Fanfic / Of Patience and Pettiness

Everybody has their limits. No matter how much Marinette has striven to endure the challenges set before her — not just as Ladybug, but in her day-to-day life — one can only shoulder so much before something has to give. And after a brush with a butterfly, it's clear that following Adrien's idea of "the high road" isn't working out for her. Time to take matters into her own hands.

Yet another response to the events of the Miraculous Ladybug episode "Chameleon", Belle Amant's Of Patience and Pettiness has Marinette expose Lila's true nature to her class. But that's only the start of our story, for things don't simply go back to normal once the truth is out.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Adaptational Heroism: Chloé. In canon, her reaction to losing the Bee Miraculous is to turn traitor and out all of her former teammates to Hawk Moth in a mad attempt to get it back. Here, she accepts her retirement and sets out to prove herself worthy of a new Miraculous.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Multiple characters get hit with this, not willing to make up for the mistakes they made by hurting Marinette by taking Lila's lies as gospel truth.
• The Atoner:
  • Rose and Juleka are the first of Marinette's classmates to properly apologize for their actions and try to make amends, with both acknowledging that she doesn't owe them her forgiveness or friendship.
  • Kagami becomes this after learning that she completely misunderstood the situation at the ice rink.
  • Chloé accepts that she can no longer be Queen Bee with surprising grace, and strives to prove herself potentially worthy of bearing another Miraculous instead.
  • Nino, once he gets over his horror upon realizing how badly he betrayed Nette.
• Blatant Lies:
  • Volpina attempts to convince everyone that Rena Rouge was just a temporary stand-in while she was off on a secret mission.
  • Fixateur dismisses Marinette's questions about what she did to her parents, calling her 'paranoid' and insisting that she just startled them.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • Marinette used to believe that Adrien was deeply empathetic and compassionate. His insistence that she should 'take the high road' with Lila and Chloé causes her to realize otherwise — that he doesn't care about her feelings at all.
  • She goes through a similar process with Chat Noir, initially believing that he's the closest friend she has left in the wake of the Lila incident, only to learn that he's not as loyal a partner as she thought and that he and Adrien are one and the same.
  • Alya's regard for Ladybug takes a major blow after the debut of Arctic Fox. As far as she's concerned, Ladybug betrayed her and gave away her Miraculous for no good reason.
  • Adrien's infatuation with Ladybug tapers off after he's stripped of the Ring, as he feels that she should have done more to prevent that from happening. It withers further as he starts suspecting that Eden is Ladybug, realizing that the knowledge doesn't fill him with joy as it once might have.
  • Eden goes through this when Adrien and Alya abruptly dogpile her with brutal accusations about being a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Ladybug.
• Cassandra Truth:
  • Before she came up with her plan, Marinette had to deal with being the bearer of this for a full week.
  • Alya gets a taste of this when it's pointed out that she doesn't have any solid proof that she was Rena Rouge.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
  • Much of the plot could have been avoided if Alya had taken her own advice and checked Lila's sources.
  • After Ramier is akumatized into Mr. Pigeon for the twenty-second time, several members of Miss Bustier's class discuss the fact that there are places where he could feed the birds legally.
  • The akumatization of Eden into Asian Beetle could have been completely avoided had the victim been given any chance to defend themselves from Adrien and Alya's furious accusations.
• Critical Failure: Erreur can induce this with his marker, forcing anyone he tags with it to fail at a specific task.
• Decon-Recon Switch:
  • In the immediate aftermath of Lila's exposure, Marinette wants nothing to do with her classmates because of how they hurt her. However, the rest of the fic deals with Marinette coming to terms with her hurt and the slow process of rebuilding her friendships with her repentant classmates.
  • Ms. Bustier did nothing to stop Lila from isolating Marinette from her classmates. However, instead of being malicious or a Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher, she's shown to have genuinely had no idea what was going on under her nose. When Marinette explains why she wants to sit in the back in the wake of Lila's exposure, Ms. Bustier is horrified with herself for not noticing what was happening sooner.
• Didn't Think This Through: When Adrien tries to scold Marinette for exposing Lila, he inadvertently reveals to Nino and the others that he knew about her tall tales all along.
• Disappointed by the Motive:
  • Discussed after Ramier is akumatized for the twenty-second time, as Marinette and several of her classmates wonder about how he manages to keep getting so upset over not being able to feed the pigeons in specific areas. Especially when there are places where doing so is completely legal.
