a/n: this was actually posted on ao3 for quite a bit now but i figured it wouldn’t hurt to post here. azul angst bc i can’t let my favs simply be happy.
summary: every ten days, azul has to revert back to his merform. the process is more or less the same each time.
warnings: angst
——
Azul wonders about those who are afraid of the dark. With the lights turned off, he can only find solace and peace within the darkness of the empty room. He can barely see himself, with his hand right in front of his eyes, even with his natural night vision.
It’s a little bittersweet, he thinks to himself, as his eight limbs slowly dip into the large pool before the rest of his body. He can feel them as they touch the bottom of the pool, filled with saltwater so the merfolk of Octavinelle can stretch their legs or to revert back after their potion runs out. It’s routine for most of them, even Azul, who has hated his true form for as long as he could remember.
He cannot help himself but feel tense, no matter how many times he has been through this. The same routine; always alone, always dark, always the same self hatred and shame brewing deep in his bones. He is always afraid someone else will see him like this and no matter how many times he tells himself his anxieties are for naught, he can never fully relax. But the door is locked. He had checked it twice. No one is coming in.
He shakes his head and holds up his hand, turning it over. How easy would it be if he was a human like everyone else? He scoffs.
Since his overblot, he’s worsened. Despite how much he tries to tell himself that he is fine— that he’s always been fine.
Almost every night, he wakes up with a gasp, terrified and sweating bullets and when he wakes up in the morning, he pretends nothing had happened. That the nightmares aren’t getting too much for him to bear. That he feels like he isn’t losing his mind with every day passing by. That even the sight of his own reflection has him ashamed for losing control the way he did in the first place.
He pretends he doesn’t notice Jade and Floyd exchanging worried glances when he avoids mirrors, or when he skips meals.
He lets out a pained sigh. He’s alone. No, no. He can feel however he wants to feel. He’s fine.
But Azul feels the crippling shame threatening to creep up from the back of his throat and spill over like the ink that he used to spout out when he was a child. He wants to cry, all of a sudden, but then he fears he’ll go back to the way he was— to everything he never wanted to be and that this time, he wouldn’t be able to bounce back. So he holds his tears back and takes to slowly sitting back in the pool, letting himself fully emerge into the salty water.
His glasses are off, not that they would have worked anyway, but his vision had been fine before entering Night Raven College. A side effect of his human form, he supposes. He opens his eyes, looking down at his tentacles, tentatively lifting one and then dropping it. His face is blank.
Azul still remembers the first few times he used the transformation potion. He’d never felt so happy. He knew the potion would only last for ten days, but he had gotten greedy.
He hadn’t allowed himself to revert. He didn’t want to revert and so he didn’t. But when the fifteenth day rolled around, he could feel his skin cracking from dryness. A blistering, unending pain. Exhaustion, too, trying to keep himself from turning back when he let his guard down. Every inch of his body was begging him to let go of his greed, but he refused. At least, not until he passed out while working on papers in his office. When he woke up, he was a cecaelia once more. Jade and Floyd had scrambled to take him to the pool so he didn’t dry out, while also making sure he wasn’t seen. He still felt bad for making them go through all the trouble, but they dismissed it by asking for favors.
He hadn’t done it again after seeing the looks on their faces. If not for himself, then for them.
They’re really too good for him. Before he can think anymore, a loud, piercing knock cuts through the darkness of the room. His heart drops, panicking before he remembers that the door is locked and they won’t come in. Just in case, though, he sinks deeper into the pool, but his head comes up above the water.
“Azul?” It’s Jade. He can recognize that voice anywhere. The question is, why is he here? It was two in the morning when he had first stepped into the pool, and although he didn’t know how long he had been in the pool for, he was positive it was still well into the night.
“Jade? What are you doing awake?” He asks aloud, his voice raspy with unshed tears. He clears his throat.
“It’s been two hours. Are you alright?” Jade says, voice level and soft. Two hours? It wasn’t that long, sure— but he got where Jade was coming from. He had never been in the pool longer than thirty minutes of all the times he had changed back.
“Fine, merely… thinking,” Azul says, because he is unsure how else to respond.
Jade pauses before he speaks up, tentative and slow. “Would you like me to come in?”
Azul jumps up. “No!” He shouts, standing in the pool, his tentacles feeling much heavier than they already are. He doesn’t know why he is so afraid of Jade coming in. The vice housewarden has seen the other’s form dozens of times, for even more time than he has seen his human form, he is sure. He thinks that his overblot may have something to do with it, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it as he steps out of the pool. He takes a breath, deep and slow. “No, that’s alright. I’ll be coming out in a minute.”
“…Alright, I will be waiting for you out here,” Jade announces and Azul goes over to his strewn about clothing. It’s a bit ironic, really, usually in all other things, he was so neat and tidy, but his clothes were not folded or at least, put into a pile.
