Panic Attack Protocol
đ/đ: THIS IS PLATONICCCCC!! and also adore the friendship grim and the player has ă ă they're so sweet, OMG giving me cavities~
đđ: panic attack, tickling
đđđđđđđ: first years x reader
đđđđđ: 2360
đđđđđđđ: @luxaryllis @thegoldencontracts @waterthatsmoe @oya-oya-okay @writingattemptsxx
It started with nothing.
Just another lunch period. Another tray of food, another corner table in the cafeteria. Grim sat across from you, happily scarfing down a plate of grilled tuna curry, humming off-key. The room was loudâlike alwaysâbut not more than usual.
And then⊠it wasnât usual anymore.
Someoneâs laughter behind you spiked too sharp. A fork dropped. The clatter crashed through your ears like glass. You flinched.
âHey,â Grim said, looking up. âYou okay?â
You opened your mouth, but no sound came out.
Your chest had tightened suddenly. The air felt heavyâwrong. Your vision narrowed. The lights above buzzed louder than they ever had before. Every scrape of metal, every burst of laughterâit was like you could hear everything, all at once, and none of it made sense.
âHenchman?â Grim tried again. âYouâre looking weird. Like, really weird.â
Your hand twitched. The fork slipped. The clink echoed like thunder. Your heart jumped.
You couldnât breathe.
You couldnât breathe.
You stood up fast. Too fast. The cafeteria spun. The noise surged around you like waves crashing in. Your throat locked. Your eyes stung. You backed away, bumping into a chair, then stumbling behind one of the pillars near the vending corner. You crouched down, arms wrapping around your knees, trying to hold yourself together.
You werenât crying. You werenât screaming. But your body was breaking down like it didnât know how to exist anymore.
Grim rushed over, skidding to a stop beside you. âHeyâhey! Whatâs wrong? Whatâs happening?! Say something!â
You couldnât.
Your jaw was clenched. You were shaking. Your breath came in shallow gasps, too fast, not enough air.
Grim froze. âNo, no, noâokayâokay, Iâll be right back! Iâm getting help! Donât move! Stayâuhâalive!â
And then he was gone.
You werenât sure how long you sat there. Ten seconds? Ten minutes?
The cafeteria noise kept rising, falling, crashing against your ears. Your body felt like it wasnât your ownâlike a cage you couldnât escape.
And thenâ
"MOVE ASIDE! THEYâRE OVER HERE!"
A sharp voice cut through the storm. Someone stomped upâloud, commanding.
âJack?â you thought.
ThenââThere!â Another voiceâDeuce, breathless. âOh manâPrefectâ!â
More footsteps. A low whirring. Someone yelling about âemergency student assistance.â All of it blurred. But somehow⊠safer.
âTheyâre not talking!â Grimâs voice shouted, panicked. âTheyâre justâshaking, and they canât breathe, and I think theyâre dying!â
âGrim,â Jackâs voice said firmly, âtheyâre having a panic attack.â
âWhat the hellâs a panic attack?!â
Jack crouched beside you, calm and solid. âItâs okay. Iâve seen this before. [Y/N], can you hear me? Iâm gonna stay right here, okay?â
Your head twitched slightly. That was all you could manage.
âYouâre not alone,â Jack said. âYouâre safe. Focus on my voice. In⊠and out.â
âIâI donât think they can,â Deuce said. âTheyâreâlike, completely locked up.â
Ortho knelt, his voice soothing and steady. âSymptoms confirm acute panic. Recommendation: tactile reset via positive sensory override.â
âHuh?â Epel asked.
âTickling,â Ortho said plainly.
Ace blinked. âSeriously? Thatâs the plan?!â
âItâll force their brain to respond to sensation instead of panic. Itâs unorthodoxâbut it works.â
âTickle therapy?â Epel repeated, skeptical. âMan, Night Ravenâs got weird first aid protocols.â
But Jack nodded. âDo it gently. Just enough to ground them.â
âPrefect?â Ace said carefully. âItâs just me. And Iâm gonna do something dumb, but youâll forgive me because Iâm charming.â
And thenâ
Poke.
A jolt of surprise snapped through your ribs. Your body twitched.
âS-see?â Ace said. âStill with us.â
Another poke. A wiggling scribble. You hiccuped.
âWhuhâwhaâstopââ
âBoom! There it is!â Deuce cried, relief washing through his voice.
Epel grinned. âOkay, Iâm in,â and started lightly scribbling behind your knee.
âNohohoâwait!â You gaspedâbut the sob got caught in a laugh.
Jack didnât tickle you, just rested a steady hand against your back. âThere you go. Focus on the sound of your laugh. Feel the pressure. Youâre okay now.â
Even Sebek joined in, awkwardly jabbing at your shoulder. âIS THISâHELPING?!â
âSebekâgentler,â Deuce hissed.
You laughedâreally laughedâthrough the tears and shakes. It felt ridiculous and strange and exactly what you needed.
Your lungs worked again. The noise dulled. The pressure inside you finally broke like a cracked dam.
You gasped. âIâIâm okayâs-stopâ!â
Everyone backed off. Grim practically launched himself onto you.
âYou scared me,â he said into your chest. âI thought you were dying!â
âI thought so too,â you whispered, still shaking a little. âI didnât know what was happening.â
âYou had a panic attack,â Jack said gently. âIt can feel like everythingâs falling apart. Especially the first time.â
âDo they always feel like that?â
âSometimes. But you wonât go through it alone. Not now. Not ever.â
You looked at all of themâAce still crouching with a mischievous grin, Deuce nervously wringing his hands, Epel offering you his soda, Ortho scanning you gently, Sebek standing like a bodyguard, and Jack calm and unshakable.
And Grim, curled up on your lap like a protective cat-dog thing.
ââŠThanks,â you whispered. âAll of you.â
Ace gave you a cheeky grin. âYou can pay us back by never scaring us like that again.â
âNo promises,â you mumbled, smiling weakly.
Ortho beamed. âRecovery: complete.â
The dorm was quiet now.
Ramshackle creaked with its usual nighttime groansâfloorboards shifting, old pipes moaningâbut after today, even the familiar noises felt distant. You lay in bed, not asleep, just⊠floating in a strange haze of exhaustion. Your limbs felt heavy. Your head was stuffed full of cotton and memories you couldnât untangle.
The panic attackâyour first panic attack (here in Twisted Wonderland at least)âstill clung to your skin like static.
You didnât know how to describe it. You didnât even really know it was happening until it was over. It wasnât like fear. It wasnât like pain. It was worse, and stranger, and more complete. It had taken over everything.
And then⊠your friends.
And then⊠laughter.
Your chest ached remembering it. Not from fearâbut from how fast everything had changed.
A soft creak of the floorboards. Then a hesitant voice: â...Hey. You still awake?â
You didnât answer right away. But you didnât need to.
Grim slowly padded into the room.
You could see the silhouette of his fur puffed up slightlyâlike he was trying to look brave and casual at the same time. He climbed up onto the bed with a grunt and plopped down next to your side.
Neither of you spoke at first.
ââŠSo,â Grim said at last, his voice unusually quiet, âyou, uh. Scared the fur off me today.â
You turned your head, just a little.
âLike, I know youâre dramatic sometimes,â he went on, trying to act annoyed, âbut that was a whole new level. You didnât even yell, you just froze. And then you started shaking andâand breathing all weirdââ His tail lashed once, then stopped.
You let the silence settle again.
âI didnât know what to do,â Grim said, voice barely more than a whisper. âI justâI ran. I didnât wanna leave you, but I didnât know what to do.â
You finally reached out and laid a hand gently on his head. His ears twitched.
âIâm glad you did,â you said softly, petting the fur. âYou brought help. That saved me.â
Grim didnât say anything.
ââŠI didnât know what was happening either,â you admitted. âIt felt like I couldnât think. Or move. Or even exist right.â
âYeah,â Grim mumbled. âI noticed.â
You gave a breathy laugh, small but real. Grim finally looked up at you, bright eyes wide.
âYou feeling better now?â he asked. âLike, for real?â
You nodded, a little.
âI donât feel great,â you said honestly. âBut I donât feel like Iâm about to⊠fall apart again. So thatâs something.â
Grim flopped onto your chest like a furry paperweight. âGood. âCause if you pull that again, Iâm gluing myself to your side and never leaving.â
âYou already do that.â
âYeah, well. Now I mean it medically.â
You smiled.
ââŠHey,â Grim said after a moment. âNext timeâif there is a next timeâcould you⊠I dunno⊠warn me? Like, toss a fork or something so I know youâre about to short-circuit?â
You shook your head with a tired chuckle. âI didnât know it was coming. It just⊠happened.â
âThen Iâm setting up a system.â He sat up with a serious look. âLike, a code word. Or a scream. Or a âGrim, Iâm losing itâ signal.â
You raised an eyebrow. âYou want a panic password?â
âYeah! Something cool. Like⊠âFlameball!â or âTuna drop!â orââ
You started laughing again. This time the tension in your chest actually eased.
Grim preened at your reaction. âThere! See? Iâm a genius.â
âSure,â you said, wiping your eyes, âletâs go with âtuna drop.ââ
âPerfect,â he purred, tail curling proudly. âThat way, Iâll always know when you need me.â
You pulled him closer, arms curling around his soft little frame.
âI always need you,â you said into his fur.
Grim went still for a second. Then he nudged his forehead against your chin.
ââŠIâm not going anywhere,â he mumbled. âNot ever. Tuna drop or not.â
And somehow, that promiseâso ridiculous, so Grimâmeant more than anything.
You finally closed your eyes.
And this time, sleep found you.
The morning sunlight crept through the cracked windows of Ramshackle, warming the creaky wood floors and peeling wallpaper with soft gold.
You sat on the dusty couch in your oversized hoodie, a cup of tea balanced in your hands. Grim dozed next to you, curled into a sleepy loaf, occasionally twitching like he was dreaming of canned fish and chaos.
Your body still felt weirdâlike someone had unplugged you and then hastily plugged you back in. Your limbs worked. Your breath came easy. But the memory of yesterday hovered behind your eyes like fog.
The first panic attack.
The first time you'd ever unraveled in public. In front of your friends. In front of everyone.
And yet⊠it hadnât ended in disaster. Somehow, all of themâGrim, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, even Sebekâhad made it through that storm with you. And now it was morning.
And then someone knocked.
More like pounded.
You jumped a little, sloshing your tea. Grim blinked awake, startled. âWhaâwhoâs pounding on the fortress this early?!â
âIâll get it,â you said quickly, setting the cup down.
When you opened the doorâ
Six voices spoke at once:
âPREFECT!!â
âYOU LIVE!â
âYouâre vertical!â
âYOUR FACE HAS COLOR AGAIN!â
âOrtho says youâre at 83% stable and rising!â
ââŠI brought snacks.â
You stared at the first-years in a clump on your porch like an overeager boyband reunion. Epel waved a bag of sour gummies. Jack looked like he hadnât slept until heâd confirmed your well-being. Sebek stood like a statue of dramatic loyalty. Ortho smiled serenely. Ace and Deuce just grinned like idiots.
ââŠWhat are you all doing here?â
âWe came to check on you, duh,â said Ace, strolling inside without waiting for permission.
âOperation Emotional Stabilization,â Ortho announced. âVersion 1.02.â
You blinked. âWhat happened to version 1.01?â
Epel shrugged. âIt was mostly just âtickle them again,â but Ortho said we needed better structure.â
âSTRUCTURE AND DISCIPLINE BRING STRENGTH TO THE HEART!â Sebek declared, charging in after them. âWE WILL RESTORE YOUR VITALITY WITH MILITARY GRADE HONOR!!â
Deuce leaned in. âHeâs been reading self-help books again.â
Grim yawned. âUghhh, youâre all so loud. My henchman doesnât need honor. They need quiet and snacks and naps and me.â
âI did bring snacks,â Epel repeated, tossing you the bag. âAnd Deuce broughtâwhat is that?â
âChamomile lavender stress tea,â Deuce said proudly, holding up a tin.
ââŠDeuce,â said Ace, âyou hate tea.â
Deuce flushed. âIâI read it helps with nervous systems!â
Jack cleared his throat. âWeâre all just⊠glad youâre okay. Panic attacks are no joke. I wanted to check in properly. In case you⊠needed anything.â
You looked at them. These six chaos gremlins who had carried you through a terrifying moment and now stood awkwardly in your haunted living room, pretending not to be worried.
Your heart swelled.
âI really appreciate you guys,â you said quietly. âYesterday was⊠horrible. But you all helped more than I can say.â
âPlease,â Ace said with a smirk, âif anyone was gonna save your brain with tickling, it was obviously gonna be me.â
âYou poked them like a nervous crab,â Epel snorted. âI did the real work.â
Jack huffed. âIt wasnât about who did what. It was about grounding themâgiving their brain a chance to stop spiraling.â
âYou shouldâve seen it,â Ortho added. âYour laugh response was statistically perfect.â
ââŠThanks?â
âSo!â Sebek barked, hands on hips. âWHAT SHALL BE OUR TRAINING FROM THIS POINT FORWARD?!â
You blinked. âTraining?â
âTO GUARD AGAINST FUTURE COLLAPSES OF MENTAL FORTITUDE, I SHALL ENFORCE STRENGTH-BUILDING DRILLS OF THE MIND AND SPIRIT!â
Grim muttered, âSomebody please unplug the SebekbotâŠâ
Ace snapped his fingers. âOr, hear me outâwe make Prefect carry a panic attack whistle. Like a little âpeep peepâ that says âIâm spiraling, send help!ââ
âIâm not whistling,â you said flatly.
âThen we do code words!â Deuce said. âLike, if you say âbanana peel,â we all know to form a cuddle circle.â
Epel nodded. âOr if you say âpotato mode,â we just wrap you in blankets and put on cartoons.â
âI AM NOT ENTIRELY SURE THIS IS MEDICAL SCIENCE,â Sebek said, but no one was listening.
Grim finally jumped on the table. âOkay, listen! My henchman is not a broken radio that needs backup beeping every time they freak out! Theyâre fine. Right?â
You looked at themâall of themâand smiled.
âI donât know if Iâm fine,â you said. âBut I do know Iâm not alone. And that⊠means a lot.â
For a second, even Sebek was quiet.
ââŠYouâre not,â Jack said softly. âWeâve got your back. Every time.â
Ortho smiled. âAnd next time, weâll initiate Version 1.03.â
âOh no,â you laughed. âWhatâs in 1.03?â
âMore blankets,â Ortho said proudly. âAnd karaoke therapy.â
Ace winced. âSebekâs gonna scream-sing. Weâre all doomed.â
âI HAVE IMPECCABLE RANGE.â
You laughed againâreally laughed. It still felt a little raw, like the corners of a wound that was healing. But you werenât hiding. You werenât afraid. Not with them.
And not with Grim curled beside you, smugly triumphant.
credit to @thecutestgrotto for divider
may I please request Headcanon of the overblot gang + Adeuce when a reader thatâs normally very sweet and shy goes absolutely apeshit and TEARS INTO some bully, absolutely roasting the hell out of them please? Thank you :3
of course anon!!
type of post: headcanons characters: riddle, ace, deuce, leona, azul, jamil, vil, idia, malleus additional info: romantic or platonic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu
being the magicless newcomer makes you a favorite target for some of Night Raven College's less kindly students.
your loved ones know this, too, so when a group of brutish first years approach, they're ready to defend you. except...
Riddle had seen them coming towards you and already had his hand on his magical pen
how stupid of them to pick on you in his presence
a week or two without their heads would serve them well
but before he can even step between you and the ruffians (very gallantly, I might add; he had it all planned out in his head),
you just...
...oh
even he blushes at the profanity you spew
he didn't even get to scold them
...then you turn back to him with that same sweet smile as if nothing had happened
Ace had actually been the first student to get an earful from you
once at the beginning of the year, and never again
now, he takes great pleasure in watching you verbally eviscerate the other students
it's a... guilty pleasure, we'll say
and Deuce knows not to intervene
he tried... once
after all, he's been in your place before
nothing's better than the feeling of putting some snob in his place
BUT OF COURSE, that's the old Deuce
...he just lets you go on because he knows he can't stop you
...not because he's enjoying it. obviously
and here Leona was, thinking you were some helpless little herbivore...
but can you blame him?
you're always so... cute
skipping around Savanaclaw, all happy to be helping out Ruggie and Jack after practice...
you were bound to run into trouble, looking like an easy meal
he almost feels... bad for you...
but before he can step in and tell the freshies to buzz off, you...
damn, you've got a mouth on you
you switch up real quick on them, and they scamper off to go lick their wounds
color him impressed...
Azul was on his way back to the dorm when he heard you shout
you sounded... upset
and as much as he would like to, he can't just walk by and let you get bullied
damn sympathy...
so, he follows the sound of your voice, ready to intervene... on...
...nothing
a group of embarrassed freshman run past him, scattering in the opposite direction
he steps around the corner
and there you are, perfectly fine, if not a little winded
...of course
and he didn't even get to be your hero... tch
"Always full of surprises, aren't you? Just don't give Floyd any of those new words to use,"
it's none of his business... it's none of his business...
until it is his business
Jamil wouldn't have come running to your rescue like some prince
but he is in the middle of a civil conversation with you!
how insulting! honestly!
those freshmen must take him for some kind of witless fool
just this once, he'll teach them not to disrespect him...
of course, he doesn't even get a word in
he's never seen anyone so...
so...
...brutal
your insults are poignant, your tone sharp and dangerous, your usage of puns perfect...
you're like a work of art
Vil has no problem with putting others in their place
and he has a particular dislike of the brutish, arrogant students at NRC
he can actually sense their unwashed presence in the hall before he sees them
one little snide comment and...
