Fanfic / Telling Lies? No, Mama

Lila Rossi wasn't afraid of getting exposed. She has the whole class wrapped around her finger, wrapped up in her tales of splendor and adventure. And if anyone tries to challenge her, she can just turn on the waterworks and everyone will jump to her defense, turning on her enemy like a pack of wild wolves. And if a few people get hurt along the way, so what? No skin off her nose.

But Paris isn't all that big, and people talk. Plus, posting your lies online on one of the city's most popular blogs probably isn't the best way to keep your secret under wraps.

Telling Lies? No, Mama by Aishling is yet another Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction in reaction to the infamous "Chameleon" episode. However, what really makes this one a gem among dirty rocks is that instead of writing the whole class, plus Alya, Nino and Adrien, off as selfish, heartless villains who side with Lila at the drop of a hat, it actually deconstructs and explains their behaviors, and how Lila is able to get them to do her bidding.

In this fic, Lila tries to get the class to think that Marinette assaulted her. At first, it seems to work, but Alya, Nino and Adrien aren't so willing to let Lila smear their best friend like that, and neither is Chloé. All four go on to explain why Lila must be lying, why the class believes her so easily, and why her actions don't add up with the "sweet and innocent" persona she puts on. As if that wasn't enough to end Lila's reign, another person who has been hurt by her lies is on her way to confront her at school, and she is not happy...

This fanfic provides examples of:

• Aerosol Flamethrower: Once Alix realizes that Lila was lying this whole time, it's heavily implied she was trying to make one of these.
• Alpha Bitch:
  • Lila seeks to become the most popular girl in school by telling fantastical lies about herself to her classmates, pretending to know famous celebrities, and discrediting anyone who sees through her act through false claims of bullying.
  • Chloé becomes a Lovable Alpha Bitch by poking holes in all of Lila’s claims and stories, pointing out that not even she has tried to hurt Marinette like Lila has.
• Anti-Villain: Mrs. Rossi as the second face of the akuma Façade. While her powers are as damaging as Lila's, they were created in part to reverse hers. Despite being fused into a single being, Mrs. Rossi tries her damnedest to keep Lila from hurting anyone... to the point that Lila eventually holds her mother's face HOSTAGE against the heroes.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Chloé is adamant that Lila is lying about being best friends with Ladybug. Lila questions and pushes her about this issue, and gets one of these.
  Lila: Do you have any proof that I'm lying? Did someone tell you that Ladybug and I aren't friends or something?
  Chloé: If you mean did Ladybug tell me that, then no.
  Lila: Then who-
  Chloé: No one told me. But I don't need to hear anything from anyone to know that you're definitely not Ladybug’s best friend.
  Alix: Oh, and I suppose you are?
  Chloé: No! But I don't need to be to know that Lila's the last person she'd be friends with.
  Lila: Oh? And why is that?
  Chloé: Because Ladybug would never be friends with someone who uses her!
• At Least I Admit It: Chloé confesses that she has not been nice to Marinette, but unlike Lila, she hasn't tried to come between her and her friends by playing the victim.
• The Atoner: The entire class to some extent, but Alya in particular, since towards the end of the story she makes an entry on the Ladyblog debunking all of the lies Lila said during her interviews and taking full responsibility for posting false information without checking them as a true journalist should, while also making a heartfelt apology to Marinette, even if Marinette insisted that it wasn't necessary.
• Bad Liar: You’d think that Lila would think to keep her wild tales of celebrity friendships and amazing exploits among her classmates, who don’t have the means to disprove her stories. Instead, she allows all her lies to be posted online—on a very popular blog, no less!—where her mother and the celebs she lies about can see it and find out what a bluffer she is.
• Blatant Lies: Lila spirals increasingly into these over the course of the story; even in the face of mounting evidence against her, she continues claiming innocence.
