After the defeat of Monarque, things have mostly gone back to normal... with the slight issue that the Butterfly Miraculous is still missing, and Ladybug hasn't told anyone. The trust between Ladybug and Chat Noir has been stretched to the breaking point, and one lie too many has pushed Chat Noir to the limit. Chrysalis, the new Butterfly wielder, comes to him to bring new secrets to light; Monarque got what he wanted and made his wish, at the cost of Gabriel Agreste's life, and she wants to undo it, but she needs his help. This sets Paris' greatest heroes on a collision course that risks bringing all Paris down with them.
lies of attrition
is an ongoing collaborative Miraculous Ladybug fanfic by Missnoodles and wackus_bonkus published on Archive of Our Own.
lies of attrition contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Gabriel. Chat Noir even muses that bringing him back would be a price of the Wish in and of itself.
- Aesop Amnesia: The stress of everything that happened during and in the aftermath of the Final Battle and her fear of how it could affect Adrien have caused Marinette to relapse back into her Control Freak tendencies despite having learned her lesson in "Strikeback".
- Anti-Villain: It's hard to call Chat Noir a villain at all. From his perspective, not only did Monarque win, but Ladybug covered up the death of an innocent man (his own father, no less). He's just setting things right.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir is truly in the wrong. As Chat points out, the Wish was the very thing they've been fighting for the past year to prevent, and Monarque performed it, but as Ladybug points out, to undo the Wish would mean re-condemning an innocent person (namely Nathalie) to death.
- Broken Base: In-Universe. The other heroes are divided on whether Ladybug or Chat Noir is correct in their conflict. This results in them splitting into two factions: one following Ladybug, and the other following Chat Noir and Chrysalis. However, even with the lines now drawn in the sand, it's clear most of Ladybug's team isn't fully sold on her actions after Chat's exposed her lies.
- Broken Pedestal: Ladybug becomes this to Chat Noir when he learns that she lied about Gabriel Agreste's death and the success of Monarque's Wish. The pedestal breaks even further when she tries to lie to the other heroes about his motives, which quickly erodes his remaining sympathy for her. And by exposing her lies to the other heroes, he breaks the pedestal for several of them, causing some of them to join him.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: Much of Violette's commentary on Chrysalis' role in Chat Noir's Face–Heel Turn is thinly veiled Evil Gloating.
- Cassandra Truth: Félix and Kagami warn Marinette that lying to Adrien about Gabriel being Monarque is a bad idea. As Adrien is actually Chat Noir, this prediction proves to be even more accurate than any of them could possibly have guessed.
- Control Freak: Marinette's Fatal Flaw. She tries to keep a handle on everything around her by keeping the others Locked Out of the Loop. If secrets won't cut it, she'll resort to lies and misdirection. The issue being that she tends to Freak Out when she does lose control, driving herself to self-destructive recklessness in an effort to take back control, causing things to spiral into chaos amazingly quickly.
- Deconstruction Fic: To Ladybug's tendency to keep others Locked Out of the Loop. While the rule on knowing each other's identities is understandable and important, her tendency to keep everyone out of the loop on literally everything does more harm than good, and results is some very detrimental Poor Communication Kills. And the whole conflict of this fic could've been avoided if she'd just talked to Chat Noir.
- Divided We Fall: The whole premise of this story. Made especially prevalent in Chapter 11 where Team Miraculous is split down the middle between Ladybug and Chat Noir over to preserve the Wish or to reverse it.
- Double Standard: Played for Drama. Ladybug is very insistent on keeping her secrets close around Chat Noir, but he's painfully aware that she's more lax around a relative newcomer like Rena Rouge. This convinces him that Ladybug has never really trusted him and sees him as more of a risk than a partner. This conversation between Chat and Marinette sums it up.Chat Noir: She’s always kept me at arm’s length. For safety, of course. But she never needed to keep so safe from Rena Rouge.
Marinette: Chaton...
