In which ████████ is your average teen spy: sharp-tongued, sharp-eyed and running on caffeine, secrets and lies.
But as Mme Lila Rossi falls deeper and deeper into this assignment, she has only one thought:
“These people can’t be that gullible, right?”
(a one shot detailing the slow unraveling of a girl stuck in her own web; because even if you’re trained to lie, there has to be somewhere the line is drawn.
Probably. Maybe. Hopefully?)
(and if Lila falls in love along the way then—well, that’s classified)
I know a lot of us are desensitized to the weirdness of this show but I'm still stuck on the fact that Cat Noir can just destroy concepts because that implies a lot.
Countries, continents, languages, money, etc are concepts. Meaning if he were to just go off the rails one day... he could just destroy the world.
Honestly, in my opinion, Marinette saying she doesn't trust Chat Noir for THIS reason did nothing but VALIDATE Alya in her anger.
Cause all that Marinette actually says to Alya here is that Marinette doesn't want Chat Noir to know because she thinks it's way too likely that Chat wouldn't stand for that lie either and not knowing who the boy underneath Chat's mask is would leave Marinette helpless if Chat were to flip her off and just decide to tell Adrien the truth as civilian behind her back.
Like, that's literally all Marinette said to Alya here. Even if she probably didn't even realize it, it nothing but VALIDATED Alya in her opinion that telling Adrien is the right thing to do because now she being told by Marinette that Chat would side with her, ALYA, and not Ladybug if he knew.
So from Alya's perspective, it's Marinette vs both of her partners who she deliberately keeps in the dark BECAUSE she suspects they wouldn't agree with her.
Which is ironic cause Alya started this conversations asking if this is a Ladybug and Chat Noir vs Rena Rouge situation, only to find out it's Chat Noir and Rena Rouge vs Ladybug.
Honestly this is as bad as Ephemeral because Marinette is so self-centered she only "trusts" Chat Noir as long as she can manipulate him into doing what she wants.
Ah yes because she wanted Chat Noir to reveal his identity and it wasn't under Su-Han's order or she didn't have an elaborate plan that would wipe her memory and prevent her from doing it by virtue of only Viperion learning the truth and informing Su-Han instead of her.
Like I'm sorry but if LB was honest with CN on this, he would refuse because Su-Han can bite it for all CN cares. He's not going to reveal his identity because HE said so. LB is the guardian, HIS guardian, not Su-Han, and if there's anyone who's going to learn his identity it's going to be her because he trusts her, while she doesn't trust herself, which is also what limits her trust in others.
Oh wow, revealing his identity to a third party without his consent. Truly a bastion of morality.
Whaaat? Chat Noir would say "No"? 😱 We can't have that! What would happen if people just told Marinette no all the time? What kinda consequences would there be if she didn't do what Su-Han wants!?
Oh, what's that? Ladybug did end up telling Su-Han no? (After a temporal anomaly showed Marinette her plan would fail) And he just, accepted it?
Wow! It's almost like they could've done this from the start!
But then it would be Chat Noir saying No and not Ladybug.
Say, what do you think about akumatization? Like, would you consider them a victim or a willing accomplice? When I still read ML fic, I often find the authors writing the people who get akumatized as victims. Some say it through Ladybug or Chat Noir's mouth that they shouldn't be blamed, shunned, or vilified because they're victims, while others say it through the narrative. Regardless, fanon portrays them as victims of the butterfly holder.
But the way I see it, for the butterfly to akumatize someone, he needs consent, and while he can force the akumatized to do what he orders (Pixelator, S1), it isn't the case before the akumatization starts. Chloé's reaction when she rejects Hawkmoth's offer, to me, looks like she's fighting a dark whisper or intrusive thought rather than brainwashing, like fanon tends to say. And the fact that people break the akumatization in S4-5 once they're given the solution or resolution to their conflict makes the akumatization less and less like brainwashing to me.
But the fandom seems to think of them as victims rather than anything else. That's why I want to know your opinion on this topic because you seem to be an expert in media analysis. I'm sorry if the question has been asked before, and thank you for your attention.
