an extra special happy pride to anyone who is not out to their parents or their friends or other loved ones, to anyone who isn’t even out anywhere at all yet, online or off, and to anyone who is still questioning and figuring themselves out, who is still searching for the right words, or isn’t sure any fit. this month is for you too
The Amazing Transgenderism Circus [featuring Jaxxine's internalized transphobia & cringe-phobia.] A post-episode 8 "Caine gets a redemption arc & joins the humans as Just One of the Guys" AU that I'm sharing before episode 9 drops.
This comic is here to be Goofy, but I do think Caine's whole deal is meant to tie into the series' overarching trans themes [even if he's not canonically trans.] I think the show's trans themes are broader than a few characters; it's a show about people who are forcibly assigned bodies & names they don't want, forcibly assigned "archetypes" & roles that don't reflect their real selves, and struggle to express their despair around this because their bodies & roles are so ridiculous that their despair is easy to mock. It's safer to play along with your role, when exploring the alternatives can easily make you an object of ridicule. Caine fails to understand Zooble in episode 3 because he is constantly performing the role he was assigned at his creation, and doesn't allow himself to acknowledge his deep insecurity with it-- so he's confused that Zooble can't simply accept the thing they've been assigned. After all, he's accepted what he's been assigned. He refuses to recognize that Zooble is dissatisfied in a way no "adventure" can fix, because that would mean acknowledging the possibility that he could be dissatisfied in a way that no "adventure" can fix. So instead he throws himself into performing an inauthentic caricature of the role he believes is "all he exists" for & is not allowed to ever exist outside of, even as that performance just leaves him feeling "used" "broken" "defective" and overall extremely unhappy. The parallel to the series' Gender themes feels very clear to me. But anyway, I believe all these little guys can figure themselves out eventually.
hey so how do you think Riddle, Lilia, Epel and Leona would deal with their crush getting slapped with love potion by accident (maybe Ace tripped and it got all over the crush), and they’re supposed to fall in love with the first person they lay their eyes on, (it is the boys), but then suddenly, nothing happens, the potion didn’t work? (What happened is. Crush also likes them back, so the potion didn’t work)?
Infatuated
Riddle, Leona, Epel, Lilia, bonus!Ace
gn!reader, reader is Yuu, love potion shenanigans, Lilia calls reader "my dear"
WC:
Intro 616
approx. 500 per character
I'm gonna take a little break from DftCC, might open my requests up again👀 Also surprise, I'm also adding Ace to this since it took me so long :) I will say, I've read almost every version of the love potion accident scenario available in this fandom because it's my favorite, so it may have elements of other fics. So if you read something and go huh this is kinda familiar, just think of it like a love letter to all the amazing authors here!
With Ace and Grim fighting over something entirely inconsequential nearly every day in class, you suppose you shouldn't have been surprised when they ended up an open vial into your cauldron. Crewel was alerted by the sound of the explosion, a puff of sickly pink smoke shooting up into your face. You were damn lucky you cared about lab safety, your goggles keeping it from getting in your eyes, but you'd still squeezed them shut as you tried to fan the smoke away from your face, coughing heavily as you did.
"Do not open your eyes." Crewel snapped quickly as he saw your lashes start to flutter open, and you quickly shut them again at his command. You heard him sigh heavily before Ace and Grim yelped, and you could clearly imagine Crewel had set his glare on them. "I see creeping bellflower and ginger powder on your table, have you not added them yet?"
"No sir." You answered meekly, hearing him groan and grumble under his breath.
"Very well. Class, the rest of you are dismissed, leave your potions where they are." You heard chairs scrape against the floor and retreating footsteps. There was a long pause before the door shut, and you flinched when you heard Crewel whip his pointer against the end of the table. "How many times must I retrain you two unruly pups?! Sit and stay while I attend to your friend."
