#stephinette

This is for Maribat Pride June 2023. It was suppose to be posted yesterday. 

THEME: I have a thing for blondes

Marinette looked around the gala and sighed. It had been three year since she moved to Gotham and she still wasn't a fan of the galas in Gotham. Jagged Stone always gave her his tickets, anyways.

'Why turn them down when you live there, Cupcake? Show off you designs. Be proud!'

She knew he was just trying to help her out. Both him and Penny were trying to convince her to open up her deisgns and go public. After Paris, she didn’t want anyone trying to claim anything about her. She had been hurt too many times before. It didn't matter that everyone now knew the truth. She had been too damaged to go back. She preferred animosity; Jagged and Penny gave that to her.

Marinette sighed as she dropped onto her bed. She wasn't sure why she was so upset. She had seen Stephanie's boyfriend sneak out of the gala, several times over the last couple months. Sometimes, Stephanie would leave instead. Mari couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship wasn't as great as it appeared. Stephanie Brown would just smile when people asked where the CEO had gone and said he had to step out or something urgent came up.

It hurt to see her alone. She had spoken to her before about fashion and sweets. Marinette hoped one day she'd be able to call Steph a friend. They had spoken briefly a couple times before about fashion and sweets. She laughed when she learned she had a giant sweet tooth. She knew her parents would have loved her.

Marinette closed her eyes when an image of Luka came to her mind. It had been awhile since she thought of him, of Paris.

'Marinette, I know you don't want to say anything, but maybe you should at least write it down. You might not notice something right away, but you will be able to look back and see changes. Feelings change; it's normal. You might even notice something new or something you never even imagined possible.'

Marinette sipped her drink as she watched Stephanie and Tim Drake argue silently again. It seemed like the blonde was trying to get him to stop from leaving, but he broke free and left anyways. Marinette shook her head and turned at a compliment about her dress. She still wasn't ready for the world to know her identity. She would just smile and say her uncle's designer made it for her.

Once home, Marinette opened her notebook and began to write her feelings down. Many people had complimented her latest design. It was rewarding to hear so many compliments about her designs. What stuck out the most to her that night was Stephanie again. She hated feeling angry. I quick shower was the best way to wash away the anger.

Once she was out of the shower, she picked her notebook back up and read through it: I can't believe Stephanie is still dating Tim Drake. She doesn't seem like the kind to stay with someone for money. She should leave him! Stephanie deserves someone better than him. Who cares if he's a CEO?

Marinette frowned at her thoughts. She turned the pages back and began to read from the start. She had a year woth of notes. When Marinette had started this, she thought it would be a notebook full of abuse. She would show it to Steph and tell her how much better she was without Tim. That wasn't what she was reading.

Mari blushed as she read page after page, further cementing her thoughts. When she reached the page she had written that night, she turned the page and picked up a pen. Mari closed her eyes and quickly wrote down her feelings. She opened her eyes and saw it staring back at her.

'I haven't been upset. I've been jealous! Thanks, Luka.'

Marinette walked into the studio and looked around. She hoped to speak to Jagged about something.

"Hey, Cupcake." Jagged called out, "You usually don't show up in person, unless it's for a fitting. What's up?"

Marinette blushed and admitted, "I….I wrote a song."

"You did?" Jagged asked, standing up excited.

"It's probably not very good, but-" she began to say.

"Can I see it?" he questioned.

Marinette opened her bookbag and held out her notebook. Jagged looked over the lyrics, curiously and smiled.

"Think we can put a beat to it in the studio?" the rock star asked, "Would you be able to sing it?"

"Actually I wanted you to sing it." Marinette declared, blushing, "Not-It does not have to be released. I-I was thinking about giving it to someone."

"I have to hear you sing this." Jagged stated, "Please!"

I can't believe we're finally alone

I can't believe I almost went home

What are the chances? Everyone's dancing

And he's not with you

The universe must have divined this

What am I gonna do? Not grab your wrist?

I could be a better boyfriend than him

I could do the shit that he never did

Up all night, I won't quit

Thinking I'm gonna steal you from him

I could be such a gentleman

Plus all my clothes would fit

"You sound wonderful, Cupcake!" the rock star announced.

"So, you'll sing it?" Marinette questioned, happily.

"No." he answered.

"What?" his designer asked.

"This is your song." Jagged declared, "You have to sing it."

"But I can't!" Mari replied, "I-"

Jagged pressed a button and let Marinette's voice flow over them.

"Cupcake, I can't give this song the emotions youre singing." he stated, calmly.

Marinette sat as she listened to her own voice.

"It could be a single?" Jagged spoke.

"But it's personal." she whispered.

"Most songs are. Musicians write about what inspires us. It's not always happy feelings, either. We write and sing so that people know they're not alone. Why else would there be so many break up songs?" the rock star spoke, "I'm sure there are other people who are feeling the way you are right now. No one has to know it's you. We can think of a rock and roll name. Anytime you think of songs and you decide to sing it, we can put it under that name."

