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/DownTheKarmicHole'', which shows an alternate universe Alix and Fu being warned by Bunnyx that they need to act fast to stop the events of this story from happening in their world, ''Fanfic/KarmaOverbalance'', which takes a more critical view of the original, ''[[Fanfic/KarmasABitch Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee, and ''[[Fanfic/KarmicBacklash Karmic Backlash]]'', which acts as a sequel where Marinette is in for some bad karma of her own.

* 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/DownTheKarmicHole'', which shows an alternate universe Alix and Fu being warned by Bunnyx that they need to act fast to stop the events of this story from happening in their world, ''Fanfic/KarmaOverbalance'', which takes a more critical view of the original, ''[[Fanfic/KarmasABitch Karma's a Bitch]]'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee, and ''[[Fanfic/KarmicBacklash]]'', which acts as a sequel where Marinette is in for some bad karma of her own.

* 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/DownTheKarmicHole'', which shows an alternate universe Alix and Fu being warned by Bunnyx that they need to act fast to stop the events of this story from happening in their world, ''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.

** When Adrien realizes Lila has drained his family's emergency funds account and expects Marinette to 'pull some strings' to help his case get immediate and special attention, she laughs in his face, recognizing how dramatically ironic the situation is.

** 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 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.

* SwissCheeseSecurity: Downplayed. The Agreste emergency account is as secure as any normal bank account, though it's discussed that it trades off potential extra measures, such as two-factor authentication on login, for ease of access. The real hole in its security is Adrien, who not only admits the lack of extra precautions to Lila, but then logs into the account ''right in front of her'', letting her see his login and passwords. Since she knows there are no additional security features, Lila simply goes to a public library and uses one of the computers there to access the account using Adrien's passwords, emptying it out. By the time Adrien notices the theft, it's too late to reverse the transaction or make use of other measures designed to stop fraudulent activity.

* AnAesop: It’s not the responsibility of victims to make life easier for those who hurt them, and acting like it is only enables the people doing the harm.

* BrokenAesop: Potentially. The story revolves around the concept that evil wins when good people do nothing -- Lila did incredible damage thanks to Adrien's refusal to act against her. However, part of Marinette's KarmicJackpot stems from her opting to cut ties with him and the rest of her ungrateful classmates, which includes no longer going out of her way to oppose Lila. While probably good for her mental health, this could also be interpreted as "Oppose evil, but not when evil heaps consequences upon the complicit."

* SternTeacher: Miss Bustier's unnamed replacement is described as a hardass who demands that the students actually work during school time and hands out far more detentions than she did.

* SwissBankAccount: Lila has one, though she privately observes that it's literally just a normal bank account that happens to be located in Switzerland... one that she's kept largely untouched until she needed it.

* AdaptationalHeroism: [[spoiler:Unlike in canon, here Chloe is willing to take criticism from Ladybug to heart and put in the effort to change, which leads to her quite literally becoming a hero (a real one, this time) by the end of the story]].

* AdaptationalHerosim: [[spoiler:Unlike in canon, here Chloe is willing to take criticism from Ladybug to heart and put in the effort to change, which leads to her quite literally becoming a hero (a real one, this time) by the end of the story]].

** Establishing boundaries is important, and a lack of boundaries is not an expression of love. Marinette's boundary-less devotion didn't create healthy relationships or actually help her become appreciated, it only demonstrated her obvious willingness to do near-anything for her class' sakes and gave her a reputation for extreme behavior when it came to Adrien. Her devotedly giving nature just spoiled her class into expecting huge favors from those around them for little to nothing in return, which Lila implies made them easy pickings for her scams. and Marinette herself only avoids Lila's trap by cutting Adrien off after he asks her to use her credibility with authorities to influence a police investigation. Generosity may be a virtue, but giving so much of herself without limits ultimately hurt both Marinette and the class she wanted to help in the end.

--->'''Chlo&eacute&:''' I'm done with that, and I'm done with you. I'm going to stick with Marinette and the others, because as annoying as Dupain-Cheng can be sometimes? I know that she'll be honest with me and demand I do better when I screw up. You won't.

** Similarly, Chlo&eacute& realizes that Adrien's refusal to 'rock the boat' and challenge her bad behavior enabled her to become even more of a SpoiledBrat.

