#[The Clover General] Trey

[starglow-xx]

incorrect twst quotes - 08

*In Heartslabyul's common room* Riddle: You idiots! Ace: In our defense, we were left unsupervised! Deuce: *rapidly nods* Trey: Wasn't Cater with you? Cater: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised! You know that the prefect is usually the one babysitting! Not my fault the Headmaster is running them ragged with errands! *Somewhere else on NRC's campus* Y/n: *sneezes*

[threeofclubss]

trey clover and responsibilities; a meta after his book 7 dream

[spoilers for jpn server book 7 content ahead!]

as the eldest brother trey has always been the 'responsible' one. but his wish is to live in peace, to never have expectations thrust onto him (hence his constant downplaying) but instead to use his passion and skill (baking), which is the one thing he doesn't downplay, to make the people around him happy. to see them smile while eating his food, to 'grow', for him to be able to see them enjoy themselves and for himself to do what he enjoys without restrictions. yet as cater reveals, not only did riddle freeze him out after his excitement (which as you can imagine, was painful for trey, as if the childhood scolding wasn't enough trauma. ESPECIALLY as he sees riddle as like a, to quote him, 'younger brother' thus 'his responsibility'), but he was voted for vice housewarden as a result. all these responsibilities and expectations were thrust upon him when all he ever wanted was for riddle to be 'free', for everyone to get along, for him to be useful to others. and so trey gets a first row seat to riddle and all his changes and his struggles and his anger, and he's forced to take a role and he ends up taking one of an enabler, someone passive. he ends up 'painting over it' and scrambling for a sense of normalcy amidst all this, and as vice housewarden the blanket of duty he feels heavily falls on him -- trey has always put importance on responsibility and his image, like when he talks about upperclassmen needing to set a good example for their juniors. and so he suppressed his own emotional turmoil and focused only on those around him, on sorting out trouble and pacifying riddle, while ignoring his own feelings on the matter and refusing to take a stand.

all this culminates into the overblot, and trey's book 7 dream with chenya as the dorm leader says it all -- trey wanted somebody to understand him. he wanted someone who knew he would have a tough time, who not just knew but understood his past with riddle and could help him through it, to not just alleviate him from responsibility but enable him to take a role where he thrives best. he needed somebody to rely on. for once, to not be the one being relied on. cater came the closest but cater also mentioned that he kept his distance (their friendship is a whole other can of worms) and trey isn't the type to confide, either. the 3 heartslabyul senpais are a concoction of things unsaid, and so comes ace and deuce and heartshackle to give it to them straight -- leading to the overblot, but also recovery. and so in the dream trey is once again, as leona aptly implied, putting himself in a position where 'he can help grant riddle's wish' or rather he can help riddle in finding freedom from his mother (in this case through sweets), in a bid to wrestle control where in reality he constantly felt helpless to say no or to stand up to riddle. and by thinking of it as something he can control, he indirect puts more responsibility onto himself in reality, despite never having wanted it. so he's stuck in this place where it's emphasised how in 'real life' trey has expectations and responsibilities he never wanted. he never got to have his peaceful life.

and in his dream, it's the exact opposite; the responsibilities he has are ones he chose/wants, and at the same time, he has his peaceful life. he makes those around him happy, and in turn, he is happy too.

[ryllen]

Fun fact for the day, that u may or may not already know,

[existingoutofspite]

hey guys why don’t we ever talk about treys parents?

[cactus-bish]

[ynkfva]

Ships my 12yo sis ships in Twisted Wonderland (and why)

Riddle x Trey: "bc they were so cute as kids!!!"

Deuce x Epel: "deuce helped epel a lot of times! and he protected him!"

Leona x Malleus: "leona called malleus a lizard" (idk it seems like a legit reason for her)

Jade x Azul x Floyd: "not floyd and jade together thats disgusting 😠 but i can see jade and floyd w azul!! They have chemistry!"

Riddle x Epel: "bc the ship name is funny" (relatable tbh)

Jamil x Kalim: "not in the present tho. just if they both had a lot of therapy and jamil stopped being his servant" (love a smart queen 🤭)

Vil x Malleus: "idk"

Cater x Vil: "cater has a crush on vil!!!"

Lilia x Her: "specially General Lilia 😩😩" (gave no reasons)

[incorrecttwsted]

[viperwhispered]

So, inspired by the Jamil speech pattern analysis / notes, I went to the wiki and searched for good grief, and... well, I'll let the results speak for themselves:

Jamil - 16 instances Trey - 12 Azul - 3 (General) Lilia - 2 Vil - 2 Deuce - 1 Sebek - 1 Vargas - 1

Trey put in a valiant effort (something to do with the sensible vices trying to maintain some semblance of order?) but he couldn't challenge Jamil, who took almost half of the 38 instances.

