Do You Ever Think About, Confusing First-Year Relationship, Promise Rings, Entangled Fingers, Imagine, Trust, One Question, Camping Trip, Shenanigans, Written Trauma, Immortal First-Years, Sometimes, Know and Hate, It Happens Like This, Always Been Good At, Sleepovers, Makes You Stronger
Other:
Group Dynamics, Twisted Soulmate AU, Group Therapy, Bookbinder Yuu, Malleyuu During The Main Story, Alt Book Three Scene, Winged NRC Students, Winged NRC Students pt. 2
In Twisted Wonderland, everyone is born with a pair of wings that grow larger with every hurt you survive.
The first-years have grown long-accustomed to hiding how large their wings have grown over the course of the year.
Ace isn't really quite sure why he keeps hiding his wings, really, because a not-insignificant part of him wants to burn. Wants to scream, "look what you did to me" until they finally realize just how much pain he's buried in his wings.
But he's kept them hidden for this long, first out of embarrassment and then out of habit, so he folds them tight against his back and bites his tongue and keeps wishing that he could let himself burn.
Fires eventually die out, however, and that's why he keeps nurturing the sparks.
He can't believe he used to be embarrassed of how small his wings were.
If he could go back, he would let them out free and then maybe they would see just how much they were ruining him.
He can't go back now.
There's too much history in his eyes, within his scars, buried in his wings.
There's too much pain in him, and not even burning would take that away.
Deuce has always kept his wings hidden.
He doesn't actually even know why, really, but the people he used to run with used to tease him for his wings being so small. For his past being empty of the pain that had forged them into who they were.
His wings struggle against where they're pinned to his back by his shirt now, and he wishes that he could let them free more than anything.
They're large enough that he could probably fly by now, and doesn't that say something? Before, they were tiny, not even able to glide.
Now, in the middle of the nights when they all can't sleep for reasons they all don't speak about, they let themselves fly. Just for a bit. Just for a moment.
Just so they can pretend, briefly, that all of the pain was worth it.
It wasn't, though. They all know that full well.
So he pins his wings against his back, imagines the wind flowing through them when they struggle, and wishes that he could let them free so he could be free.
Jack's not quite sure why he keeps his wings hidden.
No one would really care if they let them out, at the end of the day. The only people he's really close to are his friends, and they're the ones that know his wings the best.
His wings are among their smallest for a reason, even if they're far larger than even their housewardens' by now.
But for some unknown reason (shame, for letting it all hurt him that badly. fear, that letting his wings be free and his vulnerability known to the world will be turned against him. solidarity with his friends, for they keep theirs hidden for reasons held close to their chests, and so he will hide his as well) he keeps them hidden.
Even when they struggle against their bindings. Even when they ache with the stiffness of long confinement.
Even when flying isn't enough to take the ache away.
He's long dreamed of flying, soaring, touching the clouds and unable to be touched by anything on the ground.
He never imagined it would be like this.
He can't be touched by anything on the ground, no. That doesn't mean he can't hurt himself, time and time again.
Epel used to be embarrassed by how small his wings were, especially compared to how large Vil's were.
That was why he hid them initially, even though he had worn them proud back home. The only condolence, really, was that most of the other Pomefiore students' wings were even smaller.
It meant that they, and he, had lived good lives.
He wished that had never changed.
Sevens, his wings were even larger than Vil's now, and wasn't that something? Vil's were large enough to take him soaring when he wanted to and smack someone in the face if they were being rude to him and curl around Rook and drag him closer if he was going something he shouldn't be, and Epel's were even larger.
And yet, he kept them hidden. Just like his scars, just like the darker tint of his veins, just like everything he desperately struggled to keep hidden from Vil and Rook and Pomefiore because they would make him too vulnerable for them to ever know.
Just like him, at the end of the day, the version of him that he let his friends but never Pomefiore see.
Ortho doesn't exactly have wings.
Idia had built and coded them into his body for him, of course. A pair of small wings, burning with blue fire, just like Idia's.
Just like the original Ortho's.
He had worn them proudly before he had gained his heart. His sentience. His life.
Now, though?
Now, he keeps them hidden, just like his friends.
No matter how much Idia gripes at him about it, no matter how much Vil Shoenheit asks him to let his wings show, he doesn't let his fire burn any more than the ones on his head.
Because if he were to show his wings, they would be as large as his friends'. Because if he were to let his wings show, he would have to be honest about them.
If he were to let his wings show, he would have to let all of their wings show.
And Ortho would never betray his friends like that, so he keeps his wings unignited and hidden and invisible just like they do and ignores the part of him that wants to let them see him burn.