  • Marinette feels much the same way about Erreur, who was created from one of Kagami's classmates after he bombed an essay.
• Disappointed in You:
  • Ladybug uses this on both Lila and Alya at the same time after dealing with Volpina, chastising the former for lying about their supposed 'friendship' and the latter for giving her claims a platform on the Ladyblog.
  • Adrien attempts to guilt Marinette and his classmates into feeling bad for Lila after her exposure this way, but it doesn't work.
• Discontinuity Nod: Marinette comments to Tikki that she's glad to have learned how easily her 'friends' can turn upon her now, before she considered handing out any more Miraculi:
  Marinette: Imagine if I had given one to, I don't know, Max? Or Kim? God, what if I had given one to Adrien? What keeps them bound to Ladybug in a way that they wouldn't betray her as easily as they did me?
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Alya believes that her forcible retirement as Rena Rouge is a perfect example of this, and that Ladybug had no right to bench her.
  • She takes the same attitude towards Marinette's declaration that they aren't besties anymore, insisting that Mari's just trying to guilt-trip her and that it's hardly fair for her to consider 'replacing' her after a single mistake.
  • Being akumatized tends to encourage this sort of mentality. Little Fire, for instance, wants to burn her friend alive for teasing her about her temper.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Ladybug asserts that Chat Noir is her best friend, not knowing that he's not nearly as supportive of her as she thinks.
  • Chloé dismisses Adrien's support of LadyNoir as him being a Shipper on Deck, unaware that she and the others are actually pointing out the problems with his treatment of Ladybug.
  • While trying to defend her partner to Master Fu, Marinette asserts that "It's not like he'd ever give up Chat Noir because I rejected him or upset him!" Completely unaware that he threatened just that during the Syren incident.
  • In "Multimouse", Ladybug has an identity scare when her transformation drops in front of Felix — who reflexively covers their eyes. The irony is that Felix has already figured out Marinette's secret by this point.
  • Adrien believes that it's incredibly ironic that he's discovered Ladybug's identity only after losing the Ring and giving up on her in favor of Marinette. In reality, the greater irony is that he's got the wrong girl pegged, and the one he's chasing after is actually the true identity of his original target.
  • Eden's POV chapter is rife with it, as she's an outsider looking in on old classroom drama trying to wrap her head around the apparent discrepancies.
• Dramatically Missing the Point:
  • Kagami attempts to help Adrien understand the problem by asking whether he would lie to her or Marinette, and then, when he affirms that he wouldn't, asking why it was okay for Lila to deceive her 'friends' when he would never do such a thing. But he brushes that off, declaring that she was only lying to try and make friends — and they're friends already, so why would he lie to them?
  • During their official falling-out, Alya repeatedly lashes out at Marinette for not telling her that she was getting over Adrien, completely ignoring that she was Locked Out of the Loop because she was the one pushing Marinette away.
  • When Marinette calls Adrien out for never even asking how she felt about what Lila was doing, Adrien attempts to pin the blame on her, claiming that she pushed him away when he tried... ignoring the fact that he only tried talking to her about it after she exposed Lila, in order to scold her about it, as Chat Noir, which leads to her realizing his former secret identity.
  • Adrien also demonstrates this when Nino points out how, while they can't change the past, they still have the ability to change the future for the better, using his desire to fix his friendship with Nette as an example. The point he's trying to make — that they need to learn from their mistakes and make better decisions — goes sailing clear over Adrien's head, as he decides to 'fix' things by pursuing a romantic relationship with her.
• Earn Your Happy Ending:
  • Marinette is deeply hurt by her classmates' actions and her trust in them is badly shaken. As they realize the error of their ways and work to make it up to her, however, they rebuild their friendships stronger than before. Marinette also enjoys a much healthier dynamic in her new friendships, with her friends volunteering to help her out as much as she helps them and being more appreciative of the nice things she does for them.
  • Ladybug faces backlash from Chat Noir and Alya after the retirement/replacement of the temporary heroes and later Chat Noir. In the long run, these changes make Team Miraculous a more effective fighting force which is capable of handling akumas in far less time than Ladybug and Chat Noir alone. The expanded roster also takes the pressure of frequently carrying battles single-handed off of Ladybug's shoulders.
  • After seeing that Luka, Kagami, and Felix all received the same ice cream from Andre, Marinette spends several chapters downcast over the belief that they all like each other. It turns out they have the same ice cream because they all like her. Furthermore, rather than fighting over her, they agree to let Marinette choose which one she wants to date. Marinette happily begins a relationship with all three of them.