So... Do we start considering it a catchphrase of sorts, or just the general cry of the exasperated NRC student?

[helloyellowsunflower]

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺🥀ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕪𝕦𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤 ℙ𝕥 1.🥀༻ੈ✩‧₊˚

Housewarden: Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle is very particular about his food. Aside from mantaining a very regular and strict diet (with its sweet exceptions, of course) by only choosing to eat what he (his mother) has deemed as healthy and nutritious; he has found out he hates certain textures or the combination of some textures. He hates, for example, anything that is remotely slimy or gelatinous, or mushy textures.

He's extremely weirded out by bubble tea. Why is it called bubble tea, there are no bubbles here! These are not bubbles, they're tapioca pearls. It should be called pearl tea! (He is also weirded out by the texture).

He likes how his heels make hem seem a bit taller and help him stand upright even though he dislikes the potentially negative effects they have on his spine. Which is why he stretches every day to make sure his back and feet don't resent him when he gets old.

Riddle adores Heartstabyul's hedgehogs, he thinks they are the cutest thing in the world (he'll never say that directly though).

He has been trying to improve his baking skills since the whole oyster sauce fiasco. And while he's on that, he's also been trying to relax a bit more and take it easy; something really important when baking, because things don't always turn out how you want them to (it's been a journey to say the least).

Vice-housewarden: Trey Clover

When Trey lears from Ace that Sebek's dad is a dentist he lowkey (highkey) loses his shit

Dentistry is just so interesting to him.

At firts glance he might look a bit psychotic when talking about him but he's really just fascinated by teeth. Like, these are bones that you can see, that have very different shapes and functions, all of which you use to ground up food. Oh, and when you're around 6 or 7 they start falling out only to be replaced by sturdier ones. How wild is that?

He's a fairly responsible person tbh. He takes rules more like a guideline but he's much more flexible than Riddle. He's usually in charge of making sure that newbies follow the dorm's rules (he usually makes sure they are technically following the rules without needing to put a lot of effort into it).

Trey loves Riddle as if he was his little brother (ever since he met his mom, he's sworn to himself to defend Riddle against what might come and to be there for him).

He has a sibling-like relation with Che'nya as well.

Except it's more of a "you're the most annoying person in this whole universe but I still love you."

Che'nya put that brush down you're spilling paint e v e r y w h e r e.

With Cater it's more like a best friend/friend relationship. Both understand each other well, and he knows the other is a very reliable dude in general (except when talking about chores).

He's the one he turns to after Riddle's overblot because he needs someone he can talk to who can uderstand just what he went through (he's exhausted from having to explain what happened to his family, Che'nya, his teachers...); he just wants to rest for a second.

Can handle exhaustion pretty well and can mask tiredness as well but when he knows he has to take a break he does. He will push himself a bit, but if he has to rest, he'll make sure everything's alright so he can take a nap or just chill in his room.

(Un)official social media manager: Cater Diamond

Cater has freckles, something he's a bit (a lot) insecure about bc he thinks they make him look unpolished and childish, so he always makes sure to wear bb cream or concealer to cover them and avoid getting more.

No one really gets it, and some of them have even gone out of their way to tell him that they're nothing to be ashamed of: from Trey telling him that he looks fine either way (and that they make him stand out from the crowd in a good way); to Riddle pulling up a presentation on why freckles are a natural thing and nothing to worry about but do be careful with sun exposure as having freckles can increase your risk of skin cancer and-

I know this is already canon and confirmed but I'd like to reiterate that this man is the opposite of an airhead. He might act a bit delusional sometimes but he knows what he's doing and he knows how to be professional online

He doesn't like studying, as he finds it a pain to spend hours memorizing stuff when he would be rather doing it.

I picture Cater as someone who would rather do presentations and practical stuff instead of 3-hour long text exams, as he finds stuff easier to actually memorize if he can do it.

His guilty pleasure? Staying up until past midnight on the weekends to watch any shitty soap opera while eating the most spicy noodles he was able to get at the convenience store. -he's probably the one responsible for teaching the other cards how to do their makeup.

[aster-luna-light]

Happy birthday to me...🎉

10-29

Have a small comic

Gertrude design leak??;)

I have been really busy with school these days , I will make a return soon , maybe after this week I shall come with gert :D

@lemon-koii @fools-ramblings-and-whatnot

[aquablossomsart]

Politely ranking twst art while I'm stuck in a hotel room

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

PAIN AND AGONY. T-T

Awww.💖💖

[pupmusebox]

Tag dump 5/?

