aaliyahdimah15

[shiratamahatsumiyo]

Jamil Viper with Carl! Yuu from Llamas with Hats, ft. Octavinelle Trio

I can't say that everyone is not dying in this one 💀...

Warnings: Blood & Gore, Violence, Swearing, Cannibalism

• I was torn between choosing the reader to be isekai'd as a llama or isekai them as a llama beastman. I'm just gonna go with beastman cuz I thought it'd be funnier if they could talk. I also made them less murderous. There's also a collab with other characters from Filmcow 😉.

• There's a high chance that Jamil has heard of you through Kalim. The boy said he witnessed a llama beastman causing a fire and a monster running around during the ceremony. Great, he went through the trouble to prepare a welcoming party for the freshmen and now he has to fix Kalim's robe. He just hopes that Kalim won't forget what he said about the new schedule tomorrow.

• Kalim forgot. Again. Of course he would.

• Kalim forgot about the sudden change of class schedules and spent the entire morning wandering to wrong classrooms. Jamil just received his text message after class and texted back the room number. Kalim did not reply or read his message. Luckily, Jamil remembered that he turned on the location in Kalim's phone just in case for these types of situations. He tried tracking him down but Kalim kept moving, so he ran as fast as he could to catch up with him.

• Jamil finally see Kalim not moving in the courtyard. When he caught sight of Kalim, he sees another person next to him... A beastman? He approached you two and called Kalim.

Jamil: "Kalim!"

Kalim: "Jamil! There you are! How'd you find me?"

Jamil: "I turned on the location on your phone, remember? I texted you the room number, why haven't you read it?"

Kalim: "Oh, I thought that I'd find the classroom myself but it looks like I got lost more, hehe!"

Jamil: "Honestly, I thought you were... Who is this?"

Kalim: "This guy's trying to help me out!"

Carl! Yuu: "Nope, I'm just as lost as you are. I didn't even know we even got class."

Jamil: "Who are you?"

Carl! Yuu: "I'm Carl! Yuu. I'm just a regular llama guy with a hat, yup. A totally normal beastman. Nothing comes after that because of how normal I am."

Kalim: "I've got an idea!Why not just come with me and Jamil? We could go to our classrooms together."

Carl! Yuu: "Oh hey, that's a great idea. Why haven't I thought of that."

Jamil: ".... Kalim, come here for a sec."

• Jamil pushed Kalim away from you. They went a distance farther from you and Jamil whispered to him.

Jamil: "Kalim, have you met them before?"

Kalim: "Uhh... no?"

Jamil: "It's the llama beastman you talked about causing arson at the ceremony!"

Kalim: "OH! Now I remember!"

Jamil: "Sshh! They might be as unhinged as Floyd. Thank the Sevens they didn't harm you."

Carl! Yuu: "Why are we whispering?"

Jamil: "Gah!"

• He was right. You were as unhinged as Floyd and were as nosy as Azul. If you have those obnoxious two's personalities then whatever you're hiding must be as fucked up as Jade's. He doesn't want to assume but he does want to be cautious. If you easily caused arson, then that means you're worse than that monster at the ceremony.

• Kalim insisted that you three should join at the cafeteria for lunch and here he is, sitting beside Kalim who lost his appetite after you opened your lunchbox. Jamil smelled an odor coming from your food. It smells like something is... Rotting?

Jamil: "Kalim, your next class is... Sevens, what is that smell?!"

Kalim: "Eugh! C-Carl! Yuu, has your food gone bad? I-I can buy you lunch if-"

Carl! Yuu: "No thank you, but this is what I usually eat. It's my favorite."

• Jamil looked at your lunch and his eyes widened in disgust. What was in your plate was raw meat still wet with blood. The foul odor eventually reached the noses of the nearby tables and the students moved farther away from yours.

Jamil: "CARL! YUU, WHAT IS THIS?!"

Carl! Yuu: "Would you believe that it's melted and solidified jellybeans?"

Jamil: "NO, I WOULD NOT BELIEVE THAT."

Carl! Yuu: "Red milk?"

Kalim: "N-No 😰...?"

Carl! Yuu: "Some of Crowley's tears?"

Jamil: "CARL! YUU!!"

Carl! Yuu: "Fine... It's raw meat. And a bit of blood. And mold."

Jamil: "I CAN SEE THAT!"

Kalim: "I-i-it's rotting! You can't eat that!"

Carl! Yuu: "Yeah, you're right. I should've brought the fresh one. This one is actually one of the leftovers from yesterday. The blood may have gone cold, but it makes the meat taste sweet. Do you want to try some?"

Jamil: "NO!"

Carl! Yuu: "Dang, that was rude. You don't have to shout, you'll disturb the others. Want some, Kalim?"

Kalim: "...😰... N-no thanks..."

Carl! Yuu: "Alright. More for me then."

Jamil: "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO BRING THAT HERE? WHAT KIND OF MEAT EVEN IS THAT?"

Carl! Yuu: "... You don't want to know."

• The smell and racket made the Cafeteria Ghosts kick you out. Jamil made an instant mental note to himself and Kalim to never cross paths with you again. Unfortunately, during a class collaboration, you became lab partners with Jamil. Jamil was irritated but he has to work with you for the grades. Honestly, same.

Jamil: "Ok. This is fine. This won't turn out bad if you just calm down... Hopefully this will turn out well-"

Carl! Yuu: "Hey Jamaica, what happens if I accidentally devoured a mandrake because I mistook it as a live form of food and shoved random potions in the cauldron causing it to rain acid and melt the ceiling while simultaneously making the students fall unconscious due to decreasing brain function, again caused by said acid rain. And I also managed to defy gravity and to attract several flamingos from Heartslabyul, as well as the vultures from Savanaclaw because of the substance emitting from the cauldron, and now they are brutally fighting each other while defying gravity. Hypothetically?"

Jamil: "............................"

Carl! Yuu: "Judging by your lack of response, I guess I haven't done enough and should've add my leftover meat into the cauldron. This question is not hypothetical, by the way."

Jamil: "NO SHIT."

Crewel: "CAAAAARL! YUUUUU!!!"

• HOW? JUST. JUST HOW? HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT GETTING ON PEOPLE'S NERVES? YOU'RE BASICALLY WORSE THAN THOSE OCTAVINELLE IDIOTS COMBINED! AND EVEN THEY'RE AFRAID OF YOU! THE HEADMASTER IS A LOT MORE STUPID THAN HE THOUGHT. WHY ARE YOU NOT EXPELLED?!

• It got worse when you wreak havoc at Scarabia. Is that even possible?!

• During winter break, he doesn't let you in the kitchen. When he heard your loud-ass cat talking, he immediately instructed the students to bar the door as to not let you in. The students were confused and were hesitant. Why is Jamil scared all of a sudden? But it was too late, you and Grim are already in the kitchen.

Grim: "Woahh! What's that smell? It smells good!"

Carl! Yuu: "Yeah, you're right. Hi, Janet. Is there any meat around? Preferably raw ones?"

Jamil: "GET. OUT."

• Talk about bad timing as Kalim walks in to check on the food for the winter break parade. Jamil massaged his forehead to lessen the impact of another headache and continued to cook.

Kalim: "Hey Jamil! I'm a little hung- Oh! Hey, Carl! Yuu! How's it going?"

Grim: "Ya forgot about me! Grim, the sorcerer extraordinaire! Carl! Yuu here is my henchman!"

Jamil: "...Ugh..."

Kalim: "Nice to meet you too, Grim! What are you guys doing here?"

Carl! Yuu: "Grim's stomach was making the rumblies and I was craving for something that only meat can satisfy."

Kalim: "U-uh... Wow, you sure like meat, huh?"

Grim: "Fnyagh, I wanted premium tuna but the headmaster won't give any!"

Kalim: "Is that so? Tell you what! How about I invite you to Scarabia and we'll have a party!"

Jamil: "NO!"

Carl! Yuu: "Sounds awesome."

Grim: "Really?!"

Kalim: "Yeah, really! And Carl! Yuu... I'm sorry for the incident from the cafeteria. Your food was bad and we were so loud that you couldn't eat your lunch properly because the ghosts kicked you out... But I guess everyone has different tastes when it comes to food, right?"

Jamil: "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!?"

Carl! Yuu: "It's ok."

Kalim: "I'll make it up to you by inviting you to the party! It's gonna be so cool! We'll eat and dance all day!"

• You had fun at the party. Grim ate until his stomach was full, not unlike in Ramshackle where you sometimes try to feed a dead cat to Grim. What was the cat's name? Lucifer? Lucius? You kind of forgot. You've never had this much raw meat on your plate before (although you must eat in a separate room so that everyone won't lose their appetite). Usually you had to hunt something and eat it but this tanned party-goer saved you the trouble.

• The Scarabia residents almost got their hands bitten by you. They are all puzzled on why you only wanted raw meat but they guess that it's a beastman thing... Wait a second, aren't you a llama?

Carl! Yuu: "Hey Kalim."

Kalim: "*yawn* Yep?"

Carl! Yuu: "... Thanks for the party. I honestly don't remember when was the last time I had fun without the blood and all. I haven't seen Grim this happy before. Maybe I should improve on my party-hosting... You know, I had this roommate named Paul and he--"

Kalim: "😴"

Carl! Yuu: "Kalim? Kalim? Kalim? Kal-Oh, you're asleep. Must've partied hard. Goodnight, Kalim."

• Timeskip to the part where you and Grim are captured by the hypnotized Scarabia students and were forced in a cell. Jamil had enough. It didn't take long for him to run out of patience and hypnotized Kalim. Grim tries to escape with a spoon and you decided to help him than wait.

Grim: "Fnyagh... No! The spoon's bent! Carl! Yuu! What are we gonna--"

Carl! Yuu: "...ughh...uhhh...."

Grim: "Hey, don't just stand there!... W-wait! Are you vomiting?!"

Carl! Yuu: "...Blegh!"

Grim: "Eww! Gross!"

Carl! Yuu: "Wow. It's been a long time since I throw up from a full stomach."

Grim: "... I-is that a key?!"

Carl! Yuu: "Yep. I snatched it from that Scarabia student earlier."

Grim: "Why didn't you do that in the first place?! And is that a... a f-f-finger?!!"

Carl! Yuu: "Oops, I must've bitten his finger off too."