  • Adrien and Alya, the most stubborn holdouts in the class, make Marinette's life difficult in both her civilian and heroic identities with their refusal to accept they were in the wrong, culminating in the pair ganging up on an innocent civilian and creating a truly nasty akuma. This act finally leads them both to Heel Realizations, and they sincerely apologize and promise to make up for their mistakes.
  • Nino has a hard time coming to terms with his retirement as a temporary hero. He's only more horrified when he realizes how badly he treated Marinette and puts together that his poor behavior is what got him benched. His sincere guilt and earnest apology pays off in the long run, earning him a second chance with the Turtle Miraculous under a new identity.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted; Exposing Lila doesn't change how easily the others fell for her claims, and Marinette refuses to be bullied into pretending that everything is fine once the truth comes out.
• Entitled Bastard:
  • Adrien feels entitled to Ladybug's love despite her disinterest. When it finally sinks in that he's not going to get what he wants from her, he turns bitter towards her, shifting his attention towards pursuing Marinette instead.
  • Alya expects to go right back to being 'besties' with Marinette despite publicly renouncing their friendship/insisting that Lila was her best friend. She's deeply resentful about Mari's refusal to let things snap back to the status quo, blaming Kagami and Marinette for 'replacing' her.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • When Felix first arrives in his new classroom, he requests a seat in the back. Alya eagerly declares that Marinette can move back to her old seat next to her in order to free up a spot, earning a withering look and a snarky "Thank you for volunteering for somebody else, but I doubt Miss Marinette wants to move. She seems quite content in the back."
  • Eden's introduction has her cheerfully greeting her new classmates and hoping they share a miraculous school year together.
• Evil Counterpart: Poor Eden is akumatized into Asian Beetle, an orange and black version of Ladybug, after Adrien and Alya accuse her of being the real deal and rip her a new one.
• Exact Words:
  • When 'agreeing' with Alya that she was just envious of Lila, Marinette carefully phrases her response, keeping most of her thoughts to herself.
    Marinette: I realized that how I've been acting, by calling her a liar without having proof, that's really rude. Even if it's true. And I have to admit, all of the stories, they just sounded too good to be true, because they are, and I guess I just couldn't believe it, you know?
  • Truthseeker's gavel compels anyone struck by it to reveal one of their truths. When Chat takes a hit, he blurts out how he's in love with Ladybug — it's not a secret, but it's the truth.
  • Chat Noir thinks that Ladybug used this when he requests that she not bring Arctic Fox up against Hothead, only for her to arrive with Viperion as backup instead.
  • Nino uses this when he declares that he's not Carapace. Alya confronts him about this, only for him to insist that it's not a lie, given how he's not a superhero anymore.
• Fair-Weather Friend: Alya, Adrien, and the bulk of Marinette's classmates prove to be this, with how easily Lila was able to turn them against her and how reluctant the majority are to acknowledge their mistakes.
• Foil:
  • Rose serves as one to Alya in regards to how they regard to the news that Marinette and Kagami are growing closer. While Rose is surprised, she's also delighted and supportive, gushing about all the ways they can be friends. Alya, by contrast, scoffs at the idea, acting clingy and jealous.
  • Alya and Chloé handle having their heroic counterparts permanently benched very differently. While Alya continues to insist that the Fox is hers and hers alone, Chloé accepts that it's too dangerous for her to remain Queen Bee after exposing her identity, and aims to prove herself worthy of taking up a different Miraculous.
  • The fire-themed akumas Hothead and Little Fire. Hothead is loud, rude and obnoxious, growing stronger the angrier he gets, while Little Fire is a Soft-Spoken Sadist in a Tranquil Fury. The former lashes out indiscriminately, while the latter has a specific target in mind.
  • Eden is effectively a mirror reflection of Marinette if she was a New Transfer Student, gymnast instead of a fashion designer, and otherwise perfectly normal girl.
• For Want Of A Nail: In this story, Marinette exposes Lila one week after her return, and many of the events of Season 3 are prevented as a result.
  • Several classmates who are trusted with Miraculi in Season 3 never get the chance here, as Marinette's faith in them has been too badly damaged for her to consider them as candidates.
  • Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee are all permanently retired.
  • Luka becomes Arctic Fox, though he also takes a brief stint as Viperion before the Snake ultimately goes to Juleka/Reptilitany.
  • Rather than becoming Ryuko, Kagami is entrusted with the Bee and becomes Belle Abeille.
