#also OG Cale is so

[youngyoo-apologist]

OG!Cale drawings, I love this guy.

[asexual-levia-tan]

its interesting to me when people write lily as being fragile and naive and weak to blood/violence when she literally helped defend two vampires who were bleeding to death from cat tribe members. hello? and she wields a greatsword? HELLO???

[sadlynotthevoid]

One of those AU wiki reaction fics where the top quote on OG! Cale's page is:

"Maybe if i keep lying, I'll eventually trick myself too." - Cale Henituse, at age 15

or some other age idk

seems like good angst potential

I'm of the opinion that Og!Cale actually tries to be honest to himself as much as he can to avoid believing into his own act. But I can see him saying this refering to his own state. Like:

He's looking at his giant mirror in his bathroom, staring at his own reflection. His vision is too blurry to see himself clearly. He stares for a moment. A minute, ten minutes. Trying to force that paper pale and red colors to form into someone else's image. Someone else's memory. But—

He doesn't remember.

He doesn't remember how she looked like. How she smiled or what expressions she made. He barely remembers her voice. How did she use to say "I love you"? Did she used "sweetie" like other parents do? Or was something else?

He doesn't know.

The only memory he can bring out with that horrible white and more, more bloody red— He doesn't want to think on that.

It's okay.

"It's okay." He repeates to the mirror and himself.

"I'm fine." It sounds fake even to himself. That's fine too. He's a good actor, a better learner. He just has to say it until it sounds right. And then, well...

"Maybe if I keep lying, I'll eventually trick myself too."

He blinks. The water falls and the image now mirrors his own.

"Ah."

Turns out, there was really bloody red.

Is this angsty enough for you? To be honest, angst is easier to write for me, but I prefer low levels of angst (unless I'm in a Mood™) because sometimes it makes me a bit anxious. Like, "hurry up, someone help him/her/them. Ahhhhh. I don't want them to end bad :((((" sort of feeling.

Back to the wiki react thing, have you ever thought how strange it would be a TV Tropes page react fic? Some tropes are really not what you think, others are exactly what it says and others have just strange names.

Also, the random mix of information there. Sometimes you het a detailed description, sometimes it's just a "x character is this to y" and no more explanation.

I just think it would be fun.

[zumzumnyan]

Seeing a convo with my friend made me realize how addicted I am into ogcale. I love him sm your honor.

[cinnabeat]

augh english version of tcf novel is going to release soon...............i know theyre gonna call him alver.......must prepare myself for the psychic damage

[unluckycactus]

Choi Han's whole deal with the spoon is supposed to come up in the next AF update, but just to put it out there:

See, Choi Han can't act for shit.

We know that. Choi Han knows that. Everyone knows that.

But as shown in canon over and over again, that's basically his only major flaw. Aside from that, he's an excellent helper and atp he's very used to KRSCale's modus operandi.

And that's the thing. Just as he learned to be an excellent helper for KRSCale, Choi Han also had to learn how to become a good helper to OGCale, however both roles required different things from him in order to assist each Cale properly.

For OGCale, Choi Han had to learn a lot of showmanship. Mainly party tricks. Most of which were taught by OGCale himself.

Heck, in this universe OGCale even taught Choi Han how to drink properly. From how to pace himself to avoid getting wasted, to how he can coax someone else to get wasted.

Enters the spoon.

See, OGCale has a signature party move that he passed down to Choi Han: opening a bottle with a spoon and perfectly spilling the contents in a row of glasses.

It was the very first trick Choi Han learned from OGCale.

After Raon destroyed the AF world, well-- Choi Han has his memories knowledge-wise, but the muscle memory is gone, so he has to practice all the tricks all over again.

And he's determined to relearn the spoon trick before meeting HeniRoksoo.

Which leads to why everyone is drunk in this bonus scene: they're helping Choi Han empty the bottles.