---
It's complicated, but it didn't used to be so complicated. Like, Akumatized people aren't really those people, they're only their single-minded worst impulses, caricatures. They also don't remember what they do while Akumatized, except for minor exceptions. So, anything someone does while Akumatized can't be held against them. So they're definitely victims there.
As for people submitting to Akumatization, it used to be impossible to resist once the Butterfly touched you. Marinette avoided Akumatization in ‘Chameleon’ by getting her emotions under control before it could touch her, so it could no longer sense her. In ‘Zombizou’, Miss Bustier, the character who was shown to coach others how to control their emotional state, was touched by an Akuma and completely helpless against Hawkmoth’s goading. She couldn't see or hear anything else but Hawkmoth. She could only resist him for moments and she had no motive or desire to succumb.
However, then we saw Chloé resist, proving it was possible. So, there are some very extreme circumstances where someone can resist, possibly a matter of willpower, as Chloé is possibly the most willful character in the entire cast and was thinking of how badly she wanted to earn a Miraculous for herself, a goal that directly contradicts Hawkmoth's. You’d have to be stubborn enough to out-stubborn a man obsessed with reviving his dead wife, which just goes to show how badly Chloé wanted to be a superhero. Still, all it takes is a single moment of weakness for the Akuma to turn you into another person, and I can't exactly hold people accountable for being weak for a single moment inside their head just because this one supervillain’s powerset is to literally hijack your faculties over one intrusive thought.
The show even used to have an indicator of the willingness of an Akuma victim. Most victims seem to wake up, dazed and down on the ground. These Akuma victims look broken down, brought low. Meanwhile, when Lila is purified, she's standing confidently, and she grabbed the Akuma on purpose. A willing “victim” isn't weakened by an Akuma takeover, they are empowered. I think that was supposed to be the difference; if you’d disapprove or approve of the way you acted as an Akuma, and most characters would never do those things if they had their full faculties. So, Akumatization functions as an extreme form of forced intoxication.
But then season 5 came and characters started resisting Akumatization left and right. And, like, the more characters you have able to do a thing, the less impressive it becomes. The writers opened a Pandora's Box by having Chloé get that cool scene where she fights back Hawkmoth's possession, and now every character they wanted to get a cool scene was able to do it, causing both diminishing returns (making it look less cool) and making resistance look easy. And, if resistance is easy, then it makes it look like the ones that are taken over just don't want to resist.
So, yeah, as of season 5, Akumatization victims might as well be willing accomplices, because the writers didn't realize what it meant when they made anyone capable of resisting the impossible to resist hijacking.
In which ████████ is your average teen spy: sharp-tongued, sharp-eyed and running on caffeine, secrets and lies.
But as Mme Lila Rossi falls deeper and deeper into this assignment, she has only one thought:
“These people can’t be that gullible, right?”
(a one shot detailing the slow unraveling of a girl stuck in her own web; because even if you’re trained to lie, there has to be somewhere the line is drawn.
Probably. Maybe. Hopefully?)
(and if Lila falls in love along the way then—well, that’s classified)
Yo! I wanna see how would Chloé and Zoé interact in your AU. (Also, I freakin' adore your art style XD)
(TYSM for the compliment!! 🌈🌈🩷🥹🤲)
I HAVE A WHOLE THING AB THAT- 🫵
Quick chocoau! Zoe backstory: She’s an influencer from Los Angeles who came to Paris for an abroad trip vlog (funded by Audrey, ofc). So she’s basically a social media nepo baby. So there’s also that contrast with how she portrays herself in a “shallow” personality and who she really is, which is reserved and shy and insecure.
I was thinking that when Zoe showed up to stay with them, Chloe got like, a whiplash of trauma of how Audrey basically hates her and loves Zoe more (sending her gifts and funding her trips) so whenever she’s around her she’s more hostile and cruel, but also anxious and always on edge.
Zoe is gonna be the final part of Chloe’s redemption arc, because by the time Zoe is in the picture, she’s still Queen Bee. Some trauma bonding later and Chloe is actually the one to give her bee miraculous to Zoe, because she realizes that she’s not a good miraculous holder bc of her own baggage and Zoe would be the best fit and deserves it, solidifying Chloe’s redemption arc!!
