Disclaimer: In my AU, Night Raven College is a College/University so all characters are aged up 4 years. There are also mentions of alcohol.
Ramshackle is one of the oldest dorms in Night Raven History and is based on one of the oldest stories in Twisted Wonderland's history. A dorm that often attracts troublemakers, delinquents, and outsiders, the dorm often houses NRC's worst of the worst. The dorm was shut down over 200 years ago after the mirror stopped sorting students there as no one was "curious enough." But after the arrival of the first female student at NRC, Cynthia Widow, the first Magicless Student, Grace Wilde, and Magic Meniace, Grim, the dorm has reopened and welcomed 10 troublemakers that uphold the Ramshackle name and embody the Pumpkin King's domain.
History
The tale of the Pumpkin King dates back to the beginning of Twisted Wonderland's history. Halloween was the King's domain, but after ruling Halloween for years and years he became bored. The kingdom filled with huants and magic was not stimulating to the king. After a visit to Winterfest domain, he felt rejuvenated and decided he would take over Winterfest! His kingdom was excited to take on this challenge, but they did not fully understand the concept. Despite the warnings from his future Queen, he went through with the takeover and put the Sandy Claws,the ruler of Winterfest, in the care of "The Boogy Man," unknowing the danger. Despite his excitement, the takeover was a failure to others but not him. He was rejuvenated with excitement and returned to Halloween with a new vigor! He and the Sandy Claws came to a truce with the aid of the Pumpkin Queen, and the kingdom reigned for years to come.
The Dorm was the second dorm to be installed to house the troublemakers of NRC. Supervised by ghost, the dorm has an essence of haunts and spooks. The dormleader and vice are the strongest mages in the dorm in magic and spirit, as they have to run a dorm of rulebreakers. The dorms uniforms are based on the residence of Halloween town dressed in black and white with the dormhead being the only member to have color in their uniform. The dorm was often made up of the exciled members of other dorms as well as those placed in it, making for an interesting combination.
After being out of commission for 200 years, the dorm has returned with a new batch of troublemakers thanks to the suddent apperence of 2 female students, a talking magic cat, and merging with Thatch Academy for Troubled Mages. The new dorm has a new style, new faces, and a new Vigor that would make the Pumpkin King proud.
Uniforms
⬇️Ramshackle’s Housewarden Uniform and Designs for the New Ramshackle Uniforms⬇️
The term "uniform" is currently very loosely interpreted by Ramshackle. It is more of an aesthetic with color rules. The aesthetic is "Delinquent Chic" with a main color of black with pops of purple and/or green. There is a variety of selections with each student having a unique uniform to embody the members of Halloween town. Some of the peices are from the students own wardobe while others are refurbished from the attic or scraps from other the other dorms. The unifying factor of the dorm is the headpieces and dorm emblem armband or patch. The headpieces (mask or hairpin) are of one of 7 designs: A witch, a devil, a skeleton, a bat, a pumpkin, a ghost, or a spider. There are a multitude of combinations that could be made and all must be approved by the dorm head and/or Professor Crewel to ensure it fits the dorm's guidelines.
The exception to this “free-for-all” as it is called by most is the Dorm Leaders uniform which was redesigned by Crewel and the current Housewarden. Current Dormleader, Cynthia Widow, has designed a purple gown and overcoat with a web collar, black corset, and spider motifs. Crewel aided in the design and recreation of this uniform. The uniform also has the "kings scepter" and the "Web Crown" which signify its holder as the head of the dorm.
There are designs for the new uniforms for Ramshackle based on the styles of the current students as the original designs were, as Crewel put it, affronts to fashion and sight. Crewel called it "prison chic" with the original uniforms being reminiscent of prison uniforms with the color palette being black and white uniforms with a pop of color somewhere, and the dormleader and vice’s uniforms being closer to "warden" outfits than the school standards. Despite enjoying the cruel joke, Crewel decided to revamp the uniforms to be less.... prisioner and more modern, fitting the current “delinquent chic” of the residence. He, housewarden Cynthia Widow, and Vice Housewarden Grace Wilde have been debating designs, with Housewarden Widow still against the idea of uniforms all together as "The dorm of CURIOSITY should be able to dress as curious as they please." So new uniforms are coming along... slowly.