He feels for his coat pocket, fishing out a small, cold, glass bottle holding a yellow liquid. It’s the transformation potion. It was instructed to allow yourself to revert for at least twenty minutes before using another one. He pulls out the cork and downs it all in one go, grimacing. Even after the dozens of times he drank that potion, he could never quite get used to the bitter taste.
Slowly, one by one, his limbs began to disappear and morph, until he had two human legs. His skin turned a pale beige, compared to the vibrant purple that his skin was seconds before. He immediately gets thinner and he feels his vision start to blur. He reaches for his glasses and one minute later, he is human again. He puts on his clothes, faster than usual so as to not make Jade wait.
When all is done, he walks to the door, unlocking it. Upon opening it, Jade, as promised, is standing there. The blue lights behind him flicker absently as he ignores the once-over Jade gives him.
“How are you feeling?” Jade asks as he walks beside Azul down the hallway. Azul looks at his watch and sees the time is a little past four in the morning. If he gets to bed now, he can wake up at 8 to prepare the Lounge and still get about four hours of sleep. Azul swallows.
“Fine, of course.” Because he has to be fine. He has to always be fine and he will be just as well when he has to do this again in ten days.
no bc i get too jealous of Jamil Viper bc he’s so pretty and i want him but azul wants him so im jealous of him even though i want him but i find him and azul cute together too so im like a loser
i have drawn Jamiazu stuff but like it’s so ghostly I usually do fem jamiazu bc everytime i draw fem jamil, I have to draw fem azul hELP
its also so onesided on Azul’s end LMAOOO but i love jamiazu art there’s this one artist and i love how they draw them THEY’RE SOO CUTEEE
a/n: hii i wrote this in one sitting. i am completely normal abt them.
warnings: none.
Epel has never had his first kiss before. When people ask him, he would admit it casually, like the idea of kissing was too cool for him, like he had intended it to be that way. The truth was, in his small town of Harveston, where he would be the only teenager around for miles, there was not much of a chance for him to experience anything romantic.
Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t wish for it, deep down. But love was embarrassing. And what was even more embarrassing was how easily he would fall into it.
Epel fell in love easily, something he would try hard to combat, but it almost felt inevitable.
It only made sense that it would be no different upon his arrival to Night Raven College. At first, love wasn’t even something he had factored in with his experience at his new school.
He was more excited to be living in a place among other students his age. It was hard to be friends with anyone in middle school, and when he did, the distance kept them from seeing each other much besides school. Even though he didn’t say it, he looked forward to becoming friends with people.
For a little while, it sucked, to say the least. He had been placed in a dorm he felt out of place in. Even when he was doubtful, his housewarden VIl insisted that this was the correct dorm for him, and begrudgingly Epel expected.
He just didn’t expect how difficult that could be. Waking up early everyday was a piece of cake. He often did that when working out of the field. Styling his hair or doing his makeup, was not. The first few attempts of makeup were dreadful and awkward, but Vil hadn’t commented on them, so he kept doing it like that.
That wasn’t all either. He had to stand straight. He had to keep his face neutral, not giving any rise to petty conflicts and such. He had to correct his accent, which was honestly the hardest to narrow down. ‘Ain’t isn’t a word’ was a phrase he had heard one too many times. He was also expected to maintain his grades, but that wasn’t too difficult. While not the smartest out there, he still knew his way around books and studying.
Despite that, he had somehow found a friendship among a few of the other freshmen in his school. There was Ace and Deuce, who had so often been fighting head to head that Epel wasn’t really sure how they were friends, but eventually, he learned that despite them not getting along all the time, they truly relied and cared for each other. Ace was an outgoing, somewhat mischievous boy that Epel didn’t particularly mind. Deuce was passionate, determined to be an honor student, but it seemed there was something else about him Epel couldn’t quite put his finger on. There was Yuu, a magicless human, who always seemed to be the mediator, but was kind. Grim was always with them, too, always looking to join in on the fights, or stealing food, or subtly bragging about how powerful he was. There was Sebek, a loud and certainly headstrong individual who praised his housewarden, Malleus Draconia, left and right. Finally, there was Jack, a beastman who certainly seemed quite cool. Epel had enjoyed speaking with him the most, somewhat admiring him.
Afterwards, Night Raven College wasn’t all that bad, Epel admitted. Sure it took some getting used to, but he found himself enjoying himself quite a bit.
It was lunch time, as Epel nibbled on a sandwich while Ace was complaining about his housewarden.
“He just keeps nagging and nagging! He found out I failed a test the other day and keeps forcing me to study!” Ace groaned.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Yuu asked, tilting their head as they took a bite of their soup.
“Well yeah, but does he have to be such a–”
“Such a what, Ace?” Epel looked up, chewing as he watched the interaction. A boy with strikingly red hair appeared behind Ace, causing the other to freeze in his seat. He was pretty, Epel thought to himself.
“An amazing housewarden..!” Ace replied, turning with a forced smile on his face. The other, Ace’s apparent housewarden, looked unamused, his arms crossed.
