Miraculous Ladybug is in many ways a reaction to shojo manga and the soapy costumed romances of the 20th century, and this is reflected in its character interactions.
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The Love Square
The main couple; canonical soulmates whose feelings are filtered differently throughout the various permutations of their masks.
Adrienette (Marinette x Adrien)
Origins Part 2
- When Adrien lends his umbrella to Marinette, the thunder can be heard at a distance. In French, "to have the thunderclap for someone" means Love at First Sight.
- Right after that, Marinette wonders why she started to stammering. Tikki playfully answers that she may have an idea.
- And then Plagg comments "First day of school and we already have two lovebirds." Master Fu, who watches from afar, concludes: "Those two are made for each other."
Stormy Weather
- Manon asks Marinette if Adrien is her boyfriend. She answers: "No, I mean, yes?"
The Bubbler
- Marinette, as soon as she is awake on Adrien's birthday morning, rushes to her computer, wishes an happy birthday and kisses the screen, as the wallpaper is a montage of Adrien photos, complete with hearts drawn on them.
Timebreaker
- Adrien compliments Marinette about the banner she just made and winks at her. She giggles in return.
Mr. Pigeon
- Adrien touches Marinette's hands while taking the hat she made, making her blush.
Horrificator
- Marinette and Adrien play a kiss scene during a student movie that is interrupted by Chloé. It's worth noting that unlike other occasions where he could get a kiss from another girl than Ladybug, Adrien shows no hesitation.
Dark Cupid
- Marinette decides to tell her feelings to Adrien on Valentine's day, and write a response to his poem (that she found in classroom's trash can) on a heart-shaped card. Too bad she forgot to sign it.
Copycat
- In the opening scene, Marinette explains to Tikki the reasons of her Gibberish of Love when she tries to talk to Adrien: "Every time I see him, I get all clammy and I feel like fainting" while imagining that an image of Adrien appears in the clouds
- She then tries to leave him a message in his voicemail, but she then conclude by what she certainly won't tell him. Like: "I've got such a crazy crush on you" or calling him "Hot stuff".
- Marinette shows her Stalker with a Crush tendencies as she knows Adrien's entire daily schedule and owns a giant copy of it.
- In the end, when she is proposed to go to the movies with Alya, Nino, and Adrien, she leaps of joy, with a Love Bubbles background.
The Mime
- Adrien and Marinette seat next to each other during the mime's show.Marinette: I don't know which I loved more. The show or sitting next to my sweet Adrien!
Alya: Maybe you should give him a call and ask him out to a movie.
Princess Fragrance
- Marinette is Late for School, and Adrien is even more. Alya comments: " You two really are made for each other. Neither one of you can make it to school on time." Seconds later, Marinette trips on a bag and lands on Adrien.
Darkblade
- The walls of Marinette's room are covered with Adrien's pictures, a detail that remains constant from now on.
Animan
- Marinette approves Alya description of Adrien of being "Smartie, hottie, suavísimo, yummy-tastic spellbinder."
- Marinette lets fall a magazine whom Adrien is on the cover, try to pick it up, but he walks over to pick it up for her. They end up bumping into each other by their foreheads.
- Marinette let him go with a lovestruck expression and only snaps out of it in panic when Alya asks: "You do realize the guy you're completely crazy about has just asked you out, right?"
Guitar villain
- In the end, Adrien asks Marinette if she can sign him the album cover she just designed. Due to his nervousness, you could think he's asking her out.Marinette: I can't feel my legs anymore. Hold me up! I'm gonna fall over!
Gamer
- At the very beginning, Marinette wants to enter the video game competition as the second best gamer is Adrien. Alya reminds her that the competition is Serious Business, not for snuggling up and snogging.
- Marinette takes Adrien's joypad and happily rubs it on her face because he touched it.
- Marinette wins, and Adrien announce he will be coming over to practice.
Alya: Now you gotta win and you're gonna be representing the school, not just hanging out with Adrien.Marinette: (dreamily) Oh, Adrien...- Marinette has to hide her Stalker Shrine of Adrien, in panic, as the latter will enter her room.
- Sabine reveals to Adrien that her daughter talks a lot about him. When he enters the room with Marinette, Tom and Sabine let out a "Aww!".
