celebrating your birthday with the twst boys hcs part 1, ft. heartslabyul and savanaclaw x reader (separate)
read part 2 here read part 3 here read part 4 here
author's note: I wrote these both to celebrate my own birthday today, as well as to celebrate the Birthday Greeting feature added to TWST EN yesterday!
general tags: gender neutral reader, sfw, hcs for both prefect and non-prefect reader, platonic and romantic hcs, food mentions, runs on the assumption that reader wants to celebrate their birthday, not beta read
total wc: 5.8k+ words (500-900 words each character)
RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS
His initial reaction depends on how long it took you to inform him about your birthday. If you tell him at least a week in advance, he’ll thank you not only for extending an invitation, but for giving him a warning—it would have been troublesome if an Unbirthday Party were to be held on the day of your birth.
If you tell him about your birthday late (or worse, inviting him to celebrate the day of it), Riddle’s face reddens on the spot, aghast and momentarily speechless, before diving into a series of complaints.
On the surface, it might seem like he’s scolding you for neglecting to inform him about your birthday in advance. The dorm’s already made preparations for the Unbirthday Party! They’re going to have to scrap all of those!
Inwardly, however, Riddle is incredibly troubled. You’re someone dear to him, so shouldn’t he have known such a special day was coming? Have you told him before? Impossible, there was no way such vital knowledge would have slipped his mind…
If he’s your friend or dorm leader, he feels terrible, and even worse if he’s your best friend or significant other.
Still, Riddle knows that he should make up for it the best he can. If there’s really no time, the gift can come later—what was important was the celebration itself.
(If you’re the Ramshackle prefect, or someone who happens to be close with Ace and/or Deuce, expect Riddle to tell them off for not telling him to halt the Unbirthday Party preparations. They should have known better!)
It also doesn’t matter whether you’re a Heartslabyul student or not—birthdays should be celebrated as that—birthdays.
If you’re a Heartslabyul student, best know Riddle is making extra sure that everything is perfect. The Rules of the Queen of Hearts state that you can eat whatever you like on your birthday, so request anything you want…
But, did the Queen say you could drink whatever you want? Would coffee still be banned? Would tea not be allowed due to that one stipulation? There’s the rule about parties and formal attire, too... Riddle thinks of all of this, seemingly stressing about your birthday more than you.
(Well, if you ask just politely enough, maybe bat your eyes for good measure, he will make an exception regardless. He’ll have the menu, the dress code, and even rose colors adjusted to your liking)
If you’re the Ramshackle Prefect, he gives you the option to celebrate your birthday in the Heartslabyul Dorm. You already spend so much time with them anyway, always a guest at their parties, always in the lounge hanging out with Ace and Deuce, so isn’t it natural to just spend your birthday with them? You can even invite your friends from other dorms if you wish to do so!
If you choose to hold it in Ramshackle, or even another dorm, well, he’ll be a tad disappointed if he’s someone close to you, but he doesn’t throw a fit over it. He can just show his appreciation for you some other way—through a gift that he certainly, most definitely did not overthink about before purchasing, or perhaps something he can do for you, like creating study guides for you or taking you for a horse ride (Vorpal, his preferred horse, would like you… he thinks).
Most importantly, he’ll be there and present for your party for as long as he can afford to be.
If you’re a Heartslabyul student, he’ll even choose to simply look away from any rule offending this one day!
If you’re his partner, he dotes on you especially so, knowing the importance of spending time with your significant other during these types of occasions. He might even ask if he can celebrate with dinner later tonight, just the two of you. He takes the chance to show how seriously he takes your relationship, and that he doesn’t see you as just a school romance thing.
Basically, expect Riddle to pay extra attention to you on your birthday—all good, of course. If there’s anything crooked in your uniform he’ll still point it out, but he’s a whole lot gentler with you. A wonderful guest.
ACE TRAPPOLA
The type to pretend he knew all along, but inwardly he’s that one meme/audio clip going “BITCH WHAT THE FUCK”. Especially if you only tell him in passing once some months ago, where he doesn’t have the capacity to put it in his calendar or notes app or something, or if you choose to surprise him on the day of (or close to the day of) your birthday.
If you have the decency to tell him in advance, he’s eagerly talking about all sorts of things you can do for your party—the different food you can serve, the drinks, the music, the party games. Ace can appreciate a good party, and there’s no way he’s letting you host one just for it to flop! Let Ace help you deal with it! Whether it be platonically or romantically, ain’t he your guy?
Hey, if you need some quick entertainment, just let him get his pack of cards and he’ll go do it! Hell, he’ll even practice some of the more difficult card tricks just to amuse you.
Ace is quite good at filling your head with all these thoughts about planning, and he’s just being so helpful without you even having to ask, that you might fail to notice the planning he’s doing behind your back. Real mischievous, he is. He’s very insistent on giving you a proper surprise, especially if you’re the Ramshackle Prefect and/or his significant other.
(And most especially if you’re the Ramshackle Prefect. With all the shit you have to put up with? You deserve it, honestly. Sure, he teases and insults you a healthy amount, but he’s just as easily a prime witness at everything you’ve been through)
If you’re the observant type, you might notice the strings he’s trying to pull—especially if he’s chosen to coordinate with Deuce and the other first years. You can leave it be, but if you call him out on it expect him to not go down without a fight. Ace is terribly good at deception and lying on the spot, so you might find yourself convinced that no, he’s totally not doing anything that special for you. Does he look like the type?
He really is, deep down, but he’d prefer to just show it and not talk about it.
However, if you tell him late, it’s far easier to see through the cracks of the façade he’s putting up to hide his shock and, quite honestly, panic. It’s difficult trying to stay cheerful when he’s quickly thinking about all the things he needs to do to prepare, and—in the Queen’s name, if he doesn’t know, then he’s betting on his life that none of the first years know too!
If you’re the Ramshackle prefect, he’s shaking Grim for not telling him anything!
You could probably catch him in Mr. S’s Mystery Shop buying party goods and presents, with him doing the haggling, dragging Deuce and Jack to do the lifting.
He’s also starting a competition over who gets you the best present. If you’re his partner, everyone rolls their eyes because isn’t it obvious? But if he’s one of your best friends along with the rest of the first years, the competitiveness does get to them. Ace has his ways. Deuce might be the number one sucker, followed by Sebek.
If you’re a Heartslabyul student like him, he contemplates when to tell Riddle about your birthday. He’s not that much of an ass to have a whole Unbirthday Party prepared the day of your special day, but he still wants a chance to poke fun at Riddle. Just a bit.
The day of, he’s definitely giving you at least one prank. He knows you well enough to know which ones you’d actually find funny, and up to what extent you can take.
Gives you a joke gift in front of everyone, and then his actual gift in private.
If you’re his significant other, Ace probably has his moment of reflection—after he told himself he’d swear off of any serious romance until a little later in life, here he was, not only in a relationship but actively making the effort to make your day the best it could be. If the mood is right, maybe he’ll tell you about it once the both of you are alone.
Maybe. You’re going to have to work hard to get it out of him, to get him to talk for just long enough without him succumbing into embarrassment. Having the tables turn when it comes to teasing is still an experience he’s unused to.
Overall, you can count on someone like Ace to give you a fun birthday. With how much time he’s spent with you, he not only has enough verbal confirmation, but lots of information regarding the things you liked and didn’t due to his observant nature.
DEUCE SPADE
This boy… regardless of whether you tell him about your birthday in advance or too close to the date itself, he has rather… dramatic and explosive reactions. Panic being the most prevalent.
If you have a heart, please tell him early; give him the time to prepare. He would still be able to work under pressure since it has to do with you, but on the day itself he wants to be focused on you and not if everything is going well and if he’s a good enough (boy)friend.
Deuce is well-meaning, so it’s very plain to see how he not only wants to give you a nice present, but how he even wants to help you in planning and setting up your celebration, regardless of where it’ll be held. He can be a bit disorganized, but with some help from you (and possibly the other first years), his dedication and hard work when it comes to making you happy really shines.
Deuce messages his mom constantly when it comes to your birthday, regardless of whether you’re BFFs or partners. Everyone thinks it’s cute, though Ace does tease him once or twice about it.
(Sebek, who admires his own mother, finds nothing funny about it. He gives a serious nod of approval)
You’re someone important to him, someone helping him on his journey to become a model student, so obviously he wants to make sure everything’s right! Because of his delinquent days, the whole preparing for birthdays thing is still new to him.
If Deuce either has a crush on you or the two of you are already together, Deuce is definitely on the receiving end of lighthearted teasing from his mother. It’s very well-intentioned, with lots of genuinely good suggestions thrown in, but he really can’t help but blush.
Anyone who can see him talking on the phone probably knows the conversation is about you due to his reaction. His Heartslabyul seniors find it quite endearing, offering their own advice as well.
(And, well, the seniors are the ones who inform either Trey or Riddle about an upcoming birthday, of which Riddle cancels not just an Unbirthday Party, but any other occasion happening that day)
Money isn’t really an abundance for him so his gift options are a little limited, but he does use up a decent portion of his allowance getting you something nice.
If he doesn’t have the time to get you anything outside, he’ll buy you something from the cafeteria. However, the closer you are to him, the more likely he’ll get you something that you can keep as opposed to something consumable. He might also have a matching one, tucked somewhere in his room.
Deuce likes to think about the future, and he does think about how, when he gets a job and has more money to spend, he’ll go gift you the things he saw through the shop windows, things out of his budget but he figures you would like.
If you like eggs, he can always make you breakfast! The two of you could even eat it together… if you want.
If you’re a fellow Heartslabyul student, or if you just decide to celebrate your birthday with them, he’s the one trying to serve you—he pours you your drink, makes sure you get the first choice of flamingo, anything to make your life more convenient. He’ll stop if you tell him to not treat you too specially, but you know he means well.
If you’re his partner, he’s like Riddle in the sense that he takes the occasion as an opportunity to prove how serious he is about you. It’s most obvious through his time and his effort, and he swears he’ll always find ways to be around you, but even more lovely is how he actually tries to voice it out.
It’s so obvious he’s embarrassed. He’s unsure if the things he’s saying are coming out the right way, if his words are romantic, if you even believe him—but you do. You should reassure him of that much.
Overall, Deuce might not be the best at actual party preparation, nor is he the absolute life of the party on the day itself, but it’s incredibly easy to look past that when you actually see not just the fruits, but the efforts as well.
(Also, he tells you his mom greeted you with a Happy Birthday as well. Most kids don’t relay their parents messages to their friends and vice versa, but the fact that he does is sweet)
“And she says you, um, can come over to our home if you want! Over the holidays!”
CATER DIAMOND
There is only one way to hide your birthday from him—if you don’t have it set on any of your social media profiles or you lied about it online, and you refused to tell him. Cater does ask about your birthday after all, especially if you’re close.
So unless you’re a particularly secretive person, Cater is more likely to find out about it early, have it stored on his phone, and the notif reminds him a good week before, allowing him ample time to prep.
Cater will also eventually tell everyone (that matters to you) about your birthday, and for some he will be the first source of news. If he’s the first you’ve told, however, expect him to keep that piece of information to himself just for a day.
Unless you’re telling him the day of, the day before, or even while he’s in the middle of doing chores for the upcoming Unbirthday Party. He’s telling everyone—in the DMs, the GCs, in the Heartslabyul lounge, you name it. He’ll be jittery in his seat during class to the point that even Idia will be compelled to ask what’s going on with him.
He’s messaging Trey something along the lines of, “So how fast can you make a cake?”
That aside, his Unique Magic (Signature Spell) is perfect when it comes to doing the preparations, no matter where you want to have it. Cater may not have as much brawn as some other students, but he more than makes up for it with his eye for design. Not only does he tailor the party based on what he knows you like, everything is designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, both to the eye and on photo.
He does get you involved in the preparations, it’s certainly more fun that way! The Cater clones, and Cater himself, are bouncing ideas off of you, constantly asking for your opinions, and of course, taking many, many pictures with you. The pictures increase tenfold on the day itself. He won’t post them if you seem uncomfortable, but, especially if you’re a close friend or significant other, he wants the memories.
(Even more so if you’re the Ramshackle prefect in addition—the uncertainty of your stay…)
While his clones happily discuss their ideas amongst themselves, Cater pulls you away from the hustle. Alongside talking about the party, he’s definitely trying to get information of what you could want—and, of course, casually looking through your room to make sure he doesn’t get you something you already have (and don’t need more of).
Cater also has pretty good investigative skills. If made available to him, he goes through your online shopping cart/wishlist to see what things you happen to want. Of course, he already does have a vague idea based on your social media likes, posts, and following.
He’s an excellent and extremely thoughtful gift giver. He’s not the type to just give based on aesthetics. Due to the presents he used to receive from his sisters during his birthday, he understands how important it is to really put the thought in the saying, it's the thought that counts.
The day of, he’s getting his club to play some music live for you! Wherever you are, it’ll be a mini concert! Some of the song selections are chosen to keep the energy of the party up, but there are some songs that are definitely chosen with you in mind. These could be songs from a genre you like, but, in particular if you’re his partner, there could be a song or two to hint at the extent and depth of his feelings for you.
If you’re close friends or his partner, he’s definitely more attached to you on the day of your birth. He’s being incredibly affectionate—physically through hugs and kisses if you’re comfortable, considering touch is definitely a love language of his, and just through spending time with you in general.
In general, Cater is a total blast to be around for your birthday. He’s incredibly good at shaping your day to be how you most like it—whether it be a party going all night, full of energy and music, or a short but meaningful one with the people you care about—it’s so clear to see every decision was deliberately made with you in mind.
TREY CLOVER
Trey goes through so much shit please, please tell him about your birthday early. He’s going to go grey early at the rate things are going in Heartslabyul, and just NRC in general.
In the case that you tell him late, he’ll understand if it’s a case of it slipping your mind, or even something about not wanting to cause a fuss about it and wanting to either do the preparations yourself or wanting something simple, but…
If you’re just a little bit cruel and you want to play a prank on him, you can ask him to help you bake a cake, or some other dessert of choice, and if you have a good enough cover story he probably will help you. When you eventually reveal the truth to Trey, he’s gobsmacked, jaw on the floor, drops a plate—
“We were baking your birthday cake?!”
Regardless, even if you tell him upfront about it he’s still going to try to make whatever you want, for as long as he deems it in his skill level. He’ll accept the help, but you can notice he’s definitely a lot more conscious with you around. He definitely can’t afford to mess up with you watching him…
If you and Trey are close he’ll let you play around with the ingredients, whether it’s throwing flour at him or smearing cream or jam on his nose (what is he, a dormouse?), but expect him to do the same to you. It won’t become a full on mess or food fight, but just enough to require your uniforms to be washed later.
If you’re together, he’ll be extra sweet on you, especially with no prying eyes in the kitchen. He’s the one tying your apron around your waist for you, spoon feeding you everything to make sure you like the taste.
If you’re bold, feel free to pull a line about how you want him to get a taste as well, before kissing him!
Trey’s the one who panics the least among the Heartslabyul members. He’s already used to rush orders from all the times he’s helped his parents, and while he would prefer to not work under stress, whether it be cooking or baking or helping set up the place, it’s easy for him to settle in the zone.
If you’re the Ramshackle Prefect or a Heartslabyul student, best know that the Unbirthday Party? Cancelled. Tea party? Cancelled. Trey doesn’t always use his Vice Dorm Leader privileges, but he uses it to convince Riddle to have your birthday party made to your liking instead. Riddle agrees, but it’s more to do with Trey (and perhaps you) being his friend as opposed to the leadership positions.
Even if you’re not the Ramshackle Prefect or from Heartslabyul, Trey is pulling strings to have other parties moved to another date. He’d want to be able to spend time at your birthday party instead of running back and forth between Heartslabyul and wherever you happen to be.
Definitely makes use of Doodle Suit (EN: Paint the Roses) on demand for you.
It’s a given that Trey will give you something he’s baked himself, taking note whether you preferred savory or sweet, what textures you preferred, as well the foods you loved and those you avoided, but if you’re close he wants to get you something you can keep as well.
If you told him about your birthday early, he might have taken the time to shop in his hometown for something to get you. If you’re together or he has feelings for you, his parents and siblings probably side-eyed him like What’s going on? Who’s this for?
He’s not particular about being secretive so he does ask you what you want to receive. If there’s something you like, just tell him and he’ll try to get it for you!
Funnily enough, the best part of the gift would probably be the little card he wrote a note on. Trey’s not known to be the best with words but it’s just so Trey that you can’t help but treasure it.
Overall, Trey is an absolute sweetheart. Compared to the others he’s definitely more of a behind-the-scenes type when it comes to preparing for your birthday, and he’s not going to be the life of the party or getting you involved in all sorts of party games, but you recognize how the party would not have been possible without his help in the first place.
LEONA KINGSCHOLAR
If you tell him about your birthday early, it might seem like he doesn’t give a shit, considering he just closes his eyes and goes to sleep. However, the piece of information is stored at the back of his mind—he’s very conscious of it, and you wouldn’t even know that he’s already had everything prepared—the greeting he’ll give you, the gift he’ll give you, all of it is prepared even before the day itself.
If you tell him on the day of, well, he’ll be a little pissed if he’s the last to find out, but what are you waiting for? You have to celebrate, don’t you? Go lead the way now, herbivore.
He gets a headache if you tell him you have nothing prepared, or have no idea on what you want to do, or how you want to celebrate.
Planning is a no… on the surface. He’s not going to be getting up to do the work himself, but the gears in his brain are oiled and working. He’s spewing out ideas based on what he already knows works best for parties, as well as what he knows you like.
Ruggie and the rest of the Savanaclaw students will be the ones doing the brunt of the work, but you can’t deny that even the lazy lion is helping in his own way.
Of course, particularly if you’re close friends or his partner, the funds for everything come from his designer wallet.