“Right, well, I expect pages 225-240 of your alchemy textbook to be studied. I will be testing you later on it. Surely, that works with you?” He said, a curt tone in his voice, but he seemed relatively unphased about Ace’s complaints.
“Of course!” Ace replied, nodding his head. He regarded him for a moment longer, before he sighed, walking away, presumably to get his lunch. The second his housewarden was out of sight, Ace let out another groan, laying his head on the table. “Ugh, see what I mean?”
Epel didn’t, but he guessed there was more to it. He took another bite of his sandwich. Still, when the conversation moved to another topic, Epel looked up, absent minded, before he caught the red hair again. It belonged to Ace’s housewarden, whom he realized he still didn’t know the name of. He probably should, though. Or did he? He wasn’t sure, but he thought to himself that it wouldn’t be bad if he did.
After that first interaction (which wasn’t even his), he started to notice the other a lot more. Riddle Rosehearts was his name, which he had learned after Vil was discussing a Housewarden meeting with Rook and Epel overheard. He tried the name on his tongue, and he found he quite liked it.
Riddle wasn’t around much, but when he was, Epel always took notice.
He would notice when Riddle would cross paths with him, walking the halls to go to his next class. He would notice Riddle was scolding one or two members of his dorm. When Epel would go to the library to find a book, sometimes Riddle was at one of the tables, a stack of books beside him as he studied. Epel preferred to check out his books and study in his room, but when Riddle was there, he always found a seat at another table.
It wasn’t hard for him to figure out that perhaps what he was feeling for Riddle wasn’t mere curiosity. He had felt this way more than once. He knew the signs.
It didn’t mean he was happy about it, though. Still, upon his realizations, his efforts to turn away were futile, because no matter how many times he averted his gaze, it always came back to Riddle.
He groaned to himself, one night, as he layed in his bed, thinking. He put his arm over his eyes. He hadn’t even talked to the other, knew next to nothing about him besides what Ace and Deuce had told him about him. It was embarrassing to be crushing on someone he hadn’t interacted with at all, but he knew that it wasn’t going away soon. It was better to ride it out, he decided, and let the feelings fade over time.
He turned over in his bed, squeezing his eyes. An image of Riddle appeared in his mind, and he willed it away, groaning all the while.
—
It went on for a few weeks, this sort of.. Thing. He didn’t really know what to call it; him seeing Riddle and taking notice of it everytime. He would stand straighter, forcing himself to look away when Riddle would come over to tell Ace and Deuce something. He didn’t know if Riddle ever even noticed him there, but he didn’t dare check.
He also wondered if anyone else had noticed. He hoped he wasn’t being obvious, but when he looked at Jack, who was standing next to them, he wasn’t looking at him, just standing there awkwardly. Epel turned back at Ace and Deuce as Riddle was walking away.
“There’s an Unbirthday party tomorrow. We have to go help,” Deuce explained.
“Really? That sucks,” Epel replied, coughing into his arm.
“Yeah, would you like to come? People from other dorms don’t always come, but there’s no rule that says otherwise,” Deuce added, as Epel smiled weakly, while Jack looked hesitant.
“Ah, I’ll pass. Parties.. aren’t really my thing,” Epel admitted. It was true. He wasn’t particularly a social person, so parties always made him feel awkward. He never knew enough people, and when he did, he sometimes struggled with holding conversations. A part of him did want to go because Riddle would be there, but he was sure they wouldn’t talk anyway. He didn’t want to feel uncomfortable just so he could catch a glimpse of his hallway crush.
“Boo, lame. What about you, Jack?” Ace asked, turning towards the other, who shrugged.
It seemed Jack shared the same thoughts, or at least something similar. “I’ll pass, as well. Maybe next time.”
“Ughh, whatever,” Ace rolled his eyes, but there was no real annoyance or negativity behind the action. “I guess we’ll see you guys later then.”
“Yeah. See you,” Epel said, waving. Jack nodded, as Deuce and Ace walked away, leaving the two alone.
There was a moment of silence before Jack coughed. “Are you okay, by the way? Not that I care or anything, but.. Uh–”
Epel turned, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”
“You just seem to avert your gaze every time Riddle is near.”
“Oh, really?” Epel asked, intending to seem oblivious.
“Yeah. So I was wondering if something had happened.”
Epel swallowed. Should he tell Jack about this little crush of his? He thought about it a second longer, before deciding that no, he did not. He knew Jack wouldn’t judge, but… he was sure that these feelings would go away soon. There was no point in telling him away.
“Oh, no, not at all!” Epel reassured him, shaking his hands in front of him, his palms facing Jack. “I just didn’t wanna intrude on their conversation, you know?”
“It happens even when they aren’t talking though,” Jack raised a brow, looking confused. Epel averted his eyes, trying to come up with an excuse, cursing his brain when he didn’t find one.
“Ah, I wasn’t trying to.”
