#kalim clubwear

[cyath]

Quick wip trying to get past this art block 🫠

[roaringdrago]

pop music club + icons

[wisteriainslumber]

It’s Club Dayyyy

nrc club hcs for the club vignettes we never got

warnings: curse words, b6 spoilers for the movie club section

Mountain Appreciation Club

just jade, himself, and the great outdoors

appreciating life, having a nice peaceful hike on a sunny day

or a nice dip in the pond, it really depends if he wants to connect with nature or hunt nature that day

no, its not lonely being by himself, it’s jade’s cottagecore vacay away from NRC

he can literally just chill on the mountains as a club activity. no loud NRC tussles, no responsibilities, no having to play 4D chess to be in everyone’s good graces

its a goddamn dream come true

plus if you join, you can experience this too!!

a fan of any miniature items. the teensy tiny mushrooms are so cute they fill him with so much joy that hes shedding tears

if jade has lil terrariums, why not tiny fairy houses? 

DIY miniature doll houses with flower lamps, strawberry bean bags, and mushroom seats

this is totally a part of club activities btw <333 and yes his club room is decorated with all of these things, its very cozy

you don’t need to be an animal magnet like silver to get help from the forest critters

jade respects the earth, the birdies sometimes leave flowers out for him on the path he usually travels

for anyone screaming 'its a fae trap', his curiosity just rose astronomically

way too bold of you to assume he'd avoid such a thing

that ring of mushrooms? it looks very pretty, it’s like nature’s call for a photo op. maybe you should stand in it. jade will help you take pictures :)

if jade is ever feeling too lonely, he’ll bring a plushie along with him, for the illusion of company. its sort of nice because he can talk to it and encourages him to take more pictures (plushie tea party, anyone?)

all of these photos he takes arent only for the ‘gram its for the club (technically personal) scrapbook. he shows it to floyd & azul every time he takes a hike and every time jade pulls it out, there are audible groans

gargoyle research & mountain appreciation should have a collab i think it would be very enriching

Pop Music Club

all of their instrument expertise comes from outside of the club

u think they actually learned how to play in that club?? pffft its a glorified hang out spot

just a bunch of friends who all know how to play instruments hanging out under the guise of club activities

we are going under the impression that clubs either get no supervision or very little supervision bc there is no way this club will still be standing if so

their band practice is only for appearances bc all they do is play the few songs they know well then spend the rest of their time preforming trick shots w/ their instruments

kalim is reading off the sheet music meant for the trombone but its okay he’s going off the vibe™

as opposed to cater, who can’t even read the sheet music, but are they a boss with playing by ear (girls got perfect pitch)

if you hear the band get off-beat, its very hard to pinpoint who the culprit is bc none of them are on the same page physically, they communicate telepathically (its all in the Vibes)

they would be the band that continues playing during fire alarms and severe emergencies. nothing like a bit of background music to ease panic, right?

however they’re very quick learners. like if someone wants to belt off their lungs to a song, the rest of the club will find the sheet music and join

(seriously though, lilias got some pipes. kalim is getting too into it with bashing the drums and cater has to catch up bc in what world does a single college kid become so good at singing about unrequited love??)

put them in a room together and they are all fighting for custody of the braincell

all of cater’s and lilia’s old guitar picks are used as decorations around the club

as in, they connected them on sashes and it’s hanging like some colourful fairy lights

they let kalim pick three of the collection and those turned into pop music friendship bracelets :)

their meetings will end with ‘we should totally start a band’ (and they never do)

Board Game Club

monopoly was Extra banned after azul joined

have you ever felt extorted by the bank? that there is suddenly a surprise interest for taking too long to buy a property? to be told you counted wrong even though you're pretty damn sure u triple counted?? bc thats what he did as the banker

the biggest betrayals come out of this club during uno

crowley suggested to play more peaceful games like scribbl.io but then it ended up with a competition of art skills

their club room has drawings and fanart of their favourite characters in there 

students of this club absolutely CARRY the art bazaars. anything you can think of under the sun, they can do

need jewelry? pottery? paper crafts? cool paintings? costumes? you can absolutely commission them (uhh if you can find them, that is)

the D&D sessions in this club get so majorly intense that students have started physically reenacting the actions, like larping

crowley would have let the students keep the very real and very sharp swords they brought if pomefiore student C didn’t get a leg injury from them

better luck next time

but who am i kidding, if idia is feeling particularly silly that day he’ll permit the use of magic

and by silly he means when a club member says something so factually incorrect about the D&D setting that nothing less than fire can make them atone for their sins

and what is NRC if there aren’t any consequences for the losers? the mantle of the gamemaster is passed around at every meeting, so depending on their luck, the loser either wears a dunce hat or assists in the winner’s projects

despite all of this though, they are ride or die!!! if you need help farming mats for a game, you will have at least 3 classmates available to help

co-op is amazing in this club. it may be filled with taunts but generally they are very supportive and are a very cohesive team

it makes you wonder why they don’t work together very often

well thats because theyre only bonded by common goal. they are Petty. they’re still bitter about losing at uno

Equestrian Club

probably the most order you'll get, clubwise

not because riddle is part of the club its more like the horses will punish any misbehaviour before he can

the savanaclaw students defend the horses with an energy even sebek couldnt manage

poor ignihyde student B got flown across the field for being too rough with the lead

now on top of the very hurtful gut injury, ignihyde student B is getting mentally kicked down for treating the horse like a toy

during the beginning of the club, there would be info sessions and you’d have to pass a test regarding safety, maintenance, and proper care of the horses before you even begin to ride

and even before that, theres a grace period to establish a bond with the animals 

after silver pushed the agenda, riddle now schedules weekly bonding time with their horses

the scarabia students enjoy this immensely they'll be braiding flowers into every horses' hair

NRC students go ham on halloween and that means their pretty horseys are also getting cool costumes to match

sebek’s horse is out of the stable the quickest to run up to him

on the outside, very wholesome. but if you’re standing near sebek in any shape or form, it looks like his horse is charging up to trample him and it is very scary

the equestrian club magicam page is filled with the most photogenic horses and costumes you’ll see

and depending on who is posting, the captions will consist of horse puns or informative facts on horse maintenance and care

i seriously mean it when the members of the equestrian club start reciting these in their sleep

replace the salt licks, put on winter blankets, polish the hooves

and most importantly: WEAR YOUR PPE.

honestly this rule should be applied mostly to spelldrive & science club members but hell, that’s their problem. your ppe is just as important for you as it is to the horsies, so dont slack or else ur going on club probation

you know how people baby-talk their pets

now imagine that with a bunch of horse girls

thats the whole club

Track & Field Club

between a bunch of boys and the great outdoors, extremely dumb things happen in this club

if theyre done doing club activities, theres truly nothing to do

and they take advantage of the lack of supervision by hijacking the sprinklers

lots of water fights bc the sun is beating down on them while they’re doing exercise. ‘stay hydrated’ is their club motto

if all else goes wrong, at least the grass is watered amirite?

as far as ik, vargas supervises this club but they seem very chill. im not sure if this club is the one that’s in dire need of supervision

there’s a bunch of inside jokes that vargas somehow overheard??

he’ll say them back in later club meetings without a lick of context

a student once asked how his life in NRC was and while most of it was a lesson to take care of your physical health, the club has exclusive gossip on how vargas thought crewel was the most annoying classmate ever😭

they’re not snitches though bc they still wanna hear more juicy stories

a few curious students tried that raw egg diet and got sick as all hell

salmonella is deadly, my friends

rip to the beginners because vargas will ask you to do 100 curl-ups as a WARM UP. 

instructs like a sergeant but has the energy of a fun uncle

he will let the students pick a warm-up song 

very few fights or disagreements happen in this club mostly because everything can be solved through competition

whoever can run past the big oak tree first gets to be vargas’ helper for the duration of club time

the students are free to decorate their headbands for the club and because friendship is #magic, deuce and jack exchanged their headbands to decorate

at some point they started have mud sculpture contests and by ‘mud sculpture’ i mean they make mud hurdles and whoever can’t jump over them has to put the club equipment back by the end of practice

this club loves touching grass so much

Magift Club

leona is a wonderful leader but unfortunately he is also the least tolerant of problems that arise

if you can sort thru puberty then u can sort out ur own problems damn🙄🙄 yall really be going to leona to complain about octavinelle student B whipping a disk at ur head at ur grown age???

yall seen ruggie play upside down with his damn grippers on the broom

some of the club members think thats super cool and try to do the same

only to sustain head injuries

which epel very nicely helped them to patch up

before every game they group huddle and leona gets dragged in all the time no matter how much he complains

the mantle of the speech is passed around the entire team on different games

everyone plays a part!

and by playing a part i mean that they all scrawl down mean things to say about the rsa students and put it in a hat

they read them aloud when team morale is low

any breakfast skippers in this team broke their streak around the first week of joining

yk, because it is unhealthy™ but mostly bc if leona catches anyone skipping meals before practice or a match, they’re getting a new one ripped into them

he’ll prattle on about how he doesn’t want anyone at their 70% at a practice or that not eating makes their movements sluggish and a liability

and its very easy to take him at face value but i promise he means it all in good nature and concern for health <3

sometimes leona will use epel as an example and praising him for being a good student™ for eating and intaking nutrients or wtv 

but epel will sometimes then start an impromptu presentation about the nutrients in fruits and food which is a mix of things he’s learned from his family and from pomefiores routine

ruggie ofc says smth entirely different, that any food is energy, and leona promptly throws the slipper at him sjdsjdf

ruggie treats his broom like a person

very respectful, talks to it for no reason (or maybe he’s talking to himself??)

pomefiore student A believes that he’s establishing a relationship with a broom and isn’t that a beautiful thing?

riders need to have a good relationship with their horse, so why shouldn’t the same logic be applied to a broom?

yeah, this gets travelled around a bit and people who are not part of the spelldrive club are puzzled. like do magift players get an extra special broom or something???