{ Dragon Specialist and Slacker - Drayton } { Fiery Trainer and Cook - Crispin } { Calculating with Contracts - Azul Ashengrotto } { Fairest Looking of All - Vil Schoenheit } { Serious Minded and Dedicated - Riddle Rosehearts } { Calm and Respectful Fae - Malleus Draconia } { Shut-in and Tech Specialist - Idia Shroud } { Lazy and Imperious Lion - Leona Kingscholar } { Soft-spoken and Courteous Eel - Jade Leech } { Chaotic and Unpredictable Eel - Floyd Leech } { Focused Wolf - Jack Howl } { Wealthy and Generous Housewarden - Kalim Al-Asim } { Vice Housewarden and Servant - Jamil Viper } { Caring Attentive and a Mystery - Ortho Shroud } { Upbeat Quick Learner and Mischievous - Ace Trappola } { Earnest to be a Respectable Mage - Deuce Spade } { Vice Housewarden and Mild-mannered Parental Figure - Trey Clover } { Casual and Carefree Roomreader - Cater Diamond } { Runt of a Hyena - Ruggie Bucchi } { Quiet Dainty and Ephemeral Beauty - Epel Felmier } { Vice Housewarden and Aesthetic Appreciator - Rook Hunt } { Vice Housewarden and Overseer - Lilia Vanrouge } { Cool and Collected Fellow - Silver } { Livewire and Zealous - Sebek Zigvolt } { Dramatic and Stylish Professor - Divus Crewel } { Feathery Headmage - Dire Crowley } { No. 11 of The Fatui Harbingers - Tartaglia/Childe }

[ryllen]

"Then maybe Trey-san could come back on inventing the most delicious cake recipe in the world so the kids can ruin their teeth again ♡"

"ha ha. oh jade you just want to eat cake."

"fu fu. i may be do. please open the patisserie again."

[katskitoshi]

"W-WAIT, YOU'RE NOT A BOY?" with TWISTED WONDERLAND

synopsis: he's gotten to the point where he thinks he knows everything about you, until you (accidentally) spring on him that you're not even a guy.

characters: riddle, trey, cater, ace, deuce, leona, ruggie, jack, azul, jade, floyd, kalim, jamil, vil, rook, epel, idia, ortho, malleus, lilia, silver, & sebek x fem! reader

includes: mutual crush relationships (everyone -ortho), cursing, mentions panties and bras, slightly suggestive in some parts.

--------------------------------------------------------------

if not for an unbirthday party where you needed an outfit that accommodated your body more, riddle rosehearts would have never noticed unless you outwardly told him. only now did he realize your more feminine features, and he turns as red as his hair. after realizing, he does treat you slightly more respectful because he was raised to treat women respectfully. besides being more respectful, flustered, and in love with you, not much changed in you two's friendship.

trey clover would have found out sooner or later even if his hand never touched your bra on accident while tying your apron. he straight up asks if you're a girl, and when you tell him you are he acts surprised and flustered. honestly, not much changes. he acts the exact same but gets slightly more protective of you.

when cater diamond found out over magicam that you were a a girl, he nearly died. he just though you were one of the guys that were more naturally feminine, only to find out you're actually a female. honestly, he's not mad. he still loves you! he'll help you keep it a secret if you wish, but if you don't want to, there probably won't be a student in the school who doesn't know you're a girl. but don't worry, he'll keep all those icky pervs away!

okay, okay. because he's a little shit, he wanted to prank you and it just happened to involve you dressing yourself. so ace trappola waited until he knew you were changing to barge into your room, only to be face to face with you in just a bra and panties. he screams, like a girl, more girly than you, and rushed out the dorm with his face red. the next day is awkward, but at least he knows his crush is a girl, and that you have a really cute body under the clothes that convinces others you're a boy.

it's just so strange, the feelings deuce spade has. he even calls his mom and tells her all about his little crush. but by the way he was describing you, ms. spade didn't think you were a guy. so deuce builds up the courage to ask you if you're actually a guy. to his surprise when you tell him you're not, he dies of embarrassment. queue delinquent deuce whenever someone makes some pervy comment (or generally speaks) to you.

honestly, leona kingscholar probably knew already. he could probably sense or smell the female hormones on your or something. i don't know, all i know is that leona knows. he doesn't really have to ask or anything. he just knows. and you think he knows because he treats you better than any other male in the school. his attitude towards you doesn't ever really change but he's definitely flirty with you.

