YMMV / Two Letters

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Marinette really as bitter towards Paris as she acts or is she just burned out from the myriad problems she had in being Ladybug and letting that influence how she's acting?
  • How much of Marinette's current behavior is a result of her Laser-Guided Amnesia is up for debate. Not having the whole story due to lacking her memories as Ladybug could definitely bias Marinette's view on the situation. In particular, it's unclear if Marinette has any memory of Hawkmoth trying to Akumatize her into Princess Justice and Unmasker or even knows that those events happened, which could influence her condemnation of virtually everyone else who was akumatized at some point.
  • In the final chapter, it's revealed that Marinette deliberately lied in her letter to her post-amnesia self, claiming that Alya made up a story about her near-akumatization into Princess Justice. This simultaneously reinforced Marinette's belief that she was "better" than the rest of Paris due to never having a Moment of Weakness, while also driving another wedge between her and Alya. Did the pre-amnesia Marinette do this to ensure she'd stick to the plan out of fear that her post-amnesia self might revert to her self-sacrificing nature otherwise, or was she so delusional that she'd actually convinced herself that the entire Princess Justice incident never happened?
  • Is Marinette's bitterness entirely because of her service as Ladybug, or does it also stem from issues in her civilian life? Luka notes that Marinette seems to have been conditioned into treating all relationships she had as All Take and No Give and given how this was prevalent early in her retirement, there's good odds that some of her issues were kickstarted in the civilian part of her life rather than stemming entirely from her work as Ladybug.
  • Why didn't Mayor Andre tell Marinette and Luka anything about what was happening to his daughter? Was he more concerned about himself? Too worried about the possibility of word getting back to Ladybug to risk it? Or was he self-aware enough to realize that Marinette and her boyfriend might not be moved by the plight of her long-time tormentor, especially since he'd known about and enabled Chloé's bullying all that time?
  • While it's clear that Adrien is still incredibly self-centered, is his mask of Dissonant Serenity fully a projection of that, as Marinette insinuates? Or is it at least partly being forced on him? Keep in mind that he repeatedly states that Su-Han taught him to do so, and while it could just be another case of him passing the blame, Su-Han's effectiveness as a mentor has already been called into question; as such, it's not outside the realm of possibility for him to try and mold Adrien into the "perfect" student by making him suppress his emotions.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Marinette. On the woobie end, she's been taken for granted by everyone around her, has severe trust issues, and is heavily traumatized by her time as Ladybug. On the jerkass end, she has become incredibly vindictive, routinely engages in victim-blaming, and willingly gave incredible cosmic power to the one person most likely to abuse said power. The final chapter also reveals that Luka is the only thing keeping her from having a full-blown meltdown and becoming the very monster she spent so long fighting.
  • Alya has gone through an extended Trauma Conga Line that has left her Hated by All... while still struggling to grasp how her own mistakes and Fatal Flaws led to this outcome, resulting in her not helping her case when she pleads with Marinette and Luka for help.
• Spiritual Successor: Can be seen as one to the author's previous story The Karma of Lies.
  • Both stories involve Marinette being completely overwhelmed by her responsibilities. Karma focuses more upon the stresses of her civilian life, with how Adrien and her Fair-Weather Friends were exploiting her generosity, while Two Letters turns a spotlight towards how the citizens of Paris take Ladybug's presence and protection for granted.
  • One of the central conflicts of Karma is how Adrien refuses to truly support Marinette in either of his identities, leaving her to deal with Lila alone and similarly proving to be a poor partner as Chat Noir due to his skewed and self-centered priorities. Two Letters centers around Marinette feeling like she's the only person in Paris who takes the threat Hawkmoth poses seriously, and her frustration over the lack of support or defensive measures reaching the breaking point.
  • While she turns to Luka for support in both tales, Karma has her going to him directly and talking things over with him as her confidant. The two then work together (along with Kagami) to solve the problem by taking the fight to Hawkmoth. In Two Letters, by contrast, Marinette comes up with and enacts her own solution; Luka is not involved with the planning process, and only brought in on things through her letter.
  • In Karma, Marinette decides that the best way to revolve her problems is by drawing Hawkmoth out of hiding and taking him down once and for all. In Two Letters, she decides instead to quit and pass on the Earrings to another holder - something that was briefly touched on as an option in Karma, but summarily dismissed because Marinette feared that would be too selfish. Here, however, Marinette has Stopped Caring about whether or not she's seen as selfish for prioritizing her own needs.
  • Karma deconstructed the concept of Protagonist-Centered Morality through Adrien, who firmly believed that the world owed him the perfect, happy ending he desired simply because of who he was. Two Letters similarly picks apart this mentality by posing the question of what would happen if Marinette decided that she was tired of being The Reliable One and instead focused on obtaining her own happy ending.
  • One common debate around Karma is whether or not Marinette should have helped Adrien and her classmates despite how they'd taken her for granted (and were still continuing to do so, having learned nothing from their misfortunes). The severity of their punishments (especially Adrien's) had the side effect of some readers labeling Marinette selfish for sticking to her Self-Care Epiphany and not giving in to their demands. Two Letters further explores themes of dealing with grossly entitled people in a setting that is more Grey-and-Gray Morality, where it's suggested Marinette actually is being selfish, but not for entirely unsympathetic reasons. This also folds into Two Letters deconstructing the concept of "Saltinette". Like "Saltinette", the Marinette of Two Letters actively wants those whom she sees as wronging her to suffer, drawing pleasure from their Laser-Guided Karma. By contrast, the Marinette in Karma simply avoided her former friends, doesn't orchestrate any of their consequences, and only laughs at the Dramatic Irony of Alya telling Adrien that "we know Lila's not a liar!"
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: One of the underlying tragedies of this work is how very few of the cast, if anyone, seems to learn anything from the experience: most still expect the old Ladybug to come back and save them, acting incredibly entitled to her aid while still offering nothing in return. And Marinette Stopped Caring to a degree that becomes increasingly more disturbing as the story goes on, making it harder to be happy that she escaped that toxic arrangement. This can make the whole work difficult to get through.
• The Woobie: Juleka is the only woobie in the story who isn't some flavor of jerkass. She's fully aware that Marinette hates her and blames her for getting akumatized, but doesn't know how to make it up to her when she doesn't know specifically what she did, and even worse she's scared that Marinette could try and force Luka to stop talking to her because of it. She's also the only person who actually seems to appreciate the old Ladybug, having tried to take her lessons and encouragements to heart, and she sorely misses the positivity she brought — especially since the new Ladybug seems to be indirectly encouraging the worst in people. Her presence in the story goes a long way towards showing that, while there were definitely some entitled jerks who took Marinette for granted, not every person in Paris deserved the revenge she planned.

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