Note From Administration: "To address the complaints from fellow students and parents, Ramshackle WILL be given a uniform in the same manner as the other dorms starting next year. We are currently designing and updating the uniforms. We are not giving the dorm special treatment. Uniforms will be reinforced next year."
Note from Housewarden Widow: "I'd like to see you try."
Dorm Members
There are 10 members of Ramshackle currently since the merging with Thatch Academy for Troubled Mages.
Housewarden Cynthia Widow
Name: Cynthia (Cyn) Mazikeen Widow
Twist: The Boogy Man from "Nightmare Before Christmas"
Nicknames: Cyn - Friends; Barracuda - Floyd; Reine de l'araignée - Rook; Miss Spider - Lilia; Crowley's Dog (or Crowley's B*tch) - Some... Most Students (and Leona); Boss/Housewarden - Ramshackle Residence
Birthday: January 19th
Class: 1-B
Cynthia Widow is one of the first female students at Night Raven College, and the first student stored into Ramshackle in years. As the first member of Ramshackle, she was the defector for Dormhead, but most of the Housewarden duties are handled by Grace unless it is magical. Cyn is a half-fey student in class 1-B with a love for bugs. She excels in ancient magic and is a member of the board game club. Little to nothing is known about her past but the fact she just "appeared" out of nowhere and has a grandfather she loves and misses dearly. She is often referred to as "Crowley's Dog" as she does a lot of the mage's dirty work. She doesn't mind, though. Beacuse, as long as she does Crowley's dirty work, she can get away with a lot more than she legally should *wink wink*.
Vice Housewarden Grace Wilde (Yuusona)
Name: Grace Elizabeth Wilde
Twist: Yuu! and Jack Skellington from "Nightmare Before Christmas"
Nicknames: Gracie - Friends; Shrimpy - Floyd; Mademoiselle Tirckster -> Mademoiselle Pettie - Rook; Child of Man - Melleus; Henchmen - Grim; Anglefish-Azul (in Private)
Birthday: February 2nd
Class: 1-A
Grace Wilde is the only magicless human in NRC and is often paired with Grim, but after being provided with her service familiar, Kerby, and an alchemist ring from Trein, she is now an independent student. Specializing in animal handling and alchemy. She is the first female student to be sent to NRC and the second to be inducted into Ramshackle. She was named Vice by Cyn as she was dubbed the "mother" of Ramshackle due to her talents with troubled individuals. She is in class 1-A and the horseback riding club. She is also the founder and head of the NRC weekly book club, which she started after accepting the fact that she is never going back to her world (on the account she died there) as a way to learn about this new world through books, and force some of her friends (cough*Riddle*cough) to relax and read. She checks in on the Overblot students often as well as the new Thatch Students since they worry her, and Crowley put her in charge of getting the “comfortable”.
After the first 4 overblots and 60 visits to the nurses office, Trien, Crewel, and Nurse Pinklee "convinced" Crowely that the best way to avoid lawsuits or accidentally get the magicless human killed is to listen to Pinklee's "prescription" and get her some protection. So he gratiously gifted her a certified service familiar!
Name: Kerby the Hound
Twst: Zerro from “Nightmare Before Christmas” and Cerberus from “Hercules”
Nicknames: Kerbs- Grace, Ace, Deuce, Ivy, and Cater; FLUFFY - Ramshackle Residence; Hernch-Dog -Grim; Blobfish - Floyd; Monsieur Kerby - Rook; Good Boy/Example Student - Professor Crewel
Birthday: December 25
Kerby is a Grytrash and has some magical abilities such as his Bark (which can knock people back), he can grow 2 sizes and carry 1 person, and he can dissappere into shadows on comand. Trein and the faculty thought a magical familiar was nessassary to protect the magicless student/student-employee. Plus, they owed it to her after she had dealt with the overblots (AKA Trien and Crewel pressured Crowley for funds). Kerby service familiar is a Psychiatric service familiar that alerts her to panic attacks, aids her in difficult tasks, and acts as a protector (seeing as she has been involved in a multitude of overblots and magic duals). Grace and Kerby are the friendlier faces in Ramshackle and are always willing to provide a helping hand.
