#bashing
I like Tom and Sabrin but why do I like bashing them more?!
I’ll Change My Crown, from Light to Dark
The akuma landed on Marinette’s windowsill, the girl not even noticing as she sat in the tattered remnants of her designs. Luckily she had dropped off most of her completed works the day before to be delivered to the appropriate patrons, though everything she had yet to send off was ripped, cut, burned, there wasn’t a scrap of cloth that was usable for anything but as a guide for buying more. Her sketchbook was in shreds on the floor, paper scattered like confetti over the remaining slivers of all her hard work.
The akuma danced in place. It’s master was urging it to go forward, to possess the girl, but… there were so many objects to choose from! Should it just possess the entire room? The sewing machine? One little scrap of fabric? A piece of paper? What about her emotions? This butterfly had made some of the strongest akumas to date, though the strength behind her feelings was astromically larger than any other person they had targeted. The little insect itself was slightly afraid to act as a bridge for her. It finally flew forward, choosing the scraps of the dress the girl had been making herself for the Wayne gala.
Marinette froze when her emotions intensified, hearing Hawkmoth cooing in her ear. “Greetings, Mistress Hawthorne. They all accuse you of being the bully, of being a liar, never paying attention to the proof you give them. They destroyed your designs, your livelihood, and expect to get away scott free. I’m giving you the ability to turn all your ruined dreams into hawthorn bushes that force people to see the truth, whether they can accept it or not. No more hiding behind lies or masks, everyone will have to be honest and pay for their crimes. All I ask in return is for Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”
“I refuse, Hawkmoth ”
The villain froze for a second. Only one other person had ever resisted him so easily, and that was due to her love for Ladybug. Nothing about Marinette Dupain-Cheng screamed that she truly cared for the heroes, so why would she resist? He was giving her the perfect way to get revenge! If he didn’t fear that it would give the heroes a clue to his identity, he wouldn’t have even asked for the Miraculous for this offence! “Why do you refuse? Imagine how great it will feel, trapping them in their castle with your thorns until the truth comes out!”
“Oh, make no mistake, revenge will be divine. But I’m already looking at little to no sleep for the foreseeable future so that I can press charges against them, email all my patrons whose clothes were destroyed about the delay, buy all the fabric to remake their outfits, and get my own dress together for the Wayne gala. Luckily I’m not starting completely over with it, their mindless destruction gave me an idea for my dress, but there is still much to do. I have no time to become an akuma, I have to get to work immediately, and it will be tomorrow before my classmates are all in the same place again.”
“What… what if I didn’t ask for the Miraculous in return, and you miss a few days of school to get everything completed?
"While missing school may become a necessity before everything is over and done with, I still have much to do. It would take far too long to force the truth out of Lila Rossi, and I am uncertain if Ladybug’s Miracle Cure would erase any progress I made on designing as an akuma. You seem like a reasonable businessman, I’m sure you understand.”
“Ah, yes, I do, actually. Cut me some slack here, I’ve been trying to akumatize you for over a year now! What kind of cloth are you cut from?”
“A different kind from my classmates. I refuse to stoop to their level. Besides, I have pride in the fact that I am not helpless, and the costumes I see akumatized people in are atrocious. Please have a nice day, but I do need to get to work.”
“I-very well then. Good luck. Please at least make your classmates suffer.”
Marinette’s smirk alone was fuel to create a fear-based akuma. “They’ll pay. But on my terms.” The purple butterfly left her dress, and Marinette caught herself as she slumped to the floor. Resisting Hawkmoth had taken much more out of her than she had anticipated.
⏳
Gabriel rose from the underground room, surprising Nathalie. “Sir, surely she didn’t-”
“No, Nathalie, she didn’t loose. She didn’t even accept my offer. I even offered to not require the Miraculous this time, but she still refused. Her mental strength is highly admirable, especially when her guard is at its lowest. She would be a great asset to us.”
“In what manner?”
“Any way I can get her. She is one of the best designers I have seen in a long time, especially at her age. I caught a glimpse of her revenge plan when my akuma possessed her and it was astoundingly terrible, and she is kind and independent enough to make an amazing daughter.”
“Sir, kidnapping is illegal.”
“I don’t have to kidnap her, I’ll throw Adrien at her.” Gabriel started to wave his hand in dismissal, then noticed the look on Nathalie’s face.
“Sir, I think you should watch the rest of this.” Nathalie walked forward, bringing up the video from earlier. Gabriel had only watched a second of it before rushing to his butterflies, it was easy to recognize the girl’s room by her designs. He’d been gunning for her since she lied to him to help keep Adrien in school and made the feathered hat. Her spirit and dedication let him know that she could be a great ally or terrible enemy. She didn’t (yet) have the money or power to come after Gabriel Agreste on her own, but he was certain that the girl was being considered for a Miraculous. He knew she didn’t already have one, she hadn’t responded to Miracle Queen, after all, but several of her classmates had used one. He actually paid attention to the video this time, watching all the way through. The first people seen on camera were the blogger girl and Lila Rossi, several other classmates cropping up through the video. He didn’t notice Timebreaker, Evilillstrator, or the Bourgeois girl, though he did see his own son halfway through the recording, happily cutting at a gown that had been carefully beaded with a hawthorn pattern with a pair of scissors, cutting off the beads and chunks of fabric.
