Recap / Two Letters: Chapter 10

I Love You More Than the Rest of the World Put Together

As they arrive at the Eiffel Tower, Luka realizes why Marinette arranged to meet the new Ladybug there: it was where she first fought Stoneheart two and a half years ago, back when her miraculous journey began. Now, she's determined to ensure it's over once and for all, no matter what Alix, Alya, Adrien, or anyone else wants.

The new Ladybug arrives alongside Chat Noir, giving Luka his first really good look at their new protectors. Despite the ads plastered across her slightly more stylized uniform, and her hair being tied into braids rather than pigtails, she looks much like the original... so long as one doesn't look too closely at her eyes, filled with contemptuous contemplation. She immediately claims to have been contacted by a 'concerned civilian' whom they apparently thought was her, and that she came in her place in order to convince them otherwise. Marinette counters that she called her directly, "old Ladybug to new."

Luka explains what he realized before: while he knew Marinette had found a successor, along with stripping Chat Noir of his Miraculous, she'd never mentioned looking for a new holder for the Black Cat Ring. Never alluded to it even once. Given how she confessed everything else in her letter, why would she hide that particular detail? So he's convinced that she found some way of hiding or destroying it, making their current cat a fake.

Said cat immediately asks if he's allowed to kill them. But the new Ladybug stays his hand, while questioning why the old one would risk Paris by getting rid of her partner. Luka counters that he wasn't much of one, laying out all his faults and failings — how often he threatened to quit, skipping fights, even attacking their allies... small wonder Marinette concluded that his absence would prove more a boon than a hindrance to her successor.

But why wasn't she concerned by the fake Chat Noir? Because she'd lost all her memories related to the Miraculous, including all the details about what she'd done before giving it up. So she, like everyone else, assumed they were still being protected by the same Black Cat hero... rather than a sentimonster crafted in his image by Felix Fathom. After all, both the akuma Antibug and the sentimonster Ladybug could use Lucky Charm, so why couldn't a sentimonster use Cataclysm?

Luka goes on to point out that the new, false Chat Noir looks uncannily like Felix, taking advantage of how he resembled his cousin. After firmly establishing himself as a hero by fighting alongside the new Ladybug, he's going to reveal the new Chat Noir as a sentimonster, proving just how humanlike they can be... and claim to be that sentimonster, painting himself as an innocent construct made by the real villain, who created him in his image before tragically dying. This would give him a chance to reclaim his life after unintentionally destroying it through his alliance with Hawkmoth.

As for the new Ladybug? She had to be somebody close to Marinette. Somebody whom she could study enough to determine whether or not they could handle the job. And while they'd initially ruled her out because of the dangers of her getting both the Earrings and the Ring, now that they know the Ring's out of the picture, they can only be dealing with Lila Rossi. Who sighs and drops her transformation, admitting to being impressed.

Felix drops in, introducing himself as 'Avian God'; Marinette is unimpressed by his new moniker. She also reassures Lila that she's not looking to expose her or her partner. After all, if she did, everyone would expect her to step back up and become Ladybug again, and that's not happening. They just have a few questions, and Lila cheerfully explains how her partnership with Felix got started... after Marinette made certain she knew that the real Ring wasn't an option when she used her last Lucky Charm to blast it off into space.

It also helps that she has far less to juggle. While Marinette had plenty of responsibilities and commitments outside her duties as Ladybug, the majority of Lila's 'activities' were nothing more than lies she'd crafted to make herself look good. All her clubs and charity work were just pretty fiction, and she used her newfound clout as Ladybug to set herself up as a 'Junior Ambassador' taking specialized classes online, freeing up even more of her time to ensure she was rested and well prepared for her battles. Including doing lots of research, like figuring out the 'weak points' of repeat offenders so she could target those directly.

With a little laugh, she proclaims that she's clearly the better hero... but Luka disagrees. She might be the better fighter, due to her ruthlessness, but she's not the better hero. Marinette was, with how hard she worked to support everyone and encourage them to become better.

"Then I guess it's a good thing the people of Paris want a fighter and not a hero," muses Lila.