Grim is the feline member of Ramshackle and is often seen with Vice Housewarden Grace (dubbed himself the "Vice-Vice Housewarden"). After his turbulent entrance and a rough start, he was accepted into Ramshackle and recently named an independent student in class 1-A. He has not declared a club and prefers to float around with whichever henchman he has latched to that day. As one of the original members of Ramshackle, he sees himself as a mentor to the newbies, but he is more an encourager of chaos.
Reyna Bocu is one of the 3 fey triplets that joined NRC with Thatch Academy (Romella <twst Mother Gothel> is in Pomefiore and Rhea <twist Tinkerbelle> is in Ignanhyde). The Doc of Ramshackle is one of the quieter members of the dorm but fits in perfectly. She was a master of combining science, alchemy, and magic, which got her into trouble originally. She was a child protagy with an idetic memory and a fascination with biology. She was so fascinated with the delicatcy of being that she took the idea of life in her own hands. Her lab is off-limits, but there are times a cat that is sewn together can be seen playing with an undead toad, but that is Ramshackle's little secret.
Ivy Shroud is one of the 25 students who joined NRC when it merged with Thatch. Ivy is the half-sister of Ignanhyde Dormleader and "Vice"- Idia and Ortho Shroud - though few would make the connection based on how Ivy acts, but if the Shrouds were somehow in the same room, aised from the hair, the likeness is uncanny. She is one of the biggest troublemakers of Ramshackle as she often starts fights and leaves school property with a very valuble and very royal Fey. She is a skilled fighter as she studied under both Captian Alina Dobbler and Professor Korra Thatch with fists and swords. She is a student of class 1-D (due to being held back in high school), a member of the Gargoyle Studies Club (She thought it was a fan club for the "Gargoyles" T.V. Series), and a serious gamer when she has time. Ivy fights for her friends and loved ones and does not back down. Despite her attitude, she is an incredible tactician and extremely intelligent (professors often comment that she would be a star student if she showed up).
Other Dorm Residence
Lucifer Locke (Twst Locke) - 2nd year (Half-Fey)
Estella Shocke (Twst Shocke) - 3rd year (Electric EelMer)
Benjamin Barrell (Twst Barrel) - 2nd year (Human)
Marshall Frost (Twst Marshmellow) - 3rd year (Human)
Lysandra DeBrock (Twst Mordue) - 2nd year (Bear Beastwoman)
Dorm Holiday Activates
Halloween Dorm theme: Haunted Doll House (Based on Coraline) - The dorm based on Halloweens KING serves up some serious flights for Halloween. They want to scare the pants off every visitor. Tho Crowley has forbidden them from doing their original idea (a recreation of Halloween Town with accurate dead bodies) because it needed to be PG-13. So Grace suggested theming there haunt after a book. What could go wrong with a Haunted Doll House, especially based on a childrens book??? (Note: Crowley Regretted this decision quickly but it was too late)
Winter Holiday: Dorm Voluntary Outing to the middle of the sea with Dr. Dobbler and Captain Alina Dobbler (Based on 'Treasure Planet' and 'The Lost Empire') or staying on campus for dorm repairs.
Beanfest: The Dorm is off-limits, but they use it anyway.
Ghost Wedding: Ivy is plotting a Missions Impossible-esque ploy to get her brother back. While poor Marsh is forced to offer himself to the ghost bride... he got slapped for having a weird smile. (Note - Marsh is a big teddy bear, and Ramshackle spent the next day consoling Marsh and telling him his smile is lovely)
Fairy Gala: Ivy and Grace are forced into Modeling.