• Calling the Young Man Out: Madame Rossi rips into her daughter in front of her teachers and classmates for spreading lies online that imply that she and her husband are neglectful parents and corrupt diplomats.
  Mme. Rossi: You lied to me. Lied to me!
  Lila: Mother please, let’s not discuss this here…
  Mme. Rossi: Imagine my surprise to learn my daughter is apparently very popular. For things that are news to me, mind you.
  Lila: Mama, calm down…you’re making a scene.
  Mme. Rossi: I’m making a scene?! That’s rich coming from the girl running her mouth all over Paris and making me look like a fool!
  Lila: Mama, this really isn’t the place for this conversation. Why don’t we—
  Mme. Rossi: I’m so glad those girls brought it up. Otherwise I would never have known just what you were up to. Thank goodness Mrs. Cheng was there to give me the truth that I apparently wasn’t getting from you!
  Lila: Mama, listen. Whatever you heard from Marinette’s mother, you should know her daughter has been picking on me and her mom’s just probably lying for her—
  Mme. Rossi: I’ve spoken to your Principal, Lila! I know the truth. You told me that school had been closed for akuma attacks! That you were told to stay home from school until it was deemed safe. Now I find out it’s been open all along and you’ve been telling people you were on some trip to visit a-a Prince or something. Your school didn’t even have a clue you were in Paris; they had paperwork from me, they said! Lila, did you forge my signature?!
  Lila: I-I didn’t. T-the school was closed whenever an akuma attacked…
  Alya: Yeah, for a few hours. But never for several days at a time. Do you mean to tell me that all the months you were out of school, you had your mom believing that it was closed?
  Lila: No!...I mean…
  Principal Damocles: You can stop lying now, Ms. Rossi. Your mother and I have already spoken with each other. Not only did she have no idea the school was open, but she can confirm you were within this city the whole time, meaning there was no valid reason for your absences.
  Lila: B-but…
  Chloé: Ha! Busted.
  Mme. Rossi: You’ve been giving interviews about us going on supposed travels and vacations during times your father and I were working. Do you know how much trouble we could get in if people honestly believed we were shirking our responsibilities to go globetrotting?
  Lila: I-I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad...
  Mme. Rossi: We could get fired, Lila! All our travels are covered by work expenses. The last thing we need is people thinking we travel for fun on embassy time and embassy money!
  Rose: So you don’t really know Prince Ali?
  Lila: I do! W-we video chatted. We’re pen pals! I only said we hung out in person to…to make it sound more exciting. But I do know him personally; I did conference calls for the Summit.
  Chloé: You mean the Summit that Google says happens every six years? On the same month every time…six months off from the time you claimed it to be?
  Lila: N-no…a-a different Summit!
  Madame Bustier: I’m really disappointed in you, Lila. Your classmates have been giving you their time and effort to help you catch up on missed work when there was apparently never any reason for you to have fallen behind for so long to begin with.
  Lila: But I…
  Mme. Rossi: Do you realize you’ll have to be charged with truancy? My daughter, in legal trouble! Do you realize how that makes me look?
  Lila: Mama, please…let’s talk this out…
  Mme. Rossi: And another thing! What’s this about Jagged Stone having written a song for you?
  Lila: Mom, really…we don’t need to talk about that here. Please—
  Mme. Rossi: I got in touch with his agent. There is no song! And thank god for that; the last thing I need is people thinking I’m okay with my daughter hanging out with some middle-aged rock star as his-his groupie or something!
  Lila: That’s not what the song was about. It was to t-thank me…
  Mme. Rossi: Ah yes, for saving his cat right? I looked into that too. He never owned a cat, nor has he ever heard of you. But here you are telling people online and off it that you injured yourself running out onto an active runway! Do you know how that makes me look? Everyone’s asking the same thing online, ‘Where was her mom?’ ‘How did she get onto the tarmac past security?’ ‘Who was watching her?’ You made me look like some sort of negligent mother! For an event that never happened!
  Alix: So you don’t have tinnitus!