- Adrien and Marinette try to take a controller, accidentally touch hands, and back off. Twice.
- Adrien stating that Marinette is amazing after she won.
- Marinette objects that she is just lucky, because if her charm. But she insists to give said lucky charm to Adrien.
- In the square, Gamer attacks, Adrien pushes Marinette and fell on her; then he grabs her hand to run away, until they split up to transform.
Reflekta
- Marinette is over excited to be on the same photo than Adrien on Picture Day, then even more excited to be next to him at the end of the day, when new pictures are taken.
Oblivio
- Frankly, this entire episode is easily considered one big Ship Tease under this umbrella considering how much is in it.
- Despite now forgetting who they and each other were, Marinette and Adrien fall prey to Crush Blush and Suggestive Collision in their interactions in less than five minutes.
- Seeing the photos they have of each other on their phones quickly leads them to assume they must have been a couple that knew each other (secret identities included) entirely. Watching Ladybug yell at Cat Noir for calling themselves a couple in a video just causes them to assume they had a relationship fight.
- Marinette after transforming into Ladybug again refuses to let Adrien fight without his absent kwami, adding on that she simply doesn't want to risk anything happening to him because she's starting to realize what he means to her and kisses him on his cheek, causing Adrien to remark he doesn't need any memories to know now he loves her.
- Cat Noir says what would be a typical flirt for him at Ladybug after he reads up on his Cataclysm but of course now the context is different when it's said while they both know exactly who each other is.
- Marinette and Adrien in their respective Ladybug and Cat Noir skins decide to kiss after realizing that the Miraculous Ladybug will probably cause them to forget anything that happened during the akuma attack, which emphasizes how much they want to in that moment despite the known pointlessness.
- Multiple student duos (who are couples as well as Chloé and Sabrina) mention enjoying the game Super Penguino together, Adrien expresses interest in the game while having yet to play it and Alya corroborates he just needs the right partner for it, "...right, Marinette?", causing Marinette's usual Crush Blush.
- To cap it all off, Adrien brushes off the two having forgotten they fell in love that day since if it happened once, it could happen again.
Marichat (Marinette x Cat Noir)
- While in costume, Ladybug idly asks if Cat considers Marinette cute. In the middle of outlining a mission plan, no less!
- In "Evillustrator", Cat Noir tries to kiss Marinette's hand when introduced to her.
- In "Glaciator," after Ladybug doesn't show up for Cat Noir's romantic surprise, he goes to Marinette for comfort when he sees her looking forlornly out her balcony. When he learns that she's heartbroken too, he cheers her up by showing her the romantic surprise intended for Ladybug. After the Villain of the Week attacks, he carries her back to her room without any bravado, and smiles warmly when she thanks him for cheering her up.
- In "Weredad," contrary to his usual The Casanova tendencies, Cat Noir is surprised and elated by Marinette's "Love Confession" for him, brings a pink rose for their date despite intending to break up with her, and seems tempted to go along with it before reaffirming his feelings for Ladybug. Afterwards, he seems to regret breaking things off for more than just (seemingly) hurting her feelings. Enduring a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown just to save her, and never gives up also speak volumes.
- In "Glaciator 2," Cat Noir agrees to help Marinette practice confessing her love for the boy she likes, and (after many false starts) becomes deeply moved by her genuine Love Confession. In the end, they both admit that the person she loves/the one who will love Cat Noir is very lucky.
Gamer
- While she is under Gamer's shootings, Cat Noir takes Marinette in his arms and run away with her to safety.
Ladynoir (Ladybug x Cat Noir)
- Ladybug is not concerned at all by Cat Noir breaking out of prison, and the threatening way in which she addresses the police officer implies that, if necessary, she would've broken him out herself. In her mind, if the law is against Cat, then it's clearly not a law worth upholding."Don't think you're going to keep him in there fore-"
- Ladybug blushes after Cat kisses her in "Glaciator".
Origins Part 1
- Their first meeting was a Crash-Into Hello and they end up entangled together into Ladybug's yo-yo string.
- Cat Noir comments that his partner is "crazy awesome" during the fight.
Origins Part 2
- Cat Noir affirms, when he sees Ladybug at work: "Whoever she is beneath that mask, I love that girl.".