Camp Vargas Survival Camp: Grace and Grim go to both; Luci, Estella, Benni, Lyn, and Marsh are in Athletic, and Reyna, Ivy, and Cyn are all in the Artistic group.
Weekly Game Night and Movie Night - Tournament-style weekly event for all Ramshackle members, members can bring 1 guest to have as their partner. Everyone contributes a thumark, and the winners gets the pot! On weeks everyone is poor: They switch it out for a movie (usually horror or spooky)
Summer Research Trip: The Summer Research Trip is led by the former Thatch Professors (Dr.Dobbler, Captain Dobbler, Dr. Thatch, and Professor Thatch). Since most, if not all, the members of Ramshackle and the other former Thatch students are either banned, cannot, or do not want to go home, the Docs and their wives take the students on an archeological dig in the Jungle's of the Sunset Savana. Since they are now part of NRC, the professor's extended the invitation to other students as well. The excursion last most of the summer and can stay the entire summer if they wish! (based on Tarzan and The Jungle Book)
Glorious Masqurade: Grace and Grim Go as assistance, and Cyn goes as a guest! The only reason this was allowed his beacuse Ramshackle agreed to be on their best behavior so they could make mechanical dead people! All in the name of Halloween!!! (And Marsh and Lyn were put in charge).
Playful land - Grace, Grim, Reyna, and Ivy go to Playful Land and see that Fellow has a very uncanny likeness to a fellow Thatch students... so Ivy gets in trouble "investigating" Fellow and Rey gets introuble "Investigating" the puppets and invading their privacy.
Misc/Notes
After Cynthia and Grace were admitted into Night Raven officially, Crowley went through with negotioations on obsorbing The Thatch Academy For Trouble Mages into Night Raven. He knew if word got out that there were 2 lone female students who attended NRC, it would be an HR nightmare, and the press would have a field day. Thatch has been in negotiations with NRC to join schools for over 5 years, but Thatch not only had female teachers but mostly female students. Crowley turned them down since NRC was traditionally all male, but seeing as circumstances have changed, he went through with the deal! A win-win in Crowley's book. (Extept the Anti-Magic force agent, Detective Cyra Thorne <Twst Enchantress>, attached to the school due to the students' "records." She makes Crowley nervous.)
Crowley allowed the Ramshackle Students to renovate the dorm as long as their overseers (Dr. Dobbler and Captian Alina) approve, so there are a bunch of hidden trap doors, tunnels, and a few labs in the basement that no one is "supposed" to go in but Ramshackle residence.
Cyn, Ivy, and some of the other members throw parties in one of Ramshackle's basements that people pay to go to (They basically run a club), and not everything there is exactly school-sanctioned, but Crowley looks the other way since Cyn does his dirty work.
Grace was put in charge of keeping everyone out of trouble and in one piece (Aka, she was labeled Den-Mom). So whenever someone is in trouble, they go to Grace for help (even if it is over her head). Whenever they throw parties, they find someone to distract her or make her stay in another dorm for the night.
That being said, they have a speak-easy style club run by the ghosts and Cyn. No one knows how they get booze, but it appears every Sunday at 5, and Crowley gets a new bottle of wine on his desk at 6. (AKA, he is bribed, so he doesn't mind)
Ramshackle is very protective of its Den Mom. With her being Magic-less and being not of this world, they treat her as family and protect her from those who dare look down on her (One time Cyn heard a Scarbia guy say she should be kicked out for beimg magicless and he magically dissappered... and reappeaed 4 days later scared of his shadow and trembling at the sight of the Ramshackle emblem).
Somewhere in Ramshackle is a remote to the kitchen t.v. and the person who finds it gets 20 thumarks and control of the Kitchen t.v. for a week.
If you made it this far, thank you!!! I hope you enjoyed reading about Ramshackle and its residence! They are all part of my Twst Fic "A Tale of Two Yuus," and the 4 Oc's highlighted at the top are the 4 main characters. I will (eventually) link all their bios to their sections if you want to learn more about them! If you have any questions, want to interact with one of them, or want tagged once I post chapters, please comment!