  Lila: I…I…
  Principal Damocles: Ms Rossi, feigning a disability is a very serious matter.
  Chloé: She’s claimed to have several disabilities. Arthritis, severe food allergies, tendinitis, dizzy spells…
  Principal Damocles: Why wasn't I informed of any of these claims? None of those conditions were listed in her file when she enrolled. You weren't actually accommodating her for these things without proof, were you?
  Bustier: She had a doctor's note for the tinnitus when she came in. She assured me that it was added to the file in the nurse's office.
  Mme. Rossi: She has none of those things. (looks at Lila) You have been forging my signature.
  Chloé: I knew it.
  Mme. Rossi: The list goes on. Apparently my child has been endangered by akumas multiple times, attacked and rescued by her so-called ‘best friend’, Ladybug, the very superhero you told me was so incompetent that the akumas were never defeated and that that’s why school was closed!
• The Cameo:
  • Aurore and Mireille make a small appearance at the end of the first chapter. Their cameo leaves a huge impact on the plot, though.
  • While not named, Kagami appears at the party at the end.
• Celebrity Lie: Lila loves to use this tool to fascinate her peers, promising she'll hook them up with her celebrity friends. However, Chloé soon pokes holes in these types of lies, stating that even if she was friends with these celebrities, trying to get them to do a bunch of favors for kids they don't even know would make her a False Friend trying to gain popularity by riding on their coattails.
• Character Development: Chloé gets a lot of this. From sticking up for Marinette against the class, to discovering Marinette and Adrien's secrets and agreeing to become a Secret-Keeper, she proves that she can change. Enough, in fact, that Marinette agrees to let her use the Bee Miraculous again.
• Characterization Marches On: Mrs. Rossi in the first chapter is shown to be a rather meticulous and persnickety person; her morning routine is perfect down to the positioning of the newspaper, she refuses to have her breakfast because the butter has crumbs in it, and she doesn't just clean it because she wants to confront the perpetrator later with evidence. Also, on her way to find breakfast, she fusses about having to leave early because she thinks that arriving early is a sign of desperation for praise. However, other than this being the nail that gets her into a position to hear Lila's lies, it doesn't come up in the rest of the story, probably because she has bigger things to be concerned about. The author acknowledges that they dropped that trait of hers in later chapters and that it was a failing on their part.
• Contrived Coincidence: By a stroke of luck, Sabrina was in one of the bathroom stalls during the time Lila was threatening Marinette. And recorded the whole thing.
• Deconstruction Fic: Deconstructs many of the common tropes seen in salt fics.
  • The class gangs up on Marinette when Lila accuses her of assaulting her, like in many salt fics before. However, instead of passing this over as them just being jerks, it is explained that they do this because Lila deliberately played the victim to make them defensive.
  • In most salt fics, Alya is the first to pounce on Marinette when Lila accuses her of something bad. However, in this story, when Lila claims Marinette attacked her, Alya is instead the first one to come to Marinette's defense and try to prove her innocence.
  • Many salt fics have Adrien as a Dirty Coward, who sits back and watches Marinette be tormented by Lila and blames her for everything horrible that happens to her because she didn’t take his "high road" advice. In this story, however, Adrien is quick to come to Marinette's defense when Lila tries to defame her, and even begins to doubt his own advice to her.
• Diplomatic Impunity: Like many fics of this kind, Lila tries to claim this after her alliance with Hawk Moth is made public. Unsurprisingly, her mother revokes it.
• Disappointed by the Motive: The heroes are sorely disappointed when they realize that the only reason that Lila hated Marinette was simply that she called her out on her lies, and she wants Marinette's popularity.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Lila has had her hands all over Adrien since day one. When it is suggested that Lila has been sexually harassing him, Kim seems to think it doesn’t count because "he's a guy". His classmates scold him for the notion, with Juleka elaborating with stories from her brother of girls who think flirting means they can touch his hair or cling to him without permission. Adrien even admits that one reason he never spoke up was because he was afraid no one would take his claims seriously because of his gender.
