#yinbug

&. 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬.

                   His  head  cranes  to  the  side  and  his  eyes  lower  beneath  a  curtain  of  thick,  long  lashes  as  he  gazes  down  upon  Marinette;  Her  words  are  half  muffled  considering  the  way  her  cheek  presses  against  the  desk  she  is  fully  leaning  upon,  already  submerged  into  sleep's  velvet  veil,  alas,  Cardan  understands  her  perfectly  ―  and,  as  though  whispered  into  his  ear,  they  bring  a  shiver  to  run  down  his  spine,  causing  his  inside  to  churn  and  his  tail  to  rattle,  as  though  startled.

                   And  in  a  way  he  is,  for  no  one  in  the  past  wished  for  him  to  stay,  least  of  all  begged  to  give  his  word  to  the  binding  contract  that  is  a  Faerie's  promise  ―  not  Nicasia,  not  his  siblings,  and  certainly  not  his  mother,  with  the  latter  going  to  extreme  lengths  to  ensure  he  would  be  effectively  removed  from  her  close  proximity  until  her  merry  ran  out  and  she  wished  to  remember  of  her  son;  and  from  the  collection  of  scattered  memories  the  Prince  has  of  his  mother,  it  was  always  him  that  sought  her  out,  rather  than  the  other  way  around,  only  to  be  chastised  out  yet  again.  Thus,  the  plea  catches  him  by  surprise,  and  for  a  brief,  brittle  moment,  Cardan  merely  stares  at  the  girl  before  him,  standing  still  as  though  a  deer  caught  in  the  headlights  of  Paris  whilst  her  eyes  grow  heavier  and  heavier,  until  they  have  completely  hidden  behind  the  rose-coloured  lids  of  her  eyes  and  her  lips  part,  finally  having  given  into  sleep.

                   There  is  a  cacophony  of  emotions  swirling  within  his  torso,  unbeknownst  yet  formidable  enough  to  feel  as  though  each  holds  an  iron  grip  around  his  heart,  alas,  the  Prince  dwells  in  them  no  longer.  Rather,  he  kneels,  lowering  himself  to  her  level  and  collects  her  in  his  arms  as  effortlessly  as  a  feather  breezing  through  the  wind  before  he  just  as  gracefully  stands  and  makes  way  toward  the  grand  bed  of  her  chamber,  covered  in  pink,  soft  coverlets,  fashion  magazines  and  designs  of  fashion  sets  half-sketched  into  life.  His  tail  gives  one,  lazy  swing  across  the  bed,  pushing  all  clutter  to  its  very  edges  and  once  cleared,  Cardan  carefully  sets  her  upon  it,  tucked  beneath  layers  and  layers  of  coverlets  before  he  climbs  as  well,  occupying  the  other,  significantly  smaller  side,  where  he  rests  with  one  ankle  gracefully  crossed  over  the  other,  his  hands  supporting  his  head  as  though  a  pillow,  and  his  tail  draped  over  the  edge.

                   Everything  is  quiet  which  results  in  to  the  thoughts  circling  his  head  becoming  all  the  more  loud.

...so business as usual then

❛ i never meant to hurt you, it was never my intention. ❜ lb -> chat ♡ / @yinbug

❝ I know that, Milady. ❞

Chat's voice is soft ; he can't pretend that there weren't moments he'd entertained some measure of hurt - maybe even a little bitterness, a little frustration. But now that they're here, sitting together under the moonlight, the same way they had for so long, he can name what the emotion really had been the whole time : loneliness. Even with their world falling apart - with the Kwamis gone, with Hawkmoth's evolution, with the team they'd been building in tatters, it really is still them.

Does that make him selfish, to relish in this quiet together for a few stolen seconds? Maybe. After all, he's not the hero that Ladybug is. He isn't good like her, inherently. He is destruction, the shadow in her light, and Chat still doesn't know what to do with that some days. Later, perhaps, he'll worry over his own failures, the ways in which he'd let everything fall apart on his watch - but for now, he carefully reaches out, resting a hand on Ladybug's shoulder, and lets himself sink into that feeling that she alone inspires in him.

Faith, unassailable.

❝ I think - as self centered as it is, I just ... missed you. - Us. This. ❞ The wistfulness in his voice dips into sorrow, like a passing shadow. ❝ I'm so sorry, Ladybug. About all of this. I know how hard it was for you. I wish - ❞ I could have been stronger. Faster. Better. A better Chat Noir to your Ladybug. The words get stuck and all he can do is drape his arm across her shoulders and pull her against his side, hoping that it's enough comfort to make even the slightest difference.

❛ Are we out of sight ? ❜

everything i am about to say is all come up with on the spot so it is subject to change! BUT HELLO HERE WE GO MIRACULOUS VERSE CHILDE THOUGHTS:

i. ㅤok so we already have a name for the whale thanks to the genshin leaks but just because i feel like it phonetically sounds close to the kwami names, i wanna name his kwami flood! he's a very calm and collected little guy who greatly contrasts childe in personality, but their goals for chaos to qualm boredom is the same! they're two peas in a pod as much as flood will try to criticize him for being reckless /: and yes he looks like an itty bitty narwhal, with the teeny horn and all!

ii.ㅤ i'd like to place flood as the kwami of disorder. it's rather close to plagg, but basically i think of it as a concept that breeds conflict, opposition, confusion. it thrives off the conflict between hawk moth and the ladybug-chat noir duo and Would like things to continue the way they are. perhaps he and childe have even helped one side or the other in order to keep things interesting? they're so annoying fr fr. ㅤㅤㅤbonus: ㅤflood takes the shape of a singular earring on his left ear, much alike to the one he has in canon. it glows a pretty blue shade much like ajax's own eyes when flood is communicating

iii. ㅤif not already hinted by the above answers, tartaglia (ajax's transformation) and flood are ironically neutral parties to miraculous conflict conceptually, but in action they both enable the conflict for their own amusement. of course, the last thing he wants is paris destroyed while he's here (i'm going to assume he's a transfer student in college rn but, we'll see!), but with flood as his companion, they can do absolutely anything together (❁´◡`❁) ㅤtoday, he's an ally to ladybug. tomorrow?ㅤ who knows...

iv. ㅤi haven't quite figured out how he found his miraculous... it isn't unusual for him to be finding different objects to send back home as gifts for his family, so i imagine it was something he picked up by accident and he awakened flood. i will have to get back on this for specifics on How it was found though...

v. ㅤi do like the thought that he's studying business management here, or if i do peg his age to the one i have in canon, he could be working as a toymaker? the reason i wanted to place him in college was to make interaction with the miraculous kids more likely and much easier to bump into HAJDAHD

the thing about how meeting flood is something i'm going to leave up in the air. i do want it to parallel to canon that perhaps flood corrupted childe too, and childe was a willing host? i also like the thought of tartaglia being able to consume the akuma butterflies 🤔 many thoughts!