If you choose to ask Leona for help to prepare, while he (and the rest of his dorm) does deliver, the one thing you shouldn’t expect is for it to be formal and stuffy. If you want something like that, go ask someone like Vil or, ugh, Malleus instead.
If you’re together, Leona is the first to greet you (in person. He can’t beat out the rest of your friends who have their finger hovering above the send button at 11:59 pm, trying to be the first to greet you). When you wake up, you’ll find Leona somewhere in your room—maybe he’s sleeping on a chair, maybe he’s beside you on your bed. Regardless, the shuffling of your blankets will wake him, and he’s there to give you your greeting and your gift(s).
(Even though it’s your birthday, still wants to be thanked with some form of physical affection in return, likely a kiss or getting to cuddle with you and sleep in a little longer)
Leona can and will pretend to not have put too much time thinking about not getting you, not in the sense that he just got you whatever but more in the sense of, “The perfect gift just popped up in my mind naturally. I just knew what to get you from the very start.”
However, he does spend a good amount of time thinking about it. You’re one of the few people in his life he finds important, so it’s important to him that you’re happy with whatever he gets you. Expense is not at all a problem for him, thus he has way too many options to filter through.
If you’re the Ramshackle Prefect, his mind probably automatically goes to things you might need to make your life living there easier. He’s slept over there a few times, it’s nice and quiet, so he knows what you lack, what could be better.
Whether you’re the prefect or not, Leona thinks about giving you a gift based on your hobbies. During his birthday, his dorm members were a little (too) focused on his hobby of playing chess, so that probably gave him the idea.
If you’re into art, he’s going to buy some nice quality paints or pencils. Athletics, maybe dance? A nice pair of sneakers so you don’t hurt your feet while training. Do you like video games, idols, or anime? Idia gets jumpscared by Leona, who asks him where to best buy the merchandise you like.
(Idia goes, “A normie, tho an SSS tier one, who buys merch for his cultured s/o… isn’t this every broke fan’s fantasy???”)
As a friend, his gifts aren’t the most customized or unique, but you can tell he actually thought of you while picking them out.
It’s a little different if the two of you are together, though. If you’re together and the two of you are already serious about each other, well, expect not only gifts from Leona, but his family as well. He might get you something from the Afterglow Savannah in addition to the things he’s already given you—maybe an accessory or article of clothing with cultural and romantic significance.
Also, you know, you could say the Savanaclaw members being overly respectful to you is a gift in itself.
Overall, Leona’s the type who seems like he’s being very laidback about celebrating your birth, but on the day itself you notice not only the gifts piling up from everyone, but how everyone’s really treating you like you’re the star of the show, and it becomes clear Leona has a lot to do with that. This one day, he’ll spoil you openly.
JACK HOWL
Jack doesn’t seem like the type to panic over how soon a birthday is, though he would prefer knowing in advance. The most he would do is scold you if you waited until the day itself (mostly because you narrowed down his choices in gifts, and because he’s going to cancel a bunch of his plans to spend time with you. Whatever he slacks on with his workout regime for the afternoon, he’ll just have to make up for the day after)
Given his good memory, definitely remembers your birthday even without writing it down somewhere.
While Jack doesn’t outright pretend to not care about your birthday, you also won’t catch him fussing about it. If you choose not to involve him in the party preparations at all, you’ll be surprised with how he just comes up to you when you’re alone to give you your gift. Isn’t he a little too caught up with this lone wolf thing? It’s kind of cute.
When it comes to Jack, it’s far more interesting to see how his reactions differ based on your relationship to him.
If the two of you are friends, he’ll offer his help if you need any heavy lifting (or need help with any physical task) for the party preparations. It’s a good use of his strength, and he’s able to help you out—it’s a win-win for him.
He’ll try to be more involved in the planning process if you’re close—especially if you’re the Ramshackle Prefect and/or one of the first years he spends a lot of time with. To have a good celebration, everyone needs to put their best efforts, so Deuce says, so you’re all pitching in ideas on what food to serve, what music to play, and who to invite.
He’s got crazy good endurance, so if you need him to run around the place either handing out invitations, or retrieving things from the kitchen, or be your errand-runner to buy things from Mr. S’s Mystery Shop, he’s got you covered.
If he’s your boyfriend, expect him to really want you to sit back and relax. This is how he knows how to spoil you, so let him.
A typical gift from Jack would be buying you a meal either from the cafeteria or Mostro Lounge, but the closer you are to him the more he wants to get you something with a little bit more sentiment. Food is still an option, though if that’s the case, it’s more likely he’ll go out to town to look for a certain brand of snack or sweet you happen to like.
(Jokes about getting you protein powder)
For a non-consumable gift, unless you tell him (or give a hint) about something specific, Jack wants to get you something practical. Maybe he’ll get you socks themed around an animal you really like (he’ll get a little flustered if you tell him wolves are your favorite, and raise his eyebrows if you say something like a lion or hyena). Other options include a scarf, or gloves, or…
You notice how he seems to be preparing you for the cold, and you can choose to point out that it looks like he wants you to visit him in his hometown. He’ll definitely deny it, but you can rely on his tail to tell you the truth.
You realize you can get away with a lot with having Jack as a close friend or significant other. Meaning, the wolf form—as long as the both of you are away from the public, he’ll use his Unique Magic for you. Being called fluffy and cute is a lot for him to process.
You might say the best gift of all is getting Jack to cuddle with you—wolf form or otherwise. It’s your birthday, your word goes. It’s embarrassing for him either way, but because he cares for you he pushes it aside and pretends he’s really not that affected by it at all.
To conclude, Jack may not be the most honest, but you can tell he’s pushing past his comfort zone to give you a good birthday.
RUGGIE BUCCHI
Another one you should have mercy on. Tell him in advance! He’s always running around all over the place, doing this for Leona and some other responsibilities that he needs time to prepare.
If you’re a Savanaclaw student, he’s already going to get everyone (execpt Leona, clearly) to set up the place for your birthday. He says it’s Leona’s orders and everyone believes him—the privileges of being his assistant.
If you’re not, he’s coming over to your dorm to help when he finds himself free—especially if you’re from Ramshackle. He doubts the capabilities of ghosts to help you.
Hey, if Leona’s in a particularly good mood (or if Leona happens to like you as well), Ruggie’s going to have a day off to help you out, and just hang out with you in general.
He jokes around that because you’re already getting a lot of love from people, you totally don’t need him to get you anything, right?
Even if you insist otherwise, Ruggie does want to get you something tangible as a present, so he probably works an extra hour at the Mostro Lounge to buy you something from Sam’s shop (or somewhere in town, if he knows a place). It won’t be pricey, but you can tell he knows you well enough to be able to get you something you’d like.
At the party itself Ruggie is extremely energetic. Yes, he alway enjoys them for the food, but getting to celebrate someone like you is what makes this particular party special.
He’s no Kalim or Jamil when it comes to dancing, and he’s got no formal ballroom skills to date, but he can still show you a fun time on the dance floor (which is just the floors of the dorm of your choosing). Ruggie is certain to get you laughing along with him as the two of you pull out a bunch of wild and incoherent movements.
If you’re close friends or in a relationship with him, he especially wants to hog as much of your attention as possible. Is everyone’s attention on you? That’s great! But he’s more special to you than them, isn’t he?
If you’re in a romantic relationship, he’s using his time to show some PDA. He’s the type who thinks he really lucked out when it came to you, so he also wants to show that not only is he a good boyfriend, but there’s no way he’s giving you up—ever!
Though even if the relationship is completely platonic, Ruggie might still take the chance to give you some physical affection. Maybe it’ll rile up someone you like or someone who likes you! Maybe it’s to ward off someone with bad intentions—he might not be Leona or Jack… but he knows Leona and Jack, so they better be careful. And, well, Ruggie and his UM can be scary in their own right.
And, you know, you’re a comforting presence, so there’s also that!
Overall, he definitely shows his general appreciation for you through his actions, and he’s working extra hard to make sure you have a great birthday. Praise him, smile at him, and most of all enjoy yourself—he’ll appreciate knowing his efforts aren’t for naught!
masterlist
Part 2 of Sayonara, I guess?
In which Male!Reader returns to Twisted Wonderland after a year, and reunites with their boyfriend, the Housewardens/Jamil.
Hurt/Comfort. Male (AMAB and FtM-friendly)! Reader. Second chance(?). Requested by @wokasiv and @rosey-84-su.
Riddle Rosehearts
Leona Kingscholar
Azul Ashengrotto
Kalim Al-Asim
Jamil Viper
Vil Schoenheit
Idia Shroud
Malleus Draconia
"But they need a safe and secure environment!"
"And that, Crowley, is precisely why they should attend Royal Sword Academy instead of Night Raven College," Ambrose the 63rd replied. "Since when have they ever been safe and secure in your school?"
"Granted, there have been a few isolated incidents here and there, but we have been enforcing measures to make sure they do not happen again." Crowley grit his teeth, knowing Ambrose was going to back him into a corner.
Inside the large courtroom, to one side on the large wooden gallery sat fifty representatives of Night Raven College under Headmage Crowley, and on the other side, fifty representatives of Royal Sword Academy under Ambrose the 63rd. The chair in the middle of the courtroom remained empty...that was, until now.
You pushed through the heavy wooden double doors, almost noiselessly entering the court. Everyone's eyes snapped to your figure striding down the aisle to sit down in the chair. You scanned the hall, seeing many familiar faces.
If you had been unacquainted with these particular faces, you'd have thought they'd be thrilled at the prospect of you leaving NRC. However, you knew better.
Riddle sat still, his right heel impatiently tapping the polished wooden floor. He tried his best to look composed, but you could see the worry bleeding through his features.
Leona wore a faux-disinterested expression, and on closer inspection, you could see his jaw clenched, tail twitching in agitation. He crossed his arms while glaring daggers into the RSA boys that sat across the room.
Azul had his usual businessman smile, and if you blinked, you would miss the split-seconds when it quivered, threatening to give away his distress. His gloved hands gripped his knees, and he continued to make eye contact with you, as if he would be able to influence your decision.
Kalim was more open about his concerns. He had an uncharacteristically serious face, and would not look at you. He remained staring at the headmage, willing a solution into existence. Every once in a while or so, he would glance at Ambrose the 63rd, before the frown on his face deepened.
Vil was…biting his nails. You blinked. If one of the most composed housewardens had unraveled like this, you could not being to fathom how the others were truly feeling. He turned to Rook every few seconds, unable to calm himself down. Rook tried to reassure Vil that you would make the right choice, although he did not look like he believed it himself.
Next to Vil was Idia, who surprisingly came to the court in person. His omnipresent sneer had turned into a heated glower. Neige, who had tried to give Vil an apologetic smile, shrunk back in his seat from the sheer aura Idia gave off. His golden eyes almost burned into yours, unreadable.
If the other dorm leaders were stressed, Malleus was absolutely distraught. You could hear thunder rumbling outside the building, Lilia frantically trying to appease the prince with promises that his dear friend from Ramshackle would not be going anywhere.
You recalled how Grim had to be restrained prior to the hearing.
"Well, MC," Ambrose the 63rd started. "The choice is ultimately up to you."
You shifted in your seat to sit more comfortably. You looked up to the podium where the RSA headmage stood. "From what I've heard, Royal Sword Academy is just as prestigious as Night Raven College. Before I consider anything at all, I would like you to tell me what RSA can offer that NRC cannot."
Ambrose beamed. "I'm glad you asked! Royal Sword Academy believes in the comfort and convenience of its students, and you will find that your accomodations are grand and proper, and not some rickety old mansion," He stared pointedly at Crowley, who coughed into a curled fist and looked away. "In other words, we can assure your safety."
Neige and Chenya nodded encouragingly from their seats in the gallery. You gave them a small smile. "My safety…" You trailed off, looking at the housewardens, who seemed to squirm uncomfortably under your gaze. "What about your academics?"
"We follow the standard Board of Magical Education, just like Night Raven College. If you join Royal Sword Academy, you would be enrolled for free, as a gift." Ambrose continued, gesturing to the panel of RSA students sitting behind him. Most of them had heard about you from Neige and Chenya, and you were someone they had grown to admire; heroic, brave, respectable, and wouldn't they be just the luckiest if Royal Sword Academy had a student like you?
You couldn't decide which side was worse to glance at; the hopeful, glowing faces of the RSA students, or the despairing, pleading faces of the NRC students.
You chose to look at your steepled fingers resting on the cold wooden surface of the table, before clearing your throat. "I need to think about the implications of switching schools, especially with an unusual admission case as a half-student like mine. I also have to consider Grim, because he is my responsibility, and we were enrolled together as one student. If I leave NRC, how will he continue his education?"
"Oh, well he could always enroll at RSA with you too!" Ambrose smiled, as if everything had already been decided.
"I'm afraid that's not possible sir. Grim will not only have trouble adjusting to an entirely new environment, but since the teachers at NRC are familiar with his study patterns, they will be able to give him better guidance. I wouldn't want this to affect him adversely, you see."
"You would rather your familiar learn under the guidance of a villain than a noble samaritan?" Ambrose retorted, looking genuinely alarmed.
"I beg your pardon? That's not a very nice thing to say about impressionable young students, sir." You said, trying to sound as offended as possible. "They are all individuals, dealing with their own personal struggles and trauma. Why on earth would you call them villains?"
Ambrose's smile dropped, realizing he may have screwed up. Crowley perked up at your words, and a glimmer of hope flickered across the gloomy mass of NRC students.
"I apologize. It was…a slip of the tongue. However, I do have one thing that may interest you. It is something you've been looking for, for quite a long time now. Something neither Crowley, nor NRC will ever be able to provide you." Ambrose clasped his hands together in excitement, which sent unease coursing through the NRC representatives.
"Oh?" You raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What is the something that neither Crowley nor NRC will be able to provide me?" A half-agitated, half-excited chorus of whispers filled the courtroom.
"A way back home."
The final nail in the coffin.
You were stunned into silence, and so was the rest of the courtroom. Ambrose stood in triumph, sure that he had the cat in the bag.
"A way back…home?" You repeated, looking at Ambrose to make sure you hadn't heard him wrong. He nodded, his eyes twinkling. A million thoughts ran through your head as you sat in your seat. All this time, the headmage of Royal Sword Academy knew how to get you back to your world? You didn't know whether to cry or rejoice; however, you did neither, instead opting to look at the NRC representatives gallery.
Crowley's face had paled, and he buried his head in his hands in resignation. He seemed to be muttering to himself about how he "was not kind and generous enough" and that you deserved so much more than a lousy headmage like him. Your heart wobbled, and you had to look away.
Unfortunately, looking away meant your gaze landed on the students, who were naturally, staring right at you.
Ace and Deuce were gripping each other's sleeves, with almost comically distraught matching expressions. Deuce was tearing up and Ace didn't seem to be too far behind. Trey's face had darkened, and he was peering over his glasses to look at Chenya, mouthing words you weren't sure you wanted to decipher. Cater's fake, bright and cheery persona had slipped away completely, and he looked at you almost pleadingly; there was no way you would leave him like everyone else, would you? Riddle stared at you blankly, and for a moment, you could almost see the frightened little boy in him again. You had saved his life, helped him get over his trauma, and had been so kind to him inumerous times afterwards. And you would leave?
Ruggie gulped, and he searched your face for something, anything that said you would refuse Ambrose's offer and come back with them. Jack had a vice-like grip on the edge of the table, and cracks had started to form in the wood. His expression was unreadable, and his tail stood up in the air, barely moving. Leona slammed a fist into the table, yelling angrily in protest. The nerve of this old geezer to target their one weakness.
Jade frowned. Well that wasn't a very fair deal now, was it? As ambiguous as he was with others, he looked genuinely upset at this new development. He knew how much you missed your home, him missing his own quite often. Floyd's eyes were wide with murderous intent, and he would've stood up to strangle Ambrose if it weren't for Jade's pulling him back down. Azul knew this was the one thing they couldn't persuade you out of. You had a whole family, friends and places you missed, and to be entirely truthful, they hadn't been very nice to you; why would you want to stay?
Kalim started freaking out right then and there. He blubbered to Jamil, asking him to do something about it, anything that would make Ambrose take his words back. Jamil gritted his teeth, and tried to steady Kalim before he hit something and hurt himself or someone else. He knew how much this offer meant to you, and if he was you, he would've taken it in an instant. He was happy that you would finally get what you had been looking for all this time; so why does he feel his heart lift when he sees the hesitation in your eyes?
Vil stopped biting his nails, and you couldn't help but feel a little frightened when you saw the look in his eyes. It was all too familiar; you had seen it before, at the SDC after Neige's practice performance. Rook had fear etched into his knitted brows. Was this truly the outcome? He prided himself on being able to read his fellows like a scandalous magazine, and yet, he could not tell what it was that made him doubt you. He was unable to see what you were thinking, what you were feeling. Epel had started screaming profanities at the RSA students, letting his accent slip. How could those bratty, pampered boys smile in the face of their suffering like that? He thinks they were even crueler than the "villains" people thought the NRC students were.
Idia's fingers moved quickly over the touchpad, franctically researching RSA's past. He knew if there were any underlying scandals that RSA had tried to cover up, it would be sure to deter you from going. After all, what school didn't have any scandals? This would be a piece of cake, or so he tried to convince himself. Ortho did not understand what was happening. Was there a glitch in his programming? What was he feeling, and why did he dislike it? You were leaving, and that would be a bad thing. But why? Is it because you would no longer be around to hang out with him?
Malleus. He stared at you, and only you, as if there were nobody else in the room. Not Silver, who was shaking him by the shoulder, not Sebek, who was loudly expressing his worries, not even Lilia, who crouched down in front of Malleus, trying to get his attention. His eyes were blank, as if someone had blown out the light in them. You feared he would do something quite drastic if you so much as looked at the RSA students. Sebek glanced back at you, panic written all over his face. He was uncharacteristically silent, eyes pleading. Lilia frowned at nothing in general, trying to figure out why he wanted you to stay so badly when he was used to this scenario. Silver blinked multiple times, trying to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream, and that you weren't really leaving them.