** {{Averted}} with Chloé; while Ladybug is forced to request her aid, she makes ''very'' clear to her that this is purely a matter of necessity, and not a sign that she will get to become Queen Bee again or gain any recognition as a hero. Chloé, however, accepted this and was willing to help Ladybug for nothing in return to make amends and become a better person. She also, without ever telling Ladybug, went to the people she hurt and asked if there was any way she could help them to make up for what she did. If they accepted her offer, she quietly performed the tasks desired to the best of her ability. Because of this, Ladybug forgives Chloé, gives her a second chance to be a superhero, eventually becomes friends with her, helps her with her relationship with her mom, and by the end, even gives Chloé the public recognition she's always desired, because after all the work Chloé's put into being a better person, Ladybug decides Chloé's ''earned'' it.

** Marinette gets a torrent of more effective ones in Chapter 7, when her (former) class tries to throw her a party. When Adrien claims that despite their disagreements, he's still her friend, she tells him point blank that they aren't, and confirms that she isn't joking when Alya tries to play it off as a bad joke. After Marinette leaves, Alya chases after her and questions why Chloe is being given a second chance after everything she's done while the rest of the class isn't. Marinette retorts that Chloe was trying to become a better person ''before'' [[spoiler:she was publicly revealed as Ladybug]].

** Chloe observes that Adrien always told her that her bratty behavior was okay, then asks "You were lying, weren't you? You knew I was making myself and everybody else miserable." Adrien reluctantly affirms it, but insists he was just trying to keep the peace and not set off ''more'' tantrums.

** Seeing how disappointed Ladybug was by her betrayal caused Chloe to realize that not everything she did could be brushed away with an apology or her father's money, motivating her to actually try and change her ways.

** Alya and Nino flag Ladybug down and ask when they'll get to be superheroes again, unaware that she no longer trusts them thanks to their betrayal of Marinette. They then start complaining about Chloe acting entitled to the Bee, forgetting how ''they'' just casually assumed that they'll be getting 'their' Miraculouses back.
** Chloe wanted [[GloryHound the recognition and glory]] she associated with being a superheroine, hence her immediately revealing herself as Queen Bee. Instead, she is ultimately asked to assist Ladybug secretly with her plan, knowing that she ''cannot'' share her story and will not be lauded as a hero, while [[spoiler:having to watch Marinette, Luka and Kagami be celebrated instead after being unmasked in the FinalBattle with Hawkmoth]].

** Also applies to [[spoiler:Chloe, Juleka and Rose, the only three members of her former class who actually recognize what they did wrong and work to make amends rather than ''demanding'' to be EasilyForgiven. All three of them are able to earn back Marinette's trust to the point that she gives each of them a Miraculous for the FinalBattle with Mayura, and they become part of her TrueCompanions]].

** Adrien tries to invoke this for his father. He uses his identity as Chat Noir to advocate for Hawkmoth receiving paltry sentences, increasingly downplaying the terror and trauma that Paris' citizens were put through and recommending prison time and/or the death penalty be put aside in favor of consequences like "counseling" and "community service," even saying in a live interview that the many counts of murder should be discarded since Ladybug was able to reverse them. {{Deconstructed}} in that Chat's popularity takes a nose dive for advocating for this, since Ladybug's magic doesn't undo the traumatic memories, so Chat Noir [[EasilyForgiven Easily Forgiving]] Hawkmoth sends the message that he thinks that forcing most of Paris to endure terror, personal violation, the sensation of death, and the aftereffects of trying to live with the memories afterwards ''[[InnocentlyInsensitive isn't that bad.]]'' And that's not even touching the treason charge for nearly starting a ''nuclear war,'' which Adrien hears about from his bodyguard but doesn't even think about thereafter.
** {{Averted}} with Chloe; while Ladybug is forced to request her aid, she makes ''very'' clear to her that this is purely a matter of necessity, and not a sign that she will get to become Queen Bee again or gain any recognition as a hero. Chloe, however, accepted this and was willing to help Ladybug for nothing in return to make amends and become a better person. She also, without ever telling Ladybug, went to the people she hurt and asked if there was any way she could help them to make up for what she did. If they accepted her offer, she quietly performed the tasks desired to the best of her ability. Because of this, Ladybug forgives Chloe, gives her a second chance to be a superhero, eventually becomes friends with her, helps her with her relationship with her mom, and by the end, even gives Chloe the public recognition she's always desired, because after all the work Chloe's put into being a better person, Ladybug decides Chloe's ''earned'' it.