• You two finally escaped the cell and snuck into the treasure room. You and Grim grabbed the magic carpet and ran from the pursuing residents. Both of you stumbled in Mostro Lounge, crashing into a table or two. Azul and the Tweels do not want to deal with you right now...

Jade: "Azul."

Azul: "Yes?"

Floyd: "They're back."

Azul: "............. Fuck."

Floyd: "Aren't you gonna do something?"

Azul: "Why are you asking me?! Just throw them outside!"

Floyd: "I don't wanna! They're gonna bite and eat my other ear!"

Azul: "Jade?!"

Jade: "... I also do not want to. Not after what they did to my poor terrariums."

Azul: "Why are you passing this problem onto me?!"

Floyd: "Who else is gonna talk to that freak?!"

Jade: "Certainly not us."

Azul: "...*sigh*. Fine, but you two are going to pay later!"

• Even before his Overblot, Jamil took notice of your relationship with the Octavinelle Trio... Floyd, who was in a bad mood, threatened to squeeze you one time and you bit off his ear. Jade became interested in you by the amount of food (mostly meat) you can consume in a minute. He tried to trick you into taste testing the dishes he made for free, when in fact, he laced some of them with poison.

• Jade was fascinated that your body withstood the poison and decided to experiment more. But you've reached your limit and started bashing people's heads on the tables, ripped off the Octavinelle banner and painted it with the students blood, and then declared a revolution. Azul ordered Floyd to throw you out but you began hitting the eel with the dorm leader's own cane. You then smashed the aquarium, resulting a flood within the dorm. People were seeking higher ground to avoid drowning while you were dancing on a buoyant wrecked door.

• After evacuating the residents, Jade swam to his room to save his precious terrariums but it was too late. You were using a swordfish how the hell did that get there? to drunkenly fence the terrariums. They shattered and Jade has to watch in horror as you ate his mushrooms and shards of glass. It took Leona, Riddle and Azul to physically restrain you.

• That day became one of the darkest times Mostro Lounge has ever faced a crisis. And to think all of this happened in just HALF AN HOUR. Azul blamed you for all of this mess but the headmaster covered for you... Jamil also took notice that every time you commit these atrocities, you'd try to put far-fetched reasons for your actions. Your smile still brings him shivers down his spine. He still can't believe you were the one that helped ended Overblots for the school. He thought that you were most likely the one that caused them.

• The Octavinelle Trio never want to deal with you again. Until today... Azul approached you cautiously, casting a magic shield around him just in case. He wasted no time in calling you out on your trespassing.

Carl! Yuu: "Hey Azul, long time no see. I know that we weren't on good terms after what happened to the dorm, even though it was still your vice dorm leader's fault to poison me, but hear me out--"

Azul: "Carl! Yuu, what made you have the right mind to step in Mostro Lounge? After all that chaos you've unleashed? The amount of employees you've nearly killed?!"

Carl! Yuu: "I do not kill people. That is my least favorite thing to do."

Azul: "Don't give me that excuse! We STRICTLY told you AND the headmaster that you are banned from entering this establishment. Now if you please, just leave--"

Carl! Yuu: "What do you mean Azul? I'm not in the lounge."

Azul: "Yes you are! You're standing by the doorway!"

Carl! Yuu: "No I'm not. I'm standing outside. See this line by the doorway? I'm standing on the other side. Not on the lounge's side."

Azul: "That doesn't count!"

Carl! Yuu: "Yes it does."

Azul: "No, you're still in the establishment!"

Carl! Yuu: "But I didn't step on the other side. Therefore, I did not enter."

Azul: "We literally heard you crashing into the tables!"

Carl! Yuu: "That must've been a phantom."

Azul: "You and Grim flew in here with a magic carpet!"

Carl! Yuu: "False, we were standing here waiting for you. The carpet must have flight skills as horrible as yours."

Magic Carpet: "😠!"

Azul: "Ugh, this is getting us nowhere... What do you want?!"

• You negotiate with Azul to help you with your predicament but he refused, afraid that you are capable of causing financial problems for the lounge... Until you mentioned Jamil. He was curious about Viper and Al-Asim and decided to hear you out.

• After shooing off the chasing Scarabia students, he listened to your negotiation and as it turns out, you have a grudge against Jade for attempting to poison you and no matter how delicious the poison tastes, you still haven't forgiven him. Jade also held a VERY DEEP grudge against you after you destroyed his terrariums and doesn't want to work with you. Azul feared that if your grudge against Jade will create a conflict, it'll pull Mostro Lounge along with it. So he has no choice but to give you temporary alliance, much to the twins' dismay.

• With the Trio's bait & trap and your annoyingly gruesome abilities combined, you successfully made Jamil have a mental breakdown 😃!........ Okay, he's laughing, that's probably too successful 😨....

• And here we go again, another Overblot. Defeating Jamil was a bit more difficult than you expected now that he's hypnotized every Scarabia resident, and now he has an army to corner you. Jamil then whooped your asses to the ends of the dessert.

• Azul was in a mild panic, pulling his hair out and walking in circles, he kept on rambling on how his plan had failed, how he never should have helped you, and how to figure out a way out of this dessert. Kalim was just bawling out the feeling of betrayal and was in denial of Jamil's grudge against him. Jade and Floyd were on the verge of abandoning all forgiveness and proceeded to try and strangle you.

Carl! Yuu: "Huh."

Azul: "HUH? HUUUUH?! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY AFTER THAT?! WE'RE STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, MILES FAR AWAY FROM THE DORM, A FUCKING OVERBLOT IS ON A RAMPAGE, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY WAS HUH?!!"

Carl! Yuu: "No, I meant huh, I could have sworn I smelled orphan blood."

Azul: "NOT ANOTHER WORD OF YOUR NONSENSE!!"

Kalim: "WAAAAAAHHHH!!! W-w-why J-Jamil?! sob! Whyyyy?! I trusted youuuu...sob... WAAAAHHHHH 😭!!!"

Grim: "Caaaarl! Yuuu! Do something! I wanna get outta here!"

Floyd: "That's it... I'm gonna kill this motherfucker right here."

Jade: "Not if I kill them first 🙂." ← Look of pure bloodlust.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

• A blood curdling roar was heard and a creature made out of raw meat flew down... IS THAT A DRAGON?!

Carl! Yuu: "Aha! I knew I smelled orphan meat! Well, crisis averted!"

Azul: "...W... W.... WHAT IN TWISTED WONDERLAND IS THAT?!!"

Carl! Yuu: "Oh just a meat dragon that I've been working on. What do you think?"

• ... That night, Azul concludes that logic does not apply when you're around. The twins put a pin on when to strangle you after the Overblot. Kalim is even more traumatized after you told him what the dragon is made out of in detail. Grim just sighed to himself since he thought that you weren't planning on using the meat dragon.

• When you got here, the place was reeking and dripping with blot and for some reason, you are tempted to bite into it but Grim stopped you. Azul thought of a distraction while Jamil ordered everyone to praise him until you ruined it. Everyone was complimenting him on how handsome, talented, and sophisticated he is meanwhile you complimented on how his newly inked skin will taste better if you either boil or fry it.

• Jamil realized that the cannibalistic compliment was from you and became alert. Azul and the other deadpanned at you, practically tired of your bullshit. Jamil attempted to whoop your asses again, this time permanently. The meat dragon charged toward him but the Overblot monster crushed and tore it to pieces. Everyone braced for impact but the attack never came. Everyone looked to see Jamil looking at something.

• Why did Jamil.... A... Crack?! In the sky!? ....

• Everyone turned to you, knowing that this is definitely one of your doings. You tried denying it but eventually revealed that you may have created a crack through space time. Azul was about to argue with you but Jamil interrupted with an attack. Jade and Floyd used this momentum to shield Azul and attack Jamil. Kalim shouted that they do not have time for arguements and that they must do their best to defeat Jamil.

• As the crack grew bigger, another flying creature that looks like a giant otter come falling to the ground... marshmallows?

Pink Marshmallow: "The otter won't fly!"

White Marshmallow: "Great, not again! Now where the hell are we?!"

• Talking marshmallows!? This has got to be one of your creations beside the meat dragon.

Pink Marshmallow: "Oh shoot! It looks like these randos are attacking this rando."

White Marshmallow: "Finally! We can attack people as much as we want!"

Pink Marshmallow: "Can we eat them too?"

White Marshmallow: "What, are you kidding? Let's set them on fire!"

Pink Marshmallow: "Ugh! We always set fires! It's boring!"

White Marshmallow: "Let's just beat up this guy and be done with it!"

Pink Marshmallow: "AAAAHHHH!!!"

White Marshmallow: "AAAAHHHH!!!"

• For some reason, these... Things joined in on the fight, which doesn't really help much until the white marshmallow pulled out a knife and begins to stab Jamil's leg and the pink marshmallow ran to bite Jamil's snake hair. It was horrifying to watch but at least he didn't die.

• After a harsh battle with blood and sweat, morning comes, the skies finally cleared up and Jamil's magic was broken. The ink was out of Jamil's body and the monster disappeared. Kalim threw himself on Jamil and cried out his apologies. Azul checked everyone for injuries and gladly, no one was hurt... Too much.

• Post-Overblot, The Octavinelle Trio's alliance with you has come to an end as they went back to Mostro Lounge and hopefully, you'll eat befriend them in the near future. Kalim has repaired his friendship with Jamil and now, Jamil won't be holding back his talents.

• He's gotta say, it was horrifically bad knowing you but you saved him and for that he's somewhat thankful towards you. At least you didn't kill Kalim. He may not remember a thing from his Overblot but he does remember you trying to skin his face.

• Speaking of Kalim, he asked you at Kalim's victory party about why you chose not to kill anyone for now. You replied that you wanted someone to acknowledge the effort you made with your... Macabre art. He guesses that you have a that complex where serial killers want attention for the crimes they commit.

Jamil: "I don't get it... I don't get you... I don't know if I can ever understand why you keep on doing this... I don't know how you'll benefit from making these... why? Just why?"

Carl! Yuu: "Possibly because I am a dangerous sociopath with a long history of death, violence and genocide."

Jamil: "............"

Carl! Yuu: "............"

Jamil: "That explains a lot. You do have a problem..."

Carl! Yuu: "You're right. I have a problem. I have a very serious problem. I don't know how you keep forgetting that, Jennifer."

Jamil: "Ugh, my name is Jamil!"

Carl! Yuu: "Oh, it is?...I thought you were a woman."