Gabriel’s frown deepened. “Cut all ties to Lila Rossi immediately. We will be making a public apology, telling the public that we did not know of her abhorrent tendencies, nor did we expect her to pull Adrien into her schemes. Adrien will be appropriately punished, and we will offer Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng compensation for the destruction of her property, along with a small team of designers that will know to make every stitch to her preference, no matter their opinion on the piece.”
“Of course, sir. How would you like to make your statement to the public?”
“Call that news anchor, Najda Chamack, and ask her to come here. I will speak to her in person as soon as she is available. I also want the apology posted to every social media outlet we use, including our official website.”
“Sir, is this not overkill? This isn’t Audrey Bourgeois.”
Gabriel glared at Nathalie. “No, she is not. She designs for more famous people than Audrey does. She is the main designer for the Wayne gala this year. Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, Tsurugi Tomoe, even the Wayne’s commissioned her work. All of her designs are paid for in a split payment plan, the money for the materials is required upfront while the rest of the payment can wait until after the person received their design to make sure it is what they want. That means there will very likely be several highly influential individuals and families gunning for us because of Rossi and my son.”
Nathalie paled. She hadn’t imagined that the small girl who stumbled and stuttered every time she saw her would have that kind of power backing her. Everyone knew that the girl had Jagged Stone backing her, MDC was his main designer for everything and anyone who personally met the girl and the rocker knew who MDC was, especially since they were supposed to have their identity reveal at the Wayne gala. Jagged Stone by himself would be bad and the company would take a hit, though she was positive Marinette would stop him before he went too far. But with so many others working with Jagged… Gabriel (the company) would not survive.
“I will get everything arranged.” Nathalie quickly left the office.
⏳
Marinette’s first order of business was to email all of the clients affected by her classmates’s actions. She informed them that they did not need to worry, as she was suing all the students for the costs of what they destroyed- not just materials, but labor as well, and would be buying new material for their clothes out of her own pocket until she got retribution. She also informed them that their orders would come in slightly later than planned, though not by much. Clara, Jagged, Kagami and her mother, and the Wayne’s all responded to her email with assurances that things happened and to take her time. Bruce Wayne offered to delay the gala so that she would have plenty of time to rectify the situation, though she was quick to assure him that it was not necessary.
Her next order of business was cleanup. She collected every scrap of fabric big enough to make so much as a small patch or strip and sat them in a small box next to where her personal dress was. Everything else was collected and thrown in the trash. She dug out her receipts for all the fabrics destroyed, including the fabrics for projects intended for her classmates. She quickly pulled up the video Alya had posted, writing down who destroyed what. She matched the fabrics to the people, then calculated the time she would have spent on each piece. She reviewed the video one more time, noticing that none of the art students, including Chloè, were in the video. Though it was to be expected. The whole class knew how important all art was to the art students; those students would have stopped them if they were in the know. Chloè was not only in the art club, but also still exiled from the class, though her relationship with Marinette had gone from bully to ally. They still weren’t friends, but they stuck together against most of the class, only Nathaniel and Alix leaving them alone. The class may have had five braincells in the entire room, Chloè, Marinette, Alix, and Nathaniel each having one all to themselves while the rest of the class, including Madame Bustier, shared the other one, but they used that one braincell to know who could be brought in on a scheme like this.
Marinette had just finished calculating who she would she for what and was on her way to buy fabrics when her phone rang. She grabbed it as she opened her hatch, activating her recording app as she answered. “Hello?”
“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, it has come to my attention that Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi have vandalized your property. Lila Rossi has already been terminated and Adrien will face suitable punishment for his actions. I wish for you to come by the manor at your earliest convenience for us to discuss payment.”
“If you’re free now, I was just about to head out.”
“Of course. I’ll send a car for you.”
“Merci, Monsieur Agreste.” Marinette pocketed her phone and made copies of the expenses each of her classmates would be charged. She had no way of knowing where, exactly, Gabriel Agreste stood, but she refused to leave anything to chance. The original, along with the receipts, was stored in her diary box while one copy was left on her desk and another found its home in her purse. She stopped by the kitchen to inform her parents that she was headed to the Agreste Manor and would explain later before walking out to wait on the car.
⏳
Adrien was smiling after school. He had never realized how freeing it was to tear clothes apart, especially clothes made by someone who refused to listen to him. Marinette deserved everything she got, plus some. He wondered what of hers he could destroy next.
He was surprised when he returned home to see his father glaring at him from in front of the stairwell. “We need to have a talk, son.” The designer’s voice promised pain. “About your friends and actions today.”
Adrien stared at his father, confused. “Why? What happened?”
Gabriel growled. “Nathalie.”
“Sir?”
“Show him the video, then leave us to our discussion.”
“Yes sir.” Nathalie quickly pulled up the video of the class destroying Marinette’s designs and held the tablet out to Adrien before taking her leave.
Adrien watched the video, unable to understand what had angered his father. “Do you understand what you have done?” Gabriel demanded.