** Chloe, after she TookALevelInKindness, is livid with Adrien not just for enabling her awful behavior for years but because he did so for his own benefit rather than actually to support her. She fully admits that her actions are her own but she's come to recognize that a ''real'' friend would help her be better instead of just placate her like he did. She'd even be able to look past that if he ''honestly'' did support her but he knew what she was doing was wrong and said nothing to her, choosing silence because it served him better.

** 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 ''don't'' [[EntitledBastard act entitled]] to Marinette [[EasilyForgiven forgiving them]] for their abandoning and isolating her.

** Audrey tells Adrien that "As long as you're in my care, I will treat you as if you were my own child." Knowing exactly how she treated Chloe, he can only shudder in revulsion.

** Forgiveness can be detrimental to you, the wronged parties, ''and'' the wrongdoer if it's allowed to cross into complacency and an enabling tolerance for bad behavior. If forgiveness is granted without genuine recognition and regret on the wrongdoer's side, it can become reinforcement for that bad behavior. Chloe is HatedByAll by the beginning of the story because of her long history of terrible behavior and she only realized it was a problem when she couldn't make Ladybug forgive her. While she accepts her actions are her own, she also eventually calls ''Adrien'' out for constantly reinforcing to her that her behavior was acceptable. [[spoiler:And Marinette constantly trying to appease and forgive the people who hurt her for months and continuously giving up more of herself to try to maintain a positive relationship with them only eased them into thinking such an exploitative dynamic was acceptable.]]

*** Gabriel uses Mayura's sentimonsters to discredit workers' unions so disputes always end in his favor. Because Nathalie was out doing this on his orders, she wasn't able to provide any meaningful aid or damage control during his final fight [[spoiler:and exposure.]]

* HonestAdvisor: Chloe uses this as the reason to maintain a friendship with Marinette; she may not like being told what she's done wrong but she needs someone who will be honest with her and Marinette won't even think about lying to her about anything.

* 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 warn 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.]]

** {{Downplayed}} with Chloe. She did a lot wrong before the story began and is suffering the consequences ''dearly''. When Ladybug comes to her for help in dealing with Hawkmoth for good, she makes it clear that Chloe will ''not'' be benefiting from this in any way. While upset, she ultimately chooses to do what's best for Paris instead of herself. This pays off immensely for her as it leads her to a friendship with her hero, Ladybug, and she manages to develop a strong bond with Marinette with the assurance that the girl will help her be a better person by ''not'' allowing her to get away with her antics like Adrien did. She may not be in for a fun time, but she does recognize she will grow into a better person by taking the unpleasant but necessary path, which is ultimately better for her in the long run.

** The class is a more subtle example, with the exception of Chloe, Juleka, and [[spoiler:Rose]]. They simply do not concern themselves with what they put Marinette through, and breeze over this point when it's brought up by deflecting blame to Lila. Even when trying to make up with her, they do so by trying to make her feel empathy for ''them'' and ''their'' suffering, never once showing remorse for how they hurt her. They even treat the distance between them as ''Marinette's'' mistake, for which Adrien advocates for ''kindly'' forgiving her and Alya never wants to let her live down.

* 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. 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 ''[[BlamingTheVictim victims]]'' when they don't accept the mistreatment with grace. Of course, [[spoiler:when ''he's'' the victim, [[{{Hypocrite}} he demands that Lila "suffer."]]]]

** Chloe combines this with a 'The Reason ''I'' Suck Speech' when Adrien pleads with her to 'help Marinette see sense', realizing that Adrien enabled her bad behavior for years for the sake of 'keeping the peace'.
--->'''Chloe:''' I'm done with that, and I'm done with you. I'm going to stick with Marinette and the others, because as annoying as Dupain-Cheng can be sometimes? I know that she'll be honest with me and demand I do better when I screw up. You won't.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Marinette considered working with [[spoiler:one of the Agrestes]] for the sake of her plan, but ultimately is unable to bring herself to follow through. Instead, she selects an alternative: [[spoiler:Chloe, who also qualifies]].

