Spiders
HMB Bingo Board
"Stab It!" + Crack
“AHHHHHHHHHH!!”
SMACK!
“There she goes again.” rings in the heads of the residents of the Wayne Manor.
At this point, everyone is used to Marinette’s fear of spiders and, regardless of Alfred’s countless efforts, the Wayne Manor is an old building with a big magnet for the little hairy creatures.
At first, they used to get startled and think that perhaps they were being attacked, no matter how low the chances were, only an attacker could cause such fear induced screams!
Only to arrive at the room she was in, ready to attack, to find her curled into a corner mumbling curses of all kinds and looking on the verge of tears.
Usually someone removes the spider from the room while Damian helps calm down his girlfriend.
Now, after that fateful incident no one is allowed to talk about, that resulted in a broken chandelier from the Eighteenth Century and a painting of one of the founding fathers of Gotham having dinner with a Wayne, Marinette can proudly say she can safely protect herself from the hairy eight leg devils.
And with that, also came a new source of entertainment for the Waynes: Marinette’s Spider killing skills. She had gathered an arsenal of skills and weapons just to get rid of spiders. Some of which not even World’s Best Detective Family could think of.
Some instances include:
She bought a hand shaped fly swatter to smack them with since she refused to touch them herself.
She bought spider insecticide for each and every room in the Manor so that she was never unprepared. (Made sure to use Damian’s card since it was his house, and he should keep it clean of “bugs”)
One time, she was so startled by the spider falling on the lounge room table she jumped and stole the vacuum from Alfred’s hands and vacuumed the spider.
Another time, when she noticed the insecticides weren’t being very effective, she called her mum who told her that in China, a popular way to remove bugs and insects from the house was to use peppermint essential oil and spray it around. Needless to say, the Manor smelled of peppermint for a good couple of weeks until she found a new method.
Alya also told her that when she was younger, her mum used to make a homemade insect repellent consisting of water, vinegar, pepper, oil and liquid soap and of course, our dearest Maribug decided it was a great idea to spray the house down with it - just like she did with all other methods.
She also recommended they plant Eucalyptus trees to help in keeping them away.
She only didn’t use the “spray/pour alcohol on spiders to kill them” because it had to be done directly to them and she considered it torture and she refused to use underhanded methods.
By now, everyone just rolls with it if Marinette comes into a room, flushed and huffing and asking if they have a weapon Manor never had that many spiders but, somehow, Marinette was always being “attacked” by them, as if they were attracted to her like Moths to Flame.
What was surprising was that Marinette was always very gentle with any insects and/or bugs. Especially Ladybugs, she even kept her habit of growing marigolds, sweet alyssums, calendulas and some more on a terrace garden, both at her apartment and at the Manor, which was usually cared for by Damian when she was not there.
Because of this, it was weird that she was afraid of the arachnids, especially considering how useful and harmless they actually were for the house.
This was all even more suspicious when one day, for Justice League business, Ladybug was given the “honour” of visiting the Batcave.
They first found it fun that Ladybug was afraid of the little spiders that also resided in the Batcave alongside the hanging bats (which by the way, what the heck Batman, really keeping up with the theme no?”), joking around if it was a Parisian thing since they knew a Parisian girl that was also terrified of them.
Then, she started using random objects to smack them if they got too close. Which was weird since the spiders never really came close to them, preferring to stick around the small corners and crevices. But they guessed it had something to do with her creation abilities and agreed to not host another meeting in the cave if it could be influenced by it.
Then, she started using methods that Marinette was often using around the house but improvised in a Ladybug way. Like vacuuming the spiders with the yoyo or presenting a peppermint spray from the endless pocket of space that was the little toy-like weapon.
She even grabbed Agent A’s offered teacup, threw the tea at someone - if the “Hey!” was anything to go by - and used it to cover a spider that decided to crawl across the table towards her. It was almost like she did it unconsciously at this point, because she immediately turned to him and apologised for wasting his tea in such a manner.
The highlight of the meeting was when a spider, hanging from the web, was right in front of her face falling right on her nose, causing the loudest shriek to come from The Guardian of The Miraculous. She jumped nearly five feet, attaching herself to the closest victim - who happened to be Robin - shaking him and screaming Bloody Mary.
“DO SOMETHING!!”
“DO SOMETHING I’M TELLING YOU!!
“What do you mean “do something”? What am I supposed to do, Stab It?”
“I meant something more along the lines of smacking or trapping it, but I guess that’d also work.”
“I-”
“You know what, I honestly don’t care what you do with it, JUST GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT”
Insert the loudest and longest sigh ever from both Robin and Batman.