ruggie bucchi is in the same boat is leona. they both can just tell you're not a guy. however, he fears you. male hyenas usually listen to their female counterpart, so ruggie usually just listens. however, when he realizes he has control and that you aren't a threat, he's definitely becomes more friendly around you. no matter how much he fears you, his crush never ever leaves.

i won't lie, but every person in savanaclaw probably knows you're a girl. jack howl included. he won't make it painfully obvious that he knows but he definitely lets you know subtly know he knows. he shows you great amounts of respect and sometimes can't help but feel absolutely vile for thinking of you in some... not so respectful ways.

look, you're gonna give the poor octopus a heart attack once he finds out! you're filling out a contract and you inform azul ashengrotto that you're a girl and ask for certain things to be changed. he simply dies on the spot from shock and is a blushy little octopus. he thinks of using you to convince more people to the monstro lounge, but he can't do that to his crush!

just as expected, jade leech finds out rather quickly. one walk in the forrest on a hot day and a crop top with some sweat soaking through was enough to spill the beans. of course he had his suspicions, but you confirmed them for him! he finds you somehow cuter with your secret revealed. don't worry, your secret is safe with him!

floyd leech always thought you were just so cute! so, he just has to squeeze you to show you his love, right? when he squeezed you, he felt something push against him. he realized what he felt was what all the female merfolk had. "oh, shrimpy! you have boobs!" and he enjoys squeezing your boobs more than you. it doesn't matter if they're big or small, he just can't stop squeezing them!

this shouldn't come as a surprise, but it takes kalim al-asim a long time to find out. i mean, he can quite literally see you naked and be like "wow! you're very female-bodied for a guy!" of course, he didn't find out that way, but he could have. he actually found out by spilling water on you and seeing your bra. anyways, he's surprisingly calm about it. he still treats you like a friend that he has an obvious crush on, so yeah!

jamil viper is surprisingly shocked at what he found out. a little cooking mishap caused you to take off your oversized hoodie and make jamil realize your more... feminine features on your upper body. of course, he's a lot more over protective of you, and oh! he just can't stop staring! he tries his best, but his crush is just a bit more apparent!

he had always had his suspicions. vil schoenheit always thought your more feminine appearance had been more than some accidental blessing. apparently, he was proven right when on a shopping spree he got a little look of your breasts while trying on some clothes. he'll bring you all sorts of clothes that he thinks will suit you, enjoying getting to see you try on the clothes. you can tell he knows your little secret by the more.. risky.. clothes, if you can even call them that, he requests you in.

rook hunt knew from the first second he saw you. you come into night raven and expect not to be observed by the hunter? how cute. he gets actual confirmation when he was watching you change one night. of course he looked away while you were naked (maybe not), but he saw your bra and completely knew. the next day, he obviously hugged you more to try and egg you on that he knows (and feel you), but don't worry, it doesn't take to long to find out.

okay, so epel felmier though you two were on the same boat. two really pretty men cursed by genetics somehow. but, after he takes you on a magic wheel ride and feels you against him, he realizes he is alone. he's obviously flustered but he feels more manly somehow? he protects you and comes off as manly as possible. surely other guys will see how manly he is if his crush, and the only girl on campus, sees it, right?

when idia shroud found out, he was more than surprised and honestly didn't even think he could face you ever again! with a bit of convincing from his dear little brother, he could face you again. although with pink tinted hair and a red face, he'll still see you! how did he find out exactly? well, he accidentally touched you boob when aiming to punch your shoulder after a won game.

(platonic) a simple body scan gave ortho shroud the answers he needed. ortho is the biggest idia x [name] shipper on the planet! he'll call you 'big sister', and probably lock you in a room with idia if it'll help speed up the love-i-fication process. eventually he'll break the news to his brother, but he loves playing the waiting game with him. is idia getting any closer to finding out? no- wait, yes, wait-!

malleus draconia is an intelligent man. however, to crack this mystery, he'll need every clue and sign laid before him. once he pieces the picture together, he still might need to to clarify that you are in fact a woman. and don't forget, malleus is a gentleman. he'll treat you with love and respect as he courts you, beds you, and makes you his queen.

at some age, you just realize what everyone is, y'know? lilia vanrouge just knows that you're a girl. it probably started out at a gut feeling that ended up true. and maybe he'll let you know that he knows by giving you a cutely wrapped box of matching black and pink panty and bra set! maybe with a rose and a note that says 'be my girl?'

sleepyhead silver realizes completely by accident when he just wanted to lay on your shoulder. next thing you know, you've pulled his head to your thighs and when he tries to look up, he's meet with a new type of pillow. he's conflicted between staying awake or going to sleep upon this newfound discovery. either way, don't think that his sleepiness will prevent him from wanting to be as knightly as possible for you.

sebek zigvolt accidentally unhooks your bra when trying to fix your posture. it's an awkward moment and sebek is surprisingly quiet when he asks you your gender. his loudness returns as he begins yelling about how informal he's been to you. as a servant of his dear master malleus, he promises to treat you with the utmost respect!

