#this is totally daminette

[mysticprofessoralienhumanoid]

Bruce: On scale 1-10 how badly did you mess up?

Marinette: *holds up a page which says 1*

Bruce: Oh, well then, that's not too bad.

Duke and Tim: *appear beside Marinette, each holding a page with 0*

Bruce:

#if this was bio dad i can totally imagine mari becoming Bruce's favorite #cuz she looks so innocent #but really she's so fucking chaotic he has no idea #maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat incorrect quotes #marinette x batfam #bio dad bruce wayne #could be romantic too ofc #dickinette #jasonette #daminette #timinette #timari #dukette #cassette

[hamsteriffic]

Miraculous Fandom Stats 2023

A Visit to Gotham

…and beyond

As promised here are my stats for Miraculous Ladybug fics on Ao3 with crossovers only. To see a snapshot for Miraculous Ladybug without crossovers click here.

📈 The data presented here is a snapshot of the Fandom on 06 Jan 2024

Don't be mad! I'm just a stats hamster.

🖤 Proportion of Crossover fics

At the time of posting, Crossover Fics accounted for 13% of the total fanfics on Ao3 (9177 works) (Fig 1A). They were predominantly featured in Batman All Media Types (5097 works) or DCU (1034 works), accounting for 68% of all crossover fics (Fig 1D). The majority of the works were rated for General (39%) or Teen Audiences (39%) (Fig 1B).

Fig 1. Proportion of Miraculous Ladybug works posted on Ao3 in 2023 [A] featuring crossovers (grey) and without crossovers (black); [B] and the proportion of all works posted on Ao3 as of January 06, 2024 (9177 works). [C] The proportion of cross-overs outside of the MariBat fandom as well as [D] the growth of the top ten fandoms in crossovers in 2023 (red) are also presented.

Excluding works from the MariBat fandom, the second highest number of works to be crossovered with ML was Boko No Hero Academia with 348 works (3%) and is also the fastest growing crossover fandom, almost doubling in works in 2023 (141 new works) (Fig 1C-D).

🖤 Top 10 Fandom Crossovers

Here are the crossovers in a Table format.

Table 1. Top 10 Fandoms in 2023 and percentage change compared to 2022.

Popular Tags used in 2023 (number of works) and percent change compared to 2022:

Fluff (246): -2%

Angst (161): -1%

Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (130): -1%

Lila Rossi Bashing (127): +1%

Alternate Universe (100): -7%

Hurt/Comfort (94): -2%

🖤 Top 5 Relationships

Fig 2. Top 5 relationships in ML crossover fics in 2023 and percentage change when compared to the year prior.

While works tagged with Adrien/Marinette has increased by 3% in 2023 when compared to the year before (Fig 2) the top 5 relationship pairings have not changed with Daminette taking first place.

Relationship Tags with Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug across all time (from Highest to Lowest):

Damien Wayne (1870 fics)

Adrien Agreste (1237 fics)

Jason Todd (806 fics)

Tim Drake (580 fics)

Dick Grayson (321 fics)

Hope this entertained you! Until 2024, same stats time, same stats channel.

Sodium Content and Methodology below the cut:

🖤 Top 5 Salt Categories

Look, Marinette is in Gotham for a reason. Usually it’s because of some sort of common table condiment/seasoning. Here is a breakdown:

Fig 3. Frequently tagged salt and character bashing tags across all crossover works prior to 2023 (green) and new works posted/updated subsequent to Jan 01, 2023 (dark blue). The change in numbers to the previous year (where present) are indicated.

Methods

Partitioning

To see changes in crossover fics in the ML fandom over time, I have tracked the number of crossovers posted to Ao3 per year.

Data was filtered by the date the fic was last posted, between 01 Jan - 31 Dec for each year.

Note that older fics may get updated, this data is only a reflection of the fandom at one moment in time. This analysis was performed 06 Jan 2024.

Filtering

Note that I have followed the Ao3 definition of a slash representing romantic relationships and & indicates platonic relationships.

#miraculous ladybug #lila salt #fandom stats #daminette #batfamily #maribat #dc universe #Ao3 stats #my hero academia #damian wayne #jason todd #Boku no hero academia #tim drake #hamster stats #2023 #crossover

[batsandbugs]

Bruce Wayne’s Headache Classification System Chapter 3

IKEA Verse

A/N: The author shows up a month and a half late, with Starbucks: S'up, here's 7500 words of pure chaos. Feast! Y'all are the best, thank you for the amazing comments in the last chapter. I love seeing your excitement for this crazy little world I've created. I have a new fic that I'll be adding eventually, called: "The Stalking of Daminette: A Treatise by Steph and Cass" it's still in its baby stage, so we'll see how long that grows before I post. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it because I have not started on the next part and I'm moving in less than a month, so maybe the next chapter will be out sometime in October, but I'm not making any promises. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Bruce narrows his eyes and pins his children with an unimpressed stare. “What did you do?

“He was totally willing!” Dick insists with an innocent grin.

“Coercion.”

“Manhandling.”

Dick’s grin disappears evilly side-eyeing his brothers. “Both of you suck at being back up.”

“He didn’t want to at first,” confesses Tim. “But they held my computer hostage to convince me to agree.” Tim rubs a hand over the top of his laptop in a soothing manner. “So, I stole all his knives so he couldn’t stab us, while Jason and Dick wrangled him into the car.”

“Little demon was spittin’ nails, but we persuaded him not to throw himself out the car, so he was trapped.”

“By the time we arrived, I convinced them how a game of hide-and-seek would be a fun, non-disastrous way to spend time together,” says Dick, his face one of ruined hopes and dreams.  

“Mostly through bribes, blackmail, and calls to our innate competitiveness,” says Tim.

“Dickie kept the keys so none of us could leave, and declared himself seeker first,” Jason continues. “He found me-" 

"In the food court," says Dick.

"Then Replacement-"

"At the Starbucks."

"Didn't even get to have that coffee," grumbles Tim.

"So we joined forces and decided to search for Damian together. We spent an hour chasing him in circles. Swear I almost caught him too.”

Tim scoffs, “Yeah no, he had us good. We had no clue where he was.” 

Jason rolls his eyes. “Oh, shut up Tim.”

“You shut up,” Tim shoots back.

“Boys…” warns Bruce, already regretting bringing all three of them into this sitrep.

“Okay, so he evades us long enough to team up with a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng-” starts Tim.

Jason growls a bit. “Lying bitch.”

“Jason…” Dick sighs but doesn’t refute the insult. This only serves to deepen Bruce’s headache which now strongly veers out of the I-am-not-mentally-or-emotionally-prepared-for-this category and straight into Ongoing-dumpster-fire territory.

This was fine.

Jason slams a fist on the table. “She lied to my face multiple times! She said she was hired to poison Tim and Damian in order to steal Tim’s phone and if I didn’t find them in time, they were gonna die from brain damage!”

Bruce blinks. Did he hear that right? “Sorry, what?”

Tim sighs. “Okay, rewind, so Damian evading us like the little assassin he trained to be, hooks up with Marinette, who, as far as my research shows, is a civilian-”

“Yeah right, girlie ain’t a civilian. No way, not in a million years.”

“Shut up Jason, let Tim talk,” snaps Dick.

“She lied to Jason about where Damian was, and between her initial meeting with Jason and the incident in the food court, about an hour passed. Then she appeared in the cafeteria with Damian’s card, how we tracked her there in the first place. She panicked when she saw us and used her magic on the shelves in the warehouse to cause a diversion-”

“She crushed a fucking forklift, and we got blamed and billed for it.”

‘How?’ Bruce thinks in despair. Not over the money, of course. They had more than enough to cover costs, just in the general sense of incredulity. One would think, after being Batman this long, it would inoculate Bruce from bewilderment at all types of situations.

It has not.

Tim shakes his head. “No, I proved we had nothing to do with that."

‘Oh well isn’t that grand?’

"Didn’t manage to pin anything on her either considering how much electrical interference occurred whenever she performed magic, but we don’t have to pay.”

“Magic doesn’t cause electrical interference,” Bruce reminds them. “Not unless it completely breaks the system in the process.” All three boys – men really, his kids all grown up now, even if they pulled stupid shit like this – turn to him. Identical expressions of contemplation played over their faces.

“Shit, you’re right,” mutters Dick.

“Well, her magic does,” counters Tim, his brow creasing heavily, grasping past the sleepy, foggy haze that comes with being awake for three days straight. Grabbing a notepad he jots down the observation. “Her magic doesn’t obey any rules we know to be true.”

“It’s magic, dumbass,” Jason sneers. “It doesn’t have to make sense. I’m still on the fence about whether she enchanted Damian though. On one hand, demon-spawn shouldn’t be capable of smiling that much, and he defended her, deferred to her, fucking used her first name without blinking an eye. That ain’t natural for him. On the other hand, she’s the same brand of demented as he is, and maybe they want to be horrible little demons together.”

“I…” starts Dick before trailing off, his face flickers through a series of emotions. Mostly fragile hope, pragmatic disbelief, and good heaping of uncertainty.

“See, Golden Boy, even you can’t say this is a good thing!”

“He made a friend?” Dick offers with a pained wince.

“She’s a psychopath!”

Bruce cuts off the argument. As much as he would love to hear more in-depth detail about Damian’s newest… acquaintance, he wants a clearer picture of what happened at the store before he judges the situation. “Boys, behave. Tim, please continue.”

Tim nods. “Okay, so Marinette escapes the warehouse, and we track her back to their entry point into the vent system. We split up to cover more ground, I take the warehouse and keep myself from the worker’s sight but close enough to the vent I could spot them exiting. About forty-five minutes later they set me on fire-”

“Wait,” interrupts Bruce. “Fire? FIRE?”

Tim looks at him like he’s being particularly slow. “Uh, yeah, I said that a time or two now, keep up. To be fair, the fire was more around me. But I did end up singed.” He shows his arm sleeve again, and the singeing on the sleeve takes on a whole new meaning.