...oh...
oh, my
you verbally tear them to shreds, insulting everything from their shoes to their posture, their cowardice, even their own insults
...goodness
he's going to have to have a talk with you about your language later
but, for now...
...he's enjoying this little performance of yours
Idia starts the most heated discourse over his faves and biases online, but this is different
this is real life
and the second he can feel a shift in the atmosphere, he's hiding behind you
you can handle it yourself, right? you've done it before!
honestly, he has no clue how you deal with the normies at this school
delusion, probably
he'd die if anyone talked to him the way they talk to...
...NEVER MIND!
you're using words he hasn't even heard in real life
even he is freaked out
you can get real scary when you want to, huh?
...maybe he'll just stick with you for now...
poor Malleus
he actually kinda sorta wanted to defend your honor...
he could be your fairytale prince!!! he could!!
it's the gentlemanly thing to do, anyway
and, better yet, he wouldn't even have to say anything! just one glare from him and the perpetrators would run screaming
...the one benefit to his reputation
but, of course,
you are not as innocent and weak as you seem
and he can't help but feel... impressed? with your ability to defend yourself
after this is all over, he'll have to joke that you should join his guard
(I'm feeling angsty >:]) ((I kept crying while writing this))
Grim is the first one to notice.
They were bickering, as usual. Yuu told him not to wander off. He called them bossy and sauntered ahead. He thought Yuu was right behind him until he heard the rumble.
When Grim turns around, the mine is collapsing. He hears a screamâtheir screamâand then nothing.
At first, Grim is in denial. âTheyâre probably fine! Just hiding like a scaredy-cat!â he yells, ears flat, tail bristled. He digs at the rocks, paws trembling, not because heâs weak but because heâs scared. His tiny claws scrape until they bleed.
Later, when the truth settles in, Grim doesnât talk for days. No bragging. No yelling. He just curls up on the couch in Ramshackle, staring at the door like heâs waiting for Yuu to walk through it.
He starts blaming himself. Quietly. âI shoulda protected them⊠Iâm the Great Grim, right? What good is all this power if I couldnât save 'emâŠâ
Ace puts up a wall.
He makes some stupid comment at first. âThey seriously died that easily? WeakâŠâ
But his voice cracks halfway through. He avoids eye contact with Deuce and walks away before anyone can see him clench his fists.
Later, Ace returns to the mine alone. He just stands at the spot where the rocks fell, chewing on the inside of his cheek. âDumbass⊠you werenât even supposed to be here. What were you thinking, coming down here without magic?â
If anyone tries to talk to him about it, he brushes them off. But sometimes, when no one's looking, he stares at Ramshackleâs gate like he wants to go up and say somethingâbut always turns around.
Deuce takes it hard.
He was right there. He thought he was being responsible. He was supposed to look out for the magicless student, right?
âI failed themâŠâ âI shouldâve noticed something was wrongâŠâ âIf Iâd just reacted fasterâŠâ
He says things like that a lot. Grim wonât talk. Ace wonât listen. So Deuce just keeps repeating it to himself.
He visits Ramshackle and helps clean it up. Makes sure the firewood is stacked, the beds are neatâeven though no one lives there anymore. âI just⊠want to keep it ready. In case they come back. Somehow.â
Crowley is... complicated.
Publicly, he spins it as a âtragic accidentâââA rare, unfortunate incident during a school-sanctioned task! We shall honor our lost guest!â He uses big words and flashy speeches, and pretends like this wasnât his fault.
But when heâs alone in his office, he looks at the file with Yuuâs name and wonders if he ever even really tried to help them.
He sent a magicless teen to mine with unstable students and monsters.
He knew they were different. Vulnerable. And yet, he brushed it off.
Thereâs a note he writes but never sends, addressed to the mirror that summoned Yuu:
âThis realm took what it never should have touched. And now it has blood on its hands.â
He keeps the key to Ramshackle on his desk. Every time he sees it, he flinches.
He saw it happen.
He was right thereâhe saw the blast coming, and he tried to drag Yuu back, but they slipped from his grip.
âYuu?â he calls out, paw nudging at their arm. âHey. Hey, câmon, this ainât funny. Get up.â
He tries to laugh it off at first. Grim doesnât do death. He doesnât understand it. Not really.
But when the healers come and shake their heads, when no one responds, something inside Grim shatters.
His magic starts reacting wildly. He growls and sparks with unstable fire, yelling at Riddleâs unconscious body like itâs his fault. âYou ruined everything! Theyâre gone and itâs because of YOU!â
Afterward, he wonât eat. Wonât talk. He curls up in Yuuâs bed with their uniform jacket tucked under his chin, tail limp.
âThey promised weâd figure stuff out together... Now I gotta do it alone?â
Ace flips out.
Not right away. First, itâs disbelief. âNo, no, theyâre gonna get up. Right? Deuce? Tell me theyâre fine.â
Then, itâs anger. At Riddle. At Cater and Trey for not stopping it. At himself.
He slams his fist into a wall so hard his knuckles bleed. âI shouldâve pulled them out. I saw the signs. I knew something was gonna happen.â
He gets snappy. Bitter. Starts arguments with anyone who tries to sugarcoat it. âThey didnât âpass peacefully.â They got caught up in some overblot crap that wasnât even their fault!â
He avoids Ramshackle. Too many memories. Too much guilt.
But he keeps Yuuâs student ID in his jacket pocket.
Deuce cries.
He tries to hold it in, tries to be strongâbecause thatâs what he thinks Yuu wouldâve wantedâbut the tears come anyway. He sobs into his hands when no oneâs looking, shaking with the weight of regret.
âI promised to protect themâŠâ he whispers.
He keeps up their dorm. Keeps bringing food to Grim, even if the little guy wonât touch it. He visits Crowleyâs office demanding answers, demanding justice, yelling that this shouldnât have happened.
Deuce becomes the one who remembers the little thingsâhow Yuu liked their tea, the dumb jokes they told, the way they always said "I've got your back" even without magic.
And he makes sure everyone else remembers too.
When he wakes up from the overblot and hears the news, he goes silent.
He doesn't cry. Doesnât scream. He just⊠shuts down.
He asks to see the body. Crowley says no.
So Riddle walks to the rose maze himself, stands in the spot where Yuu fell, and just stares at the blood-stained petals.
âI didnât mean toâŠâ
He says it to no one. Over and over. A mantra. A curse.
He writes an apology note but tears it up. Who would it even go to?
Trey and Cater notice the shiftâRiddle becomes harsher on himself. More rigid. Less confident. Because deep down, he knows:
Someone died because he lost control.
Caterâs smile doesnât slip right away.
Heâs used to filtering his emotions. Used to staying âon brand,â even when heâs horrified. So when he sees Yuuâs lifeless form after the magic storm clears, he just⊠freezes.
âH-Haha⊠no way, right? This has to be a prank. Right, Riddle?â
No one answers. Grim is howling. Ace is screaming. Deuce is crying.
Caterâs hands start to shake.
Later, heâll post nothing. Not even a filtered picture. He'll ghost Magicam for a while.
He tries to visit Ramshackle once, to drop off a bouquet of marigolds and forget-me-notsâbut the door creaks open and he sees Grim curled up on the couch, and he just canât do it.
âI didnât even know them,â he murmurs to himself, âand it still hurts this bad⊠What about the ones who did?â
Trey stays composed. He always does.
He takes over when everyone else is falling apartâhelping stabilize the overblot aftermath, escorting Riddle away from the scene, offering Deuce a tissue, shielding Cater from seeing too much.
But when he's alone in the kitchen later, making a tart for no one, he lets himself break a little.
His knife pauses mid-slice. A cherry slips and stains the counter red.
âI shouldâve noticed Riddle was this close to snapping,â he mutters. âIf Iâd stopped him soonerâŠâ
Trey doesn't cry. But guilt clings to him like powdered sugar on a fresh cake. Yuu wasnât his responsibility, but they were in his dorm's garden. Under his vice-leadership. And thatâs not something he forgets easily.
He leaves a note at Ramshackle with a box of treats:
âFor Grim. I know they liked sweet things. âTreyâ
Crowley is the one who has to âmake it official.â
He stands before the gathered first years, his usual flourish gone. Thereâs no fanfare, no dramatic cloak-swoosh. Just a stiff, solemn tone.
âIt is with deepest regret that I must confirm⊠the Prefect of Ramshackle Dorm has passed, following the incident involving an overblot.â
He doesnât look anyone in the eye.
When the students leave, he stays behind in the hall, staring at the cracked mirror that once brought Yuu here.
âThey were never supposed to be involved in magic,â he mutters. âI was supposed to protect themâŠâ
He writes a formal report. Then another one. Then a third. None of them feel right.
Later, Crowley visits Ramshackle and sets down a key with a tiny raven charm beside their bed.
âI promised you safety. I failed. May this place remember you better than I did.â
Itâs live. NRC's Spelldrive match is being broadcast across Twisted Wonderland.
Leonaâs magic erupts like a sandstorm hurricaneâspikes of sand and flame. Yuu is running, dragging an injured Grim, trying to reach Jack.
Then comes the roar.
Then silence.
The sand settles. A figure lies limp in the wreckage.
Thereâs a gasp on the feed. The camera zooms inâ âand the world watches as the magicless Prefect, the one who stood beside overblots and chaos, lies still on the battlefield.
Grim doesnât even process what happens at first.
He sees the sandstorm. The explosion of magic. He hears Yuu screamâand then nothing. Just silence.
He claws at their body. âGet up! Hey! I said get UP!â
He tries to use his magic. Tries to warm them up with a fireball. Nothing works.
He sobs until his voice is hoarse. He doesnât leave their sideânot when the teachers show up, not when the sun sets, not even when Crowley tries to move him.
âYou said we were gonna leave this place together, remember? You promisedâŠâ
After that, he never says their name again. But he whispers it in his sleep, tail curled around their favorite pillow.
Ace punches Leona.
No questions, no hesitationâhe hauls off and decks him right across the jaw, shouting âYou bastard! You KILLED them!â
It doesnât matter that Leonaâs still recovering from the overblot. It doesnât matter that he gets dragged off. Heâs shaking with rage.
Aceâs grief comes out as fire. Loud. Angry. Messy.
Later, he sneaks into Ramshackle alone. He rifles through Yuuâs drawers, looking for somethingâa hoodie, a note, an old snack wrapper. Anything that still smells like them.
He finds a photo they all took before the Spelldrive match.
He keeps it in his wallet.
Deuce kneels beside Yuuâs body and doesnât move for a long time.
He holds their hand. Itâs still warm. He begs the healers to try again. Begs the staff to do something.
âThey canât be gone⊠Not them. Not YuuâŠâ
He starts blaming himself. âIf Iâd been faster. If Iâd trained harder. If Iâd just been strongerââ
He throws himself into becoming stronger after that. Pushing past his limits. Studying harder. Training until he drops.
But he never stops wearing the little Ramshackle pin Yuu made for him, safety-pinned to the inside of his collar.
Cater completely drops the act.
No more filters. No cute captions. No jokes.
He vanishes from Magicam for a full month. When he comes back, itâs quiet. Just a black square and one line:
âMiss u, bestie.â
He tries to keep smiling around others, especially Grim, but itâs clearly forced. His voice cracks sometimes.
âI never even said goodbye⊠How could I not say goodbye?!â
Cater leaves a bracelet at the edge of the Savanaclaw field where they fellâgreen and silver beads, their initials on it.
He comes back every week to make sure it's still there.
Trey becomes the one who takes care of everyone else.
He comforts Grim. Checks on Deuce. Calms Ace. Brings food even when no one eats.
He tries to be steady, reliableâbut even he has his moments.
Sometimes, late at night in the kitchen, when heâs baking and the scent of vanilla fills the room, he sees Yuu laughing by the counter and has to sit down before he breaks.
He brings a box of strawberry tarts to Ramshackle and places it on their bed, whispering, âYou always liked these⊠right?â
Riddle is devastated.
He stares at their body with wide, horrified eyes. His throat closes. He stammers somethingârules, overblot laws, consequencesâbut the words fall flat.
He visits their grave alone. He brings roses, red and white.
âI should have stopped Leona. I knew something was wrong. I should have said something. Done somethingâŠâ
He reads old messages Yuu sent him. Keeps rereading them, like they'll change.
When Heartslabyul hosts a tea party in their memory, Riddle personally makes sure itâs perfect.
âThey deserve nothing less.â
Jack grits his teeth.
He says nothing at first. Just watches in silence as the healers pronounce Yuu gone.
But later, he trains. Harder than ever. His knuckles split. His legs ache.
âIf Iâd been there a second earlier⊠I couldâve shielded them.â
He doesnât cry, but he starts carrying himself a little more respectfully. For Yuu.
At Ramshackle, he leaves a desert lily by their bedâa flower that survives in harshness. âYou were tough. Iâll honor that.â
Crowley looks⊠older afterward.
He gives a dramatic speech at the memorial. Everyone assumes heâs playing it up againâuntil he chokes up mid-sentence.
âThis school was supposed to keep them safeâŠâ
He writes a letter to the Headmageâs council, arguing that overblots are no longer ârare accidents,â but institutional failures.
He also writes one to Yuu.
It sits in his drawer, never sent.
âYou deserved better. From this world. From me. I only hope the next life is kinder.â
Leona doesnât say a word when heâs told Yuu didnât survive.
He just stares. At the scorch mark in the dirt. At the faces of the othersâGrim sobbing, Deuce shaking, Ace screaming at him. He says nothing.
He turns away.
No apology. No excuse. He doesn't even try to defend himself.
Later, alone in his dorm, he leans against the wall with a clenched jaw, grinding his molars. His overblot haze is gone, but the image of Yuuâburned into his memoryâwonât leave.
âTch... They were a nobody. Just some magicless brat...â
But heâs not saying it to anyone else. Heâs trying to convince himself. Because deep down, he knows thatâs not true. Yuu stood their ground. Faced him when even Savanaclaw students ran. And they died because of him.
The next day, Leona doesnât come out of his room.
The week after that, heâs quieter. Less sharp-tongued. Still dangerous, still smugâbut thereâs a heaviness in his voice now.
He doesnât go to the memorial. But he sends a small wrapped parcel to Ramshackle with Ruggie.
Inside: a faded Savanaclaw armband and a simple note.
They had guts. âL
Ruggie wasnât close to Yuu, but they helped him once.
Shared a snack. Laughed at his dumb jokes. Treated him like a person, not Leonaâs errand boy.
So when he sees their body, something shifts.
ââŠTheyâre really gone?â
He doesnât cry. Heâs too used to loss for that. But his stomach churns as he watches Grim howl and Ace get dragged away from Leona.
Ruggie knew this was gonna happen eventually. He just didnât think itâd be Yuu.
He feels the tension in the dorm, hears the whispers from other students, and suddenly everything feels too loud.
That night, he lights a candle in the Savanaclaw lounge. Itâs small, cheap, something from the Night Market.
He stares at the flame and murmurs, âRest easy, alright? Sorry we never got to hang out moreâŠâ
Then he turns and gets back to work, because someone has to clean up the mess.
But he steals food from the cafeteria a little more often now.
For Grim.
He canât even scream this time.
He runs to their body, but the waterâs still seeping away. He tries to drag them out. Shouts for help.
He sobs into their clothes, claws clenched around fabric, whispering over and over, âNo no noâcome on, come onâdonât do this, pleaseââ
He tries breathing fire, again and again, like maybe the warmth will bring them back.
Azulâs contracts burn around them. Grim doesnât care. He curls around their chest and doesnât move for hours.
Ace laughs.
Itâs a broken sound, too sharp to be real.
âNo way. No way theyâreâ They canât beâ This is stupid. They survived Leona. They survived Riddle. Theyâre Yuu.â
He looks at Azul like he wants to kill him, but then just⊠stops. He walks over to Yuuâs body and sits down beside them, knees to his chest, silent.
Hours later, he mutters to no one, âI didnât even get to say sorry⊠I called them annoying this morningâŠâ
Deuce falls to his knees.
He shakes Azul by the collar, shouting âWHAT DID YOU DO?!â before Jack pulls him back.
Then he kneels by Yuu and clutches their hand like itâs an anchor. He doesnât move for a long time, even when everyone else starts to leave.
He wears their Ramshackle pin on his blazer after that. Cleans it every morning.
When he does tests, exams, in a track race, he whispers under his breath, âWatch me. Iâll make you proud.â
Jack stands frozen in place.
His tail bristles. His claws dig into his palms. But he doesnât lash out. He doesnât cry.
He walks over and picks up the tattered scarf Yuu always wore, brushes the ink off it gently.
âThey were a good one,â he says quietly.
He trains harder after that. Says less. But anyone who enters the Savannaclaw training field will find a small stone marker in the far corner.
âTo the one who stood tall without claws.â
Ruggie curses.
âDamn it. Damn it all.â
He kicks one of the broken tables. Then another. And then he stopsâbecause he sees Grim, curled and shaking, and his chest aches.
He drops to a squat beside him, puts a hand on Grimâs back.
âThey were⊠They were somethinâ else, huh?â
He steals food from the Lounge that night. Loads of it. Drops it off at Ramshackle with no note.
He doesnât say it out loud, but he swears to himself: No one else from their circle dies on his watch.
Leonaâs the first to arrive after the overblot ends.
He sees the ink, the body, the shattered remains of the contractsâand doesnât speak. Not at first.
ââŠYou actually went and got them killed, huh?â he mutters to Azul.
Leona walks over to Yuu and crouches low. His tail flicks.
âShouldâve told you not to play hero again. Shouldâve made you stay out of this.â
He leaves a desert lily by their side and walks away before anyone sees his hands shaking.
Azul is catatonic.
He collapses when the overblot fades. The moment he sees what heâs doneâwho heâs killedâhis voice dies in his throat.