Shifting subjects leads to a bombshell: the reason why Hawkmoth's attack pattern changed over the last three months is because Hawkmoth — Gabriel Agreste — is dead. While he'd known his uncle's secret the whole time, Felix refused to share it with Lila, preferring to lure him out naturally... and they did so by making it appear that one of his akuma had managed to seriously wound Ladybug and knock out Chat Noir before being defeated, trapping the heroes in a TV studio. When he had another akuma teleport in using the Horse, they leapt through the portal and straight into Hawkmoth's lair, catching him completely off guard. Hearing how they kicked the tar out of him causes Marinette to laugh with delight, praising their work.

Oh, but they weren't responsible for killing him. No, Lila explains, that was due to the lingering effects of a Cataclysm he'd taken to the arm during one of his last fights with the original heroes... meaning Adrien accidentally killed his father. Something Marinette finds quietly fitting, while Luka's more disturbed by the circumstances.

She also reveals that they recovered the Butterfly Brooch and all the stolen Miraculouses, which had been reforged into rings. She keeps the whole set with her at all times, chained inside her bomber jacket, and casually lets the kwami poke their heads out to greet the duo, enabling them to reunite with their former partners. Sass is delighted to see Luka again; Tikki seems more reluctant about seeing her former holder, while Lila admits that she and Felix have effectively become the new Hawkmoth, staging fights with invented individuals using sentimonsters and Trixx's illusions. Again, they've been doing their research — if somebody's been bothering them, they can stage an akuma attack that will expose their true target's worst vices to the world.

Luka doesn't like the sound of that. But Marinette pointedly asks Lila if she's physically hurt anyone as Ladybug, and she affirms that no, she hasn't — not since they defeated Hawkmoth. For the last three months, they've only fought illusions and sentimonsters. Yes, Bob Roth was chased out of town, but it's not like she told that angry mob to break into his studio; they just overreacted to her noting his lack of support. And she didn't make Alya run into that battle disguised as Chat Noir, either. As far as she's concerned, her recent akuma battles are more public art — why, she even made sure it's all nice and legal by having the Mayor sign off on letting Ladybug stage impromptu shows anywhere in Paris. Not that he paid any attention to what he was signing...

But no, she reassures them, she hasn't done anything too evil as Ladybug. Certainly nothing that would warrant intervention from any other heroes... or Marinette herself. No, she and Felix have just been putting on their little shows, basking in the growing adulation of their fans... and sure, not everybody loves them. But enough do that the rest fear the judgement of the mob if they openly express their concerns. For the majority, she's just the kind of hero they always wanted: somebody who doesn't try and encourage them to better themselves. Who doesn't try and inspire, or lead by example. Who lets them be just as petty and self-serving as they want.

The hero Paris deserves.

Marinette agrees, sharing a laugh with her former adversary turned successor. Admitting that she wasn't entirely certain about her, but now? She's perfectly comfortable leaving her right where she is. If anyone has problems with the new Ladybug, they can deal with her themselves, leaving Marinette out of it.

Cue Bunnyx, lured out of hiding by her callous words — and right into the path of the fake Chat Noir. Pinned down before the others, she looks up at Marinette and begs for help, only for Marinette to refuse with a smile, more focused on recovering the Watch. Both she and Lila pick it up at the same time, keeping a tight grip on both ends while they stare each other down... and while Alix screeches at Marinette to help her, to no avail. That's not her job anymore, and she refuses to return to it.

Staring at her, Alix declares "I can't believe it. You really are... a selfish bitch."

Luka starts forward, but Marinette holds him back while Alix rants about how she hasn't had to deal with any serious issues — she's not starving, not stuck in some war-torn city or dealing with fatal illness! No, she's just "throwing a tantrum" over having to be a superhero and deal with how some folks didn't like or listen to her. Hardly worth handing over Paris to a couple of sociopaths.

Lila laughs, asking Alix just what she did to help relieve that supposedly 'light' burden. Oh, she became Bunnyx, but she only fought alongside her all of two or three times. And the Butterfly Brooch has provided Lila with immense insight on just how petty the people of Paris are, how little they cared about doing anything to improve their own lots in life or avoid being victimized by Hawkmoth. Still, Alix keeps viciously insulting Marinette, insisting that she was obligated to keep fighting — especially since Hawkmoth wouldn't have lasted much longer! But no, she turned her back upon her duties so that she could spend more time "canoodling with her boy-toy"...