Huge thank you to @/cozymochi, @/the-trinket-witch, and @/bunnwich! I commissioned the art of Ivy, Reyna, Kerby, Grace, and Cyn from them!! I did the dorm uniform designs and used base models as mannequins. I also wrote the notes on the designs, so excuse my handwriting.
Summon: "Happy Birthday to Me! You ready for some Fun?"
January 19th - Cynthia Widow's Birthday
In honor of Cyn's (and my) Birthday, for the next day, the dear Housewarden will be answering any questions 100% truthfully.... supposedly. So: ask away! If you dare <3
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYN 🎊.
Why do you like bugs so much?
"First off, thank you, dearie! Another year of sweet existence!"
"That is an excellent question, Bugs have been my oldest and dearest friends! They snuggled with me in my cradled and continue to do so, they have always been their when I needed them and, we'll, I have quiet a special connection to them."
"Besides, LOOK AT THEM ARNT THEY JUST THE CUTEST!!"
Cyn holds up her pet tarantula, Gibby, and gives her soft kisses. "My sweet wittle baby, who's a good little tarantula, you are that's whoo~"
CYNTHIA WIDOW; The Curious Housewarden of Ramshackle
Basic Info
Name: Cynthia Mazikeen Widow
Twst: Oogie Boogy Man (Nightmare Before Christmas)
Age: ??
Birthday: January 19th
Height: 5’
Hair Color: Orange
Eye Color: Purple
Homeland: ??
Hobbies: Card Games
Personal Talent: Gambling
Dislikes: The Phrase “No Offense”
Favorite Food: Peanut Butter
Least Favorite Food: Mashed Potatoes
Other Notes: Fey (Nightmare Fey to be precise); Weird Love of Bugs
School Information
Class: 1-B
Homeroom Teacher: Trien
Best Subject: Ancient Curses
Clubs: The Board Game Club
Background
Prior to NRC: Cyn is very secretive about her life pre-NRC. Anytime the subject is brought up she will either change the subject or vaguely talk about her Grandfather and the fact he was a Warden. The only one who knows anything of her past is Lilia and, well, some secrets are best kept buried.
At NRC: Her arrival was… odd to say the least as she fell out of the Mirror instead of arriving at a coffin. She was evasive at first, but once she realized where she was, she started to open up. She loves NRC. Between the great friends, the magic education, and the interesting events that keep happening, she has no desire to find a way to her ‘home’. She has already made a new family with Grim, Grace, the first years, and the incoming students now that Crowley has declared the school to be Co-Ed. The constant Overblots are kind of a bother, but they also allow her to get to understand the dark side of the school's most powerful. Also, those things are handled by her Vice mainly, she gets to deal with the more… bothersome students in her own way. Being the most powerful out of her, Grim, and Grace, she was the de facto Housewarden and had more important things to deal with than the other housewardens and housewarden paperwork (the things that Grace deals with for her!). Things got even more interesting when the “Hawkins School for Troubled Mages” joined NRC as the new members of Ramshackle. With her new lackeys, the growing amount of exciting incidents, and her “projects” with Crowley, she is certainly making the most of her time at NRC.
Relationships
Friends: Grim, Grace, Ace, Deuce, Epel, Jack, Sebek, Estella, Lucian, and Benji
Romantic Relationship(s): Rollo, Ace
- Note on this: I do Multi-ship so different Aus have different ships. Rollo is the main ship but I also Ship her with Ace.
Family: Grandfather (She also calls him Gramps), other relations in NRC but that’s spoilers 😉
Fun Facts
Cyn is a larger-than-life character! She has an Addams family sense of humor and is incredibly playful. She is very out there, loud, boisterous, and confident. Often on the same level as Lilia, but even more so (Think Lola from “Damn Yankees,” Rumpelstiltskin from “Once Upon a Time,” but with Regina George’s snark)
Then there are times when she is in her ‘moods’ and her playful persona melts away to a cold, cocky, arrogant personality shows through. It's kind of scary to see her go from fun-loving to mean girl when she gets mad.