Gargoyle Research Club

ALL on his lonesome its the saddest thing ever

if you ask a senior, they will tell you an old rumour that the club is a disguise for dark arts practice

to be fair, there’s nothing refuting the rumour but it got quickly shut down just because it wasn’t wise to talk about the future heir in such a way

the air of the club is so vibey bc come on, its just strolls around the campus and learning gargoyle lore

its mal’s niche interest and he’s sort of winning since hes the sole member and can ‘sign off’ that he attended even if he loses track of time and misses the meeting

‘‘meeting” is a very generous term its mal at a round table with a bunch of empty chairs 

jade and malleus are members of the #soloclub so jade passes on his advice to fill the empty spaces with plushies

hes learned every name of the gargoyles that reside on campus, and if they are nameless, sometimes he’ll bestow a name upon them

mal would help unclog or brush off any leaves that may have fallen into the drainage systems (yuu keeps putting leaves in the gargoyle mouths to ‘feed them’)

one of malleus’ favourite things to do in this club is when its raining. he loves to see the statues just spout off water so gracefully

he’d sculpt the most beautiful mini gargoyles though??

like i don’t think they’d be full size (for now) because there’s gargies all over campus, but just know, these miniature versions are all fully functional just waiting to do their job

lets not forget that mal is on his second? third? volume of his self published gargoyle research books. the next volumes are coming with illustrations for optimum learning efficiency  

the illustrations may occasionally have footnotes that say something along the lines of ‘gargoyle stationed next to the school gates, nicely polished’ 

lowkey though, he finds the statues weathered by time and storms the most beautiful. theres entire sections in his books just waxing poetic about the craftsmanship & the stone withstanding the force of nature and erosion

and ofc how to determine the approximant date of a sculpture, along with how cracks, rust, pigmentation, and whatever else stands as a testament to how beautiful things age

i think this club might benefit from powerpoint club initiation idk though

Science Club

yeah i said it before but these are unsupervised students with access to a wide range of chemicals

most of them are hyper-reactive as well

sometimes its nice to mix some stuff together and watch it blow up

and sometimes u be feeling a little thirsty and risky that day

diasomnia student A had grown fins and a tail because of this and looked majestic with them, even though he absolutely couldn’t breathe

some bright scarabia student had the fun idea to incorporate their own magic into the mix. you know, because plants, ingredients, and metals with magical properties weren’t ‘oomph’ enough

its not that they don’t know how to create a shimmer potion but, buuut what if they doubled the pixie dust so they can create an ultra light potion?? (*cough* it might function like a solar flare lolol oopsie daisies <33)

rumours say this student had received malleus draconia’s praise, but for some strange reason, none of the club members present had a reliable alibi 

even though they need to send in a full list of ingredients and their intentions with them, the students still end up creating borderline dangerous potions

its not like theres a bag inspection or anything

unspoken agreement within the club that anyone can bring in whatever the hell they want as long as they leave no traces afterwards

the science club has gotten extra extra sneaky because oftentimes crewel will show up unannounced to ensure that no one is doing something stupid

rook hunt is the anti-thesis of lab safety he has actually violated pretty much any and all lab protocols, past, present, and future

his bad influence is causing the other club members to forgo their safety equipment too

rook do be drinking random chemicals to see what they would do but what caused one student’s sclera to turn colours only causes rook to hiccup pink bubbles. its a strange phenomena 

and no trey is not exempt from this bc what were his club members with equally as dangerous chemicals in their bag gonna do? snitch? be fr

curiosity runs rampant in this club and none of their intentions are for the better

Basketball Club

jamil is the mom of the team

against his will, as always

his leadership style is much more different than leonas

while leona will step in if needed, jamil will dip

sort it out amongst yourselves. if he comes back in 10 minutes and theyre still squabbling, then jamil is going to sic floyd on their asses

of course it works every time. if you consider "fighting to the death" as an ethical suggestion

often times jamil will praise heartslabyul student E for being so well behaved but this is obviously a dig at ace

poor ace got demoted. he's the biggest menace in the first year group now he has to deal with ppl who are bigger menaces than him

without fail, every club meeting there will be someone reenacting the basketball song from that one classic movie. singing it just ups your chances of getting the ball in the basket i dont make the rules

if you listen closely, you can almost hear the squeaky shoes on the court

every time someone makes a shot, you will hear ‘LIMP WRIST SYNDROME’ being shouted

i dont know the basketball positions but ace is the one that’s all over the court. hes fast as hell. his members say its bc hes the shortest one on the team 

all those sleight of hand tricks arent only for parties, they’re also for playing ball >:) dupes the enemy team so much when fighting over the ball

this club is both the biggest victim and the biggest instigator for locker room antics because everyone is very very petty

jamil would scold them for tracking water all over the floor but will not stop floyd for soaking everyone with the shower head he personally knocked off the wall

until he got caught in the fire, now jamil has snatched the shower head and by the seven is he going to use magic to make that shit boiling hot

and ofc vargas mistook those burns as sun burns and praised the entire club for being so hardworking in the hot weather jsdfjh

once one of the diasomnia students thought they would get extra pumped for a game if they pretended the floor was an rsa student's face

they smacked the ball so hard on the ground that it ricochet up into their face and accidentally broke their nose

poor dude, you really gotta feel for him

Film Studies Club

crap ton of students signed up when vil was in first year solely for the reason that ‘vil is in this club’

which of course, was nice but vil made sure there was brutal auditions to weed out the ones who joined just to see him

many people believe it’s savanaclaw & the magift club that snorts protein like its crack

no, it’s pomefiore

and by proxy, vil is enforcing the same rules

gotta keep ur body on its toes, eat good for no pimple, work hard and rest harder

on another note though, oof, personal vocal lessons with coach schoenheit😩

the octavinelle students love to gossip and start rumours and play it off as it being "improv"

rumours circle around though and one epel felmier is not very happy about allegedly being an RSA transfer student

when they have movie analysis days, vil rarely ever lets his own movies be shown

yes, feedback is good from anyone, but not only is he a senior, but one of the leading figures of this club. the only thing he’d hear were praises, and if he wanted that, he’d just go to rook

ortho is having a blast working with all the different kinds of cameras, and loves when the members request for a camera with a very specific function

it gets his genius little mind to work and he can show off his expertise. it’s a win/win!

also uses all of this data to weaponize his acting to the max. he will learn how to use crocodile tears for his benefit, he will learn how to intimidate people even with his adorable form

vil may be a brutal dance coach but my heart tells me ortho is much worse. he helps choreograph but completely forgets that his joints dont work like people do

he also overestimates everyones strength solely due to the fact that physically, the club members are stronger than idia due to the rigorous training regimes

his stage directions be like “okay and you can move the set when you exit stage left”

like.. the entire set?? one person?? 

ortho gets wayyyyy too invested in his character but now vil is using ortho as an example to keep the rest of the club members in line aiuhdffgh

ortho is the biggest instigator for out-of-pocket improv because its like a livewire reaction. one person goes in a crazy direction and the rest of the club is following suit

no one knows what the original script is anymore ijsdhfgn

[neige-leblanche]

also i saw playful kalim's groovy from one of my friends' cards today & STAY STRONG LU STAY STRONG..........

[twstchaos]

Day 171 of my daily visitor post, ehehe!!!

@twstwhisper, come get yo maaaaaaaaaaaaan!!! You can keep the snake, and I’ll keep the cupcakes and gems!!!