“I wasn’t sure what happened at the time, I expected to catch the little twerps, not engage in guerilla warfare. So, understandably, I’m off my game. The security guard dragged me into the office, and I’m ready to call for backup, only to find my phone missing. I talk down the manager in the warehouse, but then he yells at these poor workers. And Bruce, they were kids, couldn’t be more than fifteen, working in this busy warehouse with no clue about any rights they had, and then after the manager became… distracted I conversed with the other workers, and-”

Tim’s one-breath ramble was swiftly cut off by Jason. “Yeah, yeah you caused a worker’s strike through the power of charisma and rhetoric. So original. No one else in the world’s history has ever done that. Can we get back to the French bitch tricking me?”

Tim huffs, crossing his arms. “You can continue then because I wasn’t part of that.”

“Cool, I will. So, there I wait at my post, and it’s been like an hour and a half at this point. Timmy finally calls, but it’s not actually him it’s the French girl. She’s actin’ like a paid assassin slash company spy, and says she poisoned Tim and Damian through tricking them into eatin’ poisoned coffee and shit.”

“And you believed that?” Bruce asks. Jason glares at him with piercing green-blue eyes, and although his second son puts off an air of anger and annoyance, it’s a mask for a deep-seated fear that his brothers were genuinely in danger. That he would be too slow, too late to save them, like what happened to-

Jason flippantly shrugs his shoulders, years of practiced reticence covering his care. “With our craptastic luck, I sure as hell wasn’t going to take any chances. So, I go chasin’ and-”

“~It’s a trap~,” Tim gloats in a sing-songy voice, his grin wide and eyes unfocused. He’s going to crash soon, it’s just a matter of time.

“Shut up, you ended up set on fire and pickpocketed. You have no leg to stand on.” Tim rolls his eyes but slouches back in his chair. “So, it’s a trap, and demon-spawn is waitin’ there with one of those tricked-out trip wires Timmy made. He and Frenchie wrapped me up good, taunted me, and stripped me taking my wallet and phone. Bitch also took my knife. I insult the brat, and he fires back, but before he does anything else Marinette pulls him back and tells him to simmer down and he does.” Jason’s wide eyes drip with incredulity and, quite frankly, a little awe.

“I see,” Bruce says, a fake calm surrounding his words. He really didn’t. They were talking about Damian. Bruce loves his only biological son, he truly does. He loves Damian’s sketches, and care for animals, he loves his dedication to sword mastery and sly humor. The way his son has the same wrinkle crease between his eyes Bruce gets, and that Thomas did before them. The similarity soothes a small part of Bruce’s aching soul. He’s ridiculously proud of all the work and effort Damian went through, put himself through, to become a better person. To overcome the trauma his upbringing caused and come out stronger.

That being said, Damian was still arrogant, stubborn, and quick-tempered. He considered his opinions and plans more highly than others, and unless one could give a quick and compelling explanation as to an alternative option, he would be proceeding with his plan with efficiency; damn anything else standing in his way. Damian spared no sympathy to the average person and even less for fools.

This behavior was extremely out of character for him.

Which made the entire situation ring with alarm.

Jason shook his head. “I don’t think you do,” he says, calling Bruce’s lie out. “You’re gonna need to see it to really understand. Anyway, they leave me there for the police to find me, and the wire’s wound on tight, so I’m still struggling to get them off when security finds me ten minutes later.” Jason smirks. “Now those idiots had no clue who they were dealing with, and they loosened the wire round my legs, cause they sure as hell couldn’t carry me. By the time we reached the car I was out of the bonds and knocked one out and escaped from the other. Fat-ass bastard.”

“Language,” Bruce reminds him. Jason flips him off.

“Fine, the heavy-set bastard. Better?”

Bruce sighs. “Not really.”

“I scale the building, figuring the store entrances would be monitored. They had a nice handy dandy human-sized ventilation shaft up there - no wonder with the place’s fucking size - so, I shimmy down-”

“Like Santa,” Tim giggles, well past bordering on a manic state, and instead moved well into the capital of it.

The comment doesn’t appear to have fazed Jason though, who takes another long sip of his alcohol-soda mixture. “And like Santa, I have a knack for toys. I emerge out of a vent in the children’s toy area and snag myself a nerf gun.”

Sharp pain blooms on the side of Bruce’s neck. He doesn’t let it show on his face though. “Why?”

“Seemed like a good at the time, ya know?”

Bruce mentally counts to ten, takes a deep breath, and says, “Sure.”

“So, I head towards the play area to find Dick, because obviously, Replacement was a lost cause.”

“Geeze thanks, Jason.”

“But before I can get there, I spot Demon Spawn constructin’ a wacky ass Rube Goldberg contraption-”

Dick winces. “I saw the remains when I chased after Marinette. It was initially meant for me.”

“You were chasing the girl?”

Dick pouts. “She stole my phone!”

“Wait, so a civilian pickpocketed all of you?” 

“She was quick,” mutters Tim.

Jason raises a finger. “She didn’t technically pickpocket me, she frisked me after tying me up. I was fully aware of the stealing.”

Bruce reminds himself that he can’t strangle his children. He. Can’t. Strangle. His. Children. “I plan to make all of you go through awareness training, again. A civilian!?”

“Still not convinced,” Jason mutters, crossing his arms.

“I don’t care she certainly hasn’t trained with assassins and spent half her life mastering stealth and deception. I expect better from you all.” All three men mutter in acquiescence, to the extent that they would do better. “Continue.”

Jason’s demureness fades to be replaced with a gleeful grin. “Yeah, there wasn’t much left of the trap after I jumped the little bastard. I started shooting-”

“Jason…” Bruce’s headaches gain a specific twinge of exhaustion whenever Jason becomes involved. It’s a talent he possessed since the day Bruce found him hi-jacking the Batmobile’s tires.  

Jason’s hands go up in defense. “With the nerf gun, chill Bruce I ain’t trying to contribute to America’s public shooting crisis. I wouldn’t take a loaded gun into a shopin’ center unless crazies were already causin’ chaos.”

“I’d prefer you not to use guns at all.” It’s a pointless request, but maybe one day Jason would cede to it.

Jason scoffs. “Yeah, you’re still gunna lose that one pops. I got a rep to maintain.”

Bruce reigns in a sigh. Expected.

“Anyway, everythin’ was fine, I’d managed to dismantle their little trap for ya, you’re welcome,” he says with a pointed glance at Dick.

His eldest crosses his arms, and with a total deadpan stare, replies, “Thanks, Jason.”

“But then a security guard interfered after I knocked down a display or two.”

“So, you strung him up and gagged him?” Dick asks voice rising into the hysterical range.

Bruce now understands why Tim looks exhausted, dealing with the fallout from a situation this unhinged for the past forty-eight hours.  

“No, I didn’t do that. Demon spawn already set the rig, waitin’ for you. The guard tripped it.” He pauses, cheese-covered chip in hand. “Although I did add the gag, he was shoutin’ too much and grabbin’ attention. It only took a second, but by the time I turned back, Damian had shot off like a rocket.”

“Don’t take your eyes off the target,” chides Tim, with a smug little grin.

Jason’s eyes flash a brighter shade of green. “Fire.”

“Shut up.”

“Boys…” Bruce warns.

“Fine, fine,” Jason mutters, as he takes another sip of his drink. “I chase him through the store and he’s barely keepin’ ahead of me. I keep shootin’ at him. Newer nerf guns have a range and a surprising amount of ammo. Bastard didn't even look inconvenienced; he takes a fucking phone call at one point.”

“That was when I was chasing Marinette and we found the remains of their plan,” Dick interrupts. “She panicked with the sprung trap and called someone, but I couldn’t hear a word.”

“Yeah, he jumps off the call when I manage a shot at his head, and I’m close enough to have him in reach. Unfortunately, he ducked into the employee-only entrance. We weave through security rooms and offices and shit, and of course, causin’ chaos there.”

“He was right there, and yet somehow, we’re the only ones banned,” mutters Tim.

Jason scoffs. “Yeah, don’t know how that happened. Pretty sure I saw him dump a pot of coffee on-” Tim groans in frazzled distress. “Bad Timbo, you can’t have any more caffeine until you take a goddamn nap!”

Tim slouches into the solid wood dining chair. “You can’t tell me what to do, you’re not my dad.”

“Tim you can’t have any more caffeine until you sleep,” Bruce says.

Jason grins, sticking his tongue out at Tim, while Tim only glares and mutters something under his breath about ‘killjoys’ and ‘he’ll show them tired’ and Bruce really doesn’t want to see the result of that decision. This needs to wrap up soon. For both Tim’s sake, and his own as his headache has moved from Hassles-have-evolved-into-ongoing-dumpster-fires to Information-overload-caused by-dumbass-decisions-please-reboot-system.

“I get tangled in an office jam – literally, there were cords involved and by the time I scramble out of it, Damian’s already through a door and down a hallway. I haven’t a clue which way he’s gone, so I pick a direction and gun it because security is on my tail and there ain’t time to waste. I head down a hallway and lock the doors behind me to give me a second of breathing room. Then I spot the intercom system.”

“I wondered how you got close enough to use that,” Dick muses.

“I wondered what they did to piss you off so bad,” Tim adds.

Dick nods. “Same.”

“Yeah, so I call out Demon Spawn and French Bitch over the intercom, and I know they both must have panicked, but the guards broke through the locked doors, so I split. Now here’s the fucking miracle.” Jason leans forward, grinning. “I find the door that’ll take me back to the showroom area, the guards bearing down on me from all four sides. I don’t have a chance in hell, when the lights go off.”

“Blackout?” questions Bruce.

“Magic,” Dick says flatly. “It was Marinette.”

Jason slaps the table, snarling, “Damnit! Now I have to give credit to her.”

“She knocked out electricity to the whole store,” says Tim.