[violenteconomics]

for trey clover, it starts like this:

deuce spade loves egg tarts.

he’s never outright said so, but when you’ve been baking for the better part of 18 years, you learn to pick up on things like that. it’s no different from figuring out that cater doesn’t like sweets, or the exact kind of chocolate his little brother prefers, or even what kind of tart he should make for the next unbirthday party — because, well, they can’t have strawberry tarts all the time.

and considering how much deuce loves anything egg-related, it stands to reason he’d appreciate a well-made egg tart. and, well, deuce had seemed a little blue lately (no pun intended), so trey figured he’d do a little something nice for him.

he’s already in the kitchen, plastic gloves already covered in custard, when deuce comes stumbling in.

“hi, trey,” deuce greets simply as he went to open the fridge, “do we have any strawberries?”

trey shrugged apologetically. “used up my last batch last week. i’m growing some more right now, but you’ll have to wait a bit on that.”

“i guess i’ll go buy some blueberries from sam, then.” deuce sighs. “i was really hoping to save my money for that new spelldrive magazine subscription, too…”

“why do you even need strawberries?” trey raises an eyebrow. “you don’t even like strawberries that much.”

“i read somewhere that they were good for the brain.” he explains morosely. “and, y’know, there’s this big test coming up in potionology…”

trey chuckles as he goes back to chopping off slices of butter. “no, no, i get it. one of my roommates used to stock up on ‘lucky underwear’ for every big test back when i was a freshmen.” he pauses, then says, “but y’know what else is good brain food?”

deuce turns to look at him curiously. “what?”

trey gentle picks up one of the eggs from the carton and wobbles it around playfully. “eggs! i’m making egg tarts right now. i should be done by dinnertime if you want one later.”

deuce’s eyes light up, shoulders hiking, a smile threatening to form on his face with that familiar joy and whimsy…

…but it dies almost immediately.

he shakes his head, putting a hand to his temple. “sorry, trey,” he mumbles, “maybe tomorrow. i’ve got too much on my mind right now.”

and that is not what trey was expecting at all.

“i…” he blinks. “are you sure?”

“i’m sure.” deuce says, not sounding sure at all. he casts a forlorn glance over to trey, before he walks right back out the entryway he came in. “see you at dinner, then.”

(riddle rosehearts loves strawberry tarts.

in all the years trey has known him, even after all they’ve been together, riddle’s only ever rejected a strawberry tart once.

it was riddle’s seventeenth birthday, and his mother had decided to give him a call.)

suddenly, trey feels a feeling of dreaded foreboding crawling up his spine.

I am in dire need of more of that AU that The First years get The upperclassmen toxic traits,i realy want more of It,like;

A way to include octavinelle and scarabia,maybe like,3 First years(Ace,deuce,Jack) get some of azul's toxic traits,other Three(epel,ortho and sebek) get Jamil toxic traits and yuu get both

Second thing

More reactings please,i NEED The staff,ALL The dorms and even the relatives seeing The First years developing those toxic traits,the overblots+Trey and cater for deuce getting their toxic traits right back at their face i beg you🙏🙏

anything 4 u, baby.

(but for real, though, this is an AMAZING idea, love you so much for tilling the ground for my brainwormies, mwah mwah 😘)

(also, this might get REALLY long, so hang tight!)

it was just a seed at first — a tiny idea that stuck around despite the first-years not even realizing it was there. but as the poison from their actual housewardens starts to develop into something truly deadly, so does that seed. it shows up later... but it makes itself known nevertheless.

ace, deuce, and jack have all worked for azul at the mostro lounge at one point, and though it was a very brief moment in time, it was just long enough to worm its way into their heads.

it starts with ace trappola, who's already pretty slippery with his words. but working at the mostro lounge, taking subconscious note of all the underhanded deals azul is making, he starts to pick up new... skills, let's say.

it starts small, with ace starting to give out certain favors to his fellow freshmen to earn some money. if you give him ten thaumarks, he'll do one of your everyday chores for you — dusting your room, cleaning your bathroom, making dinner, what have you. if you give him fifteen thaumarks, he'll do your homework if you don't feel like doing it, or take class notes for you if you don't feel like showing up. if you give him forty, he'll help you with something less-than-moral and definitely against the rules (he did it once back at the atlantica memorial museum — he can do it again).

there's an obvious power imbalance in all of these scenarios, but ace effortlessly words in a way that makes it seem like it's a win-win situation, when in reality, it's more like a zero-sum game.

it gets to the point where ace builds a black-market sort of reputation, and all of the freshmen know that if you need something done, ace is the person to go to.