Welcome back again for the ninth time to Ramshackle, Snek boy~

~~~

Gooooooooooooooods, he is so hoooooooooooot!!!

[yuurei20]

There are 392 cards available on JP as of August 23rd

・Jade, Floyd, Jamil, Vil, Rook and Ortho have the most cards (19)  ・Malleus has the fewest cards (14) not counting Grim (5), Rollo (1), Crowley (1) and Crewel (1) ・Kalim has the most SSRs (10)  ・Cater, Vil, Ortho and Grim have the most SRs (7)  ・Jack has the most Rs (6)

Event cards are separated by character and they each have the following cards unless otherwise stated:

SSR - Dorm Uniform SSR - Birthday Boy SSR - Union Birthday SSR - Bloom Birthday SSR - Platinum Birthday SSR - Clubwear (in progress) SR - Master Chef SR - Labwear SR - Ceremonial Robes R - School Uniform R - Gym Uniform

Riddle - 15 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Halloween SSR - Tsumsted SR - Phantom Bride SR - Lost in the Book with Stitch R - Glorious Masquerade

Trey - 18 cards SSR - Vargas Camp SSR - New Years SR - Tsumsted SR - Halloween R - Wish Upon a Star R - Firelit Sky R - Playfulland

Cater - 17 cards SSR - Halloween SR - Firelit Sky SR - Tsumsted SR - New Years SR - Playfulland R - Beanfest

Ace - 18 cards SSR - Phantom Bride SSR - Playfulland SR - Halloween SR - Fairy Gala SR - Lost in the Book with Stitch R - Tapis Rouge R - Tsumsted

Deuce - 17 cards SSR - Wish Upon a Star SSR - White Rabbit Fes SR - New Years SR - Glorious Masquerade R - Halloween R - Tsumsted

Leona - 17 cards SSR - Fairy Gala SSR - Tsumsted SSR - Tamashina Mina SR - Halloween SR - Playfulland R - Vargas Camp

Ruggie - 18 cards SSR - Vargas Camp SSR - New Years SR - Halloween SR - Port Fest SR - Tsumsted R - Fairy Gala R - Glorious Masquerade

Jack - 18 cards SSR - Port Fest SR - Beanfest SR - Halloween R - Fairy Gala R - Tsumsted R - Lost in the Book with Stitch R - Playfulland

Azul - 17 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Beanfest SSR - Glorious Masquerade SSR - Tsumsted SR - Tapis Rouge SR - Halloween R - Vargas Camp R - Lost in the Book with Stitch

Jade - 19 cards SSR - Book 7 SSR - Halloween SR - Beanfest SR - Vargas Camp SR - New Years R - Harveston R - Tsumsted R - Playfulland

Floyd - 19 cards SSR - Book 7 SSR - Beanfest SSR - Lost in the Book with Stitch SR - Vargas Camp SR - Tsumsted SR - Playfulland R - Halloween R - Port Fest

Kalim - 18 cards SSR - Book 7 SSR - New Years SSR - Tsumsted SSR - Playfulland SR - Fairy Gala SR - Tamashima Mina R - Halloween

Jamil - 19 cards SSR - Firelit Sky SSR - Harveston SR - Tapis Rouge SR - Fairy Gala SR - Glorious Masquerade R - Beanfest R - Halloween R - Tsumsted

Vil - 19 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Tsumsted SSR - Tapis Rouge SSR - Halloween SSR - Firelit Sky SR - Beanfest SR - Vargas Camp SR - New Years SR - Playfulland R - Tamashina Mina

Rook - 19 cards SSR - Book 7 SSR - Halloween SSR - New Years SR - Beanfest SR - Port Fest SR - Tsumsted R - Phantom Bride R - Glorious Masquerade

Epel - 17 cards SSR - Harveston SR - Phantom Bride SR - Glorious Masquerade SR - White Rabbit Fes R - Halloween R - Tsumsted

Idia - 16 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Tsumsted SSR - Phantom Bride SSR - Glorious Masquerade SR - Wish Upon a Star SR - Harveston R - Halloween

Ortho - 19 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Fairy Gear SSR - Book 7 SSR - Playfulland SR - Wish Upon a Star SR - Tsumsted SR - White Rabbit Fes SR - New Years  R - Halloween R - College Gear

Malleus - 14 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Tsumsted SSR - Glorious Masquerade SR - Halloween SR - Firelit Sky

Lilia - 18 cards SSR - Book 7 SSR - Lost in the Book with Stitch SR - Halloween SR - Phantom Bride SR - Tamashima Mina R - Tsumsted R - Playfulland

Silver - 15 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - Halloween SR - Fairy Gala SR - Tsumsted R - Glorious Masquerade R - White Rabbit Fes

Sebek - 17 cards (no clubwear yet) SSR - New Years SSR - Book 7 SR - Vargas Camp SR - Harveston SR - Glorious Masquerade R - Halloween R - Tsumsted

Rollo - 1 card SSR - Council President

Grim - 5 cards SSR - Platinum Jacket SR - Labwear SR - Ceremonial Robes SR - Striped Ribbon SR - Master Chef

Crowley - 1 card SSR - Raven Jacket

Crewel - 1 card SSR - Rich Fur Coat

February’s Card Count:

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

hi hi sheep!! congrats on 300 followers!! 🎉🎉💕

i’d like to try my luck on the gacha for clubwear jamil please!

Floyd Leech: Slam Dunk

Hello Ian! ☆

Thank you so much for pulling on the Gacha of Love ♡ I'm sorry to say that you lost the 50/50, but congrats on getting Club Wear Floyd! Here is your card, enjoy! ♡ (Thank you Ian!! ♡ Funnily enough it landed on Kalim, but he was already requested, so I spun the wheel again and it was Floyd lol ♡)

If you would like to pull on the Gacha of Love too, you can find the event here ♡

Note: For this fic, Floyd (along with Ace and Jamil) are professional basketball players, and the Reader works at a coffee shop they frequently go to (in disguise/with their identities hidden) ♡

There was a new billboard outside the coffee shop, across the street near the high way. It was advertising a new sports drink, the sign rotating between different athletes posing with it. When work was slow, you and your coworker would look out the window, curious to see who was next.

"Ah, look! It's him! That guy you like!" your coworker shouted, pointing towards the sign. The billboard showed a tall man with different colored eyes, smile full of sharp teeth as he held the drink near his mouth. He was dressed in a basketball uniform, wearing a sweatband on his head and wrists. His jersey number and name was written below his picture, along with the name of the sports drink.

#10, Floyd Leech - sponsored by Electric

For shockingly good energy!

Your face heats up at their words, staring at the billboard for a moment before nudging their side. They laugh at your reaction, heading back behind the counter when a customer enters. You glance out the window, looking at him one last time before shaking your head, getting back to work.

It all started a few months ago, back when your coworker won tickets to a game happening close by. You agreed to go with them after their friend cancelled at the last minute, feeling bad as they scrambled to find someone. You weren't really a big fan of sports, having only seen clips online. You didn't want to disappoint them though, saying yes when you would have preferred to stay home.

The stadium was packed as you found your seats, close to the court in the VIP section. There was one player in particular you couldn't take your eyes off of, mesmerized by his skill. He was wild, unpredictable, even to his teammates. Rushing off and doing his own thing.

Your eyes would meet throughout the game, a grin coming to his face as he stared back at you. He seemed to enjoy your attention, taking the game more seriously as he continued to act out. He would ignore his teammates, making hook shots and dunks as the other team tried to stop him. He would look towards you after every basket, curious to see your reaction.

His teammates finally put a stop to it, having him sit on the bench until he was willing to cooperate. He didn't seem to mind at first, spending his time looking over his shoulder, waving to where you sat behind him. Soon he grew restless, becoming frustrated as he longed to be back on the court.

"Who's that?" you ask your coworker, pointing to where he sat.

"Oh, number 10? That's Floyd Leech, the team's wild card. He's really good on the court, though how he plays depends on his mood." your coworker responded, looking towards Floyd before focusing back on the game. You did your best to concentrate on the game too, watching a player with ginger hair slip past his opponents as he made his way to the basket.

While his teammates were good, you weren't drawn to them like you were Floyd, the image of his grinning face flashing in your mind. Sooner than you thought the game was over, watching as they celebrated their victory. Floyd's mood had improved since he was able to go back on the court before the game ended, cheering along with his team.

Your eyes meet one last time, right as you went to leave. You were surprised when he called out to you, grin on his face as he waved you goodbye.

"See ya around, Nickname~ Next game's in 2 weeks, got it?" he says, continuing to wave as he walked away. You stood there shocked as your coworker shook your shoulder, practically vibrating with excitement at what happened.

From then on, you and coworker would find tickets to each game in your tip jar, leaving you in disbelief every time you found one. The tickets were always in the VIP section, and (depending on the location) included enough money for a nice hotel and plane tickets.

You didn't want the tickets to go to waste, making sure to attend each game, taking your coworker with you. With each game was more glances, eyes meeting with grins full of sharp teeth.

You're broken out of your thoughts as another customer enters the shop, getting your attention.

"Hey, Name!" a man says, holding his hand up in greeting. He's dressed in a hoodie and sweats, a mask over his face and hood covering his hair.

"Oh, Cherry! How are you? Haven't seen you in a while." you ask, moving to prepare his order. He was a regular at the shop, always getting a latte and a slice of cherry pie. You weren't sure what his name was, but he was always nice, and seemed to enjoy the silly nicknames you would give him.

"Oh, ya know. Been busy with work." he responds, waving to your coworker as they walk by.

"Do you wanna meet Name's boyfriend?" your coworker suddenly asks, giving you a teasing look as they point towards the window. You shake your head, doing your best to deny their words as he walked towards the glass.

"Boyfriend?" he questions, confused by what they meant. They walk over next to him, pointing towards the billboard as his eyes widen in realization.

"Ah, I see..." he says, amused. He appeared smug as he gave you a knowing look, making you wonder what kind of expression he had under his mask.

"Personally, I prefer Ace" he states, heading back to the counter to get his drink and pie. He nods his head goodbye as he leaves, never able to stay long. From what he's told you his job seems pretty demanding, always away on business trips.

It's not until later that you hear your coworker gasp, looking in your tip jar to find two more tickets. Along with the tickets is someone's number, written next to a drawing of an eel ♡

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾! ♡

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

🍹 twst jp june 2024 events 🍹

Early June

📖🪞 The Main Story Reading Support Campaign will continue into June (ends on June 17). Please note that if you already received the rewards you will not be able to get more.

✨ Tsumsted Wonderland part 3!! This will feature a free R ❤️ Tsumsitter Ace and a free R 🐍 Tsumsitter Jamil. There will also be three limited time banners for SSR 👑 Tsumsitter Vil, SSR 💀 Tsumsitter Idia, and SSR 🐉 Tsumsitter Malleus! The SR Tsumsitters that will appear alongside the SSRs are ♣️ Trey, 🐆 Ruggie, and ⚔️ Silver.

🤵‍♂️♠️ SSR Platinum Jacket Deuce banner! His 💐♠️ Broomquet banner will also make a return.

Mid-June

📚⛺️ NRC Training Camp! There are plans to add an Alchemy section to the preexisting Magic History and Flight sections.

🍄🐬 SSR Clubwear Jade banner drops! FINALLY MY TIME HAS COME………….. …. …….. ….. .. . .. . … . . … Let’s enjoy the majestic of the mountains together~ 😊

Late June

🤵‍♂️☀️ SSR Platinum Jacket Kalim banner! His 💐☀️ Broomquet banner will also make a return.

[cheekinpermission]

hello! I was just wondering, do you have any advice for getting so many gems in Twst? Also thank you for your wonderful art, I enjoy looking forward to see what you draw next :D

Buy them

Just kidding! I've only made one purchase for TWST. It was less than $10 and was way back in the beginning for some kind of deal or something.

My 16k gem stash is the product of two years of grinding and selective pulls. I really wish I could say I had some kind of hack but that's really it. I'll talk about how I approach spending resources in the game, though, if anyone finds that useful.

As per usual, I ramble so it'll be under the cut!

1. Pick a favorite character

HEAR ME OUT I KNOW ITS HARD BECAUSE ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE GREAT! But it helps a lot if you're limiting who you're willing to pull for instead of every pretty card that comes out.

