dad to help get you one

What about HM?

I'll make a prediction here and say that he won't be attacking a few days before christmas

cause he'll do it on christmas

but just in case, I can bring Kaalki or you can fly me

or I can ask Chat to cover for me

okay

see you :3

hey, this makes YOU owe me a favor

but this is your return

this isnt equal to what u did

it is :3

Marinette sighed and flopped on her bed as she threw her phone to her side. Meeting Jon Kent had been both luck and misfortune for her. One day, he was just a cute stranger she met after a boredom-filled night and then the next, they had accidentally found each others' identities when Superboy happened to pass by Paris.

She dragged out a groan. What on earth was Jon even thinking with that charade? They were facing a family of Kryptonians and detectives for crying out loud. 

"What's the matter, Marinette?" Tikki flew in munching on her last cookie crumb. 

"That was a very regretful groan." 

She screamed when she saw her partner's head pop through her open skylight. A pillow was instinctively thrown at Chat, who dodged it effortlessly. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" she glanced warily at her trapdoor, hoping her parents wouldn't come rushing in. 

Chat dropped down on her bed and stretched. "Meowch. Can't I visit my dearest friend every now and then?" 

"I think Marinette has a predicament," Tikki tattled as she nestled on top of Chat's head. 

"Oooh, what predicament? Do share, M'lady." 

Seven pieces of cookies, two more woeful groans and a story later, Chat was laughing out loud. 

"You think this is funny?" Marinette scowled. 

"I'm sorry," Chat wheezed, not at all sounding remorseful. "But you and I have read enough fanfiction to know where this is going." 

"But this is not fanfiction. This is real life." 

"And in real life," the black-clad hero sang, "Jon Kent likes you."  

Marinette scoffed. It wasn't that easy of course. Jon was one charming smile after another, targeting her unsuspecting feelings while not knowing anything.  

"So?"  

"So. . .?" Chat cocked his head.  

"What about Hawkmoth?"  

"Him? I can take care of the city while you're out," he replied. "You go enjoy your little Christmas getaway while I—"  

"Should we exchange our Miraculouses?" Marinette asked her kwami.  

Tikki gave a half shrug, "I don't mind joining Adrien for a while."  

"Yes! Two days with no cheese smell!"  

---

The flight to America was uneventful, but the car ride to Kents' was. Jon had reminded her before and after her trip that he and Conner were picking her up. She'd lied to him over text, saying that she wasn't nervous at all, but her rapid-beating heart was betraying her.  

And Plagg wouldn't shut up about it. And asking her for a charcuterie board at dinner.  

She could only make a futile attempt to control her heartbeat in the old farm truck with two Superboys.  

"Marinette, was it?" Conner smiled at her through the rearview mirror.  

"Uh . . . Yeah." She squirmed. Jon squeezed her hand. She squirmed some more.  

"By the way, Dad wanted to pick you up instead of Conner but he has dinner duties," Jon explained, "He told me to tell you."  

"It's okay. I'm thankful he paid for the flight and everything."  

"Jon told me you met online," Conner pressed, earning a frown from Jon. "He wouldn't elaborate."  

"We just started off as chat buddies and the next thing I know we were getting closer and he asked me out."  

"Hm that's interesting." A slight smirk popped up on Conner's lips. "Jon's never mentioned you before." 

"This is exactly why," Jon pouted. "You'll scare her off."  

A fake gasp. "Moi? I'm just a guy from Smallville. No one too special."  

"Eyes on the road, Kon. And don't go too fast, this isn't your motorcycle."  

"So how did Lois react when she found out?" 

Marinette saw Jon shudder under his holiday sweater. "She was furious."  

She paled. "Your mom got mad?"  

"I should've seen that coming anyway, because I never told them." Jon raised his hands. "Not your fault, though! Mom's excited to meet you."  

"How exactly did you meet?"  

"Kon. Questions later. Focus on driving, jeez."  

Marinette swallowed. If they had to pull off the act in front of Jon's family, she had to step up. "It's okay, Jon." She touched his arm. "We met in an online chatroom and we've been talking ever since." 

"Tinder? Grindr?"  

"Kon!" Jon's cheeks turned into a deep shade of red. "Can we talk about something else? What about you and Tim? Talk about that."  

"Me and Tim?" Conner smiled widely, almost evilly. "You want to talk about us? Tonight we're going to make lo—"  

"Okay, okay! Not that!" Jon raised his voice. He turned to Marinette. "Sorry."  

She squeezed the side of her bag which was starting to shake from Plagg's giggles. "It's okay. I promise."  

"You shouldn't have come—" 

"Hey, no, we already agreed to this, didn't we?" Marinette smiled shyly. "We're doing this dinner."  

Withholding a smirk, she laughed. "And it's not like I can fly back to France in a minute." 

And to this, Conner's eyes widened as the car swerved sharply to another lane.  

----

Lois Lane was first to tackle her as soon as she stepped through the front door. She stumbled back a bit, but managed to return the tight hug.  

"Marinette! I'm happy you can make it." She turned her head briefly to the commotion behind her. "I have to apologize—we're not yet done with the preparations."  

Marinette could see half of the Wayne family staring at her curiously from the kitchen. She pretended not to notice as Jon took her coat. "It's alright, Ms. Lane. If there's anything I can help with—"  

"No, you're our guest! You can sit here first and the table will be set in a few minutes." The reporter hurried her to a comfy couch in the living area. "And please, call me Lois."  

"Thank you . . . Lois."  

Jon leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Dad needs me to help with a few things. Will you be okay on your own?"  

She took his hand gently. "Of course. Go."  

He gave her one charming smile before going. At the same time, others came filing in . . .  

. . . And an arrow sailed past her head and into the wall.  

"ROY!"  

"That is my new—ow!"  

A blue-eyed man snatched the small contraption from the archer, glaring at him pointedly. 

"We have a guest, idiot." Another man strolled into the room.  

Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, Jason Todd, Marinette made her guesses. Jon had already told her all about them, even going as far as to share their quirks and personalities. Nightwing, Arsenal, Red Hood.  

"I am so sorry!" Roy's eyes went wide. "It was for my . . . Er—archery competition!"  

Jason smacked him.  

"Didn't we already tell you about this?" Dick hissed while pulling out the arrow from the wall.  

Roy mumbled a response that Marinette couldn't make out.  

"Really really sorry for that." Dick turned to her. "Are you hurt anywhere?"  

"I'm good!" Marinette assured before their arguments worsened. "It didn't hit me."  

"Good." Dick glared at Roy again. "I'm Dick, and these are Roy and Jason."  

"It's nice to meet you," she smiled sheepishly.  

"Guys, you're crowding around the poor girl." A woman in a wheelchair entered, and the others gave her space.  

"Hi, I'm Barbara, you can call me Babs." The woman offered a welcoming smile which Marinette returned. At that moment, more people were ushered into the living room, by the Wayne's butler who was brandishing a spatula and muttering about banning them from the kitchen.  

Marinette felt a chill down her spine.  

There, at the corner of her eye, he was staring at her. Calculatingly.  

Crap, he definitely recognizes me.  

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Jon.  

---

The Kents and Waynes (read: Alfred) didn't disappoint with the food. Marinette realized how hungry she was when she gazed at the dining table.  

"You have to try Ma's apple pie," Jon whispered next to her. "I bet your bakery can't compare."  

"I'll be the judge of that," Marinette rolled her eyes. She settled next to Jon, across from Clark and Lois. Damian was diagonal from her, making it more difficult to avert her gaze.  

After the setting of the table, passing of bowls, picking up of servings, Clark made small talk within the light chatter.  

"So Marinette, what do you like to do?" Clark asked.  

"Art. Designing," she replied, "Helping my parents bake."  

"Oh come on," said Jon, "Marinette is a prodigy. She's been recognized by Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeois gave her an offer once."  

"Big names in fashion," Bruce Wayne commented, sending Marinette into a blush, "That's impressive."  

Jon piped up again before she could kick him under the table. "Her designs are amazing. And Jagged Stone regularly commissions her for concert pieces."  

"Wagged Shtone?" 

"Master Timothy, please don't talk while eating."  

"You know Jagged Stone?!" Tim gaped at her after swallowing down his food.  

"Jon's exaggerating." Marinette tucked her hair behind her ear, "It was just a few pieces for his concert."  

"Don't downplay it, Mars, you're talented," Jon smiled gently.  

"Looks like you're very proud of Marinette," said Lois.  

"O—of course I am! She's my girlfriend after all."  

"Well, I'm happy Jon brought a wonderful girl home," Ma Kent beamed, handing Marinette another piece of baked lasagna.  

"Can you get me an autograph from Jagged?" Roy asked.  

"Me first!" Tim cut in.  

"I'd like one too," Kara joined in.  

Marinette laughed nervously, "I'm sure I can get one for everyone." She glanced to her side. "Umm . . . Conner are you okay?"  

He continued rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah, someone threw a tree at me too hard while we were collecting firewood."  

An invisible tension (which Marinette purposefully ignored) swept across the room. Beside her, Jon spoke up. "Hey, I said I was sorry!"  

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows, resisting a laugh when she saw the semi-panicked faces of the others. "Jon threw a tree at you?"  

Tim conspicuously kicked Conner's leg below the table.  

"A tree! Yeah!" Conner's eyes widened. "We collect tiny trees for firewood! Really tiny ones!"  

"Oh. . .?"  

"Please ignore him." Tim kicked his boyfriend again. "Mari, tell us about Paris!"  

---

"Chilly night, huh?" 

Marinette could've sworn she jumped to the ceiling as she yelped at the voice. She'd step out into the front porch to get some air as the families cleaned up after dinner inside. She didn't expect the girl who Damian had brought to come approach her. 

"Yeah, really cold," Marinette saw her breath fog up. She hugged herself, feeling Rachel stare directly at her. 

Rachel had been quiet during dinnertime, but she wasn't a forgettable presence. Marinette knew about her as well (even before she knew about the Kents) because of a mission (more accurately, a snooping errand) assigned to her in the past. 

"Aren't you cold too?" Marinette rubbed her palms together. 

"I do well with the cold," the girl replied. "Damian's been looking at you the whole night." 

Yeah, I noticed that too. 

"Really?" Marinette chuckled nervously, gazing elsewhere. 

"Yes. It seems like he knows you." 

"He must be mistaken . . ." 

"He isn't." Rachel shook her head. "I'm not sure why he's suspicious but I trust you." 

"Trust---huh?" 

"I can feel that you're good. Lucky even." A light smile was on her lips. "You're good for Jon." 

I thought the smell of cheese would've masked whatever luck Tikki gives me. "Thanks?" 

"I'm coming back inside. You?" 

"Uhh . . . I think I'll stay here for a bit." 

With a nod, Rachel walked back into the warm house. Marinette released a sigh of relief. Confirming that Damian did recognize and remember her brought back memories.  

She wasn't proud of her time in the League, but it wasn't something she can turn her back to either. Especially since she still had to be loyal to its heir. She let out another heavy sigh and— 

"AHH!" In a surge of alarm, Marinette threw whoever was behind her over her shoulder. She was suddenly met with familiar green eyes.  

"Oh . . . Amir . . . I'm so sorry!"  

"It's good to know you still have your reflexes." 

She winced as she helped Damian stand back up. 

