Follow TV Tropes

Following

Fanfic / The Cosmos (Miraculous Ladybug)

Go To

The Cosmos used to be Bully Hunters. They ruled Francoise Dupont College, until they chose to slip back into the shadows and let things play out without their overt influence. Waiting and watching to see whether or not they'd ever need to strike again.

Lila Rossi has made it clear: The Cosmos must return and clear the skies once more.


This fanfic contains examples of:

  • Abuse Mistake: Alix and Nathaniel first joined the group after Marinette, Chloé and Rose mistook the former's friendly teasing of the latter as bullying.
  • Adaptational Sexuality: Marinette is bisexual; Chloé and Rose are out and proud lesbians; Kagami likes girls as well; Nathaniel is gay and dating Marc; Alix doesn't like labels, but returns Chloé's interest in her.
  • Berserk Button: Adrien strikes Marinette's when he insists that Lila 'isn't hurting anyone'. He then proceeds to dig himself deeper by claiming that some people are just making mistakes, downplaying the harm even further.
  • Betrayal by Inaction:
    • Marinette's main problem with Adrien is that he's fully aware of Lila's true nature, but continues making excuses for her, even trying to pressure her victims into maintaining the status quo.
    • Nino also falls into this, having realized that at least some of Lila's claims didn't add up, but choosing not to go against the group.
  • The Brute: Kim devolves into serving this role for Lila, threatening to hurt anyone who speaks out against her or gets accused of hurting her.
  • Bully Hunter: The Cosmos began this way, to the point that two of their members wound up meeting them when they noticed one teasing the other and acted against them.
  • Cordon Bleugh Chef: Rose plays this for laughs as a subtle prank on Lila and her followers. Since Lila has claimed to be allergic to eggs and flour, she makes them cookies without using either ingredient, or a recipe that compensates for their absence.
  • Didn't See That Coming:
    • Rose is genuinely thrown for a loop when Lila casually reveals that she knows that her parents didn't take her coming out as a lesbian well.
    • Lila repeatedly threatens to get Adrien yanked from school by tattling to his father. She's completely taken aback when Adrien responds to this by pressing on her hand so that she dials his father's number, then snatches the phone from her and bluntly informs Gabriel that she's been harassing him.
  • Easily Forgiven:
    • Averted with Adrien. Even after he grows a spine, Marinette makes clear that he still stood aside and let her be hurt, and that's something that won't be brushed aside no matter how much he hopes for it.
    • Applies to the rest of Lila's followers as well. Kim in particular begs to be forgiven, only to be called out on how he's not actually apologizing for his actions, but out of the idea that saying he's sorry is all he needs to do to 'fix' his mistakes.
  • Forced Out of the Closet: Lila really likes using this as one of her biggest threats, even against targets who are already publicly out.
  • Foreshadowing: Early on, Rose notes that Lila mutters some of her scheming out loud without realizing it. This comes into play later on, after she notes the insanity of her final plan to herself while unaware that she's being recorded.
  • Friendly Address Privileges: Marinette quickly makes clear to Adrien that only her friends can call her Marinette, much less 'Mari'.
  • Freudian Excuse: It's eventually revealed that Lilae Diavoli Rossi was once diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness. People abandoned her due to this, only for it to eventually come out that she'd been misdiagnosed... at which point she got accused of faking her illness.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse:
    • Marinette invokes this against Adrien, declaring that his sheltered upbringing does not change how he deliberately chose to ignore the damage Lila was doing.
    • After learning about Lila's Start of Darkness, the members of the Cosmos all agree that what happened to her was tragic, but in no way justifies what she's become.
    • Also discussed in regards to Sabine, as her own issues from childhood led to her being especially hard upon Marinette, leaving her daughter saddled with a heavy 'Must Be Perfect' mentality.
  • Hoist by Her Own Petard: Lila digs herself deeper in several ways, but the standout by far is how she forces Nathaniel to give her an earpiece without knowing how said earpieces actually work. Namely, the fact that they function as recording devices, meaning that by stealing one and carrying it around, she's giving them the ability to listen in on and record anything she says.
  • Ignored Epiphany: When Alya starts noticing holes and inconsistencies in Lila's claims, she gets worried, but then chalks them off as part of her 'lying disease'. By the time she realizes the truth, it's too late.
  • Important Haircut: Rose sported Girlish Pigtails when she was younger, but cut them off after her parents divorced and her mother declared that she could stay with her 'as long as [she] was a woman who'd marry a man and had long hair'.
  • Malicious Misnaming: Lila repeatedly messes up the group name of The Cosmos and their individual titles.
  • Mirror Character: Rose for Lila, being every inch the master manipulator Lila believes herself to be. She utilizes many of the same tactics, pulling them off much more effectively. There's also the matter of how Rose got help through therapy for her troubled past, while Lila never did.
  • Moment Killer: A Running Gag with Nathaniel, who keeps interrupting romantic interludes to ask whether the participants are done 'having a moment' yet.
  • New Transfer Student: Kagami arrives at Dupont just in time to witness The Cosmos' return, much to her immense confusion.
  • No Poker Face: Rose silently notes Lila's lack of one while she's internally monologuing. She even mutters to herself out loud at one point without realizing it.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Rose's forte; her sugary sweet and overly trusting persona is all an act, luring others into underestimating her. Even those who knew her past as the Hydra are quick to accept the suggestion that she's just as naively trusting as she seems to be.
  • Oblivious to Love: Marinette, ironically, fails to notice Kagami openly crushing on her.
