In this AU, Lila is more of a traitor-who-thinks-she's-doing-the-right-thing than what she is in canon.
After being humiliated by Ladybug, she actually fears the truth had been spread around her classmates, so she keeps her lies in line. Only ever using them when a chance to take down Ladybug appears, so she sort of works in the shadows, going unnoticed even by Marinette and Adrien.
Lila's hatred towards Ladybug doesn't come solely from the fact that she was exposed by the superheroine, but from her belief that she'd been unnecessarily harsh and ruthless to her for just (in her opinion) some white lies.
In this AU she forgets about Adrien entirely, not caring for him in the least and, therefore, she doesn't become another of Marinette's love rivals (I honestly still think that was unnecessary if we already have Kagami). Screw him. If he still plans on crushing and fanboying over someone willing to humiliate others for something as *insignificant* (to Lila, that is) as a lie, he could be hotter than a Greek God for all she cares, she ain't gon' waste her time with him.
She would appear in season 2, because if she thinks her classmates already know she lied, then she sees no point in pretending to be abroad, they're not going to believe her anyways.
There'd be some one-sided Lilanette; because Lila's back to school sooner than in canon and doesn't brag with her lies like she did in Volpina, not even sparing a glance at Adrien, Marinette actually feels bad for her and tries to get close to her. She did admit in the 'Lila' websode that she seemed to be in more need of an ally than an enemy, so...
As a result, we'd get the Anti-Chloé the fandom had been waiting for. You know, Lila hating Ladybug but adoring Marinette.
Lila's main goal is getting rid of Ladybug because, as a result of her own experience, she believes she's nothing but a false hero, basking in the glory of being celebrated, when, in truth, she only cares about fulfilling her own agenda. Ironically, she'd blame Ladybug for what she intended to do as Volpina.
In the Vendetta AU, Lila would still willingly work with Hawk Moth, since it's the direct solution to her problems; but wouldn't want to have anything to do with Gabriel because she can't stand Adrien, so she wouldn't use that as a chance to get closer to him.
This means either Oni-chan wouldn't happen, or it'd have some drastic changes.
She still hates being reminded of the Volpina incident.
Chameleon would happen, but instead of targeting Marinette or trying to get the seat next to Adrien, she'd be even more outraged by hearing that she should not lie from him.
Due to different circumstances than the tinnitus or the Achu lies, Lila would be forced to ask for help regarding her homework to Adrien, of which she'd try to get away from by lying to him, but he sees right through her and reminds her of what happened the last time she lied.
That enfuriates Lila because he has no right to tell her how to behave when he himself worships an "awful role model". And hence, she's akumatised in Chameleon.
Lila's final interaction with Marinette in this version of the episode is her telling Marinette that she shouldn't crush on Adrien, for it's only going to bring her pain.
She would also play her part in Heroes' Day, although she'd pretend to be sick that day, instead of away (which is sort of true, she is sick from everyone's admiration of Ladybug).
So, basically, Lila would actually try to get people to see the light regarding Ladybug, thinking she's actually doing the right thing for Paris by aiding Hawk Moth, but she'd still be wrong and, unknowingly, betraying the one person she cares about in her class; Marinette.
In this AU, Lila is more of a traitor-who-thinks-she's-doing-the-right-thing than what she is in canon.
After being humiliated by Ladybug, she actually fears the truth had been spread around her classmates, so she keeps her lies in line. Only ever using them when a chance to take down Ladybug appears, so she sort of works in the shadows, going unnoticed even by Marinette and Adrien.
Lila's hatred towards Ladybug doesn't come solely from the fact that she was exposed by the superheroine, but from her belief that she'd been unnecessarily harsh and ruthless to her for just (in her opinion) some white lies.
In this AU she forgets about Adrien entirely, not caring for him in the least and, therefore, she doesn't become another of Marinette's love rivals (I honestly still think that was unnecessary if we already have Kagami). Screw him. If he still plans on crushing and fanboying over someone willing to humiliate others for something as *insignificant* (to Lila, that is) as a lie, he could be hotter than a Greek God for all she cares, she ain't gon' waste her time with him.
She would appear in season 2, because if she thinks her classmates already know she lied, then she sees no point in pretending to be abroad, they're not going to believe her anyways.