"I will go straight to the point. What are you doing here?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Did my mother send you? Is the League looking for me?" 

Marinette huffed. "Okay, first of all, that is an insult to Lady Talia. If she wanted to see you, she'd do it herself. Not send me to go undercover in a Christmas dinner." 

Damian raised an eyebrow. 

"Secondly, I'm not here for anything but Jon. Because I'm his girlfriend," she emphasized. "It's just a coincidence and I even hoped you wouldn't try to talk to me." 

"So you have no business involving me?"  

"I don't." She glanced warily through the window of the house, wondering if Jon (or any of the Supers) was listening. "Jon is . . . he's really important to me. I like him." 

"Does that mean you know about . . .?"  

"Yeah, all of it." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But don't tell anyone. Jon and I are waiting to see how long we can mess with them."  

"I see." Damian pursed his lips, putting on an expression that she knew meant that he was thinking deeply. "If Kent hurts you in any way, I have a stock of kryptonite." 

"Uhm . . . Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"  

"No." A tight smile. "I . . . Apologize for misunderstanding. I just haven't seen you since the League fell."  

"I'm just in Paris, Amir." Her shoulders sagged. "Trying to live normally. Sorry I haven't reached out."  

"We should go back inside. You're shivering."  

Marinette followed Damian into the house just as her phone rang. She sucked in a breath, read the message and met Jon's eyes from across the room.  

He immediately went towards her and pulled her to the stairs, yelling, "We'll be in my bedroom, don't listen to us, okay, bye!"  

---

Jon had offered to take her at first, but she declined to protect their cover. She had taken the Horse Miraculous and rushed back to the Kents' using the space power-up. On a day when she thought Hawkmoth wouldn't strike, he akumatized poor August again. 

Marinette had exchanged Miraculouses with Chat during the battle. She sat on Jon's windowsill in her Cosmobug suit as she caught her breath.  

"I'm really sorry," she breathed out. "Did they ask questions?"  

"They think we're still locked up here so it's okay. How was the battle? Did you get hurt?" Jon scanned her for injuries.  

She held his shoulders. "I'm okay. It was a quick fight but I was worried I wouldn't make it back in time."  

He pulled her into a tight hug, eliciting another blush. "Sorry I made you stressed out."  

"Hey, it's me returning the favor, remember?"  

The first time they had met in person, Superboy was in Paris, encountered an akuma battle and accidentally found her identity. She'd made him promise not to tell anyone about what was happening in the city, but he promised to collect the debt.  

"And I really enjoyed tonight. Everyone was nice." Marinette grinned. "If not a bit too obvious with their identities."  

"Let me guess. Conner and Roy were the most careless."  

She giggled. "No, I saw Bruce pocketing a Batarang and Clark reheating the chicken with his heat vision."  

Jon laughed along with her, still not letting go from the hug. Marinette buried her face on his chest. I wish it would always be like this.  

"I wish it could always be like this," said Jon.  

"Hm?"  

Her earrings started beeping but she paid them no mind.  

"Like . . . Bringing you over. Spending time together," he mumbled. "but we can't. You're not . . . We're not . . ."  

She swallowed. "Do you want it to be real?"  

He pulled away a little, to look at her properly. "Do you?"  

Marinette bit her lip. It wasn't the best time. It could strain their friendship. We'll never talk again!  

"Yes, I want it to be real," she confessed. "I've . . . I've liked you for a while now." 

His eyes turned bright and the corners of his lips lifted.  "Really? Are you sure? Because I was scared you won't feel the same and I made it weird . . ."  

Her arms looped around his neck as she mirrored the elated look. "Nope." Her lips lightly touched his cheek. "I like you a lot, Jon."  

He was practically buzzing with excitement, which made her want to laugh. "Really? Like really, really?" He held her more tightly. "You want to be my real girlfriend?"  

"Of course I do—"  

The door clicked open. "MARINETTE! WE GOT YOU PRESENTS—!"  

A wave of light flashed and Marinette felt her transformation wear off and a drowsy Tikki floating at her side. Conner, Tim, Dick and Kara were staring slack-jawed at them, crowded around the door.  

Jon helped her down the windowsill. "Umm, we can explain?"  

[lily-drake]

Lesson 8: Find What's Worth your Protection

Previous

Random: *glares at Marin* Marin: *blinks* … Jon: *leans slightly towards her* what’s her deal? Marin: if looks could kill.. *grins* well, I still wouldn’t care but- Jon: she’s glaring at you like you killed her mother. Marin: *blanks* …. Jon: did.. did you ki- Marin: *snaps her attention towards him* no???? *smiles warily* at least I don’t think so- Jon: Marin! Marin: *pushes his shoulder playfully* what??? *looks back at the Random* I had many missions, who knows, maybe shes a cousin or whatever. Jon: *groans into his hands* ~~~~~~~ Marin: …you’re not fazed by this. Jon: you’re Damian’s sister. Marin: I’ve done considerably worse than my brother has. Jon: again, you’re Damian’s sister. Marin: …which means? Jon: that you both were raised to be assassins and I? Don’t? Care? Marin: …you’re not fazed by my molds. Jon: *grimaces* Damian kind of.. explained the situation. Marin: *blinks* …did he? Jon: yeah… Marin: … Jon: sorry-? Marinette: *shrugs* its whatever, so what are we going to do later? Jon: uhh- homework-??? Marinette: sweet!! Let’s go. Jon: uh-huh..

Damian stared at the letter laid across his desk.  He had read it, reread once, twice, thrice, and yet he still couldn’t fully process the words. 

“ I don’t want to be found so don’t look for me.  I am going to be who I want, I’m going to act how I want, and I’m not going to force myself to do things that will make me feel terrible.  You will no longer be able to pressure me, and that means you will NOT pressure someone else instead. ”

Was he truly that terrible?  Was it truly his fault for pressuring her and unintentionally pushing her away in the process?  

“ I love my dearest little brother.  Stay strong and know that I will one day visit.  For now, I’m figuring things out for myself, and I finally feel like I have a grasp on my life. ”

He reread those few sentences over and over and over again reassuring himself.  She would return, she would come back.  She never broke a promise, not once.  He scowled when he had read the last part of the letter, Jon was afraid of him!  But then again, Jon still hadn’t told him despite the fact that Marin had been gone for three weeks now.  It was infuriating.  Speaking of Jon, he hadn’t heard his annoying voice at all yet, something was up.

Damian tucked the note away in his desk almost reverently before he stood up and marched out of his room.  He would check the kitchen first, but the only one there was Beast Boy.

“Where is Kent?”  He demanded while crossing his arms.  Beast Boy turned to him with a confused frown before he shrugged.

“No clue man.  Last I heard he had a “private call” to make, something about someone calling him, or whatever.”  Damian’s frown deepened.  It didn’t matter, he would just head to the training room, nothing defeating the highest level of holographic enemies wouldn’t fix.

______ Jon was on a secret mission, well, secret in the fact that he just didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing.  What was he doing, well, currently he was trying not to let the craziest of the al Ghul-Waynes cut his head off.  “Hey, hey!  It’s me Marin!  Please don’t kill me!”  He shouted, keeping his hands up and forward in a show of peace and surrender.  Her eyes were dark and predatory as she studied him.

“What are you doing here?”  She growled, baring her teeth in a way that was definitely threatening.

“Is it so wrong to want to make sure my friend is okay after weeks of radio silence?”

He could hear her heart skip slightly at that, she was surprised.  “What makes you think we’re friends?!”  She snarled, pushing the blade that no doubt had bits and pieces of Kryptonite in it, further against his neck.  He was so screwed.  Why did he think this was a good idea again?

“The fact that we spent years together attending Gotham Academy and you know, our side job.”  He replied nervously, making sure to keep perfectly still unless he really did want that dagger slitting his throat.  

Marin let out a small hum, thinking over his words while allowing the dagger to stay firmly planted against his neck.  “Fine, your answer is acceptable.”  And just like that, the dagger was removed and hidden in one swift motion.

Jon let out a sigh of relief, moving slightly away from Marin to catch his breath.  “Damian still thinks he’s scarier than you and I still don’t know how to convince him he’s wrong.”  Jon gasped, cupping his throat as if that would protect it.  He could feel the slight sting against his next from where the blade laid across the skin.

“Damian assumes much and understands little.  He will not allow himself to believe that others can be feared more than himself.  That’s one thing that will never change.”  Marin stated with a roll of her eyes,  “Now, why are you really here?”  She demanded with a simple raise of her brow.

“Is it really too much to believe that I just came to check-up on you?”  He asked, trying to show how sincere he was.  All he really knew was that there was a falling out between Marin and the rest of her family that was so bad that she refused to come back.  He wouldn’t pry or ask details, but he wanted to make sure his friend was okay.  Her heart quickened slightly.

“As it’s coming from you, I guess not.”  She replied flippantly.  Jon honestly could not tell what she was thinking, she’d always been hard to read.  

“So while I’m here, why don’t we go somewhere?”  Marin sent him a sharp glare, and Jon quickly put his hands up in surrender once more. “Somewhere public of course.  And it doesn’t have to be somewhere you visit often!  I just wanted to catch up with you is all.”

“If you try anything, I will disassemble you piece by piece with my strongest and dullest kryptonite knife.”  She watched the way the boy paled, enjoying the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed back his fear. Why did he think this was a good idea again?

Marin gave him a sharp nod before she turned on her heel and started walking away.  Jon stood there for a few moments more, still frozen in shock before he hurried after her.  “Wait up Marin!  Come on, it’s not like we’re in school right now.”

Marin just rolled her eyes, a small smirk on her lips as she watched Jon running after her.  Once Jon was right at her side, her smile was gone without a trace.  “Sooo…” Jon began, side eyeing her with a large grin.

“None of your business.”  She replied sternly.

“Come on, I didn’t even ask anything yet.”  He whined.  Marin rolled her eyes, but never faltered in her steps.

“Doesn’t matter, the answer is still the same.”

Jon sighed and crossed his arms, “I just wanted to know if you like anyone you’ve met here.”  They walked in silence for a few minutes, before she finally answered.  It wasn’t that she hated this type of silence, she just liked making people wait in suspense.

“There are a few people that I’ve come to tolerate.”  She replied flippantly.  His eyes lit up with curiosity.

“Oooh, is that so?  And what have these people done for you to even “tolerate” their existence?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would, that’s why I asked.”  Goodness, she forgot just how infuriating this farmboy was.

“Well isn’t that just a shame, guess you’ll just have to suffer in your curiosity.”  She mocked as she weaved through the crowded streets with ease, all while Jon attempted to stay by her side.  

“You never were the merciful twin.”  He muttered to himself.

“Only when it suits what I need.”  She shrugged, stretching her arms slightly.  Jon gave a small exasperated huff before they continued walking together in silence.  It lasted all of five minutes before Jon slightly nudged her to gain her attention.  She raised a silent questioning brow at him, usually he just called her name.  She watched as he tilted his head slightly to the left in the direction of a middle aged woman that was glaring at her, and specifically her.

* Marin blinked a few times, trying to see if the woman was familiar at all, because no one glared at her like that without a reason.  She felt as Jon moved in slightly, whispering next to her ear, “What’s her deal?”