Adrien shrugged. “I got payback. She wouldn’t listen to me when I told her to lay low, so I decided to help the class teach her a lesson.”
Gabriel coldly glared at his son. “You have cost me over a thousand dollars just in the hours that girl put into her work. That does not include the cost of the materials, deformation of private property, or potential unlawful entry and vandalism charges. How do you know that Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng is not currently an akuma gunning for your head? Or that her clients aren’t going to press charges? Her clientele could ruin your entire class, your entire school, with a single phone call.”
Adrien scoffed. “She doesn’t have that many big clients. Just Jagged Stone. And Marinette can’t get akumatized. She’s too stubborn to listen to anyone.”
Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Adrien, I’ll tell you this as your classmate is revealing it in less than a month. Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been taking the world of fashion by storm while using her initials, MDC. Only certain celebrities and rich people know who she is, mainly people she has worked or designed for. Jagged Stone is the first and main one, yes. But Clara Nightingale has been using her more and more. MDC is the main designer for the Wayne gala, not only Monsieur Stone and Mademoiselle Nightingale commissioning her, but the Tsurugi family and the Wayne family, along with several friends and supporters of the four families. Aubrey Bourgeois supports her, perhaps even more than she supports me, and I have admired several of her pieces done for contests.”
Blood began to drain from Adrien’s face, though Gabriel doubted that the boy fully understood anything yet. “Her mother’s best friend is Najda Chamack, and Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng babysits her child. Her uncle is a famous chef who loves his family dearly, especially since his great niece learned Mandarin to be able to talk to him and help him with his French. Alix Kubdel is friends with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, and also comes from a respectable family- as well as Chloè Bourgeois becoming her ally after she helped with her mother. Not to mention that the Dupain-Cheng family is not hurting for money, as they are the best and most popular bakery in Paris. They get orders from all over the city, plus serve at almost every party that has edible food. You attacked the livelihood of one of the most powerful children in Paris. Not only that, but you destroyed the property of some of the most prolific people in the world.” Adrien’s face had lost all traces of blood, though Gabriel did not expect it to be from shame. No, his son was afraid because he had been caught. “You will not return to school until Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng has revealed herself as MDC to the world, nor will you have access to any of your social media, messages, or phone. You may return to being homeschooled. I shall have to reassess the situation at a later date. If I do allow you to return to school, it will not be François-DuPont. You will drop contact with your current classmates. You are dismissed.” Gabriel turned from his son, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
⏳
Marinette was escorted straight to Gabriel’s office upon arrival. The man shook her hand before gesturing for her to take a seat. “Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, my assistant showed me the video of what your classmates did. My sincerest apologies. I assure you that my son is currently being punished and Mademoiselle Rossi’s contract has been terminated. I also wanted to offer you compensation for your loss as well as a team of designers that will follow your instructions to the last stitch.”
Marinette eyed the elder Agreste. “What do you want in return?”
Gabriel blinked at the girl. He knew she was smart, though he hadn’t expected her to ask that. “For this? Nothing. My son deserves every lawsuit you draw up. I remember what it was like when I was first starting my company; something like this would have been devistating.”
“Well, Monsieur, covering everything will not be necessary. I have already calculated the damages each student did and how much they owe for it. I am not holding you responsible for the actions of any of my classmates, not even Agreste or Rossi. I’m sure you have paid your son for working for you,” Marinette felt viciously victorious when he nodded, “in which case he should be able to pay for damages himself. The same holds true for Rossi; she was a contract model for your company and was paid as such. They should both be able to afford my work- custom or not.”
“Might I see what you’ve drawn up? I heard from Aubrey that you have a tendency to undercharge for your work, and, as you just said, my son and former employee should be able to afford your work. The beaded dress my son ruined, for example, should cost twenty-five hundred dollars, bare minimum. I would charge much more than that, especially with how much work is put behind hand-beading.” Marinette could do nothing but gape at her childhood idol. She had been expecting a bribe, a threat, something to try to protect his son.
She pulled the paper out of her purse when he raised an eyebrow, pulling the video up on her phone. “Césaire was stupid enough to put her phone in the corner where I could track everyone’s movements, and I can figure everything out if I can get Markov. I figured out who destroyed what and calculated what they owe from there. I don’t know who picked the lock to the upper floors, or to my room, though my money’s on either Césaire or Rossi. Césaire’s obsessed with being a great reporter while Rossi is a liar and a thief. Harleprè, Lavaillant, Bruel, Couffaine, and Lahiffe owe the least, they didn’t do much. They just ripped a few pages out of my sketchbook. Raincompx, le Chein, Césaire, Rossi, Agreste, and Kantè did the most damage, and so will face the bigger lawsuits. I have already contacted my clients and informed them of the slight delay. Your team of designers, while most appreciated, will not be necessary. It shouldn’t take me more than a few days to recreate the Wayne’s suits and send them off, I sent the dresses yesterday. Jagged and Clara will both be in Paris next week and can stop by my house to pick up their outfits and have a final fitting. I can easily deliver the Tsurugi chensogams to their home. That covered everyone that had their outfits for the gala destroyed. I had finished the majority of them yesterday and done the final checks before sending them off. I was supposed to send the Wayne suits off today, though that plan was foiled. I was lucky that I went ahead and finished my commissions rather than more personal projects. Most of what got destroyed were projects my classmates requested of me rather than important works.”