  Juleka: Someone invading your personal space isn't flattering; it's creepy.
• Easily Forgiven:
  • The class by Marinette, after Lila is exposed. They each express their apologies and acknowledge they shouldn’t have done what they did. While Marinette does explain that she is hurt by none of them considering her feelings, for the most part, she forgives them and reconciles. The class then decides to throw her a big party just like they did on Heroes’ Day.
  • Alya particularly feels that she was forgiven too easily for the part she played, leading to her posting a video explaining the whole situation on her Ladyblog along with her retraction and public apology for helping to spread Lila's claims.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Chloé admits that, while she has been mean to Marinette in the past, there are certain lines even she hasn't crossed. She has never tried to turn Marinette's friends against her or come between her and Alya's friendship, unlike Lila, who began Mission: Ruin Marinette's Life on her first day back. She points this out to the class, reminding them that she has never tried to do what Lila just did, which none of them can argue against.
• Extremely Short Timespan: The bulk of the story takes place over one very hectic morning, with the epilogue taking place an unknown amount of time later.
• Fashion-Victim Villain: In-Universe, Façade is mocked for being one of the worst-looking Akumas the heroes have faced.
• Fix Fic: Besides being a deconstruction of the usual Salt Fics, it also fixes many grievances most fans had with canon:
  • Alya, Nino, and Adrien don't hesitate to jump in Marinette's defense when Lila makes it appear that she's being a bully, and they're her staunchest allies throughout the whole story.
  • Ms. Bustier isn't some gullible idiot: she believes Lila's claims of disabilities because Lila gave her forged medical notes, complete with her mother's signature. That belief quickly goes away once Lila's mother clears things up.
  • Chloé is given Character Development and a proper redemption arc that actually sticks instead of being a victim of Aesop Amnesia. She also tries to build a proper friendship with Sabrina, instead of treating her like a disposable stooge.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: The readers find out that Lila Rossi's middle name is Dolores when Mrs. Rossi barges into the classroom, infuriated at the lies her daughter has been telling.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Alya rightly guesses the reason Lila hates Marinette so much isn't just because Marinette sees past her lies, but because Marinette, a nice, talented girl who has befriended many celebrities and accomplished plenty of things despite her young age, is everything Lila claims to be, and most importantly, everything Lila knows she will never be.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard:
  • Lila clearly underestimated her mother's competence when she posted interviews on the Internet implying that her mother was negligent enough to let her run onto an airplane runway and deceitful enough to cheat time and money out of the embassy she worked out to go on glamorous vacations. When Madame Rossi bumps into Aurore and Mireille at the bakery, they get excited when she tells them she's Lila’s mom and show her the interviews of Lila telling lies on the Ladyblog. Madame Rossi storms over to the school in a rage and rips Lila and her lies apart in front of her classmates and teachers, completely destroying Lila's throne of lies.
  • Later on, the heroes do this against Façade's Lila-half by getting her to blast herself with her mother's unmasking beams, forcing her to say that all her lies about everything are just that, lies.
• Hypocrite:
  • Lila is this repeatedly throughout the story:
    • In chapters 2 & 3, she accuses Marinette of lying, bullying, being jealous of her closeness with Adrien, turning her classmates against her and not being the person she appears to be while being guilty of all of those same things herself, something Alya makes sure to let her know once her true colours are revealed.
    • Also in chapter 3, after writing off Adrien as a lost cause, she tries to turn everyone against him by claiming he was taking advantage of her. Marinette rightfully points out that, if anything, she's been taking advantage of him, given how she's been harassing him and takes advantage of the fact that he's too nice to call her out on it.
    • When her mother confronts her about her lies, Lila tells her she's making a scene. Her mother immediately points out how rich that is coming from a girl who's been running her mouth all over Paris and making her look like a fool.