...but then, something shifts.

at some point, ace starts a black-mailing campaign for the people who paid for the forty-thaumark favor. if you don't want your secret — one that might get you expelled, suspended, or worse — getting out, then you can pay for ace's silence with a favor or more money.

the worst part is: there's no way out. if you try attacking ace, it'll seem like you assaulted him for no reason, since if you try to explain he was blackmailing you, you'll have to tell them what he was blackmailing you with, which you obviously can't do — or else what was even the point? the same rule applies if you try tattling on him to one of the teachers or the housewardens or anybody else. and ace is a better liar than most people will ever be in their lifetime, so it's a losing battle even if you do manage to get someone to take your side.

so if you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you've got to pay the toll.

(it's not even about the money anymore, really. riddle's thirst for control and azul's desire for recognition have clashed inside of ace in the most violent way, and now, it's all about the power it gives him over other people. and after how powerless he's felt this entire school year, being thrown left and right by overblot after overblot with no say at all, this is a power trip he never wants to come back down from.)

but ace realizes he's making quite a few enemies with his little money-making strategy, and he needs someone to help him just in case someone does come up with a plan to wipe him out. i mean, just look at azul — even with all of the loopholes and leverages in the world, even he was taken down eventually without outside help. if he wants this to last as long as possible, he needs... incentive for people to listen to him.

his own jade and floyd.

his own red-and-black collar.

using his riddle rosehearts-born dominance, and taking advantage of deuce's trey-and-cater-born passiveness, ace convinces deuce spade — one of the strongest people he knows — to help him in his economic ventures.

and deuce, seeing this as a way for ace to vent some frustration and unwilling to be on the other end of ace's ire, hesitantly agrees.

he doesn't piece together that ace is acting suspiciously like azul, but he still recognizes his own role in this whole scheme. ace is running a business, right? and deuce has only ever worked in one business before. he remembers what jade and floyd were like back when he worked under them, and so he uses that experience to inform his new position.

deuce becomes known as ace's right-hand man. he'll hunt you down if you don't pay, and he's not afraid to use force to "compel" you to. there have been stories about cat beastmen getting thrown up into trees and being left there for hours. about students getting forks "accidentally" thrown at them in the cafeteria with such precision, it doesn't really feel like an accident. about a student with a spade on his face who can throw back any attack sent his way with just as much force.

and there's nothing you can do about it, because he's in service to someone who has made himself pretty powerful. ace's silver-tongue gets deuce out of any and all trouble he inevitably finds himself in — and is ace is so brutally honest, why wouldn't people believe him? so even if you try to do something to deuce, ace has his back no matter what — and he'll win almost every time.

you mess with deuce, you mess with ace, which is already bad enough. but if you fuck around with ace, you better be prepared to find out with deuce.

they're a pair — that's always been true. but never before has that fact been so threatening.

jack howl comes next. we all know how much jack despises octavinelle's business model. but, begrudgingly, he will admit there are a lot of things he can learn from octavinelle. and more knowledge is never bad. as long as he doesn't actually use it, it should be fine.

(jack is more dangerous than ace and deuce, in a way — his toxicity is insidious in a way it just couldn't ever be with them.)

with excellent hearing, eyesight, and memory, he silently keeps note of every bribe he hears being taken. every lie he knows is being told. every mistake that gets swept under the rug. it's not long before he starts actively looking for it. it's not long before jack's uncovered dirt on almost every freshmen in school. it reminds him a bit of his time working at the mostro lounge. but instead of memorizing orders from customers, he's memorizing all their dirty secrets.

it's to protect himself, jack reasons. after all, it was only his input that put a stop to leona and ruggie's plans back during the spelldrive exhibition. he's just... preparing for another disastrous event, that's all. it's just precaution. insurance.

if it's not, then he'll have to accept that leona's overblot bothered him more than he thought. that he was weak enough to let it.

