History Fanfic / TheKarmaOfLies

* RecursiveFanfiction: A couple other people created spinoffs of the original work, including ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'', which acts as a series of stories taking place after the original story, ''[[Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug What Goes Around Comes Around]]'', which acts as an alternate version of the original, ''Fanfic/KarmaOverbalance'', which takes a more critical view of the original, and ''[[Fanfic/KarmasABitch Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34196134/chapters/85087078 The Karma of Lies]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfic by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonAddict564/pseuds/CartoonAddict564 CartoonAddict564]]. It is complete at 12 chapters. See also ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'', another work of theirs that takes a similarly deconstructive look at certain aspects of the series.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34196134/chapters/85087078 The Karma of Lies]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfic by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonAddict564/pseuds/CartoonAddict564 CartoonAddict564]]. It is complete at 12 chapters. See also ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'', another work of theirs.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34196134/chapters/85087078 The Karma of Lies]]'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfic by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonAddict564/pseuds/CartoonAddict564 CartoonAddict564]]. It is complete at 12 chapters.

* RecursiveFanfiction: A couple other people created spinoffs of the original work, including ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'', which acts as a series of stories taking place after the original story, ''[[Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug What Goes Around Comes Around]]'', which acts as an alternate version of the original, ''Fanfic/KarmaOverbalance'', which takes a more critical view of the original, and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39840375/chapters/99748683 Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee.

* RecursiveFanfiction: A couple other people created spinoffs of the original work, including ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'', which acts as a series of stories taking place after the original story, ''[[Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug What Goes Around Comes Around]]'', which acts as an alternate version of the original, ''Fanfic/KarmaOverbalance'', which takes a more critical view of the original, and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39840375?view_full_work=true Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee.

* RecursiveFanfiction: A couple other people created spinoffs of the original work, including ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'', which acts as a series of stories taking place after the original story, ''[[Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug What Goes Around Comes Around]]'', which acts as an alternate version of the original, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34556752 Karma Overbalance]]'', which takes a more critical view of the original, and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39840375?view_full_work=true Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee.

* ResignedInDisgrace: Principal Damocles' fate. He is made to take an early retirement after being assumed to have embezzled money from the school board to accomodate Lila's fake disabilities.

** Adrien suffers this the most, in ''soooo'' many ways. And it's even worse for him because aside from what he would bring on his own head he's also getting hit by the karma that should go to Lila. One of Adrien's defenses for why Lila's conning the class wasn't a big deal is that they weren't losing anything that they couldn't afford to, oblivious to how bad this really is because he has no view of how valuable money actually is. He winds up conned out of the entirety of the Agreste emergency funds (which reach into the millions). Even better is that he's technically not broke because the Agreste family have numerous other holdings and accounts but he has no access to them, not even the money he legitimately earned modeling, because of Gabriel's strict control over his life leaves him locked out of anything. [[spoiler:Which is especially bad with Gabriel exposed as Hawkmoth.]] He's not poor but he can't actually use the money either, so he hasn't lost anything he couldn't afford to in the most technical sense of the word.

** Marinette, pushed to a breaking point by Lila and her class, feels forced to cross the GodzillaThreshold and use the Miraculous as bait to lure out Hawkmoth for a FinalBattle that she winds up winning. [[spoiler:And exposes Gabriel Agreste as the man behind the mask, guaranteeing his downfall. Marinette is also revealed as Ladybug, making her an untouchable and adored figure in the city. And the experience gives her the self-assurance to cut out the class from her life, recognizing how toxic their dynamic is.]]

** The class has a collective one in being SecretlySelfish. They don't appreciate all that Marinette has done for them because they honestly think everything they've gotten is because they're [[BornLucky just that lucky]]. They cozy up with Lila and start snubbing Marinette without a care because they see it as another good opportunity that fell in their lap and hope to use it to help themselves. [[spoiler:The end result is Marinette cutting ties with them all for good after she's revealed as Ladybug, denying them any of the benefits they believe they could get from being her friends.]]

** PlayedWith when Lila speculates that part of the reason why her classmates fall so easily for her most basic deceptions is due to Marinette having worked so hard to help them accomplish their dreams. Rather than recognizing and appreciating everything she did for them as their "everyday Ladybug" to help them succeed, they presume that they're just [[BornLucky lucky enough]] to have opportunities fall into their laps; hence, Lila's claims about her connections and apparent willingness to help seem like just more good fortune rather than TooGoodToBeTrue.