Personally, Riddle is my favorite (+ Grim but he's not really a concern card wise) so I'm committed to getting all of his cards. I'd really hate if I couldn't get one of his cards that I really want because I spent my keys / gems on a card that I only kind of wanted. So that's something to think about if it helps keep things in perspective.

All my Riddles!! (I definitely don't have a favorite Riddle shhh)

For example, I absolutely love Ortho's Fairy Gala card. I think it's one of the prettiest in the game! But I didn't pull for it because Ortho isn't a favorite character of mine.

It works the opposite, too. Kalim, Vil, and Ruggie are among my favorites but I've passed on a lot of their cards for one reason or another. I passed on Tsum Kalim because I didn't like the groovy, I passed on Silk Adorned Vil because I didn't like that it didn't have an attached vignette, and I passed on Camp Vargas Ruggie because I didn't like the event itself. While I really love these characters, I'm picky about which ones I'll pull so I don't miss out on a better one later.

For characters that I like quite a bit (top 5 ish), I'll use their free ten set you get on their birthday to try and pull for them. If I don't get them within those ten pulls, I accept it and move on.

I also want to say that this method has allowed to me to get pretty much every card that I've actually wanted. I can even pull for characters that aren't among my favorites (e.g. Idia who has THE BEST SSRS FOR SOME REASON??) and still have a big gem safety net.

I don't pull super often, I don't think, but I've gotten everything I've wanted so I think it's a fair trade-off.

Given my gem stash, you might be able to get away with collecting for a dorm but it'd have to be one of the tiny ones (Scarabia would be excellent because Jamil has almost no SSRs rip)

2. Plan ahead of time using JP TWST events

One of the biggest advantages of JP TWST releasing events way before Eng TWST is that we know what's coming ahead of time so we can plan accordingly. Obviously, this won't work if you're trying to save gems on the Japanese server.

You'll have to be okay with spoilers for the English server, too. At least enough to know if a character you like is in the event. I like to look at the card art and groovies, personally, as those will influence my decision if I'm on the fence.

SPOILERS FOR JP TWST EVENTS

I know which cards that I need to save for in the future:

Riddle’s Swimear SR

Ruggie’s Clubwear SSR

Rollo's SSR (pending available keys)

Riddle's Bloomquet SSR

Vil's Luxe Couture SSR

Vil and Malleus's Tsum SSR (pending groovies)

While we don't have a definitive schedule for a lot of these, a lot of them you can kind of guess.

For example, Riddle's Swimwear SR is part of Stitch's event which seems pretty summer-y to me. It'll likely come out in June or July of this year. Clubwear cards come relatively quickly so I'm anticipating Ruggie's Clubwear SSR fairly soon, too. Gotta make sure I'm saving right now for those bad boys.

Rollo and Riddle will probably come around the same time (Aug-Nov) so I've got a bit of time to build up my collection of keys again.

The others just got released in Japan so they'll take awhile before they reach us and I'm not too worried about them just yet.

SPOILERS DONE!

I think of it like going to the grocery store with a shopping list. Stick to the list and you know you can't overspend!

3. Don't pull for dorm cards

"That's easy for you to say, Cheekin. Riddle is your favorite character and you can get his dorm card for free at the beginning of the game!!"

Why, yes. Yes, you can. Thanks, Riddle!

(Ngl I might've caved and done it for Riddle but ONLY Riddle because he's my fave :D)

Now that all of the dorm uniforms have been released, dorm showcases aren't really a thing but in the event that they do a re-run I would avoid spending keys / gems on them. Same goes for the standard show case. Neither are worth it, IMO.

Dorm uniform cards will always be in the SSR pool regardless of the event, so I think it's better to just take your chances and collect them slowly overtime. Of course, the odds of getting the one you want aren't super high but you'll amass quite a few dorm cards just by pulling for event cards anyways. You're bound to get one you like eventually.

For reference, I've gotten Dorm Idia, Ortho, Vil, Jamil THREE TIMES, Kalim, Azul, Ruggie, Jack, Trey TWICE and Deuce TWICE as a byproduct of pulling for event cards. I wasn't trying to get them but they're here now and I love them for it <3

---

And that's about it! Nothing too groundbreaking. The biggest thing is knowing when to stop. Sometimes when I'm on that gacha grind high and I want to pull just cause it's been awhile since I've gotten an SSR, I'll tell myself to do it later because 99% of the time I'll just forget and it'll never happen!

I have been burned by too many gacha games in the past that I refuse to let it happen to me again in TWST (cough Obey Me COUGH)

Here are all my SSRs so you can judge for yourself how effective it is. (Or if its worth it)

I genuinely have no clue what the average number of SSR's a player who has been playing for over 2 years like me has, but I'm comfortable with what I've got. I've gotten all the cards I've wanted and most of the cards I was interested in so I think it's worth it.

tldr: be selective about your pulling, plan ahead, and resist the urge to pull constantly

Thank you for your kind words about my art!! (And if anyone got to the end of all this WORD VOMIT thanks for listening! Reading. Whatever.)

[lunerna21]

EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOURE DOING AND LOOK AT THIS BADASS, HANDSOME MAN NAMED RUGGIE BUCCHI

I love his masquerade and Fairy Gala outfit, but GODDAMN THIS TAKES THE CROWN I LOVE HOW FUCKING COOL HE LOOKS

STEP ASIDE ACE DEUCE, AND JAMIL, THIS IS THE BEST CLUBWEAR CARD IVE EVER SEEN

I WOULD BE THERE AT EVERY SPELLDRIVE GAME AND CHEER YOU ON LIKE A RABID FANCLUB MEMBER SIFBEIDBEIDBR I LOVE IT!!

I HOPE THEY DO HIS GROOVY SOME JUSTICE CAUSE GODDAMN HE LOOKS INCREDIBLE

AND HIS SMIRK-! HIS GODDAMN SMIRK IS SENDING ME JUST LOOK AT THIS SUAVE HANDSOME MOTHERFUCKER

CAN WE GET THIS SOONER OR LATER FOR THE EN SERVER PLEASE!? I NEED HIM!!

This is why Ruggie Bucchi is one of my favorite characters in TWST!! (AGAIN SORRY ACE, DEUCE, AZUL, JAMIL, KALIM AND MALLEUS)

(I have WAY too many favorites but I love them all 🥰)

[ryuichirou]

i know you don’t play the game/gacha, but do you have any particular favorite cards/designs? i personally love deuce’s star sending card, it’s so sparkly ✨i also like ace’s newer playful land card, it’s kind of sexy??

Anon! Sorry for the late reply; every time I start thinking about your ask I realise that I just love way too many cards aushdia Deuce’s Star Sending card is great, everyone’s outfits from this event are gorgeous; and Ace’s new card is honestly amazing, so I completely agree with you.

I’ll go through all the characters and try picking one favourite one + list the other ones that I like… it’s a lot… I’ll try not to pick everything lol

Also sorry if I use different names for the same Event in this post, my brain is a bit fried because of the amount of information. But it was a fun reply to write nevertheless.

Riddle – Labwear Groovy, the atmosphere on this one is just lovely and Riddle is very cute; Swimwear (+Groovy) because I'm weak...; Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Boy Groovy, Halloween (+Groovy), , Suitor Suit Groovy, Apprentice Chef Groovy, Broomquet (+Groovy)

Ace – Playful Land (+Groovy), it’s way too cool, I think this is actually my favourite Ace card lol; Suitor Suit (+Groovy), Apprentice Chef Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Fairy Gala Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Basketball Jersey (+Groovy).

Deuce – Rabbit Wear (+Groovy), it’s so difficult to pick between this one and the Starsending one, but Rabbit Deuce is super charming; Starsending Robes (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Boy Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Clubwear (+Groovy), Broomquet Groovy

Trey – Halloween Groovy, I really like it when Trey gets to be a bit spooky and creepy, so this one is honestly easy; Broomquet Groovy, Outdoor Wear (+Groovy), Lab Coat (+Groovy), Labwear Groovy, Ceremonial Robes Groovy.

Cater – Broomquet Groovy, the composition and colours on this one are so sweet; Pop Music T-shirt (+Groovy), New Year's Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Dorm Uniform, Playful Dress Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Halloween.

Leona – Labwear Groovy, but I'm biased because this is the one Leona vignette that I really liked + it's funny lol; Gala Couture (+Groovy), Birthday Boy Groovy, Kingly Garb, Halloween (+Groovy)

Ruggie – Outdoor Wear (+Groovy), really like the angle and the atmosphere, plus honestly happy to see Ruggie enjoying himself lol; New Year's Groovy, Halloween Groovy, Port Wear Groovy, Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Broomquet Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy

Jack – Beans Camo Groovy, such an intense and beautiful card, it’s very energetic; Labwear Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Port Wear (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform, Club Wear Groovy.

Azul – Halloween Groovy, although it’s super difficult to pick one, I love pretty much all the Azul cards LOL but this one is special because Azul is super unhinged...; Masquerade (+Groovy), Labwear Groovy (fuck yeah AzuIde card), Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Beans Camo (+Groovy), Broomquet Groovy, Tsumsitter (+Groovy)

Jade – Halloween (+Groovy) COME OOOOn when it comes to “unhinged” Jade has the best cards to be honest, he’s so deliciously psychotic on these + the new New Year card is SO NICE that it broke me; Apprentice Chef Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Outdoor Groovy, Dorm Uniform Groovy (+ Groovy VIL SHOE), Birthday Boy Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Broomquet Groovy.

Floyd – Swimwear (+Groovy), I picked something spooky for Azul and Jade, and I originally wanted to either pick the Dorm Groovy or the Beans Groovy for Floyd, but then I saw the Stitch cards and they made me so happy that my hand slipped; Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Beans Camo(+Groovy), Outdoor Wear Groovy, Basketball Jersey Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Playful Dress.

Kalim – Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), I thought I’d pick the Pop Music Club one, but then I looked at this groovy again and I god I think this is objectively one of my favourite cards from all of the boys simply because of Jamil’s bracelet reflecting Jamil’s concerned eye; Pop Music (+Groovy), New Year's Attire, Apprentice Chef Groovy, Playful Dress, Gala Couture Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy.

Jamil – Harveston (+Groovy), this one annihilated me, I cannot pick any other one, although Jamil is so gorgeous all the time that frankly it's unfair; Dorm Uniform (+Groovy, fuck), Basketball Jersey (+Groovy), Gala Couture Groovy, Masquerade Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Silk Adorned (+Groovy), Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Broomquet Groovy.

Vil – Halloween, let's face it, this is objectively the best Vil card, the legs, the outfit, the composition, it’s legendary… I honestly love this one much more than the Groovy version; New Year's (+Groovy), Beans Camo (+Groovy), Outdoor Wear (+Groovy), Silk Adorned (+Groovy), Labwear Groovy, Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Jacker Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Playful Dress.

Rook – Beans Camo (+Groovy), I feel like this one has such a strong "Rook" presence, but at the same time it's kind of unusual in a way; Halloween Groovy, Lab Coat (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform, Ceremonial Robes Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Apprentice Chef, Port Wear (+Groovy), Tsumsitter Groovy (bonkers).

Epel – Harveston (+Groovy), the ultimate Epel Card, both versions are very beautiful; Rabbit Wear (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Jacket Groovy (yay Floyd) Birthday Boy Groovy, Broomquet Groovy