TLDR; it started out being a one-sided hatred, but then they become literal sisters!! 🩷🩵🐝
Okay does anyone else find it strange that you can be Akumatized against your will??
Like once Hawkmoth has you as his target it’s pretty much game over because it takes A LOT to fight the control of an akuma.
Idk non-consensual akumatization is like?? Strangely overpowered and it’s also super uncomfortable for me.
SO IN THIS PRESENTATION I WILL EXPLAIN HOW IT CHANGES IN CHOCOAU-
If Hawkmoth wants to akumatize you, he has to convince you to let him do it. It would kind of have the holder be more persuasive.
Hawkmoth’s main technique is using promises. He would try and convince you that there is nothing that can be done about the way you are feeling or what had happened WITHOUT his help. He’s the only one who can cure your despair, and he’ll do it if you take Chat Noir and Ladybug’s miraculous.
Madame Morphosis (Butterfly Lila) uses your own emotions. She would try and “hype you up” if that makes sense. She’ll tell you how unfair your life is, or how awful you feel, and say how it’s too much for you to bear. Then, she’ll tell you if you bring her Ladybug’s miraculous, you’ll have the power to never feel this way again, or get back at whoever wronged you, etc.
Even though it takes persuasion to Akumatized, that doesn’t make it easier for the person to resist.
When a butterfly enters your Akumatized object, the emotions you’re feeling in the moment basically double. It’s all you can feel, all you can think about.
So if you were sad about losing someone close to you, the grief and pain is amplified. In top of that, you have a voice that isn’t yours telling you he can make it go away if you bring him these two teens miraculous lmaooo.
I think that might also be a reason why Hawkmoth would target people feeling negative emotions. It’s easier to manipulate them since they’re vulnerable, and their akuma powers would be stronger the more intense they feel (Kagami and Chloe). More emotional people make stronger akumas, but harder to control.
So when Lila offers to help him get akumas by essentially tormenting people in her class and around her to break down their psyche, he happily welcomes the help.
ALSO: (kind of important for the AU)
Ladybug cannot cure akumas.
The only way an akuma can be cured is if
1. The Akumatized person gives up their object willingly.
This means that they let go of the akuma and their emotions themselves. Then, when the object is destroyed, the butterfly is white and that person cannot become Akumatized again.
2. The object is destroyed forcefully.
If an object is torn/destroyed and the akuma is freed without their consent, the butterfly still remains that cracked black/purple and person is at risk of becoming Akumatized again. It becomes their “personal butterfly” that is eager to take control again.
This is why Marinette’s kindness and compassion is so important as Ladybug. Most of the time, she needs to find a way to empathize with the Akumatized person in order to protect them from becoming Akumatized again! Take Hanabira. In that “episode”, she was able to talk with Kagami at the risk of her taking over the Louvre. Because her compassion worked, she surrendered her object to Ladybug, and from then on Kagami could no longer become Akumatized.
This is a method Ladybug definitely prefers, but of course it doesn’t work on everyone, which is why there are some repeat villains.
P.S.: Akumas can also be cured by loved ones, not always Ladybug. When Sabrina was Akumatized, Chloe was the one to cure her, and vice versa. Also when Alya was Akumatized, Nino talked her out of it. It’s dangerous for civilians to talk with akumas, but on the rare occasion it does work!
PLUS, Marinette being Akumatized early on would help with her being sympathetic towards other akumas. Like she KNOWS how Hawkmoth is using their emotions against them, like he did with her. She’s hecking LADYBUG and he got her.
She knows how easy it is to fall into the trap of being Akumatized. So she doesn’t view them as “weak” for getting Akumatized. People do things they otherwise wouldn’t have when they’re overwhelmed by what they feel in the moment. (Marinette was cured by Chat Noir btw, so she cannot become Akumatized again.)
And Sentimonsters cannot be Akumatized.
This is mainly directed towards Felix ofc, because he’s the only sentihuman in the AU!
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