Jamil: "How could you not know that? And why would you think I'm woman?"

Carl! Yuu: "Mostly the hair. Are you sure?"

Jamil: "Yes!"

Carl! Yuu: "Yeah, I didn't know that. I'm in the wrong here. I suck..."

Jamil: *sigh*

• When he got to learn more about you during the VDC arc, he's come to a conclusion that you do these things as an impulse. That you have some kind of mental disorder that revolves around normalcy and sociopathic tendencies. You believed that killing things are what you are good for and nothing else. You're afraid that if you'll be admitted to a mental facility, you'll just be a normal llama guy with a hat.

• But look at what progress you've made! You've befriended people and made new enemies, you turn your cannibalistic behavior to a minimum, try to cause less damage, and even developed some hobbies aside from killing things! You can see people more than just bodies filled with blood and meat.

• Grim got used to your abnormalities but you got to remind yourself that if you did something unforgivable and got expelled, who will take care of Grim? So he became one of the motivations for you to change your habits.

• You and Jamil became frenemies. On days you take favors from Jamil in exchange for meat and on other days, he'll argue with you about Kalim's safety. However, you'll still involve them in other atrocious project of yours. But it became less bloody poor Kalim. He doesn't know if you've learned to be more civilized or that you've learned to hide your unhinged tendencies better. He cooks for you sometimes as to lessen your affiliation with raw meat.

• Jamil gifted you a new hat on your birthday since he noticed that your old hat is worn out and you loved it! It looks just like your old hat but fancier. Ah, this takes you back to day you met Paul--

• ..........................................................................

• .........................................................

• ..................................Let's not talk about him.

• You're still fighting the need to stab and eat everything. You need to control your hunger. You need to control your impulses. Besides! If you've become normal, you'll see him alive and well again! Right?

• This was all he ever wanted... A normal friend. A normal day. A normal life. Right?

• He won't have to shout your name every time you do something wrong again.

• ...Right?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

• What happened to the marshmallow people? Well, let's just say that they didn't make it to the end and are in a better place now...

Carl! Yuu: "BUUURP!"

[lumdays]

help girl i’m stuck spying on idiots with idiots

[hxney-lemcn]

imagine getting really homesick and Malleus lets you talk his ear off about your home world. He doesn't mind if he doesn't fully understand what your talking about, he just wishes he could find a way to mend your longing heart. Find a way to bring a piece of your world back to you so you won't be so home sick, and find some time to enjoy this world as well. You had only offhandedly mentioned that you miss your phone, and if that if you had that you would be content. You didn't expect Malleus to spend hours researching complicated magic. Reading about spells that can bring an object to you, to different teleportation spells and all the calculations one needs for it. Then he tried to find anything about different dimensions...but sadly his effort was fruitless. But he had hope, and he needed your help. He invited you to join him, and you almost freaked out when he brought you to a summoning circle, afraid he was going to summon a demon and you be its sacrifice (you knew Malleus would never do such a thing, but you had a grand imagination).

Sitting on opposite sides of the circle, Malleus took your hands in his own, asking you to focus on the object you've been wishing for, and to continue imagining it until he told you to stop. Confused, but trusting the dragon fae, you did as he asked, trying to ignore his chanting, the sudden change in temperature, the electricity that seemed to crackle around you. Suddenly, your phone appeared in a poof of smoke, and no, not the cheap one Crowley gave you. Your old phone from your home world.

You nearly dropped to your knees and proposed to Malleus right then and there. Instead, holding onto what little restraint you had, you instead leaped onto the fae and hugged him so hard no human would survive. Thanking him endlessly, you pulled away, quickly scrambling to turn on your phone, excitedly showing him images you saved that you had always wanted to show him. Your phone may not 100% work, as you had no data, and it wasn't made for this world...you couldn't be more grateful towards Malleus, and he couldn't be happier as you smiled so brightly at him.

(You go to Idia eventually to see if he can work his technological magic and fix your phone)

[mochinomnoms]

Aaaaa I can't stop thinking about Trey in his sleepwear! He's got me in a chokehold and I don't want to escape!!!

There's something just so intimate and tantalizing of seeing Trey in such casual clothing.

The idea of potentially being the only person to see him disheveled and sleepy, hair messy and glasses on the nightstand. He looks almost bare without them, but that makes it kinda domestic, doesn't it?

If you point this out to him, it makes him go a bit warm and tingly. Yes, it is domestic, but please don't remind him. He's having a hard enough time not jumping you every time you spend the night and gingerly take off his glasses for him. He's fighting his inner demons every time he watches you fluff up your pillow and curl in, waiting for him to lay down next to you so he can melt into your arms like the husband he really is.

He's fighting to not sneak his hand under your clothes, pressing chaste kisses into the skin of your neck and collar as his hands wander to the rhythm of the soft press of his lips.

They squeeze at the place between your legs as his tongue tangles with your own and he moves so that you too can run your hands under his loose sleep shirt. From the shivers and tingles shuddering through his body from the ghosting of your fingertips, he just knows that this sleepover is going to become a sleepless one.

[robo-milky]

“Are you aware of the most beautiful book?”

REVEREND/PRIEST/CULT LEADER! ROOK MAKES A COMEBACK!! May do more stuff with him- also made me really happy that a good chunk of y’all wanted to see more him (like a year ago-)

Definitely not my usual style but I felt like forcing myself to render since I was unsatisfied with my style previously, and this definitely helped- Even forcing me to look up actual references- Even though art is just a hobby now, I still want to improve for the sake of it-

[kurakuradon]

💀🏛️ 𝖆𝖌𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖉𝖘 🏛️💀

[qierxing]

A/N: An interpreted continuation of @shiny-jr wonderful fic. (checks calendar) Uhm, happy three month update to this series AND 1k notes on the first part! I would say sorry for the wait, but I really did need it LOL. Anyway, it's not super obvious, but the timeline is a bit all over the place in this part, because I'm jumping back and forth between past and present.

TW/CW: Immolation, violence, implied stalking+actual stalking, obsessive behavior, mild psychological and body horror, toxic relationships, Yuu uses it/its pronouns, we get a little meta in here, the boys are FIGHTINGGG I. II. | Isekai AU | Yan! Heartslabyul x Reader

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”

“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar, sternly. “Explain yourself!”

“I ca’n’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir,” said Alice, “because I am not myself, you see.”

— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Caroll

vi. Mourning

It is incredibly hard to get Yuu alone.

Whether it be by the forces of fate or just because so many vie for their attention, there is rarely, if ever, any time when someone is able to spend time personally alongside them. The only exception to this rule is Grim, who was practically the player's companion from the beginning.

So when Ace Trappola manages a rare chance to snag some one on one time with Yuu, he guns for it. Course, he had to time it perfectly. 

It was just another night like any other. Ace and Deuce decided to come over to hang out for a casual sleepover as usual. The four of them did initially start out studying, before the textbooks and worksheets were being abandoned in favor of more exciting things, such as the deck of cards that Ace brought with him.

Sending Deuce and Grim off to get snacks through a won bet over a card game was easy as pie.

"Hey Ace?" 

He hums in response, letting Yuu know he's listening. His nimble fingers shuffle the worn cards, flipping through them with practiced ease. Stacking them up quickly, he wonders if he should try to impress Yuu with another card trick to gain their enthralled praise.

"Do you…like…being my friend?"

The question makes him blink and look up in surprise at Yuu. It feels blasphemous to hear such doubt lingering in their words.

"Why? Scared I'm gonna ditch ya?" He teases.

Yuu doesn't respond, only giving a sheepish smile back. 

"I-It's not like I don't like being friends with you." He tries to keep his cool. "I just-"

Yuu's smile doesn't falter. "It's okay, Ace."

He's reminded of his previous girlfriend in middle school. It was more of a fling than a serious thing, but it's something he remembers vividly. Their breakup, after all, was rather dramatic.

"You're too much, Ace. Sometimes you just take it too far." 

What was even her name? Elizabeth? He could barely even remember, but for some reason, he still recalls the intense way her face was twisted in burning resentment. He tried to bury it in the past. He swore he would never fall in love or get into another relationship, preferring friendships over any kind of romantic trysts.

Now that he looks at Yuu, he already knows he's screwed up big time.

Yuu's gaze is no longer meeting his, instead staring into the fireplace that Grim had so generously set up earlier. The crackling blue flames reflect in their irises and in that moment, dread curls inside Ace's stomach. Yuu doesn't seem right.

"Hey…you okay?" He asks hesitantly, placing a hand on their shoulder.

Yuu doesn't move, still staring at the fire intently. He opens his mouth to ask again, but then they speak.

"If I wasn't acting like myself, would you still like me?" 

Another question out of left field. 

"Even if you somehow grow anemones on your head, Yuu's still Yuu, right?" His heart swells in pride at the way their lips quirk at his inside joke. 

"Yeah…" they murmur back. 

"Wanna see somethin' cool?" he says, holding out a card. Yuu tilts their head questioningly.

"It's the ace of hearts. What about it?"

"It's not just the ace of hearts!" Ace puffs out his cheeks. "Don't you know the meaning of this card?"

Yuu shakes their head.

"It means good news for yourself or someone close. Practically a lucky charm!" Ace waggles his eyebrows suggestively. "So how can things go wrong now that you have me?"

Yuu snorts and shoves him playfully. "Yeah, yeah, okay, Mr. Lucky Charm."

But it works. The foggy clouds clear from Yuu's eyes, finally returning them to the familiar luster he's used to. For the rest of the night, there is no hint of hollowness within them. And Ace hopes he will never see that sight again.

-

He should've known something was up since that night.

When Headmaster Crowley personally makes an appearance at their dorm, he should've realized it then. If there was anything that the old raven hated more, it was having to do more work than usual. 

"That person wasn't an imposter." Crowley says, coughing awkwardly into his fist.

The solemn words echo in his head on end. The rest of the Headmaster's words start to tune out for Ace. Automatically, his legs begin to move on their own. The calls of the others chase after him, but he ignores them, racing out of the lounge and towards the mirror portal.

Because if you didn't hurt Yuu-

-then what had he done?

When he first arrived in NRC, he didn't even know that Ramshackle dorm existed. Not until Yuu came to reside there; until he had to beg for shelter from them when he was chained with that damn collar. He knew that they didn't have to take him in. But they did, and maybe that's why Ace couldn't turn his back after that. 

