#What Are You Twelve? TWST

[kiame-sama]

this is so stupid but im currently cracking up the idea of yandere lilia totally forgetting that his (somewhat new) object of obsession has not been informed of his actual age yet and trying to hit on them only to get like.

"Uh huh kiddo, what are you, fourteen?"

and just being stuck going 'no i swear to god im like 400 its a faerie thing please stop laughing i am a father of three-'

What Are you, Twelve? (Yan!Lilia x Reader)

(Changed from 14 to 12 because that is my usual go-to age to guess when kids (under 21) try to hit on me (over 25))

Warnings; Yandere, yandere relationship, yandere behavior, yandere temper, age confusion, Silver/Sebek/Malleus have to vouch for Lilia, old man trying to have game,

~~~~~~~~

"You know, (y/n)," you wanted to sigh when you heard him start up again, knowing the odd lad from Diasomnia was back at his usual antics, "I certainly wouldn't mind a moonlit tousle through the grass with you any night... Or any day, for that matter."

Part of you wanted to laugh and part of you wanted to scream in frustration. This had been ongoing since you met the oddly young vice-housewarden of Diasomnia, Lilia. He was a cherub-faced pallid creature with pointed ears that made him look like an elf, and he was obviously quite interested in you. Problem was, you weren't interested because you were almost certain he wasn't even old enough to attend Night Raven College, let alone be hitting on you in such a direct way.

You would give credit where it is due, Lilia often spoke as if he were an old man and he could occasionally speak as if he were wise beyond his years. Still, that didn't change the fact that you were almost certain he was a child who got in to NRC due to an older sibling. You viewed the black and pink haired boy the same way you viewed Ortho; as a child. Hence the problem you now faced as that same cherub-looking boy shamelessly made a pass at you for the fifth time that day.

It was easy to ignore when you were in class despite how the young boy tried everything in his power to get your attention. However, you were now in the cafeteria and just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. You had been spending time by the table Diasomnia students often occupied because others avoided it, but now you may have to rethink the strategy as Lilia would come bouncing over the moment he saw you.

"Lilia, I just want to eat lunch."

"I would love to eat too! Perhaps later I can have a taste of you?"

Enough was enough. You tried to not snap at others- especially housewardens and vice-housewardens- but this kid was not getting the hint and you were getting annoyed. It had to be something his older siblings put him up to, as even now you could see the Diasomnia students watching the interaction keenly. You hadn't had much time in classes with these magically-gifted students, but you knew enough about them to know which student was likely Lilia's caretaker.

So without a word to Lilia, you stood and marched right over to the table the typical Diasomnia students frequented. The one with white hair- who you knew to be NRC's own 'sleeping beauty' Silver- and stood directly in front of him with a hand on your hip.

"Call off your little brother."

"... Excuse me?"

You pointed to Lilia- who had happily joined your side- with an exasperated sigh.

"Your little brother, call him off or explain to him that children shouldn't flirt with others who are several years their senior."

This made an odd choking sound escape the green haired one sitting next to Silver. Though you didn't know that one's name, you knew enough to recognize he was the one most often yelling in any class he attended. Before he could respond, the slow rumbling lilt of the housewarden of Diasomnia hummed out.

"Lilia is not Silver's little brother."

"Okay," you gave an exasperated shrug, "then whichever of you is supposed to be keeping an eye on him, teach him some manners. Trying to sleep with someone older than him will not end well for either party."

"... Child of man, enlighten me, how old do you believe Lilia to be?"

"Too young to be chasing me."

It was then Lilia spoke up, his usual playful smile gone and replaced with a more contemplative frown.

"I'm old enough."

"Kid, what are you, twelve? I am way too old for you."

The lasting moment of silence almost made you wonder if your assessment of the boy's age was incorrect as those sitting at the table all shared a look. Lilia was no longer the bouncing excitable boy he typically behaved as, straightening up as if he were offended by your assessment.

"Twelve years-? Ah, it seems I've forgotten to inform you of my true identity. I am not human, (y/n). I am Fae. We age differently compared to humans-"

"Okay, so you're several decades old, but you are mentally tweleve. I'm still too old for you."

"... Silver is my son. I raised him, Sebek, and Malleus from infancy or near infancy."

"And I'm the Queen of Hearts. Lies are still lies, Lilia. No matter how well you spin them."

"No, I'm being serious. I am basically a father of three-"

"Lilia, I'm being serious as well. Stop chasing people older than you. It's not alright to ask someone older than you to sit on your face, okay? You shouldn't even be thinking about these things until way later in life."

You walked from the table, content that you had made your point clear as you went back to your own lunch. Lilia was beside himself with surprise and he couldn't help but look to his three sons for some kind of aid or assistance.

"I am not twelve."

"Father... I've told you, if you insist on acting younger than your age, humans are going to believe you are actually young."

"Then you talk to them, Silver. Or I may have to drag Crowley into this. My youthful appearance should not interfere in my attempts to gain their affections. That would explain why they look at me so oddly whenever I try to proposition them, though. Still, you don't want your dear father to end up a lonely old man do you?"

"Of course not, Father, you would be an excellent match for anyone-"

"Exactly my thoughts! So be a good son and wing-man for your father."

"... This is going to end poorly."

[midnxght-sweet-time]

— ⧖ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 '𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞' 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠...◥

✎ a Twst AU concept in the making...

【 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 】

𓏧 In the grasps of your hands was a book. A book that contains a once beloved fairytale of yours. The feeling of nostalgia wraps you in a warm blanket as you skim through the pages with delicate fingers, careful to not damage the already tattered and worn out book.

Each picture was read with fondness in your eyes. The stories you once enjoyed as a child with a simple youthful mind. Now you look at this book and can only smile at how much you've grown and realize how silly these tales are and how'd you worship them as the greatest writings created.

But even as a naive kid you always wondered what did the love interests ever do in these stories while the protaganists pursues and advance in the story. Yes, some were as heroic as they were made to be in the book, but others felt like some dunce who were foolis. Like the prince of Cinderella who didnt recognized the face of his proclaimed 'lover' or the one from Snow White that kissed a random sleeping princess out in the woods.

You always wondered what it was like to be in their shoes. If you were them... could you do better?

What a ridiculous thought you chuckled to yourself.

As the clock struck twelve, a sense of exhaustion overwhelms your entire being, yet you didnt seem to notice your eyelids getting heavier as the new seconds ticks by.

Before you could read another page of the current book you hold, you fell asleep.

When you woke up, you noticed yourself in a place of unfamilliarity to your home.

∷ 𝚂𝚈𝙿𝙽𝙾𝚂𝙸𝚂 »

Every fairytale love story has a prince charming, or atleast a hero to the damsel in distress. Waking up in the book of your once beloved childhood stories, your goal as the love interest is to acquire your princess so you may finish the story and go home. Simple enough— right?

∷ 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂 » Jamil Viper ▪︎ Azul Ashengrotto ▪︎ Riddle Rosehearts ▪︎ [???] ᴹᴼᴿᴱ ᵀᴼ ᴮᴱ ᴬᴰᴰᴱᴰ ˢᴼᴼᴺ

— • 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯...

▼ 【 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱 ��𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 】 ; ⧖ 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔.

➤ " In a world of madness, the hatter was a guiding force despite his eccentric attitude; helping Alice to achieve victory for the White Queen to save Wonderland. Will it be possible to help the young heroine when the Red Queen has his eyes on you? "

▼ 【 𝗔 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗮. 】 ; ⧖ 𝑨𝒛𝒖𝒍 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐.

➤ " Waking up on shore with remaining water in your lungs, the last thing you heard before you completely awoke was a lullaby of a musculine voice before it quickly rushes back to the depths it saved you from. Your sight on your savior was hazy but you knew all too well who that was. Hopefully you can escape the clutches of a cecealia's siren calls in order to give your protaganist the happy ending."

▼ 【 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 '𝗔𝗹𝗶' 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘄𝗮. 】 ; ⧖ 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝑽𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒓.

➤ " With the lamp in your possession, all you have to do is to not lose it to the hands of the villian. Though the prince was pretty stubborn in your attempts to court him, theres still hope. However, it seems like you too had a pursuer of your own. Looks like the snake has found you to be a more enticing prey than the prince he loathed."

[abysswalkersknight]

Horrortober (twst) Day 4: Needle

FREEDOM!!! My limbs are on fire and I nearly ate dirt in a very weird way but I live! But I got good scores and have finished a small drabble as compensation, honestly though I forgot what happened at the start and am too tired to redo it right now so see if you enjoy it.

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

One night Silver slept curled into a tight ball, knees pulled up to his chest as tight as they could go and arms wrapped over his head, clutching his pillow and pressing it hard against his ears. There was a tugging inside his head, as if a hook had been wedged deep into his brain. There was an itchy buzz reverberating throughout his body as if there was an old throaty engine rumbling right next to him. His teeth gritted in agony, Silver desperately  wanted his father, the tugging was so horrible it couldn't be ignored, he wanted to bury his head in father's arms in the hopes that it would chase the pull away, unfortunately father was not here, ith Silver being the ripe age of twelve, it was declared that he was old enough to be left at home alone. So alternatively he'd bury his own head in the ground deep enough so that nothing can reach him. Silver squeezed his eyes shut and settled for burrowing under the blankets.

The tugging always pulled in the same direction. Right, straight, then left. Towards what Silver believed was the guest room. He gave up on trying to sleep, the tugging was too persistent, so he silently slipped out of bed, bare feet planted on the cold floor and quietly padded out of his room.  The pull was leading him through the dark hallway, to where? he couldn't tell, only that it was as if he was following an invisible thread. 

A woman’s shadow dances along the wall, where no shadow should be. Other than Silver the hall was cold and empty, the shadow gracefully spun as if dancing to her own waltz, one wispy hand elegantly held some of its skirt up as it twirled around the edge of the wall, and then disappeared at the corner. Shivers ran down Silver’s spine, not from fear, he realised, but of a warm elation. Deep down Silver found that he wanted to dance as well, to spin and glide across the wooden floor, his legs even delicately swaying to a rhythm only they could hear. The pull began to ardently tug Silver in the same direction the shadow went, straight, left, then right. He followed the shadow to the door of the guest room where it had slipped under the crack, the thread led into the room and he felt the need to open it, to find whatever was inside. If he wasn’t in some sort of dreamy state he would have wondered why anything would be in there in the first place as it was only used by Malleus who only slept in the bed for a few hours before leaving in the morning. Automatically his hand reached up to grasp the doorknob. 

‘Silver? What are you doing out here?’

A deep voice rumbles, breaking Silver out of his trance.

If it were anyone else they would scream at the sight of the dragon prince towering over them, green eyes burning with concerned curiosity, Silver instead tilted his head confusingly ‘it’s rather late for you to be up and about isn’t it?’ he says, a delicate hand reaching out to caress Silver’s head, gently scratching his scalp in a successful attempt to wake him more. Silver closed his eyes contently, then turned back to the door ‘something’s in there’ he says, pointing at it, Malleus hummed ‘yes, it is a guest room, though I cannot see how that would be important right now.’ Despite saying this he allowed Silver to wrestle open the old knob, the door swung open with a loud creeeeaak, revealing a largely empty room eerily lit by the starling light of the full moon gazing through the window. Upon the bed was a strange staff Silver had only seen within the dark and mysterious confines of the castle. Or more specifically, in Malleus’s hand. 

That dreamy like haze took over, and Silver felt the tug once more, beckoning him toward the spindle on the staff, toward the brightly glowing needle. ‘Silver, what are you doing?’ there was an odd tone lacing the prince’s voice, one Silver would later recognise as worry. He ignored him in favour of the spindle, feeling compelled to hold out his finger to touch that glimmering needle. It could have been his imagination but the spindle’s wheel looked to be spinning rapidly, not unlike the blades of a fan Sebek’s father had shown them, a woman’s hand seemed to overlap his, hovering over that green, glistening, needle…

A hand quickly clasps over his, pulling it far away from the staff ‘it would be unwise to touch that’ Malleus murmurs in his ear holding him by the shoulders and tries nudging him out of the room and away from the staff. He frowns when Silver’s legs refuse to function ‘Silver? Come along’ the boy’s head suddenly lolls forward indicating a sudden sleep spell. Malleus sighs, tips him to the side, and scoops up Silver like he had when the boy was younger and carries him back to his room. Malleus chuckles as Siver nuzzles into his neck, seeking respite from the cool night air. Once they made it to Silver’s room, he was laid down on the bed as Malleus drew the covers over, tucking him in. He then sat on the edge, absently stroking soft silver locks, how peculiar, the prince thought watching as moonbeams illuminated the fae blessed hair, it is far too early for the blessing of eternal dreams for you dear child. 

[fair-night-starry-tears]

I’m sparing y’all from the angst but I had a thought how the villains meet Fiona Garten. And all fucking realize. They have brought the dangerous weapon and she’s on the maidens team

- muts ocs

- Fiona and Aqila and Yuu and Yuui are my ocs

- all villains wonder who fed this young feral girl the materials to be an ass whopper

- I wanted an excuse for Fiona to waste Clayton with a statue. He looked like he deserve it.

- also I’m adding a Twst Clayton oc me and @adrianasunderworld made that has beef with Davie and also a dick to everyone that even Kalim can’t stand him

- Kalim @ Twst Clayton: i hate you. Shut up *losing his patience and menacing smile*

- Davie @ Twst Clayton getting his ass whoop: GET DUNKED ON BITCH

@adrianasunderworld @mangacupcake @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind @skboba-stars @nproduction626 @rose-tea-and-strawberries @anxious-twisted-vampire

- - -

Today was another fight, meant for the best. It was at a beautiful garden where it held a treasure. The villains and maidens had to retrieve it, as it meant for good purposes. It was Heartslabyul, Ignihyde, and Diasonmia fight. Along side with Gaston and Clayton. Along side Clayton was his lackey, Thad. They were all in the large garden field. So the maidens and villains had to fight freely. But, unbeknownst to them a civilian was watching form the distance.

A young teen was watching this, as she had watched from a distance in a shed. She knelt down, the girl was Fiona. She was watching colorful but amazing women fighting, oh yeah some cool looking boys, but she looked in awe at the girls. She wanted to help, but she knew as her image as a civilian would be used as a obstacle. Then she look at her gloved hands, the girl have something the villains don’t have. Or something they would want. She made a risky decision. And decided to put the gloves down and enter the fray.

///////

While the maidens and villains were fighting, on the corner of Isabelle eyes. She noticed the hiding girl making a dash to the rows of statues, she shouted for the maidens to reach to her. As she was near the villains. However, the girl was caught. As Thad held the girl high in the air. Grasping the girl throat. “What a hopeless little girl!” He shouted, with a heartless laugh. The maidens paused, as the villains had to sue their moral. As Fiona saw this, she taken this. “You wicked bloat! Take this!” As she grasp the boy arm. And crushed it. Making the boy howl in agony as his bones were crushed. The villains immediately turn. Only to see the girl standing, lifting a statue as if it weigh like a simple barbell.

Fiona had her head facing down, rising it high to reveal her light blue green eyes has turn to a deep red color. “Battah’ up you lot!” Swinging the statue to the boy. Launching Thad across the field, the girl huffed. As she made a wide grin. “Don’t yah think I’m some weak lil gal!” She shouted. “I got the blood of twelve men I do!” She lifted the statue high, and launched it full speed at Clayton. Making him shoot out the garden with it. As the girl laughed. The maidens have a moment and lunged in to attack the villains. With a surprising hand from the girl who help aid them in the fight. The fight ended much faster as the villains retreated. The girls did confront the young girl and scolded her for recklessly ends herself. And the fight could’ve taken her life.

Fiona sighed as she sat on the ground on her knees, understanding what she had done. But she did witness them, though she promise she won’t tell a soul what she saw. Though, she did told them no one would ever believe her. “Sorry I jumped in, laddies….” She said. “Just wanted to help…” she said. Freya did Pat the girl head, “and you did. But next time be careful.” As one was going to heal her neck, she was surprised. “The wounds. Where are they?” As any grasp from Thad leaves marks. Fiona didn’t have any. “Oh? The little bruises? Yah. I heal faster. But my ma and pa said I was the healthiest lil gal in da worl’!” And the maidens were confused.

No one in the day of age can have super speed, strength, excessive powerful leap and overpowering healing. It was very weird. As the girls were about to leave, Fiona shouted. “Wait!” The maidens stop, she ran to them as she pulled out a crystal. “Is this what you lots lookin’ for? Cuz I found it in my flower beds!” Fiona explains she was a normal girl (Estella: I press x to doubt that because you fucking threw that statue and busted that tree and threw it!) a normal girl and she was just working the garden for the gala. That’s when she saw the Crystal and took it with her. Of course the girl had the Crystal the villains needed. The maidens thank the girl for storing it and returning it to them. And left the premises. Fiona made a smile as she waved goodbye to them. “What a lovely crew. Truly amazing.“ as seeing the powerful girls fight made her feel comfortable. After all.

She was an experimentes child to have such abilities. Such of a shame tho. She would’ve loved to introduced them to her friend who really found the Crystal first. As a demon hound walked out from a pile of bushes and turned into a human teen boy. Standing beside the girl. “You know milady. They do seem magical. Surely you could’ve asked me to handle the fight. Why didn’t you call for me?” “Because Junior. I want to fight my own battles. Come on now. Let’s go fix the garden. The lasses from higher levels ain’t gonna wan’ their gardens like dis.”

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Heard of Puppeter (PS3)? If not, well the summary is(pulled this from Wikipedia) “The story occurs in a concave world representing Earth's Moon, inhabited by pseudo-folkloric characters: the first half on the dark side of the Moon, and the second half on the Earthward side. Its premise states that the world's ruler, the Moon Goddess, was overthrown by her subordinate, Little Bear, when the latter seized her 'Black Moonstone' and the magic scissor-set 'Calibrus', and declared himself 'Moon Bear King'. Throughout the game, each of his twelve generals (the animals of the Chinese zodiac) has set part of the moon-world in disorder: each holding a portion of the Goddess' 'White Moonstone.’ The player-character 'Kutaro' is one of many children whose souls were spirited away from Earth in their sleep and changed into animated wooden puppets to be enslaved in the King's mobile fortress, Castle Grizzlestein. After having his head pulled off and his soul devoured by the Moon Bear King, Kutaro is found in the dungeons by the Goddess's cat, Ying Yang, who leads him to his current mistress, the Moon Witch Ezma Potts. Potts, who is secretly planning overthrow the Moon Bear King herself, orders Kutaro to sneak into the throne room and capture the magic pair of scissors Calibrus. This weapon allows Kutaro to dispel the King's magic and defeat his puppets to release the souls within, allowing them to escape back to Earth. When the Witch demands the scissors, they adhere to Kutaro, and she allows him to use Calibrus to oppose the twelve generals. During the defeat of the first (General Tiger), Kutaro rescues Pikarina, Princess of the Sun, whom the Moon Bear King had captured. Under Potts' guidance, Kutaro and Pikarina venture to the various realms of the moon, to vanquish each general in turn: the Moonwood Forest guarded by Rat and Snake, the Moonshine Sea patrolled by Pig and Sheep, the Wild Wastes trampled by Bull and Horse, Hallowee-Ville controlled by Dog and Monkey, and the Land of Time conquered by Rabbit and Rooster, ultimately facing off against Dragon. When the White Moonstone is re-assembled, Potts revealed to be as the Moon Goddess as she transforms back; but is instantly trapped by the Moon Bear King, and must be rescued by Kutaro. Propelled thereto by a cannon, Kutaro and Pikarina disable Castle Grizzlestein and reduce the Moon Bear King to his former shape of Little Bear, who surrenders the Black Moonstone in exchange for Kutaro's friendship, and restores Kutaro's head. All the twelve Generals are resurrected and converted from evil to good; and Kutaro, accompanied by Calibrus and Ying Yang, returns to Earth.” So the very reason I brought this up is cause uhhh, you think you can make it AU for twst here?

Hmmm... As per see... I have a hard time understanding this... But it lowkey reminds me of that Sonic and king Arthur game, so at best, I tried to cook out an Au that is inspired by the 2.

Bear with me anon... I'm dumb :'3

Say a moon kingdom... But since we are dealing with the afterlife motifs, I say something else: a kingdom that can be manually accessed only from the moon, otherwise with the help of magical scissors called keys. These scissors were made out of a special metal called Starlight platinum, which made them all the more powerful, for they have to be infused with pure light moon energy in order to function as a gateway in between the moon kingdom and the earth.

Now... What is Light moon energy? (LME for short) It's pure energy that the moon lands generate over the souls that have made peace with their death, as such, their afterlife is short lived if not bearly a few seconds as they can fully rest and their energy to become distant stars.

It's opposite force, meant to have balance, it's the Dark moon energy (DME for short) that is cultivated on the dark side of the moon, where vengeful spirits and those filled by dark/evil thoughts are punished until they get destroyed. As such, it's a very volatile energy, which can quickly consume the poor of will. LME is it's only cure, but at the same time, both are on same power level as long as they are in balance.

Now, who's living in this place? Well... Moon people and creatures alike. They all depend on the moon energy balance, as such they can do some small magic, enough to help them with their day to day life.

But it all seemed to change once the 'dark era' began. An overtake of DME, overtaking by force the lighted side of the moon. As such there was an imbalance and less stars seem to be born, despite peaceful spirits coming in like they did all these years ago.

But! We need to meet our protagonist after all~ :3

We are following Malleus, a pretty normal guy... He's a bit introverted, a bookworm and is absolutely mesmerising until he opens his mouth and spurs his undying love towards gargoyles. :'3

One day, he is involved in an accident, where he manages to survive, but Sebek, Lilia and Silver don't. That's tho, when strange things happen.

One guy with fire hair and all clocked in darkness came up and declared that Malleus should have died, since his 'clock' stopped ticking. But another guy started fighting the first one. Of course, not wanting to fucking die, Malleus helps out the 2nd guy and as such he is whisked away to the moon kingdom, helping the said guy that saved him, who also explains that the one who wanted to kill him was Idia, one of the 6 moon generals, right hands of the evil Dark moon emperor. To instaurate a 'propaganda' of balance, 3 of the generals (Riddle, Vil and Kalim) are LME bearers, while the rest (Idia, Leona and Azul) are DME bearers. They regin over their assigned districts of the kingdom and since they came to power, there was an unbearable regime.

And as such, Malleus is guided by his misterious helper, uncovering the moon ring. An aincent weapon that is meant to wield both LME and DME, as such the ring was only entrusted to royalty and/or legendary heroes. The ring can transform into various weapons and also it gives Malleus the immunity of not having your life slowly sucked away, as here only the moon people and souls could live. Humans die after a while if not protected by a charm or in this case: the ring. (basically pretty lil outfits for each district)

As such, Malleus begins his adventure, in hopes that he could bring justice and also help Silver, Lilia and Sebek to pass away peacefully.

Now! I really thought about it from a video-game perspective, which tbh, it would be a fun game.

At base, it would have pretty simple mechanics, walk around, interact with the locals of each district(levels) and solve a puzzle that will take you to the district ruler(the boss of each level).

The levels, in question are as follows:

Artsristua district

A district for beauty and fine arts, where souls who dealt in their past life with problems regarding their image are taught how to accept their inner beauty and pass away without a worry. Definitely the easiest to access district, with Malleus's task being to mingle into the backstage staff of Vil, the district leader's show. As such Malleus has to wonder and talk with a lot of people or find sum stuff in order to please everyone and gain himself a spot inside.

Vil's boss fights is more of the tutorial, the tutorial itself being introduced via hunged signboards that our misterious helper is showing to us via the lighting bridge above the stage. Vil's gimmick, despite being a tutorial boss, is a bit tricky. You have to listen to his boss fight music in order to see when he attacks. At first, you might be tempted to attack the singers, but if you do, you allow Vil to have blind spots, in which he can attack you by surprise. The tutorial also says that, as such there's only 1 blind spot when Vil can choose weather to attack or not.

Fantasy district

A place where souls of children venture and pass away happily after they have one more successful playtime. The district itself looks like a mad land, where logic is abruptly left aside. In here, Malleus has to play 3 minigames in order to entertain the children and gain the attention of Riddle, the ruler. Those 3 games are: A game of freeze tag, hide and seek and a life-size magic chess. Once Malleus meets Riddle, his boss fight commences if Malleus makes him angry. Which is pretty easy. :'3

As for the fight itself, Riddle's has 2 stages: Stage 1, where he retains his flowery appearance and only summons 4 guards to protect him: Deuce and Ace, who work as the first pair. Ace defends while Deuce attacks and they switch in between. To defeat them, you have to knock out the attacker and inflict damage on them. As such they are forced to switch until one takes the finishing blow and both have to retreat. Next is Trey and Cater, who have the same gimmick, but more difficult. Stage 2 is when Riddle actually reveals his true colors and you have an epic swordfight with his true form, a fire monster, all in the middle of a ring of flames. Riddle would summon obstacles for Malleus, but alas, once he's dizzy, you can inflict quite a lot of damage in 1 hit.

Seaborne district

More like the very wierd district, which is underwater. Malleus has to get a mer potion, which he steals from Riddle, as such, he gets to explore the underwater kingdom. It's pretty easy to see Azul's grotto, the district leader, but after seeing him and realising his intentions, despite Malleus never getting a peek about who's he's dealing with, Azul puts his henchmen, Jade and Floyd to individually fight Malleus. If he defeats them, Azul will get mad and finally get out of his grotto, revealing that he is a gigantic octopus mer.

As for his boss fight, Azul attacks from multiple sides and also has the foul habit of punching in void with his tentacles. The gimmick is to dodge him until you find a piece of teary eye coral, which you can throw in his face and make him cry, thus vulnerable enough so you can land a few hits.

An important note is that after Azul's fight, he begs of Malleus, telling him that he's doing a big mistake, that he is doing the dirty work of someone else and that he shouldn't defeat them, for they lose their powers and leave the capital castle, where the ruler of the whole kingdom is, defenseless.

Malleus, rightfully is taken aback by this sudden, desperate, approach, but the misterious helper wasn't with him in here, yet they warned that Azul was sly and 2 faced. So he takes it with a grain of salt, saying the he shouldn't trust him. Surprisingly, Azul admits that he is not to be trusted, that he always wanted to gain something out of his deals, but now, now he is so desperate, to the point he gives to Malleus his shell pendant, his sign of status, telling Malleus that the shell is a protective pendant. And it will protect Malleus on his journey. Again, Azul begs of him that it was still not too late to give up on this, but ultimately he lets Malleus go, despite still being very capable to put out another fight.

Sunrise district

A district full of rabid and aggressive spirits, this district is rough and you had to be tough and show no mercy if you wanted to crawl alive out of it. In here, Malleus has to steal different uniforms of police grades via ambushing the people in question. This is how he comes to see face to face with the 2nd puzzle, Ruggie and Jack. In order for Jack to let you pass, you had to bring him something that proves the grade of uniform you have on. As for Ruggie? He doesn't wanna make an extra walk so he asks to find for him a deluxe meat sandwich. Once you gain both of them's approval, you finally meet Leona. :3

And Leona is a very tricky boss. He uses sand to make copies of himself, put obstacles in between him and Malleus and inflict immense amounts of damage via heavy attacks. He, tho, has a weak spot only when he is casting those heavy attacks, so you have to make sure you have a clear way to attack him when he does that.

Unlike Azul, where there it wasn't Malleus's helper so he talked to Malleus directly, Leona straight out addresses to the helper, ignoring Malleus, berating it for choosing such an idiot to do the dirty work. Malleus is taken aback, but Leona charges up a last power attack, which Malleus parrays and Leona ends up unconscious, unable to disclose anything anymore.

You see, that's also when Malleus's doubts start to form.

Manosi district

The richest district, full of luxury from left to right. In here, Malleus surprisingly is welcomed with open arms by the ruler, Kalim, who kindly invites him over for diner. Malleus's puzzle in here was mostly to keep a nice appearance and make the right hand of the ruler, Jamil, to trust him.

Except that the boss battle is Jamil himself, who wants to protect Kalim from the danger that Malleus poses. As such, we get a very epic fight against basilisk Jamil. The trick to defeating him is by defeating Kalim.

Even after the defeat tho, Kalim is accepting his defeat graciously and tells Malleus that he welcomed him because he saw Azul's pendant and knew that Azul put his trust in Malleus making the right decision.

Ceasornic district

In here we re-meet Idia, as this district is only ruled by machines, the tall middle tower being where Idia is residing. In order to reach Idia, Malleus had to make his way through various puzzles and disarm machineries. He also finds Idia in the middle of what one would call a ceremony ritual, him looming over a piedestal with a small pocket watch on it. The watch was ticking and Idia was mumbling how it still had long to go, even so, he couldn't possibly handle the moment it stops. When Malleus comes, Idia halts and immediately tells Malleus that he has an offer for him: He has the souls of Silver, Lilia and Sebek. They died pre-maturely, so Idia came to take care of them until their clocks would've finally stopped and they were ready to pass on. But, Idia could also do various things with those souls, including reincarnating them.

That's when the battle starts, with Idia keeping his distance from Malleus. In here, Malleus has 4 different stages: stage 1 where Malleus gets to retrieve Sebek's watch, stage 2, where he retrieves Silver's, stage 3,where he gets Lilia's and stage 4, where he gets the 4th watch, the one Idia initially holded on the piedestal.

This fight ends with Idia absolutely desperate to retrieve the 4th watch, as that one was of an actual living human. Malleus didn't have any right to tamper with lives of others, neither did Idia. He reveals that he can summon the watches and could only watch them. There are rules in this place. Rules that are meant so that no one could play god. And right now, Idia accuses Malleus that he is a mere human, one who thinks he has every right to waltz inside and fiddle with the balance of everything. But still, if what the other leaders told him was right, maybe Malleus was simply just a pawn. He begs for the 4th watch, as it's everything he wants. He offers to give Malleus his power he offers everything, just give him the watch.

Taken aback, Malleus looks at the 4th watch, noticing that on the side it was engraved a name: Ortho Shroud. He knew the boy. It was a middle school kid that would always come to the library when Malleus happened to also be there. He didn't knew too much, but he wanted to give up the watch, as it wasn't needed.

But Malleus's 'helper', tho, tells Malleus that Idia is lying and bluffing so he would show mercy. As such, they insist on Malleus destroying the watch.

Malleus tho, keeps the watch in his pocket, along with Lilia's, Sebek's and Silver's. And tells Idia that once he is finished with saving this place, he will return the watch back. Idia yells at him that he is not saving anything, that he's a mindless puppet that listens to that monster, but the 'helper' shuts Idia up with a spell.

In the end, we get to the palace, where, surprisingly, no emperor was there. Malleus is confused, but that's when the 'helper' reveals their true colors, as the dark overlord, who needed a human that cheats death in order to harness the power of the moon ring and gain access to the throne.

Basically Malleus did the bidding of the actual dark emperor he initially swore to defeat. The emperor wanted to destroy Malleus, now that they got to the peak of their power, but Azul's shell pendant protects him, cracking up and crumbling apart from the immense power.

Only now realising the actual situation, Malleus sets to make his record straight and fix his mistake, by taking on the dark emperor and using all the power and knowledge he had gained through this adventure.

In the end, the dark emperor is defeated and the generals are given back their powers. When meeting again with Malleus, they are glad that finally, the threat of the dark emperor doesn't hang upon their kingdom anymore. As such, with the moon ring still on his finger, Malleus was almost crowned king, but he denies. He wanted Lilia, silver and Sebek back. That's why he got involved in this mumbo-jumbo in the first place.

But his wish cannot come true. As the 3 watches stopped ticking, meaning the 3 souls came in peace and passed away. Malleus is devastated, but in the end, Kalim is the one that gives him his pair of scissors, telling Malleus that he deserves to live, for their sake. To make them proud by becoming the best version of himself. He tells Malleus that the scissors are now his, so that he could visit them anytime. The ring also was his and they hope that one day, Malleus will raise to be the hero he, himself, wanted to be.

In the end, Idia is the one that guides Malleus back, the latter returning Ortho's watch along with the other 3. But Idia denies the other 3, telling to Malleus that he should keep them, as a reminder for what he strives to be and who he wants to make proud.

In the end, Malleus is back to his normal life and he's happy with it... :3

[jasmariswonderland]

Shining Hearts Chapter 15 ~ Invisible No More

Chapter 1 |  Chapter 2 |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4  |  Chapter 5  |

Chapter 6 |  Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |  Chapter 9  | Chapter 10 |

Chapter 11 |  Chapter 12  |  Chapter 13  | Chapter 14

Chapter Summary: The time has come, the VDC has commenced and the Black Swan Quintet finally takes the stage. And after all that has transpired, come what may, they are determined to meet success with confident enthusiasm, zero regrets, and shining, hopeful hearts. 

A/N: A huge thank you to @twstinginthewind and @twst-the-night-away​ for being kind enough to let me use their ocs for this story. I’m always nervous working with ocs that aren’t my own but I hope I was able to do them justice! ❤

⚠General Warning For Chapters 12-17⚠: First off, thank you for sticking around with this fic for this long. As we inch closer to the moment of the overblot and it’s aftermath, be forewarned, the final chapters of this fic are gonna get…kind of intense. And may or may not include the following: Vil being mean, Rook being tactless, canon typical violence, language, sex*al harassment, misogyny, near de*th experiences, suic*dal thoughts and very, VERY HEAVY angst.

