#ml gang of secrets

[adrinoir]

Lesbian Headcanons pt.3: Alya

OKAY. So - to SOME of you - this might sound like a strange character to make a lesbian headcanon about. BUT I have to because I seriously thought she was before she got with Nino, plus this is my blog anyways 😂

So enjoy this one, fellow Alyanette shippers!

She's definitely had girl crushes

Alya fangirls hardcore over a few of the show's superheroes - Ladybug and Majestia (if I’m remembering her name correctly?) Like, c’mon. She created an entire blog dedicated to Ladybug! Sure, it focuses on Cat Noir too, but it’s the LADYblog and it’s obvious she’s always been more enthralled with Ladybug. Also recently, she straight up just went with Kitty Noire’s flirty behavior towards her?? Like ALYA.

Also, you can’t tell me she doesn’t have some hidden romantic feelings for Marinette (tbf most people in the show have crushes on Marinette). She likes Ladybug = she likes Marinette. She’s constantly there for her, even more than she is for Nino a good portion of the time - I’ll talk about that more in the next section. She knows Marinette like the back of her hand. For instance, in Gang of Secrets, she was the only one who was able to see through Marinette’s bullshit when she tried playing off her mistake of pushing her friends away as just her being heartbroken. Was she heartbroken? Yes, of course, BUT Alya knew there was more to it than just that. So with that being said….(look at the title of the next section)

She’s closer with Marinette than she is with Nino

So, I’m personally all about friendships and romantic relationships being just as important as one another - this is something important my partner taught me and something that’s easy for me to understand as someone on the aromantic spectrum. However, I’ve noticed it’s not commonly understood or taught to a lot of people. Often times the significant other is placed on a higher pedestal. I believe it’s a heteronormative stereotype that a lot of people follow.

(Also just as a disclaimer: it’s fine if you feel comfortable being closer with your SO than your friends. I’m not saying it isn’t! I’m just pointing out this is a common thing I’ve noticed about hetero relationships and that I personally value my friendships just as much as my SO’s.)

So, if Alya grew up being indirectly taught/shown “the significant other is higher and closer than your friends,” then she either 1) doesn’t follow this or 2) likes Marinette more than Nino but doesn’t realize (or doesn’t want to believe it).

Because hear me out. There’s no denying her and Marinette have this special bond that’s unlike any other in the show. It’s such a close one that - need I remind you - Marinette entrusted Alya first above everyone else to reveal her secret identity to. And Alya never once risked telling anyone this secret, not even to Nino who she says she could never lie to.

She didn’t even once consider dating Nino until talking with him one-on-one

Okay, so don’t get me wrong, I love good ol DJ-Wifi, and the way they ended up getting together was hilarious. But, also consider, Alya had no romantic interest in Nino prior to being thrown into a zoo cage with him. In fact, she put him in the “I see him as a brother” box.

When he had the failed attempt of confessing to Marinette and said “your best friend Alya” instead, Alya got annoyed, and that’s when she had said to Marinette that she sees him like a brother.

I also feel they got together really quickly. Like, there was no build up over time. They got put alone together once and then BOOM now they’re dating. Seems a bit strange, right?

I feel like her behavior mirrors Kagami’s in a way; there’s those bits of comphet behavior. Like I had mentioned in Kagami’s part of my lesbian headcanons, common comphet behavior can be mistaking a friendship with a kind guy as romantic connection. There’s that possibility that Alya made that same mistake.

Alya's outfit

Do I even need to say this? She not only has the butch lez stereotypical plaid flannel-type of shirt but it's also ALL of the colors of the lesbian pride flag.

It's reddish orange, orange, white, pinkish purple, and fuschia. It's like what I had mentioned in Chloe's part of the lesbian headcanons about Zoe having all the same colors as the pansexual pride flag.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of signs Alya is lesbian despite the fact that she’s dating Nino. Just because she’s dating Nino doesn’t necessarily even mean she’s straight or into guys. It certainly didn’t stop me from writing this headcanon. I also totally ship Alyanette and Kittybella/Scaranoire.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculers #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #ml alya #ml analysis #ml animan #ml gang of secrets #ml season 5 #ml season 4 #ml deflagration #nino lahiffe #djwifi #zoe lee #kitty noire #scarabella #kittybella #ml headcanons #lesbian pride #lesbian headcanon #miraculous

[jennagrinsoverml]

I know you probably have a million rec lists you’re working on but I am wondering if you have any fics you’ve read since writing your rec lists that you would want to add to your existing lists? Or would you just make a part 2 for them in that case.

Ooh, anon, this is a great question! I usually don't add to my lists after they're posted, even if I come across a fic that would be perfect for it. (Although I will curse my luck to find the fic after posting lol) These days I don't do a lot of self-directed rec lists, since I get so many asks, so I haven't done any part 2s in a while.

The rec list I would most want to update/redo would be Season 4 Angst.

See, when I'm making my lists, I start them in my drafts and add to them over time. I don't add immediately when I'm reading. Usually I email myself fics, but previously I would sometimes copy and paste the fics into a word doc.

This turned out to be a mistake. Because...when I was doing the Season 4 Angst rec list...I forgot to include all the fics I had in my word doc. WHOOPS!

I felt so bad when I realized, but it'd already been reblogged a bunch, so it felt too late to change it.

So, kind anon, I'm going to take advantage of this ask to share the fics I wanted to then! (As well as a few more I’ve found since.) Not all of these are angsty, so this can be a general Season 4 rec list to supplement the angst one 😁

ours, always. By @theanxiouscupcake

Chat Noir knows this is not a regular patrol when he arrives to their spot. She's pacing up and down, muttering to herself, occasionally tugging at her pigtails. When he lands on the roof, she looks up, startled and as her eyes take him in, she jumps at him to swathe him into the tightest she’s ever given him. 

“I- I swear, I didn’t mean to,” she says softly. “I- I mean I did, but I didn’t plan to do it! We were just- Everyone was so upset with me, and I couldn’t take it anymore, minou, a-and I…”

He tries to hug her again in reassurance, but she pushes away, eyes scrunched shut as she words burst out of her. “ I told my best friend I’m Ladybug.”

One-shot. This fic is, I think, what we all wanted after Gang of Secrets. That is to say, Ladybug actually TELLING Chat that she revealed her identity to someone else. And it hurts, and Chat is clearly hurt, and he’s allowed to be, but also Ladybug isn’t made out to be wrong or bad. It’s just this real portrayal of how that could have gone (how it should have gone).

The Break (My Broken Bones are Mending) by MoonlightShines   

“I can’t believe you broke your ankle!” Alya bemoaned for the hundredth time. She fluffed the pillow underneath Marinette’s bad leg. 

Marinette threw her head back on her bed with a drawn out groan. “I know!” 

“Girl, what are we gonna do?” 

“I don’t know!”

One-shot. The premise of this one is a little ridiculous with Marinette breaking her ankle, and then her and Alya deciding that she can continue to be Ladybug and maybe no one will notice. Needless to say...Chat notices. And proceeds to be sweet as can be because of course he does. And the whole thing is just so sweet and I loved the ending!

The Sun is In Your Eyes by @deinde-prandium

The morning after they’ve revealed their identities to one another, Ladybug and Chat Noir have a much-needed talk. Post-season 4.

One-shot. Oh man, I love this fic a ridiculous amount. We get post-reveal pre-relationship in the aftermath of all of season 4′s angst and it’s beautiful!! Chat trying to hold back because he doesn’t want to pressure her, but his feelings haven’t changed, of course they haven’t. And Marinette’s learned that her partner is the boy she loves and she’s afraid but they actually talk to each other and it’s absolutely beautiful!!!

they took the crown, but it’s alright by welcomedistraction

it doesn't surprise her that she falls for him in that moment. it only surprises her how long it took in the first place.

