════☠︎︎═════【What are you running away from?】════════☠︎︎════
-"There was something off about them. The way the sound hit my ears, it was like their words were tuned to a frequency my body rejected. Like my mind couldn’t process it without feeling that something was wrong".
✧I was watching an video essay about the Uncanny Valley, and all of a sudden I remembered Twst, and my mind did boom! And I wanted to experiment with these two concepts with the prefect's situation. Aside from loneliness, ending up in a completely different world from the life you know. I don't think there's much talk about the raw, almost primitive fear you might experience when surrounded by people who are similar but different from what you know.
It's the first time I've written something horror-themed (or an attempt at horror), so I hope the narrative doesn't feel too exaggerated.
✧Fem Prefect, the reader is the Ramshackle prefect. Prefect pov:
I’ll never forget the first day I woke up in this world.
The darkness of the coffin that kept me trapped.
The green flames of the mirror, the cold air of the ceremonial hall, the echoing voices of the other students, Crowley’s elegant voice, and those ceremonial robes.
Everything felt like a dream—one of those that clings to you even after waking. I felt out of place, yes, but also fascinated. Magic existed here, not as a story or a distant fantasy. It was real. Tangible. Alive.
And so, the days went on—classes, lunches, silly arguments. The rhythm of a world that wasn’t mine but was slowly starting to feel like home. Everything was new, strange, and different.
But then again, what wouldn’t be, when you came from another world?
Until one random day, something changed. It wasn’t even anything big. We were just in the cafeteria.
I never thought seeing my friends smile could make me feel sick.
It should’ve been familiar, right? Lips curving into a grin, teeth glinting under the light, eyes narrowing with warmth and trust.
It should’ve been comforting. They were Ace and Deuce—the first ones who’d reached out to me in this ridiculous, dangerous school. They’d been with me since the beginning. I sat with them out of habit, but my stomach churned too much to eat. The smell of food felt overwhelming, mixing with the chatter, the clinking of silverware, the noise of it all spinning together into this dizzying fog of nausea.
I took a breath, my chest tightening while Ace and Deuce argued in front of me. Something dumb about who forgot their textbook, but their voices—There was something off about them. The way the sound hit my ears, it was like their words were tuned to a frequency my body rejected. Like my mind couldn’t process it without feeling that something was wrong.
And those eyes... Ace’s eyes gleamed that bright carmine red no human in my world could ever have. Beautiful, yes, but in a way that felt false—so flawless it made my stomach twist, a beauty that drilled straight into me, leaving vertigo in its wake.
“Prefect, you okay?” Deuce asked. His tone was kind, but even the echo of it sent a chill down my spine.
“I—I’m fine. Just tired.”
I looked toward another table and spotted Leona, slouched lazily with his usual disinterest. My gaze drifted to Ruggie, laughing beside him as he stole a piece of food off Leona’s plate.
They didn’t make me feel sick.
Weird, right? You’d think beastmen, mermen, or fae would unsettle me the most—but no. No vertigo, no nausea. Just... nothing.
Leona raised an eyebrow when he noticed me staring, and I quickly looked away.
My eyes returned to Ace, who was laughing with his mouth full of food—and the wave of nausea came crashing back. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m stepping out for a bit,” I muttered.
I didn’t wait for an answer. I just left.
The fresh air hit my face, cold but not comforting. I leaned against the wall, trembling. What the hell was wrong with me?
I thought some rest would make it better, but it didn’t.
In class, I couldn’t focus. The professors’ words blurred into white noise, buzzing in my skull. It was worse whenever I had to talk to other students.
When class ended, I bumped straight into Jack.
“You okay?” he asked, helping me pick up the books I’d dropped.
My chest loosened a bit. No tightness. No nausea.
“Yeah. Thanks, Jack,” I said awkwardly.
He nodded and walked off, leaving behind this brief sense of relief that vanished the second Ace and Deuce caught up to scold me for not waiting for them. And there it was again—that feeling.
The days started blending together.
That feeling stayed, like a splinter under my skin. On the outside, I tried to act normal, but every interaction drained me—like something invisible was sucking my energy away.
“You’re spacing out more than usual,” Ace said during lunch.
I mumbled something and kept my eyes on my food. I could feel him watching me, frustrated and worried, but I didn’t have the strength to face it. At night in Ramshackle, Grim kept giving me side glances, his tail twitching as if he were trying to figure me out.