- When Ladybug states that Mylène and Ivan "are so made for each other", Cat Noir answers "Like us two.".
Stormy Weather
- Cat Noir kisses Ladybug's hand right after she saved him.
- He later fell on top of her, and make a big grin. Same moments later, when Cat Noir realizes he still holds Ladybug's hand after guiding her out of the building.
The Bubbler
- The idea of being stuck in a bubble with Ladybug forever makes Cat Noir smirk.
Timebreaker
- Ladybug yells a Big "NO!" when Cat Noir sacrifices himself to protect her, and vanishes from existence.
- When two Ladybugs appear because one is from the future, Cat Noir exclaims: "I'm in heaven!".
- Cat Noir affirms that Ladybug will fall for him someday, and it's just a matter of time.
Lady Wifi
- When Ladybug is stuck and Cat Noir arrive, Lady Wifi sarcastically comments: "Oh, how romantic. Tomcat's come to save his love bug." She also refers to him as "your crush".
Rogercop
- When Ladybug joins Cat Noir on Rogercop's flying car, she shouts: "I bet you missed me!"
- Then Rogercop pushes Ladybug out of said car, causing her to fall to her doom. Cat Noir yells a Big "NO!", and gets angry at Rogercop.
Cat Noir: What have you done?!- Then he falls too, but Ladybug catches him at the last second. Cat Noir says he is "head over heels" to see her, then tries to kiss her upside-down, very Spider-Man like.
Horrificator
- Cat Noir gleefully remarks that he loves it when Ladybug can "read his mind", then leans in for a kiss, making her grunt. But when he says: "You did it again!" seconds later, it makes her smile.
Dark Cupid
- Cat Noir tries to declare his love to Ladybug but is interrupted by one of Dark Cupid's arrows.
- Ladybug remembers her Chekhov's Classroom about the "Love conquers all" morality in fairy tales. To cure Cat Noir from his Hate Plague, she decides to give him a True Love's Kiss. And it works, obviously they're technically - albeit unaware of it — in love.
- When Cat Noir throws to Ladybug the jewel that contains the akuma:
Cat Noir: Happy Valentine's Day!Ladybug: Awww, you shouldn't have...- The ending card shows their First Kiss, complete with their alter egos writing/reading the poem, red roses, and Love Bubbles.
Copycat
- When Cat Noir realizes that Théo has a crush on Ladybug, he can't help but lie and pretends that Ladybug and him are "a thing".
- When Copycat has trapped Cat Noir into chains:
Copycat: And from now on, [Ladybug] will love me, not you!Cat Noir: Love me? ...You're right! She loves me!- When Ladybug enters, she is seen on a Love Bubbles background. Certainly Copycat's vision of her, but it can be Cat Noir's as well.
- Ladybug Spot the Imposter by asking Copycat about their relationship.
- Once Théo is deevilized:
Ladybug: Once I figured out which cat was really in love with me, it was a no-brainer.Cat Noir : Better help the fellow out. His crush just got crushed. (under his breath, as he leaves) That makes two of us.- Théo says he "knows about Cat Noir and Ladybug" but it's okay, he won't tell anyone.
The Mime
- After the mission ended:Cat Noir: Such a shame. I could have been your date in the play tonight. Just you and me.Ladybug: Thanks, but I have other plans.
Animan
- When Animan, as a T-rex, swallows Ladybug, Cat Noir let out a Big "NO!" and threaten the villain: " You're so gonna pay for this!"
- When she makes it safe and sound, Cat Noir, instead of doing their "fist bump", hugs her with relief.
Simon says
- Ladybug pushes Cat Noir to safety and he lands on her. And tries to initiate a kiss, but Ladybug pushes his face away.
Gamer
- When Cat Noir realizes that Ladybug too knows the game Ultimate Mecha Strike, he answers: "See? You and me! It was meant to be."
Reflekta
- When Ladybug expose her plan to Cat Noir, he finds it so brilliant that he kisses her hand.
The Puppeter
- Cat Noir, in the end: "And Ladybug, FYI, you can pull my heartstrings any day!" (winks)
Antibug
- When Cat Noir suggests that Antibug's akuma must be in her earrings, Ladybug answers that it is a very good advice, and playfully rings Cat Noir's bell.