You sat stock-still, trying not to flinch as you felt your goggles being removed. You heard them clatter onto the table before there was a swish of fabric, and you felt a length of cloth being tied around your head.
"Sir?" You asked hesitantly as he adjusted the fabric over your eyes. "Why do I need to keep my eyes closed?"
"Your friends just created a potent love potion." He sighed heavily. "The potion cancels out if the person you look at is already infatuated, but regardless, I'm not about to take any chances. I will brew an antidote for you, but it will take a some hours to finish... if I start now it may be done by dinner. Until then, I highly recommend keeping this on," his voice dropped to an annoyed grumble, "unless you really feel like falling in love with Trappola."
"Hard pass." You scoffed quietly.
"That's what I thought." He huffed out a laugh before you heard his shoes clack on the floor. "Trappola, escort your friend to the infirmary then return here to help Grim clean up the mess you created. We will discuss your punishment afterwards."
You heard Ace scramble to his feet with a "yes sir" before you felt his hands on your arms, helping maneuver you out of the chair and around the tables. You listened to Grim complain about having to clean before yelping and going quiet as Ace lead you out into the hall. All you could see was the faint lights of the candles filtering through the dark cloth as you passed by as he led you around a few corners, and you nearly felt like you were losing your sense of direction.
"Ace. You're supposed to be bringing me to the infirmary, remember?" You asked as he opened a door, pulling you through it and outside. "Crewel's gonna kill you if he finds out you're parading me around campus."
He scoffed loudly, and you could hear the amusement in his voice as he spoke. "I have a WAY better plan! Faster than some antidote that's gonna take hours. Just trust me, alright?"
"I literally can't see anything, I can do nothing but trust you right now." You rolled your eyes behind your blindfold.
"This'll work! Promise!"
Riddle Rosehearts
You smelled the roses the second the feeling of going through a dorm mirror subsided, Ace dragging you along a little more enthusiastically.
"Ace, why are we in Heartslabyul?" You grumbled, trying to dig in your heels to make time to get answers.
"Because you're still trusting me!" Ace said emphatically, pulling you off the cobbled path and onto the grass.
"And I'm starting to think that I shouldn't!" You mocked his tone, the smell of roses getting stronger as he led you into the maze.
You followed him around a few turns, almost wanting to take off the blindfold just to take away what little power he had over you, before you heard someone talking softly. Ace stopped you a few feet away as the voice stopped with a heavy sigh.
"Ace, what are you doing out of class?" Riddle huffed, you could imagine him crossing his arms. "And why in the world is the Prefect blindfolded?"
"Crewel let us out early because of a potion accident." Ace said flippantly before you felt his hands on your shoulders, pushing you towards the Housewarden.
"Ace--" He didn't give you time to realize what he was doing as he tugged the blindfold down your face and off your eyes. You only saw Riddle for the briefest second-- looking entirely confused and holding two hedgehogs-- before you slapped your hands over your eyes. You were certain that would have been enough for the potion to work, but you felt no different. You peeked out from between your fingers, watching Riddle become more and more confused as he glanced between you and Ace.
"So...?" Ace spoke up from behind you as you hesitantly lowered your hand to cover your mouth, the realization making you blush.
You chanced a look back at Ace, who immediately broke into a wide grin at your red face. "I KNEW IT! See! I told you this would be faster than Crewel making you some antidote!"
"Aren't you supposed to go back and clean up your mess?" You snapped, voice cracking from the sheer strain of your nerves.
"What?" Riddle asked firmly, turning his ire fully towards Ace, who threw his hands up in defeat.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Ace conceded with a wide grin, turning to walk away. "You two have a lot to talk about anyways!"
You and Riddle watched Ace stroll away, casually whistling a tune as he went. You waited for the whistling to be far enough away before you turned to Riddle, who was letting one of the hedgehogs climb up onto his shoulder.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I going to have to get it out of Ace later?" He asked, his tone much lighter than when he'd been talking to Ace.