There'd be some one-sided Lilanette; because Lila's back to school sooner than in canon and doesn't brag with her lies like she did in Volpina, not even sparing a glance at Adrien, Marinette actually feels bad for her and tries to get close to her. She did admit in the 'Lila' websode that she seemed to be in more need of an ally than an enemy, so...
As a result, we'd get the Anti-Chloé the fandom had been waiting for. You know, Lila hating Ladybug but adoring Marinette.
Lila's main goal is getting rid of Ladybug because, as a result of her own experience, she believes she's nothing but a false hero, basking in the glory of being celebrated, when, in truth, she only cares about fulfilling her own agenda. Ironically, she'd blame Ladybug for what she intended to do as Volpina.
In the Vendetta AU, Lila would still willingly work with Hawk Moth, since it's the direct solution to her problems; but wouldn't want to have anything to do with Gabriel because she can't stand Adrien, so she wouldn't use that as a chance to get closer to him.
This means either Oni-chan wouldn't happen, or it'd have some drastic changes.
She still hates being reminded of the Volpina incident.
Chameleon would happen, but instead of targeting Marinette or trying to get the seat next to Adrien, she'd be even more outraged by hearing that she should not lie from him.
Due to different circumstances than the tinnitus or the Achu lies, Lila would be forced to ask for help regarding her homework to Adrien, of which she'd try to get away from by lying to him, but he sees right through her and reminds her of what happened the last time she lied.
That enfuriates Lila because he has no right to tell her how to behave when he himself worships an "awful role model". And hence, she's akumatised in Chameleon.
Lila's final interaction with Marinette in this version of the episode is her telling Marinette that she shouldn't crush on Adrien, for it's only going to bring her pain.
She would also play her part in Heroes' Day, although she'd pretend to be sick that day, instead of away (which is sort of true, she is sick from everyone's admiration of Ladybug).
So, basically, Lila would actually try to get people to see the light regarding Ladybug, thinking she's actually doing the right thing for Paris by aiding Hawk Moth, but she'd still be wrong and, unknowingly, betraying the one person she cares about in her class; Marinette.
Lila is not a sociopath. Stop spreading false information
Are you sure about that, though?
It's true a character's sociopathy will not be openly discussed or addressed in a kids show, the same way it doesn't outright mention the several issues Adrien's developing as a side effect of his father's neglecting parenting. But those are things that can be sensed, and that's when fans who enjoy analyses, such as myself, step in to help.
Leaving aside that I find your accusation of me spreading false information uncalled for, I feel obliged to tell you, in the most respectful way possible, that this is an opinion shared by many and backed by many others through throughout observation.
There is one particular post that explores the possibility of Lila being a sociopath in depth, however, I won't share it nor tag its origins because I don't want to put its OP in a difficult position. But I assure you, if you just type in the search bar something like "ML Lila is a sociopath", it should appear.
With your permission, I'm going to explain why I agree Lila Rossi is indeed a sociopath. This is an analysis on a character, so I won't tag it as hate, please, forgive me if it does look like it at any moment.
The first thing that should be addressed is Lila's knack for lying; very common in sociopaths.
Ever since Volpina, the ML team has made it clear that Lila's most distinctive trait is her compulsive lying. Her possible sociopathy is heavily hinted on this; in every single episode she's been in, she's lied about her past:
Every single famous person she claims to have met.
All her travels.
The various selfless actions she's done (such as saving Jagged Stone's kitten).
Being saved and best friends with Ladybug.
Living in Japan (supposedly).
Creating "Freestyle Clash 2".
If that weren't enough, not only does Lila lie with every breath, but she fiercely defends each lie. Proof of this are her reactions whenever one of her lies has been exposed or she meets someone who's aware of her tendencies.
In Volpina, after Ladybug exposed her, her second highest priority besides introducing her alter ego and trying to get rid of Ladybug was going to Adrien as her akumatised self to convince him she wasn't lying.
Then, in Chameleon, she covered up the lie about her wrist saying she'd only caught the napkin because it could've hurt Max, and later, when no one who doesn't know the truth was around to force her to act friendly, she coldly refused Adrien's request of her being more honest and furiously exclaimed the liar was Ladybug, not her.