The building before him is no longer the broken down hovel that he remembers back then. He remembers how the roof was almost caving in and wooden beams were always in danger of collapsing. Each knock on the entrance doors would send cascades of dust upon his head. Now, the walls are painted with a fresh coat of paint, the roof has new shingles, and the place actually looks like a house you could safely live in. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Prefect! Are you there?!" He yells, desperation leaking into his voice. "Please!"

Bang! Bang!

He's gotta be out of his damn mind, acting like some crazy person. But he can't help but be blinded by his fear. So he keeps hitting the door with his fists, praying, hoping, for…well that someone would open the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Yuu!!" He screams, and his voice echoes around him, mocking his helplessness. His fists are becoming numb from slamming the wood so hard, but he can't stop himself.

"Yuu–!"

"Oi! Ace!!!" A rough hand on his shoulder shoves him back and before he could knock the souvnabit-

"Ace, look at me!"

He's stopped by Deuce's fists meeting his in an even match of strength. Like an illusion broken, Ace stills and yanks his hands back.

There's only heavy breathing in between them for a long while. 

"...they're not here." Ace snaps to look at Deuce, who only closes his eyes in a painful grimace.

"What do you mean, 'not here'?" Ace asks.

Deuce doesn't say anything for a beat.

"What do you mean they're–"

"They're in the infirmary." Deuce's words flow out in a breathless rush. "The Headmaster said that after you ran."

Fuck, he just acted like an idiot then. No wonder no one was responding to his absolute earth shattering door banging and yelling. Then the meaning of Deuce's words begin to sink in. Oh Seven, no–

He turns and before he could even step in the direction of the main building, his arm is yanked back.

He snarls at Deuce. "Let me go! I have to see the prefect!"

"Housewarden is calling you back." Deuce forces out through gritted teeth and closed eyes. "The Headmaster said that…they don't want to see anyone."

And like a fire put out, Ace's anger chokes to flickering embers.

He lets Deuce guide him back, all the way from the Ramshackle dorm, to the mirror portal, and then back to Heartslabyul's lounge where the other three are grimly awaiting them.

Ace half expects to be yelled at once he passes the threshold. Or get some kind of lecture on how he should have better manners than to just run off like that. It would've been just like his housewarden to only care about weird, arbitrary rules when there were other arguably more important matters.

But his housewarden sits silently on his gilded velvet throne with glassy eyes. There's no anger burning behind them, and the freshmen are terrified to see their once proud and fearsome queen reduced to this husk. He almost would rather him back to the state where he was barking out orders for them. The silence in the lounge is deafening.

Ace swears they must be all thinking the same thing.

Please let this be a bad dream.

-

He tried calling you. Texting you. Hell, he even tried messaging you on Magicam! Magicam, of all things! 

Anxiety claws at his heart with each unread message and dial voice tone greeting. He has so much to say, to ask for-

Deuce wasn't faring well on his side either. He had also tried calling and texting you, to no avail. Grim, that traitor, hadn't come back to visit Heartslabyul at all since the incident. Never mind the fact he had only himself to blame for that—he thought at the very least the cat direbeast would have some sense of pity for their friendship and throw them a bone. 

Ace tried two more times to meet you. 

First, during your infirmary stay, when you were still unconscious.

The second time was when you returned to Ramshackle dorm with Grim.

Maybe the Seven were punishing him for his hubris. Or he supposes this is just karma. Because both times, he fails spectacularly at the front door of Heartslabyul. Because of this, he's the reason why Riddle had put them all on house arrest (with the exception of academic reasons, of course).

It's a declaration that would've been met with mutiny from all of them, if it weren't for the fact that even Headmaster Crowley had explicitly forbade anyone from showing up on Ramshackle's doorstep or trying to meet you. So he understands. Really! He does. He's seen how Riddle holes up in his room, muttering to himself while carrying out boxes upon boxes of crumpled paper. When he manages to snag a stray paper that flutters out on garbage day, Ace realizes that Riddle is also just as frenzied trying to reach out to you. Even if he is going about it in an old fashioned way.

He'll chip in to help. If his housewarden is left to his own devices, they’ll all be fossils by the time he sends what he deems a satisfactory letter. 

And the faster they do this, the faster they have a chance of reaching you.

vii. Embalming

The most horrifying thing is that it doesn't seem to care about dying.

That cursed pile of ceramic shards had disappeared—no, pieced itself back together—and once again, it became the smiling face of Yuu, the being they all knew and used to adore.

Riddle Rosehearts immediately smashed it to pieces again under the weight of his magic.

No one had tried to stop their housewarden. Not even the faceless mobs. Even if they were all alarmed at the erratic behavior of their housewarden, they could not deny the fear of seeing something dead come back alive. With not so much as a dent or wound in them, for that matter.

The third time it happened, Riddle ordered for the remains to be dumped into the school’s incinerator at the highest heat level. Surely, that would be enough. 

He watched as the incinerator roared and shuddered, shaking as if the pits of hell had opened. After a few agonizing minutes, the rumbling stops, and before he can even breathe a sigh of relief, the iron hatches creak open, and out strolls Yuu, perfectly fine and pieced together again.

It's magic. Or some kind of century old curse. Of course it is. After all, it was at a higher power than even Draconia's comprehension. Why he didn't consider the possibility beforehand is something he berates himself now. 

What might be the most damning thing is that it has no fear or suspicion in its face; even after the multiple times it’s been maimed and torn apart. Not like you, who immediately closed themselves off at being hurt so thoroughly. 

The irony isn't lost on him. The temptation of letting the puppet take its place back in favor of just bringing everything back to how it was is something Riddle could not deny. But now that he's actually met you, Yuu just seems more of a shadow of what he remembers during your interactions together.

It has your face. It acts like you.

But it's not you.

When Ace asks after the commotion at the Unbirthday party on how he was able to figure out that it wasn’t [First], he had to take a moment to gather his thoughts. Ace’s face changes into something of disbelief when Riddle merely replies with: “[First] takes their tea with two sugars and a dash of milk.”

“You were so sure only because of that?”

He doesn’t want to think what Ace’s face would look like if he had explained his whole list of reasons how he realized that the puppet wasn’t you. How he soaked up as much as he could when you came over for the tea party. Your expressions, your little habits, the way you fidget…it was all filed away in Riddle's head and later, his private notebook.

But that doesn’t matter now. Now, there’s an even bigger problem than the puppet resurrecting itself.

Grim is missing again.

This alone should've been more worrying than anything for Yuu, but it merely shrugs and says it’s not sure where he scampered off to. He's more than suspicious, of course, but there is no proof, which is infuriating already.

But without Grim, they are missing the key to finding [First]. 

The others raise hell once they hear the news Riddle reports at the weekly housewarden meeting. A new wave of tension washes over NRC and with it, an unprecedented deep disdain for the puppet. It returns back to classes unannounced, making Ace and Deuce rant to him about how weird it is that it’s trying so hard to act like nothing had happened. It attends school events with their camera, drumming up conversations like normal between all of them; despite the fact it gets ignorance or violence in response (depending on the person it greets).

But none of them are really sure on how to interact with Yuu.

The nicer ones, like Trey or Deuce, entertain Yuu with frigidly civil responses, in hopes of boring the puppet and making it flit away to another victim. Meanwhile, he and Ace have finally come together on an agreed opinion: that they would rather die before letting the puppet even think it could take [First]’s place.

“Go away.”

Yuu merely smiles in response to Riddle’s annoyed voice. The puppet leisurely lounges in the chair across the table from him. The school library is vast but empty, his authoritative voice echoing down the long halls. Several floating books flit past above their heads and the chandeliers above flicker with bright candlelight.

“I just wanted to keep you company.” Riddle purses his mouth in disgust. It’s invasive, it’s gross, and most of all it feels wrong to hear those words coming from Yuu. 

“I didn’t ask for your company,” he replies coldly. “Shouldn’t you know that it’s bad manners to bother someone who wants to be left alone?”

“I don’t think you like being left alone, Riddle.” He flinches at the way Yuu’s eyes bore into him. “Well, then again, you sure like to pretend you’re fine, don’t you?”

His hand tightens around the textbook he’s reading about cursed dolls. There would be no point if he brought out his magical pen and reduced it to rubble. But he is tempted, if only to get some peace and quiet for just a few minutes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Riddle says.

“Hmm…” Yuu hums into its hand, “...then I suppose I will just let you be. What a shame, I had something entertaining to tell.”

“What? What do you mean?” 

Yuu giggles and waves him off. “No, no! You said you didn’t want my company now. Why should I tell you anything?”

He resists the urge to incinerate the book in his hands. “Fine! I would like your company. What is this ‘entertaining’ thing you want to tell me so badly?”

“Hmm…how insincere,” Yuu tilts its head coyly with a smile more akin to a smirk. “But I guess that’s the most I can get.”

“Since you’ve all been driving yourselves crazy, [First] is safe.” The floor feels like it’s been yanked underneath him. The puppet is smiling still, as if it’s all some big joke rather than the revelation it delivered. He can hear his blood roaring through his ears.

“You…” Riddle snarls, face heating into a bright red rage. “What did you do to them?”

It bursts into laughter at his face. 

“Why, I only granted their wish!”

Its laughter is cut short by the sound of ceramic being crushed, and Riddle is left shakily breathing at the pile of shards that used to be Yuu. The puppet’s words churn over and over in his head.

What did you wish for? 

-

It is currently 3:20 on a Wednesday afternoon. 

In his planner, the bullet point neatly penned on the schedule shows ‘Studying for History Test’ in bold blue ink for the time slot. ‘History of the Queendom of Roses’ is laid open on his desk, to the chapter about the local mythos of the area, just as he intended. His notes from lecture are next to it, with several of his stationary needed to jot down annotations. 

And yet, Riddle has yet to touch any of these items or actually adhere to his daily schedule—he’s too distracted by what he should do in order to reach the player.

Riddle's already embarrassed enough, resorting to handwritten letters with the best calligraphy he can muster. He's sent only a couple that passed his satisfaction, and they have all been met with judgemental silence. He’s hunched over another crumpled letter near ripping his hair out when someone knocks on his bedroom door. He quickly shoves the envelope under some textbooks out of frantic instinct.

“Come in.”

A familiar bob of red orange hair pops out behind his door, and Riddle raises an eyebrow at the underclassman who enters.