Two-shot. We all saw the way Ladybug looked at Chat at the end of Strike Back. Here we have the aftermath of Ladybug realizing her feelings for her partner, which leads to a sweet mix of angst and fluff, and an eventual identity reveal. It’s a sweet fic!

Build You Up by @coffeebanana​

After the events of Risk and Strike Back, showing up to school and acting like nothing had changed feels wrong. Adrien doesn't want to be there, listening to the fears and criticisms of his classmates. Worrying about Ladybug. Trying not to let his doubts consume him.

But it turns out there's someone else who might want to be there even less than him. And maybe the answer to his problems has been sitting behind him in class all along.

One-shot. My absolute favourite post-season 4 fic! Like, this is EXACTLY the fic that I needed after watching Strike Back. It’s so, so good and there’s an identity reveal and I don’t want to spoil it, but this fic is gorgeous and you should definitely read it if you haven’t already! (And if you have, well, consider this an excuse to read it again!)

Off the Mark by @buggachat​

Ever since Nino's (frankly embarrassing) akumatization into Rocketear, Chat Noir's behavior had taken a strange and sudden turn in the presence of Carapace, and Nino could only think of one possible explanation:

Chat Noir hated him.

Somehow, Adrien didn't seem to agree.

One-shot. This is adrino (can be read platonically) not love square but it’s so, so good. As you all may have realized by now, I’m an absolute sucker for misunderstandings, and I’ve been desperate for good fic dealing with the aftermath of Rocketear since it came out. And this is just SPECTACULAR! Nino doesn’t understand why Adrien’s so bothered, but of course it’s clear to us as readers, and it’s finally resolved so beautifully omg I love this fic!!!

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #ml fic #ml fic rec #ladynoir #adrino #prpr #ml love square #ml season 4 #ml strike back #ml gang of secrets #ml rocketear #jennarecsml

[jadenerd]

I remembered the scene in gang of secrets where Marinette was crying in the bathroom and Alya heard her

Like- I’M STILL HEARTBROKEN THAT SCENE HITS DIFFERENT NOW

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ml spoilers #ml season 4 #ml gang of secrets

[genderqueeradrien]

& never wonder if the same pressure would've pulled you under

surface pressure + marinette in risk, strike back, and gang of secrets

#text #thinking . about my girl marinette :(( #shes only 14 man she shouldnt have to save the world :( she literally has geometry homework to do :( #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculous #ml risk #ml strike back #ml gang of secrets #mine #ladybug #ml

[lady-de-mon-coeur]

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Post-Episode: s04 Le Gang des Secrets | Gang of Secrets, Alya Césaire Is The Best, Season 4 Spoilers, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Identity Reveal

Language: English

Published: 2021-06-27

Words: 3740

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: In which Alya realizes she doesn't know her best friend nearly as well as she thought she did.

#ml fanfiction #ml fic recs #ml leak free #ml gang of secrets #alyanette #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire

[gameguy20100]

Imagine in Side Character Marinette AU "Gang of Secrets" Reflekta being replaced by Anxietynator (because Juleka is Chattombre) in titular group of Akumatized Villainesses

Anxietynator: I know Juleka has issues with this! But we'll find her secret!

Lady wifi: And we'll have our friend back.

Princess Fragrance: I will have no secrets from the woman I love!

Adrien: Women are crazy!

#miraculous ladybug #ml au #ml gang of secrets

[miraculous-meme-team]

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug memes #ml memes #ml gang of secrets #avatar the last airbender #cactus juice #avatar sokka #atla sokka #miraculous #ml #miraculous memes #eiffel tower

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

'i'm sorry for not telling you sooner' for Marinette and Alya?

Alya sat unmoving, still hugging Marinette who was crying on her shoulder. She had no thoughts in her mind at the moment, or maybe she had too many and they all blended together into white noise over which only three words rung like a bell and made her head spin. "I am Ladybug".

"Alya?" Marinette sniffled, finally pulling away from her. "Aren't- Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I..." Her voice trailed off. What was she even supposed to say?

"I'm so sorry, I'm so terribly sorry for keeping so many secrets," Marinette erupted into apologies. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, I'm sorry for lying to you and..."

"Marinette! Marinette, it's okay." Alya put her hands on her friend's shoulders, stopping her babbling. "I'm just... not sure what to say. Not sure what I even feel."

Marinette's eyes grew bigger and her eyes watered again.

"But I'm not mad!" She quickly assured her.

For a moment they sat in silence, each of them deep in her own thoughts. Finally Alya spoke up again.

"Thank you," she said slowly. "For telling me. I know how much your secret identify means to you and that even Chat Noir doesn't know it so... Thank you." She smiled softly but Marinette wasn't looking at her and her hands were still clenched into fists.

Alya took a deep breath.

"And I wouldn't expect you to tell me sooner, even if I had already figured it out with my genius reporter skills." She rolled her hand in the air. "After all, even Clark Kent told Lois Lane about his secret identity only when he was proposing to her." She made a pause.

"So?" She looked around. "Where's my ring?"

Marinette finally laughed and even if it was a very quiet laughter, still tinted by tears, for Alya it was a sign that things will be better now.

"And I do mean all that I've said."

She put her hand on Marinette's and she finally looked up.

"I'll always be there for you, whenever you need me, superhero business or not."

Marinette smile and whispered a quiet "thank you".

And they both fell into each other's arms again.

So here's a short take on how that one scene could've went further :3

Prompt list

#my post #answering asks #lucy-shining-star #writing #blue's writing requests #blue's writing #ml #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #miraculous reveal #gang of secrets #ml gang of secrets #ml season 4 #ml season 4 spoilers #to any superman fans that may happen to read it #i am so sorry i have to admit that i made up the superman thing #i have no idea about comics but alya has #lets just say its canon in the ml universe

[chezamie]

The background music in the Adrinette "talk in the dark room" scene is the same as at the end of 'Gang of Secrets' when Alya stayed to have a heart-to-heart with Marinette.

#:3 #ml transmission spoilers #ml gang of secrets #ml s5 spoilers

[character-fan19]

MLB Season 4 Character Analysis: "Gang of Secrets" (+Call to all Marinette Stans)

Introduction

Back again with episode 3 of season 4, "Gang of Secrets" and as you know from the title I have something for my fellow Marinette stans but you'll have to read until the end of the post to find out what it is or you could just scroll all the way to the bottom and see what it is. In this series, I analyze the POVs of all the characters of MLB in every individual episode of season 4, helping the haters understand these characters' thought processes, emotions and motivations and now we are on the episode.

This episode... man, this episode was the turning point of early season 4. It showed us that season 4 is not afraid to take big steps and change the status quo, unlike the previous three seasons. This episode became my favourite episode of the series when it came out and I'm sure it was the favourite episode of a majority of the fandom as well. It may not have given us the reveal, but it did give us a reveal and that really is something for the fandom. Not only did this episode give us a reveal, but it also gave us tons of character moments, most prominently for Marinette but its still a lot. I am going to have fun talking about this one so let's get started.

Character POVs

Marinette/Ladybug

"If I tell you, things will never be the same between us again, it will mess up everything maybe even destroy it!"

Marinette this episode... my poor baby 😭! I just wanna give this girl a hug, this is by far the most I've felt for her since "Truth" which isn't a very long time but still.

This episode starts with Ladybug and Cat Noir once again saving Paris from Shadow Moth and we can see that the stress of being Guardian is getting to her which makes sense since the job of a guardian is something that requires your full attention with zero distractions and that includes your social life. Just look at Master Fu, he was taken away from his family at around the same age Marinette was just so he could have his full attention on being the guardian of the Miraculous and after his accident, he felt the need to isolate himself from everyone due to the enormity of the guilt he felt for his mistake and due to that this is exactly what he taught Marinette and in this episode we see her falling down the same spiral.