And before it's pointed out, she only calmly dismissed Marinette's attempt at exposing her with another lie in Catalyst because, as I implied before, there were too many people present to let her façade drop.
Not to mention the great lengths she goes to to make her lies more believable or avoid getting caught in said lie. In her debut, it was the necklace she bought to convince Adrien of her false superhero heritage. In Catalyst, she took the phone from her mother to prevent her from finding out the truth and talk with Mr. Damocles, as well as claiming he was akumatised too. In Oni-chan, she used every single piece of information Adrien had shared in the car to make her lies convincing enough to be allowed inside the mansion.
Another trait shared by sociopaths that Lila has demonstrated as well is her incapability to acknowledge her own faults, something that can be linked to her being immature.
This particular trait was shown again in Volpina, Catalyst and Chameleon:
In Volpina, she blamed Ladybug for ruining her chances with Adrien. And while the superheroine played an important part in that, we must remember it'd also been Lila's fault for lying in the first place.
In Catalyst, while Lila was watching the news on her laptop right before Gabriel threw the bomb, she was, ironically, accusing the superhero of everything she had done both as herself and Volpina; lying, cowardice (she used her illusions to do her dirty job for her, instead of actually facing the heroes) and treason (her whole plan as Volpina was gaining their trust to betray them later, so…).
In Chameleon, she still blamed Ladybug for what'd happened at the park, claiming the superheroine had been the one who lied, not her.
Another thing linked to immaturity and sociopathy is not learning from one's mistakes, which, considering Lila keeps getting akumatised (now willingly), lying with every breath and has made no attempt at being more honest of a better person in general, I would honestly associate to her as well.
There's also the fact that sociopaths tend to display a violent behaviour; in Lila's case, although she keeps her mask around many people, whenever she has the chance to show her true colours, she takes advantage of it to the fullest. For starters, as Volpina, though they were actually illusions, she threatened Ladybug a total of three times with very aggressive scenarios; she "trapped" her under the threat of missiles, she pretended to blow down a building and to kidnap and endanger Adrien's life. As herself, though, she cornered Marinette in the bathroom and gave her an ultimatum, she tends to throw away her stuff whenever she's angry, she let her disdain towards Kagami, Ladybug, Marinette, Chloé and Nino show and, as Chameleon she went and publicly tainted Adrien's reputation as well as proceed and furiously fight Ladybug.
Another aspect of Lila's character that backs this up is the way she reacts to minor offenses; again, Chameleon is the perfect example for this type of behaviour; especially the way she tries to get even from Adrien as Chameleon when the most harm he's done is nicely requesting her to stop lying, something he's in his right to do since Lila's the one trying to become a part of his life, not the other way around.
I also want to take the opportunity to point out something that I've discussed several times before; Lila declared war at Marinette even when she hadn't actually picked a side herself. Just by watching the last minutes of the episode it's easy to notice there's nothing that could be taken as a declaration of war from Marinette's part, she even let Lila's slip up about which one of her ears had the tinnitus slide and didn't interact with her again until the very last minute; when Lila herself made her her arch-rival. So why does Lila hate her with a passion now when she was previously willing to give her a second chance? Easy, because she was jealous Adrien had chosen Marinette over her; again, a minor offense. Especially because it was Adrien's decision, not Marinette's doing.
On the other hand, there's the thing with Lila's belief of being better than everyone else. She clearly says, when comparing Marinette to the others, that she thinks they're dumb. Just like she thinks herself as the best option to become the one closest to Adrien; deeming Chloé of tacky, Marinette of being "a dummy" and even badmouthing Nino; when two of the three aforementioned teens hadn't done anything to her, they hadn't even doubted her claims (in Chloé's case, at least not until she talked about her secret formula to call Ladybug). This is something she also shows when akumatised, she considered Volpina to be the best hero of Paris (going as far as saying she was the only hero the city needed), when Gabriel was putting her persona down compared to Ladybug she reacted strongly (even if Volpina was, indeed, a bad copy of a superhero) and as Chameleon she kept on underestimating Ladybug.