“And caused a display to collapse in front of me. I tripped,” admits Dick.

“You have fought off assassins while poisoned, and executed advanced acrobatic maneuvers with broken bones, and you tripped over a toppled Swedish store display because of the dark?” Bruce knows he’s trained his children better. Why in the world did this go so sideways on them?

Dick braces his arms against the table and roughly slides his fingers through his hair. ”I know. I know. I was right there. Any other day and I wouldn’t have blinked about jumping right over it, but this time it felt… off. Bad day?”

“You’re getting old Golden Boy.” Jason takes a sip of his drink, doing nothing to hide his shit-eating grin as he teases his older brother. “I guess it’s all downhill from here ain’t it.”

Dick flips him off.

Jason sticks out his tongue.

Bruce’s headache takes on a twinge of my-children-are-immature-brats feeling (generally categorized by a sharp sting right at his temple) and holds in an exasperated sigh.

“So, after magic girl shuts the lights off with her mind or whatever, I escape the security guards by an inch. One emergency exit later, and I’m back in the store proper. People are freakin’ the fuck out about the lights. By the time they turn on again, I’ve lost Damian for good, and now I just try to stay off security’s radar. I settle in a nice little blind spot right outside the children’s toy area and keep myself out of any trouble.” Jason looks over at Dick, fighting to keep a smug grin off his face. “Course I did see a woman go off on a poor employee. I kept my nose clean of it ‘cause it wasn’t my business.”

“Oh, ha, ha very funny. That woman was a menace,” groans Dick.

“Woman?” Bruce questions, almost scared to ask.

“Jessica Merope-Laverne, fifty-five, resident of Pleasantville. Married twice, has two children, a restraining order, and a police file with multiple notes about disturbing the peace,” Tim rattles off. “Thoroughly unpleasant.”

“That’s an understatement,” mutters Dick.

“Practically dragged Dickie Bird away by the ear.”

“Right as I was about to nab Marinette too. She’d hidden in one of the wardrobes in the room, and I was this close-” Dick positions his fingers scant centimeters apart from each other, “-to cornering her, and I got dragged away.”

“Shit, would have loved to know that,” mutters Jason. “Anyway, I stood around, making sure nobody was on my tail, soon I heard rumors about a ruckus in the atrium-”

“That would be me,” Tim admits with a grin.

“Well, I didn’t know that. I was hoping demon spawn and Frenchie were involved somehow, so I headed over, and then-”

“Oh, I know what happened from there. I saw the video.” Bruce pins Tim and Jason with a stare. “I respect both of you have opinions-”

“Opinions? Opinions? I have justified grounds for calling out his revolutionary bullshit! His entire life embodies nothing but the anthesis of systemic poverty, and he argues for class cooperation!” shouts Jason. Bruce always marvels at how eloquent Jason becomes when angry.

“Violence isn’t the answer,” counters Tim. “You would harm the very people you try to uplift in the process.”

“Sure, it is! It’s the natural response to a gluttonous, greedy, overburdened, bureaucratic system that’s leeching off the populous and perpetuating its own supremacy.”

Tim slams a hand against the table, raising to his feet, exhaustion clearing from his eyes. “It’s an option, not the option. We can do better than violence if we work at the cause's root problem without pulling out a fucking guillotine.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Oh of course you would argue for that, you’ve never had less than six figures in your bank account in your life.”

“So says the self-proclaimed drug lord!”

“That was ten years ago!”

“A bag of heads on the steps of the GCPD!”

“Oh, get over it!”

“If it matters,” interjects Dick. “Probably doesn’t, systemic economic issues are hard to fix when we have bigger problems like an actively insane criminal population that likes destroying important city infrastructure on a monthly basis.”

“Which Wayne Enterprises does its best to counter,” adds Bruce, not bothering to chide his children back on track. This particular topic turned them into a bunch of unherdable cats.

“Funneling more money into the one percent’s hands!” Jason’s bordering on manic at this point.

“We are the one percent, Jason!” counters Tim. “And we stay that way, despite the copious amount of infrastructure projects, that we hire Gotham citizens for, and pay at least a living wage to all of them. Not to mention every other single employee we hire who also are paid a living wage, with benefits, and support. I know I am privileged. I am trying here.” The last sentence came out as a distraught cry, as he collapses back into his chair.

“Are… are you okay?” Dick asks tentatively, ready to cross the table to comfort his brother.

Tim shoves his hands into his hair and mutters, “I need an espresso.”

“No, you need sleep,” says Bruce, mentally calculating where all the caffeine in the house is so he can hide it. “Can we return to the recap, so your brother can go to bed?”

“My side of things is much shorter in comparison to Jason’s,” says Dick. “As long as nobody interrupts.” Casting a pointed glare in Jason’s direction. Jason shrugs casually and crosses his arms.

“I waited at the children’s play area. Now, a man my age would attract attention without a need to be there, so I’d ducked into the employee-only area, and grabbed a shirt to disguise myself. I hung out in the Starbucks for a good forty-five minutes trying to look like I was on break while observing the play area. Although I couldn’t tell where the vent entrance was, I figured two adults Damian and Marinette’s size would be easy to spot coming out of an area meant for children.

“When an hour and a half passed by, I’m nervous, because neither Jason nor Tim has sent any word. I called them both. They didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, 'cause the French phone napper took our phones,” mutters Jason.

“So, I decided to do some reconnaissance. The lady at the front desk looked bored enough, and so I went over to… chat.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “You mean flirt.”

Dick glares. “Shut up. So, I hang around the front desk for half an hour at most, before the kids went crazy. Like plastic balls being thrown everywhere, kids shrieking, this one little girl, later we learn her name is Abby, she’s doing this whole speech about a revolution-”

“Tim…”

“Not me, I’m not here at this point.”

“I stand there in shock, wondering what the heck set it all off. This one little girl runs up to the daycare worker, Melinda? Melody? Something. I don’t remember. And the little girl’s nose was bleeding, so there immediately goes my peaceful cover. I back up into the crowd, which at this point has gathered around pretty thick.”

“You know I wondered why there were so many people hanging around in that front lobby area,” says Tim.

“I’m almost sure the commotion has something to do with Marinette and Damian, so I keep my eyes peeled waiting for any adult-sized figures to emerge from the play area.” Dick sighs, rubbing a hand across his face. “I was right of course, but I missed Marinette slipping out, and she approached me from behind.”

“This is where you get pickpocketed too!” crows Jason.

“Really, Richard?” asks Bruce with a raised brow. This is ridiculous.

“Okay, look, I was distracted, off my game, there was a ton of screeching, and it had been a long day. And she was very good. The technique was flawless, minus a bit of overacting and a touch of obviousness. Which was her goal because-”

“~It was a trap~” Jason and Tim sing together.

“It was bait,” Dick corrects. “Leading me to a trap, that didn’t even work. So really, I did the best between the three of us.”  

“You all will complete remedial awareness training, so a situation like this never happens again.” Bruce massages the bridge of his nose with a long-suffering sigh. “Just… just please continue.”

“I can’t full-out chase her or anything, but she keeps out of reach through the store, until we reach the place where they set the trap. Obviously, Jason already tripped it, so she turned face and ran in the opposite direction. I followed, trying to convince her to stop and talk. But at this point, she’s full-on outpacing me and doing well too. I’m hesitant to say trained, but she had practice.”

“She’s gotta be a spy, or maybe she’s working for the League?” muses Jason.

“Damian would see right through that,” interrupts Bruce. He knows his youngest son has an instinct when sniffing out undercover League members. Talia certainly sent enough of them over the years.

“Maybe she’s just that good?” says Tim. “I certainly can’t find a damn thing on her, and being a League plant would explain that.”

Dick shrugs. “We’ll figure out her deal later. She calls Damian, and they talk briefly, but I couldn’t hear the conversation. Soon after Jason does his whole intercom takeover Marinette pulls out her little magic electro bursts and short circuits the electricity to the entire store.”

“And then caused you to trip.”

Dick wearily nods. “And then caused me to trip. By the time I detangle myself, she’s long gone. The lights come back on, and I’m stuck wondering where the hell she’s gone. I try to avoid getting clocked by security, so I keep to blind spots, which is how I eventually spot her doing the same.”

“Suspicious,” mutters Tim. “More evidence for the ‘League plant’ theory.”

“Or she could know security is looking for a woman of her description and she’s smart, either way, I tail her and corner her in a display room, no idea why she chose that one, but when I walk in it’s empty.”

“She teleported, or vanished like a ninja,” gasps Tim, eyes wide, pupils smaller than pinpricks. Bruce is now counting the seconds until he passes out.

Dick shakes his head. “No, she hid in the fucking closet. Tim, you need sleep.” Tim sticks out his tongue.

“I was this-” Dick places his fingers centimeters away from each other “-close to nabbing her, and then the whole Jessica situation happened.” He rubs a hand through already messed up, fly-away hair. “She drags me away screeching about lawyers and customer service, and it had been a very long day, so the second her back was turned I bolted. I couldn’t risk heading back to the display room, although if I were Marinette I’d be long gone, so I backtracked to where I stuffed my actual clothes and headed towards the atrium.”

“Yes, I saw your arrival as well,” Bruce confirms with an exasperated drawl. The videos spread out across multiple platforms gave an all-around idea of what happened in the atrium. “You all know better than to escalate things in public. We have an image to maintain after all." The boys nod, cowed and guilty. "That being said, things wrapped up rather neatly.” He eyes the boys with a paranoid weariness. “Too neatly.”

All three sag into their seats and gaze at each other with sheepish grimaces.

“Yeah, B, we noticed that too,” says Jason. “But at the time…” he trails off.

Tim continues, his speech sluggish. “It felt normal, to accept what was going on. The fight, the crazy lady, the little kid with the ball pit balls, her uncle being Dick’s old friend, and the store manager, and they let us go. It was easy to go along with it.” Grimacing, he gestures to his assorted piles of papers. “You know, besides for all the work I have now.” Crossing his arms on the table he lays his head in the middle. “Too many people, so little sense.”