~~~

“Well, now! Wasn’t that show from NRC Tribe amazing?!”

The crowd screamed with agreement, and from the audience, many of the NRC students cheered on their classmates on stage. Cater, sitting with a bunch of his dormmates, spent a good chunk of the first performance snapping pictures and uploading short live reels to his Magicam, all of which immediately went viral.

“Go Acey and Deucey!” he grinned, scrolling through his uploads. “They KILLED it up there!”

“I was ready to have both their heads if they made a poor show of it,” Riddle smiled. “But that was a splendid performance that did Night Raven College justice.”

“Our dorm’s problem pair managed to pull it off,” Joker chimed in. She, Violetta, and Crisanta were holding up a large banner with the words ‘ GO NRC GO ’ painted in bold purple letters. Chibis of all twelve NRC performers decorated the banner that were drawn by Crisanta.

“The girls are up next!” Crisanta grinned. “I’m so hyped! Ione is gonna be so awesome!”

“Yes, and on that same note,” Riddle said, briefly frowning. “I’d like to reiterate to you all what will happen if any of you DARE to vote for the RSA girls' team!”

“Yes, Sir!” Joker replied. “Off with our heads!”

“Shouldn’t we see how they’ll do first, Riddle?”  Trey chuckled.

“Hmph! Implying Ione will be anything less than spectacular! I refuse to believe it!”

Trey walked back his comment, agreeing with his dorm leader. Violetta and Joker shared a secret smile. Riddle’s partiality for Ione was already obvious, but he wasn’t even trying to be subtle anymore.

Meanwhile, closer to the stage, Farron and some of his friends from Pomefiore—Savvy, Sidonie, Maximilian, and others—watched intently.  Savvy had ordered custom lightsticks for her dormmates set in their school colors that they waved together during the show. Yet Farron seemed restless, barely able to keep seated.

“Something wrong, Farron?” Sidonie asked. “You seem somewhat antsy.”

“If you’re worried about RSA topping this, don’t stress yourself,” said Maximilian. “Neige would have to pull a miracle out his ass to top THAT!”

“Right?!” Vil and the boys were absolutely dazzling up there,” Savvy grinned. “Epel especially! I didn’t know he had it in him!”

“Dang, I kinda wish I auditioned now,” Maximilian replied.

“Why didn’t you, Maxie?” Savvy asked. “We could have auditioned together!”

“Ehh, I wanted to, but I had other priorities. But anyway, Farron, what’s on your mind?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Farron replied, turning from the stage to his dormmates. “I’m just excited to see Danica wearing what I made for her!”

“You told me she decided to wear what you originally made for her and not the white dress she had before I dropped out,” smiled Sidonie. “I’m curious. Does that mean she’ll be singing what I think?!”

“You’ll see soon enough!” Farron gave her a teasing wink. “It’s not usually my thing to brag, but I think this is some of my best work to date!”