Chat Noir: The Wish wasn’t just a secret from Paris, it was a secret from me, too. Just one more thing she didn’t trust me with. (bitter chuckle) I guess I lived down to her expectations. Was last night really a betrayal at all, if she’s always considered me more of a risk than a partner? - Dragon Ascendant: Chrysalis, civilian identity Lila Rossi/Cerise/Violette, was Co-Dragons to Hawk Moth alongside Nathalie. And in the wake of his Heroic Sacrifice, she's risen to take his place.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Chat Noir has all but declared civil war on Ladybug, however, he goes to Marinette later, and confides in her his motivations for turning on her. There's also the irony that they're newly-declared enemies as Ladybug and Chat Noir, while dating as Adrien and Marinette. Along with the fact that Ladybug covered up Monarque's Wish from everyone including Chat Noir to protect Adrien from the Awful Truth, while being blissfully unaware that Adrien is Chat Noir.
- Another instance being that Team Miraculous has been split into two warring factions between Ladybug and Chat Noir, while still hanging out as a friend group in their civilian identities.
- Dub Name Change: Inverted, as the fic uses the heroes' French names. Monarch/Monarque, King Monkey/Roi Singe, Miss Hound/Traquemoiselle, Rooster Bold/Coq Courage, etc...
- Evil Counterpart: There are many parallels between Chrysalis and Ladybug. Both use Exact Words to describe the final battle with Monarque and the death of Gabriel Agreste, each pushing their preferred narrative of the story. Both are Consummate Liars. Both have an attachment to Chat Noir that goes beyond friendship (Marinette's dating Adrien, but as Argos points out, she's rather emotionally invested in someone she supposedly only sees as Just Friends. And Chrysalis has a full-blown Villainous Crush on him, while having initially had one on Adrien as Lila. And they both use the Affectionate Nickname "Chaton" for him). However, Ladybug is ultimately only doing what she thinks is best, Chrysalis is using Chat Noir for her own agenda.
- Eviler than Thou: Plagg muses that Chrysalis is more worrying to him than Monarque was.
- Evil Is Petty: Chrysalis could've tried to take Ladybug's Miraculous herself while the latter was winded from her fight with Chat Noir, but why spoil the fun of letting Chat take it off her instead? There's also the fact that, Villainous Crush aside, she gets a kick out of angering Ladybug by flirting with Chat Noir. In
wackus_bonkus's own words regarding this trope:wackus_bonkus: Part of the fun of writing Chrysalis is that she isn't just trying to be evil, she's also trying to be annoying!! On no fronts will she give either of the heroes a break 🤣 But she will sure as hell make herself look good doing it! - Exact Words: Both Ladybug and Chrysalis use these to describe Gabriel's death. And both are Metaphorically True. Ladybug says that Gabriel sacrificed himself to defeat Monarque, and Chrysalis says that Monarque sacrificed Gabriel to perform the wish.
- Face–Heel Turn: Interestingly, both Ladybug and Chat Noir consider the other to have pulled this, with Chat working with Chrysalis and Ladybug lying about the circumstances of Gabriel Agreste's death.
- Faux Affably Evil: Chrysalis comes off as very pleasant and sympathetic to Chat Noir, even offering mostly sincere advice and even comforting him about his regrets, however, it's all with the goal of manipulating him to her own ends.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Gabriel Agreste. While long dead by the start of the fic due to his canon Heroic Sacrifice, his influence is still felt throughout the plot. Ladybug is covering up his Secret Identity to shield Adrien from the Awful Truth, Chat Noir seeks to undo Monarque's Wish and bring him back, despite being fully aware that Gabriel's resurrection would likely cost Adrien his current freedom, and Chrysalis is using his Miraculous.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Downplayed, but after Ladybug and Chat Noir's first fight, Chrysalis comes to her and calls him "our Chaton", Ladybug's immediate reaction is to think, "He's not ours, he's not yours."
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: Barring the exception of Chrysalis, no one in this fic is truly evil, but none of them are saints, either.
- Chat Noir has lots of reasons to mistrust Ladybug's account of things, especially once he learns that some of the things she told him were Blatant Lies. That said, he's still working with Chrysalis, who Akumatizes someone in just the first chapter, and who Plagg claims is even worse than Hawk Moth.
- While Ladybug is unquestionably a hero, she also has a bad habit of keeping her allies Locked Out of the Loop even when it's more beneficial for them to know what's going on. The resulting Poor Communication Kills is what turns Chat Noir against her. And as Chat Noir points out, they've spent years fighting to prevent Monarque from using the Wish, and now she's trying to preserve it. This is later compounded by her lying to the other heroes about Chat Noir's motives, trying to paint him as being beyond reason, which almost immediately comes back to bite her when Chat angrily exposes her.