“If looks could kill,” she started, a small grin creeping up her face, “well, I still wouldn’t care but-”

“She’s glaring at you like you killed her mother or something.”  Jon muttered jokingly, cutting her off.   Marin didn’t falter in her steps, but it was a near thing as any signs of amusement quickly fled her face.  Jon actually pauses and stared at her with a mix of fear and worry in his eyes.  “Did…did you ki-”

Marin felt her body snap to attention, a jolt of fear rushing through her.  For a second, she thought Bruce was there, waiting to catch her slipping up so he could finally turn her away.  But he wasn’t here, she needed to remember that.  He. Isn’t. Here.  “No?”  She tried to give Jon a smile, pulling in as much of Rebecca as possible, but came out as more of a grimace than anything.  “At least I don’t think so…”  She said trailing off slightly, trying to recall if she actually had done that.  Rebecca was always getting lost in thought, she was always the dreamer.

“Marin!”  Jon hollered in shock.  She needed to focus right now, maybe Rebecca was the wrong mold to use.  But she was also very nice and playful, so she’ll stick with it.  Rebecca Marin playfully shoved Jon at his shoulder, before continuing her walk, almost skipping down the street, forcing Jon to pick up the pace after her once more. 

“What?”  She said with a smile, glancing at the seemingly random person one last time before looking forward.  “I had many missions.  Who knows, maybe she’s a cousin or whatever.”  She said in an almost playful tone.  She could hear Jon’s muffled groan, but she didn’t care, she just needed to get away from this place.  Get away from the people she may have harmed when she was in the League.  

Jon watched Marin, he could tell she was currently using one of her molds, it was a little jarring at times, but he understood why she did it.  As they walked farther and farther away from the crowds he watched as she slowly removed her mask, returning once more to being Marin.  He had seen her do this so many times when they were at school or on missions, but no matter how many times he watched her do it, it never took away the sense of hurt he felt for her.

They stayed silent for another long while, traveling everywhere yet nowhere at once.  This time, it was Marin to interrupt the silence, “...You’re not fazed by this?”  Her tone was flat, not giving away any of her emotions.  Marin was officially back.

“You’re Damian’s sister.”  He replied with a nonchalant shrug.  

“I’ve done considerably worse than my brother has.”  She countered.

“Again, you’re Damian’s sister.”  He responded as if that explained everything.  

With a small huff of frustration she asked, “Which means?”

“That you and your brother were both raised to be assassins and I? Don’t? Care?”  Marinette watched from the corner of her eyes as he tilted his head slightly with an unsure, almost sarcastic, smile.

“So, you're not fazed by my molds?”  She asked, raising her brow in challenge.

Jons smile became more of a grimace as he glanced away uncomfortably.  “Damian kind of…explained the situation,” he answered hesitantly.

Marin really shouldn’t have been surprised, but as she blinked at Jon, she could admit (never out loud) that she was a little shocked. “...Did he?”  Damian always tried to avoid talking about the League, and especially her molds.  Damian hated them, so it was a little shocking that he would even tell someone else about them rather than pretending she had Multi-Personality Disorder….Now that she thought about it-NO!  She wasn’t going down that rabbit hole right now.

“Yeah…Sorry?”  he still wasn’t looking her in the eye.  She didn’t like that, but who cares.  It’s not like it really mastered in the end.  When she looked away from Jon and back to the street in front of her, she noticed that she was in front of the bakery.  Well, if he wasn't fazed, then it didn’t really matter who she was right now.  

So, with a shrug of her shoulders and a lightness to her step that always seemed to follow Marinette, she replied.  “It’s whatever, so what are we going to do later?” She asked with her brightest smile, it almost felt real when she watched Jon’s reaction to her switch.  

“Uhhh, homework?”  he asked more than stated, obviously unsure where this was headed.

“Sweet!  Let’s go.”  She cheered as she grabbed ahold of his arm and started dragging him towards the bakery, and away from the eyes she could feel following them.

“Uh-huh.”  Jon let her tug him forward with a roll of his eyes, his farm drawl coming out slightly.  She would never admit this out loud, but it was nice to have an old friend teammate here, and hopefully for once, she wouldn’t be the reason they got killed.

Next

Taglist:

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[marsrize]

Time for renewal [OS]

Pairing: Adrien Agreste x Jon Kent.

Note: The story is inspired by the song "Rewrite the Stars" from the movie The Greatest Showman. 

Jon was sitting in a café, enjoying his chocolate, when he noticed a young man sitting at a table across from him. The man looked sad and lost in thought, stirring his coffee cup without taking a sip. Jon's curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey," Jon said, approaching the table. "Mind if I sit here?"

The man looked up and shrugged. "Sure, go ahead."

Jon took a seat and introduced himself. "I'm Jon."

"I'm Adrien," the man replied, still looking sad.

"Is everything okay, Adrien?" Jon asked, noticing the sadness in his eyes.

Adrien hesitated for a moment before opening up. "I recently broke up with my girlfriend, Marinette. It's been really hard for me."

Jon nodded sympathetically. "Breakups are tough. But maybe it's for the best?"

Adrien shook his head. "No, it's not. I really love her, but I screwed things up."

Jon could see the pain in Adrien's eyes, and he felt a strong urge to comfort him. "Sometimes, we just need to take a leap of faith and go after what we want. Rewrite the stars, so to speak."

Adrien looked up at Jon, surprised by his words. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, the world wants to keep us apart, but we have to fight for what we want. We have to rewrite the stars to be with the one we love," Jon explained, feeling his heart race as he looked into Adrien's eyes.

Adrien felt a flutter in his chest at Jon's words, and he realized that he felt something for this stranger. "Do you believe in that? In rewriting the stars?"

Jon smiled. "I do. And I think you should too."

Adrien smiled back, feeling a glimmer of hope. "Thank you, Jon. You don't know how much this means to me."

Jon shrugged. "I'm just glad I could help. And who knows? Maybe the stars will align for us one day too."

Adrien blushed at the thought, feeling a connection with Jon that he couldn't explain. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for him after all.

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

Nine Secrets

Nine Secrets by SentiWayne

Marinette Luthor. The daughter of two divorced parents. Lex Luthor and Louis Lane. Marinette has lived with her father for her whole life as her mother went her separate ways and made a family of her. own. Marinette best friend, Adrien Agreste. Died in a car accident. After her best friend died, she was heartbroken. Nothing could repair her broken heart. Her father couldn't be there for her. Her mother couldn't either. So, she runs away from her problems. She goes to Gotham City, where no one could find her. After the death of her best friend, she finds out a way to see him again, by going back to the past. But she knew that you could never mess with time or else you will mess up the present. But she was willing to do it even with the price. Which caused even more problems. A problem that made her cursed. What if the cursed turned her to a fairy little animal? What if that curse made her found love? What if the curse was bad that even the person, she fell for didn't know she was actually a human?

This story is original by me. I update every day!

Words: 1789, Chapters: 1/30, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Lex Luthor, Louis, Robin (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Barbra Gordan, Dick Grayson, Duke Thomas, Marinette Luthor, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug's Parents, Clark Kent

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Robin (DCU), Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Daminette, MariBat, Damian Wayne Loves Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is Not Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Is So Done, Secret Children

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48486589

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

hole me close and don't let go

by honeyseeto_elite (honeyseeto_0) Damian has noticed her before. The quiet yet not unfriendly transfer student from France. She isn't what he'd call outstandingly beautiful but she was pretty enough to attract attention. Her quiet yet friendly demeanor, coupled with her innate ability to read the room and refrain from being too nosy, as well as her excellent grades and notable achievements make her the perfect candidate for a girlfriend. His girlfriend to be exact. Since his family wants him to experience what being a 'teenager' is like, he'll do exactly that by entering the world of so-called 'teenage dating'. Surely it can't be that hard to date. Can it? Words: 2835, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M, Gen Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine, Tom Dupain, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Sabine Cheng, Jonathan Kent, Original Characters Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, First Relationship, First Kiss, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Domestic Batfamily (DCU) via https://ift.tt/msGgo2c

[ao3feed-timkon]

Fly Back Home (where the heart is)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/mrTtJao

by CrescentCyan

Damian swore to protect his older brother and sister. That meant watching them leave him behind.

Danny swore to live. Then he died.

Marinette swore that she would always tell her little brothers everything. One day, she couldn't. And after one horrid day that could have easily gone worse, she could. And she did.

Words: 1170, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Triumvirate

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, Danny Phantom, Batman - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Danny Fenton, Damian Wayne, Jack Fenton, Bruce Wayne, Sabine Cheng, Jason Todd, Luka Couffaine, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Lê Chiến Kim, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Danny Fenton, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Damian Wayne, Danny Fenton & Damian Wayne, Jack Fenton & Sabine Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Danny Fenton & Bruce Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Danny Fenton & Jason Todd, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jonathan Samuel Kent/Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Lê Chiến Kim, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd/Kara Zor-El

Additional Tags: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug and Damian Wayne are Twins, Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne are Twins, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug and Danny Fenton are Twins, Triplets, Protective Talia al Ghul, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Talia al Ghul Tries, She's doing what she can, Jason Todd and Damian Wayne Meet in the League of Assassins, Jack Fenton and Sabine Cheng are Childhood Friends, Adrien salt, he won't come out looking good, but he has the potential to get better, Lazarus Pit Madness (DCU), Clockwork's Sticky Notes, Clockwork is a Little Shit (Danny Phantom), But a Useful Little Shit, He Solves Problems, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Jack Fenton is a Good Parent, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, defenestration of canon, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Competent Jack Fenton, He just acts like an idiot, Jack Fenton Knows Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom, Sabine Cheng Knows Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is Ladybug

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/mrTtJao

[marauderundercover]

A Guide to Love and Coffee in the City of Crime: Ch. 3

Somewhere Only We Know

AO3

Prev

Conner glares at his best friend as they drive away from the airport in Metropolis. Apparently, despite the fact that both he and Clark had told Marinette repeatedly not to fly straight to Gotham, she hadn’t listened. But she hadn’t thought to say anything until after her plane landed, which meant she was stuck at the airport waiting for them to get there. Which meant he got to ride in a truck for almost an hour with his best friend…who was apparently in love with his baby cousin.

“Don’t give me that look, Kon.” Tim says. Conner huffs.

“I’ll give you whatever look I wanna give you.” He grumbles. Tim rolls his eyes

“I don’t understand why you’re so mad.” He says. “It’s not like I woke up and said ‘hmm, how can I ruin my friendship with Conner today?’ Marinette’s just-”

“Important. To a lot of people. She’s basically my little sister, Tim. Why her?” Conner asks, frowning. Tim bites his lip, eyebrows furrowed. Conner recognized it as his ‘this is a case that I’m having trouble solving’ face. It didn’t make him feel better.

“Look man, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but I don’t know why I like her.” Tim says, shrugging helplessly before sighing. “But, I do know that you are my best friend. So if you really don’t want me to let her know I like her like that, I won’t.” Conner groans.

“Now if I tell you no, I look like the bad guy.” He says. Tim raises an eyebrow.

“There is, quite literally, no one here but us.” He says. Conner rolls his eyes.

“Obviously, but Marinette will find out. She always finds out.” Conner says ominously. Tim snorts, shaking his head.

“Yeah, you’re not gonna scare me off that easily.” He says. Conner grins.