Idia – Masquerade (+Groovy), I think I literally picked every card of Idia lol he can do no wrong, but the Masquerade ones just hit different, they're so dramaticly delicious; Harveston Groovy, Suitor Suit (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Boy Groovy, Starsending Robes (+Groovy), Birthday Jacket Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Ceremonial Robes Groovy (aoba looking ass), Broomquet Groovy, Apprentice Chef (+ Groovy)

Ortho – Cerberus Gear (+Groovy), because Ortho is a BAD DOG this card has absolutely no business being this cool, it’s been almost a year and I still can’t quite express how I feel about it; Fairy Gear (+Groovy), Playful Gear, Rabbit Gear (+Groovy), Birthday Gear Groovy, Ignihyde Gear (+Groovy), B-Day Jacket Gear Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Precision Gear Groovy, Burst Gear Groovy (I'm biased), Stargazer Gear Groovy.

Malleus – Dorm Uniform it's gotta be this one, it's stupidly gorgeous and has a HEEL, I feel like this one expresses Malleus' entire being perfectly, but it was hard to pick between this one and the Masquerade+Halloween; Masquerade (+Groovy), Halloween (+Groovy), Labwear Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Birthday Boy Groovy, Broomquet Groovy, Silk Adorned Groovy, Apprentice Chef Groovy.

Lilia – General's Armor (+Groovy), it's so difficult to pick one for Lilia omg all of his cards are pretty great but this one is so ICONIC that I honestly have no choice; Swimwear (+Groovy), Halloween Groovy (FACEEE), Dorm Uniform (legs), Broomquet Groovy, Suitor Suit Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Pop Music (+Groovy), Kingly Garb (+Groovy)

Sebek – New Year's (+Groovy), another difficult one to pick, maybe I'll change my mind after we watch ch7, but Sebek looks so good in this outfit and his face looks so good on this one + the perspective makes me weak; Armor of Eternal Night (+Groovy), Harveston (+Groovy), Masquerade (+Groovy), Dorm Uniform, Ceremonial Robes Groovy, Labwear Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Broomquet Groovy.

Silver – Halloween (+Groovy), the colours are gorgeous on both of these, but especially the non-groovy one: the teals and the blues work so wonderfully with pink accents, Silver is super pretty on this one; Gala Couture (+Groovy), Ceremonial Robes Groovy, Labwear Groovy (this one is so silly he's so serious), Broomquet Groovy, Birthday Jacket Groovy, Dorm Uniform (+Groovy), Birthday Boy Groovy.

[gloomphant]

another old twst drawings aaaa I love drawing Kalim! I drew this one around the release of his clubwear card!!

[viperwhispered]

30 days of twst challenge - day 17: Favorite original card art?

Aaaa how am I possibly supposed to choose? I mean my first thought was Jamil's Clubwear - honestly for this one I prefer the default art over the groovy.

But, like, we've got so many cards! And so many pretty ones!

Like, Deuce's Dorm Uniform

Pretty much all of the Halloween cards

Leona's Gaia Couture (seriously who coerced him to actually pose like this)

Floyd's Beans Camo

Kalim's Dorm Uniform

Epel may not have that many cards but he sure shines with what he has

I could add more but this post is getting long enough already tbh.

Like honestly, most of the arts are nice to look at.

Alright I lied I do need to include Malleus too. I mean, come on. Look at him.

[ladyazurith]

Totally agree with you about Cater in Book 5. I always found Ace and Deuce's inclusion on the team extremely forced and contrived. Realistically speaking, neither of them should’ve ever made the cut. Neither one of them have any singing or dancing training. While they did practice a little, there’s no way in hell someone would ever become a professional level dancer in the matter of a couple of days, even with the best teacher in the world. 

I’m 99% certain that Yana only did that for plot convenience, because that way she wouldn’t have to craft two new characters to fill in the roles on the team. While I can understand that logic from a real world game development standpoint, like you said, I still don’t understand why someone like Cater could’ve taken Ace’s spot at the very least. Cater is in the Light Music Club, so he has a background in that area. His VA is a professional singer. Cater making the team wouldn’t be as big of a stretch as Ace. It’s not like Ace did much in this arc other than cause trouble and insult Deuce, anyways, so anyone could’ve taken his spot. 

The other question about ch 3 is going to take a bit more thinking, cuz I've tried to make it work before in various stories, but this seems like a complete rework kind of answer is needed.

And yeah, I made a post a while ago about how Cater had to feel about the VDC, and it's something I tackle in some of my fics. Because I don't know how he can look at what happened and who got picked and not come to the conclusion Vil just hates him? Like this man is so driven to win that he's willing to do anything...except let Cater on the team.

And given I ship the two of them primarily their dynamic is something I've put a lot of effort into figuring out. The only thing I've found to justify it is that Vil doesn't like the idea of dating someone just for PR/fame. Because the way he talks to/reacts to Cater is just... not in line with how he treats everyone else. He constantly calls him shallow or implies he's only after fame which is just a wild take.

That he would let someone like Rook be his friend who 100% comes off more like a stalker fan type than Cater. And Rook doesn't even hide it. Like I get they bonded over Theater but it's not like Vil and Cater have no common ground at all. Cater's shown to be into fashion and design, given they go out of their way to mention Cater came up with Heartslabyul's Halloween costumes and designed their LMC clubwear (When for the most part that's all just assumed to be Crewel)

And then there is his friendship with Kalim like I've pointed out. And Lilia which Vil admits is someone he's interested in getting to know better himself. Hell Cater and Rook are friends? Like none of it makes sense.

Especially when Vil also has no problems with associating with other people who are clearly out to use him?!?! Like Azul, Jade, Ace...even Leona? But nah we're gonna hate on Cater. When he's always you know ASKED to take Vil's picture, even in situations where he wouldn't have to ie in public spaces and what not. He's never just taken it without permission.

In the end, despite the fact that Vil calls Cater shallow he's the one that comes across as incredibly shallow about the whole thing. Especially when we have Cater talking about what he sees in Vil and what he appreciates about him and why he looks up to him...and none of it is really shallow? He definitely sees more in him than just a quick ticket to fame.

It just seems so weird when Vil otherwise seems to put effort into helping others better themselves. He can be incredibly generous and thoughtful in certain situations. AND HE KNOWS THAT CATER IS LIKELY DEPRESSED. And that's what he's hiding behind his cheerful facade thanks to Cater's Labcoat personal story.

It's just like consistency, please. Anyway you probably weren't expecting this rant sorry XD It's a sore spot for me if you can't tell lol

[diodellet]

what can i do for you? (jamil viper x gn!reader*)

i am not ok after seeing jamil's clubwear SSR. when he dropped, i ended up dropping an extra 2k words for this chapter. sige na nga, ill give u more fluff and bliss ser viper🤧 content warnings: -anachronistic (it is set during the main story of twst, but no references to overblots) -g/n reader described as having thick, long, not-straight hair -mix of jp and en terms -gratuitous headcanoning of how nrc classes work -light references to nightmares and bullying word count: 7.1k words chapter 1: just let me do this for you

chapter 2: take my hand like you mean it

You were a capable set of extra hands, to Jamil's surprise. Well, as long as you weren't put in front of a stove. Chores that were usually tedious, like mopping and waxing the floors of certain hallways in the dorm, feeding the animals and cleaning their enclosures—in this case, removing the curtains and draperies that decorated the lounge area for laundry—took more or less have the usual time it required.

"Can you reach it?"

"I don't think so... I'm going to jump—"

"Don't jump!" His hold on the stepladder tightened as you stood up on your tiptoes.

You grunted, stretching your arm out to unhook the cloth. "But I'll be able to reach it that way..."

"Just let me do it—" A section of the scarlet cloth fell on top of him. He pulled it away to see your sheepish expression. "Never mind, get down from there."

You carefully climbed down, immediately going to pick up the other hand of the curtain and helping him fold it. Then, the both of you moved to repeat the process for the rest of the draperies in the lounge.

The golden rays of the afternoon sun streamed into the room, now unhindered from the lack of curtains. You paused to stare out into the surroundings, not one bit bothered by the heat. In fact, you seemed to soak up the warmth. The serene expression that washed over your features was quickly replaced with mild discomfort.

“If you’re tired, you can leave the rest of it to me,” Jamil said, snapping you out of your reverie.

You shook your head, folding the curtain in half and stepping closer to pass your end to him. “I’m good, I’m good. I just…” Your fingers carded through the ends of your ponytail. “Does it ever rain here? I know rain in the desert is a thing, but if the dorms are like a sort of pocket dimension, then does it follow regular weather?”

Sometimes, Kalim liked to make it rain. Whenever he saw the plants in the gardens wilting, whenever they trekked out to a dried-up oasis, whenever he heard his fellow dormmates complaining about the dry heat of Scarabia. Jamil didn’t have any strong feelings for rain, but a part of him—the part that was stubbornly curious about you, felt as if the question wasn’t one from random inquiry. 

“It does, occasionally. The weather is independent from the main campus though, if that’s what you’re asking.” He started walking towards the laundry area, carrying the folded-up curtains.

“...Huh, cool.” You trailed behind him, your arms were swallowed up by the sheer volume of fabric. “I think I prefer sunny weather though. Reminds me of home.”

What was your hometown like in your original world? Did you come from a place that was always bright with sunlight? Or were you more used to the persistent scent of petrichor, to cloudy gray skies? Though if he asked, he knew that you wouldn’t be able to give much of an answer.

“That’s nice. Watch your step.” As soon as he said that, you stumbled, foot catching on the trailing ends of the curtain. He shifted what he was carrying to one hand and caught you by the back of your uniform’s jacket. 

You quickly righted yourself and apologized, “sorry, um. Thank you.” You ran your gaze along the part of the fabric you stepped on as you gathered it into your arms once again.

“It’s going to be washed anyway.” Jamil let go of your blazer. The use of the upperclassman honorific in place of his name slowly became more frequent with each visit, he noted.

Ironic, seeing as how you were completely at ease with him during your first meeting.

In the laundry area, hampers containing his and Kalim’s used clothes were already sitting there. He figured he could kill two birds with one stone, and do it at the same time. 

The curtains were vacuumed every week, but it had been a while since they were properly cleaned. And in a place as sandy as the Scarabia dorm, they were pretty much due for a washing. While the fabric didn’t contain designs as elaborate as the ones that decorated the Asim estate, it was still provided by said family. Tailored, not manufactured, for the renovated dorm and worth more than what he would ever amount to. He sorted through the fabrics, which ones were good to throw into the laundry machine and which ones had to be strictly washed by hand.

He nodded towards the latter. “I’ll handle these.” 

“Is this too much detergent?” 

“You could use a little more.” 

Another thing he noticed about you, was that you were, for lack of a better word, quiet. Rarely did you ever ask questions about how to do or where to find things, only needing a glance around the room. He initially attributed it to the fact that you spent a large chunk of your first days here fixing up your dorm to be at least livable, to make the most of your meager belongings. But behind the awkwardly polite demeanor you wore, there was an experienced and practiced characteristic to how you carried out your work. The kind that was ingrained into muscle memory after years. 