Cat Noir offers to take her some place where there is "no talking" and it turns out to be the movies which we've seen him talk about in previous episodes like "The Dark Owl" and "Timetagger". Ladybug of course is not pleased that Cat Noir used her poor emotional state to take her to the movies and she yells about how the romantic drama they're watching is "unrealistic" comparing it to her own love life, unbeknownst to Cat Noir. This of course requires him to take her away so as to not disturb others. Ladybug, still spiraling further into insanity tries to remain cheery in the hopes that if she acts happy, she'll feel happy and suggests that they go swimming.

After returning back to her room, she decides its best for her to stay Ladybug so as to be ready whenever another akuma/amok attack happens. One of the kwamis remind her that Tikki could be drained on energy and out of worry for her kwami and friend, she reverts back to Marinette asking her if she is OK. Tikki gives us facts by saying that she'll be fine but Marinette should be more worried about herself.

Meanwhile, Marinette's friends are worried about her and decides to go confront her about what is bothering her like great friends they are while Marinette decides that the best way to handle everything is to give up her civilian life and be Ladybug all the time but fortunately her friends came before she could go too far and she was forced to transform back to preserve her secret identity but when she saw Rose about to discover the Miracle Box she went into a panic and pushed her away and lashed out at them for invading her privacy. Her friends try to comfort her by trying to let her know that they can tell her anything but Marinette, knowing the importance of secret identities, knows she can't do that and hastily makes up the excuse that she no longer wants friends which succeeded in making them leave but at the cost of losing her friends, making her go into a depressed state.

This leads to her friends being vulnerable to Shadow Moth and get akumatized into their classic forms and become the Gang of secrets, a group of supervillains determined to find out what Marinette is hiding. Marinette is forced to deal with the consequences of her mistake by fighting her friends. She manages to capture Lady Wifi and is able to convince her to fight off Shadow Moth's influence and de-akumatize herself and with her becoming Rena Rouge, her, Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat the rest of the Gang of Secrets together.

After Marinette's friends were de-akumatized, Marinette corrected her mistake by telling her friends that she is not ready for love yet and is OK with friendship for now. After her friends leave, Alya stays behind, knowing her BFF too well to be fooled. Marinette breaks down in front of Alya telling her she is afraid of revealing her secret as she was afraid that it could change everything between them or even destroy their friendship. After getting support from Alya, Marinette puts herself first for once and reluctantly tells Alya her identity because she knows she needs help. The episode ends for her with Alya giving Marinette that hug I've been wanting to give her the whole episode.

Man, that was the longest Marinette section I've ever had. Well, since we're done with it now, let's move on to the other characters

2. Alya

"If it's too big, two of us can handle it better than one"

Make way for Alya who was a legend this episode. Not really that much on character moments for this episode but a very supportive best friend and I thought I should mention it.

Alya, like Marinette's other friends, were worried about her after her break up with Luka and wanted to make her feel better. Marinette of course had to preserve her secret identity so she had to drive her along with the rest of her friends away and this led to her akumatization into Lady Wifi as part of the Gang of Secrets due to feeling hurt about losing her best friend but when Ladybug captured her and reminded her of of how Ladybug and her as Rena Rouge trust each other even though they have to keep secrets from each other and this gave Lady Wifi the strength of will to de-akumatize her self back into Alya and together, with her as Rena Rouge, they defeat the rest of the Gang of Secrets.

When Marinette told her and the rest of her friends that she wasn't ready for love yet and wanted to stick with friendship for now she knew that Marinette didn't tell them everything and stuck around to try to help her. When Marinette breaks down, she comforts her and tells her that she can help her if the burden of her secret is too big and when Marinette revealed to her that she was Ladybug, instead of fangirling over the fact that she finally found out who her idol is, she embraced her when she needed it like the amazing friend she is.

3. Marinette's friends

"I really thought it would work"

Now, last but not least, Marinette's friends, who were the akumatized victims this episode. Seeing that their friend Marinette was sad and broke up with Luka, they decided that they use a special bracelet suggested by Mylene to let Marinette know that she can tell her BFFs anything and they can help her with anything.

But since Marinette was Ladybug, she couldn't tell them, their idea failed and they left, depressed that they lost one of their friends just because she wouldn't tell her secret. This made them vulnerable to Shadow Moth and akumatized them into the Gang of Secrets who want nothing but to get their friend back and find out her secret. After getting de-akumatized, Marinette apologized to them and explained to them that she just wasn't ready for love and wanted to stick with friendship for now. Her friends gladly believed (except Alya) and accepted this let her know that they will be ready to make a complicated plan to get with whoever she wants whenever she's ready giving a happy ending for them.

Conclusion

Well, that's the end of what I like to call the angst trio and its more or less smooth sailing from here for all our favourite characters, at least until the final stretch of season 4. Now for the surprise: It's really hurtful seeing your favourite character get salted on social media and any Marinette stan would know this. So I thought, what if there was a place where all Marinette stans can exist in peace on Reddit and I created this. If you agree with what the name of the subreddit says then you're welcome to join the community. I just made it so everything isn't set up but when I get time I'll work on those other things as well.

So that's it. Like last time, if I missed anything in this analysis, let me know.

#marinette sugar #alya sugar #ml character analysis #mlb characterization #ml season 4 #ml gang of secrets

[rosie-b]

Tough Luck, Tender Love

Written for @ladrienjune days 17 & 20, Bad Luck & Passionate Declaration, 5756 words

A bead of sweat rolled down Marinette’s forehead as she stood frozen in front of Adrien, who still hadn’t spoken a word. She raised an arm to wipe it away quickly as her heart stuttered out an unfamiliar rhythm, and a red and black design came into view.

She froze. She’d put on her usual outfit today, but she was very obviously not wearing it now. The black spots on her red sleeve and glove could only mean one thing: Marinette Dupain-Cheng hadn’t confessed her love to Adrien — Ladybug had.

Read the rest on AO3 or just below!

After this, nothing will be the same, Marinette thought as she bit out the last words of her confession and winced as she prepared herself for rejection.  

Adrien stared silently at her, his mouth hanging open, as whispers swirled around them like the first winds of a storm. 

Marinette bit her lip. She always knew that asking Adrien out at school was a mistake, but it wasn’t supposed to cause such an uproar! Everyone at François-Dupont seemed to know about her crush on Adrien except for the boy himself, so why did it seem as though everyone had just received the shock of their lives? 

Within seconds, people started nudging each other and exchanging money. They were probably trying to be discreet, but that was impossible when nearly everyone had a bet to settle. Some people were pumping their arms in victory; most were shaking their heads in disappointment; even Ms. Bustier had a discontent frown on her face. 

A bead of sweat rolled down Marinette’s forehead as she stood frozen in front of Adrien, who still hadn’t spoken a word. She raised an arm to wipe it away quickly as her heart stuttered out an unfamiliar rhythm, and a red and black design came into view. 

She froze. She’d put on her usual outfit today, but she was very obviously not wearing it now. The black spots on her red sleeve and glove could only mean one thing: Marinette Dupain-Cheng hadn’t confessed her love to Adrien — Ladybug had. 

--*--*--*--*-- 

To be fair, Marinette hadn’t had much — or any — luck in confessing to Adrien so far, which was something that Rose had repeated multiple times during the intervention she was holding in the park near their school. 

But maybe it was just fate! Maybe she and Adrien were destined to be star-crosses lovers, like Romeo and Juliet, or the cowherd and the weaver girl. She could love Adrien, but only from afar, as the universe confined her to saving Paris as Ladybug and sacrificing her only chance at love until Hawk Moth was finally defeated.  

