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magicpaint · 5 months ago

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TWST Indie Perfume Recs

While browsing, I've noticed a lot of fragrances reminding me of TWST characters. All characters have five fragrances, while each dorm is given one general fragrance. 22 named students of NRC, Ramshackle, the staff, RSA, Book 7 characters, and event characters have been included.

Fragrance notes are taken from their respective websites.

Heartslabyul —

Alice (Crow & Pebble) — Bakewell tarts and black tea, white roses painted red, a distant whiff of black pepper and orange marmalade.

Riddle Rosehearts

High Tea (Possets) — A very true to tea blend. Infused with lemon, sugar, milk, and that indescribable scent of the best starched linens.

Rosewater Lemonade (Hexennacht) — Tart, sweet lemonade infused with fresh, heady rose petals.

Dormouse (Wild Hybrid) — Tea-soaked fur, caramel cakes with a thin smear of butter, toast crumbs and pink pepper

Last Breath (Deep Midnight) — A sweet goodbye as an organ pipes a haunting hymn. Main notes of red roses, lily of the valley, and white tea waft in as the lid closes…

Jabberwocky (Pierrot Perfumery) — An interesting blend of labdanum resin, charred oak, amber musk, and blood.

Ace Trappola

Cherry Fizzy (Death & Floral) — Classic dark cherry soda with small hints of cocoa beans and strong carbonation

The Red Hare (Stone & Wit) — Fresh ginger, fig preserves, cherry, almonds, suede

Black Cherry Bomb (Death & Floral) — Melted black cherry popsicle juice, ginger ale cream soda, salty and hot summer skin, honeydew, golden caramelized amber

Sucker Punch (Sugar & Spite) — Red, shiny lollies, lemon hard candies, and fluffy pink cotton candy

Knave of Hearts (BPAL) — Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts.

Deuce Spade

0 The Fool (Wild Hybrid) — The dust of a road travelled, davana, tea rose, sunflower, honey myrtle, pink pepper, rhododendron leaf, angel's trumpet, orange and crystalline musk.

Misspent Youth (Death & Floral) — Iced cold root beer, the glowing hum of a 7-11 parking lot, peppered vanilla, blood orange & ginger candy, fuzzy grey amber

White Rabbit (Siren Song Elixirs) — White musk, Coconut, Narcissus flower, Lime verbena, Amber, Double Vanilla

Clowning Around (Luvmilk) — Fresh, buttered, caramel popcorn, salty peanuts, tufts of blue cotton candy, and taffy apples.

Storm Chaser (Fyrinnae) — Misty, salty onshore winds, wet sand and soil, storm surge, broken branches, and gasoline.

Trey Clover

Violet Pound Cake (CocoaPink) — Fresh baked pound cake squares sprinkled with wild candied violet petals then softly dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

Flourite (Hexennacht) — lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, spearmint, a faint wafting of violets.

Coco Violette (Deep Midnight) — Reminiscent of old fashioned violet candies and sweet childhood memories. Old fashioned violet, milk chocolate, and a hint of creamy vanilla.

Dead of Night (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of lavender, white pepper, dryer sheets, detergent, warm cotton, and vanilla musk.

Lab Partner (Nui Cobalt) — Unripe mandarin, chilly grey cashmere, green peppercorn, flushed skin, and toasted oats.

Cater Diamond

Raining Diamonds (Nui Cobalt) — A glistening air of wonder and enchantment. Chilled white grapefruit, ambrette seed, stellar musk, forget-me-not blossom, sheer vanilla, and honeyed almond.

Tell It to the Moon (Sugar & Spite) — Precious woods, cashmere vanilla, resin, spice, and a swirl of bright mandarin.

The Aquarius (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of pear, ginger, nutmeg, salty popcorn, tart lime, sugared citrus, sea salt, lotus, calendula, and cedarwood.

Festival Nights (Luvmilk) — Melon kakigori, dango drizzled with mizuame, wataame, and fireworks in the distance.

Everything Is More Beautiful Because We Are Doomed (Death & Floral) — Rich gourmet vanilla blended with benzoin and black woodsmoke

Savanaclaw —

Dantalion (Fantome) — Creamy chai tea, obscuring mists, sandalwood, a plaster mask, clarifying ginger, carnations, dandelions, & a melted beeswax candle.

Leona Kingscholar

Afterglow (Alkemia) — A softly glowing veil of golden musk, Madagascar vanilla beans, woodsmoked black amber, chai tea, spiced rum, and incense woods.

Lion (BPAL) — The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

Untamable (Imaginary Authors) — Leather Saddle, Tonka Resin, Saguaro Blossom, Texas Yellowstar, Cumin, Tumbleweed, Paso Fino

Badlands (Solstice Scents) — Dry woods, worn leather, dusty fossils, sandalwood, palo santo, hot resins, juniper wood, ponderosa pine cone, parched grasses and desert plants, oud, spices.

Villain Origin Story (Nui Cobalt) — Jaded by the world’s ills, a heart is ignited not by hope, but by fury. Sinister patchouli, spiced mulberry wine, smoldering musk, deep mahogany, and a sliver of peach skin.

Jack Howl

White Fir (Pineward) — orange, ginger, white fir, clove, anise, pine, musk, vetiver, oakmoss.

Turquoise (Hexennacht) — Wild blueberry, white amber, prickly pear, apricot, artemisia, green tea, honey sage, ghost flower, lemon verbena, lavender, lemon balm, cactus flower, dry grass.

Bitter Cold (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of freezing air, cedarwood, balsam fir, pine needles, and a delicate touch of mint.

Werewolf (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of patchouli, black spruce, juniper, amyris resin, rosemary, clove, and clary sage.

The Cactus Where Your Heart Once Was (Death & Floral) — Prickly pear cactus accord and orange flower absolute

Ruggie Bucchi

First Dandelion (Alkemia) — A bright meadow of sunny dandelion flowers, green dandelion leaves, and warm dirt.

Laundromat (Hexennacht) — Laundry soap, fabric softener, ozone, and coin-op washing machines.

Maplemallow Doughnut (Hexennacht) — Fresh doughnuts, topped with sticky maple frosting, and tooth-achingly sweet marshmallow fluff.

Laundry Day (Cirrus Parfum) — Clean white laundry musk, lavender, vanilla, earl grey tea, and New Caledonia sandalwood

Blood and Donuts (Deep Midnight) — Dark Egyptian amber and gaharu wood, well blended and served with creamy vanilla, cinnamon spice, rich chocolate, and a splash of turkish coffee. It's.... to die for.

Octavinelle —

Black Pearl (Wild Hybrid) — The scent of deep sea life and vanilla

Azul Ashengrotto

Voice of the Sea (Alkemia) — An olfactory musing from the underside of a wooden dock—salinaceous seabreezes, sun bleached driftwood, crushed seashells, a twist of Meyers lemon peel, barnacles, mineralistic sand, and seasoaked timbers.

Breakwater (Wylde Ivy) — Mist soaked and sun scorched basalt, bergamot, dried black tea leaves, and white sandalwood

Small Comforts (Stone & Wit) — Black tea, tamarind, clove, anise, cinnamon, white musks

Poison Pen (Death & Floral) — Black musk, mahogany wood, balsam accord, old paper, ink, red sandalwood, ylang, lapsang souchong, and a tiny touch of cinnamon bark

With the Fishes and the Dead (Death & Floral) — Black squid ink and mile long oceans. Black ambergris, black labdanum absolute, salty ocean water, and black pits of stretched out emptiness.

Jade Leech

Koschei the Deathless (Fantome) — Forest mushrooms, turmeric, myrrh, treemoss, dry bones, sea kelp, dark patchouli, creamy ylang.

Ghost Whale (Crow & Pebble) — Stormy sea air, clary sage, black pepper, jasmine green tea, ambergris, cedar and agarwood.

FROGS! (Death & Floral) — Grounding and warm woods, Virginia cedar, cold-pressed yuzu, overgrown moss, forest mushrooms, wet humid frog skin

Leviathan (Hexennacht) — ambergris accord, soil, ozone, marine accord, seaweed accord, mitti attar, geosmin, matsutake mushroom, algae.

The Lighthouse (Mythpunk Olfactive) — The cozy aftermath of a seaside storm - maritime pine, ozone, heather, bloodmoss, rocky wet sand, black tea, wet wool drying by the fire

Floyd Leech

Scenic Route (Hexennacht) — California sagebrush, narrow-leaf eucalyptus, purple sage, pink peppercorn, driftwood, ocean air, orange blossom, sandalwood, cypress, palo santo, patchouli.

Why Would You Make This!? (Stone & Wit) — Lime, bergamot, Sichuan pepper, paprika, apples, raisins, salt, watermelon

OYSTER! (Poesie) — Grey musk, ocean brine, bitter cucumber, a twist of lemon, elemi resin, and angelica

Siren (Wild Hybrid) — Salty ocean water, barnacle covered rocks, wet ship wood, beeswax, sailor's pipe tobacco and spiced rum and the tang of blood to be spilt.

1991 (Sunsphere Scents) — Saltwater, grapefruit, an old boardwalk

Scarabia —

Eternal Sunshine (Hexennacht) — Coconut water, pineapple, apricot, papaya, banana, sunscreen, pool water, sandalwood, seaweed accord, sea salt, driftwood, mysore accord, sun-warmed sand, pool toys, choya nakh.

Kalim Al-Asim

Eight Minutes of Light and Heat Left When the Sun Dies (Death & Floral) — Pulpy coconut water and sweet Thai tea, blended with soft orange blossoms and a scorching desert thunderstorm looming in the distance.

Tempest (Siren Song Elixirs) — Dragon fruit, Lychee, Dahlia, Black Vanilla, Creamy Vanilla

Awakening Desert (Alkemia) — Rainstorm across desert. Cracked earth drinks deeply, softening into moist clay. Desert springs refill and replenish. An elemental scent of awakening... dry warm earth, parched grasses, dried wood, and mineralistic clay drenched in rainwater.

Beautiful, But Annihilating (Sorce) — Fresh coconut, jasmine sambac, tonka bean, salty skin

Cardigan (Death & Floral) — Bergamot and spiced cardamom blended with Egyptian musk superior and sandalwood

Jamil Viper

Serpentine (Sorce) — Ripe figs, fig leaf, cardamom, caramelized honey, vanilla, Peru balsam, Cedar, Iso E Super

Moonstone (Hexennacht) — argent ambre, night-blooming jasmine, evening air accord, lunar musk.

Whisper Your Bitter Things (Poesie) — Pressed coffee beans, dried clove bud, cassia bark, jasmine and neroli blossoms, and roasted vanilla pods

The Snake (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of black narcissus, night blooming jasmine, honey, toffee, and black musk.

Violent Moon (Sugar & Spite) — Candied clove, incense, elemi, palo santo, raspberry leaf, sanguine musk, litchi, moss, sandalwood and patchouli.

Pomefiore —

Champagne Supernova (Black Hearted Tart) — Fizzy pink champagne is elevated with frozen mangoes and a sweet red berry accord. Freesia petals, baby powder, and cashmere musk add a flirty feel.

Vil Schoenheit

Smells Like Teen Slayer (Pierrot Perfumery) — A blend of stone fruits, sandalwood, amber, and white florals.

Thigh Highs (Luvmilk) — Juicy mango, creamy papaya blossom, a touch of resin coated vanilla, hints of jasmine and violet on a woody, earthy base.

Fluffy Pink Murder Robe (Fable & Canon) — Delicate blushed florals, Madagascar vanilla, soft fuzzy peach skin, and a spilled glass of champagne.

Proud Queen (CocoaPink) — She rules all that is strange and dangerous, poisonous and beautiful. Foxgloves, opium poppies, bitter nightshade, green roses of hellebore, oleander's apricot notes, and innocent orange blossom, with a breath of raspberries, white chocolate, marshmallow, and warm white musk.

Evil (BPAL) — Smouldering opium tar, tobacco absolute, green tea, black plum, kush, ambergris accord, ambrette seed, and costus root.

Epel Felmier

Bad Apple (Redwood Alchemy) — Apple, Leather, White Musk & Civet

Blue Jay Orchards (Birch & Besom) — Apple cider donuts, gently smoked honey, orchard soil, cedar, ripe gourds

Riverside Hayride (Solstice Scents) — Moist Dirt, White Carnations, Fallen Leaves, Bare Branches, Hay & a Hint of Pressed Apples

November (CocoaPink) — The unmistakable scent in the air the moment winter arrives. Pale snowflakes, bitter, cold air, dry vanilla, snow dusted trees, agar-wood, baked apple pie and smokey swirls of crackling tobacco.

Bite the Apple (Black Hearted Tart) — Honeycrisp red apples are plunged into a cauldron of creamy caramel and rolled in pieces of toffee and crushed walnut.

Rook Hunt

Crossbow of Vengeance (Fyrinnae) — Dried tobacco, freshly crushed black pepper, and the almost undetectable sweet scent of your poison-dipped bolts.

Balcony Tryst (Fyrinnae) — Tangerine blossoms! Sweet tangerines mixed with the heavier scent of their flowers, grounded by a bit of ginger lily, soft leather, and benzoin.

Ranger (BPAL) — Untamed wilderness: buckskin accord with Terebinth pine, Russian birch, black ironwood, elder bark, hay, armoise, juniper, patchouli, galangal root, Spanish moss, and cabreuva.

Hunter's Moon (Pulp Fragrance) — An Ode to Diana, lunar goddes of the Hunt: Moonflower, tonka bean, honeyed amber, sandalwood, tolu balsam, oud, and rich golden spice.

The Hunter's Kiss (Andromeda's Curse) — Key Notes: Leather, Dark Forest, Incense

Ignihyde —

Starship Mechanic (Fyrinnae) — Working among the generators and weapons control areas all day ensures the scents of titanium, steel tools, engine oil, and fuel stick to their skin and hair for hours. Even after a scented shower, mixing with the lingering fragrances of bergamot, woods, and patchouli, their line of work is fairly obvious when you get close. But you don't mind at all.

Idia Shroud

Please Rewind (Amorphous) — Highlights include VHS tape cases, hot popcorn, and the ozonic, static-like aroma of a hot VHS tape fresh from the VCR.

Artificer (BPAL) — Gleaming metal, gear oil, sparking wires, shattered glass, and a blue flicker of arcane power.

Shroud (Sugar & Spite) — Obsidian violet, geranium, coconut milk, amyris, saffron, cedar, and vetiver

In The Styx (Birch & Besom) — Cool mineral water, metallic silver, dry woods, aquatic atmospherics

The Black Gate (Pierrot Perfumery) — A truly evil blend of wormwood, labdanum, nag champa and blackened metal.

Ortho Shroud

Aerobraking (Fyrinnae) — The combination of warm machine oil, cold titanium, and the slightly stale scent of re-circulated oxygen.

Electric Feel (Death & Floral) — A blend of different electricity accords; hot wires, neon signs, tv static fuzz, the electricity that rumbles inside a thunderstorm.

Deus Ex Machina (Alkemia) — An olfactory portrait of industrial decay and the fallen gods of age of disruption, innovation, and technological revolution… fire hardened steel, rusted iron, motor oil, wet cement, burnt copper wires, and grey amber

Abduction (The Eyes Are Always There) — metallic and ozone top notes transition into a heart and base comprised of a subtle blending of rich spice, wood, organic and earthy components.

Eldritch (Red River Apothecary) — Inky black musk, cosmic horror, patent leather and a smattering of dark energy

Diasomnia —

Gargoyle (Nui Cobalt) — Rain-drenched lavender, cathedral incense, beeswax candles, and ancient stone.

Malleus Draconia

Green Eyes, Black Hair (The Strange South) — Oud, marshmallow, freesia, and vanilla.

Beastly (CocoaPink) — Ancient castle stones, the brooding airs of a dark forest, a threat of winter; a fougere fit for a prince, the musk and leather of a beast; a library filled with rare books; and a single red rose.

Insomnia (Sugar & Spite) — Oud, Black Pepper, beeswax, dragon's blood, light and dark patchouli, benzoin resin

Lost Temple (Nui Cobalt) — A nexus of mystery and hidden power. Damp moss, a humid tangle of mandevilla vines, freshly cut palo santo, rain-drenched stone, and the memory of sacred fires.

Thunder In Your Ear (The Strange South) — Dragon's blood, red musk, sleet, mandarin, and vanilla.

Silver

Aurora (Alkemia) — A luminescent skin-but-better aurora of soft cashmeran, orris root, cardamon infused coconut milk, white amber, white musk, white violet, white ginger, lotus flower, and a touch of honeyed cream.

Gentle Tormentor (CocoaPink) — You are that wild-eyed faery's child, beautiful and merciless. A bed of vanillas, tonka and white musk, laced with delicate lemon and bergamot.

Doe Eyed and Dreaming (Sugar & Spite) — Assam au lait, dry vanilla pods, burned brown sugar, oak wood, tonka, ambrette and the tiniest hint of firewood

Fey Touched (Nui Cobalt) — A glistening aura of elemental power to enhance all spellcraft. Sunflower petals, honeyed almond, yuzu, sacred benzoin, and prismatic mist from woodland stream dappled in sunlight.

Inside a Nightmare (Death & Floral) — The olfactory profile of a constantly changing nightmare. Freezing cold water, asphalt, sea salt, lavender & chamomile. very soft leather car interior. Which turn was wrong, and where did we end up?

Sebek Zigvolt

Magic Compass (Nui Cobalt) — An enchantment to navigate you through the fog and keep you on the right path. Shining brass, benzoin, angelica flower, quatre épices, sandalwood, golden patchouli, and a touch of ripe passion fruit.

Vert et Noir (DSH) — A bright, citric-green eau fraiche vetiver fragrance with vegetal notes and ozone to bring the unexpected.

Sorcerer (BPAL) — A golden, sparking surge of raw, wild magic: waves of amber, frankincense, red cacao, blood orange, and lavender touched by demonic incense and dragon’s blood.

Lightning (BPAL) — Lightning slashing the midnight skies over the endless reaches of the ocean. The electric tang of ozone, marine notes, and a drop of sharp rain.

16 The Tower (Wild Hybrid) — Lightning and stone

Lilia Vanrouge

Frickin' Bats (Hexennacht) — Vanilla ice cream, black licorice whips, candy corn, root beer, kettle corn.

90s Goth (Amorphous) — Aroma palette is a spooky, spicy, dark floral musk with hints of leather and spice. Highlights include clove cigarette smoke, jet black lipstick, worn leather, fog machine, and white violet musk.

Bats in the Belfry (Pierrot Perfumery) — A sweet, musty blend. Notes of vintage lace, dried flowers and dusty photos.

You'll Never Grow Old (CocoaPink) — A vintage amusement park on a summer night boardwalk where the coolest vampires hang out. The irresistible mingling of cotton candy, waffle cones, caramel popcorn, and candy apple is stalked by the tang of an oncoming storm, sea salt, freshly-dug dirt, and a primal, seductive musk.

Moondust Will Cover You (Sugar & Spite) — Lush green foliage, tiny, still-green wildflowers bathed in moonlight, and a sweet breeze that smells of love and sorrow.

Ramshackle —

Parlour (Fantome) — A darkly polished mahogany rapping table, spirit boards, sweet rosewood chests, burning incense, and a hint of vetiver.

Grim

Purr (Hexennacht) — kitten fur accord, yarn (wool absolute), milky kitten breath, tonka bean absolute, musk.

Le Chat Noir (Hexennacht) — chimney smoke, freshly fallen snow, and the cool, dry, musky scent of a cat just in from a long winter stroll.

Vampire Cat (Nui Cobalt) — Playfully alluring. Top notes of tart cherry and pomegranate, a warm heart of rooibos, torch ginger, and hibiscus, and a base of red cedarwood and dragon’s blood resin.

Making Biscuits (Deep Midnight) — The most ubiquitous of cat practices, biscuits are about sharing. Main notes of: bread, sugar, fire, pumpkin, cardamom

Kitten and the Falling Leaves (Alkemia) — An olfactory portrait of crisp dry leaves and warm musky kitten fur.

NRC Staff —

Dire Crowley

The Night-Raven (BPAL) — Indigo musk, wild plum, rose geranium, benzoin, night-blooming jasmine, and patchouli.

Prismatic Crow (Crow & Pebble) — Soft woods, dark forest fruits, dry pine needles, juniper branches and a wisp of smoke.

A Fine Gentleman (The Strange South) — Blackberry, licorice, wood shavings, bay rum, and clove.

Ravenous (Siren Song Elixirs) — Frost, Snow, Ozone, Birch, Cypress, Fir Needles, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Black Salt, Black Pepper, Charcoal, Sweet Milk, Blue Musk, Vetiver, Nag Champa, Mahogany, Narcissus blooms

Villain (BPAL) — A classic Victorian men’s cologne: a lavender fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk.

Divus Crewel

Hand Me My Leather (Hexennacht) — premium leather/suede accord, vanilla, benzoin, tolu balsam, Peru balsam, olibanum, amber, black pepper, cedar, sandalwood, tonka, musk.

My Curse (Stone & Wit) — Red wine, hyssop, cashmere, suede, musk

The Devil's Bentley (Pierrot Perfumery) — Coal, brimstone, car exhaust, black musk and 1970's amber cologne.

Wardrobe (Solstice Scents) — Creamy woods blend with cashmere, fur, velvet and a touch of dry woody spice.

Hexes 4 My Exes (Birch & Besom) — Leather, Earl Grey tea, vintage powder, crushed violets, cauldron smoke

Mozus Trein

1891 (Alkemia) — A delightful anachronism of French lavender buds, mandarin peel, lime leaves, bergamot, bay leaves, coriander, clove, nutmeg, ginger flower, pink pepper, elegant white carnations, heirloom tree rose, opium tar accord, and woody amber resin nestled in an embrace of precious oriental incense woods.

Beloved (Stone & Wit) — Apricot brandy, sandalwood, cedar

Vintage (Hexennacht) — Golden amber, Medjool dates, vanilla, amber attar, citrus, resins, Mysore sandalwood, opoponax.

Lucifer (Hexennacht) — White sage, blue musk, cedar, blackberry, black tea, bergamot, apple.

The Blues Are All the Same (Death & Floral) — Smooth vanilla cognac, aged barrel wood, and sticky honey.

Ashton Vargas

The Heartbreaking Simplicity of Ordinary Things (Death & Floral) — Freshly opened tennis balls, cool crisp meteor shower nights, warm and sweet cardamom

Black Mass (Hexennacht) — essentially, "MOON-mallow ": smoked vanilla, frankincense, Peru balsam, labdanum, amber, vetiver, atlas cedarwood, patchouli, night musk, and scorched marshmallows.

Greymist (Pineward) — noble fir, scotch pine, expressed citron, blond tobacco, botanical musk, vetiver.

Lothario (Wild Hybrid) — Night blooming flowers with a touch of campfire smoke and leather.

The Wolf Only Needs Luck to Find You Once (Death & Floral) — Crisp forest night air, lunar musk, large drifting Oakwood trees, the musky scent of a trailing shadow.