“Are you positive you don’t want help? At least on your beaded dress?”
Marinette pulled up pictures of what she had. “I have several different scraps of colors, most of them either on the darker end of the spectrum or metalic, from the works they destroyed. I’m going to use those scraps from my other works to make a pair of wings on the back of the dress, the colors getting darker the further down they go and metalic fabrics making the outline of the wings.”
Gabriel considered the dress. “You’ll look like a fallen angel. I hope you’re still planning on charging my son the full amount for the dress.”
“Most definitely. There will be some alterations I make besides the wings, putting some pieces back together, cutting or tearing others, partially rebeading sections, I have some work to put in. Your son added to my work load when it was already full, he personally destroyed not only my dress but Jagged and Penny’s outfits as well. Might I know what punishment he is suffering?”
“So you can plan revenge accordingly?” Gabriel questioned. He sighed at her innocent expression. “He will no longer attend François-DuPont. He will basically be under house arrest for everything except shoots until after the gala. I am undecided as to whether he shall go to another school or be permanently homeschooled. He is not allowed any contact with his former classmates nor access to social media or his phone. So if you wish to strike, do it right after a photo shoot. You can do it before or during as long as you don’t ruin the clothes on display.”
Marinette’s grin was pure evil. “Don’t worry, Monsieur Agreste. I have too much respect for the work designers put into their work to be so crass. Will Agreste still practice fencing with Kagami?”
“I shall allow it on a trial basis.”
“Very well. It was nice meeting with you, Monsieur Agreste, but I must take my leave. I have too much to do before I traumatize, I mean get payback, I mean revenge, wait, no, deal with my classmates after the gala. But before I go… You wouldn’t happen to know anyone that would be able to teach me how to, how should I phrase this… I guess basically be an Ice Queen?”
Gabriel smirked. “Actually, my nephew, Felix Graham de Vanily, will be at the gala. He’s a model from England, and many consider him an Ice King. He’d be a great teacher.” And perhaps potential mate to bring you into the family. I wonder how many love akumas it would take to get you two together… perhaps Adrien needs a good influence his age around the Manor…
Marinette slightly felt as though she had signed her future away, though that was ridiculous so she simply thanked Gabriel before leaving.
⏳
The next few days flew by in a rush of designing and lawyers. The lawyers her parents got were more than willing to come to the bakery and talk to Marinette as she sewed, especially since she had eyeballed them and given them all scarves and beanies the next time they were there. Marinette didn’t bother to pay attention in Bustier’s class, electing to nap instead. She was awake for Mendeleiev’s classes, though. She liked her dragon-like teacher as the woman actually taught her students. She managed to finish her clients’ clothes with time to spare, having gotten so used to designing for Jagged, Penny, and Clara that very few adjustments needed to be made. A couple Wayne suits had come back with notes on where they needed to be adjusted and how, and those were shipped back out that same day. Her own dress took until the last minute, Marinette completely finishing it, including adjustments, the day before she was set to leave for the gala. She would be staying with Jagged and Penny in the Wayne Manor for the two weeks she was to be there, a week before the gala and a week after. Her classmates’s parents were horrified to hear what their children had done, making sure the kids paid every penny of what Marinette was suing for without even going to court. Alix and Nathaniel had nearly gotten in trouble with their families, though Marinette was quick to personally visit and explain things. Apparently the other families had contacted the Kurtzburg’s and Kubdel’s about the scandal with the children, no one noticing that some of the children weren’t involved.
She already had her traveling designing kit packed so that she could make sure the Wayne’s outfits all fit properly. Chloè and Kagami were traveling with her, determined to make sure their former rival was well taken care of while their parents took care of the hotel. Jagged was fuming beside Marinette whole they rode through Gotham, the girl talking to her friends.
“So, Mari-hime, you told me that you would explain what was going on if Adrien refused to before we left."
Marinette gave Kagami a highly stressed smile. "I think watching the video would explain things better. I didn’t want you to get akumatized because of me while we were in Paris.”
“So you knew Adrien would refuse to tell me what crime he committed against you. What video?”
Marinette pulled it up on her tablet. “For the record, I simply suspected that he would keep his mouth shut. Though Monsieur Agreste is making sure that his interactions with anyone besides himself, Madame Sancouer, and his bodyguard are highly limited.” She passed Kagami the tablet, Chloè leaning over to watch it with her.
The Japanese girl dropped the tablet in her lap as she watched, clenching her fists so hard that her palms bled. “How- how dare that baka! They all have no honor! They should meet my blade!”