You took a deep breath; you had made your decision. You dipped the pen in the ink well. The room became dead silent, only filled with the light scratching of the quill against paper. Crowley looked up, peeking through his fingers, afraid to find out what you had chosen. You stood up, and suddenly the courtroom was the most suffocating place you had ever been in.
It was almost as if everyone was holding their breath at the same time.
"Thank you, Headmage Ambrose," You started, walking up to him. The horror seemed to plaster itself onto the NRC representatives' faces one by one in slow motion, as you handed Ambrose the 63rd the paper, until... "I appreciate your offer, really. And I know you're a noble samaritan, as you say, so you'd oblige and let me take you up on that any time I wanted, right?"
"Of course!" Ambrose smiled gently.
"Then I hope you don't mind, but I'll stick with NRC. I'm rather attached, you know?"
The first thing you heard was Crowley crying out in triumph, followed the deafening cheer from the NRC students.
The second thing you heard, was a very loud chorus of "CHILD OF MAN", "HERBIVORE", "HUMAN" and "POTATO" before getting mauled by NRC in what was possibly the biggest group hug you'd ever gotten.
hi!! could you pls do headcanons for the housewardens (+jamil) with a reader that stims? like if they get nervous or excited they do flappy hands! Gn reader, and the characters are crushing on reader but they’re not dating yet please! Thank you :>
:) of course! I stim so I get it LOL
summary: reader who stims! type of post: headcanons characters: riddle, leona, azul, jamil, kalim, vil, idia, malleus additional info: romantic or platonic for most, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu
Riddle already has a high "nonsense tolerance" when it comes to you
if you were anyone else, he would get overstimulated so fast
but, it's you
and he likes you
and he puts a lot more effort into making you comfortable around him than he would ever admit
so, by all means! fidget, stim, hum, he likes all of you
and if anyone else has a problem with it, they can go through him, first
if you can live with a little teasing, Leona can live with your stims
kidding
...kind of
he would never admit it to himself, but the way you get excited is kinda endearing to him
(major cuteness aggression)
so he just can't help teasing you a tiny bit for it
lovingly, of course
Azul has an eye for detail and a love of figuring people out
and admiring observing you is one of his favorite pastimes!
he might need the information later
for... reasons.
he finds your mannerisms... interesting. your nervous ticks are so different from the other student's
then Floyd suggests you're obviously stimming; it just looks different "'cause you're on land and stuff,"
it makes sense (though he doesn't have to be so smug about it)
mystery solved
but Azul keeps staring at you, anyway. for... reasons.
unsurprisingly, Kalim loves it
if he doesn't stim already, he might just start
it's a good way to let off some energy when he's overexcited, or calm him when he's nervous
(which happens more often than you'd think)
he would be baffled by the idea that people find it annoying
or weird, or childish
if he felt like someone was staring, or about to say something to you, he'd start stimming with you
power in numbers, right?
surprisingly (or unsurprisingly?) Jamil doesn't really... care
at this point, he's dealt with everything
a nuclear bomb could go off and he probably wouldn't even react
that's a slow tuesday for him
it's only during the metaphorical nuclear fallout
(when he has that migraine he always gets)
that he'll ask you for quiet and space
and that's the very most he'll say about it
Vil isn't ignorant
he's not going to punish you for something that you find helpful
...and Rook has his little quirks, too
besides, there's nothing you could do that he wouldn't find endearing
what he will do, however, is help you manage
to your comfort, of course
there's a drawer full of stim toys in the Pomefiore lounge probably
and if not, Rook probably has a doohickey or two that can keep your hands occupied during quiet/important/etc occasions
otherwise, you're free to do whatever
I'm gonna be so real tbh I see Pomefiore as a very disability-friendly dorm and I'll die on that hill
Idia! the freak himself
(affectionate)
nah, he doesn't care
he probably has a ton of his own stims he's already super embarrassed about
so he's definitely not going to say anything to you
if anything, it makes him feel better about himself
it's cute when you do it
he starts 3D printing you toys he think you'll like, most that he designed himself
so, he does care, but... in a good way!
LMAO okay. wait
between Lilia, Silver, and Sebek, there's no way Malleus would see stimming as anything but normal
Lilia probably starts crawling on the walls like a spider when he's excited
so hand-flapping is like aw... cute! :) to Malleus
he would, will, and has stared down anyone who makes a face or a nasty comment about it
so you can be sure that no one will ever say anything mean to you about it!
like, ever again
Sorry If this one is too confusing 😭
So basically NRC (maybe Ortho too but platonic love) with a s/o that got turned into a cat by a potion mix-up, not naming names Grim and Adeuce 👀 (also, maybe reader could be like a maine coon? Idk but I love the idea of reader was a cat they would be bigger than grim but any cat is cute 😖) but the twist is that s/o is not a normal cat, but actually a flerken (If you don't know what that is, it's basically a space cat from marvel) So when Idia is petting them too aggressive or Floyd is squeezing them too tightly or if anyone is annoying them, they just open their mouth and swallow them up like a fckin snack, and maybe spit them back out when they're in a good mood leaving them so fckin traumatized. And the people witnessing it are like 🧍
I know about the Flerken! I used to be such a huge ass Marvel fan so many years ago! I fell off the band wagon right after Avengers: End Game. I even have an old fanfic posted on Wattpad for Marvel… I… haven’t worked on it in such a long time…
Please don’t attack me lol
Anyway, instead of just every character at once, I did every dorms reaction. Just to add some spice and fun to the mix!
And for the funnies
Warning: human consumption (but not gory or bloody. Just pocket dimension stuff), not part of the Big Brother Malleus writing, can be romantic or platonic (Ortho is clearly platonic)
And I do apologize for taking so long on writing this! Get distracted really easily.
Like REALLY easily. Anyway I hope you enjoy it!
“… Oops?”
Grim had no idea how it happened. He didn’t! You couldn’t possibly blame him for accidentally mixing up your drink with the potion assignment he was supposed to turn in!
But here you guys were, back in Ramshackle. Him looking up at your now fluffy fur body.
Cat.
You were now a cat.
“Listen, I can fix this!”
“Mrep…”
“Don’t doubt me hench… cat?”
Your cat self rolled its eyes and stood up on all fours. Before Grim was able to say anything, you picked him up by the scruff of his neck with your mouth and trotted out of Ramshackle.
The scene looked like a mother cat dragging away her baby kitten.
“MRAH! Let me go! I command it!”
You ignored him and went straight to the mirror chamber, hoping that one of your friends in the dorms will help you.
Heartslabyul
Ace and Deuce started losing their shit as soon as they saw Grim being dragged by a larger cat in the Heartslabyul garden.
“Grim, Who’s the fluffy one?” Deuce covers his mouth to hide his smile.
“Did you finally find your parent figure?” Ace teased.
“CAN IT, ACE!” You plop Grim down and trot over to Deuce who bent down to give you scratches.
Grim dusts himself off, grumbling under his breath. “I could have walked just fine! You didn’t have to drag me all the way here!”
You ignored Grim as you happily laid down in the grass and rolled over. Deuce’s eyes practically sparkled when you presented your belly to him, and he carefully rubbed it, making you purr happily.
“Mrah! Henchmen! Stop being difficult!” Grim shouted, his words causing Deuce to stop giving you pets and Ace to let out a strangled wheeze.
“P-prefect!?”
“Oh Sevens! What did you do this time!?” Ace crouches a bit as he begins laughing once again.
Grim crosses his arms and looks away. “I didn’t do anything! It was… it was them! They shouldn’t leave their stuff around in the first place!”
Offended! Scandalized! Wrong!
You picked yourself up from the grass and walked over to Grim…
Then swatted him.
“MRAH!?” Grim lets out a startled sound as he rubs his head. Before he was able to ask why you did that, you swatted him again. And again. And again.
Ace was on the grass floor laughing his ass off. It was like watching a cat hitting their child if they misbehaved.
“I would assume you’re finished painting the roses.” Ace stops his laughing and looks over to see Riddle, Cater, and Trey walking over. Riddle squints his eyes at the roses, seeing some of them still white and untouched by the crimson red paint.
“D-dorm Leader Riddle! We uh- we actually have a good reason why we aren’t finished!” Deuce tries to explain as he picks you up and shows you to the three upper class-men.
Cater gasps as he takes his phone out, quickly snapping photos of your fluffy figure. You only blinked at him and tilted your head, causing the ginger to squeal. “Oh my Sevens! They are totes adorbs!”
“A cat?! Why is there a cat here?” Riddle asks, his face showing confusion before he lets out a gasp. “The Hedgehogs! Are the hedgehog’s safe?! Did this cat do something!?”
“I’ll go check on them right now-!”
“There is no need to do that!” Deuce cuts Trey off. “This is the Prefect!”
There was a long pause between all the Heartslabyul students. The Three upper class-men processing what the first year just said. Riddle stares at Deuce and Ace before opening his mouth. “… what did you two do?”
Deuce sputters and Ace quickly looked offended. “We didn’t do anything! Grim was the one that did this!”
“Mew.” You let out a small meow and Cater broke out from his shock and started rapidly taking pictures once again.
Riddle groans as he takes a deep breath. Inhale, exhale… he didn’t want to blow his head off in front of the Prefect after all. “Grim, explain to me… what you gave the Prefect.”
“How am I supposed to know?! It’s their fault their water bottle and the potion bottle looked the same!”
“What was the potion you made?” Grim went quiet when Riddle asked the question. The dire-beast mumbles something under his breath and Riddle’s eye twitches. “Repeat that again.”
“It was supposed to be a Sleepy time potion! To help the drinker sleep better!”
“HOW DID YOU FULLY MESS THAT UP?!” Riddle full on shouts at Grim, causing the poor, small feline cat to flinch. “A Sleep potion? You messed up a SLEEP potion???”
“Riddle-,” Trey tries to calm Riddle down, but Riddle fully ignores him.
“In what universe could you possibly mix up a Sleep potion for a transfiguration potion?! And you didn’t even bother to check what you brought first before handing it to the Prefect?!”
Riddle continues going off on Grim, scolding him nonstop.
It was too noisy.
Your maw opens, an eldritch presence unnoticed by the others in the room, solely focused on Riddle. A single pink, flesh like tendril lulls out.
Targeting Riddle.
Nobody was able to progress what happened, it went by so fast. One second Riddle was standing right between Cater and Trey, the next he was gone. All they were able to see was a flash of… something… coming from you.
Deuce was the first one to snap out of it and let out a scream, dropping you in the process. Thank Sevens for cat-like reflexes! You landed perfectly on all hours and grabbed ahold of Grim once again, and bolted out of the Heartslabyul dorm.
Trey blinks at where Riddle was once standing, then the universe snaps him out of it. “W-wait! Hold on!”
“Suddenly… Prefect isn’t as cute as a cat anymore.” Cater spoke up as he watched Trey sprint towards the direction where you left.
“Would they even be considered a cat after what we just saw?! What the hell are they?!”
“I was giving them belly rubs this whole time… they could have eaten me too…” Deuce looks at his own hands in horror. Meanwhile Ace was cursing at the sky, and Cater was swiping through his photos he took of you.
Savanaclaw
Leona let out a loud snort when he saw Grim squirming around and getting dragged by a larger, fluffier cat then him. He had to cover his mouth to hide his smirk that threatened to break across his face.
You decided to try your luck in Savanclaw in hopes maybe Leona would help you out. He was in his third year after all!… even though he’s been held back a few times already due to being lazy and not giving a damn. Either way, you hope the lion beat-man can help.
“Prefect! Stop dragging me! You are the henchman, and I am the great mage! I should not have to be treated like this! And what was that from earlier! Why did you eat him?!”
Leona was on his way out to the botanical gardens to nap and get away from his noisy dorm. Now, he is more interested in what the hell is going on.
“Oui, Grim… who’s your new friend? Did you finally get a parent figure to treat your spoiled hind?” Leona couldn’t help tease the dire-beast as he strode over to the two of you.
When you spotted Leona making his way over to you, you casually dropped Grim off. When he was released, Grim immediately ran and hid behind Leona.
“Oui, what do you think you're doing? Get off.”
“No way! I ain’t getting close to the Prefect, after they turned into that… that thing!”
Leona looks over at your new fluffy body…
You were currently grooming one of your paws and rubbing it against one of your kitty ears.
“You turned the Prefect into a harmless house cat?”
“They ain’t a normal house cat! Nor are they harmless!”
As you were cleaning yourself, you felt a hand grab you from the nape of your neck and pulled you up. Leona held you in front of him and sniffed you… just by your scent alone he was able to confirm it was indeed you. But there was also something off with your scent, something unnatural…
“Housewarden Leona!” Leona pulls you away from him and glances over to where the voice came from, noticing Jack and Ruggie making their way over to him. Ruggie was currently eating a donut that Jack offered him just a while ago. He was even going to offer some to Leona.
“Ah, what’s with the fuzz ball?” Ruggie glances over at you and then see’s Grim hiding behind Leona’s leg, taking a bite from his guilty treat. “And what’s got you so spooked?”
“Leona, is that the prefect?” Jack speaks up.
“You smell them too, right? Yeah it’s them. Putting two and two together, I’m guessing Grim messed up some sort of potion.”
“I didn’t mess anything up!” Grim tries to protest as he looks up at Leona.
Ruggie snickers as he goes to take another bite from his donut… he never got the chance.
You lick your chops, eyes focused on the pastry in Ruggie’s possession. He noticed your intent a second too late, unable to protect his treat as you collect it like picking up a mug before swallowing it whole via tentacle.
Everyone went quiet.
You let out a small burp.
“MY DONUT!”
“THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT?!”Jack yells at the Hyena beast-men. “Did you not see what shot out of the Prefect's mouth?!”
“See? See?! I told you!” Grim points his paw at you while looking up at Leona. Meanwhile the Dorm Leader wasn’t sure on what to do in this situation.
Sensing how Leona was unsure what to do, you decided it was time to go.
When you began to approach Grim, he took a step back. “Mrah! You stay away, Henchmen!” Ah, so he was gonna be difficult…
Before Grim was going to protest once more, a single tentacle shoots out of your mouth and grabs him. All three of the Savanaclaw students just watched in horror as you gobbled up Grim.
And went on your merry way.
“… I think I’m just gonna go take a nap in my room.”
“I’m suddenly not hungry anymore…”
“… shouldn’t we go after them?!”
Both Ruggie and Leona walk away from Jack. Not that concerned about what happened, or want to be part of it.
Octavinelle
“Jade?”
“Yes, Azul?”
“Can you explain to me why there is a cat sitting on the lounge bar?”
You sat upon the bar, lounging without a care in the world. When you left Savanaclaw, you hoped that maybe Azul would help out. Unfortunately Jade found you and decided to give you chin scritches.
You really enjoyed those.
Right beside you was a bowl of water and a small plate of cooked mushrooms that Jade really wanted you to try out. He wanted to see if cats could really eat mushrooms. Since you weren’t fully a cat, they should be fine… right?
“I found them in the dorm, they looked so hungry and lost… and I couldn’t just let them be.”
“… so you decided to feed them mushrooms…”
Jade smiles as he watches you sniff your plate before digging in. He’s been watching you eat the Turkey Tail Mushroom for 20 minutes now. This was actually your second plate, and Jade was more than pleased when he saw you scarf down the first.
“These mushrooms better not be harmful! I don’t want a dead animal to scare off our customers.”
“Don’t worry, these types of mushrooms are nonlethal to both dogs and cats.” Jade assures Azul as he gently pets your head, causing you to lean into his touch and purr. Azul only squints his eyes at you, placing his hand on his chin as he comes up with an idea.
“Why don’t we use them to lure in some customers? They seem well behaved.”
Just when you heard Azul say that, you sat up and jerked your body a bit. Azul panics, thinking the worst. “Jade, you said those were nonlethal!” The dorm leader looks at Jade, who looked just as confused as they watched you make coughing sounds and your body jerking.
Then you spit out a large hairball.
A hairball that shouldn’t come out of a cat.
Jade and Azul step back as they just stare in shock as Grim was laying on the lounge's bar face down, covered in saliva.
You went back to eating.
Grim lets out a gasp like he’s been holding his breath the whole time he was inside your dimensional body. He was able to breathe just fine, he didn’t have to be so dramatic.
Drama queen.
“Grim?! What in Sevens?!”
“FIX THEM!”
Grim scrabbles to Azul, only for the Octo-mer to back away from the slimy dire-beast.
“I don’t care if I have to sign a contract! Just fix the Prefect!”
“Oya~? Is that the prefect?” Jade looks in amusement as he watches you finish another plate of mushrooms. Maybe he should have given you something… better to eat.
Azul pushes his glasses up as he glances over to you. Grim didn’t turn you into some type of house cat… no, this was more weird than that.
“Eeh~ What’s with the kitty cat?” Before Azul was able to come up with a good idea to turn you back… and to scam Grim… Floyd walked into the lounge.
You looked over at the eel twin and saw his smile widen as he began to approach you.
Red alert!
Danger!
Activate distraction!
Your body starts jerking again and you cough off something much larger. Something more human like…
Floyd stops in his tracks as he watches you cough up a slime covered Riddle. The poor redhead was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes filled with horror and disbelief.
At least he’s more calm now.
Floyd bursts out laughing as he sees Riddle, the laughter causing him to snap out of it and to finally take in his surroundings. Jade was intrigued by events that were unfolding. Azul stared in horror at the slime that was getting all over the lounge floor, wondering if it would stain at all.
Distraction successful!
You take this as your cue to leave, this time not even bringing Grim with you.
“H-hey! Prefect! Get back here!” Azul chases you as soon as you see an opportunity to escape the Ocavinelle dorm.
As you run, all you hear behind you is Floyd laughing at Riddle's misfortune, and Riddle trying to inform Jade on what’s happening with you.