When you were alone, did your shoulders sag with bone-deep exhaustion? Did you ache from constant daily exertion? And if he were to hold your hand, would he feel the remnants of calluses and blisters?

“Did…did I do something wrong?” you asked, before closing the machine and letting it run its cycle.

“No, you didn’t.” He brought out a small stool for you to sit on.

Jamil could feel the weight of your gaze prickling the back of his neck. You spoke up after a few seconds of silence,  “do you need help with that?”

“No, I can manage this.” In fact, he could make quick work of it. There weren’t any stains that he needed to remove, for once. He filled an empty basin with water and let the fabric soak in the detergent.

“Alright…” you acquiesced, leaning your elbows on your thighs and resting your chin on your palms.

The rumble of the machines, combined with the slosh of water filled the room. Not that he was the most interesting conversationalist to be with, but he was grateful for the ambient noise.

“It’d be nice… if we had our own washing machine for Ramshackle,” you blurted out.

Jamil supposed that the once-abandoned dorm was equipped with all the necessary amenities during its time of use. But if you and Grim were the newest and only living residents, then— “Did Headmaster Crowley not replace the dorm’s appliances?” He rolled up his sleeves before rinsing out the draperies. If he wasn’t careful, he could tear the delicate cloth.

At your silence, he turned to glance at you, meeting your gaze. You gave a slow shake of your head before turning back to watch the machine in front of you. “I had to do it by hand at first—which is fine! Completely fine with me, actually—but everything in that dorm was on the verge of collapse. I kinda feel scared to touch it.”

“If you’re looking for a place to do your laundry…” This wasn’t the place to do it. He was up to his neck in responsibilities, spontaneous and planned. He gave the contents one last rinse then deemed it clean enough to be dried, emptying the basin and wringing out the fabrics.

“Hm? Oh, no, I mean, the ghosts showed me how to use it.” You pondered on your next words, standing up to take the freshly laundered fabrics out. “I just…think that getting a new one would end up erasing what they taught me.”

“The ghosts have been around for a long time. They’re more than used to seeing people come and go.” He flicked the water off his hands.  “what more for a broken machine?”

Your head tilted to the side. “...I guess so. ”

The room fell into silence once more as he hung the finished laundry on a metal drying rack.

“We still need to hang these outside.” He tossed a set of clothespins into a basket before passing it to you. The both of you left the laundry area, stepping outside. The clear, sunny weather showed no signs of diminishing and there was a pleasant breeze. With the area he chose, he wouldn’t have to worry about sand and dust getting kicked up by the wind.

“Henchmaaan!”

Your head searched for Grim spotting him bounding towards you on all fours. You threw the curtain over the clothesline before catching him in your arms. “What’s wrong? Where’s Kalim?”

“I dunno and I don’t care, let’s go back home!" Jamil guessed that even Grim had his limits.

At those words, he could hear the dorm leader’s voice calling out for Grim.

"Gyah, you gotta hide me!" He burrowed into your jacket, pitchfork-shaped tail jutting out.

You shared a look with Jamil, confusion furrowing your brow. “Did…something bad happen—ow, Grim your nails!”

“Probably not.” Jamil said as he clipped another curtain onto the line. The fabric billowed in the wind, the finely-spun thread catching the rays of sunlight. He stole a glance at you, standing on the opposite side of the clothesline. Grim was balancing on your shoulders as you talked to him.

“If you made him angry—” Kalim and the word ‘angry’ in the same sentence? That would have been something to see, Jamil thought to himself. “—you’re going to have to apologize to him,” you said as you straightened out another piece of fabric before hanging it.

“He’s…he’s not mad!” Grim protested, tail flicking back and forth. “But he kept taking me everywhere and pinching my tail, and I had enough!”

That sounded like something Kalim would do. His ears then picked up the sound of his footsteps, combined with the sounds of his accessories and jewelry clinking and chiming.

“There you are, Grim!” There goes Jamil’s two hours of solace and quiet.

Grim wailed, hiding behind your legs and putting you squarely in between him and Kalim. “I don’t wanna go with you!”

“Um…if you don’t mind me asking,” There it was again, the use of that honorific in place of Kalim’s name. “What happened a while ago?” Your hands picked at your fingers.

The dorm leader explained that the fire-monster got bored of studying, so Kalim suggested a few fun things they could do around the dorm. It started out with a few board games, followed by a visit to the animals, and then just before he could take Grim on a spontaneous flying carpet ride, the fire-monster ran away to find you. That meant Jamil had to do some extra cleanup after he finished putting away the laundry. Great.

“Oh, I see...” Your confusion didn’t let up but you continued without losing a beat, “so, while I—we appreciate your kind intentions, I think that’s my cue to help Grim study… Maybe you could take him flying next time?” 

Kalim nodded in understanding. “Next time then. Oh! By the way, I’m throwing a party this weekend, we could do it then! Would you like to come?”

Your fidgeting paused. “It sounds fun, I just… I wouldn’t know anyone there?” It was clear you didn’t want to go.

“But you know me, and you know Jamil. And Grim can come along too!”

“...Um…I don’t—I guess I do, but…” Your gaze momentarily flicked to Jamil then back to Kalim.

He took your hands in his, eyes shining with undeterred excitement. “The food’ll be good! And, and, I could introduce you to my other friends too! It’ll be fun, I promise!” Guess Jamil had to step in.

“Kalim. They’re probably going to be busy on the weekend.” Or, from what he gathered, you just didn’t seem very extraverted. Surprisingly, he still had an iota of patience that he could inject into his tone. “Just invite them another time, when their schedule’s freed up.”

Thankfully, the dorm leader let go of your hands and didn’t push any further. “Just tell me when, and I’ll make sure to plan something for you, alright?”

You only gave him a stiff smile in acknowledgement. 

Truth be told, Jamil didn’t plan on letting you continue to visit. At first, you would always get lost in the dorm, somehow ending up in a room on the complete opposite end of where you were trying to get to. And since Grim would always accompany you, the more the fire monster grew comfortable to his new after school hangout spot, the more of a menace he became. Your time went into chasing Grim around Scarabia, keeping him away from the kitchens while Jamil was cooking. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if you reached the point of having to babysit Kalim as well. 

He could go on and on with his nitpicking, but none of it could take away from the fact that you were efficient. Somehow, you managed to take away a portion of the work that burdened him everyday.

[...]

Apparently, he wasn’t completely right about your ability to efficiently manage your studies.

His class was in the library, doing some preliminary research for a paper to be submitted later in the semester. He sat on one of the outer seats of the table his group was using. They were situated in a relatively quiet section of the library. Most of the noise came from the tables near the entrance and the sections with the resources that were most appropriate for the paper’s subject matter. 

Said noise and chatter would only grow louder with the arrival of a first-year class. Jamil could hear the librarian already admonishing them. What Jamil would give to be able to throw on his headphones. He flipped the page of the book he was reading. A few passages proved to be somewhat promising, he took note of the important points, condensing them for easy reference—

“Grim! That’s not the right map!”

Something clattered noisily on the table. “Whaat? I was doing it exactly like you told me.” 

“No…no, it’s wrong, it’s—we have to redo it, all of it.” The frantic flutter of papers combined with Grim’s drawn-out whine.

“Actually, I think you guys forgot about the time zone, it’s not on Sage Island remember?” Ace cut in.

“Argh, I forgot about that—” A thud against the table surface interrupted your words. Any louder, and Jamil supposed that the librarian would materialize right at your side.

“Guys, the librarian’s looking at us…” Deuce’s voice wasn’t that much quieter than yours, but at least he wasn’t completely ignoring his surroundings.

Your voice lowered to a non-discreet whisper. “What does your solution look like?”

“I got this for my answer.” Your group fell silent, reading over his work.

Ace then spoke up, “...ohh. It looks correct—hey, don’t start crying on the paper!”

“I’m gonna—we’re gonna fail, I don’t get it, I don’t get any of it—” 

“Why do we need to manually calculate this? Can’t we just use that fancy crystal ball like the teacher does?” Grim complained.

Ah, first-year Astrology. Now your group’s reaction made sense.

“Hey, those freshmen are starting to be pretty annoying. Should I tell them off?” Jamil’s gaze moved from the book to his classmate. He noticed that he was the only person who had an open book, everyone else was either on their phones or leaning closer to continue in hushed voices.

“Ugh, I was waiting for someone to say something about them.” 

“If you don’t do it, I’m gonna complain to the librarian. See how they like gettin’ thrown out into the hall…”

Without making a sound, Jamil pushed his chair back and left the table. Moved two—no, four shelves down to be away from the confrontation when it happened. Not that the distance did anything to lessen the fact that he could still hear the short screech of the chairs being pushed back, whispers slowly growing into an argument, Grim hissing as a warning—

That didn’t concern you. He pushed it out of his mind, put all his focus into scanning the titles along the shelf. A memoir from an author who was prominent in the connected field of study, a collection of similar studies published under NRC, his group could use these. He tucked the books under his arm and went to the front desk. “Excuse me, I would like to borrow these,” he said, setting them down on the wooden surface and filling out the cards at the back.

The irate expression on the librarian’s face didn’t let up. The force of him stamping the cards was strong enough to make the desk shake. But judging from the bits of quiet angry muttering that Jamil could hear, the librarian didn’t seem to have any plans of approaching the area where your group was located. He passed the books back to Jamil and waved him off.

The commotion didn’t seem to have escalated too badly by the time he returned. His groupmates were now just talking about their afterschool plans, counting the minutes until they were dismissed. One of his classmates’ tie was crooked, the collar of his shirt wrinkled possibly from being grabbed. Another was cradling a fresh scratch mark along his wrist. Jamil glanced over to your group’s table—Deuce was going over a worksheet with you. You were absentmindedly scratching the base of Grim’s ear. And Ace was leaning back in his chair. The look in his irises didn’t match his relaxed demeanor—their eyes met and Jamil only gave a small nod in greeting before he busied himself with arranging his belongings.

The rest of Jamil’s day went on without much issue. As soon as afternoon training concluded, he was surprised to see Kalim waiting for him so they could walk back to Scarabia together. The conversation was light, nothing noteworthy. Kalim knew how to speak for two people, he could make a conversation out of anything and carry it for seemingly forever. The problem only started when he would get caught up in his excitement, and since Jamil was talking about Kalim, this happened on a regular basis. Complaining about it wouldn’t amount to anything.

As he changed into his dorm uniform, his phone buzzed. You tended to message right before going through the mirror. The gesture of…courtesy started to make less sense the more your visits became a regular thing. It was still convenient, don’t get him wrong. Though… maybe it was just a bit weird, the more he thought about it. 