Acquaint Fate bonus scene

Rosalyn, Alberu & Choi Han tell Cale about HeniRoksoo's shenanigans in the destroyed world

◇──◆──◇──◆ ✦ ◆──◇──◆──◇

After Cale busts the meetings in Beacrox's kitchen and confronts everyone, thus making HeniRoksoo no longer a taboo topic, there's this moment—

In-between their plan to drag HeniRoksoo to their world, an unlikely scenario occurs.

It’s late at night. The kids are asleep, so are most adults at the villa.

In a room far away enough to not disrupt anyone, Rosalyn, Alberu and Cale gather. They’re tipsy as fuck (we all know Cale is sober), laughing quite loudly.

Choi Han is there as well, sitting on the far end of the sofa Alberu and Cale sit at as well, looking at a spoon in his hand as if it held the meaning of life.

Rosalyn cackles madly, hitting the armrest of her individual seat as she says:

“Remember when he made the Orsena go bankrupt?"

Alberu's groan says he knows exactly what she's talking about.

"That was nasty."

Rosalyn giggles, swirling her cup of wine.

"Oh, please. You loved it."

"For political reasons, I can't deny nor confirm that statement." They lock eyes, and Alberu breaks character. “Oh, who am I kidding?”

Cale raises an eyebrow, but waits until his friends are done laughing. He knows they will fill him soon enough.

"The late Duke was into gambling." As per usual, Alberu doesn’t betray expectations.

Cale takes a sharp breath, already anticipating the outcome.

"... He did not."

"That punk faked a losing streak and lured the Duke into betting everything he had— and I mean everything, not even the clothes on the Duke's back were left to his name after Kim Rok Soo was done with him."

"Shut up." Contrary to his words, Cale’s tone carries sheer elation and the underlying message of how offended he will be if Alberu dares cut the tale short here.

"But he didn't stop at that. He gave the Duke a grace period to pay the debt and they signed a contract."

"— what did that punk ask for as collateral?"

Alberu’s smile twitched, and Rosalyn was shedding tears, so Cale leaned back expecting something great:

"The Duke's main residence."

"... he made them homeless?" Wow, now he wants to go on a looting spree with Kim Rok Soo. That guy sounded like a lot of fun.

"It gets better." Rosalyn assured.

Alberu nursed his drink and asked mirthfully:

"So, the Duke was forced to ask for a loan— Cale, whose family do you think is one of the major shareholders of the Royal Roan Bank, hm? Who do you think has enough sway to convince them of lending that amount of money in such a short notice?"

Wheeze.

"He didn't stop at that." Rosalyn interjected. "Lady Orsena, that bitch–"

"Gasp!" Cale mock-gasped.

"You know she's a bitch. Anyways, back then, she wasn't quite the successor of House of Orsena yet."

Alberu, always privy to his own kingdom’s political gossip, added on.

“Lady Orsena needed an accomplishment to prove herself in front of the vassals. Eventually, she got word of a land that was up for auction in the south; various intel sources assured it contained high-grade mana stones.”

Cale’s lips twitched.

"He spread that intel.” It wasn’t a question.

“Uh-huh.”

Kim Rok Soo, that bastard—

“... he didn’t make it a cheap investment, did he?”

Alberu threw his head back and barked out a laugh, so Rosalyn took over telling the story.

“Oh no, Rok Soo pulled a you and made Lady Orsena’s pocket bleed, until she won the auction—”

“— only to realize it was money that her family did not have.”

“The mine promised to solve all of their economic problems, but payment was due in a week, so….” Alberu and Cale locked eyes. “Lady Orsena took a loan, and became the new owner of a salt mine.”

Cale’s own eyes started to tear up. This domino-effect level of screwing someone over was just glorious.

“Then Rok Soo waltzed into their main residence a week after that, contracts in hand, and kicked the Orsena out. The Duke’s debt, his own loan and his eldest daughter’s loan had accumulated astronomical interest by then.”

Alberu sounded way too thrilled for someone whose kingdom had a whole dukedom befall into ruin.

“Their contracts had a clause stipulating that, if the Orsena failed to repay at least twenty percent of the debt in half a month, the bank would put their properties up for sale until the entire debt was paid off.”