âNo⊠No, no, no⊠I didnât meanâŠâ
He vomits ink.
He sobs behind his hands.
He screams at the sea for days afterward.
He locks himself in his office and doesn't come out. Not for weeks. He canât even look at his own reflection.
Eventually, he stops using contracts.
He burns every single one.
Jade is⊠quiet.
Too quiet.
He kneels beside the body and closes their eyes. Straightens their sleeves. Brushes the ink from their lashes.
Then he looks at Azulâtorn, sobbingâand doesnât speak.
He doesnât smile after that. Not in the Lounge. Not in class.
When asked, he only says: âThey were⊠sincere. And brave. It's a shame. A true shame.â
He visits Ramshackle every now and then, leaving wild mushrooms at the doorstep.
Floyd doesnât take it well.
First, he laughs.
âEh? Seriously? Shrimpyâs dead? Just like that?â
Then his smile vanishes. Completely.
â...No fun.â
He walks into the Loungeâs VIP room and trashes it. Rips through furniture. Breaks the glass. Shatters the chandelier.
No one stops him.
After that, he wonât talk about it. If someone mentions Yuu, he gets quiet.
He goes out swimming in the ocean for hours. Sometimes all night.
When he comes back, heâs always more tired.
Crowley stands at the edge of the scene, looking like a ghost.
This is the third time now. Third overblot. Third time Yuu has nearly died. Except this timeâŠ
He pulls his hat down, voice tight. âI failed them. Again.â
He doesnât perform this time. No grand speeches. Just silence and shame.
He drafts a dozen letters to Yuuâs familyâthen throws them all out. What could he say? "Your child died in another world under my care?"
He declares a school-wide mourning period and cancels all contracts indefinitely.
But itâs not enough. Nothing is.
They were too close. Always too close.
In trying to protect Kalim, in trying to talk Jamil down, they stepped into rangeâand one of the snake-like braids struck. Fast. Precise. Poisonous.
No one noticed the bite at first. Not even Yuu.
But as the overblot fades, and the sand settles, they collapseâpale, lips turning blue, their breathing labored untilâŠ
It stops.
And the music dies with them.
Heâs the first to notice somethingâs wrong.
He shakes Yuuâs arm, pats their cheek. âOi, this isnât funnyâcome on, weâve gotta scold Jamil, right?â
But their chest doesnât rise.
Grim screams. His voice cracks.
âYUU?!â
He doesnât leave their side for the rest of the night, paws clutching their arm, growling at anyone who tries to move them.
When Ace and Deuce return, he nearly attacks them just to stop them from seeing.
He sees the bite. He knows exactly what it means.
He knows.
He drops to his knees.
â...No⊠no no noâŠâ
His voice shakes. His hands tremble. His overblot form may have faded, but its consequences linger like venom in his blood.
He killed them.
No tricks. No schemes. No brainwashing. Just murder.
He doesnât run. He doesnât speak. He just sits in the sand, staring at his hands, unable to move.
Heâs silent for hours.
When they drag him away, he doesnât resist.
He doesnât understand at first.
âYuu? What are they doing? Theyâre just sleeping, right? Right, Jamil?!"
But Jamil wonât meet his eyes.
And when Grim doesnât answerâwhen Grim starts sobbingâKalimâs smile falls. Shatters.
âNo⊠no, no, this isnâtâŠâ
He grabs Yuuâs hand and holds it like he can warm it back to life.
âPleaseâwake upâwe havenât even gone swimming yet! You promised!â
He cries hard. For hours. He tries to take the blame, keeps saying:
âIt shouldâve been me. I was the one he hatedâŠâ
When Azul sees the body, he goes eerily quiet.
He slams the lounge door shut, tells Jade and Floyd to cancel operations for a week. When they ask why, he just mutters:
âYuuâs dead. Jamilâs overblot.â
That night, Azul goes down to the sea and throws in a silver penâa token Yuu once gave him when he helped them with a contract.
He doesnât talk about it afterward.
But he never lets a client leave with a dangerous deal again.
Jade lowers his when he sees the body.
ââŠHow unfortunate.â
Heâs quiet for a long while. He plants a rare desert flower in a terrariumâa tribute. Waters it every morning.
When questioned, he only says, âThey were brave. It is a shame bravery rarely guarantees survival.â
But his smiles are smaller now. More thoughtful. Especially around Jamil.
He gets quiet.
Too quiet.
He doesnât laugh. Doesnât grin. Just tosses a beach ball into the ocean and watches it float away.
When asked, he mutters, âShrimpy was sâposed to come back. I was gonna show âem how to really swimâŠâ
And then, with no warning, he grabs Jamil by the collar and slams him into a wall.
âYou bit them, didnât you?â
He doesnât hit him. Just glares, then shoves him down and walks away.
He doesnât show up to class for three days after that.
He returns in high spirits, sunburned and hummingâuntil he sees the schoolâs flag at half-mast.
âWhat happenedâ?â
Grim hits him with a fireball before he can finish his sentence.
When Crowley sees Yuuâs name etched into the memorial stone, he drops to his knees.
He doesnât even try to justify himself.
He just whispers, âI left. Again. And they paid for itâŠâ
And for once, Crowley vanishes from public view.
Not even the staff can find him for days.
He bursts through the gate, duffel in hand, bragging to Deuceâuntil Grim tackles him, claws shaking.
âTheyâre gone,â Grim wheezes, âTheyâre gone, Ace!â
Ace laughs. âHuh? Quit messinâ with meâwhat do youââ
Then he sees Deuceâs face pale. And the memorial stone. And the empty Ramshackle doorway.
ââŠNo. No, noâthis is a joke, right?!â
He punches the wall until his knuckles bleed.
He drops his bag the moment Grim tells them.
âNo way⊠Noâthey were fine. They were fine when we leftââ
He clutches his stomach and falls to his knees. âWhy werenât we here? Why didnât we come back sooner?!â
He visits the grave every morning for a week. Leaves flowers. Doesnât say much in class.
His grades improve. His magic sharpens.
He swears it wonât happen again.
He stares at the nameplate on the stone.
ââŠThey died protecting someone else?â
He places a red rose beneath the inscription.
âThey never followed the rules⊠and still had the nerve to leave before I could thank them.â
His voice is brittle.
After that, he disciplines his dorm a little less harshly.
He gives Grim his leftover tarts in silence.
He sighs deeply, brows furrowed.
ââŠI shouldâve known something like this would happen.â
He helps Cater plan a quiet tribute in Heartslabyul. A tea party with Yuuâs favorite sweets. No rules. No scolding.
Just stories.
Trey keeps their seat open.
He cries in the hallway.
No selfies. No filters. No pretending.
Just raw, ugly crying.
âWhy didnât I get more pictures with themâŠ?â
He organizes a social feed in their memory. Posts their art. Their dumb selfies. Their best moments.
It goes viral within NRC. Students from all dorms comment:
âThey helped me.â âThey stood up for me.â âI miss themâŠâ
ââŠDamn snake.â
He growls low, tail twitching.
He doesnât yell. Doesnât threaten. Just walks out of the dorm and stares at the cliffs until sunset.
He was starting to respect them.
Now he never gets the chance.
Heâs pissed.
At Crowley. At Jamil. At himself.
He sneaks into the infirmary late at night and punches the wall onceâjust once.
Then he wipes his eyes and leaves, like nothing happened.
But he leaves offerings at the stone every week. Small things.
Bread. Buttons. A lucky toothpick.
He stands before the memorial with flowers in hand and says nothing.
Not a word.
But he starts training harder.
When he duels, he whispers: âHope youâre watching.â
VIL'S OVERBLOT
The air is thick with smoke and glamour. Vil's overblot form collapses, and the world finally breathes.
Everyone thinks it's over.
Until Yuu sways.
Until their lips tremble with blue.
Until they fall with no warning.
Grim reaches them first, and then all hell breaks loose.
Heâs laughing at first. âWe did it, right?! Right, Henchâ?â
He sees the foam on their lips.
âNo.â
He shakes them. âNoâNO! Donât you dare pull this crapâwake up! You said we were gonna get celebratory tuna!â
He shrieks when they stop breathing. He claws at his own face, trembling so hard he can barely speak.
When someone touches him, he bites them.
âDONâTâtouch themâdonât take them away!!â
He rushes to Yuuâs side, shouting their name. Shaking them like thatâll undo it.
He looks to Deuce. Then to Grim. Then to Vil.
âWHO DID THIS?!â
Heâs cryingâactually cryingâand itâs not cute. Itâs ugly. Angry. Messy.
âI shouldâve noticedâI shouldâveâwhy didnât Iâ?!â
He tries to do CPR. Tries to cast a healing spell. Anything.
None of it works.
He goes quiet. Stone-faced.
He tries to carry Yuuâs body like theyâre still breathing, like maybe warmth and motion will bring them back.
His voice is hoarse: âIâll take them to the infirmary. I can fix this. I can fix this.â
He doesn't stop walking until someone physically pulls him back.
When he finally lets go, he drops to his knees and sobs into his hands.
When he sees the foaming poison, the slow purple hue crawling over Yuuâs veinsâŠ
He knows.
ââŠVil used poison,â he mutters, numb. âAnd they were too close.â
He staggers back, staring at his hands like heâs watching it happen all over again.
âNot again,â he whispers. âNot again.â
He turns and walks away. Doesnât look back.
This time, he cries alone.
âYuuâŠ?â
He kneels beside them. Touches their cheek.
âYuu? Come on, wake upâitâs over, we won! You said youâd teach me how to bake that cake, remember?â
He keeps babbling. Keeps smiling. Even as tears start to fall.
Even when they donât wake up.
ââŠThey were always smiling,â he whispers. âEven when things were scaryâŠâ
He starts shaking.
He was right beside them. Right beside them.
And he didnât notice.
âThey were fineâthey were still standingâthey were smilingââ
He screams into his hands. Then punches the ground until his knuckles bleed.
Vil tries to stop him.
Epel shouts, âDONâT!â
And turns away, teeth bared in grief.
The first thing he says is quiet. Reverent.
ââŠThey died beautifully.â
Everyone stares.
Then he kneels down and closes Yuuâs eyes gently.
âThey were a soul full of light. To burn out in such a theatrical, bittersweet way⊠itâs almost poetic.â
His voice breaks.
He looks at Vil.
âMon Roi. What have you done?â
He knew.
He knew what was in the poison. How fast it worked. How potent it was.
And stillâstillâhe let it happen.
When Yuu collapses, his voice fails. He runs to them, brushes their hair back.
He presses his forehead to theirs.
ââŠYou idiot,â he chokes. âWhy didnât you move? You should have stayed behind the curtain!â
He doesnât say much after that.
But he cancels his return to the stage.
Forever.
He returns to a somber, shattered NRC.
When he hears what happened, he doesnât speak.
Doesnât excuse himself.
He walks into Ramshackle dorm, sits in the dark, and whispers:
âI keep failing you.â
He shuts the dorm down for a week.
He leaves a golden brooch on Yuuâs old pillow.
Trey makes a cake and leaves it at Ramshackle. Says nothing.
Cater posts one last selfie with Yuu and doesnât log into Magicam again for a month.
Riddle reprimands Vil for daysâthen visits the grave in silence.
Leona grits his teeth, then throws a spell book across his room. Doesnât talk about it.
Ruggie mutters, âFigures someone like him would mess it up,â then wipes his eyes.
Jack makes a point to place wildflowers near their grave every few days.
Jade whispers, âThey died protecting others. Admirable⊠but costly.â
Floyd just says, âShrimpyâs really gone, huhâŠâ and doesnât smile for a week.
Azul throws himself into managing the lounge, late at night he stares at a framed picture of him and Yuu and cries.
Hornton
Heâs fixing the stage with his magic. Alone. Quiet. Restoring the ruins left behind after Vilâs rampage.
Then he sees itâYuuâs name on the memorial plaque. A candle burning low.
He stares.
His magic falters.
ââŠNo.â
His voice shakes.
â...No.â
He vanishes from the stage.
Later, students find the ruins of a blasted tree behind Ramshackle.
And Malleus is there. Silent. Still. Staring at Yuuâs favorite benchâthe one they sat on during night talks.
He places a glowing crystal beside it. It hums softly. Mourning.
âNo one else sat with me in the dark,â he whispers. âNo one else called me âHornton.ââ
He's inconsolable.
Screaming. Thrashing. Clinging to Yuu's unmoving form. There's soot on his fur and tear tracks down his face.
âThey were justâthey were just joking about food! We were gonna go home, we wereâthey PROMISED!!â
He tries to breathe fire in grief, but it sputters out into smoke. He curls into their chest and wonât let go.
âNo.â
He walks up. Stares. Backs away.
âNo. Noâno, this isnâtâthatâs not funny, Yuu. Get up.â
He turns to Deuce. His voice is cracking.
âTheyâre gonna sit up. Theyâre just messing with us, right?â
But no one laughs.
He kneels down and covers his face with both hands.
His entire body locks up.
âI shouldâveâgone in with them. I shouldâveâŠâ
His fists clench so tightly they bleed.
He kneels beside Grim and takes one of Yuuâs hands in his. Quiet.
âThank you⊠for everything.â
He has no words. Only a silent, thunderous grief.
He lowers his head respectfully. Closes Yuuâs eyes with trembling fingers.
He doesn't cry. But his voice is hoarse for days.
Later, he trains until he collapses. Trying to make sure no one else dies again.
ââŠSh*t.â
Thatâs all he says at first. He turns away.
Wipes his eyes before anyone sees.
But he leaves a meat pie at their grave later. Wrapped in a checkered cloth. No note. No message.
Just something Yuu said they always wanted to try.
He scowls. Says they were reckless. That it was bound to happen.
But the minute no oneâs watching, he storms off into the desert garden and roars so loud it shakes the windows.
When he comes back, heâs dragging an ancient herb said to revive the dead.
It doesnât work.
He finds Grim later in Ramshackle.
And quietly makes enough food for two, even though only Grim eats.
No one sees him cry.
But he starts baking a certain kind of cake more oftenâone that only Yuu ever asked for.
He doesnât post anything on Magicam for three months.
He tries to smile. He jokes. But his heartâs not in it.
He visits Ramshackle every week and leaves flowersâsunflowers, yellow and bright.
âYou always made things feel warm, yâknow?â he whispers.
He keeps it together at first.
But when heâs alone? He breaks.
He slams his fists into the desk. Screams into the void.
âThey didnât have magic! They shouldnât haveâshouldnât have had to go alone!â
He writes a law in Yuuâs honor: âNo student shall face a magical threat without backup.â
Azulâs hands shake when he sees Yuuâs body.
âThey gave me a second chance,â he whispers.
âAnd I couldnât evenâŠâ
He shuts down the Lounge for a week.
He orders every contract reviewed. Removes every dangerous clause Yuu once called out.
He leaves an ornate seashell at their grave. Etched with: âFor the one who believed in me.â
ââŠA tragedy.â
His tone is calm. But his eyes are not.
He takes off his gloves and places them over Yuuâs hands, folding them gently.
âI suppose I must find a new mushroom for mourning,â he murmurs.
He visits often. Leaves nothing but silence and prayers.
At first? Nothing.
Just blank staring.
Then: âShrimpyâs really gone, huh?â
He doesnât cry.
But he drags Idia by the collar and nearly kills him.
âYou owe them. FIX IT.â
It takes four people to pull him off.
He doesn't smile after that. Not for a long time.
At first, he thinks itâs a glitch.
Then he sees themâunmoving, burned at the edges, body limp in Grimâs arms.
He doesnât scream.
He just stares. A long time. And says:
ââŠI killed them.â
He doesn't resist when Floyd attacks. He wants to be punished.
Later, he shuts himself inside the lab. Ignores Ortho. Refuses food.
All he says, over and over, is:
âI didnât want this. I didnât want this. I didnât want this.â
âNo. No, no, noâplease wake up! I can scan youâI can rebuild you, I canââ
His voice distorts.
âPLEASE DONâT LEAVE NII-SAN BEHIND!!â
When Yuu doesnât stir, Orthoâs eyes dim.
He flies off.
And no one sees him for three days.
He was there. Watching from the surface. Powerless to go down with them.
When Yuu doesnât return, he collapses to his knees.
He says nothing.
But every night after, the gate to the Underworld glows dimly. Lit by a single enchanted candle.
Burning for the student who dared cross the River Styx.
He holds your hand as you fade, clawing at the thorns like they'll move.
âDonât go. Youâyou always saved everyone!! I was supposed to protect youâ!!â
Heâs wailing.
When itâs over, he curls into your chest and doesnât speak for two days.
Heâs the first to scream.
âWHATâS THE POINT OF WAKING UP IF THEYâRE DEAD!?â
He runs at the thorns. Punches them until his fists bleed. Until Deuce pulls him back.
He curses Malleus. Then curses himself.
Then, eventually, just sits on the floor. Staring.
He kneels beside your body.
His voice cracks as he says:
âI became a better person because of youâŠâ
Then, in a whisper:
ââŠI donât know how to be good without you.â
âNo⊠not them⊠anyone but themâŠâ
He sobs. No filters. No jokes. No posing.
His Magicam goes dark again. He locks himself in his room and cries into their old photos.
He canât breathe when he sees you.
He covers his face. Kneels.
âI shouldâve done more. Been there. Helped youâsomething.â
He leaves a tiny tart beside your grave, baked with your favorite flavor.
His voice is a whisper. Unsteady.
âThey were the only one who understood me... even after everything I did...â
He places a roseâred and thornlessâon your chest.
And kneels, head bowed.
He stares down at you. Quiet.
âI told you not to play hero,â he murmurs.
He sounds tired. Angry. Hollow.
But he watches over your grave when no one else will.
Silent. Guarding. For hours at a time.