In retrospect, it would explain the preferential treatment you got from Riddle. You thought his patience with you had just been because you weren't from this world and didn't have magic. You always thought he was sweet, and Ace and Deuce always thought you were insane to think so. But maybe a crush made more sense between the patience and the helping hand he always had extended for you.
"Yuu?" He asked, snapping your attention back to him.
Maybe a crush made more sense for you too.
Leona Kingscholar
You knew exactly where Ace had taken you the second you stepped through the door, the unmistakable smell of the botanical gardens hitting your nose.
"If you try to shove some flower down my throat while I'm blindfolded, Crewel will be the least of your worries." You threatened Ace as he dragged you down the path.
"Relax, we're here for something else." He scoffed and you felt him slow down. "Now where..." He made a little triumphant noise before dragging you off the path and into the grass, warning you about the foliage a bit too late and laughing as it smacked you in the face.
He dragged you further along into the foliage until you tripped over something soft, hearing a grunt at your feet as you toppled to the ground.
"What the fuck are you two doing?" You heard Leona's voice snap as you scrambled into a sitting position.
You could hear Ace running away, his laughter getting further off as you sat blind in front of Leona of all people. You weren't sure if tripping over the Savanaclaw Housewarden was on purpose, but finding him definitely was.
"You smell terrible." He huffed, suddenly a lot closer than you were expecting. "And why are you lettin' him drag you around blindfolded?"
"Wait--!" You reached up to try to stop him, but it was too late. He'd lifted the edge of the blindfold just enough for you to meet his eye, and you froze.
You felt... nothing?
Huh.
Out of every one of your friends and acquaintances, Leona would've been one of the last people you'd expect to have a crush on you. He was certainly good at hiding it. The only indicator, if it was an indicator at all, would be that he seemed to be nicer to you than others. If you had been anyone else tripping over him, you would be fearing for your life. But that could've been for any number of reasons.
"Ace and Grim blew up my potion in class," you explained, pulling the blindfold off the rest of the way to fiddle with it, ignoring the heat rising on your face, "I guess he was right about this being faster than the antidote..."
Leona stared at you in confusion before leaning forward to sniff the air. His gaze drifted away as he considered the smell, then you watched realization click in his expression, eyes widening just a fraction as he put the pieces together. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, but you could see some red blossoming across the bridge of his nose.
"Go change, shit's bothering my nose." He huffed as he moved to lay back down.
"You don't... wanna talk about it?" You asked hesitantly.
"Not when you smell like that."
Epel Felmier
All you knew was that Ace was dragging you through the sun. No shade from trees giving you break as he led you across the grounds, you could feel yourself starting to sweat under the blindfold. When he eventually stopped, it was still in the sun. He let go of your arm, grass crunching under his shoes as he took a few steps forward.
"HEY!" He shouted, his shadow darting across your vision a few times as he waved an arm through the air.
The two of you stood there in silence for a moment before you heard the telltale sound of a broom approaching, followed by laughter.
"Why'd ya got the Prefect blindfolded?" Epel laughed as you heard him laugh, making you cross your arms over your chest.
"This dumbass blew up my potion in class." You offered as an explanation, swatting at the air with the back of your hand in a fruitless effort to smack Ace.
"What, again?" Epel huffed. "How many times you gonna almost kill em 'fore Crewel gets yer ass?"
"As many times as it takes." Ace joked, making you swat in his direction again, actually managing to catch his sleeve this time.
"Y'all need me to go find Vil for ya? He can probably brew ya somethin' for it, no problem."
"Nah, they're fine." Ace insisted just before your blindfold was pulled down, too quickly for you to realize what was happening. "See?"