The three bursted into laughter yet again.

The whole thing was so over-the-top and petty, and yet so satisfying.

“Wait.” Cale suddenly sobered up. “He brought Raon to the casino–?”

Raon normally helped Cale by providing information about his surroundings. He also played an important role in his scams.

Therefore, Cale kinda expected for Rok Soo to make a similar use of the little dragon.

“No, he didn’t let Raon tag along." Everyone turned towards Choi Han, who finally joined their conversation. “Rok Soo-ssi is very good at mathematics. I don’t understand, but the basics is that he kept track of the cards and calculated all the possible hands he could get; the same applied for the other games, he made his bets based on probability.”

Alberu low-whistled.

“... look at that punk go.” Snorted Cale.

“Right? Right?!” Rosalyn looked quite proud.

[youngyoo-apologist]

Regressor OG!Cale and Regressor!Kim Roksoo based off of that one Skip and Loafer panel

[slackerlifewhere]

random thought #3

[Minor SPOILERS for the first part of TCF]

Cale treats his ancient powers like they're his friends. Some would say he "stole" them for his own benefit but I just can't see it that way after everything I read in the novel.

Cale, former Kim Rok Soo, made a connection with these people. To me, they're not just powers to him. In fact, it feels like he understands what happened to them and if he doesn't, he quietly listens to their stories. And the way he talks to them also feels less like a selfish person who wants to use them for his own protection and greed for power but more like giving them the chance to see a beautiful world that became peaceful because of them. It's like he's comforting them after they suffered so much in the past (which is also connected to the healing thing I talked about in my other post).

Like yeah, he's annoyed at them most of the time but he doesn't blame them whenever he gets hurt or bleeds way too much as a backlash after using them. Instead, he simply helps them achieve what they couldn't do when they died.

“I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Cale said goodbye to the rumbling tree as if it was a person and exited the fenced area.

- Chapter 5: They Met

If he truly didn't care about them, he wouldn't get angry for them or at one point, he would've let their voices disappear in favor of getting stronger.

I like his relationship with them. Like they're the voices inside his head (lmao) and it might feel like he has wireless headphones attached to his ears 24/7 but he treats them the same way he treats the rest of his friends and family and it's really nice to see.

This is kind of the reason why I feel a bit weirded out(?) when fanfiction authors would completely erase Cale's (OG KRS) existence in the fic and replace him with OG Cale and give the other the ancient powers. Like I get people like OG Cale, I do as well, but it feels kinda wrong to see them with another person after seeing Cale bond with these people. In fact, I can't imagine them being with anyone but Cale, this chaotic little shit who gives Super Rock huge headaches and makes the others go violent for or with him whenever he's fighting with an asshole. Aside from one ancient power (if you know, you know), I just can't see him having none of them with him after everything he went through with them.

I keep remembering his almost one-sided conversations with all of them because most of the time it's chaotic but the rest are just as emotional with a feeling of deep understanding coming from him. It feels like he always has someone with him so whenever they're silent, I feel like the air is too heavy (like those few incidents when I just want to hug Cale).

I think the best description for Cale is that he's full of empathy.

So yeah, this is a random topic I thought about chaotic Cale and his equally chaotic ancient powers. Yes, I'm including Super Rock who isn't normal either. He's tamer than the rest but he's definitely not normal 🤣 I swear some people who think they're normal in the story are probably in denial like Cale is.

It just popped in my head when I saw the line about the tree in Chapter 5, which I quoted above ☝️

[Note: I'm not saying these authors are doing anything bad, by the way. This is just my opinion and I usually just skip those fics when I see them. I won't stop others from reading those fics just because I feel weird about this one thing about the ancient powers]

[Second note: This is about the first part of TCF, I dunno what happens in the second part yet but I hope to see more of his interactions with them]

[sadlynotthevoid]

Because of that dream I had (mentioned in this post), I headcanon that og!Cale's only fear that applies to himself are teachers. All his other fears implies other people being the one who suffers, but he's deeply scared of teachers.