  • Following the battle with Hothead, Master Fu reclaims the Black Cat Ring from Adrien and entrusts it to Marinette along with the Miraculous Box. This eventually leads to Felix becoming Chat Ruse.
  • Party Crasher leads to the birth of two new heroes: Nino as Jade Tortue and Nathaniel as Ouragon.
• Friendly Address Privileges: Alya loses hers, with Marinette explicitly informing her that only her friends get to call her 'Mari'.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Chat Noir is incredibly jealous of the temporary heroes, particularly any who happen to be guys, as he sees them as potential competition for Ladybug's affection.
• Heel Realization: Near the end of the series, Alya and Adrien finally have one in the wake of causing Eden's akumatization by accusing her of being Ladybug — the city's heroine — and ripping her a new one.
• His Story Repeats Itself: It becomes clear that Alya has learned absolutely nothing from her experiences with Marinette and Lila after Eden comes along. Once again, she leaps to all the wrong conclusions when Adrien accuses Eden of being Ladybug, and her inability to listen costs her another friendship.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Lila's downfall comes about because of all her lies concerning Jagged; as part of her 'apology', Marinette calls him to request the song he supposedly wrote, letting the singer's honest confusion speak for itself.
  • Hothead attacks Alya, only for her to immediately start roasting him, going on a tirade that lasts long enough for Marinette to slip out and return as Ladybug.
• Hope Spot:
  • Marinette's hope that she's getting through to Alya comes crashing down when the other girl accuses her of 'replacing' her after 'one mistake'.
  • When Adrien resolves to change, after all of the mistakes he's made... for the sake of proving to Marinette that he's worthy of her, as he's decided to switch targets.
• I Know You Know I Know: Deconstructed; Adrien believes that he's figured out that Eden is Ladybug, and that they in turn know his greatest secret. But this isn't the case at all, and the further he falls into these beliefs, the more poisonous they become.
• Ignored Epiphany: When Marinette spells out for Alya just how much she hurt her by ignoring her in favor of Lila, her words seem to sink in. Then Alya asks how long it will take to repair their relationship, and Mari replies that she doesn't know how long it will take for her to regain her trust... and Alya's face hardens, angrily accusing her of replacing her over making 'one mistake'.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Though initially tapped to become Arctic Fox, Luka still gets his turn as Viperion against Hothead.
  • Similarly, Marinette still gets a turn with the Mouse after Erreur renders her unable to use her yo-yo effectively.
  • Wayhem still becomes Party Crasher out of jealousy when he sees a bunch of guys entering the Agreste Manor. Nino also helps fight him as the Turtle, though under a new identity.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Adrien accidentally reveals to the whole class that he knew the truth about Lila the whole time. Marinette then follows that up by revealing how Lila threatened her in the bathroom on her first day back.
  • The battle with Fixateur leads to Alya exposing herself as the former Fox to Arctic Fox and Chat Noir.
  • After inviting her to discuss why she doesn't trust Rena Rouge anymore, and asking her thoughts about her partner, Master Fu reveals to Marinette that Chat Noir threatened to quit during the Syren incident.
  • It's implied — and later confirmed — that Luka learned Ladybug's Secret Identity while dealing with Hothead.
  • In Chapter Twenty, Alya reveals to the whole class that she was Rena Rouge. She follows this up by trying to out Nino as Carapace, only for him to deny it.
  • Twenty-Three sees Adrien learning from Marinette that she used to have a crush on him, but got over it after he abandoned her. Which dovetails right into him Saying Too Much and her realizing that he used to be Chat Noir.
• Ironic Echo:
  • Alya calling Marinette an 'everyday Ladybug' rings hollow after how easily she turned upon her, and Marinette struggles to smile through the stinging in her chest.
  • Kagami repeats Alya's declaration about how good journalists check their sources while questioning her assertion that she was Rena Rouge.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After visiting Andre the Ice Cream Man with her friends, Marinette believes that Luka, Kagami and Felix are all destined to be together, and resolves to support their relationship... despite how her heart is breaking at the idea.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • When rejecting Ladybug's attempt to talk him down, Hothead points to her partner as proof that discussing things never works:
    Hothead: I mean, look at you and your partner! You talk and you talk, but does he ever listen? [snorts] Doesn't look like progress to me.