He read over his reply twice and sent it before going to meet you at the dorm’s entrance.

[...]

“Henchman, y’have to try this!” Grim hopped off the kitchen’s tabletop and trotted over to you.

“Grim, we have to head back before six so I can tea—” Your sentence was cut off by the fire-monster pushing his half-eaten pita wrap into your face. You took a bite and made a pleased sound before going, “wait Grim it’s too spicy—!”

Jamil handed you a glass of water. He saw Grim pour an obscene amount of sauce over his serving. Not that you would know, having just returned from replacing the vacuum cleaner. He would’ve insisted that he should be the one to do it, but Kalim and Grim started bugging him for something to eat. And Grim, unbridled menace that he was, wouldn’t shut up unless his demands were met. 

Kalim chimed into the conversation, “are you going back that soon?”

“Yeah?” You knocked a fist against your chest, stifling another coughing fit. “Well, I—we don’t wanna impose… so we’ll leave early.” You took another drink of water then wiped at your mouth with the back of your hand.

“Aww, but I don’t wanna study Astrology…”

“But I’m the one who has to teach you, you rascal.” Your hand ruffled the top of his head.

Grim backed away from you to leap up onto the table. Not that it added much to his height. “Myargh, don’ call me that! Y’don’t even understand it either!” When you pointed an exasperated stare at the fire-monster, he continued to protest, “but it’s Friday! Studying during the weekends should be illegal!”

“I’m sorry, we’ll start getting out of your hair in a bit…” You turned to the both of them, sheepish and apologetic.

“No, no it’s okay.” Kalim waved off your words cheerfully. “You were saying something about Astrology…? Are you having trouble with that class?” He took the last serving of pita wrap and passed it to you.

Jamil took the empty plate and brought it to the sink. 

Accepting the snack, you winced. “Well… u-um, every class has its challenges, you know?”

“Liar! Y’were cryin’ snot all over our worksheet!”

Embarrassment filled your voice. “Grim!” 

“Well, if it’s Astrology that’s giving you trouble, then you’re in the right place!” Kalim gestured with a wide sweep of his arms. “Did you know that you can see the stars really easily here? You could stay over for dinner and—” he paused, then his smile widened even more.

Jamil knew what that expression meant, that meant the dorm leader was going to suggest something outlandish.

“—we could take the flying carpet! I did that with Jamil when I was also having a hard time with that class in my first year. It’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

Jamil kept his head down, focused on the plates in front of him, the faint smell of dish soap, the cool running water against his hands. But he couldn’t tear his ears away from the conversation.

“Um… but curfew…” 

“You could sleep over for the night!”

“Sweet~! We really lucked ou—ack!” Grim’s cheer was cut off by you, continuing to decline on his part.

“No, it’s really fine, Grim ‘nd me’ll start leaving right now—”

“Don’t worry about that! We have plenty of spare rooms, don’t we?” He looked to Jamil for confirmation. The unbridled excitement in Kalim’s irises sent a wave of irritation through him.

A strained laugh left your throat. “Um, I appreciate the invitation, but respectfully, I must turn it down…” you paused, considering what to say, “...seeing as how none of us have brought overnight clothes…”

“Why’re you suddenly talking like that? You don’t need to be formal with us. I insist!”

“I really don’t think it’s okay for us to overstay—” You tried protesting for the third time.

“Lots of people sleep over at Scarabia, it’s no big deal!” Yes, Jamil could remember the times where he found Silver slumped over in a pile of pillows from the lounge, the several instances where Floyd invited himself to stay over “for funsies,” and of course, he couldn’t leave out the bi-monthly Light Music Club sleepovers with Lilia and Cater.

“Um…” 

“Stop scruffin’ me, henchman! Kalim’s got a point, doesn’t he?”

Kalim’s voice softened. “Look, you’re practically one of us at this point. It’s fine, really.”

That. That unwavering honesty in his words and how it easily spilled from him. It was careless how freely and earnestly he spoke. But above all, it was enviable. Only a young rich heir could find the capacity to be that open and kind and generous and Jamil could feel a headache pinching at his temple. He placed the cleaned dishes on the drying rack. It took every ounce of his self-control not to set them aside with a clatter.

You didn’t seem to have any rebuttals prepared. 

Jamil discarded his irritation, easily plastering on the neutral expression he always carried. “Do you have your books and notes?”

You nodded. 

“Make sure to bring it with you after dinner. I’ll tutor you both.” The sensation of having everyone’s eyes on him was uncomfortable against his skin. 

“...alright.” Maybe the same could be said for you. “C’mon Grim.”

Now that the kitchen was mostly cleaned up, he needed to prepare a room for you and Grim, find a spare dorm uniform in good condition, then go back to the kitchen to prepare dinner. His internal list of responsibilities to work through shifted to make space for this extra work.

The moment of discomfort didn’t last for long though, Jamil refused to let it linger. Because if it lingered, then that meant he would have to figure out why his irritation was being overtaken with uneasiness. And if he thought about it more then he’d have to…

He stole a glance at you, keeping up with his pace. For once you weren’t trailing behind him like you usually did when you visited Scarabia. You looked like you were half-listening to whatever Grim and Kalim were talking about.

Articulate as he was, he couldn’t name the expression you were wearing. Whatever it was, there was a deeper emotion to it and Jamil found it hard to look at.

[...]

“Look, look I’m matching with you guys now.” You rested a hand on your hip. After a few beats, your expression faltered. “I didn’t wear anything backwards, did I?”

“You didn’t.” Save for the golden accessories that every student from Scarabia wore, the uniform seemed to fit you well. Not too loose or uncomfortably tight, the hem of the vest and undershirt were neatly smoothed out. Just like how you presented yourself in the NRC uniform. “It looks good,” he said.

“Really? It feels super comfy. Well…” you paused, looking down at yourself. “I guess the belt is just a bit long…” 

“You can shorten it by doing this.” He stepped closer to you, taking hold of the trailing end and fixing it so that it wouldn’t trail down to your ankles. But in adjusting the belt, part of the undershirt had risen up. The habit of fixing Kalim’s clothes kicked in before he could catch himself.

Jamil’s hands brushed against your hips as he gently tugged the hem of the undershirt back down. He double-checked the belt and smoothed it out once more. At the sudden contact, you tensed up, breath hitching quietly. Several sheets of your epherimedes slipped from your notes as your arms came up by reflex, placing a sort of makeshift barrier between him and you.

Thankfully, instead of mentioning the proximity—the breach of personal space—you asked, "where's Kalim? I thought he said he was going with us." 

Jamil picked up the fallen sheets of paper, passing them to you. "He turned in for the night." Well, Kalim was intent on staying up late, but Jamil had already tried waking him up once. To which the dorm leader responded by burrowing deeper into his blankets. Jamil motioned for you to follow him.

“So did Grim. I told him that we were still going to study but…” You sighed, shoulders slumping forward a bit. “...I guess I’ll just make sure to tutor him tomorrow morning.”

It was late in the evening now. The moon hung high in the sky, an upside-down bowl. The sound of your footsteps echoed through the empty hallways. Filling in the silence as Jamil weighed his words. “You’re very diligent.”

You laughed. But the sound was derisive, directed—stabbing—at yourself. “Diligence doesn’t mean much when you earn poor results.”

He thought back to what he overheard in the library. “Don’t be hard on yourself.” To his surprise, his words didn’t feel the same as the empty platitudes he would regurgitate for Kalim. “This isn’t my first time tutoring Astrology.”

And it would reflect badly on his dorm if he couldn’t recall what he learned in the first year, the afterthought needed to be there. To remind him of his responsibility. Because now his mind was catching up to the fact that it was only going to be you and him, and that thought wasn’t supposed to be so… bothersome.

"Are you really okay with it?” He knew that you were talking about having to be an impromptu tutor, your words held a hint of guilt and concern. And even if a part of him was aware that it came from a genuine place, it only made him feel small.

The automatic response came out, albeit a bit more curt and clipped than he intended. “I’m used to it.”

You didn’t say anything more, only muttering a quiet ‘oh, I see.’

The walk to the treasury was quiet, and your silence spoke volumes. It was as if he could hear the gears in your head turning. Despite your reserved nature, you were a mediator through and through, just like Kalim was.

If he said that he wasn’t okay with being volunteered to tutor others, that wouldn’t exempt him from being made to do so either way. He didn’t have a choice in the first place. The least you could do was make the ordeal less painstaking than it already was for him.

Jamil’s hand rested on the doorknob of the room. “Look, the sooner we go, the sooner we can get this done. You can manage that, can’t you?” 

The guilt on your features gave way to a determined nod. “Okay, I won’t waste your time,” you promised.

He thought back to the pinky promise you first made. And he pushed the door to the treasury open. “Don’t expect me to hold your hand through the subject though.”

“I know that!” Your voice was pitched high from embarrassment. “You won’t have to start right from the beginning!”

At least you were standing behind him, you wouldn’t have to see the startings of a grin cracking across his face.

“You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?” Jamil asked as he searched around for the flying carpet. The magical artifact greeted you both with a wave of its tassels. It followed the both of you out of the treasury, curling and twisting in mid-air. 

You stared. “...oh…we’re gonna fly…”

“Yes—wait, what did you think we were going to do?” Now that you were all outside the main building, the carpet laid itself flat on the ground. The cool night air was a complete reversal of the day’s heat.

“I don’t know! I-I thought Scarabia had some special observatory I wasn’t aware of!”

He gave you an exasperated look. “Are you sure you’re okay with flying?”

“Yes, I’m…I’m not scared of heights… only falling and breaking my bones…” You took a seat next to him. Your hold on your notes was tight enough to crease the edges of paper that jutted out.

Jamil supposed that you were saying that to convince yourself. Judging by the way that your eyes were squeezed shut, his suspicions were only further confirmed. He guided the carpet to slowly ascend, flying high enough so that your view of the sky wouldn’t be obscured by Scarabia’s buildings.

Your trepidation melted away as you took in the night sky. "Woah, the star maps don't do this view any justice…" you breathed.

"Don't get sidetracked now." 

"Right, right. Sorry, um…" You opened the textbook and started rattling off what part of the lesson you were at. You showed him the graded worksheets and your notes.

As Jamil listened to you, he read over your handwriting. Somewhat messy, but still readable. Granted, while there were some missing segments in your solutions, you seemed to make sure to include the final answer. Was it a way to challenge yourself instead of copying another classmate’s solution? Or were you intent on figuring it out all by yourself? He guessed it was the latter. 

The both of you pored over the material. Redoing the problems you got wrong, filling in the parts of the discussion that you missed. Jamil noticed however that you had trouble comparing the actual night sky with the maps you brought along. 

“Wait, which star?” Your brow furrowed as you tried to follow the direction he was pointing at.