“Damian hasn’t said a word about any of it.” Dick slouches lower in his chair.

“Kid was all smirks when he and the little liar approached us after we left the store,” grumbles Jason. "Had fuckin' ice cream and everything." He spins the almost empty bottle of alcohol coke on the table. “Of course, they made us wait, because after we left and booked it to the car, Dickie realizes his keys are gone too. So there we are standin' in the parking lot, Timmy doesn't have his shoes, and all we got between us is one nerf gun, no phones, no keys, and no fucks left to give.” Bruce, too tired from the absolute rollercoaster of emotions and information his children just sent him on, can do nothing but muster up a stern and disappointed glare. He trained them all better than to let a civilian pull one over on not just one of them, but all of them.

“Yeah, yeah, I know situational awareness. We’ll work on-” Dick breaks off his sentence, and sighs softly. A small soft smile overtakes his face, and he raises a single finger to his mouth. He nods in Tim’s direction.

Tim’s head, previously cradled in his arms, now lolls to the side. Neon blue light from his laptop highlighted his closed eyes, and the purplish bags underneath.

“Finally,” Jason mutters. “I swear he has the survival instincts of a wet paper bag. He’s been up for way too long.”

Bruce is just grateful he won't need to physically drag Tim off to bed and force him to get some desperately needed sleep. “Now we just need to get him to his room.” He would have done it himself if his ribs didn’t spasm the second he thought of the idea.  

“Not it,” Dick whispers so quickly it’s practically a rush of air.

“Not it,” says Jason, barely a millisecond behind.

“Ha!” Dick impishly grins. “You do it.”

“But-”

“Nope, I said it first. You got to carry him.”

Jason turns his head towards Bruce, big bluish-green eyes looking for support.

Bruce doesn’t get himself involved in the decision-making games his children play. “He said it first.”

Jason’s hopeful glance turns into a disgruntled snarl. “I hate both of you,” he spits.

“Love ya too, Jay.”

“Thank you, Jason.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters, wrinkling his nose. Jason pushes back his chair, and although he’s annoyed, the solid wood chair doesn’t scrape against the floor, so he can’t be too mad. Despite drinking his entire liter of mystery-alcohol-diet-coke mixture, his footsteps pace steady and strong. “Come here, ya little coffee-addicted gremlin.” Jason slips his arms around Tim’s body. It’s a testament to how exhausted his son must be, that Tim only flutters his eyes and protests incoherently at being lifted out of his chair.

“Quiet down, Replacement,” Jason murmurs, his voice soft as he speaks to his sleep-deprived brother. “All your calls and research will be there when you return from the land of nod.”

“But…”

“You can go willingly, or I can grab sedatives from the med bay and forcefully put your ass to sleep. I’ll put a bet on who’ll win that brawl.” Jason stands a good six inches taller than Tim, who looks like little more than a bedraggled rag doll in his older brother’s arms. Bruce knew who would win that fight too. Tim sighs and relaxes another inch into Jason’s arms. “There ya go. You can go back to bein’ insufferable once you’ve had some fucking sleep.”

“Hmm…” Tim's eyes fully flutter shut. Jason shakes his head and rolls his eyes, but softly traverses the room so as to not jostle him. Looking back over his shoulder one last time to shoot an I-can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this look at Bruce and Dick, before walking out of the room.

Silence overtakes the grand dining room as the last of Jason’s footsteps fades into the echoing halls of Wayne Manor. A light rain drizzles outside, the faintest patter hitting the tall arched windows letting in a soft grey light.

Dicks groans, pulling himself out of his slouch gracefully and into more of a respectable position. “I’m getting too old for that.”

“If you’re old, I must be ancient,” Bruce responds. He’s not, really. Only forty-seven to Dick’s thirty-two. What he’d been thinking taking in a ten-year-old at twenty-five, he couldn’t really quite say. The only thing that mattered at the time was the aching echo of loneliness reflected in the eyes of a child who had just lost their parents.

Now, look at them, all these years later.

“Nah, you’re not ancient, B. We’ve just been through enough shit in our lives to age a person twenty times over.”

Bruce gives him a look of high disappointment. “Stunts like this do not help, Richard.”

Dick has the decency to look properly ashamed. “I really didn’t mean for the situation to get so out of hand,” Dick insists in a soft, quiet tone. Bruce doesn’t quite believe it. His sons thrive off of chaos. Even if they didn’t mean for things to get out of hand, they tended to actively encourage it once in the middle of the undertow. “I know, I know, but how was I supposed to anticipate Damian teaming up with a… witch? Magician? Whatever she is.” Dick mutters the last sentence, but Bruce hears it clearly.

His sons certainly think the young woman is dangerous. Tim is thoroughly confused and stressed by her existence, although deciphering his third son’s emotions through his fog of exhaustion is a vexing endeavor Bruce still isn’t sure he accomplishes all the time. Jason clearly hates her or at least is holding a very large, very deep grudge against her. He wonders what exactly the content of the conversation was when she threatened Tim and Damian. He wonders if she knew the effect it would have on Jason.

Flickering light from the chandelier above pierces his eyes like a particularly vicious game of stab-the-vigilante, but this conversation is important, so, despite the full body ache accompanying his you’ve-pushed-too-far-and-now-you’ll-suffer-the-consequences migraine, he pushes through to ask, “What do we actually know about her?”

Dick sighs heavily, rubbing a hand across his face, and suddenly he looks every inch of his thirty-two years. “To be honest? Only a little. Tim wasn’t the only one to look her up. I did my searching too.”

“And?”

“Practically nothing. Basic info, but school records sealed tighter than Fort Knox, and firewalls grow tighter every time I try to hack ‘em. School activities, online media presence, and even pictures; all of it is whisps in the wind. Every time I try to look deeper, something...” Dick shudders as if shaking away a bad feeling. “I come up short and I can’t find a reason why. Even trying to think about Paris as a whole feels off and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“I can see if there’s anything in the League’s database about the city the past few years. It was Diana’s home base for decades until…” Bruce trails off, his mind an unexpected blank. Diana moved to the US from Paris eventually. Sometime within the last decade, but he can’t quite remember why. Surely, she must have told him at some point.

“She’s a fashion designer, I know that much. She has a website but it’s very bare bones. Commission work only. And her current course of study at Gotham U is Fashion and Business Management. But-” Dick’s hands flail into the air. “She’s from Paris! What on earth possessed her from moving from one of the fashion capitals of the world to here, to study fashion is beyond me.” 

“Hmmm…” Bruce’s brain whirls at a million miles a minute. Connections forming and rearranging on his mind’s case board. The incongruency is so stark, there must be a reason. They haven’t found it yet.

“As for her magic…” Dick shrugs. “She said her powers mostly affected situational outcomes, and from the incidents I saw, she told the truth. But I’ve never seen magic like that before. Magic that just… happens. She didn’t say words, she didn’t make hand gestures. She used tiny little - I want to call them mechanized balls, but we never came close enough to tell – to kickstart the magic.”

“A techno-mage then?”

Dick contemplates the idea for a moment before saying, “Could be. But it felt more than that. As soon as she became involved the whole day felt… left of normal. Which I suppose aligns with situational outcome manipulation. The day certainly went their way…” Dick shrugs. “I just don’t know.”

Bruce hums, finally asking the question that had swirled in his mind since the girl was brought up. “Do you think she’s a danger?”

Dick leans back in the chair, his face an avalanche of flickering emotions. Wind lightly howled outside the dining hall filling the intervening silence. Finally, he sighs and says, “No, I don’t think so. She was chaotic sure but genuinely enjoyed the game for what it was. Damian probably encouraged the more unhinged ideas. And yes, she has magic, but so do a ton of other, far more obviously dangerous people. Our system is tricked out for all types of magic users, and even if she can bypass them due to her own unique magic, we’d at least receive a warning. And as for our identities…” Dick half-smiles. “She didn’t even know we were the ‘Waynes’ until we were just about to leave, and she didn’t appear particularly star-struck. I doubt she’d make the jump from chaotic billionaire’s kids to vigilantes.”  

“As for Damian…?” Bruce hardly knows what to make of his youngest’s out-of-character reaction and hopes to receive some cohesive read on the situation from his eldest.  

Dick, being quite unhelpful, shrugs. “I think you should talk to him. Get his side of the story. Things may have been chaotic on our end, but he did genuinely have fun. And, yes, he’s acting out of the norm.” Dick pauses. “Way, way, out of the norm for him, but I don’t think he’s enchanted. I think he just has a crush.”

Bruce blinks. Isn’t that a hell of a thought?

Damian.

With a crush.

He doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with these kinds of realities. Reflexively he massages his temple with the tips of his fingers trying to relieve the paining, aching pressure.

“Headache again?” asks Dick with sympathy. After twenty years his son knows his tells well, and Bruce has always had headaches, although his reasons for having them have certainly increased over the years.

“Yeah, is what it is though. We’ll keep an eye on Damian, have you run him through the influence-affected protocols?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

Dick shrugs. “Nothing, it’s mostly why I think he’s fine. She may be a danger, or powerful, but I don’t think she’s doing anything to Damian. Besides making him run up the data plan on his phone. He really hasn’t stopped texting the past two days.”

They’ve spent plenty of time talking about Damian, but Bruce hasn’t seen a glimpse of him since he woke up this morning. “Where is he?”

Dick pulls out his phone. “On a date, according to Stephanie.” Pulling up a photo that’s taken in a long-distance setting. Damian is pictured, seated at a cafe table, drinking out of a white coffee cup. Across from him sits a girl, Asiatic features, black hair, clad in a colorful sundress. They’re both smiling at each other.

It’s normal and adorable. And slightly worrying. Damian doesn’t smile like that unless looking at a fluffy four-legged creature.