Sam

Spellbound (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of cinnamon, bourbon, tonka bean, salted caramel, sandalwood, and vanilla.

Cafe (The Strange South) — Chicory coffee, hot beignets, and pralines.

Memento Mori (Siren Song Elixirs) — Lily, Tuberose, Forget-Me-Nots, Rain, Amber, Incense

Parlor Trick (Solstice Scents) — Ivory lace, white wax, aged paper, glossy white smoke, teak, black tea, blonde woods, delicate spice, bone musk, Manor and a faint trace of rose

Imp (Haus of Gloi) — Peculiar passion fruit mingling with sun cured apricots, perfectly pink grapefruit juice and innocent whispers of wet mimosa blooms.

Royal Sword Academy —

Ambrose the 63rd

The Mentor (Nui Cobalt) — A venerable wizard, mysterious but kind, with faded robes and shining eyes. Ancient sandalwood, well-worn linen, olive leaf, oakmoss, Earl Grey tea, and sacred temple incense. Wear for guidance in times of confusion, and for spiritual support in times of discouragement.

Wizard's Tome (Pierrot Perfumery) — An herby blend of sage, lavender, with notes of parchment and wet stone.

Wizard's Library (Birch & Besom) — Antique books, a smooth cup of hazelnut coffee, cedar desks, sandalwood, sweet tobacco

Nocturne #10 (Siren Song Elixirs) — Mahogany, Amber, Dried leaves, Vanillin, Fireplace Smoke, Coffee, Shea butter, Wood embers, Marshmallow

As Above So Below (Sugar & Spite) — Delicate, ephemeral lilacs, sweet swirls of cream, and mahogany wood

Chenya

Cereal Marshmallows (Hexennacht) — Cronchy, sugary, delicious. Also terrible for you, but OH WELL.

Pouty Kitten (Luvmilk) — Old fashioned cream soda, piles of sugared strawberries, a bowl of whipped cream, freshly cut grass on a warm summer day.

Cheshire Cat (BPAL) — Grapefruit, red currant, dark musk, Roman chamomile, delphinium, and lavender.

Lavender Sugar Cookie (Fable & Canon) — Soft, sweet lavender and rich vanilla folded into buttery sugar cookies.

Lofty Castle (Luvmilk) — Candied lavender, fresh honey, puffs of cotton candy, and raw sugar.

Neige Leblanche

Sit For a Spell (Sorce) — Salted cantaloupe, a light drizzle of wild rosemary honey, fresh spring air, ambrette seed, and winding honeysuckle vines

Lost in the Wood (Crow & Pebble) — A thicket of mossy silver birch, bluebell flowers and violet leaves crushed underfoot, with apple blossoms and elderflower blooming overhead.

Meadowmoss (Pineward) — Oakmoss, alpine sandwort, wild grass, green wheat, orange blossom, fir balsam, tomato leaf, azure bluet, mountain wildflowers.

Angelic (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of sparkling yuzu soda, white tea leaves, mint, apple blossom, white sage, cedarwood, and angelic musk.

Good (BPAL) — Shimmering celestial musk with vanilla, white honey, acacia, and sugar cane.

Book 7 Characters —

Baul Zigvolt

The Faerie Knight (Wild Hybrid) — Tuberose, aged leather, helichrysum, cassie absolute, apricot, ethereal musk and tangled greenery.

Chevalier Vert (Olympic Orchids) — Citrus, rhubarb, tomato leaf, armoise, violet leaf, violet, orris, and peony, Sichuan pepper, and soft woods.

Luna (Laurel & June) — Crystal white amber, night blooming jasmine and lotus flowers; heather, fig blossoms, cool night rain

Stratus (Osmofolia) — Broken stems, ambergris, bitter galbanum, silvery osmanthus, wet stones, damp soil, glimpses of cherry blossom buds, and never-ending fog.

After the Night's Shade (Mythpunk Olfactive) — Earl grey (bergamot, black tea), 'blue' Spanish lavender, golden amber, osmanthus, rosewood, sandalwood, tonka bean, vetiver (Bourbon), aged patchouli, opoponax 216, pure oakmoss, and pine tree moss

Dawn Knight

Forest Prince (Luvmilk) — A woodsy clean scented blend of cedarwood, moss, hyacinth, sandalwood, and subtle musk.

Paladin (BPAL) — Immaculate white musk, sweet frankincense, bourbon vanilla, white leather, and shining armor.

Iron & Oak (Redwood Alchemy) — Oakmoss, Cashmere Wood, Iron, Lily of the Valley, Spice

Lost Epitaph (Mythpunk Olfactive) — Briar rose, narcissus, creeping ivy, crumbling headstones, cemetery rain

Apparition (Hexennacht) — Spectral amber, alabaster vanilla, bone-white woods.

Maleanor Draconia

Dragon Princess (Crow & Pebble) — Ocean waves, gifts of pink peony, waterlily blooms and ripe tangerines, underpinned by deep red amber and dragonsblood incense.

What's Inside a Girl (Sugar & Spite) — Smoldering embers, honey, clove, and wildflowers

Draconic Resilience (Nui Cobalt) — A stalwart spell for strength and reinforcement. Glowing embers of cedarwood, oudh, and mahogany, supple leather, copaiba balsam, vermillion musk, and heat.

Love is Lost (Sugar & Spite) — Dark plum, black vanilla, nag champa, indian sandalwood, cashmere, red patchouli, and smoky embers

She Was the Storm (Death & Floral) — Black hemlock, driftwood, hay absolute, dreamy sandalwood, spiced oudh, dried fruits, dead leaves

Event Characters —

Dylla Spade

Tulips and Chimneys (Alkemia) — An urban springtime of rainy aldehydes, wet asphalt, industrial steam engines, farmer's market bouquets of fresh tulips, Toulouse violets, mint pastels, and a warm touch of clove viburnum.

Odette (Haus of Gloi) — Clean sun dried linens, tuberose, ginger lily and white musk.

Meadow Nymph (Morari) — Wildflower Accord, Green Apple, Dew-Laden Grass, Lemon Peel

Night of Folly (The Strange South) — Exhaust, floral musk, and a Zulu coconut.

Street Racer (Cirrus Parfum) — Cherry bubblegum, leather car interior, newly laid rubber, hot tarmac, a tinge of anxiety

Eliza (The Ghost Bride)

Dance With Me (Possets) — Refreshing and refined at once. A superb coumarin-laced lavender combines with fizzy pink grapefruit, and it all rests on a bed of white musk.

Scenes From a Marriage (The Strange South) — A single violet rose, apple, champa flower, ylang-ylang, chipped paint, and dusty old picture frames.

Midnight Wedding (Sorce) — Bergamot, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean, Ambroxan

Dead & Lovely (Pierrot Perfumery) — A flowery blend of jasmine, wisteria, lilies, corpse flower, and casket silk.

Forever As Now (Sugar & Spite) — Lavender, Tonka, French vanilla, sandalwood, Egyptian musk

Eric Venue

Private Eye (Solstice Scents) — Natural Blend of Cocoa, Myrrh, Pink Pepper, Black Pepper, Tonka, Buddha Wood, Tobacco, Coffee, Guiacwood & More

Invocation (Sugar & Spite) — Spiced brandy, toasted praline, pistachio and walnut, oak, mahogany, palm Santo and patchouli

World Famous For 15 Minutes (Death & Floral) — Sweet tobacco and vanilla, blended with a hint of violet and gin

Black Iris (Alkemia) — Royal purple iris and Queen Elizabeth orris root pillowed in a soft nimbostratus raincloud.

Sassy (Hexennacht) — glossy magazine pages infused with a wafting fusion of 90's scent strip samples. IYKYK.

Fellow Honest

Carnival of Illustrious Hearts (Alkemia) — A glitteringly gourmet gala of French sugarcreams, candied orange blossoms, raspberry cotton candy, rosewater torte filling, and Bourbon vanilla amber.

Mischief Master (Crow & Pebble) — A heart of carnation, orange blossom and rock rose atop a base of oakmoss and musk, topped with a burst of fresh, sweet orange and aromatic saffron.

Shadow Touched (Nui Cobalt) — A dusky philtre for stealth and sleight of hand. Black vanilla, unsweetened chai, antique myrrh, Omani musk, rich pipe tobacco, agarwood, and unrefined cashmere.

Lament of the Midway (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of spilled cherry slush, bubblegum, black licorice, hay, dead grass, motor oil, cement and corn husks.

Widowmaker (Siren Song Elixirs) — Mirabelle plums, dark ripe fruit, black vanilla, gunpowder, black suede, hint of cotton candy

Gidel

Bubble Pop (Death & Floral) — Bright pink bubble gum, spiced apricots, lemon rind and bitter orange peel, red berries + bergamot.

Star Circus (Luvmilk) — Rich, creamy vanilla and blueberry.

Night Carnival (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of funnel cakes, whipped cream, and a dusting of sugar sprinkles.

A Whiff of Wafflecone (Imaginary Authors) — Fragrance Notes: Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Saigon Cinnamon, Heavy Cream, Sandalwood, Orgeat, Scoop Shop

Boardwalk Sideshow (Birch & Besom) — Salty sea air, bright orchids, mint limeade, white musk, jasmine

Kifaji

Archipelago (Haus of Gloi) — Golden fruits from across the seas. Toasted coconut, kola nuts, tamarind and jackfruit - all warmed with a light dusting of brown sugar.

Helios (Osmofolia) — Honey, heliotrope, chamomile, lemon, mango, and white amber.

Alibi (Cirrus Parfum) — passionfruit, orange blossom, guava, strawberry yuzu lemonade, and a dash of coconut cream over a rosewood base.

Sun Gold (Laurel & June) — White amber, banana milk and honey

Sent From Heaven (Laurel & June) — Hibiscus blooms, rice flower, shea, faint bit of smoke, white amber

Marja Felmier

Villa Diodati (Poesie) — Pungent wild rosemary, fresh balsam pine, crystal clear lakewater, dry, and dark vanilla

Snowshoe Hare (Nui Cobalt) — Nutmeg and tonka bean nuzzle up against fluffy marshmallow, cottonflower, white suede, clove bud, cashmere, and a trace of carrot seed.

Winter's Lament (Deep Midnight) — Crackling Firewood, Cassis, Apple, Spruce, Balsam, Citrus, Dark Tea, Pinecones, and Sugar Crystals

Grandma's Best Friend (Deep Midnight) — Iris, Sandalwood, Heliotrope, Musk, Apple, Citron, Jasmine, Cedar

Orchard Brew (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of candied apples, mulling spices, caramel apple cider, and dark amber.

Najma Viper

Cipher (Stone & Wit) — Lime, jasmine, spices, oud (black agar) accord, raspberry

Good Omen (Sugar & Spite) — Jasmine, pineapple, green apple, tart grapefruit, musk and sandalwood

Titania (Poesie) — Blonde woods, sparkling bergamot, orange creamsicle, magnolia, and stargazer lily

Pink Lipstick (Lovesick Witchery) — Notes of orange cream pops, sugar, vanilla bean, heliotrope, oats, pink velvet, whipped tonka, gilded amber, and fluffy pink musk.

Sitting On the Edge of a Cloud (Sorce) — Mandarin orange, pink grapefruit, cotton candy, coconut water, amyris wood, sandalwood, palo santo, ambrette, tonka bean

Rollo Flamme

C'est Noel (Sorce) — Coffee, freshly baked cinnamon bread, roasted chestnuts, blown out candles, lingering church incense, and softly falling snow

En Repos (Sugar & Spite) — A mélange of melancholy, indeed. Beeswax candles, church incense, pale musk, amber resin and funeral flowers.

A Midnight Dreary (Wylde Ivy) — Notes of scattered coffee grounds, cedar smoke, rum, well aged leather, black vanilla, singed tonka, dripping wax, with a touch of spiced amber and fireplace embers.

Cathedral (BPAL) — Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.

Dance of Death (BPAL) — Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh.

Skully J. Graves

Not Dead, But Arisen (Fantome) — Freshly turned grave soil and spring greenery lie beneath uplifting orange and crisp yuzu.

Cemetery Tour (The Strange South) — Osmanthus, crumbling stone, brick dust, moss, and graveyard dirt.

Lacrimosa (Sugar & Spite) — Blonde woods, heliotrope, a bouquet of dried, dusty flowers tied with tattered velvet ribbon, bone-white birch, guaiac wood, tears, and a pinch of graveyard dirt

Cemetery Soirée (Nui Cobalt) — A celebration of life in the presence of Death. Mossy stone walls, lanterns aglow, steam from a cauldron of hot spiced cider, funeral flowers catching rain from crimson leaves above.

Merry Halloween (CocoaPink) — The Pumpkin King comes to Christmas Town! A festive clash of holidays. Sweet pumpkin, salted caramel apples, candy corn, and night woodsmoke meets snowy mounds of vanilla ice-cream; wild pinyon pine, black spruce needles, cranberries and candied orange peel.

Website Links —

Alkemia

Amorphous

Andromeda's Curse

Birch & Besom

Black Hearted Tart

BPAL

Cirrus Parfum

CocoaPink

Crow & Pebble

Death & Floral

Deconstructing Eden

Deep Midnight

DSH

Fable & Canon

Fantome

Fyrinnae

Haus of Gloi

Hexennacht

Imaginary Authors

Laurel & June

Lovesick Witchery

Luvmilk

Morari

Mythpunk Olfactive

Nui Cobalt

Olympic Orchids

Osmofolia

Pierrot Perfumery

Pineward

Poesie

Possets

Pulp Fragrance

Red River Apothecary

Redwood Alchemy

Siren Song Elixirs

Solstice Scents

Sorce

Stone & Wit

Sugar & Spite

Sunsphere Scents

The Eyes Are Always There

The Strange South

Wild Hybrid

Wylde Ivy

192 notes · View notes

rel124c41 · 1 year ago

Text

BACK TO CHEST (SOUL TO SOUL). jade leech

Saprophytic organisms obtain their nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter.

tags: main character death (permanently tho?), dark magic, family dynamics, survivor guilt, established relationship, malleus’s unrequited crush on reader, & happy halloween

a/n: jade & floyd's mother's name siphon from @mochinomnoms

word count: 12, 802

When Malleus Draconia, prince of Briar Valley, overblotted, you were beheaded.

Jade has been rolling that sentence in his head for the entire month. He has been trying to make sense of it. Like a student retyping a sentence, he changes it up every so often; when housewarden Malleus Draconia overblotted, you were beheaded; when Malleus Draconia, born January 18th, 202 centimeters tall, green eyes, a hundred or so years old, overblotted, you were beheaded; when Malleus Draconia, nicknamed Tsunotaro, overblotted, you were beheaded; when Malleus Draconia overblotted, Jade had to watch you be beheaded from Diasoma’s dormitory barbican. The facts do not seem real no matter how much he edits them.

Part of him deducts that it might be because beheaded is the wrong word. Beheaded implies decapitation: the head fully cut off from the body. You did not resemble a cleanly-made dullahan. The slashing, void magic Malleus Draconia sent out cut from your frontal bone diagonally down to your occipital bone.

Jade hopes more fiercely than a child wishing on a star that it felt like a painful flick to your forehead than nothing else. He does not want to entertain the thought you might have been conscious, wondering when your hair caught fire as you suffered through incomprehensible pain. Visible brain matter stuttering with a few painful last thoughts as you were cut apart.

So, with that said, it has not really registered in Jade Leech’s own brain that you are really dead. He can find the words perfectly fine. He cannot find the meaning of that mysterious poetry, no matter how embellished or how nudely plain.

Which is why his brother has to say certain words to him real slowly. Make sure the meaning sticks. Elongating them, sometimes repeating, “Today’s (Name)’s funeral, Jade. You have to get up.” Which comes out as fuuuh-neeer-al, yooo-u, and uuuh-puh.

Floyd has to repeat ‘get up’ four times because Jade refuses to. As he has been for the last month, he rots in bed. Luckily, Jade has always been an exemplary student so he will still be able to graduate his second year with all his high marks. Thank the Seven for small miracles.

“Cooome on, Jade. Jade, please, get up. Jadeee.”

Roughly, and then softly and sorrily, Floyd tries to shake Jade out of his pretend sleep. His brother has been doing that a lot – sleeping and then, not sleeping, but still laying in bed with his eyes closed. Who knows what is so alluring about the ebon made from flesh-shuttered windows. A week ago, Floyd had a thought that turned his stomach rotten. What if Jade has been sleeping so much so he can pretend he is still under Sea Slug’s spell, before anything happened?

He does not like to think about it. To be frank, he has been hating thinking this entire month. It makes bile poke its tiny fingers on the muscles in his throat, watching his mirror reflection lie somnolent in bed, looking halfway dead. Which is why Floyd shifts back to shaking Jade at a harsher pace – which he will eventually slow down again, feeling regret for being rough.

“Jaaadiooo, waaake uuup. Jade. Jade Jade Jade!”

Floyd wonders if he has to get Azul to assist him in picking up Jade. It is not that Jade puts up a struggle when getting dragged out of bed; it is just that his weight feels like dead weight and that makes Floyd queasy. He likes having Azul there. Azul dresses Jade; Floyd brushes Jade’s teeth. They both take turns taking cups of water and rinsing shampoo out of his hair.

However, Azul is not needed because Jade voluntarily opens his eyes a moment later. Dull, rusted gold and olive peers through black eyelashes. Lifeless eyes flicker, registering what the waking world is showing him.

Shoes that are worth a king's ransom crease because Floyd decides to crouch rather than kneel by Jade’s bed. His hair is neatly slicked back, gel fixating his black strand behind his piercing. Dressed in a simple black suit, Floyd gives a shy smile and whispers, “Hey.” Jade notices something that makes him close his eyes.

Floyd did his tie correctly this time.

“Hey, no goin’ back to sleep. Ya gotta get up today, Jade, c’mon. I’ll eat one of your mushrooms if ya get up. You can decide which one, whatever works for me. Hehehe, how does that sound? … Jade, please. Get up.”

“What’s the point?”

“Because you’re gonna be pissed at yourself if ya don’t. Ya gonna hate yourself more if you don’t get up.”

“Not possible.” Jade’s nose wrinkles when Floyd starts to run his fingers through his hair, combing back black hair.

“You have to get up today. If you do, next week, Azul and I’ll leave ya alone.”

“Leave me alone now.”

“Ya have to get up to say goodbye. Come on, (Name) deserves you there. You have to get up for (Name).”

Jade does the only thing that allows Floyd to know his brother is not a corpse - he sheds a tear. Dried-up, pruning corpses cannot shed tears. It comes with a double edged sword of relief and pain; Floyd watches the tear escape from Jade’s left eye, descending down over the bridge of his nose, and onto his pillow.

Emptied of one of a thousand tears, Jade whispers back, tormented, “I can’t.”

In your absence, Floyd’s verbose brother has turned into a man of little words. As if the action of talking is just as strenuous as getting up. It is unnerving for Floyd who is so used to his brother talking so much.

Grief shackles a body like an anchor. So used to swimming through life with dexterity, grief has tangled itself upon Jade like cutting, tangling fishing gear or stabbing, soda-can-holding plastic. Each limb is ten times heavier than it has ever been. His tongue is an iron paperweight.

And, Floyd knows. That weight has been crushing him too.

Floyd still looks towards your designated seat in Mostro Lounge by mistake. Waits with a heavy heart to see you sitting there, ordering one of their chocolate-or-caramel themed drinks. Waits for your voice to just suddenly be in his ears talking, asking about basketball practice or new menu items.

But, he has been brave for his brother’s sake. Which is why he requests, touching their foreheads together, “Then, get up for me. Get up for me.”

For the first time in the month, Jade brushes his teeth without help. He cannot manage to do his hair but Floyd gives no complaints, slicking his own hands up with opaque green gel.

Only one month after death, a body fully liquifies. Life deflating, the soft tissue starts to decay. Oval holes in the skin appear with the ease of stretched dough. Flesh’s solidity fails and melts like candle wax. In a month’s time, a cadaver is expected to expose its vulnerable skeleton.

Against all physical laws, you have not rotted away like an apple attacked by fungi and bacteria. In fact, it would be appropriate to say you look alive. It is inappropriate though because of the downward, diagonal scar across your forehead. Magic keeps your body fresh but your grave-ushering wound remains.

They stitched you back up? Jade wonders which friend of yours had picked the top part of your cranium off the rain-soaked ground.

Even though Ace and Deuce were the closest to you – both physically, you had thrown them out of the way of that slashing attack and emotionally, you had thrown them out of the way of that slashing attack –he cannot picture them picking it up. Neither Grim; paws are too small. Perhaps, aspiring not-yet-doctor Riddle Rosehearts had the guts in his tiny stature to scoop up the top half of your brain. Holding a hand under like one does with a napkin full of broken eggs, making sure nothing drips onto the floor. Jade grows too sick to think of the hypothetical of who stitches you back up.

Jade only remembers shaking, cold due to the rain and the sight. A hand reaching up to his breast pocket to grab his magic pen. Then, Floyd grabbing his shoulders to stop him from making the awful mistake of firing a spell at THE Malleus Draconia. Jade forgets the rest.

Apparently, he screamed himself hoarse. Apparently, Floyd got a broken wrist from their tussle. Apparently, Azul knocked him out with a powerful sedative spell. Apparently apparently apparently.

The following memory goes like this: waking up in bed the next morning, throat sore, thinking about what tea you might generously brew for him to fight off his evident illness. Usually in good health, Jade is a bit surprised that morning to wake up with a flu. Then, his world is torn apart. Then, Azul and Floyd explain to him slowly – they are always talking to him slowly now – why his throat burns. Not from bacteria-made illness, from screaming, from losing you.

Sometimes, just for a span of a few moments, Jade wishes another thing with childish ferocity — prays to a shooting star.

He wishes he could have stayed in that peaceful dream — “There is no need to shed tears nor are farewells necessary! … A new world in which none shall ever experience the pain of loss!” he had said — that Malleus was bestowing upon them. I wish Malleus had succeeded in his overblot. With a similar vehemence, he wishes Malleus Draconia died.

There is no graveyard on the northside of Sage’s Island. No one expects to bury a student. So, someone, perhaps Dire Crowley or your trio, has chosen to bury you just a bit off the hiking trails you and Jade use to venture on. A glade chosen by someone to put a coffin smack in the middle of, still on land owned by Night Raven College.

Your dead body rests ahead, laid in a virgin’s coffin. A tree line formed by an expanding corpse of trees marks a clean circle. Him, Floyd, and Azul come upon the funeral last. Right at the start of the column and rows of seats, Jade’s feet suddenly grow roots into the ground, on par with a neem tree which has the strongest taproot system. He is paralyzed by the sight: you, arms resting on your abdomen, laying in a fairytale’s glass coffin.

The casket is elegant beyond elegance. Silica sand dug from Al-Asim’s numerous deposits was smelted for the glass. Inscribed with gold, your name playfully stretches its arms across the coffin, bordering angels and swans kneeling before it.