I can’t tell them that, though, or I’d lose my secret identity, Marinette realized. She nervously chewed on her lip as the girls continued urging her to either take up their new, foolproof plan and confess to Adrien or give up on him once and for all. 

“—And the best part is, all you have to do is sign this card! We’ll put it on Adrien’s desk for you, and that way no one else can claim to have written it themselves or steal it before he has the chance to see it. Foolproof! Right, Juleka?”  

Rose nudged her girlfriend, who nodded her head and muttered something that sounded like a yes. 

“We all agree! Don’t you see, Marinette? This is your best chance yet. If this doesn’t work, then nothing will.” Mylene folded her arms and set her face determinedly. 

Alya sighed and pushed up her glasses. 

“I know why you don’t feel like doing this, girl,” she said softly, her gaze darting to the purse Tikki was hiding in and returning to Marinette’s shimmering eyes. “But I do think this might work. There’s no reason for Adrien to turn you down now that he and Kagami aren’t dating anymore, and he’s started smiling at you more often. That’s a great sign, girl!” 

“Alya, I can’t date anyone while I’m you-know-who,” Marinette whispered. “It would be too dangerous. Besides, I barely have time for my school responsibilities! How would I have enough time to date Adrien on top of everything else?” 

“Are you really still hesitating?” Rose cried in exasperation. She had had enough of Marinette’s indecision, and since she was certain that Adrien returned her emotions, she was determined to put an end to her friend’s struggles once and for all. “Just give us your answer, Marinette!” 

Straightening, Marinette turned away from Alya to look at her gathered friends, who were sitting on the park benches and grass, looking at her in confusion and impatience. Alix checked her watch and popped her bubblegum as she looked at Marinette. 

She sighed. 

“It isn’t that I don’t appreciate your plan, girls,” she said slowly. “I just don’t think dating Adrien is a good idea anymore. It isn’t that I don’t love him, because I do! But...” She rubbed her arm and puffed out a sigh. “I don’t think I’m the best person for him. He deserves someone who can be there for him all the time, and you know that girl is not me. I’m flaky, remember?” 

Mylene sighed. “That’s true, but that doesn’t mean he can’t love you, or that you don’t love him! Your emotions speak louder than you think they do, Marinette. Trust yourself!” 

“Yeah!” Alix said, holding back a knowing smirk. 

Rose headbanged her way through an agreeing nod. “You’ve done so much to help us, Marinette. Now, it’s finally your turn to let us help you!” 

Juleka mumbled in agreement, even brushing her bangs back to give Marinette an encouraging smile. 

“You can do it, girl,” Alya said, putting her hand on Marinette’s shoulder and turning her around so that she had to look at her. “You don’t have to, but I want you to know that you can . Put us out of our misery, huh? I want to go on a date without worrying that you’ll never go on one with your ‘Buttercup.’” 

“Please don’t remind me of that name,” Marinette muttered through a strained smile as a blush covered her cheeks. She dropped her head down and pulled Alya’s arms off her shoulders. 

The group watched her expectantly as she turned to face them all. 

“Fine,” she said in a confident voice. “How about a compromise? I promise to try to confess to Adrien on my own before the end of the school day tomorrow. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll take your plan. And if that doesn’t work—” 

“It will work!” Rose declared ecstatically. “I’m so happy for you, Marinette!” 

She hopped up from the bench and threw her arms around Marinette. The other girls quickly followed suit, forming a giant group hug around a beet-faced Marinette. 

“Thanks, girls,” she said in an embarrassed voice. She awkwardly patted their arms as they continued to hug her. “I’ll handle it from here.” 

__*__*__*__*__ 

It was bad luck. That was the only explanation for what happened next. 

Marinette had been planning to confess to Adrien with a fresh bag of chouquettes, drizzled with a chocolate heart design by Tom, after lunch ended. She would catch up to Adrien just as he was walking back into school, and that way she wouldn’t have any time to chicken out of her confession. 

Of course, an akuma had to strike just as Marinette finished scarfing down her grated carrots and was getting ready to dash over to the bakery to pick up the chouquettes. There was a new sentimonster to defeat, and so the akuma took twice as long as it should have. By the time it was over, it was time for Ms. Mendeleiev’s class to finish. Marinette would have to hurry if she wanted to catch Adrien before he walked back over to Ms. Bustier’s class. 

And hurry, she did. Focused on nothing but speed, she didn’t notice that her yo-yo never vanished as she replaced it at her hip. Usually, she’d be detransformed by now, but she’d had to quickly recharge and help the former akuma victim after purifying the akuma. Chat Noir had had to rush back to school, muttering an excuse about attendance and his crappy father’s punishment system.  

So, Ladybug had stayed behind to help the former akuma victim, who’d had some bad luck of his own. He had suffered a broken leg before his akumatization and had no one to help him to the hospital, into the ambulance she’d called and then headed back to the school. 

She found Adrien just in time, skidding into the hallway as he stepped out of Ms. Mendeleiev’s room beside Nino. 

“Adrien! I have to talk to you!” 

Marinette knew she probably looked like a madwoman, her hair frizzy and falling out of her pigtails. She licked her lips and quickly tightened her ribbons. That should help her appearance at least a little. 

Adrien’s mouth fell open as he watched Ladybug shift nervously on her feet, clasping her hands tight and breathing deeply to shake off her nerves. 

“Wha...?” He couldn’t manage to finish his question. 

Nino, who looked similarly confused, gently closed Adrien’s mouth and back away, whispering a quick assurance as he left. 

“A-Adrien, I...”  

Ladybug closed her eyes. No! She would not give in to fear this time. If Chat Noir was brave enough to take her rejection, she could be brave enough to take Adrien’s. At least then she would know his answer. 

She opened her eyes and looked into Adrien’s green ones with a determined huff. A camera flash went off to the side, but she ignored it. 

“When I first met you, I misjudged you,” she began.  

Adrien’s jaw dropped down even lower this time.  

“I thought you were conceited and superficial. But then, I got to know you. I saw who you really were deep down—someone sweet, sincere, and generous. Since then, there's something I've been wanting to tell you. But every time I try, it's like my brain suddenly freezes. But now, I think I'm ready.” 

One of the younger students hollered across the hall. Ladybug ignored whatever he said and kept her gaze steady as she finished her declaration. 

“Adrien.” The boy’s eyes widened as she said his name again, and he stared at her like he was hanging on to every word from her lips. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the painful ending to this surreal moment.  

“I love you.” 

Immediately, the whispers and camera flashes that Marinette had been blocking out rushed into her ears. She caught sight of people laughing, exchanging money, gawking at her as they spoke with their friends. Down the hall, Ms. Bustier waited for her last students with a frown. 

Adrien still hadn’t spoken. 

Marinette reached up to wipe the sweat off her brow, and that’s when the depth of her bad luck hit her. 

Really, what superhero would be reckless enough to publicly confess their love to a civilian, especially a famous one? 

There was no way this would end well. 

“Sorry!” Marinette rushed to salvage the burning ruins of her confession. “I don’t—I’m sorry—I—” 

“I love you, too,” Adrien said, his eyes full of wonder. 

Ladybug licked her lips. “What?” 

“When you see Marinette again,” Adrien continued, keeping his eyes fixed on Ladybug’s, “Tell her that I love her, too. You were delivering her message for her, weren’t you?” 

Icy shock mixed with guilty relief flooded Marinette. 

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, the confession was from Marinette. Because she loves you, but I don’t love you! That would be ridiculous!” 

“Utterly,” Chloe muttered from behind Adrien. Ms. Bustier directed her back into the classroom. She rolled her eyes as she left. 

“So, you’ll tell her, then,” Adrien was saying, and Marinette snapped her gaze back to his. 