“Ace? What is it?” Normally, Ace would never be in his room if he could help it. If he was in Riddle’s room, it most likely meant he was either being scolded or punished. And Ace’s eyes are shifting side to side, as if he was trying to sneak his way in. 

“Out with it, Ace.” He’s not in the mood for the underclassman’s shenanigans.

“Housewarden, you’re writing letters to the prefect, aren’t ya?” The question completely takes him off-guard sputtering.

“W-What does t-that have to do with you?” He tries to maintain his composure, but Ace is already giving him a smug smirk for the one up on him. Of all people, it had to be him finding out. 

"I had an idea, Housewarden. Why don't we send them something with the letter?" Riddle blinks in surprise.

“...How smart of you for once, Ace.” It was so simple, yet he marvels at the idea's brilliance. Perhaps there was merit in trying this proposal.

“Hey! What the hell does that mean?!” His underclassman snaps back in a huff. “Whatever, point being, maybe we should switch it up instead of letters all the time.”

He crosses his arms, “And what do you suggest? There’s not much we can really send that hasn't been sent already by other dorms.”

Ace winces. Clearly he didn’t think about the other dorms with more affluent people; people who had more than enough thaumarks and prestige to spend it to appeal to you. Riddle can't blame him either: although he is at the top of the school and his parents are well known mages, it's not like any of that could help him here. All of them, in a sense, were stuck in that situation. 

For once, he starts to resent not having more.

"Ugh, well…maybe it doesn't need to be so fancy, you know?" Ace rubs his neck, face scrunched in frustration. "Like…uh…you know-flowers! People send flowers all the time, yeah?"

This is true. And for Queendom of Roses’ residents, it has become custom to send bouquets with subtle messages left in petals and stems. Although he is a bit loath to admit that he isn’t as well versed in the language of flowers compared to hedgehogs.

"And what do you recommend, Ace?" He asks. "What would be the best flower to send to the prefect in our circumstance?"

"We got all these roses, why not send them that?" Ace responds, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Riddle coughs in annoyance. 

"Why not just procure some from Sam's shop? Today is Wednesday. Do you not remember rule 228?" He chides. Ace groans, rolling his eyes. 

"Not the weird rules again…"

"Ace."

"Yeeesss Housewarden…" The card soldier mock salutes with a deadpan expression. "I'll see if we can get some flowers at Sam's."

"You better, or else it's–" 

"-off with my head, I got it, I got it." Riddle seethes as Ace cuts him off and dashes out of his room before he could get another word in. So troublesome…

Still, there's nothing to do except wait for his card soldier to report back. He turns back to his desk, bringing out the crumpled letter from its hiding place. Running a hand over the crumpled pages, he attempts to pick up his pen again, but fails as his thoughts begin to wander. 

Riddle only manages to pen a couple legible sentences when his door slams open, banging against the wall. He almost falls out of his chair in shock from the loud noise. How was Ace back so quickly?

"Have you not heard of knocking?!" He scowls, turning around to see Ace panting and sweating as if he had run a marathon.

"Never mind that, Housewarden, I saw them!" Ace shouts. 

“What are you jabbering…” Riddle trails off in realization. “You better not be horsing around, Ace.”

“Do you think I would lie to you about this?” Ace retorts frantically. “I saw them at Sam’s shop working the cashier!”

For a moment, his mind races with this information. If you were working at Sam’s shop, it would explain why you weren’t showing up to classes, let alone in the hallways or rooms of NRC. It’s a clever ruse—classes may be over during this time of day, but nearly all of them were participating in mandatory club activities or study labs. No wonder no one else has caught on to this. Riddle rubs his chin in thought, settling back in his chair.

“What are you going to do now, Housewarden Riddle?” Ace asks hesitantly. His eyes are filled with some kind of anticipation and hope, no doubt wondering if he could get some leeway in his own agenda. Normally, he would go right away as there was no need to hesitate about these kinds of things.

But. Crowley’s stern announcement comes back to his mind and guilt starts to creep in. 

“First, we’ll go with your idea, Ace.” He responds. “The ban hasn’t been lifted, after all.” Ace opens his mouth to protest, but he holds a hand up to interrupt him.

“But if that doesn’t work, then I’m sure even Crowley can’t say anything about coincidences.”

viii. Calling Hours

“I’m not joking around, you two.” 

There’s very few times that the vice housewarden of Heartslabyul gets truly mad. His patience seems boundless, honed by years of taking care of younger siblings at home and then dealing with rowdy underclassmen in NRC. But even his saint-like patience could only stretch so far.  

“I told you, we didn’t do it!” Ace scowls with furrowed eyebrows and crossed arms. Meanwhile, Deuce is silent by his side, face twisted with conflicting emotions. “You don’t even have proof! You just singled us out just because!”

“Who else was around the kitchen when I left it?” Trey asks, voice starting to rise in anger. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you two lurking around before?”

The two freshmen began to speak out, voices rambling over each other and cascading into a loud shouting match that was barely intelligible.

“We just wanted to see if we could get something from the fridge, how were we supposed to know someone would-”

“Me and Ace just wanted to bring something along when we deliver the Housewarden’s invitation to-”

"You dumbass, don't just say that out loud-!"

It’s at this moment that Cater Diamond strolls in, takes one look at the mess of the situation and does a 180 back round to the door. But it’s too late, because the interruption is just enough for Ace to sink his hooks into him.

“Cater-senpai, you believe us, right?” Ace shouts after the orange head, making him flinch in place. “You saw us get the order from Housewarden Riddle!”

Cater turns around slowly like a door on rusty hinges, with an expression that screams of not wanting to be involved. "Oh Acey! Uhm, you mean the letter Riddle gave you two-"

"Yes!" Deuce interrupts in earnest, already trying to barrel his way to proving his innocence. "Housewarden Riddle entrusted us to deliver the tea party invitation ourselves personally." 

Cater turns to Trey, who is rubbing the bridge of his nose, eyes closed with a tiredness that seems comically reminiscent of an old man. "Well, I'm not sure what this is all about, Trey, but maybe you should cut 'em some slack and let it go."

The other senior nods in reluctant agreement and the two freshmen all but nearly trample over each other trying to run from the tension filled room. But they're stopped in their tracks when Trey calls out again.

"Wait, you two." The duo slowly looks back with cautious eyes.

"You wanted to bring something to the prefect, didn't you?" Trey tilts his head to one of the many strange topsy turvey cabinets in the kitchen. "I have some leftover cookies that I made yesterday. Take them. I'm sorry for accusing you guys like that."

Ace and Deuce exchange confused glances, and although Ace looks away in denial, Deuce nods in gratitude. They leave the kitchen just as chaotically, this time with the aroma of lavender following them.

A brief silence follows their absence, while Cater raises an eyebrow at Trey.

"Sooo…care to spill the tea?"

"Don't even start." Trey groans.

Cater seats himself on one of the stools near the counter, waiting. Trey busies himself with cleaning the stoves and counter, trying not to meet Cater's eyes. Silence falls, but it's with none of the comfort that Cater is familiar with. Giving up, he turns to his phone, refreshing his Magicam dash mindlessly. This continues for a good while until finally—

A low sigh, then– "Somebody took my candied violets."

Cater looks up from his phone. Another beat passes, and he realizes it's not a passing statement. 

"It's not like you to get this bent out of shape over your ingredients going MIA." Cater shifts his face onto the elbow meeting pristine marble while shoving his phone away. "You sure that one of the froshes didn't just end up taking them thinking they were for everyone?"

Trey lets out a rough guffaw. "You know better than I do that the others don't touch our stuff."

Cater taps his fingers on the polished white granite, hands already itching to grab his phone and check for updates, but he restrains himself. "That's…mostly true."

"That can only mean one of you guys has taken it." The hairs on Cater's neck raise at Trey's tone.

"Hey now," Cater grins, raising his hands in mock surrender, "you heard it from those two. I was with Riddle when he gave them that invitation."

"I know." Cater's fingers twitch as Trey carelessly tossed aside the rag used to clean the counter into a bucket. The soggy fabric makes a hollow sound against the wood, echoing rather loudly in contrast. "But Riddle would never do such a thing either."

Cater resists the urge to roll his eyes. It's true that their cute housewarden would hardly dare to stoop to thievery, but Trey's blind faith in him can be annoying at times. After all, didn't their little teapot tyrant threaten to kill the prefect at one point?

He supposes that was his fault, though.

"Then it's back to square one." Cater shrugs. "Besides, what were you even planning to do with them if you weren't gonna eat it?"

The baker runs a hand through his mussed forest green hair and frowns. "I was going to bake a cake with them as a peace offering to the prefect."

Cater's mouth forms an 'o' shape in realization. "That's pretty big brain."

"Yeah, but look how that turned out."

"It's fine~you were able to at least send cookies this time round." Cater finally cracks, digging into his pocket for the familiar grooves of his phone case. "All's well that ends well, right?"

Trey doesn't respond and Cater is too engrossed in his phone to look up to see his expression. He slides off the stool naturally, tapping through recent posts and comments, eyes laser focused on recent posts on his dash. 

"Cater." 

There it is. It's the most recent story reel by Ace(according to the time stamp, about two minutes ago). It's an inconspicuous black out picture with several cute teapot and teacup stickers decorating the screen. The banner message is short and sweet: 'Dorm tea party bout to get real this month 🤔😶'

"Cater." Cater's attention snaps back and towards his friend, who gazes at him with dark eyes.

"Please don't lie to me next time."

With that, Cater watches as his long time friend finally leaves the kitchen. 

Thank the Seven he did. He might have been a decent actor, but Trey has been with him through thick and thin, and it's given him the annoying ability to see through his tells.

Really now. Trey knows that he hates sweets. Shouldn't that be enough of an alibi?

It's not fair that Trey already has everything to set him up for a good relationship with you. Even if they're all set back by their violent reaction to you arriving in this world, he's sure it would only take a couple tries with Trey offering genuine heartfelt food to get to you.

It's just not fair. 

Isn't he fun to hang out with? He consistently gets compliments online for his suave looks and easy personality. So why couldn't he compare to-

He shakes his head. There's no point in overthinking it now. Cay Cay #3 had easily taken the cutely decorated jar of violets and discarded it in the dorm dumpster. Like candy from a baby.

He knows it's petty. But for once, he feels much better, knowing that he upset Trey's original plans to ensnare you.

Now, he once again checks Ace's story reel and screenshots it, while quickly pulling up the search bar. He just needs to level the playing field.