He's teacher-phobic like some people are clown-phobic and like some little animals are afraid of humans. (Or I to spiders)

In my mind, that's the actual reason he abandoned his studies. He had a whole conversation prepared to convince his father that he could do self-study and have Ron or Hans test him every some months. He was so ready to have to present a whole list of arguments when he ditched his classes.

Instead, Deruth just agreed to it almost immediately. Cale was so shocked that he forgot to tell him about the self-study part.

A few days later, he heard some people talk about how "the young master's behaviour got worse and worse" and how "he refused to have any education at all". Then they mentioned how Bassen was so dedicated in comparison.

So he decided that this misunderstanding was quite useful and let it be.

Anyways, I headcanon this so strongly that sometimes I forget it's not canon.

Everytime I read a highschool AU where og!Cale is skipping classes, I'm like "yeah, I would do that too if I were him". Then I remember that that's not canon, not even in the fic. He's just keeping with his "trashy" persona.

(Although, if the fic doesn't contradict it, sometimes I keep going with my reason instead).

[maeiia18]

SCREAM IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

I said this in my twitter and I'll say it again, while i cant deny that Deruth is a bad father to Cale, he still supported him from afar (like the emotionally constipated person he is—).

Like, even with Drew still in the picture (if i remember correctly), he was still a bit awkward with Cale and only really connected with him through Drew. And after her death, the misunderstandings and miscommunication between them grew and grew.

(Imo, even in the present he's still connecting with Cale mostly through Violan and the kids' cues)

He was also grieving for his wife and coped the only way he knew, by isolating himself from everyone and breaking down in his sorrows. As much as it is a bad move to just basically abandon your child to deal with their grief, and seek his own happiness after without any thought of his child's feelings about it— he's also just a person. And people have flaws and make mistakes, just like we do.

(Would you like physical reminders of your dead lived one? The ones they left behind? Would you just brush your grief off easily and live normally with them gone? No? Everyone grieves differently, and Deruth was at his lowest point at the time. Ofc he would act like that)

Did he treat Cale like this way too long? Yes. But again, he wasn't 100% at fault in this. They both failed to communicate with each other, assumed each other's actions wrong, and tried to protect the other in their own way. Deruth and Cale still LOVED each other, they just couldn't do it properly.

(The family was also constantly being scrutinized by others, be it the public, extended family, or the nobles. So thats that)

It's a MIRACLE that he didn't make Cale do the things his late wife did so that he thinks she was still there (wearing dresses, growing out his hair, etc.). Or changed who he was/kicked him out so that he doesn't have a physical reminder of his late wife. Or even (wrongly) blamed him for her death.

Its a MIRACLE he spoiled Cale and gave him what he (supposedly) wanted. That he goes above and beyond to try and make his son happy. That he makes it so Cale lives comfortably, safely, and freely to his own desires.

Even in irl, there's many people like this (i can personally attest to that). And while it hurts sometimes, its still miles better than what others have. He shows his love in his own way, and i can live with it.

Saw hate on Deruth and like cmon guys

Deruth is the Asian dad :)

He neglected Cale emotionally but (unlike a certain King who is wealthier than most noblemen) Deruth also spoiled Cale a lot

New clothes, glimmering accessories, A LITERAL PRIVATE LIBRARY FOR HIM AND ONLY HIM

And Cale's food is always on top

Cale doesn't like the food he is served??, OKAY fire the chef, get him another perfect plate

Vicross is still standing and working because he's Ron's son and his food is "decent"

Oh but Deruth let Cale drink and become an alcoholic and does nothing about it 🥺

Pls 😭 stfu

Cale likes to drink, and he lets Cale drink

It's the only few things Cale likes

But he neglected Cale health 🥺

Girl this is a fantasy world, there's no doctor lmao

Cale needs and wants are met,, Cale lives comfortably in his house, safe and warm