Lila has a knack for isolating people, both personally and using other means to do so. She's done it herself when she went after Marinette when she was in the toilet (I won't disregard the possibility that she might've offered to go instead of Alya or any other classmate in an attempt to win her over as well), she always talks to Adrien when the two are alone, even going as far as looking for a place where it can be just the two of them (the library in Volpina, the locker room in Chameleon, which she used to lock him and get a kiss to transform, or his house in Oni-chan) and she talked to Chloé when only Sabrina was present, who, unfortunately, doesn't have that much of a presence.
And as for the other means, if you think about it that's exactly her goal regarding her issues with Marinette and Adrien; she wants to isolate Marinette to get rid of her, and thus, the only person capable of making her web of lies crumble, and she wants to isolate Adrien to have him all for herself. And on a side note, when she straight up isolates people she does so in a way that the other won't have a chance to escape; she becomes unpredictable.
Something else that should be discussed is her façade itself.
Many sociopaths are known for appearing caring, kind and generous; things Lila pretends to be to win people over, such as promising Nino she'd talk to Steven Spielberg/Besielberg about him, her role in the environmental conference that took place in the Kingdom of Achu or promising Marinette she would help her get closer to Adrien. All the which make her look like an exceptional role model to others, like Caline's amazement on her numerous "feats."
I'd also like to mention that Lila shares another similarity to your average sociopath; she knows how to read people and tells them what they want to hear; something she even admitted herself.
In her debut, she complimented Chat Noir and agreed to Ladybug's change of her plan to defeat Hawk Moth to reduce suspicions on her and make the super heroine look paranoid and jealous. In Chameleon she didn't hesitate to entertain her classmates with more stories about her travels, the celebrities she'd met or her friendship with Ladybug, just like she complimented them all as well for being so kind as to "remember her hearing problem", to bring her her food and the like. In Oni-chan, she even played, or at least tried to, this card with Gabriel, telling him everything he wanted to hear about Adrien's protection and his parenting.
One more thing that I honestly believe Lila possesses is a very aggressive and intimidating, yet cold and distant stare. If you look at her closely, it's easy to notice most of Lila's character is reflected on her eyes and eyebrows, after all, the eyes are the mirror of the soul. She actually has two different types of glare:
Her coldest, most manipulating and most intense stare is one she reserves to people she despises, mainly Ladybug/Marinette.
The other, is less hostile, however, it still gives the impression of a predator watching its prey; of course, this kind of glare is the one she uses on Adrien.
And, lastly but not least, sociopaths are known for guilt-tripping others.
Lila herself has done this while pretending injuries and diseases to get what she wanted from others; the seat next to Adrien, her food…, to make Marinette look bad about not wanting to move to the back, to manipulate Nino into convincing Adrien to study with her, etc.
Lastly, I would like to point out that her possible sociopathy is not what makes her a villain; that's her ability to tell from right or wrong and, still, ignoring the right path. And I must let you know, anon, that I never spread false information. The one time I referred to her as a sociopath that I can think of, I was actually explaining another anon who'd seen that term being used to describe her in Wikipedia that I'd seen it myself on TV Tropes. And just like that, I wasn't the first to think of her as such, I only read some very good, in depth analyses that presented that option and found myself agreeing with them. That's all I did.
May I give you a piece of advice? Try voicing your concerns a bit more nicely, something like "I don't see why Lila is a sociopath. Could you please share your views on the matter?" It'll save you a lot of trouble :)
I understand not many people like Lila bc she didn't come put the same way people had her in their headcanons, we still haven't gotten a whole backstory about her yet, like we haven't see her father yet, maybe she could have picked up her lying ways from her dad it looks like, like clowns in this fandom act like Lila killed their cat, especially with fics where other characters kill her, there's so many misogynist in this fandom.
Alright, your opinion and feelings are perfectly valid, but be careful: disliking a character who happens to be female is not necessarily mysogynistic.
If you ask me, the reason why she's disliked is because of how she's being handled; I've seen many posts of fans whose reasons to hate her are mainly based on how ridiculous her lies have been and how they can't take her seriously as a master manipulator.
I'm sorry, but seriously?
That 14/15-year-olds just happen to believe someone who they've just met has befriended celebrities all over the world, to the point where they become someone influencial in their artistic or politic career, when they themselves are still just kids or that that same TEENAGER has arthritis or, even better; tinnitus from an old accident when they were perfectly fine on their first day at school is just highly unrealistic.