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:After Gabriel is exposed as Hawk Moth, Adrien is placed under the care of his aunt Amelie, who quickly proves to be just as emotionally neglectful as Gabriel was. She immediately shoots down the idea of him coming to England to live with her out of fear for her own reputation (when getting Adrien out of Paris is honestly probably the best thing that can be done for everyone involved at this point), allows him to get thrown out of school based on rumors of his collusion with Hawk Moth, and keeps him completely isolated "for [his] own safety" just like his father did.]]

** Unambiguously sweet: [[spoiler:Marinette is exposed as Ladybug, becomes beloved by the people of Paris, cuts the toxic people out of her life, and is free to pursue her own dreams and mental well-being. Hawk Moth and Mayura are caught and set up to spend the rest of their natural lives behind bars.]]
** Unambigiously bitter: [[spoiler:Lila worms her way out of any consequences and scampers off to Marseille with 50 million stolen euros, and her final narration makes it clear she is never going to be satisfied with what she's already taken and is going to keep exploiting everyone around her.]]

** Unambigiously bitter: [[spoiler:Lila worms her way out of any consequences and scampers off to Marseille with 50 million stolen euros.]]

** Somewhere in the middle: [[spoiler:Adrien suffers the karmic backlash of his own mistakes, Lila's crimes, and even his father's actions, and his life is completely ruined.]]

* ThePowerOfApathy: After Marinette [[spoiler:is revealed as Ladybug]], she finds it incredibly easy to cut ties with her class. She expected to be conflicted or uncertain but instead it's all too easy and she feels relieved by it... because she honestly [[StoppedCaring doesn't care about them anymore]].
** This winds up paying off for her immensely after the FinalBattle [[spoiler:where her identity is revealed]]. Lila, fearing retaliation, arranges a BatmanGambit that will discredit her by targeting Adrien to set her off and damage her credibility. This fails because Marinette point blank doesn't care about him anymore. She won't make things worse for him but she's no longer willing to extend any help either.

* PragmaticVillainy: Lila practices this in excess. She might be ambitious and greedy but she's also sensible, which is what lets her keep her head above water when karma starts hitting Gabriel and Adrien. She's willing to take a loss that she can walk away from instead of stubbornly trying to force things to be how she wants. If fortunes turn and it's in her best interest to cut losses, she will do it in a heartbeat even if she bemoans the prospects she's walking away from. She's also quite careful about her manipulations, gauging how people will respond to her deceptions and ''never'' trying to overreach because it could expose her.

* MoralMyopia: Adrien determines whether something is a problem or not through the lens of if ''he personally'' thinks the consequences are serious, regardless of how anyone else says they are affected. Once he decides that something is the right course of action, whether or not it winds up hurting someone, then that's all there is to it for him.
** A notable reoccurring example: rather than holding Lila, Chloe, [[spoiler:or Hawkmoth]] responsible for their actions, Adrien downplays their misdeeds, demands their victims cope because "it's not a big deal," expects their victims to make things easier for them by forgiving them instantly when they need it, and judges the ''[[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming victims]]'' when they don't accept the mistreatment with grace. Of course, [[spoiler:when ''he's'' the victim, [[{{Hypocrite}} he demands that Lila "suffer."]]]]

** Adrien suffers this the most, in ''soooo'' many ways. And it's even worse for him because aside from what he would bring on his own head he's also getting hit by the karma that should go to Lila.
*** One of Adrien's defenses for why Lila's conning the class wasn't a big deal is that they weren't losing anything that they couldn't afford to, oblivious to how bad this really is because he has no view of how valuable money actually is. He winds up conned out of the entirety of the Agreste emergency funds (which reach into the millions). Even better is that he's technically not broke because the Agreste family have numerous other holdings and accounts but he has no access to them, not even the money he legitimately earned modeling, because of Gabriel's strict control over his life leaves him locked out of anything. [[spoiler:Which is especially bad with Gabriel exposed as Hawkmoth.]] He's not poor but he can't actually use the money either, so he hasn't lost anything he couldn't afford to in the most technical sense of the word.

*** This extends to Rose, who Juleka convinces to stop following the class and to realize their treatment of Marinette is wrong. Since she's now willing to realize what she did wrong, Marinette is also open to restarting their friendship [[spoiler:and, much like Juleka, giving her a Miraculous to wield during the final battle with Mayura.]]