“Ladybug, you are aware of just how unprofessional your beha-”
“Father, it’s alright. It is understandable that some people are frightened of such simple life forms, but if we can do it for Habibti, I don’t see why we can’t do the same for Ladybug tonight, you did say we’d change the meeting location for next time so such incidents could be prevented so I don’t see any issue with enduring it for tonight since it’d only be a hassle to change locations at the point.”
And it was thanks to Robin’s words that Batman shut up. With the argument shut down before it could even be started, Nightwing helped collect this round’s spider, and the meeting continued, with a high alert Ladybug and her trusted peppermint spray in one hand and the yoyo on the other. And every Batfam secretly disposed of any spiders attempting to get closer, none of them showing signs of inconvenience at doing such as to not get noticed by Ladybug.
Needless to say, that no one paid attention to anything Batman was saying and yet, all proving true the “they all share one brain cell” theory when they busied their minds with thoughts on how cute she looked being so concentrated on getting the spiders - which had reduced significantly since there were very few that managed to get past them.
After the meeting had ended with agreements to rerun the points at the next meeting since no one grasped a single speck of information that night, Ladybug summoned the Horse Miraculous and opened herself a portal to leave.
She had told Damian she was going out for the night for a dinner with Chloe since she was in town, so to not wait for her - the excuse she usually went with whenever she had to go on Ladybug business and didn’t want him to know about it. Chloe was the only one of her friends to live nearby when she moved to Gotham, afterall Metropolis was just a town over so any excuse related to Chloe made sense to the little bug.
She was surprised however, to find the lights on when she got to their apartment’s door and saw Damian up and reading a book on the couch when she got inside.
“I told you not to wait up Damian!”
“I know. But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t stay up to make sure my precious Angel got home safe?”
“I guess you do have a point… Thank you for waiting up then” she said and went in for a hug, which he readily accepted.
“So, did you have fun? You look a bit tired?”
“Oh, uhhh yeah, it was fun! Ahah, but you know Chloe, it’s always unpredictable with her ahahah”
“Hmmm, that’s true. I guess an entire evening with Chloe would be a bit of a headache.”
“Yeah hahaha”
“Hopefully there were no spiders, right?”
“wHAT? NO! I mean no! There were no spiders tonight!”
Damian smiled softly. She’s so cute when flustered.
“Great! I’m sure it’s because of all the ladybugs that come to visit!”
“Wha- what dO yOU mEaN hic-?!” Marinette’s brain was going over a mile a minute trying to process what he was talking about. Afterall, He couldn’t have figured out her identity, right? How would he even find out if she was never around him as Ladybug?!
“Oh, you know, the marigold garden in the balcony attracts lots of ladybugs. And like their name says, they are known to bring lots of luck! So, I’m sure you had no encounter with spiders because of it! We should plant some more!
“Oh, yeah, haha, the balcony marigolds, hahaha.”
“Come on, let’s get ready for bed. I already watered the balcony garden, so you don’t need to worry your little head over it. Tomorrow we can go and get some Bachelor’s Buttons, I read that Ladybugs also like them quite a bit.”
Marinette was too dazed to keep up any coherent thought with him at the moment, settling for just a little nod.
Poor thing, she’s probably stressing so much over it. Well, I’ll keep it up for a bit longer, it’s not every day you find your girlfriend’s secret identity afterall.
Pressing a little kiss to her forehead, Damian guided the poor bug to their room to get some rest for the night.
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woke up from a dead sleep last night realizing I could make soroku flavored pitch pearl and no one could stop me
edit: you know what? I'm feral and I won't apologize. more under the cut bc this is my house
I slammed this out all at once so I apologize for the quality but I'm having EMOTIONS
so imagine. bc of the way Danny was quickly resuscitated, his ghost only barely started forming. With the excess blast of ectoplasm from the portal being created, that little whisp was given form even after Danny's soul returned to his body.
except this ghost (Phantom) slowly comes into consciousness while trapped in Danny's body. they're separate entities sharing one body, but Phantom doesn't really have a sense of self right away. he pieces together vague fragments of Danny's memory to get a basic understanding of the world, and is mostly just observing like a backseat passenger.