Sure, many were disappointed their headcanons were wrong, but this isn't just about thinking Volpina was a hero, something that was never confirmed; we were wrong about almost everything! Lila hasn't shown any positive trait so far, and true, maybe her mother's absence affected her, but Mrs. Rossi isn't like Audrey Bourgeois, she loves her daughter, listens to her, acknowledges her feelings and laments her absence in her child's life.
That her father might have something to do? Maybe. But nowadays, there are no hints of him having any relevance in her life.
Besides, another reason why fans are salty about her is because she blames everyone but herself for her problems and misdeeds. For example, she focuses all of her resentment towards Marinette over Adrien moving away from her, when. It. Was. HIS. Choice. People tend to forget that, while Mari has some jealousy issues, so does Lila. And in a more troublesome way; it was that same jealousy that fueled her to shamelessly lie and steal from Adrien and what allowed Hawk Moth to akumatise her in Heroes' Day.
Believe me, many of us, myself included, simply love Female Villains; so far, I haven't seen any Mayura hate, for example, I personally am amazed by her character and skills. And there are many other female antagonists that are just in-cre-di-bly well-written. And they can canonically be bitches!
Allow me to illustrate: two of the most beloved female antagonists of all time are Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They both are deep characters, with reasons, goals and backstories that make them more humane. With all due respect, Lila's current motives are based on revenge, pettiness and attention-seeking.
Thank you for asking, though. I hope my answer didn't make you feel insulted. Have a nice day!
I kinda want to know more about Lila's mom. She believes Lila's lies and also seems to know that Lila hates Ladybug
I have mixed feelings about her mum, you see. It's nothing personal, it's just that she doesn't make any sense.
To begin with, let me explain you something: I do not agree with the side of the fandom who thinks she neglects Lila and that's why she's the way she is. If you pay attention in Catalyst, my point lies there. For example:
If you look closely, you can see the time says 11:30 (AM). Meaning Mrs. Rossi must have been around until, at least, 9:30-10:00. Which kind of leaves the "too busy for her daughter" option standing on one leg, basically because I don't know a single parent who doesn't work at home who doesn't have to be at work at 8:00 AM (usually) or 9:00 AM tops. But that could be something related to culture, so I'm gonna let it slide. BUT when she does leave the house, she tells Lila her lunch is in the fridge, which implies her mother has enough time to cook it for her. And cooking, from my point of view, is easily one of those chores/skills that are easier to develop when you're on your own and you have no other choice but to learn. What do I mean with this? Simple, Lila can't spend too much time alone if her mother cooks for her. Besides, if she knew how to Cook and had cooked said supper, why would her mother remind her where her lunch is?
On the other hand, there's the thing with her design:
She shares her design with Clara Contard and I think with the nurse from Backwarder as well. If she were that much of an important character, why would she share her design with anyone??? Even Alya's mum, who hasn't had any mayor screentime since Kung Food, has her own design!
But the thing is Thomas said that was an animation mistake, which could actually make her more relevant to the story. But... Even if I prefer to not delve into this kind of things... Wouldn't that me a MAJOR screw up? Like, Gosh, you put a whole different character design in the wrong episode??? That’s why I keep my guard up about that theory.
*No offense to those who do believe it, it's still a perfectly valid opinion. It's just that I'm not convinced*
Now, if we want to look at this as a possible outcome, there's always the fact that Chloé's sob story revolves around her mother neglecting her, although it was a bit too poor in my opinion, but go off, I guess. It's still a possibility. One I'm not too sold on, but one nonetheless...
And as for the character itself, she's had too little screentime to form a proper opinion about her. I'll admit I thought she was sorta dumb when the episode premiered for believing her daughter instead of knowing better, but, Heck! It's her daughter! We've all had liar friends/classmates who lied to their families with every breath, so it makes sense if she listens to Lila's stories. And as for being aware of her daughter's disdain towards Ladybug... I'm not sure. I mean, yeah, Lila does badmouth Ladybug every chance she gets, especially if its convenient for her or if it makes her look better, but what would she tell her mother? "Hey, mum, Ladybug's a bitch because she yelled at me for lying about her and me in front of a cute guy just to be the centre of attention???" Nah, that's not convenient for her at all. I'd say she stuck to her story about the school being closed due to akumas and resigned herself with staying at home. She'd think of something when the time's right.