Scarabia
“Jamil! Jamil, look!”
Jamil was currently finishing up the dishes when he heard Kalim come running into the dorm's kitchen. He lets out a sigh, mentally preparing what Kalim was going to show him. When he turned around to face the dorm leader, it wasn’t as bad as he was expecting it to be.
Kalim was holding you out to Jamil, showing you off to his best friend. You slow-blink at Jamil who only stared at you with indifference. When he looks up at Kalim, he just expresses how unimpressed he was.
“I found this cat trying to get into the dorm!”
“… and you just let them in?”
“They might be hungry and are trying to look for food!” Kalim smiles as he changes his position on holding you, now cradling you in his arms.
You weren’t hungry after your mushroom meal, but you were thirsty. Thankfully, Jamil was able to pick up on that and began to prepare of bowl of water for you. Right as he laid it out for you, Kamil was more than happy to put you down right in front of the bowl.
“Can we keep them?”
“Kalim, you don’t need a pet cat. And it would be a terrible idea to keep them in the dorm. Look how thick their fur is, they would overheat, I wouldn't be too surprised if you hadn’t found them, they would have blacked out.”
Jamil's words caused Kalim to deflate just a bit, but he was able to bounce back up. “What if we find them a new home? That way they would be taken care of and be comfortable!”
Jamil already felt a headache starting to form.
In the corner vision, you see something scitter across the kitchen counter. You lick your lips as you pick your head up the water bowl and zeroed in on the small bug…
It was a harmless beetle.
But you knew for a fact that Jamil wouldn’t think so.
When the vice house warden saw your attention drawn away from the water, he looked at what you were staring at… only to tense up when he saw the beetle.
“Kalim…”
“I see it! Don’t worry, I got it!” Kalim was more than happy to help. The sweet sunshine child went to grab a napkin and a glass cup. When Kalim retrieved his items, he turned towards the beetle and slowly began to approach the counter.
But this wasn’t just any type of beetle.
This bitch had wings.
As soon as Kalim made his first step, the thing spread its wings out and started to take off. The house warden let out a startled yelp, and Jamil was ready to scream bloody murder as he grabbed his magic pen.
As much as you would have loved to enjoy this little chaotic show, you didn’t want to be in the crossfire between Jamil and his magic.
Before any spells were casted, you opened your mouth and a large tendril slipped out and grabbed hold of the beetle, and just as quickly… you drew it back in and swallowed the thing.
Like a frog.
Both Kalim and Jamil stared down at you; the silence in the room felt loud.
“Oh! Thank you very much!” Kalim put down his items and picked you up, raising you above his head and spun around. “You wanted to help, didn’t you? That’s so sweet!”
“Kalim! That’s not an ordinary cat! Did you not see what just happen?!”
“I’m gonna name you Froggy!”
You only let out a small burp as Kalim gave you your new name, swaying you side to side.
Jamil was starting to feel that headache. Just when he was about to protest about Kalim keeping the ‘cat’ again, a familiar voice made its way into the Scarabia kitchen.
“Ah, te voilà, trickster!” Rook walks in the kitchen with ease as he strode over to Kalim who was still holding you. Kalim beams as he sees the Pomefiore Vice house warden. “Rook! What a surprise!”
Jamil took you from Kalim and presented you to Rook. “I’m guessing you're here for… this… please take them away from here.”
“Oh, why thank you! Word has spread that the Prefect has turned into an alien-like cat, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to take them to Roi du Poison.”
“THAT’S THE PREFECT?!” Jamil yells as his headache comes in at full force.
“Oui! I must go now! So thank you!” Rook doesn’t explain anything else as he whisks you away from Scarabia.
Kalim and Jamil just stand there in the kitchen, processing the quick retreat the vice Housewarden of Pomefiore made.
Jamil rubs his temples “ … I’m going to my room and taking a nap.”
“Ah, I’ll get the washcloth.”
Pomefiore
“CUT!”
Vil’s sharp voice echoes throughout the courtyard, making everyone in the Film Club stop what they were doing.
The Film Club was currently doing a short sci-fi horror scene. Vil wanted to give himself and his club members a challenge since sci-fi and horror isn’t their usual go to genre for filming. Thankfully, Ortho and Epel are helpful for stirring them in the correct direction.
“We’ve filmed this scene over and over… yet I feel like something is lacking in this… alien…”
Everyone looks over at one of the actors who was dressed up like a snake-mix-octopus-mix-crocodile.
The actor only gave Vil a little wiggle with his costume.
“Your acting is good, but the costume… I feel like I’m looking at a child's drawing come to life. Where did we get this costume again?”
“This was actually hand made…”
“So it is a child’s drawing come to life… truly a nightmare,” Vil lets out a sigh as he walks over to Ortho to go over the footage they captured. Epel was sitting off to the side to watch how everything was going.
“Roi du Poison!” Members of the Film Club looked over to see Rook. He was practically skipping over to Vil while holding a super fluffy cat. “I have found you an alien!”
Vil blanks as Rook presented you to him. You couldn’t help but slowly blink at Vil and meow at him. He didn’t look all that impressed by seeing you.
“This is a cat, Rook.”
“Oui!”
“Why, in the sevens, would this be an alien? It just looks like an ordinary cat you would find off the street.”
You were more than just a street cat!
Rook was already sensing you wanted to show off that you weren’t just some simple cat, so he took an apple out from under his hat.
Vil was ready to question him before Rook tossed it in the air.
You zeroed in on the fruit and opened your mouth, allowing the tentacle to zip out and take a hold on the apple, and bring it back to you. Students in the Film Club let out a scream as they witnessed the slimy appendage come out of your mouth. Vil didn’t really respond, but he begins to think on how to put you in the movie now.
“House Warden Vil! You have to let them in the short film!” Epel shouts enthusiastically.
“Are they trained?”
“Even better! It's actually the Prefect!” Rook smiles as he announces it was really you.
You nod to confirm it was, and that you understood what was going on.
Vil smiles as he claps his hands together, pleased with the new addition to his short film.
And that’s how you got to be the alien in Vils New Short Film. At first the Club members were a bit weary, but upon learning that you were the Ramshackle Prefect, they fully accepted you instead of just some weird cat Rook found.
Ortho kept staring at you in pure awe when the actors went to the scene to reveal the part of the alien. You let out a hiss and revealed the bunches of tentacles and tendrils, just a cluster of horrors.
Every moment when filming was over, Ortho kept doing scans over your new body. The results he kept getting back were quite curious.
You didn’t turn into an ordinary cat. And Ortho was intrigued by this, even going as far as to send his brother the scans and data he was collecting.
One of the scenes that the club needed to capture was when one of the characters gets taken away from the alien. And you happily delivered it.
By gobbling up your fellow Night Raven Classmate.
Members from the club screamed in horror from behind the scenes as they watched the poor victim be taken away in one gulp. Vil had absolutely no words to say as he watched you target the next sad victim.
“Rook, you mentioned to me offhand that they’ll be ok, right?”
“Oui! The Prefect has taken both Roi de Roses and Monsieur Fuzzball and spit them out in safe conditions!”
Vil raised an eyebrow as he stared at his vice Housewarden, “Define, in your words… ‘Safe conditions’.”
Just when Rook was going to answer Vil, you came padding along.
Then you coughed up the club members.
Both actors just laid there on the ground, looking absolutely wrecked. Meanwhile you just started cleaning yourself.
The Pomefiore Housewarden looked at his own club members with absolute disgust seeing them covered in questionable slime and saliva. “Both of you, shower… Now!” That seemed to have snapped the two members out of their small daze as they scrambled to get up and head to their dorms to freshen up.
“Vil Schoenheit,” Both Vil and Rook turn to see Ortho hovering towards them. “If it’s ok with you, after doing today's scenes, can I take the Prefect? I’ve been doing scans and collecting data on them. I got a message from Idia and he wants to check on them.”
“Well, Idia is more then welcome to have them. We are done for today anyway.” Vil glances over to you.
You were innocently laying on your back waiting for your next victim to pet your tum tum.
“The shots we’ve collected are better than I expected them to be. Prefect,” you pick your head up and look at Vil. “You did fantastic today.”
You slowly blink at him and begin to purr.
Ortho giggles as he moves over to you and gently picks you up. “Come on, Prefect, I’m going to take you to big brother. He’s quite curious about what you turned into… and he wants to play with you.”
You let out a small mew as you let Ortho float away with you. Vil waved Ortho goodbye as he looked over the footage, pleased with the results they got.
Ignihyde
“Wehehehe~ Prefect you have such soft toe beans~” Idia happily let you sit in his lap as he played with your tiny cat paws, he was even taking photos of you from all angles. You didn’t mind, you just sat there peacefully with your eyes closed and your tongue sticking out just a bit.
Ortho giggles as he secretly records his brother playing with you. It was too cute! Plus, their mom has been asking how Idia has been doing, and Idia has been dodging her questioning and all that. Now, Ortho can have something to send to her.
“The Prefect seems to be enjoying themselves, brother! It’s said that cats stick their tongue out when they want to be playful or are relaxed.” Ortho casually mentions the fact as he does another scan over your body. He floats over to Idia and shows him the x-ray scan of your body.
“There’s… no bones.”
“And I don’t seen a stomach anywhere, though I am detecting lots of tunnels reaching to different places.”
“Pocket dimensions,” Idia picks you up, holding you from under your front arms. “Wehehe~ you're an ultra find, Prefect. Like an SSR+ find!” Idia gets off his bed and places you in his gamer chair.
You blink at him with your tongue still out as you relax fully into the soft leather. You watch as Idia taps a few times on his hologram keyboard, pulling up photos from your acting scenes and the x-ray scans Ortho took.
“You can still understand what I’m saying, right? You didn’t turn into just a kitty cat with a smooth brain, right?”
You huff at that and fully sit up, meowing at Idia and flicking your paw at him as if saying “get on with whatever you're gonna say”.
“Perfect. Now, I’m gonna show you what you are… because you look like a cute kitty cat, but that’s your character armor. What you really are-,” Idia motions to his monitor, showing the x-rays. “-is a fleshy alien thing that looks like a large parasite crammed into your cat-like body.”
You stare at the X-ray certain of yourself. It should be concerning really, because how the hell did you turn into that thing? Just a few hours ago you were human, and now you're some type of… alien? Parasite?
Either way you look sick as fuck.
“You don’t seem to be that freaked out,” Ortho floats over to you.
To show you weren’t that troubled by it, you opened your mouth and let out a collage of tentacles. One shoots out to grab Idia’s opened bag of chips, causing the older Shroud to yelp. You bring it back to your mouth and fully consume it, spitting the plastic bag out when you were done with it.
“… make yourself at home I guess.”
“Ah! So you do have a stomach! I can see you digesting the chips!” Ortho exclaimed excitedly.
Ortho sends the X-ray video of you digesting the chips to Idia, making it pop up on one of the monitors. You watched with curiosity. Some would find it disgusting but for you- you just thought it was interesting seeing how your new body functioned.
“Now, I hope you don’t mind if we can do some tests on you, Prefect.” Idia begins putting on his lab gear, carefully watching your reaction.
Ok. Sure. Running some tests wasn't that big of a deal. You weren’t in a rush at the moment, and you were curious about what you are.
That all changed when you saw something that looked like a needle.
Before you had time to back away, Ortho picked you up. And you started yowling, trying to get out of his hold.
“Ah! Prefect, what’s wrong?” Idia turns to see his younger brother struggling to hold you, clearly confused on what got you all fussy.
“Ortho! What happened?!”
“I don't know! They just started acting up!”
Using the wonderful power of cat physics, you're able to escape from the younger Shroud’s hold. Your first instinct was to head towards the door… unfortunately it was closed and you didn’t know how to open doors with your toe beans.
Idia slowly approaches you from behind as you try to find another escape route. Idia then takes the chance to dive down to get you, but you dodge him and begin to scurry around the room. You run from one side to the other, hopping on Idia’s bed and then to his shelf with his Action figures.
“Prefect! You're gonna get hurt!”
“MREOW!” You run across the shelf, knocking down the figurines and making Idia freak out.
“NO! Those are limited edition!” You didn’t listen to Idia’s screams as you practically knocked off every single one of his figurines. You look around trying to find a way out of his room, and that’s when you saw it-
The vent!
A tentacle shoots out from your mouth as you rip the grate off the ceiling. You cast the grate in the general direction of Idia, hearing the sound of what remains of the merchandise fall to the floor. And Idia loud pitch shriek.
You hop onto another shelf and use another tentacle to give you leverage as you swing yourself into the vent. You left Idia and Ortho alone in the room.
Take that! No needles today!
Idia just looks at the mess on his floor, not really sure where to start. Ortho just floats over and pats him on the shoulder, knowing that his older brother was mourning the loss of several of his collectibles.
Diasomnia
When you were able to escape from Idia’s clutches, you immediately went to Diasomnia.
This should have been your first pick! Horton would be happy to help you!
When you entered through the mirror you went straight to the dorm lounge room, ignoring students in the process as they stopped to stare at the fluffy cat walking the halls. Some even tried to pet you or greet you, but you were on a mission!
Being this alien cat was all fun but now, it’s best to go back to living life like a normal human.
“Strange, what’s a cat doing here?” You were ready to ignore the student like you did the others, but this one was quick enough to pick you up.
You were ready to swat at them but stopped when you recognized them. Sebek held you from under your arms as he scrutinized you. “How did you get into Diasomnia?” He asks, and all you do is meow at him.
“No matter! I heard earlier that Master Lilia and Waka-sama were looking for a fluffy cat. Perhaps they were referring to you.”
“Mrew.” Yes! Take me to Horton!
Sebek positions you into a better way where he cradles you into his arms. You start purring immediately, which causes Sebek to stutter. “C-cease your purring! I’m just taking you to Waka-sama and then I'm putting you down!”
No complaints there!
Sebek begins to walk you over to the dorm's lounge room. And you couldn’t help yourself so you started batting at his tie. A few times Sebek scolds you, but doesn't have the heart to stop you.
Oh he would lose his head if he learned it was you, the prefect.
“Ah! Sebek, my boy! You're back, and it seems like you brought a friend!” You perk up hearing Lilia’s voice.
You see Lilia and Malleus sitting on the couch in the lounge, Silver pouring them tea and himself a cup as well. Lilia’s eye practically sparkled when he saw you, vibrating on the spot with excitement.
Oh no.
He knows.
“So you found the Prefect, good work Sebek.” Malleus praises Sebek as he takes a sip of his tea.
Sebek though stopped in his tracks. He was happy to be praised by his young master! But learning that it was you that he was cradling this whole time…
He drops you without thinking.
Silver was ready to take his pen out and have you land safely on the ground, but you landed perfectly fine on all fours.
Thanks to your cat-like reflexes.
“P-prefect?! Why didn’t you say anything?!” Sebek yelled at you. You only give him a glare and start batting at his foot, basically telling him you weren’t happy for the fact he dropped you!
Lilia starts cackling watching the exchange between the two of you. When you were done with fighting Sebek’s shoe, you began your walk over to the couch where everyone seemed to be resting and hop on the coffee table.
You don’t stay there for long until Lilia scoops you in his arms, twirling you around like Kalim did. “Ah! You're just so cute now, Prefect!”
Is he saying you weren’t before?
In response to that, you place your paw on his nose, causing Lilia to laugh more. Malleus hums as he watches, Silver on the other hand was starting to doze off after he took one sip from his tea.
“How long has it been since you transformed, child of man?” Malleus asked as he placed his own teacup and saucer on the coffee table.
You try thinking about how long it’s been. It had to be no more than several hours, right? Then again, you did notice how it was getting darker in the Diasomnia dorm. Didn’t you drink that potion this morning???
“Based on your silence, it’s been a whole day.” Lilia nods to his own conclusion as you try wiggling out of his hold.
A whole day?! Nope! You gotta change NOW!
“Fear not my dear friend,” Malleus gets up from his place from the couch and makes it way over to you and Lilia. Lilia smiles as he holds you out to Malleus.
“Meow?”
“As cute as you are in this form, I would prefer to have my best friend back to normal.” And with that said Malleus places his hand on your head, letting a bright green light come from his hand.
In a blink of an eye, you turn back to normal…
With Lilia still holding you up by under your arms.
“I like to be put down now…”
“Aw, but I’m still having fun!” You let out a shriek as Lilia spins you once again. Malleus couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he watched the two of you.
Silver was fully asleep now, and Sebek only stared at his hands in horror.
“I was cradling them the whole time in their cat form…”
“Were they ever truly a cat though?” Sebek whipped his head to look at Silver who spoke in his sleep.
Nobody truly understood what you were. What you turned into it.
All they hope is that it never happens again…
“Oh gods, my stomach…” you were back in Ramshackle, laying in your bed and holding your stomach. You were feeling such immense pain after leaving Diasomnia. You did eat a lot of things today in that other form, and spitting stuff out as well.
Grim was currently pouring you a glass of Bubble Soda, and set down some crackers by your nightstand… not without swiping some first. “Mrah, Silver told me this would help you with your tummy ache. How you should still eat something along with the medication he gave.” Grim hands you the packet he got from second year.
God bless Silver. Lilia did cook horrible meals, so it made sense Silver would have these on hand.
You thanked Grim as you popped a pill into your mouth and slowly drank the soda Grim messily poured.
He tried.
“I’m really sorry about today… it’s my fault you turned into some weird cat thing…” Grim apologized awkwardly as he sat at the edge of your bed.
You let out a huff and grab the dire beast by the scruff of his neck, making him yelp in surprise as you wrap your arms around him.
“I forgive you, Grim. Don’t sweat it that much, ok? You didn’t know, and you made a mistake, it happens! So don’t beat yourself over it.”
Grim whines from your hug but lets you awayway, wrapping his paws around your neck to hug you back. You also promised yourself that night that you were going to double check everything before you consume it.