- Happy Ending Override: Adrien considers the return of his controlling, abusive Archnemesis Dad to be this, but chooses to go through with it anyway because he thinks it was wrong for Gabriel to be sacrificed for someone's wish. And if he left things as they were, he'd be just like Monarque.
- Hearing Voices: Downplayed but Marinette notes that her subconscious has started to sound eerily like Gabriel to her.
- Hero Antagonist: Interestingly, both Chat Noir and Ladybug count as this, as they're both invested in the common good of protecting Paris, but resort to some rather questionable means to do so. They just happen to have been pushed onto different sides by Poor Communication Kills. Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that they both undertake a good number of questionable actions in the name of good intentions, this would've been a straight case of Good Versus Good.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Chrysalis claims that she wants to set things right by undoing the Wish, but her motives for this are unclear, and since she's a Consummate Liar, this may not even be her true goal at all.
- Hypocrite Has a Point: Argos is completely correct in warning Ladybug that lying to Chat Noir about the Wish is a bad idea... it's just a shame about the whole "posing as Adrien and giving the Miracle Box to Papillombre" business.
- Kick the Dog: After Ladybug and Chat Noir's first real fight, Chrysalis corners her and gives her a short but potent Breaking Speech, before telling her that she plans to let Chat Noir take the Miraculous from her rather than taking it herself.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Deconstructed. Ladybug's tendency to keep secrets and outright lie to her allies, and especially Chat Noir, is what causes Argos and Ryuko to question her leadership, and outright turns Chat Noir and later three others against her.
- Manipulative Bastard: Chrysalis is this in spades. First, she offers Chat Noir the location of her victim's Akumatized object as a show of good faith, then when he meets her, she gives him a Metaphorically True account of the final battle, which he believes because she's able to prove she was there by virtue of wielding Monarque's Miraculous, and plants seeds of doubt in his mind, which Ladybug unwittingly nurtures with her lies and secrecy.
- Metaphorically True: Both Ladybug and Chrysalis' accounts of what happened with Monarque and Gabriel are this; Ladybug says that Gabriel sacrificed himself to defeat Monarque, Chrysalis says that Monarque sacrificed Gabriel to perform the Wish. The truth, of course, being that Gabriel was Monarque, and came to his senses, before sacrificing himself to save Nathalie and fix at least one of his mistakes.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ultimately, Ladybug's insistence on secrecy and lying to her teammates, even about things they should know about, causes Argos and Ryuko to question her ability, and causes Chat Noir to ally with Chrysalis. And after Chat exposes her to the others, it causes Roi Singe, Traquemoiselle, and Pegasus to join him.
- Noble Demon: Even at his worst, Chat Noir is this. One of the conditions of his alliance with Chrysalis is that she never Akumatizes a civilian again. And he shows a lot of restraint in his fight with Ladybug (and vice versa). He even saves Ladybug from drowning after she falls into the Seine, and Marinette later defends some of his actions during the fight to her classmates, as neither of them truly wants to hurt the other, merely do what they think is right.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Kagami remarks to Marinette that keeping the truth of Gabriel's death from Adrien puts her in a position of power over him that ironically makes her similar to Gabriel. Marinette, naturally, is horrified by this.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While Chrysalis's stated goal is to undo Monarque's Wish and put things back to the way they were, it's clear that she's ultimately only in it for her own secret agenda. This is underscored by the way she sadistically taunts Ladybug while she's incapacitated, and specifically mentions that she plans to let Chat Noir take her Miraculous off her rather than just doing it herself.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging:
- Chat's conversation with Marinette in Chapter 10 is full of this, as Chat admits to Marinette that he feels like Ladybug has never really trusted him and sees him as a risk rather than a partner.
- There's also plenty of this from the class toward Adrien regarding his fight with Ladybug.
- Plagued by Nightmares: Adrien's been having recurring nightmares of Chat Blanc ever since Nightormentor's attack. Along with it being the reason why he stayed out of the Final Battle, it's also why he refuses Chrysalis' offer of Akumatization.