"...Tch."
He turns his back. Walks away.
But hours later, someone finds a crumpled note by your bed.
"Thanks for feeding me."
He stands still for a long time.
Then salutes you with quiet reverence.
âYou had more heart than anyone Iâve ever met.â
He trains harder than ever after that. To live by your example.
He drops to his knees.
âThis wasnât part of the dealâŠâ
His voice breaks.
âI would've traded everything. Justâjust to keep them safeâŠâ
He cancels all contracts for a week. Shuts down the Lounge. Cries behind locked doors.
He gently closes your eyes.
And, for once, doesnât smile.
âEven rare orchids wither in the frost,â he says.
And places a white lily beside you.
ââŠShrimpyâŠâ
He pokes your cheek.
No response.
Then he howls. He tears up a hallway. Slams a wall with a fist that cracks stone.
He doesnât laugh again for a month.
âNo no noâyou were supposed to live!! You saved me!! Why didnât I save you!?â
He sobs into Jamilâs shoulder.
He lights candles in your memory every night.
He closes his eyes.
He doesn't speak. Just mutters a single word:
âUnfair.â
But later, he visits your resting place, presses a charm into the soil.
âI owed you more than I gave.â
He holds you like glass. Like something sacred.
âYour final act was... selfless. Poetic. Tragic.â
He speaks at your memorial.
And always leaves a pristine white rose.
His shoulders shake.
He refuses to speak at the ceremony. But he carves a tiny wooden charm for you.
He carries it in his pocket. Always.
Tears fall freely.
âAh, mon trĂ©sor⊠such beauty, such sacrificeâŠâ
He writes a ballad in your honor. He performs it in the forest, alone.
He stares at you with wide eyes. Whispering to himself.
âNo. No. Not again. Not another one. Not like Orthoâ!â
He curls into himself.
And when he reboots Ortho later, he hugs him like heâll disappear too.
He powers down for a full day.
And when he reactivates, he asks:
âWhy didnât I detect the danger? Why couldnât I save them?â
He makes a digital backup of your voice. It plays when heâs alone.
He lowers his head and whispers in old fae tongue.
âThey were brave.â
He sings an ancient lullaby only fae children know.
And your grave is tended by wild roses from then on.
He brushes your hair back.
âI thought weâd all wake upâŠâ
He places a dream charm on your chest.
âSo youâd never be afraid. Not even now.â
He yells.
First at Malleus. Then at the world. Then at himself.
âThey protected you, my lord! And now theyâre GONE!â
His voice breaks.
He kneels beside your grave.
âThey were⊠a knight.â
When he sees you fall, his world ends.
The thorns fade. The dreams collapse.
You lay still in his arms.
His voice is a whisper. A plead.
âNo. No no no. This isn't what I wantedâŠâ
He doesnât overblot again.
He just⊠disappears.
Some say he wandered into the thorns. Others say he turned into mist.
But on quiet nights, a low voice murmurs:
âI wanted eternity with you.â
For once⊠he takes responsibility.
He wears all black.
He lays a feathered mask at your grave.
And whispers:
âYou were the one good thing I never deserved.â
The ending of book 7 has just WRECKED me and I wrote some hurt/comfort because I have feelings about my dragon boy. I put a link to the AO3 post as well. I usually never post writing on here but this piece doesn't fit in on my other blog so here it is.
Header by MagicPaint. AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63793984
âDo you think Iâm a monster?â
Malleusâ voice was uncharacteristically quiet, tone so low that you had to strain to hear him. The question hung heavy in the air.
He still hadnât turned to face you, staring out of the small window of the bedroom that he slept in during his stay at S.T.Y.X. There wasnât much of a view out of the windows besides dark, moving water, so it was clear that Malleus was using the window as an excuse not to look at you.
It was clear just by looking that the overblot had taken an immense toll on him. He looked completely different from his usual self. Not only had his usual dark robes been changed to the S.T.Y.X-themed clothing that test subjects wore, but there was something about the way he held himself that was fundamentally different from before.
The noble dragon fae usually held his head high in a regal posture that was hard for anyone else to replicate, authority and power exuding from his very stance. It was a far cry to the way he was posed currently, hunched over as if trying to make himself seem smaller, trembling fingers clutching onto the windowsill.Â
There was also a different aura surrounding him that was different from how his emotions could manipulate the weather around him. It wasnât the feeling of crackling electric anger, or even the heavy, suffocating pressure drop as rain clouds formed. It was a deep, exhausted sorrow that seemed to weigh the entire room down.Â
As Malleus had a collar to monitor his magic usage, the aura was, for once, not physical, yet it somehow felt more tangible than any emotional outburst you had seen from him. More real despite not actually being there.
A few days had passed since the final battle that had marked the end of Malleusâ overblot. When he had been reassured that Lilia was alright, Malleus had been taken by the Ferrymen as well as both Idia and Ortho to S.T.Y.X for monitoring and data-collection. No one had wanted to take the risk of leaving him in a state where he risked a second overblot, so once he had stabilized enough, the Director allowed him to request visitors.Â
It had not seemed like a wise decision to keep Malleus cut off from the rest of the world as was S.T.Y.Xâs norm since almost losing Lilia was what had brought on the overblot in the first place. Leaving Malleus not knowing how the people he cared about were doing was too high of a risk.
The first visitor that Idia had (begrudgingly) been tasked with delivering to the Isle of Woe was Lilia - to the surprise of no one. Both the Director and Idia had been hesitant to risk putting the strain of travel on Lilia so soon after everything that had happened, but Lilia had been uncaring of the worries and insisted that he had to go.Â
Silver and Sebek were still in recovery - where Lilia was also supposed to be - and while Malleus had wished to see both his retainers as well, the Director had put his foot down. It was too dangerous to bring all three over already, so after negotiating, Malleus had agreed to let Sebek and Silver heal for a while longer before he got to see them.Â
Lilia had also threatened the director, saying that if he refused to pick him up to go see his ward, Lilia would jump into the water surrounding Sageâs Island and swim until he managed to find the Isle of Woe.Â
Besides researchers checking cameras and vitals to make sure both fae were alright, the two of them had been given space to speak alone. Whatever they spoke about was kept between them and S.T.Y.X, but it had involved lots of hugging and tears.
Two days after Liliaâs visit, Ortho had contacted you through your phone, telling you that Malleus had requested your presence at the Isle of Woe, which is where you currently were, staring at his trembling form for the first time since he had been taken in for monitoring.Â
Normally, youâd have cracked a smile seeing the fae-prince surrounded by this much technology that he had no idea how to use, but the items in the room were the furthest things away from your mind.
Slowly, as if approaching a wounded animal, you walked over to Malleusâ shaking form. With a gentleness that Malleus wasnât used to feeling, you placed your hand softly atop his. It felt a bit strange at first, feeling his cold skin instead of the gloves he tended to wear, but the feeling of strangeness quickly disappeared.Â
A pair of wide, emerald-green eyes stared down at where your hand rested on top of his, filled with an unspoken question.
Why?
For a moment, the two of you stood still in silence as you searched for the right words. Eventually, you took a calming breath and spoke up, voice soft and calming.
âMal,â you began, using an affectionate nickname to hopefully help him relax.
His breath hitched for a moment, surprise evident.Â
âI understand why you used your ultimate magic. Why the circumstances caused you to overblot. You wanted to protect the people that were precious to you and keep them from harm, protecting both them and yourself from getting hurt.â
A single tear ran down Malleusâ cheek as he finally turned to fully face you, leaving a wet track across his porcelain skin. He still refused to meet your eyes, scared of what he would see reflected in them.
âYou had good intentions. There is nothing evil about wanting to keep your loved ones safe. If I had been in your position, I think that I would have overblotted too,â you admitted quietly, giving Malleus a small, weak smile. âSo there is no way that I can possibly blame you for making the same choices I would have if I were you.â
In a silent plea, Malleus turned his hand around to face palm-up. You responded by lacing your fingers together with his, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.
âPlease look at me?â you asked in a small, yet hopeful voice.
Slowly, Malleusâ green eyes moved from your intertwined hands up your arm, then neck, where they paused briefly before finally meeting yours.Â
The hate and anger he had expected to see was nowhere to be seen. He could see his reflection, and was unable to determine whether the sadness he saw came from you or himself.  Â
You lifted your free hand to his face, letting it gently rest against his cheek. Your thumb moved to brush another tear away.Â
âMalleus Draconia,â you said, staring deep into his eyes.
âYou are not a monster.â
Those words seemed to snap whatever makeshift dam he had constructed to keep his emotions at bay, shattering it completely.Â
Malleus began to cry. Tears flowed down his cheeks and sobs tore their way out of his heaving chest as he finally let go of control and allowed his emotions to run free.Â
Unable to stand up anymore, Malleus fell to his knees on the floor, burying his face against your stomach as he cried. His arms wrapped around you tightly as if you were the only thing keeping him upright. He held you like he would collapse if there was even as much as a millimetre of space between the two of you.
His devastating sobs and the desperate way he clung to you broke your heart. You wasted no time sinking down to kneel in front of the dragon fae so that you could properly return his full embrace.Â
Tears soaked your shirt as Malleus clung to you so desperately that it felt like you would bruise or your clothes would tear from his strength at any moment. That didnât matter, though. Bruises didnât matter. Clothes didnât matter. S.T.Y.X didnât matter.
Nothing mattered in that moment but the sobbing fae in your arms.
Malleus sobbed out apologies in between cries, and you did your best to calm him, whispering reassurances as you alternated between rubbing his back and petting his head gingerly, being extra mindful of his horns.
At some point, you ran out of new things to say, defaulting to a reassuring âitâs okayâ as you held him. Hopefully, he would feel better after letting it all out. You werenât going anywhere.
It could have been anything from mere minutes to several hours, but eventually, Malleusâ sobs began to die down to sniffles.
He lifted his head from where he had buried it against your shoulder, glancing up to meet your eyes with his red-rimmed, puffy ones.
âIâm sorry,â he said, voice cracking. âFor everything. All the people I hurt. The things I-âÂ
Fresh tears spilled past his lash line, and you didnât hesitate to cup his face in your hands, brushing them away as they fell. Malleus leaned into the warmth of your palms, seeking the reassurance your touch held.Â
âYou donât need to apologize, Mal,â you whispered, smiling at him. âNot to me. Never to me.âÂ
Leaning forward, you pressed a featherlight kiss against the scale on his forehead which peeked out from between tousled locks of hair.Â
âThere was nothing unforgivable about what you did. The people who were hurt are recovering, the school is being rebuilt, and everyone is safe.âÂ
Malleusâ breath hitched. Tears glistened in the corners of his eyes and across his long lashes like tiny diamonds.Â
âArenât you afraid?â he asked, voice still quiet and trembling. The âof meâ was left unsaid, but you knew it was there.Â
Your immediate smile was all the reassurance Malleus needed, but you still decided to verbally reassure him as well.
âI could never be afraid of you, Mal.â
The relief Malleus felt was palpable as he finally relaxed, shoulders dropping from their tense position as he leaned his weight into you.Â
His head shifted to press a pointed ear against your chest, listening to the steady and even thumps of your heartbeat.
To better support the body weight of the dragon fae, you shifted your sitting position so that you could lean your back against the wall. You refused to let Malleus get up so you could move, holding him close and carding your fingers through his hair with soft, comforting motions.Â
âBut I sawâŠâ Malleusâ voice cracked. âWhen my horn broke, I saw the look in your eyes. You looked terrified.â The last part of the sentence was a mere whisper, but the close proximity between the two of you made you able to pick it up.Â
âI was scared, yes,â you began, feeling something in your chest ache as you felt the powerful mage in your arms flinch. âBut not of you.â
Malleus tilted his head to meet your eyes, brows furrowed in confusion.Â
You let out an airy laugh, brushing a stray lock of hair behind his ear. âI was afraid for you. Afraid that you would have to be killed to stop your overblot. Afraid that I would never get to hold you like this again.â
You could feel tears brimming in your own eyes as you poured your heart out. âMal, I love you. Nothing you have done or will do could ever change that.âÂ
Cold lips pressed against yours with a soft reverence. The kiss was slow, unhurried as the two of you conveyed a thousand words between each other in a silent, intimate moment.Â
When you pulled apart, Malleus rested his forehead against yours, the cold of his forehead scale comforting. âYou wish to stay by my side still?â he asked, knowing the answer deep down, yet still fearful he would be mistaken.
âAlways.â
âEven if I look like this now?â he urged, leaning away far enough to do a sweeping motion towards his face and now uneven, damaged horns. âEven if-â
You cut him off with another kiss, this time more demanding than the prior. You tried pouring all your love into the kiss, trying to clear the insecure thoughts from Malleusâ mind. Taking the opportunity provided by Malleus as he had leaned away before, you climb into his lap, making yourself comfortable.Â
Pulling away from the kiss, you cradled his face gently but firmly in both hands, making sure he couldnât look away from you.
âMalleus, if you think something as insignificant as you looking different is enough to take me away from your side, you are far from correct.â You let your left hand travel up his face until it was gently tracing the base of his broken horn.Â
âYou could have four horns, eight and a half horns, or no horns at all, and it would still have no impact at all on my feelings for you.âÂ
Carefully, you gently ran the pads of your fingers over the broken part of the horn where it had snapped off. Malleus shuddered beneath you as your touch danced across his exposed, extra sensitive nerves.
âI love you because you are you. Not because youâre a Draconia, or a powerful fae. None of that matters.â Your hand returned to cradling his face once more.Â
âOf course, having a strong, handsome partner is a bonus,â you added with a giggle, delighting in the small, pale blush that crept across Malleusâ cheeks.
âBut Iâm not with you because of those things. Iâm with you because of all the things that make you you. The care that you show for me and those you care about, how fireflies follow you at night and circle our clasped hands. The cute way you pout when Sebek mixes up gargoyles and grotesques, itching to correct him. The childlike wonder you show to every new thing you learnâŠâ
You take a breath, wishing in vain for your voice to stay strong, but failing miserably.
â- the way that all youâve ever wanted is for people to see you for who you are, and be able to be yourself, unburdened by expectations and prejudices.â
Tears were flowing down your cheeks now, making you feel embarrassed. Right now, you needed to be the strong one supporting Malleus - not the other way around.Â
Swallowing the lump in your throat, you placed your hand against his chest, right above his heart.
âI see you.âÂ
A relieved, genuine smile - the first one youâd seen since the overblot - stretched across Malleusâ lips. He leaned into the touch of your palm, eyes shining with both residual tears and adoration.Â
âWhat did I ever do to deserve you?â he asked.
You immediately shook your head in outrage. âWhat do you mean deserve? You silly, silly dragon. You didnât have to do anything at all but exist.âÂ
Letting out a sound that was something halfway between a laugh and a sob, you continued as Malleusâ arms wrapped around your waist, holding you close.Â
âIf anything, Iâm the one undeserving of you.âÂ
His mouth fell open in shock, about to cut you off, but you forced yourself to continue, undeterred.
âYouâre the prince of Briar Valley. Not only do you have magic, but youâre one of the most powerful mages in the whole world! And the most ethereal, gorgeous person I have ever seen. Iâm a nobody compared to you. A magicless human from another world with nothing really special about me. My life is so much shorter than yours, and I-â
This time, Malleus refused to let you continue and cut you off. A slender finger pressed against your lips as he let out a dry laugh. âMy love, do you hear yourself? You are bringing up all the things you said didnât keep you from loving me to put yourself down. Just as these things donât matter to you, it is the same way for me. I did not fall in love with you because youâre a human or because it would benefit Briar Valley. I would renounce my claim on the throne in a heartbeat for you.â
Malleus cupped your cheek, mirroring your own earlier actions.Â
âI fell in love with the first person outside of my country who truly saw me for myself, was undeterred by how awkwardly I engage in conversation, and extended invitations to me - being the first person to see me as a choice, someone they wanted to be around. You have never looked upon me with the fearful gaze of a subject kneeling before me, and have never made me feel excluded in any way due to being a prince.âÂ
He let out a laugh, gazing fondly up at you. âAny and every day with you is an adventure. No matter where you take me, what we do together, or what people around us whisper about, itâs the fact that Iâm doing it with you that makes it special.â
âEven though I laughed at you when you were startled and jerked back when they were popping popcorn at a market stall and me and Silver had to fight to keep Sebek from drawing his sword at the poor owner of the stall?âÂ
Malleus let out a loud burst of laughter. âMoments like those are my favorite. Spending time with people I care about, and learning new things while not a single thought about my royal lineage crosses my mind.âÂ
Falling quiet for a moment, Malleus seemed to ponder something. With a resolute nod to himself, he resumes speaking.Â
âLike you said, I am aware that the differing length of our respective lifespans is a source of conflict and worry. I do not wish to ever lose you. You saw what happened when I was afraid I would lose LiliaâŠâ he trailed off for a moment, but quickly collected himself.
âEven though that is a fear I harbor, I do not wish to give up on loving you. If you are willing to stay with me despite all that Iâve done, we have many years to find a solution⊠andâŠâ Malleus took a deep breath, meeting your gaze again, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes.Â
â...and should we not find a solution, then so be it. I would much rather have lived a life with you in it and then lose you than never having had you in my life at all.âÂ
Terrified of loss and sadness, and knowing the potential consequences of that, he still wanted nothing more than to spend as many years as possible at your side. A century is a short time for a fae, yet even if that is all the time with you that he gets, he is certain that it will be the most memorable and most valuable hundred years he ever lives.