“The VDC has gotten off to a fantastic start, but we’ve only just begun!” Right on cue, the host announced the next act, to everyone’s excitement. “Up next, performing another original song, Guilty Heart, please welcome the girls' unit from Night Raven College! Give it up for the Black Swan Quintet!”

~~~

In the final moments in the darkness, before the stage lit up for them, Danica gave each of her teammates one final smile of encouragement. This was their moment to display their power and beauty to the world. They had overcome challenge after challenge to be standing on that stage and nothing would stop them now. Together, victory was within their grasp.

“The black swan was not only able to seduce the prince, but her charm also left the entire court spellbound…win the VDC…show us that power you showed me at the masquerade…”

Danica looked out at the countless faces in the crowd, cheering and screaming, eager to see her and her black swans in action. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was certain her teammates could hear it and she briefly had to press her hand to her chest to calm herself. There was no need for anxiety, she told herself; they had this. They rehearsed this song to perfection and loved every moment of it. Surely, the audience would love them too. After all, that was her power.

I broke my promise to you once, Vil-san. But I will bring home victory for NRC. That is a promise I intend to keep!

As she took one final deep breath, the stage went alight and the music began.

“Look at me, before I vanish forever. Hold me, the chains become tighter. Love me, before regret poisons us both. Even if you swear yourself to me, your guilty heart will never again take me captive…”

A roar of applause followed Danica’s first solo, putting her confidence into overdrive and tossing the final fragments of anxiety to the wind. She and her teammates pranced out onto the stage, swaying elegantly as Danica sang out the next few verses. Taima and Iman sang together while Ione and Vidaria each had a moment to display their vocal talent, to great enthusiasm from the crowd.

“Your smile was my miracle; under your gentle hand, all my dreams came true. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?”

“Your love is beautiful, but I will not be your slave…”

Before her next solo, Danica took center stage, her movements elegant as she danced en pointe to even greater applause. With one final pirouette, she struck a pose, seductively extending her hand to the audience and drawing it back to her heart. She then sang out the next verse with Vidaria and another with Ione.

“I followed your radiance to my happily ever after; standing by your side, anything was possible. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?”

“Delightfully sweet poison, betraying my innocence…”

The beat dropped, and the lighting shifted accordingly. Danica, Taima, and Iman stepped forward for their special dance segment. From the wings, the RSA Divas and NRC Tribe watched the performance with bated breath and racing hearts. They were all quite taken with what they were watching and no one could take their eyes off the Black Swan Quintet. But none among them watched more intently than Vil.

In truth, this was Vil’s first time really watching this performance, as he had been too consumed with his own negative emotions to pay attention during rehearsals. And whenever he saw hints of what this performance could be, he had purposely shut his eyes to it. Watching now, with opened eyes and a clearer heart, he could fully take in the bewitching and graceful charm Danica displayed on stage. And he could finally give himself over to all the feelings he had attempted to push away since he first saw her dance to this song in the ballroom weeks ago.

How strange it is that I am now watching the same trembling freshman I first met on orientation night, someone I had to practically force a name out of. Vil smiled to himself. It’s amazing how much you’ve grown in so little time.

However, even as Vil watched with awe, a bittersweet ache tugged at his chest. Though he had only heard this song once before today, he could still vividly remember the impression it made upon him, how much he had secretly enjoyed it despite professing the opposite out loud. But he also could remember the original lyrics to this song, and these lyrics were different now —changed. The song had also been titled Guilty Kiss , not Guilty Heart . Some of the words were still the same, but this song now had an overall darker, almost sadder theme, juxtaposed by the fun melody and infectious beat.

“The poison won’t take me a second time. Even if you swear yourself to me, your guilty heart will never again take me captive…”

It didn’t take him long to connect the dots. The song had been changed and these new lyrics were about him. Just as he guessed the lyrics to Our Happily Ever After had been about him as well. But while the latter song had been sung by an infatuated young girl thinking herself in love, this song was sung by a hurt and humiliated young woman who still found herself drawn to the guilty heart that initially poisoned her.

As he realized this, for a moment, Vil’s heart stopped. A mixture of terror and embarrassment seized him as he prayed no one would be able to figure this out as well. But after the initial shock wore off, so did his hope no one would know the origin of these lyrics. He knew such could spell disaster for his public image but at this point, Vil found it difficult to care. The world already unfairly painted him as a villain long before he and Danica knew each other and unfortunately, his recent actions towards her meant the lyric changes were justified.

After all Vil had done, why shouldn’t Danica see him as a villain? Why shouldn’t she be afraid of him? It honestly surprised him that she was able to look at him with any kindness at all. And as this thought passed his mind, Danica began her final solo, something he had deliberately missed during rehearsal. Something he wouldn’t ignore now.

“You were my everything, you were my miracle, and before you, I never knew how beautiful the world could be.”

The music surged, mirroring the intensity of Danica’s voice as it became louder and more profound. The beat pumping on, faster to the rhythm of Vil’s pounding heart. Every emotion in the lyrics could be viscerally felt in her voice, but he wouldn’t look away anymore.

All I want is to return to the way things were, to love you again. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?

No more! No more! I will set myself free!

What Vil found affected him most as he watched Danica wasn’t even the words she was singing. But the raw, intense emotion in her voice as she declared her heartbreak to the world and final resolve to be free. A burning sensation entered Vil’s throat that he immediately swallowed back. As much as this hurt, he wouldn’t look away anymore.

Never again would Vil ignore who Danica truly was and all that was brilliant and beautiful about her, faults and all. Whatever he felt was absolutely trivial compared to what Danica was probably feeling. Instead, as the song neared its conclusion, Vil simply smiled as his perfect swan captivated the audience with her very same spell he himself had fallen under months ago.

You’ve met every expectation of mine and more, and I expect you to continue growing, my little potato. Even if I can’t be by your side as you do.

The music faded and the Black Swan Quintet struck their final pose. In the following seconds of silence, Danica took several deep breaths. She had done it, they all had done it and soon, they were met with an eruption of applause. Golden confetti rained upon them as they basked in the praise and adoration from an audience thoroughly enthralled with them. Danica stepped out further on the stage, listening to the crowd cheer their names. A far cry from ever being invisible again.

We’ve done it…we’ve really done it! WE’VE DONE IT!

“That was the Black Swan Quintet, the female entrants from Night Raven College led by Danica Ledelle!” said the host. “Let ‘em hear it! They left the entire crowd on the edge of their seats!”

“AHHHHHH YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!” one girl called out.

“You’re so hot, Danica! I think I’m in love!” another man added.

“WE LOVE YOU IONE!!!”

Through the deafening applause, Ione heard her name and looked out to the crowd to see her Heartlabyul friends waving at her. She blushed, immediately seeing the banner Joker, Violetta, and Crisanta were holding up and pointing it out to her teammates. Danica laughed and smiled widely, waving to Joker while Ione made a heart with her hands—a special greeting meant for Crisanta alone. Taima saw her family—her parents, stepmother, and two brothers—offering a double thumbs up which her mother enthusiastically returned, telling her that she had done well.

Vidaria and Iman also waved to the crowd with the latter blowing several kisses and making stylish poses for the photographers in front of the audience. They glanced further out at the coliseum and Iman was the first to see Lilia, Sebek, Silver, Nana and other Diasomnia students applauding them as well. Malleus was with them and while his response was more subdued, the smile he wore showed that he was also pleased with their performance. Vidaria waved to them, but as she did so, she noticed someone sitting with the Diasomnia students whose figure seemed very familiar. Too familiar for it to be a coincidence. Her eyes widened.

No…it can’t be…is that…? IS THAT?!

Across the coliseum, they locked glances and Vidaria’s heart jumped with the sudden, wonderful feeling of having seen the face of an old friend after a very long absence. Because that was exactly what she saw.

“Look, Heloise!” Lilia pointed out to Vidaria staring at them from the stage. “Vidaria sees you! Wasn’t she amazing?”

“Absolutely!” Heloise smiled, waving to Vidaria. “They all were!”

“They’re gonna win for sure!” Nana beamed. “And when they do, we have to celebrate!”

“Yes, we MUST celebrate the young miss’s victory!” Sebek grinned. “A victory that brings honor not only to our school but to our dorm and our young master!”

“Heh, that was quite entertaining indeed,” Malleus admitted. “Worth fixing the stage, I’d say.”

And back on stage, the Black Swan Quintet stood upon the stage a few moments longer. Each of them made sure to wave to every corner of the coliseum and thank their audience for watching them.

“We hope you loved that as much as we did!” Taima smiled.

“You’ve all been a fantastic audience!” Vidaria added. “Let’s do this again sometime!”

“Thank you, everyone!” said Danica. “Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!”

~~~

More praise and applause followed the Black Swan Quintet as they left the stage and returned to the hallway. A wave of clapping and repeats of “great job” and “that was amazing” echoed throughout the air, but Danica was deaf to all of it. Her heart was on cloud nine and she didn’t want to come down for even a moment.

This feeling, when we were on stage, and now…this is euphoric.

What she was feeling was perfection, their performance was perfect. After all the training, all the strife, changing their song on such short notice, and even considering the harrowing ordeal they had experienced a few hours ago, they were still able to stand upon the stage together and meet the audience with radiance and enthusiasm. Even from backstage, the crowd was still cheering for them, chanting her name.

This was the moment she had longed for. Never again would she be afraid of judgment. Never again would she feel like she wasn’t enough. Upon the VDC stage, Danica was finally reborn into the kind of performer she always wished she could be; confident, vibrant and bold. And the audience responded to her perfection in turn. At that moment, she felt as though she could rule the world.

I hope you’re watching, Fiona, wherever you are. You were able to see what no one else could, and you were right. I’ve finally become as brilliant as you imagined I would be. I miss you and wish you were here so badly, but I hope you’re proud.

“How are you feeling, Dani?” Taima briefly brought Danica down from her euphoria by pulling on her hand. “Think we got a good shot at first place?”

“Not even a question!” Iman jumped in. “That was fire! Did you hear how they were screaming when we broke out for our dance segment?”

“And did you see the sign my dormmates were holding up?!” Ione jumped up and down with excitement. “I wasn’t expecting that!”

“But back to you, Danica,” Iman smiled at her. “We all pulled this off because of you. But that doesn’t mean anything if you didn’t think we did well.”

Danica hesitated, looking into the faces of each of her four teammates, she took a deep breath and then opened her arms wide and threw them around them. They were all surprised but quickly returned the affection, sharing a group hug.

“I felt it when we were on stage,” Danica whispered to them. “Perfect, it was perfect. Thank you, all of you, for helping to make this possible.”

“Ugh! You’re too sweet, Missy!” snapped Iman, but she was still smiling. “Shut up before I throw up!”

“I’m glad I was able to stand on the stage with all of you,” Ione replied. “A few months ago, I never would have imagined such a thing could be possible. Thank you for letting me have this chance.”

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about you guys when we first started,” Taima said with a small chuckle. “Especially after that first day when your bickering caused Dani to run out the room crying. But somehow, you guys proved me wrong and in the end…Vidaria, you’re crying.”

“Vidi, what’s wrong?” Iman asked, to which Vidaria began crying harder. “We did great! Your voice was on point and you didn’t miss a step! So why…”

“No, no! I’m not sad at all!” Vidaria replied, pulling away from the group embrace and pressing her hand to her face to cover her tears. “I’m just so happy! Everything worked out and…and…and I can’t say that for many things in my life!”

“Oh Vidi,” Iman pulled her into another embrace. “Vida Vidi Vici, I’ve never seen you like this before. But there’s no need for that. Save it for when we win!”

“And that’s not all!” a few more tears slid down Vidaria’s face before she gave herself over to a fit of laughter. “When I was looking out at the audience, I saw Malleus and Lilia. Silver and Sebek, and Nana too! And guess who was with them! Go ahead, guess!”

“Hmm? Who, Vidi?”

But before Vidaria could answer her, Vil and the others from NRC Tribe approached them. Vil clapped his hands slowly, a full and genuine smile gracing his face.

“Excellent, ladies,” he said. “Very well done.”

“Oui! You all were tres spectaculare!” Rook exclaimed. “Such a mesmerizing image you all presented to the world, a perfect blend of enchanting, and frightening with a touch of the macabre! It was magnifique!”

“You’ve done your school justice,” added Vil. “Each of you should be proud of how all your hard work has paid off.”

“Vil-san…” Danica looked up at Vil as reality slowly returned to her. “You’re no longer upset about our song change?”

“As far as I am concerned, what you all did on stage was exactly what you should have been doing all along,” Vil replied. “And based upon the audience’s reaction, I’d say you’ll soon have more reason to be proud of yourself, Danica.”

“I…I…” Danica felt a flush of red coming to her face and she quickly bit her tongue. “Thank you, Sir. Thank you.”

“Hey, where is Yuulan?” Ione asked. “Wasn’t she with you guys earlier?”

“She and Grim are out in the audience now, taking pics with her special camera,” Deuce replied. “I can’t wait to see them!”

“I had so much fun watching you all!” Kalim grinned. “Your dancing was amazing, and I couldn’t look away if I tried!”

“Good work, you guys,” said Jamil. “We all did our best but you girls were incredible. You’re Highness, you were great out there,” He smiled at Iman. “Your dancing has always been top-notch, but your vocals have greatly improved too!”

“Ahhh, ohhhh,” Iman turned away in case she was blushing. “Thanks, I consider that a big complement coming from you!”

“Ya’ll were sooooo cool!” Epel exclaimed, briefly forgetting Vil’s presence in a fit of excitement. “Mah heart was racin’ watchin’ ya’ll sing an’ dance. I’m sure ya’ll will win an…oh!” Vil glared at him and he quickly corrected himself. “Oh! I mean…you all will win for sure and…”

“Thank you, Epel!” Taima smiled at him.

“We’ve all done what we can,” said Rook. “Now we must wait for the other teams to perform and leave it up to the vote.”

Danica nodded, each breath helping to lift the immense weight of the past four weeks from her shoulders. A great wave of relief washed over not only her but all of the performers representing NRC. They had done it, and come what may, they all felt proud of the final result of their efforts.

Even Vil, in spite of the hideous display he had subjected them to, was beginning to feel his confidence rise again at the possibility of victory. They had exerted every bit of power they had, and now all they needed to do was wait.

This time, I will be number one.

The twelve NRC performers continued standing together in the hallway, enjoying this moment of peace before it was abruptly shattered by a high-pitched whistling sound. Danica and Taima turned their direction down the hallway and saw two male Savannaclaw students who were working on the VDC staff team. They both leered at the girls rather shamelessly and one of them made several loud kissing noises at them. Their brazenness mirrored the unsettling glances Danica had received from male reporters during rehearsal.  A wave of disgust came over her and she moved closer to Vil and Rook without realizing she was doing so.

I guess with power and beauty comes jerks who think they’re entitled to it.

“There will now be a brief intermission, and then the RSA teams will have their turn,” Vil said. “Our moment of relaxation will be brief, but feel free to take advantage.”

“Yeah, I wanna go find Yuulan and see the pics she took!” Deuce said, already beginning to run down the hall before Vil could give him leave to go.

“Hey! Wait up!” Ace ran after him.

“I wanna see too!” Epel followed behind them, leaving Jamil, Kalim, Vil, Rook, and the girls alone in the hallway.

“I’m gonna go call my sister and see what she thought of us,” Jamil said, walking off with Kalim following.

“Ladies, you’re free to use this time to your advantage as well,” said Rook.

“But be back here in fifteen minutes,’ Vil added.

After catching the Savannaclaw boys gawking at her, Danica considered asking Vil and Rook if one of them would stay with her and her teammates. But she couldn’t seem to find the words and watched blankly as she saw her dorm leaders walk off in the opposite direction. Looking around her, she thought about returning to their dressing room until intermission was over, but Vidaria was adamant about going back out in the coliseum and wanted her teammates to join her.

“Vidaria, we don’t have much time before the second half of the show,” Danica said, trying to reason with her. “Are you sure…”

“Yes, please!” Vidaria interrupted her. “There was someone out in the audience I have to see now! It can’t wait until the end! Please humor me!”

“Of course we’ll go with you, Vidi!” Iman smiled, beginning to pull her hand down the hallway. But Danica remained still. “You too, team leader!”

“I…uh…I wanna come too but…”

Danica looked ahead but noticed the Savannaclaw students were gone. Taima must have known what her friend was thinking and tried to reason with her.

“We’ll all be together, Dani,” she said. “And if we’re together…”

“Of course! You’re right, Tai-chan!” Danica forced a smile, walking past her. “Come on, let’s go!”

~~~

The girls were nearly to the outer part of the coliseum. Iman briefly stepped out to a visible part of the stage, quickly catching the notice of the audience, who cheered and squealed at the sight of her. Iman couldn’t help but step out a little further to wave to the crowd and bask in their adoration before Taima pulled her back, much to Iman’s chagrin.

“What? Just giving the fans what they want!” she laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Taima scoffed. “Save your smiles for the awards ceremony!”

“Save a few smiles for us too, babe!”

The two Savannaclaw boys from before suddenly appeared, deliberately blocking the exit to the outer coliseum. Iman tried to walk past them but they made a point of putting themselves in her way so she couldn’t pass easily. She glared at their audacity, and Danica suddenly felt chilled. This was exactly what she was afraid of.

“Excuse us! We’re going out to the audience for a moment!” Ione spoke with an imperious tone. “Please let us pass!”

“Awww, how cute that you said ‘please’!” one of the guys smirked. “But why would we do that when we’ve been wanting to talk to you since the second you got off stage!”

“Very nice show, ladies,” said the second boy, coming closer to Danica and making them all feel very uncomfortable. “Y'all sure know how to move!”

“Really?” Iman sarcastically asked. “Well, sadly for you, we aren’t doing autographs! If you wanna show your admiration, do so by voting when the time comes!”

“Hmph, maybe we will vote for you,’ the second boy continued, leaning into Danica’s face with a chilling smile. “And maybe we won’t. What’s in it for us, ladies?”

His eyes were directed down her feathered bodice, so close to Danica that she could smell his sweat which made her feel even sicker. Her heart raced and her eyes scanned the area for a quick out from this situation. There was none but Taima quickly pulled her back, placing herself in front of her friend.

“The hell does that mean?!” she snapped. “Shouldn’t a victory against RSA be enough?!”

“My my, feisty aren’t we,” the first boy came up from behind Taima, boldly grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him. “I like that, babe!”

“HEY WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Taima!” Danica shrieked as she felt a hand press against her hair. She turned around just in time to see the second boy trying to grab her shoulder and jumped back. “What the hell is wrong with…”

“Disgusting!” Iman snapped, pulling Danica back even further. “Common street rats would have more decency!”

“Ohhh come on, don’t be like that,” he chuckled. “We loved your song and your dancing was nice too! We just wanna show our appreciation!”

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” Taima snapped, snatching her hand away. “Do us a favor and fuck off!”

“Heyyyy that isn’t very nice!” the second boy teased her.

“Nice would be too good for your behavior!” from behind him, Vidaria sharply planted her foot into his back, forcing him to the ground. “Such audacity! I’ve never…ahh!”

The first boy tried grabbing Vidaria’s hand but she wouldn’t have it and kept smacking his hands away before he finally grabbed her by the arm. He glared at her.

“Ungrateful bitch!” he spat. “We were trying to be nice but…”

“HEY!”

A loud, booming voice forced him to release Vidaria and quickly step back. Leona and Jack were on their way to look over the lighting for the second half of the show, and saw what was happening. As Savannaclaw’s dorm leader, the last thing Leona needed was his own students harassing performers under Vil’s management, especially when one of them was Vil’s rumored favorite. He and Jack moved swiftly to stop this, putting themselves in front of the girls and giving the two boys a thorough piece of his mind.

“The fuck is wrong with you?!” he growled, grabbing the first boy by his shirt. “You two are supposed to be working on the lighting for the next act! Not accostin’ the talent!”

“Aww come on, boss!” the first boy sneered. “We were just having some fun with ‘em!”

“Didn’t look like it from where we were standin’!” snapped Jack.

“Stay outa this, freshman!” retorted the second boy.

“No, you two are juniors, so YOU’RE the ones who should know better than to talk to girls like that!” Leona sharply replied. “ESPECIALLY girls reppin’ for NRC!”

“That is NOT how we do things in Savannaclaw!” Jack added.

“What if Vil walked by and saw what you were doin’?! I’d never hear the end of it! You’re both makin’ my job harder than it needs to be!”

Leona roughly let go of the first boy but didn’t move from his protective stance. “Stop actin’ like chumps and go do what I’m payin’ you to do! And don’t let me catch you pullin’ a stunt like that again!”

“But you ain’t payin’ us at all, Leona-san!”

“GO BEFORE I ROAST YOU BOTH ALIVE!”

Leona’s threat boomed down the hallway with the Savannaclaw boys running off, ears lowered and tails tucked between their legs. Their dorm leader continued to glare down the hallway until they were gone. Jack shook his head with disappointment.

“If I ever tried something like that, my mom would skin my tail,” he turned to the girls. “Ya’ll alright? I hope they didn’t hurt you.”

“We’re fine, thank you, Jack,” Danica replied, though her voice was clearly shaken.

“But I hope you don’t plan to let those two fully off the hook!” Vidaria said sharply.

“Oh, I don’t plan to. Don’t you worry your pretty little heads about that!” Leona allowed himself a small smile. “I don’t want any heat from any of your dorm leaders.” He moved away to let the girls safely pass out of the hallway. “But let me know if they act up again! Got it?”

“Thank you, Leona-san.”

Danica was quick to walk to the exit with the other girls following her. But she allowed herself to turn back to Leona and smile as well. Though she didn’t always have the best opinion of him, she was grateful to be reminded that some guys still had the sense not to be lewd about beauty.

“Don’t mention it,” Leona replied. “By the way, good show, ladies! You’ve got our votes for sure!”