Can’t have you turning into an alien cat thing again…
Unless to torture Crowley, then you would be down to do that.
Since you and Malleus have gotten into a relationship, you've become a bona-fide dragon soother. But whenever you fumble, the entirety of NRC faces the consequences.
aka the 7 times you cause ecological disasters and the 1 time it works out for you.
this is one of my favorite works i hope y'all enjoy it too
Instance 1: The Unbirthday Party Fumble
It all started so innocently, as most disasters do.
You were sitting on a bench in the gardens with Malleus, who was in one of his "look at my shiny things" moods. He had decided to show you his prized possessions from his extensive, possibly cursed, hoard. Usually, this was an easy gig. You’d nod, say something like “Wow, so shiny,” and then give him a kiss. Easy peasy.
But not today.
Because today, your brain decided to take a little vacation while your body stayed behind, stuck on autopilot.
You were half-paying attention, your focus more on the distant ruckus over at Heartslabyul’s tea party, where Ace and Deuce were most definitely in the middle of doing something stupid. Riddle was probably screaming about proper fork placement, Trey was juggling a thousand responsibilities, and Cater was... doing whatever Cater does.
You could hear the faint sounds of plates clinking and people panicking about the sugar cubes being uneven. It was practically a symphony of disaster waiting to happen.
Meanwhile, Malleus was holding up what looked like a teapot. But not just any teapot—this thing was ornate. Gleaming, intricate patterns, probably blessed by some ancient fae god of beverages. You didn’t notice any of that, though.
Instead, when Malleus asked in his deep, romantic, “I’m-giving-you-a-piece-of-my-soul” voice, “Do you like it, my treasure?” you waved him off like he’d just shown you a half-eaten sandwich.
“Yeah, yeah, sure. Looks fine.”
Silence.
Not just any silence. The kind of silence where the air pressure changes and you suddenly realize you might’ve done something very, very bad.
You blinked, finally looking over at Malleus, and oh no. His eyes were narrowed, his lips pursed, and a shadow seemed to fall over him—literally. The sky darkened as if the heavens were in on his mood. His grip on the teapot tightened, and you could swear the wind started to howl.
Oh, no no no.
The moment you realized your mistake, the storm was already brewing. Quite literally. The sky went from clear to “about to smite someone” in about two seconds flat. You could feel the temperature drop, and leaves started swirling around like they were auditioning for a role in a natural disaster movie.
You were in for it now.
Meanwhile, at the world’s most cursed tea party:
Riddle was just getting ready to pour the first cup of tea when the wind decided to yeet the tablecloth right off the table. Teacups clattered, pastries took flight, and the entire garden descended into chaos.
“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE QUEEN’S LAWS—” Riddle screamed, clutching a teapot like it was his last lifeline.
Ace, currently dodging a rogue scone, looked over at the sky. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Is this a Malleus thing?”
Deuce, who was using a sugar bowl as a makeshift helmet, shouted over the wind. “It’s always a Malleus thing! Why do I even ask anymore?!”
Cater, hair blown sideways and desperately trying to keep his phone in hand, was trying to snap a selfie in the chaos. “Guys, this is prime MagiCam content—wait, no, my phone’s gone!” He dove after it as it got carried away in the wind.
Riddle, already on the verge of a meltdown, turned to Trey, who was trying to shield a cake from the incoming storm. “I demand an explanation!”
Trey, forever the calm one, glanced up. “Well, if I had to guess, I’d say the prefect did something to upset Malleus.”
“OF COURSE, THEY DID,” Riddle shrieked, practically levitating with fury. “Why do we suffer every time they breathe near him?!”
“I don’t know, but we need to fix it before Riddle explodes!” Ace said, dodging a flying plate.
Deuce grabbed Ace’s arm. “We need to talk to them! Make them apologize or something!”
And so, in the middle of the flying teapots and pastries of doom, the group sprinted to find you, dodging airborne desserts and Riddle’s wrath.
Back at the epicenter of destruction:
You were still sitting there, eyes wide as you watched Malleus literally brood so hard it summoned a small hurricane. “Uh, Malleus…?”
He didn’t respond. Nope, he was fully in Pouty Dragon Mode™. The sky darkened even more, the wind howling, the trees bending, and you could faintly hear the sound of Ace, Deuce, and the others screaming in the distance.
Your casual dismissal of the teapot had, quite literally, ruined lives.
Before you could say anything else, the chaos squad came barreling toward you like a human avalanche, looking like they’d been through a war zone.
Ace was covered in frosting, Deuce had bits of shattered china stuck in his hair, and Trey was holding onto what looked like the remnants of a cake stand. Cater was still trying to get a selfie in, even though he looked like he’d been through a tornado.
“FIX. THIS.” Ace wheezed, dropping to his knees dramatically. “BEFORE WE ALL DIE.”
“Riddle’s about to combust,” Deuce added, his eyes wide. “Please. We’re begging you.”
Trey just gave you a calm look. “If you don’t make this right soon, I don’t know if we’ll make it to the end of the day.”
You sighed, realizing there was no escape. You’d have to face the storm—literally—and make things right.
Turning back to Malleus, you slid off the bench and stood in front of him, gently tugging on his sleeve. “Malleus?”
His eyes, still stormy, met yours, but he didn’t say anything. The wind continued to howl, the sky still dark.
“I’m really sorry,” you said, your voice soft and apologetic. “I didn’t mean to dismiss your teapot. It’s beautiful, really. I was just…distracted.”
Malleus’s eyes narrowed slightly, but the wind died down just a little. Progress.
“I’d never intentionally dismiss something that’s important to you,” you continued, taking his hand in yours. “Please forgive me? I’ll pay more attention next time, I promise.”
The storm finally started to calm as Malleus’s expression softened. The sky cleared up, and the wind turned into a gentle breeze.
He sighed dramatically, though it was more theatrical than anything. “Very well, my treasure. I suppose I can forgive you this time. But you owe me proper attention.”
Relieved, you grinned and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. “How about I give you all the attention you want right now?”
That did it. The storm completely vanished, and Malleus’s mood visibly brightened. His arms wrapped around you, pulling you close in a possessive, yet affectionate embrace. “I suppose that’s acceptable,” he murmured, resting his chin on top of your head.
Behind you, the chaos squad groaned.
“Oh, sure,” Ace said, rolling his eyes. “One cute kiss, and suddenly the hurricane stops. What even is our life?”
“Let’s just never bring up teapots again,” Deuce muttered, shaking bits of pastry out of his hair.
Cater, who had finally managed to get a decent selfie, grinned. “Well, at least we survived!”
You chuckled as Malleus nuzzled into your hair, clearly pleased with your apology. At least for now, disaster had been averted. But something told you that this wouldn’t be the last time you’d have to apologize for accidentally setting off your dragon boyfriend.
But hey, at least you had kisses to fix everything, right?
Instance 2: The compliment conundrum
It started as one of those innocent slip-ups—the kind that makes you wonder why you even opened your mouth in the first place. You were lounging by the side of the spelldrive field, watching NRC’s teams practice. Malleus, busy handling his own royal duties, hadn’t been able to make it to practice today, so you’d spent the afternoon watching Leona and his squad dominate the field.
It wasn’t like you were doing anything wrong. You were just… appreciating talent, right? And Leona was talented. You couldn’t help but admire the way he effortlessly dodged tackles, sending spells whizzing through the air with precision. The guy was annoying, sure, but he had undeniable skill.
So when you casually mentioned to Jack and Ruggie, “Man, Leona’s got some impressive moves,” you thought nothing of it.
Until you felt the ground crack beneath you.
You froze mid-sentence, glancing around as a creeping, eerie silence settled over the field. The other players stopped in their tracks, confusion spreading across their faces. The once lush, green training grounds were slowly transforming before your very eyes—the grass yellowing, the soil drying, the sky dimming. It was like nature had collectively decided, Nope, we’re out.
Jack blinked at the ground, then at you, his eyes wide with dawning horror. “Did… Did you just—?”
Ruggie, a master of putting two and two together, slapped his hand to his face. “Oh, no. Not again.”
Before you could even ask what was happening, you heard the faintest sound of rumbling in the distance, like some ancient, angry being had woken up from its nap. And that’s when the full weight of your mistake hit you.
You’d praised Leona. And Malleus, who was more possessive than a dragon guarding his hoard, definitely heard you.
“Oh, crap,” you muttered, already starting to backpedal. “Oh, crap, crap, crap—”
The drought spread faster, draining every last drop of moisture from the air. The once-pristine spelldrive field now looked like a scene out of some post-apocalyptic desert movie. Cracks snaked across the ground, the once-refreshing breeze now felt like it was straight out of the Sahara, and the remaining players started wheezing from the dry heat.
Leona, of course, was the first to piece things together. He sauntered over, glancing at the parched earth beneath his feet, then back up at you with a deadly glare.
You tried to stammer out an excuse, but Ruggie was already grabbing your arm and yanking you toward the nearest path off the field. Jack, looking somewhere between worried and resigned, trailed after you.
“Listen,” Ruggie said in a panic, “we gotta fix this now, or the whole school’s gonna turn into a wasteland.”
“I didn’t mean to!” you protested as they half-dragged you across the desertified landscape. “It was just a compliment!”
“You can’t just compliment Leona when you’re dating Malleus!” Jack huffed, sweat dripping from his forehead as the oppressive heat intensified. “You should know better by now!”
You felt a bead of sweat trickle down your temple as you tried to keep up with their frantic pace. “I didn’t know he was that possessive!”
“Oh, he is,” Ruggie muttered, glancing nervously at the sky. “And he’s sulking. You know what that means.”
You groaned. Yes, you did know what that meant. A sulking Malleus equaled world-ending storms, natural disasters, and in this case—apocalyptic droughts.
Leona, who had followed you guys, clearly had enough of this nonsense. He stomped up behind you, glaring daggers. “You’ve ruined my field,” he growled, voice dripping with irritation. “Do me a favor and never say anything nice about me again.”
“Don’t worry, Leona,” you sighed, exasperated. “I’ll only insult you from now on. Promise.”
“Good,” Leona grumbled, adjusting his collar. “Now fix your dragon before I lose my mind.”
By the time you reached Malleus, the situation had reached catastrophic levels. The entire island felt like it was one sunny day away from turning into a desert. The sky was an angry, cloudless blue, and even the birds had fled, probably deciding they didn’t want to risk spontaneous combustion.
And there, in the middle of the courtyard, sat your dragon boyfriend, arms crossed, looking as grumpy as you’d ever seen him. His aura was practically radiating misery.
“Malleus,” you called out, panting from the trek across the sun-baked campus.
He turned his head slightly, just enough to acknowledge your presence, but didn’t say a word. His lips were pressed into a thin line, his eyes narrowed, and you could practically see the pout written all over his face.
Ruggie gave you a light shove. “Well, go on. Apologize before we all die of thirst.”
You shot him a look, but he wasn’t wrong. Sighing, you stepped closer to Malleus and knelt beside him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Hey… I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He huffed, his gaze fixed stubbornly ahead. “You praised another.”
“I didn’t realize it was such a big deal,” you said softly, leaning your head on his shoulder. “I swear, I didn’t mean anything by it. I only have eyes for you, you know that.”
Malleus remained silent for a moment, but you could feel his mood softening. The tension in the air eased ever so slightly, the heat less intense, the grass no longer crumbling beneath your feet.
“I don’t like sharing your admiration,” he murmured, still not quite looking at you. “Especially with him.”
“Leona’s not a threat,” you chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “He’s too busy napping to notice, anyway.”
That earned a tiny smirk from Malleus, though he was clearly still in sulk mode. You couldn’t help but smile as you nuzzled into his neck, placing little butterfly kisses along his jawline. “Come on… I’ll make it up to you. I’ll praise you for hours if you want. No one is more worthy of my compliments than you.”
That finally did the trick. His stiff posture relaxed, and he let out a deep sigh. “Very well,” he murmured, turning his head to look at you. “I suppose I can forgive you… this time.”
You grinned, wrapping your arms around his waist and snuggling into his chest. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Malleus, now fully basking in your affection, wrapped his arms around you and rested his chin on top of your head. The sky finally returned to normal, the air cooling down, and the earth itself seemed to let out a relieved sigh.
Meanwhile, back on the now-saved-from-death spelldrive field, Leona collapsed onto the cracked ground with an annoyed grunt. “I swear, if they ever break up, I’m moving to a different continent.”
“Honestly, same,” Ruggie groaned, lying down beside him. Jack just nodded in agreement, too tired to even complain.
But as the world finally returned to normal, and you cuddled up against your not-so-grumpy-anymore dragon boyfriend, you couldn’t help but think that maybe—just maybe—you’d be more careful with your compliments from now on.
…Maybe.
Instance 3: Dinner Downpour
It had started out as an innocent evening. Just you, Malleus, and a nice dinner at the Mostro Lounge. You figured it was a good idea—a cozy meal, some quiet time away from the usual chaos. Plus, Malleus had never been to the Lounge before, and you wanted to show him a little piece of what passed for fine dining at NRC.
Everything was going smoothly. The candlelight cast a soft glow over the table, and Malleus seemed to be enjoying himself, even if he occasionally side-eyed the giant aquariums and questionable dishes swimming in ink. You were halfway through your meal when it happened. The moment that would soon be known as The Great Mostro Lounge Flood of the Century.
Malleus, eyes warm and his tone utterly princely, leaned toward you as the waiter left the bill on the table. “Allow me to cover this,” he said, reaching for his wallet—or whatever it was that dragons carry their horde in. “I would like to treat you.”
You, not sensing the danger, waved him off with a smile. “No need, Malleus. I’ve got this.”
Oh no.
If you could rewind time, maybe you would’ve noticed the way his expression faltered ever so slightly. The tiniest furrow of his brow, the faint tightening of his grip on his silverware. But you didn’t. You were oblivious. You, poor unfortunate soul, paid the bill yourself.
And that’s when the first clap of thunder rolled through the building.
It didn’t take long for things to go from zero to we’re-all-gonna-die levels of chaos. The sky outside darkened almost instantly, rain pouring down like the heavens had just decided to empty all their buckets at once. But it wasn’t just rain—oh no, this was a full-blown, hurricane-tier downpour. Lightning flashed, illuminating the shocked faces of the Mostro Lounge patrons as water started seeping in through the windows.
Inside, chaos erupted. The once-elegant ambiance of the Mostro Lounge turned into something out of a disaster movie. Jade was frantically trying to keep the dining area dry with what looked like twenty towels, but the water just kept rising. Floyd was sitting on top of a table, cackling at the sheer absurdity of it all, while Azul was on the verge of a mental breakdown, clutching his ledger to his chest as if it could somehow save him from bankruptcy.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Azul’s voice broke through the chaos as he practically teleported to your side, grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you like a maraca.
“I—I don’t know!” you stammered, still processing the fact that the place was flooding. “We were just having dinner!”
“Oh, you were ‘just having dinner,’” Azul mocked, his voice climbing an octave as the water level rose past your ankles. “Sure, just dinner—and now I’m watching my profits swim away!”
Jade appeared next, a suspiciously calm smile on his face despite the absolute catastrophe around him. “You didn’t happen to upset the prince of Briar Valley, did you?”
Floyd leaned in, grinning like a maniac. “Yeah, did ya snub him or somethin’? This is hilarious.”
Your face paled. Oh no. You replayed the scene in your head—the offer to pay, your refusal—and realization hit you like one of the lightning bolts currently striking outside. “Oh my god. He’s upset because I didn’t let him pay.”
“That’s it?!” Floyd burst out laughing, clutching his sides. “All this ‘cause you didn’t let him foot the bill? Man, that’s rich!”
Azul’s eye twitched. “Fix. This. Now.”
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal!” you protested, feeling the water slosh against your calves as the storm outside intensified. “I just wanted to treat him for once!”
“Clearly, that was a mistake,” Jade said, entirely too serene for someone standing in knee-deep water. “I suggest you… rectify it.”
“Rectify it,” Azul echoed, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Or I swear I’ll have you and your little dragon both in debt until you’re ancient fossils.”
Floyd, still howling with laughter, gave you a light shove toward the entrance. “Better hurry, Shrimpy, before we gotta start charging people for canoe rentals!”
You rushed outside, braving the storm as the winds whipped around you. The ground was already flooded, rain pelting down so hard you could barely see two feet in front of you. But there, standing in the middle of it all like some tragic figure from a gothic romance novel, was Malleus.
He wasn’t even trying to shield himself from the rain—he just stood there, soaked, staring up at the stormy sky as if summoning the wrath of the heavens. His mood was palpable, the air around him crackling with discontent.
“Malleus!” you called out, running over and nearly slipping in a puddle. “Malleus, wait!”
He glanced down at you, a flash of vulnerability in his eyes quickly masked by his usual regal composure. “I thought… I could treat you. It seems you do not trust me to do even that.”
You winced. He wasn’t angry, not really. He was hurt. You should’ve known better—Malleus was always thinking about how to show you he cared, and this was just one more way for him to do that. And you’d brushed him off without realizing the significance.
“Hey, that’s not it at all,” you said softly, stepping closer and taking his hands in yours. “I just… I wanted to treat you this time. But I didn’t realize how important it was to you.”
The storm rumbled ominously overhead, but you could feel his mood starting to shift.
You squeezed his hands, standing on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m sorry, Malleus. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I didn’t appreciate it. You always take such good care of me.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly, the tension easing from his posture. “I simply wished to show you how much I treasure our time together.”
“And I treasure you,” you said, giving him a gentle smile. “So how about this—I’ll let you treat me next time. Dinner, ice cream, whatever you want. You’re in charge.”
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “You promise?”
“I promise,” you replied, kissing him again for good measure. “But for now, maybe we could, uh… ease up on the weather a bit? I think Azul’s about to have a heart attack.”
Malleus chuckled softly, the storm clouds above beginning to break apart as the rain slowed to a drizzle. “Very well. I shall spare them—for now.”