“I’m not trying to scare you. If I was trying to scare you, I’d remind you that Clark is her Uncle and has known her since she was just a dot on a shitty picture.” He says. Tim’s eyes widen slightly and Conner snorts. He knew that Tim was a good guy, (he also knew if Marinette knew that he was having this talk with Tim she’d kill him), but sometimes it was hard to look at Marinette and not see the five year old kid he’d met so long ago.

***

Something Marinette wishes she would have thought of, was the probability of an attack on the Gotham airport. She definitely knew that it was a possibility. How could she not? Her uncle told her again and again not to fly into Gotham. That she should fly into Metropolis and then just commute. And now she was going to have to listen to him say ‘I told you so’. Frowning at the man monologuing in front of the terrified crowd, she tries to place him. A burlap sack mask. A pointy hat. Farm clothes? If it weren’t for the fact that literally everyone else looked terrified at the sight of the man, Marinette might laugh. His costume was almost as bad as Gigantitan.

“I hope you’re all ready! This new batch is…quite strong.” The man cackles, and that’s when it clicks. Scarecrow. If she didn’t have a bright pink cast on her hand, she might face palm. His costume was clear enough (despite its rough appearance, he was quite clearly a scarecrow). Marinette tenses, waiting for him to move and attempt to inject someone. She wasn’t exactly going to volunteer, but she did want to try and help however she could. But as she hears the screaming start, she realizes: it’s gas.

***

“Shit.” Tim says. Conner glances over, frowning.

“What happened?” He asks, noticing his friend’s phone going crazy.

“Scarecrow attack.” He says. “At Gotham Airport.” Conner’s eyes widen and he presses down on the accelerator. “Kon, slow down! You can’t help her if your truck crashes.” Conner grits his teeth, but lets his foot off the accelerator.

“Your city sucks, man.” Conner says, working hard to make sure he doesn’t accidentally break the steering wheel. Tim huffs.

“It’s not that bad.” He tries to argue. Conner looks at him incredulously.

“Tim, my cousin has been in Gotham for less than an hour and she’s already at the site of a rogue attack.” He says, anxiety creeping up. “Bats on his way?” He asks. Tim rolls his eyes.

“Of course he’s on the way. Reports are saying that the gas is a new strain, so he’ll need to adjust the antidote again.” Tim rambles on, typing rapidly on his phone. Conner’s stomach sinks.

“What’re the odds she found a place to hide where the gas won’t reach her?” He asks. Tim winces, and Conner’s shoulders drop as the feeling of failure weighs heavily on him. He couldn’t even pick her up from the airport safely. Deciding to use Tim’s distraction, Conner presses down a little more on the accelerator. His truck could handle it, and he needed to save his little sister.

---

Marinette’s hands shake as she sees the carnage around her. Her parent’s bakery was complete ash and her stomach flips when she sees her maman’s wedding ring in the rubble. They’d been inside.

“Ah, Miss Dupain-Cheng, do you see what happens when you try to outsmart me?” Hawkmoth asks, a snarl on his face. Marinette’s eyes widen as she steps back, eyes scanning her surroundings to try and find something to help her. She wasn’t transformed, so she couldn’t- holding her hand out again, Marinette’s eyes widen. When did she have time to transform? How did he figure out her identity?

“You’re not going to win this.” She says firmly. Hawkmoth throws his head back, a loud cackle chilling her to the bone.

“Oh Ladybug, I already have.” He says. She blinks, then gasps in pain as Chat Blanc appears from nowhere, slashing at her arm. Marinette stumbles backwards, shaking her head.

“No, no this can’t be happening.” She says, yelping and ducking as Blanc tries to throw a cataclysm at her.

“Oh but it is M’Lady.” Blanc says, a large, twisted grin covering his face.

“It can’t! You already know, you-” She stops, her mind clearing slightly. “This is all fake.” She says.

“What was that?” A blob asks, appearing behind Hawkmoth. Marinette blinks again, trying to force herself to see what’s actually there.

“This is fake! It’s not real!” She yells, trying hard to push down the impending anxiety attack she can feel creeping up. The blob starts to come into focus, enough that she can see the burlap.

“Hmm. Interesting. It seems you have some sort of resistance. Care to stand still so that we can give you a little more?” Scarecrow asks. Marinette scoffs.

“Not a freaking chance.” She says, lunging forward and landing a hard hit on his face.

“Stupid girl!” He screams, stumbling. Marinette has to pause, wait for the blob to stop wavering so much. The second he’s back into focus, she throws another hit, the sickening crack that follows does little to stop her. Instead, she spins and manages to land a kick on Scarecrow’s head. The blob wobbles as it melts into a puddle on the ground. She lets out a shaky breath, the panic that had arrived with the adrenaline rush creeping back up. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a blob approach.

“Don’t move any closer.” She says, whirling around and facing whoever, or whatever it is. She blinks rapidly, tears of frustration popping into her eyes as she tries to make out who it is. Blinking, she gasps as the only thing that comes into focus is the gun in the blob’s hands. Immediately, she launches herself at the blob, screaming in frustration as she tries to disarm them.

“Stop!” The blob yells. She huffs.

“What, and let you shoot me?” She screams back.

“You can actually hear me?” The blob asks. She scoffs.

“No, I’m on the phone- yes I can hear you.” She snarks. The blob laughs, and she lets her shaky fists fall slightly. “You’re not gonna shoot me, are you?” She asks, still struggling to see the blob.

“‘Course not. It’s not really my style to shoot kids.” He says. Marinette frowns, trying to place the pieces together to figure out who exactly is in front of her.

“Red Hood?” She asks. The blob snorts.

“Good job, kiddo.” It- Red hood- says. Marinette grins, overly aware of her heart beating in her head- her ears throbbing with every beat of her heart. Taking a shaky breath, she sticks out her hands, trying to lower herself to the ground. “Whatchya doing kid?” Red Hood asks.

“Well, trying not to focus on the fact that I’m currently having a panic attack.” She says, slightly breathless. “Also, very tired suddenly, so I’m just gonna stay here.” She says, pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her head on them. She just needed a little nap.

---

Conner’s heart stops as he runs up to the airport, spotting Marinette unconscious on a stretcher. His eyes immediately find Jason, in his Red Hood gear, standing next to her. Conner raises an eyebrow, hoping he gets the message.

“She’s fine. She tired herself out punching the hell out of Scarecrow. Broke her cast and probably delayed any healing she had on that hand.” Jason says lowly. Conner huffs, relief flooding through him. He could wait to see her closer, as long as he knew she was okay.

“Don’t- run away- like that- again.” Tim huffs, glaring at him. The police blockade had meant that they’d been forced to park quite far from the actual airport. Running that was no problem for Conner, and usually Tim would be fine too, but for some reason, he’d decided to carry the too-big sign Jon had made and the box of cookies Lois had sent (Jimmy had made them for Marinette when he heard she was in town).

“Why’d you bring the stuff?” Conner asks, quirking an eyebrow. Tim glares at him.

“So that we could greet her properly despite the madness.” He says. Conner snorts, shaking his head towards the stretcher.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work lover boy.” Conner teases. Tim’s face reddens, but then drops into a frown.

“What happened to her?” He asks, looking at her intently.

“Apparently she punched Scarecrow and broke the cast and rebroke her hand.” Conner says. Tim blinks.

“Really?” He asks. Conner nods.

“Yeah. She can hit pretty hard. Y’know, if the person is normal.” He says. Conner’s eyes narrow in on Marinette as he hears her heart and her breathing pick up. Shoving past the police officers and leaving Tim to apologize for him, he makes it to Marinette’s side just as she wakes up. She blinks at him, smiling sheepishly.

“Oops?” She says. Conner huffs.

“Next time Clark and I say ‘hey, this is dangerous’, maybe don’t do it.” He says. Marinette deflates slightly, instantly making him feel bad. Sighing, he opens his arms. She grins, wrapping her arms around him. He pretends not to notice when his shirt gets a little damp. That’s what big brothers are for, after all.

“I think you should be able to go, if you want your friend here to take you to the hospital instead of the ambulance.” Jason tells Marinette. She frowns.

“Really? I don’t have to give a statement or anything?” She asks. He snorts.

“God no. It was a mass attack, we’ll get statements from someone who doesn’t need to get their hand fixed.” He says. Marinette frowns, glancing down at her cast and wincing.

“I’m never gonna get out of this stupid thing.” She complains, practically glaring at the cast. Conner snorts. Good thing she doesn’t have heat vision, or she totally would have burned off her hand.

“C’mon kid. Tim and I will take you to the hospital.” Conner says, helping her off the stretcher.

“Tim? He still came?” She asks with a blinding smile. Conner nods towards the watching crowd where Tim was standing, obviously trying to hold up the sign without dropping the cookies. Marinette laughs softly, immediately running over to him.

“How long til he asks her out?” Jason asks. Conner can practically hear the smirk, even if he can’t see it. Conner grins.

“What makes you so sure he’ll be the one asking her?” He counters. Jason nods.

“Touché. Ten bucks says he asks her out.” Jason bets. Conner snorts.

“Yeah right. Twenty says she asks him.” He holds out his hand, shaking Jason’s hand. “Can’t wait to get my twenty dollars.” Conner teases, walking off towards Tim and Marinette, pointedly ignoring the small jabs that Jason mutters. Stopping in front of the two, he frowns at the way Marinette was cradling her arm.

“Get that look off your face, Kon. It’s not that bad.” She says. He rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Like that time your leg wasn’t so bad and then you had to have surgery to fix it?” He asks. She narrows her eyes.

“Don’t you dare bring that up, Conner Thomas Kent. Not unless you want me to bring up the time that you said you liked-” Conner quickly puts his hand over her mouth.

“You wouldn’t dare.” He says. She gives him a look that says ‘try me’. Huffing, Conner drops his hand. “Fine. Let’s go.” He says, turning and heading off towards the truck.

“Can we stop for coffee on the way? I’m exhausted.” Marinette pleads. Tim grins.

“I second that!” He says, giving Marinette a dopey smile. Conner purses his lips.

“You get tea.” He says. Marinette gasps.

“What did I ever do to you? I thought I was your favorite cousin.” She says with a pout. Conner rolls his eyes.

“You’re my only cousin.” He reminds her. She pouts.

“I’ll let you have some of my coffee.” Tim says softly, grinning as Marinette’s face lights up. Conner debates calling him out, but decides not to. After all, the ‘you get tea’ was directed at both of them.

Next

Story tag list (open): @timari-month-event

Permanent tag list (open): @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @crazylittlemunchkin @buttercupsbitch

[intercoursefluids]

Believe Me Chapter 5

Jon was trying not to fidget as they waited for his sister. 

Everyone was currently upstairs, above the bakery in the living room.

Both Jon and Clark were sandwiched between Damian and Bruce on the couch. Both of the Wayne men trying to comfort their respective best friends.

The woman, Sabine, said her name was, as currently fixing everyone tea as the man, Tom, was sitting in the arm chair. 

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing when the front door opened with a slam and a, rather short, girl ran past them towards the stairs on the other side of the room.

Both Jon and Clark froze, knowing exactly who she was.

“Marinette? Come here please.”

Sabine called out to her, making the girl, Marinette, pause on the steps before coming back over to the group.

“Yes, Maman? Sorry, I didn’t realize we had guests?”

