Chapter Text
SHE WAS DOOMED. She was literally doomed. Jagged's documentary was coming out in the next week, and she had at least ten interviews and photoshoots to attend to. Jagged's team was also dropping snippets, so there would be different five second clips of her episode, and she had already muted most of her social medias. The MDC fans would go crazy, and she knew it.
"Penny, talk to me," she said, picking up her phone. Penny had become like her very own assistant.
"Okay, they're dropping the teaser from the documentary at noon, so be careful, and be ready. Another thing, you have a cover with Vogue this week."
"What?" she nearly shouted.
"Vogue on Monday, Cosmopolitan on Tuesday, Elle on Wednesday, and Vanity Fair on Thursday. After your episode releases, those articles will be published, then you'll have Rolling Stone, People, Us Weekly, and Wired. And a puppies video with Buzzfeed," Penny explained. Marinette choked on her coffee.
"You're joking," she said. "Right?"
"Not at all." She almost sounded apologetic. This was publicity for her, and they both knew it. She would have commissions from celebrities lining up, and to be honest, she couldn't wait. She'd planned for this her whole life, or maybe ever since she started fashion designing, and it was crazy to think that after her debut with Jagged on the red carpet that she'd get this famous. MDC was known worldwide but she never thought she'd make it outside of Paris. But with the help of Chloé's mom and nearly every celebrity she'd worked with, she'd gotten to a point where the word embroidery was associated with MDC. It was insane to even think about.
Marinette sighed. "Okay. So are these in the morning or in the afternoon?"
"Alternate. Monday and Wednesday's are in the morning, so make sure you call Chloé so she can cover for you," said Penny. "Tuesday and Thursday are in the afternoon, right after lunch, and since you only have study hall after lunch you'll make it just fine."
"Okay. Is that it?"
"No. For Vogue, you'll cover your growth and history with Jagged, for Elle, you'll do a photoshoot and your story with fashion designing, for Cosmopolitan, a simple word and a short interview, Vanity Fair will talk about your pieces. We've yet to figure out the others."
"Will I make it back in time for my morning classes?"
"Depending on how long it takes, I have no idea."
"Hell, okay. Now is that it?"
Penny sighed. "Yes. And be careful today, there's gonna be a lot of bullshit on the internet about you after the first teaser."
"I got it," Marinette chewed on her bottom lip. "Thank you."
"No problem." And then the line disconnected.
She had to make another call. She pressed Chloé's contact, putting the ringer on speaker as she got to work on another piece.
"What do you need, Mari?" said Chloé. She hadn't even bothered saying hello.
"Can you cover for me on Monday and Wednesday?"
"For what?" Chloé asked. She seemed distracted, though Marinette didn't notice. She was too busy cutting her fabric pattern.
"Photoshoots and interviews at Vogue and Elle?"
"Holy shit?" she squealed. "That's fucking crazy?"
"I've had photoshoots with these companies before!"
Chloé tsked. "Yes, but those we're masked photoshoots. Remember that one you did with Rolling Stone? That was awesome." It was awesome. Marinette had gone there as MDC, taking a black and white photoshoot with the mag. She'd made a face mask, covering the bottom half of her face, embroidered with dashed lines and sewed on appliqué butterflies. The photo cut off her jaw and the shape of her face, masking her gender so that she wouldn't be suspected. Her hands had covered her eyes, with similar lace gloves and the same butterflies. The #MDCxRollingStone had been trending for hours.
"Okay, yes. But can you cover for me?"
"I'll figure something out," answered Chloé. "Also, mind if I come over later?"
Marinette smiled. "Not at all. We've even got a fresh batch of lemon squares." She could see Chloé's wild smile.
"I'll be there soon."
JAGGED STONE: THE DOCUMENTARY'S FIRST TEASER
"Just today, the official Twitter and Instagram of Jagged Stone's documentary dropped a fifteen (15) second teaser of the show! Insiders say that they will be doing this everyday leading up to the first day release of the show."
1min
HOLY CR*P, WAS THAT THE MDC?
"Was it just me who noticed the same room from MDC's instagram post? No? Okay good, cause we gotta start our brain gears cause holy &#*$(# hell, we're getting into this."
2min
TRENDING
MDC
Fans spotted MDC's room in Jagged Stone: The Documentary Teaser
Trending with Jagged Stone, Jagged Stone: The Documentary
POWDER BLUE
MDC's design room features powder blue walls. Iconic.