~~~

The second they were outside, the girls were met with a loud wave of cheering from a group of students in the first rows of the audience. Danica noticed her Pomefiore friends in the distance and waved to them as they made their way through the stands to where Lilia and the other Diasomnia students were sitting. Vidaria ran ahead of them, excited suspense rushing through her chest as she came closer to her dormmates.

She stopped short, emotional tears burning in her eyes as she realized that she wasn’t dreaming.

“HELOISE!!!” She gasped, jumping up and down and waving her arms. “HELOISE! HELOISE! It’s really you!”

“Oh, Princess!”

Heloise immediately jumped from her seat and ran over to Vidaria, throwing her arms around her and crying loudly. Vidaria cried as well, certain before today that she would never see her favorite handmaiden ever again. In truth, Heloise was far more than a handmaiden; she was also Vidaria’s confidante and after Iman, her closest and most trusted friend. She had attended NRC with Vidaria the previous year but, after defending her from a kidnap attempt, was forced to return to Briar Valley for several months. Their friendship suffering in the process.

It was a dreadful incident that Vidaira couldn’t help but blame herself for. She was convinced that Heloise would resent her because of what she had sacrificed to keep her safe. But what Vidaria did not know was that her loyalty transcended her vows to the Draconias. Heloise considered it a privilege to protect her friend and would gladly walk through Hell if Vidaria asked it of her.

Their separation had caused Heloise as much pain as it had Vidaria, but at long last, Heloise had recently been given permission to return to NRC and they could pick up their friendship where they had left off. And from the heartfelt response Heloise had to her, Vidaria understood that her devotion was as strong as ever.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she said, squeezing Heloise tighter to her.

“Your Highness, Vidaria, I’ve missed you so much!” Heloise wept softly. “I’m so sorry; I wish I could have spoken to you sooner. I’ve been in Briar Valley all this time, and yet…”

“No, no, it’s alright. You were recovering, and that was your priority. Forgive me for forcing you to endure something so horrid.”

“A small price to pay to ensure the safety of Briar Valley’s future queen,” Heloise pulled back from Vidaria’s embrace to smile at her. “And the greatest hope for peace between the fae nations.”

“Heyyyy! Helo! Heloise!”

Iman and the other girls had caught up to Vidaria. Having shared their freshman year with Vidaria and Heloise, Iman was well-acquainted with Heloise and greeted her with a warm hug. Danica, Taima and Ione weren’t quite sure what was going on, but this was the first time any of them had seen Vidaria so happy and loved to see it. Danica waved to Lilia, who waved back but didn’t move from his place, sitting beside Malleus and Silver.

“Your Highness! You were so amazing up there!” Nana also ran over to them, grinning widely. “Heloise and I loved every moment of it! And your outfit is sooooo pretty!”

“Thank you, Nana,” Vidaria smiled, gently patting Nana’s soft black head. “I’m glad you enjoyed watching us!”

“I enjoyed it too, Your Highness!” Sebek shouted passionately. “Your beauty and grace had me absolutely enthralled! Your talent alone will secure victory for your team for certain!”

“What?” Nana looked up at Sebek. “But Sebek, I’m pretty sure you were saying all of those things about Taima.”

“WH…WHAT?!” Sebek’s eyes immediately locked with Taima’s. The sly smirk on her face made him blush fiercely. “I…I was not! Do not tell falsehoods, Nana!”

“Heh heh, yes you were!” Heloise laughed.  “You couldn’t stop talking about her! I heard you!”

“HEYYYYYY!!!” The exposure left Sebek absolutely mortified and unfortunately for him, there was little he could say in his defense besides try to change the subject. “Anyway! Your Highness, we all enjoyed watching you and your team perform!”

“I’m glad,” Vidaria replied, looking over at Silver sitting with Malleus and Lilia. Unlike how he was normally, his eyes were alert and he and Vidaria shared a secret smile. “I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Please vote for us too! That’s the only way we can win!”

“WITH THE UTMOST PLEASURE!!” Sebek exclaimed enthusiastically.

At this, a loud clanging bell announced the end of the intermission and the continuation of the VDC. The Black Swan Quintet was expected backstage soon, so they said their goodbyes to the Diasomina students, who in turn wished them luck and promised that they each had their vote.

“By the by, could one of you please show me how the voting system works?” Malleus asked. “I’m not quite familiar with how this QR code thing works. Is this some sort of special language?”

“Oho! I will show you when the time comes, Malleus!” Lilia grinned. “Don’t you worry!”

“Be sure to do that, Lilia!” Danica called out to him as they walked back to the stage. “We’ll need every vote we can get!”

~~~

The Black Swan Quintet hurried back to the stage, receiving applause and cheers all the way. The initial reception to their performance was very positive, and they reveled in the adoration. They were almost to the inner part of the coliseum when the girls heard a high-pitched voice, sounding like a child’s, calling out to them.

“You’re so cool, Black Swans!”

They turned around, and from the middle stands, they saw a little girl running up to them. She was probably no more than six or seven years old, with a large smile on her face. Iman grinned and knelt down as the girl came closer to them, reaching out her hand to shake her hand. Despite her imperious attitude, something about children always brought out the sweetness in her, especially well-behaved, reverent ones.

“Hello there, little one. Did you enjoy our show?”

“I did! I did!” The little girl jumped up and down with excitement. “I love your fashion! I wanna dress like that too!”

“Ohhh,” Danica giggled, also kneeling down to meet her level. “Maybe when you’re big like us, you can!”

“Awww, I remember being her age,” Taima whispered to Ione and Vidaria. “And looking up to pop idols, this is probably a big moment for her to meet girls that she admires.”

“You’re so cute. It’s so nice having such a sweet little fan like you,” Iman smiled, holding both of her hands, “You remind me of my little sister.”

“I’m gonna vote for you too! I hope you win!” she beamed, holding up a pink smartphone. “Can I take a picture with you guys? Pleeeeaaassseeee?"

Despite having limited time, the Black Swans were more than willing to pose for a photo with their little fan, the first of many they hoped. Iman helped her hold the smartphone at the right angle, ensuring everyone could fit into the frame.

“There, now we’ll all be in your photo,” she smiled.

But just as they struck a pose, an angry voice interrupted them. A woman, likely the girl’s mother, came up to them and quickly grabbed her by the arm.

“Sylvia! There you are!” yanking her daughter away. I told you about running off!”

“But Mommy!” the little girl pleaded, “I wanted to meet the Black Swans! They said I could take a picture with them! Can I please…”

“Absolutely not!” the woman’s words were directed at her daughter, but her angry glare was fixed on Iman, the one closest to her. “You know better than to talk to strangers!”

“Bu...but…”

“No buts! You shouldn’t be bothering them anyway!”

“Pardon me, Ma’am,” Danica spoke up. “Your daughter wasn’t bothering us, she’s very sweet, and we don’t mind…”

“I’ll thank you to mind your business!” Sylvia’s mother snapped, pulling her daughter closer in a strangely protective manner. “Pardon my child’s rudeness, but intermission is nearly over. You girls should go backstage.”

Without waiting for their response, she quickly pulled Sylvia away from the Black Swans; nearly forgetting that Vidaria had their phone, she came back to them long enough to snatch it back. Sylvia looked back at them, her face looking absolutely despondent and heartbroken. And Vidaria heard when the woman whispered disparaging comments about them under her breath.

“So inappropriate! To think my daughter could look up to girls like that?! What is this world coming to?!”

“Girls like what?!” Vidaria glared as she watched them go back to their seats. “What did she expect to see at the VDC?! It’s not like we were dancing in our undergarments!”

“Has that woman NOT looked at magicam?!” Iman added, “Or even at music shows on tv?! We were tame compared to other groups!”

“Seriously, if that little girl wanted a pic with us, that shouldn’t be a problem!” Taima shook her head. “I swear I don’t understand adults sometimes, they tell us to grow up but when we do then they lose their shit!”

“Poor girl,” Ione sighed, “That woman reminds me of my own father. He didn’t want me singing in the VDC either.”

“Hush you guys. Don’t give her more to bitch about.” with her arms, Danica huddled her teammates closer to her and tried to push them in the direction of the inner coliseum. “You don’t want her to hear us.”

“So what if she does?!” snapped Iman, deliberately raising her voice some. “That woman was a bi…”

“Enough!” Danica pressed her hand to Iman’s mouth. “Remember, you’re a princess. Be above it, and don’t confirm her prejudices.”

Iman yanked Danica’s hand away from her mouth, but she took her advice and bit her tongue. But that didn’t mean she liked it. Most little girls wanted to mimic older ones that they found stylish and cool and Sylvia was no different. It was flattering that the Black Swan Quintet could make such an impression on her but her mother’s reaction was more than a little frustrating to all of them. This was another thing Danica feared but this time, instead of internalizing her guilt, she only felt angry.

Hmph, she was a bitch though! Poor girl, that’s probably why some girls end up insecure!

Vil had been correct about people judging girl groups by harsher standards, but it didn’t make it right. And by this point, for the first time in weeks, Danica could honestly say she no longer cared. To her mind, they were all hypocrites and all that mattered to her now was winning, whether people secretly vilified her or not. They had a stage to return to, and they would not let negativity hold them back.

~~~

Neige and his little friends were the first to perform for the second act of the show. He was met with as much enthusiasm as Vil if not more, and the crowd immediately melted at the sight of the dwarves.

“Who are those little kids?!” one audience member asked. “They’re soooooo adorable!”

“Come on everyone!” Neige smiled. “Let’s all sing together! Everyone yahoo!”

His stage presence was as flawless as ever but it also made the lack of grace and coordination between the dwarves all the more noticeable. They continued to mess up their already simple choreography and when they sang together, their voices clashed terribly with Neige’s. Vil really didn’t want to watch them, but Rook had insisted and Danica made a point of joining them along with Ione and Taima.

Iman considered watching Neige’s performance during rehearsal insulting enough and couldn’t bear to watch it a second time. She and Vidaria opted to stay in their dressing room chatting with the RSA Divas who equally couldn’t be bothered. The freshman girls watched them with equal parts bewilderment and disbelief.

“I feel like they’re even worse than earlier,” Ione whispered to Danica. “They’re not in sync, not even a little! They’re not keeping the beat at all, even I’m not that bad off!”

“I know, right?!” Taima softly replied. “Vil-san really lost his shit over THIS?!”

Danica heard them but did not respond right away. She focused on Neige and tried to decipher what the audience was responding to, though she knew she already had the answer. Looking up at her dorm leaders, she could see Vil watching the performance with a strange sense of anxious fear in his eyes, while Rook seemed absolutely enchanted.

It was the response of the latter that really bothered Danica. The look in Rook’s eyes was very similar the very same way he would gaze at her when she danced. But even when she felt at her lowest, she knew she could perform better than this.

What exactly was Rook thinking? Something she wanted to know more than anything else at that moment.

The second their song was over, Vil walked off back to his dressing room, though Rook stayed behind, eager to watch Neige and his friends until the last possible second. Everyone in the audience applauded them and Neige and the dwarves waved to the audience, charming them with their adorable faces and bright smiles. And Danica couldn’t help but think that Sylvia’s mother preferred his performance a thousand times over hers or even Vil’s. Even if Neige’s performance was extremely out of place and probably didn’t even take a fourth of the time they put in to prepare.

As Neige and the dwarves left the stage, Rook walked off as well and once he was gone, Danica rolled her eyes.

“Cuteness will always trump something more profound,” she said dryly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Taima. “You said something similar during rehearsals. What did you mean?”

“The reason Vil was upset was that the audience responded better to Neige than they did NRC Tribe. And the only reason for that was because Neige is so adorable and endearing in how ridiculous he is,” Danica made a sound of frustration with her teeth. “If anyone else dared to compete with Vil with a performance like that, they would be laughed off the stage.”

“There does seem to be kind of a disconnect here,” Ione nodded thoughtfully. “Even the RSA Divas had a stronger performance than that.”

“And the reason that little girl’s mom didn’t want us interacting with her was that we aren’t like Neige Leblanche. That’s probably why those boys felt they could harass us too. We aren’t endearing or cute. We’re provocative and bold,” Danica gave a sarcastic sneer. “The last thing a girl or anyone should aspire to be!”

“Well, so what?!" asked Ione, rather indignantly. “So what if we didn't have a cutesy performance like Neige and his friends? That doesn’t mean our performance was bad. If you ask me, that girl’s mom and those Savannaclaw boys were the wrong ones for assuming we’re whores just cause we look a certain way.”

“I just hope everyone will still vote for Vil and our boys,” Taima added. “Regardless of how cute Neige is, NRC Tribe still had the strongest performance technically speaking.”

“I hope so too,” Danica sighed, looking down the hallway at Rook’s silhouette with a strange sense of jealousy and bewilderment clouding her thoughts. “I really hope so too.”

~~~

The RSA Divas performed soon after this. Iman and Vidaria emerged from their dressing room to join the other NRC performers in watching them. They also received an enthusiastic response from the audience. Once again, Rook watched them and didn’t bother to conceal how intensely he was enamored with them. Danica made a point of standing away from him and tried to close her ears to his audible musings, which only furthered her increasing uneasiness with him.  

Thankfully, Petals in the Snow was a short song, and soon enough, they were done. With the RSA Divas being the final performers, the VDC had now officially concluded. After another shorter intermission, all the entrants were called to the stage for the final voting and awards ceremony.

There would be a winner among both the boy's and girl's units, with a large cash prize going to each of them. However, the winning units would be determined by a vote, and every person in the coliseum, from the audience and staff to the performers themselves, would have the chance to cast a ballot.

“Which team did the best job of expressing the world contained in their song through singing, dancing and production?” The host asked the crowd. “Cast your vote now! Choose which team you think shined the brightest!”

Three minutes, only one hundred and eighty seconds to determine who would bring home victory for their school. Danica and her teammates huddled together, smartphones in hand, to cast their votes. From across the stage, she locked eyes with Lilianne and both nodded, knowing well what was expected of the other.

“There!” Taima tapped on her phone. “We all voted! Now all we gotta do is wait for the results!”

“My hearts pounding outa my chest!” said Epel as he cast his votes.

“There were a ton of very good performers,” Deuce admitted.

“Yeah, I’m still voting for NRC Tribe!” Kalim grinned.

“Yeah, absolutely!” Ace added.

“Both NRC teams are definitely top contenders,” smiled Jamil. “Both performance-wise and popularity-wise, so vote with your head held high!”

“You bet!” Iman smiled as she cast her votes. “I don’t need the prize money, but it’s the principle of the matter!”

“Indeed, after all we’ve been through, we don’t deserve second place!” said Ione.

“Ten seconds until the poll closes!” The host announced. “Nine, eight, seven, six…”

“We got this!” Danica told her teammates. “As Jamil said, vote with your heads held high! We got this!”

“Four, three, two…”

“That Rook guy may have been a creep,” Isabel said to her friends as she cast her votes. “But those guys still had a much better performance. They deserve our votes!”

“And don’t forget!” Lilianne replied, casting her votes as well. “BOTH NRC teams need to win so Neige will leave me alone!”

“TIME!” The clang of a bell announced an end to the voting process. “And now, we will tally the votes to determine this year’s victors. Starting with the winner for the top girls’ unit!”

After a few moments, a staff member handed the host a small white piece of paper with the winning girls’ team written on it, along with the margin they won by. The host took one look at the paper and his eyes widened.

“WOW!!! What an INCREDIBLE response! This is the first year in more than a decade that girls’ units have competed in this competition and NEVER has there been such an overwhelming victory!"

The Black Swan Quintet all took each other’s hands, holding their breath. The moment of truth had finally come.

“Winning the girls’ division of this year’s Vocal and Dance Championship, by a RECORD BREAKING landslide is…”

~~~

[httpkaleido]

The World’s Worth for Your Final Act

Lilia Vanrouge x reader

Cw- angst?

This fic is set before our current TWST timeline, Lilia is a viscount who doubles as a mercenary sent to kill a famous performer whom he has fallen in love with, (y/n).

.

.

“Darling pull me closer, pull me closer.” you sang. The theatre hall filled with melody, the audience’s glassy eyes looked up to you. Worshipping your voice with every second they kept their doll eyes locked on you. Within the sea of people there stood me, Viscount Vanrouge. Sitting at my porch at the very top of the opera hall, looming over the thousands of spectators, I looked into your passionate eyes, as you had looked into mine.

Love struck, heart beating. You gave your final bow, the velvet curtains poured down, signing your regards. My love, ah, (y/n) my love. If only you could sing to me again, I’d pay you the world for just one more performance. That night the theatre celebrated with joy, celebrating their star, you.