  • Felix finds out about Adrien's massive collection of pictures of Marinette through the morally dubious means of "borrowing" and looking through Adrien's phone without permission. He also deletes said photos, again without permission. However, he is right in pointing out that Adrien having the photos is creepy and he could get into legal trouble for taking them without Marinette's knowledge or consent.
  • When Felix calls him out on his massive collection of photos of Marinette, Adrien points out that Marinette used to have a similar collection. Nino concedes the point, but is quick to remind Adrien that Marinette's collection was also creepy, and that she at least got all of hers legally.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Alya attempts to dismiss Truthseeker as this:
    Alya: Lila brought this onto herself. She tried claiming that you were her best friend, Ladybug!
    Ladybug: Yes. And you posted the interview.
  • Chat Noir blatantly ignores Ladybug's instructions to stop taunting Hothead, and opts to focus instead on getting furious over her bringing Viperion into the fray. In the aftermath, Master Fu strips him of the Ring — something he was already planning upon doing, but Chat's conduct during the fight only makes clearer that he's no longer worthy of it.
• Liar Revealed: The truth about Lila comes out when Marinette 'apologizes' to her by calling Jagged Stone and asking him to sing the song he supposedly wrote for her in front of the whole class.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Alya falls into this after Rena Rouge is retired, resenting Ladybug for giving away her Miraculous while clinging to the idea that she's still besties with Marinette. Later applies to Eden, or so she thinks.
• Love Dodecahedron: Over time, Marinette ends up with multiple suitors for her affection: Luka, Kagami, Felix and Adrien. Ultimately, she chooses the first three.
• Loves My Alter Ego: Rose falls hard for Reptilitany, inspiring some mixed feelings in the new superheroine.
• Loving a Shadow:
  • One of the main things Marinette loved about Adrien was his compassion, empathy and kindness. However, the way he prioritized protecting Lila over her or anyone else leads her to reevaluate his character and realize that this wasn't the first time he put a bully first, or dismissed and downplayed her feelings.
  • Adrien's situation plays with this. While he comes to realize that he didn't really love Ladybug so much as he loved the idea of her that he'd constructed in his head, he pins the blame for this on Ladybug herself for not living up to his expectations. This is also paired with the Dramatic Irony of his attempting to move on from his crush on Ladybug by pursuing Marinette, unaware that she's the very girl he supposedly loved before... and once again projecting his ideals onto her.
• Meaningful Echo:
  • When Chat checks up on Marinette the night after Volpina's attack, the way he downplays the severity of Lila's actions reminds her of how Adrien did the same.
  • When Felix requests a seat in the back on his first day in Ms. Bustier's class, Alya immediately tries to volunteer Marinette to move up to the front, ignoring her wishes the same way the class did in 'Chameleon.' Unlike that incident, however, Alya's attempt to speak for Marinette is quickly shut down and the class works together to come up with an arrangement everyone can agree with.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Zig-Zagged in the wake of Lila's exposure. When Marinette reveals how she was threatened, pointing out that her attempts to tell everyone the truth just led to them abandoning her, her classmates react guiltily. However, most are quick to start passing the buck and blame others for what happened, with only a handful truly acknowledging and accepting that they are responsible for their own mistakes.
  • Miss Bustier has a somewhat subdued one after Marinette requests to move to the back of the class again, away from Alya. The two discuss her reasoning, and Bustier starts opening her eyes to just how badly the whole situation deteriorated right under her nose.
  • Nino's guilt and grief catches up to him to the point that he has a full-fledged breakdown while apologizing to Marinette, even admitting to her that he used to be Carapace.
  • Alya is legitimately horrified upon realizing that she falsely accused Eden of being Ladybug and drove them to tears... even before that causes their akumatization.
• Never My Fault:
  • Proves to be a massive problem in the wake of Lila's exposure, as most of the class tries to pin the blame for their actions on anybody else.
  • Adrien falls hard into this, pushing back against their attempts to scapegoat him by insisting that he didn't do anything wrong. And he cops a similar attitude regarding his behavior as Chat Noir.
• New Transfer Student:
  • Felix transfers into College Francoise Dupont and naturally winds up in Miss Bustier's class.
  • Later on, Eden enters the narrative in the exact same way, with Marinette musing about how often this has happened and her recent luck — and lack thereof — with such students.
• No-Sell:
  • The story opens with Hawkmoth attempting to akumatize Marinette into Miss Treated, only for her to reject his offer and declare that she's going to get her justice without "weird butterfly powers".