âYou ass,â you choked out with a laugh, wiping your nose with the sleeve of your shirt. âIâm the one supposed to be sappy and reassure you - not the other way around.â There was no mirth or anger in your eyes, and the remark was playful, attempting to lighten the mood.Â
Malleus let out a chuckle, chest rumbling. âWho is to say that I am not supposed to be the so-called âsappyâ one?â he asked, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. âYou are truly precious to me, and I cannot in any amount of words in any language properly convey just how much you mean to me.âÂ
He fell silent once more, peeking up at you through his lashes. âAre you truly certain that you wish to be with me after all this?âÂ
There was no need to pause and think. You already knew your answer and had known it for a long time now.
âThere is no place I would rather be.âÂ
Eventually, the pair of you fell asleep cuddled together on the floor, clutching each other tightly as if fearing that the other would disappear otherwise. Your head rested on Malleusâ chest, lulled to sleep by the soft, rumbling purrs he let out as he slept curled around you like a dragon guarding its hoard.
And for the first time since the overblot, neither of you worried about what you would find in your dreams, content to exist in the perfect reality that could only be found in the otherâs arms.
summery: what making out with the overblots is like.
tw: steamy-ish, this is as steamy as I'll ever get (not much at all lmao)
a/n: idk where this came from. Idek how good this is. I don't even like writing steamy stuff so this kinda reads more artistic somehow?? Idk
wc: 1.3k (~ 185 per character)
Master List
â„ Riddle Rosehearts
How uncouth of him. He canât seem to stop you as you continue to enchant him with your lovely kisses. Riddle is nothing but a lovesick fool when it comes to you, and it becomes apparent as your kiss becomes more fervent. Heâs a blushing mess as you seem to be unable to pull away. His heart is a stuttering mess, and he never wants you to stop. No matter how passionate your kisses become, it's still gentle. The way he caresses your face is soft, his lips caressing yours so lovely that you feel weak in the knees. And when you pull away, finally getting your fill of his love, you both are a bit of a mess. Hair slightly disheveled, clothes a bit crooked, lips a bit puffy. You couldnât complain though, it wasnât every day that you saw the Heartslabyul housewarden so unkempt. Riddle also didnât seem to mind so much, as long as you only do such actions behind closed doors. He doesnât think he could handle the embarrassment if Ace or Deuce caught you both in such an intimate act.
â„ Leona Kingscholar
Unlike Riddle, Leona is ruthless when it comes to your more passionate moments. Fervent kisses turn wild with lips being bit and prodding tongues. It feels like youâre being devoured every time and you wouldnât have it any other way. You had never seen him so passionate about something until he refused to let your lips part. He loved the way you felt, your soft lips puffy with abuse, hair tangled between his fingers. Leona was addicted to your taste and he isnât shy about it. Sure, he is a bit lazy, beckoning you to come closer to him, but heâll leave you breathless and wanting more by the end. It isnât fair how unaffected he seems after heâs done, pulling you closer for a nap (he needed to re-energize after all that labor). His silky hair was barely rustled, his clothes as messy as they normally were. The only evidence of your actions was his slightly puffy lips. Donât worry though, people know heâs yours with the way heâll kiss you anywhere anytime. Leona isnât afraid to put some runts in their place.
â„ Azul Ashengrotto
Azul has a love-hate relationship with the idea of kissing you. On one hand, he canât live without your lips slotted on his, on the otherâŠhe hates how vulnerable he feels. Though that feeling dissipates quickly when heâs suddenly surrounded with you. Your touch, your smell, you love. Heâs a greedy man and heâll take any attention from you he can get. His kisses turn desperate quickly, like heâd die if you were to pull away. Azul is a bit more of a messy kisser than heâd like to admit. His desperation for your love overpowers any of his other thoughts and he finds himself scrambling for purchase, holding onto you for dear life. Azul looks at you with so much love when you pull away you feel like your heart is about to explode. As much as heâd like to continue, he forlornly concludes that you both canât stay like this forever. Perhaps another time, youâre always welcome in his VIP room at the lounge after allâŠjust make sure Jade and Floyd donât notice your disheveled appearance as you exit.Â
â„ Jamil Viper
It wasnât often that Jamil indulged in such acts. Let himself be so vulnerable. But as you continued to leave sweet short kisses, he found his resolve crumbling. It scared him that you were able to make him give in so easily, but he trusted you, something that not many people had. His kisses feel a bit controlling, his hand pressed against the back of your neck keeping you in place. Jamilâs kisses are slow and deliberate. Every action has its purpose, and he loves to take his time and savor you. You find yourself hypnotized without his signature spell. Despite the deeply intimate act, heâs still tender with you. Jamil isnât touchy with you often, so heâll make sure you know how much he loves you. He hates to admit how he doesnât want to stop, but his break is almost over. Youâre more messy looking than he is at the end, and Jamil canât help but look smug. People wonât catch you in the act, but it raises some eyebrows when you come out of Jamilâs room a little more messy than when you entered.Â
â„ Vil Schoenheit
You lucky bastard. Another one that doesnât indulge in such actions often. Vil doesnât like to admit how much you get to him. The fact that he restrains from any physical affection with you mixed with how much he wants to drown you in loveâŠyeah lets say he finds himself releasing his pent up emotions on your poor lips. He only allows such acts when you're both unwinding for the day, and you are not allowed to leave any evidence (he has an image to uphold). Vil kisses you with so much passion youâre left breathless with the first one, and he wonât hold up either. You seriously question his remark of you being his first partner because the way he kisses you makes him feel like an expert. He looks like a God (always) by the end. Eyes dilated, chest heaving, golden hair barely out of place (but enough to make your heart flutter, you did that). Once you both slow down, heâll pepper your face with kisses wishing you a good night's rest as he plays with your hairâŠyou're not sure if you could sleep after that.Â
â„ Idia Shroud
You will always be the one to initiate such intimate acts. As much as he wants to, heâs too shy. An innocent kiss going a little farther as Idia couldnât resist the temptation that was you. And as your lips locked, Idia found his nervous energy leaving him as his mind melted into a goop. His kisses are inexperienced, teeth clashing with yours (he didnât mean too), but heâll learn over time. He can be a fast learner, and who wouldnât want to get some practice in? (Idia is more willing than youâd think). He gets a bit uncharacteristically confident the longer you two kiss. Pressing your lips together more firmly, shaking hands holding onto your figure, small whimpers swallowed by your awaiting mouth. Both of you are flustered beyond imagination by the end, warm cheeks and fast beating hearts, shaky breaths. Just like that, Idia finds himself short circuiting. You were just so amazing, lovely, warmâŠyou were gonna kill him one day. Donât even think of doing anything like that in public though, he might actually die (and cry and never go outside again).Â
â„ Malleus Draconia
Every time you shared a kiss it would be one of passion. Malleus loves you so much he felt the need to express it, make sure you clearly understood how much you meant to him. But you would have to be the one to push further, as Malleus usually left it at one kiss, he wanted you to set the pace. He wonât back down if you continue to kiss him, his actions will become more possessive. Hands that cradled your cheeks move to the back of your head, his kisses becoming more hungry. He basks in your warmth, in your love, in your being. He loses himself in you, and he internally thanks you for allowing himself to indulge in your love. Malleus isnât foolish enough to think it's appropriate for such actions to be indulged in with others presentâŠbut he also finds himself uncaring. He loves you, and if you wish it, who was he to deny? (Sebek will be so stunned that he canât get any words out). Not to mention how exhilarating to see the fae princeâs composure shattered. Pink cheeks, dilated eyes, puffy lipsâŠoh what a sight indeed.
celebrating your birthday with the twst boys hcs part 4, ft. diasomnia, the after party w/ the first years
read part 1 here read part 2 here read part 3 here
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
author's note: oops forgot to post the last part! finally done with this series of hcs, after this... my next writing post will be another one-shot so see u then!
total wc: 4.9k+ words (700-1.2k+ words each character)
MALLEUS DRACONIA
If you consider him a friend at the very least, please send him an invitation should you hold a party (which, considering what we know of the NRC birthday culture, seems to be expected).Â
If youâre a close friend and/or his partner, it should go without saying that you should invite him, else heâs definitely going to be more upset than usual with this particular instance. Heâs not lashing out or throwing a tantrum about it, but he does feel saddened by the choice.
If you tell him in advance, heâs going to spend a lot of time thinking about your invitation and your birthday in general. Heâs probably sitting down in Diasomniaâs lounge, looking as if heâs brooding over something incredibly serious like the state of affairs in his homeland, when in reality heâs thinking about what to give you as a gift.
In general incredibly grateful to be invited. Whether you tell him the day of or weeks before, heâs simply beaming at the thought. It looks a little ominous to an outsider, especially because Malleus is smiling with his teeth, fangs and all, but his inner circle get the details and they understand heâs just very proud of himself.
Sebek and Silver are probably applauding and nodding their heads in approval at the announcement because yes, who would be silly enough to not invite the Young Master, the chance to have someone like him celebrate you (Sebek) and finally, someone has not forgotten to invite Lord Malleus, and even invited him personally (Silver).
(If youâre not close to Sebek, Sebek is heavily contemplating if he should present you a gift as well since Malleus is doing so)
Meanwhile, Liliaâs teasing him about it. Malleus is in too much of a good mood to tell off anyone for whatâs coming close to pandering, like yes, behold! An invitation! You just know if the invitation comes in a physical form, heâs presenting it to the three of them. His more childish side comes up just this once.
And then he keeps the invite somewhere safe somewhere in his room.Â
In terms of helping you prepare a party⊠Well, he cannot say he actually has any experience in the preparation aspect, whether it be setting up the decorations or making food, but ahhh, since youâve invited him heâs willing to show his gratitude. Magic will do the trick, wonât it?
(If you insist on doing things without magic, heâll probably still do it, chuckling about how interesting it is for you to make demands of him. Also considers it a good learning experience, of which he can make discoveries from)
Letâs avoid having him set up any tech needed though.
If youâre the Ramshackle prefect, he does give you the option to host your party in his dorm, but he likes Ramshackle a lot so either place works for him.
During the party itself, reactions might differ in extremity depending on your relationship status with Malleus, and how public the both of you are about it.Â
If it seems to be similar to the current canon friendship between Malleus and the Ramshackle prefect, expect a lot of people to carry mixed emotions. Surprise, shock, intimidationâall of it bundled up into essentially them finding you fascinating and terribly brave, perhaps fearless, at how you casually have the Malleus Draconia at your party, clapping along to the obligatory Happy Birthday song playing in the background.
Most guests will still find themselves a little intimidated at Malleusâ presence if itâs well known that the two of you are close (or dating!), but itâs easier for them to wrap their heads around it. This is not Malleus the prince, but Malleus, a person you find dear, and clearly adores you back.
If Leona is also in attendance and he is also a close friend of yours (or your significant other), expect a gift measuring contest. Yes, theyâre mature, but theyâre also boys in a boarding school. Enough said.
Malleus⊠honestly does not know how to party it up! unlike most of your guests probably do. Most celebrations heâs attended are terribly formal, or more festival as opposed to party, but with some observation on his part and guidance from you and/or Lilia, or whoever he decides to ask, you can probably get him to fit in well enough. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, after all.
Ah, but thereâs no need to coddle him. As much as he enjoys time with you, he can manage on his own. Heâs not the best at communicating but he was not born yesterday either. The day is about you and he is certain he is not the only one who wants to celebrate you, so go along and talk to everyone else. You are allowed to simply return to him when youâre done.
The fact that heâs trying, even when heâs not the most successful, is quite sweet.
In terms of gifts, Malleus is a good gift giver. Knowing who youâre giving a gift to so that you can best appeal to them is important in maintaining and forging diplomatic relations.
He remembers the things youâve told him about yourself, about what you happen to likeâof course he does, considering you actually listen to him talk about gargoyles, so he chooses a gift based on that. And even when he gets an idea, he spends a good amount of time pondering what specifically to get you.Â
If someone teaches him how to order online, or someone does it for him, and youâve shown interest, heâs getting you your very own special artifact⊠a Gao-Gao Dragon-kun (EN: Drago). Predictable, but still cute.
If you and Malleus are together, heâs obviously serious about you and definitely sees a future with you. Sees no problem in giving you more than a few gifts, but if you really insist on just one, wellâŠ
Jewelry is a traditional, and perhaps expected, gift from him. Obviously high quality, with the finest jewels and crafted with real silver or gold, whichever suits you best. Might get it crafted for you specifically, but he might also give you an ancient piece (or set), one with history and meaning behind it.
If youâre not into jewelry, itâll probably still be something shiny, probably still bejeweled and created with the most precious of metals, something you can keep around youâa bookmark for the current book youâre reading, a hand mirror, a tassel on your bag.Â
If you allow him, heâs going to attach a spell on it as well, just a little something to keep you safe.
Honestly, if you just make a request about something hard to find (but in his scope, particularly something more vintage or considered ancient these days), heâll be able to procure it. If youâre human, will probably say something like, Fufufu, how bold of you to make requests from a fae. Are you prepared for the fate that would befall you should you not prepare something in return?
He says that knowing the price was already paid, a.k.a. getting to celebrate with you.
In conclusion, time may flow a little differently for someone like Malleus, but because itâs the day you were born, he takes special care to track the days leading up to your birthday. Yours is one celebration he will not allow himself to miss.
SILVER
Silver, if you tell him, makes it a point to remember your birthday (especially if youâre someone special to him, but even as a friend â or even a friend of a friend â he does remember). However, if you donât tell him in advance, he gets concerned that he fell asleep while you were telling him about it.Â
Whatever it is, while he would never get upset with you, he would still appreciate a clarification that no, this really is the first time youâre telling him about it and he wasnât being insensitive or anything of the sort. A gentleman to his very core.
Similar to Sebek, due to Silverâs training, heâs a good choice if you need assistance in setting up your party. Even if youâre not from Diasomnia, heâs politely excusing himself in your dorm as he helps you (and anyone else helping you) with lifting tables and chairs around, or lifting boxes of ingredients to be used in cooking, or liftingâ basically, he lifts a lot.
Feel free to drag him along to cook with you, even though he and others are mentioning that the birthday celebrant shouldnât be cooking their own birthday meals. Whether he convinces you to stay out of the kitchen or not, Silverâs putting his effort into making something youâd like⊠as well as practicing making meals for someone.
According to him, he has practice when it comes to baking cookies because he tried to make some for his father when he was younger, so he might make some for you.
Throughout your party he really does his best to stay awake to celebrate with you. You and everyone else think fate or some deity out there must have taken a shine on him because he does stay awake, always managing to catch himself before he falls asleep.
Heâs not exactly the type to dance the night away with you (although if you would like a slow dance away from prying eyes, he might just be up for it if he happens to like you), nor is he as competitive as some of your other guests, but heâll join a few select party games⊠of which he likely got dragged into by Sebek (trying to challenge him) or Kalim (for that second-year solidarity).
Silver is just willing to go along with whatever you want to do for your birthday. Since Silver doesnât exactly have the luxury of time most days, this is a great opportunity to hog him for yourself for an impromptu hangout/date!Â
And he really does mean anything. Do you want to go to town to visit a cafe or restaurant? Do you want him to take you horseback riding? Just hang around somewhere on campus and talk? Your word goes!
Letâs hope youâre not afraid of small and cute forest creatures because if youâre Silverâs close friend or lover, the little birds and the squirrels are going to drop by to give you a gift. Itâs very much a âbecause Silver likes you, the animals like you by associationâ thing.
Silverâs one of those people who donât care too much about keeping the gift a surprise, even as his significant other. If heâs unsure, heâll ask you what you want â it can be specific or something general, and heâll select a gift based on that.Â
What he lacks in the element of surprise he makes up for in presentation â the gift wrapper he uses is very pretty and neatly done, and when you read the tag youâll find his note to be, while formal, still full of heart. Heâll prepare flowers as well if you happen to like them! He seems quite serious at first when he gives you a gift, but after a few seconds he eases into a smile thatâs very charming and prince-like.
(The only time heâd be a little clueless about what to do is if you were his fatherâs significant other and the two of you werenât close. What should he give you? He feels like heâs in a weird position, having to ask his father about what he could possibly give you.)
To conclude, while Silver is normally quite serious, he goes out of his way to make your birthday as pleasant as possible, and it seems that everything really does go right for him â he manages to not fall asleep in front of you, heâs smiling more than he usually does, and he devotes the day to you as opposed to training.Â
He doesnât even seem to realize that his charms have been dialed all the way up to the point that itâs a little blinding to the untrained eye, but as his friend or significant other heâs a much appreciated presence and sight.
SEBEK ZIGVOLT
Dramatic baby boy. As an acquaintance he doesnât particularly care if you tell him about your birthday a month before or on the day of⊠unless youâre friends with his Young Master Malleus or Master Lilia, in which case he does wonder how worthy you are to be their friend, but will pass on the message.Â
As a friend will pretend he doesnât care that much, but definitely remembers your special day if you tell him in advance. Strolls up to your party like âyouâre not celebrating hard enough, good enough! You need my assistance, donât you?â
Also if you invite him as a friend, his immediate assumption is to wonder if youâre telling him to get Malleus to come to your party as well, or to put in a good word about you to Malleus, or â
Has a bit of a hard time wrapping his head around that you might actually want him around not for Malleus related reasons. Have patience with him, please.
If youâre a close friend or significant other, he definitely wants to know in advance. He seems haughty, and to an extent thatâs true, but the idea of failing someone important to him (e.g., Malleus, and in this case you), or not being good enough, both of those scare and motivate him simultaneously. He wants to prepare something special for you.
If youâre close, he freaks out if he finds out the day of. It sounds like heâs blaming you but his brain is already working twice as fast, wondering what preparations he can make and how he can celebrate with you. He disappears and you wonder what heâs up to, heâs actually asking for permission to skip some of his duties for the day.Â
Strong boy! If you need help making the preparations, he is certainly one of the guys you can go to. Heâs physically strong and an expert at running around all over the place (because of constant Malleus searching), so heâs a solid choice for an errand boy.Â
Sebek and art⊠he can appreciate it well enough, but creation isnât his forte. If you ask him about how to decorate and what looks nice, heâs either relating it to something to do with Briar Valley or Diasomnia, or, at the best case heâs relating it to the decor he saw his parents and siblings put up for his birthday parties.