My heeled boots clicked against the thinly carpeted floor, stepping down from my balcony. My coat fluttering behind. It was like fate meant it to be, you and me. For as I took my final steps, reaching the lower storey, there you were. As if in the face of time, you opened a door, purposefully stepping into my life. You turned around by coincidence, almost like destiny was pulling our strings.

Suddenly I fell into that look, your grasping (e/c) eyes ensnaring me. You were like the rosemary of the theatre, healing and alleviating pain. The dew of the sea. An encounter makes love so cruel doesn’t it? My only wish was to grow old with you. I refused to accept this twisted game our puppeteer was playing.

“Viscount…” Your euphonic voice rings, your torso slowly bowing down. A sign of respect and honour. “Lady (y/n).” I bowed back, replying to your gesture. That moment it was like time froze my dear (y/n), your lips curled into an ethereal smile. When our picture perfect moment was thawed, it had struck twelve.

The orchestra strummed a poetic tune, the melody twisting and turning. Music had filled the hall with life. Earls and dukes, princes and counts, everyone was dancing. I stood there, starstruck as you popped a question. “Dear Viscount, won’t you dance with me?” My stiff lips formed a smile, I extended my arm for you to grab. One foot forward, one foot backwards, one foot forward, one foot backwards. We stole the show didn’t we?

But we know all good things must come to an end. The night was nearing the end. The time had come. We escaped to the garden, sitting under the moonlit gazebo. Fleeing the stifling atmosphere of the murky dance hall, it was somewhat like alcohol, pleasant and first but sickening in the end. Your music like laughter lightened my mood, still though, bittersweet stung my heart. Aching at what I knew had to be done.

Dear (y/n), oh my sweet (y/n). I’m sorry I had not told you, I’m sorry I had to lie. For you were innocent, the dew of the sea. You were the rosemary, healing and alleviating pain. And I was the devil’s trumpet, the datura of the night. Intoxicating and killing, just another messenger of misery.

The moon hung low, swinging , the sky a milky black canvas painting the night. I’m sorry, I was a fool. I gave you one last kiss, a symbol of my love for you, a symbol of our final night together. The sharpened tip of my knife pierced through your chest, striking your leaden heart. Pain etched on your face, your hand trembled in agony. “Even during death, you still managed to put on a show.” My voice crumbled, no longer keeping composure. “I’m sorry (y/n).” The tears swollen in my eyes unbinded, falling down upon my porcelain cheeks. I pulled you close, I pulled you closer. I had paid you the world’s worth of suffering, to see you perform your final act.

You were the rosemary, healing and alleviating pain.

I was the devil’s trumpet, the datura of the night. Intoxicating and killing, your beloved messenger of misery.

I never broke free from the prison I put myself in, the prison of regret. I’m sorry (y/n), I really am. I had never stopped praying for fate to be more compassionate, for our tale had come to an end, your heart withering away. Only my petals are left to bloom, your blood paving the crooked path of these desolate roads. I sign goodbye once again, my dear, my darling.

“(y/n) pull me closer, pull me closer, closer to your heart. Closer to your soul, so that may one day when we defy our place in fate, I could be your marigold, and you’d be my rosemary. Healing my heartache and sorrows.”

[minzart]

Idk if this will be good but have you seen scary godmother spooktacular/ jimmy's revenge on cartoon network? Other than that what abt scary godparent!mc?! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they got transported they at first thought they were in a part of the fright side they didn't go to often. So imagine their surprise when the dark mirror said their home didn't exist in twst.

Crowley: *flipping through maps* where did you say you were from again?

Mc: pumpkin hallow!

Crowley: I generally know where all my students came from.. their is a 'sleepy hallow', 'summers hallow' and 'hallow grove'

Mc: *blushing* awe you think I look that young?

Crowley: eh?

Mc: *twirling hair* I graduated college almost 1000 years ago~

~~~~

The first years and grimm reminds Mc of their broom-mates and harry

Ace and grimm: *fighting over last slice of boo-berry pie*

Sebek: *slamming door open* NIEGEN'S(affectionate)

Epel: ah sebek! We were wondering if you were coming

Mc: *handing sebek the last slice of boo-berry pie* before dumb and dumber takes it

Sebek: *blushing* I humble accept your gift

Ace and grimm: HEY!

-----

Ace: OI! YOU STUPID RAT YOU ATE ALL THE FOOD!

Grimm: I'M NOT A STUPID RAT Y'KNOW!

Mc and jack: *whispering*

Mc: the party just started and all the food is gone..

Jack: we could always make grim-kabobs

Mc: *elbowing jack* really?

Jack: we could order pizza..

Grimm: pizza?

Epel: I can go for some pizza!

Sebek: pizza is a groovy idea

grimm: PIZZA!

Epel:*mockingly*groovy?

Adeuce: *highfiving eachother* YEAH! WITH EXTRA CHEESE AND OLIVES!

Deuce: Wait you like cheese and olives?

Ace: bro

Deuce: bro?

Adeuce: *hugging eachother* bro

Grimm: *interrupting* I'm sure this conversation is imperative to the plot, but can we go back to something more important.. like ordering pizza?

Mc: *warningly* grimm, we didn't forget who inhaled the boo-fet

First years: *glaring*

Grimm: *taking phone from mc* uhmm... I'll call in they know the sound of my voice

-----

Pizza delivery ghost: *knocking*

Mc: *opening door* I got it!

Pizza delivery ghost: hello mc I got your 12 extra large pizza's for you-

Mc: hold on a moment~ twelve extra large pizzas grimm?

Grimm: *crossing his arms* I wanted to make sure everyone got what they liked...

Mc: okay.. I'm back.. h-how much will that be?

PDG: that'll be 200 hundred dollars.. plus tip

Mc: 200 DOLLARS!

PDG: *deep voice* YOU COULD SIGN AWAY YOUR SOUL FOR THEM!

Mc: *handing ghost the money* yeah.. my soul is worth more that 200 dollars worth of pizza's

Grimm: *trying to run off with the pizza's*

Mc: *using magic to grab grimm* YOU! YOU WRECKED MY TABLE, INSULTED OUR GUESTS, STUCK ME WITH 12 PIZZAS! SOMETIMES GRIMM YOU CAN BE INSENSITIVE, BRUTE-ISH AND JUST PLAN LOUSEY TABLE MANNERS!

Grimm: *pleading* oh mc! Please I'll do anything!

First years: *taking pizza's*

Mc: oh I know you will! You'll help me plant pumpkins, clean the gravestones, knit spiderweb and help the ghosts! Oh yes, you'll probably have this paid off by next year! Enjoy your pizza!

~~~~

At first mc was a bit bummed because they spend all year getting ready for Halloween mc hope their broom-mates can finish everything in time. Hell they're not sure if the celebrate Halloween in twistedwonderland... until the last week of September.

Crewel: listen up puppies next week is the start of fright month!

Mc: *perking up* fright month?

Heartslabyul mob: you don't know about fright month!?

Savanaclaw mob: *elbowing heartslabyul mob* you idiot their not from here

Deuce: Halloween is super big here at nrc!

Mc: *running out of class*

Crewel: NO BAD PUPPY! MC GET BACK HERE

-----

Everyone: *out in the court yard to see the well was replaced but a giant jack-o-lantern*

Crowly: *pushing through crowd* OH GREAT SEVENS THE WELL!

Trein: that not the only thing headmaster... seems like the whole of the campus has been decorated..

Vargas: there was even a giant spider at the Colosseum!

Sam: *popping out of nowhere* it be the work of some very strong magic

-----

Riddle: *slamming Headmasters door open followed by the other dormleaders* WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS!

Vil: *crossing arms* YEAH! ALL OF OUR DORMS BEEN...SPOOKIFYED!

Idia: Y-yeah I keep tripping over pumpkins!

Leona: I can't nap with out a cobweb falling on me..

Kalim: Jamil fainted when he saw the giant spider on the Colosseum!

Azul: *pushing up glasses* floyd keeps trying to fight the skeletons at monstro..

-----

Ace: h-hey mc do you have any idea..whos...been..what the hell are you doing?

Mc: *pulling leaves out of the oven* the leaves aren't gonna crisp themselves!

Epel: is that blood?

Mc: *stirring pot* yeah how else are you supposed to get a good scare if blood doesn't ooze down the wall?

Jack: WAIT MC?! are you the one who put up all the Halloween decorations?

Mc: you like them? I normally have all year to prepare, but I didn't know you guys did Halloween!

-----

Crowley: *sighing* who would have thought.. outta everyone this would have been mc

Mc: *sadly* so you don't like them? I'm the HALLOWEEN WITCH! they're all fake!

Mc: *walking to skeleton; pushes button* see

Skeleton: *singing* you'll ground, you'll be ate, We will serve you kids on a plate~

~~~~

Mc couldn't wait for the stamp rally. since diasomnia has the outside of ramshackle mc decided to make a horror maze inside. The abjective is to find the basement to give the "monster" (grimm) candy so it doesn't eat you, and get to the end so either mc or the ghosts will stamp their card and you get some of mc homemade treats.

Girl 1: d-did you hear that?

Boy 1: *shaking* h-hear what?

Radio: *witches cackle* HEHAHA! I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTIES!

Girl 2: *running* AHHH!

Radio: *ghostly moan* LEAVE SOME CANDY IT'S YOUR ONLY HOPE!

Boy 1: we must be getting close to th-the basement!

Grimm: *with microphone to his stomach* *deep and loud growl* CANDY! GIVE YOUR CANDY!

Girl 2: *throwing bucket of candy down the stairs* AHH HERE TAKE IT!

Grimm: HEHE! UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

Group: *running away* AHH

-----

Short ghost: hehe looks like ya made it out alive!

Mc: *stamping cards* haha! I hope to see you next time!

Tall ghost: *handing out candy* to make up for the candy you lost!

Girl 1: c-can we take a picture with you all?

Big ghost: *grinning* haha! Sure!

Gril 1: thanks! Say cheese~

Everyone: CHEESE~

Girl 1: #NRC #HALLOWEEN #SPOOKY MAZE #WITCH #MONSTWR #GHOST

Gril 2: that was so scary!

Boy 1: even scarier than the ghost groom one!

~~~~

Mc was spared by the magickam monsters. The maze was getting backed up because everyone was taking pictures, none of them threw candy down the the "monster" . Mc was working on overtime because everyone would take and then throw away the treats they got.

Tall ghost: Mc we need more bags!

Mc: *twisting bags up* huh! I just sent out another batch!

Tall ghkst: yeah and they took them all!

Boy 2: HEY WHERE IS ARE CANDY!

Boy 3: YEAH! WE NEED THEM FOR PICTURES!

Short ghost: *sighing* those ungrateful brats..

-----

Crewel: BAD PUPPIES GET DOWN FROM THERE!

Boy 1: ugh.. no fun

Girl 1: just one picture?

Mc: what's going on here?

Savanaclaw mob: those damn magickam monsters! They've been messing everything up!

Scrabia mob: yeah! They just through their trash everywhere! Making everything smelly

Heartslabyul mob: did I tell you about how they've been trampling and plucking up flowers in the green house!

Ingihyde mob: o-ortho almost b-blew up the school..

Pomefiore mob: eple almost got in a fight! I could tell vil-sempai was on his last leg cuz he didn't stop eple

Octavinelle mob: it's scary one of them kept poking floyd they even cracked the tank he's in..

Diasomnia mob: they even insulted draconia-sama.. I don't know who was gonna blow draconia-sama or sebek

Mc: eh? So that's was all that screaming was from.. sebek

-----

(I'm skipping past some things but the first years and dorm/vice dorm leaders all make their plan to scare the magickam monsters away)

Girl 2: *opening door* shh someone might hear us!

Boy 1: uh.. to late! Look

Boy 2: who the heck are you?

Epel: oh hey.. I'm epel.. who the heck are you?

Girl 1 one: oh.. hey epel... I'm girl 1, this is girl 2, boy 1, boy 2 and this is boy 3..

Boy 3: who are you supposed to be?

Epel: neat.. I'm a vampire look at my fangs!

Boy 2: *rolling eyes* yeah yeah.. and I'm the devil

Epel: I'm gonna tell my makers you said I'm not a real vampire!

Boy 2: go head tell them! I'm not scared

Epel: VIL! ROOK!

Rook and vil: *burst into the room*

Rook: stop me if you heard this one! Five kids walk in to a house..

Vil: oh and?

Rook: AND WE EAT THEM OF COURSE!

Vil: now you tell the funny joke!

Vil and rook: *hiss*

Magickam monsters: AHHH!

-----

Girl 1: *backs up into something*

Idia: *helmet falls off* oh man... my head...

Girl 1: AHH! HIS HEAD FELL OFF!

Boy 2: *opening door to see kalim* ah-

Kalim: *growling*

Boy 3: *slams door*

Deuce: *scraping shovel against floor*noisy...

Girl 2: Z-Z-Z-Z..

Boy 1: Z?

Girl 2: *pointing at deuce* ZOMBIE!

Carter: *grabs boy 1 leg* Hey hey!

Boy 2: RUNN

-----

Jade: oya? Look azul~ some more test subjects!

Azul: they look nice and juicy! Do you think floyd would like them?

Jade: *grabing girl 1* a-ah floyd~ wake up!

Girl 1: *struggling* N-NO!

Trey: *wrapped up in sheets* H-HELP ME!

Jade: *drops girl 1* noisy thing-

-----

MKM: *running to door*

Boy 2: *trips over leona* oof

Leona: you- was it you? Did you steal my treasure? Ruggie get the beast

Ruggie: shishishi~

Jack: *in wolf form* GRRR

-----

MKM: *backing up in to what they think is a tree*

Boy 1: girl 2?

Girl 2: yeah? Boy 3

Boy 3: here! Girl 1?

Girl 1: uhn! Boy 2?

Boy 2: all here... hey boy 1 stop breathing on me!

Boy 1: dude.. I'm over here by girl 1...

MKM: *turning around to see mallues in dragon form*

Malleus: boo.

MKM: AHHH!

~~~~

Hey hey~ I've been busy making my coustme! I'm gonna be a mushroom fairy!

You are gona be the prettiest mushroom Fairy!

[olivyh]

TWST FAMILY HCS PT 1) Heartslabyul

Riddle:

-We all know his mother’s personality (cough cough garbage), but I think that she acts that way behind closed doors and is professional and cares a lot about her public appearance, which is why Riddle was so nervous to come out about the things shes done.

-I think his mother is a little taller than him, maybe 5’5, 5’6. Shoulder length red hair thats almost always tied back in some way.

-I think he gets his short gene from his father, who I think acts like the king of hearts from Alice in Wonderland, but less stuttery and more on the timid side. I don’t think he and Riddle talk much aside from when they have to be in the same room as one another

Trey:

-I picture Mama Clover being on the shorter and more heavyset side, with lighter green hair (with grey streaks because managing a popular bakery and watching over her children has to take a toll) and dark brown eyes (you know the kind that makes people look like baby deer?) I think she’s quieter and kind, giving out free cookies to kids who might have a tighter budget or who couldn’t get what they want. Despite that, she’d be on the stricter side when it comes to her children, making sure they don’t eat too many sweets or hurt themselves in the kitchen

-Papa Clover is on the more carefree side. He’s the one who mostly runs the kitchen of the bakery. I like to think he’s an artist (bc designing cakes is IMPOSSIBLY HARD) and often sketches his wife and kids when he has the time (theres an old sketch of mama clover rocking baby trey still hanging in their hallway). He’s where Trey gets his prankster side from, often spraying the kids with the hose from the sink or clapping flour all over them

-Trey’s younger brothers, who I like to think are twins like tweedle dee and tweedle dum, act just like them. They’re mischievous and love to hear stories from all over the place, often interrupting one another when they they to retell their own. They’re likely somewhere around ten-twelve, since I think their parents would have wanted time with just Trey before having more. The two are practically inseparable, except in the kitchen. The kitchen turns into a war zone whenever the two are involved, and often Trey or his mother have to step in. They inherited their mother’s green hair and brown eyes.

-Baby sister Clover is the baby of the family, ranging at four to five years old. I think she’s the one who’s most like Trey personality wise, often acting like a “mini-mom” to her older brothers. She’s stubborn, and knows how to use her cuteness to her advantage. I mean, how can anyone turn down her with her baby fave and eyes made bigger by her comically large glasses (are they even hers???)

Cater:

-Papa Diamond: An oldie at heart. Has no idea how technology works and often struggles with basic phone protocol. He tries to get involved with his children and their fast paced life, helping Cater and his sisters with whatever trend they need hik for. No matter what, he’s their biggest fan and will print out his favorite pictures of them from their magicams. I think he had brown-ish hair before it all turned grey due to having to raise three children on his own (including two Cater-like personalities). I’d say he’s on the taller and more heavyset side.

-Oldest sister Diamond: The straight laced and mature one. She tries to act like shes so much older than she is, and insists that her decision to major in photography is not at all based off those pictures of magicam models. She does partake in teasing her younger brother when she can, though, critiquing him on his angles and choice of filter (she really wants to help him grow his magicam account but is afraid to say it without hiding it behind teasing). She has bright orange hair that she often wears up, though when it’s down it goes all the way down her back. She’s also taller (5’7-5’8 ish)

-Second oldest sister: The wild card. She is a social butterfly much like her younger brother, but cranked up to a ten. She is impulsive which ends up in a lot of late night tears with her sister while Cater tries to fix her failed bangs (“they made it look so easy online!”). She often sneaks out to take walks through the nearby city at night, thriving in the busy streets and the bright lights. She takes pictures to show Cater so they can go to the small spots she finds in the morning (even though all her photos turn out blurry or smudged- she got the gene from her father). She has short chopped orange hair, that often has little accessories or chunks dyed different colors.

Deuce:

-Mama Spade: The love of my life, the apple of my eye, the sun to my moon, Mama Spade. The sweetest woman you will ever meet, always looking out for her son and his friends. Even when he was hanging with a bad crowd, when one of his friends needed a place to stay because something happened at home she was the first to take them in. She seems like the kind of person to love animals (despite being upset about not being able to take care of one), and often sends Deuce small magicam posts about animals doing cute things. He got his love of chickens from her. She is probably around 5’4, and has the same coloring as Deuce, with dark blue hair that goes down her back (with a few grey streaks, making her hair look like the sky with shooting stars) (god i love her and she’s not even shown in game)

Ace:

-Papa Trappola: A gruff man, who stands at the same height as his son. He’s like one of those men you meet outside a 7-11 and they’ll tell you their life story for a slushie. Definitely has had a rebellious youth that shaped him to be a little rougher, which got him in trouble, but otherwise deeply cares for his wife and children (even though he shows it in weird ways- like when one of them mentions they like a certain food he’ll drop a whole container of it on their beds and leave, acting like he doesn’t know where it came from) He definitely looks like Giulia’s (i butchered that) dad from Luca.

Mama Trappola: Remember what I said about Luca? Yeah, she looks like Luca’s mom in human form. She’s a stern and strict woman, often scolding her boys and husband for bickering. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and can and will snap at anyone who threatens any of her boys (it’s terrifying to see a short, stout redheaded woman charging at you). She’s very affectionate when she’s not scolding them, often smothering her sons in hugs and kisses, making obnoxious noises while doing it.

-Big brother Trappola: Cockier than Ace by a mile, and won’t hesitate to be blunt about whatever’s on his mind. If you want the truth, he’ll give it and then some. He’s a lot more level headed than his brother, brushing off arguments and snide comments like it’s nothing. He’s a very talented magician, serving as a role model for his younger brother. He looks the exact same as Ace but with hair that is kept more neat and being a few inches taller, almost at the six ft line

[kiame-sama]

Do you think we can get a pt 2 to the yandere Lilia fic? I am honestly so starved for Lilia content and that one made me laugh really hard :)))

What Are You, Twelve? (Yan!Lilia x Reader) Pt 2.

(Part of what makes this funnier for me is the fact that Lilia is taller than me, but because he ACTS so mischievous and young it is easy to still assume he is a child despite his height)

Warnings; reader is 18+ but believes Lilia to be 12, the power of disbelief is unending, yandere behavior, Lilia refuses to quit, yandere temper, lilia is a patient yandere but his patience wears thin,

*Magi-shop; what I think Photoshop would be called in Twisted Wonderland

~~~~~~~~

You'll have to believe him now. Surely you couldn't continue to believe he was a child with all the evidence presented to you. He would get over the laughter from the others soon enough so long as he could get the one he craved in his grasp. There were many things the old Fae planned to do with the object of his affections and obsessions once he got his hands on you, but for now he needed you to understand him completely.