Trending with MDC, Jagged Stone
isabel @MDCP0WDERBLU3
DID YALL SEE THAT HOLY CRAP
[ photo one : a blurry screenshot of the clip of MDC's design room in the teaser. ]
[ photo two : an even blurrier screenshot of MDC's clip from the teaser, a zoom in on a hand. ]
[ photo three : photo two, but made more HD. ]
tals @clarqsnightinqale
replying to @MDCP0WDERBLU3
OH MY GOD IS THAT MDC
isabel @MDCP0WDERBLU3
replying to @clarqsnightinqale
I THINK SO ?????????????? DUDE THIS IS CRAZY
mdc ✓ @OfficialMDC
i'm guessing you all saw me in the teaser? ;)
"MAYBE I SHOULD BECOME A FAMOUS FASHION DESIGNER," pondered Chloé. She had a lemon square in hand, legs crossed one over the other as she relaxed on the couch. Marinette was right where she usually was, at her desk, surrounded by needles and pins and fabric.
"Don't recommend," muttered Marinette. "Hectic. Crazy. Never get to sleep. Ever."
Chloe snorted, taking another bite off her lemon square. "Maybe that's cause yours is hand-made."
"It's my style."
"Yes I know. That's exactly why you're famous. Insane designs and insane embroidery and painting."
"I rarely paint, you know," corrected Marinette.
"But you still have pieces that are handpainted." She wasn't wrong. Marinette had made one or two designs, painted with luscious flowers and greens on a pearly white fabric canvas. It had been a set for Ophelia Vane, a rising indie pop singer who had gotten MDC's contact information from her new best friend, Thalia Whyte, who had at least ten pieces from MDC.
"Okay, I'll admit, there are a few." She'd hung them up on the other side of the room, where those moveable racks held her pieces that hadn't gone to anyone at all, or garment bags filled with commissions that were yet to be delivered or received.
"See?"
Marinette rolled her eyes and chuckled, returning back to her work.
Two hours later, they were still there, and Marinette had finished most of the piece. She was down to the hard part, embroidery. Chloé had long run out of lemon squares, and was now lying on her back, scrolling and reading tweets under the MDC hashtag.
"Helene, @mdcsloves says she called your identity reveal."
"Marc @themdceclipses says that you are the most awaited person of the year."
"Rey @powersblqck says that there's nothing more exciting than seeing a new MDC design drop."
Marinette was flushed from all the compliments. She went through most of them, of course, trying her best to reply, but it was getting harder and harder from all the attention she'd been getting recently. She'd scrolled through hate as well, saying that she didn't deserve her platform or that she wasn't cut out to be a designer. Her designs were made for young kids or that they were made for oldies with no taste. It made no sense, she just wanted to make people happy, but some just don't want to be. Mari knew there was nothing she could do to change it, but still, it bothered her to her bones.
It hurt to even think about the amount of hate she would start to get once her identity reveal happened. There were tons of female designers, but they worked twice as hard as men in the industry and that made it even harder for her to want to get out into the world. There was something so appealing of staying anonymous, but she couldn't hide the secret any longer without losing anymore friendships. It was a make it or break it moment for her, and there would come a time where maybe she'd regret this decision. She already was starting to regret it, from the way her schedule was even more packed or she somehow had no choice but to hide in her parents bakery forever, of course, since there would be tons of paparazzi waiting at her beck and call now.
"You're sure you want to do this?" asked Chloé. She could already see the pain in Marinette's face and she had no idea what to do.
"I'm sure," she whispered. "It's getting late, you should head home."
Chloé checked the time. It was only 9pm, and Paris was in full bloom. It was a Saturday night, and the lights everywhere were bright and shining. She was sure that most of her classmates were likely out clubbing, sipping on drinks and dancing the night away. Possibly including Adrien, who had stopped answering after 7pm. His father had stopped sheltering him, and he was allowed more freedom more often now. She was happy for him. She wondered why Marinette was acting weird, since Chloé usually headed out in the early morning. She'd fall asleep on the chaise, and wake up near the crack of dawn to find Marinette asleep at the desk. Sometimes, she wasn't even asleep, and had empty mugs that used to fill coffee strewn around the room. She could tell where Marinette worked too, from the way there was a few loose threads and fabrics on the floor or on the other chaise. She'd take her own blanket and wrap it around Marinette, closing the curtains and taking all the mugs to their kitchen. It wasn't much, but it was what she could do.
two months ago
mdc ✓
[ a photo of a square of fabric, and a wet paintbrush. ]
tagged @theopheliavane
mdc super excited for this one!
ROLLING STONE
[ insert a cropped black and white photo of MDC, hands in gloves and artfully covering their eyes. A face mask covered the lower half of their face, and butterflies and glittering silvered thread shot through both the gloves and the mask. It was impossible to tell whether they were a female or male. ]
NEW AND UPCOMING DESIGNER MDC makes her debut on the red carpet with a tuxedo for Jagged Stone. The rock star was all to blame for their debut, and it was the most intricate design we've ever seen.
[...]
Make sure to watch out for MDC's future designs. They might just blow your mind.