    • In chapter 7, the akumatized Lila snidely calls out Ladybug and Chat Noir for sneaking up on her, saying that it's rude to attack someone when their back is turned. Ladybug tells her that's hypocritical coming from someone who always strikes when someone's guard is down. Credit where it's due, Lila doesn't deny this, but points out that it means more when they do it because, as Paris' Champions, they're supposed to be above such tactics.
    • In the same chapter, Chat Noir calls Lila/Facade Masquerade to get her attention, and Lila asks if he thinks he can honestly piss her off by getting her name wrong. Then Chat Noir calls her Liar-la, after which she screams that she's not a liar.
    • Also in chapter 7, after Chloé appears to pelt her with some rubble, Lila expresses her surprise at seeing her, believing she'd be hiding and waiting for her father to save her like the coward she is. As Chloé wastes no time retorting, Lila has no business calling anyone a coward since her reaction to people calling her out on her lies was to willingly get herself akumatized.
  • Alya accuses Kim of being this in chapter 2, stating that he acts like some stand-up guy who fights against bullies, but had no problem picking on Ivan at the start of the year, making him Hawk Moth's very first victim. She also calls out the class for rallying to Lila's defense like "some kind of protection squad" simply because Lila claims Marinette is bullying her, when they never did anything similar for Marinette during all the years Chloé bullied her.
• I Have No Son!: Lila's mother, after realizing that not only has her daughter manipulated her and everyone around her and put her job at risk just to look cool, but has also gotten herself akumatized on purpose and even helped a magical terrorist out of petty revenge, and only moments ago, just tried to kill her.
• I Just Want to Be Special: When she's under the influence of her mother's truth-revealing powers as the akumatized villain Façade, Lila is forced to admit that she wants to be popular and adored by the masses, and resents Marinette and Ladybug for getting what she believes should be hers.
• I'm Standing Right Here: No one seems to have a problem with trash-talking Chloé, even when she's in the same room as them. To the point of being a Running Gag.
• Improvised Weapon: Several of the classmates arm themselves with these; Officer Raincomprix is bemused to note that Alix grabbed an aerosol can and a lighter, with... interesting implications as to what she intended to do to the akuma.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Chloé, who is known for bullying Marinette, makes various points throughout the story on how Lila cannot be the sweet and innocent victim she pretends to be.
  • Chloé admits that for all the bad things she's done to Marinette in the past, she's never tried to ruin her friendship with Alya or anyone else for that matter, unlike Lila, who tried to defame Marinette almost immediately after returning to school.
  • When everyone gangs up on Marinette at Lila's accusation, Chloé asks if any of them actually believe Marinette would do something awful to Lila. The class then sheepishly admit that they didn't really believe it, but only jumped on the bandwagon because Lila seemed so distraught. Chloé then scolds them for accusing Marinette when they didn't really believe in her guilt, explaining that Lila deliberately started crying while accusing Marinette to get everyone defensive.
  • She pokes holes in all of Lila's stories, especially the ones about being friends with celebrities, since Lila is always promising her classmates that she'll set something up between them and one of their favorite stars. Chloé states that if Lila really WAS friends with any celebs, she wouldn't be trying to get them to do a bunch of favors for some random kids they don't know, and expecting them to do so would abusing her "friendship" with them.
  • When Lila's sexual harassment of Adrien is brought to light, Chloé points out that the reason he didn't speak up sooner, besides the fear that no one would take him seriously, was out of fear that his father would pull him out of school, the place he has wanted to be for so long, after hearing that some girl there was basically molesting him.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: One of the victims of Mme. Rossi's truth powers is a basketball player. After being hit by her beams, the kid admits that he actually hates sports and wanted to join theater, but his dad forbid it, saying theater was for gay boys.
• Lady of War: Vespa, the new Bee hero. Actually Chloé using the Bee Miraculous under a new alias.