Sebek has never let his wings show.
At the beginning, it was because a proud retainer of Malleus Draconia cannot be seen as someone who has not struggled and strived for their position.
He used to lament how small his wings were, no matter how Silver's were just as small as his, if a little larger. Always a little larger.
Master Lilia told him to keep his wings small a little longer, that he'd wish they were small when they were large.
Not as large as his, though. Sebek has never met anyone with wings as large as Master Lilia's.
Not until this year, at the very least.
Oh, how Sebek wished he had listened to Master Lilia. How he wished his wings were smaller now.
But while time can erase any hurts with enough of it, wings cannot grow smaller. And Sebek hasn't had nearly enough time to even begin to heal.
How can he, when they all wake up nightly biting back screams? When they are all covered in scars no one knows about?
When their wings are large enough to take them flying when the nightmares become too intense, and no one knows of this?
Oh, how Sebek wishes he'd listened to Master Lilia.
He's wished for a great many things, however.
He's never gotten any of them granted.
Yuu didn't have wings until they came to Twisted Wonderland.
Until they arrived in what was their hell and heaven and limbo all together, black burning in their dreams and their friends understanding in a way they'd never known before and the quiet wonder of still being alive in a world that kept trying to kill them, they had never know how to soar.
The world had taught them, surely enough.
But looking at their wings still makes them uncomfortable, because what if they went home and the wings were still there?
What if they went home and they weren't?
All their pain, erased just like that.
So Yuu keeps their wings hidden, just like their friends. They all have different reasons, and they all have that part of them that wants to let them out.
Yuu knows, oh how Yuu knows, that if they were to let their wings out, the others would burn.
And then they would eventually burn out, all of their grief and anger over the scars and nightmares and wings eventually fade away, and they would just be left to pick up the shattered pieces, like always.
That was why Yuu kept their wings hidden, beyond how unsettled they were by them.
That was why Yuu didn't burn.
Oh, how they longed to, wished to, wanted to burn. The winds of soaring could put the flames out for a little until their hands were shaking from another nightmare or Deuce was struggling to breathe or Jack was drinking cup after cup of water like it was the only thing keeping him alive or Ace was struggling with a migraine in the middle of class or Epel was about to collapse from the poison in his veins or Ortho was murmuring about the Original Ortho or Sebek was staring at a knife like it would keep him alive or their own scars were burning and then the sparks that never truly died out until they burned out would be fanned and the cycle would continue.
Yuu knew what would happen if they let themselves burn.
That didn't mean that they didn't dream of burning anyway.
Hi i love your wok but i have to asi Will you continue Hero & Villian au. And to another ask How did thé other students think or react to overbolt first-years.
I Hope you have greate day(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧
I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to continue my Hero/Villain AU, but it's definitely a fun concept I wouldn't mind playing around with a little more.
For the first-year overblot, the general reaction is shock that they overlooked this, fear of how powerful the first-years are and whether they'll be able to beat the overblot before they die, and general panic and confusion about overlooking the first-years and how codependent they became.
hear me out: the first years become babies via alchemy accident but instead of latching onto their upperclassmen, they latch onto crowley instead. they follow him around like ducklings and like to hide under his cape. crowley is forced to be responsible (for once) and take care of them until the potion's effects wear off. they barely give the upperclassmen the time of day, and throw fits whenever someone tries to separate them from crowley.
It's definitely an interesting concept, though I'm not particularly fond of Crowley, so I don't make my first-years fond of him either. I especially think that he really wouldn't want to care for children and just foist them off onto someone else, though if they make enough of a fuss, he may be forced to look after them for a while.
Sorry for not being able to say much about this, I just really don't like Crowley and don't want to give him my first-years, no matter how funny it would be.
i was thinking about a first-year overblot idea---
It's a joint overblot, and each first year covers the other's weakness- but its more for the overblot itself
It's like a chessboard.
Like Yuu would be the king
and the only way to defeat them is to defeat Yuu/Grim(because Yuu wouldn't have any magic, but Grim I feel would overblot too)
But to get to them, you have to defeat the rest of the first yearws.
Like, in order it would go-
Sebek/Ortho
Jack/Epel
Deuce/Ace
or something in that order
each of these pairs covers the other's weakness, and its hard af to beat them
just a thought
This idea's really neat!
I do like the chessboard idea, even though I don't know much about chess.
Sebek and Ortho being the front line, or the pawns, otherwise known as the sacrificial pieces, is sort of like how Sebek will very willingly sacrifice himself for Malleus and Lilia, while Ortho has died in the past and will die in the future. Ortho is much more logical than Sebek, while Sebek helps keep Ortho's trigger-happiness in check.