-

There can only be one fake bitch in this house and Cater has had enough of the competition.

“I wasn’t aware that you were going to visit me, Cater.” 

The puppet tilts its head with a warm smile, but there’s a frosty undercurrent to the greeting. It’s clear that he’s not welcome, if the way it’s blocking the doorway of Ramshackle has anything to say.

“Yeah, I ended up losing something here. You mind if I look for it, Yuu-chan?” Cater asks innocently. “Promise it won’t take too long.”

“Hm, sure. But I don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Yuu's grin is sharp as a razor blade. It knows what he’s here for and it’s definitely taunting him. That little–

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to look~” He responds back airily. His fist curls around his phone in his pocket tightly. The puppet shrugs and walks off, leaving him standing in the doorway.

It’s been a while since he’s personally been at Ramshackle dorm. Cater remembers how Ace complained about the house being a real fixer upper, but then again, he doesn’t remember much of that, since Yuu always spent most of the time at Heartslabyul dorm. The renovations certainly made it much more pleasing to the eye and more importantly, livable by HOA standards.

There’s nothing to write home about the living room. The coffee table is bare and there’s no wrinkles in the sofa cushions at all. It’s a little eerie��as if no one even lived in the house in the first place. The only sign of living was perhaps the fact it is clean of dust or dirt. 

Nothing in the kitchen either. He gives a wayward glance to the second floor, searching for any signs of movement. Couldn’t hurt to be thorough. 

Rows of tall doors pass by as Cater opens each one of them. A storage closet, a spare room, an electric cabinet, another storage area–it all blurs by after the fourth door. There really is nothing, as if the whole house has been wiped of any trace of you. He's about to toss in the towel when an old, dusty memory crops up. His little freshman, Ace. Cater swears he had been making fun of Yuu for seeing strange things at night. Something about a mouse?

Right, their room! Why didn't he think of looking there?  

His feet take him rapidly from memory to the door that was the third from last in the hallway in the east wing. He manages to wrench the door open to see a regular bedroom, bed sheets barely stirred. Before he can even put one foot in, a throat clears behind him. 

"It's rather rude to go into other people's bedrooms, don't you think?"

You got to be kidding me. Cater turns around with the fakest smile plastered across his face. Yuu looks unamused, tapping its foot impatiently against the wooden floorboards. 

"Just wanted to make sure, y'know?" Cater replies. Yuu gives a tight smile back. It goes around him and shuts the door with a hard thunk.

"Ever heard about how curiosity killed the cat?" 

Cater shakes his head in surrender, "I guess I need to look elsewhere for my lost item."

The entrance doors slam shut behind him hard enough to startle several birds out the dead trees in the yard. Cater doesn't bother giving a look back as he strides out of the yard and past the gated fence surrounding the property. That glimpse was enough and much more. Cater smirks to himself, taking his phone out and sending a quick text message to the group chat. Yes, curiosity may have killed the poor kitty cat…

But satisfaction brought it back.

viiii. Eulogy

It might surprise people to know that Trey Clover's first real friend is Che'nya Pinker.

That's not to say that Trey had trouble getting along with others as a kid, oh no. Everyone in his neighborhood agreed that he was a very sweet boy, who looked out for others around him. When he wasn’t taking care of his baby sister, he would be asked by other parents around the block to look after their own children, whether that be playing soccer games with the more energetic kids or patty cakes with the quiet ones. So it isn’t a stretch to say that he’s friends with nearly everyone. But Che’nya was a special case.

Their first meeting is still burned into Trey’s memory.

“You see it too, don’cha?” The boy had greeted him while swinging upside down on a low hanging tree branch. Trey had half a mind to scold him for the dangerous action before he actually looked at him. 

The first thing that takes Trey off guard is that he has eyes. They’re a shiny yellow, just a shade lighter than his. His pupils are long and thin, not round like his at all. He supposes it must be like a cat’s pupils—for he’s never seen anything like it. Then it’s his unique colorful hair, streaks of light pink intermingling with dark purple, making a strange striped pattern across the chopped uneven hair. Trey faintly recalls a certain cat from their local legends, whose fur boasted those very same colors. 

“...What are you talking about?” Trey eyes him warily. The cat boy gives a cheeky grin. He vanishes and then reappears in front of him, albeit with missing arms.

“The people around us who wear the faces of strangers.” Trey’s skin gets goosebumps at the way the boy observes him. He is not looking through Trey, but at him. Their eyes are directly making contact. “But you’re different. You have the face of a friend.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Trey furrows his eyebrows. The boy's grin stretches wider in response. (His teeth were rather blunter than expected, but his canines were pointed.)

“You’re strange. I’m stranger. Together, we can both be strange,” the cat boy chirps back lightheartedly. “The name’s Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker. But you can just call me Che’nya.”

Something in his mind had clicked then. It’s hard to explain the feeling–just that it felt like a puzzle piece put into place. He hadn’t known it then, but at that point, the hands of fate had moved. 

Whatever the case may be, Trey was grateful to have Che’nya. Because now he knows that he isn’t crazy; not when he couldn’t see his parent’s faces nor his baby sister’s or even his other friends'. Che’nya too, only shrugs his shoulders when Trey asks him about his grandfather.

“The old man? Yeah, they say I have his eyes, but I wouldn’t know.” The statement is so casually delivered that Trey can hardly believe he’s talking about his only living relative and guardian. “His face does not mirror mine in my mind.”

Staring down at you, shivering with cold and hunger, he feels something churn in him again, just like that fateful day. 

He has his orders from Riddle: bring in the imposter alive. Trey isn’t a violent sort and nor does he enjoy boasting his strength over others like a sadist. And he cannot deny the feeling of cold rage that day when Yuu shuts down, fear inundating him that he may never, ever, get an explanation for the world he was born in. Why he and Che’nya were special, why he had to witness Riddle suffer under his mother–what was it all for?

Your face. There is no blank stretched skin—he can see your wide open eyes, bloodshot and fixated on him. Your mouth too, shaped in a pained grimace, lips bruised and bloodied from previous skirmishes. Surely, surely, there must be a reason why you were here. Why you bear the same face as Yuu. You hold all the answers, if you would just cooperate.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Trey tries reaching out, but you scurry back into the hedges, squinted eyes wary and untrusting. You remind him of a frightened hedgehog, prickly spines bristled and body curled in to protect yourself. “I just wanna talk.”

“Go away, please,” the imposter quietly pleads. “Just pretend you never saw me! I swear I didn’t even know how I got here…”

Trey swallows hard. 

“Just come quietly. Please.” He is the one begging now. “It’ll be easier for all of us.”

“For who?” The imposter barks a sharp laugh. Trey doesn't miss the way they wince in pain from their wounds. “For me? Or for you?”

He doesn’t have an answer. The sound of running footsteps has him turning, and when he looks back, you’re already gone. The only traces that you were there at all were faint splotches of red blood and crushed grass.

Trey wonders if this, too, was meant to be fate.

—

Trey’s been lovingly dubbed as someone reliable. Some consider him to be an older brother figure due to his nagging and supportive care. It's ingrained in him at this point from the years he’s spent playing babysitter. Trey knows the students around him are not his younger siblings who need constant watching (although their actions say otherwise).

But he worries.

Just a bit. Trey knows better than anyone that you can take care of yourself just fine. He's seen how you carry yourself within those hedges. 

It's just that, he doesn't know if you're okay right now. How could he know? You've been silent even in the face of Riddle's unceasing letters. So of course he's just a bit unsure if you're actually okay, or if you don't trust them enough to say so.

Trey finds himself more frustrated with the ban they're under. Not because of the inability to see you, although that is part of it. No, it's because Riddle has managed to skirt around that rule to desperately grab onto you, and that was just enough to wear you down. 

He thinks if he was bold enough, he could've tried.

As if it wasn't enough, even Ace and Deuce find their own way to get to you, snatching up the chance to deliver the monthly tea party invitation. It takes everything in Trey to clench his teeth and let go—even when Cater ruins his plans. He can't get mad here because it won't get him any closer to you. He has to be the bigger person.

If there is one thing Trey knows about Cater, it's that he absolutely hates getting sweaty or dirty. If Cater wasn’t trying to get out of running those P.E laps, he would absolutely be shirking any extra work assigned. So he's more than suspicious when Cater bounces up to him with a grin saying he could help cover Trey's science club duty of watering plants. 

Trey likes to think he can tell when Cater’s lying. His close friend's happy go lucky demeanor often throws off others, but he’s been with him long enough to pick out his subtle tells. His eyebrow twitches when he’s particularly anxious and the corner of his mouth tends to perk up if he’s feeling particularly daring or desperate. Trey figures this must be something that even he can’t trust Trey with, if he’s going out of his way to take on extra work.

So Trey considers this repayment for letting him take his violets. He watches as Cater dashes off in labwear, waiting for a minute, before following after him. His duty was in the tropical zone of the botanical garden, so he has no worries even if he does lose him. 

He nearly does a double take when he sees you walking in the courtyard hallways by yourself. And before Trey could rethink his actions, he follows behind you, eyes not leaving your form for a minute. 

You look like you haven't slept well. There's dark circles under your eyes. He hopes you're brushing your teeth. There’s no signs of bandages or wounds that he remembers you in, which he supposes is one relief. Even if he so desperately wishes to cook you a proper meal—you look like you could fall over at any minute.

The realization your path is leading to the botanical garden comes just as Trey catches sight of the glass dome. He wants to rush in after you, but he stops himself just as the door swings close behind your form.

Cater is in there. It all makes sense now. Trey has to give it to him—Cater really does know every little happening in the school. But Trey knows him well too—and if he had to guess, even if Cater manages to talk to you, it won’t end pretty. His inability to be genuine will definitely only set you on edge and less likely to reciprocate. 

The waiting game he plays is nothing compared to the silence he had to endure before. Trey doesn’t have to look to know that you’re the one slamming open the doors to the botanical gardens, labwear dirtied and face twisted in a frustrated anger. He watches as you enter Professor Crewel’s office again and after some time, pop back out in completely different clothes. 

His chest tightens in longing as he continues to follow after (more from an instinctual drive now, rather than deliberate), trying to keep you in sight within the stone pillars. He wants to call out after you so badly and ask you what’s the matter, if you need help with anything. If there was anything he could do to make you forgive him for watching you bleed out on dewy grass. The sun is about to set, warm golden rays flickering between pillars and casting long shadows. Trey’s so enamored with following after you that he flinches back when the sun directly shines into his eyes, blinding him momentarily. 