“Kagami. Calm down. I have it handled. I want you and Chloè to teach me how to be a vengeful Ice Queen while we’re here. Monsieur Agreste suggested talking to his nephew for lessons as well. By the time I’m back in Paris, I don’t want our classmates to be able to recognize me. I already have some revenge planned, the wheels for those are already in motion. I messaged the Césaire and Lahiffe families to inform the entire family that I will be unable to babysit for them for the foreseeable future. Ambassador Rossi has a request in her inbox to visit the school while we are gone, as Rossi’s classmates would love to hear about what it’s like to be an ambassador. The le Chein family was sent a list of tutors for their son’s failing grades, unfortunately all those tutors work at the same time as mandatory swim practice. I sent Luka a copy of the video, so Kitty Section is about to loose their lead guitarist so that he can learn under my dear uncle. Agreste will be facing a startling amount of bad luck for a good chunk of time whilst loosing all of his beloved friends. By the time I am finished, even Hawkmoth won’t want to work with them.”
Chloè stared at her friend. “Did you really just say ‘whilst?’ Who hurt you? I just want to talk.”
Jagged continued to sulk. “She won’t even let me send my rockin followers after those bloody rats. She’s only letting me steal away a new guitarist!”
“Because I have everything planned out. And Agreste will become even more isolated once we return. No matter what I say, Kagami is going to duel him to the, figurative, death before informing him of her distaste for him and his actions.”
Kagami mock glared at Marinette. “So what if I do? He deserves it. He deserves much worse. But how will he become more isolated? I will still be sparring with him twice a week.”
“A person is more isolated surrounded by people that don’t care about them than all on their own. Yes, you will physically be there. But your obvious emotional distance will leave him more isolated than him being stuck in his room all day.”
Chloè stared at her new friend. “Where was all this evil cunningness when I was your bully?”
Marinette smirked. “I had a wake-up call. Césaire, ironically, taught me that it’s okay to stand up for myself, and Hawkmoth helped release a part of me I had blocked out.”
“What? Were you akumatized? How did I not know?” Chloè demanded.
Marinette waved her hand dismissively. “It was a few days before we actually became friends, and he didn’t manage to akumatize me. He possessed my dress, but I refused to work with him. Apparently he’s wanted to akumatize me for a while, but I’m good at forcing myself to calm down.”
“What was he going to call you?” Chloè was highly excited to finally have someone who knew what it was like to fully resist Hawkmoth. Not calm down before the butterfly reached them, not resist for a second before giving in, but fully resist the man.
“Mistress Hawthorne.” Marinette laughed. “I was going to have the ability to turn my ruined dreams into hawthorn bushes that would trap everyone in their castle and force them to see the truth.” Marinette had to stop, she was laughing so hard. “I told him no, and he was so shocked that he only argued for a second before wishing me luck with revenge!”
Jagged continued to sulk through the teens laughter, refusing to give in. He wanted to crush those bloody teens. No one gets away with hurting his niece.
⏳
As soon as she arrived at the manor and had her bags unpacked, Marinette began tracking down the Wayne’s, one by one, and dragging them back to her room with their suits or dresses, forcing them to put them on so that she could fully alter them to her preference. Dick was scared of the tiny Asian girl that slung him over her shoulder before grabbing his suit and forcing him to come with her when he hesitated and then worked silently, ignoring his attempts at friendship. He was so scared of her that he sprinted the other direction the first time he saw Kagami. Jason and Bruce both wanted to adopt the girl- she blended in perfectly with their family, and Jason had witnessed both, the girl’s kidnapping of his brother and Dick running away from Kagami. He had to respect someone who could instill more fear than Demon Spawn himself, and Bruce wanted to cultivate that talent until he got a Nightingale. Damian and Cass both respected the girl for her professionalism and silence (and word of her traumatizing Dick had already spread through the manor). Tim instantly fell in love with the girl, as she asked him if he wanted coffee or tea while they were doing his fitting, as he looked dead on his feet (he did not choose both or cry tears of joy, and no one can prove to Alfred that he did). Selina purred at the amount of pure chaos she could feel pouring off of the girl, even with her suppressing it while she worked. She needed a kitten. Bruce already had his litter, it was her turn. Kor'i bounced in place the whole time, trying not to inturupt the girl as she adjusted her glorious creation.
Jagged disappeared with Bruce after his fitting, explaining to the billionaire what Marinette had been going through, even showing him the video of her work getting destroyed, before asking for his help to get revenge. He explained Marinette’s known plans, and the rocker and vigilante began planning around hers, using their collective contacts and knowledge to open the class’s wounds even deeper.
Dinner that night was chaos. Jason, Selina, Bruce, and Jagged were in a constant argument, with Penny occasionally interjecting, that abruptly cut off any time Marinette drew near, she was only able to catch the words adoption and revenge, Kagami and Cass spent their time in silence, eyeing each other. Chloè didn’t breathe while swapping between berating Dick and Tim for their fashion choices and interigating them about Gotham and its foreign student transfer policies. Damian scowled at everyone the entire time from his seat next to Marinette. Marinette did her best to emulate him, not noticing Dick slowly sliding his chair further and further away from her.
Damian decided he liked tolerated Marinette five days into her stay. Dick had been complaining to him and Jason about how much Asian girls scared him and Kor'i wanting them to live with them. Marinette had somehow heard his complaints and came storming up to them, cussing Dick out in a mixture of French, Mandarin, Arabic, Italian, and English. Damian did not know why that caused a blush to creep up his face, though he admired the way her accent curled around the words, making everything seem like a language all of its own.