Your head rests on a pillow-bouquet. Speckles of white daisy, ivory white carnations, and eggshell white spider mums kiss your hair. The centerpiece flower is Easter lilies, though. Trumpet-shaped, with shooting stars of pollen branching out from the center of them, Easter lilies crowd the bouquet like purple prose in a literary work. They crowd around your resting, stitched head with delicateness. Another bouquet of identical pattern rests too in your hands.

The fairytale ensemble makes you look like a martyr.

You are not a martyr. Jade hates the very thought that that could become your legacy. Wrongly transcribed and reprinted, a publisher who does not know you writes you as martyr. It makes his stomach rot. Neither hero or villain, you are not to be idolized. Bread should not be broken in honor of you and wine should not be drunk in honor of you.

You were wonderfully simple, with flaws and strengths. Now, you are gone.

“Jade, come. There is a spot up at the front for us,” Azul says softly and slowly.

A gentle hand pushes on Jade’s back — Floyd’s hand. “They’re not goin’ to start without us.”

That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried that —! Jade, not really thinking well, rips himself away from his brother too fast.

“Woah,” Floyd shouts like a cowboy whose horse has started acting erratic. His gold and olive-brown eyes flicker with concern. Once more, Floyd goes to put his hand on the back of Jade’s suit, only to feel more like he is touching stone rather than flesh. Hm?

Out of Floyd’s knowledge, students, close friends of yours, have started to turn around, and one of them happens to be Malleus Draconia — who makes direct eye contact with Jade Leech.

I can’t breathe.

Eyes that shimmer like Sheecle’s green take their poisonous green hands, stealing oxygen from the eel-mer’s body.

Jade finds himself breathless. In his chest, his heart grows in weight tremendously. All of the hurt in his bones is pulled towards his center, acceleration like fire. Heavy as osmium. Heavy as tungsten. He feels like something is crushing him with a sleep paralysis-esque weight. Out of his nose, his last breath slithers away; out of his brain, all his thoughts file out of the building in fire-drill-fashion. Buh-bye, Jade! his thoughts wave as they go. His breath walks out like a scorned lover, never to be heard from again.

I can’t breathe.

Suddenly, Jade’s motionless chest is grabbed by a wayward arm. His spine collides into a breathing, functioning chest. Over his shoulder, Floyd whispers to his brother, lazy drawl slithering in Jade’s ear:

“Follow along to my breathin’ pattern. Try-a match your breath to mine.”

The words are spoken carelessly, with a lazy drawl, but the intent is vigilant. Seeing his brother needing help, Floyd reacts. He holds him close enough to feel the bones of his ribcage.

On Jade’s back, he can feel the rise and fall of Floyd’s chest — Floyd elongating his breaths to gather deep oxygen in the very bottom of his lungs. They come in slow, constant waves. An inhale causes his chest to expand. An exhale causes his chest to flatten. Each slow rotation hits Jade’s spine in measured breaths — that I’m supposed to follow along to. Match the tempo of.

Jade closes his eyes so he can focus upon the rise and fall of Floyd’s living lungs. It proves difficult to hear the sound of breathing over the ringing in his ears, like detecting a single scent in a saturated perfume store. Earth makes itself into a curlicue of sensations. Amongst the raging riptide, Jade tries to grab his brother’s hand. Grab onto it and share the same breath.

It takes a few moments, a continuous rise and fall. Deeper lungfuls of oxygen push at his spine; heavier exhales stir through his three-piece earring. In. Out. Jade is trying. In. Out. In. Out.

He breathes in through his nose and out his mouth until he can complete the cycle of in and out with a skip between the steps. When he takes his first complete breath, eyelids fluttering open, he sees only the back of Malleus’s haircut and curling horns that hook up like antlers. As he studies ebony locks cascading into layers, Floyd whispers in his ear, “We don’t gotta go up. I’ll stay back with ya.”

A coward down to the bone, Jade nods his head. Well, not always a coward; he is quite a capable eel-mer. In this particular setting, he finds himself to be as cowardly as the lion in The Wizard of Oz. For this month, he has felt that only the worst traits of his personality have survived the aftermath of a torrential blot-storm.

He lets Floyd push him down to sit at the last row on the right. Your friends in Savanaclaw and Pomefiore are in the back rows as you are not too close to either. Diasomnia and Heartslabyul are gathered close to the front. The remaining dorms are in the middle.

Ebony locks styled into a jellyfish cut sit in the second row, left side. If Jade looks straight, he can completely dispel Malleus Draconia from his eyesight. Azul moves up to the front, perhaps to tell Dire Crowley or your friends that everyone in attendance, time to start. Jade is beyond grateful for the hand rubbing circles into his spine, as if the touch keeps his breath circulation working.

There are a few moments of talking. Deuce Spade shuffles a bit closer to hear what Dire Crowley is saying; Azul gestures with his hands and when passed a paper, passes it back in rejection; Grim, who now attends in Heartslabyul, starts to grow louder in volume but so far Jade cannot catch a word. Eventually, it is Riddle Rosehearts who stands up. In his hand, the paper that Azul recently rejected.

Even though it is given an introduction, explaining the contents, Jade would have known it without prelude. Off Riddle’s tongue, your poetry falls like a meteor shower, silver fish-tails stretching with warm tenor. The title and author already given, Riddle reads:

“In a sea of nightmares, I spy a rock

Smooth, with a thousand freckles of fresh rain

The maelstrom brings inky monsters and villains

When I place myself upon your shore, I stop drowning

Across the water, you and I are on a rock, braving the storm.”

You wrote a lot of poetry. You were never good friends with Rook Hunt though; you clashed a lot with Pomefoire, unable to make friends with them. Perhaps because your poetry and beauty is different. Not very often did you string words together amorously, rather the words were desolate.

Your persona – the cultivated, embellished image of the artist you were – was always sort of tortured and damaged. That worst of you created poetry with the rigorousness of an inventory. This one Jade knows well – you wrote it for him. You were embarrassed about it but brave enough to tell him: “I wrote something. I feel … I feel it describes us.”

He misses those nocturnally active times in the botanical gardens. Transcendent music playing between the spaces of silence, filling you with his feelings, sharing feelings like they were heat and you too were cold-blooded. Under a gazebo of stars on the edge of the universe, you once said. A pocket of paradise stolen was found in the moments creating and cultivating with him, you once said. It feels like a dream, you once said.

Jade stands up from his seat, not able to withstand hearing another word. This gross, wrong interpretation of your work feels like dirt and maggots grinding his mouth. It is not a poem meant for a funeral. Between Floyd’s knees and a chair, he squeezes himself tight to escape.

Bystanders expect him to do just that: escape. Floyd anticipates it too. He takes those expectations and breaks them. In a domino effect, row by row, people notice Jade drawing closer. Murmurs start to rouse awake the sleepy, forlorn crowd.

Undeterred, Jade walks closer and closer. When he briefly passes the second row, he lets his gaze flicker over to his left. Eyes pinched together in small slices, gold and brown irises catch just the briefest glimpse of rotating horns and a sharp nose. The curious quirk of Malleus’s lip has his heart electric with lightning bolts of hate.

Across the water, across the wave, Jade approaches you on that lone rock. He is going to save you from the grave and help you weather this maelstrom. The divide between you and him in life and death is a thin, easily breakable glass barrier.

“Jade,” Riddle questions.

Back to him, Jade responds, “You should sit, Riddle. Your words were very courteous but I have a few of my own to say. Can I ask you to forgive my gross impoliteness?”

“No,” Riddle fumbles with his words, “no, no it is quite alright. Go ahead … I’m - I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Your sympathy is much appreciated.”

The crowd watches on with gross intrigue, wondering what your boyfriend could possibly be thinking of or what his next move might be. Is it not obvious from your poetry – he is going to outstretch his shore towards you. He does this through violent action.

Jade brings up a fist. Jade brings down a fist.

Though it does not give easily, the glass still breaks in fractures. Triangles and rhombuses branch out from underneath Jade’s fist. Jagged, uneven connect-the-dots shapes make up a circular pattern that splinters from the point of contact. A little less than ten pieces fall into the tomb, landing on your ebony dress and bouquet.

Steeling himself, Jade turns his attention to your face. Gloss from the glass makes you look angelic, like a shimmer of makeup glitter. Someone has painted your lips in a dark, blood red – (“I can’t stand bright lipstick! It makes you look like a clown. Jade, you’ll catch me dead before you catch me in dark lipstick”) – which boils up Jade’s month long, hidden away anger.

His second punch causes glass to land on your dress like snow knocked off a branch, heavy with volume. The plummeting glass is also followed by a trickle of blood. Jade pulls back his bleeding hand, hooks it underneath a section of glass, and pulls it up like one might do with rotten floorboards. Glass pierces through the material of his glove, hitting bone. He grabs another part of the coffin, snaps it off like it is a mere graham cracker, and forms a fist with shrapnel of glass embedded in fingers. Fragile glass hovering over your face breaks and showers down like freckles. Steadily, he keeps punching and breaking off glass until none remains.

When he pulls back his right hand, the leather is thoroughly drenched in a red flood. Instead of spraying bloody water in thin sheets, it flows off his fingers like a spilled milkshake. Black and red combined, Jade adds the last color to the Snow White triptych.

Avenging, he takes the bouquet of white flowers from your hands. The stems crunch in his harsh grip; the flowers sway in their downward descent. He brandishes them down by his thigh like one might hold a sword in the midst of battle. Nitroglycerin sweat bubbles and propane sweat pops on his palm. His black gloved hand catches fire, enveloping the bouquet in a blaze that rises vindictively up to his shoulders.

As the last bits of a fire spell, done without the conductor of his magic pen, start to shimmer away in ash and smoke, Jade lets the incinerated, curled inward, black flowers fall to the ground. He takes his dominant hand and slowly places it upon your cheek.

Soft. You are so soft. I should have taken off my gloves. His bleeding hand infects your skin with a new paint. Jade puts his thumb over your lips where someone has put clown lipstick on you. When your lips part slightly under his ministrations, no breath hits his thumb.

His precious pearl, breathless. He wishes nothing more for you to open up your eyes and dispel his worries.

“Jade!” Ah, it seems people are starting to come out of their stupor at the display Jade is presenting. He looks vexatious over his shoulder, briefly catching eye contact with Azul. “What are you possibly doing!” Jade also manages to catch his brother breaking comatose to stand up.

“There is no need to fret about me overblotting. I have a secure lid placed on my emotions. Unlike others.”

Hurt flashes in Azul’s eyes. Jade cannot stomach to check if his insult hurt who he intended it to hurt. Instead, he gingerly lifts you in his arms. Limp, you tumble into his embrace with gravity-obeying limbs. Your neck tilts back and your toes point down in Jade’s careful hold.

“Jade!”

This will prove difficult with both my hands holding them and no magic pen as a conductor. It is the only thought in Jade’s head as his brother shouts his name. Worry rarely crosses his twin’s face with such an intensity; most would judge it as anger. Ah, I am really being so impolite today. Sorry Floyd. The starting sparks of a teleportation spell start to pop around his shoulders and torso like fireflies.

With a deep breath, Jade disappears in a supernova.

More or less, Jade Leech has returned to being himself. Verbosely polite and formal; eager to lend a helping, subservient hand; jumping right back into the schedule he has: classes, duties for Azul, Mountain Lovers club activities, etcetera. He is a different picture of the man laying in bed, stricken with your absence; now, he has returned to the man he was in your presence.

Is it because you two are reunited in presence? That old tale of Hercules and Meg, interlocked souls, finally touching again? Are you reunited? Azul cannot be certain that is true. Nobody has been able to locate your body since that day.

Behind his glasses, Octavinelle’s housewarden traces the motions of his vice. He cannot see Jade’s expression, only scrutinizing over his back as he pens the order of a customer. It is a week after your uncompleted funeral. Azul’s stomach turns sick, watching Jade work effortlessly in Mostro Lounge, not knowing where Jade keeps your corpse.

Corpse … All his limbs shudder at the word. It could be hidden under his own bedroom’s floorboards or locked away in Ramshackle with your three ghost companions. You could be anywhere.

Every thought Azul has on the situation makes it feel like salt and ice are colliding in his abdomen in a hissing burn. So, he decides to stop thinking about it. Which is why he is almost grateful when Jade comes up to him, distracting his mind from slipping into darker speculation.

Hand on his heart, Jade says, “Table Fifteen is requesting your presence. They have a question about one of our discontinued menu items – the salmon and lemon-ricotta pasta. I already divulged about the excess supply getting thrown out because of low demand. However, your presence was requested nonetheless.”

“Ah, thank you, Jade,” Azul says. It is just the distraction he needs before he thinks about anything more ghastly. Stock issues and dining will not haunt him with goosebumps and night terrors. He starts towards Table Fifteen.

“Though … I can return and take care of it, if need be.”

It is that odious sentence that gives Azul pause. Because that is exactly what the old Jade would offer, using a bit of rough, predatory treatment to de-escalate an issue. Same old Jade Leech, hiding a corpse somewhere on campus … who even knows if your body is on campus.

“No … No, you are dismissed from the issue. Do whatever you please for the rest of your shift.”

“Very well. If you’ll excuse me.”

I have to go make preparations, Azul thinks as he goes to greet Table Fifteen. I don’t see it as necessary but, Azul glances one last time at Jade as the distance between them grows, Jade’s spine once again all he sees, I should prepare for the event of him overblotting.

Saprophytic organisms obtain their nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter. Fungi, bacteria, and water molds all have an exclusive diet of nature’s cadavers. In the simplest of terms, they eat death to sustain their own life.

Not all mushrooms are saprotrophs. After all, mycorrhizal and parasitic and endophytic mushrooms have a different diet; it is just that a majority of the mushrooms one finds, one will find them living among them dead. As active decomposers, they refuse to let death be finite. As Jade opens his terrarium, chip-esque mushrooms that mimic the look of a body’s heat signals, he recalls fondly how saprotrophs are the easiest to cultivate.

He takes out the turkey tail mushrooms, ripping them from their roots. Well, mushrooms have no roots but the image is still true. Turkey tail mushrooms are fascinating – they look so much like thermal heat vision, little branching waves of red, yellow, and white, thus making them look alive. And, they have a history of being used as medicine.

So vigorous with life yet bloated after a meal of death.

Jade opens the book on his desk in the botanical gardens. People always chastised him for his love of mushrooms. If he had an affection towards flowers or perhaps even pretty yellow weeds, he supposes it would not be as frowned upon. He has always been this way, preferring the ugly duckling over the swan. You were of a similar disposition.

Around his work station, an incense holder burns wisps of Worm’s Wort – which can dull the odor of anything. He flips through pages at a languid pace. From the window panes, moonlight slithers down a thousand maggots and makes their congealing home on Jade’s desk. Interlocking light lies down to rest as Jade stays awake into the night.

I’m so tired. The thought seeps in like a maggot in the ear of a cadaver. Numerous times, Jade changes his pair of nitrile gloves to rub at his eyes, warding off sleep. Moonlight maggots crawl over his skin.

It is only after his sixteenth failed potion (eighty-first if you count the others he has made in the past six nights after your funeral) with the wrong color, wrong texture, or wrong smell, does Jade’s head start to slip off his neck. On the verge of burning out, eyes blinking close, the desk rushes towards him like ground to a meteor, about to kiss his nose and face with pain, and – you catch him in your hand despite the smoldering sting of touching a meteor.

“You make and pick the strangest beds to fall asleep in. I can’t take my eyes off my Jade for a second, can I?”

Jade blinks to see you resting next to him, forehead on your forearm which lies on the table. His cheek is warmed by your right hand which acts as a bridge between his flesh and the desk. Even though some of your hair is in the way and the left side of your face is shielded in the cradle of your arm, Jade can see it clear as day. There is no scar threading itself across your forehead.

You give him a warm smile and Jade, who is a cold-blooded creature, replicates that warmth. The last exhausted fuses of energy left in him lift up his lovestruck lips. “Tired, baby,” you ask him.

“Mmmmh, just a bit. I have been at this for quite some time.”

“We should head back to Octavinelle then. Can’t have you knocking over a potion in your sleep.”

“No, no. Let’s stay here a little longer.” To bask in your presence, Jade needs that to a higher degree than he needs water or air. “Don’t go so soon.”

You are dressed in your school uniform. It has all of your soul’s idiosyncrasy in each article. Not really enrolled in Night Raven College, therefore lacking a uniform, you wear a leather jacket without pockets and a grid pattern collared shirt. The sleeves of your button-up gently pull away from being sandwiched by his cheek and desk. You busy yourself with brushing strands of black hair into its correct placement.

“Okay, okay. We can stay here for a while, but you’re definitely going to have a sore neck and sore shoulders in the morning.”

“Pamper me tomorrow?”

You hum, considering it. By now, most of the mismatched, colored tresses have been tucked gingerly behind his ear. You follow the diamond outline of a single sturgeon scale with your finger as you say, “If the price is right.”

Jade's smile grows stupid at that, showing just a sliver of his teeth. You always did like poking fun at his Octavinelle habits. Allowing himself to melt under your ministrations, he murmurs, “Anything for you.”

“Happy to do business with you then, Mr. Leech.”

You move the nail of your index along diamond scales’ edges, content to do as he says. Stay here a little longer under a gazebo of stars. Sevens, it might have been cheesily poetic what you said in the past, yet Jade agrees in totality with your poesy. The universe has collapsed, burnt away worries and responsibilities, and all that remains of creation is you and him.

Jade lifts his face so the hand playing with his earring falls over his mouth. With pouting lips, he plants a field of kisses on your palm. Such a warm palm. Your hand smells of raspberries and whipped vanilla from a foam soap you were particularly fond of. Jade can even smell it over the Worm’s Wort. And, Worm’s Wort – that is meant to keep his potion-making a secret – is an overwhelming, astringent scent that blankets other smells with high efficiency.

Everything, even his nose, narrows down to you. It is not an unpredictable feat. Azul once said your voice drags him out of any task with the ease of a siren working to drown a sailor. Which is why he hears you clearly even as you mumble, “Oh, I have this poem I want to workshop with you.”

Jade mourns the loss of your hand when you move energized. Leaning back in your stool, both hands fall behind you to grip under the seat. You throw back your head, conjuring all the verses up in your head. When you tilt your eyes to look at Jade, you have this grin on your face that balances on the fence of being sleazy with gross intent or being liberative with genius intent. Like you will either tell him you found a dead animal or you found the cure to cancer. He is all ears for whatever you throw.

He is only thrown for a bit of a loop as you swing your feet to the side and leap off the stool. Not perturbed over your body but rather an article of clothes. The noose around your neck is a blood-red tie with a stark white pattern of skulls upon it, mimicking the look of cut-out paper snowflakes. Patterned by two distinct rows: skulls connecting forehead to forehead then skulls facing the viewer. It vanishes from his sight as your back faces him.

Out of your mouth, poetry diffuses in the heavy, wet air of the botanical gardens.

“Wake up. (your feet carry you out towards the stretch of cobblestone, then playfully, you turn and disappear behind large, flowing leaves and unusual flowers)

Door Death, I knock upon thee (“(name)?” jade springs up, a deep fear swimming through him because you are out of his sight)

I ask the eternal question (when he pushes back the large leaves and peculiar flowers, you are no longer in that same spot; his head moves on a swivel, looking for you)

Has my life all been a dream? (your voice carries on the eastern air)

Has all my life been a dream? (your voice carries on the western air)

The eternal question unanswered (pressure falls over his eyes and heart, where are you!)

Door Death, I knock upon thee (a finger taps his shoulder-blade)

Wake up.”

When Jade turns, your embrace retreating slowly, you are holding out a solitary Easter lily out towards him. The gesture plainly tells him to take it. A white trumpet-shaped mouth yawns at him, five or so tongues of yellow pollen sticking out. It looks so correct in your hold that Jade almost doesn’t want to accept it.

Heart knocking with lingering desperation, he takes the Easter lily in hand all the same. In replacement to his palm, he rests his knuckles to his avalanching chest, careful of the flower in his caress. Before he can comment on the verses, you beat him to the punch. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret; my Jade isn’t stupid.”

He chuckles at that, eyes squinting with mirth.“Don’t I always say you should set your expectations upon higher platforms when with me?”

“My expectation towards your stupidity or your intellect?”

“Oya? I’d prefer the latter.” A teasing eyebrow is raised.

However, you grow grim like this is a matter of life or death. You twine arms around his neck and ensnare him to lean down to your height. In your eyes, a maelstrom of mental unease rages and causes your hues to appear milky-gray with worry. Under the concern of your bruised eyes, Jade responds, “You think I’m making a rash decision? Or perhaps, one that is not fully educated. I assure you that I have rigorously studied this.”

Your mouth quirks. “I think you are choosing the wrong method.”

“Then, enlighten me please.”

You lean close to him, nose to nose. Unlike the sweetness of raspberries and vanilla, your breath is something foul. Cadaverine and putrescine scent that he can only compare to the smell of his mushrooms at peak rot. Jade cannot focus on the scent because your voice hypnotizes him.

Slowly, you recite a song like it is poetry. “A dream is a wish your heart makes; when you’re fast asleep; in dreams you will lose your heartaches; whatever you wish for, you keep.”

Whatever dust of happiness is holding Jade’s lips blows away. The frown cuts his features. It takes a great deal for him to respond over the commotion of rain and lightning storming around in his ribcage; he only manages one word, perfumed in hurt and hate. “Him?”

Your next breath smells like mint. He imagines it would be something lovely to taste in a kiss. “I trust him. He is dear to me.”

Hate and hurt dull Jade’s casual loquacity. “But he hurt you.”

“So have you.” Now only hurt remains on Jade’s tongue. You do not let him refute, listing off, “So has Riddle, so has Leona and Azul, so has Jamil, so has Rook, so has Vil and Idia, so has Sebek, so has everyone that has known me. What is one more scar?”

It is the harsh truth, Jade knows. Magicless and fragile, you have been in the infirmary as often as an alcohol back to the liquor cabinet. Nothing worse than scratches and one broken wrist, nothing like this, Jade wants to desperately argue but your eyes silence him.

“So please,” you continue. “Please, give him a chance … You know, I’m still so sad that I never got to arrange that joint club meeting – Mountain Lovers and Gargoyle Research Studies. I think it would have been a peaceful walk at night, looking out for mushrooms and gargoyles.

“You two are so alike. It amuses me.” This truth takes its knife and thunders itself into Jade’s gut. Maneuvering with incredible dexterity, truth stabs into the eight tic-tac-toe regions of his abdomen, cutting deep red mouths into pallid flesh that tell him: yes, this is a truth. We love the same person. Jade does not voice this growing pain.

“I assure you, it is beneficial to have full faith in me. Have I ever made a split -choice decision? Do I not map out everything ahead of time? Besides, failing to my weaknesses in magical areas is not something I’m inclined to do, my dear.”

“Consider it. Anything for me, right?”

Ah, how villainous you are. To use his own words against him like that is a quality he both adores and loathes. Jade maneuvers the Easter lily so it sits in his hand like a cigarette. A loving hand raises up to one of the arms entwined around his neck, rubbing along the sleeve, as he slyly objects, “Surely you can understand my hesitation. After his -”

“I almost died –” Jade’s heart stops beating, fear is a powerful clog to all his heart’s arteries. You continue softly, “ during Azul’s overblot. What happened –”

“Let’s not talk about it. Just trust me.”