...Except that it wouldn't have ended with Hawkmoth, Marinette points out. There would have been some other villain, somewhere, and everyone would have expected her to take them down, as well. As long as she could fight, there'd be somebody to fight, and people foisting that off entirely upon her.

But she had help, Alix insists. She, Alya, even Adrien did all they could — except no. That's not really the case, is it? If Alix really wanted to, if she really thought Marinette's burden was so light, she could have taken it on herself, going back in time and becoming Ladybug herself. Using the Miraculous' glamor to disguise herself, peeking into the original timeline and handling every fight the same way she had... stepping into her shoes and playing the heroine she expected Marinette to be.

Why didn't she do any of that? Because she didn't want to suffer. No, that was Marinette's job. Only she won't be the universe's personal punching bag anymore.

Following a little emotional blackmail from Lila, a defeated Alix agrees to help the group time travel so that they can tie up some loose ends. Luka is left behind with Sass, desperately confiding in his former kwami that he doesn't know what to do. How can he prevent Marinette from straying any further down this dark path? She won't listen to anyone — anyone other than him. But what can he possibly say to set things right?

Before he can figure it out, the time travelers return. Among the matters they tended to was retrieving the laser Hawkmoth used to reforge the Miraculouses, reducing the Watch to powder and divvying up its remains: Marinette, Lila and Felix each get a fifth, the Order gets another fifth, and the last is dumped into the ocean. As they leave to take care of that, Alix runs over to Luka, insisting that he has to help her. Paris is only going to get worse with Lila as their Ladybug, and she snuck a few last peeks into potential futures while the others were plotting and saw things that—

—she doesn't have the chance to explain any further before they return. Forced to recite a speech barring Fluff from using her powers on her own, she tells her former kwami to ignore any further orders she might try to give. As Felix hurries off to check on Emilie, safely returned from the future, Marinette talks with Lila a bit more... and Lila takes the opportunity to reveal just what became of Chloe Bourgeois. Namely, that she's been forced to work as the new Ladybug's personal attendant at her private home.

Luka's naturally horrified — she's practically enslaved her! But Marinette is delighted, seeing this as karmic payback after everything her former bully did. This proves to be too much for Luka, who tries in vain to appeal to his girlfriend's better nature even as she tears up: "Luka, I need you to get this! I'm not going to war just so the people here don't have to deal with Lila!"

Lila 'helpfully' declares that if they're breaking up, she can hook Marinette up with some of her former boyfriends. After all, it's clear that he's going to try and talk her into fighting... and if he can't? Then he'll start treating her like she's evil, or corrupt, or a failed hero.

Marinette affirms that she's never going back. After two years of struggling through life as Ladybug, she's finally started looking after herself. Question is, does Luka still want to be a part of it?

...He does. Telling her outright how much he loves her, how much he admires her, how much she inspires him... and that no, her decision to quit doesn't make her evil or corrupt. She was simply hurt. Hurt by being disrespected. Treated so callously by those she'd fought so hard for. Betrayed and wounded, and nobody... no good person would abandon somebody just for being hurt.

But they shouldn't let that wound fester, either. And so he wants to help her heal. To recover to the point where she can let go of her bitterness, where she wants to save people again. He wants to help her get well, and to be happier.

Marinette cuts off his speech by drawing him into a kiss. Reaffirming that she wants to be with him forever. And while she doesn't want to fight Lila or her rabid followers now, he's right that she might change her mind someday. Lila's more than happy to let that lie while she can, heading off to keep playing superhero while the happy couple heads back to the Liberty along with Sass. Maybe her healing process can begin with an apology to Juleka...

Her letter to Luka ended with her declaring that he didn't have to keep loving her. He wouldn't have to settle on staying if he didn't want. She just hoped that he could see things from her point of view, even if he disagreed with her decision to quit. She loved him more than the rest of the world put together; his support made her burden almost bearable. Without him on her side, she would have broken long ago.

By the time he received her letter, she would have already renounced her Guardianship, forgetting everything related to the Miraculous. Still, she hoped she'd retain at least some of her memories of him, and would have the chance to make more. Apologizing one last time for letting Paris... for letting him down, she finished with one last declaration: I love you, Luka.