Back inside the Lounge, Azul was clinging to his precious ledger like a lifeline, watching with wide eyes as the floodwaters slowly receded. The place was still a soaked mess, but at least it wasn’t Atlantis anymore.
Floyd, leaning against the bar, gave you a lazy grin as you walked back in, hand-in-hand with Malleus. “Well, looks like you managed to cool down your dragon, huh? Good job, Shrimpy.”
Jade smiled pleasantly, though you could tell there was relief in his gaze. “The Lounge owes you a great debt.”
Azul, drenched and looking like he’d aged ten years, just sighed. “Please. Next time… just let him pay.”
You grinned sheepishly. “Noted.”
Malleus, still holding your hand, glanced down at you with a fond expression. “Shall we continue our evening?”
You smiled up at him, feeling the warmth of his affection, even if he had almost accidentally drowned the entire restaurant. “Yeah, let’s go.”
And as you left the Mostro Lounge, water still dripping from the ceiling and Floyd’s laughter echoing behind you, you couldn’t help but think that for all the chaos that came with dating the prince of Briar Valley, it was worth every second.
Instance 4: Deserted Dreams
It all started with an innocent suggestion over breakfast. You and Malleus were sitting at your usual spot in Diasomnia, peacefully munching on breakfast. Things were nice, calm—Malleus was in a good mood, the sun was shining, and there hadn’t been any catastrophic magical incidents for a solid two days.
But, of course, you just had to ruin it.
"So," you said, casually buttering a slice of toast, "I was thinking… maybe for our next vacation, instead of going to Briar Valley again, we could head over to the Scalding Sands? I heard Kalim raving about the heat and all the festivals, and I thought it might be fun to experience a little warmth for a change."
Malleus, who had been sipping his tea, froze. He looked at you, his eyes wide and a bit too intense. "The Scalding Sands?" he repeated slowly.
"Yeah, you know—sun, sand, maybe a beach or two. Something different!" You smiled, clearly not reading the massive red flags flying in the air. "I mean, don’t get me wrong, Briar Valley is great and all, but we always go there. I thought a change of scenery would be nice!"
And that, was when the Dorms of Scarabia and Diasomnia turned into a hellish desert wasteland.
It started slowly—just a bit of extra heat creeping into the room, making you fidget in your seat. Then it escalated. The temperature spiked dramatically, and before you knew it, the dorm felt like someone had thrown open the gates to the underworld and invited the sun to personally burn it all down. You swore you could hear the sound of sand shifting beneath your feet, though you were still indoors. Indoors, for crying out loud!
Malleus sat in silence, clearly displeased. His usual dark, moody aura was now tinged with the kind of slow-boiling frustration that made you realize: you’d made a huge mistake.
Just as you were about to apologize and backpedal your way out of the desertification of Diasomnia and Scarabia, a loud crash echoed from outside, followed by a chorus of complaints.
You stepped out of the dorm and were met with chaos. The whole area around Diasomnia had transformed into an arid, sweltering desert. The grass? Gone. The trees? Withered. The nice, cool breeze that used to blow through? Now replaced by blistering heat waves. Students were dragging themselves around, sweating profusely as the once lush grounds became a scorching wasteland.
At the heart of the chaos stood Kalim, as cheerful as ever, while a very sweaty and very done Jamil stood nearby, looking like he had reached the end of his rope.
Jamil spotted you immediately and marched over, steam practically rising off his skin. “What did you do?!” he hissed, looking like he was five seconds away from spontaneous combustion.
"I—" you stammered, glancing at Kalim, who was happily waving a fan like he was at a resort.
"Isn’t this great?!" Kalim chirped, smiling ear to ear. "It feels just like home! Now we can have all the desert parties we want! Thanks for the heatwave!"
You blinked. "Um… you’re welcome?"
"No," Jamil interjected, glaring at you like you’d personally set him on fire. “Don’t thank them! What possessed you to turn Scarabia into a furnace?!”
You grimaced, wiping sweat from your brow. “It’s not my fault! I just suggested we vacation in the Scalding Sands instead of Briar Valley and—"
"You did what?!" Jamil pinched the bridge of his nose. "So because you didn’t want to vacation in Briar Valley, this happens? Do you know how long it’s going to take to get the dorm back to normal? Or the fact that I’m now stuck babysitting Kalim in what feels like the surface of the sun?"
Kalim, still oblivious to the suffering around him, beamed. “You should make up with Malleus! Then maybe we can have two vacations!”
Jamil’s eye twitched.
It didn’t take long before you were escorted (dragged) back to Malleus, courtesy of a very sunburned Jamil and a still-chipper Kalim. They deposited you at the door to Diasomnia, giving you the kind of look that screamed fix this, or we’ll make you regret it.
Sighing, you pushed the door open and stepped inside. Unsurprisingly, it was even hotter indoors than it had been outside. Malleus was sitting in the corner of the common room, his arms crossed and his gaze distant, like he was contemplating the deep mysteries of life—or brooding over your vacation suggestion. Probably the latter.
“Malleus?” you called softly, approaching him carefully as the air around him practically sizzled with residual magic.
He didn’t respond, still looking like a dragon that had just been told his gold stash was getting replaced with copper coins.
You sighed and knelt down in front of him. “I’m sorry,” you said, resting a hand on his knee. “I didn’t mean to make you upset. I just thought it’d be nice to see a new place, but if you want to go back to Briar Valley, that’s totally fine. We can go wherever you want.”
Malleus blinked, finally looking down at you, his expression softening ever so slightly. “You wished to travel somewhere unfamiliar,” he murmured, his voice low. “I should have taken your desires into account. But… the thought of you preferring another land over mine… it unsettled me.”
You blinked. “Wait, is that what this is about? Malleus, I love Briar Valley! I just wanted to try something new, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to go back. We could go anywhere, and I’d be happy as long as I’m with you.”
He softened even more, the heat in the room fading as his magic began to relax. “You mean that?”
You smiled and leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “Of course I do.”
His arms, once tense, reached out to pull you into his lap, holding you close as if the idea of you slipping away to some other land without him had weighed far too heavily on his mind. You snuggled into him, feeling the last traces of heatwave melt away into nothing but warmth and comfort.
Malleus nuzzled his face into your hair, his voice a soft rumble. “Then we shall go wherever your heart desires. As long as we are together.”
You chuckled, pressing another kiss to his jaw. “Okay, deal. But, uh, maybe we avoid any more heatwave-related disasters? Jamil might actually combust next time.”
Malleus chuckled softly, his mood lightening as he held you close. “Very well. I shall spare them from further torment… this time.”
And as you cuddled into him, the remnants of the desert wasteland outside slowly returning to normal, you couldn’t help but think that as long as you had Malleus (and could keep him happy), the world—weather catastrophes included—would be just fine.
Instance 5: Fashion Fiasco
You and Malleus were at one of Vil’s fashion shows, sitting in the audience with everyone else as Vil strutted his stuff on the runway, looking absolutely flawless as per usual. The lights sparkled, the music boomed, and Vil practically radiated beauty and grace in an outfit that could only be described as something plucked straight from a dream.
"Wow," you breathed, eyes wide as you watched Vil pose dramatically at the end of the runway. "Vil really does look amazing, doesn’t he? Like, how is anyone supposed to compete with that level of perfection?"
Malleus, sitting beside you, went absolutely still.
It didn’t register right away. You were too busy marveling at Vil’s next ensemble to notice Malleus stiffening beside you, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. But as the next model waltzed down the runway, you felt a sudden chill in the air. Literally.
You blinked. Was it just you, or was it… colder? You glanced up at the ceiling, frowning as tiny snowflakes started to drift down from nowhere. The air grew icy, your breath visible as the temperature plummeted in mere seconds.
"What the—" You stood up, just in time to see the entire fashion show being transformed into a literal winter wonderland. Snow was now falling heavily, frosting over the runway, the lights, and, most importantly, Vil’s perfect hair.
The shriek that followed was one of pure, unbridled horror.
“No! My HAIR!” Vil screeched, desperately clutching his head as snowflakes clung to his golden locks, which were slowly wilting under the weight of the ice. “This is a disaster!”
Models fled the scene, their designer clothes dragging through snowdrifts that were rapidly accumulating on stage. The music cut off, the audience panicked, and Vil looked like he was about five seconds away from declaring the end of the world.
Amidst the chaos, Rook Hunt stood in the middle of the snowy storm, spinning in circles with glee. “Magnifique!” he cried, twirling with open arms as if he were auditioning for a Broadway production of Frozen. “The raw beauty of nature meets the elegance of fashion—oh, how the world has blessed us with this miracle of frost!”
“ROOK!” Vil screeched again, eyes wide and wild as he tried—and failed—to maintain some sense of composure. “This is NOT a miracle! This is a CATASTROPHE! My show—my hair!”
Epel, looking somewhere between terrified and confused, rushed up to you, nearly slipping on the snow-covered floor in his haste. “We need your help!” he gasped, grabbing your arm and shaking it with the desperation of someone who knew what was at stake here. “You have to do something! Malleus is causing the storm!”
You blinked, still processing the fact that this wasn’t just some freak weather event but a full-on emotional meltdown from your very moody fae boyfriend.
“Malleus is… mad?” you asked, finally connecting the dots.
“Of course he’s mad!” Epel huffed, snowflakes clinging to his own purple hair. “You complimented Vil! Now he thinks you like Vil more than him! We’re all gonna freeze to death if you don’t fix it!”
“Oh… oh no.”
It took a few minutes (and a shove from a panicked Vil) to find Malleus, who had retreated to the far corner of the room, looking like a grumpy snow dragon with his arms crossed and snowflakes swirling around him. His expression was dark, brooding, and way too dramatic for someone who was causing a blizzard in the middle of a fashion show.
You approached cautiously, trying not to slip on the ice that was now coating the floor. “Malleus?” you called softly, inching closer. “Are you… okay?”
He glanced at you, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I see you were quite taken with Vil’s appearance today.”
You blinked, a bit thrown off by the sheer seriousness in his tone. “Uh, I mean… yeah, Vil’s always beautiful. But, um, you know that’s just how he is. It’s his whole thing.”
Malleus’s frown deepened. “So you find him more beautiful than me.”
Oh. Oh.
You nearly facepalmed at the realization. “Malleus, no, that’s not what I meant!” you rushed to say, waving your hands in a flustered manner. “Vil is beautiful, but you—you’re, like, otherworldly! You know, fae beauty and all that. No one could possibly compare!”
Malleus eyed you warily, his lips pursed. “So… you do not prefer him over me?"
“Of course not!” you said quickly, stepping closer to place a hand on his arm. “You’re the most beautiful person I know. No one comes close to your level of magnificence, I swear.”
There was a long, heavy pause. Then, ever so slowly, the storm began to die down. The snowflakes stopped falling, the icy chill in the air dissipated, and the temperature returned to normal. Malleus’s expression softened, his moody sulk fading as he looked down at you with a much gentler gaze.
“Is that truly how you feel?” he asked quietly, his voice tinged with vulnerability.
You smiled up at him, standing on your tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Of course, Malleus. You’re my favorite, always.”
Malleus visibly brightened at that, his usual regal aura returning as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close in a warm embrace. “Very well, then. I shall forgive this transgression. But only because you have reassured me of your affections.”
You giggled, snuggling into his chest. “I’ll make sure to tell you more often how beautiful you are.”
Vil then walks directly up to you and stares you down. "If you're done wrecking my show, could ypu please keep your dragon in check?"
All you can do is grin sheepishly at him.
Instance 6: Gaming Shenanigans
It all started because of that one last raid. You and Idia were deep in an epic gaming marathon, tackling a boss so difficult that even Idia—self-proclaimed gaming god—had to break out his limited-edition controller. It was all good fun, hours flying by without you even noticing, as you spammed attacks and worked together like the perfect gaming duo you were.
That is, until Idia hit you with a question that made your stomach drop.
"So, uh, aren't you supposed to, like... do something tonight?" Idia asked, mid-battle. His voice was a little too casual, almost like he already knew the answer but was waiting for you to figure it out yourself.
You froze for a split second, still pressing buttons but no longer fully paying attention. Something... tonight? What could he—
Oh no.
You had plans tonight. With Malleus.
Specifically, your nightly walks around campus, which had become somewhat of a ritual. Every night, you’d stroll through the darkened grounds, hand-in-hand, talking about anything and everything. It was Malleus’s favorite part of the day—something he eagerly looked forward to.
And you’d… forgotten.
Your eyes darted to your phone, which was lying face down on the desk, completely ignored for the last several hours. You didn’t even need to check it to know what you’d find: missed calls, unread messages, probably a voicemail or two from Malleus, wondering where you were.
"Oh no," you whispered, voice barely audible over the sounds of explosions and battle cries on screen.
"Wait, what?" Idia’s character paused for a second as he glanced at you. "Did you just say 'oh no'? What 'oh no'? Are we talking minor 'oh no' or, like, 'I've-angered-a-final-boss-oh-no'?"
You gulped, heart sinking as you realized just how much trouble you were in. "Um... the second one. Definitely the second one."
Before Idia could even react, the room went dark. The power cut out so fast, you barely had time to process it. The glow of the screens, the hum of electronics—all gone, leaving only the soft pitter-patter of rain against the window.
Idia's horrified gasp echoed through the sudden silence.
"No. No, no, no, no, no—this can’t be happening! We were in the middle of a raid!” His hands flew to his hair, the blue flames flickering wildly as panic set in. "Dude, you forgot your dragon?!"
The color drained from your face as the gravity of the situation fully hit. “I—um—got distracted?”
Idia’s eyes widened, and he stood up so fast his chair rolled backwards. "Distracted?! You forgot about your nightly walks with the dragon fae, and now we’re sitting in a power outage caused by his emotional spiral?!”
In the faint glow of Idia’s flame-lit hair, you saw Ortho zip into the room, looking far too calm given the circumstances. “I detected a sudden shift in weather patterns around campus. It seems like the storm has caused a widespread blackout. Should I assume it’s related to Malleus Draconia’s emotional state?”
"YES!" Idia practically screeched, pointing at you in betrayal. "They ditched Malleus for gaming, and now we’re all suffering the consequences! Ortho, tell them to fix it, please! I beg you!”
Ortho turned to you with his usual chipper smile. “I suggest you go to Malleus and make amends before the entire campus loses power. I’ve already calculated a 98% chance that further emotional distress will result in structural damage to the dorm.”
Idia groaned, burying his face in his hands. “This is why you never piss off boss-level boyfriends. It’s just common sense.”
So, that’s how you found yourself trudging through the stormy night, rain soaking your clothes as you made your way to find Malleus. The lightning flashed overhead, thunder rumbling ominously as you approached the usual meeting spot for your nightly walks.
And there he was—standing alone, looking very much like the picture of heartbreak. His tall figure was framed by the pouring rain, his expression a perfect blend of hurt and brooding. The storm seemed to swirl around him, almost as if it were a physical manifestation of his emotions.
“Malleus,” you called out, rushing toward him, your voice barely audible over the sound of rain. “I’m so sorry!”
He turned slowly, his eyes glinting in the dim light. “You did not answer my calls.”
“I know, I know! I got caught up in a game with Idia, and I didn’t check my phone, and—well, now we have a blackout.”
His lips twitched ever so slightly, his gaze softening just a fraction. “You left me waiting, and the storm came.”
You winced, feeling a pang of guilt. “I didn’t mean to forget about our walk. I love spending time with you—I swear.”
Malleus let out a soft sigh, his shoulders relaxing just a bit. “I do not wish to be a burden to you.”
“Burden?” you echoed, stepping closer until you were right in front of him, the rain pouring down between you. “Malleus, you’re not a burden. I love our walks. I love spending time with you. I just… lost track of time. That’s all.”
For a moment, there was silence, the only sound being the rain hitting the ground. Then, to your surprise, Malleus looked away, a faint hint of vulnerability in his expression. “Do you… truly mean that?”
Without thinking, you reached up, gently cupping his face in your hands. “Of course I do. There’s no one I’d rather be with.”
Malleus’s gaze softened further, and slowly—so slowly—the storm began to quiet. The rain lessened, the wind died down, and the oppressive atmosphere that had settled over the campus lifted. He stared at you for a long moment, searching your face as if looking for any sign of doubt. When he found none, he finally let out a soft chuckle, the corners of his mouth turning up in a faint smile.
“You always manage to calm me,” he murmured, leaning into your touch.
You smiled back, feeling warmth spread through your chest despite the cold rain. “I guess I’m just good at soothing dragons.”
Malleus raised a brow, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Perhaps.”
The rain had stopped entirely by now, leaving only a light mist in the air. You let out a relieved sigh, brushing some stray raindrops off Malleus’s cheek before standing on your tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips.
“I’ll never forget our walks again,” you whispered against his lips, earning a quiet hum of approval from him.
“I shall hold you to that,” he replied, his voice warm with affection. “Now, shall we take that walk?”
You nodded, intertwining your fingers with his. The world felt calmer now, the storm gone, replaced by the soft glow of moonlight breaking through the clouds. Malleus’s mood had lifted entirely, and as the two of you strolled through the now-quiet campus, you couldn’t help but feel content.
And, of course, Idia and Ortho’s screens flickered back to life, much to their relief.
Instance 7: Dessert Disaster
The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and you were about to partake in a picnic with none other than Malleus, Lilia, Silver, and Sebek. Everything was perfect. The blanket was laid out beneath a sprawling tree, food arranged carefully across it—courtesy of Malleus himself, who had spent hours in the kitchen the night before, preparing what he considered to be the pièce de résistance: a pie.
Not just any pie. No, this was a Malleus Draconia-crafted masterpiece. The filling was made from rare berries he’d harvested himself, the crust baked to a perfect golden brown. You could practically smell the love (and maybe a little lightning) that had gone into it.