“Don’t call me that!” Sabine snapped at her, making her flinch back in surprise.

“Wha.. What?”

Jon and Clark shared a look, both faces covered with amounting horror as they listened to Marinette’s heartbeat start to pick up speed.

She didn't know.

Why didn’t she know?!

Sabine took a deep breath, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

“I had a very interesting talk with one of your classmates the other day.”

Marinette pales, stumbling slightly towards Sabine even as the older woman takes a step back away from her.

“She said her name was Lila, and judging by the look on your face. You know where I am going with this.”

“Maman… please. You have to believe me I-”

Sabine put her hand up, glaring at Marinette with complete and utter disdain.

“I am not your ‘Maman’ anymore. Stop calling me that. Lila told me everything that you have done to her! Did you really think you would get away with it?!”

Tears were now streaming down Marinette’s cheeks, alarm and dread were filling all four men from America.

Shocked at this turn of events.

“Maman, no! If you would just let me explain-!”

Sabine cut her off again, glaring down her nose at Marinette.

“Don’t try to lie to me, Marinette! I know what you have been doing to that sweet little girl-!”

“SHE’S TRYING TO KILL ME!” Marinette shrieked, tears streaming freely as her voice broke and her heart raced.

Sabine stopped talking, stalking forward and slapping Marinette in the face causing both the Waynes and the Kents to shoot to their feet in alarm.

“I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SPEAK OF HER LIKE THAT YOU LITTLE BITCH. YOU ARE GOING TO GO UPSTAIRS AND PACK YOUR BAGS BECAUSE YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME UNDER THIS ROOF! YOU WILL EITHER BE GOING WITH THESE MEN HERE OR BACK TO THE ORPHANAGE WE MADE THE MISTAKE OF GETTING YOU FROM AND THAT IS FINAL!”

The room was dead silent, Tom was standing next to his seething wife with a grim expression on his face as Marinette sobbed in earnest before them, the only sound in the room was her heart breaking cries.

Jon moved towards her, not sure what to do but needing to do something for his little sister before a shout sounded in the room.

“Akuma!”

Tom shoved his wife behind him as he pointed behind Marinette, causing her to spin around in alarm at the toxic purple butterfly heading towards her.

With her eyes wide in fear, Marinette broke into a sprint, flying past him and back out the door she came from before her entire life was turned upside down.

Jon wasn’t sure when he and Damian had started running after her but he was glad for his friend's firm grip on his arm, reminding him to run at the same speed a human would and not give away his identity.

In the back of his mind, Jon was aware that he could hear his Father and Bruce yelling at the people who had raised Marinette.

Mostly though, he was aware of the shouts of alarm and panicked screams of ‘Akuma!’ all around him as he and Damian started to catch up with Marinette.

She had managed to run all the way to the pyramids surrounding the Louvre Museum before she tripped and fell. Giving the toxic butterfly that had been chasing her the opportunity it needed to land on her and merge with one of her hair ties.

Damian and Jon made it to her side just as she started screaming, grabbing her head like it would split in two if she didn’t hold it in place.

Not knowing what else to do, Jon dropped down beside her, pulling her into his arms and rocking them both side to side.

He had never been more grateful that Damian had forced him to learn Mandarin, Spanish, French, and Arabic, even if he was still working on Mandarin and Arabic. His reasoning had been that Jon could end up anywhere in the world so it was important he learned the most common languages, even if Jon decided to learn Arabic instead of Hindi like Damian had told him to, Jon knew he appreciated him  trying to learn Damian’s native language.

Those lessons were very quickly coming in handy as Jon muttered reassurances to his baby sister in French, hoping to get through to her before it was too late.

Damian had thrown Jon his jacket before he ran off to try and flag down one of the local heroes.

Jon wrapped Marinette in the jacket like it was a security blanket.

Quickly losing hope on preventing her ‘Akumatization’ as the same toxic purple from the butterfly started to make itself apparent in the veins on her face, neck, and arms.

She was still shaking and screaming when Damian returned, followed by both Scarlet and Chat Noir.

All three crouched down around her, trying to cheer her on and comfort her. 

The heroes started telling her that she was stronger than him, that she didn’t need whatever powers he was offering her, asking where the butterfly had landed.

Damian opened his mouth to answer the last question when a particularly loud, pain-filled scream and blast of pure, corrupted magic, interrupted him.

The magic sent them all flying with the force of the transformation, the toxic purple hanging in the air like a mist, pulsing with the same heartbeat Jon could still hear coming from Marinette.

Marinette herself was lying on the ground, not moving.

The transformation had changed her, she was no longer wearing her pink pants and black jacket.

Instead there was a long, light pink, flowing dress, the bottom of the dress was ripped to shreds and dyed black, floating eerily away from her body as strips of the same fabric floated around her.

It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, everything about her made it look like she was under water, even her hair was floating with all of the fabric. 

The fabric never stopped moving even though she hadn’t moved an inch, there was no breeze or anything to make it move either.

 Jon didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Scar?”

Jon looked over to Chat Noir and Scarlet, both looking at Marinette in fear.

“I know. I’m not so sure we can win this one either, Chat, but we have to try.”

Chat Noir nodded, standing up and reaching out a hand to his partner, both of them now standing at the ready for whatever would happen next.

“Hey… Marinette?”

Marinette finally moved at Chat Noir's voice, filling Jon with equal parts relief and dread.

Relief that she wasn’t dead, dread at what she might do next.

It seemed like Jon’s fears were unfounded however, when all Marinette did was float upwards off the ground and turn to face them, even as she curled into a ball.

“Yes?”

As she faced the heroes Jon was able to catch a look at her face, black tears marked her cheeks, making it apparent that everything but her eyes, dress, and tears, had been sapped of all colour. Leaving her looking like a ghost.

“Can you tell us what happened? We promise to listen.”

Jon noticed two things while Chat Noir tried to talk to her, one, Damian had managed to make his way back to Jon’s side without anyone else noticing and two, the girl who ran the ladyblog was hiding behind one of the glass pyramids and filming.

A sharp sound comes from Marinette, sounding like a mix of a sob and a laugh.

“Oh sure. Yeah, you’ll listen. Like I really believe that! No one listens! No one cares or believes me!”

The floating strips of fabric had started moving faster, pulling tighter together and forming a loose ball around Marinette, as if they were trying to protect her.

Damian grabbing Jon’s arm startled him, causing him to tear his eyes off of Marinette even when Damian didn’t.

“Did you hear her?”

Jon blocked out the heroes’ attempts at peaceful negotiation with Marinette to focus on Damian.

“What do you mean? Did you catch something?”

Damian nodded, not once taking his eyes off Marinette.

“She said no one believes her. When we were still at her house she was trying to get her- trying to get Sabine to listen to her right? Because some girl named Lila told them she was doing something to her.”

Jon nodded, eyes widening as what Damian was trying to say clicked.

“You think that if we can get her to believe that we believe her we might be able to get through to her?”

Damian nodded, releasing his grip on Jon.

“It's the only thing I can think of.”

Jon was about to reply when he saw the Ladyblogger dart out from behind the pyramid and wave Marinette’s attention over to her.

“Hey, what is your name? What powers were you given?”

She glances at the heroes giving a slight nod to them as she pulls Marinette’s attention away from them.

“I don’t have a name, he fell asleep before he could give me one. I know that I have the power to make people tell the truth though. With these.”

She waved to her side and one of the strips of fabric floated into it.

She started petting it as the Ladyblogger started asking more questions. Trying to be as much of a distraction as possible like Jon’s mom would sometimes do.

“Damian, I have an idea. Remember Diana’s laso? What if the fabric is like that? If it touches you, you can’t lie.”

Damian nodded, glancing over at Jon before looking back to Marinette.

“It’s worth a shot at least.”

Both boys nodded to each other before breaking into a run towards Marinette, grabbing onto the fabric and wrapping it around their arms before calling out to her.

“We believe you!”

She snapped her head towards them, gaping slightly as she took in their arms covered in her fabric.

“What...?”

She sounded so small that Jon wanted to whisk her away to Ma and Pa’s and feed her Ma’s pies until she felt better.

“We believe you. We were the ones sitting on your couch when this happened.”

Jon gestured to her as Damian took over talking.

“Neither of us are exactly sure what happened there but you have to be one hell of an actor to pull off your reactions and, no offense, I don’t think you are. We want to hear your side of the story.”

The ball of fabric strips loosened around her, floating more freely and covering more ground than they did before as she seemed to open up to the conversation.

“You’ll listen to me?”

The both nodded and she floated down closer to them, peering into their eyes with her eerily, vibrant blue ones.

“Before we talk though, we need you to let go of the butterfly. Or if possible, tell us anything you can about what is on the other side of your mental link to Hawkmoth, I believe you said he fell asleep? Why?”

Her attention snapped to Damian, as they all ignored the Ladyblogger getting closer with her camera.

“I can do that! If you promise to listen after I give it back.”

Damian nodded to her, putting his hand to his chest in a similar way Alfred would.

“You have my word.”

Jon quickly agreed, and she sat down, dress floating in the strange, underwater way it had been the whole time.

For some reason it was even weirder up close.

“He called me his masterpiece. I think he had been after me for a long time. I tried to resist him, I really did! He was too strong for me to stop him but I think it took more out of him than he thought it would to forcefully akumatized me. He passed out right after.”

Damian nodded, subtly waving the heroes closer to them.

“I know where he is too. He is too tired to keep his thoughts and location from me.”

Both heroes freeze at that before rushing forward, giving up on being sneaky as Scarlet takes her hands.

“You know where he is? Can you take us?”

Marinette shakes her head, much to the disappointment of the heroes before she continues.

“No, he won’t let me near him without hurting me. I can show you though, just follow the fabric.”

The fabric that had been floating around came together into one long line, going down the road and turning out of sight.

Scarlet takes off after it even when Chat Noir hesitates, obviously anxious about leaving Marinette alone.

“She will be fine, I promise, we will stay her until you get back, the Ladyblogger too. Go help your partner.”

Chat Noir shots Jon a grateful smile before taking off after his partner.

“Can I ask you questions now?”

Jon’s attention is pulled back to Marinette when she taps his arm.

“Yeah sure. I don’t mind.”

The Ladyblogger sits down beside Marinette, still filming the entire thing.

“Why were you at my house?”

Jon flinches, hesitant to answer.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this but, you were adopted. My parents got a phone call the other day, saying that they needed to come get you. Apparently your biological parents were listed in your information so they were called.”

Marinette nods, even as the black tears start to drip down her neck. The Ladyblogger leaned over to wrap her in a one armed hug.

“Why were you two there?”

Jon grabs her hand, holding it loosely enough that if she wanted to she could pull away.

“I am Jon, beside me is my best friend Damian. I’m your twin brother, Marinette.”

Marinette gasps, looking between everyone there as the Ladyblogger leaned forward with a confused look.

“Wait, if you are twins then how the hell did she end up here? Why are you acting like you never heard of her until now?”

Jon went to answer when Marinette moved, wrapping Jon in a hug as he pulled her closer to him, setting her in his lap and tucking her head under his chin.

“I have a brother?”

It is then that Jon realizes that he and Damian still have the strips of fabric around their wrists. 

She knows he is telling the truth.

Jon nods, holding her close as Damian takes over answering the questions.