Jason chuckled when she walked off. “That. That was the art of cussing at its finest. I’m getting Alfed and we’re going to go teach my new little sister how to shoot guns. Angel’s my favorite, you can all suck it.” Jason walked off in the same direction the girl had left in. It didn’t take but forty-two minutes for the sound of gunfire to echo around the house.
⏳
The night before the gala, the women in Wayne Manor gathered in Marinette’s room. The night was spent coaching her on how to act and reveal her identity, both on the carpet and during the gala.
“Don’t fret so much, kit.” Selina advised. “You are a queen, act as such. Keep you head up and keep your cool. They’ll all be tripping over themselves to speak to you, and you don’t give them the time of day.” Chloè nodded her agreement, even as Kagami objected.
“You’re approachable and professional at the same time. Just let people see both sides of you.”
The women continued to argue, Marinette finally escaping to talk to Alfred. She spent the night under his tutelage, learning all she could about presentation. The man finally ushered her off to bed. “You have a long day tomorrow. You will need sleep to get through it.”
⏳
Once arriving at the gala, Marinette kept her head high as she glided down the carpet, the press quickly stopping her to ask if she was a new Wayne and what happened to her dress. “No.” She offered a small smile to them. “I’m the designer MDC. The Wayne’s hired me to design their suits, and were kind enough to offer their home to me and my aunt and uncle, even letting two of my best friends, Tsurugi Kagami and Chloè Bourgeois, spend the majority of their time with me at the Manor. My parents live in France, where I will be returning to in a weeks time. My room was broken into a few weeks ago, and some of my classmates ruined the outfits I had in there, including my dress. I decided to take what they did to my dress and use it as proof that nothing will bring me down. Excuse me, I need to go. I do not wish to keep my companions waiting.” Marinette offered them a small bow before leaving them, giving the press a good look at the drooping angel wings sewn on the back of her dress.
“Angel,” One of the reporters breathed, leading to a frenzy. MDC was announced to the world that night as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angel of Gotham.
⌛
Finding her group was easy, and it was almost just as easy to spot Felix, Gabriel’s nephew. She grabbed Damian by his forearm, the boy too startled by her random action to react, and drug him over to the boy she assumed was Felix.
She tapped.the boy on his shoulder. “Excuse me, are you Felix?”
The boy gave a hesitant nod. “Great! I want the two of you to teach me as much as you can about being a vengeful Ice Queen.”
Felix raised one eyebrow, looking between the girl and the scowling boy. “What do we get out of it?”
“You get to live with the knowledge that I am going to use your teachings to traumatize idiotic classmates and I can keep the girls from making passes at you, as you are already occupied with entertaining a lady.”
The boys both quickly gave their consent, refusing to let the girl leave their side for even a moment the entirety of the gala. They were appeased enough with the girl that her lessons continued throughout the following week, the boys enchanted enough with her to seriously consider following her to Paris and watching her strike like a coiled viper.
⌛
When Marinette returned to school, she had changed. Not just in personality, no, she changed everything. Her personality (at school), her hairstyle, her clothes, everything was redone to fit who she had become. Flowy black pants, a black sleeveless top held up by a ribbon that wrapped around her neck, a red leather jacket loosley hung on her frame, and black boots could be seen under the pants.. Her gaze was frozen as it swept over the class. She was unsurprised to see Adrien sitting in his usual seat, Gabriel had informed her of his decision to place Adrien back in Bustier’s class for the time being so that Marinette could teach him a lesson. Alix and Nathaniel had transfered out of the class as soon as they had learned of what the students had done, moving to Madame Mendeleiev’s class. Chloè was also leaving, though she was transferring to Gotham after the week was up. She wanted that week to be able to watch the havoc Marinette would wreck on the class. Kagami had already decided to join the class, and Marinette spotted her in Nathaniel’s old seat. She was not expecting to see Felix frowning next to Kagami, nor Damian smirking at the back of the blond’s head. Thanks to those very boys, though, it was amazingly easy to hide her surprise. A smirk crawled its way across her face, even as she stepped far enough into the room that everyone could see her. She had timed her entrance perfectly. As soon as the class went to explode with praises and questions, the bell rang, Madame Bustier walking in and asking them to all take their seats. Marinette made sure her steps were conscice enough to make it seem as though she was gliding up the rows, refusing to shoot her classmates so much as a glance.
Lila walked into the room moments later, late, her gaze zeroing in on Felix. “Felibear! It’s so nice to see you again!” She squealed, rushing up the steps.
Felix stopped her with a cold glare. “Do I know you?”
Alya glared at the blond. “How could you ask your girlfriend if you know her? Especially since everyone knows you transfered to François-DuPont for her!”
Felix looked scandalized. “I did no such thing! I came here on request of my uncle. There are very few people here that I know from previous endeavors.”
Lila burst out into tears. “H-how could you treat me like this? At least my Damiboo didn’t do this!”
“Damiboo?” Marinette asked. Clearly Bustier wasn’t going to stop the girl.
“Oh, I forgot you weren’t here!” A sly grin crawled across Lila’s face. “I suppose Damiboo didn’t speak to you the whole time you were in Gotham, otherwise you would have known I used to date Damian Wayne!” The girl boasted.