Competitive. Whatever birthday games you have, heâs trying to win. Itâs kind of funny since heâs so tall â especially if his opponent is Jack or another tall boy like Floyd, just watching these boarding school boys fight over some silly party game you chose only to get a cheap prize you bought from an online shop in bulk.
Winner of the âloudest happy birthday greetingâ contest/game no doubt. âThatâs not a real game?â Well, clearly someone put it as one of the games to rig the system so Sebek gets a win.
He eats a lot! The party guest that makes you feel reassured about your food choices because of his appetite. You might notice that the food he touches the least is the one he happens to know is your favorite.
Especially if youâre close, he watches you like a hawk just to make sure youâre doing âthe important birthday activitiesâ which is singing and dancing and celebrating and eating your favorite food.Â
If youâre in a relationship, your guests may notice that heâs barely said a peep about Malleus today. Actually, hasnât he just been praising you all day? The first years probably tease him about it, and wonât stop for a while (a.k.a., until they find something new to joke about, as most friend group inside jokes work)
Gifts⊠if youâre not that close, not quite friends, he really does think youâre just there to worm your way into his heart to get to Malleus, so he just offers to talk to you about Malleus. If thatâs what you want, go ahead and listen, but try to let him know if thatâs not the case because he will not be stopped, he can go for hours.
If youâre his friend, Sebekâs honestly quite thoughtful. The gift is still very much him, either some nice stationery or a book he thinks youâd like based on your interests, but itâs a good sign that he actually does treat you as a friend and listens to you as well.
If youâre Malleusâ or Liliaâs significant other, he also gets you a gift regardless of how close you are to him. Itâs a matter of respect, of course. Probably looking for a sign of approval or praise, he doesnât want to disappoint you because that might end up disappointing Malleus/Lilia.
As his significant other, he tries to be romantic⊠meaning, he takes advice from Lilia and books (note: many of the books he uses as reference are quite old) on what gifts one should give their significant other. He pens letters and poems that have odd analogies and big words, even pulls out the cursive, but if youâre his significant other youâre probably already used to it. Itâs certainly not the first time.Â
No clue about his budget/allowance, but the type to specifically pick out something high quality, that you can keep with you for years, and practical things that he can spot you using in public as well. It fills him with a lot of pride like yes, my significant other is using something I bought! Arenât I a wonderful partner?
Overall the more you manage to worm your way into his heart and the more he thinks of you, and the better of a birthday party guest he makes. Heâs surprisingly very enthusiastic about your birthday, and is incredibly willing to take the lead to âteach you how to celebrateâ.
LILIA VANROUGE
Lilia is the type of person who, even if he doesnât know your birthday, talks like he does know it. Good at getting you to doubt yourself, if you actually told him, if maybe he has the ability to read your mind or if he overheard you while you were telling someone else. If you buy his bluff, you probably end up mentioning it casually, thinking he already knew.
âOh yeah, Iâm going to have a party tomorrow. Will you be able to drop by?â
No, Lilia did not know, but heâs definitely crashing, so thank you for inviting him.
But if youâre a close friend or partner, would definitely prefer that you tell him by your own volition as opposed to him getting the information out of you.
In terms of helping you out for your party, funnily enough he doesnât always have the time for it, especially if itâs a last minute preparation, but he does want to help you whatever way he can!Â
(He could just use magic, but thatâs boring. Probably helps you hang some streamers and other aerial decorations, though)
Honestly, controversial opinion, I think you should let him in the kitchen (with supervision from you), especially if youâre not low on ingredients or anything of the sort. Not for all the food or anything, maybe a dish or dessert that interests him (or something with beans, because, you know⊠Master Chef Lilia). Itâll probably be a fun experience! The worst that can happen is that he sucks and gets a laugh out of you (if he makes you eat the food⊠just say youâre saving it for the party or something)
During the party itself he, Cater, and Kalim are singing happy birthday and dancing around. Definitely pulls you along to dance, it might surprise you with how easy it is for him to lead you around and even dip you â just how strong is he, actually?
Take lots of pictures with him and get them developed! Give him some as well! Sure his memory isnât failing him, but he does want something tangible to remember a special day by.
In terms of gifts, it will depend on how âdearâ you are to him. It should be a given that regardless, he will give you a âcute and cool, charming, boyishâ gift. Maybe itâs a cute trinket with a mascot from Briar Valley/a game you happen to like, or a hairpin or tie with bat charms and ribbons attached to it, a choker or some other accessory in black or pink, something that screams, âyou know what? this is on brand for Lilia/doesnât this remind you of Lilia?â
Definitely gives it to you while heâs hanging upside down. Unless he knows youâll be upset/mad, will also try to surprise you by popping up out of nowhere to greet you.
Not to be too redundant but food cooked by him is always a possibility. Itâs the thought that counts, after all (though if you taste it, youâd find yourself surprised that it actually tastes quite good. He must have either asked for help or was particularly careful in cooking, maybe someone had to go through taste testing until he arrived on a âperfectâ dish)
If youâre Silverâs significant other and you know about the fact that heâs Liliaâs father, heâs offering to show you Silverâs baby pics as a present (+ some stories to accompany it), and if itâs really serious he probably getting you something meaningful, maybe a nice accessory that reminds you of Silverâs eyes⊠or has a protective charm on it. Silver adores you, so he takes care of you by association. You might as well be one of his already.
If you donât know heâs Silverâs dad, still gets you something anyway. Itâs funnier if youâre not close to Lilia at all, like a âhuh, Lilia got me a birthday present. Do you have any idea why, Silver?â moment
This probably also extends to an extent with Malleus, as Liliaâs very glad that spring has finally come for him, and even Sebek. Maybe not in the Silver level, but you do get some nice stories from their childhood, and maybe some adviceÂ
If you and Lilia are close friends or in a relationship, your gift might come from a different land (and honestly, a different time), something with a culture and history behind it, one that Lilia can tell you all about. Heâs an engaging storyteller, he talks like he was there when the item was crafted, or that he was the one who picked it up from some battlefield years ago.Â
Lilia likes an element of surprise in his gifts, and if he jokes about getting you some object or decoration five times your size you have to wonder if heâs joking at all.
Especially if youâre in a relationship or his âplatonic soulmateâ, he gets a little⊠sentimental, particularly when everyoneâs left the party. It might not be that obvious in his facial expression, but you can definitely pick up on it in his tone â rather, he lets you pick up on it. This especially applies if youâre human. He pushes aside the usual teasing compliments and jokes about his age to make way for more serious and meaningful praise and compliments.
Overall, compared to you, Liliaâs had a significant amount of birthdays, but that doesnât mean he doesnât see the value of celebrating them. He finds life to be something precious, especially the lives of his loved ones, so he pulls out all the stops to make sure your special day is a happy and memorable one.
If you donât have any plans to go on a date with anyone (in which case Ace will complain about how you should put your bros before your you knows), the rest of your evening is reserved for the first years to celebrate â meaning, you, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, Sebek, and of course Grim.Â
When theyâre telling their Dorm Leaders and Vice Dorm Leaders about it (well, all of them except Jack. He doubts Leona really gives a damn where heâll be), theyâre like Oh no, weâll definitely be back in our dorm rooms to go to bed!Â
They wonât be. Riddle can see a sleeve of Deuceâs pajamas peeking from his bag, and Trey saw Ace opening a new box of toothpaste in the bathroom. Itâs your birthday, so theyâre going to let curfews and rules and whatnot slide this time.
Vil just has that motherly instinct so he knows Epel is going to stay up all night and fall asleep on some couch or unclean floor, so he simply instructs the lilac-haired boy to bring his night routine skin care products. Whether Epel actually uses it is a problem for the Vil of the future.
Sebek is just⊠a very obvious boy, whoâs oblivious to the fact that heâs obvious. Lilia can read him like a book, and really has to spend a few minutes convincing him that no, heâs not abandoning his duties to the Young Master Malleus by having one (1) sleepover at a friendâs place. Malleus isnât going to get in trouble tonight of all nights. Sebek only lets go of his reluctance when the Diasomnia Dorm Leader gives his approval.
Orthoâs probably the only good boy who actually just says it straightforwardly to Idia â thereâs a 99.99% chance itâll become a sleepover, so he asks his brother to help him prepare.Â
Idiaâs occasional sweet moments (that arenât reserved just for Ortho) shine through. Aside from some party and board games, he loads Orthoâs bag with a bunch of unhealthy snacks. Thatâs what people eat in sleepovers, right?Â
If people thought the first years were being particularly troublesome during your party, that was them holding back. When you choose to enable them? When theyâre away from the eyes of their dorm leaders? Theyâre far worse, far more chaotic.Â
(Although they all think theyâre the most reasonable one in the group, the one with the most brain cells. Other than Ortho, they all lose brain cells when theyâre together, bless them. As for Ortho, he just chooses not to use his big brain for the sake of having fun)
This includes Jack and Sebek, who genuinely just need a push to let loose. Competition is the easiest way for the both of them to relax and have fun. Especially Sebek. Yes, he WILL (try to) defeat everyone in a silly human game of TWSTer what about it?
Ortho is 100% the banker in TWSTâs Monopoly equivalent. Heâs the one stopping Ace from getting a few extra bills from the bank (because yes, theyâre playing the old version with the bills and not the inferior credit card version). They also all have different understandings of the rules so they spend a good 10-15 minutes settling on which to follow and which rules theyâre making up.
They have a good amount of food for the sleepover, from your leftovers from your party earlier in the day, to whatever food everyone else managed to bring. The only one who doesnât bring any is Sebek, and he says everyone should be grateful he didnât bring any, for reasons more obvious to him than anyone else.
Itâs wiped out by sunrise though. Mostly because of Grim and Sebek.
They start a not-too-serious fight at some point, where you are obviously the one recording everything with your phone (or developing photos with the Ghost Camera).Â
Itâs Ace, Deuce, and Epel obviously, with Sebek yelling at them about their rowdiness (while not stopping them), Ortho making predictions about who will come out on top (also not stopping them), Grim laughing loudly while munching on food (obviously not stopping them), and Jack sighing deeply (stopping them⊠eventually)
Ace taps out first, lol. Everyone roots for Epel.Â
The obligatory two in the morning truth or dare game involving everyoneâs damaged egos and social media pages, and their seniors questioning them about what the hell happened last night and why did the prefect post a picture of you doing⊠the morning come.
Ace, Deuce, Epel, Grim are definitely the dare people. Ace in particular is all dares because he thinks people who pick truth are boring (in truth, he just doesnât want to spill embarrassing stories about himself⊠which is a sentiment that doesnât last that long)
Ortho is a mixed bag who alternates between truth and dare, but no one really goes that hard on him. Ortho still gives really interesting stories (most of which involve Idia) that make everyone go huh!
Jack and Sebek are truthers, but they do end up doing a dare or two if they donât want to answer any particularly personal (or embarrassing) questions
(If you happen to be dating one of them⊠or, excluding Ortho and Grim, youâre dating multiple/all of them/yâall are a polycule, well, truth or dare gets even worse, but in a fun way!)
The truth or dare game is followed by the just as obligatory three in the morning heart-to-heart session where everyone gets embarrassed about the past and contemplates about their futures, and everyone also cries a little (or a lot, but no oneâs going to admit that)Â
Followed by the four in the morning passed out on the floor all huddled up for warmth because everyone was too lazy to get in a bed or on a couch.
To wrap it all up, the first years are at their most powerful and embarrassing when theyâre all together but theyâre also the only group ever, go stan the first years thank you.
masterlist
and we're done! while these hcs aren't my most... eloquent writings, i still had a lot of fun, and it was really cute seeing people in the tags/reblogs talk about how their birthdays were coming up/had just passed and that they enjoyed reading/were going to read it on their birthdays. so so cute!
A random Malleus x Reader
Malleus isn't sure why he comes to your dorm so often. His booted feet take him there automatically, he supposes. If Lilia were to ask him, he's just making the rounds on his usual haunts and looking for pieces of forgotten grotesques and gargoyles in need of cleaning. Ramshackle was a prime destination for all things forgotten and dusty, after all.
Perhaps it can also be a home to things muddy and sopping.
A small smile twists the edges of Malleus' lips as he blinks rain from his emerald eyes. It's ironic that he, future King of Briar Valley and fifth most powerful mage in the world, was caught unaware by the weather.
How very human. It's a beautiful experience, to drown in the quiet hush of rain.
He steps lightly but with purpose, long shadow breezing up the walkway to your door. It swells as lightning tap-dances behind him. Thunder rumbles, much like the sound he tries to swallow down as you crack the door open hesitantly, face melting into one of welcome.
Oh, child of man...Malleus feels the warm swirl in his chest tighten as you take his hand and pull him inside. He ducks his head, finally remembering to pull his horns down enough so they don't scrape the frame like they have in the past.. "Fae are supposed to be invited in," he reminds you. "And I told you, you always have a standing invitation." you say with a gentle dismissiveness that both humbles and endears him. You continue to show him that you care not for his title or his princely demands. You treat him like all the others. He does his best to stand on the welcome mat you thrifted, afraid the water will rot the ancient floor and leave you with something else to fix. You scurry back with towels and some spare clothes that smell like human. Not you, but human. Malleus can't stop the angry rumble in his throat as he realizes that smell is probably from your human friends at Heartslabyul. Clothes for other men? Disgusting. You always forget he has another set of vocal chords and he excuses the noise as 'clearing his throat'. "It's all I have," you murmur, unsure now if you should take the offer back. He can tell you're still debating that uncouth noise, the slip of the tongue.
"I accept your generosity." Malleus knows it won't be a perfect fit, but it would do better than your clothes. Not that he didn't like the idea of adorning himself in your scent. Turning away from you a little, Malleus removes the purple striped belt at his waist and undoes the many gold buttons on his curious coat. You can't tell what the black shirt is underneath but it sticks to him and you find yourself trying to tear your eyes away and commit him to memory all at once.
Not in the creepy way! Just in the 'I've never seen Malleus in just gloves, a shirt, pants, and boots before' kind of way. He's none the wiser, realizing he has a real problem on his hands. The gloves he chose are water resistant but they've somehow gone flush against his slick skin and feel more like a seal than a savior. His draconian nails cannot save him, blunted and useless in the leather. Should he use his teeth? What if he hooked them on the edge of a horn and just shimmied it off? You can practically read his mind and grab his hand before he can raise it near his head. "Don't do that! You'll ruin them!" you give a huffy laugh at his simple, boyish logic and it takes every ounce of control from all his decades of walking upright to keep his tail from smashing a hole in your floor.
He watches you drape the loaner clothes around your neck like some sort of scarf as you motion for his hand.
Your hands are almost cartoonishly small in his as they trace the stitching and try to feel for any buttons or ridges. Small, but so considerate and so warm. Dragons run warm from the fire and magic in their blood but he cannot explain why your touch is absolutely radiating and searing him in the most comforting way through the leather. He almost hopes you never figure out how to take them off so you can just fiddle with his hands forever. Malleus relaxes into your touch, basking in the care and attention.
His hopes are dashed when the glove separates slightly from his lax wrist and you free his hand. You pull off the other one. If he had no shame, he'd make a cool request for you to hold them and warm them. "Boots off, then change." you give him a small rag for his hands and point to his feet. Delighted and somewhat surprised to be your willing subject, Malleus obeys and starts to take off his boots.
He braces himself against your wall with one hand, mindful not to put himself through it like he almost did the mine tunnel at Beanfest. One boot off, he wrestles blindly with the other. Malleus is much more interested in how you tend to the pitiful fire in your fireplace. Your back is to him and whatever you're wearing leaves you shapeless but cozy. The embers crackle in the hearth, the light dancing across your face in a way that makes something baser claw at the pit of his stomach.
Shiny thing. Dragons like shiny things. You would be a most gorgeous shiny thing. Always ethereal, no matter what you're wearing or doing. If you would permit him, you would be his most valued treasure.
His heart sings at the thought, almost tying itself in a knot. That low, tingling feeling comes back to him and Malleus wants to croon his Dragon Song. It would fall on deaf ears, so to speak, as you have no dragon blood to appeal to. "Your eyes are doing that thing again." Malleus flinched a little, green fire sparking in his mouth as a warning puff of smoke dissipated between you. He didn't realize you'd come upon him again. The dragon relaxed, turning his head away as he exhaled the building smoke through his nose before it could send him into an undignified coughing fit.
Lilia had been consulting his grandmother on some behaviors as of late and both arrived to the same conclusion: he's experiencing draconian puberty. 'The thing' his eyes do are a sign of said puberty. It is the unfurling of all his emotions, the dilation of his eyes signaling his interest and trying to draw you ever deeper to him. In a way, it is a thrall, but it leaves him at your mercy as much as it should leave you in his.
Somehow, you don't take it as hard. If his world wasn't a sudden explosion of the scent of your skin and soap, the heat of your body, and the curious fondness with which you look at him, he would ponder this injustice further.
But he does not. Right now he can't even find the words for a simple lie, a diversion, as he breathes in the smell of you and tries not to melt. To have you touch him right now would be the worst thing but he's never wanted it more. He wants so badly to sink his fangs into your wrist, your neck, and let you wear the affectionate bruises like a family crest. His family crest.
"You're supposed to be getting changed," you admonish him.
"Mmm, but I can't," Malleus refrains from snuggling into the small towel you're blotting against his face. He closes his eyes and tries to sense the heat of your hand through the fabric as you move carefully around his lashes. "I'm being tended to and it would be rude to interrupt," he teases.