“Stephanie trailed him?” 

Dick flips the phone away. “Actually, she and Cass both followed him when he left this afternoon. Not sure what they planned, but they’ve sent some nice pictures.” He pauses for a moment and smiles fondly. “If she’s not a danger, or a League plant, this could be really good for him.”

Bruce hums, unsure, and hating himself for that unsurety. He’ll make a call when he has more information, and less of a migraine. “Go wash up and grab some sleep. I’m out until my ribs heal, so I’ll need you to take point on patrol.”

Rising from his chair, Dick stretches and shoots him a grin. “It took you twenty-five years, but damn, you’ve finally learned to call it quits when you need a break. Proud of you B.”

Bruce doesn’t bother to disguise his roll of the eyes. Dick would know he did it regardless. “Get on.”

Dick shoots him a lazy salute. “Sir, yes, sir.” He ambles to the door, and Bruce calls out again before he’s gone.

“And next time, Dick, please try to keep the antics out of the paper, and off the internet.”

The shit-eating grin betrays Dick’s real thoughts when he says, “Of course Bruce, won’t happen again.”

Liar.

Bruce shakes his head in reluctant bemusement – should he honestly have expected anything else – and Dick ducks out of the door without another word. Finally, the dining room is quiet, except for the pitter-patter of rain on the window panes, and the soft hum of Tim’s computer.

Carefully, Bruce rises from the chair, his side twinging, head throbbing in what is now a full-on migraine.

He should have stayed in bed.

Ah, well, he’s suffered worse, and now he has a good idea of what happened with his sons that caused a headache so insistent he felt it halfway across the galaxy.

Gently closing Tim’s laptop, he doesn’t bother to touch the articles and paper, knowing his son’s organizational system may appear a mess to outsiders – even him on occasion – but that it has meaning for him. He observes the rest of the room; collecting Tim’s coffee mugs, and Jason’s empty plate and coke bottle – no need to have Alfred do it if he was right here – and ambles slowly to the kitchen taking care not to drop the dishes or disturb his ribs.

Placing the dishes away, Bruce leans heavily on the counter. Mind whirling, analyzing, and connecting the information as he has always done, however, it battles for dominance over the present, persistent, migraine. His body screams for more rest, and as much as he wishes to dig to the bottom of these problems right now, he trusts Dick has given him an accurate read of the situation. Later he can pry information from the girls, maybe they’ll have a less biased view of Damian’s… friend than his sons do.

He flicks the lights off in the kitchen, for now though, he’s heading back to sleep.

-line break-

A nap, a full meal, and hours later, the pitch black of the night concealed a heavier storm than the light drizzle which draped over the manor earlier in the day. Bruce, knowing damn well he wasn’t fit for patrol, sat in his office, a bottle of forty-year whisky perched next to a crystalline tumbler and a box of chocolates. A minor indulgence, especially as he should stay far away from alcohol at the moment. But if he hadn’t died from insane nutcases, aliens, or his children’s antics, mixing medicine and alcohol probably wouldn’t kill him.

Bruce snapshots a picture of the newspaper Alfred gave him this morning.

The front-page cover contains enough of the story to showcase the significant amount of drama his children had caused.

He texts the images to both Diana and Clark.

All he adds is, ‘I always know, and I’m always right.’

He pours another finger of the amber liquid into his glass and swirls it around as the computer turns on. Just because he wasn’t out and about, didn’t mean he intended to take the night off. Bruce stretches his fingers and opens up a blank case file template.

Time to find out who exactly is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

#maribat #damian x marinette #maridami #mlb crossover #daminette #damimari #marinette dupain cheng x damian wayne #ml x dc #marinette dupain-cheng x damian wayne #damientte #damianette #mlb x dc #the ikea verse #ikea verse #headache classification system #the great ikea game

[mae-dwrites]

Mayday 2024

Submission: @official-timari-server

Title:

Type of Poem: Elegy - Tercet Stanzas - Formatted (7)

Ship: Daminette - Kneepads (5)

Points: 7 + 5 = 12

Total Points: 74 + 12 = 86

Poem:

I’m used to this,

Seeing the light dwindle,

Feeling warmth fade…

Wonder if they ever followed…

As I continued on,

Watching as I put others under that same blade.

Your skin sends chills thorugh my being

Not by any cooling of your body,

Simply because I know it will cool.

My hands usually don’t shake.

Years ago I would have watched fondly,

Now I again became a tool.

Please Understand,

I never wanted your funeral,

Not due to any sunshade.

I hope you know

I’ll be an unbearable scorn

While I mourn

Cause you are everything

I ever needed

Or ever want

Please Forgive Me,

Please Hayati,

I wouldn’t have chosen this.

You know that don’t you?

That’s why you’re smiling,

Because you know there’s more to this story…

Will you follow me Hayati?

Just as I followed you?

Watch as I pull this blade once more?

#mayday2024 #mayday poems #mayday 2024 #mayday poem #mayday #daminette #maribat #event #tw: death

[pomsicles]

I know I’m totally behind on posting, but trust, more art is coming soon!! Daminette, MariJon, Togamatsu,,, the whole lot—I PROMISE!!!

Anyway,, Y’all know I’ve been watching LMK and Mei is my favourite character, so you can only assume what my favourite ship from that show is........

Under the cute is a Red Son on his own bc I’m literally so proud of it to say it’s my first time drawing him?? And I love drawing Mei bc I draw her in my own way fdghgffgj

#♡ ➝ Pom's Art #♡ ➝ My Art #lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid fan art #mei dragon #LMK Mei #Mei LMK #Red Son #LMK Red Son #Dragonfruitshipping

[ririchanva]

I’m getting the vibe of Marinette x Baku go but I’m not sure???

but if that is the case we’re they originally supposed to end up together?

//A-are...are we getting...ARE WE GETTING Q&M Lore~?!

Why, yes, yes we are.

Strap in, ladies, gents, and NB pals~! Cuz we're gonna go down memory lane of this particular questions and it's origins.

Okay FIRST off...no. In the original drafts and storyboard / planning stage (back when it was called Quirks and Miraculouses...thank FUCK I changed it cuz it sounded grammerly annoying in my end), Marinette and Bakugo were NOT a thing. In total fact, they absolutely hated and avoided each other like the plague.

In fact, the first thought of a shipping pair was....

These two were planned out due to a lot of fan art and animatics drawn of them by me. Back in the day of the original writings of the story where it was extended to DCU and MCU, Marinette and Deku both had a LOT of options of ships (This included Daminette, a very popular crossover ship when it comes to Marinette).

But due to a lot of conflict, confusion and too many characters already, the idea of crossover-ing DC and Marvel was scrapped and just stuck to the original formula of just MHA and Miraculous / Zag worlds combining.

As for the endgame for Bakugo in the original works, he was supposed to be in a poly relationship:

...Not gonna lie, I was honestly thinking that this was a good idea at the time. But then later on realized "...Both Bakugo and Kagami don't seem like the sharing type. God, Kirishima is probably the ONLY one holding the relationship together." and so scrapped that idea too.

There was also the fact that when Alya was still a good guy in the original writing, she was supposed to be shipped with Bakugo after the poly idea was canned. But ah well, that idea went down the drain too (If you guys know, you know).

The whole "Bakunette" idea sprang up because of my Tiktok and fanart honestly. I made one joke about them that went viral at the time and well...it bled into the story.

I'll be honest with you guys, I am not even sure if they will be endgame or not. Shippings are kinda in the air right now, so who knows? Maybe down the road they aren't gonna be and will end up with someone else.

Heck, some comments before almost shipped Shinso and Marinette together in the first few chapters before Deku and Bakugo arrived in the story.

As I said, anything goes really :)

#Why did I make an essay of this? #holy crap xD #But ship what ya wanna ship guys #quirks and miracles #Q&M #asks about quirks and miracles #asks #bakunette #shippings

[maribatserver]

Tag Team Tournament 2022

Are you ready to tag into Maribat?

This summer, from July 31 – August 6th, the Maribat Discord Server will be hosting our first ever Tag Team Tournament event! 

Eight teams will be competing to post as much new content as possible during the event: all to find out which ship is truly the most popular in our fun little corner of the fandom!

Our teams this summer, in no particular order:

Spandex Flex - Dickinette Book Design - Jasonette Art Couple - Daminette Java Junkies - Timari Lucky Shot - Roynette Sunshine Children - Marijon 3's Company - Poly Ships Rare Flair - Any Ship Without a Team

Who's on the teams? Well, anyone who wants to be! And since this is the Tag Team Tournament, creators can tag in and tag out of teams as they please, creating as much or as little as they’d like to support each ship — multishippers rejoice! We'll be releasing logos for each team as we get closer to the event, so keep an eye out in the weeks to come!

How do you participate? Our full Event Guide Document explains everything you need to know, including the rules, submission guidelines, scoring guidelines, and more! You’ll also find the submission form — only content submitted through this form will be scored for your team, so make sure you read the whole document and fill it out. 

If you're posting on AO3, we have an Event Collection for your fics. If you're posting on Tumblr, make sure to tag your creation with #TTT2022 so we can see it and reblog it here! 

If you’d like to keep an eye on the scores for each team (and maybe tag into a team to help bump them up), our Event Guide Document offers a publicly accessible tracker, complete with live-updating team totals!

In the mean time, we hope you'll join us in the Maribat Discord Server as we prepare for the event!

#daminette #maribat #jasonette #timari #dickinette #maribat discord server #tag team tournament #TTT2022 #miraculous ladybug x batfam #event #ship war #marijon #roynette #timinette

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

I Need A (Girlfriend) Hero!

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/G3BQVfk

by LilaVaporizer9000

Damian looks at his notebook, scanning his research.

Combining what info the internet has provided on good romantic partners, along with some of his own preferences, she is statistically the best option.

“Hm. Yes, you will do.”