  • When Fixateur attempts to use her powers on Marinette, they don't work, because contrary to her beliefs, Marinette hadn't been putting on any kind of act for her to break.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore:
  • Marinette's permanent move to the back of the classroom is the first sign that her classmates aren't going to be Easily Forgiven and that they'll have to work to regain her trust. Ms. Bustier backs this decision up when certain classmates try to convince her otherwise, indicating that she will be keeping a closer eye on the class going forward.
  • Ladybug retires all of the old temporary heroes because she can't trust them anymore, replacing them with new, permanent wielders.
  • After the fight with Hothead, Chat Noir is stripped of his ring and Master Fu entrusts Ladybug with the entire Miracle Box.
• Not So Stoic: Played for Laughs when Felix is chosen to bear the Black Cat. He keeps his cool right up until he's able to slip out of the room, at which point Ladybug and the kwami hear a distinct shrieking.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore: In the wake of the battle with Hothead, Master Fu advances Marinette's Guardian training by entrusting her with the Miraculous Box, including Wayzz... and Plagg.
• One Side of the Story: In "Confrontation", Adrien believes that Eden is Ladybug and accuses her in front of the whole class. Upon hearing this, Alya rips into her over it without asking to confirm and doesn't even let Eden speak for herself. Lampshaded by Chloé (who actually bothers to ASK first before jumping to conclusions) and by Eden herself. Eden gets akumatized into Asian Beetle as a result of all of this.
  Yeah, you just assumed. And you didn’t even give me a chance to speak. You didn’t even ask, you just assumed.
• Precision F-Strike: Adrien gets one when he sees the footage of Belle Abeille's debut.
• Rage Breaking Point: "Confrontation" has two: Adrien snaps and decides to 'expose' Eden as Ladybug after she compliments Marinette on treating the heroes of Paris like actual people and respecting their privacy, which triggers Alya going off at the thought that her sweet new friend was actually the heroine she'd come to despise after how she forcibly retired Rena Rouge.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Marinette gives one to Alya and the less supportive members of her class after refuting the former's claim that they're 'besties':
    Marinette: 'My BFF is Ladybug's BFF! Not clickbait!' Those were your words, Alya. You chose your side, and even if I could look past you befriending a liar despite me trying to warn you, even if I could ignore how you shoved my feelings aside because you didn't like them, I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't replaced. Because I was. [looks to rest of class] I was replaced and forgotten by all of you. And when you found out the truth, when you found out that I'd been ostracised and left behind for nothing, did you admit that you were part of the problem? Did you look past your own feelings to ask how I was, to ask if I was okay? No. Most of you didn't, so don't be shocked that I'm not putting up with it. I know who wants me around, who values me, and I don't have to pretend that I'm okay when I'm not.
  • Chloé gives Alya one after she claims to be Rena Rouge, ripping into her for how she failed to check her sources or believe her friend.
  • Marinette upbraids Adrien shortly after he learns about her former crush on him, spelling out just why she fell out of love:
    Marinette: I realized that you aren't the kind of guy I want to date. When you knew Lila was lying, you never stood up for me. You chose Lila's feelings over mine. You always choose the bully over the victim. Adrien, in your attempts to make a happy, perfect class for yourself, you enable tormentors and push aside the feelings of those who have been hurt. You pushed me away, and then got mad at me for exposing Lila. Do you even realize how much she's hurt everyone? Do you know how much I've been hurt? [looking away] I doubt it, Adrien. I doubt you know, because you never asked.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • When Master Fu hears that Marinette won't be trusting Rena Rouge with the Fox, he's surprised, but declares that he trusts her judgment, and is more concerned by how shocked Marinette is that he isn't upset with her.
  • Miss Bustier takes a turn at this when Marinette wants to change seats, as she hears her out and supports her decision, even apologizing for not noticing how badly Lila had impacted the class.
• Reconstruction: Of the classmates and Ms. Bustier.
  • Ms. Bustier genuinely had no idea how bad the situation with Lila was and is deeply ashamed when she realizes Lila managed to isolate Marinette from her friends right under her nose. It's also shown that even with Ms. Bustier being more proactive in mediating disagreements in the classroom, she simply can't keep an eye on her students all the time, and some things will inevitably escape her notice.
  • While the class's abandonment of Marinette is portrayed as deeply hurtful, the story quickly makes clear that one bad decision doesn't need to destroy their friendships with Marinette forever. The class proves they're willing to learn and grow from their mistakes, making a more active effort to appreciate and respect Marinette and each other as they work to regain her trust. Even Adrien and Alya, the most stubborn holdouts in the Never My Fault camp, ultimately have heel realizations and begin sincerely working to make up for their actions.