He knew you may try to reject him more harshly when you finally understand his true age, but he planned to deal with that when it came. Still, Lilia would have you one way or another and soon enough that frustratingly persistent laughter would end. Every time he tried to proposition you for a quick tryst with him, you rejected him with another quip about his assumed age and another bout of snickering would erupt from around him. That laughter wasn't going to keep up when he finally had you wrapped around his arm.

Lilia could deal with many things, from other students teasing him and his endless struggle for affection, even to the little names other students gave him. He would be lying if he said he didn't react violently to the teasing of Floyd recently, the miniscule name the eel appointed to Lilia pushing his temper just a bit too far. Still, just one face punched versus the slaughter Lilia could enact was quite good all things considered.

Silver had obeyed Lilia's request and showed you an entire photo album of his infancy despite his absolute embarrassment with the situation. He was dubious about helping his father hook-up with one of his classmates, but he did want his father to be happy in life and you certainly made Lilia happy. You hadn't shown any facial reaction to the photos so Lilia had hope you believed Silver, but his hopes were dashed as you let out an unimpressed sigh.

"Magi-shop* exists in Twisted Wonderland, you could have just edited the photos and printed them out. I refuse to be tricked by all this."

You couldn't possibly be serious- okay, he was going to have to try another avenue.

Lilia had tried many things to convince you. From pontificating and showing off his vast historical knowledge in Trein's class- which he conveniently shared with you- to flaunting his prowess in potions. He technically was in other classes, but he decided to just join you for your classes and the teachers exasperatedly allowed it. That in no way meant any of the staff would help Lilia in his endless cause to convince you. He already tried those avenues and got scolded promptly by the teachers about being his age and pursuing a bright young student. Sure, you were an adult by human standards, but so was Leona, and Vil, and Cater, and Malleus. Wasn't he a student too, technically?

If anything, your assumption of his age was the only hang-up he could see getting in the way of establishing a relationship with you. He was hoping that as soon as he got you to understand, you would be willing to move forward in a relationship with him. Lilia was willing to put you under the effects of a love potion or one of his own spells if you insisted on arguing with him even after he got you to understand. The more you tried to distance yourself from the elder Fae, the more he craved your attention and presence.

It was currently a matter of pride for him to make you understand his age before he finally got to have you. He could just slip you a love potion and be done with it, but he needed you to understand just what kind of creature you have gained the attention of. As innocent to the cruelty of the world as you were, Lilia needed you to know the full gravity of having an elder Fae interested in you. Children of man didn't often gain the affections of a fae such as himself, so he wanted you to realize how special you were to get his attention the way that you did.

"Father, they didn't believe me."

"Of course they didn't. My sweet (y/n), such a stubborn child of man. I'll have those thighs smothering me soon enough."

"... I don't wish to hear these things, Father."

[honey-milk-depresso]

Meanie (Azul Ashengrotto x Reader)

SORRY TWST COMMUNTITY TRYING TO GET AS MANY DRAFT ELIMINATED AS POSSIBLE SORRY FOR BLASTING SHIT IN YOUR FACE BUT LIKE HOPE YOU ENJOY PLEASE DON’T KILL ME-

Based on a manga I think you know when you read it-

I suck I know-

Warning: Slight under aged drinking but it’s purely fluff, nothing serious.

Part 1

part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8 (END)

“Sevens, y/n. What do you want?”

“A hang out! At the VIP room!”

“You know how much that’s going to cost you right? You don’t have much on you.”

“Yeah, yeah I know but, I spend it on my friend!”

“You’re paying me.”

“Exactly!”

Azul sighed in irritation. He can never get enough of you, can he?

“Fine.”

“YES!! I’ll bring some things along!”

=====================================================

“You got to be kidding me..”

Lying on the table, there were an assortment of chips, soft drinks, sweet snacks and to top it all off, a bottle of plum wine.

“Y/n, you shouldn’t be drinking. You’re under aged.”

You laughed heartily. “Don’t worry! It’s only once in a while! Besides, I really like plum wine! I’m not drinking it for the sake of looking cool! Ahehehe~!”

He sighed, putting his hat and jacket suit by the table and plopping himself on the couch, leaving him with his white collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up and pants.

He cringed slightly as all the snacks were unhealthy.

“Couldn’t you have bring snacks of healthier options?”

“Azul, you should treat yourself every once in a while. Being healthy is good, but you can eat junk just once! Besides, it’s a happy occasion!”

“You do this at least twice a week.”

“Not at night or with snacks.”

“True..”

He saw you stuff chips in your mouth in one goal, like a rapid animal.

“Geez, y/n eat slowly. You might choke.”

“Awww, does Azul care for me~?”

“I don’t want a dead body filled with chips in the VIP lounge.”

“So mean!!”

He smiled a little. Your outgoing and cheerful attitude annoyed him at times, but he still couldn’t help but smile at how endearing you could be.

“Geez, you eat like it’s the end of your world.”

Ah.

You took out a pack of poker cards and slam it on the table.

“LET’S PLAY!”

“SEVENS, Y/N! JUST PUT IT DOWN LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN AND NOT TREAT YOUR CARDS LIKE A HAMMER-”

“Well geez, sorry.”

You took the cards out and began shuffling them, clearing the snacks to one side and spreading the cards in a circle.

“Alright, the rules are simple: You can’t quit in the middle!”

“Well, obviously.”

You had always bring about weird games to play. Like the time you played with 2 chess boards for no reason. One to play chess and one to play checkers, then if you get to take one chess or checker piece away, you had to do math question on your assignment, both of which you lost, and had to do the homework yourself. So this isn’t new to him. Maybe you’ll pull out your magic history homework.

“Alright just pick a card!”

“I got the twelve of spades.”

“HAH! QUEEN OF HEARTS!!”

“You don’t have to yell.”

“Now, since I have the larger number, I’ll ask you truth or dare!”

“So, truth or dare??”

“Truth.”

“So~ Do you think Idia or Jade is more handsome to you?~”

He nearly spit out the canned grape juice he was drinking.

“W-what type of question is that?!”

“Those are the rules! If you don’t want to answer a question you pick “dare”! And with “dare”, I’ll make you do something and you can’t quit or complain!”

This is the game of the devil, he thought. What is worse? Answering your ridiculous question or doing you ridiculous “dare”?

Screw it. Better answer than do it, right?

“I’ll stick with truth...”

“Okay! So.. Idia or Jade is handsome to you??”

“......Idia..?”

“Oooh, really ? I thought Jade was pretty handsome himself though. Ah well!”

For some reason, he felt a little irritated when you said Jade was handsome.

“Moving along!”

You two pick your cards.

“Hmm~ five of diamonds? I got twelve of clovers!~~”

“Oh goodness..”

How is he having this much of bad luck today? He’s thinking you shuffled the cards in your favor.

A little flustered due to the plum wine, you slurred a little with the next question.

“Truth or dare??”

“Truth.”

“If Idia was a girl, and she’d be the prettiest girl in NRC, and everyone else are girls, where would I be ranked in looks?”

“What?”

“ANSWER MEEEE~”

“Second.”

“H-heh???” Now you were very flustered.

“So I am pretty to you??? Aww you’re so sweet, Azul!!”

“That’s because I can never imagine NRC being a girls’ school.”

“I-”

=====================================================

“Huh??? Aw man I got two of spades!”

“Twelve of hearts.”

“Oh no..”

Well looks like the tables have finally turned. 

After answering your many ridiculous dares, it’s finally his turn. By now he can tell you’re very drunk. You weren’t think straight and you were slurring and getting flustered a lot.

“Truth or dare.”

“TRUTH!”

He paused to think for a while on what he wanted to ask you.

“Have you ever had a first kiss?”

“HuH?? WHAT? ”

“Silence fool.”

“MEANIE!!”

“But... No I haven’t. Wonder who would wanna kiss me~~?”

“Your lips would reek plum wine, I don’t think anyone would.”

“HEY AZULLL I THOUGHT WE WERE FREINDSSS!!!”

He smiled.

“I’m just joking.”

=============================================================

“Hehehehe~ Truth or dare??~~”

“...dare.”

He said hesitantly. It’s been what? 9 to 11 rounds already and you only had truths, while you complained all his questions were like job interview questions.

“Ohohoho~ Well then,” you spread your arms open, “carry meee to beddd~~”

He blanked. His face was unreadable.

“Hey! Carry-”

Suddenly, you felt your entire body being lifted from the couch. Azul was carrying you bridal style close to his chest. You felt his steady heartbeat and you couldn’t help but blush at the sudden contact.

He went over to the secret guest bedroom and plopped you down on the bed.

“I’ll make sure you’ll go back to Ramshackle tomorrow. It’s a weekend anyways.”

You buried your face in your hands as you squirmed, giggling.

“Ehehehehe~~ That really surprised me! Thank you, Azul!~~”

“Okay, Azul! Pick a card for me.”

“It’s getting very late.”

“But like what you said tomorrow is the weekend!!!!”

“Still. You should be sleeping.”

“Okay! One last dare! I promise!”

He sighed. “Fine.”

He picked a card.

“What did I get??”

“King of Spades.”

“Oooh~ What did you get???”

He picked a card. “Three clovers.”

“Hmmm~ My turn then! This one would be truth only!”

You paused and he heard the blankets being ruffled as you shifted to a different position.

“If I said.. I was really scared of dying, what would you do?”

He swerved his head to look at you, his eyes scanning you.

You were completely calm that it scared him.

“Nonsense, you aren’t going to die.”

Right?

“Aheheheh~ Well I’m super tired! You should go to sleep too!”

He off the lights, the only light shining now was the lamp beside your bed on the night stand.

“Call me when you wake up. I’ll be in my room.”

“Got it~!”

And he closed the door.

To be continued..

=========================

HEYA FOLKS WANT ME TO DO PART 2??? Just reblog or request I don’t know I-

I died.

[arcanewitchinstitute]

OC MASTERLIST.

dorm information is mostly here! everything will be added in due time.

TWST OCs Masterlist | AWI General Masterlist

Main Trio.

for the time in arcane witch institute history, the fate of a young bud was left undecided by the headmistress. however, due to the poor girl having nowhere else to go, a kind staff member offered her a place to stay and allowed her to attend classes despite not being in a dorm. a magicless student, the familiar of a teacher, and a shadow servant; what a peculiar group…

Rubicarte.

the dormitory that worships the queen of hearts. airheaded yet oddly charming, members of rubicarte are quick to adapt to anything. bizarre students follow the bizarre rules of their bizarre dorm, law and order as all things are supposed to be…

General Dorm Information - Underground

Vitaking.

the dormitory that worships the king of beasts. while they’re mostly relaxed and fun-loving people, these students can get very scarily competitive. combine that with their calculating nature, and i wouldn’t dare dream of challenging them…

General Dorm Information

Cesealia.

the dormitory that worships the sea witch. sweet and theatrical, they offer to help people at every opportunity, though some of them may ask for some kind of payment first. they’re just worried for you dear, go and tell them your troubles…

General Dorm Information

Cobralmas.

the dormitory that worships the sand sorcerer. adventurous but greedy, they own a cafe beloved by all. meticulous planners, one wonders what goes on in their heads—but, they need to make a good first impression. can’t let people get too suspicious of you…

General Dorm Information

Giftschnee.

the dormitory that worships the beautiful queen. sophisticated and haughty, they act like they’re above you for whatever reason it may be. despite their arrogance, they are great researchers and double-check everything to make sure it’s flawless. what fussy attitudes…

General Dorm Information

Nekroskull.

the dormitory that worships the lord of the underworld. the most versatile of the dorms, there’s nothing one can really say to describe all of them. but, these students do have at least one common interest: death and the spiritual world…

General Dorm Information

Reveaute.

the dormitory that worships the thorn witch. carrying themselves with an air of elegance and mysteriousness, they’re quite intimidating due to their immense magic power and swordsmanship. they even treat non-dorm members as playthings for their enjoyment…

General Dorm Information

Staff.

the people who work at arcane witch institute. just as elegant as the rest of the school, they try their best to withhold the chaotic nature of this private academy. or increase it, depending on who the teacher is. well, this is a pretty scary place isn’t it…

Shui Lianhuā.

one of arcane witch institutes’ associates. an ancient kingdom ruled by a royal family and twelve guardians in the outskirts of the enchanted forest, they are usually designing clothes for the school. let’s just forget about how incredibly stifling it can be to live here…

General Information

Siguan Ki.

one of arcane witch institutes’ associates. a small town hidden in the enchanted forest, the citizens are one with the spirit of nature. they’re usually providing tools and inventions for the school, being the main builders. what secrets are they hiding, i wonder…

General Information

Enchanted Forest Inhabitants.

those who live in the giant forest surrounding arcane witch institute. not affiliated with any of the above associations, they are entirely independent, only lounging around the school for their own entertainment. it’s a mystery of how they got here in the first place…

General Information

All/Mixed.

Honorifics and Terminology | Valentines Day (Dorm Leaders) | White Day Messages (Dorm Leaders) | Birthday Greetings

[shuuenmei]

partner

TWST OC Week Day 7: AU

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

For the last day of TWST OC Week, I picked AU and after some brainstorming, I decided to pick a Pokémon AU.

Or rather, a Pokémon crossover AU where Yuu (Rei) comes from the Pokémon universe instead.

This was a personal AU I had in mind for some while but placed on a backburner since I wanted to focus on the main fic first.

But with TWST OC Week, I thought it’s a good chance to revisit the AU again.

Without further ado, here we go!

I’m glad to be doing this event and it’s been fun!

Yuu doesn’t know what to expect when a seemingly mutated, talking, Shiny Zorua threatened to burn her if she didn’t hand over her clothes.

She only realized that she wore a whole robe and new attire, but internally panicked when her bag wasn't around, nor the fact that she has no Pokéball at hand.

So she had to trap the unknown monster back in the coffin she initially awoke to before escaping.

By luck, she met a petite, but older than he seemed student who healed her burns but the monster chased after her before being stopped by a man who claimed to be the Headmaster of this strange academy she was brought to.

“Ah, I found this bag and belt with peculiar looking metallic balls attached to it earlier, they must be yours, yes?”

The Headmaster waved his hand to show her belt with six Pokéballs intact and sling bag.

She hastily took the items and thanked the man. “Thank you sir... it seems my things were separated from me when that monster attacked me.”

“Attacked?”

He turned to the monster and frowned. “So it comes down to the fault of your Familiar.”

What, he’s not-

The headmaster didn’t listen, but the boy...student, with her, Lilia, listened and they talked along the way.

Checking the things inside her bag and her Party on hand as they did so.

________________________________________________________________

The mutated talking Zorua burned the whole room just shortly after the talking magical mirror declared that she had no magic.

The experiences and senses she honed as a trainer being the saving grace that lets her avoid the flames.

As the whole room set into a panic, she took a Pokéball that held her longtime friend, family, and partner.

Gazing at the ball for a moment, she murmured.

“Let’s go, partner. You ready?”

The Pokémon inside it nodded at her with a resolute gaze.

With a nod, she threw the Pokéball to the air.

“Gabriel! Sparkling Aria!”

Her long trusted Primarina landed gracefully on the ground and sang, large water bubbles formed all around them, appearing out from the air and the bubbles burst.

Water spreads all over and extinguishes the flames that appeared.

“Fnah!? My flames!” The mutated Zorua exclaimed but she paid no heed to what was going on behind or around her.

She’s only focused on seeing the flames gone and snuffed out.

In spite of the chaotic situation she found herself into, she’s glad that she’s not alone.

________________________________________________________________

Gabriel made quick work on the flames and the flames are gone by seconds.

The mutated Zorua was caught and she observed a red-haired student chant. “Off With Your Head!”

A large lock shaped collar was magically put in place at the monster.

After some words were exchanged, the boy turned to her. “This is your familiar, is it not?”

The Headmaster chimed in. “Yes! Do something about him! This is your familiar is it-”

Water was blasted on his face before the man could finish.

Turning to her furious partner, she chided. “Hey! I know you’re offended that he assumed that the mutated Zorua who threatened me to go naked is part of the team but you can’t just shoot a Water Gun at anybody!”

“Eh...? He isn’t yours?” The man repeated.

“Gabriel wouldn’t have been offended enough to blast water on your face otherwise.”

“I, I see...” The man looked at her Primarina, who only gave him an angry look in return, readying another blast of water.

“Come on Gab, calm down.” She held and stroked her partner’s hair.

“Pardon me,” The red haired boy called for her, “... you said he threatened you to what?” The red haired boy questioned.

“I woke up from the coffin because that monster,” She pointed to it, “burned the coffin, and then told me to strip naked from these clothes or he’ll burn me to death.”

Silence followed.

“...If that’s the case,” A lavender haired student with the red haired boy spoke. “it’s no wonder your partner is upset enough to attack the headmaster for his wrong assumption.”