“Yes! Absolutely! She’ll be thrilled,” she said with an awkward laugh. Then she shot finger guns at him. Another camera flash went off, and she cringed. 

“Perfect,” Adrien said, holding the ‘r’ just a second too long. “And tell her I’m sorry that she had to go home sick. I’ll visit her after school, and we can talk about it more then, okay?” 

Ladybug nodded, unsure whether to swallow down the hope she felt or let it grow. “Okay,” she whispered.  

But her eyes narrowed as she continued gazing up at Adrien. He seemed like he’d figured out more from her speech than she’d thought. How did he know it was Marinette’s confession? Had someone told him? 

It had to be Chat Noir. But why would he tell Adrien? 

And who else had he told? 

Ladybug felt a stab of betrayal. 

“No,” she told Adrien, clenching her fist and ignoring the wild pounding of her heart. “I’ll come visit you after school. I mean, if Marinette is sick—”  

That was another thing. Adrien had provided her with the perfect cover for her tardiness, but how had he known to do that? 

If he knew, then Ladybug might as well personally deliver her Miraculous to Hawk Moth. 

“—If she’s sick, then you’d better not visit her, or you might catch whatever she has. I’ll deliver your message to her and keep being your go-between for the day. Is— is that okay?” she finished nervously. 

Her excuse didn’t make sense. If Adrien didn’t know who she was, he would just suggest he and Marinette talk over the phone, something way more normal and far less complicated than communicating through Paris’ busiest hero. 

But Adrien only nodded, stars in his eyes, and Ladybug’s heart sank. 

“I’ll be waiting by the window for you, m— Ladybug.” 

Yeah, he knew. But he looked so excited to see her again that Ladybug almost didn’t care. It was hard to remember that her world was crumbling when the boy of her dreams was gazing at her like she’d granted his every wish by just existing. 

“All right, if you’re done delivering Marinette’s message, you can leave now, Miss Ladybug,” Ms. Mendeleiev’s nasal voice called out. 

The superhero jumped and whirled around. “Oh! Sorry! Yes, good students don’t hold up class time. Er, good heroes! Heroes like me,” she said, giggling nervously as she walked into the wall. 

Adrien caught her as she fell. She practically leapt out of his arms. 

“Byedrien! Bye, Adrien! And Ms. Mendeleiev! And the other students who I definitely do not know! ” Ladybug pushed the nearest door open and scurried through it. 

It led to the bathroom, but that was okay. She was very experienced in escaping from bathroom windows.  

And there were definitely no pictures of Ladybug entering the men’s room being posted right now. Nope! Those thoughts could wait for another time. Marinette had finally confessed to Adrien!  

And it had only cost her secret identity. 

Was it bad luck, she pondered, or had its opposite led to her passionate confession? 

__*__*__*__*__ 

After she managed to convince her mother that she really was sick (of school, at least), Marinette sat in her room, watching the video of her confession play in a loop on the news. Apparently, superheroes confessing to supermodels on behalf of other, normal girls was headline material in Paris. 

It was amazing that Marinette hadn’t noticed what she was doing, that she hadn’t felt her suit on her fingers and known before she opened her mouth. It was also amazing that Adrien, although he had figured out her secret identity, had protected it instead of sharing it with anyone. 

It gave her hope when she shouldn’t be able to feel any. 

Well, she had to feel some hope now that she knew Adrien loved her, too! It was the best outcome of a love confession she’d dared to dream of (almost, after the one where they got married and moved to the beach with their cute, fuzzy hamsters). 

He’d really said that he loved her! She hadn’t dreamed it up, Marinette marveled as she watched the video for the fifteenth time. As soon as it ended, she went to hit the replay button again, but Tikki landed on the mouse and blocked her from clicking it. 

“Marinette, don’t you think this is a bit excessive? School has been over for almost half an hour now. Shouldn’t you go visit Adrien like you said you would?” 

Tikki had seemed very excited by the prospect of her visit, though Marinette could not fathom the reason why. After all, she’d just lost her secret identity to the same person who’d found it out before in a doomed timeline that led to her poor kitty being akumatized. 

Oh, right, Marinette remembered. That was the real reason she was watching these videos. She needed something to distract herself from the sense of impending doom she’d been feeling. 

“Well, the Gorilla could be late to pick Adrien up,” she said to Tikki, offering her weak excuse with a wide grin that was probably less reassuring than she’d hoped. “I don’t want to be caught by M. Agreste if he’s the only one at the mansion now.” 

Tikki quirked her brow. 

“You need to talk to him, Marinette! How else will you know if he figured out your secret identity or not?” 

Marinette sighed. “I already know he did! He even knew I’d panic about it and made up an excuse for me to go home instead of staying at school!” 

“He was also the first to suggest that you talk more after school! Which means that he’s probably in his room now, waiting by the window for the girl he loves to come say hello! But instead of doing that, you’re watching a scratchy recording taken on a phone for the umpteenth time! Marinette, when I picked you to be my holder, I thought you’d be much braver than this.” 

Oh, Tikki could play dirty when she wanted to. The other kwamis snickered to themselves as they watched their Guardian splutter her excuse as she evaded the only true course of action. 

“I can be brave! But right now I’m being cautious, which is another heroic quality I should have! After all, the whole ‘leap before you look’ is Chat’s thing, not mine!” 

Tikki giggled. “Well, leaping before you look sounds an awful lot like what you did earlier today, Marinette. The two of you are more alike than you might think! Now,” she said, moving off the mouse and clicking the power button on the computer, “Get off that chair and go visit Adrien! If you still haven’t transformed in one minute, then I might murder you before Alya gets the chance to.” 

Tikki’s eyes glittered playfully as Marinette glanced at her discarded phone, which was still blowing up with ignored notifications from her reporter friend and what seemed to be half of Paris. 

Marinette swallowed. “I guess anything’s better than that. Tikki, spots on!” 

Throwing open the trap door, Ladybug flung her yo-yo around a distant building and took off towards Adrien’s house, swallowing the butterflies in her stomach back down.  

Why, oh why had she confessed to Adrien as Ladybug? Why hadn’t she just taken the girls’ idea and signed a card as Marinette, or would her awful luck have ruined that plan, too?  

Would she have signed the card as Ladybug? Or worse, would she have asked for more constipation medicine instead of drawing a heart by her name? 

Why do some people think ladybugs are lucky? Marinette wondered as she deftly avoided crashing into Adrien’s window. If I was lucky, I would have never fallen in love!  

Ladybug straightened up on the windowsill and looked into Adrien’s room. He probably wasn’t home yet, because Tikki had been exaggerating about the time and oh no he was looking right at her!!!  

Ladybug did a panicked dance that looked a bit like she was Vogue-ing and fell off the windowsill. 

She landed in a tree. 

“Ow,” she commented blankly while internally slapping herself. The fall had been so short that it hadn’t hurt! 

 But Adrien didn’t know that. Clapping his hands to his cheeks, he gaped at Ladybug in horror. 

There’s the reaction I was expecting earlier, Ladybug thought drearily as Adrien threw open the window and started climbing down the wall to help her out of the tree. 

“Ladybug! Are you okay? I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you like that! I thought I told you I’d be by the window earlier!”  

He reached out for the branch that Ladybug had landed on, but just barely couldn’t reach it without coming in danger of losing his grip on the wall. 

Ladybug’s eyes widened.

“Adrien, be careful! You’re going to fall!” 

Adrien shook her worries off. “It’ll be fine, my lady, I’ve done this a million ti—!” 

He grabbed onto the end of the branch and let go of the wall as he started speaking, but the branch was not as strong as he’d given it credit for. Unable to support his full weight, it cracked off from the rest of the branch and fell, dragging the model down with it. 

“Adrien!” Two voices cried out in harmonized horror. 