Deruth is the dad who would buy the whole store

Cale: Can you get me uhh coke

Deruth: Ok *buys the whole company*

Cale: no

Come argue with me we'll fight to the death

[clayshell]

A new understanding of cale’s character

cale henituse is a depressed bastard (we kind of been knew) am currently rereading the novel, so this time I noticed a tea symbolism, where the after the first time ron gave cale lemon tea and he drank it life's kind been giving cale lemons ever since. so of course it got me thinking more about the relationship between cale and ron and find that it would be interesting to study.

what kim rok soo observed of the relationship between og!cale and him was that ron didn’t have any particular like for cale, so could he as cale also operate under that or..?

[elaemae]

What did Og!Cale sacrifice?

Genuine question...

Hear me out;

I'm reading the latest chapter of 'In an Instant' by Messy_haired_bum and something just clicked in my head.

See, I know that the Og!Cale is a fan favorite, something that I didn't really understand because we don't know a whole lot about the guy, but there's just something that's been stopping me from getting enamored with him via various fanfictions I've read even though they've made the Og!Cale very lovable, and I didn't really know what it was, for a long time, until now.

There are various posts circulating around saying that Og!Cale sacrificed himself greatly with the deal he made with the GoD, and at a time, I believed that. But... reading this chapter opened my eyes and made me think, what did Og!Cale sacrificed?

What did he sacrifice that he didn't already lose?

A lot of ppl say that Og!Cale lost everything to be KRS but the only thing he had left was his identity. That's... not a lot to be honest. Not enough, actually.

Now, I can hear y'all thinking "Current!Cale got his wealth, backing, and a family–", but so did Current!KRS.

Current!KRS also didn't need to deal with a world war involving a megalomaniac, entire enemy nations, and a literal divine being.

Og!Cale was a foot soldier for 40 years, most likely didn't help a lot against Arm and The White Star, and he died without any (known) great feats but he's given such an amazing opportunity to take over the body of someone that'll need to deal with all those problems? An opportunity of rebirth that even Lee Soo Hyuk wasn't given until he gave one up of his abilities to help seal a deity?

He knows he couldn't shoulder the burden of saving the world so he just... washed his hands off that responsibility... And then occupied the body of a high-ranking well-known individual to then go off and get a happy ending with his reincarnated mom.

As the excerpt above said, it's a win-win for him, he doesn't get soul-crushing responsibilities, he gets a high-ranking position that grants him power, he can deal with the learning curve due to being given Og!KRS's abilities and having an actual reliable guide, and he gets to be back with his mom.

And...

... If Current!Cale ever fails?

He can just shrug and say it's not his problem anymore.

He's got his new happy life now. (I'm not saying he will, I'm just saying he could, if he was a lesser man)

Current!Cale lost everything he had too, all the fruits of his labors, the results of him dealing with all sorts of issues and problems for years, just... taken away by a stranger in his body. You can say KRS!Cale wasn't really happy, that Og!Cale didn't know if the body he'll end up in would be okay, that he gambled with his life in taking over Og!KRS's life.

Life that... he was about to lose anyways.

It just wasn't fair...

If we ignore the fact the KRS!Cale is literally thriving and just look subjectively at the situation of the body switch, KRS!Cale got the short end of the bloody, hellish, rotting stick.

I can only get closure if I personally find out if Og!Cale ever gave a fuck about the uninvolved, innocent guy that he sent to deal with a 20 year war, and not in the 'Is he doing the saving he's supposed to?' typa way, I want to find out if he ever feels guilty of the responsibility that he gave the man, if he ever worries for KRS!Cale's personal safety and mental health, for putting an innocent man through war. An innocent man that couldn't just stand by, as the world he found himself in, burns around him.