He tipped your chin up, keeping his other arm parallel to your gaze. “It’s a dim constellation, so you have to look at the surroundings to be able to spot it. ”

 A short, frustrated exhale escaped you. “I still can’t find it.”

“Keep trying.” From his perspective, the end of the star pattern rested just barely atop his fingertip.

He could feel the short baby hairs framing the side of your face brush up against his arm as you continued to search for the constellation. Eventually your confusion dissipated and your eyes lit up with recognition “Oh, I see it now! So then that means…” You looked back down at your notes, flipped through the pages, then started hastily writing down a few messy calculations. All the while indifferent to the fact that his hand was still resting on your shoulder. 

“Is this correct?” You tilted your notes towards him.

He scanned what you wrote. “...you used the wrong time zone.” 

You swore. “Ugh, I keep forgetting about that.” Your eraser scratched at the specific part of the mistake, making the needed corrections. “Are the advanced classes just as math-filled?” you asked as you redid the solution. “I feel like we’re almost doing rocket science.”

“No, they’re more reliant on magical ability. Scrying, cartomancy, even astrology, when done right can be powerful tools to guide a magician.” So far, so good. He noted as he skimmed your handwriting. “The better you are, the more vivid your visions. Or so they say.” 

“Do you believe in that? Things like seeing the future and all that?”

Of course not, he held back a scoff. His entire fate was neatly laid out in front of him by his parents and their ancestors. His destiny rested in the palm of a naive heir full of ignorance and misplaced kindness. His home, his own family, and the prestige they carried was a flimsily-disguised birdcage. Why, he wanted nothing more than to carve out his own path with his bare hands, to just up and leave everything behind. Fate, chance, and destiny be damned. 

Instead he settled on this for a short answer. “I think it’s foolish to hinge everything on fate.”

“I thought you’d say something like that,” you laughed. “Rational, practical, down-to-earth Jamil.” Not one bit of the sound felt demeaning, and there’s a note of something…fond in the way you said his name.

Too close. “Don’t tell me you believe otherwise.” He pulled away from you and leaned back on his palms. The magic that powered the carpet thrummed underneath his fingertips, steady as the ebb and flow of the ocean’s waves. He pointed his gaze towards the half-moon floating in a sea of stars, adamantly turning away from your crescent-eyed smile. His stomach felt uneasy, it was as if he was helplessly suspended in between two moons.

“It’s not that I completely believe in it or the other way around, but I came from a magicless world so I gotta…” You hummed thoughtfully as you flipped through your ephemerides. “...think of it as something real now.”

The two of you lapsed into silence, accompanied by the sound of the wind and the flutter of the carpet. Was it supposed to feel this comfortable, being in another person’s space and having them in his own? With this stillness, the both of you were no different from the celestial objects painting the night sky. You were deeply engrossed in your work, oblivious to what your words were stirring.

The scratch of your pencil against paper stopped before his thoughts spiraled out of control. “Okay… is this right?” He thinks he’s composed himself enough to be able to spare a glance.

“Mm, it’s right.” His hand toyed with the edge of his hood. The triumphant gleam in your eyes was blinding. 

“So, it’s good?” 

He flipped through the textbook then tapped at another sample problem. “Do this one next, then we’ll see.”

“What? That wasn’t discussed in class!” 

“It’s like the last problem, you’ll figure it out.” 

Despite your initial complaints, the rest of the tutoring went by relatively well. You weren’t merely echoing what he was saying. Save for some minor mistakes, you seemed less daunted by the subject compared to before. As long as you took your time working through the problems, Jamil was sure that you would do well enough. But just before you descended back to the dorm’s main building, he had you write down the lesson’s main points. Just to be sure. You were still going to be responsible for teaching Grim in the morning, after all.

“Solid ground, thank God! I was about to freeze up there.” A shiver passed through your body despite your light-hearted laugh. As you were about to walk past him, Jamil grabbed your wrist.

The tips of your fingers were cold. “Why didn’t you say anything?” The tone he used must’ve come out sharper than intended, you flinched before answering.

“Well, because we were already there and you said…the sooner we went, the sooner we’d finish…” you reasoned weakly.

He sighed. “Give me your other hand.”

“I’m fine, really! Just give me a sec—” Your protests fell silent as he shushed you and cupped your hands in his.

Warmth spread from his palms to yours, a simple heating charm. Your hands relaxed in his hold. A stubborn part of him chalked it up to the needed change in temperature.

“Better?” His own cheeks felt warm. It’s the residual magic, he rationalized, the fact that he didn’t use his pen to cast it.

You gave a small nod in response. Your gaze continued to stare at your linked hands.

The edge of your palms were rough, hardened from work. If he shifted his hold, he could feel the bump of a callus on the side of your favored hand.

He let go. “I still need to put the carpet back in the treasury.”

"...no." The word was uttered so quietly that he strained to hear it.

"What?"

Your head snapped up. The moment you made eye contact with each other, Jamil noticed your eyes were blown wide. As if you were a deer caught in the headlights—you reached forwards and yanked his hood over his head. His vision went dark, tearing a surprised noise from his throat. He heard the sound of the drawstrings being pulled taut, followed by the sensation of you pushing him and turning to run away. He stumbled backwards.

Fumbling for the drawstrings of his uniform’s hood, he bit back a curse.

The strings were double-knotted.

[...]

Like every other person, Jamil had dreams. Of reliving certain childhood memories, of being chased and feeling like he was running through water, of having his teeth fall out. Once upon a time, he dreamt of being able to travel around the world once he grew up.

He doesn’t immediately recognize this as a dream. For all he knew, this was one of his usual days at Night Raven College. Robotically going through the motions, running to and fro at Kalim’s behest, reigning in his emotions, staying average and mediocre.

The sound of his class lectures sounded faraway, as if the professors were speaking through water. But as the day continued, he could also hear bits and pieces of your voice. One-sided scraps of conversations, you calling out for your friends, the sound of your laughter ringing in his ears, they all stood out against the muffled voices and hazy figures populating the school. Every time he searched, he would only catch a glimpse of your back as you entered a different classroom or the end of your ponytail as you would round a corner. And just before he catch up to you, he would only find a red feather lying on the ground.

It was as if you were a ghost.

He had other things to focus on. He made his way to Scarabia’s mirror and stepped through the glass, arriving at his old room in the servant’s quarters.

Why was he here? Everything was where he left it, untouched and undisturbed. But that did little to tamp down on his rising unease. He turned back to the door and found it locked. The windows were also locked, he was trapped—

The walls fell away to reveal an intricate and ornate birdcage, constructed out of gold, tall enough to reach the ceiling. No longer was he standing on solid ground, he was a little bird standing on a small perch now. No better than the numerous ornaments that decorated the Asim estate. 

The door to the room opened revealing you. Dressed in the fine robes of his hometown, golden accessories decorated your wrists, neck, and ears. Your hair was adorned with a single, red macaw’s feather. You looked no different from a noble. A vision to behold. You unlocked the cage and carried him out. He was small enough to fit in your palms.

You gave him a soft smile and smoothed down his feathers. His wings were pinned to his sides but you were careful not to press too hard against the fragile bones. “You weren’t meant to be caged, little one,” you said, walking towards the open window.

No, he couldn’t fly, he couldn’t soar. He couldn’t do anything except flail about helplessly in your hold. Useless birdsong spilled from his throat. Each step you took brought him closer and closer to that endless blue sky. He didn’t dare look down.

He could feel the wind now. A light gust that would’ve felt refreshing now sent a spike of adrenaline through his veins. The only thing separating him from the ground was your gentle hold. His breathing quickened, don’t let me go, please don’t let me go—

You were speaking but he couldn’t make out any of the words. Your cupped palms dipped once before throwing him into the blue sky.

And then he was falling down, down, down.

Flapping his clipped wings.

Wind rushing against him.

Blood roaring in his ears.

Screaming mutely until his throat felt raw.

He was going to hit the ground and break all his bones and die why was it taking so long—

Jamil’s eyes cracked open. The first thing he saw was the darkened ceiling of his bedroom. He was still in Scarabia. He sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face. A glance at his phone screen told him he woke up two hours before his alarm was set to ring.

Might as well get started for the day.

The dream would be quickly forgotten. He would go through the latter classes of the day with a building headache. Even Kalim would notice his discomfort, but his attempts at concern would be waved off. 

It was just a dream. And he knew better than to dream.

chapter 3: you're afraid to believe it A/N: first i'd like to thank @jessamine-rose for beta-ing this fic, your fresh eyes were very helpful in convincing me i wasn't going completely crazy😭😭 For my dear readers, i think now would be a good time to mention that I am primarily an angst and hurt/comfort writer so... part 3 will take a bit of a while since i have to resolve all Those Feelings ahhhh.... anyways! i hope you enjoyed reading this, don't be afraid to rb and holler in the tags, i treasure each and every comment💕💕

[the-twst-cast-needs-therapy]

A very self indulgent compilation of my most desired cards (extremely based on aesthetics), to keep track of which ones I have already!

Pink: Already obtained

Blue: high priority

Riddle: Dorm uniform, Tropical outfit (7/8/24)

Ace: Suitor suit, Playful dress

Deuce: Starsending robes, Rabbit costume

Cater: Dorm uniform, Pop music T-shirt

Trey: this game keeps cursing me with Trey cards and I DON'T WANT THEM. HE'S A SWEETHEART, BUT PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE FOR A SECOND.

Leona: Gala couture (this card is so pretty?!), Ceremonial Robes

Jack: Gala couture

Ruggie: Ceremonial Robes

Azul: Dorm uniform, Masquerade, Halloween

Jade: Clubwear, FISH

Floyd: FISH

Kalim: Pop music T-shirt, Birthday bloom, FAIRY GALA, Playful dress

Jamil: Jersey, Masquerade(9/1/24), Applepom

Vil: Dorm uniform, Halloween, Birthday Bloom, New year's attire, Luxe couture, Playful dress

Epel: Dorm uniform(8/5/24), APPLEPOM (my absolute favourite card!), Birthday boy & bloom, Suitor suit, Rabbit costume, Club wear

Rook: Dorm uniform, Savannahclaw uniform, New year's attire

Idia: Suitor suit, Starsending robes, Applepom(9/6/24), Halloween (30/9/24)

Ortho: FAIRY GEAR!!!!!(Instant death when I get this one), Cerberus gear, stargazer gear, Rabbit gear, Playful land

Malleus: Dorm uniform, Masquerade(9/4/24)

Silver: Ceremonial robes (9/23/24), Gala couture, Rabbit costume

Sebek: Applepom(9/12/24), Armor of eternal night (just saw this card for the first time, oh my god.)

Lilia: pop music T-shirt, Dorm uniform, Generals armor, Ceremonial robes(7/27/24), Halloween, Playful dress, suitor suit

Special cards: Rollo(8/26/24), Crowley, Fellow (WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY TEASERS YET BUT IF WE GET TREIN AND SAM CARDS!!!!! OMG OMG) (If we get a Meleanor card I will explode btw)