Ladybug jumped up and tossed her yo-yo to catch Adrien as a black blur zoomed out of his window and dropped down after him. 

The yo-yo string wrapped around Adrien’s waist while Ladybug’s brain short-circuited as she registered both the reason the black blur’s voice was familiar and the nickname Adrien had just used for her. Unable to handle the surprise of finding out her partner’s identity, she fell off her perch for the second time that day. 

Plagg moved out of the way as she tumbled past him, and milliseconds later, she wound up tangled upside down in the yo-yo string with Adrien about a meter and a half above the ground. Luckily, Plagg hurriedly wrapped the end of the string around a thicker branch, which brought their progress to an abrupt and jarring halt before they could come to a crash landing. 

“Ugh,” Adrien groaned, and Ladybug nearly shivered out of her skin. 

“I am not a cat!” she snapped, and Adrien twisted around to look at her. The yo-yo string spun around accordingly, intensifying the queasy feeling in Marinette’s stomach. 

“I beg your pardon?” 

Why had Ladybug ever opened up her mouth? She should have known only gibberish would come out! Still panicking, she did it again without thinking. 

“It’s pawdon! And you’re not getting any until we get out of this tree!” 

Adrien blinked. It probably would have been adorable if Ladybug hadn’t been looking at them upside down while she got spun in dizzying circles by her own weapon. 

“My lady, I really am sorry about the reveal, but I was so scared when you got hurt! And I can’t think straight when the girl that I love is in danger!” 

He pulled out his best pout while Plagg sat on top of the yo-yo string tied around the branch and stared wide-eyed at him. 

“Transform, you rollot-headed cheese curd! Transform and destroy the string!” he cried impatiently. 

“But then we’ll fall,” Adrien pointed out, and Ladybug craned her neck upwards in the direction Plagg’s voice had come from. 

“Why don’t you just untie the string, Plagg? That would be a lot easier!” 

“Yeah, I thought you hated transforming!” Adrien called. 

Plagg flew down and landed on the string tying Ladybug and Adrien together.  

“You’d still fall if I untied the string, you solid slices of Swiss! Only Adrien wouldn’t be protected from it, because he wouldn’t be wearing a suit!” 

“But it’s only a meter drop,” Adrien protested. “I’ll be fine!” 

Ladybug jerked, swinging the string in a sideways motion. “Do you want to get hurt? Take Plagg’s advice!” If you really are Chat Noir, she added silently. 

Adrien stared up at Ladybug for a moment. “Whatever the lady wishes. Plagg, claws out!” 

Good, we’re at this part of the dream. Shouldn’t I wake up now? Ladybug asked herself.  

But that must not always be the way dreams worked, because there was that one time after Oblivio when she’d dreamed that Adrien turned into Chat Noir and then he’d kissed her and she— 

As she was still thinking, the string disintegrated around Ladybug and she and Chat Noir fell to the ground in a tangled heap. 

“Your foot is covering my eye,” Ladybug complained. Chat Noir moved it immediately. 

“Sorry,” he apologized as he moved Ladybug’s heels off his chest and stood up. Offering Ladybug a hand, he pulled her to her feet. She nearly fell over again, and he steadied her with a hand. 

“I really am sorry,” he repeated as Ladybug carefully stretched out her arms, which had been pinned to her sides by the string. 

“It was my fault, I should have remembered you’d be at the window,” she said sheepishly. “And, as for the identity reveal? I wouldn’t have figured it out if it weren’t for Plagg.” 

Adrien detransformed and frowned at his kwami.  

“I’m entirely innocent,” Plagg said, crossing his arms. “I am also starving. I need cheese!” He looked pleadingly at Adrien. 

“I don’t think now is a good time for cheese, Plagg, but if you need some, you know where it is.” 

With a cheeky wink at Ladybug, Plagg zoomed off to Adrien’s room before she could say a word. 

“All this because of a poorly executed confession,” she grumbled, scuffing the dirt under the tree. 

Adrien tilted his head. “Poorly executed? My lady, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven because I was so happy! Your delivery was perfect. If it wasn’t for the fact that you were Ladybug at the time, it would have been purrfect!” 

Ladybug pursed her lips. “You made that joke before,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “I can’t believe I didn’t get it! I can’t believe I didn’t notice you were Chat Noir,” she groaned, covering her face in embarrassment. 

Adrien laughed and delicately peeled her fingers apart so he could peer into her eyes.  

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice you were Marinette,” he said in a voice so sweet it made her heart skip a beat. “But I guess that’s the way the Miraculous work, isn’t it? Or else we would have figured it out on the first day.” 

Ladybug giggled as she lowered her hands from her face. “We really should have,” she said. “But I guess I was too busy falling under your spell, instead.” 

Adrien blushed. “You— really?” he squeaked.  

Ladybug smiled as she reached up to ruffle his hair. He leaned into her touch the way he always did. 

 “Yes, really,” she said softly. “Weren’t you listening to my confession? It’s always been you, Adrien,” she said, tapping his cheek with one finger. “I fell for you the moment you gave me your umbrella and showed me who you truly are.” 

Adrien grabbed her hand and held it to his cheek, gazing into her eyes with a look so tender it made her want to melt. 

“I fell for you on the first day, too,” he breathed. “You were so scared, but so courageous! You stood up to Hawk Moth and gave hope to all of Paris. I’ve never met anyone so brave.”  

Turning his face, he pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm, and Ladybug gasped as a blush took over her face. 

“I said to myself back then that I’d love whoever you were under that mask. And I was right,” he said, tracing its edges with a smile. 

Marinette looked at him in wonder. “You do? Even though I’m the worst Guardian ever? A-and even when I can’t talk right to you most of the time?” 

“Even then,” Adrien assured, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose and smiling when her blush got even darker. “For the record, I think you’re a wonderful Guardian. And I think your stuttering is quite adorable.” 

Surrendering her face as a total loss to the flames licking at it, Marinette dropped her head onto Adrien’s shoulder. 

“You’re abhorrable,” she said into his shirt. Holding up a finger, she took a breath and tried again. “Adorable! I think you’re adorable, too. And now that we’re finally out of that tree, I think I know how you can earn my pardon.” 

Wrapping his arms around her, Adrien hummed quietly. “What is it?” 

“Take me on a date. Next Saturday, in the park, after your piano recital. I’ll bring the pastries,” Marinette said as she returned his hug. 

“I’ll bring the flowers,” Adrien said happily.  

Marinette felt her heart swell as he kissed her hair and held her closer to him.  

“I’m so happy it’s you,” he whispered into her ear. 

“Me, too,” she confided. “I’m so happy. I don’t think Chat Noir could be anyone else.” 

A camera flash went off in her eyes as she lifted her head.  

Ladybug pushed herself away from Adrien and spun him around so he could see the problem. 

“Alya!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?” 

“You weren’t returning any of my calls, girl,” she said, putting a hand on her hip. “All you did was send one text panicking about how Adrien knows who you are now. Listen, all of Paris knows that you were planning to visit Adrien after school. You guys are lucky it’s just me who showed up. I was expecting there to be at least a dozen camera crews here already.” 

“Hold on a minute,” Adrien said, scrunching his eyebrows. “Do you know?”  

Alya hesitated, her gaze wandering from Adrien back to Ladybug. 

“She does,” Ladybug said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Alya knows. I’m so sorry, but I had to tell someone!” 

“Ma—Ladybug was basically having a panic attack when she told me,” Alya said, defending her friend to Adrien. “It only happened because she needed the support, and she couldn’t see another way. She hadn’t been planning to reveal her identity to me, or you for that matter.” 

“Trust me, I know she wasn’t,” Adrien said. “I only figured out who she was because of a weird coincidence, actually.” 