(and jack can't face that yet.)

and if, once in a while, ace comes to him looking for a little bit of information, then well, that's just lending a friend some advice. nothing wrong with that.

epel, ortho, and sebek don't have any direct ties to jamil, but they are certainly... impressionable, aren't they?

sebek zigvolt is a bit dense, certainly, but even he can see how well jamil takes care of his master. and with a master that's as ditzy and forgetful and all-over-the-place as kalim, that can't be easy. even if they are merely humans, and their experiences can't even begin to compare when it comes to serving a fae prince, sebek reckons that he can learn a thing or two by observing them. so that's exactly what he does.

one day, when kalim spills food on the floor in a hilariously ridiculous move, sebek notices something few others ever would. jamil gives the tiniest twitch of annoyance — the same way silver, in all his stoicism, often does when sebek gets too loud — but then he's back to being perfectly dutiful and polite and says "i'll go get a napkin."

it's... admirable, honestly. sebek doesn't put it into practice right away, but it stays in his mind long after he first sees it.

and then, after malleus's overblot, sebek's emotions feel like they're on fire. after being stuck in a world where it took just the tiniest crack to shatter a perfect illusion, he's wary of nearly everything that disrupts his day. now every single slight against him, no matter how unintentional it may be, feels like a personal attack on his very life. but sebek can't show these ugly emotions so outwardly — that would be dishonorable behavior that could damage malleus's reputation. instead, he resorts to subtle methods that can't be easily traced back to him like putting in frogs in schoolbags and setting brooms on fire or replacing shampoo bottles with tar.

but his repressed feelings of anger start to build to the point where he's now feeling unprecedented resentment towards... well, almost everybody.

when sebek has very first negative thought about malleus in history class — "reckless bastard" — he instantly hates himself for it and throws up then and there because how dare he.

he tries to shut them out, but the more he does, the more these intrusive thoughts start to bombard him with their uncharacteristic cynicism.

he looks at lilia from across the breakfast table, and his first thought is: heartless liar.

he spots leona lying in the botanical garden and he thinks: brainless cretin.

he even sees jamil, walking through the halls, and his mind screams: manipulative bitch.

but sebek shoves it all down because he's in no position to say that. it gets to the point where he's walking around as a silent, unfeeling husk, because to be anything else would be like inviting his inner demons to visit him on the outside. he pushes his emotions down as far as they'll go, and that's just going to have to be enough to get him through the day.

ortho shroud begins to follow a similar principle. his idia-inspired pessimism has led ortho to see others as less like people and more like characters. it's easier to think of every school day as a dungeon in an rpg. it's easier to convince himself that the other students are taunting him because they're programmed to be that way than face the reality that they just don't like him.

but the problem with seeing life as a video game is that you start seeing others as just ways to complete your objectives. like npcs or maps.

and when it comes to using people, jamil viper is king. or, for ortho's purposes, the ultimate survival guide.

ortho shapes himself into a model night raven college student — kind, charming, and sweet for the teachers, but just mischievous and rude enough to still fit in with the students.

he goes to housewarden meetings with idia to "gain leadership experience", taking notes and hearing out of every single little idea he can get his hands on (these are the people who have not just survived, but thrived. they must be doing something right). one time, riddle even pats his head and praises him for his proactiveness.

his classmates adore him for always been willing to help and being so calm about even the worst outcomes.

ortho makes himself as available as possible to the rest of ignihyde, brushing off homework or studying to help them with whatever they need — fixing game consoles, wiring in controllers, checking the internet connection, et cetera.

eventually, everyone believes in him almost as fiercely as scarabia believed in jamil, once upon a time.

ortho doesn't like telling all of these lies, but it's necessary to protect himself. it's like grinding to earn coins until you have enough money to buy that special armor in the shopkeeper's store.

...or maybe it's more like those cheesy dress-up flash games ortho used to play all the time — fleshing out the perfect outfit and hairstyle and makeup that'll earn you the most points.

if people feel like they need him, he'll be able to breeze through school without any more problems. he's put the whole system on easy mode! it feels a bit like cheating, almost.

it is like a game, isn't it? it's fun.