“So–”
“Anyway, I think Vil said he would need me for something later, so I’d better go. I’ll see ya ‘round, Jack!” Epel sputtered, hastily, grabbing his bag and hurrying away. He felt bad leaving Jack at the table alone, but in his defense, Vil did need him later today. Just, later was an hour and a half away.
He sighed and slowed down, when he was far enough from the cafeteria, walking around the courtyard aimlessly. He decided that with an hour and a half to kill, it wouldn’t hurt to go back to his dorm and take a nap. He wasn’t really tired, but he didn’t feel like studying.
A decision he had regretted because he ended up waking up late because his alarm didn’t go off. Scrambling as quickly as he could, he still managed to only be ten minutes late to meeting with Vil. Vil was already irritated by that, but in Epel’s scrambling, he hadn’t realized his hair was messy and his makeup was slightly smudged, which gave him a handful of scolding from Vil as a result.
—
Exactly one month later, he is out in the courtyard, sitting against a tree. He didn’t mind his dorm so much anymore, but he still enjoyed being away from it from time to time. The courtyard was nice and peaceful, and the sun was out but it wasn’t too hot. Really, it would be a waste to not spend the day out like this. Even so, he was the only one out here, save for a few people all the way across.
In his hands were an apple and a metal spoon. He used the spoon to cut away at pieces of the apple, making a sculpture. It was much more difficult using a spoon than an apple-carving knife, but it was considered a weapon, which wasn’t really allowed on campus. He had made it work, though, as he held out his arms, taking a moment to admire his work.
As he was finishing the last few bits of it, he felt a light touch against his ankle, ticklish. He stopped, leaning to the side to see what had touched him. He didn’t hate bugs, but he hoped there wasn’t a bug on him.
Instead, it was.. “A hedgehog?” He mumbled to himself, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and setting it on the grass for a place to put his apple carving.
The hedgehog was cute. It was small and was a pinkish-red color. He had heard that there were hedgehogs in Heartslabyul, but he hadn’t heard of any of them roaming free. So what was it doing here?
He had never seen a hedgehog before, so he wasn’t really sure how to handle one. Could he pick it up? The hedgehog looked at him, curiously, as he cupped his hand in front of it, lightly nudging its legs. The hedgehog encouraged the action, hopping on Epel’s palms. Now what?
He continued holding the hedgehog, completely still. He wasn’t bad with handling animals, as he did a lot of farm work back at his hometown, which meant being around farm animals, but hedgehogs were a newer concept to him. The hedgehog nuzzled Epel’s wrist, looking content.
“... You’re a cute one, aren’t you?” Epel said to himself, smiling as he felt more comfortable. The hedgehog made some sort of sound, and Epel looked at the uncarved apple in his lap. His hands were small, but he was able to hold the hedgehog in one of his hands, peeling off a piece of the apple.
He offered it to the small animal, who accepted it happily. He put his other hand back under the hedgehog, watching it eat the apple.
“Hungry?” He said, laughing. “Yeah, apples are pretty good, right?. I prefer barbeque, but Vil says my favorite should be macarons. Guess you wouldn’t know what either of them taste like, though.” Epel spoke, then he stopped. He looked around, sighing when no one was there, as he started to feel a little silly talking to an animal, especially when it wasn’t regarding animal linguistics. The animal language they were learning was related to felines. He heard learning to communicate with hedgehogs was too difficult to put on the curriculum.
Offhandedly, he wondered if Riddle knew anything about speaking to hedgehogs. He wouldn’t be surprised. Though he still didn’t know Riddle well, he knew he was capable of many things, much more than Epel was, which made sense considering he was a Housewarden.
As he gave the hedgehog another small piece of the apple, he heard shuffling and the sound of heels clacking against the concrete pathway. He looked up, flinching when he noticed it was Riddle. Epel looked back down at the hedgehog, afraid his sudden movement had startled it, but it barely even seemed to notice.
He tentatively looked up as Riddle was standing near the center of the courtyard, looking around frantically. It was strange. Riddle looked both anxious and upset, as if he was searching for something.
Epel had never seen him like that before. Riddle was always so calm and collected. In front of him, anyway, but Ace had once told him that when Riddle gets angry, his face becomes as red as his hair.
Epel wondered what Riddle was so anxious about, and when the hedgehog nudged at his hand, as if asking for another piece of the apple, he parted his lips in realization. That’s why the hedgehog was there. It had, in fact, gotten lost. That was probably the reason.
As he worked out how to get over there (he was nervous about walking or even getting up with a small animal in his hand), it seemed Riddle had noticed him because he heard a throat clearing above him. He looked up, widening his eyes when it was his crush right in front of him!
“... Hi?” Epel blurted, unsure what to say.
“You found a hedgehog!” Riddle exclaimed, relief over taking his features.