You were blinded for a brief moment by the sun, but not enough to miss out on eye contact with Epel, confused and amused as he leaned on his broom. You blinked against the light, using the brightness as an excuse to shield your quickly reddening face from view. It wasn't as if you didn't know Epel thought of you different than the rest of your friend group, he wasn't the best at hiding it, always trying to impress you with whatever he was up to or trying to help you out with every little thing. You supposed it was just different to have the confirmation.
"Uh-huh... And you needed me to bear witness to that, why?" Epel asked hesitantly.
"Cause it was a love potion that doesn't work if who ever you make eye contact with first has a crush." Ace explained with a shit eating grin. "Have fun!"
There was a long pause as you peeked out at Epel from between your fingers, watching his stunned expression as he processed Ace's words.
"That was a joke, right?" He called after Ace, who was already a ways down the path. "Ace?!"
"It wasn't..." You sighed, dropping your hand from your face, watching his go up to cover his own. "I'm really sorry, Epel."
"Man, can't tell that jerk anything in confidence..." Epel grumbled under his breath, scratching at the back of his neck, his ears going red as he refused to look at you. "Ain't your fault... but, uh, now that you know... did you maybe want to--"
"FELMIER." Coach Vargas shouted from the field, making you both jump. "BACK IN THE AIR UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE ON MY ADVANCED REGIMEN FOR THE NEXT WEEK!"
"Shit! We'll talk later, promise!"
You gave him a wave as he hopped back onto his broom to go rejoin his class. You weren't sure whether to punch Ace or thank him, and Epel was grappling with the same question.
Lilia Vanrouge
You recognized the sounds of the main street bricks under your feet, if you had to guess by sound and your internal compass alone. There was a brief thrum of magic before Ace let out a loud yelp, stumbling backwards into you. You grabbed onto his jacket to keep you both upright as you heard familiar laughter from just ahead.
"Just where are you two off to in the middle of the day? Hm?" You heard Lilia croon from his usual spot; hovering just above eye line.
"Bringing the Prefect back to Ramshackle to rest up." Ace explained in a tone that clearly read as lying as he stepped away from you, leaving you blind in the path.
You felt a finger drag across your forehead before Lilia tutted just in front of you, nearly making you jump. "Another mishap in potionology huh? Did you forget where the infirmary is, Ace?"
"What, no!" Ace defended himself quickly. "I just got a better plan than waitin' for some antidote."
You heard Lilia hum as he examined the substance he gathered off your skin, not able to see the sly smirk that grew on his face at the realization of what exactly had happened.
"I understand." Lilia nodded, and you heard his shoes clack onto the ground just in front of you. "It's quite dangerous to go running around with a blindfold on, my dear. Here, let me..."
"Lilia, wait--!"
He pulled the blindfold up, smiling warmly at you as you realized just how close he was. And subsequently realized how not overcome by the effects of a love potion you were. You never would've guessed Lilia had a crush on you, he was just as friendly with you as he was with anyone, in your opinion. You couldn't say you were disappointed, however. Lilia had a knowing look in his eyes as he gently pulled the fabric off your head.
"There, now you'll have no trouble getting back to your dorm." He said softly, pressing the blindfold into your hand.
"Well, that worked." Ace shrugged before turning to head back towards the main building. "See ya later, Yuu!"
Neither of you turned to wave him off. Lilia dusted off the front of your jacket and shoulders as you stood in stunned silence.
"Love potions are such intriguing things, aren't they?" He asked so casually, smirking up at you. "They can tell you all sorts of things about a person."
Ace Trappola
Ace managed to drag you all the way back to Ramshackle, the creaking floorboards and familiar smells welcoming you home as he led you inside. He pulled you along into the lounge, sitting you down on one of the couches before plopping down next to you.
"Ace, why are we here and not just in the infirmary?" You sighed heavily, crossing your arms over your chest.
"Cause this'll be faster than waiting for Crewel, and you're coming to my game tonight." He huffed back, you felt the couch cushion shift as he squirmed in his spot. "Just... don't make this weird."
"What are you talking about?"