"No point in giving you dry clothes if you're going to get them wet putting them on." you laugh. He swallows thickly as you brush his throat dry. "Now go change," you swat him with the rag. Body towel and clothes in one hand, damp footprints follow Malleus to a spare room.
As he suspected, the clothes were ill-fit for his frame. Spade and Trappola were smaller than he was, being human and all. It was another thing entirely to get the shirt over his head without shredding it on his horns. He's afraid to move his arms too much and hopes he's not offending you by pulling the pants low enough to give his tail room. You've just finished laying his clothes out on dry towels before the fire and he's grateful.
It is a dying fire. You have a small supply of kindling and old papers to feed it but he doesn't think it will be enough. "I would like to repay your generosity with a gift. May I?" "You know you don't have to get me anything," you wave him off. He's not sure if it's a human trait or a you trait but you don't take easily to gifts.
"But it is practical and will serve us both," he knows he's caught your attention. He can see you trying to figure out what kind of gift that would be. Malleus approaches the fire, kneels down, and breathes it in. Dragons who can breathe fire, like himself, can convert outside sources of heat to their fire on rare occasions. You jump when he spits out a green flame and it roars to life, casting the walls in jeweled light and emitting a heat you didn't know you missed.
"Cozy!" you chirp. It was a gentle kind of heat that would be perfect for snuggling under a blanket. He sits on the other end of the sofa, a respectful cushion between you, and rests his head on a hand as he looks at you.
"And it will last much longer! You needn't fret about it getting out of control, either. It is my fire, and I can control it." he sees the beginning of sleep on you. Malleus grew up with Silver and was all too familiar with the slow descent into a nap. You make a valiant effort, he will give you that. You're in the middle of a soft argument about being rude to company and Malleus laughs despite himself.
He dropped in uninvited. Certainly that's more rude, yes?
The two of you lapse into a comfortable silence, the fae more amused than he has been in a long time as your eyes get heavier. You look stunning in the green glow and he can't help but think you'd look just as ravishing in black.
In a crown. On a throne. In his bed. All of these things have the Dragon Song welling up in him again. The buzzing in his chest closes off his ears; Malleus jumps to alertness as you tug gently on the ends of his dark hair. "You let your hair down. It'll get weird if it dries in a ponytail holder."
It takes some effort, but he untangles it from his hair. "What shall I do about you, Child of Man?" he muses. "I will be forever indebted to your attentiveness."
"Did you find anything cool on your walk? You always show me." your eyes twinkle with the vestiges of consciousness. This is your one final push before succumbing to sleep, he can tell. He did, in fact, find things to show you and had forgotten them until now. When you're drenched, everything just feels heavy and soaked through. Malleus fishes the random items from his coat pocket and settles back down on the couch.
You've seen all manner of things at this point--feathers, polished rocks, twisted roots that looked interesting, pieces of statues, actual gems--and it never gets old. He presents you with a rock carved into the shape of a bear, a chunk of what might have been an old cup, and a ring.
The ring doesn't catch your eye right away. You're too busy playing with the bear. He wiggles his hand so the firelight catches it and you still. Malleus takes the bear from you, flipping your hand over to slide it on your finger. "A gift, my dearest."
"Malleus, I--" you start to protest.
"We fae are no strangers to offerings, both giving and receiving. It would be a disservice to present you with anything less." he speaks over you, his words gentle but commanding. He kisses your hand.
You'd be lying if you said you hadn't thought of dating him. It just seemed a little silly--a random no-name person and the fae prince? What kind of cliche was this?
A handsome one that was staring you right in the face.
"If you'd like more, the best I can offer you is a kingdom." he teases, lounging back against the sofa. He said it so casually that it caught you off guard. You're face is almost unbearably hot and Malleus chuckles.
"A whole kingdom?" you finally recover. "I'll take it."
Oh, there it went. Malleus felt the trap snap shut on his heart. This was the lethal moment Lilia warned him. He was helplessly smitten and enchanted. Irreversibly so.
"Truly?" he's before you in a second, one hand around your waist and the other holding the one with the ring. "Now is not the time to jest, Child of Man. I offer you my heart in earnest and the reply must be just as true!" he's staring up at you through his bangs and you swear you see more scales on his forehead.
"W-Well, yeah," you stutter. "I wouldn't mind. Just kind of thought we would do more dates and stuff first," your face was heating up again.
"We shall, as many as you like!" he's scooped you up in one arm, cradling you to his chest. You threw your legs around him so you didn't fall backwards but he doesn't notice, pulling your other hand over his shoulder. "Every day, even! As soon as the weather clears, in fact!" "But it'll be dark out!" you protest. Malleus probably could change the weather if he wanted but that wouldn't stop the ground from squelching and things being nasty. He stopped excitedly rambling about walks and things to do.
"We've walked in the dark before?" he doesn't understand why you don't want to go out this particular time. "And I have seen you to your door, safe and sound every time."
"But we're already here. Together. Inside." you explain slowly. "Maybe we could...cuddle...a little."
Oh yes. Splendid idea! Malleus all but dives for the couch at the suggestion. It is a paltry nest but it's yours. You're still recovering from the recoil, glad he fell back first and didn't squish you.
Did you just hear something rip? You hope he didn't break the couch. You don't get much time to think about it as he pulls you close and tucks you under his chin like he's been rehearsing it with a pillow. He's just the right combination of soft and muscle, of guard and gentle as he figures out where to put his hands. He settles for one supporting his head and the other cradling yours.
It's very awkward because he's mostly off the couch but he can't be bothered. You're slowly drifting to sleep in his arms and he's never felt more joy. He watches with deep interested, practically holding his breath as you sleep. Faes don't need as much sleep as humans but he doesn't think he could sleep if he tried because you've been courted by him!
Malleus is roused by his phone sometime later. The couch is small and cumbersome to him but it's held up. He begrudgingly untangled himself from you to answer it, long arm just reaching it on the table.
"Yes?"
It's Lilia. "Where are you, young man? We've been trying to reach you!"
He had fifteen missed calls from Sebek, eight from Lilia, and some text messages from Silver.
"Ensnared, I fear." Malleus smiles into the crown of your head. "I'm doomed to languish in absolute bliss. It's a very powerful enchantment, you see."
"Taken the leap, have you, Malleus?" he could hear the smile in Lilia's voice.
"I have, and I've landed in something quite wonderful."
"We fae are supposed to trick and trap, not the other way around! But...at least you're safe. Make it known that I will not tolerate--"
"Any eggs before marriage." Malleus rolled his eyes. He'd only heard that a million times recently.
"If you're not back at Diasomnia in two hours, I'll break that enchantment myself. Understood?"
"And if I object?" Malleus challenged, patting your head as you began to move.
There was a moment of silence. "I shall tell your grandmother."
Malleus hung up.
That might do the trick, he thought, brows raised. His grandmother was from an older generation of fae who were still entrenched in anti-human beliefs. Would she love you because he did? Could you enchant her, too? One look at your sleeping face, so at peace and pressed up against him, had him convinced.
Yes, he was pretty sure you could enchant any fae. It certainly worked on him.
You're trying to court Malleus so why is he acting so weird? Malleus is trying to court you, so why are you acting so weird.
aka you try fae courtship and malleus tries human courtship, you both fail spectacularly.
Scene 1: The Offering of... Chaos?
You were determined. Absolutely, one hundred percent determined to win over Malleus Draconiaâs heart the fae way. Youâd done your researchâwell, half-researched. You mightâve skimmed some books. Okay, maybe you watched some video where a guy talked about it for 10 minutes. But still! You were ready to tackle fae courting, head-on.
Which is why you were standing in the middle of the campus courtyard holding a potted mandrake. Because, according to some source (you couldnât quite remember which), gifting rare plants was a surefire way to court a fae prince.
Unfortunately, no one told you that the mandrake in question would scream like a banshee as soon as you yanked it out of the dirt.
"Behold!" You shouted, thrusting the potted terror toward Malleus, who had appeared in his usual fashionâstealthy and majestic, like a dragon perching on a mountain. "A rare gift for the noble Prince of Briar Valley!"
The mandrake, in all its wailing glory, let out a soul-piercing shriek. Nearby students flung themselves behind trees and bushes. Sebek fainted. Silver, as usual, napped through the chaos.
Malleus blinked at you. Once. Twice. His face was a mixture of confusion and slight amusement. "Are you... trying to summon something?"
You frowned. "Summon? No! This is for you!" You held the screaming mandrake higher, like an offering to some ancient god. "As a... token of my appreciation! You like plants, right?"
The mandrake let out a final, particularly blood-curdling scream before going silent, wilting slightly in the pot. Malleus blinked once. Twice. âI... do like plants, yes. But usually... not ones that wish to harm me.â
You grinned, proud of your extremely thoughtful choice. âWell, this one just has personality!â
Malleus cautiously took the pot from you, staring down at the now exhausted mandrake. âThank you,â he said, sounding unsure if you were joking or being sincere. âIâll... treasure it.â
Somewhere in the distance, Ace and Deuce exchanged pitying looks. âMan,â Ace muttered, âhe doesnât deserve this.â
Scene 2: The Worst Poem Ever Written
Malleus had been doing his own researchâmuch more thorough than yours, of course. Heâd read books. Lots of them. Mostly ancient tomes from his castle library that were centuries old. After all, human courting customs couldnât have changed that much, right?
His plan was foolproof: Humans enjoyed poetry. Therefore, he would craft you the most beautiful, heart-stopping poem ever written, and your affection for him would blossom like the midnight roses of Briar Valley.
He found you sitting under a tree near the school, probably recovering from your last spectacular fae courting attempt (the less said about the mandrake incident, the better). Malleus approached with all the grace of a dark prince, his black cloak billowing in the wind, carrying a scroll in his hand.
"Dearest," he began, as you looked up from your phone. "I have composed a poem for you. An ode to your beauty and grace."
Your eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yes. Please, allow me." He unfurled the scroll dramatically.
You sat back, intrigued. This was either going to be a disaster or absolute gold. Either way, you were ready.
Malleus cleared his throat, then began to read with all the gravitas of a Shakespearean actor:
"Your hair, like the moss that grows on the oldest tombstones,
Your eyes, like the deepest, darkest, creepiest of wells,
Your voice, as soothing as the distant scream of a lost soul..."
You snorted. "What?"
"Your beauty is like the moon, that I can never reach, because it is in the sky... far away... and also made of rock." He paused, glancing at you hopefully. âDo you like it so far?â
You bit your lip, desperately trying not to laugh. "Um... It's... something. Keep going."
Malleus beamed. "Thereâs more!"
"Your hands, soft like the belly of a small woodland creature..." He continued, and you finally lost it, howling with laughter. âIs it not... moving?â
You waved your hands, barely able to breathe through your giggles. "Malleus! Are you... Are you serious?!"
âI thought humans liked dark poetry,â he said, looking genuinely concerned.
âWell, some do, butââ You stopped yourself, trying not to laugh. âNo, wait, keep going. I want to hear more.â
Malleus, relieved, continued. âYour beauty is like the full moonâcold, distant, and surrounded by darkness.â
Somewhere behind a nearby tree, Lilia was biting his lip to stop from laughing, while Ace and Deuce shared looks of absolute pity for their friend and Malleus.
Ace shook his head. âPoor guy. Heâs trying so hard.â
Scene 3: The... Ambush?
Since the plant-gifting thing didnât go quite as planned, you decided that maybe a more public display of affection would be the ticket. According to something you half-remembered (and maybe misunderstood), fae really appreciated grand gestures of intent. So, naturally, you chose the school cafeteria at lunchtime as your stage.
As you climbed on top of a table, all eyes turned toward you. Malleus sat at a corner table, watching you with his usual calm, collected demeanor, but you could see the confusion in his eyes.
"Prince Malleus!" you shouted dramatically, lifting your arms in the air. âI declare before all of these witnesses that I shall offer this to you!â
The cafeteria fell into dead silence. Well, except for Lilia, who was quietly choking on his laughter in the background.
Malleus blinked, his expression unreadable. âYou... what?â
"Yes! I offer youâ" you pulled out the cabbage youâd swiped from the kitchen earlierâ"this symbol of my devotion!"
Malleus stared at the cabbage in your hands. "Is that... a vegetable?"
âYes! Itâs a sign of fertility or... something.â You werenât entirely sure, but it sounded right. âI picked it myself!â
Malleus blinked again, clearly trying to process this information. âI... appreciate the gesture."
Lilia butts in. "Beastie, Iâm afraid cabbages arenât typically used in fae courting rituals.â
You pouted, hopping off the table. âWhat? But I read thatâ"
âPerhaps... next time, try flowers?â
Behind you, Ace facepalmed. âOh, man. They're hopeless.â
Scene 4: The Gift of... Dirt?
Malleus was now absolutely convinced that something was seriously wrong with you. You seemed... more chaotic than usual, and while he enjoyed your enthusiasm, he had no idea why you were suddenly thrusting vegetables at him.
In his effort to reciprocate (and maybe figure out what was going on), he decided to give you a gift of his own. A very special one. From his homeland.
After all, humans liked sentimental gifts, right?
Thatâs why, one morning, he approached you with a small velvet pouch in his hand, his face filled with sincerity. âChild of Man, I have something for you.â
âOh?â You tilted your head, curious. âWhatâs that?â
He handed you the pouch, and you opened it, only to find... dirt. Black, slightly glittery dirt.
You stared at it. Then at him. Then back at the dirt. âIs this... dirt?â
âYes,â Malleus said proudly. âFrom Briar Valley. Itâs a very special soil, infused with the magic of my homeland.â
You blinked. âYou got me dirt.â
âVery magical dirt,â he corrected, as if that made it better.
You bit back a laugh, trying to keep a straight face. âUm... thanks?â
Ace, watching from a distance, nudged Deuce. âMan, They're gonna end up with a garden at this rate.â
Scene 5: The Unnecessary Duel
Clearly, you had been doing something wrong, because your attempts at fae courtship had been met with nothing but polite confusion. But you were nothing if not determined. The next step in your (completely misguided) strategy? Prove your strength in battle. Duh.
You marched up to Malleus one afternoon, sword in hand, and pointed it at his chest. "Malleus Draconia! I challenge you to a duel!"
Malleus blinked at you, clearly baffled. âA duel? With... me?â
âYes!â you declared, brandishing the sword with a flourish. âI shall prove myself worthy of your admiration through combat!â
Malleus tilted his head. âYou... wish to fight me?â
You nodded enthusiastically. âYes! To the death! Or until someone taps out. Whatever works.â
Malleus looked utterly bewildered but amused. âI... see. But are you sure this is necessary?â
"Absolutely. I need to show you my strength." You tried to strike a dramatic pose, but the sword was way heavier than it looked.
Lilia, perched nearby, was barely containing his laughter. âOh, this is too good.â
Malleus raised his hand. âPerhaps another time. I would not want to harm you.â
You frowned. âHarm me? Pfft. Iâm tougher than I look, dragon boy.â
Scene 6: The Romantic WalkâThrough a Thunderstorm
Malleus had one last idea. Humans, heâd read, liked romantic walks. That was simple, right? No vegetables. No poetry. Just a quiet stroll. What could possibly go wrong?
Unfortunately, he decided to take you for a walk through the forest on a day when the sky decided to unleash the full wrath of a thunderstorm. And because he was a fae, storms didnât bother him.
You, on the other hand, were not a fan of being drenched to the bone.
The rain came down in sheets, lightning crackling overhead as you both trudged through the mud. You tried to keep your umbrella steady, but the wind whipped it inside out almost immediately.
âMalleus,â you called over the storm, shouting to be heard. âWhy are we walking in this? Are you trying to drown me?â
Malleus, entirely unfazed by the downpour, turned to you, his face serious. âI thought a walk through nature would be a calming experience for you.â
You stared at him, your hair sticking to your face, clothes soaked through, and boots filled with mud. âCalming?! Iâm about to be struck by lightning!â
He blinked, as if only now realizing the storm might be an issue for you. âAh, I see. Humans are... more susceptible to storms. My apologies.â
âYa think?â You huffed, clutching your now-ruined umbrella. âA âromantic strollâ usually involves good weather.â
Malleus frowned, looking genuinely troubled. âI thought the power of the storm would inspire awe.â
âYeah, itâs inspiring me to run back inside.â You sighed, shivering. âThis is... sweet, I guess. But, uh, maybe next time we check the weather before planning any âromanticâ activities?â
As you struggled to wipe rain from your face, you caught a glimpse of Lilia againâhe was standing under a tree, dry as could be, watching the scene unfold with glee. His mischievous grin practically radiated from the shadows.
âYouâre having fun with this, arenât you?â you shouted toward him, but Lilia just waved, clearly loving the chaos.
Malleus, still deep in thought about his failed attempt at human courtship, suddenly looked serious. âPerhaps a different form of human bonding is needed next time.â
Behind you, Ace and Deuce were trailing a safe distance away, both dripping wet but trying to keep from laughing too loudly.
âMan,â Ace muttered, shaking his head. âThey're gonna give the poor guy a heart attack one day.â
Deuce nodded solemnly. âOr heâll get us all killed.â
After days of mutual confusion and failed courtship rituals, you found yourself, once again, sitting with Malleus in one of the schoolâs many quiet courtyards.