---

This chapter contains examples of:

• Appeal to Worse Problems: Alix does this after realizing Marinette refuses to do what she wants, claiming that she's only had to fight for two years and hasn't had to deal with starvation, terminal diseases or any real problems.
• Armor-Piercing Question: After repeatedly insisting that Marinette was obligated to keep fighting Because Destiny Says So, claiming that she and others did all they could to help, Alix is flummoxed when Marinette questions that, spelling out one way she could have taken that responsibility completely onto her own shoulders.
  Marinette: You could just copy me and do it all in my place. Sure, you'd get smacked around by akumas. Sure, you'd get hurt when Chat Noir or Alya let you down in person. But you could have done it, Alix. Why didn't you?
  Alix: (following a long silence) I, I just didn't...
  Marinette: Didn't want to, I'm sure. Too hard, too painful, too much work. Better to let me do it. You all decided that was my lot in life: to suffer. (glaring) Except I'm not going along with that anymore.
• Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Discussed; while Felix expresses a desire to take down Marinette, Lila alludes to her doing something that convinced her not to try anything against the former Ladybug.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Luka picks up a few clues through the story that allow him to determine the identity of the new Ladybug and Chat Noir. Lila admits to be impressed.
• Bad Future: According to Alix, these are all but guaranteed so long as Lila remains Ladybug. While most involved her continuing to blackmail Paris' elite and running her other cons, at least one saw her pulling strings to become the new Mayor, ousting Andre in order to give herself even more power.
• Book Ends: Invoked; the reason why Marinette decided to meet the new Ladybug at the Eiffel Tower was so it could end where her career began battling Stoneheart.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Felix really didn't consider the potential long-term consequences of aiding a magical terrorist, finding himself with his reputation so thoroughly destroyed that his best chance for reclaiming some semblance of his old life is by passing himself off as a sentimonster crafted in his own image.
  • Rather than trying to determine why Marinette retired, whether by asking her directly or doing some detective work, Alix tried 'fixing' the problem by manipulating, guilt-tripping and forcing her back into service... and is honestly shocked when this doesn't work out in her favor.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Even when Marinette tells her point-blank that she quit because the burden of being Ladybug was too much to bear, Alix insists that she's tough enough to keep fighting. And when Marinette stresses that she doesn't want to keep fighting, and it finally sinks in for Alix, she immediately calls her a "selfish bitch".
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Discussed and Played With. Alix claims that Marinette was on track to receive her happy ending; she just needed to hold out "a few more months" before Hawkmoth was taken out of the picture. Whether or not she actually would have been satisfied with whatever the universe had in store for her is beside the point, in Alix's eyes. Marinette also doubts whether she would have been allowed to retire; there's always other villains, after all...
• Enemy Mine: Marinette might not trust Lila or Felix, but she's willing to work with them in order to take Bunnyx out of the picture.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Played With through Lila;
  • On one hand, she makes a point of stressing how she hasn't physically hurt anyone over the last three months, having fought sentimonsters and illusions rather than actual akuma. However, this is also Pragmatic Villainy on her end; she doesn't want to risk attracting the attention of real superheroes like the United Heroez... or spur Marinette to decide she's too evil and come after her.
  • She also points out how Marinette was exploited and taken advantage of during her time as Ladybug. Again, however, she has vested interest in ensuring that her former rival stays retired.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Alix's inflexibility proves to be her downfall here. Despite all the potential avenues and solutions offered by her Miraculous, she remained deadset upon forcing Marinette to retake the Earrings and returning everything to the toxic status quo.
  • Marinette also notes that her plan specifically hinged upon Alix being arrogant enough to assume her scheme to force a fight between her and Lila would work, and settling back to watch the show rather than double-checking to ensure its success. Her impulsive, frustrated reaction upon seeing them getting along drew the fake Chat Noir's attention right to her.
• Foil:
  • Lila to Marinette in several important ways:
    • While Marinette ran herself ragged trying to juggle all her responsibilities as Ladybug and Marinette, Lila doesn't actually participate in any of the clubs or charities she claims to be in, and set up her own homeschooling as a 'Junior Ambassador' so that she wouldn't have to worry about classes anymore. This frees her up to be better rested and prepared for dealing with akumas, especially now that she and Felix are running both sides of the show.
    • Lila also specializes in psychological warfare, such as threatening her opponent's loved ones in order to force their surrender. Something Marinette wouldn't have even considered as an option, not wanting to traumatize people she saw as victims in their own right.
    • As Ladybug, Marinette tried to encourage everyone around her to improve themselves and be better prepared for the future, such as learning how to better manage their anger so they wouldn't be as vulnerable to Hawkmoth anymore. Lila's Ladybug, on the other hand, encourages their dependence upon her, claiming that the majority prefer this — they'd rather have somebody else handle all their problems for them, and resented the original Ladybug's efforts to help them become better people.
  • Lila's current situation parallels Adrien's current circumstances. Just like him, Lila's wealthy and secure enough that she can use her copious free time preparing for future conflicts. However, she's much more of a planner than Adrien is; Adrien's merely following orders from Su-Han, arrogantly telling himself that things will work out the way he wants if he does what they ask, while Lila's arrogance stems from how many of the cards she's currently holding.
  • Unlike Adrien, Alya, or practically everybody else in Paris, Alix possessed the power to actually do something about the new Ladybug and Chat Noir, as she still had her Miraculous. Sadly, she subscribed to the same belief that the original Ladybug was the only one capable of 'fixing everything'.
• Foreshadowing: During their argument, Alix declares that it's not her fault that nobody gave her the Ladybug Miraculous, proclaiming that to be something Marinette just has to deal with. Marinette later shuts her down by outlining how Alix actually could have taken the Earrings for herself by temporally replacing and disguising herself as her.
• A God Am I: Downplayed; Felix declares that his alias as the Peacock Holder is 'Avian God'. Marinette deadpans that she's never going to call him that.
• Godzilla Threshold:
  • Marinette's decision to select Lila as her replacement was effectively her crossing one; she recognized the dangers of giving her the Earrings, but deemed her to be resourceful and viciously self-interested enough to handle it.
  • Similarly, she chooses to contact Lila and work with her in order to lure Bunnyx out of hiding, despite not wanting the powers of Time Travel to fall into the Manipulative Bitch's hands.
  • This is also discussed in regards to the Rabbit Miraculous. As immensely dangerous as its abilities are, Marinette recognizes that they might be required in order to handle some future threat, so she concocts a plan to make it possible to recreate the miraculous after reducing it to powder, divvying up the remains in order to make reconstruction difficult without the cooperation of all involved.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard:
  • Felix arrogantly helped Hawkmoth obtain the Miracle Box, believing he'd never have to face consequences for betraying the heroes of Paris. This led to him faking his death when Interpol raided his home, forcing him to work with Lila for a chance at reclaiming his identity... via a convoluted plan where he'll pretend to be a sentimonster doppelganger, as even if all goes well, Felix Fathom will still be regarded as a traitor who assisted a terrorist.
  • Discussed in regards to Chloe. When Luka protests that Lila has destroyed Chloe's future by forcing her to work as her personal servant under the pretense of being 'homeschooled', Lila retorts that Chloe never took her schooling seriously in the first place; she made Sabrina handle all her homework, expecting to coast through life on her family's fortune. So far as she's concerned, Chloe already squandered various opportunities to learn and make something more of herself, and only has herself to blame for where she's ended up.
  • Hawkmoth's habit of creating perfect duplicates of people (such as by making Theo look just like Chat Noir during the Copycat incident, having Vulpine make illusions of the heroes during the Heroes Day battle, and by making sentimonsters of Ladybug, Bubbler, and Nino) allowed Lila to maintain her own reputation even while 'winning' akuma battles by just secretly threatening to hurt or kill the akuma's loved ones to make the akumas surrender. Hawkmoth knew it was happening but couldn't prove it because Ladybug could just claim any recording of any such incident was a sentimonster or akuma that Hawkmoth made to discredit her.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Marinette declares that this is all she cares about: getting to live a normal life without being involved in any further Miraculous antics.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Marinette's letter to Luka ends with her declaring that she doesn't want him to feel obligated to be with her, and would rather he find happiness elsewhere than try sticking it out if he doesn't love her.