“Jade.”

“(Name).”

“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream you wish will come true … Please, consider it for my sake.”

“... I will play around with it in my head … No promises that I won’t crush it like it’s a bug.”

The tone of the conversation turns light. “I hope the sound of it buzzing annoys you.”

“How cruel of you.”

“Ah, NRC has really rubbed off on me. I’m just too wicked.” A laugh breaks your lips.

“The worst. Worse than the worst. Vile.” Smiling with a mouthful of glass, shark-like teeth, Jade finally closes the gap between the two of you. The scent of mint too enticing and the sight of you too dopamine-inducing, he has to kiss your lips until you cry or moan. It is in his biological nature.

The gazebo of stars rebuilds itself. Each cedar wood paneling falls back into perfect placement. Yours and Jade’s lip find all the old familiar spots of pleasure; first just lip fat smooshing together until you both in perfect sync open your mouths to each other. It might be seen as tedious already knowing the moves but Jade thinks it is a testament to how truly made for one another each of you are.

And, of course, he never allows it to get boring. Tongues like magma flowing in combining rivulets, Jade takes to moving his hands down past the curve of your shoulders to the side of your cheeks. He tilts your head in the opposite direction of how he moves his, deepening the kiss.

You grip the back of teal strands and real pain ignites on his skin. Pain made by your physical grip. Jade follows along to mimic that harshly loving gesture. However, when he rests his fingers to cup the back of your head, he stumbles upon a scar line. A few inches above your nape. It lies like a jagged river cutting apart two pieces of land.

A warning bell blares in Jade’s mind. The sound causes him to break away. It is not buzzing though, like you were predicting.

Night Raven College’s clock chimes twice, deep in the bowels of dark, interlocking hallways. It knocks on Jade’s skull and pulls him away. When he lifts his head off the desk, blinking at the sight of potions, his shoulders and neck are incredibly sore. 2 A.M. Two chimes after all mean 2 A.M. The air is so thick with Worm’s Wort that he almost chokes on it.

He does end up choking. Not on something as flowy as Worm’s Wort smoke. Rather, he chokes on something rather salty and dangerously watery.

At 2:47 A.M, Jade Leech walks into the Diasomnia dorm.

At 3:08 A.M, Jade Leech walks out of the Diasomnia dorm, a deal made.

Floyd wakes up facing an empty bed. This is not entirely odd; Jade has a scheduled A period while Floyd opts to keep his first period free. With thick fog still lingering in his brain, it does seem a bit odd not to see Jade because for the past month he has remained in bed. But – Jade is doing better. What gives Floyd pauses is the lingering thought: did I hear Jade come in at all last night?

Floyd is a light sleeper, always has been, so he should have been able to hear him at least enter the dorm last night or exit the dorm this morning. He doesn’t even think he heard a ladybug on the creaking floor; all of Octavinelle was unnaturally still last night like a graveyard. Before he can ponder longer on dead silence, his phone rings.

What Azul hisses over the phone has Floyd kicking his covers like they have caught fire. “Tell me you know where Jade is. Tell me right now; where is your brother?”

From point A to point B, Floyd and Jade Leech’s dormitory to Mostro Lounge’s VIP Room, the distance is about eight minutes for a normal person. Due to their longer strides, Floyd and Jade can cut this measurement by two minutes while Azul takes the full eight. It takes Floyd three minutes to point B, as while Azul curses his ear and Floyd curses under his breath.

Floyd knows it bad when dogmatic Azul does not scold him for walking through numerous hallways and his precious Lounge without a pair of socks, and it gets worse when Azul does not scold him for still being in his pajamas – an XL shirt with poetry in a downward pattern saying: “®, 40S & SHORTIES, BAD DECISIONS. GOOD TIMES., WORLDVIEW” with a pair of white striped, blue cotton pants – at nine on a Tuesday morning. Two Azuls speak in unison, one on the telephone receiver and one in front of him, “I think he has sealed it up with magic.”

It is a book. Just as Floyd’s hand had fallen on Mostro Lounge’s VIP door, he had inquired why Azul Ashengrotto of all people was having such a hard time getting a single book open. A book is easy to open; a book sealed with magic should be easy too, for a mage of Azul’s talents.

“Well, can’t ya just break it? It can’t be anything stronger than what we learned in Practical Magic?” Floyd disconnects the call as he talks; he does not need two Azuls in his ear.

“If the charm was something from that course then of course. This is more on par with the third year Conjuration course … or Ancient Curses.”

Though only seventeen, one would think with the maturity etched in Azul’s features that he was nearing twenty-seven instead. He has a hand depressed on his face and his eyes drawn into a sharp squint. Behind the shield of his glasses, a dozen speculations and calculations dance like sparks of lightning. Floyd hates it as much as he is glad to see that incisive prowess.

“But … it’s just a book about mushrooms.” Which is entirely true. The book that Azul’s stare is burning a hole through has written plainly on it: Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares.

When considering current events, the title causes Floyd’s stomach to turn inside out. However, it is something Floyd has seen Jade read before Malleus’s overblot. It is just a boring book. A boring book that for some reason won’t open.

Azul verbalizes Floyd’s inner doubt, “A book that Jade left behind. A book that is not opening no matter what elementary magic I throw at it.”

Left in the botanical gardens. Left there overnight when Jade said he was going to be right back after tending to his terrariums. Getting back into hobbies was a sign of healing from trauma, right? Floyd feels like the skin of stomach is not only inside out but being torched by fire.

“I‘ll open it. I’m on the same level as Jade. Can’t be too hard.” Just as Floyd starts walking up to Azul’s desk, he is stopped.

“No! No … we shouldn’t risk your health if this takes something more to open.”

Vexation falls on Floyd’s face. His teeth displayed and brow crinkled, “Huuuh?” He stomps over to the desk. “It’s Jade magic. It ain’t gonna kill us.”

“No, but it might drain one of us. And,” Azul hesitates. But when Floyd slams his hands down on the VIP desk, determinate coals burn in his sky-blue eyes. He stares down Floyd without a single flinch. “And you run the fastest out of the two of us, so we cannot risk your energy.”

It takes a moment for him to back down. Reading the map of the plan on Azul’s expression, it comes to Floyd’s attention what exactly Azul is hinting at. “Fiiine.” Floyd’s dominant hand still crosses up to rest on his right shoulder. “Doesn’t mean I’ma be happy about it though.”

“Trust me, neither am I.” And he really isn’t. This entire situation leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

On the ledge of Azul’s desk rests his staff. The octopus’s bulbous head keeps it steady on the surface. Authentic silver shines elegantly under the expensive lighting. Between the nest of curling tentacles, Azul’s gray gemstone sits, ready to be utilized. White gloves wrap around the sleek black handle.

When Azul holds his staff above the book, Floyd interrupts, “Ma called me two nights ago and said – (Floyd sits in his bed, stricken by the sound of his grown, emotionally shielded mother crying. The sound of her sobs feel so artificial in his left ear, like hearing a creature trying to mimic human speech patterns. Something so visceral wrong laced in the vocal cords of it.

“Mama, Mama, what’s wrong,” Floyd pleads, about one breath away from grabbing a transformation potion and rushing to the Mirror Chamber.

“Tell – Tell Jade to pick up his phone please – I just! I – auh – Floooyd,” his mother sobs.

“Mama, he’s in class. He can’t pick up his phone right now. He’s in class. What’s wrong? Ma?”

That seems to soothe something in Narissa Leech. There is a slick sound of her wiping away tears, probably bringing talons under her eyelids and probably bringing her forearm across her nose. After a few tearful breath, she whispers, “He’s not sleepin’?”

“No, he went to his A period class. Mama, what’s wrong?”

“I,” she sniffles, “I had this awful dream. You and Jade were tiny and still sharing your bedrooms. I went to wake up both of you for breakfast but Jade wouldn’t wake up. I kept shaking and shakin’ him. It was like he was in a coma and just wouldn’t get up. He looked like a tiny corpse.

“I kept calling for you and Dad, but neither of you would come help. My little baby. I kept trying to wake him up. I just tried and tried. Then, I pried his left eye open and ah!” His mother cries once more. “He looked so dead in his sleep!”). – and I haven’t been able to stop thinkin’ ‘bout it,” Floyd finishes.

It is very rare for either of the twins to show their fears. Fear is a delicious seasoning that gets you devoured in the Coral Sea. Though it wears a mask on Floyd’s face, fear is still evident in his voice despite the steadiness of each syllable. Sometimes friends can just measure how much fear the other has, even when it is not shown.

Azul frowns sympathetically. He has only really had his mother and step-father; worrying about a sibling is uncharted territory for Azul. However, if he had friends with a bond as close as a sibling relationship, it might be Floyd and Jade. It just might.

It probably is not though. Probably.

“Since we were little, your brother has always been capable. Both in his magic and in his wit. Even … even in this instance, I doubt Jade will ever make a decision hazardously.” Which is exactly what worries them; Jade is brilliant, who knows what an odious mixture of intellect and grief could end up making.

Azul touches the octopus’s forehead to the cover of Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares. In reaction, the room explodes with the power of a violet tornado.

“Fuck,” Floyd shouts as wind body-checks him like a obese linebacker.

Azul’s hat flies off his head. His glasses would risk being magnetized into the same wind-polarity if he tilted his face away from the shimmering violet. However, Azul does not wither even once at the tremendously powerful locking spell. The violet that stains his face like grape only hones him into the irrefutable fact that this is Jade’s magic. Despite being on the verge of being knocked over by it, the realization fills Azul with relief.

Floyd’s violet nails scrap lines into Azul’s desk but Azul does not twitch out of his resolve. Papers lying on his desk go airborne. The housewarden grits his violet teeth so hard that he risks breaking his jaw, his mole stretching down with the shape of his grimace.

C’mon, c’mon! Slowly, the tentacles on Azul’s staff start to unfurl from their comatose state. His gem stone and the octopus head remain fixed to the handle unlike the squirming appendages. Silver metal moves fluidly and wraps itself around the cover of the book like a starfish.

Then, with a burst of brighter violet that fades away to nothing, chanterelle dreams and amanita nightmares reveal their faces to the two of them. Well, not to Floyd. Temporarily blind due to the atomic explosion, he is wiping his eyes with his knuckles, blinking away little spots of endless black and blinding white. Which is why for a vital moment, Floyd misses the look of absolute horror that paints Azul’s face.

“Th-This –.” As the tentacles of his magic staff congeal back into their normal state, Azul sets the handle’s end down on the ground. Uncoordinated, it tumbles to the ground just as Azul picks up the book, holding it close to his chest.

“Wha? What’s in it? Shit, this kills,” Floyd hisses, hunched over. A stray tear falls down Floyd’s left eye as he slowly straightens out. “Stupid Jade.”

With each page flip, Azul’s face turns a lighter shade of white. When a hand reaches out to grab the book, Azul slaps it with so much force that Floyd groans in pain.

“C’mon, let me see,” Floyd whines. It is not a childish whine but more of a warning, he is going to get violent if Azul does not hand over the stupid book now. Floyd grabs the desk and leans over the top, trying to get a glimpse of whatever Azul is hiding. All he sees is paragraphs of text and a block where an image is drawn.

He does not get to know what the image is because Azul slams the book shut and demands with urgency, “Where is your brother, Floyd?”

A dragon’s treasure is guarded and hoarded with a shield-and-sword-heart acting as its knights. Malleus has found his treasure to have become his memories of you. If each recollection was a shiny ruby or bright diamond, Malleus puts them all in an isolated, inaccessible cache. In times where comfort is needed, he returns to roll a precious gem in his talons, moments of just you and him unshared with others playing in his mind. Right now, Malleus rotates a rose quartz.

This particular rose quartz was formed by magma crystallization as all are. The time period it was formed in was before you knew his true identity.

You two are perched miles above the ground, on one of the eastern turrets of Night Raven College. You curl into your notepad as Malleus takes in the scenery.

He took you up here by teleportation. You have improved in leaps and bounds from your first time being maneuvered about the earth by a teleportation spell. Unlike your first time, you only gag now rather than puke. After a spell (not performed by his hands) of dizziness, you two took your seats upon the roof. Meters in front of you lies a single gargoyle. Wingspan extended out and the spine facing you.

He has already explained it to you in great detail, and you listened. Really listened. So used to be stared through, Malleus has recently been finding his ears turn pink at how you look at him. Tonight, he has cut off his presentation earlier than normal. Bashfully empty of words burnt out from your smoldering eyes.

Malleus welcomes the reprieve with gratitude. Chirping crickets and grinding graphite is the only music playing in his ears – though he can sometimes hear the jazz notes of you going no, no, that line does work, no, what’s another word for … no, too pretentious and has to keep himself from chuckling fondly.

Soon, the crickets find themselves without any further accompaniment; you have stopped writing. Curious, Malleus looks away from the stone he has been studying. His neck rolls. Rejuvenated, his pulse pounds in the taut muscles found in his throat at the sight of you. What a sight you truly are, unafraid to be here with him.

You catch onto his unshakable staring. Tongue in cheek, pencil clenched in hand, you announce “I.” The pencil weeps under your strength. “I think I got it now.”

Malleus raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

You tap your pencil on the edge of your notepad anxiously. Then, taking a deep breath, you read your haiku:

“Apathy on stone

My prince, do not reveal tears

Gargoyle, keep your face.”

The look you give him is uneasy. He imagines you are anticipating harsh criticism, writing a poem on a subject matter he is so endowed in. Rather than criticism, the only thing in Malleus’s heart is a quick skipping beat.

You have such a way with words that it leaves his spellbound despite the unequivocal fact that you are very magicless. The words seem so knitted together for his especial heart. His own face of stone. However, knowing you do not know he is a prince, he considers the five-seven-five syllable poem and covers up his growing blush with one inquiry , “tears?”

“Because gargoyles are waterspouts. So, I wanted to layer an emotion to the functionality, the rigid job.” For a moment, you consider the poem in your hand then your mouth moves a mile a second. “Ugh! Truthfully, I wanted to say ‘a prince must never cry’ so it can keep the chain of commands like ‘keep your face’ but then the line would only be six syllables! Ugh, I hate haikus! I can’t write a single good one.”

You look about ready to crumple up and toss the note away with hatred. It would not be surprising, you do this a lot. Enough to the point where Malleus has a collection of crinkled up poems — “If you want them, you can have them. They fucking stink though,” you had first bemoaned when Malleus first asked to keep your workshopping words. This one though, Malleus wants you to be proud of it.

“I happen to think it is quite beautiful, spellbinding almost.”

The way your eyes shimmer when looking at him leaves Malleus choking on the night air. He continues despite his temperature rising in his gut and nape.

“The first and third lines feel impersonal, but the middle line is soft. It is the gentleness sandwiched and withered away by the stone. Despite the cold exterior, there is a heart in there.”

The way you look at him — all the ways you look at him, but even more so now — has him falling helplessly in love with you. Stars blaze in your eyes like he has opened up the jaws of the universe and plucked your favorite part of the cosmo down for you. He would do so for you. He would do so much for you – divide the ocean down the middle, change the phrase of the moon, or tear the sky in two. Wounded so tightly across your finger that it surely cuts off circulation. You look at him so sweetly, bathed by the night’s glow. Malleus bites his tongue bloody to keep from telling you that you have the prettiest eyes.

“That’s — That’s actually really a revolutionary way to look at it. I —,” you glance down at your work, “I really didn’t have the optimism to see it that way.”

“You should be more prideful of what you create. Your work too has a heart despite its cold exterior, even at its most tortured.”

“Stooop, I’ll blush.” You raise a hand over your eyes but a sleazy grin is underneath your fingers. You enjoy praise a lot.

“I am just being honest with you, Child of Man. You always asked me to be.” He pauses then asks, “however, may I inquire why use the word prince?”

“I don’t know. Don’t they seem regal to you at times?”

“Hm, there seems to be a resemblance.”

“They remind me of you a lot. Regal. Ah, not that you’re a prince though … What’s that grin for? Don’t tell me I inflated your ego.”

“Nothing of the sorts, Child of Man.”

“Ah, whatever.” Despite your grumbled tone, you flip to the next notebook page. It is the first one he has seen you save rather than tear up.

Rain pitters on the building, starting out soft like the languid pop of popcorn in a microwave. No, not on Night Raven College’s roof. Rainfall taps like fingertips on Diasomnia’s dormitory, and Malleus realizes it is time for him to put this rose quartz back in his treasure hoard. When his and Jade’s eyes meet across the room, his breath grows thorn in his lungs. Now is not the time to reflect.

From the towering polygon windows, the icy clouds heavy with rain are just barely visible through the shower sticking to the panes. Worser weather is certain to come like an expected guest. Malleus, tongue heavy, announces, “All that is left now is to retrieve their body.”

Diasomnia’s lounge has been cleared of all its furniture and rugs. Tables teleport away and rugs roll themselves up. Black leather couches and chairs are depressed tightly on the southern wall behind Jade and Malleus, blocking the entrance. Not that they are necessary barricades when the bombay blackwood doors are locked firmly with ancient magic.

It is set in motion to take place in the lounge’s heart. The nook bordered by two grand staircases and twenty feet below where Diasomnia’s throne resides. Upon the cement ground, illuminated by no light, lies a circle of complex patterns and symbols made of thorns. In the middle of linking sigils, Octavinelle’s vice-housewarden stands with an apathetic, stone face. The same expression he had worn when he and Malleus made their contractual deal.

He keeps his cards so close to his chest, you once bemoaned on your nightly ventures. Malleus remembers it well; you were reaching tear-out-your-hair hysteria due to cooking a meal for Jade Leech and not receiving a clear glimpse into his opinion. He’s impossible to read! Your teeth flashed with frustration.

It is an appropriate analogy. Like an experienced gambler, Jade knows not to leave his hands vulnerable to any ill-intent strikes. At first, he was incredibly suspicious of your kindness until evolution changed your kindness to a craving. With Malleus, Jade hides his cards behind his back and then shields them with an illusion spell to change the faces of the playing cards.

Making this shrewd deal was one of Jade’s finer moments. Like an experienced brain surgeon, he knows where to pull with roughness or push with softness in the intricate webbing of nerve-endings. Using survivor’s guilt as keen forceps and using his own signature spell as hooks, Jade performed a deal Azul would have been praiseful of.

Which is why he will comply with the terms, because he has already prematurely agreed to them. Green eyes watch him pull black gloves carefully from his hands. He folds them once, pockets them, then unclips his magic pen from his breast pocket. A collision of two stars bursts in bright colors on the surface of Jade’s pen.

From out of thin air, you appear. You fall into Jade’s arm with all the grace of a dead body. Jade catches you in a dancer’s standard dip. Limp, your neck stretches as far as it can while dangling strands of hair point down at the ground like a thousand knives.

He plants a gentle kiss on your cheek. Mourning and love mix in his heterochromic eyes. Jade takes to silently brushing away the pieces that cover up your forehead’s scar as if to almost say to Malleus who watches Jade lift you bridal style: look at what you did to them, look.

Malleus’s otherwise imperative stare moves to a window. The rain is starting to get gradually heavier. When Malleus looks back, Jade is kneeled in the middle of the circle of thorns, as was pre-planned. The stone-faced prince of Briar Valley interlocks his gloves underneath the gem’s handle base instead of just holding it in one hand.

“No matter what you see or hear, your focus must never flicker from the Child of Man. A single interruption is a breakage in a dam of irreversible consequence. I ask you to heed these words carefully … Jade.”

“Of course.” Curt and clip, Jade’s confirmation is nothing more than contractual obligation.

The vines from the head base to gemstone bring to shift. Two interlocked vines rotate in a downward spiral, dancing around one another.

“Then, let us not waste another second.”

The spindle’s wheel starts to spin. Slowly at first, it moves at a pace where one can keep track of the mismatched sized spokes. Gradually, the spindle picks up pace. Inner spokes start to move in a heartbeat-esque pattern, up and down from long to short to long to short. Bombay blackwood twirls; the natural grain melts together into one smooth surface. It keeps picking up pace, twirling faster and faster. It is now impossible to distinguish where the spokes lie as they all melt into nebulous black. Accumulating to its peak, Malleus’s spindle moves so swiftly that it appears to slow down, moving counterclockwise.

Wind picks up in Diasomnia as if a tornado is tearing through the stone ribcage. Malleus’s hair flies around him like ebon seaweed caught along a boat’s racing hook. The obsidian markings on his forehead stay relenting to the fierce winds, tight upon his increasingly crinkling brow. Behind his pointed ears, ebon strands whip back and forth with a vengeance.

Jade’s and your hair move in tandem, blown in the same direction. Despite the discord around, despite when Malleus starts to chant, nothing tears his gaze from you. His eyes are intent on you like a mere blink would cause you to dissolve into seafoam. Despite the lighting hitting the ground, he keeps his stare.

A breath later, the lounge is plunged into green.

On the tongue of a stone bridge, Floyd and Azul appear out of thin air. Not entirely out of thin air though; around their shoulders, the shimmer of the transportation mirror into Diasomnia fades over their bodies. Rain smacks them in the face with a grievous scorn. Azul loses his footing temporarily but Floyd catches him by the elbow.

He pushes up his glasses, rain falls so hard and fast that they become more of an obstacle than a helper for sight. Getting drenched by the second, Azul stops with Floyd to watch the show of dancing lightning. “By Sevens, do you really think Draconia is overblotting again?”

Diasomnia staff and students in Mostro Lounge had started checking their phones as Floyd and Azul stepped out from the VIP room. Apparently, there was a storm brewing in the Diasomnia dormitory. Apparently, the main foyer was closed off and the vice-housewarden was evacuating students. Apparently, Malleus Draconia is overblotting a second time. Who knows if the information is reliable. All that is important is Jade was seen days ago, walking on this very stone bridge past midnight.

“I don’t care. I know Sea Slug knows where Jade is.” Floyd’s lips pull into a beastly snarl. “C’mon.”

A cold sweat breaks on Malleus’s forehead. From the two connecting diamonds imprinted on his forehead, sweat drops. It trails down over his nose to his lips which are harshly breathing air in and out.

Malleus Draconia has to minutely remind himself how breathing works as the tornado rips through Diasomnia like a savage bear. Pressure stomps on his chest with an iron boot. Through all his wild chase to keep oxygen in his lungs, he recognizes it not as pain but rather a deserved punishment. I’m sorry, Child of Man. It is an unheard sentiment; even if said, it would be torn from his lips and thrown yards away by the wind.

There are many unheard sentiments chopped by the furious air. Most of them come from Silver, Sebek, and Lilia, behindthe barracked door, drowned out by turbulent winds. Harsh air chops up the syllables like a knife, turning them into incomprehensible poetry. The sentiments matter little until among them a single voice shouts, “JADE!”

Stricken, Jade tears his hell-bent gaze away from you. He does not answer loud enough to be heard over the maelstrom but the sentiment is still sincere. “Floyd?”