Phantom starts reflexively protecting Danny, his powers and instincts bleeding through when his emotions are high. Danny doesn't really transform, and his personality doesn't totally shift that much at first because Phantom’s mind isn't complex yet. but as time goes on, and Danny has tense conversations with ghosts, Phantom realizes that's what he is. he's a ghost, somehow trapped in his old body. and even now, this early on, he already feels separate. he doesn't have all the memories Danny has.
this slowly turns into horror. into rage. sorrow, mourning a life he never got and will never get to have. forever trapped behind the eyes of someone else, never able to interact with the world. Phantom's rage eventually boils over until it allows him short bursts of taking over Danny's body. it starts out small–a stray hand moving without his consent, knees locking up, ghost abilities going awry. Danny can start feeling emotions that don't belong to him. get vague impressions, almost hears a voice inside him.
and eventually, Phantom is able to fully take over. this is when Danny “transforms". at first, Danny blacks out because his consciousness isn't used to being shoved into the back seat. but eventually, he's awake for these “episodes", trapped in the back of his mind while Phantom controls his body. this only happens when ghost stuff is happening, when Phantom feels threatened enough. he's not protecting Danny, he's protecting himself. Phantom knows instinctively that if Danny dies, he dies too. he's not a normal ghost, he wouldn't be freed. he'd simply disappear.
at one point after a fight, Phantom can feel Danny struggling to take back control. and he talks to Danny for the first time, acknowledges he's there. asks how it's fair that Danny is the one that gets to exist. but Phantom is tired and weak, he slips back into the passenger seat.
over the next few days, he's able to start talking to Danny even while he's not driving. though he's not chatty, it's only when necessary. and Danny knows, can feel it across the link between them–Phantom hates him. the ghost he created is desperate to find a way to take over completely. and as time goes on, Danny realizes with horror that it might actually be possible for Phantom to do that. he grows stronger every day, can stay transformed longer, controls Danny's body with much more ease.
it's only through a chance meeting with Frostbite that Danny and Phantom fully learn what happened to them. Danny feels sympathetic towards Phantom now. this isn't a malevolent ghost, it's a person who was never given the chance to live. who's trapped. who has to watch someone else live a life they're just as deserving of.
and Phantom feels that emotion from Danny. is so shocked by it, he doesn't know how to handle it at first. it takes him a while to contemplate, to talk to other ghosts like Frostbite. until one day, Phantom realizes… he feels sympathy for Danny, too.
neither of them asked for this. both of them deserve to live. Danny didn't do anything wrong. they're both villains to each other's story. and if anything… doesn't Phantom owe his life to Danny in the first place?
Phantom takes over less often. Danny doesn't feel hatred from him anymore. anger, yes–but not aimed at him. in fact, Phantom starts controlling their body in little ways in order to protect Danny from things that aren't even dangerous. just to avoid pain that would only affect the human tethered to him.
it isn't long before they're separated, either thanks to another ghost or Danny's parents. they're thrown apart in the middle of a horrific fight, and when Danny sees Phantom's equally shocked expression, he's terrified.
this ghost that hated him for so long–at best, Phantom would leave him defenseless. at worst, surely some part of Phantom still wants to kill him for stealing away his chance for autonomy.
and yet, when fire rains down on them, Phantom risks it all to grab Danny and get them both to safety. they're still both shaken and stunned this is even happening, but Phantom is able to nervously be like shit shit shit okay stay here don't go anywhere or I can't protect you, okay?
after the fight is over and dust settles, Phantom offers Danny his hand. they stare at each other and god if this isn't the weirdest thing. like, uh, okay, what now? they decide to go see Frostbite, who confirms that they're fully separate now. they ask if there's any chance of merging again and Frostbite assures it's impossible.
Phantom asks, even if I overshadowed Danny? or stay real close? yes, it's nothing to worry about. they leave, and back in the quiet of Danny's room, they talk. Phantom isn't sure what to do. now that opportunity is in front of him, he feels paralyzed. Danny does his best to let Phantom know that… they might be separate now, but if he ever wants help or even just a friendly ear, he's here for him.
Phantom is quiet for a while. then says maybe he just needs to rest first. he'll think about it tomorrow. they're both exhausted and injured. Phantom asks quietly… if he could rest in Danny for the night.
Danny's shocked, and–really confused. Phantom blushes and is like I don't know what my haunt is yet, I don't know where to go, but I know… you're kind of my home. now that I know I can leave whenever I want, it's not something bad anymore. I miss feeling your heart next to my core, just a little bit.
and Danny is just as surprised when Phantom overshadows him, then quietly nestles into the passenger seat again. he didn't realize how he got used to feeling Phantom with him. it's a feedback loop of contentedness, and Danny sleeps easily. (they also find out while sharing a body, Danny gets to reap the benefits of Phantom's supernatural healing)
anyway that's all I got for now thank u for coming to my ted talk
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