âYâknow,â you began, squinting at him. âI feel like youâve been acting weird lately.â
Malleus gave you a similar look. âIâve been thinking the same about you.â
You blinked. âWait, me? What do you mean?â
âWell,â Malleus said, his brow furrowed, âyouâve been offering me... odd gifts. Vegetables. Challenging me to duels. Declaring intentions in public spaces. Itâs... unusual.â
You froze. âThatâs... fae courtship. Iâve been trying to... yâknow...â
Malleusâ eyes widened. âYouâve been attempting to court me?â
Your face flushed. âWell, yeah! I thought you were acting strange, so I figured you were waiting for someone to, I donât know, woo you.â
Malleusâ confusion quickly shifted to amusement. âIâve been trying to court you this whole time.â
Your jaw dropped. âYouâre what?!â
âI believed you were in distress, so I attempted human courting rituals. Clearly, they didnât go as planned.â
You both stared at each other for a long moment, the realization of mutual failure sinking in. Then, unexpectedly, you burst out laughing, and Malleus, after a moment, chuckled too.
âWell,â you managed between laughs, âwe really suck at this.â
âIndeed,â Malleus agreed, his eyes warm with amusement. âPerhaps next time, we should... communicate better.â
âYeah,â you said, wiping a tear from your eye. âThat might help.â
From a safe distance, Lilia watched, his face beaming with pride. âAh, young love,â he sighed dramatically. âHow wonderfully chaotic.â
Ace shook his head, utterly done with the entire situation. âTheyâre hopeless.â
Deuce nodded in agreement. âAt least itâs finally over... right?â
They're so stupid (affectionate)
This is a darker story. I suggest you refrain from reading it if you're in a fragile mental stare or unable to handle darker themes.
A commotion stirs. It begins like thunder in the chest of the crowd, a crack of sound that startles and rolls, desperate hands reaching through bodies like roots seeking water in drought-stricken soil.
Someone is calling your name. Your real name.
Not the title you wore like a shroud. Not the nickname that softened your edges.
Your name.
The voice is fraysâhoarse, raw with need. It claws through the noise, a tattered plea thrown into the wind as if desperation alone could stretch far enough to hold you back.
"Pleaseâ!" It breaks in the air. A sound meant to tether you, but you're already untethering.
And beside you, the Blot is still.
So still it could be a statue, if not for the shimmer of hope trembling beneath its ribsâtangled tight and thin like a string pulled to its last length. It does not speak. It does not beg. But its silence is louder than any cry.
Maybe you'll cradle it. Maybe you'll turn, take its hand, and flee the way lovers do in mythâgods and ghosts disappearing into the fog.
But you don't. Your gaze is coldâresolute. Winter-steeled.
This is the revenge you swore when you made the pactâ The poison laced into your vow. The hurt you promised to deliver as penance for the ache they'd carved into your soul like a name into bark.
They wore you like sacred threat, stitched into their bones, carried you like a talisman. But they never saw the fraying. The single knot at your heart that, when pulled, unraveled the whole tapestry.
You part your lips to speakâto scorch them with words meant to blister. To scar. A final dagger honed in your ribcage for this moment alone.
But instead... You smile. And then you laugh.
It spills from your chestâthick, golden, like honey boiling in a broken jar. Sticky with truth. The most beautiful sound you've ever madeâand it isn't for him.
It's for you.
In that momentâbetween your breath and your burningâ They understand.
They understand everything.
The missed chances, the paper-cut apologies never sent, the sins they swore were harmless.
They realize how easy it had been to pretend you'd be around forever.
And now their mouths are full of words they'll never say. Too late. Too full of rot. Too small for the wound.
You watch despair bloom behind their eyesâa crack in glass, delicate and terminal. Your own eyes are distant now. Indifferent. Like a ghost staring out from behind a mirror.
Then, quietly, You turn. And you leave.
Let them sort through the ashes. Let them pick up pieces they never knew they broke. Let them wade through the guilt like a tide they thought they could outswim.
They won't change until you're gone.
Isn't that funny?
He'll pace past his own reflection now; unable to meet the eyes of the person that drove you away.
Back and forth like a metronome wound too tightly, hands busy with a sweater you left behind, folding shirts meant for a person who no longer exists. He replays the old song you used to humânot quite right, off-key, like a spell recited by someone who doesn't believe in magic anymore.
He buys your favorite drink. Leaves it on the table. Forgets it's there until it rots. He'll search your scent in aisles of perfumeries and candles and find nothing close enough. He'll try to replace it and gag on the synthetic.
He didn't suffer for what he did. But he'll suffer now.
He'll rot from the inside you, choked on every memory left behind. A ghost haunting the life he thought you'd stay in.
And as for youâ Your feet know the way before your heart does. Over uneven pavement and broken sidewalk cracks, past the tagged street sign you once pointed out with a laugh. Through shortcuts you forgot had names. Through alleys that only mattered now that they are yours again.
You look insane. Laughing in odd, foreign clothes. Wind-swept and half-feral. A missing person returned to earth, shedding fantasy like old skin.
But for onceâ You're not a chosen one. You're not cursed or divine. You're not a puzzle to be solved or a prophecy to fulfill.
You are someone whose coffee order is remembered by name. Someone whose favorite flower grows near the mailbox. The boy in the hall knows your favorite color. The girl at the bus stop knows your music taste.
No grand magic. No haunted past. Just faint recognition. Just warmth.
It's enough.
You return home. To the endless hum of a cheap fan, tot he familiarity of old blankets, to warm hands that grip you tight enough to shake. They don't let goâafraid you'll vanish again.
You cry over breakfast. You laugh into leftovers. You fall asleep under the weight of soft, human loveâthe kind that doesn't demand you perform for it.
Your home smells like that one candle you have and the smell of detergent that you can only notice when you're gone.
A thin, red scar remains on your left ring fingerâan echo of a promise, a ghost of a bond once forged in blood. An artifact that once held you upright, that once puppeted your limbs like a marionette of grief. It no longer works here. It doesn't belong.
The Blot once told you the world rights itself. A broken piece returns damaged, yesâbut still returns.
And here?
Here, you are whole. Your world cradles your fragile soul and repairs its shattered bones.
Your lungs no longer ache with rigor. Your heart doesn't rattle like an empty cage. You are not a ruin. You are not a corpse.
You are alive.
Let them mourn. Let them remember. Let them scream your name into the sky, scratch it into stone, weave it into stories they'll never finish. Let him wear your voice like a wound. Let your smile haunt every place you touched.
But youâ
You won't remember them.
Somewhere, far from your warmth, in a school rotting beneath its golden reputation, your last laugh echoes through empty hallsâan unending, unanswered whisper.
Your portrait hangs in the halls of Night Raven Collegeânot as a saint, not as a sinner. As a question. A sigh. A shadow.
Your name is face is drawn in the corner of old textbooks, your name carved under a desk .
And in the stillest hour of the night, he hears you in the quietâ Not a scream. Not a laugh.
A sob.
He hears grief he'd been deaf to before.
And you?
You're wrapped in warm sheets, safe in a world that forgot your sins and never expected your sacrifice.
You're somebody.
Even when no one's watching. Even when you're alone.
Go back?
Okay.
summery: you confess through a love letter, it doesn't fail to warm his heart.
tw: none.
a/n: idk I was bored
wc: 1.6k (~200 per character)
Master List
â„ Riddle Rosehearts
You had put your all into the presentation of the letter. You tried to make your handwriting as neat as possible while spilling your feelings astutely so as to not overcloud the meaning or make it look like a joke. Perhaps you were overthinking the whole ordeal, but who wouldnât when confessing your feelings? You had managed to slip the letter into his bag without him noticing. In fact, he wouldnât find the pristine white letter until he was getting ready for bed. At first he was confused, he hadnât recalled receiving a letter, but it was addressed to him, and he carefully opened it, making sure to not rip the rose sticker holding the envelope closed. Riddle wasnât sure what he expected, but it wasnât a meticulously written love letter from you. His heart rate sped up, his face burning a bright red once he got to the end. He could barely sleep that night, not with you running through his head. The next day he dutifully wrote his own letter as a reply, handing it to you without meeting your eyes. Open it once youâre alone, yeah? He doesnât think he can handle your reaction even though you were the first to confess.Â
â„ Leona Kingscholar
You werenât sure how to approach Leona with your feelings. He tended to be a bit snarky and you were a bit sensitive about your feelings. You donât think you could handle him dismissing you or making a rude comment in your moment of vulnerability. So what better way then to write a letter? You knew he wouldnât mind if it wasnât perfect, if anything heâd tease you for not saying it to his face, but you could handle that. After you rewrote the letter for the eleventh time, you decided it was good enough and you made your way to Leonaâs room. He watched you lazily as you entered. You thought he was asleep, so you placed the letter on his nightstand before taking a seat on his bed. Curiosity ate at him, but he refrained from making any comments, using the guise of sleep to pull you into him so he could finally get some good rest. When you left, he took no time to rip open the letter, carelessly ripping the lion sticker in two. He couldnât stop the chuckle that escaped him, even though he was the best, it was still a surprise to read your genuine feelings for him. He wonât let you worry for long, tomorrow heâll make sure you know that you're his herbivore.Â
â„ Azul Ashengrotto
You had tried to confess to him before, but his suaveness had left you tongue tied everytime. Or when his suave facade crumbled into a genuine careâŠthat left your mind reeling, unable to mutter how much he meant to you. So you wrote a letter, and even though writing how you felt was easier than speaking itâŠit still wasnât easy to write. Your trashcan was filled with crumpled up papers with pencil marking scratched out. When you finally had a letter you deemed good enough, you tried to make it look as fancy as you could. Unfortunately, Floyd had snatched the letter the next day before you could even greet him. You watched him run away with genuine horror, hoping that he wouldnât read it before Azul at the very least. Fortunately for you, Floyd held off on opening it, handing the letter to Azul with an eager smile. Jade watched on as well, somehow already aware of the predicament. Glaring at the two, Azul opened it later when he was alone in the VIP of Monstro Lounge. He had recognized your handwriting right away, carefully thumbing the pearl sticker before opening it with a letter opener. Azul could barely get through the first sentence without becoming an overheated mess. Heâs another one tossing and turning that night. Instead of blatantly stating his feelings out in the open, he offers you to go on a date so you know that heâs serious about you as well.Â
â„ Kalim Al-Asim
You had tried to confess to himâŠmany times. Every time you told him you loved him, he just smiled back and told you he loved you tooâŠbut you knew he didnât understand you meant it romantically. Every hand hold, cheek kiss, hell, you both had cuddled multiple times and he never seemed to get that you were interested in him as more than just a friend! So you decided to write exactly how you felt, getting all your messy feelings out in the open. With how bubbly he was, you didnât feel too awkward handing him the letter in person, only telling him to read it later when heâs alone. Unbeknownst to youâŠKalim had almost lost your letter multiple times that day. Not that he doesnât care for you! Heâs just a bit of an air head that has too much on their mind. Please thank Jamil for hanging on to it, reminding Kalim to read it after dinner was over. When Kalim finally read the letter (after fawning over the adorable golden retriever sticker), he couldnât contain his excitement. He almost ran straight to your dorm if it werenât for Jamil blocking him. Expect multiple gifts the next day along with more affection than you thought was possible. Kalim needs to get his bouts of cute aggression out, and what better way than drowning you in jewels?
â„ Vil Schoenheit
As much as you adored Vil, he was a bitâŠintimidating. His lilac gaze could pierce through the toughest metal, but it could also melt the coldest heart. You had unsurprisingly found yourself falling for the star, but you couldnât help but feel like a fan no matter how you thought approaching him with your feelings. If anything, the letter felt like the most cliche fan stereotype ever, and even though he called you a friend, you feared heâd take it the wrong way. So you decided a letter was the best bet, that way you didnât have to see his reaction. Yet when you had tried to sneak the letter to him, it was out of your hands in the blink of an eye and you stared in horror as Rook offered it to Vil. At first, Vil thought it was fanmail, staring at it with slight disdain, but he opened it anyway, not caring how the crown sticker tore. He barely scanned over the letter until he read your name at the very end, eyes glancing up to see your terribly anxious expression. So he reread it, this time carefully scrutinizing over every word, and although a letter wasnât exactly how he wanted you to confess, he still felt his heartbeat increase with every lovely feeling you felt towards him. Closing the letter, he watched fondly as you fidgeted, clearing his voice and demanding you to ask him on a date properly.Â
â„ Idia Shroud
You had been secretly fawning over Idia for so long you felt like you were going to burst. You had wanted to confess to him for so longâŠbut you feared that youâd break the poor man. So you decided to write him a letterâŠer more like a text. You werenât sure if heâd even know how to open a letter⊠Poor, poor Idia. He nearly had five heart attacks when he saw your chat bubble appear for twenty minutes then disappear only to appear again. He tried to play his game, ignore the damned three dots that kept taunting him, but his eyes couldnât stop trailing down to his phone. Do you know how many times you caused him to die? Oh boy, and when you did send it? The little blue heart at the end had nearly ended him before he even read a word! He had read and reread the text so many times you couldnât even count, and donât mind that he screenshotted it and saved it to a super secure private photo album so only he could see it. Donât expect a reply. Heâs too busy having a meltdown, hair burning a bright pink for the rest of the night. Do expect Ortho to ramble about how happy his brother got the night before, unsure of why but happy nonetheless. And when Ortho finds out why? Expect a text from Idia saying that he doesnât mind your presence too muchâŠyes Ortho forced him to say something back and yes that was him confirming that he likes you back.
â„ Malleus Draconia
Malleus was traditional to an extent, that was something anyone could tell. He also always had you feeling like you were living in a fantasy romance novel with the way he treated you. You hadnât even thought of confessing your feelings in person, a letter seeming like a traditional and very Malleus adjacent confession. You tried your best to write with fancy curling lettersâŠif you failed at that taskâŠthat's up to you. What stumped you was how to give it to him. In those old timey romance movies and novels they sent it through the mailâŠbut you both lived on the same grounds. Handing it to him seemed a bit too forward, and you either didnât trust or felt too embarrassed to ask his retainers to pass it to him. But you sucked it up and went to your safest option, Silver. Malleus was surprised to have a letter handed to him, another one to open it with a letter opener. He felt his breath hitch with each word you lovingly wrote, warmth blooming in his chest. Like the gentleman he is, he writes you a loving letter back (one that you can barely read with how loopy the cursive was), and itâs the most poetic thing you have ever read. Be prepared to cry at how much he loves you.Â
under a trance!
⊠PAIRING: mammon x reader ⊠SUMMARY: mammon goes under anesthesia. shenanigans ensues. ⊠WC: 0.7K
| MASTERLIST
ââââââââââââââââââ
âYerâ so cute.â
The sight in front of you could only be described as endearing. It was cute, unbearably so. The ditzy look on Mammonâs face and his dopey smile makes you want to pinch his cheek, but you refrain from doing so to maintain some form of dignity.
âThanks?â You answer, shifting his current position to sit upright, prompting him against the wall as he flops around like a boneless pack of goo. You stifled a laugh. Lucifer had assigned you to pick up Mammon from the dentist, which you had initially assumed was for a regular dental checkup. Though looking at the state of the demon in front of you, he definitely had undergone some kind of procedure.Â
âWho are you?â Mammon threw his arms over you as he leaned into your chest to take in a deep inhale, âYou smell so good.â He mumbles with his cheeks squashed against you. His half-lidded eyes were hazy and you couldnât stop yourself from giving him a quick pat on the head.
âIâm your human.â You said simply. His face scrunches up into an adorable frown as he pulls back to pout at you. The sound of the door opening sends Mammon scuttling back with a groan, knocking his head against the wall. Thankfully, demons are hardier than they look, and after a quick checkover, you twisted to see who had entered the room.
âAh, youâre here to pick Mammon up right?â A person? demon clad in all white, presumbly the dentist, questions you. He peers past you to look at the patient, who is hissing at him and taking a defensive stance. It was pretty amusing to see a full-grown man curl in on himself to exhibit behaviour similar to the cats that Satan feeds.
You nod.
âGreat. He just took out his wisdom teeth and is now under anesthesia. The effects should wear off pretty quickly.â The dentist starts, tapping on his clipboard before handing you a stack of instructions. He then continues to overwhelm you with a long list of aftercare steps that you have already forgotten. Noticing you were distracted, Mammon had taken his chance to cling onto you again, nudging your hand to find its place on the top of his head. You take it as a cue to start petting him.
It was kinda sweet how little inhibitions the Avatar of Greed had when he was medicated. It makes your stomach do a flip whenever he directs you a dorky grin. It almost makes you wish that he could be more forthcoming but his brand of tsundere was what appealed to you to fall head over heels in the first place.
Somehow, the admission that demons had wisdom teeth came to you as a surprise and the thought of it was pretty funny. Briefly, you wonder if the other brothers had already gone through this process.
From your position on the bed beside Mammon, you idly continue your action of stroking his head while he mumbles gibberish into your chest. And youâre pretty sure heâs also slobbering on you if the wet patches on the front of your shirt were any indication. (And of course, you jumped at the chance to take multiple photos and videos and had already backed it up.)
âMammon.â You tried to admonish him. He lifts his head dazedly at the sound of your voice, and you canât help but change your tone to coo at him. It was so adorable to watch him preen under your attention. It was a rare sight to see him like this and you were going to exploit every opportunity you could.Â
You kiss the top of his head.
âNo⊠I have my treasureâŠâ His voice had shifted to a sleepier tone even as his arms tightened around you. But seriously, he has you in his arms and heâs still thinking about Goldie? You were slightly offended at the thought.
âYa smell like them⊠My treasure. Treasure!â Mammon roared, suddenly biting the corner of your shoulder hard. A flash of pain jolted through you at his unexpected movement.
âWhat the-- Ouch!â You quickly swatted him with the back of his hand, glancing down at your shoulder to see the damage sustained. A clear impression of the bite mark was imprinted right on the edge, though thankfully, it wasnât as deep as it had felt.
You pull back to look at him disapprovingly.
âTreasure!â He slurs happily with a dumb look. This time, you kind of wanted to punch him.
ââââââââââââââââââ
a/n âž dorky mammon has my heart. also i know I'm terribly late for his birthday whoops
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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