“Ignore it! Focus on them!!” Under Malleus’s instructions, Jade fixes the nucleus of his sight back onto you. A resurrection can only be completed with the kiss of true love. Without that passionate embrace, the body will lose the returning soul it momentarily holds. A true love’s kiss seals it back in the body. He waits for the predestined moment where he can connect your lips together with unwavering focus.

“Just a little longer now, my love.” Jade’s lips pull into a lovestruck grin. “Soon.”

Among the wind, voices converse:

“Pry open the door!”

“We have been trying to!”

“Your hands are not broken or bloodied! You obviously have not!!”

“Malleus, this could kill you! This could kill you both!”

“ Malleus!!”

“Jade, you fuck!”

Azul shouts with all his remaining strength, “Jade, don’t do this!!”

A black star forms silently over Jade’s head.

All of his life, he has been unapproachable. All of his life, people have found his teeth nightmarish and his eyes ghoulish. All of his life, he has waited for someone like you. You mean the universe to him; driven to the point where he would do something as forbidden as this. Malleus grips his staff tighter and Jade grips you tighter.

The black star is an abomination. Quantum processes work in rotation, lapping over each other like yin-and-yang. Ebony water shimmer in the middle of the black star while the outer ring strangles the air atoms with thorns. Atomic particles split into twos, going smaller than scientists thought possible, with the strength of the semiclassical, gravitational abomination.

It thumps like a grotesque, wet heart and churns with the sound of visceral tearing. From the black thorns, the atmosphere collapses into blue-gray dust, destroying the atoms in its way. The black star gives a pained groan before it expels what it has taken.

From the inky depths of a black star, wisps of smoke start to seep down like water from overhead greenhouse hoses. The plumes of cloud hiss with head-splitting volume. Slowly, those misty clouds spiral back into a congealing mass. A split tornado swirling back into its original shape. Smoke tightens and arrows down before erupting into a cloud over your face. You swallow it; from your eyes, to your nose, to your ears, to your mouth, you swallow all the mist until there is nothing left in the collapsing air.

Perhaps you are not swallowing; perhaps it is entering.

Jade watches intent each centimeter square of your face with glassy eyes. He waits until each wisps of vapor diffuses into the very pores of your skin. When the air is clear of the smoke, he brings up his right hand to move hair that has fallen over your features.

Onto the skies of your lips, Jade Leech whispers his heart. “I love you. I cannot live this life without my heart and soul. Come back to me; where you belong, my love, is with me.” Under a gruesome black star, he kisses you.

It is an unreciprocated kiss. When kissing a corpse, one should never expect to be greeted with tender amorous sensations. This is why Jade does not despair when he feels nothing, suctioning your lifeless lips in two kisses before pecking harshly for the third and final kiss. It is alright – he can have his real kiss soon – because the black star is killing itself.

Collapsing air closes in a snap. Leftover blue-gray powder hangs in the air like dust particles seen from the sunlight’s rays. Slowly, green light starts to slither away, dimming in quanta measures. All is so tranquil; even the tornado winds bottled in the lounge start to dim away. Then, like your heart is trying to jump from your chest, you start to hyperventilate in Jade’s arms.

“(Na-Name) … (Name),” love washes over Jade’s tongue. You twist violently in his arms, throat and chest pounding up and down with irregular breaths. Like a cornered prey, your eyes are wild with confusion. “It’s okay … I got you. You’re safe … Oh, you’re so beautiful. My love.”

Neck rolling back, seizure-like eyes go white and you cough out a mushroom-shaped cloud of blue-gray dust. Black blood drips down your left nostril and trails like a tear off your cheek. Exhaustively, your chest continues to punch in and out with air that misses their connection in your lungs by centimeters. If you do not find a way to breathe, you will surely die a second time.

Not that Jade would let that happen after just getting you back. Jade maneuvers you with ease. He moves your back so it lies on his chest and whispers, “I know it will be difficult but follow along to my breath. Feel it go in … out … in … out … in … out … there, there … out … in … good, so good.”

Your chest beats wildly like the tempo of a metal song while Jade’s chest beats with the measured drum of rhythm and blues. Ungloved skin rests, fingers spread wide, on your chest. Each groove of each other’s bones are felt. Past the layers of muscle, skin, and clothes, your lungs touch together in a kiss. Jade depresses his chest on your back, bending you into a hunch. His words are almost delirious.

“I love you. I love you so much. I love you, please see it and believe it. I would do anything for you, (Name).”

Slowly, the tempo of your lungs start to dim like the lightning, green lights, and wind do. Jade moves his hand from your chest to your left shoulder. He depresses his lips on your neck, holding onto you painfully tight.

“ … Right where I want you to be again. Be here with me. Be awake with me. I love you.”

You capture your first real breath as the door to the lounge bursts open.

You turn, eyes wide as saucers. Behind you, Jade’s timid smiling face greets you from your eternal sleep. Another string of black blood drips down your face, this one coming from your right nostril. Your brows creases then flattens out, recognizing the face after a moment of hesitation..

“Jade?”

In response, Jade smiles with all his teeth.

Separate from you two, Malleus lies on the floor. His own heart and lungs beating erratically, panting like a dog on a smoldering summer’s day. Lilia may put his hand on his shoulder to try and vanquish the tidal wave of breathlessness but Malleus shrugs it off. His staff is knocked by his side from the explosion of the black star collapsing. Malleus uses it to push himself up on his knees.

His heart floods with relief and love at seeing the sight of you breathing in Jade’s arms. Besotted beyond belief, he whispers lovestruck, “Child of Man.” Then, the calm expression melts off his face and reveals panic. Because that is not –!

“Jade!”

Floyd breaks into the room like a storm; shoulder-checks Sebek who is trying to reach Malleus; jumps over the furniture that prove to be useless barracks. “Jade,” he shouts again when he notices his brother has yet to turn away from you.

Their eyes find each other across the room easily. It is incredibly hard to see in the Coral Sea, biological and environmental factors working double-time together to ensure they stayed in the middle of the food chain. Their shared beacon of gold keeps them tethered together in the sea and on the land. No one else, not even their parents have an eye similar to theirs. That’s my brother is what that single ring of gold means.

Floyd can recognize Jade as such even now at the worst of times. However, a marginal note is stapled onto the thought. That’s my brother and, right now, I’m terrified of him. It is an odious thought. Sevens, Floyd can feel the tap-dancers of bile make their merry way up his throat at this very moment. What keeps them tethered together feels more like a chain than a security line to use.

“Bad decisions, good times,” Jade reads off his t-shirt. “Hm, Floyd?”

How can he speak so calmly with that in his arms? Perhaps, that too is part of why Floyd feels goosebumps on the back of his thighs. A prey or lower predator has signals receptors to recognize danger. A cat shows its fear in a twitching tail; Floyd wonders how he must be showing his own fear. Call it animal insight but a part of Floyd knows deep down, that is not you in his brother’s arms.

“Ja-Jaido.”

“Florido.”

Do this for me, Jade’s eyes seem to implore. Ah, you asshole, Floyd’s eyes respond.

He walks forward through a graveyard of thorns. “They probably can’t walk that well. Gotta be winded.” Floyd outstretches his left hand; Jade’s eyes squint in gaiety and your own gape wide in curiosity. The grip Jade has around you is protective. “C’mon, get up.”

“Thank you, Floyd,” Jade says, placing his hand on his brother’s.

#twisted wonderland x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #twisted wonderland #malleus draconia x reader #twst jade

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 months ago

Note

Hello Miss Raven! Hope your day been good (:

(Or gonna be or is, who knows! Hope it’s good anyways)

I’ve been doing mischief known as creating a twst OC, he’s fae and at the moment of doing his age I understood that I have no idea how old they should be to be able to enroll at college!

The only full fae is Malleus(Lilia enrolled muuuch later so ain’t counting him, obviously) which means I can use him as a base, so I’d like to know if there any information that he enrolled the moment he got invitation or not?

I have a strong feeling that I saw some info on that, but I’m not his biggest fan (God I hate him), so my mind not really holding onto that, apologies for silly question, if what!

Hihi ^^ My day's been good! I had a really good bagel with cucumber dill cream cheese spread... Green for Diasomnia?/j

I know NRC is called a college, but it's called a technical school by Yana and has students of about high school to early college age, or 19-20ish by fourth year. I think we can safely assume Malleus enrolled as soon as he got his invite. In Malleus's dorm uniform vignette, Lilia says "[Malleus has] been away from Briar Valley for THREE YEARS [...]", so I assume the three years are Malleus being away for NRC schooling. The surrounding information also supports this. Firstly, we're never told anything to the contrary, and most students enrolled via normal means (if there were any abnormal means, they were usually pointed out to us by now; this would include things like Leona enrolling one year late, Lilia showing up 500 years late, and Kalim transferring in 2 months into the school year). Secondly, this timing makes sense with the time of Lilia's enrollment; he and Malleus would be going to NRC at the same time so that Lilia can serve as his mentor, guardian, and social support. It also lines up with Sebek expressing frustration that Malleus, Lilia, and Silver are at NRC, but he has not yet enrolled (which leads to development of his UM, Living Bolt). If Malleus had been at NRC for much, much longer than 3 years, it's strange that he was allowed to just... be on this remote island by himself, without any retainers. With that in mind, I think that the expected age for fae to enroll in a technical school like NRC... would vary. This is because different kinds of fae have different life spans. For example, bat fae like Lilia are expected to live around 1000 years maximum--but for dragon fae like Malleus, 1000 years is only considered the beginning of adulthood; dragon fae live for FAR longer than 1000 years.

Another thing to consider is that fae aging metrics do not translate well into human aging metrics. For example, Lilia states in book 7 that dragon fae are still considered hatchings at 200 years old, teenagers at 500, and adults at 1000. But we also learn in book 7 that Malleus is exactly 178 years old currently. That's under 200 years old, meaning that, by dragon fae standards, Malleus is still considered essentially an infant...? Yet it's still somehow possible for him to enroll at what is essentially a high school (by human standards).

Crowley states multiple times in book 7 that so long as someone appears with an invitation and is willing to learn, NRC will accept them. In earlier versions of Twst, I believe it was even proposed that Idia (a non-fae) would be a child genius and the youngest student ever at NRC. So really, I don't think it matters that much what age a fae OC "should" be at in order for them to enroll.

Before I sign off, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that while I'm fine with people expressing their opinions, I ask that we be mindful while sharing them! If it's not relevant to the ask, then do not say you "hate" a character. It comes out of left field and is a needless shock, particularly to fans of that character. If you feel you must include it, kindly watch your tone and wording! Think about how you would feel if someone randomly proclaimed, "God, I hate [insert your favorite Twst character here]" (even if it is struck out, the sentiment is still there) in an ask that is otherwise about getting writing advice or canon lore. Doesn't feel good, does it? Just "I'm not [Malleus's] biggest fan" would have been sufficient. We don't need to take it an extra step further, especially seeing as the ask itself was not Malleus-centric character critique. Thank you!!

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itadoraki · 1 month ago

Text

Heart of Stone, Soul of Heaven

—————————————————————————

Malleus Draconia x R.femele. ( Stone gargoyle )

—————————————————————————

Autumn in Briar Valley. The black leaves fell like burnt shadows, covering the castle gardens with a respectful silence. The grayish sky threatened storm, but the dark prince walked alone around the Tower of Echoes - an ancient magical sanctuary from where the whispers of time could be heard.

That's where he saw her for the first time.

At the top of the tower, sitting like a millennial gargoyle, was her - motionless, contemplative, stoney, beautiful like a medieval stained glass window carved in living marble. Her gray wings were collected with elegance, her nails sharp and her eyes... intense. Like those of a creature that never blinked. Or who saw far beyond the meat.

She didn't move when he approached.

"Have you... been here for a long time?" - Malleus asked in a low voice, almost fearing to wake her up.

"No. But I like to sit like this. It's... familiar." - he replied with a slight French accent, without looking directly at him. - "The view from here is old. I like old things."

Malleus felt something strange in his chest. It wasn't electricity or magic. It was... mirroring. A kind of silent kinship. Someone who also preferred solitude. Someone who also knew the beauty of what others avoided.

——— Days later ———-

Her name was Y/N Goyle, a transfer student from a European academy who took care of diplomacy between magical clans and non-human creatures. It was made of enchanted stone - resistant, but alive. He breathed slowly. His touch was cold, but his gaze burned.

In class, Y/N was disciplined, loyal to the rules. Direct. Proud. But not arrogant. She didn't seek attention. Just respect.

During a late dinner in the empty cafeteria, Malleus saw her push away a ceramic plate with disdain and whisper:

"Fake stone. Too fragile to sustain something worthy."

He smiled. For the first time in days.

"Maybe you should carve your own dishes. I bet they would last for centuries."

She stared at him. Long.

"You understand me... in a strange way."

—————

They began to meet casually - always in high, old, forgotten places. Towers, closed libraries, the broken glass greenhouses. She told stories of cathedrals in France, of how gargoyles protected the living from evil spirits.

He talked about Briar Valley, the legends of the nocturnal fairies, the burden of being feared by his blood.

"Do you know why gargoyles have such monstrous faces, Malleus?"

"Why?"

"Because monsters don't attack what already looks like a monster."

Malleus looked at her. Her eyes, her skin, her wings - everything about her was gray and cold. But your spirit... it was hot. Incorruptible. And then he understood:

"You made yourself ugly... to protect the beautiful." - he said, almost in a whisper.

She turned her face, serious, but there was an imperceptible blush in the clear stone veins on her face.

——————

One night, a storm surrounded the campus. Lightning crossed the sky like magic spears. The windows were shaking. Malleus, as usual, was at the top of the tower. But this time, he wasn't alone.

Y/N appeared, wet, with her heavy gothic skirt and her hair glued to her face. His eyes shone with the fury of the sky.

"Do you always walk alone even when the world plummets around you?"

"I've always walked like this. No one accompanies me."

"Now follow."

And without waiting for permission, she sat next to you. His stone shoulders touched his.

He closed his eyes. For a moment, he was not king, nor fae, nor heir of the night. He was just a boy with a full chest and the world outside falling.

"You're the first to look at me without fear."

"And you're the first to see me as something other than stone."

——————

Days later, under the green light of fairy lanterns, Malleus took her to the top of an old tower with broken gargoyles. He held a small sculpture - a stone gargoyle with open wings. Shy, firm, but with a face that looked like hers.

"I did this for you. It's crude... but I wanted to sculpt something that would last longer than the time."

She took the piece. For a second, I didn't say anything. Then, he looked directly into his eyes:

"You're not made of stone... but you understand me as if you were."

"Maybe because I was also shaped by pain. And yet... I still want to protect."

"And I want to protect you, Malleus. Even if the whole world is afraid of us."

He smiled.

And then, finally, he touched her - a light caress on the face of living stone. There was no heat. But there was sense. And love.

—————— A long time later———————-

The night was silent, except for the soft whispering of the wind among the trees of Briar Valley. The full moon bathed the castle with its silver light, drawing dancing shadows through the ancient stones.

You and Malleus were at the top of the Echo Tower, that place where so many times you shared words, silences and secrets. His stone heart beat a little harder that night.

He looked at you, his eyes shining with an intense light, almost unreal. The same light that, whenever he used his magic, warmed the souls of those he loved.

"Y/N," he began, his voice so low that it seemed like a secret, "you are... different from everything I've ever known. And even if your skin is cold, I feel something... something alive here." He touched his stone face, delicate, almost fearing to break the charm.

You closed your eyes for a moment, feeling the heat pulsating in his touch - a magical, deep heat that seemed to melt centuries of loneliness.

He got closer, slowly, as if time was going to fall apart every inch away.

And then, their lips met.

The kiss wasn't just a contact - it was a wave of magic and emotion. Malleus' energy ran through his skin, which began to heat up, gently, as if the stone became more alive, more sensitive.

You felt a sweet tingling that you had never experienced, as if every fiber of your being awakened to life.

His eyes opened to meet his, full of tenderness and admiration.

"You warm me up, Malleus. Not only the skin... but the heart."

He smiled, soft and sincere.

"And you, Y/N, are the flame that breaks my silence."

Under the starry sky, the two remained there, united - he, the prince of darkness, and you, the living stone gargoyle - linked by a magical touch that transcended everything they knew.

And in that kiss, not only love was born, but a promise: never to let the other feel alone again.

—————————————————————————

#twisted oc #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland jp #twst #twst manga #disney twisted wonderland #overblot malleus #malleus x yuu #malleus x oc #malleus fanart #twst malleus #malleus x reader #malleus draconia #twisted wonderland malleus

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jazjelspen · 2 years ago

Text

leaving on wild charted waters [pt.7]

(what if our mc just got tired of Night Raven College and it's inhabitants?)

(mc just-- can't get a break.. can they?..)

(I AM BACKK RAHHHH i'm so sorry with how long this took!! real life has been really weird and troublesome for too long but I'm now back and ready to write some more! hope people are still interested in this series because i'm getting ready to wrap this series up really soon to begin more one shots and another future series. for those that have waited for this long for chapter 7.... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! literally i'm so thankful you have sticked around THIS long despite my hiatus. since because of you guys, I still want to keep writing more here :) now let's get this going!)

(not proofread, all your house leaders are mentioned!)

(requested tags: @bottomjamilsupremacy @abyssqueen @time-shardz @a-very-bored-mika @obeymediasimp @sarah22447 @cuentademeri @twistedcece @paintingeels)

(if you want to be tagged in future chapters please comment or message me! I will only tag you if you directly ask for it and I will only tag you once unless you asked to be tagged on all future chapters of a particular series.)

five weeks in Royal Sword Academy, during the fifth week all you've been doing is resting from the event that was the ball. your injuries were not an issue since Raps healed them up fast with his magic but he couldn't exactly heal the emotional wounds that reopened again.

everyone in RSA pitied you for the situation that you got stuck into, a magicless human almost crushed by the falling tower that suddenly got covered in thorns. people made up so many rumors, people said that the house leaders of NRC didn't like that you, the former prefect of their school, left in favor of their rival school so in spite they set an attack on RSA. others said you weren't even involved and that it was just their rivalry getting out of hand on Night Raven's part.. and why Night Raven College in particular? that was because few residents from Briar Valley that attend RSA recognized the thorns to be from their home kingdom.. their prince's thorns. either way you just avoided answering questions and no one exactly pushed you for answers, but the rumors went out of hand way too fast, so fast that now the headmaster of RSA had to pause his research to find a way back home for you to then try to ask NRC if any of their students came to their school because of how many RSA students were taking the stories just.. too far.

you had a fairly.. ominous morning. the clouds seemed grayer than usual but you passed it on as the sky just being the sky. you saw the ship that took you from NRC to RSA come back aboard and settle down which made you curious but didn't let it bother you. other small little misfortunes included your food falling on the floor, your favorite morning drink tasting weird or spilling on you, your appearance looking more tired than usual no matter how much you try to cover it, and then your shoes keep getting untied no matter what way you tie them.

but here you are now, as you walked through the school to occupy your time in doing something while classes were going on (p.s you were allowed to go into classes you were interested in with permission) but today you just simply felt like walking to let out some steam. you looked through your new phone gifted to you by the headmaster and read through the frenzy of comments from RSA students about the event, luckily it's been dying down a bit but it's clearly not stopping.

"do you think the house leaders from NRC could've really done it? could they have gotten that angry?"

"I dunno. I just know that those thorns look like the ones from briar valley or from that one dark and green dorm from the school."

"either way it'd be petty for them to send the literal prince or house leader all the way here just for that :b" "dude r u fr y would they send the prince" "it low-key high-key ruined the dance for me and my friends completely tbh" "same :("

you sighed at the comments since you felt a knot of guilt in your stomach. you too felt like the ordeal ruined the dance for you and your friends but the only thing that kept you from descending more was that they still mentioned all the time how fun it was even if the end was a disaster.

speaking of your friends.. only they knew who it was that visited you and why. they kept your secret since they knew how much of a sensitive subject it is for you and they admitted they didn't want to see you be blamed for this even if it wasn't even your fault in the first place.

"Gee.." you blurted out while putting your phone back in your bag after putting it on silent "NRC this.. Night Raven that.. so sick of hearing their nam--"

BOOM!

You bumped into someone!

You stumbled back a bit with how strong the hit was, it was as if this person was running but was also really.. strong?? because of how hard it was.

"I'm so sorry!-- " you apologized while getting back on your feet "i'm really sorry I didn't think anyone was out right now during classes! I--" you blinked a few times to look at the person with a look of embarrassment on your face.

oh it was actually two people, that explains the force.

one had orange hair and the other had dark blue hair, how familiar.

wait--

red heart on the right eye, black spade on the left--

no fucking way.

"prefect! we've found yo--!"

"no."

you turned your heels immediately after interrupting the red head while speeding up your pace. the amount of fucks you have left are way below zero and you weren't ready for this after last week.

"______! wait- we need to talk!-" exclaimed the spade for your attention but of course you didn't give.

"no no no nononono-- not today- not right now-- I can't fucking do this right now." you sped your walking more but you bumped shoulders with someone this time that stunted your walking but didn't make you stumble like the first time. except this person gave you a low lion kind of grumble.

"watch it herbivore!--" this deep and irritated voice snapped at you but it seems like they stopped their sentence too soon.

you two locked eyes and you never felt more dread in one single moment than today.

"______?.." the prince of Sunset Savanna spoke out your name in a gentle kind of tone that seemed absolutely abnormal to you coming from him of all people. his face contorted into one of disbelief yet care.. it weirded you out so much on how he spoke and looked at you as if he missed you to death. a vague look on his face that can only be described as if he was a kicked puppy.

but god.. Ace, Deuce, now Leona?? your speed walking turned into immediate jogging.

your self mumbling was shaky and panicked, all you wanted to do was get away "why why why--" you jogged across the halls while trying not to be too loud to disrupt any classes but you knew that perhaps ongoing classes would be concerned over the several voices in the background calling your name. you were about to open the door to the courtyard until an arrow was shot right above where your hand was jiggling the door handle. you looked back to see your shooter to see two infamous blondes.

"mon cher.. my dear trickster!" the bob cut blonde exclaimed in happiness and joy that you have never seen before in so long from him. as if he literally did not almost shoot your hand with one of those arrows of his.

meanwhile the other blonde with purple tints at the ends of his hair, looked at you with a very sour scowl. "you." you heard the queen of Pomefiore spit the word in your way "Rook, it seems like you missed."

that last line from Vil gave you chills down your spine which caused you to jiggle the knob quicker "this cannot get any fucking worse!!--" you yelled in frustration as you finally were able to open and stumble out the door with Rook and the others you passed by exclaiming or whining(that's just Rook lol) at you to stop.

you ran down the long flight of stairs to the courtyard to escape all these pains in the butt but Lady Luck just seriously wanted to see you fail today since as you were closer to descending you finally felt your left foot feel somewhat lighter. you looked down to finally notice that your darn shoe was missing! you looked up to try and find it but at the very top of the stairs of course the hunter had it right in his hands, flaunting and showing it off to you from the top of the staircase.