Marinette tilted her head as she thought about her options. Jagged refused to sing it for her, but gave her the option to record it. Instead of personally handing her the song, it could be something they talked about in passing. She would never know it was her voice she was listening to. Animosity wasn't something new to her. No one knew she was Jagged Stone's personal designer. Besides, she usually only sang in the shower. No one hear her singing in passing.

"Okay." Mari sighed, "On two conditions. We create another alias; not my designer name."

"Not a problem." Jagged smiled, "What's the second?"

"No one but the recording studio knows who I am. Not even Luka or Juleka." she declared.

"What?" he asked, shocked, "But-"

"Not a word." Marinette pleaded, "I don't wanna be up on stage or end up doing duets. Nothing like that."

"Deal." he smiled.

Steph gets a random call from Marinette and when she picks up her friend is in a panic

Apparently she has gotten broken up with

Which she seems more or less fine with. The guy was an asshole and Marinette had been talking about how they were probably going to break up 'soon' for months now. But there IS a problem

Because she had applied for them to be on the newlywed game show together (for the sake of exposing her brand to a new audience). And now she has no partner. And the showing is in three days

"Cancel." "No"

Well. That's that

Steph questions why Mari didn’t just ask Tim, since they know each other way better, they've known each other longer after all

But she just explains that Tim is too public a figure for her to get away with the ‘secret relationship’ story

“Ah and I’m a nobody” “Yes – I MEAN NO”

Steph gives in because she has nothing better to do. Also Marinette promises to sneak her sweets from her bakery job

They rig this shit by hacking the gameshow to get the questions ahead of time and start drilling each other on stuff and making up a lot of shit

It's all kinda suspicious ngl because NO ONE wins the newlywed game. But no one can prove anything

And honestly. They’re really having fun with the whole fake dating thing

Maybe just because they’re pranking people. Duping delight or whatever. But also because they really just like making mischief. Together

After the show ends, Steph comes up to her and said they made a good fake couple

Original under the cut

Fic here

Welcome everyone to the start of the event!

What better way to celebrate Pride month than a Rare Pair and Poly Ship event? This runs through the entire month of June.

Event Info/Reminder

This is open to everyone!

17 ships were voted to represent the Active Roster (will be found below the line). These ships are split into 3 sections to give a variety a chance of winning.

The overall winners of each section will win their own channel in the discord server. Since the focus is on Ao3 but we still want creators of other media forms to participate, a wildcard ship will win a channel as well based on these submissions. The top ship between all sections will be given a drawing by an amazing Maribatter!

Another wildcard will be revealed halfway through the month. This wildcard will also receive a channel.

Every fic gets 1 point. As certain milestones are completed, they will receive extra points for their ship! (For the list of milestones, see the informational document in 'Important Links')

Every couple days there will be updates on Tumblr as to how the scores are looking. All milestones hit will be shared here as well!

The Submission Tracker will be updated asap and will provide links to all submissions for those who are here to enjoy the creations while not creating themselves.

For any questions, please feel free to ask them below! Share out the event and most importantly, have fun creating!

(The Active Roster shall follow the Important Links)

Important Links:

Malachite Milestones: Ao3 Submission Form

Malachite Milestones: Other Media Submission Form

Malachite Milestones '24 Tracker

Malachite Milestones Informational Doc

Malachite Milestones Ao3 Collection

Maribat Menagerie: Rare Pair, Poly Ship, & Bio-Parent Discord

Cassandra: *to Marinette* What happened?

(simultaneously)

Marinette: I told her she can’t have any of the cookies I’m making.

Stephanie: Marinette doesn’t love me anymore.

*Cass snorts while Marinette just sighs*

June is dedicated to the MARIBAT PRIDE. This can be any LGBT ship.

Do one prompt! Do them all! Any participation is great! They just serve as ways to encourage that creativity. No Pressure.

This year we are doing a general prompt week for any LGBT ship you want (including polyships), with two additional weeks for the most popular ships: Cassette and Stephinette! Like with the calendar, only write those prompts which inspire you. You don't have to do them all, and you don't have to do both (though, extra kudos to anyone who tries).

AO3 COLLECTION:

This is the same collection from last year, with a new tag, so if you are looking for last year's this is it now.

TAGS FOR BOTH TUMBLR AND AO3: 

#Maribat Pride June #Maribat Pride 2023

BE SURE TO TAG THIS BLOG @MARIBAT-CALENDAR-EVENTS AND REBLOG SO OTHERS GET A CHANCE TO SEE TOO!

Guidelines

Any orientation or relationship style is welcome and encouraged (familial, platonic, romantic, aged-up NSFW)!

Any creative works (writing, fics, drabbles, head-canons, art, poetry, incorrect quotes, etc.) are accepted

Tag @maribat-calendar-events in your works so we can share it

Use the hashtag so others can see your work

Keep NSFW works under the ‘Keep Reading’ line with an appropriate warning above

Questions? Send us a message/ask, or contact @izanae