Marinette looked at the horrified expression on her deskmate’s face, and began her countdown. “I would never date a harlot like you!” He burst out, unable to stop himself. The class turned to stare at him, then realized that he had been just ahead of Marinette when the Wayne’s and Jagged Stone arrived at the gala.
A slow smirk crawled across Marinette’s lips, erasing the smile she had given her friends. “Do tell, Lila. I would love to hear all about your relationship with the Wayne’s. Or about you dating Felix here. Oh! What about your relationship with my uncle? Save any of his cats lately? Let’s not forget Clara Nightingale! Since she steals her music and dance moves from you, perhaps we could get a preview for her next video?”
Adrien frowned at Marinette. She seemed… different. “Mari, don’t be so mean! Your supposed to be our everyday Ladybug, the better-”
“Agreste, if example is the next word to come out of your mouth I will steal Chloè’s six inch stiletto right off of her foot and shove it down your throat while I laugh at your struggles.” Adrien’s mouth snapped shut as he paled, the class staring at Marinette in shock.
“Marinette! That was uncalled for!” Madame Bustier frowned at the girl. Perhaps letting her go to Gotham was a mistake.
“Really, Madame Bustier? From where I’m sitting, it was perfectly called for. Agreste is not going to use my emotions to manipulate me into being the perfect placemat anymore. You are not going to manipulate me into being the perfect victim. I will no longer tolerate this class’s treatment of me. Four people in this room have the authority to call me by a nickname. They know who they are. Four people have the ability to ask something of me. None of them were the ones that destroyed my sketchbook or commissions. None of them told me that I always have to be the better person and set an example for my classmates. I refuse to allow myself to be used any longer.”
Alya glared at her friend as the rest of the class stared at the noirette in shock or turned their head away from her in shame. “Girl, what are you talking about? First you want us to pay you a while bunch of money, and now you don’t want to do anything for us?”
Damian started to retort himself, stopped by Marinette’s hand on his arm. Her voice was frosted fire when she commanded the room. “Everyone in this room, excluding my four friends and our teacher, had a hand I destroying commissions for the Wayne gala, requests from all of you, and my sketchbook. That is why you were sued for damages. Some of you paid more than others because Alya was gracious enough to post a video she had taken of what you did on her blog that allowed me to see who destroyed what. That allowed me to see exactly who has hell to pay.” The dangerous smirk several of her classmates had noticed danced across her face yet again, like a sword would dance in the hands of Robin.
Adrien scoffed. “you’re just a baker’s daughter. What could you possibly do?” He paled not long after the words flew out of his mouth, remembering what his father had told him.
“You look like you just remembered that I am not just a baker’s daughter. Why don’t you share with the class?” Marinette offered up one of her customary sunshine smiles, though Adrien was not fooled this time, quickly yelling the class exactly what his father had told him.
Lila blanched. Forget the Agreste’s and that stupid reporter, she should have set her sights on Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Marinette smiled down at the class, her court sitting in the back two rows with her. Chloè had kicked Felix out of his seat next to Kagami, and Felix had nudged Marinette into the middle of the bench, sandwiching her between Damian and himself.
Her blue eyes were frigid as she glared down upon her kingdom. The time for the Queen of Light was over- Darkness had come for her, and she welcomed them with open arms. Her crown darkened, from gold and diamonds to silver and onyx, and her reign had only begun.
This is amazing
So, after a long day of exciting news (Harry Potter West End Play, Richard Simmons having a Twitter) and horrible finals (sentence diagramming, really??), I logged on to Facebook before getting ready to go to bed. BIG mistake. My extended family (all of whom grew up (and many of which stayed living) in an extremely rural area) decided to voice their opinions on the recent remarks made by Phil Robertson. If you do not know what I am talking about, you can read the full interview here, but here are some of the more jaw-dropping quotes:
- “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”
- “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men, don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
- “For the sake of the Gospel, it was worth it,” Phil tells me. “All you have to do is look at any society where there is no Jesus. I’ll give you four: Nazis, no Jesus. Look at their record. Uh, Shintos? They started this thing in Pearl Harbor. Any Jesus among them? None. Communists? None. Islamists? Zero. That’s eighty years of ideologies that have popped up where no Jesus was allowed among those four groups. Just look at the records as far as murder goes among those four groups.”
And that’s not even getting into the racist remarks he made about the happiness of pre-civil rights African Americans. Shocked? So was I, as well as sickened, ashamed, and downright disgusted. So when I saw the following status update by a family member (which has been liked 44 times so far), I became upset. Revision: I was incensed.
“It doesn’t bother me if a man loves man or a women loves a women. I’m ok with. However it is so ridiculous if someone disagrees with that idea they are scrutinized and ridiculed for just saying what they believe in. People use to have the right to there opinion. Remember this: The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with.”
There are a few things wrong with this statement (not including grammatical issues). First of all, Phil Robertson was representing A&E, a network with a revenue of $1250M+ and a reputation to uphold. In private, Robertson can hold on to his opinions, but in the media he is contractually obliged to represent A&E in a positive way. A&E was supportive and showcased the Robertson family’s religion on air, but drew the line at offensive comments. Gay-bashing is clearly not an image the cable network wishes to have.