"yoohoo!~ trickster! I may have something you need!~" Rook taunted you playfully.

"keep it! I don't need some shoe to get away from all of you!" you spat before you turned to continue on running with only your left sock and right shoe to carry you on.

you could hear Ace and Deuce whine with how many stairs there are but they kept on running down. Leona on the other hand with much more stamina and agility than them despite his daily and constant naps was able to catch up further than the ace and spade ever could. the lion's panting and footsteps were getting closer and closer as you were heading towards your dorm but considering how far it was and how close he was you were starting to feel pessimistic.

but you always had friends in high places.

"_______!! Up here!!" a familiar and this time comforting voice yelled out your name from a high up dorm you were about to run past. Raps quickly let down his long golden hair from his dorm window up high and you couldn't help but to smile like an idiot now knowing what to do. Leona noticed this and tried to quicken his pace but as you neared to the hair of your lifesaver with much more adrenaline than ever before you finally forced your body to leap and jump onto the golden locks of your friend, and just as fast as you intertwined your arms, legs, hands, and fingers into the hair you were now quickly being pulled up to safety with Leona immediately frozen in his spot while looking up at you getting farther and farther away from him.

you looked down at him with a look of pity because of the sorry expression on his face.. but in the end you didn't care. you stopped caring long ago anyway.

as you were taken up you could hear distant voices calling out to you again but you didn't face them and instead hugged your savior.

"Raps!-" you smiled all silly as you were trying to catch your breath and wipe the sweat away from your brows and forehead. "I owe you my life! I really couldn't face them again--"

Raps chuckled lightly as he gently patted your head and took you in his arms, not caring about the sweat and heat coming off of you. "I saw them arrive from the ship this morning and I knew that at some point you'd need me so I prepared for anything." soon enough you backed up to be able to breathe properly and truly savor in the temporary victory for today but despite pulling away Raps gently brushed down your hair to settle down the crazy strands from all that running you had and even wiped some of your sweat with his sleeve. "they chased you like a pack of wolves from up here-- kind of scary to be honest.."

you groaned in annoyance "i KNOW!! it's crazy! as if simply ghosting and leaving the school WASN'T ENOUGH!-- I'm so exhausted of this I can't--do this anymore Raps.." the adrenaline pumped into your heart and ears and you felt your hands started shaking whilst you raised your voice in exhaustion. the way your eyes scattered and looked up and down, right and left-- just simply the way you were anxious made Raps concerned.

your friend immediately grabbed you by your shoulders to get you back together, gently shaking you "_______!.." and when you still seemed not all there yet he then went to hold your face this time "______!!" he exclaimed as he then finally was able to catch your attention "maybe you need to rest for awhile.."

you nodded but gave him a vague and questionable look "aren't you supposed to be in class?"

Raps rolled his eyes playfully "i am in class, my dad is also my teacher remember. in a way this is my study hall time."

you laughed a bit "right.. damn.. I really do need to sleep."

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

the rest of the day was sort of hectic.. of course you took your nap while leaning on Raps while he studied after that heck of a chase. now after him helping you go back to your dorm to get another pair of shoes you're here walking with Raps to his next class, outside of the safety of the dorms, but you knew that when Neige, Alex, and Rielle would find the two of you then you'd have nothing to fear.

you looked from side to side cautiously with your anxiety rising up with the pace of your eyes going back and forth.

"you'll be fine _____..." mumbled the golden blonde "I'm right here with you remember, if they decide to speak to you I promise I'll do the speaking for you." he gave you his charming smile which made you feel a bit of relief.

"thanks raps.. but it's not just them speaking to me that frightens me.." you whispered as you hid close to him. you felt more anxious the longer you felt several pairs of eyes staring at you here and there.

"well let's just think on the positive. from here on out until they leave you'll stay with us from the beginning of the morning till the end of the day, so they won't be shouting your name every few seconds." Raps suggested but you simply laughed back.

"as if i'm not already stuck to the hip to all four of you everyday of almost every hour."

both of you laughed together at your comment, feeling a heavy weight lift off your shoulders a bit at the joking and the reliability of your friend.

you both calmed down and ended the small giggling frenzy with a sigh before you started to speak "let's just hope I don't get to see any of them too much today, I wouldn't want to throw up whatever I ate last time for when I see them.."

in the next few moments your friend Rielle finally approached you guys! great timing Rielle!

"hey guys!" he chirped "how have your days been! good I hope?" Rielle started small talk with you two in order to cheer up the atmosphere.. since the talk about NRC students on RSA campus grounds have been swirling around and making the group feel uneasy.. but you didn't really know that yet.

after discussing about eachotehrs days, explaining your chase and everything in between. Rielle gave you this look, it seemed almost pitiful and kind of as if he needed to tell you something. you gave him a confused look with an awkward smile. "what's up Rielle? never seen you look this nervous before.." your friend seemed a bit caught off guard and returned the awkward smile back to you.

"ah!- well.. shrimpy.. I almost don't want to tell you because it makes me feel a little.. upset." he shrugged with the emotion in his eye of wanting to hold back. "the words may get a bit stuck in my throat but. well--"

you looked at him in immediate interest, the thoughts in your head wondering what he needs to say.. and why it's taking so long..

"the headmaster needs to see you. he said he's made an immense break through in the search of finding a way back home for you. that maybe-- you'll finally be able to go back where you came from." the red head seemed to get more upset the more he went on, the exact opposite of your reaction.

you smiled, you were excited-- you were finally going home! back to what you truly know and love!

but what about your friends?..what about your new friends? what's gonna happen to them? you've all gotten so close in the past five weeks together. is this really the time to leave back home now?

you looked at both Raps and Rielle with this look on your face that only said one thing: I need to talk to the headmaster. they both gave you a tiny smile that seemed to try to mask the glum feeling they both had in this situation that is now unfolding before them. and before you could think your legs started running and your heart again was beating out of your chest. not because you were being chased or yelled at but because for once you felt a sense of true and honest optimism about your situation.. after months of being trapped in this world. every sharp turn, every step, every shoulder bump, every gentle shove and half-hearted apologies made your heart feel alive and more excited than ever about this. you could almost smell the air of your home, see the colors of your room, touch and feel the fabrics, rough, soft, rigid edges of every corner inside your house.

and while your friends watched you run, Rielle could feel a drop of water down his face. he touched it and saw it was coming down from his eye.. weird. he pressed the water in between his thumb and index finger. ahh now he remembers-- he's heard of something like this, a human function in which the body is able to produce water from the eyes when one is feeling intense emotion.. but he felt so distraught, as if he was grieving yet no one has left him yet.

'is this what they call a tear?'

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

after reaching the top of the final flight of stairs you stared down at the headmaster's office doors. the smile on your face widened as you turned both knobs and pushed your body against the doors.

"headmaster Ambrose!! you said you wanted to se--'

oh dear mc, I'm so sorry.

you looked around the entire room and every one of the house leaders in Night Raven College are present there, statures tall, intimidating, sour, fond, confused. along with their reliable vice dorm leaders by their side.

Riddle Rosehearts gave you a glum and pitiful look yet that lasted for a second before he tried to seem stern and serious while looking away with his vice dorm leader, Trey, bedside him.

Leona Kingscholar, back again, also pretended to be serious and uninterested about this situation but you could tell he was trying to catch a small peak of you with his vice dorm leader, Ruggie, beside him watching.

Azul Ashengrotto has a kind of look on his face that clearly held a grudge but every single time he stole a gaze at you it's as if his eyes softened ever so slightly, even his vice dorm leader, Jade, easily caught this.

Kalim Al-Asim was more than happy to see you, he obviously tried to keep himself from speaking but his appreciation for you seemed to have never faltered for a second. His vice dorm leader, Jamil, stood behind him as he usually does.

Vil Schoenheiht was the one with the biggest scowl and petty look on his face. not daring to even peek at you but it was obvious that despite him being an actor that it was easy to see through this act of him hating you and wanted to never see you again. His vice dorm leader, Rook, simply complimented you from afar and also seemed to be awing you from across the room.

Idia Shroud was present.. what a shock-- this has never happened usually unless you were involved but he seemed to hide his face away with his hood and pretended to be occupied in a video game when in reality he couldn't even focus on the game he tried to use as a distraction from you. His vice dorm leader/brother, Ortho Shroud, just gave you a happy smile, also quietly very happy to see your face.

Then theres.. Malleus Draconia, you've seen him just a week ago and he also looked down shamefully. as if he couldn't bear to see your face in fear of disappointment and hate. despite this his vice dorm leader, Lilia gave you a small smile but tried to focus on Malleus and the meeting at hand.

"______ my dear! so long no see! thank you so much for getting here to talk to us!" headmaster Crowley cheered as he welcomed you in the office along with headmaster Ambrose by his side. "you see the headmaster to Royal Sword Academy wanted to talk to me about a few unrelated things. internet frenzies and such! but then we got distracted and talked more about you."

you stared at Crowley intensely, afraid of looking towards the other house leaders you used to be almost fond of a bit back then, but of course you put yourself over whatever fondness you had.

"he talked about his research in finding you a way back home, and luckily for you Night Raven College's house leaders wanted to present to him and yourself as well a way they found you to go back home!"

You stared at Crowley after he finished his sentence, there was a long pause, maybe an awkward cough in-between. "so you're saying.." you could feel the words get caught in your throat "that everyone here.. the house leaders.. found ways to get me home?.."

Crowley hummed in slight thought "Not exactly my dear, they all worked together to find you one straight path back to your home! turns out all they missed was just the research that headmaster Ambrose has right here!" he let out one of his signature chuckles "even from afar you still managed to be NRC's prefect! making the housleaders work together for a way back home for you! now that's magic."

your mouth was slightly agape as you slowly looked at everyone in disbelief. "you really did that for me?.. despite everything you all did to me when I was still there and everything I did to get away?.." everyone either looked down or straight ahead to avoid your gaze or even nodded gently. no words were spoken or needed at the moment.

you took a moment to breathe and let the gravity of the situation sink into your skin. an inhale and exhale later you finally let yourself say your next few words,

"how do I get back home?"

(CHAPTER 7 IS OUT!!! thank you so much for being patient and waiting for me to finally be able to post this chapter! I hope it came out alright to better! I had fun with this chapter especially since I'm now planning the seeds to the end of this series, thank you for the love and I hope you enjoyed this!)

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twstgarden · 2 years ago

Text

❀ ❝ 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 ❞

━ lilia vanrouge x fae! gn! reader ━ being a retired soldier of briar valley won't stop you from attending night raven college, but it seems the fates have decided to make you miserable by sorting you in the same dorm as a certain someone you wanted to forget, someone you have never spoken to for the past 300 or so years.

includes a few spoilers for chapter 7! f/n stands for first name.

do not steal or translate without my permission.

"just how long is this blasted ceremony going to last?"

a fae in the sea of humans, merfolks, and faes alike mumbled under their breath as they scoffed to themselves, crossing their arms as they wanted to get out of this uncomfortable yet stylish ceremonial robe.

once it was their turn to be sorted, the ex-soldier of briar valley stood before the dark mirror as it spoke to them, "state thy name."

"f/n l/n."

"...f/n l/n, the nature of your soul is... diasomnia!"

the fae merely hummed in response before softly thanking the dark mirror and lining up with the other first-year students that are sorted in diasomnia. they, of course, did not fail to notice a familiar mint green-haired fellow in the line.

'sebek zigvolt... isn't that baul's grandson and... his student?'

they shook their thoughts away and tried to focus back on the ceremony, watching as a new student ━ or so they say ━ caused a fuss because of their little cat, but the fae knew this little creature was a magical beast.

after the whole fuss, they got into their dorm and were about to head to their room, when they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"ah, you must be one of the new students... or not. i don't remember seeing a traitor in our dorm."

the voice sounded oh-so-familiar to this fae, causing them to sigh as they turned around and met with his raspberry-red eyes, one that was full of life compared to when they last met. they gulped softly to themselves but kept their indifferent expression on as they stared at the man before them.

"...not really pleased to meet you again, l/n."

to him, that was an utter lie.

to them, that sounded like another one of his painful truths.

"not so pleased to meet you either, vanrouge."

the fae then turned around and left to head to their new room, leaving the ex-general in the hallways of his dormitory as he sighed to himself and mumbled, "after 300 years, you had to show up and pretend nothing ever happened between us, huh?"

meanwhile, the fae crashed on their bed and stared upwards, trying to calm their quickened heartbeat after meeting with that certain someone after so long.

"damn it, of all dorms, it had to be one where he's the vice leader..."

tough luck for this little faerie. it seems they have to face their past once again.

the fae wanted to roam around their dorm and explore for a while, but the chances of meeting him out there again are high and may the thorn fairy forbid they ever cross paths again today.

and so, they spent most of their days roaming around and exploring the esteemed night raven college and attending their classes, all while avoiding him. they have crossed paths with silver and sebek once in a while, but those two have no idea who this faerie was to their precious instructor.

of course, f/n had come face to face with their crown prince for the first time, since he hasn't hatched yet by the time they disappeared and ran away from briar valley.

those three had no idea who f/n exactly was, and they only knew one thing.

they're an ex-soldier of the royal army in briar valley.

"father, if you don't mind me asking, is f/n a co-worker of yours?" asked the silver-haired boy in curiosity, wanting to know more about the new addition to their dormitory, just like the other two.

"i have crossed paths with them a few times and thanked them for serving the country," spoke the horned fae as he sipped on his tea while looking at the older fae seated across him.

"they spoke of my grandfather as well. are they a co-worker of yours, lilia-sama?" asked the mint-haired first-year as he looked at his instructor.

lilia sighed and had no choice but to tell them, now that they were curious. he set his teacup down and hummed to himself, thinking about where to start. however, before they could say anything else, another voice chimed in.

"you could say we are co-workers. though, comrades would be a better term."

all of their heads turned to look at the source of the voice, and there stood the ex-soldier of briar valley with an indifferent expression on their face, but one could argue that their eyes could indicate they were a little nervous.

"ah, l/n... what an unpleasant surprise..."

the other three looked at lilia as he said those words and wondered, if f/n was a comrade, why is he treating them like an enemy?

"vanrouge, i have shown myself this time to settle things with you," spoke f/n as they still stood there, not caring about the inquisitive gazes of malleus, silver, and sebek.

"after 300 years and you finally decided to patch things up?" asked lilia as he raised a brow at them, focusing his raspberry-red eyes on the faerie before them.

f/n bowed their head a little in shame as they spoke, "...i apologise for suddenly leaving you behind like that. it was not my intention to hurt you."

it was silent for a while ━ an uncomfortable silence for all five of them in the lounge. seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours to them due to how long the silence was. silver then looked at his father, noticing how his eyes remained on the faerie before him, how his lips had a thin line as he did not want to speak just yet, and how his grip on his teacup tightened then loosened a bit.

it did not take long for the other three to guess that these two had some history.

"...i know a simple apology is not enough to make up for the 300 years i've lost with you, but i did not have a choice back then," muttered the faerie as their eyes set on the floor, avoiding lilia's gaze as they felt uncomfortable to face their mistakes.

...

"l/n, i order you to spy on briar valley's royal army. gain their trust and give us their information."

"yes, sir."

the faerie found themselves enlisted in briar valley's army, working closely with the general and meeting the infamous princess often. f/n kept a fake personality on to win both of their trust, to know everything about them and the next plans of the army to defeat the opposite side. none of them ever had suspicions against f/n at first, because what faerie would work for the human army?

things were well for f/n at first, having to successfully carry out their tasks perfectly and gain the trust of two of the most powerful beings in the country.

that is until they felt their usually icy-cold heart warming up and beating faster around the general. it seems that spending more time around this general to extract information from him ended up making this little faerie fall in love.

love? how absurd. there is no time to fall in love in the middle of a war.

but the way his stern yet subtly adorable eyes meet theirs, the way his hands feel on theirs, the way he would offer them his food ━ no matter how distasteful his cooking was, no one can afford to be picky when in the front lines, as he says ━ all these little actions would make f/n's heart jump in their chest.

no matter how hard f/n denies it, they are falling for the general and soon, they would forget about their mission. instead, they have a new task this time: to establish a relationship deeper than friendship and camaraderie with general lilia vanrouge.

everything was well with the two of them. their newly formed relationship has given both of them another reason to get up in the morning and fight in battles to win the war, to protect each other and their beloved country.

however, any avid reader would know that happy endings don't last forever. an unfortunate circumstance befell the two military couple, and f/n found themselves back in their boss' lair. the damned human looked down on them as he spoke, "so, l/n, do you have any explanation for not replying back to our letters?"

the faerie in shackles glared up at the wretched man but did not say another word, refusing to even speak and address him. the man chuckled darkly as he continued looking down at the faerie with a smirk, "it seems the little faerie has fallen in love and forgotten their purpose. well, let's see how your dearest beloved will react upon discovering that the person who holds his heart is a traitor."

f/n's eyes widened for a moment as they struggled to break free from the shackles, looking up at the man as they spoke, "wait, don't...! he doesn't have to know!"

the man disregarded f/n's words and gestured to the rest of his guard to toss the faerie in the basement, locking them up in there for, what they intended to be, centuries.

f/n managed to sneak out at some point, breaking free from the chains and disappearing from the lair as they ran away, hoping to rush back to lilia, but they knew it would be difficult to find him deep in the forest.

so they did one thing: escaping from the land of briar. there was no use to run back to lilia as f/n thought their boss had probably revealed their identity as a spy to him. he'd just push them away if f/n decides to head back.

...

"let's not talk about this in front of them," spoke lilia as he sipped on his tea, but the other three glanced at him and decided these two should talk it out. malleus was the first to stand as he said, "it seems you two need to discuss something personal... we'll excuse ourselves."

the three then walked away, leaving f/n and lilia in the lounge as the ex-soldier/spy sat on the couch across lilia, still refusing to look at him in the eye. it was silent for a moment, it was uncomfortable, it was awkward.

none of them were able to look at each other for a while.

none of them were able to utter a word.

until f/n let out a sigh and decided that now was the time to face their past mistakes, ask for forgiveness from their former lover, and to explain their 300-year-long disappearance.

"...vanrouge━"

"just address me the way you used to."

"...lilia, i've been avoiding you and running away for the past 300 years because i was worried that they are still out there..." spoke f/n as their tone went low and apologetic and their eyes stayed on the male before them.

"and you never once thought that i could protect you?" asked lilia. "... i had thought you found out about my identity and would want nothing to do with me," answered f/n as they hung their head low.

"and who are you to decide that for me?"

f/n went silent for a moment, looking back at lilia as they bit the inside of their cheek in anxiousness. lilia had a serious expression on, one that f/n grew fond of in the past, but it was also one that is rarely seen from lilia nowadays in nrc.

the silence was deafening, even if it was only for a few seconds. the ex-soldier twiddled with their thumbs as their heart pounded in their chest, all the while lilia looked back at them with an indifferent expression, but it was evident from his pained tone that he was still upset at them.

"do you have any idea how much i worry for you out there when you disappeared? i had no idea if you were alive or dead, i had no idea if you were safe or locked up. i heard nothing from you for the past 300 years and i thought that maybe you died and your body was never found, but then now i see you here in the academy, alive and well, acting like there was nothing between us," responded lilia in a worried yet frustrated tone as his eyes glared at his former lover.

"i thought you'd be angry at me for betraying you," replied f/n.

"and you think i won't be angry at you for running away and not giving me an explanation?" asked lilia, letting out a heavy sigh as he grew displeased, avoiding f/n's gaze as he refused to even look at them now, "but no matter how infuriated i was, your well-being still becomes one of my priorities."

then, silence followed. f/n could not find the right words to say, and lilia could not find any other words to add to his statements. the two sat there in silence, waiting for the other to at least say something to break this pin-drop silence.

after what seemed like hours, but was actually a couple of seconds, f/n stood up and took a seat beside lilia, wanting to grab his hand but opting for just sitting beside him as they looked at the male.

"...i'm sorry."

lilia let out a sigh before giving them a small smile, ruffling their hair as he spoke, "don't fret, it has been centuries since then. i am not a being who holds grudges for too long."

f/n smiled a little and hesitantly wrapped their arms around lilia, and he did not object to their affection as he, too, wrapped his arms around his former lover. once they pulled away, sebek suddenly spoke by the staircase.

"they're your ex-lover, lilia-sama?!"

silver tried to hush sebek, but lilia and f/n had already looked up and noticed the three of them eavesdropping and peeking down at them. lilia smiled in response to sebek's words as he spoke, "hmm... i'd say remove the 'ex' and you have it right."

f/n looked at lilia in surprise as they muttered, "what...?"

lilia looked back at the fae beside him, giving them a cheeky smile as he asked, "we never officially broke up, no?" f/n blinked their eyes in surprise before shrugging their shoulders, "i mean... technically not?"

f/n then looked back up at the other three, their eyes landing on silver as they spoke, "i heard silver calls you father." lilia nodded his head as silver gave f/n a polite smile and bowed his head in respect to his father's lover, "uh... yes, i'm his son."

"is that so? then, it looks like you three earned another parental figure."

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pamsimmer · 1 year ago

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When I made "Lunar" someone asked for a legacy challenge for human sims. So I finally wrote one!

Since some people don't like big legacies because it takes forever to finish, I made another small legacy! Only 5 gens.

If you know my stories from twitter or my "pamsimmerstories" you know I usually use a lot of adult themes and this is not different, so be aware this can be a little dark.

TW: Spouse death, while giving birth; Drug Use, alcohol and other drugs; Child Abuse, Neglect; Infetility

LEGACY CHALLENGE: "Dream Odyssey"

Basic Rules:

Start as a Young Adult - any gender you want

Normal/Long lifespan (which one you prefer)

You can use freerealestate cheat if you want to begin.

When I put ( / ) is because you can choose what you prefer or if you don’t have said pack you can choose the base game one.

Colors are not mandatory, but it could be fun?!

Requirements: Cottage Living, University, City Living, Nifty Knitting, Horse Ranch, Get Famous, Get Together, Snowy Scape, Island Living, Seasons, Parenthood.

Mods recommendations (Not required):

McCommand Center,

UI Cheats,

Long Distance Learning,

RPO.

Basemantal Drugs

Generation 1: “Dandelions” by Ruth B.

You moved from your parents to live in a big city and go to your dream college (San Myshuno Institute)*. You’ve always wanted to be a doctor/veterinarian and this was finally happening!

One day you met the love of your life in between classes (preferably someone you met that is also at uni) you get married, but one day you caught them cheating and you feel like this is the end of the world.

So you leave everything and go to Henford on Bagley and become a farmer. You meet someone that makes you open up again and you two have a beautiful family.

*if you don’t want to use mods like the ”Long Distance Learning” by Ravasheen, you can just pretend you’re going there living in San Myshuno

Traits: Good, Animal Enthusiast/Loves the Outdoors, The last one you pick, to make things interesting, pick a bad trait like high maintenance

Career: Start as University Student in San Myshuno (you can finish it and start the career or you can just drop university in the middle of your term); End up as a farmer in Henford

Skills: Logic/Vetenerian and Cross-Stitch

Hobby: Cross-Stitch or Knitting

Aspiration: Country Caretaker

Relationship: fall in love at university, get cheated on, runaway to Henford and meet someone new. You can have children with the first one if you want to or you can wait until you meet the second sim. It’s up to you.