He tells both girls how Lois thought she lost one of her babies and what actually happened, leading all the way until they were sitting in the living room of her house.

“We had no idea that no one had told you. I apologize, on behalf of everyone, for springing that on you so suddenly, if we had known we would have done things differently.”

Marinette nods, about to answer when she pauses.

“Oh, they won.”

This time the transformation is different, instead of a bright flash it seems as though it simply melts off of her, leaving an unconscious girl lying in Jon’s arms.

Before Jon can start panicking, the Ladyblogger, who he now knows is Marinette’s best friend Alya, pulls his attention to her.

“She should be fine, over the years I have noticed that the harder you fight against Hawkmoth’s possession the more exhausted you wake up after. With the fight she put up I’m not surprised she is out cold.”

Jon nods, giving Damian back his jacket while Damian calls their dad’s letting them know that they are going back to the hotel with Marinette.

“Father says that they are packing up her room for her. Clark ended up in a screaming match with them and Father called Lois to let her know what happened. Unless she wants to, Marinette will never step foot in that house again.”

Jon nods, carrying his little sister down to the metro with both Damian and ALya flanking him.

(Alya told him he was out of his mind if he thought she was going to leave Marinette alone with strangers, shared blood or not. He and Damian could both respect that.)

Tag List:

@toodaloo-kangaroo

@vroomtaka

[nullsleepy]

The Strike of a Villainess

Chapter 2: Let’s Play

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2(here), Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

His husky breath warmed her neck as he wrapped his arms around Lillian, a sigh of relief as he saw no injuries on her body.

“Timmy?” Lillian’s angelic voice calmed down his nerves, his grip loosening.

“L..Lily. Don’t EVER do that again.” She could feel tears stain her white blouse. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing him into her shoulder.

The scene faded black, with the words “Good Ending” flashing onto the screen. Marinette tossed her phone towards a cushion near the bed, squealing as she hugged her pillow. As it turns out, that game wasn’t nearly as “uninteresting” as she had initially thought. Of course it wouldn’t be, she remembered half way through that Alya had recommended it to her once, a time ago! And, no matter how much the girl couldn’t face the truth right in front of her, her taste in games was impeccable!

When she had just started playing, she began with Jonathan Kent’s route, superboy. His sunshine smiles, his ocean blue eyes, the awkward stutters, ah! He was so adorable! He was like Adrien, a handsome dork, a beautiful knight in shining armor! It had made her heart ache a bit at first, but his tangents on comics and anime made her heart flutter. He was just so cute!

Her next route was on the precious boy’s best friend’s(Damian Wayne, as she soon learned) eldest brother, Dick. The name had made her hesitant first, wondering if it was some dirty joke. But his puns reminded her of her partner, Chat. He was quick to make her laugh and made her think of fond memories of her Chaton. But unlike her cat in black leather, the man was more mature, experienced. He knew when to not push her, but knew when she needed support.

Marinette lost herself in the game, smiling to herself. Most of the characters reminded her of the people in her life, but some were completely different from the people in her life. Like Damian, an arrogant young master. At the beginning, she had thought he was like Felix, which made her groan, but she quickly learned otherwise. While she hadn’t played his route just yet, since it costs coins, he had saved her in other routes from certain unsavory characters. He rescued her in Tim’s route where she was kidnapped by the joker, and saved her again and again in Jason’s route. Not to mention she caught him snuggled with a cat, while reading a book, as she was exploring the manor. It made her giggle, and she had to put down her phone for a few minutes.

That five minute break quickly became four hours, her frequently pausing to freak out and blush. She was this close to trying to marry the developers for making this beautiful masterpiece.

Checking how many coins she had, it was just barely enough to buy Damian’s route. She bit her lip, wondering if she should buy it. It would cost all the coins she got, but - Marinette looked back at Damian’s profile, his green eyes baring into her soul, it would be worth it.

She took a deep breath as she purchased the route. Her heart beating after a fictional character. Why did fictional men have to be so handsome?!

“Master?” Marinette whipped her head towards Wayzz, putting her phone down as if just remembering she wasn’t a giggling teenage fangirl.

“Ah, sorry Wayzz. I got distracted,” Marinette glanced at her phone, disappointed. A heavy feeling surrounded her heart. “Let’s get to work.”

Marinette stood up quickly, causing her to lose balance. She crashed into her floor, swearing as she felt pain in her ankle.

“Master!” Wayzz rushed towards the girl, unsure of how to help.

“I’m okay Wayzz, just took a tumble is all! I’ll be fine.” Marinette smiled at the kwami, but the pain in her ankle felt unbearable.

“Why don’t you take a bit longer, master? Paris can wait an hour or two.” The kwami looked down at her.

“You know what, I, uh, I’ll do just that!” Marinette failed to stand, instead being forced to climb up her bed. She stared at her phone, wondering if she should just play the route. It should be fine to spoil herself when in pain.

Ignoring her throbbing ankle, she pressed “start”.

A blinding white light poured into the room from her phone. Marinette squinted, covering her eyes with her hand.

“Master!”

“Wayzz!”

-

Taglist(Open): @khneltea @cydaeashootingstar @shadosakushi @jeminiikrystal

Notes: Hi! Sorry for the delay, I just couldn’t figure out how to get to the white light part but I did it! This chapter probably sounds rough/rushed because honestly I just want to start writing the next chapter already. I have tons of ideas for it, and this chapter was technically supposed to be apart of chapter 1. Anyways, I do hope y’all enjoyed reading! I can’t wait to write the next chapter!!!

[mochegato]

Hold My Girl

Chapter 1

The movie had long since ended, the credits had already scrolled past.  An ad for a recommended movie that Conner had absolutely no interest in watching, cut through the dark room giving just enough light to see the mess left behind after the bulk of the team went home.  It was getting late, or early depending on how you looked at it, but he had no interest in going to sleep yet.  Going to sleep would mean getting up and getting up would mean moving and moving would mean dislodging Marinette from her spot nestled comfortably against his side, her knees slung over his lap and her head resting on his chest.

“Movie’s over,” she commented, her words not quite slurring together, but it was a close thing.

“It is,” Conner agreed with a sloppy nod.  “Remote’s all the way over there though.”  He motioned vaguely in the direction of where Cassie had been sitting earlier in the night.

Marinette hummed in understanding.  “I should go,” she yawned, but made no motion to get up.

Conner scoffed.  “You’re staying here tonight.  You’re too tired and drunk to go home by yourself and I’m in no condition to help.”

“I’m not tired,” she insisted petulantly.  “Or drunk.”

Kon looked over her skeptically.  It wasn’t that she was lying, it was just that she wasn’t telling the truth.  She looked a few seconds from collapsing and he was positive the only thing keeping her upright currently, other than being propped up against him, was spite and the steadfast refusal to let him be right, a driving force that apparently not even being drunk off her ass could stymie. “Sure you’re not,” he snorted.

“It’s not fair.  I have an excellent tolerability… toleraness…” she scrunched her nose in frustration before huffing and looking back at him.  “And you’re just…” she motioned vaguely toward him, “you’re just fine,” she spat out the last word with disgust.

“I’m affected too,” he assured her placatingly.

Marinette scoffed and pushed his face away playfully.  “Not enough.  It’s disgusting.”

He rolled his eyes.  “You love me.”

Marinette looked at him for a second before looking away.  “I do,” she agreed quietly.

She said it so serenely and confidently, Kon couldn’t do anything but stare at her for a few seconds before looking away again.  Her heartrate was steady and calm, like it was nothing and he knew Marinette well enough to know if she had meant it in a romantic sense, she would be panicking right now.  Her heart would be racing and her mind would be going in spirals at having said her feelings for the first time, none of which appeared to be happening.  So, no matter how he wished she meant it romantically, she didn’t.

But that was fine.  He loved her. As a teammate, as a friend, as a lover, he’d love her however she let him.  He sighed and stood up.  “Let’s get you to bed.”  He opened his arms for her to use to get up.

Marinette giggled and waggled her eyebrows.  “Not even a date first.”  She shook her head as she tutted at him, almost throwing herself off balance and falling sideways on the couch.  “Who would have thought Conner Kent taking random women to bed.  How scandalous.”

He pursed his lips.  “If only,” he grumbled to himself, too low for her to hear.  When she didn’t take his open armed invitation, he pulled her up to standing.  His hands hovered around her until he felt confident she could stand on her own.  “You’re hardly a random woman.  And I meant for you to sleep because you’re not sleeping on the couch in my apartment.”

“I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch in your own apartment.”  Marinette leaned back to fall onto the couch, but Kon picked her up bridal style before she could, her feet accidentally knocking over several of the thankfully empty bottles and glasses on the coffee table. He twisted quickly to see what happened, accidentally knocking her feet into more bottles.  He twisted the other way to try to avoid knocking over anything else but bumped into the couch.  He had to lean against the side of the couch to avoid falling.

Marinette clung tightly to him while he was stumbling around giggling into his shirt at every turn and bump.  Once he was no longer bumbling, she peeked an eye out to confirm it was safe before trying to fight against his hold again.  She tried to fight him as he made his way to the bedroom, but completely sober and out of the suit she wouldn’t have been able to fight it, neither of which currently applied, and she wasn’t willing to incur Tikki’s wrath by waking her up to transform for a purely personal benefit.  She huffed in frustration but stopped fighting and started planning.

Tonight was the night.  She’d put it off long enough to the point that not saying anything was stressing her out far more than the idea of saying something.  And she had promised a meddling fox and cat and demigod she would finally say something tonight, which may or may not have something to do with how much she drank tonight.  And now she couldn’t tell if she’d had too much or hadn’t had enough to drink.  She couldn’t take her eyes off of Kon as he laid her on the bed and tucked her in under the covers

He just stopped himself from kissing her forehead.  “Good night, Marinette.  Sweet Dreams.”

Marinette grabbed his hand before he could get too far away.  Her expression turned coquettish.  “What if I get cold?”

“I’ll bring an extra blanket for you,” he assured her.  He squeezed her hand and turned get the extra blankets, but she pulled him back again.  He quirked his head to the side and examined her carefully looking for clues to indicate why she refused to let go.  It wasn’t the first time she’d spent the night here and she’d never been afraid before and nothing significant had happened that he knew of that might explain why she seemed to suddenly be reluctant to sleep alone.

Her eyes looked around the room as if searching for something.  “What if I have a nightmare?” she asked abruptly, perking up like it just came to her and entirely too excited about the prospect of having a nightmare.

Conner had a response to that.  He did. But any response he might have come up with in his head immediately disintegrated when he felt Marinette’s thumb tracing over his knuckles. “Marinette?”

“It would solve both problems if you just… stayed?”  She looked up at him through her lashes and he almost melted into her.  The continued ministrations against his knuckles were making it hard to think.

“I… uh…” God, he really wanted to give in.  Sleeping in the same bed as her, even if they kept to their own sides, never touching, sounded amazing, and he would absolutely leap at the chance… if she was sober.  “I’ll get a blanket and if you have a nightmare, I’ll be able to hear it from the couch and come wake you up.”

She wet her lips as he stared at her, working up the courage to ask the unspoken question.  “And what if… what if I want to confess?”  Her expression was hopeful but hesitant.