• Ignored Epiphany: Implied somewhat with Alix. Marinette shuts down her complaining about Marinette's 'selfishness' by outlining one way Alix could have taken over as Ladybug, forcing her to really think about what kind of personal sacrifices that would have required on her end... and how much Marinette sacrificed over her years of service. Yet this doesn't stop Alix from trying to convince Luka that he needs to make Marinette 'see sense' and set things right, regardless of what that means for him or his girlfriend.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Felix reveals to Luka and Marinette that Hawkmoth was his uncle, the now late Gabriel Agreste.
  • Lila also reveals to them that the reason Gabriel was Secretly Dying was due to taking a Cataclysm to his arm from the first Chat Noir... meaning Adrien was unintentionally responsible for his father's demise.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Though he doesn't say anything, Felix seems to privately agree with Alix's rant about how others in the world have had much harder lives than Marinette.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Marinette considers Gabriel's fate — being beaten senseless by the new heroes of Paris before succumbing to a Cataclysmic wound inflicted upon him by his own son — to be a perfect example of this. Especially since Adrien dismissed his previous murder attempts (and the way he accidentally killed Aeon) as no big deal. Luka is considerably more disturbed by the latter aspects of that.
  • She also reaffirms that she truly sees Lila as the 'hero' that the people of Paris deserve: somebody who gives them permission to be their worst selves instead of trying to encourage them to be better like Marinette did.
  • Back when she ruled over Francoise Dupont as the resident Rich Bitch, Chloe forced Sabrina to serve as her Beta Bitch and personal lackey, making her handle all her schoolwork so that she didn't have to bother studying or learning anything. Lila subsequently forced Chloe to serve as the new Ladybug's personal servant at her secret retreat, something that Marinette is absolutely thrilled to learn.
• Locked Out of the Loop: For the first three months of their partnership, Felix hid Hawkmoth's Secret Identity from Lila, not letting her know who they were fighting. He did this in order to conceal his survival from his uncle, though Lila still idly complains about the deception while discussing the matter with Marinette and Luka.
• Loophole Abuse: After recovering the Miracle Box, Lila's opponents have all been invented individuals rather than actual akumatized victims. However, she notes that Mr. Kubdel's mysterious absence means that he technically wouldn't be directly involved or hurt if she created and battled a doppelganger of him.
• Malicious Misnaming: Marinette pointedly refuses to address Felix by his chosen moniker of 'Avian God'; at one point, she refers to him as 'Turkey Angel' instead.
• The Millstone: The original Chat Noir's tendency to behave this way is openly Discussed, with Luka laying out all the ways he failed to be more than a Nominal Hero, such as his skipping fights, deliberately withholding his aid in order to force Ladybug to placate him and play to his ego, attacking allies and getting jealous of her having anyone else she could actually depend upon to work with her.
• A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: The Butterfly Brooch lets Lila glean thoughts off the minds of others; she remarks on how petty, selfish and entitled people are.
• Monster Protection Racket: Lila and Felix started running one after recovering the Butterfly Brooch and all the stolen Miraculouses, fighting fake akuma in order to further establish themselves as heroes.
• Never My Fault:
  • Lila affects this attitude while claiming that she's not really responsible for anything her Cult of Personality happens to do, such as how they turned against Bob Roth and Alya. After all, Bob chose not to pay for her services, and she certainly didn't make Alya crash that akuma battle... just like how she didn't instruct her followers to swarm his business or ruin her life. They all chose to act on their own free will...
  • Alix declares that Life Isn't Fair, and that it wasn't her fault or anyone else's that Marinette was forced to bear such massive responsibilities. As far as she's concerned, that was just a natural consequence of Marinette being given the Earrings.
  • She also refuses to acknowledge that her decision to try and force Marinette into becoming Ladybug again through manipulation and guilt-tripping only made matters worse by cementing Marinette's determination to stay retired.
    Alix: Well, it's not my fault nobody gave me a Ladybug Miraculous!
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Ladybug and Avian God delivered one to Hawkmoth, much to Marinette's delight.
• Noodle Incident: After handing the Earrings off to Lila, Marinette did... something that left her former adversary convinced that it was best not to risk crossing her. All she'll say on the matter is that Marinette is "clever".