Color: Green/Yellow

Generation 2: “High” by Miley Cyrus

You grew up in the middle of a bunch of animals, your parent was a nature freak and you became one as well. But your kind of animal is a bit different from your parent. You love horses and you dream in live at Chestnut Ridge and have your own horse and participate in competitions and earn money from it.

You find love, but when your wife is giving birth to your baby, she dies (your sim could be a woman and you use cheats to make her pregnant and if you don’t use mods as RPO/Pandasama you can also cheat to kill the sim).

[The Sims 4 killing cheats: [death.toggle true - kill your Sim] I've never used it, so I don't know if it really works]

So you see yourself as a single parent juggling between parenting and taking care of your horse and participating of competitions.

Traits: Horse Lover, Rancher, the last trait you choose.

Career: Autonomous as Horse Competitor, you can try odd jobs as well

Skills: Riding, Painting/Nectar Making

Hobby: Painting/Nectar Making

Aspiration: Championship Rider

Relationship: Meet someone, become a widow/er. You can find love again if you wish.

Color: Orange

Generation 3: “No Love In LA” by Palaye Royale

When you were born your mother died and you never met her. Your other parent was always busy with his horses and competitions that you now hate Chestnut.

You want more for your life. As soon as you age up, you go to Del Sol Valley and you’re finally able to follow your dream of becoming a star! You want to be a famous actor/actress. But not everything is like you thought it would be, you thought you would become a 5 star celebrity quickier than you did. But you never give up.

Find a celebrity and get married to them just for fame (I guess you’re gonna need cheats for them to meet).

[Modify Relationship

You'll need the full name of your Sim and the celebrity Sim (or vice versa). If it doesn't work, try " LTR_Friendship_Main" at the end.] (I also never tested this one...but in case you don't have mods, try this)

One day you’re gonna meet someone who’s a nobody and fall in love, you’re gonna cheat on your partner and get pregnant/get someone pregnant.

You have two choices:

leave your spouse and be with your love or

stay in a unhappy marriage and pretend the cheating never happened (if your sim is a male, never talk to the pregnant sim again and one day a child shows up at your door, this is gonna be the heir. And if your sims is a female, pretend the kid is your husband’s child. It doesn’t matter, you’re gonna fail as a parent no matter what).

Traits: Self-Assured, Ambitious, and a bad trait of your choosing

Career: Actor

Skills: Acting, Dancing, Photography

Hobby: Photography and also dancing, go to nightclubs often, drink a lot (if you don’t play with mods pretend your sims is an alcoholic, if you play with mods like basemental your sim is definitely an alcoholic and maybe had a drug addiction, let’s go dark here)

Aspiration: Master Actor

Relationship: Marry for fame and cheat on your partner and get pregnant of impregnate someone this is how your heir is gonna be made.

Color: Red

Generation 4: “Flares” by The Script

Your parent should never be a parent.

You grew up in a spolight because of your parent, but you hate it. Everything is so fucked up and you just want to run away as far as possible.

When you become a teen, you're going to run away from home and go to Mt Komorebi, drop from school and work in a part time job.

To scape your own mind you start a few hobbies such as snowboarding/skiing/climbing.

When you’re young adult you meet someone while doing one of those things and you two fall in love. You two start a family and are very happy.

Traits: Adventurous, Loner, and a trait of your preference

Career: Teen: Part Time Job; Young Adult: Salaryperson

Skills: Two of these: (You can choose: Snowboarding/Skiing/Climbing)

Hobby: Choose two from 3 (Snowboarding/Skiing/Climbing)

Aspiration: Extreme Sports Enthusiast

Relationship: Find love when your sim is a young adult and this sim is gonna be actually happy :)

Color: Grey

Generation 5: “Light” by Sleeping At Last

Your parents were loving and you loved Mt Komorebi, but you feel like you need to run away from the cold mountains of Mt Komorebi.

When you grow up you want to live in a summery place, so you choose Sulani.

You fall in love more than once, but your relationships never work. You’re also infertile, but you want a kid so baaaad, so you decide to adopt one after years of trying.

You're going to raise a kid alone, maybe get yourself a dog as well? You want to be the best parent someone could be.

Traits: Family Oriented, Child of the Ocean, and a third trait of your choosing

Career: Any of the freelancer careers

Skills: Parenting, Flower Arrenging/Singing

Hobby: Flower Arrenging/Singing

Aspiration: Superparent

Relationship: All your relationships will fail, no matter how hard you try. One day you finally realize it and just accept that you’re going to be alone and you can be happy like this. Then you adopt a child (could be a baby if you want to) and maybe a pet as well.

Color: Blue

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #ts4 gameplay #the sims 4 gameplay #ts4 simblr #simblr #the sims community #legacy challenge #small legacy challenge #sims 4 legacy

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cupcake-mage · 1 year ago

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It's World Goth Day so my boy Corbin is getting some spotlight!!

Might go in and finish this later!

#students of green valley high #art #drawing #digital art #digital drawing #sketches #sketch #goth #gothic #trad goth

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s12-kittie · 8 months ago

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Tales of Seven Stars: The Sixth Ring

Chapter 1: An Offer One Can't Refuse

Trix week day 6

Prompt: Cannon Divergent

@trixweek @bellatrixobsessed1

For the day 6 of the Trix Week I wanna present you my 2 babies: chapters 1 and 2 of the book 1. Also, I might change them later if the whole plotline goes another way.

The stuff is happening a year after season 3, so seasons 4-8 are not fully considered as cannon for this fic.

It was a nice, warm day. The sun shone high in the clear sky, and a pleasant breeze blew, bringing fragrances of different flowers growing on distant valleys.

Even the Black Mud Swamp looked less disgusting and ugly than usual. A hot, rainless summer made the mud dry out, so most of the mosquitoes had left, looking for a more humid place to live in.

That was beneficial for the students of Alfea and Cloud Tower, who came here with their teachers to have a merged practical class. After defeating Valtor, the headmistresses of both magical schools decided to fix the relationship between witches and fairies, which had not been very trusting and pleasant. For that, some changes in the studying program took place, such as merged lessons and student-exchanging programs.

Now fairies and witches were standing opposite each other, while Professor Palladium held a small speech to explain the contents of the task.

“Today you’re going to have a small practical test to sum up the material you’ve learnt last year.” The teacher explained. “Your skills at working together will be tested as well.”

Some of the Cloud Tower students rolled their eyes.

“You’ll have to divide in pairs.” The teacher continued. “But you must choose a partner among the students of another school. Learning to use opposite kinds of magic together will help you to…”

“… to see you more often, handsome?” The witch with scarlet hair whispered with a snort.

She appeared tall, but only because of the platform high-heeled boots, still impractical for the swamp, and had a long, pointed face with heavy make-up on it and pinkish-purple eyes. Her straight hair was cut in a so-called “jellyfish cut," so most of it was short, while the lower half of the back hair nearly touched the grass with its ends.

“That too, miss Ruby.” Palladium said, truing his face to the witch, whose face immediately blushed from the sharp chin to the forehead, hidden below the tick fringe. “But most importantly...”

“What’s with the face, Ruby, darling?” The witch with long and shiny reddish-pink hair slapped her friend in the back.

“I… I-it’s just..." The latter mumbled. “W-well, he’s handsome, right?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you have a crush on him, sweetie!” Her friend chanted.

“Miss Acid, be quiet and listen to the professor!” The professor from Cloud Tower hissed.

“…and, last but not least, you will be prepared for an unusual situation and…”

“Well, an unusual situation indeed!” A witch with long, half-up wavy brown hair whispered, and most of her classmates giggled.

Just one of them, standing a little aside from the others, rolled her eyes.

This witch wasn’t even close to beautiful; short and thin, with a square chin and jaw. Pale wax-like skin and lank, shoulder-length, dirty-green hair, getting yellowish-green to the ends, cut in a short asymmetric fringe, made her look lifeless and even quite unattractive, except for some tiny yet noticeable details, like emerald-shining eyes, a straight nose, or bright orangish-red lips. She was wearing an oversized forest-green hoodie, black skinny jeans, and brown laced jackboots. Her only accessory was emerald-green rhombic earrings.

The witch exchanged gazes with a petite fairy, standing opposite her. The fairy had short, straight brown hair, big, turquoise eyes, twinkling with curiosity, and seemed three or four years younger than her classmates.

“Can’t these witches handle themselves?!” A fairy with short, light-blue hair snorted irritably, making the girl flinch.

“Yeah, they show so much disrespect!” Someone nearby said.

“He’s our teacher; that’s why they try to make fun of him!” Another voice from the fairy group hissed.

Professor Palladium raised his hand as the whispers among both groups were becoming louder and louder:

“Please, be quiet, ladies. I haven’t finished yet. In the middle of this swamp, I hid some magic spheres. You will have to use all the converging skills you’ve learnt to find one of them and bring it to me. Now, who can tell me what you should avoid while doing this exercise?” He looked at the two groups.

The green-eyed witch raised her hand.

“Yes?” Palladium pointed at her, a little surprised.

“The spell should be fed from the equal doses of magic of both partners; otherwise, it would result in one of them feeling sick because of an impact of an opposite magic source.” She answered in a bitter tone.

“And why is that?” Professor raised a brow and gave her a bright smile.

“In order to converge, two or more people create a temporary bond between their cores, which leads to free magic circulating among them. If the magic is applied in 1:1 proportion, the opposite sources neutralise each other, and no side effects happen.”

“It’s correct! You’ve earned an ‘A’, miss…”

“Jade.”

“Right… Thank you for your answer, miss Jade. Now, back to the task. Those who find a sphere will pass the test; for an ‘A’ it should take you not more than thirty minutes. Don’t try to compete with each other. The quantity of the spheres is the same as the quantity of the pairs. Now, you may begin.”

Jade and the petite fairy came closer to each other and headed to the centre of the swamp.

“So, the locator spell should do the trick.” The witch turned to the fairy.

The fairy nodded.

“Isn’t it too simple?” She asked in a high-pitched voice.

“For the professors, it would be just right. They lost hope in students long ago and will give an ‘A’ for just completing the task in time, so those idiots I have to study with don’t look so miserable and humiliated. Did you hear what they asked me, Daisy? The safety rules for converging. What a comedy.” Jade scoffed. “As if these imbeciles will memorise anything after me repeating these rules out loud for the Dragon-knows-what time. And I also need time to talk to you, so the locating spell it is.”

Daisy nodded again.

By that time, the girls had reached a little plain clearing. They stopped in its centre and clenched hands together.

“Just don’t give me more than needed.” The witch told her friend. “I think at least you are capable of remembering those safety rules.”

“I’ll try.” The fairy closed her eyes.

A few moments later, a shiny ball of bright-green and light-yellow energy appeared and floated to the left. The girls followed it.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached a valley covered with dry grass.

The ball stopped near a group of bushes, growing to the left of them. A dusty-pink transparent sphere lay among their roots.

“There it is.” Jade noted contentedly, picking it up and hiding it in the pocket of her hoodie. “Let’s go back.” She turned around.

At that moment, Ruby rushed out of the farther bushes, pulling a fairy, who, despite light-pink hair and a serious expression of her face, looked much alike with the witch herself.

“Oh, darn!” Ruby cursed at the sight of Jade. “What are you doing here, Psycho?! This is my sphere!”

“Too late.” Her classmate gave her a smirk while walking away together with Daisy. “See you back at school. Unless you drown somewhere, to my great relief... ”

“Dream on. The swamp is dry! How am I supposed to drown here?!”

“Oh, you could.” Jade chuckled and turned away.

Ruby paused for a few moments, confused, then dropped at her partner:

“It’s your fault, Quartz! What took you so long with this spell?!”

“Says the one who did nothing!” The fairy hissed. “And why did I agree to be your partner?!”

“Because you hate other witches a bit more than your own twin sister!” Ruby pushed her in the chest. “Now find another sphere and fast! I need a good grade!”

“Are you still sharing your room with her?” Daisy asked quietly, casting a glance at Ruby.

“Unfortunately.” Her friend sighed. “Now she’s a little more bearable, though. Seems like all she needs is a permanent threat to her life to stick to Cloud Tower roommatehood rules.”

***

“Have you heard the latest news?” Jade asked, as soon as Ruby and Quartz were left far away.

The two girls now entered the darkest part of the swamp. The trees grew everywhere, blocking the sunlight, except for several golden rays, piercing the air.

“About the cases of power loss?” The fairy cast a glance at her friend. “Yes, I did. Do you think it’s…”

“Shadow Vampires? Most likely.” The teen frowned. “The whole situation looks exactly like the cases described in that book.”

“I wonder why no one else thought about it.” Daisy looked at the witch.

“Griffin might have; she’s not a complete idiot.” The latter disagreed. “And there’s a good possibility that she’s planning to take action.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We get to the rings as soon as possible.” Jade stated. “I don’t want to give up school, but it doesn’t seem I have a choice.”

“Maybe… Maybe we should... tell the teachers?” The fairy asked unsurely.

Jade shook her head.

“They will choose the future keepers by themselves.” She rolled her eyes. "And there's no way I’ll even have a chance to be the candidate. I hope I don’t need to explain the importance of this ring for me once again.” The witch clenched her fists.

“Sorry, I…” Daisy began but didn’t finish the phrase.

They continued to walk in silence.

“So, we need a plan.” Jade finally said. “I already found the portal, but it’s not enough. We also need a map.”

“What map?”

“It was created by the Ancestral Fairies long ago and should be hidden somewhere in Alfea. I’ll look for the exact location later. Curses, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.” The witch sighed. “Fine, I’ll think about it after classes... Hey, what’s that on your neck?” She suddenly pointed at the golden amulet Daisy was wearing over her turquoise T-shirt.

“It’s a special amulet. Faragonda insisted that I always wear it, so I don’t accidentally use more power than needed.”

“Interesting…” Jade bent closer to her friend. “Can I try it on?”

“But Faragonda said I should never take it off…” The girl protested weakly.

Jade rolled her eyes:

“She worries too much. Come on, D, you don’t really expect anything to happen during these thirty seconds, do you?”

“I… Well… I think you’re right.” Daisy took the jewel off and gave it to the witch.

“Strange, I don’t feel anything unusual.” The latter put it on. “Now, let’s see…”

She closed her eyes and started reciting a spell. Magic started swirling around the witch, together with ice-cold wind.

“Just… Don’t break it, please…” Daisy’s eyes widened with fear.

“Everything’s under control." The witch murmured, frowning. “There. I feel a barrier. Yeah, I guess that’s the edge.” She grunted. “I can’t get through.”

The teen opened her eyes. The swirls disappeared, and the wind stilled.

“Well,” Jade exhaled, taking the amulet off and returning it to her friend, “if you didn’t need it, I'd..." Suddenly she frowned with tension. “Wait. Someone’s around.”

“Hey, Psycho! I didn’t finish!” Ruby went out of the trees.

“I don’t have time for your nonsense today, so just skip it and shut up.”

“Dream on, weirdo! It’s your fault that I got a bad grade!”

“I’m not the one to blame for you being born without brains.” Jade rolled her eyes.

“You stop that! I could get an ‘A’ I needed, but then you appeared and screwed everything up! As always! You enjoy it or what?!”

“I just don’t care, neither about your plans nor about you in general. And if you don’t want to be burnt to ashes right now, then…” The witch turned around. “Well, now it’s serious… I sense three big auras nearby. They’re definitely not students.”

“That’s right.” The cold and strong voice behind them said.

The girls turned around and saw three figures, appeared out of thin air. Jade had seen their mugshots before at several billboards in Magix, together with a caption "wanted,” and she’d heard a lot about these witches. They were the Trix, the notorious witch trio. Three sisters looked exactly like in the mugshots: Icy, blue-eyed with straight silver hair, tied in a ponytail; Darcy, with yellow eyes and dark-brown hair with dark-blonde front strands; and Stormy, curly, greyish-purple-haired, with grey front streaks and turquoise eyes.

“Stay behind me.” The teen whispered to Daisy.

“The heck?!” Ruby jumped back, stumbled over something, and ungraciously fell on the grass with a loud exclaim.

“Well, well.” Icy continued, stepping forward. “Students from Alfea and Cloud Tower. Just like we needed, sisters.” She turned to Stormy. “Do your thing, and fast.”

“With great pleasure.” Stormy smirked, turning to the girls. “Lightning shot!”

“Mirror defence!” Jade blurted out, stretching the hand towards the three sisters. A bright green shield appeared in less than a second, reflecting the violet lightning. Stormy didn’t expect it and fell on the ground, blasted by her own spell.

“What?!” Darcy exclaimed. “But it's high-level magic!”

“You deal with it, then.” Icy replied indifferently.

Darcy nodded and shut a spell towards the girls:

“Dark confusion!”

“Mental barrier!” Jade exclaimed, creating a green barrier around them, which bounced the spell back, so Darcy hardly managed to jump away.

“Curses!” Icy swore. “You’ll pay for this, little brat! Freezing wave!”

“Fire barrier!” Jade created a wall of acid-green fire, stopping the spell.

“Huh?!” Icy exhaled, losing her breath in rage.

“The students can’t be this strong!” Stormy hissed irritably, glaring at the two girls.

The teen grabbed her friend’s hand.

“Daisy, let’s get out of- ouch!”

One moment was enough for Icy to hit both girls with a paralysing spell, throwing them on the ground.

“You stay down, too.” Icy sent the same spell towards Ruby, who still stayed on the ground, already paralysed by fear.

“Not so confident now, are you?” The witch of ice bent to Jade. “Now, before we get rid of you three-”

“Wait.” Jade stopped her. “I have a deal for you.”

The witch of ice raised a brow:

“A deal?”

“Exactly. Hope you know what that is.”

“Don’t talk to me like that, you little brat, or I’ll finish you off right now!” Icy hissed.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Jade rolled her eyes. “I’ll be brief; there’re objects that are thousand times stronger than the Dragon Flame.”

“Thousand times stronger than the Dragon?” Stormy asked, then broke into laughter. “Yeah, right!”

“Shut it!” Icy barked at her, then turned back to Jade. “Go on.”

“I already said everything. You leave me and the fairy alive now, help me get close to these objects, and then you can take some of them for yourselves. Don’t worry, they’re enough to make you unstoppable.”

“Aren’t those too many conditions?” Darcy looked at the teen with interest.

“For the greatest power in the whole Universe?” Jade chuckled. “I don’t think so. Besides, I have nothing against you still taking that one with red hair. Her existence is a mistake anyway.”

Ruby let out an unclear exclaim.

“You’re wasting our time.” The witch of darkness replied.

Icy remained silent, deep in thought. Her eyes fixed on Daisy’s necklace.

“Fine.” She finally said. “I accept your deal.”

The witch of ice clicked her fingers, cancelling the paralysing spell.

“Wha-” Stormy began before Darcy pushed her in the stomach with an elbow.

Jade and Daisy stood up, shaking the dirt off their clothes.

“We’re setting off in the centre of Gloomywood at midnight.” Jade told the three sisters. “Hope you didn’t have any other plans for tonight.”

“Not a thing.” Icy told her in a cold tone. “And if you’re trying to trick us, you’re doomed.” She clicked the fingers for one more time, and the three witches disappeared.

“‘Having that one with red hair’!” Ruby finally stood up. “You will sure pay for this one, Psycho!”

“Well, turns out you’re so hopeless, even the worst criminals don’t want to deal with your stupidity.” Jade chuckled. “Come on, D.” She passed by her roommate with Daisy following.

“Great, it makes everything even easier.” The teen smirked when they were far enough from the witch of gemstones. “Let’s get that sphere to Palladium, and then I’ll think up a plan.”

***

“Why did you agree?” Stormy asked. “That brat was obviously lying.”

The three witches returned to their hideout, almost the only one the police of Magix couldn’t find. It was way below the Gloomywood, protected with many strong spells, which were still functioning, even though Valtor, who had cast them, was caught and drained. From the inside, it looked like something between a cave and a large hall with high ceilings, full of magical books and artefacts.

“Of course she was lying.” Icy agreed. “But did you notice what her fairy friend was wearing?”

“A sort of stupid amulet. So?”

“These amulets used to handle an immense amount of magic inside one’s body, you dumb thing.” Darcy explained. “So that girl must have very outstanding power.”

“Right. And tonight, we’ll capture her without making any useless noise.” Icy smirked.

#trix week 2024 #winx club #winx #winx club fanfiction #fanfic #writing #tales of seven stars #winx club oc #winx trix #trix winx

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fraise8910 · 4 months ago

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SHH OCS AGAIN

these are supporting(and have background(like literally))

Phantom is a drama queen, like Lucas but kinder, but he doesn't really understand what personal space is. He spends his time watching, reading and writing theatre and musicals. At this point his blood vessels aren't filled with blood it's filled with musicals. His favorite would be "La gran via"(bonus points if you know that zarzuela)

Best friends with Maya and Quinn

He also loves books and stop motion.(They/he)

Taylor is what she says she's called but she's just a tragedeigh with her real name being Tahjlor, she'll change it when she's older if she survives the bullying.

Even if she has a shitty name that isn't her main quality because that's archery and track. She's one of the fastest girls in class but is beaten by Alex. It's almost guaranteed to find her at archery during her free time and her aim is impeccable.

She let's that get to her head but nobody allows that to happen for more than 3 minutes.

Yes she has 3 braids. (She/her/bunny)

Mark is one of the best students along with June and mitchell(I'll explain that later) but he is quite literally a robot.

The reluctant best friend or Martin, hall monitor and a security camera he is the most well behaved out of all the students in ALL the school because of his programming.

When bored Mart!n will posses him. It's noticeable when his eyes are green. Also falls into uncanny valley territory because of more plastic skin, fake hair and stiff movement(he/it)

(Also one of my most recurring strange hill high oc bc any Au I make an iteration of him, Mary and Alex appears(I like their tropes))

And Maya who is almost like Matthews but she takes advantage of her strength and does react vilonytly to any bullying but away from the prying eyes of the teachers.

She is the resident artist of the class. At one point she was normal but after days of not appearing she came to class one day and was more quiet yet at the same time not. She spends her free time painting in the art class. She doesn't bother anyone most of the times but her presence is off putting

Over all a sweet kid but needs anger management or else she'll start boxing April.

Best friends with Phantom and Quinn. She makes theatre props if phantom asks(she/her)

#digital art #strange hill high #mitchell tanner #mentioned #La Gran Via #oc #Strange hill high oc #silly little guy #boarding school au #Fraise8910 art #Fraise8910 yapping #Imma make those tags

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checkoutmybookshelf · 2 years ago

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You Have My Attention: Anne of Green Gables First Lines

The icon of Canadian girlhood needs no introduction, as Anne of Green Gables is a global phenomenon at this point. What those of you who read the first book at like age ten and then didn't bother exploring further might not know, however, is that LM Montgomery wrote a whole Anne series. So how did she catch a reader's attention? Let's find out!

"Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow, fringed with alders and ladies’ eardrops and traversed by a brook that had its source away back in the woods of the old Cuthbert place; it was reputed to be an intricate, headlong brook in its earlier course through those woods, with dark secrets of pool and cascade; but by the time it reached Lynde’s Hollow it was a quiet, well-conducted little stream, for not even a brook could run past Mrs. Rachel Lynde’s door without due regard for decency and decorum; it probably was conscious that Mrs. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof."

-- Anne of Green Gables

"A tall, slim girl, 'half-past sixteen,' with serious gray eyes and hair which her friends called auburn, had sat down on the broad red sandstone doorstep of a Prince Edward Island farmhouse one ripe afternoon in August, firmly resolved to construe so many lines of Virgil."

-- Anne of Avonlea

"'Harvest is ended and summer is gone,' quoted Anne Shirley, gazing across the shorn fields dreamily."

-- Anne of the Island

"(Letter from Anne Shirley, B.A., Principal of Summerside High School, to Gilbert Blythe, medical student at Redmond College, Kingsport.)

Windy Poplars,

Spook's Lane,

S'side, P. E. I.,

Monday, September 12th.

DEAREST:

Isn't that an address!"

-- Anne of the Windy Poplars

"'Thanks be, I’m done with geometry, learning or teaching it,' said Anne Shirley, a trifle vindictively, as she thumped a somewhat battered volume of Euclid into a big chest of books, banged the lid in triumph, and sat down upon it, looking at Diana Wright across the Green Gables garret, with gray eyes that were like a morning sky."

-- Anne's House of Dreams

"'How white the moonlight is tonight!' said Anne Blythe to herself, as she went up the walk of the Wright garden to Diana Wright's front door, where little cherry-blossom petals were coming down on the salty, breeze-stirred air."

-- Anne of Ingleside

"It was a clear, apple-green evening in May, and Four Winds Harbour was mirroring back the clouds of the golden west between its softly dark shores. The sea moaned eerily on the sand-bar, sorrowful even in spring, but a sly, jovial wind came piping down the red harbour road along which Miss Cornelia’s comfortable, matronly figure was making its way towards the village of Glen St. Mary."

-- Rainbow Valley

"It was a warm, golden-cloudy, lovable afternoon. In the big living-room at Ingleside Susan Baker sat down with a certain grim satisfaction hovering about her like an aura; it was four o'clock and Susan, who had been working incessantly since six that morning, felt that she had fairly earned an hour of repose and gossip."

-- Rilla of Ingleside

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frostfall-matches · 13 days ago

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[ LOADING... ]

@tillichan : [ REPORT READY ]

✧ PROFILE - TWST

— BACKSTORY

Lush green grass tipped with morning dew, the whisper of wind as it rustles through trees, the quiet babbling of a nearby river. Tall stone walls, a blooming flower garden, soft ballroom music echoing through decadent corridors.

Those were merely a few of the sights and sounds that surrounded the home you grew up in. You are a fae—a diurnal fae rather than a nocturnal fae, so you are not of the same court of the Draconia family in Briar Valley. Even more specifically, you are a light woodland fae, not to be confused with those cute, tiny wood fairies that often flit about various forests. Many of the smaller varieties of fae reside in the Faeland, and you grew up in a territory adjacent to it called Fernmoss Grove, a land which held its own governing body, its own nobility, with many of the inhabitants being human-sized diurnal fae; it could easily be considered a brighter, sunnier counterpart to Briar Valley. If the nocturnal fae of Briar Valley are comparable to the Unseelie court in folklore, then your home territory would be the Seelie court.

And yet, you were not merely an inhabitant of your land. Rather, you were the daughter of a prominent noble house. In human cultures, your parents would be considered something like a duke and duchess. So, you are not part of the ruling family in Fernmoss Grove, but still part of the upper echelons with some sway in the politics.

As such, you lived a life of comfort and even a little extravagance. It was not all fun and games, however, and you had high expectations placed upon you. While your parents were not especially strict or harsh, they still wanted you to flourish and excel to the best of your abilities. You were given a rigorous, well-rounded education and encouraged to dabble in various hobbies to build skills. When you weren’t busy studying history and politics, you were riding horses, learning different styles of dance, practicing various languages, or tending to the large gardens that sprawl across your family’s estate. Being a fae, magic was imbued in your daily life, shaping not only your personal upbringing but also the very culture that surrounds you. It still gets the better of you at times, because you are quite young for a fae and you are still learning things every day, but you developed great control over your magic at a young age. So was it really any surprise that an esteemed magical academy extended an invitation of enrollment to you?

The most-discussed magic schools on Sage’s Island are certainly Night Raven College and Royal Sword Academy; there is no doubt about that, given their history and influence. However, it would be incorrect to believe that those are the only magic schools on the island! In fact, you started attending Crystal Tower Academy, an all-girls school on Sage’s island that is very often considered an equivalent to RSA, distinguished and elegant with a bright and welcoming atmosphere.

While NRC has historically been an all-boys school, the headmaster and professors decided to trial exchange programs with other schools—regardless of the exchange students’ genders—to see what the impacts of this would be on their overall school performance and culture. Nonetheless, the school population is still primarily boys. When your school offered you the chance to do a year-long exchange at NRC, believing you would be a very good representative for CTA, you agreed. In your eyes, this should be a very good experience and a way to further broaden your horizons. You’ll miss your classes and friends at CTA, but you’re looking forward to seeing how other magic academies operate.

Just like NRC’s own students, you are brought to the school via a magical black carriage. In order to properly welcome their exchange students, the school makes sure that they are part of the entrance ceremony that they hold every year, complete with a dorm sorting by the Dark Mirror. It’s a much gloomier, atmospheric entrance ceremony than you experienced at Crystal Tower Academy, but it sure sets the mood for your days to come.

It seems this next year is going to be an interesting one!

— DORM

The Dark Mirror peers into your soul and observes the essence of your being, declaring that you would be suited for…

✦ Heartslabyul

A dorm based on the Queen of Hearts’ spirit of strictness. It is known for its long list of rules that its students are expected to abide by. Should they break even one, it will result in their “beheading” by the housewarden.

Perhaps this is a surprising result for you! Perhaps you would have preferred another dorm, or you feel that you might not fit best here overall. Sometimes, dorm placements are a bit unexpected—after all, a troublemaker like Ace ended up in Heartslabyul, and he often becomes frustrated with the sheer amount of arbitrary rules to follow. Epel isn’t the most enthused about his placement in Pomefiore, either, feeling out of his element surrounded by the elegance and high standards imposed by his dorm. For you, there are times where you will thrive within Heartslabyul, and times where you are forced to grow. In any case, you’re determined to get along with your dormmates and learn what you can from them—and they will likely learn plenty from you, too! If you are truly feeling out of place here, though, the Dark Mirror may be willing to consider re-assignment.

You always strive to do the “good” or “right” thing—you have your own moral code that you follow no matter what, though you also generally respect that others follow their own codes (so long as they don’t participate in acts that you deem utterly reprehensible). You know who you are and where your loyalties lie, you know what you like and dislike, and you refuse to lose yourself by throwing away your principles. While you aren’t really a stickler for the rules (unlike your housewarden), you tend to be rather content following most rules so long as they are reasonable and just. If they make sense and are relatively easy to abide by, you will find a way to comfortably live within them.

That being said, you do find many of the Heartslabyul rules to be a little ridiculous… and you often feel that Riddle overreacts when someone happens to break a rule. There are so many, you honestly can’t keep track of them yourself—you can’t even imagine anyone else but Riddle could remember the 810 rules. The only time you disobey your housewarden directly is when Heartslabyul’s Unbirthday Parties roll around, and you absolutely refuse to use actual paint on the roses! You insist they only get altered by some harmless magic. You’re very firm on some of your stances, and Riddle also isn’t the type to back down from arguments when he feels that he’s in the right—Trey and Cater often end up stepping in to diffuse the situation, trying to reassure the both of you and find some sort of compromise.

Stuffy rules aside, life in Heartslabyul actually isn’t all that bad. The dorm building and its gardens are gorgeous, and you often sneak away into a quiet corner of the gardens when you need a bit of time to yourself. While you might disagree with how some of the celebrations are set up, you are ultimately very helpful when it comes to getting everything organized and ready. Life in this dorm is very busy! Many of your dorrmmates are quite friendly, too, even if you’ve barely interacted with them, and it’s not uncommon to get invited to small, spontaneous tea and dessert parties.

You don’t interact too often with the third-year students given your differing schedules and responsibilities, and you try to keep your interactions with Trey and Cater short and polite. They’re nice and surprisingly helpful when it comes to getting you adjusted to life at Heartslabyul, especially with you being an exchange student, but you can’t see yourself becoming super close friends with them. But, despite your courteous distance from them, they both actually view you quite favorably! In their eyes, you are a cute and respectful underclassman. Trey keeps things a bit formal between you two, and is always happy to offer advice or answer any questions you have about Heartslabyul or NRC as a whole. Cater is much more casual and friendly, as he is with most people, and puts in a bit of effort getting to know you. One of the first things he asked for was your Magicam handle and he was absolutely flabbergasted when you said that you didn’t have one. He insists that if you ever want help setting one up, he’s happy to help!

Riddle is a second-year like you, and you actually get along with him very well anytime he isn’t acting like a tyrant. Both of you have a lot of respect for each other’s magical prowess and abilities. Riddle is very curious about your culture and heritage, and he feels that you’ll overall be a good influence and example for others in the dorm (even if you two butt heads about the rules sometimes).

Ace and Deuce are almost like younger brothers to you—funny, energetic, though sometimes exasperating. However, you enjoy spending time with them whenever they aren’t running off and getting themselves into mischief with their little first-year friend group. They love including you whenever you aren’t busy, though! Deuce often approaches you for advice, while Ace often comes to you when he’s sulking about getting in trouble by Riddle.

(See relationships below for further mentions of Riddle and Deuce!)

— CLUB

✦ Gargoyle Studies Club

The sole member of this club is Malleus who spends his club activities walking around the campus and observing the variety of gargoyles, or researching books in the school library.

You very, very nearly joined the Equestrian Club given your fondness for horses and your previous experiences with horseback riding, but you ultimately decided to join the Gargoyle Studies Club because you simply couldn’t bear the thought that Malleus had no clubmates. It seems rather interesting, anyway—it is a very unique club idea, and maybe you could learn a lot.

However, you find that you can’t stay away from the Equestrian Club completely! Even if you are not an official member, there are times where you find yourself joining the club with their activities some afternoons when you aren’t particularly busy. Since you’re not an official member, you don’t have any club responsibilities, which is quite beneficial for you. It is mostly a way for you to have some fun with a hobby that you’ve enjoyed! It also helps that you know Riddle, Silver, and Sebek, so they ultimately don’t really mind seeing you around the club.

— UNIQUE MAGIC

✦ Reverse the Clock -> “Heal these wounds, erase all harms - reverse the clock!” As indicated by your incantation, your Unique Magic allows you to heal the wounds of others. It was born from your deep desire to help and protect others, and you discovered it a few years before you first started attending Crystal Tower Academy. A (literal) golden veil made of light stretches between your hands like silken, shimmering fabric and you drape it over a living creature to heal any injuries. It is powerful, but all things have their limits—if a wound is especially grievous, you may not be able to heal it fully. However, any healing is helpful and can still be lifesaving even if the wound is not fully reversed. You are unable to use this ability on yourself.

(Unique Magic name inspired by Rapunzel/Disney’s Tangled)

— NIGHT RAVEN COLLEGE STUDENT ID

A prestigious four-year arcane academy. Its doors are only open to students deemed to possess magical aptitude as determined by a magical artifact called the Dark Mirror.

Welcome to Night Raven College!

✦ Grade: Sophomore (2nd year) ✦ Class: 2-A (Seat No. 8) ✦ Club: Gargoyle Studies Club ✦ Best Subject: Animal languages

(Side notes: You are a student of Class 2-A, meaning that Silver and Kalim are among your regular classmates. You are the second member of the Gargoyle Studies Club alongside club leader Malleus. Your best subject is animal languages, which is something you have in common with Ruggie.)

YOUR MATCH IS…

✧ MALLEUS DRACONIA

-> [ When Malleus lays eyes on you, he thinks you have hair like sunlight and eyes like a cloudless sky. ] Immediately, instinctually, he knows what you are—you are a fae, similar to him yet distinct. While he does not often interact with diurnal fae, he is well aware of the various types of fae that would fall under that umbrella. Ah, but how fitting that your blonde hair and blue eyes would echo the colors of daytime, given your diurnal heritage. However, despite the curious pull he feels towards you, he decides not to speak to you when he sees you relaxing in the shade of a tree on campus. This is in part not to bother you, but it is also because he believes your paths will inevitably cross again. Fairies and fae are not terribly common on NRC campus, after all, and they tend to be drawn towards each other in human territories.

Still, he is a bit surprised when you appear in front of him a week or so later asking to join the Gargoyle Studies Club, but is happy to welcome you nonetheless! Malleus is very eager to have someone else to chat with about these gorgeous pieces of functional art.

-> [ Oh, he’s so very smitten with you. But your relationship progresses naturally, and could even be considered a bit of a slow burn. ] As a fae, Malleus has a slightly different sense of time to humans—but with you also being a fae, there is a good chance that you will understand where he’s coming from (although you tend to be much more punctual than him…). Still, he is not the type to rush things. He does not want to push things too far too quickly with his first friend, his first love. Malleus takes his time getting to know you, so that there is plenty of time to really open up to each other. While you two are in different classes, there are many times you happen to cross paths by chance and he whisks you off to spend time with him. You both have feelings long before the two of you officially begin your relationship.

“Sometimes I lose track of time when I’m with you. It’s a strange feeling, but not an unpleasant one.”

-> [ Perhaps fittingly, he confesses to you late one evening, while the both of you are out stargazing. ] What makes this even sweeter is that you are the one who invited him out this particular night, which makes Malleus rather giddy and excited. As the night drags on and the moon curves high in the sky, you become a bit sleepy, but still happy to be spending time with him—besides, you really want to see the meteor shower! A couple weeks prior, you discovered a nice spot at the upper edge of the NRC campus, just beyond a thicket of trees; NRC is already situated among mountains, meaning that you’re already above the rest of the glow of the lights on Sage’s Island, giving you an amazing view of the starry sky above.

Much like the first time he tried confessing to you, it’s not planned, but feels right for the moment. Sitting side by side with you in the grass, Malleus gets your attention by placing his hand atop yours. When you look at him, he leans in slightly, his words heavy with meaning. “I find myself utterly fascinated and charmed by you. If you’re interested, I’d like to officially begin courting you.”

-> [ Dates with Malleus are both planned and impromptu. ] He loves being able to invite you out to something, or if you invite him (especially then), but there are many instances where he will whisk you away without any preamble because he feels like spending time with you away from your other friends at NRC. Malleus prefers dates in quieter, less busy locations, which generally works out just fine with you - peaceful dates are much more your speed. He has no complaints if you’d prefer to stay in and have a nice at-home date. However, if there is some interesting event going on, he truly doesn’t mind checking things out with you, and will stay out for as long as you’re comfortable.

-> [ Malleus’s main love language is definitely quality time. ] Being able to spend time with his loved ones is extremely important to him, especially if he feels that his time with them is limited. Thankfully, with you being a fae with a long lifespan, he has fewer feelings of “running out of time” with you, which would be an entirely different case with any of his human companions. Other than making it a point to spend as much time as possible with you around your busy schedules, he is very verbally affectionate. He is always complimenting you, and he is rather fond of writing letters to you that express all of his sweet musings and smitten thoughts. His penmanship is beautiful and the letters are always written on such nice parchment, and he often gives these letters to you along with a small gift.

✦ ADDITIONAL HEADCANONS ->

Most animals tend to naturally be afraid of Malleus, which he was already mildly disheartened about, but this is even more so the case after he learns how much animals mean to you. He wants to befriend all of your animal companions, and is willing to put the work in and be patient. Only time will tell if they eventually grow comfortable with him!

You should show him some manga! It should be a rather funny and entertaining ordeal, and he might actually really like some of it. Malleus is well-read, certainly, but he really hasn’t delved into anything like comics or visual novels.

Neither of you are terribly savvy with human technology, which is quite endearing to those who know both of you. Malleus does get excited whenever he learns how to use appliances, however, and you are always the first person he goes to whenever he wants to show off his new knowledge.

✦ SHIP TROPES ->

-> light fae x dark fae

-> noble couple

-> affection-starved (him) x affectionate (you)

✧ RELATIONSHIP WITH…

— SILVER VANROUGE -> You and Silver are kindred spirits, incredibly similar in your overall calm, peaceful dispositions. Silver is a bit more stoic than you, a bit more reserved—and while you are not especially extraverted yourself, you are still very warm and welcoming towards others and happy to get to know them. The two of you met in class, often sitting near each other. At first, you were very frustrated with this silver-haired boy who kept falling asleep in the middle of class. How rude! you would think, especially when it happens more than once per class period. But then you started getting a little worried, because even the biggest slackers don’t sleep this often in class. Maybe he has a health condition…?

In any case, you started getting to know him when the two of you got paired together in alchemy, and the two of you became fast friends when you realized that Silver is actually a very kind, responsible person. You two often walk to classes together and study together; you stay on top of shaking him awake whenever he unintentionally dozes off, for which he is incredibly grateful! He doesn’t mean to fall asleep in class, and there are times it affects his grades.

— LILIA VANROUGE -> Lilia wants to know when you and Malleus plan on getting married! He has an outfit and wedding gifts picked out already, so it better be soon! Jokes aside, he is very invested in the relationship between you two and truly hopes for the best for both of you. He thinks that you’re amazing for Malleus, and he is so glad that the dragon fae met you. You’re so level-headed, patient, and empathetic that he hopes Malleus will mature a bit more quickly by your example. Thankfully, he does not actively stick his nose into your guys’ business very often, but he does latch onto any details that you or Malleus share with him. He loves hearing about you two.

On another note, Lilia is quite interested in the fact that you’re a diurnal fae! Nocturnal and diurnal fae don’t actually interact very often, and he can’t remember the last time he visited the sunny, nature-filled lands you hail from. He asks you for recommendations on places to see and things to do for the next time he travels there.

— SEBEK ZIGVOLT -> Remember how shocked he was upon learning that Malleus had feelings for you? Just wait until the two of you actually start interacting and he starts to learn a bit more about you. Very quickly, he shifts from calling you “that pesky girl” to using “Lady” in front of your name as an honorific once he hears about the fact that you’re fae nobility. It’s not like he would have really known beforehand, since you don’t exactly advertise that you’re from a noble house in your lands and Sebek doesn’t have detailed knowledge about the diurnal fae societies, but he is aghast at himself and is very quick to offer apologies for any offense you might have taken with his previous words.

You can’t help but dote on him sometimes, getting him little gifts and just checking in on how his day has been. For as loud and severe as he is, he can really be quite cute sometimes! Sebek can’t help but become a little flustered anytime you spoil him. “Thank you. But!! I don’t need this—ah, but I will graciously accept!”

— DEUCE SPADE -> Deuce considers you a respectable, capable, smart, pretty, charming upperclassman whom he is very infatuated with. He has such a big crush on you and the poor boy cannot hide it. Whenever he has to talk to you for more than 30 seconds, his face turns red and he starts stuttering. (Ace teases him all the time because Deuce cannot hide his feelings for the life of him). You find it a bit funny in an endearing way, and you can’t help the giggle that escapes whenever he ends up like this. Still, Deuce doesn’t make any distinct mention of his feelings, and you also avoid bringing anything up in order to prevent things from becoming awkward. Besides, once you and Malleus start dating, that news spreads like wildfire—there isn’t much to explain, and Deuce congratulates you and wishes you the best with Malleus once he learns of your new relationship status.

Crush or no crush, that doesn’t stop Deuce from occasionally seeking you out for advice on magic and classes when he feels like he is drowning in homework that he barely understands! He is trying really hard now, but Past Deuce really made things difficult for Current Deuce when he went through that rebellious phase of his prior to NRC, and as a result he could really benefit from a helpful classmate who is willing to help him master some spells. You’re great at explaining things in a way that he understands, and you have significantly more experience with magic than he does, so you have a lot of good tips.

— KALIM AL-ASIM -> Kalim absolutely adooores you! He is among your closest friends at NRC and could very well be considered your best friend. He is just so warm and friendly, and you feel very at ease around him! You try to believe in the best in everyone, but sometimes you get more than a little exhausted dealing with the rambunctious, often selfish students at NRC—thankfully, Kalim is very different from the average NRC student. Empathetic and motherly as you are, you sometimes stretch yourself a little too thin for your friends and loved ones. However, Kalim’s warm presence is very soothing and energizing for you! (He always invites you to his parties, but you do politely decline on occasion since you don’t always feel up to socializing on that scale; Kalim pouts about it for a moment, but is quick to brighten up with a “well, maybe next time!”)

You don’t interact very often with Jamil (though wherever Kalim goes, Jamil is often not far off), and he doesn’t have any strong opinions about you. Your relationship with him is a bit distant; there is something about him that sets you on edge and you feel like you can’t fully trust him. He does, at least, appreciate that you are responsible and calm—he can trust that you will not purposefully get Kalim into some ridiculous, dangerous situation.

— RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS -> Despite his strict and often harsh attitude, you can’t help but consider him cute (he would very much disagree—he is dignified, not cute). Be careful if you tease him about it! Although… he is slightly, slightly, less likely to scold you compared to the others in your dorm. Or he isn’t likely to scold you as harshly, anyways. Besides, you have a lot of respect for him because he is very capable and skilled, and he is extremely diligent in everything that he does! He very much appreciates that you tend to follow the rules and you’re not the type to intentionally cause problems for him or others.

When you start showing up to the Equestrian Club meetings on your free days (something Riddle mildly disapproves of but decides to allow since you are responsible and very good with the horses), the two of you start to get to know each other a little better. You two often start meeting up in the afternoons in the Heartslabyul dorm for tea! Also, since you’re in the same year, and you’re one of the few who actually seems relatively comfortable being in his presence, he approaches you in the days leading up to exams asking if you’d be interested in studying together.

— PROFESSOR TREIN -> Trein thinks that you’re a good egg. Polite, smart, diligent, focused in class… You’re such a breath of fresh air compared to the many unruly and boisterous students he has to teach on a daily basis. You show up to class, complete all of your assignments, and do well on exams. Ah, it’s so nice! Besides that, you get along very well with his cat! Little Lucius isn’t the most friendly of felines, but you always cheerfully greet him whenever you come into class, or when you happen to spot him wandering around the halls between classes. You are very respectful of Lucius’s boundaries, and while he is not the most affectionate to anyone who isn’t Trein, the cat does allow you to gently pet his head on occasion. A friend of Lucius is someone to be respected, in Trein’s eyes.

#user matchup #exchange #twst #♡ tilli #the length... omg... i got carried away. i was very inspired! i love writing for twst #i half-apologize for the dorm but my mind kept getting drawn towards it

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