He barely manages to get a hold of himself. By the time his eyes blink away the blurry blots, he realizes you’re looking back at him. His breath stops. Your eyes are wide and frightened as they are that day, and his heart drops to his stomach. Both of you don’t move, merely staring at each other. 

You finally break the connection, turning around and quickly walking away. Trey gasps, remembering to breathe, lungs screaming for air. 

What was that?

x. Entombment

It's a nice sunny afternoon in the Heartslabyul domain. There weren't any track club activities nor dreaded remedial lessons. If anything, this free time would have been perfect for a nap. He hadn’t been up to any large shenanigans like this since the whole fiasco of [First] and Yuu. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” 

Ace scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You got a better one, loosey Deucy? If we don’t do this now, then all of us are stuck until Housewarden grows a pair of balls.” 

Deuce Spade bites his lips. “I just think there might be a better way around this.”

“Yeah? And the sky is blue. Keep going, we don't have much time." Ace cranes his neck to the side of the bush, eyes warily looking out to make sure the coast is clear. 

Deuce grumbles but continues plucking, some roses already tucked within his arms. They chose a bush the furthest away from the dorm, in a hidden corner where no arched windows could overlook them. It was necessary, because today was Wednesday, and the Housewarden would have their heads for plucking his beloved roses out of all the flora.

His fingers are bleeding already, finger pads torn from repetitive tugging on the thorns and stems. They couldn’t afford taking any of the gardening tools, lest they be questioned for what they were doing with them. Still, even he had his limits.  

“Why is it that you aren’t helping at all?” Deuce snipes at Ace, who scowls back. 

“You want to be caught by someone, genius?” Ace replies snarkily. “Someone has to keep look out.”

“Doesn’t explain why I have to do all the work.” 

Ace rolls his eyes, deigning not to bother engaging in another futile argument that would lead to nowhere. Deuce is about to cut off a particularly stubborn rose when Ace pipes up again.

“...Did they ever respond to your texts?” Deuce only deflates in response. Ace’s mouth slants crookedly in an annoyed grimace. The two of them know full well what the answer to that was.

“Damn that cat…” Ace mutters bitterly under his breath. Deuce doesn’t say anything. He too, is finding it hard to not feel petty towards Grim right now. Weren’t they friends? He could’ve afforded to help them out somehow. But it’s no use. Their texts went unanswered. Headmaster had banned them from stepping foot onto Ramshackle grounds. It’s like you had closed everything off from them.

It’s why he doesn’t protest this plan, as reckless as it is. He’s not any better than Ace—he needs to see you. He and Ace were your closest friends, your first friends! He loved you. That had to mean something. If it didn’t, then…

“I think this is enough.” Deuce adjusts the messy bouquet in his hands, attempting to hold them without crushing the delicate petals. Ace looks over and nods in approval. He takes out crimson ribbons and a silk handkerchief and begins tying it around the stems in a very artful way that has Deuce’s eyebrows raising.

“Where did you get that?” Ace smirks in response at the interrogative question.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ace snatches the bouquet from his hands and slips in an envelope with the housewarden’s seal. Deuce silences the questions on the tip of his tongue. For whatever Ace has planned, he’s rather not know anything more troublesome than necesscary. 

What he failed to account for was getting caught. Housewarden Riddle was beyond furious for what they did. It was only by Trey and Cater's gentle reminders that what they did was for all of them, that he only calmed down.

Deuce supposes three days with the collar is better than a week. Even if it is a heavy thing that weighs on his very soul.

He only hopes that you don't notice the thorns they forgot to trim.

—

It’s a given that although Trey is the right hand of Heartslabyul, Cater is considered the left hand of Housewarden Riddle. It’s been that way since Deuce himself enrolled in NRC, and possibly even further back. He hadn’t understood it quite then, but after some time, he realized something that he should’ve realized a long time ago. 

To never get on Cater’s bad side.

There are events where the five of them gather outside of Yuu’s influence. Administrative meetings, monthly tea parties, and the occasional casual hang out. When you’re aware of how much of your life is affected from being not like the others, it’s common to side with those who are like you. 

Cater had called the meeting this time. It was a bit out of the blue, at least for him and Ace. It’s only when they’re all gathered around the playing table in the lounge, not another soul in sight, when Deuce realizes Cater has that gleam in his eye. One that screams that he got a viral lead on a hot topic. His upperclassman must have been investigating.

"Remember how mirrors are considered to be portals?"

Deuce's neck prickles.

"Your point, Cater?" Their housewarden is impatient, not aware of what the question poses. His arms are crossed with his eyebrows furrowed in a frustrated glare. Deuce realizes that he must have been the one to send out Cater.

"There's a mirror in the prefect's bedroom." Deuce blurts out, and Riddle’s steely eyes snap over in surprise. Cater nods in affirmation.

"Yeah. I only managed a glimpse, but Yuu covered their mirror." Cater says. 

“Hold on, you went into the prefect’s bedroom? Scratch that, to Ramshackle?” Ace asks. “Why are we just getting this now?”

“Because I just came back Acey,” Cater flicks his forehead, causing Ace to exclaim in pain. Trey smiles faintly at the action. “Also Riddle told me to keep it confidential—you two would have ran straight out if we had told you.” 

Deuce sheepishly rubs his neck at Cater’s pointed sentence. Riddle rubs his chin in thoughtfulness, eyebrows still furrowed. 

“But there isn’t anything magical about that mirror, is there?” Riddle asks, skepticism coating his tone. “The puppet could have simply covered that mirror out of an odd preference.”

“Acey, didn’t you mention that Yuu always mentioned seeing things in that mirror?” Cater responds, deflecting the question upon his underclassmen. Ace straightens as he and Deuce both exchange a glance.

“Yeah…something about a mouse in their mirror,” Ace answers slowly, face scrunched in an effort to recall memories. “I always thought it was just crazy dreams but…”

“Yuu was always insisting about it,” Deuce chimes in. “Said the mouse speaks to them and everything—that there was another world it was in.”

Trey and Cater share a furtive glance together before looking at Riddle. Their housewarden seems to be taking in the new information, closing his eyes in thought. For a while, no one dares to speak. 

“What do you think, Riddle?” Trey finally breaks the heavy silence, and Deuce breathlessly releases a sigh. Leave it to Trey to speak for all of them.

“If the mirror in the bedroom is magical, then that changes things.” Riddle pronounces with conviction. “If that mirror potentially holds a dimension, then that would be the perfect place to trap someone.”

“Cater.” The orange head straightens to attention at the stern command. “Find a way to get the puppet out of the dorm for a while. We’ll need to look into this ourselves.”

Cater smirks and a chill runs down Deuce’s spine. While Cater still has an easy going look, his jade green eyes have darkened with a sadistic gleam. 

“Roger that, housewarden!” His upperclassman chirps, already taking out his phone. 

Riddle is already barking orders that each of them are to take up within this mission of theirs. But Deuce nearly misses his task, eyes stuck on Cater’s face as he scrolls his phone.

He catches a glimpse of a photo before it’s quickly clicked away. Deuce snaps back to Riddle just in time for Cater to shoot him a wary glare, checking to make sure no one else was looking. 

Deuce is very glad he is working together with Cater.

[pleasehelpmeimfying]

𝐌𝐦𝐦𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬 😍

{𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦!𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐛!𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬, 𝐓𝐨𝐩!𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐛!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐮𝐡𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞.} 𝐏𝐋𝐒 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒

𝐈𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭.

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬..

𝐇𝐞 𝐭��𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭.. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫! 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐮𝐥𝐥 ♡︎. 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫.. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐎𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠!! 𝐁𝐮𝐭.. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲? 𝐒𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚? 𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘.

“𝐀𝐡-.. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝.. 𝐖-𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩? 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨’ 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞!.. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐲-𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐏𝐇! ♡︎ 𝐘-𝐘𝐞𝐬!! 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞.. 𝐌𝐦𝐧𝐠𝐡 ♡︎“

𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬! 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭. 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!! 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤.

“𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬? 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?.. 𝐒𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 ❤︎︎“

𝐇𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩. 𝐓𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

[ventique18]

Evil love interest who's only sweet to the MC oh my god I'm not OK. I like fictional good boys but I don't want them to be too boring so the obsessed evil guy is the perfect compromise.

[daisystwistedgarden]

concept: an orpheus/euridice retelling with lilia.

maybe it's a tale with general vanrouge as orpheus. you're his fae lover killed in the war. amongst the many heart-wrenching losses, there's one he never expected-- you, an innocent bystander, one who he tried to hide away from the horrors of war and yet lost all the same. he... he can't do this without you. there's too much responsibility on his shoulders. he can't mourn the loss of his loved ones without you. he can't raise this orphaned child, the only heir to the throne and the last hope of briar valley, without you.

somehow, the opportunity arises to save you. his devotion has driven him to a point of madness. this is what earns him an opportunity to rescue you from the afterlife. there's simply one rule lilia must follow: he may not, under any circumstances, turn around to look at you.

there's many interpretations of this myth. in some, orpheus fears he's been tricked by hades and grows doubtful of whether his beloved is really behind him-- he cannot hear her breathing, nor her footsteps, and in a fit of desperation, he turns around. others depict it as crueler twist of fate. upon reaching the surface, he turns to embrace his lover, only to find she's a few steps away from the threshold and thus never makes it to the land of the living once more. one interpretation has orpheus hear eurydice trip behind him and, on instinct, he turns around to soothe her woes and finds he's unintentionally failed the one task meant to save her.

general lilia's walk through the underworld is no exception. the man has grown desperate in your absence. the circumstances of the war seem to have toughened him into a strong, stoic soldier, but that has never been the reality. his soul yearns for respite. will there be a briar valley left standing after the war is said and done? will he even be alive to see it? the loss of his lover ruined him further. lilia's a wounded animal backed into a corner, baring his teeth with a feral glint in his eye. he's not well enough to handle this. he needs you back, alive, with him, to help him rebuild. himself. briar valley. please.

the sound of silence. the shuffle of a fallen body. the break of dawn illuminating the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

in the end it's all the same-- lilia turns around. you never make it back to the land of the living. the tale plays out again in the most cruel of ways. but does it sting you to know your fate has been, in both life and death, to be loved to the point of tragedy?