I don't want to dislike the current KRS, I want to love him actually, but this is my current perspective on the matter and you guys are free to share yours so that I can broaden my mindset about Og!Cale (pls do, I wanna like the guy but I wanna know if he's a good guy first, I wanna know why ppl love him so I can love him as well)

[weirdmultishipper]

Unpopular opinion(?): Deruth Henituse

Let's all face it: Deuth wasn't a bad father to Og!Cale. He was millions of times better than a lot of fictional fathers and I wholeheartedly agree with that. ദ്ദി（• ˕ •マ.ᐟ

Unpopular opinion: That's doesn't mean I have to like him. (¬⤙¬ )

And I'm all for different opinions. People can view one thing in various different ways, and that's perfectly understandable! I don't like Deruth and that's mine.

Deruth was-no, is a coward. The lovely author of the novel has made it pretty clear. And I don't hate him for it. Being a coward is not a sin, but neglecting your son is.

Like b*tch, most fanfictions make you a better father than you are just because your wife was dead like WTF?!?! Your son's mom was dead too REMEMBER THAT?!?! 눈_눈

And I'm not against Cale and Deruth having a good relationship or those fanfics that basically erase Deruth's wrongdoing because to be honest, I enjoy them too. It's much easier to pretend Deruth was a good father and that our lovely little Og!Cale had a wonderful life than look at canon. o(TヘTo)

Let's recap: Deruth was a decent father until Jour died. Then he went into a deep depression of which Cale tried his bestest to pull his father out of. We know Cale basically ignored his own sorrow just to take care of his father AND the count duties his father was ignoring at the same time. While there is nothing wrong with grieving as losing Jour was very hard for Deruth, couldn't he have at least put SOME effort into assigning someone efficient to handle his duties so 7-year-old Cale didn't have to?

While on the topic of grieving, Deruth not only failed his duties as a count but as a father. I personally have no experience with this, but I had a friend with a dead mother. Even though her father must've been sad too, he put in effort to take care of her and her sister, send them to school, make money, manage the household and everything. Fathers and mothers push aside their sorrow every day to do the bast they can for their children. Deruth, on the other hand, was too much of a fool to do any of that.

Deruth wasn't the only one who lost Jour, after all. Cale lost his mother. The one who gave birth to him, raised him, hugged him, told her all his secrets, whom did the same in return, and was the only other person with the same bright and beautiful hair that he had.

And he could've turned around after a few weeks and fixed everything up and let both him and Cale heal with each other. But NOOOO~ He had to leave his only cute, lovely, wonderful, but most of all GRIEVING son all alone in a cold and lonely mansion for vacation. Like he could've at least taken him along so they could grieve together? But NOOOO~ Cale looks too much like his dead wife and that's so iMpOsSiBle~ ～(　TロT)σ

But he fixed that? How? By marrying the woman on the spot! Bringing in a new countess when no one but him got over the old one and turning up all the dark shades of sorrow into wedding curtains before Cale even knew what was happening! (°ロ°)

But I also know he had good intentions. Being the count and all, he probably knew marrying Violan would mean she could help her with the household. Maybe he also thought that Cale would immediately think of her as his mother.

Now, him falling in love wasn't a sin and Violan is an amazing woman😍, but I think he undermined his son's sorrow just because he found a reason to move on from Jour.😔

BTW, Violan, Basen, and Lily are amazing. They're one of my most fave fictional families and no one can tell me otherwise. Go them! q(≧▽≦q)

And as the years go by, our smart Cale realizes that the vassals and the collateral family are coming after Violan and Basen and decided to throw away his life and soul all for his father's picturesque perfect family; just so that coward can be happy.

And then KRS!Cale comes along (also love him, go my baby make fires 🔥 and steal MONAH!!! 🫰💰💵) and suddenly, Deruth thinks Cale is all "fixed" and "not broken" so he can finally reach out to his son, only it's NOT HIS SON ANYMORE!!! Like, he had over 10 years even after marrying Violan to reach out to him but ?????

But since there are no implications of him raising a hand against Cale, I don't hate him and wish for his death like another certain protagonist's father (I'm looking at you, Kim Dokja's 'father'), but that doesn't mean I can just forgive and forget all of this, okay?

