Where We Stand
Pt. 3 - Scarabia and Pomefiore
Pt. 1 - Ramshackle and Heartslabyul
Pt. 2 - Savanaclaw and Octavinelle
I have finally begun Book 7 in the main gameplay, and so I thought it appropriate to write out formally how Yuu and the other main Twst cast all feel about each other at this point. A note-taking and accountability/consistency update so to speak. When I read the gameplay, I like to map out the things that would change within my au, so this will be a good reference to come back to as I read.
Sorry for such a big gap between posts for this specific series. I've had this written out on pen and paper for weeks and just now was able to transcribe it to tumblr. But I'm happy to post it now, and just in time for my birthday weekend!
Scarabia
Kalim al-Asim is... struggling. Most people don't pick it up. Still seeing the boy full of sunshine, someone with no clouds in his sky. That's all Jamil still sees. But not Yuu! No, Yuu sees all the different facets of himself and accepts them at face-value. He doesn't have to be polished and shining around them, he can be dull and rough and sharp. They take all of him in stride, the bubbling insecurities, the paranoia, the trust issues. It's so refreshing, it's such a precious gift they give him. ...And everyone forgets, he forgets sometimes, that he's the heir to a merchant empire. He knows luxury, he knows rarity, he knows value. And Yuu... Yuu is just such a treasure. He's not a bad guy for wanting to keep that for himself, right?
Jamil Viper. He's complicated. A victim of a system, a man who rattles the chains assigned to him at birth, who screams in silence. He just wants to get some recognition, to be allowed to exist without stifling himself, to be anything other than just Kalim's servant. And that's just the infuriating part of Yuu, how much they give him everything he's ever wanted. Because they don't let him hide himself, don't let him fade into the background, don't let anyone forget who he is under all the heavy expectations of the Scalding Sands. They are always ready to hiss, and scratch, and bite, and scream at him any time he tries to pretend. Willing to look him in the eye and call him on his BS, and it's intoxicating. It isn't naievity on the prefect's part, they aren't stupid or delusional. They look him in the eye, despite everything he's done and everything he's capable of doing, and they trust themselves not to fall for any of his crap, they trust him not to resort to petty power plays to win their arguments. And fuck their trust is so good. Its raw and real and fucking addictive, a poison he happily injects to feel that rush of recognition. It's rare, a one of a kind treasure, a wonderous trinket that the deseret would have claimed ages ago. But the Scalding Sands, Scarabia, Kalim, they can all fuck off. He will be a dead man before he let's such a rarity belong to anyone else. He deserves it, deserves them.
Pomefiore
What are you supposed to do with a person who represents everything you can't stand, but is also everything you ever wanted to be? Epel Felmier just can't help but be in awe of the prefect. There's just something so inherently feminine about them, something that makes his protective side itch at the edges of his being. They represent everything he'd been raised to shelter and provide for. And yet... they're nothing like what he'd been taught about all things feminine. They are gentle and nuturing, but also relentlessly ruthless and exceedingly protective. He's seen them throw their soft edges at problems like weapons and men much stronger then him crack and bend and break under their touch. Yuu represents true feminitity, something he can never attain but desperately needs. And gosh darn it, if he can't have them, then he'll make himself so useful that they'll need him.
You would assume that Rook Hunt would view the Ramshackle Housewarden as a challenge, a coveted prize. But that would be an insult of the highest degree, to himself and to the Prefect. No, Yuu represents so much more to him. You see, to him, Yuu is this encapsulation of otherworldly beauty. They are a kind of beauty that is incapable of being replicated in all of Twisted Wonderland precisely because it is not of Twisted Wonderland. Their physical appearance was only the most superficial of their aspects of beauty (although it is there. Blindingly so). Their mannerisms, their calculations, their nervous ticks, their habits. Their body, their mind, their heart, their soul was cosmically beautiful. And all Rook wants is to be able to witness it, in all its natural glory. He doesn't particularly require their knowledge of his watchful eye. He's always blessed to be graced with their presence, their attention, but it is not necessary for his worship. People are always their truest, purest self when they think no one is watching.
Vil Schoenheit. The actor, the child prodigy born with the right last name, nutured with the right attitude, blessed with the right genetics. The Housewarden, the admired senior who cultivated an aura of discipline, the model student who demands an aura of excellence, the respected authority of a house that radiates an aura of perfection. The fairest of them all, the rising star that refuses to peak despite the circumstances, the undeniable beauty that doesn't tarnish despite the circumstances, the Queen who retains their crown despite the circumstances. No, he's not a man to be caught in delusions, well aware of life's harsh realities. Which is why his relationship with Yuu is so complicated. Because that beautiful, bubbling pot of potential is the eptimome of recognition. He doesn't do this for praise, but Sevens the way they validate and acknowledge his successes. They judge fairly and fiercely, truly astounded by people's preference for Niege. And unlike Rook and his infinite appreciation, his fickle devotion, the prefect is steadfast and genuine and true. Rightestously upset by attacks on his sucess. The expectations they hold of him are realistic, they're attainable. They do not ask more of him than his full potential. This, THIS is what true devotion is supposed to be, not whatever parasocial hypocrisy the rest of Twisted Wonderland throws at him. And what Queen would he be if he didn't reward such a deserving subject with a title befitting them? Something like... his King?