- Poor Communication Kills: Might as well be called, "Poor Communication Kills: The Story." The whole conflict is driven by Adrien and Marinette's inability to properly communicate with one another, resulting in various forms of tension, resentment, and other issues to come up between them. The lies, secrecy, and stress only compound this until all it takes is a few nudges from Chrysalis and it all snowballs out of control.
- Regretful Traitor: While Chat Noir is undoubtedly well-intentioned, he still holds tremendous regret over being on opposite sides with Ladybug. It causes him to frequently question the morality of his situation. His recurring nightmares of Chat Blanc don't help matters.Chat Noir: Fighting her last night almost destroyed me. Every blow I landed—every small victory—felt like a knife carving at my insides. The way she looked at me when I demanded her miraculous—it tore me to pieces.
Marinette: (tearfully) Why then? Why did you keep fighting her?
Chat Noir: What other choice do I have? Chrysalis promised she wouldn’t akumatize anyone against their will. I wouldn’t work with her if she did—I’d never let her use an innocent like that. But the only alternative is to fight Ladybug myself. - Secret-Keeper:
- Alya serves as this to Marinette, serving as The Confidant to her, and being the one most in the loop out of all the heroes.
- Félix and Kagami reluctantly serve as this, as well, although they both disapprove of Marinette's decision to keep the truth about Monarque's "defeat" from the others.
- Spiritual Antithesis: To Truth and Consequences. Both follow the basic premise of "Ladybug and Chat Noir become enemies while dating as Marinette and Adrien", but the way they both go about it couldn't be more different:
- Where in Truth and Consequences, Marinette is out to secure the best possible ending for herself, Adrien views his endgoal in lies of attrition as a Happy Ending Override, but chooses to go through with it anyway because, at least from his perspective, it's the right thing to do.
- In Truth and Consequences, Chat Noir is almost completely isolated from any form of superpowered help, his only real allies being a Badass Normal in the form of Kagami and his new mentor. In lies of attrition, he manages to sway three members of Ladybug's team to his cause.
- Even the Butterfly-wielding Big Bads conduct themselves differently; whereas Hawk Moth is a serious-minded Control Freak who spirals into a Villainous Breakdown upon losing control of his plans, Chrysalis is a Troll and is flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. And their alliances are also different; where Ladybug and Hawk Moth utterly despise one another and only tolerate one another due to shared goals, Chrysalis has a crush on Chat Noir, and happily flirts with him.
- Another thing is how both sides of the conflict are characterized; while in Truth and Consequences, they're both portrayed sympathetically, it's also made unambiguously clear that Marinette is the villain. Here, the lines are much less clear-cut, with even a few scenes in the story calling into question how much either of them can be considered unambiguously right or wrong in their conflict. Not helping matters is that both characters' views are presented as valid, and both are willing to take questionable actions to further these ends.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Chat Noir doesn't really trust Chrysalis, but she's also the only person willing to tell him anything about what exactly the hell is going on, and up to this point, their goals are aligned, so he'll still work with her despite his misgivings.
- Troll: Chrysalis's M.O in a nutshell. Many of the things she does are as much for her own amusement at her enemies' expense as they are about advancing her goals.
- Villainous Crush: Chrysalis seems to have one on Chat Noir, with much of her dialogue being rather flirty with him. She even calls him "Chaton" at several points. Although, Word of God (specifically Missnoodles) has suggested that this could be partially to grind Ladybug's gears.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Both Ladybug and Chat Noir count as this, as they both take drastic measures throughout this story to fulfill their goals, however, they're both firmly invested in the greater good. Indeed, a core theme of this conflict is that Both Sides Have a Point.
- Wham Episode:
- Chapter 9 features Ladybug and Chat Noir's first real fight as enemies.
- Chapter 11 has Chat expose Ladybug as a liar to the other heroes, causing Roi Singe, Traquemoiselle, and Pegasus to turn traitor and join Chat to undo Monarque's Wish.
- Yes-Man: Chat implicitly accuses Rena Rouge of being this to Ladybug when she still sides with Ladybug after he exposes her. Although, it's technically a subversion, as Rena isn't so much mindlessly obedient as she's aware that Monarque and Gabriel Agreste were one and the same.Chat Noir: Figures you'd side with her.