“Did you fight with them or something?” he asked, sprawled on my bed while I stared out the window.
“No,” I said automatically.
“Then what’s wrong with you? You’re acting weird.”
Flight class. We were working in pairs, and since I couldn’t use a broom, Deuce offered to help me while Grim went with Ace.
Every time he got close to adjust my posture, my body tensed up. His voice pounded in my head. When his hand brushed mine to fix my grip, I flinched away without thinking.
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled before I even realized it.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Everyone stared. Deuce looked like I’d slapped him. Ace, nearby, gave this awkward laugh, trying to ease the tension.
“What’s wrong with you lately?” he asked, tone casual but voice tight with discomfort.
I didn’t answer. I felt cornered—like an animal trapped—and my only instinct was to run.
They’re your friends. They’re your friends. They’re your friends.
I repeated it over and over, desperate to believe it.
At first, I thought it was just stress or maybe lack of sleep. But no—it never went away.
I couldn’t hide it anymore. My movements were sluggish, my answers short, my mind somewhere else. Sometimes I wouldn’t even register what Ace or Deuce were saying until they raised their voices—and then I’d flinch, heart racing.
“Prefect, are you even listening?” Ace snapped one afternoon after class.
“Sorry… I was just thinking about something else.” I forced a weak smile, hoping it’d make him drop it.
He didn’t look convinced. Deuce looked more worried than angry.
“Are you sick? You haven’t been eating much lately.”
His concern made me tense up again. I stepped back without thinking, catching the confusion on his face.
“I’m fine. Just… tired. Got a lot on my mind.” Another lie. One more on the growing pile.
But lies only worked for so long. Rumors started spreading.
“Think she’s mad at us?” I heard Epel whisper one day.
“Maybe she’s just stressed,” Jack said, though he didn’t sound sure.
Even Sebek noticed, though he just chalked it up to my “lack of disciplined training.”
The truth was—I didn’t know what was wrong with me either.
It was Ace who finally snapped.
“We can’t keep going like this. If something’s wrong, just say it.”
We were in Ramshackle’s lounge. The air was thick with tension, enough that even Grim stayed silent in the corner. Deuce stood beside Ace, arms crossed, expression caught between worry and frustration. Epel, Jack, and Sebek were there too, watching.
I sat curled up on the couch, wishing I could vanish.
“It’s… not easy to explain,” I murmured, their eyes heavy on me.
“Try,” Sebek said. His tone was firm, but softer than usual.
I took a shaky breath, my hands trembling in my lap. The knot in my stomach only tightened.
“It’s complicated. You haven’t done anything wrong. You’re my friends. But… every time I’m near you, I feel something weird.”
Their expressions shifted—confusion, concern, disbelief.
I bit my lip. “It’s like… I know you’re human, but at the same time, I don’t feel it.” My voice trembled. “You’re similar to me, but… you’re different.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and cold.
“Different? What’s that supposed to mean?” Ace asked, frowning.
“You’re human like me,” I said softly, “and I think that’s what scares me the most.”
Sebek spoke first, stern as ever. “That’s absurd. We’re not so different from you.”
“Maybe not for you,” I whispered, “but for me… everything in this world feels just slightly off. And being around you only reminds me how far from home I really am.”
Jack stepped forward, calm but serious.
“So it’s not that you don’t trust us?”
“No,” I said firmly. “I do trust you. But that doesn’t stop my body from reacting like this.”
Ace ran a hand through his hair, sighing.
“I don’t know how to fix this… but we’re not leaving you alone either.”
“Exactly,” Deuce added, his voice gentle. “If you need space, say so. But we’re not just gonna disappear because we scare you a little.”
“We’re your friends,” he said quietly, “even if we’re not the same.”
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips. A little was putting it mildly.
Stil something in their words eased the tightness in my chest. Maybe because, despite everything, they were still there. Maybe because, even with all my fear, I didn’t really want them to leave.
I looked at them—all of them—faces painted with confusion, hurt, and quiet determination. They didn’t have the answers I wanted, but they were there. Trying.
And for now, maybe that was enough.
════☠︎︎═══════════【I don't even know】════════════☠︎︎═════
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Language of the flowers of each Banner:
First Banner: Helleborus: Delirium.
Second Banner: Fucsias: Anxiety.
Third Banner: Flowering Almond: Exaggeration.