Cyn is a Nightmare Fey, a line of fey that deals in nightmares and is traditionally known to be fiercely loyal to the crown of Briar Valley… well until a few hundred years ago when they suddenly disappeared.
She has a weird fondness for spiders. Whenever she sees one, she watches it for a while, often talks to it like they are her friend, and only moves it if absolutely necessary (i.e. someone will kill it and she isn’t there to stop it) and she usually puts it on her shoulder
Jamil refuses to go near Cyn if he has a choice. She thinks it's funny when he jumps back in fear at her fake bugs and the real spiders she sometimes throws near him.
Lilia calls her Lady Luck since things always seem to work out in her favor, at least in luck games (This started when she won three games of Yahtzee in a row).
Idia thought she was actually the boogie madam from his nightmares since the first time they met it was dark and in one of her "moods".
She loves to analyze movies and books. She has notebooks full of notes, connections, and theories from all different kinds of media. She loves Claymation and animation in particular as she appreciates the artwork that goes into creating feature-length films with clay.
Her study playlist is full of movie soundtracks; if asked, she can tell you exactly what’s going on in the movie at any point in any song. (Carter likes to quiz her, and the only time she lost was on a movie she had yet to see)
Her prized possession is a necklace with an amethyst and silver spider pendant. It is the only thing she has from her world, and she refuses to take it off.
Cyn has a gambling problem. She carries around her “lucky dice” with her at all times and makes gambles with herself and others on anything. She loves the thrill and gets very passionate about her bets.
Floyd calls her “Barracuda” and genuinely doesn’t like Cyn. She gives him a yucky feeling and has never trusted her, no matter what others say.
Cyn is very certain in her views and her morals. She simply believes she knows best and when those close to her disagree, she does her best to help them “see the light.”
Cyn has a hidden “Office” in Ramshackle’s basement. There she helps Crowley “take care” of the troublesome students so they know the error of their ways. Since this and her other projects keep her busy, she often has Grace take care of the dorm paperwork and tedious duties that don’t need magic around the dorm.
Cyn has a strange connection to Lilia and Malleus that only one of them knows about… and maybe one other whose connection is stronger.
If you have any questions about Cyn or want to interact, don't hesitate to ask!
Please Like, Reblog, comment, or follow if so inclined to see what Cyn gets up to!
Congratulations on the blog! The dulcisregnum crew have sent a cake to commemorate this occasion.
Temperence: Despite being an older dorm, us more "obscure dorms" have to look out for each other. If you guys ever need anything within our means, candy, a place to rest ạ̴̫͇͑͒̒͑͌͘͝ṇ̶̨̤̰̻̪͍̞̣͗̈́̽̂̉̇͋̈́ ̸̛̙̖̥͓̖̦͒́̓̕ơ̶̪̱̙̰͙̈́͑͛͑̓̀͘͘̕l̵͓̣̈́͋́̏́̎̿̕͝d̵̺͇̦̻̳͕̎͒ ̶̮̯͙͉̥̫̪̌̕̕͘͝d̶̝̑̌͋u̶͉̮͔̫̯̝̭̻͓̿̎̿͂͆͋͘͝n̷̮̬͍̫̭̰͇͉̐͊̋͜g̸̨̞̤̘̫͎̟̙͘͠e̶̝͙͇͋͊̐͂͋̍̈́̾͝o̵̬͈̬͠n̸͎̦̮̯̮͔̆̇̂̕ feel free to ask.
(You can add me to your tag list)
Thank you! The Ramshackle gang happily accepts a cake (it will be gone in a minute)!
Cyn: Thanks for the cake! The crumbs I had were delicious! We will be sure to take up the offer and return it! If you ever need anything, Halloween decor, demolition team, spare hands, old stuff, people problems taken care of, or just wanna join us for game night just pop over and ask!
Grace: We’ll have to stop over at Dulciregnum sometime! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! If you ever need a had, just let us know!