“Oh? And here I thought it was obvious,” Alya commented. “We’re lucky you covered for our girl, or all of Paris would have figured it out from that confession. Which you had better have accepted, by the way, or I will have Chat Noir cataclysm you for me.” 

“Oh-h, you will?” Adrien asked in a strangled voice. 

Ladybug laughed nervously. “Well, we won’t be needing that, Alya! He said yes.” 

“Good,” Alya said, folding her arms with a smile. “I’m so proud of you, girl! You finally faced your fears and confessed to Adrien. And see where it got you!” 

Ladybug grinned at her friend, but as Plagg reappeared behind Alya’s head and zipped back into Adrien’s pocket while she wasn’t looking, she remembered something important. 

“Actually, Alya... there’s another reason that threatening Adrien with Chat Noir wouldn’t work. Right, Adrien?” She looked up at him imploringly, hoping that he got the message. You don’t have to tell her, but we need to think of something to say!  

Adrien cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah! Are you sure it’s okay for her to know that, though?” 

Marinette shrugged. Telling Alya would be simpler than trying not to act like she was in love with Chat Noir or coming up with some explanation of her sudden turn to polyromanticism. It also carried a large danger with it, but she’d proved herself to be capable of handling it before. 

Alya was frowning as she looked between Adrien and Ladybug. 

“What’s going on, Marinette?” she asked quietly. 

Adrien twisted the silver ring on his finger. “I’m Chat Noir,” he said, watching Alya’s reaction closely. 

She blinked twice, then adjusted her glasses as she peered at him. Plagg peeked out from Adrien’s shirt pocket, and her jaw fell open. 

“Oh, wow,” she breathed. “You really are him! I totally called it!” 

“What?” 

Ladybug flushed. “You put a filter on a photo of him one time as a joke, Alya. That does not count as calling it.” 

Alya grinned. “Was it a joke? Or was it my awesome reporter skills coming in handy? Because I seem to remember you being the one who thought it was a joke.” 

Adrien smirked at Alya. “But you didn’t guess who Ladybug was, right? I did,” he bragged. “Back during Kwamibuster. Of course, my lady was clever enough to cover her tracks, but I knew there was a reason Multimouse looked so cute!” 

Ladybug let out a squeak, which made Alya smile. 

“You didn’t tell me about using the Mouse! I bet you looked adorable,” Alya said, and Adrien nodded his agreement. 

“You should have been there! It was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.” 

“It wasn’t that impressive,” Ladybug said, wishing the fire in her cheeks would cool down. “I just did what I had to do.” 

“She’s so humble, too,” Adrien said, looking at her with a smile. “My heart never stood a chance.” 

Ladybug spluttered and hid her face in her hands as Alya laughed good-naturedly.  

“Well, since you’re safe from the paparazzi, I think I’ll leave you two alone now so you can keep talking. You should probably keep an eye open, though. Oh, and if you ever want to formally announce your relationship as Ladybug and Chat Noir? You know where to find me,” she said with a wink. 

“Thank you, Alya,” Adrien said politely. “We’ll think about it later, once we figure all the details out.” 

“I wouldn’t expect anything else. All right, then, Alya out!” 

With a cheeky salute, she turned and walked toward the wall around the mansion, which she scaled with an ease that would have sparked the opposite feeling in M. Agreste had he been there to see it. 

“Alya was right about the press, you know,” Adrien said casually as Ladybug watched the spot Alya had disappeared from. “If you want, we could go somewhere else to talk. There’d be less of a chance of causing a scandal.” 

“I think you mean causing another scandal,” Ladybug sighed. “You’re both right, of course, a press intrusion is the last thing we need right now. Still, it could always be worse! I might have messed up my confession, but I was lucky enough to have— well, you. You’ve always got my back, kitty.” 

“You and me against the world,” Adrien said in agreement. “I think I got lucky, too. Until recently, dating you seemed like an unattainable dream. And yet, here we are,” he said, lifting her hand for a kiss. “I finally get to be with the love of my life.” 

Ladybug couldn’t stop a smile from blooming on her face as she gazed back at Adrien warmly. 

“And I, mine,” she said, her breath tangling with his as she moved closer. “I love you, Adrien Agreste.” 

He didn’t need to say anything back as he leaned closer and wrapped her in his arms. 

The kiss said more than enough.

#ladrienjune2023 #ml fanfic #ladrien #rosie-b writing #identity reveal #miraculous ladybug #takes place after in season 4 after gang of secrets and glaciator 2 #the ending tried sooo hard to turn into marichat but i managed to keep it ladrien

[adrinoir]

Is Cat Noir selfish?

Alright, alright. After season 4, I’ve seen a bit of discourse that Cat Noir is selfish because he makes this all about his own feelings. I can see why it comes across that way but from my perspective:

No, he’s not selfish.

I’m not saying that to be biased or side with him, I’m saying there’s reasons why he acted the way he did. Was it necessarily an okay way to react? No. He could’ve handled it a bit better than he did, but I understand why he did the things he did.

Poor communication

Both Ladybug and Cat Noir went through a lot of their own personal issues this season, which greatly affected their dynamic with each other.

The biggest issue was that there was little to no communication between them, on both sides. Cat Noir made an effort to ask if she was okay, took her to the movies, and offered he’s here if she needs to talk. However, Ladybug was far too stressed, and she didn’t want to talk about it - she wanted a distraction.

Notice how even at the end of Gang of Secrets, she still lied to her friends, saying she’s just heartbroken that she can’t be with Luka or Adrien. She wasn’t planning on revealing her identity at all. Alya was the one who prodded because she was concerned. She knew Marinette wasn’t telling them what the real problem was, and wanted her to feel okay opening up to her.

If Alya hadn’t noticed and stayed longer to talk to Marinette, she wouldn’t even have told her everything. Cat Noir doesn’t know exactly what’s going on in Ladybug’s personal life and didn’t want to overstep boundaries by prodding her to tell him. He’s in a different position than Alya.

As far as Cat Noir knows, Ladybug is stressed from her new guardianship and might’ve suffered recent heartbreak. So, of course he’s not going to ask her too many questions nor dump his own problems into her.

However, he doesn’t understand why her reaction to this is an excuse to rely on so many other heroes. He feels it’s unnecessary when he’s the one that’s been her day 1 partner - Master Fu had made him her helping paw for a reason. Ladybug continuously kept him in the dark. This leads us into the next part.

From his perspective, dots aren’t connecting

Why is Ladybug getting all these heroes to help her? From the audience’s perspective, we know she’s just trying to get more help when Adrien is too busy to help - which is beyond his control, his father is forcing him to do things. She doesn’t know where he’s at, she’s stressed, so she goes to get the extra help. But he doesn’t know this. He thinks he’s being blown off and she doesn’t need his help anymore.

Ladybug won’t even tell him who the other heroes are, and to Cat Noir, it just feels like strong distrust. He doesn’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell him. He also just suddenly got a message from Rena Rouge about a whole plan between her and Ladybug. Just overall, she makes a big step into the picture when that was never the case in the past months he’s worked with Ladybug.

Also, his own best friend revealed him and Alya’s hero identities to him, and told him Ladybug gave them their miraculouses in front of each other the one day. That absolutely seems awful to Adrien, because looking at it from his perspective, he doesn’t know she was rushing that day and couldn’t separate them. It’s devastating for him because it’s Ladybug breaking her own rule that she constantly pushes onto him about not revealing their identities to others.

I’m also thinking at some point, Ladybug assumed Cat Noir was purposely staying out of it because he was getting overwhelmed and unhappy. Think about it. In Kuro Neko, she told Plagg she thought he wanted a break.