• Laser-Guided Karma: What happens to Lila during the whole fic, from her classmates losing faith in her to her mother humiliating and exposing her in front of friends and foes alike, all the way to getting caught trying to grab an akuma and getting arrested and deported as an accomplice of Hawk Moth.
• Late to the Action: After Lila becomes akumatized, the class gather around, get makeshift weapons, and storm the classroom to fight for their everyday Ladybug…just when Lila has been de-akumatized and is getting arrested for her crimes.
• Liar Revealed: The point of the first half of the fic. Lila's methods and tactics for keeping her lies unexposed are explained, making everyone begin to doubt her honesty. Then her mother arrives in class, having heard of all the lies Lila is told, and unravels everything for the class, scolding her daughter for spreading lies and making her parents look like negligent parents and corrupt diplomats.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Chloé becomes this in the story, picking apart Lila's deceit and poking holes in her stories. In the second act, she is rewarded by being given a second chance to become a hero with the Bee Miraculous, this time under a new look and name.
• Manipulative Bastard: Lila uses emotions like tools to get what she wants, like fake-crying to get people to take her side over her enemy’s.
• Metaphorgotten: Adrien hoping that Lila's problem could be solved if they just ignored her lead to this change between Rose and Juleka:
  Rose: Like Tinkerbell. You have to keep clapping or she dies.
  Juleka: She dies if you don't believe, Rose. The clapping is just to bring her back to life...
  Alya: Back on track, people!
• Monster Clown: Façade, who's described as looking like a harlequin.
• More than Mind Control: Discussed by the heroes post-battle; while Hawk Moth's victims generally aren't held responsible for what they did while akumatized, as they aren't themselves at the time, Ladybug suggests that circumstances might be different with Lila, who willingly works with him. As a result, she can't confidently say that the choices she made as Façade weren't her own.
• Never My Fault: Even after her lies are exposed and she is being charged for aiding a terrorist, Lila still refuses to admit that she had malicious intentions, nor that she is anything but the victim in the situation.
• Not Helping Your Case: When Lila accuses Marinette of bullying her and Alya suggest that maybe Lila mistook somebody else for Marinette, Lila twists Alya's words to make it appear that Alya is calling Lila a liar. Alya tries to futilely explain that she isn't calling Lila a liar but simply pointing out that maybe she made an honest mistake, but Lila still twists her words, until Alya finally decides enough is enough and stops trying to reconcile both sides, fully supporting Marinette.
  Lila: You keep saying Marinette didn’t do it, but you weren’t there. It certainly sounds like you’re calling me a liar.
  Alya: If you’re going to keep making false accusation of my best friend, then maybe I am!
• Pacifism Backfire: Adrien sincerely believed that the hype around Lila would die out without anyone resorting to conflict, seeing as their class is practically famous themselves, and Lila's 'celebrity connections' held short-lasting awe. He begins to doubt his high road advice to Marinette when Lila accuses her of assaulting her. Then he finds out Lila threatened Marinette, and he apologizes sincerely for not considering Marinette’s feelings, stating he would have never asked her to stay silent if he had known. It's also stated later that Adrien was taught to deal with lies like a tabloid blog; confronting the lies only adds fuel to the flames. Ignore them, and the rumors lose their power.
• Point of Divergence: The entire plot happens because Lila didn't clean the butter knife after using it, leaving breadcrumbs on the butter, causing the fussy Mrs. Rossi to skip her breakfast toast and buy something to eat on her way to work. She stops at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, where a lot of students of Françoise Dupont go as well due to its proximity to school. And two of those students, upon hearing her name, unwittingly reveal to her what Lila has been doing in school.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: This is like, 70% of the story.
  • Alya delivers one to the class after they take Lila's side and gang up on Marinette.
    Alya: I can't believe this! Marinette has been nothing but kind and supportive to us. She goes out of her way to make us happy and here you all are turning on her!
    Mylène: We're not turning on her.