  • Only Sane Man: Nino feels as though he's the only one among Lila's 'sheep' who recognizes her true nature, Forced to Watch them fall further and further under her sway while unable to do anything to help them escape. Alya later joins him in this.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: One major sign of the impact Lila's influence is having upon Kim is when he threatens to hurt Nino, despite Nino being one of his childhood friends.
  • The Perfectionist: Sabine, who enforced this mentality upon Marinette by teaching her that she needed to excel at everything — and that doing so was 'as it should be'.
  • Playing the Victim Card:
    • One of Lila's favorite tactics. She particularly loves claiming to have been victimized in the precise ways that she's hurt others, including claiming that one of the Cosmos drugged and kidnapped her after she did so to Alix.
    • Rose also takes advantage of this, letting Lila and her followers see her as the Token Good Teammate amongst the Cosmos who doesn't even recognize how she's being manipulated by either side.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Downplayed with Lila; it's implied that part of the reason she loves using threats of being Forced Out of the Closet against her targets is because she can't fathom the idea of anyone being out willingly, much less being accepted as such.
  • Pronoun Trouble: During an interview about being one of MDC's models, Kagami accidentally slips up and uses gendered pronouns for the secretive designer. Her slip-up is such that the media isn't sure which gender involved was the 'correct' one.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • Marinette gives one to Adrien when making clear to him just how badly he screwed up:
      Marinette: You have an unhealthy view of the world. You think that as long as everything aligns perfectly so you don't get hurt, it'll all be fine.
      Adrien: No-
      Marinette: You need to hear this. You've been babied for a lot of your life. You're not shown as wrong for anything, because things have always been done for you. You have this feeling that you're owed something, constantly. You're like this because you've gotten nearly everything you've wanted, but not love and care. Unconditional love, that is. You're under this delusional impression that so long as people act the way you want, as long as they stay in a single state - that it'll all be fine. Because your world is all sunshine and rainbows. You don't think of Lila or me or a lot of people in your life as individuals with genuine feelings, or at least you didn't for a while. You needed everyone to be happy and fine, you have a need to be correct and not be wrong.
    • Mari also hits Ms. Bustier with one when calling her out for making the class representative handle all of her responsibilities.
    • Chloé gives Alya a short one, accusing her of deciding to stop being a reporter because reporters fact-check their claims, and Alya never liked admitting she was wrong.
    • Kim gets one from Juleka after Lila's exposure, when he starts shouting apologies at everyone randomly in hopes of finding somebody who'll forgive him:
      Your apology's supposed to be: 'I'm sorry I did x, I acknowledge what I did wrong, and I'll work on it.', not 'I was wrong, but now I want you to like me again, so I hope you'll just overlook everything.'. Apologies are not done because you feel like you're obligated to do them, but they're done because they're an acknowledgement of what you did wrong. And I'm pretty sure — what with this performative apology you've given everyone — that everyone knows that you're 'sorry'. Now go sit down, and try to get better. Know that none of us are going to help you, because you messed up bad.
  • Refuge in Audacity: Lila takes this to whole new levels when she burns down her own house in an attempt to frame the Cosmos for the crime.
  • Sadistic Choice:
    • The Cosmos give Ms. Bustier one: either she resigns from teaching and gets therapy, or else they'll reveal that one of her past 'model students' was Driven to Suicide by her methods.
    • Lila attempts this with Alix when she threatens to kill Chloé unless she gets her one of the Cosmos' protective pins.
  • Selective Obliviousness: Marinette confronts Adrien about this, forcing him to admit through a series of Armor-Piercing Questions that he was aware of how Lila was hurting others, but feigned obliviousness rather than acknowledge that he was wrong about her.
  • Self-Inflicted Hell: Nino finds himself mired in one after The Cosmos return, being well aware that Lila is the wrong side to be backing in this conflict, but unable to muster the courage to speak out against her. As a result, he's stuck watching her string most of his friends along. Alya later joins him in this.
  • Sixth Ranger: Kagami is quickly recruited into The Cosmos as a new, secret member.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Gender inverted. Nathaniel is the sole male member of the Cosmos.
  • Tampering with Food and Drink: Lila has Alya slip something into Alix's food to trigger an allergic reaction.
  • There Are No Therapists: Averted. Several members of The Cosmos have attended therapy themselves to address various issues, and often advise others to seek therapy themselves.
  • Token Good Teammate: Played With; Rose pretends to be this for The Cosmos, convincing Lila and her faction that she's being forced to work with the group... when in reality, she's just playing dumb to lure Lila off her guard. She's just as into the group as the rest of them.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Lila towards most of Marinette's classmates, particularly Alya and Kim.
  • "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Marinette's relationship with her mother amounts to this, as Sabine made clear that she expected her to excel at everything she did, refusing to recognize her achievements as anything other than 'how it should be'.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Marinette is unimpressed by Adrien taking her aside and trying to make her step down:
    Marinette: People are being hurt. I am finally stepping up and confronting my tormentor, and you scold me? (...) Life is not a tabloid, Adrien. Before you go giving shitty advice and scolding victims for speaking up and acting on their pain, go get a therapist and work on that sheltered mindset.
  • What You Are in the Dark: Adrien finally stands up against Lila when he witnesses her threatening to hit Rose if she doesn't steal a pin for her.


Top