❀ pale girl with dark thoughts ❀

I always had this dream that I’d have this really, really big family.

Cheddar the fluffy boy!

“And then you and ADRIEN could watch a movie and hang out and get all cuddly. Coolest thing ever”

“Oh he would never”

alya: they had a fight

nino: but they're holding hands

Spontaneous Reverse Crush AU comic

It confirmed Adrien’s latent feelings for Marinette.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was hoping Ladybug was Marinette - but he was very clearly thrilled at this outcome.

This exchange could have gone in the reverse direction:

Plagg: Ladybug is Ladybug and Marinette is - 

Adrien: Ladybug.

I think the writers deliberately had Adrien say Marinette’s name all dreamy-like and not Ladybug’s. He says it like all his dreams are coming true, like Marinette is the most perfect girl in his eyes.

This line is so important. There’s too much specificity in what he’s saying for it to just be a plausible explanation for his sudden advances. Adrien is admitting what he’s been trying to ignore: his non-platonic feelings for Marinette. He was pushing them away because they confused him and he had his heart set on Ladybug. But now his attraction to Marinette makes sense, because she’s the same girl he fell in love with. Bye-bye, denial!

There have been numerous metas on why Adrien canonically likes Marinette and is in denial about it, so I won’t get into all that evidence here.