Frightingale Fixates
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 an 3-chapter work and it is now completed. It has some spoilers for the new episodes of Season 2 (beyond the ones released March 30th, 2018 on Netflix).
This fanfiction series contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: A What If? with the change that Chloé Bougeouis takes longer to set up the perfect revenge against Clara Nightingale, so that Marinette and Adrien have to put on their costume masks.
- And I Must Scream: The fate of all Frightningale's victims, immobilized but conscious, encased in a nearly-unbreakable pink plastic shell. Hawk Moth plans to make it even worse for Marinette by transferring his wife's vampire curse onto her while she is immobilized.
- Clark Kenting: Averted when the masks are put on. Suddenly everyone realizes their secret identities.
- Dramatic Irony: When Chat Noir thinks the Agreste Mansion is a safe place to try to free Ladybug.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Gabriel and Nathalie are both arrested, and in a departure from the usual endings in the Smart Adversaries AU, Marinette and Adrien decide to remain Ladybug and Chat Noir even after being publicly unmasked.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Most Smart Adversaries fics have the nail be an action the villain takes. This one has the nail be Chloé taking longer to set up her revenge against Clara Nightingale before Frightningale is akumatized.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Adrien's bodyguard is unaware of Gabriel's criminal dealings.
- Lured into a Trap: Gabriel Agreste in pretended support for the heroes invites Marinette and her family to the Mansion. He has prepared another attack by Frightningale.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Nathalie is unable to invoke the power of the Ladybug Miraculous without knowing Tikki's name because she is not the proper wielder.
- The Unmasking: In this case, it is masking while in normal identities that exposes their secret identities.