“Oh! Uhh… what?...”

Damian’s family are pestering him to be more of a normal teenager. He doesn’t want to be more of a normal teenager. The average teens he observes at school are brainless savages.

But his family is getting so annoying about it he’d do almost anything to get them to shut up.

Then Marinette Dupain-Cheng transfers to his school. She’s intelligent, quiet, respectful of his boundaries, not nosey, and most importantly of all, doesn’t seem to give two shits about his family name.

His family want normal teen behavior? Fine. He’ll bring a girlfriend home.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Marinette blinks. Ya know what? This might as well happen.

“Sure.”

 Daminette as told through equally socially unaware messes, general misunderstandings of each other's skills and experience, and a total lack of awareness as to how many flowers are too many flowers.

Words: 6164, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

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

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Duke Thomas, Barbara Gordon, Jon Lane Kent, Luka Couffaine, Stephanie Brown

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Additional Tags: Teen Romance, is this a slow burn or a fast burn? you tell me, Fake Dating, kind of, Fake/Pretend Relationship, fake relationship trope but it's a real relationship, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, these two are a mess, two extremely socially inept people try to date, don't come at me Marinette is socially inept in her own way, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Has Anxiety, Asexual Damian Wayne, I dont personally hc him as aro but i do hc him as ace, Flowers, Language of Flowers, So many flowers, enough flowers t make this a flowershop au, Cute, Meet the Family, having WAY too much fun tagging this, no sex in this ever it isn't gonna happen sorry, Canon-Typical Violence, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Fluff, A lot - Freeform, Fluff and Humor, romcom, I repeat, R O M C O M, Romantic Comedy, Caring Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, The batfam are good... they are just a LITTLE bit overbearing, unethical reasons for getting into a relationship, Marinette Dupain-Cheng cusses, speedrun dating!, Damian: if you word it terribly and give her enough flowers, you can glitch it and clip right to 'meeting the parents'

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/G3BQVfk

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the cape crusader #gotham #dc universe #ao3 #ao3feed

[tylindel]

I posted 71 times in 2022

That's 43 more posts than 2021!

5 posts created (7%)

66 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ameba-from-space

@izanae

@fandoms-and-writing-and-stuffs

@shamrockace

@when-no-wings-do-broomsticks

I tagged 53 of my posts in 2022

Only 25% of my posts had no tags

#maribat - 23 posts

#mlb x dc - 13 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 11 posts

#ml - 6 posts

#animals - 5 posts

#damian x marinette - 4 posts

#dick grayson - 4 posts

#chat noir - 4 posts

#marinette x damian - 4 posts

#jasonette - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 90 characters

#but then he’s at home and just gets completely totaled by his army of traumatized children

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

20) What is your favorite thing about writing fanfic? What about writing in general?

I love that a basis is set out about character so I can take them and stick them in whatever and how ever many situations as I want and see what happens.

For writing in general I gotta say I love being able to bring a random thought or feeling to life through stories and share them with others who might feel the same

1 note - Posted October 8, 2022

#4

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

1) fluff

Oh absolutely I love to give hurting characters love which os probably why my second top is…

2) angst

Even if I go in planning only fluff angst in the form of panic attack or grief sneaks in. It allows for the comfort and care from loved ones. I cant commit to just angst though, there is enough sad things in the world lol.

3) songfic

This absolutely, i get most ideas while listening to a song or while thinking of a song. And their are so many good songs out there that can apply (read: Every song is thought out in fic form at some point or another in my brain lol)

4) not beta read

This less so lately. I know how horrible my grammer can be and how easy it is for me to overlook errors if i read and stare at the fic long enough. I am very thankful to have some wonderful writer friends to help me out here.

5 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#3

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

2. Top 4 additional tags:

1) fluff

Oh absolutely I love to give hurting characters love which os probably why my second top is…

2) angst

Even if I go in planning only fluff angst in the form of panic attack or grief sneaks in. It allows for the comfort and care from loved ones. I cant commit to just angst though, there is enough sad things in the world lol.

3) song fic

This absolutely, i get most ideas while listening to a song or while thinking of a song. And their are so many good songs out there that can apply (read: Every song is thought out in fic form at some point or another in my brain lol)

4) not beta read

This less so lately. I know how horrible my grammer can be and how easy it is for me to overlook errors if i read and stare at the fic long enough. I am very thankful to have some wonderful writer friends to help me out here

—————

11. Partial to char pairing: yes I absolutely do. I lean towards Daminette with Jasonette a close second when I’m writing. Reading wise I’m equal opportunity.

As for why, well I think it stems from my love of seeing the bad boy/angry boy softening for sunshine/sweet girl. I love bringing a character with trauma or insecurities together with a partner who will see that and do their best to support and soothe them. All while making sure they feel seen and loved beyond imagine.

————————

14. Tropes only read if friend writes:

Hmm probably gender swaps. Nothing really against it It just does not typically bring me joy *shrug*

Only otherthing i avoid reading unless its by a friend or im in a special mood is true Main Character Death, meaning they dont come back through magic or something.

—————————

16. An AU id love to or have read:

Royalty is always fun, as is fairy tale in that same thread. Vampire is always a reoccurring au/theme I come back to as well. Though i have yet to write a fanfic au with it.

——————-—

26. Only dialog or no dialog?

This ones tough I think no dialog would be easier as you can get what they talk about through descriptions of actions. Although you could set a scene with just dialog….hmm yeah, no dialog for me I struggle with convos in my fics generally.

See the full post

8 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#2

As best as I can make it, this is how I envision Déjouer from the Maribat fic I am working on rn. I will add a link once I post the first half. Marinette with the Fox Miraculous. https://archiveofourown.org/works/38004349/chapters/94921090

25 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hello tumblr!! I have a question for all the Maribat readers who see this!

*This is not my artwork, I am no way claiming the lovely piece of work. If you enjoy it please go to the Webtoon it is fluffy batfam shenanigans!*

Now that I have got your attention (thank you WFA webtoon) I would love to hear who you consider a maribat author celebrity! For example someone you feel is well known and you remember them or their fics frequently.

Here are mine:

@nightlychaotic / chaotic_immortal

@izanae

@batsandbugs IcedAquarius

@jumpingjoy82

@mochegato

@jinx-jade

@boldlyanxious

@liquid-luck-00

@mysnis

AbyssalGuardian

@newdog14

Newsie

Just to name a few of the many many amazing authors out there. Please comment those that you feel are celebrities and share with others so they can also add their thoughts.

106 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

Miraculous Side Effects

For Maribat March day 6 theme miraculous side effects 

Master List

Despite popular belief, the miraculous did not give you powers or animalistic side effects outside of the miraculous. So no she did not eat aphids and could not create things out of thin air. 

The only side effect of the miraculous was you became a little more in tune with a certain part of yourself. For Tikki it was being more structured/organized, with Plagg you became a little more chaotic, Trixx you became a little more honest, and so on. 

Most days Marinette found herself wearing the ox miraculous, a nose ring. For some reason nose rings scared people off and most days she was so deep into her work she didn’t want to be talked to. Unfortunately, this came with the side effect of being more hot-headed. When especially pissed off she forgot all reason and would either tell a person off or beat a person up. Neither was pretty. 

And just her luck that today was one of those days. She had been up for 28 hours working on Jagged and Penny’s outfits for some rich man’s gala. 

With any luck she wouldn’t have to attend, not that she didn’t have a dress she always had one on hand, but she really didn’t want to socialize with a bunch of rich people. If they were anything like Chloe or Kagami, no offense to her best friends of course, then they would be a pain to talk to. 

Now here she was in this coffee shop, she didn’t bother remembering the name of, to get a cup of coffee so she could finish the stitching on Penny’s dress. 

Ignoring the guy’s horrified expression at how much caffeine she wanted and his muttering of ‘there’s now a female one’ she patiently waited for her cup. 

The second she got it she chugged most of it down, immediately feeling more awake. Screw sleep, she could take a nap once she was done. 

She had literally just finished drinking it all when a body slammed into hers. She ended up falling on the ground, cup still in hand, and glared at the person who bumped into her, mostly because he was still standing. 

Her first thought was ‘Fuck, he’s cute’. What was it with her and green eyed men? Faintly she could hear someone saying, “Good going Demon Spawn!” but she wasn’t paying attention. 

The lid had fallen off the cup and now the little bit that was still left had splattered onto her clothes. And she liked this shirt too. 

He offered her a hand but she was still pissed off, her mind no longer listening to reason, and it didn’t help that Stompp’s side effect was amping up her aggression. 

Completely ignoring his offer of help she got up and gave him her best glare, the one that had grown men shaking. Now this wasn’t her best moment, but in her defense she was sleep deprived and now needed to change her clothes which took up more of her precious time. 

“Dude watch where you’re going next time!” She shouted, the whole place went silent. 

It took the dude a moment to say something but she just ended up cutting him off, “Look I’m sorry, I-” 

“You’re sorry. Yeah, apology not accepted.” And with that she grabbed her lid off the ground, dramatically smashed her cup with one hand, and threw both things away in the trash can by the door as she walked out. 

It wasn’t until she had finished Penny’s dress and took a much needed nap that she realized the opportunity she just wasted. She could’ve accepted the apology and maybe got a date with a really cute guy! But no she just had to act all snappy and rude to him and she was glad she never had to see him again. Gotham was a big city and what were the chances she would see him again after all. 

Stompp just thought she did the right thing telling the guy off. Of course, the most aggressive of the kwami would be telling her that. She really should try wearing Daizzi’s miraculous one of these days. Not that it was going to help her racing heart whenever she thought of him.

-

Despite what everyone, including sometimes his own family thought, Damian did care for his family. That included his siblings. 

Which is why he was here, with Jason Todd of all people, trying to get Tim Drake to come home and take a nap. They had a mandatory gala to attend on the weekend and Bruce didn’t want Tim Drake acting like a zombie for it. 