Jack and Epel, then, are the knights/rooks, and I'm leaning toward Jack being a Rook, with more conventional strength while Epel, as a Knight, has a unique strength that none of the others can replicate. Jack can help reign in Epel's short temper, while Epel's much more willing to play dirty than Jack.
Ace and Deuce, then, are the bishops. They're the closest to Yuu and Grim, both relationship-wise and on the chessboard layout. They're both strong in unusual ways, ways that aren't just going straight ahead or side to side, too, so they fit the bishop role.
Yuu and Grim, finally, are the king and queen respectively. Yuu, the king, is the most important piece but can't do much. Grim, on the other hand, is the most powerful piece on the board, especially with some help in strategy from Yuu.
I love the first year immortal au and now you got me thinking.
They must have a whole lessons around them, i wonder how they would react to that. Because in my mind they don’t care about the impact they are making on the world, they just want to be together.
Just imagine they are the people a professor says to remember because they pop up a lot. You also mention they changed names often, I now wonder what name historians game them, so they didn’t have to use multiple names. Because you mentioned they changed names but were known for help royalty in exchange for knowledge.
Also now they probably have to sit through lessons about themselves.
I just love this idea so much and I need more
Most of the time, they tended to not give names, meaning that they are literally recorded as 'mysterious travelers' or 'traveling sorcerers'. Any time one of those phrases come up, the first-years literally have to cross-reference through their personal histories to figure out who the heck that specific one was.
If they were absolutely required to give a name, they tend to just blurt out the first one that came to mind, meaning that at some points, there is one of the first-years just casually using one of the other's names. They also blurted out random names, so there's Timothys and Theodores and Jacksons abound in history textbooks. Once again, any time a name comes up, they have to check with one another to figure out who was in the area at the time.
The different mysterious traveling sorcerers aren't actually known to be connected, because no one believes that a single person or even single group of people could influence history that much. But once the upperclassmen figure out the truth, history class is very different in context.
The first-years also don't tend to pay attention to class, since they already know all of this. However, every once in a while they tune in and realize that holy shit, we're in history books! They will then promptly forget about this, only to remember it once again when they tune into class again.
The first-years may be immortal, extremely powerful, and very well-learned, but they are all also idiots.
It helps him when he wakes up screaming from nightmares then gets collared for disturbing others' sleep and then has to explain to the others what happened.
When his hands are shaking from said nightmares and he can’t draw his heart properly and gets collared again.
When sometimes it feels like he's struggling to breathe even without the collar around his neck, suffocating him.
Deuce has always been a good fighter.
Even though he hates it, it helps when Epel needs to get rid of some of the boundless energy coiled beneath his skin or Yuu needs to do something to feel like they're preparing for the next one.
When they tumble into fight after fight because they may be willing to take insults laying down but he sure isn't willing for them. For himself, absolutely, but for them? Never.
When he needs to keep his friends safe from rose bushes and sand and water and poison and thorns.
Jack has always been a good defender.
It helps when he needs to keep their things safe because the other students really don't like them because of the roles they played in their precious dorm leaders' overblots.
When he needs to stay up all night watching the door because what if the next one comes when they're sleeping?
When he needs to pull Ace out of the way of sand and push Deuce away from water and Yuu from the thorns, sharp and dangerous and far too ready to destroy them.
Epel has always been a good pretender.
It helps when he needs to pretend like he doesn't hate the sight of any of the dorm leaders, the people who've left scars covering the skin and minds of the people he cares most about.
When he needs to pretend like he isn't weak and dizzy and nauseous and shaking from the poison still lingering in his blood that he refuses to let Vil know about.
When he needs to pretend like he's fine, like they haven't affected him, haven't affected any of them even though their hands are shaking and there are bags under their eyes and there are scars their upperclassmen have never seen and never will because it hurts too much to look at them.
Ortho has always been a good hider.
It helps when he needs to get away from Idia, from the expectations of who he will be and who he must be, when he needs to hide away with the others and soothe their shaking hands and pretend like his own aren't trembling slightly sometimes.
When he needs to hide the fact that it still affects them, far more than their upperclassmen will ever know, because they don't get to feel guilty when they're the ones who did this.
When he needs to hide his hatred and desire to tear apart the entire school, including six particular people who have left scars scattered across his friends' skin and hearts.
Sebek has always been a good guardian.
It helps when he needs to guard his shaking hands and fear that he's still dreaming and the scars scattered across his soul from Silver and Master Lilia and the Young Master.