Now let’s look at the following statement: “the politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with.” The “politically correct crowd”? And by that you mean the crowd who refuses to accept gay-bashing, correct?
I read a Tweet by Maureen Johnson earlier today linking to a post she made on the topic. In her entry, she said,
“To all those who are saying, “Tolerance goes both ways…” …this isn’t tolerance. If you think this looks like tolerance, you do not know what tolerance looks like. You have confused tolerance with non-tolerance and that is actually a pretty big mistake. When you call any group of people the root of sin, you’re not being tolerant. You’re being a bigot. You assume moral authority where you have none. You would FREAK OUT if someone did this to you, but you expect the people you are addressing (and make no mistake, you address some of your friends and loved ones) to roll over and take it. Take the blow to their pride and personhood and psychological state. Tolerance! No. This is not tolerance, so stop throwing the word around like a boomerang, because that thing is headed back to you and is about to hit you square between the eyes.”
I was immediately thrown by the response Maureen got from her followers. Several people replied saying that they would unfollow her because of the statements she made in her post, yet her article was completely well-spoken and not at all offensive. Did she stick up for the LGBTQ community? Of course, but did she do it in a way that also encompassed religion? I believe she did.
So after reading a stream of comments on my family member’s post (and becoming increasingly upset), I decided that instead of saying something directly, I would link to Maureen’s post. Do you think anyone read it?
That would be a no. In fact, several minutes after I linked the blog post, another family member contributed this lovely remark to the conversation:
"It seems as though Christians are surely getting discriminated against…but people such as Miley Cyrus can do perverse and ugly things and become more famous for it. UGH! I guess I did not consider anything [Robertson] said to be "HATE SPEECH.” To each their own. But I as a Christian, am deeply offended anytime we are unable to voice our Christian opinion or quote the Bible. EVERYONE is entitled to their opinions and Freedom of Speech. So many of our rights are being taken from us. America is sadly declining…and whether you agree with me or not…Christians are constantly losing their rights.“
This is when I truly lost it. To hear my family, albeit my extended family, talk like this made me feel so disheartened. I don’t believe in generation gaps. I believe in knowledge and empathy gaps. I decided I could not remain quiet. Hoping I would not overload the comment system, I wrote a lengthy reply:
"I really did not want to get into this, but what Phil Robertson said was not appropriate for the setting. He was representing A&E, which is why they chose to let him go. Now, I do think religion is extremely important and those who practice or believe have valid thoughts and opinions, but we also need to consider that the Bible says a lot of things that are no longer valid or are outright ridiculous because it the text was written over a vast amount of time, starting approximately 3500 years ago, by innumerable parties. Consider these eleven outdated/ridiculous things that do not apply to modern society:
Round haircuts. (so I guess that means no Beatles?):
Leviticus 19:27 reads “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.”
Classic football, bacon, etc:
Leviticus 11:8, which is discussing pigs, reads “You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.”
Fortune telling:
Leviticus 19:31 reads “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.”
The penalty for that? Check Leviticus 20:6:
“As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.”
Birth control:
Genesis 38:9-10: “Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also.”
Tattoos.
Leviticus 19:28 reads, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.”
Polyester, or any other fabric blends:
Leviticus 19:19 reads, “You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.”
Divorce, because when you marry someone, according to Mark 10:8, you “are no longer two, but one flesh.” And:
Mark 10:9 reads, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Mark 10:11-12, “And He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.’”
Lacking testicles:
Deuteronomy 23:1 reads “A man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the Lord.”
Babies out of wedlock:
Deuteronomy 23:2 reads, “No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.”
Wearing gold:
1 Timothy 2:9 :
“Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments.”
The majority of food:
Leviticus 11:10 reads, “But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you.”
Leviticus 11 bans a TON of animals from being eaten (it’s THE basis for Kosher law); beyond shellfish and pig, it also says you can’t eat camel, rock badger, rabbit, eagle, vulture, buzzard, falcon, raven, crow, ostrich, owl, seagull, hawk, pelican, stork, heron, bat, winged insects that walk on four legs unless they have joints to jump with like grasshoppers (?), bear, mole, mouse, lizard, gecko, crocodile, chameleon and snail.
Your wife defending your life in a fight by grabbing your attacker’s genitals:
Deuteronomy 25:11-12. “If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.”
So yes, everyone is prone to have an opinion, but if those opinions are voiced aloud and bash another’s lifestyle or belief system, then should they be welcomed? no matter what the Bible says, hate is hate and love is love. It really upsets me when I hear people say incredibly cruel remarks, and what Phil Robertson said (on television, no less) was cruel and hurtful to hundreds of thousands of people.”
My families response? Zip. Nada. Nothing. I got one reply restating what had already been said, and was written off. The best part of the whole experience? NOT ONE OF THEM HAD ACTUALLY WATCHED THE SHOW OR READ THE ORIGINAL INTERVIEW. How is that for an informed opinion?
And this is why I will no longer be checking my Facebook before bed.