Whelp, that's my view of Lila's mother for you! Hope I was of any use, have an awesome day ;)
Please, don't misunderstand. I have nothing against those of you who are fans of Lila and I can perfectly get you're just trying to justify the actions of a character you love -we've all done it sometimes- but I'd recommend a different approach.
You see, there's no denying Marinette's way to handle the situation was far from perfect. I myself came up with three different more mature(?) scenarios shortly after I watched the episode BACK IN MARCH 2016:
1. Ladybug waits until Lila's done talking to Adrien and she visits him and personally explains why he shouldn't trust Lila.
2. As Ladybug, she goes to Alya, explains everything and asks her both to post a video with this new information and to keep her sources anonymous.
3. If she wanted to expose her that badly, she should've used a more "subtle" way: "Don't worry, dear citizens! Just patrolling around Paris because that is my job as I am Ladybug! And- OMG! Aren't you Adrien Agreste?! And you're with... who's this? Sorry, I'm just sure I've never seen you before. Nope! Never ever in my life... Whelp, anyway, gotta go!" (And don't tell me that's way too awkward because this is MARINETTE we're talking about, alright?)
So, yeah... She could've done something like that instead of... this...
But, I'm getting off topic.
The reason behind this post is that everytime someone calls out Lila for her lies in the fandom, there's always another fan who justifies Lila's actions as being just a kid who was new and wanted to fit in.
The thing is, just as I've seen before in other blogs (I think one of the people who made me realise my whole point was @zoe-oneesamalove your au!) , Lila's lies are not those you use to fit in in a new crowd. How do I know this? Easy. Because I lied once to fit in.
Now, I am not proud of that, even if I WAS just a kid back then. It felt horrible and I felt really uncomfortable about myself. But the point is, my lie had nothing to do with Lila's: I was 11 at the time and had agreed to spending the weekend with my best friend and his judo class, of which I didn't know anybody except for him. Those kids were different from me in a lot of things, even younger, so I didn't want to be excluded. And you know what I lied about to impress them? I said I didn't like Adventure Time, which I used to love. AND THAT'S IT.
Now, my point is, when you lie to fit in you simply say you like or dislike the same thing the person's talking about at the moment, you don't go "I really like Bruno Mars!" "Oh, really? Well, I happen to have flown in his private jet with him, we're super close friends and because of that he even wrote me a song!". The only remotedly similar lie she said in the whole episode was when she told Adrien she loved superheroes. JUST THREE WORDS IN A 22 MINUTE SHOW
In her case, like many others have pointed out before me, she was trying to position herself above her classmates. And according to my personal opinion based on her personality so far, what she wants is to be the constant centre of attention and for her peers to be jealous of her instead of feeling that jealousy herself. But that's just me talking.
But I insist, I don't mean to shame anyone for liking her character, but seriously, saying she only lied to fit in... that's really getting old.
Mystery solved! This is the real look of the Peacock Miraculous. According to Winny, the one we saw in Volpina was fake, just another one of Gabriel's creations, like Lila's necklace.
Now that I think about it... at least Alya, Nino, Chloé and Sabrina must know Lila lied to them, right?
I mean, in Catalyst, thanks to Sabrina Ladybug figures out Volpina is back and deceiving Paris into thinking Hawk Moth had won. Not only that, she mentions "Volpina" right in front of Sabrina!
Now, looking back at Sapotis, when Alya transformed she did comment she resembled Lila's akumatised form. In other words, she knows Volpina was a fake in the end (she did introduce herself to all of Paris, after all). So that means parisians are aware of this, including Marinette's class, and more specifically, Alya, Nino, Chloé & even Sabrina.
Then again, they all believed Lila when she said she was at Prince Ali's kingdom, but since Ladybug mentioned her when defying Hawk Moth in Mayura, then if they're clever enough (Alya's proved to be the best at finding out secret identities so far) they must have realised there's no way Lila's come back from thousands of miles away, not even while akumatised. Because, let's face it, she wouldn't even be able to be akumatised in the first place that far away...
I'm just hoping they open up their eyes and learn to be more careful around her, really.
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