When he needs to guard his friends from the rest of the school that they don't always quite fit into, when he needs to guard their happiness because it's oh-so-rare.
When he needs to guard the truth from their upperclassmen to keep them from figuring out that they're still hurt, still traumatized, still broken, because they bounced back or hide it well enough to pretend like they have, so they need to pretend like they've done the same.
Yuu has always been a good adapter.
It helps when they need to adapt to this new world that they've found themselves in, to adapt to the magic all around them and the dangerous environment of their new school and the way that the stars aren't the same as home.
When they need to adapt to the knowledge that schools aren't safe the way they are back home, that kindness can't be open like they're used to, that flinches and scars and hope all need to be hidden the same way.
When they need to adapt to smiling through the pain, to biting back the screams of nightmares, to holding back flinches and covering scars and hiding injuries that keep reopening because they're never allowed to rest, to the knowledge that they're broken beyond repair and only six people know this fact at all.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Epel Felmier & Jack Howl & Ortho Shroud & Deuce Spade & Ace Trappola & Yuu | Player & Sebek Zigvolt, Epel Felmier & Grim & Jack Howl & Ortho Shroud & Deuce Spade & Ace Trappola & Yuu | Player & Sebek Zigvolt, Ortho Shroud & Yuu | Player
Characters: Ortho Shroud, Yuu | Player (Twisted-Wonderland), Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Jack Howl, Epel Felmier, Sebek Zigvolt, Grim (Twisted-Wonderland)
Additional Tags: Letters, Bittersweet, Past Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Future Fic, Songfic, Hurt No Comfort, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Ortho Shroud-centric, Yuu | Player-centric (Twisted-Wonderland), all the others are just mentioned - Freeform
Series: Part 5 of Unanswered Letters
Summary:
Dear Yuu,
Because trading my yesterday
The most important thing I need to tell you is this:
Is to wish my life away
You taught me how to hope and how to love.
So here it is:
I hope I’ll find you one day, Yuu.
And I’ll love you no matter what.
Regarding the codependency between the first years-
Super curious about what would happen to them after graduation. (Assuming Yuu hasn't found a way home) I'd love to see your thoughts on it!
I'd love to imagine that they all share a house together, although Sebek and Ortho both already have jobs lined up for them, and Epel would probably also have to travel a lot for work. Maybe if Sebek and Yuu asked nicely enough, Malleus would give them a way to travel quickly between the house and Briar Valley/Isle of Woe, like the Dark Mirror.
They insist that they're just roommates. Literally no one believes them.
Additionally, they could just buy Ramshackle from Crowley and use the Dark Mirror as transportation. That's also an option.
It happens like this: Ace stumbles downstairs after a Ramshackle sleepover one night with shaking hands and nightmare-shadowed eyes to find Yuu heating up some milk for both themselves and him. They sit in silence for the rest of the night.
It happens like this: Deuce struggles to breathe because it feels like a collar is clamped around his throat, suffocating him. Ace pulls him aside and guides him through some breathing exercises, no hint of the playful arguing or teasing that usually happens between the two of them.
It happens like this: Jack's roommates lock him out of their room when he needs some books he left in there. Deuce lends him his despite how much he needs them himself to study for their upcoming test.
It happens like this: Epel gets cornered during one of his fits of nausea, dizziness, and muscle weakness. Jack steps in without hesitation, even knowing that it'll make him their next target.
It happens like this: Ortho makes his way to Ramshackle one day, trying to figure out his new emotions. Epel talks him through them, even when most depictions of particularly masculine people show them as emotionless.
It happens like this: Sebek can't remember if he's awake or not sometimes. A knife often finds itself in his hands in those moments, but Ortho always steps in whenever they're nearby, taking the knife and reminding Sebek that they're awake, time and time again.
It happens like this: Yuu's scars and fresh injuries ache from all the running around they do at the Headmage's behest. Sebek draws a bath and makes dinner for them, regardless of how much he hates said menial tasks.
It happens like this: Slowly, piece by piece, incident by incident, the freshmen find themselves falling in love with one another. It takes weeks of careful negotiation, but they finally work out what they want between them. Something not quite romantic and not quite platonic, but something intimate and quiet, something that feels right.
It happens like this: The freshmen keep their relationship buried beneath careful lies and disguises, because every nice thing they've ever had in this school has been pried away from their clenched fingers.
It happens like this: Maybe if they keep it buried enough, keep it hidden enough, it'll stay theirs.
Okay, I agree entirely that using AI to create something and calling it art is a horrible concept and I would like to commit violence on everyone who does it, but-
Did you just say drawers like it's a profession and not where I store all of the wires I'll never use?