• Not Helping Your Case: Not only did Alix try to force Marinette out of retirement through manipulation and intimidation, once it becomes clear that her plans backfired and led her to align with Lila instead, she starts tossing out insults and mocking her desire to be happy and freed from the burden of her responsibilities.
• Not So Stoic: For all of his efforts to keep his emotions in check, Luka immediately whirls on Alix when she calls his girlfriend a 'selfish bitch', with Marinette holding him back.
• Pet the Dog: Lila gives Sass permission to visit Luka freely whenever he wishes, though he's forbidden from using any of his powers.
• Plot Parallel: Much like how Adrien accidentally killed Aeon through being careless with his Cataclysm, he inflicted a Cataclysmic wound on Hawkmoth during one of their final battles that eventually proved to be fatal. Only in Gabriel's case, there was no Ladybug stepping in to revive his victim.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • Lila recognizes the importance of restraint, and not overtly abusing her position as Ladybug... mainly because she doesn't want to attract unwanted attention from other superheroes, or doing anything abhorrent enough that Marinette might decide that she does need to act against her.
  • Similarly, Felix is primarily using the Peacock Pin to play hero alongside Lila, rather than abusing the power he wields as 'Avian God'... because he inadvertently destroyed his own life through his brief alliance with Hawkmoth and is trying to finagle a way to be 'Felix' again without facing punishment for his past stupidity.
• Precision F-Strike: When she realizes Marinette is willingly working with Lila and Felix to take her down, Alix calls her a "selfish bitch."
• Quit Your Whining: Alix takes this attitude toward Marinette, insisting she should have just sucked it up and kept toughing it out as Ladybug until Hawkmoth bit the big one. Even though Marinette had no idea her enemy was secretly dying.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: While laying out how the first Chat Noir had proven to be an unreliable partner, Luka notes that he was increasingly being excluded from akuma battles, noting the long stretch of fights before Cat Walker's brief stint where Chat Noir was completely absent. However, he mistakenly believes Ladybug was intentionally leaving him out of those fights, when Adrien was actually skipping out due to being jealous that she was treating the other heroes like equals.
• Skewed Priorities: Played With — after Bunnyx is flushed out of hiding, Marinette and Lila are far more concerned with how to deal with the Rabbit Watch than with Alix herself. Alix doesn't understand why, thinking their priorities have been skewed — to her mind, Marinette should be fighting Lila period, not fighting with her over what to do with the Watch!
• Stable Time Loop: The kwagatama-branded teapot that was waiting for Luka and Marinette on the Liberty when they returned from their day out was actually placed there by Marinette herself, as one of the errands she ran with Lila, Felix and Alix as part of their 'clean up'.
• The Unfettered: Unlike Marinette, Lila isn't particularly concerned about how she might hurt others. Least of all when they're akumatized.
• Verbal Backspace: The new Ladybug casually reveals she knows who the original Chat Noir was when she refers to him as Adrien before 'correcting' herself and using his heroic alias.
• Villain Has a Point: Lila counters Alix's claims that Marinette should have just sucked it up and borne the weight of being Ladybug by asking why she didn't try to help allievate that burden. She also notes how the citizens of Paris are all fully aware that they're living in a city plagued by a magical terrorist capable of twisting negative emotions to his own ends, and the majority never bothered making any effort to manage their anger, getting upset over the pettiest of things.
• Villain Respect:
  • After Luka lays out how he deduced the identities of her and her accomplice, Lila calmly praises him for figuring it out.
  • She also regards Marinette with a quietly respectful look when Marinette asks whether she's physically hurt anyone as Ladybug, recognizing the intention behind her question and clearly approving of it.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Discussed. Luka theorizes that Felix intends to solidify his Faking the Dead scheme by convincing the world that he's a sentimonster... after proving that sentimonsters are practically human in their own right, via the fake Chat Noir.
• Windows of the Soul: While the new Ladybug bears a strong resemblance to the original, Luka notes that her eyes are much harsher, as she regards him much like a lion trying to decide whether it was worth going after potential prey.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Lila and Felix lured Hawkmoth into a trap by making it appear that Chat Noir had been knocked out and Ladybug badly wounded. When he sent in an akuma with the Horse Miraculous, they leapt right through the portal they used to enter and into Hawkmoth's lair.

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