In lieu of an answer, you felt his arms go around your head, untying the blindfold from you. He slowly removed the cloth from your face, giving you a nervous look as you made eye contact with him, his face already bright red.
"Don't make it weird, you're gonna be there to watch me win tonight." He said in a highly serious tone.
"Yes, I will be at your game." You snorted out a laugh at his intensity. "...Unless you get detention from Crewel cause you didn't go back to help clean."
"Shit!" He hissed before jumping to his feet, already halfway to the door by the time you called after him.
"We're not done talking about this!"
"DON'T MAKE IT WEIRD."
I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO USE MY WORK TO TRAIN AI
𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙱𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝙸𝚂 𝙰 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙳𝚄𝙰𝙻’𝚂 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝙸𝙼 . & she’s always tired, always hungry. a ache sticks to the insides of her ribs, echoing from the inside of marrow behind flesh. there is the phantom sensation of a sticking past her skin, the prickling feeling of a godless suffering --- & again, she thinks about how tired she is, how hunger makes itself a manifestation. it comes as rugged breath, placing fingers at her arms that fold over her stomach, nails that aren’t her own that make crescents in her skin. CRESCENTING : SAVAGING. there is a feral bubbling behind her surface, an exterior that holds like steel before peeling behind heat. & THESE ARE MOMENTS WHERE SHE REMEMBERS THE DISTANT COOING OF A FATHER WHO CALLS HIMSELF A GOD. all at once again, she’s a sadness permeating through pores, a sorrow that wails beside an ache that accompanies her exhaustion, her hunger, her helplessness. [ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙸𝙻𝙻𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚁𝚂 𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚈 ] · [ 𝚁𝙾𝚂𝚈 𝙸𝚂 𝙰 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙽 𝚆𝙸𝚂𝙷 ] it comes together without mercy, & her eyelashes flutter in the calling of sleep behind the seeing lens ; she’s alone in the grasping of an abyss, her brother a snicker that becomes a sneer, her brother a whine than becomes a scream, but her eyes open. she is still hungry, still tired, still a body failing from the lacking of bitter gift. a caged, hopeful thing that could only flicker in faithless doubt. the sky shatter is an obvious stutter, but the sun comes up --- mika finds her, & his hand waves in front of her face in her withering response, a dying meadow fractures in the windows of her eyes, but she paints a picture of lesser grief.
𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙴𝚂 𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙲𝙴𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 . but mika arrives early to rehearsal, & she’s a wilted flower dodging the concern she knows will color. ❛ it’s so hard to keep track of time here. it feels like everyday is one day. ❜ this is mused without breath, & the curtains of her eyes fall lower & faster every time she cannot pay attention --- the sun carries the sky, just as the sky allows the sun to live surrounded, just as yukari allows mika to give her that scolding, scathing look of concern ( it burns her, if only because she doesn’t want to deserve that expression. ). & she pretends a wider smile, pretends her arms weren’t folded over her stomach in pain just minutes ago, instead trades the display of aching into blues unshadowed by earth. ❛ i didn’t notice this immediately, but.. you look sad, so stop that. ❜ she is the amused predator, & her smile is the warning before the pounce. & POUNCE, SHE DOES. he yelps when her arms cross over his shoulders, a tireless laughter comes from her throat, a song that steals respiration from her lungs ; melodies screech in the way she, the sky, surrounds he, the sun. & he could be lesser amused, but the smile she sees drawn over the edges of his lips is enough for her to huff in the simplest satisfaction. the only thing she’s ever wanted from him is his smile.