** One of Adrien's problems is that he doesn't sympathize with the pain Marinette is going through on account of Lila isolating her from the class. He says that she is strong enough to handle it, so he doesn't feel the need to intervene. He also fails to consider the perspectives of others; as Plagg points out, while he's wealthy enough to easily replace things like clothes, not all of his classmates can say the same.
*** The clothing scam in particular exemplifies his deficiencies -- as a wealthy model and heir to a fashion mogul who has hundreds of employees to do the work for him, Adrien simply can't understand that his classmates can't afford to replace the bespoke clothes Marinette gave them as presents, nor how much of an extraordinary financial burden, time constraint, and labor it would be on Marinette if she actually made the clothes again for free. As someone who has never wanted for any material resource, he simply cannot relate to his classmates' daily living constraints and so his self-centered perspective means he's developed no empathy whatsoever for any resource-related struggles. He sees no problem with letting the class give away their best clothes and implicitly demanding for Marinette to remake them all because he has no capacity to understand what this costs them, both materially and emotionally.

*** This extends to Rose, who Juleka convinces to stop following the class and to realize their treatment of Marinette is wrong. Since she's now willing to realize what she did wrong, Marinette is also open to restarting their friendship [[spoiler:and, much like Juleka, gets to wield a Miraculous during the final battle with Mayura.]]

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The story centers around these running out, with Adrien, Chloe, Bustier and Damocles, the classmates, and Gabriel and Nathalie suffering the consequences of their actions and having to deal with the fallout. This ''would'' have been the case for Lila as well, except that Adrien took the karma for her. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, Ladybug visits Lila to warns that this could still be the case in her future, but Lila (and the reader) can't be sure if Ladybug really did see her future via Fluff to verify that Lila will continue to run scams until she suffers an unfortunate fate, or if she's just making things up.]]

** The majority of Marinette, Adrien, Chloe and Lila's classmates prove to be this. After everything [[NiceGirl Marinette]] has done to help them as their "Everyday Ladybug", they instantly abandon her once Lila presents herself as an even better version of her, [[CelebrityLie claiming to have]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections better connections]]. It's very telling that out of all of them, only [[spoiler:Juleka and eventually Rose]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize their mistakes]] and ''doesn't'' [[EntitledBastard act entitled]] to Marinette [[EasilyForgiven forgiving them]] for their abandoning and isolating her.

** The majority of Marinette, Adrien, Chloe and Lila's classmates prove to be this. After everything [[NiceGirl Marinette]] has done to help them as their "Everyday Ladybug", they instantly abandon her once Lila presents herself as an even better version of her, [[CelebrityLie claiming to have]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections better connections]]. It's very telling that out of all of them, only [[spoiler:Juleka]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes their mistakes]] and ''doesn't'' [[EntitledBastard act entitled]] to Marinette [[EasilyForgiven forgiving them]] for their abandoning and isolating her.

** {{Inverted}}/PlayedWith with Marinette's classmates; after she cuts ties with them and transfers over to Mendeleiev's, people notice that she's treating her former friends like strangers. This leads many to the conclusion that because Marinette is such a good person -- especially since [[spoiler:it's now widely known that she's Ladybug]], that must mean she's avoiding them for good reason.

** The majority of Marinette, Adrien, Chloe and Lila's classmates prove to be this. After everything [[NiceGirl Marinette]] has done to help them as their "everyday Ladybug", they instantly abandon her once Lila presents herself as an even better version of her, [[CelebrityLie claiming to have]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections better connections]]. It's very telling that out of all of them, only [[spoiler:Juleka]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes their mistakes]] and ''doesn't'' [[EntitledBastard act entitled]] to Marinette [[EasilyForgiven forgiving them]] for their abandoning and isolating her.

* DragonTheirFeet: Mayura does not get involved in Hawkmoth's FinalBattle, with Nathalie spending time plotting out the best way to strike back at Ladybug and Paris.

** It also deconstructs the idea that being a good person means good things will automatically happen without you doing anything to ''make'' them happen. Being Ladybug and an "everyday Ladybug" did ''nothing'' to protect Marinette from Lila's cruelty, while her classmates took her kindness completely for granted. Her situation only improves when Marinette decides to start taking better care of herself and actively makes the changes she wants to see in her life. By contrast, Adrien assumes that everything will go his way because he ''assumes'' he's a good person and a hero; therefore, he never questions his hands-off kids' gloves method of dealing with bad faith actors even when others point out how much pain it's causing, and only realizes the need for action when it's his own wellbeing on the line.