Ngl I'm getting kinda tired of how much people are blaming Ladybug/Marinette for Chat Noirs/Adrians issues. It's like she's expected to be some mind reader. People act like she just completely dumps him but she has expressed her trust in him so much and asked about his well-being.
You can't just fault one character for a heap of miscommunication.
It's kind of messy, because on the one hand, Chat Noir isn't telling Ladybug that he's upset. She'll ask him if he's okay, and he'll say he's fine, and she trusts him. I also think it's important to note that Ladybug has been very kind to Chat Noir in the few interactions they've had this season— apologizing to him in Optigami (because on some level she knew that defeating the akuma without him would upset him, even without him expressing it), telling him he's the best partner she could've asked for in Guiltrip, Marinette validating Chat Noir with a "that's a great idea!" when he told her his plan to help out during Sentibubbler, and as discussed genuinely asking him if he's okay when he seemed a little upset in Rocketear.
But I also think.... on some level, this kindness to him is coming from a place of guilt, too. I mean, none of this stuff is necessarily strange for Ladybug (she's typically always nice to him, unless he's actively being annoying or they're teasing/bantering), but the fact that Marinette is having nightmares about Chat Blanc and emphasizing to Alya "not even Chat Noir can know!" signals to me that Marinette knows she's betraying Chat Noir, and she knows that the moment he finds out, he's going to be very hurt. Because.... there's no other reason to keep Rena Rouge a secret from him other than his feelings.
I think Marinette knows that what she's doing could hurt Chat Noir, she just doesn't realize that it already has. She doesn't realize that empty words of "I trust you" aren't enough when her actions imply otherwise. And she certainly doesn't realize the extent to which it'll hurt him. I think she's aware that Chat Noir can be insecure about his place on the team, but she doesn't know the extent of it or that a lot of those insecurities come from his awful home life. And she doesn't fully realize how much he relies on her and their relationship because of it.
But also, to be clear....... Marinette is so fucking stressed this season, like she has had so much dumped on her with the Guardian stuff and she's only 14! She's traumatized by a vision of the apocalypse, her crying partner in white, and her own corpse turned to ash.... and she has NO IDEA what lead to that event beyond a vague "we were in love and knew each other's identities" (she doesn't know the actual cause was just. child abuse. but that's another story). She's terrified! She doesn't know what she's doing! She can only do so much!
What's so sad about the Ladynoir conflict is that it's basically Ladybug and Chat Noir's traumas tripping over each other. Chat Noir is sensitive and bad at expressing his feelings because he fears abandonment and was raised by a neglectful father. He's so scared of losing her that he's scared telling her such will push her away even more. Ladybug is stressed out and traumatized by Chat Blanc and feels like she needs to carry the burden of everything, and in fearing hurting Chat Noir's feelings, she further pushes him away to "protect" him...... unknowingly hurting him in the process.
Like.... these poor kids.... someone just get them therapy please...........
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