She nodded at him. “Gabriel’s my longtime partner, I’d never replace Gabriel over some mutated talking Zorua.”

“Mutated what?”

“A Zorua.” She spoke. She had some suspicion about what kind of world she got brought into but she had to ask. “Do you not have Pokémon here?”

“...What’s a Pokémon?”

Oh boy.

________________________________________________________________

With the monster who called himself as Grim sent away, her status as coming from another world where, in their words, people tame magical monsters on a daily basis, being open news to the students present, but unable to return back to where she once came from, the Headmaster lets her stay around as he finds a way to bring her back to her original world, added onto his own surprise that she is a girl, and that the academy is actually an all-boys school.

She isn’t too worried about being trapped here for the while.

If anything, once the news of her going missing goes around, the Ultra Recon Squad and those from Aether Foundation would likely go and find her via the Ultra Wormhole.

They would have gotten in touch with Selene too by then.

Meanwhile, she was brought to an unused dorm that was planned to be repurposed on a later date.

She is now looking at her PC Box via the Portable PC, a new technology from Galar that lets you open your PC anywhere and anytime that is just recently applied in Sinnoh PC’s.

Speaking of Sinnoh... she was last walking around Route 214 back home, wasn’t she?

How did she get here-

Gabriel’s nudging brought her out of her thoughts.

“...Yeah, we should make the best of things for the time being.” She nodded.

At least the Pokémon in her PC Box are safe and the PC can still be used, even in another world.

Though she had to think of how she can manage to bring some of her Pokémon out and not get them stuck in the PC Box for too long.

She got enough berries, over a hundred, she last counted, obtained from renovating her Poké Pelago for years, so food for her Pokémon and her own person wouldn’t be a problem.

She knows the basic housework and the like at least, and can cook things decently.

She also got enough clothes, be it undergarments and others.

But first…

“We got a lot to clean up, don’t we?”

Gabriel nodded at her.

Time to get started.

________________________________________________________________

She would have gotten started if not for the monster she mistook as a mutated Shiny Zorua sneaking back in, only behaving once she threatened to have Gabriel shoot water at him if he didn’t, and dealing with the resident ghosts who were bothering her, thinking she’d be easy to play around with if it weren’t for Gabriel being way powerful for the ghosts to handle.

She had to convince the Headmaster to let the monster, Grim, stay if not for the fact that he’d do more harm if he is kicked out again.

“Ah, speaking of, would you like to register Grim-kun together with you as a student?”

“...What?”

The Headmaster explained. “We have some cases where students register as a 2-in-1 student due to circumstances. Considering that of yours and Grim-kun’s desire to enter the school, wouldn’t it have worked out?”

“...No, I’d rather register with Gabriel and my Pokémon than to register together with Grim.”

“Fnah!? Why!?”

She shook her head and reasoned, staring at the Headmaster. “You’re implying as if you want to replace my longtime friend, partner and family over a stranger. I refuse to have my partners be replaced by anybody.”

She looked down at Grim next. “And honestly, you still need a lot of work to do and understand what’s appropriate and inappropriate for people. Telling people to strip naked and burn them if things don’t go your way is not it.”

“...That’s true.” The Headmaster agreed.

“...I shall register you and… who would be your main partner?”

“Gabriel.” She spoke without hesitation.

“Alright, Gabriel-kun and Yuu-san. You two will be students from tomorrow on, while Grim-kun will be on probation until he is deemed ready to be a student.”

She nodded.

Sounds good to her.

________________________________________________________________

“So you’re choosing Popplio, young Yuu?”

Yuu nodded at Hala.

She is only twelve this year.

Her parents advised her to move with her cousins to Hau’Oli city, Alola, from Sinnoh last year and she still needs some time to get used to Alola weather.

It’s too hot, and she personally missed the cold, chilly air of Sinnoh.

Then her uncle suggested she try and take the island challenge and see if she can dethrone the first ever champion of Alola, Selene, who took charge three years ago.

With little to do beyond hanging around Iki Town and wandering around Hau’Oli, with her cousins off to their own adventures, she decided she might as well take it.

The Popplio clapped in glee and hopped towards her.

She held her first… rather, second, Pokémon, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Gabriel.”

Popplio welcomed the nickname with a cheerful bark. Followed by another cry of triumph.

Gabriel stared at the newcomer.

She noticed it’s gaze and introduced Gabriel to her technically first Pokémon she befriended.

“Oh, this stardust looking little guy? The name’s Aster. Aster’s not really someone I want to use in battles since Aster doesn’t seem like the kind to like fights right now, but Aster’s a friend.”

Aster the Cosmog smiled at Gabriel, excited at the thought of having a new friend.

[panpanstyle]

Panpanstyle Birthday Suit Up Personal story

Oh guess what. It’s 12 of March today, meaning it’s Panpan’s birthday.

Now why don’t we celebrate it by writing a story for once?

☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆

Note before you read this!

Panpan or more specifically my persona here is the prefect of Ramshackle dorm/Yuu. idk why but i just wanted to imagine what would it be like if my persona is Yuu/MC of twst

I’m not much of a writer tbh, and you could said this is my first time writing a story in english, so don’t mind me not having the best grammar ever lol

The person interviewing her is a mob student, or anyone, or it can be you

Now let’s start the story shall we?

                                                            [Part 1]

Happy birthday!

Panpan: Well happy birthday to myself i guess. I really wasn’t expecting anyone to interview me but oh well, here i am.

You look nice in this outfit.

Panpan: Ugh, well thanks. But honestly i’m not really a big fan of this outfit.

Panpan:  The skirt is shorter than the skirt i usually wear in my school uniform. So this morning Mr.Crowley had to dragged me to class.

Panpan:  And before i know it i was already in the school hallway and lots of people are seeing a girl in a birthday suit screaming at a suspicious looking man with a mask but is actual the principal to not drag her to class with this kind of clothes.

Panpan:  what a pain, but at least lot’s of people are congratulating me, and some of them even gave me presents!

Please tell us about your birthday experience at home

Panpan:  ...

Panpan:  You see...

Panpan:  It’s not that no one remember my birth date. But i don’t really celebrate birthdays, sure i got a birthday cake. Tho somehow i always received my cake seven days before my actual birthday. So there aren’t really any cake left on my birthday.

Panpan: At least my parents let me buy anything i want, and my friends would wait until twelve o’clock to call me and wish a happy birthday.

Panpan: Beside today is just another any normal day. I'm just glad today we don't have a math exam.

Panpan: there's a reason why i never really anticipated twelve of March. Somehow my birthday always happens with the day of a math or any subjects exam.

At least right now you can enjoy your birthday to the fullest right?

Panpan: I hope so, i'm just praying Grim wouldn't cause any ruckus by eating all the food, or Ace playing a dumb trick on Deuce to annoyed him and then suddenly they're pointing their magical pens at each other.

Panpan: Most of all i'm just worried this dorm will be a mess after all the partying happening here!

Panpan: I swear to God if everyone in this party won't help me clean the damn dorm, i will have vengeance! I didn't even order anyone to make this party.

You seem to have lots of thing to worried about

  [Part 2]

What kind of things do you like?

Panpan: things i like such as? Hmm....

Panpan: there's lots of things i like! Novels, anime, comic, or basically any media with a great story.

Panpan: but if you wanted my truest opinion, stories that are messed up are the best. Especially when everything seems fine and all at the beginning, and everything. Every single thing started to fall down and became a bundle of mess, like story about suicide, murder, humanity extinction, etc.

Whoa, that's dark

Panpan: Really? Well yeah, but i just found those kind of stuff to be interesting. And maybe because of this my art style tend to be on the darker side.

So you're interested in art?

Panpan: If you didn't know, I'm an artist! Also a student too ofcourse.

Panpan: Back at my world i drew a lot wether it be digitally or traditionally. Heck i could even create money from doing art.

Panpan: Ah wait, i sounded a bit arrogant there. Let me rewrite the word i just said.

Panpan: What i meant is that, i used to open a drawing service or you could said art commission. I would made some extra money by doing that

How was your school life before coming to this world?

Panpan: Oh, i would like to said it was pretty normal. Since i have quite the not too negative reputation and lots of friends i could trust. It was really fun

Panpan: All except my school system and the rules there upupupu. Most of my friends that didn’t go to my school said that they wouldn’t last a day here.

Panpan: Maybe i’m just really used to this school, that everything doesn’t feel that bad anymore

What kind of school did  you even-

i’m not gonna ask

Panpan: As you should.

Panpan: it’s a shame i came here a day before my graduation, i wanted to know what its like to graduate with my dear friends.

Did you have any lover before?

Panpan: Why are you even asking this? Does it look like i have any real life experience in terms of romance?

Panpan: WHO THE FU-

Panpan:  Who even assigned you this kind of questions? I never heard of this question when i’m interviewing the other.

Let’s just said a couple of boys-

That’s a story for another day, they wont probably be too happy with me leaking this information

            [Part 3]  

What is your favorite food?

Panpan:

Vanilla muffin! But i haven't eaten those in like four years. So other than that my favorite food would be whatever my mommy cook's for me

What is your least favorite food

Panpan: Liver. Everytime i eat it or smell it I'll always get nauseous, maybe it's an allergy or maybe i just can't handle eating it

Are there any certain activities you like to do in your free time?

Panpan: aside from being crowley's babu. When I'm not busy I'll explore this school and try to not get lost and then i would talk to the ghosts and living paintings here!

Panpan: it's so interesting to see some supernatural stuff here. And small fairy even exist here. So cute~

[twisted-leader-of-something]

Week 1 - Classic Horror - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Author’s Note: Happy October everyone! Here is my promised start of TWST Halloween 2021! Starting off with a classic story, the story of Jekyll and Hyde, one of my favorite psychological horror/thriller books! It may not be super well-known, but it’s well known in the old literature community as most likely one of the first psychological stories about the human condition! So, as celebration of the story I love so much, I will be putting a spin on the classic tale with my OC Quentin! I hope I did the story of Jekyll and Hyde some justice!

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of death and rape, and an ending that. . . Is kind of ambiguous. 

Crow’s Dusk is a quiet town. 

It’s always been that way, ever since I moved into this small town with my spouses. 

I’ve always loved this small town. Despite the fact it’s mostly divided into eight parts and everyone mostly keeps to their part of town, it’s often so calm and quiet in this town, you can take a stroll at night, meet someone new without being afraid of being killed, and meet them again the next day at one of the many schools in this town and become friends. It’s so much different than my home where being murdered was a very real threat.  

For the most part, this town doesn’t stand out compared to others that make national news for things like plagues or mass murders despite this small town holding some of the most advanced schools in the country. Sure, we have bar fights that our police gave up on cracking down on, a church whose not really all that serious about it’s work, and celebrities that stop by the town so often or live here that I can call most of them by name. Hell, a world-famous actor came by my house the other day to ask for more sugar and flour and I called him by his first name and offered a drink at the bar next time I saw him.

It’s quite strange, thinking about this town in the grand scheme of things, really.

We’re all so different, and yet, we live in the same area.

It almost makes me-

“Quentin, darling?” Eadwine called from the balcony in a white shawl covering her nightgown.

“Yes, Eadwine, my love?” I called back, walking back to her.

“You’re still dressed, dear. Come inside, it’s almost midnight.” Eadwine pouted in that cute way she always did when she was worried, as she came and took my shawl that I wore. “Have you slept at all?”

“Forgive me. I just was clearing my head after an meeting.” I must’ve said, guilty, as she pouted more.  

“Geez. I swear, they keep you so late.” Eadwine said, opening the door to our home and putting my shawl on the rack. “I might have to go to a meeting myself to see what all those late night meeting are about.”

“Well, you know the council, paranoid as always.” I sighed, as I followed Eadwine to the kitchen. “At least I have no paperwork this time.” 

“With all these incidents happening, I almost don’t blame them for their worries, my loves.” Another familiar voice chimed in, and sooner after, I felt a warm kiss on the forehead. “I’m glad you got home safe, Quentin my dear. I was getting worried.”

“Indeed.” I smiled as best as I could at him. “I am home. And can eat some wonderful food instead of food from the bar.”

“Then, let’s go eat.” Eadwine smiled. “The fireplace is still going. You can tell me all about the meeting while we cuddle!”

“Yes, yes. No time to waste.” I joked, as I was guided to out living room by the loves of my life.

There was knock at the door. Strange, the paper came in a few hours ago, it wasn’t the milkman or mailman, way too late for them. 

Who was it at this early in the morning? 

“Ah, yes, coming!” I called, and opened the door to see. . . Epel Felmier. “Epel? What’s the matter?”

“Is Quentin up?” Epel asked very seriously, panting and out of breath. 

“Yes, she went to visit the asylum to check on the patients, as she normally does in the morning.” I said, “Why?”

Epel seemed relieved, tried to get inside the house. “I need to use your phone, right now.”

“Epel, please tell me what’s happening!” I said, preventing him from getting inside. “You can’t just say that and expect me to not ask any questions!”

“I can’t.” Epel said, trying to push past me. “Vil said this isn’t something I say to just anyone. It needs to be to council members only.”

“Well you know, so I’d say that’s off the table.” I said, sternly while holding my ground. “You clearly know! Just tell me!”

Epel seemed so surprised he stopped trying to push past me, blinked a few times. 

“Fine.” He said, stopping trying to push past me. “But we have to be inside and you have to swear to me not to say a word about this.”

I nodded. “Alright.” And I move aside, letting Epel in. 

So, after I sat him down and started to make tea right in front of him, I simply asked. “So, what’s the matter?”

“Old man Crowley’s been murdered.” 

“What?” I said, almost dropping the cup I was preparing for Epel. “I’m sorry, are you serious?”

“Yeah.” The lavender haired boy said. “He was found by Yuu while walking Grim.”

“I-I see.” I simply said, giving him his cup that he took and took a drink of.

Crowley’s been killed? 

Why?

Who would do such a thing? This town- It’s so quiet and peaceful. Nobody really hates anyone else. Sure, we fight with each other, but we make up soon after. It’s impossible to not in such a small town.

Who would be so mad that they would kill Old Man Crowley?

“Mrs. Eadwine?” Epel asked.  

“Sorry. I’m just so shocked. It’s just. . . It seems so strange in a town like this.” I said, as I stood up, fixed my dress. “Yes, you can use the phone. This way.”

“Thank you.” Epel said, as he followed me to the kitchen, but upon seeing a steak I’d made last night. He stood there, watching the steak. I stopped upon noticing, “Do you want it? It will take a few moments for me to get Quentin.”

To which Epel’s face light up, showing a genuine smile I haven’t seen from him yet. “’Eally Ed-wine? ‘Ank you!” He smiled, as he took the meat for himself, and after a few seconds, he seemed embarrassed. “A-Ah. Sorry about that. Got a little to excited there. Where are the cutlery?”

I laughed because of his cuteness, and pointed to the drawer he was standing in front of “Right below you.”

Which earned another smile and a ‘thank you’ from Epel as I picked up the phone, and put in the number to the asulyum. 

“Yes, this is Dusk Asylum. How can I help you?” A voice on the other side said. I didn’t know this person, nor did I quite care. 

“I’m Quentin Nighty-Sallow’s wife, Eadwine Nighty-Sallow. I need to speak with her right now.”

“Huh? I mean, yes, I can do that as Quentin is free right now, but what is the matter?” The other person on the other side asked. “It’s not often you call.”

“Something has come up in our family. And I need to tell Quentin about it.” I said, which seemed to make the other person on the other side of the line stay quiet for a few minutes but simply make a ‘hmph.’ noise. 

“Alright. Please wait a few minutes. I’ll be right back.” The person said, and sure enough, soon after the person came back. “Here she is.”

“Eadwine?” Quentin concerned voice made me soften for a moment. Her voice full of concern. . . It’s so. . . motherly it makes me want to be in her warm, loving embrace so badly. “What’s the matter?”

“Epel needs to speak with you. It’s urgent.” I said, making sure to be serious. 

Quentin was silent for a few minutes. “Is he with you?”

“Yes. I’ll hand it over to him.” I said, and made a gesture to Epel to make him come over. He did, and then he took the phone as I stood to the side, making sure to give the two space to speak, but close enough if Epel needed me he could see me. 

The conversation was actually quite short. Epel’s side of the conversation went something like this, “Good afternoon Mrs. Quentin. . . Yes, it is wonderful to hear from you, it’s been so long, but unfortunately I didn’t come to talk, I’m actually here for Vil. . . Yes. . . No. Old Man Crowley’s been killed. . . And we don’t know who did it but Yuu’s panicking really badly. . . .Yes. . . Yes. . . When can you get off work? . . . Ah? . . . Yes, he did. . . And, yes, I was planning on it, to help out. . . Really?!” Epel’s eyes lit up. “Thanks a lot Mrs. Quentin! I owe you one! I’ll go be with the others, then! Thanks so much!” 

And then he hung up with a smile. 

“Everything alright now?” I asked which earned a nod from Epel. 

“Yes, she said she’d take care of everything and I should go back home for today to rest from that startling revelation and she’ll pull some strings to let me get off school for today so I can be with Yuu and the others. She’s the best!” Epel smiled happily again, to which I nodded. 

“That’s why I married her. Go on.” I smiled. “Go enjoy your day off.”

Epel then nodded, and almost took off out of the house before he stopped. “Ah. Would you mind if we stop by since you, well, know and we have no place else we can be in?”  

I laughed and then nodded again. “No, I do not mind at all. But normally Amiel, Azazel and Quentin all come home around twelve to have lunch with me so I don’t feel alone in this big house all day. I hope you don’t mind if we all have lunch together.” 

Epel shook his head. “No, it’s quite alright. What’s on for lunch?” 

“Amiel asked for breakfast foods since his work has been hard lately. So I was thinking of egg sandwiches since our chickens have been making too many eggs lately.” I smiled, which earned a nod for Epel. 

“I see. Deuce will love it then.” Epel smiled, as he turned back towards the door. “I’ll be back then.” 

I waved to him as I walk towards him, and as soon as Epel left, I waved goodbye. 

“Oh dear. How am I going to make food for eleven people?” I then asked myself, as I closed the door. 

I'd never been to an emergency meeting before.

In a small town like this, meeting happened once a month, if at all that month.

So, to say I was nervous was. . . A bit understating things. Though luckily, I wasn't the only one who was a little nervous about this meeting.

"What? The mayor's dead?" Kalim Al-Asim, the head of the Scarabia district said, as if he wasn't informed.

"Yes. He's been killed." Vil Schoenheit said. "Someone stomped him to death."

"What?!" Riddle Rosehearts said. "How?! How do you stomp a person to death?!"

"You'd be surprised how easy it is for some." Azul Ashengrotto sneered, looking at Leona.