    Alya: Oh yeah? Than why are you all acting like she just killed someone's puppy right in front of you? You’re turning on her.
    Kim: That's 'cause she's being a bully.
    Alya: You know, that's rich coming from you, Kim.
    Kim: What’s that supposed to mean?
    Alya: Are you kidding me? You act like you're some stand-up guy who fights against bullies, but you were pretty content with picking on people like Ivan at the beginning of the year. Even got him akumatized over it. Sounds like you were a pretty big bully.
    Kim: Hey, that was just me playing around.
    Ivan: Didn't seem like playing to me.
    Alya: See? He didn’t think it was harmless fun. It was bullying. You’re a hypocrite because you WERE a bully. Is that why you had a crush on Chloé? Hm? Thought the two of you could rule us all with an iron fist?
    Chloé: Hey, don't drag me into this!
    Alya: And the rest of you! Lila tells you Marinette's bullying her and you all rally to her side like some protection squad, but how many years did you let Chloé pick on Marinette?
  • Chloé pokes several holes in Lila’s Celebrity Lies before delivering a scathing speech reminding everyone of her own misdeeds, specially how they never went as far as Lila’s.
    Lila: Do you have any proof that I'm lying? Did someone tell you that Ladybug and I aren't friends or something?
    Chloé: If you mean did Ladybug tell me that, then no.
    Lila: Then who-
    Chloé: No one told me. But I don't need to hear anything from anyone know that you're definitely not Ladybug’s best friend.
    Alix: Oh, and I suppose you are?
    Chloé: No! But I don't need to be to know that Lila's the last person she'd be friends with.
    Lila: Oh? And why is that?
    Chloé: Because Ladybug would never be friends with someone who uses her! [Beat] Think about it! All Lila's done since she got here is brag about how close her and Ladybug are. What has it gotten her? Attention, special treatment, your respect. But what proof has she provided for any of it? None! Lila uses Ladybug to make herself popular. A real friend wouldn't do that to her; not after all she'd done for this city. Just like a friend to all these celebrities and artist and singers wouldn't abuse their friendship by promising they'll do favors for a bunch of kids they don't even know. What's that subreddit online? The one where artists talk about the poser friends in their lives who ask for free stuff 'because they're friends'. That's what Lila sounds like. If she was really friends with any of them I doubt she'd be expecting them to do anything for any of you just because she told them to. So I find it hard to believe that Ladybug would ever befriend a pathetic attention seeker who’s done nothing but try to ride her coattails!
    Lila: How dare you!
    Chloé: Did I say you could talk?! I've haven't been the nicest to Marinette. I won't deny that. We don't get along and I'm not going to pretend we do. But at least I haven't tried to turn everyone against her. I certainly never tried to pit her and her friends against each other. Have you ever seen me try and break up her and Cesaire's friendship?
    Max: Well, you did try to blackmail her with her diary.
    Chloé: Yeah, and I got told off for what an awful thing that was. The point is I've tried to ruin Marinette's day, maybe even her week, but not her life. But her, [points at Lila] she comes in and starts spouting some fairytales about celebrities and charity work and you're all ready to throw Marinette to the wolves at the snap of Lie-la's fingers.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Madame Bustier and Principal Damocles are much more competent in this story than they are in most fanfics.
  • Madame Bustier did not accept Lila's disabilities without question or proof because she is naive. Instead, Lila forged doctor's notes and her mother’s signature on documents to fool the teacher.
  • Madame Bustier noticed Lila's flirtation but thought that Adrien would have told her if it was bothering him. She thought he was fine with it because Chloé touches him in a similar manner all the time.
  • Principal Damocles understands Adrien's reluctance to file a claim of sexual harassment to avoid giving his father a reason to pull him out of school and is genuinely remorseful that he let Adrien deal with his situation alone.
  • In most salt fics, Mme. Bustier easily excuses all of Lila's misdeeds, no matter how horrible they are, and pressures Marinette and the class to forgive her. She does no such thing in this story.