Malleus, with a glint of pride in his eyes, carefully handed you a slice. "I hope it meets your expectations, my love."
You eagerly took a bite, eyes widening as the flavors exploded on your tongue. It was amazing. No, better than amazing—it was downright phenomenal. How did he even manage to bake something this good? A prince of darkness and a master chef? This was unfair.
"This slaps," you declared, totally unaware of the impending doom those words were about to unleash.
The moment the words left your mouth, you noticed a visible shift in Malleus’s expression. The proud smile he’d worn just seconds ago faltered, his brow furrowing in confusion. His green eyes darkened, clouds suddenly appearing overhead. You could feel the electricity in the air as the temperature dropped.
"I see," Malleus murmured, voice tight. "So… you dislike it."
Wait. What?
You blinked, realization dawning far too slowly. Oh no.
Before you could correct him, Malleus was already raising his hand, a faint crackle of magic sparking between his fingers. You could practically hear the thunder rumbling in the distance as he stared down at the pie slice in your hand, preparing to smite the poor, innocent pastry.
"No, no, no, no—wait!" You waved your arms frantically, standing up so fast you nearly tripped over the picnic blanket.
Sebek, meanwhile, had already leapt to his feet, eyes blazing with righteous fury. "How dare you insult Master Malleus’s baking?!" he shouted, fists clenched. "His skill is unmatched, and yet you have the audacity to call his creation—"
"Sebek." Silver’s voice, calm but firm, interrupted the impending tirade. He was still sitting, but his eyes were half-open now, watching the situation unfold with mild concern. "They didn’t mean it that way."
Lilia, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He was absolutely delighted by the chaos unfolding, his laughter ringing out across the clearing. "Oh, this is too good!" he cackled, practically rolling on the blanket. "I haven’t seen this much excitement at a picnic in centuries! You modern humans and your strange expressions never fail to entertain!"
You shot him a look that screamed, Please stop encouraging this.
Silver, bless his soul, finally spoke up again, this time turning his attention to you. "You might want to explain before the weather gets worse." He nodded toward the now very ominous-looking clouds gathering above Malleus.
Right. Explaining. You could do that.
You turned back to Malleus, who still looked like he was contemplating whether to zap the pie or not. You could tell his feelings were hurt—his brow was furrowed, his lips set in a tight line. And the thought of him feeling like that, all because of a misunderstanding, made your heart clench.
"Malleus," you said, stepping closer and reaching for his hand. "When I said ‘this slaps,’ I meant it’s really good. Like, insanely good. Amazing. Best pie I’ve ever had."
Malleus’s stormy expression faltered slightly, though the dark clouds remained. "But you said it ‘slaps.’"
"That’s modern slang," you explained, gently squeezing his hand. "It’s a compliment. I promise."
Malleus blinked, the magic at his fingertips dissipating as he processed your words. "So… you enjoyed it?"
"Absolutely. You knocked it out of the park with this pie." You gave him your most reassuring smile. "I could eat the whole thing."
The storm clouds began to thin, sunlight peeking through once more. Malleus tilted his head, considering this new information, and slowly—very slowly—a smile returned to his face.
"It pleases me to hear that," he said, his voice softening.
Meanwhile, Sebek was still standing there, sputtering indignantly. "W-Well, if that’s what they meant, then… of course Master Malleus’s pie is the best! I knew that all along!"
Lilia, still chuckling, waved a dismissive hand at Sebek. "Oh, calm down, boy. No harm done. Besides, now we know modern slang! What other fascinating phrases do you have, I wonder?"
Silver sighed, finally sitting up properly. "Maybe let’s avoid any more slang for today."
With the situation calming down, you took the opportunity to lean in closer to Malleus, brushing a soft kiss against his cheek. "I’m really sorry for the confusion," you murmured. "You’re an amazing baker, and your pie is delicious. I meant that, okay?"
Malleus’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly at the affection, and he gave a small nod. "I believe you."
Feeling a wave of relief wash over you, you pressed another kiss to his lips, slow and tender, savoring the warmth of his skin and the way his hand gently squeezed yours in return. The last of the clouds above you finally cleared, leaving the sky blue and bright once more. The storm was over, and everything was at peace again.
"Shall we enjoy the rest of our picnic, then?" Malleus asked, his voice much lighter now.
You nodded enthusiastically, sitting back down beside him. "Absolutely. And just so we’re clear—your food? Total banger."
Malleus raised a brow, clearly still unfamiliar with the term but now much more accepting of your strange modern ways. "I see. I shall take that as a compliment."
Sebek, still recovering from his earlier outrage, grumbled something under his breath, but you didn’t care. Lilia was still snickering, Silver was finally getting comfortable again, and Malleus was happy. Everything was right in the world.
And hey, now you knew—if you ever wanted to spice things up at a picnic, all it took was a little modern slang.
Instance 8: Destruction of NRC (Well, almost)
Crowley’s “magnanimous nature” was, quite frankly, killing you. Whether it was sorting mountains of paperwork, being sent on endless errands, or handling Grim’s regular chaos, you were exhausted. Every muscle in your body ached, your eyes had dark circles deeper than any pit, and you were pretty sure you were on your third day of functioning on nothing but caffeine and sheer spite.
Grim, bless his fiery little heart, watched you from his perch on your bed, tail flicking in irritation as you barely managed to drag yourself into Ramshackle after another long, thankless day.
“Ugh, henchhuman! You look like death warmed over,” Grim sniffed, narrowing his eyes at you. “How long do you plan on letting that featherbrained Crowley walk all over you?”
You groaned, flopping face-first into your pillow. “As long as it takes to survive this semester, Grim. No one else is going to deal with his nonsense. Not like I have a choice.”
Grim was silent for a moment, watching you with uncharacteristic concern. Then, in a low mumble, he said, “Well, I’ve had enough. You’re my henchhuman, and I won’t let him destroy you.”
You thought Grim was just being dramatic. But when you woke up the next morning to the sound of distant thunder rumbling ominously across the sky, you had a very, very bad feeling.
By the time you made it to NRC, the situation was in full swing. You arrived just in time to witness Crowley practically on his knees, looking like a man who had stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale—barely.
The sky above NRC was pitch black, clouds swirling and crackling with magic as the wind howled through the campus. A storm of epic proportions had descended, and it wasn’t just any storm. This was a Malleus Draconia-grade storm. The kind that didn’t just bring rain or wind—it brought devastation, and everyone was cowering indoors, peeking through windows, afraid to go outside.
Crowley spotted you immediately, rushing over with his cape flapping dramatically behind him as he stumbled, nearly slipping in the mud.
“Please,” he cried, hands clutching your shoulders as if you were his last lifeline. “Please, you must calm him down! I beg of you, prefect, do something!”
You raised a brow, half-expecting some pitiful excuse, but the Headmaster, in all his avian glory, had gone straight to the begging stage. “What did you do this time?” you sighed, knowing it had to be his fault.
“I did nothing! Absolutely nothing! Well, perhaps I’ve… been a little harsh on you, but that’s no reason for him to destroy the entire campus!” Crowley wailed, looking pitiful as a gust of wind nearly knocked him off balance.
“I’ll pay you! I’ll pay you an actual wage! I’ll give you a budget to renovate Ramshackle, and I’ll personally sponsor your vacation! Just please—stop him before there’s nothing left of Night Raven College!”
You blinked. Did… did you just get a salary offer? And a vacation? And a renovation budget? This was new.
Before you could process the sheer absurdity of the situation, Professor Crewel passed by with his coat dramatically billowing in the wind. “Honestly,” he muttered under his breath, “about time that birdbrain faced some consequences for his incompetence.”
Professor Trein, walking with his trusty feline Lucius, shook his head gravely. “At this point, the Headmaster deserves everything that’s coming to him.”
“Do you not see the storm?!” Crowley shrieked, pointing to the lightning that was now dangerously close to striking the bell tower.
Both professors exchanged a look before continuing on their way, Crewel muttering something about how this was Crowley’s mess to fix.
You couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of satisfaction seeing the Headmaster squirm. But at the same time, NRC was at risk of being blown off the map if you didn’t act soon. And judging by the way Grim was laughing maniacally in the corner, proudly declaring how he “fixed” your problems, this was going to be on you to clean up.
With a sigh, you gave Crowley a nod. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. But if you go back on any of those promises—”
“I won’t!” Crowley promised, hands clasped as if in prayer. “I swear on the very foundation of this school, you will be compensated!”
You rolled your eyes but turned on your heel to head toward Diasomnia. The storm seemed to know you were coming, the wind parting just enough to allow you passage. The moment you stepped into the courtyard, the thunder seemed to quiet, though lightning still flashed ominously in the distance.
And there, standing at the center of it all, was Malleus. His expression was dark, eyes glowing faintly as he stared up at the storm he’d summoned. His hands were clasped behind his back, and even with his composed stance, you could sense the simmering frustration beneath the surface.
You approached carefully, calling out softly, “Malleus?”
His head turned slightly at the sound of your voice, though he didn’t fully look at you. “Ah, my love. I see you’ve arrived.”
You moved closer, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Grim told you what’s been going on, didn’t he?”
“I cannot stand to see you work yourself to exhaustion for that foolish crow,” Malleus muttered, still staring at the storm. “He takes advantage of your kindness. It is unforgivable.”
You couldn’t help the warmth that spread through your chest. He was genuinely upset—for you. But, you also couldn’t let NRC be reduced to rubble, and you needed to calm him down before it got worse.
With a soft chuckle, you stepped in front of him, gently cupping his face in your hands. “It’s okay. I appreciate how much you care about me, but you don’t have to destroy the school over this.”
Malleus’s eyes finally met yours, the storm above softening ever so slightly. “But you’re suffering.”
“I was,” you admitted, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “But not anymore. Crowley’s going to make it up to me—he promised me a wage, a renovation budget for Ramshackle, and a vacation.”
That seemed to catch his attention, the storm clouds above beginning to dissipate. “A vacation?”
“Mhm,” you nodded, leaning up to brush another kiss against his cheek. “In fact, I was going to ask if you’d like to come with me.”
Malleus blinked, his earlier frustration melting into a look of surprise—and then, a small, pleased smile tugged at his lips. The storm overhead faded into nothing, the sky returning to its usual clear blue.
“I would be honored,” he said softly, pulling you closer to him. “A vacation, just the two of us. That sounds… delightful.”
You grinned, pressing a final kiss to his lips, feeling his arms wrap around you in return. “It’s a date, then.”
And just like that, the storm was over. NRC was safe, and more importantly, you had managed to calm your dragon—and score a well-deserved vacation in the process.
As for Crowley? Well, you’d make sure to enjoy every moment of watching him squirm while you cashed in those promises.
[Pretty Little Baby]
Synopsis: Grim thinks back on how he got to NRC with you next to him.
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort (?), Songfic: Pretty Little Baby by Connie Francis
Notes: Spoilers for book 1 through 6. Doesn't go into specifics, but it does say who overblots. GN! Yuu! Reader
Pairing: Platonic! Grim x Reader
Grim doesn’t remember where he came from or much about anything from his past. It wasn’t something he liked to dwell on, cause, frankly, it was rather uncomfortable and it made his stomach churn at the little he did remember.
After all, who would like remembering being all alone, starving, and freezing?
Instead, Grim wants to find something to fill in that gaping void in his memory. And what better way to prove his worth than by being a great mage, and the best way to do that is going to Night Raven College, one of the most prestigious schools for mages!
So he waits, patiently waiting for the day the black carriage picks him up. Though as days turned into weeks, he can’t help but feel antsy. Perhaps the carriage got lost on the way to him! No matter, Grim the Great can wait.
Then the weeks turn into months and that bad feeling creeps into his body once more, and he doesn’t feel too good anymore.
Pretty little baby Pretty little baby
But no matter! He wasn’t going to let that get him down, so he’ll just have to find a way to get to Night Raven College.
It took a while to figure out how to get to the school. For starters, it was really far away and there was no mirror he could jump through. So he had to physically walk there. It was hard getting anywhere with his small legs, and he found himself getting tired a lot.
Sometimes he tried to ask for directions or for some food, but most people either ignored him or were scared of him. There were more times than not that he had to dig through the garbage or snag some treats when a vendor wasn’t looking to get some food in his belly.
Those days where people caught him in the act and chased after him were the most exhausting.
It wasn’t too bad though. He could find an occasional car to hitch a ride on, and some days, he’d find some really good food lying about. The canned tuna he grabbed from that little shop in that small town was one of the best finds he had during his journey.
And though it took a very long time, he did find a ferry that took him to Isle of Sages. Slipping off of the ship, he could see the school in the far distance. Grim would never tell a soul about how vision grew watery at the sight.
Pretty little baby, you say that maybe You'll be thinkin' of me, and try to love me Pretty little baby, I'm hoping that you do Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, yeah
It was rather easy to sneak onto campus, not that he had to sneak in! He was going to be a student after all. Now all he needed was a robe to blend in, and the rest should easily fall into lap. So off he went to find where all the new students were at.
It was a massive school, and Grim did find himself turned around a few times. Eventually, he found himself in a room full of floating coffins and he knew he had hit the jackpot. Now, all he had to do was pry open one of those bad boys and he’ll be set!
Though he never anticipated meeting you.
Right out of the gate, you were jumpy and wide-eyed. Almost as if you had no idea what was going on, but Grim didn’t have time for theatrics. Time was ticking and he needed to get the robes that adorned your body.
Yet you didn’t give in so easily. Instead, you ran and ran until the headmaster, Crowley, caught the both of you and treated him like some random house cat that had gone astray. It was ridiculous and insulting to be treated as such, but the older man was quick to silence him before he had a chance to really lay into him.
Then the whole fiasco at the orientation ceremony happened. All he did was try to show that he deserved to be at that school, but it only ended up getting kicked out of the school and shooed away like some troublesome animal. His stomach started to hurt at this point, and the bad feeling felt worse the moment it started to rain.
So he ran back onto campus cause he wasn’t gonna give up so easily, you know! He’ll find shelter for the night and he’ll continue showing them that he deserves a spot in their classrooms. Just you wait!
You can ask the flowers, I sit for hours Tellin' all the bluebirds, the bill and coo birds Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you Ooh-ooh-ooh
Though that’s when Grim saw you again in that dingy building outside of the castle. You looked just as surprised as he felt, but he wasn’t going to admit it. You were just a magicless human anyways.
Yet you kept surprising him. You were actually helping him out. When the ghosts came, you told him where to send his spells. When Crowley showed up, you did the same thing again. You convinced the headmaster to let him stay. Granted as a janitor, but that was a work in progress!
When that jerk of a redhead called the Great Grim a weasel, you were quick to scold him for his rude words—Weirdly, that had left a different feeling in his tummy.
But since meeting that kid, Ace, things spiraled. The Great Sevens statues were scorched, they got assigned to clean windows, Ace tried ditching and with the help of another freshman, Deuce, the chandelier in the cafeteria shattered, and they were on the verge of being expelled.
By some miracle, Crowley promised them a chance if they found a magestone from the dwarfs’ mine. It seemed like an easy job, but the four of them were quick to find that it wasn’t.
There was a terrifying monster lingering behind, guarding the key thing that kept him at Night Raven College. The monster was big and scary, and it had Grim shivering as it loomed over his small body.
But again, you surprised him. You swept him up, ran out there, and somehow managed to get the two idiots to work together to defeat the monster. Maybe you really were a beast-tamer or whatever Crowley called you.
Because of what you did, you somehow got all four of them to not get expelled. And most importantly, you managed to make yourself and him actual students enrolled at the school.
Perhaps, it wasn’t so bad to keep you around as a hench-human.
Now is just the time, while both of us are young Puppy love must have its day Don't you know it's much more fun to love While the heart is young and gay?
You weren’t from this world. That’s what you told the three of them the next day, and it would explain the panic you had the first time Grim met you. He’s quick to push that thought to the back of his mind as his stomach churned at the memory.
You didn’t get a chance to adjust once you became a student. The both of you were thrown into classes right off the bat, and it was awful. As first-years, they don’t give you a lot of chances to use actual magic, not that you could, but it was still incredibly boring.
Despite that, you took everything in stride, even when he tried to run from classes, and soaked up all the new information like a sponge. You were checking out books in the library to learn more about Twisted Wonderland and read it in the little time you found.
Unfortunately, Ace wrapped the two of you in his problems again. Stealing a slice of a tart had landed him with a collar from the Heartslabyul housewarden, Riddle. So many things happened in such a short amount of time, but it ultimately ended up with Riddle overblotting.
That day was terrifying. Blot oozed everywhere like sickly black ink and clung onto the ground where the housewarden stood. His attacks were strong and harsh, nearly hitting Grim a few times. He was lucky you were there to warn him and guide him and everyone else.
Because of you, they beat Riddle and he went back to normal. And as much as Grim wished it was the last of it, trouble seemed to follow the two of you like a shadow.
Cause there was another overblot with Leona, the housewarden of Savanaclaw.
Then, the next overblot was Azul, the housewarden of Octavinelle.
One more overblot with Jamil, vice-housewarden of Scarabia.
Again. It was Vil, housewarden from Pomefiore.
Yet there you stood, helping everyone by telling them where to send their spells and calling out incoming attacks with each overblot. You never got angry and you didn’t shun anyone out after that. You treated every person you met with kindness, even those who overblotted or those that put you in harm's way. You never blamed them.
You never blamed him.
You didn’t yell at Grim for signing a contract with Azul to get a good exam score. You didn’t shout when you had to give up Ramshackle to try to set him free. You didn’t scold him when he was exhausted from walking to the oasis and you had to silently scooped him into your arms, even when he was sure you were tired as well. You didn’t chase him away for scratching you after the events of the VDC.
Even after Idia from Ignihyde overblotted and you both went back to the privacy of the broken-down Ramshackle dorm, you didn’t do any of those things.
Instead, you bent down and wrapped your arms around his small body and sobbed. You kept saying things like, “I’m so happy to see you again!” and “I was so worried about you!”