❛ 𝚈𝙾𝚄'𝚁𝙴 𝙶𝙾𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾 𝙷𝚄𝚁𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴𝙻𝙵 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙳𝙾𝙽'𝚃 𝙴𝙰𝚃 . and you aren’t sleeping either. ❜ he torments her by the pinch placed to her cheeks, a harm done to her in a harmless whisper. & she takes this with the grain of salt the exits past her lips, widened eyes draped over the slow blinks that disorientate an exile of consciousness --- but she still allows this wakefulness, still allows a foot taken past where another allows. [ 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙵𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝙱𝙴𝙴𝙽 𝙰 𝙶𝙾𝙳 : 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙰 𝙶𝙾𝙳 ] isn’t this prohibited nature allowed to the child of a distant being ( & she knows this couldn’t be an unspoken truth, knows that the children of gods do not walk. ) ? she wants to protest, but a nauseating sensation hungers after her voice, & she can only make that puff of air she’s taken to retort shorter. she almost wants to question the assumption, but it goes interrupted by certainty tracing his tongue --- & he’s smiling so brightly that she feels inclined to take note of just what touches the atmosphere. ❛ your skin is basically grey. you have those loopy eyes, with black circles --- y’know ? ❜ the revelation of his words is punctuated by the teasing : a lilt accompanying the tail of his sentence, hands cupping rounded around his eyes, each a discovery of another depth to the purse of her lips, a purse that puckers as a childish smile. HER LIGHT IS A REFLECTION IN THIS MOMENT.
𝚂𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳𝚂 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚂 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙿𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙵𝙰𝚄𝙻𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙴𝚈𝙴𝚂 . a muted sound of gravel coughs from her throat as a distraction to the swaying wind : SHE, THE SWAYING WIND. & the gravel distraction is made to be another bout of laughter once the sun caresses her shoulder, a hand where the absence of warmth had become. the replica of stained glass, she attempts another play at light, attempts to discard these horribly alive feelings that carves itself into her ; she wants to begin as the holy ground that holds, but she is neither the soil nor the church, the warmth or the people --- she wants to sleep without the assaults.
❛ 𝚈𝙾𝚄'𝚁𝙴 𝚂𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙰 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝚁𝚈 𝚆𝙰𝚁𝚃 . i think my mom worried less about me than you do. ❜ & YOU SAY THIS, BUT YOU REGRET IT. the questions possibly locked under those words are loaded guns blooming bullets, so you crease your voice into something less than compounded. [ 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙺𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝙱𝙴𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙳𝙸𝙳 ] : [ 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙺𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙼𝙰𝙽𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 ] a mother’s concern is second - hand, & it is an alien expression that lingers in the joints of her fingers, folding into each other as paper does. the house of cards quivers, she holds her breath almost into oblivion ; mika’s hands take base upon her face when she tilts off axis, an action only supported by the lacking trace of her body. ❛ i have been eating, & sleeping ! i don’t just.. not take care of myself... ❜ & though her voice fades in the retaliation of her hesitancy in response, the firm grapple of her words take up in the deficiency --- smiling sunshine, golden boy, this sky has seen night before you’ve set yourself among the stars beyond her. but you make fireflies where she’s only seen darkness, you make the sun where she’s seen a forever eclipsed moon. ❛ it --- ❜ words half - drift into a dry sputter.
❛ 𝚈𝚄𝙺𝙰𝚁𝙸 , ❜ after moments, she floats --- she doesn’t expect him to speak. a kiddish type of anxiety riddles holes in her skin the way her brother found his body riddled with a fragility that bound him to a forced leisure. HE ATTACHES HIMSELF TO HER SHOULDERS, A SMILE SHE DOESN’T THINK LOOKS FORCED MAKING AN ABSOLUTE FOOL OF RADIANCE. ❛ we care about you, really ! & if no one else for sure, then me for sure ! we’ve got to get through this alive, so you’re coming to have dinner with us tonight. you can even have the portions i don’t eat ! ❜ there is no strength in her to protest against something so genuine that ignites her own smile, shaping fireflies to shape a jar --- fooling the night, even.
𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙾𝙳𝚂 . there’s no use, she considers this thought in initial reach of his request, but she also considers his smile & erases the fact that she will still hunger & tire when the food is gone, when she staggers to her own perch.