• Red Herring: Despite a considerable amount of teasing, Eden is, in fact, a perfectly ordinary girl. Doubles as this In-Universe, as Adrien not only comes to suspect her of being Ladybug, but openly accuses her of it.
• I Reject Your Reality: Alya falls hard into denial after Marinette makes clear that they're no longer best friends, insisting that they're still close and that she knows Mari's heart better than Marinette knows herself. This directly leads to her akumatization into Fixateur.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: During the battle with Joueurun, Arctic Fox discovers that he can remember Reptilitany's time resets. After some discussion, the two conclude that this is because he previously wielded the Snake Miraculous as Viperion.
• Running Gag:
  • Marinette's desire for a nice, normal day, and the high tendency of said days to turn out to be anything but. Runs the gamut of Tempting Fate to consciously trying to avoid tempting fate.
  • Whenever she entrusts a Miraculous to a new bearer, Ladybug tends to start reflexively addressing them by the previous hero's name before catching and correcting herself.
  • Once Eden is introduced, the author's notes after chapters featuring her are full of Suspiciously Specific Denials.
• Save Scumming: In addition to this effectively being the power offered by the Snake's Second Chance, the akuma Joueurun has the ability to set up a checkpoint, leading to a tug-of-war battle between him and Reptilitany with the other participants only being aware of the former's resets.
• Saying Too Much:
  • When 'checking up' on Marinette the night after Volpina's return, Chat Noir attempts to guilt-trip her by asking whether her lies were actually hurting anyone, and if it was really worth exposing her. The phrasing strikes her as suspiciously familiar, and she asks him how he knew that she exposed her.
  • While trying to defend his inaction by blaming Marinette, he accuses her of shutting him out when he tried to help and calls her 'princess'. This leads her to realize that he was Chat Noir, and was referring to when he tried guilt-tripping her on the balcony.
  • In "Hero Scout", Felix and Kagami both notice that Marinette seems a little too knowledgeable about one of the heroines... Namely Reptilitany, as her efforts to boost Juleka's confidence in herself leads her to unintentionally comment on things she shouldn't know.
  • Played For Dramatic Irony with Eden, as Adrien thinks that several of the things she says qualify as this, taking them as further proof that she's actually Ladybug.
• The Scapegoat:
  • Once his classmates learn that he knew about Lila's deception and didn't see fit to warn anyone, most blame Adrien for letting her go unchecked.
  • Lila also gets saddled with a lot of the blame — not just for her own actions, but for everything that went wrong, with Alya being especially insistent that she's merely a victim of circumstance.
• Selective Obliviousness:
  • Alya staunchly refuses to admit that she and Marinette have had a falling out, much less that Marinette's anger at her is legitimate and not just 'blowing one mistake WAY out of proportion'.
  • Adrien eventually admits that he'd long realized that he missed his chance with Marinette, and that she'd moved on and found new potential love interests, but refused to acknowledge that, preferring to focus on the idea that he could 'set things right' and win back her affection.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Played With; Adrien supports LadyNoir, as he naturally wants to hook up with Ladybug himself. But since nobody else knows his Secret Identity, they treat it as this instead.
  • Marinette finds herself fawning over Rose's crush on Reptilitany.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: When Adrien tries to scold Chloé for giving Alya a tongue-lashing, she shuts him down fast:
  Adrien: Chloe, that was uncalled for. You shouldn't—
  Chloé: Be honest? Adrikins, stop your rant right now, because I don't need to hear it. Little Miss Ladyblog, however, definitely needed a reality check.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • Adrien firmly believes that exposing Lila was the wrong thing to do, and that it was better to let her keep lying unchallenged in order to avoid further drama. Marinette compares this to how he prioritized Chloé's feelings over those of everyone she had bullied.
  • Chat Noir considers his desire to gain Ladybug's love to be more important than anything else, and dislikes Arctic Fox purely because he sees him as a potential rival for her affections.
  • Master Fu references this directly when convincing Marinette that Chat is no longer a suitable partner:
    Master Fu: Even looking past how he treats you as a partner, as bad as that is, his actions put all of Paris in danger. Can you truly ask me to ignore that, now that I finally see the danger, in order for him to be happy?
• Stalker with a Crush:
  • When Adrien starts crushing on Marinette, he accrues a massive collection of pictures of her... all of which he took without her knowledge or consent. Felix and Nino are both horrified by this revelation and stage an intervention to talk sense into him.