He blinked at her.  “Confess?” He quirked his head at her.  What could she possibly have done that she needed to confess to?  Knowing Marinette, it could be something like she accidentally dropped a mug and was guilt stricken about it.

He sat down next to her with an indulgent smile because she really was the most amazing person with the biggest heart and held herself to the most ridiculously high standard that she held nobody else to.  But if she needed to get this off her chest before she could sleep, he’d do what he did for all the other times she’d been guilt stricken over things that either were insignificant or in no way her fault; he’d reassure her, comfort her, and support her.  He ran his hand along her arm comfortingly.  “What do you need to confess to?”

She met his eyes uncertainly.  “To loving you,” she asked quietly.

“Mari…” he sighed.  It was reassuring to know she cared but if she could stop saying things like that, it would be a lot better for his heart.  “That’s…” he searched for how to respond.  “I know.  I love you too.  We’re friends.  That’s…”

Marinette’s expression darkened slightly, her lower lip jutting out in a cute pout.  “No, Kon, not… That’s not what I meant.”  She reached up to cradle his face, proud of herself that her hand landed gently instead of clumsily knocking against his face.  She looked into his eyes softly.  “You don’t even know,” she murmured quietly, intimately.

He leaned closer, searching her eyes.  He brushed her bangs off her face.  His fingers lingered on her face as the feeling of her skin sizzling across his skin.  “Know what, Marinette?”  His voice was light despite being saturated with wonder.

“How much I love you,” she whispered, her voice just barely more than a breath.

Conner furrowed his brow slightly.  She couldn’t mean… there was no way she could possibly mean.  He sucked in a breath.  She was drunk.  Really, really drunk.  She didn’t mean the things she was saying.  She was an incredibly affectionate drunk.  They’d all been on the receiving end of lingering hugs, cheek kisses, and hours long cuddles where she relaxed into someone, somehow forcing them to relax into her as well.

It wasn’t special.  Her words weren’t special to him.  She didn’t mean them.  But she was looking at him so earnestly, so heartfelt and openly that it made him want to believe she did.  No, he already wanted to believe she did, the way she was looking at him just made him believe there was a chance for more.

But regardless of his fantasies, even if she in some other version of reality had meant what he wanted her to mean, she wasn’t thinking clearly right now. It wouldn’t be right to allow her to say something she never would normally.  Whether she was just being overly affectionate or actually admitting to loving him, he couldn’t let her keep talking.  If she meant it, and God he hoped she did, they could discuss it tomorrow.  “Mari…” he started weakly, “we can talk in the morning, yeah?”

“I don’t want to wait until morning,” she pouted.

“I do.  Now is not the best time to talk about this,” he assured her with confidence, hoping she would take a cue from him and agree.

“Now is the perfect time,” she insisted.  “I want to say it now because I won’t be brave enough in the morning.  I won’t be self-centered enough in the morning to ignore possibly losing our friendship.”

Conner’s eyes softened.  He looked her in the eye and made sure she was seeing how serious he was, how deeply he meant the words he was going to say.  He took her hand and held it against his chest.  “You’re not going to lose my friendship, Mari.  Never.  But let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

She shook her head determined and cupped his face with both hands.  “If we wait until tomorrow, I won’t do it.”

He sighed heavily.  That’s what he had thought.  She didn’t mean it.  She didn’t want to say it.  She would never say this if she had her inhibitions, either because she wasn’t sure or because she knew deep down she didn’t mean it.  She was just having some fun.  He gently pulled her hands away from his face.  “Then you definitely shouldn’t say it right now.”

“Conner!  I’m trying to tell you that I love you.  That I think about you all the time.  That I think about what it would be like to be with you.  That I think about what it would be like to kiss you.”  She looked down at his lips and seemed to get fixated on them as he moved them absently.  “That I wonder if your lips really are as soft as they look,” she continued distractedly.

Conner fought every instinct in himself to lick his lips and see if her lips were as soft as they looked as well.  He shook his head instead.  Marinette pouted and quirked her head to the side.  “Don’t you ever wonder what it would be like?”

“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly before he could stop himself.  She leaned closer to him as if he was drawing her in, her bright blue eyes becoming hooded.  He couldn’t stop himself from leaning closer too because he did want to know.  He’d been wondering for months.  He didn’t want to admit to anything tonight nor do anything tonight, not like this, but she was sucking it out of him, weakening his resolve in a way the alcohol hadn’t been able to.

And maybe the alcohol had affected him a bit more than he had thought it had.  Or both, because even when he hadn’t been drinking, she had the unparalleled ability to get him to do things he never intended to until she asked.  He didn’t need to be drunk to be unable to say no to her.  He shook his head.  Like Marinette was.  He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back firmly.  “But we can’t.  I’m not going to kiss you like this.”

“You do know I’m giving you permission, right?  I’m trying to kiss you.  And you aren't letting me,” she looked up at him questioningly, unable to process what was happening and why he kept saying yes but no.

“I don't want to kiss you.  Not right now.  Not like this,” he insisted, annoyance starting to edge into his voice.

“Like what?  I want to kiss you.  I want to be with you.  I have for a long time.  That isn’t… it isn’t because of the alcohol.”

Her admission was killing him because he wanted it so bad and couldn't act on it, not while she was like this.  “Marinette! Stop. Just stop, please.”  His voice was bordering on screaming from frustration.

She shrunk back instantly.  “Sorry,” she mumbled.  She pulled the blanket closer around herself as though it was a shield that could protect her from whatever happened next.  He mind started spiraling fueled by alcohol and insecurity.  This was going all wrong.  It was going exactly how she feared in the deepest, darkest thoughts.

She had convinced herself there was a chance. She had lied to herself that he might feel the same way she did and now she had ruined their relationship.  She had, hadn’t she?  Because that’s what he was saying, wasn’t it?  The very idea made him angry.  But he had been giving her signs hadn’t he?  Had he completely misread everything the last few months like her deepest insecurities kept trying to convince her she was.

She had to know.  She had to be sure if it was her.  If her insecurities had been right the whole time.  If they had been trying to protect her from this.  “You don't want to talk about it?  At all?  Because you aren’t interested me?”

Did he want to talk about this!  Of course he wanted to talk about this, but not like this. Not right now.  And it was killing him that he couldn’t.  It was destroying him to hear her say all the things he’d wanted to hear from her since he met her, but he couldn’t act on it.  He couldn’t give in to it.  He couldn’t enjoy it.  It was like torture.  It was right there and yet he couldn’t have it.  Couldn’t touch it.  Touch her.

It was like holding a full SCUBA tank in front of a diver trapped under the water but not letting them use it.  And she kept pushing.  Kept showing him the fresh air but holding it out of reach. Unintentionally.  He knew that.  He knew she wasn’t trying to hurt him.  But it still did.  It was still killing him.

“No I don't,” he finally boomed out.  He took a calming breath and let it out.  “Not tonight.  Not when…”  He groaned more internally than out loud and let out a long, aggravated breath.   “You need to sleep.  In the morning.  We’ll talk about this in the morning, okay?”

Marinette’s eyes turned glassy, filling with tears she absolutely refused to shed regardless of how drunk she was.  She may have lost her inhibitions but not her dignity. She wasn’t going to cry in front of him. She nodded and turned over to sleep. “Okay,” she whispered, knowing full well that he’d heard her.

He waited until her breath had evened out for a few minutes, slow and calm indicating she had finally given in and fallen asleep.  He could hear her heartbeat match her breath.  He sighed gratefully and laid down on the floor, close enough for her to know he was there for her if she woke up in the middle of the night in case she had a nightmare, but not enough to intrude on her personal space.

He watched her wistfully as she laid in his bed. Thinking about the next morning. Maybe he would make her breakfast… actually no, she probably wouldn’t appreciate the smell of burnt… everything. He would almost definitely be awake well before she was.  He could slip out and pick up something amazing for breakfast so she would be ready to talk and maybe then they could kiss… if she still felt that way.  If she still meant it.  They just had to wait for morning.  He reached out to run his hands through her hair but pulled back. He would wait until they’d talked.

It only took a few minutes for him to follow her into slumber, his breath slow and calm.  His breath continued that way for a while longer before Marinette opened her eyes.  Her breath continued as slow and calm as it had been moments before.  She waited a few more minutes to make sure Conner really was asleep before pushing up slowly to a sitting position, trying to move the bed as little as possible to reduce noise that might wake Conner.

She stood up, still moving slowly, but grimaced when she finally stood up and the floor creaked lightly under her foot.  It hardly made a noise.  It was something most people wouldn’t even notice but it was more than enough for Conner’s super hearing.

“Where’r you going?” he slurred, only cracking one eye to see what was going on.

“Bathroom,” she answered quickly.

“Need help?  Hold your hair or… whatever?” he offered starting to push up to help.

“No.  Just need the bathroom,” she assured him with a weak smile and stepped over him to leave as quickly as she thought she could without attracting his attention.  He hummed in understanding and turned over to fall asleep again.

She speed-walked to the bathroom, because she might be a horrible friend who didn’t read Conner’s signs right and pushed herself on him when he clearly wasn’t interested, but she wasn’t a liar.  She said she was going to the bathroom, so she was going to go to the bathroom.  She just never said she would stay there.  Her feet barely touched the bathroom tiles before she was out again, heading for the living room.  She quickly pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil to scribble a quick note for Conner, waking Tikki in the process.

She gave her an apologetic frown and wordlessly begged Tikki to put the note on Conner’s nightstand, finally pulling out her own kitten eyes on Tikki.  Tikki pulled the kitten eyes on her enough, it was time to return the favor. Unsurprisingly, it had absolutely no effect on Tikki.  Marinette threw her head back in impotent frustration fighting the deep seeded urge to groan.  She finally brightened and turned back to Tikki with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She pantomimed making a King’s Day Galette.  Tikki’s eyes widened until she finally nodded and took the note for Marinette.

Marinette tip toed to the front door opening it and closing it silently.  She continued tip toing until she was out of the apartment building and a block away. Not that Conner couldn’t still hear her, but the sound was more likely to blend into the sounds of other people wandering home, be less distinctive.  She held off crying until she reached her lead lined bedroom in the Watchtower.  She locked the door behind herself and collapsed back against it, sliding down until she crumpled on the floor, her body wracking in sobs she didn’t even bother to wipe away.

Chapter 2

[ggomos-maribat]

Damian Wayne, the Sy-on Boy

Damian glared at the small girl sitting at the front of the classroom. He could still feel the sting of her punch during their encounter the previous day. Unforgivable! I am the blood son of Batman, heir to Wayne Industries! How dare she? Spite bubbled at the pit of his stomach. The girl should've been expelled right away!

Marinette Martha Lane-Kent. The absolute bane of his existence. Since they first met, she had been pulling idiotic but conniving smiles followed by a 'heh' that irritated him to no end. She was a whirlwind, unpredictable and unbelievably clumsy. It was a mystery how she even got into Eden. The school had no room for disaster human beings.

His face contorted into a frown as he watched her doze off in class. Stupid pigtails. Stupid big blue eyes. Stupid face. His heart began to pound with anger.

Suddenly, Marinette jerked awake and turned to look at him. Heat crawled up to Damian's face and he looked away. What's her problem?

---

There she was again, strolling across the dining hall. Damian was wearing his usual brooding look while he ate. He had seen Marinette attempt to talk to him a few times, but Tsurugi had held her back. He scoffed. As if I'd ever listen to what she says!