- Right after reaffirming that they are a team, Ladybug run past Cat Noir. They look in each other eyes in slow motion.
Ladrien (Ladybug x Adrien)
Origins Part 1
- Adrien dreamily comments "She's named Ladybug..." when he hears her name for the first time on the news.
Lady Wifi
- Adrien doesn't take the chance to peep into the room where Ladybug has just changed back. When Plagg ask why he did not took the chance to know who the love of his life really is, Adrien answers that he just followed his heart.
Dark Cupid
- Adrien writes a love poem for Ladybug, but can't finish it, and finally throws it away.
- This exchange between Adrien and Plagg:
Plagg: How can you possibly be in love with Ladybug? You don't even know who she really is!Adrien: You don't know anything about love...Plagg: Aww, the poor boy's frustrated because he can't finish the poem for his masked sweetheart?Adrien: I don't need a poem when I can tell her to her face... I love you.- In the end, Adrien is depressed after being so harsh on Ladybug because of the Hate Plague. But then he reads Marinette's card with the response to his poem, prompting Plagg to comment: "Aww, well, anyone who writes as sickeningly sweet as you must be your soulmate.".
- As it is not signed, a ladybug lands on it (like it did on the same card hours before when Marinette wrote it), Adrien wonders if Ladybug sent it. And lets out a Sigh of Love at this perspective. The same ladybug is seen flying in front of Marinette's house moments later.
Copycat
- Adrien wonders, when he realize that Théo been akumatized over his jealousy towards Ladybug:Adrien:How did I not see that jealousy coming a mile away?Plagg: Yours or his?
The Mime
- Ladybug stops Adrien's car to tell the occupants to run away from the Mime. Adrien opens the window, and that is his first official encounter with Ladybug (and the first apparition of the square's angle where the feelings are reciprocal). As a result, Adrien and Ladybug exchange a lovestruck look for a few seconds.
Simon Says
- Adrien and Ladybug exchange an awkward "Hello" when they meet each other, making Adrien blush.
- When Gabriel asks if Ladybug finds Adrien perfect, she dreamily answers that she does.
- While Adrien pretends to take a shower, Ladybug warns him they have to escape.
Adrien: Can I put on my clothes first?Ladybug: Sure! If you must... I-I mean, of course you can.- They spot a picture of Adrien 's mother and make the exact same comment: "She's got your eyes." , making them blushing.
- Then Ladybug put him in safety in the bathroom, where Plagg comments: "Oh my! What was that all about? Sweet love?" prompting Adrien to blush.
Oblivio
- Marinette only makes an outright assurance of loving Adrien after she has become Ladybug again while operating under the belief that they were a couple before they lost their memory. Adrien also only personally asserts himself that he loves Marinette after this point as well.
Jubilation
- Jubiliation used on Ladybug and Cat Noir causes them to have a dream about defeating Darker Owl, finding the address of Monarch in Dark Owl's pocket, going to there to defeat Monarch once and for all...and then the two fall in love, marry, and have four children together. It's never specified how much of the dream comes from Ladybug's desires and how much of it is from Cat Noir's desires, but even the status quo of Cat Noir being in love with Ladybug while she prefers to keep it professional is difficult to stick to since Ladybug communicates with Cat Noir that it's all just a dream and then initiates a kiss with him before they wake up and after they wake. While Cat Noir goes through a brief Unstoppable Rage in reaction to having been put into the dream, Ladybug instead is still entirely bummed out even while she's using Miraculous Ladybug. When the two talk about the dream at the end of the episode, Ladybug suggests the power of the Pig Miraculous was changed somehow to trick them rather than denying the romantic aspects of the dream could be attributed to her.
Tikki x Plagg
Complimentary spirits of creation and destruction who have worked beside each other for millennia. Kwamis may not fall in love, but that doesn't mean they can't be cute together anyway.
- Plagg asks Tikki to dance during Nooroo's birthday party.
- In "Oblivio", one of the main reasons that Plagg goes back to help the humans is the thought that Tikki would be ashamed of him.
Nathalie x Gabriel
A mogul, his secretary, and their plot to mug children.