“Oh– uh, yeah. Here.” Epel said, pushing his hands closer to Riddle’s, who had kneeled down onto the grass. When their hands touched, even though Riddle’s was gloved, he had to resist the urge to blush. Time and place, he reminded himself. The hedgehog easily moved to Riddle’s hand, now nuzzling against him.
“Thank you, I had been looking everywhere for him. He was the last one to have gotten loose,” Riddle explained, taking a hand to pet the top of the hedgehog.
“Ah, it’s no big deal. He came up to me first.” Riddle looked at Epel, and suddenly, Epel felt very, very nervous. Then, Riddle looked down, seeing the carved apple sitting beside him.
“Did you make that?” Riddle asked, and for a moment, Epel stared at him. When Epel realized he was staring, he coughed and looked down, following Riddle’s gaze. He picked it up, giving Riddle a closer look.
“Yes.” A beat of silence. Epel had no idea what to say. He had never imagined having any sort of interaction with his crush, so he had nothing prepared. Come on, Epel! Be manly!
He still didn’t say anything, trying to find words.
Riddle cleared his throat, awkwardly. “It looks very well done,” Epel could die. A compliment from Riddle?! “What is it?”
“It’s a carvin’ of the entrance of my hometown. It’s a real big stone arch with a long, long path. Then, there’s a buncha fields n’ stuff. It’s pretty nice,” Epel rambled, loving any chance to talk about his hometown, so much so that it had been recurring that he would slip back into his accent whenever it was brought up.
Riddle didn’t look like he cared much about the accent slip, and instead, seemed to be listening with interest. “Is that so? Where are you from?” He asked, and Epel looked down, running a finger over the arch of the carving gently.
“Ah, uh– most people don’t know it, so don’t worry about it if you don’t. It’s Harveston?”
Riddle bit his lip for a second, as if thinking. “It sounds familiar, but I admit I am not very knowledgeable about the town.”
“It’s known for its apples. Sometimes, my folks will send a bunch over here so I share them with my dorm,” Epel replied.
“I see,” Riddle stood up slowly to not disturb the hedgehog in his hands. Epel wondered if he should be standing too, but ultimately decided not to. Riddle smiled down at him. “I’ll make sure to learn more about Harveston. It sounds like a lovely place.”
Epel laughed. “It’s small, but I like it there a lot.”
“That’s good. Once again, thank you for finding the hedgehog.” Then after a moment, Riddle gasped quietly, which wouldn’t have been noticeable had Epel not been staring directly at him so intently. “I apologize. I must introduce myself. I am Riddle Rosehearts, housewarden of Heartslabyul. It’s nice to meet you.”
Maybe Epel should stand up. He gets up, nodding his head. “I’m Epel Felmier. I’m in Pomefiore. Nice to meet you too.” More than nice, actually, Epel thought to himself, resisting the urge to laugh at his own ‘joke’.
“I know you. I have heard much about you from Ace and Deuce,” Riddle replied and Epel suddenly feared whatever the two had to say about him. Ace, especially, who had so many opinions about nearly everything.
“Ah, really? All good things, I’m hoping…?”
“Yes, don’t worry,” And then it happened. Riddle laughed. It wasn’t a full laugh, it was a mere chuckle, but by the sound of it, Epel knew he would be thinking about it for weeks. “They seem to be impressed by your apple carving abilities. I’m glad to have been able to see it for myself.”
“Thank you,” Epel said, trying to appear as casual as possible, but he was sure that there was a blush on his face. How embarrassing…
“Well, I hope we can talk again soon,” Riddle ended, and Epel nodded again.
“Me too,” Epel agreed, as Riddle walked away. When Riddle was gone, he put his head in his hands and let out a muffled scream. It seemed he was very, very wrong. This crush was not going away anytime soon.
DON’T SUMMON THE SCHOENHEIT AT 3AM [I ALMOST DIED 😱😱]
(Cater & Trey)
a/n: hi guys! this is my second fic for the twisted wonderland gotcha for gaza run by @twstaction ! check them out if you’re interested! this fic is a gift for @convenientcalhoun :D
this features cater (mostly) and trey! their relationship isn’t specified so feel free to interpret as u wish :) characters might be a bit ooc,, it’s my first time writing for them, but hope it’s not too bad! enjoy!
summary: cater tries to summon a ghost for his magicam. the outcome is much different than whatever he expected.
word count: 1.4k words
——
Lighting? Check. Camera angle? Yep! Engaging and spooky atmosphere? Affirmative!
“Looks like everything’s in order,” Cater mumbled to himself, giving one last glance at all the items on the table before setting the timer to get the camera rolling.
3… 2… 1…
“Hey guys! Welcome to another video from your’s truly,” Cater made jazz hands, dramatically leaning towards the camera! “Cay-cay!”
The camera looked back at him, the red light being the only thing he focused on.