Also, take notice as to Ladybug ditching patrol in Lies. We know she was trying to spend time with Luka, but also consider, maybe it wasn’t the first time she did that. We weren’t really given a timeline on how long she was with Luka. I think it was short, but still. Cat Noir could easily get the wrong idea if she’s not even showing up to patrols.

I’m honestly in agreement with Master Su Han saying she should know Cat Noir’s identity. It’s risky, but if it’s properly executed, it would make Ladybug’s situation easier, knowing where Cat Noir is. And just as well, he should know where she is if she’s ditching patrols.

He plays an important part in helping her out - he’s proven that. But, it’s definitely a sucky feeling for him when he happens to show up late and the akumatized victim is already gone. Why show up when she’s calling other heroes and seemingly pushing him away?

Bottling up the stress

I mentioned this shortly in the first section. Cat Noir kept almost all of his stress under wraps in front of Ladybug. He didn’t want to add onto the stress she was already dealing with. Piling more stress onto someone else who’s already stressed and dealing with their own issues only makes things worse.

However, did it make things better? No, it absolutely didn’t. Adrien has an insane father who never taught him healthy ways of coping with stress. Unhealthy patterns were passed down.

We’ve seen Adrien destroy things when he’s stressed. This isn’t new. It was shown even in the Christmas special that his only way of getting any sort of tension out is destroying things. And who does he mirror? His father.

We saw Gabriel crack Emilie’s coffin in Risk. He’s a villain - he has akumatized victims and senti beings destroy Paris and people. And ironically, Adrien’s power as Cat Noir is cataclysm, which destroys anything he touches. He nearly unalived Alya with his power because he was enraged and thought she was a sentimonster. It’s absolutely awful. This kind of unhealthy behavior isn’t really a good thing to portray on a kids show.

Cat Noir is Adrien’s escape

I talked about this in my latest analysis. Being Cat Noir is an entire new life for Adrien. It’s his escape from his terrible home life.

Ladybug isn’t aware of that at all, and like I mentioned before, she thinks he needs a break from being Cat Noir. She asks him once if he’s okay, but he feels too hurt to open up. Plus, they’re not supposed to be giving away details about their personal lives to each other.

Adrien is so neglected and forced into things in his everyday life. Any kind of problems that develop in his life as Cat Noir is devastating for him and heightens his depression because it’s his only escape aside from school. No surprise he has a nasty reaction to Ladybug pushing him away.

The main plot of the show is the love square

I don’t understand how there’s people in the fandom who tend to forget this. The biggest premise of the show aside from defeating Hawk Moth is Ladybug and Cat Noir getting together.

The writers purposely create drama and tension between them for that very reason. It’s supposed to keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what’s going to blow up in their relationship and how they’re going to get through the issues they have.

I’ve seen people say he got what he wanted by the end of season 4 - being Ladybug’s one and only- despite his bad behavior. That’s the whole thing. It’s made clear from the very beginning of the show that it’s supposed to be them - Ladybug and Cat Noir against the world. No matter how stupid these two act and what mistakes they make, in the end, it will always be them.

Cat Noir made his apology in Kuro Neko that he’s being too pushy. Ladybug owned up to her mistakes in Strikeback. They hugged it out, Cat Noir made sure Ladybug knew she’ll never be alone. He understood she needed not only him but others in Paris just as well.

There may still be a messy situation between them, but things have improved. Strikeback was marvelous and a step up from everything that has happened between them.

Conclusion

Adrien/Cat Noir isn’t selfish. He was pushed into doing things for his father which led him into not showing up for every mission, and he felt unimportant when Ladybug was calling on other heroes before him. Cat Noir is his escape. His bad parent leads him to feel this way and cope poorly.

Ladybug/Marinette has her own issues as well, and I’m not trying to say Cat Noir’s problems are far worse. I’m saying his problems caused him to act badly, almost as if he’s making it all about himself when that isn’t his intent.

I’ve never seen Adrien as a selfish character. He’s constantly bottling up his own problems and instead listening to other people and protecting them. It’s a shame Thomas Assfuck dislikes his own deuteragonist because Adrien doesn’t deserve character assassination.

There were people who actually dropped him as their favorite character just from his behavior this season. I get it if you don’t and don’t wanna read my long ass analysis lol, but this just gives it some reason. Get wrecked, Adrien salters.

#miraculous ladybug #tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculers #miraculous #adrien agreste #chat noir #ladybug #ml season 4 #ml analysis #cat noir #character assassination #ml rocketear #rocketear #ml gang of secrets #ml strike back #ml love square #ml kuro neko #kuro neko #ml lies

[flightfoot]

Got the craving for a specific kid of fic and knew you'd probably be the best person to ask for recommendations! I'd really like to see some fics of Alya recontextualizing all of her interactions with Marinette/Ladybug after Gang of Secrets, since we didn't get to see that in the show.

(Especially stuff like "How did Marinette set up a Ladybug interview with Alya?" and "Holy crap Lila has been claiming to be Ladybug's best friend since day one but I'M her best friend, and that's why Marinette has been calling her a liar!")

Yeah I've got a few!

Inferiority Complex by CartoonBee

Alya, after finding out her best friend is Ladybug finds herself feeling small and insignificant in comparison. Luckily, her boyfriend understands.

learning to bare her soul by Heyguysitsme

Marinette revealed the truth to Alya, but after such a long time of keeping secrets, she still struggles to fully open up.

My Best Friend is Ladybug by MikeXeno

Marinette's confession risked changing everything between her and Alya. But how much will really change? (Note: It is necessary to watch the episode "Gang of Secrets" before reading this story.)

#ask #ml fanfic rec #miraculous ladybug #gang of secrets #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng

[sunfoxfic]

Post-Gang of Secrets

#alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #ml memes #miraculous ladybug #gang of secrets #animan #djwifi #meme

[new-kit-on-the-block]

So I was going back to re-watch the scene where Alya breaks free from her akumatization in Gang of Secrets for my analysis and I'm sorry I was originally going to let this go but I can't.

Here's a screenshot of Marinette in Stormy Weather, the episode that is now officially labeled as "Episode 1"

She looks perfectly fine. Just as I remember. When it was starting out, Miraculous had some pretty decent animation for what it was.

Now look at her in this scene.

I knew that Miraculous' animation had been steadily declining throughout season 4 but wHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING

I'M CRYING WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE THAT

#try actually watching the episodes too #in the first one her movements and expressions feel natural but still very much animated #in gang of secrets she moves and looks like a wooden doll #the shading also looks flat to non-existant #plus the background in the first screenshot looks better and sabine is blurred to give a sense of depth #while the second scene just takes place in a dark alley/empty colorless void #miraculous ladybug #ml #ml critical #miraculous critical #animation

[lady-de-mon-coeur]

She's The One (18687 words) by jokermans

Chapters: 5/5

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire

Additional Tags: Romance, Comedy, Teen Romance, Romantic Comedy, Identity Reveal, Misunderstandings, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Post-Episode: s04 Le Gang des Secrets | Gang of Secrets, Gang of Secrets Spoilers, Season 4 Spoilers

Summary:

“Marinette…. Did you know I had a huge crush on Ladybug?”

It’s been a month since Chat and Ladybug had that argument about who should know their secret identities. It hurt that Chat wasn’t the first to know his Lady’s. But after some discussion, Ladybug suggested that Chat himself should have someone in his civilian life to talk to about being Chat Noir. Adrien eventually agreed and started looking for the right person.

Today, he was 100% sure with who he was going to share it with. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Over the last month, not only was he sure that she was the perfect person to share his secret with, he also realized he had feelings for her. And if he was going to be more honest with her about who he was, Adrien decided to share all of it… including who he formerly loved.

(What could go wrong?)

#ml fanfiction #ml fic recs #ml gang of secrets #adrinette #identity shenanigans