- Gabriel accepts a hug from Nathalie. This is significant because he only accepts comfort over the loss of his wife from those he trusts absolutely- if he didn't, there'd be no plot.
- The various times where Gabriel reacts to Nathalie nearly fainting from using the damaged Peacock Miraculous in season 3 (and a little bit of Mayura from season 2) and his tendency to hold her/touch her in ways that could be seen as romantic.
- In “Risk”, Gabriel entrusts Nathalie with his wife’s ring in case anything should go wrong with his latest plan. He does this by taking Nathalie’s hand and placing the ring on her finger himself, in a dedicated shot very reminiscent of a wedding. The episode and its second part, “Strike Back”, seem to go out of their way to show off the ring on Nathalie’s finger every subsequent time she’s onscreen.
Rose x Juleka
Rose and Juleka are shown hanging out with each other a lot, sometimes standing really close to one another. Thomas Astruc has made it clear
that they're meant to be a couple, and the show avoids explicitly establishing them as such only so that their interactions aren't censored in less tolerant countries.
that they're meant to be a couple, and the show avoids explicitly establishing them as such only so that their interactions aren't censored in less tolerant countries.- Season 2's opening showcases pictures of the typical classmate duos together, including Alya and Marinette, Adrien and Nino, Kim and Max, Sabrina and Chloé, Ivan and Mylène, and Alix and Nathaniel. In Rose and Juleka's, their photo says "Rose + Juleka"◊. Furthermore, the green outline applied to Juleka's arm suggests a heart shape behind the words.
- Note how their styles are inverted in their respective akumatized forms: Juleka gets a bright, colorful, flamboyant Rose-ish look whereas Rose gets an elegant dark, brooding, gothic (and more "Julekan") look. Looks like each of them secretly wants to be the other one, hence their friendship.
- In "Captain Hardrock", the titular baddie chains them together. Seems normal, until you consider that the other pairs chained together are already couples (Alya and Nino get chained together, as do Ivan and Mylène), or at least have heavy Ship Tease (Marinette and Luka).
- In "Zombizou", after a close call with the zombies, there's a shot of Juleka comforting Rose and rubbing her hand affectionately. It's also implied that Rose kissed Juleka on her lips when she succumbs to Zombizou's kiss. They're hugging each other when Ladybug cures everyone (note that Ivan and Mylène were on a bench kissing, so the zombies do seem to have some semblance of their normal selves). After the momentary surprise, they hug each other even tighter before Alix steps in for a group hug.
- In "Frightningale", Juleka is shown with one arm wrapped around Rose from behind, and the position of her hand even makes it look like she's copping a feel, while Rose is clinging to that arm with both hands like she's trying to keep it in that position. Later, Rose is shown sitting either on Juleka's lap or between her legs and looking up at her, smiling, while Juleka has her hands on Rose's shoulders. Even Marinette and Alya aren't that close to each other!
- In "Reverser", the two are briefly seen holding hands when Reverser storms the art room.
- When Adrien is looking around the school in "Frozer", they are shown among the Official Couple pairings.
- Rose casually mentions at the end of "Oblivio" that she and Juleka play Super Penguino together all the time, a thinly veiled Does This Remind You of Anything?.
- In "Reflekdoll", Rose actually kisses Juleka on the cheek when she says goodbye. Though kissing someone on either cheek is a French greeting, it feels especially shippy when Juleka, while still upset about losing the role and having been held back by her own nervousness, smiles while watching Rose go, after the kiss. When Juleka is akumatized, she puts particular emphasis on converting Rose. In the photoshoot at the end, the two are hugging happily in several shots.
- In "Desperada," when the title villain attacks, the two are seen clutching each other's hands. We get a very clear close-up shot of them this way, too. Rose even leaps in front of one of Desperada's attacks to protect Juleka.
- In "Startrain", Rose is shown sleeping on Juleka's lap, while Juleka pats her head affectionately. Again, we get a close shot of it; it's not hidden in the background or something some animator sneakily tossed into the background.
- At the end of "Félix", the two are looking at each other quite suggestively before they are alerted to Adrien's video message.
- The final scene of "Miracle Queen" shows Rose leaning against Juleka by the river, next to Alya and Nino, with Adrien and Kagami further down.