Grim couldn’t help but wept right there with you. And he vowed to try not to make you worry anymore.
Meet me at the car hop or at the pop shop Meet me in the moonlight or in the daylight Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you
Among those hectic days, you sometimes talked about your home. Sometimes you talked about it at great lengths, telling memories of your previous life or about something that isn’t familiar in Twisted Wonderland. Other times, you sneak in a reference or a word that isn’t in the common language—That especially gets Ace, Deuce, and Epel trying to get you to teach them slang or jokes, most of which goes over Grim’s head.
Though sometimes, you don’t bring up memories. You don’t bring up funny jokes in your world or neat little facts that could only exist in your world. No, you don’t even speak at these times.
Instead, your world comes out in little songs. The songs you sing vary in style. One moment you could be singing a pop song about partying, then the next a ballad about a loved one. There are few you come back to often as they were your favorites.
He doesn’t know if you notice it, but your voice easily carries out in the broken-down dorm. For example, he could be downstairs, playing with the ghosts and he could hear you singing upstairs as you clean up some of the abandoned rooms in case any guests decide to stay over.
Funnily enough, there are other students that do take up some rooms. Mostly it is the first years, though other students from the other years come and go. Grim has seen Leona sneak in occasionally and Silver when he can’t quite make his way back to Diasomnia. The nights that the look-alike brothers decide to crash in the dorm for whatever reason makes his fur stand on edge the most though.
But he likes it most when it’s just you, him, and the ghosts. You don’t sing when there’s other people around.
Now is just the time, while both of us are young Puppy love must have its day Don't you know it's much more fun to love While the heart is young and gay?
Luckily, today was one of those days where there was no Ace, no Deuce, no housewarden, no vice-warden or any in between. It was just you, Grim, and the ghosts—And you were singing one of your favorite songs.
Grim had just finished an assignment from Professor Trein and the smells from the kitchen were wafting up the stairs with your singing accompanying it. His stomach was already grumbling and he caught the scent of tuna in the air. Nearly drooling, Grim bounds out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
Your singing grows louder, your voice bouncing with a cheery lilt. Grim can’t keep the smile off his chubby face as he peeks into the kitchen. The rice cooker has 10 minutes left on the rice, there’s shredded cabbage washed and draining in the sink, there’s a pot of hot soup simmering on the stove, and you have a jar of pickled veggies that are ready to be plated once the food is done.
In the midst of it all was you, dressed in an apron that Trey gifted to you. You’re standing in front of the stove with a spatula in hand and looking down at a pan of sizzling oil with half-cooked tuna patties you promised to make for Grim. Your mouth moves to form the lyrics and you’re doing a little dance in your spot, never keeping your eyes off the pan.
Not wanting to hide away anymore, Grim steps into the room and your eyes easily tear away from the stove to meet his gaze. There’s a bright smile adorning your face as you turn to face him while setting down the spatula. He jumps into your open arms and you hug him close to your chest, still singing sweetly.
There, you nuzzle into his furry cheeks, cooing, “Pretty little baby!”
Grim thinks this one is his favorite song too.
Meet me at the car hop or at the pop shop Meet me in the moonlight or in the daylight Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you Ooh-ooh-ooh
The food was delicious, and, though he ate a lot, you always made sure to make extras in case he wanted more tomorrow. Sometimes, you bring it with you so he could snack on it between classes. Ace says you spoil Grim too much, but you always disagree.
Still, now that it was late and his tummy was full, he was getting really sleepy. But he couldn’t sleep just yet because you always made him brush his teeth thoroughly while you were getting ready for bed. Even though he groans about how tired he was, he waited for you every night.
Why? He realized he didn’t like sleeping without you since he was by himself at S.T.Y.X.
When you stepped out of the bathroom in pajamas and freshly brushed teeth, Grim was quick to usher you into bed. You only giggled in response, making sure to turn off the light before following him into your shared bed. You slipped underneath the cover, and, like every night, you pulled Grim in and curled him against your body.
“Goodnight, Grim,” You said softly, pressing a kiss against his forehead. With a small purr slipping out without him meaning to, Grim could feel the sleepiness seep into his mind. With your humming a soft lullaby in his ear, he can’t help but snuggle closer to you.
Compared to his quiet and sad life that he lived before…This life in Ramshackle was different.
Better, he would say.
Pretty little baby I said pretty little baby Oh, now, pretty little baby
Here, with your arms wrapped around his smaller body, Grim can feel the coldness slip away and turn into warmth.
Here, with your cooking filling his tummy with amazing and piping hot meals, Grim can feel his hunger fade away.
Here, with you at his side, Grim can feel his loneliness disappear.
He can’t wait for tomorrow to come.
"Prefect, have you seen Rook anywhere?"
Epel looked distraught. He had spent the last three hours searching for his upperclassman, only to come up empty handed. He was now searching the courtyard again to no avail and was hoping you could give him a hand.
"Oh, yeah. He's been following me around all day," you answered.
"What?" Epel looked doubtful. His eyes scanned the empty paved path behind you. "How do you know?"
"Watch this."
You raised your hands above your head, forming a nice ring shape. No sooner did you lock your fingers together in the air than an arrow whizzed between your arms. It struck the ground right in front of Epel and chipped off part of the sidewalk.
Epel let out a swear and stepped back. "Wha' in tarnation was that!?"
You let your arms fall back down. "I think it's some kind of game. Rook hasn't actually spoken to me since he started doing it, but it's kinda fun. We've been practicing."
Hello! I was wondering if you could do the Dormleaders' reactions to Yuu who, given that they're from another world, is immune to any and all magic spells.
Example: Riddle's 'Off With Your Head' doesn't make a collar on their neck, 'King's Roar' doesn't affect them at all, 'It's A Deal' doesn't take anything from Yuu and acts like any ordinary contract, etc.
However, this means any healing spells has no effect, forcing Yuu to heal on their own.
Thank you for reading this!
type of post: headcanons characters: riddle, leona, azul, kalim, vil, idia, malleus additional info: romantic or platonic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu
out of all the dorm leaders, Riddle would be the most annoyed
...not that 'Off With Your Head' would've done much, anyway
you have no magic to take away
but... it's the meaning!
it's symbolic!
even a plain old collar would be punishment enough
but he can't even do that!
hopefully, you're not the type to misbehave, so he won't have to worry about it
if you are...
...expect to spend a lot of your week trimming the hedges around Heartslabyul as punishment
Leona doesn't even know until his overblot
...well...
until after his overblot
everyone keeps going on about how lucky you are
(personally, he doesn't see what's so great about being magic-repellent, but sure)
he's... glad you're okay
not that he'd ever admit that...
just don't let it get to your head, alright?
being immune to magic means both bad and good spells
and he's not going to be sanding you again anytime soon
Azul is PISSSSSED lmao
all that work he's put into his latest business venture
and for what??
you're not even BOUND by his contracts!
he has a hard time saying goodbye to Ramshackle...
what a nice cafe it would have made...
but, still
there's got to be some way he can use this to his advantage
he's an adaptable man
and he's always looking for a new assistant
Kalim is only a little disappointed
first, you can't even cast a spell
now you can't have any cast on you?
you're missing out on all his great party tricks!!!
but... oh, well
he thinks of it as an adventure, or a fun challenge
magicless parties sound kinda cool, right?
and Jamil says it's probably for the better, and Kalim trusts his judgment
(...for now, at least, cough cough)
not counting the... VDC incident, Vil doesn't care
unlike your annoying friends, he has no reason to curse you
and he can certainly think of many magicless punishments should you ever misbehave
so, no
not really something that crosses his mind
even when you're unwell (because, of course, he's the first to tend to you), he prefers using natural remedies before magical ones
to him, it's just another piece of the strange puzzle that is you
honestly what is Idia going to do
open the gates of hell on you?
nah
even boring spells would be too much effort for a guy like him
he does find you kinda interesting, though
I mean, being immune to magic in this place is a total buff!
imagine a group of NPCs firing magic at you, and you're like, wham! whew! zoooom!
...in his own words, anyway
(it's not actually that cool)
Malleus...
where do I even start?
he's so reliant using magic that he can almost sense there's something different about you right away
one on hand, it's a good thing
he worries about you, you know? the students at this school can get... unruly
on the other hand, knowing that you won't respond to magical healing is... worrying
he tries not to think about it so much
his overblot is a different story, though
if he can't put you to sleep, what can he do? trap you at NRC with him forever?
actually... I take it back, he'd totally do that
The dorm leaders and Ortho (in his brother’s place) go to MC’s world and end up at Build-a-Bear workshop.
Suddenly MC’s peaceful day out turns into watching a bunch of over grown kids.
(I got the idea from this post. This is my first time writing a character gender neutral, so I apologize if there’s any mistakes and be sure to let me know so that I can corrected them.)
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Rivalry
summary: After Grim loudly claims that you’re "the only one allowed to be my hench-human forever" in front of Ace and Deuce. Deuce takes it very seriously. He’s suddenly determined to prove he’s the better choice to be your number one by showing it to you through various means. And now you have a love struck Heartslabyul student and a jealous cat monster fighting for your attention.
pairing: deuce spade x gn!reader
warnings: very dialogue heavy, the usual stupidity that comes with heartshackle.
word count: 1.6k
Lunch had started like any other day. You, Grim, Ace, and Deuce were crowded around a table, eating and chatting between bites. Grim, as usual, was stealing from your plate despite having his own food.
"Ugh," Ace groaned. "Pairing us up for alchemy project without even letting us choose? That's unfair!"
"It's Crewel," you said.
"Seriously, we're the ones who have to suffer." he huffed, "What if we get stuck with some lazy bum who expects us to do all the work?"
You wanted to comment that knowing Ace's grade in alchemy, he would be the one to drag his partner down but you instead settled on a shrug and said, "It's supposed to teach us teamwork."
Ace scoffed. "More like it's teaching me how to carry someone's dead weight. What about you guys? Who'd you get?"
"I got some guy from Pomefiore," you answered, poking at your food. "He seems nice enough."
"Eh, how lucky," Ace mused. Then, he turned to Deuce. "And you?"
Deuce, who had been oddly quiet, frowned slightly. "Some student from Ignihyde. He barely talks."
"Yikes." Ace shook his head. "Bet you wish you had a better partner, huh? If you could pick anyone, who would it be?"
Deuce hesitated. He looked at his plate, thinking for a long moment. Then, as if the answer had been obvious all along, he turned to you.
"The Prefect, probably."
You blinked in surprise. "Me?"
Deuce nodded.
"You're reliable. You actually try to get things done instead of slacking off. If I had to do a project with anyone, I'd want someone I can count on."
You laughed, a little flustered. "That's a nice compliment, thank you."
Before the conversation could continue, Grim suddenly slammed his paws onto the table, nearly knocking over your glass of water.
"NO WAY!" he barked, fur bristling. "No one gets to be their number one but me!"
Ace burst into laughter. "What!?"
Grim turned to you, puffing out his chest. "You're the only one allowed to be my hench-human forever!"
Silence followed his statement.
Ace recovered first, snorting. "Whoa, where's this coming from? Who's trying to steal your 'hench-human,' furball?"
Grim scoffs. "No one! I'm just sayin' you two dunces don't stand a chance."
"Grim. This is not a competition." you sighed.
"But we're a team!"
There was no arguing with him when he got like this. "Sure, Grim. Whatever you say."
Satisfied, Grim went back to eating, clearly believing the discussion was over.
But…
"So, you're saying anyone who wants to be their number one has to prove they're better than you?" Deuce asked, his expression serious. Something about the way he said it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Grim scoffed. "No one's gonna do that 'cause no one's better than me!"
Deuce frowned, but his expression quickly turned determined. You didn't like that look.
"Alright," he said, clenching a fist. "Challenge accepted."
You stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"I'll prove I'm the better choice to be your number one!" Deuce declared, eyes burning with conviction.
Grim shot up. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"No! You two are not doing this!" you raised your hand to grab their attention, but your words fell into deaf ears as Grim and Deuce had a stare-down.
You let out a sigh for the nth time that day.
Deuce and Grim were not lying when they took 'being your number one' as a competition. The very next morning you had to deal with them.
Deuce was already at your side, reaching for your bag.
"I'll carry that."
"Deuce, I can carry my own bag."
"But I should do it," he insisted. "A good partner helps out however they can."
Before you could protest, Grim leapt onto your shoulder.
"Well, I help out by keeping 'em company! Try beatin' that!"
Deuce frowned, considering something. Then, his eyes brightened with realization.
"I could walk them to class every day."
Grim gasped in offence. "I already do that!"
"Yeah, but I'll make sure they actually get there instead of wandering off and getting roped into trouble."
"Myah! No, I don't wander!"
"Okay!" You stepped between them before a fight broke out. "That's enough!"
The two of them turned to you expectantly.
You exhaled through your nose. "Look. I appreciate the thought, really. But I don't need to be walked to class. I don't need someone carrying my stuff. And I definitely don't need you two constantly trying to one-up each other!"
There was a long pause.
"... So what you're saying is," Deuce began, rubbing his chin, "I need to do more than just carrying things?"
Grim's ears flattened. "That's not what they said!"
Ace smirked, seemingly enjoying the scene. "Wow, Prefect, tough crowd today."
I need new friends, was the only thought that occupied your mind all the way to your class.
When lunchtime rolled around, you expected to enjoy a quiet meal. If anything went wrong, Riddle would definitely collar both Grim and Deuce. So, you were not worried about anything actually going wrong.
Unfortunately (well, fortunately, but Grim got involved) Deuce had gone ahead and brought you lunch.
"Here," he says, setting your food in front of you before sitting down. "You like this stuff, right?"
You blinked. "Yeah, but…"
"What do you think you're doin'?" Grim butt in.
"Just helping them out." Deuce frowned.
"Oh yeah?" Grim huffed. "Well, I always share my food with them!"
Which was the biggest lie anyone would ever hear from Grim. You had to fight him off every time his paw would reach for your food.
You turned to stare at Grim. "Grim. You literally steal food from my plate."
"Myah! It's called sharing!" he insisted, crossing his little arms, then turned to Deuce. "Besides, what makes you think the hench-human wants you buyin' their food, huh?"
Deuce stiffened, suddenly looking uncertain. "I mean… I just thought–"
"Hey, if you're bringing people lunch, I wouldn't mind one too," Ace cut in, grinning as he reached for your plate.
"This isn't for you," Deuce smacked his hand away without hesitation.
"Ooh, I see how it is," Ace snickered.
"There's nothing to see," Deuce said quickly, ears turning pink.
You sighed, shaking your head. "Deuce, I appreciate it, but you don't have to bring me lunch."
"I wanted to," he said, stubborn as ever. His eyes were set with the same determination he had when he swore to be your number one.
"Then I should be the one doin' it!" Grim declared, puffing out his chest.
You shot him a look. "Grim, you steal my food."
"You're missing the point!" he said, scrambling for some sort of rebuttal. "I don't need to bring lunch to be the best! I got charm! And loyalty! And–" He trailed off, ears flicking as he struggled to think of more reasons. Finally, he threw his paws up in frustration. "And I am the Great Grim! And I don't see you tryin' to be a better number one than me!"
"Because I don't just say it. I prove it." Deuce said in a smug tone.
Grim slammed his paws on the table. "Fine! I'll prove it, too!"
Deuce met his challenge head-on, slamming his own hands on the table. "Fine!"
"Keep this up and Riddle will come here and collar both of you," you grumbled, which shut both of the idiots up.
"What are you doing, Deuce?" you asked the boy with a toolbox in your dorm. Something always kept happening, and you were on your last straw.
He cleared his throat. "I noticed your door's been sticking out, so I thought I'd fix it."
You blinked at him. "Deuce. That's… actually really nice."
You barely had time to be touched by the gesture before a blur of gray fur shot past you.
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!"
Grim skidded to a halt in front of the door, standing his ground like a knight protecting their master.
"I already fixed it!"
Deuce frowned. "You did?"
"Yeah! Used my claws to pry it loose!"
You slapped a hand to your forehead. "Grim, that's not fixing it–"
"But I did it for you!"
Deuce narrowed his eyes. "I can actually fix it. Properly."
"Like I'd let you take my job!" Grim's fur stood on their end.
And then they started arguing again. Right outside the door.
It took forever to separate them, and by the time you did, you had enough.
You planted your hands on your hips. "That's it! I am done with this stupid competition! Stop this nonsense!"
Deuce and Grim froze.
Grim blinked up at you. "Huh?"
You exhaled, dragging a hand down your face. "Look. I get it. You both want to be my 'number one', but you don't have to prove anything to me."
Deuce bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You're both important to me," you continued. "And I don't need ridiculous competitions or going out of your way to do things for me to prove that. Just be yourselves."
There was a beat of silence. Then Grim huffed, crossing his little arms. "Fine. But I still say I'm your number one."
"Grim." You glared.
"What? You said I don't have to prove anything!"
Deuce let out a quiet chuckle.
You turned to him, exhausted. "And you. Are we done with this?"
A faint pink dusted his cheeks. "Yeah. Sorry about that."
"Good."
You closed the door behind you, rubbing your temples. You couldn’t help but think about how much energy had been wasted on this ridiculous competition. You had things to do. Assignments to finish, a half-broken dorm to manage, and you had to handle the biggest troublemaker in NRC.
As you sighed, relieved the ordeal was over, Deuce hesitated before speaking.
"But if I did have to prove something, it wouldn’t just be about being your number one." He swallowed, his usual determination wavering. "I… I like you." His face was burning now. "Not just as a friend. I– I wanted to show you that."
Grim gagged. You ignored Grim, meeting Deuce’s nervous gaze. Then, you smiled. "You didn’t have to prove anything for that, either."
His eyes widened, then softened, lips curving into a grin.
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A Place for me to reblog fics i love so that i dont have to keep digging through my main to refind them. TBT = To Be Tagged
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