(at some point, ortho forgets how to stop.)

as for epel... well, he knows that his sudden snappish behavior towards the other pomefiore students won't go unnoticed for too long. but this is one of his only ways of venting, so he needs it to go under the radar long enough for him to... to squeeze out all of this sudden venom that's built up in him.

epel's not oblivious. he knows how sebek and ortho have changed over the weeks, and he knows why. but epel can't pull off "repressed" like sebek, and neither can he suddenly turn into the best person ever like ortho. but they do have the right idea about taking inspiration from jamil, so epel can fall back on what there is left: gaslighting.

every time kalim blacked out, jamil blamed it on him being sick. every time someone thought kalim was being awfully uncharacteristic, jamil called it a "mood swing". every time someone asked jamil about why kalim was acting so weird, jamil claimed ignorance.

at least, that's what yuu tells epel.

and it's perfect.

so now, every time someone confronts epel about his overly critical behavior, he lies and says he's doing it for their own good. you need pressure to make a diamond, after all. and besides — vil won't settle for anything less than absolutely perfect.

("i'm just trying to catch your mistakes before he does. and i think you and i can both agree that i'm a lot nicer than he is about it.")

every time vil confronts epel about all of the complaints he's been hearing from the other students about how epel's been tearing down their ideas for outfits and hairstyles with no mercy, and disregarding all of their achievements as "not good enough" to be proud over, epel dons a confused face.

("vil, between studying for tests and the crazy physical regiment you have me do, i barely have time for myself. you honestly think i have the energy to criticize other people?")

epel even starts turning people against each other so they won't focus on him. epel subtly threatens to take away the upperclassmen's position in the hierarchy, which sets up the other underclassmen as a threat, and epel grouses to the underclassmen that the upperclassmen look down on them for not living up to pomefiore standards, under the guise of regular teenage bitching.

but all of this, combined with their self-entitlement, leads to a mini-war in pomefiore. but since this is, well, pomefiore, where being perfect and poised is the standard, the others make sure never make it obvious in front of vil or rook.

epel plays everybody like a fiddle, and ensures that none of it can be traced back to him. it's a good way to get out his frustration. and hey — it seems like everybody's upped their game along the way. vil seems pretty happy that everybody's improving in their efforts so greatly, practically overnight!

epel wakes up with a feeling of accomplishment everyday. for once, it seems he did something right.

now if only rook could stop looking so somber...

then we come to yuu, whose inner darkness has been left to fester all year. if people think they can treat them like a ragdoll, it's only fair they do the same.

there's a lot yuu doesn't have, but one thing they're really lacking is a bit of respect. that's what it means to be magicless in an arcane academy. you're at the bottom of the food chain.

and look at what a bit of self-interest can do for you! yuu studies in the library until late into the night, burning the metaphorical candle at both ends, learning everything they can about magic until they're more well-versed in it than most students in the school. yuu starts making potions that aren't nearly as good as azul's, but they're cheap and work well enough. they start making study guides for others with their new-found knowledge, even if they do bristle with the fact that a damned study guide is what caught them in azul's tentacles in the first place. they start learning anything and everything, clinging to whatever scraps of knowledge they can write down.

with this, they successfully make their case for why they should join ace and deuce's business. eventually, they're just as feared as they are among the other first-years.

but that's not enough for yuu. the power of fear is nice, but the power of controlling other people would be much more cathartic.

so that's what they do. while ace is more focused on monetary gain, yuu uses their mountains of blackmail to convince others to do whatever they want.

if crowley throws another ridiculous task at them, yuu simply hoists it off to somebody else to do. if ramshackle dorm needs a few repairs, it's only a matter of contacting a few people before a whole construction crew paid off by somebody else comes knocking at their door. and they'll do it, if they don't want to get kicked out of the school or have their reputation ruined.

but somehow, even with all of this, yuu sets themself up as the nicest out of their little trio. they're willing to let payments slide from time to time. they listen to their clients' problems. they take constructive criticism and always seem to improve in their potions and study guides based on feedback. and if you do do yuu a favor, they'll give you certain favors right back.

so even when yuu is a covetous, greedy, all-consuming shark, the students still think they're so very, very nice. because compared to ace and deuce, what else is there to think?

but this can only go on for so long. and yuu knows that.

one day, they get called to the headmage's office. yuu is already going through their contact list — a list that's quadrupled ever since they joined forces with ace and deuce — to see who'd be willing to do them a teensy little favor for them, but when they step through the door, they pause.

inside the office are all the housewardens, their vices, the teachers, and everybody else yuu has grown to know over the past year.

yuu narrows their eyes as riddle steps forward.

"yuu," riddle starts sternly, "from one housewarden to another, i believe we need to talk."

^

(i will address everyone's reactions in a reblog, because this is honestly getting really, really long, lol. but don't worry, the reactions are coming! 🥺)

(but i should mention that there is already a good reblog of the original post by @thenumberhuntress which addresses the upperclassmen's reactions that you can find here. go read it. it's peak.)

(once again, thank you for the great ask! this was fun to make!)