"Shut it Octopus." Leona Kingscholar growled at the mafia man. "Our guys said it wasn't them. They are at the bar when this shit went down."

"Moving on," Vil said. "Yuu and Grim need a home now. And, they said that they saw who it was."

The whole room went silent.

"They saw the person who killed Crowley?" Riddle clarified, which Vil nodded.

"Then who was it?" Ortho Shroud, who was standing in for Idia Shroud spoke up.

"According to Yuu, the person. . . Had really black hair. And didn't even look human." Vil said. "They couldn't even tell if was a boy or a girl."

"Eehhhhh." The group seemed to say.

"That narrows nothing down." Leona said. "We have lots of people with black hair and a black cloak."

"We'll be here all night debating who it is if we keep this up." I spoke up. "I'll take in Yuu and Grim. No matter the case, those two need a new home. My house is pretty big. I'll take them in."

"I figured you'd say that." Vil sighed. "Quentin, we can't tiptoe around this. We need that information."

"I know." I sighed. "But Yuu won't talk if they don't feel safe, plus, there’s no point debating this. We’ll just end up putting someone’s head in a noose without evidence."

Vil sighed again. "Fine. You're the master at this, so I'll trust you on this."

Mrs. Quentin’s Mansion was bigger than I thought it would be. 

Yes, it was rumored that she was pretty rich, but I didn’t think her house was. . . At least three stories high! From how she normally acts, she doesn’t seem to be quite as rich as her house says she is. She even has a fountain and personal gate in front of her house!  

“God, Quentin has a huge house.” Ace Trappola said. “She definitely can house at least you and Grim, if not a good amount of the city comfortably.” 

“I know she’s a world-famous psychologist and a diplomat for a royal family, but, it’s strange seeing her house when Quentin is so different than the other council members who are so stuck up with their money.” Deuce Spade said. 

“Yeah.” Epel Felmier sighed. “But I like her home. It has a homey-feel to it.”

“True.” Ace smirked. “It’s so much better than Section Mayor Rosehearts house. His house is so clean and proper it makes me sick sometimes.”

“Pffft.” Jack Howl laughed. “You should see Section Mayor Kingscholar's place. It puts all the others houses to shame.”

“Master Draconia’s house is the best!” Sebek Zigvolt piped up. 

“Yes, yes. We all know you like Section Mayor Draconia.” Ace sneered, causing Sebek to give a look of shock. 

“What’d you say?!” 

“Oh, there she is.” Das Alvah spoke up, and sure enough, there was a female figure coming towards them. 

A woman with long brown hair, wearing a green and brown dress, surprisingly not so formally dressed. The woman then opened up the gate, letting the young townspeople in. 

“Good afternoon!” The woman smiled. “Welcome to my home! I’m happy you all made it safely!” 

“Thanks for inviting us!” Deuce said, politely seeming rather embarrassed. 

“And thanks for you food~!” Ace smirked, as he walked towards the big house, with a few of my bags in hand. 

“Come now, no need to be polite since we all know each other already, Eadwine just finished lunch. Let’s all eat before it gets cold.” Quentin smiled, and gestured the group to come in. And, the group did and Quentin closed the gate behind the group, and lead the group inside the home. 

“Hey, Mrs. Quentin?” Deuce asked, as the group came inside the home. 

“Yes, what is it Deuce?” Quentin smiled at Deuce and then others.

“Where should we set Yuu and Grim’s stuff?” Deuce said, gestured to the things the others where holding for me. 

“Oh, anywhere is fine, really.” The council member smiled. “Eadwine said she’ll pick it up later.”

“Eh?! Is that really okay?!” Jack said, nervously. “This is your house after all.” 

Quentin laughed. “We’re here to have lunch and hang out together, not to worry about luggage.” 

“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because we can-”

Quentin sighed. “No, no. It’s alright, really. I know my house is pretty far from town and a lot has happened lately, so it must’ve been hard to get here. There’s no need to worry about things like luggage. We’ll take care of it later. For now, let’s eat and relax for a bit.”

“Yeah~!” Ace smiled, as he set down my stuff. “Quentin’s my kind of Council Member!”

“Alright, if you say so.” Deuce said, setting down my stuff with Epel, Jack, Sebek and Das following suit soon after, following Epel to the kitchen. 

"Hey! Amiel! You can't eat all of it!" A masculine voice said. "We have guests coming over!"

"Yeah, so?" Another voice said, as we entered unto the kitchen to see. . . Two men, one with blonde hair, one with dark brown hair. It seems the brown haired man was eating a bunch of food, while two blonde people where trying to stop him. "The chickens will make more!"

"Darlings, please!" A woman with blonde hair said, "The guests are here!"

As soon as the brown haired heard the guests where there, he stopped eating and looked up and upon seeing us, he blinks a few times, and then seems to turn into a prefect gentleman. “Ah! Welcome to our home!” Amiel said. “You must be tired! Come now, let’s all eat!”

The blonde male let out a tired sigh, while the blonde female let out a laugh. Though, it was hard to tell if it was awkward or mischievous in nature. 

“Ah~ Thanks for having us~!” Ace said, as he immediately started to eat some of the food. 

“Ah! Ace! Be polite!” Deuce said.

“Pffft! Not like you don’t want to do the same!” The red-haired boy said while gathering his food, which made the other boy nervous. 

“W-Well, you’re not wrong, but the host is here! Show some respect to them!” Deuce said, as he also started to gather food as well. The others started to follow suit, gathering the food and going into a sunroom, from all the windows in the room. 

And, for the most part, the day was spent in that room. I mean, we did explore Quentin’s house, but the sunroom was the place all of us decided to hang out with in for the day. Surprisingly, Ace, Deuce and the others stayed the night. Despite my insisting they go home, they stayed for dinner and we had a party until late into the night. 

Which, surprisingly, didn’t really affect our school day the next day. 

It became more and more often after the murder of Dire Crowley. 

More murders in the streets at night, but now more was happening during the nights. 

People where being raped by this ‘Figure in Black’ as the town dubbed them, houses where being robbed in the night as people slept with their valuables being destroyed, people being almost kidnapped by the figure, people being beaten in the streets by this figure, all sorts of bad things happening in the small town. At this point, everyone in this town had seen the figure and distrust was blooming like flowers in spring. Sections of the town where divided, gangs where formed in hopes of stopping this person, wearing black was practically forbidden, and rumors where spread of people possibly being suspects. Nooses where tied on trees, hoping the Figure in Black would happen to be nearby and be caught inside one of them. Innocents where being beaten in the streets in hopes of someone being caught. 

It was getting terrible. 

Years and years of trust and familiarity all out the window because of a figure we haven’t even seen. 

The Figure in Black haunts our streets, and the only thing we know about them for sure is they have black hair, yellow eyes, and look almost inhuman with a walking pattern. . . that seems both snooty and inhuman. Other sources contradict each other, like when Vil’s home was robbed he says the figure was wearing a full outfit under their iconic black coat that went to the floor. While local gangs who’d encountered the Figure in Black says the person wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and when the Figure would fight they’d see skin. Dirty skin, but skin nonetheless. There was just so much in the air about this Figure in Black. 

And, honestly, it’s so hard. I can’t do my job like this. 

Recently, there had been something left by the Figure in Black at one of the Professor’s houses. Professor Ashton Vargas specifically.

The word, “Narcissist” was written outside of the poor Professor’s house. In blood, according to some. 

And, it was a speculate. People from all over town came to see it in person, no matter the section of town you came from, people came to see. Council members, townspeople, all walks of life came to see it.

“Oh Gods! The Figure in Black actually wrote that in blood?! Whose blood is it?!”

“Maybe the person they murdered yesterday. Did you hear? They murder the head priest!”

“Argh! I’m gonna nab that guy myself! And in my territory too! He’s got some balls to pull that shit!” 

“I bet it was him! His handwriting is close to the writing!”

“Seriously?!”

“Urgh. I’m not cleaning this up. It’s so gross.”

“The gangs and police are useless. They aren’t even doing anything, look at them. They’re just standing there, dumbfounded. Absolute nimrods.”

“Yeah, useless bastards. What do we even let them around for?”

I’d come by just to speak with the council members there to inform them that Quentin. . . still refused to come out of her room. 

Quentin says she’s been sick the past few days, and from the crying and throwing up coming from her room, I’d be inclined to believe her. But, I myself haven’t really been with her in days, since she doesn’t want anyone to visit her while she’s like this. Yes, I’ve fed her, and helped her sleep and things like that, but other than that. . . She’s mostly kept to the bed. 

I hate when she’s like this. . .Because I can’t cuddle with her! She gives the best cuddles after she’s back from work! And her boobs are so warm and soft-

“Eadwine?” Riddle Rosehearts said, as the other council members turned around to look at what Riddle was talking about. “Tell me you have good news for me.”

I tilted my head. “I suppose that depends on what you mean by good news.”

“As in, your wife is suddenly better and can help us.” Vil Schoenheit said, putting a hand on his hip. 

“No. But she does feel awful for this happening. She’s tried to come out of her room multiple times, but she always ends up going back to bed or passing out.” 

“W-Well, that’s much better than yesterday.” Kalim Al-Asim offered, though he himself seemed pretty unsure of what to actually say to keep the mood up. 

“Not by much.” Azul Ashengrotto said. “What in Twisted Wonderland did she get sick with?”  

“But, there is a silver lining in this.” I stated. “She said she was up really late at night because she couldn’t sleep, and she made up some macrons.”

“Huh? Why was she baking at night? Doesn’t she know that she could get into trouble if she stays up?” Leona asked. 

I shrugged. “I asked, but she said she wasn’t thinking straight and she probably used up her luck for a year with not getting hurt by the Figure in Black.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Riddle said, as he took a macron and others followed suit. “That woman must’ve gotten pretty lucky.”

“Despite being sick, Mrs. Quentin Nighty-Sallow makes good food.” Ortho smiled, which Kalim seemed to agree with as he made a happy noise. 

“Indeed. I must get her recipe for this. it’s pretty good.” Azul said. 

“Meh. Trey does better.” Riddle simply said. “But it’s pretty close, I’ll give her that.” 

As the Council Members took the macrons, I looked at the writing on the wall. 

Wait. . . That handwriting. It look familiar. 

“Ah. I see you’re no better than the other housewives.” Azul teased.

“I suppose.” I said. “But, isn’t the Figure in Black right though?”

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Well, Vargas is a narcissist, according to Quentin. It’s well know throughout the town he is pretty full of himself, and Quentin says that it is also called being a Narcissist. While I don’t like the blood on the wall, why would they do such a thing if the town already knows Vargas loves himself?”

The other seemed quiet for a moment, but after a few moments of silence, Azul spoke up. "You're right. This narrows things down."

"It does?" I asked.

"Yes. Since Narcissist is such a lesser known word, even I didn't know what the word meant, only people like Quentin would know it, hence they could use it." Riddle said simply. "We just need to narrow down to Quentin and those close with her, and keep an eye on them, and we'll catch the culprit."

“Well, that’s one way to see it.” I sighed. “But, are we really going to track down every person who knows the word Narcissist?”

“If that’s what it takes, yes.” Riddle said. 

I sighed. It was a foolish idea. But, well, I didn’t have one that was better.

I don’t have much time now. I wish I had more time but. . . She’s done something that has sped up the process of finding out it’s me. 

But. . . I haven’t been able to stop her yet! 

What am I supposed to do?! It’s only a matter of time before they find out it’s me! My days are numbered!

I. . . I haven’t avenged them! They. . .They! They can’t rest in peace with a woman like her wandering the streets! She can’t be allowed to wander the streets! She’ll destroy everything in this world without mercy!

That monster-she has to erased from this world.

For all those who’ve suffered! 

No one know must ever know the truth.

I have to stop her! 

I don’t know how, but I will!

I don’t know if I can stop her anymore, but I have to try! 

I. . .I did this! I’m the only one who can stop this!

I may not know the difference between what is right and what is wrong anymore, or even have a say in it, but. . . she cannot be allowed to walk the streets.

Winifred must be stopped, no matter the cost!  

Mrs. Quentin. . . Hasn’t come out of her room in days. 

She hasn’t come out for anything. Food, water, not even to use the bathroom. 

Mrs. Eadwine, Mr. Amiel and Mr. Azazel keep trying to get her to open the door and help her, but she’s boarded up the door and she’s begged us to let her out.  

I’ve. . . I’ve never heard her sound so desperate. Every time we try to talk to her. . . She sounds like she’s crying. She screams for us to please leave her alone, and that she doesn’t want us hurt. . . But what does she mean by that?

She’s been screaming other nonsense as well. 

Talking about a woman named Winifred. . . Saying everything it’s all her fault and she’s so sorry for everything. . . How she should just die already. . . It’s scary. 

I. . . I hate to see the woman who took me in act like this. Mrs. Quentin. . . She’s worked so hard as a council member. . . She’s helped out so many people in Crow’s Dusk, and yet, I can do nothing as she rots away in that room.

 Mrs. Eadwine also is starting to break. She. . . Can’t listen to Mrs. Quentin cry. She’s become less of a housewife and has wandered town, crying in hopes Quentin will leave one day. Mr. Amiel and Mr. Azazel aren’t much better. 

What are we supposed to do? The Nighty-Sallow house is falling apart, and I-

What am I supposed to do?

It’s hard to go home anymore. 

Quentin. . . I love her but. . . She’s tearing herself apart. 

I don’t get it! 

Why?! 

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, QUENTIN? 

DO YOU WANT ME TO SUFFER? BECUASE CAN’T YOU SEE?! I’M SUFFERING! IT HURTS! I CAN’T BEAR MUCH OF THIS ANYMORE! IT’S TOO MUCH! I HATE IT! I HATE IT!

DOES IT HURT THAT MUCH?! WHY WON’T YOU LET US HELP, THEN?! WHY ARE YOU WAILING IN PAIN ALL DAY AND NIGHT! IT PAINS ME TO HEAR YOU! WHY?! WHY?! WHY ARE YOU ACTING THIS WAY?!

WHY WON’T YOU LET US HELP?!?!

Ah. 

I’d wandered off from town again. I’d gone to Professor Vargas’ house again. I don’t know why, but i keep coming here.

“Urgh. Now’s not the time for this.” I said, wiping away my tears and then I saw it. 

The message written on the wall of Vargas’ house. 

He still hasn’t washed it, has he? Gods, what a-Wait.

I got closer. That letter i. That’s looks like. . . how Quentin does her i’s. The way the dot is-Wait.

No. No. No. 

It can’t be! 

There’s no way! 

She won’t do such a thing! She’s too kind, yes, she’d get mad at others, but she won’t hurt others! 

This doesn’t make sense!

I raced to our home, straight to where Quentin had locked herself up. “QUENTIN DESMONA! OPEN THIS DOOR! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!”

Silence. 

“QUENTIN! DON’T YOU DARE GIVE ME THE SILENT TREATMENT! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE! OPEN THIS GODFORAKREN DOOR, NOW! OR SO HELP ME GOD I’LL SMASH THIS DOOR DOWN!”

Still silence. 

“FINE THEN! THIS DOOR IS COMING DOWN! YOU BETTER NOT BE NEAR IT WHEN I BREAK IT!”

One hit. It moved.

Two hits. The door made a strange noise.

Three hits. The door broke, I could see on the other side Quentin has stacked chairs and tables by the door. 

Four hits. The door broke even more.

Five hits. The door was gone, and all that was left was the chairs and tables.

After some pushing they where at one side too. Until I could finally-

And on the floor, there laid Quentin.

Covered in blood.

“Quen. . .tin?” 

[halloweenismyfav]

《 Note: OC incorrect quotes because I can- ~ The only characters I own are my OCs (Mallory, Thorn, Marius, Asani, Ashe, Blaise, Fero, Aurelia, and Libi). The rest of the characters are either from Florenetta (@just-patchy) or TWST itself. 》

《 🌸 TWST OC Incorrect Quotes Cause I'm Bored 🌸 》

Libi: Help! I told John I'd cook dinner tonight but I can't cook!

Lucetta, pouring milk directly into the cereal bag: And you thought I could help?

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

John: Here's a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to fight whoever is under it.

Libi: John, no.

Lucetta: Mistlefoe.

Libi: Don't encourage him.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Blaise: Okay, truth or dare?

Idia: Truth.

Blaise: How many hours have you slept this week?

Idia:

Idia: ...Dare.

Blaise: Go to bed.

Idia: I don't like this game.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Asani: Must be hard not being able to laugh.

Jamil: I do have a sense of humor, you know.

Asani: I've never heard you laugh before.

Jamil: I've never heard you say anything funny.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Marius: How's the prettiest person here doing?

Ashe: I don't know, how are you?

Marius, flustered: I-

Floyd, from across the room: I'm doing great, thanks!

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Mallory, walking into Ramshackle: Hello, people who don't live here.

Jack: Hey.

Deuce: Hi.

Sebek: Hello.

Epel: Hey!

Mallory: I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only!

Ace: Riddle was gonna collar us.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Jamil: Where're you going?

Asani: To get ice cream or commit a felony, I'll decide on the way there.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Silver: What's a word that's a mix between 'sad' and 'mad'?

Fero: Disgruntled, miserable, desolated-

Aurelia: Smad.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Stefano: Favorite horror movie?

Mordred: It.

John: Saw.

Lucetta: Annabelle.

Libi: High School Musical. After watching it, I spent all my middle school years terrified that the entire school would start singing something and I'd be the only one who didn't know the lyrics.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Libi: I'm gonna take you out tonight.

John: Great, it's a date!

Libi: I meant that as a threat.

John: See you at five!

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Silver: I slept for almost twelve hours, but I might still be tired, so lets go for twelve more just in case.

Aurelia: Silver, that's called a coma.

Silver: Sounds festive.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Marius: I've noticed we've slowly been phasing out the B out of our Bromance.

Ashe: There was a B?

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Blaise, writing in their diary using a glitter pen: I'm losing my sense of humanity. Nothing matters. God is dead. There's blood on my hands.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Marius: Why is it always the sassy gay friend? Why can't there be some variety?

Thorn: Like the sarcastic ace friend.

Mallory: Brutally honest bisexual friend.

Libi: Constantly anxious pansexual friend.

Asani: Less than impressed lesbian friend.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Lilia: Do you take constructive criticism?

Aurelia: Not without crying.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Thorn: Without the ugly in this world, there would be nothing beautiful.

Mallory: Thank you for your sacrifice.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Aurelia: When someone points at your black clothes and asks whose funeral it is, having a look around the room and saying 'Haven't decided yet' is typically a good response.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Silver: A pessimist sees a dark tunnel.

Aurelia: An optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Sebek: A realist sees a freight train.

Fero: The train driver sees three idiots standing on the tracks.