“Today, we are going to be doing a little challenge… We are going to summon a ghost!” He gasped, as if shocked by his own words. “And not just any ghost, but the Schoenheit! Now, I know what you’re thinking. Vil is alive so how can you summon a ghost that’s not even dead. And well, you’re correct! We aren’t actually going to summon Vil, but actually…” Cater whispered, cupping a hand beside his mouth. It was quiet, but loud enough for the camera to pick up his voice. “After a bit of research, there was once a fan that loved Vil so much that he tried to become him. Literally. Spooky right? It’s not all that PG, so I won’t go into detail for my younger audience, but well, an unfortunate accident happened, and you get the rest, right?”
“Anywaysss, there’s a rumor that if you summon him at 3am, something scary would happen! But I’m a mage at Night Raven College and I’m sure I can handle it. I’m doing this so you guys don’t have to! Don’t try this at home!” Cater winked at the camera, innocently. He gestured towards the items on the desk. A photograph of Vil and some dowel rods, along with a few more nonsensical things, like dish soap, gum, and… Cater wasn’t really sure what it all was either, but that’s what the website said! “First, we have to use the gum to stick the photo to two of the polaroids, then…”
Cater continued explaining the steps as he did them. The result was a rather strange… craft of sorts. He had absolutely no idea how to describe whatever he was looking at. He was confident a pre-schooler could create something more creative than this! “Last thing we need to do is cover the dish soap with it and blow on it! A bit of a weird step, TBH. Hopefully, this works or I would’ve done this all for nothing!” Cater chuckled, mostly to himself as he twirled a strand of his hair around his finger. He waited a couple seconds at the creation, before he spoke up again. “Um, so nothing is happen–”
“Cater?” A sudden, deep voice cut from behind him, Cater’s bedroom door opening with a loud squeak.
“GAHHHH!” Cater screamed, nearly jumping out of his skin. If he flinched harder, he was convinced he would have literally had a heart attack!
Trey froze. Cater, after trying to recover from his scare a second before, blinked.
Then, Trey grinned, amused and smug, while Cater averted his gaze.
“Trey..! What are you doing here? I’m.. uh, kinda in the middle of something.” Cater mumbled, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
“Yeah, looks like it.” Trey scanned over the room before his gaze landed on the weird looking object on Cater’s table. He raised a brow but didn’t say anything. “I heard a bit of noise. I wanted to make sure everything was fine.”
Cater was sure he wasn’t being that loud, and he thought back. When explaining the steps, he supposed he did accidentally drop a textbook he had forgotten to take off his desk. He didn’t think much of it, but Trey’s room was next to his, so he guessed it made sense he heard. “Everything’s all good!” He gave Trey a thumbs up.
Trey looked at him for another moment, giving him a once-over in case Cater had hurt himself, and was hiding it or something.
A second later and Cater remembered that the camera was still rolling. Well, he could edit this all out. He looked back at the camera, then at the object on the table. As expected, nothing had happened so he would likely have to edit some sort of.. supernatural phenomenon occurring. Ugh, editing is going to be a pain— Cater’s thoughts paused as an idea suddenly found its way into his mind. He glanced at Trey, who started his leave towards the door.
“Wait!” Cater called out and Trey stopped, turning towards him.
“Need something?”
“Yes, actually!” Cater said, before explaining his idea.
——
“No one is going to fall for this,” Trey muttered, a white sheet over his body, holes cut out in the eyes so he could see.
“So what? If it’s not realistic, be funny!” Cater told him. “As long as it’s not boring, then this video is sure to be a hit!”
Trey groaned, putting his palm to his face, though he didn’t look particularly angry. “The things I do for you…”
“Thanks, Trey-Trey!” Cater went back to the camera, which he had paused so he wouldn’t have to cut out so much of the video. Putting on the timer, he positioned himself in the center of the camera’s view.
“Sorry about that, guys!” He exclaimed when the red light turned on, indicating it was recording. “My camera was cut out! Weird, it never does that..” He added, intending to make it sound like the camera cutting out was part of it. It was a much easier alternative than explaining why he was suddenly in two different spots within a second.
“Let’s try it again! For realsies, this time!” He put dish soap on the object again, blowing on it. He looked at it, waiting. “Nothing’s happening again.”
Just after he said that, the light’s flickered off several times until they were completely shut off, leaving Cater and the room in total darkness. Cater bit his lip. “The lights…? Guys, this is getting kinda freaky!”
He walked over to the light switch, pretending to flick it on. “The lights aren’t turning on! What do I— wait! I know!” He dug out a flashlight from underneath his bed, turning it on from underneath his face, making it appear creepy. “This is better, right?”
He went back to the table, flashing the light on it and gasped in shock, seeing the creation he had made earlier had disappeared. “T-the.. it’s gone! I could’ve sworn I left it here!”
He looked at the camera again, worry written on his features. “This is getting a bit too much for me. Is someone pranking me right now? ‘Cuz this is so NOT COOL,” He said, freezing when he heard a faint voice.
“….sho…heit…”
“Huh? Did you guys hear that? I’m not tripping or anything right?” Cater said, examining the room with his flashlight. “Wait, I think I see something.” He walked closer to the side of his room, this time grabbing the camera for a closer look.
