Cupidity
is an Alternate Universe Fic made by RockSunner, for Miraculous Ladybug. Part of the Smart Adversaries AU for Miraculous Ladybug on AO3, in which Ladybug villains make smarter decisions. The series has a tropes page here.
This is a three-chapter work and it is now complete.
This fanfiction series contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: A What If? with the change that Dark Cupid targets Marinette instead of Alya when she is mailing her valentine, resulting in an Adrien-hating Ladybug.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Marinette hates her parents because of Dark Cupid and she wants to raise enough money through crime to live on her own.
- Anti-Hero: Ladybug under the influence of Dark Cupid has not-nice ideas about how to stop Hawk Moth. She thinks if she kidnaps Dark Cupid and holds him prisoner that Hawk Moth will be blocked from creating more akumas. Fortunately for Kim, Hawk Moth just pulls his power.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Hawk Moth can find out that Ladybug has feelings for Adrien, a strong clue to her identity and a source of leverage against her.
- Call-Back: The voicemail message for Gabriel Agreste from "Oblivio" is used.
- Disability Immunity: Since Marinette was made loveless by Dark Cupid's arrow, he can't make Ladybug worse. His ranged weapon is useless against her.
- Enemy Mine: Averted. Dark Cupid doesn't find a way to offer to help Ladybug. Her worst enemy is her former love, Adrien, not Chat Noir.
- Face–Heel Turn: Ladybug under the influence of Dark Cupid turns to crime, holding Adrien for ransom.
- Fix Fic: In real life, an unstamped valentine with no address would not go through the mail. This fic explains how it could have reached Adrien anyway by getting stuck to another letter (except that Ladybug destroys it).
- Guile Hero: Adrien, without powers and tied up, manages to convince Ladybug :to kiss him and break the spell on her.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Why Ladybug says she and Adrien can't date, after he figures out that she loves him.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: When Ladybug threatens to hold Dark Cupid hostage so Hawk Moth can't create any more akumas, Hawk Moth promptly yanks the akuma and concedes the round to Ladybug.
- Love Letter Lunacy: Everything possible is wrong with Marinette's valentine: no signature, no envelope, no stamp, no address, no return address. Since she converted to hating Adrien, she didn't want him to get it anyway.
- Reverse Psychology: Adrien gets Ladybug to kiss him by telling her it will make him miserable when True Love's Kiss fails. It works and restores her to normal.
- Stations of the Canon: Some events of the original repeat with a twist. Alya still sticks candy apples on Marinette (in self defense). Ladybug still saves Chloé from an arrow shot by Dark Cupid (because Ladybug attacked the gold-framed portrait of Adrien).
- Swapped Roles: In the original, Chat Noir hated Ladybug. In this version, Ladybug hates Adrien.
- Title Drop: Ladybug makes a joke that she has to explain to Dark Cupid. "Cupidity means greed."
- The Unmasking: Ladybug learns Chat Noir's identity, but forgets it when Dark Cupid's influence is removed. Adrien has to reveal it again to get his ring back from her.