• Revenge Before Reason:
  • After learning how Lila tried to set Ladybug for defeat during the Oni-chan incident, people were shocked and disgusted that Lila would let Hawk Moth win (who, as far as anybody knows, might want Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous to wish for world domination) just to settle a petty grudge with Ladybug.
  • Subverted with Chloé, though. After finding out that Marinette is Ladybug, she promises to keep her identity a secret and to help Ladybug in any way she can. When asked for her reasons, Chloé points out she doesn't like Marinette, but unlike Lila, isn't stupid enough not to see that Marinette is the only thing standing between them and Hawk Moth winning.
• School Idol: What Lila wants to become, and she hates seeing other people (ex. Marinette and Ladybug) be given this honor instead.
• Secret-Keeper: Chloé reveals to Marinette partway through the story that she's known that she's Ladybug for a while, and promises to keep the secret. She then sees Adrien transforming into Chat Noir a chapter later and reveals this to him off-screen after Lila's defeat.
• Shipper on Deck: Chloé, of all people, ends up setting up a picnic to ensure Chat Noir apologizes to Ladybug for his flirting, with the goal of eventually helping both of them get together.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Aurore and Mireille, who only appear at the end of the first chapter, and aren't even named, (though the narration makes clear it's them), yet play the crucial role of unwittingly revealing to Mrs. Rossi all the lies her daughter has been spreading around the school, setting the plot in motion.
• Spit Take: When Greta Rossi first reads what her daughter has been saying, she spits out her coffee.
• The Stinger: The epilogue ends with Ladybug mentioning she fell in love with Adrien after he gave her his umbrella - making Chat Noir realize that Ladybug is Marinette. And then he learns that Chloé already knew her identity.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: When Sabrina reveals to the class that she was in the bathroom where Lila threatened Marinette during the events of "Chameleon", she mentions that before Lila entered, Marinette was speaking with someone and assumed she was on the phone. Marinette realizes that Sabrina had overheard her talking with Tikki and is in no hurry to correct her, even going along with it when it turns out that Sabrina had gotten part of Marinette and Tikki's conversation while recording proof that Lila had threatened Marinette.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Mrs. Rossi sports one as she informs Lila that she's waiving her diplomatic immunity. Can't really blame her, considering that she's learned in the past few hours that not only is her daughter a Consummate Liar that's willingly aiding a terrorist, but that said daughter also attempted to commit matricide just minutes prior.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Lila would be this if she was actually friends with any celebrities since she is always promising the class favors from stars she claims to be close with, but, as Chloé points out, this would make her a bad friend for taking advantage of her "celebrity friends" and their fame for trying to get them to do huge favors for random kids who they don’t even know.
• Two Beings, One Body: Like Oblivio and Hearthunter, Façade is the fusion of two people, Lila and her mother. Unlike Oblivio and Hearthunter, though, they don't work together.
• Villain Has a Point: Lila tells Marinette she has no room to criticize her behavior towards Adrien since she's a stalker. Marinette doesn't even try to refute that because she knows Lila's right.
• Was It All a Lie?: Discussed; after Lila's been dealt with, Vespa expresses sympathy for Mrs. Rossi, musing about how she's got to be questioning everything she thought she knew about her daughter, and how much of their relationship was a lie.
• Wham Line: At the end of Chapter 5, Chloé locks Marinette and herself within the classroom, and says this to her:
  Chloé: Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you be transforming? You've got an akuma to purify.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: A tool Lila uses to turn the tables on her enemies. At first, people seem to believe her when she claims Marinette attacked her, but when Chloé pressed them on whether or not they really believe Marinette would do such a thing, they admit they actually don’t and only took Lila’s side out of pity for a crying girl.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Chloé's reaction upon finding out that Adrien, one of her closest friends, is Chat Noir, whom she has dismissed as Ladybug's annoying and lowly sidekick.

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