Another problem was that the other students wouldn't stop talking about her. How she punched the Damian Wayne, how violent she was, how weird she was. Damian would roll his eyes at the empty gossip. They were students of Eden! They should know better and mind their business. He noticed that Marinette seemed to be bothered about the rumors but he'd never acknowledge that observation out loud.

After finishing his lunch, he stood up to head to the library. My academic progress is not enough. I must surpass my brothers, earn those Stellas and climb my way up to become an Imperial Scholar quickly.

"Sy—syon boy!" A voice squeaked in front of him.

Damian found himself scowling at her. He couldn't formulate any words for some reason.

What's this fuzzy feeling in my chest?

He could sense the other students whispering around them. Marinette flinched, fiddling with her uniform. "I . . . I—uhhh . . ."

She began to sniffle, her hands balling into little fists. Sagged shoulders trembled. Damian looked around in a panic. What? Is she about to cry? The whispers intensified.

Tears gathered in her eyes and trickled down her reddened face. "I—I'm sorry I hit you yesterday!"

Damian stumbled back a little, gaping at her. His heart skipped a beat. What is happening?

"Ma—Marinette just wanted to be friends with you!" The girl sobbed.

What? Where did these flower petals come from? Why am I hearing strings?! When did it get so warm in here?

He gritted his teeth. Marinette continuously apologized as she cried, even spouting nonsense about having stubby legs. She felt so bad that she's actually crying?! My face . . . my face is burning up! No, that's—that's because I'm angry!

His mind flipped through flashbacks. How many times had he stared at her throughout the day? And how did she get so cute?! No! You shouldn't have these thoughts! These feelings!

Marinette's cries toned down into quiet sniffles. Her bright eyes gazed at him expectantly, piercing into his very soul. Damian stepped backwards. Don't look at me with those eyes!

"Damn it!" He blurted out loudly. "Never! I'll never admit it! I'll never forgive you!"

He stormed out of the dining hall, running as fast as he could.

---

Clark bent down to pat his daughter's head. He was starting to regret sending her to school, considering what she did on her first day. The boy had been lucky she wasn't using her full strength in that punch.

"How was school, Mari?" he gently asked. She had come home in a glum mood, immediately grabbing her plushie to cuddle. He was afraid her powers got exposed in school.

"Dada, what does it mean if a person's heartbeat goes really fast?" Marinette asked timidly. "Like ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump."

Clark frowned. "Well, it can mean lots of things sweetie. Maybe fear, embarrassment, anger, or love? Why, did something happen in school?"

"Is Sy-on boy angry at me?" She lowered her gaze. "Marinette tried to apow-lo-gize but his heartbeat went ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, and he ran away saying he'll never forgive me."

"Wh—what?" Does he have a crush on my little girl?! Calm down, Clark, you might be jumping to conclusions.

"Dada, your heart's beating really fast too."

He coughed. "Can you tell me what else happened, sweetie?"

"I heard the other kids whispering about me." She reached up to touch her ear. "I—I got really scared."

Clark immediately pulled her for a hug. "Oh no, don't mind them, okay kiddo? I'll teach you how to filter your hearing and err—I'm going to have a long talk with Bruce about Damian." 

Cross posted in AO3

[difx-writes]

Wildest Dreams - In the Death of the Night

Masterlist

After turning 10 and losing her soulmate, Marinette would imagine how Damian Wayne would be.

Would he be tall or short? Did he have blond hair or brown or did he dyed it? Would he be shy or have a bold personality? Perhaps he was an artistic soul, a poet, a writer? Or would he be a baker like her parents? Why did his last name change?

The wonders and questions took over her mind for days with no end.

On good days, she imagined how he would interact with her friends, how her parents would take him in as their own son, how he would fit into her life.

She liked to talk to him, pretending there, alive, with her. She asked his opinion on what to wear, how she should do her hair, what colors with go well with the design. He was her voice of reason. Talking to "Damian" brought a smile to her face, even when she knew she was deluding herself.

On bad days, she pretended he was right there with her, comforting her, encouraging her, whispering that everything would be alright... Sometimes it worked and she felt better the next days but most times she felt bitter, she felt robbed of a future where he was in her life.

The realization that the person she was supposed to share her soul with was no longer alive, that his death was painful, gruesome, and... lonely... It always ended with her taking a few days to prevent a breakdown...

When she turned 13, Hawkmoth appeared and Marinette became Ladybug, the hero of Paris.

Soon after, Marinette stopped talking with "Damian", she couldn't afford to wonder about him anymore. She couldn't afford the bliss of her own delusions. She couldn't afford to let herself grief and fall pray to Hawkmoth's manipulation.

As she couldn't fail Paris and its citizens, Damian Wayne mostly disappeared from her life.

But there were days when her “friends” demanded a lot from her, akumas were too violent and draining and everything was just too much, those the godawful days.

On godawful days she wished Damian was there to take her away to a place she could feel she belonged. Away from everything to a place she could call a home.

_______

Most nights Damian recalls a voice talking to him during the time he was dead.

His soulmate, he supposed, talked to him regularly, she started her day asking his opinion on her outfit for the day, when at home she would tell him how her day went, what she did with her friends, what she learned in class, etc...

At first, Damian was pretty much annoyed that he couldn't "rest in peace" with all the noise pollution but after a few weeks, he slowly started to tolerate her talking to him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't talk to her nor see her very clearly so it was a pleasant surprise when Marinette would ask his opinion to make a decision, she always picked what he chooses.

Perhaps it was their bond that allowed her to know what he was thinking without actually hearing each other's thoughts. Or maybe they were more in sync with one another. Most likely it was pure luck on her part. (Him being dead is enough proof of how bad his luck was.)

In the months he was dead, Damian learned a grand lot Marinette. He liked how she made him feel he wasn't alone, like how her voice calmed him when he remembered the family he left behind in his death. Marinette was his only lighthouse in the vast void of the afterlife

_______

Impotent, despair, and hopeless.

That's how Damian felt every time Marinette had to relive his death. He hated it so much. She didn't deserve that and it broke his heart every damn time.

Why did he have to die? Why did it have to be in such a painful way? Why did she have to feel it on repeat over and over and over again? Was it a twisted way the universe tried to make them reunited? If they can't find each other in life, then they can be together in death? That isn't right!

But it always hurts more when she wakes up and talks to him. Wondering if he was happy and in peace, in wherever place he ended up.

He was there but she didn't know.

He felt sick.

After being revived, Damian felt an immense sense of loss. Sure, he was kinda happy to reunite with his family and grateful for being alive again, but he missed her.

It was difficult to readjust to being alive again, it was crystal clear that Damian Wayne wasn't okay. What hurts him the most was how her name turned into a scar on his wrist.

During the day paranoia settled in making him always on high alert, lashing out when it got too much for him.

In the night, he couldn't sleep properly as a feeling of unease latched onto his every nerve and when he did sleep, nightmares plagued him.

Damian tried to calm down in various ways, but ultimately it was Marinette's voice that soothed him and lulled him to sleep.

It quickly became a habit to replay their one-sided conversations as he tries to fall asleep.

He went over what Marinette Dupain-Cheng spoke to him time and time again as to engrave her voice in his mind. Unfortunately, her voice was fading away, every time he recalled it, he hear his own voice.

At least some memories remained, which was relieving for Damian, even when important ones like what language she spoke or the name of her school were completely wiped out.

He never told his family his experience while he was dead, he guesses Jason was the most likely to know about it but he never brought it up to anyone, so Damian did the same.

Now he was lying in bed, remembering about the time Marinette tried embroidery for the first time.

She started by searching up what she wanted it to be and after much talking, she chose a Robin, Damian smile at the eagerness he felt for her to chose it. It was a fun day, with her making comments here and there about the work, he wishes he could see it.

A knock woke him up of his thoughts, Alfred emerging from the door.

"Master Damian, I'm here to inform you a guest will be joining us for tomorrow's dinner."

"Whose guest?" He didn't really feel like dealing with new people.

"It's Master Jason's guest."

Damian groans, perhaps he could go visit Kent.

"It would be in your best interest to participate, Master Damian." Alfred gave him a look.

He sighed, definitely can't miss tomorrow or he'll have to face Pennyworth.

So, I've written another chapter while listening to a sad song on repeat :') I know it doesn’t really connect to the last chapter but I wasn’t feeling okay and didn’t know how to continue from where I left off.

I hope y’all enjoyed this and have a nice day!

P.S.: The taglist is temporarily closed as some tags aren't working. Again, I'm very sorry if I missed anyone. If you no longer want to be tagged please hit me up.

Taglist:

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[soulmate-game]

Someone on A03 asked how the Kent’s and Wayne’s in my Songs of a Kent series would react to Marinette knowing Jagged Stone.

I decided to just go ahead and give the headcannons I have for this, since I don’t think I’ll be able to cover it in the story. But as far as Lament of a Kent and any other installments in the series go, everything below is canon.

—*—*—*—*—*

I don’t think Jon or Clark would care. They’re both country boys at heart, and are more likely to swoon over a country singer than a rock artist. Lois, though? I think Lois had a crush on Jagged when she was a teenager (for the purposes of this story, Jagged and Lois are almost the same age) when he was just starting to get popular. So she would totally have an internal freak out if Jagged ever visited Mari, but she would try to play it off cool because she is a Suave and Professional Interviewer, she’s met tons of famous people, she can handle this. Totally.

Kon would go nuts. Jagged is one of his idols, both in fashion sense and music. He would play it off cool as possible in front of Jagged, but when he’s gone he’d unapologetically call Mari his favorite sibling and fanboy with her over meeting his idol.

Now, the Wayne’s? It is no secret, every last one of them had an angsty punk/emo phase— one that Jason clearly never grew out of. Every last one of them, except Damian, wandered upon Jagged’s music sometime during their teen years and it fueled their rebellious phase and seriously helped them gain more confidence in themselves. Dick suggested that Damian listen to Jagged’s music about a year or so before the story begins, so he’s still a baby fan. But he likes the music, not that he’ll ever admit it to anyone. He listens to Jagged when he paints, now. But if they were to find out that Mari knew Jagged personally, all of them except Damian would immediately bombard her with questions or beg her for stories. Tim would ask about the rockstar’s favorite foods and drinks and other weird trivia. Dick would want all the stories of the craziest things he and Mari did together. Jason would just want her to ramble to him about random memories of her and Jagged. Damian would pretend to be disinterested, but listens whenever the topic is brought up.

None of them know that Bruce and Jagged went to high-school together, so Bruce just hangs back and watches the chaos with a smirk as he plans to invite Jagged over behind all of their backs. He also, by virtue of being his friend when his music career first began, is Jagged’s Number One Fan. Secretly, of course. None of the kids know that Bruce has signed copies of every last one of Jagged’s albums, including the ones where Marinette had designed the covers. He even has one of Jagged’s old tour outfits that Jagged gave him as a joke— he keeps it in a glass container like the old robin costumes, but in a hidden part of the wall that only he and Alfred have access to/know is there. His secret Jagged Stone collection also contains tons of pictures of him and a young Jagged at various concerts and even just hanging out, and lots of other fan collectibles and limited edition Jagged Stone merch. It’s great.