- In the New York special, they cuddle on the plane (which is seen after clips of Alya and Nino cuddling, and of Ivan and Mylène.) Later, they dance together at the rooftop party. When Techlonizer attacks the museum, the two embrace each other tightly once Doorman portals the students to safety.
- In "Truth", Juleka jumps in front of the titular villain's attack to protect Rose.
- "Guiltrip", due to being focused on the two shows how close they are.
- When Rose goes to the hospital when the symptoms of her illness kick in, Juleka is so worried, she ends up running to the boiler room and crying.
- When Rose returns, Juleka runs up to her and gives her a big hug. As well as many other hugs throughout the episode.
- They are also shown holding hands with smiling at each other many times. For example, when Juleka and Rose are talking in the bathroom, and after Juleka is freed from her akumatization.
- When Juleka gets akumatized, Rose is willing to go inside Guiltrip to save her despite the risks it may involve.
- In "Crocoduel" Rose gives Juleka a kiss on the cheek while commenting that she is amazing.
- "Psychomedian" features the most blatant moment between the two ever. When talking about Marinette's love for Adrien, Rose says that "you can't have love without friendship." She and Juleka gaze at each other and then lean their heads on each other.
- "Migration" has the two transformed into singing records that confess their greatest desires. This causes them to do a Love Confession for the other. Rose's version has her confess her love for Juleka, causing Juleka to blush furiously, and after a pause do the same for all her friends for that obligatory ambiguity. Juleka, meanwhile, clearly sings about Rose without actually mentioning her by name, though Rose isn't around to react to that one.
Marc x Nathaniel
The subtext between Marc and Nathaniel in "Reverser" is paper-thin. Not to mention that Marc's full name is a pun on "arc-en-ciel", which is French for "rainbow"... aka the design on Marc's pink T-shirt.
- Even their color schemes suggest they're meant to be a pair (one's got black hair and wears a red jacket while the other is a redhead who wears a black jacket.)
- Marc having an interest in Nathaniel's drawings and writing his story "The Diary of Ladybug" based off them is one thing. However, the one particular excerpt from Marc's story that Marinette reads really sends off some big signals. The pseudo-diary entry combined with the background images has Ladybug clearly crushing on Evillustrator. Since this diary of Ladybug's is in reality written by Marc and Nath was of course Evillustrator, it's not hard to suspect that Marc may have been writing between the lines his own feelings through Ladybug either subconsciously or not.
- "But... what if he doesn't like it? I'll be so embarrassed! I'll have to change schools, so I'll never run into him again!". If you haven't seen the episode, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this line is said by Marinette about Adrien.
- When the two make amends at the end, you'll notice that they're not doing a typical handshake: Marc is clearly seen laying his hand on Nathaniel's!
- The characters themselves do some Lampshade Hanging. When Marinette starts her usual nervous stammering in front of Adrien right after telling Marc not to be so nervous talking to Nathaniel, Marc observes that she's just as bad as him. At the end of the episode, when Marc lays his hand on Nathaniel's, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame shows Ladybug and Cat Noir doing their characteristic "Pound it!" behind them, with Cat Noir noting that Nath and Marc are just like him and Ladybug.
- A minor one, but during the music video at the end of "Frightningale", Nathaniel and Marc are seen wearing the masks of Cat Noir and Ladybug, respectively.
- In "Frozer", they are seen together in a similar manner to Juleka and Rose above.
- Probably the most obvious moment. In "Hack-San", an akumatized Markov hacks into people's phones and compels them to give him what they hold most valuable (by pointing their phone at it/them). Marc says it's their manga, but Nathaniel is absorbed as well.
- Marc dragging Nathaniel to the soccer game and begging him to go reads like a guy trying to get his boyfriend to do something he's not particularly interested in.
- At the end of the episode, Marc is seen with his arm around Nathaniel's shoulder.
- In "Representation", the pair have snuck away from the main party and are face-to-face holding hands before Marinette interrupts the moment.
Other
- Olympia/Majestia and Barbara/Knightowl have multiple scenes where they behave like lovers, such as resting their foreheads together or using pet names for each other. It's also noteworthy that Barbara's daughter doesn't look much like her (implying she's not her biological daughter), and Olympia's is a robot (and thus is definitely not her biological daughter).