“I AM VIL SCHOENHEIT, RIGHT?” A deep, raspy, and rather unnatural voice yelled out, suddenly, as a white sheet came towards him.
“AHHH!” Cater screeched, before running out the room into a nearby bathroom. He turned the camera towards him. “What was that? That was definitely not normal. I think I’m going to have to camp out here tonight. I’ll keep you guys updated if I’m.. alive tomorrow!” Cater had to resist the urge to laugh at himself. “Bye guys! Don’t forget to like and subscribe! Pray for Cay-Cay! ”
He cut off the camera, letting out a sigh of relief. This had to be one of his longest videos yet. He walked out the bathroom, feeling exhausted and ready to dive into bed so he could sleep for the next ten years.
When he walked back into his room, Trey was already there. The object was back on the table, the lights were on, and there was no cloth on his face anymore.
“Good enough?” Trey asked, seeing Cater enter and send him a thumbs up.
“Yep! I’ll have to prepare a part two, though. You good with that?”
Trey blinked slowly. “Fine..”
“Thanks! Appreciated! This will definitely get me a lot of subscribers!” Cater exclaimed, leaning back into the bed. After a few seconds, he patted next to him. Trey knew what that meant, and half a second later, Trey was lying down next to him.
Cater resisted a giggle and shut his eyes. Logically, he should probably be cleaning the mess he made, but he was way too tired! He’ll just do it in the morning, he thought to himself, as he succumbed to his exhaustion.
a/n: this is my first time writing for these three characters, so i apologize if it ended up being ooc 😭😭 anyway, this is a prompt for the twisted wonderland gotcha for gaza, which is run by @twstaction ! if you’re interested in learning about them or helping out, be sure to check out them out!
summary: The thunder scares Silver, and Lilia and Malleus offer him the comfort he seeks. (Takes place back at the cottage in Briar Valley when Silver is still a young child)
word count: 1.2k
——
Crackle! Boom!
Silver, sleeping peacefully, was woken up by that horrible noise. A loud banging that wouldn’t let up, that he couldn’t ignore no matter how much he tried.
Another particularly angry rumble put the child on edge as he ran to Lilia’s room, growing more afraid as more and more rumbles and grumbles sounded in the night sky. It wasn’t that there wasn’t rain in Briar Valley, but thunderstorms didn’t pass through all that often and it always set Silver’s nerves aflare.
He nudged the sleeping fae, watching him stir. Lilia was a light sleeper, so Silver was half-expecting him to wake up just from him entering the room.
“Silver?” Lilia asked, a tired smile on his face. Silver looked down at the floor with a frown, fidgeting with his thumbs. After a few moments of silence, Lilia sat up.
“What’s wrong?” Lilia added, looking a bit concerned, making Silver feel guilty.
He flinched again at another resounding boom and the rain pittering at the window harshly.
“T-thunder…” was all he said, and Lilia smiled softly at him in understanding.
“Ah, the sounds are scaring you, aren’t they?” It was more of a statement than a question. Regardless, Silver nodded. “How about this, then? Malleus and I will cheer you up. We can play some games until the storm dies down. Does that sound good?”
“Oh, am I joining?” Malleus spoke up, with some sort of tone in his voice, though he didn’t look the least bit angry at Lilia. Silver hadn’t fully realized he was there in a rocking chair close to the bed, his eyes not having adjusted to the darkness of the room quite yet.
“Why not? The more the merrier!” Lilia chuckled, placing a hand on Silver’s head, comfortingly. Silver can see Malleus’ lips turn into an amused smile, his eyes adjusting to the light slowly.
“…What games?” Silver asked, curious and interested at Lilia’s idea. He still was feeling tense while the thunder continued to boom and crash, but he was already feeling more comforted just by Lilia and Malleus being there.
“There’s a lot of games! Let’s see.. we can play a board game, or charades?”
Silver tilted his head. “Charades?”
“Oh, I suppose it would make sense that you haven’t heard of it. Want me to explain it to you?” Lilia suggested, putting a finger to his chin in thought. Malleus looked up at his suggestion, seeming just as intrigued as Silver was.
“I also haven’t heard of ‘Charades’. Please explain it to us.”
“Alright!” Lilia replied, as a sort of affirmation, then he stood up in front of Silver and Malleus and explained the game to them. “Get it now?” He added, after finishing his explanation.
“I see,” Malleus replied. Silver, however, didn’t.
“You look confused, Silver. Don’t worry, you’ll get it as we play! Luckily, I managed to acquire a card game version of it from my travels, so we can use that.” Lilia went to the corner of the room, lifting open a box and retrieving a smaller box, which was probably the card game. Opening the box, he put them on the end table and looked at Malleus. “Would you like to go first, Malleus? The category is animals.”