  • Marinette's former crush on Adrien is brought up during the above intervention and is likewise acknowledged to have been a bit creepy.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Eden has a lot in common with Marinette, right down to having the same shade of bluebell blue eyes and her hair being only a few shades brighter.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial:
  • At one point, Rose denies the idea that she's been showing up to battles in hopes of seeing Reptilitany in action again.
  • Serves as a Running Gag after Eden is introduced, with the author's notes repeatedly asserting that she's obviously a wonderfully ordinary girl.
• Take a Third Option: Faced with an akuma who possesses multiple items that could contain its butterfly, Chat Ruse opts to simply destroy them all.
• Taking the Bullet: Ladybug shields a girl from Little Fire's flames, as her suit offers more protection and she can heal herself with Miraculous Cure.
• There Are No Therapists: Played With; there is a counselor at Dupont who talks to the victims of akuma attacks; however, Marinette notes that they're horribly overworked, and wants to help establish a better system.
• This Is Going to Suck:
  • Marinette worries about this when Eden transfers to her class, noting how new arrivals like her have had mixed results recently.
  • Felix has this reaction after Joueurun turns his full attention towards him.
• This Is Reality: When Adrien attempts to defend Chat's dogged pursuit of Ladybug over her protests, Alix snorts that such things only work in the movies, and that in real life, it's harassment.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: "Confrontation" is kicked off by Adrien impulsively deciding to accuse Eden of being Ladybug in front of the whole class, and complicated further by Alya's immediate reaction to that, as neither gives the accused any chance to defend themselves before ripping them a new one.
• Unrequited Love Switcheroo: After giving up on Ladybug, Adrien turns his romantic attentions towards Marinette, despite being fully aware that she lost her own crush on him after he prioritized Lila's feelings over her own.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: During the battle with Asian Beetle, the narrative skips over Ladybug explaining her plan to the others, stating only that 'the instructions fall from her lips with ease' before we see it put into action.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: What Lila effectively amounts to here. While Marinette is able to deal with her relatively quickly, she still posed a challenge... and, more importantly, opened her eyes to the true nature of most of her classmates.
• Was It All a Lie?:
  • Most of the class naturally wonders this after Marinette exposes how Lila lied about saving Jagged's nonexistent cat.
  • Marinette finds herself wondering this after seeing how most of her classmates refuse to face the fact that they screwed up, questioning whether they really saw her as a friend or not.
  • Alya demands to know this after Adrien accuses Eden of being Ladybug, going on a blistering rant against her friend.
• We Used to Be Friends: After how easily they turned their backs on her, Marinette no longer considers the rest of the class to be her friends. Only a handful are willing to actually make the effort to repair their relationship with her.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Alya furiously flags down Ladybug after Arctic Fox's debut, demanding to know why she chose a new hero. Ladybug returns the favor by telling her exactly why:
    Alya: You knew I was ready, knew where I'd be, but instead you chose him?! Some new guy to be the Fox? Why would you do that, Ladybug?
    Ladybug: Why did I pick Arctic Fox? Because I needed a teammate that I could trust.
  • Felix and Nino team up to give one of these to Adrien after finding out that he took hundreds of photos of Marinette without her knowledge or consent. As Felix points out, Adrien could get into legal trouble if anyone else found out about them. Nino is quick to agree, pointing out that even Marinette's legally-obtained collection of Adrien photos was still creepy when Adrien brings it up in an effort to defend himself.
  • Marinette gives a brief, but cutting one to Adrien after realizing that he used to be Chat Noir, calling him out for his behavior.
  • Alya gets another such rant against Ladybug when she thinks that Eden is the superheroine, ripping into her for supposedly stringing her along. Once again, this gets countered by the target, this time by virtue of the fact that Eden isn't Ladybug, and Alya didn't even give her a chance to defend herself before going on the full offensive.
• What You Are in the Dark: Nino realizes that Ladybug retired him as Carapace because of how he treated Marinette in his civilian identity after having his Heel Realization. He admits as much to Marinette while apologizing to her and acknowledges that in Ladybug's place, he wouldn't trust him either. Marinette accepts his apology and ultimately reinstates him as the Turtle wielder under a new identity, implying that this proved to her he was worthy of a second chance.
• You're Just Jealous: Alya insists that this is the only possible reason that Marinette could mistrust Lila. Marinette agrees with her in order to set her trap.

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