Damian was trying to do his job and get Tim Drake home while Jason Todd thought it would be funny to tease the both of them. 

This may or may not have resulted in him saying some not appropriate things to Jason Todd resulting in Jason Todd shoving him resulting in him accidentally knocking down someone. He fully blames Jason Todd. 

He looked down at the girl he had knocked down and the first thought that came to him was ‘Fuck, she’s pretty’. Where the hell did that come from? This thought almost drowned out Jason Todd’s “Good going Demon Spawn!” Keyword, almost, he definitely was going to maim Jason Todd later. 

Looking back at the girl with gorgeous blue eyes, adorable freckles and was that a nose ring he offered her his hand to help her up, doing his best to ignore those that were whispering around them.

Much to his and he’s pretty sure his brother’s surprise, she gave him a glare that could rival the batglare and completely ignored his hand when getting herself off the ground. 

Then another shocker was when she shouted at him, “Dude watch where you’re going next time!” The whole place went quiet at that, she had just yelled at the Ice Prince. 

It took him a minute to compose himself as he tried to apologize only to be cut off, “Look I’m sorry, I-” 

“You’re sorry. Yeah, apology not accepted.” And with that final statement she grabbed the lid that had fallen off her cup, smashed said cup before throwing both things in a trash can as she walked out. Woah that was hot Shut Up Brain! 

“What just happened?” Tim Drake questioned. 

“Demon Spawn just pissed off a girl. Tried to apologize to her and she rejected his apology.” Jason Todd laughed. 

“Shut up Todd!” Damian snapped, “Let us just get Drake back to the manor.” 

“Yeah, yeah, on it Demon.” Jason Todd said before throwing Tim Drake over his shoulder and walking out the door. Damian kept his head down as he followed them. 

Later he would think about the girl with blue eyes, freckles, and a nose ring and would not be able to stop his racing heart. Or his siblings teasing after Jason Todd told them the story of the girl who rejected him after he had bumped into her. And it wasn’t like he was ever going to see her again.

-

Those that were in the coffee shop would have a story to tell their friends. The Ice Prince of Gotham bumped into a girl, tried to apologize to said girl and she didn’t accept his apology. Or try to flirt with him or sue him. And none of them had gotten it on video. 

Who knows? Maybe he’ll get a second chance at a first impression. *wink wink nudge nudge*

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

Me not so subtly saying there will be a part 2. Again sorry for posting so late, procrastination is my best friend these days. 

@maribatmarch-2k21 

#maribatmarch2021 #maribat #maribat march #miraculous side effects #agressive marinette #she uses the ox miraculous #this is totally daminette #part 2 will be second chance #see u then!

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

Damian: (learning slang) What are friends with benefits?

Marinette: they are a very special type of friend

Damian: oh, so like us?

Batfam: *CHOKES*

#marinette x damian #mlb x dc #maribat #daminette #FWB au #Marinette is 50 shades of red #Damian would totally use the word thot at some point #batfam doing Spider-Man meme trying to figure out who taught him #it was Jason in the corner with the grappling hook #totally not a cluedo reference #maribat incorrect quotes

[bunathebunny]

I love the idea of Damian and Marinette meeting because they're nerds from the same fandom, like imagine the inside jokes or them going to stuff like comic con and planing matching friends cosplay, that would be so cute.

That would be like the cutest thing ever!

And you can bet that Marinette makes the clothes for cosplaying and Damian has a stall at doujin events.

#maribat #daminette #there are doujin events in the us right??? #i totally forgot that comic con is a thing #i just remember something like a festival and was about to call it comic fest #actually i think comic fest exists??? #let me just check real quick

[miraculous786]

Okay. So:

Fang is akumatized whilst Jagged is on tour in Gotham after seeing Marinette and Damian kiss secretly (letting him know they're in a relationship, making him jealous since he gets less cuddles).

Hawk Moth could be there cause...well, maybe he instead let loose and akuma like in Startrain and it somehow got to Gotham.

Anyway, Marinette is out strolling the next day (to get to a date with a special someone) and jumps when there is a loud roar in the air. She looks up to see a HUGE pink/purple dragon like the one that appears in the episode Guitar Villain. It's staring straight at her.

"Fang?!"

He flies down onto the ground and roars happily in front of her. She's about to ask what caused his akumatization when suddenly she's grabbed (gently, don't worry) by his paws and placed on his back. She doesn't have time to say anymore since he flies off, leaving her shouting in surprise.

Cut to Damian staring as a dragon soars past with his scared Angel on its back. He freezes for a moment, before rushing in the direction that they flew off. Eye witnesses say that Titus was running behind him.

He gets changed into Robin at Wayne Enterprises, since Fang is at the top of it with Marinette. He rushes up with the rest of his family, who obviously saw (felt) the dragon since it landed heavily on the building.

There is a big fight on the roof (people make loads of #onlyingotham jokes about it) with a worried Damian and protective dragon. Said protective dragon ends up pushing him off of Wayne Enterprises.

Thankfully, Marinette secretly transforms and is able to jump after him. What followers is that scene from Gorizilla where Ladybug saves Adrien from falling to death, except with Robin. They look at each other the exact same way too.

He's surprised when Ladybug pulls him into a kiss when they reach the ground, but doesn't complain. He only returns it, not noticing that he's pulled into a dip until he opens his eyes and is looking up at her, grinning. He blushes.

Everyone can't help but compare the now iconic kiss to how Marinette kissed Damian Wayne not even a day later when she proposed to him. He said yes.

(Based off of the fairytale with a knight saving a princess from a dragon in a tower.)

#mlb x dc #ml x dc #dc x mlb #dc x miraculous #maribat #daminette #damimari #maridami #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #im not sleep deprived i swear #i totally didnt draft this last night #plz believe me

[myvividreams]

Daminette Tangled AU

damian’s face was my favorite thing about this entire piece

#my art #maribat #daminette #i have art for each of the batboys and marinette now #yay me #i like thinking that whatever kingdom mari's from has the moon as a running motif instead of the sun #sunlight? #nah man moonlight's more magical #glowing moon flower #glowing magical moon hair #damian totally still has like 2 dozen knives on him at any given moment #also #you see all that gold in his costume??? #ye #he's a prince #......of assassins #prince of assassins prince of rogues #same diff

[927roses-and-stuff]

Miracles in Gotham

Hey, guys! This fic is inspired by @ozmav’s Maribat AU. Shoutout to @mystery-5-5 for brainstorming ideas with me for this fic. Hopefully, you guys enjoy it!

If you want to see more, follow: #miraclesingotham

First  Next    Fanfic 

____________________________________________________

Summary

After the akumatization of Miracle Queen, Marinette finds herself in deep trouble as both Ladybug and Marinette. As Ladybug, she struggles to take the mantle of being the new Guardian without Master Fu's guidance. As Marinette, she has to deal with the ever increasing frustrations that Lila's lies and Chloe's tantrums bring.

Meanwhile Hawkmoth's attacks worsen as they target Mme. Bustier's class more than ever.

Due to these attacks, Mayor André Bourgeois decide that Chloé, and her class, is safest overseas and out of Hawkmoth's range.

And where does he send them?

To Gotham City, under the watchful eyes of Batman and other vigilantes/

With Marinette travelling outside of Paris, she is looking forward to relaxing a bit fro, her superhero duties. After all, what would Gotham need the Ladybug and the Miraculous for?

Apparently, much more than expected.

Prologue: A Mysterious Calling

“Hello, old friend. This is André Bourgeois calling.”

“Yes, yes. It has been a long time.”

“Why am I calling? Well, Audrey told me that you owed her. She said that this is her cashing in.”

“You want to know more? Well, my daughter’s class is being targeted by a domestic terrorist more and more in the last few days-”

“No, no. Our police department has it handled, but we want to minimize the risks, you understand.”

“Anyways, what we need is to transport the class outside of Paris to ensure their safety.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I will inform them once everything has been prepared.” 

“Thank you again, Bruce.”

The mayor’s office rang in silence as André  placed the phone back on the receiver. Outside, a black butterfly fluttered through the Parisian skies, searching for its next victim. 

#miraclesingotham #daminette #maribat au #mlb x dc #fanfic #marinette x damian #andre bourgeois isnt totally useless #but he is making sure no one knows about the akumas #927-roses-and-stuff

[otpnessmess]

The Bet

For my spanish speaking peeps, a completely unedited and rushed little thing for a special person over at the discord server. Might translate it later but for now, enjoy!

-

Marinette caminó el sendero que conectaba el gran portón del predio con la mansión Wayne lentamente y maldiciendo en voz baja el momento en que decidió aceptar la apuesta con Tim, Jason y Dick. En su defensa, el objetivo era bastante simple cuando se lo propusieron: hacer que Damian se sonrojara a cambio de lo que ella quisiera. Tela? Una nueva máquina de coser? Fotos comprometedoras para avergonzar a los hermanos cuando ella quisiera? Hecho. Pero sólo si lograba que el hermano menor de la familia terminara con las mejillas rojas.

La joven siempre fue afín a los desafíos y no iba a acobardarse ahora, que tan difícil podría llegar a ser de todas maneras? A lo largo de las tres semanas siguientes se volvió obvio que mucho. Damian se caracterizaba por ser tosco y cortante dado la forma en que fue criado. Abrirse a su nueva familia y al resto del mundo aún era algo a lo que rehuía y no muchas personas se atrevían a intentar atravesar las paredes que el muchacho había construido a su alrededor, eso hasta que conoció a  Marinette Dupain-Cheng, proclamada persona más amable y adorable por sus hermanos. Así comenzó todo: si Mari no podía traspasar las barreras de su hermanito, nadie podría. No podían saber que la diseñadora tenía razones personales para querer aceptar la apuesta. 