** Similarly, Chloe realizes that Adrien's refusal to 'rock the boat' and challenge her bad behavior enabled her to become even more of a SpoiledBrat.

* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: After Miracle Queen, Chloe never bullied anyone or made Sabrina do her homework, hoping it'd be enough for Ladybug to make her Queen Bee again. Ladybug points out "Not being a bully is just basic decency".

** When Ladybug goes to Chloe for help, the latter is clearly hoping this means she gets to return to hero work. Ladybug tears that idea to confetti and makes it very clear that what's she asking will mean that any help Chloe gives will be completely unknown. While [[GlorySeeker Chloe]] is upset at the idea, she ultimately chooses to do what's actually heroic instead of self-serving.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: [[spoiler:After being unmasked and defeating Hawkmoth, Marinette becomes Paris's biggest hero, with her becoming basically untouchable.]]

* 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/DownTheKarmicHole'', which shows an alternate universe Alix and Fu being warned by Bunnyx that they need to act fast to stop the events of this story from happening there, ''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.

* 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.

* MajorityShareDictator: Gabriel Agreste owns 66% of his fashion company and threatens to use that power to fire Gerard if he obeys an order from Audrey Bourgeois. Since he's already behind bars as Hawkmoth and Audrey is about to make a deal with the board of directors to buy his shares, it [[SubvertedTrope doesn't work]]. Because the Government wants to seize Gabriel's assets once he's found guilty and it might render the purchase null and void, Audrey proposes to give the Government 14.3% of the company, which allows her to retain 51.7%, and the Government won't have to wait until Gabriel's trial to make him lose the company.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Kind of the point of the stories, what with the title and all. Karma comes in and hits those who deserve it like a freight train. Even better is that Marinette barely has to do anything at all to cause it. This is just the universe looking out for her after all the work she's put in to doing her job well.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Lila is ambitious but she's also smart. She knows when to cut and run if her fortunes turn. [[spoiler:Which proves necessary after Marinette is revealed as Ladybug. Lila knows Marinette can ruin her at any moment so she orchestrates things to get out of Paris, ASAP. She bemoans what it will cost her but also sees that it's better to get while the getting's good.]]

** Ironically, the class subverts this with [[spoiler:Adrien. They're willing to stick by him when he's ConvictedByPublicOpinion of aiding Hawkmoth... until Adrien's exposed as having known Lila was a ConArtist and not done anything to protect them. Then they kick him out of their friend group and blame him for their problems just as much as they blame Lila.]]

** Marinette gets a torrent of more effective ones in Chapter 7, when her (former) class tries to throw her a party. When Adrien claims that despite their disagreements, he's still her friend, she tells him point blank that they aren't, and confirms that she isn't joking when Alya tries to play it off as a bad joke. After Marinette leaves, Alya chases after her and questions why Chloe is being given a second chance after everything she's done while the rest of the class isn't, Marinette retorts that Chloe was trying to become a better person ''before'' [[spoiler:she was publicly revealed as Ladybug]].

* AdultsAreUseless: Principal Damocles’s and Miss Bustier's status as enabling Lila at everyone else's expense comes back to bite them when the school board finds out. They assume that the money they requested for Lila's fake, undocumented disabilities was embezzled (and even if they accepted that Lila was the one who lied about said disabilities, it's still a display of gross negligence on their part), Bustier is sacked on the spot, and Damocles is [[ResignedInDisgrace strongly encouraged to retire at the end of the year]].

* AdultsAreUseless: Principal Damocles and Miss Bustier's status as enabling Lila at everyone else's expense comes back to bite them when the school board finds out. They assume that the money they requested for Lila's fake, undocumented disabilities was embezzled (and even if they accepted that Lila was the one who lied about said disabilities, it's still a display of gross negligence on their part), Bustier is sacked on the spot, and Damocles is [[ResignedInDisgrace strongly encouraged to retire at the end of the year]].

* 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'', which acts as another alternate version of the original, this one incorporating Zoe Lee.