“I suppose I don’t. This seems interesting,” Malleus agreed, trading places with Lilia, so he was standing in front of them and Lilia was sitting on the rocking chair. Silver, on the bed, scooted closer to him.
“Choose any of these and act it out,” Lilia reminded Malleus, gesturing to the cards. “Remember, no words!”
“Of course.” Malleus responded, plucking the card from atop the stack and reading it to himself.Then, after a moment, Malleus starts to pretend to be licking his curled up hand, then scratching his ears. It makes Silver giggle. It was such a silly sight.
“Silver, do you think you know what animal he’s pretending to be?” Lilia asked him, and Silver giggled again.
“A.. cat?” Silver mumbled, a bit hesitant.
“That’s correct,” Malleus stopped after hearing him answer, a satisfied expression on his face. “You got it much faster than I anticipated.”
“Silver is quite intelligent, isn’t he?” Lilia added, sounding very proud and Silver couldn’t help the bright smile from appearing on his face at the praise.
They continued playing several more rounds, though Silver needed help a few times because he couldn’t quite read some of the more difficult words on the cards. Lilia ended up winning the game, overall. When the rain and wind still thrashed aggressively, they decided to play board games, some of which Silver recognized, and some of which he didn’t. He was overjoyed to have won a few of them, and by the time they finished the third game, he was too exhausted to even think about the rain. Tuning out Lilia and Malleus teasing one another about their losses, Silver leaned down on the bed and fell asleep, no longer able to keep his eyes open.
He thought he felt Lilia patting his head and carrying him, but he wasn’t sure if he had actually dreamed it or not. The next morning, he was in his own bed, and when he saw Lilia and Malleus, neither made fun of him for his fear the night before. Instead, Lilia gave him some fruit for breakfast and simply told him to eat up, the same thing he had done every day.
From that point onwards, whenever he found that the thunder was too scary to handle alone, he could always find company in Lilia and Malleus. On nights it was expected to rain, Lilia would leave his door cracked. Most of the time, Malleus was there as well, usually reading a book.
Everytime Silver woke Lilia up, the three would play games until Silver would eventually fall asleep. It made Silver feel loved and comforted during thunderstorms.
—
Silver woke up, as roaring, clashing thunder roused him from his slumber. Being seventeen, he didn’t quite fear thunder as much anymore, but it was distracting. Knowing Lilia’s dorm room was relatively close to his, before he could even think about it, he had already begun making his way. Some habits were hard to break, he supposed.
He knocked on the door, tentatively. At Night Raven College, Lilia couldn’t leave his door open like he had back at the cottage. Silver frowned. Would he be disturbing his father now? He wasn’t a child anymore. Lilia probably wanted to sleep.
And yet… Lilia opened his door and smiled upon seeing Silver.
“Oh, it’s you, Silver. It’s quite late. Young boys like you should be sleeping,” Lilia said, but almost as if on cue, more rain started coming down. Very audibly. Lilia’s eyes lit up in understanding and he opened his door wider, allowing Silver in.
“Sorry, Father.. I came here before really thinking about it,” Silver apologized, feeling a bit regretful.
“Don’t be. It’s a sort of tradition now, isn’t it?” Lilia assured him, patting Silver’s head the same way he always did. Silver leaned into the touch, a small smile making its way onto his face. They sat on Lilia’s bed before Lilia turned his head towards him. “Now then, what game should we play today?”
since us on the aroace spectrum rarely get any rep, this account is the right place for you to share all your asexual and aromantic headcanons with me! would you guys like me to share my aroacespec headcanons within the twst cast?
hiii i love hcing characters as being on the aro and/or ace spectrum so here’s some of my own!
aroace floyd - he prefers platonic relationships and has just never felt any romantic or sexual attraction to anyone and well, he doesn’t really question it as much. if anything, he just doesn’t understand all the hype. ofc his friends r there to support him even if he doesn’t understand what the big deal is?
demisexual azul - i dont really have much of an explanation for this, to be honest! i feel like he would fall in love like any other allo person, because he IS alloromantic ofc, but he has to REALLY know the person to feel any sort of attraction beyond romantic attraction
asexual sebek - i just .. yeah. dk what to say 😭 he’s never been interested in anything like that and it’s fine to!
aroflux jack - i feel like he doesn’t feel it too often, but wouldn’t really get he’s aroflux because he does sometimes! he seems like he would confuse platonic and romantic feelings (like i do HELPP) because of this!
aromantic (maybe aspec) cater - unlike the others, i feel like cater would have a disconnect with others because of this because he just doesn’t like people like that? i just see him as aro, or at least demiromantic. not much to say abt it, just feel like it fits.
THOSE R MY MAIN HCS for characters on the aro/ace spectrum, but i’m always open to hear more! if u disagree with any of them, i’m totally up for discussion !!
another thing: despite these hcs, i don’t mind people shipping them with other characters! for example, i still like florid even if i don’t technically ship it myself!
snowghoul
germansingergirl
tangentwithtanner
titsay
