On Reflection
is an Alternate Universe Fic made by RockSunner, for Miraculous Ladybug. Part of the Smart Adversaries AU for Miraculous Ladybug on AO3, in which Ladybug villains make smarter decisions. The series has a tropes page here.
This is a five-chapter work and it is now completed.
This fanfiction series contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: A What If? with the change that Hawk Moth notices Nathalie isn't up to the task of creating a sentimonster for Reflekta, and decides to work without her. Consequently, Marinette discovers Chat Noir's identity and also Catalyst has the energy to enable a mass akumatization without collapsing.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Chat Noir combines the power of the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous to get a wish. He wishes for Scarlet Moth to be gone. While this frees Marinette and the other akuma victims from Scarlet Moth, the open-ended wish allows a balancing consequence, and Emilie Agreste revives to become Madame Papillon.
- Big "NO!": Scarlet Moth's reaction when Chat Noir intercepts the delivery of the Ladybug Miraculous is to scream an anguished "NOOO!"
- Bittersweet Ending: Adrien and Marinette have to give up being Chat Noir and Ladybug, but they get together and they will start dating. Hawk Moth is gone, but he will be replaced by Emilie as Madame Papillon, who will be just as bad as he was if not worse.
- Call-Back: The use of an "Aero" power-up, giving winged flight, has not appeared in canon but was first used in this series in "The Malevolence Of Malediktator".
- Diabolus ex Machina: Tikki reveals that if either hero finds out each other's secret identity, both have to surrender their Miraculous completely out of left field. This is an unfortunate case of Real Life Writes the Plot since this plot point had only been introduced the day before the chapter was posted in the canon show.
- Dramatic Irony: Scarlet Moth is pleased when Princess Justice reveals that she knows Chat Noir's secret identity, thinking it will let him threaten Chat's loved ones. When it turns out to be Adrien and the most obvious loved one to threaten is his father, Scarlet Moth quickly backtracks.
- For Want Of A Nail: Marinette figuring out that Adrien is Chat Noir results in Marinette not being as interested in Luka during "Silencer", not bothering to pursue Lila during "Oni-Chan" (leading to Lila getting shanked), and immediately giving Luka the Snake Miraculous in "Desperada".
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Certain that he can control Adrien, Scarlet Moth confronts him, only to have a wish directed against him that puts him into a coma instead of his wife.
- Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Princess Justice and Verity Queen. The latter has the power to force people to tell the truth, which she uses to make Lila admit to her actions against Marinette (as well as the fact that she's willingly worked for Hawk Moth before), and the former can inflict the five punishments of ancient Chinese law on peoplenote which she is about to do to Lila until Scarlet Moth orders all of his minions to go after Chat Noir.
- Love Makes You Stupid
- There are signs that Ladybug knowing Chat's identity will make her less effective.
- Marinette confesses to Chat Noir, hoping to get to know that side of her crush better. Unfortunately, this leads to the events of Weredad.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In chapter 4, Chat Noir hijacks the drone carrying Ladybug's Miraculous to Hawk Moth and gets it back, defeating Reflekta and Princess Fragrance who were send along as guards. His victory is foreshadowed when he gives Plagg a flying Power-Up.
- The Reveal:
- Adrien foolishly decides, since being transformed by Reflekta conceals his identity, that he can ask a random transformed civilian (Marinette) to pop the trunk of the car for him to get his ring. This reveals his identity to her.
- Marinette reveals her identity as Ladybug to Scarlet Moth immediately after being akumatized into Princess Justice.
- Lila correctly deduces that Scarlet Moth is Gabriel Agreste based on the fact that he ordered her to bring Marinette down and the scarlet akumas came right after.
- Princess Justice reveals Chat Noir's identity to Scarlet Moth and the other akumatized villains.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In Chapter 4, Scarlet Moth decides that since he has almost reached his goal (Princess Justice has already handed off the Ladybug earrings to him), he has no more use for an untrustworthy minion like Lila, and is about to let Verity Queen and Princess Justice exact punishment on her. However, Chat Noir manages to hijack Dark Owl's drone containing the Earrings, forcing Scarlet Moth to order all of the akumatized villains to go after him instead.