[moraysoiree]

heels

Awestruck, Rook wraps his arms around your body, enjoying every second of you looking down onto him from above, just like you should. Perhaps he would very much prefer to be at your feet at all times, conquered, vanquished, and powerless.

characters: Rook Hunt x gn!reader tags: smut, dom!reader, reader is shorter than Rook, gn!reader ('reine' – french for 'queen' is used), clothed sex, heels, biting, mentions of blood, slight humiliation word count: 1354

Halloween is the busiest time of year, and most important in terms of boosting the prestige of your alma mater, too. All the more reason to spare no effort in preparation. And so you do, making sure to look your best in the vampire getup Pomefiore have chosen this year. The last touch to your look being the highest heels you could find in Vil’s wardrobe, the deadly and imposing creature of the night image is designed to inspire the basest of fears in the onlooker and pin them to the ground for the taking. And you get the chance to see it in action rather quickly, with your lover as lab rabbit, no less.

As you enter the still empty Hall of Mirrors, the first one to notice you is Rook. He freezes completely right in the midst of a conversation, staring at your form as you approach him, making it more and more obvious that your heels give the usually much shorter you a rare opportunity to tower over him. His conversation partner long gone (everybody knows how insufferable you two are together and prefers to avoid those displays to the best of their ability), Rook comes closer to you, admiration written all over his face as plain as black ink on white paper. ‘Mon amour,’ he takes your hand to his lips and presses a kiss, looking up at you in reverence, ‘Your radiance is most blinding today.’ His eyes travel up and down your body, soaking in this new position you two find yourselves in. ‘Had I known high heels would impress you so, I would’ve worn them much sooner,’ you giggle. ‘Nothing is ever to escape your attention, as expected of the possessor of my heart,’ he laments at being discovered so easily, but you stop him with a finger to his lips. ‘Meet me in the sideroom in an hour,’ and you’re gone with a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving him longing and yearning for your withdrawing presence.

Awestruck, Rook wraps his arms around your body, enjoying every second of you looking down onto him from above, just like you should. Perhaps he would very much prefer to be at your feet at all times, conquered, vanquished, and powerless. ‘You are positively enchanting today, mon amour. I feel like I would do anything under this mesmeric gaze.’

You are stricken with a curious idea at that declaration. ‘Anything at all?’ you question, all but baring your teeth in a carnivorous smile. ‘Anything, ma reine’, he echoes and kisses a lock of your hair gently, as if to underscore his intent. It takes you a lot not to let out a chuckle of anticipation for what’s to come next.

‘Kneel,’ your voice is firm and leaves no room for debate. Not that there would be any, really, with the way Rook’s eyes widen a bit, laying his emotions to you out on a plate. He processes the order, his eyes crease in delight. Without a word, he complies, slowly descending before you as his hand finds the slit of your dress and slides up your leg. His gaze unfalteringly fixed on yours, Rook kisses your thigh time after time, leaving black lipstick marks all over. His eyes are deep and hungry, you’ve ever seen him look like that at you – as if you are the most fascinating and delicate songbird an archer could lay his gaze upon. And this archer, as of now, is caught in the headlights and at the edge of the arrow you are pointing at him.

With a smile, you tangle your fingers in his hair and tug, making him fall back a little in surprise. It’s painfully obvious how much this little game of cat and mouse is affecting him. Rook’s expression becomes a tiny bit frenzied in agitation, you know this look to emerge a short moment before he loses control. ‘Uh-huh,’ you chide. ‘Was it not you who said he would do anything for sa reine?’ His face falls theatrically and he throws his hands in the air in defeat, ‘I beg you to pardon my frivolities, but however am I expected to stay still when overwhelmed with such all-consuming beauty? Will you grace this lowly servant with your forgiveness, votre majesté?’ You giggle. ‘I will, for I am a kind ruler,’ you catch yourself thinking that that just now has sounded like a very poor impression of Crowley, but throw this annoying face (or mask, actually) out of your head immediately. ‘Now, how shall my chevalier repent, I wonder,’ you hum. Then your eyes sparkle, and you put your heel onto Rook’s chest, making him fall back even further as he caresses your calf and lowers his head to leave kisses there, too. The way he holds your shin is nothing short of a person holding the most exquisite of treasures, worshipping every inch of your skin with his lips.

His face is thoroughly flushed, and the hooded eyes, fixed on yours with an overflowing desire, leave little to imagination. ‘My, what a peculiar hunter! How he enjoys being driven into the corner,’ you drawl as you slide your leg down to a very telling bulge in his pants. ‘What an unusual display.’ His breath hitches when you press down, fingers tightening around your ankle. ‘Ma reine claims to be merciful, only to mock her poor servant so’, he sighs and shakes his head in fake dejection. You ignore his jests, silently lower onto his lap and push him down by the shoulders, still meeting no resistance whatsoever. You feel Rook grasp your waist with his hands desperately, but don’t break eye contact even for a moment, as you know that your prey will leap onto you the second you lose vigilance. You wrap your hand around his neck and close the distance between your faces, kissing his jawline. ‘Look at you, completely at my mercy now.’ ‘And wouldn’t have it any other way, mon amour,’ Rook whispers, not even trying to hide how he revels in this defeat. You tighten your hand on his neck, and snake the other one between you to cup his dick through the clothes. ‘Tell me?’, you urge him playfully. ‘You are the most fascinating creature to ever grace the lands of this world,’ he manages in a shaky voice as you continue stroking him through the velvety fabric of the fancy vampire costume. He looks the most breathtaking like this, elegant and strong yet still overpowered and bound to your will of his own volition. ‘Were you a wild savannah beast, I would gladly be devoured by your razor-sharp canines and torn by your knife-like claws, if only to surrender to your majestic beauty one last time and quench your bloodthirst,’ white-hot wave engulfs your mind and you clutch his dick harder, letting go of the neck just to yank his head back by the hair and clamp your teeth down on the tender skin so hard as if drawing blood is truly what you intend to do. He comes with a moan, and you keep stroking him through the aftershocks without unclenching your jaws. Only after you feel Rook still do you stop and raise your head to look at him.

The sight awaiting you is gratifying: ragged breaths escaping his chest, parted lips with smudged black lipstick, and, all the more thrilling, the delirious and disoriented look in his half-lidded eyes – it satisfies your hunger better than any hearty meal ever could. You leave a tender kiss on his forehead and get up, leaving Rook down on the floor beneath you, motionless and utterly ruined. You plant your heels on both sides of his head and look down, making sure to commit this sight to memory. ‘Come on, mon petit lapin, it’s high time we got back to work,’ your right shoe nudges his cheek softly and you leave, the clacking of your heels thinning out as you exit the room. Paralyzed, Rook moves no muscle in his body, his glassy eyes just boring the ceiling with a thousand-yard stare.

‘Beauté…’

[ziankenvirus]

Malleus compared to my elder dragon fae lass.

...I have issues

... I wanted big görl

She comes from my twst ocs og dimension, she's old ahh lady.

She doesn't rlly-do much once at NRC w my other beans??? I mean Zahra's a grumpy old lady who takes up the role of school nurse. So she's just, seperate from them which is probably a good thing bc the old lady hates the youth 🧍/jjj

[traumxrei-archive]

A fake dating au with Azul sounds hilarious, I can see him just with the reddest (or bluest, idk I see that vary a lot) face ever with steam coming out of his ears after just getting a kiss on the cheek. I think he could possibly faint from a hug.

anon. you get me anon.

azul and physical affection are not besties and he doesn’t even do it with friends so i wonder how he would last with a (fake) partner sjfksdjf

ok now i feel the need to elaborate on the backstory for this fake dating au bc it’s also future! au—

basically. yuu, in this au, ends up working at nrc as a professor. and being one of the younger professors, all the students are curious about their love life. and yuu always just says that they have no one. one day the students ask if they ever had a partner before. and yuu, in a moment of absolute stupidity, says that they have. and that their boyfriend used to go to nrc. (obviously they did NOT, in fact, have a boyfriend who used to go to nrc. that is a lie.)

[ continued below bc i rambled too much ]

and THUS starts the gossip mill of everyone starting to speculate who the hell yuu’s mystery past boyfriend was. and yuu’s like oh shit, bc they basically started all the rumors, but they needed to put an end to it, bc now CROWLEY and CREWEL were pestering them over which “ruffian” they dated before—

so in a moment of, again, absolute stupidity, they contact their past crush (who they never dated haha) for help. aka they called azul ashengrotto. they didn’t really know what to expect, because it’s azul, and they haven’t really heard from him in a while, but azul picks up.

and after hearing about their predicament, azul laughs, “i can’t say it is out of character for you to get into this sort of trouble. it is fortunate that i have business in sage island in a couple of days. shall we discuss it then?"

and and and they go on a *sparkles emoji* date but it’s not called a date bc it’s actually supposed to be a Serious Meeting where yuu is Asking For Help. and then azul pulls up with a contract, because turns out he would also benefit from having a “partner” and thus, they start fake datinggg wooo

ok this is getting kinda long, i meant for it to be a short explanation but arghhh this au drives me nutsss (especially when you get to the azul pov hooo boyyy)

[aventurine83]

Rollo decided to come home LMFAOOA ON THE 12TH PULL PLSS

He's now chilling.

[icezeebee]

Yet again @dilatorywriting has made me want to draw Rook Hunt, did I interpret this scene is a silly fashion, yes, yes I did.

[s7-evermore]

*SHATTERS WINDOW AND CRIES*

HES SO FUCKING CUTE!!!! HES SO CUTE?!!! HES SO CUTE!! I WANT TO HUG HIM KISS HIM COOK FOR HIM EAT HIS COOKING LOVE HIM FOREVER

He’s so CUTE HES SO CUTE HES SO CUTE!!!

IM SRSLY CRYING

I think one of the scenes I love the most when it comes to these Twst mangas is seeing the life of the Yuus before they ended up in twisted wonderland. You can just see their character and stuff

Yuuken’s dedication to kendo and how hard he worked to revive the kendo club, as well as how he encouraged his own club member into continuously working hard despite his inferior skills

Yuuka’s skill in Judo (unfortunately we don’t know THAT much about her yet aside from she’s a Judo master 😎, I’m waiting for more Savanaclaw manga updates ngl) and something in the manga mentioned her “return”? Did something happen to Yuuka before?? Also her forehead scar?? Will they ever explain it??

And then Yuuta’s job in his father’s Chinese restaurant. He looks so concerned about his father…