Yes, he let Cale waste his life away because he couldn't even protect the new family member that he brought into the family HIMSELF as the count, so Cale had to do it himself. And from what I can infer, when the Choi Han incident happened in TBoaH, he didn't even show up or visit him even though we know Cale would fight the damn gods if it were the other way around. He did provide Cale with the best treatment and kept an eye on him, but couldn't bear to face him.

So in conclusion: I don't really hate Deruth, but please for the love of peace, family, and chaos DON'T convince me to like him one bit.

[thegradus2]

Here 🙏 https://open.spotify.com/track/0Zw2o1Ep5rVWYa3Z5vRKVm?si=WAE3Rs_NSkSikQrX-IJCmQ

Man its just like. It starts out SO sad, with the depressing piano and strings. And then it turning over to whimsical piano and strings, furina and focalors putting on a mask and playing a role, pretending everything is fine. And then, end of the play, back to reality and showing how they really feel with the DEPRESSING PIANO AND STRINGS

you can hear so obviously when it turns over to the part with neuvilette in the cut scene even if its still the exact same vibe. Genshin music is so good. Im fucking losing it over furina man FURINA DE FONTAINE #1

Just the way she can so effortlessly ignore her own pain and suffering in a snap and just put on a mask like that UGHHHHHHHHHH

I found the songs that plays during focalors’ suicide on spotify and i had an hour long breakdown abt furina and focalors w it on loop may whatever gods are up there bless me with more mental stability

[cindythecyclops]

Am I an enjoyer of Twin AUs or any AU where KRS and OG! Cale have a familial/platonic relationship? Yes.

Is RokCale also my favorite TCF ship? Yes.

I am very glad that the TCF fandom is so chill, if I were to have this kind of opinion in any other fandom, I'd be torn to shreds. I have been torn to shreds for this exact reason, lol.

[unluckycactus]

Noble Boarding School AU

I’m disappointed in the shortage of Noble Boarding School AUs, so my brain just birthed one.

Quick note: Cale here stands for og!Cale.

Now, picture this: instead of waiting for years to start acting out, Cale Henituse age eleven convinces Deruth to send him to a noble boarding school. Violan is pregnant with Lily so the timing is just right, Cale wants to create the narrative that he’s getting kicked out.

Deruth is unsure, but Cale convinces him by throwing a fake tantrum after fake tantrum. He’s sick of being stuck at home all day, he says; he needs friends, yadda yadda. Cale relentlessly pushes and pushes and pushes, until Deruth finally gives up.

Cale has a plan! He’s going to become the worst troublemaker this school has, tarnish his reputation to the point his family is ashamed of him and the vassals can’t plead his case any longer, then make a huge mess to get expelled in a couple of years.

—except, Cale’s plan ends obliterated when he accidentally becomes the first year’s valedictorian.

"No, I was not standing up for the students! I was just complaining!", "I didn't intend to expose the staff corruption, I was trying to start trouble!" "I was trying to start a riot, not to form an student council!"

Who’s here:

Alberu — Reason: scammed the Queen.

Basically, she wanted to get rid of him to cement her children’s positions in the palace without his interference and tried to send him abroad.

Alberu is no fool and recognizes this is a good opportunity for networking: however, he won’t let his enemies peacefully get rid of him. He says ‘hell, no’ and pulls a Perez (In This Life, I Will Be The Lord/I Shall Master This Family) making the Queen pay him out of her own pocket to get rid of him.

Rosalyn — Reason: fooled her parents.

Our gal just wanted to study magic and the academy has a magic program, she basically lives a double life and her family has no idea.

Taylor Stan (uncrippled) — Reason: buying himself some time away from his crazy family to network in peace.

Eric Wheelsman & Gilbert — Reason: I just want them there.

I wouldn’t include Amiru because I’d like Amiru to focus in her own territory, therefore being homeschooled.

The reason why I’d add Gilbert is because, well, if the school has a magic program why not a knight program as well? Yes, it is just an excuse so I can add Choi Han as well.

I also would make Kim Rok Soo transmigrate as a teacher or something, too.