No era desconocido para nadie que aunque tuviera una reputación como Rey del Hielo en Gotham Academy, todas las semanas al menos una de sus compañeras juntaba coraje para invitarlo a salir. Se podía entender por qué: hijo de Bruce Wayne, multimillonario, y con facciones que se decía podrían haber sido talladas por los mismos dioses… Damian Wayne era uno de las personas más deseadas en la ciudad, y ambos hombres y mujeres tomaban turnos para intentar ser quien derritiera su corazón de una vez por todas. 

Marinette no era nada ajena a ello y de vez en cuando sentía culpabilidad al pensar que si fuera menos cercana a la familia quizá hubiera terminado como una de esas chicas llorando luego de ser rechazada. Pero ese no era el caso. Alfred supo ser un gran amigo de su abuela en su tiempo y le presentó a Marinette en uno de los viajes en el que le permitió que la acompañara a Gotham, así Mari conoció a los Waynes y los hijos de Bruce se encariñaron tanto con ella que la trataban como si fuera parte de la familia. Bueno, todos excepto Damian obviamente, quién parecía reticente a tratarla como una hermana como hacían los otros. Esto no significaba que no le agradara su presencia, lo contrario en realidad, eran los que pasaban más tiempo juntos. 

Damian apreciaba no tener a alguien constantemente tratando de que cambiara su personalidad calma y silenciosa, y Nette estaba feliz de tener a alguien que la acompañara mientras trabajaba con su máquina de coser o yendo a caminar a parques o jardines para conseguir inspiración, de todas maneras ella llenaba el silencio lo suficiente por ambos. Durante todo ese tiempo, si alguien hubiera podido leer sus pensamientos hubiera visto que la joven solo se enamoraba más y más de su amigo, tratando de ocultar sus pensamientos más y más, temerosa de perder la amistad que se había forjado entre ellos. Era una receta para el desastre.

Una semana luego de empezada la apuesta, Marinette ya no estaba tan segura de que esto fuera una buena idea. Había decidido usar un método considerado cliché e inútil: piropos. Imaginó que esto haría que a él le pareciera una broma y no delatara lo que ella realmente sentía, y en cierta forma fue lo que sucedió. El único problema es que ahora Damian no tomaba ninguna de sus frases en serio y la respuesta que recibía todos los días era una ceja levantada con una expresión de estar divirtiéndose, quizá una risa contenida si la línea era particularmente mala y empalagosa. Pero nada de eso era un sonrojo y eso la estaba frustrando.

Para el final de la segunda semana pensamientos de abandonar la apuesta y pagar el precio a los tres demonios ya daban vueltas por su cabeza. Hasta ahora solo había conseguido como máximo sacarle una pequeña risa a Damian, quien además intentó en varias ocasiones preguntarle a qué venía todo esto sin lograr obtener una respuesta más que “Oh, solo quiero ver si picas algun dia”. Escondiéndose a plena vista, gran plan Marinette.

La frustración al recordar las dos primeras semanas no podía compararse con la que sintió esa tercer semana. Al regresar a clases el lunes luego de haberle dicho a su amigo que estaba intentando llamar su atención no lo encontró en su lugar usual y sólo pudo asumir que iba a llegar tarde por cualquier razón, y así fue. Damian se sentó en su lugar justo a tiempo para que Marinette le sonriera “Pasas tanto tiempo en mi mente, debería cobrarte la renta.”

Nada.

Ni una risa.

Ni un movimiento de ceja.

Ni siquiera un rodar de ojos.

Su cara impasible mirando al frente donde la profesora acababa de comenzar la clase, ignorando completamente a Marinette.

Ella imaginó que no sería un buen dia y que quizá simplemente no estaba de humor ya que también había llegado tarde a clase (algo muy poco característico suyo). Pero luego de clase cuando Marinette intentó hablar con él volvió a ser el mismo de siempre e hizo que su amiga se olvidara de cuestionar su comportamiento de la mañana. 

Esto no hubiera sido tan frustrante si no se hubiera repetido todos los dias de esa semana. Llegado el fin de semana Mari estaba a punto de arrancarse el cabello con sus propias manos y decidió que era suficiente. Iria a la mansion a rendirse, cumplir con su parte de la apuesta por no completarla y llevaría a Damian a caminar para explicarle todo. No podía soportar el pensamiento de que muy probablemente había puesto incómodo a quien consideraria su mejor amigo, si no en la ciudad, en general. Esto la llevó a tocar el timbre de la mansión, jugueteando con sus manos intentando no pensar en qué pasaría si Damian decía que ya estaba harto de ella

La puerta se abrió y, hablando del diablo, allí estaba el menor Wayne con su expresión impasible.

“Netta, qué haces aquí?” La indiferencia con la cual dijo su apodo para ella hizo que Marinette se encogiera y mirara a cualquier lado excepto a su cara. 

“Venia a ver a tus hermanos, tengo algo que decirles.” Algo como una sombra de decepción cruzó la cara de Damian pero fue tan rápido que se preguntó si no lo habría imaginado. “Y si no estás ocupado luego… hay un nuevo parque en el lado este de la ciudad, pense que podriamos ir si quieres…” Ella se atrevió a mirar por un momento su cara y vio una pequeña sonrisa en su cara que le devolvió la esperanza de que quizá no todo estaba perdido aún.

Claro que esto fue interrumpido por gritos y una avalancha de golpes y empujones para llegar a la puerta. “Pixie pop!” Jason fue el primero que llegó a ella levantándola en un abrazo y revolviendo su cabello con una sonrisa “El engendro del demonio no te hizo pasar? Escuchamos los golpes en la puerta hace bastante tiempo ya!”

Con una risa Marinette se liberó de los brazos de Jason para abrazar también a Dick y a Tim quienes la llevaron hasta la sala de estar para acomodarse. El hermano mayor pico su mejilla afectuosamente “Que te trae por aquí Nette? Pensamos que vendrías mucho antes a reclamar tu recompensa”

Las risas se disiparon lentamente cuando los hermanos vieron la cara que su hermanita honoraria puso. “Esto….No vine antes porque simplemente no pasó. Y esta última semana ha sido bastante terrible y….” A medida que hablaba su voz se hizo más pequeña y los tres se miraron entre ellos con un aire de culpabilidad viendo su cara. “Vine a rendirme en realidad, Damian no parecía cómodo esta semana y realmente no se que haría si dejara de hablarme por algo como esto así que-"

"Algo como que?" Nadie notó cuando Damian se paró en la puerta a mirarlos con furia en los ojos. La confusión por no saber que estaba sucediendo fue eclipsada por el enojo de ver así a Marinette. Acto seguido cruzó la habitación en dos zancadas para levantarla y envolverla en un abrazo que parecía querer protegerla de sus hermanos. "Que le hicieron hacer?"

Todos se congelaron por un momento con expresiones que variaban desde sorprendido a aliviado a "finalmente". Tim, Jason y Dick sabían bien que Damian detestaba que la gente lo tocara (Dick había aprendido ésto de mala manera, su mandíbula dolía de solo pensar en ello) y gestos como abrazos viniendo de él era algo inédito. Marinette por supuesto respetaba sus limites así que no era muy difícil notar su pánico interno cuando su mejor amigo la abrazo gentil pero firmemente contra su pecho. "Dami…"

Escuchar su vocecita hizo que Damian bajara la mirada para verla. Desafortunadamente para él y Marinette, su cerebro desactivó cualquier filtro que existiera el segundo en que ojos azules y verdes se encontraron, si no el joven vigilante jamás hubiera dejado que las palabras "Si Ángel?" salieran de su boca. 

Aparentemente esto fue suficiente para sacar a sus hermanos de su estupor. El silbido de Jason le ganó un golpe en la cabeza de parte de Dick y los ojos de Damien emanaban odio momentáneo por su hermano mayor, por suerte Tim fue lo suficientemente sensato para explicar la situación antes de que un asesinato tuviera lugar. 

"Calma Damian, lo que sucede es que hicimos una apuesta con Marinette porque queríamos ver si podría hacerte sonrojar." El menor de los tres hermanos tuvo la decencia de parecer un poco avergonzado. 

"Y pensé que sería divertido intentarlo con esas frases tontas pero esta semana parecías tan incómodo." Marinette tomó un paso hacia atrás separándose de Damian moviendo las manos nerviosa y evitando su mirada. “Lo siento mucho, vine a decirles que iba a rendirme porque no quiero que te enfades conmigo o dejes de hablarme porque no se que haría, eres mi mejor amigo y no quiero perderte y-” Una vez que las compuertas del dique se abrieron, las palabras no dejaban de salir de la boca de una Mari que parecía más estresada cada segundo que pasaba hasta que Damian logro entender qué querían decir.

“Woah woah, Nette, calma, respira conmigo.” Conforme Damian acariciaba sus hombros con más cuidado del que sus hermanos le habían visto expresar nunca, la respiración de Marinette se acompasaba a la suya hasta que finalmente regresó a su ritmo normal. “No deberías haberle hecho caso a estos tres idiotas, quieren que los asesine un dia de estos. Y definitivamente no vas a perderme Angel, eres muy importante para mi para eso.” En su afán por hacerla entender cuánto realmente ella era importante para él, su mano se movió sin pensarlo a acariciar su mejilla.

Con un asentimiento Mari levantó la mirada inmensamente aliviada y también con un claro rubor rosa en las mejillas. Solo ahi Damian se dio cuenta de sus palabras y acciones y de que ninguno de sus hermanos se había movido, e inmediatamente sintió el calor en su cara que solo podía ser de una cosa.

“NO! Argh, estuvimos tan cerca..:” Jason fue el único que se quejó, sin embargo, ya que Tim y Dick estaban muy ocupados enviando el video de lo que acababa de pasar al grupo familiar como prueba.

Damian había tenido suficiente para entonces y, con un gruñido y mejillas aun hirviendo,  llevó a una Mari risueña a su habitación. “Voy a matarlos, lo juro.”

#this is totally rushed omg #im so sorry #daminette #maribat #damian x marinette